Jade, 11 Months

I will have very precious memories of this little photo shoot, Jade and I were up on time and Hazel slept in a little bit, so we had some time just to ourselves after a good night sleep.

 Jade likes to keep up with the big kids and always wants to be part of the action. She is very familiar with the word "No" and often gets mad before I even make it to her to take away the forbidden object or close doors that got left open. She has done lots of growing and learning in lots of different areas which has been very fun to watch. Jade is still very much a milk baby, she is interested in food and does eat some things, but needs to feed herself which hasn't been super effective yet.

Jade has finally been pulling some longer stretches at night, not sure yet if she has figured it out or if teething and colds over the last month has made for a very tired Jade...

Discovering Momma's ring. Jade has also discovered that she can reach new heights, and often pulls items off of the desk or dinning table that were left a bit to close to the edge. 

That little pointer finger of hers got put to good use this month. Most everything gets the pointer finger touch before getting explored further. 

Status Quo on the walking front, which is just fine with me. Hazel helps Jade out from time to time which has been really adorable. (Video below)

Jade is very fond of Daddy, she get very excited when he comes home and often looks around the house for him when he isn't home. Many things including Daddy get called "DaDa". Over the last month she has learned lots of new sounds which has been a very nice change from screeching! "TaDa" while clapping her hands has also been a recent skill, it has fun seeing her recognize what sounds she is making. She often makes little "tuckle" noises while playing now too. (video below)

Thought they are still too small to see in pictures Jade has her two bottom teeth now! Anything and everything is being put in her mouth more and more, very happy I put the vacuum in a more accessible spot so the floors can get vacuumed daily.

Our pool visit proved to be very helpful in the bath department. These girls have enjoyed quite a few baths since then!

Jade is a very happy and very active child, and keeps up with her big sister no problem.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

Hazel enjoying our test batch of Oliebollen on new years eve.

Jared enjoying making them and eating them 😊

New years day was crisp and clear! Jared went out into our "back 90" to get some wood for the outside fire and set up to make oilebollen out there as well for our oliebollen open house. Please notice Jared's festive "tree top tree" addition by the fire pit. 

The tractor sleigh rides were a hit with the kids. 

Those who came a bit earlier in the day got a bit more sunshine, but the event was enjoyed by many regardless of the cold. High of -12 or -15, which was "warming up" from the -25ish that night. 

This hill has been the perfect sledding hill for the younger kids.  

Jared and Nova ended up being outside all day, from 9:30ish to 5ish. By the end even fluffy Nova was cold and curled up in Jared's chair. 

Christmas Card

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the JT Flokstras.

(The year I actually get around to printing them is the year mail to not work... my apologies if your card arrives very late...)

 

Christmas Holidays

 I believe this was our first 5 day stretch just at home since moving here, it was peaceful, we had lots of family time, project time and time with friends. 

Monday turned out to be a project day, getting as many things as we could done so that the rest of the days off could be a bit more holidayie. I started with a recently inspired project of putting all the books onto one shelf, that was out of Jade's reach and out of the girls room. So far all the activities that Hazel could do while Jade is napping have been in the room Jade was napping in.... but I couldn't think of anywhere else to put them, so this shelf turned out the be a lovely solution. After this shelf was done I tidied and organized all the toys, found the desk back, and my kitchen counters, rearranged a few other household things to hopefully make things run a little smoother. The house just got a overall tidy and it felt soooo good!!!

Taking the sled for a ride around the perimeter trail! (video below)

Tuesday morning we went to the church so Jared could work on some more sound cabling and set up, the girls and I came along and thinned out the nursery toys, set up for the Christmas day potluck and gave Jared a hand here and there when needed. That evening the girls went to bed nicely so Jared and I spent the evening together washing eggs and making a bit of homemade eggnog 😍

The sun was lighting up the tops of the trees while we were out sledding Wednesday late afternoon. That morning we went to the first Christmas service (that wasn't already a Sunday) that we have had in prince George, with a potluck lunch to follow. It was a very special time together with a very nice Christmas lunch. We both got lots of nice chats in with friends and I was even ready to go home from the potluck before Jared, which is a rare occurrence. 

Hazel has been enjoying sledding, her new sled from Grandpa and Grandma Flokstra is just the right size. (video below)

 

Home made eggnog and Dutch treats after sledding outside! Thank you Nana for sending some!

On Thursday Jared organized a shooting event for the guys out by tabor lake, which was well attending and very much enjoyed by all. Jared had been talking about doing something like this for a long time so it was nice to see it finally happen.  I had a friend over while Jared was out so I didn't feel to lonely with Jared away on a holiday. That afternoon when he got back we took the 22 out with some subsonics and did a bit of target practice in the back yard. Hazel even got to try which she thought was pretty fun. 

 

Winter Activities

 

A clear crisp snowy day!

I learned how to crochet! In effort to spend less time on my phone, but still have a activity that would allow me to rest, I pick up crocheting. This was a huge mental break through for me and I have really enjoyed it.

I tried to make a few eggs with the idea of having a dozen toy eggs, but once they get played with they look much more ball like 😅

A beautiful morning that greeted me when I went to do morning chores. 

And a nice big icicle. 

A nice big snowfall earlier this winter was much appreciated! Last year we didn't get snow till much later and it makes a huge difference on all of our moods.

Watching the snow falling.

Playing in the fresh snow. So excited that I got two winters out of this cute snowsuit!

Decoration time. I asked Jared to get the Christmas decoration box, but he came back with both "regular" decoration boxes. Which turned out to be just fine, there was enough Christmas like decoration in them. Hazel had so much fun pulling out all different sorts of decorations and decorating the house on her own. She was also thrilled to find this Dutch pot set and kept herself busy making pepper soup. Having a bit of pepper left in the pepper shaker made it extra fun!

I had pulled out the decorations more as a "something we should do" this year, rather then needing to brighten up the space, which was nice. I did not expect it to be such a special thing to do with Hazel, it brought her so much joy and it was really heart warming to do it together. 

We put our shoes by the fire for SinterKlass this year. Hazel nicely decorated the table. 

Firehall Christmas dinner. Jared received the Fire Chief's Award for the second time. It is a award for doing extra things around the hall, going above and beyond just training and calls. 

Hazel enjoying the music at the Christmas program rehearsal. I made a lot of progress  mentally this year and was not completely overwhelmed by organizing, which was very nice.

Jared was outside playing with Hazel and neighbor kids, when he felt inspired to build a sled for behind the tractor. We took it for a test run around the paddock that afternoon. Jared is hoping we can take it for a ride on the perimeter trail as well some day. 

Later afternoon light and frosted trees.

Fun and games at Babine's Christmas Dinner. The first picture they are stacking little bells on a popsicle stick, and the second all the parts people are playing guess the part in the box. 

Winter Walks.😍

We brought Jade to the pool for the first time! I was really unsure of how this would go as baths have not been appreciated at all! And often when she touched water she was quite unimpressed. But Hazel loves the water and had not been to the pool for quite a while so we tried it out. Jade lasted a whole hour before she got too cold to stay in! The first 20 minutes we got almost no reaction out of her, which was quite out of place for Jade, but after that she enjoyed the bubbles in the lazy river and was splashing and trying to keep up with Hazel. I was so relived that it went so well! Looking forward to doing it again soon!

We also made it back to the library, with new books in the house I find Hazel taking quiet time on her own accord more often. She caught me taking a picture this time and tried to hide.

A new laundry strategy. Trying to fold laundry on the couch with two helpers just wasn't working any more....😅

Finally found a bathroom curtain that ties in the orange sink and teal blue. (I will be replacing the the green curtain yet)

Hazel's crown of old shower curtain rings 😄 Ta Da!

This picture really doesn't do it justice... but waking up to a nice glowing fire and bright snow outside is just such a great way to start a winter morning!

Jade, 10 Months

Jade at 10 months, still getting into everything and has a knack for finding any piece of paper, Ziploc bags, whole potatoes or onion peels that gets left within reach. (the potatoes and onions are stored on the bottom shelf of an open pantry....) Jade is still furniture cruising and has also learned to walk along walls, I'm very curious if she will walk on her own soon, or if her current skills will get her where she needs to go for the next while. Playing on the floor with Daddy is a highlight and she will do the most of her independent standing and steps (which I have all missed so far.... 😢) during that time. (Video below)

Jade loves being on the couch! As she is the only one who can't get on it I wonder if she feels left out every once and a while, or if she just likes the view out the window. 

Hazel looking and smiling...

Jade looking...

Both looking but not smiling... 😏 

This picture just cracked me right up when I saw it, when I took it I knew that Jade had made a funny face, but later when reviewing them I saw Hazel making the same face in the background as well 😄As shown, but not heard in the picture, the noise level has increased in this house with two!

I don't remember if she went down for a nap after this or not, but she sure looks ready for one. 😍

The first time I witnessed Jade swallowing! Roasted potatoes for the win! She enjoyed sucking the sauce off of the pull pork as well. She just recently has eaten some broth off of a spoon which was a huge win as she wouldn't open her mouth before! (Video below)

Typically most food gets tasted, but not eaten... Maybe some more food will make it down once her teeth come in.

"Jaaaaaddde! Nooooo!!!" can be heard often from Hazel especially when she is setting up her own toys, hence the 'backwards' play set up. Typically they both play together quite nicely and laughter is often heard as well. (Video below)