folding with flashlights

Anna has not yet adjusted to daylight savings time, so on the weekends she gets up at her usual 6am (6:30 and we consider it a sleep in) so on the weekend we were up and finished breakfast by 7:30 and I was putting laundry away. In doing so I realized that my linen drawer for tea towels, napkins and dish cloths was over flowing and not able to close so I tasked Anna with sorting through the ones we should probably move to the cleaning cloth drawer. Well, this is what the scene looked like after about 30 seconds. Needles to say, she got distracted by the flashlight on the fridge and my folding/sorting helper had left me.

A few of you have asked what the stuffed green thing is - this is her Oopik. My Mom named it when she was here and this has since become her favourite toy. She has gotten into the habit of carrying around stuff animals where ever she goes.

a new view

We put some of Anna's birthday money she received to a new pack. Partly because she is getting heavy for our standard carrier, and two....snowsuits. I thought dressing a baby was difficult during Calgary winters, now I'm doing it with a toddler and it's kinda challenging (for me, other Mom's make it look easy). How much, will it stay on, can she walk, did we loose anything and is she warm enough?....all good questions and we seem to be having success (except when putting things on!). Anyway, yesterday we tried out our new pack in the mountains and it was great. She is now up higher, free to move a little bit more and seems comfortable. Both Stew and I were too, once we figured out how to adjust the shoulder straps.

We had a great day out near Canmore at Heart Creek. Very mild temps considering it is now mid November.

I am helping to nurse two people who are under the weather a bit today - Anna has a runny nose and Stew has a bad cough, so back to the kitchen to get soup going. Have a good week everyone.

extra long weekends are nice

We are enjoying an extra long weekend here. Lots of great play with Anna, warm chili, catching up on Mad Men Season Two, gooey brownies, and music class. Both Stew and I went together with her yesterday and it was very fun. She continues to like playing the xylophone, ring around the rosy and drumming. She is very close to walking, she actually took three or four steps on her own during the class and everyone clapped and cheered.

One of the gifts Anna received for her birthday was a tambourine from Heather. Perfect timing too, as with music class starting to introduce new instruments, she is now interested in different noises (thanks Heather!). I am thinking they must sing at Daycare too, because this weekend Anna has been putting her hands on her head, so we started singing 'Head and shoulders', sure enough, she stops whatever she is doing and waits for you to touch her 'knees and toes'. I must say, this age is super fun, they make you laugh at the most unexpected moments.

remembering

We got to enjoy a very nice service today with Heather and Brendon. Thank you to all the past and present men and women who serve our country.

we are adjusting

I am happy to report that today and yesterday Anna had her first really 'good' days at daycare. Her teacher, Ms. Mable, said she has slept very well both days, she has stopped crying and started playing more, dancing and smiling during music, outside play and stories. She also today for the first time ate all her lunch (a sandwich I'm told) and both morning and afternoon snacks. Both Stew and I were prepared for a tough week, as I was home with her all day Friday, she had her one year vaccinations, and picked up a bit of a cold. But, after a weekend of lots of cuddles, sleep, good food and time at the park with just us, it has helped refill her cup. We are also starting to see more chatting from her, different words and sounds than 'what's that?' and 'what's this?' (which she says about a hundred times a day). We are very lucky as our neighbours up the street also use the same daycare and their daughter Scarlett is in Anna's class and she is just the cutest thing. She is a few months older than Anna, but they are starting to say each others names and they now recognize each other. I am glad as Shelly and her husband are great fun and we can car pool with them in a pinch.

I also have to say I am enjoying being back at my job. I have a very good schedule where I can be to Anna by 4:30pm every day and be with her all day on Friday's. The people are fun, the work is cool, and I have come back to them at a very good time - lots of exciting things are happening. They have carved out a great position for me working on their community investment initiatives. These seem to resonate just a little bit more, as many of their sponsorships involve children through Farm Safety, 4-H and Ronald McDonald House. The opportunities for me to learn and grow are plentiful and it helps Stew and I continue to check off some of the big projects...landscaping, crown molding, new patio, and a new furnace (these are just a few!)

Stew has also said he enjoys the new schedule - he gets to spend a lot more time with Anna in the morning, they get dressed, have breakfast and play abit before heading out. I am glad that they can have this time together without me...something I never had the chance of doing before.

good luck aunt gilly

Tomorrow, she is convocating and giving her valedictorian address to her UofT Master of Science in Occupational Therapy class. This time last year she was enjoying the sunny weather in Trinidad, now Anna enjoys all things Trinidad, as many of her teachers at Daycare are from there and they are wonderful people. Good luck Gilly, please give us your speech when you come and visit us....next week!

in her kitchen

We are starting to really have some fun with the kitchen Stew and I got Anna for her birthday. Every time I see her playing with it, it makes me smile. I researched play kitchens pretty much all summer and we are very happy we settled on this one. A big issue for us was space, we needed something that fit against a wall and wasn't going to take up an entire room. After deciding on this one, I set out looking for food and a few accessories. My friend Sharon tipped me off to all the new food Ikea has, great thing about it, washable! I also made a few trips to Goodwill and found a small pot and pot holder. However, the one thing we did purchase were eggs, and so far, these are Anna's favourite. She loves to bang them, put them in the pot and take them in and out of her egg holder. On Friday, I said to her, "let's make some eggs for breakfast", and guess what, she went and got one!....I was speechless.

thankful

For figuring out the time delay on our oven, so I can put dinner in before I leave, and it starts to cook in the afternoon and smells yummy when we get home.

All the thoughtful birthday gifts that we are enjoying together - this is one of Anna's new favourite books.

That mother nature is giving us warm, summer like temperatures (today it was 21 here) which makes the mornings easier, Anna spends lots of time outside and we are still wearing fall sweaters.

An extra hour of sleep this coming weekend when we 'fall back'.

That tomorrow is Friday and I am at home with Anna for our day together - we made it.... our first week of daycare and back at work are now under our belt.

costumes with stories

Halloween was a beautiful day here, so Anna visited many of our friends from playgroup/music class in our neighbourhood and on our street. We also had a good group of goblins visit our house too.

There are some good stories behind the costumes we are wearing - Anna is Puff the Magic Dragon, a costume given to us by my friend Liz from high school. Her son Henry wore it last year and I got to visit with her this summer in Ontario. Stew is sporting his famous Care Bear costume from University. Apparently Adam's Mom made twelve bears in total and they all wore them together to a Halloween party. My scientist costume is actually Aunt Gilly's lab coat from University of Ottawa. We did a major closet clean at Grammy and Tompa's house this summer and I thought it was a fun addition to our costume box. Gilly - hope you don't need the safety glasses, found them in the pocket!

birthday recap - part two

Today was the first day of work for me and first full day of daycare for Anna - a few tears, but the day went smoothly and she did very well. We are off to bed for an early night.