Luke Zwaan, growing up

Luke is starting to look so grown up here--and as is typical of young babies (he was only about 3-4 months old here) looks pretty serious when a camera is pointed at him. All those flashing lights! His looks are really changing now, and he is one of the happiest, smiliest babies at this point in time. Not making strange yet, and not troubled by teething yet either. He is a real delight!

Kirsten and Neil, Christmas 2008

Kirsten and Neil were just heading out to a Christmas event sponsored by the developer that Neil is building for, and their kids stayed at our house while they were gone.

Grandma's grandsons!

What fun! Luke is on the left, Kieran is in the middle, and Cory is on the right. I wonder when the little girls will start to arrive??

Liz and Brian at Diana's birthday dinner

This was taken in Diana's living room, during supper before we headed out to Stanley Park for the "Bright Lights" Christmas display. Young love! It's so great!

Diana turns 25 in Dec 08

Diana wanted to do something different and creative for her 25th birthday with her family, so we all headed in to Vancouver for an afternoon of Christmas shopping (this shot was taken at the end of our lunch at the Pacific Centre), and then we went back to Diana's apartment for a dinner that we all put on together, and then we all went out to see the "Bright Lights" display at Stanley Park. We all really enjoyed it, and I hope we'll make it part of our ongoing Christmas traditions. Cory especially loved being able to ride the little train through the park in the dark, seeing all the different light displays nestled amongst the giant trees. Kieran came along too, and sat with Liz and Brian in rapt attention (he loves lights!). We all had a blast riding the train together, visiting the petting farm, and walking through the displays. No good photos, though--our night photography isn't yet up to snuff!

Diana with Kieran Aprll/May 2008

I love this picture of Kieran. He was around 4 - 6 weeks old here, and had such a lively, bright face and showed so much interest in the world around him. Diana is holding him swaddled in his receiving blanket, although he doesn't look at all ready to have his nap! Kirsten taught Liz the wonders of swaddling (a trick I never knew when I had my newborns) and it is amazing how it helps babies go to sleep and stay asleep. Kieran is now the easiest baby to put to bed, because he learned how to settle and fall asleep all swaddled up in those early months. Diana loves her cuddle time with her nephews!

Being a Grandma

It has been an incredible delight to have Kieran growing up in our basement suite, because we get to see him almost every day. This is so different from the experience that our own kids had, growing up most years far away from the rest of their family, and having visits from grandparents or other relatives often once a year, at best. It has also been interesting to become a grandparent while still raising our own family--that means when grandchildren come over, usually their very young aunts and uncle are around to play with, so they don't just come over to see their grandparents. (And they are very fortunate to have young aunts and uncles, because it makes for much more lively activity and fooling around!) This creates a very rich and varied experience for them--and if we want time alone with our grandchildren, we have to organize it!