Baby VanDyke

Early on a Friday morning in December, as we were riding our tandem bike, I said to my husband, "I wanted to do something really memorable, but I am just so excited that I can't keep this to myself! You are going to be a Dad again!!" Well, we just about fell off the bike (not really :D). But we were both so excited to be adding another member to our family. 

For weeks people have been asking us what we are having. Especially Sam's co-workers. So we decided it would be fun to have a big reveal for them. One morning, I brought in some cupcakes for lunch, and all together they opened them to find out whether we were having a boy or girl. 

And the result is....

We are having a GIRL!!

Baby Girl is due early August and we are all eagerly anticipating her arrival.

I also took the cupcakes to my parents for a reveal of baby's gender. All along my Dad has hoped it would be a girl and his reaction was priceless!  

Our Easter...

Happy Easter from the VanDykes

We trust that you had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We had a lovely day that started out with illustrating the empty tomb with Resurrection Rolls. Then it was off to Church where we celebrated the resurrection with our church family. 

The children at our church have been learning songs to sing for our "special" Sundays, and they are always such a joy to hear.The children are always so precious. Whit and Thad are too young to join the children's choir, but it will only be a couple years before they are up there too.

My babies are getting so big. Whit likes to remind us that he is a "big boy" now. Thad would have us all believe that he is as big as Whit. He has no fear, and copies everything Whit does. He always has an "owie" or bruise or scrape of some kind because he was trying to be like Whit and his little body just couldn't keep up.

After church, we had a real "home" lunch of roast NZ Lamb, mint sauce, kumara (yams), roast potatoes, pumpkin, and peas. Lamb is a delicacy here and because it is so expensive, we don't have it very often. Therefore, it is so delicious when we do indulge. I am salivating just thinking about how tasty it all was. Dad blew up the "boat" for the boys to swim in and while Whit was mildly amused, Thad had the time of his life before he got to cold to stay in the water.

 Whit and Grandma exploring the garden together

Of course the rest of the day involved naps for all, puzzles, snacking, and just relaxing and enjoying each others company.

Christmastime is here