A Swing!

Kate loves to swing.  Our tree needed some excitement.  Put those two things together - happy kid and a fun tree!  YAY!

This girl loves to be outside!

Another Birfday - eek!

Part One - The downtown tradition (Saturday, April 10)
This is the third year in a row that we have gone to the St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District for my birthday.  It was a beautiful day - a little windy and cold in the shade but warm and lovely in the sun.  We had a yummy lunch at the Brick Street Bakery - such yummy sandwiches.  Then on to Soma to stock up on more chocolate then is reasonable.  The last stop was the Sweet Escape for some cupcakes.  From there we walked down to the Market (stopping at some swings on the way) to pick up light amber maple syrup and Kozlik's mustard.  We didn't spend very long in the Market at all, navigating that place with a stroller is well, just plain nuts! 

Part Two - Dinner with Mom and Dad (Sunday, April 11)
I'm starting to feel a little badly that my Mom cooks dinner for our birthdays every year.  We should take a turn and Ken should cook for our birthdays next year!  Sunday after church we went to my parent's and had dinner.  Thank you Mom for making turkey - yum!  And thank you Dad for getting me a yummy peanut butter and chocolate ice cream cake - yay!

Part Three - Dinner at the Keg (Monday, April 12)
I love that Andrew works at the Keg.  I love going out for a yummy steak dinner, and paying much less than full price!  We had fun.  Great food, even better service.  How often does your server look after your child so you can cut up your meat?  Kate had fun walking around with her Uncle.

Kate is 15 Months Old!

Tottenham = Trains

Trains, where to begin.  The first time Ken and I travelled to Tottenham was in October 2005.  We came with some friends to ride the South Simcoe Railway's historic steam train.  At that point in time I never imagined we'd end up living here... but that's a different story.  In December of 2008 I decided that I was finally going to start cross stitching a birth announcement for the baby I was pregnant with.  I had no idea if I was having a boy or a girl, but I knew I was moving to Tottenham so when I saw the train sampler in the store, it just seemed perfect.  Not only is Tottenham the home of the SSR, the CN railway line runs right along the town, and crosses Tottenham Road twice.  We hear the trains blow their horns lots!  Kate loves the train.  We have train books and she makes the cutest sound with her tongue as her train sound and now she has started woo-hooing too!  

We knew that the Easter Bunny Express was in operation on Easter Sunday and so between Conference Sessions we decided to go see the train.  Kate was very excited to see all the trains.  It was the first time we'd taken her down to see them.  I think this summer we'll definitely have to take a ride.

William's Baptism

Baptisms are such special occasions, but when it's the baptism of a family member, it's awesome, and it's Easter, and it's General Conference!!  SPECIAL!

Wiliam all in white.

William was baptized by his Grandpa, and was confirmed by his Uncle Ken. 

After the ordinances were performed we went outside to take some pictures.  Trying to get one picture where all the grandchildren were cooperating at the same time was interesting!  This is the only picture that I got (out of ten) where all the kids are looking the same direction.  I'm pretty pleased with it.  And I should apologize to Kristen, on Kate's behalf.  In several of the pictures Kate is trying to remove layers of Kristen's face.

I think William was pretty tired of all the pictures by the time I tried to take a picture of him and his mom.

Afterward we gathered at Maureen and Dan's for a wonderful BBQ (thanks Meaghan) and some family fun.

I was grateful to Kate's cousins for being generous with their trampoline time and for the gentleness they showed.  Kate had never been on a trampoline before.  She absolutely loved it!


And what blog post would be complete without a beautiful picture of a mother and her child.

I mean, what blog post would be complete without a beautiful picture of a mother and her child.

Lots of Possiblities

Suzanne mentioned the other day that I hadn't blogged in a while.  While this is true, it doesn't reflect how much I think about blogging.  I think about blogging lots.

I could blog about going to playgroup at the beginning of March...

I could blog about the mini-van that we bought in January...

I could blog about how much we're enjoying the front porch...

I could blog about all the animal noises that Kate can make...

I could blog about the cute blue coat that she got for her birthday from Shawn...

I could blog about our trip to the McMichael Gallery...

I could blog about our little mini-trip to Whitby over March Break...

I could blog about Kate's new overalls...

I could blog about trying to get Kate to walk...

Mostly when I think about blogging these days I think about ranting.  The ranting would be about being a working mom.  I have many thoughts on the subject, so many.  However, when I get home from work I just want to be with my girl, and for the most part that doesn't include being in front of the computer.

Kate's First Up Do

We bought a box of assorted ouchless hair elastics.  I couldn't resist...

Fourteen Months Old

These days trying to get Kate to pose for a picture presents some challenges.  I've let her play with my digital camera so now when she sees the camera she doesn't want to pose for a picture, she wants to look at the camera.  She's figured out how to scroll through the pictures on the camera and every once she actually deletes a picture!

This is my sad little monkey, having been denied the camera.

This represents session two which took place slightly later in the evening.

Every so often I see flashes of what lies ahead, she always has been a little lady who knows what she wants!  Fourteen months going on two - look out!