::the BIG rival::

CALVIN vs HOPE

so even though the knights let us down today it was till a lot of fun to sport our alum. and surprisingly we had enough calvin attire to outfit the whole family. we met up with some other calvin {and a few hope} fans at the local sandbar. yes it was a little strange taking our kids to the bar for a basketball game but i promise you it was smoke free and there were plenty of other kids there too. it actually felt like a homey place {that just doesn't seem right, but it did}.

our dear friends jeff & emily and their sweet boy micah joined the party. emily's an alumni director at calvin and hosted the party in the ville. ellington and micah played together and beckett was held most the time by some calvin alumni. don't worry we actually knew the person, they go to our church. but let's be honest if they're wearing calvin gear...they're good people!

::what's new::

so what's new around here?

well...

beckett is enjoying the view from a new spot, which means he's not a fan of laying flat anymore looking at the same octopus day after day on his floor mat. it's fun to see him start interacting more with his surroundings. elle didn't try out the exersaucer until she was 4 months. so advanced, he might be?? or it was just time for a change of pace. he is smiling a ton and will definitely be the flirt as he gets older. i don't think he'll be the shy one, that's for sure!

my latest crafty project...

leggings for ellington & felt hair clips

i got the idea from some DIY blog stalking. i love finding do-it-yourself projects.

at last but not least, we have a 2 year old POTTY TRAINED little girl. she is soo good that it makes we wonder what we're in for with beckett down the road. because we all know it can't happen this easy twice. this week she had her 2 year dr. appointment. she did great minus the shots, but what kid enjoys those?? she weighed in at 24lbs. and 2'11. tall. according to the doctor's formula she'll be about 5'9...obviously taller than her mother.

so that's what's new around our house

it's the little things...

that make me smile & give a little chuckle...

papa being silly with his hedgie

the intense desire to do something alone & fully enjoy it

sibling love

good friends

in the chaos of the daily life it's easy to miss the little things. our days are pretty much the same; eat, play, snuggle, play, nap, repeat x3. but i wouldn't change it. ellington is at such a fun age, exploring everything and beckett is just soaking it all in. there are times when i look forward to beckett doing more, and then i remember he'll never be this little again. and i'm sure since he's a boy and will most likely take after his sister he won't be sitting for long once he learns to move. so for now i'll just soak it all in too.

it's the little things that make each day a success

i'm 2

ellington is 2...wow!

what an amazing 2 years it's been. we had a great weekend partying with friends and family. we are so blessed to have family close by and friends near to celebrate with us. we cherish the time spent with both and love hearing all the chatter that comes with having lots of kids in one house. ellington is becoming more of a playmate with her cousins. last year she'd stand and just watch and once in a while try to catch up with them, but they would have already moved onto something else. not this year...she quickly joined in on the fun or was the starter.

testing out all the yummy treats

what girl doesn't like minnie mouse

spending time with family and friends

the 2 birthday girls

happy birthday josie, feb.1st!!! we loved celebrating with you too

happy birthday sweet ellington

happy 2nd birthday sweet girl

dear ellington,

you're 2, i can't believe it! it's hard to remember our house with just you, now that beckett has joined the family. you were such an easy baby and loved to be snuggled, which you still do and ask now to "snuggle". i love our snuggle time. it won't last for long so we'll take as much of it now as we can. you amaze us with your intuitative nature, you are very curious about the world around you and want to know everything. you talk all the time and ask about everything. you love to repeat anything we say, including "bummer" which you find so fun and crack up immediately as do we. we absolutely love it! you love to play mommy and chase your puppy around. you are such a loving and caring big sister, beckett loves all your kisses and hugs. we are so proud that you are potty trained and love being a big girl. here are a few of your favorite things right now...

*blankie

*bubble baths

*swimming

*snuggling

*singing- amazing grace before bed

*mickey & minnie mouse

*baby dolls

*tackle

*running

*coloring

*washing dishes

*helping mommy

*boots - shoes in general

*getting dressed by yourself

*bows

*books

*donuts {sat. date with dad}

we love you sweet ellington. you will forever be our little hedige. we are so thankful that God blessed us with you and your spunky personality. you fill our days with wonder and laughter. we hope this next year is filled with many fun memories, new adventures, and more love than you know.

love,

mommy & daddy

@ 3 months

sleeping through the night!!!

up at 7 am

naps 3 times a day: 2, 2hrs & a 45 min.

bed at 8:30

smiles

laughs

ticklish under his arms

tracks tackle & elle around the room

goes to sleep on his own

drools

sucks on his first finger

p.t. {day 2}

day 2

ellington stayed dry ALL NIGHT!!! i'm totally amazed.

we had the extra sheets ready to go but didn't need them. we'll see how night 2 goes tonight.

during day 2 elle only had 2 accidents to her defense 1 of them was my fault. she wanted to play in the sink with her suds and cups so i warmed up her water a bit and let's just say the running water technique works! she stopped herself though and we quickly made it to the bathroom to finish.

the 3 day program we're doing encourages the drinking liquids non-stop, well elle isn't much a drinker so we're trying everything even juice which she's not been a huge fan of. so we push as much liquid as she'll take but day 2 we backed off the reminder her and just waited for her to tell us - ok actually me.

this is probably too much information, but it's more for me to remember the process so here goes. today she actually went {poopy} on the toilet TWICE! and yes she asked for "magz" to read. actually this is what she said while on the toilet looking at the pile of magazines in the cupboard. "daddy magz, daddy magz " i guess modeling does pay off. so of course i had a snap a shot to capture the moment. (again another one she'll hate later in life)

potty training is trying...asked to be covered up on the dinning table bench after a 3 hr. nap

proud little brother & a great trooper when he gets pushed aside to take elle to the bathroom

cuddling with her dollies and my cardio workout for the day - pushing her up/down the hallway while dodging tackle. try it sometime, she's not all that light as dead weight.

here's to day 2 night and one more official day of potty training

looking forward to going out of the house on day 4. i'm not crazy though we're just going to a friend's house. i'm not sure we're ready to try the store just yet. maybe with daddy this weekend. i'm not pushing my luck right now.

potty training {day 1}

since we're back from all the holiday traveling and beckett is onto a more regular schedule and even sleeping through the night {for the most part} we thought why not add another change to our life...potty training for ellington

the upside: only one kid in diapers

the downside: constantly monitoring a 2 year old and being prepared for middle of the night accidents.

so we got all the essentials to help prepare us for this new milestone the best we could

cool new undies - check

incentives - check

day 1 progress

so far so good, here's the stats from the day

5 total accidents all before lunch time

dry undies after nap

*couldn't help snapping this shot...too cute*

i'm sure someday she'll hate me for it, but for now it's cute

so proud of all of her stickers, and yes she loves to brush her teeth multiple times a day!

stay tuned for night 1 and day 2 progress

we're still working on her telling us that she "has to go"

ellington we're so proud of you!!!

our little man

we love you beckett

sometimes...

sometimes you just have to enjoy the little things

like...

making cookies for no reason

eating frosting out of the can

and of course

bubble baths

messy little hands

i've been out of the classroom from almost 3 months, so i was feeling like a little school time at home. today ethan and garrett visited for a little while, so martha could take sydney to the doctor. the boys are 3 and ellington is almost 2 so why not start working on our names. ethan did a great job tracing his name with paint using a q-tip, garrett is much more of an abstract artist. ellington just got to enjoy painting with her friends. she is my little crafter, although it usually only last 5 minutes. just long enough to get it all out, get messy and be ready for the next thing.

i love watching little kids explore new things and simply have FUN. so bring on the mess, i don't mind...usually!!

here we go...365 daily snapshots

is it possible...

to take 1 picture everyday for 365 days?

well we're about to find out

so here's the plan:

take a picture each day for a year that shows what happens in a year's time

then turn it into a book

so far so good

checkout the new blog

365. a daily snapshot

{there is a link on the side of head over heels to keep up with it}

celebrating christmas 2010

we are thankful for all the family we have and even more thankful that most of them live in michigan! we traveled across the state and back, but it was worth all the fun memories and time spent with family and friends.

we kicked off the holidays with a visit to santa in GR, that didn't go as well as we'd hoped. but pretty sure as good as it could with a 2 year old and a 2 month old. beckett did great, sat and looked at the camera...ellington stood with me and did actually tell santa she wanted a doll. we also had a chance to visit with sarah and mark {old college friend & husband}. sarah has never met the kids and now we have 2...wow! it doesn't matter how long it's been since we've seen or talked with one another, it's always like we're back in college.

then we started the christmas celebration with a brunch with the Hostetter side of the family, of course the kids enjoyed a visit from their auntie paulette. beckett and ellington were outfitted as Notre Dame cheerleaders...pom-poms and everything for ellington.

family traditions:

1. christmas eve pj & pizza party

this year we enjoyed sharing our christmas eve tradition with josh's family. auntie paulette, aunt anna, uncle bryan, gram & papa joined the fun. pjs were required!!! elle was so excited to open her new jammies and well beckett crashed early before we had a chance to open his, so he got to open them on christmas morning.

2. undies in the stocking

might be {too much information} but that's what we do, and this year ellington got BIG girl undies. she was so excited she put them on over her diaper. hoping to have just 1 in diapers soon enough.

3. new tradition - family gift

josh picked out a family gift this year...PATRIOT outfits

he is always keeping us decked out in his favorite teams. thanks honey for thinking of a new tradition this year.

4. sibling gifts

ellington went shopping with daddy this year for beckett and got him some trucks, she was so excite for him to open them. and in return he got her a fun new puzzle. we have such a cute video of her opening it and saying "thank you brudther, thank you beckett". love that sweet little voice of thankfulness. she also picked out some bones for tackle at the store. which she forced him to eat all day long. he just wanted to hide them for a later time.

sporting the new patriot attire and visiting family in midland. game day!!

a special little hedgehog for our little hedgie

NYE celebration with friends

this year we a week between family christmas so we enjoyed NYE with some friends. i'm not sure the last time i actually stayed up for midnight, probably college, but this year we chose to celebrate 2011 by sleeping. these days sleep is more important!!

here's a few pics of our little man growing up. he is becoming our smiley boy.

whatcha think dad...quarterback or linemen material??

happy 2011

i know the whites are in matching outfits AGAIN...it was ND bowl game, so it was our last time to sport the jerseys.

vogel christmas 2010

grammie found matching outfits for all 9 grandkids...wow, i'm sure that was a full day at the mall finding the right sizes. it was so fun to see all the kids dressed up and enjoying one another. they are all at such a fun age, the little ones try so hard to keep up with the older ones. and surprisingly they don't fight! i'm sure that's coming down the road.

so with 9 kids in one house it was hard to find a time when they were all up from naps and fed. good thing my parents have a big house, we still had a hard time finding enough rooms for naps.

snuggling with grammie

snuggling with grampie and ellington's pillow pet

all the kids got pillow pets this year. it's the latest craze with kids and it was so fun to see the kids get excited about theirs. ellington got a pig and beckett got a dog. what a great idea grammie and grampie.

vogel christmas isn't complete without a few special things...

celebrating baby jesus' birthday, christmas story reading, winter birthday celebration, and game time. this year i brought some fun games from the new hit show "minute to win it".

and finally...

we stayed an extra day with mom and dad and enjoyed some extra cousin time. ellington's favorite person is josie. she calls josie on her {fake} cell phone frequently and asked to pray for her at lunch, dinner, and bed. josie we love that ellington cares so much for you. we hope your friendship continues to grow as you both grow up. olivia you a great big cousin, spending your sunday afternoon pulling these 2 crazy girls around the house just to keep the giggling.

garrett, beckett and ryan...our dapper little dudes. i can't wait to see these 3 get into trouble as they get older. beckett you're in for a lot of fun with these 2 cousins.

and what's the holidays with out a little JUST DANCE

my sister and i trying out her new zumba wii game from christmas. and yes the jingle skirts are a must. thank you olivia for letting me borrow hers and for documenting this event with plenty of pictures.

whew...so there you have it, christmas 2010

we love, love, love the holidays and seeing family. thank you to both of our families for making the holidays such a memorable time.