Forty-One

Birthdays!  I love birthdays.  I want them to be the best most all-encompassing event EVER!  Putting that much pressure on one day isn't healthy.  Perhaps I should re-read this next year at the end of March...

Last night Ken and I went out for dinner at the 1812 Grillhouse.  (We went there for the first time on to celebrate Ken's birthday.)  We talked about a few different restaurants, but in the end I wanted to go there again and try out a few more things on the menu.  The food was very good.  We had a nice time.  I was anxious to return to the girls, but Makenna and Abigail had everything under control!  I was worried about Fiona - but she was asleep in Abigail's arms!

After the girls were in bed I continued my back and forth about what we would do in the morning.  Ken pointed out (rightly so) that I was putting too much pressure on one day.  He logically encouraged me to make the final decision in the morning.  When I woke up this morning and looked at the weather I made my decision, and we went to the ZOO!  I love the zoo.  We renewed our zoo membership today and had a great visit.  It had been almost a year since we'd been.  I had really missed the zoo.  And of course it was Miss Fiona's first trip!  She was pretty calm about the whole thing, but I do think she enjoyed it.

(Before actually getting to the zoo, we had a yummy breakfast - waffles, I was given cards and Ken got me an awesome CD - A Tribe Called Red, we then left kind of late, the girls fell asleep on the way - all of them, so we had an impromptu shopping trip at Bonnie Togs, I bought things for the girls while Ken and girls all slept in the van.)

After the zoo it was off to the parents.  We were supposed to go swimming and then have dinner.  However, since the whole day started a little late, we got to my parents a little late.  So it was play/dinner/hang out first, and swim second!  We had Swiss Chalet for dinner.  Ken made a yummy cheesecake mousse and then we swam, and then we went home.  Today was a great day, and it just happened to be my birthday!

The Bunny!

I am so in love with this picture! I love any and all - no matter how ridiculous - opportunities to take cute pictures of my girls. Today we went to the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket with my friend Melanie and her daughter Liv. We took our pictures with the Bunny, ate lunch, played in the play area and just generally had a great day!

Bacon

I was going to tag this onto the end of my Mom's birthday post, but I just can't!  This was one of the sweatshirts that Jon and I got for Dad for Christmas.  Jonathan commented that his boys were lucky, what with bacon being such a fad right now.  I would have to agree.  Everything's better with BACON!

A Fun Sunday

April 6th, so many reasons for this to be a fun day.  (Fiona was the first priority - she's 10 months old today.)  This is also the day that the Church of Jesus Christ was restored on the earth in 1830.  It is also the day that we believe Jesus was actually born.  It is also General Conference weekend.  AND last, but not least it is my Mama's birthday.  Mom turned 68 today.  So weird to think that in two years she'll be 70!

The plan was that we would all get together next Saturday for a joint birthday celebration on my birthday.  General Conference means many hours of church meetings - 8 for the women, 10 for the men.  (The women have their special women's meeting the week before, so they get ten too!)  I didn't think that we would see Mom today.  However, it was beautiful out today, and Mom decided that she really wanted to go for a drive.

We all visited on the porch and gave Mom/Grandma her gift and cards.  Mom actually asked for her wedding album to be repaired.  Instead of repairing the old one - wasn't sure how to do that, I found a new one on ebay.  The siblings all agreed to go in on it with me and Mom and Dad were very excited to look at it today.

What to say more?  I'm grateful for the home I grew up in, for the parents who raised me.  I'm grateful for the lessons I was taught.  I'm grateful I was raised to know Jesus Christ and to love music.  There are so many other things, but those two things are the most important to me, and I feel they are gifts from my Mother.  Happy Birthday Mama!  (Blogging about General Conference will have to wait until another day.)

Fiona is 10 Months Old

Today is a noteworthy day for a number of reasons, but for this post, I will just focus on my sweet Fiona.  Fiona has had a cold for the past week.  I'm not sure which number this makes.  She has not been as fussy with this cold as she has with others, so that's something!

This past month Fiona has learned to climb the stairs.  Her only real challenge where the stairs are concerned is her clothing.  The hard wood section that leads up to the bedrooms is so slippery when she's in a sleeper!  We haven't really begun the process of going down... that will come!

She continues to babble up a storm.  She does seem to say Mama and Dada, but not consistently in addressing us, so I'm still not really ready to declare her first word.  She loves to growl too.  It's pretty funny when she's loudly growling "ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma" as she climbs the stairs.

She pulls herself up to standing and cruises around the furniture with ease - unless there's mess everywhere, then she cruises with some difficulty.  Good thing my house is never messy... ya right!

One more thing, she is a Mommy Monster.  A 100%, completely certified, Mommy Monster!  Knowing that she is my last makes the times when I so desperately want to put her down, but can't, bearable.  I do love my little monster.   So much.  So so so much! 

I'm so grateful to be a Mom, and to be home with all my girls!

An All Over the Place Kind of Saturday

Today started with the temple.  The temple.  I love the temple.  Going to the temple with a tiny baby is hard to figure out.  I've been once since Fiona's been born, but today was the first time I participated in work called an endowment, in a long time.  I had a beautiful, beautiful time.  I went to the 7:45 a.m. session.  So that meant I left the house at 6:45 a.m. 

When I got home we took a while getting organized but we eventually did and we went out to Orangeville to a Maple Syrup festival.  FUN!  Kate watched a magic show, and even got to help.

 Kate and Alice had their faces painted.

 We took a horse drawn sleigh ride.

Next up was a walk through the forest to go to the sugar shack.  We roasted marshmallows, watched a presentation or two and then saw the maple sap being boiled.  We learned that light syrup  comes from sap early in the season, and dark syrup comes late in the season.  We had a taste of fresh syrup - so good, some maple taffy in the snow - so good, and then Kate lost it! 

Poor thing was freezing. We thought it was warmer than it was.  Neither of the girls was wearing their snow pants and Kate wore her rain boots. Needless to say that all the outdoor fun was too much.  We raced back to the van and  I warmed Kate's feet and she eventually stopped crying.  While I was warming her feet, Ken picked up hotdogs and pancakes and we had a picnic in the van.  He also picked up 2L of light syrup.  Liquid gold!  We did a few errands in Orangeville and then we drove home.

Once we got home I changed quickly and then Fiona and I drove back to Orangeville.  It was the very first of a new women's conference.  From now on there will be a broadcast for all the women ages 8 and up every six months - the week before general conference.  To mark this historic event there was a potluck dinner and an activity and of course we watched the broadcast.

Now for the all over the place.  In the midst of this uplifting day of temple, of family, of spiritual edification, a tragedy unfolded across the street in our neighbour's home.  Four and a half years ago our neighbours lost their son.  He was 13, and it was labour day.  He should have started grade eight the next day.  I suppose that Mama - his Mama never recovered.  She put on a brave face.  She organized charity benefits in his name.  She carried on, but she was broken.  Part of the reason that we were late leaving our house was because of all the emergency vehicles outside our house.  One of which was blocking our driveway.   

I wondered what had happened.  Ken and the girls all wondered what happened.  I sent a message to another neighbour later in the evening.  I was worried and I was curious.  It was after the dinner, not long before the broadcast that I received a message back.  This broken Mama had come to a tragic end.  Tragedy on top of tragedy is just too much.  I am so, so sad for this family.  For the husband and her daughter, now left. 

We don't know any of our neighbours very well.  We are friendly, but mostly keep to ourselves.  I was glad of all the spiritual uplift that started today and ended today.  I'm so thankful that families are forever.  I am thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ.  For resurrection, for the peace that knowledge brings.  I am thankful that I know that Alicia is now at peace and she's with her son Dodge.  I just hope and pray that the family that is left behind can find peace and comfort.

Alice's First Real Dentist Appointment

I'm not sure how many times the dentist has looked at Alice's teeth.  She hopped up into the chair when it was Kate's first visit, because she needed to have a turn.  And then she's had a turn once or maybe twice more?  In any case, I'd been meaning to make her an appointment of her own and I did. 

Alice was awesome.  She was excited and cooperative and not the least bit difficult.  She had a very positive first appointment. 

And now I will say this.  Taking care of my children's teeth is very, very stressful.  Very.