11 Months!

Wow, Joel was 11 months old yesterday. We sure are feeling a change in him. He has got some attitude!! At least last night he finally slept most of the night, only waking at 6am for a feed instead of waking up at 12:30 and crying until 2. That was the night before and that is no fun when both mom and dad are battling colds! We are starting to get better here though. Another good night of sleep would be helpful! Sorry no new pictures today. He still looks the same anyway.

Walking

Here are a couple of pictures of Joel walking and just a cute one of his face (note the crazy hair). We have had a bit of a rough week with Joel getting 2 more teeth (top and bottom 2nd right), bringing his total teeth count to 6. We have dealt with him throwing up a few times, the cat throwing up a few times and then me having the flu. I think I would prefer not to remember this week. I'm still not 100% but at least I'm off the couch today! I hope you are all doing better than we are!

Joel update

So I haven't mentioned to quite everyone yet that Joel is walking! Just after Christmas, in PG, he started taking 8-12 steps and now can do more but still chooses crawling as the quicker, more efficient mode of transport. However, he is starting to walk away from furniture to me or other furniture and he is able to turn around while standing as well. He also got his 4th tooth on Saturday so now he can really bite! He is almost completely switched over to bottles with the exception of morning feeds and the odd bedtime and/or nighttime feed. He is turning into a real monkey with quite the sense of humour and sense of adventure! He's into everything! He is a real joy to have around but I am sure glad those teeth are through! That was a little less joyful waiting on those 2 top ones.

Christmas Pics

So frustrating!

Is anyone else having this problem? I switched to the "new blogger' and I hate it! I never know if my blogs will publish or not. It's been at least 3 times that I've blogged from Picasa and they haven't gone through. I am so annoyed. So sorry for the lack of pictures but you can blame the stupid site.

Happy 2007!

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great evening last night with family and friends and some tenderloin, crab, scallops and prawns and a whole lot of butter. I think we all gained 5 pounds in food we ate but it was worth it and now we have a new year to start all over! The past week has been very busy celebrating Christmas with Brad's family on the 25th, with his extended family on the 26th and with my family on the 27th. Joel has taken it all in and has been such a good boy. I think he loves Christmas!! We hope you have all been able to enjoy this holiday season and we wish everyone all the best for 2007!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Babies!

Here's a little pic of most of the 2006 babies at Bethany (1 is missing due to some tears). They range in age from 11 months to 1 month. From left to right, oldest to youngest we have, Susanna, Joel, Isabella (who's already falling for Joely), Tyler, David, Natalie, Jackson, Katie, Max, Elijah (yes, we know he actually belongs in PG) and Madison. Aren't they cute!!

Lights

We had a lovely evening at VanDusen Gardens on Tuesday with our friends. The rain actually stopped for a while and the lights were amazing. So many lights!! I can't imagine what they would have looked like with some snow!

Santa, I know him!!

Finally I got it to work! Last Wednesday Brad took the day off work and we took Joel shopping and to see Santa. He didn't quite know what to think but he didn't cry! He also would not smile. None of our tactics would work. Oh well.
One week and Christmas will once again be over. What is happening to time? I hope that all of you take the time to relax with your families, reflect on the beauty of the season and celebrate the birth of our Saviour. What a wonderful gift we have been given! Set aside the stresses and focus on the fact that God loves each one of us so much that He sent His son in the form of a baby, knowing that one day He would pay the ultimate price on the cross for our sins. What a reason to celebrate! Take the peace, joy, love and freedom that He offers and spread the word! Love this time of year for what it really is.

Our crazy week.

Joel and Cooper are acting crazy with Christmas approaching. The first picture is of Joel and Natalie. It was so cute - he kept trying to hold her hands when they were facing eachother! In the picture on the bottom left, I put Joel down for a nap, went to have a shower thinking he would fall asleep and that is how I found him 45 min later, wide awake playing with a giraffe.

Jealous

I was just looking at some pics from my family in PG and well, the snow there is sooooooo nice!!! We have had snow here for over a week now (what a milestone) and well, it's above zero and feels like March. At least the ground is still somewhat white and our street is still icy. For anyone who watches the news from down here, you would already know that since snow and ice seems to be all they can talk about.
We have had a busy weekend. On Friday night we had some friends over, I have to post a picture of Joel and Natalie later. Last night I went alone to my work Christmas party and the dinner was great and it was nice to see everyone but I left as soon as the "entertainment" started. They always keep it a big secret and had I know two men dressed up as not very dressed women were going to be singing and dancing, I would not have even shown my face. Tonight we relaxed over at Karen and Ty's new house and checked out Brad's parents pics from Hawaii. I am so ready to go back there!! Not much else is new. We have a busy week ahead of us. December is always like that! Go, go, go. Where is the stop?

I forgot

Joel had his 9 month check up today and he's as healthy as a horse - whatever that means. He is 24 lbs (95th percentile) and 29 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). So he's not the ogre baby everyone seems to think he is. The doctor did say he is/will be a big boy but at least he's not the biggest ever!! In 3 months he's only gained 2 lbs. I wonder how many I've gained.

Too tired. Must sleep.

 

Feels like home

Our winter wonderland reminds me so much of growing up in PG (minus all the bad drivers - lol). I have to admit that it's cold outside. I think I've become a little soft. I don't know what I would do in -36 when -5 feels like I'm going to freeze. Vancouveriteism has set in, except that I still prefer snow over rain and I would like it to stay like this until the end of February. The thought of it being 4 degrees on Thursday actually makes me sad. Goodbye pretty snow. Come again.
Cooper is so curious. I tossed him out there and now he can't get enough. You can take the cat out of the barn but you can't take the barn out of the cat.
 

Out in the snow.

Our little family. This was Joel's first time ever standing in the snow. He has seen lots of it before but he's never actually felt it. He fell on his bum shortly after the bottom picture was taken and was not very happy about it. 

Weekend pics and Joel with his great-grandparents

 

Happy 9 months!

Joel is 9 months old today (the 26th). Hopefully the date still says the 26th. We have had a busy day at church, painting, eating fondue and watching MI III. Except Joel went to bed before the movie.

Okay, it looks like the clock changed to Monday. So happy 9 months yesterday Joel. It has been snowing since Saturday night. It's such a winter wonderland here. I've even had the Christmas music going. No decorations yet though! That will wait a while yet.

The Real Thing!

Yay! It's snowing! It's actually snowing. Not rain, not hail, just snow. And the Christmas lights (those that are up and lit, not ours because we can't put any up because of our construction) look beautiful.

Sleepy or not.

This is how Joel fell asleep a few nights ago. He was crying and crying and just waiting for one of us to come get him as his head is at the wrong end of the bed and is facing the door. He's in the crawling position with a blanket bunched under him. What a monkey.
And this is Joel that morning. He just loves sitting on Bernice and usually ends up with a mouthful of black fluff.