800 Posts

Crazy that I've posted on this blog 800 times since I started it nearly four years ago.  Looking forward to these posts being made into family year books.

Playing Pass

The other day the kids were playing in the yard while I was putting laundry away (love our fenced yar!).  When I looked out the window they were playing pass with each other.  So cute!

Cold Stone Creamery

Yesterday (Monday), we went to the Cold Stone Creamery after dinner for ice-cream.  We had a couple of groupons, making this a great treat with a discount.  One of my photography goals this year is to take more photos of day to day life and the place we go.  Sometimes I feel silly with my camera as I photograph things that I pretty much never see anyone else photographing.  However, this is the day to day, it's our life.  These are the moments that I want to capture. 

Sarah's 4th Birthday Party

On Saturday it was Sarah's birthday party.  Since we were living in Ontario for the last three years and were travelling for her last birthday, this was actually her first real birthday party.  She was so... excited!  She's been counting down to this day for the last three months of so.  Knowing how excited she was, I wanted to go a little more "all out" and make it special for her. 

Instead of cards, etc, I've decided that we'll be doing a "birthday book" for each of our kids on their birthday.  Whoever comes to their party will sign their special book and leave a little message for them.  I hope the books become special keepsakes for our kids.

Lauren was ready for the party to begin!

I used photos that I took of Sarah to mark her birthday as decorations at the party.  Easy, cheap and pretty.

Sarah loves Costco.  Therefore it's no big surprise that she wanted a Costco cake for her birthday.  She was thrilled!

So excited to blow out the candles!

Once I cut the cake, Sarah insisted on handing out a piece of cake to all of her guests before eating her own piece. What a great little hostess.

 Gift Opening Time!  Sarah was thrilled at the thought of opening up her special presents.  What a spoiled little girl she was.

 We were thankful for such beautiful weather.  After gifts and treats, everyone headed outside for some play time. 

 Thank you so much to all of you that came out to celebrate our special little girl.  We felt so loved and supported by your presence and generosity. After being in Ontario for the past few years and being away from family and friends (except for the Lee's, love you!), holidays, birthdays and special occasions are that much more special for us.  In a lot of ways, Sarah's fourth birthday was like her first birthday.  It was special.

A BIG thank you to Sonja Dyck for taking the photos of the second half of the party, it's much appreciated!  We're trying to figure out the best way to get better birthday party photos.

Calvin

His big brown eyes have the ability to stare into my soul, at least it feels that way. He's a sensitive little guy and usualy cries several times each day. Just as easy as easy as he can start crying, he can stop crying and give you the biggest smile. He's a blankie and thumb sucking little boy. As David says, I have two men in my life...and I couldn't be happier about that.

We're potty training this week, just underwear unless it's nap or bed time. There's been a lot of accidents and laundry, but it's getting better. Good times. Looking forward to having this parenting duty crossed off our list.

Lauren is 5 Months

She's 5 months already, just one more month and she'll be half way to one year old. Seriously, it's crazy how fast time is going by these days! I feel like little Lauren was just born and before we know it she'll be on the move.

Lauren loves laying on her tummy and is able to inch her way forward and backward. She also loves rolling, making diaper changes not so easy anymore. This is also the age (remembering back to our other two as well) when she's constantly rolling over or moving around in her crib. This makes nap and bedtime more challenging, often taking much longer than normal to get her to fall asleep. Oh well, I know it's just a stage, even if it can be fairly frustrating some days.

She continues to be a very happy little girl with lots of smiles and giggles, especially for her big sister.

Me and My Girls

Yesterday I set up the camera on the tripod and used the timer to take some pics of Lauren and I. I'm trying to challenge myself more and do things that I haven't done before. It was actually easier than I thought and even kind of fun. The kids sure thought so at least.

I was surprised that I actually got a fair amount of shots that turned out and that I like. I should have done this a long time ago.

Sarah Turns 4

Yesterday was Sarah's 4th Birthday! A part of me can hardly believe that she's been in our life for four years, but the other part feels like she's always had a piece of my heart. I have really been enjoying the stage that she's in, the better behaviour, listening skills and conversation. She is such a little girl already! I took the girls out a couple of weeks ago to take some special birthday photos of her. She LOVES balloons, so I picked up 4 balloons to take some photos with. Taking the photos was a special little memory. Sarah's birthday party isn't for another couple of weeks, since I figured there was just too much happening Easter weekend.

Sarah ended up getting the flu really bad on Friday night and it lasted throughout the weekend. Therefore we missed a couple of our gatherings and just took it easy at home. I was happy that the party wasn't on her actual birthday since it would have had to be cancelled anyways.

Happy Birthday Sarah; we love you!

Colouring Easter Eggs

This week the Sarah, Calvin, my mom and I coloured Easter eggs. I was thankful for my moms help, it was actually a really good experience. I loved this tradition as a child and am now enjoying it with my own children.

Loving Grandma!

Sarah Clicks

Sarah got her camera for Christmas from her grandma Voth. She totally loves it! Every so often when I'm taking photos of the kids she brings her camera out to take photos of me. Here we were taking photos of each other. So cute! After she's posed us and is happy with her shots she looks through them, smiles and laughs at the good ones. How fun to share a hobby with my little girl even if she's only four years old (almost). LOVE.

Sibling Love

This was one of those wonderful sweet moments in the midst of a crazy morning. I put Lauren down by the window to snap a few photos of her when Calvin came and lay down next to her. He was talking sweetly to Lauren and being oh so gentle. If only he was that calm all the time. It was a good moment while it lasted.