I Made It.

{Pretend there is a picture of me here at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro...all of my pre 2006 photos are on film and the pictures are packed away in the depths of our basement}

I feel like I have reached the summit of a mountain.  Nya now sleeps through the night.  I'm sure that will change when a new batch of teeth come along, but for now, I will enjoy.  It took 11 months and 1 week.

{What is this?!}

Other stuff briefly:

-babysat my nephew for a day.  Nya enjoyed having a friend.

-photographed a wedding Friday and Nya was an angel for my mother in law.  Took her bottles, napped etc.  I feel so much freedom because now she finally takes a bottle if need be.  I still want to bf her for a few more months at least.  I really enjoy it.

-Saturday a good friend of Gary's came to visit for a couple of hours.  Very awesome as we hadn't seen him for a few years.

-Had an engagement session Saturday night and learned the difference between Lougheed and Dewdney Trunk Road.

-Sunday went to church and then went for all you can eat sushi with my sisters and dad.  Celebrated dad's birthday, remembered my mom, spent time talking about my aunt who is very sick with cancer.

-Sunday went to book club.  Read `The Book Thief'.  7.5/10.

-Been going to boot camp 3x a week but missed two days due to my sinuses.  It's not too hard but it works me harder than I would on my own.  Dreading going tonight because of the heat.  

That's it.  

Louise

PS My sisters and I talked about all moving to a small town together (well, with our families!) and it is sort of tempting.  I feel ready for some change and adventure.  Although I'm not a person who seeks change, I do love some adventure in my life.  Let's just say that being a work at home mom is not the kind of adventure that I love day in and out.  I know my life is wonderful but I am bored. And tired. And busy. And sometimes angry.   I'm hoping our SE Asia trip will be just the adventure I'm craving...

Pink

These next two weeks are not my favourite;  the anniversary of my mom's death is in one week (May 7th) and then Mother's Day is 5 days later.  Boo.  I'm so thankful to be a mom.  But ya.  I'm also on my 5th sinus infection in 6 months.  So frustrating mostly because I can't breathe and it's exhausting.  I'm pretty sure it's linked to my autoimmune disease as I've never had one in my life until this past October.  Googling it suggests so.   I just sent Gary to the store in hopes that he can find something magical besides a humidifier, sinus rinse, nasal spray and decongestant.  You know, like a magical vacuum that can suck everything out of your sinuses.  Does anyone know of any other treatment for it?  Could you do chiro? Massage? Acupuncture?

{Whenever I see these pink blossoms, I think of my mom.  The last time she went outside was for some pictures under the tree and it was always right outside of her window. Although these aren't cherry blossoms are they? }

{A cute little bald girl took her first step today!! Go Nya Go!}

No matter how crappy I feel, I have three very awesome kids and a wonderful husband.  Kai is so helpful, encouraging, sensitive and hardworking.  Koen is hilarious and eager.  Nya is energetic, adorable, and so easy going.  Let me give you two examples of Gary's wonderfulness.  He donates blood and he makes us healthy and delicious meals regularly.  Oh, he also is pretty great at making dessert and I love dessert!

Have a great week.   The weather forecast is looking awesome here for the Lower Mainland.

Love, Louise

YAY!!

In case you didn't want a post about poop to be at the top, here's a new one.  

HER 6TH TOOTH CAME THROUGH AND WE HAVE A VERY HAPPY GIRL AGAIN AND I ACTUALLY SLEPT LAST NIGHT (just one feed at 12:30am). YAHOO.  The end.

{Shopping Nya banging into all of our walls}

{Serious Nya post nap}

Our little monkey is now standing by herself up to 30 seconds.  No steps yet on her own.  

I had TWO sessions postponed this weekend due to rain which means my May will be crazier. Oh well.  As long as I'm sleeping better, it will be much easier!

Our summer countdown is on and we are a T-63 days!  One month of travelling, beaches, exploring, yummy food, and no working.  Soooo fun.  

Hope you had a great weekend.

Love, Louise

11 Months Old

11 Months Old

-crawls everywhere or pushes a car to walk

-has two 1 hour naps/day (10am and 2pm ISH)

-still gets up 1-3 times a night and only settled with breastfeeding

-normally goes to bed at 6:30pm and gets up at 6:30am (with wake ups in the night).  While teething, doesn't get to sleep until about 9:30pm.  Sleeps in a sleep sack and loves sucking on receiving blankets.  Not one of my kids has taken a soother.

-continues to use the toilet which is initiated by us still, but she holds it until we put her on.

-19 lbs (I think, will check.).  Very slender.  Unless she is wearing leggings, her pants fall down.

-5.5 teeth

-bald

-says `mama' and `dada'

Loves

-her brothers

-being outside

-balls

-cars

-breastfeeding (so glad I stuck with it for those tough few months!!)

-the bath

-keys, phones, remotes

-music

-eating rocks.  EVERYTHING goes in her mouth.
-waving
-climbing stairs

Doesn't Love:

-eating (although she does love eating whatever she can find on the ground, sometimes I seriously just pour some cheerios on the ground for her so she'll eat it).

-car seats

-high chair

-teething.  Oh my goodness, tooth #6 is ridiculous.  

-getting changed

-a bottle.  Generally will not take it.

Personality:

-very laid back and easy going in all situations (except the car seat!!!!!!)

-loves being in the action

-comfortable with everyone but generally quiet unless at home.  At home she shrieks.

-not very cuddly but loves to be physical by being thrown, tickled, bounced etc 

{This `Opposites' book with doggies has been a favourite for all three kids}

Yesterday I was looking for my yoga mat and Gary asked when I last used it.  I said when I was 8 months pregnant which means about....a year ago?!! Oh my goodness, how has it been a YEAR?!!  We are so done. I'm so tired.  She is awesome.  Love her to bits.  She completes our family sooooo well.  The boys love her.  If she's sad, Koen will give her his Bubbi.  Kai runs in the house to see `Cutie' as soon as he gets home.  

You can see Kai at 11 months here and Koen here.  It's interesting how they are different.  Nya def. resembles Koen's personality more..another wild one folks!

All right, back to work.  I won't be blogging much this week..too busy!  Have a great week.

Love, Louise

Thankful

There have been quite a few hospital stays for my family over the past couple of years but I think it's hardest to see the kids in there :(  Last week, Isaac spent three nights there due to dehydration from bacterial and viral tonsillitis   Poor bubba.  My sister blogged about it here.

He was in isolation so when I went to see him, I stayed far away.  He liked it when I danced though, so I did.

Today he came over for a little play date and he's walking!  Nya pushed him around on the car and all was well.  So glad to see him back to normal!  

Thankful for an awesome medical system.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, Louise

Kai Bear Awesomeness

Last night, while we were eating dinner, Kai hopped off his chair and came over to give me a hug.  He then said, `I'm so glad that you're my mom.'.   It was so unexpected as he doesn't really talk like that....he's more of a `let's play hockey together!' kind of guy.   I loved it.

{I should also add that he does profess his love for `cutie' all day long.  'Cutie! Cutie!  I love you so much!'  It's adorable.  Hugs, kisses and non stop `I love you!''s. }

Miss Nya's Birthday Invites

Just a quickie of my cutie.  We (okay, yes, just me) wanted to get a photo for her birthday invitation.  Her first birthday is just a month away.    I do love to have parties to celebrate the birth of my kiddos and how glad I am that they are in our lives!!

I first went out by myself and really there were no keepers.  It was bright out and all Nya wanted to do was climb and avoid eye contact.  Evidence of the cute trouble maker below.

So, after dinner, we quickly went to our local field with the boys.  Kai was in charge of the reflector (good when backlit to add some light into their face/eyes...he actually turned it around and used the gold side), Koen was in charge of the entertainment (he danced and yelled and tried to stay out of the way), and Gary and I took turns putting Nya back on the blanket because she just wanted to make a run (crawl) for it. 

Here is a keeper.  Doesn't it look like she even has some hair? She doesn't.  She's so bald.  It's my fault, I was until I was 2.  

Oh Miss Nya, we love you!!!  For her 11 month photos (yes, we/I take a lot of photos), they are going to be daddy/daughter ones!  Gary has already started picking out outfits. HA.  So funny. If you know Gary, there is a zero percent chance he's even thought about it. 

I hope you are having a lovely week!  Thing have been getting way too busy around here so I'm going to be pretty much be saying `no' to everyone and everything except for my family until it gets under control.  My fault.  May will be much better.  

Love, 

Louise

Weekend Fun

Several weeks ago, my friend Lindsay gifted us a wonderful prize pack that she had won.  A hotel stay (in Surrey), pool pass, pizza dinner, and the honeybee centre!  She knew the boys would love it and she was right! I don't have any pictures other than the honeybee centre but picture all three kids loving the hotel room, pizza, and swimming at the Surrey Sport and Leisure Centre.  Oh, and picture Nya in her new bathing suit.  She was the hit of the kiddie pool that's for sure. 

On Saturday, we went to the Honeybee Centre.  We've been there once before but didn't pay for the admission part last time so didn't get to go to a class or the bug lab.  I should also point out that we drive by the centre several times a week and every time it's `When can we go back to the honeybee centre?!!' so they were very excited about it.  We went to the `Products of the Hive' presentation and I found it pretty interesting.  There was a family with us that was older so she spoke mostly at their level but the boys didn't mind.  Koen eagerly asked a bunch of questions...I love the confidence at that age! He asked why bees were yellow.  Good question!  Yellow and black indicates to other animals that it is venomous   We got to taste a lot of honey and then after a 20 minute presentation we explored the shop and bug lab.  

{The boys LOVED the tarantulas which made me feel kind of sick.  I do NOT like them!!  Koen was very excited.  `Guys! Guys! Look at the spider!  Guys! Guys! Look at the apple!...'}

{I did love the walking sticks though!  I don't know if I've ever seen them before.  They seriously just look like sticks, way more than I ever imagined.}

{Nya churning the honeycomb}

{Checking out the honeycomb and bees.}

{Nya exploring during the presentation}

{Boys eagerly watching the presentation.  What? They can sit still when they are together?!}

{Thank you Linsday for gifting us with these fun family activities! We had a great time:) }

I hope you all had a great weekend!
Love, Louise

Koen Putting On A Coat

Koen: I put on my jacket by myself!  I just need a little help with the zipper.

This kid is ridiculous when getting dressed.  The coat is inside out and upside down and twisted in the back.  Pretty much every piece of clothing is usually on backwards or inside out.  And yes, we duct taped his rain boots.  They just need to last another month or so :)

Further Reflection...

Thank you to everyone who commented on my previous post!! I think the big thing that people mentioned on  the donation of products/services/time is that we need to choose what/who we want to give to, and also, to be a cheerful giver. I don't want to be grumbly and resentful about it. I think that in the grand scheme, we are not asked to give a lot. However, where we are in life right now, and the desire to strike some sort of balance, it is a lot.   

 Looking back 10 years ago, I was teaching full time and coaching and going on school trips and helping at dances and driving the bus for sports etc. I would go to the gym at least four days a week or run on those days. I would SEEK OUT VOLUNTEER opportunities (eek, I had so much time!!).  One example?  Every Saturday I would bike over the Cambie street bridge (yes, I lived in Vancouver) and volunteer at a Seniors Home in Yaletown. My job? Painting with seniors. If you know me, this is hilarious because I a terrible painter/drawer.   The only thing that would be funnier is if I was singing with them.  However, I was able to assist and lead and that is what they needed.  We would find pictures in calendars/magazines and use that as our inspiration.  So funny. I had a great social life (with friends, not the seniors.  ha.). I was busy but had the time. I didn't watch any tv and had no desire to.

It's weird to go from that, to now.  The major difference now being that I have these three little people who require oodles of my time and energy.  My exercise is walking to Extra Food pushing a stroller.  Oh ya, and a big house with mortgage payments and vehicles that need to be repaired etc :) Oh and throw in that then I was getting about 8 hours of solid sleep a night, and well, last night I was up 3 times with a teething baby and have only slept through the night 4 times in the last 11 months.  I am not complaining about this, it's just a need to adapt to this change and where we are in life.

 If you know the `True Colours' categorization of people, I'm pretty much as gold as you get. Time orientated, punctual, wise with money, organized, planner, responsible, rule follower,  etc.  How does this look in life and relationships?  We like to help and keep things organized and are hardworking.  Family time is high on the priority list.  What stresses golds out in regards to something like being asked to donate/volunteer more than I feel capable of?  A lot going on at the same time and too many responsibilities.   

Anyway, thanks for `listening' and caring.  

I hope you have a great weekend.  We have something fun planned and I'll fill you  in later :)

Also, just in case you were wondering...OUR VERY FUN SUMMER TRIP begins in 79 days (we are actually going to Whistler before SE Asia).   Some people have asked if I plan on blogging while there and I think I would like to at least once/week.  I likely will not be editing our travel photos while there so I will just post  iPhone photos (which is all I seem to do now anyway!).  We'll see how the wifi is where we go...

Love,
Louise

PS I found this website which explains the True Colours personalities in marriage/relationships.  The gold is so me (I am also a touch of blue).  If you look at the bottom of that page, you can see what your colour is like.  If you don't know your colour, it's interesting to take the test...I think I've done it three times in my life at various professional development type things.  Interesting the important info for significant others.  Gary is green.  We are so different :)