Has anyone else ever tried to put sunscreen on a 3 1/2 year old while they are doing the hokey-pokey?? Brought on by the fact that you said, "stand still, I need your left leg"? Ahh, summer fun. Enough said.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
A Visit to the Farm
I've been trying to get to posting this for a while, so I'm going to try and make it short and sweet. A couple of weekends ago, we traveled to Swift Current to attend the wedding of Matt's cousin Heidi. It was a nice weekend, seeing lots of relatives and having time to catch up with them. One of the highlights for Jaina was staying at the hotel, which had a pool. I think she managed to go swimming 5 or 6 times during the weekend. She's a regular fish. The other highlight was the first visit for Michelle and the kids to the Olfert family farm. We visited on Saturday and then again Sunday for a hot dog roast with all the family. Jaina had lots of fun discovering all the farm activities with Papa. Here are some of our photos from that weekend:
Around the farm:
The big machines:
Around the farm:
The big machines:
Friday, June 29, 2007
From the mouths of babes
It is too bad that we can't really remember much from the times when we ourselves were very young. It would be so interesting to know what we un
derstood and thought about the world as we were figuring it all out. I have noticed Jaina saying some pretty funny things lately as she begins to notice the world around her in more and more detail. Like a few weeks ago, when we were about to head off to Lethbridge the next day, she said to us as we were in the car, "Your legs are going to be really tired by the time we get to Grandma and Papa's house so far away!" "Why is that?", we asked. "From pedaling all the way there," she replied. We had a good giggle in the front seat and I went on to try to explain cars in a basic way to her. It went something like this: "Oh, honey, we don't pedal the car. It's not like your bike. The car has a motor in it and it is like a machine that makes the wheels turn and the car drive. All mommy or daddy has to do is push down on the gas pedal..." and suddenly it didn't seem like such a silly conclusion for her to have come to after all. In fact, she must have been paying some attention to car talk to pick up on the pedal bit at all. And then there was the time when she watched me change Lewis' diaper, nurse him a bit, and then he spit up. Noticing that the spit up was white, she said matter-of-factly, "it must be the bum cream that you just put on him, because it's white". To which I had to explain that what I put on his bottom would not come out of his mouth, despite the fact that vice-versa is true for the human body. So anyway, I had noticed her making some funny observations and also dispensing what she thinks is novel and invaluable information to the rest of us. So here is some more from the mouth of a 3-year-old:
- Whispered (thank goodness) to me as we had lunch at the Zoo, next to a table of elderly ladies: "Mommy! Those ladies all have the same hair!"
- Earnestly, to Matt's friend as he and Matt played a driving game on the Wii that he had never tried before: "Uh, Sarah's daddy? This game is better if you drive on the road."
- To Lewis, who is listening with rapt attention: "You're a BOY, Lewis. NOT a girl!" (to which he squealed his agreement or perhaps his excitement at this tidbit of info).
- To anyone who will listen: "After I'm six, I'm gonna be seven." (never mind that she is only 3. These are the ages to which she aspires. When she is her make-believe alter-ego, named Akra - we don't know why - she is always 6 years old).
- When I giggled at the fact that she groggily came downstairs one morning wearing a pair of her panties on her head and I asked why, she grumpily and matter-of-factly replied "I just needed a hat!"
Oh, to be three.
Anyways, also, if I posted more often these wouldn't have to be so long. But here are a few photos and a quick update on what we've been doing this month:
Working on the yard. We planted a couple rows of carrots and lettuce (a.k.a. "salad"), so that Jaina could have a garden. Here she is watering it.
We went down to Lethbridge on the Father's Day weekend to see the Papas and celebrate my mom's birthday. Here are the kids with Papa Olfert and Matt on Father's Day:
Matt had taken holidays during that week so we could work on the yard, but it was too wet to get much done. Even on sunny days the ground just was not quite dry enough. So we took advantage of a sunny morning and went to the Zoo as a family, which we rarely get the chance to do. Here are some pics of us at the Zoo:
Then the very next weekend we headed back down to Taber, to visit and also to attend a Klemen family BBQ to celebrate Nona's 80th birthday. It was the first time in a very long time that every single relative came to one event. The only present Nona wanted was a picture with her family, her grandchildren and one with her 32 great-grandchildren, who range in age from 2 months old to 16 years. It went off surprisingly well and hopefully the photographer got a good picture. Here is a picture of us, Veronica and Chris, and my mom and Steve.
We also had the chance just to get out and play at the park in Taber. Here are some pictures of Jaina and Lewis with their hats on and all ready to go out and play:
So we had a fun but tiring time over the past few weeks. To top it off, when we got back from Taber my mom called to say that we had forgotten Jaina's teddy bear in her room (we had rushed home from Taber at 8:00 that morning to make it to Jaina's last gymnastics class by 11:30). This, we knew, was a potential catastrophe. My mom went down to the post office on her lunch break and sent him back Expresspost to us. We concocted a story about her teddy bear's "big adventure" at the post office and through the mail, which was received with a minimum of tears . Luckily, he arrived the very next day. 
So that's life lately. We are looking forward to a less hectic summer, with no classes for Jaina (except maybe a round of swimming lessons). Hopefully we'll get in a lot more visiting with friends, playing at the park, waterpark, backyard, etc. as well as some visits to the Zoo and Heritage Park. This weekend we hope to work in the yard some more, and maybe take in some Canada Day festivities at a local park. Next weekend we are off to a wedding in Swift Current, and finally a chance to visit the Olfert family farm. So I'm sure we'll have some more pictures to post soon!
derstood and thought about the world as we were figuring it all out. I have noticed Jaina saying some pretty funny things lately as she begins to notice the world around her in more and more detail. Like a few weeks ago, when we were about to head off to Lethbridge the next day, she said to us as we were in the car, "Your legs are going to be really tired by the time we get to Grandma and Papa's house so far away!" "Why is that?", we asked. "From pedaling all the way there," she replied. We had a good giggle in the front seat and I went on to try to explain cars in a basic way to her. It went something like this: "Oh, honey, we don't pedal the car. It's not like your bike. The car has a motor in it and it is like a machine that makes the wheels turn and the car drive. All mommy or daddy has to do is push down on the gas pedal..." and suddenly it didn't seem like such a silly conclusion for her to have come to after all. In fact, she must have been paying some attention to car talk to pick up on the pedal bit at all. And then there was the time when she watched me change Lewis' diaper, nurse him a bit, and then he spit up. Noticing that the spit up was white, she said matter-of-factly, "it must be the bum cream that you just put on him, because it's white". To which I had to explain that what I put on his bottom would not come out of his mouth, despite the fact that vice-versa is true for the human body. So anyway, I had noticed her making some funny observations and also dispensing what she thinks is novel and invaluable information to the rest of us. So here is some more from the mouth of a 3-year-old:- Whispered (thank goodness) to me as we had lunch at the Zoo, next to a table of elderly ladies: "Mommy! Those ladies all have the same hair!"
- Earnestly, to Matt's friend as he and Matt played a driving game on the Wii that he had never tried before: "Uh, Sarah's daddy? This game is better if you drive on the road."
- To Lewis, who is listening with rapt attention: "You're a BOY, Lewis. NOT a girl!" (to which he squealed his agreement or perhaps his excitement at this tidbit of info).
- To anyone who will listen: "After I'm six, I'm gonna be seven." (never mind that she is only 3. These are the ages to which she aspires. When she is her make-believe alter-ego, named Akra - we don't know why - she is always 6 years old).
- When I giggled at the fact that she groggily came downstairs one morning wearing a pair of her panties on her head and I asked why, she grumpily and matter-of-factly replied "I just needed a hat!"
Oh, to be three.
Anyways, also, if I posted more often these wouldn't have to be so long. But here are a few photos and a quick update on what we've been doing this month:
Working on the yard. We planted a couple rows of carrots and lettuce (a.k.a. "salad"), so that Jaina could have a garden. Here she is watering it.
We went down to Lethbridge on the Father's Day weekend to see the Papas and celebrate my mom's birthday. Here are the kids with Papa Olfert and Matt on Father's Day:
Matt had taken holidays during that week so we could work on the yard, but it was too wet to get much done. Even on sunny days the ground just was not quite dry enough. So we took advantage of a sunny morning and went to the Zoo as a family, which we rarely get the chance to do. Here are some pics of us at the Zoo:
Then the very next weekend we headed back down to Taber, to visit and also to attend a Klemen family BBQ to celebrate Nona's 80th birthday. It was the first time in a very long time that every single relative came to one event. The only present Nona wanted was a picture with her family, her grandchildren and one with her 32 great-grandchildren, who range in age from 2 months old to 16 years. It went off surprisingly well and hopefully the photographer got a good picture. Here is a picture of us, Veronica and Chris, and my mom and Steve.
We also had the chance just to get out and play at the park in Taber. Here are some pictures of Jaina and Lewis with their hats on and all ready to go out and play: 
So we had a fun but tiring time over the past few weeks. To top it off, when we got back from Taber my mom called to say that we had forgotten Jaina's teddy bear in her room (we had rushed home from Taber at 8:00 that morning to make it to Jaina's last gymnastics class by 11:30). This, we knew, was a potential catastrophe. My mom went down to the post office on her lunch break and sent him back Expresspost to us. We concocted a story about her teddy bear's "big adventure" at the post office and through the mail, which was received with a minimum of tears . Luckily, he arrived the very next day. 
So that's life lately. We are looking forward to a less hectic summer, with no classes for Jaina (except maybe a round of swimming lessons). Hopefully we'll get in a lot more visiting with friends, playing at the park, waterpark, backyard, etc. as well as some visits to the Zoo and Heritage Park. This weekend we hope to work in the yard some more, and maybe take in some Canada Day festivities at a local park. Next weekend we are off to a wedding in Swift Current, and finally a chance to visit the Olfert family farm. So I'm sure we'll have some more pictures to post soon!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Fun in the Sun
Tonight as I write we are experiencing a massive thunder and lightening storm with pounding rain. It is one of those truly awesome summer storms which I love.
Other than tonight, though, the weather has finally been acting its season and we have had almost a week of hot, sunny weather. It has been so nice to finally have it feel like summer. Matt and I have been trying to work on our landscaping, weeding and putting in a garden and flowerbed in the back. Of course, over the past two weekends we have both been a little sick with colds and sore throats so we haven't gotten as much done as we'd like. It's also been nice to fin
ally get outside with Jaina and Lewis. We have been to the park, played in the yard, and even made it to Heritage Park on Thursday with my friend Kim and her two children. Jaina is already the typical kid, she loves to ride her little bike, she asks all the time and rides it as much as she can. We also bought her these Fisher-Price beginner roller skates, which adjust for 3 levels of ability, for example right now Jaina is using the middle setting where the wheels are supposed to just roll forward. The first setting they lock so basically she could just walk in them, and the third setting is just like normal wheels. And I finally went out and purchased my birthday present from Matt and the kids, a brand new bike!! Now if I only had time to go for a big, long, fast(er) bike ride. Hopefully soon. I've only ridden up and down the street with Jaina - not very adrenaline-inducing. And we also finally got a little plastic pool for the backyard, which they enjoyed this weekend.
Anyways, the purpose of this post was really to put up a few slideshows of the kids having fun in the sun, so here they are:
Bike riding and rollerskating:
Playing at the park:
Trying out the new pool:
Other than tonight, though, the weather has finally been acting its season and we have had almost a week of hot, sunny weather. It has been so nice to finally have it feel like summer. Matt and I have been trying to work on our landscaping, weeding and putting in a garden and flowerbed in the back. Of course, over the past two weekends we have both been a little sick with colds and sore throats so we haven't gotten as much done as we'd like. It's also been nice to fin
ally get outside with Jaina and Lewis. We have been to the park, played in the yard, and even made it to Heritage Park on Thursday with my friend Kim and her two children. Jaina is already the typical kid, she loves to ride her little bike, she asks all the time and rides it as much as she can. We also bought her these Fisher-Price beginner roller skates, which adjust for 3 levels of ability, for example right now Jaina is using the middle setting where the wheels are supposed to just roll forward. The first setting they lock so basically she could just walk in them, and the third setting is just like normal wheels. And I finally went out and purchased my birthday present from Matt and the kids, a brand new bike!! Now if I only had time to go for a big, long, fast(er) bike ride. Hopefully soon. I've only ridden up and down the street with Jaina - not very adrenaline-inducing. And we also finally got a little plastic pool for the backyard, which they enjoyed this weekend.Anyways, the purpose of this post was really to put up a few slideshows of the kids having fun in the sun, so here they are:
Bike riding and rollerskating:
Playing at the park:
Trying out the new pool:
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Blogger vs. Facebook
It appears that Facebook is winning. Although it is often a time-sucking evil, it is great finding and catching up with some old friends and long-lost relatives. And keeping up with close friends too. However, I think some kind of time limit needs to be set as every time I get on the computer I find myself on Facebook and then all of a sudden it is too late or time to get off the computer and do something productive. I was a bit alarmed just now when I tried to sign on to Blogger and it took me 5 tries to remember my name and password. Anyways, apparently some people do read this blog, and have told me its long past time I posted again. So, what have we been up to...
Well this morning we woke up to a thick blanket of snow. Again. (We made some cookies today too, but they were from frozen chocolate chip cookie dough we bought and had in the freezer, not like last time. Much easier!) A fine contrast to a couple weeks ago where a friend and I sweated it out at the Zoo in +26 degree weather. It's like a weird time warp back to March. We have had some sunny spring activities going on though. Our sister-in-law Michaelia was visiting from New York the first part of the month (and brought the rain with her). We picked her up from the airport and had a nice visit. She was here for a visit home and also made it to Edmonton to visit her brother and his wife just in time for the birth of her new niece, Emery. Congratulations Brendan and Renny! The weekend before last was a busy one! My mom came up and she, my sister, and I took Jaina to Heritage park to see Thomas the Train. The weather was very nice and it turned out to be a great day! Here are some photos:
Then we all had a nice supper and birthday cake at our house joined by my Aunt Carole and Granny who had come to Calgary for the night. The next day, Mother's Day, we had everyone back here for brunch before everyone headed home.
Later that day Matt's parents brought Michaelia up to Calgary and treated us all to a nice supper out. Michaelia flew out the next day. We were so busy chatting we didn't even take any photos!
We went down to Taber for the May long weekend, where we had a nice visit at my mom's house. She also had Matt's parents out for supper so we got to visit everyone, which was very nice. The beginning of the weekend was quite warm so we had the chance to take the kids to the park, play in the yard, and walk to the "Purple Cow" for ice cream. Here are just a few more photos of us at my mom's and just hanging around home here too.
Jaina has been going to drop-in preschool once a week lately, I think she has been about 4 times now. She loves it, and I am excited for her but also sad that my little girl is growing up so quickly. She will be going to preschool 2 mornings a week in the fall so we thought this would be a good way to try it out. She loves it so much she often asks if it is Wednesday or Friday so she can go to school. Lewis is also growing at a pace that sometimes seems much to quick. He has 2 teeth and is working on more, is starting to eat crackers and bread, plays pat-a-cake and peekaboo, and his babble is starting to sound like real conversation (but he's the only one who knows what he might be saying). He's not walking or crawling yet, but you won't hear any complaints from us. We like being able to sit him on the floor, clear a safety radius of small objects, and go about our business if we have to and still find him where we left him.
We are looking forward to nicer weather and summer. This weekend, weather permitting, we are going to get going on finishing the landscaping of our yard. We need some sod in a few places, and to finish building the flowerbed, and to weed the patch we left for a small vegetable garden. We are not looking forward to the work but we know we will enjoy the results.
I will try to be a bit better at posting updates here, especially as summer's activities and events begin.
Well this morning we woke up to a thick blanket of snow. Again. (We made some cookies today too, but they were from frozen chocolate chip cookie dough we bought and had in the freezer, not like last time. Much easier!) A fine contrast to a couple weeks ago where a friend and I sweated it out at the Zoo in +26 degree weather. It's like a weird time warp back to March. We have had some sunny spring activities going on though. Our sister-in-law Michaelia was visiting from New York the first part of the month (and brought the rain with her). We picked her up from the airport and had a nice visit. She was here for a visit home and also made it to Edmonton to visit her brother and his wife just in time for the birth of her new niece, Emery. Congratulations Brendan and Renny! The weekend before last was a busy one! My mom came up and she, my sister, and I took Jaina to Heritage park to see Thomas the Train. The weather was very nice and it turned out to be a great day! Here are some photos:Then we all had a nice supper and birthday cake at our house joined by my Aunt Carole and Granny who had come to Calgary for the night. The next day, Mother's Day, we had everyone back here for brunch before everyone headed home.
Later that day Matt's parents brought Michaelia up to Calgary and treated us all to a nice supper out. Michaelia flew out the next day. We were so busy chatting we didn't even take any photos!We went down to Taber for the May long weekend, where we had a nice visit at my mom's house. She also had Matt's parents out for supper so we got to visit everyone, which was very nice. The beginning of the weekend was quite warm so we had the chance to take the kids to the park, play in the yard, and walk to the "Purple Cow" for ice cream. Here are just a few more photos of us at my mom's and just hanging around home here too.
Jaina has been going to drop-in preschool once a week lately, I think she has been about 4 times now. She loves it, and I am excited for her but also sad that my little girl is growing up so quickly. She will be going to preschool 2 mornings a week in the fall so we thought this would be a good way to try it out. She loves it so much she often asks if it is Wednesday or Friday so she can go to school. Lewis is also growing at a pace that sometimes seems much to quick. He has 2 teeth and is working on more, is starting to eat crackers and bread, plays pat-a-cake and peekaboo, and his babble is starting to sound like real conversation (but he's the only one who knows what he might be saying). He's not walking or crawling yet, but you won't hear any complaints from us. We like being able to sit him on the floor, clear a safety radius of small objects, and go about our business if we have to and still find him where we left him.
We are looking forward to nicer weather and summer. This weekend, weather permitting, we are going to get going on finishing the landscaping of our yard. We need some sod in a few places, and to finish building the flowerbed, and to weed the patch we left for a small vegetable garden. We are not looking forward to the work but we know we will enjoy the results.
I will try to be a bit better at posting updates here, especially as summer's activities and events begin.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
C is for Cookie, S is for Snow
We woke up this morning to yet another snowfall. It was cold and dreary looking outside, so I made a cup of coffee, let Matt take the car to work, and relished the idea of a "lazy" (read: we don't have to rush off anywhere) day at home. 
Well soon enough the coffee took effect, and I somehow decided that it was the perfect day for Jaina and I to make cookies. This, as I should have remembered, became an all day affair. Jaina of course wanted to use cookie cutters, so when Lewis went down for his morning nap we made the sugar cookie dough that has to sit in the fridge a few hours. After lunch we dug out the Alphabet cookie cutters that Jaina got as a gift and we haven't used for a year. It was much more fun this time as she knows her letters and so we got/had to make them all. Anyways, when Lewis went down for his afternoon nap just after 1:00, Jaina went straight to her room where we read a couple of stories and she had a short "rest" before we began. At 2:00 we put on our aprons and got set to begin rolling and cutting the dough. At 2:10 Lewis joined us to watch from his Exersaucer, his nap having been cut short by a dirty diaper. (Why do they sleep forever when you are waiting for them to wake up so you can go somewhere, and hardly sleep at all when you would like them to be tucked away in their room for just a little longer??). We had a lovely time cutting out all the letters, baking them, and munching on the ones that broke as we tried to put them on the cooling racks. We then quickly cleaned up, Lewis was almost beside himself by this time, so we took a break so I could feed him. It was quickly approaching the time when I needed to start preparing supper, so as soon as we
could we began to whip up the icing. But oops, in our hurry we forgot to put our aprons back on and got into quite a mess when Jaina began to stir the icing sugar I had just added. Then we proceeded to try and ice about 5 dozen cookies (I forgot how many the recipe made!) as Lewis fussed some more and I made supper at the same time. I have to give Jaina credit, her skills and independence are certainly growing, she iced probably about half the cookies. She insisted on doing this, and I'm sure you can imagine the work area (and the cookies - I think we'll be serving them to just the closest friends and family!). Although even I found that it is very hard to ice certain (actually many) letters of the alphabet. 
Anyways, by the time we were done my cookie craving was long gone and I remember thinking that it would be a long long time before I ever wanted to see another cookie. Then we rushed to eat and get Lewis to bed as tired as he was again, leaving the kitchen looking like a hurricane went through. But now Jaina is in bed too, it is all cleaned up and I have just (gasp!) enjoyed one more cookie. It was a fun way to spend the day.
Jaina is such a smarty pants lately too. Today was fish and chips for supper (because Matt was gone to hockey so that's when we eat fish). Jaina is sometimes picky and I knew she would refuse fish if I told her that's what we were having, as we had just had salmon at my mom's, which she does not like. But she has eaten the fish and chips many times before. So I said nothing, just served up the fish sticks for dinner. She happily was telling me how she likes to dip her "chicken nuggets" in her ketchup, when after 2 or 3 bits I heard her little voice ask suspiciously, "Is this fi-ish?..." In the end though it was ok, because and I quote "it was the good kind of fish not the kind that Grandma has."
In other happenings, we returned Sunday from spending 5 days at my mom's in Taber with my sister, which was a really nice visit for all of us girls (+Lewis). We are now waiting for it to quit snowing and act like Spring! Here are some pictures of our trip and of the kids from the past week.
Well soon enough the coffee took effect, and I somehow decided that it was the perfect day for Jaina and I to make cookies. This, as I should have remembered, became an all day affair. Jaina of course wanted to use cookie cutters, so when Lewis went down for his morning nap we made the sugar cookie dough that has to sit in the fridge a few hours. After lunch we dug out the Alphabet cookie cutters that Jaina got as a gift and we haven't used for a year. It was much more fun this time as she knows her letters and so we got/had to make them all. Anyways, when Lewis went down for his afternoon nap just after 1:00, Jaina went straight to her room where we read a couple of stories and she had a short "rest" before we began. At 2:00 we put on our aprons and got set to begin rolling and cutting the dough. At 2:10 Lewis joined us to watch from his Exersaucer, his nap having been cut short by a dirty diaper. (Why do they sleep forever when you are waiting for them to wake up so you can go somewhere, and hardly sleep at all when you would like them to be tucked away in their room for just a little longer??). We had a lovely time cutting out all the letters, baking them, and munching on the ones that broke as we tried to put them on the cooling racks. We then quickly cleaned up, Lewis was almost beside himself by this time, so we took a break so I could feed him. It was quickly approaching the time when I needed to start preparing supper, so as soon as we
could we began to whip up the icing. But oops, in our hurry we forgot to put our aprons back on and got into quite a mess when Jaina began to stir the icing sugar I had just added. Then we proceeded to try and ice about 5 dozen cookies (I forgot how many the recipe made!) as Lewis fussed some more and I made supper at the same time. I have to give Jaina credit, her skills and independence are certainly growing, she iced probably about half the cookies. She insisted on doing this, and I'm sure you can imagine the work area (and the cookies - I think we'll be serving them to just the closest friends and family!). Although even I found that it is very hard to ice certain (actually many) letters of the alphabet. 
Anyways, by the time we were done my cookie craving was long gone and I remember thinking that it would be a long long time before I ever wanted to see another cookie. Then we rushed to eat and get Lewis to bed as tired as he was again, leaving the kitchen looking like a hurricane went through. But now Jaina is in bed too, it is all cleaned up and I have just (gasp!) enjoyed one more cookie. It was a fun way to spend the day.Jaina is such a smarty pants lately too. Today was fish and chips for supper (because Matt was gone to hockey so that's when we eat fish). Jaina is sometimes picky and I knew she would refuse fish if I told her that's what we were having, as we had just had salmon at my mom's, which she does not like. But she has eaten the fish and chips many times before. So I said nothing, just served up the fish sticks for dinner. She happily was telling me how she likes to dip her "chicken nuggets" in her ketchup, when after 2 or 3 bits I heard her little voice ask suspiciously, "Is this fi-ish?..." In the end though it was ok, because and I quote "it was the good kind of fish not the kind that Grandma has."
In other happenings, we returned Sunday from spending 5 days at my mom's in Taber with my sister, which was a really nice visit for all of us girls (+Lewis). We are now waiting for it to quit snowing and act like Spring! Here are some pictures of our trip and of the kids from the past week.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Lots of Events and No Good Excuses
It's been soooo long again since I posted. And, unlike my sister-in-law, I don't really have any good excuses as I am not studying for an important exam or have friends visiting regularly from far away, nor am I sick or undertaking any sewing projects. I guess I could provide some excuses such as: a) kids: b) visiting Lethbridge for Easter; c) Facebook - this fascinating yet terribly time-sucking new thing that everybody seems to be signing up for so I joined too; d) I have no idea where the month of March went; e) laziness; f) I really have no excuse.
So now I am left to blog about an entire month without going on and on so much that people stop reading (please, not yet anyway...) Here goes an attempt to summarize major events over the past month:
1. Happy belated birthdays to my sister Veronica (March 15), Matt's Mom (April 4) and our sister-in-law Michaelia (yesterday)!
2. Congratulations to our friends LeAn and Simon who welcomed their new baby boy Gus into the world on March 15! We hope to meet him very soon.
3. GO FLAMES!!!! They are into the playoffs, though not the way I wanted to see them make the first round, still looking forward to seeing them kick Detroit's butt. Matt got a very funny shirt that is the Edmonton Oiler's logo but instead of Oilers it says Losers. Was going to post a photo but now I have to wait until people forget about Saturday's game.
4. Had a very nice visit to Lethbridge to celebrate Easter. Jaina as usual had tons of fun wearing out her grandparents. Had a yummy turkey dinner (thanks to Matt's mom!) complete with everyone's favourite, tapioca pudding. Matt's mom was not going to make it but then got too hard of a time from both Matt and his dad. It is fast becoming Jaina's favourite part of dinner too. We then came back Saturday night. The Easter bunny hid some eggs here for Jaina to find Sunday morning, and we've been subjected to playing "egg hunt" ever since.
5. During the week, we have been busy going to gymnastics and swimming lessons. Jaina liked gymnastics so much and has improved so much we have signed up to continue in the next session. We have visited with some friends and made it to the Zoo and the library a couple of times. We try to make it out to the park when the weather is nice enough.
6. The ever-interesting weather. We continue to have snow, interspersed with occasional days of + temperatures, even sometimes the double digits. Today we have our first real "April Shower". I liked the rain today because it feels very spring-like and I am looking forward to the May flowers. It is supposed to turn to snow though tonight. For the moment it is all melted which is nice.
7. Lewis is cutting his first two teeth, the tin
y ones at the bottom in the front. It has changed his easygoing, cheerful disposition at times, but he still amazes us with his ability to be happy and charming most of the time. Especially when he is crying and fussing and drooling, then stops to look up at us with a smile and a squeal or a gurgle. He is also eating many kinds of baby food and LOVES to eat. He is an eating machine which I just can not feed fast enough usually.
7. My friend Heather visited from Edmonton (her parents live in Airdrie so when she visits them we manage to squeeze in a visit). We have known each other since we were in Rangers together at 15. She brought her new baby girl Abigail over so we could meet her. We put her three and my two kids together on the couch for a picture and marveled at how much has changed in our lives since then! It's amazing. And wonderful. (Here in the picture are Heather's kids Noah, Jenn, and Abigail, with Lewis and Jaina).
Oh, and I just noticed, below is a post which I typed up and then never posted because I hadn't downloaded the photo off our camera. Check it out because it is very funny.
Are you still reading? Thank you! Now I will end the long post with a long slideshow of some of the past month's pictures. Check out the link to our gallery if you want to see even more.
So now I am left to blog about an entire month without going on and on so much that people stop reading (please, not yet anyway...) Here goes an attempt to summarize major events over the past month:
1. Happy belated birthdays to my sister Veronica (March 15), Matt's Mom (April 4) and our sister-in-law Michaelia (yesterday)!
2. Congratulations to our friends LeAn and Simon who welcomed their new baby boy Gus into the world on March 15! We hope to meet him very soon.
3. GO FLAMES!!!! They are into the playoffs, though not the way I wanted to see them make the first round, still looking forward to seeing them kick Detroit's butt. Matt got a very funny shirt that is the Edmonton Oiler's logo but instead of Oilers it says Losers. Was going to post a photo but now I have to wait until people forget about Saturday's game.
4. Had a very nice visit to Lethbridge to celebrate Easter. Jaina as usual had tons of fun wearing out her grandparents. Had a yummy turkey dinner (thanks to Matt's mom!) complete with everyone's favourite, tapioca pudding. Matt's mom was not going to make it but then got too hard of a time from both Matt and his dad. It is fast becoming Jaina's favourite part of dinner too. We then came back Saturday night. The Easter bunny hid some eggs here for Jaina to find Sunday morning, and we've been subjected to playing "egg hunt" ever since.5. During the week, we have been busy going to gymnastics and swimming lessons. Jaina liked gymnastics so much and has improved so much we have signed up to continue in the next session. We have visited with some friends and made it to the Zoo and the library a couple of times. We try to make it out to the park when the weather is nice enough.
6. The ever-interesting weather. We continue to have snow, interspersed with occasional days of + temperatures, even sometimes the double digits. Today we have our first real "April Shower". I liked the rain today because it feels very spring-like and I am looking forward to the May flowers. It is supposed to turn to snow though tonight. For the moment it is all melted which is nice.
7. Lewis is cutting his first two teeth, the tin
y ones at the bottom in the front. It has changed his easygoing, cheerful disposition at times, but he still amazes us with his ability to be happy and charming most of the time. Especially when he is crying and fussing and drooling, then stops to look up at us with a smile and a squeal or a gurgle. He is also eating many kinds of baby food and LOVES to eat. He is an eating machine which I just can not feed fast enough usually.
7. My friend Heather visited from Edmonton (her parents live in Airdrie so when she visits them we manage to squeeze in a visit). We have known each other since we were in Rangers together at 15. She brought her new baby girl Abigail over so we could meet her. We put her three and my two kids together on the couch for a picture and marveled at how much has changed in our lives since then! It's amazing. And wonderful. (Here in the picture are Heather's kids Noah, Jenn, and Abigail, with Lewis and Jaina). Oh, and I just noticed, below is a post which I typed up and then never posted because I hadn't downloaded the photo off our camera. Check it out because it is very funny.
Are you still reading? Thank you! Now I will end the long post with a long slideshow of some of the past month's pictures. Check out the link to our gallery if you want to see even more.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Freaky Playdough
I almost forgot to post this funny photo. This is what happens when a 32 year old man plays playdough with his daughter! 
Lewis' Half-Birthday and other exciting news...
Ok, I actually want to start with the very exciting news (now that they've blogged it we can tell too). Although I have been honoured to be called "Auntie" by a few cousins and friends, we are happy to announce that we are going to be an actual Auntie and Uncle! Jason and Michaelia are expecting their first baby in July. We are so happy for them and can't wait to meet the next Olfert! Check out their blog for the very first picture of baby, and maybe help them decide what they can call it for the next few months instead of he/she.
Today is Lewis' half-birthday. He is now 6 months old! How the time flies. He is more observant and interactive than ever. He has started eating solids, having now feasted on carrots and peas. Cereal is on the menu for tomorrow. Mmm. And one of the cutest things he does lately is try to grab things, such as a toy, a face, his toes, etc. but it is humorous because his depth perception has not developed fully yet so he is always swiping and grabbing for things but misses. And he is very vocal, but it is mostly squeals, which I hope means he is happy and content. My fav
ourite is when Jaina makes him giggle and laugh, it is the best sound in the whole world. And only she seems to be able to get him to do it full force. Here is a cute picture of Lewis with his glow-worm. He loves it so much! We joke that it always looks like he's making out with it.
Not knowing when we would have time to make it to Sears for portraits, and knowing how fast changes happen, I decided to try a photo session at home today. We were pretty happy with the results. (Hooray for digital cameras, I don't have to tell the extremely large number of photos taken in order to get some good ones). So, here are a couple of slide shows featuring Lewis. Please excuse the excessive amount of pictures, I guess I am a proud parent and couldn't narrow it down any more.
Today is Lewis' half-birthday. He is now 6 months old! How the time flies. He is more observant and interactive than ever. He has started eating solids, having now feasted on carrots and peas. Cereal is on the menu for tomorrow. Mmm. And one of the cutest things he does lately is try to grab things, such as a toy, a face, his toes, etc. but it is humorous because his depth perception has not developed fully yet so he is always swiping and grabbing for things but misses. And he is very vocal, but it is mostly squeals, which I hope means he is happy and content. My fav
ourite is when Jaina makes him giggle and laugh, it is the best sound in the whole world. And only she seems to be able to get him to do it full force. Here is a cute picture of Lewis with his glow-worm. He loves it so much! We joke that it always looks like he's making out with it. Not knowing when we would have time to make it to Sears for portraits, and knowing how fast changes happen, I decided to try a photo session at home today. We were pretty happy with the results. (Hooray for digital cameras, I don't have to tell the extremely large number of photos taken in order to get some good ones). So, here are a couple of slide shows featuring Lewis. Please excuse the excessive amount of pictures, I guess I am a proud parent and couldn't narrow it down any more.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Hockeoke
So, Matt and I went on a date last night. (My mom was babysitting, and my he owed my sister a hockey ticket, so... anyways). We went to this sports bar/pub to watch the hockey game. It was like a theme date, we both wore our Flames jerseys. It was a great game and we were enjoying watching it on the big screen. Then, near the end of the second intermission, they lit up the "stage", started up the lights, and Karaoke began! We couldn't believe they would have karaoke during the 3rd period of the hockey game. But it actually turned out to be quite entertaining. It was hard to focus on one or the other (we were almost right beside the stage). Soon we were watching two guys in Flames jerseys belting out "Money For Nothing" (the game had started by this time, by the way, and we were quite curious about what would happen if the Flames scored. Would we all be deafened as they shouted into the mic? But not to worry). This was followed by two girls singing "Baby Got Back" . Interesting. But, not to mock karaoke as I can't even carry a tune and would never ever have the guts to get up there. Most of the people were really good so it was entertaining. And the Flames ended up beating Colorado 5-2 (GO FLAMES!). So it turned out to be a fun date.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Perfection?
I was out shopping for groceries Monday night. Standing in front of the melons, deciding whether or not to buy one, I noticed the label on the one below (all the ones in the bin were like this, but not the bin next to it). My decision made, I brought it home to show Matt. He said he thought it was blog-worthy, hence this post. We were quite amused. We thought it was "perfect".
Other weird things this week: the weather. Yesterday it was -19 degrees C (with a wind chill making it feel -30). Today, it is 5 degrees and everything is starting to melt. The forecast said 12 degrees Saturday. Tropical! Anyways, it was nice enough that Jaina and I went out to play in the snow (while it's still here) while Lewis napped this morning. One fun thing we have discovered this winter is that our backyard, having a slight slope down toward the back fence (for drainage purposes) which makes it not quite ideal for putting a kiddie pool out in the summer, is great for sledding in the winter. Jaina rides her toboggan down until she hits our dirt pile or small tree, which is just the perfect ride for a little kid. And perfect too, for the parent who only has to pull her up a small distance for another ride.
Another fun thing we have done a couple of times in the past week is babysit cousin Devun for a few hours in between Kristie and Nate's work shifts. Jaina enjoys playing with him (although she is a bit of a mother hen, but at least she is trying to help) and Devun (we think) has enjoyed it too. Lewis was just fascinated with this little toddler walking around our house. Here are some photos:
Other weird things this week: the weather. Yesterday it was -19 degrees C (with a wind chill making it feel -30). Today, it is 5 degrees and everything is starting to melt. The forecast said 12 degrees Saturday. Tropical! Anyways, it was nice enough that Jaina and I went out to play in the snow (while it's still here) while Lewis napped this morning. One fun thing we have discovered this winter is that our backyard, having a slight slope down toward the back fence (for drainage purposes) which makes it not quite ideal for putting a kiddie pool out in the summer, is great for sledding in the winter. Jaina rides her toboggan down until she hits our dirt pile or small tree, which is just the perfect ride for a little kid. And perfect too, for the parent who only has to pull her up a small distance for another ride.Another fun thing we have done a couple of times in the past week is babysit cousin Devun for a few hours in between Kristie and Nate's work shifts. Jaina enjoys playing with him (although she is a bit of a mother hen, but at least she is trying to help) and Devun (we think) has enjoyed it too. Lewis was just fascinated with this little toddler walking around our house. Here are some photos:
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