I love you...

... you love me... you know the rest of the words. Its not my favorite kids song, as the big purple dinasour isn't allowed at our house, but Nat is too cute when she sings it. She was singing for her cousin Pierre.

A season of busy...

This winter/spring has been extremely busy for our family... work has kept us on the go for too long.  But, now as this season is passing, I have free time to sit here and jot my thoughts down.  Its surprising how it is hard to slow down after being on the go for so long, but I am glad for the slower next couple of months, as I need more rest as this baby's arrival draws nearer.

Its been tough going through these last months, both physically and emotionally.  Physically my body is having a hard time adjusting to the largeness of this baby inside.  I'm aching more than normal... but it may be partially due to exhaustion.  I'm hoping some walks outdoors will help as we count down to this baby's arrival - only 10 weeks to go (plus a week as I'm usually late).

We've tried so hard to make sure we get some good family time in here and there, but juggling both our busy schedules has made it hard for Depak and I to see eachother.  Its so hard to make the effort to connect at the end of a hectic day when we're both so spent.  I hope we get some much needed time out soon just to reconnect.  I'm also looking forward to reconnecting with friends, which comes easier as the weather warms also.

During this past month, although I haven't had much time for much, I do make sure I enjoy the girls as much as I can.  Here are some photos of Nat playing on the Trampoline one afternoon (Depak got to take Chelsea out to see the Globe Trotters - I opted to hang out at home).  She's starting to get some air too.

April has so many birthdays for us to celebrate as well.  Natalie loves to wish people happy birthday... and especially her special uncle Walter.  Its a birthday I remember wanting to forget, and I think Walt felt the same way... the big 3-0!  I was fortunate enough to get to make his cake... angel food cake with chocolate whipping icing... yum!  And the 30 turned out pretty good.  Hope you had a great day Walt!

Our nephew Pierre also had a birthday, which was so much fun.  They rented the gym at the Guilford Rec Centre, and had a bunch of toys out for the kids to play with.  Pierre also got a special Thomas the Train cake... he loves Thomas!

And our little Arjun celebrated his first birthday too!!! Happy birthday Arjun!!!  He has this amazing cake, and a "little slugger" themed party with a baseball piñata.  His mom did a great job with the decorations.

Easter Reflections

There are so many things I love about Easter... family, fellowship, but most important is our reflection of our Saviour.  We are so thankful for the sacrifices that Christ paid for us on the cross.  We have been given a salvation in Christ Jesus that doesn't require our cost, as Jesus paid that cost on the cross.  And even more, our Saviour did not remain in the tomb, he rose again!  We serve a risen Saviour! 

We celebrated Easter with many dinners and church services.  Natalie discovered the Easter egg hunt this year... she calls it Easter Party!  She loved looking for chocolates with her big sister.  And now we know she LOVES eating chocolate. 

Now that Easter has passed, the fun spring clothes get to come out of the closet, the flowers are already blooming, time to plant more, mow the lawn.  I love this spring season! (too bad it involves a lot of work for us at the office as well)

Anticipating the summer...

There are many things I get to look forward to this summer: a new baby, some time off, my parents visiting... and a summer vacation.  I held a very strong desire that our family take a vacation this summer, nothing to strenuous, as we will have a wee little one in the mix, but some time to get away and spend just as a family.  Even though we know it'll be hard to fully relax with a newborn, we did some research and we found this amazing cabin on 3 acres on the Sunshine Coast that we get to call home for a week.  We are so excited, or should I say I am so excited.  The place has two bedrooms and a loft with beds, a full kitchen and living room, full bathroom (shower and tub), fire pit... and is right on the water.  It'll be a perfect getaway for our family.  I am very thankful that my husband responded to my need for some time away.

Getting bigger every day...

Here's an update of what I look like these days.  I must say, I am large for 24 weeks pregnant, despite what all my friends try to say.  And to think, I have another 17 to go (I always go 1 week overdue, so I'm planning for it ahead of time this go around). 

The most frustrating thing this pregnancy so far has been the moods / emotions that I cannot seem to get under control.  I am way more frustrated, upset, and emotionally drained than normal.  Physically its been a good pregnancy (aside from the size), but feeling so down / moody is taking its toll, not only on me but I'm sure my family has had too much.  The moods have affected my eating habits, and I am making very poor food choices, which doesn't help the moods (and the cycle starts again).  I am determined to do something about this, but can't seem to get it right.

Spring Break

Spring break came early this year, and it's been a productive break, but probably not the most fun for Chelsea.  Our number one goal was to clean out the basement.  Well, did we ever!  I still have a couple of boxes that I need to sort through, and a pantry that needs some organizing, but we gained about 700 square feet of space down there.  Chelsea was a big help, and Nat didn't get in the way either.  She got a trike from a friend, and she would ride around, color, and just generally play.  And we had the music going, which Nat just loves.  Now that there's space in the basement, she's always asking to go down and play.

Well, this photo came during our major cleaning spree, which was too cute to pass up.  We are so fortunate that our girls share such a close bond.

We also made it to the park one afternoon.  We are so blessed with amazing weather.  I wanted Nat to ride her trike to the park, but it was mostly us pushing her or carrying the trike.  I think we need to stick to the driveway until she's a little more accomplished.  Chelsea gave Nat a ride for part of the trip home, which was too cute.

And then we get snow.  Nat said its raining, and I looked, and it was actually snowing.  She wanted to go out to play in the snow, so she ate her breakfast, I bundled her up, and by the time we go outside, the snow was a lot thinner, and turning to rain.  We still played.

Olympic Memories!

Finally I get a chance to post our Olympic memories.  The Olympic withdrawal has subsided... but it was great while it lasted.  It was spectacular to be apart of something so big... a time for many nations to come together to cheer on our countries!  And what a way to end it, Canadian athletes did Canada proud!

The Olympic torch came through Abbotsford, and we celebrated with so many other proud Canadians in the rain... our true winter weather. It was exciting to get on our red shirts and cheer on the torch bearers.

Abbotsford got to host the Russian figure skaters at the local rink, so the girls and I went, waited in line, and got to see them perform some of their routines. On our way out, there were a couple of skaters that were taking pictures with fans, so I got a picture of Chelsea and Nat with the one couple we saw practice. It was pretty neat.

Chelsea and I headed into Vancouver one fabulous Friday afternoon.  It just so happened that we both had the day off.  We toured some of the pavilions, got to see the torch, and got our pictures with two of the mascots.  I think that was Chelsea's highlight of the day.  Sure we waited in lines (even for a free vitamin water), but it was a great day, and the atmosphere in Vancouver was so fun.

The next day we went in again, to check out more sites, as it is impossible to see them all in a day.  More lines, more sunshine, and lots of people.  We walked from Science World, around to Yaletown, then to downtown... we were almost lost in the big city.  We didn't get to see all that we wanted to this day, as we were heading over to the Canadian Mint pavilion to wait in line to see the medals.

So... after a 4.5 hour wait (Depak brought Nat into Vancouver in the evening, and joined us just outside the pavilion), we got to hold the Olympic and Paralympic medals.  They were heavy, and beautiful.  Nat even wants to get in there and touch one, but she wouldn't keep her glove in, and you cannot touch the medals without the sacred white glove.

There was a million dollar coin at the pavilion that was pretty neat, and very shiny.  Apparently pure gold.  We also took in the torch at night as a family.  It was great that we could do some of this together, as it is difficult to haul a toddler around in such a crowded city.

Chelsea and I also took another afternoon and went into the city again with a dear friend, Lynne.  It was a very rainy day, but we got to see a few more sites that we hadn't visited yet, and some we had.  Our favorite pavilion was the BC one, which we saw on our last trip in.  We were also able to find the toque that Chelsea wanted at the end of the evening.  It was a nice visit with Lynne, even in the rain.

Overall, what a fabulous time we had.  We didn't get to see one Olympic event live, but watched many on TV.  We had Olympics on TV, computer, radio... everywhere we went... I'm almost glad to be done and have the focus shift to our every day lives again.

Once in a lifetime experience... I'm glad we got to be apart of it.