Slacker

I have been such a lazy blogger lately. I still enjoy reading others, and hope there is someone out there that is reading mine along with my dear friend SH.

These beautiful babies are keeping me busy lately. IA is growing so fast, and had the most perfect chubby checks and thunder thighs. She is a great eater, and a pretty good sleeper. She got sick when she was 3 months, and it lasted for the next two. I'm not even exaggerating, poor little thing just couldn't kick the cold. It never got worse than a cold, but a stuffy nosed baby is one of the saddest things. She is naturally a very content baby, so she remained her happy self through it all.
WW just adores his sister, and the feeling is definitely mutual. They love to spend time together, and IA is immediately happy whenever he comes into the room. I really hope that this continues as they get older. I feel like I'm way closer to my siblings now than I ever have been, I wish we had always been this close.
I'm just catching up here randomly. The above is my best bud SH making chocolates with me. My ward had a super saturday and this was my suggestion. I've always wanted to learn, if only I had known how much work it is. It truly is an art. It may be years before I have the time and patience to really try this again.
Halloween has come and gone and these are my sweet babies in their costumes, I should dress IA up again to get a better picture. She was a cute flower, and WW was a caterpillar. Thanks to my sister and her last minute costume save. I had planned for WW to be a dinosaur again, but two nights before his preschool party we decided we maybe should dig out the costume and try it on and it was WAY too small. We searched all the next day for something great, and came up with a borrowed costume that he adored.

Sherwood Park has this great new library. We love books and going to the library. This is our first visit as a family. IA loved it. WW always loved books as a baby, hopefully IA will have the same love.
IA tried rice cereal a couple days ago. She loves to eat, and she happily transferred to the semi-solid variety. She has been super interested in what we are eating, so we took the leap. It was a couple weeks earlier than suggested, but we started WW early and he turned out great!
Look how big this girl is getting. I love all her Sunday dresses. I should try and take a picture each week, because at this rate she will only get to wear each one once. She grows fast, plus she has soo many beautiful ones to chose from.
I somehow lost WW winter coat. So we went out and bought a new one with trendy little boots to match. I love how cute he looks, plus it's keeping him warm during these freezing Alberta days.
Speaking of freezing days, above is a fort WW and I made during a minus 30 day. Something out of the ordinary to break up a home day. He loved it.
These next two are pics of our dear family friend's babies. IA and TD are only a couple months apart in age and will hopefully be close friends. BJ and I just love this family. It's not easy finding couple friends when you are married. We just love spending time together, our kids are close in age, and they make the best food!!
Well I'm randomly caught up for now. We are getting all ready for Christmas and have a busy month ahead. Should be fun as a little family of 4. We got the tree up today, but that will have to be another post. IA is teething and needs some attention:)

Dentist

We took WW to the dentist today for the first time. I was so proud of my little man!!! He sat in the big chair all by himself, and let the dental assistant clean his teeth, and then the dentist check and count his teeth. We have read the little critter book about the dentist to WW, and he was a little concerned that he might need a needle, but we're all clear for another year. I can't believe what a big kid he is becoming!

Manners

This morning WW was demanding a drink, I asked where his manners were... he told me they were 'playing hide and seek'

Later this morning, I needed a helper to run and grab a kleenex for a booger baby, and I asked WW where my good helper was... he said he was 'playing hide and seek too'

I'm interested in finding out who else is playing today- my good eater seems to be involved as well!

Family Picture

We went out today to enjoy the beautiful fall day and to take some family photos with another Fixsen family. It was quite the production to get even one good picture of each of our families. It's always worth the attempt though.

This is my favorite, it's the one I look best in... that's all that matters right?

Preschool

Before leaving for school his very first day.

My baby boy has started his first year of preschool. We have him enrolled in a french immersion program and are so excited about this big step in his little life. Last week on Tuesday I got to go with him for his first day to ease him in, and get him used to the routine. It was nice to meet the teacher and other parents, and to see WW interact in a fairly formal setting. He did great! There were a few times when I got teary watching him, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well he followed along, and paid attention.

Friday of that week was his first "real" day. I was at work so it was BJ that took him to drop him off. It worked well because BJ is much tougher than I am(not in a strict sense, but I knew BJ wouldn't cry or have trouble if WW started crying ), and I was concerned that WW wasn't going to want to stay there by himself. When I called home on my lunch break to see how it went BJ said WW just gave him a big kiss and hug and ran in to the class. When he got home he told us all about his day and his favorite part "glitter glue"!

His special job for the day was line leader.

This week I took him to drop him off. We brought his little backpack, changed into indoor shoes and waited for the door to open. When it did, WW was about to run in, when I reminded him that I needed a kiss goodbye. He turned around, rolled his eyes and gave me a quick peck before running into the classroom. I thought it would be tough to leave him if he was upset about staying without me, it was just as hard to see that he DIDN'T need me. I'm so happy with the school, program and teachers. It is so great for WW to have this little thing that is special for him that he loves.

Outside his locker. Each kid is assigned an animal for the year incase they don't recognize their name yet. WW is a firefighting dalmatian.

Another fun thing about school is that we have been practicing some of his french words at home with him, and he is pretty good at pronunciation. It's just funny when he will tell me a gibberish french word he has made up but he is adamant that he's right.

Snack time, this is what worried me most about preschool. WW is such a picky eater and he just gets the snack that is brought for the day. Each family takes turns bringing enough snack for the whole class. I was blown away the day I took him to school because he opened his snack and ate the whole thing without a fuss. It sounds like that has been the case every school day since as well. Way to go WW!!

Jurassic Forest.

We finally made our way out to Gibbons last week to check out the new Jurassic Forest in the area. We had been told by a few people that when they first heard about the place they knew they had to let me know about it... WW is a well known dinosaur lover around here. It was about half hour away from home and worth the trek!

Above is WW at the gate. That expression on his face pretty much says it all. He was SOOO excited to be there. We went with his cousin and some friends, and left daddy and IA at home. It was a special day for him and I.

It is such a great place, they have complimentary wagons to use, you are allowed to bring in your own snacks, and once you are through the gate you move around at your own pace. We went on a Thursday after school was back in, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. I even bought a year pass, so we can go lots... Anyone interested in going, we'd love to come.

WW and I were trying to sneak up on the dinosaurs, it was such a beautiful place all surrounded by trees and flowers... best part... very few bugs!
We would highly recommend you check out these dinos. We'll be back soon for sure!

A family trip

We took the kids to Calgary this past week. It was a quick trip but we managed to have a lot of fun while we were there. We drove down Tuesday to Airdrie to stay with my brother and sister in law and their girls. That afternoon we went to Calaway park. It is the first time I've ever been, but will definitely be going back. WW was so brave, I was amazed. He went on the bumper cars, the airplanes, boat ride, roller coaster, pirate ship and the log ride. He was with the girls so he had a lot of fun.

I went with him on the pirate ship, which is just like the boat at WEM that just goes back and forth. WW was so scared on the ride, I almost cried watching him. He was gripping the bars so tight, and was focused straight ahead with this look of fear in his eyes. Then anytime the boat went forward his whole little body would shake. So sad. The other rides were a bit better, he'd look pretty serious on the ride until he would pass us and we'd yell his name to take a picture, then he'd give us his biggest smile.

The log ride was the last ride of the day. WW was a little more apprehensive of the bigger rides, but they tricked him into thinking it was a dinosaur ride. He also ended up at the very front of the boat and got absolutely soaked. Poor little man was ready to go home by then.

IA was such a trooper on the whole trip. I couldn't have been more pleased. She was very friendly, and slept anytime we were in the car. Perfect!

Wednesday the boys took the kids swimming at the rec centre in Airdrie. What a great pool. All the kids had a lot of fun and were tuckered out by the end of the day. That night was WW's big show. We bought him tickets to "Walking with Dinosaurs" for his birthday. He has waited and waited for his big day to arrive and was able to go with his dad to see the life size dinosaurs. I guess it was a great show.

While they did that, IA and I went to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend for dinner- have I ever mentioned how much I hate driving in Calgary. It gives me grey hair. We went to a great place called Open Sesame and enjoyed some time together. - My brother and I were super close but since he's moved to Calgary a few years ago I feel like we aren't as tight. It was nice to just get together and visit- it was also nice to get to know his girlfriend a little more.

Thursday we hit up the Balzac mall and came home. It was a great trip, but it's always nice to be home. These girls are WW beautiful cousins. They just loved IA and were a great help, always ready with the soother.

Friday was BJ and my 5 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. He surprised me and set up a babysitter, and took me out to the Hardware Grill. It is delicious food- a little pricey, but once a year is definitely worth the splurge. I am looking forward to the next 5 and seeing what we do with ourselves and our little family.