A visit to Oma & Opa's

We spent the Family Day long weekend with Oma & Opa.  Lots of fun playing with cell phones, playing with Rusty, playing in the barn, going for tractor rides...


Darren picked up this old camera to play with, put it around his neck, and said,

 "Look at me!  I'm Aunt Colleen!"

(She has a camera like this and takes lots of pictures!)

We also spent an afternoon with Uncle Steve & Tante Sarah and all the cousins. 

Fun was had by all!

Keeping busy...

We recently went to the Science Centre.  The boys had a great time.  We also saw the Imax movie "Under the Sea."  Evan loved it, Isaac slept through it, and Darren & Liam alternated between being scared and enthralled.

The balls were a hit...

 The boys could build their own track for the balls.

 Darren's favourite part was this car, "Because it's like Uncle Brian's car!"

We've also been looking forward to spring and getting outside.  Our indoor activities lately have included a lot of drawing. I love watching Liam draw.  He can sit for a half an hour, (holding his pen pretty well), drawing and scribbling very precisely and carefully. None of the older boys were this interested at this age.

 The finished product:

Isaac has also kept us busy, getting sick every 3 weeks or so - usually broncheolitis.  We're really looking forward to this cold season to be done!  When he is not sick, he moves around quite well, rolling and squirming.  He has started solid foods, but isn't very interested (yet). 

We are also very excited to welcome our newest nephew, Hendrik Brian VanOosten, born to Auntie Jenn & Uncle Brian.  Congratulations! We can't wait to meet him!

Happy Birthday, Liam!

Our little Liam turned two last week.  He was so very excited all day, telling everyone "Mine birthday!"  We had a Bob the Tomato cake, and we ate his mouth first!  Liam kept saying, "Uh oh Bob's mouth!"

 He got a few toys, but most important was this loader - it has already been hard at work.

 In the last few months, he's changed from a toddler to a little boy.  He is following in Evan's footsteps, talking non-stop.  Here are some of the highlights:

• We ask him to do something, and he says, "Oak - KAY!"
• We ask him what he's doing, he responds automatically "Nothing!"  I think this comes from listening to the brothers.
• He hurts himself, and asks me, "Are you okay?"
• When racing his cars, he says, "Mark, get set, huit, neuf, GO!"
• He walks around the house with a toy level, saying, "Not level.  Not level."
• His name for Swiper (from Dora) is "Oh Man"  (that's what Swiper says).
• When he asks for help, it comes out "Mommy, I love you?"
• He names the shapes of his bread pieces:  either a butterfly, a donkey or a motorbike.
• When he can't find something, I'll ask him where it is.  "Where is the truck?"  "Pockets."  "Where's the kitty?"  "Pockets."

Happy birthday, Liam!  We love you!

Snow Day Fun!

On the snow day, we decided to relax and have fun...doing crafts and wearing PJs.  Here are some pictures...

Evan can really make Isaac giggle - more than any of us can!

 We did some math games with egg cartons.  Put 2 marbles inside, shake it up, and add together the two numbers where they land.

 Then we made some Bobs for our window...Larry will come sometime this week.
 Note the awesome Batman PJs!

 Isaac got his own Bob to play with!

So poor Isaac has been busy again this past week.  On Thursday morning around 5:30 I took him to the ER with respiratory distress.  We were seen right away, then admitted to pediatrics.  We are getting to know the hospital staff well (in addition to those who knew Isaac from the NICU).  He was discharged om Friday evening, and is still working at getting better.  On a more positive note, he has been a happy baby for the past few days!  And the last 3 nights he's only been up once or twice!  Happy baby = happy parents!  Let's just keep up this trend, and make sure that everyone stays healthy!

VanBreda "Christmas"

We had our Christmas get together at Redeemer last weekend.  Everyone but Grandpa was there, and the cousins had a blast together.

 Evan, Eli, Judah, Nadine, Darren & Reuben on the stairs at Redeemer.

 Evan & Nadine got along very well that weekend.  Grandma used to joke about throwing all the cousins into one room to sleep at night - and we actually did it this time (not all, but a lot!)  There were 5 of them sharing a room, and they enjoyed it!

  Everyone was glad to see Uncle Dave back from Korea.

 The president's house was a great place for so many people - we could seat everyone around the table easily,   and get in a few games of Apples to Apples & Ticket to Ride

 Auntie Jenn's little one should arrive in the next few weeks!

A Sunday afternoon

Little Isaac has graduated to the Exersaucer.  He looks so tiny in it, but he seems to enjoy it. It's nice to have another distraction for him....moving from one to another gives me a few minutes to get things done.

We got this great race track set on Freecycle, and it's big enough for all three boys to play nicely on.  There was a box full of Hot Wheels cars, another race track, and a box full of HotWheels track pieces.  Hours of entertainment!

Hangin' out

All 4 boys watching Daddy play Wii

Isaac at 8 months is becoming a bit more mobile.  While not crawling, he can manage to squirm around the living room.   He's been sick on and off the past few weeks, poor guy.

Darren got a haircut last week, and he looks so grown up now!

 We picked Uncle Dave up from the airport.  He'll be in the country for a few weeks before returning to teach, this time as a professor!!

Sorry for no January photo yet...soon.  Just waiting for a chance when they're all happy (or at least not grumpy).

More Christmas-ing

Here are a few pictures from our recent VanBreda get-togethers