Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas!

7 months

My Dearest Nathan,

Today is your seventh month birthday! Wow! It cannot be possible that you joined our family 7 months ago. My precious son you are a wonderful addition to our family and we thank God for you everyday.
You are a little chunky monkey! You came into this world a big boy and you have continued to grow like a weed. The last time we weighed you the scale showed 22 lbs :) That is nearly half the weight of your sister! You are wearing 18-24 month clothes and are just so rolly polly and lovable. I could spend all day kissing your cheeks and snuggling with you.

In the past month we have begun to have a glimpse of what your personality is going to be like. You generously give smiles to everyone you meet and are rarely shy of strangers. You are always ready to give slobbery kisses and hugs to your Oma's and Mommy. Although you are generally easy going, we are noticing that you have a temper! This shines through when you get frustrated or you sister is "playing" a little rough with you. You don't hesitate to let everyone around you know that you are unhappy when things don't go your way.

You are learning so much, and growing up so fast. You can confidently sit on your own. You can also clap your hands and bounce up and down when you are excited. You are SO ready to crawl, but you have not quite mastered it yet. You can get on all fours from sitting, but soon fall down onto your belly. Once laying down you easily roll across the room, sometimes we look away for only a second and you are on the other side of the room. You have the best laugh, and the cutes grin. Daddy and I know that your little mischievous grin is something we will see a lot of in the next few years as you learn about and explore your world.

Your sister loves you. Plain and simple. She loves making you laugh, and is often the one who can get you laughing just by walking by. You delight in playing with her and especially pulling her hair! She calls you "little buddy", or "buddy boy". When she hears you cry from your crib she runs toward your room yelling "Don't worry buddy I'm on the way!"

Our nicknames for your are "Nater-tater" and "Spuddy-buddy". They have developed over time and I think they are cute. I'm not sure if you will agree when you get older, but oh well :)
Although I have posted less about your first year, I think I have enjoyed it more. I am more relaxed this time and I am trying to take more time to treasure each moment. And lets face it I don't have as much time to be on the computer now that there are two of you.

You are a wonderful, and we know that it is not because of us. You are such a gift to us from God. He knew exactly what we needed in our family, it is YOU! Thank you for being such a wonderful son and letting us join you on the adventure of growing up!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Christams Giveaways at 5 Min for Moms

There is a great series of giveaways happening at 5 Min for Moms. This is as great resource for parents everywhere! Check them out and enter to win some great prizes!

Rice Cereal

Nathan started eating rice cereal this week. He is not to sure about it yet....
I can't believe he is already old enough to start eating solid food. Wow!

Balarina

Naomi has started dance once a week. I have been looking for an activity that I could enroll her in, and I thought that she was to young to join a dance class. My friends Marilyn has her daughter enrolled at a studio and for the month of October each dancer could invite a friend to participate for free. We decided to check it out and Naomi LOVED it!! She can't wait for Wednesdays to come and is always talking about dance and her wonderful teacher Miss Jessica. Miss Jessica asked me if we wanted to have Naomi join the class for the rest of the year, so we decided to go for it! I am really looking forward to going to her recital at the end of the year. It is going to be so cute!

Halloween

This year we had the kids dressed up as animals. Our church hosted a Halloween alternative that was themed "Noah's Ark", so their costumes fit right in:). Naomi dressed up as a cow and Nathan dressed up as a turtle. They both looked so cute.
Naomi just realized the wonders of candy and has enjoyed tasting some of her treats from hallowen. Needless to say, these extra shots of sugar make for some interesting outbursts of energy and silliness.

Siblings

It is SO wonderful to see the love between my two kids grow! Naomi loves to hold Nathan and is so helpful in taking care of him. She is so excited to have a little brother and keeps him entertained when Mommy is busy. He always smiles and giggles when he sees her. When Naomi snuggles with Nathan she always says "Nathe is my friend. We are best friends. I love my brother/sister." To cute!

Family Pictures

We ventured out in the begining of September to take some family pictures with my side of the family. We hired Leah from Leah Shannon Photography again. If you remember she captured these fantastic pictures of Naomi when she turned one. Leah is such a talented photographer. Here are a few of my favorites from that day:

Andreas and Diana's Wedding

My cousin Andreas got married last weekend to a wonderful woman he met while working as a customs agent at YVR.
The day was great and the rain even held off until the reception. The bride was radient and the groom was handsome. It was such a beautiful occasion and we were glad to be a part of it. Naomi was honoured to be one of the flower girls and looked so cute all dressed up. Here are a few of the pictures from last Sunday.

Naomi's hair.
The cutest little flowergirl ever !
Mommy and Naomi
Daddy and Naomi

Naomi and Alana (my cousin)
The vows
Cutting the cake

Only Daddy Works?

Today while putting Naomi to bed for her nap, the following conversation took place:

Me: "OK, Naomi, time to go in your bed."

Naomi: "You sit in my chair beside me?"

Me: "No sweetheart, Mommy has do go do some work around the house..."

Naomi: "No Mommy. You don't work. Only Daddy works! You stay home with me. You don't go to work like Daddy"



Yes, my sweet girl. You are right. Every day I count it as a privilege to be at home with you. I am so lucky and blessed to be at home and be a mommy to you and Nathan. The best "job" in the world.

3 month old boy

My dearest Nathan,

Today marks your official 3 month birthday. In some ways it feels like you just came home and in other ways it is hard to remember what life was like without you. You are such a joy to have in our family. Everyone told me that my second baby could never be as calm as the first, but you have proven them all wrong. You are even more easy going than your sister was as a baby.
You are such a wonderfully content little boy. I am so lucky! You love to lay in your swing and watch your sister play. You get so excited when she comes into your view. You love being snuggled, but I am learning that you also need time to yourself just to lay and play.

Your sister is so in love with having you around. She always wants to hold you and help me take care of you. She likes to call you "Nathe", which I think is cute. Hopefully it will stick. It is my hope that the two of you will be close siblings and always look out for each other.

You love your bath time! As soon as we put you in the water you are smiling from ear to ear. You get so excited that you splash water all over the bathroom, and who ever is bathing you is nearly as wet as you are by the time the bath is over :) I love the way the top of your head smells after you come out of the bath and how you always need to eat as soon as you are dressed, even if you have just eaten before you went in.

Sleeping is going well. Most nights you fall asleep by 10 pm and are up around 3 am for a quick feeding and then you go right back to sleep and often sleep till 7 or 8! All I can say is "thank-you"!
You and Daddy have a special relationship. Your biggest smiles are always reserved for him. You love to lay beside him and tell him all about your day when he gets home from work. Your daddy is so proud of you and loves dream about the things you will do together one day.

Nathan, you are an amazing son. Even in your few months of life you have blessed me and your daddy so much. I love you. I am lucky to be your mommy, and I am eagerly anticipating all that we will share together as you grow up to be a wonderful young man.

Love Mommy

Summer Days...

I had every intention of blogging more often than I have in the last month. We have had such a wonderful summer, filled with so much fun and HOT weather :) We have so many picture that it would take far to long to post then each individually so I opted for collages instead.
(Click on any collage to expand it and have a closer look if you like.)

Our adventures included...

A week long vacation at a cabin on Cultus Lake with Ron's family.

The August long weekend camping with my family in Hope.

The rest of these summer days have been spent enjoying time together with our family.

6 years

It's amazing to see how far we have come.....
From this.......
And all this...

To yesterday....
And for everyday to come....
I love you with all my heart and I am so proud to be your wife. These last 6 years have been a joy to share with you.
"When things are changing all around us
and the world seems too fast,
don't forget I'll be right beside you, loving you.
What I feel for you is deep, total, and enduring-
a love you can count on without ever having to wonder.
So when you look ahead to the future
or look back at how things used to be,
don't forget to look beside you,
because that's where you'll find me,
loving you with all my heart." (unkown)

Happy 31 years!

Dear Mom and Dad Klassen,
On your 31st wedding anniversary,
It is nearly 6 years ago that I became Ron's wife and your daughter-in-law. Through the years I have come to realize that you both are the most amazing parents-in-law that I could have ever asked for. You have opened your hearts towards me and always made me feel like another daughter. I know that not all "in-law" relationships are like the one we are blessed to share. Thank you for loving me, Ron, and our children so much. I feel so lucky to be counted as one of your family. Your generosity towards us is unbelievable and we are so thankful for you.
Thank you for setting a good example of what marriage is all about. Supporting each other and working together joyfully. I know that not each day of these last 31 years has been without its trials and hurts, but I do know that your commitment to each other outshines any dark clouds that have stood in your way.
I love you both and I wish you a very happy anniversary today. Best wishes for at least another 31 years!
Love,
Raine

Comming soon...

a new post. I promise. No excuses, just life marching on everyday. I am doing my best just to live it and find time to write about it later:). To keep you comming back I'll just post a little cuteness for now. Enjoy. Nathan at 6 weeks old

One Month Already

Today is exactly four weeks since Nathan joined our family. I can't believe that it has already been a month that he has been here! Nathan continues to be a very easy going baby. I always hesitate to write about how easy he has been so far because it seems as soon as I say it everything changes. He is on a good 3 hour schedule and often sleeps longer than 3 hours in a row at night. He is rarley fussy for no reason, and only cries when he is hungry or has gas.
Naomi is still head over heals for her little brother. I thought that the "honeymoon" phase would be over by now and that she may show some jelously, but so far she is just so loving towards him. She always is asking to hold him and wants to give him kisses. I am so glad that this transition has been going so well.

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday! He is 52 years young. So we all went out for dinner to White Spot, and then back to my parents for dessert. Love you Dad. Here is the photographic evidence that we had a wonderful time!
The Birthday boy and his grandson.
Oma and her grandkids
Big smile from our big girl
Us
My brother Dan and his girlfriend Daisy
And all of us together :)