Celebrating Rob

This last week Rob caught up to me yet again and turned 28. I think this is the first time I didn't throw him some sort of surprise party. He was such a poop last year trying to figure it all out (and he did) that I promised I'd lay my superb surprise party throwing skills down indefinitely. And I remained true to my word! But that didn't keep us from celebrating our favourite man in the world, no it didn't!

On Thursday night was Ellie's turn to celebrate her Dad (Josh mostly just observed). Her and I went shopping together in the morning for a 'secret present' for Rob that she picked out all by herself...from the Dollar Store, of course. As we were strolling hand in hand to the store I asked her what she thought Daddy might like for his birthday. Her answers ranged anywhere from "a big, wide door", to "a big white dog", to "a big pink dolly". :) Anything big, I guess! In the afternoon her and I baked Daddy's "fabrit" (favourite) cake - "a big pink one!" She was so pumped about her gift for Rob - and I think he was pretty pumped too: A huge rubber beetle and a bag full of cheap plastic golf balls. Immediately after he opened the gift Ellie responded as any two-year old would - she stripped off her shirt so that she 'wouldn't get hurt' and proceeded to whack golf balls with a broom all over the house.

There's the 'big pink cake'. Thank you, Betty Crocker.

Friday was my turn. My mom and dad took the kids for the afternoon/evening and I whisked Rob away to the city for an afternoon at (drum roll please!)

the MUSEUM!

Yeah, we ARE nerds, but being a nerd is quite fun. Take a look for yourself:

We hung out with the dinosaurs...

Played on a big ship...

Bonded with some caribou...

And even had a near death experience with some buffalo and a dude with a gun!

But the highlight of the museum was definitely the poop drawer. What is a poop drawer, you ask? We were wondering the same thing. Ironically, I was taking a little washroom break when I decided to take a closer look at the map I had in my hand. It highlighted the best attractions of every section of the museum. In the grasslands section we were about to go to, it had a bullet point that said, "Poop drawer". So Rob and I set out to find out what this was. Sure enough, we came to this glass display case with all sorts of stuffed carcasses inside, and below it were oh, I don't know, 30 drawers? So Rob and I began opening these drawers one by one and found everything from dead birds (displayed under glass) to tiny bugs and seashells. Finally, in the second-to-last drawer we looked in, we hit the jackpot. Ladies and gentlemen, the poop drawer:

That's real poop, folks! Isn't that disgusting? So fun.
Anyhow, by the end of our tour, I felt a little like this lady here:

Dead tired! But there was more to do. I actually did have a little surprise for Rob up my sleeve. Or, more accurately, in a little envelope. A couple weeks ago I stashed away some money I made taking someone's family photos and didn't tell Rob. I knew he wouldn't be all that excited about it right away (and I was right) but I took him shopping for a new hoodie (shopping ain't on his top 10 list of things to do on a date):
And we found a really great one almost right away! This is Rob looking giving me an 'I'm too cool for my shirt' look in the mall. I don't actually have a picture of the hoodie, but I'm sure you'll all see it soon enough, because when he gets something he really likes, he wears it pretty much every day. I think it's a guy thing. It'll be in the photos. Just keep a look out. :)
Anyhow, then it was off to the Old Spaghetti Factory for supper, reminiscent of our honeymoon in Victoria. The food was a little average, but the price was AWESOME! Apparently if you tell your server that it's someone's birthday, their meal is free! And you get a song!
How fun is that? Look at the happy birthday boy, twizzler and all!
Here's Rob enjoying his complimentary ice cream. Eye-bulging deliciousness.

Here's my eye-bulging enjoyment of the free goodness.
We got home surprisingly early and watched a movie together. A super wonderful day with a super wonderful guy. I'm so thankful God picked him for me!!
Happy (belated) Birthday, Hun!

Oh. Before I forget: Susan, I took this photo at the museum JUST for YOU!
The SNAKE PIT!!! hehe

Anyhow, I so enjoyed all your input last week as to which family photo to print (and I think I'll go with Lisa Moser's suggestion and print some of both!), I thought I'd ask for input once again. I have been humming and hawing about whether or not to cut this boy's hair. What do you think?

Cut it short and style-able, or let it grow and see what happens?
It's at the 'drivin' me nuts!' stage. Do tell.

Family Photos

Hey Friends! I'd like your help. My dad took some family photos for us the other day and I'm having trouble deciding which one to edit and send out for Christmas photos. So tell me, which pose would you prefer on YOUR fridge?

This one (also seen above as our blog header):Or this one?

Can you tell how cold we were? Apparently I waited too long to get them done. Manitoba is usually merciless by this time of year.
Anyhow, the next day when the sun was shining I took the kids back to the park and tried to take some shots of just them. It was still too cold for comfort. They were troopers. Here's a whole bunch, mostly just because I'm too wiped tonight to think of anything coherent to say:

Thanksgiving

Hey all! Hope all my Canadian friends had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Ours was pretty good, although there was a bit of a war going on in our home. Let me explain:
The kids were both battling chest colds (it seems we can't shake the sickness factor this fall!) and as a result, both seemed to be plagued with a case of the 'whinies'. Oh man. If you looked in the dictionary under the word "whine", it would say: "The Balfour Children". Josh would cry or whine or yell every time we put him down. Ellie would mope around doing this little whimpery sound over and over again unless she was really distracted or watching a movie.
But Rob and I had pre-determined that this Thanksgiving weekend we were going to be grateful and try not to complain the entire weekend. Our children set out to prove us wrong. It was a war, alright. But I think we won. In fact, we had a downright good time. Family night on Saturday was, in my opinion, one of the best family nights I've ever had with my family. We put the kids to bed there and played a very competitive, ferocious game of "Whoognu?"...my new favorite game. Which, by the way, isn't at all competitive, but my family transforms all game playing into an opportunity to press each other's buttons and laugh ourselves silly. It was absolutely wonderful. Sunday was church and then a slow and gloomy day at home and the battle against the 'whinies' continued...and Monday was also a really gloomy day outside...and the battle continued. Rob and I undertook our first big ham dinner and it was SPECTACULAR. I am a ham LOVER. The kids? Sick and didn't want to eat.
But today at last all our efforts at keeping the joy in the home seemed to begin to pay off. Ellie woke up from her nap, still all congested and quite unhappy. She spent a good amount of time doing her little whimper everywhere she went, and even when Rob came home, she refused to smile (although the twinkle in her eyes gave away the fact that she WANTED to be happy!). So I said, "Ellie! You have two choices. You can stay upstairs and smile, or you can go downstairs and put all your little 'whinies' in your crib, and then come back up."
"Okay!" she agreed enthusiastically. So she went downstairs, did who knows what in her room, and then came upstairs full of joy for the rest of the evening.
I don't know about you, but I find it far too easy to lower myself to my children's unhappy level when it goes on day after day. Or perhaps I'm the only one with grumpy children. But I know that the instant I give into the small nagging negative thoughts (like, "WHAT HAVEN'T I DONE FOR YOU TODAY, CHILD?!?" :), I am on a slippery slope into a pit of self-pity and misery. I so badly want to set a standard of joy in my home. My theme verse these past 'sick' weeks has been, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23) And when, in Jesus' strength, I am able to do this, Thanksgiving is a thankful day, no matter what kind of "whinies" try to convince me otherwise.

Anyhow, a few random photos for you visually-oriented folk out there. The kids like smiling for photos. Don't let it fool you into believing my story above was a big lie. :)

Joshua after feasting on his new favourite food: PIZZA!

Ellie and Auntie Leila sharing a quiet coloring moment. It was awesome to have her out from Regina for the weekend.

Joshua learned to clap this week! That definitely put some sunshine into the weekend of gloom. How can you not just love a clapping baby? (Elleah, I know you understand!)

An Ellie quote, from a day I went in to get Ellie from her nap and found her taking looong drawn out licks of her crib:
Ellie: "I hab to lick my crib, Mommy."
Mommy: "Why do you have to lick it?"
Ellie: "Because it tastes very YUMMY! And crunchy! I'm SUPPOSED to eat it."

Joshua in his most common position: stuck under a chair.
One day Ellie got up from her nap in an especially talkative mood. So I sat down and just began writing down everything she said. It's almost as strange as her outfit above:
"I have a little ankle on my knee, Mommy. It hurts. I need my 'jamma (pajama) socks. I hab something in my eye, Mommy. I think it's peanut butter and jam."
When I just don't know if I can take the whining any longer, I resort to....
baby cookies.
Hopefully he doesn't end up with an eating disorder.
Ellie's expression when you tell her you're going to pinch her bum. The only draw back is when she sneaks up behind you and pinches your bum in Superstore, making you scream and draw unneeded attention to yourself.
Happy Belated Thanksgiving, Friends!

p.s. I'm going to be blogging on Thursdays from now on - not Wednesdays - as I work every Wednesday night!

A new life!!

Today was a pretty exciting day in our family. Early this morning we found out that my sister had her baby during the night. I have a NEPHEW! And Joshua has a playmate! Drew Finley Chase entered the world at 4:30 am (I think!) weighing 7 lbs, 10 oz, and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. I hardly knew what to do with myself once I found out. Having a nicce or nephew has GOT to be the coolest thing after having your own child or a grandchild. And you get to squish 'em and love 'em and go home and sleep through the night. :) Until the next time it's your turn. Welcome to the world, Drew! I love you to bits and pieces already!

I'm sure proud of this guy!

This week Tuesday my husband made the phone call he'd been waiting to make - the phone call that paid off the last of our student loans! What was supposed to take 10-15 years took just 2.5 years thanks to the Lord (who is so faithful!) and Rob's stellar budgeting skills! I am so thankful to be married to someone who's gifted in finances, because I'd sure mess it up on my own. It's pretty exciting, really, because it feels as though now instead of being tied down to the past (schooling), the future lays wide open before us with nothing (no debt) to hold us back. I don't know WHAT God has in store, exactly, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be exciting. Like our bible school prof always said, "Life with the Lord, you just never get bored!" Now to start building up that savings account...

Sick Week

This past week all of us have been under the weather. The kids had full blown doozer colds, Rob felt really awful and stayed home from work one day (but then got better) and I feel like my body has been trying to decide whether or not to get sick the entire time (swollen glands, etc, but no real cold). I think almost everybody I've spoken with is dealing with some kind of cold or another so I'm not complaining. We spent more time than usual indoors and did our best to make the most of the down time:

Eating the wet wipes...again.

Jelly beans...surefire cure for a cold!

Some therapeutic sunshine. Even the bum crack got a little Vitamin D.

Bath time!

Fun times in the Balfour's most deluxe fort to date.

"Vikki" the hairdresser made sure we were all looking our best for an entire day.

Making waffles with Daddy...comfort food!

A great game of Peekaboo chasing our blues away.

9 months

Yesterday Joshua turned 9 months and he's picked up some new quirks that make him...Joshua. He's figured out how to shake his head vigorously from side to side, sometimes to say no (usually to a food he doesn't like) but most often just for the sheer thrill of it (I think it makes him dizzy). I find it very amusing since Ellie only ever nodded, but it won't be so cute when he's 2! He's still working on his wave, and loves to stick both hands straight in the air with his head cocked to one side and a huge smile as he waits for the rest of us to shout, "Praise Jesus!" He loves peekaboo, 'jumping' off the bed into our arms, hanging upside down, and poking his finger into any hole he can find...particularly Ellie's mouth or daddy's nose. He clucks his tongue when we're driving in the car, cries when elderly people look at him, and adores the Tupperware cupboard. Josh, typical boy, isn't doing much talking yet, except now he says, "Mama"...all the time, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what it means. Still not crawling, either....hence the following post...