Since I did not have the opportunity this year to send out my typical Christmas newsletter, I thought this would be a neat way to share with you all some bits & pieces, funnies, and pictures of course, from our 2008 year.
I'll start out with some of my favorites, which are funnies that we've heard around our house this year.
*Addyson tooted a couple times in a row & exclaimed from the other room "Hey Mom, there's a woodpecker pecking on the chair!"
*At suppertime one evening the girls wanted carrots & dip, so I was explaining to them that carrots are really good for your eyes. Cayden, trying to get out of eating the carrots, responded by saying "I don't need to eat carrots, Mom, Daddy says I can see like a hawk-he says I have eagle eyes!"
*Last week Cayden was taking a bath, & as I passed by the bathroom I glanced inside to make sure he was doing okay. Upon doing so I witnessed my 6 1/2 year old boy take an entire bucket of water & proceed to dump the entire thing onto the bathroom floor. Later Eric asked him why he chose to do this, hoping to hear an intelligent reason why...like that he wanted to see how much water it would take to flood the bathroom. Nope...his response was "because I wanted to". After getting out of the tub I told him that he's very lucky not to be getting a spanking & that instead his punishment is to clean up the house. I proceeded to send him into Addyson's room, which is always the messiest room in the house at all times, to clean it up. As he was walking into her room I told him that the only thing I wanted to hear from him was "what can I do next, Mom". I could hear Eric laughing hysterically from the other room...and I do have to admit...that was a good one!!!
*It is pretty typical for Addyson's pants to be falling down & bearing her bottom crack...but it took the cake one day when I walked into the living room to see Kamryn writing with marker on Addyson's bottom.
*One morning I was talking on the phone with my Mom while the girls were playing nicely in the other room. Shortly after they began to run laps through the kitchen & living room. On one of the laps I happened to glance up to see Kamryn with colors all over her face. I immediately hung up the phone to find out that Addyson had painted Kamryn's face with stripes from her new colored lipgloss.
*This summer I was talking on the phone(okay, yes, I know, I don't learn my lesson) with Eric downstairs & Kamryn was playing in the rec room. After awhile I noticed that it was way too quiet(never a good sign with any of our kids). I look around to find Kamryn in the corner of the basement amongst all of my scrapbooking supplies. She has my black ink pad in her hand & has black ink covering her entire face. Mind you...this is the black ink that we use to record the kids hand/footprints & it is almost impossible to get off! She was so proud of herself for doing so & had to look in the bathroom mirror & show the kids as well. She still had a big smile plastered on her face as I scrubbed her entire face, lips, & teeth with Dove soap!
*Kamryn continues to suck her thumb when sleeping & when she is tired...but has especially grown fond of sucking her thumb when she has her beloved green care bear. She has learned the fine art of hiding behind her bear during the day so we can't see that she is sucking her thumb. She will often say to us "stop looking at me" thinking that is going to deter us from seeing her suck her thumb. And for awhile every time I would see her thumb by her mouth & say "Kamryn, are you sucking your thumb?" she would respond by saying "no...I picking my boogers, Mommy". As if that's any bettter!! Sneaky little girl!!
*It has become very obvious that Kamryn is a third child, as she has picked up many sayings from her brother & sister. Overheard in our house by our little girl "awesome!!!!", "Mommy, Addyson's buggin' me" "Eric!!", "Mommy, you're trouble-you need a time out!" "Daddy Scott Boonstra!", chanting "Addyson's a baby"
*On the way home from dinner one evening the girls were in the backseat playing a little game with Addyson's favorite stuffed dog, Blackie. Kamryn was actually teasing her big sister by telling her that she wanted to hold hands & then swiping Blackie away from Addyson. After a lot of tears from both girls back & forth Daddy ended up taking Blackie away in the front seat. Kamryn, being the drama queen that she is, plain as day said "boo hoo hoo hoo hoo" with not a single tear shed from her eyes. It was truly a dramatic scene & very hilarious!! Every single one of us was laughing hysterically, as was Kamryn once she figured out that she had gotten some laughs.
*One day I walked into the bedroom to find the girls with their shirts up comparing their "boobies".
*During the day I always have a christian radio station playing music on, especially during the Christmas season. We would often hear Kamryn exclaim "hey, Mommy, it's Go Tell it on the Mountain" or "listen, Angels we have heard on high" & many others
*my favorite Christmas memory is seeing my 3 kids so excited to read our Advent devotions every night & relearn about the story of Jesus birth. They are truly all amazed & excited to hear it told over & over again. Addyson's favorite song again this year is Angels we have heard on high. Every time she hears it she gets excited & every night before bed we sing it with her. It brings tears to my eyes every time to see her belt out the Gloria part.
*Cayden really, really, really wants a kitty. Every once in awhile he'll check with me to see if I am really still allergic to cats. :)
Cayden Our boy is almost 6 1/2 years old & absolutely loves 1st grade. He loves to do his math homework, which he always finishes speedily & says "that was soooo easy". He has really come a long way in reading as well...and loves to read books to us & read every sign he sees. His favorite thing to do at school continues to be gymn class and recess. He loves to go outside in any kind of weather, but like his Mom, is truly a summertime kid! This summer he loved going hiking & camping several times, where he was in all of his glory making campfires with Daddy, catching bugs, swimming, & just being outside. He also has developed a knack for putting together lego sets...this summer he put together a helicopter set in only a couple hours without any help(and the set was for ages 7-14). Mom especially was impressed and no help at all in that department!! He is growing into a sweet little boy.
Addyson Addyson is 4 1/2 years old & attends preschool at Legacy Christian. She absolutely loves it!! She is definitely our girly girl, as she loves to play princesses with her friends, dress up, put on makeup & get her hair done up, and her favorite color is of course...pink! This does not stop her, though, from keeping up with her brother in just about everything. She is a sweet little girl who loves to give out hugs & "I love you's". She is so very quick to come up to us with an "I love you" that melts our hearts. Addyson is in a ballet class this year again & last year had her very first dance recital. She was in all her glory dressing up & doing her routine up on stage. And she takes after her Daddy in having the special gift of drawing. She colors beautifully & at the age of 4 can already draw better than her Mom!!
Kamryn Kamryn turned 2 in September & continues to light up our lives with laughter. She attends "Kamryn's preschool" at the Enchanted Forest every Monday & loves every minute of it. She loves to come home with her new artwork every week & hang it on the fridge just like Cayden & Addyson. She is still very quick to smile & laugh...but watch out!...if anyone tries to help her do anything...she will let you know with a big "I do it myself!" She is very independent!! She also likes to be the star of the show, singing & dancing all the time. And if anyone infringes on her stage time you better watch out! She talks all the time, very loudly,...sometimes it's hard to believe that she is only 2 years old with the things she comes up with. Kamryn gives the best big bear hugs to anyone who will accept one, & loves to plant a big kiss on your lips or cheek. She is looking forward to being a very helpful big sister in a couple months!Our baby boy will hopefully make his arrival sometime in March. Our actual due date is March 23, but my target date is March 10. Eric tells me that this is wishful thinking, but it makes my pregnancy seem so much shorter to think of it in these terms! The kids are enjoying seeing my belly grow bigger each & every day. Cayden insists that there is really a basketball in my tummy & loves to see how the baby is growing each week via the computer. Addyson loves to feel the baby move, & Kamryn pretends that she has a baby in her tummy & tells us to put our hand on her tummy to feel it kick. We are all anxious to meet our precious baby boy in a few short months!
I continue to enjoy being a stay at home Mom, chauffeur, as well as a "part time" photographer. This summer my business really started taking off & I've been learning how to balance my family, a business, & being pregnant. My initial plan was that once I had Cayden in school full time I would have a lot more "free time". Boy was I wrong! Since the end of August I've been struggling to keep up with all of the kids school schedules, activities, church activities, etc., and I am busier than I've ever been!! Kamryn has learned to grow up riding in the car a lot!! But I did enjoy Wednesdays alone with her for the first time & spent the time taking her to Storytime at our library, which she loved! It will be interesting to see what a new baby adds to our crazy lives...but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!! We are blessed beyond measure.
Eric has experienced big changes this year. Right before Christmas, he accepted a position to be the senior director of finance at Spectrum Health. This new position will give him the opportunity to reduce his extensive travel load, as well as avoid one more busy season where he spends most of his time working long hours. He is very excited about this new opportunity but is also a little sad to say goodbye to a place that he has called work for the last 11 years, and is the only work he has known outside of college. While his hours will still at times be long, we are all happy that we will be able to spend more family time together during the winter months. Despite this major change, Eric continues to enjoy playing basketball a couple times a month, and has recently taken up a long lost past time of building lego's. Cayden received several for Christmas and I often have to remind Eric that they are for Cayden to build! Eric also continues to be thankful for his remarkable good looks, his youthful zeal, and an abundance of humor(clearly this piece was added by the comedian himself), and most of all the health and well being of his wonderful children, wife, and new baby boy.
We hope this finds you all doing well & having enjoyed the Christmas season. We have enjoyed seeing many of you over the last year that we haven't since in awhile.
Most of all we are thankful to our Heavenly Father above who gave us the wonderful gift of his Son, Jesus. That is the most wonderful part of our Christmas!!
We love you all,
The Boonstras
