Kade is Eight!

Another much anticipated birthday. I had to reign him in a few times, b/c he was planning on writing and sending invitations . . . without consulting me. He had his friends phone number found and was planning on calling them to give them the details . . . without me knowing what the details were.  The party has not yet happened. The timing of Kade's birthday was not great in terms of a party, but I promised him one soon.

We've been looking through baby photo albums a lot over here lately, so I thought I'd include a few baby-1year pictures of Kade.

 One thing that strikes me as I go through Kade's photo albums is that he was a happy little gaffer!!  (not that we generally take pictures of kids when they are grumpy, but he seemed to be an easy smiler!)

 Actually he still is. He is my easy going boy - sometimes to the point of it driving me a little crazy.  He seems to take life and its happenings very graciously - all in stride -- this is not to say that he doesn't get upset. He does. But not too often. When he does get upset, it is a very heartfelt upset and it is rather sad.

Kade is a very kind boy (at least from what I see and if you are kind to your siblings, why wouldn't you be kind to others?!!).  He humours Kevin rather often by playing hockey with him, even though he'd rather play football. The tradeoffs there are not always fair.  He also is willing to read a book to Kylie or play Polly Pockets or Playmobil with her. I love that and so does she!! He also has a very soft spot for Karter already. He is his little protector. He doesn't like to hear him cry and will quickly pick him up or try to settle him down. I think it is quite special.

Kade loves school and it comes easy to him (so far!). He loves reading and has lately traded in sleeping for reading, which I'm not sure I'm real fond of b/c this is my one child who actually slept normal hours until recently.  He loves football. I can't quite figure this one out. He hasn't had a lot of exposure to the game and there really isn't anything I can do/sign him up for to satisfy this desire.  He has had a thing for football for quite a while and asks for things like a football helmet for his birthday.  We got him a football and a football sweater and football silly bands instead. He was happy.

Kade still loves Lego, riding bikes, swinging, and soccer.
Kade is very witty and has a great sense of humour. He loves jokes and has a great memory for them too.

One of my favorite sights of Kade is at bedtime. I have him read a more advanced children's story Bible and he devours it.  Even though I ask him to read it in his room, he always ends up on the couch, and it is beautiful to see him reading and enjoying it. He has a very good memory for Bible stories, and texts too.

One thing we chuckle at, but find a bit of a challenge about Kade is his absentmindedness.  When asked to do a job, he is so easily distracted! It is actually humourous to watch (if we have time).  If you ask him to straighten out the shoes and he is on the couch, he may just encounter 4 or 5 distractions on his way - and although the couch and shoes are on opposite sides of the house, we have a VERY small house.  This could be interesting in our new house!
Kade loves deeply. He loves his friends and hanging out with them. One thing that comes to my mind when I think of Kade upset over something, is that he couldn't spend time with a friend or couldn't go over to his friends house on Sunday b/c it didn't work out. Then he is sad (and grumpy).
Kade is a nurturer. Right now he is nurturing a goose egg and a robin egg. He has them all blanketed up and is patiently waiting for them to hatch. I am hopeful that he continues to nurture the eggs and care for them in a gentle way so that they don't crack inside my house!!!

Kade (and Kevin and Kylie) have this very strange fear of the darkness outside right now.  Pretty much anytime after supper, it is hard to get any one of them outside on their own.  If they are with someone else - no problem. But if Jonathan asks Kade to grab his lunchpail from the work truck, it is a bit of a battle - and that is when it is still rather light. He would outright refuse if it was dark - and his fear is so genuine, that it is hard to force him. I think it is coyotes that he is afraid of. One night when we got home from hockey, I could hear them in the woods behind our house and I thought it was neat, so I told Kade and Kylie to listen.  Apparently that was a mistake. Until then, I think that they thought maybe, just maybe, coyotes aren't really around here even though they've heard from others that they are.  I'm hoping they will all get over these fears soon!  It's easy for them to sing/quote the song/verse, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you!", but it's a bit harder for them to live it out.  Much like many things in scripture - for all of us.

Kade is our affectionate boy too. He is the quickest to give a hug or a little snuggle . . .but I don't think he'd like it that I'm advertising this.  I think he reserves them for his family:)

Kade - we love you incredibly much. You bring sunshine to this family.  You are a joy to raise.  Thanks for all you do/bring to our family. Continue to grow in the Lord and continue to build upon all those good character traits that He has blessed you with!! 

 And now some birthday pictures:

Chocolate for breakfast - only on your birthday and only when Aunt Steph brings you a load of groceries!

 We did gifts throughout the day which was a nice way to do it. He'd get a gift and then he'd spend the next hour or so building it or playing with it. He kind of liked breaking it up like that, and b/c it was Saturday it worked quite well.

 The football and the new backpack which he'd been asking for for months!

 And our "cake" this time around?? Smartie icecream. What can I say. Easy and yummy and we all like it!!

(yes - his face is as dirty as it looks- its cleaned up for the next picture!)

 And you can still have a candle to blow out:)

 Kade requested hotdogs/hamburgers and salad for supper (again?!) and of course movie night after that . . . though I think a few of us migrated towards the hockey game.

Hope you had a good day Kade-O!

In Other News and Notes

It's all official now.  Our days in this home of ours are numbered!! This of course brings very mixed feelings. We are extremely grateful for a very smooth, quick, and painless sale. We see God's guiding hand even in this. We hadn't intended to put the house up for sale until the end of April, but our realtor encouraged us to try to get it up earlier, so the pressure was on to finish up those last projects we were working on, and we got it listed before Karter was born. We only had one showing (and we were gone for the night anyway to the kids school program, so that was easy too!).  Then during the 10 days they had to fulfill their conditions, Karter was born and now its all official!   Now for the packing . . .  

Like I said, the house being sold brings mixed feelings. We are thankful that it is done - b/c it HAD to be done, but we are sad (I am anyway) that we only have 5 or 6 weeks left to live here. I LOVE this home. It is HOME!! Of course there are things I won't miss, but especially at this time of year, I love our place. I am glad we get to enjoy the spring here yet!

Then of course there is the excitement of our new home . . .

It is started!! I think they put the "shovel" to the ground the morning that Karter was born. Psalm 127 has extra special meaning for us this year!

No shortage of activity going on in our lives right now!! 

 Karter is a week (plus) old already. How the time flies. He is certainly my fussiest baby, but he also has really good times too.  He is extremely alert and does not sleep too often -- though he does just fine at night which I am very thankful for!

 We are all enjoying him so much!!!

 Kevin is laughing because Karter has the hiccups and Kevin thought it was extremely humourous how his whole body would shake with the hiccups.

Kevin also informed me today that, " I don't think I could live if there was no such thing as hockey." or maybe it was, "I think I would die if there was no hockey." Wowsers buddy! I quickly assured him he'd be JUST fine. (and I thought Kylie was dramatic!) (and yes he wears those goalie pads most of the time when he is home)

Karter is often the center of attention . . . and when he actually sleeps, I have to beg the kids to just leave him alone and give him his space.

I love it that they love him though!! 

 Kade does NOT like hearing Karter cry.  He is quick to rescue him and seems to know what he is doing too . . .this is the position we often use to relieve him of his stomach pain and Kade is quite the pro at it too.

I also overheard Kade telling Kevin tonight that he thought he would like to go to bed rather than watch the hockey game . . . he can't WAIT for his birthday tomorrow!

 And Kylie - what can I say about her? She is a big help. She is my right hand woman and most of the time doesn't mind helping.  Her favorite is Karter's bathtime.  She also loves to hold Karter as long as he doesn't cry . . . though she is getting more comfortable with that too.

Overheard by Kylie today: "I'm hungry."  (actually she says that every day at least twenty times)

So that is a bit of this and that about the kids and our lives.  Have a great weekend!

So Excited. So Proud. So Blessed.

We are super thrilled to announce the birth of our son!!

Karter Seth

Born on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 @ 1:18am

9lbs 3oz

22 inches

Proud siblings: Kevin, Kade and Kylie!  

Ready to go out into the big wide world!

 Home with a thrilled daddy!

 Kylie loves to help already . . . and I think she will be a huge help to me!

For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

And since I should present things factually . . . this is a bit more accurate picture of our little man --- which just translates to more snuggle time (and a whole lot less work being accomplished, and a little less sleep . . . but I am just choosing to enjoy this bonding time!! I know he'll grow up way too fast anyway, so a fussy baby is helping me cherish the moment!!)

And that's all the details I can do for now. Someone is calling!

Dream Come True . . .

The story begins on Saturday morning.  I got a call from Carrie.  She chatted and scoped out my general health and plans for the day before breaking the news that she had two extra Toronto Maple Leaf tickets that she needed to find owners for!  Friends of hers from church (Randy and Judy) have seasons tickets and connections to a few more . . . so 6 seats all together. Darwin and Jeremy were not overly interested (crazy folks) so we popped up on Carrie's radar.  Jonathan had to milk that afternoon and our departure time was 3:30ish, so it was easy to figure out who got to go with me:)  Kevin was super excited!! This was a dream come true for him (and me!).  I have been to a Leafs game when I was about Kevin's age and have probably been figuring out how to get back (without breaking the bank) ever since then!  We had pondered catching the Leafs in Florida (they played the Panthers last time we were there), but even that seemed a little too pricey. So to have tickets fall into our laps like this was just SUPERB!

 We stopped at McDonald's for supper on the way, hit a bit of traffic (which the kids just LOVED!) but were soon within feet of the ACC!

 And then we found out where we got to sit!  They had two seets RIGHT behind the goalie (like second row, aisle seets) .  Kevin and I got those seats for the first period.  The other four seats were also fantastic . . . a little higher up and a little more "centre ice", so a bit more view of the entire ice surface.  We watched from there for the second period. The third period we moved back down to the ice level to some empty seats that the usher (who our hosts know) scoped out for us b/c they weren't being used that night.  FANTASTIC!!!

 

Kevin's little write up. Funny how he recalls very different details than I would write about if I had to write a summary of my night! Thought I'd include it, so we have two viewpoints:)

 The Leafs actually won!! It was their first home win since mid February I believe!! (I think it was b/c of me . . . hint hint) It was a pretty exciting game to watch too . . . especially the dying seconds of the game!

 Randy and Judy had extra jerseys, so Carrie and I got to look very patriotic too!

 And Randy and Judy totally spoiled us . . . not only driving us down there, but buying Kevin a TML puck and game night program and this bear for the new baby (which Kylie has seriously adopted as her own . . . and when I tell Jonathan that she should be not dragging it all over the house - it is white after all - he tells me that if Carlton was in Toy Story, he would be a very happy bear . . . .so I guess I shall let her play with him all she wants:))

So that was a fun (albeit late) night!!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat and maybe next time I'd let Jonny Boy come with me;)  Thanks Carrie for thinking of me. I know there are tonnes of people who would have jumped at the opportunity to go and I'm very grateful that you asked me . . . and Kevin is most definitely too.   I'm thinking that if i get to a few more games next year, the Leafs will most likely win the Stanley Cup!!!