July Holiday Images

The summer has been a good and for me with the beginning of prep now for college it means I won't be escaping as much with the family out on outings (at least during the weekdays). But I wanted to display some of the images of our summer. I actually posted the shots of Tinkertown & Grand Forks tonight but changed the dates to when they were actually taken. The cottage & home shots in this portfolio are mainly from July. SO here they are!

Our three kids: Chelsea, Aimee, & Zachary!

Zachary - the target of many, many photographs.Zachary & his lovely mom!

Aimee with her pooh bear towel after a run through the sprinklers.

July means long hot days and weekend at Star Lake as much as possible. Here are a couple shots from the Whiteshell park: Gotta love them sunsets!

Fireworks from the dock on July 1st - tradition rules at the Friesen cottage!

Sprinklers are a great way of entertaining kids and they actually keep the grass green!

Zachary can be quite the charmer with his smiles and coos!

Another grin from the Z-man!

My precious Aimee!

The girls love our play structure and are quite proficient in their swinging acrobatic routines already!

Kyle & Laura brought a couple kittens to the cottage last weekend and Chelsea enjoyed playing with them - she's got a soft spot for animals (once she gets over her initial fear).

Zach again all-smiles!

My free spirit dancing daughter complete with her gypsy wear!

More shots of my wandering Chelsea!

Roasting marshmallows at Star Lake.

Aimee exploring the shoreline at Star Lake.

Chelsea enjoying the view of some nearby ducks.

Aimee & her mom enjoying the play structure at the lake.

Chelsea sliding...

Aimee swinging...

Another close-up of Chels

And more swinging at Star Lake...

Exploring Tinker Town

One of our best entertainment options for kids in Manitoba - is Tinker Town. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well-run the place was - much more kid-friendly than the Morris Stampede or any of the Shopping Mall amusement ride events. For one the ride operators aren't escaping a warrant or under the influence (as far as we could tell). Here are a few shots (again taken with my cheap Optio as it is easier to stow away than my SLR).

Chels & Aims enjoying a boat ride at Tinkertown.A sign of future teenager-dom & drivers education?

Chelsea & Aimee absolutely love riding horses - especially on the musical carousel.

First time for Aimee & Chelsea on a Ferris Wheel.

I snuck aboard the carousel without a pass so I could take a few shots of the girls in motion.

The girls speeding off in fun!

Latest Pics

We had another fabulous escape to Star Lake and we have full intentions of spending as much of our summer there as possible. Check out explore play for some further photos with more of a nature emphasis.
Zach has made our family more complete and we are totally digging the guy! He's fairly agreeable most of the time although he is a bit of a grunter sometimes...and the boy knows how to fill diapers but we won't blog about that!
Chelsea does her best to not pose and I think she pulls it off - she's loving her role of big sister.

Here's a shot of him asleep on my shoulder...so peaceful!

A self-portrait - I don't look impressed but I'm not a smiley guy when it comes to photos - it's serious business...
Wendy & I feel so privileged to be parenting these kids - Zach fits right in.

Chelsea enthused about holding a giant Luna moth - amazing beauties! I should note that explore play has some more shots of some bugs - enjoy!

My little Aimee - not hard to take a good picture of her!

Amazing shot - captured by my lovely wife Wendy!

Another great shot of siblings - Chelsea & Zachary!

Happy Mother's Day & Further Details on Birth

Here's a shot of the family - Chelsea, Mom, Aimee, Zachary & Dad. Happy Mother's Day!

Some side-notes regarding our delivery:

Interestingly, Zach was born "in caul" or in his amniotic sac. When the amniotic sac has not ruptured during labour or pushing, the infant can be born with the membranes intact. This is referred to as "being born in the caul." It was really cool to see as the midwife basically brushed away the caul from Zach's face and the fluid just kind of poured out. He cried out within seconds clearing his lungs and ready to take on the world.

According to healthlink.mcw.edu, Dwight Cruikshank MD, Professor and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin states that being born with or in a caul is rare, probably occurring in fewer than 1 in 1000 births, and that he has seen fewer than 10 babies with a caul over the life of his career.

In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck. It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Other cultures state that a baby born in caul would never drown at sea, still others see such a baby as a healer. We, of course, are not so supersticious but recognize the uniqueness of the birth and are grateful for how healthy he is. I personally think he could be a wide receiver or maybe a running back.

When it comes down to it - any birth seems a miracle to us and we are thanking God for blessing us with our third child!

Also of interest, Zachary shares a birthday with his uncle Kyle and my aunt Betty Ann. We are hoping to connect with both Grandmas today and some family as well.

Regarding the names we have chosen - we actually had picked out Zachary Shane way back when Chelsea arrived into our family, and of course had it as an option when Aimee entered our world. You will of course notice the similar sounding ending but unique spelling of each - also very intentional.

If you want to find out the meaning behind your name check out this site: http://www.behindthename.com

Zachary is the English variant of the Hebrew name זְכַרְיָה (Zekaryah) which meant "YAHWEH remembers."

Shane is an English variant of John or Iohannes, which was the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious."

We just really liked how the names flowed and the meanings happen to connect as well.

It's a Boy!

LATEST UPDATE: So here's the scoop - baby boy named Zachary Shane - born this morning @ 5:34am - weight 8lbs 15 oz & length 22 inches. Wendy is doing well and we're safe at home as of 10pm. Labour was relatively short (3 hours) but intense - we're hoping for a quicker recovery this time around (posted around midnight).

Dad & Mom with little Zach!

A shot of "Z" with a bit of expression.

A close-up of his long fingernails - classical guitar-worthy perhaps. The hands include my mom's and Wendy's in the upper portion of the pic.

A sepia-toned shot of "Z"

That's right - he's got amazing bone structure for putting on some meaty muscles!

Another dreamier sepia-toned shot of Zack

Sisters Chelsea & Aimee with their little brother!

One proud papa!

Homeboy Z with a cool blue lid!