Happy 1st Birthday Mikayla Elianne

You are such a sweet, energetic, happy girl. It is so much fun to see your personality develop more each day and watch your relationships grow with Aiden and Caileigh.

You are owner of 2 teeth, developing walker and constant explorer. You love to laugh and find humor in the ordinary.

You are completely self weaned and a bottle enthusiast. Lover of food and cats. A people person and an independent player. We love you more each day. Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Christmas 2009

It was truly an amazing Christmas. The kids had such excitement and were left feeling content. We were all spoiled beyond belief and enjoyed spending time together as a family. A bonus: my turkey was ready on time and dinner came together deliciously. I have been having fun testing out my new Nikon. I can't wait to try out all the possibilities.

Merry Christmas!

Me: "Um, Aiden, what are you doing?"

Aiden: "I don't know Mom, but it's probably going to be something dangerous!"

Counter cruiser

Pretty pose

The look on Mikayla's face as she looks at the tree.

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My life is a vacation!

Yay!! No more of this!! Because.....

We got this! Forget the Christmas tree, I'm going to plop these monkeys in here and then go watch soap operas and eat Bon Bons!

Happy 3rd Birthday Caileigh!! (officially)

And as Aiden says, he shall never call you a little 2 year old again.

Caileigh's Dance Class

This one is blurry but I love how you can see her dancing over the Swords.

Caileigh's Birthday

I can't believe this little girl is turning 3! Bupee Garling is away next week so we had a birthday celebration today and will have another one on Tuesday when Sean is off work. The official day is next Wed, the 16th.

We had a great time with Caileigh's pick of waffles, strawberries and whipped cream for lunch. Cupcakes for dessert. Thank you everyone for helping to make Caileigh's day special.

Sunday, Sean had an opportunity to announce the local hockey game. The plan was for my Dad and I to take the kids. About an hour before we were to go, Caileigh spiked a high fever and didn't feel like going. My Dad came to the rescue and took Aiden with him. Aiden had the time of his life eating special treats and I think he might have enjoyed the hockey too. Sean said he had a fabulous time and looks forward to getting another chance to announce soon.

A sneak peek at Caileigh's birthday present from Grandma. More pics to come after her last dance class presentation on Tuesday.

The kids enjoying baking gingerbread. They didnt quite understand the concept of sprinkling the sugar.

I just love "fresh out of the bath" baby curls.

Aiden says, "I'm so tall, I bet most people think I'm 48."

The kids are fighting colds right now and Caileigh came downstairs wheezing a little. She says, "Oh Mommy, my mouth is saying new words!"

A great day for a wagon ride!

First steps!

This past week has gone by quickly. Sean has been on holidays but our time has mostly been spent getting things done around the house and with Dancing as the girls had exams and that required extra lessons and such. We have put up some Christmas ornaments and have been enjoying some crafts. Sean is hoping to put up the outside lights tomorrow. The tree set up is still awaiting us figuring out some creative solutions to keep Mikayla out. We loved having a big tree last year and don't want to deny the big kids this opportunity, but with prying little fingers we don't want to chance it. We're hoping to get a gate that we can put around the tree. Tacky, definitely, but better than nothing! Our other option is to just put up a little tree on a table like we did when Caileigh and Aiden were little.

One thing that Sean has been really hoping to see during his time off is Mikayla's first steps. She is getting really good at running along the couch with one hand and is spending more time standing alone. Well, wouldn't you know that today, while Sean was out of town, Mikayla took 3 steps!! She was standing and looked like she was about to fall but instead she took a step, and then another, and then another! She plopped down, looked up and smiled and then started to giggle and clap with excitement. Aiden took his first steps around the same age. Caileigh took hers at 9 1/2 months.

With Sean out of town last night, the kids and I had a sleep over.

With everyone piled on top of another, it's no wonder that I ended up on the couch. This morning Aiden said that he would love to do this on a regular basis. I think not!

A funny:

Caileigh finished her dinner and asked for some dessert. I asked her if she would like yogourt. She says, "Oh sure, I would love to have some yogourt while I wait for my dessert!"

Happy 11 Months Baby Girl!

Kids are funny. We provide copious amounts of age appropriate toys for Mikayla.

We gate off a large area for Mikayla to roam and explore safely. This includes vacuuming daily and keeping small items away from little hands.

This, however, is what Mikayla likes to do. Rummage through the cupboards looking for garlic cloves to suck on or spaghetti boxes to dump.

Pulling the modem cords out from behind the TV and banging the modem on the floor.

Pulling open the doors under the TV to reveal piles of DVDs.

Crawling behind the couch where cords and electrical outlets lurk.

What can I say? She's one wild woman!

Mikayla was so excited today! The big kids included her in their trip to space. She had so much fun sitting in the tents with them and if I called out, "Mikayla?", she would giggle and peak out at me. (You'll have to excuse the drool)

I remember posting last month that Mikayla weighed roughly 20 pounds. This was after weighing her on the scale with me. Yesterday, I weighed her at the Health Unit and discovered that she is 19 lbs and 11 ounces. Her height is 29 inches. She is now the same height that Caileigh was at the same age although she is still a couple of pounds lighter.

To my visitors...

We had a great visit last week with Nanee and Bupee. Thank you so much for visiting and spending some great time with the kids. We enjoyed your visit. We also visited with Great Aunt Ina this week. Thank you for coming to spend time with us. We enjoyed getting to see you. To all our guests, hopefully the weather will be better next time! Rain, rain and more rain and since your departures, several power outages!

Pink no More

Going....going.....

They put whipped cream on Sean's head and then the kids got to add chocolate and toffee sprinkles. They thought that was pretty great!

Sean, the cashier who raised the most money and some Breast Cancer survivors.