Happy Birthday Aunt Patti and Great Aunt Margie

We just wanted to wish Aunt Patti and Great Aunt Margie a very Happy Birthday! We hope you both have a wonderful day! We miss you and love you! Love Rob, Jill, Josh, Brad and Emmalee

We are going to have to make a birthday cake and celebrate all of these birthdays!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE JODIE!!!

We are a day early in America because it is still the 26th of January but it is the 27th in Holland. So here is wishing Auntie Jodie a very Happy **** Birthday! (I am being nice and not saying your age! Remember you always told me good things come is small packages... well good things get better with age also.) Today Emmalee is 16 weeks old and growing like a weed. She is rolling over on her own and reaching for everything. She loves to play (takes after her Mom) As you can see she also is taking after her Auntie Jodie... she likes to read. It has been a pretty uneventful week here, I am still getting use to working and not being home all of the time with her but it is getting better. Papa Jim, Nana Phyllis and Rob are going to work at Habitat for Humanity tomorrow...I would go but all of my babysitters will be working! Well that is it for now! Auntie Jodie we hope you have a very Happy Birthday! We love you very very very much and miss you!

Love always, Jill, Rob, Josh, Brad and Emmalee

In Loving Memory...

Ger van Arkel
26 july 1921- 23 january 2007

I am sad to say that my brother-in-laws father Ger van Arkel also know as Opa (Dutch for Grandpa) passed away on January 23, 2007. To all of you in Holland, please know our thoughts and prayers are with you. We love you and miss you. Opa will truly be missed. Love Papa Jim, Nana Phyllis, Rob, Jill, Josh, Brad and Emmalee.

You can see my sisters blog at http://vanarkel.web-log.nl/

Toys, Toys and more toys!

Okay, I promised I would update my blog more often so I am attempting to live up to my promise! = ) Emmalee has had a couple more 1st this week.

On Thursday night we were all over at Papa Jim and Nana's and Uncle Bruce was in town. We were all watching Emmalee play with Papa Jim on the floor. Then Emmalee decided she did not want to be on her back she wanted to be on her stomach, with out any help she rolled over for the first time... we all cheered and then she smiled. She is amazing!!!

We went yesterday in to my work for Jeanne's baby shower = Jeanne is a good friend of mine who does Animal Assisted Therapy with me, she is pregnant with twin boys! Emmalee enjoyed seeing everyone! Then we came home and Emmalee played in her new Exersaucer! She loved being able to be upright and play with all differnt things. She smiled and laughed a deep belly laugh!

Nana bought us a pot of tulips and we have been watering them as directed, we know have a beautiful bouquet of tulips in our kitchen. We have a taste of Holland!

Until next time, we love you all! Love Jill and family!

A Time for Firsts......

Happy New Year to everyone! We celebrated a very quiet New Year at home. Emmalee, Rob and I were actually in bed before midnight, but we were awake as 2007 arrived. . . For a place where fireworks are illegal there was a lot of noise outside. Emmalee slept right through it. Emmalee celebrated her 1st New Year.

On January 2nd I went back to work and Emmalee spent her first day at the sitters. It was a very difficult day. I really enjoyed going back to work and seeing all of my co-workers and friends but it was not easy leaving Emmalee for the day. To top off the day, my 11 year old dog Dutch passed away. He was not doing well so it was a blessing but it was still very hard to let him go. Rob takes Emmalee to the sitters in the morning and picks her up when he is done with his work for the day. It makes it nice because then Emmalee does not have to spend 10 hours at the sitters. Becky (the sitter) lives down the street from the Boys Mom's house.

On January 6th, Emmalee went swimming for the 1st time.. A friend of mine (Mary) has a heated pool she uses for Watsu's and I used the pool for a Watsu and Nana Phyllis brought Emmalee up for her first swim. She loved it. She wanted to drink the water and kept turning her head towards the water. Emmalee was very relaxed and allowed me to float her on her back. I blew in her face a couple of times and then I took her underwater. Emmalee just blinked her eyes and then smiled, I think she likes the water. We had a lot of fun and I can't wait until the next time we get to go swimming.

On January 8th Emmalee and I were playing with our reflections in the bathroom mirror... I made some funny faces and Emmalee made some noises like she was going to laugh... I decided to keep making the funny faces and next thing I knew Emmalee was laughing a true baby belly laugh. I called for Rob to come, this was pretty funny because I was trying to yell without scaring Emmalee so I was yelling while making faces. Rob joined in the face making fun and Emmalee just continued to laugh. Josh came in to make it a family affair. (Bradley was at his Mom's) We called Papa Jim & Nana and they were able to hear her over the phone. Then we called Grandma Rosemary in LA and she got to hear Emmalee as well. I was very greatful that Emmalee saved this first for when I was not at work.... It did make going to work the next day very difficult.

Tonight Emmalee was laying on the floor at Papa Jim and Nana's and she was trying with all of her might to crawl. We had to provide a backstop for her to push on but she was working it really hard... She would grunt and push, grunt and push, grunt and push - she eventually reached her stuffed Panda bear we had sitting in front of her.

I am sorry that I have not updated the blog in a while, going back to work was harder than I thought it would be. There are not enough hours in a day! I also got a sinus infection and did not do much of anything last weekend. I am feeling better and my sisters email quilt trip pretty much lit the fire under me to update the blog.

Oh, this is a picture of Emmalee in her favorite postition to watch sports on TV with her daddy. Emmalee loves to sit on Rob's lap and watch the fast moving action of football and basketball (I think she also loves all of the bright colors!)

I promise to try and update the blog on a more regular basis. I hope all of you are doing well. We love you!

Love, Jill and family.