the brouwer banter

2008-07-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

My friend and I were hanging out when the heavy winds started tonight. The raindrops started and she said she should go before the storm hit. We were having a great time and I said, "oh, don't worry about it, hard storms like this always pass quickly here in St. Louis." She stayed and 25 minutes (of heavy rain) later I checked the radar. This is what we saw. SHE GOT WET!

oops

2008-07-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

I took this picture from my couch!

Here you go mom- he was talking to you- pacing of course.

We are getting there. Bill has been working hard ~Maybe he thinks I'll hold him to the verbal contract we made: That he can't get married until it's done.

Kitchen Rehab

2008-07-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the kitchen when we bought our house. We love our house and it is great for our family, but trust me, we did not buy it because of the great kitchen! This is all there is to it. That's it. No dishwasher, a single sink and about three feet of counter space. It is a job just to make lunch. I have to wash and put away all the dishes before I can even make a sandwich because my whole counter top is taken up by the dish rack. We are now making some minor changes (ok, really, we are taking out a whole wall. Oh, the dust!)

Bill is doing all the work. He is amazing! It is so great to have someone in the house that you like. He is great with the kids (the other day I was switching a load of laundry and one of the kids started crying. I came up and Bill had stopped what he was doing to help them figure it out. He now walks in the house and says, "Mr Bill is here. Chloe loves him of course and Micah thinks he knows everything about kitchens) He knows what he is doing and is doing it fast so he can get it done before he gets married to sweet Beka on July 12!

Here is a picture of the wall~ half out

I threw this one in because the ceiling had to come out in the dining room. Bummer. No more drop ceilings. So sad. The crazy thing is that there are no cracks. The woman who owned our house before us put in drop ceilings because she thought they looked good. Talk about a generation gap~ Yikes. The guys (Luke and Chad) had the ceiling out in about an hour. I had no idea it was that easy. There is still more work ahead because we have to patch the holes from the hangers, but I think we would have done it a lot sooner if we had known the ceilings were in good shape.

The wall is out! There will be a peninsula (island as I call it- i know, an island is open on all sides, but who really calls these things peninsulas? Bars, cutouts, islands. That's the lingo I know~ as long as I have more counter space I really don't care~)

I'm standing in the doorway of the back room in this picture.

2008-07-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

Micah caught his first "keeper" and was so proud. He watched grandpa clean it and asked grandma to cook it for him. It was a great experience for him. I was a little worried that it would upset him, but he did great. My dad had a great talk with him about animals and that it is never ok to kill or hurt an animal for fun, but it was ok because he was going to eat it.

Jude and Anna~ cousins.

Micah protesting that we were leaving.

Kids with grandparents. And Jude picking his nose. Nice.

Camping in Michigan

2008-07-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

he isn't pooping

and this is just water from her bathing suite

There were hundreds of these little turtles. So fun! We would catch twenty or so a day and let the kids play with them. We would give them a new one about every hour so they still had a chance of life!

2008-07-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

Micah really wanted Amelia at his birthday party, but since it was all boys and a dinosaur theme I convinced him to have her come to dinner with us instead. Now, Micah knows good frosting, but restaurants, not so much. He chose CiCi's Pizza. Yum.

More May Birthdays

2008-07-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

Micah turned five and really wanted a dinosaur party with his friends. Thankfully just three friends. And even better, he wanted cupcakes from the cupcakery. This boy knows good frosting! We had a great time and the boys had a lot of dino fun. I don't have many pictures because it was a little crazy!

Notice how happy Chloe is....

Party for the princess

2008-07-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

Chloe really wanted a birthday party. When I asked who she wanted to come she said, " Mr. Chad, Mr. Alex, Mr Ben from the coffee shop, Travis (she doesn't call you mr~ sorry) and Miss Rachel. These are all of our friends and most of them are single. Chloe loves them all because they spoil her and call her princess. She didn't want any kids at her birthday party to steal the attention. They all came ( and Brooke too~ and Chloe loves her) and Chloe was the princess.

Chloe and I went to buy some balloons and decorations. She kept saying she wanted pink, but decided the butterfly selection was better. It was hysterical! She totally switched the theme of the party because she couldn't find a pink table clothe that was the right shade. She is a funny girl. She woke up at 4am asking if it was party day and saying she needed to wear the pink and brown dress! Thankfully she did go back to sleep!

The cake. This was the most disgusting cake I may have ever tasted! It was non dairy whipped frosting. Now, I didn't think anything could be worse than decorator frosting. I was wrong. Yuk! Chloe insisted on it so I bought it. I threw the left over away. The best part was Chloe insisting that everyone have a piece of her cake. Thanks guys for choking it down!

Chicago

2008-07-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

We went up to Chicago to see Emily for a weekend. We took the train into the city. The kids did amazingly well and were pretty happy the whole trip. I'm sure the pool helped.

Jude loved watching the boats!

Oh, you can now call me Angelina. Just me and the nanny on the streets of Chicago. Seriously, you can call me Angelina. No really, we could not have gone in to the city without Emily. It was so great to have another adult to get a snack or take Chloe potty a thousand times! Thanks Em!

Jude Pooped...

2008-07-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

on the potty! He was in the tub and started making "the face". You know the one. The one where you can actually see that a baby is concentrating. So, I put him on the toilet. He was a little unsure at first, but once he went he was pretty happy with himself.

Jude is one!

2008-07-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

Since Jude is one and has no way to verbalize what kind of crappy Crisco frosting cake he wants (pictures to follow of the princess's decision), I decided to get a cake that the adults would enjoy too. I really don't think he cared!

2008-07-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

Jude loves trucks! Anything motorized really. Luke is so proud when Jude crawls around with a truck making the brrrrr sound (sorry car people, i don't know the correct spelling for the brrrrrr sound). So, naturally, we got Jude a truck.

Luke's mom made Jude this beautiful sweater. She does such amazing work and I was thrilled to get one for Jude~ thanks mom!

See, I told you he wasn't emotionally damaged by the cake choice. Does this look like a child who didn't enjoy his cake? He was really mad when we took it away.

The Gardens

2008-07-02T22:29:00.000-07:00

Luke's mom came to visit and we took her to the botanical gardens. I love it there. The kids can run free and I can enjoy the scenery. I guess I should use the term "run free" carefully. I let my kids run free which means one of them usually ends up in some pond they shouldn't be in. The pictures are before Chloe decided to swim.

This isn't the greatest picture of Jude (really, his hair is not that bad!) He loves the gardens. He starts kicking his legs and says, "ooo" when he sees the flowers, So cute!

Spirit Week

2008-07-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

The last day of Spirit Week at Central was School Color day and I found this great hair at the Dollar Store! It was a big hit and Micah loved it!

Eureka Springs

2008-07-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Luke and I went away by ourselves for five days!
Of course, I didn't take many pictures, but I took this one on my phone. It is The Christ of the Ozarks. Funny thing, I thought that they should have named it "Christ the Savior of the World", but what do I know....

We went to Eureka Springs and had a great cabin secluded in the woods. We hardly knew what to do with ourselves. At one point we looked at each other and said, "are we bored or relaxed?" We had a great time, walked all over and ate way too much good food.

Thanks moms and dads for the chance to get away!

Potty Training ~ part two

2008-04-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Chloe is potty trained! It took three days of nakedness, three days of dresses with no underwear and now it's over. She is really proud of herself! I told her once she goes on the big girl potty all the time I would take her to pick out her own underpants. We went and she picked out Dora and Care Bears (super cute~ and they fit her tiny bum). She had a really hard time deciding what ones to wear and finally settled on a pair of the Dora ones. Every time she went that day she brought me her underwear which was just a little damp and said, "i had a little accident, I need a new one". She was peeing in them on purpose so she could wear them all!! At least I know she has good bladder control!

Potty Training

2008-03-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to potty train Chloe for a while. She seems to get it, but as soon as I put her in big girl underpants she pees. She will not pee if she is naked. So anyone who is planning on stopping by consider yourself warned. Naked Babes at the Brouwers this weekend.

2008-03-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Micah and I had a long talk about Good Friday and Easter on the way to school yesterday. He was very excited to ride the bus across the street to the church for a special chapel. We talked about remembering Jesus death on Good Friday and celebrating Jesus resurection on Easter. Micah often amazes us with his understanding and sensativity to really hard concepts so these conversations often turn into theological debates.
After school I asked him how chaple was. He told me that the bus ride was great, but chaple was a little bad. I asked him to explain and this is what he said, "mom, you aren't going to believe it. they talked about all the sad stuff~ Jesus dying, the bad guys who put him there, his sad friends and mom and all the bad stuff we do. You know what?? They forgot the great part. The part about Jesus winning. The part about not staying dead and not letting satan win! It was kinda bad of them to forget that part"

Bubbles

2008-03-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

I think Chloe blew bubbles for four hours...

sitting on her scooter most of the time

Spring

2008-03-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

We had a really warm day in STL yesterday. I love the first few days of spring like weather. The kids are so happy to be outside~ it's as though they never saw the outdoor toys before. Everything is new and exciting! Micah and Chloe played outside for four (yes 4) hours. I checked on them a couple times and brought them juice and a snack once. No fighting or crying the whole time~ I am a proud momma!

Micah loves his new scooter. He rode up and down the small path of concrete in our back yard.

2008-03-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, He is eating Cheetos.

He's the third child.

And he's happy~ and sat outside for 2 hours!

And woke up this morning with a pink nose and upper cheeks. I think I may need to buy stock in sunscreen

2008-03-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

They got stuck. Luke and I laughed and took pictures. Then the crying started. They really were stuck!

At least they are playing together~ right??

Botanical Gardens

2008-03-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

We went to the gardens this past weekend with my parents. I had great intentions of getting some pictures of the kids and my parents, but somehow this is all I ended up with.

Chloe stood by this drinking fountain for a long time and never got any closer to the water that what you see. She wanted to do it herself.....

I think she finally let my dad help her

Jude

2008-03-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

I needed a safe place to set Jude after his bath for a moment. I thought he might get upset, but he thought he was pretty big stuff.

Another Micah Moment

2008-02-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

Luke told the kids that he didn't need a stuffed animal to sleep with because he had one big stuffed animal to snuggle with. I, of course, took great offense to this and said to Micah, " just for future reference, don't talk to your wife that way" to which he replied, " I'm looking for a woman to marry. She has to be nice and never married before". I am trying so hard to have this conversation at this point because I am laughing, But I managed to ask if he had anyone in mind. He said, "no, I will have to drive all around the world to find one."

Fun in the Country

2008-02-09T23:35:00.000-08:00

We had another warm day in St. Louis. Some friends of our recently purchased some land on a lake so we decided to take a drive and check it out. The kids loved tromping through the leaves and throwing rocks in the water.

2008-02-09T23:32:00.000-08:00

Fun for moms

2008-02-07T21:48:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8

A haircut for Chloe

2008-01-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Chloe loves gum. Chloe's hair- not so much. She woke up last week with gum stuck in the hair below her pigtail above her ear. It really is my fault. She is usually really good about giving me her gum when she is done, but I forgot to ask her for it before nap time. What 2 1/2 year old wouldn't want to take gum to bed?
So... I cut it. Alot of it.
I really don't mind the back. It curls under really well and is cute. The front is another story. I have never cut the front/sides of her hair. She has never really grown any. I could always hide it in pigtails. Not any more.

A Puppy for Abby

2008-01-31T18:11:00.000-08:00

Our friend Abby got a puggle. This is about the cutest dog there is. She is 7 weeks and weighs in at 1 1/2 lbs!

Micah was sweet and gentle, but soon informed me (as he was jumping around and flapping his arms) that he needed a big dog to rough house with.

Chloe on the other hand was in heaven. She isn't always the most expressive child, but this face is one of pure joy and delight. Olive (dog) seemed to like Chloe too. She was soon curled up and asleep.

Luke has a HARLEY!

2008-01-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know Luke at all know that he loves motorcyles. He finally got his Harley!!

Fun at the Park

2008-01-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

It was really warm this past Sunday so after church we went to the park. We took Jude's walker and the kids rolled him down the hill over and over again(poor third child- where are his parents? shouldn't they protect him?). He had so much fun he didn't even notice that he couldn't move because of all the layers he had on.

Christmas in Michigan

2008-01-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

My mom made all the kids a bag for Christmas. They think they are so cool and are constantly packing their own bags when we leave (and the best part- they carry them themselves!)

Christmas in Michigan

2008-01-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Canada

2008-01-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

Fun in Canada

2008-01-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

When Mom goes to work...

2008-01-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

the kids get to do whatever they want. For days they asked if they could dig in the yard. I heard, " but dad lets us" (dad doesn't do the laundry)

Here you go Mom...

2008-01-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

We just moved Jude to hos crib. The kid likes small spaces. He was sleeping through the night-why mess with a good thing? But, he outgrew it. His head touched yje top and his feet the bottom.

Snow in St. Louis??

2008-01-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Tree

2008-01-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is our first Christmas tree ever! December was always such a crazy month for us (Exams, traveling to see family, living in a really small apartment) but this year we decided to get one
because the kids really wanted one.

This is the best picture of the three I could get...No really, this is the GOOD one!

2007-11-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at church I stepped on Chloe and dropped Jude. Chloe was behind me and I stepped back and in trying to avoid stepping on her I think I stepped on her three times. Jude was in the pumpkin seat (thankfully strapped in). We all ended up on the floor. Aside from being embarrassed, I really thought the kids were hurt- for about a second. Jude never even woke up, but Chloe was crying hysterically. I was hugging her and asking what hurt. Finally between sobs and trying to breath she managed to say/cry/scream, "I don't have an owie, but you broke my doughnut". I walked to the snack table gave her another to which she replied, "thanks mamma, you cheered me up" and away she walked.

Backyard fun

2007-11-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

2007-11-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Teeth!

2007-11-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, Jude has a tooth. Normally I would be excited about this step in development and at the same time mourning the loss of my baby, but I really am just relieved. I have been waiting for this tooth for a week and as you can see it's been a rough one. Poor babe.

2007-11-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

My parents friends Steve and Sandy were in Africa working at an orphanage. While there Steve had heart surgery. He is fine and they are back in the states. Micah heard my mom and I talking about it.....

M: What happened to Mr. Steve?

Me: The doctor had to fix his heart.

M: Was it broken?

Me: Kinda....

M: (interrupting and very concerned) Can Jesus still live in it??

2007-11-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

This picture may not seem remarkable, but considering this is where I left my van last night, I was rather shocked to discover it was no longer there. (for those of you not following... OUR VAN WAS STOLEN)

2007-11-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

This is my new favorite park. There are great trees, duck and fish to feed and tons of stuff to climb on, and a coffee shop nearby.

Jude loves to swing!

Why would Micah learn to "pump"??? Dad can push so much higher!

Luke's parents enjoying the beautiful sunny day

Chloe loved climbing up this...slide?? She had a lot more fun going up than coming down. I'm not sure what it is, but it's definately not for sliding.

Trick or Treat?

2007-11-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

These are the only pictures I have from Halloween. Notice Micah almost crying in the second picture. He was so excited all day and it was so frustrating to him that I was trying to get a picture.

Chloe was so scared of people in costumes, but our little girl is determined and has a sweet tooth. In the end, the sugar won out. There was no way she was missing it. Micah was ready to go home, but Chloe was carrying her bag of candy like a basketball and saying, "no, I not ready to go home. I need more candy". The best was Chloe handing back what candy people gave her and saying, "do you have any lollipops?"

HAIR!

2007-10-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

I know these aren't the greatest pictures, but I had to show that Jude has hair (well, hair for a brouwer)

Don't believe me??

This is Chloe at 11 months

This is Micah at 11 months.....

Yup, JUDE HAS HAIR!!

Rub a Dub Dub, Three Kids in the Tub

2007-10-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, it was hard to get a good "clean" picture of all three...

This was the first bath Jude took with the other two.

He was totally fine with Micah pouring water on his head. We often put kids in the shower with us because it is a really fast way to bathe them, I guess they get used to water in their eyes.

Food!

2007-10-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe Jude is almost 6 months. He looks so small in the highchair, but he loves food and is pretty good about getting it in his mouth.

2007-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

People are always commenting on how Micah and Luke look alike. We were talking during dinner and I said, "Micah do you look like daddy?"
His response, "no, I have more hair"

Apple Picking

2007-10-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

In Michigan we went apple picking with my parents and our good friends Joe and Em. I had my camera, but no batteries so I stole these pictures from their blog. My parents came too and Uncle Tim picked a bushel of apples in about 10 minutes. He was all business. He was not there to enjoy the day (which was beautiful- 68 and sunny)

The whole gang (well, not the whole gang- poor third child was sleeping)

Chloe, Levi, Micah and Noah. (Noah is about six months older than Micah and Levi is about 4 months younger than Chloe)

Camping (again)

2007-10-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Blogger only lets me add 5 pictures at a time, but I had to post these of Chloe. I have decided that the experts are right and marshmallows are choking hazards. She could hardly breathe with it in her mouth, but she was more interested in eating it than breathing!

"Camping"

2007-10-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

The kids wanted to go camping in the backyard. It was too cold to set up the tent, so we just had a fire and roasted marshmallows.

See, they do love each other!

Jude was mesmerized by the flames

Michigan

2007-10-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

We went to MI last weekend to visit my parents and our good friend who had a birthday. Micah and Grandma has a lot of fun making a scarecrow!

2007-10-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

We have communion in our church every Sunday. Micah often asks us about it and today I had to share the conversation. (this all took place in a whisper of course)

Micah: I want some bread too.

Luke: We will talk about it later.

Micah: Why do you get to eat it dad?

Luke: We take communion to remind us that Jesus died for us.

Micah: Oh, I always forget Jesus

2007-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Micah: Mommy are you ok?

Me: Yeah Micah, Why?

Micah: You are a little crabby. Do you need a nap?

Me: Sorry Micah, maybe I am a little tired.

Micah: Mom, I'm big you know. I can watch the kids while you get a rest.

What a sweet boy.

I just can't get enough of this kid!

2007-10-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

Backyard Fun

2007-10-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

It was a really cool morning here so I sent the kids outside. I wasn't hearing much so I thought I'd check on them. Micah was on top of his car, a rope tied around his waist trying to string the rope through the hook. I have no idea what was going on, but it must have been between him and the dinosaur- I'm pretty sure they were having a conversation.

Chloe didn't make it into the pictures, but she was in the corner on her haunches saying, "ooh be careful. be careful micah be careful" over and over and over...

Bathtime and Bumbo

2007-10-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

I took Jude and Chloe to the doctor today. We have a great pediatrician who has Saturday and Sunday office hours. I was debating if I should bring them in, but decided to when Jude felt hot. Sure enough, they both have bad ear infections. How's a mom to know? Do these kids look sick?

A visit from Emily

2007-10-07T13:36:00.000-07:00

Emily is a friend of ours (and our kids) who lives in Chicago now. She came in town this weekend and watched our kids Saturday night so we could go out. Our kids love her and Jude had plenty of smiles for her (even though it was hours past bedtime)

A room of his own (for now)

2007-10-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Micah's room. He loves his bunk beds (can you believe they are 20+ years old- thanks Jeff and Becky!)

Pretty Pretty Princess

2007-10-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Chloe asked me to paint her fingers and toes today. Then she told everyone she saw, "you see my fingers and toes?, I'm a pretty pretty princess".

Jude found his feet!

2007-10-05T09:04:00.001-07:00

All of my kids have been great babies, but Jude is unbelievably mellow! He loves to lay on the floor or sit in his chair and chew on something. If he doesn't have a toy or blanket he just chews on his hands- and now his toes! This is a new thing. I walked in the room to check on him because I heard muffled screams. He was trying so hard to keep his foot in his mouth, but the excitement of it was causing him to kick and his foot would pop out.

Cooking with Grandma

2007-10-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Opa

2007-10-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

These are a couple more old ones (though not as old as they seem- Chloe was bald for a long time!)
I love the joy on Opa's face. He had Chloe laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

Catching Fish

2007-10-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

My dad loves to fish and he loves kids so he is always the guy hooking a fish and letting a child pull it in. I think you can see the joy on both of their faces

Tiger

2007-10-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

These pictures are a little old, but this story really deserves a post.

Micah was taking a nap in our room. Well, he was really done with naps, but I made him take a rest. Usually he would "need" something every 10 minutes or so. On this day he was really quiet so I assumed he fell asleep. When I went in to check on him this is what I found

He "was a tiger". I had to walk out of the room because I couldn't help but laugh!

2007-10-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

These are some pics of my grandma the last time we were in MI.
She is an amazing woman. I am so thankful that all my kids have been able to meet her.

2007-10-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Jude is growing so fast. He loves being on his tummy and will roll to get to toys.

Sick Kid

2007-10-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Chloe is sick. Her voice is almost gone and she walks around the house whining unless we are watching Kipper. So... we are watching ALOT of Kipper (thanks to scottybecca for the variety)

Micah is a little off too. I can't decide if he is a bit sick or bored.

Jude gets in on the fun too.

2007-10-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

Micah and Chloe were playing outside while I was inside feeding Jude. I could see the kids, but they couldn't see me. Micah was using his spoon as a sword and Chloe was screaming even though the spoon was a good 5 feet from her. I couldn't get up so I just yelled for him to stop. I see him look around and then say, "wow mom, you're like god. you can see me even when i can't see you".

If only he believes this through highschool....

2007-09-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

I think everyone expects something to go wrong in the first couple months of owning a home. I had dreams about the horrible things that could happen in the days leading up to our closing date. I was hoping it would be something as easy and relatively inexpensive as a water heater. Not so much! We got a notification from our insurance company saying we had to replace our roof or they were going to drop us. We thought we had at least five years left in it. We got the name of a roofer from some friends and he also said the roof had years left in it. He wrote a letter to our insurance company and they accepted it. Paul (the roofer) had some siding left over from a big job and offered us a great deal. So we did it!

Bumbo

2007-09-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Jude really likes the bumbo seat. He thinks he is big stuff!
(if you look close you can see that he has 8+ mosquito bites on his head)

House

2007-09-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

We bought a house! We were in MI for an interview at the end of May. We decided in early June to stay in St. Louis. We looked, offered, closed and moved in less than 3 weeks. Here are some "before pics"

May is for birthdays!

2007-09-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Luke Graduated

2007-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hooray! After 7 years of full time school Luke graduated (with honors)

Jude

2007-09-29T09:24:00.001-07:00

On May 7 Jude arrived. 7lbs 8oz

Never Say Never

2007-09-29T08:01:00.001-07:00

i said i'd never blog...never say never