One More

I have been reminded by multiple folks lately that I have been pretty delinquent with blog posts this month...to be fair, I did warn you that April was going to be CRAZY busy...but just for you, I'll squeeze in one more post for the month of April. :-)



We had such a fun week away this past week. We spent the week in Michigan, visiting family and friends, and Mike attended a mid-week conference at Western Theological Seminary in Holland.



We had lots of great family time, visiting and playing cards with Grandpa and Grandma De Pree.



Joshy and Grandpa read stories together.



We got to visit Grandma Holleman as well...again, more stories! This kid LOVES books! That is one of his best words - "book." You can understand him clear as day, and he knows what it means, too!



Wednesday and Thursday nights we stayed at a hotel. We are never sure how this will go with Joshua - he is used to having his own room and not being able to see us when it's time to go to bed. However, as you can see, he had no problem zonking out! "Puppy" was getting lots of love. ;-)



The hotel had a great continental breakfast, but all it really takes to make this kid happy is a banana. I think he would survive on bananas if he could...well, bananas and maybe Goldfish crackers...



The hotel didn't have a swimming pool, but we found plenty of other ways to entertain ourselves!



Joshua made a pile of pillows on the floor and kept running and jumping on them! Who needs a pool?



Nice bed head! This "Puppy" is his favorite thing...he would carry it around everywhere if we'd let him! It used to be white, but the hugs and kisses and slobber he gets have given him more of a *tan* color. EEEWWW AAAWWW...



While Daddy was at his conference, Mommy and Joshy enjoyed some rest, shopping and catching up with friends!



Wednesday night we headed out for a PHENOMENAL piano concert by our cousin, John. What a wonderful night of music! Joshy got to play with a babysitter while the adults enjoyed the concert.



And, of course, this weekend is one of Mike's favorite weekends of the year...NFL DRAFT WEEKEND. He seriously looks forward to this for the entire year, and reads up on the teams and players for weeks before the draft begins. Josh and Daddy were pretty happy with some of the picks for the Detroit Lions this year!



What a terrific week! We are now at home, safe and sound, and *thinking* about unpacking the car. Maybe just the necessities tonight, haha! Looking forward to a night of rest and recuperation!

We are so thankful for all the family and friends we were able to catch up with this week! We love you all so much!

God's blessings,
M, K & JJ

On the Mend

After our visit to the E.R. last week, we have kept things pretty low-key around here, doing our best to help our little guy feel better. I think he stayed in his P.J.'s nearly every day, haha! Who wouldn't want to just lounge around in their jammies all day long?



We had a follow-up visit with our pediatrician yesterday and he gave little man a clean bill of health! He still has a bit of a cough and runny nose, but the doc said that could stick around awhile. Of course, just a couple hours before our appointment, Josh pull a drawer completely out of the dresser and it landed right on his face...see the scratches? Thankfully, the damage was minimal...it's always something with this kid!



Now that he's feeling better, he is back to his usual antics, making messes, running wild, keeping Momma on her toes! And I wouldn't have it any other way! :-)

We woke up to thunderstorms this morning, so today will be a good day to stay inside, get some laundry and chores done and just take it easy...sounds good to me!

Have a wonderful week!

Our First Trip to the Emergency Room

Oy, what a night we had! Joshua woke up around 12:40 a.m. crying. This happens sometimes, and he always cries himself back to sleep. Last night, though, something was different. In-between cries I heard a strange squeaking noise. At first, I thought it was Mike breathing heavily, but I went to check on Josh anyway. Sure enough, HE was the one making the squeaking sound. It was so loud that we could hear him through our closed bedroom door and his closed door. I went into his room and got him out of bed. He was coughing and wheezing so badly that he couldn't quite catch his breath. This came on so suddenly - when we had put him to bed at 9, he was fine! I took him downstairs to try to get him to calm down, but Mike and I knew in a matter of minutes that we needed to get to the hospital.

We threw the diaper bag into the car and rushed to the hospital in our p.j.'s. When we got there, we got checked in and right away they gave him a steroid and a nebulizer treatment to try to get his airways to open up. Thankfully, the treatments worked within minutes and he started breathing normally again. The ER doctor diagnosed croup, which, while miserable, is easily treatable. We have no idea how this came on; he has not been around anyone sick and has not had a cold or anything. The only explanation I can come up with is that he might have allergies. Mike and I both have allergies, and I get really sick and congested when my allergies kick in. We have been spending a lot of time outdoors lately, so perhaps he got attacked by some nasty pollen? Up until now, we have been very blessed that we have never had to take him to the doctor for anything but a well-baby check, so it was definitely scary to see our usually healthy-as-a-horse little man so sick. He was so brave and we are so thankful to God that he is going to be fine!

Needless to say, none of us got much sleep last night. But our sweet boy is now on antibiotics and will hopefully be feeling better soon! He is currently resting and watching, "Bee-jees," which means, "Veggies." The boy loves VeggieTales!

Here are a few photos of our sick boy...



Despite feeling rotten, he still has some smiles for his momma!



Mommy is a big softy and bought him a new book because she feels so bad for him...



We hope you have a great day!

Spring Has Sprung!

Yesterday the high reached 80 degrees! And it looks like spring may be here for good...nice warm temps all week! Hooray!



Joshua just cannot get enough time outside. He runs and runs and runs all over the yard and along the sidewalks. Wears this momma out! Right now we are working on teaching him to stay away from the roads. And, of course, when Mommy and Daddy say it's time to go in, there are more than a few tears...



One of his new favorite things is to lift up his shirt and show off his belly...silly boy!

I can already tell April is going to be a month of fewer blog posts, and for this I apologize. Our April is jam-packed! The plan for this upcoming week is to tackle spring cleaning. Cleaning closets, behind/underneath furniture, tidying up the basement/garage/shed, yard work...I am SO ready to get all these projects done!

Have a wonderful day!
The Hollemans

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Mike's birthday was Wednesday, but Wednesday tends to be a pretty busy day for us, so we celebrated yesterday.



One of his favorites for dinner...steak and potatoes! YUM!



Happy birthday, Daddy! Does Joshua look like his daddy or WHAT?!?!



Joshy couldn't wait to dig into Daddy's birthday cake!

Happy birthday, honey! We love you so much!

An Early Birthday Present

What a perfect day! The temperature reached a whopping 81 degrees here in Fairview! When Joshua woke up from his nap, we promptly headed out for a nice long walk!



Mike's parents drove down and spent the weekend with us. We had such a wonderful time! They also brought us a combined birthday gift...a GRILL! Isn't it great?



We couldn't wait to try out our new toy, especially on such a beautiful day! For our first grilling experience, we decided to try something simple...burgers and potatoes! A perfect meal on this gorgeous spring day!



Joshua's vote? YUM!



And, of course, our day couldn't be complete without running around in the backyard! Can't wait for more days just like this one!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Love and blessings,
The Hollemans