Tis the season to be adorable!

Classic.

hahahaha!

Fraser requested "pretend reindeer, lights for our house, and lights for our tree". And Stefan screamed. Santa need not be offended, however, as Stefan is very much in a mama's boy phase. The other day I wasn't home when he woke up from his nap, and he wouldn't let his own (super involved/loved) father get him. Instead he happily sang and chatted by himself in bed for over half an hour until I returned. Kind of an inconvenient stage (but I secretly love it).

Anyhoo, on the way home from meeting Santa (and thereby witnessing Stefan's very brief but very real freak-out), Fraser explained to Stefan very matter of factly that "sometimes Santa is scary and sometimes Santa is nice..." We attempted to reassure both children that Santa never intends to be scary, but because he's a stranger and kind of creepy looking, some kids might not be thrilled to sit on his germ-infested lap. Lowell is now second guessing these Santa lies that I am liberally feeding our children. haha! I'm like, "Welp. Good thing their dad is a psychologist" and then frantically attempt to locate a non-life-sized pretend reindeer for under five bucks.

Plus, Stefan really does love the idea of Santa (and the fact that Santa says "ho ho ho Mas [combo of Merry & Christmas]!"). I promise. He just doesn't love being thrust upon the lap of an obese, super hairy, creepily-curly-bearded strange man in a velvet suit.

Anyway.

Throw some Santa hats on these kids, let them go wild in the snow, and they're simply adorable...

 

Chelsea

Today is Chelsea's birthday!

We are not selfie people, so this 7-month old shot is the most recent of us together... and we are 95% covered with ski equipment.

It is not possible for me to adequately convey how much Chelsea means to me, let alone find a gift that is even remotely meaningful enough. All she requested for her birthday were pictures of MY children (for real… she’s like that). Done. 

But she deserves so much more. Chelsea has been a constant source of encouragement and affirmation for me, and she’s hilarious, you guys. Makes me laugh all. The. Time. And she's gorgeous. Just straight up beautiful. Inside and out. She's the most generous soul you'll ever meet, and she loves fiercely and loyally. I feel so lucky to be on the receiving end of that love. Chels is always amazing, but in the wake of losing baby Colbie, she has been invaluable. She has rallied troops from various random friendship circles to help carry our family through this. She cried and prayed on the phone with me when I found out about Colbie while by myself at the San Antonio airport with an 11-hour solo journey ahead of me. She cleaned our house and stocked our fridge before I got home, she gathered our close girlfriends to clean my parents’ house, she watched our kids, she set up a meal calendar for the family, she coordinated efforts of various people that wanted to help but didn’t know how, and she’s done everything in her power to ease the gut-wrenching pain for my family. She’s like a sister to me, and when I think about how grateful I am for her friendship, I just melt into a puddle of tears. Today I want her to have the happiest birthday EVER. Because I love her, and so does every body else. She’ll want to kill me for posting this (because she’s also far too modest), but too bad… it’s her fault for being so amazing AND having a birthday. Happy birthday, sister friend… you know I love you!

So anyhoo. You want pictures of my kids? You GET pictures of my kids. These were taken specifically for you, Chels...

hahahaha

 

 

Oh brothers!

 Thanks for being you, Chels.

Farewell Colbie Marie Rose

Shareen here (hijacking Julie & Lowell’s blog as I don’t really seem to be using my own any more).

I might as well come right out and say it. Our beautiful little girl is gone. We welcomed her with such joy just a few weeks ago, not knowing that her time on this earth was to be so short.

On Friday, November 14, Colbie stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating. Doctors were able to re-start her heart but she was not breathing on her own. She was airlifted via STARS to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. The staff there did everything they could but it was soon evident that her condition was not compatible with life. We prayed for a miracle, but we did not get the answer we hoped for.  On Sunday, November 16, Colbie passed away while I held her close.

We do not yet know why or how this happened and many tests are being done to hopefully find some answers.

We are so grateful to family members who dropped everything to come to the hospital and say their own goodbyes while supporting us in saying ours. We are so blessed to have such a vast community; we have been flooded with love and support in the form of prayers, kind words, flowers, and meals. And to those who are farther away, we feel your love.

On Friday we said “see you later” in a private family ceremony.  Julie and Lowell created a beautiful video of Colbie’s short life—we are so appreciative of their gifts. (Warning for sensitive viewers, there are pictures of Colbie in the hospital that are tough to see.)

Going forward will be hard and we do not yet know how people can best help us, For now, please know that despite the tragedy in our little family, we love your children and are eager to hear about them and watch them grow. Do not be afraid of offending us with your sharing.

Little one, my darling girl, we are crushed to see you go. You changed our lives and now we must figure out how to carry on without you.

We love you, kiddo.

Always.

The G family has expanded... SURPRISE!

The G family has gained a new member... A BABY GIRL!! Shareen and Craig welcomed Colbie Marie Rose on Monday, October 27 at 6:32pm! 8 pounds and 3 ounces of pure cuteness...

 

Yes, I know what you're thinking, and you're right... Colbie is perfect and Shareen looks exceptionally model-esque.

But let's back the truck up for a sec here. Shareen was in fact pregnant before giving birth to this beautiful girl...  although it may seem as though this baby came out of nowhere as Shareen didn't shove weekly updates/photos down your throat (who would do that? haha).  So let's just take a minute to oo and ahh over the mouth-dropping beauty that is my pregnant sister, shall we?

She's kind of stunning.

I have learned that not everyone on earth values photography (and documenting every second of life) as much as I do, but Shareen is very gracious about letting us invade her space and force our cameras into her life. (Craig would have also been a willing participant I'm SURE, but Shareen was flying solo on this particular occasion.)

Craig and Shareen also allowed us to document some of their hospital time when Colbie was merely hours old. She was so fresh that we didn't even get any post-bath OR awake photos. Shareen assures me that there will be plenty of opportunities for open-eyed/fluffy-haired photos in the future (and believe you me... I will take them).

So without further ado, I know you're just itching to catch a glimpse of this adorable family of three...

Like mother like daughter.

Of course I had to sneak in a picture of Colbie with her favourite Auntie (or at least the only Auntie she's met). ;)

Welcome to the family, Colbie. You're a beautiful ball of cuddly perfection, we're THRILLED you're finally here, and you are SO loved already!!