Team Malcolm had a great run! Thank you for your support.
Malcolm
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Rainey Family Christmas Letter 2016
Rainey Family Christmas Letter 2016
2016 was a year of travel for the
Raineys! Or at least, more travel than
has been the norm since Kieran joined our family a little over three years ago.
We had a fun-filled Easter weekend at a local
resort that provided family-friendly entertainment the whole weekend, and all
you can eat buffets at every meal.
Donovan loved this as he often eats more than I do these days as he
continues to play hard and grow hard.
In July, we got really ambitious and all flew across Canada to beautiful BC. Jan had a conference there so we decided to join him. We had a great time connecting with family and friends. Sheila deserves a gold medal for taking a week off work to help me with the kids while Jan was at the conference. We visited numerous playgrounds, splash pads, pools, parks and other local attractions. The highlight of the week was an outing to the Stanley Park Aquarium topped off with time at the splashpad and dinner in the park with Daddy.
Then we packed up and headed to Barriere to meet up with my parents and visit with extended family. Surrounded by family and spending every day outdoors with such breathtaking scenery reminded me why it one of my favourite places to visit. Highlights included swims at private beaches, fishing, a tour around Wells Grey and time at the farm.
After that we headed back south for a few days on Vancouver Island. A quick stop in Victoria where a bug zoo was a big hit and then we were kindly hosted by John and Susann in a fantastic cabin on a lake. The kids had a great time caving and paddling around. We enjoyed a relaxing evening with a campfire by the water. What a perfect ending to our time in BC!
But not the end of our trip – Jan continued home while I stopped in Ontario for a week with the boys to visit some of our favourite people. We even managed a quick trip to Camp Kintail, where Donovan and Malcolm were able to participate in lots of activities. After 3.5 weeks away, we flew home in August. A couple of weeks later we traveled to Cape Breton Highlands National Park to camp for three nights. Our first visit and what breathtaking views!
We enjoyed several visits from Jan’s parents. They are invaluable in helping to look after the boys, especially during the summer on the days I work. I was still working 3 days/week but am going up to 4 days in January – will miss the extra day home with Kieran. My parents and my niece Lily visited for a long weekend in September that was jampacked with corn mazes, Peggy’s Cover and other great activities.
Donovan is in grade 5 and a great help with and role model to his brothers. He is a good student who loves playing soccer, violin and piano. Malcolm is in grade 2 and his reading, writing and math skills are really taking off. Kieran is 3 years old, going on 7, and desperately tries to keep up with the two brothers he adores!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Rainey Family Christmas Letter 2015
Rainey Family
Christmas Letter - 2015
2015 was another fantastic and busy year for the Rainey
family!
In February, Donovan turned 9 years old. He completed grade 3 in June with flying
colours and has been enjoying grade 4 this fall. He participated in soccer over the summer,
rock climbing in the winter and fall, piano lessons, and has had the
opportunity to begin learning the recorder and violin at school this year. He continues to be our “crafty” guy and in
particular has welcomed some opportunities to make pottery and take sewing
lessons.
Malcolm turned 7 years old and started grade one in the fall
and has not looked back. He has made a
huge leap in terms of his memory, which has meant a big jump in both his math
and reading skills. His speech is also
improving all the time and he is such a motivated learner – we get such great
feedback from his teachers. He takes a
dance class with a friend and can sing ‘Let it Go’ by heart – he is so musical!
Kieran had a big year.
He has gotten very sturdy on his feet as he does his best to keep up
with his big brothers. He is talking
more and more and is such a joy to have around.
He has developed a real love of books and also enjoys singing and
bossing everyone around.
We made the switch to ensuring Malcolm has a gluten free
diet. This has meant that we don’t bake
with any wheat flour. We have explored many
new recipes and have found some really good ones. Malcolm put on a major growth spurt that his
doctors attribute to his new diet, so we know we are doing a good job.
Jan had a busy year with research and students. Two of his students successfully defended
their PhDs and a student graduated with a MSc.
He also supervised five fourth year students. His work continues to flourish and he got
promoted to full professor in July.
Mary Ellen continues to work three days a week and is continuing
with some volunteer work. She was
excited to go home to Ontario (by herself!!) in April to help her parents move
into their beautiful new house in Tillsonburg.
In 2015 Jan and Mary Ellen celebrated their 15th
wedding anniversary with a 4 day trip (without kids!!) to New York City. They had a great time touring around and
seeing shows and even had time for a bit of shopping.
The older boys had a fantastic summer with Grama and Grampa
Rainey taking care of them three days/week in July. They made a lot of great memories going to
the lake and the beach. In August we all
headed back to Ontario for a couple of weeks.
As usual, the farm and seeing all their cousins was a great hit. At the very end of the summer, we squeezed in
a family camping trip to Fundy National Park and it was a big success.
We have a new addition to announce! Bobby the cat joined our family in early
December. He is a playful 4 year old who
is amazingly tolerant of the kids’ attention.
We thank family and friends who visited us from afar in 2015
from afar – we love visitors and hope to see more of you in 2016. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Santa
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Rainey Family Christmas Letter - 2014
We had
another eventful year here in Nova Scotia!
We have gone from having two rambunctious boys and a baby to having
three busy boys to keep track of. Kieran
has been walking since he was 11 months old (in July) and has not looked back.
We had a
hot, sunny summer here in Nova Scotia and Mary Ellen greatly enjoyed being home
with her three boys. Donovan played lots
of soccer, some tennis and took swimming lessons at the beach. Malcolm also enjoyed swimming lessons at the
beach and had the opportunity to play in a soccer league (but didn’t seem to
enjoy that as much as Donovan!)
But, all
good things come to an end! In the fall, the older boys went back to school:
Donovan in grade 3 and Malcolm in grade Primary (kindergarten) for another
year. Both are thriving. Donovan is a math whiz, reading up a storm
and also enjoys both piano and sewing lessons.
Malcolm participates enthusiastically in all of his classroom’s
activities and his second year of Primary has been hugely positive. He is also working with a new speech
therapist and is very motivated to improve his speech.
As for Mary
Ellen and Kieran, Mary Ellen headed back to work in September (part-time),
which meant Kieran started daycare. He
is attending the same daycare that his big brothers went to. After a difficult transition, he has overcome
his initial misgivings and is now happy to wave bye-bye in the morning. He even has one particular baby buddy – they
like to play together.
Jan
continues to grow his research program at work (with 15 or so people now in his
lab) while being a very hands-on Dad at home.
He made several short trips this year and is excited to start some new
collaborations. He had several academic papers published and has
revamped one of his classes using online resources to make it more accessible
to students.
In May, the
whole family traveled to Fredericton, New Brunswick for the Canadian Down
Syndrome Society conference. We stopped
at an indoor amusement park on the way. The hotel had a fantastic pool and we
enjoyed a small suite, so our first trip as a family of five was a huge
success.
In early
June we went to Ontario for a few weeks. We had a great time seeing friends and family
and relaxing on the farm. We were
especially glad to wave to Grandpa Lee in his last Canada Day parade as a
municipal politician!
We are all
healthy and happy, though Malcolm has just been diagnosed with Celiac disease
so we are transitioning to be a gluten free family. Mary Ellen is looking forward to exploring
new recipes.
We hope that
all of our family and friends experienced as much joy as we did this past
year. Wishing you all a very Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year.
Jan, Mary Ellen, Donovan, Malcolm and KieranFriday, October 31, 2014
Happy Hallowe'en 2014!
The kids had another great Hallowe'en! Kieran made it to several houses (not to trick or treat, just to watch his brothers) before heading home for bed and Malcolm almost made it up and down the street before he succumbed. He was so excited last night that he couldn't get to sleep - very unusual for our live in the moment guy! Donovan's costume was designed by himself (a black ghost with a beard and a witch hat) and I thought it was great.
Mary Ellen
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