Our kids are growing sooo fast these days! I just wanted to document a few adorable things that Deks is doing so I don’t forget! As I’ve mentioned before, this blog is fairly therapeutic for me to write. Its nice to be in the groove of it, and I don’t know if I would keep up so well with it if it was just for me, on paper. But it is sort of a memoir type of thing, in the way that I hope to go print it off and have a hard copy for my kids to read. So this is more an info post that is mostly for my enjoyment 🙂 Hopefully some of you can appreciate it.

Dekker is an entertainer. He wants to be watched all the time. “Watch Detter! Watch Detter!” He will get down on the floor to Laela’s level and say “La smile at Detter” and wait until she does. He loooves Laela. This morning, both kids were in high chairs at the table, and Dekker came down out of his first. As usual, he went over to Laela to say hi to her and check on things before heading to his toys. Normally, he just says “Hiiiii Laaaaaa” in a higher, wandering voice. I guess its his baby voice 🙂 But this morning. He was a bit more serious, and said “Hi. Lay. La.” He glanced over at me to make sure I caught it. Yup, I did. In the last few days, he’s been using her whole name more. Its nice to hear it! So anyway, he greeted her, and then assessed the situation. She had thrown/dropped all of her toys onto the floor. Dekker threw his hands up and said “LAEla, uh-oh! Toys!” and he picked them up for her. He is the best brother.

His latest phrase, from the last two days, is “not today!” Its so cute to hear him say it when we ask things like “Can I tickle you?” or “Do you want milk with your cereal?” He’s a cutie.

Today, he told me he has greasy hair. Fact. It doesn’t help that I spilled iced tea on his head. Do I see a Mother of the Year Award in my future. No, I do not.

Ok ok, last one! We watch a decent amount of “19 Kids and Counting” around here. In the beginning, they list off all the kids by name. When we first started watching, Dekker would say “Josie” over and over, and request “More Josie’s.” It was super cute, and I figured she stuck out because she’s the little one and is introduced a bit differently. The other day though, Dekker watched the intro and said “Detter likes John.” Well, that was kind of hilarious, in my opinion! Why not like John? Sure thing, Dekker. And now, this evening, we were watching a 19 Kids special and they were recapping older episodes. One that really interested Dekker was when a couple of them went skydiving. Dekker loves any vehicle right now, including planes. We watched the clip and at the end, out of the blue Dekker comes out with “Jim Bob flies up in the sky!” I thought maybe I was making it up, but he repeated it. Turns out he’s really listening to what we watch in the background! Crazy boy.

Bottom line, I totally love that boy.

Wait. I mean Dekker. Not Jim Bob so much…

Ok ok ok, before I talk about the garden, I have to show you guys my new jammie pants! Its sort of a picture of the crotch of my pants, but there are blings where the fly would be, and I can’t miss those!

Back to the garden now. My parents were nice enough to put it all in while we were in BC. We had talked it all over and planned it out, and they planted it. We went and checked it out again yesterday and saw some great progress! Ready? What do we have?!

Wager some guesses, if you feel so inclined 🙂

On that note, babies are in bed and I’m looking forward to some chocolate and a bath.

Last but not least, this happened today…

Hopefully soon it’ll become a regular thing! She’s so grown up!

 

The kids slept in beautifully this morning! Ok, no, it was no 10:30 that Dekker used to give us, but it wasn’t a 7:01 either. 8:40 was a great compromise! I scrambled for the next 50 minutes to get myself and the kids ready for church. Thankfully, my parents were there to help get the kids fed while I got myself ready. Brady was off doing a sound check with the worship team for the morning service. A last minute weather change brought the service inside, sadly, but it was ok that way too. Nice to not have to shiver in the unpredictable weather.

I know every mother thinks their kids are the best kids, and we really should all think that! But my kids were easily the cutest kids at church today. Dekker did pretty well considering the size of the crowd and how tight it was, and Laela was so tired but sooo friendly to everyone who looked her way. It was sweet. My parents took off to a birthday party as soon as it was over, and we meandered back to their house for a quiet afternoon.

When the kids went down, I actually abandoned Brady and went to the city to run an errand or two. While I felt completely unproductive, I did come home with a few fun finds. The only thing I came home with that I actually needed was new jeans for Dekker. He recently shot up a couple of inches, or so it seems, so the kid needs longer pants. While buying those, I picked up a romper and some shoes on clearance for Laela. Through the rest of my travels, I magically acquired a new lipstick, casserole dishes, ballet flats, and the coolest jammie pants I’ve ever owned! I realized that I don’t actually own jammie pants, just one wonderful pair of sweats. They’re great, but I’d love something not quite so beefy. I found these beautiful pants at Value Village, Steve Madden tag still attached. Five bucks!!! They’re beautiful. I never want to take them off. They are my best purchase from today, hands down. Although the passion tea lemonade was a big win as well…

When I got home, I was greeted by everyone! The kids were up, my parents were back, and Brady was still alive. The house was rocking in the best way. For supper, we had hot dogs, and doritos with dip, and strawberries, mango, and grapes. It was ridiculously delicious, and hit the spot beautifully!

It was sad to go home, and very sad for Dekker to be put to bed here. He loved the sleepover. But with everyone tucked in, Brady and I can take our time settling in, and having a soak. Oh, and checking on the garden! Hopefully we have some some movement 😀 I’m so ready to have a good garden this year! I speak in faith, haha, as the last few years its been a total flop. No flooding this year, please lord!

Sleep sweet, guys. You’d probably sleep better if you had these rockin’ jammie pants…

We finally got our butts to my parents this weekend! I feel like we haven’t spent any time with them in forever, so being that this is the weekend that the town celebrates, we figured we’d stay over for a night. We got up in the morning as usual, and packed our bags quickly while the kids ate and played.

We made it to town earlier than we had originally planned to, so we played outside in my parents backyard until it was time to go to the parade. We made our way to the central area of the  town and picked a spot by the high school to set up our lawn chairs. The parade started right on time, and was filled with music, horses, and Dekkers favorite – emergency vehicles! Anything with a siren is ok in his book. Laela was really tired, as she was refusing to nap, so she didn’t enjoy it the same way 😉 But it was nice to be outside in the sun, gathering candy for Dekker.

The second the parade was over, Dekker said “Done. Go.” So onto the rest of the day! We went back to my parents for a lunch of pancakes and sausage, and then both kids went down for a nap. We watched a movie and relaxed and snacked until the kids woke up. We spent the rest of the evening having supper and playing a lot of toys. The last 1.5 hours was probably the longest part of the day, and it wasn’t even too hard. My baby girl was just struggling a bit. After popping four teeth in May, she is still teething! Which is so unfair 🙁 Poor munchkin. But she drank her bottle like a champ and the kids have been sleeping no problem.

Brady and I left for about a half hour and caught the fireworks at the end of the evening. Well, the end of the evening for us old folks anyway. It was a short but sweet date away. Now, we’re all cuddled up in one of the spare rooms in my parents basement. Tomorrow morning is breakfast and church in the park, so its the perfect time to spend the night. Let’s just hope the kids sleep in a bit longer than usual. Its our only chance at surviving a nap-free morning with Laela!

Speaking of naps, good night.

Laela doesn’t sleep as much as Dekker. She never has even come close, and I don’t ever really think she will. And honestly, I’m ok with that. I like seeing my kids, haha, and some days I would see Dekker for a total of about two hours. Our current setup works for me. But today was sooo different!

I’ll quickly go back to yesterday. The kids often go down to nap together around 3:00pm, but they were both pooped and in bed by 2:00 instead. We had to wake Dekker at 6:00. That is a looong nap! So being that we had evening plans, we thought we might push our luck and try to put them down even earlier. Ok, background over.

They both got up pretty much right at 7:00am, and Laela was in bed again by 8:30, which is incredibly early for her. She often makes it to 10:00,  but not today. She slept for a couple of hours and was up, ready to go. But she was wiped out by noon again. Strangely enough, so was Dekker. So we crossed our fingers and put them down. They never nap this early! NEVER!! So we had no idea what to expect.

Not a peep. Laela lasted two hours before we went and got her. She was just starting to talk and fuss, but Dekker hadn’t moved, so we figured we would let him finish out his nap in peace. We figured we’d have plenty of time to get him up, hit the city for a couple of little things, and then go to our friends’ place to celebrate their daughters second birthday. Plenty of time.

But we didn’t. We woke Dekker from a dead sleep after 3:30. Its sooo weird how much he’s been sleeping these days, but we’ve been noticing his almost brand new jeans are getting awkwardly short on him, so apparently he’s growing like a weed. I’d be tired too. He perked up a bit when he saw Laela was getting ready to go somewhere, and finally gave in to his diaper change and getting dressed.

We completed our errands in good time and I only bought Laela two articles of clothing, haha! We got the party a bit late, but it was a really nice, casual setting. We just jumped into the group, Brady cooked us up some hot dogs, and we sat on the deck and visited. Dekker eventually went and explored all the outdoor toys, and Laela showed interest in solid food for the first time ever!!! No judging, I know everyone has their “perfect” way of doing things, and we can’t all agree. I let her suck on some watermelon. She didn’t take any bites or anything, but a couple of times she shaved little bits off with her bottom teeth. I haven’t fought with her over solid foods in a while, because a) I don’t want to fight with her, and b) she just wasn’t interested! After diligent work, she would not open her mouth for a spoon! So I’ve decided to give her a bit of time and eventually I figure she’ll prefer to eat with her hands. If you know her, you know she’s grabby and tactile. What excited me about the watermelon thing this evening was that she had never opened her mouth in anticipation for a solid food. She hated solid food. We tried a few different baby-friendly things and she just wasn’t into them. But when she saw me lift up the watermelon slice, she would open her mouth in ready. So exciting!!! Maybe this is where we start! Seems like I need to read up on baby led weaning…

On our way out, Dekker got to pick a couple of toys from a bin, and he picked one of those clacker toys that I haven’t seen in years. We didn’t even have to show him how to use it. He just whipped it around, it clacked, and he was sold. We grabbed a pink glow ball for Laela and headed home.

Both kids are tucked away and happy after a playtime that was basically just Laela smacking Dekker and him giggling, kissing, and hugging her. It was a solid day. My heart is full.

Now to get everyone some rest. Parade tomorrow at 11:00am!

My much needed day away has come and gone. It was truly wonderful. Shorter than anticipated, but that was my bad for simply going home too soon. But everything I did today, I enjoyed. I know it might be boring to some, but others may just wish to live vicariously thru my few hours away. Enjoy! Almost as much as I did…

The plan was to leave at 11:00am, so I got up and got all washed and fresh-feeling. It was pouring out but I didn’t let that mess with my mood too much, and just chose skinny jeans and a belted long sleeved shirt instead of shorts and a tank top. Who cares. I sprayed the crazy out of my hair and used waterproof mascara.I put in earrings and did my makeup really nicely. I felt like a million bucks leaving the house. On my way out, I noticed my daylilies are starting!

 

I got into the van, cranked the heat, and listened to the music I chose at the uber-volume that I wanted. No little ears to worry about today!

My first stop was to pick up a scarf courtesy of White Orchid Apparel & Sparrow Apparel. I stopped in at my friends place to pick it up, and have a quick visit. Her house was teaming with kids, and it was lunchtime, so I didn’t stay long. I went from there to another nearby town for a strawberry bouquet from Verna. It was an adorable and delicious looking arrangement! Once I got it out to my van, I realized I had no real appropriate place to put it where it wouldn’t roll around, so I improvised.

I made it to Bath and Body Works just after Jerilee arrived for her shift. Its her birthday today, and I wanted to make sure she felt celebrated. Luckily, a friend/co-worker had made cupcakes for the occasion, but she still seemed happy with the treats and present.

I left the mall and headed to the chiropractor. I saw Dr. Mike right before I went to BC, and when he found out we were driving, he asked me to come see him pretty quick after he got back. It was a good thing, too. That was probably the longest treatment I’ve had in a while. But it was probably my favorite part of the day, to be honest. We have good conversation usually, but the appointments are so quick. But today, we covered a comical amount of controversial conversations. From family and marriage to religion to vaccines to pretty much everything else. Its fun to talk so candidly about heavy topics like those.

I left there a little sore but onto the next place. I ducked back to the mall and fixed a billing issue with Telus, a quick stop at Children’s place for two rompers for Laela, and then hit Superstore. I only needed about four things, and they were out of one of them, but on my list, I had added “makeup thing.” I just wanted a little treat! And then Revlon lipstick was on sale. Like, a goood sale. So I got three. I know, I know. No judging. I also broke the law and ducked into baby clothes. Superstore has the cutest baby clothes, and I fell victim to them. Again. Two rompers and one dress later, I pulled myself out of there and checked out.

I forgot to hit the bank for our weekly savings but will hopefully still get a chance in the next couple of days. Instead, I went to my last stop – Costco – and got my cart full of formula, milk, chicken breasts, kleenex, and bread. I was waved over to a till that was just opening, and was in and out of there so fast! I grabbed a tea from Tim’s on my way out, and enjoyed the drive home with my loud music and earl grey.

It was a good day away, and I felt refreshed when I arrived home. Brady was feeding my happy little girl, and Dekker had been napping for almost four hours!!

Those beautiful kids are now tucked away, my bath is run, and I’m struggling with a bit of a tickle in my throat. But today has been my best health day in a while so I’m certainly not complaining. That just means tea in the tub! There could definitely be worse things.

Happy birthday, Jerilee!!! We love you quite a bit around here 🙂

Last week, I complained about briefly mentioned that I was starting to feel a bit crazy and like I needed a bit of space from my kids and my home. I was hoping our trip to Fairmont would wear some of that off, but sadly, it didn’t. A trip is wonderful, but it is work, and the kids were hands-on. Being home has been a nice time of quiet and getting back to our normal. This includes jammie days, breakfast for supper, as well as tantrums and screaming. And screaming. And screaming.

The kids have been great today, napping for long stretches. Brady mowed the lawn, and I went to pick up our mail downtown. Goooood mail that I’ll talk more about another day. We checked out the garden that my parents so lovingly put in while we were away (thank you sooooo much!!) and may have already found a sprout of some kind! Could be a weed, but I’m thinking not. It really has been a good day.

But the evening brought the screams of bath time again, and while it wasn’t even me doing the bathing, it just about sent me over. I think being sick makes it even harder to handle that type of thing, but I just need out.

So I’m taking it. Tomorrow. I was hoping to go away for a day when I was feeling a little better, but the week is already half over and Brady is back to work on Monday. So this is what I’ve got and I’ll take it! It won’t be an exciting day at all. Chiropractic, Superstore, Costco, and reaming out Telus for the debacle they put us through in BC. But its a few hours away with some loud music, food and drink whenever and wherever I want, and considerably less screaming. I. Cannot. Wait. I’m just praying that my cold will be almost gone by then so I can feel a bit more human than I have recently. I’m on the upswing at least!

I slept like a log last night. I woke up in the exact same position I fell asleep in. Brady was good enough to wake up with the kids and let me sleep in a bit. I finally surfaced around the time Laela went down for her morning nap.

I mentioned yesterday what I hoped today would look like, and I got exactly that! A day spent in jammies, watching movies, and doing laundry. Sooo much laundry. It doesn’t seem to matter if we wear every article of clothing we own, or the same thing every day, but after a trip, we basically just dump our suitcases and wash everything. Why not? At best, everything will be super wrinkly.

We watched Frozen, which we had done while on vacation, but while the kids were napping. I know, it seems silly. The others were up though, so it made sense. Its a really great movie actually, and we caught way more this time around. Anyone else thing that snow monster guy is scary though?? Crazy! He was frightening when he was mad!

So today was nice and comfy, and as per our usual, the evening was trying and frustrating. Along with the rest of the world, I find life in general more challenging when I’m sick. I’m less stuffed up today, but my cough is horrible and dry and I still feel pretty miserable and achy. And this stupid eye twitch!!! Lately, my screwed up body has chosen to present itself in the form of an eye twitch and it is back. Apparently my back didn’t appreciate 25 hours in the van last weekend. Hopefully I feel well enough to go into the city on Thursday for some chiro and a bit of fresh air. Dr. Mike can always fix these weirdy problems I have.

Thursday can’t come soon enough!

We are home. I feel like we may never, ever leave again. Haha! I’m not a hater, the trip was lovely. But today was the worst for my sickness so far, which made for a pretty lame day for me. The kids, on the other hand, did AMAZING! Only the last 1.5 hours were rough-ish. The rest, they surprised us by listening well and being easily entertained. We drove through the mountains the Dekker just stared at the scenery and all the vehicles we passed on the tight road. We saw bits and pieces of wildlife that we don’t commonly see around home too.

One little black bear on the way there and on the way back.

Long horned sheep?? We saw a group of six of them just strolled along the shoulder around Radium.

I’m just gonna add a few more pictures from the trip, as the details get a bit fuzzy (and boring) without them. As I mentioned before, it was a looooong drive. Over twelve hours on the road.

First thing in the morning (as in before 7am) Dekker rocked Laela’s car seat in an effort to keep her content while we grabbed the last of our stuff.

Anyone else have this pet peeve?!?! A very literal nine times out of ten, when I order my tea at Tim Hortons, the strings from the bag are right where a person drinks from!! Who plans that?!

First nap on the drive. I LOVE when he hangs his lip out like that. When he’s sleeping, anyway. Just in day to day, I find it considerably less cute.

Wuzzy. I dunno, wuzzy??

This made me giggle. I have to give Wetaskiwin a shoutout for their Walmart. The fact that this sign even had to be there was humor enough. I also saw a woman put her child up in a car seat on a high shelf, only to become furious at her for peeing in the car seat. Awesome, right?

Nap number two. The little boy was bushed and hadn’t napped when Laela did, so this was not an especially restful sleep.

This is his “Laela, pleeeaaase shut up!” face 🙂

Feeling better after stopping for some food only 45 minutes away from home. There was just no way they were going to last. It was a good decision to stop. Happier kids anyway.

SOOO HAPPY TO BE HOME! Easily the cutest little girl that has ever existed. Hands down.

Mommy!!! Play toys!!!!!

One in bed, one to go. What a day its been. And check us out – still smiling!! 😀

It is so very good to be home. I am thoroughly looking forward to tomorrow. It will consist of three things.

Laundry.
Movies.
Jammies.

Sleep deep, guys.

As the not so witty title would suggest, tonight is out last night at our beautiful resort here in BC. Sadly, the kids naps didn’t coordinate well with the family’s events, and I ended up missing quite a few things. Dang monitors only reach so far. But I welcomed the rest and the peace, and just hung out in our room with the a/c cranked.

Dekker warmed up finally, towards the end of the evening. The group was down to twelve and he got quite a bit braver and more comfortable. Laela was full of joy and she and her new little girl cousin even shared a smile or two. It was endearing to say the least. The main thing I was part of today was the family pictures we took. It was quite dramatic to get everyone together, and sometimes I actually feel pretty bummed that the drama pretty much always lies with our family. But we got photos with Bradys parents, just our family of four, the whole group of seventeen, and even a picture of grandma and grandpa with just the grandkids. Thats right! Dekker was smiling and beside his cousins, watching uncle Keith blow bubbles. I can’t wait to see how they turn out 🙂 Other than that though, the day was quite low key for me. Our kiddies were spent and napped together for three whole hours!! They never last that long together at home, so it was obviously a big day.

We ended off the day together by having some snacks and watching Frozen, FINALLY! We are among the handful of families in the world who hadn’t seen it yet, but we will now join the enormous demographic of people who bought it. We loved it 🙂 The music was fabulous. A true classic, in my opinion.

Now, everything that can be packed in advance is packed, and the kids are being tucked in. Bradys gonna haul a bunch of the luggage down to the van tonight while I run a tub. Gearing up for a super early morning tomorrow and a looooong day in the car. All four of us are sick, so prayers would be appreciated. Our trip could either be super sleepy, or very tearful. Voting for option A!