Easter

We enjoyed several Easter celebrations this year. We had brunch with the Penners (even if we don't have pictures to prove it). Good Friday has become a traditional time to spend with the extended Raabe clan (again no pictures to prove it). It was a great time to catch up with family and sample (OK, overindulge in) Aunt Cheryl's amazing food. Easter Monday was spent in Tsawwassen (this time WITH the camera) celebrating Easter, family, and even some egg finding, swimming pool and tree climbing fun.

Having a little girl adds another element to Easter (although completely unrelated to anything about Easter). Bonnets, frilly dresses and tights. This year, a little sweater and bonnet was knit for Talia which was too adorable not to use for Easter. (Thanks Marsalie for the rest of the outfit!).

4 months old

Talia has been part of our family for 4 months already. She continues to bring us so much joy. Her smiles and giggles come more easily and completely delight all of us.

Grama gave these adorable little crocs to Talia as she knows how much the rest of the family enjoy wearing them. Sadly, they are quickly becoming snug.

Talia "breezed" through her 4 month immunization and check up with few tears and mostly smiles. She keeps growing at a steady rate and now weighs 13lbs 4 oz and is 23 3/4" long.

She has discovered her voice and loves to "sing", "talk", basically make noise. Nate especially loves to talk to her with the hopes that she will answer him. We have a few cute little videos that I can't seem to load. Maybe next month!?!

Talia at 3 months

Our little girl has blessed us with her life for 3 months already. Where has the time gone? Likely you will hear that every month! She continues to grow & develop & charm us. Her eyes are so bright, taking in all around her. She speaks volumes with her eyes, but has started to coo with her voice as well. So sweet to watch Nate especially talk to her and for her to respond. When Jadon was asked what she was saying, his response was, "She's saying 'ho, ho, ho', I think she was talking about Santa Claus." OK, so maybe a bit more literal than what was expected. The boys just love spending time with her and of course fight over who is closest, etc.

Talia is stretching her wakeful periods during the day and has gained much more control over her limbs. Her hands are either clasped or in her mouth, still her favourite "thing" to play with. Her smiles are becoming much more plentiful and easy. So many delightful moments which shamefully have not been captured on camera.

Olympic Fever

We caught Olympic Fever this week. Go Canada Go!

On Wednesday night our family attended the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies to the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic Games. Wow! What a show! The boys loved riding the sky train to the event and taking in all the sights along the way. We were all so excited to "launch" the Olympics. Sorry, no pictures of what we saw as that was not allowed. By now the secret is out and you too were able to see the amazing show. All the headliners performed on Wednesday and we were in awe. The athletes were not in attendance, but the stand-ins did a great job of filling in. BC Place was electric. The kids did well thanks to earlier naps. Nate, unfortunately, was overstimulated and not feeling well (as we found out later that night and the next day). He tried to watch despite also wanting to fall asleep. He talks fondly about the show now and seems to have the same great positive memories we all share.

On Thursday, the torch ran past our street. We simply walked out the door to the end of the lane and cheered. The boys weren't feeling terrific, but had enough energy to watch the torch continue on its journey. Of course, as I pulled out the camera to document the event, I realized I was out of battery. A nice young neighbour took our picture and e-mailed it to us later that day.

On Friday, the following week, we attended the Ice Dance, Compulsory Skating event with our family. We enjoyed some time in the crowds on Robson street, spotted the Mascots from afar and climbed many, many stairs to our seats to watch our skating event. The kids were all troopers and seemed to enjoy the experience even though they walked likely many kilometres.

You can see just how high we climbed to get this view of the ice dancers!
Brent and I went to the Czech/Slovakia hockey game. It was fantastic to be part of the Olympic experience, even if we didn't make it into any pavilions. Brent also managed to get in another hockey game (Germany/Finland) with our brother-in-law Vince. Many, many good memories.

Jadon, the Three Year Old

The early part of the year is busy in our house celebrating birthdays! Jadon turned 3 at the beginning of February. He requested a Diego birthday party and invited 3 of his friends for some play time, obstacle courses, animal rescues, and cake! Our young son is such a little charmer with a very endearing smile. We thoroughly enjoy his enthusiasm and passion.

Nate turns 5!

Nate turned 5 at the end of January! Wow! He requested a "dirtbike" themed birthday to share with a few special friends. We had some playtime together and then enjoyed eating cake, mmm!

We can't believe we have a child ready to enter kindergarten in the fall. We are entering a whole new world. The elementary school within our catchment has an English stream as well as Early French Immersion. We took some time in deciding what might be a good fit for Nate and decided to try French Immersion. Since our youngest had us up early in the morning for a brief snack on the morning of registration, we (well Jenn) couldn't get back to sleep so decided to become the line-up at 4:45 am(there was one gentleman already waiting). Another woman joined us and we had a very nice chat for the next 4 hours. I don't know how many waited in line, but I think everyone gained a "spot" in one of the 2 kindergarten classes for the fall. Brent's dad came and "held" my spot while I went back home to feed the wee one, dress the slightly bigger ones and get them off to Grama's house. We are SO thankful to have amazing family support. We'll keep you posted on how our family progresses learning French!

Talia at 2 months

How does two months go by so quickly? Talia is stretching out and gaining some pinchable cheeks. She still loves her hands, often interlocking her fingers. She has discovered how to bring her hands in to sight and spends much time just watching her hands and fingers. Bath time is delightful (even amidst two hurricane-like wave makers!). Warmth and coziness is where it is at for this little girl. She seems to enjoy her bed and spends 10-12 hours there each night before waking for more food. We are exceedingly thankful for her calm, easy-going start to life.