Upgraded Computer

I tried something new today and ordered more RAM for my PowerBook. I found a memory supplier online and ordered a 1GB module. Then I received info from them saying that they would give me $15 off for providing a link to their website. They are based in the US but the shipping rates are VERY reasonable. Genuinely, I would recommend them to anyone needing to upgrade their memory. Check them out.

www.MemorySuppliers.com

Tyler

In the Swimming Pool

Last month we took Max swimming for the first time and he loved it. He has always loved the tub and we bought him a floating crab while we were down in Montana so we tried it out in the pool to see how he would like it. Lucy enjoyed splashing and playing with her Auntie Janeen too. She's tall enough to walk around in the pool for the most part and is sure to let everyone know that. She had a few slips but recovered quickly. We took Max into the baby pool and he could touch the ground in there too, and decided to motor around as much as he could. He has so much fun whenever he is on the move. Sitting still is a major bore.

Montanarama

Our family vacation this year was a trip down to Echo Lake Montana with Tyler's immediate family and his Aunt and Uncle and their kids. I was a bit nervous to make the trip with a 5 month old boy who doesn't like being in his car-seat long enough to make a 10 minute trip into town, let alone a 6 hour trip across the border. We ended up leaving a day later than everyone else because Max came down with a cold. The trip ended up being fabulous and we had a great time hanging out, boating, and spending time with family. Max was happier and slept better at the cabin than he ever has at home...which made me even more nervous about coming home than I was about going! Lucy loves sitting in her Papa's boat and has spent much time sitting in there with him while he worked on it. Well, it turns out that she only loves sitting in the boat when it is stationary. As soon as it was on the water, she was not too pleased to be sitting in it anymore. The rocking back and forth made her nervous. She misinterpreted the right words to use, so she kept telling us that she was a little 'brave'...but she really meant a little 'scared'. We finally convinced her to go on a tube ride, which didn't last very long.

Headbanz and Best Friends

A few weeks ago we introduced Lucy to a new family game called "headbanz". It's a fairly old game, so I'm sure most people have heard of it. It's definitely a different game when you play it with a two year old though. We had to search through the cards to help find characters and objects that Lucy would know...and then instead of her asking us questions to narrow down the results, we gave her clues. She enjoyed being a Mermaid, a Sports Car, a Bubble Bath, and a Belly Button. She was able to guess them fairly quickly, and even helped mom guess hers very quickly too. When it was my turn, I had a card on my head that said "Bowling Pin" and Lucy right away whispered, "Mom, think bowling!" She got tired of the game pretty quickly though, as we had too many people playing and so her turn didn't come around often enough to keep her attention.

Now onto the subject of Best Friends. Lucy, Tyler and I have always told each other we were best buddies, even before Lucy could talk...and she picked up on the statement pretty quickly once she could talk. It's fun to see her developing a friendship with a new best buddy now...her brother Max. The two of them are like peas in a pod. Hard to separate. Whenever Lucy is in the room, Max wants to be able to see her. If she is running around, then he wants to be standing up and he kicks his legs just wanting to be running with her. If she's laughing, then he's laughing. They like to lay in Lucy's bed in the morning and cuddle before breakfast. She is constantly telling him she loves him and that he's her best buddy, and I think in his screeching and grunting, he is trying to tell her the same thing. I hope they are always as good of friends as they are now. Even when Max is crying a lot, Lucy will laugh and say, "Max! You're driving me crazy!" But right away she will go to him and stroke his cheek and say, "It's ok Max. I'm here." It doesn't calm him down, but it usually calms me down. I think the must have been pretty good friends in the pre-existence and are so excited to be reunited here on earth. I can remember while I was pregnant that Lucy would talk to my belly and tell Max all the fun things they were going to do when he came out. She liked to give him a hug every day. One time, she yelled at my belly, "Max! Do you wanna play cards?" I'm sure he'd love to play cards with you soon sweetie.

Slip N' Slide

Today we decided to take a little reprieve from the hot sun by setting up a slip n' slide on Grandma and Papa's front lawn. We laid out a large piece of poly on the hill and then set up two sprinklers and covered the thing in dish soap..it made for a great (and clean) slide. Everyone took a turn sliding down the slide...with Tyler, Matt, and Papa showing off their manliness by doing rolls, spins, and dives. (Word to the wise...diving only works well in a pool...not so much on a slip n' slide). It reminded us of a certain polysporin commercial..."Dad, Dad, Dad!" Suddenly it occurs to you, maybe now would be a good time to pick up some more polysporin!
Lucy enjoyed the festivities very much but got cold a few times, so we created a makeshift tub for her out of a rubbermaid container. She would take a break in her pool every few minutes, and then be ready to go for a few more slides.
Max even took a few rides with Papa down the hill. It went something like this:
Ride #1: total shock...what just happened?
Ride #2: hmmm? This is interesting, but I'm not sure what's going on.
As Papa sat down in preparation for ride #3, he had caught on and decided he really didn't like it. Ride #3 never happened. Instead he hung out with Grandma and made funny faces.
We ended the evening by having a delicious steak dinner and playing GuitarHero on Playstation.

This is what summers are all about.

Trevor x 2

Happy Birthday Trevor G and Trevor B. We celebrated by going over to mom and dad's on Sunday evening for a delicious steak dinner. We tried calling Trevor Ganchar on their cell phone as they are on holidays in California right now, but we were unable to get through. Lucy and Emma had a great time playing together and enjoying a tubbie in Grandma's 'coozie' tub. At one point Lucy walked up to Emma and put her hands on her head and said, "I'm going to pick you up by your brain, Emma." Everyone laughed at such a silly statement from such a small girl...she picks up a lot from her dad!
The girls enjoyed sitting across from each other at the dinner table, and spent most of their time being silly and making each other laugh rather than eating. Check out the video to see some of their antics.
We had ice-cream sandwiches for dessert and decided to undress the girls to avoid a mess. But it was a quick trip to the tub as soon as they were done as the mess didn't avoid their hair, faces or hands.

Johnston's Canyon

We spent holiday Monday up in the Rockies. We had been promising Lucy a trip to the Mountains for a few months now and thought today would be the ideal day. We packed up at 10am and headed to Johnston's Canyon for the day.








We enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch along side some Big-Horn Sheep, and then hiked the 1.5 mile trail up to the upper falls of Johnston's.





At the lower falls, we went through the tunnel to view the waterfall and Lucy kept telling everyone it was raining over there, because of the amazing spray coming off the falls. On the way out to Banff, the two fo us created a list of all the possible animals we might see in the mountains and were able to check off: Deer, Birds, a hawk, Big-Horn Sheep, a Duck, Ants, a Bee, a Chipmunk, Elk and a Moose. Unfortunately the moose was lying on the side of the highway as we were leaving Banff...but we explained to Lucy that he was just sleeping. We didn't get home until 7:30pm and our kids were quite tuckered out.

It was a fabulous day, and I'm sure my muscles will remember it for a few days. It was excited to tell Lucy that Bumpa (Grandpa Bourne) designed the bridge at the beginning of the park.

Patriotism and Parties

It's been a while since I posted anything here, so i thought I'd cover all the major events of the past month. Lucy's uncle Jason is getting married in just a little over a month, and Lucy gets to be one of the flower girls. We've attempted putting curlers in her hair a few times to see if we can come up with a hairstyle that will work for the wedding.
She looks like a little old lady (minus the housecoat and wrinkles) with the curlers in, and unfortunately the hair doesn't look much better when the curlers come out. A little too boufant for me. We'll keep trying.

Max celebrated his 3rd month birthday as well. The chub in the legs and face indicate that he is healthy...and the silly grin indicates he's happy.

A few weeks ago the whole family was able to head over to Riley park to celebrate Emma's 2nd birthday. It was a bit of a chilly day, but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying time in the wadding pool. We had fun watching the kids play, eating lunch and watching Emma quickly open a few presents before the downpour was upon us. The best surprise of all was when Mike and Tammy announced that they were pregnant again by showing everyone a t-shirt for Emma that said, "I'm a big sister". Tears and hugs were enjoyed by all. We got a picture of all the kids at the party and I had told Lucy that she wasn't allowed to have a cupcake until after the picture...as you can see from the photo, Saydee Walker had a cupcake and Lucy couldn't manage to keep her eyes off of it long enough to smile for the camera.
This past weekend I spent Thursday and Thursday nigh at girls camp, while Tyler watched the kids solo. My first night away from my kids in a year. It was fun to go out and spend time with my girls and goof around. The weather was only so-so, but we enjoyed playing games in the "river house" and eating some most excellent food. i can't share too many details unfortunately, because we agreed that what happens at girls camp, stays at girls camp.

On Canada Day Sunday, our family wore our patriotic red and white to church and enjoyed singing all the verses of O Canada in Sacrament Meeting...a rare treat. Even more rare is the singing of the national anthem with out a puck drop at the end!
It's been a pretty great month.

Peacekeeping

We took a trip to the zoo today...our first trip on a saturday, and quite possibly our last. It was super hot (albeit, that has nothing to do with the day of the week), super busy, and a crazy addition to an already crazy day. Yesterday when we were driving in the car and Max was fussing, Lucy told me that he was saying, "I should go to the zoo tomorrow." Since both of my children were saying they wanted to go to the zoo, I couldn't very well deny them that...even Lucy's baby interpretation skills should be rewarded with a trip to the zoo. I wonder if she'll work for the United Nations one day?
On the way home we stopped at 7-11 and got some much needed popsicles and icecream. Lucy had her 'bath' in the kiddie pool outside at Grandma's house while Papa and Janeen held out a towel to block the wind. I think she would have stayed in there all night...and all of our aching bodies would have loved to join her. Maybe that will inspire Papa to get the hot tub he's been talking about.

Showered

(Max in his new "Max" Shirt)

Last night Max was showered with gifts and love from family and friends of the Cochrane community. It was a fun time had by all as we gathered at Vicki Wannop's house and Max was passed around for a cuddle with each person.

Our thanks go out to everyone for taking the time to plan the party, visit with us, and your thoughtful gifts. We enjoyed visiting with you all.
Lucy enjoyed helping open presents for a few minutes until she discovered that none of them were for her. She quickly lost interest and went off to play with Emma and Jillian. She was surprised by a gift from Kristy for being a big sister. Thanks for thinking of her too Kristy.

2 months

It's hard to believe that that two months have passed already. We received some sage advice from Brett and Cora Leighton before Lucy was born to take a picture of your child in nothing but a diaper on the anniversary of their birthday every month so you can track the changes they make. We did so with Lucy and have continued the tradition with Max. It's fun to look back and see Lucy throughout that first year. We're looking forward to the same with Max.

Vern

We watched Lucy's movie, Over the Hedge, this week and noticed a striking similarity between a certain turtle named Vern and a certain member of our family named Max...hmm?

I will show you other similarities between our family members and famous people sometime later too. here's a hint though, it has something to do with MAC computers.

Blessed Baby

On sunday May 6th, Max was blessed in church by his dad. Most of the men in our family participated in the circle: Grandpa Bourne and Williamson; Uncles Jason, Mike, Trevor (Dude) and Barrett; Great-Uncle Graham; and Dwight, Tyler's assistant in the Deacons. It was a very special day for the family and we enjoyed the time spent with family that whole weekend. I remember that part of the blessing told Max that he would be helpful to those in need. Right now his mother needs a good night's sleep...I wonder if he'll oblidge?

Cinco de Mayo

Last Friday we had a birthday party for Lucy and decided to make it a "Cinco de Mayo" theme. We celebrated at Grandma Bourne's with all of Lucy's family plus her friend Petra. there was quesadillas, guacamole, bean dip, and of course, the pinata. A few days before we went to the dollar store and let Lucy pick out her own pinata, and she naturally chose Nemo. We thought this was a great idea, until it came time to bust the pinata open.
Lucy got to go first but didn't take to kindly to hitting Nemo in the face with a large wooden stick. She gave up quickly and passed the stick on to her cousins and friend. However, she was so upset by the concept of the pinata that we finally took her inside to watch from the window. It was in the house that she told Grandma, "Nemo won't even look at me, he's scared of me." We decided to put an end to the pinata bashing and Tyler pulled the pinata down, cut him open to get the treats out and to preserve her little friend. She cheered him on by saying, "Dad saved Nemo!" Who knew a two-year olds party could be so traumatizing. I think we'll reconsider the pinata next time.
After the pinata fiasco, we decided to calm things down with a little present time. Lucy enjoyed opening her gifts with the help of her friends and made sure to give hugs and say thanks to all participants. She got a craft box from her friend Petra; a Princess suitcase and hat from Cy and Jillian (cousins); Over the Hedge and some markers from Emma (cousin); a ton of clothes and sticker books from Grandma and Bumpa Bourne; a table and chairs from Grandma and Papa Williamson; a Jello bowl from Jason and Ali; and from mom, dad and Max, she got a new dress, a watering can, a Franklin DVD, sunglasses and a tricycle. The tricycle was the hit of the party and had all the kids taking spins around the house. It was a great day. Later that week, we went to the zoo as a family to enjoy Dinosaur Park. Previous to this time Lucy's been a bit scared of the dinosaurs, mostly because they're so big, and not in cages like the other animals. Once we showed her that they weren't real, she was pretty excited and wanted to touch every single one.

Two

My how time flies. Today is Lucy's 2nd birthday. I can't believe she is two years old already. We celebrated by going to the doctor this morning (not so fun), but also going to the Dollar Store to get some supplies for her big party on Saturday. She is having a Cinco de Mayo party, so we decided to pick up a pinata and some balloons. She is so excited for her party. She got many a phone call from family and friends today to wish her well, and each time someone said, "Happy Birthday Lucy", she would pause, look at me and say, "(*gasp*) they said Happy Birthday to me!" this evening we went to Tyler's parents house and had hamburgers, cake, and a few presents. Lucy's grandma got her some clothes which included a few shirts, a sweater, and some capris. Two of the pairs of capris are yoga pants, and Lucy affectionately called the yogurt pants. She'll be wearing yogurt pants to gymnastics tomorrow.

One Month

Today is Max's one-month birthday. In that short month he has experienced a lot. We've been to the zoo 3 or 4 times, he's attended a gymnastics class twice, already celebrated his first major holiday (Easter), was present during 4 sessions of General Conference and most importantly, has dirtied more than 200 diapers. And most of these events have occurred while he was sleeping. Sleeping patterns through the night are getting better and better- we're only waking up once per night now - but sleeping patterns during the day are getting worse. He's decided that his favorite place to sleep is in someone's arms and anywhere else results in a 10 to 20 minute cat-nap, and 30 minutes of crying. The biggest obstacle that I've noticed so far is the feelings of sadness that my little girl is not so little anymore, especially now that I have a little boy to compare her to; as well as feeling like I don't have enough time. I don't have time to spend with Lucy while taking care of Max, and I don't have time to really help Max establish a good routine and good sleeping habits because I can't leave Lucy alone for that long. I'm sure it'll all work out sooner or later...but here's praying for sooner! That's all for now. Since I don't feel like I have enough time for my kids, I certainly don't have time for much 'blogging' either. Goodnight!

Lucy's Gymnastics Class
Lucy feeding a camel at the zoo
Easter Egg hunt at Williamson's
Eater Egg Hunt at Bourne's

You can come too...

On Friday we had our first major outing with the whole family. It was Max's first trip to the zoo. After Lucy's afternoon nap we headed into Calgary for a quick trip to the zoo. The gates close at 5:00pm and the grounds close at 6:00pm, but since we have annual passes, we don't worry about only being able to go for an hour or so. Lucy loves going to the zoo. This trip didn't disappoint either. We took Grandma and Papa Williamson, as well as Sarah, Janeen, Jason, and Matt (Sarah's boyfriend). The hippos weren't on display this time, which was a disappointment, but we were able to see most of the other animals. Lucy was excited to see "Timon" (a meerkat), zebras, camels, a tiger, lots of monkeys and the gorillas, as well as the lions. We were even witnesses to a somewhat 'private' moment between the lions as they decided to mate as we were standing there. We steered Lucy towards the zebras as that started to happen to avoid any difficult questions on her part. (see earlier post).
After our trip to the zoo, we headed to Peter's Drive-in for some dinner. Lucy's in the middle of potty training and decided while we were sitting int he car that she had to go. Tyler took her over to the public washroom at Peter's but she said that toilet was "scary" so she held it all the way home to Cochrane. Amazing.
It was a pretty awesome day and Lucy has asked every day since if we could go to the zoo "just one more time". I'm sure Max will share her sentiments soon. He slept all the way through his first zoo experience.

Kids say the darndest things...

Oh the things kids come up with these days. This post may be a bit choppy, but to illustrate my point effectively, you'll have to hear all the examples that have occurred over the past week. On Sunday (the 25th) we were at Tyler's parent's house for dinner and got on the subject of kids embarrassing their parents. Tyler had recently taught Lucy what 'butt cheeks' were and was soon seeing the error of his ways as Lucy decided to point out to everyone that they had butt cheeks. Tyler's mom reminded us of the time she was shopping with Tyler as a young boy at The Bay and as they were standing in the check-out line, he turned to a lady in line and said, "You're the biggest lady I've ever seen!" Of course, Janie was mortified and apologized. The lady seemed to take it in stride and merely said, "I bet I am the biggest lady you've ever seen."
Janie then proceeded to tell us a story of Tyler's cousin. She was a few years old and was in the grocery store with her dad. As they walked down an aisle (her in the cart and him pushing) she suddenly yelled out, "Daddy has a small peanut" Now, the story is second hand, and 25+ years old, so the context is unknown, but funny just the same.
Next example: Alison and the kids came for a visit on Tuesday and brought a yummy lasagna dinner. As we were sitting around talking, it was time for Max to eat. I got myself situated and covered up and proceeded to feed Max in the living room while Cy, Jillian and Lucy played, and Alison and Tyler and I chatted. At one point, Cy came up to me and asked what I was doing. I told him the I was feeding Max. He asked what I was feeding him. I said milk. (you can see this is not going anywhere good). He then asked me HOW I was feeding him, and I told him "that's a question for your mom." Alison proceeded to tell him that this is why girls have boobs. When they have babies they are able to make milk to feed their baby, and eventually when the baby gets old enough, the milk goes away...(this is the best part)...just like a cow. I'm sure mothers everywhere appreciate my sister comparing us to cows! Cy kind of made a funny face, accepted the explanation, and wisely had no more questions to ask.
Alison then reminded us of the time Cy asked how babies 'get out' of their mom's tummies. (This was around the time Lucy and Emma were born). Alison explained that with Jillian, the doctors just cut open her tummy and took her out. This was cool sounding to Cy, but of course he wanted to know what happened with himself. Alison explained a tame version of labor and child-birth to Cy, to which he responded to by saying, "wow, that sounds like a lot of work." Very astute my boy...very astute.

9 days

After 9 days of life in this world, Max is still doing great. The family is surviving on a few hours of sleep a night and we're looking forward to the days when that will change, but for now we're enjoying this tiny boy. Lucy and Max are "best buddies" and she enjoys helping mom by loading the diaper bag, and giving Max kisses. She really enjoys getting a chance to hold him as well. As to be expected, there is a little bit of confusion and jealousy, but nothing that is doable. You can tell she's out of sorts a little bit. I think she is more worried about mom and dad leaving again than anything. Because I went into labor in the middle of the night, she woke up to have Grandma at home with her rather than mom or dad. I think it threw her off a bit, so anytime we're walking down the hallway or going into another room without explaining it to her she says, "Don't go!" She is also more insistent on someone staying with her in her room until she falls asleep.
It's hard to say who Max looks more like at this point. When he was first born he definitely looked like Lucy, only with a distinctly boy face. Now we have a hard time deciding whether he's got more Williamson or Bourne in him. Either way he's cute.

Maxwell Scott Williamson

I'm really tired, so this is a quick post, without any witty banter, but I figured people want to know the news and see pictures. Here is Maxwell Scott Williamson, born March 21st at 8:27am. 7 lbs, 7 oz. He's doing good. I'm doing good. Going to sleep. I'll write more later.

40 Weeks

Well, tomorrow if my official due date, and no baby yet. We went to the obstetrician this afternoon and she gave us some promising feedback, although we've heard a similar story before. I am 3cm dilated already, and 75% effaced. She doesn't think we'll make it through the week and even joked that she's on-call on Thursday evening so why don't we just plan to see her then. I wish it were that easy. I seem to remember with Lucy that I was 2cm dilated for about 2 weeks, and even after a few hours of contractions at home, we went into the hospital where they congratulated me on being 2cm already...har har.
Anyway, I thought I'd write a quick note to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tyler (tomorrow) just in case something does happen tonight and I don't get a chance to write tomorrow. 26 years old. If there is no baby news by tomorrow, we'll be celebrating by eating Angel Food cake and chinese food...and of course Tyler will be playing hockey. Hope it's a good one for you love.

It really does Exist!

Tonight we received a bunch of pictures from Tammy dating back to a baby shower for Lucy. (I was a little apprehensive to see pictures since they do call it a shower and only women are invited and most of them are my family). As it turns out though it looks like the evening was actually quite boring...especially for those speaking with Traudi Kane.





As Heather and I ran through the pictures we were in stitches by the time we were at the end. I guess that's what you get from running through a bunch of pictures...digital papercuts! So thanks Tam-e for the laugh and the pictures of tiny Lucy. By the way, the picture of Sam is a little blurry as are all pictures taken of the elusive Sam-squatch!

Tyler