The Bane of our Tomato Plants

Can you see them? All FIVE of them? I didn't even know there was such things as tomato worms until we had them all over our tomato plants this year! We have three plants and these nasty beasts just about completely destroyed one. They have been so prevalent that we have to check each plant at least every other day b/c they can destroy a whole tomato plant in just a couple of days! I found these all on one plant this past Saturday morning - that makes at least 25 for this one plant! Unreal!

Tanner sees me bending down and staring at the plants and now he says "worms....ALL bye-bye!" or "no more worms!". That's the goal, little guy!

So...if you have tomato plants, watch out for these creepy crawlers!

The Sweetest Form of Thank You

So I know that I am WAY behind in updating you all on our lives! And maybe you are waiting (oh so patiently!) for new photos. I promise that I will have some summer updates soon...

But first, a story from today.

Tanner loves 'soo-mees' (smoothies), so when he woke from his nap today, I whipped one up for his afternoon snack. Shortly after giving him his 'soo-mee' and a handful of goldfish crackers, I hear him say 'Mmmmmmmm....soooooo-meeee'. (SO dramatic!) THEN...I hear his feet pitter-pattering on the kitchen floor as he runs over to me saying 'Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...' (because he can never say something just once!) and then he is tapping me on the leg, 'Mommy, Mommy...Kiss, Kiss'. Oh, how my heart wanted to explode as I look down at him gazing up at me with his lips puckered and waiting!!!!

Now that is the sweetest form of 'Thank You'!!

I love being a Mommy!

Today I've been thinking about how much I love being a Mommy to Tanner! All the little things he does and says are like pictures in my mind right now and they just make me happy! Take for example:

• how he comes running at full speed from his room - a book dangling from both hands - a look of glee in his eyes - yelling 'read a story, read a story' over and over!
• Or when I pick him up and his little arm scoops around my neck and he says 'mommy, mommy' over and over!
• Or when I go get him after his nap and his cheeks are all warm and red and soft and his hair all over the place and his eyes all big and droopy and he points at the glider and says 'rock-a-baby'.
• Or the other day when I thought he had an ear infection and told him that Mommy was going to call the doctor to see what the doctor would say and he said "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!".
• Or when we go anywhere and see a lawn mower and he yells 'mow Daddy!'

I could go on and on....I just adore him!!!

If you are looking for Tanner's blog...you've arrived at the right place!

So...I updated Tanner's blog- something I have been meaning to do for a very long time! What do you think?

I'll be posting the lastest happenings with the little guy and our family soon!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

Yesterday was Steve's birthday!!! We just celebrated at home this year - and actually spend most of the day working on the house and the yard but that is honestly what Steve wanted to do! :) I promise I didn't have a 'honey do' list for him!

A new photo of our Wheat!


What could it be???


A NEW drum!!! This is called a Cajon (pronounced Ka-hone). It is an african hand drum! Steve has wanted one for quite some time!


Giving it a try! He loves it!

Starting Young...

When we lived in Portland, we had a two bedroom apartment and very little storage so Steve was only able to have some of his drums out and available to play. Then when Tanner was born, the drums were replaced by a baby swing, a glider rocker and a crib! Now that we have a house, Steve will finally have a place for his drums and be able to play them pretty much whenever he wants! This is a huge blessing! In fact, we have a side room in the basement that is specifically going to be the music room! A year ago we couldn't have even imagined it! :)

This week Steve has been practicing for the Kalamazoo Fete de la Musique - a free music festival taking place on Saturday, June 21. He and his friend Jonathon will be playing a couple of sets - if you click on the link above, you can see a schedule and map. Their band is called Rootabaker! If you are or will be in the Kalamazoo area - feel free to stop by!

Anyway, since Steve has been practicing, Tanner is very interested in the drums! And....we say - why not start young!!

Curls!!

Oh, I just LOVE these curls!

Video Blues

Well...I tried to put a video on the blog but to no avail. So to see a video of Tanner playing in his new pool - click on the video link on the right-hand side of the page or click here. Keep checking the other site for new videos!

OUTside!!!

That is exactly how Tanner says it - emphasizing the 'OUT'! He loves to be outside and throws a big 'ole fit when we have to come inside.

When we go outside, we wander....look at and smell the flowers, find sticks, water the plants, and if it's warm enough - play in the pool!!

Here's Tanner smelling the Clematis - isn't it gorgeous?


Smelling the purple iris...


...and the peach iris.


Trying to smell the little yellow flower in the grass!


Finding sticks.


Wheat loves the yard too. After living in an apartment for over 4 years he is happy to finally have a place to lay in the grass!


A couple of weeks ago, Dad Root and Steve built a couple of privacy panels for our deck. Our house is on a corner lot so the street is right next to the house. These panels provide some privacy on the deck for both sides.


Tanner swam in his pool during the construction! It was a hot and sunny day! After I post this...I'm going to attempt to upload a video of him playing in the pool. Lately, video hasn't been working on this site so we'll see! Oh...and the Tide bottle is actually his watering can - complete with little holes in the top!

Memorial Day Parade!

On Memorial Day, we went to the parade in Paw Paw! It was a really short parade but the ceremony was really nice. We are pretty excited to have a little town to call our own now and Paw Paw seems like a really great place to live so far!

Here comes the fire truck!


Tanner wasn't too interested in smiling for the camera when the fire trucks were driving by!

He did really good during the parade and the ceremony. In fact, he didn't even cry when they fired off the guns about 20 feet from us! He did jump pretty good, though!

Tanner LOVES Flowers!

Tanner is turning out to be like his Daddy in the 'green' department! He just loves flowers! Every flower he sees, he wants to smell (and touch!). At this point, he is just as interested in a dandelion as he is in an orchid! :)

On our moving day...as I was finishing up some things at Dad and Mom Root's house - Steve, Mom and Tanner went to the greenhouse to pick up some flowers. Tanner was thrilled to bits!

Last Month's Photos...Finally!

OK...so I admit that I've been pretty behind with updating the blog. But 'better late than never' so here are some photos from the beginning of May. Enjoy!

At the beginning of the month - Tanner was just getting the hang of feeding himself. Here he is with his 'o-gurt'!


Steve must have been itchin' to have a yard of his own - so he mowed Dad and Mom Root's yard while we lived there! Tanner liked to watch from the window upstairs.


These are the coolest looking ferns that grow in Dad and Mom Root's backyard - Tanner was pretty intrigued with them too! Now, a month later, they are well over his head.


On the 16th of May, we celebrate my Mom's birthday at Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. It was a gorgeous day!

We started the 'party' with some snacks on the lawn outside the Gardens. Here we are munching. It was a really windy day so excuse the 'windblown' look! (L-R: my Dad, Branden, Steve, Tim, Lisa and Kim).


Here's my Mom with Tanner - watching the Canadian Geese.


Tanner is pretty excited here...but I'm not sure what about!


Pretty waterfall scene at the Gardens.


Checking out some of the artwork in the sculpture park!


Nana, Poppa and Tanner!


Riding on Uncle Branden's shoulders!


This was a really cool sculpture called 'Aria'.


HUGE amazing tropical plants inside the Tropical Conservatory.


Tanner did actually take a nap while we were at the Gardens - and just like the 'old' days when he was a baby, it was in the sling! Isn't he adorable?


We had such a wonderful day! My family thoroughly enjoyed celebrating my Mom and spending time together!

We're In!!

Hi Everyone!
So we are living in the house now!! YEAH! We love it! Being homeowners brings such a mix of emotions!! We are super excited and yet completely overwhelmed! :)

Everything is coming along --albeit a bit more slowly than I would like but that is life! Tanner is adjusting very well. I wasn't sure how he would sleep in his new room but he goes down for his naps and bedtime like normal. We've been here a bit over a week and for the first week he was a bit more clingy and would panic a bit when I would leave the room (even for a second) but this week he is much more comfortable here - especially in his room (he call's it "TT's room")!

I'll get some more photos of the house up here soon but in the meantime, here are some photos of the little guy!

Tanner is running everywhere now - in fact, he has one speed, which can be really dangerous! Here is comes around the corner!


He is also doing this adorable thing where he grabs your hand and says either "go" or "help" and tugs you along to wherever he wants to go! I just had to take this photo to capture this stage!


And here is Tanner in his cool shades! :)

Before and After

Our house is starting to seem a bit more like a home!!! Tanner's room is painted and the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway and stairway are painted! We've also cleaned it from top to bottom so it's pretty much ready to move into!

Painting the rooms has really freshened things up in the house and has made it look 10 times better. For those of you who don't know, the previous owners burned candles in every room pretty much 24/7 for the 3 years they lived there. So what was left was grayish-black soot streaks up the walls and on the ceiling. So you can imagine what a couple of coats of paint can do in that situation!

OK...here are some photos for you. First, this is Tanner's room before we painted. The view is from the doorway.

And here is the view from the corner looking toward the door and closet.

My Dad and sister Kim prepping the walls! All the walls in the house need sanding, caulking at the trim and patching - quite the job!

Now...here is the NEW view from the door! Isn't that a gorgeous green? It's even better in person! :)

And here is Tanner's new chalkboard wall! Didn't Dad Root do an incredible job?

Here you can see the two green colors come together. I just love the colors in his room!

Now for the 'Great Room' as we call it - the living room, dining room and kitchen are all one big room. Here is a before photo of it from the front door (note the soot streaks on the walls):

And here is a view from that corner toward the dining room. The beige color they had wasn't bad but it was kind of an orange-y beige plus it had soot on it too!

Here are a couple of photos of Steve's Dad and my Dad painting.

And here are some photos of the room all finished! The corner where the beige and brown come together.

This one is taken from the kitchen toward the front door and the stairway to the basement.

The view from the living room into the dining room.

And here is where the two colors meet above my blue counters. I originally did NOT like the blue counters but now that the room is painted - the blue looks great! Thanks so much to our interior designer friend Karen!

I love our new house and I'm so excited to make it a home!! Stay tuned for more photos as we continue to work on the house!