Family Resemblance

We have decided that Paige and Will most definitely look like brother and sister.  When looking back at our pictures of Paige when she was a newborn, we discovered we had a picture of both kids, at almost the same age, in the same pose.  We got a kick out of it - as we think they look awfully similar.  We've concluded that Will is the boy version of Paige.  Obviously, they have some differences in their appearance but we think people will at least be able to tell that they're siblings!  What do you think??

Merry Christmas!!!!

We had a great (and crazy!!!) Christmas - needless to say, chasing an 18 month old around, taking care of a newborn, and attempting to open up gifts proved to be most interesting.  Paige, while incredibly busy, was at such a fun age....she quickly figured out how to rip the wrapping paper off and watching her face as she opened each package was priceless.  We hope you had a blessed day celebrating Christ's birth.

Home we go!

Will had to head home from the hospital on the coldest day ever! I think our car said -6 degrees, and the news said it was -30 with the wind chill. It seems so cruel to bring a child into the world in this weather:) I guess it'll make for a good story to tell him some day. So, we bundled him up as best we could - poor kid looked like an Eskimo! Here are a few pictures leaving the hospital. We have been home a few days now and are adjusting to life with two kids. It's been fun and Paige has done great with her new role. She is becoming quite the helper and is enjoying changing her new baby doll's diaper. I think she's slowly becoming a little mommy herself! Hope you are all staying warm in these crazy conditions!!!

William Benson Ferwerda

Our little man, William Benson, arrived on Friday at 12:13 PM.  He's perfect in every way and we are loving each moment that we're spending with him in the hospital.  Will was named after Ben's Grandpa Will.  His middle name, Benson, was my grandma's maiden name.  It was so fun to honor our families with his name!  We head home tomorrow and are anxious to get back to our now big girl, Paige.  She's done wonderful with the transition so far so we're excited to see how things go once we're all home as a family.  Here are some pictures that were taken at the hospital.

The Stockings are hung....

and we're off to become a family of four!  I have to be at the hospital tomorrow at 7:15 am....from what I understand, it will take awhile to get things going, as I have to have a stress test and some antibiotics before they will induce me.  Hopefully by the evening, he will be here!  Please pray that everything goes well and the labor is as fast and easy as it was for Paige. Also, pray that the weather cooperates...we're supposed to have a nasty snow storm and I really want my in-laws to be able to make it in for the occasion!  Looking forward to introducing you to our little guy tomorrow!!

Best Buds

Paige and Addison are truly best buds - as Rach and I say, cut from the same cloth!! It's so much fun to get them together and see them operate, play, and talk to each other. We had a girl's day this past Friday while the daddy's worked. We took them shopping in the sub-degree weather, made Christmas cookies, and played until their hearts were content. Of course, Rach and I had a blast just hanging out too! Here are a few pictures of the little cuties together.

Nesting

So, I'm most definitely "nesting" and driving my family crazy!  

I am also rubbing off on my daughter.  I captured her cleaning our floors today, totally unprompted by me.  I'm not sure if this is something to be proud of or scared of that my 18 month old knows that I like a clean floor!  And yes, she does have a Swiffer that is just her size, thank you for noticing!

I will be induced next Friday, December 19th, if little boy hasn't arrived by then.  However, it seems that everything is progressing rather fast so who knows - he could arrive before then.  We'll be keeping you posted :)

Ho, Ho, Ho!

First off, Paige is doing so much better - we're still kind of waiting for her appetite to return but she is back to her old self. Thanks for checking in on her and thinking of us:)

This year, Paige can spot Santa paraphernalia from a mile away. She will see a Santa picture and shout out, "ho, ho, ho"!!! We assumed this was a good sign and that our trip to visit Santa in person would be a big hit. Boy, were we wrong!

Last weekend during our annual family trip to State Street, we took Paige to meet the Big Guy. The minute she set her eyes on him, the fear and tears kicked in. It was pretty comical - here are a few pictures of her from the experience.....

Gearing up and waiting in line....

First Glance....

Ok Mom and Dad, get me out of here!!!!

Flu - Day 3

Wouldn't you know that Paige came down with her first flu the day Ben's entire family left our house? I'm just praying no one else gets sick - especially my precious niece, Maren! 

Paige has been very ill all week with a nasty stomach flu, and I have been trying to stay afloat. It's been rather challenging taking care of her while being ready to have a baby any day! I think today topped it off as I was doing my 6th load of "flu laundry" and discovered my laundry room and basement floor covered in water. Needless to say, Ben decided to come home early from his week away to "rescue me". After today, I think I needed it:)
Paige has been so sweet and full of cuddles - and selfishly, I've been treasuring her sick days - I know these moments of just her and me are drawing to an end and I've been soaking up each of these days where she wants to sit on the couch and let me hold her. Trust me, when she's well, she's way too busy for that!!!
I'm a mean momma, and took a picture of her in her state of illness - but she has loved this big bean bag chair and Gus has been taking extra special care of her! I think by tomorrow, she should be on the up and up!!!!!

The Nursery!

Ok, this is just the start - we are obviously still working on it....We clearly went with a "Star theme", but the walls are still a bit sparse.  A lot of you keep asking when I'm putting up the pictures so here the are!  

Getting Ready!!

With under five weeks to go until baby boy ferwerda arrives, we decided to buckle down and start getting the nursery ready.  Ben got the paint brush out and painted on Saturday, with great excitement might I add :)  Paige was very interested in what was going on and even helped Daddy paint for a second.  I think she may like her brother's room more than hers - We have spent many hours sitting on his star rug this week.  Perhaps this is a good way for her to get used to his arrival?  She is still too young to really grasp what is going on.  Sure, we talk about her brother but she doesn't really get it.  We've decided that in her 17 month old mind, she thinks my belly is called "brother" and hers is called "belly".  I'll get pictures up once everything in his nursery is arranged and ready - but for now, here's a picture of Ben and Paige from last weekend!  

Her Best Buddy

Paige absolutely loves our dog, Gus. She follows him around all day long, grasping his toy in one hand and calling out, "Ga"!!!  The funny thing is, we're not exactly sure Gus feels the same way about her.  He definitely tolerates her, but steers clear of her most of the time.  I sort of feel bad for him because he could have the best playmate in the world if he'd just realize it!  Regardless, they both love to be outside so we took advantage of this beautiful fall day.  

Petunia Paige

Happy Halloween from Petunia Paige!!

Have a fun day - here are a few pictures from our Halloween festivities.

First Haircut

We caved in and took Paige to a place this morning to get her "First Haircut". It was quite a funny experience - totally catered to little kids. Paige got to pick out a movie to watch during her appointment and even was offered the chance to sit in a little car for the cut. Of course, she got a little nervous when the time finally came, so we opted to have her sit in my lap. Paige and I looked pretty cool sitting with our matching capes!! She did great - I want to grow her hair out so a little trim and we were all done. She looks darling without the mullet :) Here are a few pictures from the experience....

Not quite sure what to think....

During the haircut

The finished product - and of course, I loved sitting in the car after it was all done!!!

Paige is 16 months!

Paige is 16 months!
Another fun and busy month!! We started by heading to Colorado for a fun week. Mom and Paige went with Mormor up to the mountains for a few days and then Daddy came so we could go meet my new cousin, Maren. We had such a fun time with Aunt Kate and Uncle Brett - I love their dog, Bo! I’m working on all of my molars so I’ve been in lots of pain this month. I also decided to start going through separation anxiety, which is stressful for Mom and Dad! I just don’t want to leave them:) I “talk” a lot now, even though Mom and Dad are the only ones who can really understand what I’m saying! I learned how to say, “brother” and am starting to get ready for him to arrive in less than two months! Hope you have a great month. Love, Paige

Check out my pictures from this past month:
http://web.mac.com/theferwerdafamily/Site/Paige_Elisabeth/Pages/16_months.html

Staying put....for now!

After almost 11 months of driving back and forth from Grand Rapids, we finally decided to take our house off the market in Chicago.  We listed it last August and it just got to be too much.  I was splitting my time between the condo we were renting in Michigan and our house in Oswego and logging way too many miles in the car with Paige!!  We feel a real peace about the situation, although we sure miss Ben during the week when he's traveling!   So, we're home and enjoying getting settled back into a routine.   

Open House

I'm so proud of my dad!  Last week, his law practice had a huge open house to officially open their new building.  About 25o invited clients, community members and family joined to "cut the ribbon" with the Mayor and enjoy the major renovations that were done.  Here are a few pictures from the event.....

The Nyberg Family outside the building

The inside entrance....Lolo was the greeter:)  

The Ferwerda Family

Dirt on her face

For those of you who know Paige, she is usually pretty clean.  My cousin claims she's never seen her dirty and to be honest, having a little boy join our family scares me for that reason alone!  I'm used to a very clean, organized and neat child.  She'll fall on the sidewalk and shout, "uh oh" until you wipe the dirt from her hands.  

Well, it appears we've turned over a new leaf...and this picture is the proof.  We planted a new bush outside our house this weekend and Paige loved being "Daddy's little helper"  She thoroughly enjoyed helping with the dirt, sweeping the sidewalk, and touching all the mulch.  The outcome was pretty funny - dirt smeared all over her face and one very happy little toddler! 

Second Try

Well, my attempt at using our picture website as a blog as well has turned into a disaster.  We have a Mac so I thought using our iWeb would kill two birds with one stone - but no luck.  I have many problems trying to update the site, and I know a lot of my friends and family had said they tried to post comments with no luck.  I'm not completely computer illiterate, but it's just getting frustrating!  With so many friends on blogger, I've come to terms that this is the easiest way!  I think we'll keep our other site, www.theferwerdafamily.com, to update pictures of our family and I'll just provide links when I update them.  I promise to stop changing our website all the time - this is the third and last time!!

She knows her name!!

We were laughing so hard at Paige's attempt to say her name last night.  She knows her name and points to herself when she says it.  But for some reason, one syllable words do not always resemble the word she is trying to say.  I guess for now, she'll just refer to herself as, "Gaige."

Paige is 15 months!

Paige is 15 months old!  Check our her new pictures at our website: 

http://web.mac.com/theferwerdafamily/Site/Paige_Elisabeth/Pages/15_months_.html

At the doctor last week, she weighed 20 lbs., 7 oz. (15%) and was 31 5/8 inches long (80%)