Tuesday, October 27, 2009

3D photos of Baby Eli Grayson Van Dyke!

Today we had an ultrasound of Baby Eli because the doctors were concerned he was measuring so big and they wanted to get a better idea of how large he is. He is weighing in at 8lbs right now and I am only 35 weeks along. Gonna be a big baby! =)
We lucked out and the ultrasound tech did some free 3D images of Eli and we even got to watch him real time in 4D. So exciting!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Pumpkin Farm!

The Pumpkin Farm is a family tradition we look forward to all year long!

I mean come on, pumpkins, kettle corn, petting zoo, giant Washington State corn maze, hay rides and more, you can't beat that!

This year we went with our friends the Veaters and everyone had a blast! The only downside to that day was none of the kids wanted to smile for ANY photos. It's quite frustrating, especially when you are in such a great setting for photos. I even resorted to bribing Allana and Sarina, but that didn't even work!!

Sarina especially fell in love with a goat that kept sticking his nose through the fence, her squeals of delight when he licked her fingers cracked me up, it doesn't take much to please that girl! Both Allana and Sarina were able to pet and hold little kittens and bunnies and as a result I have been hearing almost daily how we REALLY should go back and adopt one.

By the time we reached the pumpkin patch to find us some mighty fine pumpkins, it felt like I was carrying around a load of rocks in my belly. It's getting harder and harder to stand and walk for long periods of time as little Eli's birthday draws nearer and nearer.

In the pumpkin patch the girls kept trying to pick these giant pumpkins for their own. Finally we said, "If you can lift it, then it's yours. Otherwise you need to look for a smaller pumpkin!". So they spent a good deal of time trying to lift different pumpkins (One good way to keep the little ones entertained!!). LOL

With Allana and Sarina we had a tradition when they were babies (because they both were only a few weeks old this time of year) to stick them in hallowed out pumpkins and take some quick photos. Eli will miss out on the pumpkin photo shoot (I'm sure he wont mind) so we'll have to make sure and find a Christmas stocking big enough to hang him in. =)















































Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Summer Adventures, Growing Belly and More.

This summer has been a whirlwind! From camping and hiking trips, ballgames, the Zoo, sprinkler parks, the Children's Museum, the Science Museum, petting farms, swimming trips, the Seattle Aquarium and not to mention birthdays! It's been a super fun summer with lots of great memories with family and friends. I know this is a lot of photos, but believe me, this is only a FEW out of all the ones I have. I'm going to get better at posting more frequently so I don’t end up with "photo" posts like this one. But everyone requesting photos should be happy (especially you Mom and Dad!!).
Check back for more fall and holiday adventures… there is always something going on around here!




Allana working that pose!


Sarina passed out in her car seat


This is a new fav around the house, they could do it for hours!




Janzen first night home from his shoulder operation. Sexy tights they made him ware huh??


Getting ready to go in for his shoulder operation!

A throw out to all my So-Cal peeps!
Sarina, not wanting her photo taken! I sure hope this is a faze! It drives me crazy!




Can anyone say STYLE!

Apple butterflies I made for our preschool class snack!

Not looking at the camera again!


Sarina playing with her new Birthday toys.

Sarina carrying her new favorite toy from the park to the car. She REALLY wanted to make sure it didn't get left behind!

Friends at Sarina's party!


More birthday friends.

Sarina's birthday cake!



Being all cute and shy.

Sarina on her Birthday morning! She was soooo happy!

Sarina found a box, hauled it into her bed and decided to sleep in it. And I caught her!

Allana practicing her rock star skills and using the vacuum as a microphone.

Rock star in the making!

Sweetness

Gotta pick that nose don't ya know!

Unwilling to look at the camera yet again!


That's right, my girls know how to box! Watch out!


7 months prego


Around 7 months


6 months prego

5 months prego


The Janz man and me. =)



Last ballgame of the summer!

Allana and Kristen at the Science Center

The Gorge- Nickleback concert!


Waiting for Nickleback to come on stage!

The Gorge

Ashley and I on our camping trip!


The view from our drive/hike!

Janzen.. in a creek/waterfall

Allana


Nothing better then throwing rocks in a river half naked!


Gotta love that smile!

A beautiful river we found while camping

Sarina all snuggled in for the night in our tent


Kristen, Allana and Hannah!!



All the kids roasting marshmallows!



Janz and Sarina

Me.. in a creek/waterfall......


One of Sarina's favorite things to do while camping, DIG IN DIRT! All the time, 24/7. It was halarious!!


Allana taking a little nap before church in her birthday dress with Charlie

Sarina playing in the playroom just before bedtime

Eileen, four of Allana's best friends and I at her tea/spa/makeover birthday party!

Allana all "made-over"


Sarina all "made-over" as well!


Cutie!

Allana and Lenna showing off the STYLE! LOL


Thanks to Rachle for the awesome welcome sign!


Everyone enjoying the tea party!


Allana's birthday cupcakes!!

Sarina and her new earings!!


Allana at Edmond's City Park



Sarina playing with the hose and sprinkler! The water was a bit cold!


This is what happens when Sarina helps me do laundry. She tries it all on and it's all usually Allana's clothes!!



Allana at Lake Forrest Sprinkler Park



Sarina eyeing down a goat at the petting zoo



Sarina loves her sea creatures. Seattle Aquarium


Her exspression when she saw what had been painted on her face at the Aquarium !


Allana loved her sea horse



Little miss cutie loves to draw on herself!




My little swimmer, Allana!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Family Photos



Here ya are!


Some silly summer family photos.

Seriously, we were lucky to get the ones we got, the girls saw the park near by and were acting like wild monkeys!!! We barely got them to sit still and look at the camera for an instant.


The two photos below are just some cute ones I got of Allana and Sarina this month. Happy Summer everyone! =)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

It's A Boy!!!











We are super excited to announce that it's official, it's a BOY!!!



No denying this little guy, it was very obvious! =) And talk about the little guy kicking up a storm in there, at times we just had to stop and wait for him to settle down long enough to see anything! AND, he is measuring large! We are positive on my dates and my due date, so it means only one thing, Janzen's giant genes are already kicking in! I'm just hoping I don't end up with a 12-15 pound baby!






What a surprise (not necessarily that it's a boy, because this pregnancy has been sooo different from my others) but that we got to find out the sex today. We weren't expecting it, we actually were going in for a checkup ultrasound because last week I started having contractions and got put in prison, I mean bed rest. =P



Felt like prison!






What a week it's been, I have never been on bed rest and thankfully, sooo thankfully, it's going to end soon. I was starting to loose my mind just a wee little bit. We didn't know if the contractions were going to stop, they were very painful and I'm not a bed rest kinda girl. Not to mention we had just killed our cable (too much garbage on there for us, even some of the kid stations were getting questionable!) and I wasn't in the "movie" mood and Janzen had job interviews and side jobs, so it was hard. But thankfully, some friends took time out of their lives to visit and call which really helped the time go faster!!









A few positives about being on bed rest, I started writing down my thoughts more and got caught up with my journal (Yay, because I have such a hard time getting myself to do that!), I had more time to ponder all the blessings in our lives right now and received a few answers to our prayers, junked out a TON of clothes (if you know me well, you know this is HUGE!), planned quite a few adventures for when I'm NOT on bed rest, re-realized how much I love my family and friends and spent a lot of time talking, giggling and reading to my girls. Having orders to take time and smell the roses can really put things back into perspective!






So far the contractions have slowed quite a bit and almost died out, I'm not on bed rest as much(make sense?) and they think it was an RH factor that was causing everything and that things are going to be just fine now (trust me it would take way to long to explain on here!).






When we had the ultrasound at the beginning of the week and the contractions were coming on strong and everything was up in the air, one of the photos they printed off for us of the ultrasound was the little guy giving us a thumbs up. Have to be honest, I broke down a bit and started sniffle, I thought to myself, what are the odds that they would catch a thumbs up from the baby?? That and previous blessings told my heart that things would be fine.






Today as soon as we were told it's a boy, Allana immediately said "Well, great, what are we going to name him? I only have girl names!!" So most of tonight has been spent going through all of Allana's boy names... from Tony to Coda, Turkey, Hot Dog, Mighty Baby and so forth.. it's been too darn cute. As far as Sarina in concerned.. well she's still telling me that the baby "Really, really, really..... in MY belly!".






So now that I am having a boy it's like having a first baby all over again! I have baby girl bedding, toys, clothes and everything else under the sun... but no boy things. So if anyone has any boy clothes they are willing to part with, send them my way please! =)






Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts, prayers and concerns. We love you all! =)





Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Spring Adventures


Well, this spring we have had quite a few adventures.

The cold weather turned warm, the trees bloomed and now summer is just around the corner! All this warm beautiful weather brings out the adventurers in us.


The weekend after Mother's Day we went to Ocean Shores with our friends Will and Eileen. We stayed in the Cordels ADORABLE little condo and enjoyed the amazing beach. We found sooo many sand dollars and lucked out on the last day, it was so warm the kids just ran around on the beach naked!


This last weekend my friend Janelle who I have known since I lived in San Diego came up to visit. We decided to go on a road trip and drove up to Vancouver Canada, then took the ferry over to Victoria to see the famous gardens. Such a beautiful drive. We had many adventures within that adventure, we had to get a ride from a strange man and got stopped at the border and had the car searched just to name a few!


Memorial day was spent BBQing with James and Sarah, Will and Eileen and Kate and Ian. We had a game of soccer and frisbee and then swimming and a movie.

And this weekend were planning on a trip to Leavenworth, it's so beautiful up in the Cascade mountians!

So as you can see, spring and summer means Adventure!! We have a bunch of trips, camping and other fun things planned. Just good family times. =) We have even managed, a few bike rides, kayaking and a little hiking so far.

The girls are growing so much and getting so big, it's amazing to watch and makes me realize just how quickly time is going bye.


Baby number three is growing like a weed (for real, it's amazing how fast they grow!) I am 13 weeks along, this will be the last week of my first trimester and into the second one we come. Hopefully the nausea will die off!!

Allana and Sarina are going to do dance this summer and Allana will enter into First Grade and Sarina will start Preschool in the fall. They are both super excited.... so am I. But honestly.. I wouldn't mind it if they would just stop growing!!!

More to come later, but here are a few photos of our trips!






































































































































































































Friday, April 17, 2009

Were Prgnant!!


Ta da!

Here is baby number three's first photo!
On Tuesday we had an ultrasound and were able to hear the babies heart beat!

I'm just about two months along.. and feeling it!

If you haven't seen me around much it's because this little one has me puking almost 24/7. Very different from my other pregnancies and seriously not fun!

Allana and Sarina are super excited that they are going to have a baby brother/sister. Although, Sarina likes to argue with me and tell me the baby is in "HER" belly! And Allana, well... she just wants the baby to hurry up and come out!