the minivan voorsts.: what's up weekly.

And somehow, just like *that*, Break Week is over! Luckily, we made the most of it, but still - how do these weeks fly so fast?

Last Friday, Juni turned two-and-a-half. I wish you could see her waterspout ponytail; it would kill you dead. (Actually, since there actually is some risk of that, I'm glad you can't see it; I value your friendship - and your life - too much to play it fast and loose with toddler ponytail photos.)

That same day, Penelope celebrated the fourth anniversary of her baptism. Todd often says that "you cultivate what you celebrate," so we try to make sure that milestones like baptism are made much of in our house. Gifts are involved, which really speaks to my gifty girl. This year she got a real leather purse, and she basically hasn't taken it off since she received it. How grown up does she look?

We finally busted out some cooler weather clothing this week because the mornings were chilly, though the days were still really warm.

On Sunday, we made a day trip to Christ Church Leavenworth in Leavenworth, Kansas. Throughout all our travels this year - to the Fight Laugh Feast rally in South Dakota, and Grace Agenda in Idaho, and then the Fight Laugh Feast conference in Tennessee - we kept meeting and connecting with various members of this church, and as it's "only" 2.5 hours from us, we decided to go visit them for church one weekend. I'm so glad we went - it was a great service, and it was great to see people we'd met over the summer. The travel made for a long day, though, so the Van Voorst girls were at their most glamorous on the drive home.

Monday kicked off our Break Week, so I took the boys out on individual, one-on-one "dates". Rocco decided to get breakfast together at IHOP (or, as people around here say, "IHOP-Pancakes," to distinguish it from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Now I can't unhear "IHOP-Pancakes." It's becoming a problem of conscience for me, as I firmly believe IHOP-Pancakes has the right to the automatic default assumption, by honor of seniority and more universal recognition, and everyone should rather have to clarify when they're talking about IHOP-Prayer. But here I am, calling it IHOP-Pancakes anyway. How did I get here? Is this really how a person of integrity lives their life and distinguishes their IHOPs?).

ANYWAY. Rocco chose IHOP-Pancakes for breakfast. He got a smiley-face pancake, and I learned my lesson from last time and did NOT order the omelet (why is there gluten in an omelet, I ask you?) and we were both very happy with our breakfasts and our time together. The kid knows how to carry an interesting conversation, I can say that for him. I really enjoyed getting to talk to him one-on-one.

I dug out some of his winter items, and he LOVED his outfit. "When we get home, can I leave these clothes on? I like how they feel." I don't blame him - he looked so awesome.

Finneas chose to go with me to Walmart, where he picked out a root beer and a pack of gum, and then to the Dollar Tree to buy the remaining Christmas gifts on his list. He is so funny and fun, and he had a great time going and doing something together, even though it was just small errands. He is so polite and comfortable around people - I was really impressed by how he spoke with the cashiers and others. He is comfortable in his own skin, and he is a pleasure to be around.

Atticus chose to go to the mall for lunch and then to browse the graphic novel section at Barnes and Noble. We were both unimpressed by the selection they had ("It's all weird horror stuff and Marvel - where's the good stuff?"), so he bought a nonfiction "Chronological Timeline of World War II" book to pore over instead. He is getting so mature in his thinking, but he is very quiet and introverted, so I don't often get to hear his thoughts. It was so nice getting to sit across the table from him and hear him talk about Big topics like justice, and his longing to see the New Earth, and evangelism, and bravery, and learning to discipline himself to do the right thing. I didn't need to say much, it was a pleasure just to listen. And a woman at the table next to us leaned over to tell us how handsome she thought he was - that made his day! ("You tell me stuff like that, Mom, but it's different when it comes from someone else." I can understand that!)

So that was our Monday. On Tuesday, I started potty training Juni. She has been ready for a good long while, I think, but I just haven't had a convenient window when we had a long stretch of free time, and no looming road trips. So this week was The Week. She has done so well - only an accident or two the first couple of days, and no accidents yesterday, but she's still not actually going in the potty. She's just holding it until she gets in a diaper at naptime or bedtime. But - the bladder control is a good sign. I think we'll get there in the next few days.

Watching that perennial potty training favorite, Elmo's Potty Time, while sitting on a towel.

I tried to keep my schedule and expectations wide open during her "awake" stretches, because I have learned to make potty training the only thing on the schedule or I end up frustrated and disappointed so quickly, but during naptimes I tried to get a bit done around the house that is hard to do when school is in session. I did some sewing and cooking with the girls, I cleaned up the yard and put the hoses away, I brought in the house plants and am working on figuring out where they all will 'live' in our house through the winter (we have very little natural light in here), I cleaned the living room and the basement family room, I washed the walls, and I did a little batch cooking for the freezer to prepare for postpartum.

Sewing with Callista. She picked out some Minnie Mouse fabric and decided she wants to make a teddy bear for the new baby.

She is pretty excited. The bear is sewn, and button eyes have been sewn on, but I still need to stitch a nose and mouth.

Lolo, cutting carrots for me to sautee and put in freezer bags for quick, easy soup assembly in the postpartum days.

I just had to include this photo for size context. She is itty bitty. She is eight years old and in 5T clothing, and with the rate at which Callista is growing, they're about to be in the same size.

Also, how pretty is her hair?!

She wanted to surprise the other kids by clandestinely making a cookie cake for dessert one night, so we mixed one up and, in this photo, it's getting ready to go into the oven.

I also had a midwife appointment yesterday, and I'm measuring about a week and a half ahead, which is very unusual for me. This baby has consistently measured 1-2 weeks earlier/bigger at any given point than my other kids did by the same methods of measurement. We'll see if that ends up having any bearing on when I go into labor. I have my guesses, if anyone wants to start a pool.