She drives a hard bargain

Are you lookin' at me?

Brea's been speaking more and more and her vocabulary is taking leaps and bounds. It's also quite extraordinary to me the concepts she can grasp, this little person is amazing! She's been speaking in short sentences for a while now, we noticed it mostly in June, when Nana was with us. During her getaway to Chase, she often went to the deck when Grumpa went out and shout "Umpa! Where'u?". She pays attention to any different sounds in her environment - when she hears the lawnmower outside, she'll come tell me "Daddy cutting grass!". Lately she's been really proud of eating all of her food, she happily points to her bowl or the peel that's left behind and say, "Brea eat it all!".

A few nights ago, she discovered how to bargain. Whenever I need to get her to bed or down for a nap, I find it helps to give her some forewarning and I'll say... "Sleep sleep in 10 minutes" or "5 minutes to play, then it's nap time". Well, I was doing the usual and told her she had 2 more minutes to play when she turned to me and said, "NO! 9 minutes!" The little monkey was trying to bargain with me...

Who's Who?

Just looked at some pictures in the baby archives the other day and I can't believe the resemblance between Brea and Rhys at one month of age. Can you tell who's who?

A Mahvelous Do!

Auntie Signe wanted to welcome Rhys with a big party and what a party it was. For such a little boy, he certainly had a big One-month-old do. Friends and family from near and far made it out for the festivities and very yummy treats. It was so great to be able to see everyone have fun.

A big thank-you goes out to Auntie Signe for being such an awesome hostess and amazing in creating the most beautiful cupcakes, invitations and favours. Honestly, people were asking me if she did it for a living. Our little guy was showered with gifts and hugs and kisses. Brea enjoyed the day too as big sister, there were many little friends to keep her busy. Here are a few pictures of the day:

 Labeled to avoid confusion :o)

The hostess with the mostest

A pair of beautiful girls posing by the cupcakes

Auntie Signe's amazing cupcake pond for Rhys

Boys at play

Po-Po's finding ALL the babies!

Madison showing off her bubble skills

Nana and Great-Nana

Jilly-bean!

"Granpa Gord" and "Granma Gwen" made it out for our party!

Grauntie G shows Brea the ropes.

(Notice the sticker on her forehead, Kai was decorating)

Auntie Kim, Auntie Leslie and Grumpa

Beautiful Baby Erica, just a wee bit older than Rhys

 The Yee-mas and Aidan getting a look

Cousin Kate getting a snuggle

Lovely ladies: Cousin Michelle, Grauntie G, and Auntie Signe

Po-Po!

The Yee-mas, Po-Po, and Uncle Ting

My son

I had forgotten...

All those tiny fingers and toes
A nuzzle on my neck of a little nose
The scent of milk on their breath
The softness of baby skin
Midnight cuddles
Coos and gurgles
The brush of downy hair on my cheek
Having a little being who needs me completely

Thank-you Rhys for letting me experience it all over again.
I love you my little man.

Cousins

Since Auntie Signe was throwing a party for Rhys' one month milestone, they journeyed out from Alberta a few days earlier and we had plenty of time for the cousins to get together and play. It's been really wonderful for Brea to spend time with her cousins. They in turn were excited to see Brea again and to meet Baby Rhys. Madison was the perfect comfy cuddler for her cousin and spent nearly an hour sitting with him while he slept on her.

A cuddle from Madison

 Getting a helpful push from Kai

Brea would only sit still for Kai

Finally a great shot!

Oh Canada!

On Canada Day we made it out to some of the festivities around town. We saw singers, dancers, the petting zoo, clowns and after Brea went down for her nap we made it out to Whee Bikes to purchase her birthday present from Nana and Grumpa. They had seen a friend's grandson use a push bike and thought it would be perfect for Brea. Craig did a bunch of online research and we decided that the Strider Running Bike was the one for our little girl. The premise behind the balance bikes is to have the little ones learn to balance so that they can go to a two-wheeler easier. Typical bikes with training wheels or trikes do not teach balance as the child simply leans on the training wheels. This way they gain confidence to transition to a pedal bike with the skills of balancing in place.

We were going to save it to give to her later but she was just so excited after seeing a little boy ride the bike that she just HAD to try it; luckily my helmet sized down enough to fit her head. So far Brea is straddling the bike and walking with it. We are going through how to turn but she insists on grabbing the fork and turning the whole bike. It's only been a few days and she's excited to go out every night after dinner with Daddy to ride more so I'm sure she'll be moving around in no time.

 Making sure her head stays safe.

 Waving her Canada Flag.

 Showing off her new wheels.

Catching up!

This last month has been a whirlwind! I was lucky to have had Nana stay with us for a month to help with getting accustomed to Rhys' arrival. Brea had time to bond with her and we have been pampered :o)

Brea has adjusted to the role of Big Sister and loves to greet her little bro every morning and kiss him before bed every night. She still needs a little work on being gentle but overall, she's been great. She has had some milestones of her own too. She had a getaway to Chase all by herself to spend a weekend with Nana and Grumpa. Grumpa was celebrating his birthday and wanted her to be the belle of his party. She was a hit with everyone! I was a bit leery of letting my little girl go off all on her own and I have to say I did shed a few tears but she had so much fun that I'm glad the opportunity came up. It also gave Craig and I some time to get to know Rhys one on one. Of course, Brea decided to pull all the stops and while in Chase used the potty for the FIRST time! I didn't believe it but she repeated it when she came home twice so far. I guess potty training is on it's way.

Rhys meanwhile has been growing like a weed. We had a doctor's appointment last Friday and our wee little man now weighs 10 lbs 13 oz. We were telling him to grow so his sister wouldn't beat up on him and I guess he's taking it to heart :o)

 A nice conversation

Chubby cheeks