Fixsen Family

Skiing.

2012-01-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Some history: I love to snowboard. I haven't been in a few years because of babies and such, but when I get to go I am always reminded of how much i love it. My brother LIVES to snowboard. He is insanely good too, and partly insane. (every time I see him he is complaining of a sore bone of one kind or another) Anyway, when I thought of taking Wyatt skiing/snowboarding I knew I wanted my brother there. I figured his love and enthusiasm for the sport would rub off on my less than adventuresome little man.

The PERFECT opportunity came this past weekend. Brett is part of a social club at work where they are given the chance to buy movie tickets cheep, pay less for work Christmas parties etc. and I got this email at least a month earlier about a Suncor Family Ski night at Sunridge. It was $5/ticket for members and that included the pass, rentals as well as a hot dog or hamburger and a drink. I figured that even if I had to force Wyatt down one run that it would be worth $5.

I emailed my brother and invited him, his girlfriend and her daughter who is the same age as Wyatt, and also my sister and her family. We had a good turn out. Sadly, Isla was sick, Brett ended up backing out (which I found out later was to watch a football game... he didn't think Wyatt would even go down) but my brother in law Chris brought Jude, and Kevin, Nancy and Dahlya were there.

We had the BEST time. My sister in law Jaima had told me this great idea about bringing a hula hoop. You put the hoop over the skier and then the parent just walks down the hill holding the back and able to steer and control the speed of the skier. It was so fun, and we had so many comments from other parents with young skiers about what a great idea it was.

We arrived and started skiing by 6, and we left at 8:45. We had a break for a snack and I totally thought that once we had warmed up that Wyatt would just want to go home, but we headed back out and enjoyed the rest of the night. It was perfect weather, it snowed before and while we were there so it was fresh snow. I really don't know that I've had as much fun skiing as I did with my buddy, and I didn't even snowboard.

At the end of the night Wyatt was going down the bunny hill by himself, getting on and off the magic carpet by himself, and we even met up with an instructor who helped him on the rope tow and taught him how to turn. I really would not have believed it if I hadn't have been there.

Jude skied as well, and seemed to have a fun time. Dahlya decided to try snowboarding and was really good. I can't wait to go again.

I was so proud of him, and you could tell he was very proud of himself too.

Winter Retreat

2012-01-20T20:10:00.001-08:00

My calling at church is to work with a group of young ladies called Laurels. They are 16-17 years old and amazing! They intimidated me a LOT when I was first called, but now they are just like great friends. I love that they trust me to tell me about the boys they are kissing, and they take me under their wings and help me with my hair etc. etc. It has been great getting to know them. I also have the pleasure of working with the BEST YW president ever. She is just amazing with all the girls, knows what's going on with each and every one of them and is the best example to me and to them. I feel very blessed.

This past weekend we went on a Winter Retreat out to the Strathcona Wilderness Center. It was so fun to hang out and be silly, play games and stay up late like when I was a Laurel. It doesn't feel that long ago since I was 17, but this weekend really showed me how lame I am, and how old I'm getting. It was still such a blast though.

One of our girls had mono and couldn't come for the night so we had her there in spirit and in paper. :) If you see her randomly in the pictures I post that is why.

Unity games. The theme of the retreat was unity. I think we accomplished our goal.
Can't have a retreat without toilet papering. All done lovingly with nice little notes written on the toilet paper. The only trouble was that the girls used most of the toilet paper in the lodge, so we were concerned that they have to collect some from the bunk rooms if it was needed. (luckily it didn't come to that)
Beautiful girls ready for a wild 24 hours.
My oldest girls. They are so good. They won't be at summer camp because they will have graduated. I'm glad I had this time with them.

Beauty and the Beast

2012-01-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

I was so lucky to have a sister date this last weekend. What fun to spend the evening with my sister! We went to dinner at Chianti's and then to the Jubilee Auditorium for Beauty and the Beast. What a great show! Amazing sets, costumes, singing. It was fun to watch something so familiar. Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite Disney movie (Brett's too- soul mates ;) ) There were so many sweet little girls all dressed up for a special night. I am excited to do things like that with Isla when she is older.

Thanks for a great night Kim!!!

New Year!

2012-01-09T19:57:00.001-08:00

We had some big plans for New Year's Eve, but they fell through, and we ended up having much more fun. We ended up over at the Oviatt's (my friend Kaycee's maiden family) and played games and ate great food, and had a good visit. Then we went to the fireworks at Festival place. It was nice that they started at 8pm, and we had the kids in home and on the way to bed by 9. Perfect. Brett and I then slept through most of a movie, and woke up just in time to wish each other a Happy New Year and headed to bed. A great night.

*Watching the fireworks from the car*

New Years day we were on time for 9am church (a good start to the year), Isla had her first day of nursery and survived the whole 2 hours. Horray!!

That afternoon we headed out to Camrose for Drever Christmas. It was so nice to catch up with extended family we don't see much, and so nice to be part of such a close extended family. Always fun!

*Drever Christmas with Auntie Jaclyn. Wyatt got a cranium game, and that is the lid on Isla's head. Cutie*

This year Brett and I have HUGE plans for the new year. More to come on that in the near future I hope. I don't want to jinx anything.

My goals for the New Year are:

*run a half marathon

*stop yelling :) (Mostly with Wyatt, I find that my patience is thin when dealing with Isla sometimes, and he gets my final reaction which typically involves some yelling. I've been trying really hard, and it's going well so far.)

*Brett and I have some spiritual goals as well.

We usually have this long list and end up disappointed with our progress through the year. This year we are keeping it more manageable. The outlook seems more promising.

Best Friend!

2012-01-09T19:47:00.001-08:00

My best friend in the world came into town over Christmas and I was so lucky to spend a few moments with just her, and then some time with her beautiful family.

She has been my dearest friend for 20 years! Unbelievable. She has been away from me for a few years while her husband finished his schooling, and is still living away (Red Deer) but is MUCH closer!!! Even though she has been living away, anytime she came home to visit family we were always able to pick up right where we left off, like no time had passed at all.

Now being a Laurel advisor at church (working with 16 & 17 year old girls) I can really appreciate what a HUGE influence she has had on my life and will always have.

Now that we've spent some quality time catching up (Breakfast at Cora's, an evening alone to visit and snack, and then New Years Eve with our families) I miss her more than ever. I wish I was more of a phone talker, because then we'd be closer, but for some reason we can still make it work. I'm just going to have to make a trip south :)

Camera Shy

2011-12-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

One of Brett's favorite past times is to look at old pictures on the iPad. The other night after we got the kids to bed we spent a long time flipping through old photos of Wyatt. There were sooooo many!!! We didn't even get through to the point of Isla's birth. Poor girl is quite neglected in the photos compared to our first born. I'm realizing tonight the problem though. She always wants to hold the camera. She has even figured out the camera on my cell phone.

I know this isn't the ONLY reason she has less photos. I need to put more effort into pulling out the camera more often. This girl is growing up way too fast.

Christmas Festivities

2011-12-29T20:57:00.001-08:00

Now onto the fun! For the past few years we have gone down to the Legislature grounds with our friends the Dogan's to see the lights and wander around. It has been such a mild month that it was even more enjoyable to play in the snow, see the beautiful light displays and then head inside for some hot chocolate. I hope this tradition continues. I also hope ever winter is this warm.

December 10th we had our 'Fixsen Family' Christmas. We ate delicious turkey, all the cousin's got to hang out. Opened presents and just had fun family time. We got a new sister in law this year to help with the program. Every year we sing carols, but there are very few musically inclined Fixsen's. This year, Jaclyn accompanied us on her piano and we sounded WAY better. Horray for talent!
Wyatt got creepy crawlers from his grandparents. If I had known this was going to be "the gift" this year I would have saved the idea for myself :) He was soo excited! He loves to play with it too. The machine takes about 20 minutes to warm up, the goo melts and you press it into a bug mold, then you cool it (another 5-10 minutes) and then you can smash the bugs and grind them to use the bug goo again. It takes a good half hour to make a bug and Wyatt smashed/grinds it as soon as it's done. Pretty funny, but I can't believe how patient he is while he is waiting for the whole process to finish.
I dressed my kids up cute to see Santa, and Isla had a fit. They offered to let Brett and I sit in on the picture, but I figure every kid has at least one sad Santa photo.

Brett and I went to his work Christmas party. A fun night out for the two of us. The entertainment this year was weird. A fake casino with the staff acting out some other story on the side. They played blackjack, and at first Brett and I weren't planning to participate because the tables were busy and it looked kind of dumb, but then we started gambling and got hooked. I can see how it could become a problem for some ;) The most pathetic part was they had to teach us how to play blackjack. hahaha

Wyatt's Christmas concert for preschool. Isla was a monster and wanted the camera or to be on stage. Her and I spend the entire time at the back of the church in a little play house they have set up. Luckily I had volunteered earlier in the week for a concert practice and saw the show earlier. That way Brett and his mom could enjoy without interruption.

The little boy to Wyatt's right is his friend Cole. His mom is really great and we get the boys together and kidzquarters and we are able to visit for a few hours. I'm glad Wyatt is making new friends.
Christmas eve we spent the afternoon with our good friends Anita and Greg! They live in Ottawa, and it is so nice that they make time to see us when they are home.

The evening of Christmas eve we all opened new pajamas and watched a movie with popcorn. It was nice to spend time just our little family.

For Christmas this year I bought a HUGE roll of wrapping paper from Costco. So EVERY present I bought was wrapped in the same paper. I asked Brett earlier if he thought it would be a problem that Santa had the same wrap as us... he thought it was no big deal. Christmas morning Wyatt woke up early to see if Santa had come. The FIRST thing he does is come into our room and whisper to me something about Santa having the same paper as us. We have him convinced that Santa shops at Costco too.
Santa bought the kids nerf guns. Santa maybe should have thought that one through a little better. Santa keeps getting attacked boys against girls... and unfortunately at this time Isla isn't much help in defense.

A puppy for Isla, and some more guns. Brett was pretty convinced that we all needed a weapon :)

My good friend Arife made this cute monkey crochet hat for Isla. It is really cute, and Isla loves it!!
Present from Uncle Kevin. A FAST hotwheels track.
Christmas morning we had presents and breakfast at my parents, and then my sister hosted dinner. It was a good time spent with my family. Great company, great food. Doesn't get much better.
We also had our annual Live Nativity night with my sister in law Heather and her kids. Sadly we had less people available to come this year, but it is one of our favorite parts and it focuses on the birth of Christ more than anything else we did to celebrate this year. After the live Nativity out in Spruce Grove we go back to Heather's for Thai food. Delicious. Another tradition we are definitely going to continue!

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a perfect holiday with lots of family, food and fun. I know we did!!!

December: Done!

2011-12-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

We had a busy month, with preschool activities, play dates, birthday parties, working, etc. etc. we had a full calender before we added anything Christmas related. We have really adjusted well to this busy thing. We are thriving on getting out of the house and spending time with new friends.

This winter really isn't much of a winter at all. We have had very little snow but the kids and Brett have been great at taking advantage of whatever amount falls into our yard. I've even been doing the shoveling on the driveway this year. Brett continues to struggle with chronic pain in his hands and forearms so I have taken on the shoveling. It is actually really enjoyable. My very own driveway that I GET to shovel. I'm sure the excitement won't last long especially if we get the same amount of snow as last year, but for now it's fun. The kids are great little helpers too.

Wyatt's new best bud Cohen had his 4th birthday party this month and the whole family was invited. This is my new birthday plan for the next 18 years of my kids lives. Lindsay had a great little party planned with games and treat bags for Wyatt and Isla, and beautiful cake and delicious dinner just for us. After last years crazy kid party, I'm sold on small. It was lots of fun, and the kids didn't want to leave.

That night was also the night of my monthly book club meeting. It has been so great to have a book to read monthly that I don't have to find. It's also a great excuse to get together with some wonderful ladies!!! I love reading!

I worked a little bit more this month, and will hopefully try to work some more in the new year. I just love working in familiar classrooms. Supply teaching really is perfect for my little family right now. It is so nice to get out of the house and do something for me that I love. The little bit of extra income is nice too. I like feeling like I'm contributing :)

We were lucky enough to be invited to another birthday party for JH. He turned 3!!! We toured the Beaumont fire station and the kids were given free rein of the big trucks. What fun! SH also had birthday activities for everyone when we got back to her place. Great decorations, snacks, cake and a punch board with treats behind tissue paper. All these birthday parties we go to really make mine look pathetic. Hopefully Wyatt doesn't notice :)

My fabulous sister in law had a breaking dawn movie party. We had wedding cake, sparkling juice, delicious treats, games (pin the tail on the wolf, pin the teeth on the vampire). It was so much fun, then we finished the night off by going to see the movie. I love nights like this!

Nothing in November

2011-12-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

I can't find anything exciting that happened in November. We must have been saving out energy for a busy December. I thought I'd attempt to post some video of Wyatt at the pool with Brett. This is some time recently after successfully completing two levels of unparented swimming lessons. He is so much more comfortable in the water it's amazing!

Now where did I leave off... oh right...Halloween :)

2011-12-29T20:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, so with some kind reminders I'm back to my blog. I know you are all so curious as to what I've been up to since October 25 when I last had something important to say. Here is another slew of catch ups for my dear friend SH! (who may very well be one of three people I know read this, one of whom I might add is NOT my husband)

We were dragons for Halloween this year. Two perfectly sweet dragons. Wyatt was a dragon at 16 months, so Isla wore his hand me down and Wyatt wore this years Old Navy model. Old Navy really has great costumes for the 20 something dollars they cost. I have a feeling we'll see at least one more dragon in the next few years.

To celebrate we signed up for a little library Halloween evening, and then on the actual night my sister in law Heather hosted her annual cousin trick or treat extravaganza. I stay in to keep warm and eat A LOT of good appetizer type food, and Brett goes out with the kids. Perfect!

Special Stuff

2011-10-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

We had two great family thanksgiving dinners. We went out to Viking Alberta for the first one with the whole Creasy family. It's Brett's grandmother's family and all their families if that makes sense. It is Brett's favorite holiday I think, and I'm sure it's because of the amazing food. Brett was working this year and so I braved single parenthood to go. The food didn't disappoint, but Isla was being Isla. Next year (if I have to go alone again) I'll follow my first instinct and leave her at home. She's in a tough stage of being quite needy, and quite a momma's girl. Can be tough on the momma sometimes.

The other thanksgiving was with my family. Now that we are living in a bigger place, we have decided to alternate hosting family meals. We change locations of our normal sunday dinners, but also the big family events too. This year Thanksgiving was at my house. I'd love to say that I did it all myself, and it turned out perfect. BUT... I'm not ready for all that yet. So... my mom got the turkey all prepared and just cooked it in my oven. I was in charge of basting though :)

It was delicious as always, and leftovers are always a bonus.

I signed myself up for a quiet book exchange with a group of 10 girls. We each made two different pages times 10. What a HUGE undertaking that was. Honestly there were many days I was ready to back out. I'm sure the feeling was mutual among the group... but now that I'm done and have seen the beautiful pages that everyone else worked on. I'm so happy to have been a part. I just have to get my show together and make the pages into a book.

My new friend LP has been such a great influence on my families activity level. Wyatt is pretty thrilled he has a new best friend, and we are glad that our twin families all get along so well. We took a trip to Prairie gardens this last Friday when both husbands were home. What an amazing place. I'd never been before, but will be making it a yearly tradition for sure. We decided to get there early to beat the school buses, but 9am is pretty chilly at this time of year. The little girls fingers were frozen, but neither liked gloves very much. The boys didn't seem to notice the weather and were willing and enthusiastic to try everything available. We went on a wagon ride, petting zoo, puppet show, corn maze and haunted house to name a few. It really is it's own little village out on the farm. I'd highly recommend it!

One last catch up before bed. We got a pet! His name is Kirby and he's a bearded dragon. Anyone that knows Wyatt will know just how happy he is to have a dragon of his very own. He has wanted a pet for a long time. He has had a few fish, but now he's big enough to notice other possibilities. He wanted a hermit crab, then we considered a puppy, a snake etc. etc. We all could agree on this little guy. He's made one little boy very happy. We just have to be careful to wash hands, and we don't take him out when Isla is around because she can be pretty rough. So far so good on the pet front... but ask me again in 11 years (average life expectancy)

What's up with me.

2011-10-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Now for my catch up. Other than chasing around after my kids, I've been doing some things for me lately too. I got back on the supply list for EPS, and LOVE going to work. It is a healthy break for me and I come home feeling very grateful for my kids, my supportive husband and all my blessings. I have great teaching friends who support me and let me teach their classroom full of kids. One actually helped get me back on the list in the first place. She teaches in the west end of the city in an opportunity class. They are the SWEETEST group of teenagers, and she basically asked her principal to call downtown ( to the school board) to tell them I was needed for her class. Amazing! She was my mentor teacher during my IPT at university, and she's been a mentor ever since- I'm sure she didn't realize she'd be stuck with me for so long when she volunteered to have me come work with her 6 years ago :)

I have a new calling in my new ward too. Laurel Advisor. I work with the 16 and 17 year old girls. At first I was totally intimidated, but now we are just buddies. They are beautiful inside and out, and I know I'm going to learn a lot from them. I teach the lesson most Sundays and I am finding that to be the hardest part. I just feel a huge sense of responsibility to get it right. This is a tough age, and these are tough girls, but I want them to feel and learn from me before they are off on their own.

I'm also trying to get to the gym a little bit more. What a lazy summer I've had. My running endurance is suffering badly, and I just wasn't using my gym pass at all. I'm trying to get to the drop in classes I love, and will hopefully find the motivation to use my treadmill for 20 minutes a night when I don't make it to the classes. It's much easier to do when you are in the habit, but getting back there is a tough road.

MAJOR Catch up.

2011-10-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

I promise that I've noticed my own lack of blogging lately. I've been terrible at keeping up with the ones I typically read too if that makes it any better. My excuse... no time. That, and I like to go to bed early :)

Since the FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER we have been very busy. My calendar has never been so full with pre-planned activities. Then throw the last minute stuff, work, birthday parties, a new calling etc. etc into the mix and my excuse becomes valid. Nevertheless, I like to have this record, so there needs to be some time that I can squeeze in some blogging. As long as my dear friend SH keeps reminding me... PLEASE ;)

Wyatt has started swimming lessons! And I almost cried the first day when he did a back float with the teacher without the wailing hysterics that I seem to get. Not only that, but he puts his face in the water voluntarily and passed the 6 week class easily. I'm one proud momma. He is signed up for the next level already, and so we'll see how he does. I have high hopes for a little fish soon. We tried to prepare for swimming lessons by taking the kids to the pool weekly as a family, we are definitely not taking it easy on Isla. She will love the water if we have any say. :)

Wyatt goes to english pre-school on Tuesday and Thursdays. I had my heart set on french, but he wanted to try english. So he's signed up with all his little primary friends from the old ward. It is nice to see my mom friends when we drop off and pick up the boy. He is loving it. There is something about his teacher that bugs me, and I can't put my finger on it. Or even express what it is exactly... but as long as he's happy, I'm happy.

We go to the library on Monday mornings for a family story time. Wyatt gets to go with his new best friend, and he's as happy as can be. They haven't noticed yet that they are the oldest in the class by a few years, but who doesn't love listening to stories read. A new session just started this last monday and the new teacher is pretty strict. She obviously doesn't have toddlers of her own, and has fairly unrealistic expectations of the little ones sitting still and quiet for the half hour we are there. After class I get a nice visit, and the kids roam around finding books and movies to borrow.

Wednesday evenings we have Wyatt in the "Let's Play Music" program with Joanna Dick and Lisa LeBaron. It is so fun to hear Wyatt sing and participate in the class, especially since Brett and I are so CLUELESS musically. He has a little homework assignment weekly and honestly I had to cheat today because I had NO IDEA how to help. It is a three year program, and by the end he should be ready for private music lessons. Maybe I'll be ready too :)

Saturdays we are also doing indoor soccer. Wyatt isn't really a fan, and would rather sit on the sidelines... but I'll just continue to be the crazy mom on the sidelines screaming at him run :) He looks so cute in the uniform.

Well writing down what Wyatt's been up to seems a little crazy. I kind of feel that I'm living my childhood vicariously through him because there are a lot of things I wish I had done, or tried harder at. I really wish I had played more team sports, and really wish I had tried harder at piano. He's young, and is loving all the outings he has in the week. It's a VERY nice change from being cooped up at home.

September LOOOOONG weekend.

2011-09-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

My brother in law got married this weekend in Southern Alberta. We took the opportunity as a family to head to Drumheller as our first stop on a very long weekend.

We left our house Friday morning and got to the museum at about 12:30pm. We figured we'd spend a solid 2 hours in the museum, but it is actually very quick to walk through. Our little ones weren't interested in the interesting facts printed on the wall. They just wanted to see DINOSAURS. The last time we took Wyatt to the Royal Tyrrell Museum he was two, and the bones were a little too abstract for him. This year he could recognize what each set of fossils was supposed to be. His favorite part of the trip though was the souvenir shop.

When we were finished we picked up some drive through and headed to our hotel in Calgary. We splurged and stayed in a nice hotel with an almost rooftop pool. We let the kids burn off some energy in the pool then got ready for dinner. We met up with M & H at the hotel and had dinner with their family. It was great to hang out with them. My kids just love their boys.

The next day was the wedding in Cardston. 2.5 hours away from the hotel and we had to be there by 9:30. None of us slept well, and at 4:30 I figured I'd just get up and start getting ready. 6:15 we left the hotel, 8:30 breakfast from the grocery store in Cardston, 9am to the temple... after the ceremony Brett (being the best man) had to stick around for pictures. We couldn't leave without him, so we hung out till 12 when we drove back to Calgary for some more pictures. 2:30- 5ish were more pictures, 5:30 we went to the stake centre to make sure the slideshow I made was ready to go... turns out I needed an adapter to connect my Mac computer to the projector. HEART ATTACK!!! Luckily Jaclyn's uncle is a computer wiz. I ran out to try and buy an adapter at 5:45 before the stores closed at 6, while the uncle tried to copy the slideshow onto his laptop. It did all work out in the end.

Because all the Fixsen boys were in the line, they ate at the head table. The wives were left with the kids to wrangle and feed amongst the other guests. Before the program and dinner had started I was ready to cry and head home. Isla was just a monster all day and night. Needed to be carried, and very sad. Brett finished his food and took her for a little walk, which saved my night. Once I had eaten I felt like I could handle the rest of the night. ( Consider how little sleep we've all had- it was a recipe for disaster)

The kids had a little part in the program- singing " You Are My Sunshine" It was super cute, and so nice to see all the cousins together.

We got the kids back to the hotel by 10, and Brett headed back to help clean up. What a day.

It was a beautiful wedding and reception. Jaclyn's family had every detail covered... ( they had even packed bag lunches with HOMEMADE cheese buns for everyone for the drive back to Calgary) The MC's were hilarious and Jaclyn's little cousins performed this great skit about how the couple got together. So funny. Brett gave a toast to the groom that we had come up with that turned out well too.

We are so happy to have Jaclyn join the Fixsen's. She is perfect for Cody and fit's just right!

Family Photos

2011-09-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to have Kamry take our photos this year!!! I am so impressed, and she was so professional with movies for the kids incase they needed a distraction, toys so they looked the right way, an assistant AND she had gone to the site a few days earlier to check out the lighting and to ask the owners of the property if we could trespass. It was a beautiful night, and some of the sweetest pictures of my kids I've ever seen. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Isla was being difficult, and had very few smiles for Kamry. I LOVE this one though.

This is my favorite, and the very first one!

What a handsome man!
My sweet girl!
I risked it and got my hair cut the day of pictures. Afterwards I realized that may not have been a great idea. If I hated it, I would still have these pictures on my wall all year... or would have wasted the generous offer of Kamry to take these pics of us. It all turned out alright!
This must be the BEST picture of my husband I've seen. He has very sensitive eyes, and so tends to have sunglasses on in pictures, or is squinty. Such handsome men!
I always feel weird just having pictures of Brett and I now that we have kids. But I love how this one turned out. There are a couple funny ones, and Kamry was probably laughing editing some of them- " you want me to kiss her hair?" Brett wasn't too into the posing. Reminded me of our wedding photos.

Thank you so much Kamry for sharing your talent with us. You say you are a beginner, but I think you have serious talent and skills. Keep it up, because I think photography comes very naturally to you!

Telus World of Science

2011-08-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

(My kids posing for a nice picture on Sesame Street)

My sister was taking her family to the science center, and I had heard great things about it- so I invited myself and my two little crazies along. Then I invited a friend and her children along too so I wasn't crashing a family outing.

ANYWAY, it was GREAT! Wyatt loved all the hands on activities. They had a special Sesame Street exhibit there that was so well done! We even saw a star show! I haven't taken my kids to the science centre much because a lot of it demands a lot of reading, and is way over their heads... I seem to forget that there is so much that is pre-school focused and that my pre-schooler and his toddler sister could find hours of entertainment in a water table, blocks and a star show.

Mr. Hoopers store.

Isla digesting some peas.

Grovers obstacle course.

Hand pedaling.

We had a great time. There were some crazy moments where I couldn't keep track of both kids wandering around checking out individual interests. Definitely a place to go back to- especially since there should be a new traveling exhibit in the near future.

House pictures.

2011-08-31T19:42:00.001-07:00

For those who care...

Above- Kitchen/ dining table
From table towards kitchen
From Staircase towards living room. (I'm pretty proud of those pictures. #1- Totally my idea #2 They are straight #3- I love the way they turned out) BIG thanks to 3M picture hanging strips. Worth the few dollars extra they cost than a nail. TRUST ME!! All the other pictures I hung seem to have been missed in the pictures I took. The house is bare, just not as bare as it seems :)

Main floor half bath

Boot room/ laundry- door goes out to garage

Bonus room. Kids LOVE to sit on the back of the couch to look out the window for daddy coming home.
Master Bath
Kids bathroom
Wyatt's room

I totally forgot to take these pictures the first time, and then I was mid- post and didn't want to tidy up. This is our favorite part of the house. It's the kid's space. We have a couple big area rugs, a couple great big bean bag chairs. A desk for Wyatt's drawings and crafts. All the toys and books. The mess stays in one place, it's nice a cool down there and we can hang out for a long time down there while Brett sleeps during the days etc.

This is our little work out corner. The treadmill came with the house, and then Brett installed the chin up bar so we could do P90X properly. We haven't been as good as planned, but at least it's there. We even put a tv on the wall that swivels with a DVD player. It's a great little set up.

Anyway, we love our house. Thanks for joining me for the tour. Better yet, come visit!!! We had our first sleepover house guests EVER last weekend. If felt really good to have space to put them.

August!

2011-08-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well I survived, and we are in the new house. It's funny how quickly you can forget the nightmare you are in when you are in and settled. It really does seem like all the crazy didn't even happen.

We are in LOVE with our new place. I have increased motivation to keep it clean (it just looks so beautiful when it is) and we've organized the kids stuff to keep it in their own space and out of the way so it is more manageable.

We had to switch wards in church because of the boundaries in SP, but are happily settling in there as well. We were overwhelmed with friendly faces when we arrived, and feel included in the ward happenings.

I am totally NOT a decorator, evidenced by the 5 years it took to put things up in the condo, but one night when Brett was away I went to it. I measured and leveled and braved the holes in the wall and I'm pleasantly surprised that it is coming together. A little bit at a time seems to be the best advice. You don't need to go spend all this money to fully decorate your house because you may come across perfect pieces throughout your travels that would be better than what you bought earlier just to take up space. Not only that, but moving is expensive. So a little bit at a time works for my bank account as well.

My sister also moved this month. It is exciting to both have some extra space, and we have big plans to alternate Sunday dinners from now on to give my mom a break.

I am excited for summer to be done- don't get me wrong, I love the warm weather, but it's time to get back to a routine and on schedule. I have met a new friend that has motivated me to get my kids out of the house and to take advantage of the things available in our little town. We will be attending library programs, preschool, swimming lessons, and music class. Wyatt will be a busy boy, and I think a more content well rounded kid. I can't wait to get started.

I will re-tidy my house and take some pictures in order to post them next entry. Stay tuned!

ALSO- Kamry did our family photos last night and I can't wait to see how they turned out. I got my hair done the day of, which seems silly now, especially since I went for something totally new. It would be funny if I ended up not liking it and it only lasted a day, but had a permanent record on my wall :) Luckily I'm liking it more and more. I continue to check myself out in the mirrors I pass throughout my day just to decide what I think :) Dork!

This weekend happens to be my Brother in Law's wedding weekend. I can't wait! I love weddings!

I should have MUCH more to write about in the near future. Fingers crossed I get my act together.

Feeling Antsy...

2011-07-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

One summer a few years ago, Brett, Wyatt and I made the long trip to Oregon to visit Brett's dad's side of the family. We drove! It was an insanely long trip for me and my one year old son. Too many hours of time to fill with in-carseat entertainment. Anyway, we got 98% of the way there... like driving through Portland, Oregon to the smaller town that his aunt lived in, and I had HAD IT!!! I figured it would be better to turn around and drive all the way home than to survive one more hour in the car to our destination. Crazy I know, but I'm sure you've all been there.

This is how I'm feeling about my move. We load up the UHaul on Friday afternoon, and I have just about had it with the whole thing. I'm feeling ready to unpack all my boxes and just stay in our condo for a few more years- then try this again. Less drawn out next time.

Obviously that isn't going to happen. I have our house saved in my favorites on the comfree app on my phone, and so I can still see our house and the pictures. I remind myself daily what I'm working towards. Just a few more days, a few more days....

On another frustrating note... we did some home renos in our condo about 4 years ago. These included changing the carpet/lino to laminate, changing the baseboards and doors to white etc. After that work, we lost steam and didn't quite put the finishing touches on. SO... for the past few weeks I have spent countless hours painting and filling, adding knobs to our closets etc. All for someone else to enjoy because we won't be here. It actually looks really nice in here if you look past the boxes piling up. I really wish I had taken the time a few years ago to finish those details for us to enjoy.

Too cute!

2011-06-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

We bought Isla this backpack for her birthday so she would have a matching one to Wyatt's. It took a few years before Wyatt would willing wear his, but Isla carries hers around all day, and if I put it on her properly she just struts around the house showing it off. It is super cute, especially since she has to wear it empty or she'll tip over. It's practically the same size as her.

Exciting news!

2011-06-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

In the Fixsen family there are 5 boys, and so far there are 4 sister in laws. We all get along so well, and it is a nice dynamic. We have been waiting for the 5th sister in law to join the ranks.

Here she is... Jaclyn Stringham will marry Cody on September 3rd! We can't wait to have her join our family!!!

Happy Birthday Wyatt

2011-06-30T17:44:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by saying this was my very first kid birthday party, and may very well be my last :)

I have been reminded however, that it's all about the birthday boy and his fabulous memories ( no matter how wild) of his birthday party.

Wyatt did NOT want to turn 4! He thought it was a scary thing, and when I introduced the idea of a party he said "No Thank you." After some persuasion we got ourselves organized and planned his very first friend party. We invited his primary class, and then a few extra friends that he spends the most time with. We had a fabulous turn out- and for those friends who couldn't come- we missed you, but didn't. :)

I planned the party around Wyatt. He loves dinosaurs (this was his third consecutive dinosaur party) and he loves crafts. So my mom and I went around the dollar stores in the city looking for these plaster dinosaur molds that you make into magnets or pins. Good idea in concept- CRAZY idea for a party with 12- 3 and 4 year olds!!! Lesson 1 learned :) Luckily I had extra hands to help with the mixing, pouring, placing.... adults did it all actually.
When we set them aside to dry, we played a couple games. My dear friend SH is a MASTER party planner and the most creative person I know. So, even though we missed her and her daughter at the party, she had given me these FABULOUS ideas for something new to add to our dino party. This picture above is me trying to explain the rules to "musical dino feet". They each got a dinosaur footprint, and were to dance around to the music, and when the music stopped jump onto a foot and whoever didn't get a foot was out- sounds familiar right? sounds pretty simple right? Not so much!!! They just stood on top of their own dinosaur foot, and when I tried to take one away I was met with disappointment and confusion.
The last game we played was a HIT!!! But still crazy. I hosted the party at the church, as we are not in our house yet and needed a little bit more room. The church was perfect, but maybe a little too much room. We played what time is it Mister/Miss Dinosaur. It went well, as we took turns being the dinosaur, and the rest of the kids LOVED running away screaming when it was 'lunchtime'. It was just a big gym, A LOT of loud screaming, and A LOT of kids that didn't want to re-convene for another round. It was still fun! Next time I'll bring my whistle. (if there is a next time :) )
I simplified the cake and had dinosaur green cupcakes with a little dinosaur figurine on top. Easy!

After cake we finished our craft by painting, and then played a few more rounds of Mr. Dinosaur until the parents came.

Wyatt was spoiled by all his little friends, and I think they all had a good time. I think it was hard to have all these little ones and feel very out of control. When I teach I feel like I can handle a lot more kids, but it's different- more structured and a few years older. After the party was over and cleaned up I could have slept for days.

My Mother in Law says a good rule is you can have as many friends as the age you are turning. Next year I may try that :)

HUGE thanks to my husband, parents, sister and some parent helpers that stayed. I could NOT have done it without you!!!

Happy Birthday Isla

2011-06-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

We have a busy birthday week in our family. Isla's birthday is the 22, and Wyatt's the 25th. We are moving into our new house on the first of August, but we didn't want to wait that long for the parties. We are lucky enough to fabulous family who willing allowed us to party in their place. We just had a family get together (which isn't small) and ordered in Thai food from the King and I. My mother in law made a delicious cake and we celebrated our beautiful girl. What a great evening!

She was in a 'mood' all day, but when it came to presents she was hamming it up for her guests. What a sweetie!

June

2011-06-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to... I have been postponing a post because we had potentially exciting news, and then it became official exciting news and I didn't have a minute to sit down.

We bought a house! It is in Summerwood in Sherwood Park. Best parts... a garage and a basement.

We love our little condo (most of the time) but we are just exploding out the doors and windows. We have stuff stored at Micheal and Heather's, my parents, and we still don't fit. A lot of junk! I can't wait to have some storage, and I can't wait to be forced to pack up this place, so I can go through every little thing and decide if we need it. I can imagine that the new house will not stay clutter free for long, but I have every intention of keeping it beautiful.

We move August 1. Another exciting thing, we already found a renter for the condo. Brett is a big "investment" guy, and so we've decided to keep this property as just that... an investment. I will post pictures once we are in and settled. The pictures I have now are of the current owners things. I have big plans for this place already, I will have to be patient as we save up money to add furnishings and such, but it will definitely not take as long this time around to at least put some pictures up. ( We were in the condo over 4 years before I put anything on the wall) I wasn't confident in my interior design skills to know how to place them. This time around, maybe I'll hire professional help :)

This month is also a big one in our family. Wyatt turns 4, and Isla turns 1. There will be posts about their birthdays soon.

Isla Byla

2011-05-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to remember to pull out my camera a lot more. I'm happy that we are recording these moments in out lives, because my babies are growing up way too fast. Here are some recent ones of my beautiful girl.

Windy day out in the yard.
Blue Sucker!Spaghetti!

Always a mess :)

Isla is almost 11 months already. She has taken her first few steps and nothing slows her down. She loves her brother best and they play so well together. She loves to make a mess, and constantly takes every book off the shelf. She gives the very best kisses, and has just started to enjoy cuddling. We LOVE her so much!

Soccer Star!

2011-05-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

Wyatt had his first soccer game on Saturday. This is his first season of playing, and so it was his FIRST game ever! He has a cute little team, and has a few of his primary friends on his team as well. It should be a great season.

I had HIGH hopes for my little man. He has a good kick, and likes to run around in the backyard. This picture is from their warm up.

Then the game started....TORTURE!!! This was one crazy mom on the sidelines, trying to "encourage" her son to participate in the game. He was walking around, picking flowers... he was tired, or hungry or didn't understand what he was supposed to do.

Half time pep talk from his super athletic father. Watching was painful for me, must have been worse for Brett who can actually play sports well. :)

Best part was the popsicle snack at half time. During the second part of the game Brett convinced me to go out onto the field and help Wyatt get into position/ talk him through the things he should do etc. Didn't help. We have big plans for A LOT of practice this week before our next game on Saturday.

Swords.

2011-05-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

I bought Wyatt a foam Nerf sword when he was 2. The warning on the label says for ages 6 and up, and for good reason. The reason we got them early was because Wyatt was using the tubes from inside wrapping paper, and they continued to break, and I only had so many rolls of wrap...

Fast forward a year, and a few incidences with rogue swords and we have come a long way. Wyatt still loves his sword, as does his dad, and any other little boy that happens upon them in our house. Yesterday that little boy was my nephew Edward.

Gotta love little boys!

Mother's Day- Postponement

2011-05-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

I like the above picture the best, but my camera wasn't in the right mode. I added it to show that they do smile :)

Here are my beautiful babies on Mother's day. They make their mother proud- they clean up pretty well. See them on any other day and they are still cute, just in a messy, bed headed kind of way.

I decided this year to postpone my Mother's day. My husband is on shut down and was at work all day and so I spent this mother's day as a mother- and I don't think that is how it is supposed to be.

Isla was up all night- and is most nights, but because of Brett's crazy work hours, her and I spend a lot of time together in the dark hours of the night on an air mattress on her floor. She is teething, poor girl, and so we are both not sleeping.

Wyatt wakes up at the first sign of morning- 6am. and so there was no "sleeping in" today, so we were up and ready for church.

Church was a little crazy because Isla had been up all night, she was over tired. And because I had been up all night I was very cranky- not the type of mother to be celebrated I'm afraid. Wyatt however preformed in his first primary song, and even had a little speaking part (M is for Marvelous) So sweet- it brought tears to my eyes.

We spent the afternoon at my mom's which was very nice. She is a Marvelous Mom!!! My sister brought dinner, which was delicious, and we had a nice evening. She too is a Marvelous Mom!!!

The day finished off with baby poop on my white skirt, and boogers all over my shirt. A sure sign of a hard working mom if I've ever seen any.

When this shut down is over I have day dreams of sleeping in, a couple naps, breakfast in bed... you know the typical way to show mom how much they are appreciated.

I should say though, that Wyatt and I had a nice "mom's night" at pre-school earlier in the week where he made me a beautiful beaded necklace with his name on it. And Mother's Day eve, I went for a long run with my lovely sister in law, and had the house to myself to clean up the grime that I seem to run out of time for when I'm keeping after my kids. I LOVE a clean house! and really don't mind cleaning when I can just do it, without worrying about my kids in the process.

Silence

2011-04-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Anyone else out there miss silence?

I adore my kids, but boy are they loud!

Wyatt currently has an ear wax problem, and it seems to have heightened the issue of his loud speaking. He feels the need to talk through every aspect of everything, or I hear him quoting movies, or when there isn't anything he can think of to say, he just makes up nonsense.

Isla is quite the chatterbox herself, and when she's not talking happily, she is crawling after my legs whining.

It's all part of the joys of babyhood, toddlerhood, and preschoolerhood... but some days I am just dying for some sweet moments of silence.

Maybe that is why kids are so IRRESISTIBLE when they are sleeping!

Swings

2011-04-29T11:26:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to share some cute pics of my kids on the swings. I can't get enough of these two and their smiling faces.

In other news, my mom has lost 40 pounds! She looks fabulous and we are all very proud!!!

90 days without sweets.

2011-04-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

My husband is a little extreme sometimes... after he got back from his trip to Phoenix in early March he came up with this great idea to go on a 90 day fast of all things sweet. (This idea came after we binged on all the American chocolate he brought back)

Terms of the deal were we went 90 days without dessert, CHOCOLATE, ice cream, candy etc. and if we succeeded we got to pick out an item from Lululemon. My first thought was that I'd rather have the chocolate than the new item, but them realized that I may really have a severe problem that I should work on.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!! It is my go to comfort food when I'm irritated with my children, had a hard day at work or just need that little taste of sweet after a meal. Trouble is, I can't control myself. If I could just have a chocolate bar in the freezer and just have a square here or there when needed, I'd be thrilled. BUT I just can't stop!

Example, Brett bought some chocolate covered almonds from COSTCO (so we all know how many we're talking about) and they sat on my laundry room pantry shelf. If they hadn't have been open I'd be fine, but the bag was open so every time I went into the pantry- doing laundry, getting breakfast, lunch, snacks for the kids, I'd sneak a few. I couldn't see them without having a few. Wasn't that long before there weren't any left.

Back to our diet. I was doing really well... I was proud of my ability to avoid, and pass up all things sweet. Heather and I went to our running room weekend, and it was a physical struggle to keep myself in my chair and avoid the dessert table. One side of my brain fought with the other over one little dessert not killing anyone, but it was the principle of it, so I abstained.

We've given ourselves 3 strikes in the 90 days. One was chocolate fondue at the melting pot- Very worth it.

Then Easter became a free for all. My mom gifted us a family sized bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs. My VERY FAVORITE Easter treat. I ended up eating most of the bag. Same trouble as the almonds, a couple here and there through the day and the bag is empty. I'm disappointed in myself for lack of self control, but it's re- motivated me for the rest of our fast to get this under control, because as of now, not so much.

I'm still struggling, ( I took a bite today of a chocolate rabbit of Wyatts, and spit it out- frustrated with myself for being so weak) I would love some chocolate right now just thinking about it, but I have a problem.

My name is Leslie, and I have a chocolate addiction!

Why is this so hard?!

2011-04-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out how to get myself "into" this whole blogging thing. Don't get me wrong, I like that I have a blog, I love that I can read everyone else's updates, but to find a second to sit down, and write seems to be the tough part. Priorities I guess, I'm going to try better... I've said it before, and most likely will again, but I'm impressed by those people who post often- like daily... I doubt I have enough to say for that, but I'd really like to have a full record of my life with two little ones.

Great example of my life right now, as I sit and type my 3 year old son says " your eye brows look mad" It must take some serious concentration and a furrowed brow to get this done.

We have been enjoying the spring weather. Bubbles in the back yard, bike riding, parks. It was such a long winter, and there really won't be that much warm weather before it hits us again. Sad thought, but if it motivates us to get out while we can then that is what we'll do.

I've been doing some running lately. I always hated running, it was hard and never felt like I was getting the "runners high" that I'd heard about. My sister in law is the best, and we have a pretty compatible pace, and so we've been working hard together to get to a decent distance. As of just last year we were pretty happy with 5K... now we've made it to 10K and I'm seriously considering training for a half marathon. Can't be that hard right? It would be even better if I got to travel somewhere great to run it. Brett is super supportive, maybe he'll get into it too. Anyways, I am now LOVING running. I still love the drop in classes at Millenium- they give my butt a good kick when I'm able to go, but I think I'm going to concentrate on running this summer and see how far I can get.

Brett is working a 6 week long shut down at work right now. It has limited the amount that I can teach, because our childcare trade offs are on hold till he's done. We lucked out with him working days only this time, but it's still a long day for him and for us at home. It's insane work hours- 13 hours per day, and they work 12 straight before he gets a sad 2 days off. Should be illegal!

Well I'm feeling a little caught up. I'm going to be back tomorrow and try some more :)

DISNEY

2011-03-31T12:48:00.000-07:00

Disneyland/California Adventure Park did not disappoint. We had 3 days to spend there and filled them up well. We had the park hopper pass, so spent the first day in California Adventure, the second day mostly in Disneyland and then spent the third day hopping back and forth depending on what Wyatt was interested in.

Here is sleeping beauty's castle. WAY smaller that you would imagine. I guess it does have to fit in the park though.

We didn't meet many characters this trip. Wyatt was a little nervous about them, and I hadn't realized that you have to stand in line to meet them like you would wait for a ride. I think maybe next time we go Isla will be older and I'll encourage her to meet a princess or two, but the only characters we met and took pictures with were ones we stumbled upon as they were setting up their line, so we didn't really have to wait.

We waited to go to Disney until Wyatt was 40 Inches tall. That meant he couldn't ride about 95% of the rides whether he was interested in them or not. He was pretty nervous about a lot of them, but I think he still enjoyed himself. We tried to be completely honest with him, and Brett and I were able to have a good sense of what he'd be able to handle and what would freak him out too badly.

I was in awe of how well maintained Disney is. Obviously they see thousands of visitors weekly, and things must get worn down, but everything looks brand new. Brett and Jeremy figure they have a full time paint staff that just repaints the park constantly.

Mickey's toon town. It was unreal, you could barely tell where the real sky started.

Our two favorite rides, above is a Buzz Lightyear ride, where you have a lazer gun and shoot the alien target and Zurg.

Below was Toy Story Midway Mania. 3-D ride, where you are in a ride car, and you pull up to a number of different screens where you play midway games with your little gun. ex. breaking plates with a ball, popping balloons with darts. It is very well done! It always had the longest line though.

I got some flack for liking the jungle cruise, but the tour guide did a good job of making it entertaining with corny jokes and cheesy lines. I thought he was hilarious. The rest didn't agree with me.
Autopia. Wyatt should have been able to drive this car by himself, but he had some trouble, that and it kept stalling on us. The gas petal was difficult to press, and when Wyatt gets ahold of a steering wheel he just twists back and forth really fast. We weren't getting anywhere!
A bugs life 4D show. Wyatt was not a fan of the 4D. You watch the movie in 3D and then they squirt water, or blow air as the 4th dimension. "It's tough to be a bug" was a little intense, and Wyatt and Brett left, but they are just so clever with the things they think of. A must see! On our last day we went back just so Brett could go watch it alone while I waited with the kids.
We took turns on the rides. Brett and Jeremy would go wait in line and get a "parent swap" pass. When they were finished, they'd take over watching the kids and Chantal and I would take the pass and were allowed in the fast pass line, getting us right to the front. It is a really great system.The whole trip Wyatt told everyone that would listen about the dragon he was going to see at Disneyland. Everyone seemed confused, thinking there wouldn't be one. We looked, and looked, and this is all we found. BUT- Wyatt was THRILLED!!!

We had such a great time with the Chiu's! They were perfect traveling companions, and were interested in doing the same things. Even on days when we spent time apart, we always ended up running into each other- we thought a lot alike. It was always very comfortable, and we were happy to be together, and were o.k if we ever wanted to spent time apart. PERFECT!

We will definitely be back!

Newport Beach

2011-03-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

Sunday we checked out of hotel #1 and drove the 2 hour trip to Anaheim. We took the scenic route up the coast, and stopped in Newport Beach for lunch. We were in a quiet little spot on the beach and just played in the sand. California really is a beautiful place. Our first hotel was located right off the freeway, and so whenever we had to go somewhere we just hopped onto this HUGE highway with 12 lanes of traffic across. The first 6 days of our trip we didn't see any communities, or really get a feel for the area- just the I5. Once we drove through some cities on the way to Anaheim, and especially when we spent a few days in Anaheim just walking around it became more of a place I thought I could spend some time.

San Diego Temple

2011-03-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Our pictures do not do the beauty of this temple any kind of justice, but when we went to explore temple grounds the sun had already set a while ago, and the flash/ no flash in the dark just doesn't work out well.

This temple is my very FAVORITE. We had big plans before leaving for California to go and do a session as couples by trading off childcare. Once there, we realized that wasn't going to be as easy as we had initially thought, so decided to skip it. I was so disappointed, so decided one morning, that if I had to, I was going to go by myself. Brett was super supportive, and very encouraging and willing to watch the kids while I went etc.

Chantal decided she'd like to join me, so we were able to enter this beautiful building and spend some time. Let me say, it is more beautiful on the inside! It was a highlight of my trip for sure!

That afternoon, we went to Old Town San Diego to the Mormon Battalion Historical something or other. I missed the program because Isla didn't want to sit quietly, but the rest of the crew said it was really well done.

For dinner that night we had some authentic mexican food, (one thing I was looking forward to in the states) Delicious!

The Beach

2011-03-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

The day we chose to go to the beach started off windy and COLD. We chose to visit La Jolla coves because we had read that it was quiet and kid friendly. They had some interesting tide pools that we were able to check out, and Brett and Jeremy actually took a quick dip in the ocean. The boys loved building a sand castle, and returning the washed up sea weed to the ocean (feeding the ocean).

It really turned into a beautiful day when the sun came out and the wind died down. One of our favorite days in California. Just relaxing without a busy schedule to follow.

Checking out the tide pools, there were thousands of little hermit crabs moving around. We didn't see any star fish though :(

The girls got along just as well as the boys did!

Isla helping to warm up her dad after his ocean swim. There was a seal/ sea lion ( I don't know which) that was super friendly and came right up to the shore, and was swimming really close to another man that was in the water. It was crazy!

Feeding the ocean!

My baby girl loved California. I think we better go back!

This is how the day concluded. Gorgeous!

Day 4- San Diego Zoo

2011-03-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

We did A LOT of walking over the 12 days we were gone. On day 3 we went outlet shopping. It was a little disappointing. I had big dreams of big deals, and barely being able to fit our finds into our suitcases, but shopping with two young kids is just not that fun.

These boys got along so well! They are so much alike as well, some of the things that Jonah would say I could hear coming out of Wyatt's mouth.

It is a HUGE zoo. The map was a little daunting, and they didn't have a really smart way to see the whole thing, but in the 8 hours we were there we ended up seeing the whole thing. On the drive there I asked Wyatt what he wanted to see the most, he said the Tiger... So at the end of the day, even though Isla and I were DONE, we made one last trek to find the tiger. We got up to the 'cage' and he was way up in the top and we could only see his head. Such a disappointment!

Wyatt making sure we didn't miss the Alligators, and the tiger.

We were very happy that Isla became a good little napper in the bjorn. She was a trooper!

We were picture crazy for a lot of the trip. Brett held one and I held one. We ended up with a lot of pictures, but even looking at them now it seems like the whole vacation was a dream.

Feeding on the run, we were quite the pair her and I.

The zoo was a great day, but on the way home we asked Wyatt his favorite part... he said he enjoyed his little nap the best. These places were great, but not really for my boy. He was into the interaction aspect of the trip, so I couldn't wait to get to Disney.

Day 2- Sea World

2011-03-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

When we decided to go on a family vacation we decided on the Southern California City Pass. It includes a day a Sea World, a day at the Zoo, Universal Studios and 3 Disney days. It was a great choice for our first trip to California, but we may skip out on the non-Disney stuff next time. Wyatt wasn't overly interested, and it made for a VERY packed trip.

We LUCKED out and were able to travel with the Chiu family. They have two kids very close in age to ours, and are just a wonderful little family to spend time with. I can't imagine a better choice. We were comfortable enough to tag along, but we were all aware that it was just fine to have some family time as well. The reason it is wonderful to travel with another family when you have really young kids is... you can trade off for rides. We were all able to go on all the rides and attractions we were interested in, and always had a companion to go with. PERFECT!

Isla was a great little vacationeer. She didn't like the stroller as much as I had hoped she would, but it turned out that Wyatt needed it more than we expected. Isla and I spend a lot of time together- her in the bjorn and me toting her around. Wyatt and his dad did a lot of fun things together too. Sea World has this great climbing area, and park. Brett was right in there on everything he could stomach. We knew before we went that Brett and I were no longer very good with rides, but we survived better than expected, and traded off riding when necessary. What a team!

The shamu show was amazing. A LOT of splashing (I don't think the trainers are allowed in the water anymore) but it was very neat to see.

A LONG day, but fun! The kids were exhausted every day of our trip. It was busy!

San Diego- Day 1

2011-03-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

I was trying to upload a bunch of pictures, but it isn't working very well... so I'm going to post more entries with less photos each, and hopefully that will fix the glitch. I've been procrastinating these posts because it's such a pain to upload pictures, but what is a holiday without sharing some of the 1000 pics we took.

Kids on a plane! They were such great travelers. They were entertained by movies and games on the Ipad, or sleeping. Wyatt was a little bit nervous during take off- he said his tummy felt nervous. We held hands and it was over before he knew it. He slept during descent and that was perfect. (Descent is my least favorite part- I puked for the first time on a plane during our descent into New York. Most embarrassing moment of my LIFE- so far)

We flew into LA and had to drive a few hours to our hotel in San Diego. This was our first stop on the trip. Isla had had enough, so we took a quick stop for some fresh air and to stretch our legs. We were very excited to see the ocean, and NO SNOW!

That evening before bed we took a quick dip in the hot tub. It was a wonderful first day.

pictures

2011-02-04T16:53:00.000-08:00

Visiting Aunt Willi's restaurant. They make the BEST breakfast ever. Perfect eggs and crispy bacon every time. Delicious.
Waiting for some food. Isla is the BEST eater. I nice change from her brother who happens to be the pickiest person on the planet.
Cute, Cute, Cute. I feel guilty because even though we have ALOT of pictures of Isla, we have a lot less than we have of Wyatt when he was a baby. Picture taking has slowed down in general, but I want to make an effort to take more.
Clean from the bath. What a beauty.
My parents and their grand babies. We are lucky to have them so close.

A monthly occurance

2011-02-04T16:34:00.001-08:00

Wow, this year is flying by. I feel like I just caught up on the blog... and another month has past.

January was a great start to the year. It always feels good to start fresh, make big plans, and reflect on what has happened.

Every year Brett makes the big announcement that it's time to sit down and make some goals. For some reason I think I escaped this year though because thinking about it now I can't remember the things we've decided to work on. (could be due to lack of sleep lately) Our goals seem to remain the same every year though. Work out, save money, be good etc. etc.

The year/ month was kick started with the resolution run! It was so great to do my first fun race. The weather was perfect, the company couldn't have been better, and it was fun to finish. Definitely put me in the mood to sign up for other races, as well as keep running.

Brett and I have been working, (him definitely more than I) but it is great when I get the chance to go and teach. He is a SUPER dad when he's home with the kids, and it's an enjoyable experience to go out to work when I know the kids are having such a great time with their dad. Brett is the most supportive husband, and we are really getting into the grove of being a team lately. It feels good.

The most exciting news of the year so far is our upcoming trip to disneyland. We are lucky enough to get to travel with some good friends the Chiu's who have children of similar ages, and who we get along with too. I think it's going to be FANTASTIC. We are leaving for 11 nights and will spend the first 6 in San Diego seeing the beach, the zoo and sea world- and most importantly shopping. Then we'll head to Anaheim for the last part of our trip for some serious Disney time. Wyatt and I have a paper chain for a count down and it is really coming quick.

We spent last weekend in Airdrie to visit Clay and Julia and the kids. We hadn't meant their newest baby James, and we were lucky enough to be around for his blessing day. It is always a great time when we visit. Wyatt plays so well with the girls, and we all have a big slumber party. It was nice to go even for a few days away.

We have been trying to sleep train Isla for the past couple weeks and we are having some success. We can now lay her down for nap and bed time and she will only cry for a couple minutes before putting herself to sleep. Next step is getting her to sleep through the night after she gets to sleep. We are still working on that, but may have to wait till we get back from California before we do anything really serious.

Well I'll try to write again before it becomes another month of catch up, but there are no promises. It always seems daunting to blog and write, along with uploading pictures, but once I finally sit down and get it done it's no big deal.

Christmas

2010-12-29T10:23:00.001-08:00

Who wouldn't have the very best Christmas with these two cuties!! What a December we had, so busy but so much fun!

In between BJ and I working throughout the month, we also squeezed in the following...

Dec. 4- Suncor kids Christmas party- it was held at the Telus World of Science. I went with the kids and my MIL because BJ had to work. It was lots of fun with a hotdog lunch, presents for the kids, and Imax movie and then access to the normal Science centre stuff. It was great because the company is so big, I could go with the kids and just blend in without feeling out of place because the Suncor employee wasn't with us. I think we'll do that again next year!

Dec. 8- Chantal and I hosted a baby shower for Melanie and her new baby boy. It was a pretty good turn out for a busy month and we were able to help celebrate her new addition. I was happy Chantal helped host it with me because I'm totally not a party planner.

(Dean and IA after the shower- both ready to go home to bed )

9th was our Relief Society Christmas party. We were fed very well (Dogan's Lemon Chicken is one of my FAVORITE FOODS in the world) and the musical numbers were beautiful. Makes me wish I had some kind of musical talent, but I definitely appreciate that of others.

10th- Our ward Christmas party. Fun to socialize- first Turkey dinner of the season. I cooked a HUGE bag of potatoes and mashed/ whipped them. I make a mean mashed potato!

11th- Fixsen Family Christmas. Turkey dinner #2- It was so nice to have the WHOLE family together. We have become quite the bunch, but all the kids get along so well, and the brothers and their wifes are all dear friends it is definitely a highlight of the year when we get to spend time together.

(People tell us that IA looks just like BJ- there are times when I can see it but I'd like to think she looks like me!)

(The Fixsen parents)

14th- We went with our dear friends the Dogan's to the Leg. to look at the lights. It was a beautifully mild winter evening and the lights were beautiful. I love how kids are just amazed my Christmas lights. They even allow you inside for hot chocolate and live entertainment.

(Chubby, rosy cheeks- can't get much cuter)

(These boys get along so well- all boy- rough and tumble but they are going to continue to be dear friends)

15th- WW had his preschool Christmas concert. SO cute I wanted to cry. All the songs were in french, but their little actions and them belting out the few words they knew got the message across perfectly. My little guy is growing up!

Only downside of the concert was the -20+ weather outside, not opening the doors till 6:10pm on the dot (pretty crazy) and all the parents and their toddlers freezing outside waiting to be let in. I'm so glad I left Isla at home because BJ would have be furious if our infant was turned into a babysicle like some of the other screaming babies waiting in line.

(I teared up when they all walked out and got on stage. He was so brave- 300 people were watching)

17th- WW's preschool Christmas party- I volunteered and enjoyed a morning of preschool fun. It's nice to be a mostly stay at home parent in order to be able to participate in such things.

( I snuck this one in so you could see the beautiful "bitty baby" IA got for Christmas. I've wanted one since I saw them at the American Girl Doll Place in New York)

18th- Suncor Adult Christmas party- Turkey dinner #3- BJ is an Operator at the refinery, and the Operators typically don't attend such functions where the "big guys" party. This year we decided to go along with a couple other guys from BJ's crew. It was a great night out just the two of us, fun company and we even danced a little bit. I have been trying to think back over the past 5+ years of marriage and I don't think BJ and I have danced a slow song ever as a married couple. CRAZY. It was fun. We even danced some fast songs and looked silly, but as long as we look silly together- Right? It was a good night. We don't get out as a couple very much anymore. We have a new years resolution to go on a date once a month this next year, that will be a good start.

23rd- Annual Live Nativity and Thai food night. We started this last year and it was top of the list to add to the calendar this year. We all go out to Spruce Grove to watch the live nativity- (live animals and everything) and then back to Mike and Heather's for Thai Food from the King and I. DELICIOUS!!!

(Grandpa and Edward snuggling after the busy night)

24th- Christmas Eve we are going to start spending alone as a small Fixsen unit. We were lucky to see our dear friends Anita and Greg who were home visiting family for the holidays. It was nice to catch up for a few hours and we look forward to sometime soon when we can go visit them in Ottawa. We decided WW needed some lessons on giving instead of getting so we made some nuts and bolts and delivered them to 15 families we thought of (Home teaching/ visiting teaching, family etc. ) It was nice for WW to give the gifts before he got some.

25th- Early morning at our house- BJ and I didn't give gifts to each other this year because we tend to go overboard all year- but even though I had nothing to open under our tree I still couldn't sleep. I ended up waking WW up and getting the party started. He was pretty excited to see what Santa brought him and was very willing to help IA open all her gifts too. After our place we went to my parents for stocking and presents. We ended up spending the day there, my brother was up from Calgary and my kids had a great time bonding with Uncle Kevy- We miss him a lot now that he lives away, so we try to make the best of the time we can see him.

Dinner Turkey #4 was DELICIOUS as usual. There is nothing better than the Turkey, gravy, stuffing etc that you are most familiar with- Mom's!!!

30th- BJ and I went on our first date (tried to beat the New Years rush but still ended up waiting over an hour for a table) Out to the KEG one of our very favorite restaurants (probably because we get gift cards from work :) ) It was delicious, great food, great company, great evening. I can't wait for the rest of our dates this next year!!!

Slacker

2010-11-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have been such a lazy blogger lately. I still enjoy reading others, and hope there is someone out there that is reading mine along with my dear friend SH.

These beautiful babies are keeping me busy lately. IA is growing so fast, and had the most perfect chubby checks and thunder thighs. She is a great eater, and a pretty good sleeper. She got sick when she was 3 months, and it lasted for the next two. I'm not even exaggerating, poor little thing just couldn't kick the cold. It never got worse than a cold, but a stuffy nosed baby is one of the saddest things. She is naturally a very content baby, so she remained her happy self through it all.
WW just adores his sister, and the feeling is definitely mutual. They love to spend time together, and IA is immediately happy whenever he comes into the room. I really hope that this continues as they get older. I feel like I'm way closer to my siblings now than I ever have been, I wish we had always been this close.
I'm just catching up here randomly. The above is my best bud SH making chocolates with me. My ward had a super saturday and this was my suggestion. I've always wanted to learn, if only I had known how much work it is. It truly is an art. It may be years before I have the time and patience to really try this again.
Halloween has come and gone and these are my sweet babies in their costumes, I should dress IA up again to get a better picture. She was a cute flower, and WW was a caterpillar. Thanks to my sister and her last minute costume save. I had planned for WW to be a dinosaur again, but two nights before his preschool party we decided we maybe should dig out the costume and try it on and it was WAY too small. We searched all the next day for something great, and came up with a borrowed costume that he adored.

Sherwood Park has this great new library. We love books and going to the library. This is our first visit as a family. IA loved it. WW always loved books as a baby, hopefully IA will have the same love.
IA tried rice cereal a couple days ago. She loves to eat, and she happily transferred to the semi-solid variety. She has been super interested in what we are eating, so we took the leap. It was a couple weeks earlier than suggested, but we started WW early and he turned out great!
Look how big this girl is getting. I love all her Sunday dresses. I should try and take a picture each week, because at this rate she will only get to wear each one once. She grows fast, plus she has soo many beautiful ones to chose from.
I somehow lost WW winter coat. So we went out and bought a new one with trendy little boots to match. I love how cute he looks, plus it's keeping him warm during these freezing Alberta days.
Speaking of freezing days, above is a fort WW and I made during a minus 30 day. Something out of the ordinary to break up a home day. He loved it.
These next two are pics of our dear family friend's babies. IA and TD are only a couple months apart in age and will hopefully be close friends. BJ and I just love this family. It's not easy finding couple friends when you are married. We just love spending time together, our kids are close in age, and they make the best food!!
Well I'm randomly caught up for now. We are getting all ready for Christmas and have a busy month ahead. Should be fun as a little family of 4. We got the tree up today, but that will have to be another post. IA is teething and needs some attention:)

Dentist

2010-10-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

We took WW to the dentist today for the first time. I was so proud of my little man!!! He sat in the big chair all by himself, and let the dental assistant clean his teeth, and then the dentist check and count his teeth. We have read the little critter book about the dentist to WW, and he was a little concerned that he might need a needle, but we're all clear for another year. I can't believe what a big kid he is becoming!

Manners

2010-10-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

This morning WW was demanding a drink, I asked where his manners were... he told me they were 'playing hide and seek'

Later this morning, I needed a helper to run and grab a kleenex for a booger baby, and I asked WW where my good helper was... he said he was 'playing hide and seek too'

I'm interested in finding out who else is playing today- my good eater seems to be involved as well!

Family Picture

2010-09-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

We went out today to enjoy the beautiful fall day and to take some family photos with another Fixsen family. It was quite the production to get even one good picture of each of our families. It's always worth the attempt though.

This is my favorite, it's the one I look best in... that's all that matters right?

Preschool

2010-09-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

Before leaving for school his very first day.

My baby boy has started his first year of preschool. We have him enrolled in a french immersion program and are so excited about this big step in his little life. Last week on Tuesday I got to go with him for his first day to ease him in, and get him used to the routine. It was nice to meet the teacher and other parents, and to see WW interact in a fairly formal setting. He did great! There were a few times when I got teary watching him, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well he followed along, and paid attention.

Friday of that week was his first "real" day. I was at work so it was BJ that took him to drop him off. It worked well because BJ is much tougher than I am(not in a strict sense, but I knew BJ wouldn't cry or have trouble if WW started crying ), and I was concerned that WW wasn't going to want to stay there by himself. When I called home on my lunch break to see how it went BJ said WW just gave him a big kiss and hug and ran in to the class. When he got home he told us all about his day and his favorite part "glitter glue"!

His special job for the day was line leader.

This week I took him to drop him off. We brought his little backpack, changed into indoor shoes and waited for the door to open. When it did, WW was about to run in, when I reminded him that I needed a kiss goodbye. He turned around, rolled his eyes and gave me a quick peck before running into the classroom. I thought it would be tough to leave him if he was upset about staying without me, it was just as hard to see that he DIDN'T need me. I'm so happy with the school, program and teachers. It is so great for WW to have this little thing that is special for him that he loves.

Outside his locker. Each kid is assigned an animal for the year incase they don't recognize their name yet. WW is a firefighting dalmatian.

Another fun thing about school is that we have been practicing some of his french words at home with him, and he is pretty good at pronunciation. It's just funny when he will tell me a gibberish french word he has made up but he is adamant that he's right.

Snack time, this is what worried me most about preschool. WW is such a picky eater and he just gets the snack that is brought for the day. Each family takes turns bringing enough snack for the whole class. I was blown away the day I took him to school because he opened his snack and ate the whole thing without a fuss. It sounds like that has been the case every school day since as well. Way to go WW!!

Jurassic Forest.

2010-09-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

We finally made our way out to Gibbons last week to check out the new Jurassic Forest in the area. We had been told by a few people that when they first heard about the place they knew they had to let me know about it... WW is a well known dinosaur lover around here. It was about half hour away from home and worth the trek!

Above is WW at the gate. That expression on his face pretty much says it all. He was SOOO excited to be there. We went with his cousin and some friends, and left daddy and IA at home. It was a special day for him and I.

It is such a great place, they have complimentary wagons to use, you are allowed to bring in your own snacks, and once you are through the gate you move around at your own pace. We went on a Thursday after school was back in, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. I even bought a year pass, so we can go lots... Anyone interested in going, we'd love to come.

WW and I were trying to sneak up on the dinosaurs, it was such a beautiful place all surrounded by trees and flowers... best part... very few bugs!
We would highly recommend you check out these dinos. We'll be back soon for sure!

A family trip

2010-08-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Calgary this past week. It was a quick trip but we managed to have a lot of fun while we were there. We drove down Tuesday to Airdrie to stay with my brother and sister in law and their girls. That afternoon we went to Calaway park. It is the first time I've ever been, but will definitely be going back. WW was so brave, I was amazed. He went on the bumper cars, the airplanes, boat ride, roller coaster, pirate ship and the log ride. He was with the girls so he had a lot of fun.

I went with him on the pirate ship, which is just like the boat at WEM that just goes back and forth. WW was so scared on the ride, I almost cried watching him. He was gripping the bars so tight, and was focused straight ahead with this look of fear in his eyes. Then anytime the boat went forward his whole little body would shake. So sad. The other rides were a bit better, he'd look pretty serious on the ride until he would pass us and we'd yell his name to take a picture, then he'd give us his biggest smile.

The log ride was the last ride of the day. WW was a little more apprehensive of the bigger rides, but they tricked him into thinking it was a dinosaur ride. He also ended up at the very front of the boat and got absolutely soaked. Poor little man was ready to go home by then.

IA was such a trooper on the whole trip. I couldn't have been more pleased. She was very friendly, and slept anytime we were in the car. Perfect!

Wednesday the boys took the kids swimming at the rec centre in Airdrie. What a great pool. All the kids had a lot of fun and were tuckered out by the end of the day. That night was WW's big show. We bought him tickets to "Walking with Dinosaurs" for his birthday. He has waited and waited for his big day to arrive and was able to go with his dad to see the life size dinosaurs. I guess it was a great show.

While they did that, IA and I went to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend for dinner- have I ever mentioned how much I hate driving in Calgary. It gives me grey hair. We went to a great place called Open Sesame and enjoyed some time together. - My brother and I were super close but since he's moved to Calgary a few years ago I feel like we aren't as tight. It was nice to just get together and visit- it was also nice to get to know his girlfriend a little more.

Thursday we hit up the Balzac mall and came home. It was a great trip, but it's always nice to be home. These girls are WW beautiful cousins. They just loved IA and were a great help, always ready with the soother.

Friday was BJ and my 5 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. He surprised me and set up a babysitter, and took me out to the Hardware Grill. It is delicious food- a little pricey, but once a year is definitely worth the splurge. I am looking forward to the next 5 and seeing what we do with ourselves and our little family.

A crazy couple weeks.

2010-08-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

We had such a busy July. We were adjusting to being a family of 4, and there was just alot we packed into the month.

BJ went to boys camp after coming off his work set. He left wednesday morning after a 7 am dentist appointment and didn't return until Friday evening. That Sunday he spoke in church and then the following week got even busier.

We had doctor appointments for the kids, IA's baby shower, WW's 3rd birthday party and IA's baby blessing on Sunday.

My amazing friend SH and my wonderful sister in law threw the shower for us. I didn't get pictures yet, but it was great. They had all my favorite snacks, and we had a wonderful time visiting with everyone that came to support us. We felt very loved and got some amazing gifts. IA will be one well dressed little girl.

Saturday we had WW's party. It was a month late, but we couldn't go without celebrating . We had planned to have the party at our place, and just have everyone outside, but the mosquitoes have been INSANE. We moved the party to the church and that seemed the best for everyone. We got there early to decorate and set up, and the power was out. Not only was it out at the church, but our house, my parents house, my sisters house etc. etc. I was panicking. BJ was so calm and knew everything would work out. The party started at 10, and at 10:10 the power came back on and the party was a go. We had waffles, cake, a pinata and cookie decorating. It was dinosaur themed again, and it was just great to spend time with dear friends and family. I had only put up a couple balloons, and WW was pretty sure that it was the best party EVER!!!

Sunday was IA's baby blessing. What a special day! My mom made the dress- it was beautiful. BJ gave her the most beautiful blessing, and we had the support of everyone. My sister in law and her girls even came for the day from Airdrie. It was nice to spend that time with the ones we love.

It was nice to have that week over with- I'm not naturally a hostess so it was a little stressful- it was a wonderful week though, full of lots of family and lots of great friends. My two favorite things!

Beautiful Babies

2010-08-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

Kim Loewen took these beautiful pictures for us. She is amazing!!! IA was crying the whole time and she was still able to get some great shots. Our family ones didn't turn out well, but I'm so pleased with the ones I have of my babies!

Family of 4

2010-07-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

I feel as though we are getting the hang of this family of 4 business! Feels good to have a handle on being the mom of two. BJ has been the most amazing help, and is such a wonderful dad. He adores his baby girl, and still has so much fun with his best bud WW.

IA will be 4 weeks tomorrow and it feels like we are settling into a groove. We even decided to head to Canmore last weekend for BJ's cousin's wedding. It was beautiful and we always have a great time with the family. All the Fixsen boys are very tight so it was nice to be all together, but BJ also has a very close extended family.

WW is such a great big brother, if I ask for his help now he'll respond something like "of course I can" he loves IA so much and gives her kisses all day long. As soon as they get in the car he wants to kiss her before he's strapped into his seat, before bed, first thing in the morning. I should really count how many times he kisses her, it is very sweet.

I am breastfeeding IA and am having success this time around, where with WW I supplemented a lot. It is nice to have that connection and that time one on one with her, but I have never felt so guilty either. It is so hard when she has an upset tummy that I am partly to blame because of something I've eaten that day. I'm sure she will quickly become less sensitive but I've stopped eating chocolate and fruit so far and she seems to be feeling much better. Who knows what I'll have to give up next.

(Any other mom's out there feel like they are never in pictures with their kids? Always the one taking them)

Baby Girl

2010-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

She has finally arrived! Two weeks ago actually, but we are slowly adjusting to being parents of two, and so this is the first time I've felt I've had some time to sit and write down the whole thing.

Monday night the 21st BJ was at work and so early that night I was headed to bed, and as I climbed into bed I thought I had peed myself. Thinking nothing TOO much about it (possibly another lovely side effect of pregnancy) I went to bed. The next morning I continued to have incidences of "wetting" myself a little. When BJ was up and our day was on the go, I thought I had better mention my trouble. We called the dr. office who told us to head to the hospital for a quick check to see if my water was leaking. Turns out it was!

They decided to induce me and so we were on our way to meeting our precious baby girl. We started the drip at about 2:30pm and I was considered in labor by 5pm. I had an epidural and comfortably labored till 8 when we pushed and had her out by 8:30pm. It was a great experience, baby handled labor perfectly and I enjoyed the experience much more this time as opposed to last.

WW is in love with his new sister, as are we! She is such a great baby, eats well, sleeps well, and is just so sweet to just stare at. She loves cuddles, and BJ and I are always very willing to volunteer for those. We think she looks a lot like WW did, especially when she is sleeping and her profile. Her hair is darker than his was, and she has a little less of it, but she was 8lbs and 21 inches long. WW was 8-3 and 21 1/4 inches. Very similar. I'm actually having a fun time catching IA in pictures posed similar to WW when he was born to see the similarities.

I am feeling great now, but I actually found the recovery for this baby to be harder than the first. I wasn't expecting the after pains (insane!!!) and I think I just couldn't take it easy like I did with WW, because I had WW who needed my attention.

Having two babies is a little crazy. BJ has been home for the past two weeks and we've loved having him home. He's been a great help. WW is a great big brother, but we are noticing he has started looking for attention in less favorable ways since IA has arrived. It will just take adjustment for all of us.

Here are some pics of the baby girl, just because she's so cute!

If only people could figure out how to pronounce her name, then I'd be 100% happy!

Plants vs Zombies

2010-06-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

We bought BJ an IPAD for his fathers day this year (and the next 10 birthdays/Christmas' etc). It is really neat, and I can't believe the fun things you can do with it. However, we haven't had much time to try anything else because we have spent every waking moment since we bought it trying to beat this game (Plants vs Zombies) so WW can play these little bonus games.

You see, we had WW trying out the IPAD at the store to see if he could use it, he's become much more interested in the computer lately, and we also like the idea of bringing the IPAD places as a distraction for him. Anyway, long story short, at Bestbuy the IPAD had a trial for this game, and he was able to play these mini games where you whack the zombies, or bowl them down. Little did we know that when we put the game onto our own IPAD that you have to pass all 50 levels in order to be able to use the mini games.

BJ and I are getting pretty skilled at attacking zombies, it's just everything else that has been neglected since yesterday afternoon :)

Sweet boys.

2010-06-04T12:15:00.001-07:00

WW came to wake me up the other morning so we could have some breakfast. Offering his hand to me he says; " Need some help up? You are pretty huge!"

What a sweet boy I have.

10 year reunion

2010-06-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. Crazy!! They had it at Hudson's downtown and it was a much nicer time than I was expecting. Actually up until 4pm that day I wasn't planning on going. I figured I was 8+ months pregnant and feeling super huge, and that if there were any people I cared to keep in contact with then I already did. I had a couple friends who were planning on going, but also had doubts as to how fun it would be etc. but they helped convince me to go. A 10 year reunion only happens once, and if I didn't go I'd be afraid I'd regret it later, and if I did go, what was the worst that could happen? I could just go home early.

Anyway, it was fun. I LOVED high school, it was a great time in my life. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back, but I definitely have fond memories of Bev Facey High School. Lots of people I did actually care to see again were at the reunion, and although it had been 10 years and there wasn't a tonne of catching up, or re-kindling of friendships, it was nice to see everyone and catch a quick glimpse of what they had been up to for the past 10 years.

I didn't take any pictures of my own, but here are a couple that were taken of me throughout the night.

Just waiting

2010-05-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

I'm realizing it's been a month since I wrote last... I've been waiting for something exciting to write about- a baby... but that is still about a month away. In the meantime, this is what we've been up to.

WW got a new bike for his birthday. It is so cute watching him ride, and he is getting pretty fast. He is still working on steering and pedaling at the same time, but it won't be long before he gets that all figured out too.

The weather has been amazing lately (except for the last few days) that we've spent alot of time outside. WW has been in the baby pool at my parents twice already and is much more willing to get wet than last year. He is loving the park, flying kites and planting/watering the garden.

BJ finished his shutdown at work, so we are glad to have him home in the evenings again. He works so hard for his little family, and is willing to do the overtime but we'd much rather have him at home.

BJ also tried a new pain relief technique called scraping. It's some ancient asian treatment where they help get stagnant blood moving by rubbing really hard with this little bone-like tool. When we got home and saw what his back and arm looked like, we couldn't believe someone would choose to do such a thing. He says it's pretty painful, but if it helps then it's worth it.

I've been working a little bit this month, but think I'm pretty much done at the end of this month. I'm still feeling really good, but it's difficult to bend over and I'm exhausted by the end of the day. I'm going to take some time next month for organizing/ de-cluttering my house and enjoying the last little bit of time I have one on one with WW.

We went earlier this week to visit with BJ's grandparents in Camrose. His grandma is sick with a dementia type disorder and has recently been moved into a care facility. It brings back memories of my own grandma who passed away with Alzheimers 5 years ago. It's hard to see them sick and really wish you could do more. BJ's grandpa is the most amazing man, and is so loving and kind to his wife, but I can't imagine how hard it is to see his wife this way. It was good to visit.

I'm going to try to find exciting things to write about for the next few weeks until the big D-Day. Maybe if we create exciting things to write about the time will go faster.

32 weeks-ish

2010-04-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

We are nearing the end of pregnancy and I'm starting to worry about caring for another one of these teeny tiny beings. It has been a LONG time since I've been responsible for anything this small and that is scary. Lately though, I've been more scared of the birth than the baby afterwards. I was chatting to a friend the other night about it, and she made a very good point. With a first baby you are afraid of the unknown, you don't know what labor and delivery will be like... but with baby number 2 and on, you know full well what it's like, along with the recovery, "damage" and following baby care. I'm nervous!!!

Bike Riding.

2010-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

WW got this great little tricycle for his first birthday, it starts at a little rocking bike, and then transforms into a tricycle with a handle for parental help. He is now almost 3 and has never been able to figure out the pedaling. Until now!!!!

We are thinking of getting him a big boy bike for his 3rd birthday. I'm thrilled that he will be able to pedal it!

Easter

2010-04-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend this year. We had BJ home and were able to get out in the beautiful weather with friends and family. We started a tradition with some dear friends to go to Fort. Edmonton Park for their Easter celebration. It was a lot of fun this year because the kids were a little bit older and were able to participate more independently. They hunted for eggs, got tattoos, colored easter eggs, planted seeds, pet animals. Fort Edmonton puts on a great program, we'll be back next year for sure!

This creepy turkey seemed to follow us around, but I'm sure everyone in the whole petting zoo felt that way. WW was much more brave than I, I wouldn't have gotten that close.
These two are the best of friends. Here they are sharing their candy loot they get after trading in the eggs they have hunted.
Planting a bean seed, I just love watching these two together!
Easter morning. Ready to find the treats the Easter Bunny left for him. He had quite a pail full by the end.
Pure excitement. He couldn't believe that all the treats were for him. He showed us every one of them.

Sunday afternoon we drove out to Sedgewick AB. for Easter dinner with the Drevers. BJ's mom's side of the family. It is always nice to see them, and the food is always delicious.

Monday was with my side of the family. BJ had to work days, so WW and I spend the day at my parents helping with the meal, going for a walk and relaxing. Another delicious meal followed with some time spent with my side of the family.

I just love holidays! Great food and great company!!

Let's go fly a kite.

2010-03-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I just love days when BJ is home with us, he is just much more fun that I am. WW got this amazing kite last year for his birthday from my sister. It was a fish, and it really was the easiest kite to fly. WW fell in LOVE with kites. This winter they had more kites at Costco, and so WW and BJ picked up a new dragon kite to add to our collection. Everyday WW has asked to fly his kite! It is now warm enough, and the snow is gone, so out we went to fly his kite.

You should have seen his happy kite smile. I forgot my camera at first so I ran back home to get it, and then we tried to re-create the excited look on his face. Not quite the smile I had seen earlier, but so cute anyway. He was waiting patiently for his dad to put the kite together and get it up in the air.
It was the perfect wind day- BJ says we need to look for a Lazy flag, and that should be perfect. They ended up with the kite all the way up as far as the string would go, and then BJ hands the handle over to WW. If we are having trouble keeping the kite up WW still holds the handle and BJ fiddles with the string. WW is pretty proud of his skills.

The dragon kite!
My sweet boys, what a lucky girl I am to have them in my life!

After kite flying we hit up the park with WW's cousin JJ. We watch him about once a week while his mom goes to work. It's so nice to get the boys out in the fresh air. They both had their rubber boots on so we made sure to find a few puddles on the way as well. What a great day out in the sun!

Cleaning

2010-02-26T12:59:00.001-08:00

I feel that cleaning my house is an unending battle. A HUGE frustration and I just don't see it improving in the near future. I'm definitely open to suggestions as to how to make my house immaculate full time without it taking me so much time.

Currently, I have one day a week that I spend the whole day cleaning, I clean top to bottom, complete numerous loads of laundry and it's done. It works o.k for now because it's just one day I buckle down and do my thing, but it never stays clean very long, and then once it gets out of control I spend another whole day cleaning.

I have also heard of these cleaning cards that I borrowed from a lady in my ward. There are certain things you do everyday- like pick up each room, and do dishes etc, but then there is only one or two other things that you spread out throughout the other days of the week so you end up spending maybe an hour a day cleaning, and you stay on top of it all. Plus there are weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks that fit in there too so your home is constantly beautiful and sparkling clean.

Now I'm all on board for the cards, because it's right up my alley with a list of things to complete and then you move on to the rest of your day, but I'm finding that I've been in my old habit of full day cleaning for so long that I have a hard time breaking it. That and some days are MUCH busier with other things or places to be that I may not get that days card done... and once you're behind it difficult to get back on track without cleaning the whole house top to bottom. See my trouble.

Now the other concern I have is that I really like a clean house, I find that my behavior, mood, and desire to participate in extra-curricular activities is affected by the state of my house. Yesterday for example, I was over sensitive, moody and not so nice, and I honestly think it was my brains response to the disorganization of my house. Today, I spent the morning scrubbing toilets and I'm happy as a clam.

I'd love to hear your systems for cleaning. Any suggestions would be wonderful for my home, sanity and poor husband (who gets the majority of my grumpiness).

Play date

2010-02-08T16:15:00.001-08:00

I just thought I'd post some pictures from a playdate WW and I had with SH and her two kids. We went to the playground above the Kinsmen pool, which is set up for younger kids, and so easier for our babies to get around and have a good time. AL and WW are the best of friends, WW always looks forward to the time he gets to spend with his little girlfriend.

Sweet JA has become a super little walker, and showed us the whole time he was there. He kept running for the door!

On another note, WW has been really into crafts for as long as he was capable, but we bought him some new scissors and glue for Christmas, so we've been cutting and glueing alot. Mostly little valentines, but today he helped me with a special project. This is our countdown to baby chain. Each of the multicolor loops is weeks remaining, and then the solid yellow at the top are days remaining. We had fun glueing it all together, but WW didn't feel bad reminding me how long the chain was. Looks like we still have quite a ways to go.

Babies

2010-02-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

Baby Fixsen 15 weeks

Baby Fixsen 19 weeks.

Well it's true, the B&L Fixsen family are expecting again. We really are thrilled, but have been hesitant to announce or post anything due to previous heartbreak and loss. I wasn't actually planning to post at all, but inevitably people have started to find out and so for my own record I've decided to write a little bit about how we are doing and how things have gone up to this point.

Others may relate to how I'm feeling, having been pregnant also... but this pregnancy really has been very stressful. I long for the days when I was pregnant for the very first time and didn't even think that something as terrible as miscarriage could happen to all, let alone to me. Especially in the first 12 weeks and really up until I started to feel it move everyday I have been worried that something might happen, and have been cautious about how attached I feel etc. Anyone who knows me, understands how crazy I get when we decide to try and get pregnant, but it really must have been the worst this time around. For example I banned Brett from the Hot Tub till I was pregnant. :) I wasn't willing to take any chances.

My doctor has been great and super supportive. We had an ultrasound at 7 weeks just to ease my mind that baby was there, and growing well and heart was beating. Then we had another at 15 weeks (which was when I lost the first baby) because we don't know what caused that one ( babies heart was beating strong the day we miscarried) so I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't a incompetent cervix (Too much information sorry). So far everything really has gone so smoothly this time around, and although we weren't able to tell the sex at our 18ish week ultrasound I am very excited to try the true surprise one time around and then I'll know which way I prefer.

It can actually be a blessing to not know the sex. I feel confident that I would have had a much harder time with my miscarriages if I had known what each baby had been. It almost becomes a real individual when it becomes a boy or a girl, so not knowing allowed me to grieve a loss, but not become all caught up in what could have been with my little boy/girl.

Our due date is the day after WW 3rd birthday and so I'm going to do my best to deliver either before or after the 25th. Just so the two will have individual birthdays. :) I had always planned to have babies 2 years apart, but that just wasn't in the cards for us this time... I am looking on the positive side though that WW will be such an amazing helper, and instead of two babies, I'll have a preschooler and an infant. It may make the transition from one to two a little smoother.

Future updates to follow I'm sure.

Signs of a Dinosaur OBSESSION

2010-01-22T11:54:00.001-08:00

My little man loves Dinosaurs, this is how I know...

* Watches the same movie - Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaur over and over... multiple times a day if I'd let him. He asks so nice too... " Can I watch my friend Rudy on the Dinosaur movie"

* Knows the names of all the dinosaurs

* Growls like a dinosaur, and fights with his dad. He always asks permission to growl though, so that is nice.

* Prefers not to wear socks so you can see his "claws"- toenails. Then the other day refused to let me cut his fingernails because he prefers his claws sharp.

* He'll eat better if you tell him that T-Rex's love chicken, or that a certain meat is "Carrion" (spelling) -raw meat.

* Favorite T.V show- Dinosaur train, knows the species of dinosaur as well as their show name. Example- Buddy the T-Rex.

* Loves Drumheller and the Royal Tyrell Museum.

*Can find ANY dinosaur book available in the public library.

*Dinosaur Jammies, and sleeps with his dino figurines.

*Love anything that looks like it has a mouth- chip bag clips, tongs, bobby pins etc.

*Has dino puzzles that he can do all by himself. BJ bought him a 300 piece puzzle that he wants to try all the time. We've only made it once, and it took mom all afternoon.

* Dino magnets all over the fridge, a dinosaur lunchbox, dinosaur socks, dino underwear and a bunch of figurines.

* Was a dinosaur for halloween, and had a dinosaur themed birthday party. Next year he wants a Red T-Rex birthday party.

*Draws scary dinosaurs all the time with big sharp teeth.

We love him for his love of dinosaurs, I just wonder if this is a permanent phase, or if he'll move on this year. Maybe I have a future paleontologist in my house. However, yesterday at a doctors visit he wanted to try out some of the things in the doctors room, I told him he'd have to wait till he was a doctor to try them out... he seemed to think that was a good idea.

Teaching.

2010-01-19T18:36:00.001-08:00

These last couple months I've had the opportunity to substitute teach a couple days. It has been so much fun being in the classroom again.

It took forever to get hired onto the Edmonton Public School Board, and I lucked out getting onto with the Blackgold School District (all about connections). Seriously from when I applied with EPSB to my first day in school had to be over a year. They didn't seem to be in the same hurry that I was to get me working.

It continues to be a frustrating experience hunting for available jobs... BJ and I spend out evenings on their website as well as on their phone system trying to find an opening... but it has all been a great/learning experience so far!

I definitely have to give a BIG THANKS to SH for being my best teaching buddy, and showing me the ropes, and even getting me my first big break. She has been so supportive, and has ALWAYS had my back no matter what. You are the best!!!

BJ has also been amazing, he's always thrilled for me to get out in the schools, and is just so amazing with WW when they spend the day together. He even gets up early to help search for last minute positions that are listed in the morning. He has always been my biggest fan though, encouraging my finishing school in the first place, helping me get all my applications together, interview prep (SH was a HUGE help with that too), and now helping me find work.

It's nice to now be an official teacher, and no longer have to go through the "what do you do?" questions with which I would reply " I have an education degree, but I work casually as a receptionist." I've always been happy to have finished my degree, and was proud of myself... but it feels great to be using my degree and LOVING it!!!

Christmas Craziness

2010-01-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

We has such a wonderful Christmas this year. We are so lucky to have good families to spend time with.

Christmas Eve Eve, we started our day shoveling our mailbox sites. It is a struggle to get ourselves out there, and I'm pretty grumpy before we start, but it's a fun time BJ and I spend together. WW lucks out and gets to stay home with a sitter. This is our third year, and we love to spend the money we make each season a few times, but it's always nice to have some mad money! But it's always a gamble every year to see how much snow falls :)

Later that day we went out to Spruce Grove to watch their presentation of the nativity live. It was amazing to watch, and freezing cold but the spirit was so strong. It was great to do it with family too. BJ's brothers, their wives and the kids braved the cold with us, and then we all went back to H&M's for Thai food. I wish I had taken a picture of the meal. It was incredible!!!
The next day- Christmas Eve, we met up with BJ's siblings for tobogganing on a little hill in Ottewell. It was a chilly day, but we all started with happy faces, but the boy did not like the actual tobogganing part. He was a wreck!

Going down the hill with his auntie. She was having fun, WW not so much. I love these next couple pictures though. When we did finally take him home when he'd had enough, his poor little hands and feet were freezing... so maybe if we had gone on a warmer day he would have enjoyed himself a little more. The cousins and their parents had a great time though.

That night (Christmas Eve) was turkey dinner with the Fixsen's. It was delicious!

Christmas Day breakfast, stockings, presents and turkey dinner with the Mabey's

Boxing day turkey dinner with the Drever's. BJ's mom's family in Camrose.

It was a busy holiday with LOTS of food and late nights, but it was a wonderful Christmas with lots to be thankful for. We are definitely looking forward to the new year and the things it has in store for our little family.

Winter Fun

2010-01-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

After that huge dump of snow last month, my boys found themselves outside for hours of snow fun. I was cleaning the house preparing to have some friends over the next day, but it was so sweet to just watch the two of them interact together outside. We can really notice a difference in WW when he has been cooped up for a while.. he says things like "where did your good listener go? " something I have to ask him sometimes. BJ is such an amazing hands on dad that WW and I are so lucky to have him around for days of fun like this was.

Throwing snowballs at momma.
This was our main Christmas tree, I was so excited to go and buy all new decorations this year for a nice grown up tree, but couldn't make up my mind. I decided I'd put on the stuff that I already had that I liked and go from there... I never ended up buying anything new because I thought it turned our pretty cute with the stuff we owned. Maybe I'll try again next year :)
We put this little tree up in WW room. It helped to get him to sleep in his own bed for the month because the lights were like a nightlight for him. He felt pretty special having his own tree.

Push ups

2010-01-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

This is our buddy doing push ups with his daddy. He insists on not wearing clothes to do it, and he'll ask BJ to "count for him", and then WW will count for BJ. It is a cute little thing they do together. WW has really become quite specific on what he will wear and what he won't. He wants to wear pajamas all the time, and will specify a particular pair as well. I can get him into normal clothes when we leave the house, but as soon as he gets home the PJ's go right back on. I'm hoping it's a short lived phase.

December 1st!

2009-12-01T07:35:00.001-08:00

It seems like I've been away from blogging for a few weeks, and sadly I really don't have much to update on.

Last month I started watching my sister's little guy for her a couple days a week. She had to go back to work part time after her maternity leave, and I couldn't imagine having my little nephew in the home of someone we didn't know. It has been fun to have him, and WW loves to have him here to play but I've had to keep one close eye on him and his new dinosaur tendensies... (biting and growling) JJ is the sweetest little guy and doesn't put up any fuss when he's dropped off. He eats like no other baby I've seen, and just goes down for a nap without any problem. He's nothing like my baby! :)

I also finally heard back from Edmonton Public schools... I can't even begin to tell you have slow that process was, but I should have my subbing package to me this week, and I'll be all set to be in the school this December! I am just so excited to be back in the classroom. I'm also so grateful to friends who are already employees of EPSB who are going to put my name on their school lists so I get some work. My sister is also going to be available on the days she is home to watch WW for me. It will hopefully be a good situation for us both!

I have a cousin from Ontario that I haven't seen in maybe 20ish years that just made the big move to Alberta. He is staying with my parents looking to start over and begin a career in Heavy Equipment Operation. We are praying hard for him to find something perfect that will make his move worth his while. I guess the work in Ontario is pretty sad, and the pay even worse, so hopefully he'll get on his feet here with the help of my parents. It's been neat to get to know him again, he looks so much like my dad it's funny. When I listen to his past situations it just makes me feel so blessed that my parents found the gospel and for the life I've had because of them.

A quick note about my sweet husband as well. I am so blessed to have him too! He is incredibly supportive and has always given me that push I needed to do bigger things with my life. He encouraged applying to the school boards, and we are so excited where that has taken us. He is also wonderful with my cousin, he's allowing him to use the truck when we aren't using it to help with the job hunt, and he just works so hard for our family. Last night as I went to go to bed I noticed he had made our bed and turned down the one corner on my side so it was all ready for me to get in... (he had to work last night) it was just the sweetest little gesture! I love him!

Our October!

2009-11-01T14:12:00.001-08:00

We have had a great month this October, trying to keep busy and enjoy the end of the warm weather. We also had lots to look forward to with birthday parties and Halloween too.

We enrolled WW in a class at the library where we went for half an hour a week and heard stories and poems, sang songs and watched movies based on a particular theme for the week. It was fun to have a friend in the class too, GG, a friend from nursery was there too. These two loved to sit beside each other and when the movie started they would always share a cushion. One week GG put her arm around WW. It was very sweet.

We also enrolled WW in swimming lessons before the weather got too bad. It was an evening class so that BJ would be able to take him too. WW ended up enjoying his pool time with his dad much more than his mom. I would try to get him to do the actions stated in the song- which included a little water on his face and he would scramble up me crying trying to get out of the water. When BJ went WW was very happy to swim like a shark for him, and float like a starfish. I was happy to cheer from the sidelines and take pictures. Much less frustrating. I was happy when he passed the class even though he wouldn't do any of the necessary skills (blowing bubbles etc.) I just hope the next classes we put him in cure him of his big fear of the water on his face.

This one day WW missed a nap and fell alseep at my parents house mid-popcorn. He was chatting with my dad literally a second before he fell asleep. You could see him chewing to finish his mouth full. It was too cute a picture to leave out.
I worked a few shifts this month at the optometry clinic. We got BJ a new pair and while he was picking some out, WW picked some out too. He really wanted pink and purple ones but I convinced him that they were more for girls than boys. I just love how glasses look on little kids, but would never want that for my babies, unless necessary of course.
My little nephew JJ turned 1 this month, and we had a party for him at his Grandma J's house. It was great fun with a cute monkey theme. Anyone who knows my sister knows what a big camera/picture person she is. But as the party was starting she realized she had left the memory card at home for her one camera, the battery was dying on her second back up. So I took some pictures, but my battery died. Her father in law and my dad took pictures too, but the quality was brutal, my mom's camera ran out of card space. It was sad it turned out that way. At least we have some record of his big day!
The birthday boy.
We bought WW Halloween costume at least a month ago, and he's been wearing it since. So when Halloween finally came we were all ready and practiced with the "trick or treat". He had been pretty sick with the flu for the week and a half prior to Halloween, but his dad still made sure he got to carve a pumpkin etc. A shark if you can't tell.
We ended up taking WW into the UofA when he woke up one morning with a croup-like cough. He was forced to wear this mask, which didn't go well. I think he impressed all the doctors later when he was allowed to remove the mask, he was completely pleasant and answered all their questions. It was a long 10 days of staying in, and being germ paranoid so he didn't get any worse, but we were glad we did because he was able to enjoy Halloween with his cousins.
BJ and my dad brought all this styrofoam home in order to insulate our crawl space under our house a little better. there was quite a few larger pieces that wouldn't fit down the hole so while BJ was under the house putting up the little pieces WW and I were making a fort with the bigger ones. It is still in the middle of my living room.
WW dressed in his T-Rex costume, cousin JJ in his tigger costume.
SF, AH, CF and WW all dressed and ready for trick-or treating. Together at the annual Fixsen family Halloween get together.
Heading out to trick-or-treating with dad.
Scary face. I just love these boys so much!!!
I hope everyone had a happy Halloween, and a great October.

Clever

2009-10-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

We have been potty training WW for quite some time now and he has done so well for only being 2. BJ created a potty chart for him so that if he had 17 days of no accidents in a row then the boys would go out and pick a new crocodile/dinosaur toy. He was at day 15 a few weeks ago and then had a mini meltdown and peed his pants on the carpet because he was upset and didn't seem to want BJ to sit him on the potty instead of me. So after that set back we started again... BJ says you can't just give in, so we've been working hard at encouraging and WW hasn't had an accident again in a good 14 days. I reminded him this morning he only had 3 more days till we went out to pick out his new toy... and we even took a glance at Zellers today to see what was available.

Anyways, long story short, I got him out of his bed today after his nap and his pants were wet. So while he was sitting on the toilet I said something like "oh WW you need to sit on the potty when you have to pee... don't go in your pants." and he replied with....

"no mommy, my pants got wet because I licked the bed with my tongue, and then my pants got wet."

How clever to realize that the tongue was wet too, and could account for his wet pants. There was NO hesitation in his explanation. I am constantly amazed by our little man. We just love him to bits, and makes us laugh everyday!

I plan to not hold this little accident against him this time because it truly was an accident. He has been doing so well, and we haven't even been putting diapers on at bedtime anymore... No accidents. With his track record lately I wonder if maybe it was just his tongue making his bed wet.... he wouldn't lie to me :)

My month!!

2009-10-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

October is officially going to be MY MONTH!!! I have nothing but positive thoughts about what this month and the next couple may hold for my little family.

#1- We've decided that now is the time to look for another house. We are so fortunate to be able to hang onto the condo as an investment property and rent it out, but we are looking forward to bigger and better things for our little family. We love our home now, but with BJ's shift work it just is not working very well anymore. WW is very loud and refuses to whisper, and everything we need for the day is right outside the room where BJ sleeps. We just need more space... there is only so much space you can take up in other peoples homes with our extra boxes and storage.

#2- I finally have heard from Edmonton Public Schools. I have a screening interview on the 13th of October and will hopefully be put on the sublist. I'm very nervous but I'm so grateful to SH who helped me remember some important things about teaching that will help me with the interview. I owe her big! I'll be watching my sister's little guy starting in November a couple days a week, and then she'll be available to watch WW on the other days so I can sub. It should work well!

#3- Thanksgiving is one of my VERY FAVORITE holidays. Turkey is delicious and family fun is memorable... but it's so great to really ponder and acknowledge the many blessings we have in our lives that we are grateful for. WW is also looking forward to strutting his stuff in his scary dinosaur costume for Halloween. I'm hoping I can convince my sister in law to have her annual family get together this year again. WW looks so great in his costume, and would wear it everywhere if I let him.

#4- This could be our month for many more exciting possibilities. I've been loving getting back to the gym regularly, and LOVE having my sister in law be my workout buddy. She is the best! We are working hard and will hopefully find a good fun run for us to try next spring/summer... we just get to train till then. BJ is always working so hard to support our family, I'm SOOO lucky to have him. I'm just feeling really good! We are looking forward to a trip just the two of us in the middle of November... that isn't this month, but we are looking at trips and deciding what we might want to do... so daydreaming is definitely going on this month! Maybe good things will continue for the rest of the year.

I sure hope everyone else is having a good month too, and has things to look forward to. All the best!!!

Safety First

2009-09-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

I read a good suggestion on a friends blog about not using names or locations in your blog posting, so I've adjusted all my previous posts to just have initials. I just hope it's not too confusing years from now :)

Thanks for the suggestions SH!!!

San Francisco

2009-09-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

BJ is away with his brothers and dad on a guys trip to San Francisco. We ended up doing separate vacations this year because that was how it turned out, but it's been difficult being the one left behind this time. Don't get me wrong, I was so excited for him to have this trip and I wasn't interested in the things they were going to do- (professional sporting events) but I didn't realize how much I'd miss him.

WW and I are having a busy time at home. We had swimming lessons, Salto drop in with some friends, HF's birthday party, WEM, and a bbq... but we are still looking forward to Monday night.

I talked to BJ yesterday and he was telling me about his trip, and he has had the same feelings as I did when I was in New York without him... "oh I have to show LJ this..." so we may be making our way back to both cities sometime together because I know it would be a completely different experience for each of us.

I'll post some of his hundreds of pictures when he gets back, maybe he'll even be willing to contribute a post. It's just nice to be reminded of how much he does around here, and how much I miss him when he's gone. Sometimes he gets taken for granted when he's around!

27!

2009-09-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

I just turned 27 this week and have had a really hard time with it. It just sounds so old! I completely appreciate that everyone is aging at the same rate as me, and that there are alot of people that are older than me... BUT I can't help the way I feel.

I thought earlier that maybe I was feeling bad about 27 because I hadn't accomplished much in my 27 years of life, but upon reflection I'm realizing that I have alot, and have done alot so far.

A home of our own, 2 vehicles paid in full, an amazingly supportive husband, a university degree, a beautiful son, savings in the bank, we're all healthy, we have incredible families we are a part of... I could really go on and on.

I'm realizing now that I have turned 27 that it's really not so bad, and I should just decide on those other things I want to accomplish before I turn 28 so I'm prepared- and focus on the fact that I'm lucky to have made it this far, and it will be a blessing to continue to age even farther!

More Summer

2009-09-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

What a terrible blogger I have been. The more that happens, the farther behind I get because I know how long it's going to take to catch up. I have decided that I should maybe just set one day a week and blog about something... then I'll stay on top of things.

We have been having a great summer, look forward to ALOT of pictures. Starting with WW's 2nd birthday party. My little boy is now 2, and we had such a great time with family and close friends to celebrate with him. He is having a big summer too... we've been potty training, and enjoying the weather with bike rides, park play dates and short family trips.

(Above) my sweet birthday boy!!
Splashing in the little pool my sister set up for WW's party. We were so lucky because my sister allowed us to have his party in her beautiful backyard. It was the warmest day, and then we had the craziest storm right after. The party was perfect except everyone rushing to get home before the sort hit.

(Above) WW and his best friend AH sharing a snack! They are just the cutest together... WW hasn't quite figured out how to play with kids his own age, but the two of them have always been close and have always played well together.
(Above) The cake!!! My sister and I slaved all day friday on this cake. It turned out just perfect!
(above) Those two cute kids again, holding hands on the way home from their park play date.
(above) Just last week we had our last family holiday of the summer. We were so lucky to be able to spend lots of time with BJ's family. CF and JF and the girls live in Airdrie now and so they are in the perfect location for us ALL to come visit. BJ, WW and I drove down Tuesday and spent a couple nights with them... and then we went to the Calgary Zoo Wednesday with most of the Fixsen family... and then continued onto Banff with BJ's parents for a couple of days. It was a great trip! Lots of pictures following.
(above) WW's sour face. It is really sooo funny!!!
Cousins. The cutest kids I know. We were sad we didn't have the other three with us... next time we'll have to plan it so everyone can come.
(above) SF. What a handsome little guy!!
(above) CF- Can you believe how old he looks here. So handsome!
(above) BJ liked this picture because it shows me scowling... the things he has to deal with married to a red head. I must give him this look alot because he was pretty happy to have it on the camera as proof.
(above) Beautiful BF. I just love this picture!
(above) Sweet CF. What a stunning smile.

(above) BJ and his brother CF.
My sweet boy!!! What a cutie!
(above) our little family in the flower gardens in Banff.
WW and Papa Fixsen waiting for our day to start.
Our family on the top of Lake Louise. We took the gondola up. WW came with us on the open chair lift. We looked so hard for bears but didn't see any. Papa on the other hand has quite the eye for wildlife and saw two. We just weren't quick enough.
(above) WW and I on the chair lift
My handsome husband on the chair lift.
I like this picture, because there are so few pictures of WW and I because I always have the camera... it's nice to have proof that I was on the trip too.
My boys throwing rocks into Lake Louise
Matching hats. I am so lucky to have such wonderful boys!

Hiking up Johnston Canyon. WW and I didn't get very far because he had had a little too much gatorade and peed his pants... twice.
My sweet husband carrying all the heavy stuff. What a trooper!
WW peeing in the bush. He really enjoyed peeing where ever we were, but had trouble coming home after and remembering to pee in the toilet again. Funny kid!
One last hug for the bear before we headed home. It was really nice to spend some time with BJ's family and his parents. The weather was just perfect. We are very lucky to have such wonderful families that we get along so well with. Summer is almost over but we have lots of things to look forward to in September... swimming lessons, library classes and much more. Stay tuned. I'll be better at this... I want to have this record for my family to read, so I better work on it.

Summer Holidays... so far

2009-07-11T20:43:00.001-07:00

We have been having a great summer so far, I'm looking forward to the months to come. I have made a decision with myself to be open to whatever, and have been pleasantly surprised at all the fun we've been having. I feel sorry for WW and BJ sometimes because I feel like a party pooper quite a bit, being the 'level headed' boring member of the family. So changing my outlook has been good for me to learn to let loose and go with the flow, and also great for my boys who get to experience more, with the momma tagging along.

We went camping to Crimson Lake with MF, HF and the boys. We went camping with them last year too, and it really is the best camping you can do. We do have to sleep in a tent- but BJ bought a sweet new air mattress so that wasn't even so bad. We do everything else at their site, camp fires and meals taking advantage of all their stuff, and their beautiful trailer. I've never eaten so well away from home as I do when we are with them. Breakfast is the best, eggs, bacon, hash browns and a HUGE fruit salad. I'm hoping this will become a yearly tradition. We brought our bikes and the Chariot and got out riding. It was beautiful!

We were away for WW's actual birthday, so HF and MF brought a gift and a cake so we could have a little party for him while we were away. They were just way too thoughtful, BJ and I didn't bring him anything :)
Checking out the falls, I don't remember the name. They are about 15 minutes outside Nordegg. It was a treacherous hike to get down to the bottom, but WW encouraged us all to keep going... easy for him though because he was being carried. I think we were all glad we did it though. So beautiful!

My handsome husband. I couldn't leave this one out. I realize everyday how incredibly lucky WW and I are to have him in our lives. I fall more in love with him everyday. We had our first date anniversary on Canada Day- 5 years together. We drove to Ardrie for the night so we could go to Drumheller the next day, and the whole drive we reminisced about what we remember from way back then, first impressions etc. It was a good laugh to think about all that silly dating stuff.
Canada Parade in SP, we biked over to the mall and watched the cute little parade. WW absolutely loved it, and would not agree to go home until every single thing had passed. It was nice to see how many other people came out too. Canada Day afternoon we went out to Camrose to celebrate BJ's Grandma's birthday. It was so fun to see her, and all the aunts, uncles, cousins and now 2nd cousins. That family is so close, and are all so wonderful. It's so great to be a part of it.
Waving to the people in the parade.
Waving his flag.
This was the best float, a real buffalo/ bison whatever it is, in this car driving down the road. They kept it distracted with the food bowl on the hood.
After the parade, after Grandma Drever's party we drove down to Airdrie to see the fireworks with CF, JF and the girls. Then we slept over and went to Drumheller for the day. WW is really into Dinosaurs lately and so this was on my list of things to do this summer. It was great to see family, and lots of fun that they could come share the day with us and the dinosaurs.
WW, BF and CF.

I've decided it's time to start potty training WW to add to all the fun this summer has in store. I just couldn't help but add this picture of him in the cutest little boxer briefs I've ever seen. He is proud of his big boy underwear, but we have had some accidents. I just have to stay positive and motivated and I'm sure he'll pick it up really quick.

We'll that is our summer so far, I have been working a little bit like I mentioned in my last post, so we are keeping very busy. I'll let you know what else we have planned for the summer when we find out :)

Work

2009-07-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

My posting has become very slack lately, and I do have things to post about- our camping trip to crimson lake, Canada Day, Grandma Drevers party and Drumheller... but I seem to be lacking hours in the day.

I worked at the SVC before I had WW, and since then I've work very casually for them whenever I'm needed, and more importantly when I have been available. This month one member of their staff had surgery and so has to be at home to recover, so I've stepped in when I can. BJ is so wonderful and because of his great schedual, I'm able to work when he has days off, and then my also wonderful mom steps in when we need some backup. I've only been working 3 days a week for the past couple but I can't even believe how few hours you have left after you get home. All those moms out there that work full time... you must be superwomen. I am enjoying being at work, having a change of pace/ scenery but it's always nice to come home to my boys who have missed me "this much" (arms spread wide) I don't think I'll ever work full time because I can't seem to keep up, but I really appreciate what these shifts this month have done for me.

Hopefully I'll find some more time soon to blog, and then I'll catch up on the day to day goings on of the B&L Fixsen family (There are two other Fixsen family blogs you can read on my attachments- both worth blog hopping to.)

Another thing I should write down so I'm accountable is that I'm re-motivated to work out and spend some time for me due to family experiences in the last few weeks/ months. I found after I had WW that I needed some time to myself but didn't really have anywhere to go by myself... I would head over to Millenium place alone and spend my hour or so I had at the gym and I have always found that working out is both healthy for my body and my MIND. So we're back at it, a few months of working out and we'll see where we are... ALSO none of my clothes fit... literally none of them. I must have been wearing lululemon and scrubs (for work) too much because they just expand with me. Hopefully I don't have to go anywhere soon :) Hope the summer is treating everyone well. Enjoy the rain, it is so good for the grass!!!