The Well Church Campout

This is how we spent our camping trip with the church...

Chatting

Throwing Knives

Having a Bocce Tournament

Preparing Food

Singing in the Rain

Swimming in the Rain (and in the sun)

Hanging out on the Dock

Boating

Rescuing the Boat

Barefoot Skiing (first time)

Enjoying the Wood-Heated Hot Tub

Playing with Babies (look at how much she loves him!)

Snuggling with Babies

Swaddling Babies in the Dark

And Roasting Grapes... You should try it sometime!

And... just because I love her.

a little secret

Erik loves Sawyer almost as much as I do. He not-so-secretly adores her. He's not gaga like me, but he's pretty close. When I came home from my trip to the coast he bragged about how Sawyer leaned towards him at church (aka wanted him to hold her) and then she chatted and eventually fell asleep on him. Cute.

My Niece, Hailey Jade

Hailey Jade is a wonder baby. Seriously. She is the best. It was great to spend three solid days with her and Jenn so I could get to know her a bit better. I have concluded that she is, as I said, a wonder baby.

For starters, she doesn't cry. Ever. She will make whiny noises when she decides she is hungry or that she needs a change of scenery, but she never cries. And, her whiny noises are so delightful!

Secondly, she is very good at entertaining herself. We canned applesauce on Thursday and she entertained herself for the majority of the time. She has this little play mat that makes music and lights up and she endlessly kicks it and giggles. She didn't even mind her cousins bombarding her while she was playing.

It's a good thing she can entertain herself because the next thing that makes Hailey so special is that she doesn't like to be held for very long. Forget about cuddling chest to chest this girl likes to look around. Enjoy the few minutes you have her in your arms because she will undoubtedly get fussy and want to be put down. I kid you not, she would rather lay on the floor or sit in her chair thingy than stay cuddled up in your arms. This makes her a wonder baby, but also makes me sad because I love nothing more than snuggling with a baby.  It's a good thing Jenn told me too or else I would have had a frustrated baby on my hands. What do you do when a baby gets whiny and sad?? Pick them up and snuggle. Nope, this girl likes to be put down and left alone. If she is down and whines it is because she wants you to sit and chat with her... but don't pick her up.

Hailey is also amazing because she has been smiling and laughing since she was three weeks old. I didn't believe it until I saw it, but when I met her at 2 weeks she was already laughing and beginning to make happy noises. Now she hands smiles out like they are going out of style - which they never will. She has just started finding her voice... by this I mean that I sat with her on the floor in front of me and we chatted. Like responsive talking. Like I would say something and she would move her tongue around making all sorts of baby noises in response to what I was saying.

Hailey is the most alert baby I have ever met. She has always been this way. I know that everybody thinks they have the smartest baby in the world, but I genuinely think she is the most alert and smartest baby I have ever met. Remember that mat that I was talking about? The one that lights up and makes noise? She has to kick it in order for it to keep going and she intentionally kicks it. I'm serious. She will wind up her leg and kick it in the exact same spot each time - no flailing for this baby. It's amazing.

I really wish you could all meet Hailey Jade and see for yourselves. She is wonderful. I am so glad I got to visit with her and her mama.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

*** *** ***

Beautiful Morning

I know I'm on a bit of a blogging frenzy right now. Four posts in one day is a bit excessive, but I'm just going to go with it.

 My favorite part of our girls camping trip was when Sawyer and I spent the morning snuggled up by the lake. There was a thick silence that only the frost can bring. We sat in the crisp morning air, savoring the warmth we provided for each other, knowing we were about to descend again to the noisy city that awaited us.

As we watched the sun rise above the mountain, I cherished this time with my little girl. I soaked in all of her baby sweetness and thanked God for the special relationship I have with her. Her big blue trusting eyes and chubby cheeks are enough to make any auntie well up with tears.

On this particular morning by our own private lake, I was determined to savor every bit of this stage of Sawyer's life. I was intent on enjoying the moment because I know am going to miss this. Oh, am I ever going to miss it.

Oyamalama

Our little trip consisted mainly of playing cards, laughing, hiking, exploring, and playing with Sawyer. Oh, and driving... we forgot most of the food at home in a bag by the door so we had to go back the second afternoon to pick it up. It's a good thing Mandi only lives about 40 minutes from where we were camping.

Bean enjoyed hanging out by the lake... or maybe more just snuggling with her momma. Either way she was a very content baby. This was her first real camping trip (she had camped in her grandma's backyard before) and she handled it very well. 

When it got cold out we used socks as mittens. I think they are the cutest! I love that the heels and toes are a different color on them. She didn't seem to mind wearing them. They, along with everything else, just ended up going into her mouth anyway. 

 I loved getting unlimited snuggles. It was just the three of us so I had ample time to play with Bean... and I loved every single minute of it. Especially putting her to sleep. We brought her playpen along and she usually napped in it, but I kept her this once for a sleepy snuggle, which is one of my favorite kinds. 

That is really about all there is to say about our trip. It was uneventfully delightful. It was so nice to just rest. At first we didn't know what to do with ourselves, but we soon sunk into the sheer bliss of relaxation.

And lastly, a picture of the three of us.

Bean in Oyama

just having a little chat

Ladies Camping Trip

Mandi, Sawyer and I went on a little camping trip together in Oyama last week. We followed a bumpy, dirt road for about 15 kms and found a lovely camp site. It was a single site on a lake complete with an outhouse and a picnic table. Just perfect. It was breathtaking actually. The water was so peaceful and there was absolutely no one around.

Here are a couple panorama's Mandi took. Isn't this place gorgeous?!??!







It isn't at all what I expected. We'd been driving up a dry dusty dirt road and then this place appeared out of no where. Awesome!







I probably took 100 pictures of the lake alone because I enjoyed it that much. Now I have the lovely job of going through them and keeping only the very best. We'll see how that goes.

It was 38 degrees when we arrived at 6:30pm on Wednesday evening and the weather only went down-hill from there. There was no rain, thankfully, but we didn't get a chance to swim in the lovely lake. The second morning we woke up to frost on our tent and on everything we left outside. Bean had woken in the night and came to snuggle with her momma because it was so chilly.

We took these pictures that morning as we were taking down camp. We left right after Sawyer's morning feed because we had some preparation to do for our next camping trip, the church camp out, that we were going on that same day. 

 We decided that we are going to have to make this an annual trip. We want to take our husbands, friends and kayaks/canoes next time though... and maybe go when the nights will be a little warmer.

4am snuggles with little miss maelle

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

*** *** ***

something other than babies

I am currently having my very first early morning snuggle with Maelle and I am, as you can probably guess, LOVING it. I watched the sun rise this morning while Maelle was swaddled up in the Chimparoo sling Milena has.  I took an online tutorial to learn how to use it this morning just so I could use it. Maelle seems to enjoy it just as much as I do.

I know my babies are all I have blogged about recently. The reason for that is quite simple... all I do is work and then I hang out with my girlfriends and/or their babies on my days off. Don't worry, Erik works evenings so this usually doesn't interfere with our time together. We've been having pretty awful schedules actually - we hardly have any evenings off together. I don't know when that will change, but I can't wait! I'm almost excited for school to start just because I will have more time to spend with Erik.

Erik and I are going to Cirque Du Soleil for our anniversary! I was not so keen on the idea because I'm cheap, but Erik begged a bit and told me he has "always wanted to go". I think I believe him, but he mainly said it to sucker me into going with him. I was so cheap, in fact, that I was going purchase two individual tickets so we could go for $20 cheaper each... but the ladies at work convinced me that was a bad idea.  Think about it for a second, we are just going to be watching the show! Who cares if we don't sit with each other because we can just chat about the show later. That was better than my first suggestion - to send Erik on his own. But no, we are going together and our tickets are costing a little bit more. I hope it's worth it!

Erik also purchased tickets to go see Sufjan in Seattle in October. We are taking Erik's sister with us. I am so excited for that concert! Again, I suggested that Erik go on his own, but he wasn't interested. I'm fairly certain that Erik bought the tickets without consulting me. To be fair, the Seattle tickets were almost half the price of the Vancouver ones and I did say he could go on his own... I'm not complaining too much because I LOVE Sufjan.

I probably won't update for a while because I am going camping with Mandi and Sawyer today. Then we have a church camp out this weekend. Then I'm home for a bit. Then I'm going to Abbotsford to hang out with my sister-in-law and Hailey while Anthony's gone. Then I have cirque du soleil. Then I go back to work. Yes, I do have a full set off!!! No work until the 31st! I am so excited.

I'm a fan

I love when this

becomes this

which leads to this

and I get to look at this.

look how much hailey has grown!

A Short Holiday

We just got back from a nice little visit to the coast. The main reason for our visit was my niece's baptism. I had to work Saturday night so we left right when I got off shift on Sunday morning (gross!) and made it just in time for the opening song at church. Hailey Jade is so cute! She is even cuter in person than in pictures, which is saying a lot because she is adorable in pictures.

 Hailey was, as you can guess, the center of attention the entire day. We crowded around her wherever she was vying for her attention hoping to be rewarded with smiles. And smile she did!

It's amazing to hold a little person and to think about what their life will be like. I wonder who Hailey will be. I wonder what our relationship will be like. I wonder about how she will be blessed and how she will bless the rest of us. It's mostly exciting, but also a little bit overwhelming. This little, dependent baby will one day be a grown woman. We each have so many hopes for her, but she will one day dream her own dreams and make her own decisions.

My nephews are especially smitten. They have been waiting for a little Jansen cousin for a long time. I love watching them interact with her as they are so gentle. The day when she can actually play with them can't come soon enough!

Speaking of nephews... Erik and I were going to take them and my niece, Kaitlyn, to the reptile refuge, but we learned upon arrival that it was closed. We adjusted our plans and made a pit stop at Walmart where we purchased everything we needed for a picnic at Redwood Park. It was so much fun! We played on the playground and went on a walk that turned into more of a hike.

My nephews are just getting to the age where they can have thoughtful conversations and it is fun to be able to engage with them and get to know them.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love forests? Especially forests with deciduous trees!! Lovely.

And we got to see this little girl one last time on our way out of town.