Ready for SNOW!

Alia and Jon are ready, that is! I could do without one flake of the white stuff ALL winter and be happy as a lark.

But... since we live in Canada, and since winter is bound to come, I decided to get Alia's snow gear ready. I bought her a new snowsuit last year in prep for this winter... but upon our debut fitting, realized it would be WAY too big and there's no chance of it fitting her over the next 5 months. (So our clothes saga continues...)

Thankfully a friend from our church called and asked if I would want her daughter's outgrown clothes. I said "absolutely" and in the bag there was a snowsuit and a brand new pair of snow boots for Alia, which were the perfect size I might add! My, what a blessing!

Alia had a ball waddling around in her chunky pants and even tried to help me fold clothes with her mittens on! I'm hoping she is this excited when it comes time to don her new attire! Jon is tuning up the snowmobiles as I speak (or type, whatever!)... and if I know my daughter... and I do... she will LOVE going for snowmobile rides! Now we just need to find her a cute little pair of snow goggles!!

As for me... I prefer a snowsuit over a bathing suit anyday. So I guess I should be thankful I live in Canada (where it's winter for at least 5 months out of the year) vs. Florida or Mexico or Arizona or something!

These two...

are just the best of buds! And... I love it!

My little helper

Alia has gotten to the age where she wants to help... with EVERYTHING! Whether I'm folding laundry, doing dishes, tidying up around the house, cooking, dusting, making the bed, grocery shopping, or putting on my deodorant... she wants to be right in on the action! I have actually starting giving her a microfiber cloth while I'm cleaning... she might as well really be dusting as she "pretends"!

Well, the other day I wanted to get a start on canning tomatoes, and she, of course, pushed up her chair to join me. I honestly thought she would just be in the way, but she handed me tomatoes and actually held her weight pretty good!


It's taken me a bit of time to come to this point ... but I have really enjoyed this time of bonding for us! Doing dishes might never be as quick and "painless" as it once was (in Alia's aftermath there's usually puddles of water and countless silverware that has been licked, re-washed, and licked again...) but it's a time that we'll never get back, and I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

Dominoes

My wonderful friend from Germany spoils us with letters, chocolate, trinkets, candy and other goodies from her home country on a regular basis. Since the arrival of Alia, Franzi tends to not only spoil Jon & I, but her as well! In her last package Franzi included a set of wooden dominoes with pictures of planes, cars, trucks, buses, etc. to match up! It was SO thoughtful of her, and Alia just LOVES them! She'll sit on the floor matching the pieces and taking them in/out of the box for a good amount of time... giving me the chance to make supper without tripping over a little person - so we're both thrilled!

Apple thief

For some reason we didn't get as many apples this fall as in previous years. Usually people are all but begging to get rid of apples due to their massive overload. Needless to say, I won't be making apple pies this year (we still have like 8 in the freezer from the last go around... so I'm sure we'll survive!) and the apples we did get weren't around very long.

We had a little apple "thief" in the the house!

I'll give ya one good guess as to who that might be...

She's short, blond haired, giggly, can run faster than one would assume - and when caught, she has the cutest little smile that will make even the toughest of tough melt to a puddle!

The cool factor

Look at this girl...

she's cool and she knows it!

Last Summer Hoo-Rah!

So my best friend and I decided to load up the chillin's and head to another friend's house about 1 1/2 hours away. We stopped by Tim Horton's for a massive box of Tim Bit's (for added measure) and were on the road! The trip there was pretty uneventful with 2 of the 3 chillin's dozing off, as per our plan!


We enjoyed some great conversation, a grand feast of a lunch, and then headed off to the splash park in town to cool off a bit. My oh my.... was it ever FUN! Our small town is getting a splash park this spring and I had my doubts... but after spending an hour or so at this one - I'm practically counting down the days!!!






The trip home had maybe 3 minutes of peace and quiet with my little darling doing most of the screaming (not my fondest moment of her!), but since we are crazy, and in desperate need of adult conversation, we'll probably load up the chillin's in a few months for another trip! Don't worry... we've smartened up a little and next time we'll save enough Tim Bits for the ride home... a few doughnuts will keep anybody quiet!

It was my fault... I'll admit it

Why all the containers of water you ask? Well... ha, ha... see... I was trying to be helpful before we left for the weekend by shutting off the water valve in the basement. I had seen Jon do this countless times, and just imagined him glowing with pride at my thoughtfulness when I told him. Instead of glowing with pride, he got a little concerned and asked if I shut off the water pump as well (we picked him up at school, so he didn't have to come home in between). I hadn't so I said "no" not really worrying about it. He (as I found out later) made a mental note to call our neighbor as soon as we got to camp to have him shut it off... but forgot with all the hustle and bustle of unloading our plethora of luggage. I continued on my merry way pleased as punch with myself.

Fast forward to Sunday night. We get home (I find out later that Jon was actually seriously surprised to find our house still standing instead of burnt to the ground) and discover a roasting hot, burnt out water pump. The inside was completely melted but somehow the engine had cut out before it caught on fire. Needless to say... this translated into no water! We could get water out of our tank, but not into the pipes since there was no pump to get it there. So we filled buckets, pitchers.. you name it, and I got to be a "woman of years gone by" for a day!

The bad news was the pump was going to cost $500 to fix... and we would only need it another few weeks until we got town water hook up. So... my AMAZING husband contacted a plumber friend and got some spare parts (for free!!) and fixed the pump before Alia's bath time Monday night! Phew!

I have learned my lesson (just so you know!), am way more thankful for running water, and was glad to have a house to come back to instead of a heap of ashes!

Savor it while it lasts...

... so on the day my piano was getting picked up (I sold it for those of you who missed the earlier post), Alia took a liking to the thing. She played it for almost an hour, ya know... to kinda rub it in or something. I think Jonathan bribed her with apples before he left for work, just to try and get me to keep it!








Yes, it was very hard to see it go... but it needed to happen. Alia has lots more play space in the living room now, and I have ample money to buy a new camera... so we both benefit! In a few years we'll buy another piano, and Alia can continue where she left off (and hopefully I won't get too rusty in the meantime)!

Let them eat corn...

We've waited a LONG time for corn up here! Well, it's relatively on schedule, but we were baited with fresh yummy corn in Ohio and then deprived of it for a month when we returned to Manitoba, so it seemed like a LONG time!
Anyhow... Alia is in her glory. If I would let her walk around eating corn and apples all day, her world would be rose colored! I have always preferred eating my corn uncooked, fresh from the field... and Alia seems to prefer it that way too. Although, she doesn't complain when it's cooked though, that's for sure!

Just look at this corn hoover...





And here she is at supper time... we'll have to work on her eating skills before her first date comes along!




But ya know... now that I think about it... if people took pictures of me while I ate my corn, they would probably send me to refine school in no time. So... why don't we just cut Alia (and Mommy!) some slack and let her eat her corn in all it's buttery goodness!

Preferred Visitor

I can't believe it's been over a week since my Mom went back home! It feels like a month ago, and just yesterday at the same time!
My Mom came up for her 2nd annual "off for the fair" visit, and we were SO glad to see her... especially Alia! She had a play mate at her beck and call, anytime of the day, for a week straight! We didn't do anything spectacular (my parents have seen all the sights!) but we had lots of good quality time together!

- We enjoyed fresh corn on the cob (more on that in a later post)


- On Friday Mom watched Alia (plus made supper... I know, it doesn't sound like much of a vacation for her, but it was GREATLY appreciated!) while Jon and I sided the garage. Something we could have never gotten done in one day without Mom's help!


- Alia showed Gramma all of her favorite spots around our place... the potty ended up being high on the list (Alia knows she gets to read book after book if she sits on the potty) and of course, the raspberry bushes! Which amazingly enough, they found 6 lone raspberries for the picking!


- We visited the park where Ali got to show off her newly acquired "sliding skills" to Gramma and demonstrate her love for swinging!



- Boy oh boy did Alia and Gramma ever play... no toy was left unturned! They played on the verandah, in the living room, in the play box, in the garage... wherever their hearts took them!


We absolutely loved having Mom up here, and only wish it was a monthly event... not a yearly one! Oh well... we will make the most of the comings, and the least of the goings, right?! And savor the memories until next time more can be made!

Here is a couple shots comparing last year's visit, to this year's... crazy how the time flies!
Mom with Alia in 2008

Mom with Alia in 2009

Alia and I in 2008

Alia and I in 2009

Kitties, Kitties, Kitties...

... they are always on Alia's mind! She can't get enough of them... but there's no way we are bringing one home, so we'll just clear that up from the start!

Anyhow - now that I have that off my chest... Alia just LOVES visiting the neighbors kitties (and I love that they are the neighbors, not ours!!). From the very beginning she knew how to hold them so they wouldn't get away... whether they wanted to be held or not didn't matter to her!

Even though I'm not a cat lover (can ya tell?!) I still kinda feel bad for the little guys. They don't have a chance when Alia's around! She will find them, cuddle them until they can hardly breathe, then toss them on the ground in search of the next one!

- This pic is a mere second before Alia tripped and landed on top of the kitty... which I'm pretty sure is worse than a toss!

But she really does try to be gentle... so for that I'm thankful! Plus she looks so gosh darn cute when she's carrying one across the yard! And if her birthday were coming up I would even throw her a "kitty themed" birthday party. So see... I'm encouraging her loves of cats... I really am!!!!

I sold it...

... and it's actually been a bit hard for me! But - it's just a fact that I NEVER play it anymore and kids don't allow for that "jam time" like I thought they would! Plus I have never really connected with this piano, so I decided it was time that it moved to a home that would give it more attention! We will get a nice piano in another 2 years or so, when Alia is ready to start playing. But in the mean time our living room just isn't going to have that same cozy feeling that it once had. Maybe I'll replace the piano with a rustic looking armoire or something... I dunno! Jon keeps moping that it won't be the same without it - poor guy, I never knew he was so attached!

The Cookie Monster

This girl is spoiled, I tell ya, absolutely spoiled! While out for lunch after church on Sunday, Alia's "Uncle" Ron decided she needed a chocolate chip cookie in the worst way. So he gave her the WHOLE thing. Alia just gobbled it up, failing to mention that she'd only gotten snip-its of a cookie in the past... never the whole thing (and it was a LARGE cookie, might I add!) She just nibbled it back and forth like a cob of corn, happy as a lark. And when I discovered the little chocolaty mess she was holding she just smiled her little grin and said "Mommy, you don't want to take this away, do you? Look how much fun I'm having, and Uncle Ron even said I could eat the whole thing." Okay... she didn't say one single word, she just kept eating - but her eyes said it all! Believe me!