Jonas on Quadra

Here's the big guy at our house on Quadra Island. He is helping Grandpa Jerry put some new pipes underground. Last year some hugs trees fell on our proerpty and squished some pipes. We never knew about these squished pipes until there was a fload in our basement due to the back up of water. So thankful to have someone nearby to put the new pipes in while we are away.
Sounds like Jonas has been working on the property, throwing rocks at the beach, going for walks, going out for dinner, building marble towers, watching volcano and dinosaur movies and playing with cousins. Such a lucky boy to have such a beautiful place to visit!

Jonas on the ferry ride to Quadra.

Just the Girls!

Jordan is now off in Haida Gwaii for 3 weeks assisting with a graduate forestry course. He went two years ago as a student in the class. Jonas went over to the Island with Grandma J and Opa after the Easter weekend. They came to celebrate with us, though much of the time was quite stressful due to abit of a family crisis from afar. Now things have settled somewhat and Jonas is totally excited to be on the Island. He loves it so much over there and he loves being with his family. Its just Karina and I and life has become quiet and easy. I am used to more action and it almost seems a little too mellow at the moment. Will be happy to have Jonas come home in a few days and of course his dad in a couple of weeks.

Spring has been rainy with abit of sun but quite cool. I really begin to miss the Island and our house in the spring. Nothing compares to Island living in the summer. We have a garden that's the size of our current apartment. Its surrounded by fishnet and driftwood fence and inside there are blueberry bushes, herbs, places for veggies, raspberries and a strawberry patch. I spent a lot of time trying to make the soil as rich as possible. I must say I do love it up here on Burnaby Mnt as well - surrounded by forest and wicked views of the ocean and Mnts - I love running along the forest around the university, the views are stunning. I actually feel quite torn between our 2 homes. On the one hand we have a great community here in Vancouver. Lots of friends, lots in common. Lots to do, stimulating. We walk everywhere which feels really good. Living in such close proximity to people and having such a small space to live does have many positive attributes such as lots of interaction with other adults which is nice when you have small children. Its never any effort at all to go for a visit, share tea, borrow something etc.. We often go to Science World, Aquarium, Lonsdale Quay etc... We have also been doing alot of bike riding on the top of our mountain. Karina likes riding behind me on my bike and watching her brother on the back of her dads bike. Eventually we will be leaving campus which all depends on where I start fulltime school. Whether I am at UBC or in Washington, we will move to a bigger place as close to my school as possible. With Jordan doing his PhD, we can be flexible and live anywhere.

As several friends in our community are nearing graduation, the question of where to move, where to work is an all too often topic of conversation. If I let myself think about it too much I start feeling a little stressed as to where I will get in and where we will be living next year. This particular conversation is an old one and what I really need to do is put these thoughts away and move on until I actually do know where we are headed.

Come on Sun!

I think its time we get a good stretch of pure sun. We have had little glimpses here and there for so long now; I am wanting a week, minimum, right now!

Now that I am able to spend two days a week on my course work and really focus on getting more clients, I feel more balanced. When I can be home with the kids, then work a little and do schoolwork, life is good! It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is for me.

Karina just got another tooth. She has been so sore for a while now. She has been eating alot of frozen berries which seem to be giving her the most relief. We went out yesterday to get her a new sleep sack and then over to the North Vancouver MEC and then to a farm market - every time we left a store she yelled out a huge Baaayyyy with a big wave which left many people laughing. It was so cute. She is really good with the B words. She has also begun drawing which is fun to watch - she loves Jonas's magnetic drawing board. She is also totally obsessed with her Baby Boo book which Jonas also loved. She tries to get me to read it over and over again and is so upset when I stop. If I put the book away, she will go and get it off the shelf. I am trying to think of all the sweet little moments we have each day. She loves the palm of her hand tickled and she will often do it herself. She is also very curious about her mouth and nose and I will often find her with her hand in her mouth, almost gagging as she tries to grab her tongue or she will have her finger deep in her nose. Jonas never did this - but she is definitely more of an explorer than Jonas at this age. Oh and before I forget, the sweetest thing she does while I read Baby Boo, is when I say 'Kiss Kiss, I love you', she kisses the palm of her hand and blows me a kiss. Where did she learn this? And then I remembered that her Grandma Janet taught her how to blow kisses a few weeks ago, but I didn't know she had learned to do it herself or that she would even remember! But here she is, blowing me her sweet little kisses!!!!

Playing

Happy First Birthday Karina!

We celebrated very simply with cake then dinner. Just the 4 of us. Karina was perfectly happy with her brother blowing out the candle and watching everyone eat cake. She threw hers on the floor. She found it interesting to play with but wasn't keen on the texture I guess. It was a lemon cake. She probably would have loved just plain whipped cream or something a little lighter.

I can't believe our little baby girl is 1. The year has gone by so quickly (of course) and its been quite the transformation for our little family. Thank goodness we had another baby! Thank goodness Karina and Jonas have each other! My heart is bursting with happiness when I sit back and watch the two play together. They have their own way of communicating and they are so amazingly close its like they have known each other forever. Karina is so upset when Jonas leaves without her; when he goes with his dad on a special outing or when he goes to school. She yells and screams as he leaves. Jonas is never happier than seeing his little sisters face first thing in the morning. He is such a slow boy when waking up and can easily turn very cranky and upset if pushed to get up too quickly. But if Karina is nearby and makes her way to him, he has the biggest smile. She has been such a serious little baby and never did like to be held by anyone besides mom or dad. She will go up to others on her own, but will become upset if anyone moves in and tries to hold her. So very different from Jonas yet they get along so well. He usually includes her in his play, whether it be playing store or ball he always has a role for her. Actually, there are times when he doesn't want her around when he is building something intricate and she just wants to get right in and pull whatever it is apart. This also works out fine because Karina is really independent in her own play and can keep herself entertained for long periods of time.

Karina looks just like me when I was a baby and toddler. She might have wavier hair, but she has lots of it just like me and it is quickly going from totally dark to quite light, as mine did. According to my baby book, I was a few pounds lighter but I think we were about the same length. I will have to check on that. She is very compact and solid. She has huge cheeks just like I did. They last forever! haha.

We have had some changes over the past month. I knew that it was coming close to the time where Karina would begin 'school' a couple of times a week at the SFU childcare center. The teachers and centers are excellent up here but I knew it wouldn't be in the best interest for Karina to be in daycare considering how she is still not very interested in being with anyone but her mom and dad or Jonas. Such a completely different experience compared to Jonas - he was more than ready to be out with other adults at a very young age. He began daycare at around a year and eight months for 3 days a week and totally thrived. I had felt that he needed the external stimulation and that I couldn't provide everything he needed to really be fulfilled. When Karina was born we moved him up to 4 days a week. I never felt so great about that because I felt it was too much for him, but really, he has wonderful friends, and it was a healthy thing for me and Karina. So the alternative has been to find a nanny, which was easy to do in our city. I had so many people interested in the position that I decided to really narrow my search down to hiring someone with ECE certificate. We found a wonderful woman with lots of experience who is also in school to become an elementary school teacher. We have just spent three weeks slowly easing Karina into this new situation and its been really great. Jonas is now in SFU Childcare 2 days a week and our nanny is here for another 2 days a week with both kids. Everyone really does win in this situation. Karina learns to trust and form a relationship with another adult while getting to be close to her big bro, Jonas gets to be at home with his little sis and also gets some one on one with another adult; I get to work on my course and meet with potential clients and of course Jordan has a happier wife and the security of knowing both the kids are being well taken care of. We are so lucky to be able to make this situation work for us. Daycare is great for some kids but definitely not for all. Jonas has stayed in for two days a week because he looks forward to all of the activities and friends he gets to see. Karina can start when she is ready. I am a better mother when I am able to work outside the home part time. I don't do so well being an all the time stay at home mom. The first year with baby is great, but I need other stimulation after that point. I am so happy with the community I am involved with right now and all the birth work that I am doing. It is just so progressive here and there is so much opportunity for experience. I finally created a website for myself and published it before a final polishing, but I was just too excited and I was getting abit burnt out trying to work at it at night while the kids were sleeping. Its up and running and not perfect, but thats ok for now. www.valeryebenner.com. Although we have a nanny and daycare, it still feels as if Jordan is at home so much. This is why we chose to live at the university - I guess it really was always in the plans. Even when we decided to build our Island house, we both decided to move away to continue our education and start our family at the same time. The environment here is so rich and our lives our so full, we wanted our kids to experience this life as well. Jordan is busy with research and lecturing yet he still seems to be at home and available most of the time. It has worked out well. We both agree that its not about the money you make and the stuff you buy, its about the time you spend together as a family. We each have our separate work and we feel that that is what makes our lives together so much more rich. We are fortuante enough to only have one car, we don't commute and we walk almost everywhere. Public transit is simple and usually more convenient. We have a new car and that was because we needed something we could rely on, especially with my work and the hours I am driving at. Women usually give birth at night and when a woman needs me, I need to get to her quickly.

I may start a more work related blog soonish. I find myself drawn more to maternity blogs lately than the mothering ones I was once drawn to. We'll see. I have also been reading alot of minimalist style blogs as well - most notably the Minimalist Mom blog located on my side panel blogroll. Its a new interest of mine over the past year. And of course the Gloria Lemay blog which I wish had more blogs lately - but I have been taking her Midwifery course which has been alot of fun while being at home!

Karina is now sound asleep. She has been night weaned for a few months now and sleeps easily through the night. Her crib is next to our bed and I am so happy with this arrangement. By child #2, I must say I was happy to have my bed with my man back sooner than with #1. Karina, being so different from Jonas, seemed just fine to have her own crib and space to herself to flop around. Such different children....funny how you can see the differences in personality by the way they breastfeed and sleep.

The boys are at the movies. We asked Jonas to have a nap and if he did, he would get to go to the movies. He has only been to one other movie and then a whole bunch of the Imax ones at Science World. He fell asleep in the first minutes of The Hubble a few weeks ago at the Imax. So this afternoon, he finally fell asleep while listening to an audio story and staring at his fort. Both kids napped, Jordan folded laundry and watched basketball and I got to do some reading for my course. How nice is that??

I will post again soon with some pics of the little darlings.