Here, there & everywhere!

It's been a busy month to say the least.  Between planning Jaxsen's first birthday party (sniff sniff), Bella's swim lesson's and me going back to work (a HUGE sniff sniff), life has been hectic - but I wouldn't change it for anything.  Since reading what we've been up to is boring, I thought some pictures would be better.  Besides, any chance to show off my kids, I am in!

Jaxsen - a few days shy of the big O-N-E!

Bella making cookies with daddy.

A cool park near our house.
First time we've ventured out that way!

He found something interesting,
but we weren't sure what!

Bella, she's a little girl but a monkey at heart!

A smile that can light up any room...

Pure handsomeness - what else can I say?

Still wondering where those baby blues came from!

So stay tuned for this up coming weekends festivities.
There will be a lot going on as we celebrate Jaxsen's first birthday this Saturday, October 30th!
Sunday will be another day to remember as it is Halloween - not just any Halloween either.... this year Bella has been counting down this event since day 67! Every day I wake up to "How many more sleeps until Halloween".  It has been a LONG few months...haha  She is so excited to dress up and hit the road 'trick or treating' with her daddy.  Although this is not technically Jaxsen's first Halloween, it will be the first year he gets to dress up and join in on the fun! Can't wait to see how the weekend unfolds.....

Pumpkins, pumpkins - EVERYWHERE!

Okay, okay... so we said we would post at least once a week. We lied. Well, we didn't lie, per se, we just didn't fulfill our promise. So instead of posting about updates, here's a visual update of our latest excursion out to the Pumpkin Patch!

When we were growing up, they just didn't have this kind of thing, or, at least, if they did we weren't made aware of it. The best outdoor family holiday trip we got was the occasional Christmas tree hunt at the Pitt Meadows Tree Farm, now which I believe has been sold off and now a large pole and flag identifying the property as a religious group's land. I'm pretty sure they don't celebrate Christmas, either, so there's a childhood feel good memory replaced by modern day real estate trading! I digress... The pumpkin patches around the Lower Mainland are a great way to get families outdoors, have some fun, and learn a little about agriculture, too!






The Pumpkin Patch of choice this year was The AppleBarn in Abbotsford (www.applebarn.ca). We've previously gone to Aldor Acres, but on the whimsical recommendation of my sister, tried something new this year. Sadly, one male child under the age of one (who shall remain nameless) was particularly cranky, and as such, we didn't have the freedom to explore the property. But we could see there was lots to do.

Obviously popular based on the volume of people there, the AppleBarn was full of families wanting to try their hand searching for the Great Pumpkin. Others were bouncing on a huge inflated bladder (not really sure what else to call it), feeding goats, pigs, chickens, and other farm friends, or launching apples and pumpkins out of their fruit cannon! While a classic hayride tot he patch would have been a great way to lead up to the hunt, with strollers it was much easier taking a walk down the corn-stalk pathway. VERY reasonably priced pumpkins, as determined by the Scarecrow with the weight balanced hand. The most expensive a pumpkin could be was $7. Those large orange squash were of very good quality - not a lot of rot, and they had a whole lot of variety in terms of shapes and sizes.

Bella, in her sweet girly nature, couldn't wait to tear into the patch, and was on the lookout for HER pumpkin. Daddy couldn't point her in any direction, because as soon as I had a say in it, she was adamant that SHE had to pick it. After tripping on roots, vines, stumps, and other stuff, she found it. It was perfect for her, and she wanted to carry it right out of the patch. Then she helped me pick a large one out, and away we went.

We paid for the festive fare, (and a bag of Honeycrisp apples - which is the most JUICY apple I have ever had), and we were all done by then. We hadn't even turned the car around to get back on the road, and Jaxsen was already out cold.

Adventures in Hallowe'en coming soon...

Mama or Dada? Baby's first words...

Have you ever wondered about the significance people put on a baby's first word?

When Bella first started to babble, she clearly said Dada. Now, I wasn't the parent that was over the moon because she said Dada. In reality, she really had no connection to the word. And if you think about it, it really is the easiest word to say between the two.

For those of you with stage fright, go to the bathroom. All you others: try saying DADA, and MAMA. Dada is all inner mouth. All tongue (save the reference for another time), and really takes no effort to say. MAMA, on the other hand, takes a whole other consortium of muscles to make your cheeks, lips, and jaw move to form the letter M.

Isabella - 10 months, Dada!

Jaxsen is exploring his voice and is making word sounds. While Bella took forever to say Mama (Angela was starting to get a complex), Jaxsen has said Mama already. But again, the kicker is that he has no idea what he is saying, and can't make the connection quite yet. I'm sure it makes Angela feel better that he's saying both now, but when does it REALLY count?

Bella began to make an association when I came into the room one day. And then it happened more and more, and more. And more. And more. There was a definitive point to where she could identify with Dada that it was ME. NOW I was over the moon!

Jaxsen - 10 months, Dada & Mama!

I think Jaxsen will make the connection quicker because he's already able to say both. He'll be able to understand the reaction he gets from us after saying the word. Pavlov's dog, I guess... In the end, it's just a first word of many that we as parents will be called, I'm sure. (Mom and Dad, don't read into that...)

But what do you think? Is there importance on the first word? Does it matter if a baby says Dada or Mama first? I'm sure there are people who do studies on this, and then there are people who study the people. And then there are studies by people who do do studies on people. I wonder what word those people said first?

Welcome to our blog!

Ok - so we know we're busy people, right? We don't always call, we don't always visit. But please know this: WE'RE THINKING OF YOU!

Well, in an attemp to help connect us to our families and friends spread out across the globe (seriously - all over the place some weeks) we've created a space for you to follow us at YOUR convenience! A few reasons:

• FACEBOOK has become somewhat of a joke to just post and update on our family without people jumping in or adding opinions where they feel like it. There just seems to be no privacy.
• TWITTER just seems like there's not enough information to share.
• OUR OWN WEBSITE just seems like too much upkeep.

As as such, we're left with a BLOG. Somewhere that Mike can access when he's on the road and bored in his hotel room in the city of (insert any city name here). Or somewhere that Angela can jump on and update a post when Bella shares one of her incredible and yet completely imagined stories, or Jaxsen reaches a new milestone in his development.

We want to reach out and share our lives, but we also don't want to intrude. So please feel free to jump on, follow us, and enjoy the ride. Pics and posts we hope to have on here at least once a week!

The latest update from us, our family pictures last week. Courtesy of Nikki Scott Photography, we hunkered down for a perfect Wet West Coast day, and snapped some family portraits amidst the wind and rain. Nikki brought out her excellent team of assistants (husband Trevor and daughter Paige), we all managed to get the most of the hour and a half or so of smiles and splashes. More to come, but here's a quick sneak peek on her blog. Scroll down on her page for the Speckman Family sneak peek:

www.nikkiscottphotography.com

We're very pleased with the outcome thus far, and we can't wait to see the rest. If you are in the area and wanted to get some professional photo's, she comes highly recommended by us!

Another week is on the horizon. The kids are asleep, the dog is snoring, and an alarm will be ringing in 9 hours...