Why is it so hard to blog?

I have to admit I have completely slacked on my blogging duties since moving to the island...due to the new pace of Island life, maybe, or really I am just super busy. I thought that when Liam started preschool I would have these huge chunks of time off (he does go from 9 -1 M,W,F) but I find my time is filled with Torr activities (I have to do at least a 1/8th of the stuff I did with Liam), making soap (my newest entrepreneurial adventure), coordinating the Sunday School at Church which is a volunteer position that I am only suppose to dedicate 5-6 hours a week to but I am so involved with it I find I am putting in way more hours than that, training for a half marathon that is not that far away anymore, and keeping up with normal everyday house stuff...okay enough of my rant for you to feel somewhat sorry for me. teehee Life is good I have no complaints other than I need to be better about getting photos up so starting right now I will.

So here goes...

The first three photos are of Torr's first birthday compliments of our amazing neighbour Ashley with her awesome photographer skills.





This is our house being painted by our wonderful neighbour from Chilliwack who so nicely came out for a potentially rainy weekend from the mainland (sat through a 2 sailing wait to come out) and painted our house in a weekend. You are great Andy!!

I have to say the reaction in our neighbourhood to our 'new' house has been overwhelming...needless to we have met way more people in the last few weeks in our neighbourhood letting us know how awesome the house looks.





That's all for now! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Monique and the family

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Okay so Liam's birthday was a few weeks and I know it was a milestone the big 3!!! He thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and actually had no idea why his friends were coming over until we lit the cake up.

He is a big boy now in preschool 3 days a week for 4 hours at a time!! He loves learning and reading all their new books and I enjoy the time I have with Torr. :)

Enough with the chatting here is his party photos that happen to coincide with a visit from my brother.

Enjoy!!















Next up...Torr is turning ONE next Tuesday!!

Monique

All grown up...

It really only feels like yesterday that I was telling people that I was pregnant for the first time. Now as the weekend approaches the reality is that my little Liam is turning 3!!! He's now not that little anymore and is even starting preschool in a few weeks! He has certainly grown up into a sweet little boy who loves to laugh, eat and simply enjoys life. We are truly blessed. So in celebration of his birthday this Sunday I thought I"d include some old school photos...



Sleeping like a teenager already. (One day old)




And we thought he was cute at this stage...




Our baby...i mean big boy as he would like to be called now. Liam's sportin' Uncle Cam's old skool shirt

Now we can't forget about our little Torr who has a few more weeks to go before he hits the big ONE!! Ahhhhhhhh where has this year gone. He has recently taken his first steps at a 11 months which I desperately have been trying to stop. You know you're a parent of more than one child as you try to delay these milestones knowing from the first child how much trouble these milestones can add to your life.



The Bros rockin' it out on the Whale spring thing!!




Torr doing his best smile for the camera.

Until next time

m,m,l,and t

Return of Batman!

We went to Market Days on Friday with our friend, Christine, which means they closed off 5 th street (the downtown shopping area) to traffic and all the vendors came out to sell their wares but in addition to shopping there were clowns (Liam's favorite), a face painter, a dunk tank and of course my favorite the Kettle Corn booth. mmmmm

Liam wanted to get his face painted so I thought he might ask to be a monkey, a car or a bear or something to that nature but nope he wanted to be BATMAN! First off I am not sure if he even knows who Batman is but he knows of Batman from the famous Jingle Bells - Batman/Robin version!! So I guess that's where he got it from? Who knows he's a crazy man these days with a very active imagination.



On Sunday afternoon we headed out to do a late afternoon exploration of the Comox Lake Dam Conservation Area - once again another cool area that is less than a 10 minute drive from us. We did a little trail called the River Loop and saw exactly 2 other people while on the trail. What are people doing on weekends where the weather is in the mid to high 20s. I hope their outside!! Torr enjoyed most of the hike snoozing away in the back pack but when he woke up he was more than amused by his older brother's antics!







Today, I took the kids out to Miracle Beach to meet up with our friend Julia and her two sons , Benji and Noah. They had a blast we only went out for a few hours but everyone was exhausted by the time we arrived home.



Needless to say We've had a busy week here in Courtenay and the weeks only just begun!

Later!!

M,M,L and T

Yeah we FINALLY bought new batteries for the camera!!

SOOOO it's been a long time, no we haven't been suffering from second child syndrome (which means you forget to take photos of the second one since you lived out all the good moments with the first one, we finally got some new batteries for the camera and we're back on.

Quick update - we've been in Courtenay now for a little over a month and a half and we've been a busy bunch.

Matt is in full swing of work but finds lots of time to bike and hike with the kids.

I participated in a 12 hour bike race with some women I bike with in Cumberland which was a blast. I have been very lucky to meet so many people here in very little time. I consider myself very blessed!

Liam is ready for preschool in the fall and talks about it everyday. He is really grown up but still maintains his easy going nature as I find him frequently running through the sprinkler naked and letting out big farts so he can see your reaction and then follow up with a very polite "Excuse Me heehehehehe"

Torr is just changing so quickly before our eyes. He has started to walk around the house pushing a ride on car, climbs up the stairs (Thanks KungKung!!), and now says 'OhOh" when prompted by Liam. He loves his brother tremendously and basically spends his day following Liam around...what will he do in September!!!

We just finished having a two day visit from Jay, Mel and baby Nate which was fantastic!! I know Torr had a great time playing with someone his own age (Nate is two weeks older) and Liam enjoyed the prospect of having two brothers to push around...I mean play with.

Here are some glimpses into our life here on the island. I"ll add some more soon.



Sorenson and Robertson Fams



Liam beachcombing at Kye Bay



Torr and the Ostrosser girls



The two crazies in the tub - Torr and Nate



Hmmmmmm I love spaghetti - seems like a similar photo I once took of Liam!

Love,

Matt, Mo, Liam and Torr

We're back but no longer in the 'Wack!

It has been a little over 3 weeks since we moved to Courtenay and things are going well. It has been crazy busy unpacking, moving things around, getting used to our new surroundings. So I do apologize for not writing sooner but I hope you'll forgive me.

Here's a quick recap of the first 3 weeks in a new place.
- Arrived on a Wednesday and that evening picked up Grandma Lynda from the airport to help us move in. We were so lucky to have her come for a week because that first week went by like lightning. She was a great help getting things unpacked and organized.
- That weekend Cam, Carmen, and Andy came out to help us get some needed work done on the yard (which happens to be a small 1/2 acre lot)
- the following weekend our friends from Chilliwack who now live on the island in opposite directions from us came to our house to have dinner. So it was nice to see Sian, Derek, Karen, Ryan and Liam's buddy Sam again.
- Now my parents are leaving tomorrow after spending a week with us which was fabulous having extra sets of hands as we continue to move in and of course my luck would be to have one fussy baby Torr as he worked through 4 teeth emerging over the last three weeks. Basically he moved here without teeth and now 3 1/2 weeks later he has four. Who would have thought?
- While my parents were here we decided to do a road trip to Victoria to see my Godparents who happen to be Robertsons as well. Lucky for us their two kids who Miles and I grew up with were able to come visit along with their kids...all boys so you could only imagine what our visit was like. Rita and Clair thanks for the hospitality and we will be out again to visit you but for longer next time. Please pass on a hello to Danny and Stephanie - congrats on the birth of Hunter and say hi to Heath, and hi to Tracey, Blaine, Ethan and Gavin!

Alright i'm overwhelmed with writing this post and that could only mean you've probably stopped reading this and have skipped to the photos all ready. I will be more consistent on blogging now that life is a little bit more routine.

that's all for now.
Matt, Monique, Liam and Torr

Kauai 2008

Here's a quick glimpse into our last two weeks in Kauai. The trip was awesome and we're exhausted but now we have three weeks before moving to our new house in Courtenay! So here we go into another adventure...

dada i wuv you!

Matt is convinced he heard Torr say 'Dada I wuv you!' this morning so I thought I would dedicate this post to little Torr-o.







Happy Easter everyone!!

Monique, Matt, Liam and Torr

The Madness we call Our House!

It would be false to say this house is the most relaxed it has ever been since we are in the chaos of selling our house which entails - leaving the house for showings which is proceeded by cleaning up the house everytime which is proceeded by making sure all toys are picked up after use which is usually proceeded by crying about not putting away toys...oh the fun is endless in this house.


However, we'll stick it through and these boys are more than helpful for the most part to get things done. So this post is dedicated to them...


Torr

Where do I begin with this super munchkin?

He is almost 6 months old actually he will be this weekend. He now weighs 16 lbs 5 oz and he is 64 cm long.
I know I"m cute! :)

He has started to eat solid food which has been a great time as he has caught on quickly like his big brother often grabbing the bowl or crying after for more.

Torr after his first taste of barley cereal

Torr has also started to roll both ways making him a handful on the change table and a delight to watch on the floor as he keeps bumping into Liam.

Da Boys!!

Liam

What is there to say other than the fact he is in his Terrific Twos...emotional up and down but for the most part he is a sweet boy. Matt thinks he pushes my buttons because we are so identical in personality...hmmm maybe. :)

cheeessssssee!

He is about half the height of Matt these days and weighs 40 lbs which makes lifting Torr up feel like I'm lifting a feather.
We still go the Y most mornings but we have started to go to Strong Start program here (preschool like program for 1-4 year olds) which he loves as we get to go to the library and listen to story time.
His vocabulary is enormous and he likes to find every chance to correct you about an answer and you can no longer fake reading a book because for the most part he memorized them.

adios amigos!

So in a nutshell this is the latest update on the boys, they are awesome, healthy, and a handful but I just simply assume that's what it's like to have kids.

Caio for now!

mo, matt, liam and torr

Buying, selling and everything else that goes with moving

So last time I wrote we had gone out to the island and went house looking. Well lucky us we got the house we wanted! It's a 70's BC box house with a spectacular backyard!!

I love you 1970's

Simply it has a river running through the backyard that you can fish from, tube down during the summer and kayak if you wanted. Pretty awesome we are super excited and we will have lots of room for visitors!! (You can fly direct from Edmonton to Comox)

River Bank

Lots of room for the boys to play in

Now after all the exciting part of finding a house we now are in the process of selling our house here. We have had 6 showings already which is great now we wait for an offer. So if everyone could send us their good vibes, their prayers and cross their fingers we should be able to sell this place! Thanks.

Liam practising for Kauai!

Luckily our friend, Shelter, volunteered his time to take some photos for MLS for us. So here are some of them...the reality is these pictures will make me miss this place but I hope a good family buys it since we have enjoyed our house so much. :)

Too bad you don't appreciate your house until you're selling it!

wish us luck and we'll let you know how it goes...

mo, matt, liam and torr