Oreo

Kristi got herself a kitten a couple of weeks ago. When the kids get bored we go find her in Auntie Kristi's room and play with her for a little while. It's fun watching the kids interact with her...

Keziah loves to chase Oreo. I think the cat is afraid of her and Keziah gets so frustrated when the kitten is out of her reach. Here Oreo is attempting to escape behind the toy box...

But wait - Keziah is right on her tail :)

Oreo likes the kids' toys - and usually plays in the bottom of the exersaucer:


Kitten playtime always ends in tears for Keziah - time to put Oreo away!

Another First

Erik and I have been noticing that Micah has a LOT of extra energy these days. On the days when we don't do much - which is more often now that it rains all the time - he gets so restless and starts terrorizing the house, his sister and me. We agreed that he needs more activity and some way to harness his wild-ness. So, we bought him his first pair of "bob" skates - adjustable skates with two very dull blades (like a bobsled, I guess) - and a helmet. He was so proud to wear them. Erik met some friends of ours the other night for public skate and said that Micah did pretty good for his first time. I thought Micah would find it frustrating, but Erik said he was just so pleased to be out on the ice...

Yep, that's an Edmonton jersey - a gift from Uncle Joel :) Though I think Erik may be getting won over by the Canucks fans here...

Micah & Evan: Rookies of the year!

Bridal Falls

Yesterday was a beautiful November day. We packed up the kids and drove east into the mountains to take a short hike up to Bridal Falls. It was so peaceful and so beautiful - a gentle reminder of God's quiet love.

Erik carried Keziah in the Mei Tai. We haven't used it too much recently, but she seemed to like it.


Pausing to watch the water under the bridge:



Micah didn't notice the waterfall much, but was instead very intent on throwing things into the little river. He was especially fascinated by throwing leaves and watching them get swept down by the current.

A little cuddle with Daddy:



What a cute little gnome she makes:

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

Psalm 36:5-9

Fall pictures and more

Last week held some unexpected sunny days. I think the whole city of Abbotsford is outside on those days since they are few and far between. One afternoon Micah thought it was fun to push Keziah in her stroller out in the backyard and she thought it was fun too.



















And it was fun until the front wheels got stuck in the grass and, out of frustration, Micah pushed the stroller as hard as he could. The stroller toppled over with Keziah still buckled in it. Her and I were both very unimpressed.



















Keziah has started pulling herself up like crazy. A week ago she barely did it at all and now she's a pro already and starting to cruise around a bit. It's crazy how quickly they can figure things out.

Here's a picture comparison of Micah and Keziah both pulling up on the dishwasher at about 11 months. I see some similarities but I think I see more differences...




Here are the Toews sisters hanging out on our bed on the weekend. We were killing some time before we went to see a late movie, Dan in Real Life. This was such a surprisingly clean, funny and cute movie. I can't wait to see it again!



We finally got out this Sunday to get some family pictures. My goal was to come away with one good shot for our Christmas cards. There are a couple that might work. But here are a few that didn't make the cut:








We got a picture of Grandpa & Grandma Toews with their three grandchildren:



It's impossible to get Micah to stand still for a good picture...

Keziah all bundled up and ready to head back to the warm house:


We took a quick trip up to Erik's latest house project to see the finish work inside. It looks beautiful! Micah loves hanging out at the job-site...

To end off, here's the fantastic view from where Erik is working these days...

Giggles with Daddy

The other night Erik and the kids had fun with an empty mini smarties box. Keziah doesn't laugh easily so hearing her giggle like this is a treat :)

11 months

Yesterday Keziah turned 11 months old! That means in only one month she will be one year old already! Crazy.

Keziah is definitely an expert crawler now and is getting the hang of pulling herself up. I've mentioned before that she has been a tough baby these last several months. I've concluded that part of the problem is that she hasn't been easily pacified by the things that worked with Micah - i.e. the soother, and Baby Einstein videos. She'll take her soother for sleeping but otherwise wants nothing to do with it (which I know I will be thankful for in the long run). But, thankfully she has finally started to show an interest in Baby Einstein. It sounds bad that I should want my child to watch TV so badly, but when 4 o'clock rolls around, it is music to my ears! Here she is getting in some Baby Mozart the other day:

Also, I have decided that having two kids is more than double the work - at least with my kids. Yesterday morning Erik took Micah for breakfast and Keziah played happily by herself for that whole hour. But as soon as Micah came home he was in her face and making her cry. She screams if he just looks at her funny. And, of course, Micah loves the reaction :p

(Even though Keziah doesn't care for her soother, she's likes to crawl around with her razbaby teether in her mouth!)

Keziah also loves to fill her diaper in the middle of the night lately. Three nights in a row last week she cried out in the night and I was greeted with a lovely odour as I entered her room. I don't mind a quick midnight diaper change now and then, but when she is ready to get up and play for the next couple of hours, I get a little bit frustrated.

Now I have a birthday party dilemma: Keziah and Micah's birthdays are only 3 weeks apart, and Micah's birthday only shortly before Christmas. I think I would like to have a party but I don't want to plan 2. I'm thinking of having a joint party this year. Any suggestions?

That's all for today. We have all come down with an annoying cold this week and for some reason Micah has decided that 5:30 is his new wake-up time :( What happens when the time changes and he's getting up at 4:30?!? Yikes. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it...