What a Wonderful World

Happy Second Birthday Rebekah!

It's official...we are now parents of a toddler, no longer parents of a baby. I can't believe how quickly the year has gone by. It also marks the end of our first year in BC. Bekah has accomplished so much this year, it really is amazing! I remember on her first birthday, she stood up in her crib by herself for the first time. Since then she has mastered standing, walking, running, talking (from mama and dada to full sentences!) climbing and her latest feat, opening doors! She can also swing on the "big girl" swing (with some help of course) and climb up and slide down the slides by herself.

Yesterday's celebration was pretty low key. Its probably the last time we'll be able to just do something small as a family since I'm sure by next year she'll be wanting the full-blown birthday party (which is something I actually look forward to). We took her to McDonald's for supper, which is her most favourite place in the universe, and then came home for some cake and presents.

Our New Car

I can't believe we bought a new car...I mean a NEW, right off the lot car. This is the first new vehicle we have ever owned so it is quite an experience for us. When we first got married, we drove a 1988 Nissan pick up truck. During the 5 years we drove it, we had muffler trouble, brake trouble, engine trouble, ball joints which seized, steering that broke twice, and no shocks to speak of. In fact it was broken down so often that we spent a good deal of time driving borrowed vehicles (first it was Dave's parents second vehicle, and then my grandmother's car). Then we upgraded to a used Ford Minivan. And while it did serve us well, we spent an arm and a leg on various issues, one of which was the rebuilding of a new transmission. But finally it got to the point where we were just putting too much money into the van, so we pinched our pennies, took a deep breath and took the leap into new car ownership! We love our new car. Its a 2007 Toyota Yaris (an improvement on the Echo model). It is a sub-compact car but we are in awe of how much room there actually is inside the vehicle and in the trunk! Bekah's car seat fits comfortably in the back and there is plenty of space for me to sit beside her if needed (its actually pretty comfy back there!). It did take a couple days to get used to after driving a mini-van but we love how easy it is to park, how fun it is to drive and how good it is on gas! In fact we are eligible for $1000 refund from the federal government because of its high fuel efficiency! I still need to take pictures of the interior, but here are a couple pictures from the outside.

Its all Facebook's Fault!

I'd like to say that our lives have been very interesting and exciting, leaving very little time for updating the blog. But the sad truth is that I have been sucked in by the "social utility" known as Facebook. A couple month ago I received an automated email saying I had been invited to somebody's friend list on Facebook. Figuring it was something like those "find your classmate" websites, I logged on, giving as little personal information as possible. I left it for a long time and then one day I received another message saying that someone else had added me to their friend list. So I decided to see if there was anyone else I knew on Facebook. All of a sudden I'm finding old college roommates, high school friends, pals from elementary school, even relatives! Where have I been all this time? I keep adding to my friend list every day and I'm so enjoying keeping up with what's going on in the lives of those around me. So if you notice long periods of time between posts on this blog, just log into Facebook, because that's probably where I am...until the novelty wears off. :)

Weather can be funny!

Here's Bekah's reaction to a very brief hail storm this morning.


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Gotta Wear Shades!

When my parents were visiting a couple of weeks ago, they bought Rebekah a pair of sunglasses. She's always been fascinated with my glasses and with the glasses for her Mr. Potatohead doll, so we thought she'd get a kick out of having her own pair. Well now she has some kind of obsession with not only her glasses but also with Dave's sunglasses and even Mr. Potatohead's glasses. And she likes to wear them upside down for some odd reason. She knows how to put them on properly and sometimes she'll leave them that way, but more often than not, she'll flip them upside down. But I guess the fault is partly mine...you'll see in the last photo that I'm the one who put the idea in her head in the first place!

Busy week

It's been awhile since the last post but there has been lots going on. Dave has been madly studying for his presbytery exams, the first step in his ordination process. His exam will be 2-3 hour oral exam. He has to answer various questions relating to the Bible, church confessions and a couple of books he read. His exam is on Friday in Toronto and I'm sure he would appreciate your prayers. In addition to that, we were excited to have my parents visit us for 5 days. They arrived last Friday and left Wednesday morning. It was a very nice time and except for a soggy day at the Vancouver Aquarium, Bekah was generally well behaved. And now that everyone is gone and the excitement is over, I am battling another cold. It seems that I inevitably get a cold after some sort of visit or trip. This is the 4th cold in 4 months which for me is very strange. I am trying my best to limit my contact with Bekah (which really isn't working) and with Dave since the last thing he needs right now is to get sick! Once this month is over, things should calm down a bit for us and we can begin to enjoy this beautiful spring weather!

It feels like Summer!

Yesterday was a whopping 24C!! Which is 75F for those of you who are metrically challenged! ;) I think the entire population of Greater Vancouver was outside yesterday and it seems like atleast half of them own convertibles! Only in Vancouver can you spend a summer day in April either on the beach soaking up rays or up in the mountains skiing! Dave took a jog along the Pitt River near our house and then we took a walk through the nature reserve. Bekah walked beside me and held my hand almost the whole way! Looks like her stroller days are coming to an end, and I can't decide whether that's good or bad. When we got home we spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside in the yard. Bekah was fascinated with all the beautiful flowers in the rock garden and found her own little flower (the only dandelion on the lawn) and happily paraded around with it and asking to take it inside to Dada. So forget spring, I'm anxious for summer now! We were so busy last summer because we had just moved here and were still getting housing and jobs in place, so this year we will be able to go to the beach, the lake, the mountains, whatever we want! But if Bekah has our way, we'll just end up outside in the yard playing on "Mommy's grass" :)