Good-bye October...

Well today we say good-bye to October, but boy did we have a full month! We loved being able to be outside, watch the leaves change and gear up for Halloween! We also had a few "firsts" to celebrate this month.
Jakob has always been very interested in being in the kitchen, so as I looked at my pile of apples, I thought that I would give him the challenge of baking his first apple pie....from scratch! With a little instruction, but no assistance, he made a delicious pie from start to finish.
Another first is that at 13.5 months our little Ella started walking. She had been experimenting for a while by taking a couple steps, but now those days are long gone! She has definitely mastered the art, and it getting quite fast! Her brothers have loved watching her go into this next phase. Although she is also learning to get into their things too...good thing she has them wrapped around her finger! She has also started talking quite a bit too. Some of her new words are: cracker, No-No, thank you, and BOO!
After months of premature wiggling, it was a good day in The Sandstedt home this past week when Brayden lost his 1st tooth! He has been patiently waiting as most of his friends lost one and wondering why, why, why??? Now that is is out and the tooth fairy has made her first visit to him, he is starting to think it is really no big deal, although he says it is kind of cool to have a place for his straw!
And lastly we wrapped the month with Halloween. The boys had several candy-bearing events throughout the week leading up to it, so we are pretty set on the sweets around here!
Upcoming events....
* Mom starts working at outside the home one day a week, the 2 little ones will play with their buddies Everett and Solomon on that day.
* A trip to Lansing to celebrate Ethan's 10th birthday!
* A BIG trip to Washington DC to visit our friends the Valbak's for Thanksgiving.

We'll keep you posted.....

October 2008

Apple Picking?

Every October we go to Fennville to pick apples at Cranes. Last year Ella was in a front carrier but this year we anticipated her lending a hand. Well, we made it to Cranes at 6:05 on a Tuesday night only to find out they closed apple picking at 6:00 While the kids were bummed it wasn't long before one of the boys remembered the apple cider donuts which, quickly became just as good as picking apples. Cranes is a unique place that on the the inside is more like an antique shop than a restuarant. We decided to stay for dinner and it was fun to watch the little one's expressions as they observed wooden high chairs, civil war muskets, and things from the good 'ole days. Although we were not able to come home with bags of apples we had a great time as a family.

Well child check ups

I thought that I was being the multi-tasker of the year by scheduling Ella and Grant's well child check-ups at the same time. One trip to the doctor, 2 kids, good idea right? Well it sounds great, however when you add "10 shots" along with lots of tears, I quickly second guessed my decision! But overall we survived. Ella had her one year immunizations along with the flu shot, and Grant was a very big boy and got the mass quantity of shots that he needed to go to pre-school.
Ella had a clean bill of health, which of course we were thrilled about. She weighed in at 26.5 pds and 30.5 inches. Dr. Dykema said that she had a little extra poundage for her age, but will slim down as soon as she starts running around.
Grant weighed in at 41.25pds and 42.25 inches tall. He got a great report too!

Here are a few pictures from our eventful day! Grant thought that he should check Ella out to make sure the doctor didn't miss anything! Cheerios and doctor toys, does it get any better than that?

School is in session!

Well after 2 weeks, I am finally able to have a minute to post first day of school pictures! Some may think that having a portion of the children in school might prove for a quieter day around here, but it is actually quiet the opposite! Between the insane carpooling schedule, packing lunches, filling out forms, and homework there has been little time left to sit!

This year proves to be a pretty major transition year for all the kids. Jakob is in 6th grade, which is the progression from elementary school to middle school. He was very excited about this change! He is now able to play junior high sports, be on a power plus team at school, and switch classes. With this he is being challenged more with responsibility and organization. So far, we are very impressed :0)

Logan and Brayden had a huge transition this year as they have switched schools, and also were introduced to an entirely new learning style. The boys are at Waukazoo Elementary School in the Montessori program. Brayden is in a 1-3rd classroom, and Logan is in the 3rd-5th class. We are very excited about the Montessori approach to learning, and feel this will be a great growth year for both the boys. Although the change has not been without some struggles, we are hopeful that in the end the year with prove to have been a positive one.

And lastly, our little Grant started his first ever school experience today. We weren't sure if we were going to put him in a preschool class, or just have him be home with mom this year, but after a couple weeks of having his brothers gone we realized he would benefit from some structured time with other kids his age. He is in a 4 year old pre-school program at Tot-time, which meets Monday and Wednesday mornings for 2 hours. He had an awesome first day, but came home pretty tired out! It is so fun to see him have an experience that is all his own!

Oh, I guess I can't forget that daddy (Nate) has gone back to school as well, in a couple ways. One, he started the fall semester teaching Management at Davenport University as he has been doing for the past year. And secondly, he has joined the Institute of Managerial Accountants, and is beginning the process of studying to sit for the Certified Managerial Accountant exam. Crazy some might say........of course it is, but our family is not very well known for being boring!

Upcoming events in the Sandstedt Family.........Ella starts walking(hopefully), Brayden loses his first tooth(hopefully),apple picking, more soccer games,and engedi moves to a new home....stay tuned!!!

Grant-isms

I have to write about my little Grant today, because as much as he can challenge every ounce of my being, he also has such an innocence to him that I don't want to wish away.
The other day as we stopped at the store to run and in get "1" quick thing, he insisted on going in with daddy. Therefore a 2 minute trip, was now going to be a 15minute trip, thanks to unbuckling and buckling the seat belt and little footsteps versus fast big ones! Not to mention the conversation that he was bound to initiate about God knows what. But as I watched him so eagerly take daddy's hand it occurred to me how very little he still is. I think that with a family our size the younger ones start to follow after the older ones and sometimes we take for granted the preciousness of their age. They seem to grow up quicker because they are constantly trying to do what the "big brothers" are doing.

Now that our family is complete, I am amazed at how fast time flies. I am determined to keep the little ones little for as long as I can. I have also decided that I am not going to correct his "Grant-sim's" as I call them, because soon enough he will figure out that he is mis-pronouncing words and then they won't be his cute little words anymore. Some of my favorites are "headick" for headache, which I am sure he has never had, but he will on occasion tell me that I am giving him one. Another is "eye-bra" for eyebrow, and my personal all time favorite Grant phrase lately is when he tells me that he has made a bad choice because he is "frustred", of course that is frustrated, but when I asked him if he knows what frustrated means, he replies "Well if you tell me, then I will know for next time."

Another thing I have chosen to let go are the wardrobe choices. He has a real interest in dressing himself. Most days we have a nice stripe on top and perhaps a plaid on the bottom. Or other days we might have a white tank top on top with Batman boxers on bottom. And it would not be uncommon to have some sort of cape or costume accessory somewhere in the mix as well. I almost like it when we are out and someone asks him if he dressed himself, because he is so proud to say "Yup", having no clue why they would ask such a silly question...

As much as I am not looking forward to summer coming to an end, and the boys all heading to school, I am looking forward to some one on one with the littlest Sandstedt's at home during the day.

Above is a picture of Grant as we went through the car wash. He asked to sit in the front and sat in awe the entire 5 minutes! It captures life in the eyes of a 4 year old.

Ella's 1st birthday!

We were thrilled to have friends and family with us to celebrate Ella's 1 st birthday! In some ways it is hard to believe that she is one year old already, but on the other hand, it is hard to remember what our family was like before her! She has been such a content, happy baby, even in the newborn days. She is a true delight! One of my favorite moments is when I wake to hear her babbling from her crib. She always greet us with a HUGE good morning smile....what an awesome way to start any day! We feel so blessed to have been given this "gift" to complete our family!
We are excited to see her change and grow over the next few months. Although she is not walking at this point, we expect that to be in the near future. She is pushing toys, baskets, and even her highchair all over the house. She has also started standing alone for a few moments too! Her vocabulary has increased, and she now says "Hi", "Bye", and "Door", (which we believe is "Dora"). She loves to look at books, play peek-a-boo, and climb stairs (this new trick proves to be a bit challenging for mom!) She also LOVES music! She shakes her head from side to side and bounces up and down. I must say that daddy is responsible for all her awesome dance moves...and he is quite proud to show them off!


Upcoming event in Ella's little world...
~First trip to Alcona County over Labor Day!

Stay tuned for walking updates.....

Ella's 1st birthday!

July parties!

Nate and I had a lot of fun celebrating with friends and family over the past few weeks! We were thrilled to witness the Sagmoe and Crowell weddings and we also had an awesome time at the 40th birthday celebration of our friend Bridget. Good times....

Miss Ella is 11 months old today!

I had to write a post today, because I can't believe that our baby girl is so close to her 1st birthday! She turned 11 months old today and boy does it show. She is quickly approaching toddler hood. She is all over the place! She crawls up, down and even inside things. She is cruising the furniture and even getting brave and will let go for a few seconds. She recently got a new baby doll stroller push toy and is having a lot of fun pushing it around the house. She is not to interested in the baby doll though, as we find it thrown in the corner or she is chewing on it!

Some new accomplishments this past month were learning to say: Mom (very clear), go, baba (we think that is bye-bye), and "yeah" when she claps her hands. She has also mastered doing "so-big", shaking her head no, and waving! It is so fun to have her do her tricks. Although when all the boys start asking her she gets confused and will mix them up! She also loves any type of ball, and giggles when she sees Dora the Explorer. Very cute....

I can't help but think back to this time last year when I had a high risk pregnancy and was in and out of the doctors office for tests and having to count fetal kicks....how stressful! I am so thankful that she arrived safely and our family has been so blessed by her addition.

Coming up soon for Ella....HER 1st birthday!

I tried to get a picture of Ella to post today, but she would not sit still! So I thought it made sense to capture that!

Miss Ella 11 months

Great Wolf Lodge

We got home from the 4th of July just long enough to do laundry and re-pack for another trip up north. Although we love Holland, there is nothing like northern Michigan in the summer!
We went to Traverse City to take in some of the Cherry Festival and also stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. It was an awesome little family get away. The older boys pretty much did there own thing between the water park and the arcade, with periodic check-in's. It really gave us a taste of how grown up they are becoming.
Now we are home and grounded for a few weeks!

Traveling...

We had a great 4th of July. We traveled up to the cottage and stayed for a few days. We went into Manistee and the kids enjoyed the parade and festivities. Sarah drove over from Traverse City with Chandler and Olivia and spent the day with us as well. The kids learned that small town parades are where it is at! They were shocked to see how much candy they ended up with!
We spent the remainder of the weekend at the lake surrounded by family with perfect weather. We were also able to celebrate Logan's 9th birthday with all the Sandstedt cousins!

4th of July

June

Well we finished off the school year strong and are now in the heart of our summer vacation. I must say that I had a little anxiety as summer approached wondering how I was going to keep 5 kids with such a vast age range, happy and busy! But I have to say things are going really well. It took us a week or so to get on a good routine, but we acheived it and in some ways it is almost easier than running back and forth and packing lunches!
This month Nate and I celebrated our anniversary on June 7th. Grandma and Papa took the kids to their house over night and we had 27 hours....kid free! That doesn't happen very often. We went to a movie, had a nice dinner and then came home to our own empty house.



Jakob spent a week at Camp Geneva. He had a great time and met some really great friends. He always comes back looking and acting a little more mature! Logan will go to camp for the first time at the end of July. We are excited for him to have that experience.

Ella has become quite the busy girl! She is pulling herself up on everything and cruising along the furniture. She has also mastered going up the stairs...FAST! We are now deep into the world of baby proofing with gates at every corner and cabinet locks. She is also quite vocal and has her own little language. Most of which consists of high pitched noises.




We finished off the month celebrating Grant's 4th birthday! It is hard to believe that he is 4 already. We had a birthday at our house and were joined by some neighborhood freinds and family.




Now we head into a fun-filled July with many things on the calender. We will start off by heading to Irons to the cottage for the 4th of July, celebrate Logan's 9th birthday on July 8th, head to Traverse City to the Great Wolf Lodge and the Cherry Festival and then finish off the month with 2 weekends in a row of weddings! Stay tuned for pictures and details.....

Busy May!

Well I have not had a chance to update lately because we have had an insanely busy month so far! Here are a few highlights!

We started the month out with Tulip Time. Some people that live here in Holland will do anything to avoid going downtown during Tulip Time. We have even heard of some actually leaving town to avoid the crowds. We on the other hand, love it. We love the tulips, dressing the kids up in dutch costumes, the parades, and of course the vendor food!







Jakob and I had a great time traveling with his class to Chicago. We drove to Michigan City and then took the train in to Chicago from there. We spent the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was a really great day. After spending the day with 5th graders, it was amazing to me how grown up he is becoming. I cannot believe that in a few short weeks he will be officially be in middle school. Here are a few pictures from the trip. The first is of his entire class and then the other is one of Jakob with his good freinds Alex, Connor and Isaac.


Mother's Day was a very special day. Aside of being surrounded by my awesome husband and kids, Nate and I also had the privilege of standing before our church body and dedicating Ella to the Lord. We feel so blessed that she has joined our family and truly view her as a precious gift from God. We were so grateful for the family that joined us as well. We had Grandma and Papa Sandstedt, great grandma Ruth, Uncle Andy and Aunt Jen and the boys, Aunt Jessi and Reid and Lily. We had a nice brunch following church that was fully prepared by the men, and it was delicious!




And last, but certainly not least in the calender of May events we watched our little Brayden graduate from Kindergarten. He truly had a great year. He loves school so much. He actually spent some time a little weepy that afternoon because he did not want school to end, and he was going to miss his teacher. He even asked me if he could please go to summer school! Although now that a few days have passed that idea has since disappeared!

Soccer time!

Brayden started kindergarten soccer last week. He had his first game this past Saturday. He has been having a lot of fun meeting new friends and learning new skills. His team is the "Panthers". He has one of his good buddies, Tanner on his team, so that is makes it even more fun!
He was very excited to start out the first game as goalie. We were quite proud that he blocked two goals!

8 months old!

Ella Ruth is 8 months old today! What a busy month she has had!





New skills:
*Figured out how to use "pincher's" to pick up food. She is crazy about cheerios, and Gerber fruit flavored puffs. She is also getting quite adventurous with her taste buds too, as she has tried most fruits and veggies and now working through the meats. She likes to try our food as well. Some of her favorites are mashed potatoes and watermelon!

*Can now get from sitting position to belly,(just not too sure what to do when she gets there, so she cries....)

* Actually started playing with her toys versus trying to eat them all!

*Daddies personal favorite new skill is that she has learned to "dance"! Anytime there is music on or someone is humming or singing, she will bounce. I must say it is quite adorable!

*Mommy's personal favorite is that she now says "mama"! She actually says it about 1000 x's per day, and if it doesn't achieve her desired results she will switch to "dada".

* A couple skills that we must admit are not our favorite, but very normal for her age are that she does not like to see you walk out of a room and leave her. She also has discovered that going down to bed at night is not so fun either. So we have begun the journey of letting her cry a bit. Her brothers are not at all thrilled about that because they perceive it as being cruel and mean to their baby sister!

Some skills that we are still working on are:

* Crawling (she is currently rolling all over and scooting backwards. She also puts herself in a bizarre push up position, and again doesn't know where to go form there!

* Drinking out of a sippy cup. We have tried 3 different kinds of cups and she thinks they are great to chew on and toss over the side of her highchair. Not exactly the proper use! But we are working on it!

Plans for the upcoming month:

Ella will be introduced to Tulip Time and will even be forced to wear a dutch costume!
Ella will be dedicated at our church on Mother's Day.

Back to the land of the living!

Well it appears that our family has survived the dreaded flu. It was absolutely horrible! Spanning a 13 day period each child, including myself, took turns passing the stomach flu. Luckily, or should I say amazingly, Nate did not get it! He was a real tropper being on 24 hour nurse and laundry duty. People often ask us how we manage a large family. Our response is typically, "we know no other way, we just embrace each day." Well it is times like these that we tend to question it ourselves!

Cake hobby

I have kind of taken up a new hobby of baking cakes. It is sort of funny because as a rule cake isn't even my dessert of choice (which is probably good), but I love the idea of making something that is almost to pretty to eat! I don't have much time for TV as you can imagine, but when I get a chance I like to catch The Martha Stewart show. People often describe her an over the top domestic goddess, but I personally feel like she has very practical and user freindly techniques, and recipes. Here is a cake that I made from one of her recipes. It is a white cake with a lemon curd filling with 7 minute frosting. The frosting is very unique, you actually cook it and beat it when it is 160 degrees. It is almost like a meringue....YUM!

Jakob turns 11!

Jakob celebrated his 11th birthday this past weekend. His birthday actually fell on Easter Sunday. On Friday night he had a few of his good friends from school, Alex, Connor, and Issac over and Nate took them to a hotel over night to have some "guy time". They had a really great time, including a few pranks on good ole' dad! I think we are in for a few more of those in the years to come!
On Saturday Jakob and dad went to a local store and custom made a REAL skateboard, (as Jakob describes it). I am not sure who it was more of a gift for, Jake or Nate! The only frustrating thing about it was that we had gotten a spring snow storm that left us with 10 inches of snow the night before, making it impossible for him to try it out!
It is hard for us to believe that eleven years have passed since our first child was born. Although the "pre-teen" years bring us new parenting experiences, it is fun to see Jakob begin to grow into a young man!

Easter 2008