Christmas already!

Last night we celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa B and Auntie Karen, Uncle Ty, Duncan, Ethan and Rachel. We had a great time with them - the kids sure loved opening presents! The best reaction was Rachel to her new Barbie - "She's beautiful!" We'll miss you guys this year but we're glad we could celebrate with you regardless!

My new orchid

I hope I don't kill this one. Brad brought this home the other day from one of his customers. It is a rich burgundy color and has a very strong gardenia-like smell. It's so pretty but the flower is fading - I'll have to be sure the other buds bloom by the time Mom and Dad come for their next visit.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Last week Joel participated in his first Christmas pageant. I guess you can say he sat through it. He was a good boy, dressed up as a child from back then, holding a camel - he didn't move through the whole thing. It was a cute pageant put on by the preschool department. I can't say I'll be ordering the DVD of it this year though! I'll wait until he has some lines or at least does the actions to the songs (he can do them, just chose not to that day).
By the way, has anybody else read that book "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"? Mom, do we still have it somewhere??

Joel and Katie - so cute together!

Setting up the tree

On Sunday night I caved and we set up the tree. Joel was a great "help" and seemed to enjoy it! I think he enjoyed the popcorn snack a little more. Cooper is just happy to have his "happy place" again. This cat lives for Christmas and artificial trees.

Sick of Becks

You're probably all a little sick of seeing Becks every time you check my blog. Sorry. I've been busy!! Last week I wrote an exam which ended up being HARD!! I'm anxious to see how I did and I am now contemplating signing up for another course. I don't know. My lazy 3/4 says NOOOO! We also had our house recarpeted and Brad painted all our kitchen cabinets. Once the kitchen floor is done, the place will look almost new!
We are doing well. We've all had a touch of a cold, Joel has had it the worst and just won't get over his cough. He finally slept through the night last night, giving Brad and me a good solid 8 hours of sleep! It felt good and I feel much better today. We are starting to get into the swing of Christmas. Brad is outside, as I write, stapling the lights to our home. I have pulled out a few decorations but the tree has to wait. I can't do it while it's still November. The lights won't go on until the 1st. Joel will be participating in the Preschool Pageant at the church this year. We'll see how that goes. He can't even talk but he can sort of do the actions to Away In A Manger. We've been practicing to his Little People nativity set (the song plays when you push on the angel).
As for Joel's talking, it is getting better. He now says "Nnnnno!" and "I wannit". When I tell him I love him, he looks at me and says "Bye bye!". Now that is the sad part of being a working mom. He associates I love you with me leaving.
Last night we had some slush fall outside. I can't say it snowed because it was quite literally slushing. Yuck. Here's to some real snow for Christmas. Looking forward to it!

A Little Bit of Becks

Okay, so sometimes it's okay to act like a teenager again. Last night we attended the LA Galaxy/Whitecaps game. It wasn't the greatest game but it did have it's exciting moments. It ended 0-0, so no goals but there were some good chances! Anyway, as you can see the star of the show was David Beckham and he showed himself to be a decent guy, although I still don't get why he makes so much money.
We had fun, along with the other 48 000 people and got to see a superstar not do overly much on the field. The game actually picked up once he was subbed off. Go figure.

A Little Bit of Everything!

We spent the weekend in PG. The purpose of our trip was to FINALLY meet our new little nephew Noah. He is such a sweetie! Remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.
We had a very busy weekend. When we arrived in PG, after driving through a nasty snowstorm, we popped in to see Grandpa at work. All Joel would say was "vroom, vroom". I think he liked the trucks : ) The three guys spent some time out in the snow while we had a baby shower for Julie and Noah. The last three pictures are before, during and after. A few weeks ago Brad and I decided we would get Joel's hair cut while up there, then I changed my mind but had no choice but to give in to the pressure around me - you know who you are.... He sure wasn't happy while it was going on but he sure was a good boy during it! And the end result is a much older looking Joel but still so cute! And still my little baby....

Halloween

Joel had a fun Halloween! Owen stopped by while out trick-or-treating and then we took Joel around to the neighbours around us. Katie came for a visit as a little skunk and we all went to watch the fireworks together. The kids were very cute but I'm glad it's over again for another year. I can't say it's my favourite day - I can't even say I enjoy it.

Silly Joely!

Forgotten photos

These are some pictures from when Grandma and Grandpa were visting back in September. We drove to Deep Cove and then up Seymour Mountain where we found lots of ripe blueberries and huckleberries and if you know my parents, no berry gets left behind! We also got the picture of Joel in the blueberry bushes. We each have our own pic like this in our family!

Pumpkin Patch Kids

On Friday Joel and I went to the pumpkin patch with our friends and neighbours, Barb and Owen. It was such a gorgeous day again - it was so great to get out to the farm! They had live music which Joel and Owen really enjoyed listening to and then we took the wagon ride (brooom, brooom) to the pumpkin fields where we spent some time picking out our pumpkin. Joel just loved it at the farm - especially the tractors - we may have a future farmer here!

Thanksgiving Day hike

Thanksgiving day was a beautiful day again this year so we decided to take a hike around Sasamat Lake. It was about 2.5 Km and Joel walked a large majority of it! He just really loves the outdoors! The sun was shining and there was so much moisture in the air - the lake was steaming and we found all sorts of fungus growing everywhere. Joel is definitely a big fan of throwing rocks in the water and he even threw his water bottle in (luckily we were able to retrieve it).

Going for a walk...

My Bike

For all you original PGers, this is what gets into my head:
"I ride my bike, don't rollerskate, don't drive no car. Don't go to fast, but I go pretty far...."
Anyway, this is Joel on his trike.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Eat lots and lots.

Just wanted to talk

I feel like nothing has happened and yet lots has happened! Things have started up again and that is good. Joel and I are really enjoying Moms & Tots at the church. I've become a bit more involved with it this year, setting it up and cleaning it up. I felt it was a way for me to be involved in a church ministry since I can't help out on Sundays at all due to work. I've really enjoyed meeting new moms and seeing some moms that I've met in our neighbourhood and told about it actually come!
Fall has definitely arrived here in the lower mainland and with fall comes rain. It really likes to rain here. I don't really know that I am fully ready for it yet and at the same time there's something about fall that I just LOVE. I'm happy to wear my jeans and sweaters again and to see the colours of the leaves and to watch the cranberry harvest in the field next to us. I don't like that it gets dark so early and I don't like that I have to deal with all my dying plants!
But with fall came a wonderful addition to our ever growing family and I am happy to have another little nephew - Noah Michael arrived to Julie and Mike on September 28 and we just can't wait to see him! We'll be driving up in November but that still seems a far way off!
Joel has a long list of words now. His biggest word is airplane which he gets to practice a lot since they are constantly flying over our house. He's figured out how to pick his nose (just to gross some of you out) and he also tries to blow his nose, often. Usually he just spits into a kleenex but oh well. Brad bought him a tricycle (thanks Grandma and Grandpa) and he just loves scooting around on it. He doesn't peddle yet but pushes himself quite effectively. He's had a couple good wipeouts - good thing he wears his helmet! But try getting him off it when it's time to go inside and oh my, is that a challenge!
Brad has been away all week but he comes home tonight. I think I just needed someone to talk to so, thanks for listening!

Lots of pictures! Finally!

Here are some pictures from our trip to PG. Joel and I went there for a week while Brad was in Holland for work. We spent lots of time with the cousins (always lots of fun!). Joel got stung by an evil wasp on his cheek one day - you can see from his reaction, he wasn't very happy! The hydrangea is in Mom's garden. Who thought you could grow them up there (hint hint for all you global warming skeptics!). We had soccer Saturday, watching Josh and Ethan show off their moves and of course, Joel, Hannah and Maren on the sidelines. On Sunday we went for a good walk up to Forests For the World and it looks like most of us chose to wear some shade of red that day! We finished off that evening with a birthday celebration for Frances - ribs, corn and chocolatey goodness for dessert.... MMMM!! Good job Chris! All in all, it was a busy week but we had a great time hanging out with everyone! We miss you guys! Hopefully we'll be back soon to meet the newest "Naegeli" once he or she arrives! Can't wait! See you soon!

Time for an update

A week and a half ago Joel turned 18 months. He had his last official checkup at the doctor's including his last shots until preschool (so glad they're done with)! He weighed 30 lbs and measured 33.5 inches. He's still 100 percentile for weight and 80th for height. He's really starting to say more words now, although not the same ones consistently, except for Bye and Vroom which he is very good at! He has said Thank you, Auntie, Grandma, Hannah, shoes, socks, ball, car, and even came out with "Mama, hold" once when he wanted me to hold his hand. He also always says There you go when handing you something. It's pretty cute and very interesting to see him copying my own habits! Also with turning 18 months came the tantrums and freak outs that I guess we'll have to deal with over the next couple of years. (Karen - I know you warned me about the day they turn 18 months and you were right!). However, he is still a sweet and cuddly boy who loves giving hugs and kisses. What more could a mom ask for?

A visit from Auntie Nikki!

Presents, a trip to Crescent Beach and bubblegum ice cream! How much better does it get! We had a fun week with Nikki here. Joel got another in house babysitter for 2 days this time! Lucky guy!! We spent another great day shopping and then a lovely (hot) day at the beach. We also got a little visit from Evelin last Sunday and we got to spend an evening with our friend Karen from our good ol' high school days. It was a busy week but we loved having you here!!

A visit from Auntie Frances and Hannah

A couple of weeks ago Auntie Frances and Hannah came for a visit. We had a great time with them and kept busy with a big shopping trip, a visit to the aquarium and a walk through Burns Bog. They even got to babysit Joel one day while Mom and Dad had to go to work! Come again anytime!!

Summer evening at the farm

Here are just a couple of pictures of our evening at the farm. It was a "Farewell" party as it was Auntie Sylvia, Uncle John, Kirsten, Kelsey and Karina's last night in Canada. We were so glad they came to visit! Joel just loved all the attention and we were so happy to get to see them again!

Capilano Suspension Bridge

We spent the holiday Monday with Brad's Auntie Sylvia, Uncle John, Kirsten, Kelsey, Karina (all visiting from St. Louis), and Mama Bruin (visiting from Nanaimo) and Karen, Ty, Duncan, Ethan and Rachel. We crossed the bridge and went up into the Treetop Adventure - a series of suspension bridges up in the trees (yeah, kind of a nightmare for me since I have always had a fear of suspension bridges but it was okay). We had lots of fun and got some good use out of the backpack! That boy is getting heavy!!

Shuswap

We had a wonderful time camping at Shuswap Lake. What a great way to get some time away from city life! We had an awesome time with family and friends! We spend time at the beach, biking around the campground, making T-shirts, at the waterslides in Vernon and waiting out a massive rainstorm. Thanks for such a memorable week away!