This is what we do Christmas Eve!

Ian and I don't really have any particular Christmas traditions. Of course we do the usual Christmas morning together - then off to one of our parents houses, then back home, then off to the other parents house for Christmas dinner. We stopped exchanging presents a few years ago...I know BORING!!!! but really, we stopped because there wasn't anything we really needed and we preferred to buy things that we needed, together, during the year. I know...BORING!!! Haha!

This year with Jack, we've started trying to decide what our new traditions will be. We haven't really come up with anything yet:( We actually decided not to do pictures with Santa (long explanation - not very exciting so I won't get into it) and that we wouldn't go to crazy with presents for Jack. Especially this year...he doesn't even know what Christmas is yet!

So maybe...maybe...this will become our Christmas Eve tradition. Dressing poor little Jack attack up in goofy hats or clothes and taking pictures that he'll groan at when he's older;)





























Oh - and the puppy of course...we'll have to dress him up so he feels included! Even with only one eye showing, it's pretty clear he's sending a definite "not impressed" vibe my way!














So we decorated the tree. Put out the presents after Jack went to be (not like he'd notice, but it's kinda fun to pretend he cares...it'll be good practice for next year).



















We bought Jack a 6 foot long stuffed dog...it is so big!! Benson was a little wary of it at first but then he decided to just ignore it - so of course I made him sit near it to get this lovely photo! Poor Benson...

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

8 Months Old, Not Quite Crawling...but soon maybe!

Well, here is our little guy the day before his 8 month birthday (so close enough!). I had to take pictures a day early because I was going to Edmonton to join Ian on a business trip and we were leaving Jackson with his Baba and Grandpa (Ian's parents). Jack seemed to really enjoy his time there and came back maybe even a little bit happier (more smiles and laughs) than when we left him.

It was hard to get Jack to sit still for his pictures. He won't lie back in this chair anymore like he used to. He sits straight up and was even leaning a little more forward than I preferred! I'll have to find a new place for 'birthday' photos next month.

And here is the best close up shot I could get. Jack started anticipating the flash going off so he would squint as soon as I held the camera up to take a photo and also when he heard the 'beep' of the camera as it was getting ready to take the photo. He is such a nut! So I ended up with a bunch of photos with a squinty eyed kid looking a little drunk - so I'm not posting those!!

Jack is quite a happy guy these days...not quite crawling but starting to make movements like he might start. Everyday Ian and I say "any day now" but it hasn't happened yet! Everyone tells me just to enjoy the non-movement...and I think that although it will be cute and fun to see him crawl and walk - it sure is nice to be able to leave the room for a couple minutes and have him be in the same place when I return!

Jack also seems to prefer 'walking' to being on his tummy. I think it's probably because his Dad zooms him around the house chasing the dog and cat - so Jack probably hasn't figured out yet that he will be a bit slower and a bit more clumsy initially. I have a video of Jack looking like he might start crawling...I'll try post it...but if I don't you'll definitely get to see one when he starts crawling...




And here is a video of Jack the day before his 8 month birthday. Ian got a real kick out of this when I arrived in Edmonton and showed him! I missed Jack quite a bit while I was gone and was very happy to see him when I returned (I was only gone 3 days) and he was sooooo happy when he saw me...it was really cool to see him get so excited:)

My Life is now Complete;)

I'm in heaven...what could make life any better! [For anyone that is currently saying 'huh'...I'm a crazy Tori Amos fan and last Monday I went to her concert, got to meet her and sat in the 2nd row...it was amazing! She rocks my socks.]

Cool Factor

Boy oh boy...it's hard to pull off the coolness of the hairdo when you're wearing green stripey socks and light blue pants.

Sometimes you gotta LOVE the internet....

Sometimes the internet proves itself as truly the greatest invention on the face of the earth. Here is why I am now a believer in everything internet;)

1) Earlier this week I was doing laundry...Jack's laundry...not a big deal. Easy. As I was pulling it out of the washing machine to put into the dryer I started noticing little flakes/balls of a gel type substance all over his clothes...it was EVERYWHERE!!! So I started getting a little concerned about what made this happen. I realized I was washing some new clothes that had been given to him and started wondering if maybe one of them had those little gel pack things inside? So I kept pulling the laundry out. Guess what I found? A diaper. I have no idea how it got there (I'm blaming Ian) but let me tell you...it was a MESS.

I've been very impressed before at how much liquid those diapers hold. I'm too cheap to purchase the "little swimmers" diapers for him to wear swimming so I just put him in a clean regular diaper and it's always been fine...but by the end of swimming it is FULL (of water) and that has always impressed me because when you take it off of him it doesn't 'drip' or 'leak' it actually holds it all in. Well - I guess the diaper met it's match in the washing machine. So - warning to all moms (and dads)...washing a diaper will result in it soaking up a ton of water then splitting and releasing a gazillion little gel balls in you laundry.

So why do I love the internet? Well - I started thinking that perhaps the solution to get rid of these gel balls would be on the internet. So I searched. And all I found was people posting about their miserable experience of finding gel balls in their clothes and washer for months after this happened (and started feeling a little happy that this has happened to other people - no sense suffering alone). Then I found a site that said that salt has a chemical reaction with the gel and by putting a cup or so of it into the laundry makes the gel go away - I skipped over the part that explained how/why...didn't care...I was on a mission. So I tried it...AND YIPPPPEEEEE...it worked. Oh - and apparently Oxy-Clean works as well...I used that to run another rinse after I used the salt. Anyway, problem solved...maybe this little tidbit will help someone out there one day:)

2) Oh - and here is the other reason I love the internet:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1136587563

Go Lions Go (Next Season...)

Ian and I attended the CFL Western Final Game at BC Place this past Saturday. For more than half of the season we have had a huge sign hanging in front of our seats. The sign has a big #33 and is for Joe Smith. I venture to say that we have the biggest sign in the stadium - it's really quite huge - I thought Ian was out of his mind when he started making it. Anyway, throughout the year we have been hopeful that Joe might come over and say 'hi', maybe even sign something and thought maybe we might get a game ball if he scored a touchdown in our end.

Either the last or second last game of the season Joe Smith made sure to wave directly at us, acknowledging our sign. It was pretty cool! A couple games ago he did score a touchdown in our end - but he kept the ball. No problem, totally fine - it's his ball...turns out he broke some record with that touchdown - so of course he kept the ball. But we kept hoping that maybe it might happen.

So, at the Western Final game...Joe scored a touchdown at the opposite end of the field from us (we sit front row end zone). We were very happy for the Lions and very happy for him. THEN...THEN....Joe actually ran down to our end of the field and threw the ball up to Ian!!! Wow! Ian was so excited...so was everyone else in our section!!! Then Joe actually came back at half time and had Ian drop the ball down and signed it for him. WOW!!! We were so excited.

[I should mention that because the sign is so big it actually hangs in front of about 6 people...all our friends and family; but when Joe came down to our end - he could have just thrown it up to the front row and whoever got it would've been happy...BUT two of Ian's brothers (Alex and Andrew) and their friend Keith all made sure to point towards Ian so that he got the ball (because he did the sign). It was very cool of them...I don't think that is something that everyone would have done...very nice of them to make sure Ian got the ball!!]

Even though the Lions lost...we're still big fans. And certainly the kindness of Joe Smith gave us an amazing experience and memory to take from that game and this season. He's a classy guy.

We didn't take Jack to the game...he's attended 2 games this season - he did really well at one and not so well at the other. The noise and chaos is a bit much for him - so he stayed home with Grandma. So...to make up for leaving him all day yesterday we had picture day today!! Here are some photos of our little Lions fan...all decked out in his Lions track suit, sitting on his Lions blanket...holding the official CFL / Joe Smith / Touchdown football...with the signature and all...

Happy 7 Month Birthday Jackson!

Yesterday was Jack's 7-month 'birthday'. We cannot believe how fast time has gone and how much he has changed!

Here are some things he's doing now at 7 months old:
1) Decided he does not want to be rocked to fall asleep anymore...he's a big boy now! Except still needs the soother to fall asleep...maybe not such a big boy after all;)
2) Sitting up fine on his own
3) Hates being on his tummy...rolls onto it from his back ALL the time then starts fussing after a minute. This might make crawling a problem...unless he can figure out how to do it on his back!
4) Hasn't met a food he doesn't like (ooops...except avocado) and prefers veggies to fruit. He actually ate an entire banana a couple days ago! Yikes!
5) Loves the dog and the cat
6) Loves his swimming and his bath...water is fun!
7) Although put to sleep on his back, most often rolls onto his side to sleep. He often puts his hands up near his face when he does this...SO CUTE!!

He's wearing all 9 month clothes now...although pants are a little big but he's basically grown out of all the smaller stuff! I just bought him a truckload of socks the other day, from Jysk of all places but they were striped and cute and had those little padders on the bottom - which of course he does not need but they are still cute! (For those who know me, you know I have a personal obsession with socks...what better to pass it on to my kids!)

Only problem with him growing out of clothes is I get a little misty when I wash and put the small stuff away for the last time - I really start to favor certain outfits and can't wait for them to come out of the wash so I can put them on him again, right away! So when I put them away 'for good' (until the next kiddo) I get all sad...also it means he's growing up...sigh...he'll be graduating high school before we know it!



A couple more pic's of Jack and the puppy! Benson turns 3 years old this week...so we have a 'double birthday' this week:)

I guess they share a mutual adoration of each other...here they are looking at each other...perhaps making some sort of silent plans to do something devious!!






And here they both are looking at who-knows-what! But apparently both very interested in whatever it is:)

And here is a video of Jackson's first 'cake'. Okay...I'm totally kidding - I don't want any of you out there to think that I'm denying my child the goodness of cake and sweets!!! I actually decided to try him with a rice cake (just plain and boring) and then realized that it was a little funny that I was giving him a rice 'cake' on his birthday! Surprisingly he kind of liked it. He only ate about half (and since the other half was soggy and icky we gave it to Benson who also quite enjoyed 'cake'). If only he knew that they came in other yummier flavors...I imagine he'd be asking for butter caramel or whatever the yummy kind is...we'll have to make sure he never knows they exist;)

They Call it 'Puppy Love'

A few more entries in the Chronicles of Benson & Jackson for your reading enjoyment!! Perhaps this makes me a bad mother but every once in a while Benson and Jack 'play' together. Usually it involves an unusually fussy babe and me saying (in a super sweet voice) "Bennnnsssssooooonnnn...where's Jackson??? Play with Jackson." I have no idea if Benson really understands that I'm really using him as a babysitter for 5 minutes while I check my email (read: get my sanity back). But they seem to enjoy each other!



This one is Jackson trying to get Benson's attention...not really too hard...Benson is on constant watch (even out of the corner of his eye) for the 'ear-grabbin' hands' that belong to our little squirt. Only took one ear pulling 'incident' for Benson to be more than aware of the perils of the grabbers.


Awwww...they really love each other...hey, isn't this how they fake kiss on soap operas? At least that's what I thought when I was a kid!!



So here is my caption for this photo:
Jackson: "Look Mom, I'm sitting really well...get a good picture" (if I haven't mentioned he is an absolute ham for the camera...)
Benson: "WHAT??? This grabber can sit??? Seriously!!! What's next - walking?" (heehee, poor Benson is going to be SOOOO surprised when he realizes Jack is a person not just an ear grabber / food dropper / spitter upper...)



And yup, this is our little cutie pie - sitting up. I kind of missed the fact that this was supposed to be a recent 'milestone' (does anyone else hate that term?...it sounds so pretentious...seriously...they are babies...they do stuff then they do more stuff and it's all cute...a 'milestone' isn't cute - it's SERIOUS - whereas 'stuff'...well, 'stuff' is CUTE!!) then when someone (my doctor) asked me if he was sitting I was like "is he supposed to be?" and he said "well, nothing to worry about but I'd expect it to happen soon" and I was like (in my head) "crap...I'll have to start practicing that with him...boy I'm a dumb mom...where are those books about the first year anyway??? when was the last time I looked at them??? oh well, whatever - I'm sure he'll be able to sit by the time it matters - kindergarten...*snicker*...okay, not really funny - I should really start working on sitting with him". Anyway - we tried it later that day and he was okay - the usual leaning forward so much he could suck on his toes (he didn't) and then a few days later he could sit but mom or dad were perched nearby 'cause we were being a little over cautious and now...a couple pillows and little carpet to pad the odd tipsies...and he's good to go!! I don't think he's quite ready to sit in a shopping cart or anything like that just yet...but I think probably soon...we'll see...whatever, moving right along...I'm more interested in getting him to crawl 'cause it will be cute...check back on my feeling on the cuteness once he's crawling...!!!

Rolling Over and Eating Cookies (but not at the same time)!

This picture might make it look like Jack likes being on his tummy...but he still hates it:( He's become quite good at rolling from his back to his tummy...so much so he was doing it faster than I could press record on the camera after putting him on his back. So he rolls himself over then hangs out a minute (max!) then starts crying because he can't figure out how to get himself back on his back!! Silly boy!

Poor Benson! He was hanging out with Jack and while I was taking the picture I kept saying stuff like "oh Jack, are you on your belly? How fun!! You're on your belly!" Well...Benson knows full well what "belly' means...so he kept flipping over and showing his belly...poor boy!

I started trying to give Jack food he can feed himself - more for my own fun and amusement than any particular nutritional interests for him. We tried giving him banana (you can see the pile of it on his tray) but he doesn't like it...but if I mash it up and feed it to him on a spoon he loves it! How weird! Anyway - he's eating a cooking (Arrowroot) here. Some of the baby books said they should be able to feed themselves a cookie or cracker after 6 months so I figured, what the heck - why not! He quite enjoys his cookies - he never finishes more than half but enjoys getting them to gnaw on!


Guess who knows that stuff falls from the high chair from time to time? They learn quickly...who?...both of them!

And here is a video of Jackson rolling over. He kept doing it so fast I didn't have time to grab the camera - that's why this video is so crazy...with me torturing him by constantly flipping him back over! Oh well - we got it on camera!

Pumpkin Patch for my little Pumpkin!

Jack and I went to the pumpkin patch (Aldor Acres, in Aldergrove) today. We were meeting the other gals and babes from prenatal class. Lucky for us the weather was wonderful! Most of the babes had costumes (Chicken, Mermaid, Pumpkin and Hot Dog) and were all VERY cute!

Here is Jackson (of course) in his pumpkin costume (of course) just chillin' with the pumpkins!

The actual pumpkin patch (a big muddy, weedy area that the farm dumps a ton of different sized pumpkins all over...so not really a pumpkin 'patch'...more like a pumpkin dumping ground) was way too muddy and gross to take pictures on...but lucky for us the farm had a number of photo-op areas set up for people to take pic's. Of course - we moved some pumpkins around and made it how we wanted it (that's all that matters isn't it??!).

The place was crazy busy but no one really got in the way of 7 moms with babies...smart thinking;)

"Hey Mom...gimme that camera...gimme..."














It was actually really cute - all the babies missed their morning naps so they were all a bit 'off'...some might call it cranky (okay - maybe not ALL but most). Then all of a sudden they basically all fell asleep at the same time...pumpkins make kids tired I guess...and THIS pumpkin was pooped!

Where's Jackson??

Where's Jackson????















Here's a hint....isn't he such a 'pumpkin'?

Happy 6 Month Birthday Jackson!

So it was Jackson's 6 month birthday last week (Oct 12), it also happened to be me and Ian's 5 year wedding anniversary. Amazing how fast time goes by - for both milestones! Ian and I used to go out to a 'nice' restaurant for our anniversaries...nothing too expensive but something like the Boathouse, etc. And dinner would include a bottle of wine and a long drawn out conversation about anything and everything! This year we packed up Jack, went to White Rock and got fish and chips and ate them at a picnic table looking over the ocean and watching the sunset. We had long drawn out conversations about mostly Jack, then the house, then random stuff. I have to say - this might have been my favorite anniversary so far...it's kind of amazing how things change! Oh - and we DID have a bottle of wine (the last bottle left from our wedding batch - courtesy of my Mom and Dad) but we opened it AFTER a certain someone went to bed...and instead of finishing the whole bottle (like we used to) we each had a glass and put the rest away for 'later'!

Anyway - I took the usual pictures of Jackson on his 'birthday' (above and this one here). He's getting big! At his 6 month check up he weighed in at 18lbs 9oz, and was 27 3/4" (so he's gained just a little more than 3lbs and grown 2.5" in 2 months!).




















Mommy loves her little boy:)














I've already posted that Jack started solid foods. He's now on a variety of veggies and some fruit. He loves Oat Cereal, cream corn, squash, peaches and fresh banana. I personally am probably having more fun with the food thing than Jack is but oh well...I've almost mastered the art of tricking him into eating peas, carrots, beans, etc! Benson is also quite excited about the introduction of 'real' food. As you can see in this picture he knows where the action zone is and hangs around 'just in case'. Jack finds it very amusing to stick his hands out and let Benson lick them 'clean'. Ew.


I guess it's never too early to start playing sports, eh?!

All Sorts of Fun! ('Solid' Food, Football, Hanging Out, Mayne Island)

Here is a picture of the cabin we rent on Mayne Island (one of the Gulf Islands between Vancouver and Vancouver Island). The cabin belongs to my ex-boss's in-laws! It's a great little location - sleeps about 8 people and is so relaxing and beautiful. We feel so lucky that we are able to share their little escape from city life!



About a 10 minute walk down the road from the cabin is the lighthouse. If you take the ferry from Tsawassen to Victoria you can see this lighthouse on the 2nd island you pass. I think this lighthouse looks over Active Pass...lots of boat traffic and sometimes whales and lots of seals and otters! It takes about 90 minutes to take the ferry over to Mayne...it really shouldn't but it stops at Galiano Island and then does some fancy dancy circles or something to get back to Mayne...it should be about 30 minutes...oh well - it's worth the trip!




Only a 3 minute or so walk from the cabin is Oyster Bay. Benson is not really a big fan of the water but loves to chase the stick and get a bit wet. He will not swim...he can...but he doesn't like to. If the stick goes too far he just finds another one to bring back to whoever is throwing it!

















We try to travel light - even with Jack. But he needs something to sit in and play with if we're going for longer than a day - Mom and Dad's arms just won't last that long! Jack is such a ham...he loves to pose for the camera - and gets very surprised (perhaps irritated?) if he's caught off guard! Ha!























Try as we might - we're not professional photographers! But the digital camera sure helps - you can take 20 shots and just say "hey look at this one great shot I took...aren't I a good photographer?!" Okay - Ian doesn't do that - but I sure do:) Anyway, the picture of the moon was taken by me and the night shot by Ian.


There are many bays around Mayne Island - this one is Bennett Bay. There is currently a little resort development going up nearby and boy is it a fab location. Here is Benson taking a rest near Bennett Bay - this was the last day of our trip and he was exhausted for almost a week after! He gets 2 walks a day a the cabin and some are very very long!







We had never seen whales while at Mayne before - but we've heard of lots of others that have:( So while were were at Bennett Bay we saw all sorts of boats in the distance - and sure enough they were whale watching boats...you can see a bit of the spray from the blowholes and a few dorsal fins in this picture...we didn't get a great look but it was better than nothing - and very exciting to finally see whales (I'm like 99.9% sure they were orcas).





Ian took this photo of me and Jackson without my permission (heehee). I was telling Jack all about the ocean! We were standing just outside the back door of the cabin. The back of the cabins has 2 huges glass doors and windows and looks back towards the Tsawassen ferry terminal. It's sooooo beautiful!








So at least once a trip we try hike to the top of Mount Parke - which I'm told is the highest point in all the Gulf Islands (I haven't verified this so if I'm wrong don't be emailing me telling me how wrong I am). There is a helicopter pad at the top too! So this is the view from the top. It's a bit nicer on a sunny day - of course - but this gives the idea of how amazing it really is. The hike is a little tough but well worth it!






And here are my boys enjoying a quick rest at the top of Mount Parke. Benson gets so tired because he runs up ahead and then back to us and then between us then up ahead and back again. I think he does double the length of the walk because of his craziness! Ian packed Jackson up in the front carrier - Jack loves it - kicks his legs and gets all excited!







Now for some other random pictures....


I just think this is cute. This was take a few weeks ago and we had to roll the bottom of the legs on the overalls - but now we don't have to....he's growing like a weed!
















My prenatal group had a playdate for Moms and babies at Mill Lake in Abbotsford. This is just Jack hanging out on the blanket!












We started rice cereal a little earlier than the recommended 6 months (booo....I couldn't wait that long...). This is a picture of his very first time eating rice cereal...not so sure about the whole thing!










This is Jackson the 2nd time he ate rice cereal - much happier - and confident...he kept grabbing the spoon!!! He definitely had things figured out by day 2! Now he's eating and loving rice cereal, and oat cereal (yummm, even I like that stuff). I tried him with peas the last couple days - not a fan of the peas. I tried him with carrots today - not a fan of the carrots - I judge that by the squinchy face and gagging noises coming from him...oh well - we'll try carrots again tomorrow!





We took Jack to his first BC Lions game a couple weeks ago. Earlier in the season we found the cutest track suit for him at one of the kiosks at the stadium...had to buy it (Ian actually insisted we buy it believe it or not...see - I'm not the only one who is crazy for baby clothes). Anyway - he did pretty darn good at the game (and dinner before hand). Everyone thought he was so cute - so he got lots of attention. Unfortunately he spent most of the night in the front carrier with Ian so there were no tv spots!! Maybe next time - ha!