HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

The Exchange

For his pre-school class we prepared for the exchange by allowing Nicholas to pick his valentines. I was printing pictures for a project I am working on and he just had to have the spiderman ones with a picture of himself in the middle. So we went the day before to get them printed. We put little candies in each envelope and called it good. He was so excited about all the valentines and you got it...candy! He wanted to eat it all, one piece after another. Of coarse there was a little bit of a fight from our end. We didn't want him to get a belly ache or to be bouncing off the walls.

Chocolate Anyone?

Just so happened that Nicholas had left my chocolates down where William coud get into them. Luckily, I was able to get them before too much of a mess was made.

We Love You All!

Nicholas' Birthday Party

A Wild Time...

Nicholas picked out his theme and wanted to have a "DIEGO" rescue mission party. For those of you who don't know who diego is, it is a cartoon about Diego, who is Dora the explorers cousin. He rescues animals when the are in trouble, and he askes for help from the kids at home. It is kind of cute! We played lots of games, went on a rescue mission to find animals in need of our help, and painted our own drums. Nicholas loved having all of his friends to play with. It's always nice to see smiles on your childrens faces. Thanks everyone who came and for all the great gifts.

Thank-you to all that helped me with the party! Julie, my lifesaver offered her house up for us. I wasn't sure how I was going to fit so many people in our appartment, as we didn't close on the house that we thought we would already be living in at that time. That was my fault, I shouldn't have planned on having it somewhere that wasn't actually ours yet. Oh, well it all worked out in the end. Most of you know about that disaster, so no need for me to go on about it. Thanks to Camille, Sunny, and Danielle for helping me to keep the kids under control. I think I can do it all sometimes, and the truth is, I just don't like to ask for help. I need to work on that...

TURNING 4 YEARS OLD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS

Since daddy is working nights, and sleeps during the day, we decided to celebrate Nick's birthday next week. We did have cake and ice cream though, he wasn't forgotten and knew it was his day. We went to the park where he met some new friends. It was fun!

Trouble Sleeping

Nick's Cake
I had trouble sleeping yesterday, and actually didn't go to bed. I stayed up all night decorating and preparing for Nicholas' birthday. I couldn't believe that he was going to be 4. My baby is going to be 4... It's hard to believe how fast they grow. I now understand why people are always telling me to enjoy it while they are young. It doesn't last long. As much as I have enjoyed being a mother and each stage that brings different joys and challenges, I was sad. I have to admit that I miss him being so dependant on me. I know he is only 4, but I already see that he is a very independant and strong willed person... Much like myself, which is kind of scary to think about.

Let's Hit The Ice...

Lacing up the Skates!

The weekend before New Years we decided to venture out of our comfort zone. We found a place called Kent Valley Ice Center. It was a fun family outing.
William taking a nap on the sidelines... Of coarse, this is where he spent most of his time. Although, he did get a little ice time. When it was time for lunch, he chowed down and danced his little heart out. Nicholas has had a little practice skating...Roller skating that is. This was his first experience ice skating. He was having a great time, until uncle Blake decided to try to make him skate on his own. He was terrified!
With a death grip and a few ear piercing screams, we decided it wasn't worth trying to get him to skate on his own. Maybe next time? We continued to skate and as long as Nicholas had a hand to hold on to he was happy. It was nice to have Uncle Blake along to help us juggle the two little munchkins...

Christmas Packages

Boxed Fun!

William and Nicholas enjoyed hiding from one another in the box which held precious christmas gifts. I think the boys had more fun with the box...

Packing Peanuts Anyone?

It was snow, with out the snow. We had a white christmas after all...

Seattle Center

SPACE NEEDLE!My brother & the big needle! Not quite like the Calgary Tower, but great none the less!

A blurred view of Seattle, a night shot.

You would think that after living here for so long (5 years), that we would have made it to the Space Needle before now... We actually didn't even plan to go, but the winter fest, wasn't quite what we expected so... Up we went. It was a great view! Pretty windy, but very beautiful. We set out for seattle in efforts to go the Winter fest, go ice skating, see all of the beautiful lights, ride the classic carousel, and enjoy all the other activities in the seattle center. Unfortunately, the ice skating rink was a little on the small side and was completely packed. So we decided to pass on that. William and I rode on the classic carousel. We walked around, looked at the lights and decided to go up the space needle.

An attempt at a family picture! Nicholas... got to love that character.

An attempt to get a picture with our boys with unlce Blake. Needless to say, Nicholas didn't go for it. Nicholas is no where to be seen. He found a little table that was his size and didn't want to leave it just for a picture.
Trains, Trains, Trains!

Our Nicholas is a train lover, so I wasn't suprised when he loved the little village... It was quite a set up. You had to see it to really appreciate it.