Alice was dirty.

It's because she still fits and it was convenient but mostly it's just so cute!

Ken's 34th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Ken! Simple is good right?  We went to dinner at Mr.Gigi's in Beeton (the next town over).  The food is very good.  Then we came home and had cake and Ken opened his cards.  I bought him a frame for his diploma from Fleming College, but unfortunately it was the wrong size.  (Silly bookstore website for the Lindsay location that only advertised one size of frame?!)  I think Ken had a nice day.  I hope Ken had a good day.  He is so loved and adored by the ladies in his life.  We are thankful everyday for the wonderful Husband/Daddy/Person he is.

Alice is 23 Months

Alice!  This month it is the rise of the sentence.  Her speech grows clearer all the time. (I'm trying to remember what Kate sounded like at this age, but I can't remember exactly.) Her fine motor control continues to amaze us.  She is still the MASTER of destruction.  The woman can turn an entire room inside out in less than five minutes.  Every once in a while we see a TERRIBLE two type tantrum, but for the most part she is just a happy go lucky kid.  Her giggle is just... joy/bliss/contagious/so fun!

Some of her favourite things to say lately are:
    "Where Kate go? (pause) There she is."  (This is then repeated for each member of the family.)
      She is still far too fascinated with sharp knives and scissors...
      She is repeating prayers now which is too cute.  (Even though it drives Kate mental sometimes.)
      "Lala love Kate, Lala love Dada, Lala love Mama."  (Love sounds more like a cross between la and lo)

She was being a monkey when I was trying to take her picture and Daddy was too tired to get a real smile...

A party for a princess

The invitation...

then... there was lots of planning and waiting!  This morning Kate decided she wanted to wear her new dress (meant to be a new spring dress, but whatever).  She posed beside her balloon bouquet and then with her sister.

We then finished the last of the preparations (okay mostly it was Ken dealing with food) and then we waited for our friends!  When all our friends arrived Sir William the Wise took over to invite the prince and princesses on a quest.

Welcome good prince and princesses.  I am Sir William the Wise.  It is my job to lead on your quest.  We need to discover if you possess the qualities of a truly royal person.

You must be intelligent, creative, courageous, and compassionate. 

You will have tasks to complete to prove yourself.  Are you ready for the challenge?

Their first challenge was to prove their intelligence, which they did through singing the ABC's, counting to 20 and making some animal noises.  Next up was creativity.  We started with kazoo music - it was awesome! Then it was time to decorate crowns.

Then they were off to find the dragon.  They were all given a sword.  Sir William also provided advice on how to use the swords.

Then off to the basement to the dragon's lair.  (The crawl space of course!)

The dragon (Lydia) quite happily handed over the treasure.

The treasure box (the pinata) was brought upstairs for the slaughter and well, the treasure box didn't go down without some serious fight!

Then it was time to feed the hungry royals.  The littles had pizza and veggies and the bigs had pulled pork sandwiches and guacamole and chips.  Ken prepared an abundant and delicious feast.

After lunch Kate decided that it was time to open her presents and so she did.

 And since all our little royals had completed their quest, they crowned themselves.

Next was the cake!  Or rather cupcakes.  My sweet friend Shawn was commissioned to make them.  They tasted as good as they looked.  They were so awesome!

All that was left was the couch picture.  Poor Alice who was at this point completely over-wrought was still subjected to being photographed.

Everyone had a wonderful time and Kate was showered with love and fun!  Yay for birthdays.  I'm so thankful for my wonderful friends and their wonderful children.

Three final notes because I want to remember.  First was that we missed Ciaran - he had a fever the night before and was unable to come. Second, Ruth (Ava's Mom) took most of the photos.  Thank you thank you Ruth!  Third, when Kate's friends started to leave when the party was over she looked so sad.  Darby and her siblings and her Mom stayed and hung out and it was the perfect ending.  Kate really truly had an awesome party!