Tag Archives: family

Our Winter

Today is the last day of winter! To celebrate, I have a little (or kinda long) winter recap of what we’ve been up to. Thanks to El Niño, it was short and sweet, requiring not too many walk-shoveling days.

It’ll take it all the way back to Christmas, I suppose. It was spent in BC with family, as per usual. First we headed to Nanaimo for Christmas with Tim’s family, which was an adventure with 10 adults, 3 kids, and a dog in a house undergoing an extensive kitchen renovation. blog 1 Then it was back to the mainland for time with my own family! A little less crazy, but just as fun!blog 2 While we were in BC, Tim and I (along with my personal tag-along) were able to get away for a couple nights to Squamish. We spent a couple hours in Whistler, and did the Peak 2 Peak gondola. As expected, it was so beautiful! And then it was back home. I’m finding every time we do the drive between Edmonton and the Coast, the boys require less and less to make them happy. It’s great! blog 3 When we arrived home, one of my Christmas presents was waiting for me…Michelle and Mark had painted our living room! It was quite a great gift. You can see a little before and after below. Other household changes in January were that we got Calvin a twin bed and moved him into his own room! The first week was a rough go for him, but the change was no sweat off Victor’s brow. Honestly, I was very surprised. Victor is our child who has to have things a specific way, and doesn’t take too kindly to change. But, he IS the introvert, so having Calvin away from him probably brought him great joy. Calvin, the extrovert, thought differently. This change also meant that Patrick could move out of our room and now sleeps in the crib in Victor’s room. It’s nice having our entire room back for ourselves. It feels so much less cluttered.blog 4This winter, there was an ice castle here in Edmonton. We went with our friends and it was really neat! A bit crowded, but Calvin had lots of fun roaming and finding little holes in the walls and such.
blog 5 Of course we spend a fair amount of time inside during the winter. This is what it looks like:blog 6 In February, I made a quick trip back to BC to celebrate the marriage of a close friend! This was Patrick’s first flight and he did great! A little sad at takeoff, because it was past his bedtime, but he soon fell fast asleep once we were cruising. It was nice to have a weekend away with just one son. A little break from the demands of the older two. And Tim had a good time with them at home! The wedding (or reception really, because they had already been married in Africa) was beautiful, and I’m so glad I could be there to support them. blog 7 And then it was back to winter once again.blog 8But spring came quick! And the kids are definitely not strangers to mud these days. I think our patio is going to have to have a good power-washing one day soon. Oh, and just because we may still be in our jammies, doesn’t mean we haven’t left the house. I love warm winter days!
blog 9 In the past few weeks, we’ve enjoyed the company of three different parties. First Tim’s parents came through, then my friend Anna and her son Parker (who is just a couple months older that Patrick), and finally Jordan and Amy. We love having company, and are happy they all took the time to come visit.blog 10These days Calvin is as energetic as ever, never stopping until he is 100% asleep. We have him signed up for soccer this spring, and I think he will enjoy is a lot. It’s going to be so great for him, being around other kids doing team sports. That’s kind of what makes his world go around. He is also testing our patience these days, with bouts of anger and attitude. It’s so hard to know how to handle their emotions that they don’t even completely understand.

Victor is still mostly his sweet, cute self. His mannerisms are so endearing and often have us smiling or laughing. He loves playing Star Wars, and if he gets you with his light sabre or “pewer”, you must “fall gown on yo back!” He’s also a good sport at falling down himself, when you get him. He plays fair! He’s also still awesome at playing on his own, which is especially great these days because he is not guaranteed to nap every day. I think he actually naps less than Calvin, who also is no longer a regular. But on days that they don’t nap, if we go somewhere in the evening (like 2 hours before bedtime), they can be out in 3 minutes. They still need to nap! I’m trying to have a better attitude about this. Please pray for me.

Patrick is growing and learning, like all 7-month-olds do. He is able to sit on his own (since 5 months), and experiences what I call “accidental mobility”; the kind that has him falling off couches (yeah…I know…) and falling on his belly from a sitting position while reaching for something. He has recently displaced Calvin in the Costco buggy which has made shopping a different kind of experience. Calvin can either be happy or mad about not being in the buggy. It’s a gamble. Patrick has started eating food, as he’s a super star! Well, he doesn’t know how to open his mouth for food, but he keeps everything in, which is amazing! You have to remember my last child detested everything, and still does. So I’m happy with this little guy! I just have to work super hard at getting his mouth open. Making him smile usually does the trick, but it takes a fair amount of effort. Same with laughing. You have to prepared to expend a lot of energy trying to get him to laugh, and then all you’re rewarded with is some sort of grunt or throat spasm, like he is trying to hold his laugh in. He’s a happy boy, but keeps his emotions on the DL. His second tooth has broken ground, and I’m going to miss his lone one he had on the bottom. It was so cute!

blog 12 A two last photos, because they were looking so cute for church one morning. :)blog 13You get seven points for reading to the end!

Rearranging the House

A handful of months ago, Tim was able to turn a hobby of his into a paying job. In short, he collects stats and writes articles for professional eSports, for the game League of Legends. Because of this, we have been able to stop being landlords and have reign over our entire house! This has had a domino effect on a number of rooms in our house.

First of all, our main motivation, the living space of the suite has become our playroom!

IMG_2701

pictured here, in its natural state

With three kids now, it is a huge blessing to be able to have this space, especially through the winter. And I am very happy that it was painted two summers ago. It’s a dark basement, but the light colours really help.

We have also gained a bedroom! The suite bedroom is almost 3 times the size of our old guest room, so we moved the guest room down there. Because of the space, we were able to upgrade the bed from a double to a queen. You’re welcome, guests!
IMG_2697 The bedroom even provided space for a piano! Our friends who are moving were looking to get rid of theirs, so voila! I have pulled out some of my old music and played a tiny bit. I just have to say that muscle memory is an amazing thing. I haven’t had a piano in 7.5 years, and most of the music just comes right back. My fingers just know where to go.IMG_2699 The next domino is the boys’ sleeping arrangements. Since the double bed was no longer a guest bed, I decided to tear down Victor’s crib and switch it, along with Calvin’s toddler bed, with the double mattress for them to share. It has been working okay. I mean, isn’t this the cutest?IMG_2484 IMG_2539It was actually the most helpful for a couple days after the time change. They woke up at 5:30, but I crawled into their bed and they lay back down and slept for another hour with me! The cuddles possible in a big, shared bed are wonderful.

But it has actually proven to be kind of a bad idea. It has almost wrecked nap time. We have had to now have Calvin nap in our bed because they would just not fall asleep when they are together, and they both still need naps. And we’ve had to experiment with bedtime too, in order to get them settled and relaxed enough. So, my idea turned out not to be as brilliant as I thought. We are now trying to decide if we should get them bunk beds (will the physical separation help with the distractions?), or put Calvin in the old guest room, and get each boy a new twin sized bed? Unfortunately, if we decide the latter, we can’t do it right away because it currently looks like this:IMG_2696 It contains the contents of our linen closet and entry closet because I am painting. And painting takes me a long time. Another factor in the decision is this guy:IMG_2654When he gets kicked out of our room, should he have his own space (if the boys continue to share a room), or should he share with Victor (if Calvin moves out)?

But the main question out of all of this is do we buy two single beds or a bunk bed?

I apologize for all the awful iPhone photos taken of dark rooms. 

Two Weeks

2 weeks 1It has been two weeks since Patrick’s arrival into our lives. Already two weeks since heading to the hospital not sure if we would be staying or not. It was another short stay, leaving mid-afternoon the day after he was born. It was fun to have the older boys come and meet Patrick, although they were more interested in sharing my breakfast with me than getting to know their new little brother. 2 weeks 2

We’ve had a great time with both sets of our parents visiting for a handful of days each. I’d say one of the only positives of living away from family is that when they come to visit, they are devoted entirely to you. They cook, clean, do yard work, fix things, take the older boys away to do things. It is really quite special, and I am so thankful for it. My sister-in-law, who lives within walking distance from both sets of her parents, said she was trying to think of how different it would be with in-home help and someone to cook; I know no different! I think we need to finish having our children here, before moving back closer to family. :)2 weeks 3

It has been fun watching Calvin and Victor with Patrick. They are, for the most part, so gentle with him. I’m excited to see their relationships grow as the years go by. I can’t say that the older boys have been perfect through this transition though. Calvin has been giving us lots more attitude, which I think Victor picks up on and copies to a degree. Victor has also been getting some eye teeth in, so he’s not always happy. And you can also throw in the coming-off-the-grandparents-visiting-high. I’ve had a handful of bad moments when I wish it was easier to communicate with toddlers and preschoolers and that discipline actually works and works instantly. But I know that these transitional times will be gone before I know it.2 weeks 4

Patrick himself is a trooper. It’s amazing what an infant can sleep through! He’s actually quite a sleepy baby. He slept through his hospital bath. He slept for about 8 hours on his first Sunday morning, without me being able to even rouse him to eat. And he sleeps fairly well at night, and can go 5 hours in his first stretch, and last night he even did 6 hours! This is a nice change from his brothers who weren’t so great. I think it’s because he’s a big baby. Slower metabolism. Lots of chub. He’s able to hibernate. However, he has difficulty with nursing sometimes. If he is tired, it can take upwards of 10 minutes to get a good latch. But he doesn’t get frustrated, and he knows when he has a bad latch, so he just comes off and tries again until we get it. And he nurses well once he gets going. It will come naturally to him soon. For a while I was thinking that there may have been something physically wrong with him, since I had no troubles nursing the other two, and I should know better, but he doesn’t know better, and he has to figure it out. 2 weeks 5

Currently we are in the midst of being blessed by our church community. For every baby born, they set up a meal train and we have meals delivered for a week! I highly recommend this for any community – church or otherwise. It is such a blessing to a family with a newborn, or any other life event like a move or family illness, to have a plan for people to bring meals. When our week is up, my sister will come for the following week, and then we are all heading off to BC together. Yet another blessing for us in this time; my sister will be there to help us on our first road trip with three kids! Can’t wait!

Life Lately

I just put a bunch of photos from my phone and camera onto the computer and realized there have been a number of things lately that could do with some documentation!

To start, I am going to jump all the way back to mid-June, when my brother and sister-in-law were here with their girls. You may recall my brother built my desk, but we did other stuff too! We went to the zoo, enjoyed the park and hung around the house while it rained. Thiessen Visit Thiessen Visit 2 Thiessen Visit 3In later June, the weather got pretty hot and sticky, so we enjoyed lots of popsicles, sprinkler times, and dinners in the shady evenings. And I’ll just quickly gloss over the fact that this weather made me a tad too cranky. LifeThen came July, and with it, the arrival of our van! New VanThe first time pushing the “start” button was to drive it home. The second time was to drive it out of province! We went to visit our good friends out in Regina so we could meet their new baby boy! I have to say there was almost too much cute in their house that weekend.
Morton Visit 1 Morton Visit 2A few days after we arrived back at home, Tim’s mom came out for a little visit. I suppose our guest bed had been cold for too long! She spent lots of time with the boys, which was great for me! We visited K-Days for the first time ever, which was fun. Hot and busy, but fun! And she and Michelle came to our church picnic.Mom Visit 1 Mom Visit 2Also, this past week I hit the 38-week mark in my pregnancy which means I am full term! Because of that, I decided it was time to get the “nursery” ready. 38 weeksTa da! Haha! I got the pack and play up, the newborn clothes washed and folded into their little drawers, and newborn diapers purchased. The car seat is just awaiting the insert to be washed (which I realized I had never done by machine, after being used for 2 babies already – yikes!) and my backpack is ready to be packed. Those things should be done this week, and then we will be 100% ready!

So that’s our summer this far. I feel like we haven’t done all that much, but putting all the photos and memories together in one post actually make it feel quite full! And the rest of the summer will be baby baby baby!

A Happy Easter Weekend

I was so happy when my parents decided that they would come visit on Easter Weekend. We have never had family come for this special holiday, so it was a nice change. We packed in lots during their three days here.

We had an early birthday celebration for Calvin:Easter Weekend 1 Had a little Easter egg hunt out in the cold, and enjoyed a simple ham dinner with Michelle who also came by that day:Easter Weekend 2 And still had time for some backyard fun and relaxing!Easter Weekend 3Thanks for coming and spoiling us all!

 

A Far Too Late Christmas Post

Remember Christmas? Yeah, I hardly do either. But I remember enough to know that I have not yet done any sort of post about it. So here I am. We were back in BC for almost 3 weeks, split between my family and Tim’s family. I didn’t take all that many photos, but here is a little sample of what I did take.  Christmas 1Christmas 2

Not a super interesting post, but this is mainly to help me not forget that Christmas 2014 actually did happen.

A Sinterklaasy Weekend

Ever since we’ve been together, Tim and I have never celebrated Christmas with just our little family. Since Christmas 2010, the year we started dating and were engaged, we have always traveled to spend the holidays with our families. This year, we decided that since Calvin is old enough to actually enjoy and somewhat understand, we would make a little celebration for ourselves, before we leave for the coast next week.

Since Tim has a Dutch heritage, he automatically thought that Sinterklaas would be the perfect time for us to do something. On the Friday, Tim took the day off and we had a yummy crepe breakfast, followed by a little gift opening. We are totally not money spenders on our children. I made Calvin some sock puppets with $5 worth of socks and yarn and buttons I had on hand. Victor we splurged on and got a box set of little books from Costco. They are loved gifts, and it was fun to watch them open their presents. Tim’s parents even sent out a few special treats!

We watched some Christmas videos on Netflix, Victor had a morning snooze, and we did some other stuff that I don’t remember. It was a perfect, lazy day. Oh! We decorated a gingerbread house. Guys, get the one from Costco that comes with the house already put together. The worst part taken care of!Sinterklaas 1

The next day, we planned a turkey dinner that Jordan and Amy joined us for. After we ate, we all went to the zoo to see their Christmas lights and stuff. Calvin of course loved being able to run wherever he wanted and Victor probably liked seeing the bright lights.Sinterklaas 2

Our Christmasy weekend was capped off nicely by the Sunday School Christmas performance during the services. Only Calvin decided he would rather just wander around than stand up and perform. Sorry, Auntie Catherine; looks like he’s not following in your footsteps!

Calvin jumping off the stage before the signing even started.

Calvin jumping off the stage before the singing even started.