Birthday Celebration #2

We spent Thanksgiving Day (Aerolyn's actual birthday), with my Aunt and her family. Aerolyn had a Sleeping Beauty cake at this party plus all the delicious Thanksgiving deserts.

She got some books, crafts, dolls and Littlest Petshop toys.

We had a fun and relaxing day visiting with our family and the food was fantastic!

Will's favorite pose lately:

Will loves pumpkin pie!

My cousins

B is all tuckered out after all that good eatin'

Birthday Celebration #1

We had 3 birthday celebrations for Aerolyn this year. The first was at my parents' house the Wednesday before her birthday. We had a Turkey dinner to celebrate thanksgiving with my sister, who had to work on the actual holiday. My grandma picked out this cute cupcake turkey. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Aerolyn got to open gifts from Kristen, GG, and Grandma and Bumpa. She got an Ariel doll, art supplies and an easel. She was very excited to try out the chalk board and dry erase board on the easel wearing her new art smock.

Happy 5th Birthday!

It seems like only yesterday, Eric and I were doing some after-Thanksgiving shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond when my water broke. Well, technically my water hadn't broken yet, but we thought it did and rushed to the hospital. Three hours later, our baby girl had arrived! I remember Eric calling his dad to wish him a happy birthday and asking him what he wanted for his birthday. Of course, dad responded that he was hoping for a baby. But the best part was when Eric asked him what "kind" of baby he wanted. Eric and I had waited to find out the sex of the baby, much to the chagrin of Papa, and Papa wanted a girl.

Aerolyn loves to hear the story about when she was born on her Papa's birthday. She loved that she is the first grandchild of both sets of grandparents and loves that she is the first girl in the Posthumus family. It is an honor that she lives up to very well, our little princess.

This has been a big year for Aerolyn. She started kindergarten. She is taking both dance and gymnastics and she just finished swim lessons. It has been amazing watching her grow up these past 5 years. She was always a "grown-up" baby though, so independent and driven. She was crawling at 6 months, walking and talking at 9 months, getting herself dressed and sleeping in a big bed at 16 months. She is willing to try any "grown-up" activity. She wants to do any "grown-up" activity. But, she is a perfectionist (where does she get that?) and frustrates easily if she doesn't succeed immediately. We are working on encouraging her in her efforts and focusing our praises to help her learn that it's ok to make mistakes.

5 fun facts about Aerolyn

1. She loves being called "rainbow". Her middle name is Raine, after her Grandma Raine (Laraine). I asked her why she likes the nickname and she told me it's because God made rainbows way back in the Bible so people would know He was there.

2. She is a good eater! This doesn't mean that she eats full meals regularly, it means she likes many foods that most 5 year olds won't even try. Examples: broccoli, hummus, spinach, sugar snap peas, black beans, whole wheat/grain anything, flax seed, all types of nuts. We have been dabbling in many vegetarian foods lately, and she usually gives everything a try. Her favorite veggies are fresh green beans and spinach.

3. She is our princess. She loves everything pink or purple and fairy or princess related: Jewelry, crowns, Barbie dolls (although I'm not a huge fan of Barbie), and dress up clothes. Her favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty because she has blond hair and a pink dress. She HATES to wear pants. I have been layering her tights so she can wear a dress every day and not get too cold at recess.

4. Singing! Aerolyn loves to sing, and she's pretty good at it too. She loves pretty much all music. I don't know if she could choose one favorite song. Whenever she has to learn something in a short amount of time (address, phone number etc.) I use rhythm or music to teach it to her. She can name many songs and artist names and easily remembers lyrics. She enjoys Linkin Park, Fall out Boy, Hannah Montana, all Disney Princess Songs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Psalty, and songs she learns at church. She and I also like to make up songs about everyday, mundane things. We use the tunes of common songs and just make up lyrics as we go. I think that Will and Branton like this as well. Will is even starting to join in with us.

5. She also loves to be dramatic. I don't mean this in a negative way, although she is dramatic in that way too sometimes. I mean she likes to use big, flowery words (think Fancy Nancy). She tells Will that he looks "dapper". She told me that her birthday treats were so beautiful, they made her want to cry (they were white chocolate dipped pretzels, rolled in granulated, rainbow sugar). Once, the subject of weddings came up and the phrase "'till death do us part" caught her attention. She twirled around the room, dancing with an invisible prince and singing that phrase. Ladies at the mall get a kick out of her. She shops with me for clothes sometimes and says things like, "Feel this fabric" or, "Look at this beautiful pattern".

Aerolyn brings so much laughter and life into our home, all of our children do.

Happy Birthday Sweet Aerolyn. Mommy and Daddy Adore You!

Here are some pictures of my precious daughter:

My newborn baby girl.



June 2, 2005- 6 Months


August 23, 2005- 9 Months



Halloween 2005- 11 Months


April 8, 2006- 16 Months



June 30, 2006- 19 Months


Sept 25, 2006- 22 Months


December 20, 2006- Just 2 Years


May 23, 2007


July 21, 2007


August 11, 2007


October 13, 2007


November 24, 2007- 3 Years


January, 2008


February, 2008


April 8, 2008


June 2008- 3 1/2 Years


August 2008


October 2008


November 2008- 4 Years


June 2009- 4 1/2 Years


August, 2009


October, 2009



5 Year Pictures to Come!

Keep 'em Coming!

WARNING: The following post contains details about bathroom business (again)

Our newest potty training efforts seem to be paying off. In two weeks, Will has had 4 perfect days (zero accidents)!

The first couple of days had 3-4 accidents including poo, but since that "testing" period, he really seems to be doing well.

The Plan:
Our new approach was to back off completely. We got rid of pull-ups and went cold turkey into undies full time. We then explained to him that we were no longer going to remind him to use the bathroom or clean up after him.
I put a basket of clean sweatpants and undies in the bathroom and showed him where he could get wipes to clean himself up if he got dirty. We also gave him a separate laundry basket for his dirty clothes.

The reward system:
We offered a small treat for potty in the toilet and a larger treat for poop. We also offered the incentive of playing with a Lego set or sponge bob game for 20 minutes with mom or dad if he had a perfect day. In addition, if he has 10 perfect days in a row, he gets to choose a special outing: crazy bounce, movie theater, wooden park etc.

As I said before, the first couple of days he was testing us. He went poop in his pants just to see what we would do. Thankfully, he tested that one out at home first (Grandma Judy is on board with this plan at daycare). I calmly told him to clean himself up and offered minimal direction. It took him almost an hour to clean up all traces of the mess in his pants as well as the mess he then created in the bathroom. He has pooped once at grandma's since then, and then one time at gymnastics class (Eric just got up and told the teacher they had to go home). Each day he has to empty his dirty clothes bag from grandma's into the laundry and then help mom or dad get the laundry started. He also has to help sort his laundry back into the baskets in the bathroom. We put all the work in his hands.

Now we have days with just one potty accident or none at all!

I definitely think he needed everyone to back off and feel like he was in charge. This was very apparent on Sunday when he and I were shopping at Target. I saw him doing the potty dance and I cringed. I knew that I shouldn't say anything, but the thought of a big puddle on the floor in the store was very unappealing. I broke down and asked him if he needed to use the potty. He shouted at me that he did NOT! and we continued to shop. The potty dance got worse and I broke down and asked again with the same response. Just five minutes later, he told me that he had to use the bathroom really badly. We ran together and made it! I'm so glad he didn't pee his pants right there just to spite me!

Great Job Will.
Keep those perfect days coming!

The Kindergartener

I know this first picture is old, but I wanted to post a picture of my big girl on her first day of kindergarten. A fellow parent took this shot for me of Aerolyn and her best friend in her class.

The second picture is Aerolyn and her best friend in the high school.
Every day Aerolyn comes to the high school with me until 7:30. She runs around the halls, visiting with teachers and students, and then we walk over to the elementary together. I use to walk her all the way in, but recently she asked if we could part ways a little sooner so she could walk in with the kids getting off the buses. My little girl is growing up so fast!

Fall Family

These 2 pictures were the best two in the bunch. Eric looks uncomfortable in the second one and the kids are out of focus in the first. We won't be hanging either of these on the wall, but the memory of this fun afternoon will be preserved in our photo album.

Daddy and B

More Fun With Leaves

First Tooth

Mr. B has been very busy this week. I noticed his first tooth cutting through on the bottom on Monday evening. He has been in good spirits, no fever or extreme fussing.

Such a sweet kid!

Mr. B is Mobile!

Branton is officially crawling!

He started on Sunday evening and was so proud of himself.

It's more of a belly flop really, but it gets him moving in a forward motion. He gets up on his hands and knees, moves his hands forward, and then lunges onto his belly. I'm sure he will soon discover that it is easier to just keep moving his hands, but for now, this is really cute.