Busy Boys!

Last week when it was minus 30 I gave in and dug out some of the outdoor toys for the basement, Luke's trike included.
We also built a "Bear cave"!

Andrew deep in concentration building Lego. This boy loves Lego and is so creative.

Poor Baby Isaac had the flu last week and looked like this for a few days. Too much effort to smile. Poor little guy.

Today Sam and I went on Andrew's field trip to the Police station. Ever since we got home they have been playing policemen.

It was too bad that we didn't get to see one of the K9 dogs or the jail cell. We did get to see the police bicycles and a police car and hear a siren. The highlight was watching a video of the squad team doing drills with one of the K9 dogs.

Checking off Mom's To Do list

This week we are starting to study Women of The Bible at our women's Bible Study Group. So I've been reading about Eve. I've only read the first chapter and I have learned so much already and thought about things I haven't thought about before. I'm just going to quote something from the book that got me thinking...

"Eve was lonely and had a difficult time during childbirth. Being the first woman on earth she had no mother, no sister, no friend who could share her feelings. There was no one to go to for advice, no other woman who could help her with the delivery. And what a strange experience, to become a mother when you have never been a child yourself. What do you do with a child?"

This just made me so grateful for all of my friends, my sister in laws, my mother in law, my step mother and for Nannie. I couldn't imagine life without all of these special women. And to be a mother who was never a child would be so hard. So much of who I am as a mother is because of how I was raised as a child and by the example those around me set by being such great mothers. I'm really excited to study and learn more.

I started scrap booking again last week after a year break. I'm so behind but very excited to get going again. I've done a lot of layouts but haven't done the journelling for all of them yet. Some of these things have been on my To Do lists for quite some time but since we've been kind of hibernating lately I've tackled a few of them.

Something else on the To Do list for a few months now was a date night with Ken. So we went out for a nice dinner at the Keg last weekend. It was so nice to just chat without interruptions and to remember favorite pastimes together and to plan out our summer which should be fun filled and busy! I think we clean up pretty nice, minus the grey hairs starting to pop through and the wrinkles(laugh lines) that are starting to appear more and more.

I also bought these letters a few months ago and finally painted them last week. All of the boys have their names painted and hanging on their bedroom walls.

It feels so great to get some of these things checked off my to do lists.
So that's what I've been busy with.

Family Day Fun!

In the morning we packed up Black Beauty and headed out to the farm to use those new sleds we got for Christmas.
I had to post this picture to show how big the sky is in the prairies and how open everything is. You can see for miles, it is so refreshing except for when the 100km/h winds hit. I wouldn't call that refreshing, I'd call that hardly being able to breathe as sand and snow and whatever else is light whips you in the face. Windy days we try to stay inside. Thankfully family day was fairly calm and we were able to enjoy our time together.

Grandpa had to come check things out and take the boys for some quad rides.

Guess who got stuck pulling the sleds up the hill?

Andrew.

Sam.

I love this picture of Ken and Luke amongst the prairie grass. We also went swimming at the pool which was packed but we all had a great day.

Fabulous February

Sam's school is on reading week so he's been home everyday and these three have been learning to play together. Actually Luke has been learning to share his huge bin of cars.
There was a book fair at the school yesterday and the kids could dress up as a favorite book character. This is Brother Bear from the Berenstein Bears. He's really Andrew's good buddy Noah but you probably couldn't tell.

I wasn't feeling super creative this round so Andrew got to choose between a bee costume or a cow costume. I'm sure there are lots of bee stories out there...right?

Sunday night we had family over for cake and coffee and croquettes to celebrate Isaac's birthday last week. Uncle Pete and Luke are bonding. Notice all of Luke's cars all over the chair. They all were strategically placed.

The boys with their rubber snakes from the dollar store. These things have provided hours of entertainment this month.

There was one day a looonnnggg time ago in early February that was kinda mild so we dug our rubber boots out and went puddle splashing. Today is minus 32. Brrrr....

Nova Scotia

A trip out to Whistlers pub with family.
Isaac and cousin Meisha who adores babies.

Aunt Janet and Cousins Erin and Kari.

I sure love all of my beautiful cousins.

Jen, Tina and I together just like old times.

My beautiful Nannie whom we all love so much.

Just a little more of Isaac...

Happy 1st Birthday Isaac

So Isaac turned one yesterday. We had such a hard time trying to decide what to get him. What do you get the fourth boy in the family for his 1st birthday? I asked for advice on Facebook and here are a few of the suggestions: a puppy, kitten, wrap something up that we already have, or lego. We chose a ride on quad that has lots of buttons and makes quad sounds. Not sure who was the most excited about it. I've had to set the timer on the oven for two minute intervals so the boys can take turns.

Isaac at one:

• weighs 28 pounds and is (fill in later) inches long
• already has had one haircut and is due for another
• has flown to NS twice already. Lucky boy!
• has mastered crawling and now pulls himself up against chairs, tables, toys etc.
• doesn't seem to eager to start walking as of yet
• still has two naps a day 9am and 1pm.
• goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until 7:30-8ish. Awesome!
• Eats anything and everything that I give him.
• Wears his sleepsac when he naps and goes to bed and snuggles his soft blankie.
• When he's tired he sucks on his index finger and plays with his blankie.
• he still is quite the snuggle bear which I love. We had some great bonding time a few weeks ago when we flew to NS
• he is so content and will have naps here, there and everywhere.
• he never plays strange with anyone but can give people quite the staredowns without cracking a smile
• but when he does smile LOOK OUT! what a handsome little boy and charmer with his twinkly eyes, big smile and big cheeks.
• he wants to be with his brothers all of the time lately. If they leave the room he crawls as fast as he can to follow them.
• only says "mamamama" and "dadadadadadadada" so far.
• loves swimming and having baths.
• wears size 2 clothing already
• has a bit of a temper which I witnessed the other day. Sam took a toy away from him that he was playing with and Isaac started hollaring, crying and banging his fists on the floor. Things are about to start getting even more interesting in this household.

Well that about sums up where we are at with Isaac at one. We love our little boy to pieces and love how he fits into the family so perfectly! We can't/can wait to see how he grows and how his personality develops. We can't wait to see what his relationships are like with his brothers. We love you Baby Isaac, Happy Birthday!