Back to 2009…. My husband, Brent and I met in my first year of college and his third year of college. Our college was not one of the biggest around, so it was not a surprise we noticed each other, also Brent being as tall as he is, he’s easy to spot from afar. Randomly seeing each other at college social events turned into a “Hey” at the gym and through the halls of school. Brent claims he knows everyone and has friends everywhere. I guess reflecting back he is kind of right, he was always randomly everywhere with everyone, being the life of the party. We finally had a chance to introduce ourselves thanks to mutual friends, and after that night we carried on with our own lives. We ran into each other at the beginning of summer, this time we exchanged numbers and now the ball was in his court (Brent isn’t very good at communication). September rolled around and back to school I went. Again, we ran into each other… and now here we are! Looking back on our story, I never thought I would have married that guy you randomly see everywhere. I guess God really did have a plan for us to be together. Now we have two of the sweetest little boys that make our world go around.

Jack Jonathan DeKoning

On June 30th 2012, Brent and I welcomed baby Jack Jonathan DeKoning into the world 1 month early “Jack’s time” at 6 lbs 1 oz. You have no idea what it is like to love someone beyond words until you have a child. They become your world, everything revolves around them. You are completely in love and obsessed with every little thing these tiny people do!
Jack was the biggest blessing to enter into my life. He changed the way I had viewed life, he gave me a purpose and I have learned more about who I am in the last two years being his Mom. Thanks Jack.

As a baby, Jack was very serious and observant. At 2 months old we traveled to BC for my brother-in-law’s wedding- This was the first time Jack took strange, and by strange I mean screaming every time someone held him. Heck, no one could look at Jack without him screaming. This was the beginning of his mysterious ways. Everything has always been on “Jack time” as we call it around here. Jack was an easy going, laid back baby, he was not interested in toys much, he would much rather stare at someone or some thing, and he was the worst sleeper and still is. As he got older, Brent and I, even our families had our concerns, Jack would not roll over. Finally at 9 months Jack rolled over, started crawling and soon started pulling himself up on things. These were huge milestones in a babies world for parents, and Jack was doing all of these at once. With Jack we have learned that he has to be confident and know he can do something well before he does it. He watches once and BAM, game over (not so good when you don’t want him to get out of his room, plunge the toilet on his own, open and empty a bottle of water, curl his hair, pull and climb the chairs, put the plug back into the outlet, and have an obsession with vacuums)

As a toddler, Jack has done a 360 in personality; do not confuse his shyness for passiveness. He comes off shy for the first 15 minutes and then watch out! This kid is hyper, rambunctious, a free spirit, strong willed, bold and a go-getter. Jack is a little fire cracker and has no fear, I don’t know if I should be proud or nervous, very nervous. He listens and observes and off he goes, doing exactly what you just showed him saying what you just said – repeat mode. For example: One night at the dinner table Jack refused to eat his supper, so being mom I gave him two options: sit until his food is finished or bath time/ bed. I repeated myself twice because he was still being stubborn, and then I hear “Shut up, shut up mommy, shut up”. Major fail (hands over face), I now am very careful in the way I talk to my husband… we have a little parrot on our hands.

Max Joseph DeKoning

On April 11th 2014, Brent and I welcomed baby Max Joseph into the world 2 weeks early weighing 7 lbs. My pregnancy with Max was very exhausting (most pregnant women will tell you that) especially with a busy toddler on your hands. Looking back on those 9 months I feel like it was a blur and I walked around like a pregnant zombie. Finally when Max arrived, I felt like myself again! Overall, I don’t love being pregnant. Pregnancy is a wonderful and beautiful thing and I am so blessed I was able to experience two healthy pregnancies. Once those 9 months are over and you are holding your precious gift from God, the zombie blur is so worth it. Max has always been an easy baby, like all babies they are very unpredictable and you often go through little phases. Max had a little bit of colic because he was sensitive to certain gassy foods I ate. As a sleeper, Max is doing good for an average baby, he wakes once or twice a night, having 6 hour stretches between (easy compared to Jack). Max is a vey happy and giggly baby and he loves to play with toys. Max is also a big boy, soon he may out grow his older brother! Watch out Jack. Max is such a wonderful addition to our family, I can’t imagine what our life would be like without this little character. I am so excited for Jack and Max to grow up as brothers and best friends and I couldn’t be more thankful for these two handsome and opposite little boys!