Announcing Noah James

Our little man is 2 months old today...yes, we have a baby boy! Born January 9 at 7:00pm, Noah James joined the Smith family weighing in at 8 lbs 9.5 oz. My labor was short and intense again...4 hours and he was here. I got to have a water birth this time which was amazing! The midwife that assisted with Rachel was with me for the first little bit of my labor, but another midwife delivered Noah.


My mom was here to look after Rachel and when we got home from the hospital she asked Rachel if she remembered the baby's name to which Rachel replied, "It's Jesus". Having just come through the Christmas season, that made the most sense to her.

We are adjusting to life with two kids...some days I don't get out of the house at all...other days, I do get out; it just takes longer to get ready. Rachel loves her baby brother. He is the recipient of many "bear hugs" and kisses. She talks to him all day long and informs him about anything and everything!

We are now the proud owners of a Ford Focus Wagon. The Lord provided this somewhat larger vehicle for us at just the right time...although it was hard to say good bye to the Honda Civic, it is nice to have a bit more space in the back seat for the kids and space in the hatch back for the stroller. God has also given us a beautiful, although older, front loading washing machine...for free! We feel so blessed! Friends have also blessed our lives by loaning us "tonnes" of boys clothing...we haven't had to buy much for Noah at all! In return, we have also been able to off-load much of the clothing that Rachel has outgrown on some friends who have had baby girls recently.

I will try to come on here more often to post pictures and write a bit about what is going on in our lives...in the meantime, enjoy the photos!

News...

The first picture is of Rachel and her friend Lily from church...they arrived at service last Sunday wearing the same skirt and tights...everyone thought they were twins. The second photo was taken at a friends birthday...she was covered in chocolate cake and was having a blast!

Hello! Wow, it has been a LONG time since I posted anything here! We are all doing really well. Rachel will be two years old in about two weeks and she is really becoming a little girl...not a baby anymore! Speaking of babies, we are expecting! Our little one will join us mid-January. I have been feeling really good so far.

Chris is now working for a private organization, but is still in the tourism industry. He is enjoying his job although he is traveling more.

Rachel has been really talking lately. She is putting short sentences together and she does love to talk...wonder where she got that from??! This morning in her crib she was counting, "1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 5...yes, it's right!" I had to laugh because it was really wrong, but cute. She fell down outside the other day and when I asked her if she was okay, she said, "I kissed the ground Mommy!"

I am still organizing meals for new moms at church and Chris is still chairing the discipleship board. We both serve in the nursery and toddler room although as of the end of December, I will be taking a break for a few months as I will have little one to look after.

Our families are well. My youngest brother and his wife just had their fourth baby tonight...we are looking forward to meeting him!

TTFN and enjoy the pictures!!

Introducing Rachel

She is so HAPPY!! Look at those teeth!

Sorry for being such a bad bunny...;)

"Oh, my....no more pie..." these are words from a song that Rachel has been singing today. We are done Music Together until September, but we play the CDs every day and she is starting to sing along. It is so cute because she even has the tune down!

I can't believe that it is already July and that I haven't posted anything since April...I have been really tired because...we are expecting! God is so good. We are due on January 19th, 2008. I have not been sick at all really, and I am 12 weeks so I'm past the scary stage. We are going with a midwife again...our experience the last time was so wonderful, so prayerfully things will go just as well.

Rachel is growing so fast. She is almost 20 months and talking up a storm. She loves music and books and the new dollhouse from Gramma Gloria and Grampa Jim. She likes to play outside...especially in the garden. I found a little watering can with three plastic tools for her to "help" me in the flower beds.

Chris started a new job. He is still doing tourism stuff just not with the government anymore. He is busy and will be travelling a bit more than before.

Well, I better post some pictures, huh?!

Catch you later,

Rebekah

Papa and Nana

Hi! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

We had Chris' dad and his wife with us from Wednesday until Monday morning. Rachel enjoyed seeing Papa and Nana and playing with them, going for walks and being read to. I was really tired and stressed the whole time they were here. I find it hard to relax when there is company staying with us. I like everything to go perfectly and feel I have to wait on people. Anyways, it was really nice to go to church and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Our church did a big outreach service...the music was wonderful and the message and the Scriptures that were read were just a real blessing to me.

My family was all together in Manitoba....that makes the holiday hard because I know that they are all having a good time and I'm not there.

Enjoy the picture of Rachel. She is getting so big...has her first molar and is generally doing well. She had croup a few weeks ago, but is much better. She likes to be independent...don't we all.

TTFN

On, on, on, on....

I think spring is just around the corner. It better be!!!!! I don't know if I can handle any more winter. Our snow is melting...not fast enough and we have huge puddles on the sidewalk in front of our house. Rachel came to me yesterday with one boot saying, "On, on, on, on..." She then wanted to wear her coat too; so we went outside. I tucked her pant legs in her boots and we went walking through the water. She loved it. Up on side and then back, splashing all the way. It was so much fun and she ended up tiring herself out and took a three hour afternoon nap! Hurrah! I should utilize this startegy more often!

Last night we got a babysitter and were taken out for dinner by AB Agriculture. What a wonderful evening. We went to Moxies and I had my usual when we go there; Madras Penne. This is penne pasta with curry/apple chutney and pineapple with chicken. Mmmmmmmm! Chris had an apple something pizza...also very good. We shared a white chocolate brownie for dessert. There was lots of laughing and chatting...so good to have adult conversations. Those of you who are mothers know exactly what I am talking about. I didn't look at my watch until 8:15. Thanks to Leah, our friend who was watching Rachel, I didn't have to worry about our little one at all.

This morning Chris is helping a friend at a Farmer's market. He will be there till noon and then we are going to an "I've Outgrown It" sale. Rachel needs some new clothes for the summer and fall, so hopefully we will find what we are looking for.

Enjoy the photos of Rachel in the puddles. She fell a couple times which caused her to cry, but overall, we had fun!!

TTFN

Puddles

We are having some glorious spring weather! The Lord has been really good to provide us with lots of sun and puddles. It is such fun to drive along and hit puddles...the water is so very dirty, but the splash is so worth it!

We are hoping to go out and buy Rachel some boots. Yes, she is walking and is wanting to go everywhere all by herself. She is getting very steady and with practice will soon be running, I'm sure. I am so looking forward to the snow melting so I can get into my garden and start planting.

Easter will soon be here and we are looking forward to Chris' dad and Ruth arriving from Arizona for the celebration. Our church does an outreach Easter service downtown and we are hoping to be involved in some way.

Well, I better run and finish some laundry so all the work will be done when Chris gets home. We will probably go for a family walk tonight after supper. More later!

In like a Lion?

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb...we have not experienced that at all this year. We have had a very calm March wtih mild temps and loooooaaaaddddds of sun!!!!!

We just returned from a trip to Manitoba to visit my parents. Gramma was soooooo excited to see her little Rachel. We had a very busy time with my two youngest brothers and their families. Rachel really enjoyed playing with her cousins and Gramma's dog Tutu. For three days after we got home she was convinced Tutu had come home with us. She would ask for him every morning when she woke up and throughout the day. Very cute. Here she is at almost 16 months. She started walking at Gramma's house and is doing very well, but is still a bit wobbly. She is also doing a lot of talking. Sometimes it sounds like she is actually talking in complete sentences and other times you are sure that you hear her say "real" words. She started calling me "Beka" when we were away. I think she heard everyone else talking to me and figured she could call me by my first name too. Anyways, just wanted to update you all with a picture. We are doing well and enjoying the times we get as a family. Chris' mom is coming this weekend so we are looking forward to that!

More later,

Rebekah