Some new pics

We're all decked out in our Iowa Hawkeye garb.

Luke trying to break the football pinata at Jaren's Birthday party.

Reagan's attempt at breaking the pinata.

Mr. Blue Eyes

Our little lady

Luke's put all his camoflauge clothes on so he could pretend to go hunting with his new Nerf gun.

Daddy & Drew looking snazzy before church.

Christmas morning

Merry Christmas from the Noteboom's

Just in time for Christmas

Brynn Marie
4 lb. 5 oz. 17 1/2 inches long

Hailey Elizabeth
3 lb. 9 oz. 16 inches long

My brother Jason and sister-in-law Kristin's new little arrivals came early this morning just in time for Christmas! I don't think they wanted to miss out on all the gifts the other grandkids get. They were not quite 32 weeks, but they are doing well. We are so thankful for these two new additions to our family, and we can't wait to hold them and spoil them!

6 months old

Taking toys from his sister already!

It's hard to believe half a year with these two has gone by already! They are two of the funniest babies I've ever encountered.:) Drew is all over the place and I wouldn't be surprised if he started crawling any day now. He pushes himself way up on his hands, is rolling over and grabbing everything and can sit up by himself for short periods of time. He also learned how to spit, which fortunately for me has not happened at mealtime yet! Lauren is our laid back one. She's content to lay and kick and play with whatever toy is within reach of her. She can roll over both ways, but she's fine staying in one place. When I took them to get their pictures taken the other day, she decided to show me she knew how to roll from her tummy to her back. Not the greatest time to be showing new tricks. They are both eating two meals a day and like their fruits and veggies. Drew weighs 13 1/2 pounds now and Lauren is 11 1/2 pounds. She is still only 3/4 of an inch shorter than him though! They are such happy babies. They sleep great and make us laugh everyday. We're looking forward to their first Christmas and I'm sure they're excited too!!

Luke's Christmas program

One cool wiseman!

We 3 Kings

Singing praises to Jesus

"Away in a Manger" (Sorry it's a little shaky. I was holding Drew & Lauren on my lap and trying to film this!).

Luke had his first real program this past Thursday at his preschool. He got to play the part of a wiseman. He did a great job and had a lot of fun. We were so thankful that the storm held off and he could have it.

Eating time

Reagan decided she was hungry the other night while I was feeding Drew, so she made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (don't worry....they have their own special knife that isn't sharp!). Now if only I could get her to clean toilets!:)

I was videoing Drew & Lauren eating the other day. Drew was making sour faces at the pears he was eating, but of course, as soon as I got the camera out, he stopped. Lauren isn't the greatest at eating in the high chair. We usually hold her on our laps so we can keep her hand out of her mouth. And yes, they are wearing the same bib. I figure it cuts down on my laundry a little if they use the same one!
I can hear the ice falling outside, so that's my cue to go curl up on the couch under a blanket. I'll post more tomorrow!

What's it like?

People often ask me what it's like having twins. I think this picture says it all.:)

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

Our Sweet Girl

Posing for the camera

Riding bike is one of her favorite things to do.

She found one of my lipsticks and proceeded to paint herself with it.

This was her first birthday party. Little did we know that she would get almost everyone at the party terribly sick with the stomach flu! She looks sweet though.:)

She was always climbing in and on things. I had to gate her out of the kitchen most of the time or she would be on the table. She started walking at 10 months old and we've been chasing her ever since!

6 months old

This was Reagan at 3 days old. We were so excited to have a little girl join our family. She has such a personality and keeps us on our toes, but we love her to pieces.
Happy Birthday, sweetheart! We love you!

O Christmas Tree

We started the tradition last year of getting a real tree for Christmas. Luke could hardly wait to put up the decorations and the tree that he thought Thanksgiving would never come. I told him we weren't going to put anything up until we were back from Orange City. The minute we got home on Sunday afternoon, he was ready to go pick one out. Ryan and Luke went by themselves to get one for two reasons. I didn't want to send Reagan and Luke with him while he tried to haul a tree around and we couldn't all fit in the van anyways! We haven't gone out to a tree farm to cut one down; for now we stick with Lowe's. Maybe in a few years we'll be more ambitious! We almost had a major ordeal on our hands when we told them we couldn't decorate it until the next day, because the tree was all wet from the snow. That did not go over well! They enjoyed decorating it and putting all their ornaments on and now I have a place to put all the presents I've been hiding.

Family Blessings

Jacen, Opa Tom holding Logan, Reagan, Owen, Oma Elli holding Drew, Lucas holding Lauren

Grandpa Noteboom with his sons, grandsons and great grandsons

Luke & Reagan get their own special table because there's no room at the big one! They don't seem to mind. I can't see what they're doing then.:)

Luke made this cool turkey hat at Pre-school.

We were able to go to Orange City this year for Thanksgiving. The Noteboom gathering was on Thursday night and the Faber side on Friday night. We had 19-20 people both nights, so it was a full house and lots of turkey!

Arghh....

Winter weather is occurring, imminent or likely and will cause significant inconvenience if caution is not exercised. The combination of snow and/or freezing rain and/or freezing drizzle and or sleet and or blowing snow has the potential to threaten life and/or property.
This caught my eye this morning when I was checking the weather. This is the most and/or's I've ever read in a paragraph. This means they're definitely covering all their bases and it's going to be a long inside day!!!

Mickey Mouse!

Luke & Reagan got to spend the weekend with Grandpa & Grandma Noteboom. They flew down to Des Moines and got them on Friday afternoon and returned them to us in Pella on Sunday. On Saturday they went to the Disney on Ice show in Sioux City. The kids had a great time! They got to see all kinds of Disney characters from movies that they've seen. Luke got to help Grandpa Mike shovel snow, which we haven't been lucky enough to do here yet. They always love Grandpa & Grandma time by themselves and Mommy & Daddy don't mind it either!!

A little bit of trouble

Bethany, Jaren, Drew, Erica, Lucas, Lauren, Reagan

We took this picture of the seven cousins yesterday. It's not a bad picture considering all the kids are five and under! We can't wait to add the two newest little ones to the bunch at the beginning of next year. Grandpa & Grandma may need that addition to the house yet.:)
(You'll have to excuse the underlining. The blog has a mind of it's own today.)