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Monday, June 30, 2008

Tractor Ride

Uncle Eddie stopped over tonight with his tractor. We thought maybe Morgan would like to go for a ride. They didn't make it very far because she was crying. Not sure if it was because it was too loud or it wasn't mommy. Either way, I'm sure she will get to go some other time. Thanks anyway, Uncle Eddie!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

I scream, You scream, WE ALL NEED ICE-CREAM!!!!

Not that I really need a reason to have ice-cream but this is a great one! Coldstone in Holland is having a fundraiser for Katie Lubbers (a lady that goes to our church-check her blog for her story!!) If you come downtown Holland between 6-10 tonight they will donate 30% of their sales to Katie's medical fund! What an awesome thing!!!!!! Hope you can come down and support Katie & her family and of course eat some ice-cream!!!!!!!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Morgan's been tagged

Hey, Morgan here. My buddy Grant P. tagged me to write 5 things about myself. So now I finally get to write on this blog!!!!

1. I love to shop!!!! My mom & I shop all the time (my favorite store is Target). I have a ton of clothes but my mommy doesn't pay a lot for them because we are good sale shoppers. When I was just born I had so much clothes that I usually always had a new outfit on!

2. I have been to two Tigers games, 25 high school/middle school football games, lots of basketball, softball and baseball games and 1 cross country meet! What can I say, I love sports!

3. I love to eat. I pretty much love anything that I can get my hands on! Even, an occasional piece of dog food is good too!

4. I love being the center of attention. What can I say, I'm the only grandchild on my mommy & daddy's side. Plus, I'm the first great grandchild and first great, great grandchild. Who wouldn't want all the attention!

5. I love giving kisses. Just watch your nose because I may eat it!! Also, watch out for my tounge because I sometimes slip it out. My mommy & daddy tell me that I shouldn't do that but I don't get what the big deal is!

This was fun Grant! Thanks for giving me a reason to finally write on my own blog!!! Since I was picked I need to pick some friends....I pick Natalie, Jackson & Caedmon!!!!!!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Who needs toys!

Tonight I was trying to get caught up on house work (a never ending job!) and Morgan loves to get into the cupboard with all the cleaning supplies (I know I need to put those latch things up...I'm working on it). After she tried helping me empty the dishwasher she found the towel drawer. After she had the towels all over the floor she moved to the miscellaneous cupboard. When finished with that she went back to the towel drawer (of course since I had already picked it up!!!)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Eight???

Can it really be??? Our little Morgan waited so long to get her teeth that now she has just pushed threw number 8!!!!!! That makes four on the bottom and four on the top!!!!!! We'll be eating sweet corn this summer!!!!!!! I'll try and get a picture but she doesn't show her teeth too often!!!!!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Happy Anniversary

Today Neal & I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary. It is amazing how quickly that has gone. I'm so lucky to have Neal in my life and I thank God everyday for him (and Morgan too!) Thanks Neal for being the strong one and being so supportive of everything I do. I look forward to many more years with you!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

11 Months

We can hardly believe that our little girl is 11 months old. It is amazing how quickly the time has gone!!!!

What is she doing....

  • Talking non-stop (I think she got that from me!!!)
  • Loves to sing to commericals and her videos
  • Took 3 steps by herself and loves to walk all around the furniture
  • Has master crawling the correct way
  • Loves to read
  • Has 7 teeth (3 on top & 4 on the bottom)
  • Loves to follow Boomer (or JJ-my parent's dog) and just giggles at them
  • Loves to crawl into places she shouldn't be
  • Loves fruit! (any food for that matter...she is a VanderZwaag!!!!!)
  • Can say bye, hi, mama, Boomer, dada (we think she can say a few more words but they aren't completely clear yet-clear enough to understand)
  • Loves to be tickled & loves to giggle!
  • Loves to dance
  • Makes super funny faces and can imitate Napolean Dynamite (not on command)
  • Loves to stuck on straws and gets mad if she doesn't have one
  • Loves riding Sandy (the horse at Meijer! The only item at Meijer's that hasn't changed in price!!!!!)
  • Gives kisses (they are wet!!! So watch out!)
We are so thankful for such a happy, healthy and content little girl. She is truly a blessing in our life. We can't wait to see how much more she learns in the coming months & years!!

Happy Father's Day


Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there but especially to Neal, Dad B & V. We are thankful for all of you. Thanks for raising Neal & I up to be the people we are today. Enjoy your day!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Detroit Tigers

Yesterday morning we headed to Detroit to catch a Tiger's game. A few months ago Neal called me and said that Kent had extra tickets to the game. I got to decide since it was my birthday (yep, the big 27!) Anyway, we headed to Detroit yesterday and watched a great game. It was tied going into the bottom of the ninth. Maggs just flied out (a deep ball-looked like it was going to be out!) Miguel Cabrera got up and hit a walk off home run (this is the third walk off homer I have seen!) Morgan did awesome on the way down (even with DVD player issues) and at the game. So many people commented on how good of a baby she was (Neal & I are truly blessed!) We couldn't have asked for better weather....78, breezy and we were under the canopy-so we had shade!!
After walking around the stadium for a while we decided to head to our hotel (or should I say motel!) Neal & I decided that we would just spend the night in Howell (since it was my birthday and our anniversary is coming up). So we found a motel that we thought wouldn't be too bad and it had a pool. Let's just say, I didn't undo the bed in fear of what could be in there. Morgan and I slept in the one bed and Neal slept on the other.

Once we got to the motel we decided to go swimming. The pool was outside and pretty interesting. It was clean (no green stuff growing) but there were lots of bugs floating. (YUCK!!) There were two other kids in the pool with us. Morgan enjoyed laughing at the boy. However, she wasn't too sure of the water. It might have been a little cold at first. She did get use to it but she still wasn't that impressed. After we got out of the pool everyone showered. Not that I felt clean afterwards but it was nice to feel not so dirty. This was the first time Morgan took a bath in a tub (we don't have a tub on the main floor). This too took some getting use to but she quickly figured out it wasn't too bad. This morning we packed up quickly and thought we would get a bit to eat (free breakfast at the motel!) As you can tell by the last picture of Morgan...it wasn't that great!


The trip was a fun one...lots of memories...I'm just glad Morgan won't remember any of them!!! :)

Monday, June 9, 2008

What a weekend!

Our weekend started with blueberry pancakes. As you can tell, Morgan really enjoyed them (all over the face & in the hair!!!) I know she would have enjoyed them more if they were Hemme blueberries but we'll have to wait another month for those.

In the afternoon we had two open houses to attend. My cousin Laura's and the daughter of a guy that coaches with Neal. After that we headed out to Diamond Springs (that's way out there!!) to visit Neal's cousin Jodi & Luke and their almost 1 year old Jackson (don't cry Jodi..we'll make it through!!) We ate hot dogs off the grill. After we ate we decided to head over to Sandy Pines for ice-cream before it rained. We got there and ordered and it started to sprinkle. We quickly ate and made it back to their house. That's when it started to really storm!!! Jackson & Morgan played for a little bit before Jackson had to go to bed. Sorry about the picture...what do you expect when you have two little ones that like to move!!! Thanks Jackson for sharing your cool toys...hope we can play again soon! We waited a little bit until it "calmed" down and headed home.

What a drive (lots of water, trees & wind)...Neal thought we would be fine (and we were...thank that Lord) but we came home to no power! Nice...when I called they said it would be back by 9pm Sunday and then I called again and they said 4pm Monday. With that news we pack our bags and headed to my parents! They had power & air...two things I decided I can't live without!!! We stopped for breakfast at Perkins and then Megan called saying that there was power...so we headed back home!
Later on Megan came over for a shower and that is when more storms came through! Neal & Eddie decided to watch it come in. It was pretty cool...I will have to confess (I'm usually freaking out when there is bad weather...and being outside is not on my list of places to be in a storm!!!)



After all the excitement Morgan & I decided to take a nap!!! Hope these stormy weekends don't happen to often!!!!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tag...I'm it!

Thanks to Robyn, I have been tagged to tell 5 random things about myself. This is difficult and I have been trying to figure out what to say...so here we go....

1. Neal & I met in Saugatuck. He also made me walk up the hill by myself at 3:30 in the morning (I still remind him of this!) We also got engaged in the Hardware store parking lot (which isn't the hardware anymore!)

2. I love hearing Morgan laugh! I can be in the worse mood when I pick her up and it quickly changes when I see her! She has been such a blessing to me! I can't imagine life without her! It is amazing how you can instantly fall in love with someone!

3. I live in a cow pasture (well, it use to be) now I just have cow fence all around me. I also have chased cows out of my front yard. However, I've never been cow tipping (it isn't safe for them...wait...maybe I should!!!!) I have plenty of cow stories I could share!!! :)

4. I live farther away from my parents then when I went to college! This was really hard at first however, now I'm over there frequently because Morgan is in Hamilton everyday!

5. I have chocolate lab because Neal was given a choice....a baby or a puppy. He chose a puppy...I think a baby would have been easier however, My life wouldn't be the same...Boomer is such a blessing (that's what Neal thinks anyway!!!)

Well, that wasn't too bad...I tag Lindsey, Allison, Keelie, Dana & Jodi!!!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Congrats!!!!

We are so excited that Neal's brother Eddie is getting married. As you can tell from the clip....so is Morgan!!!! (sorry...she wasn't dressed yet!!!) They plan on getting married in April!!!



Congrats guys! We are so excited!!!!!
How cute is that!!!!!!!!!
Morgan is so proud of her Uncle Eddie & excited to officially call Megan aunt!!!!

Look who has hair!!!

Finally, I have been trying for weeks to put a ponytail in Morgan's hair!!! This is probably what her hair is always going to look like...in a pony! I can't do much...maybe I'll have to take lessons on how to do hair!!!