A Visit From Auntie June and co.

Yesterday my Auntie June and her neighbor and kids came passing through Aldergrove on the tail end of a mini-vaca they took down to the coast (from Barriere). We got to visit, talk shop (my aunt is a photog herself... it runs in the family!) and go out to "my field" where I love to shoot at sunset.

I'm sure most of you have heard me refer to "my field"... it's near my house and it's where I LOVE to do my maternity, family, child and even the odd newborn photo session. Well, THIS is it:




So we headed out right at the perfect time and got some beautiful shots. I think my aunt had a nice time and enjoyed the beautiful backdrop and lighting!




Jake came along with us... I actually snagged a couple great shots of him. This first one will be one I treasure forever... I can tell already.





Thanks for coming Auntie June, Jen, Cam and Maddie! I had a great time... hopefully we can do it again soon!

The First Love of Jake's Life....

.... besides ME of course!!! LOL

My little man Jake has a bit of an infatuation, shall we call it, with his little Polly Pocket sized doll - Ariel. This little 3 inch doll started out in Ashleigh's collection of Polly's and hasn't seen the group since. My sweet little guy decided that this doll "looked like momma" and hasn't let her go. (I know... doesn't it make your heart melt?!?!?!?!).

He brings her to playdates, on sleepovers at the grandparents, on camping trips, to swimming... just everywhere! I do not lie when I tell you that Ted and I have spent the better part of the last 8 months looking for Ariel. Occasionally he will put Ariel down while temporarily distracted and when he clues in minutes later that she's gone, he loses his mind!! LOL

If you see my little man, no doubt, you will see her too...

Emily's Birthday/ SWIMMING!!!!

Ash's little best friend Emily had her party this weekend. I usually don't bring my camera to birthday parties but Em's grandma asked me to take a couple shots of Em in her dress so I thought I'd post a few from the party. We got there at 4pm, when my children promptly jumped in to the pool... at 9pm they had only stepped out once to have some cake. FIVE straight hours in the pool... they are little fishes!!!! TOO CUTE!

Happy Birthday Em!!!







Jake tried to get out of the pool in a huge hurry and fell flat on his face... hence all the mud in this next picture... but that's not why he's crying... he was so upset cause he thought he wasn't getting a piece of cake!! LOL

Toothless in Whistler....

That's right!! She only turned 5 last month, but she lost her first tooth while we were in Whistler! It's been wiggly for a couple weeks now so we've been expecting it but it was so shocking to see when it actually was out. She's such a big girl now... it's so strange to see my baby loosing teeth. Crazy!

She's loving every minute of it too... and the tooth fairy pays huge these days!! LOL

Now her second tooth is loose and I'm trying to find a way to convince her that the tooth fairy's gone bankrupt, while she's trying to convince me that the tooth fairy should bring money AND toys. ha ha!

Whistler in the Heat Wave!!

Well we got home from the beach house in the States Monday morning and by 5pm Monday afternoon we were up at Whistler to hang out with our friends Dana and Jason and their brood of boys, Lincoln, Declan and Fisher.

We were up there for 4 days and it was so much fun. Nice and relaxing, the kids played and we visited and shopped... thank GOD for air conditioning cause it was HOT!!! But we had lots of good times out for dinner, shopping in the village, swimming at the pool, playing cards in the evening and hanging out at Alta Lake. Thanks again D and J for such a good time!

Check out this play structure.... sooooo Whistler. LOL

Jake's Birthday... He's Three!!

Well I say it year after year but this one hit me particularly hard I think. My baby boy Jake turned three on July 24th. Where did the time go??? I think it was bad because we don't have an ounce of baby anything anymore. It's gone... all of it. The crib, the diapers, the baby bag... even the rails on his bed. Everything!

And yeah, it's great... it's so nice to be a fully functioning family where every member gets to enjoy the fun things we're doing, but it's sad in the way that those nights where he wants me to sing him to sleep are becoming few and far between.

I'm lucky though... this boy is a momma's boy. He loves his cuddles and loves from his mommy and he always says "Am I your baby momma??". LOVE IT!!

He starts preschool in September and I'm not sure if I'll be as cool and collected as I was when Ash went... she was so ready... he's not. He's not used to big groups of kids and he certainly isn't used to me not being there. I wonder how he'll do.

He's such a loving sweet boy... he's gentle with babies and loves his friends. He's sweet and considerate and I just wanna eat him sometimes... until he gets mad... watch out! It happens rarely but boy does that little guy have a temper. Reminds me of Blair actually! Laid back but if and when you get him mad.... RUN!

He loves coloring and has certain shades of red that he particularly likes. He also has his Ariel doll that he loves to carry around. He says it looks like mommy and it goes EVERYWHERE with him. He's a little fish and loves swimming. I can't believe how much he does and I'm sure it's because he watches his big sister do everything.

He's obsessed (and I mean OBSESSED) with Spiderman. The boy just LOVES him. Hence his spiderman party. We were down at the Beach house for Jake's birthday so we through him a little party with Erika and Reid. We opened presents, did a puppet craft and had a spiderman birthday cake (that's all he asked for!). It was fun and I think he had a great time! :)

Happy Birthday Jake... I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!

Thunder and Lightening and Rain... Oh My!

We were down at the Beach House again last weekend for Jake's birthday (Post to Follow) and took a ride on Papa's new boat. There are little islands only about 20 minutes off shore and so we went and met friends who were camping there... when we left the weather was fine.... that didn't last long!!

By the time we got there it had started raining, and after about 20 minutes the lightening started!!! We got back in the boat and headed back for shore... lightening and thunder everywhere! It was crazy!! Gorgeous sunset though!!!

Dinotown - Revisted

If you've been a follower of the blog from the beginning, you'll remember that Dinotown is a favorite place in this house hold. We took Ash for the first time when she was two (I was still pregnant with Jake) and she loved it soooo much... she lost her little mind! I mean the place is budget and totally low rent, but its great for the little ones. Now Jake loves it as much too and we try to make it out there at LEAST once a summer... usually twice.

We headed out last week with our friends Andrea and Kelsey and their little ones Logan and Lauren. It was Logan's first time... I think he liked it... what's the verdict Andrea?!?