Our Heavyweight

While in town one day this week we stopped at the health unit to have Landen weighed to see how much he had gained. So upon partially undressing down to only our undershirt and a dry diaper he weighed in at a whole 9 lbs 2 oz!

Grandpa and Grandma's 1st Week

We've had a fun week with Grandpa and Grandma Sparks and one that zoomed by way too quickly so far. We haven't been able to get outside too much as we have had our biggest snowfall of the winter happen this past week. The weekend was a complete blizzard and then the temperatures slightly warmed up but with still a fair bit of wind and surprisingly a lot of snow every day. So here are a few pictures from our week.

Of course Grandpa and Grandma came bearing gifts, a JD 5420 tractor with a loader!! That tractor has put many miles on already back and forth in the house!

Showing the new calves to Grandpa and Grandma

Going to help daddy tag some calves

"Come on Grandma!"

Mom, Jaren & myself

Grandpa & Grandma Sparks are Here!!

Yesterday Grandpa and Grandma Sparks fought the blizzard to drive out to our place to meet their newest grandson and of course to see their Jaren. When we knew that they were only a few minutes away Jaren sat very patiently by the window watching to see the first sign of their vehicle driving into the yard.

First introduction to Grandpa Sparks

Reunited with Grandma again!

So glad they are here - now there is someone else to have a drink of Caf-Lib with!

Grandpa and Grandma are going to have a very busy week dividing their time between the two boys. They are going to need to go home for a rest after they have spent some time here. All I know is that I am going to enjoy having the boys' attentions diverted to someone else for awhile during the day!

Our Blessing

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3

Staying Warm....

While the snow was blowing outside we spent the Sabbath afternoon over at Grandma and Grandpa's where we visited in a warm home, read many stories and put together some puzzles. We also enjoyed a wonderful dinner that Grandma had prepared.

Jaren enjoying a story read by Grandma

We even had a milestone today for Landen. I was having some tummy-time with him and our little mighty mouse decided to roll from his tummy to his back. I was a little astonished so I put him back on his tummy and he did it again! Already moving at just over 5 weeks of age. I think we will have a mover-and-shaker on our hands in no time at all!

Typical Alberta Weather!

From last Saturday, when the temp was 19 degrees celcius and on Sunday the temperature was up to 25 degrees celcius to..................... this Saturday with the temperature in the -10 degrees celcius range and blowing snow with still much more to come in the next two day forecast! We are finally getting winter!

Growing by Leaps and Bounds...

Everyday I notice that Landen is filling out more and more. This morning as Jaren was playing with him and talking to him Landen started smiling (whether or not it was gas.....it was still some cute smiles!) Jaren was quite excited that he seemed to think that Landen was paying attention to him and smiling at the things he was doing. Jaren is becoming quite the protector of his little brother.

My mom and dad are heading out here this weekend to meet their newest grandson for the first time. It will be a good week-and-a-half of spoiling for the boys I'm sure! I know Jaren is VERY excited to have his Grandpa and Grandma coming on Sunday, he even went down to get their room ready the other day all by himself. What he did, no one will ever know!

Cuddling before bed time

Happy Birthday Girls!!

There are two birthdays that I would like to acknowledge and wish Happy Birthday to:

Today Jenn is celebrating her......hmmmmm......32nd birthday! Wow, can't believe I am right behind you on that one!! :) I hope you are having a great day and not working too hard. Yeah right!

Yesterday, Celeste celebrated her 27th birthday - you're catching up to me pretty quickly Celeste :) I hope that you had a bit of a relaxing day too! Again, YEAH RIGHT......not with 1 month old twin girls!!
Happy Birthday to you both!

Our Weekend

This weekend we had a wonderful time with family. Curt, Julie, Jonathan & Kaitlyn came out so we had fun visiting and playing with them. To top it off, the weather was extremely warm so that Landen got to enjoy the outdoors for the first time. He even got to experience his first ride on a quad and working with the cattle a bit at 4 weeks of age!! Gotta start them young! :) With this warm weather I am now REALLY looking forward to summer and getting outdoors much more! So here are a few pictures of our weekend:

Jaren and cousin Kaitlyn

Landen and I enjoying some of the fresh air and sunshine
"Gotta check the tire pressure Kaitlyn."
Landen's first quad ride - ready to go round up a baby calf with all our passengers
Bringing in a little calf to the yard because he wasn't eating properly. We put the calf in the buggy and then the mother cow follows and we can get them both into the pen so we can keep a closer eye on the calf to make sure he is sucking and eating well.
Everyone is ready to go again!

Brothers

It is funny how you like to always try and find the similarities of a baby with either parent or sibling. Even though Landen has his unique features you can sure tell that he is a brother to Jaren. So here are my two boys:

Landen - 4 weeks old

Jaren - 6 weeks old

Double trouble!!

4 Weeks Old

Well 4 weeks have passed already and here we are with our little man weighing a whole 7 lb 11 oz and measuring 19 inches long!!! I guess the eating every 2 hours around the clock is paying off! It is hard to believe that Landen wasn't actually due until the 10th of April - which is today. In a way I am really glad that he didn't wait to make his grand entrance.

Same Old, Same Old

I have to apologize for my lack of pictures of Landen, I feel like I take the same ones as all that he has REALLY been doing is sleeping!!! How do you make that interesting?? So once again here is our little boy with his eyes closed! He is growing more and more everyday and I am noticing that even his little thighs, which were soo skinny when he was born are starting to get little tiny rolls on them! It is too cute! They grow and change soo quickly, each day is so precious with him and Jaren.

Did Someone Say Mud? Where??

Spring has sprung here at Hemaruka!! It was such a beautiful day out that I sent Jaren to play outside for the afternoon and much to my delight this is what I found (not once, but twice!!!!). He had managed to find the ONLY mud hole that we have in our yard and get stuck in it up to the top of his boots. So I changed him into his second set of outside clothes and he got stuck yet again! Oh the joys of being a little boy!!! As long as we are having fun and enjoying the great outdoors! :)

Congratulations Steve & Kim!

Congratulations to Steve & Kim Weich on the early arrival of their little daughter...

Briana Maryn

weighing 7 lbs &

measuring 18 inches in length

Born April 6, 2008 @ 4:27 pm

All these little girlfriends for Landen!!! We'll have to keep a very close eye on him in a few years (and Jaren too I guess!) :)

New Friends and Faces

Yesterday Landen had his 2 week doctor's appointment up in Provost so me and the two boys headed up to get him checked out. We were happy to find out that our little guy has gained a considerable amount of weight in such a short time and now weighs in at 6 lbs 8 oz (when we brought him home he was 4 lbs 13 oz). The health nurse put him on the scale twice to make sure it was reading correctly. So thankfully our little boy is growing and is very healthy and now he is exactly 3 weeks old today! What a blessing.

We have had a busy week of introducing Landen to many friends and family. On Tuesday Randy, Rosanna and Ryan came out for a visit with us and spent the night. It was great to see their little guy as well. Jaren enjoyed sharing his toys with Ryan but he REALLY wanted him to get up and play with his trucks and tractors. Maybe our next visit Ryan will be a little more mobile.

Sharing our blocks with Ryan
Ryan Trenchuk
Landen, Randy & Ryan getting acquainted

Jaren carefully placed this tub on Ryan's head to dress him up a little. Funny thing....Ryan didn't seem to mind at all having it there!

Then on our way home from our appointment last night we stopped by Babba and Ghetto Letniak's house because Auntie Darlene had brought Babba back to the farm for a visit. Babba has not yet met Landen so she had a smile from ear to ear as she held her newest Great Grandson.

Auntie Darlene cuddling Landen
Babba getting her first look at her Great Grandson

This afternoon we then had another visit from the Powell family who live just south of us a few miles. Jace (age 4), Keldon (age 3) and Dalton (7 months) all came and kept Jaren entertained for the afternoon while Haley and I tried to visit between checking on the boys.

Jace and Landen

The boys: Jace holding Landen, Jaren, Keldon & Dalton