Ornaments

The year Kiera was born, I started a new tradition - each year I make new ornaments for our tree. Most of the ornaments have special meaning for that year. This year I made Fimo ornaments. One for Riley's first Christmas and a family of dinosaurs. The dino family started as just the big dino, but Kiera insisted on a "Mommy and a baby one" and I added an egg as well. Now we have a "Mommy one, a Kiera one and a Riley one". It definitely is representative of Kiera as she not only loves dinosaurs, but also loves having 'families' of toys.

Instead of just stealing the photos...

I'm just going to link to Donna's blog.

Here is her first visit with Riley and here is our trip to the Christmas train in Chilliwack.

Billboard Coming Soon!

Big Sister

Kiera loves her new little brother AND her new Hungry Hippo game.

It's a Boy!

My belly may be big, but at least it's not THAT big!

I love it when you get a glimpse into how the wheels turn in that little head.

Background: About a month ago, Kiera and I were browsing the toy department at Wal Mart. The game 'Hungry, Hungry Hippos' caught Kiera's attention and I mentioned that maybe Riley would bring it as a gift for her after he is born.


Yesterday in the car, out of nowhere:

Kiera: How will Riley get the Hippo game? It won't fit in your tummy.

Me: You're right. I think Riley will have to buy it at a store.

Kiera: But how? Babies can't walk!

Me: True. I'll have to help Riley at the store.

Kiera (relieved): Oh, okay.


My child does not forget. Luckily, 'Riley' bought the game a while ago and has it hidden away waiting for the big day.

I've also fielded the 'how does he get out' question and we've had a few breastfeeding discussions after visiting friends with a new baby. Luckily, how he got in there hasn't come up!


Sorry, not the clearest shot. Even sitting still these monkeys are in constant motion. This is Kiera and her friend Scarlett at open gym in their 'house' discussing eye colour.

My Daddy Works Here

This morning we went to a photo shoot for the WorkSafe BC ad campaign. http://www.worksafebc.com/news_room/news_releases/new_07_07_05_posters.asp
Kiera was in a very grumpy mood. It took a lot of effort to get her to let me go and to pose with Daddy. We tried it all, even bribery with smarties. Eventually, the only thing that worked was giving Kiera her mimi (pacifier). So, ironically, just as I've been phasing out the mimi and have only allowed it in her bed for the last week, there is now going to be a huge billboard with Ken, Kiera and the mimi. (I'm right there in every shot too, but will be photoshopped out for the billboard.)

Bowling!

Friday night we went bowling with the Thomas family. It was the first time bowling for the girls. Some of those balls took a looooonnnng time to get down the alley but the girls had a hoot. They cheered for every ball and gave each other lots of high fives.

Stand back there Mom and Dad, I'm going to do it by MYSELF.Check out the cool bowling shoes!Best friends.

Trick or Treat

Kiera had lots of ideas of what she wanted to be for Halloween: a giraffe, a unicorn, and a dinosaur were all on her list. However, actually WEARING one of the costumes was not on the agenda. I decided the best course of action would be a costume that was just comfy clothing with a few embellishments. Kiera went out as a construction worker. With a little encouragement, she wore her Harley outfit, her tool belt and her hard hat (just like Daddy's it even has Kiewit stickers on it!).

Kiera even had a real, PINK hard hat she borrowed for the night. We had lots of fun trick-or-treating with Melissa and her family. This year Kiera got into it and would knock on doors herself, actually say "Trick or Treat", "thank you", and "Happy Halloween". In between houses, she kept saying how much fun Halloween is, and didn't dare let Daddy help carry her candy bag. Smart girl.

There were a few houses that played spooky music or had people in costume, Kiera was a little wary and once or twice I was afraid she would back right up and tumble down the stairs. Afterwards, however, she said her favorite house was the one with the scary music. The girls were having so much fun and lasted over an hour, which was a lot longer than we expected to be out.

The Feeding Ground

Kiera is pretty into dinosaurs these days. I brought her back a stuffed steggy from the Calgary airport and Ken bought her a whole herd of dinos in Victoria. One day a few weeks ago, I came across this diorama of the dinosaurs at the feeding grounds. (Those are Wheat Thin Crackers broken up just for the dinos.)

The Pumpkin Patch

We had a lot of fun at the Apple Barn Pumpkin patch this Saturday. We managed to choose a day with nice weather to go with our friends. There were lots of different things for the kids to do.

We visited the petting zoo.We took the hay-ride through the apple orchard out to the pumpkin patch.Kiera likes the little pumpkins the best.Kiera got to ride Lacey the pony. This was her first pony ride and, along with the jumping pillow, her favorite part of the day. (Pretty good photo of Riley there too!)

Kiera and Ken on the jumping pillow
and the tractor course.
2'11"

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday Auntie Reena

We have a lot of family birthdays and other celebrations from May to July. Kiera enjoyed all the festivities and would ask us whose birthday was next. Since early September, Auntie Reena's birthday has been the next birthday party and Kiera has been looking forward to it all this time.

Each time we went grocery shopping, she would ask if we could get a cake for Auntie Reena. Yesterday she finally got to choose Auntie Reena's cake. Kiera knew exactly which cake she wanted to get: a Cars cake. Since there were none on hand, we got it made up specifically. She also asked if we could decorate with streamers. Luckily I had some on hand that I'd forgotten to use for Kiera's birthday so we got to do that too. Kiera was so excited!

When Auntie Reena got here, the first thing Kiera did was point straight up at the streamers and say "Look!" followed very soon after by a trip to the fridge to check out the cake.



Happy Birthday Auntie Reena!

and Happy Birthday to Auntie Donna too! (If you were here we'd get a really cool cake for you next week too!)

The Hair

I'm still waiting to see some photos from the wedding as I wasn't carying my camera that day, but here is a photo of my hair taken back at the hotel at about 230am. I was pretty impressed with what they did with it (for those of you who haven't seen me for a while my hair is a little shorter than chin length right now). This is the first time I've had a really fancy updo like this as my hair was even shorter at my own wedding.

Victoria

Last week we spent a few days in Victoria for a family get-away. We enjoyed walks and parks by the ocean side, some of our favorite restaurants, and just some relaxing time together away from it all. It is getting harder for me to carry Kiera these days, but sometimes only Mommy will do.We discovered a park at Cadboro Bay with huge sculptures to play on. Captain Kiera had lots of fun playing on the ship and then playing her favorite game, hide and go seek around the sea-serpent.
If you are in Victoria, give some of our favorite restaurants a try: Ferris's Grill, Mo:le (the Chinatown bun is yummy for breakfast), and of course, the Rebar where they serve great vegetarian fare, yummy chocolate cake from Cascadia Bakery, and they will even bring a dinosaur to your table to play with!

We caught the Titanic exhibit just before it closed at the Royal BC Museum. Upon entering, you were issued a boarding pass as one of the actual passengers. Kiera was fortunate to be among the survivors, but Ken and I were not so lucky. The Titanic exhibit was very well done, but the animal exhibits were Kiera's favorite.

Outside the Royal Scott (across the street from our hotel).

"Let's run Daddy!"

I love this photo. Kiera looks so happy running in the sun with her Daddy.

A Weekend With Daddy

This weekend was the first time I've been away from Kiera overnight.

She and Ken saw me off at the airport at 6am Friday morning. Kiera was pretty happy running around the Abbotsford airport checking out the airplanes hanging from the ceiling so it wasn't the scene I was dreading. Instead: "Bye Mom. Okay Daddy, let's run!" There was a little meltdown after I had gone though security and Kiera realized she couldn't go back there with me. I'll admit there were a few tears from me also as I waited to board the plane.

The rest of the weekend went well for the two of them. Pancakes at IHOP, swimming lessons, dance class (I'll have photos soon I promise), and the wave pool Sunday morning.

It was the first time I've talked to Kiera on the phone. Some conversations were longer than others. "Miss you Mom. Bye." was one, I think Toopy and Binou won out that night.

All the way home (okay, all weekend) I was looking forward to the reunion. When Ken gets home from work, Kiera runs and jumps into his arms yelling "Daddy". Surely a weekend away would get me the same. Not so much. Kiera blinked at me, allowed me to hug her and asked for juice. She had missed her regular nap, just woken up from the car ride to the airport, and been promised some juice after I got in. Oh well, maybe in two and a half years when I go away again!

Bethany & Bryan

This weekend I was honoured to be a part of Bethany and Bryan's wedding. Bethany and I have been best friends since we met on the first day of Engineering at UBC 14 years ago.

I flew out to Saskatoon, Bethany's hometown, early Friday morning. We took care of a few wedding details and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for 23. Yum!

Saturday was hair, make-up, helping Bethany with last minute details (oh, just minor things like writing vows, deciding on the wedding music and finally finishing off that card box), and of course the main event. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. (I'll add in a few photos later when I get some.)

After Sunday brunch, I flew home with a four hour layover in Calgary. Enough time for dinner and to treat my footsies to their first pedicure, well deserved after those three inch heels (even if they didn't last the whole night).

Bits and Pieces

Can you believe it is the last week in September already?


I've not put too much on here this month but when I downloaded the cameras today I found a few worthy bits and pieces.


September 1st Kiera got her first pair of scissors. Cutting up the weekend fliers kept her busy for quite a while.

Kiera loves to spin and run in circles. (The big circle on the floor of the entrance to a Future Shop is an excellent place for this!) Here is a video from September 3rd where Kiera is testing out her new dance outfit. The crashes each time she moves out of the frame crack me up.

We also started a Mom and Tot Preschool which has been a lot of fun. The door of our fridge is filling up fast as there is a new craft and painting each week. Kiera enjoys the free play, crafts and play-dough, and she loves circle time. We dance, sing songs, play instruments, listen to a story, and play with the balloons or parachute. Kiera belts out the songs and often can be heard clearly over the instruments (think half a dozen toddlers on drums and toy pianos) and the adults singing. One day I'll take some photos in class.

Sunny Sunday

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather last Sunday and went for a walk at the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve in Chilliwack with our friends Donna and Melissa. The girls had lots of fun along the path picking flowers, eating blackberries, and playing hide-and-go-seek. We ended up on a longer loop than anticipated and ended with some piggy-back rides for the last stretch along the dyke. All that running and hiding had worked up an appetite, so we ended our trip with a stop at the Chilliwack airport for some lunch and their famous pie.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., ready or not, here I come!

found you!
Running off to hide... and where could they be?

"Daddy, hide with us!"

The funniest photo that didn't get taken was of me, 7 months pregnant, wearing a bright red shirt, and trying to hide behind the only available tree around which was maybe a foot wide!