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.