Sisters

This is what I love most about sisters, and their sisterly love!

They were sleeping together. I guess the day wore them out.

Catie's first wiggly tooth

The finger doing the pointing, is Claire's finger. She helped us find it!

World's worst parents?

I don't know, but when your almost five year old daughter escapes the house, and gets locked outside and tries to climb up the fence (on the inside of our yard--we have double fencing to keep the kids in ha ha take THAT) And that child is screaming and crying at the top of the fence stuck. Cliff didn't hear her! And a neighbour girl is about to rescue her at the same time Cliff was going to find the location of the child who was stuck!  She asked why the kids cry all the time. She also asked if he has a wife LOL. Pardon? Is it any of your business? Have you tried keeping the peace with six kids? I would say crying and loud is just part of childhood, and especially being outside. Should I be keeping my kids quiet? Not allow them to express who they are (within reason?)

It is not like we party the night away, and the noisy times are not all day, but comments like that just sting.

Uh, 21 year old single girl. Just you wait. 

Anyways, Daddy was in *charge* of just Catie (aka escapee/monkey) Courtney and Caroline. Cameron was at a play date, and I was out with the big girls at their yoga class. 

When I heard about this, I felt so attacked. And it just made me want to pack up and move to some large acreage where kids can just be kids with in reason of course.

Just had to vent.

Number Four

Today, I registered my fourth child Catie for Kindergarten. I am so happy for her, as I know she is excited to join the school with her sibs in September.  I think it is really awesome that for one year I will have four kids in school at the same time! Next year is Cameron's last year at the school. He moves onto middle school. I find it hard to believe that Catie was born on Cameron's Kindergarten intake meeting. And now here I am almost five fast years later...registering her for school. Cameron hits the 'double digits' in the summer! I remember being very excited about that. Now, not so much LOL.

I am fighting a cold, combine that with only 3 hours of sleep...not so great! I am exhausted. But good.

Smiles of the Day

Got to love photobooth! It has been almost three weeks since Catie and her stitches, and this morning ALL of the stitches came out. Now, we move onto the vitamin E treatment for her. 

We are having a good day, well except for the whole bowl of infant cereal that 'somebody' spilled all across the dining room, and several outfits LOL. If you want the truth with a larger amount of kids, good luck! LOL.

I will never find out the truth, so whatever...

How's she healing?!

Well, you can see for yourself! On Thursday we are two weeks past the jumping accident, that caused Catie to require 7 stitches in her forehead.

She is doing just fine and she continues to 'monkey around' like nothing ever happened. And for Cliff and I. Forever traumatized. LOL.

Catie in the ER

This is the last of this trip to the ER. Thank goodness for my new camera phone eh!

Catie in the ER II

Here is a bit of Catie in the ER on Thursday night.

In threes

They say bad things happen in threes. Well, I'd say this was a bit crazy for three things to happen within 20 minutes. On Thursday, we were having a good day. It is now 4:30 pm and Cliff is home in about a half an hour. Caroline had a diaper rash, and so I had to bathe her and I left her nudie to air out her parts. Fine. 

I start to unload the dishwasher and my little Coco is always climbing in and around the dishwasher and she likes to hold onto things...and so she held onto the dishwasher and slipped. And ripped that little flap of skin under her lip/upper gum. This isn't anything new...It has happened to almost all of our kids. So, I stop her bleeding, there is blood on her clothing which I WAS going to change. I give her a teething ring to help stop the bleeding. 

Then it happens. And very quickly I might add. All of these events happened in less than 20 minutes! 

And I hear in very loud SCARED voices of Claire and Carly that Catie is BLEEDING. Catie is BLEEDING! I put my Coco down on the floor.  And I walk into our living room aka the playroom. (we are talking steps away!) and it looks like a murder scene. Blood everywhere! Catie jumped like 'Super Catie' from the couch and hit her head on the corner of the sharp coffee table!! So, I grab her, I immediately cover my hand over her open bleeding wound and ask my girls to grab me a cloth. I walk with her to the kitchen to get the phone to see where Cliff was. He was at the local market getting veggies and fruits. Meanwhile I am totally covered in blood. It was very scary how much head wounds bleed. 

I told him GET HOME NOW!!! Catie is bleeding A LOT. I need you NOW!! Cliff knows I do not freak very easy. So, when he walked in he expected so much less of an 'owie!' but he said he turned white when he saw the living room.  So, thanks to my big girls I had cloth after cloth. And she was still bleeding. I then told Cliff to RUN and get our wonderful neighbour Dorothy to help us. She came in, and saw Catie bleeding, Caroline freaking and crying with no clothes or a diaper on. Blood EVERYWHERE. Kids crying and freaking. Two parents freaking! Oh my. Anyways we drove her immediately to the ER. Let all of the kids with poor Dorothy (love Dorothy in her late 70's and had 7 kids!) she was totally cool.

We got her in quickly...and waited for stitches. We could see down to her scull which was very disturbing. Cliff said when she moved her eyes etc. he could see her tendons working etc. YIKES.  7 stitches to be exact. And you know what, she was a trouper! She was so calm! So, it was a crazy busy day that I would NOT like to repeat. 

This is the first time in over nine years that we have had a  real emergency or stitches for that matter. Catie has been fine! The dissolving stitches are almost out today. And she is totally back to normal! Thank goodness. 

Waiting for almost 2 hours for stitches...which she didn't even cry...

Our feet...which are the same shape!

She had her magic apple juice here, and had numbing cream under the bandage waiting for her stitches. 

She was totally laughing at her hands...

@6:10 pm

Four years ago, on September 9th, 2004. The day after your Daddy I remember him REALLY wanting you to come out on his birthday so you both could share a day. That didn't happen, but you were worth the wait. You, our fourth child was born, after a quick labour a sweet little girl Catrina was born into our family. We worried through all of her pregnancy as I had an early miscarriage prior to her pregnancy. So, when she came out pink, beautiful and healthy we were relieved.

Catie as we call our beautiful little girl, is full of laughter, has legs of steel, can jump, she can climb up cupboards with her toes (like a monkey) her favourite colour is YELLOW, and everything to do with yellow. In fact, she says everything that is yellow belongs to her, well so she thinks anyways!

This Catie of ours, is the only one of any of our six children that look like me (well when I was younger LOL) and she has a great laugh, she gives great haircuts (remember the mullet-cut of July 2007!) and she has a big love for Mickey Mouse.

This girl can balance, she is a bundle of energy, and sleeps on three pillows every night, and of course under a knitted baby blanket that is...of course pale yellow.

She is small, but she is a powerhouse. I love watching how quickly and lightly you move about. You are silent, and you fit under your bed, the closet and other areas of the house. You can be so silent when you want to be, and so LOUD at other times. She is strong and stubborn and we just love her to pieces.

Catie, my darling little gal! How we love you and we hope you enjoyed your cake with four yellow roses (how fitting because I wanted to call you Caitlin Rose) and yellow writing. And of course four yellow candles on top.

We have really enjoyed watching you bloom and grow these past four years. I cannot believe how quickly you have grown. I cannot wait to see what wonderful things you do this year in your four year!

Love you babes xo

Catie at the Luau

Catie and Coco

More of my girls!

Catie on the first day of Spring!


Carly...my little spitfire!



Carly digs the trampoline and just gives her!!


Bouncy Bounce!


Action Shot! She plays hard!!

Catie and Caroline

In the computer room together


Looking out the window together


I am full of tears and sadness today...


My fingers taste so good


Oh Mom, would you put that thing away now!

6 days until Christmas

We only have six bags left on our advent tree...

Here is our Christmas tree with only lights, and one paper decoration made by Carly. The other decorations, well who knows if we will even put them up? We think it looks nice just like this and the kids have left it ALONE!! It is a real tree btw.

And, here is a little gift under our Christmas tree!

From Catie's 3rd Birthday

Catie is 3Here is Catie with Taya Noemi her new baby who has a shirt that reads 'I love pirates' and has green eyes just like Catie. Taya's birthday is November 9th!

Opening her cards and presents

I am three and I have got the hang of this now!

Her birthday cake that was an ice cream cake! It was really good!

Wow! My candles that I get to blow out by myself (well, actually with help!)

Catie is three today!

Curious, adventurous, and playful from womb to room lol!

Full of smiles, laughter and happiness!

How can we forget the pirate face, and the many other fun faces you make Catie! You know how to make us all laugh!
You potty trained before any of the other kids! And now you are there! We are so proud of you!

My Catie girl, a photo of you from summer time. As you are my summer girl. You are my little pink rose.

Our dear little Catie, and the only child in the family with a shortened name (just like Mom) and we were both born on on a Thursday! We called you "trickster" when you were inside of my uterus. We had troubles hearing your heartbeat early on, you would kick at the doppler. You were in my belly when we filmed Crash Test Mommy back in July of 2004 when I was 31 weeks pregnant with you. I wish now the film crew and viewers could have met you too. Because, they are missing out on you! You would light up the screen my darling gal.

You have this face, this beautiful little face. This face that smiles and lights up the whole room. We love that about you. You give big hugs, you can count almost to 20, and you help others. You are so giving and caring. We are so glad you came into our lives Catie. You bring such joy into our family and we could not imagine life without you. You have adjusted into our family so nicely. Potty training before the age of three, switching houses, room mates, car seats, places in the van, from high chair to table, from crib to a bed! So many changes for you, and you did them so easily. You are very adaptable.

The one thing I notice about you, is that you are tiny, but you do not let that stop you! You will not let others bother you, or hurt you even when you are way smaller than them. You go for the gusto! I love holding your hands, because I still describe them as "baby" hands. You have these delicate little hands, but yet you can give a big hit! (right Papa!)

I also love how you can do somersaults, and you swing on the swing and pump your legs!

We look forward to seeing what you will be doing in the following year Catie. We know you will continue to grow into a fine young woman! Now, no more self hair cuts! No more mullets! Maybe this year some pigtails would be fun xo.

Happy third birthday!

The journey of Catie

Here I am pregnant with Catie on her birthday. I was 39 weeks along, and the longest we have ever waited for a baby to come!

Here are the three of us in the hospital just after she was born

Here is the second day, with the big kids admiring their little sister in the hospital

Here is a crazy family photo, and it is the only one of that time

Here is Catie at 5 months old!