this and that

Not much to tell you about. Here are a few new pics of the kids. Everyone is doing well, aside from the sleepless nights. I know this will pass and things will be on the up swing then... hahaha!!

Ethan is growing fast, but I guess when one eats every 2 hours (sometimes every hour and half) that is what happens!

The hospital did not take Ethan's foot print (unlike PR with Emma) so we did it last night before his bath. I needed one for Ethan's scrapbook and it turned out well!

Dann enjoys playing with his son and Ethan seems to enjoy watching!

The snow is still coming down, so we went out and bought new craft supplies for Emma (thinking it is going to be a long winter). Emma enjoyed being creative with sparkle glue, feathers, pompoms, markers and pipe cleaners!!

Finally...

Mr. Blogger finally let me down load some photos (after many attempts all week).

Last Friday evening it started to snow and did not stop until Sunday morning. Needless to say, there was over a foot of the fluffy white stuff!!! The streets were awful and so were a lot of the silly drivers around these parts! Because the snow started on Friday night, the snow crews were not really doing a lot over the weekend, which made for many accidents etc. around town!

We trooped out into the snow Sunday afternoon for the office Halloween Party. Emma was very excited about dressing up in her "Fairy Princess" costume, but was even more excited about wearing make-up (oh no... it's starting already!).

The crown lasted all of 1 minute, but she was cute with or without it!

The party turn out was awesome and so were the costumes. All the children enjoyed the crafts & games, and went home with tummies full of goodies!

Monday night Emma helped her Daddy carve the pumpkin. Everyone says I am the one with all the artistic talent, but I am starting to think that Dann has a lot of "artsy fartsy" in him too!

Dann has a very creative mind... just look at the final product!!

Halloween night was pretty cold, but Emma put her snow suit under her costume and she was good to go. Ethan stayed home with Grandma to hand out Halloween candy.

Emma and her little friend Darby headed out around 6 p.m. and they must have went to over 30 houses. I kept asking them if they were cold, but they always said they were fine. We went up and down our street (which is very long) and the girls hauled in big time. Finally, Emma told me that her bag was getting too heavy to carry. I took it from her and it was darn heavy. Some people handed out regular size chocolate bars and cans of pop... all that oil money I guess!

After we got home, Emma indulged in a few chocolate bars and then she headed to bed... she still fell right to sleep, even after all the candy. I guess that cool air and walking really did the trick!

Finally, just a few pics of Ethan this past week. He seems to be more alert and holds his head up very well. My baby looks like he is 3 months old... not 2 weeks old!

Clone

This is a photo of Ethan sitting next to a photo taken almost 4 years ago with Emma (she was one week old). It is hard to see, but if you click on the photo you will see how much sister and brother look alike... scary!! Emma had a bit bigger feet and hands and her face seemed to be a bit more round, but the same hair line, facial features and expressions!!

I wanted to blog more photos, but Mr. Blogger is not cooperating... he says there is an error and the photo can not be posted.

Sometimes Mr. Blogger really ticks me off (does this problem only happen to me or have some of you experienced this as well?)!

Going Home

Ethan seemed pretty content and peaceful in this photo, considering he just got circumcised approximately 30 minutes before!! Dann went into the room with the doctor and watched the procedure. Dann was fascinated by the doctor's work and even took photos (I will spare you of those)!

Below is Ethan's going home outfit... not that you can make it out, but there are little tractors, trucks and cars all over his top and bottoms!

Too cute... thanks Grandma B for buying him such a sweet little boy outfit!!

We were just about to leave the hospital when we snapped this photo of Ethan in his car seat. Dann and I were so surprised, because when we placed him in the car seat, he never cried. In fact, Ethan quite liked it!! This was a treat because Emma cried EVERY single time we put her in there (yes 4 1/2 months of non-stop crying in the car). Needless to say, Dann and I enjoyed our drive home from the hospital... in silence!!

For the first couple of days it was hard to get a photo with Ethan's eyes open, but we managed to snap this one shortly after arriving home. I guess Ethan was wanting to see his new home!!

Welcome to the World

OUR BIG BABY BOY HAS ARRIVED!!

Ethan Daniel was born October 16th, 2006

Weighing in at 10lbs 8ozs, 21.5 inches long

Overall, everything went well (I only used a few bad words near the end). I begged the nurses for morphine, but I was denied. I told them I could not push Ethan out... they assured me I could.

Dann was a bit surprised when my potty mouth came out to play, but I did not scream anything loud etc... more under my breath and I apologized to the nurses and doctor after Ethan was out.

Dann was a great coach and the end result was worth it!!

I love baby feet!!

Ethan and Emma at birth looked surprisingly alike!! Ethan has a bit more hair and it is dark brown/black, unlike Emma's burgandy locks!

Needless to say, big sister is "soooo" excited about her baby brother, she could hardly contain herself!

My Brown Eyed Girl

I think that song (Brown Eyed Girl) was written especially for my little girl!! Emma truly has amazing brown eyes, and I am not just saying that because I am bias! Dann took these photos and Emma was just hammin' it up for the camera.

I wish we had something to Blog about, but not just yet. Soon we will have too much to tell you about... we are all just patiently waiting for the big moment.

Over View

Emma has finally gotten over her terrible cold. Although the last week has been very nice, the week before was cloudy and cool. Emma insisted on going outside to play in her skirt (without tights or socks) and her flip-flops. She would wear a jacket, but that is not enough when it is only 8'C outside. I got tired of fighting with her, figuring she would learn her lesson when she got sick! Well sure as heck, a few days later she had a whopper of a cold.

Emma now tells me that she needs socks, pants, a jacket and runners on when she goes out to swing etc. I guess she learened her lesson the hard way (my reverse psychology worked, but I paid the price too, as I had a grumpy, sick girl for four days straight).

Now that she is feeling better, Emma informed Dann and I that her dolly was sick. Emma got a cold cloth for Dolly's forehead and tucked her in with Teddy for a good night sleep. She really has a great motherly instinct to her!!

On a different note, Emma loves to play in her baby brother's room. She loves looking at all the baby gadgets, especially the Tweetie soother holder. Emma had to bring it to the bathroom with her one afternoon, and she accidently dropped it in the toilet! You'd think her world collapsed... she was devastated. Lucky the water was clean and Daddy was able to salvage Tweetie (yes, I put it in the wash).

BANANA BREAD ANYONE??

Emma decided she wanted to help me make banana bread. She loves to help me bake, but she loves to lick the spoon even more!! She was hoping for a few chocolate chips, while she waited for the spoon, but I did not have any in the pantry, thus she was getting a bit impatient.

Emma decided to use her time wisely and helped me mix the batter, hoping to get her fingers in for a lick...

I told her that she had to wait until we were done mixing all the ingredients together. Much to her dismay, she patiently waited for me to fill the bread loaf pan, so she could lick the spoon.

This is Emma's "not-so-patient" look!!

Family Photos

We headed down to the river this mornig to take some family photos before the baby arrives.

Here is Emma sporting her Dad's Oakley's

All the fall colors are so rich and beautiful...

Fall truly is my most favorite season!

Dann & Emma striking a pose with a nice background.

More of a silhouette shot, I kept this pic as a color shot, as I loved the trees and reflection in the background!

We decided we needed some belly-shots with this pregnancy as well...

When I was pregnant with Emma, we hired a professional photographer to capture the moment,

but this time, we figured we'd just take the photos ourselves.

Not bad for a couple of amateurs!!!

I am glad we decided to take the photos, as it was a beautiful day, and this turkey of mine is almost done. Besides, one never knows if he will make an early appearance!

P.S.

There was another pregnant lady who down at the park when we were there. She is due one week before me, and her belly looked like mine did at 6 months (Yikes...)!!

Funny Face

Although this photo was taken in May while we were visiting Phyl & Ian in Kelowna, I thought it was worth blogging. Emma was so cute and creative using the chair as a pair of glasses. I guess her Auntie Phyllis really brings out the "Kooky" in Emma. Emma still talks about her visit with her Aunt & Uncle and of course, Sydney ("Stay down Sydney")!!

Brrrrrr.....

Brrrrr.... it's cold!! Needless to say my dreams of an Indian Summer are pointless, as Old Man Winter came a knockin'!!

Yesterday morning we woke up to a wind storm, along with heavy rain. As the day progressed, the snow flakes started to come down. By the time the snow hit the ground, they melted thus no snow accumulation on the ground (thank goodness).

Over night was another story...

We woke up to a light skiff of snow on the ground and very cool & damp conditions (much like the West Coast in January). I can only hope that Old Man Winter is just playing a mean joke and our nice fall days come back, after all it is only mid September!!

Emma on the other hand could not wait to get outside this morning to play around in the snow. Rowena could not get her outdoor clothes on fast enough and Emma was darting out the door. Emma did not even fuss about putting on pants this morning, that's how excited she was about the snow!!

End of Summer

Here is a photo of Emma and her friend Darby, enjoying one of the last real hot days of summer. You can tell fall is in the air this past week. Although it has been sunny through out the day, the mornings have had that nip in the air, just to remind us that the days are getting shorter and the snow will be coming. Hopefully a little later than sooner. I am holding out for a long indian summer!!

Although the "Wal-Mart" swimming pool was a hit this year, I think the girls had way more fun with the sprinkler, as seen below!!

On a different note, Emma has been playing "baby in my tummy". Below she poses with her baby lamb under her dress. She told Dann and I that her lamb would be born in 2 days!! She always tells me to feel her tummy as the baby is kicking. I put my hand on the hump and she moves her hips forward to make her tummy move. Then Emma gets really excited and says, "see mommy, my baby kicked, just like my baby brother!" I am not sure who is more excited about this baby being born, me or Emma??!!

This and That

Emma wanted to play doctor and listen to the baby's heart beat with Dann's stethoscope. She was very excited to put the cold end on my belly and listen... to nothing. Unfortunately, we were not able to hear the baby's heart, just a bounch of swishing noises. Emma still thought she was pretty clever, and called herself "Doctor"

This is a photo of Emma and her cousins, Natasha and Taryn. They were here last weekend visitng, and Emma was in her glory to have two older girls to play with. I think they all enjoyed themselves!

First Day Of School

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Emma has been talking about going to school for weeks now and as the day got closer, she would tell you the exact date and who her teahcers are. Needless to say she was very excited until a couple of days before. On Saturday she told me she did not want to go to school until she was 5 years old. I encouraged her, building up the teachers and all the little kids she will meet and play with. This did not seem to work, so I got her excited again by telling her that she got to wear her new jean skirt and shirt the first day. Emma's excitement was back. We laid her new school clothes out the night before and she woke up at 6:30 a.m. to put them on. She came into our bedroom all dressed, hair brushed and clips in. Emma bounced around the house waiting for 8:50 a.m. to come around to leave. Well, at 8:45 a.m. the excitement wore off and she was in tears telling me she was scared to go to school. I gave her lots of hugs and kisses, ensuring her that mom or dad will be there to drop her off and pick her up, and that it was only 2 1/2 hours long. This did not seem to help, and we left the house with her crying, holding her stuffed kitten tight.

By the time we arrived at school, Emma had stopped crying. Dann met us there and we all walked into the school together. Emma was somewhat calm again and was excited to sit down at the play-dough table and start creating. I gave her a kiss and said bye, and the water works started again. I knew she would cry, so I had to be brave and walk away. Dann stayed with her for a couple more minutes and then he too had to depart, leaving Emma in the capable hands of "Kerry & Doreen" (her teachers). The fear in her eyes was very evident, but I knew within minutes of our departure, she would love it (just like day home etc. when she was younger).

Dann and I went back at 11:45 a.m. to pick her up and Emma was the happiest little girl on earth. She loved school (like there was any doubt). They read books, played in the gym with the parachute and plastic balls, got a sticker for her heathly snack, and played with all the toys. Emma cannot wait to go back!!! My little baby girl is all grown up!!