Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Fun Outdoors

We've had a lot of fun outside lately, enjoying the end of summer!
We tried our first (and last) bubble tea at a place on campus before heading to the park
Charlotte can now slide down the pole all by herself!
Spinning around and around and around...
A shot inside our neighbourhood
I took the kids jogging on the trails behind our house the other day - I was apparently going too slow, for Charlotte kept yelling "go faster, Mommy! Run faster!!!"
Dana and I had all the kids at the playground one day after school. Clay gave TJ his first 'under doggie' on the swing - he loved it!!
Cora, doing the 'Supergirl'
My crawling man on a mission
Clay has taught Charlotte the art of fence climbing - good thing to know. Now she just needs to learn how to climb down...
See ya!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Black, White & Purple Party

Last weekend was a 'black, white & purple' party to celebrate the 30th birthday of our associate pastor, Christina. Dana and I went as each others' dates and we had so much fun dressing up and partying (adult-style :) with friends from church. There were people of all ages there and it was a blast seeing everyone dressed up way more than we would on any given Sunday at our casual church.
I wore my sophomore year homecoming dress (from high school!)
With Dana and Susan
With Christina, the birthday girl!!
Geoff, our head pastor (L) and some other church friends
Enjoying the new deck!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Autumn funnies...

Here's a random smattering of sillies I've shot over the past 2 weeks...
'Driving' the shopping cart at our new local grocery store
Our couch is a little slippery and you can easily lose half your body in it! (sorry it's sideways - I can't fix it!)

Do you think this is funny or something??
Of course, big sister has to try, too
Mmm...hummus...
Mmm...applesauce...
Not terribly funny, just really cute first experience with a hose
I LOVE this! I snuck up on her and found her dancing in the living room - grabbed my camera and took this shot. Great arms & nice pointed toe!
Little dude is now crawling and pulling up on EVERYTHING

Visit from Cali Cousins

Sorry to be so behind on posts. I've forced myself to NOT get online while Charlotte is at school, allowing me time to tackle the to-do list that's grown frighteningly large since summer.
A week-and-a-half ago my cousin, Karyn, and her husband, Justin, were up here visiting Vancouver, and we got to spend an evening together - just grown-ups! We ate at The Keg and then walked around Granville Island, enjoying the night lights dancing on the water. It was so fun to see Karyn pregnant again, as she is due with #2 in December! Before dinner and bedtime Charlotte and TJ were able to play with their 'aunt' and 'uncle' which was such a treat, since Charlotte hadn't seen them since she was 16 months old and TJ had never met them. Thanks for the great visit guys!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

First Week of School!!

This week was Charlotte's first week of preschool! She is attending Lluvia Preschool here on the UBC campus, just 3 blocks from our home. Her 2 best friends, Cora and Clay, are in the same class. The class has 20 3-and-4-year-old children, led by 2 brave teachers, Miss Krista and Miss Danielle (what I have Charlotte call them - they insist on being called by their first names only, but I can't bear to hear 3-year-olds call their teachers by their first names w/o a proper title!! Canada is WAY too relaxed about that!) Monday through Thursday from 9-11:30 the kids are creating, exploring, playing, singing, reading, and having fun! And this affords me some beautiful time to myself every morning while TJ naps. It's heavenly!!! Our 3 families have created a 'preschool co-op' where we all take turns dropping off and picking up, to ensure the greatest amount of 'free time' for each other as possible. Charlotte's first week would have gone off w/o a hitch, were it not for the unfortunate biting incident prompted by Charlotte digging her teeth into poor Cora's hand. At pickup time yesterday I was asked to 'stay after class so we can tell you about an incident that happened today.' Yes, my kid has already behaved so badly that I've already had to have a parent-teacher meeting. God is teaching me patience and humility with this one, that's for sure! Aside from this unfortunate incident, the week ended on a positive note, with Charlotte enjoying the playground and picking carrots from the class garden to eat at snacktime. Fabulous!!
Charlotte and TJ ready for the walk to school!Clay and Charlotte before entering the Lluvia doors
She's ready to go in!
Dana and I took the kids for a celebratory drink at Starbucks after school

Cora, Charlotte and another classmate outside their classroom
She has her own cubby - makes her feel so special!
Two of their favorite things are the kid-sized potties and kid-sized sink
We're looking forward to a wonderful year at Lluvia!