Trip to Nana's house!

In mid-March the kids and I headed to Vancouver for a visit to my Mom's. It was a great trip, and we sure kept busy keeping the kids busy! We had a great time, and on one of our day trips around the Lower Mainland, we went for a bike ride on the waterfront in Richmond, and found a really neat boardwalk with a chicken coup at the end. Noodle was a bit nervous though, because the bike Nana had for his didn't have training wheels! In no time at all though, he was up and off, and ever so proud to be only on two wheels!

So, needless to say, we did a LOT of bike riding on this trip!

Another one of our little adventure was with my neices. So nice to see the cousins chumming around. We had a skytrain/seabus adventure then came home and the kids snuggled up with their popcorn and watched a show.

Koala had a fun time getting into what every toddler must... the toilet paper!

Isn't he just so cute? You can click on the pictures, then click again, to see them bigger and magnify the cuteness!

I have plenty more to share about this trip, but my bed is calling now!

Renaming!

So where shall I begin now? I've not posted much of anything since baby J turned 1, which I guess officially makes him not a baby anymore, especially since he's running around and climbing EVERYTHING. Today I caught him standing on the pullout keyboard tray on my computer. Give it a couple more months, and the top of my refrigerator won't even be safe! So, I think it's time for a new nickname for Baby J, and while I'm at it, I'll rename D and E, because they are just such a boring way to refer to children who are anything but!

So let's see.... I think I'll call Baby J 'Koala', because he's so cute and snuggly, but will soon be climbing the tallest of trees. Plus I caught him eating leaves off a plant the other day!

E I will rename as 'Sunshine'. She'll like that, and it suits her just right.

D I'll call 'Noodle'. He's long and thin like one, and smart, always using his noodle. The kid is somewhat like me, in that he's able to talk his way out of a sunburn!

So that said and done, I'll move on to blogging some of the events I've missed out on...

I will post something of relevance soon!

So yes, I know, this blog is getting neglected!!! What can I say - life with 3 little kiddos gets busy and things go to the wayside. I will post something of relevance and substance soon, but for now, a brief recap of the last while...

- Hubby got a job! It's a bit of a commute, and not as exciting of a position as he's used to, but hey, it's a job :) We're happy!

-Things are going well with the renters, and I'm really enjoying cleaning less house!

-Baby J has cut 2 more teeth, and had a terrible flu that stopped the show around here for a good week

-D and E have started soccer, and are loving it

-The kids Sunday school play came and went, and they did a bang up job

Much more, but out of time now!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby J!

My baby boy turned a year old! Wow, this year has just flown by! It's been just such a blessing having another baby, even though he was a surprise blessing and I was in complete and utter shock (read: freaking out) to find out I was pregnant with him. He's been such an easy-going little guy, at least in comparison to the challenges we had with his colicky big brother! He is so quick to smile, and so full of determination to keep up with his older siblings and explore his world. Despite how busy it is having 3 little kiddo's around, I've made sure to treasure the short time he's been a baby, knowing now by experience that it'll seem to be just a wink and he's a big boy. I guess he's officially a toddler now, as he's a year old and practically running, but I'm not quite ready to accept that!!! He'll be 'baby J' in my books for a while yet!

Here's a photo recap of where he's come in a year!


My big guy was born at 10lbs 9oz. Off the charts!!! He nearly had to have his collar bone broken to haul him out of me, but thankfully, he made it out just in time. I cherish nearly every moment of his first year - except that one! Yikes!

One week old



One month old

Two months




3 months


6 months





9 months


1 Year!!




At his one year checkup, he's now at nearly the 75th percentile for height at just over 30 inches (77cm), the 30th for weight at 21lbs 5oz (9.69kg), and 80th for head circumference. Other than needing tubes in his ears, he's healthy as a horse!

Time for a haircut?

He hasn't said his first word yet, but has a way of getting his point across!!

Courage? Patience?

"Hey mommy! Do I look like an adult now?" Glad I had the camera on hand! He was actually pretty serious about the issue, so I had to say yes, with the caveat that he was a little short still, and that adults usually run around the house with clothes on!

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Anyways, recently, I've had a few conversations with people who have offered up their comments on homeschooling. Some are negative. Generally, comments about socialization. I usually respond to those with comments about how if my son was in public school, I'd have to worry about peer pressure and bullying. I assure these usually complete strangers that my son indeed does have many opportunities to be around other children and that it's not an issue. Each choice of schooling has it's challenges.

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With socialization however, I can see why people bring it up. What's flooring me are the pseudo-positive comments, like "you must have so much patience!", "Good for you, that's brave", or the worst "You're amazing, I never could have handled being around my children all the time!".

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Seriously, how do you reply to such things? I don't actually have heaps of patience, though I'm working on it. As for courage, I think it would have taken far more courage to send my son off to school for an entire day! He just spent a day, and ENTIRE, 8hr. day at a friends house recently, and it was hard on me! Many parents find the first day of Kindergarten hard, and I have a good friend who was in a puddle of tears for a couple days after her last child headed off to school and she was home alone. So while taking the responsibility of your child's education is a little nerve-wracking, I can't imagine the other route being any easier. Again, just different challenges.

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So I guess my reply to the first two comments should be that I'm actually an impatient wimp!

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The last comment, well, everyone needs a break from their kids from time to time. But in general, I want my kids around me most of the time. I don't really understand why someone wouldn't! I don't want to miss out on all those precious moments! The ones that come when an imagination has free reign, uninterrupted by the next school bell, or stifled by concern of not being cool. I wonder if I'll feel differently about all this when they're teens though??

Hide and seek has to be one of my kids favorite games at the moment! D has it down pat, other than having very little patience to be found, but E is a funny gal, and thinks she needs to hide to do the counting (she only counts properly up to seven, then is all over the place until it's time to yell 'twenty'). Here, they decided it was a good idea to both hide from mommy! I knew from the giggles where they were, so I grabbed the camera!

Good news on the basement suite, the renters started moving their stuff in today! Different renters than the girls I mentioned last post, who were late on bringing the damage deposit, and so we decided that was a no-go as we don't want difficulties of course! I'm really thinking we've got some great tenants here though. A single mom and her 11 yr old son. She's a very nice lady, and she just loves kids and doesn't mind the noises they produce, which is important around here! When she was unpacking today she had E down there with her, and there were heaps of giggles lofting up the stairs! Her son seems like a quiet and sweet boy, and D is so excited that there is a boy moving in downstairs. He seems to think they'll be part of our family though, which I'll need to talk to him about! He asked today how long till he moves in and is sleeping here, and when I said it would be 9 more days he said that that's how long it took to bring E home from Ethiopia (our trip was 9days). Humm.

Some news on the job front as well. Hubby has a phone interview this coming week, and there is a job fair in Kelowna next week as well! We're also looking into him perhaps working part time, and upgrading his skills in school a bit as it would be beneficial to have Microsoft certification.

Last but not least, here's a sweet photo from this eve. I would have gotten on of E as well, but she was grumpy, and baby J was already asleep!