I would have never thought.....

I would have never thought that Wilson looked like my dad, but.....

My dad found this picture of himself, it was taken in about 1944 or 1945, so he was about 5 or 6 years old, just about the same age as Wilson is now. It was really hard to get Wilson not to smile for this picture, but it was important so that we could check the similarities in the lips...I can't believe how similar they look!

Me and My Handsome Boys

Primary Program 2010

My Big Brother

I have the best big brother in the whole world, and I think deep down I have always known that. It is his birthday today, and needless to say, we are both getting old!
He has always been an example kindness. I haven’t ever heard him speak badly of anyone.
Even as a small boy he was kind. I don’t remember, but my parents like to tell stories of how mischievous I was to him. Eric loved to build with blocks, and I would knock them down, or one by one take them from him, so he didn’t have any more to build with. My parents favorite story is of early one morning, we were playing with a ball. I took the ball from Eric, and went in the bathroom. Eric went in to tell my mom and dad that I had taken the ball, and when they asked me about it, I told them “I flushed it!” – I was hiding the ball behind my back.
I know that I teased him endlessly, and, as we got older, we fought like cats and dogs. He was still my big brother, and he could torture and tease me, but he would never let anyone else.
Eric is now still a very kind man. He is a wonderful father, and devote husband. He is a great neighbor, and always willing to help. I am so grateful for his help, like when our water heater died, we finished the bedroom in our basement, and built a deck. I love living in the same neighborhood with my big brother, it is fun to tell people, “yes Eric Voordeckers is my brother”. With a name like Voordeckers it is hard to hide! I am also glad that our children will all go to the same elementary school, junior high and high school!
I have been blessed to have Eric as my big brother!

He Did it AGAIN...

This morning Holden "decided" to go pee pee in the potty again. I write decided, because after he went yesterday morning, he decided to not do it again until this morning. So, yes potty training is going to take A LOT more work!

Holden has been looking at the Darth Vader LEGO set for months. This is what he wanted, and so he was told once he went pee pee in the potty he could earn it. This morning I put it together for him. I have to admit it is pretty cool.

Now, Holden is going to just get stickers when he pee pees, and after many trips to the potty he will get a toy....

Coleman came to visit

Coleman, our great-nephew, came to visit, so that his mom and dad could go and watch Lion King. Wilson sat and talked to him, and Coleman was completely entertained. It was fun to have a little guy around the house again for the afternoon!

He FINALLY Did It!

This morning Holden FINALLY went pee pee in the potty all by himself. He was so pleased with himself. He called to tell his Dad, and he told Grandma and Grandpa on Skype. I just hope he can start doing it all the time soon! I am tired of having two in diapers!

Brothers

That was then...

Wilson 16 months old

This is now......

Josef 13 months old

Wilson and Josef have both loved their touties (pacifiers). Holden was never very interested. Wilson would walk around with multiple touties all the time, and he always needed several at bed time. Josef has to have at least 2 touties when he goes to sleep, and this morning he walked out of his room with three touties in his hands!

Grandpa by Holden

Holden drew this picture of Grandpa this morning. He wanted to draw a picture of my dad...I think it looks just like him!

Hedwig Part 1

Wilson wants to be Harry Potter for Halloween, so I thought it would be fun to have Josef be Hedwig (Harry's snow owl). My mom and I thought it would be "easy" to use a white or cream sweatsuit and then add eyes and so on. I found this cream sweatsuit for Josef, so I had to try it on him to make sure it would work. It should be interesting to see how Hedwig turns out, but one thing is for sure...Josef is a REALLY cute owl.....

Holden is Falling Apart

This morning I was putting some ointment on a Bug bite on Holden's leg when I noticed that Holden's hand was swollen (another bug bite). Then Holden showed me his knee that had another scrape, and I told him he was fallen apart. He responded, "maybe I am getting all of those spots on my face like Matthew..." Matthew is Holden's FAVORITE cousin, and Matthew has been getting freckles across his cute nose. So I asked him, "you mean like the spots I have and grandma has?", and he said "yes".

Holden's swollen hand....

Torticollis or Not????

My "Little" Ute

Josef went to the doctor today for his well baby check up. Josef is one little boy....25% for height...25% for head....5% for weight....

His doctor was also concerned about his head being tilted...Torticollis.... it is something easily fixed with physical therapy. As I sat in the doctor's office with Josef on my lap, I totally saw what the doctor saw. I was a little surprised that I hadn't noticed it... I came home and looked at pictures of Josef. There are definately pictures that I see it in,

...These pictures were all taken in August...I totally see the head tilt here...

and then there are some that I don't see it at all.... I guess I will just try and watch him closely and if I see it more, I will make an appointment for some physical therapy....

Harry Potter

Wilson and Holden have been really into Harry Potter thanks to LEGO. LEGO has come out with a new Harry Potter LEGO video game, so the boys have been checking it all out on the LEGO website.


On Saturday, Ken let them watch the first Harry Potter movie. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and had forgot how much I love the story. Yesterday I started reading aloud the first book to Wilson, we got through the first chapter. I am not sure who enjoyed it more Wilson or me!

I am teaching a lesson in young women on Sunday about making wise choices. Studying for this lesson reminded me of the wonderful quotes by Albus Dumbledore about choices. I will share a few of the quotes that I love....

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

"You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."

"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated."

"There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."

I love these quotes, obviously these come from a fictional character, but what wonderful lessons can be learned from them! I am not sure that I will share these quotes in my lesson, but I have enjoyed thinking about them.

I will be showing the young women a video of this talk by President Eyring.

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-851-42,00.html

Everytime I watch this I want to make better choices in my life!

Holden's Rocket ship & Haircut

Last night Ken and I cut Holden's hair. We are both working on getting good with the clippers, so we don't need to take everyone to get their hair cut. Holden's hair is best when it is buzzed, so we were lucky it was Holden that cut his own hair. Wilson's hair is harder to cut, and it is easy to see when he gets a bad hair cut. So, we will be practicing our skills on Holden!

Holden and I worked on this rocket ship together this morning. Holden really misses playing with Wilson when he is at school. I know that Holden would rather play with Wilson, but in the morning he has to resort to his mom if he wants someone to play with him!

Oh, Holden

Last night, while we were eating dinner, I kept looking at Holden's head, and was trying to figure out why I could see so much white scalp. It finally dawned on my that he may have cut his own hair. I asked him, and yep he did......

Ken went into out bathroom and found the evidence.... brown hair and scissors....

Oh, Ken

Playing in the Backyard

The weather is so beatiful today, so we decided to play in the backyard, and not go to the park (that was Josef could take a nap while we played)!

Wilson has gotten so good at crossing the monkey bars...he is getting so big!

New Adventures

We bought a bike for Ken and me at a garage sale a couple of weekends ago, and then Ken got a child seat for Josef to ride with him. We have had fun going on bike rides as a family. Our rides so far have not been anything major, we have riden over to the Voordeckers twice (2 miles round trip)! Holden has a hard time finishing the ride, but with encouragement for his dad he has made it home!

Otis the Happy Dog

Holden and his H

This morning Holden was "hungry", I think that boy is ALWAYS hungry! He saw a small bowl of cherry tomatoes on the counter that had just been picked, and that is what he wanted (yes, that is probably how he can constantly eat and still be so skinny, he makes good food choices:) He told me he was making a W with the tomatoes (because Wilson makes everything he can into a W), I suggested he make an H, and so this is what he made...

Obvisously I have not wiped the counter off since the boys had Coco Puffs (not a good food choice) for breakfast!