flying high

its been years in the making, but its finally here- we're going to disney world!  ever since ledger was 3 years old his grandpa told him that he would take him to disney when he turned 5.  well, now is the time for that promise to be fulfilled!
we've been looking forward to this for about 8 months- ledger especially.  with all the exciting things to look forward to over the next week, the first on ledger's list is getting to ride in an airplane!
james and barbara came to our place and the five of us headed to the grand rapids airport together.  ledger was really excited the whole way over.  we parked and car and headed in for the whole checking in rigmarole.  when we finally got to our gate ledger kept looking out the window for our airplane.  when it finally pulled in he was so excited- 'look daddy, that's our plane!'
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chad visits

with the recent health scare for papa, chad and miyuki decided to come up and see everyone.  papa's health has taken an uptick, so he was actually transferred back up to grand rapids.  that gave us an opportunity to all get together at the hospital and see each other!  we got some pizza and made a party out of it!  ledger always loves any opportunity to see uncle chad and (especially) aunt miyuki, so we headed over to celebrate papa's improvements together.

looking good!

for some reason ledger has recently become obsessed with bow ties.  i'm not sure why, but he totally loves them!  we were shopping with him the other day for some new clothes for him, and he noticed that they had bow ties for kids.  oh, he was all about that!  not wanting to miss out on just how cute that would be, we of course indulged him and picked one up!  when we got home he put it on and showed off his dapper new look.  he definitely gets his appreciation of fashion and dressing up from his mother, because i try to avoid anything that would make me wear a tie!

hospital papa

so, papa hasn't been doing too well lately.  we've known this for a while, ever since the doctors informed him that he needs a liver transplant.  he had a pretty rough week, so they checked him in to the hospital at u of m in lansing.  ledger, diana, and i knew we weren't going to be able to visit much, with our impending vacation, so we made sure to stop and see him for a while.  fortunately, papa was in good spirits and we caught him on a good day.  mom has been having a harder time with it, stuck at the hospital with him, two hours away from home.  she has been a strong rock for him, but is understandably struggling under the weight of all the uncertainty and stress.
we did our best to give her a little break from the storm and ledger provided a much needed respite from the heavy reality of the situation.  his cheery mood and optimism helped lighten everyone's spirits and bring a few smiles to his proud grandparents! 
we know god is going to take care of papa in his own time, but the waiting is certainly the hardest part!

jedi pier

last time there was a new star wars movie (the skywalker ones) we went with miranda and levi to navy pier in chicago to see it.  figuring we would make it a tradition, we made plans with the two of them to do it again when last jedi came out.
well, there was a little big of a change in miranda and levi's life, so it ended up being miranda and her friend leanne instead...  we went anyway and had a nice time.  the visit to navy pier was unfortunately a bit underwhelming.  the place itself is really cool, but it seems like we picked the exact wrong time to go there- about 3/4ths of the place was under construction, so there was hardly anything to do there!  about the only places that were open on the pier were a book store and mcdonalds...  fortunately the movie theater was up and running, so we at least got to do the thing we drove two hours to see!
the movie itself was a ton of fun, and really cool in the huge 3-D imax screen, so that helped alleviate some of the disappointment...
(good grief, just take a moment and appreciate how beautiful diana is.  sometimes it takes seeing her in photos like this for me to remember, but i always do remember!)

baldwinning!

its time to go back- back to the cabin!  the five of us gathered once again for our annual trip up north to the great town of balwin where we do a whole lot of nothing- and love every minute of it!  this year adam wasn't able to make it, but that didn't slow us down one bit, the rest of us were ready to rock!  we were all supposed to meet up at aaron's place, per usual, but jeffry lee was running late, also per usual, so dusty, aaron, and i headed out and met jeff and jon up there.  when we all arrived we had a couple issues with the generator, but soon got that resolved and jumped right it to the fun and frivolity! 
we made our annual pilgrimage to sporties bar for some 'delicious' food, and then the real fun started!  we always have a blast just chilling out, playing games, and chatting the night away.  the next morning, as has happened before, we had a little issue with the vehicle we drove up...  this is always super scary- if we can't get out of here then we are screwed!  its an hour and a half from home!  fortunately, we have aaron and jeffry lee along with us- two guys who know their way around a broken down vehicle!  this time the truck had an issue starting up.  aaron slid under the engine, gave it a well placed tap, and it was running again!  we didn't want to jinx it, so we immediately packed up and headed out, making sure not to turn off the engine for anything!  all went well, we got everyone home safe and sound, but after everyone was dropped off, i brought it straight to the shop to get fixed!
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brink christmas

christmas day afternoon we headed over to jill and tim's house for our brink christmas.  though it was hard to pull ledger away from his stash of new toys, he came around when we told him that he would get to see mema, papa, and his cousins! 
this year we made it a bit easier on everyone and didn't have a big dinner together, instead everyone brought appetizers and desserts, which was really yummy and we still ended up full with plenty extra!
mema had even planned out a few fun gift games for the kids, which ledger didn't understand but was super thrilled when he won one or two!  papa still isn't feeling too well, but he was a champ and stuck with it through out the evening.  eventually we got to the gifts and it was a lot of fun to give out the different prizes we had picked out for all the nieces and nephew, as well as the rest of the family.  ledger was very pleased with his haul too.
it was a really nice time- its always great to spend some time with family, especially when there are gifts involved!
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christmas morn prizes!

it begins- the onslaught of christmas gifts!  our little boy was just about vibrating with excitement, he could hardly stand himself!  since we have the entire morning to do this, we made sure we took our time with opening the gifts.  ledge would pick one out, bring it to the center of the living room, and then dig in!  as each prize was opened he would spend some time playing with it and checking it all out.  when he was satisfied with that one, we repeat the whole process.  our lucky boy had enough under the tree that it took him a good three hours to get everything unwrapped!  his current obsession with robots and crafts led to a lot of his bounty, which he was more than thrilled with...
at one point diana and i even gave each other gifts, which took about 4 minutes, then back to ledger's loot!  once the whole tree was empty, he gathered all his prizes together and like a proud king, surveyed his new kingdom.
he was well pleased.
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christmas morn rolls

shockingly, ledger actually slept in!  what are the chances? the one morning where we fully expect him to up outrageously early, and the boy sleeps in!
when he finally rouses out of bed, he comes running in to let us know the good news: santa came last night!
he was so excited to open his prizes, but we reminded him he needs to wait, because we first need to make some delicious cinnamon rolls!  granted, this is actually diana's favorite part of christmas morning...
it was killing him the whole time he had to wait while they baked in the oven, but once we got them out, smelled them, and dug in- that made it all worth it!  we only make cinimmon rolls once a year, so its a rather special treat, well worth the wait.
but now that our bellies are full- lets open presents!
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santa's visit

tis' the night before christmas, and as is our tradition, we had ledger set out a special treat for santa.  we put out a couple cookies and a glass of water.  ledge fought for milk, but we figured that santa is getting milk at so many other houses, we thought he might appreciate having a glass of water instead.  you know, too much milk can really upset one's stomach...
it just so happened that santa left a special gift on the stand after finishing his cookies along with a note just for ledger!  check out his note here.

christmas at the lake

when ledger woke up this morning he was already beyond excited for the christmas fun to begin!  he gathered up the ornaments we made last night and was ready to go to grandma and grandpa's!  we gathered up our things and headed over.
there was a big crowd this year, with diana's dad, aunt and uncle, and even miranda joining us as well!  david, not wanting to miss everything like he has had to in years past because he's getting the feast ready in the kitchen, wisely ordered a feast for us to be catered.  we picked it up on the way over and got to dig in soon after everyone arrived.  it was delicious and we had a great time gathered around the table enjoying the food and the company.  ledger was even adventurous enough to try some of the dishes he had never had before.
once the feast was finished, we made our way to the living room and got to ledger's favorite part: the prizes!  it was great fun to give and receive gifts, showing our appreciation and love for each other.  clearly, everyone loved ledger the most because he had about a dozen prizes...
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auntie b's ornaments

we celebrated christmas with diana's family the weekend before the holiday this year.  since mom and david's house was full with guests, we opted to stay with james and barbara- which is what barbara and ledger would prefer anyway!
we spend the day playing and having fun with crafts, taking the dogs for a walk, and being generally silly.  we even talked barbara into taking ledger for an hour or two while we finished our christmas shopping for the family. 
one of barbara's clever ideas was to make christmas ornaments- from scratch!  she found a special recipe that lets you make what are basically christmas cookies, bake them, and then decorate them.  when they were all made we worked late into the night painting them and having fun together!  ledger stayed up till almost 10:30pm- which is super late for him.  he was getting understandably loopy by the end there...  but its a good thing we ran out of ornaments, because i'm sure he would have wanted to keep going straight on till morning!
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movie with the cousins

last year we went to go see a movie with the whole family.  this year we didn't quite get everyone, but we at least gathered up all the cousins and went and saw 'ferdinand'.  the movie wasn't very special, but getting to spend the afternoon with the kids was special!  we wandered around the mall for a bit, grabbed a bite to eat, and had a really fun time!
i'm pretty sure we've got a new family tradition on our hands...

swim night

with ledger in swim classes we noticed that that there was a special open swimming event at the pool.  we weren't about to miss that fun opportunity, so we went and checked it out.  it was really cool, they have a series of inflatables that go on the pool so the kids can play around on them, slide down them, and jump off them!  there were a bunch of kids there and ledger had a really fun time.  up until now he has only been swimming in the little pool, so it was quite a treat for him to be able to go into 'the big kids pool'.  we had a lot of fun and look forward to the next pool night!

the art hop

the old regent theater is once again showing a christmas favorite- that must mean its time for allegan's annual art hop!  our little town has this annual event where they have all the shops downtown stay open late, they fill all the other buildings with craft booths and art galleries for everyone to check out and enjoy the local artists.  we were able to enjoy the special night together last year, and i left work early so we could be a part of it again this year.
this year the theater was showing frosty the snowman, which ledger had never seen, so he was totally up for it!
after the show we got to enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride through downtown allegan and walk around town checking out the beautiful artwork made by local artists.  we picked up a couple christmas gifts along the way.
all in all, an amazing night with the family- what a wonderful christmas memory!
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deck the halls

one of ledger's favorite christmas traditions (diana and i love it too) is putting up the tree!  as is our tradition, we started by setting the scene- we baked some sugar cookies so that the whole place smelled like christmas.  after filling our bellies, we put on some christmas music and got to work!
each year ledger is able to help out more and more- he's getting to be a big boy!
the tree is put together and set up, and now the fun part begins: putting on the ornaments.  diana is always very particular about the ornament placement, wanting to make sure there are no empty spots on the tree.  well, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, because that's what ledger was obsessed with too- he made absolutely sure there were no gaps, even putting an ornament or two up, then taking a step back and examining his work, then deciding on the next placement.  a true artist at work, that's for sure!
once the whole thing was done, no more ornaments left to hang, then we lowered the room lights to get the full effect of our work- and it is glorious!  with the high ceiling and cool star on top of the tree that shines up, the whole thing looks just as amazing as we had hoped!  now we are ready for another fantastic christmas!
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garage band

nathan, ledger's friend from school who lives next door, stopped by and asked if he wanted to go play outside.  he was totally up for it, so he and i headed down.  we go to the garage so the boys can play on the scooters. 
the two of them had a blast!  they scooted around and played with some of the toys in the garage.  i have a cd player set up in there for when i'm working, so it was blasting out some music.  one of ledger's favorite songs came on so he and nathan rocked out along with the music and put on a concert just for me- nathan on the piano, and ledger on vocals, just rockin' out!

santa comes to town

with the christmas season approaching, we knew ledger would be all about it.  allegan, being the amazing town that it is, of course had a special event downtown where they had a ceremonial lighting of the christmas tree.  and would you know it, guess who was coming by for the special event?  why, santa himself was planning to be there!
we headed down for the late night parade (because, again, allegan is amazing and has late night parades!) where ledger even found some of his school friends to play with.
after the parade we headed down to the plaza by the river and gathered around for the lighting.  santa was kind enough to invite the kids over to sit on his lap and let him know what they want for christmas.
it was truly a magical evening, but really, at this point that's what we've come to expect from our little amazing town!
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hanging with tav

alanna and tavish don't come to town very often, so when they do we make sure those two cousins get to spend as much time together as possible!  the two of them are just a about a two years apart, but they are two peas in a pod.  tavish is about the only kid who can match ledger for energy- the two of them zip around the house in a blur the entire time!  as you can see by the photo, they certainly love each other!

loosing his first tooth

looks like the tooth fairy will be visiting us!  after fiddling with his loose tooth for the last couple days, one of them finally came out!  ledge was really excited about loosing his first tooth, though to us it feels like they just grew in!  i guess this means we are going to have to accept the fact that our little baby isn't a baby anymore and will have grown up teeth before we know it!