Early Summer

I don't remember a nicer Memorial Day weekend. We headed north to Boyne City for the weekend. The weather was great and we went to the beach, rode bikes to town, had a picnic at the park and played in the hot tub, kiddie pool and slip-n-slide. The weather was great and we all had such a nice weekend spending time together.


I was so much fun to watch the boys swim in the lake and enjoy the sand at the beach. Don so loves all the sand at the beach. When we were getting ready to get in the car and head home Don took one look at Kyle and said you can't get in the car like that....there was sand covering him from head to toe.


Brady was not a big fan of the sand so we decided to try the water. He loves water and yes he did enjoy it but I think he felt it was still a bit to cold for his taste. I can assure you it was to cold for Don's taste and I am not sure he let more then his big toe get wet.


94 degrees for Memorial Day weekend was a great start to the summer and we are looking forward to many more fun summer weekends. Did I mention how nice it is to not be pregnant or have a new born this summer.

Fast Feet

Last weekend Brady at 10 months took his first steps. He was so excited to be walking between Don and I. Kyle and Ryan were also excited at Brady's big accomplishment. I must say it is one of my favorite milestones to experience, when my boys have taken their first steps. I am also excited Brady did not wait until almost 15 months and weigh 30 lbs like Ryan did (yes he almost broke my back). But really 10 months might be a bit to early because now that he knows he can walk he just wants to get down and "practice" more. I am pretty sure it will not be long and he will be in a full run trying to keep up with his brothers. Ryan should be worried those short little legs of his do not at this point carry him very fast :).


If we were to pull the pacifier out you would see Brady has two teeth showing and two others almost there. I don't remember the other boys gums looking as sore and red as Brady's do. I feel like they must hurt him a lot. The other boys would love when you rubbed their teething gums but Brady does not even want you to touch the sore spots. I sure hope the rest come in quickly so he does not have to hurt much longer.

Today is Mother's Day, and 6 1/2 years ago was when I became a mother. Today I am reminded of all the blessings and responsibilities it take to be a mother. Being a mom is not just about having the children, it really is a responsibility to put all that you can into your children so they will turn out to be wonderful people. In church today they shared a quote that went something like... children are like wet cement and everything makes an impression. It truly makes me think about taking each and every moment to make good impressions on my children's lives.

Now that I said that, I am not a Pollyanna mom. Just minutes ago Ryan accidentally spilled Don's coffee all over the floor, as I jumped up to clean it up Brady found the pop I was drinking and started to dump it all over the floor...I then have to yell for Don to get off of the phone to help and while we were cleaning up, Brady puked all over Kyle. Oh and I forgot to mention this chain of events actually started with Brady puking all over, because the stomach bug Ryan had last week is now working its way down the chain of kids. So you might be thinking how does this remind you of impressions on kids. One of the gifts I got from Kyle was a candle and the name on the candle was "tranquility for relaxation." So in the mist of coffee, cola, and puke Kyle tried to climb on the chair, (that had the coffee spill on it) and I say, calmly of course (not) "Kyle get down...you are kneeling right in the coffee." His response "Mom I was just trying to get your candle so I can help you relax." Boy, does that make you stop and think.

So, I can't promise my kids that I won't get a bit flustered when things converge on craziness, but I can say I do work to make good impressions on my children...so when their cement dries they have a pretty pattern of goodness not a blotchy, broken, and battered cement pad.

So on this Mother's Day I want to thank my sweet, caring, and helpful Kyle (6 1/2). My daring, lovable, and funny Ryan (almost 4) and my cuddly, content, and cute (even when puking) Brady (9months). And I would not have any of them if it weren't for my wonderful, loving and supportive husband Don. I have been blessed by God to have the perfect partner it was amazing that when God made me and made Don he made us for each other and we are a perfect pair.

Finally, Mother's Day would not be complete without celebrating my own mother (though she hates to be called mother...she is informal so mom works for her). We were lucky today that my mom and dad came to town to celebrate with us. I am lucky to have a mom who would do anything for me and my family. We are all so lucky to have her in our life and it is great to see how much my kids love their Dee Dee.

Though my mom and I are very different, looking back now I see many traits I have gotten from her. She has always opened her home to others and as we have another person from our church living with us for a short time, I know that hospitality comes from her. I am always interested in meeting and befriending all different kind of people from different backgrounds and I know I get that from my mom. My mom was never a worrier, she always encouraged us to go and experience new things. She always said no worries, don't call, we will expect a call if there is a problem...have fun!! I sure hope as my boys get older and more independent I will have her same mindset and will be able to let my kids grow and experience life like my mom did for me.

Baseball

Well we started the season of baseball games. Kyle's had his first game and he did great. He was up to bat three times and had three hits. He is learning what to do in the field.

At the scrimmage a few weeks ago before the season started Kyle spent more time playing in the dirt then paying attention to what was going on. At one point Kyle had hit the ball and was on first and the coach then gave him his glove and sent him to play second. Another kid was up to bat and hit the ball and Kyle took off running first to second then to third...before a coach grab him and sent him back to play second base. The funny thing is the last thing the coach must have said to Kyle was when he was on first and the instructions I am sure were when the ball is hit run to second and then third base. He sure is coach able. Don asked him after the scrimmage if he had fun. He said he really liked batting and running the based but he really had no idea what was going on when he was in the field.


He did start to figure a few things out at the first game and did a good job paying attention not playing in the dirt. His first game was cold and kind of rainy and I could not help but think to myself we have three boys and I am sure we will be sitting through many cold and kind of rainy sporting events. And I am sure we will be pound of all of them as we were of Kyle.

Boys will be Boys

We had fun this weekend visiting with our friend Jim and Lacy and their kids.

Life with three boys sure does make you smile often. It is funny how they say the funniest things. Lately when Ryan and Kyle see Brady coming towards them and their cars they yell "fire in the hole" and they grab all their toys and try and get away from Brady. It will be so funny to see how fast they can react because Brady is going to be walking soon.

Brady is now trying to stand without holding on to anything and he has a bruise on each cheek to show for it...I think I told you about the fire place well Brady has found it a few times. I am afraid he is not far away from taking his first steps. It will make us laugh if he walks before he gets his first tooth. That is right he does not have any teeth yet. Kyle had his first tooth at 4 months. Ryan was 6 months and Brady turns 9 months today and has nothing.



Speaking of teeth Kyle lost his 7th tooth Sunday and of course put it under his pillow but we discovered that sometimes the tooth fairy takes Sundays off...kind of like the mail lady. What? the fairy is part of the union you did not know that :).

Okay maybe it is not just the boys that make us laugh Don and I do a pretty good job making each other smile. We started our summer tradition today of Tuesday golf date night. We are both looking forward to spending some time together every Tuesday enjoying a game we both love.
Stephanie is the person who makes date night possible. They boys love her and she loves them. She is graduating next month and will be moving across country to becoming a HS teacher. She has found us a great college student to help us with the boys after she is gone... but we will all miss her!

Easter Blessings

This weekend was Easter weekend and we had some fun and relaxation time. We started with some coloring of eggs. I have to tell you this is the first time I have colored eggs with the boys. I really don't like the mess so my friend Jill normally does the egg coloring with both our kids. Darn her for having a baby so I was forced into doing it. First I had to call two people to even figure out how to hard boil eggs but after that is went pretty smoothly. The boys had fun and we did not get to much dye on anything or anyone.



On the Saturday before Easter my friend Jill normally has an Easter Egg Hunt for about 70 or so kids. However this year Jill's baby was due on the Saturday before Easter so smartly she decided to not host the HUGE hunt. But we could not let our kids not got a chance to hunt eggs. So I volunteered to stuff eggs and Bryan (Jill's husband) hid them around the yard. Though it was not 70 kids running all around the Dole's yard our 4 had a blast.

Carter (33/4), Carly (6), Ryan (31/2), Kyle (6)

We finished the weekend by going to church to celebrate that Jesus is alive and how very blessed we are that God sent his only son to die for all our sins. Then we relaxed and had some fun outside.

We can all clean up well!

Brady (8months) resting with his dad.

Brady (8months) "Look I can stand up and have even started to try and stand up without holding on to anything....mom says I can't walk anytime soon...I will show her who is boss"

Spring "break"

Ryan (31/2) "Look I learned how to ride a two wheeler with training wheels...I look pretty cool don't I."

Well the week is coming to an end. Kyle's first spring break from school had gone by so fast. Both Kyle and Ryan spent the week with my parents. We were all in Boyne City until Monday afternoon then Don, Brady and I came home and Kyle and Ryan stayed upnorth. They have had so much fun this week hanging with their Papa and Dee Dee. Yesterday they left for Detroit to stay in a hotel (swim) and go to the Detroit zoo today. I am sure they have had a blast.

Kyle (6) "I have learned to ride the big kid bike my Papa and Dee Dee got me last year. I think it is pretty cool I have a hand break on my bike."

Brady was lucky this week to have his mom and dad to himself and we have commented many times how easy one is. I unfortunately was out of town for part of the week and then have been challenged with a cold that has moved to my chest and I have been coughing for days. But Brady must have know I was not feeling well because he has been sleeping great. I have taken NyQuil the last few night so lets be honest I would not have a clue if he had been up 10 times.

Brady also had another special thing happen this week. His best friend Bennett William was born on Tuesday. My friend Jill had her baby Tuesday and now Kyle has Carly Dole (both 6), Ryan has Carter Dole (both 3 1/2) and Brady and Bennett. The entire Sytsema family is so happy to welcome sweet Bennett into our hearts.

Bennett better get growing fast because Brady is on the move and now pulling himself up on everything. We have the gates out now and are getting ready for all the head lumps and bumps he will for sure be getting any second now. I write this as he stand up at the fireplace...bricks not so soft on the head.