5 Klassen's

Summer Oh Nine!

2009-08-12T21:36:00.002-04:00

The clan are all doing great. The King and I have just returned from a super, fantastic, 4-day golf vacation in Deerhurst -- sans kids!! Thanks to Dino Princess's BFF, her mom and aunt who took on the three rugrats again this year for a kiddie vacation. While the kids were on vaca from the 'rents, the 'rents were having fun with Uncle Poop King and his betrothed! Here's a photo of our final round of golf (where the Klassen team allowed Clarke team to win). Rematch . . . summer 2010 in West Virginia! Anyone want three kids for a week??

Coming home was actually quite fun. Baby Blue Eye's kept repeating over and over, "I missed you so much, I love you so much, I just want to hug you so much, I'm so glad you are home". It's nice to be missed and loved!

We spent a day at the beach just before we left for Huntsville. . .aren't we so lucky to live 10 minutes from such a fab hangout??

Summer Oh Nine v2

2009-08-12T19:18:00.000-04:00

We've made the trek to William's Lake a couple of times this summer, though it's been a mellow couple of trips. The first weekend was short and sweet, as we only had three days and spent two of them driving. The second weekend was a bit better, though the King was recovering from surgery and so our trip was a bit more mellow than normal (ie. less visiting and consumption of alcoholic beverages). Nonetheless, a great time was had by all.

We caught fish. . . spent time with the family . . . and enjoyed some boating fun.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-12T16:00:00.002-04:00

I wonder what she's trying to tell us??

Goodbye old pal

2009-08-11T22:46:00.003-04:00

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Bubba this past month.

Bubba was a great cat with a wonderful personality. I met Bubba when he was a few days old at a clinic where I was working as a student. He had a bum eye, and no one wanted to adopt him. Whilst hand feeding him and treating his bad eye over the next few weeks, I fell in love with this little orange kitty's "character". He had a funny little meow that was more like a squawk, and he had a charming little way of convincing you to give him a little love. His favorite thing was to be scratched on the head, and to curl up beside whomever was closeby. Bubba made a great matchbox car ramp, was a cool reading buddy and appreciated chasing strings.

At the age of 19 yrs, Bubba was still adept at defending his turf. Unfortunately, while the tresspassing siamese has not returned, Bubba did suffer some wounds that gradually overwhelmed him. Still purring away, we had to make the decision to let him pass peacefully. I find it so difficult to make the decision to let go, to give up and to say that this is the last minute of life.

Even more difficult, was explaining it to the kids. Words were not adequate and the truth only became real during our little funeral/burial service. There were many tears shed that night, and since then. It was sad to see them grieving and missing their pal so much.

We miss you Bubba!

Happy Birthday Froggie Princess!

2009-06-29T22:03:00.001-04:00

As a new day dawns in the Klassen Clan, so does a special gal's birthday! Today our little tadpole turns 5!! YIKES . . . can you believe this little tornado has turned into such an easy going little gal. Here's a photo of the birthday girl and her party pals!

Whoa Laddy!

2009-06-01T21:25:00.006-04:00

Dino Princess started horseback riding lessons a week ago. We have been trying to find a new activity for her that combines her love of animals with her natural athletic ability. We may have hit the jackpot (well, maybe not considering that she's already asking for a horse of her own)!

Here's a photo of Dino Princess learning how to walk and then "post" on 28 year old Laddy!

New family photos

2009-05-21T14:55:00.004-04:00

Now that we won't blow the surprise, we decided that for Mother's Day we'd get family photos done for Grandma and Gram.

Enjoy!

Happy Gotcha Day Froggie Princess!

2009-05-10T15:29:00.016-04:00

April 4th marked the fourth anniversary of the date that we first met Froggie Princess. Thinking back to that day -- it's amazing that that sad, scared little baby is now now our delightfully happy and easy-going daughter. How blessed we are to have her in our lives!

Every year, several families from our 2005 travelgroup get together at the Toronto Zoo to celebrate our anniversary and rekindle our friendships. Yesterday was the date - but the weather did not cooperate, so we made a slight alteration in plans and had our reunion at the Ontario Science Centre. What fun we had!

So here is a photo of the seven girls from 4 years ago . . . and of five of them yesterday. Wow these gals are growing up fast! Happy 4th Gotcha day to the Chenzhou Gals!

Oh and I couldn't resist posting a picture of a science experiment we did yesterday. You are probably all familiar with the electrical thingy that makes your hair stand on end. Well we were hypothesizing about whether or not it would straighten Baby Blue Eyes' curly locks. Check it out! He's got a funny look on his face because he's shaking his head to loosen his hair -- not because we are torturing him. In truth, he was dying to get up there and so thrilled about the experience that he did it twice!

The Tooth Fairy Has ARRiVED!

2009-05-09T07:41:00.000-04:00

Finally! After much angst about being one of only TWO kids in her class who had not yet lost a tooth, Dino Princess has joined the ranks of those who have been visited by the TOoTH Fairy!

She lost the first one April 1st, and a second one on May 2nd (not pictured here).

SO . . . how does the tooth fairy get under a kid's pillow without the kid knowing?

"She's tiny and you can't even feel her".

"Oh, sort of like a Minemoya (from the movie: Arthur and the Invisibles)".

"Oh yes, that's it!"

"So if she's so tiny, how does she carry my huge tooth out and fly away with it? If she was a Minemoya, it would be too heavy for her to carry."

Jeez, I hate all these little white truths!

Spring in our step!

2009-05-08T22:14:00.009-04:00

Egad! I had no idea that it's been MONTHS since my last post. Seems like just yesterday that we were hanging out in white stuff -- when lo an behold . . . suddenly I wake up and it's May! Truthfully, this past few months have been insanely busy. Work, work and more work. But it's finally returning to some semblance of normal and as such I have a pile of photos to work through and post!

We ventured back to Florida in March with a much quieter vacation than last year. Two other families in tow, this time we had no side trips to the hospital and no extended stays (though we all would have enjoyed that). Just reconnecting with our kids and each other. Ahhh. . . that was fun!

We spent a ton of time around the pool, made some new friends, caught some lizards, visited the beach, got to see the launch of the space shuttle, did some shopping and checked out the gators at Gatorland (where the girls each enjoyed wrestling a real live one).

Baby Blue Eyes turns THREE!

2009-04-17T23:34:00.014-04:00

Baby Blue Eyes turned THREE while we were in the sunny state! The big fella celebrated with his best pals from “school” at the local bowling alley. He was delighted to turn “free” and to have all his friends there to help him dig into the cake.

I often sit back and marvel at how quickly my baby has grown up to be such a charming and brilliant little man. He loves Lightning McQueen and anything with wheels. In fact a couple of weeks ago, the King was flipping through the sports channel and was ordered to STOP at the N@scar race. What was even more shocking was that the King complied!!!!

BabyBlueEyes is growing like a bad weed. He’s nearly as big as the girls (only about an inch shorter than FrogPrincess and weighing 2 lbs more) and I’m constantly being asked if he’s starting JK next year. Sadly, no – but I don’t know why not cause the kid is brilliant. At “free”, he knows all his colours, shapes, numbers and letters (even the sounds the letters make). Yah . . . I’m bragging!

Another perk of turning three is that BBE was finally able to join TaeKwonDo. When Dino Princess heard the news that he was joining she said, "Mom, I don’t know about this. You know, I have a picture in my head. It’s a picture of BBE not listening. Sigh . . . . I’d better get to work teaching him.” (this coming from the gal who taught her brother how to pee standing up).

And so she did . . . teaching him all the moves she could over the next three days. When the time finally came for BBE’s first lesson, that was even more hilarious! Dino Princess was the doting mother to her little prodigy. Every time Sir gave them another exersize, she took it upon herself to ensure that her brother was doing it right. At one point, the King and I were trying desperately to contain ourselves as she looked at him in disgust and said, “That isn’t how I taught you to do this!”. Fortunately, BBE was oblivious to the wrath of his sister and actually amazed us all at how well he did.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY big boy! We are so proud of you.

Who knew?

2009-02-08T20:05:00.003-05:00

The kids have been bugging us to take them skiing for a while now, so two weeks ago we ventured out. It was one of the many weekends this year that we got a huge dump of snow - so there was probably about 4inches of powder. Perfect for an almost 3 year old, a 4-1/2 year old and a 6 year old who have never been on skis before.

The Princesses started out with an hour lesson with a pro. By the end of the hour they were riding the magic carpet on their own and flying down the bunny hill solo.

The King hasn't been on skis in 20 years, so he decided to get comfortable on his own for a while.

Baby Blue Eyes was too young for a lesson, so we got a harness and I headed up the bunny hill with him. Three times down the hill and he ditched the harness in favor of smooth sailing! He was having a little trouble with the concept of a "pizza stop", so whenever he wanted to stop he would either sit down or do a somersault through his skis. I was sure that the first time he got a faceful of snow, that we'd be done for the day. I was SO wrong. He came up laughing and excited to get back up again.

I was so amazed at how quickly each of them picked up the sport. Four and a half hours later (at 8pm & just 1 hour past bedtime), they could barely pick up their feet. Screaming "Just one more run!" and kicking all the way, they could barely pick up their feet and none was in any shape to carry their skiis back up to the van.

That was my first lesson. I had my boot bag strapped over my shoulder with three helmets hanging off it. I was carrying one set of skiis and poles behind my back, while balancing Baby Blue Eyes piggyback style on them. Needless to say . . . I was glad we didn't bring the camera!

Since that first day, the kids have been begging us to take them back again. Today was sunny and warm (-2C), so we got up and headed out first thing this morning. This time we were smart and brought a toboggan to carry all the gear. It was a bit of a different ride, with no powder (given our 7C weather yesterday). But the end result was the same -- three kids very unhappy about having to leave!

Unfortunately I don't have a single photo of them learning to ski. I couldn't find any room on the toboggan for the camera! :)

Whoopee!

2009-01-22T21:22:00.014-05:00

This is our idea of winter paradise! These photos were taken mid-January, after 2 days of snow dumping on us.

Seems that we've hit the jackpot this year as far as winter weather goes! Snow is piled as high as the hot tub on our back deck. The snowbanks at the end of our driveway are as tall as I remember them seeming to be when I was a kid (10 ft at least - no need to travel to a tobogganning hill, we've got one right here). The rink is FANTABULOUS (thanks to Daddy's dedication and hard work) and the kids are skating nearly every day. I LOVE WINTER! Whooooohooooo!

Ok, I'll admit that it's been a little colder than I'd like and I'd appreciate the seeing the sun a bit more frequently - but what the heck - it's winter and it's Canada and at least there's snow to play in.

I'm including lots of pictures of the kids enjoying our winter wonderland! Some of them include a visit from Papa, Uncle Bry, Aunt V, Vennie and the Mighty M.

Holidays and birthdays

2009-01-09T07:00:00.004-05:00

Whew, it's Friday of the first week back to school. We made it through the first week after the holidays and we're heading back to a more regular routine. I say that with tongue in cheek because a part of me is longing for an organized, scheduled, familiar routine. But another part of me has really enjoyed this holiday season. Nothing makes Christmas better than seeing the wonder of it all in the faces of kids!

We've enjoyed the opportunity this year to relax a bit. The King got our outdoor rink up and running just before Christmas, only to have it melt again over the holidays and then refreeze in time for New Year's Eve. I think this is the first year that we've been successful this early. We've all been having lots of fun on it and the kids skating is really coming along. Baby Blue Eyes has decided that he's a hockey pro now and doesn't need a skate buddy. Froggie Princess is skating well and on her own for the most part. Dino Princess is going so fast, someone needs to teach the kid how to stop!

Not only did we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but also the birth of the King (I'm not getting biblical here - just referring to the big bald "kid" who lives here) and his Dino Princess. While the King's birthday was a quiet one, we did manage to throw together a Rudolf cake (where the kids got that idea I don't know, but they had been talking about it for weeks). And if you really want to know how much of a kid he is, zoom in on the cake!

And while the King celebrated quietly, Dino Princess's SIXTH birthday was a full blown animal party. She and her groupies all enjoyed the company of some furry, some slimey and some downright scaley friends. And I have to admit that it was the most sane kid's party we've ever hosted (well up until the last 15 minutes). If you're from around here and looking for a birthday party idea, I will give a glowing recommendation to Elise over at Travelling Critters. She really knows how to put animals and kids together so that everyone has fun. I'm sure that the pictures will tell the entire story!

So as we now firmly plant our feet into 2009, we are looking forward a new year full of love, laughter and good friends!

Hope you will join us. ;)

What's new?

2008-11-28T20:28:00.009-05:00

BOO! Life is zooming right along in the Klassen clan. Just realized that I still have not posted our Halloween photos, AND I have neglected to add that I am now a Great Auntie! Thought I'd suprise you by posting an update before the snow flies -- oops a little late, as we've got TONS of snow already!

This fall brought the Klassen clan our way as we enjoyed a rare visit from the King's Washington Aunt and Uncle. Thanksgiving weekend we headed to KW (for Thanksgiving AND the Oktoberfest parade).

Our the gang all headed out on our traditional Halloween adventures. First we headed to Burnhams to pick apples and visit the pumpkin patch. A few days later, we carved our pumpkins. You know how dogs sometimes look like their owners? Well for some reason this year, our pumpkins are looking a little like our kids. Check them out!

On all Hallows eve, we headed down to our friendly bonecracker's office for a party with our friends. This is the 4th year that all of our families have done Halloween together, and it's become a tradition for those of us who live in areas where there is too much greenspace between driveways!

Doc Woodland is always good to the kids, providing lots of spooky highjinxs while they wait for darkness to fall. Baby Blue Eyes wasn't so sure when Doc put the Grim Reaper mask on, but he didn't let that scare him away from collecting all the loot he could carry!

So . . . Baby Blue Eyes was a firefighter. Froggie Princess . . .yup, a FROG. And Dino Princess . . . you got it, A DINO. Nothing too suprising here! Once again, loads of loot for all.

As we said goodbye to October, we seemed to also say goodbye to the warm weather. Just a month ago it was 15C and we were trick or treating in balmy warm weather. November has meant an arrival of the white stuff. Yes folks, snow! It's funny though how the weather can be so drastically different a stone's throw away. Currently, 10km south of us, Cobourg has ZERO snow. Folks in town don't believe us when we say that our kids built a cool snow fort this afternoon.

November also brought the early arrival of our Great Niece! She came 3.5 weeks early, but healthy and strong. We've decided to nickname her Little Bit, because her birthweight was 5lbs 14oz. Those who are able to recall, will remember that Baby Blue Eyes weighed exactly twice that size at birth, topping the scales at 10lbs 3oz. Hmmmm. . .maybe if he'd been that small I'd have thought of doing it again.

Speaking of doing it again, what is it about the third kid?? I swear that third children were put on this earth to act as birth control. Thankfully I don't need it, but let me put it to you this way! I distinctly recall that with the Dino Princess, I didn't believe people when they talked about the terrible two's. I thought I was the the perfect mother with the perfect child.

I'm telling you that I now understand. With the first-born I had more energy to deal with the trying behaviour. There was more gas in the can to practice the three D's of Diversion, Distraction and Discipline.

Then . . .
- The odds of 1 kid:2 parents were more favorable.
- I could ignore the higher pitch associated with whining.
- Toys weren't buried in every corner like a minefield.
- I only did 3 loads of laundry per week.
- There were no other kids to negatively influence my precious munchkin.

vs Now . . .
- I'm split so many different ways that I'm like a vase that's been broken and reglued so many times that my cracks are turning into wrinkles.
- Where I used to like loud music, the sound of three voices talking all at the same time make me start to vibrate in a sensory overload.
- I'm giggling as my WONDERFUL cleaning lady (who over the past four years has come to understand the chaos and has become a member of our family) and I clear the minefield of toys in preparation for handing down to Little Bit.
- My washing machine doesn't get a day off EVER.
- My own kids influence each other. (Yesterday I told Baby Blue Eyes that it was bedtime. He screamed "no". I said "yes". He said, "I'm telling on you!" -- Hmmm. . . could you please??)

And despite the whining . . . I'm also VERY much enjoying life with them all. Much as a Little Bit tugs at my useless uterus, I am so thrilled to be moving onto the Big Kid stuff. For example . . . last weekend we took a trip to KW to visit with my dad and the rest of my family. On Saturday, we were visiting Uncle Bry's place when the kids decided to go tobogganing. Dino Princess ADORES her cousin Vennie and he was kind enough to allow her to borrow his new snowboard to race down the hill. It didn't suprise me when they came back from the hill and I heard that she made it all the way to the bottom - still standing. What did suprise me was that so did Frog Princess and Baby Blue Eyes! YIKES - guess we ARE going to start Ski lessons this winter.

We also took in the Dino Exhibit at the Children's Museum in Kitchener. How much fun was that! Watching all three of them having fun at the same activity (no diaper bag in tow) is so cool.

I've included a picture of all the kids with the biggest kid of them all - my dad! It was great to spend the weekend with him. He's been battling Lymphoma for the past several months, but has been on a chemo-break for a month and has just started to regain his energy. He was able to have lots of fun with the kids this weekend, and they with him. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as he began another round of chemo this week.

And that pretty much brings us up to date. Here we are less than a month away from Daddy's, Jesus' and Dino Princess' birthday's. Lots to celebrate and cherish. I'm looking forward to all the traditions that this season holds. So are the kids. Dino Princess is begging to get our Christmas tree this weekend, but we're hoping that putting up the outside lights, and getting the tarp on the rink will hold them off for one more week.

The light at the end of the tunnel

2008-10-27T13:50:00.004-04:00

This morning I had a series of great revelations I thought I'd share with you.

It was so spectacular that I had to think long and hard about how long it's been since I experienced this level of satisfaction, bliss and complete independance. Then it came to me - it's been over 5 years!

So I'll set the scenario. Baby Blue Eyes and Frog Princess started swimming lessons this morning, which we haven't done since last spring. We all piled into the van and headed over to the pool. It's a big day, because today marked Baby Blue Eyes' first "parent-less" lesson. My first revelation came when I realized that I've finally surpassed the milestone where I no longer have to put on a bathingsuit and get wet. Not that I didn't enjoy those days (because I truly loved being with them in the pool) - but I really enjoyed being warm and dry, while sitting up in the "parent room" watching my kids do amazing things in the pool. The second revelation came as I watched all the "baby class" moms after class in the changeroom. They were either trying to juggle a slippery, cold, hungry, peeved baby and their own dry clothes, or they were trying to find a way to stay warm in a wet bathingsuit while they dressed their baby. Revelation . . . I don't have to be wet and freezing while I get them dressed anymore -- Wahoo! An even bigger WAHOO when I realize that even my own "baby" can dress himself now and all I have to do is supervise! Holy smokes - life is grand.

The third revelation came when I realized as we left that I no longer tote a diaper bag. It just hit me as we were walking out -- FREEDOM!

I guess I am so excited because I never really realized just how exhausted I used to be by the end of swimming lesson morning, until today. Don't get me wrong, I loved taking them swimming - but last year I had three dripping kids under five. I was feeling pretty insane most Monday mornings, and this was definately the first Monday morning that I didn't come home feeling like I needed a nap!

Silence is golden

2008-09-08T23:17:00.008-04:00

It's been pretty quiet over here on the blog these days, but don't let our silence fool you into thinking that life here has been anything but quiet! Nope, it's been pretty golden (if you could measure busy-ness and fun-factor in gold).

Sigh . . . summer came and went with merely the blink of an eye. I thought at different times that we'd moved to Vancouver, given all the rain that we experienced this year. YIKES - we're still cutting our lawn (which is normally brown and burnt by August). But despite the rain, we still managed to fit lots of stuff in.

Back in May I decided that by the time the kids were back in pants come September, that BabyBlueEyes would be potty trained. Did I mention that I HATE POTTY TRAINING? Honestly, it's the only job I've come across as a mom so far that I can truthfully say, I dread. But, I'm 5 years into diapers now and finally on the last kid. My motivation for finding something else to spend that money on is high. I kept looking for the perfect moment to start this summer. It finally came at the end of August when I realized that I was going to fail at my plan if I never started it.

I've been told that boys are harder, but I'd say that it's just different. Each of our three have had their own hangups, and Baby Blue Eyes is not without his own. The pee thing came fine, but he didn't want to poop on the potty. He'd hold it for days on end, make about 400 trips to the bathroom, sit on the toilet and then immediately get off. "Nope don't have to go". By the third or fourth day, he'd be so desperate that he'll get off and then get right back about 100 times until he would finally go during one of the "on" moments. During that last day, we'd have to go sans undies and pants, or risk a pile of pooh in them.

Well I hate to jinx it, but I think that three days ago he finally GOT it. Hurrah! Bells chiming, angels singing and the poop fairy has arrived! He was so excited two days ago that he had to call his favorite uncle in the world to tell him of his accomplishment. Funny thing is that uncle's got a business in poop -- he's a septic guy! Good thing Uncle John is a great sport and even hangs out under a truck, on gravel, covered in grease while it's raining to hear the news. You're the best poop king uncle!

June brought the Frog Princess's birthday and the end of school for the Klassen clan. I can't believe that my gal is FOUR and that she's in JK already. While a ton of stuff has happened in the past three and a half years, it sometimes seems like just yesterday that the Dino Princess was feeding cheerios to her sister in her walker! Frog Princess is doing amazing at school and was one of the rare jewels in Mrs. Elliott's class that didn't cry and beg to be taken home for the first few weeks. She loves her teacher, her friends and her school. What an amazing kid!

July and August were filled with hmmm. . . lots of stuff? The King and I celebrated our 8th anniversary by heading to Tremblant with Auntie Heather and the infamous Uncle Poop King for a four day golfing hiatus. WOW that was fun. Thanks to Linda and Sydney for moving into the Klassen abode for the duration - making it a fun holiday for the chicklets as well! We totally appreciated a relaxing holiday, while the kids enjoyed the new rules of the house while Linda was the Queen. I think we all had fun.

Dino and Frog Princess both played soccer and continued Tae Kwon Do throughout the summer. Soccer was interesting again this year, with intermittent enthusiasm on the girls part and WILD enthusiasm on Baby Blue Eyes' -- who unfortunately wasn't old enough to play (but will be TWO years older next year (wink wink - if ya know what I mean). In the end, TKD was the biggest thrill and they both were successful in getting their yellow stripes on their white belts. We celebrated by going out for dinner!

The kids did a few camps this summer and Baby Blue Eyes had his first taste of Nursery School camp as well. Much like his sister before him, he's an eager beaver when it comes to "school" and so the transistion went perfectly.

Dino Princess was thrilled to be with her friends at camp over the several weeks she attended, but the highlight of her summer was a trip to the ROM's dino exhibit with just her and mom. It was fun to watch her run from skeleton to skeleton -- debating about which bones were real and which one's were fake, which dino came first, which dino had the biggest crest/teeth/tail/feet/mouth, etc. I learned a lot about Dinosaurs that day, but my favorite moment was in the kid's section where they had a Maiasaura skeleton buried in sand for the kids to excavate. Dino Princess immediately decided to get to work. One of the leaders came over to ask if she had any questions. Dino Princess asked if the bones were real. The leader went into a long explanation about them being casts of a real skeleton. To which Dino Princess responded, "So you're telling me they are fakes". No bones about it - she's a to the point kinda gal! :)

We made a few trips over the summer to Auntie Heather and Uncle Poop King's beautiful home on the lake. Baby Blue Eyes sure loved taking trips on the "slow" (pontoon) boat, and came to really enjoy the "fast" boat too. After about the 10th time around the lake, we (the 'rents) decided to show our kids what boating is really all about and hauled out the canoe. Baby Blue Eyes wasn't so keen (he wanted to go for another spin on the fast boat), but the King and I prevailed. Uncle Poop King is the greatest. He saw the kids kneeling on the bottom of that canoe and thought they should have some padding, so he put three extra life jackets in the boat for them to kneel on. Baby Blue Eyes decided he wanted a paddle, so Uncle PK gave him the mini-paddle to use. Being always aware of safety, Uncle PK also threw in the safety kit with flares, first aid, etc. Then the kids decided that they needed a snack -- so I gave them each an apple. All set with lifejackets, crocs, sunglasses and hats, we were finally off. The King and I began paddling our crew through the still waters of Williams Lake on probably the most memorable boating experience we'll ever have. About 200 feet from the dock, Baby Blue Eyes sees the fast boat and tries to stand up in the canoe to loudly remind us that he really wanted to go on the fast boat. Dino Princess thinks the rocking sensation is cool and starts to giggle. Frog Princess joins in and before we know it -- the canoe is upside down and we are in the water. The King pops up and turns the canoe over. Dino Princess pops up, calmly swims to the canoe and hops back in the semi-submerged boat. Frog Princess panicks at first, but then realizes that life jackets help you float and proceeds to follow Dino Princess. Baby Blue Eyes pops up HOLLERING, "I TOLD YOU I WANTED TO GO IN THE FAST BOAT"! The King and I laugh and begin to collect the crapload of gear that also got dumped (ya know, the extra lifejackets, crocs, paddles & safety kit), except the apples that miraculously never left the hands of the Princesses. Uncle PK of course is calmly standing on the side of the shoreline - noting that everyone is safe and all is under control. UNTIL the semi-submerged canoe starts to sink! Then he dives in (clothes and all) to save it. We are still laughing about our first family canoe trip. Just glad that we didn't have the camera on board to capture the moment! :)

August also brought Dino Princess's 5th GOTCHA day anniversary. We celebrated with a good bunch of her ZZ sisters at our place this year. It was lots of fun to see how much each of the girls is growing up. The gals and their pals swam, ran, jumped, painted and had fun while the adults enjoyed catching up with each other. Happy Gotcha Day Dino Princess! Hard to believe that 5 years ago you were a little toothless goof who was determined to climb and walk. The climbing thing hasn't changed!

September brought about a bundle of changes in our household. Dino Princess started Grade 1, which went amazingly well considering I thought she'd have a tougher time with the every day thing. Frog Princess, as we mentioned before, loves Junior Kindergarten and only wishes it could be every day. Baby Blue Eyes is off to Nursery School on his own now and is relishing the fact that he has his "own" friends.

I started a new contract and went back to the business of selling (legal) drugs to veterinarians. Truthfully, I love my organizing business but was finding it tough to do all the networking and other business stuff that I had to do while managing a party of five at the same time. The new job is only for a year, but it will give me a chance to hang out with a great team of colleagues, catch up on the business and not have to do all the "extra" business activities that I've been juggling (rather poorly). I'm looking forward to this year! The only downside of this new contract is that the King is somewhat disappointed that he's lost his trusty sidekick. Since April I've been working as his assistant during my spare (Ha ha) time.

Two weekends ago, we made our annual visit to the Chinese Lantern Festival with the kids. Despite the Gardiner Expressway being closed and the kids having to pee into containers during our 90 minute detour down the Lakeshore, we arrived to a spectacular show. This event is always a highlight of our summer and we all really enjoy this tradition (that includes chocolate/peanutbutter ice cream from Baskin Robbins). Dino Princess was overjoyed to see a huge animated dino exhibit this year and we had to take pictures of EVERY dino. Since there wasn't a really big panda exhibit this year (our tradition holds that we always take a photo of them infront of the pandas), we decided the dinos would suffice.

Last weekend we took advantage of a PA day on Friday to head to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. We'd intended to go to Marineland this summer, but every time we planned it there was rain in the forecast. So we decided to head down for a weekend and do the GWL at the same time. Baby Blue Eyes probably suprised us the most that weekend. He's growing up fast and had decided that the bigger slides were on his agenda. Dino Princess was thrilled to discover that she was finally big enough to "legally" ride the tube slides and took off with the King. Frog Princess (who's not so much into the scarey and fast), was thrilled to discover that one of her best friends from school was there and hung out with him on the lazy river. All in all, we had a great time.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Marineland and took in the whale show, the feeding of the Belugas (which the girls were thrilled with) and a few other things. We headed back there on Sunday to finish the park with the rides and dolphin show. Dino Princess was big enough to go on all the family rides herself, but Baby Blue Eyes and Frog Princess were in need of parental accompaniment. Not being so fond of the spinny rides, the King and I were a bit chagrinned - but what the heck! I'm not so sure that Baby Blue Eyes realized what he was in for on some of the rides, but there was only one that he came off of and said "I DO NOT LIKE THAT RIDE". Honestly I was glad that only the King had to accompany him on it because I think the bumblebee ride had already done me in.

SO . . . that was our golden summer. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Cheers,
The Queen

Where did May go?

2008-06-06T22:40:00.007-04:00

Whoa are we overdue for a posting. Well folks, don't get your hopes up too high. Between running a WalkAThon and BBQ's for Naomi's school, all the Klassen girls starting soccer, Joel starting baseball, the end of the school year and working for Joel - I'm suckered for time to write these days. But we haven't been lazing around, we've had lots on the go lately. . .

Recently we welcomed a new little cousin (once removed???) as my cousin Kelly gave birth to Carter. On the way up to OwenSound, we decided to stop and meet the little guy. Here are the girls giving him a welcome snuggle.

Naomi and Lilah started soccer last week, both on the same night. However a small wrench has been thrown into the mix due to the fact that Naomi is playing in the under 6 division, while Lilah is a U4 - meaning they play at the same time but on different fields. No big deal in a two parent house, but Joel also has baseball on Monday nights. This could be an interesting season!

Naomi reaquainted herself with the position of "Chief Daisy Picker" quite quickly during her first game. Lilah on the other hand seems to have finally found her niche. Her first play was to steal the ball (from her teammate), run it down the field and score. Then she turned around and did it again! We were a little excited and Lilah got so much attention for a few minutes that a little competitive streak came out in Naomi. Suddenly she demonstrated that she actually does understand the game! I've never seen her try so hard to get a goal in her life. Hmmm . . . note to self . . . parenting strategy . . . competition.

We've also been to the Quemby's a couple of times in the past month as their pond is full of tadpoles and frogs. Between losing boots in the mud that sucks you in and diving for frogs, you'd think I'd have time to capture a few photos - but I forgot the camera. Conveniently though, I found a large toad in our basement window-well this afternoon. Naomi quickly made friends with the little prince Charming, so I did manage to snap a few shots!

Last weekend marked our last Mandarin Group get-together for this year, and we hosted the year end bash. Our teacher Luxia adores the kids and has been very patient with all of us over the past few months, as we try to learn a teensy bit of Mandarin and Chinese culture. Personally I'm going to miss the wonderful cooking that she does! I did manage to snap a group shot of the girls and Luxia on Saturday! I'm not sure if you can tell, but all the girls are giggling and grinning. I think that the best part of this get-together is seeing the bond that has formed with this little group. Not only are they best of friends, but they are a hoot to watch!

Our neighbour's son spends a lot of time here, to the point where the kids all act like he's their brother. When I snapped this photo of him and Myles, I was amazed to notice just how much they even look similar! Anyhow, they are just plain CUTE!

Lil Dragon's

2008-04-27T08:36:00.004-04:00

Two weeks ago we coerced the girls to try Tae Kwon Do. At first, they were not all that keen on trying something new (read: stopping whatever fun thing they were doing in favor of organized sport).

Now anyone who knows the Klassen gals, knows that they are dragon/dinosaur loving kids (unlike the rest of the 3-5 yr female crew they hang out with). So when we arrived at TKD, they became quite enthused about the sport. You see . . . the program they are registered in is called "Lil Dragons" and their uniforms come complete with a big bright dragon on the back (as well as a smaller one on the front). Those girls could not wait to get their clothes off and that uniform on!

Next they were informed that their first step to getting a white belt was to memorize the Lil' Dragon's Pledge. "I swear, as a Lil' Dragon, I will never play with matches or a lighter. So help me God".

A week later, (after a long discussion about swearing, lighters and taking God' name in vain) we all know the Lil' Dragon pledge by heart and the girls have their white belts.

Myles is really keen on the pledge and recites it to everyone he encounters (with an emphasized SO HELP ME GOD). After about four rounds of the pledge with a friend of ours yesterday, he informed them, "I want to be a Lil' Dragon, but I just go shopping with my Dad". Since he's the same size as Lilah, I wonder if he could pass for a 3 year old?? Hmm. . .

The holiday from Hell

2008-04-03T06:27:00.004-04:00

Many of you already have heard our holiday from hell story, so if you'd like to skip the message and just see the petrefied bangs, head down to the photo section. Otherwise, read on to hear about our family vacation in March.

Our kids had been counting the days to our Florida trip for over a month when we packed them all up in the van and started our journey on my birthday (Thursday March 6th). To me, it was the perfect way to spend my birthday - driving to Florida and escaping the record setting snowfall that we've had this year. Perfect timing actually, because a day later Ontario was dumped with more snow! Our neighbour sent us a few photos of our house (where the snow was 2/3 of the way up our patio doors and the mailbox had disappeared under the snow).

We drove Thursday to Saturday, and had a gloriously smooth ride with kids happy and great to travel with (thanks to two portable DVD players and a GPS that helped us quickly find hotels when the kids were starting to become less tolerant). I was VERY impressed with how well all three of them did on such a long trip (much different than last year's journey).

Saturday, we arrived in Spring Hill to frigid temperatures (58F) and bone-chilling wind. The huge storm that slammed Ontario the two days previous, had hit Florida with cold weather, heavy rains and wind. But it was sunny and there was no snow - so we were still relatively happy. We rented a 5 bedroom house with our friends Darryn, Janet, Leevi and Simon this year. Last year we travelled with them to Joel's parent's timeshare and had a fantastic time.

Sunday we spend day waiting for pool to heat up. All the rain and cold weather had caused the pool at our rental house to overflow, and it was only about 60F when we arrived. However by the end of the afternoon on Sunday, the water had warmed up to "almost" 80F and the kids were in the pool. We enjoyed relaxing, and then Janet and I headed out to TARGET for some of the more serious side of the trip -- shopping. During our little outing, Naomi, Simon, Leevi and Lilah all got ahold of sissors and gave themselves haircuts. Naomi now has "petrified" bangs (after previously having none), Lilah is a little less brave and manages to take a slightly less noticable chunk out of the middle of her head. Simon and Leevi's mom wasn't so happy. We made a notation to never leave kids alone again with scissors when dads are parenting solo.

Monday we enjoyed a day at Tampa Lowrey Park Zoo. This was a fantastic outing and a must see if you are travelling to Florida and not doing Disney. Nicer than Toronto Zoo, it was VERY interactive and the kids really enjoyed being able to walk the entire distance (not huge). We took a skytram through the park near the end and got a bird's eye view of the zoo and the animals. This was fun -- except Myles trips TWICE, tearing most of the skin off his knees.

Tuesday, all hell broke loose. Joel and I decided to take a "couples day" and left the kids in the care of the Shutt's to go golfing. On the way, we got a teensy bit lost (GPS directed us to turn left onto a footpath through the woods). As we drive around trying to find the entrance to the golf course, Joel calmly announces, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I think I'm having a heart attack (while driving)". I look over at him (thinking this was a sick joke), only to discover that it wasn't and that he is gray, sweating and clutching his chest. "HOLY CRAP, YOUR HAVING A HEART ATTACK! PULL OVER!".

The Klassen side of the family has a few shortcomings in their gene pool when it comes to heart disease in men. He apparently inherited them. Long story short, Joel ends up in hospital for the next 3 days after having angioplasty and a stint. He's now OK, but it was hell as the kids and I struggled to cope.

Friday is Joel's first day of freedom and it's pouring rain. We decide to make the best of it and head to Homossassa springs to check out some manatees. He nearly passes out after having a reaction to meds.

We were supposed to leave Florida on Saturday, but it was apparent that he couldn't travel. Fortunately, Joel's parents were heading to Kissimmee that day for their own holiday in their timeshare. We said goodbye to the Shutts and drove 2 hours to Kissimmee. Fortunately the weather was warmer that week and Joel's parents were quite helpful as we all tried to enjoy some time together. All told, we bunked in with them for 3 days until the side effects become more manageable.

Arrive home Thursday (two weeks after leaving), exhausted and in need of a vacation!

So . . . that was the holiday from hell. On a side note, Florida is an incredible place to have a heart attack! Joel was treated VERY quickly and as a result had minimal damage to his heart. The care was excellent, both in the ambulance and at the hospital. If you're ever going to have a heart attack, get some insurance and head to FL. While Joel has had to put away the superman cape since we have come home, he is definately gaining strength daily and we all are slowly recovering!

Enjoy the photos!

Bad Luck happens in 3's?

2008-03-04T08:08:00.002-05:00

I've always been a glass is half full kind of gal, but this past 6 weeks is really trying my patience. Seems like there is one catastrophe after another around here these days.

First it was a washcloth that got jammed into the pump of the washing machine. It took the repair man exactly 27 minutes (that included the time to prepare the bill) to charge me $180.

Then we awoke several mornings to find our house a frigid 59F. Yup - that's cold folks! Called the furnace man only to find out that we've got serious problems and that in all likelyhood, we should replace our furnace and some of the main ductwork to boot. Our house is only 7 years old! YIKES.

Next I had a wiper blade come flying off my van in the middle of a snow storm. Had to go back and search through the snow to find the darn thing in a snowbank. Took that back and got a new one, only to have it fall off three days later in the middle of a rainstorm, while passing a transport on the 401, at 10pm. Needless to say, I didn't go back to retrieve that one and I didn't replace it with the same model. (don't buy Canadian Tire Reflex wipers)

I pulled over to take the wiper blade off the back of the van so that I could at least drive home, and somehow managed to loosen a few wires on the arm. When I put the blade back on, I discovered that the wiper no longer worked, which required another service call and $150.

The next day, Joel removed the remaining wiper blade off my van so that he could return it and inform Canadian Tire of the defect in their wiper blades. He returned with new wipers, but the wrong adaptors to fit them onto the arm. So when the neighbour lady called to ask for a ride to the hospital (she had a "chopping wood" type accident that was gruesome), I had to drive my wiperless van to another neighbours to borrow a car to drive the first neighbour into town. Oh, and by the time we finished at the hospital - a snow storm had started.

Next StarChoice Satellite TV called to ask for our business back (from Bell Expressvu) with a SWEET deal. The deal turned sour when the first installer spent three hours wandering in and out of our house mumbling something about the wiring and needing a $99 multi-switch (which he did not have). A resulting 90 minute call to order said switch results in a discovery that the switch won't even work and the installer was just being lazy (he'd already left). The second installer arrived 10 days later to "fix" the job of the first, drove me insane with complaining about this, that and the other part of his job, and then told me that he intended to drill big holes through drywall and didn't bring a fish with him to feed the wires. I kicked him out. Then I spent 2 hours on the phone with Bell - pleading for my satellite back. Then I spent 2 days on the phone with StarChoice getting them to eliminate the $200 deactivation fee (because I had half of our TV's working, they considered the install as success) and reverse the requirement for 30 days notice. In the end I was successful, but probably at the cost of losing years off my life.

Sigh . . . my internet Satellite dish developed "issues". Four days on the phone with Technical Services and diagnosis was that the dish needed to be repointed. Finally a service guy arrived (who was AMAZING). While he did an amazing job of fixing my satellite dish, he managed to also bring bad news. The less expensive and faster "wireless" internet access which was scheduled to arrive in our area last September is no longer coming - at all. I signed a 2 year contract with this company based on this service arriving. Now I'm stuck.

The rear wiper blade on the back of my van quit again 2 weeks after the "fixing" of the lines. I'm taking it in today.

Babysitter sold her house and will not be available after April (though I am thrilled for them, sucks for me).

I think I'll stop here. On a glass half full note - kids are good, we're doing fine and the whole family is headed to Florida in 2 days. If we are all still speaking to each other after 2.5 days of driving, we are looking forward to some fun in the sun. And I'm hoping that a change in venue will allow us to reverse our bad luck by the time we return home. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket before we leave!

A New Year's Tale from Chenzhou

2008-02-11T18:54:00.001-05:00

Hi Folks,
A few days ago I posted about the 100 year storm in China and how profoundly affected Lilah's hometown was. Good news -- relief efforts have arrived from Half the Sky and the children are in a much better situation.

To read a very moving account of the relief effort, follow the link below. It is written by Jenny Bowen's husband Richard (she is the director of Half the Sky)

http://www.halfthesky.org/work/chenzhoustory1.php

Thank you to anyone who made a donation!
Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year)!

Karen

WHAT?? There's a BARBIE getting action in OUR house??

2008-02-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Lilah came home from nursery school and I asked her what she did.

"Played with my friend Lachlin", was her reply.

"What did you play?", I asked.

"Well, Lachlin played with the Barbies and I played with Dora", said Lilah.

It was an interesting conversation on two levels. First, Naomi and Lilah profoundly state the fact that they DO NOT LIKE DORA. Secondly, we have a handful of dolls collecting dust around here (some that I painstakingly sought out before we adopted, back when I imagined playing dolls with my daughters).

In fact, each time we went to China, I purchased several Chinese Barbies to put away for later. I was just thinking the other day that they were a colossal waste of money since the girls would rather play with Dinosaurs and Pet Shops than anything else.

However, this conversation intrigued me since I've always wondered when Lilah would begin to stand up to her sister's ideals and hedge out her own interests. Perhaps now was the time to plant a seed. So I asked . . . "Why didn't you play with the Barbies too?"

"Well how do you play with a Barbie?".

I don't know - how the heck do you play with a rigid doll that is difficult to dress and has no electronic features?

So this afternoon after 5 years, I broke open the Chinese Barbie box, unwound the million pieces of wire, unsewed the hair from the cardboard and plucked the accessories from underneath a mountain of tape to pass it over to Lilah. Who immediately took the doll and to my amazement started playing with her!

Naomi of course was watching from the sidelines (a little miffed that she wasn't getting a suprise). She saw the Barbie's shawl and commented, "What kind of cape is that, it doesn't even have a "W" on it!" (for those not in the know, the "W" referred to the "WonderPets" attire -- her favorite animals-rescuing-animals-themed TV show these days).

So . . . if you have any "playing with Barbie" activities other than brushing her tremendously long hair -- feel free to forward them to me. Apparently Lilah has broken out!

P.S. The Barbie is now hidden, "so that Myles won't play with it because you know how much he loves the doll stroller." (says Lilah). And that he does!

The situation in China

2008-02-03T09:53:00.000-05:00

This holiday season, China is experiencing its worst weather in 50 years. The world has heard about millions of workers struggling to return home to family to welcome the Year of the Mouse. As our family heads of to Toronto today to celebrate the Chinese New Year, I thought I would send out an update on what we are hearing from Naomi and Lilah's first homes.

Our girls are both from Hunan province and we've been receiving daily updates from Half the Sky and CCAI about the conditions of each of their orphanages. Since Hunan is normally a very warm climate, the amount of snow that has fallen is unheard of. When we visited in August 2003, the temperatures were in the 40C range with humidity on top. In April 2005, the temperatures were in the 30C range and considered cool. Right now, blankets of snow cover Hunan and the temperatures are below freezing. This is causing greatest issues with power supply, water and food. We are also hearing that building structures are collapsing due to the weight and volumes of snow.

Lilah's first home (Chenzhou) is suffering the greatest of all the orphanages. The city is more isolated and smaller - so the infrastructure is poor in comparison to larger cities. A few days ago we heard that the entire city of Chenzhou is without power, and since the heating system in the orphanage is electric . . . there is little heat. The orphanage staff are burning coal - but this is very inefficient and getting quite expensive. Thefollowing comes from a Half the Sky report we received today:

"Chenzhou, Hunan – still facing the most difficulties of the orphanages we’ve reached. They’ve had no electricity or running water for 8 days and there is almost no possibility that power will be restored before New Year’s Eve (the 6th of February.) Because of the blackout, the hospital is closed. 20 children are ill and being cared for by institution staff as well as they can. The banks are closed so staff is contributing personal funds to buy food, coal and diapers. Prices are skyrocketing as all roads to Chenzhou remain impassable. UPDATE: The largest hotel in Chenzhou is running on one emergency generator and townsfolk who’ve been without power for days have filled all rooms and lobbies. There are very few places in town with even emergency power now. Hopes are to get some electricity by next weekend. UPDATE: The 20 sick children are being cared for by doctors from the local hospital (which is closed.) They are receiving IV's and medicine. Shi assures us that the children will be fine and that they will recover. They will feed the children and keep them warm no matter what. There is still no power. Families in Chenzhou are now rationed and can only buy 4 packages of noodles per family. The Civil Affairs Bureau delivered 3 sacks of rice to the institution. The are using candles but the cost per candle has gone from 20 cents to 5 yuan per candle. They are using coal to keep warm but the price of coal is skyrocketing. Two old people at the institution died. There are 800,000 migrant workers trapped in town that can't get out to see their families for Spring Festival. They expect another heavy snow tomorrow. We are in daily touch with the orphanage. They know that everyone is thinking of them and determined to get them the help they need."

Naomi's orphanage in Zhuzhou seems to be faring more positively. This is not a suprise to us as it is one of the "model" orphanages in China and structurally is more sound than Chenzhou. The city itself is also larger and closer to the capital city. Here is a report from Zhuzhou:

"We have been in contact with the orphanage. As late as yesterday the Zhuzhou orphanage told me they indeed had power and tap water. Of course this could change at anytime as much of Zhuzhou City is without power and water. Director Zhang reassured me they had stocked up on supplies of diapers, food, formula and blankets before the snow storm. At the moment they are doing well. I asked Director Zhang if she needed our help. She replied the orphanage is unable to receive packages or money now because the post offices and banks are closed. In addition transportation is almost non-existent. Zhang said she can't think out what kind of help the orphanage needed from our families right now. She said when she needed help, she will contact me. She did ask I let everyone know that she greatly appreciated our thoughts and well wishes. "

So, while Naomi's first home seems to be faring well - Lilah's is struggling. In response to this disaster, Half the Sky is setting up the Little Mouse Emergency Fund. Donations to this fund can be channelled to a specific orphanage, and will provide immediate relief to children living in welfare institutions during this difficult time. The needs are diverse and enormous: water, diapers, infant formula, coal, quilts and warm clothing and food. Any excess funds will be used to stock up for future catastrophic needs.

If you can find the funds to help out the children in Lilah's first home - please do. The Half the Sky donations are tax deductible in Canada, and you can make a donation using the following instructions.

1)go to www.halfthesky.org
2) go to the donate now button (not the Little mouse fund)
3) click on donate in a different currency
4) it takes you to a page with a link for Canadians to Canadahelps.org
5) click there and then just specify in the instructions box that you
want it to go to the Little Mouse emerg. fund directed to Chenzhou Social Welfare Institute.

Half the Sky is very reputable and I know that they have all the right checks and balances in place to ensure that the funds you donate go directly to the children.

Please keep these folks in your prayers!

A night at the movies

2008-02-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my good friend Sara, every once in a while Joel and I get to indulge ourselves in a dinner sans kids. Tonight we had the pleasure of not only dining without whining, but we also got to partake in a movie (trust me it's an infrequent occurance) and decided to see Juno. I was initially a little worried that Joel would think it an uncool "chick flick", but no worries.

If you live on Neptune and aren't familiar with the premise of Juno, I'll not spoil it for you but to say that it has undertones that relate to adoption - which are of course right up my alley. In essence, if you ever want to know exactly how neurotic we were (I mean - I was) as a result of feeling so out of control in the whole adoption process - watch this movie. It's right "on the money" and well worth it too!

It's not often that I find a movie that lives up to it's hype but this one did - even for Joel who gave it two thumbs up.

P.S. Thanks Sara!

Naomi's Heart

2008-01-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

Kids say the darndest things. Yesterday afternoon the girls were scrapping and Myles had just gotten up from a nap when I made the announcement that we were going outside to blow off some steam. That didn't go over well considering that it was pretty cold out - but mom's win most of the time so out we went (literally kicking and screaming albeit).

The kids decided to clean all the snow off the trampoline so they had a fun time throwing snow around with their shovels, which lead to a snowball fight -- kids against mom. Which lead to Naomi (accidentally) getting a fistful of soft snow right in the face. Let's just say that I wasn't very popular at that moment.

A couple of hours later, I repeated the kicking and screaming to drag them inside for dinner. Immediately, the girls started scrapping again. Admittedly I had little patience left over from a long day and my voice was "slightly elevated" when I went to deal with them. A few minutes after I returned to the kitchen to make dinner, Naomi came downstairs.

"Mom, my heart is breaking."
"Oh Naomi, why is your heart breaking?", I said.
"Well mom, I just don't feel loved."
"I'm sorry that you feel that way Naomi, because I love you so much."
"Well mom, face it . . . my heart is breaking."
"Naomi, what does a person do to make you feel loved?"
"Gives me hugs and kisses, doesn't get mad at me and gives me money to go to Dollarama."

So I gave her a huge hug and kiss, apologized for my anger and asked her, "Do you feel loved now?".
"Well I think my heart is slowly healing, but if you gave me some money and helped me find my missing cheetahs it would be all better."

The emotional trials and tribulations of a five year old! Can't wait till those teen years!

Sigh.

Wow 2 months!

2008-01-16T13:17:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that two months has passed since I last updated the blog, but the weeks leading up to Christmas were incredibly busy and filled with lots of visiting, parties and fun.

Santa was good to all of us, but most especially to the kids. This is the first year that Naomi "got it" and watching her anticipation was fun to say the least. We were most proud of her when she decided to write a story for Christmas about her teacher, Santa and her dinosaurs. The story was full of imagination, and she did 95% of the writing herself aside from a bit of help sounding out a few words. Naomi's most proud to now be an author, and we are just plain proud!

Myles is now talking in 3 word sentences, so the holidays brought on a whole new set of "whas dat mommy?", "who dat mommy?" and "wowie".

A week before Christmas, Lilah got her adenoids out. She has increasingly had a difficult time breathing through her nose. Eating was a marathon, sleeping was noisy and a lisp was beginning to develop. Anyhow, this kid is a real trouper. As a day surgery, she was admitted to the hospital at 7am and discharged at 10am. Since she had a general anesthetic, I anticipated that she would be sleepy (or at least quiet), for the rest of the day. Much to my suprise (and chagrin), the kid kicked it into high gear and didn't miss a beat! I'm not even exaggerating when I tell you that she was more energetic than she had been in weeks.

The end of December brought about Naomi's fifth birthday - which she celebrated with seven of her friends at a Dinosaur themed "Almost Sleepover" party. For almost 364 days, she has been eager to turn five and the waiting is finally over.

So . . . here are some photos of our most recent session with Gerri and a bit later I'll post some other pictures from the past few months. Enjoy!

Trick or Treat

2007-11-17T20:54:00.000-05:00

Our all Hallows eve has become a tradition of heading down to Cobourg's Ball Street neighbourhood with our friends, having a little party and then Trick or Treating together. The families who participate are all the moms and kids who we hung out with on an almost daily basis when our kids were smaller. Since school and our jobs now prevent us from getting together as often as we used to (or would like), it's nice to have a tradition that we can still maintain and really enjoy!

This year, it all began with a party at Doc Woodland's bone crunching office (he's the chiropractor dad of our friends TY and TJ, and he really gets into this holiday). After some pizza and the "Blonde Baker's Cupcakes", the Klassen cheetah, butterfly, tiger and their friends headed out for some T & T action.

The girls had fun, but it was Myles who cleaned up. He developed a new technique - which resulted in his gaining tons of loot. First, Myles would cheerfully climb the stairs of the house. Once he got the homeowner's attention, he would smile and turn around, climbing down the stairs sans candy. Of course this would elicit an "OH isn't he THE cutest" from the unsuspecting homeowner, who would then try to pile the candy into his bucket! So . . . for the last two weeks, Joel and I have been scarfing back the chocolate. After all, a 19 month old can't have THAT much candy! Thankfully, we're almost done. :)

Reminiscing!

2007-10-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

Isn't it funny how you can forget a moment, then see a photo and be suddenly reminded of such fun. I was preparing to upload the pictures from last month from my camera to my laptop, when I came across some really great times!

A few weeks ago we went to the Quemby's house to catch frogs. Naomi has been crazy over all things furry or with reptile skin this summer - so our friends were kind enough to invite us over for a frog catching morning. What ensued was a lot of mud, a few frightened frogs and lots of fun. Suprisingly enough, it wasn't the photos of the frogs that scared me the most, it was the picture of the girls on the back of the little four-wheeler with their friend Simon driving. Yeah -- immediately I got a glimpse of life 10 years from now. SCAREY!

Naomi was also thrilled to see that Ben, Caleb and Kate have some terrific monkey bars on their fort. Guess what our $200 Home Depot windfall will probably go towards! Hopefully Adam can come over to help with the building.

Joel would probably say that even more scarey is the shoe fettish that Myles has lately. No kidding, the kid cannot go anywhere without shoes on. If you take them off, he just goes and finds another pair to wear. Most of the time, they aren't even his shoes. Since he and Lilah share the same sized foot, you can imagine Joel's dismay at coming home and seeing his son VERY PROUDLY wearing black patent leather with polka dots! Only more scarey was the day that he got out the barrettes!

We also headed to the Chinese Lantern Festival again this year and I've included some shots of that trip. The kids have been wanting to take a train for a while now, so we decided to catch the GO train in Oshawa. The train ride was a ton of fun - even when Myles decided to investigate the emergency bars that are conveniently located at toddler height and the conductor came screaming back to our car to make sure everything was OK on the way in. On the way home, Naomi's highlight was when the conductor asked her to make the announcment for our stop. "Next stop OSHAWA!"

The Lantern Festival was fun again this year. In fact I think that the kids enjoyed it even more this year. The shows were spectacular and we had to drag them away so that we could check out the lanterns. Would have been a more difficult thing except that Naomi spotted Baskin Robbins and we got sucked in. Last year we stopped in front of the panda lanterns and took a photo of the girls. When we got to the Panda's again, we decided to make it an annual thing and we lined them up. The resulting photo was hilarious - and typically serious, until the girls could no longer hold their serious looks and burst into giggles. I posted both pictures for your enjoyment. :)

So . . . that was fun and the memories were even better! Enjoy the pictures - I know that I did.

Cheers,
Karen

2007-10-21T18:05:00.000-04:00

October

2007-10-19T22:44:00.000-04:00

What??? It’s the middle of October??? I’m not sure if the warm weather has me fooled into thinking that it’s still summer, but I sure don’t feel like Halloween is 2 weeks away!

The past month has been lots of fun as we’ve been enjoying an abnormally warm autumn. In fact two weekends ago we were at Auntie Heather and Uncle John’s place for Thanksgiving, and the kids were swimming in the lake! We also spent an afternoon with the Millen family in Teeswater and got a fun shot of all the great-grandchildren. You will find it in the slideshow, wow, what a crew!

Since our return, strep throat has been running through the house. Naomi was off school last week and just yesterday Lilah came down with it. I’m so hoping that it will escape Myles and that it’s not a prediction of what is to come this winter!

Myles is really chatting up a storm these days. He’s definitely the comedian in the family as his little personality is starting to come through. Whenever he thinks that it’s time for everyone to have a good laugh, he tips his head back and starts to let out this loud and raucous laugh. He also has figured out that he’s bigger than Lilah and has made torturing her a routine event in our house. We’ve finally gotten beyond the part where he tackles her to the floor and bites her bum. Now he tackles her and gives her an enormous hug. Myles and Naomi share a really cool bond. Often I will find that he does things for her that he will not do for me. He loves to hold her hand and often calls her over when he’s navigating a hill or set of stairs. It’s pretty cool to see how much he adores her and she adores him.

This past Monday the girls, Myles and I went on an “expedition” through the forest trails that surround our house. It’s the first time that the girls have walked the entire 3km and Myles actually walked half of it. We enjoyed collecting acorns, sweeping the forest trail with weed-brooms and counting deer tracks. It was so much fun to watch them explore and to not have to rush.

Looking back 4.5 years ago we had no kids and Joel had hair – can you imagine!! How quickly life has changed and our worlds have evolved. It’s nice to now be able to enjoy what we have, as opposed to wish and pray for it (well except for Joel’s hair).

One last funny story about the past. Those who knew us when we got married, also probably know that we received lots of Home Depot gift cards as gifts. Unfortunately they were stolen from my van a few months later when I went to use them. Recently though, we were purging some old boxes and started going through some cards we had received from our wedding. Imagine my surprise to have a $100 Home Depot Gift card fall out of one of the cards! Then a few minutes later, another! So . . . we are $200 richer at Home Depot. Not sure what we’ll buy now, but the feeling was almost better than when we opened them the first time!

So photos will follow next week (or perhaps next month). Who's kidding who -- it took me over a month to post what I wrote last month because I couldn't find the time to upload the pictures from my camera! Hopefully I'll be more on the ball this month.

Cheers to all!
Karen

August September Photos

2007-10-19T22:39:00.001-04:00

Where does the time go?

2007-09-14T22:34:00.000-04:00

So Myles is now in a big boy bed, and yesterday as I was taking down his crib I had this sudden thought. "Hey, there are no more babies in our house and there won't be a crib in our house again!" The thought came with a fleeting pang of sadness and then an exhilarating feeling of "wow, this time next year I might not have a diaper bag anymore either!"

Naomi started senior kindergarten this week and was thrilled to be with her friends again. It was amazing to see her excitement at heading off to school this year. Even more amazing is hearing her little mind explore new things. Not surprising, school has added a whole new level of vocabulary to her repertoire again. A conversation from two evenings ago went something like this . . .

mom - "Naomi and Lilah, dinner is ready. Please go and wash your hands."
a few minutes later . . .
mom - "Naomi and Lilah, please go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
a few minutes later . . .
mom - "NAOMI AND LILAH, GET IN THE BATHROOM AND WASH YOUR HANDS!"
Naomi - "Oh mom, just RELAX!"
A conversation and a few minutes later,
Naomi -- "So what's for dinner?"
Mom -- "Noodles"
Naomi -- "Do I like those noodles?"
Mom - "Of course you like those noodles"
Naomi, getting ready to take a bite -- "Well, here goes nothing!"

Joel being the financial guy has also been trying to teach the girls about money these days. The latest lesson came this morning as he dropped Naomi off at her classroom.

dad - "Ok Naomi, time for me to go to work and for you to go to school."
Naomi - "No dad, I'm coming with you to work."
dad - "Naomi you can't come to work with me today."
Naomi - "But I've been to work with you before."
dad - "Well not today."
Naomi - "What's that jingling in your pocket? Money? Well let me see."
dad pulls money out of pocket.
Naomi - "Ok dad, I'll have one and then you can go to work."
dad hands over the loot that he won in a 50:50 draw at a golf tournament yesterday.
Naomi - "Thanks dad, see ya, have a nice day!" (Dad grumbles, nice doing business with you).
Mom hears the story and thinks that perhaps she should be taking lessons from her eldest!

Lilah is also starting to demonstrate a spark of humour too. Her latest is "Trust me mom"! She and Naomi have been cooking up a plan to get her into Jr. Kindergarten early. Lilah is completely ready, but must wait another year in Nursery school before she can "ride on the bus and go to big girl school". This is quite disappointing to her, so she's constantly asking when she's going to be big. Yesterday Naomi decided she was going to start "teaching her" all the stuff she needs to know to get into Kindergarten. Stuff like, "Lilah, repeat after me. . . " and "Lilah, I'm the leader today and you can come with me to hand in the attendance". She's also trying to teach her all the songs that are in the typical kindergarten repertoire. Everything from "There was a farmer had a dog and Dingo was his name oh", to "Sing oh well, Sing Oh well, Oh well, Oh well" (hint - oh well = noel).

Myles is also testing new language skills these days. We're starting to progress from "NO" to "NO tankwoo". His favorite person in the world seems to be Naomi, and when he can't find her he calls, "OMI, whe-aah-oo". Bet you are thinking right now that understanding the written toddler vocabulary is almost as hard as the spoken!

Oh where does the time go?? It seems like only yesterday that I was buying a crib for a hypothetical little gal who wasn't even born yet. Now our house is filled with babbling little one's. While I might complain that it's craziness, taking down the crib this week reminded me that it's also a dream come true!

Enjoy these pictures of the last days of summer: the Klassen Christmas in August, beach days, a trip to Sara and Tim's cottage (where we caught lots of fish), the Zhuzhou Gals travelgroup reunion, a trip to the Bowmanville zoo (where Myles overcame his fear of hungry baby goats) and kicking around the house.

Cheers,
Karen

Summer 2007

2007-08-13T22:08:00.001-04:00

Cool Slideshows!

All Systems A Go!

2007-07-30T21:03:00.000-04:00

Whew, where is the summer going? Long time no blog, eh?

Well the past few months in the Klassen home have been incredibly busy. Naomi finished school, Lilah celebrated her third birthday, Myles is chatting up a storm, Joel FINALLY has our pool 99% finished and I just finished a month long course in Business Planning while starting my own business at the same time! So we're just coming up for air now and I'm getting a moment to update my bloggy friends.

So Naomi is now a "Senior" (kindergartener that is) and quite proud of it. Her reprot card was excellent and we are really proud of her. It's amazing to see our eldest growing up so fast. Naomi has been enjoying daycamp at Fellowship Baptist Church this month as well. I remember a day when it was hard to get Naomi to leave the house. Now it seems that she can't get enough of her friends, so they are either here or she's at their houses. Already a socialite!

Lilah had a blast celebrating her third birthday at the end of June. Pictured here with her posse, Lilah enjoyed a whale of a beach party with her friends. I can't believe that she is three years old! At times she seems so much older than that and then other times it seems like just yesterday we were in China adopting her. Lilah's three year old smarts are coming out more frequently too. While she LOVES anything Dora, she's recently discovered that Dora is not cool in the older crowd. Much to my chagrin, she's already being influenced!

Myles gets cuter by the day and is now demonstrating the attitude that goes along with cuteness. Words are coming fast and furious, along with a love for music, cars and anything that goes grrrrr. I think that Myles is going to be the musical one as he's got a real ear for anything with a tune. When my Ipod is on, he's dancing. When his music is playing, he's dancing. In fact yesterday we were hanging out on the hammock and he started strumming the ropes to make his own music.

Joel . . . well I think he's just so thrilled that the pool is pretty much finished. A few more sheets of lattice will finish off the job -- one which far exceeded both our level of expertise when it comes to being handy, and also one that far exceeded our timeline. One good note is that while the project was tough, it was WELL worth it. I think that there have only been three days in the past month that we've not used the pool. Myles is fearless (scary actually), Lilah is overcoming her fear of water and can now be found bobbing around with her waterwings, and Naomi is becoming quite the little swimmer - dog paddling around the pool for hours. I don't think we've ever been happier to see the end of a project though. Let me tell you that if someone offers you a free pool, make sure that you have handy friends or are handy yourself. It is a BIG project - but like I said, well worth it.

We have enjoyed the company of my longtime friends Sharon, Len and Dylan for a weekend in July. It was so much fun to reconnect with their family as we haven't seen each other in almost 2 years. Dismal when you consider that we've known each other since Sharon and I were 8 year old swimming buddies!

We've also been to Auntie Heather and Uncle John's place one weekend this summer. Naomi caught her first fish (pictured below) and Myles learned to drive the boat. All of us really enjoyed the lake and the hospitality that Heather and John always show us. It really is like a piece of heaven there!

And now for my big news. All Systems A Go is the title of this post, and also the name of my new business. I have dreamt of venturing out into the world of entrepreneurship for some time now. I love the idea of using my talents to build relationships with clients that are all my own, and I also love coaching others to acheive success. Being an organized person, this business idea really came together over the past few months. Then in April I heard about a program to assist in business planning and decided to apply. The timing has been perfect and I spent every morning for the month of July in a class designed to help me write my business plan. The course was intense, but really helped me to focus on my long term goals.

As a business consultant and Professional Organizer, I offer consulting, coaching, hands-on organizing and training for small/medium sized businesses and corporations. I help businesses identify areas of disorganization that are inhibiting growth, then create a plan to overcome these obstacles. Mostly my business will focus on helping businesses and individuals manage time, use technology, track projects and activities, organize workspace, design and organize filing systems and simplify paperwork/systems in an overall effort to improve productivity and meet organizational goals.

I already have signed a contract with Pfizer Animal Health and also have two other clients that I'm working with. Since each of my clients is in a different industry, I am really enjoying the diversity that running this business offers. It is very exciting and I am loving the feeling of more balance in life.

Onwards and upwards! So that's about what we've been up to in the past couple of months! I'm off to enjoy the last few days of summer before school starts again! Hope you all enjoy the new photos (and in a new format that I'm trying out).

Cheers,
Karen

Sweet Pea and the Brown Eyed Girls!

2007-05-14T22:23:00.000-04:00

May 2007

We have been enjoying a few weeks of fun in the sun lately! The sunny weather has certainly been welcomed around here and the kids are outside for the majority of their waking hours.

Naomi has decided that at the ripe old age of 4, she should be riding her bike without training wheels. Mom spent an entire afternoon running up and down the 190ft laneway while Naomi tried to gain control over her balance. Then a friend showed us how to bend the training wheels up so that she could learn to balance without us running alongside. Thank goodness for friends!

Lilah has become quite proficient at riding her trike too - though she thinks that she's ready for the Dora two wheeler that she spotted at Zellers the other day. Since her birthday is just over a month away, we picked it up for her. Can't wait to see her face when she opens it up at the end of June!

Myles, who has discovered the freedom of walking in the past three weeks, wakes up in the morning and points to the patio doors. He would live outside if we'd allow it! Unfortunately his new found walking skills are still a little rusty and he's constantly sporting a new badge of honor. Two weeks ago he got his first black eye, then just as that was fading he tripped on the driveway. His forehead and nose are a mess of roadrash - poor kid! The good news is that he's learning body parts from all the boo boo cream on his nose and cheeks and forehead.

The other good news is that he was boo boo free for a recent photoshoot at my favorite photographer's studio. We had wanted to get 1 year old photos done and thought it would be fun to capture some of the girls as well. Turns out Myles didn't really want the focus on him anyhow, but a few goldfish later and the charmer returned so that we could get a few shots of the three kids. The end result was spectacular, as you can see from the photos below. I think my favorite thing about getting Gerri to take my kid's photos is that she always captures who they are in the pictures. From the special bond between two sisters, to the charming but active toddler, she knows how to document their personalities, quirks and nuances in a beautiful way!

So life with three crazy kids continues on. What suprises me is how quickly I forget the "age and stage" stuff that they go through even though our kids are all relatively close together in age. For example, I know that I shouldn't be suprised that at 13 months Myles is frustrated. After all, when nobody in your family understands that you ARE the KING of the house - that's gotta be frustrating! But I chuckle to suddenly recall that both Naomi and Lilah went through the exact same thing - and I had forgotten all about it.

Even more heartwarming is to listen to Lilah's vocabulary develop. Today's word of the day was "ponsible" as in, "Mom, you are (res)ponsible so you can find my shoes and get me some juice". Yeah, cute -- heh heh (sense some sarcasm here). :) And to think that Myles is right behind her and then I'll have THREE "ponsibilities" telling me what to do!

We are currently in a state of outdoor renovations. Papa Tom helped us two weekends ago with a Pergola on our backdeck. Our backyard faces northwest - so it gets pretty hot and sunny on our deck in the summer. The new pergola gives us some much needed shade. We are also working on redesigning our backyard to add a pool. Our friend Sara's parents have decided that they no longer want their pool, and are passing it on to us! Hooray for friends!

In preparation, we've enrolled the kids in swimming lessons and they are doing fantastic. After only one 8-week session, Naomi is now able to do the front crawl for a short distance and Lilah is overcoming her fear of being on her own in the water. This morning I saw her do a star float without reminding her teacher to not let go of her. Both girls have come a long way in a few short weeks. Myles loves the water and is no less of a daredevil in the pool than he is on land.

Hoppy Easter

2007-04-26T21:35:00.000-04:00

This year we decided to make the trekk north for Easter, spending the weekend with Auntie Heather and Uncle John. As always, we had a fantastic time visiting with the rest of the Klassen clan and enjoying the peaceful setting. And of course, mommy's team beat daddy and grandpa's team at Taboo AGAIN.

We awoke Easter morning - happy to see that the Easter Bunny remembered we weren't at home this year.

Naomi and Lilah quickly dove into action to search out the eggs that they had decorated the day earlier. Even Myles got busy - though we think he much preferred the eggs with the foil!

Once the hunt was over, it was time to crack into the bootie and then the sugar high started. Between that and the gas produced by eating hard boiled eggs, I'm quite certain that we
needed very little fuel to get to the Millen family

function in Teeswater later in the day!

We spent the afternoon visiting with the Millen side of our family. Since Naomi is raising money for "Jump Rope for Heart" - it was excellent timing and good practice in asking for sponsorships. Nothing like a huge family to make raising money easy! Thanks to Aunt Theresa's taking Naomi under her wing, none of the relatives escaped the wrath of a cute smile. By the end of the afternoon, Naomi was well on her way to her $350 goal (which she did meet last week) and was more familiar with Papa Tom's 7 brother's and sisters, as well as my (too many to count) cousins and their families.

Uncle Dave was hosting this year and he thrilled the girls with a tractor ride and visit to the barn to see the new calves. I think that was the highlight of the day for Naomi and Lilah - being that they are such animal lovers!

Happy GOTCHA Day Lilah!

2007-04-04T21:15:00.000-04:00

Yup, it is hard to believe that two years ago we were traveling in China, meeting Lilah for the first time and becoming a family of four. Though it seems like just yesterday, at the same time it seems like she’s been with us forever. We celebrated Lilah’s Gotcha day by making Chinese food and the cake pictured in this photo. Lilah was quite pleased to get to blow out her two candles as we marked the 2nd anniversary of the day that she was first put into our arms.

"Oh Happy Adoption Day"!

Happy Birthday Myles!

2007-03-28T21:50:00.000-04:00

Isn't it unbelievable how quickly a year goes by?? Looking at this picture, I find it difficult to imagine that one year ago this little boy was a newborn baby! Those two hour feedings, sleepless nights, projectile poops and first smiles seem like just yesterday. Yet Myles is no longer a baby, and we've progressed to a picky eater, temper tantrums, weird poops, first steps and first words! Yes folks, he's now a toddler.

We celebrated Myles' birthday twice this year, to accomodate our trip to Florida (which happened the week of Myles' actual birthdate). The first party, was on the fourth of March with our family and a few friends. We visited, played, ate cake and skated our hearts out.

Cousin Venrick was probably the most enthusiastic of the skaters, as you can see from the photos below. We are so proud of him. Having just arrived in Canada in November, we are amazed at how quickly he has absorbed so much Canadiana. I know, there is more to Canada than hockey . . . but in our house, it's close to number 1! Joel found out that Venrick didn't have a hockey stick, so he went down to the depths of the Klassen sports store and sent him home sporting a shiny new stick. But not before he gave him a few lessons on how to use it. For me, watching Venrick and Joel was a reminder of the winter before Naomi arrived. It was the first year we had a rink and I remember Joel barking out drills as I skated around windshield washer containers. It was also a prelude of days to come -- Joel and the kids doing drills!

Myles' first foray into chocolate birthday cake was a little slow to start. But the end result looked like this! When it came time to open birthday presents he had lots of help!

March 8th we started the long drive to Kissimee Florida. Our three day journey meant that the kids got to watch a LOT of television and play tons of video games. I have no idea what folks did before the evolution of DVD players, but we are sure thankful that we had one! Overall the kids did really well with the long drive.

When we arrived in Kissimmee, they were eager for some time in the pool, and that was pretty much where they spent the next 7 days. Naomi quickly gained confidence in the water and was soon bobbing around like a fish. Lilah was a little more timid and preferred her daddy's arms. She has always been a little more cautious about things, and swimming is no different. So she and Myles spent more time in the shallow waters of the hot tub for most of the week, but we did see lots of progress as the week went on.

On the 15th, Joel's parents drove up from their campsite in Punta Gorda to help us celebrate Myles' first birthday. We enjoyed a relaxing day with them around the pool and in the condo, then headed out to an all you can eat seafood buffet for dinner. We headed back to the condo for cake, where Myles had lots of help devouring it.

You will notice our friends Leevi and Simon in the photos helping to teach Myles the finer art of cake eating. In fact, they and their parents (Janet and Darryn) shared our condo for the week.

By Wednesday night Janet and I had decided that communal living really has it's benefits, and we had voted Joel off the island at least twice! Darryn had so much fun that he spent the latter part of the night sleeping beside the toilet -- or perhaps he was sick with fear of being voted off as well! Needless to say, we had a very enjoyable vacation and are looking forward to a return visit next year.

We returned home to bitter cold temperatures, but within a few days the Florida weather followed us home and SPRING arrived. It is so refreshing to be able to enjoy the outdoors! All three kids have been speeding up and down the driveway, either by bike, trike or pushing a walker. The kids have also rediscovered driveway chalk and are decorating all over the place! Myles of course, had to learn the hard way that chalk is not for eating - note the little blob of yellow on his chin!

And so I end this post with a new toddler in the house. Since our trip to Florida, Myles has learned all the typical toddler behaviours. It's startling how that happens overnight! Yesterday, Myles was heading down the laneway pushing his walker. At the end of the lane there is a rope that we've taught the girls not to cross on their bikes. The wise toddler in our home got to the rope and I tried to turn him around to head back to the house. Unfortunately he didn't seem to like that message. My actions were met with some serious squawking and a huff as he swung his walker back around and headed for the line. In the end - and after three attempts to teach him the rules, I ended up resorting to picking him up and carrying him to the house. Again met with squawking, but the score still stands with mom leading the game! Probably not for long though! Then again, I'm used to that!

I Really Like This Poem

2007-02-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

You cannot change the truth,
These are your children,
but they came from somewhere else.
And they are the children of those places
and of those people as well.

Help them to know about their past
and about their present.
Help them to know that they are from extended families,
That they have only one parent or set of parents,
but they have more mothers and fathers.

They have grandmothers, godmothers,
birth mothers, mother countries, mother earth.

They have grandfathers, godfathers,
birth fathers, and fatherlands.

They have family by birth and by adoption.
They have family by choice and by chance.

Childhood is short;
They are our children to raise;
they are our children to love;
and then they are citizens of the world.
What we do to them creates the world that we live in.

Give them life.
Give them their truth.
Give them love.
Give them all they came with,
Give them all that they grow with.

Your children do not belong to you,
But they belong with you.
You cannot keep them from what is theirs,
but you can keep loving them.
You do not own your children,
but they are your own.

Taken from Joyce Maguire Pavoa's book "Family of Adoption"

Winter Wonderland!

2007-02-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

Well we have gone from having a giant puddle in our backyard to having a rink. The snow is piled high on our deck and at the end of our driveway. Yes, winter has finally arrived in full force and the Klassen family is loving it!

Naomi and Lilah are rapidly getting the hang of skating. Myles is having fun tooting around in his stroller or on the sled. It is so much fun watching them romp around in the snow. A few days ago after our driveway was plowed, the girls decided to use the mound of snow at the end of the drive for tobogganning. What a blast that was (don't mind the booger noses)!

Naomi's class went to the Outdoor Education Center in Port Hope last Thursday (the coldest day this year). She came home raving about her day (despite the frigid temps) and telling us that she tried something new. We were excited for her and tried to figure out what the new thing was that she was describing. Somehow, out of "orange things on my feet with brown around them", we figured out snowshoeing!

Myles is getting more adept at getting around. He's pretty much mastered going up and down the stairs - desperate to follow his sisters wherever they go. He always gets a big grin on his face when he's working on learning a new skill. He is also getting pretty quick at his version of crawling/scooting. We aren't sure if he's refusing the "on all fours" version because he doesn't want to hurt his knees, or if it's because he always needs a free hand for his matchbox cars. His latest verbalization is "vrmm vrmmm" and he can most often be found pushing a hotwheels car around while doing it. It makes me smile to realize how boyish he is, despite the fact that no one has really shown him how.

Myles is also getting very good at calling Lilah's name. He wants to be involved in whatever the girls are doing and they don't cooperate, he yells "LALA". Watching the two of them together is like watching a game of Simon Says. If Lilah is on a Dora chair, Myles climbs on it too. If Lilah bounces on the chair, so does Myles. If Lilah claps her hands . . . you guessed it, so does Myles!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2007-02-13T18:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Year of the Pig!

We celebrated Chinese New Year with friends this past weekend at the Families with Children from China event in Toronto.

It was great to see old friends and to share some Chinese traditions! Pictured here are the hóng (red) sisters, Naomi, Jasmine, Vanessa and Sydney. The three eldest all are four years old and attend Mandarin together on Saturday mornings.

The girls also loved the lion dance and were thrilled to be able to be a part of the parade. Watching the unique friendships that these girls have developed is certainly a lot of fun!

Even Myles is mastering the use of chopsticks! His favorite food was the soup (creamed corn, chicken and egg), which ironically was also Lilah's favorite food in China when she was a baby of the same age. Even Naomi (who is normally not an adventurous eater) tried it, and ended up devouring two bowls. As usual, Myles loved the crowd and spent the evening grinning from ear to ear. Folks are always commenting that he's the smiliest little man - and that he is.

Lilah was excited to be able to share CNY with her Gram. She was enthralled with the young singers and dancers that performed during dinner.

Chinese New Year is one of my favorite festivals. It is a time for renewal, a time for thanksgiving and a time to look forward to the future. Three years ago, we began the tradition of celebrating in Toronto with our friends. That year we celebrated our family with the adoption of Naomi. It is hard to believe what an amazing little gal she has become in those three short years. She is a gal who would make any mother proud, but my heart swells to know that I get to be her mom. In fact, I couldn't be more proud of each of my children. I've added a quotation to the header of our blog that really brings home the way that I feel. I am definately holding the evening sky in my hands!

Can it be true??

2007-01-16T21:50:00.000-05:00

We hear that winter is finally on it's way! HOORAY, though we can only cross our fingers that it is really going to stay a while. With forecasters predicting sub-zero weather for the next week, we finally put down the tarp for the rink and started the flooding process. As you can see, the kids were pretty flooded too . . . but everyone had fun and we're looking forward to some ice skating soon.

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy 2007 to all our faithful followers! We hope you enjoyed as happy a season as we did. I must admit that this was by far the best Christmas ever for me. Despite the holiday rushing around, we managed to carve out more "family time" this year and created a few new holiday traditions. One of my favorites is the "staying at home and lounging in jammies till 3pm on Christmas day" tradition.

Perhaps part of my enjoyment of the season also was in watching our kids explore and discover all the magic of the season. Naomi really "got" the whole Santa thing this year and was SO excited. We put the kids to bed on Christmas eve and at 11pm I went up to make sure that they were tucked in before the adults retired. Naomi sat bolt upright, looked at me and shouted "WHO ARE YOU!".

I replied, "It's just mommy".

"Oh, but I can't see Rudolf", Naomi said.

"Honey, he's not coming inside. He will land on the roof."

"Make sure he eats all his carrots!" she replied, rolling over and falling back to sleep. I left the room chuckling like the big guy himself!

The nicest gifts that we will ever have is the joy that our kids give us. I love to sit back and watch each of them. It is a wonder to me that all these little miracles are here today, despite all the odds that we had to overcome for each of them to be here. Now that our family is complete, it's nice to be able to acknowledge that the sadness that I used to feel at this time of year has been replaced with such happiness. OK enough with the sappy stuff.

Christmas Eve we celebrated with Papa Tom - who probably had thought his days of spending the eve of Christmas assembling and wrapping had ended. We rudely reminded him otherwise. Aside from enjoying our visit with him, I was so glad to have an elf to help put all the toys together!

Boxing Day we headed to the Clarke Retreat (aka Roxy, Auntie Heather and Uncle John's home), where we relaxed, enjoyed family time and celebrated the holidays. Being a competitive family, there is always some sort of challenge going on in the Klassen extended family -- and this Christmas gathering did not disappoint. I'd like to congratulate my Taboo team on their fantastic win against Queen Taylor's "Jock" team.

December is a busy month for us. Not only is it Christmas, but it is also both Joel and Naomi's birthdays! Joel and I celebrated his birthday on the 23rd by getting a sitter and heading to Peterborough for a night of fine dining at an amazing Thai/Malaysian restaurant. The food was WONDERFUL and we really enjoyed a meal to ourselves. It was a new restaurant for us, and one that we look forward to frequenting again. Naomi took the opportunity to remind Joel of how old he was by singing to him, "It's Raining. It's Pouring. The OLD man is snoring!". We all thought that was hilarious.

Naomi's 4rth birthday was celebrated Safari style with a party on the 29th. She was delighted to be able to dress up like. . . a cheetah - who'd have guessed. Thanks to my two friends Andrea and Foxy, even the cake was in cheetah theme (you should have seen Naomi's eyes lit up at the sight of it). I can't believe that Naomi is already 4 years old. To say that time flies is certainly an understatement. Every day we are amazed at all the things that she has picked up along the way. Most of it is good, and some of it is downright priceless. Like the day that we were driving home and she commented that we were driving on Hardwood Road. If you live here, you would know that we live off of Harwood Road and so Joel corrected her. Immediately she looked at him and said, "Daddy, is the road hard?". "Yes Naomi, it's hard." "Well Daddy then it's HARDwood Road". And that was that -- call the township there is a typo in the name of the road!

We rang in the New Year with many of our Cobourg friends this year. A while ago we got the idea to rent the Harwood Hall (which is 5 minutes north of us) and to invite all our friends to have a family oriented New Year's Eve celebration. It was a terrific time of eating, dancing and fireworks, and the bonus -- we raised $200 for the Children's Bridge Foundation in the process. You can see more details of this charity at http://www.childrensbridgefoundation.com if you are interested in learning more.

January 6th gave us opportunity to celebrate with Gram and the rest of the family. Naomi, Lilah and Myles always look forward to a visit from their cousins, and this time were especially pleased that Venrick and Maui were here for the first time too.

Myles was happy to see his older (though smaller) cousin's Maui and Lauren. He has become a crawling, chattering little man. We've had to "proof" the house in the last month as he started scooting on Christmas Eve and is getting very good at finding the stairs (particularily if the girls are beyond them). Myles loves his sisters and loves lots of action. Which begs the question - where did the past 10 months go???

So here we are in January 2007. Like I said earlier, where is the time going?? Joel & I are headed to Jamaica (without kids) at the end of this month. I can hardly imagine what it will be like without the kids, but I think both of us are looking forward to some time together.

And with that update, I will sign off for now. Hope I have apeased the folks who have been begging for an update recently - and 'm also letting the Wentworth's know that it's their turn now! ;P

Wishing you and yours all the best for 2007!

Precious gifts

2006-11-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

Once again our favorite photographer has worked her magic, producing the following photos. We still can't decide which is our favorite - probably because in looking at each picture we can't help but say, "Man we have a beautiful family!". What a miracle to think that just over three years ago it was just Joel and I -- how lucky are we!

October 2006

2006-11-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

It snowed twice this week, bringing the stark reality home that Winter is on it's way. For Naomi and Lilah, the sight of snow falling from the sky brought about squeals of delight, snowpants, mittens, hats and scarves. Naomi asked, "Can you help me build a snowman?". I had to break it to her gently that no, this dusting is not nearly enough to build a snowman. Perhaps next week, she said!

Also with thoughts of winter on his mind, Joel was outside today preparing the frame for backyard ice-rink. I wonder if we'll get to skate on it this year? In four winters, we've skated only one year and that was pre-kids. This is really the first year that Naomi and Lilah could get some use out of it - so we're hopeful.

Honestly, we all love winter . . . when it's really winter. Not the wet, icy, rainy and warmish sort of weather that we've had in the previous few years. For goodness sake, we live in South Western ONTARIO (not Vancouver) and if we're going to have winter, I WANT SNOW!!! All you folks who complain about a snowy winter, should move south with my in-laws (who will apparently be living in the lap of luxury this winter in their new fifth wheel!).

So . . . what have we been up to?? Well in my previous post I mentioned an outdoor photoshoot we had planned. That didn't happen. I think God was trying to tell me that a Christmas photo should not have fall colours in it because he kept sending flurries whenever we rescheduled. I have finally given in, and we've booked our next photo session with the kids on November 13th - IN the studio. While I'm a bit bummed about it, I'll happily look forward to next year when we'll finally get our outdoor family photo.

The girls continue to do well at school and while the novelty has worn off for Naomi, she seems to come home happy with her day there. Lilah thoroughly LOVES nursery school and would go every day if she could. Myles misses his sisters when they are gone.

First day of school pictures for Naomi and Lilah from September.

Myles loves the swing!

We've actually had a fun-filled fall, despite all the rain. We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Millen- side of our family, and enjoyed a visit with a relatives whom we haven't seen in a while. Later in the weekend we attended the Oktoberfest parade with the Ferrara's (my sister's family), my mom and brother (who is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his family from the Philipines any day now). Naomi was fascinated with all the horses in the parade and really enjoyed spending time with her cousins, Jacob and Andrew. Lilah took advantage of Uncle Bryan's free shoulders to gain a prime seat for the parade. Myles enjoyed Cheerios on the blankie with his cousin Lauren. We listened to the "e-i-e-i-e-i-o" (popular Oktoberfest rant) all the way to lunch!

Myles and Papa Tom

Mid-October we travelled to Niagara Falls and spent the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge with our friends, the Shutt family. To those who have not yet been and have kids, it's wonderful. We all had a fantastic time and are making plans to return in the future. Lilah suprised me the most that weekend. She hates getting her face wet and isn't much of a daredevil. A couple of times I thought she would be calling it quits, but instead she chose to make the best of the situation and even asked for more! In fact, her favorite thing that weekend was a family waterslide that had us all riding on a raft, sliding down a tube at breakneck speeds, dropping down and banking up the sides of the tube and getting soaked at the end. I was sure when I asked her if she had fun at the end that she would say no, but she amazed me by replying, "Yeah. Let's do it again.". Naomi (our animal loving daredevil) also loved this ride, but was more thrilled with the talking bear, moose and tree in the lobby. She could have sat there for hours listening and chattering away at them. Myles -- well he's a water baby, and he loved to splash around. As usual, anything where he's close to the sister's made him more than happy.

We were also fortunate to visit with Joel's Aunt Roberta and Uncle Brian from Regina while we were in Niagara. They were visiting Ontario and staying the weekend in St. Catherines. We haven't seen them since the week after we came home from China to get Naomi, so there was lots of catching up to do. I think they got a taste of three kids under 4 yrs old and we got a chance for the adults to outnumber the kids at dinner! :) Would have been nice to have an adult conversation as well, but we've learned that you can't ask for too much these days! Needless to say, we really enjoyed catching up with them as much as we could.

Photos from Great Wolf Lodge

Grandma (GRAMMUDDER according to Lilah) and Grandpa (POPO according to Lilah) Klassen, Auntie Heather and Uncle John all came for a visit last weekend and the kids had a wonderful time. We attempted to make caramel apples, but our efforts were a flop. Grandpa and Uncle John were not disappointed though!

October also brought about our kids' favorite fall event, Halloween. Anyone who knows Naomi, also knows that she LOVES cheetahs. In early October I was grateful that a friend of ours managed to dig up a "Cheetah" costume for her, sparing my having to hunt high and low to find one for her. At times, we have had to bribe her to take it off. Lilah dressed up as a butterfly this year, in honor of all the monarchs we grew and she was adorable. Myles was a monkey . . . cute, cute, cute. Anyhow, the actual night of Halloween was met with great success and a pile of candy now sits in our pantry. Not sure who is devouring it the fastest - the adults or the kids.

Lilah's works of art!

Naomi's pumpkins.

The Ball Street Trick or Treat Gang!

The Editorial

2006-11-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

Madonna's adoption of a boy from Malawi has brought about a spotlight on international adoption this month. On the 23rd of October, our local newspaper printed an editorial that really frustrated me. I sent a reply to the paper that week, and it was printed on the 30th(albeit with a lame title that indicated I was promoting "world peace"). So many folks have commented on my letter and have wanted to re-read the original editorial as well, so I've copied it, and my response below.

Cobourg Daily Star (ON) Editorial Page,
Monday, October 23, 2006,

More to adoptions than publicity
The entertainment world - which increasingly intrudes on the world of news - is agog with the recent adoption by singer Madonna of a 13-month-old boy named David Banda from Malawi.
The entertainer already has two biological children with her husband, Guy Ritchie. Her stated purpose in enlarging the family at this time is to rescue this one child from a life of poverty and disease.
David's biological father, meanwhile, has apparently only now realized that allowing Madonna (or anyone else) to adopt his son, means surrendering his parental rights completely and forever.
Yesterday, he was telling the media: "I was never told that adoption means that David will no longer be my son... If I was told this, I would not have allowed the adoption."
Mr. Banda's wife, David's mother, died shortly after giving birth. Unable to care for his son, Mr. Banda took him to an orphanage. Now, David is poised to become brother to Lourdes and Rocco Ritchie and Mr. Banda is suggesting he thought the adoption only meant Madonna would pay to educate and care for David.
To her credit, according to BBC News, Madonna funds six orphanages through her Raising Malawi charity and is setting up an orphanage for 4,000 children in a village outside the capital, Lilongwe. She is doing much more than helping one child or (less charitably) acquiring an African accessory to complement her white son and daughter.
Treading the streets of Toronto today, one would think the latest Yuppie fashion must-have is a Chinese daughter.
But, before we allow our cynicism to take over, perhaps we should consider the lives these adoptees might have, if they were not chosen by affluent Westerners.
China's longtime one-child policy meant that male children became even more of a priority for families. Within that culture, historically, girls married into another family and were no longer responsible for their birth parents, whereas sons, in addition to continuing the family name and lineage, could be relied upon to care for parents in their old age. When the government decreed that overpopulation and waning resources would only allow for one child per family, more affluent or urban couples began seeking confirmation of gender before birth, i.e. through ultrasound technology. Female fetuses were often aborted.
In the countryside, where such technology may not have been available, many baby girls were abandoned. Orphanages filled up, until childless western couples discovered this "motherlode" of healthy babies for adoption.
It would be wonderful to think that Madonna (if she does, in fact, get to adopt David) and other cross-cultural adoptive parents would learn and pass on something of their child's ethnic background. If they don't, the sense of cultural displacement the children may feel pales in comparison to the hardships they would have experienced, if left in their homeland orphanages.
More and more, not only within society, but even within families, multiracial ethnicity is becoming the norm.
It is sad to think that this may contribute to the dilution of cultures and an increasing sameness amongst humanity.
But it is encouraging that we are increasingly seeing all human people as part of one human family - our own.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cobourg Daily Start, Editorial Page
Monday October 30th

Interracial adoptions enrich families and promote world peace
As a mother who has been blessed with three amazing children (two adopted from China and one biological), I would like to comment on “More to adoptions than Publicity” (October 23, 2006). Not only do I struggle to understand what point is being made, there are several insinuations within the editorial that I take issue with.

I interpret the comment that Madonna “already has two biological children with her husband Guy”, as the editor’s way of suggesting that they have no right to build their family through adoption. Perhaps the feeling is that adoption should be reserved for the infertile?? It may surprise you that some families feel a higher motivation to provide a home for any child, as opposed to a home for a child who is an exact replica of themselves. I don’t know anyone who has ventured within the walls of an orphanage (whether it be in China, Ukraine, Russia, Cambodia, Malawi, etc), and not seen a child who has stolen their heart. It is a humanizing and humbling experience. One that makes a person appreciate the blessing that was bestowed upon them at birth. To get a glimpse into an innocent child’s personality, to know that you can provide what they need, and to not wish to do that is a nearly impossible thing to do. If more people would consider adoption (fertile or not), there would be far fewer children growing up without parents around the world.

Madonna’s choosing to adopt David is referred to as “less charitable”. Adoption is not about charity, it’s about building a family. Adoptive parents find it objectionable when people make the comment, “what a wonderful thing we have done to adopt a poor orphan”. What they fail to see is that the gifts our children give us far outweigh any “good deed” we may have done. They also rarely recognize the losses that our children experience in adoption, believing incorrectly that our heritage and culture is far superior.

The majority of families I know who have adopted internationally are far from affluent. Most of them have either gone into debt to finance their adoptions, or have made saving for their adoption a priority things like a new car or a bigger house. The Angelina Jolie’s and Madonna’s of the adoption world are in the minority.

Regardless, adoptive children are neither “African accessories” nor “Yuppie fashion must-haves”. These children are human beings whom we love with every fiber of our being. Parenting is a tough job, one which goes beyond a cute baby. The author has demonstrated in this editorial that it is also a job that you are judged more heavily on when you have a conspicuous family.

The choice to adopt internationally is rarely taken lightly by parents, and is often reached after experiencing frustrations associated with domestic adoption. In the case of trans-racial adoptions, parents look beyond race and ethnicity to see a child who needs a family and to realize that they can provide that.

China is by far the most popular country to adopt from right now, in part because there are so many children who need homes. But China also has one of the most predictable and above board adoption programs in the world, making to less likely to be subject to the improprieties associated with other adoption programs. I commend the editor for taking the time to educate the world on one of the reasons that children are available for adoption in China, but there are others as well (poverty, illness, disability and death to name a few). I also congratulate the author for recognizing that families who adopt a child from another country need to “learn and pass on something of their child’s ethnic background” to prevent the “sense of cultural displacement”. As a part of the application process, a social worker addresses this issue in an applicant’s Home Study. The adoptive families I know strive to adopt a culture as well as a child. As have other adoptive families, we have taken part in culture camps, celebrated Chinese holidays, enrolled in Mandarin lessons and plan to return to China to explore our daughters’ heritage one day.

While the author feels that multiracial ethnicity within families will “contribute to the dilution of cultures and an increasing sameness amongst humanity”, I prefer to think that learning about different cultures adds to the richness of life. As a parent, I hope to encourage our children to learn about more than just their birth culture and the culture in which they now live. The more that we understand each other, the better we are able to get along in this world!
Karen Klassen / Baltimore, Ontario

Myles

2006-10-13T20:33:00.000-04:00

It sometimes is hard to imagine that Myles is 7 months old. Gone is the vacant (yet beautiful) face that we saw as a newborn. Now I see a face so full of personality that it's amazing to realize. Myles adores his sisters and lights up whenever they are near. He is a little boy who definately knows who his daddy is and recognizes his footsteps walking through the door after work. When I look at him, I see a calm and happy little soul with an adorable smile and a wonderful way of touching my heart.

There have been many things I have enjoyed during the past seven months of getting to know my son, but one of the things I have most enjoyed has been nursing him. I had always planned to breastfeed, with the thought that if it didn't work I wouldn't sweat it. Fortunately Myles and I had very few problems and now I feel so fortunate that it was easy for us (because I fully appreciate that sometimes it's not). With three kids in the house, you can imagine that there are very few moments of calm. But when I am feeding Myles, things automatically seem to mellow. I love every moment of the experience . . . how he rubs his hand on my chest when he's comfortable. . . when he looks up at me and smiles . . . and the moment that he begins to feel sleepy and full.

Throughout my pregnancy, my friends encouraged me to do maternity photos. I never really bought into the idea, having felt so sick for 9 months and not really being able to imagine anything beautiful when I felt so lousy. But about a month ago I realized that the beautiful moment I really wanted to capture was breastfeeding. So I called up my favorite photographer Gerri to schedule a session. Gerri also suggested that 6-7 months is her favorite age to photograph, so we decided to throw in a few costume changes for the young lad as well. From the 100 AMAZING photos we ended up with, I've tried to choose my favorites to share with you below.

Baby kisses

Favorite Nursing photos

Myles the toe sucker
Bare Naked Myles
Howdy Partner!
Says it all -- doesn't it??

Myles and his blankie

Mr. Blue Eyes

My favorite photo

OK enough serious, time to ham it up!

August 2006

2006-08-26T21:59:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how quickly the summer has passed. As I look at the pictures of my kids from the beginning of the summer, it makes me realize that each of them has really changed and grown a lot this year. It's pretty amazing really!

At five months old, Myles is obviously changing the most rapidly. He's now able to sit for short periods on his own, says mum mum mum when he's hungry or wants me, and is such a HUGE flirt. He continues to be the most good-natured baby I can imagine and his smile lights up our world. Lilah and Naomi love to make him laugh -- which isn't too hard to acheive!

Naomi and Lilah have become the proud parents of two Monarch butterflies. We've been finding hundreds of caterpillars and cocoons around our property (currently we know of five cocoons growing out there). So the girls caught a couple of caterpillars, fed them milkweed and waited for them to pupate. Two weeks is a long time in a preschoolers life, but finally yesterday the girls were rewarded and a Monarch presented itself in their bug catcher. Today another cocoon hatched and once again excitement was a brewing. It's so fun to watch their minds grow and expand.

On top of this being a bug, butterfly, toad and snake summer -- we've recently spent more time at Auntie Heather and Uncle John's house on William's lake. This time, we tried to get the fishing thing going, but were rather unsuccessful - only capturing one tiny sunfish (and Roxy the dog on occasion). Once again, we returned home well rested, relaxed and VERY envious of their home!

At 10:30pm on the road home a construction pylon hit our truck and we ended up with a hole in the windshield. Thankfully none of us was hurt, but we were not able to safely drive home. A not so quick call to CAA and we ended up riding home in the truck, on the back of a flatbed tow truck. Another experience for the kids -- who at 12am were fascinated with how high up we were and how much easier it was to see the moon!

This month also brought about Naomi's gotcha day anniversary and reunion. It's hard to believe all that has happened in those three short years -- we've come a long way from a couple to a family of five!

At the reunion, it was wonderful to see how much each of Naomi's "Zhuzhou sisters" have grown and changed. This was really the first time we experienced the expression of each gal's personality through language -- what a joy. Naomi's actual gotcha day (the 24th) was spent at Ontario Place, taking in the Chinese Lantern Festival. It was a terrific way to reminisce about our first trip to China and the WONDERFUL gifts that we've received! The girls loved the experience and we enjoyed the time together as family.

As August winds down, we are gearing up for school. Naomi meets her teacher on September 7th and then starts JK on September 22nd. Lilah starts Nursery School on September 5th. As the dates grow closer, I look forward to watching my girls move on to new phases in their lives and continue to grow. At the same time, I am admittedly a little sad to let them go -- a feeling I think every mother can relate to.

I've also had to let go of my cat Maggie this month, she was 17 years old. Maggie was my eldest child, only two days old when we met as I was hunting for my first apartment. Our journey together began six weeks later when I moved in, and the previous tenant left her for me. I took my first independent steps with her by my side as I moved away from home and started college in Kingston. At night she loved to suckle on a blanket, kneeding her paws and giving me a massage while we snuggled. Whenever I felt homesick, she was there for me. Whenever I struggled in school or life, she quietly reminded me that I was important, that I was needed and that I was loved. Maggie was the most dependable thing in my life. As a kitten, she was adventurous -- travelling home with me on school vacations, always riding in the back window of the car while basking in the warm sun. As an adult, she loved to watch the birds, wander through the trees and bask in the sunlight.

Our journey together saw career changes, relationships, marriage and children. During her 17 years she survived college; 11 moves; a few boyfriends and 2 husbands; 2 Rottweilers and Bubba the cat; a few job changes and one career change; 2 adoptions and 1 pregnancy; 3 children and my journey into motherhood. I remember her snuggling with me as I cried my way through the agony of SARS and waiting for Naomi. I remember her rubbing up against me while I hugged the toilet through pregnancy, and after Myles was born, she would sit on the arm of the chair as I nursed him. Through it all, Maggie has always been a great comfort to me and I cherish that.

Euthanizing her was the most difficult decision I can ever recall making. To have the power to choose when life will end is painful and heartbreaking, despite the fact that I know I was saving her from pain and suffering. Saying goodbye to Maggie was like closing a chapter in my book of life and it was a very sad experience. Thankfully I have so many wonderful memories of her to treasure within my heart.

2006-08-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

Maggie -- 17 years old

2006-08-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T21:54:00.000-04:00

Naomi being a butterfly

2006-08-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T21:20:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T21:05:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T21:02:00.000-04:00

Proud Parents -- See butterfly on bush to right

2006-08-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

The butterfly that Naomi and Lilah grew

2006-08-26T20:59:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:58:00.000-04:00

Naomi's Third Gotcha Day Anniversary!

2006-08-26T20:55:00.000-04:00

China Sisters

2006-08-26T20:54:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:53:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:52:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:48:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

2006-08-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

Where is the summer going??

2006-08-01T14:13:00.000-04:00

How quickly the summer is flying by. August is already upon us and I've got to start thinking about shopping for school soon! Naomi is very excited that she'll be in Mrs. Elliot's class and is devouring everything school related. A friend gave her a book called Franklin Goes to School and we read it every day (but change the name to Naomi). I'm excited for her, but feeling the occasional bit of angst as I realize how quickly she's growing up. Hard to believe that it's only been three years on August 24th since we became a family!

Lilah celebrated her second birthday in June, with a Messy Party. The kids went home clean, but enjoyed body painting, finger painting and messy food. We enjoyed watching them have so much fun. After her party, we began packing to leave for Auntie Heather and Uncle John's house on the lake the next day. I don't think I've ever been on a vacation where I returned more relaxed than I left, but Heather and John sure made that happen. The kids enjoyed the jet-ski, playing in the water, feeding the ducks, riding on the Pontoon boat and Auntie Heather's cinnamon buns (definately high on my favorites too). We sure had fun!

Myles continues to grow -- he's now 19lbs and 4.5 months old. He rolled over (back to tummy) on his four month birthday and now loves to spend tons of time on his tummy. He's also been introduced to his new favorite thing (the jolly jumper). Myles is a tremendously happy and easy going little man.

We've been spending lots of time at the beach this summer (as always) and enjoying the company of friends as you can see from the pictures! In July, we connected with our friends from Lilah's travel group at one member's home in Brampton. It was great to see all the little gals growing up and doing great. We also hosted the Klassen Family Christmas Party in July and welcomed the extended family for a day. We haven't gotten together as a group since two Christmas's ago, so it was wonderful to catch up with most of the crew.

August looks like another busy month -- plans to visit the Toronto Zoo again, Naomi's travelgroup reunion, the Millen Family Golf BBQ and some more time at Heather and John's place. On top of that, we're hoping to get together with some other friends/family. We are looking forward to it all!

Cheers! JKLM&N

2006-07-31T17:03:00.001-04:00

More Myles

2006-07-31T17:03:00.000-04:00

Myles

2006-07-31T17:02:00.000-04:00

Naomi and Daddy riding the train in Peterborough Zoo

2006-07-31T17:00:00.000-04:00

Lilah feeding geese

2006-07-31T16:59:00.000-04:00

Two kooky gals

2006-07-31T16:57:00.000-04:00

Justin and Lilah

2006-07-31T16:54:00.000-04:00

Naomi

2006-07-31T16:53:00.000-04:00

Myles

2006-07-31T16:46:00.000-04:00

Lilah

Spring 2006

2006-06-11T13:15:00.000-04:00

I can’t believe it’s already June . . . Lilah turns 2 yrs old on the 29th, Naomi turns 3.5 yrs old on the same day and Myles will be three months old on the 15th! I’ve tried to capture Spring 2006 in the attached photos, hope you enjoy!

It’s so amazing to stand back and look at our lives right now. Yesterday we had a BBQ with some of our friends and we were talking about the time when Joel had hair! Caused us to pull out some photos to prove a point (that Joel looks better without hair), and gave me a chance to reflect on how quickly our lives have changed. It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating our wedding under the big top (ah what a circus/party that was), and Joel had just lost his hair for the first time compliments of a favorite brother-in-law that I still need to repay. Almost 6 years later we are a family of five and are blessed with three beautiful, marvelous and terrific kids! Wow.

So things are trucking along here rather steadily. Lilah is working on the potty training and doing remarkably well on that front. She’s a determined little person, who loves to be praised for her “accomplishments” – making her a fairly fast learner.

Naomi decided (on her own) to dispense with the idea of drinking milk in a bottle and we celebrated with a “bye bye Bubba” party last month. It was the easiest transition imaginable with her and we are really proud!

Myles continues to grow – I heard that the Michelin man denied paternity after seeing his legs! At 2 months old he was as tall as Naomi was at 4 months and weighed more than she did at 9 months!

The girls officially bunked in together three weeks ago, and Myles moved into his own room last weekend. Naomi is enjoying having a room-mate, Lilah continues to believe that bedtime is party time and we are just happy that Myles is still sleeping (though not through the night yet). I have to admit that it was easier having him in our room as the climb up the stairs in the middle of the night is not my favorite, but it is also nice to have him (and his stuff) in his own space too.

Last week we attended an information session for Jr. Kindergarten and I got goosebumps imagining Naomi at “big girl” school next fall. She is quite ready to go, excited about the prospect of travelling to school on the bus and with her friend Gavin. I’m excited for her – though a bit sad to see my first baby so grown up!

As Naomi graduates from Nursery School in two weeks, Lilah will be moving in to take her place. Tomorrow she’s going to attend Nursery school with Naomi so that her big sister can show her the ropes. I’m not sure that she needs to be shown, but it will be the one morning this month that I don’t have to listen to her sob because she’s not old enough to go too.

Myles was diagnosed with Torticollis this month (a shortening in a neck muscle on his left side) and is slated to begin physiotherapy on the 22nd of June to treat it. The pediatrician mentioned that it’s possibly a result of him being such a big baby in such tight quarters during the final months of pregnancy, and that it will go away with physiotherapy. It’s funny to see people’s reactions to him when they first meet him. The pediatrician had obviously not read his file before we met him and didn’t know how old he was. When I told him, he did quite the double-take as he thought Myles was 6 months old!

Joel has rejoined baseball and is enjoying his two evenings a week out with the “boys”. He’s been working like crazy as of late, whether it be at home or at the bank, so having a fun outlet is important to him.

I am happy to be back walking with my “chick” friends on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We do 9 km each morning, so it’s a good workout. I’ve also joined a new recreational soccer league for women over 30 (nicknamed the “huff and puff league”) on Sunday nights and am having a ton of fun.

As the end of June nears we are settling in as a COMPLETE family of five. After the whirlwind that the past 6 years has been (a wedding, building our home, two trips to China, a hellish pregnancy and three great kids) it is hard to imagine that life will slow down. But at least the “big events” are over, so we are looking forward to sitting back and enjoying all that we’ve accomplished. Gone are the Sundays of hanging out watching sports – it’s all about making our own action now!

2006-06-11T12:02:00.000-04:00

Lilah and Grammie

Crazy girls!

2006-06-11T11:59:00.000-04:00

Myles and Grammie

2006-06-11T11:55:00.000-04:00

Myles 6 wks, cousin Lauren 6 months

2006-06-11T11:53:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:52:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:44:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:43:00.000-04:00

Papa's birthday party

2006-06-11T11:40:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:37:00.001-04:00

2006-06-11T11:37:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:36:00.001-04:00

Get these girly things offa me!

2006-06-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:34:00.000-04:00

A true Klassen

2006-06-11T11:33:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:29:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:25:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:24:00.000-04:00

2006-06-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

12 months / 4 weeks -- where does the time go?

2006-04-11T18:53:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a lot of milestone's we've covered! Last week (April 4th, marked the one year anniversary of Lilah's Gotcha Day). It seems so hard to believe that a year has passed so quickly, until you look at the differences in Lilah and realize that she is a different kid. Gone is the tiny pipsqueak, replaced by a gal who could be a football player. Gone is the kid who couldn't sit up, replaced by a gal who is enrolled in Princess Ballet! Gone is the quiet and complacent child we met in China, replaced by a gal who loves to demonstrate the full magnitude of her voice and has a vocabulary that rivals many. We are so proud to have her in our family, proud to call her our sister/daughter. She is a real blessing. To celebrate, we MADE chinese food and had a Strawberry Boston Cream Gotcha cake (hand chosen by the Gotcha Gal herself -- although Naomi was disappointed that she didn't go for the chocolate cake with sprinkles). Ironic that she chose this cake as Daddy chose a similar cake for his birthday -- and she's definately "daddy's little girl"!

It also seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant, yet tomorrow marks four weeks since Myles' birth! Things are going remarkably well and we are all enjoying the process of getting to know the newest member of our family. Naomi and Lilah are doing great and adore their little brother. When he gets up in the morning, they both squeal with delight and call out his name. Lilah has taken to calling him "My baby Myles" and whenever someone other than Joel or I is holding him she gets stressed out. I am pleasantly suprised by her reaction to him as we anticipated that she would have a tougher time. Perhaps it is in part due to the fact that Naomi is such a good model for her to follow. Naomi loves to cuddle Myles, she often will offer to help out and hold him (till he gets too heavy for her). She even offers him her beloved purple blankie when he's tired or crying (and anyone who is familiar with purple blankie knows that she doesn't share it with anyone else).

So we are all doing well, albeit a bit sleep deprived. Myles is growing right before our eyes. He was weighed today and came in at a whopping 12lbs 11oz -- a mere 5 oz shy of what Lilah weighed when we got her at 9 months old! So we're guessing that I'm producing the high octane bug juice. I find it incredible to see him already outgrowing the outfits he wore in the beginning.

So this past four weeks has also brought about a high learning curve for Joel and I. Thought we'd share with you some of the things we've learned!

1) When changing the diaper of a boy, point "it" DOWN to prevent leakage.

2) When changing the diaper of a boy, there are way more "tools"and crevices to work around (versus a girl).

3) When changing the diaper of a boy, get ready with a cloth to cover "it" and watch out that you don't give him a Urine Mouthwash in the millisecond that it takes to cover his penis.

4) The letters C & D are our new favorites in the alphabet. That's not because of bra size (no I'd dream to be a C or D again!), but those are the sizes of batteries that our swing and bouncy chair use!

5) (Back to diapers) -- Breastfed babies have projectile poop that can be shot from a distance of two feet. By the way, it actually stains the wall that it lands on.

6) I love a man I've never met -- Dr. Jack Newman's got the the best "All Purpose Nipple Ointment" in the world (see http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/breastfeeding-treating-problems2-drnewman.htm for more details). The stuff requires a prescription from your doctor, but is by far the best thing going! If you google his name, he's also got some great articles on breastfeeding and is Canadian to boot!

7) I cannot believe how good it feels to NOT be hugging the toilet anymore! AHHHH!

8) I love being a mom. It's no suprise to anyone that pregnancy was unexpected for us. Nonetheless, I look at my children and feel overwhelmed when I realize the blessings that have been bestowed on me. Often times lately I find myself thinking of the final words to the new "Curious George" song, "This is how it was supposed to be".

9) Those of my friends who are also adoptive parents often ask if they are missing out on anything when they don't get pregnant. As far as I'm concerned, pregnancy isn't all it's cracked up to be and I love all my kids regardless of how much pain they instilled on me during labour and delivery. I might mention that I appreciate the jobs of both Naomi and Lilah's birthmothers a lot more though. I can't imagine making the choices that they had to.

10) We are very blessed with many wonderful friends and family members. So many people have helped out in one way or another and we feel incredibly blessed to have them all in our lives. This road has not been an easy one to travel, but you all sure have made a difference. THANKS!

Well that's my list so far. Below you will find some photos we had done by the fabulous photographer Gerri Weatherbee. Once again she has wowed us with her ability to depict our happiness and our children's expressions in a picture. If you are in the area, we highly recommend her and we've listed her website on this page.

Well that's about all the time I have for now. Cheers everyone!

Karen

2006-04-09T17:13:00.000-04:00

Announcing Myles Jacob Klassen