This Glorious Life

August/September

2010-10-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

In mid-August we went camping out on the Olympic Peninsula.

Evie loved wading in the water.

At our campsite, Jackson spent most of his time in the pack-n-play.

Over Labor Day weekend I preached out on Whidbey Island and we stayed overnight with an incredibly hospitable family.

Evie and her best friend Micah watched Curious George 2 together.

Jackson, after a nice bath.

Evs, after a nice bath.

A Boy Falling From the Sky

2010-10-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

September Videos

2010-10-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

Some various videos from the past month...

Just Playing

2010-09-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Evielution of Dance

2010-09-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Some August Pictures

2010-08-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

Jackson Gets Sleepy

2010-08-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Summer Fun and Nationalism

2010-07-12T22:15:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's already mid-July... Our inability to be up to speed on such things probably has to do with 1) Seattle weather in June and 2) the fact that Cherie had a handful of intensive grad courses until the end of June. But those days are up now. We've enjoyed lots of play time with the kids outside and trips to the Green Lake wading pool when it's sunny and warm. On June 30, our exchange student arrived from Spain. Alba is staying with us for 4 weeks. Hosting her was a last minute decision, but her sweet personality and the fact that her name means "Aurora" have been a few of the confirmations we've received that this was meant to be! On July 1 we had some Canadian friends over to celebrate Canada Day. I made poutine and it was delicious. On July 4 we enjoyed our annual tradition of going to our friend Jered's condo, overlooking Lake Union, to watch the fireworks. Cherie and I enjoyed them, but even more so we loved the fact that Alba was having a blast as were Evie and Jackson! On July 11 we celebrated Spain's World Cup victory. Some may accuse me of betraying my heritage, but the fact of the matter is that I never lived in the Netherlands! There's more to say in terms of how life is right now, but just not enough time... We're looking forward to seeing family in a few weeks!

Grandma's, 'Bama, Birthdays

2010-06-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

May Days

2010-05-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

Where is he?

2010-04-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Jackson Bites

2010-04-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Funny Boy

2010-04-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

Run Evie Run

2010-04-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

We Love Their Teeth & Eyes!

2010-02-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

Glimpses of the Kids

2010-02-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

Katt Kids

2010-02-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

This past week Cherie's two best college friends (okay, they've always been my friends too), Rachel and Kelly, visited us. It was super fun to watch them interact with our kids. I especially enjoyed watching Cherie laugh with them like old times. Unfortunately, I got a 24-hour flu bug again for the second time in a month (Cherie actually had it last week again) and passed it on to Kelly during her short visit... So the least I can do for Kelly is a blog post, since she chastised me for our - and by "our", I mean "my" since Cherie has essentially forgotten that this blog exists - lack of posting.

A close-up of the handsome Jackson. You can't see here, but he's got three teeth at the moment. Two on the bottom middle, and one dracula-style on the top. So cute!

Here's Evie pushing Jackson in the stroller that Grandma Katt got her. Of course, the tag warns not to put children in the stroller, but Evie was having so much fun! I have to admit: one morning we were going to surprise Cherie in bed. Evie pushed Jackson around the corner of the bed, got a bit too excited and tilted Jackson forward, at which point he promptly plopped out of the stroller into a pile of laundry... Oops.

This is a picture of my boy and me out in the Cascade mountains. Our church went away on a fabulous retreat, though 'church retreat' doesn't exactly capture the amazingness of this weekend. Lots of playing, resting, feasting, and reflecting about where we've been and dreaming about where we're headed.

On the way back we stopped in the "German village" of Leavenworth. Cherie and her friend Steph, who are both obsessed with black licorice, tried this oh-so-flattering licorice ice cream.

Evie and Jackson have grown particularly close as of late. Evie loves saying his name and usually can't wait for him to wake up in the morning. They play fairly well together. Now that Jackson is doing the soldier crawl, he can track Evie down wherever she is. She is still learning to share with him. The best is when they make each other giggle!

Rumors of our demise...

2010-01-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We are alive and well in Seattle - we just don't have any time to post on this blog!

Since we last posted,

-we went to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving.

-Cherie surprised me with the GREATEST DATE EVER, which included her ditching me immediately after dinner, sending me on a chase with clues, and spending our first night away from the kids together ever.

-hosting an epic surprise 30th birthday party for our dear friend Lisa

-hosting Cherie's sister and her family (the Verhoef's) and her parents for a little over a week around Christmas time

-getting away for a weekend with the Awake community.

I'll try to get some photos up from these fun things soon, but in the meantime, here are some recent pics of our incredible kiddos.

Tim Time

2009-11-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Evie Feeds Uncle Tim

2009-11-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

Uncle Tim was in town with the Detroit Lions and while he was here he had the chance to bond with his niece and nephew. He had not yet met Jackson and hadn't seen Evie since last Christmas! Nevertheless, Evie took a particular liking to him! In fact, she constantly wanted to sit by him and snuggle with him and, as you'll see in this video, feed him...

Random October Pics

2009-11-05T22:30:00.000-08:00

Jackson is a very smiley boy.

Grandpa Tigchelaar was in town. Evie liked wearing his glasses...

Sometimes she gets a little crazy with her spoon.

They love snuggling and wrestling.

Kiss Kiss

2009-11-05T22:24:00.000-08:00

random pics from the last couple of months

2009-10-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

The boys (Micah & Caleb Tigert, Jackson) and Evie

Jackson and Caleb (they were born 7 weeks apart)

Jackson and his kind eyes

Grandma Katt came for a visit and loves kissing those soft cheeks. Jackson loves those kisses!

Earlier in September, Uncle Dan and Aunt Christina came to Seattle!

On the ferry

On a hike with Uncle Dan, so sleepy.

Some of my favorite things--fresh flowers from the market and a sleeping baby on my chest.

Brown hoodies and serious faces only

Sweet cheeks

Mad scientist after her bath

My boys...

Evie loves giving her brother kisses...

and holding his hand.

Big Babies

2009-10-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted here in a while. September was a great month. Check out facebook for all the pictures of Dan and Christina's visit and the multiple Pearl Jam concerts...

Here's a picture of our beautiful boy, Jackson. He's getting big, loves playing with his hands, smiles all the time, and is trying to roll over.

I love this pic of Evie. She was sporting a Pearl Jam temporary tattoo that I got for her and then happened to pick up this book called, "Baby's First Tattoo." The moment was perfect so I snapped this shot. Evie is seriously a little rocker. She loves head-banging and dancing.

Hot Tubbin'

2009-09-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

Check out pictures of Evie and her friend Eva at our friend Julie In't Hout's blog.

Priceless!

Jackson Giggles

2009-09-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

San Diego

2009-09-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

We recently were blessed with the opportunity to go to San Diego for the weekend with a ministry peer learning group that was made up of some of our dearest friends - the In't Houts from Redlands, CA and the Armstrong's and Soerens' from Seattle. In addition to intentional and deep conversations in which we explored our callings and marriages, we had lots of time to play... which was REALLY good for the kids!

Evie eating a jelly sandwich at the beach. This girl was obsessed with the ocean!

Eva In't Hout pulling a boogie board.

Beach babes.

Nico gets acquainted with Jackson.

Jackson got acquainted with his thumb and has been enjoying it ever since!

Jackson and me watching the ceiling fan...

A yummy bottle.

Eva and Evie chasing each other around in their diapers.

Evie hangin' with the In't Houts.

Nico and I and our baby girls enjoy the hot tub.

Patty Cake, Patty Cake Bakers Girl....

2009-09-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

What on earth you ask yourself, are these little feet, almost on tipee toes, reaching for? Well, if you have recently hung out with a one-year old, you know that exploration and discovery is the driving force of their little lives. Our baking project (blueberry coffee cake) yesterday, sent Evie's easily peaked interest through the roof! The whole process is documented here starting with the early hand plant into the flour. :)

The long process of measuring two cups of blueberries--one in the measuring cup, two in the mouth, one in the measuring cup, two in the mouth, one in the measuring cup....
Voila! Ready to go in the oven, of course marked with an E for Evie and me (not really for me if Evie had her way!)
Helping with the clean up afterwards...
And the best part of all--eating the product of her labor!

Family

2009-08-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

More Photos

2009-08-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

Evie loves to smile, loves to laugh. And she has lots of teeth, but she's never been bothered by them. In fact, she really likes brushing her teeth. She also likes to pat her little brother on his belly. Jackson has the softest, sweetest eyes. He likes to just lay on his back and look around. He's also a chunker, weighing over 14 pounds already! Cherie is an amazing mom...

Growing

2009-08-24T23:19:00.001-07:00

Hey, sorry it's been soooo long. I (Ben) left our camera out in the rain on vacation - sad. We should be getting the pictures other people took in the mail soon. We'll make sure to share some here. Cherie got a new camera the other day and she's still trying to figure it out, but here's a picture of each of our growing kids in the meantime.

Good Times!

2009-07-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Life is a little blurry right now, but it is amazing! I don't know if we've written much here in a while - we just haven't had time, so we put the pictures up and let them do the talking. These pictures will talk too. You will see more of Jackson who is just a beautiful baby boy. He's also putting on the pounds. He gained about 3 pounds in his first 3 weeks and now he's probably at around 12 pounds. You'll also see the glorious Evie, who is increasingly curious about her baby brother. There seems to be something new every day that we have a hard time knowing what to pay attention to - do we watch Evie taking steps or enjoy Jackson as he begins to smile? We're getting some sleep - each morning we're not sure how many times we were up the night before. But we're hoping to get a bit more rest starting next week when we go to Ontario for a few weeks of vacation!

Evie's Steps

2009-07-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Grandpa & Grandma Katt Come to Town

2009-07-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Katt arrived last Sunday and have been enjoying quite the week with their two grandchildren...

Jackson

Grandma meets Jackson

The June 19 boys.

"man-to-man"

Proud Grandpa

apparently, a genetic facial expression

Grandma snuggles Jackson

Evie chatting with Grandpa

feels like flying!

Jackson atop the Columbia tower

the ladies

Daddy and his babies

Our Babies

2009-07-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

Tiny Dancer

2009-07-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

Jackson & Evie's Adventures

2009-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Squirmy

2009-06-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Learning to Walk

2009-06-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Jackson

2009-06-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Day Two

2009-06-20T17:51:00.001-07:00

The Katt family of four (this boggles my mind!) continues to rest at home. Evie and Cherie have been able to spend a bit more time together, which has been good for them both. And Jackson and I got some quality time too. It's certainly a different experience than the days immediately after Evie's birth to already have a one year old! We are very thankful to have Cherie's mom here. She has been an amazing help to us. Evie seems to be adjusting well, besides the fact that she didn't want to take her morning nap. Jackson is calm, strong, loves to eat, and sleeps well. We're so excited to get to know this little guy!

More Baby Jackson Photos

2009-06-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

We haven't taken any new photos today, but here are some more from yesterday...

Meet Jackson Timothy

2009-06-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

This morning, June 19, at 11:45am PST Cherie courageously gave birth to Jackson Timothy Katt at 8 lbs, 6 oz and 21 inches. The strong and healthy baby boy was born at home and entered the world 1 year, 13 hours, and 35 minutes after his proud big sister Evie.

Jackson was born on his Grandpa Katt's 55th birthday and received his name Jackson because "God is gracious" (indeed, this surprise pregnancy is grace!) and Timothy because of three kind and compassionate Timothy's - Uncle Tim Katt, Uncle Tim Tigchelaar, and "Uncle" Tim Soerens.

Mom and baby are both doing well. And so are Dad and Evie! Evie doesn't know exactly what's going on, but as you'll see below, she is excited about this new little creature in our home!

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Love,

Ben, Cherie, Evie, & Jackson

last days as an only child...

2009-06-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks, Evie seems to have changed from a baby to a little girl--I think that she knows she is entering one-yearoldhood! She is talking so much, saying words like kiss, duck, book, mama, dada, bottle, dog....

What an adventure with her. And now another little one on the way!

Ben and I are soaking up our last few days of life as we know it with one baby. Evie doesn't know what's coming, but we have a good feeling she will adjust well considering she loves other kids. :) The next few pictures are hightlights from the last few weeks.

Evie lov'n on her little sib already.

Pretty in pink.
Out for dinner with the Tigert's. Evie might have a crush on Micah.

Canadian girl...

Evie LOVES water! This is at the local pool, going down the lazy river--oh my goodness--Evie loves it!
Took Evie to Seattle's finest festival--folklife. She loved the drummers and all the interesting people. I think that she will be a people watcher just like her parents. :)
The following are from Evie's birthday!! The cutest thing ever--she knew it was a little party just for her! We planned it early and kept it small in light of our lives right now. She looked so cute in her special one-year-old party dress that she got from Aunt Lisa.

Opening presents...

Very confused about the singing... :)

Inactive Camera

2009-05-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Wow........

Sorry for not posting lately. Life has been very busy. We each feel like we have an infinite list of things to do before the baby arrives. And we're trying to enjoy every moment with Evie. Sometimes that means just leaving the camera behind, like when we took Evie swimming at a local pool last week. No camera, but it was one of the most amazing moments. She is a little water rat! She LOVED it.

In the last month we went to a wedding in Poulsbo (a town out on the peninsula), our brother-in-law Paul Verhoef visited with some students he works with at the University of Calgary (he's the guy in the pic below), I went to Grand Rapids for my brother Tim's graduation, and Cherie's been taking a class. Somehow amidst all that, we've also managed to do a little prep around the house for #2. We're very excited - ready to just be parents of two babies. Cherie's belly is beautiful. In fact, I should probably take a few pictures, so that this baby doesn't feel neglected when he/she is a teenager and looks back and sees zero pictures of the pregnancy (in contrast to the fully documented Evie pregnancy!).

Goof ball...

2009-05-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Evie's little personality continues to emerge--it is so fun to watch! In the last couple of weeks, her sense of humor (and her mischievous side) has developed and she likes to make us laugh and she is legitimately funny! What a delight...

One of Evie's new favorite faces...
Already looking for snacks. :)
First trip to the zoo...

Last weekend we went to Milwaukee to visit Ben's family. Here are some pictures from our trip...
La Botanas--can't go to Milwaukee without getting Mexican! Evie kept herself busy the entire dinner, picking away at little pieces of rice.

Evie--working her little charm!

Enjoying chill'n with uncle Dan

Evie's spa look in her robe, after grandma Katt gave her a bath.

Refreshing

2009-04-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

Crawl

2009-04-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Just last night she decided she was sick of scooting on her belly and that it was time to crawl...

Photo Update

2009-04-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

At some point, she became a little girl. She's scooting around and pulling herself up on things. She likes to chomp on apple cores with her two little teeth.

We took a trip to San Francisco with some great friends.

(Nick In't Hout, Lily Armstrong)

(Cote & Tim Soerens, Pete Armstrong, Eva & Julie In't Hout)

(Julie & Eva, Evie & Cherie)

We took a brief trip out to the California coast to surprise our dear friend Robert Nordling on his 50th birthday.

(Cherie, Robert & Cherith sitting around the breakfast table)

(Tim & Cote - we had to maximize space in the rental minivan)

Then Grandma Katt return to Seattle. Her and Evie picked up right where they left off, whether that's because Evie's generally warm towards people, or she remembers her Grandma, or she recognized her from Skype a few days earlier.

(Evie tries on her new spring raincoat)

(Evie & Grandma, buddies)

(Evie & Daddy, just chillin')

( Mommy & Evie)

Snugglefest

2009-03-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

This Life Is A Blur

2009-03-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted... This past month has been a blur. Is it really mid-March already? 2009?
So much has happened in the past year - we got pregnant and we had a baby, and not in that order. A belly has risen and fallen and risen again. Again, as it was with Evie, we don't know who this child is. But take a look below and you can meet said child. Early predictions are saying that this is a boy - Cherie is carrying this one a bit differently than Evie. As surprising as this whole thing has been, I just want to go "on the record" and say that we are REALLY REALLY EXCITED!!!
Today is Evie's 9-month birthday. And today is 3 months from baby number 2's arrival. Both causes are worthy of a celebration, perhaps a Guinness or something, but alas St. Paddy's day was yesterday, Cherie hasn't been able to have a full beer in far too long, and I'm sick a' drinkin' alone.
Speaking of beer, at some point in the last month we bottled our first batch of home-brewed beer and made our second. Our friend Nick has been an amazing help... He will certainly "get a cut" of the final product, if you know what I mean.
Lest you get concerned, we don't just drink. We like to eat a lot too. We eat with friends, we eat with Awake Church - oh yeah, those are the same. We had a neighborhood party a few weeks ago at the cafe we gather at and we busted out the Rock Band. That's Scott on vocals, Micah on lead guitar, and me on drums.
Evie's been a little explorer lately. She's scootin' around the house - she loves the wood floors - and she's been pulling herself up onto anything she can grab. It's hilarious, but we do sense some minor injuries coming up soon! She LOVES kids and enjoys hanging out with her friend Levi. She (and we) had a fabulous time with her Aunt Monique (sans Paul and the kids). It was great because we had her all to ourselves! We took what will become a legendary photo: Cherie and Monique and there bellies. Both babies are due on June 18 - if I haven't said it enough, that is also Evie's birthday. I actually hope these cousins are born on the same day - after all, I was born two hours before my cousin and we always thought that was really cool.
Evie also likes little outdoor adventure. Last Saturday, we went snowshoeing with Matt, Laura, and Anna Watrous. I loved carrying Evie on my back and listening to her little noises. She kept tipping her head back to try and catch some snowflakes. Wonder. Awe. Beauty.
This life is still... glorious!

Vacation in Iowa Baby!

2009-03-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our trip last week to Iowa. We visited our friends TJ and Jodi in Des Moines and then visited our friends Mike and Megan, who are here on leave from Nigeria, in Sioux Center. We had a wonderful time in both places and enjoyed catching up with good friends, drinking coffee, eating, going to an art museum, playing games, watching movies and just relaxing!

Evie enjoying her first day of vacation...

reaching...

The Katt's and Sunderman's
Jodi and Evie are twins for the day...
Evie and Spencer
Evie, Megan and Nico

Evie was very fascinated playing with Nico

Mike and Evie reading (notice she is getting up on all fours!)

Evie and her pal Amira

Giggles

2009-02-07T08:06:00.001-08:00

Evie was getting the biggest kick out of me putting the pacifier near her face/mouth and then pulling it away. Notice how she wants to get in on the fun and pulls the paci out of her own mouth and then laughs. Awesome.

Two Saturdays & Between

2009-01-26T23:02:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the 17th we took Evie to see her Uncle Tim play basketball for Calvin College against Hope. Calvin won and Uncle Tim had a great game!

Later that day Evie got dressed up (in an outfit from Uncle Bill and Aunt Jennie) to go to a bridal shower.
On Tuesday the 20th Evie ate a little breakfast before watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Evie and Mommy love snuggling.
On Saturday the 24th my friend Nick came over to help me brew my first batch of beer, a Scottish Ale.

Evie got in on the action.
It looks good...
And the hops smelled amazing.

And Suddenly...

2009-01-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

And suddenly there was this small human being in our house who was sliding across the floor.

Before and After Christmas

2009-01-14T14:05:00.001-08:00

We remembered everything for our trip to Wisconsin and Ontario. In fact, we remembered too many things. Our suitcases were stuffed on the way there, and more so on the way back home. We remembered everything... that is, except for our camera. We will track down pics from our families of Evie's first Christmas, but in the meantime, here are some pictures we took before and after our trip.

BEFORE

Evie looks at the snow outside.

AFTER
(and wearing her amazing technicolor dreamshirt)

Happily reunited with Aunt Lisa.

With Daddy.

With her hot mama in the background.

Just chillin'...

Eating and Talking

2008-12-15T23:31:00.000-08:00

Adventures

2008-12-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Pre-Christmas Festivities

2008-12-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Ben, Evie, and I went to a Christmas tree farm to cut down a tree. It was a first for all of us!

We found our tree!
Evie found an "Evie size" tree

Sitting to have some hot chocolate after

Making Christmas cookies with our friends Steph and Micah

Laugh

2008-11-28T09:07:00.000-08:00

Thankful

2008-11-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

I think it's pretty obvious what Cherie an I are thankful for this past year.

New Noises & Santa's Little Helper

2008-11-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Evie & Grandma

2008-11-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from Grandma Katt's visit last week. Evie and Grandma had a ridiculously good time together.

Loving Life

2008-11-10T23:44:00.000-08:00

Evie absolutely soaks up every experience! Every face she sees, every place she goes, every thing she touches. I love seeing the world through new eyes, through Evie's eyes. What a gift!

Cuter and Cuter

2008-11-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

This girl just keeps getting cuter and cuter every day...

Waking Up

2008-10-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Evie lately...

2008-10-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun with our little girl lately--she is so curious! When we drink anything while holding her, she always wants to see what is inside and touch the cup. Also as of late, she has been spitting her nuk out when she sees us eating. I think that she thinks she is going to eat "big people food" too! :)

One of our favorite moments with Evie this past week was seeing her experience her first shower. Of course, anytime you do new things with a baby, you never know if they are gonna love it or hate it. Knowing Evie's track record of trying new things, I should have known that she would absolutely LOVE IT! We knew she was having fun because, a) she was trying to head butt the stream of water and after doing so b) she was cooing and smiling c) she was so curious about the stream of water and kept putting her little hand in it. It is so much fun seeing her unique character come out in moments like this!

Well, here are a few pictures of Evie in her world. The one's of her dressed up in the duckie costume are at Harvest Fest this past weekend. She was so freak'n cute!

Grandpa T

2008-10-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Grandpa, pumpkin patches and more

2008-10-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Tigchelaar came to visit us and met Evie for the first time! Of course we have a little video of their first meeting, but there was difficulty uploading it today. We will post it later!

Evie and I went to some pumpkin farms on Sunday with our friends Kevin and Karen.

Evie was sitting on Grandpa Tigchelaar's lap and making some pretty amazing faces.

Evie loves Ellie the Elephant!

Evie sinking into her Daddy's kisses...

Wedding Weekend

2008-10-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Bill and Jennie - my older brother and my new sister-in-law got married 2 weeks ago. We packed our bags and took Evie across the country again, back to Milwaukee for the second time in two months. Here's some pictures from our time there. It was lots of fun and Evie (as usual) was loved on like mad!

Evie before we left.

With Grandpa Katt.

Playing with Grandpa.

Snuggling with Grandma.

And Uncle Tim.

Watching the Brewers with Daddy, right before they clinched there first playoff berth in 26 years!

With 4 other beautiful women who share the last name Katt - my family has come along way!

With Aunt Christina before the wedding.

And now some pics that may or may not include Evie. Is that okay?

"You may kiss your bride."

A side-angle of the Schuil family photo.

My cousins loved hanging out with Evie (Abby, Carley, and my cousin-in-law Whitney)

Our family.

Dan, Bill, Jennie, and Christina.

Me and Tim.

Evie and Uncle Dan.

Dancing.

Breakfast the day after the wedding.

Sunday

2008-10-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to give you an update. We should post pictures soon of our trip to Wisconsin for my brother's Bill's wedding, but for now, here are some pictures from yesterday. Evie was baptized yesterday. We had a beautiful worship time with Awake and two other faith communities at our house in which we recalled our own baptisms and remembered our identity in Christ. Evie wore the same baptismal dress that Cherie wore when she was a baby. Our friend Tim baptized her.

At night, as any good parent would do, we passed beautiful Evie to some dear friends and went off to enjoy the Sigur Ros concert at Benaroya Hall. When we listen to the music of Sigur Ros , we can't help but think of Evie. We listened to them over and over when Cherie was going into labor. And we always dance with Evie to their music. Little did we know that Evie was also in the Sigur Ros spirit. Our friend Steph took some beautiful pictures of Evie while we were at the concert - she put this hat on Evie which makes her look like she's in the band!

Rain Catcher

2008-10-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, Ben and I took a family trip to University Village Mall. It is an outdoor mall and we just wanted to make one stop at H&M. Ben and I have our little routine now when we get somewhere--Ben will get Evie out and I will grab the stroller in the trunk. When we parked the car, we put it all together...outdoor mall, rain, baby. Evie will surely become very familiar with rain living in Seattle and we knew the mall has umbrellas at every store entrance, so we were not too worried. When Ben took Evie out of the car, and the first drop of Seattle rain fell on her little head, she did not cry, she did not scream, she did not even seem too curious. Instead, she acted as if she had been dealing with the rain for years, and just opened her mouth to try and catch the rain on her cute little tongue. I think she likes life!

slumbering bear

2008-09-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Evie loves falling asleep in my arms and I love it just as much! There is nothing better than holding peace.

The days here in Seattle are starting to get cooler as fall is on its way. Evie and I made a trip over to the neighbors to visit their new baby, so I thought I would get her extra cozified and put on her nice, warm fleece. We visited for a while and Evie fell asleep and I have had the sweetest, slumbering bear in my arms ever since...

Bright Eyes

2008-09-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Tim & Sandy Video

2008-09-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

Uncle Tim & Aunt Sandy

2008-09-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Growing Up

2008-09-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Life, According To Evie

2008-09-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

I often wonder what Evie is thinking... Maybe some of these thoughts were in her head during the past week.

My Daddy got dressed up one day for work... It's about time!

My Mommy and Daddy's friends Jeremy and Michelle Louters took us all to America's greatest outdoor concert venue, The Gorge, in George, WA to see the Dave Matthews Band. It was cold, but it was fun. And it wasn't too loud. We all were wondering why in the world Dave opened the show with "The Dreaming Tree." Odd...

"Uncle" Jeremy will be a great dad someday. He snuggled me close and played with me a lot.
"Aunt" Michelle is awesome too! She made me feel very safe and warm. There is one odd thing about her though. She was born with - and until she got married had - the same last name as me. But her family always said, "Cat" instead of "Cot." How bizarre!

I felt so cozy in this little hoodie, but I have no idea what it says.

I LOVE taking naps with my Mommy. If she were a mattress, I would buy her...

I met my new friend Levi the other day. His parents, Mr. Richard and Mrs. Rachel, are so excited! I love little babies. Levi was the third one I met in the past week and a half!

I like to smile.

I like to stare.

My neck is getting strong.

I like to make little noises. My parents think they are cute.

She Is Amazing

2008-08-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

We love our daughter so much.

We like to think that we're taking here on all sorts of adventures:
- concerts. She's been to the Gipsy Kings and will go to Dave Matthews Band with us and our friends Jeremy and Michelle from Michigan on Saturday!
-cookouts. We had an Awake cookout last night at our place with like two dozen people. Last week we took her to our friends' baby shower. We took her out on the 4th of July to a party and she slept through the noisy conversations and fireworks.
-airplanes. We flew to Richmond then to Milwaukee then back to Seattle, and she slept almost the whole time.
-parks and walks and coffee shops and Qdoba and so much more.

But, like I said, we like to think we're taking her on adventures. That may be the case, but she is taking us on the greatest adventure of our lives. Every. Single. Day.

Guess what? She smiles all the time now. She loves to "play". She usually laughs when her Daddy sticks his tongue out at her. Her favorite place to be is still right on her Mommy (see picture below). She's getting bigger too. We went to the doctor and she ways 11 lbs., 13 oz. now. She's grown 3 inches (if I remember correctly) and her head has gotten bigger too - a fact that shouldn't be a surprise to the Katt's or Tigchelaar's... I fed Evie her for the first time via the bottle the other night (see pic). At first she was confused, but within a few minutes she was devouring that milk! This was a test run. She will continue to be breastfed but now Daddy can take Evie around town while Mommy gets some rest and time with friends and time alone. Her neck is getting really strong too! It is seriously hard to believe that she's actually changed. Our neighbors brought home their baby over the weekend and Cherie and I just couldn't believe Evie was once that small!

Everyone has been saying she looks like me - what do you think?

Moo Cow

2008-08-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Evie is wearing a onesie with pink cow spots, that is put out by "Got Milk?". The shirt somehow inspired an old song within me to be sung. A song that I realized was an old commercial I used to hear when I was a kid. Evie is definitely intrigued by music and will often try to sing along with whatever song is being sung to her.

Pictures from Vacation

2008-08-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some more pictures. We spent our first weekend of vacation in Richmond, Virginia for my cousin P.J.'s wedding, which I officiated. My whole family was able to make it. It was a lot of fun. After that we flew to Wisconsin. Cherie, Evie, and I went north to my parents' cabin in the beautiful Door County, and after a night/day alone, my folks joined us. Dan and Christina did too. It was so relaxing. Eating, coffee-drinking, sleeping, walking, going to the beach, riding bikes, swimming (Lake Michigan was 72 degrees - almost unheard of on the Wisconsin side of the lake!) Scrabble-playing, and much more. We felt like we were a world away from everything (except for the Brett Favre controversy!) and we loved it. After about 5 days in Door County, we went to Milwaukee where I preached at the church I grew up in, we hung out with brother Bill and his fiance Jennie, I went to a Brewer game, Cherie spent time with our friend Julie from Michigan, and we hung out with Ryan and Shelly and their triplets. When we got back to Seattle, Cherie's sister Monique, her husband Paul, and their two kids, Noah and Aaliyah were waiting for us!

Dan & Christina

Tim

Evie with her Great-Grandma, her Grandma, and her Mom at the rehearsal dinner.

I wonder if Evie can tell which one is her father...

the whole family

Evie's first visit to Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers

Beautiful Evie

Cherie and Evie at the beach

Cherie and I went for a canoe ride and stopped in one of the caves of Cave Point County Park.

Evie enjoyed her first boat ride.

Cherie, Evie, and Rudy (my parents new Airdale puppy)

the family

Julie, Cherie, and both of their Evie's

Evie with her cousin Noah

Aaliyah, Monique, and Cherie

Firsts

2008-08-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

We just got back from about 10 days away. In my next post I'll let you know what we've been up to, but for now since I LOVE taking videos of people meeting Evie for the first time, enjoy all of these videos of "firsts"...

Uncle Dan & Aunt Christina and Uncle Tim

Uncle Bill & soon-to-be Aunt Jennie

Great-Grandma Schuil

Aunt Monique

Cousin Noah

Absolutely Nuts, Peanuts.

2008-07-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

I know you really just want to see some pictures, but you'll have to wait.

This is hilarious - I saw a link for a video about a stadium that was going to go peanut-free for a few games. I thought to myself, "Watch it's going to be Seattle's Safeco Field!". And sure enough, it was! They claim that the reason is because some kid has peanut allergies and wants to go watch a baseball game... but I know the REAL REASON the Mariners would have some peanut-free areas!

In other baseball news, Evie went to her SECOND Mariners' game last Friday. Some friends hooked us up with front row seats, right behind the third base dugout. We weren't pegged by any peanuts this time, but we had to be extra alert for foul balls. Evie had a great time, but slept through two home runs, one of which was a grand slam! Before the end of the game, "Evie" got a baseball from someone who worked at the stadium. Secretly though, in my heart, I'm treating it like my own. It's about time that I get a baseball after all those years that my brother Dan would get handed baseballs and baseball bats! And then there was that one time I almost caught a foul ball, but the peanuts got in the way - that's a whole other story!

New Videos

2008-07-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Adventures

2008-07-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Katt leave tomorrow afternoon, but we've had some great adventures...

like holding Evie...

and visiting a winery...

and watching Evie in her car seat...

and resting...

and walking along Lake Washington in Kirkland...

and sitting at Gas Works Park on Lake Union...

and holding Evie again...
and walking along Elliot Bay near Alki Beach.

So much fun!

Day 1

2008-07-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from day 1 with Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandma & Grandpa Katt Meet Evie

2008-07-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

My parents, the new Grandma and Grandpa Katt, arrived in Seattle this afternoon. Here's the video we filmed. We weren't as ready as we were when Cherie's mom met Evie, but I think these videos capture the meeting pretty well. You'll get to see both Grandma and Grandpa hold Evie for the first time ever!

Another Bath

2008-07-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

Evie just loves taking a bath. But she might not be crazy about drying off.

Sweet Dreams

2008-07-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Evie with "long" hair

2008-07-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today Ben came home with a buzzed head! Of course, he didn't tell me he was getting his hair cut, he just did it...like the time in college and like the time a couple of years ago. It seems as though his impromptu hair cuts mark monumental occasions. The time in college was our senior year, just before he proposed to me, a couple of years ago, it was our move to Seattle, and this time it is becoming a Dad! Who knows what the next occasion will be. All I know is that right now, Evie and him are competing for longest hair and I think Evie may be winning and hopefully will for a long time. :)

Some Pictures

2008-07-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

Take me out to the ball game...

2008-07-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago, our neighbor gave us four tickets to the Mariners game. My mom, Ben, Evie and I made our way to the stadium, with a pitstop at Red Mill, a local burger joint.We were all excited about Evie "experiencing" her first baseball game! When we got to our seats (which were right by third base!) we strategically sat in a way that Ben could ward off any foul balls that came our way. The protective instincts that have kicked in since Evie has been born are pretty intense! After getting settled in our seats we took a couple pictures and about five minutes after this picture of the happy family was taken, something nailed me in the head! I was stunned, my mom and Ben both jumped up and Evie of course stayed sound asleep. Well, as it turns out, Ben could protect us from foul balls, but not flying bags of peanuts. :) The vendor man who has been throwing peanuts at the Mariners games for thirty years, came running over to us. After he realized that there was a two week old baby on me, he began to cry. He felt so bad! Ben was crying, I was crying, my mom was crying...Evie was the only one holding it together! What initially was a scary moment, is now a funny story that I am sure Evie will appreciate when she is old enough to understand. Evie left the game with some Mariners souveniers to, for better or worse, remember her first baseball game.

I have read many times in parenting books that when you have a baby, something happens in you to where you would stand in front of a moving vehicle to protect your child. I left the game with this sentiment confirmed-- I would take a hit to protect my girl any day--be it from a car or just a bag of peanuts.

Dancing With Daddy

2008-07-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Evie and I love to dance. This is one of our favorite songs.
You can hear Cherie in the background saying, "Your mom is super excited," after she read an email from my mom. We're excited too!!! Can't wait for you to meet your first grandchild!

Back At Green Lake

2008-06-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

It was another gorgeous day in Seattle. Thankfully, it wasn't as hot as yesterday. We went over to Green Lake - Evie loves it.

Pretty In Pink

2008-06-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

This morning was officially my last Sunday at Sanctuary, although we will still be back there occasionally and are inextricably tied to that wonderful community. At the same time, it was Evie's first trip to church. Since the weather is warm here, we dressed her up in the little pink dress we bought when we went out about a week before her birth to buy one boy outfit and one girl outfit, not knowing what we were having.

So glad we had a girl.

Best. Diaper Bag. Ever.

2008-06-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

Day at the Beach

2008-06-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

2nd Bath

2008-06-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Contrary to our expectations, Evie LOVED her second bath...