A Couple of Birthdays

Thank goodness today is cooler! This weekend was HOT. I'm a 17C kinda girl. Three days in a row it was about 30+C and all I could think is `How am I going to handle SE Asia next summer?!':) Hopefully I will be down 20lbs by then and then it won't affect me as much?!

Friday we had Kai's birthday party. He had a blast and it was `the best day ever'. They played hockey with the dads there and did a super skills competition and ate food. The rest of us hung out in the shade beside the hockey box.

Nya liked being outside in the shade and then my sister Maria got her to sleep:) She is such a happy baby and I should get some more pictures of her.

My nieces have never played hockey before but I think they liked it! Everyone participated and were all good and sweaty by the end.

Even though it was such a simple party, he loved it.

What else this weekend?!

1. I had my first full wedding!! So good to be back at it. How did Nya do? Well, I left her with my best friend Lynette whose parents live about 15 minutes from the wedding location. So, she hung out at her parents house for the day. I fed her before, then Lynette brought her to me during the receiving line, and then I fed her 3 hours later. May seem inconvenient but Miss Nya cannot be trusted to take a bottle and I felt a billion times better just being able to feed her. A HUGE HIP HIP HOORAY to Lynette. She made it so easy for me and I am so thankful. Lynette said that Nya was so easy and didn't even cry once. Yahoo!! For the next wedding, I'm also getting the babysitters to take her to me. We're still working on the bottle but I just don't want the stress/pressure.

2. I ran 33 minutes straight today. I was supposed to walk for 30 seconds and run for 10 minutes three times in a row but I just decided to keep going and not stop. Felt good!

3. On Sunday we went out for dinner to Red Robins for Gary's birthday as we had a wedding on his actual birthday the day before. For his birthday, I gave him shorts, a shirt and an electric knife sharpener (he had asked for the sharpener and I found one on sale:)

Then, for the first time, I planned a little surprise. I planned for my sister Jackie to come by to babysit for an hour in the evening so Gary and I could go for a bike ride. Totally not exciting but fun for us to get out alone. I cannot keep anything from Gary. It was so hard for me to lie to him (I just said that Jackie and I were going biking) and I think he really liked being surprised:) We were just gone for one hour doing the Tynehead Perimeter Trail but that is our first date since Nya was born. It was a beautiful evening.

Hope you all had a great long weekend!

Love, Louise

Kai Bear Turns Six!!

Six years ago, after the longest 2 nights of my life, our Kai Bear was born. He was big at 9lbs 11oz and 22.5" long. He cried a lot so it was a good thing he was kinda cute:)

We had no idea what we were doing. I knew you fed a baby but I didn't know how often. I knew I would be tired but I had no idea I would be THAT tired. We learned so much. I learned that I was selfish and that it was hard to put someone else's needs ahead of your own. He made us parents and he will forever be our first born and we love him so much.

I was so nervous to have a boy. Growing up in a family of girls, I didn't know much about what young boys were like. Well, I can tell you, they are a lot of fun and they can be really gross:) He is such an eager boy who loves to learn (he asks great questions!) and loves to play with anyone and everyone. He is such a quick learner:) He can read and loves to play all sports. I love his freckles and I love the way he trusts me 100%. He has the most beautiful hazel coloured eyes and a fabulous dimpled smile.

I could say a whole lot but I will just say that I am so thankful that I was given the gift of our son.

Happy 6th Birthday Kai Bear!!!! We love you forever and ever. Love, Mommy, Daddy, Koen and Nya.

PS Today is his hockey party and it's a million degrees out. I hope he loves it!

10 Weeks Old

Things around here have been busy but good. Busy taking care of 3 kids, getting ready for Kai's birthday party, editing a million pictures and getting ready for another wedding this weekend!

I'm working quite a bit July/August because I have Gary home. That way, I will be able to take it much slower when he goes back to work. And besides, he makes every single dinner. Yup, and a good one at that. Tonight he even made a peach and cherry pie for dessert. I know I'm spoiled in that department.

I woke up this morning to Nya giggling away in her crib. How cute is that?! I'm not going to talk about the bottle situation again until it is successful but I think we are getting closer.

I have committed to the following three things:

1. Exercising 3 days a week for a minimum of 20 minutes. I'm currently on week 5 of 6 of my running program and able to run about 25 minutes straight! I am not playing football this fall which is sad but it just doesn't work very well for our family. Especially since Kai is in school full time, we will want Saturdays to be family days.

2. Using 3 cloth diapers per day. It's really an environmental thing, and if I have them, I should probably use them. The main reason I don't like to? This sounds terrible but then she can't wear her cute clothes.

3. Only accept 5 sessions per month. I am currently booked until the end of October!

I think the best investment we made was our trampoline. Seriously, the kids use it for a minimum of 1 hour per day. I love it.

I'm starting to research our trip to SE Asia for next summer. We are for sure going to the Philippines and trying to figure out where else we will go. Malaysia? Thailand? Indonesia? We will only go once in our lives so we want to make it worthwhile. We plan on going for one month. I know it's a bit crazy to take three kids, one being just one years old, but we want to do multiple international trips with our kids so we might as well start now. We will be visiting our friends in the Philippines which we are really looking forward to! If anyone has any recommendations/connections, please let me know!

Have a great week.

Love, Louise

Green Lake

We had a quick 3 day vacation to Green Lake (my dad has a house there). The boys loved the water, the sand, playing baseball, the quad, and eating snacks:) I do love how `easy' it is to go there...all the comforts of home (except internet and tv which is good/bad!!).

{The boys did go swimming}

Nya traveled very well both ways, but man, she did not want to nap. This has been the way she's been acting the last month...maybe 45 minutes naps. Then, we have to hold her for another 10 minutes and she'll go back to sleep. Let's be honest, it's usually Gary that does because I don't have the patience:) At least the nights are still good!! We are still sticking to trying to get her to take a bottle. Tonight it took 2 hours for her to take 3.5oz. I feel so mean but I don't know what to do. She never has a good latch on the bottle. She just chews on the bottle's nipple and swallows what comes out drop by drop. Anyone else have a baby that did that? I am two seconds away from giving up. The ONLY reason I care is for weddings where someone other than Gary will have to try to give her a bottle.

{The boys loved roasting hot dogs and marshmallows!}

{Nya is starting to grab on to toys!}

{The very same arbour where we said our `I Do's}

I remember on our honeymoon, Gary and I ran into a woman who was there (at the spa and resort) by herself. She said that every year she left her kids and husband for a few days and went to the spa. In my head, I couldn't believe it. Why would someone WANT to leave their husband and kids to vacation by themselves? I so get it now. Except, I would probably take Gary. Probably. Love my kids, but man, I NEED A BREAK!!!

{And today Koen started riding a bike with training wheels. We're not cool enough to have a run bike. We should but ya...}

Okay, better head to bed. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Love, Louise

PS I ran 22 minutes straight!! Go me!!

2 Months Old

Wow, time has flown. Nya had her shots today:( She cried and screamed in pain which I've never heard from her before. I had a few tears of my own. However, I know it's better than her getting really sick later on.

{You should see the CUTEST purple vintage carriage that I have for her 6 month photo session! It will be on our GC Photography site sometime next week for a one year old session that I had, but ya, I love purple!}

She is growing so well!!

Length: 24" (97th percentile)

Weight: 12lbs (75-90th percentile)

Head: 40.5" (90th percentile)

She is so full of smiles and starting to make some really cute sounds. Somehow I haven't really been taking as many pictures of her lately. I have a feeling that once she's sitting up I'll take a ton more:)

Her personality is evident already. She is relaxed and easy going. She is not a big eater and you could hold her off for an extra hour or two if you wanted to (the boys would NEVER go longer than 2-3 hours). I hope she doesn't turn into a picky eater though, that would never work in this house!! Talking about milk, she spits up all the time. 24/7 her shirt is wet. She just wears a bib constantly and we do a lot of laundry:)

Koen took 2 weeks to learn how to use a bottle and Nya is on to week 3 at least. We do it every day and after an hour she takes it (when she's falling asleep from the exhaustion of fighting it!). Either she's stubborn or she just can't figure it out. Either way, if it doesn't end up working, I'll just have to get my babysitter to take her to me so I can breastfeed her while Gary does family portraits or something.

And, I'm nervous to say this, but YAHOO, she started sleeping through the night!!! Kai was 6 months and Koen was 18 months but Ms. Nya has started doing it this last week. I give her her last feed somewhere between 6-9pm and then she sleeps til about 5 am (I feed her then and she goes back to sleep for another 3-4 hours). Today she slept til 6am so after I fed her, I put her back to sleep and I got to work for a couple of hours. It's so interesting because I've done nothing different with any of the kids and they are all so different. I am very well rested which makes me a much nicer mommy:)

The boys love her and we all refer to her as `babes'. Koen thinks she is the cutest and Kai likes to make her smile. They don't spend a lot of time with her but they do love when she is awake. They also like to introduce her to everyone we meet:)

I am totally recovered from my C-section and have been running for 3 weeks now. I feel good and just have a solid 15lbs to lose. I'm not in a big rush but it isn't fun running with the extra weight. Oh, and I wouldn't mind finally having one wardrobe and not 3 different ones (maternity, in between and normal size).

Well, babes is wanting to eat now so I better go. I just have to say that I am so incredibly thankful for my baby girl. I love her to pieces and I love that I have a daughter. I am so thankful that she is healthy and growing so well. She adds a touch sweetness to this family which makes me smile.

Have a great day.

Love, Louise

Aquarium

Today we went to the aquarium. Who knew that it was insanely busy in the summertime? Yikes. Maybe it was even busier because it was raining? Whatever the case, we will never go during peak season again! Now, not to say that it was't good, it was, but not ideal. And besides, you can't use your coupons during July/August:)

{I wasn't going to include this picture but this is Kai's fake sad face that he pulls out all the time. Not sure if you can see the huge goose egg on his forehead...he was sleeping on the floor and kicked the bunk bed ladder and it fell on his face while he was sleeping. So scary for him!}

And, as much as I want to believe that it doesn't matter that we have three kids, one being a newborn, we can still do what we used to...well...things are different and it's a little more work and a little less fun on day trips (and based on the photos...just fewer photos when managing three kids). Nya screaming during the Beluga show and while stuck in downtown traffic were definitely not highlights. Why can't one of my kids take a soother?

However, I love the ocean and I love all of the marine life. I have amazing memories growing up fishing and exploring tide pools every summer. I have my scuba diving license and just love, love, love the ocean (Kai's name means `ocean' in Hawaiian). I have a degree in Biology and taught it for years too. So ya, I love seeing my kids touch sea anemone's and stand in awe of a huge octopus. Kai giggled with glee during the dolphin show and Koen loved seeing clown fish. They had a great day which makes me happy.

And, this is random but I do feel a little disconnected from the boys. I don't like that feeling. I think it's that they are just more independent these days and like hanging out with each other. Gary is able to take care of them a lot more these days as he is around. My attention is often on Nya. It's a bit sad that they are growing up and don't need me as much anymore. I mean, it's nice, but I'm not their world:)

Finally, Koen is our entertainment when in the van. He spends every car trip asking us all a whole bunch of questions; what makes you sad? What makes you happy? What's your favourite snack? What embarrasses you? etc. And, you have to have an answer for everything and everyone has to answer. I'll admit that it does make the time go faster!

Tomorrow Nya gets her 2 months immunizations. I'm hoping not to cry. I'll have a two month update on our bottle refuser (takes an hour to take it) tomorrow.

Love, Louise

Lower Falls

On Tuesday we `hiked' Lower Falls at Golden Ears. We had a nice early start as it was going to be pretty warm. I am a very organized/prepared type person and I'm finding that it's taking us longer to get as organized as I would like. I would rather get out of the house quickly then to spend an extra 20 minutes to make sure everything is all good to go. So, we had done this trail a few years ago with a jogging stroller so I thought we could do that again. Definitely not. We had to ditch the stroller in the bushes after 10 minutes and Gary ran back to the van to get the Ergo. We didn't have a backpack to carry our snacks and water so we only made it half way to the falls. And really, that's fine. More about the journey than the destination:) The BOYS love running in the trails and climbing giant rocks etc.

{Trying to teach Kai, a leftie, how to skip rocks}

I actually breastfed Nya in the Ergo while hiking because I didn't want to stop moving and get attacked by mosquitoes. Now that's a calorie burn! Talking about calorie burn, I ran 20 minutes yesterday! Go me! I thought I had lost 3 lbs so far but we realized our digital scale is broken. I've lost nothing. Oh well, at least I'm getting more fit?!

Last night Gary took the boys to his parents house so that they could all sleep in the tent trailer and I think they had a good time. I took Nya shopping and we enjoyed a nice quiet morning before heading to my sisters house for our weekly play date.

I have come the realization that 3 kids (one being a newborn and one being Koen)+ me working 20 hours a week = life is a lot busier. Leah, don't read this, but I'm thinking that I'm not sure that I can play football this fall. The idea of being gone for at least 4 hours on a Saturday (and driving into Vancouver) and then a practice during the week in Vancouver is a bit overwhelming. I do need to do something but maybe something not on a Saturday and less time consuming. We will see....

Looking forward to dinner with friends tonight and then a wedding tomorrow!! I'm going to shoot about 1.5 hours tomorrow:) My first full wedding is in 2 weeks and Nya has to take a bottle by then. I will say that yesterday I got her to take 3oz in a Tommee Tippee bottle in 15 minutes (well, it took 13 minutes to get her to want to take it and then just 2 minutes to down it)!! Let's hope that this is the new normal. Apparently you have to walk around with her while you feed her?!

Have a good night.

Love, Louise

Milk Savers

**Heads up that this is all about breastfeeding **

My friend told me about this today and I went out and bought one to try. It is so awesome in the sense that it saves milk that would otherwise just end up in a breast pad. I used it three times today. When I was nursing on one side, I used this on the other. I just got 1 oz each time, but still, then it wasn't wasted. Normally I only use one pair of breastpads per day so I'm not a big leaker so I wasn't sure how much I would get. Also, I'm thinking it would increase your supply because it allows the other side to flow a bit more so it would increase how much you made.

The downside is that it is not discrete and you could not wear it out in public but it works well at home. I'm thinking it would also stretch out your bra from wearing it during a feed. Finally, it is expensive ($29.95 from TJ Kiddies). However, I'm a fan and would definitely recommend it!! Wish I had it when I was breastfeeding Kai and Koen as I leaked WAY more with them.

By the way, Nya is 8 weeks old today and beautiful. Maybe it's because I'm her momma, but seriously, aren't her eyes so adorable?

Yay For Summer

My beautiful family.

Below is an outtake from trying to get a photo of our family. Then you can see that even if your family is crazy, a good photo is possible:) The main culprit of craziness/refusing to behave? Koen Chapman. Grrrrrr...he is SO frustrating. We had our extended family session yesterday which Gary and I did. So stressful with our own kids involved but overall I think we got some good ones...which I will get to edit once I finish work photos first:)

The five babies...mine's #4:) The oldest two are a week apart and then the three youngest are about 6 weeks apart between each one.

My sisters and the babes. I actually did email a photo into Global so we'll see if they do a follow up:)

{It's so interesting to me to look at all these babies and know how they all were born. Like, 4 natural births (one being a VBAC), one C-section, 2 had vacuum deliveries, only one overdue?, one induced, all 5 had midwives, 3 had OB's as well, small range of lbs from 7lbs 7 oz to 8lbs 8oz, four had 90th + percentile heads, all 5 breastfed:) The funniest thing is when we have a play date and one baby cries, almost all of us have letdown...you know, we all start leaking:)}

I am so, so, so thankful to have Gary home for the summer. Why?

1. I can exercise in the morning while it's cool. I'm on week 3 of running and I've lost 3lbs. `Only' 14 more to go. I'm actually enjoying the running and it's getting better:)

2. I can work during the day. I do love photography and I may have taken too much on for July but August will be a bit slower so that will be good:)

3. Non stop help!!! Two parents for three kids. I love it. Nya is a pretty easy baby but ya, there are days when she doesn't nap and she poops 10 million times. Days when we are sweating and having to hold her for hours or she screams (when she gets overtired, so difficult to help her get to sleep). However, the evenings are lovely so I will not complain!! Usually in bed by 9pm and then just up once or twice!

If you are jealous of the teacher summers off, please note that the salaries are not fabulous and that's why we need another income. Also, there is a lot of extracurricular volunteering and work at home that happens. So ya, there is the other side to it:)

Okay, Nya is napping so I'm supposed to be working....off I go! Oh, and to any of you that are following the running program, please let me know how it's going in the comments below!!

Have an excellent week!!

Love, Louise

Smiles

Lots to smile about around here!

1. Boys at soccer camp every morning makes my life so dreamy! They are having a blast and I get some me and Nya time.

2. My sister Maria came home from the hospital today with strict instructions to take it easy. That was a great answer to prayer!

3. Nya looks just like baby Kai. See below.

4. We finalized our will at the lawyers yesterday. It was something we have put off for about 5 years out of sheer procrastination. I won the bid on a will kit a few weeks back ($220, so I saved about $150!) and we finally did it. Feels good.

5. I'm on week 2 of running and it feels good!! I'm just drinking about 10 glasses of water on the days I run and that seems to keep the headaches away.

6. I may have gone shopping and bought some shirts that actually fit and look somewhat flattering. Got them at H+M this morning:)

7. NYA WENT TO SLEEP AT 8:30PM AND ONLY WOKE UP AT 3:30AM AND THEN WAS UP AT 7:30AM FOR THE DAY. YAHOO. BEST NIGHT EVER.

{her cute outfit today}

8. Nya is now smiling and laughing and cooing and it's soooooo cute. Love my kids. And my husband.

9. Thankful that my husband has the patience to spend one hour a day on bottle training. She's not getting any better but she does take some in the end when she's tired enough. Not ideal.

Have a great day!!

Love, Louise