Thanksgiving!!

          There was a lot to be thankful for this year...however there is always a lot of things to be grateful for! This year was even more special because Reuben was home after being away working for 4 weeks. Needless to say both I and Lucas were very happy to see him! Lucas would giggle and yell Dadda everytime that Reuben had left the room and came back in if he was out of sight for quite a few minutes. It was too cute! I think he missed having attention from two parents instead of just one! We spent Thanksgiving in Three Hills again this year so that we could join both our families for meals and of course expand our waistlines a little more!! We like to call Three Hills foodcation because between my parents, Reuben's Oma & Opas, Reuben's parents and Reuben's sister and her husband the meals are endless and wonderful!! I swear they are trying to feed us so that we can't move and thus are not able to leave! Instead we are like any wild animal..keep feeding them and they keep coming back! Haha!

            We were able to convince my dad to snap a few shots of our family as this would be that last time for awhile that we would get the chance! Thanks Dad, it means a lot! This was not an easy task with a very grumpy toddler...and no amount of funny faces and Nana jumping about wildly was getting this kid to smile! But miracously we were able to get maybe two of him smiling and that was all we needed! I snapped a few more of him just playing around with his daddy and the leaves!

love this one! Love these two!

This is my son...a look of wonderment..analyzing and looking...figuring stuff out!

my lil family

we call this the "Lucas sandwich"... makes him laugh everytime!

Most definately a "framer"

Seriously??

My hubby, my best friend!!

GQ baby!

If u look really closely u will see a tear under his left eye...remanence of us
scarring him with photo taking!

These are the eyes I have to say "no" to all the time!

My neice Asha and her dadda!

Love this one! Such a typical sisters shot...the little sister wrecking
the big sister's shot! Amiyah and Asha!

Lucas traumatized by another picture. 4 generations!

LOVES papa time!

Tidbits

Oh its been awhile...I could list every excuse in the book but mainly I think my issue is or has been lack of motivation or inspiration for that matter! This summer has been a rollercoaster of emotions with Reuben leaving to work in Regina and than coming back and going on holidays and than him leaving again and not seeing him for a month and than going on holidays without him and than seeing him and him leaving once again and than seeing him shortly after him leaving because of a death in the family and than him leaving again and now we will not see him for another month! (sorry for all the "ands") Happy, sad, happy, sad..seems to be the rhythm. But we press on and adjust because life has to go on and I love my husband for working hard and providing for his family! I just wish somedays he could take on a small apprentice...one that is about 2 feet tall and screams a lot! But alas he remains with me and copies what mommy does...whether she likes it or not. I fear my child has hit the terrible twos about 4 months early. Terrible tends to now follow us outside and even to the stores. Joy!

I received this week in the mail Lucas' first teething necklace made of hazelwood. I basically ripped it out of the package, corraled the child, put it on him and stared at him with possible crazy eyes waiting for the miracle to unfold in front of me. He pulled at it and whined and sat down and pulled at it and looked at me with a look of  "a collar mum?? what is this thing??" Fortunately he lost interest ,as per usual when your attention span is about 5 seconds, and does not seem to notice it anymore! 2.5 days later and he seemed happier today, for the most part. Could it be because one of the 6 teeth trying to make it threw all at once popped threw or because this necklace is working?? Time will tell. I guess I have to give the kid sympathy..I know that when i am in pain i can be a rotter too! Now i just need a necklace that fixes attitude as well! I think my back is out from Lucas limp-noodling it when he doesnt get his way. Of course they always know the optimum time to perform this act of contortion...in the middle of the road when mommy is carrying multiple items and a vehicle is waiting for you to cross the road, sitting in the shopping cart and crossing legs and contortioning at the sametime makes for hours of fun, in the middle of the mall on the floor..you get the picture! Oh he is strong willed but so is his mommy, so he can try tricks all day but he aint getting nothing! God must have paired us up right!

When he isnt trying his very best to cause the house to fall down he can be a rather funny little clown! He loves to make faces and try to make you laugh..his expression are priceless and as he is learning to talk i'm beginning to believe aliens have taught him! He has quite a few words thrown in there with his gibberish that only I seem to be able to interpret half the times..i'm starting to believe i could survive on another planet! He prefers to "pound it" over "hi fives| and loves to kiss you on the lips making the mmm sound! When I take him shopping he says hi to absolutely everyone he sees till they turn around and talk to him and than he stares at them like they have two heads, so they walk away and than he says "buh bye" incessantly until he cant see them anymore! Funny little man! With Reuben being gone everytime he hears or sees a truck (tractor as he calls it) he says dadda..even though dadda doesnt drive a truck..he doesnt do it with a car, just with trucks! Must be telling us we need a truck! He has a new fun game of climbing ontop of the couch and falling/sliding off the other side and repeating..sometimes the feet dont land first..mommy is not too found of this game but likes to choose her battles. Unfortunately I keep saying that Lucas wants to see the inside of the Children's hospital..I on the otherhand really really dont! Why did God only give mothers two hands and two eyes??

My mother survived me and I will survive Lucas..but i dont just want to survive...i'm trying to soak in the moments when he sits quietly beside me and reads a book, or the look on his face when i have been away and he runs full boar into my arms with the biggest smile! Those are the moments when you realize your not just "surviving" but "living"! Living and breathing in the small things and trying not two sweat too much on the bigger ones!

Goof!!

The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Chow

I would have to say that this wedding is one of the prettiest weddings that I have ever been to and of course had the opportunity to be a part of! Elaine did a lot of planning and her hard work paid off! The details were amazing and of course a photographers dream! (yes I am not professional but enjoyed the chance to snap a few shots!) The location was amazing. It was held at a little B&B just outside of Duncan on Vancouver Island. Very relaxing and intimate! The wedding party (the girl side) was able to stay at the B&B so getting ready in the morning was not rushed at all and when all was said and done we just had to walk down the stairs to get to the wedding! Loved that we didnt have to worry about driving and rushing around! Here are a few shots of us getting ready in the morning..unfortunately this is the only one I was able to get of us 4 bridesmaids. Elaine was glowing as she walked out the door for "first view" before the wedding was about to start.

I tried to capture as much of the details as possible..I'm sure that I missed a few here and there!

This was the sweetheart table where Elaine and Chris sat. The rest of the bridal party was spread about at different tables which was nice! I was able to help Reuben with Lucas and it was much more comfortable without everyone staring at us as well!

One of my favorite shots I think. They had three cakes on the table and this was the biggest one and of course the most tasty as well! (red velvet)

The banner above the table says "Love is sweet" and is the table where to cakes and eventually desserts where displayed!

Outside instead of a guestbook, guests took polaroid pics, signed and clothes pinned them to the twine which was wrapped around a wooden arbor.

Another of my favorite shots. This is another bridesmaid Caitlyn. Love how she looks like she is sittng down for a tea party!

A few attempts at family shots throughout the day. My child refuses to smile and likes to look like we drug him or something!

These two were so adorable to watch and so in love!! They radiated! So happy for them!

Hanging out at the reception.

First dance

Thank you Elaine and Chris for letting me be a part of your day! All the best in the years to come!! And of course adorable babies!! Lucas needs someone to marry when he gets older!!

Lil stinker!

2 more days and my little boy will be a year and a half! Hard to imagine somedays that time has gone by so fast! He is not a baby anymore, he is most definately a little boy with a personality to boot! He is working on his vocabulary but has it downpact on how to vocalize what he wants! I find it interesting watching him grow and develop and seeing either myself or my husband in his personality! Of course right now because he is starting to throw fits and is genuinely being a little rotter most days, Reuben is labeling him as "your child". The sad thing is that I know he is right..I was the little rotter when I was little and because my mother cursed me with "one day you will have a child just like you" it would appear that has happened!! I take back my post about my child being the innocent, quiet one who is gentle and shy! (that would have been my husbands personality trying to shine through but was pummeled back by my more dominant, stubborn, little stinker personality!!) I'll have you know that I am no longer that little stinker personlity..although my husband might disagree!! Needless to say he has a mix of both personalitys..a mischeavous mix that is! Reuben was/is the quiet one who stuck to himself and was shy. I was shy as well but voiced my opinion when I did not agree with something or of course did not want to do what I was told! Lucas is quiet in crowds and likes to watch kids and people..at home he has become loud and vocal, babbling away about nothing and screeching/whining/yelling at things,throwing toys,hitting and biting! Ask him to do something and he gives you this teenage look like "r u serious??" and turns his back and walks away..unless of course he decides that its something that he wouldnt mind doing! We have been working on baby signing, he knows the main ones like "please", "thank you" etc etc. However when you ask him to say please he turns his chin up at you unless its something he knows is extra delicious like a cookie or something! Stubborn? Oh my! Take away all that toddler attitude and he is still a little ham! He loves to make people laugh. He is still gentle, if you tell him to be gentle he will start petting you on the leg or head and than of course in the next second hit once again! Testing the boundaries is a daily occurrence! He has conversations with the cats..he will squat in front of them, look them in the eye and babble away and than of course body slam them! Thank goodness they are pretty tolerant! I blame the body slamming on his cousin Colby!! haha! This kid has little fear sometimes..I took him to the park the other day and he went on all the big kid slides by himself..even the twirly one..I didnt know whether to praise him or reprimand him so that he feared doing anything dangerous for the rest of his life!!! This summer is going to be a blast now that Lucas can play outside and run around! He loves water, sandbox's, pinecones, rocks, sticks, dog poop...all in all he would stay outside all day. Now if only the sun agreed with him and his fair skin! Thankfully he hasn't burned to bad yet..he is actually starting to get a little color and has a cute little farmer's tan! He is a boy through and through and loves to get dirty much to mommy's dismay! Actually if the mess is outside i'm ok with it! Since these pics were taken I have upgraded the tupperware pool to an actually kiddie pool. He was having a few issues climbing in and out, but loved it none the less!

check out these pipes!!

pouring water on himself

Happy Father's Day!

Lucas loves his daddy and when I say "daddy's home" he runs to the window and waits for Reuben as he comes up the steps and than proceeds to bang on the window until he is noticed! I have loved watching the bond grow between these two, and my love for my husband has only deepened watching him be a father! When Lucas was a baby it was hard for Reuben to bond with him but now that Lucas calls him "adda" and runs to him, its hard for my hubby to not let a huge smile spread across his face!! Lucas wants to be so much like his daddy and copies everything he does! I look forward to seeing these two in the years to come in everything they do..from working on cars, to teaching him to play soccer! He is a daddy's boy, that one!! Happy Father's Day babe!

I have also loved watching my dad morph into a grandpa or as his grandkids call him "Papa"! Lucas and Colby absolutely adore him and have never been scared of him! Lucas loves his Papa cuddles! I have an amazing father and am so happy that my child has an amazing Papa to look up to! He has always been there for us..even though he thinks that he wasnt sometimes, but I remember him always being there for the important stuff and working so hard for his family!! We love you Dad and Papa!!

Simply Glorious!

This post is about one week late!! Last weekend we enjoyed the lovely weather by spending it with family!! We headed down south to Reuben's brother Josh and wife Krysten's place in Sundance. As well Reuben's sister Mandy, who was home for a week from Ireland, came with us! I'm always amazed at how large Calgary truely is! Going south is like going to a completely different city! We had a great bbq of venison burgers, thanks to Josh, and than headed to the local neighborhood lake.

Lucas had a blast running around the deck and especially enjoyed the little yellow chair on which he showed us the proper way of sitting!

Lucas hamming it up with Uncle Josh! He loves to imitate and do what the "big" people are doing!! Whether is it sitting precariously on the edge of a chair or trying to strike up a conversation! The conversation usually goes something like "uh uh, at (point point), opa, woof woof". Lucas does have a furry cousin, Beau, but I somehow failed to get pictures of the two playing together.

Now that he has figured out how to put his sunglasses on he loves them!! He especially expects people to notice when he does and laughs and giggles until you say something like "cool dude!!" and than he rips them off and repeats the process!! Too cute!

Picture one with Auntie Dee lasted for about 2 seconds and than as I tried to take a second one he tried to run away! Can u say "ants in his pants"?

Give this child rocks, sand, grass, dirt, water, pinecones and he is happy!! Slide? what slide? I have sand!!!

Last year at this time I was lucky if i could get Lucas close to the water without him screaming his head off!! This year is a totally different ballgame! We had to hold him back so he wouldn't throw himself headlong into the water! New favorite thing is throwing rocks in water..any water..even my cup at times! Its even funnier when mommy screams cause she is wet!

He would have spent all day on that beach!! Happy as a clam!! The water was still slightly cold but he could care less!! He was getting dirty and wet!! Nothing could make him happier..unless there was food involved...

My little beach bum!! Many more beach days to come this summer, buddy, we hope and hope and hope!!