Oh, I forgot to tell you...

we finally got a good 1 year pic of Alia. So for all you family members, this is the one you're getting!

I can HARDLY wait!!

Jon's coming home tonight... and I can hardly think of anything else! Today is just doing whatever we can to pass the time until he arrives! He went to SK this weekend and it's been pretty lonely without him! Even Alia keeps going around the house saying "Dada? Dada?" I know it's only been three days, but that's long enough! It's these times of separation that make me realize just how dog gone much I love this man!!!

Hospital Visit

Notice that big mosquito bite an Alia's arm? That one warranted us a trip to the hospital. Somehow it got infected and after 3 1/2 hours of waiting in waiting rooms we had some anti-biotic to combat it. She hasn't seemed to mind the bite in the least, and whatever flavoring they put in the medicine must be pretty good.... she gets super pumped and starts bouncing up and down whenever she sees the bottle! After a week of the meds it is healing pretty good, but I'm tempted to get 1 more look before our trip. We'll see...

Hitting the Open Road

Jon showed Alia how to "drive" his Jeep the other morning and she absolutely LOVED it! She's quite the little driver! No more horsing around... she's gotta keep her eyes on the road. So we just have to get a different angle... Look at that grin!! She hardly knows what to do with this much excitement! She's already telling the other drivers what to do.... now where would she have gotten that from?! Your guess is as good as mine!

Swinging...

... could pretty much sum up Alia's week. Goodness, we've spent lots of time flying through the air.

On the swing at Gramma's house
On the swings at the park with Grampa
On the same swings with Auntie Bev
And countless times at home on the verandah. But at least she's happy as can be, and we're all getting a tad bit of an arm workout!

The Cat lady

Oh Miss. Alia! I'm afraid she's gonna ask for a kitten as soon as she can say the word!! She interacted with kittens for the first time this weekend and absolutely LOVED em!!
At first she wasn't too sure...
But then she got her first feel of fur... and she was a goner. She was squeeling and laughing and barely able to express herself due to the overload of excitement.
But... I haven't told Jon this.... I'm not sure he'll be the most thrilled!!!!!

My little girl

This girl is growing up...fast. I know, everyone says that, but I'm just realizing how true it is! In this pic she was trying to open the door using the handle. For some reason that just makes her seem older than her big ole' 13 months! I dunno... at any rate, Jon and I have re-realized we need to savor every single day with her... pretty soon she'll be walkin' down the aisle. Goodness.

My Daddy

As I was thinking of Jon's love for Alia... it got me thinking about my dad's love for me. I have been SO blessed by him. And I appreciate him more and more as I grow up!
Thanks Dad. Thanks for the many sacrifices you made for our family. Thanks for making anything funny (even a simple dinner would/does end with me laughing uncontrollably!). Thanks for your firm yet loving discipline over the years ("put your hands on the counter!!"). Thanks for your honesty and integrity... you've set a very good example for us to follow. Thanks for your love for me... I'll always be your little girl. And most of all... thanks for your love for Christ. It is evident in every aspect of your life and you have taught us a love for the Word through the hours you spend in it. Thank you Dad.... I love you and I can't wait to give you a huge bear hug in a week!!!!

Jon...

... is such an amazing father. It's on days like today that I really stop and think about his love for Alia. He's patient, caring, protective, gentle yet firm, fun loving - everything a little girl could want in a daddy (to like the 10th degree!). I've NEVER EVER EVER heard him complain about Alia. Or anything having to do with her for that matter! Never. I can't say the same about myself... I've done my share of whining, and Jon's always there to remind me what a huge blessing she is! As I type the two of them are playing together and it just makes my heart swell. Alia adores her Daddy... and for very good reason. Our "Daddy's Day" celebrations were pretty low key. Alia colored Jon a picture in the morning (okay, truth be known she wanted to eat the crayons more than draw... but we finally got some to paper, so it all worked out!), then we made him breakfast in bed. We stopped by Tim Horton's for an ice cap on the way home from church and made him his favorite meal for lunch! We played like crazy in the afternoon and went on a bike ride as a family. Ate some pizza for supper followed by more playing. Today has consisted of lots and lots of playing... and swinging (Daddy hung up Alia's new swing yesterday!!)... it's been delightful!!

Lunch Date

Today we had the privilege of meeting Jon at the park for lunch! It was absolutely lovely! We spread out a blanket and enjoyed the sunshine! It was maybe a little too nice... neither of us wanted to get up and push Ali on the swings! So we didn't! Ahhh... the glory of a 1 yr. old... Ali has no clue that swings are even an option at this point! She was content to simply munch on her pretzels and watch the other park-goers! It was all about the pretzels... I even brought Ali her own sub... nope. Notta chance. She wasn't going for it. But ya know, I was thinking - I'll take a pretzel fascination over a grass or bug fascination any day of the week!

Porch livin'

(Or "verandah" for my fellow Northerners.) Anyhow... we spent almost the whole day on the verandah yesterday!! What a life... I kick back and savor the outdoors while Alia runs around the "big play pen" until nap time!
My oh my, we had gorgeous weather! And no wind... now believe me, that's something to talk about in this area! Our lawn was sprayed for dandelions/weeds on Saturday and I want to be EXTRA safe, so we won't be going on it until Wednesday. Thus the reason we went no further than the white railing. Notice our porch swing still isn't hung?! We have yet to decide the best place to put it. Nor have we rigged up the best hanging system when we actually do decide where it should go. (The place I want to put it would mean a load of 500+ lbs on 1 rafter. Jon doesn't think that would be the safest option! What can I say... we designed and made the rafters ourselves, that would make anybody leary!!) So for now the swing makes an excellent place to climb. Unless it's minutes before nap time... then the simple act of getting down can be traumatic.

Sleep Comes Before the Fall

... at least that's how it went on Saturday! I was feeling quite sick so my wonderful husband got up with Alia in the morning while I caught a few more winks. Around her nap time we all three decided to go back to bed and low and behold Alia actually slept with us in our room! She NEVER EVER does that, even if I try to "make" her stay. I was pleased as punch and just savored the moment... until it was like 11 am and she still wasn't waking up! I couldn't stay there all day so I decided to surround Ali with a truck load of pillows. The plan was as soon as I heard her waking up I would rush upstairs to get her before she could fling herself on the floor.
No warning. No "Yawn... that was a good nap." Nothing. All I heard was a big thump and lots of crying. Oh my gracious I ran upstairs fast. I felt HORRIBLE! Alia cried and cuddled for a minute or two, then she was fine. I kept checking for broken bones, a cracked head, bruises... anything I could think of. Notta thing. Thank the Lord it was just a rude wake up call and nothing more. I will definitely think about that next time I let her sleep in our bed!

Surprise, Surprise...

Everything was working out PERFECTLY!! But... I got a little too excited and blind folded Jon in town, giving him WAY too much time to figure out what I had up my sleeve! By the time we got to our house he had completely figured out there was a party going on for him! On Friday I invited some friends and family over for a BBQ, lawn games, a bonfire and some ice cream cake (see previous post!) to celebrate my love's 25th. It all went good, I was just bummed Jon wasn't take-your-breath-away, on-the-verge-of-a-heart-attack, completely and utterly shocked. Maybe in a few years I will try again!

Hot Fudge recipe

My mom makes a DELICIOUS ice cream cake and I thought it would be good for our friends up here to experience it! As I was assembling the ingredients I realized that one cannot buy hot fudge here in the Great White North. Imagine my shock...my horror...my dismay! (Okay, no, it wasn't that bad.) So being the resourceful gal that I am I decided to make some. Plus, the cake just wouldn't be the same without the hot fudge! I searched the web and found this!

Hot Fudge Sauce
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 squares (1 oz. each) semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a saucepan heat milk, chocolate and butter until chocolate is melted. Add vanilla and stir.
Done. Isn't that so simple? And it's really good! It's the perfect consistency, not gritty at all, a wonderful chocolaty brown color, and oh so yummy!

I'm quite thankful for this little "consumer hiccup". I don't think I'll ever buy store bought hot fudge again... well, I can't up here... but still, you get my drift!

One Year Pics

It's getting harder and harder to take Alia's pictures! She can hardly sit still long enough to smile and *click*. I have to actually take her somewhere I think... none of the pics turned out 8x10 worthy!
Road block #1 - She's way more interested in the props than she used to be...Road block #2 - Very few smiles when I "interrupted" her story... Road block #3 - Making a run for it...
Road block #4 (although a very fun road block!) - Pure giddy silliness... Road block #5 - Flashing her cutest smile and giving me the "Aren't I so funny?" look when she's AWAY from the dreaded white backdrop! Oh girl...

Timber Frame Dream

Lately I've been looking at pics of timber frame houses, researching pros and cons, and basically just drooling over the info that I find! Here's why... ... seriously, isn't this beautiful?!? The more Jon and I talk about it, the more this seems to be a dream for both of us... to build a timber frame house someday. We'll see. It never hurts to dream, right?!
This is what the basic interior of a timber frame looks like -
Somes of the things I'm learning... timber frame homes are superior in strength due to the size of the timbers vs. traditional stick built homes. Timber frame homes cater to open concept floor plans due to the posts bearing the load vs. interior walls being load bearing. Timber frame homes are quite energy efficient... traditional homes have insulation between the studs leaving the studs themselves to have a low R value but with timber framing the wall and roof system are built around the structure thus allowing uninterrupted insulation. Pretty interesting isn't it?! There are drawbacks... such as it costs about 10-15% more to build & not many people build them. But did I mention a neighbor of ours builds timber frame houses? That's pretty convenient huh?! ;)