As you know, Waverly celebrated her second birthday on July 2nd, which isn’t only special because its her birthday and we love her, but also because its her magic birthday!! We keep bdays pretty simple over here, but we tried to dress it up a little extra this time around, as she only has ONE magic birthday and we wanted her to feel really extra special. Here is the photo play by play of her birthday party, mostly taken and all edited by Cher! Thank you for all your hard work 😘 

We decorated the night before 🙂 

The day began with a BIG breakfast!! 

We served pancakes, bacon, and peaches. It was super delicious, and the birthday girl was the life of the party. Sticky and hyper and the life of the party!

Belly bacon!

She opened presents after breakfast! 

She got a really thought out, lovely card…

A couple of little toys…

A bunch of clothes, specifically tank tops, which she really needed…

And from us, she got new bedding! A pillow and a nice fluffy duvet.

She was SO happy! And its fair to say she napped extra comfortably after lunch 🙂 

Everyone played the afternoon away. It was relaxed and fun for all. Once Waverly was awake, we snuck her upstairs for a birthday photo shoot. I’ll share those photos with you tomorrow! Too many pictures on this post already 😆 We ordered Pizza Hut for supper, and had chips and chocolate milk with it. There were NO objections. And then dessert came out!

Again, no objections. We had homemade Oreos with light pink cream cheese icing. Waverly was elated. And again, goofy. 

Once dessert was over, my mom and I packed up some cookies into bags…

And we made our way around town to share them with our friends! 

People have been big on the birthday parades during Covid, and I think they’re really lovely. We decided to put a different spin on it, though, and take the party around rather. We stopped by a good handful of houses and shared our treats with our friends. It was so so nice. Wavy was exhausted by the end. Upon getting home, though, I remembered the ONE thing she had asked to do that day. 

“Jumpaline?” 

So I took her to the backyard to jump on the trampoline while the other kids got tucked in for bed. 

It was beautiful. She was beautiful.

She IS beautiful in all of the ways. Sometimes it sounds cliche to say someone is beautiful inside and out, but it’s just the truth. She has been completely stunning since the day she was born. A stand-out beautiful little girl, but her personality and heart are overflowing with beauty. She is as light and airy and sweet as she looks in pictures. She lights up a room and adds SO much joy to our lives and our family. 

Waverly Violet, you melt my heart, and the hearts of your entire family 💜 We love you! Thank you for inviting us to your party. 

We were SO fortunate to be able to book a little family getaway amidst all of this Covid crap. Waskesiu felt a bit too big and busy for the likes of us, so we booked a cabin near our friends camp spot at Christopher Lake for this weekend. Our first of two weekends we have booked away this summer.

It felt like home. I can’t even describe it. We’ve gone for a couple of day trips here and there, and we’ve always really enjoyed our time, but this year, we watched the kids just flourish before our eyes. It was incredible. Its a nice small space, with not too many people around at all. It feels so safe and comfortable. For the most part, we were able to just let the kids run with their friends, being confident they would be out of harms way. We could really see ourselves there. Maybe someday!

Here is your photo play by play!

The place we stayed was beautiful. It’s not always available, necessarily, because its part of a camp nearby, but thanks to Covid, it was readily available to rent, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

We spent the bulk of our time with our friends and their kids. The first night, we enjoyed a fire with copper and hose, just for fun. The kids played and ate popsicles and generally got the lay of the land.

The next day was spent outside. They ran and played at the Ark Park and beached and tanned. It was beautiful.

We ate simple food 🙂

The kids TOTALLY ran the show in a lot of ways 😆 The four of us adults sat at the picnic table and the kids got the fire! 🔥

I REALLY want to draw attention to Dekker in this post. He thrived at the lake this weekend. Our friends generously let us play with all of their beach stuff, and Dekker began to venture out on the water. None of our kids are confident in water at this point, but Dekker was SO brave and had such an amazing time of adventure! He started on the kayak…

Then he “surfed.”

The most impressive, however, was when he got up on the paddle board. It was like he had done it forever 😧

He was out on the water for so long, and only fell off once at the very end. He was upset but he didn’t panic, and I encouraged him to walk out in the water later and see how far he could touch. He did it, and felt much better. But sadly, that was our last time out on the water. He was disappointed, and wanted to go out again, which I think is a good sign ☺️

He was just SO grown up this weekend. I was so impressed.

We BBQed and s’mored it up that night!

The kids stayed up SO late and had SO much fun! Our full Saturday there just felt blissful. I couldn’t believe how at ease it all felt. I know a lot of that had to do with our friends being SO welcoming and warm, and the other part was just the general feel there. It was excellent.

We spent this morning packing and breakfasting, and then we moseyed over to our friends site for the last few hours. It was more overcast today, so we didn’t hit the beach, but we visited around the fire while the kids ran around and played.

Right before our time in our cabin was about to run out, Brady ran and loaded the last stuff into our van while Braden took our kids each on a little drive through the campsites. It was 110% awesome! The kids loved it!

But it had to come to an end, with an embarrassing weepy tantrum, as it tends to happen 😆😩 But it was pretty clear everyone was pretty tired…

It was sad to leave, but it was nice to come home, too. We miss our friends, our family, and our home. Everything is already pretty much unpacked, laundry is rolling, kids are bathed, and supper is in the oven. I’m sad that being responsible means the fire smell is already washing out and off of everything, but I hope very much that we can go again soon 💜

Most of the photos of our weekend away will have to wait for tomorrow or the next day when we have wifi, but take my word for it that we chose the right weekend to join our friends at Christopher Lake! The sun is HOT and the water is warm. The kids smell like sweat and bug spray. We’re all dirty and comfortable. Its been such a nice vacay.

We have a big lodge all to ourselves. It sleeps ten and has dishes for twenty. The dining area is massive, and there are six stools at the counter. The kitchen is full. There are two bathrooms. There is a fireplace and AC. Its clean and the people running it are so polite and friendly. Its pretty much amazing. 

My favorite part of this place – the bedroom situation. Brady and I have a bedroom to ourselves, and then there are two other big bedrooms. Each one has two sets of bunk beds, and then one has a single bed as well. And our kids chose to have a big ole sleepover ❤️

Nothing really delights my heart more than that. Did they get a full nights sleep, you ask? You’d better believe they suuuuuper didn’t, but it was so worth it 😆 As we tucked them in, Laela was excitedly preparing everyone for how fun Wavy is to share a room with. Hahaha! She’s not wrong. 

Its been cute. Restful and tiring all at once, as vacations with kids tend to be. I wouldn’t trade it. It is SO peaceful here. 

I want to tell you ALL about Waverly’s birthday party yesterday, but I can’t for a few reasons! They all run together, but here you have them!

I had done a little pre-writing about her birthday, but that post is packed away on the iPad, which I don’t have access to right now. I don’t have it available, because its packed! Because we’re going away for the weekend, and its coming along! Woohoo! So I’ll share more details when I can get that document back in my hands.

Also, with us leaving for the weekend, I’m taking a quick break from packing and should get back to it, so no time for big details at the moment. But you’ll definitely get them, along with an amazing haul of beautiful pictures! Thank you, Cher, for those. 💜

Lastly, you might ask yourself how I’m even writing this post. You probably aren’t, but just go with me 😉 Months ago, our laptop started to really fail us. It was slow as molasses, and worst of all, half of the keyboard quit working. We tried all kinds of things, and it couldn’t rally. We worked around it, and I just started blogging on my iPad, which I actually really like. But the laptop was still something we used a lot and it was getting harder and harder. And then we remembered, of all things, our age old credit card points.

When Brady and I were 18, we each got a visa card. They were the lowest on the totem pole, “free with your new account” cards, and they grew points sooooooo sloooooow. But, 14 years later, we had just shy of the amount we needed for a brand new macbook!! So, we bit that bullet not long ago, paying about $160 in taxes and fees, and here I am, blogging on our beautiful dark grey skinny mini new MacBook Air! Woop woop! I’m so thankful to have a fully working laptop again!

All that to say, its too new and we’re not bringing it this weekend 😆 Oh and hey, yes we’re gone this weekend. Our house is being actively checked on, so watch it 🤨

Aaaaanyway. Waverly’s birthday was SO special and SO pretty, and I can’t wait to tell you all about, but since I’ve started even typing this shorty post, Solly has somehow managed to pee on his own head (not joking) so I’m pretty sure I’m needed. Packing is not – I repeat NOT – going smoothly! Haha!

Happy Friday, friends!

My tiniest baby girl turns TWO today!! Happy birthday, sweet Wavy!!! 

Let’s take a look at Waverly’s previous twelve months. 

It goes without saying that Wavy brought special blessing to our home. She came to us after a brutal time of struggle and loss, and she brought light and hope and excitement and a strong reminder that God always knows what we need when. 

For her little deets, Waverly is definitely our most petite child. She’s right around 24 pounds. She has almost all of her teeth, but she’s still short a two-year molar or two. Her hair is craaazy long, and craaazy blonde! We’ll see if the blonde stays through the winter or if its just bleached out like crazy in the sun ☀️ 

Wavy is positively BURSTING with personality, as you may know if you’ve met her before.

She loves to make funny faces or do silly things to make others laugh. She gallops and runs and jumps SO well. She tells jokes and prays, and she’ll repeat pretty much everything anyone says. She picks up words so easily, and therefore, communicates SO well. 

She knows what she wants, and she asks for it. She insists on picking her own clothes. Thats a first for us around here. She is 110% happily cooperative with brushing teeth, baths, diapers, etc. Sometimes she’ll whine and ask “Whyyyyyuh?” We’ll tell her why, and 9/10 times, she says “Okay” and happily goes along. 

Sometimes Waverly cries and says things like “I want be big” or “I want coffeeeee.” Please, sweetheart, don’t be big too fast. I’m not ready…

Your family loves you so dearly, Waverly Violet.

You changed our vibe, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our life is lighter and happier since you came along. And for that – for you – I praise the Lord. 

Today is Canada’s birthday. I am SO grateful to live here. Canada is important to me.

But.

Tomorrow is a very special birthday. Tomorrow, our dear little Miss Waverly Violet turns TWO.

I have a lot of emotions swirling around my head, but we’ll hash those out together another day. Today is being spent preparing!

Presents are wrapped. A small load of laundry is done. Decorations will be assembled and put up after the kids go to bed. Food is planned and purchased. Baking will happen after this blog is posted.

Normally, we are not a big birthday family, and this will still be small in comparison to many people’s birthdays. But we’re being fussy with it because Wavy is turning TWO of the SECOND! Its her one and only magic birthday, and she is my one child who will have one before they’re adults. The rest of my children will be 21 or older for theirs, and Waverly deserves some “magic” fuss. Lol!

That being said, we may run around and share some birthday love with some friends. Hopefully thats allowed! If weather permits, we hope to bring the birthday parade around rather than having it brought to us! If you happen upon a beautiful little birthday girl tomorrow, please join us in making her feel like a total star! 🤩

The LAST day of June is upon us! Its been a productive, rainy, lovely month with my family. Of course no day is perfect, but I am really grateful for our time at home together. We very likely will never have another stretch of life like this, and don’t get me wrong. I am hopeful and grateful for that likelihood too! But I so enjoy being home all together for now 🙂

This month, we finished up our topsoil. We started Science Saturday. We got our robot vacuum, Meryl Sweep, and a new big electric griddle. We set up our fire pit and a backyard pool. We had some of the most beautiful skies and welcomed Summer. It was a lovely month! 

July brings yet more fun busyness for us! Likely another project or two, but I’m not going to talk about them until I know for sure 😉 A few birthdays – one I’m not ready for in the slightest. We have a weekend at a cabin coming up, and some special dates to get the kids to and from. Brady has a job scheduled this month, so we thank God for the that as we anxiously wait for his work to fully restore. And most importantly, we have a LOT of biking, walking, trampoline jumping, freezie eating, burger barbecuing, bubble blowing, and music playing to be done! What does July hold for you? 

Its my fault. 

I was in Carters two days ago, and I saw snowsuits. 

Snowsuits. 

Its June. The sun is hot. The rain is warm. Gardens and flowers are still growing. 

Its Summer. And there are snowsuits. Snowsuits are for Winter.

I take personal responsibility. This is my fault. I talked about Christmas. I talked positively about the Winter season. 

It was me. 

I will spend the rest of the day in silence, ashamed. 

😔 

Cher here

This was our fifth and final Science Saturday with the kids. This time we conducted an experiment that would take longer than 24 hours. It ended up being more exciting that way, especially because they started it Friday evening after bedtime. The experiment we did was dissolving the shell off raw eggs.

First, we chose a brown egg and a white egg so we could see if there would be any difference in colour of the skin or progress. Dekker and Laela both wrote their names in black permanent marker on their eggs.

Then, we filled two small glass cups with pure white vinegar and told the kids to carefully drop them in and place the cups on the counter where they would stay for the next day to day and a half.

Saturday morning the kids checked on their eggs and noticed that their names had completely been dissolved. Dekker’s egg was the brown one so it was easier to see the junk that was coming off the shell because it was floating on top.

After lunch we checked on them again and saw that they were really starting to lose their shell. There was a lot of skin exposed and you could even scrape the shell layer off with your fingers or a cloth. Hailey and I took both of the kids eggs and washed them off a little before they put them back into the vinegar.

This morning we checked on them again and everything was mostly off, but it was taking a while so we replaced the vinegar with fresh vinegar and let them sit until after lunch.

This time everything was mostly off. The kids played with the bouncy layer and noticed how the egg had expanded from absorbing some of the vinegar. 

We told the kids they could throw their eggs on the street to watch them burst. You could probably guess that they were all for that. 

Well that is a wrap on our five week Science Saturday extravaganza! It was so much fun to watch the kids observe and ask questions. I loved doing this with Hailey and Brady for the kids. Sometimes I think it was more fun for us than it was for them. Maybe we will do this again in the fall!

Today’s post should be about Science Saturday, but we did a different kind of experiment this time around, where we started it last night and it will be completed tonight. I will tell you about it tomorrow! Onto the post!

Today marks my blogaversary. I am floored every year that I reach June 27th. It has been eight years. EIGHT YEARS. I was completely beside myself when I made it one year, and here we are at eight! My goodness that happens fast! Thank you, beautiful friends, for following along and investing in our family this way. I so love having this record for my family, but I love the community we’ve built from this little labour of love. I am so grateful.

Brady, Cher, and I spent yesterday evening in the backyard around the fire. Its the first time we’ve had a yard suited for a firepit, and we are making the most of it. 

Brady built a beefy bench on one side that three adults easily fit on, so we tested that out together…

and eventually settled into reclined lawn chairs and relaxed. We drank pineapple pop together, which brings warm, lovely memories of Philadelphia to my heart. It was really nice to share that with my people. 

Brady, I love doing life with you. Doing the yard with you. Doing the blog with you. You are the best man for the job. I am so grateful for my life, and that you are in it. 

Boom!! Eight years, baby!!