Tag Archives: family

BC Holiday: The Babies

A bonus of our trip to BC was to meet a handful of babies that friends and family members have had in the past couple months! There were also a couple yet-to-be-born babies to “see”.

I already mentioned meeting my oldest brother’s baby girl, Anna, who is my third niece.

Anna and our little one will be the closest in age of the Thiessen cousins so far, only 3 months apart.

Also in Langley was my friend Amy and her three-month-old, Jonah. Amy and I have known eachother since we were children, with our families attending the same church.

I then got to hang out with one of my best friends, Megan, who just recently announced she is due with their first in January! I am very glad we had an opportunity to get a belly photo of the two of us. We have known each other for always. Our mothers went to church and school together when they were growing up. I hope our kids will grow up as friends as well.

Then on Tuesday, Tim, Calvin and I made a whirlwind trip to Victoria to see some friends and more babies! Mostly Calvin just wanted to see Anna.But we also went to a park to hang out with the girls and their kids too.

Chavon could have her second any day now!

Raya, the newest baby in the group.

It was nice to have a baby girl after the last three (who were also the first three) were boys.

One of the last times Calvin and Ethan (in the middle) saw each other, they looked like this:

On the way back to my parents’ place from the ferry, we stopped in to visit with my cousins, Andrew and Naomi, who had their baby girl just three days before my sister-in-law had Anna!

This is a little dark, but it was so cute! Mackenzie was sleeping in her swing and Calvin was just crouched there, watching her go back and forth. Then he decided he wanted to swing her himself.

Calvin was actually really gentle with all the babies he met. He mostly pet their heads and made cute little sounds like “doodle doodle doodle”. The only trouble was if he had a wooden hammer in his hands. Because of course you are allowed to bang on anything if you are wielding a wooden hammer (don’t worry…no babies were hurt). So I am hopeful that he will be the same way with our newborn.

It is interesting thinking of all my different friends, in Langley, Victoria, and now Edmonton, and how my relationships with them all are different. My Edmonton friends I know only as parents. I don’t know much of their background or who they were as teenagers. I feel like I am learning from them, since the majority have children older than mine. My Victoria friends I got to know as they were students in college, becoming newlyweds and recently parents. I got to learn alongside of them. I have known my Langley friends through all stages of life, and it’s fun to watch them become parents now, continuing the circle. I wish I was closer to them to see this next stage more first hand, but I am content with the special little visits I get here and there.

And that concludes the baby tour! Besides Chavon, there are two people on my pregnant people list (yes, I actually have a list of my friends’ due dates because there are so many to keep track of) due, and then it’s my turn! Only two more months, which is kind of crazy. And seeing all these newborns didn’t help prepare me for my own in the least. Good thing I know first hand that the knowledge comes naturally. I’m excited!

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BC Holiday: The Thiessens

Our official summer holiday. Of course it means going back west to visit with family. What other kind of holiday is there?

Early Saturday morning we packed up the car and hit the Yellowhead. I am going to dedicate one sentence to brag about Calvin: he went the first 10 hours without a single complaint or cry, completely content with toys, books, snacks, and being able to see mountains rise into his view through the window.

All happy and ready for the long trip ahead.

Mandatory pit stop at Mt. Robson. Not too clear of a day.

We left Edmonton early enough to be in Langley for supper time. And then we met our new niece, Anna for the first time!

Calvin also met a new friend who didn’t end up being so friendly. He bit Calvin pretty good but as soon as the bleeding stopped, he went back to the box to pet it again. This is something we have been learning about Calvin’s personality lately…he doesn’t become afraid of things that bite him, so to speak. He also fell down a short flight of stairs at my parents, in a complete backwards somersault, cried for a minute maybe, then went right back to climbing them. He’s a tough kid.

Being more gentle to the rodent than the rodent was to him.

On Sunday, the whole family came to my parents to spend the day together (with the exception of our nephew, Isaac). We enjoyed a yummy waffle lunch, had naps, then went to the Fort in Fort Langley, then came back for some BBQ. I really only have photos of our time at the Fort, and most of them are of Calvin, but here they are for your enjoyment anyway.

Calvin tried out furs…

…and blankets.

He patrolled the walls.

And spend some quality time with aunts and uncles.

All the kids (my mom’s photo).

Other than that day, we had a relaxing time with my parents who enjoyed having a special little boy around for a while.

Cuddles with Oma.

Helping Grandpa water the flowers.

Then we were off on the next leg!

A Little Visit

We just got back from a short little visit with Michelle! She and a couple friends drove to Lacombe yesterday for a friend’s wedding. They are headed back already tomorrow, so we decided to meet halfway between here and there for a few free hours she had before the wedding this afternoon. We ended up at Park By The Lake in Wetaskiwin which happened to be a very lovely park with a trail around the lake and a playground and lots of picnic tables. I would probably drive the 45 just for a great place for a picnic!

Here are a few shots of Calvin and his Auntie Michelle.

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Manitoba Trip

This past weekend, Our little family made a trip that I have made countless times in my life. We drove out to Winkler, Manitoba where my extended family on my dad’s side is. Neither Tim nor I are strangers to a road trip, and it is actually one of our preferred types of vacations! I will write a separate post on how Calvin did on the road.

So on Wednesday, I packed up the car, picked Tim up from work, and hit the road.

We stopped about an hour outside of town for some supper and for Calvin to stretch his little legs.

It just so happened that I have a cousin from my mom’s side living just outside of Saskatoon, almost halfway between home and our destination, so it worked out that we could spend Wednesday night with them, have a little visit in the morning, then head to Winkler. It was great to see them, and also to be able to split our drive up into two parts.

My cousin’s daughter graciously shared her blueberries.

After losing a bit of time having to turn around to retrieve Tim’s wallet, we were back on the road, and arrived at my cousin’s place in Winkler late Thursday evening. We stayed with Warren and Liane, my oldest cousin on that side, who have two children who loved having Calvin around to play with. Calvin had no problems making fast friends.

Having a tea party in the playroom.

Splashing in the water on the porch.

One evening we went to Warky’s (a local ice cream place) to meet up with a bunch of the family. Yummy ice cream, and good company!

Calvin enjoyed Tim’s milkshake.

The reason we picked the weekend we did to visit is that there were a couple family get togethers this weekend. The first was on Saturday where we all went to my aunt and uncle’s property in the Pembina Valley. It was fun to visit with all the family together, but who invited the mosquitoes?

Calvin helped thaw the meat.

And he also enjoyed his first taste of rollkucken.

After supper, a game of baseball was started in the field.

Calvin practiced getting the ball into the glove on the sidelines.

The next day was an official Thiessen family reunion, with the families of all my grandpa’s siblings.

Calvin wanted to nap more than visit.

But then he woke up and got in some good baby rocking practice with my cousin’s 2.5 month old.

What better way to visit than in a circle of camping chairs?

There was no shortage of places for Calvin to play, people to entertain and to entertain him, and rocks to put in his mouth.

Being a goof with Uncle Ken.

It was fun to see my cousin, Heather, who is the closest in age to me, pregnant with her fourth and due only a day before myself!

It was a weekend full of fun, food and family, and I am glad we had the opportunity to go! This trip also confirmed a couple things about Calvin: he loves to wander and adventure, and is not even a little bit afraid of strangers. Potential recipe for disaster? Sure, but I like that he is comfortable learning and exploring on his own without needing me by his side all the time.

How Calvin felt about the fact that we had to leave all his new friends.

A 7am Manitoba sky.

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Time at the Cabin

While we were back in BC, before Tim joined us, Calvin and I were able to spend a bit of time at our family cabin on Hatzic Lake with family.

(To my family who like to refer to it as the “lake house” since the reno, I still prefer “cabin” because it doesn’t remind me of Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.)

This place has always been a place to relax and visit. It was the destination for most of our summer holiday time that wasn’t dedicated to driving to visit Manitoba family. It has recently become the place to celebrate holidays with my mom’s side of the family. Surrounding my sister’s wedding, it hosted some extended family and was the backdrop to wedding portraits.

Hangin’ in the hammock.

Heading out on the water.

Swinging with cousins.

It’s a right of passage to ride the mower with Grandpa.

No visit is complete without some BBQ over the fire.

No visit is complete without some BBQ farmer sausage over the fire.

Chilling inside with Great Grandpa Thiessen.

Surveying the landscape.

Maybe one day I will post some pictures of our growing up years spent here. Who doesn’t love a good reminiscing?

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Motherhood – Part 2

Read Part 1 with more on my strengths as a mom.

I wasn’t planning on writing more on motherhood so soon, but today brought more thoughts to mind.

I have known for many years what one of my big weaknesses as a parent would be: playing and having fun.

I don’t remember being big into playing as a kid, much to my little sister’s disappointment. One of my favourite babysitting memories was when the mom payed me extra to tidy up their very messy playroom. And I had so much fun this one time I visited my cousin out of town and was in charge of getting their two very young children ready for church and out the door while they were at worship practice. I am looking forward to when my own kids are school aged and I have to make sure they are ready in time in the mornings and organize their schedules and stuff.

But this whole toddler stage is out of my comfort zone.

Since Calvin started crawling up until today, I kept the living room as a sort of cage for him with the couches pushed together and other small furniture between them and the walls. That way I didn’t have to keep a constant eye on him and I knew he wouldn’t get into trouble. But I guess overnight he grew that extra millimetre he needed to be able to climb onto the furniture and get over the barricade.

So instead of trying to keep him contained, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it forever, I removed all the obstacles and have been letting him have free reign. Of course this means I have had to be much more attentive. I have had to get rid of little “staircases” to keep him out of trouble, like this:

Him pulling all the diapers off the drying rack I am okay with. Him messing around by the computer I am not as much okay with. So now I am at a point where I need to keep him occupied enough so he doesn’t get bored and hurt himself or wreck something. And I have no clue how to do it. So, all you fun parents and child care workers, tell me your secrets! And (I was going to write an entire post on this, but then I had all these thoughts to share and it’s pretty related) those of you who spend the entire day outside, what do you do all day outside?

I don’t have money to spend on swimming pools and zoo visits and tons of craft supplies. I like to use what I have but don’t have imagination to put anything into execution.

And that is where motherhood is difficult for me.

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Motherhood – Part 1

I don’t often talk about my experience with motherhood. This is because I feel a little bit like an anomaly and being an anomaly in the world of mothers doesn’t always go over very well.

When I think of how I see motherhood portrayed by peers and media, I think of the words “exhausted”, “surviving”, “needing caffeine”, “yoga pants”, and “no me time”. Part of me has to wonder how much moms express themselves this way because it’s completely true, and how much some moms express themselves this way because they have to in order to fit in.

I have to honestly say that after 13 months of being a mom, I cannot empathize with these kinds of statements (sympathize, yes; empathize, no). I count myself blessed to not need much more than 6 hours of sleep to have a normal amount of energy through the day. I count myself blessed to not need caffeine before doing anything in the morning. I count myself blessed to not have ever spent money on yoga pants so I don’t have them to wear. I count myself blessed that I have never felt the need to be pampered with alone time, pedicures and a glass of wine.

But in no way do I think this makes me a better parent than you. I still rarely feed Calvin vegetables. I don’t play with him one on one as much as maybe I should. I don’t bring him outside as much as he wishes I would. I get annoyed with his crankiness and new realization of will.

But he has been a joy to me in his first year of life. He is a happy, silly goof who loves to smile and he makes me smile so much as well.

And that is how motherhood is for me.

Read Part 2 with more on my weaknesses as a mom.

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