Emma's birthday

With spring comes Emma and mom's birthday on April 6th. I am so glad the snow melted because we gave Emma a bike for her birthday and it was done up with all her favorite bike things (basket, bell, streamers). So she did get to ride it that day and pretty much every day since. Later in the week we had a birthday party for Emma at the gymnastics center here in town with family and a few friends. Emma requested a blue and yellow cake with pink polka dots and butterflies. So I came up with something that made her happy. Overall we are all so happy it is spring!

A Little Baking and Some family fun

This past couple of months have gone by pretty quickly, and we have mostly been trapped in the house as the weather has been less than agreeable. Nathan did a young mens camp in the mountains during some pretty cold weather, and the kids decided to all get sick at the same time during the same week. We were all good except Kate so we went bowling at the end of the week and Grandma came along to hold our sick little girl.

Everyone had to bowl at the same time

We have also been trying out some recipes for some goodies. The kids haven't complained about that at all!

Emma holding her new favorite cinnamon bun pancakes.

Michael helping roll out the cookies

Our tasty valentine cookies!

Finally the most exciting news for William was he finally lost his first two teeth! Although the experience was a little traumatic as he had to have them pulled by the dentist because he had his adult teeth already grown in behind the baby ones. He was very excited in the car going to the dentist, I had to laugh, he was literally wiggling in his seat and clapping saying this is going to be so great, I get to get a prize and lose my teeth! Then I physically had to hold him in the seat while the freezing went in and he cried wanting to go home. It was all over pretty quickly and he has recovered from the oral assault just fine.

Before the tooth pull. William's shark teeth.

practice

Last night Nathan was talking to Emma about the winter camp he will be taking William and Laurel on at the end of March. Our age limit is usually 5, but Emma is not the most motivated when it comes to long distance walking (which would be anything further than the closest park). The camp entails an 11km hike in the mountains to get to a hut where they stay for a couple of nights with all the cousins old enough to go. The kids always have a good time and get some good dad/uncle time in. Then of course they hike back out, another 11 kms to the vehicles. Nathan and I know Emma would not be good to take yet and Emma suggested that she and dad could practice walking a long way this summer to get her ready for next year. At the end of the conversation Emma said, "we could practice walking to the slurpee store!". That's our Emma!

Katelynn is one!

This past week, on February 10th, our little Katelynn turned one. It was kind of sad to think this is our last little one year old birthday, but we all are still just having so much fun enjoying the family baby. Katelynn loved the cake, and the kids loved opening her presents so good times all around. Thankfully Kate doesn't really get mad when the other kids take toys from her, so her presents were enjoyed more by the other kids than by her that night, but she did get some time with them when mom forced the kids to let the birthday girl even look at her two new things. This past year with her has really flown by and I am so thankful for my littlest girl who makes me smile every day.

Fun with the littles

For Christmas this year I made a puppet theatre for the kids. I of course love using power tools so this was a good excuse to use the saws, sanders and routers. The best thing about it is that it has no nails or screws, all the joints to put it together just slide together so it holds tight, and you can take it apart and store it under a bed! I set it up for them for Christmas morning and it has been a hit since then. The kids of course use it for their puppets, but also as a hideout, a store, and whatever else they think of.

This past week at school, the kids celebrated literacy day. So we whipped up a cat in the hat outfit for Laurel before she left for school and she loved it!

The next day was crazy hair day so the kids had to have some out of the ordinary do's. Will wanted spikes, and mom just made the girls look a little goofy. We'll see how the day went and how the hair holds up.

Just another Sunday with Batman and the gang

Last Sunday night before bed I was getting Katelynn in her pajamas and finding what the other kids were up to. I must say I really like that the kids play together so well (for the most part), anyhow this is what I found...

Batman and the gang making up some story with queens, princesses, and superheroes of course. This happens quite frequently so I usually don't take pictures, but I thought I should for memory sake. I love these little crazies.

Family fun for Christmas

This past Christmas we went to Red Deer with most of Nathan's family and I must say it was great fun. The city of Red Deer provides the backboards and things needed to make hockey rinks around the city if people are willing to maintain them, so right outside of Phil and Joy's (Nathan's parents) door is a great ice rink. The kids were constantly putting their winter things on to run outside for a quick skate. I particularly liked watching some of the kids crawl down the driveway with their skates on, heading towards the ice (gotta protect those blades).

The kids put on a great nativity for our Christmas eve dinner, and we loved being so close to everyone. The kids did not want to leave after four days but alas it was time for home. We are so grateful for family!