Where To Begin...

*warning: this post is long and scrambled. don't feel like you have to read it all. I do this for me and my records.

Wow! It's been a while! But I guess that's how I roll; I have a good blogging streak and then take a very long break. I'll have to work on that. So, in this long break, there have been a lot of happenings and I suppose I know just where to start...

March 28: The day Jensen turned 7 months.

A total boy: he loves his trucks!

I have been doing horrible at keeping track of this boy's developments and taking pictures and I know I'll always regret this but it's too late now so here's to turning a new leaf! Again! Anyways, by seven months Jensen had started getting more vocal. I mean, the boy is LOUD. He could babble and say "dada"(which came first of course), "mama", "baba", "yaya" and "lala" (his favorite). He started sleeping on his tummy which does not bother me at all. I like that he enjoys being on his tummy. He's getting much stronger in his arms, neck, and back, which is a huge accomplishment for such a big kid. Apparently bigger babies are generally slower at reaching certain milestones such as pushing themselves up with their arms and therefore crawling. The crazy thing is that he also started waving and clapping before he turned seven months! He really is a smart boy! What's really funny is that when you start singing "patty-cake", or any song really, he starts to clap his hands!

April 10: Good Friday

Jensen - 7 months - sitting by 2nd cousin McKenna - 13 months

Every year on Good Friday, Chris' grandma and grandpa Shurtz have a gathering at their house where there is egg colouring, an Easter egg hunt, good food, and good company! Have I ever mentioned how much I love Chris' family? I don't think I have so I will now! I love Chris' family! Aubrey had a great time especially. She got to colour a few eggs with her grandpa Shurtz (Chris' dad) and then had a jolly time collecting the Easter eggs laid out in the back yard. All of the eggs were empty except for one egg (per child) that was full of treats. Chris was not able to join us as he was out working hard!

Aubrey listening intently to Ginger's explaination of the rules of the egg hunt

Aubrey hard at work finding the eggs


She found the mother load!

April 13: My 22nd Birthday
Yep, my birthday has come and gone and I am officially 22. What's funny is I don't dread getting older. I am such a youngin' to already be married and have two babies. It's quite weird to think about really. The day was fairly uneventful, but good. My fabulous parents came over along with my wonderful brother, Jess, and his better half, Cheryl. My mom made me my favorite dinner of chicken enchiladas and bought me a carrot cake which we ate later when Chris' brother, Darcy, and his wife, Jessica, joined us (who really are both fantastic too)! Everyone went home by about 8'clock so Chris rented "Marley and Me". I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I am a dog lover...

April 18: Photo Excursion

The one and only picture I took with my own camera before the battery died - I have since learned that there is something wrong with my charger. Or maybe the batteries...

I got to go out bright and early to Indian Battle Park with my friend Devon Durocher. She is a really good photographer who knows her stuff and she let me tag along on one of her Saturday morning photo excursions. She taught me quite a bit and even let me touch her very nice camera. It was really good for me. Now I just need to incorporate everything I learned into my picture taking...

April 21: My First Pedicure
BEST DAY EVER! Okay, maybe not quite, but it was pretty wonderful! My sister-in-law Jessica took me out to get a pedicure for my birthday. Don't I have the best sisters-in-law? Yes, ALL of them are great. I didn't even mention that Cheryl got me a gift certificate for a hot stone message for my birthday! I have yet to go so I'll write about that some other time. But back to the pedicure... Jessica and I got to sit side-by-side and visit while we got pampered. *Sigh* It was awesome. I'm hooked.

April 25: Girl's Night
Every so often, the Shurtz girls have a girls night. All of the Shurtz women (as in the daughters, daughter's-in-law, granddaughters, and granddaughter's-in-law of Chris' grandparents, Byron and Nola Shurtz) are invited and we mostly just visit and eat junk. It's great! This time there was a swap and everybody brought things that they were getting rid of and everybody rummaged through it and took what they wanted! I came home with a good haul of clothing and shoes, but sadly I didn't think most of the items through and most of them are too small. Yeah, the Shurtz's are very thin people with small feet! Ha! Oh well. Here's to the next one!

April 28: Jensen Turned 8 Months

I think he just keeps getting more and more cute!

And another month just flew by! During this month, Jensen has been able to get around more just by rolling. Nope, still no signs of crawling. He got his first tooth the week before he turned eight months and still has not other teeth! Jensen started throwing his toys and he likes to play pass with a ball. He said "hi" while waving and also said "yay" while clapping all in the same day! Both things were right on cue. He said "hi" after a lady said hi to him and he said "yay" after I told him to say it! It was surprising and quite funny. Like I said, he's a smart kid! It may have been a fluke as he hasn't said yay since and has only said hi a handful of times, but whatever. I'll take it!

April 30: Moving Day
Our move to Red Deer was postponed by a day as Chris got the flu the day we had originally planned to leave. The day of the move, my wonderful parents came and saved the day again! My mom came over bright and early and helped me pack everything up. Yeah, I literally leave things to the last possible minute. Then my dad came over with his truck and helped my sickly hubby load everything up. Chris was a trooper and helped through his illness. We were all ready to leave by about 2:30pm! It was pretty amazing, but keep in mind we didn't pack furniture, just clothing, bedding, pots, pans, utensils, dishes, toiletries, and the like, so it wasn't too huge. My mom and I drove together in my car and Chris drove the truck up to Red Deer by himself. He got there quite a bit before us as my mom and I took a bit of a detour and went through my home town of Three Hills. It was so fun to do that, even though it was quite a bit out of the way. We parked in the church parking lot so that I could feed Jensen and then we drove past my old house and the Guzoo... oh the memories! I just wish I had taken some pictures...
So then we arrived to our assigned apartment (APX chooses apartments and rents furniture for all the reps and their families) and unloaded everything, got the kiddies settled, and unpacked everything. The next few days were simply spent getting settled. My mom went back home on the 1st of May.

May 8: Mom and Dad Cahoon Come For a Visit
We weren't here very long before we had visitors! My mom and dad both came to visit us for a bit and it was so fun! We mostly just wandered around the city. The Sunday was the most memorable as we were able to see many of my parent's old friends and even a few of mine! The funniest was seeing a girl that was a student teacher my grade nine year! But yeah, we did a bit of ward hopping so that we could see certain people. My mom made a yummy dinner too. It was mother's day, but that was uneventful for the two moms involved. I don't really care though. We also went and visited my cousin Bart and his wife Jane. It's nice to have family so close. The next day, my dad left in the morning in my car and my mom and the kids and I left a little later and were able to make a stop in Calgary for a bit of shopping! Oh it's so excellent to be able to just go home whenever I feel like it!

May 15: May Long Begins!

Jensen sure loves his grandpa!

It wasn't in my original plan but I decided to join my parents at their cabin. Oh was it ever heavenly! We couldn't have asked for better weather. Jess and Cheryl were there too as well as our good friends Lennie and Kelvin Kado. Aubrey was loving being able to just play outside in the sunshine and she had so many people who were willing to play with her. I even got to go on a quad ride with my dad which was so much fun. It was heartbreaking to have to leave, but we all did Monday afternoon. Long weekends aren't long enough.

The sun was bright and hot! Just how we like it.

There is no bathtub in the cabin so this is how we do it!

Aubrey helped grandpa plant the tomatoes and flowers Monday morning before we left.

She takes her job very seriously...

and is a hard worker...


and a cute worker...

and a fantastic helper!

May 20: Back to Red Deer
So I finally headed back to Red Deer but I made a stop in Okotoks to visit with one of my very best friends, Taryn, and her cute little girl, Claire. We went into Calgary and had a fun day of just hanging out at the mall. At the end of the day, we had to go our separate ways. I don't think I realized just how much I missed Chris until I got out of Calgary and was well on my way to Red Deer. It was so hard not to speed! But I pulled up to the apartment building just as he was getting back from selling so it was perfect timing. Man was it ever wonderful to be back with my hubby after a week-and-a-half of being apart!

So yeah, I've been really busy the last month and a bit and things are going quite well. I'm thinking this summer is going to be a full and fun one so I'm going to have to work at keeping this blog updated better!

And just because...