New Sled

In an attempt to interest Katie in going outside in -10 weather, I picked up a sled at Zellers so she wouldn't have to schlep around in her heavy pants and boots. A huge hit! We worked our way around the yard at Carol and Lil's with Teddy and Dolly.

Another day that week was warm enough that Carol and I took the kids to Pike Lake for a walk on the trail. We had hoped to feed the chickadees but I think Katie's high-pitched voice and Jacob's protests at being scrunched into his snowsuit scared them away. I really enjoyed it as it reminded me of the fun walks I had in the snow when I lived in Edmonton.

While I had Jacob strapped to my chest, Carol kindly towed Katie on her sled, up and down hills. They had a great time! At the little lookout point, we stopped to make snow angels.

Hotel Cali...Yorkton :)

"Living it up at the Hotel California"  OK, not quite. The kids and I made the best of it while staying with Dean in Yorkton. Fortunately, Katie has lots of imagination and loves to spend time with her mom and brother.

Here she is, giving him a makeover:









Jacob also turned 7 months on Valentine's Day. Here he is showing off his cuteness and his two front teeth that he got in January:

Another day, he and Dean just enjoyed a nap together.

All in all, a nice week together as a family. We just keep eagerly waiting for our move-in day (March 11) and will keep having fun wherever we are.

Food is Fun!

Jacob is quickly learning the fine art of eating. Of course, that always comes with a bit of mess, some funny faces and blobs of mystery stuff on the floor. He seems to be enjoying his first try at raspberries...

And sausage (have to be well prepped for living in Saskatchewan with the Ukranians and Mennonites)

And Cool Whip!

Bye-Bye Sooke

After a whirlwind month, we have now left Sooke. It breaks down like this:
Dec. 23 - Dean gets offered the job in Yorkton
Dec. 26 - put house up for sale
Jan. 16 - get on offer on our house. Accepted!
Jan. 26 - Dean leaves for Saskatchewan
Feb. 3 - Movers take our stuff away
Feb. 4 - Katie, Jacob and I head to Abbotsford to stay with mom and dad.
Feb. 6 - Dean puts an offer on a house outside Yorkton

Many thanks to Mandi and Rick for helping out and for putting me and kids up while the movers had our stuff. At least Katie and Marley got some good playtime in before we left. It's hard for them to understand the whole 'moving to another province' thing. They keep thinking they can just phone each other up and have a play. Kind of sad. Just becoming friends (starting to get that concept) and then being apart. At least we know we will see them again!

It was great to have a break by staying with mom and dad for several days. Katie and Grandma have such a great bond and Grandpa is quite taken with Jacob. Jacob, missing his daddy, was substituting any male he could and would bestow the most amazing smiles on them. Lucky guys! When we were at Rick and Mandi's, Mandi and I were chatting with Jacob and he was looking quite serious. Rick walked by and Jacob followed him with the biggest grin he could bust out. Too cute!

On Feb. 10, the kids and I flew to Saskatoon to stay with Carol and Lil while waiting for our house to be ready. Jacob did great and Katie reminded the other passengers why no one likes to be on a plane with young kids. Oh well! Because we all missed Dean, and I was anxious to see 'our' house, Dean came to pick us up from Carol and Lil's house that same day and we drove down to Yorkton. A bit of a challenge having the four of us living in a hotel room but worth it to be together for a bit. We will head back to Saskatoon after a week.


Got to see the house. Can't wait to tell more about it, but won't jinx anything by doing it before the conditions are removed. Does that leave you hanging?

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!

January 29th, 2011 Katie turned THREE!!! She is really coming into her own and we love her to bits, bossy personality and all. She loves telling stories and her imagination is really developing. Most stories revolve around everyday things and generally include Teddy as the main character. She also has quite the memory and will randomly spout off some event that took place weeks or months before. It keeps us on our toes at least!

Her birthday was a great success this year. We did it jointly with her friends Colten and Molly (a big thank you to Heather and Sheryl for making it so great!). The kids jumped on the bouncy castle - a HUGE hit! - and ran around like maniacs. Some cake, chips and hotdogs were consumed, balloons were popped and it ended just as the tired whining started. Perfect!

Colten and Katie

Lily and Katie

Birthday girl Molly

 

Molly blowing out her candles

As Dean was already in Yorkton, his friend Shaun filled in as Daddy for the day and helped with Jacob. My cousin Stacey also helped out, but I think she really just wanted to jump on the bouncy castle.