Blink of an Eye

Summer is over! It was full and so much fun. Beginning of summer the girls were in swim lessons at the crofton outdoor pool. They both had there best friends in there lessons and so it was basically one on one. They both passed and had so much fun. Definitely will be doing that again next summer, even though it was every day for 2 weeks. The first 2 weeks of summer were gorgeous and almost every day after lessons we stayed for public swim, so Amara had her first time in the pool and loved every moment!

We got our fourth and *final* boat... and she is a beauty! It is a boat Steve doesn't have to put any extra time or money into it and it has a bunch of extra bells and whistles. We are very happy with it and it has been awesome taking out all our visitors on the water and showing them islands! 

My mom, dad, brother and his wife road tripped out at the end of July and we went over to Ucluelet for a few nights. It was freezing and foggy but we still had a blast surfing, body surfing and hot tubbing at our cabin. 

Adessa LOVED body boarding... much more into than the older sister. Danika was pretty freaked out and it didn't help that her wet suit was too small on her. She much preferred beach combing. 

Ucluelet... my dad is a rock star surfer! 

The brother in laws

Meeko surfing it up

The best... seriously such a selfless trooper, she spent 2 days freezing on the beach with all the kids while we surfed! Mom you're amazing! xoxo 

God's beauty never ceases to amaze me!

Auntie Nikayla

Special memories at the beach with Uncle Joel

The girls and I road tripped back with my family to Calgary for 2.5 weeks and spent the time at my sisters place. The morning we woke up it was Adessa's 4th birthday! My how time flies... this little girl has grown up much too quickly!

Meeting Granny for the first time! Amara does not like to cuddle like Adessa did, she is a strong little thing that wants to stand and look around the whole time. 

We took about 50 of these... this was the best one! Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandchildren!

Granny and the girls!

Amara meeting her other Granny, she had us over for a yummy lunch. Unfortunately the kids were done at this point!

Trying to get a nice photo in their sunday best... no luck!

SO many special memories with their cousins... such an amazing trip!

My beautiful, amazing sister who was so helpful to me with the kids and opened up her house to us for 2 whole weeks. Amazing meals, and so much fun every day! 

We got to see Steve's parents and sisters for one day, as they just got home from Newfoundland. It was so nice to see them, but way too quick of a visit!

My sister in law Amy and Niece Emilie drove home with us. 16 hours straight in one day... Emilie was my saving grace on the road trip, she helped out SO much with the girls and kept them fed and happy!

We missed daddy SO much... never allowed to be apart for 2.5 weeks ever again!!! He worked his bum off while we were off vacationing, best hubby ever!

My baby growing much too quickly! She started sitting up on her own while we were in Calgary. 

New Stuff

Another couple of weeks have flown by, here is a little re-cap. 

Danika ended school at the very end of June so these are a few shots captured on our last day of being just us 3 girls! Adessa LOVES her little sister and is such a big help! Amara is still as content as ever. She really likes her jumper, but is still too short to reach the ground, even on the lowest setting, hence the pillow under her feet. 

She is growing so quickly thought. This week I had a check up because she has a bump on her head that we thought was changing a bit, but the Dr reassured us that it is not and that it will go away. Amara weighed in at 13 lbs 9 oz. I finally packed away her newborn clothes and she is now sporting the 3-6 month old clothing. So much of it is from her Auntie Linsey, I just love her little roots yoga pants!

These pictures look IDENTICAL from last years grad. Both Danika and Mrs. Mitchell were wearing the EXACT same dresses!!! Too funny! Danika has worn this dress for preschool, kindergarten and now gr. 1 grad. She has SO many dresses, but this has been a favorite! Mrs. Mitchell has been such a special part of our lives and is someone we will never, ever forget. She has helped Danika so much and wrote such a beautiful note to Danika. When Danika read it, she cried pretty hard. It is going to be a big change to have a new teacher in the fall. Danika passed grade 1 (thankfully!) and has just reached her reading mark for grade 1. So we have set up a chart for reading and writing every day this summer. So far it is going well! Mrs. Mitchell said that Danika has such a passion for learning and that is something that cannot be taught! We have been very blessed by the school, by the wonderful teacher and special learning teacher Danika has had, to backing onto the school and having Danika able to walk to and from school. We are so very proud of how hard Danika has worked this year and how much she has learned. She is growing much too quickly!
Her best friend Lize finished school a week earlier so surprised Danika at her grad. The top right picture is Danika's best friend at school. Her name is Naona and her family moved here from Japan last year. It has been neat watching their friendship grow as Naona has really been learning her english. 

Amara is replacing the girls real dolls... they had her in their dollies crib in the play room and Amara just loved it!

We took the boat out after Steve got home from work to tent island. We were the only ones on the beach and it was such a gorgeous evening. It was the first time we put Amara's toes in the ocean, and she didn't even flinch. She loves the water already!

My little girls were swimming away, practicing all their new moves they've been learning in swim lessons. It was about 8 pm at night... crazy kids! The top picture is of the girls in the front storage part of the boat. They made themselves a little fort, had all sorts of snacks and were giggling away. I LOVE watching their friendship grow. 

A few photos from swim lessons. I enrolled the girls in swim lessons for the first 2 weeks of summer holidays at our outdoor pool in Crofton. It is SO perfect! The weather has been amazingly hot and the girls are in lessons with their best buddies. Kailey and Adessa go first and there are only 2 other little boys in their class. In Danika's swim lesson there is Danika with her 2 best friends, Lize and Naona. And not a single other person in the entire pool. It is like their own private lessons. Danika has gotten so good at swimming and is diving to the bottom and holding her breath while she swims under.
A few times this past week we have stayed after swim lessons for free swim. I love the small town as there is very few people that come up, and the ones that do we know. And the lifeguards play games and give the girls candy.
We have one week left of lessons so I am looking forward to how much the girls will learn!

Last weekend we went over to some friends- The VanBovens from our old church. They are dairy farmers and have 4 older children. After lunch we went out on their boat on Quamichan lake. The girls got to go tubing with the older girls and had a blast. At one point Steve was driving for the older girls and knocked them all off. Adessa was dead serious and said she would never tube again because "daddy drives way too crazy!" We had to try and reassure her that he wouldn't do that for her! Then the following day we took the boat out again with the Nagtegaals and just went for a ride on the lake. The little girls and I jumped in. The lake is in between Crofton and Duncan, with quite a few homes on it, but no one really swims in it as it is kind of swampy. But out in the middle isn't too bad... so its like a lake to ourselves! The Vanboven family goes out every afternoon with their kids and said as long as you shower off after you'll be fine! Haha too fun!
On Thursday night a little friend from Danika's class invited her to a bible study in Duncan for children. So Danika went and loved it! They are learning about praying on the armor of God. Our babysitter had called me that afternoon, said she was bored and asked if Steve and I wanted her to come watch the girls. It was perfect timing as Steve had a terrible day. So we went out on a date and picked Danika up from her bible study. And when I went to pay Meagan she refused, said she just wanted to hang out with the girls. She has been such a blessing to us, and the girls just love her!

Steve continually is getting more leads and signing more jobs through his company. We are absolutely blown away by God's blessing on his company. This week has been extremely stressful for Steve however as some of his really good clients have turned kind of sour. So we are just praying for wisdom as to how to progress in the situation and it has taken it's toll on Steve. But we know God is faithful, and we will continue to seek His guidance and will for what steps to take as we have been holding true to James 1:2-5

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

And there is the end of another re-cap!

My posts are going to be a collection of random photos and thoughts as I just can't keep up with my blog! But I am trying my best to remember details so here goes...

Amara is still the happiest little girl in the world! She is literally my little doll and I am having so much fun with her! She LOVES her bath time... sorry for the nudity in the shot, but she just finished her bath and was so excited! She loves her swing and she is so good traveling in the car.

Birthday's once in school become quite the ordeal! You HAVE to bring cupcakes because they celebrate the child in their class, which is very special, but more work. Especially when I decide last minute to make my cake batter and icing from scratch. We had a little cake decorating class at MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) so I went and bought a little kit at walmart for beginners and went to work. My oh my... it was a whole day ordeal and by the end I wasn't a happy momma. So I learned my lesson, I will buy boxed cake mix, but would probably still do the icing by hand because it holds its form so well and everything stayed good for a week! Anyways Danika was very happy with her cupcakes and the kids in class LOVED them!
The next day when it was her actual birthday and party, I made the cake from scratch and icing, but let Danika go ahead and decorate herself, she fully enjoyed herself. 

For Danikas party we rented the Duncan Gymnastics place. This was Danika's first time doing gymnastics and she loved every moment! I was laughing so hard watching both Danika and Adessa as they tumbled along and disappeared into the foam pit. And Adessa kept up with the 6 and 7 year olds... the girl doesn't miss a beat!
I have loved this year with Danika and 7 years old seems so old to me! There has been a lot of tough times, but also a lot of good. It has been so amazing to watch Danika catch onto reading, and these past couple of months watching her breeze through her little home reading books. She loves her baby sister with all her heart and loves to cuddle her on the couch and make Amara smile.

Amara is now 4 months old and I just took her in for her vaccinations. So heart wrenching to hear this little girl cry, since she rarely ever does! I am loving every moment with this little beauty, I wish there were more moments of just being able to sit and stare and kiss.

Here is a little comparison chart of our girls weights and heights... just for fun!

                                 Birth                        2 months                       4 months 

Amara      weight     6 lbs 14 oz                10 lbs  4 oz                     13 lbs

                 height      19.29 inches              21.02 inches                    23.15 inches

Adessa      weight   7 lbs 13 oz                 11 lbs 11 oz                     13 lbs 14 oz

                  height    21 inches                                                            23.75 inches

Danika       weight    4 lbs 9 oz                  9 lbs 2 oz                           12 lbs 2 oz

                  height    17 inches                   21 inches                             24 inches 

Adessa is keeping me as busy as ever. Her latest thing she loves are her "Lonely baths," She always asks for them. I think it is because her big sister is starting to enjoy showering by herself for some quiet time, so Adessa apparently prefers her lonely baths. 

For Steve's 30th birthday we had a bunch of people out to our friends farm. It was a beautiful evening. Everyone brought Steve beer... I guess what else do you get a guy?!? So we are stocked up for the summer! Also a good buddy got Steve some Duck Dynasty attire, a favorite show around here! It was a really nice evening filled with lots of laughs, some firecrackers and good friends. We feel so blessed by the wonderful friendships we have!
For my birthday my hubby surprised me by arranging childcare for my girls then having me go to a day spa in Duncan for a facial and massage. It was so wonderful to be shut into a dark room for 2 hours... I didn't want to leave! I felt very loved on my day and was spoiled by many awesome presents and in the evening was taken out on an adventure by a good friend! I got a new beautiful watch and my first pair of birkenstock sandals, which I LOVE. I also got some money for a shopping spree I will have to go on soon... I can't wait!
I have also started playing soccer on Monday nights with some ladies in Duncan. It feels so good to be out on the field again. And I love exercising when you don't feel like you are, because it is so much fun! But it is really encouraging me to get back in shape. I am almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but definitely want to start working out and feeling better! There just isn't any time in the day!

Well that is the end of my random post... stay tuned for many more that will probably be similiar! ;) 

Time Flies

I wish I could stop time and stay in this moment forever. 

It is crazy how quickly you move on and forget what each stage is like, because I look at my Danika who is about to turn 7 and I wonder how we got here, when it was yesterday that she was 4 pounds in an incubator in the hospital. And how Adessa is almost 4 years old and makes me laugh every day with her crazy abundance of energy. And now my third precious child is almost 4 months old and has gone from sleeping ALL day to smiling, laughing and grabbing onto all sorts of things. She no longer wants to be held tight against my chest where I can deeply breathe in her sweet baby scent, for its as if she will miss what her big sisters are doing. So much has changed in these few short months and I wish I could freeze time so I don't miss anything. 

Amara has officially moved out of size 1 diapers and is now in size 2. She is standing in her jolly jumper and sitting in the bumbo and is focusing so hard on objects placed in front of her. She smiles if you talk to her, even mid cry, she will look up and give you the greatest smile. She has officially moved out of our room and is all alone in her new big room. The first morning Danika went in to talk to her and told me that as soon as Amara saw her she giggled, because she finally felt love in her empty room! 

As crazy hectic life is at the moment, I do truly love it. I love the busyness, I love how the girls love their little sister and each time they pass her they yell out a big "HI AMARA" in the tone only they each can produce. I love that every time they yell it, it is quickly followed by a "Oh, she smiled at me!" 

Amara is continuing on her awesome sleep schedule of going to sleep around 8 pm, waking once around 4 am to eat, fall back asleep and sleep in until 7 or 8 am. She has been such a blessing, and I can truly say I have enjoyed every moment with this sweet little girl who I am so in love with. I can't imagine our lives without her. Her tiny little toes and fingers, her sweet chubby cheeks and silky soft hair. Everyone who meets her still comments on her beautiful head of hair and how beautiful she is. I feel weird writing it out, because I don't want to feel like I am bragging, but she truly is a beautiful little girl with such a sweet demeanor. 

I took the girls for a walk the other day after school. With Amara on my ergo carrier, Adessa in the stroller, Meeko on the leash and Danika riding her bike. It probably looked a little crazy as a few people commented that I sure had my hands full. But I loved every moment. I love when I get to the beach that has become our new walking path, where I can just sit and take in the girls endlessly exploring. The girls fight a lot, but they also play very well together. I love watching their friendship grow and the way they imagine together. 

Danika is still very bossy, something we are working on, and Adessa continues to not be told what to do, which can make for some loud screaming matches. But they are becoming less and less. (Thank God!) 

Steve continues to be busy and we have only God to thank for that! He has several jobs on the go and has hired several men to work for him. I am so proud of him though, he is really loving the new role of being a contractor and no longer working on the tools. But he does find himself on the phone all day and driving in his truck. 

This time around with the third child, we both just seem to be so relaxed now. I mean I still have my insane moments where I can't handle the mess and chaos around me, but I truly have loosened the reins as I physically can't keep up with my home anymore. For the first time since we have been married, the laundry sits clean in the laundry basket without being folded for a long time, the floor collects dust bunnies and dog fur blows across my floor. The bathrooms go uncleaned and there are fingerprints on literally everything! Oh and who has time for dusting!?! It has been a process in my heart that I do continually struggle with everyday, because I like everything just so- but God is teaching me how very valuable my time is and how if I don't sit down and play or cuddle you blink and they grow up. 

Our birthday week is coming up and my Danika will be 7, I will be 26 and my hubby will be the big 3-0! 

The MASSIVE shop Steve is building. 4200 sq ft. It is beautiful!