I haven't posted in a while as I became ill last Thursday which kept me down and out until Sunday...so much so in fact that I had to miss a birthday dinner and my good friends wedding. Thankfully for me Judd was kind enough to take Aidan to the wedding so they could see him so I definitely owe him one! Aidan apparently danced the night away and wouldn't let the bride get off the dance floor, he showed up back home after 11 pm and said he had tons of fun and crashed hard into bed!
We haven't really been up to much lately, some shopping getting ready for the holidays, went to Toys R Us and thought I was going to have a panic attack right there in the store! There is way too much to choose from this holiday season for the kids it's so much fun to look but oh so hard to decide.
We have also been selecting our charities or causes that we will be donating to in lieu of presents for adults which has been a lot of fun so far. I think we've decided to do a Santa sack for a little boy which my mom brought over for Aidan to do, a donation to CancerCare Manitoba, a donation to the Humane Society, we purchased some tickets to the Fire Fighters Burn Fund Show, We will be buying school supplies for 4 Canadian children and making another donation to the Christmas Cheer Board, oh and then the Shoebox we did already.
I think we made some really good decisions and it feels so much better than running around the malls finding things for people which either have more than they need already or you don't really know them well enough and only can really get generic gifts. There is so much more meaning in this for us and it gives us an opportunity to show Aidan what we believe Christmas is really about which is giving to those less fortunate and helping one another. Judd is also finding that this is much more fun and he is getting really involved which is nice to see as usually I am left to do all the shopping etc because he hates doing it, this is something we were all able to participate in as a family.
Aidan is doing great as always, he is getting bigger by the minute it seems as I had to go out and get him practically a new wardrobe as all of a sudden his pants were a few inches too short and his shirts were becoming belly revealing, it always seems like it happens over night! He has begun singing Christmas carols so we are privileged to listen to them at the dinner table usually he sings them to what he must believe to be a hearing impaired audience as it is usually quite loud and shrieky! He has been playing his new computer games which were given to him recently to learn letters and reading skills so he is really into those and enjoying them. He is doing really well with his spelling and we are making a little progress on the reading too, although I have laid off quite a bit as everyone is trying to reassure me that it is "normal" that he can't read yet...not sure if I believe it yet though! He is also taking multivitamins now which have really helped with his energy level after daycare...he is still pretty tired when he comes home but at least now he is conscious until after his bath!
Kneesaa is the same a pleasure most of the time and a pain the rest of the time, she learnt how to do a "high five" which is pretty cute, but she will only do it for animal crackers right now and not for her regular treats. We are taking her on a play date with 2 other pups tomorrow, I'm sure she will enjoy that! Ichabod got into a scrap and cut his ear open and then it got infected so he had a big abscess which I had to squeeze and thankfully Josie came and brought him some antibiotics (thanks again!) it is so nice to have someone connected to the vetrinary business who can tell you what to do without charging you an arm an a leg for it...we are very thankful to her for that!
Work is still going really well for me and I am still enjoying the benefits of working part time. I found out that I am getting 5 days off over Christmas and paid full time hours for all 3 stats over the holidays so that was a really nice surprise! I also get my first raise on Christmas day which will be good too! I can brag a little right? I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop with this job because when things seem too good to be true they usually are and I came from a pretty bad work environment in my last job but, so far so good...I will keep my fingers crossed. Judd's work is really busy and he is working hard everyday, it is nice as he is able to make a little extra money right at the end of the year to help with RRSP's, we are trying to build a nest egg as best we can! Things are pretty steady around the homestead for us, we are all very happy and just enjoying time with each other and some old and new friends...getting some R&R before we settle in for a nice relaxing at home holiday which Judd and I are eagerly anticipating and really looking forward to. Things have really come together for Judd, Aidan and I this past year and we have a lot to be thankful for, we anticipate 2007 to be one of our best years yet, we are finally a family and comfortable in our life, I can't tell you how long I've waited and how good it feels to be happy, I am certainly blessed!Anyways, we hope you are all happy and healthy and enjoying the beginnings of the holiday season! Attaching some pics of the wedding Aidan and Judd attended!
Love: Judd, Sarah, Aidan, Kneesaa and Ichabod!
Hello all,
Things have been a little hectic on the home front lately but we are trying to keep in good spirits anyways. I am in my second week of part time hours and it definately a joy...I find it very relaxed to work 4-6 hours during the day and come home get all the stuff I need to do around the house and then Aidan and I can hang out for a bit by ourselves until Judd gets home.
Aidan and I have started doing his Kindergarten work book as well everyday after daycare as I think it is important for him to start learning to read and write and have a good handle on it before he starts school. Somedays he enjoys it and other days we only do a little because he is just too tired. Aidan participated in his very first charitable act over the past few days. We decided to go ahead with the shoebox gift for an underprivledged child during Christmas. We went out over the weekend (Judd, Aidan and I) and all picked out some things to include. We ended up getting way to much and all of it wouldn't fit into the shoebox and we had lots of fun doing it. I am so proud of Judd as well because he usually doesn't do well shopping (especially in Wal-Mart) but he got right into it finding things to put in the box. We (or I should say Aidan) chose a 5 year old boy to give to so it was easy to find things as Aidan is so close to that age. Items we included were t-shirt, socks, matchbox cars, crayons, sketch book, stickers, playdoh, toothbrush andsome other small toys. Tonight we put it all together and we will drop it off next week to be picked up and shipped off to it's destination in time for Christmas. It was such a fun thing to do with Aidan and it gave me the opportunity to explain poverty to him and I was so proud of him when he started going through even his own things to give away to this boy as he said he would be really sad if there was nothing for him on Christmas and he didn't want any other kids to be sad on Christmas....he just fills my heart back up at all the right times! Often times I loose faith in people and find that the world is cruel and unforgiving and then I look at him and all those thoughts go away and if even for just a moment he makes my world perfect again, man we love this little guy so much!
Judd was busy working on the deck this weekend and dealing with some extended family feuding that is going on....but mostly the deck. It is nearing completion and looks very fancy indeed! I will be sure to add some photos for you all to see when it is done which should be before the end of the week. Pretty happy that I finally have stairs too!
Anyways it's off to bed for me as my family is already all fast asleep. Enjoy the new pics and we hope you are all happy and healthy!
Love: Judd, Sarah, Aidan, Kneesaa and Ichabod
Hello all, hope you ebjoyed your Halloween as much as Aidan did. Since we didn't have any stairs we decided to head out for a night on the town. Saw a couple friends and some family and did some trick-or-treating along the way. Aidan did rather well up until the end when he was getting pretty tired...he was actually snoring on the ride and when we got home he advised me that it was too late for a story and he would like to go to bed now!
He had a wonderful time at daycare as well, they made their room into a haunted house and had a big party! He came home with a good start to the candy even before trick-or-treating began. He also got some presents from people this year..a bucket full of quarters, two LEGO sets and an awesome goody bag courtesy of Steve and Josie...he is quite happy!
Judd is already into the candy upstairs. I can hear him rustling through the bowl as I am writing this.
I didn't get to go to the Doula workshop this past weekend and will be going to the February one instead which is fine. Sucks that I didn't go to this one as I really wanted to start attending births but I am glad that I will be able to make it up early next year. Started working part time now (today was my first day) It's really great as the shifts are only 4-5 hours and the job is pretty entertaining, the people are great too (well most of them anyways!) I don't have to work a weekend or an evening until December so thats pretty good too!
November is going to be a busy month for us...birthdays, wedding, shower and it keeps piling up....maybe since we are staying close to home for Christmas our busy time will be this month coming up instead of December as usual.
Aidan and I are going to do one of the charity boxes at Safeway sometime this week or this weekend which should be lots of fun as I am going to let him pick out some of the things to put in there.Ichabod is sneezing alot, so I will probably be carting him off to the vet any day now and Kneesaa loves the snow! If it is snowing outside though she will usually bark at it. She loves to go outside and run around in it...she actually escaped and came back on her own tonight so I think she is becoming more obedient as she gets older...we still have a ways to go though as she is still always under foot it seems and in to everyones business.
My mom purchased a piece of family history for me this past weekend which I cannot say enough about! It is the last sweater that Grandma has which she knitted from their Angora rabbits back in the day. I think pretty much everyone wanted it so my mom decided to buy it so that Grandma and Grandpa didn't have to chose who it went to...I am a lucky girl indeed!
Anyways enjoy the pics of the pumpkins that I carved over the weekend and of our visit to Grandma & Grandpa's.....the Frankenstein one was done on the pumpkin that Grandpa gave Aidan which he grew himself! Didn't get any pics of Aidan tonight unfortunately as we were all over the place!
Love Judd, Sarah, Aidan, Kneesaa 
and Ichabod
Hello to all of you out there! This week was pretty good for us although the weather sure wasn't!
We had a lot of great news...one of my friends twins got to come home from the hospital this week, antoher one of our friends got engaged so it was a happy week overall.
JUDD - Is busy working outside while I am writing this, he is furiously trying to get things completed as he wasn't expecting the snow to fly so soon so now he has a limited time to get it all completed. And Steve.....he will be calling you to come tomorrow so don't worry! He's happy as I brought home beer for him last night which he doesn't get all that often anymore! Yesterday I caught him watching my recording of Oprah....he says it was one on the war in Afghanistan...yeah yeah sure it was.
AIDAN - Is growing up way to fast for my liking. He comes home and talks about all his different friends and is excited about the snow, well more eating the snow which I try to get him not to do. Again on Thursday he was so exhausted that he just crashed right after daycare and slept all the way through until Friday morning. He can actually carry on a pretty good coversation now which is pretty fun for us, we still at the dinner table enthrawled with the little guy as he has so much to share! It was his turn with the "Book Bag" this week at daycare which I think is a great idea. They send home a bag with him and in it there is a book, a puppet that has something to do with the book and an activity card which gives you ideas on how to interact during, and after reading the book! He learnt a lot about crickets and self esteem as it was a book about a cricket who wants to be a butterfly because a frog told him he was ugly. For all you moms and dads out there it's a really good read with great illustrations called " I Wish I Were a Butterfly" by James Howes. Aidan is still loving his daycare very much but he calls it his "school". He is really excited about Halloween and we should have fun going to BOO at the Zoo next week!
SARAH - Not up to much these days, same old. Working still full time should be part time in another 2 weeks. I found a bunch of old friends through the internet which is good and now I'm catching up with them a bit. Trying to get a handle on this doula thing and trying to study as much as possible! I'm starting to become somewhat of a breastfeeding advocate as I attended a LLL meeting this past week (breast feeding group) and some of the women were sharing how they have been discriminated against for breastfeeding their babies in public. Some were asked to go in a private area, some asked to leave all together and another mother is breastfeeding her baby in her car at lunch hour because here co-workers do not approve! For anyone that is reading this who are uneducated about the benefits of breastfeeding here are a few little tid bits to consider:
1. A woman can significantly decrease her risk of breast cancer if she breastfeeds for a total of 2 years throughout her life
2. Children who are not breastfed for a minimum of 1 year are prone to obesity, disease and allergies
3. Mothers who breastfeed are also prone to less illness. Diseases such as type 2 diabetes and arthritis can be forced into remision during breastfeeding
4. It is a womans natural and LEGAL right to breastfeed a child up to the age of 5 in any public place....so if you have a problem with it YOU leave!
Finally.......breasts are not sexual objects, this was never their purpose society has made them this way. Woman have breast tissue to produce milk and colostrum for their babies there is no other use for them so PLEASE let women use them for there purpose without making them feel dirty, uncomfortable or wrong for doing so. Treating women this way who are only nurishing their children in the best way possible is just plain IGNORANT!
Oh and please explain to any children that are close to you what breastfeeding is and why it's done so that future generations will not have to deal with the discrimination of breastfeeding.
And now that my rant is over I will leave you with some pictures to look at! Hope you are all happy and healthy!
Love Judd, Sarah, Aidan, Kneesaa & Ichabod
Aidan making a b-day card for his Grandpa Miller
CHEESE!
Great, now we gotta buy him a snowmobile and a Quad....Thanks Josh
