bits of green

On a very snowy, cold weekend, one of the coldest of the season we think. We did a lot of hibernating this weekend, with me jetting out on Saturday night to celebrate Tobi's birthday, very nice indeed.

We broke out a few Christmas gift I'd put away, and for this very reason. Postponed visitors and too cold for any long lengths outside.....Grammy, the lace up beads were a huge hit, thanks. Anna doesn't know it yet, but she also got part of her Valentine's gift a bit early, more on that when the day comes. Happy birthday to Mason and Tobi today, and of course, someone who is 15 months old!( my goodness).

show and tell

From daycare this week...I don't know what it is, but I love looking at her art.

We are tucked in for the night and alittle bummed that Grandpa and Jacob couldn't come down and visit us today. The weather is really stormy outside and they are calling for lots of snow all weekend. So, we are making it an inside weekend, depending on how cold it gets. Have a great weekend friends.

in our kitchen and at the table

Enjoying our crocus and candle sticks that can finally hold candles.

Two sizes of muffin tins are now in circulation - for little and big bites.

Compost can be just as entertaining as toys and books.

My new slowcooker (the old one broke in half before the holidays) is up and running, and the first dish was good, really good - chicken cacciatore.

Full on dish washing in operation, she is really good with spoons, baking sheets and lids. She even gets the scrubby out.

Apparently it's much faster to 'drink' yogurt out of a bowl, than use a spoon.

Discovering she really likes ketchup, especially to dip her grilled cheese in and lick it off.

Lots of funny faces....someone is starting to learn how to ham it up for the camera.

first skate

A bit of a resolution for the blog this year was for us to visit some of our local attractions and

report back on how they are as a family outing. The first one on our so called list was skating in Bowness Park, and my goodness, we give it ten out of ten. We went on Saturday morning, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves, we got there after they flooded the lagoon, so conditions were top notch, and we even got to see them start a fire with a blow torch and propane tank (cool....). Anna was in cautious mode for the first bit, but after awhile warmed up to the idea that she was in a sled on two runners being pulled behind us. We stopped for lunch and went back out for abit after and she was really lovin' it. She was even laughing and screaming her happy scream in car on the way home. If anyone is interested in going, give us a call, we'd love to go again. It is free, they do skate rentals, and have a concession stand/picnic benches, strollers are allowed and there is a lot of area to cover. Didn't check out the washrooms/change area, will do next time.

how anna makes a pizza

Prep - Mom premakes dough, and let's it rise for 1 hour while Anna snacks

Step 1 - roll out dough and eat little bits with your fingers

Step 2 - poke it with your fingers while you roll it out onto the pan

Step 3 - start smearing sauce all over....everything

Step 4 - add ingredients, and once you add them, try to take them off, with sauce on them

Step 5 - add 1/2 cheese and put in the oven

Step 6 - enjoy!

Anna helped to make a pizza on Friday, and both Stew and I agreed it was one of the best ones we've had in awhile. She ate every bite of her slice, and you could tell she was very happy to be involved in the process. I've read that two and three year olds love to help, and we are starting to see her interest in wanting to be involved. I am excited to see how this unfolds, as we are lovin' our extra helper around the house (stay tuned for dish washing later this week). I don't normally try this with her during the week, as she is usually very tired when she gets home from daycare. With me off on Friday we started a little earlier and it went very well. I was thinking I would loose my marbles with how much of a mess was created, but I didn't. I actually really enjoyed cooking with her, loved watching and laughed when she got really into the spinach. I was okay with the clean up, yeah, a small victory for me!

the difference one year makes

Today.

One year ago this weekend...from my Dad's surgery (he is healthy and feeling well), Gillian and Jay meeting Anna, as well as all Stew and my extended families at her baptism. Wow, what a difference a year makes. I must say, as a Mother, I feel about 100 times more confident in my decisions and abilities. Time....it's a funny thing isn't it?

gloves for babies

Anna has become very fond of two items as of late - the first one is babies. They can be real or even in doll form and she gets very excited. She received her first doll from Grandma and Grandpa at Christmas and so far he lives in the bathroom and sleeps in our towel basket. She finds him every night at bath, and no he hasn't 'had' a bath yet.

The other thing is gloves - she loves putting gloves on her hands and walks around with them. Last night she even had on my oven mitts while we were baking. It first started at Christmas when she discovered all the work gloves my Dad wears to the barn, so while I was at one of our stores on the weekend I picked up a kid sized pair of work gloves, just for her - for when she plays with her dolls.