Summer 2012

Okay so it has once again been a long time since I have done one of these. So summer is almost over and we have been busy but not as busy as last year which I think was a good thing this year. The kids have been good getting into all sorts of things and see tons of new stuff.  We have Carsten in swim lessons right now and now that we have passed the first couple classes he is really enjoying him self. River has been running around and learning new words her favorite right now is NO and Done. We have learned that when she says done it is not always true.

We have spent lots of time at the park and some time down at the beach which the kids enjoyed and always nap really well afterwords. :) We have been lucky with the fact that Steveston has a water park right there. Carsten loves to go run through the water until he gets cold River is still pretty hesitant of it but she will some days splash in the puddles on the outside area.

Carsten had his 3rd birthday last month and we relaxed around the house and just played with the kids. We had planned on going to the beach but we got rained out and Carsten had a good time anyways. His cake this year was Thomas which took a bit longer then I thought it would and I had some problems with the fondant this time. But Carsten really liked it so that is what really mattered.

Other then that our big news was that we are once again expecting. Carsten seams to understand it better this time and River I think knows something is going on but not really what. It is cute to ask River where the baby is because she points to her stomach first then to mommy's. Which has led to her wanting to look at everyone's stomach. So it should be fun watching her understand that she wont be the baby anymore.

We have also found a house to rent that is more then twice the size of the condo and will be moving in September. I think Chris and I are quite excited to have the extra space and not have to worry about how loud the kids get at times. Carsten and River are excited to have a yard that they can play in whenever they want. I am hoping they will like not having to share a room anymore. So the next month for us is going to be busy with doing little things to the condo and packing what we can as we go.

That is the update for now we will see when I end up on here again. :)

A Bit of Everything

  So I haven't posted for a while about the kids or anything since pretty much January so two months have gone by and there have been lots of changes but nothing major just the kids growing up. :P I am not sure who told them they could do that but I dont think it was me. Rivers hair is now long enough to put it up in ponytails if I can keep her sitting still long enough lol.

 Then we went to science world here and can I say wow Carsten was so completely enthralled with it. I think he would have lived there if I had let him. He was not really impressed with me when I said it was time to go. this pixal wall was a big hit which I never would have thought of the the water center that is right behind it that you can't see was very popular with this little boy.

 The Dinosaur skeletons were a big hit with Carsten and River but they also had animatronic(sp?) ones as well and Carsten hated them. I did get him to go through the dinosaur room because I knew there would be activities he would like and by the end of it he was happy to go back but when they roar he was not very impressed which surprised me I figured that would be one of his favorites.
I have to say that this train once Carsten found it was the one thing he would not leave. It was really fun trying to get him to leave something that he was that interested in. So if I pick one thing that Carsten loved at Science World this would be it, the problem was that there were lots of other kids that wanted to do this one to. I think once Carsten turns 3 this will be where we get a membership to which makes me a bit sad as I love the aquarium but the amount of time that could be spent here and how interested the kids were with it. Kind of hard to beat. Plus the staff were amazing and there is a mommy break area that corals the young kids so I can take a break know that they wont get out of that area until I take them and they can play with the different areas in there.

Now River has decided she is going to be big like Carsten she will no longer sit on her booster she must sit on an actual chair. She wants to walk if Carsten is walking (and sometimes when he doesn't want to walk.) She wants to sit on the potty not that she does anything but she wants to sit there now and the biggest thing that has changed is she has started mimicking Carstens tantrums. Not as loud but she is definitely making her displeasure known. Also the rocking horse that is to big for her has become her favorite toy to play with I swear she will sit on it for hours. lol . :)              

 I have also been trying to come up with new things for Carsten to do well River naps. That are quiet. So we went with baking soda art. He gets to create craters in the baking soda with colored vinegar it was quite a hit. :)   So now you are caught up hopefully I start to do this more regularly I am hoping to take the kids to the park today and maybe go by the "once upon a time" set if they are filming maybe I will get lucky. :)

Snow Days

Once again Vancouver has gotten snow. I am not so fond of it but Carsten this year is very happy to go out and play it it. This is completely opposite from last year where he wanted nothing to do with the cold weather let alone snow. So out into the snow we went. He was so excited that he stopped listening to what I said so there were quite a few reminders. I am very glad that it was just him and I so he was the only one I had to worry about. 

I think he forgot about the pond and was about to walk across it at one point. I guess to a two year old it does look solid so why wouldn't he be able to walk on it. Thankfully he did not go through and I got him quickly enough.  

 So we went for a walk down the path which was a bit safer. Carsten kept asking where the ducks were that are normally there. We went a bit further towards the playground but not quite that far and made a snow man and Carsten made snow angels or a version of them. and snow balls which he had lots of fun breaking on the ground.

 We headed back in to warm back up and have some hot chocolate.  Then the other day it was once again snowing and Carsten wanted to go outside again. So we bundled up and headed outside this time with both kids. River didn't really do to much she took a couple steps and bent over and swished her hands through the snow.  Then came back and wanted up.

 I dont have any picture of her in the snow as my hands were full with the two of them. Carsten seams to lose his head in the snow a bit so he needs to be watched like a hawk and reminded where it is and isn't safe. I think just because everything looks the same and for him it is very new. I imagine the more we are out in it the better he will be.

 So that has been our snow day, The kids had a good time and no one got hurt or fell. YAY Now I would like the rain to come back and the snow to go away. :) 

River's 1st Birthday

So my baby girl turned one this past Sunday. It is bitter sweet I love getting to see her grow up and doing all sorts of things but I miss the little baby that would let me cuddle her all the time.

We had a party for her on Saturday with some friends at Boston pizza and it was good I think we all enjoyed it. River really liked the ladybugs and went for them first thing.




 Then on Sunday Chris parents came into town for a couple days. So we took the kids out for lunch and then to Build a bear in metropolis. The kids are a bit young but they both did a few things.

Carsten really did not like how loud the machines were so he wanted nothing to do with them. But they both put the heart in there bear and Carsten picked out a shirt for his Penguin you would never guess what the shirt has on it. A cartoon penguin lol. 

River likes to carry her bear around until she gets fed up with it but it apparently gives very good kisses in her world. I haven't got any pictures of build a bear because haha my hands were very full. But it was a good time. Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl we love you

Merry December

So I haven't posted in a couple months things have been busy. The kids have been growing and you can see that in all our family photos that Carol-Ann took for us. We couldn't be happier with how they came out and Chris is smiling in some pictures which was my goal. :) The kids did Amazing with it we did a full three hours of photos and by the end they were done but they did so well.
November has pretty much been a blur. I know that we did things but I honestly dont remember what.

So on to December we have had a very busy December. we have gone on the Christmas train in Stanley Park, The kids have been to Chris's work Christmas party,

We made a gingerbread house which has now been destroyed, We made an attempt for Santa photos with both kids but Carsten wanted nothing to do with him this year so we only got River with Santa. We have also put up are tree this last weekend and it is now very stacked with presents for the kids.

 The kids haven't quite figured out what the tree is for other then to put on and take off ornaments, as well as turn the lights on and off. So we have lost a lot of ornaments from about half of the tree. But they have been surprisingly good about the presents that are underneath of it. We did a test with one present and they haven't touched anything since. 

 We are very much looking forward to Christmas with our little family. It will be a good one this year. :)

 
River and I also took an impromptu and quick trip to Grande Prairie which she did amazing for how much change it was in a very short time.  Carsten stayed home with Chris for some male bonding time. I think we are all ready for some relaxation time.

Happy Halloween

This Halloween has been good Carsten understands the general concept of Halloween and doesn't seem scared of anyone else in costumes. For River this is her first Halloween and she was pretty much puzzled by it. We had two Halloween parties and 2 different days trick or treating. Both of the parties were good and the kids had lots of fun. River was a ladybug for Halloween and quite cute I thought Carsten was Lightning McQueen or a Dinosaur depending on the day. For the parties he was the car and for trick or treating he was the Dinosaur.

The kids also each got a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. Carsten had a hard time picking one for him and one for River. There were just to many options.

On Saturday we went down to Steveston for a kids trick or treating from the merchants. Carsten was awake for the first half and then River was awake for the second when Carsten fell asleep. It was good but very busy but the weather cooperated which is what mattered. River got a ton of awws and although completely puzzled is quite happy with the suckers she was allowed to have.

Tonight just Carsten and I went out trick or treating because it was so windy. We made it around our area and then had to come home because Carstens bag was full. Carsten had a great time going house to house saying Rick or Reat. One house had a wooden duck and cat sitting beside the door and Carsten wanted to take them more then the candy. Everyone thought he was very cute and it was a great time taking him out. He has a huge stash of candy and chips which he will be sharing with everyone so life is good.

Diaper Cake