Big Boy

Here are some pictures of Micah demonstrating his independance...

He's starting to enjoy drinking his juice directly out of a cup. But, he definitely has not mastered this skill yet - hence the reason for this activity taking place outside :)

(Rosanna, I know you'll like these ones!) Micah likes to climb up on our kitchen chairs now and eat his snack at the table like a big kid. Here he is hanging out and doing some math equations on Daddy's calculator.

Oops

By the way, I realized after I wrote my last post that I'm actually only 4 months pregnant - not 5 as I had written (and have since corrected). I did say this pregnancy was going by fast, but I think that was just a little bit of wishful thinking ;)

18 Weeks & 18 Months

This week I have reached 18 weeks of pregnancy (4 months) and Micah has reached 18 months of life! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by and also how fast Micah is growing up. This morning I once again realized that Micah is no longer a baby but definitely becoming more and more of a "big boy".


Here I am yesterday before I left for my 18-week ultrasound. It went really well and it was so amazing to see the baby (yes, there's just one!) When we saw Micah on the ultrasound, he was in a weird position and it was hard to see everything, but this baby turned into a perfect position and we saw a cute little profile! We were hoping that the ultrasound tech could see the gender. We wouldn't have been able to find out yesterday anyway (here in the lower mainland they wait until you're 20 weeks to release any gender info) but the tech told us that the baby had its legs crossed the whole time and she couldn't get a good view, so I guess this one will be another surprise. I will post the ultrasound pics as soon as we get them. They were having some computer problems yesterday and couldn't print them off, but hopefully we'll get them soon!

Hicks Lake

Over the weekend, the Toews family took a camping trip to Hicks Lake (in Sasquatch Provincial Park near Harrison Hot Springs). It's beautiful up there and the lake water is a lot warmer than most mountain lakes. It still wasn't a hot weekend though. We had a bit of rain mixed in with some sun, but we were all warm and dry under our tarps. Elissa, Rosanna, Micah & I went up early on Friday morning to ensure that we got a spot. It was a good thing we did, too, since there wasn't much left. We were pretty proud of ourselves for setting up all the tents and having a blazing fire going when the boys arrived after work.


Here's Micah eating his beans. The best things I could've brought on the camping trip were this little highchair to contain Micah while he ate and his rubber boots - I discovered that my little boy LOVES mud puddles!

Daddy came up with a great invention for Micah's soother using a piece of string. I realized this weekend how dependent he is on his "nukie". So, as of today we are officially starting to wean him off of it. I'm trying to explain that soothers are only for sleeping. He doesn't seem to like the idea, so any suggestions re: soother-weaning would be appreciated!


On Saturday we spent some time down by the lake. Micah enjoyed throwing handfuls of sand into the water and attracted this whole family of geese who thought he was throwing food. I'm surprised how close they came!

Micah was venturing closer and closer into the water and so we ended up taking off his pants and boots. He didn't seem to mind the cold water at all.

Playing with his new shovel.

This was Sunday afternoon just before we headed home. Another cool day, but Micah loved the beach nonetheless. I can't wait to take him again when we've got some really hot weather.

Summer's Almost Here!

It seems like I've been blogging a lot lately, but there's just so much going on! With summer on the way, there are lots of fun activities to document. This weekend we're going camping with the Toews family so I'm sure I'll have quite a few more pictures to post for next week!


Yesterday we had a really fun afternoon. It was a beautiful day, so after Micah's nap, we went with Auntie Elissa & Auntie Rosanna to Mill Lake for a picnic.


Well, this isn't the greatest picture of me, but doesn't Micah look cute? :) By the way, for those of you who have requested, I promise there will be some belly pictures on the way soon...


I think Micah's Aunties had more fun at the park than he did!



By the time Micah and I got home we were both really hot, so Micah took his first dip in his new pool. He loved it and I'm sure he will spend quite a bit more time in there in the weeks to come.

Micah's New Baby

I'm so excited for Micah to be a big brother! In preparation for the new baby that will be joining our family in about 5 and a half months, I bought Micah his very own dolly. Erik thinks she's freaky-looking, but I think she's cute. I think she's a cabbage patch, but I'm not sure. She was a Value Village special.

Anyway, Micah has actually been quite interested in her, and surprisingly gentle considering he's big on toy-throwing! I've taught him how to hold the baby and burp the baby and put the baby to bed, and he's even willing to share his soother with her on occasion.

The other morning I was in the bathroom when I heard Micah saying "Ock-a, Ock-a". This is usually the sound he makes when he rocks in his own toddler-size rocking chair at Grandma's house, but when I found him in the living room he was holding his baby and gently rocking her back and forth. So cute!!

Saturday

A tasty treat...

Hard at work.

Daddy & Micah in their matching outfits. A little cheesy - I know! Erik bought his camouflage shorts a few weeks ago and the other day I was in Target down in Bellingham and found the toddler equivalent. I couldn't resist! I love Target!!

Signs & Sounds

Micah has really been starting to communicate more and more with us in the past couple of months. He's saying quite a few words now and making lots of animal sounds (which apparently count for words, too, I heard). Some of his favourite words right now are "hot", "hockey", "baby", and "appy" (for apple or applesauce). And he loves making the sounds for lion and elephant.
Before he turned 1 we started introducing a bit of sign language. I didn't know how interested he would be, but now at almost 18 months, Micah's learned about 25 different signs - some of them are actual American Sign Language, while a lot of them are just made up hand gestures that seem to get the point across.


This is the sign for "more". It was the first sign Micah learned at about 11 months.


"Sorry" - We just learned this one last week. We seem to need it a lot lately - especially when the boys that I babysit come over. Toddlers sure don't like sharing.


"Cold" - Micah made this one up himself. It started with Grandma putting his hand up against the cold window in the winter and touching it to his face. He's also added the effect of intensely shaking his head while he does the sign :)

The Joys of Feeding Toddlers

Someone tell me how you teach a 17-month-old NOT to throw his food! Most of the time Micah will only throw food if he doesn't like it or if he's full - that's usually how he lets me know he's "all done" even though I've taught him the sign language for it :) And now that we are into self-spoon-feeding, he has discovered the joys of flinging the bowl's contents across the room. The other day I left the room for barely a minute and returned to find yogurt all over the floor, all over the table, all over the highchair and all over Micah.

The guilty culprit looking oh-so-innocent.

The Devan Nursery Petting Zoo

Today, Micah and I went with his Grandma Toews to visit the petting zoo at the nursery just a few minutes away.
Micah was fascinated by the chickens, sheep, goats and rabbits...
But after about 10 minutes, he went back to his favourite past-time - throwing rocks. One persistent goat kept rubbing up against him looking for affection, but Micah would just give him a funny look and pick up another rock. 

6 Random Facts About ME!

Janelle has tagged me AGAIN! So, here goes with some random facts...

1. I was always the shortest kid in my class. This meant being in the front row for EVERYTHING - including Christmas concerts when I would sometimes have to stand in a row with a lower grade... Being the shortest also meant being the first to get my picture taken on photo day and the last to be picked in gym class.

2. In my spare time, I work on a novel. But, don't get too excited - I've been working on it for the past 5 years and I'm only on chapter 4. So at this rate, I've got at least 20 more years before I'll be finished.

3. I secretly don't mind watching hockey. In fact, now that the playoffs are on, Erik is usually upstairs watching with his family and I admit that I sometimes have the game on downstairs too :)

4. My thumbs look like toes. Really, they do - fat and wide and kind of ugly. Acrylic nails would never fit on them.

5. I hate doing the dishes. It kind of grosses me out. For this reason, I will cram absolutely everything I can into the dishwasher. (Probably in the time I spend fitting in all the dishes together like puzzle pieces, I could've washed them by hand...)

6. I love ebay! After several years of watching my sisters become proficient 'ebay-ers' and thinking it just wasn't for me, I have crossed over to the other side.

OK, that was tough! But, now I need to tag someone else.... So, I tag the two newest bloggers I know, my sister-in-laws, Elissa & Rosanna. Have fun!!

Gift Opening

On Sunday afternoon, we joined Rosanna & Nathan at their new place to watch them open their gifts. (By the way, the patio set they're sitting on was the gift from all of us siblings - gotta love IKEA!) It was a BEAUTIFUL day and Micah definitely enjoyed snacking off of Grandpa's plate and exploring in the backyard.


 

Mommy's Day

A glimpse of our growing "bean"...



Happy Mother's Day!!

Post-Wedding Fun

After the wedding was over on Saturday, there was still a lot of activity around here!


Micah enjoyed playing with his cousin-aunts (??)Dana & Lauren from Saskatoon.

One of Nathan's 2 German friends, Benny (who flew all the way here to surprise him) tried very hard to make friends with Micah over the week, but Micah didn't really reciprocate. Sorry Benny.

And then there's Uncle Doug with the mideivel hat - actually a busted soccer ball turned inside out.


And here's Micah yesterday getting himself into some fun!

More Wedding Memories...

Here are a few more pictures from Nathan & Rosanna's special day...


The Bride & Groom posing for a picture with a very unwilling ringbearer.


Our little family.


Micah sharing his nuk with his Auntie Elissa.


Taking pictures is hard work!


Yummy cheesecake!!

Here Comes The Ringbearer...

On Saturday, May 6, Erik's brother Nathan and his fiancee Rosanna were married! They decided to ask all of their siblings (spouses included) to be in the wedding party, so we were very excited to be able to stand up for them. Micah stole the show as the ringbearer. He walked ahead of Erik and I down the aisle holding a teddy bear. The closer he got to the stage, the more aware he became of the gawking faces and flashing cameras. He eventually slowed almost to a stop and Erik carried him the rest of the way. After the bride came down the aisle, Erik discreetly passed Micah on to a friend (thanks Lori!) who took him out of the ceremony. He didn't make a peep (until later, apparently...) Here he is enjoying the farmyard where we took pictures earlier in the afternoon.

(top L) Don't Doug & Erik make lovely bridesmaids?
(top R) Me & Elissa.
(bottom L) The men - Nathan's brothers and brothers-in-law.
(bottom R) The women - Rosanna's sister & sisters-in-law (minus Kristy - we missed you!)


Some more random pictures from the day.

The Toews side of the wedding party.

And here's the couple - don't they look great?

After the ceremony we had a great dessert reception (catered by Afterthoughts for those of you from around here - very yummy!) I was able to leave Micah home with the babysitter and thoroughly enjoyed my evening!

Congratulations you guys! What a great day! Rosanna, I'm so excited to have you as a sister-in-law and I look forward to seeing you both when you get back!