The Algeras

Yes, I'm 31 today, and what a great birthday it was! Sara sang to me to start things off. What could be better than a 2 year old version of Happy Birthday to You?

In the morning we loaded everyone up and went to the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. Sara had a great time and will probably be talking about this trip for weeks. She got a kiss from a sea lion! She saw real penguins, a walrus or "big monster!", otters and seals. She loved watching schools of fish. "Those fishies have a problem" she said as small fish swam around a bigger one. She liked the seahorses and jellyfish too. We may have a future marine biologist on our hands!

Tonight Ben and I went out for dinner while Grandma and Grandpa watched Sara and David. What a birthday treat! Sara got her bath in Grandma's tub and now both of them are snoozing away. Sara has claimed her bed here - we caught her jumping up and down on it this afternoon. David sleeps in his pack and play in the hallway. He had a very rough night last night, so hopefully he'll sleep better tonight. I was so tired this morning I poured my juice until the cup poured over and Ben asked me what I was doing!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful day with the people they love. Congratulations to Brad and Ericka (Nate's brother and sister-in-law) on their beautiful Christmas baby, Leah Grace!

We had a busy but very enjoyable day. After church we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Zandstra's house for a delicious meal, presents and games. The kids could hardly enjoy their food with all those presents sitting under the tree! They had fun ripping and got great presents from Grandma and Grandpa and the aunts and uncles.

In the afternoon, Nate and Ellen dropped us off at the airport and we got on a plane to New Jersey to see Grandma and Grandpa Algera! It was David's first plane ride and Sara's fourth. They were so well behaved! David hung out on my lap laughing or just sitting. Sara read her book and played with her giggle stick. She took a midflight snooze and then looked out the window until we got to our gate (a half hour early!)

Bedtime was a little chaotic when we got home, but both kids slept pretty well and got up bright and early this morning for presents! Sara had a great time. Ben's dad restored the toy tractor he got as a gift when he was three and gave it to Sara. It looks like new and Sara has already taken it for a ride down the sidewalk. David sat on the seat and twirled the steering wheel. He's not even close to reaching the pedals yet!

Aunt Pam, Alyce, Kyle and Matthew came down from Massachusetts for an Algera family party. Sara was shy at first but warmed up to her usual silly self pretty quickly. She enjoyed her pizza and presents. It was so good to see everyone again.

Sara and David both went to bed with very little convincing tonight. Sara is back to being a big girl, going on the potty and being good about bed! I'm so excited about that. The'll need their rest! We plan to go to the aquarium tomorrow so Sara can see some penguins. That should make her week!

We've taken so many pictures in the last few days it's hard to choose just a few to put up here. Go check out Facebook or Flickr if you would like to see photos of all the fun!

We had a great day today! Check out this slideshow and enjoy it along with us:



Quotes of the day
"Here my snowboots, snowpants, snowcoat...lets go out now!"
"David WANTS to share his truck" (After she took his present away from him)
"Oh, my merry Christmas! My tea party! Thank you Daddy!" (after seeing her new kitchen)

Yes, it is still freezing cold and snowing like crazy! Church was canceled and we were stuck inside watching the snow all day long. It looks like we'll have a lot more snow to shovel by morning, too!

We had fun at home, playing and finishing Christmas wrapping. Sara took pictures for us. She loves saying "cheese for the camera, Mommy!" She is also very intrigued by the presents under the tree. "Toys for Daddy, Allison and Andrew!" There is stuff under there for her, but I didn't make a big deal of that. I don't need three days of whining! I get enough from Ben!

Sara is in bed, sleepy from all the Daddy playing. She and David love when Ben wears his Calvin sweatshirt with strings. They both got hold of them this afternoon and just about strangled him. David is working on finding his sleep while cuddling Daddy right now.

I might go shovel a bit. I have to work tomorrow and I'd like to be able to get out of the driveway in my car. The road has about four inches of snow on it right now, so the plow shouldn't bury us in too badly when or IF it comes by again. Before the plow came through this afternoon there was absolutely no way I could have gotten out. It was that deep! We'll go to bed soon and hope the snow winds down before morning.

David and Sara got an early Christmas present for this snowy day. It was perfect for sledding!

David hangs out













Sara makes recipies











David and Sara hung out with Daddy tonight while Mommy Claus went out to do ALL her Christmas shopping. There are still a couple things not crossed off my list, but it was a very productive evening. And it's amazing how much I can get done without my little helpers!

They did "help" me with the grocery shopping this afternoon. They were very good - David slept the whole time and Sara rode in the cart chatting with me. She helped empty the cart and then got a ride on the horse for being so good.

We headed to Great Grandma's house after that. Sara played hard with Allison and Andrew! "Allison wear me out, Mommy" she said on the way home.

Worn out Sara is snuggled in bed in her "very favorite" Christmas pjs. David is snuggling Daddy and hopefully have a good sleeping night. Sometime we do, sometimes not so much. We go to bed hopeful!

That's what we did today: listen to Sara talk and talk and talk. Ben wanted me to write these wise sayings down so we can laugh about them later. So here are some of the things heard in the Algera house today:

"I draw beautiful penguin eggs!"
"Pipie goes night when Sara is wakey!" (She only gets her pipe at night and she knows not to beg for it now)
"David is boring today"
"I want jelly sandwich, please no peanut butter"
"Mommy and Sara sailing away" (during her bath)
"When Daddy gets home, I give huge big kisses...Mmmmmaaaaa!!!!"
"Shake your booty!"
"found the baby wrapped in cloths laying in a manger"
"My Hayden Scott came to play. We hide from Mommy"
"Pizza! Give pizza!"

Here's David, taking a mid afternoon snooze by the Christmas lights. Maybe he is dreaming about the presents Sara told him about. He fell asleep while looking at the lights and shiny ornaments.

It was freezing cold and blustery today. There was plenty of snow for Sara to shout at. She really wanted to go out and play in it, but the temperatures were in the single digits, not even figuring in the wind chill. So Mom was mean, even though Sara found her coat and begged "here is snowcoat, I go play pleeeeeaaase!!!!!"

But she did find plenty to do inside. Dominique and Parker stopped by on their way home to Wisconsin. Parker and Sara had fun running up and down the stairs and doing downward dog with somersaults. Sara also had fun acting like a penguin. Penguins are her new favorite thing. She told me to "shake my penguin booty!" She walks like a penguin and dances like a penguin. It's hilarious.

Now Sara is sleeping in her new Christmas pajamas. David is fussing a little, but he'll be out soon too. He's been doing a little better at the nighttime sleeping. Ben's been getting full nights of sleep and I'm usually only short a half hour to an hour of sleep. Not bad!

Do these three characters look like they might be related? No Zandstra genes expressed in these kids. But they are still adorable, and Daddy isn't so bad looking either!

I'm just back from a few hours at work, which was a complete circus. I'm still on call just in case the craziness continues. One of the ER nurses said he was trying to bat a cycle; bring us one of each kind of patient. He was getting pretty close! Ah, fun times.

Sara and David were very happy and silly today. David likes to blow raspberries and Sara calls them "David's gazoos" as in "Mommy, David is making gazoos!" He belly laughs for two things - Mommy kissing his fat little cheeks and Sara. Sara has been walking like a penguin all day and reading her Christmas books. She won't go anywhere without her three Christmas books. They go to bed with her at night, and come downstairs in the morning. They are necessary for car rides and naps. Some boring day I'm just going to blog a list of things the kids do that I don't want to forget. It's like an online baby book!

Ben is out making a quick Meijer run, Sara is asleep with dolly, blankie and books and David needs some settling down. I think he might be getting a tooth. He is producing enough drool to water a small garden! Good night!

Things were just to busy last night to get to the blog, so I'm catching up in the morning. David is playing with the fish on his play mat and shrieking right now, and Sara is eating her morning snack "so good granola bar!" They are busy and happy for the moment.

Last night we met Grandma and Grandpa at the Meijer Gardens to see the Christmas trees. Sara had such a great time! The trees are big and bright. "So pretty 'Chrisas' trees! My tree so pretty too!"

The tropical garden was dark, lit only by lights wrapped around trees. It was beautiful and Sara had a great time running around and around the paths. The poinsettias and amaryllis were big and beautiful "So big plants, so pretty!" She liked the birdhouses on the bird tree, too.

The trains made of natural material were set up in the seasonal gardens again this year. It's so funny to watch groups of kids follow the trains through the rooms. Sara loves the trains. While she was chasing them, she ran into Ally and Andrew and their grandma and grandpa! They were all so excited. Andrew waved hello and bye-bye to the trains and said "toot toot!" when they came around the bend. Ally and Sara ran along the tracks and squealed when they saw the trains.

We found the childrens activities in the basement, and Sara had a wonderful time making a paper house with Daddy and playing with the toy trains. She also liked the turtle tank in the hallway.

David was a happy toot the whole time. He squeaked for food once, and when that need was met he was good to go again. He giggled and dimpled at everyone. Sara lasted until about 7:30, and then she started getting tired and cranky. So we headed out into the snowstorm for home. It was a slow drive home, but we made it in one piece. The kids were a little wound up so bedtime took a while, but they slept pretty well last night!

Sara woke up this morning and said "see pretty trees and trains today too? Please?" I guess she had a good time. Maybe we'll take her again some Saturday. If I bundle her up she would probably have a good time wandering around outside, too!

The kids slept in until about 9 today - how nice! We didn't have to negotiate with eachother for the parent sleep in. Ben made overnight french toast, so we stuck that in the oven and had a great breakfast. Sara ate a whole big piece and a whole banana! She's been a very hungry child lately.

We watched football and played indoor games all day. Sara is starting to feel a little cooped up, I think. But she loves having Dad home on the weekends, because he will give horsey rides and do somersaults with her. I'm not very good at somersaults. Ben and Sara were laughing at my attempts.

I feel like a bad mom today because I snipped David while trimming his fingernails. He was bleeding! Have you ever tried to bandage an infant finger? It's tough. He seems to have forgiven me, though. He is still awake right now, so maybe that's his revenge.

We're watching the snow blow and waiting to stick the baby in his crib. Hopefully things calm down by tomorrow, since I have to work in the afternoon. We've seen a plow go by once in the last two days, and our road is pretty full of snow. I'm not even sure the car could get out!

I can't seem to get this video to upload here - so follow this link to see some cute David.

What funny kids! David has been having fun rolling around and grabbing at his feet. Video coming soon! Sara helped herself to David's leftover pears after dinner tonight. "I eat David's pears! He all done!" David chowed down about half a jar of pears and I let Sara finish it off. She said it was very good. I'll have to see what she thinks of pureed veggies next!

We had a good day today. It was snowing pretty much continuously. Sara loves to watch snow, and it was the pretty fluffy stuff. We had to get out in it this morning so Sara could get the second half of her flu shot. She was not happy about this. She threw every excuse she could think of to stay home. "I tired, need bed! I hungry, need food! No doctor, no!" While I was strapping David in the car she stripped of all her clothes; "No clothes, no out!" I finally got her there and she did great. Everything was fine after she got a pink plastic dolphin for a prize.

We played some Chutes and Ladders, had a big lunch, had a nap and then headed to Great-Grandma's house. Sara loves to see her Grandmas. She read books and ate cookies. David was in a very cheerful mood. Grandma loves her baby giggles! Then Allison and Andrew showed up and the fun began. They read Elmo says with hyper child actions. Sara took off her shirt and Allison and Andrew followed her lead. Three half naked children running around! It was too funny.

Sara was upset at bedtime and I think we can blame the shot for some of it. Tylenol and cuddles made it at least bearable and she's sleeping now. David has had a very happy evening and is still blowing bubbles and giving Ben giggles. He is starting to slow down and look a little sleepy. His napping/eating routine got a little messed up today. Hopefully he'll crash soon and we'll be able to crash too!

Look at my little man with a hat over his eyes. He got dumped yesterday. Anika found a cute preschool boy she wants to marry instead. Oh well. He seems to be taking it well!

We've had a great couple days here. Not much going on, just playing and enjoying the snow. Sara really gets a kick out of the neighbors who are reroofing their house. They have to shovel the roof every morning. She thinks this is hilarious.

Sara helped make sugar cookies with cookie cutters yesterday. She thinks this process is great fun. She also really likes using a rolling pin. She also likes to eat these cookies. She ate three of them before I caught her pulling them off the cooling rack. She just grinned with her mouth full "So good cookies, Mommy!" Next time she wants to make all stars and moons with frosting smiley faces.

David is sound asleep right now. Sara is having a little bit of trouble settling down. She's had a couple of good bedtimes, but I guess she's just unsettled tonight. What a 2 year old.

It's Ben again... with a little explanation of the last post.  Emily started the post, but Sara started saying "I blog! I blog!"  So we let her punch at the keys for a while.  The funny thing was, she actually posted it!  We were just watching her type and all of a sudden, the screen said "Your post was successful!"  I guess we have a very tech savvy daughter!

This is Sara's entry:

hswdrgftsdee9idwwq AZXEFQEDE M, K K BN
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mMMMM
:?CKCJJVK ';778IU'I

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5TY\
Y]]'\][[;[POOO

Hey, I actually feel well enough to type! We've been hit hard by this stomach bug. We're moving into the nasty diaper stage of things. Yuck! Sara is still awake after throwing up after dinner. She "feels all better now, stay up now!"

Ben stayed home this morning because I couldn't get myself off the couch. He took some very cute pictures of David sitting on my lap. He says he is feeling very paternal today. Look at my little toot! What a grin. He loves his mommy.

Sara has been taking very good care of me too. She read me stories and let me cuddle her dolly today. "You hug dolly and me read to Mommy. Make all better now!"

Hopefully we will all be better soon and David and Ben will stay well. I'm imposing a quarentine on us for at least another day or so. I don't want to pass this on to anyone else!

Poor Sara! She got so sick today. I thought I heard her vomiting in the early morning, but when I went to check on her everything looked clean and she was pretty sleepy, so I let her be. She got up and seemed happy enough, although she only picked at her breakfast. We got all dressed for church and into the car. When we got to the corner she puked all over the car seat and her Sunday clothes. We pulled over, I hopped in the back and she continued to heave into David's spit rag on the way back home. Half digested milk and bananas are gross! After a complete clean up and snuggle she did it all over again, all over the couch and herself.

I went to check out the bedroom and everything WAS clean - except for her blanket which had undigested beans in it. I felt so bad! I left a sick kid to herself at night! But she seems to have survived.

She seemed to perk up a little after a morning snuggle. She ran to the window and shouted about the snow. But as she sat by the window watching snowflakes...she did it again. Puke splashing off the window! No food in it this time because she hadn't eaten anything all morning. I threw in pukey laundry load number 2. I am happy to report that I sucessfully got the smell out of her blanket, her Sunday coat and her dolly. But I learned that dolly needs to be hung up to dry or water stores up in her legs and drips out when she gets a good hug!

This afternoon she took a good nap and snuggled on Daddy. I covered the couch with an old sheet, just in case. She seems better now, running around and eating some toast and crackers. We are a scrubbing, hand washing bunch! I really don't want to deal with a vomiting baby.

I'm getting ready to leave for work and hoping Sara's stomach contents stay where they belong for Ben. I'll bet bedtime is not a struggle at all tonight! She's so tired.

David is happy and waving his arms at me while telling me a story that involves lots of drool and cooing. He's been ignored a little today while we tended to his sister. He was OK with that. He didn't nap much and was a little fussy until he filled a diaper. It's so fun to watch him become more and more interactive. Ben just told me he said "Daddy". He gets worried now if he doesn't see someone and gives big grins when someone comes to get him. Sara loves his smiles and babbling. She told me "I speak baby talk!" I guess we have a translator!

I hope the stomach bug is done! Good luck Ben!

Yes, Ellen, I realize that the blog is behind. So here is a week in pictures.















David got some cereal! He seemed to like it. Look at him smirk.















David loves his hippo. He loves to strangle it and chew on it. Poor hippo.
















David has been getting us up early. Davey wakey now!





















Sara loves to bake with Mommy while wearing her chef outfit.















Sara learned to play Candyland. She follows her own rules, and always wins!

It was another beautiful, 70 degree day here in Holland. We spent as much time outside as we could.

Wendy and Hayden came over in the morning and we headed to the park. Sara loves playing there and runs around skipping and laughing. She climbed to the top of the climbing spiral by herself today. Of course, I was standing right behind her holding my breath the whole way. I got some pictures of her big grins, you can check them out on Flickr!

When we got back home it was time to play in the leaves. I raked them up and Sara and Hayden scattered them. Sara discovered how much fun it is to pounce Mommy in the leaf pile. David liked crinkling leaves in his hand and getting buried by the two year olds. Both kids had leaves in their diapers when I changed them!

Sara ate a big lunch and went down for a big nap. David was right behind her. I got a little time to relax and finish raking up the front and side yards. When Ben got home we had to hurry to get the leaves to the curb before the rain started. It looks like the nice weather stretch is over. Sara grabbed her raincoat and stood in the garage while we finished. "Have my raincoat, Mom, I can go out!"

We made dinner and I went out to get groceries after a hug and kiss from Sara. The kids were very playful for Ben. Sara loves to read her books and make block stacks. David likes to grab for his rattle ball and drool on Snoopy.

It was bath night and that meant a whole lot of splashing and yelling. Sara loves to swim and splash and then put her own lotion on. "I lotion my skin like Mommy does! So pretty, smell yummy." Then she gets to help with David's bath. She washed his toes for me today.

Now Sara is in her bed after stories. Last night, she was so tired she put herself to bed! I wasn't feeling well, so I was napping in my room. Ben was walking fussy boy. I felt a little hand on my face "Good night Mommy. Love you!" She walked out of my room, into her room and got into her bed! Ben covered her up, gave her a kiss and turned out the light and that was it! Wow. She did wake up in the middle of the night while I was feeding David. I just about laid down on her! She looked at me and said "Owl got my pipie. Need pipie!" She had lost her pipe and doll and couldn't get back to sleep.

Hopefully tonight will be better. David is 90% asleep in Ben's arms and we're watching Kitchen Nightmares. Ben wonders what Gordon Ramsey would say about my cooking. It's true I am not a gourmet cook, but I think I have a little bit of talent. The food doens't stay to long on his plate, at least!

Mine is nerdy though... This is a wordle of a design justification document for the instrument cluster that I am working on.

Some other wordles..this is getting addictive...

Declaration of Independence


Isaiah 53


In Christ Alone

Thanks for the link, Mom!

Well, I didn't have a new picture to upload today, so I'll show you one of Sara's. She likes to play with the camera. That's why we bought one that's shockproof and added a screen protector. She has a modern art sort of theme to her photography.

We had a very relaxing Saturday here. David has been short on sleep lately so we just took it easy to recharge. Sara slept in a little bit after her sugar rush yesterday, but was ready to rip once she got going.

Sara and I did our whole workout video uninterrupted today. She had a great time, I'm feeling it in my aching muscles. Ben tried very hard to keep a straight face. At least he didn't get out the camera. He'd never seen the great performance we can put on. Sara loves downward dog and fit frog!

She ate like a horse today. While Ben was making dinner (Thank you! The burritos were great!) she laid on the floor crying "I need food! So hungry! Hurry!" Trust me, we aren't starving her. She'd had a snack an hour before that. She was just being silly. She loved the burritos, though! "Daddy, these good burrito. Yum yum!"

We tried a couple bites of rice cereal for David. He grinned and giggled and grabbed at it but a lot of it ended up on his face. Oh well, he's just learning. He's not even 5 months old yet, but he's been so hungry lately! I thought we'd just start playing around with it. I'll probably wait till closer to 6 months to make it part of his diet. We'll see! I think he's going to like food like his Daddy does.

After dinner we went to the Carter's outlet to get David some footed sleepers. I love those things. They're comfortable and easy to put on. And I don't have to worry about pants and socks falling off his wiggly little butt. He's getting to be a scooter! Everything was 50% off or more, so I'm thinking about going back to get some holiday party clothes. They had some cute stuff.

Both kids had their bath already. Sara was not super excited about it, but she didn't sob this time. It's so strange! I used to have to pry her out of the tub when she started to prune up!

Now she's sitting next to me eating pretzels and milk for a bedtime snack. Hopefully the time change won't mean she's up at 6 tomorrow. We're watching some football and all snuggling on the couch. It's so nice.

We had a very busy day at home after a slow start. David did not want to sleep last night and Ben got disoriented to the time. He was so confused he shut off his alarm and slept until the kids woke up at 8.

He rushed off to work and the kids and I got started on our day. Sara has been amazingly hungry. She comes up to me before meal and snack times and says "I'm hungry, food now?" Once she was full, she got out the books and started to read to David. She has Goodnight Moon nearly memorized. She loves to say goodnight to the little mouse, the clocks and the socks.

I put the fleece liner in the car seat for David today. I think the cooler weather is here to stay. Sara had a great time playing peekaboo with him while I adjusted the straps. He thought it was hilarious; he grinned and laughed at Sara the whole time. She patted him and kissed his head "David so nice brother. Peekaboo!"

When David went down for his nap, Sara and I made muffins. Sara loves to help. She helped me beat the eggs and poured the dry ingredients into a bowl. Then she helped me scoop the batter into the pan and put her oven mitt on to help me bring them to the oven. Mommy is the only one who may touch the oven, though. I made sure she knew that! She looks like such a big girl in this picture! It's so much fun to do things with her help. The muffins tasted really, really good, too. Sara would eat them all if I let her! "My muffins taste so good! I good helper!"

We took a family trip to Meijer to return pop bottles and get candy for tomorrow. Sara had fun watching and counting the fish in the tanks. "One, two, three, four, sixteen fish! Fish swim zoom, zoom!" Ben found her a pumpkin sippy on the Halloween clearance and she was a happy girl. What a treat it is to go to Meijer with Dad!

Sara threw a fit about taking a bath tonight. I have no idea why. She usually loves her bath! Maybe she was just tired. We read a couple stories and she said "I sleepy. Go bed now" That NEVER happens! I hope she's not coming down with something.

David is fussing away right now. He is starting to look sleepy so hopefully we're getting to the end of it for the night. My mom says this is what evenings with baby me were like, so I guess I had it coming. He was such a happy baby all day, though. Hopefully he'll wear out soon and we can all go to bed.

Finally, this week is done. We are all starting to feel better, although tempers are a little short and tears were a little more common today than usual (Mommy included! Daddy was pretty tough, though).
Sara slept OK until sometime between 2 and 3. She crawled into bed with us but still couldn't get settled. I had a headache and David was hungry so by the time the kids woke up at 7 Ben was the only sane one in the house. He decided to stay home from bridgebuilding on the Macatawa Greenway to let us all get caught up on some rest. Thanks, dear! I felt so bad for him, but he and Sara did get to go out for a little while to help with the construction. Sara had a great time watching and seeing Sunstar the dog.
Ben got home and I went to work for a 2 hour class and then a grocery store stop. The kids were good for him and the house looked much better when I got home than when I left!
Jay and Laura came to visit in the afternoon. It was so good to see them! Can't wait until you move out here for good, guys! Sara started out shy, but soon enough she had Ben and Jay involved in her bouncing tumbling games.
David really likes sitting in the high chair while we eat, and today a little bit of applesauce might have made it's way into his mouth. He licked his lips and laughed. Yeah, getting this kid to eat food might not be as much of a challenge as bottles has been. I hope not!
I cut Sara's nap a little short today to see if we can get better night time sleep. We took a walk to calm the kids down and she did go to bed early with very little protest. She was so tired she didn't even want to help with David's bath! So unlike her. I hope my happy baby will be back soon. There's no more coughing or fever but she isn't quite herself just yet. Hopefully a good nights sleep will reset her for next week.
One more note - Happy birthday to Great Grandma Algera! She's 87 today!