Christmas Dinner at Our House!!

I want to thank everyone for coming to our house for Christmas dinner and for all the wonderful presents! This was Cali's first Christmas and it was a blast, she was absolutely spoiled and boy was it fun! To be a kid again on Christmas morning....! :)

Christmas Morning with Mommy & Daddy!

Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa's!

Our Second Visit with Baby Aaron....he is 1 week old!

Awwww.....so cute!!!

Cuddles with Daddy!

Jeanie, Baby Aaron and Grandpa.

Baby Aaron, Grandpa and Katie/Mommy.

Cali's driving the big trucks now!! :)

Welcome Aaron Trevor Vaino to the family

Introducing my first little nephew, Aaron Trevor Vaino. Born on December 16, 2008 at 2:10 am. He weighs 8lbs 11ozs, he looks so much smaller and weighs nothing compared to Cali! Katie and Ian, proud parents of Baby Aaron. You are doing such a wonderful job with Aaron, I am so proud of you both!

Nana, Grandpa Elliott and Baby Aaron.

Auntie Julie and Baby Aaron.

Auntie Holly and Baby Aaron.

Cali was taking a nap in Baby Aaron's crib, what a comfy place to sleep!

Cali has been trying all sorts of new foods lately and she seems to like it!

Cali is going to be a good driver, we're starting her early! :)

My Little Cutie-Pie!

Whistler Snowboarding Trip

Greg and Chris went on their first snowboarding trip of the season. They did the new peak to peak from Whistler to Blackcomb. It was -19 and windy! December 13, 2008.

My musical girl!

Cali loves all her little Buddy's!

Cali's already learning how to fix the truck!

Cute cousins playing together!

Auntie Holly babysat Cali while Greg and I went to his work Christmas party. Thanks for taking our Christmas picture for us Holly! December 6, 2008.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

This was supposed to be Cali's Christmas present, I should have wrapped it when I got home.... Oh well!

My little sweety-pie!

Cali loves her new car seat!

Cali is 9 months old!

Cali is 9 months old now and she weighs almost 19 lbs. Cali is looking like she is on the verge of crawling, she is rolling over so well and she just cruises across the living room floor. We'll have to just wait and see, it might be really soon! Another thing we were anxiously awaiting is Cali's first tooth. People have been saying that she's been teething since she was a couple months old, but no teeth yet. We were actually so sure last week that she was getting her first tooth, but we were wrong! Cali's personality just amazes me everyday, everywhere we go she is making friends and being so social with all the other little ones! I think she is going to be just like her Daddy and have lots of friends! On another note, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Katie's first baby! This is such an exciting time, my first little nephew, I can't wait to meet you! :)

Cali is 8 months old!!

Cali is 8 months old and she weighs almost 18lbs! Cali has been picking up new things by the day lately. She can say baba, mama, dada, nana, nene and she is starting to have little conversations where she looks at you and tells you what's going on! :) Cali is rolling over very easily which she just figured out how to do about 2 weeks ago, she is trying to crawl but usually when her knee goes up her face goes thump on the floor! :) Cali has learned how to feed herself, at first she couldn't figure out how to let go of the food in her mouth, so she would just have a big gooey ball in her hand, but now there is no stopping her! Cali seems to really enjoy music and she loves to wiggle, you just have to say wiggle, wiggle and she bops back and forth! She's so cute and such a little treasure, I never get tired of hearing what a cute baby she is and how lucky I am to have such a happy, smiley baby!

Grandma

Grandma passed away last Saturday, the 11Th of October 2008. This has been really hard for all of us even though we knew that she was ill. I have been having a really hard time because Grandma and I always seemed to clash and I never thought that she really liked me all that much. I was overcome by emotion today when I went to visit my aunt's at Grandma's house. As I looked around the kitchen at all Grandma's things, on the fridge I noticed that there is about 5 pictures with me in them stuck to the door. I just feel so sad because I didn't know that she cared about me so much until I saw all the pictures on her fridge! There are always so many things you wish you could say if you could do it over again. If I had one last chance, I would tell Grandma that I love her and she means a lot to me, and I would wish to hear her say the same back. Grandma, I'll always remember the good times! Love Julie

Cali is 7 months old!

I can't believe that Cali is already 7 months old! The time is just flying by, it goes way to fast for me! Cali is just the happiest baby that I have ever seen, she always smiling and laughing, she's such a social butterfly. We have joined a swimming class for babies which started on the 15th of September. Cali is an amazing swimmer, she seems to already understand that she needs to kick her feet and flap her arms. She seems to be the loudest baby in the pool too, always shrieking with excitement! Cali really likes to watch the other babies, it's funny because all the other kids are watching their parents wondering what's going on and Cali is just looking around flapping her arms trying to get their attention.....she's so cute! :) Cali has gotten very good at sitting up without tipping over and she always wants to be standing or jumping! Cali has started eating a lot of different foods, she is very enthusiastic about eating and chewing. We were thinking that she might be teething this last week but no sign of them coming in yet, I like her gummy smile anyway! Cali makes our lives so fun and interesting, this is the best time of my life by far! :)

Cali is 6 months old!

Cali is 6 months old now, she weighs 16lbs 10Oz's and is 25.5 inches long. Cali is learning how to sit on her own now and is making lots of baa baa baa noises and chatters quite a lot! She loves to eat and is very interested in grabbing everything she sees and shoving it in her mouth, her arms have gotten so long, she can reach too far now! Our first summer has been great with Cali, we have made lots of day trips to fun place and gone camping a few times. Cali is very good at adapting to her surroundings, she takes change very well and is happy pretty much all of the time! (even when I wake her up before she is ready) We just got back from a trip to the island to see Katie and Ian. We had a wonderful time and it was so fun to see Katie look so pregnant, her pictures on her blog don't due her belly justice! Cali and I have some fun things planned for September, we are going to start swimming/floating lessons and the Mom's group we go to should start again too. There are so many things to look forward to with a baby, everything is new again, seeing it through Cali's eyes!!

Cali is 5 months old!

Cali will be 5 months old on Saturday. She has done so many new things this past week that I want to make sure I write it all down. Cali has figured out how to find her soother and put it in her own mouth which is really exciting to see, she has been practicing that for a long time now. She has been trying really hard to sit up for the past week, she hunches her top half and bottom half at the same time. When I give her a little help by lifting her up with her hands she just pops right up onto her feet, it's so amazing to see! Today for the first time Cali rolled over from her back to her stomach which really surprised her and she cried but it was really neat! I have started feeding Cali some rice cereal and it only took her 3 days to get the hang of eating with a spoon, she is doing so well and we can really tell that she is interested in trying lots of new foods. She had sweet potatoes today and she seemed to like it! Cali never stops amazing me with all the new things she is learning, she is such a special little girl! :)

Cali is 20 weeks old!

Cali is 20 weeks old today! I think I'm going to start going by the months now, so she is 4.5 months old. She weighs 14lbs 11Oz's now which is a little less then last time she was weighed. Cali is just kicking up a storm now and she really likes her jolly jumper too! She likes to think that everyone who is holding her is a jolly jumper and bounces up and down, it's pretty cute. Cali and I have been doing lots of day trips to visit people lately, she is such an easy going baby and fun to take everywhere! Cali is seeming to take an interest in what I am eating for the past few days, she watches very closely and moves her tongue. I think she's getting ready to eat some real food! I have been having so much fun dressing my little baby in all her little summer outfits that she has, it's funny because when I got them as gifts I could never imagine them fitting her, she is just growing so fast!

Cali is 18 weeks old!

Cali is 18 weeks old today! She just had her 4 month checkup with the doctor and she weighs 14lbs 3.5Oz's. The doctor says that she has had a big growth spurt since she was seen last at 2 months, I think she's going to be a tall girl! Cali is trying her hardest to sit up right now, she likes to sit upright and she also likes to stand on her feet. She has found her right ear and keeps tugging at it lately, I don't know why but it probably hurts! Cali has become such a happy, content baby, she likes to smile at any new face she sees and is quite comfortable being held by other people. We went on Cali's second camping trip on the weekend and she was a perfect angel! We are so happy that she likes coming different places with us and adapts well to change.

Cali is 16 weeks old!

Cali was 16 weeks old on Tuesday! We are having so much fun with Cali as she gets older day by day. Cali has giggled twice now and it is so cute, I can't wait to see her laugh more. She is trying to sit up a lot lately especially when I put her in her car seat, she hunches forward and makes it hard to get her belts on. Cali caught a cold this week and has been coughing a lot, hopefully she feels better soon! Even though she is sick she is still smiling, she's such a smiley happy little girl!

Cali is 15 weeks old!

Cali is 15 weeks old now! We have had a busy week this past week, lots of travelling around. It was Dad and Lilah's birthday on May 31st and Katie's birthday on June 1st, then it was Greg's and my 1st year wedding anniversary. Most of us made it to Dad's in Kamloops for a big birthday bash. We had a great time up there, it's such a beautiful house! Cali did really well with the car rides to and from Dad's, she just slept the whole time. On Monday Greg surprised me with an anniversary dinner in Vancouver at the revolving restaurant. What a beautiful view of the city and the water. We had a great meal and tried some new drinks and appy's, it was all really good!

Cali is 14 weeks old.

Cali was 14 weeks old on Tuesday. She weighs almost 13 lbs and has grown quite a bit in length too! Cali giggled for the first time yesterday, it was so cute and I can wait to see her do it again! Cali is also learning how to roll from side to side and loves to be stood up on her feet. Cali really likes to smile, she is a really happy baby most of the time these day but she is definitely a Mommy's girl, she wants her Mommy and nothing else will do. I'm sure she will grow out of that and it's kind of nice to be needed and loved that much....but I do need a break from time to time! Cali is still mesmerized by ceiling fans and likes to see herself in the mirror, though sometimes she plays shy. It is Lilah's birthday tomorrow and we are excited to go to her party! It is also Dad's birthday tomorrow and Katie's birthday on Sunday....it's a big weekend birthday bash! It should be fun!

Cali is 13 weeks old!

Cali is 13 weeks old! We went on our first camping trip as a family on the May long weekend. We had a really good time, Cali was so intrigued by everything that she didn't want to eat. It's funny because as soon as we got home she realized how hungry she was! Cali is starting to figure out how her voice works, she is making really high pitched screaming noises when she plays with her toys. It's very loud but so cute! :) Cali has changed so much in the last while, she is so much more content with life and spends most of the day happy and smiling at everyone. It is so amazing to watch her grow and change and it's all happening really fast all the sudden!

Cali is 12 weeks old!

Cali is 12 weeks old tomorrow! She weighs just over 12lbs now, almost twice as big as she was when she was born. Cali is getting into some what of a routine finally which is great because it is much easier to know what she needs and when it is safe to leave the house! Cali is really starting to like her baths, she kicks like crazy and splashes water everywhere, it's so cute! Cali still seems to be mesmerized by ceiling fans and is just starting to take interest in some toys. mostly sucking on them! :) I had a great first mother's day yesterday! I got a hanging basket and a necklace and a card from Greg and one from Cali. Greg made me breakfast and took care of everything all day, I have such a wonderful husband! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family!

Cali is 8 weeks old!

Cali is 8 weeks old now! She weighs 10lbs 2Oz's. Cali has been changing a lot, she is starting to notice the world around her. The TV has caught her eye a few times and she seems to really like the camera! She also really likes to look at herself in the mirror, she smiles at herself, it's so cute! Cali is moving a lot, throwing lots of kicks and punches. I still think that she will walk before she crawls because she doesn't like to be on her tummy and is trying to stand on her feet already! I am finding it quite sad that Cali is growing out of her little outfits that it had seem that she would never fit into. She is already growing up too fast for me!

Cali is 6 weeks old!

Cali is 6 weeks old today and we had our last visit with our midwives. It is a very sad thing that we will no longer be seeing them, they were so supportive and just all around wonderful people! We will miss them dearly. Cali weighed in at 9lbs today and she is now 56 cm long, she started out at 50cm when she was born. Cali is smiling so much now especially in the morning when she wakes up! She kicks and punches her arms and legs a lot and sometimes tries to climb over my shoulder when I burp her. I have a funny feeling that she is going to walk and crawl sooner than expected.....since Greg walked at 7 months old she might too! Greg and I are so proud of our family, life just keeps getting better and better! :)

Cali is 5 weeks old!

Cali is 5 weeks old today and she has been changing so much! She has started kicking her legs and punching her arms a lot. She is trying to talk to us with her little cooing noises and she has started growing out of some of her clothes and fitting into new ones! Cali makes us so happy, we look forward to every day with her!

Cali is 4 weeks old!

Cali was 4 weeks old on Tuesday. So much has changed with her just in the past 2 days! Cali is now awake for really long periods of time, she is very curious about her surroundings and she is able to be rocked to sleep. She has also started smiling a lot, it's really cute! She was weighed yesterday and she is now 8lbs 4.5Oz's which is really good to hear! We can't wait to see what she does next! :)

Cali is 3 weeks old.

Cali is 3 weeks old and weighs 7lbs 11oz's, almost back to her birth weight! She is such a good baby, we are so lucky! Cali is so amazing to us, she is so strong for a little baby. She has been holding her own head up since she was born and is already standing on her feet when we hold her up. She also is very helpful after a diaper change when we go to dress her and she pushes her feet until they reach the end of her sleeper foot, she's so smart! :) Greg and I are pretty tired lately and there is not much time to get anything done but we don't know what we ever did without her, what an amazing life we have!

Cali Lynn Lehner

Cali Lynn Lehner was born at the Abbotsford Hospital at 9:07pm. My contractions started at 3:00am in the morning and we remained at home until about 11:ooam, then went to the hospital. Things did not go as expected, there was talk of a C-section but she ended up being born with the help of forceps. Greg and I are so glad to have a healthy happy baby! We want to say a big thank you to Mom, Holly and Katie for being there for us all day! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a good Valentines Day. Our's didn't quite work out the way we had planned. Greg ended up getting a serious case of the flu this morning and I woke up feeling like I threw out my back. So needless to say the day wasn't very good! I had hopefully my last visit at the midwife's today at 4:30pm and that also didn't go as expected. My blood pressure was high last week and today it was even higher which was cause for concern. So they sent me off to the hospital so they could monitor the baby and take blood and check my blood pressure again. What a Valentine's Day!! Oh well! If I hear back from the midwife tonight then I have to go back to the hospital but eitherwise I will talk to her tomorrow to find out what is going on. I really hope Greg feels better soon, I really hate seeing him sick!

Baby Shower

Holly put on a really nice baby shower for me yesterday with family and a few friends. I had such a great time, Holly alway does such a wonderful job planning parties for me. (there have been quite a few in the last while!) Things are starting to feel really real now that I am getting close to the due date and have received so many great baby gifts. I can't wait to use everything and try all the clothes on the baby! Thanks again Holly, you are an awesome sister/auntie!

Two Weeks Until Due Date

I am getting more and more excited as the due date gets closer and closer. Greg and I are really ready to see our baby! I am so excited to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl?? I think it's going to be a girl, but almost everyone else thinks it's a boy. We will all find out soon enough!