Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I had a total of four trick-or-treaters this year.

Jayce, Braden, & Tristan

Eli

BBD = Big Buck Down

Scot and his Dad left for Montana Wednesday morning at 4 am. They were just into Montana around 10:00 PM. On Thursday they had 6 more hours of driving before they reached their destination - Bear Paw Hunts, Inc.

Yesterday, Scot called me all excited because he shot his first buck for 2009 in Montana. He shot the buck on Friday, October 29. The buck scores in at 155 and is considered non-typical because of the two antlers sticking straight out on each side.

Scot is now going to sit with his Dad until he shoots his big buck. After their hunt in Montana, they are heading to Illinois to do some more hunting. Scot hopes to have two more kills before he comes home.

Good Luck Guys on killing a few more trophies!!!

Another Wonderful Baby Shower

I ended my week with another wonderful baby shower. My good friends, Andrea DeWeerdt, Marcy Yonker, & Erin Slotman threw me a shower tonight with the rest of my good friends. It was so nice and relaxing to catch up with one another. Marcy made a cute diaper cake for the center piece. The basket is filled with items for my diaper bag. What a great idea, due to the fact I have no idea what is a "must" to have in a diaper bag. These balloons are really special b/c Andrea had to chase them in her neighborhood!! She had them in her garage & when her husband left he left the garage door open and the balloons escaped.

After dinner we played pictionary and the words were all baby related. It was a close game the whole time! Unfortunetly, my team was not successful but we had a lot of fun trying! Even though my team did not win, I received the cutest gift. I received wall decal letters that spell out Two Peas in a Pod. The letters are in brown and are going to match the baby room perfectly!

After our game I opened the presents for the twins. The twins are spoiled already b/c they are not even here yet and they received very nice gifts. Diapers, Diaper Champ (I think this one is really for mom & dad), Carters Mobile, baby swing, wipe warmer, Boppy, receiving blankets, and a health & groom kit.

We ended the night by eating sundaes with brownies and catching up with one another. It was fun listening to everyone's labor or pregnancy experiences. I learned a lot tonight by all the stories told.

Tonight, I was reminded again how blessed I am with true friends. Over the past few years I have been able to build strong relationships with these girls. I don't know what I would have done without their prayers and shoulders to cry on while Scot and I were trying to get where we are today. THANK YOU very much for being such great friends and for my awesome shower! I had an excellent time !!

2nd Baby Shower

My girlfriends from high school, Stacy Groenink, Maelia Post, Becky Post, Sara Smallegan, & Karri Murphy all helped to throw me an awesome shower. They did such a great job with the shower. We had an excellent dinner with a chicken bake, lasagna, cheesy potatoes, rolls, & salad. For dessert you had the option of having chocolate cake or apple crisp.

My other guests were, April Rogers

Lisa Erickson, LeighAnne Wormeester, and Teresa Bundy.

We did two games. The first game was a list of animals you can hunt and you had to list the name for their babies. Some of the animals on the list were: Bear, deer, duck, turkey, coyote, pheasant & squirrel. Do you know what the babies for these animals are called? The answers are at the bottom of this blog. The 2nd game was to guess how many peanut butter M&Ms were in a bottle and Lisa Erickson guessed it right on - 120.

After the games I opened presents. I was given the nicest gifts. I received a Bobby from April. From Stacy, Maelia, Becky, Karri, & Sara I received a car seat, seat protector, and baby monitor.

Theresa and LeighAnne gave me the cutest sweaters for the twins. The sweaters were made by Teresa's sister, Rebecca Whitney. I can't imagine having a baby that small to fit into those sweaters. Lisa gave me a musical gym.

I have been so blessed with great friends. Some of us have been friends since Kindergarden and some of us had been friends for 10 years. No matter how long we have been friends I hope our friendships last till we are 90.

Thanks girls for the WONDERFUL shower. I enjoyed every minute of it and had a great time.

Now for the answers: Bear - Cub

Deer - Fawn

Duck - Duckling

Turkey - Poult

Coyote - Pup

Pheasant - Chick

Squirrel - Pup or Kitten

First Baby Shower

Tonight I had my first baby shower. I have been blessed with great co-workers at Lighthouse Insurance and they threw me an AWESOME shower. The shower started at 5:30 and dinner was provided. We had pulled pork, three salads, chips, punch, and cake.

The girls know Scot & I are having a hard time figuring out names, so the game was for everyone to give us name ideas & I had to pick the best girl and boy name. Some of the names suggested were:

Girls: Patience Lynn, Kailey, Ethel, Jamie, Hailey, Bella, Payton, Makenzie, Anissa, Michelle Ann

Boys: Brendan Scot, Trent Michael, James, Timothy Scot, Lucas, Logan, Maximillian, Peyton

It was so much fun opening all the great gifts. I received so many awesome items for the twins. Here is a list of some of the items we received: bottles, bath tub, burp clothes, Gift Card to Tiny Toes in Holland, Gift Card to Target, Diapers, Teething ring, crib sheets, cute sleepers from Carters, hand made blankets, a pack-n-play, bibs, socks, & hooded towels.

A BIG THANKS to all of you that helped throw my baby shower and thanks to all who attended by shower! Your support during my pregnancy & has been greatly appreciated!

28 Weeks

Today marks 28 weeks! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Just think 2 more months and we will be a family of four!

Yesterday, I had my doctor's appointment and another ultrasound. Everything looks great, which is the best news you can hear at your doctor's appointment. My weight is good and there is plenty of fluid for each twin. Twin A is weighing in at 2lbs 10 oz and Twin B is weighing in at 2lbs 8 oz. The twins are exactly were they need to be and are measuring as if I was carry one baby, but the reality is I am carry two!! Dr. Siegers told be to be prepared for 7lb twins. I don't know if my stomach can stretch much more!

Twin A moved and is currently vertical in the breach position on my right side. Twin B is still laying horizontal. There is more than a 75% chance I will have a c-section. Dr. Siegers will not schedule the c-section till a week prior to my due date, but he thinks more than likely I will go on my own prior to that time.

I had a different nurse this time b/c my normal nurse was on vacation. She does not know the sex of the twins and based on the heartbeats her guess is we are having one of each.

My appointments will now be every two weeks. My next appointment is Monday, Nov. 2nd.

Van Dam Girl's Weekend

This past weekend all the Van Dam girls went away for the weekend for some R&R. We went to a cottage in Clarksville that had room for all of us to sleep. The cottage was beautiful & worked out great for our large group. Friday night we got pizza and played cards. Aunt Mary, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Dawn, Casey, Carla, & myself stayed up till 1:30 talking.

The weekend was so relaxing because we didn't have any plans. So on Saturday we were able to sleep in, stay in our comfy clothes and do what ever we wanted till we had to get ready for dinner.

Sat. morning Aunt Mary, Josie, & Casey left to head back to Zeeland for Josie's soccer game. The rest of us enjoyed a late breakfast and played some more card games.

Heidi, Holly, Jill, & myself went for a walk in the afternoon. After our walk, Jill & Heidi left for home for the night. The rest of of us went out to dinner in Lowell at Flat River Grill.

Our group at dinner.

Aunt Dawn & Casey

Holly & I

Aunt Mary & Josie

Karla & Aunt Sharon

When we got back to the cottage we played LRC and I think Aunt Mary won the most rounds. Holly taught us how to play the game Mafia, even Josie played. We all had so much fun playing Mafia and hope to be able to play it w/the boys at the Christmas party. Saturday was another late night.....1:30. Sunday was our last day and everyone slept in. Jill came back for our wonderful brunch. After brunch we played another round of Rummy and then all of enjoyed the beautiful weather and went for a walk. We all left the cottage around 3:00. The time went by so fast! The aunts did a wonderful job planning the food for the entire weekend. Hopefully we will be able to do this trip again next year!