새해 복 많이 받으세요, Happy New Year!

What a year it's been. With the arrival of a new member of the family things will only continue to get better. Again, on behalf of our family to yours we wish you the very best in 2010.

Christmas...

What a Christmas it was!  Stockings were hung by the fireplace with care in hopes that Saint Nick soon would be here.

We were a bit sad this year as Malcolm didn't want to take a picture with the Mall Santa. In fact,  he wanted little to do with Santa at all. Even getting him to take the yearly picture with the Polar Express stuffed Santa took a lot of coaxing (aka bribery) although you wouldn't know that from the picture.

We're not really sure how much he understands, but one thing he really enjoyed this Christmas was opening all the presents. We would like to extend our heartfelt wishes of health and happiness to all those who read this blog:  family, friends, and supporters. Happy holidays to you and best wishes for 2010. Here are some pictures and video from the day:


Christmas 2009 from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Stanley Park Train...

The family got out to the Stanley Park train again this year. They bundled everyone up including little Melody to take part in the annual festivities. As always, Malcolm enjoyed seeing the lights and riding the choo choo. It wasn't as cold as years past, but certainly chilly. All tummies were warmed with a dose of hot chocolate and churros. Roger particularly enjoyed the dancing gingerbread man this year.

Melody is 3 weeks old...

Our sleep patterns are still a bit messed up, but luckily Roger's going to be off work for the next week. Now at least they can spell each-other off while the other one naps.  Melody has been a solid sleeper throughout the day, but has still been a bit fussy around 2-4am. Roger and Tracey have been experimenting with trying to bottle feed her so it will give a little more freedom to Tracey. We'll see how it goes, but first tests have been going well.

Malcolm had a rare treat today, he got to go over to Joseph and Nicole's house on a play date. Uncle Glen came to the house bright and early to come pick him up. It seemed like he had a great time. Here are some recent pics and a video of Malcolm rocking out on the guitar:

Guitar Solo from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Help-Portrait Vancouver

Roger got to participate in a world-wide event yesterday called Help-Portrait. The Vancouver event was a huge success servicing over 400 individuals in the lower east side.  It all took place at the Salvation Army's Grace Mansion on Hastings Street. "There were so many smiling faces, such a great experience for all involved".  Roger hopes the H-P will become an annual event. See below for more information:

Event Link
Here are some video links shot by videographer Steve Tan:
Help-Portrait Vancouver Video Link

The annual Christmas Santa photo.

So Malcolm hasn't been to keen to take a picture with the mall Santa, but at least Roger and Tracey convinced him to take it with the stuffed one again this year. Oh and here's an outtake with me and Melody as well. Tracey thinks she looks too frightened here. It's tough to get a 12 day old baby to pose for pictures!

Melody 9 days old...

Life with a baby sure changes things, but we've sure been lucky to have a good one so far. Her poor brother Malcolm on the other hand has come down with a cold, his eyes are watering, nose running, and well.... quite a little bear to be around. He's certainly been the mayor of Crankytown these past two days. We're all hoping that he'll feel better soon. Here are some recent photos, much thanks to Leah and Travis for their generous gifts.

First trip outside with the baby...

Tracey and Roger re-enacted their first trip out with the baby and went to Metrotown. Here are two pictures almost exactly 3 years apart. Tracey looks great, doesn't she?

Happy Birthday Carol!

It was Carol's birthday yesterday, she came over with Mom to have some cake. Malcolm enjoyed one big piece and even ate both chocolate straws that were on top. Happy 16th birthday to cousin Carol, we love you very much.

Malcolm...

Everyone always asks us how Malcolm is adjusting and the short answer is pretty well. I'm not exactly sure what he thinks about his baby sister yet, but all in all he's been pretty good. He did get woken up by her crying the other night, but other than that the evenings have been good. Maybe he can become a deeper sleeper as time goes on.

It's been a big adjustment for everyone, but things have been much better. It probably has to do with the second baby thing, Tracey and Roger are more relaxed and more experienced. Melody is so cute, her temperament seems different and the biggest difference is that Tracey has been able to breastfeed, something that never materialized with Malcolm.

She's here!

At 12:39am, Saturday November 28th we had the pleasure of welcoming Melody Margaret Janey to the world. She weighed in at 8pounds 3.5ounces and was 21 inches in length. I am happy to report that both baby and mom are doing just fine. Here are some pictures from the first day. Per usual, Tracey did a tremendous job in delivering the baby in record time. In fact, it was less than 2 hours for her to bring Melody into this world (that's from first contraction all the way to birth).  

Christmas is around the corner...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house. With the baby now officially late, the family has decided to get a jump on decorating for the holiday season. Malcolm is a lot more involved this year with curiosity and exploration quotients at a all time high. We're still hoping that baby sister will arrive in the next few days. Special congratulations are in order for our next door neighbours Danny and Andrea and Meena and Jody in Toronto both welcolming their new bundles of joy. Stay tuned for our announcement.... hopefully it will be soon.

I'm famous...

The family went to Walmart yesterday and look what they found. They hijacked a picture of me! No, it's not really me, but isn't there a close resemblance? I'll be expecting a royalty cheque from Bissell in the mail soon.

Still waiting...

Now that the finishing touches have been made to the baby's room, we're now all just waiting for her to arrive. Tracey is 39 weeks today and according to the doctor can go any-time now. It's interesting how different it is this time around, more anticipation, more waiting and more pressure kicking and pushing on Tracey's belly. It will all probably happen in the next few days, so we'll keep you posted on any developments.

Funny thing, we asked Malcolm yesterday what the first thing he'll say to the baby is and he said: "I'm going to say, Sorry". We asked why? He said, "Because I'm sorry that baby sister will have to go back into Mommy's tummy". I don't think Malcolm's level of anticipation is the same as ours.

Here are some pictures of baby sister's room.

38 weeks and counting...

Today marks Tracey's 38th week of pregnancy. As you can see her belly is ever so big and we all expect things to happen soon. Malcolm arrived two weeks early and the doctor said that we should expect a similar time frame. Roger and Tracey say that it is somewhat different this time round, cause there seems to be more anticipation centered on when the baby will arrive. With Malcolm things happened so suddenly there wasn't much time to worry or stress. I'm looking forward to having Tracey home for another year. I'm not so much looking forward to all the disruption that babies seem to bring. I need my puppy rest.

Malcolm the funny guy...

Malcolm has recently been interested in telling jokes. We're not entirely sure where the motivation came from, but it's been interesting to watch. Roger taught him a couple of Halloween jokes and he's been telling them to many family and friends for the past few weeks; however, recently he's taken it upon himself to actually come up with his own material. Here are two of the jokes he's made himself, Roger and Tracey have helped him with the delivery, but the premise and idea were all 100% his own.

Malcolm: "I don't do somersaults, I do summer-peppers".

Malcolm: "In the day-time I wear sunglasses and at night I wear moon-glasses".

Quite the jokeman, perhaps he's got a future in stand-up.

Happy Birthday Malcolm J

Whoa, three years have gone since that special Sunday morning that marked the arrival of my little brother, our lives have sure changed since then. Happy Birthday to you Malcolm. Love you much.

Malcolm's 3rd Birthday Party.

Malcolm's party was a huge success. This year Roger and Tracey decided to have his party a bit early and the date just happened to fall on Halloween. What better idea to have a costume party. Some really great costumes this year, with the first prize in the adult category going to Deana as Minnie Mouse (honorable mention to Uncle Glen who came as a pirate). In the child category Camila took first prize sealing the deal with her patent lion's roar. Thank you to everyone to who came. It was very fun. Here's a short video of the event.

Malcolm's 3rd birthday. from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Beautiful colours this autumn...

The colours around the neighbourhood have been quite stunning this autumn. Like the changes in the leaves, we've been able to see lots of changes in Malcolm. You can tell how much Malcolm has grown simply by what he can say and do. This time last year we managed to take some lovely fall pictures, but this year he's so much more animated and verbal about what he sees. He can skip, jump, hop, and even sprint now. In fact, he was even able to help Roger rake the leaves in front of the house. They managed to fill up big garbage bin full of them. It was quite interesting to watch as he pulled leaves back and forth across the lawn and sidewalk. After all that, he'd scoop them up with both hands and then even pull the heavy bin down the walk. We can only imagine what he'll be able to do next year.

Baby sister in there?

So, Roger and Tracey have been preparing Malcolm as best they can for the new arrival, but we're not quite sure how he's going to take it all. Funniest thing is that he wants his baby sister to talk as soon as she arrives, even though every one has tried to tell him that she won't be able to talk right away. In fact, they've even warned him that she may cry a lot. There are some legitimate concerns about all the disruption things will cause, especially in the sleep department. Roger and Tracey are most afraid of either of the kids waking each-other up whether it be at nap time or during the middle of the night. I know everyone gets through it, but it is hard to picture right now. We have our paws and fingers crossed.

Also, on behalf of the family we would like to thank Ms. Turner in Red Deer, Alberta for the beautiful hand-knit socks she sent, aren't they adorable? It was great to see our uncle Lane as well. Hopefully, he'll make it back to Vancouver again soon and maybe with an improved tennis game (cause what he brought just wasn't up to snuff here on the Westcoast).

Pumpkin patch...

Off to the Pumpkin Patch they went. It's becoming a yearly tradition. Roger and Tracey thought it would be best to take advantage of the dry weather and head out to Richmond to pick out some pumpkins with Malcolm. From the sounds of it he wasn't as compliant with the pictures this year, but here's the best one of the day. Now it will be up to Roger to start carving.

Operation Big Boy Bed

It's a done deal, Tracey and Roger came up with the plan to tell Malcolm that the crib was broken because he was too big; lucky for us he bought it. The crib is now dismantled and in the garage attic space.

I guess things could have been better, but the bottom line is that we got through it without too much pain. He did wake up a couple of times, (at one point he wanted to sleep somewhere else) Roger had to tell him that there was no where else to sleep and that his Big Boy Bed was the best place. He woke up one more time around 3am and thankfully went back without too much resistance. The next couple of nights are going to be an adjustment, but we're all hopeful that he'll begin to accept it more easily. His old bedroom will only be a distant memory.

Autumn 2009

Like the leaves, things are a changing. We can now officially say that we'll be having a baby next month, wowee! In terms of having everything ready, there's still some work to do. Malcolm still isn't sleeping in his big boy bed and that transition will have to happen pretty soon if we're going to have the baby's room ready in time. Roger and Tracey said that they're going to tackle the issue this coming weekend, they've aptly named it "Operation Big-Boy Bed". I'm sure there will be some crying, screaming, and resistance, but we're all hoping for the best. The whole family has been hit by head colds, but everyone (including Malcolm) seem to be on the mend. This time around Roger was the last one to get it, but the symptoms are quickly subsiding. There is some substantial worry about H1N1, especially with regard to Tracey's condition. The family has been recommended to get the vaccine, we're not even sure that it will arrive in time.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Happy Birthday Grandma. We love you.

Light painting...

With Roger's newest purchase, he's been experimenting with some light painting. What do you think? Lately he's been on Ebay looking for deals on photography equipment. He managed to find a Gitzo knockoff for less than $250. With his new tripod he hopes to be in more photos.

iBert arrived today...

Malcolm's bike seat arrived, here's a picture from tonight. He really liked it, too bad there wasn't a dog version ;(

Apple Swan, Mr. Malcolm?

Roger and Tracey were always very hopeful that Malcolm would be a good eater. As a baby he had quite an appetite, but his preferences as a toddler have been less than desirable. In fact, they often call him "Mr. Picky Pants". Like many kids his age he'll eat everything that is less than healthy for him if given half the chance. Things like ice cream, chips, cookies, and juice never seem to meet satiation; and the typical vegetables and meats are met with disgust and disdain. These days even the fruits he used to eat so eagerly have been met with some resistance. As you can see in the picture (Apple swan above) Roger had to turn up the fun factor to try and get Malcolm to again eat some of the things that were the norm. We all know that this can be a phase of growing up, it's just sad to think that we'll have to wait till he's much older to enjoy some of the delicious opportunities he's passed by till now.

Happy as two little ducks...

Happy Anniversary to Roger and Tracey! It's been exactly 4 years since that fateful day at Robson Manor. I really don't know two happier people, they are quite a rare pair. Not many married couples can live and work together day in and day out. In fact, it's quite amazing how much time they actually spend together. I'm not sure exactly what the secret is, but they manage to make it work so seamlessly. I can tell you first hand that they very rarely argue, there may be the odd disagreement, but honestly folks life just moves swimmingly along. Perhaps it's Tracey's parents that have set such a fine example, for they will be celebrating their 57th this year. Anyway, from the bottom of my heart I would like to wish them a Happy Anniversary!

Growing up...

As more time passes we get to reflect upon the experiences and relationships we had along the way. Like everything, things change, evolve, and grow. Over the past few years I've seen so many things transform. We've moved, welcomed new members to our household (soon another will arrive) and even seen relationships build and eventually breakdown. The constant in our lives has been our close family bond. I'd like to say first hand that our family is very close, we spend a lot of time together. Moreover, we've had the pleasure of sharing our lives with Tracey's parents directly. It's been such a rich experience having the chance to live together under one roof. Malcolm may not realize it now, but he's had an experience that not many children get to have in their lifetime. I'm surely grateful that Grandma and Papa live just a floor away. Too often we get caught up in the moment and forget how lucky we are to have such opportunities. I love my family and look forward all the new adventures ahead.

Waiting in anticipation.

Malcolm has always enjoyed anything to do with trains, we're not sure if it's a little boy thing or something special that has sparked within him. Usually every weekend we head to the Burnaby Central Railway for a ride on what he calls the "outside choo-choos". This past weekend Roger and Tracey decided to take him to ride the new Canada Line all the way to the airport. Here's a picture of Malcolm waiting in anticipation. The new skytrain was quite roomy from the sounds of things. Malcolm particularly enjoyed riding through the long tunnel and then across the bridge over the Fraser River. Who would have thought that riding public transit would be so fun.