Walking, Egg Hunting, Etc.

I have very good intentions of updating this blog more than once a month but then, you know how busy life can be. So I will try to update briefly (who am I kidding, they never end up brief...)

1. Finally, he walks! After walking around with a death grip on our fingers for the past few weeks, Lewis discovered that he could, in fact, walk all by himself. It only took a few days to go from his tentative wobbly steps to running away from us and actually not even wanting to hold our hands! It probably helped that we were visiting the Grandmas and Grandpas and he had lots of attention. I keep meaning to put together a little video montage of him walking, and it's still on the to do list, so maybe someday...

(May 12 - here it finally is, old news now, you should see him run! But thought the video remix should still be posted!)




2. We spent Easter weekend in Lethbridge. It was a really nice visit and the kids had lots of fun. Jaina went mini-golfing with Papa O. and they also had a great Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Here are some pictures of the Easter activities:

3. After spending Easter in Lethbridge, Matt headed back to work and the kids and I spent the rest of the week in Taber visiting Grandma and Papa K. It was a nice relaxing time and the kids had lots of fun continuing to be spoiled by Grandparents. One highlight was that Grandma and I took Jaina to see "Horton Hears A Who". It was only the second time she's been to the movies and she had lots of fun. Also good was the news that my mom got from her doctor, that the chemo seems to have done what they expected and she doesn't even have to go back to see him until October (which is great news considering he originally said he expected her to need chemo again in September). We are all glad to hear that, my mom is feeling quite well, and they are planning to take their postponed trip to Europe this summer.

4. Also in March Jaina finished up with her ballet and gymnastics. Here are a few cute pictures of her:














But the busyness never seems to end. Preschool is as busy and fun as ever for Jaina, with field trips this month to go bowling and to a fire station. This month both the kids are taking swimming lessons (Jaina in her own class, Lewis in a mom and tot class with me) which looks like will keep us quite busy. When those are over Jaina will be starting soccer sometime in May, which should be interesting as it will be her first experience on a team (and she has some very definite and unique ideas of her own about the rules of soccer and how teams work).

4. As for us, Matt has been quite busy painting most of the rooms in our house as we are still trying to make a decision on whether to try to move or not, as well as being on call quite a bit for work. He is also hoping the Flames make it into the playoffs and looks forward to going to a few games. I did not work out a job share for next year, so am now going to see what's available to apply for part-time. That is plan B and if it does not work out we are also fairly comfortable with plan C (going on the sub list) or even plan D (continuing to stay out of the work field while Lewis is still young). So lots may or may not be happening over the next few months - I will be quite glad when some of these major decisions have been worked out and at least we know what life will be like in the fall.

Valentines and Visits

Happy belated Valentine's Day to you all!












Well it has again been another busy month. We were lucky on Valentine's Day to have Matt's parents in town, they babysat for us and we went out for a very nice dinner date together. Jaina had fun playing with her Grandma and Papa Olfert. The next morning we took Grandma Olfert to the Zoo, meeting up with Kristie, Devun and Katie. It was a gorgeous warm day (and we were having so much fun that we didn't take any pictures! Oops!)

Then on Sunday of the long weekend I took the kids down to Taber to visit my mom for the week. We had a nice relaxing week there. Jaina kept Grandma K very busy with crafts, making pictures and dying Easter eggs, and Grandma baked homemade bread with her. Jaina also went in the hot tub at least once a day, either with me or her Papa (sometimes twice a day - she is a little fish!). The weather was really nice and we had a trip into Lethbridge for haircuts and shopping, and we went down to the Taber park to use their nice outdoor skating rink and play on the playground.

Since returning home, we have tried to mostly stay out of the way as Matt put a new coat of paint on the main floor, looks like new now! The weather was fantastic this past week and we have taken a few walks to the park and down the street to watch the new houses being built - all the big machinery is quite exciting for the kids. I'm sure the construction workers think I'm crazy just standing there watching, but the kids love it. Lewis continues to grow up at an astonishing speed, now he can say quite a few words and has proven that he in fact can walk a few steps from one person over to another. Sadly, he has also shown us that 95% of the time, he chooses not to do so, smiling and dropping to his knees to crawl over. He is very impressed with his ability to communicate and does spend some time upstairs on the carpet pushing Jaina's doll stroller. When we were out for our walks he spent a little time pushing the stroller and walking alongside me holding my hand. I am going to try to get a few videos of him and put them together for a post, sometime soon.

Here is a slideshow of a few pictures, some from earlier in the month at home, and most from our visit to Taber:

Fang (Not Again!)

I guess Lewis has earned a new nickname - Fang. The little turkey broke his other front tooth! So now my former little cutie-patootie is going to look like he has fangs until he's about 7 and they fall out (although I do agree with the dentist - with his track record, no point getting any cosmetic repairs...) The sad part is, we aren't even sure when he did it (great parents, we know). We noticed last Sunday a little while after he had another face-smashing fall while crawling on the floor, although Matt saw it and said he did not hit his mouth, just his forehead. He could have done it the Wednesday before when he got his black eye, maybe I was so concerned with the eye that I missed the tooth! (I say if he'd just learn to walk, maybe his face would stop smashing into the floor when he slipped, although maybe having further to fall will prove even more dangerous to him!). This time, he had to have X-rays at the dentist (not fun or easy) which couldn't tell much because despite all the restraint he still moved a bit. His one tooth on top is a bit loose, as is a bottom one, but the dentist said not to worry about it unless they bother him. Honestly, in the past 3 months we've seen her more than the doctor!

Here is another picture to make you smile. This was all Jaina's doing, she wanted to wear these, we are not that paranoid as parents (hey, where's the helmet??!!). I think I could title it Extreme Wii:

'Twas A Month After Christmas

... and we still hadn't blogged! You'd think that life would slow down in January, or maybe we're just exhausted from all the December madness, but apparently I've been too busy to get a blog done even about Christmas holidays (and after being so good in Dec...).

Anyways, we had a very good time down in Lethbridge and Taber with family over the holidays. We spent time in Lethbridge with Matt's parents, and Jason, Michaelia and Oscar. Matt's mom and dad hosted an Olfert family get together where we got to catch up with some cousins, aunts and uncles we hadn't seen for a while (and meet brand-new Katie!). We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day there too, then headed out to Taber for some more celebrating and time with Michelle's family. It was a good holiday, although Lewis managed to be sick over the 23, 24, 25th, just in time for all the celebrations (but, it seems to happen at those times. Was kind of reminiscent of Jaina's ear infection/bronchitis Christmas when she was 2...) Fortunately he got better for our stay in Taber.

Christmas Eve:
Best Present Ever! Dollhouse, handmade by Papa Olfert:
Christmas pj's in Taber:
We then headed back to Calgary to celebrate New Year's here, with Matt's parents, Jason, Michaelia, and Oscar, as well as Aunt Delores and Uncle Allen from BC. The guys went to the Flames game that night and then we had a chocolate fondue and games back at our house. New Year's Day we enjoyed a brunch together and then some shopping and relaxing. (Michaelia has some great pictures of the kids and family on New Year's Day, but I still have to get them from her...)

Oscar, Lewis and Jaina on New Year's Eve:

Now January is almost over and we're back in the swing of things. Jaina is busy with preschool and another session of gymnastics, and has just started a short 8 week "Tiny Ballerinas" class. Lewis has (finally) been practicing standing up all on his own (no furniture), so walking can't be far away now. He fell under our kitchen table yesterday (I think he was just crawling even, and slipped again) and this time gave himself somewhat of a black eye on the big wooden leg of our table. But no broken teeth this time. He is getting to be quite the climber as well, up onto the couch whenever Jaina has a cushion off, stairs if we have even a momentary lapse of forgetting to put the gate back on, or onto any toys he can. He has also sustained a few loud bumps to the head falling over and off things this month, but they don't seem to slow him down even for 5 minutes.

Fun in January: Yesterday there was finally no wind and it was quite "warm" out so we took the toboggan over to the park for some fun (which, unfortunately, deteriorated into much frustration for Jaina trying to pull the sled up the hill and get it to turn, but the fresh air and exercise were nice...).

Meeting Oscar

Michaelia and Oscar arrived at our house on Friday. We were so excited to finally meet our very first nephew and cousin, Oscar! Lewis and Jaina both adored him (as did his Auntie and Uncle), and Oscar was smiling at them too. Auntie Michaelia took Jaina to see her very first movie, Enchanted. They had a great time, and Michelle and Lewis had fun hanging out with Oscar. Here's a video of Lewis kissing Oscar:


Jason arrived Friday night, and Saturday we met up with Matt and Jason's parents at Heritage Park for the 12 Days of Christmas. It was a delicious brunch and a fun morning. Here are some photos:

Jaina and Papa Olfert playing with the hay

Lewis and Grandma Olfert Jaina and her decorated cookie (there is in fact a cookie under there!) Michaelia also took a photo of the whole family:
We are now looking forward to celebrating Christmas in Lethbridge and then Taber with family.

Festival of Lights

On Friday night we went to the Festival of Lights out in Airdrie with my sister Veronica and her hubby Chris. We had never been before and thought we'd check it out. It ended up being quite chilly, but beautiful and we had a good time. Here are some pictures:Jaina and Auntie Veronica

Christmas Party

On Sunday, we took the kids to Matt's work Christmas party. Just like last year, they had awesome activities for the kids. We all had a good time, here are some pictures:
Jaina and Matt with one of Santa's reindeer:

Family photo (sans photographer):
Cookie decorating:

Trying to grab cookie:
Santa was there to see the kids. Jaina was great this year (after all, how can you tell Santa what you want for Christmas if you don't sit on his lap??), but Lewis freaked, so we got a family photo done: Santa brought gifts!

Lewis remembers what to do with them...

First Real Snow

Yesterday afternoon we went outside to enjoy the first substantial snow of the season. I think we may have almost spent longer putting all the winter clothes on than we were outside! It was quite fun and I took lots of pictures because this is Lewis' first real winter, last year we either played outside while he was napping or he was in the bucket carseat so covered up that he couldn't even see out the blankets. At first he wasn't sure what to do but then he was crawling around and of course, trying to eat the snow. Here is a slideshow, and then a video of him laughing his funny little laugh as Jaina throws snow up in the air.

And, for your amusement, a video of our little Guitar Hero singing a song, complete with the moves she must have picked up from watching Matt play:

Party Time

Happy Birthday to Matt and his Dad! They both celebrated their birthdays on the 20th of this month, Matt is now a triple threat at 33 and his dad celebrated a milestone birthday (but I won't say which one, it's not my business to...) We will be celebrating with Matt's Dad when we see his parents tomorrow, but here are some pictures of Matt's birthday, which we celebrated the day after his real day, since he went to a hockey game Tuesday night (and the Flames gave him a victory as his birthday gift!).

Jaina and I made him a Flames cake:

Lewis enjoyed eating Daddy's cake:

and hamming it up for the camera:

The Guitar Hero:

Lewis is changing very quickly these days, he now stands up holding on to furniture and is just beginning to take tentative cruising steps while holding on to something. He is starting to talk, although there are about 10 things he could be referring to when he says some version of "baba": bottle, soother, Jaina, Daddy, bye-bye, apple, etc. He is, however, quite the climber, we both know that we will soon have our hands very full, even fuller than now! Here's a picture of him after having climbed on top of his Little People Garage (while watching Matt try out Guitar Hero, Lewis was really rockin' out, it was quite the site). He happily practiced climbing up and even putting his hands out in front of him to brace himself as he fell forward to get off of it.

He broke a big chunk off one of his front teeth at the beginning of the month, and he was only crawling and slipped and smashed his face on the floor. (Took him to the dentist so they could check it, she said it looks harmless and to come back in a month to be sure, but otherwise they just leave it because it's just a baby tooth. So now he has a fang). I'm scared to imagine what will come since he's discovered how much he likes climbing! See the broken tooth? (Top middle)

Congratulations to my friend Rachel who got married a few weeks ago! They were married in a small family wedding before Tapan was due to return to India, and will have a big wedding in the summer over there with his family. She had a bunch of us girls over 2 days before the wedding to catch up and celebrate while her friend from med school did mehendi (Indian henna) on her hands and feet for the ceremony. We also at some very yummy Indian food. (Tapan did the cooking for us, what a nice guy and a good cook!) We all had the chance to get some mehendi too, so of course we did. It was so beautiful I thought it was blog-worthy. You leave it on to dry, even overnight, then brush off the dried paste and it leaves a nice reddish-brown print on your skin. It lasts for a week or two, depending of course what you do after (too bad, I spent the weekend repainting Lewis' room so mine was quite worn off after all the washing).

Here's Rachel with her hands and feet done. The pictures don't do it justice, there was even green and silver glitter to fill in some of the design.

My hand (and the artist was so talented it took her all of 5 minutes to do it):

The happy couple, Rachel and Tapan:

Well anyways that's it for now. I guess if I blogged more often each post could be shorter, but oh well. We will be very busy getting ready for Christmas over the next few weeks but hopefully will have time to at least put up some pictures of all the fun craziness.

October Occurences

Well, October was a very busy month for our family (so much so that I'm just posting about it now). We made a trip down to Taber to celebrate Thanksgiving and our brother-in-law's birthday. Happy October birthday to Chris! We were very thankful that we were all healthy enough to celebrate together. A couple of weeks later we began celebrating Jaina's 4th birthday, a perhaps too-long series of celebrations that stretched out over a week (and made our little princess feel like she was, in fact, a real live princess. But I think we're over it now). Our little girl is now 4, and still changing and amazing us all the time. And as soon as the birthday excitement died down, it was Halloween! So we are looking forward now to a couple more quiet weeks before we begin with Matt and his dad's birthdays, and the beginnings of preparation for the Christmas season. I was planning on making the rest of this post short on words, and long on pictures, which tell of some of the excitement themselves. So, here goes:

The weekend before Jaina's birthday, we celebrated her birthday, and Papa Klemen's with a family dinner and birthday cake. Jaina insisted on wearing her Snow White costume, which we had bought for Halloween but told her she could wear for her (kid's) birthday party. But she just couldn't wait, so...

Celebrating the next day with Grandpa and Grandma Olfert (upon their return from visiting Jason, Michaelia and Oscar in NY):
Making "Monster Mash" cupcakes for birthday treats at preschool:

Jaina's actual birthday. New princess scooter! Birthday present from Mom and Dad:
Birthday cake at the "friend party" (note her brother's excitement in the background!)

Jaina and Matt carving pumpkins, and the results:

Halloween night, all ready to go trick-or-treating:Lewis, the man-eating monkey:It was an exhausting, but wonderful, month!