Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Another Baby! (Not Mine!)

So for game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, we all got together at my sister Maria's house. Jackie says, `Let's have a sister picture!' which is nothing new. I wanted to go somewhere outside but they were like, `No, no, just do it here'. So Tyler, Jackie's husband, grabs Maria's camera and we all stand there ready. He says, `Everyone say, `Jackie's pregnant!''. And this is what you get....
(You can tell that Trisha, far left, and I are the quickest to process this. Jackie is the one between Trish and I.)

(This is my crying happy face:)
We were so shocked, I loved it! I am very, very rarely surprised with anything so I loved it. We had no idea they were even thinking of having a baby yet as Jackie is working full time and both of them are doing their masters, but apparently they were! Thanks for the surprise, Team Curll!

Jackie and Trisha are due just one week apart, fun times ahead! That means that each one of my sisters should be a momma by the end of they year. I love that our family is growing like crazy now. I wish my mom was here to experience our joy.

Yay for babies.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tongue Tied and Reflux

I found this article interesting. If there is just one person that this helps, then it's worth it for me to post it!

Koen was quite tongue tied and a nurse was the one that recognized it in the hospital. Because breastfeeding was working (although extremely painful for 2 months due to being tongue tied), they did not clip his frenulum. If it is true that being tongue tied is related to reflux as well, I am regretting even more that I did not encourage my doctor to clip it. The doctor said we would wait and see if it affected his speech. Koen had to be upright after every feed, had pain with his reflux, had to sleep on his tummy, and had to be held for most of the day. It does not affect him anymore (that I know of) but I wish I had been a bit more `pushy' with the doctor.

So, if your baby is born tongue tied (which you can see when they stick their tongue out, it doesn't go out far and it is heart shaped), please consider having their frenulum snipped. The end.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Kai's Grad & Cars 2

Today Kai has his graduation from preschool. He has been there for 2 years so I do feel an emotional attachment to that location. Only one friend will be going to the same school as him next year so that will be a big change. Another of the boys is our neighbour so we will definitely keep in touch with him! It might seem silly to celebrate a graduation from preschool but really, it was good. They have spent two years together and have learned a lot. I'm proud of my Kai Bear.

Kai was tired before it began so he was much quieter than normal. Gary was able to make it and his mom came as well.
They did three plays and Kai was in the final one; Three Billy Goats Gruff. He was the middle billy goat.
I have loved our experience with this preschool and Kai has too. I would have to say though, that we are really looking forward to moving on to kindergarten and just something different.
After the graduation, we went straight to the theatre to see Cars 2. I thought there would be a huge line up but there wasn't! The boys loved sitting in the theatre, especially Koen as it was his first time.
It was quite different than the first movie as there were so many more characters and it was based on spies and bad guys etc. Kai probably only understood half of it, Koen, well, he loved the popcorn! He would also shout out Cars names that he knew when he saw them, but really, it was based mostly on Mater. He was in awe of the whole experience:)
It was nice having Gary home for the day! Looking forward to the summer and all our adventures. We are looking forward to Whistler and the Oregon Coast as well as day trips like Science World and the waterslides.
We picked up our super fun package of frames from The Organic Bloom. I had discovered them on facebook through a contest of sorts and fell in love with them. We now offer them through GC Photography so if you're ever interested in ordering them, let me know, as they only distribute frames to photographers. The two below are a sample of some 8X10's.

Gary and I are having our couple photo session next month and I can't wait! I'm getting my hair and make up done because I never had it done for my wedding and I just wanna feel pretty. Then I can put some of those photos up in our home too because I definitely got more than just these 2 frames:) I also have one with a chalkboard insert to write messages on like `Thank you', `Grad 2011' etc. Should be good!

I know no one reads blogs on Friday but I had to post now because this next week involves photographing a wedding and 6 sessions! Wow, that sounds crazy. I've stopped booking for the rest of the year and the other months should be averaging just two sessions a week which is a good amount.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Love, Louise

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Seastar

Today I took the camera while the kiddos had swimming lessons. Who knew the lighting was so good in there? Just sat on my butt and used the 70-200mm while Koen kept dashing for the pool:)
Kai's favourite part of swimming lessons is that he is in the same class as his cousin, Izzy. The other girl is my niece Ani who is a level ahead of Kai.
{So proud that he can totally put his head under now and does it all the time.}
{Izzy does not love putting her head in...yet}
{Ani, the expert back floater}
{It's great that Kai is now close to Ani and Izzy. Yay for cousins!}
{Poor Koen, not so fun to just watch. Can you tell he went to bed with wet hair last night? Yikes.}


{You can see that Kai is the oldest in his class:}

{And Kenzie. She is on some serious food restrictions, and therefore Maria is too, due to allergies (no dairy, eggs, wheat etc). Her face is clearing up as it used to be covered in a raw rash from the allergies.}

In other news: Gary got his first hair cut in 6 years from someone other than me!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Father's Day

It started at 6:30am when I heard Kai run to the garage to get his Diego tray. He really wanted to use it for Gary's breakfast in bed. Kai washed the grapes and I got the scrambled eggs ready (with Kai's help). Koen got up and we all went to give Gary his breakfast in bed:)

Kai was so excited and Koen was great with his `Happy Father's Day!'. Kai told Gary that it was his day and he could do whatever he wanted. We gave him his gifts which were some frames the boys decorated with their pictures in them, shorts, and hiking stuff.
{Please note that Gary is wearing jeans...I bought him some new ones. He only wears jeans about 3 times a year:) Please note that he also needs a hair cut.}

We went to church and then this evening we went out for dinner. The original plan was a picnic in the park but the weather wasn't really behaving. Kai was desperate to go somewhere with a menu and was trying to encourage Gary to pick the Olive Garden (Kai loves the bread).
On the way to the Olive Garden, this was a conversation with the boys:

Kai: Koen, I'm going to teach you everything I know. Okay? Insects have 6 legs. They also have three body parts; a head, thorax and abdomen. Can you remember that?
Koen: No
Kai: Well, can you try your best?
Koen: Yes

They are just so funny. They have really started to bond even more lately. Koen always wants to be near Kai and Kai wants to teach Koen everything. Kai is such a good brother. He shares his treats with Koen which is so sweet to see. They make me laugh all the time although I have to say that Kai's excitement for everything is pretty exhausting! I wonder where he gets that from...:)

Gorgeous and unique wedding yesterday. I love different, especially after 40 weddings or so!! My best friend Lynette and her husband Bryan watched the boys. The boys had a blast as they live on a farm.

Gary, good job being a super awesome dad. We've got a couple of amazing kids.
Love, Louise


Friday, June 17, 2011

Someone's Having a Baby! (Not me!)

I'm not sure why I never blogged this week. I think it's a combo of being so busy (June is our busiest month this year), being sad about the riots (I don't care that the Canucks lost but the resulting riot just broke my heart), and then being upset that a Langley Christian School student was missing. However, she has been found and has been returned home safe and sound!! Thank you God. I feel so much relief for the parents, I just can't even imagine. Wow, my heart was heavy and it's so good to see Vancouverites cleaning up and Mandy being found.

The boys are great. I decided to get the 50mm f/1.4 out as I haven't used it in probably 6 months (I'm a bit of a 24-70mm and 70-200mm fan!!). I missed it.
This is how Koen gives me flowers. He destroys them but he means well.
I'm going to be doing Kai's 5 year photo shoot sometime in the next week so I can make his invitations. I think I'm going to try to make some professional type ones as we've finally made the leap to offering professional prints which are soooo much better. I'm excited about the location and hope that Kai behaves. He's not so into the camera these days.
Koen is moody but sweet. He will say things like `Mommy, you vacuum the van? Great job, mommy!'. So sweet:) But, he also has his 2 year old side. I can't believe he's 2.5 years old. I'm really, really wanting a baby, like, yesterday. So, we have been trying to figure out what to do. Maybe some more information on that when we figure it out:) If you are the praying type, please pray for patience, clarity and wisdom.
We are busy and have already booked 6 weddings for next year. Crazy eh? We are only accepting 10 total because by 2012 we will have a baby. Well, hopefully! My oma is in town for my cousin's wedding tomorrow. We went to my dad and Joanne's for dinner to visit with her. Always good to see oma!
I'm named after oma's late husband, Louis. He passed away a month before I was born. Sound familiar? Although, we didn't name Kai after my mom. Not sure of a male version of Greta:)
And the boys finished off the evening with a pillow fight. They love their pillow fights with Opi!

And to end with some more positive news...my littlest sis, Trish (aka `Nut') is pregnant! I have known for far too long (like when she first knew!) so I'm glad I can finally share! Yay for a niece/nephew for Christmas!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Love, Louise

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Family Day (with Thomas)!

We have been really busy work wise. We have three weddings in the next three weeks, so we took today off to just spend time together as a family. So good. Yesterday was super busy as I went to a football playoff game and then rushed home, got ready, and then photographed a wedding all day. My feet were sore:)

Okay, so today we went to Squamish to spend a day with Thomas the Train. The boys are totally into cars and trains, not necessarily Thomas, but they were so excited. We heard Kai before 6am, downstairs. Gary went down there and Kai was already dressed and had our snacks ready for the trip. Amongst the snacks he packed were; four red peppers (one for each of us!) and a bag of mini marshmallows. He's so cute.
{Please note that it just looks like Kai's legs are longer because it's at the bottom of the frame of the wide angle lens:)}
It takes just over an hour to get to Squamish and we stopped at Shannon Falls for a bit to run around. I think the kids would've been happy just playing there all day. So many rocks to throw. So many trees to climb. So much dirt to roll in. I cannot wait to just camp and explore with them this summer. They are such a great age for it!!
The kids were hilarious. When we going over the Port Mann bridge, which is maybe 10 minutes from our house, the kids were like, `Wow, this is so amazing!' `Have I been here before?' `This place is so cool!'. You would think we never take them out:)
Koen made it in undies all day long, yay Kokies! Koen is, uh, a little bit of a monster these last few months. He was our super laid back boy and now, well, he can get grumpy. Really grumpy. I'm not sure if it's because he's two and a half, or teething (two molars have poked through), or because he's been sick for 3 weeks, or because he doesn't nap but needs it but then he's up til 9pm. Anyway, usually from about 2-6pm, Grumpy Koen comes out.
Kai was so excited to go to Squamish. I think he was imagining that we would be riding Thomas the Train very fast over very fun terrain. This was not to be.
So, we went to the railway museum there where everything was set up. It was expensive but we knew that and went for it anyway. Some people had told me it was a waste of money but another friend reminded me that it's not to impress the adults, it's really all for the kids. The kids really liked it.

There was a `professional' photographer taking pictures of the kids so of course they looked at his camera and not ours:)
There were cool trains, not Thomas related, to look at and walk through. Not to sound nerdy but I found the old mail car pretty cool. It showed how they used to put all the mail in various bags with towns from all over BC. Anyway, the kids could also write a letter to Thomas and apparently Thomas will write them back.
There were lots of stations like face painting, bouncy castle, Meet Sir Topham Hatt (oh my goodness, that costume looked ridiculously huge and hot), play with Thomas the train sets, play with stamps, colouring etc. We were actually there for 2.5 hours before our ride on Thomas the Train.
The half hour train ride was okay. Kai was a bit disappointed because it was so built up in his head which could've been my fault. It didn't go very fast or very far.
The conductor did come and stamp their tickets.
They got their `Junior Engineer' certificates. Koen doesn't seem to be impressed by a piece of paper.
You can't tell but the train was packed full. There were sooooo many people there. Most kids were probably 4 year old boys:) There were actually two other boys named Kai there and we've never met another one in our life.
They made balloon animals for the kids on the train.
Overall, it was just a great day. It was so worth it when I was getting Koen into his pj's tonight, he said, `Thank you for the train ride, Mommy.'. Wow. Without me asking him to say thank you! He's getting so big.

So nice to just spend time enjoying such a beautiful place with Gary and the boys. It made me totally excited for summer, I can't wait!

The train yard that we parked in, right next to the Railway Heritage Park would actually be a super cool photo location. Not sure if they'd allow it but ya, very fun buildings and trains there.

We're heading back up that way, to Whistler, this summer. Yippee!! Looking forward to some more hiking and outdoor exploring with the boys.

Have a great week!
Louise

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

What's In Your Wallet?

The other day we were waiting at a light with a train that took forever, so, I just looked through my wallet. Here are some interesting things I found:

1. My wedding dress receipt. It's dated Feb. 9, 2005. I spent $1068.18 on my dress. That was 1/5 of our wedding budget:) I was just going to get a simple dress for our somewhat casual outdoor wedding but decided to get a real wedding dress. My mom helped me pick it out.

2. A Valdez Fishing Derby sticker from our honeymoon in Alaska (August '05). I love Valdez. Gorgeous.

3. A 5000 shilling bill from Tanzania (I think worth $10) from 2004.

4. A raffle ticket that cost me 20 shillings from Kenya. It was to win a chicken and the raffle was to raise money for a church. I didn't win.

5. Two `love notes' from Gary. One written while we were engaged and one in the first year of our marriage. Some Gary-ish lines in them?

`I think you're hot when you get mad at me'
`I love that you get excited about little things, like saving 50cents on pecan sticky buns.'
`I promise you're smart'.
`You smell nice on most days'
`You always know the time'
(there were some sweet things in there like `your smile lights up the room' and `you challenge the way I think' and `I love that you look out for and care for other people' and `you are open about who you are'.).

Anything random, yet special, that you carry in your wallet or purse?

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Football

Today was my last game of the season. I love playing football. A lot. I was only able to make about half the games this season so that was a bit sad, but still, thankful to play! We are one of the only teams that do not have a coach (not by choice, our last one moved away a year over a year ago) so it's a bit tough to grow as a team, especially as we are getting just a bit older and possibly slower:) I've been playing with these girls (ha ha, girls! The average age is probably 33 or so?) for 6 years and hope to continue playing.

Gary came with the boys today. He doesn't usually come as it's about an hour drive (in Vancouver). Gary took a few photos, while playing with the kids, and I realize now how hilarious I look. You have to wear your shirt tucked in and in every running photo, my face looks like it must have when I was giving birth.

{I would edit the purple off of our faces below, but that's the actual colour of our faces. It was HOT! I just like that we are both suspended in the air:)}



Good times. Now, to get in super fit shape for the fall season!

Thursday, June 02, 2011

The Mask


Kai will put this mask on all the time and at random times. I check him out in the rearview mirror while driving, suddenly it's on. I check on him playing outside and it's on. What a goofball.

In other news, I need to start exercising more. Not sure where that time is going to come from but once I'm better, I'm serious. It's not because I'm 15lbs over what I should be (I am), it's because I crave it and need it. Do you know how good it feels to be in shape? I did know and hopefully I will again. How to stay motivated and accountable? Not so sure. I think I need to pay for something because I'm the kind of person who likes to get their money's worth:)


Have a fabulous weekend! I have my last football game this weekend. I'm missing playoffs for a wedding the following week but I'm thankful that at least I get to play one more game AND the boys are going to come watch.

Bon nuit.
Louise