The End of An Era

Yesterday was Nathan’s last day working with Erik. It was also Nathan’s birthday so Rosanna & I brought the kids to the house and had a special lunch with them. Erik is really sad to lose Nathan, but we still had a lot of fun hanging out yesterday. They weren’t in a rush to get back to work so we stayed for awhile and took some pictures…

Micah getting an accurate height measurement from his Uncle Nathan (almost 3 feet tall!)

Erik kisses Keziah’s cheek while she admires his craftsmanship.

Daddy with his future employees...


The finished product!

The house is pretty much complete – something that is definitely not a coincidence. We thank God for his timing and that there is only about a week’s worth of finishing stuff that Erik can do on his own. After that, Erik & I are hoping to take a little camping trip with the kids.

This weekend we’ll be celebrating Erik’s 27th birthday (on Monday). I always think he should be older than he his. I already turned 27 in October and am already thinking about turning 28 this year. So, 27 feels like it was SO last year – ha ha :) We’ll celebrate Nathan & Erik’s birthdays with family over the weekend and maybe even take in the Canada Day fireworks as part of the festivities. I think we’ll let Micah stay up late and hopefully Keziah will snooze in her stroller…

And even though it’s a holiday on Monday, don’t forget to watch Canadian Idol! CTV actually flew Greg out to Abbotsford this week to perform an outdoor concert so they could get some footage of him playing with his band. Erik stayed home with the kids so that I could go with the rest of the Toews siblings (SO nice – but I admit it felt kind of weird to be without the kids!) I’m not sure if we made it on camera, but you never know! They also wanted to get footage of him working, so Erik & Nathan saw them filming yesterday since Greg frames houses just down the street from them. Pretty fun! So, make sure you watch Greg’s little blurb on Monday’s show – it’s crazy that it will probably amount to less than a minute of actual TV time! And, of course, make sure to call in those votes!!!

The Blessings of Blogging

This week I had the priviledge of meeting two great friends - both of whom I had never actually "met" but only knew through the wonders of Bloggerland. Heather & Amber both happened to be visiting from Manitoba with their families and this week I had the chance to meet them!

I stumbled upon Heather's blog about a year ago when I discovered that we were both due with babies in the middle of November. It was really fun to have a "pregnancy buddy" :) We both ended up being overdue and in the end, James won the race and was born one day before Keziah. I love reading Heather's blog and I have been so encouraged by it - her openness and vulnerability and the way her faith is such an integral part of her motherhood. Heather, Ryan & baby James stopped in on Tuesday afternoon as they were passing through.

James brought a gift for Keziah - a rattle from Mexico. Keziah was thrilled with it. It's so light and easy to grip. I think Fisher-Price could get a few pointers from the Mexican rattle-maker... Here they are "playing" together:


Ryan willingly snapped a picture of us with our November babies:


Micah was pretty shy during their visit but he's been quick to remind me that Keziah's rattle came from James. So, he remembers you guys!

On Wednesday night we had the chance to meet Amber, Erik, Hailey & Jayda. I've followed Amber's blog for about a year as well. We seemed to have a lot in common with our kids being similar ages - not to mention our husbands sharing the same name, ha ha! I love reading Amber's posts. She's always got so many great pictures and stories. I love that she's so real and relate-able and she is another mother who has a faith that I can admire. Amber's blog is always one of my favourites to check!

Erik & Amber were staying in Mission at the Best Western so we decided to meet them there for some playtime in the pool. My Erik was such a good sport in going with me to meet people he has not a clue about. And just as I suspected, the "Eriks" got along great! We even had to play a bit of the Mennonite Game since Erik was sure he knew them from somewhere... :)

Erik & Erik took the "older" kids into the (very chilly) pool.


Micah & Hailey took a little while to warm up to each other, but it did happen eventually.


Hailey meeting Keziah...


Keziah was trying to squirm right out of the carseat and get into the pool too...


So, I undressed her and let Erik take her into the hot-tub, which was more like a warm bath :) She loved it!


Amber & I with our baby girls (I love Jayda's big yawn!)...


Micah and Hailey decided to perform some death-defying stunts outside...


Yay! I got a picture with both of them looking!


It was a lot of fun. It's kind of strange meeting someone for the first time that you feel such a connection to, but I can honestly say that both Heather & Amber have become good friends over the last year or so. I'm sure our husbands may all think we're a little weird for claiming to have such real relationships over the internet, but I think Erik understood it a bit better after last night. Heather & I were talking about it when they were here - how, as young moms, it's such a blessing to feel connected to each other. It's easy to feel alone when you're at home all the time with kids, but now we have a network of others who we can relate to.

Heather & Amber - I had a great time with you both and I'm so happy you took the time to fit me into your BC trips!

A Little Bit About Moi...

I've been seeing this survey on lots of blogs lately and I figured it was time for me to get in on the fun...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My dad picked my first name (I think) b/c he met a Jamie once and really liked the name.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
This morning actually. Weird, since I rarely cry.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Only if I take the time to write nicely.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roasted chicken breast.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes, two.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I sure hope so!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
A bit.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Never.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Captain Crunch - though I haven't had it in ages!
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
No way. But I have a WAY higher pain tolerance than Erik :)
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Soft ice cream from the Beach Hut :)
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
The whole package. I think I'm a big picture person whereas Erik seems to remember teeny-tiny little details...
15. RED OR PINK?
Definitely pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
The way that I always compare myself to other people.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My mom.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
You can post in on your blogs!
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Tan bermuda shorts from American Eagle and barefeet.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Cooked carrots - a little random, I know, but Micah asked for "soft carrots" for lunch and I am more than willing to comply whenever he craves a vegetable :)
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The laundry -- and otherwise silence thanks to napping kids!
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Chartreuse
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? kids after a bath, bbq, fresh laundry
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Erik, and right before that, Rogers video telling me to take back my overdue movie...
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I last saw this on Andrea's blog and yes, I like her :)
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Anything in the olympics. Hockey, if Erik's playing.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Blonde - kind of a dull blonde naturally but I just got some highlights!
28. EYE COLOR?
Blue
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
nope
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
I think my all around favourite food is probably pizza.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Cars - but we watch that every day around here, so I would have to go with DreamGirls.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Brown
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer!
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
That's a tough one - maybe fruit pizza?
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
skip
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
skip again
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Can't remember the name - something about WWII. I just finished reading Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn - SO good!!
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't have one.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Canadian Idol (girls night)
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
giggling kids, water (i.e. a lake, river or ocean), singing good harmony with Erik
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Do I have to choose one?
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Lima, Peru.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Singing.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Killarney, MB
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING?
Anyone :)

This is summer?

It's another dreary day here in Abbotsford. Seriously, wasn't summer supposed to start last week? I've been waiting to bring out all the summer clothes and especially Keziah's summer dresses, but everyday we have to put on the same jeans and sweaters!

This past weekend my passion for scrapbooking was rekindled. I haven't touched my scrapbooking stuff since Keziah was born and I was waiting for some inspiration (and some time!) Well, I think it finally came. I was able to finish the title page for her album and I'm so pleased with how it turned out:

On Sunday Erik discovered the joy of putting Keziah on the potty to poop. When I first told him I was doing this he thought it was kind of cool, but until he experienced it for himself I don't think he realized the great satisfaction it would bring. He was thrilled! Keziah even has her "pooping face" in this picture :)

I had to include another video today because it's so adorable. I usually sing Micah a song before he goes to sleep and we've cycled through a few different songs over the months. If I sing a kid's song he gets upset and tells me he wants a grown-up song. So, some of the favourites so far have been Trust & Obey and Holy God. Lately I've been singing Safe Place (by Kevin Boese I think) and he's learned most of the words and loves to sing along with us...

A quick update on me: I saw my doctor on Friday and he thinks I'm having some minor gastro-intestinal issues. I'll have to give some samples (blood and other such things...) just to check everything out. I've actually felt pretty good again over the weekend and I'm just hoping that I'll be able to start walking with the kids again without feeling gross afterwards.

And one more thing! Don't forget to get your dialing fingers ready -- Greg performs tonight on Canadian Idol!

Get on the Bandwagon!

If you haven't been watching Canadian Idol, well you'd better start watching... NOW! Some of you may remember me writing a post last year about our friend from church, Greg Neufeld, who made it into the top 22. He only survived one week after the show started which came as a shock to us and even to the judges. BUT, he's gone back for a second season and we're really excited. This means I need to solicit your votes for Greg. I had never voted up until last year, but it's easy, it's free and you can vote as many times as you want. So, what are you waiting for people? Watch Greg this coming Monday night as he performs on the first live show and remember - the lines will be open at the end of the show! Vote people vote!

Micah and I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday and here he is show-casing the benefits of baking with Mom...



He was inspired by Kamryn's blog performance yesterday and wanted to do his own little medley for the camera:



Micah had 2 installments of naps yesterday: the first was about 15 minutes in the car on the way to see Erik at work and the second was another 15 minutes before supper in front of the TV. I didn't want him to sleep too long that late in the day so I reluctanctly woke him up.
He wasn't too eager to wake up as you will see in this video clip:



Erik's parents left tonight for their Africa/Europe trip so we will have the house to ourselves for the next month. I think I will miss the Grandma-Micah playtimes the most as she often takes him off my hands for an hour here or a half-hour there.

Unfortunately I haven't been feeling good again this week. A little frustrating to say the least. I even cancelled an appointment that I'd made on Monday b/c I'd felt great all weekend. But, now I will see my doctor tomorrow - regardless of how I feel. Hopefully I'll be back to my full capacity soon...

Well, I admit this post was pretty random, but that's all for tonight...

Happy first day of Summer!

Rejection

Yesterday morning we went to church at The Life Centre again so Erik could play drums with his brother, Doug. We've been used to getting up early on Sundays to make it to our church by 8:30 so it was a treat to only have to be at church at 11! Keziah was able to have a normal morning nap and I even had time for a little photo shoot of the kids before we left. I interspersed the pictures throughout this post for your enjoyment :)

I think Keziah may be slowly weaning herself. I always offer breastfeeding first before resorting to a bottle and she usually nurses fine first thing in the morning. But the rest of the feedings she will nurse a bit and then either fuss or just turn her head away in disinterest. As soon as I bring out a bottle she gets SO excited. I kind of saw this coming since we have been giving her bottles more and more and I remember hearing that babies usually start to prefer bottles if they're offered them enough. I think she likes that she can still look around when she drinks a bottle. And I think she actually prefers the taste of formula. When I give her breastmilk in a bottle she doesn't down it as quickly as formula. So even though most of me is really OK with this, I admit there's a tiny part of me that feels a little rejected :) I think we'll try to hang onto those morning feedings as long as we can, but this may be the beginning of the end...


Micah's potty-training is going great. Going #2 is no longer tramautic which is a relief (in more ways than one - ha ha). He still has the odd pee accident when he's too busy playing, but otherwise we're good! He has been dry during his naps right from the start (except maybe once) but still needs a pull-up at night (though he wakes up dry sometimes).
And speaking of the potty, I actually got Keziah to poop on the potty last week! I went to change her diaper and saw that something was a'comin', so I rushed her to the bathroom and she fit quite comfortably on Micah's potty-seat while I sat on the stool and held her up. It was great! I'm not sure if I'll get in the habit of doing this with her, but hey, that was one less dirty diaper for me to clean up!


We had a fun little family night on Saturday night. After having supper with friends we came home, pulled out the hide-a-bed, made popcorn and let Micah stay up to watch Cars with us. We made sure to tell him that this was a special treat so that he doesn't start expecting to stay up every night. I'm thinking that if I want him to go to bed at 7:30 I will have to shorten his nap (he's still napping about 2 hours every afternoon). But it's hard for ME to give up such a long nap, so maybe we'll compromise and put him to bed at 8 and still let him nap an hour and a half in the afternoon....

I seem to be over whatever random sickness plagued me last week. I'm on day 3 of feeling totally fine and I'm thankful for that. There's nothing like feeling normal again after being sick for awhile - I have renewed motivation to do all the things that I felt too yucky to do last week. Keziah's been a bit of a fussy-pants this weekend though so my guess is that she's either come down with the same thing or that she's teething.

That's all the news I have for today but, to end off, here's my favourite picture of the bunch...

Testing...

Hi readers - I'm just curious if you can tell me whether this post is showing up at the top of the page (where it should be) or if you have to scroll way down to see it. I changed some things on my template and am hoping I've solved any potential problems! Thanks :)

Daddy's "yob-site"

I think my new template is actually inspiring me to blog! After yesterday's confessions of my lack of motivation, here I am again the next day with a new post...

I took the kids to visit Daddy & Uncle Nathan at work this morning (also known by Micah as the "yob-site"). They are really flying on this house and every time I go it looks drastically different.

Unfortunately this will be the last house they'll be building together before Nathan takes a worship leader position at Ross Road Community Church. Erik is very sad to see him go and says it's been the best work experience... ever. He's got some ideas of what he might do once Nathan moves on but he hasn't decided yet. I'd definitely like to know what's going to happen, but Erik doesn't seem in a panic, so I guess I'll just wait and let him figure it out! It's something to be praying about, though - that's for sure...



Finally! A decent family picture!... Oops, never mind, I think Erik might be in the middle of a blink.


Keziah fell asleep in the car on the way home and I had to wake her up so she wouldn't mess up my "two-kids-napping-at-the-same-time" schedule for the afternoon. She was happy but I could tell she was sleepy. She gets so screechy when she's tired. I caught some of her noises on video. You can tell that the sound of her own voice is still startling to her!



Spoken like a true girl :)

Another day, another blog

I haven't been very motivated to blog lately and I'm not sure why. I think it's just life! I wake up every morning with a list of big plans for my day and end up only accomplishing about half of what I set out to do. I feel like I'm just trying to keep up with the regular household duties, and meanwhile other projects - like starting Keziah's scrapbook or finally finishing thank-you cards from her baby gifts - are distant dreams...

Mealtimes are becoming hour-long ordeals - nursing Keziah and then maybe topping her up with a bottle, and then feeding her solids, plus making food for Micah (and trying to get him to eat something from all the food groups), not to mention making something for myself. It'll be nice when Keziah can feed herself - and when I can make the same thing for her and Micah.

I also haven't been feeling that great this week. I've heard something's going around so I'm hoping it'll go away on its own. I've just had stomach cramps and back-ache and just an overall bleh feeling. It's weird (and no, I'm not pregnant!) I wondered if it could be some recurring kidney stone issues. The feeling is slightly similar but not nearly as severe as the labour-like pains I experienced last time (yes, passing kidney stones is very comparable to giving birth!) So, we'll see what happens...

We're revisiting bedtime battles again with Micah. He just keeps coming out of his room. Last night Erik finally sat beside his bed only to have Micah scream so hard that he threw up all over his sheets. We've tried the Supernanny approach and it worked for awhile. Maybe we just needed to stick with it a bit better. Naptimes aren't bad at all. I think bedtime is different because Daddy's home and Daddy's lots of fun - more fun than Mom. Anyway, I think I might have to shorten his nap a little bit and see if it helps. But if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open!

I haven't taken too many pictures this week, but here's a couple shots of the kids from a few days ago.

Little Picasso hard at work:

Keziah watching and learning from her big bro:

That's all for tonight! Erik & Micah are just heading out to pick up some dessert treats for us - yummy!

Adventures in Parenthood - Episode 2

Saturday turned out to be a GREAT day for me - despite the dreary rain. Erik let me head out to the mall all by myself for three whole hours!! I haven't done that since.... I don't even know. Anyway, he even handed me some cash before I went out the door. What a treat! It was weird to be able to just try stuff on in the stores and not have a big stroller to push around - or a huge diaper bag to carry. Just little old me. I had to laugh when a young sales guy in one of the stores started chatting with me - asking me what I was up to that evening, etc. Ha ha. If he only knew I was heading home to dirty diapers and baby puke.

Then I got a much-needed haircut in the afternoon. I have been trying to grow my hair out for awhile - just so it's long enough to pull back in a ponytail for those non-shower days (which happen to be quite frequent these days...) But, I've been so sick of my hair that it's ended up in a ponytail every day for the last 3 weeks. So, I needed some new style.

Here I am before my haircut - note the limp, lifeless hair and the (yawn) inevitable ponytail. Please don't note the pile of laundry behind me.




















Here it is after: fresh and cute!


Then I had a bit of fun taking pictures with the kids...

Micah checking for boogers. Keep this picture in mind for later in this post :)

Mommy & little bug-eyes!

Playing with the edits in Picasa2.

So happy!

OK, now onto the "adventures" I eluded to in the title... (To review episode 1, click here)

This past weekend Erik was playing drums on the worship team at church. On these Sundays, he usually lets Micah come up on stage after the service since he loves to play drums with Daddy. I was in the nursery with the kids and when I knew the service was almost over, we left so I could make a quick stop at the library. While I checked out some new books, Micah started heading down the stairs towards the sanctuary which I figured was fine since I thought church was done and they usually keep the doors closed anyway. I came out of the library to see Micah sneaking through the sanctuary doors as someone was coming out. By the time I got to the sanctuary I realized that church wasn't over but my son was racing up to the stage at the front! About 250 heads swiveled back to see whose child this was and I just stood there helplessly. Erik's brother Nathan was leading the church in a closing song and Auntie Rosanna (who was singing) saved the day by grabbing Micah's hand and stopping him from going any further. That's when Micah turned around and saw the sea of faces staring at him. He stood there clinging to Rosanna with one hand and shoving his finger up his nose with the other hand.

After a full minute or so he decided he didn't want to be up there after all, let go of Rosanna's hand and raced back down the centre aisle, screeching the whole way. I met him about half-way and sheepishly scooped him up and went back into the foyer. There were lots of comments afterwards - nobody was offended that I know of and most people thought it was cute. Erik said to one person, "it's always cute when it's someone else's kid!"

Anyway, it will likely be one of those childhood stories that will be told long after Micah reaches adulthood.

Adventure #2 happened today when Micah had an unexpected poop while we were at the park and I had NOTHING with me. Thank goodness for the elementary school nearby where we managed to clean him up a bit. This was a big fear of mine and I'm relieved to see we managed to get through it alright!

In other news, Keziah is addicted to rolling on her stomach. She's starting to wake at night again simply because she gets herself in some sticky situations:

That's all the blogging for tonight. Time for me to stop procrastinating and start cleaning up the supper dishes...

This kid's got rhythm!

His drumming makes his Daddy especially proud! Erik is banking on Micah playing with the church worship team by the time he gets to Kindergarten :)

Picnic at the Park

In the last few months, we've started a tradition of going out as a family for Friday suppers and tonight we thought we'd pick up our supper and take it to the park. The sunny evening was a treat after a week of clouds and rain.

Grilled Cheese!

Does any kid like getting their face wiped??

This girl sure loves her bottle...

My first blind date and other fun stuff...

What a beautiful weekend we just had! The weather was gorgeous (a little too hot for some people probably) and it made for those wonderfully comfortable summer evenings.

I started the weekend off with my very first blogger "blind date". Amanda and I had our 2nd babies within days of eachother and our 2-year-olds are only a few months apart, so we decided it was time to finally meet! For the most part, Micah did really well. He did a great job sharing with Diedre and I think they had fun running around in the backyard together.

Playing teeball - Diedre as catcher/runner and Micah as hitter.

Sharing a snack.


Ezekiel & Keziah hanging out.


Already learning to share :)


The butterfly who interrupted our playdate.


Group shot - Diedre was about to escape in this one :)


Check out Amanda's post for more pictures of our playdate. And click here to see Ezekiel's amazing push-ups!

The rest of the weekend was spent having yummy BBQ's, shopping and playing at the park. It's been encouraging to see some progress in Micah's behaviour. We've had to become a lot more firm about things that we used to just "let slide". His whining has really improved and he is learning to ask for things like a "big boy" the first time around without me having to remind him. He did start his bedtime marathons again this weekend - getting out of bed over and over and not falling asleep until after 9 most nights. It's frustrating, but I have to be thankful for the things that are going well! One thing that amazed me was how much he ate today since he usually eats like a bird. And he's been picky lately about things that he used to love, but today I convinced him to eat three foods that he hasn't eaten in months and he loved them. So, that's another thing to be thankful for!

It's crazy to see both of my kids in high chairs...


I bought Keziah a really neat new product on the weekend. It's called the Sassy Teething Feeder. See picture below:

It's basically a mesh bag that fits onto a plastic handle. I can put all sorts of different foods inside the bag and she can chew at it all she wants without the risk of choking. Today I put a slice of fresh peach inside and let her try it. Once she figured it out she really started sucking and gnawing at it.

So, to end off, here's a video of her enjoying her new mode of eating...