Koen's Birthday Parties

Having a birthday around Christmas is sometimes hard.  Everyone is so busy and partied and present-ed out.  Last year we had a mini party with his cousins and then went to Harrison Hot Springs as a family.  This year, we're trying to save a bit more as we will need to replace our car so we had two small family parties.

Koen is blessed with many, many cousins.  His first party was on his birthday and celebrated at Gary's parents house.  The kids (not Nya) had slept over as they do at least once per year.  We arrived at noon to pick them up and I made what Koen wanted for his birthday cake; an Angry Bird one.  Thankfully he thought it did look like one. Phew.

He was gifted an airport for his Planes which he now seems to love as much as his Cars.

Then, we picked up Ani and Izzy (other cousins) and brought them to our house for a playdate.  There Koen opened up the present he had been asking for for about 3 months; Beyblades and an arena.  As a sidenote, we got a great deal on it as it was totally on sale and then we used a cereal box coupon:)  The girls happily played Beyblades with the boys.  In case you are wondering, they are sort of like spinning tops with heads on them and whoever's spins  the longest wins. I think.

Today, we had a party with my side of the family.  We went to Walnut Grove pool as he is finally tall enough to ride the waterslide there.  He did it and loved it!! It was a little chaotic with so many kids to keep an eye on but they had a great time.  I even tried the waterslide, and seriously, when did I turn into such a wimp? It's pitch black for a portion which kinda freaked me out!

Then we all came back here for dinner and dessert.  Koen got to pick what he wanted to eat so it was; mangoes, Mr. Noodles, sandwiches with bacon.

Happy birthday Koen Jacob Daniel Chapman!!

I think he likes being 5.  He was slightly disappointed that he isn't going to kindergarten on Monday.   September is a long ways away!

I think planning parties can be tiring so I'm glad these ones were so low key. All kids really want is to be with friends/family and eat food:)  Done.  Koen loved his birthdays and I'm glad he had his `time to shine' as Kai often gets to do big kid stuff and Nya gets to be the cute little toddler.  I can see that it can be hard to be the middle child at this age.  He was very thankful and had a great time.

Love, Louise

Thankful Thursday: Birthday Edition

Today is Koen's 5th birthday so, I'm thankful for Koen's:

*these pictures won't really match what I'm saying, they are mostly from the past few days...*

1. Eager personality.  He is generally very excited about anything and everything.  It doesn't take much to have a fun family outing with this guy.  However, he does get quite focused so we need to point out signs, and trees and other things he might run into :)

2.  Healthy appetite.  He eats everything and anything.  Except avocado.  He is is our garburator.  He will often eat something in one large bite.  His favourite food is mangoes.

{I LOVE Oliebollen!!!!  We will continue to make them every year, without raisins, as it reminds me of my childhood}

3.  Outgoing personality.  For example today, without any suggestion from us, Koen ran up to 5 strangers on the street to say `Happy New Year!' to them when we walked to Extra Foods.  He may have chased one lady down as she didn't know he was talking to her.

4.  Quirkiness:  You never know what you are going to have to say around this guy.  For example, while we were driving in the van last week I had to say `Koen, stop sucking your sister's toes!'.  Yes.  Nya loves to suck her own toes and Koen was trying to make her giggle. It worked.

5.  Talkative Nature.  Koen talks a lot.  Non stop.  I'm thankful though because I always know what he is thinking.  I am also thankful that he has started asking more questions.  At least then it's more of a two way street rather than listening to him talk about Cars or something. I also love seeing his desire to learn.

6.  Cuddles.  He loves his cuddles with me and his down time with his stuffies and Bubi.  He is sensitive so harsh words can make him cry.

7.  Social skills.  He's pretty good at playing well with anyone and everyone.

{We had friends visiting from Winnipeg this past week, so great!}

8.  Prayerfulness.  We went to Ikea for dinner after visiting the Burnaby Village Museum and Koen had to pray (a very long prayer) before we ate which had a few neighbouring tables smiling.  He has such a heart  for those around him.  Also, if I say something about someone who has health concerns, his first comment is `Let's pray for them now!'.

9. Confidence.  He loves singing in front of groups and has serenaded several people who have come to our door with `We Wish You A Merry Christmas'.  He loves talking to anyone and everyone.

10.  Creativeness.  He is so good at playing on his own.  He has always been this way.  He makes up so many worlds/stories/games with his Cars and Stuffies and I think it just recharges him to be on his own in his own creative world.

We are so thankful for our Kokies.  He brings ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM and LAUGHTER to our family.  Such a great dimension.  I hope his enthusiasm remains strong this year as he will begin kindergarten (part time).  I'm not sure what he will think of school.  He does not love writing at all but he definitely has an interest in math like his big brother.  He is starting to read but does not really have a desire to learn so I'm not pushing it.  Koen, we love you so very much.  Always and forever.

Love, Mommy

New Years Resolution

All right, want to know what my New Years Resolution is?  I'm generally a person who loves lists and loves to make them realistic so that I will likely not be disappointed.

I have one thing on my list.

Make Gary a greater priority than my children. 

{This is from August}

It's hard because we are coming out of the stage where the kids just need us so, so much.  They are cute and little and I find them very easy to love.  Gary and I were just married a little over a year before Kai joined us so he's never really had my full attention.

Gary and I have always been a great team.  I think it's important for our kids to see us in a great marriage.  So this year, it's time to move him up in the ranks.

How am I going to do this? Hmmm....not quite sure.

It will start with me asking (and caring) how his day is/was.  So easy, I know.  You would think I would do this all the time but sometimes I feel jealous that he gets to leave the house (and fighting kids and toilet cleaning) so I don't want to hear about any fun stuff he has done.

So, if you see me, ask me how it's going :)  Keep me accountable.

I have loved 2013.  My highlights were; sleeping through the night and our trip to SE Asia.  My lowlights were; being sleep deprived for 3/4 of the year and  two 24 hour travel days with Nya...it was the airplane portion that was so tough.

I hope you have a safe and wonderful New Years Eve.  Our plans are small but the kids will love it.  It involves sushi and Menchies.  And then putting the kids to bed and Gary and I enjoying a movie (and some wine for me).  My belly is already full of Oliebollen. Yum.

Any New Years Resolutions for you?

Love, Louise

19 Months

Yikes. So I'm a week behind.  I realized I did the monthly updates for the boys up to the age of two so I better continue with that!!  

Miss Nya is 19 months old now.  She is still teething and has a cold so she is a bit grumpier than normal but who cares, she still sleeps through the night!! Yahoo!!

She loves:

-going outside.  She `must' be wearing a hat, coat and shoes.  If you don't let her wear these things, you will hear all about it.

-she needs me to validate what she's saying or she will repeat it louder and louder (like our very own Koen).  Lights. LIGHTS! LIGHTS!  Yes Nya, there are lights.

-she loves to play with her dolls pushing them all over the house in the stroller.  They need to have a blankie on them.  

-she loves her My Little Pony underwear but hasn't played with her actual Ponies that she got for Christmas.

-dips (ketchup, mayo, sour cream etc)

-cheese and fruit

-to say people's names.  She especially loves saying `Hannah' `Georgie' and now `Joshie' after she just met her new friend.

-to be held.

-the boys pushing her around in the shopping cart.  As seen here:

She is still quite thin but healthily so.  Her hair is slowly coming in.  She naps from about 12:30-2 pm and then sleeps from about 7 pm to 7 am.  She still breastfeeds once/day.  She has her nap and goes to bed at night with a warm bottle of milk.  I know we should change this but it just helps her to calm down.  Otherwise, she is wild in her bed for about an hour.

We are so thankful for her.  I can totally see Kai's observant nature in her and then also Koen's goofy silly side.  Love you Miss Nya.

Love, Louise

Thankful Thursdays

**There is a Christmas post below this one **

Thankful for...

1.  Christmas walk with the Chapmans to look at lights.  So nice to just have fresh air, exercise, and conversation.

2.  My parents camping with us all the time when we were younger.  And apparently some pretty sweet sunglasses!

3.  Christmas party with friends!  I may have enjoyed a glass (or three) of wine.

4.  Good movies.  I saw `12 Years a Slave' with Lynette.  It was such a powerful and sad movie.  I also saw `Catching Fire' with Gary.  Another good movie.  And, with two movies this past month, that is my yearly quota :)

5.  Twenty seven Christmases with my mom.  Well, I guess twenty six as I missed one when I was in Kenya.

6.  My dad making an effort to see my kids once a week.  So appreciate it.  Also, look at this picture of my dad at Kai's age!  See the resemblance?

                              

7.  Koen's preschool.  So glad we found it.  It has been a perfect fit for him.

8.  Making it to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro exactly 9 years ago.

9. Gary putting together our Amazing Race Canada video!  Lynette and I may have just applied :) Nope, not sharing the video:)

10.  The fact that I went to Kenya in 2004.  Changed my life.  If you ever have the chance to travel and experience other cultures, go for it. Do it.

Happy Thankful Thursdays!

Love, Louise

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with our immediate and our extended families.  I can say that we are all very exhausted but looking forward to some family activities and visiting with friends and Koen's birthday.  These pictures were over two days but here are some from our Christmas festivities.  

On Christmas Eve morning, we let the kids open one present each...

Nya got a baby stroller ($4 off the swap site :)

Koen was excited to get Power Ranger Super Samurai

Kai giving Koen a hug for the latest `Diary of a Wimpy Kids' book

We then went to my sister  Maria's house for Christmas Eve.  Here is the table for the `big kids'

and the table for the little kids.  They were so quiet!!

Georgie and Nya had matching dresses that I may have picked up for $2 each :)

Joanne's two daughters, son in law and granddaughter celebrated with us this year!  15 adults and 13 kids.  It was a house full of laughter and chaos.   The kids exchanged names with their cousins for gifts and the adults did a white elephant gift (we did soooo well in that exchange this year!)  Then, after dinner and presents, our family went to our church for the Christmas Eve  service.

Christmas morning and the boys were very excited!  Yes, I put them in the same clothes two days in a row.  Do you know how much laundry I do????

Nya opened her big present; a run bike!

Our boys never had one but I have heard great things about them.  Nya wasn't going to get a present beyond the stroller but then I saw them at Costco this week :) It's a 12" one and she can just touch so hopefully by the spring she will be good to go!

Kai and Koen play Amazing Race all the time so they were excited to get an official Amazing Race mat!

They also got tickets to the Canucks Super Skills competition to go with Gary (and their cousins) in a few weeks.  

Gary's shirt!  We didn't really spend any money on each other since we've had a few expenses this year (our trip, new van, microwave and vacuum!!).  

Then, we packed up and went to Gary's parents to spend the whole day with his whole side of the family.  Again, another house full of 8 adults and 10 kids. Nya got My Little Ponies.

Kai and Koen were excited to get their first Beyblades.  On each side, the kids did a gift exchange with one cousin.

I don't have many pictures of the Chapman family because Gary was taking video on his GoPro (which he has figured out how to sync with his camera which is exciting for him).

We had dinner, the kids went in the hot tub, and then home we came.

Today is just cleaning up and relaxing.  Exhale.

I guess it also involves me riding my stationary bike.  

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!

Love, Louise

Lyn and Lou

This is a picture that totally makes me laugh.  Lynette and I have been best friends since grade 8.  Twenty three years of friendship.  Look at us back in the day.  So funny, yet awesome.

PS. Sheer sleeves were cool in 1992, I'm sure of it.  Also, bold and bright floral patterns. Obviously.

PS again: I hope that my kids make great friendships that last a lifetime. 

And again: Lynette, don't get mad that I posted this...you're beautiful!  Then and now :)