Merry Christmas!

Love,

Ben, Allison, Paige & Will

Happy Birthday, baby boy!

Will turned ONE yesterday!! It seems like just yesterday that we were announcing his arrival into this world. He has brought so much joy, love and laughter into our home and we are beyond thankful for the incredible blessing Will is to our family. We had a great day celebrating, beginning with breakfast at Egg Harbor and ending our day with a birthday party. Will definitely knew it was his special day and Paige was quite a helper, assisting him in all of his birthday activities ☺Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Here's a bunch of pictures from Will's birthday....click on it to make them bigger

Reunited!

We got the chance to see Ben's best friend from Wheaton this past weekend and meet his adorable twin daughters - it was so hard to believe we hadn't seen Taylor and Connie for 5 1/2 years!!! We had such a great time and are so thankful for friendships that are able to pick right back up where we left off....Paige adored Margot and Ryken, I think they would be great friends if we didn't live across the country from each other. Perhaps they can be pen pals:)

Ben, Taylor and their kiddos!!

Side note: Ben recently taught Paige how to "smile"...it's a work in progress:)

The girls jumping all over the place....they had a blast!

Water fountain and Walnut Room

We ventured downtown in the cold last weekend with Ben's parents to do a little Christmas shopping on State Street - we had a great time showing them all of the festivities in the city and kicking off the holiday season together. Paige loved showing Grams and Grandpa the big Christmas tree at the Walnut Room while Will slept comfortably in his stroller!! Grams taught Paige how to throw pennies into the fountain...I'm pretty sure Grams went through a dollars worth of pennies, but it was worth the excitement in Paige's eyes☺

Misery Loves Company!!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago on State Street - we love this family tradition and it has been so much fun for Ben and I to experience all of the events through the kids eyes. One of the highlights was eating breakfast at the Walnut Room at Marshall Fields Macy's and then venturing up to visit with Santa. As you can tell, it was an emotional experience for all:) I think "Misery Loves Company" really reflects the emotions in the room:)

Good try guys...maybe next year we won't cry and scream!!!

Here are a few other pictures of our fun weekend downtown:

The kids having fun in the hotel

Paige loved swimming with Daddy!

Boys will be boys!

Will is now 11 months - this past month has really allowed him to demonstrate that he is "all boy" as he has progressively become more active. Here a few observations over the past month from our growing little boy:

1) Will decided to say good-bye to baby food, which was a bit of concern to me at first. However, I have quickly realized that Will is an excellent role model for his big sister. He eats way more than Paige ever has. He is not picky, will try anything and will sit in his seat and eat, eat, eat.

2) If Paige ever gets out of my sight, I just listen for the "pitter-patter" of her little feet scurrying around the house. When I need to locate Will, I just listen for a loud bang!! He is still quite content crawling around and has yet to show any real interest in walking. I have decided that he prefers this method to allow his arm to be closer to the ground. Will can always be found with one toy in his hand at all times, banging it as loud as he can on the ground.

3) He is "Rough and Tumble". I consulted Ben the last time that Will crashed and was lamenting over the bump on his forehead. Ben reminded me that he's a boy and that it will be the first of many bumps and bruises as he explores his way through life. I'm still learning how to be a mom of a boy, and this just proves it:)

4) He may be a boy but he is still as sweet and sensitive as ever. My favorite thing to watch over this past month is the development of Paige and Will's relationship. They are starting to become best buddies. If you ask Paige who her best friend is, she'll say, "Will!". He is constantly crawling over to her and reaching out for hugs and kisses. I had to laugh out loud the other day when he did this and Paige put her arm around him and said, "Hi, Sweetie!"

Five Days for Five Years

My parents gave us an amazing gift this past week and watched Paige and Will for five days as we went to Arizona to celebrate our 5 year Anniversary. We had such a great time enjoying the sunshine, rest and relaxation. We missed the kids like crazy but it seems they all had a blast! We came home to a camera full of pictures of their week - it's honestly hard to tell who had more fun: Ben & I, Paige & Will, or Mormor & Grandpa!!

Ben was VERY excited about his first cactus experience :)

We'll have to hold onto this picture when it's freezing in Chicago!!

Here was the kid's week of fun with Mormor and Grandpa:

Will at the Children's Museum

Paige playing with the Brorson's bird:)

She told me she also saw "turtles, chickens, 2 dogs and fish!"

It's like a petting zoo in their house!!

Paige apparently was quite the diva at Mormor's house!!

Thanks again Mormor and Grandpa -

The kids had a blast and we're so grateful for the love and

energy you showed to Paige and Will this past week!!

Halloween Fun

A few weeks ago, we took the kids to Johansen Pumpkin Farm. There was lots of fun for both the kids - Paige LOVED the petting zoo and Will loved the tractor!!! Paige is still talking about the chicks and the goats....We had a great time picking out the perfect pumpkins!!

Halloween was so much fun this year - Paige was finally at an age where she actually got the concept of Trick or Treating and dressing up. Our little cheerleader and football player were too cute and too much fun.

Here are some pictures from our fun Halloween day as a family.....

Happy Halloween!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Will has developed a new "skill" that has been making us laugh lately. He has started mocking Gus and crawls everywhere with something in his mouth. It doesn't matter what it is - toys, socks, baby wipes, you name it - it goes with him! It has forced me to constantly be watching him to make sure small things stay out of his way!! I have tried to take some pictures over the last few days to document this new found quirk of our little guy......

Fighting Gus for the ball....

....and Will wins!!

I know, how gross is that???

Don't worry, I had disinfected it this morning:)

- but it's still gross!

And speaking of monkeys - Paige seems to have taken a new obsession for monkeys. A few "monkey" observations of our busy little girl:

1) The ONLY tv show she will watch right now if Curious George

2) She is a monkey - Paige insists on climbing all over my house. Recently, she told me she was "George" and in three fluent leaps, jumped from the couch, to the ottoman and onto the floor. Oh boy.....

3) After gymnastics class on Monday, she informed me that she was a monkey on the bars:

Road Trip!

My mom and I loaded up the kids a few weeks ago and headed to Minneapolis to visit Ben's family. We had such a great time!!

Aunt Shelly and Uncle Arvid with Paige and Will

Visiting Uncle Tom - The kids weren't cooperating:)

At the Mall of America with Uncle Vern and Aunt Rita

Grandma Bernice loves her little great grandchildren!!

Will's Dedication

What a blessing it was to stand before our family and close friends last Saturday and dedicate Will's life to the Lord. We chose Colossians 3:12-14, 17 as the verse to encourage Will throughout his life:

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Will's 10 Months Old!!

Will turned 10 months old today! We're noticing one big difference between Will and his big sister at this point: He'll eat anything! We're having fun introducing him to various bits of table food and he's loving it. We're hoping his enthusiasm will rub off on Paige soon☺ He's also waving and saying hi, calling "Ga" for Gus, showing off with "SO BIG!" and starting to get more confident with standing on his own.

Time flies...

We celebrated our five year reunion from Wheaton this past weekend. We are so thankful for the gift of the amazing friendships we have with our college friends. We were able to spend the day catching up and making new memories together. It's almost hard to believe that it has been five years since we graduated.

In some ways, it just feels like yesterday....

Brunch with my roommates

at Al's beautiful new house!!!

Missed you Mere and Rach ☺

Dinner with Nate and Jenn

Potty Training Princess

Leave it to our daughter to potty train in style!!! We held our first ever "Ferwerda Potty Boot Camp" last week for Paige. I'm happy to report that she's doing great! We're wearing our pull ups at night and at naps but she's really doing a great job outside of sleeping times. I have to say, after changing 2 sets of diapers for 9+ months, I notice such a difference. The funniest part of this experience was that Paige insisted on wearing her patent leather Easter shoes the entire three days that we were working on potty training.

Yay, Paige!!!!

Nine Months Old!

It's so hard to believe that Will's 9 months old - he had a great doctor's appointment and I was relieved to get a clean bill of health after a 104.5° fever last week. He measured a long 29 inches (75-80%) and was 18 pounds, 4 ounces (20%). His weight made me laugh....everyone is always telling us what a chunk he is and I always want to say, it's only his cheeks!!! Well, his weight today confirmed this - he's my little peanut and 80% of nine months old are bigger than my little boy:)

Will's doing great and becoming very squirmy as he discovers his mobility!! He continues to be happy and easy going. There are now four teeth in his little mouth and more hair on top of his head. He claps whenever he hears music and waves and says a sound that resembles "hi" whenever you acknowledge him.

Here is our little boy at 9 months:

Mountains!

We just got home from our girl's week in Colorado - we had a great week with family on my mom's side. It was so special to have three generations together!!

It's finally here...

Fall is in the air!!

I just love my kiddos sporting their long sleeves and hats....there's nothing better!

Fun in the Sun

We closed out our summer by spending Labor Day up at Higgins Lake. The weather was, for the first time all summer, PERFECT!!! We had such a great time being outside, soaking up the sun and playing in the water. Paige, our brave 2-year-old, decided it was time to have a try at tubing. She did great!! She was waving, smiling and having a blast. The boys skied and wake surfed, the girls laid out out on the dock, and the kids ran around until they had no more energy left. Isn't summer the greatest? Here are some pictures of our fun, sun-filled weekend:

Happy boy

Waving to Dad in the boat

Off we go!!!

Debriefing with Daddy

Ben in his glory - skiing and wake surfing on beautiful water

The kids playing in the boat....priceless

Our bundled up beach baby!