Scootin' Around!

Aliyah loves

to scoot around

the house on her bum!

She can get wherever she wants to go!

And into whatever she wants to get into!

And as you can see, her siblings think it is pretty fun to join in on the bum scootin'!!

Imagination and Creativity

Samuel can pedal!

I know, I know. This is Hope's new bike. We have a problem. Samuel thinks it is his. No matter how many times I tell him it is Hope's. It doesn't matter. Hope is gracious and shares it with him. But, Samuel figured out how to pedal!! He first pedaled by himself on Sunday but I took this picture today when he was outside playing with his Grandpa. He'll often need a little push to get started but he's definitely getting the hang of it!

Hope's Birthday

We had Hope's party last Saturday, but today is her actual birthday. The morning was spent in Ann Arbor for a doctor's appointment for Hope. Aliyah came along for the ride and Samuel stayed with my Mom. We also stopped at IKEA because it was *practically* on the way home!! When we got home my tired little Hope went down for a nap and Samuel helped me bake cupcakes. Aliyah napped in the car so she was awake for the afternoon as well.

I love this picture!! They were watching the cupcakes in the oven!

Just lookin' cute!

Daryl had to work all day and then go straight to his internship this evening so he wasn't able to be around for Hope's little birthday party tonight. My parents came over and we just had a little low key celebration with a couple of presents and then some cupcakes and ice cream. Hope got a new puppy dog bath towel.

And some cute sunglasses. Which she is obsessed with. It's so cute!! And we think she looks like a little rock star!! :)

Samuel got upset with Hope because she didn't open the card before the present. See the card in his hand? He was so mad!! Ahhh . . . my little boy who likes everything "just so". I don't know where he gets that from . . . ;)

Doing some 2 year old climbing . . . I don't know who "flipped the switch", but this girl is 2 years old! She is all of a sudden so independent, speaking her mind, doing things like climbing chairs, etc.

Same reaction to the candles that she had on Saturday . . . not sure what to think of them. But she did blow them out all by herself!! We had a great little party for her, we just wish Daddy could have joined us!

H is for Hope

Today, Samuel learned how to write an "H". And he did it all by himself! I tried to get him to try to write an "S" but he said he wanted to "do an H for Hope". We'll keep working on the "s"! He also put stickers on his page and then had to draw circles around them. So cute!

Hope got in on the art-action this afternoon as well. She loves putting stickers (or the sticky part around the stickers) on paper. Whatever keeps her happy!!

The Human Train

Aliyah was just playing on the floor and Hope decided she wanted to sit behind her. Samuel saw that and ran over to sit behind Hope. As soon as he sat down he said "A train!!" Too bad none of them wanted to sit still and have their picture taken!!

Our Sunday

Getting a little bit more play time in with Grandma before she had to head back to Ontario. Samuel can put this track together all by himself now - he is such a big boy!

A nice little Sunday nap in the sun. The kids brought me some of their babies and toys so that I didn't have to take a nap all by myself. They are so thoughtful, aren't they?! I woke up when Daryl was going to take this picture . . . so I faked sleeping for the camera. You can tell by the little smirk on my face. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Stegink got Hope a new "Boz" DVD for her birthday. The kids LOVE Boz . . . . need I say more? :)

Baby Dolls

Aliyah loves baby dolls. It is so funny to see her play with them. It kind of reminds me of a cat playing with a mouse. She picks up the baby, slobbers on its head, throws it on the ground, shrieks at it, scoots over to pick it up, picks it up, throws it back down, picks it up, shrieks/talks to it, slobbers on its head, repeat. And then, of course, when Aliyah plays with her baby, the other two kids quickly need to find a baby as well. Hope loves her babies too . . . and Samuel . . . Samuel loves them when the girls are playing with them. :)

Mommy's Little Girl

A Haitian Experience :)

After Hope's birthday, we continued celebrating Hope by driving up to Grand Rapids and eating at Chez Olga's, a Haitian Restaurant. Not just any Haitian restaurant, but the only one in all of Michigan. And it is less than an hour away from our house! We had a great time and the food was absolutely delicious. It is owned and operated by Haitians that moved to the States 17 years ago. Daryl had a great time talking to them in Creole. :) It was fun and totally Haitian - when Neil was ordering, the waiter totally walked away in the middle of Neil talking . . . someone else in the kitchen was talking to him and so he felt the need to interrupt Neil and first talk with this other person. Too funny! He walked away or started talking to other people numerous times while we were ordering. I was hoping for Coke in glass bottles but that was just a little too much to ask for!! Hope absolutely loved the plantains. It was fun to see how much she loved Haitian food - she can't deny her heritage!! I didn't think I missed Haitian food that much but with every bite I was reminded of how good it is! I missed it more than what I thought and I couldn't stop saying "Yum!" or "This is SOOO good!" after every bite that I took. The kids were great, the food was delicious, and we left saying that we'd definitely be back!! A fun and perfect way to end Hope's birthday celebration!

Hope's 2nd Birthday Party

Today, we had Hope's 2nd birthday party! Neil and Mom came last night so that they could celebrate with us! We had a pretty simple birthday party but it was so much fun. In the weeks prior to the party I kept asking Hope what she wanted on her cake. She would either look at me with a blank look on her face or she'd say "Daddy!" (She does love her Daddy!) When we went to Florida and to Disney World Hope got so excited when she saw Winnie the Pooh. After that, we decided she would have a Winnie the Pooh party. So much better than putting Daryl's face on her birthday cake (sorry, Daryl!). :) The guests included: Grandpa and Grandma Stegink, Aunt Anna, Aunt Sandy, Grandma and Grandpa Neil, Daddy and Mommy, Samuel and Aliyah. We had potato soup for lunch and then started the present opening! Samuel had a hard time keeping his hands off of Hope's presents. It's so hard when you are 2!
Hope got a new umbrella, a cup, and some bubbles from Uncle Dan, Aunt Danielle, Alyx, Madison, and Jordyn.

Hope got bubbles, bath crayons, a new CD and DVD, and sidewalk chalk from Aunt Sandy and Great Grandpa and Grandma Bishop.

New sand toys for everyone (and more sidewalk chalk!) from Uncle Randal, Aunt Julie, Mikayla, Brooklyn, Janae, Airyn, and Spencer. It is definitely time for the weather to warm up so we can use all of these fun new toys!

From Uncle Ben, Aunt Anna, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Anna, Hope got a new pail/shovel, a Winnie the Pooh blanket, and a watering can. This is about the time when she really started getting into opening the presents, getting excited about it, and figuring out how to rip off the wrapping paper all by herself!

From her host family that initially cared for her when she got to the States she got some children's books in Creole or about Haiti and a Dora bathtub doll!

This fun new bicycle is from Grandma and Grandpa Neil. Judging by how much Samuel and Hope fight over it, I'd say it's a big hit!

Grandpa and Grandma Stegink got Hope her very own MP3 player (a little kid's version - so cute!), some cute clothes, and a new Boz DVD. Grandma and Hope are dancing to her music in this picture!

Hope was SO excited about her cake. I was pretty happy with how well it turned out!!

As soon as we lit the candles and started singing to her she got shy and nervous. She wasn't sure what was going on! But she did blow out the candles all by herself!!

After Hope blew out the candles we asked her if she wanted a bite. This was her answer! Silly girl!!

We love you, precious Hope! We cannot imagine what our family would be like without you!! You are our daughter and we are SO blessed!!

Too tired to eat

Trying so hard to keep her eyes open at the dinner table tonight . . .

But just couldn't keep those eyes open. Sound asleep in the middle of eating her cheerios and carrots . . .

Sweet, sweet girl.