Few Pics

Here are a few pictures from the past week.

This is our effort at trying to get pictures of Brielle. Just too busy to stop and pose!

Do note, the attire she picked out. She already knows what to do to warm her Daddy's heart (and then get whatever she wants!)

He LOVES the Baby Bjorn...it will probably be a permanent fixture to our bodies for the next 5 months! (Also, don't be fooled by all these pics of him in his bouncy seat...he doesn't care very much for the bouncy...these pics are taken during the 5-10 minutes he sits in it every day!)

Michigan!

We were in Michigan for about 2 1/2 weeks at the beginning of August and boy did we have fun. Brielle would get so excited everytime I asked if she was ready to go "bye bye" because it was a new adventure everyday. (Funny how she doesn't quite get as excited about going "bye bye" now that we're in Altoona...going to the grocery store or Target doesn't quite compare to pools or beaches or having family to play with every single day!)

Our week in Michigan started with a trip to Tri-Ponds to visit my sister and her family and several of my cousins. They were camping out there for a couple of days, so we thought we would join in on the fun.

I unfortunately forgot my camera one day, so I wasn't able to capture any pictures of all the kids together, but I did get pictures with grandpa and grandma! Brielle was fearless with the water. She would get to the edge of the pool and basically just jump...whether someone was ready for her or not.

Life in Michigan was rough for this little guy. So many hands to be held in and so much sleeping to be done!

And for Brielle...everything is more fun when you're in the buff! Don't you just love those buns!
And boy oh boy did Grandpa and Grandpa put her to work. Here she is hauling stones in her wheelbarrow...

...watering the landscaping (aka mulch)

...and of course whats a trip to the Grotenhuis house without a vehicle being washed!

This was the first time the great grandparents were able to see Bryce and, once again pathetic me forgot my camera with them all but my Grandma Grotenhuis. She's still got the touch!

After some time at the Grotenhuis' we moved over to the Carlsons. Bath time is always so much more fun when the grandparents are around!

We headed up to the Carlsons cottage for one last hurrah with the whole family. Brielle had a hay day...she loved the beach, loved the ice cream, loved her roommate Aunt B (Aunt B might say otherwise!) loved everything!

Look at this little guy...is he not the cutest?! Brielle misses you Peyton!

Is that the Hoff and Pamela? :)

We also tried to get some family pics taken while up at the cottage with the whole family. This was the best pic we could get of the grandparents with the grandkids. You can't tell, but Bryce is screaming...and here's what the other pictures looked like. Brielle let us know exactly how she felt about pictures...by showing us her backside!

Love these pictures!

This was the best picture of our family we could get

And some pics of the whole family...yep the kids are totally cooperating for these pics! Brielle and Peyton must be looking at the same things!

But we actually got one where all the kids are cooperating (Chad included!)
We did get some family pics with the Grotenhuis side, but I didn't get any of those of my camera...the results were much the same. Brielle not smiling...Bryce screaming

After the cottage, it was back to the state park for some beach time with the Grotenhuis

And Bryce is once again doing what he did best...zonked out

This was the best pic I could get of these 2 little girls...they were always on the go!

Brielle has loved playing in vehicles lately...Brooke and Brielle spent so much time in my grandparents cars...they kept saying they were going to Pennsylvania!

I was trying to get a picture of just Bryce...but someone butted their head into the picture...cracks me up!

Oh my goodness...he was awake for some of his time in Michigan!

We also spent some time at the Zoets cottage while we were there. 2 major events happened while we were there.

The first was that Brielle actually touched a dog...yes she touched it. Prior to this, she wouldn't get within 10 feet of any animal. In fact when we were up at the cottage anytime a seagull even glanced in our direction she was in our laps freaked out. So petting a dog...this is a big deal!

And the second big event...Brielle had her first crush...on Ross Zoet. It was the funniest thing to hear her giggle at everything he said or did...everything (Sorry Ross...you're funny, but not that funny!) She was giddy! It was adorable! Thanks Zoets for opening up your cottage to us...we had such a great time! Brielle will want to come back again (especially if Ross is there...hee hee!)

And some random pics. Basically if Aunt B was in Brielle's vicinity, Brielle was right by Aunt B. She LOVED playing with her (and misses her terribly!)

And just some pics of our little guy. He's changed so much from these pics, but I wanted to include them anyway!

I made a trip up to fremont to meet up with some college friends, but we only took a picture when it was just corrie and I. Sorry girls...it was such a nice time to catch up!

Thanks to everyone in Michigan...time just flies by when we're there!

Almost Forgot!

There were 2 other very important events that I forgot to mention in my previous post.

The first being that Chad and I had to take care of a friendly little bat residing in our basement. We got all decked out for the occassion (russian hat, oven mits, and all!), fully equipped ourselves (pillowcase and tennis raquet) and ventured down to the basement, and trapped it with a plastic container...only to find...the bat was really no threat at all to us...he had found his final resting place on our wall and was totally dead! Whew! Bats know not to mess with someone wearing oven mits!

And the other big event...our little girl had her first poop on the potty! (Yes, she is pooping on a potty in our kitchen...kind of gross...but we'll take a poop wherever we can get one!) Oh the joys of potty training!

Random Stuff

Same Swing, Same Lap, Same Position....Different Child

Brielle loves to swing. We spend so much time just pushing her in this thing!

Here we have Brielle supporting the Cubbies (can anybody guess who dressed Brielle on this morning?) Its funny to us that she looks more normal dressed as a baseball player than when she's wearing her play earrings and high heels.

And a picture of our little goober. He's working on a third chin...hopefully he'll have that accomplished by the 3rd month!