Sunshine, Lollipops, and

RAINBOWS! We had them all today!

Jonge brought me to a specific spot at his house to see the "Wainbow on my hans!".

But, they disappeared when he picked his hands up!

Of course, I was excited too. Sunshine. Wow.

I did attempt to explain to him exactly HOW the rainbows appear on the rug, but he did not care about the how. He was just thrilled to have a rainbow on his hand.

I'm not sure if he knows about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but he certainly is MY pot of gold.

Famke Is Six Months Old

And what a six months it has been! Famke is incredibly sweet, and grows sweeter every day.

Today

Typical icky February Michigan weather today.

THGGM brought me to Jonge and Famke's house today so that they did not have to venture out.

It ended up being a very good idea, as Jonge was not feeling very well. He wanted to be hugged and cuddled. So did his sister. And, his dog.

I got a lot of love today.

Famke, after having one very fussy hour, was an adorable bundle of giggles and grins.

She thinks that whistling is really funny.

We watched the storm begin.

And, snacked on nummies!

The storm seems to have passed over. Storms are like that. They roll in, they roll out, and life rolls on.

Room to Play in the Play Room

Today Jonge had a chance to show me his great new play room! His mommy and daddy have been very busy fixing up a room on the main floor for him to play and be creative.

His daddy built the colorful shelves and table. A door was removed from a small closet for bookshelves. Jonge and mommy made the canvas painting.

New purchased shelving keeps everything organized. Jonge likes to have his belongings organized.

He is enjoying his work bench in his playroom just as much as his daddy enjoys having a work bench in his basement!

This lovely view is out the window in the playroom.

How can you not be inspired to be creative with a view like this?!

Today at Beppe's House

Happy Girl

Famke has been SO happy!

It is SO easy to make her smile.

Her favorite thing to do is to watch her brother run back and forth.

That makes her laugh, and he loves to make her laugh.

Today I actually made something for her.

I found a thrifted napkin and just back stitched around a pattern I have used quite a few times. I did everything possible wrong with this, but at least Famke will never be able to say that Beppe didn't make HER anything.

Not that she would. She is too sweet for that. And, I hope to make her an entire family of these embroidery pillow dolls, once I re-ink the transfer.

I ordered this from Wee Wonderfuls www.weewonderfuls.typepad.com Great stuff from Hillary Lang.

Pake Loves Jonge

Boop, Boop, Boop!

It's a secret code around here. Pake says "Pake loves Jonge" and Jonge responds by saying "Boop, boop, boop!" Of course, there is much armpit tickling that occurs. I cannot participate in it, as it is THEIR secret code. If I try it, I get reprimanded with a "No Beppe. Pake!"

My videos tend to be dark, as they are taken on my digital camera. Neither of them know they are being recorded. I prefer it that way. We've got enough comedians in this family as it is. The top picture is what they are actually playing with. An odd assortment of my kids remaining toys and the occasional treasure found while thrifting.

Being a Pake is the most fun THGGM has had in his entire life. I know this, because I have been there for all but 15 of his 49 years.

Siblings

We all have colds.

This morning we managed to have a wonderful time.

Don't even ask me about the afternoon!

Funny Boy

As mentioned below, I am feeling my age today, to put it mildly.

Anyway.

Being a firm believer that there are some things a young boy of two should NEVER witness his grandmother doing he had a bit of free time today.

At one point, I heard the back door open. I called to him, and he did come quickly to me, with some explanation which I totally didn't understand. Mostly, I did not even try to understand, as we are working on the simple fact that he MAY NOT OPEN THE DOOR.

Well, several hours passed and his mommy came. As I was opening the door to let her in, I noticed that sitting with THGGM's boots and my shoes on our muddy back porch were Famke's new little baby shoes.

In an effort to be neat and tidy, he had picked up her shoes. carried them to the back porch and set them next to ours.

What a boy, that Jonge.

My Day

Famke is five months old today!

Tooth number four made it's appearance today, then disappeared, then reappeared. Imagine that.

She wanted to snuggle all day, which was perfectly fine with me! The new rocker has proven to be well worth the cost.


Jonge is teething also.

Since Famke is teething, Jonge is teething, and Beppe (that is me) is feeling 49 we pretty much had a TV day.

We watched two episodes of Mr. Roger's. Although we watched a musical segment about 20 times. Jonge is all about music, rhythms, dancing and silly songs. Today I was all about keeping everyone happy.

He also watched three Mickey Mouse Clubhouse shows that I had on DVR.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I even gave him lunch in front of the TV. Someday I'm sure I will write a post about the ill effects of television viewing for toddlers, but not today.

Somedays one just has to do what works.

Tomorrow is a new day. I did already promise him that we would watch the musical segment from Mr. Roger's again and again. I will probably forget, but he won't.

I can't get over how much he reminds me of his Uncle Oldest Son. It's uncanny. Especially the way he sits all snugly in a chair to watch Mr. Roger's. I feel as if I am reliving a piece of history.

Lunch at Beppe's

Jonge Is Two Years Old Today!

Pake and Beppe were happy to have Jonge and Famke spend the night with us last night. Tomorrow is Daughter and Son-in-law's forth anniversary.

We had lots of fun! And, I am happy to report, we all slept all night long! Famke is a 12 hour sleeper, just like her mommy was.

So, Jonge woke up on the morning of his 2nd birthday at our house!

We celebrated by having a well balanced breakfast and ended it with a 'Cookie Boy'!

It is pronounced by Jonge as 'COO keyboy'. Too cute.

Beppe's Gift

Last year at our family Christmas party, Jonge was wearing an "I'm going to be a big brother!" shirt. That's how we found out that someone new was on the way. This Christmas, Famke is here.

The video. Hmmm. Watch at your own risk.

Jonge at 23 Months

Daughter and Son-in-law took a few pictures of Jonge and Famke Saturday.

My favorite feature is Jonge's toes, which show in all of the pictures!

Too too cute.

Jonge and Famke

Twenty-Three Months and Four Months

Eating Stale Marshmallows at Beppe's

What can I say? It's been a looooong week!

Pake and Jonge

Jonge fell asleep at our house last night, so we kept him!

When I woke up this morning, this is the sight that greeted me.

THGGM really looks like a grandpa!

I never heard a peep out of Jonge all night long.

Pake did, but he could handle it.

We met everyone else for breakfast soon after this picture was taken.

Jonge is happily back with his family.

THGGM and I went to one thrift store. I bought a Christmas tree for $7.oo.

YEA!

Jonge has his own tree at our house. One he can touch all he wants. Next week we plan to decorate it. And undecorated it. And decorate it again. Whatever he wants.

One thing I've learned since I've been a grandma. It's more important how much the child enjoys the tree than how much Beppe enjoys the tree.

The Kiss

Famke's Three Month Birthday!

Famke is now THREE months old! Oh, how quickly they grow! She certainly is developing an adorable little personality.