Weekend Cuteness

Hannah is a bright light in so many lives!!  Here she and GG are playing together Sunday afternoon.  So sweet!!

A walk in her beautiful dress from Ro wearing her pink rain boots. 

Can I say I love the ways motherhood has changed me.  Before Hannah if you’d asked me if I’d let my daughter play in puddles in her Sunday dress or, pair the dress with rain boots, I’d have definitely said, ‘No way.’  One of the many things I’ve learned from Hannah and other moms around me is that life is far too short to worry about keeping dresses neat and pairing shoes with them.  Sure, on Sunday mornings for church she is dressed nicely with her hair combed and matching shoes but once church is over it’s fair game.  As long as she’s not painting or something like that I let her enjoy being 2 in whatever she’s wearing.  (Thank you M3 for teaching me this very important lesson!)

Check out those adorable little knees!

Stopping to smell the flowers.  Hannah and I hung out in front of our house for almost an hour just playing in the dandelions.  One more lesson learned.

An Entire Weekend Wearing our Comfy Pants!

Don’t you just love the kind of friends where spending quality time together means just hanging out enjoying being together?  That’s what Hannah and I did last weekend and it was wonderful!  Saturday night a group of us got together and enjoyed the first really warm Saturday of the spring.  We sat outside and munched on yummy appetizers and BBQ burgers!  The kind of afternoon we look forward to all winter long. 

Hannah napped most of the way there so took a few minutes to get her groove on but once she did there was no stopping her!  Here she is waking up slowly and taking it all in.

Hannah and Ben are the best of friends and it’s so neat to watch them play together now as they have real conversations and actually play together.  How fun it’s been to watch their friendship mature!

There were 5 toddlers there and all had a great time playing together but unfortunately I didn’t pull out my camera until they were hanging out in their diapers so those pics are saved for just the parents.  You’ll just have to trust me though that they were beyond cute running around together and it was emotional for us as there were days when each of us wondered if we’d ever have children.  To see all our kiddos together brought tears to more than one mommy’s eyes!

Sunday we woke to more rain (so much rain this May!!) but by early afternoon the sun broke through and the rest of the day was beautiful.  The day started with an appetizer of yogurt on the couch while Ben’s mommy prepared breakfast for us.  Hannah thinks this is pretty cool since yogurt at home is eaten in her high chair so she’s all grown up here eating it on the couch!

While waiting out the rain we went for a visit at a local paramedic station where we had a connection.  The kids thought it was neat getting hooked up to the heart monitor and oh yes, the lights and sirens led to much jumping, shouting and squeals of delight!

After naps we loaded into the car and set out to enjoy an evening of free fun.  Unfortunately the hosts of the event advertised really well and staffed poorly.  There was a great turnout but the line-ups made it impossible for us to participate in most of the events.  There were free pony rides but with only 6 ponies to be ridden and a line-up of 60 kids (15 mins after the event started!) we decided to skip that.  We headed inside hoping to beat some of the crowds to the other events.  Ummm….nope!   There were 2 clowns creating balloon animals and each had a line-up of 20+ kids waiting.  It was the same for all of the activities which was too bad as there were a lot of disappointed kiddos walking around.  Thankfully Hannah and Ben were too young to really understand what was happening.  The one thing they were able to enjoy was the petting zoo which comprised of 4 little pens with about a dozen animals.  Hannah got right in there and had fun feeding the goats.  She continually amazes me at her willingness to try new things.  There’s no way I was like this as a kiddo but my girl enjoys all kinds of stuff.

Hi donkey!

Monday dawned bright and sunny once again (a wonderful treat as the weekend had been forecasted to be rainy most of the time).  The day began with yogurt once again and this time Hannah mixed it up by dining in a box! 

From there the kiddos headed outside for some final moments of play before Hannah and I went home.  They found the cooler filled with cold water (I know it was cold as they decided to pour little cups of it on my legs as I tried to take pics) and had a blast!  I love watching them play and seeing how everything is an adventure and it’s all about having fun with one another and what is around them!

Ben, we had a fabulous weekend with you!  Please tell Mommy and Daddy thanks from us and let them know that we’re already looking forward to our next weekend of fun with you!

Wow! Can’t believe all this happened in only an hour.

Saturday morning I was tidying the downstairs when I heard the neighbours on each side of me outside talking.  Not being one to want to miss out on socializing I tore myself away dropped the cleaning cloth, picked up Hannah and we went outside to chat.  I quickly realized the new neighbour was having a garage sale.  One item she was selling was a couch.  She said it was still in good condition and she’d only replaced it because she needed to purchase a sofa-couch for company.  I tried it out on the driveway and it was super-comfy.

I’d purchased my current couch when I bought the house 14 years ago and I’d realized over the past few months that I needed to begin saving for a new couch as the cushions were worn and the springs were beginning to go.  The one the neighbour had was $15 so it fit the budget for sure!  (Especially since I hadn’t actually saved anything for a new couch.)

Within an hour I:

• purchased a new couch
• cleaned the old one (and under it)
• the neighbour’s sons moved out the old couch and moved in the new one
• cleaned the new couch and,
• my parent’s picked up the old couch and delivered it to the thrift store they volunteer at!

Phew!!  What a difference an hour makes!

Here it is.  Much like the old one but with much more comfortable seating.  Hannah approves as she’s still able to have full access to the counter and sink which of upmost importance to her right now. 

I’m guessing it’s a good thing it was only $15 because as I’ve been typing this post I’m pretty sure my fridge has let me know it’s on it’s last legs.  I could hear dripping and pulled out the fridge to find a puddle behind it and it dripping at a steady rate.  The fan was also not running.  Uh oh!  I called my dad and we’re pretty sure it might be done.  I quickly moved all the frozen food down to the freezer in the basement.  Then, about half an hour later the fan started going again and it’s cooling.  That’s a really good thing!  I’ll begin to look for a new fridge over the next few days. 

Tonight I’m thankful it decided to drip when I was home rather than on the weekend when I was away.  Also, it happened while I was still up and could get it cleaned up.

Now, my question to you.  Are there things about your fridge that you really like that you’d recommend I look for?  Freezer on the top or bottom? Looking forward to hearing your input.

**Update** It’s now 24 hours since I wrote this post and since emptying the freezer it’s been working perfectly.  So thankful!  Has anyone had something like this happen where it begins to leak water and then works fine after that?  Hopefully it was just a heads up to start looking for a replacement.  I’ll start looking, read Consumer’s Reports and keep my eyes on the sales flyers.

Congratulations K!!!

Last night while we slept my friend K met her adorable, sweet, precious Mia!

Hop on over and check out the cuteness and congratulate this new Mama!!!

SO happy for you K!  Finally all the ‘Motor City Mamas’ have our babies in our arms!

Wrapping Up the Long Weekend

We spent a great weekend together with friends and I’m working on a post about that but for now I’ll share some of the fun Hannah and I enjoyed together after getting home yesterday afternoon. 

After supper we went over to visit with Nana and Papa after missing our weekly Sunday lunch.  Hannah loves spending time with her grandparents  and it’s just not the same when we have to go extra long without a visit so went over to their place last night.

Papa took Hannah for a walk. I love seeing them hanging out and Hannah has such fun with him.  There are so many games that just the two of them share together and it’s precious to stand back and watch love in action.

This shows why Papa often needs a nap after Hannah visits!

When it began to cool off we went inside where Nana shared a story with Hannah.

This picture amazes me!  Hannah and I have coloured together for a number of months but I’ve never talked about colouring in the lines.  It’s something an adult naturally does but I love how children colour with abandon so I’ve never shown her that there is an option to colour within the lines.  That being said, this picture blows me away as it shows how much she silently watches what is happening around her, soaks it in and does her best to imitate it.  I often have to remind myself that she’s only 26 months old!  Wow!!

On a side note about colouring.  We had to have a little chat last week as she created for me her first un-solicited work of art on our bathroom door.  Oops!

When we left Nana and Papa’s last night I decided we’d end our fun weekend off with a special treat: ice cream and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

Good to the last drop.

Hannah and I shared the very best weekend together!  A wonderful combination of time for just the two of us together and then other times surrounded by the love of family and friends!  Ah, now that’s the way to celebrate a long weekend! 

Mommy’s Girl for Sure!!

Hannah is quickly turning into as big as Disney fan as Mommy and it’s so fun to see life through her eyes!  She surprises me often by seeing ‘Mickey’ in everyday things around her. 

Recently when I was wearing a silver necklace and when I picked Hannah up she said, ‘Mommy!  Mickey!’  This is what she saw

A couple of times each week as I’m putting her into the car in the garage she looks across at the Christmas wreaths stored on the wall of the garage and shouts, ‘Mommy!  Mickey!’ 

Then earlier this week I laughed when I looked over to see her making this on the shower wall with her foam bath toys

Yes, Hannah is a chip of the old block and loves to find Mickey in things around her.  When she’s old enough to understand it will be fun to introduce her to Hidden Mickeys at the parks!  I know Bec Bec will have fun finding them in just 99 more sleeps.  Yes folks, the countdown to our Disney trip hit double digits today and we’re celebrating!!

Another fun thing is that Hannah is convinced (hmmm…wonder how this happened? ;o) that every plane leads to Mickey!!  As soon as she sees an airplane in the air she says, ‘Mommy!  Mickey plane!’

And this last one is so so sweet!  Each night as Hannah drinks her bottle I say her bedtime prayers and part of it is that we say, ‘God Bless Grandma an Grandpa, Mommy and XiaoFen…..’ and go through the entire family and a few close friends.  Earlier this week when I’d said, ‘A-men’ and thought we were finished I looked down to still see her eyes squeezed tightly shut and I heard the sweetest little voice saying, ‘God bless Nana, Papa, Mommy, Xiao Xiao…’  And then I heard this and a huge smile crossed my face as I tried not to laugh….’God bless Mickey and Minnie.  God bless Goofy and Plupo.   God bless Daisy and Donald Duck.’

Awe…..you melt me Hannah!  I love you sweetie and everything thing that makes you the most amazing little girl that you are!!!

Cows, Chickens and Castles…Oh My!

Last Saturday Hannah and I were invited to join Auntie K, Uncle J, Chick and Pea for a day of fun at a local organic farm. We had a blast! The kids love spending time together and hugs and smiles are shared all-round! Little Chick even presented Hannah with that beautiful yellow flower when we arrived! ;o)

Hannah and Chick took advantage of the free face painting while Pea voted for the natural look.

There was a jumping castle as well as a large sandpit full of shovels, buckets and toys. There were little tractors and trikes to ride and a little play area with swings and a slide. We were all set for hours of fun!

After playing for a while we went on a guided tour of the farm.

It was so interesting to see and hear how things are grown on an organic farm. Here are the young chickens grazing on grass in this covered, wheeled pen that is moved twice a day.

When the chickens are old enough they’re given free range of the farm and are happy to explore. The kids had such fun running through the fields and trying to catch the chickens.

We went for a wagon ride and saw row upon row of young strawberry plants. Strawberry season begins in only a month so it’s hard to believe at this point that the little plants will be ready for picking so soon.

Checking out the baby plants in the greenhouse

And now, one final pic of beautiful Chick. Gorgeous baby girl inside and out! She and Hannah are very similar in personality and Auntie K and I know their energetic littler personalities will take them far. At the same time it’s great to have a friend who can relate to a little girl whose current favourite saying is, ‘I do it all my-self!’

What fun it was to spend time with you Auntie K and Uncle J! We’re already looking forward to our next visit!!