Hello, Dawson Family

Merry & Bright Christmas Wishes to You!

My brain feels foggier this year trying to sit down and write our family’s story for 2025. Certainly, this is in part due to the way of life with two toddlers. But perhaps, this is also in part due to the nature of this past year – moments of go, go, go, and moments of wait, wait, wait. I can explain.

The year started with a BIG celebration for Gabe’s 1st Birthday, and given that Theo and Gabe’s birthdays are so close, we made it a DOUBLE party for Theo’s 3rd Birthday, too! We hosted the party at our home and our little guys partied hard with their grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins who came from Canada to celebrate with them. We decorated our dining room with a Peter Rabbit “Some Bunny is One!” theme for Gabe and decorated our family room as Radiator Springs from Disney Pixar’s Cars for Theo. We borrowed folding tables and chairs from our neighbours (we live in an awesome neighbourhood) and packed out our house with overnight guests. It was really so much fun and we are so thankful for the love and support of our families who take the time and make the trip to visit and celebrate with us.

The Woodland Park Zoo continues to be one of our favourite places to visit. We made it official, signing up for a family membership that allowed us to go whenever we wanted and to share the fun with family or friends on many days this Spring and Summer. Something that made me smile this year was how Theo would climb on all of the animal statues around the zoo, wanting a photo with each one, and how Gabe would perk up and babble whenever he saw the giraffes, a clear favourite for him. To my amazement, we also discovered loops and exhibits we had not seen before this year – for me, it’s become part of the fun to never quite know which animals we’ll see on a given day. We usually packed a picnic lunch in the morning, drove to Seattle, and stayed at the zoo as long as we could; These were always some of my favourite days, full of walking around outside and sound naps (for the kids) on the drive home.

In our family, summer continues to be synonymous with camping. We did two trips this year, one to our favourite spot in the Okanagan with Grannie and Papa (Fintry, BC) and one to two new campgrounds on Vancouver Island with just the four of us (Tofino and Parksville, BC).

Camping at a lakeside site at Fintry is as good and easy as it gets. After breakfast, we rolled out and played at the lake with our beach toys and floaties, walked a few steps back to the site for lunch and afternoon naps, followed by some sort of adventure around the campground in the evening. Both kids liked sitting on the SUPs this year and we would paddle out into the lake to go for a swim with them to cool off. This year, we had our e-bikes set-up with child seats, so we could cruise around the loops or hang out at the different playgrounds. There was something about riding the flat stretch of road at the campground, following in a line behind Theo and Nick (with Gabe on the back), in the warmth of the evening sun that soothed my soul. Those are moments we all loved this year, enjoying fun as a family.

Our ten day trip to Vancouver Island was the first time that we went camping without grandparents since having kids. We were so grateful to borrow my parents’ trailer and my brother’s truck, which made the trip a real breeze. Nick learned how to hook-up, tow, and park the over 50′ set-up, including loading on and off of BC Ferries, and I was impressed by how well he did backing-up the trailer at the campsites. In Tofino, we booked a site at the Pacific Rim National Park for the first time and it did not disappoint. Again, we took the kids on the back of our e-bikes and cruised kilometres of sandy beaches in the salty air. Gabe was especially fun to watch in Tofino because his confidence grew to match his curiosity; He would pull his scooter out to the road and bust up and down (within sight) on his own, pulling over to the side for passing cars or trucks and waving at dogs walking by. I love his outgoing, friendly personality. Mid-week, we drove back to Parksville, where we camped at Rathtrevor Provincial Park. It was here, after watching a gang of older kids doing tricks in the bike park at the campground, that Theo was inspired to take off the training wheels on his bike and about a day later, he had it figured out. It was such a rush of joy and excitement to see him pedal his bike for the first time, and I remember thinking how blessed Nick and I are to continue to experience those special “firsts” in Theo’s life and the privilege it is to be his Mom and Dad. The funny part of that whole trip was that Nick and I brought camp chairs but never once unpacked them… We were on our feet and on-the-go the entire time that we literally did not sit down.

But, back to the moments of “wait, wait, wait”. This year was certainly a challenge for us on the immigration front. One thing we did not fully appreciate or anticipate before our move was the amount of time and energy we would spend on immigration processes. With changes in visas and needing stability for our family, Nick has been doing paperwork and working with lawyers ever since we moved. This year, we anticipated that there would be a period of two to three months where we would need to remain stateside while our paperwork was filed, but (surprise, surprise) it didn’t quite go to plan, and we ended up having to attempt filing three times from May – November, resulting in multiple two month stretches when we could not travel back to Canada to see family and friends. It was frustrating to hit so many hiccups, especially the time we had to redo our medical exams (which in other words meant another blood draw for Theo who, to put it lightly, was not a fan). The delays were also discouraging for Nick after he had dedicated so much time to making the process as smooth and seamless for us as possible. Most of all, it was just hard to be forced, in a way, away from family. For me, the absence left a deep ache and the daily grind hit different day after day knowing that we were on our own.

That said, there are really two things we take away from our waiting this year. One, that we’ve come to appreciate and have compassion for anyone who goes through an immigration process. We know there are many experiences far more difficult than ours and we better understand now what that’s like. And two, that we’ve found really amazing friends here in the USA, who let us know that they were praying for us on hard days or dropped-in to visit us on lonely days, like the friend who brought us an apple pie on Canadian Thanksgiving. The truth is, there were days when we really struggled to see that God has us where He wants us and to be content in our circumstances. But in looking back, it is undeniable that God was in control and graciously drawing us closer to Himself throughout the process.

Thankfully, we reached the point we could travel freely by November, just in time for the holiday season. Over American Thanksgiving, we made the twelve hour drive to Calgary to celebrate an early Christmas with Gigi, Papa, and our Dawson cousins. It was our longest drive by far with the kids, so we broke it up with an overnight in Idaho and it turned out to be a lot of fun! Plus, it helped that Gabe and Theo are good road trippers and, as we discovered, love staying in a hotel. In Calgary, the boys played games with cousins, had fun in the snow, ate lots of good food, and decorated gingerbread houses. I also went for dinner one night with one of my long-time best friends, Meghan, which was a really sweet and special time of catching-up. We left for the 10 hour drive back to Vancouver with full and happy hearts.

Then, in December, we topped off our year with our first trip to Hawaii! We spent ten days in sunny, warm, beautiful, tropical, Maui and it. was. awesome! Theo loved playing in the sand at the beach. Gabe loved jumping in the waves. Both of them LOVED swimming in the pool. Theo found some little friends to play with at the pool and he would swim over to play with them on his own every day. Gabe would kick his little legs to swim his way around the pool, content to bob and putter around in his life jacket. Both loved jumping off the edge and into the pool. We saw Giant Hawaiian Sea Turtles on the beach and we saw humpback whales breeching in the ocean. We overlapped our trip with Grannie, Papa, Uncle Regan, Auntie Flo, and Julia, which was really special to spend time with our littlest cousin at the beach and out for dinner, too. Nick and I had so much fun playing with our boys and it was really cool to see how much they’ve both grown in a year.

A little more about…

Gabriel (1 Year Old)

Gabriel is so CUTE! He is friendly, kind, and (just like Curious George) a good little monkey, but always very curious. He has a big, sensitive heart, and willingly gives up a toy to share with others. He still sucks his thumb. He loves snuggles and kisses, but also loves a good wrestle. He is also extremely solid and we affectionately call him “a tank”. Gabey’s favourite book by far is Trash Truck, but he is also happy to read Ten Tiny Toes, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and Little Blue Truck Leads the Way. Gabe loves to sing and dance and his favourite song is “Whistle Stop” from Disney’s Robin Hood, which he requests by saying, “caw, caw” (his attempt at a whistle). His favourite toys to play with are cars, trucks, trains, animals, and dolls. He is a master of stacking things, often making his way into our kitchen pantry to stack the bins of flour and sugar. In August, Gabe underwent a frenuloplasty (a fancy way of saying he had his tongue tie clipped and stitched) at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Even though it was a minor day surgery, it required general anesthesia. We found it hard to watch him be put under, but within an hour after surgery, he was back to eating bananas and crushing apple juice, and his tongue mobility is so much better now. Gabe loves being with people, and one of my favourite memories this year was seeing him run into Bible Study childcare as his teachers and classmates lit up, so happy to see him. He seems to have that kind of effect on people, including us.

Theodore (3 Years Old)

Theodore really grew up so much this year, especially in his independence. He learned to skate in the winter, played outdoor soccer in the spring and summer (he loved Coach Ben!), took swimming lessons in summer, and started Pre-K 3 at Summit Classical Christian School in the fall. Seeing Theo thrive and his love for learning grow at preschool has been a delight – he loves his teachers, has made new friends, and says his favourite part of school is snack time. Before school started, Theo really wanted to ride a school bus and his dream came true when his class took the school bus to a field trip at the pumpkin patch. Theo LOVES to read and this year, we started reading early chapter books with him. A few of his favourites to read were The Little Pilgrim’s Progress, the Young David series, The Beatrix Potter Collection, The Lighthouse Family series, and the Mercy Watson series. He also really loves listening to books on his Yoto, including favourites like Percy the Parkkeeper, Winnie the Pooh, and Disney Pixar Cars: The Legend of the Crystal Hubcap. Theo likes to build Lego with Daddy, ride his bike, and play with cars, trucks, or basically anything with wheels. Theo also has a real love for music – I often find him singing, dancing, drumming, or pretending to play the guitar on his mini hockey stick while listening to music. He has even started to make up lyrics to his own tunes, which is a snapshot of his joyful and imaginative nature. He also likes to tell jokes and he insists that he is much funnier than Daddy (although I do tend to agree).

Nick (half-way to 40)

Nick took on new responsibilities this year at Bristol Myers Squibb, including a lead role on a prominent project. His work also took him to New Jersey for a week this November for training, during which he squeezed in an early morning drive-by of the Statue of Liberty. However, as I’ve mentioned, Nick would describe this year as the year of endless paperwork. He was always up late working on immigration stuff – scanning documents, preparing letters, emailing lawyers – that it was basically another job. I am so thankful for how hard he works to provide for our family. Nick has also become quite a grass lawn enthusiast, testing the pH of our soil to optimize his fertilizer and seed mixture for our small backyard, that I think he might call that an enjoyable pass-time.

Janelle (younger than Nick)

I love being a mom to Theo and Gabe. Much of my time, attention, and effort focuses on them and I wouldn’t have it any other way. With every passing year, I am more and more aware of how quickly these little years with them fly by, so I try to treasure this time even though some days I am absolutely spent. I also continue to be a part of a group for moms with young children called MomCo at Crossroads Bible Church (CBC) in Bellevue, WA. In March, I had the opportunity to give my testimony (the story of what God has done in my life) at one of our MomCo meetings. It was a unique experience in that it gave me a reason to spend a couple of months reflecting on God’s faithfulness in my life and to find the words to recount the many ways His grace has shaped me. I was also deeply moved and grateful to have family and friends who prayed for me as I prepared and shared my testimony. This year, I am volunteering as member of the leadership team at MomCo and it has been good for my heart to grow friendships, but also good for my mind to exercise some of the skills I used to use daily at work. Mainly, I get to encourage and support a team of discussion group leaders which I have found to be a great joy and a meaningful way for me to serve at church. I also am a part of a Bible Study group, so between MomCo and Bible Study, I have found a steady rhythm which keeps our week balanced. With Theo in preschool this year, I am also enjoying more one-on-one time with Gabe (even though we definitely miss big brother while he’s at school).

This year, as a family:

• We loved reading.

• Theo and Nick joined some friends for Monster Jam in Seattle. It was a huge hit for Theo and his favourite Monster Truck was El Toro Loco.
• For Mother’s Day, me, Nick, and the boys went to see the Toronto Blue Jays v. Seattle Mariners baseball game in Seattle. Let’s go Blue Jays!
• Theo joined Nick for “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” at BMS in June. They made kinetic sand, slime, and extracted DNA from strawberries. Now, Theo thinks Daddy “mashes strawberries” for a living and will ask Nick how many strawberries he mashed in a day when he comes home from work.

• We cleaned up our backyard and patio! Thanks to my Dad and his pressure washer and the help from some hired hands, we cleared out a lot of weeds and put down some fresh mulch. It made such a difference to our summer, as the kids loved playing on the splash pad in the yard and having lunch and dinner at the picnic table on the patio.
• The new spray park opened in Snoqualmie, which we had fun visiting. It was especially great on nights when Nick was out-of-town for work. Me, Theo, and Gabe would grab a pizza for dinner and play in the water, then everyone would be good and tired for bedtime.
• We went to the Boeing Museum of Flight with Gigi and Papa. Papa knows lots of cool things about planes from his time in the Canadian Air Force and our favourite plane to walk through was the Air Force One that carried President Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.
• We joined up with MomCo friends for a few (kid-friendly) hikes this summer. Our favourite hike was a shaded mountain trail loop less than 10 minutes from our home which passed by an old rusty bus.
• In general, unlike the past few years where I was either pregnant or had a newborn, this summer we were able to do some more adventuring. We liked to ride our e-bikes from North Bend to Rattlesnake Lake or from home to Theo’s favourite spot, the “train park” (Riverview Park in Downtown Snoqualmie), for a picnic lunch.
• Theo and Gabe have become really good buddies. They will play for hours together in our Bonus Room, listening to music, reading books, or sometimes getting up to no good. I love seeing how they care about each other and always greet each other or say goodbye with big hugs and kisses.

• We started introducing Family Movie Nights, where on a weekend evening after dinner we will sit together on the couch in our Bonus Room to watch a movie. So far, we have watched Disney’s The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, and Mary Poppins. With every movie, we have listened to the soundtrack on repeat for weeks after and it’s fun to see our kids sing and dance to some old classics.
• Theo and Gabe dressed up as a fireman and firedog for Halloween. Gabe was especially obsessed with his dalmatian costume. Mommy and Daddy went a little ham, crafting our wagon into a custom fire engine, too. We met up with one of our best little friends, Luke, who dressed up as a policeman for a well-coordinated, albeit completely unplanned, costume ensemble.

• Theo and I went on our first date when I took him to his first movie at a movie theatre to watch David. After reading the chapter books earlier this year, he was fully locked in to watching the big screen.
• We had lots of fun time with our Soquila family – at the park, at Grannie and Papa’s, playing basketball, and over Christmas. Theo and Gabe LOVE every minute they spend with their cousins, Nolan, Sloane, Pippa, and Julia, and it’s the absolute best to see the love and fun they all have together.

That’s it! I document our family’s life in this blog for Theo and Gabe, so that hopefully one day they’ll have stories and photos of their childhood to enjoy. So, if you have made it this far, thanks for taking the time to catch-up with us! We would also love to hear from you! Please send us a message or leave a comment for us below. Whether we saw you, we talked to you, we messaged you, or we missed you this year – we love you.