Our Silly Lil' Girl

Teagan is at a really fun age right now....challenging at times, but lots of fun. :) She is such a great mixture of shy, outgoing/hyper (usually a sign for being overtired!), silly, sweet, boisterous, smart, strong-willed, a risk-taker, physically strong, empathetic, creative, animated, and incredibly lovable! We are humbled by the responsibility we have as her parents to help mold her into the lil' girl (and eventually woman) that God has created her to be. It is also humbling to know the affect that these early days in her life will have on her future. What an incredible, challenging, yet awesome role we've been given!

She is in a "phase" (please, be a phase!) right now of constantly taking off ALL of her clothes and her diaper. :) She is showing many signs of being ready to potty train and we've begun to work on it a little bit, but to be honest, we're not ready to go full force until things settle down after baby boy's arrival. We've dealt with the strip tease a number of different ways thus far...putting her in only onesies, letting her just run around naked and not caring so much (usually opt for this if we know she just peed in her diaper so we can minimize the amount of accidents we've already had), taping her diaper on with painters tape, electrical tape, and gorilla tape (aka "the strongest stuff on planet earth"), and pinning a cloth diaper over her regular diaper. Please note that none of these tactics have worked (did I mention she's strong-willed and smart?). I have, however, found ONE thing that has proven itself effective although it can only be used during nap time and bedtime....putting her zip-up pajamas on BACKWARDS. So far, she has been able to get one arm out but not the rest of her body. She recently showcased her "talent" in nursery the other week. Though this whole phase is a little frustrating and exhausting, for now, we will continue to find the humor in our silly, free-spirited lil' girl because there's really not much more we can do! :)

This is how we found her one night when we went to check on her before we went to bed. She was freezing cold and sound asleep in a puddle of her own pee. :)

First taping attempt = painters tape (this is all we had in the house at the time). She never resisted us putting in on her (acted like it was normal) but it didn't take her long to pull it right off.

She is a little monkey. Her physical strength and risk-taking tendencies have motivated her to be able to climb on almost anything with ease. She has even learned how to climb out of her crib (thus, the upcoming move to her big girl bed). We are eager to see how these traits are going to make her a great athlete some day...but right now they cause us some exhaustion b/c we have to constantly be watching her and can't underestimate what she can climb onto or over!


She loves to roughhouse with Daddy. She finds great delight in being thrown in the air or being hung upside down. :)


She is really good at mimicking, but can sometimes go too far. :) See picture for example - yes, that's Bailey's water bowl she's drinking out of (don't worry, I eventually stopped her). :)


Did I mention that she's strong? These pictures are telling as to who's daughter she is. She loves lawnmowers, riding in trucks and pretending to drive Daddy's go-cart.
She pushed this lawnmower across the entire parking lot.

Speaking of pretend, Teagan has really been into imaginative play lately which is a blast to watch. She makes me cookies and juice with her play kitchen set (and says "beep, beep" when they are done baking in her lil' oven), she feeds her "babies" in her bumbo chair, she makes anything into a "choo choo train," and she loves to give her dolls....and her Daddy...a bath. She follows the same routine that we use during her baths. Daddy is such a good sport! :)

Wash

Rinse

Dry (note how serious she is through this whole thing!)

Brush hair

Brush teeth

We love you, Teagie Bear! You bring us greater joy than we could have ever imagined!

Final Countdown

In a week and a half (or less!) we'll be holding our lil' boy in our arms! The reality is setting in more and more although it still feels a little surreal! My nesting obsessions have been in full force and thankfully, Tim is gracious in putting up with it and helping me out (even if it seems like odd timing to paint almost the entire main floor of the house green). Baby Boy Keeler's clothes are washed and in his closet. The pack n' play/bassinet is in our room and ready to be set up, and my bags are (almost) all the way packed. Now if I could just get the house to be totally clean and organized, I'd stop fretting (about what?!) and feel even better! Silly hormones. :)

We had trouble deciding on what to do with Teagan's bedroom. We debated having the kids share a room but with Teagan's sleep issues, we knew this probably would cause more stress than what's necessary. We settled on the decision that while Baby Boy was in our room for the first couple of months, we'd make the downstairs bedroom Teagan's new "big girl bedroom." We already have her "big girl bed" set up down there and she loves to go down there (and jump on it, of course!). We have yet to paint the room and decorate it but that will come in due time. She calls it "room" and seems to be excited about it already which is good and hopefully will last when it comes time for her to actually sleep down there! We've moved her clothes and other items down there already so we can at least have Baby Boy's things organized in the nursery. It feels a little odd not to have more of Baby Boy's things up in the nursery (some wall decor etc. we bought) for when he gets home but at this point, it's not necessary and would jump start a big change for Teagan that we're hoping to make more gradual.

I've been blessed with a pretty easy pregnancy although I can understand why God designs the last few weeks of it like He does....makes you ready for this baby to be out! :) Swollen and sore hands and feet are something that has been a bit of a bother the past couple of weeks (I didn't have this with Teagan). A lot of braxton hicks, acid reflux, hormonal ups and downs, and sore/tired back (okay, sore/tired BODY) are things I'm ready to be done with. Nonetheless, it's been so incredible to feel Baby Boy's movements which are stronger than ever and I'm grateful that he is still "baking" so as to allow for the best development possible!

We so appreciate your prayers during these final days! We know that God's timing is perfect but we are really praying that we have the baby on the 4th, as scheduled, since this will allow Tim to have the entire weekend free to be with me and the baby and not have the pressure of figuring out what to do with work (he really has no flexibility to take time off so it would be interesting to see how things go if we deliver during the week!). On that same note, please pray for both Tim and I during the week following the birth as he will be returning to work right away and I will be home without him, recovering from a C-section and having to care for both the baby and Teagan. We were spoiled with the timing of Teagan's birth coinciding with Tim being able to take time off (b/c it didn't snow that week!) and we're trying to be mentally prepared that this won't be the case this time around. Although I'll be receiving wonderful help from family (what a blessing that will be!!), it just won't be the same without my hubby there and on the flip side, Tim's time with the baby will be less. We are already looking forward to the winter season when he will be able to be home much more!! :) We also ask for prayers for a healthy, complication free delivery. We can struggle with anxiety at times because of our experience with Teagan, but we are thankful for God's peace that we know will be ours in the face of any challenges that could come. On a final note of request, we'd also love prayers for our lil' Teagie Bear as she adjusts to this "new normal" that will soon be ours. If I were to be honest, I'd admit that I'm a little sentimental about our time with just her ending and the thought of not being able to give her the kind of attention I can give her now is a little sad. I know, however, that once our baby boy is in our arms, these will be distant worries and we will feel even stronger as the family God designed us to be. It's a beautiful change but a change nonetheless.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! We can't wait to inform you of our special news soon! :)

First Set Of Wheels

Courtesy of freecycle.com, Teagan got her first set of wheels....a tricycle! She loves riding her "new" bike (it's the first things she asks for when we go in the garage)! The fact that it has a little bucket attached to the back is even better since she loves to collect things and put them in it. She's not a big fan of the pedals yet but this doesn't stop her from scooting along with her feet (at a pretty good clip too!). :) Our lil' girl is getting so big!!

6 years

Tim and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on August 8th! I am so grateful to be forever united in Christ to the love of my life! Over the past 6 years, we have learned so much about what marriage means and we continue to strive, through both the ups and downs, to make it glorifying to the ONE who gave us to each other!

We celebrated by having a day/night away in Grand Rapids. It was actually the first time that we were both away from Teagan for the night. She was in great hands with Opa and Oma and joined a houseful of people, including my sister, Andrea, and my sister (Tara) and her family (Mark, Myles, and Ezra) who were still in town from Jess' wedding. Tim and I had a great time and found it refreshing to just be "Tim and Brooke" and not "Daddy and Mommy" for a short while. :)


In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced. ~Robert Sexton

my wm's wedding

As many of you know, my twin sister (aka "wm" or "wombmate"), Jessica, was married to the love of her life, Mike, on August 1st. This was such a special day for our family! Despite it not turning out exactly as planned (they had hoped for a beach wedding but the rain changed their plans), it was truly an incredible day and a beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness.

Tim, Teagan, and I (and baby boy!) were all blessed to stand up for Jess and Mike. Teagan walked down the aisle with our nephew, Myles, while holding our brother-in-law, Mark's, hand. It was pretty adorable. I hope to post more pictures later, but for now, I'll just direct you to Jess and Mike's blog since they did a great job of posting a few pictures that some friends took and writing about their big day.

We love you, Jess and Mike!

The Storm

Sunday night we were about to leave my (Brooke's) parent's house in Fruitport after picking up Teagan (they had babysat her that day while we were at a wedding shower for Tim's sister). We decided to give Teagan a bath before we left so she would be all ready for bed when we arrived home. Prior to starting her bath, we noticed that the weather was becoming overcast and the sky was getting really dark. We decided to move our van inside the garage so that we wouldn't have to load up things in the rain. Very soon after doing this, it began to rain really hard and the wind became unbelievably strong. We decided to go down to the basement since it felt like a tornado was brewing. We could barely see out of the windows since rain and tree limbs/branches were hitting them so hard. The power had also gone out. After 10 minutes, the storm died down and we peered outside to see the damage. It was really unbelievable...and devastating...how much wreckage happened in such a short amount of time. There were so many trees down around their house and in their driveway. There was no way to get out. Many of the trees were completely uprooted. There were also power lines down across their driveway. A large tree had fallen on a portion of their neighbor's house. Just incredible....and sad....and totally unexpected. Because there was no way for us to leave, Tim and my dad spent most of the night hooking up the generator and using the chainsaw to cut up and move fallen trees so that they could get out for work in the morning.

We are very grateful for God's protection and for the providential decision to stay to give Teagan a bath since we would have been on the road when all of this happened (one man from Grand Haven was killed while driving b/c of a fallen tree). Please keep Mom and Dad O in your prayers as they continue to do clean-up and find their way back to normalcy!

Their front yard will never be the same!

Their neighbor, Laura, after arriving home (she had to park over a half mile away b/c the roads and her driveway were blocked) and seeing the damage to her house and property for the first time.

Tim and my dad hard at work trying to make some progress on such an overwhelming task.

Some Of My (Teagan's) Favorite Things

Dancing! I LOVE to dance by myself, with Mommy or Daddy, or with my baby dolls. I know how to turn on the CD player and sometimes will even create my own lil' stage to dance on. I especially like to watch myself in the mirror when I dance. I think I'm pretty good. :)





Cuddling with Bailey:



Helping Mommy unload the groceries:



Giving kisses!


Doing my "silly face"



Doing "pop-a-wheelies" with my car!


Dressing up (okay, this is really Mommy's doing, not so much mine). :)



Doing art projects!

(Mommy lets me paint bare naked so I don't make too big of a mess. I think it's pretty fun!). :)

Climbing on EVERYTHING. There is almost nothing too challenging for me...on the dining room table, into my high chair, out of my pack n' play. I'm really strong! :)


Planes: pretending to be one or pointing to them in the sky (we live right by a lil' airport so I am constantly hearing them and get so excited when they go over our house!).

(Disclaimer: I usually wear a diaper but I was recovering from a bad diaper rash and needed to dry out). :)

Watching Daddy mow our lawn (sometimes Mommy will even sit me out on the deck in my high chair so I can eat and watch Daddy at the same time). I can even say "lawn mower" and get really excited whenever I see one when we're out and about (I usually think it's Daddy on the mower but Mommy tells me it's not and then I get sad). Daddy is happy about this since he hopes that one day I can work for him or take over the business. :)



Playing with my friends!

Me and my cousin, Myles.

Having a pool party/picnic with my friends from church.


Going out for ice cream with my twin friends, Jennalyn and Lydia.



At the beach with my "boyfriend," Evan.



Drawing pretty pictures with sidewalk chalk!



Saying "hi" (in a very high pitched, sweet voice) to the bugs on our deck.




Wearing my cool sunglasses.



The Toilet: I'm already showing many signs of getting ready to potty train. I am fascinated with the toilet and love to help lift the lid and flush (while saying "bye bye pee pee!"). I've even tried climbing in it but Mommy stopped me just in time. Mommy also walked into the bathroom one day to find that I had put Elmo in the toilet. I told her that he had to go potty. :)


Having picnics at the beach and then playing with Mommy and Daddy.





Looking at photo albums and reading books (my favorite books right now are "Merry Christmas, Curious George" and "A Pocket For Corduroy." I can even say "George" and "Corduroy" and often refuse to be read any other books but these two)!



Playing in the sprinkler and in my lil' pool in our backyard (it's a monkey)!





Boycotting naps. For some reason, this isn't one of Mommy and Daddy's favorite things though and they really hope that it's just a phase! I thought it was funny when I took off all of my clothes and my diaper and jumped around in my crib for an hour instead of sleeping the other day. I could tell that Mommy thought it was funny too when she walked in on me but she made me get dressed and go back to sleep (which I eventually did). :)



Mommy and Daddy say that they are really enjoying the "stage" that I am in right now and that I light up their lives! I am definitely keeping them on their toes and teaching them new things about how to parent an active and sometimes testing toddler! They think I am growing up really fast. I am talking up a storm, can run really fast, love to hide myself or things and say "where'd go?!" (Mommy and Daddy are good at playing along...even when the thing I think I'm hiding is in plain site), :) am good at helping feed Bailey his food every morning, and love to take care of my baby doll (I'm going to be a great big sister)! They think that I am quite the lil' ham (I love to tickle them and make faces at them and make the laugh!), a great helper, a loving cuddler, and definitely a lil' sweetheart!