Giggles

Rhys is 3 months old!
He is growing fast and we love all the joy he brings to us everyday. On his birthday, as I held my little man in my arms, he watched his Daddy toss a cup into the air and he laughed. A full belly chortling laugh. It was the most adorable thing.

Lethbridge, AB

We made it out to Alberta this past month for Craig to help his brother's family move house and to visit some of our Lethbridge family. Great-auntie Isabel was kind enough to open her home to us and we had a lovely stay. Thank-you!  

Brea, Craig and I got to re-visit with people we haven't seen since last summer and Rhys was introduced to many smiling faces. Craig was busy while we were there but the kids and I had a rollicking time exploring. On our last night Great-auntie Isabel hosted a splendid feast, we had the most scrumptious homemade cabbage rolls, noodles, ribs, paprika chicken and many fresh and delicious offerings from her garden. Here are some pictures of our getaway.  

Rhys giving a smile for his picture with Great-great-auntie Isabel

Brea was a bit reluctant for pictures that night

Dessert anyone? Scrumptious walnut and poppy rolls

Cousin Gene prepares dessert for the kids

The cousins enjoying their cones outside where drips are easier to clean :o)

Miss Caylie hamming it up for the camera

Yum... ice cream!

While inside... Rhys was getting cuddles from cousin Gene...

and Cousin Char

Craig couldn't resist going for a ride with Gene

Nothing sweeter than a summer treat!

Happy Birthday Little Girl!

Brea is TWO years old!

In honour of our "big" little girl, we switched her to her big girl bed and she was very excited. So excited that at nap time she couldn't get to sleep... we decided not to push it and opt for an earlier bedtime instead. After dinner, Brea exclaimed, "Finished! Brea bedtime!" and went down without a fuss.

We had a celebration yesterday to celebrate her birthday and invited all her friends for the fun. Unfortunately, the weather was a little grey and the party was indoors but everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves. We had a great BBQ and Po-Po made a scrumptious chow mein. Rhys got to meet lots of new people and Brea's cousins and Auntie Signe made it to the festivities too. It was a busy day and Brea was a little overwhelmed, especially when it came time to cut the cake. Thank-you everyone for making it out to celebrate her special day!

The DORA cake! Oh so yummy!

Blowing the singing candle out together

Miss K, oh so pretty!

Keelan, showing off his stylin' hair

Miss Joelle with her beautiful smile

Little Susanna checking out the yummy fruit at the table

I'd like that balloon please!

Malaya enjoying her lunch with Mommy Dawn and Daddy Jerrick

Po-Po and Rhys checking out the cake

Meeting Auntie Jen

Bubbles!

There is nothing like bubbles to brighten the day.

Waiting for the fun to start

The bubbles begin...

Ready, set...

GO!

The girl who loves bubbles

And some bubble action for you to enjoy

Malaya is TWO!

We celebrated Brea's friend Malaya's second birthday this past weekend at her party in the park. It was loads of fun and great for the girls to re-connect. Mommy Dawn looked radiant and is expecting a sibling for Malaya in October. It's hard to believe it's already been two years since we met in pre-natal class. It's been wonderful to have such great friends to watch our children grow together.

Cutting her birthday cake

Running wild

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...