Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our summer

Part 1 of 10

Family Reunion Road Trip

We packed up our car and headed 11 hours south to join up with Tim's side of the family for a week long reunion. It was the first time for some of us to meet each other and we had a fabulously relaxing time.

The kids both did wonderfully in the car. We broke up the trip over two days which helped. Tait spent a lot of the trip ... like this!

Tim's parents joined us on the road trip down and we stayed the night at the place of some long time friends of theirs. The house was intricately decorated. In one room we found a doll the same size as Renatah!

Renatah had a blast getting to know all her cousins. I think it was all a little overwhelming for her but with a few outings with just Muma and Papa thrown into her days, she coped well.

Here's all 12 cousins !
(Renatah had to be woken up from a nap for pictures ... hence the 'grump' look!)

And here is the OHLSON CLAN ... all 22 of us.



We hope to repeat this get together every couple of years when Amy and her family are back for the summer from their work in China.

Naomi - me

OK so now I get to tell you a little about what's been going on in the life of me. Since the most amazing miracle of my life, Tait's birth, life has been all about Tait. Adjusting all aspects of life to make room for this little man. What a joy it has been (for the most part - teething is never really a joy).

I have so many many thoughts I could ramble on about on the topic of motherhood. It is such a huge part of my life and I truly do love it. What a privilege I have to spend the rest of my life nurturing these little beings. What a responsibility! All I can say is "Lord, be my guide, I cannot do this alone!"

As I shared about Tim's venture into getting his Bachelour Degree ... I too have some big things I'm embarking on. God has provided an opportunity for me to work full-time (ish), taking care of a little girl 5 days a week, 9 hours a day, during the school year. We are thrilled with this provision to be able to help put Tim through school. This starts on Monday (August 24th) - so a busier Muma I will be!!

That's all for me really. My days are full of taking care of my children, catching up with friends from time to time, hanging out with our fabulous neighbours, running errands, all that usual stuff.

Now that all the individual 'updates' are done - we can start telling the stories as they happen. Check in soon for some pics and stories of our summer adventures.


Here's a picture of me with my two beautiful children. What a blessing they are!

Tait

Here he is ... the newest member of our family who lives up to his name everyday. We are in awe of how well his name suits his personality.



Tait
-- means CHEERFUL
-- it sums him up

Larry William
-- his namesakes
-- he bares physical resemblances to these two men in his broad forehead and the smile that lights up his face. What a delight for us to be reminded of these special men in our lives on a daily basis when we look at our son.




He is growing and changing daily - if we had started earlier in his life there would be so many stories to share with you. Since we were slack in keeping on top of sharing them with you a few more recent little highlights will have to suffice.

• Tait spent his first few months keeping to himself and minding his own business except on the odd occasion he'd voice his need to be fed or changed to put down to sleep. He started off as a great sleeper but lately this has been a more challenging aspect of his life - we'll blame the teeth! (He currently has 6 ... 4 poking through on the one day)

• His world became accessible to him when he started scooting himself around on his belly at 6 months ... by 8 months he had developed the 'perfect' crawl - no unique style for this little guy. At 9 months he has now started cruising and opening drawers/cupboards. Renatah is not a huge fan of his increased mobility. Tait is often 'chasing' her around the living room trying to get back what she has taken from him!

• As you can see from the pictures he has a healthy appetite. When he started eating solid foods at 6 months he 'bulked up' into the chubby lil' fella who I affectionately call 'my squishy'.

• At six months old he was as heavy as Renatah was at a year. We are constantly discovering the many ways in which are children are so incredibly different from each other - we are not too sure they even look like siblings!

Renatah

Over the last 8 months or so Renatah has done lots of growing up - not so much physically but in so many other ways. She will talk your ear off and experiences life with much gusto! On the other side, she is very loving and thoughtful and tender when the time calls for it.
Following are some pictures with little blurbs underneath to sum up some of her life,
...to catch you up a little.
*note: they are in no particular order*

... loves to help around the house, washing dishes, sweeping/vaccuming

... in January, Renatah got her first hair cut, by her god-muma

... she turned 2 and the highlight of the event was
blowing out the candles - over and over and over!

...definitely had some 'terrible two' moments exploring her world and 'wearing' it.
This picture shows her discovery of my make-up but a few weeks prior to that was
Vaseline - half a tub, mostly on her hair but not exclusively.

... has really started to entertain herself with imaginative play with her dolls
and her cooking toys and other such things little girls play with.

... simply adores her little brother and is now in the process of learning how to
share toys and space with this little boy that likes to get into every thing - more on him later!

Some other highlights to include speak to her independence and signs that 'my baby girl' is growing up so fast!

Renatah has been potty trained for some time. Her little quirk ... to the horror of some (and her mother when in public places) she simply drops her 'dacks' when she feels the urge ... and then seeks to find the appropriate place to relieve herself.

Renatah will now ask if she can go to the neighbours house to visit and stay there without a parent for as long as they will keep her!! Chuck and Karen are her favourite!

Renatah will tell me what day of the week regular things happen ... "CBS is on Wednesday", "Church followed by Sunday School is on Sunday" and "Sha-Sha comes on Saturday".

Now that I've shared a little from the past, it will be fun to keep you 'updated' with things of the present, as they happen.

Tim

The biggest news of our family is that Tim has just started his Bachelor Degree online. After about three years of intensive study he will get his Bachelor of Science in Human Services. His goal is to then get a Masters of Divinity or Theology to prepare for ministry in leadership within the church, if the Lord continues to lead us in that direction.

Tim keeps busy with work and has traveled more in the past 8 months than previously. Right before Christmas he was in New Jersey when Portland got hit with a severe snow storm. Weather was terrible every where and he ended up stranded in Chicago for three days on his way home. We were preparing for the possibility of having Christmas without him ... but ... thankfully he made it home in time.

We have just had a month where he has traveled 3 out of the 4 weeks and has two more week long trips coming up (that we know of) before the end of August! It is an adjustment for us all - how to get through our days when we are separated for lengths of time. God is good and is sustaining us.

Back Again

Remember us??

It has been over 8 months since I updated our blog ... shall we blame ...

... computer crash and all that that entails?
... steady flow of house guests?
... adjusting to life with two kids?
... facebook?

I'll blame those and all the other reasons why things get overlooked.

It is my intent to start up again with stories and pictures of our life. I won't attempt to backtrack - we'll be here far too long ... but I will attempt to give a little over view of each of us with some highlights of the past 8 months.

Check back in a day or so and I'll have some news on at least one family member! For now - here's our most recent family picture, taken at our Ohlson Family Reunion at the end of June.



For lots of other pics check out our facebook accounts!!

Tait's Birth Story

For those who are interested ... here's what happened the day Tait entered our world.

As I mentioned in the 'nursery nook' post, I had been having what they call 'false labour' for about three weeks on and off. Contractions that were doing things to prepare for birth but never getting serious enough to send me to hospital. My weekly check-ups with my midwife showed that I was dilating without much effort.

On Tuesday afternoon, at 3:45, I went in to see my midwife to check out some changes I was experiencing.

Still no serious contractions. My midwife found that I was more dilated and said that if I was ready to have this baby all she'd need to do is break my "water" and he'd be here in a few hours. It's no surprise to many that I was indeed - very ready - to have this baby!!


So we went over to the birthing center and got 'checked in'. I put on my special socks and waited for my midwife to come and do her thing. That happened around 6:30pm.

Contractions came hard and fast, I was in active labour by 7pm. Nonny had stayed home with Renatah. She put her to bed and left her in the care of our neighbour, while our home group met down stairs as usual!

In the midst of contractions my 'birthing team' assembled in the room ... Aunt Judy and Nonny. They were both there for the birth of Renatah and it was important for me to have them both there again.

Tim was wonderful helping me through the intense contractions. He will say he felt like he didn't do too much because it all happened so quickly. But he was a huge help!!

My midwife came back and said that she thought it would just take one push and he'd be here. My first and only response was "YEAH RIGHT!!" ... I lost count of the number of times I heard 'just one more push' when I was delivering Renatah.

BUT sure enough ... with one big almighty push Tait entered our world.

Thanks Regis!!

It was a miracle in more ways than one. Our beautiful healthy boy.

Tait Larry William

Tait Larry William
Born:
October 28, 2008
8:42pm
8.8lbs
18.5" long

Nursery 'Nook'

In spite of all the false labour I've been having (which we have affectionately been calling 'warm-ups') for the past three weeks, our little boy has waited till his Nonny arrived and has waited till after the baby shower.

I feel COMPLETELY prepared and now just eagerly await the arrival of our little man.

Our last effort to get 'ready' was to complete a little space in our bedroom for our baby.

We are calling it a Nursery Nook ... a space in the corner of our room.

A 'Belly' Shot

First Hugs

Shed Progress

While I've been working on the 'inside' of the house, I've shared some of my 'nesting' energy with Tim and he has been working hard on the shed!! I think that the impending onset of the rain is more of a motivation. Tim, Chuck and Tim's dad have been working hard the past few weeks to get the roofing done. Yesterday was another milestone ... A DOOR!! Now we just have to get the handle on and we can put stuff in there and lock it up!!

Way to go boys!!

oh look - Tim's mom and I got to help too!!

Front Porch

Here it is ... another one of my 'house beautification projects' as Tim calls it. All a part of 'nesting' I think. Our front porch used to just 'stored' all sorts of odds and ends. But now it has been transformed into a lovely 'hang out' spot ... day and night. Obviously it looks more 'beautiful' at night with the lights. The furniture is on 'loan' from our neighbours. They asked if we could 'store' it for them for the winter so they don't have to leave it sitting out in all the rain!! We are thrilled to help in that way!

The "sticks" are dead branches that were cut off from a tree in our yard ... thought they added a different 'touch'. Trying to make beautiful the area that 'stores' the meters for our natural gas use!!

Our "new" Kitchen

A 'before' shot right before the painting started.

Painting the primer.

View from the front door (ish)

View from one end of the dining table.

View from the other end of the dining table!



Thanks to my neigbour Karen - I learned a lot - had a FABULOUS time and LOVE LOVE LOVE the end result! You are welcome any time to come and hang out in the kitchen with me (the only room in the house with colour - so far!)

This year's gardening effort

It is no secret that I have what you might call 'a black thumb'. Plants don't survive very long in my care - I don't know why. So anyway, early this spring I thought I'd start really small and throw some wildflower seeds in a patch of dirt outside our back door.

I had my hopes up that something might happen!! Then we got Dalbea. What ever was growing in my yard (not planted by me) disappeared within the first few months of him living with us. This little patch of dirt was not left alone either.

So imagine my surprise one day when I glanced out to see - A LITTLE PINK FLOWER!! (please pay no attention to the gigantic weed growing behind it!). It only lasted a day or two before Mr. Dog disappeared it. BUT I got a flower! YAY!

Perhaps next spring I'll try something in the front where Mr. Dog doesn't roam. At least this year I had him to blame for my failed gardening efforts. Next year - it will just be my fault!

Big Girl Bed

Renatah developed the habit a few months ago of climbing out of her crib. She did so ever so gracefully - throwing one leg up on the top of the bar and launching herself over and onto the floor.

We figured it was about time to introduce the "Big Girl Bed". So when we got back from our camping trip we said good-bye to the crib and hello to her big girl bed.

The transition has gone rather smoothly for the most part. Her afternoon nap times are the hardest (she still sleeps in the morning - her best napping time). She is enjoying the freedom of climbing in and out of bed and has now mastered opening her door and letting herself out! Ahh the challenges just roll from one to the next. It's called parenting right!?





Asleep the first night in her new bed.

Cherry Picking

One Sunday afternoon we were invited out to our friend's farm to help him 'harvest' his cherries. We had a fabulous time hanging out, eating cherries, picking a few, eating some more and touring the farm a little.



Renatah ran free for most of the afternoon. She got to play in a paddle pool, 'ride' a tractor, say hi to some alpacas and eat some fresh produce from their veggie garden. Nonny we have pitted and frozen some of our pickings for you when you visit!!

Anyone's toothbrush will do

We have a little monkey who loves to climb ... today we walked around the corner to find ...

Our Summer Adventure

We packed up the car and headed south on a 14 hour road trip to Big Sur, California. We joined Tim's sister Barb and family there for a week of camping fun. It was a great time with family and something we hope to make a habit of over the years. Here are a few snap shots of our week. Another slide show - the easiest way to share more than one picture.