Busy, busy...

Liam recovered quite quickly from his asthma attack, but came down with another infection right after. The doctor thought it might have been a hospital-acquired infection, but it wasn't, and he eventually recovered. Poor kid. He's a happy child these days - he has learned how to stand in the middle of the room, then looks around for applause. He has also discovered making noise on the kitchen floor with cups. He's very proud of that. He has been talking a lot more lately, repeating words we say. Evan loves trying to teach him new words.

Happy Easter!

We went to Belleville for the second half of the weekend, and had a nice Easter Sunday with (almost) all of the VanBredas. Unfortunately Liam got quite sick throughout the day and ended up at the hospital with an asthma attack/pneumonia/broncheolitis. We're hoping that he'll be discharged this evening so we can head back to Orono. He alternates between being very happy and energetic (thanks to the medication) and very tired and fussy.


On Sunday the kids dyed eggs with Grandma and they looked great. They did an Easter egg hunt and we had a nice dinner, followed by a visit to Grandpa's. It was great to see the whole family (although Eric & I spent most of our time with our sick little one).

Happy Birthday, Darren!

Darren celebrated his 3rd birthday this weekend. All week long he has been looking forward to this, and has been singing "Happy Birthday, Dear Darren!" His brothers have been looking forward to this as much as he has.

Oma and Opa came to visit for a few days, which the boys loved.







Oma and Opa brought this lovely cake (although Darren will tell you that Opa made it).

We spent some time at the park and had a picnic birthday supper. The weather was great!
Oma built a very tall tower (Darren is afraid to get any closer).
Darren enjoyed his presents,which included a John Deere Monster truck set, a Dora Leap Pad, and a few other things.

We headed off to Belleville for Sunday and Monday to visit with the VanBredas. Hopefully I'll post some pictures later.

Happy Boy!

Around the house...

Things have been busy around our place so I haven't had much chance to post lately. Between babysitting, Bible Study, piano lessons, appointments, and Olympics, we've had a lot going on.

Liam has been happy as usual, though slightly sick. He's given up his morning naps, so he gets a little grumpy. He is pulling up and moving around along the couch and tables. Darren was riding one of the ride-on toys, and Liam came behind and gave him a little push. Darren started laughing, so Liam kept on crawling and pushing right behind him.

Darren has been his usual mischievous self. He entertained Oma and I for a 10 minute drive back from Goderich by singing "Bob the Builder" non-stop. He is learning about sizes and comparing things, and most things get compared to Opa's big blue tractor (or Opa's "little tiny lawnmower tractor"). We took him to the hospital in Clinton because he was breathing so heavy and coughing so much. Everyone there thought he was adorable. He's on some antibiotics now, so hopefully he'll get better.

Evan is becoming a very grown-up big brother. He looks after his younger brothers in the nursery or if I'm busy. He is learning how to read and write, and still talks non-stop. His questions range from repetitive to un-answerable, so I often tell him to wait until Daddy is home to ask him! He told me this week that he wants to be "a Canadian" when he grows up. I told him he was already, but he meant one of the ones in the Olympics. I asked him which sport, and he said "All of them."

Things are going well with our little unborn baby. I'm almost 18 weeks, and have seen the midwife and the specialist. They both seem optimistic that things will work out as well as it did with Liam, so we keep praying for the little one. I've started to feel some movement, which is exciting.

Happy First Birthday, Liam

Our little boy turned one this week!
He really enjoyed digging into his cake!
We love his smiles and laughter, and we love watching him grow and learn everyday! Happy Birthday, Liam!!

Cozumel, Mexico & the Mayan Ruins in Tulum

Our ship docked in Cozumel on Monday morning. After a half hour boat ride to the main land of Mexico and a forty-five minute bus ride, we arrived to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum.

Tulum was thought to be one of the most important cities of the ancient Mayan during its time.


The most impressive building in the city of Tulum was the temple/castle, El Castillo (below). Like many important structures in the Mayan world, it is the result of different stages of additional construction. It began as a palace-like base, the staircase added at a later date and eventually it was crowned by the temple on top. This temple-topped pyramid also served as a watchtower and a lighthouse.

Tulum means "Wall", and the city was christened thus because it is a walled city; one of the very few the ancients ever built. Below is one of the entrances to the city of Tulum. The Mayans were not very tall people. I (Eric) had to almost bend in half to enter/leave.

Behind us is the temple/castle.

One of the Mayan watchtowers - Tulum overlooks the Carribbean. At one time it functioned as a "lighthouse" guiding ships through the treacherous reefs that lie offshore.

Our Ship (for a week)

We had a great time on our cruise. Our ship was the Carnival Liberty. Many evenings we would sit on the deck on lounge chairs watching a movie on the big screen out under the stars. The first full day of sailing was rainy on and off, but we got to see a rainbow. That waterslide was pretty fun too.

There was a 9 hole mini-golf course on the top deck of the ship (deck 12). The first day we tried to play, it was so windy that the ball would roll away unless you held it down with your foot before hitting it.

Here are some pictures of the ship. It is Carnival's newest ship. 3000 passengers, 1100 staff/crew. 116,000 tonnes.

At our first port of call (Cozumel, Mexico) we docked right next to a ship identical to ours, the Carnival Freedom.

The beach in Cozumel.

Another shot of just our ship. Our room was on the other side, on the 2nd floor (second row of square small windows) near the middle. It was a decent size - bigger than some hotel room we've had!

The ship was beautiful, and incredibly clean and organized. At the ports of call, between the maintenence work, they would be up on ladders, painting the ship (with two people below with nets to catch the paint drips so it won't go into the ocean). Service was amazing, food was incredible.

More pictures to come later...