In Other News
A mix of stuff here, sorry…
March 27th, finally everything had thawed and my roof nail collection grew even bigger. If you’re in West Michigan and need a roofer, I can tell you who not to use. See this image larger.
Ian peeks out from behind his viewmaster… See this image larger.
Does he see pirate treasure? See this image larger.
Ian woke me up the morning of the 28th to tell me he had something awesome to show me. It turns out it was this blanket, stretched out to a rectangle shape, next to his bed. See this image larger.
The solar system mobile that Ian received not too long ago was joined by this inflatable space shuttle, some glow-in-the-dark stars, and this lamp from Ikea. Earlier that week, Ian sort of insisted that we finally put this up in his room. I’m glad he did. When I took out his old lamp, there was exposed wire, where the shielding appeared to be weakened and worn away… not near a cap or anything, this was just exposed, and dangerous. You know when something horrible happens (like a fire?) and you think to yourself “if only I had seen some kind of sign to warn me of this?” Well, I’m thinking this is what one of those signs looks like. See this image larger.
Hi family! See this image larger.
I knew the high tension power lines were somewhere in the neighborhood, I finally found them in this picture, but they’re way at the other end of our property this time. EDIT – Actually, that’s somebody else’s property. I’m not even sure why I included this. LOL. See this image larger.
The third loaf of bread I ever made in my life, and it was almost perfect. I gave Ian a taste of this bread and told him I made it. He challenged me on it, saying “This is from the peanut butter and jelly store.” That’s his name for Panera! The highest praise one can get from our little boy, trust me! See this image larger.
What we didn’t have in kid pictures, we’ll make up with movies, let’s go!
Video
Click here to see the kids having fun in boxes made out of mats! Check out those static-electricty hairdos!
Video
Click here to see Ian and Daddy’s awesome contraption. (It should be noted that he was just starting to get in a behavior rut when I started putting this together with him — by the time we were done he was a happy little angel again.) The reactions after the successful launch are worth every MB you feel like downloading, trust me.
Video
Click here to see Nina break her previous record on steps. By this time she was up to 6-8 steps, but usually averaging 4-5. And a smooth landing, kinda, right?
Video
Click here to watch Mommy tickling both of the little ones!
East on our sidewalk. 
Tree out front. 
Swingset. 
Tree around back. 
Swingset chains. 
Tree branch. 
Shrubs out front. 
March 20th, Nina naps at the grocery store! 
The kids watch a video… 
March 21st, the 2nd loaf of bread that I made in my life. Was it awesome? No, but it had promise. 
March 20th, and Spring has arrived! Our little girl celebrates with a brief stroll! 
Here she comes! 
…carefully! 
Steady, Nina!! 
Almost there… oops we’re blocking Ian’s view of the TV… You made it, Nina! Yay!!! 
Later in the day, Mommy and Ian share a tender, goofy moment with the iPhone… 
March 21st, it’s even warm enough to go outside with a little bundling!! (and if I haven’t mentioned this, Ian’s hat looks significantly less dorky than the one I wear in winter-time. I’m going to get one like his!) 
Nina taking steps! 
Peekaboo! 
Ian… no. 
She could 
…go… 
…all… 
…the… 
way! 
Woohoo, I’m tall! 
Yes, the grasping edges of these mats are all that is keeping the kids from falling. The good news is that when they fall, they’re pretty much guaranteed to hit a mat. 
Melissa is just out of frame ready to grab Nina… 
This picture is really the first time I saw what everybody else has been telling me about the kids looking a lot alike. 
Wow, they’ve been up there a long ti– oop, see ya Ian! 
Nina loves her swing… I’m not sure if this is her first time, it is probably the first time that she can remember anyway. That makes two of us, lol. 
She liked it enough that she sometimes lifts up the shades in the sunroom to look at the swing. If I’m holding her, she points toward it. (As in, “go that way.”) 
Weee! 
Ian enjoys being out in the almost kinda spring like weather! 
This day was March 19th. More soon! 
Nina reads in the sunroom. We’ll work on that “right side up” thing soon. 😉 
We have a lot of “Daddy Loves Me” clothes, and I almost always seem to pick those outfits on days when I’ll have time to take pictures. 
Ian and Nina play with the parking garage. 
Guess who was playing with it first? Does it matter? Haha! 
March 16th, Daddy, Nina and Ian watch an episode of Backyardigans… 
…it was apparently intense enough that we all had to bite our fingers or blankies. 
March 18th, and we’re seeing some signs of spring. Like these plants. And the now-visible hundred-or-so roofing nails from a contractor experience I’d really rather not talk about. 
Ian and Brandon’s son Max playing before we went out to dinner. It was cool to see these two interacting. Max has so much big boy personality… I can’t believe Ian’s only a year younger! 
March 13th, after seeing a Facebook slideshow that included Uncle Chris’s fun in Las Vegas, Ian held this up to my face and asked “Is this Uncle Chris?” I said “Of course it is.” 
The irony is not lost on us that Nina has a medical cart as a toy, and has heart surgery this year. We want her to be more comfortable with this kind of thing, in general, and all of us to be more comfortable with the topic in general. 
Melissa picked this cart up for cheap, and she couldn’t have done a better job. I think we were worried it was too tall, but the handle is SO high, that it actually forces Nina to achieve almost true front/back balance as she uses it, unlike most of the wheeled toys that we have. Daddy gives Mommy the engineering thumbs up! Is it a coincidence that her first steps also happened this day? Probably not. Again, awesome Mama! 
This chart has changed how we deal with Ian. He gets a little circular magnet coin whenever he completes one of his responsibilities… or exhibits good behavior. He gets enough coins and we take a trip to the toy store. He seems to love it, and we’re much happier to have a little leverage. 
Ian trying out a super-hero pose! You really need to watch the video I link to next to understand the significance of this image. 
March 7th — when we went to Ikea on the previous day, one of the things that we bought was a toy basket of vegetables. The basket has been used as a cap ever since. This was the night Ian and I got pretty sick. 
That Nina can stand up with the aid of a rocket is a good thing. She was not walking at this time — she was standing up in the middle of the floor, by herself, though — but never when there was a camera around, and pretty infrequently. As you’ll see, the next week following this day was monumental. On a side note, the word “nike” looks a whole lot like “nina” on her pants when her shirt is pulled down enough. 
Ian as a police officer! 
Ian’s squad car, that he made himself. See the “lights” on top? The kid is creative, no bones about that. 
Believe this was on the 8th. For those of you that come to my house and are amazed by how much the cat loves you, don’t be offended when I say… yes, he loves you… but he loves me more. 😉 Don’t believe me? Check out the video below. 
On March 2nd, we had a video conference with Grandma Sue! 
A brief hug, and nobody got hurt, even better! Speaking of which, I’ll probably never forget that boo boo on Ian’s hand, as it stopped him from washing that hand for a number of days. (We’d wash it for him sometimes, though.) 
On March 4th we headed for Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia’s house, but didn’t make it there… Nina got sick in the car, from what we thought might be a reaction to some antibiotics that she was on at the time. What we didn’t know was that she was carrying around a stomach bug that ended up hitting Ian and I (and Grandma Marcia, sorry!) later on in the week. Instead, oblivious, we woke up in the morning, saw that Nina was fine, and got back on the road. Thus, we ended up in Southgate on the 5th, when this and most of the other pictures here were taken. 
Nina reads about princesses while the boys play. 
Nina got to try these graham cracker goldfish, and she liked them quite a bit! 
They say she’s the Girl of the Remote! (You can even see the light is lit on the remote!) 
Oh, sorry, sorry! PRINCESS of the Remote! Sheesh! 
Grandma Marcia treated Mommy to a dance concert, the kind of day she sorely needed — while Grampa Dave and I watched the kids! Here Grampa tries to out-race Nina’s page-turning antics! 
This looks like a testimonial video to me – “Have you read ‘Good Night, Baby Mickey?’ Well I have, and I’m here to tell you it changed my life.” 
While Nina checks out what else is on the table, Ian ponders what to do next in the background. I think he’s thinking about something that will garner everybody’s attention! 😉 
Here Ian plays with a moonbase we all helped him build, including some custom-built parts by Grampa Dave! 
Grandma Marcia reads Nina one of her favorite books! 
Nina going for a slow spin on the rotating ottoman! 
Good-night stories for all! Thanks ladies! 
Ian listens attentively as Grandma Marcia reads him a tale! 
*Can I nom this Gramma?* NOM NOM NOM 
Daddy and Grampa Dave’s handiwork! 