Waiting for the Train

Drawing

Catch Me if You Can!

Ben and Kate's favorite thing to do is chase each other around the house with their ride-on/walker toys.

On the Road Again

Earlier this week my best friend, Candace and I took a little trip to Calgary with the kids.  

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

We spent a peaceful morning at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.  Ben enjoyed playing in the dirt and Kate loved the chickens, roaming around freely. 

Sweet Little Kate

Kitsilano Beach

On the last day of our vacation in Vancouver, I took the kids down to the beach for a photo shoot.  It was cool and windy that morning and Kate, who's usually my more compliant subject, wanted nothing to do with having her picture taken...oh well.  I guess it could be awhile before both kids are happy in front of the camera together.  Remember these?   

As a side note, when Ben was the same age as Kate (14 months), I took these photos of him at Kitsilano beach.  It's hard to believe he's almost two and a half years older now!

Part Two: Our New Sandbox - Ben and Kate at Play

Remember last summer when my brother built a sandbox for Ben and Kate?  Well, we finally got our act together and filled it with sand awhile back.  It's been the main attraction in our backyard ever since.  In the afternoons, Ben, with his mismatched clothes and Kate, with her post-nap hair play under the spruce tree in the sandbox that Uncle Mike built.

Vancouver 2013

Last week, we went to Vancouver to visit family and friends.  We drove to the half way mark, Blue River, on our first day.  Our friends, Karla and Steve happened to be driving down the same day, so we met up for dinner then took the kids down to the beach before bed.  Ben and Isaac played in the sand while Kate and Boris walked along the waters edge.  The beautiful evening light kept everyone warm and the kids played until way past bedtime.  It was so idyllic, the perfect start to our vacation.

Before heading to our condo, we stopped in Ladner to visit Boris' cousin.  Ben and Makena played and everyone enjoyed a fantastic dinner.  After sitting in the car for two full days, it was great for the kids to let loose and run around before heading into Vancouver. 

We stayed in a beautiful condo (Home Suite Home) for the duration of our vacation.  The condo was amazing and we enjoyed our stay.  Kate loved the windows and spent lots of time people watching. 

Our trip to Vancouver was busy.  It was the type of vacation you get home from and feel like you need another vacation...but in a good way.  Almost every morning we'd walk to Kitsilano beach and go to the park.  Our afternoons were filled with walking, shopping, eating and visiting with my sister and her husband.

We took the ferry to Ladysmith to visit our friends, Ashley and Matthew.  Both of our families have grown since we saw each other last!  Ben loved playing with their three little girls and Boris and I had a chance to relax.

All in all, we had a great time but we're happy to be back home.

She's Walking

Back in February, when Kate started surfing around everything imaginable, I really though she was going to walk soon.  But she found her groove crawling, surfing and pushing around Ben's Radio Flyer and had no interest whatsoever in taking her first steps.  With a little coaxing, she finally started walking today.  These are the moments that make my heart fill with joy.  Here's a little video of Kate taking her first steps (at 14 months) and, because I'm feeling a little nostalgic, the video I took of Ben the first day he started walking as well (at 10 months).