Koen's First Birthday Parties

Okey dokey, this post is just about his first birthday parties. Yes, not party, partIES. Two in one day! I will do a separate one for what his first year of life has meant to us. So, here we go...two parties in one day!

Party #1 was with family and some of our good friends from work (and Lynette!).

Koen with gramma

Koen with his buddy Caden. When I say `buddy', I mean they will be buddies whether they like it or not:)

Kai loved helping Koen with his gifts. Koen liked the tissue paper. Ani cleaned up.

Do you think he's pretty pumped or what?

Made a train cake for his birthday. A train cake is harder than I thought so I just used the Thomas train we had already for the engine. Oh well, it tasted good! Kai liked his big brother role of blowing out the candles.

We just gave him a mini cupcake (or two) as it was past nap time and he was getting a little fussy.

He loved the icing and then squeezed the rest between his hands.

Because the first party was in the morning, we just had some sandwiches out and some other things....

I'm glad Koen loves his little fire truck. I think Caden likes it too!

Koen with `auntie' Lynette. He really does love her, it was just nap time!

Caden loving the firetruck.

Ani

Izzy

If you make cake pops, it's hard to find something to hold them so...I used Mega Blocks! Perfect solution.

I found that the mini cupcakes were a good idea (12 minutes in a mini muffin pan). You don't eat as much, even though it feels like you are. Good for the little guys too.

Then, in the evening, we had all our nerd friends over for dinner and another party! If you don't know, the nerd friends are a group of friends that Gary has had since university. Six guys, their wives, and a multitude of kids that keep on coming. Four families got together over the holidays for a mini nerdfest, a couple of times. It was a wonderful chaos as the 10 kids ran around...basement to upstairs, back down to the basement, over and over and over again. It was a wonderful evening and when everyone left, there was a smile on my face. Here's little Josh, the youngest of the mini nerds...

And the group of us. We look better when we are not trying to look good:)

The kids....

Matthew

Dinnertime

Gary thought we were smiling into the video camera he was holding:) Happy birthday Koen!

Dana, Melissa and Josh (who had just rolled over!)

Koen and Josh will also be buddies one day:)

I do have a video of the chaos, it was pretty awesome. Very few tears though, mostly lots of laughter and fun.

Cute little Addi

I got everyone to sign the mat of the photo and have put the picture frame up in Koen's room.

Thank you to all of those that were able to celebrate with us. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!

2010

Wow. Happy New Year! I have to quickly do a post before tomorrow because tomorrow, my baby turns 1!!! It is so emotional for me to think back a year ago, to the day he was born. Just thinking of where I was at this time exactly last year...dropping Kai off at gramma's, having one last good night sleep, and awaiting the birth of our baby. But, I will hold off on the tears for now and I will wait until tomorrow to do his one year post.

I made a bunch of yummy treats for Koen's first birthday which we will celebrate tomorrow. Here I'm making cake pops. Seriously, these things are so ridiculously tasty. They look fun but taste even better. It's basically a cake with frosting blended up, formed into balls, dipped in melted chocolate and then covered in sprinkles. SO GOOD.

I also made these ice cream cone cupcakes from Martha Stewarts `Cupcakes' book. The icing colour with the sprinkles remind me of the book `Million Little Pieces'. If you've read it, you know what I mean:)

We have been super busy with family and friends this holiday. Yesterday, we got together with all our nerdy friends in Abbotsford for Josh's dedication in the morning, then we all had dinner together in Walnut Grove, and then Gary and I went to my friend Lynette's for New Years Eve. It was a wonderfully full day and night.

Here's Kai all ready to go in his new position in the van. We have turned Koen around and he is pumped about it!

Here is cute little squishy Josh all cuddled up with Dana. He sleeps so well in the wraps and slings. So awesome to be there for his dedication.

Here's 4 of the guys with their 4 new additions in the last year and a half (plus Micah in front!). I think Addi, the one girl, has 3 very nice options:)

Three of the kids having a tea party with real tea. Why haven't I done that with Kai? He was loving it!

Bennett was loving it too.

Below we've got Koen and Addi. These two are monkeys that love the stairs and keep us both nice and busy:)

Addi eating...isn't she so cute?!

Riley...the oldest of the `little kids'.

All right...I better get going on finishing up stuff for tomorrow. We are actually having two birthday parties for him tomorrow as our house cannot hold all those that we love so much! One in the morning and one in the evening. We'll see how it goes!

And finishing off with the picture of me and Koen. This is the first time I saw my beautiful, chubby, baby boy. I know you can't tell by my face but I was absolutely overwhelmed, amazed, and ridiculously happy to meet him.

Trains

I had decided a while back that Koen's birthday theme would be `Trains'. This is a bit more difficult than I thought as I was first going to make a cake with a fondant train on it and then, Gary and I had a bad fondant incident. So, it looks like I may just make a cake in the shape of a train. Sound a bit easier? We will see!

(From the painting in Koen's room)

I cannot believe that Koen is one in just 3 more days. I keep going back to this time last year, remembering how huge I was. Remembering how sick I was while recovering. Remembering that they said, `It's a boy!'. Remembering how we had a rough start with nurses manhandling me (all had a different opinion on breastfeeding) and me having to feed him every 2 hours for 24 hours to get his blood sugar levels up. Remembering his perfectly chubby body. Remembering Kai visiting in the hospital. Remembering when we became parents of two beautiful boys. Remembering those SUPER chubby thighs.

Kai in quiet time. He lays in his bed, with Bubi, sucks his thumb, and watches his DVD player.

The cross stitch blanket that Gary's mom made Koen.

This guy likes his milk, but is not as in love with it as Kai was. Koen is more about food. Any kind. All the time. Especially if it's off of someone else's plate:) I've discovered the joys of mini muffins. I make a bunch and it's an easy snack for the kids, and Kai can even eat them neatly in the van. I made a very healthy batch for Koen for breakfasts. By healthy, I mean that it tastes gross to me but it's full of apple, banana and oatmeal. He eats `em up!

My baby almost fully transitioned to the bottle. He still likes a cuddle and breastfeed maybe 1-2x per day. Last night he cried at 11pm and I just cuddled him and put him back down with his blankie and he went to sleep! Woohoo, I didn't have to feed him. I don't know why he is waking up. Teething? Losing his blankie? Wants some company? It's a sad cry, not a hungry or hurt one. More like a `Please someone, cuddle me!'.

This is `Corner Bubi'. Kai has two bubi's but this one is his favourite because it has `the' corner. It has loose threads that he rubs under his nose while he sucks his thumb. He is very particular about it. He only sucks his thumb, or gets Bubi, in his bed. If he is sad, he will go up there for a quick cuddle. Sometimes, rubbing Bubi on his owie makes him feel better:)

Taken through the van window while we were driving. I like the way the long grass looks even though I hadn't meant for it to be so soft looking.

Funny things Kai has said this week:

Kai (full of awe and excitement, he spotted something on the table): `Mommy! This is just what I always wanted! What is it?

Me: A dryer ball.

Kai (just walking in the door after coming back from gramma's house, the first thing he says...): `Mommy, I have a chocolate coin and you can't eat it cuz it's in my tummy.'

Kai: `Mommy, you better run! I have my tickle hands out!

(Note: for me to stop tickling him, he has to say,` Mommy, you are the best!'. I love it.)

Had a great brunch with friends this morning. We've been doing it every year, for 3 or 4 years, over the Christmas holidays. Just the girls. Good times. Good food. Good to get out without the kiddos:)

Have a great Tuesday!

Sunday Afternoon Photos

Sewing Machine Fundraiser

Check out Kim's blog for a great idea on how to help purchase 5 sewing machines for the Dalit women of India. Kim is an old student of mine, a fantastic designer, and a new mommy. Check it out!

Christmas 2009

These last few days have been way too busy for me. I mean, it's good to hang out with family and eat good food, but you know...kids off of their schedules and staying up too late = EXHAUSTING.

Wed: Jackie's birthday dinner at our house and bowling

Thurs: Went to the beach with the boys and then Christmas Eve dinner, presents, and church with my side of the family.

Friday: Chapmans christmas dinner and presents.

Saturday: Visited my best friend Lynette's chicken farm and...I may have gone boxing day shopping:)

(Starting off with some Crescent beach pictures)

I felt like a bit of a scrooge this Christmas and I don't know what's wrong with me. I sort of have an issue with presents. I see my kids getting just as much joy from playing at the beach or having other experiences than they do getting a gift. I didn't feel super pumped giving them gifts. Gary was more adamant about getting them stocking gifts and presents and he got me more than what he was supposed to as well. I just feel like my kids already have so much and what the heck are we going to do with all these new toys? Oh well. The kids had a good time and I enjoyed all of the food. I wish I could've relaxed a bit more with the visiting but when it's from 5pm onwards, at someone else's house, it just makes it difficult because Koen needs to be in bed by 6:30pm and he won't sleep anywhere else.....Church was also a disaster as it started at 7pm.

This shows the only time Koen has held my hand walking...while going over rocks heading straight for the water.

We didn't get to walk very much because Kai just wanted to throw rocks in the water. It was FREEZING but beautiful.

Koen had to be restrained the entire time because he just wanted to walk into the water. He is fearless. (Yes, I still need to wear sunglasses outside as my eyes are still quite light sensitive).

Christmas Eve was at my sister Maria's house this year as my dad's house was torn down last month. In this picture, we had tried to get a picture of the grandkids on my dad's lap and someone peed on him:) It wasn't Ani or Kai...Please note the `beautiful' necklace that Ani and Kai made for him.

(Yes, Kai is shirtless. He gets so hot running around non stop!)

Kai with Handy Manny. He also got some trucks, cars, puzzles, games, tractors, books, and a `Cars' pillowcase that Joanne made. Joanne made us all (all my sisters, their husbands, and kids) a pillowcase that was personalized. Gary's was basketball, Kai's was from the Cars movie, Koen's had monkey's and mine had my name on it.

We just got Koen a ride on fire truck. He LOVES it. I turned around for a second and he had climbed into the box. He is so cute.

Kai loves pushing Koen on the fire truck at very fast speeds. Fortunately, Koen seems pretty stable on it. So far. I was just pumped to see the two of them laughing together.

Kai's cousin Kieryn reading him a book...

And a picture of Gary. Kai was so pumped to give his 7 cousins the magnets he had made. He would give them their gift, jump up and down saying `Open it! Open it!' and wait until they opened it and then moved on to the next one. Nice to see him enjoy gift giving as well:)

I did go shopping today. I haven't really bought any clothes in the last year or so because I was pregnant and then my body was changing so much from exercising and then getting sick to getting a little healthier. I think I am at my normal weight now. I seem to have plateaued at about 3 lbs above my married weight which I am very comfortable with. It's hard to know what to buy when you are not working....what kind of clothes do you buy? Oh well, I'm happy with my new pair of pants, 2 sweaters, and 2 shirts! I also got Gary a few things. I'm a sucker for deals and I think all of them were 50% off.

Well, that's it for the Christmas post. We didn't really get any good pictures as we had our hands full the entire time and the lighting was always bad. Oh well. Good memories for Kai Bear, that's for sure. He had a blast...and not just from presents but from running around with his cousins. I wish I had the mindset to focus on the true meaning of Christmas a bit more but it seemed to just get pushed aside with all the running around. I only delved as deep as a 3 year old level while going through it with Kai.

Oh ya, wanna know what I got from Gary? I got the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book with new piping bags, underwear (can I say that here? He does it every year), Purdy's English Toffee, and a white gold heart necklace that I had wanted. Wanna know what I got him? Cutting boards:) Ha ha. It's true. He also got a new hard drive for the computer.

Bon nuit.