The Lillie Pad

Ashton-Man turns two!

2011-12-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

I didn't think it could happen, but my baby boy turned two. He's just so awesome. I've been so lucky to stay home with him since the summer and we have really bonded and he is so expressive and loving. Because his birthday is in the winter and we have a little house, I decided to make things easy on myself and have his party at McDonalds. For his first birthday we did a lunch in the hall at our church, but we had to do all the food, set up, clean up and entertaining. At McD's, I really just had to pay, and it was quite affordable, so everyone was happy.

Kids playing with the cup tower.

Ashton got to topple the cup tower. He was scared that he would get in trouble but then he went for it he had a blast!

My dad being... well... my dad.

There were games...

even duck duk goose.

And presents!

And we mustn't forget about the cake.

The Elf and Santa

2011-12-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

Did you hear about the Elf on the Shelf? They were pretty popular this year it seems. Basically you adopt this elf who comes with a book explaining the elf and his magic. The elf sits on your shelf and watches over you, and every night after you go to bed he flies to the north pole to let Santa know if you're being naughty or nice. Can I tell you that this elf is FREAKING MAGICAL? The first thing the book has you do it name your elf, so we named ours Marshall, although Eleda called him Markle about half the time. As soon as she started mis-behaving, we just pointed to Marshall and all was well. Magic, I tell you. The most fun was every morning when they woke up, the kids would search the house to see where Marshall landed when he came back from the north pole (a different spot every day). I wish I'd taken more photos, but I worked almost every night leading up to the holidays and just didn't have it in me. Anyways, here's Marshall/Markle getting up close and personal with our pickle ornament.

I've been reading about some of the photography skills I'd like to master, the big one for this time of year being Bokeh. This was my first semi-successful attempt, and while the photo has absolutely zero composition or interest, I had to show off my first success ;)

We attended the Argyle Business Improvement Association's breakfast with Santa. It was quite well done with lots of free food & coffee, games, a magic show, and a chance to sit on Santa's knee and get a book.
Here's my superhero of a husband with both big, heavy kids.

I was desperately trying to stay away from any of the auto modes on my camera, but switching the ISO every time I turned (vast difference in light levels) didn't go so well, so these photos aren't great, but at least I'm learning lol.

I promise he wasn't sad... he was actually happy to see Santa, although a little apprehensive. I don't know what the adorable sad face is all about.

Pretzels and decorating and giving, oh my!

2011-12-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

This post is a little mish-mash of a few different holiday activities.
My mom has been BFFs with the same 3 ladies for as long as I can remember. They refer to themselves as the YaYas. All those ladies have kids and grandkids now, and each December most of the girls get together for a cookie exchange. The original 4 YaYas used to get together every Christmas and do all their baking together. Picture it: One kitchen. One oven. Everyone bringing their own ingredients, pans, tools, etc. I always remember my mom being in a really bad mood when it was over, not because she didn't have a good time with her friends, but a huge family fight always broke out from basically having to lug an entire kitchen back home. The cookie exchange works much better. We each make a dozen "cookies" (any baked good is welcome) for each participant (11 dozen this year!) and bring them all over to one house to exchange, so we each wind up with 11 dozen cookies of all different kinds. I find this works really well because not only can I bake on my own time, but making a whole whack of one thing is unquestionably easier than trying to make even 3 or 4 different kinds of baked goods.
I decided to do cake pops with pretzel sticks. I did an entire cake and only ended up with enough for about 4 of every dozen to have a cake pop, and since there was no way I was going out to get more cake mix, each dozen got 4 cake pops and 8 caramel & chocolate covered pretzel sticks.

I got this wreath idea from the most addictive website in the world, Pinterest.com. Not quite as pretty as the inspiration, and stuck on an inside door because it was too thick to fit between the front doors, but pretty nonetheless.

This year we bought a real live Christmas tree. We went as a family out to a lot at a church and found the perfect tree for our little house. I will have to get the pics off my phone of the kids helping to saw off the bottom. This photo is terrible, but it's the first one of the cute lit up tree :)

Now for the part of this post I'm most proud of. My mom & I talk on the phone quite a lot. My kids tend to be a little rowdy and attention seeky while I'm on the phone, so to combat this, my mom started putting a nickel in a jar everytime they were good while we were on the phone. As a testament to how often we speak on the phone, the nickel jar added up very quickly. When asked what she wanted to do with the money, Eleda said she would really like to buy some presents for kids who don't have many toys. She pulled at my heartstrings that day like you wouldn't believe. Alan also received some donations from business associates who heard about her generosity, and we as a family matched her nickel for nickel. It was AMAZING taking her shopping and letting her pick out pretty much whatever she wanted to give to other kids. I may have scooped up one extra tiara for her because she deserved a little bling for being so selfless and thoughtful.

Alan is a member of several business networking groups, and it just to happened that shortly after this shopping trip, a representative from the Salvation Army was coming to one of his meetings and was very happy to collect her donation. So I brought Eleda down to the Highland Country Club to present her donation to the group. It was a very proud moment for us as parents, and I hope something that will stay with her and that she will continue with the spirit of giving her whole life.

And just because he's so stinking cute, here is Mr. Ashton-Man turning it on for the camera.

Middle of July in December

2011-12-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

As much as I love photographing my own kids, it's hard to set up an actual "photo shoot", especially since I don't really have the right equipment for indoor photography. So I booked a Christmas Mini session with Stefanie Ponting, owner of Middle of July Photography. This woman is amazing. I have lusted after her work for quite some time, and the stars finally aligned such that I could manage the session. My kids were quite well behaved, and we ended up with gorgeous photos. Hey, if you ever decide to book a session with Middle of July (as I suggest everyone do), let her know I sent you ;)

London Santa Claus Parade

2011-11-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

My kids love parades. After the last couple years of having to try to wedge ourselves into little spaces because we arrived too late, we decided that this year we would park the car, go to Tony's for panzerotti, and have lots of time to get a great space from which to watch the parade. We invited Alan's mom to join us as well. The parking part went well, but Tony's was really busy and despite our reservation, there were no high chairs to be had. An unrestrained Ashton in a restaurant is a bit of a nightmare, but we tried to relax and just let him "tunnel" under the table for most of the meal.

We were quite happy with the spot we secured on the parade route, and a great time was had by all.

MuskokAmazing!

2011-11-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy year what with us both leaving jobs, starting a business, Eleda starting school, etc, etc, etc. Alan and I decided that we needed to get away for a bit, but there was no way we could take a week off to go somewhere warm or anything like that (not to mention I don't think either one of us would have been able to relax after the first few days being away from the kids and the business). At the right moment a Travelzoo email landed in my inbox with an awesome deal for the JW Marriott "The Rosseau" resort in Muskoka. After my wonderful parents agreed to take the kids for 2 nights/3 days, we headed north.

We had decided ahead of time to stop about halfway, which is conveniently the location of the Vaughan Mills mall, complete with both Bass Pro Shops (for Alan) and the Disney Store (not so much for me, but for Christmas gifts for the kids). We had a great time shopping, and then continued on our trek. I haven't been north of Toronto since I was a kid, and I had no recollection of the sheer beauty, especially with all the late autumn colours. It was breathtaking. We especially enjoyed all the Inukshuks left atop the Canadian Shield.

Getting to the resort we were upgraded to a room with a balcony which was just lovely. Each suite is equipped with a nice little kitchen, dishes, pots & pans etc, so if you wanted to you could do all your own cooking. We will consider this next time as the restaurants on the resort were very expensive.

We spent quite some time out on the balcony with a glass of wine watching the sun set. It was very romantic. There are a LOT of pics in this post, but I just couldn't resist sharing.

The view from our balcony:

Our first bottle. There were quite a few, but that's part of what a childless vacation is about, right?

Here's Alan posing with his Bear Grills knife, his favourite purchase from the Bass Pro Shops trip. It's actually so cool that even I think it's cool.

Alan wanted to go fishing, so we took a walk down to the docks. It was raining lightly, but really quite nice. No fish were caught, but Alan had his fishing rod and I had my camera, so everyone was happy :)

A loon just swimming on by.

I really suck at self-portraits, but I wanted a photo of the two of us on the lake and we were all alone.

Alan's fancy new knife comes complete with attached flint. Even though everything was wet, Alan wanted to show off his fire-starting prowess. He is man.

Few things make Alan as happy as setting a fire without matches.

Alan: "I bet I can climb up there". And he did.

Ta da! It doesn't look that high, but remember at eye level I'm shooting from almost 6.5 feet up.

Our first deer sighting.

I think this was our fourth deer sighting. I didn't get the camera out in time for the others.

On our way home, we stopped at a cranberry farm (conveniently located at the same place as the Muskoka Lakes Winery... shocking that we stopped). I'd never seen a cranberry harvest before, so I thought it was pretty neat.

The last bunch are just shots of the Shield taken from the car on the highway on our way back home. I really couldn't get enough of their majesty.

School lunches

2011-11-21T13:52:00.001-08:00

Can I just tell you how much fun I've been having packing Eleda's school lunches? A bunch of the girls over at Wundermums.com have been packing bento-style lunches and sharing their creations, giving me a ton of inspiration. The really cool lunch container is called a Planet Box, but since Eleda is on a balanced day (they have 2 separate meal breaks) I didn't think the Planet Box would work for us since she wouldn't necessarily be able to divide up the food. Instead, I got a few Lunchbots, these lovely stainless steel containers that come in a variety of sizes. Some are divided and some are not, but they are a nice container for this kind of lunch.

I find putting forth a little bit of effort to make her lunches fun means that Eleda usually eats most of it. And for the most part I send really healthy food, so I know she's eating well.

In the Lunchbot on the left we have some pepperoni slices with stars cut out, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cheese string and Toy Story cookies. In the Lunchbot on the right we have a mixture of grapes and strawberries, a baby bell cheese, a little cream cheese & jam sandwich and some Wheat Thins pizza sticks.

The Lunchbot on the left contains strawberries, blueberry skewers, alphabet pretzels and cut up cheese strings. The box on the right contains cherry tomatoes, pickles, Wheat Thins pizza sticks and Yummy Earth organic gummy bears.

Halloween!

2011-11-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Eleda wanted to be Rapunzel for Halloween this year. I spent a slightly absurn amount of money on the dress, so I decided I would make the hair myself. I only cried twice, and I think it turned out pretty well.

Ashton had to get a shot in while I had the camera out ;)

For 3 years now I've been throwing a Halloween party for all the kids of the members of Wundermums.com. We moms spend a lot of time together in the virtual world, so it's nice to get together from time to time in the flesh, especially when it's for the enjoyment of the little ones.

Spiderman crashed the party, to the delight of everyone.

And then Snow White crashed as well.

Little Tigger here wasn't too sure what to make of Spidey.

Have you checked out Pinterest.com? If not, I warn you that you may end up spending way more than a reasonable amount of time there. In any case, I got a great idea for a fun Halloween dinner. I was not, however, interested in making pizza from scratch on such a busy day, so I took the idea and adorned some frozen pizzas instead.

My motley costumed crew. Yarrr, matey.

Voyage a la Ferme O'Shea

2011-10-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

I had the distinct pleasure of being able to accompany Eleda's class on their first ever field trip to O'Shea's Farm. It was a great time and I hope to be able to go on more field trips in the future.

Mish mash

2011-09-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

I finally downloaded all the photos from my phone. They are a bit of a mish-mash, but I figured I would share.

Every summer our neighbourhood participates in the Neighbourhood Watch Night Out, where we all gather for some food and chatting, and are usually treated to some emergency service vehicles and staff. This year both the fire and police department came out.

Alan completed his Lay Worship Leader course. He was presented with his certificate here.

We went out for lunch just the two of us on the day Alan quit his job to go into business for himself. Alan drank a giant Heineken.

At one of the festivals in Victoria Park.

We were invited to a friends place for Canada Day... BBQ and fireworks were a blast! Ashton really enjoyed relocating the cooler.

Super cute thirsty kids.

Oh the places you'll go.

One of my biggest ventures since becoming a stay at home mom was taking both kids to African Lion Safari on my own. I survived, and we actually had a lot of fun!

End of summer clam bake. Ok, well, seafood boil... it was AMAZING.

Ashton's first S'more.

Isn't it great when your kids wake you up and sit in the laundry basket?

First day of ballet 2011.

Eleda & I went to the Western Fair just the 2 of us. It was a blast and I can't wait for next year!

I think she went down this slide 20 times. Maybe more.

I couldn't believe she didn't want me to ride on the roller coaster with her!

First day taking the school bus!

You can't see him, but that's Alan with Ashton on his first ever ride at the Dorchester fair.

And a random shot of Eleda with Baby Sheila.

Great Lakes Farms

2011-09-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed apple picking this year at Great Lakes Farm near Port Stanley.
My kids hugging it up in the orchard.

First day of school sniff

2011-09-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Just after turning 4, Eleda started school! We went through the assessment boards to get her into French First Language school, which has done wonders for her and has also really brought back my French skills in full force. We are now speaking a lot of French at home now, which is really great for everyone.

I wish I knew what the thumbs up thing was about, but she wanted to do it in most of the pictures.

Olivia, a tea party and backyard camping

2011-08-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Eleda got lots of dress up stuff for her birthday, including an Olivia set. Here she is in her jammies showing it off.

On the day of Eleda's actual birthday, I took her and my mom for high tea at Dishingtons. It was really lovely getting dressed up and being very fancy.

The food was splendid. An assortment of salad sandwiches, scones with Devon cream and jam (drooool) and desserts with fruit.

Eleda really liked the scones.

We had wanted to go camping all summer, but Ashton is still really not able to sleep without being confined to his crib yet. Alan tried sleeping with the kids in the backyard one night, but Ashton just kept climbing all over everyone, resulting in everyone coming in for the night. So for Eleda's birthday, Alan pitched the tent and he & Leda camped out.

Eleda turns 4!

2011-08-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Our biggest baby turned 4... time is truly moving at warp speed. We held a Hawaiian luau to celebrate.

Eleda is attempting to show off her hula moves.

Way too much cuteness right here.

Getting ready to unveil the big present!

It's a doll house that my BFF Bonnie's Grandfather made for her mom. I re-furnished it and Eleda loves it!

Peanut-free cake pops. I was quite impressed with myself!

Let the dancing begin!

Eleda got not one, but two Pinkalicious outfits. She couldn't wait to get into them!

Parrish-ing (it's a good thing)

2011-08-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

Alan has a cousin named Al. He has a son named Ashton. It's confusing when we get toghether lol. Al's wife Wendy and their daughter Jessa got their Canadian citizenship this summer, and hosted a block party to celebrate. It was pretty cool, the street was blocked off to accommodate the bouncy castle, water balloon toss, table tennis and lumberjack games.

As there aren't that many Ashtons in the world, Al's Ashton was very protective of his "mini me"... it was adorable.

Congrats on the citizenship ladies, eh!

Year end dance recital

2011-07-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

Eleda loves her dance class. They do a combination of ballet and tap, and her teacher is quite literally the sweetest lady you've ever met. Eleda was rather outgoing in all her lessons, but I guess something about having a bunch of her family members and the other girls' family members there freaked her out and she suffered from a little bit of stage fright.

Here she is just before getting started telling me she didn't really want to.

Getting ready to begin, and there are no photos of the ensuing meltdown as I was consoling a very unhappy little girl.

One costume change (and possibly the promise of presents) later, my little ballerina takes the stage.

And a diva is born.

Getting a big hug and flowers from her daddy.

Here she is with her teacher, Miss Liliane, and (if you ask Eleda) more importantly, her present.

Showing off the beautiful ballerina necklace from Grandma & Grandpa.

A day at the park & soccer

2011-07-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

I remembered to bring my camera to the park on this particular day, and took a few cute shots of the kids.

Eleda really loved soccer this year. Last year was a lot of crying over the kids not "sharing" the ball... but this year she really got in there and even scored a couple goals!

Poor Ashton so desperately wanted in on the action.

We sang If You're Happy and You Know It instead.

Splashing around

2011-07-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a while but back with some photos of the kids enjoying the summer and fall :)

Go fly a kite

2011-07-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

When we're bored or going a little stir-crazy, our favourite thing to do is to go for a drive. We end up all kinds of places, but on this lovely May day we ended up in Port Stanley. We spent some time walking along the beach, and after discovering that neither Alan or I had ever been to Mackie's, decided to go there for lunch. It was a super windy day, so Alan had the great idea to get a kite. We took it to the beach and everyone enjoyed it!

May 2-4

2011-07-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

We had never taken the kids for fireworks before this weekend, because we inevitably the next day was a work/daycare day and we didn't want to deal with cranky, overtired kids. But we didn't have to work the next day, so we packed up a blanket and some snacks, and headed to Thamesford for the Calithumpian fireworks display. The kids had a GREAT time and now we know that they can totally enjoy fireworks.

Oh, and here's a little show our family likes to put on:

Colasanti's

2011-07-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

We were planning to go to the Toronto Zoo for our vacation during the last week of May, but the weather was really iffy and I wasn't willing to drive all that way and pay all that money to be stuck in the rain. A friend of mine is always talking about this place near Leamington that has a little zoo, rides, games, etc, so we decided to check it out. We had a blast! There was lots for both kids to do, most of which was indoors so the weather wasn't a factor. I didn't have any spare hands to take photos most of the day, but I snapped these with my phone just before we left.

Soccer

2011-07-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Eleda played soccer again this year. She actually played this year as opposed to mostly just crying/picking flowers/eating like last year lol. I tried to get the kids to hug... Ashton was not for this plan.

Egg hunt

2011-07-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Salvation Army Cantera centre had an Easter fundraiser this year, with breakfast, crafts, face painting, and most importantly, an egg hunt. The photo quality is poor (I took them on my phone) but the kids had a blast :)

The first time Ashton got his face painted!

This was all he would sit still for... seriously, this kid never stops.

It was wet and drizzly, but the kids were troopers and loved hunting for a sack full of chocolate eggs.

Day at the rink

2011-07-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

We spent some time this winter at Victoria Park so Eleda could start getting comfortable on her skates. This particular day, Auntie Bonnie came along to "skate" with Eleda, while I chased Ashton around the park.

What happens when you draw smiley faces in pen on your bedroom wall:

2011-07-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Pink pants

2011-07-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

I was home with the kids for a random day when there was lots and lots of snow. We wanted to play outside, but I had accidentally left Ashton's snowpants in the car which Alan then took to work. I was able to scramble together a pair of Eleda's old snowpants, making for a VERY cute outfit.

I think he liked them ;)

When it's hot out...

2011-07-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

...we re-visit photos from the cold cold Canadian winter. I think it was boxing day that we took the kids to the hill behind Grandma Jan's to try out the magic carpet that Santa brought. Eleda went down the hill once with daddy:

And then she was too scared to go again. Alan went down a few times on his own and had a blast. My little man and I hung out and strolled around in the sled. Seriously, how adorable is this:

Winter walk

2011-07-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

I just came across these photos from one of our many winter walks and just had to share.

This was so cute. Eleda would scoop up a snow pile...

...and Ashton would stomp it.

Splish splash

2011-07-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

There's a new splash pad and play ground on Barker Street in the north end of the city that Alan did a lot of work on. It's really very nice and we plan to spend quite a great deal of time there this summer :)

Eleda here with her friend Breanna. I think they may be comparing bellies...?

New bikes all around

2011-07-11T14:57:00.001-07:00

Ashton inherited Eleda's tricycle, and we decided to take him for a little ride after dinner on Mother's day. I think it might have been Eleda's idea :)

Since the Easter Bunny didn't come to our house this year, Eleda didn't get her big girl princess bike then, so out it came that same evening. I love how much she loved it.

She had a really hard time figuring out how to pedal. After the bike ride was over, Alan propped the bike up on some wood so that she could pedal the bike while it was stationary with no resistance. After that she started pedaling like a pro! Soon we will be taking off the training wheels!!!

Mother's Day

2011-07-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

I love being a Mom. The 2 tiny humans I produced (with the kind help of my loving husband lol) are my life's work and I am blessed to have them and to help them find who they will be as they grow and learn. This year for Mother's day we invited my parents and my mother-in-law over for a BBQ with the kids. Cuteness ensued.

His hat says Captain Adorable. I concur.

Big guy in a little hat...

Grandma Jan with her Grandbabies... Trying to get a decent shot of the hooligans.

That's about as good as it gets. Silly little people.

Grandma Helen (or Grandma Grandma if you ask Leda) with her Grandbabies.

We couldn't leave Grandpa Grandpa Grandpa out.

Or the silliness...

Poor kid... the only smooth surface in our backyard is where the table & chairs are, so he was trying to "drive" on the grass. Sadly he was unable to maneuver himself forward, so his big sister came to the rescue :)

Blasting from the past

2011-07-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have once again totally slacked in the blogging department, and I apologized. I am surprised by how many people actually follow my blog and mention when I don't update it! There have been some pretty significant changes around here lately, namely Alan quitting his job to start his own business (check it out), my getting hired part time at the LCBO, and leaving Bell to be a stay at home mom.

Part of the reason for not updating is that I have been working a full time AND a part time job for the last 3 months, and have been trying to squeeze in some quality time with the family and sleep every now and then, so breaking out the camera seemed to lack priority. Now I will have lots of time to do lots of fun things with the kids, so hopefully lots of photos to follow.

Until then, I will catch you up on what you've missed, starting with Easter.
I can't remember the details anymore, but Eleda had some sort of major meltdown that resulted in the Easter Bunny not coming to our house. Yikes. Daddy is capable of some tough love, but we always have to follow through. Thank goodness Ashton is still little enough not to be impacted by such decisions. On a happier note, the Easter Bunny did visit Grandma & Grandpa's house, and here are the results:

Sometimes you just have to...

2011-07-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

... fall asleep on top of your lunch.

Rock on

2011-02-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Alan had his guitar case out for mere moments when the little monkey we refer to as Ashton decided to climb it. Eleda couldn't help but join in the fun.

Big girl room

2011-02-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

When we got pregnant with Ashton, we realized we were going to need to shift around all the bedrooms on the main floor of our house. We moved the office to the bedroom in the basement and moved our bedroom to where the office had been. Eleda was still in the "baby" room and would be moving into what had been our room. But life got in the way and time got away from us. Ashton continued to nurse through the night for so long that it just made sense for him to sleep in our room, so we didn't get around to transforming the empty bedroom until just after Christmas. But Alan worked long and hard, dealing with several delightful disasters left by the previous owners of this house, and Eleda was able to move into her big girl room.

She loves it! It's still a work in progress. We will get around to putting curtains up on the windows, and the dresser was a steal from someone moving out of province that is in need of a few coats of paint and some new hardware which will be taken care of in the spring when we can paint outside. I'm also thinking of making a headboard, but time will tell. For now she's a happy little lady in her big girl room.

Matching Aprons!!!

2011-02-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long! Much to my chagrin I've had to return to work full time, and that has left little time for taking photos or blogging. But here are a few posts to catch up.

One of my favourite Christmas gifts this year were the matching aprons my mom crocheted for Eleda and I. Eleda helped me make double chocolate banana muffins... they were sooo good! Photo credits go to Daddy on this one!

Christmas, Christmas time is here

2010-12-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. All the magic and wonder, lots of time to spend with family... and the food is pretty ok too :)

We chose to just put up a small tree on our dining table since a certain little man can't be trusted not to smash ornaments or pull down entire trees.

Eleda discovering that Santa brought her the Lalaloopsy doll she so desperately wanted.

And her My Little Pony. She must have been really nice this year, because Santa brought her 2 of each!

Ashton enjoyed himself even though we kept him strapped in his chair to keep the chaos to a minimum.

After we had opened all our gifts at home (and I had a nap since I wasn't feeling well) we headed over to my mom & dad's place for round two. I should have taken photos of us both, but my mom made Eleda and I matching aprons!

Poor Eleda started feeling under the weather later in the day, but she was still a good sport.

Cuteness overload

2010-12-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

Eleda had her first ever recital this Christmas. She has been doing really well in her dance class, and we were so excited to see her show her stuff! The day was a mess... we got a big snow dumping the night before, so while I thought we had a ton of time to get there, it took Alan a while to find the car under the snow, so we were running late. We rushed in just as the recital was about to start, and moments after this first photo was taken, Eleda started crying that she had to go to the bathroom. So she missed the little warm up dance, but such is life.

This is Eleda's dance instructor, Miss Liliane. She is amazing and I love her, as does Eleda.

When she rejoined the class following the bathroom break, Eleda burst into tears, I think more because she didn't know what to do than out of stage fright. You can see from her little red nose that she'd been crying. But Miss Liliane handed out the bears for the Teddy Bears Picnic dance, and all was well :)

For a special treat, the older girls came out to dance for and with the little ones. It was so sweet.

After the ballet portion of the programme, the girls all went off to change while Miss Lilliane attempted to teach all the adults the Cha cha cha. Hilarity ensued.

Next it was time for the tap dance... Eleda really likes tap. She will often show me her shuffle and scoobie doo dance moves.

Notice the pointer fingers:

And of course after all that hard work, a break for many delicious snacks must be taken.

I made a "magic wand" for each of the little girls. Here Anna and Eleda were playing princesses. Perfection.

Advent

2010-12-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

I crocheted an advent calendar for Ashton this year. Eleda has one I got at Starbucks a few years ago with little drawers that you can fill. I like it because it's not full of unknown foreign chocolate, so I can select what goes in for each day. I made this one for Ashton by making little pockets to slip the daily treats into.

This year they got some chocolate kisses, money, and hair things/hot wheels. I think next year some of the days will have a coupon for a holiday activity, like baking cookies, watching a movie, going skating, etc.

White gifts

2010-12-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

Each year shortly before Christmas our church has a day called White Gift Sunday. Everyone brings a gift to be donated (food, toys) and wraps them in white. Eleda was asked to pull the wagon carrying the nativity scene down the aisle up to the altar. She takes her job really seriously.

After the service there is always a lunch, followed by a visit from Santa. Once again, both of my kids loved every minute of it. Eleda had been asked what she wanted for Christmas so many times at this point that she had her little schpiel down pat: books, a Lalaloopsy doll and another My Little Pony.

This happened to be the day after Ashton's birthday, so he was wearing his Birthday Boy pin :)

Choo choo!

2010-12-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

We started a Christmas tradition last year: riding the Santa train in Port Stanley. It's a great time. There are refreshments available before you board the train, then you ride the train for about a half an hour to Union Station where the jolly man himself is waiting to visit with each kid. Then you get to ride back. When we went last year, there were hardly any people, and the conductor led us all in caroling. This year, the conductor felt it necessary to drone on about the history of the railroad, so we chose to serenade our packed car with Eleda's rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. She got a lot of applause!

This photo is likely to make an appearance on her wedding day. Priceless.

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree

2010-12-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids posing by the tree during our annual dinner with Alan's Big Brother Mike & his wife Judi. They are some of the greatest people I have ever met, so warm, kind and generous. Alan and Mike's relationship is quite a testament to the Big Brothers program... They were matched when Alan was 8, and now Alan and Mike are close friends who have a great bond. We're lucky to have them in our lives, and our kids are both really lucky to have Mike and Judi as Godparents.

Jolly old St. Nick

2010-12-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Our first Christmas party of the season was at my work... it was very well done with lots for the kiddies to do, and of course, the all-important gift from Santa. The little girl ahead of us was thoroughly traumatized, so I wasn't sure how my kids were going to react, but they were both champs and loved every second of it.

Baby boy's birthday party

2010-12-05T19:39:00.001-08:00

Well it isn't official yet, but my baby boy is growing up. He'll be the big ONE next weekend, but being so close to Christmas we decided to celebrate a week early. I wonder if we will continue to do this as he gets older. Birthdays were always a pretty big deal growing up in my family, and it's really important to me that my kids feel really special on their birthdays. It's hard being so close to the holidays (I will spread my shopping out a bit better this upcoming year... a birthday during the holidays really adds to the financial stress) to make sure that he knows that his day is all about him.

This was my second attempt working with fondant. I am VERY happy with the cupcakes. The cake turned out ok, especially considering I accomplished it while simultaneously caring for 2 kids. I wasn't yet prepared to try my hand at homemade fondant, so I was using store-bought... I thought I had enough of one colour to cover the whole number 1, but I was mistaken, so tye dye it was!

I think I will attempt homemade fondant for something less "important"... maybe Valentine's Day or something... I'll keep you posted :)

We had Ashton's party in our church hall because the idea of squeezing everyone into our house was more stress than I could handle. Turns out we actually had fewer people than when we were all forced inside due to the rain for Eleda's party. Oh well. I made 3 big pots of chili (veggie, beef and buffalo chicken) for everyone to warm up with. Ashton loved every bite.

Eleda was pretty excited about the cake.

He poked at his "A" cupcake for a bit...

And then made me proud :)

That is one happy little fella.

Like the faux-hawk?

Once again desperately attempting to get a cute bro/sis shot. Ashton was SO tired, he was rubbing his icing-covered hands all over his face.

The end result:

He was trying to wiggle away from me at this point...

And here's where Alan had to take over reading him the birthday card I'd written because I was crying...

Blowing kisses

Not sure he could be much cuter...

He had a crazy long nap when we got home... And we'll continue celebrating next weekend!

Credit for the photos while opening gifts goes to Auntie Bonnie :)

Walking in Bethlehem

2010-12-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of the Bethlehem Walk?

http://www.bethlehemwalk.ca/

We are a Christian family who also embrace the more "fun" aspects of the season, like Santa, Elves, Reindeer, etc. But I have been finding that all of the activities that we seem to do really rotate around the more commercial aspects of Christmas, and it's very important to us that we strike a balance.

I remember seeing a flyer for the Bethlehem Walk last year, but we had already missed it, so it was on our to-do list this year.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. We got there just before the start time, and already there was an hour long wait! We hadn't bundled the kids up yet, so we did that in the cold, cold line lol. Ashton didn't seem to mind.

Eleda will take any opportunity when Ashton isn't in the stroller to hop into it. Turns out Alan carried Ashton the whole time, and I pushed the giant three-year-old in the stroller.

Once it was our turn we were brought before King Harrod as we were Jews being ordered to return to our birthplaces to pay our taxes, just as Mary and Joseph were that fateful night. We were then assigned a family name and brought into the church where a band was playing and everyone was invited to sing along. The quality of these photos is poor, but I wanted to capture some of the feeling. This little mouse fellow was HILARIOUS. He provided some comic relief between songs.

This lovely Roman guard came in and called the families one by one to commence their journey. Surly fellow, that one. A little tax-obsessed, if you ask me.

The walk was really great. At each little "station" there was a fire at which we could warm ourselves while meeting various people on our way to Bethlehem. We met a very pregnant Mary with her husband, these Angels foretold of the Christchild's birth.

Once in Bethlehem we paid our taxes, and stumbled upon the manger where the newborn baby Jesus was.

It sort of trailed off at the end with a cross to signify the Cruicifiction, and the empty tomb after He had risen... since these have nothing to do with Christmas we were a little confused, but the cross did make for a pretty picture.

I believe the walk is over for this year, but if you have the chance to do it in the future I totally recommend it!

Santa Claus is coming to town

2010-11-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

We attended two separate Santa Claus parades this year, London and Ingersoll. London's was first, and it was an evening parade. We had the day all planned out and thought we would make it there in plenty of time to get a good spot, but life with 2 little ones never goes as planned and we got there later than we had planned, plus we had to stop for a potty break between the car and the parade. A kind lady moved her baby's stroller in front of her so that Eleda could sit up front with me right behind her, and Alan held Ashton up behind us. It was a lovely parade.

Ingersoll has a morning parade, and can I just say, if you ever get the opportunity to go... DO IT! Being a smaller town, we had NO problem getting a spot, the kids got a TON of candy, and there were so many floats and animals... it was just a great parade. We especially enjoyed how many Christian themed floats there were.

The first cut is the... sweetest?

2010-11-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Both of my babies got their first haircuts today!

Eleda's hair had always grown in really evenly, so I'd never felt the need to cut it. But the ends were getting a little scraggly (that's a word, right?) and needed just a little trim. She was adamant that she keep her hair long, a sentiment I fully support.

Then there's this handsome little dude. Alan is very much all about having cleanly cut boys, so once Ashton sprouted little "wings", it was time for a little cut. He was SO cute, sitting on my lap. He was really well behaved for such a little guy as well.

Here they both are with their new 'do's!

Remembering

2010-11-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Remembrance Day is very important to our family as many of our family members served. This year Eleda helped me make a poppy wreath for our front door, while I taught her that the poppy helps us remember the soldiers who have fought and who continue to fight for our freedom. I figure that sums it up pretty well for a three-year-old.

Leaves

2010-11-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here are my cute kids in a pile of leaves. Enjoy.

Trick or treat!

2010-11-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

I will warn you now... there is quite a lot of cuteness in this post ;)

This Halloween was the first where Eleda had any opinion on what she wanted to dress up as. Since she got the movie The Princess and the Frog she`s wanted to dress up as Princess Tiana. I have such fond memories of my mom making my costumes as I grew up, and I wanted to do that for my girl also. So my mom found a really ugly green dress, an ugly green curtain and a bit of green tulle, and from that I made Tiana`s wedding gown. Ashton, of course, had to dress as the frog prince. Please note that his lilypad came complete with a ribbit sound.

Eleda couldn't help but walk the balance beam.

Princess Tea Party

2010-10-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

Have you been to Once Upon a Teacup? I love this place! If you're not familiar, it's a lovely place at the corner of Southdale and Wonderland that caters to kids... they have a full tea menu, they serve food and lovely little bits for the kiddos. They can dress up in dresses and costumes from the closet whilst they enjoy their "tea" (every kids beverage is served in a teacup).

They also frequently have visits from the various Disney Princesses. For Halloween, they had a costume tea party with Miss Cinderella herself. I didn't tell Eleda about it until about an hour before we went, and she was SO excited.

Cinderella read all the girls a story

Taught them a beautiful dance

Did their makeup

She was really great! Eleda was pretty much in awe the whole time.

Since it was Halloween, each Princess got a spooky cupcake!

Now, I must say I was a *little* disappointed in the costume judging... Eleda's was the only home made costume, and I thought she was a shoe in. Oh well, I'll just have to work a little harder next year!

I must say that Cinderella was fantastic. And Once Upon a Teacup was fantastic as well... they had 2 crafts, colouring and nail polish set up for the girls... what a girly fun day!

The great pumpkins

2010-10-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Every year Judd Kennedy carves pumpkins. Lots and lots of pumpkins. Schools help out, and on the 30th and 31st of October they are all light up. All he asks is for donations to the food bank... it's quite magical.

Why yes, yes I do.

I even managed to snap a few frames of the kiddos before bundling them back into the car.

Halloweena Ballerina

2010-10-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last night was the halloween party at Eleda's dance studio. Have I mentioned how much I love it there?

I'm pretty sure the only thing cuter than 3 little girls dancing in leotards & skirts is 3 little girls dancing in costumes! Even the dance teacher, Miss Liliane was all dressed up. Now, I didn't ask for permission to post pics of the other kids so I won't, but here are my little cuties.

Airplane

2010-10-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

We went out for dinner a while back and the kids each got a treat from the treasure chest. One was an old school cardboard airplane. I think Alan was more excited about it than the kids were... it brought back fond memories about times he flew these planes with his Grandpa :)

We had promised Eleda we could fly the plane when we got home, but Alan couldn't wait... we weren't even out of the parking lot when he pulled over and took Eleda into the open field to fly it a few times. It was so sweet to watch him teach her how to throw it and to watch her learn.

Places you find your kids...

2010-10-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

We are family

2010-10-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting some sort of portraits of the kids for a while, so I took the opportunity at my parents' house to try and capture some moments. Credit to my dad for the family shot.

Sweet potatoes

2010-10-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

Have you met my mom? She's hilarious. She is very creative and loves to make and do fun things with and for Eleda. She had some sweet potatoes that had sprouted, and these nifty halloween face pieces, so she put them all together, and she & Eleda decorated the front yard with spooky sweet potatoes.

The little snail guy in front of Leda there is named Lightening. Every time we get to Grandma & Grandpa's house, she has to say hello to Lightening and his hummingbird friend Flitter, and she says goodbye every time we leave. It's very sweet.

There were some leftover facial pieces, so Grandpa and Eleda put them on some gourds.

Leda and Grandma found a snail.

These two are so sweet together. I knew my dad would love my kids, but I never imagined the amazingly special relationship he would have with his Granddaughter. It's one of the most magical things I've ever witnessed.

Country fair

2010-10-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

We chose not to go to the Western fair this year for a lot of reasons, but we wanted to take the kids to a nice, small town fair for some fun. We chose the Dorchester fair, and fun it was. We got there just as the parade was ending, and the firefighters were just setting up a table with all kinds of giveaways. Both kids got these super cute fire chief hats (Ashton's co-ordinated with his outfit) and Mommy couldn't help but try one on.

These were Eleda's first rides other than the little rides in malls, and she was thrilled. The merry-go-round was her favourite. She wanted to sit in the stationary elephant the first go 'round.

Daddy went with her the first time on the merry-go-round, and this firetruck ride she went on all by herself. I was nervous that she would be scared...

...but she loved every minute. You can almost hear her making the siren sound "wee oooh, weee ooh"

Ashton had fun too :)

This was the "game" where mommy & daddy pay $5, Eleda stands at the stream and catches fish in a bucket, and you "win" a prize lol. I was totally worth it, she loves this silly inflatable monkey.

I'm having some gallbladder issues, so I'm supposed to seriously limit ALL fat consumption, but a candy apple was a treat we could all share :)

The second go on the merry-go-round. Eleda wanted to go on by herself, and she wanted to ride on the moving zebra. I got her situated, and as the ride was getting loaded she got scared. A nice mom who was already on the ride with her kids stood close to Eleda and reassured her. Thanks, stranger mom!

We didn't win anything, but this was SO much fun. I'd never played before, but definitely will again!

And finally a shot of Mr. Blue Eyes to finish off the day.

Tallest mountain

2010-10-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the orchard included posing next to a pumpkin:

As well as conquering "tallest mountain", otherwise known as the big sand hill. With her Dad by her side, Miss Eleda climbed up to the very top of the hill!

This is where Eleda made a bed in the sand for her stick. She is very much about putting things to be these days.

Sliding down part of the way on her bum...

...she was moving so fast that Alan actually didn't catch her in this frame, but rather captured her little bum trail!

This is some sort of "penguin walk" that Alan suggested to get down the hill. Looks more like an airplane to me.

Fa fa fa fall

2010-10-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

We made our annual visit to Apple Land this weekend, and as always, a great time was had by all.

Eleda was a little afraid of going up the big sand hill last year, but she is over that now!

The orchard was hit with frost earlier this year, and it damaged a lot of the lower apples. So we had to reach WAAAAAY up lol. Yet another time that being six and a half feet tall has come in very handy!

Eleda wanted to help pick too!!

Falling for you...

2010-10-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

Alan had to work this weekend... in Fort Erie! Instead of another day with just me & the kids, we decided to all go for the road trip, and take a little detour to Niagara Falls on the way home. Neither kid had ever seen the falls before, so it was a nice treat.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to capture the rainbow on camera, but it came through!

And I got in front of the camera with my little man as well.

Showing off

2010-09-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

I had to snap a few photos of Eleda's outfit. Some of you may be aware of my little shopping obsession... I make no apologies for it when my kids look this cute :) I actually got Eleda's outfit for a steal on sale!

Ashton is always very proud of himself after working very hard on sock removal.

Monkeys

2010-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of me trying to get a halfway decent photo of both my kids.

The second-last one is my favourite and cracks me up every time I look at it.

If you're happy and you know it...

2010-09-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Surprise!

2010-09-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

We recently attended the surprise 50th birthday party of my best friend Bonnie's mom Pat. It was a great party and a great surprise! I haven't requested permission to post photos of most of the people at the party, so you're stuck with photos of my kiddos again lol. I'm going to break them up into a couple posts because I seem to have several groupings of photos.

This is what happens when you try to crawl downhill:

Eleda Ballerina

2010-09-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

Eleda is finally a ballerina! Her Grandma and Grandpa decided that they wanted to give Eleda dance lessons for her birthday (rather, they wanted to fund someone a little more qualified than they are to provide said lessons), and I couldn't think of a better idea. On the recommendation of a friend, we found a lovely little dance school with very small class sizes (there are just 3 little cuties in Leda's class) and she started today.

I apologize that the photo quality isn't the best today... the dance school is on the third floor of a big, old building, and that means hiking up 3 big flights of stairs with my 20 LB weight (AKA Ashton) and by the time we had a potty break and I got her shoes on I was sweating fairly profusely and just grabbed what shots I could.

And here is the best part... the post-dance lollipop!

Toopy is too big

2010-09-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today some characters from TV came to do a free show at the mall. I took Eleda to see Barney when she was about Ashton's age and it was crazy but fun. I haven't been feeling like the greatest mom lately, so I decided it would be nice to brave the chaos to take the kids to see Toopy and Binoo live. I told Eleda about it and she was really excited.

We got ready to leave the house just as the skies opened up, and ALL the rain came down. We went for it, but were literally soaked through just getting to the car from the house. It was still pouring when we got to the mall, so we got re-soaked on our way in. By the time we had "checked" the stroller, the room where the show was being held was pretty much full... we were able to scooch a corner at the back, and when Toopy and Binoo came out, I held Eleda up so she could see. She had the funniest, sort of quizzical look on her face, and she told me she didn't like them. I was so hot that it was a HUGE relief that she wanted to leave!

She asked if she could ride the Fozzy car and the merry-go-round... it was the least I could do!!!

First food

2010-09-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

These photos date back to July 7th, but were taken on my dad's camera and it took us that long to get them off of there and into my hands! Anyways, after cereal, Ashton's first real food was green beans, and he loved them! He really hasn't looked back... he loves everything and eats quite a bit... I fear for our future grocery bills.

My first "shoot"

2010-08-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Friends of our family were throwing a garden party for their parents' 50th wedding anniversary, and asked me to photograph the event! I was thrilled... I have considered trying to make a few dollars through photography but had no real experience other than all the lens time my kids see lol. I really had a great time and tried to get as creative as I could. Now, I don't have a release or anything, and I have no idea what the rules are about posting photos I took of others online, so I am only showing photos of "stuff".

The last one is not part of the "event" per se... Eleda really wanted to go "look" at the cake, but I think we all know that for 3 year-olds, looking usually involves more than just the eyes. So Daddy told her to put her hands on her bum so she wouldn't touch... LOL!!!

Super Silly Fiesta!

2010-08-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it appears my baby girl is 3! To celebrate the occasion, my little Dora fan got her very own Super Silly Fiesta! I made my first foray into fondant and created Dora, Boots, Benny, Isa and Tico cupcake toppers, along with lots of stars (estreillas). Eleda could identify each character, so I say mission accomplished.

Here are the melon estreillas

The "map" roll ups

And the Fiesta Trio of dips

Princess Gillian

And Swiper's blueberry hill lemonade.

Mr Ashton being cute as usual...

"backpack" loot bags

Eleda attempting to crack the Big Red Chicken pinata. After all the kids had a turn, Mommy whacked that thing wide open lol.

He stands

2010-08-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well I'm waaaaaaay behind in my posts. Thses photos are from August 20th, when Ashton really started pulling himself up. He has since fully started crawling, cruising and standing unsupported. He's growing up too fast!

Potty Princess / Water Baby

2010-08-17T04:10:00.000-07:00

It was a big weekend this weekend! Eleda finally decided she was ready to start using the potty every time! We have been working on potty training for what seems like forever, with limited success. She would go from time to time, but it was a struggle and I wasn't really willing to put forth too much effort when she wasn't willing to co-operate, and I didn't want to push it until she was really ready. Well, she's ready! Eleda has been going on the potty consistently and no accidents so far. She's even staying dry at night! I'm very glad that she's trained before her third birthday... I don't know why, but that was important to me. I don't know how to appropriately commemorate her potty training photographically, so let's just skip that.

Next big achievement this weekend was swimming. Eleda was a little timid in the water this year. Since I am on my own with 2 kids during the day, I got them both the kind of floatie that you sit in, since it's easier to wrangle the 2 of them that way. Eleda always wanted to be in her floatie, and basically always wanted to hang out on the pool stairs. I had also gotten her a Puddle Jumper which is like foam water wings that are attached to a foam chest panel, so it keeps her upright and her head out of the water, but she resisted that level of freedom. Well this weekend I told her she had to wear the puddle jumper if she wanted to go in the pool, and next thing I know she was swimming the width of the pool without death-gripping a grown up!

Ready, set...
GO!

Daddy takes the lead...

Eleda is starting to catch up!

She passes him...

I think I can, I think I can...

Victory!

Earlier in the day there was an unfortunate incident involving Eleda taking off down our driveway and taking a face plant into the ground. Thank God she fell, because there was a car coming down the street. No teeth were damaged, just a little facial trauma.

Enjoying a nice post-swimming snack.

And because he was being left out: