Tyran is 2!!!!!

March has been a month filled with excitement. For the first 3 weeks of the month, Uncle Kobus was here from South Africa for a visit, which made for lots of fun and new experiences.

Then came Tyran's 2nd birthday, along with Ouma's birthday and Grandma's birthday coming up tomorrow.

So many special things to celebrate!

First of all, though, here are a few daily moments:

Nahla eating her lunch

Playing with / attacking poor Lexy!

 Riding on daddy's new motorbike! 

 Having quiet time!

 

 Playing dress up...the kids' absolute favourite pass time. 

 And of course, what is life without a little bit of paint!

It has become a family tradition to take the kids swimming on their birthday, so on Ty's big day that is exactly what we did. He had a great time splashing, playing and jumping in the water!

And it was made even more special because Uncle Kobus was able to join us. The kids could not have been happier to spend time with him whenever they had the chance.

After swimming, the tired kids caught a ride on daddy and uncle.

To celebrate Ty's birthday, along with Ouma's and Grandma's, we had dinner at our place. Tyran opened up his new basketball net.

Nahla helped him put it together

Then Oupa took over and finished the job.

Now, there is one more week of spring break before it is back to work and daycare until summer time.

We have said a sad goodbye to Uncle Kobus, and are now enjoying some sunshine and lot of play time.

A visit with Uncle Kobus

On Adam's birthday, he received the best gift that he could have asked for: a visit from his South African brother Kobus, who he has met only once before for 3 days!

 The kids have fallen in love with their Uncle, and want nothing more than to play with him at every opportunity.

 On Sunday, when the sun shone, we decided to take him up to Burnaby Mountain to see the view, and let the kids and the dog play.

Nahla was more than happy to let her uncle help her to climb the rope climber.

 While Ty preferred to climb with Daddy!

 After a good play, we took a walk around the park, with the kids riding in style!

 And enjoyed the amazing view of Vancouver

It has only been a few days, but I am sure that there will be many more photos in the days to come, not to mention a whole lot of memories for all of us!

Outside Play Time

It is not as though the weather has been fantastic, but we have managed to find enough rain-free times to enjoy some outside play time, usually with Lexy.

Nahla loves to climb trees right now, and our little tree in the backyard is a perfect size for a little monkey.

 What a good puppy shaking a paw!

 We even found a sunny morning to pull out all of the summer play toys and spend a couple of hours outside. It wasn't warm, but the sun felt glorious!

 And Lexy was able to join us, thanks to her new 30 foot lead. I would love for her to be able to be off leash, but apparently Husky's are on-leash only dogs unless fully enclose...they really like to run!

 Tyran being his usual happy self!

 Nahla with her sticks, ready to make a dam

 Us  building the dam

 And the completed dam!

 Then, out came the gold clubs and we destroyed it!

Outside play time is always my favourite with the kids. I am always amazed by what they find to do. Nahla spent about 10 minutes watching a worm move through the grass, then burrow into the dirt. This was only minutes after the creation on the dam, which she decided we had to build when she found a bunch of random sticks lying around from when our neighbours trimmed their little willow tree. I love the imagination that comes from a morning outside, and cannot wait until summer when I can spend every day out exploring with my kids.

New Year but nothing much new

It may be a new year, but quite honestly, there is not too much to share EXCEPT, that we have a new addition to the family!

No, I am not pregnant, nor have we adopted a baby, but we did adopt a 5 year old Husky named Lexy!

From the day we moved into our new house, Adam and the kids have been asking for a pet, and I have repeatedly said no, we don't have the time. But, when Lexy the husky was rescued by our neighbours, and was looking for a good home, we could not say no. She is fully trained, very affectionate, and amazing with the kids. The kids LOVE her, and we are enjoying life with 2 kids and a dog!

I don't have a lot of photos yet, as getting photos of 2 kids is hard enough, but add a dog to that, and it become next to impossible. Here is the best that I could do!

This evening, when Nahla gave her a treat, Tyran immediately took it from her. Amazingly, Lexy waited patiently until he was ready to give it back. After chewing it up, the kids then took each individual piece and fed it to her. This amazed me, as most dogs would have taken their treat and run, knowing that kids could get a hold of it. Not Lexy, she enjoyed the attention!

We then attempted to get a partial family photo, and this was the best of the 12!

Welcome to the New blog!

My last blog reached it photo quota, so I had to start a new one! Nothing will be added to the old blog, so you only need to check here for updates on our little monkeys!

The Christmas season is in full swing in the van Niekerk family!

Look at what we have been doing:

The kids and I decorated a gingerbread train

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And the Christmas Tree!

This year, the kids and I had the most amazing experience. My good friend Brynn called a couple of weeks ago, asking if I could bring the kids on a flight in search of Santa! Each year, Air Transat host this flight for the Make a Wish Foundation, and Brynn's boyfriend, KC, was the pilot! As a result, there were some open seats that they wanted to fill, so I got to bring the kids.

We met at the airport, and checked in to Flight TS930

Then waited for our airplane

And got to meet our pilot friend!

 Then, we boarded the plane, where all of the staff literally welcomed the kids with open arms! 

The flight was bumpy, but we were able to locate Santa's sleigh, and he boarded the plane, and met each of the kids

 

After the flight, both kids got to go to the cock pit and help "fly the plane"

 The whole experience was an amazing one, and we are so grateful for the experience.

The following weekend was filled with Christmas adventures.

 Tyran and I went with my parents to Stanley Park's Bright Nights, while Adam took Nahla to his work's Skate with Santa 

 Tyran was fascinated by all of the lights and of course, all of the Santas!

Nahla at the skating rink with Daddy!

Sorry, but I wasn't there to get photos, so I don't have any on-ice, but when I get them off Adam, I will post some.

 Each year, we take the kids to Breakfast with Santa at the North Delta Rec Centre.

This year was no exception. We were so happy that both kids sat happily on Santa's lap.

 Nahla and Grandma did crafts together

 And our friends Carley, Chris, Caira, Cage and Chayce joined us.

 And, though completely un-Christmas related, this past Friday, Adam became a Canadian Citizen!

Here he is with a corporal from the armed forces, Jenny Sims, the Judge and a mounty.