Donating Hair

We have a tradition in our house of donating hair.  I know that donating hair doesn't save lives like donating blood does, but it is one way that we are able to give to those that are going through some major hardships in their lives.  Hair is just one of those things that makes a person feel better about themselves and a wig made out of real human hair is so much more natural looking than the synthetic hair.  It takes multiple donations (something like 10?) to make one wig for a person.  I have donated several times and plan on doing so again at my next haircut.  The girls recently donated 8 inches each.  So, if you are thinking about getting a big change in your hairstyle, please consider saving it for someone else to use!  There are many websites dedicated to hair donation, especially those undergoing cancer treatments.  Please look them up!

 

 

Caelan is 8!

Caelan turned 8 as well!  Caelan loves being a twin and makes sure to tell everyone he meets.  I think his sister wishes for a bit more separation, but Caelan loves the fact that he is 4 minutes older (and in his mind smarter, more mature, etc....).

 

Caelan really enjoys his sports teams and plays both basketball and soccer.  He does not enjoy piano, but does it for the sake of his Mama.  :)  He has been part of the Cub Scouts program since he was 5 and has really enjoyed learning about camping, tying knots and other life skills.  I am glad he has found another thing he loves!  His sister's are just happy he goes away for the weekend periodically during camp time.  He does know how to bug them!

 

Caelan loves to argue.  Anything he can be right about, he will prove his point.  Actually, he doesn't even have to be right about it, he just loves to argue.  He also love math and science.  I know these skills will take him far when he is older!

 

  



Ashlyn is 8!

Oh man!  The twins had their birthday in August and I am just now sitting down to write about it. 

I will start with Ashlyn first.  She is my caretaker.  If I ever need help with Micah, she is the first person I ask.  She is so good with him and he adores her because of it.  I love their relationship.

 

Ashlyn has been gaining confidence this year at school and has surprised me a few times.  She has always been my shy and quiet child, but this year she gained a spot on Student Council by making a speech in front of her class and she has a part in the school Christmas musical. 

 

 

 

Ashlyn plays on both a soccer team and a basketball, but sports do not motivate her.  Instead, she loves to draw and color.  She is creative and gentle.  She does very well at piano lessons and is planning on taking her grade 2 piano exam in June.

 

 

 

She has decided that she either wants to work with animals or little kids when she gets older.  She is leaning toward becoming a pre-school teacher and I think that would be a fantastic job for her in the future!

 

 







Micah is Three!

My baby turned 3 on August 13th!  I love this age and wish I could keep him here for a little longer.  Micah is full of energy and mischief.  He just makes me smile everyday.

Micah loves to be my little side-kick.  He is definitely a Mama's boy and I am totally OK with that.  :)  He tells me he does not want to go to school, but I think it is more because he doesn't want to leave my side, rather than being afraid of doing something new.

 



 

Micah has been potty-trained for months now, but he still refuses to wear underwear.  I have not figured out how to make this transition with him yet!  He has a major meltdown if I even suggest underwear, despite promises of reward.  We just continue to put on his pull-ups and he keeps them completely dry day and night.

 

 

 

Micah is still not a great sleeper.  There are many nights that he is up until after 10pm.  I have given up on trying to train this guy to go to bed earlier.   He is not hard to put to bed, he just has to be ready to go.  At least I don't have to get up with him in the middle of the night anymore.

 

 Micah has an extra special relationship with Ashlyn.  They adore each other and she is so good with him.  I love watching the way she takes care of him.

 

 

Micah loves Jake and Neverland Pirates.  I am pretty happy I have not had to live through another Dora and Diego phase.  :)  He also loves Blaze and Transformers.

 

 

We actually flew to the Maritimes on Micah's actual birthday, so we celebrated a bit early this year.  We decided to take him to the local miniature train station for a ride, which is always fun.

 

He is also obsessed with dogs (has to say hello to every dog we see), so the doggy cake was I big hit!

 

We are so glad to have Micah in our lives.  He makes our family so much more fun and interesting with his infectious smile and his energy.  This next year is going to full of new and exciting things and we look forward to watching him make new friends and learn new things.  



 







August

3 of my kids had birthdays!  I will do a special post for each of them to honor their birthdays, but I have discovered it is busy having to deal with 3 birthdays so close together!  We had a birthday party for Ashlyn and Caelan at a local water park with 18 friends.  I am so glad I didn't try to have a home party like they wanted!  We did it early to accommodate our upcoming vacation and then celebrated Micah the following day.  Grammy, Grampy and Cousin Grace were in town, to it was the perfect time to celebrate all three kids.

 

 

Ashlyn finally lost one of her front teeth!  This is a milestone at almost 8 years old.  :)

 

 

 

We enjoyed more local parks and hikes.  This picture is from Van Dusen Gardens.

 

 

Most of August was spent in the Maritimes visiting family and friends.  More on this soon......



 



July

We are pretty lucky to live where we do.  We are right next to an amazing new park just beside the PNE known as Empire Park. This field was recently re-done to accommodate the FIFA Women's World Cup players to practice on.  It is literally a 10 minute walk from our house and we spent a lot of time there this summer.  As an aside, this playground is very noisy under the roller coaste when it is runningr, so during the summer months it is not advisable to go during the day.  Playland closes at7pm in July, so it is a perfect spot to spend the evening.

 

 

 

I also won tickets to see a FIFA game, so we took the whole family.  It was amazing for the girls to see professional athletes do their thing.  I have a few pictures on my phone....hopefully I will remember to download those soon.  :)

 

I don't seem to have a lot of July photos of the family.  I think it is mainly because the 3 big kids spent just over a week at Grammy and Grampy's house on the Island and they were in 2 weeks of daycamp.  They were too busy!

 



June

I had such good intentions of keeping this blog up to date.  I am going to do my best to catch the highlights of our summer!

June was amazing around here.  We normally get a ton of rain, but we had nothing but sunshine and warm weather all spring.  It made it hard to concentrate in school, but we enjoyed it!  We spent a lot of time in our backyard enjoying our mini-pool.  Seriously, it was that hot!

 

 

 

Shaylah receieved an award for her outstanding performance at the Music Festival.  I never received any awards for playing the piano when I was a kid, so this was pretty special for me.  I finally got to see the other side!  I was very proud.

 

 

 

Ashlyn started her orthodontic treatment (poor girl!).  She is now the proud owner of a permanent retainer and headgear.  It is just the beginning of many years of treatment, I am sure.  Isn't she still so beautiful, even in headgear though?

 

 

 

Micah perfected what has become known as "the Micah face".  He now uses this pose in every photo. So much for me ever getting a nice picture with me and all of the kids!