New Years Eve....

And nothing was stirring, especially not the baby in my belly. Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am doing great and baby is moving around joyfully in my belly but I am definitely not going into labour anytime soon. I went to the gym this afternoon, did weights and 35 minutes of cardio. Here are a few pictures from the past few days: Grace and Cecelia Strawson together for a Saturday night visit, me 2 days shy of my due date, and Grace loves Grandpa and loves to read with him.

Christmas 2007 Was Great!!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Clay's parents arrived the 18th December to spend Christmas with us and help us out with the new baby...who has not arrived yet and shows no signs of arriving anytime soon. They have both been a tremendous help with the kids, the cleaning, perogie making and preparation of Christmas Supper. The list goes on and on and we can't thank them enough.

Things we got this Christmas...A toy train set with table, cool rugby shirts from England, a Radio Flyer Pony, tonnes of clothes, doll stroller, playpen and high chair, and a new TV.

Things we missed this Christmas...The prairies, playing with cousins, the farm, our Uncles and Aunties and Grandma and Grandpa S.

Things we enjoyed...all the new toys, going skating with Grandma and Grandpa, the snow, traditional 12 dish Christmas Eve followed by midnight mass and opening presents.

Things we learned...When a little girl hands you a wet diaper throwing it in the garbage is good, but checking where it came from would have been better. It's not good to have an un-potty trained 17 month old girl run around the house in a dress, with no diaper on.

Anyways, we had a wonderful Christmas and hope everyone else who reads this blog did too. I have posted a video of Grace on the new Pony, who the boys have named Queeny, and some photos, so you can have an idea of what our Christmas was like in Ontario.





As for me and the pregnancy, I am doing great and only five days away from the due date. I am not experiencing any signs of labour and even went to the gym for a work out this morning. I will keep up with this right to the end. I had an appointment today. My doctor didn't do an internal so I have no idea if I am dilating or not. The baby is still moving lots and the heartbeat is great. The doctor estimates that the baby is around 8 lbs because as big as I am getting, I am still measuring small. At this point in time, I am sure that the baby will arrive after Jan 1st and am preparing my uniform to go back to work on the 7th.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and that New Year's plans are well on the way. Take care, Evelyn and the gang.

The Kotzer Babies

With the upcoming arrival of our new baby, I put together a tribute to our first three babies, Riley, Brodie and Grace, as a reminder of how much joy they have brought to our lives through the past few years . Evelyn

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Grandma and Grandpa Arrive Safe and Sound

And two days late!!! Yes, they were victims of the massive snowstorm that hit Ontario. But, they finally made it here on Tuesday afternoon. They have already put themselves to work and vacuumed everything and made perogies. Today, they have headed out shopping for Christmas.

As for me, I am just over 38 weeks along. It's getting close but I am having no signs of this baby arriving anytime soon. No cramps, no contractions, no sore back, no nothing. I don't think this baby will be making it on time so the church has a live baby for the Christmas Pageant. I had an appointment yesterday. The baby is doing great, head down, and a heartbeat of 128 bpm. I am doing great too, except for the heartburn. It's amazing how that goes away right after the baby is delivered too. This picture of me was taken this morning.


Anyway, hope everyone is doing great and that Christmas plans and preparations are falling into place. Only 5 days left (4 for the people like us who like to do the traditional Polish or Ukranian Christmas Eve).

Let It Snow!!!

Yesterday we got hit pretty hard with an awesome snow storm. Some people probably didn't think it was so great, especially Sunday travellers into and out of Toronto Pearson Airport. Grandma and Grandpa Kotzer probably don't think that it was so great as they are still stuck in Winnipeg, trying to get out on a flight to come and see us. To make matters worse, Clay headed off to Toronto yesterday morning only to find out when he was almost there that his parent's flight had been cancelled. So, he made the trek home.

The snow was great and massive. There were big chunky flakes blowing in the wind an settling on everything. I loved it and the kids did too. Clay made it home around 5:30 pm after a long tiring drive. After supper, we decided to head out for a walk around the neighbourhood and play in the snow a bit. Here are some pictures from our playtime in the snow.

As for Grandma and Grandpa, hopefully they will make it out of Winnipeg today and make their way to Kingston with little to no problems.

Special for Mom

Here are some photos of me and my belly from Saturday evening. I had a Christmas party that Clay and I attended so I had the chance to get all dolled up. So, Mom, don't worry. I really do have a belly and it's growing.

Anyways, I have a really cute Brodie story to share. Last night, Clay had a hockey game. When he got home, I was reading the kids stories before bed. Clay walked in with a suspicious look on his face. I asked him if he got kicked out of the game. Answer: No. Did you get into a fight? Answer: No. Then Brodie chimes in, "Well Dad, then why do you look so guilty?" I am still laughing today.

Good Night all. I have to hit the gym early tomorrow morning. Evelyn

Christmas Is Coming and So Is...

....My due date!!! I can't believe that there is less than a month until my due date, New Years Day. Clay and I don't have much ready for the baby. We have to move the second crib back to our room, get the carseat ready and maybe put a few meals in the freezer. I am feeling great and really wouldn't know I was pregnant except that I hit my belly with car door every once in a while. I had an appointment a week and a half ago and the baby was head down and in the go position. The heart rate was 154bpm and the baby was kicking and squirming a lot. We are starting to get just a little bit excited. I am still working full time but next week is my last week of work. I am super busy trying to get things done before I just take off for Christmas and don't come back for 5 months. The picture of me in the slide show was taken this past Tuesday at 36 weeks.

Today, we finally decorated the tree that we bought and set up five days ago. We are very excited about finally getting that and a few other Christmas things done. Clay put up the lights outside this morning and the other outdoor Christmas decorations. So, our house is really shaping up for the holidays.

The kids had lots of fun sledding down the slope in our yard while Clay was stringing up lights this morning. The boys treated the toboggan like a snow board and went down it standing up. As for Grace, the only thing she likes about the snow is sledding in it. Otherwise, she pretty much hates being all bundled up and trying to walk through snow. And yes, we actually do have snow before Christmas this year. It is so beautiful. This is the first Christmas since our arrival in Kingston that we will have snow for the holidays.

Otherwise all else is going well. Clay is working really hard on his thesis. His parents will be arriving next Sunday to celebrate Christmas and help us when the new baby arrives. Clay has taken the boys out skating a few times, while Grace and mommy do girly things like paint our toe nails. I really do love having a girl. That's it for now. Enjoy the pictures.

Evelyn and the gang

Rider Nation Headquarters - Kingston, Ont.

On November 25th, the Kotzer household was full of anxiety and very excited for the Grey Cup game. Just because we are two provinces away and haven't lived there in ages doesn't mean we have lost that loving feeling for the Riders. Yes, Rider Nation exists throughout Canada and definitely in Kingston Ontario. For Grey Cup, we had some friends over, reconfigured our living room upstairs, borrowed a projector and watched the game on a 5 ft by 4 ft screen on the wall. Yes, it wasn't the best game ever but we are not fussy and we will take a Grey Cup win anytime. Here are some photos from that night.



Other than that, we have had two touches of snow. It didn't last long at all and the kids were greatly disappointed. It didn't even last long enough to get a picture. So, we have been just hanging out and doing our thing. Here are a few more pictures over the last few weeks.

Sausage Fiesta and an Update

One week ago today, we made our way to the Strawson household for a big sausage making guild. Mike and Katie opened their house to an event that started with 180 lbs of ground pork and beef and resulted in over 200 lbs of sausage by the end of it. It was a long day, but fun, with 7-8 families reaping the benefits of all the hard work. Clay and I didn't get home until 1230 am, as it takes a while to smoke that much sausage.

Here are some of the pictures from that event.



And now, a little pregnancy update: I am doing really well after a long tiring week. At work, there was a test exercise for some of the officers who are undergoing training. I had volunteered to be an evaluator for the exercise long ago in July. At 7 months pregnant, I technically shouldn't be doing events like this, however, I was in a heated tent the whole time, so it wasn't much different than being at the office, except the hours of work were quite a bit longer. I was up before five every morning and worked until past six pm Tuesday and Thursday. So, needless to say, it was a little tiring.

On Wednesday, I got to skip out of my evaluation duties and head down for a prenatal appointment. Everything with the baby and I is going well. My blood pressure is great and I am growing, so that means the baby is too. The baby's heart beat was 132 bpm. The baby also moved around a lot at the appointment, like s/he always does. So, when the doctor came and checked me out, the baby was in the breech position, head up. Although I am not thrilled about this, I am calmed by the fact that this baby moves a lot and does full flips. During my last appointment, two weeks ago, baby was head down. So, there is still time for the baby to get in the go position. If the baby is not head down at 36 weeks, then the doctors will consider flipping the baby or I will have to start looking at a C-section. We'll see how it goes. Here is a picture of me at 32 weeks, this past Tuesday.

A "Not-So-Graceful-Moment"

Hi Everyone, We had a good but tiring weekend. On Friday, we went to the mess for Guy Fawkes Night and fireworks, followed by a visit to Mary Ann and Derek's house for some karaoke. On Saturday, we packed up and went to the Strawson household and made 180 lbs of sausage with a group of Clay's co-workers. I'll post more of the story and pictures of the event later. Here is a video of the kids running around our house. Check out our little girl, all gowned up in her pretty Disney princess pajamas. Anyways, more to follow on Saturday's main event in another post.

Trick or Treat!!!

Just a quick note to let you all know that Halloween was great and the kids had lots of fun. One house was super scary and Grace cried, otherwise, she push her way to the front of every house door to get her share of candy. Riley, Brodie and Grace were the monkey, the squirrel and the nut. The evening was absolutely beautiful and warm so the kids were all sweating in their costumes when we got them home. And, they all enjoyed a bit of candy before bed, even Grace. Hope everyone else had a safe and happy Halloween. I have included a slideshow of 13 pictures below. You will notice the squirrel trying to take a bit out of the nut and the neighbour' grandson, Luke, was totally in awe that there was another monkey just like him.

Halloween is Coming

First things first, we would like to wish Grandpa Kotzer a very Happy Birthday in England, for Monday Oct 29th. We hope that he has a wonderful day. Last year at this time, Clay and I were all in Saskatchewan and got to spend his birthday with him. This year he is lucky enough to spend his birthday with Mark, Laura, Lochlan and Miah and soon to be number three for Mark and Laura.

Halloween is coming and it's hard to believe that we are at the end of another month. The kids will be dressing up and trick or treating as the monkey (Riley), the squirrel (Brodie) and the nut (Grace). So, we are looking forward to going out with them on Wednesday evening. Brodie has graduated from the nut to the squirrel and Grace to the nut (how fitting!!!).

In other news, Riley is loving school and learning a lot....of everything from letters, to counting backwards, to useful expressions. For example, the other day, Riley told Brodie he was doing something wrong and added, " Geez, Brodie, put your thinking cap on." Brodie has adjusted great without having Riley by his side day in day out. He still has that tough and gruff little voice, kinda like Mr. T. As for Grace, we can't keep her off anything as she scales everything. She almost got on the kitchen counter this morning.

So that's it for now, we'll have more photos once Halloween is over.

Prairiekids Hangin' Around

Since Thankgiving Weekend, we went for our last boat ride of the season, have watched a football game or two, made a shopping trip across the border and played around the house and yard, went to work, and went to work after work.

Last weekend we made a trip with Mike, Katie and Cecilia Strawson to Watertown. We just went for a weekend getaway to check out the shopping deals and hang out. Some of the deals were pretty good and I am super excited about the maternity clothes that I bought. This weekend, we were supposed to make sausage with Mike and Katie and a few other people but the Strawsons have been sick all week long. Instead, we had Mark and Emily West and twins Hannah and Lauren come for a visit. We celebrated Mark's 30th birthday too!

As for me, pregnancy continues to go well. My belly is getting a lot bigger. The picture of me is at 28 weeks, just past 6 months. I will be 30 weeks, 3/4 of the way on Tuesday. I had an appointment with my Obstetrician a week and a half ago. He said all was well and the baby seems to be doing great. That's all great, except the baby is still sitting head up, aka breech. At 28 weeks with Riley, Brodie and Grace, they were all head down. The doctors said there is nothing to worry about and that only 2-3% of babies are breech at go time. Otherwise, I am still very active, exercising at the gym 3-4 times per week and working full time. ? The rest of the pictures are of the kids playing in the backyard. They love playing in the leaves. Even Grace was loving it this time. I

I snapped a few pictures of Brodie and Grace on Friday morning before heading out to daycare. Riley was already doing his big boy thing and off to school. Cool story about the little sweater that Grace is wearing in some of the photos: My dad bought and gave that sweater to his Godchild when she was a baby. My Auntie Donna found the sweater and passed it to me for Grace. She has worn it a lot this fall. So, it's a pretty special little sweater and my Dad bought it once upon a time ago and now his own Granddaughter is wearing it. Thank you Auntie Donna.

Well, I had better run off to bed. I had a mess dinner last night and didn't get to bed until after 1 am. I didn't get any nap today either. Clay is hoping to go to school early tomorrow before church. So, I had better get some sleep before it starts all over again tomorrow morning.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! I had to include Grace's new hair style and a video of a song that Riley learnt at school which he taught to his brother and sister. So far we are having a great weekend. We did brunch with the Strawsons yesterday and we are having supper with Jamie and Kevin this evening. Take Care and we hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Sunday.

A Beautiful Fall Day

Well, it's about time I gave everyone an update. Firstly, we are having some fabulous fall weather in Ontario. We hit a high of 27 degrees today. It was beautiful. And, if there ever was a day to go waterskiing in October, today was the day. It was quite calm all day. Unfortunately, I, Evelyn, am on duty, so, that wasn't going to happen as I had to inspect a defaulter at 6 pm. But, the weather has been so great that we have all been able to enjoy it. Yesterday, we made a huge pile of leaves in the front yard and the kids played in them. I got some cool pictures of the boys. Grace didn't want to have anything to do with posing for pictures in a pile of leaves.



Our weekends have been busy. Last weekend was the RMC Ex-Cadet Weekend. Basically, it's the equivalent of homecoming for other universities. Our friend, Jason Beschorner stayed here with us and we had a few other visitors on the weekend. Clay played volleyball with other ex-cadets against the current RMC volleyball team. So, he had a few social events to attend. It was a good weekend for getting together with old friends.

The weekend of 22 Sep, I threw a surprize birthday party for Clay. It was awesome as he didn't even have a clue. After supper, I took him into town for a date and then gave him the excuse that I wasn't feeling good and had to go home. When we got home, our friends were in the backyard. It was the traditional, cheezy surprize, but I think he was really didn't know anything about it.

As for the kids, they are all doing great. We lost our in-home babysitter to some very unfortunate circumstances. A good friend in the neighbourhood, Cinia, will take care of the kids until Clay's parents arrive Dec 16th. The kids have all adjusted well. Cinia and Peter have a 4 yr old son too. He goes to the same school as Riley, same class and is even on the same bus. So it worked out well. Grace loves her and even didn't want to come home with me this afternoon. Thank goodness, my Brodie wanted hugs and love from his Mommy. Grace almost made me cry.

Well, that's about all. Here are some photos over the past few weeks. Enjoy. Evelyn

Riley's Big Day

Riley had a big day today. It was his first official day of school. The day started off by him missing the bus. We called the bus company and found out that they had given us the wrong time. So, Mommy drove him to school. His teacher was really excited to see him and welcomed him with a big smile. Her name is Mrs. Murphy and she is great. Riley was not nervous at all. He was really looking forward to this day. Mommy, on the other hand, started to cry as she hugged him good-bye in his new classroom. Her army combat clothes did not make her tough enough to withstand the reality that her first baby is a pretty big boy already.

Mommy was also there to pick up Riley at his bus stop at the end of the day. Mommy got a little bit nervous when her little boy wasn't coming home. The bus route dispatcher told her that Riley's bus was scheduled to arrive at 2:56 pm. It was exactly 15 minutes late. But, he made it home safe and sound.

The first thing Riley said to me when he got off the bus was, " Mommy, I love school."

Here are some photos from his first day.



Evelyn

Fourth and Final

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would give you all a little update on my pregnancy and how we (baby and I) are doing. So far, things are going great. I really think I am getting good at this pregnancy thing....not good enough to carry on with more though. The baby and I are doing really well. I keep very fit and healthy by going to the gym 3-4 times per week and snacking a lot at work. We hit 25 weeks on Tuesday and just had a check up Monday morning. The doctor was really happy with everything that is going on with me. My belly is measuring small but still growing, my total weight gain is right on target, and the baby's heart beat is great. We had a hard time getting the heart beat because the doc had to chase the baby around. S/he did not like being poked and flipped around and away from the doppler.


As I said previously, this will be Clayton's and my last pregnancy. We always said we wanted four and that's where it will end for us. Of course, being the hormonal pregnant one, this is a time for much happiness and sadness for me. I take special note of every kick, wiggle or flop because these are my last. I revel in the anticipation of whether this is a boy or a girl and how exiting it is to wait to the last minute. I look forward to embracing, once the again, the absolute innocents of a new born child and to creating a bond between baby and me through nursing. All of these joyful things make me a little teary-eyed when I realize it will be for the last time. For these reasons, I will patiently await the arrival of baby number #4, no matter how late this baby is.

On the other hand, I am very excited to carry on with our completed family. I am eager to start a new chapter of our lives that evolves from late night feedings and diaper changes to late night movies, stories around a campfire and sporting events. Finally, I look forward to getting back into shape and staying that way. As much as I will miss my pregnancies, newborns and first year memories, I truly do look forward to moving on in life.

So, where have my babies gone? Well, Riley starts school tomorrow. He is so excited. Brodie has started being such a good nurturing influence on Grace by guiding her in what is right and wrong...ie. be gentle to the kitty. And Grace, she cleans everything, puts things in the garbage and closes every open door.

Here are a few photos of all of us. I had better get going because tomorrow always comes early.



Evelyn

Things To Do At The Park

Well, it's time for another post. Clay has been super busy at school work and I was gone to Trenton for a course on Wednesday and Thursday this past week. Before I left to Trenton on Tuesday night, we took the kids to the park and took a few pictures and videos. Riley and Brodie are getting so agile and can conquer anything at the park. Grace likes to try to do the same and does quite well for herself. There's pretty much nothing she won't try.



Clay and I had a really good weekend. After a couple days away from the kids, I was left at home alone for the weekend with them. Clay had planned a "Man Weekend" at Charleston Lake...just a whole bunch of guys, camping and fishing together and you can guess what else. They managed to stay there the whole weekend without starting the park on fire or getting kicked out, so they must not have been too bad. I guess they left the citronella candles a home.

As for me, as if three kids didn't keep me busy enough, I hosted a group of girlfriends for girls night on Saturday night. I made Nanaimo bars and served up de-alcoholized wine. Picture this, a woman 5 1/2 months pregnant, in the liquor store, holding a purse in one hand, baby girl in the other, and two little boys following her. One was carrying a bottle of Shiraz Cabernet and the other, Sauvignon Blanc. I felt like such a hick. The only thing that could have been worse was if I had them carrying 66's of rye and rum. So, I went to the liquor store and bought some nice wine for my friends, but, no one could drink it for various reasons. I love my girlfriends and they needed a night out. Did I mention that the college students were laughing? I was willing to sacrifice a little pride.

Clay got home around 2:30 pm and let me have a mega nap. Clay took the kids to the park for more playtime while I was sleeping. We had supper and went hot tubbing after that. We could have used a little more park time because, while Clay was bathing Grace, the boys decided to use the towel rack as a chin up bar, both at the same time, and pretty much yanked it out of the wall. Yeah, not a good result. Where was I? Changing out of my wet bathing suit. So, yet again, more house projects and more things to do, ie discipline. It never ends. That's pretty much it for now. Riley starts school this week, so we'll let you know how that is going. Take care all, Evelyn

Visit with Justin, Nicole and Yann

Hi Everyone,

Well, the long weekend has come and gone and it's time to put some photos on the blog. We had a great visit from our friends from Cold Lake, Justin and Nicole and their 3-month old baby boy Yann. Although Justin and Nicole took turns at being sick, we still managed to do a few things together. We ventured into town for lunch a couple of times and watch the RMC Arch parade. This is the parade that the new cadets of the college are officially marched into the college through the Memorial Arch. These same cadets will march out of the college when they graduate in 4 years from now. So, aside from a few tours, we basically just hung out and had a great visit with them. Yann is super cute except when you put him in a car seat. He's not so cute then. Not quite either. Here are a few photos of us and them. Hope everyone else had a great weekend.


Evelyn

Best Camping Trip Ever!!!

One week ago today, we ventured off to Charleston Lake Provincial Park for a family camping trip. It was absolutely great!!! There was quite a bit of rain predicted in the forecast, but we got very little of it and enjoyed four days of camping. Although we didn't see much sun until Sunday, the weather was quite warm and the humdid ex helped out a bit. There were lots of cool park sponsored activities. They had presentations for children every day in the morning. What kind? Just cool nature stuff that kids like such as learning about turtles or distinguishing between animals that look alike. They also had evening presentations at an outdoor ampitheatre. We attended two of them titled Dragonflies and Damsel Flies and also The Black Ratsnake. At the end of these presentations, the staff had a password that the children had to remember. After collecting three password, they could report to the Park Naturalist Staff, tell them the passwords and then they were awarded the title of Park Junior Naturalist. Riley is a Junior Naturalist at Charleston. Do you know what a tenerrel, odanata, or hybernaculum is? Need a biology lesson, ask Riley. While at Charleston, we also hiked two trails. They were excellent as one trail hiked through rock crevices and the other under a native rock shelter. We also saw very beautiful views overlooking the lake. Very cool. Clayton also had the opportunity to take the boys fishing while Mommy and Grace went napping on Saturday afternoon. Much to my surprize, my sons provided everyone with a fish supper that evening. They caught the fish themselves with their Mickey Mouse and Tigger rods. Awesome. They totally out fished their Dad as they had already caught five before he even got one. A little embarrassing, wouldn't you say? And, Brodie pulled a Grandpa Pete on his fishing partners and managed to catch a nap with his rod in hand. They had a great trip. Finally on Sunday, the sun came out. We got some beech time in before heading home. Otherwise, the rest of our trip was spent cooking, hangin around the fire or going for walks and bike rides. Brodie did great riding his new bike and improved really quickly. I hope you have enjoyed all the photos. We all sure enjoyed the trip. Well, that's pretty much it. It's time for me to get to bed. Evelyn

Goodness Gracious

Good Morning everyone. It's shortly after 6 am and I should be at the gym. But, I had a hard time finidning a few essentials like my ID card, so, I thought I would update the blog quickly and head off to work quickly. Clay and the kids are still sleeping, of course.

So, last week I was on leave all week. The kids and I went to visit friends in Belleville. Then, we made our way to Charleston Lake, only 45 minutes away, for some camping we had an awesome time. The weather held out for us and turned out to be pretty good. The kids had a great time and Brodie really didn't want to go home. I don't have time to get all the pictures and write up done from our camping trip but I will leave you with some pre-camping trip photos and videos. Most of the photos are from Mark and Lorrie Ebert's house. As it was recently Brodie's birthday, they gave him a really cool water T-ball set. The boys love this thing and we got some videos that could be sent away to Funniest Home Videos.



Bye for now,

Evelyn

Brodie's Birthday

Hi Everyone,

Officially, Brodie is 3 years old today. We had a party for him and it went really well. He had five friends over for a pizza party. The kids played in the new sandbox that Clay built last weekend, in the pool that Uncle Mark and Auntie Laura and family gave him for his Birthday and with all the balls and the net in the backyard. The afternoon/evening was great and was topped off by a Lightning McQueen Birthday cake, made by Mommy. Apparently I am the best cake maker ever according to Riley and Brodie. He got lots of great gifts, and his very own, first bike ever. Riley and Brodie were so excited that they couldn't fall asleep tonight.

Speaking of the new sandbox, the kids out grew their other one, rather, their toys did, so Daddy decided it was time for a new one. A little bit of digging, a few trips to Rona and a lot of pounding and here is the finished product. All three of them love, love, love the sandbox.



And finally, here are a few more photos around the house and in the yard. The picture of me in my uniform was taken at 19 1/2 weeks. I managed to squeeze in there. That won't be happening for quite a while as the belly is popping out. The others are just us doing our regular thing around the house. Riley played his last soccer game last Monday and got a medal. Brodie thought it would be cool to join the army and Grace likes to try to feed herself. Well I had better get to bed. Good night all and enjoy,

Evelyn


Evelyn and the Gang

Our Four Babies

Hi Everyone,

Well, it's time to get with the blog and update it. Here are some photos that were taken by Great Canadian Baby Photographers, the ones that come to you house and turn your living room into a studio. As well, we have a some special first photos of Baby # 4. Yes, that's right. In case you didn't know, our 4th and final baby is due Jan 1st. Clay and I are thrilled and the timing couldn't be better.

As for the first three tykes, they are doing great. Riley will wrap up his first soccer season tomorrow, Monday the 13th August. He has improved so much over the soccer season and has loved and looked forward to every soccer game. Brodie loved Riley's soccer season too and would practice with the team. He is potty trained now, which we are loving, because we did not want three kids in diapers. As for Grace, she is still a tough little, show-them-what-for girl. She isn't afraid of much and is a little dare devil. Our neighbours figure she is more like a two year old boy with pig tails and earrings. She is also such a Daddy's girl. She says "bye-bye" to me when I leave for work, but cries when Daddy leaves. The three of them are so sweet and we are enjoying them so much.

As for Clay, he is working hard on his thesis project. He has managed to get his test engine put together and wired all up with hydro. He is at the stage where he is almost ready for testing. He is thoroughly enjoying this part of his masters program and is very enthused to work with really hot fire blasting through an engine.

Finally, as for me, I am doing great as always and having a wonderful pregnancy. I will be 20 weeks along on Tuesday and have been feeling fantastic. I am enjoying and savouring every little kick and movement inside because this will be my last pregnancy. I am keeping up my fitness routine of weights and cardio, as I feel like it gives me more energy throughout the day and I enjoy keeping in good shape. As for work, I have already been back for six weeks and am really enjoying my job at the School of Communications and Electronics.

Well, I hope this finds everyone well and happy. We are looking forward to a camping trip next week and a visit from our friends Justin, Nicole and Baby Yann for the September long weekend. Bye for now,

Evelyn and the Gang

Flowers and Soccer

Hi everyone,
We just downloaded some more pictures, these are with Grace by the flowers and some soccer pictures. Hope all is going well for everyone. Cheers,

First Year

Here is the first try at a graphical insert that Evelyn made. Hope you like it.

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Riley's Soccer Picture

Here is Riley's first sports picture!!!

New and Improved

Welcome,
Short and sweet, Mark showed me a new way to do the website, and it is much, much easier. This means that we will be updating it frequently, so we hope you enjoy the pictures and short explanations.
For those that are new to this, the pictures are slide shows. Just click on the play button and it will start. If you want to stop it to look at a picture, you can either double click the picture or hit the pause button. We can't show movies yet this way, so we will keep our old website up and dedicate it to movies. The link to the website is on the side.
Well, enjoy the change and the more current information! To start we included some pictures of some interesting weather at the Stajniak Farm. Also, we had Grace's birthday yesterday. It was great! She wasn't the biggest fan of cake thought. Take care,

Clayton, Evelyn and the kids.

Grace's Birthday Pictures




Stajniak Farm weather pictures