The Kuipers Krew

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Future Blackmail Pic?

This is what happens when LP is invited to a birthday party of five and six year old girls!

Do you see how this letter is addressed? We used to address it to "little one" and now you are officially "Mr. Big Stuff!" In the nine months we have had with you so far, I think that this has been the month that we have noticed the most changes and you have achieved the most amount of "milestones." You are such a joy to be around and we are soaking up every moment that we get to spend with you.

You are still such a happy child! You love life and love to embrace everything that comes your way. You love experiencing new things and find joy in the simplest things.

Your personality is continuing to shine through, and you laugh at the funniest things. You have had some sort of virus for the last couple of days. It kept you (and mommy and daddy:)) up for most of the night last night. While I was rocking you, in the middle of the night, I was singing, "How Great Thou Art" to you. Every time I would get to the chorus and sing, "great thou art," you would burst into laughter. I know that you were somewhat slap-happy from lack of sleep, but you did it again today. I don't know what is so funny about "How Great Thou Art," but apparently you find it quite hilarious!

As I said above, you are learning new things everyday. Here are some of the things that you have done over the past month:

Clothing Size: You are wearing 6-12 month and 12-18 month clothes! We are starting to run out of things for you to wear as they are either stained from spit-up, or you have outgrown them. Hopefully we don't end up with an Indian Summer or we may be in big trouble!

Favorite Toys: We have found such joy in putting together all of your new toys for you to play with. Before you were born, you received many "big boy" toys as gifts from people. We have had them in storage for quite some time. We put many of them together and you love exploring all the new things, sounds, and movements the different toys make. We love watching your little mind work through things.

Though you really are happy to play with about anything, you have found a favorite new toy over the past month. You love your new push-behind truck. It took you a few tries, but now you walk behind it like a champ. You think you are quite the "big stuff" when you walk one handed while reaching for a toy with the other hand.

Favorite Activities: You really enjoy doing pretty much everything. You love walking behind your truck, walking around the ottoman, eating, taking baths, going for walks in your stroller, swimming, and playing with mommy and daddy. You do NOT enjoy it when mommy and daddy set you down by your toys to play all alone. You would much prefer to be part of the action and have someone playing with you.

Other Milestones: You still are not crawling. I have come to the conclusion that you think crawling is over-rated and that you are going to go right to walking. You have loved standing up since you were about 3 months old and I truly believe you will be walking within the next month or two.

You have started to be much more verbal. You say, "mamamamama" and "dadadadam," although you say "mamamamama" much more. You say it mostly when you are whining or want something. I am not convinced that you know what it means, but you do use it quite often.

You have started to be a little more wary of strangers. You still go to other people quite well, but you often give them a second look before reaching out your arms for them.

Favorite Food: We decided to switch your formula to Target Brand Similac Sensitive and you are doing WAY better with that. You still spit-up, but not near as often. You typically have an 8 oz bottle when you wake up, an 8oz bottle, a jar of fruit, a jar of vegetables and some finger foods around lunchtime, an 8 oz bottle and meat/fruit at dinner time, and a 7 oz bottle before bed. You also like trying new foods at the dinner table. You love any table foods we give you. You have eaten chicken, cake, beans, carrots, yams, lasagna, noodles, and ground beef.

You are still working on drinking out of a sippy cup. You now understand that you need to suck and not chew the sippy cup, but you don't understand that you need to tip it to get the liquid out.

Number of Naps: You are on a pretty consistent nap schedule...finally! You wake up around 7:30 in the morning and then go down for a nap around 10:00. You typically sleep for 1 1/2 hours and then wake up at 11:30. You go down for an afternoon nap around 1:30 and wake up around 3:00.

Bedtime Routine: Your bedtime routine is still really the same. Typically mommy or daddy gives you a bath and then mommy feeds you your last meal of the day. Sometimes we also read you a story. Mommy (and sometimes daddy) sings you a song and then either mommy or daddy puts you in your crib, tucked in your favorite blanket and with the sunshine on. You go to bed around 8:30 and sleep until about 7:30 in the morning.

We also decided to get rid of our new puppy this month. She was a wonderful dog, but mommy was quite allergic to her. You didn't seem to mind either way as you were a little too young to really understand what was going on. When you get a bit older, mommy and daddy will reconsider getting another dog for you:).

You saw the doctor yesterday for your nine month visit. You lucked out and you didn't have to get any shots this time! You are still measuring to be such a big boy. Here are your stats:

Weight - 21lbs 4 oz - 50-75th percentile

Height - 30 inches - 95th percentile

Head circumference - 45.5cm - 50th percentile

As cliche as it sounds, we love you more everyday. We love seeing your personality shine through and all the joy you experience on a daily basis. It is our prayer that we become the best parents for you and that you become all that God has in store for you. We love you beyond imagine!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Our New Addition

Lucy "Liesel" Kuipers

Introducing....Lucy girl Kuipers! After a long search for the perfect dog, we ended up with the perfect companion, Lucy! Lucy is a 6 month old Miniature English Goldendoodle. We wanted a dog that would not shed and was medium sized full grown. She will be about 35 lbs. full grown and does not shed at all. Her mother was an English Golden Retriever and her dad was a miniature poodle. She is potty-trained and is adjusting very well.

She had Michigan's "dog whisperer", Al Casimiro, come over last night to try and work with her a bit on some aggression issues that she has with rawhides or special treats. With LP around, his safety is most important. We want to make sure that we can fully trust the two of them together. Al was amazing and it was so crazy how much he could do with her in such a short time. I will definitely be posting more about her upcoming training.

She is a very sweet dog and we look forward to having her and LP play together!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

8 Months

Little One,

You are not so little anymore. You are getting bigger each day both physically and developmentally. I continue to be amazed watching your little mind work as you play and try to figure things out. You are such a thinker and, if I had to guess, I think you will end up being quite analytical just like your daddy.

You are a happy baby most of the time and continue to be quite easy to manage. You are starting to develop a little bit of a stubborn streak, but that was to be expected with daddy and me as parents:).

Clothing Size: You are wearing mostly 6-12 months clothes, but some of them are becoming quite snug on you. You are wearing more of the 12-18 month clothes! The weather around here has been unseasonably cool, so hopefully it warms up a it so you can enjoy your Summer clothing.

Favorite Toys: You have officially given up all of your big infant/baby toys. The Boppy, the Bumbo, the bouncy seat, the swing, and even the Jumperoo are now in storage for the next baby. Your favorite thing to do is to stand up around the ottoman and watch us. You think you are quite big stuff when you do this. You also really enjoy your Leap Frog table and could play with it for a very long time without getting bored.

Favorite Activities: You really aren't doing anything too new since last month. You still like standing by the ottoman and standing by mommy and daddy. You also enjoy stroller rides, swimming, and doing anything that involves being outside. You also really enjoy going on the swings.

Other Milestones: I thought you would be crawling by now for sure! You roll around and "scooch" quite a bit, but you haven't figured out crawling yet. I am sure that as soon as you figure it out, you will be all over the place!

Favorite Food: You have officially weaned yourself from mommy. Right before you turned eight months old, you decided that you were done with nursing. This was ok with mommy as her supply was so low anyway. You typically have an 8 oz bottle when you wake up, a 6-7 oz bottle and jar of fruit around lunchtime, a 6-7 oz bottle and meat/fruit at dinner time, and a 7 oz bottle before bed. You also like trying new foods at the dinner table. You have tried blueberries, pizza, steak, green beans, ice cream, and other foods.

Number of Naps: You are doing better with being on a nap schedule. You still have days where your schedule changes, but overall, you are on a pretty good routine. Typically, you take one nap in the morning around 10:30 for about an hour or so, and then another nap in the afternoon around 1:30 for a couple of hours.

We also got a new puppy right before your 8th month birthday! You and Miss Lucy are going to become the best of friends. Miss Lucy would love on you all day if we allowed it. She loves to lick your feet, hands, and face. You don't like it when she licks your face, but you laugh when she licks your hands and feet. You also like watching her run around the house. Someday the two of you will be the best of friends!

LP, we are so in love with you! You always greet us with a smile and a laugh. You are the most lovable child and we are so happy to call you ours! We can't wait to see what the months ahead bring for you and we are so excited to watch you develop into a sweet little boy!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Pool Time Fun!

Today was the best weather day we've had in quite some time. So, we decided to take LP to my parent's pool in Holland. The weather proved to be perfect and we all had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we had a picnic in the park, followed by swing time and ice cream. Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow, we've had so much fun during our time off this past week. Good thing we have at least a couple more months of Summer and many weekends and evenings to enjoy yet!

Independence Day Fun!

Since Brad and I have been together, we have spent the Fourth of July up at Leelanau Pines on Lake Leelanau. Because we were Up North all last week, we came home and spent the Fourth of July at home for the first time in a long time. The weather was not spectacular, so we decided to take LP to his first trip to the zoo. We went to John Ball Park Zoo. LP seemed to be quite curious about all the animals at first, but he fell sound asleep after a couple of hours.

After the zoo, we met up at Tim and Tiffanie's house. After trying to decide what to do (for over two hours, seriously), we ended up getting Olive Garden, KFC, and bottle rockets. Needless to say, it was a fun but uneventful evening.

Traverse City Cottage

This past week, LP, Brad and I, rented a cottage on Silver Lake by Traverse City along with Tim and Tiffanie and Adam and Julie. The first day and a half were BEAUTIFUL but the next five days were FREEZING:)! The weather was horribly cold, cloudy, and rainy, but we managed to have fun anyway. We were all very thankful that we chose a cottage that had internet access and cable TV as well as the fact that we were near Traverse City and the mall. I think I only ended up taking about ten pictures as there really weren't a whole lot of good photo opportunities. All in all we had a great time and it was nice to spend some quality time with little peanut. Hopefully we choose a better week next year!