Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. We are still in Revelstoke enjoying time with Oma and Opa. Maddy has learned so much even in the short time we've been here. She now says "up", "apu" (for apple) and "happi". We're still working on "Oma" and "Opa"! I'll blog more when we get back in the new year.

Happy New Year to you and your family,

love the Blommesteins

Christmas with the Lee-Youngs

Wow! Who would've believe that we'd have that much snow on Christmas eve in Vancouver. It was stunning seeing the city all covered in white. Too bad we were all too stressed about making it to Christmas get togethers to really enjoy the beauty of it!

All day, the phone calls were going back and forth about whether Christmas was a 'go' or not. The roads were a little hairy out there and many people don't have snow tires. It was definitely a last minute decision. We took a 'detour' to Richmond to pick up my parents before joining everyone at Shauna's house in New Westminster. We were happy that everyone could make it.

It was so much fun this year to see the kids open their presents. Last year Maddy was just tiny and though it was easier for us to eat our turkey dinner, it's much more fun now that she can help to open her gifts.


It was also a joy to see Frances and Pippa open their presents this year. It was so cool to see their faces light up and the excitement they had over the things they received.

Frances and Pippa loved the stuffed animals from the Aquarium.

Mick's mom, Noreen, was there and she brought her dog Sparky with her. Maddy was IN LOVE with Sparky, and poor Sparky had to put up with Maddy crawling round and round after him.

Mack opening his new truck. That's Sparky in the background.

Poor Mack, who was surround by girls, was content just to sit and watch all that was going on around him. We also couldn't believe how much Reese has grown. She is soooo adorable and really flirty. She was full of smiles and I swear she already knows how to bat her long eye lashes at you!

Reese taking it all in

We had a yummy turkey dinner with all the trimmings and then unfortunately everyone was in a rush to get home. Although the weather didn't stop us from getting together, it did cause us considerable concern about the drive home. Even still, it was an awesome Christmas filled with many wonderful memories.

I love this picture of Maddy and Josh

Maddy and Mack

This morning we woke and Maddy opened her stocking from Santa. In all the rush from last night, we realized this morning that we forgot to put some cookies and milk out for Santa! We're so sorry Santa, we promise there will be extra cookies next year!! It's really nice to be home for Christmas with just the three of us. We had a special Christmas breakfast and Maddy found that she really likes hash browns! We had some friends come by for a visit but other than that we just hung out, did laundry and packed for our trip to Revelstoke. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by family and friends.

Opening her book about dogs from Santa

Dancing with Mama to some Christmas tunes


Merry Christmas everyone!!
xoxo the Blommesteins

a private shout out...

Hi Judy!! :) We had a great time the other day. We're so impressed by how put together the place looks already. I still want that tiramisu recipe.

Snow Day!!

So the snow may be putting a damper on some of the holiday parties but who can complain when you can go sledding and toboganning? Yesterday was absolutely beautiful so we bundled Maddy up and decided to take her to the park across the street. For many days now people have found this one hill on the corner and played there all day and through the night. We don't have a sled but we thought Maddy would like to watch the kids going up and down. She didn't exactly enjoy the process of getting bundled up but once we were outside she was definitely intrigued by the white stuff.

Just as we were out in the driveway we saw Lucy (Maddy's daycare provider). They had been playing out for about 4hrs! The younger kids already went home, but Lucy was there with the last 2 who couldn't get enough.

Jack and Nicole from daycare

Lucy offered to let us borrow their sled so we took Maddy over to the hill. It's quite funny to watch Maddy sit on the sled as we pulled her. I guess it's quite an abs work out to sit up straight. At one point I was pulling her back up the hill and she toppled over and out of the sled. She's such a trooper, she didn't cry and just lay there staring up at the sky. She had a look on her face as if to say, "What in the world are you people trying to do to me?" Josh and I took turns taking her down the hill. The first time she was sitting in between Josh's legs on the sled. I guess being so low she got all the snow spraying in her face. She looked like she wasn't impressed but again didn't fuss or cry. Then the second time I kept her higher up and went slowly down the hill. She didn't exactly squeal with delight but I guess cuz she was still getting over the whole facewashing thing. We can't wait to try again in Revelstoke.

Happy Birthday Pippa!

A big happy birthday to my niece Pippa who turned 3 years old! On Sunday we braved the weather and drove over to their house for a small party. It was nice to spend some time with Maddy's cousins. This year Pippa loves the story Puff the Magic Dragon. She took the book to pre-school for show and tell and sang the ENTIRE song to the class. So of course she requested a 'dragon' cake! I was sooooo impressed with the cake that Joanne made for her. It's amazing what you can find on the internet. It was awesome Jo!! We had a great time, thanks for sharing your birthday with us Pippa!

The sweetest sound

Today will be the day that I remember as the first time Maddy called me 'Mama'. So exciting and worth the wait. I was sitting with her at the computer as we often do because she always wants to sit and watch what we're doing. I don't remember what I was looking at, just general surfing and she turned to me, patted me on the chest twice and said "mama, mama". Ahhhh, yippeee! She has said "dada" a long time ago and Josh has also taken "baba" (chinese for 'dad') but this was the first time she's said "mama" and I know she meant me. I was so happy that I hugged and kissed her. She was quite please with herself and then to top off an already awesome moment, she rested her head against my chest a couple of times. She said "mama" once more and then as time passed, it turn more into "mmmmah, mmmmah" which is the sound we make when she on the potty. Ha, ha! Oh well, I'll just keep playing the other moment in my head.

Holiday Season

The festivities for the holidays have already begun and if I don't keep up to date on the blogs, it'll seem to overwhelming to post about them all.

December 5th was Maddy's second Sinter Klaas. We almost missed the correct night to put her clogs by the fire place. Luckily we saw just in time and put them on the hearth just after she went to bed. Maddy must have been a good girl this year because Sinter Klaas and Swarte Piet paid her a visit. It's fun because this year she can help to rip the wrapping paper a little, although she does have a very short attention span and usually we have to finish opening the rest of it.



Over the weekend the cousins on the Lee-Young side of the family had a gift exchange for the kids. There are so many children that this year we drew names for the kids as well. Joanne, Philip and the girls hosted the get together at their house and it was fun to see everyone again. The very first grandchild on the Lee-Young side, Jessica, is now in grade 7!! Time sure flies. I remember when she was just Maddy's age. We kept telling her that soon, she'll be able to babysit! It's too bad that we didn't get a photo with all the kids in it. There were just too many to get them all sitting at once. There's always next year!




This afternoon, we went to Sharon, Travis and Nora's for a Christmas playdate. There were so many babies there. Maddy was actually the oldest one there (by two days) and the youngest one was 6 weeks old. I forgot to bring my camera so I didn't get any pictures but hopefully Sharon will have some up of their blog. Thanks for hosting you guys! Sharon, I'll have to get that recipe for those yummy cheese melts.

13 months update

Wow, 13 months crept up on us so quickly that I almost forgot to post an update. Maddy is changing what seems like day by day. She is totally comfortable and proficient at crawling and is definitely keeping us on our toes. Maybe that's why we haven't posted in a while.

Some favourite pastimes:

• sit on our lap in front of the computer and look at pictures and videos of herself. She also really loves to listen to the Raffi music on iTunes
• to go for a ride on her car (a present from Oma and Opa). We make "vrrrooom" noises and she'll follow along "Eerrrrr"
  
• stand at the coffee table and flip through the pages of her Robert Munsch book
• pick at fuzz or anything small and lint-like

Things she's learned to do:

• sign for "more" and "thank you" pretty consistently. She's also using the sign for "milk" as "I want" or "give me"
• eat using a fork. Well she can bring it to her mouth and get it in. Still working on the 'from bowl to fork' part. Too messy for me to really let go still.
• drink from her Sigg water bottle (a present from her cousins Frances and Pippa). Don't know if we'll fully transition from sippy cup yet. She doesn't quite get it that it leaks. Again, too messy for me to let go :)

Something funny:

• exclaims "Wow!!" after she's poo-pooed on the potty. Ha ha ha. I think she got it from us, because we try to show that we're happy about it, instead of saying 'Yucky, that stinks'.

She loves to pull herself up and stand there taking all her toys out.

Another First

Today was a big day for us. It was Maddy's first day at her new daycare. I'm sure you can all imagine the anxiety I had about sending her there. Everything from worrying about taking one nap, to napping in a strange place, to eating, to being walked all over by the 'big' kids. It's just in my nature to worry and I'm beginning to think that the more I worry about something the better she does! Haha, just kidding.


Lucky for me, Josh was is the one who drops her off in the morning because I leave before the daycare is open. I called Josh at recess and he said that she was ok and that he probably had a harder time than she did. When I got there she was in Lucy's arms and drinking her milk. Lucy was shocked by how much she ate and normally I wouldn't be because I know she eats well, but she really did eat a crazy amount. For lunch she ate what the babies ate, alphabet pasta and then wanted some of the fried rice the big kids were eating. She ended up eating a bowl of rice on top of the pasta!! For snack she ate an entire kiwi and then a whole banana!!! At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Lucy wanted to increase the daily fee :) She slept well and she didn't cry much. I guess I don't have to worry about the big kids either. Lucy said that Maddy cried when she first realized that Josh left. As soon as she started to cry, all the other kids started to bring toys to her and she stopped crying. Ahhh, all that worrying.

It's nice to know that she transitioned to daycare well. Now I gotta think of the next thing to worry about...

Happy Halloween

Since becoming a teacher, I've been a huge fan of Halloween. I'm a part of the let's-just-party-all-day camp on staff. I love the dressing up, playing BINGO, crafts and big party in the afternoon. The the best part is that the kids are always sooooo happy. They have huge smiles on their faces and it's really fun to be with them.

This year was especially fun because it was Maddy's first Halloween. She really had no clue, but I was excited enough for the both of us! She was only about 2 weeks old last year, so we were still in shock with the whole parenthood thing. I was really looking forward to carving the pumpkin with her. I thought she'd loved to get in there and help pull out the seeds and guck. Turns out she wanted nothing to do with pumpkins innards. It was quite funny to see her pull her tiny little fists as far back as possible.



When Maddy was born, her cousins Frances and Pippa gave her a book called This is NOT a Pumpkin. It's all about how you don't call it a pumpkin because it's called a Jack-o-Lantern when it has a face carved in. She loves this books and giggles every time we read it. When it came time to carve the pumpkin, we couldn't resist getting her book out and showing her. She sat so well in our lap as we took turns carving the pumpkin with her. She was so tickled each time we push the newly carved piece of pumpkin out for her to hold.

All dressed up and ready to go.

After the carving was done, we had a quick dinner before changing into her costume. At this point it was only about 5:30 and still light out. We were the only ones out in the street. It's too bad she couldn't stay up longer to see the other kids all dressed up, but she knew something exciting was going on. We went to two houses and she got two little treats. She looked so cute clinging to her little treat bag. We were home early and she got to bed on time and fell asleep right away. It would be so interesting to read her mind and know what she thought about her first Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Maddyism at 12 months

In the last month, Maddy has changed so much. She went from barely crawling to motoring around the living. Her appetite has also increased and her new favourite food is scrambled eggs with cheese. Plain scrambled eggs, bad; with cheese, can't get enough.

One of my favourite recent stories has to do with Maddy's newest food. We decided that it was time to give Maddy some Cheerios. Not that she needed them nutritionally, but because it's something that she can eat and it'll keep her busy for a bit. We already knew that her finger dexterity was great, she's spent tons of time picking up puffed rice. She can pick up a single grain of puffed rice and put it in her mouth. While doing this, she has ALWAYS been willing to share and it would take her a long time because she'd do it one grain at a time. I thought the Cheerios would follow the same pattern. I guess I was wrong because she loves them so much, she grabs them by the handful and shoves them into her mouth! To top it off, when asked to share, she'll raise a Cheerio up to your mouth, but at the very last minute she'll pull it back and shove it into her own mouth. At first I thought it was just a fluke but she has yet to share more than 3 Cheerios in total. Recently she's developed a little smirk on her face after she knows she's just pulled a fast one on you.

Another new development is Maddy's musical side. She got a Leap Frog Learning Table for her birthday. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this toy, it basically makes a lot of noise from different kinds of buttons and switches. Recently she's learned how to get it to play music and while it does, she waves her arms and bounces her body to the beat. As soon as it's done she'll hit another button and start all over again. Maybe this is just her mother speaking, but I think it's sooo cute! :)



Other fun things she's learned how to do in the past month is to clap and to give high fives!! She now has 6 teeth with the 7th on the way and can stand up while leaning on something.

The last story I have to add to this update is more for Maddy to know when she's older. Some of you may remember that one of Maddy's first 'words' was "Lottie". It doesn't mean anything, she just used to say it over and over again while she babbled. One day I was at the park with her and we went to see the dogs. There was one brown puppy that she played with. The owner was kind enough to hold the puppy up for her to pet. While playing, I asked the owner what the dog's name was and she replied "Her name is Lottie"! I almost fell over in shock. Ever since then we've named her brown stuffed dog Lottie and she loves it. Josh recently caught her playing by herself while he left the room. He said she reach over, picked up Lottie and gave her two kisses before putting her back down to continue playing.

A Beautiful Fall Day

We decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head to the pumpkin patch today. I'd been wanting to go for a while to get some pictures of Maddy for the 'Fall' page in her scrapbook, but I'd heard that the pumpkin patch is often packed with people. On a day like today, I'd have to say that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We went out to Aldor Acres in Langley and it was a great place.

Our only goal was to get some nice shots of Maddy with some pumpkins but we were pleasantly surprised to see so many farm animals as well. Maddy was so cute, each time she saw a new animal she wanted to kiss them all. Her favourites were probably the fuzzy chickens, but we didn't get a photo of them. There were some piglets that were just 2 weeks old. The mama pig was just laying there beside the litter ready for a feeding at anytime. The only thing was that she had to be in a very small cage to stop her from rolling over onto the litter! Good thing because she weighed 550lbs.


In the same barn, they had a cage filled with bunnies. Later on, I saw kids holding bunnies all over the place. It turns out they had another bin of bunnies that you could take out and hold 'under parental supervision'. I kinda felt bad for the bunnies, but at the same time I couldn't pass up the opportunity for Maddy to have a bunny up close and personal. I'm glad she didn't try to squish-it-with-love like some of the other kids.

This is Frank. He is only 5 weeks old!

Before we knew it Maddy was getting that dazed look on her face, so we figured our time was up. We didn't know that you had to get on the hayride tractor, go out to the actual pumpkin patch and pick your pumpkin. After seeing the line up we decided that a trip out and back would take too long and called it a day. It's funny how even after a trip to the pumpkin patch, we'll be buying our pumpkin from the grocery store again this year!

Pumpkin Turns One!

It's almost 4pm on October 13th, 2008 and exactly one year ago today I was probably just getting up from a nap and getting ready to go for a walk. I'll never forget that day, the weather was sunny and crisp. As we walked around the block, Josh and I knew that our lives were about to change, but we never expected how awesome it would be.

By about 6pm the hard labour contractions had started and we walked and walked, and then walked some more around the living room. Maddy was born at 12:21am on October 14th. What an amazing feeling of overwhelming love, joy and relief that everything went well. In the days that followed I think 'shock' is the word I'd use. Shock that I was now somebody's 'mom'. Shock that she was all ours and how wonderful that felt.

The year has flown and I'm still amazed by how fast it seemed to go by. Even as I look at her today, I can't believe that a year ago all she could do was nurse and sleep. Now she is crawling around, clapping, drinking from her sippy cup all by herself and is so curious about the world around her. The initial shock of being a 'mom' has worn off by now, but it certainly took a while. I've loved every minute of it and watching Maddy grow and change has been the most rewarding thing I've done in my life.

This weekend we celebrated Maddy's first birthday with a 'small' party for family. We were so happy to have the entire Blommestein clan stay for the weekend and to help us celebrate. It was a packed house, but lots of fun to be all together again. Maddy loved all the excitement in the house. On Sunday she napped great with the help of one car ride just before the Lee-Youngs were scheduled to arrive. She woke up right at 3pm as if she knew that it was time for her party.




For those of you who don't know, Josh and I nicknamed Maddy "Pumpkin" when she was still in the womb because her due date was so close to Halloween. The name has stuck and so her party had to have a pumpkin theme! She had an entire mini-pumpkin cake all to herself, but she was so into the icing that she never really made it to the cake part! I'm sure next year will be a different story. She was spoiled by everyone with so many presents that she still has some to open at a later date.



I just glanced at the clock and noticed that it's 8pm. It was at this time when we told the midwife that it was time to come over. I've been doing that ALL day today and I imagine I'll be doing the same for the next couple of hours and into tomorrow. The memories of this past year are all ones that I hold close to my heart to and hope never to forget.

Happy 1st Birthday dear, sweet Maddy. We love you more than words can say. We are so proud of you and so lucky to have you in our lives. Thank you for choosing us to be your parents.

xoxo with all our love,
mom and dad

11 Months Update

We're into the final countdown before her first birthday. It's crazy how fast this year has come and gone. I had to go back and see what her 10 months update was about. It seems so long ago, but fast at the same time.

Maddy continues to eat well. She will go through spurts of liking a certain food, then I guess she decides she's had enough and will push those foods away. She's now graduated to eating toast 'soldiers' (a piece of toast cut into long strips) instead of small bite sized pieces. At first she was great. She'd bite a little piece off and eat it with no problem. Recently she likes to bite a piece off, chew it and then push it back out of her mouth for an inspection before eating it again. This also happens when eating other foods like pasta. She is completely enthralled by the small tiny pieces of spinach that get stuck to her hands. As you can imagine, meal times are a lot longer and messier.

Animals still continue to excite her. She used to like crows and point at them. Now...she'll practically jump out of her carrier trying to lung for them. The same goes for dogs. Sometimes we'll be walking and all of a sudden she'll start calling out. We have to really look off into the distance to see that there is in fact a dog on the far side of the park. I was once at the mall and decided to take her to the pet store to see the dogs. They had this great little seat right in front of the doggie window. She was so cute and sat there for so long, that I was beginning to worry that I'd get suckered into getting a dog.

One of Maddy's best milestones is that she's said her first word! She now says 'Da da' and we're sure that she means Josh. I've been nursing her in a dark room with the door closed because she gets so distracted. When we're finished, I always call for Josh to let him know that he can come in and play. One day, she just came off, looked toward the door and said 'Da Da', then she waited for Josh to come in. It was so fun to see her make that connection. She's also said 'Ma Ma' once or twice, but only when she's crying so I don't think it counts just yet!

On the mobility front, Maddy has come a long way since her last update. She rolls around from front to back and back to front. She can even 'army crawl' for short distances before she gets tired. In the last couple of days she's come a long way in the distance she can go before the fatigue sets in. Today we were at Sandra's house and we were amazed by Aly's ability to pull herself to standing. I tried a couple of time with Maddy, but she didn't quite understand the concept of pulling with her arms. She'd go all limp and just sit there. Well I came home and told Josh and he decided to try. Well she did it!! Is it possible that in the matter of a couple of hours, she figured it out? We did it a couple of time to make sure it wasn't a fluke. After a few of times she became really proud of herself. She was shouting and smiling as if to say "LOOK AT ME!!!!" It was amazing!

Maddy's latest favorite game to play is 'sharing'. She loves to take what she's playing with and give it to you. Then as soon as you thank her for it, she'll already be asking for it back. Back and forth, back and forth. She can't get enough of this game, so be warned. If she ever holds out a toy to you, be ready to play the game with her for a while!

E-I-E-I-O!!

It was a lot of fun having Oma and Opa come for a visit this weekend. They are on their way to Gabriola Island tomorrow, but it was nice to spend the weekend together. Since the weather was so beautiful, we decided to head to Maplewood Farms. It is remarkably close to our house, just over the Second Narrows Bridge.

Maddy LOVES animals and had a blast. She especially loved the ducks and chickens that you could feed. It'll be so fun when she can grab a handful of the feed herself and throw it at the birds. She was very excited to see the miniature horses, although they looked very sad in their little pen.


Every day they have a cow milking demonstration and it was fun to watch. "Lulu" can make about 22 litres of milk a day and needs to be milked 3 times a day. Can't imagine what it must feels like to be engorged when you can produce 22 litres!!


Maddy also liked the goats pen. You can go in and the goats are very calm and friendly. You can pet them and they all come to you. I guess they just enjoy the petting, because you can't feed the goats anything. Before long, it was time for her nap so we decided to go home since it was just a 5 minute drive. We still had a few animals to see, but I plan to go back with her another day. It was a great place to go and I can't wait to go back again. Anyone want to join us?

Happy Labour Day!

We've been super busy this long weekend so I'm going to have put it all together in one blog.

On Saturday we went to the PNE. I remember going last year and feeling so tired after walking even a short distance. It was a nice change this year. Maddy was completely mesmerized by all that was going on. I guess her favorite part was when she saw the HUGE pink My Little Pony in the daily parade. She was so excited she almost lept out of my arms trying to get closer.

We're not in this photo, but you can imagine her reaction after seeing THAT!!

On Saturday night Evelyn and her boyfriend Aaron came for a quick visit. They drove all the way from Vernon, and went to see a concert the same evening!! As you can tell, I'm still in awe of their stamina! The next morning we went for Dim Sum before they made the long drive home again. It was a short visit but it's always nice to see Lyn and have Maddy spend some time with Auntie.



Sunday night we went to our last wedding of the season. My friend Judy and Rob tied the knot at the SFU Alumni Centre. It really was a gorgeous setting for a wedding. We were lucky that the clouds stayed away and the sun was shining behind the couple as they said their vows. With rice cakes and puffs on hand, Maddy was quiet and content for the ceremony and most of the reception. We did have to leave before the dancing started because she was just so tired, but thanks to Judy we still got to have our cupcakes to go!! Thanks Judy, it was a really yummy breakfast! Hee Hee.

Our little party girl was pooped!!

On Monday we met the newest addition to our growing extended family! Reese Lee Harper was born on August 28th to her happy parents, Shauna and Mick and big brother Mackenzie. She is so tiny and super cute. It was such a joy to hold a tiny baby again and especially nice to see Mackenzie as the big brother. With her older cousins Frances, Pippa and Maddy, she'll definitely have enough clothes!




By Monday night I was pooped and ready for bed early. I usually have a terrible time sleeping the night before the first day of school. After that fun filled weekend, I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow and didn't wake until just before the alarm!

Hope everyone had a great Labour Day!!

10 months

I guess Maddy's 10th month birthday was a while ago, but better late than never. I just realized how many new things she can do, so I wanted to get them all down for her to read later on.

She now has four teeth. The first two (bottom, front) came at the same, the next to appear was her top, front, but only the one on the left. I thought the top, front, right tooth would be next in line, but last week one more bottom tooth came. Her smile looks all wonky and crooked, but still cute in her mother's eyes!

We have a real talker on our hands. Three words that come up consistently are 'lottie', 'woody' and 'daddy'. We're not sure that the 'daddy' is referring to Josh, but if we say 'daddy' she'll look for Josh. She babbles A LOT! So cute to hear. I really should get the camera out and record some of it, because I know I'll miss it.

Maddy is definitely more verbal than mobile. She still just rolls from her front to her back and once she's on her back she just stays there. I can tell her stomach muscles are getting stronger because if we hold her legs down she can pull herself to sitting. She is getting better at pulling herself up and over my legs if we're sitting, but the whole crawling thing is still a mystery to her. I think she'll soon learn because she's beginning to want things that are out of her reach and getting frustrated that she can't have them.

KISSES!!!! I love the kisses the most. She won't do it every time, but if we purse our lips she'll lean in with her mouth. It's still a work in progress as she doesn't quite know how to close her mouth, but I'll take a slobbery kiss any day. She'll also give a 'hug'. Well it's more like she'll squish you in the crook of her neck. It's especially cute to see her hug one of her stuffed toys.

She loves to eat, and now the foods that she can eat are really appetizing to us. Sometimes I look at what she's having, compared to what I'm eating, and wish I could have the same. She's loves fruit especially melon and kiwi. She can pick up pieces of fruit and feed herself. The kiwi used to be harder but she's even mastered that. She can also pick up little puffed rice bits and feed herself. She loves her 'snack trap' filled with rice cakes and puffs. (Actually, I love her 'snack trap' filled with rice cakes and puffs because it keeps her busy for a LONG time!) Recently, we've been getting her to share and now she loves to pick them up and hold it out for us to eat.

That's about it for now. It's amazing how quickly the changes are coming now. I'm trying to hold onto and enjoy every change because I know that they too will soon be gone.