Exciting News!!

Well, Nicolaas and I have some very exciting news!! I am going to be a big brother, just like Nicolaas. We even got to hear our new baby's heart beat at the Doctor on Friday. Mommy was pretty excited! Nice and strong at 150! So we will have to see what this baby's average heart rate is!! Mommy is due right around our big Van Ee reunion! So that should be exciting. July 4! So hopefully our baby comes a little early so everyone can come and visit. Uncle Derek and Aunty Dani will be here from Toronto too. So that will be perfect! Nicolaas says he is having a baby sister, but we will have to see!

Happy First Birthday Noelsters

Well, I have reached the grand age of ONE on December 13! It really is not much different. I don't feel any older, and I still only have ONE tooth!! But I am sure the other ones will pop out soon. I am starting to climb up on things. and I can get on Nicolaas's little yellow chair by myself!! I come off backwards headfirst, but hey, I am learning!! I had a great Noah's Ark birthday party! I got to dig into the cake that Mommy spent hours decorating. Daddy put on an amazing Turkey dinner for everyone, so it was tons of fun. Nicolaas even helped Mommy make all the Rice-Krispie shaped animals! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with me. Opa, Oma, Aunty Heather and Great Grandpa, Stefan, Katrina and Tyler Funk, John, Evelyn, Zach, Jenna and Jayden Boot.

Best Buddies

Well Nicolaas wants to say "I love my Puppy". He loves helping out in the kitchen. "Making squished pizza dough" was a hit for a week! It's so fun being brothers. Nicolaas likes to teach me how to do things. I am too scared to climb up the stairs yet, and Mommy doesn't have to worry about me falling down them either. I am pretty cautious. I love to climb up on everything, but I am NOT even slightly interested in walking yet. If Mommy holds my hands to help me, I promptly buckle my knees and want to crawl. It's hard to believe that I will be one pretty soon. I finally got my first tooth a bit ago. Hopefully that's a sign that the rest will be healthy. My favourite trick is to close all the doors. I also love throwing my soother over my crib, and my elephant. Lids are now fascinating, and I try to put them on.. but they never fit right. Hmmmm

The Van Ee Zoo!

The cutest little animals ever. Noel wasn't too sure about having a Tiger on his head, but Tyler and I sure didn't mind. Aren't we all so cute??

Snow Much Fun!

So much fun??? Or is it really? Mommy was excited to get us three boys outside for some snow fun. Well, mistake number one was it was Noel's nap time. He was not impressed with the idea. So by the time everyone was all bundled up, everyone was in tears. So we all went outside for less than one minute. Mommy was worried the neigbours would think we were being mistreated. So we went back inside, all the parphanelia came off, and everyone went to bed. Ahhhh!
But Mommy took me out a few days later and we made the coolest snow chicken. Mommy was aiming at a snow man, but it turned out to be more like a chicken. Tierra thought it was great that we were outside and she raced around in circles the whole time. Before we knew it, she had our carrot too!
When it wasn't too cold out yet, Daddy and Mommy took us boys for a long walk. Noel started by sitting up in the sled, but lying down was much easier. Maybe one of these days we can go out again on all the snow drifts in our back yard! We have an amazing amount of snow!

Our Sweet New Little Cousin!

Praise God little Kelsey Rayanne Indenbosch arrived safely into the world, October 18! 9lbs 12 oz!!!! She is such a cute little baby. Congratulations Nat and Duane! She is so precious. We loved being there!!! Kayla was excited to have a new little sister. She knew Kelsey's name before she was born, so when people asked her what the baby's name was, she would say. "I can't say it's a surprise..... But it's Turtle." It's too bad we live so far away. We were so excited to go and meet her. Mommy took us boys by herself all the way to Lethbridge. It took her almost 71/2 hours to get there, but we made it. Mommy was so proud of us little travelers!! We had so much fun there in Lethbridge. Now everyday, anything I (Nicolaas) colour, draw, paint aqua doodle, it's always for "Auntie Natalie". So Momy thinks that's pretty special. If Mommy saved all the stuff I made,(which she always does) Aunty Natalie would have a whole box full!!! (Just what you wanted eh Nat? hee hee ;o) It's always so nice to go and see our Oma and Opa and all our Aunties and Uncles and cousins! Keeps us busy! Thank you again so much for looking after us so much Oma. We had so much fun at your place. Daddy flew into Calgary on Friday and so Mommy went to get him at the airport. What a disaster. She forgot to bring along his flight number... So when she didn't see Daddy's (Air Canada) plane, she started to panic. He was supposed to co me in at 2145, by 2235 she was pretty worried... I think she called Everyone she could think of to see what happened to Daddy. Then she was thinking maybe he was kidnapped.. then maybe missed his flight.... oh boy! Next time check with the other airline. He came in on WESTJET and of course the Friday night flight was late. So a piece of advice? Take FLIGHT NUMBERS along at ALL times. But it all worked out well.
Before she went to get Daddy she finally got to meet sweet little Jade Angel Lee-Wing from Aunty Amanda and Uncle Josh. She was born in September and her sweet big sister Angela Jade, went to be with Jesus May 2005 , when she was only 7 weeks old. So it was pretty touching to meet little Jade.

Twin Cousins

Well, it's been a while since we blogged you. But we are enjoying having our cousin Tyler here twice a week. Noel and Tyler are pretty much twins, and they have so much fun together. It's neat how much they look alike. Tyler is walking already, so he is setting a good example for Noel to follow. I think that our wagon rides are over till next year now. It's probably a good thing though. Noel and Tyler thought that trying to hang OUTSIDE of the wagon was better than nicely sitting on their bottoms. But they were fun while it lasted.

We had loads of snow today so hopefully we can all go out for a sled ride tomorrow. Possibly Mommy could hook Tierra up to the sled and we can have a 'free' ride. Mommy thinks we would all land in the snow head first if the dog pulled us. I (Nicolaas) made a sorta snowman with Mommy, but the snow wasn't very sticky. Besides the dog kept racing around and tearing into our 'snow man' and trying to eat his nose. Well maybe she will like to chew on a carrot instead of Mommy's Malus Crab Apple tree and the Cedars. She literally chewed the tree down to the ground. I guess she thought if there were no sticks, she'd find some. Well all the trees are burlaped now, and covered in snow.
Mommy is also excited that Noel has finally mastered signing 'more'. He waves his his hands together and smiles.... so proud of himself. Noel has taken to snuggling the floor too. When ever he wanted Mommy or Daddy to pick him up he will put his head to the floor and curl up in a round ball. Such a cutey. I make sure he has his elephant at all times now. I am trying to make him super attached to 'Peanut' as I have named him, just like I love my puppy.
Noel has taken to standing up on things all the time. When we came back from Lethbridge he thought standing in his crib was the greatest trick. Only problem? He couldn't get down! He learned that in a big hurry!

Our Fun Visitors

Well, it was almost a month ago now, but my Oma and 3 cousins came to visit us for Lethbridge! We enjoyed having them so much! It's too bad they son't live closer. It was Darian, Gracie and Dominic's first visit, and I can't wait to have them back again. We went swimming, went to the zoo, and jumped on my bed (Mom said she didn't mind.. I think ;o) My Oma is so great too. We can't wait to see them all in Lethbridge when my Auntie Natalie has a baby girl!
Noel just got over the same spots he had a month and a half ago.. must have been the same viral thing. He ended up with a both ears infected too. Poor kid. But he still is my happy little brother, crawling around the house. I take good care of him. If he crawls over to the steps in the front entry I yell, "Careful Noel, careful Noel. You're gonna fall and bump your head!!" So far he has made the fall twice already. Mommy usually comes running... This morning I was yelling for him to be careful not to fall down the stairs.. (but Mommy could hear him playing in the hall with the doorstopper) I was trying to get Mom and Dad out of bed.. too bad my trick didn't work!
My buddy Tyler is coming on Monday again, and maybe Mommy will take all three of us in the wagon again with Tierra. It works pretty good for walks.

A party to celebrate my grand entry into the big boy world of potty training!!

I thought I should go in and pet that nice tiger, but Daddy said that would be pretty scary!!

Our New Family Addition

Everyone's eyebrows are probably being raised... Well we have a new dog!! Tierra is a real beauty. I tell everyone she's a Chocolate Lab. Mommy and Daddy wanted to get us boys a puppy from Tierra a while back, but our yard was never ready. Well Tierra is 5 1/2 years old (just as old as Mommy and Daddy have known each other)and is still as playful as a puppy. She was Elina Indenbosch's dog. Elina took such good care of Tierra and trained her. So we are pretty blessed to have this dog. Thank you Elina and to Maurice and Henriette as well. We are so grateful...
Tierra has attatched herself to Mommy, so if anyone else is holding her leash, she pretty much drags them to get over to Mom. Mommy has been having fun trying to teach me to take care of Tierra. I get to feed her and give her treats. I make her "siiit..siiit...siiit.. then staaaaaay...staaaay... good girlul... and even if she is listening I make her wait longer. Mommy tells me not to make her wait so long.. poor dog. She is drooling so bad by the time I drop her food in, that she has pretty much filled up Mommy's sandel on the patio. We always take her out ot the backalley to do her business. I make sure that I tell her to go poop, and then proceed to hunker down and watch her. Poor dog has no privacy. She loves playing fetch too. I through her red ball for her. She doesn't always like to drop it for me, but she does give it eventually. We left it out for her and she must have been mad we weren't playing.. so she chewed the ball to bits and ate some of it! Mommy even found the evidence in the back alley! Mommy sees me outside all the time playing with Tierra. Noel loves her too. He starts bouncing up and down and touches her nose. Tierra always licks him... Mommy and Daddy always get a laugh out of me. Last morning (as I always say)I was playing with Noel in my room while Mommy and Daddy were trying to sleep in a bit.. (6 o'clock is pretty early sometimes)Mommy almost split a gut. She overheard me telling Noel "siiit..siiiit...siiit...staaay...staaaay...good boy Noel, Good boy! Go get it Noel!!!" Mommy had to tell me my brother wasn't a dog, and I am sure didn't want to play fetch. I our mosy favourite thing to do though, is go for walks. Mommy would take us almost everyday in the bike stroller to the 'lakes' (a.k.a. big ponds)here in Martensville. Tierra loves to swim and play fetch! I get to throw the ball for her, but she doesn't get much exercise.. Mine drops right at the edge of the water usually, or in her mouth... Then she proceeds to dance up and down with excitement and get us all muddy and wet. But she is starting to listen pretty good to me. Mommy is trying to teach her to watch us boys. One day she will. She would rather follow Mommy around though. She takes my tricks. Mommy found me covering her with sand one day. (poor dog) She was sadly just looking at me. ummmm I don't think I will do that again. Mommy wasn't too happy.
The other day Daddy went to get his breakfast and he heard Tierra crying. Silly dog was stuck under the shed!!! She loves to dig (Yep Henriette she digs here too :o)) but I don't mind b/c it hasn't been in any of my flower beds (yet). She had been digging under the shed for a while and Mommy had to pull her out once before with her leash. Mommy thought that would have cured her.. Nope!! Maybe she was just trying to get out of the rain. But she was stuck pretty good. Daddy had to dig her out in the pouring rain! Well that didn't work, so he had to get the jack out and lift the shed! Crazy dog! I think the next step is her doghouse. Daddy already made her a kennel on the side of the house with concrete blocks on the ground so she can't dig under the fence to the other dog.. Well, hopefully one day we can get some puppies from her. We will forever be indebted to the Indenbosches for such a wonderful addition to our family.Can you find Noel?? Hint... look for the little elephant's nose. :o)
Did you notice our new Mini-Van in the background?

Summer Fun

Well, it's about time Mommy updated this blog of ours. It looks like the Summer has left 2006. The rain and cool days have arrived. It was a beautiful Summer though, and we enjoyed every day of it. It's hard to believe that it went so fast! We were in Lethbridge in July visiting all our family there. We weren't feeling too well though. Mommy thought Noel had the measles, but the walk-in-clinic doctor said it was probably some viral rash... weird. It seemed like all the symptoms. So that put a little damper on our visit. Opa and Oma built a pool at Uncle Jonas and Auntie Evelyn's house. I usually love swimming, but I was only in a short while. Hopefully next summer. We went up to Golden, B.C. to meet with Daddy and Mommy's dear friends from Abbotsford. They brought their sweet new baby Eden along!! I think we'll be great friends. Noel and Eden got some great shots together. Daddy took our purple car up this very high mountain road. People go para-gliding off there.I kept counting the numbers on the way up and then would end with 20!! Daddy said he sure hoped it wouldn't be 20 Ks! Well we finally got to the top and it was well worth the ride up. Very gorgeous view of the valley. The only sad part about that, is it put our car in a bad spot. On the way to Lethbridge for Golden, we had to stop every hour almost for Daddy to dump water on the radiator. Oh dear... Long story short? We drove home to Sask in a new mini-van. When anyone asks I tell them Opa drove the purple car to the auction because it was broken. I am very particular on telling people it is a MINI-van when they ask. I am pretty good with my vehicles. Opa and Oma Van Ee bought a lot to build a cabin up by Meota Lake in North Battleford. We were walking to the Lake, and Mommy asked me if there were any cars coming as we were crossing the street. Nope I said... Just a Jeep. (Yep it was a Jeep Liberty too)Smart boy! Make my Opa Arnoldussen proud!
Noel has taken to crawling all over the house now. He loves to explore and when he comes upon Mommy.. JACKPOT!!! He is eating so much food! He loves it. Not sure where he puts it all, but it's fun watching him with finger foods. I always tell Mommy when he is going to the two steps int he front entry. Our cousin Tyler comes now 2 days a week, and he fell down twice in one day!! poor kid. I guess Noel just wanted to copy him. Mommy think she was going after the football that rolled down. it's fun having Tyler over. He is such a sweet boy. He is only 8 hours older than Noel, so now Mommy is having a taste of twins.