David's 5th Birthday Party

David celebrated his 5th birthday with 5 friends on June 13th. It was his first "drop off" party as well as his first small party and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. Small and simple... he chose the theme in May... "Mommy... I want to have a Dog party with a chocolate dog cake"... with Aunty Mandy's help I was able to run with his idea. We played "Simon Says"... doggie style (bark, roll over, sit...etc), made dog puppet goodie bags, played "pin the tail on the dog" and decorated the house with paw prints. As you can probably tell from the photographs David had a wonderful day.

"The Dance"

I wasn't quite sure what to title this post and Canuck Fever has long since burned out then I thought to call it "The Dance"... after the song.... "I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance". It wasn't very much fun loosing the Stanley Cup but here are a few pictures taken during the excitement of the playoffs... Jonathan grew a beard for 2 months and Samara almost didn't recognize him when he shaved... we painted out window with a huge Canucks logo and we even ate blue and green jello. It was fun while it lasted. I also couldn't believe that it had been 17 years since our last Stanley Cup finals... I distinctively remember it and I was in Grade 5... it can't have been 17 years since I was in grade 5! It was a good year.

Samara's Dedication, Father's Day

This Year Father's Day was even more special because we also celebrated Samara's Dedication.

(Melissa) Samara, our fourth child and daughter number two I hope you never feel second best or last in line. Even before you were conceived in my womb you were conceived in my heart and my love for you has been growing ever since. As I think back 6 months to the day you were born it seems like just yesterday. You hold the record for most quickly named child (in our household)… only moments after your birth. I looked over to your daddy and said "her name is Samara Anne Marie" and that was that. SAMARA means God-led ; protected by God and our prayer for you is that you would entrust your life to God and seek to do His will.

(Jonathan) On fathers day I am reminded of how blessed I am with the children God has given me.  Samara you are so precious and as you grow and explore the world around you I can't help but wish that time would stand still and that we can enjoy your smiles and innocence forever. You are patient, gentle and fun… adding so much love and joy to our family. The verses we have chosen for your dedication come from Psalm 143 (v. 8-10). We dedicate these verses to you as well as to ourselves as we strive to raise you in a way that brings glory to God.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, 
   for I have put my trust in you. 
Show me the way I should go, 
   for to you I entrust my life. 
Rescue me from my enemies, LORD, 
   for I hide myself in you. 
Teach me to do your will, 
   for you are my God; 
may your good Spirit 
   lead me on level ground.

Monkey Bars

Here is a video taken today of David completing the monkey bars. He has never done them before... it only occurred to me as he was doing them that there are no monkey bars at the parks we usually take him too. I know he will be 5 at the end of the month... this just made him seem so much more grown up to me.

David's 1st trip without us

Friday night I packed David's suitcase and began the preparations to send my first born off on his first trip without mommy or daddy. He's had sleep overs before including two nights at Nana & Papa's but I took him there and was staying with my Dad close by so this was harder for me. He was so excited, even called Grammy Friday night to see what time she would be coming to get him in the morning. Saturday morning he woke up and said "I'm going to Shuswap today." He did say he was going to miss me but was definitely looking forward to his time at the Lake.
Saturday morning while he was getting ready Angeline tried to pack her toothbrush with his. He told her "Your not coming Angie" and she said "I'm not coming?"... as they were pulling away she pouted and said that she wanted to go too.
Looking forward to seeing him later today and to hearing all about his adventures. He is going to be 5 at the end of June and it seems lately that he is becoming such a little grown up. The other day when Jonathan telling him not to do something he said "I was just teasing you Daddy." At Costco last week when we were in the refrigerated produce section he took off his vest and put it over Angeline because it was cold. He certainly knows how to look out for his sisters. He is my sweet little man.

Sunday Girls Day

Sunday was girls day... just the girls. David is on his way home today from spending the weekend at the lake and Daddy was working... is working today and will be home tomorrow. As much fun as it is having some girl time we are ready for our boys to come home. Wanted to share a few fun pictures from our day.

I am definitely missing my boys but one thing I haven't been missing over the weekend is SLEEP. I am happy to say that Samara has slept until 4:30am the last 2 nights. She NEVER goes that long without nursing so to have 2 nights in a row is a breakthrough. She is my best sleeper so far. Angeline has been doing a bit better at night too so hopefully that continues as well.

May Days

 My Babies!

 Baby Chicks... no they're not ours but with the amount of eggs we've been going through it might be a good idea to get chickens!

 David watering his carrots... asked him to water them a few days later and he said "AGAIN!"... guess he thought they would grow themselves.

 Stunt Boy David... if I would have know he was scootering on the retaining wall I would have told him to put on his helmet!

5 going on 6 months

Samara's 5th month is nearing an end and I am overdue for an update. Near the end of her 4th month she began rolling over from back to front and has been on the move ever since. She now plays with toys, sits in her bumbo and exersaucer as well as jumps in her jolly jumper. We are thinking to start her on some rice cereal soon since she is becoming more and more interested in food. She often grabs my plate when I have her on my lap while I am eating. She absolutely loves her red ball. David and Angeline have been paying a lot more attention to her this last month and she adores them. We are anticipating the arrival of her first tooth... she is definately teething at the moment. Her schedule is a lot more defined... she usually has 2 big naps... morning and afternoon. Her favorite song is "Samara had a little lamb." We love her to bits.

Playoff Beard

 April 30

May 27

Baptism Pictures

Aquarium, April 30