November 2018

These two sure love playing together. Ross is so good at sharing his toys with Henry, and Henry just wants to do everything Ross is doing.

Daddy teaching Henry how to use the drill press. Safety and slippers first!

Steve took the big two kids camping at Pt Reyes for two nights in November. It was a rainy forecast, and they did have some rain, but they braved it well, and had so much fun. Henry and I stayed home since we haven't quite figured out our tent situation with all three kids yet.

October 2018

Both big kids did a "learn to play" hockey session for 6 weeks, and loved it. Madeleine decided to continue playing with a girls team on Saturday mornings, while Ross decided that he would rather have quiet Saturdays at home in his pjs. Starting Kindergarten was a big adjustment for him, and now that it is almost done, he is ready to hit the ice again this summer.

Madeleine making some baking delights with only minimal supervision.

Pumpkin carving with the kids... only Madeleine would touch the slimy innards.

September 2018

It has been so long since I posted anything, and I had very nearly decided to give up on the blog and instead post pictures on Instagram. However, in light of efforts of reduce the Zuckerberg world domination, I decided to come back to the blog. I have some catching up to do! I will do a short post with key pictures from each month since I left off, and focus more on pictures than on text. 

So here are a few from last September - Henry was 15 months and wearing an old outfit of Steve's.

His first haircut! I thought his mullet was getting out of control, so I snipped all of it off, assuming the sweet little curls would grow back... but they haven't! So now I have not cut it again, and I keep hoping the curls will grow. So far, the mullet has grown and the curls have not.

 Steve and the kids on his birthday.

Grammie and Henry during their fall visit.

July in BC

After a couple of weeks back at home in California, we all flew up to B.C. to spend a week and a half in Abbotsford.  Naturally, Steve took the kids to visit the nearby John Deere store.

We celebrated Henry's 1st birthday on July 16th. Unfortunately, he got sick just a few days after we arrived, and was not really his usual happy self for most of our visit. He had Roseola, which meant a high fever, rash, and generally cranky baby for over a week.  The heat wave during our visit didn't help either.  Henry still loved his cake though!

Grandpa Mark built a pen for Henry so that he could enjoy the backyard with the big kids.

And the big kids gave him plenty to watch!

We went south to Birch Bay to see Aunt Joanne (and Uncle Tom and Aunt Debbie who happened to be visiting), and got to explore a low tide area and find all sorts of crabs and shells.

Madeleine decided to be a chef one day and made up this Rainbow Salad for us all to enjoy. 

Back at home in California for the last four weeks of summer vacation, we explored some beaches, played with friends, M and R did a Vacation Bible School, and as always, they enjoyed garage time with Daddy.

June at the Cottage

I am finally catching up on our summer pictures. Right after school finished in early June, the kids and I flew to Ontario to spend some time at the cottage in Port Elgin. Steve went to Texas for a conference and then joined us for the last week and a half. We had such a wonderful time at the cottage and enjoyed the perfect weather. 

Before we left, I managed to get a picture of Henry with his 10 month sticker (he was almost 11 months - oops!). I'm afraid this is where his monthly photos end. He is the third child, after all. 

Thanks to Grandma Georgia, we had an early birthday party for him at the cottage and he loved it. He got a bit impatient waiting for the cake and shortly after the second picture, he dove in for a big bite.

If only M and R were always this loving and affectionate towards each other...

We spent a lot of time at the beach, and this yellow kayak was a huge hit with the kids.

Henry was pretty happy to stay off the sand for the first week or so, but he gradually got a bit more brave and went exploring. The water was too cold for his comfort though, and often we would head to the beach after lunch and he would have a nap there.

Caleb, Brody, Uncle John and Aunty Julie came to visit and the kids loved playing together.

Everyone was excited to see Steve after his conference!

Henry got lots of cuddles with the grandparents.

He loved reaching up to the piano to play the keys.

The kids loved the visits from Uncle Chris and Aunty Kristin too...

We can't wait to go back again!

Happy Birthday, Madeleine!

Madeleine celebrated her birthday recently with Grammie and Grandpa, who made some special "Madeleine cookies" at her request. She has certainly grown up a lot in the last year. She is loving reading and sewing, and recently started violin lessons. She seems to have hit a good rhythm in terms of being helpful at home, playing with her brothers, and being generally really pleasant and happy. 

Henry was baptized at our church at the start of April. He wore a cute outfit that Ross wore when he was a month older for Uncle Chris's wedding. Henry just squeezed into it! He was very happy with the pastors and didn't mind the water one bit.

Both my boys seem to love watermelon...

Grammie and the boys got lots of cuddles on their recent visit.

Henry loves music and especially loves plunking away at the piano. He puts his whole body into it and gets very excited.

Even though he is almost 10 months, I figured I should get some pictures with the 9 month sticker before it's too late!

He is commando crawling all over, and getting up on his knees to try and pull up on things. He eats anything - isn't picky at all yet - and has two solid naps (if we're actually home, that is). He is still usually waking up once in the early hours of the morning, and then goes back to sleep. He is not very interested in any of his own toys, but loves playing with Madeleine's horses, or Ross's race cars, or plastic cups.

He got four top teeth in the last month (he now has six altogether), and he often sticks his tongue out like this:

One more picture - thanks to Ross!