I'm One and Having Fun

"Littlest" as she's often referred to.......otherwise know as Miss Emma, is having tons of fun being one year old. Just around her first birthday she got her four top teeth, she's been crawling/furniture walking for months and just yesterday finally started taking around 8-10 steps at a time all on her own. She boogies up the stairs in a flash and loves to do anything that her big sister is doing.

All that fun and then, the downside of being a big one year old: immunizations. Today I took her for her 12 month shots and I think everyone in the entire doctor's office heard her sing. She was not happy and I felt so bad for holding her there for not one or two needles but FOUR - talk about torture! She cried for about an hour after we were finished......and I have to admit I was almost ready to join her.

After a good long nap this afternoon she seems to be recovering just fine from the morning's events.....now I guess it's my turn to recover.

At the Patch!

Last weekend we had the pleasure of enjoying a beautiful sun-filled Sunday afternoon outside.....and what a better way to spend the day than with great friends at the pumpkin patch - or should I say "patches."

We ventured out to Art Knapps in Surrey with the Laderoutes to ride the train out the pumpkin patch - who could pass up this deal for $2 per person?!?! Much to our surprise, the patch was actually a big patch of dirt with pumpkins all over it. Decorated for fall with lots of potted mums, a big tractor, and a peek-a-bo scarecrow you can pop you head in for a fun picture, it was great for the kids. The perfect size, easy to get around and lots to explore. Pumpkins on the other hand were weighed by the pound, which equals expensive. So, after enjoying Art Knapps we hopped back in our vans and headed to a U-Pick Pumpkin Patch Matt had seen signs for on 32nd Ave. And what a deal we found!!!! Pumpkins ranged from $1 (for a small) to $4 (for an extra large), the field was huge and there were TONS of pumpkins to choose from. The kids had a blast exploring, getting dirty and being outside. The dads had just as much fun and we ended up with six great pumpkins between the two families.

We had such a great time, and as the kids get older it can only get better. What a perfect fall tradition.

Dream Verses Reality

Alright...I don't seem to really understand why but the mystery camera "glitch out" virus seems to be attacking more than just our house! I have heard of numerous friends over the last couple weeks who have suffered at the hands of the camera "glitch out" virus - and let me tell you: IT'S NOT PRETTY!

So, after borrowing, and borrowing some more, and trying to investigate all the options we have on our video camera (which by the way is just back up and running too!) we finally had to break down a buy a new digital camera this weekend.

This is where the dream vs. reality comes in........

Dream: The Canon Rebel XTi (can't you hear the angels singing!)

Reality: The Canon PowerShot A550

Now, I'm kind'a an all or nothing girl, which in times like this makes life difficult. I'm working on changing but for now let's put it in the "still in process" file. In this case all or nothing was a difference of $1000 bucks - which at this moment is for sure out of our price range. So, I had to choose "something" over "nothing" and this is what I ended up with.......the Canon A550 a great point & shoot camera that's super light, has a fantastic zoom and I can tote around with me to document life.

So for those of you out there who need a new camera - check it out! Oh ya, and I haven't forgotten about the Rebel - it will come......eventually!

~ Let's Party ~

Madelyne is thoroughly enjoying preschool. Everyday she comes home with new stories to share. One special part of preschool is the last class of every month is Party Day! Parents and grandparents are invited into class for the first half hour to watch the kids perform the songs they have been working on that month. For September the color of the month was RED and the theme was APPLES, so all our songs and crafts were focused around those two ideas.

Above are a few pics of Madelyne's first PARTY DAY at the end of September....with new babes coming left and right and the woes of camera glitches (thanks to Auntie Roo for lending us her camera) it has been hard to get all the pics I've wanted and to get them up here to share.

Here's some of the words to one of the songs they were learning:
I'm going for goodness through and through
I'm going for goodness through and through
I'm going goodness through and through, from the inside out, from me to you!

One of the great things about Wind & Tide is that they provide the families with learning materials on CD so we can keep up with what Madelyne is learning - which means, we're all "going for goodness" all day long!

~ It's A Girl ~

Monday, October 1, 2007 at 7:39am,

our friends Grant & Jenn welcomed their third child into the world...

Elise Lucia Lynn Van Harmelen

~ 8 pounds 11oz ~ 21 inches

Elise was born on her Grandpa Van Harmelen's birthday, a sweet moment for the family since Grandpa has already passed, so her middle name - Lucia - is in honor of her Grandpa who's name was Luke.

Congratulations to Grant, Jenn, big sister Lauren and big brother Luke on the newest member of your family. You have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend.

~ It's A Boy ~

Fall 2007 is sure to be a busy one! We have three couples that we're great friends with all due to have babies within FOUR weeks of one another!

The first CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Amy & Jason on the safe arrival of their second son:

Jeremy Alexander White
Born September 28th, weighing 8 pounds, 11 oz.

Mom & babe are doing great and Amy is home recovering from a C-section.

Our warmest congratulations to Amy, Jay and new big bro Elijah, may life always be full of joy, laughter and tons of blessing from above.