Christmas Day

This year we had a quiet, relaxing Christmas. Jake's auntie (he calls her bubba) and cousin Chloe came over in the morning to open gifts and have brunch - we had a blast. This year Jake enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper while making dramatic sounds such as ooooo, ahhhh, wow, oohhh mommy, ooooh dada, ohhhh bubba. Hotwheels were his favorite.

The rest of Christmas day was quiet - just Jake, Chris, Roxy and I. We went out for a nice walk as it was only -5, played with Jake's new cars and trucks, and then ate left over Thai food and Christmas baking! A stress-free day to enjoy family, remember all our blessings and celebrate the birth of Christ!

ps. Is anyone reading this blog? If so - can you comment and let me know? Just wondering the best way to share Jake's life with family and friends.

 
 
 
 

 
 

18 months and loving life

Jake turned 18 months on Dec 2nd weighting in at 22.5 lbs. He is full of character - one of my friend calls him a spirited child! In the past couple weeks he has been sleeping really well which has been a huge struggle (well, the struggle has been the sleep deprivation). We are hoping this is the end of sleepless nights - at least for now! Chris and I were reminded this Christmas season how blessed we are to have a happy, healthy, smart, very cute strong-willed child. I'm one proud momma!!!!

 
 
 
 

Swimming

Jake just passed Parent and Tot II class! We started Saturday morning swim classes this Fall. It has been a learning experience for us all :-) Slowly Jake has become more comfortable in the big pool. He especially loves when we sing songs - tiny tim is a new fav in our house!
 
 
 

Santa

Yesterday my sister and I spontaneously went to the Market Mall (crowds and all) and took the kids to see Santa. The picture below was the precise reason why I wasn't planning on taking Jake to see Santa this year - he screamed at the top of his lungs! Chloe asked Santa for a clock. He asked why, and she responded in her adult tone, "because I sleep in"! She's so funny.

Shell and I were really proud of the kidlets - they were so well behaved during the long wait to see Santa.

 

Canmore Weekend

This past weekend was our 3rd annual "Wick woman retreat + children"! Mom flew in, and we headed out to the mountains - specifically Canmore. We had such a wonderful time together. The kids were so excited to see their Nonna (or as Jake started to call her, Baba). It was very cold (-36) but we still made it outside to do some shopping downtown - we decided to skip the hike :-) Can't wait for next year!! We sure are going to miss Nonna (we are trying to convince her to move here).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Walks with the Walkers

Luckily between snowfalls Calgary has had some decent fall weather! I'm thankful we've been able to get outside and go for walks and to the park. Jake no longer will sit in the stroller - he wants to be on the move walking by himself. The only way we can get him to stay still is by putting him in the sling (yes, I still use that thing even though he's so big - the baby buddha it is called - one of my best "baby purchases"!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17 months

As I write this I still can't believe that I have a 17 month old boy. It seems like just yesterday I was shocked to find out I was pregnant, but that was over 2 years ago now!

We have had a rough go the past few weeks - seems like some sort of influenza (most likely H1N1) took over the family! Jake has been at home for 2 weeks now and is slowly recovering. They say it takes 2 to 4 weeks to get your energy levels back and feel "back to normal" again. We're really thankful we had a mild case and that no-one had to be hospitalized.

Other than that, Jake is doing so well. He's growing, and seems to be understanding everything these days! He is such a little chatterbox telling stories all day. He has so much to say - I can't wait to understand everything he is telling me - I'm sure that day is just around the corner. He's sleeping through the night I'd say 60-70% of the time which is great. He laughs a lot just like his mom and dad, and he thinks he's hilarious! Here a some pics from the last couple weeks.

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween from the spider

 

chatterbox on the move!

Here's Jake on a nice fall walk this weekend. Check out how fast our little chatter box can move ;-) Wish I could get the video to show vertically but I'm technically challenged.

Hot Wheels

Jake LOVES to play with hot wheels. I'd say cars and stuffed animals are his favorite things to date. I find it amazing that while playing with his cousin's toys out of all the toys he picks the "barbie car" to play with - wheels win with this kid.

So his auntie bought him so many little cars and a race track for her house so he can play when he comes over. Below is a video of this past weekend while I was away in Edmonton for work and my sister was looking after him - he could do this for hours!

Bananas

Chloe named Jake's big monkey 'bananas'. Lately he brings bananas everywhere - he even came out for breakfast today with us! Here's a video of Jake pulling bananas in the house.

Music Time

Jake loves music! Since Chris has been home more (which we love) we have been having music time a couple times a week - singing and Chris plays the guitar. He loves dancing, strumming the guitar, holding Daddy's guitar pick. Below are some video clips of music time this past week.

Recent Videos

Here is a couple recent videos and a picture of Jake (16 months) for those of you who are interested! He's mastered walking now, and is just getting more fun each day!

Calgary Corn Maze

The weather in Calgary the past few weeks have been amazing! We were +30 most of this week. Today was a perfect fall day - 22 degrees and blue sky. Chris, Jake, Chloe and I headed south to the Calgary Corn Maze! What a fun day. We played in the hay, went through the corn maze and didn't even get lost (thanks to Chloe's great directions), petted the animals, played on the play ground, and watched a pig race! We'll definitely go back next year.