HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK

Around Here in November

Jack enjoying his car. (yes, he does fall off, but he has learned how to do it without hitting his head)

There are many uses for a table, but I would not have thought of this one.

Brook loves to paint.

Brook and Trev enjoying the ipod.

I know you can barely see this picture, but it shows how Harry Pauls' ingenuity has been passed down through the generations. I think it is supposed to keep the door closed.

Family Pictures

Megan Pauls (megoo photography) took some fantastic family pictures during our Pauls thanksgiving gathering. I love these pictures!

So what is happening with us?

Trev has been really busy with meetings of all sorts lately. Our pastor, Wayne, left Boissevain a few weeks ago and so there are a lot of decisions to be made. Between youth, youth leader meetings, decon meetings, and council meetings he is a busy guy. Plus he doesn't want his visitation with the youth to suffer, so he's been working pretty hard. Last week I encouraged him to take a personal day to refresh so he went to camp Koinonia for the day. He said he had some good time of thinking about his priorities and direction. I guess sometimes it is a little too easy to just keep working withouth thinking about where you want to end up. Trev was also invited to join a group of men going to Mexico in March. They are going to be building a house I believe. All the details are not yet ironed out, but he is pretty excited. Ever since his MDS trip to New Orleans 2 years ago he has been really excited about helping with building projects, whether here or far away.

For Brook, being 3 years old is challenging at times. I don't think she even knows her own emotions most of the time. Since Jack has been more mobile over the last few weeks she has been a little ... stressed. She is not used to having someone climbing on her or taking her toys. I think having Jack crawling is more of an adjustment for her than when he was first born. They get along really well, and Brook is excited to see him do new things, but I can tell that it is a big adjustment for her. We went to visit Ryan and Jackie last week and she had a wonderful time playing with her cousin Kate. They got along so well. The sleepover went well, but there didn't seem to be much "sleep". I heard giggling at 10pm and when I poked my head in the door Kate was in bed with Brook. Very cute, but boy they were crabby the next day. She is starting to "make believe", which has been fun. We have had a lot of tea parties with no cups, horse rides with no horses, and phone calls with no phones. Yesterday we called Auntie Beth to wish her a happy birthday, and when Brook heard that Beth did not have a cake she was confused. How can you have a birthday with no cake? Where do the candles go? It must not be Auntie Beth's birthday if she has no cake. Lots of new adventures with Brook.

Jack has learned to crawl and stand up in the last 3 weeks. I guess he just decided it was time. He is 11 months and still has no teeth, but that doesn’t stop him from eating a few solid foods. We lowered the crib twice in 4 weeks, and the second time I just put it as low as it could go. Might as well admit that the boy is fully mobile and he will likely be trying to crawl out of his bed soon anyway. Since he has learned to pull himself up on everything he has decided he no longer needs to sleep. We have had some difficult (and long) fights at nap and bedtime, but it looks like I might be winning. He went to bed without a fuss tonight. I am amazed at the dexterity he has developed lately too. He is getting very good at feeding himself and picking up small objects. He’s learning to manuver his body around things rather than trying to bash his way through. He likes the little red light on the powerbar behind the TV. Brook does not appreciate his curiosity when she is watching cartoons. He started making “dada” sounds. He only says “mom” when he’s angry. He realizes that he can get himself from room to room to find people or things he wants. It has been an adventure the past few weeks. I’ve had to turn “the eyes on the back of my head” back on. I had forgotten how exhausting it is to watch a small child so closely, but so far so good. I have only plucked a few inedible objects from his mouth, none of which would have harmed him. (It’s just kind a gross to watch him eat fuzz off the floor).

As for me, I am done Christmas shopping. Stockings and all! All of our name picks this year were children, so a quick trip to toy r us and my shopping list was 90% done! So now what? I’ve got 4 weeks until Christmas and really nothing to do but keep the house clean, keep Jack from killing himself, and try to keep Trevor from finding his Christmas gift. I am trying to avoid doing my Christmas baking until a few days before Christmas. My theory is that I may then avoid the new years resolution to lose weight. I turn 30 in a few days. I have come to accept it and that is all I want to say about that. Trevor has something planned for my birthday and I am not permitted to know the details. I love it that way. J

He is officially crawling

Trail Ride!!!

I got a chance to get away for two days last week and go back to PVBC for a girls trailride. It was fantastic!!! I was so tired and sore and refreshed. We moved some cows, rode trails, found a decent river crossing, and visited until the wee hours of the morning. My heart is full. Something about the pembina valley on horseback makes me ... overflow. That's the only word I can find to describe it. We had great weather too. Thank you God for the Pembina Valley. I feel like you made it just for me.

3 years old

Brook's 3rd birthday was oct 12th. We had a great time. Trev took a bunch of pictures and videos with his new phone, and then he had some trouble with it and had to return it. he forgot to upload those pictures before the phone was returend, so I have very few pictures from Brook's birthday which I was quite unhappy about, but such is life. There will be more birthdays.

It seems like she turned 3 and became a different kid. She has become very aware of time. By that I mean that she thinks ahead, planning what will happen in the day. She is constantly asking me what is going to happen next, where are we going, and can we have some gum when we get there? I guess it is part of growing up, but I have to admit it has been a bit trying this week. Sometimes I just don't know what we are going to do or when we will get there.

She's been taking instructions a lot better lately too. She seems to be able to focus and carry out a task without getting as distracted as she used too. It is so fun to see her grow and change. Her interests seem to change from one day to the next.

Mobile, Hostile, Agile

Ok, so maybe the title of this blog entry is a little overkill, but Jack is on the move! Look out pets! Look out Brook! Garbage cans beware. The boy is on the move.

I love it. He is so funny as he scoots around the house looking for things to conquer. I am so glad we have such an easy-going dog. Jack will be pulling Sam's ear off or grabbing her wiskers with his sticky little hands and she waits for an opportune moment to get up and leave without knocking him over. (he likes to lay across her and drool) Sometimes if she wants him to back off she'll give him one good lick him from chin to forehead. He always giggles. Yuck.

I try to mediate their time together, because nothing would be worse than if Sam were to lose her patients some day. I can't imagine it would ever happen, but Jack needs to know that there are boundries with the Dog. He can do whatever he wants to the cat. Milo just takes it anyway.

So the boy is moving. He pulls himself onto his knees. I find him sitting in his crib in the morning, rather than laying on his stomach. Ya, he is growing up. 10 months old already. It's hard to believe.

September so far

First and foremost: Baby Eleanor Hope Reimer was born on September 10! Yay! It just so happened that Trev had the Saturday free so Brook, Mom and I took a flying trip to Winnipeg. It was worth it. It was so good to see Beth and Derick and their cute baby girl. I think it is really cool that her birthday is 9-10-11.

The next three pictures are just random.

Jack likes swings. He smiles so big! It is really cute.

Look how long Brook is getting. I think she's gonna be tall like those Flemings.

Brook, Jack and i took a trip to the farm to help Mom and Jeanette do apples. It is a sticky mess, but it was lots of fun. We did about 2 laundry baskets of apples and there were still lots to do.

September long weekend

On September long weekend the flemings gathered in Brandon. We went to the park, wateched football and just enjoyed hanging out together. Baby Amilia was the center of attention for sure! She was two weeks old.

Arts and Crafts

I made Brook some butterfly wings last night. They cost me $1.33 to make. I love using my glue gun.

She loves them. I reminded her that she cant really fly.

She twirled and danced all over the yard.

Jack watched all the girlyness from the lounge chair.

Lake William

We went to Lake William for a few nights last week. It was not our best camping trip, but we survived. A raccoon with no fear, cold temperatures, and late night loud neighbors kind of took some of the fun out of it, but we managed to make the best of it.

Nap Time

The Beach Bumbo

Kuzin Kamp

The Fleming family gathering AKA "Kuzin Kamp".

We gathered at Uncle Garry's place last weekend. Almost every Fleming from Manitoba to BC was there which made for a good time. Activities included : eating, passing around each other's babies, trying to see how many people we could cram into one living room, beanbag baseball, fixing a 4 wheeler, driving different 4 wheeler, cooking a rediculous amount of ribs, taking pictures, playing in the sandbox, holding kittens, feeding a goat, and fireworks. All in all it was a fantastic day of fun and mayhem. I dont think those poor kittens will ever be the same.

The Tiny Party

Brook and I went to a baby shower evening. As we were getting ready she was quite concerned that her pretty pink dress would get wet while we gave Jack a shower. I had to reassure her that it was not our baby's shower but rather a baby party. She seemed happy with that explanation. A few minutes later as I was dressing Jack she said, "Mom, is Jack coming to the tiny party too?" I explain that it was not a baby sized party, but a party for a baby. Who knew two words together could be so confusing. While we walked home from the shower she asked, "Mom, where's the party"? I guess a bunch of old ladies sitting around looking at baby clothes does not count as a party for Brook, even though there were cupcakes and balloons.

Getting Older - Rant

We had a lot of dragonflys in our backyard today. They are beautiful.

I think I am getting older. It has been bothering me the last few months. I turn 30 in December, and unfortunatly I am letting my last year of being twenty something be ruined by my upcoming birthday. I never thought of myself as a person that worried about worldly things like age, but that was before my first gray hair. Before my daughter could say "Mom, you old?" Before I could see the wrinkles starting. I know, those of you that are over 30 or 40 are shaking your head at me right now, but it is starting to bug me. Ive never really noticed my body starting to turn on me until this last year and I don't like it.

It didn't help that Beth told me that only old people email. Apparently your supposed to text now. I don't even carry a cell phone. I am so slow at texting that it is embarrassing. I avoid it like the plage. Anyway, that is my rant. Old and out of date. Sagging and stretching. I guess I'm just feeling a little worn out today. Thank goodness my birthday is not what really matters. I guess I need to stop pulling out my gray hairs too.

Proverbs 16:31 "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life".