Grandpa's 100th Birthday!

On January 27, my grandpa celebrated his 100th birthday!  My dad and my uncles hosted a party a week before to celebrate him and gather as a family.  We had around 80 people there--that's a lot of Van Duyns in one room!

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures...

We brought the Zylstra family birthday bear to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jacob's Grandpa-Great!

Lots of old pictures of Grandpa through the years

The little kids sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "Happy Birthday"...Jacob wouldn't join them!

the whole group

Adolph Van Duyn

My mom and dad with Grandpa

my brother and sisters

brother, sisters, and spouses

Johnny was SO excited to celebrate with Grandpa-Great!
(He was also a little crabby because his teeth were almost through)

Six Months!

On January 7, Johnny turned 6 months old!  I can't believe how fast time is going.   He's changing so much!  On Wednesday, we went to our old pediatrician (so excited to be back), and these are his 6-month stats.

Height: 28 inches  (95%)
Weight: 18 pounds, 2 oz (He really didn't gain much weight in the last month.) above 50%
Head Circumference: 45 cm (above 75%)

Now that we finally get the percentile print-outs again, I can better compare him to Jacob:
Height: 29 inches (over 95%)
Weight: 17 pounds (under 50%)  But by 9 months he was above 90%!
Head Circumference: 44 1/2 (75%)

I know you aren't supposed to compare kids, but I just find it interesting.  Jacob has always been really tall, but he hasn't always been 90% weight, like he is now.  So, I have no way to know if John will be as beefy as Jacob or not!  Also, I think they make mistakes, too, especially with measuring height and head circumference. 

Now, back to John! 

I have begun feeding him solids.  We are skipping the rice cereal completely for now.  I have heard that it's not really that good for them (something about the iron not being attached to food so it attaches to bad things? or something like that).  We mostly have been eating sweet potatoes and chicken or bananas.  I have noticed that he is sleeping much longer at night.  The past two nights he slept 7 and 6 hours without waking up.  It's a much deserved break for me who did not like waking up every 2 to 3 hours!   

He still gets mostly breastmilk, but I do feel like my body isn't producing like it used to.  I do supplement with one bottle a day (4 or 6 oz.), usually in the early afternoon.  I am trying to keep going through the winter, but I'd really love to quit.  It would really help me to get him on a schedule, and maybe it would help me to be more productive throughout the day. 

I'm very surprised that he still doesn't have any teeth.  I've felt like they were on the verge of erupting for weeks!  While I want him to have some teeth, I have to remember that I will be more comfortable if he doesn't...no one likes being bit while nursing!

As for skills, he's getting really good at rolling over, grasping toys, and babbling.  He loves his big brother and always watches him with a huge smile.  He's also starting sleeping on his side or his stomach--maybe that helps him sleep better, too?  Although I wonder if he moves in his sleep because he is never in the same spot when he wakes up.  Sometimes he's completely turned around head to toe!  He's also sitting up by himself better and better each day.

When I laid him down, his head was by the mouse...a couple of minutes later, he was under the table!

sweet potatoes and chicken

a beautiful day for a drive in the backyard

I love my little guy.  He's such a happy boy, and he makes me smile so much!  He rarely is fussy for no reason.  I definitely feel blessed to be his mom.

Home Again!

On August 13, 2010 we moved away from our house in Patterson.  We were going to rent it out.  This November, our renters said they were going to move out.  We tried and tried to find renters, but we couldn't.  So, on December 27 (yep, two days after Christmas) we moved back to Patterson.  Although it's going to mean a lot more time on the road for Larry and going to be more expensive, it feels so nice to be home again! 

Sorry to all those who have diligently changed their address books and followed us with each of our moves.  This is now Jacob's third move and our fourth since being married (not to mention my move up here to get married). 

Things have been a little crazy around here, but Larry's two weeks off for Christmas helped a lot.  Here's a few pictures--more to come once things are all set up. 

We actually slept here on Christmas Eve--we all slept in one room!

Jacob and John's Christmas present--a tent!  Jacob slept in it for about 30 minutes...

Playing with sidewalk chalk on the back patio

Jacob has learned how to climb up the pantry shelves to get what he wants...he also has chocolate sprinkle residue on his face from his breakfast!

sitting up better and better

Jacob is getting much better at entertaining his brother...It's fun to see them "play" together!

Christmas 2011

I guess I've been a little too busy lately to post some Christmas pictures...more to come about that later.

Our first Christmas party was December 18 with my family (except the de Jongs).  We met at my sister Cindy's house.  My family buys little "stocking" gifts for each family member (10 dollars or less). 

youngest Van Duyns due around June



Johnny opening his first Christmas present!





Grandma

Jacob and John's presents from my parents...the horse and the dog on the floor.

On Christmas day we went to church, and then we went to Larry's parents' house for Christmas with the  Zylstras.  Larry's cousin and her family from Holland also joined us for Christmas! 

Charlie--1 year old

Samuel, Josiena, Rupert, Jacob, and Daniel's red shoe!

Pake and Beppe bought the boys matching pajamas--Christmas cows!

Jacob with Uncle Mike

Auntie Rosaline with Tijs

We had a great Christmas despite being pretty busy.  It's always great to see family and eat some great food!

5 months!

Apparently I never did a four-month update for Johnny.  So, we'll do a five-month one!  At four months he was 25.5 inches and 16 lbs, 14 oz!  Now, at five months, he is 26.5 inches and 18 pounds!  He consistently grows one inch a month and at least a pound in weight.  Because he is rather large, he wears almost all nine-month clothing, especially if it's a one-piece outfit. 

He still really only gets breastmilk.  He does get formula quite often when we are out and he needs to eat NOW!  I've tried to feed him solids many times (the doctor told me to...), but he keeps sticking his tongue out so I can't get the spoon in.  I'm guessing that means he isn't ready.

As far as skills, he can roll over when he wants to, but most of the times he is on his stomach he cries until someone flips him over.  He is starting to roll to the side quite often to find a toy.  He can sit up by himself (for very short periods of time) if I prop him up with his hands on the floor or in his lap.

Sleep: He is a bad nighttime sleeper.  Well, that's not true.  He sleeps fine; he just wakes up ALL THE TIME!  Lately it's three or four times a night.  My new policy (as of two days ago) is that if it's been less than three hours since I last fed him, I'll try to make him cry it out.  He has been going to bed around 8 and gets up around 6:30 ish.  I like these times the best because then his naps work out around 9:00, 12:00, and 3:30. He doesn't nap very long--maybe 40 minutes at the most. 

Well, here are some pictures of my handsome little boy.  I'm told his ptosis is getting better (droopy left eyelid), but you can judge that for yourselves.  Pictures are where it is most evident. 



sitting up by himself



5-month photo shoot at JC Penneys

Bath time!



Baby's First Christmas shirt from Beppe (Larry's mom)



After his bath... to go on a weekend trip to Sacramento

Trick or Treat!

This year we decided to take Jacob trick or treating for the first time.  A couple of weeks ago, I got a bag of boy clothes from my sister, and there was a cow costume inside...

John wore a giraffe sleeper that someone gave me when Jacob was born.

Jacob mostly enjoyed going to the houses.  He especially liked ringing the doorbells.  There were a couple of houses that he was really scared to go near.

Halfway through, we came back to pass out some candy.  I noticed John was really sweaty, so I changed him into a cow outfit.  For some reason, he always falls asleep when Larry carries him around...

Once we got sick of walking around, we came back to pass out candy.  Jacob LOVED it! 

He stood waiting at the door for the rest of the night passing out the candy.  He even passed out the candy he got from other houses! 

One time, he got bored waiting so he laid on the ground.  But most of the time, he stood in the doorway yelling "C'mon guys!", encouraging kids to come to our door!  It was a great night!  Well, except that Jacob cried when we decided to shut our door and turn out our porch light!

A Day at the Beach

Over a week ago, it was a nice Saturday morning.  We were just relaxing at home in our pajamas...

Larry and I started discussing what we could do that day.  After much consideration, we decided to go to...

the beach!  We packed up the kids and the car and headed to Capitola, one of my favorite beaches.  Because we live in Santa Nella, the beach is about 85 minutes away! 

John seemed pretty happy with our decision! 

And Jacob loved playing in the water.  He and his daddy walked all the way to the pier.  This picture reminds me of my single days in San Diego when we'd see "hot dads" playing with their little kids at the beach!  We can't wait to go back, but next time I'm bringing a little baby tent so John doesn't have to stay in his carseat the majority of the time!