the suite is "done"

renovations never really end...but here is the suite "ready" for our new/old renters to return. we are so happy to have them back under our roof. the good news is they said we were really quiet after the first night!!! i'm so glad, since ezekiel cried at 4am really loudly and they slept thru! yay!

derek and i worked late into the night on friday night to get everything done for april 1st. i went without naps for several days to try to help take the burden off of derek, i dont know if he felt that way, but i'm sure he was happy for the company.

derek shows off his hard work (although, i painted the bifold and the door--i think its really annoying that you buy a brand-new door, but you have to paint it white, twice! because primer is not quite white--y'know, all excited "yay, new doors!" and then you can't really even put them up for at least a day!)

closet with cedar trim, from our own backyard

new laminate flooring, the hallway, all new doors and light blue kitchen in the distance...

spiffed up living room

and an aside:
diedre is really good at drawing circles!

end of march pics

he sat in the high chair for "dinner" the other day for the first time.

diedre got her own big girl seat at the table with a lovely placemat and star shaped princesses plate from Grammy Salmon.

the family dinner table

ok, precious daughter, can you get any cuter?! we didnt think it was possible, but you are such a doll :D

lots of teeth, i think she looks like me here...

she's been really giggly lately. i find that when i laugh, she chuckles along, so lately i've been exaggerating my laughing so we can have a little fit together. its fun :D

tv zombie...sorry honey, it must be close to naptime

he's still a happy boy...maybe because he's sooo well fed. my sweet chunky monkey is solely fed on breastmilk. he has been eating tons lately and is definitely teething, he's been munching on his hands like crazy. the advice these days is to wait until six months to start solids. we started diedre at 5.5 months, so we'll see how he does in the next month or so.

little man is growing so fast! he is almost sitting up at just over 4 months! crazy kid

A Very Special Day!

Happy Birthday Auntie Heather!
Happy Four Months old Ezekiel!


here is my firstborn as we are heading to visit Poppy at the hospital before going to Auntie Heather's family party.

Grandma Jen comes with us for the trip

there's my little niece! nice smile Poppy

uncle Derek takes a look


There's the birthday woman :D she is doing pretty good.

Poppy is nursing once a day and is gaining weight (5lb 1oz!). Poppy is 34 weeks old now, 3 weeks in the outside world that is. she is having some issues with apnea and needing oxygen. andrew says it should stop in another two weeks or so. please pray for heather and andrew as they deal with all these things with their beautiful daughter. pray that she will come home safe and whole at the right time; and then that they can adjust to two kids at a time :D


Diedre is sitting so daintily. she is talking so much now. she is really helpful to me when she's not having a tantrum.


Here's our big 4-month old! he just started sucking his thumb, not really for comfort yet, just for fun i guess.


ezekiel is a very happy baby, he is sleeping well and eats lots. he gets his shots on tuesday. he is growing up so fast. he loves his sister and she loves him. she sings to him and tries to comfort him in the car when he's upset. although she also started roaring like a lion when he's crying, cuz i guess it sounds like a roar to her. its really funny.


zeke, all ready for bed

most impressive gifts

i have not posted for a long time, here are somethings we've been up to lately:

repairing our suite for re-rental. our tenants agreed to move out (and signed a legal document) on February 15. they actually left on February 26 (Diedre's birthday). We assessed all the damage (15 holes in the walls) and figure there is about $1400 or so. yes, we have their $375 damage deposit, but they also lived for free for 11 days. needless to say, we are out a significant amount of money, are considering re-renting with fear and trepidation, and have alot of work ahead of us.

here are two of the most impressive items of damage.

huge hole that was patched using cardboard.


this was a brand new door for our brand new bathroom

but the story has a very happy twist, Derek's parents came out from Ontario and surprised him for his birthday. his dad helped out with the suite so much and helped take the load off Derek's shoulders. and our previous tenants (a young couple) contacted us wanting to move back in. they came by and picked paint colours and then Derek's parents, our new tenants, us and even Diedre helped get the painting done.

the last few weeks

March 7

Diedre is still going strong on the princess dress thing...here she has princess pants and sweater.


Grammy and Grampa arrive from Ontario and Diedre gets woken up for some fries.


Grammy holding ezekiel


the guys get right to work on the suite the next day!


diedre helps with the painting

Derek's family birthday party at the Gagne Grandparents, March 11:





Grandma reads to miles and diedre

Happy 31st Birthday Derek!


Derek wants to start a yearly arm wrestling match with miles...


Diedre and her baby got matching dresses from Grammy



fancy dinner at the Olive Garden, March 12:

wow, what a big smile you have!


Grandpa gets to hold the tired zeke

Derek's actual Birthday, March 13:



another birthday dessert for my special man :D


Grammy braided our hair the same, March 14 and Derek and i went on a date that night





March 16, Diedre's hanging with her gang at the kids fair in Abbotsford


i heard diedre playing and caught her mothering all three dolls:



ezekiel is getting so big these days! 15 pounds!

i was feeling very stressed for the last few weeks. the damage the tenants did and having them live here for four months was very stressful to me. i feel much better now that we have had so much help getting everything fixed up down there (thanks Grammy & Grampa) and having new/old tenants lined up for April 1st. i had been feeling like caring for two kids was just too hard somedays, but i think it was just all these other stresses that i never had a chance to let go of. i have now and i feel much better. hopefully now that i'm caught up with the blogging, i can stay on top of it better :D