Family Time

Lately we have been finding it hard to have much needed family time. With 2 working parents and one in school there isn't often time when we are all home. With Ben's spring break came 2 weeks where his schedule was free so on Matt's days off, I took some vacation time and we went to Edmonton. Matt and I had fun planning our trip and then about 5 minutes before we were to leave, we told the boys. I had found a little slide show on the internet about West Edmonton Mall (our destination) and as it played for them their excitement built. We left Saturday afternoon, visited the malls aquariums Sunday morning (pics below), did the Waterpark Sunday afternoon, had dinner with friends Sunday night, shopped at the mall Monday morning, went on the rides Monday afternoon, had dinner with family in Rocky Mountain House Monday evening and drove home Monday night. Whew..... we got home exhausted but in a great way.

Waterpark Fun Our first big excursion was to visit the Waterpark. We weren't really sure how appropriate it would be for the ages of our kids, or how long they'd last. In the end, we couldn't believe how much we all had or that we'd stayed for over 3 hours. This girl is such a trooper. With no nap and not a great sleep the night before, Mya played happily in the water for over 2 hours and then curled up in her stroller and slept (in one of the noisiest places) well her brothers had more play time. She is definately a lover of the water. This was her first time swimming since she was 4months old and she was quick to be splashing and even putting her head under.

Day 2 On our second day we visited Galaxyland (or Fantasyland as I knew it). Being a Monday, it was really quiet and the boys could basically walk up and get on any ride. They could even stay on for a second turn if they wanted. As you can tell from the pictures they had a great time.

It did not surprise us at all that Mya loved the rides. Even the train that goes through a dark tunnel was great fun for her. She will definately make a good companion for Jonny with her "no fear" type of personality. I'm a little scared as to what they may challenge each other to do when they are bigger.

This picture was taken on the first trip round the rollercoaster, Jonny still looks a little unsure. I love the look on the kids face behind them, definately not a fan. We were thankful to find this coaster as the Jonny was about a 1/2 inch too short for the bigger one and was quite disappointed that Ben could go and he couldn't.

Mya... and her many faces.

I had some fun practicing with my camera the other day while Mya had a snack. Her hair has really grown the last while and when I look at these pictures I am struck by how much older she is looking, almost 15 months now.

Ben...

Already this picture taken for school last September looks so out of date. He has definately grown up so much these past 6 months, I guess that's what happens when you introduce school. For Ben the biggest change has been socially. From the timid boy who never spoke at school unless someone spoke to him he has grown into one who gets the most excited about getting to see his friends.
He received his second report card today and has been described as the "dream student" that "other mothers often comment is so well behaved". I have loved being able to volunteer in his class and witness him at school first hand. You can quickly see his focus is completely on the teacher and wanting to be doing exactly what she asks. (I wonder how long that will last?!) Its funny, he loves when the other boys push the limits and often tells us about what they were doing and laughs, but he would never dare do it himself. (Again, how long will that last?!) We have been blessed to be able to send Ben to a private christian school and just that school is not only growing him in the expected ways but also growing him spiritually. Its hard to believe there is only 3 months left his first year but I am looking forward to summer and more time to play as a whole family.

Update, its about time.

Its been a little while without any posts, sorry. I haven't really taken many pics of this kids, they have all been sick, but we are back to normal and so here is a little post for each of them. Ben's will be coming soon, I'm having computer issues and can't get his pics to post. Maybe tomorrow.

Jonny - 3 1/2 years

When I look at these picutes it reminds me how big Jonny has gotten but how some things never change. With Ben in school, both Matt and I have been able spend some great quality time with Jon and he has been able to spend time learning to play with his sister. I say learning because up until Ben went to school Jonny really had no interest in Mya, he world still revolved mostly around Ben. He really has had to "learn" to be the older brother.

I love this picture because it shows how serious Jonny is when he is in character. He loves to pretend and takes his "roles" very seriously. Yesterday, he was being Ironhide??, a transformer, he roared at Ben and scared him! It was quite funny to see Ben on the receiving end of that.

Some of you may remember seeing all the baby pics of Jonny asleep in his high chair or just curled up on the floor. He is that kid who goes, goes, goes and then just stops and sleeps. Nothing has changed, just the other day he informed Ben he was going to sleep between the fire place and the chair and that's what he did. Matt thought he was kidding, but a few minutes later he hadn't moved and was gone. Sometimes I wonder when he'll grow out of this, maybe never.

Mya - 14 months

Mya is growing and changing so quickly these days. She is not walking yet but has started using one foot, one knee and no hands to "scooch" around. I guess that's one step closer to walking than traditional crawling. More and more we are getting to know her personality. She is silly and soooo stubborn. She has started saying a few words although not always in context. Her favourite is "Hi Dad" which of course, melts Matt's heart. She can also say "all done" and we have started to not only ask her to say it but not let her down from eating until she does.
One thing that we have noticed is the effect having two brothers has already had on Mya. This morning after cleaning her up from breakfast I got really close to her and asked her to say "all done". She looked at me, proceeded to head butt me and laughed so hard. Trying not to laugh, I asked again for her to say "all done", I got head butted again and kind of hard this time. Again, she though this was so funny. I backed away before asking again and this time got her foot shoved in my face and more giggles. I wonder where she could have picked up these kind of behaviours?? I think I have a clue!

Bathtime Beauty

Mya is always happy in the tub and the boys like it when I comb her hair funny. I couldn't resist capturing these smiles and Ben was sweet enough to go and get the camera.

Christmas!!, Finally.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to Matt's sister's house. We had a great time opening gifts, eating turkey, and the boys enjoyed their hot tub. We also went to Christmas Eve service at our church and some of us got to enjoy hearing and singing about their real reason to celebrate. (I say some of us because about 5 min into the service Mya peed all over the front of me and so I spent the rest of the service sitting soaked in the nursery).

We had a nice quiet Christmas morning at home. I didn't take too many pictures, I was busy enjoying my family. Here are a few I did catch.

Mya was not into the gift opening at all. We tried to entice her with the paper, ribbon, toys, nothing worked. She did however get excited over this piece of plastic.

Titan "opening" his stocking.

Ben and Jon, sporting their new Ironman and Storm Trooper helmets. A great addition to their dress up trunk.

Christmas with the Myers

It had been a running joke leading up to Christmas that my parents were going to buy the boys rocks for Christmas. My parents often heard, "Bubba/Nanna, what did you get me for Christmas?". Their response, "ROCKS!"
Before the boys opened any of their gifts, they got their first "special" gift, rocks!

Mya, reluctantly trying on her new mitts.

It was so special to have my sister here, even if it was only for a week. She had not been home for Christmas in 3 years, it was about time.

Mya's First Birthday!

Hard to believe this was almost a month ago! I still wanted to make sure I put up the pictures. Unfortunately I didn't get a great photo of Mya on her special day but go some great pics during her party.

Mya was so tired after eating her cake and having a bath that we didn't open her presents until that evening.

She loves the play table we got her and even pretends to talk on the phone.