9 month Isla (yesterday on Valentines Day)

Crazy...Isla has spent the same amout of time outside of me as she has INSIDE of me!!! Yesterday she turned 9 months....

* Very happy
* Love being near your family and dislike when mommy leaves your line of vision.
* All you want to do is walk, walk and walk some MORE (holding our fingers)
* Still not crawling and I don't think you will...
* You have cut 4 more teeth in the last 2 weeks...TOTALLING 8 teeth
* You have been sleeping STRAIGHT through the night for the last week at least! 11-12 hrs!! THANKS BABE!!!!
* Waving bye-bye all the time
* Claps on command...yeahhhhhhh Isla

Can you feel the LOVE???

Happy Valentines Day (yesterday)!!!
We had a great day...dressed in our pinks, reds and whites!!! The only down side of our day was that Matthew had work the whole day....and Matthijs was pretty sick with a cold...Ezra is starting to get over her awful sick week...with high fevers and is now getting a cold as well. Matthew has had a nasty sinus infection for the past couple of weeks! Isla and I are the only ones that seem to be healthy!
We still enjoyed our valentines day. I made supper (a real treat for Matthew) and we also had lava cakes with PINK dream whip and red and white sprinkles (Ezra and I worked hard at removing all the green ones!)
Anyways...hope you all had an enjoyable V-day!!! We did!

When Ezra's at school

They get more special time together!
"You're my best baby sister Isla" - Matthijs

OUR BARE MAPLE...

Just one of the signs beauty, winter, and that spring still feels tooooo far away!!!

Party like a ROCKSTAR - Ezra

Ezra was invited to a rockstar photo shoot birthday party! It was so much fun! All the kids were done up like rockstars and they had a photo shoot with rockstar music!!! Ezra had a blast with half of her class!!! I had no clue how to put together a rockstar outfit...did I do good??? Either way she still look soooo cute...I mean, ROCKIN'







Close up of Ezra wearing for the first time dangly earrings....they're mommys from Auntie Sherris wedding!!


Ezra AFTER her party!!!

the best and worst of Isla

The joys of teething....



Isla in her glory...totally skipped crawling and ONLY wants to be on her feet walking around (while holding our finger(s)



Still....just a beauty!

Soooo Thijs....

I don't seem to get many pictures of Matthijs....but on this particular day...he was LOVING IT!!!
He is so darned sweet!!! My handsome prince....

first REAL haircut!

A week ago I gave Ezra a REAL haircut!!! We took a good 3-4 inches off! It looks so great! Fresh and healthy!!! She loves it!
I love the sad looking picture....really shes happy, she just doesnt want to get anymore pictures taken!!!

My beautiful singers....

oh what wonderful soloists they are!!!
Matthijs freaks when he sings his favorite song. Its called WAKE UP from the show Lazy Town. I love how he sings this...

And Ezra is addicted to her Barbie Diamond Castle movie that Grampy and Grandma bought for her...she always watches it while holding the matching barbie and pushes the button when the songs come on...here is ezra singing CONNECTED....

8 Months Old

It's hard to believe that Isla is already 8 months old! In 4 short months she'll turn ONE!!! It's crazy!
Anyways...thats how it goes!!!
Here is Isla's wee update!

* You are such an easy going, happy go lucky sweetie!!!
* Not only have you not taken up rolling as a hobby...you have decided that you don't think that crawling will be up there on that list either! You never like being on your stomach - which makes it hard to LEARN how to crawl! Thats okay babe....One less child to chase after (right now!)
* Mommy is nervous to nurse you these days...because you have 4 big teeth and know how to use them!
* You love to stand holding our fingers...I bet you'll skip crawling altogether!
* You have the sweetest, cutest, bestest baby laugh!
* You still sleep well...waking usually just once!!!

Getting cuter by the second!!!







This one just melts my heart! Usually Ezra takes the job of making Isla crack up laughing...but not this time...the award goes to...BIG BROTHER MATTHIJS!!!! It was soooo sweet to watch! Don't they both look soooo happy?!?!

the HAPS around here....

Lots going on here with the Westerclan!!!

Matthew started back to work last Monday and it has been a wonderful transition...better than I had thought! It's so nice for all of us to get back into our routines. Matthew is enjoying his job again...Ezra is at school 2x a week, leaving me to have some nice alone time with my 2 other babies! Matthijs gets sooo much attention during these days (which he loves!)

We have been incredibly busy it seems as though there is never a lot of 'down time'. I have set a few goals for myself for during the evenings once the kids go down and it's 'my time' for 2 hours! Growing closer to God is at the top and building my realationship with Him. Also I am studying photography, working out/eating healthy (trying to anyways)!

Matthew and I have teamed together with 2 great couple friends of ours...Krysta & JD and Jen & Mark. We are doing our own BIGGEST LOSER! We will do this for a 3 month time period...we all weigh in and find out our body fat %...then the couple that loses the most body fat combined are the winners! They will win a big $60 and get to chose the restaurant where we will PIG OUT together and possibly gain all our fat back!!! I'm excited, it's really a big motivator when you are doing together and when there is competion!!! I'll let you know the winner in April or so!!!

Well without further adu here are some pictures!
I have sized them bigger than usual...this way my mom and Matthews mom can add them to their new digital pictures frames if they want!!!

ENJOY!

Working in our new Nutuzzi couch....and loving it!


Jan 4th - we have TONS of snow now...too bad we can't enjoy it with our temperature steady at -40 during the day Brrrrrrrrrrr





Now that Matthew is back to work and we only have the one car...Ezra started taking the bus last week....here is Ezra getting off the bus on the first day taking it!


What happened when I went upstairs to quickly clean the bathroom...Ezra passed out playing with stickers -still stuck to her fingers!



HAPPY GIRL


Doing what he does best...COOKING! Actually he does everything the best....my man of many trades and talents!!! I'm so blessed! I love you babes!


Our JAM session! The kids and I rocked out with our neat-o music intruments to some wonderful JESUS TUNES!




My nose picker baby...diggin' for gold


Doesn't she look impressed!


odds-n-ends