Beautiful Canada and my budding toddlers

This last trip to Canada, I was struck again with how beautiful it is. I felt like I was enjoying a feast for the senses. The trees, big skies, flowers and lushness was breathtaking. The smells were delicious, cool, refreshing with hints of lilac, pine trees and northern grass (yes, the grass does smell different here). When I left home, my parent's acreage was still quite desert like, despite all our efforts. Mom always said we would appreciate all the work of planting and watering trees, hoeing, mowing grass... some day. I guess now is the day. Their acreage is so peaceful and a great place for gatherings. They had a bonfire party the night I came and made a huge fire with everyone sitting around it, visiting, singing and snapping pictures.

Here are some pics from my parent's place and the tiger lilies at Jenn's house.

From the kid files, Ivan has been fighting something all weekend. He had really high temps last night, but is better this morning. His feeling yucky has affected his appetite, but not his talking. He still talks up a storm. He is funny in that when he refers to something in the past, he always uses the expression "remember LAST YEAR when..." even if it was last night. Everything in the future is "NEXT WEEK". He also loves to eat "yogrit" (yogurt).

Dominique is in potty training mode. She went #1 twice in the potty yesterday and a few times in her big girl underwear. She loves wearing them, but I have also started letting her go naked once I've washed out a couple of pairs. Today she went #2 in the potty mostly. It's pretty exciting. She has her own cute words, like "waffee" (coffee).

What is the most beautiful thing or place you have seen this summer?

Happy 2nd Birthday Dominique!

Dominique is on my lap right now singing happy birthday to herself. She wore her birthday crown this morning during breakfast and has been all excited about the many cards she has received. Each time she gets one, she carries it around all day.

She is definitely a little character. She found some of her clothes to grow into and put a shirt over her head like a scarf and one as a skirt. The "skirt/shirt" quickly fell off but she wore her "scarf/shirt" the rest of the day. She is seen here with her new clothing trend and an overgrown squash from our garden. The skin was too tough to eat, but the inside flesh fed the bunch of us!





I've never seen anyone eat food like our daughter does. While Ivan would prefer just plain bread and nothing on it, Dominique wants just the insides- well that is if it is a peanut butter concoction. I made them peanut butter and peach sandwhiches (with peaches from our tree!!) and in her typical fashion, she opened it up and ate out of the middle. This time, she just ate all the insides. Usually she takes one bite out of the middle of the bread or tortilla, whatever the case may be, leaving it with a hole in the center.






As you can tell, her way of eating can get very messy.


Thanks for the phone calls and singing, the cards and birthday wellwishes. I'm about to crash and I'm hoping Dominique will too. Ivan is already in bed. We did errands and when we got home, I discovered that he has a low grade fever and he is complaining that his eyes hurt. Hope we don't all get it.

A real baby!

I'm always amazed at that first little view we get of our baby. Unfortunately, Brian didn't get to be there with me for this one, since he was taking care of our other two, so I went to my first doctor visit solo. Although I can not feel the baby yet, he/she was moving and jiving. It was so incredible. I've seen about 15 sonograms in the last couple of months as I've been translating for my friend, the most recent being this morning and while they were all incredible, there was something so momentous about seeing OUR baby on the screen, moving in real time.

In the first picture, the heart shape is the head. A white splotch under the chin is a hand, the other hand is next to the line on the tummy and the feet are the two white spots on the end.

In the second picture, you can see the baby looking toward us with eyes and nose evident. I'm 12 weeks along. The baby is the size of a lime. My doctor gave me a due date of Jan. 15th- anyone know what day that is?

Ivan is very excited. The other day he told me that he can't wait for the baby to come. But wait he will, about 6 months.

welcome home

It was weird going back to my parent's house without my husband and kids- a little like going back in time. I had great rest while there, slept better than I have in 4 years (when I started having kids and sleep was forever altered) and had a blast seeing and getting to know my cousins better at our reunion in Edmonton. I also got to see a school friend in Calgary during a four hour layover. We were in classes together from Kindergarten through 12th grade--- Kimberley Dart!!!



I arrived in Saskatoon to be greeted by mom, Jenn (my sister) and Imogen- my niece who is so fabulous and managed to get into nearly every picture I took. My nausea and busyness had effectively kept me from thinking too much on our next baby, but being with Imogen reminded me of the joys of that first year. She is starting foods and babbles up a storm, smiles, coos and loves attention- which we all love giving to her.

Pics include my sister, her husband- John and baby Imogen, my brother, my dad and mom and I.


I'll include more pics from the trip as I have a chance to post, but have to tell you about my warm welcome home. I was descending the stairs to the baggage claim when Ivan spotted me- he instantly grew the biggest smile and ran to me across the room with his arms outstretched- made me cry! I had pictures of them and of course never forgot them, but somehow he and Dominique looked older, their hair a little longer. It was like I refound my life with them. Dominique looked stoically at me and wouldn't even crack a smile. I told her "you do remember me right?". I think she did since she crawled into our bed at 4am and kicked us for an hour while trying to lay right on top of me. She would have wiggled and kicked longer if Brian hadn't hauled her out of there and back to her room.

OK- back to my warm welcome. Brian was in the airport with the kids (of course) with tulips (nice surprise) and I felt so loved and welcomed by them. Ivan grabbed the tulips from his dad and thrust them to me, never saying a word. At some point, Dominique discovered her vocal cords and rattled off complex sentences. I am sure she grew up several months during my 11 day leave. I was quickly reminded of the nature of our lives as the two serenaded Brian and I on the way back to Nana's with their duet- repeating over-and-over "yucky, yucky, poopy-- hahaha" or something like that.

We're pretty tired. The kids didn't nap well and became increasingly unruly and disobedient as the day wore on, but we are home now. Everything is alive- even the garden and Brian picked two ice-cream buckets full of peaches from our peach tree. Apparently the birds have been feasting on them, but we got home soon enough to have a few too. Finally a crop to eat!

I'll have the foursome again tomorrow, so don't expect too many posts right away. Gotta get my land-legs again.

Get your fill now

For those of you who don't know yet. I am going to be on vacation come Tuesday. I am going to Stoon and Edmonton for my cousins reunion. Yipee! I'm so happy. The kids and Brian will be on vacation too in Houston at Nana's where I'll be flying out from and arriving. So, I'm not sure how much I'll be posting from now until I get back the 6th of July and even that week I may not get to it until near the end of it, since I will need to get groceries and will be back keeping the boys Mon-Wed.

All of that to say that I'm getting you your fill up with this marathon of pics. and videos.


Last week, we played camping out. This is why moms never throw out much, even old sheets can be a treasure trove of fun on an unbearably hot day. We camped out pretty much all day- fishing, building fires, reading, picking berries, going on hikes, swimming in the lake, seeing deer drink by waterfalls... At one point I told the boys to go pick berries for breakfast to go with the fish they had caught and Ivan said: "yeah, and I'll pick some vanilla ice cream". He came back with a round toy that was our ice cream and let us taste the delicious treat. You didn't know ice cream grew on trees did you? They grow right next to the trees with money on them.

I told Dominique to pose for this with her hands on her swayed hips and an attitude. She's such a comic!










Speaking of, Brian found them today stuffing their shirts with lego pieces. They said they were pregnant with babies. All we need is more pregnant people in the house! Luckily their pregnancies were short lived.






We attended another birthday party this weekend. They had a trampoline which the kids loved and they had ordered up this huge air castle with a waterslide. I was surprised that Ivan did it. He is usually intimidated by lots of people and something new like this. But he went on it numerous times until he was shivering from the cold water. Dominique, who usually loves such grand adventure was a little over her head. A bigger kid helped her up there and down, but she screamed and cried the entire way- as did others her age. I'll give her a year and I'm sure she'll be right there with the rest of the big kids!











This picture is just hilarious. Dominique was yelling at Ivan to be careful on the slide and some other incomprehensible instructions. See that finger pointed! She's going to be someone to reckon with I tell you. It really is beautiful how Ivan and her watch out for each other.



That's all for now. See you again when I next get a chance to post eh?

last weekend

He begged us and begged us to cut his hair. It is really hot here and his hair is very thick. I'm sure it felt like he was walking and running around with a blanket on his head.



Before













After










Pregnancy wise- I am feeling much better. The times in the day where I feel normal/well are getting longer. To help increase the likeliness of feeling ok, I do have to eat every two hours and have been taking naps everyday. Thank goodness the kids still nap! If I haven't eaten in a while, I start to feel sick and then even after I eat, it takes a while for my body to realize that it got something and can feel normal again. When I start feeling sick, I also get headaches and sometimes all my muscles ache- don't know what that is about. All of that to say it is getting better to my great relief. I'm only a few weeks away from finishing up the first trimester!

A two vehicle family once again

Our huge news this week is that Brian bought a truck! He has been wanting to get into house flipping for some time now, so he borrowed some money and has gotten a few tools and worked with another house flipper to gain experience. He's been looking for a while at trucks, trying to find what he had in mind for the price he was willing to pay and found it this week. We are all pretty pumped, but none so much as Ivan.

What is the deal with little boys and trucks? Today we came home at lunch and Ivan said: "Daddy and the truck are home!!!". It was funny because the night Brian brought it home all the neighbors came to check it out. We all went for a maiden voyage in it after Brian changed the oil and needed to take the old oil to recycle. It's a standard which is fun, I've always loved driving standards.

We had some friends over tonight and we all ended up sitting in the back of the truck (Ivan begged us). Paula said that we could sleep out in it. Well that got Ivan all in a frenzy. He asked me if he could sleep out in it and I said only if Miss Paula volunteers to chapperone for the night. What was she thinking? We can't even share our bed with this little squirmer yet alone an uncomfortable, misquitoe filled night in a truck bed. Am I getting old? Loosing my sense of adventure? Ivan wasn't overly disappointed. He's just happy the thing is sitting in our driveway, where he can see it out his window and drive it in his dreams.

last week at the zoo and some pics to laugh at

Last week, when I just had one extra, I took the trio to the zoo. It was so fun and here are the pics to prove it!













Dominique is our little bundle of laughs. She loves to do anything silly to get a rise out of her delighted audiences. Which is amazing, because Ivan is very shy in front of a crowd.









It's so fascinating to see more and more how different they are.








I took the foursome to the YMCA to swim yesterday. You should have seen the lifeguard! He was very sweet, but you could tell he was watching them closely- which is good. The smallest didn't have any kind of float, so I had to hold him the entire time and the other three got more adventurous since this was our second time to go. They no longer swim near me. Caleb spent the hour jumping from the side onto noodles, toys, floats and whatever he figured he could pull off the shelves. Dominique got brave too and spent the hour leaping off the top stairs- arms and head first- into the water covering the bottom stairs. Ivan was pretty much cautious- no jumping in, but enjoyed swimming, chasing down toys and fighting with Caleb over whatever toy/float/ noodle either of them both wanted at the same time.

Happy Father's Day, Brian

In their own words:











"Mimi, What do you like to do with daddy?"
"rake-- garden"







"What is the best thing about daddy?"
She points to his picture on the fridge and excitedly yells out- "right there!"









"Ivan, What do you like about daddy?"
"I like about him cleaning the floor."






"What's your favorite thing to do together?"
"Playing games together"













"Why do you love daddy?"
"Because he's my friend"


"What would you like to tell daddy?"
"Something about dad's heart"
"What about dad's heart?"
"My dad's heart is very filled"

A bit different

We had a changed up schedule this week. I had a break Monday and Tuesday, then Wednesday I had both boys, except one had a DR. appointment midway through the day and Caleb was picked up early as he and his mom went out of town. Yesterday and today I just kept Micah. It was nice just having 3 because it is so much easier to get anywhere. We went to the park Thurs. and today I had the car in the morning so we went to the zoo. It's so fun to discover the world together with kids. They are in awe over everything and delight in the smallest of things. Micah threw sand over and over at the park, he never bored of it. We got to feed the giraffes, but my favorite monkeys weren't on exhibit today. The kids roared at the lions, who were not impressed with their efforts. We heard a bird sound like a crying baby- literally calling out "wah wah wah". Ivan my tenderhearted son kept asking why it was crying and telling it that it was ok. Funny enough but one of the most exciting part is feeding the fish in the lake. There is a walkway that lets you stand over the lake to feed the ducks, fish and turtles. There are hundreds and they get so congested trying to get the food, that they are flopping all over each other. Several times a duck was sitting on top of a platform of squirming fish. It's gross and fascinating all at the same time.

As for the pregnancy, a couple of times I have felt normal and wondered if I was over the nausea, but then by the next meal time, or once I moved or drove the car, it came back again. I think it's getting better though- I do occasionally get these moments of feeling ok again and today I even tried a 1/4 cup of coffee! It didn't upset my stomach and tasted oh so good. Which is funny to type since I don't even think I could stomach water right now. I have figured out some tricks. The mornings are a little better if I have a snack in the evening & I have to have my water ice cold. Normally I do not care about the temp. of water and drink it lukewarm, but now it makes me want to hurl. But with lots of ice it tastes much better. Weird huh?

Today was Isaiah's surgery for his cochlear implant, so I am anxious to know how they are doing.