Drew's Birthday, Part 2

This is not our fish tank!  Just was looking on line to see the different fish that could be coming to live with us TOMORROW!  Friday is Fish Day!  Drew wants more than one, one might be lonely and scared at night!

Today Drew had preschool.  It was pajama day.  We forgot to wear pajamas!  Oops.  Drew was okay with it though :)  .  We brought a special snack for his class for a birthday treat - chocolate cupcakes with whip cream.  (You take the top off, fill it with whip cream and then put the top back on.)  Yummy!  There are usually 6 kids in his class and one teacher, so I brought 7 cupcakes.  Only 4 kids came.  When I picked Drew up, my container was empty, except for a small leftover from Drew's cupcake.  I'm so glad they liked them.

On the way back from preschool we stopped at the Dollar store for some party supplies.  During the drive Drew had some more questions/comments about the fish.  This time the topic was centered on how we would get these fish home.  He said, if they are small, we could bring four of them home in a box!  I realized that he had absolutely no idea about buying a fish.  I mean why would he, we've never bought a fish with him before!  Our fish were pre-children years.  So I had to explain everything from start.  Maybe it is good that this whole process is taking a few days!  It is definitely interesting to have these conversations with him.  And fun!  

Happy Birthday Drew!

Well, it's party time again.  Turning 4 is a big deal.  First of all we welcomed the day watching the snow fall.  Drew loves the snow and it looks so beautiful, especially from inside a cozy home.  Then we had a lazy morning getting ready for the day.  Mark and I were going to take Drew out for lunch and then do a little birthday shopping, but since the snow was coming down hard, we decided to leave a little earlier and do the shopping first.

Drew is in the tractor club at John Deere, which entitled him to an $8.00 gift certificate there for his birthday.  He got very excited and walked away with a trailer (for a semi) and a dump truck!  Then we went to a dollar store.  No birthday would be complete without hellium balloons!  :)  He got one with a loader on it, that he had checked out a couple of weeks ago!  Then we headed out to Swiss Chalet.  He is also in their birthday Club and so he got a gift certificate for one meal.  Mark and I had a nice meal.  As it turns out, Drew was too excited to eat his meal so didn't eat much at all!  Good thing his meal was free!  

Then we headed home.  A little later we let Drew open his gift from us and one from his Nana and Grandpa.  His Nana and Grandpa are on holidays now, but sent his gift a little early.  He opened his gift from us first, a motorized Thomas The Train set.  He loves it!  Jackpot!  The gift from Nana and Grandpa was a fish tank kit.  He loved it too!  We set it up today, so it has time to normalize before we get the fish.  Friday is Fish Day!  We had to write it on his calender, so he new the plan.  At 4, waiting can be hard!  Since then we've had some interesting conversations:  we need to leave the fish IN the fish tank, we need to leave the fish tank where it is and not move it from room to room, even if we want to show the fish some of our toys, this is not a fish for Drew and Daddy to fish with the fishing rod; it is a pet like Bailey.  Having a fish could be an interesting experience!  

For supper we had waffles, which he enjoyed and ate nicely.  A treat for us!  The rest of the evening he was content to play with his new train set, taking a quick break every once in a while to check out the fish tank :)

Now he can't wait for his party with the family.  We also had to write it down on his calendar.  I think the next couple of days will be very "exkiting"!  Stay tuned for . . . the rest of the story!

                                                         Shopping for groceries!

                                               A favorite Christmas gift from Uncle Steve!

           Down time for our babies, cuddling with Bailey on her new bed, her Christmas gift!

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Merry Christmas !


Greetings from the Ediger Home! Well, I have come to a sad realization, my Christmas cards will be late this year! But at least I'm getting them out. Sorry, I can't write you all personally, but then you'd only be getting these around Easter time!

We hope that this letter finds you doing well. Our last year has been busy as you can imagine with the three beauties at the top of the page. They are the love of our lives as well as our challenges! God has blessed us.

This year Drew has had a busy schedule (Gymnastics on Monday, Preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and some time with Nana on Wednesdays) to keep him busy and entertained. He has lots of energy and gets bored easily. It's no good when a child is bored!! We still do have our challenges with him, but also our good days. He is his happiest with one-on-one attention and we are trying to do our best with that! (A little tough with one year old twins.) He has also shown his love for animals, and is very concerned for them. (We might think about getting him a cat, if we didn't already live in a zoo! :) ) He loves to read. He is even trying to read on his own a little, and /or pointing out letters and groups of letters. He is very smart and we are very proud of him.

The twins turned one this August and we enjoyed celebrating their milestone. It made me think about the first year of their life. I was truly amazed and in awe of how far they have come and how healthy and alive they are. I am so thankful to God, especially as I see babies that don't make it or have many health issues. We are truly blessed.

Ethan and Sophia are almost 16 months. Boy, does time fly! Ethan is a little ahead of his sister in most things. He is walking, practically running down the hall. He loves to "Race" his big brother down the hall with their walkers. Sophia has been taking a couple of steps now and then, but doesn't venture out on her very much. Although she is quite fast at crawling, and will walk behind and push anything that moves. They love to brush their teeth, follow their brother around (even if it's bothering him), and go out on trips. Sophia is quite the tease and loves to find the details in things. I can see they will be quite the pair, partners in crime as they say! They both make me laugh. Well actually, all three. But one of the best things is that they have both finally started sleeping through the night in the last couple of months! Praise the Lord!

Mark's work is going good. He is working 2 weeks days (7 - 3:30pm) and 2 weeks evenings (3pm-12am), on a permanent rotation. He still enjoys his job, fixing airplanes at Cascade Aerospace, most of the time. In his spare time, he enjoys working in the garage, drawing drafting plans for his many projects, and hanging out with my brother and sister on the weekends. He's also enjoying playing guitar/bass in one of our Church's worship teams.

And now for myself. I am very busy at home with the kids. It's nice to get out with or without the kids. I've been enjoying Christmas shopping and making cards of different sorts. In the past few months we've been trying to do some day trips: Ikea, Burnaby Carousel, Metro Town, and Guilford Inside Playground/ visit Santa. My Mom still helps out every week day, which is such a great help and relief.

In the new year we are looking forward to having Mark's cousin, Angela, come from Germany and help us out. She will be staying at my parents and joining us during the day. We are very excited! She is planning to stay at least a couple of months, up to 7 months! Lucky us!

Well, we hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year! May God Bless you all with Peace and Love, as you celebrate the birth of his Son and in your many endeavours throughout the year!

Love The Ediger Five (Mark, Andrea, Drew, Sophia and Ethan)