Where's The Fire??

Connor went to another Fire Station with his pre-school class (shout-out to Miss Lynn!), and I think this was like his fourth one. This stuff is getting to be a bit old hat for him, I'd say.

More Outdoors.

At the risk of being redundant, I do like to get after that driveway. And we played some more, if that's what you call it when I run around in the snow pulling C-man. Note Evie at that door -- she wanted to come out and play!

Playing In The Snow!

The kids got a great "old school" wooden sled for Christmas (thanks Grandma Joyce!), so we spent some time playing outside and towing them around with it.

Making Cookies.

Later that week someone made cookies, while someone else waited patiently for them to come out of the oven!

New Year's Day.

My cousins and other family were in town over the New Year holiday, and we all met at my uncle Dave's for the afternoon. My dad and his brother sure love their grandkids!

Party!

We had some friends over the day after Christmas. Things got pretty wild, let me tell you, as the party went on from 5:30 PM or so all the way until 9:00!

Nine that same night, that is.

So things have changed a little since school... it was a lot of good, clean fun!

Connor Cooking.

Connor has a (toy) miniature kitchen in his play room, and one of his presents was some cookware that was to scale. He's quite crafty with it, just like his old man.

Christmas Eve.

Traditionally we have opened our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve, but we've become a bit more flexible on that policy over the last several years. This year was pretty much back to normal, although we were missing Tina (unfortunately). We had lots of gifts and lots of time to open them as well. My brother got me the Element Gasket I'd mentioned from time to time throughout the year, and he and my dad both received the Chia Obama from me, among other things. It was a wonderful night with family.

Evie's First Birthday!

It's also Christmas Eve, so we had a family birthday party for Evie in the afternoon. (It was family, and an older gentleman that has some loose connection to our family and manages to come to many of our gatherings... suffice to say we're looking into it.)

Evie was one year old, and I for one couldn't believe how quickly the year passed!

Winter On The Meadow.

It can be quite pretty on the Meadow.

Later That Day.

When we got home I was watching a movie downstairs, and Connor was in his play room. Jodi was on the main floor doing I'm-not-sure-what, then she came downstairs to do something else. I'm just setting the scene, folks...

I think I noticed Connor heading upstairs, but I know I didn't think anything of it. I went upstairs maybe two minutes later, and found the boy, just as the photos show. He somehow got it in his head to paint the door to the pantry, and the rest doesn't really need description. I should at least point out the knife though; it's a monster.

Seeing Santa.

We went to Breton Village Mall, which is sort of where my brother and I had our first "mall" experiences when we were kids. We'd follow girls around, and... well, I'm not sure what else we did, but Breton Village was within walking distance to our house. Connor did really well with Santa; Evie, not so much. Next year sweetheart!

Random.

Jodi at home playing with the kids, and the camera.

Evie Is Standing!

Just like it sounds, folks.

Winter.

I actually enjoy clearing snow off the driveway, even though I'm lazy in nearly every other way laziness can be calculated. These days Connor likes to come out and "help", which is one part cute and fun and one part hassle in that he generally makes things worse and I have to redo my work. (I mentioned he's cute, right?) And my mom arrived back in MI for the holidays!

Day Care.

Jodi babysits for a girlfriend on Monday mornings, and Nina's fun to have around (as far as I don't know).

Holland.

We all spent the weekend in Holland, which we had not done in a while. It was cold, but we had a great time. I'm pretty sure we went to a Hope basketball game Saturday afternoon, too, and that they won. My goal, having season tickets that I rarely use, is to make it to four games this year, then add one game a season as Connor gets older. We'll see.

Reformation Day / Halloween / C-man's Birthday!!

It's sort of its own trinity, really. Connor is heavily into Speed Racer, which is kind of cool since I was into the exact same show when I was a kid. Flash forward though, and instead of watching one episode a day, from say, 4:00 til 4:30 (after school), in the new millennium you just order the entire series (six DVDs) online. Then you can watch every single episode, every waking minute of your life, until the thought of hearing the theme song just One More Time brings with it visions of checking in to a mental institution, or at least hitting the eject button. (The best part of course is that, with DVD players in vehicles now, you never really have to be away from it; it can stay with you wherever you go.)

But I digress... it was C-man's third birthday! We had a party in the afternoon, then went trick-or-treating at night. Connor did much better than last year, although it was much colder and unfortunately he had to wear a coat over his costume.

Evie And The Tub.

She's growing all right. This is her in the tub, if descriptors are really required. Oh, and that's the boy and me after bath time, circa probably the same night.

U of M.

We went to see Michigan play the Nittany Lions of Penn State, and it went badly. The weather was a nightmare, and the Wolverines played to the same level (pardon the poor analogy). But with my dad's sports contacts, we came away with cool T-shirt and a trip onto the field!

The Baby Bast Blog Is Back, Baby!!

(Editor's Note: The date for this post is fall of 2009, but it was written at the start of 2010. To keep things chronological, however, and include some highlights from the fall, I am placing it here.)

I get lots of questions about the our family blog... oh wait, check that... I meant "no one asks me about the family blog anymore", because we're all on this new site I dare not mention here (copyright and trademark issues of course), but the initals might be "FB".

I gave up on the blog last April, for anyone still keeping track. It's because of a topic I've mentioned before, but the short story is simply what I call "data overload". I just can't do it all. The photos must be re-sized and uploaded to this "FB" site, and my Grandma's Ceiva picture frame (which I highly recommend), and the Kodak site, then the blog, and then most of that process must start over again with digital video. Not to mention the backups... my goodness man!! The backups!! So there is a lot to it.

But there is good news for all of you still in the blogosphere! I found a website to print our family blog, starting at day one, up through the last update on April 22, 2009. The book is 200 pages, hardcover and color, and everyone just loves it. It's a very, very nice item to have, and to give as a gift. But more importantly, it's a great family item to keep and treasure, much like in the "dead tree" days of photos albums (look it up if you have not heard the term).

So our family blog will get a kick-start in 2010. New decade, new resolve, folks. I suppose time will tell how frequently I manage updates, but my commitment at this point is quite sincere. I and we hope you check back often, and if you haven't seen anything good lately, there is likely another site you might check (with initials that were mentioned enough already).

On a personal note, I find it quite liberating to write in the first person once again (that's an inside joke, people)!!

More Evie.

She's growing and changing every day. She's a real blessing to our family.

Easter Egg Hunters.

These are some of the Wilterink grandkids -- missing are Evie, Caleb and Breyana.

Easter (He Is Risen, Indeed)!

We went to Third for Easter, then to Jerry & Wendy's for dinner and a great Easter egg hunt for the kids. Great day, but our household was just starting to get sick... and little did we know how bad things would become!

More Indy.

At some point during the weekend my Dad realized that we had brought Evie along, and that she was, in fact, his second grandchild and first granddaughter. It was like a light bulb went off: "Hey, that's my granddaughter! Huh, maybe I'll hold her for a minute (as long as I can hold Connor too of course)." So that's what he did.

Note the kids in the first photo, then them again in the second. Different outfits, yes? Is anyone wearing the same thing? Turns out that shirt and t-shirt was his uniform for three long, warm days. I tried to release him from his self-imposed "record" when we left on Sunday, but I'm not sure what happened after we left.

Back To Indy!

Another trip to Indy, and another really great weekend. The only thing we don't like is the company, er, I mean the drive! It's the drive we don't like, but I had plenty of time to think about ways to improve it so more on that later. We went to a children's toy museum outside of Indy, and that was a lot of fun. The toy collection was amazing, and something any adult would enjoy.

What, More Kids??

YouGotThatRight. Kids are all we do around here. Note Evie's foray into the Activity Center!

My Birthday.

I turned a very young and spry 37 on March 27. Jodi and I had a great dinner at The Chop House (half off the food on your birthday, folks!), then we met friends at a new place near Eastown, The Winchester. That was fun, then Saturday night a group of us had dinner at a new place called The Victory Club. It's on the site of the old Lena Lou, which was a great old Ada bar and happens to be where our wedding party, well... partied, the night before our wedding (after the rehearsal dinner). Good times to be sure.

Evie.

She's very sweet.

A New Procedure.

Connor is learning something new. C'mon, I meant reading!!

Kristi and the Kids.

So far these two are the only nephew and niece. She's got chances at more though, unlike MB.

More Kids.

Connor with his new 'mean and threatening' face, Evie in the Poof chair, and Evie in the getting started in the Boppie!

Holland.

Big "guy's night out" in Holland. Much fun had by all. Note T. Cotts holding court...

The Kids.

More of the usual. It's why you folks stop by, assuming any of you do anymore.

New Puppy.

Lack of updates, I realize. I update Facebook more these days and getting to this one as well as the myriad other data related backups and updates take their toll. At any rate, MB & K got a new French Bulldog named Milo. He's great.

Valentine's Day.

Saturday we went to Holland for Valentine's Day, after a nice dinner at Centennial CC Friday night. The lake was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to return soup in a deli. I fell in a bit, but we have a nice new gas dryer that did just what it was supposed to do.

Mommy and Evie.

Just photos... I don't know that we did a lot mid-winter, with an infant and a toddler. We probably did something.

A New Cousin!

Caleb Jehu Wilterink was born February 6, 2009. Mom and baby did well and are now home!

More Kids.

The Kids.

OK, I will admit one of my favorite new things: The phrase "the kids". It used to be "the boy", or just "Connor", whatever. Now there are two, so it's plural. Something about that really appeals to me.

Our Bast Family Christmas.

We always celebrated Christmas Eve by going to the Methodist candlelight service at my Grandparent's church in Southold, NY (North Fork, Long Island). Then at home we'd have a light dinner, and open gifts.

That was our tradition, my whole life. While that can't happen these days, it doesn't mean it can't happen again.

This year, given all the unexpected excitement, we were truly blessed. Both my parents, who live out of state and usually miss these kinds of events, were in town for Christmas... so when our precious little Evie was born, they were both within about a one hour's drive! (Jerry & Wendy were of course here, and we spoke with Sandi & Bob who cannot wait to visit and sent their love.)

The Bast side of our family celebrated Christmas this year on Saturday, December 27, in the afternoon and early evening. It was pretty great. Everyone was, as always, too generous, and everyone made promises, as always, that next year they would not spend as much. It was a really fun and generous event.

December 26.

Friday came right on schedule, and it was actually a pretty great day. I left early for the hospital, but not before my generous sister-in-law offered to come over. She straightened things up around the house and watched Connor, while I went to pick up Jodi and Evie from the hospital. That went swimmingly, and we arrived home safely in the Jeep. The rest of our First Day Home together was pretty great, and we of course started adjusting things for a family of four. I'd say we had frank and open discussions about a picket fence and a dog, and 0.4 more children, but we didn't.

Later, Christmas Day.

I went to the hospital next, for a fun filled day of configuring, and re-configuring, a really bad arm chair from the '70s. I also watched marathon sessions of "American Justice" on A&E. (For those of you who may not know, it's hosted by Bill Curtis. Actually, if you didn't know you would find this out quickly enough, as he let's you know before and after every break. I think his exact line is, "I'm Bill Curtis, and this is ... blah blah blah".)

Oh, and I hung out with Jodi and little Evie (!), who were happy to have me. It was great when my Mom came by in the afternoon, her first trip from Holland all week (really bad MI weather on top of, for those of you keeping track, a horrific train ride from Chicago that left Sunday night around 5:00 PM and only arrived in Holland on Monday morning at about 4:00 AM).

So this was Christmas Day... Evie is very new and very cute, and we all spent the day together. I left around 6:30 and got Connor at Jerry & Wendy's (thanks!), then finally... and I mean, finally... I got home with the little man, and we Just Hung Out. It was the Little Man and it was Me. I think we watched "It's a Wonderful Life", but Connor was goofing around and I was mostly doing computer stuff. I may not have painted this as the most merry of Christmases, but for us, it was.

P.S. In the photo, Connor is talking to Mommy later at night; I think they both came away sensing a real "meeting of the minds". My Dad could tell me the Latin phrase for that, or a lawyer probably could. Or these days, I could just Google it.

Christmas at the Wilterinks.

I finally got some sleep after the quietest Christmas Eve I have ever spent. Connor and I got up pretty early on Christmas Day, and I got him ready all by myself! We went to Jerry & Wendy's for a big breakfast and gifts, and Connor got to play with all his cousins.

Evelyn Grace (Evie).

My Grandmother's name is Evelyn; she lives on Long Island as some may remember. She has one daughter (my Mom), and two sons. My Mom is the only one with children, so that leaves my Grandma with two grandsons. At this point I am the only one of the two of us with kids, and our first was another boy. But this time we had a girl, and I could not think of a better way to honor my Grandmother than to use her name for our daughter. We are calling her Evie, with a 'soft' E.

Christmas Eve Day.

Well... I suppose there's plenty to offer for Christmas Eve Day (feel free to skip this part and scroll up to the photos!)

See, I had the day off. That was nice, but little did I know...

Our original plans were to go the doctor (as a family), then get a lot of groceries, then go home and relax a bit, then go to church with Mark and Kristi for the Christmas Eve service, then spend the rest of Christmas Eve with them at their house. Our family tradition was always to open gifts Christmas Eve, but this year things were changed a bit, and we had plans for a family Christmas (and the gifts) on Friday, the 26th. So that was the plan.

Instead, Jodi's water broke at about 5:00 AM.

Being the understanding husband and generally compassionate guy that I am, I of course insisted we go to the hospital right away, and immediately gathered Jodi's things for her and started packing.

That, or I may have said, "Honey, that's crazy, just go back to bed. I mean, seriously, you're not having that kid today."

Whichever one of those paints me in a better light, go with it.

At any rate, once we figured some things out and spoke with the doctor on call, we got ready, got C-man up (and tried to explain things to him!), then left. I was hungry, and I remembered that a woman friend of mine told the story of when her husband stopped at McDonald's on the way to the hospital when she was in labor (it's a lot of 'hurry up and wait', anyway, he explained to me later), so I thought a precedent had been set and stopped for breakfast. I mean, drive through, of course. Duh.

So, we checked in and things were as they seemed: Jodi was having the baby that day. I brought Connor up to Mark's, made dozens of phone calls, then went back to the hospital. We sat around until noon, then they came for Jodi, and gave me my OR gowns. I went in around 12:10, and our sweet little Evie was brought into the world at 12:13. It was something, and went quickly. We were out by 12:26.

We sat in recovery for three hours, unfortunately. Evie was three weeks early, and they take special precautions. Then we went to Jodi's room, and saw some family later in the day.

It was quite a day, and a change from any other way I've spent Christmas Eve in the past (ahem).

We were blessed that day, and the hand of the Lord was evident in all that happened. We of course loved and appreciated the significance of her birthday.

Tuesday Night.

I put these photos up mostly because they happen to be The Night Before. More on that later, but little did the little man know... his last night as an only child... poor guy! I'm mostly kidding of course, but it was that Tuesday night, December 23.

Winter, II.

I promise I won't keep doing this. But seriously, you have to appreciate what goes into clearing the snow. I mean, some of you may not remember. (Perhaps gladly? It could be the reason you moved.)

The driveway is 108 feet long, and it widens to three stalls towards the house. I still remember when they poured it, and I was at the street, trying to eyeball where the second stall stopped and the third stall started... I kept telling the guy, "A bit wider, I think... no, wider still, yeah, keep going that way I think..." Ha Ha!

That Evening.

I liked the clean lines here. I'm mostly down to the pavement too, which of course is the measure of any driveway. The little snow you see is actually from the Wind on the Meadow, which is quite unforgiving. (If you really do ask someone, make sure it's my brother. He'll tell you about it, perhaps at length.)

Winter.

For any of you living in Far Away Lands... just a reminder of winter in Michigan. I love my new (used) snow blower though. It was well worth the drive to Novi (and arguably the only reason to go there).

(Well, not just for a snow blower, I mean if you had any major purchase or large appliance and were getting a really good deal, it would make sense for you to go to Novi too. Don't get me wrong.)

For those not watching the dates, this is December 19.

It's only the 19th.