a day in the life of Trevor

Gretchen spent Friday with Ray's mom so I thought I'd give a little insight on a day with Trevor.


It was cleaning day so I was lucky to get a morning nap out of him so most of the cleaning got done during that time. This gave us the chance to spend the rest of the day just the 2 of us. When he woke up from his morning nap, he had to do the usual check the house to see if Gretchen was still here or if she had really left. Once he checked the house out, he knew it was his turn to take over the house and toys. :)



I caught him having a chat with the driver of his dump truck. I didn't think much of it until later in the day. I think he was having a chat about who the "real" driver of the dump truck was. And Trevor made sure he let him know. The driver was later spotted being thrown under the couch.



After our bellies were full, Trevor settled down for an afternoon nap which gave mom a chance to finish cleaning. He's a very active 15 month old so mom also needed a break. Trevor has started this new habit of looking at books. It's fantastic; however, there are many days after nap when I find lots of books in his crib. It makes me wonder how long he really did sleep.



Once he was up and moving again, it was time for a snack and drink in our sippy cup. Oh and of course, we watched Ellen. The little boy loves to dance.



There were many hours spent playing with tractors and balls. The sound effects that come with them are priceless.

And I can't forget giving lots of kisses to Abby.

just another week

Well, it's been a LONG week. Ray has been working for his uncle putting heating and furnaces into homes. He's been working 11 hour days. It makes the day seem long and I know the kids get antsy to see him. Today, for example, as I was making lunch Gretchen made the comment "I miss daddy." She also informed me at bedtime tonight that daddy will be home 2 days this weekend.

With the weather changing to more fall like, it's a challenge to keep the kids entertained. I made an attempt at making homemade finger paint on Monday for Gretchen. She really enjoyed it but the paint didn't set like I would have liked it too. It kept her entertained for a good 1-2 hours.




The play-dough seems to be getting more use out of it as well. Gretchen was playing with it one morning this week and Trevor decided he wanted to try it out too. I put him in his highchair and gave him a little bit. It took him just one time to put the play-dough in his mouth to realize it was not something he wanted to eat. Silly boy.



Gretchen has been in a singing mood lately. It's hilarious to hear her sing. She puts her own little words in here and there. Last week while I was putting laundry away, I happen to overhear her singing "Jesus loves me" to Trevor. I think mommy even got a little teary eyed hearing that one. She also informed me she loves Trevor and didn't want to replace him. That's good to know. :)



This morning the kids were getting antsy inside so I decided it was time to go outside and tackle some of those leaves. Gretchen has been asking all week when daddy would put them into a pile for her to jump on. I figured I could handle this task. Little did I know the kids would fight about whose pile was whose. What a treat that was.


Just another week for the Van Daele's. :)

Crazy weather

It's really hard to believe it's October and it's still 80 outside. The kids love being able to still play outside. I, however, hate the mosquitoes that come with this time of the year.



This week we're happy to have Ray at home. He has a week off from work in order for the company to get parts so they can keep going. It gives us a chance to have lots of family time. It's definitely needed!


This afternoon he tackled mowing the yard. The kids loving being outside with daddy when he mows. I honestly think it's the highlight of Trevor's week sometimes. He doesn't understand that it is a lot easier for daddy if daddy doesn't have to try and carry him around the yard. He enjoys pushing his own little lawn mower around but his favorite thing would be the rocks. He could spend hours just playing in the rocks.


Then you have Miss Gretchen who had to bring her dolly out. She needed to go for a swing in the baby swing and then down the slide with Gretchen. She had to make sure that dolly didn't get dirty at all. She'll be a good mommy when she gets older.


This past Saturday Ray's sister, Lynnette, had a Halloween party for the band. The kids had a blast! Gretchen reminds me everyday of the hay-ride she got to go on. It was the 1st one for both of them. They both enjoyed the attention they received from all of the girls impressed with how cute and adorable they were. If only they knew. :)

Last week I purchased my first official running shoes. I used to go to the college rec center 3x a week to swim. With money being tight, we decided I would skip out on it this semester and try the treadmill in the basement instead. It's been going okay so far. I think the treadmill is winning with my legs being sore most days. I just hope they don't fall off.

Little things

It amazes me how the littlest things amuse my kids. For example, earlier this week the next door neighbor brought over a dog bed for us. Here's the thing our dogs are huge and this bed is little. They are a nice Hispanic family and she works at PetCo and they were going to just throw it away. She and her kids brought the dog bed over and Ray tried to explain that he thought it was a little small for our dogs. She told him to give it to someone who has a dog then. Ray politely took it and told her thank you. We put it on the kitchen floor and contemplated who to give it too. After several minutes of staring at it, Trevor decided it was perfect for him. He goes and just plops himself down in. No big deal; I know it's clean and no dog has used it. But yet it gets better. He now drags this bed around the house with him. He thinks it's the greatest thing in the world. I hate to see what he does the day we give it away. I think he's getting a bean bag from mommy and daddy for Christmas.

And we couldn't forget about Gretchen. I started working on applesauce this week. I try to do most of it while the kids are taking their naps. It's alot easier this way. Wednesday afternoon after nap time Gretchen comes out to the kitchen to see what I was doing. Of course, this is the same day I manage to cut my finger while cutting the apples. She sees the band-aid on my finger and gets currious.

G: "Mommy, why is SpongeBob on your finger?" (The Spongebob band-aids were the only ones I could find at the time of the incident.)

M: "I cut my finger while cutting an apple."

G: "Can I see it?"

M: I cautiously open the band-aid so she can see it. "There it is."

G: "Put that band-aid back on. It's yucky. Can I kiss it? It help."

No healing powers from her. The cut is still there but that's my little nurse in action.

Wednesday night she got to go with my mom to church for a children's night. Grandma is her teacher. It's the first 3 Wednesdays of the month until April. She's very excited about this! She woke up Wednesday morning and right away asked me if today was the day. That's all I heard about all day; Grandma was going to come pick her up. She was so thrilled! When she got back home Wednesday, she kept playing the night over and over and over to Ray and me. We had quite a time getting her calmed down to go to bed. The past few mornings when she wakes up she asks me if it's Wednesday yet. Watch out Grandma she's ready again.

It's the little things that count.