A few more pics...

I can't figure out how to add more than 5 pics at a time, so here are a few more pictures...

December is here!

Well, we're all settled into our new house and loving every minute of it. It's hard to believe we once fit into a two bedroom condo! It's great to have the two floors, and now that the snow is here we're loving the garage. We'll love our yard once Spring comes along, too. Our next door neighbours have moved in already, and they have a toddler and baby at home. Thankfully they are super nice, and we've already shared a couple bottles of wine with them! Anyway, this house and neighborhood will meet our family needs for quite awhile :)

Kaelyn is now 9 months old. She is the cutest baby ever in our opinion, and even cuter now that she's sleeping better at night! Kaelyn has been the perfect baby from Day One, but we were always given a slight reality check once nighttime came. Kaelyn goes to sleep really well, but loves to wake up every 3 hours ALL night long. This was fine during the newborn days, but now that she' approaching that 1 year mark we were hoping she'd end this night waking habit. So she's been sleeping much better at night these days, something we're grateful for because I'll be returning to work in 4 months! She's also a very happy "sitter" meaning that she can contentedly play on the floor for a long time, but has no interest in crawling yet. Every day Kaelyn and I have several "tummy time workshops", and she stays on her tummy for awhile but prefers rolling as a method of transportation ;) Oh well, she'll get to crawling when she's ready I suppose.

Other that that, Jason and I are looking forward to Christmas. I'm always a sucker for Christmas, but this year I'm so excited for it. I think it's partly because I'm not doing choir at school this year (this involves pracitising x-mas carols starting in October) and also because it's Kaelyn's first Christmas. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Search and Rescue remains quiet this holiday season, as it has been for the past few months. Usually this means there will be a lot of searches coming up, but let's hope not.

I hope all is well with everyone out there! Have a great Christmas, be safe, and take care of yourselves :)

love,
Katie, Jason and Kaelyn

All moved in!

We are moved into our new place in Vernon! We're sooooo happy that's it's finally done. There are still some things that need to be finished (we currently have no blinds, screens, phone, and some paint needs to be touched up) so Kaelyn and I are hanging out in Kelowna until that gets finished. We're hoping to be moved in a few days to keep Jason company! It's starting to feel more like a "home" now that our own furniture is in it. Some rooms are bigger than we thought, which is nice! Anyway, we took some pictures of the new place this weekend. We'll add more soon!

- Katie

I can sit!

Back from Tofino

We had a great vacation in Tofino last week. Kaelyn traveled incredibly well, and she really liked her new "big girl" carseat which gives her a bit more wiggle room during the car ride.

She loved the ferry, and I think her favourite part was watching all the kids play in the kids play area. We also discovered that ferries have a "Parent Room" which is basically a little room, away from all the noise, with a change table, a door that closes, a bathroom, and a chair to nurse in. It even had a window to look out onto the ocean. Needless to say, as soon as we found this we took full advantage of it. Kaelyn had a little nap there, too. Kaelyn is going through this wonderful phase where she smiles at absolutely everyone, and doesn't discriminate at all. It was really apparent on the ferry, and there must have been a dozen people who stopped to talk to her and comment on what a happy baby she was. Kaelyn had big smiles for babies, toddlers, old unsmiling men, teenagers with multiple face pearcings, young moms, women that were Grandma's age, everyone!

Once we got to Tofino, we realized Kaelyn was getting her very first cold. She was a trooper during the day, but the nights were a little rough for all three of us. One night in particular she woke up 6 times! After a visit to the local pharmacist, we discovered the amazing invention that is called Infant Dimetapp. This worked wonders for helping her sleep better!

Jason's family was able to join us for 3 days as well, so that was really nice. We went for lots of walks on the beach and got together for meals. It was nice for Kaelyn to be around all 4 grandparents at once!

Back home, our house in Vernon is pretty much finished. We went there yesterday to have a look around, and we're just thrilled with how it looks. The building crew has been amazing, and they have done a great job finishing it up. The developper is not so amazing, however. We just found out that he has not even registered our strata yet, and that needs to be done before we move in. Apparently this process can take a month or longer. We were hoping to be moved in on October 12th, but it might be closer to the end of the month or even November now. It's been great staying in Kelowna, but we're ready to be in our own place again.

Anyway, were glad to be back in the Okanagan and looking forward to Kaelyn's first Autumn. :)

love,
Katie, Jason and Kaelyn

Some precent pics...

Just a few pictures to capture some of Kaelyn's favourite activities... Inspecting the progress of our new house, sleeping, eating, hanging out with her cousin Janaya and spending some time with her boyfriends, Kai and Carter.

Between here and there

Well, it's the first day of school, 9:30 am. Kaelyn's having a nap and her mommy is still in her pajamas, drinking a cup of tea. I have to say it feels a little funny being at home today, and not at school with my fellow teachers nervously awaiting this year's group of new students. But is also feels wonderful to be home with Kaelyn on such a beautiful day.

Jason and I are officially moved out of our condo in Vernon, and are temporarily staying at my parents house in Kelowna. They have been so wonderful and accomodating to us, and Kaelyn is enjoying her new favourite playmate: Grandma. Jason did a great job moving all of our boxes into storage, with the help from Curt and some friends from Search and Rescue.

Our new house is coming along really well. The siding is up,the garage door is on, and it's painted inside. This week our cabinets are going in, and next week the flooring is going to be started. If all goes according to schudule, we'll be in our place early October. We can't wait! We'll be in the middle of a construction zone for awhile, but having a brand new house with lots of space will more than make up for that inconvenience I think!

Kaelyn is having a great time rolling, rolling and rolling some more. In two days she mastered rolling front to back, and back to front. Now she just loves rolling around the livingroom! My parents neighborhood in Kettle Valley is an amazing place for walking. Lots of sidewalks, hills, and pretty houses to look at (I think I enjoy the houses more than Kaelyn) so Kaelyn and I have been taking advantage of this and going for walks every day. Jason and I took her to the playground yesterday and she went on the childrens swings for the first time. I think she liked it, but was more curious about the other kids in the playground rather than her new swinging experience ;)

All in all, we are busy but happy. We're heading over to Vancouver Island in less than two weeks, and we're looking forward to seeing Jason's family and relaxing in Tofino. Jason hasn't had a vacation since February, and I'm even sure that counts because his "vacation" at that time involved looking after a newborn baby and also helping his wife recover from a c-section! So it's been a long time coming for Jason, and he deserves the break coming up :)

Hope all is well with everyone, and take care out there.

love,
Katie, Jason and Kaelyn

I live to bounce!

Kaelyn's first time eating solids

Summer time, when the living is easy...

Well I've decided to try blogging, after having seen some friends' amazing blogs :) It seems like a great way to keep updated on our busy lives, especially when we all don't get a chance to see eachother too often. So here goes...

We are enjoying life as new parents, and Kaelyn is entering the most amazing age where she seems to do something new every day. We are constantly amazed by how open she is to new experiences. Last week she tried her Jolly Jumper, swam in the lake, rolled over from back to tummy, and ate solids for the first time. She loved them all! Actually, she wasn't too thrilled about the rolling part because she rolled onto the laminate floor and sort of stunned herself. Still, we are soooo impressed.

We have sold our 2 bedroom condo, and are anxiously awaiting our new house which is being built now. We're hoping it will be finished October 1st. It's a duplex in a new subdivision in Vernon, close to Okanagan Lake and will give us way more space. We thought we'd be able to stay in our condo until Baby #2 came alone, but shortly after Kaelyn arrived we were feeling pretty cramped in here. Our new place has three bedrooms upstairs, 2 and a half bathrooms, a double garage, a crawl space (yay for storage!), central air and a small yard. We're still not sure how small/big the yard will be because the landscaping isn't finished yet. Hopefully it will be big enough for Kaelyn to run around, and for a small sandbox/kiddie pool. Oh, and a barbeque of course :) Anyway, our summer has been busy with packing and getting organized for the big move. We are moving out September 1st, at which time we'll be staying in Kelowna with my parents until the new house in Vernon is finished. In September we're going to Vancouver Island and Tofino for 10 days. I think Jason and I are both ready for a vacation now, but I know it'll be worth the wait once we breathe that ocean air. We can't wait!

Anyway, thanks for reading my first ever blog update. Kaelyn is awake from her morning nap, so it's time to sign off!

~ Katie