Birthday Party Extravaganza

To celebrate Caleb's birthday, Doug and I decided to throw him an awesome birthday party. There were friends, burgers, cake, balloons, and lots of presents-- all the essentials of an awesome 1st birthday party! My good friend Anj was the party photographer-- here are some of the great pics she took of the evening:

Caleb and his Auntie Kristi


One of the rare times that Micah gets to drink pop... (stay tuned for the after effects)

Welcome to the party boys!

Caleb was really excited that all of his friends could make it.

This one just melts my heart-- Keziah, you are so pretty!

What do you think they're talking about? Wedding plans, maybe?

Grandma and Keziah

Remember the pop? Here's what happens when a three year old and coke mix!

The birthday cake!

Singing happy birthday... At one point I thought he would break into tears, but he managed to hold it together!

Give me my cake! I've waited all year for this!

First bites... this is pretty good!

Mom! That's my cake!

Opening presents... and starting to get sleepy... not a good combination.

And once Caleb went to bed... everyone else decided to break in his new toys! Who knew toddler toys could inspire so much fun for a group of adults!

Thanks for coming everyone! Happy birthday buddy!

Happy Birthday to my little Boy

Happy Birthday Caleb! I can't believe you're a one year old already! It has been so incredible to see you grow from a tiny 5 lb baby boy, into a fun, active, joyful one year old!

Just days before you were born... I thought we'd have more time together... just the two of us.



But you came 6 weeks early... before you, I, or anyone was ready. You were so tiny and fragile.

But so peaceful and beautiful amidst so much pain and hurt.

The first time we met... I waited days to see you... and it was worth it. You were cuter than the pictures the nurses brought up to my room!

And then we got to go home together. Even though life was still not as is should have been, I was still so happy to have you home.

You slept, and grew, and smiled, and cried.

And all of a sudden you didn't look like a preemie baby anymore!

You smiled and laughed when the rest of us were crying.

And started to bounce around!

We went places together...

And snuggled in bed together to watch some TV when it was raining outside!

You started to eat all kinds of new foods... and loved them all!

And before I knew it, you were sitting on your own, then rolling, and now you're crawling and racing me around the house getting into trouble!

What a fun little man you've become. We have so many good laughs and giggles together.

I love coming into your room in the morning to see you standing and laughing in your crib. You're always so happy to see me. What a great way to wake up!

Caleb, this year has been less than perfect... but I am still so thankful to have you with me. Know that I love you deeply, and am so proud to be your mommy.

Summer Fun, Wedding Fun, And Another To Come?...

Hey Everybody! Brace yourself for a long post with tons of pictures. As many of you may know, Doug and I had a funfilled Saskatchewan adventure this past week! My little sister Angela got married last Saturday, so Doug, Caleb, and I hit the road and made our way out to the promised land. We left Abbotsford Friday night at 5pm and drove through the night! I was a bit worried about how the drive would be with an 11 month child, but Caleb was fabulous! He ended up sleeping throughout most of the 17 hour drive, which was quite nice. Here was the view from the backseat...

We were lucky to experience a gorgeous, hot, week in Saskatchewan. It was quite amazing to be back at my parent's farm. So peaceful, relaxing, and quiet! Here's the view from the house:

One highlight from the trip, Carolin, a German exchange student who lived with parents a while back came out for the wedding! It was so, so, good to see her again. She is one of the girls in our family, let's call her sister/daughter #4!

One night we had a great bonfire outside in the backyard. Here's a few shots from that night. I think Caleb is totally out in this picture. Trish must have lulled him to sleep.

Doug and I being all wild and crazy, snapping one for the books.

Doug playing around with the color swap option on our camera.

Caleb has a new best friend... his papa! My dad and Caleb have quite a love for each other. They would disappear for hours on end going to the barn, looking at animals around the farm, going truck shopping. By the end of the week Caleb would lunge out of my arms if my dad walked by... I guess I'm no longer the favorite!

The paddling pool sure felt good in the 30 degree weather, eh Caleb?

The majority of the week was taken up by wedding preparations! Here's the reception decorating in progress. It looked absolutely beautiful in there... it felt like you were at an outdoor wedding in a tent! So incredible.

And then the big day arrived. Here's Ang and Tyler reciting their vows (I obviously didn't take the picture since I was on stage. But how did Doug take these pictures... I thought I heard an announcement that there were no pictures allowed!?)

The newly married couple... Tyler and Angela Friesen! You looked beautiful Ang.

Picture time! Here's Dad and Caleb having fun with a Frisbee.

Silly Auntie Trish! Caleb is so lucky to have so many beautiful Aunties!

The lovely couple smooching away for the camera!

Here's a cute pictures of Ang's dress and flowers. They were both gorgeous!

It was quite difficult to get a family pic while I was wearing my necklace. Caleb has a great fondness for jewelery of any kind...

Me and my squirming (soon to be) one year old.

Here's Caleb and his Nana. Gotta love the necklace, once again.

A picture of the bridesmaid flowers. So beautiful.

Here's Caleb at the reception. He was quite entertaining, and distracting, to everyone around him. He has this new thing where he starts laughing quite hard whenever he sees pictures of other children. This proved to be quite funny when the slideshow at the reception began. As pictures of Ang and Tyler as children went up on the screen, all you could hear in the quite hall was Caleb, full out belly laughing and squealing.

And that was the wedding! We arrived home to some exciting news, Doug's sister Kristi is getting married! Keith popped the question yesterday, and now we'll be gaining another new brother in law! Congrats you two! We love you both!

And finally, some pictures from this morning. What do you get when you put together a one year old, some fresh raspberries, and a camera? A mess! (and lots of fun.)