Thursday, August 30, 2012

Cuteness

Reality has set in. With Gary back at work, I have no time to exercise, work, and take care of the house and kids. Not sure what one's going to suffer but ya...so far it's been exercise:( I had been running 3 days a week but I'm thinking it's going to be closer to 1-2 now. I also had to buy a pair of jeans in a larger size to get me through this fall. They actually look ridiculous on me but it's too late to return them because I wore them. I shouldn't say ridiculous, but they are just too big.
{Nya in her new toy! She's not quite strong enough for it yet so we'll wait a few more weeks. In the meantime, it's good for her little baby cousins!}
{Gary and I have long tongues. We can touch our tongues to our noses. I think Nya will be able to as well! Poor Koen with his tongue tied tongue:(}
{Nya: `Mom, do you really think this is safe? Koen has my ear and who knows what he'll do with it!'}
Kai has put Koen to bed twice this week. He reads him stories and let Koen participate. He brushed his teeth for him and even brushed his nose `to make it fun'. He let him pick three stuffed animals to take to bed because `his behaviour was pretty good' and he tucked him in and prayed with him. So cute. Kai has been great the past two days so maybe a good talking to was all he needed!
I usually find yoga relaxing but not really when the kids participate too...
We've been playing some football with Kai. This kid does not struggle with confidence but I think he may struggle with reality. He thinks he's amazing.
And to remember not only how much I love feeding this munchkin (and my `station' of stuff beside me) but how much I love this outfit of hers. Soon it will be fall and I will have to pack it up:(

I said to Gary the other day that this is the happiest/most content I've ever been in my life. Now, it's not as much fun as I had in university (truly an awesome time!) but it's good. I wouldn't want to change anything...well, maybe I would like to sleep through the night. I can't complain, she goes to bed at 6:30pm now:)

OH YES, I FORGOT!!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO OUR RUN FOR THE CURE THIS YEAR, PLEASE DO!!! THERE IS A TAB AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG. BOTH GARY AND I ARE TRYING TO RAISE $150.00 EACH. NO PRESSURE. THIS TIME OUR TEAM WILL HAVE A LITTLE MORE PINK IN IT:) YAY NYA! I will be running the whole thing as long as my health continues.

Have a great long weekend! I think we might hit up the water slides.

Love,
Louise

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Ready For School!!!

Photos in this post by Gary as I haven't taken any of the kiddos! He is working through his Photoshop `Layers' book as he prepares to teach a photography course this year:)
This weekend we had a wedding. It worked perfectly with Nya as I was able to feed her every 3 hours throughout the day. Thanks to my sisters Trisha and Jackie for babysitting the kiddos and bringing Nya to me! It was nice to be out of the house and working all day, but man, I'm glad I saw Nya every 3 hours. I missed her so much!!!

I've had to say no to many people for sessions this fall as I'm already booked until mid November. The hardest is saying `no' to past clients but I'm really trying to stick to my limits:)

This morning I had to drive to my last jaw appointment in Chilliwack. That's a one hour drive each way with 3 kids. We got in the van just in time and I realized the battery had died. I recharged it (go me!) and we made it in time. Not my favourite morning. My jaw is still in the same condition as it was 10 months ago. They weren't able to do anything for it in the end. I guess spending $1300.00 on a good try was worth it?! I don't know.

Kai is going through some sort of emotional transition. I should read up on my old developmental psychology books:) He gets really frustrated and angry and doesn't know how to deal with it and so he screams. Very high pitched. Very loud. He stomps his feet. He loses control. Also, our dear 6 year old bit his brother for the first time. Yes, he was frustrated with Koen (because Koen didn't want to play with him), so he bit Koen's hand. Kai doesn't act like this with anyone other than us, and it only happens at home. I know how he feels because I remember feeling like I couldn't control my emotions when I was 12, it was tough. On the other hand, he is really mature and helpful and is growing like a weed:)

I'm thinking Kai is ready to go back to school. We find out on Friday who is teacher is and what class he is in. Koen is also soooooooooooooooooooo ready for preschool to start. I feel like he should be in kindergarten already but he's got 2 more years to go! We found out his teacher's name is Mrs. Carr which is pretty much the coolest name for someone who is going to teach Koen.

Did I mention that last week sucked? Ya. It did. I'm trying to think of something really fun/special we can do this Saturday before school starts. Something that won't be too busy and isn't too far away. Ideas?

Have a great week!
Love, Louise

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Three Months Old


Our little Pumpkin Pie-ya is 3 months old!! We love her to bits. She is super laid back and predictable. She eats at 4am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm and 8pm. She has two 45 minute naps and one 2 hour one.

She loves laying on her back and reaching for toys. She loves interacting with people and her brothers get her biggest smiles.
She goes to bed easily now. After being up for 1.5 hours, we just put her in her crib and she cries for 5 minutes and then goes to sleep. No rocking or swaddling or anything special. Such a change!!
She is also no longer a super pooper!! Only 1-2 times a day. Yahoo!
She is desperately trying to find her thumb but happily sucks on her fists in the meantime.
She loves bath time.
She spits up all the time. We both go through several outfits (and a lot of receiving blankets!) every day and she almost always has a bib on. It often causes her to cough but it doesn't seem to bother her at all.
She makes the cutest cooing sounds. Love it!!!
Her eyes are a beautiful blue colour and I really hope they stay that way!!

I am loving every minute with her. Seriously. Maybe it's because I know she's our last (well, probably!) or because she's so laid back or because I've done this twice before or because I've had full time help for the past 7 weeks (!!!!) but ya, she's great:) Seriously, I would HIGHLY recommend your husband having paternity leave if you have 3 kids. Makes it so much more enjoyable!

I also have to say that I'm fine with her not taking a bottle (for now!) I love breastfeeding her. It's a time where I have to sit down and put my feet up and just stare and her while she plays with my shirt and I hold her hand.

Yay for babies.
Yay for a healthy babe and a healthy momma.
So thankful!

Love, Louise

PS Gary and the boys have strept throat so I'm sooooooooooooooooo thankful Nya and I did not get it.

PSS I am actually NOT loving every minute. Today we were stuck in traffic going over the Port Mann bridge (oh man, I want to punch that bridge out!!) and Nya was screaming and Kai was going to puke at any second. Not fun.

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Good and The Bad

The Bad:
1. Our Visa was compromised last month. Fortunately we didn't have to pay for the expenses on a fake paypal account they set up. Thought Gary bought me a snowboard or something for my birthday. If that wasn't enough, our Mastercard was compromised THIS month. So annoying because I had to change all my automatic withdrawals to a new card and it's just a pain.

2. Our van had to go to the shop. `Fortunately' it was just another spark plug coil so it cost `just' $300.

3. The mirror on our Canon 5D broke off so we had to ship it off to Ontario to get fixed. It is under warranty so they did cover the $300 fee but we still had to pay for shipping AND we were without it for 2 weeks.

4. My aunt has stage 4 cancer (so really, all the other bad things don't matter).

5. Gary took Kai to a BC Lions game and Kai got the flu. He vomited on the way there but Gary still brought him. I didn't know about it at the time or I would've definitely picked him up so Gary and his dad could still go. He made it on the jumbotron. Not sure why they'd want a kid puking into a popcorn bag on the big screen. They came home at the half. Kai puked the whole way home too. GROSS.

6. Kai, Koen and Gary are all sick. Lame. Lame. Waste of our days. If anyone pukes on my new living room rug....

The Good:
1. On Saturday, my sister Jantina and I took our babies to the island to visit my oma, uncle Al and my aunt that was recently diagnosed with cancer. The kids were fabulous and it is always great to visit. I wish we lived closer and didn't have to deal with the ferry. It was amazing only having one kid to take care of, I even got to read some of my book! It was pretty funny because there was a lot of side by side breastfeeding (in the van, on the ferry etc) and so many people though they were twins. It's a long day as we returned home that evening.
{First ferry trip outside of my uterus:)! I wish I had taken a picture of oma holding her, she was so smiley with her. I just didn't have my camera in the house with me. I'll just have to go back again soon:)}
{Jack aka super baby. He makes Nya look fussy.}
2. I am going to have about 3 days off this week!! Yahoo!! The plan? Work on putting together a little photography class. I'll have taught 2 people one on one so I've got an idea of what it might look like. Seems like a great thing to do from November-February when there are fewer sessions to do.

3. My beautiful baby turns 3 months old on Wednesday. She is so awesome. I love her a ton. I wish she would stay 3 months old for a long, long time. I'm not ready for teething and all that jazz.

4. School starts for Kai (and preschool for Koen) in 2 weeks. I think I'm very ready for that! I think that they are ready too. I'm the ridiculous mom that makes her kids to do school work every day. Really, Kai just has to do one math page and Koen just has to colour and trace his name:)

5. The heat wave has passed. Yahoo.

Have a great week!
Love, Louise

Friday, August 17, 2012

Family Photos

I love, love, love, love, looooooooooooooooooooooooove this little girl. So cute. I feel bad that she doesn't get held much because she's just so chill on her own. Most of the time. She maybe cries a total of 1/2-1 hour per day (about 5-10 minutes each time we put her to bed). Ridiculously awesome. And please note, my other kids were not so easy so I can really appreciate this!
She is currently obsessed with figuring out her hands. She will stare at them and move them and try to get them in her mouth. She is working SO hard to get her thumb in her mouth but can't do it yet. She gets frustrated but doesn't give up. She loves to suck on her fist. She's also getting so much better at reaching out and grabbing at her toys. So cute:)

On Monday we met up with our friends, Megan and Steve, to do a quick family photo swap. You might think that we get our photos taken a lot and I will say that yes, we probably do. It will be done every single year too. It's important to us/me:)

We just switched camera cards, took a few photos of each other's families, and we were good to go! It's always good to talk with them and hang out. Gary and Steve talk about cameras and lenses, and Megan and I talk life/weddings/kids/business etc. Good times! The kids had fun together too:)

I just wanted one good family photo to put on canvas in our home and I think this one is it:
It was nap time for Nya so she wasn't so into it but she did okay.


Um, how cute are the kids?! They wanted to get a picture together and of course, that was the one where they all looked nicely at the camera:) If one of our boys married one of their girls, imagine how many good pictures would be in their wedding slideshow:)

It is so crazy hot out there, I am so thankful that we don't have a wedding this weekend:) We have an air conditioner on our main floor that keeps life comfortable.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Love, Louise

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Birthday Getaway

So, either I don't get out much or Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa is pretty awesome! I had such a good time! Maybe it's because I didn't do any work for 24 hours:) We only went for one night but that's all we needed. It' s just over an hour away and we were able to check in 4 hours early and get our full usage out of the pool.
There were two queen beds for us and then Nya slept in the playpen in the large walk in closet. It even had a door so I'd say she had her own room:)
{We also went to the beach on the first day, just a 5 minute walk away}

There are 5 pools there and they are so nice and warm. One was a bit cooler, but ya, so nice! The water comes from the hotspring so that's why it was so warm and had a different chemical makeup to it. It is soooooooooooooooo family friendly and yet, it could be a romantic getaway too (there is an adult only pool and there is one restaurant just for adults). Our trip wasn't so romantic:)
{The only thing that made me nervous was that Nya was going to poop in the pool. Once they're on solids, I trust swim diapers. Before then? Not so sure I can trust them! Anyone have experience with this?}
The pools are open from 8am until 10:30pm (and then even later for adults), so we definitely got our use out of them! Kai can now swim without any kind of flotation device. His rendition of the Butterfly is pretty hilarious. Koen swims using water wings but is pretty comfortable in the water. Nya was really good overall. She went in the pool a couple of times and napped well. She's been getting up once at night, usually around 4am, and that is totally fine with me!
It was totally worth the money. Normally I wouldn't spend more than $100 on a hotel but this one was $150 using Travelocity and I would rather spend more and have an awesome place for one night than to go for two nights and stay in a not so nice place. We brought our own lunch and breakfast and just went out for pizza for dinner. All together, with gas, our 2 day getaway was under $200.00. Once Nya is 3 we will likely be camping for most of our holidays, but for now, this was pretty great!
I'm really glad that I booked this. It was a birthday gift to myself:) I am now 34 years old. Really, all of the 30's have sort of been the same for me. This birthday made me think of my mom a bit more. A birthday is really almost more about the one who birthed you. Big thanks to my momma for pushing me into this world, it was not an easy birth, I know that:)
I am just feeling so incredibly thankful these days for all I have. Every time I look at Nya, I can't believe that she's part of our family. So, so thankful for everything. By the way, can I just say that I did not even think about how I looked in my bathing suit once? Times have changed! I think that when holding a baby and keeping your eye on two others, you don't have time to think about what you look like:)

Happy 34th birthday to me!
Love, Louise

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Swimming

Wow...we have been busy! Who isn't though?!

Lots and lots of taking photos and therefore lots and lots of editing. Did a last minute wedding yesterday and have an engagement session downtown tomorrow night...I like to be busy but I still do need to find a bit more of a balance:)

I know once I get to November/December/January it will slow down so then I will have more/some down time:) It's just `easy' to work now with Gary home to help out so much.

Today I ran the Tynehead Perimeter Trail with Ali. It's supposed to be 4.8km so we did an extra 200m to make it 5km but it seemed like it was less than 5km. Oh well, still an awesome half hour run! I loved doing the 6 week program and it's crazy how I've gone from just running 1 minute at a time to running 30 minutes straight, no problem. The ridiculous thing is that after running 3 days a week for 6 weeks, I've lost maybe only 2lbs. I think my body is holding on to the weight until I'm done breastfeeding. It did that with Koen too. In the meantime, I'll keep wearing my maternity clothes?!

This evening we went swimming as a family. Gary has been great at taking the boys to the free outdoor pool a couple times a week. They were much better swimmers last summer so we're trying to get that back. Today Nya went in the pool for the first time and she loved it. I'm thinking we're going to have to take her a few more times as she has 3 different bathing suits. So ridiculous, I realize, but I didn't buy any of them!

Hope you are having a great weekend!
Love, Louise



Thursday, August 09, 2012

A Great Day

Yesterday was awesome. One of the things on our list for this summer was to go to Playland. The past few years we've gone to the PNE but have realized the boys just like the rides. So, we went on a cloudy day and it wasn't busy at all! Kai got a ride ticket for his birthday (Thank you Adam and Noah!!) so it was a super cheap day for us. We got free parking, Koen is still free, so we just had to pay for the entrance fee for Gary and I. For $30 we rode on the 48" and under rides for 3 hours. They loved it.
Next year will be a bit trickier as I guess Kai and Gary will go on the big rides while I stay with Koen on the little ones. That's a bit more of an investment...we may go to the Northwest Washington Fair instead, I'll have to check that out online.

Kai and Koen love getting scrambled!
Nya was super awesome. She sleeps SO well in her car seat...I wonder if she does have some reflux (she spits up all the time) because that generally helps babies who have projectile spit up.

Then, we went to McDonalds for dinner, and after that, we went to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. I've never actually been there before and I had a photo session with a family at 6:30pm. We went as a family so that the kids could explore and geocache while I worked. What a great location!! I'm glad it worked to do Playland on the same day so that we didn't have to cross the Port Mann twice and we saved on gas:) Also, I didn't really want to be away from Nya for 4+ hours due to the bottle situation.
Kai said it was the best day of his life and it was pretty good. I think that he also liked that we didn't get home until 9pm:)

I would love to go back there some day.

Hope you are having a great week!
Love, Louise

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Tackleball

This is a variation of basketball that the boys have invented; tackleball. You just tackle the other person until you get the ball and then try to slam dunk it into the bucket.
It might look like they are in pain and not having fun but the giggling is non stop between Koen's complaining. The only reason he cries is if Kai doesn't let him take a shot now and then.
Koen has taught Kai to be so physical. Koen will be (well, he is) one tough guy.
These boys are having fun together this summer!
And, just because she is cute, here are a few Nya smiling/laughing photos. Can you see her eyelashes? They are gorgeous. I think today I gave up on the bottle. I quit. Can't handle it. She is happy 99% of the time and the bottle leads to pure screaming and such a waste of 1-3 hours in our day. I think we'll try again next month. I have only quit a few things in my life and this is one of them. NOT WORTH IT.



Today I booked a mini getaway for our family. As a birthday gift to myself, I booked a night for us all to go to Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa. Got a pretty good deal online and should be a lot of fun with all of the pools. I have a feeling the boys will really love it.

Hope you are having a good week! I'm thankful that heat is gone. Phew. Back to the low 20's.

Love, Louise