Baby Name

Today Esther and I were sitting on the couch reading some books. I told her to ask the baby whether it was a boy or girl. She leaned over and said to my belly, "Hey, are you a boy or a girl?" I asked her what the answer was and she said "boy." So then I asked her what we should name it if it's a boy. First she said that we should use the same name as Uncle Jeff and Aunt Renee's baby. I said that it might be confusing if we had 2 Tylers, and asked if she could think of any other ideas. She said, "How about Santa?" Santa Kuperus. Hmmm... I think he'd definitely be the only one in his class at school with that name!

Welcome Tyler David!

Casey's twin sister Renee and her husband Jeff were due with their first child the same day as we are due. It's been fun being pregnancy buddies with her, but it's even more fun that we have a new nephew and cousin! Tyler was born on Sunday morning, and we are so excited that he is here! I took the kids over to their house to meet him tonight. Peter was more interested in the cars and trucks at their house, but Esther was totally enamored. Hopefully she'll feel the same way about her new little brother or sister!

Gingerbread Church

When I asked Esther if she wanted to build a gingerbread house again this year, she stated that she wanted to build a church instead. I don't know how she got that idea, but next year we are going back to non-steepled buildings.

After some discussion over who was going to be the general contractor on the job, we were ready to begin. We settled on Daddy being in charge during the building phase, and Esther being in charge during the decorating phase.

Esther helped make the gingerbread and then took a break while Daddy tried to make the pieces fit together. Daddy has learned that with enough icing, you can make anything stick together.

Once we had it all together, Esther took over and helped decorate with all the candy we had purchased a few nights before. The biggest problem we had was keeping Mommy away from all our candy. (She tries to blame it on the pregnancy, but we all know better).

Peter Progress Report

I realize that we haven't done a post about Peter recently. So that we don't forget all the fun things that he's doing and learning right now, here's a little list for posterity...

1. Puzzles, coloring and playing with Play-doh without eating it.
2. Playing with trucks, cars, and anything with wheels.
3. Making fire truck, police car, train and other vehicle noises.
4. Trying on hats and shoes (still girly ones if that's what's available).
5. Having pretend and real conversations on the phone.
6. Using a lot of phrases/sentences.
7. Calling Esther "Oh" which is apparently the abbreviated version of "Eh-oh" which he called her for a while.
8. Learning a couple colors and counting to 3.
9. Saying he is 2 when we ask how old he is (or anyone else for that matter). We figured it's not worth correcting him now with his birthday only a month away!
10. Wanting to push the garage door button every time we come home from somewhere. He will start saying "I reach" to claim his turn when we are still miles from home.

He is such a fun-loving kid and he makes us laugh a lot. Hopefully he'll adjust ok to being a middle child sometime in the next few weeks!

"When are you due?"

It's obvious that Esther has heard many people ask me this question in recent months. Today we were playing store. I was the cashier, and she was the customer. This was our conversation while she was checking out...

Esther: "Ask me when I'm due."
Mommy: "When are you due?"
Esther: "Um, December."
Mommy: "Oh, December what?"
Esther: "December 22" (close--that's Peter's birthday, not my due date)
Mommy: "So, do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?"
Esther: "No, I don't. God gets to decide."

Well, at least she knows who's in charge of that decision!

Baking with Grandma

Casey's Mom grew up in a baking family. Her Dad owned a bakery in East Grand Rapids and they lived upstairs. She is an incredible baker, and she's already passed down some skills and the secret family cake recipe to Casey. Now she's working on the next generation. Today while she was babysitting the kids, she and and Esther baked an apple pie. Esther was VERY proud, and we can't wait to eat it!

BIG CHANGE

Well, most of you think I'm about to tell you about an addition to our family, but no not yet. (There's still a few weeks; let's not rush it.)

However, just in time for the holiday family discussions, I will be making a job change. Starting in two weeks I will be the new Fundraising and Program Manager for Friendship Ministries. For those who don't know what Frienship is, take a look at the website, http://www.friendship.org/.

Though I will miss the SecurAlarm family, we are very excited about this change. I used to be quite involved with Frienship during college and early in our marriage. It will be great to be involved in this ministry on a full-time basis.

Now, many are probably wondering, "Will Daddy Donut Day continue?" The answer is YES. So, feel free to meet us at Marge's Donut Den any Thursday around 9 AM. I promise to tell you all about Friendship and hit you up for a donation after I buy your donut.

Esther's Room Redo

After finishing Peter's new room, we thought maybe it was time to update Esther's room since she still had several "baby" things on her walls that we'd just never changed. We bought some frames so that she can display some of her artwork and we can change it periodically. Here she is showing off her new walls...

Hablan Español in London?

We have friends who live in London. Their daughter Megan is Esther's age, so when they were here this summer, we spent some time together. Esther really liked Megan's accent and how she said their names "Estah" and "Petah." Today something must have reminded her of that, so she was saying different words that way. She informed me excitedly, "I'm talking in Spanish like Megan!"

Long Night, Little Sleep

Here is a run-down of our night last night. Is God preparing us for re-entering the infant world of little sleep?

1:51 AM Fire pager goes off, Daddy goes to fire station
2:36 AM Daddy is home, back in bed
2:59 AM Peter begins screaming
3:31 AM Peter still screaming, Esther joins in on the soprano lines of their duet
3:45 AM Preggers, I mean Laura, gets up with Peter
4:32 AM Preggers comes back to bed, Peter still screaming
4:59 AM Daddy gets up, has Man-to-Boy talk with Peter
5:01 AM Daddy realizes Peter wasn't listening, takes Peter downstairs and sleeps on the couch
5:59 AM Peter is done "sleeping," Daddy puts in VeggieTales video, falls back asleep
6:32 AM VeggieTales is over, Peter announces this to Daddy by throwing a book at his face
6:33 AM Daddy is realizing that his son has quite an arm, makes mental note to sign him up for Little League
6:34 AM All sleeping is over