"Old" Friends

This past weekend we celebrated the 30th birthday of my good friend Jen. We've been friends since Hope College days, and I really can't believe that we are at this point in our life. It's hard to believe we graduated eight years ago. It seems like yesterday, and yet so much has changed. Now that we are mommies and daddies, it was great to let loose a bit at the race track. Thanks Jen and Chad for a fun night!

Jen, Carrie, Julie, and Lesley

Paul, Ben, and Matt

Carrie and Lesley

Jules and Jen

Paul, Ben, Matt and Chad

The Graduate

Last Friday, Grant graduated from preschool! It was a big day. It was very cute as each child walked up the steps, received their certificate and walked back down. I do have to admit that I may have had a tear in my eye. It is amazing how fast time goes by...



Grant receiving his "diploma"

So grown up

Grant's teachers, Mrs. Aldrich and Miss Stacie

Big congrats from Nona too

Brotherly Love

Over the past few weeks, Grant has really been a great big brother to Molly. He is started to "play" with her more and loves to make her laugh. Since we are moving to a bottle full time, he is even helping her learn to hold it. They are growing up so fast.

Tulip Time

Walking through Hope's campus




Gotta have the tulip pic

Kids enjoying the parade...think they look alike?

How sweet...that's my Grant, what a charmer

I couldn't resist...


We headed out to Tulip Time this year to brave the crowds. We had a chilly day walk through Holland, and even made a trip through Hope's campus for a stroll down memory lane. We had to show Grant and Molly where Mommy and Daddy first started out together. The kids enjoyed the parade and especially liked the visit to the Peanut Store, where he was thrilled to learn of what they really sell there...not just peanuts.

30:04

Well, it may not be a world record...or any kind of record, but I did it! I ran my first 5K today. For those of you who don't know me very well, I have always hated to run. I despised it. I refused to do it. This year though, as one of my yearly goals, I decided I was going to run in the Fifth Third Riverbank Run. Matt has been an avid runner over the past few years, and even ran the Chicago Marathon (but unfortunately is still recovering from knee surgery at this time). I never understood how he could do it, but I thought I'd try it out. I know it's only 3.1 miles...but for me, this was a huge feat. I was a sprinter, not a runner. So I did it and I finished in 30:04 minutes. That's 1971 place out of 4311 runners. Not fast, but I finished! Next goal...the 10K!

Little Peanut

This past Thursday was Molly's nine month check up. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She did great with her one shot and only cried for a minute. She weighed in at just a bit over 16 pounds (15th percentile) and measured 27 and 5/8 inches (50th percentile). To compare my children, Grant was 16 pounds at 5 months old. She is definitely my little peanut...which is surprising to me because she LOVES to eat! Her toothy smile these days gets me every time. She still is doing the army crawl and is getting pretty quick at it, but has no desire to stand or walk yet. Little laid back Molly. Precious.

Tea Party

This past Saturday, we had a lovely tea party wedding shower for my cousin to be...Alexis. My sister-in-law, Rachel, and I drove down to Chicago for the day with Molly, Sofia, and Stella to have an afternoon high tea with some relatives. It was a yucky day outside with rain and cold, but it was so fun to catch up with some cousins, aunts and grandparents, as well as celebrate the upcoming wedding of my cousin Nolan and his future wife Alexis.

The Ladies of the Sheldon side (Alexis in the middle)

Practice, Practice, Practice

Since starting T-ball, Grant has taken a new interest in baseball. Check out the little man knockin' it out of the park!

and the Bloopers...

Batter Up!

Grant had his first T-Ball game last week and had a blast! He seems to really like it, and Matt is having fun helping out too. It's interesting how they teach kids this game. There are no outs, you always throw to first base, and everyone gets to hit. So it's pretty much just practice, but at least they are having fun. Every time a ball was hit, Grant would run across the entire baseball diamond to get to the ball...even if it wasn't anywhere near him. I love his competitiveness. He loved running the bases and kept telling me that he got a homerun. It's so fun to watch him learn a new sport and enjoy himself while doing it.

Vegas Baby

We just got back from our first trip to Vegas! Matt won a sales contest through work, and we spent four days and three nights hanging out by the pool, losing money, and eating great food! We saw a great show called Le Reve, which is like Cirque du Solei on water I think, and lost at BlackJack...and war...yes there is a war table. It was fun hanging out with the crew and meeting new people. We had a great time, but we did miss Grant and Molly a ton. Grant was thrilled to see us, and Molly didn't seem to care much at all. I don't think she cares who feeds her and changes her, as long as someone is doing it. Here are some pics of the trip...


Matt in front of the Venetian (I think...they're all the same)

After dinner and before the show "Le Reve"

Flo and Matt

Cleve, Matt, Amy, and Lesley

Flo, Amy, and Lesley

Matt and Dan

The boys...I mean men, at our outdoor dinner and "show"

Lovely ladies

Matt and Les in The Wynn lobby

The Wynn


Matt and Cleve at Mandalay Bay beach

Amy and Lesley at Mandalay Bay...super good food!

Hanging at the "beach" at Mandalay Bay

Our awesome view of the strip from The Wynn

The Terrance Pointe Cafe overlooking the pool

VIP seats at the Le Reve...champagne and chocolate covered strawberries

Air Zoo in K-zoo

Nolan and Grant getting ready to take off

Up, up and away

Molly watching big brother fly

Hot Air Balloon ride

Nolan, Sloan, Isabella, and Grant at the Space Museum

Last weekend we had our first visit to the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo. We went with Eli and Kathy and their kids and had great time. Grant thoroughly enjoy flying the airplanes, and I am still trying to regain my equilibrium from the flight simulator. I am a pretty sweet pilot!

Jake and Molly

Last Friday we had a visit from our friend Jake Boer. Jake is about 6 weeks younger than Molly and is such a cutie pie! His mommy, Bethany Boer, and I went to high school together. It is so fun to watch all these kiddos grow up together. We love having visitors so it was so nice of them to stop by and see us. Thanks for visiting!!