BIG News

Jonah's going to be a big brother! The newest member of our little family will be arriving this spring... around April 29th... come back here often for updates including if Jonah's having a little brother or sister.

By the way, Mom's doing great with the exception of feeling sick every so often & some fatigue that comes with making a person!

A Great Man Goes Home

Nate went home to be with Jesus this past weekend - he leaves behind a wife, 2 kids, and an incredible story of faith, hope & love...

Nate Trask Interview from Freshly Ground Productions on Vimeo.

An Evening In The 'D'

A couple weeks ago, we headed down to the Detroit Riverfront with our good friends, the Korals...
...Ryan brought his new camera & took these beautiful pictures.
Click on one to make it bigger.

Jonah & Daddy smiling big.






Jonah & Mommy having fun.








He's looking so much older.






Our friends Andrea & Evan Koral... Ryan's taking the pic.

New Trampoline

Jonah's cousins got a brand new trampoline that he got to try out over the 4th of July weekend... as you can see, he's not quite as experienced as his older cousins yet!

5 Years Later

Today we celebrate 5 years of marriage bliss! Okay, so, it hasn't been all blissful, but this past year [especially this past month] have been truly incredible. Stay tuned to HoogewindFamily.com as we document the adventures God has for our lil' family over the next 5+ years!

Here are a few pictures taking us back to that special day 5 years ago...

Walking... Finally

With a little over a week from turning 18 months [crazy!], Jonah is finally taking several steps on his own... he's actually doing rather well, considering his mom didn't walk til she was 17 months & his dad until he was 18 months!

Way to go, Jonah!

Jonah's First Haircut

We hope you enjoy watching this as much as we enjoyed making it!

Bath Time

As you can see, Jonah LOVES bathtime and camera time!

Happy Be-lated Easter

We all hope you had a terrific Easter last week! As you can see, Jonah enjoyed "finding" his little Easter basket which was filled with crayons, a little red car, and his first soccer ball.

By the way, Jonah is not walking yet - we're attributing it to the fact that neither his father nor mother started walking until they were 18 months! We'll be sure to get footage of Jonah's first steps up here as soon as it happens.

Who Needs a Sippy Cup?!

It's a proud day in the Hoogewind household - Jonah used a straw for the first time tonight at Outback... and good thing, 'cause Mommy & Daddy forgot his sippy cup!

Bath Head

After Jonah's bath, Mommy loads his head with lotion so his scalp doesn't get dry... as you can see, his hair is getting longer [finally!] & the lotion makes it all funkdefied - he's our little rocker!

Playing and "Talking"

Jonah turns 14 months old tomorrow - we are so thankful to have such a happy and healthy little boy. Here's a little video of him playing and talking [the way 14 month olds do]... stay tuned, 'cause we're confident that he will be walking very soon!

A Chip off the Old Block

The other day I [Jimmy] left Jonah alone in the living room for a couple minutes to go into the kitchen. I came back out only to find my one and only son with my Xbox controller in his hands and the power turned on! I have to admit... it was quite a proud moment for me.

We're Back!

We promise not to go away anymore... please stay tuned!

Fill My Cup

Our baby boy is turning into quite a functional toddler right before our very eyes. Check out his amazing cup holding & drinking skills... what a stud!

The 4th With Family & Friends

We headed out to Grand Rapids for the holiday to spend some quality time with the Hoogewind side of the family as well as some Aquinas College (Shannon's alma mater) friends.

We celebrated Independence Day with the family and also got to celebrate Ellyott's (far right) 4th birthday on Sunday. Check out the proud Nana & Papa and their 5 incredible grandchildren! Thanks for the good food and good times, guys... we love you!

We also got to spend some time with Alexis & her beautiful new daughter, Allie, as well as Jackie, Andy & their adorable daughter Kaylee.
Here's a pic of us having a drink with our friends Allory & Steve after a late night go-cart run... say, who won that race anyway? Thanks for a fun night, you two!

Good Job, Buddy!

He did it! Jonah finally rolled over from his back to his stomach! Unfortunately, Daddy was at work, so he missed it. Fortunately, I had the camera ready to go.

"O'Doyle Rules!"

My wife is proud of her Irish heritage... sometimes you'll even hear me call her by her maiden name - Doyle. So, when we found out we were pregnant, I went online to create a very special surprise onsie that Jonah can now fit into & it's finally warm enough outside for him to wear.

Now, if only I could find a onsie with a windmill...

2 + 2

For those of you who know our story well, you no doubt remember the first 2 years of our marriage as being extremely tough for us - especially the second year. But, through the love & grace of our awesome God, these last 2 years have been simply amazing - especially the fourth as we welcomed Jonah into the world.

Today we celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary... 2 tough years + 2 amazing years (including 1 incredible son) = 1 strong, unified, passionately in love couple.

Our New Niece & Cousin

She has arrived! Enya Rose Stevens (Jimmy's sister's daughter) came into this crazy world earlier this week, and the 3 of us are heading out to Grand Rapids (Jimmy's hometown) this weekend to meet her.

In the mean time, we've been able to enjoy the beautiful pictures Terri Gillis took in the delivery room... check them out here.

PJs

When Jonah learns that when the pjs come out it's almost time for bed, he probably won't be as happy as he is in this video... but, for now, ignorance is bliss!

Laughing With Mommy

Jonah is feeling much better... only a couple more breathing treatments left. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

He doesn't realize it yet, but he has the best mom any kid could ever ask for. I mean, just look at the way she makes him laugh!

Happy Mother's Day, Shannon... I love you.

Sick Boy

Jonah hasn't been his normal, happy self this last week. We knew that teething and his eczema were bothering him, but he also had a slight cough and an elevated temp. So, we decided to take him to the clinic on Sunday where we found out he has a mild case of bronchiolitis.

The doctor prescribed a steroid (he's already jucin'!) & gave us a nebulizer to take home for his breathing treatments. We're already seeing positive results, even though he absolutely hates the breathing treatments.

Stay tuned for Jonah's progress.

Jonah Speaks... Sort Of

This is a clip of Jonah showing off his low baby voice.
Any guesses on what his first word will be?

Cell Phones & Lemonade Don't Mix

Last night I sat down on the couch & heard a splash at my feet... the floor was wet & my glass of lemonade was half empty. I also noticed that, mysteriously, my cell phone was nowhere to be found. Yes, that's right... my cell phone dropped into my glass of lemonade when I sat down on the couch! To add insult to injury, the warranty on my cell phone does not cover water (or lemonade) damage... also, my phone was not covered on the $5 per month insurance plan!

So, if any of you kind people out there have a Verizon cell phone collecting dust (and it's nicer than my old LG-VX7000), let me know - I may wanna take it off your hands for the right price!

Butterfly In The Sky

On our last trip to Grand Rapids (where my family lives), we visited the Frederick Meijer Gardens & the tropical butterfly exhibit - the next time you're in GR, we highly recommend it!

We also got to sneak away for a few hours one evening (thanks, Nancy!) to celebrate my parent's anniversary. We had a very nice dinner at a quaint little place called Reds On The River in Rockford - we look forward to going back there to eat soon!

Jonah's First Cereal Adventure

This adorable video of our son speaks for itself... it is, however, worth mentioning what a great job we think he did eating cereal for the first time. As his parents, we may be a bit biased, though!

Jonah's First Vacation

We recently returned from our first vacation as a family of three. We headed down to West Palm Beach, Florida with Grandma & Grandpa Doyle. Our goal was to hang out with Mary Anne (Shannon's sis) & to soak up some much needed warmth & sun after a long, cold winter. We came home successful! As you can see, we had an opportunity to take Jonah for his first swim in Aunt M.A.'s heated swimming pool. His quick smile was either because he was enjoying the water, or he was laughing at the random banter we were all sharing.

We also brought Jonah to the ocean... he wanted to go in, but the waves were just too high. We convinced him that, being from Michigan, just seeing the ocean at his age was quite a privilege!

Welcome!

Welcome to our new home on the WWW! Come back often to find out what's going on with us - but, in the mean time...

If you have a Facebook account, check out Jimmy's Profile for lots of info, pictures, and videos by clicking here.

To view our old website (with the original Baby Blog), click here.

Thanks for stopping by. Come back again this week for another post with lots of updates, and be sure to vote on the random poll that will be updated every Monday morning!