Best Picture Ever!

They do these ridiculously cute things and it is so rare that you actually get to capture the moment.  I'm so excited that I caught the moment... even if there's flash on the plate.

Alice, you are the best!

Not a Sacrifice

Ken spoke in church today.  He spoke about sacrifice.  In his talk he said that he didn't consider having and raising children a sacrifice.

 

I am so thankful for a wonderful husband that loves me and loves his daughters.

Happy Birthday Daddy (as in my dad...)

Seventy-two. 

Tonight we went to Mom and Dad's to celebrate Dad.  My brother Andrew and my Dad's cousin Nancy were there also.  We had a lovely evening. 

I'm not sure what to say now.  Have I talked about the hospital stuff too much?  One year ago it seemed like Dad would never get out of the hospital.  The worst was mostly over but there was so far to go, it seemed so insurmountable so many times.  But I suppose someone forgot to tell Dad that it was too difficult.  No wait, that's wrong, he was told that he'd never walk again.  He was told that he'd have to be in a nursing home.  He was told that his life would never be the same; that is perhaps the only truth he was told.

We usually see my parents weekly and Dad is always eager to tell me of his new tricks.  This past week in his physical therapy he was working on getting out of deep chairs.  He also showed me that he could push his walker ahead and then take three steps to it.  You don't know what you are made of until you are pushed to your limits.  I always knew Dad was a fighter and fight he has.  And beside him through this whole impossible journey has been Mom telling him to fight, that he would come home, that he would walk. 

Kate asked her Grandpa if she could blow out the candles.  (We had told Kate that she could blow out Alice's candles at her birthday party... and then we forgot... and then there were tears.  AND she has talked about her disappointment MANY times.  I hope this cures her of it... we'll see!)

A few more fun pics from the evening.

I love my family.  I am so thankful for my family.  Happy Birthday Daddy!  I love you! 

A Perfect Monday

Today was just perfect because:
I loved being with my girls ALL day
We went to Bizzy Bees in Alliston
We had lunch with Ken (which I made)
Kate played so nicely with the two other little girls that were there
Alice fell asleep in the car on the way home and Kate did not
Alice transferred from her new big girl car seat to her bed
Kate watched Thomas the Train while I made dinner
We had Family Home Evening
Kate peed in the potty all day - she even peed once all by herself
Kate pooped in the potty (for the first time - not including a screaming bath poop a year ago)
We had a fun family trip to the grocery store
The girls are both asleep and Ken and I are going to watch Downton Abbey
The sun was shining brightly all day

I feel so blessed... life is good!

Toilet Time!

As of January the 13th I thought toilet training was a far away dream.  Today was an exciting day!  Kate wore a diaper the whole day, the same diaper I might add.  BUT, it was dry all day.  She peed on the toilet SIX times - asking to go each time (maybe prompted once).  I am so happy, Kate is so happy, and my pocket book is soon to be so happy!  YAY for Kate! (Ken is happy too.  I don't think Alice cares.)

Alice's First Birthday Party!

As much as is possible, I want to do for number two that which was done for number one.  I still take LOTS of pictures and because we don't have a whole lot of traditions, I figure I might be able to keep up with myself.  Since we had a first birthday party for Kate, we had to have one for Alice!  
 
Here's the birthday girl with her party hat and cute birthday girl shirt.

Alice and I posed with the balloon bouquet.  I just LOVE balloon bouquets!

Here are the 2011 babies, Lucienne, Alice and Lauren.  (Amélie was home sick - boo.)

Here are all the party friends, minus Marisol who didn't want to be in the picture. (I was a camera shy kid myself.)

The kids played, the adults chatted and everyone snacked.  Good times!  And of course, the party wouldn't be complete without Kate jumping on the bed with friends.

We had lunch, and with Alice rapidly deteriorating, we expedited the cupcake and the singing of Happy Birthday.

After she finished her cupcake (as in ate some of the icing and threw the cupcake on the floor) I took her upstairs, changed her and put her to bed.

After she woke up, she played with her presents.  She was very excited to play with her new ball.  It's so cute when she says ball ("bah").

 

One last picture of Kate with the birthday balloons!  We had a fun day.  (After Alice's nap, we went down to Thornhill and picked up a big girl car seat and visited with Grandpa.  What a fun day for Alice, and the rest of us too.)

Can you tell what we're doing?

Kate and I are playing Angry Birds.  Me on my phone and Kate on Ken's.  Sad or cute?  I'm not sure.

The Definition of Insanity

I don't remember where or when I heard it, or who said it, but the definition of insanity was phrased this way: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

The past (almost) two weeks have been long and quiet.  I got sick last week, then Kate got sick.  We've been home lots and we haven't always been in the best spirits.  I'm feeling almost completely better, just a little bit of a cough left, and Kate, while much improved, is still sleeping more than usual and her cough sounds yucky.  There really hasn't been much to blog about.  There still isn't much to blog about.  In fact I might just be inventing something to blog about.

This is the BEFORE, right before I decided what the heck, I'm feeling a little crazy...

This is AFTER I picked up all the toys.  

Put all the books back on the shelf.

Then I even did all the dishes.

While I was doing the dishes, Alice decided that it was far too neat and tidy for her liking...

... and she helped several of the toys and books back to their rightful places on the floor.

Back to the definition, I think I would go insane if I wanted my house to be tidy all the time!  (However, I do on occasion, look forward to the day that all of the toys are either in a bedroom, or the basement.)  This also reminds me of a saying that one of my friend's mother-in-law told her: You can have nice things, or you can have kids.

I love my messy, slightly crazy children.  Alice is such a delightful little beast of destruction!

(Oh and I meant to add this yesterday, Albert Einstein said the bit about insanity.)