Shots and Cereal

So yesterday was the day of dread... 4 month shots. Blah! I don't know who its worse on, me or her. We headed to the doctors and it took about an extra half hour to get in. I don't complain because there are so few good doctors that take on new patients. Ariel was an angel, smiling and cooing. I think that makes it worse. Even the doctor was upset having to give her needles when she was soooo happy.

Her check up was good, up to 25 inches long but her weight was only at 14.5 lb. That may seem good, and by no means did she say Ariel wasn't fine, but her weight somewhat tapered off in growth than what the curves have been in her chart. Either way, we are going to go back in a few weeks to reweigh and see were she is at. Ariel during this conversation was kicking rapidly on the table and the doctor laughed saying, like I said, no reason to think she isn't thriving.

Then came the hard part. Only 3 needles this time. First one, no issues, no cry... second one, a red face cry... third one, what the #@$* are you doing to me cry! She calmed down very quickly and nursed in the waiting room as we waited for the 15 reaction time to be up. All good! We went to see Nana and Papa who had just returned from Victoria on a fancy eating trip, needless to say Papa wasn't as interested and they were home earlier. Sometimes he is a party pooper, but thats just Papa!

Then we went to the store to buy Ariel's first cereal! I was giddy, something new! Whee. Then I was hit with the rows of boxes. Why isn't there one box that says, buy me for your baby. Apparently, I picked right when Nana saw it, the good ol' standard that has been around for years. Yay me!

Ariel had been sleeping soundly for a few hours after I gave her some pain med, poor thing had been good then like a ton of bricks was in serious pain. Sniff! She awoke all smiley again was ready for the cereal. I had her in the bouncy chair, since she was so comfy I didn't have the heart to move her. The expressions were hilarious. Thus I believe what the doctor said when I asked what cereal I should get, 'anything is fine, they all taste like crap!' LOL! So Ken filmed it and I took pictures and I think Ariel got half of it in her stomach, she didn't enjoy it from her face, but did manage a smile at the end. Huzzah!

Today we are going to the mall. My throat has a tickle, I am ignoring it. I am not getting sick.... Mikey better not have given me that bug... vitamin c... yes, I will survive. Nana, I am fine. Hehe. Enjoy some pictures of my cutie's first cereal!

Quack!

Today we took Ariel for her first bird watching adventure! After Ken had his dentist appointment, we headed off to the reifel bird sanctuary. I had the idea yesterday, and decided it be a perfect activty for today. When we first arrived, Ariel was sleeping so we put her in the stroller and walked the path. We saw lots of chickadees, towhees, sparrows, various ducks and many other birds. It was a gorgous day, a bit cold, but we bundled up and took lots of pictures. There were lots of families out there today, as well as photographers and bird enthusiasts. Ken was impressed with the turn out and the overall knowledge of the people around him, specially since he is quite the bird man himself.

Ariel woke up once we had reached the tower so we indroduced her to some very well fed ducks. Hehe. In some areas the water was frozen and the ducks were skating across it. After about 2 hours, we decided to get home for a sushi lunch and a nap. I look forward to future trips here with Ariel as she grows up. I hope she can be a bird girl like her daddy. Looks like we are off to a good start.

Below are a few of the pictures I took today: a bufflehead duck, wood duck, pintail duck, a squirrel having lunch with a chickadee, Ariel and I on top of the lookout tower, swans in the field, ducks at my feet and the skating ducks I mentioned. Tomorrow is Ariel's 4 month appointment and her second set of shots, wish us luck.

Stupid mother!

In that whole post I forgot to mention the big news! On Christmas eve, Ariel ROLLED OVER! Yes people, we are now able to go back to tummy! The funny part was, we both missed it the first time. How sad is that! Ken had her in the computer room and she did it on her blanket and when he looked down, she was on her tummy. I was stuffing stockings at this point, and came running when he shouted, "I think she rolled."

Well, we are happy to say, she just did it again, thus jarring my memory that she did it in the first place. This time we both saw her do it, and it was pretty darn exciting. So much so that our cheers scared her and she rolled back to starting position. Lol.

Ok, thats all, go back to your leftovers.

The day after...

Christmas was really nice this year, especially since there is a new member in our family. It was kinda different looking at things from a new set of eyes. All the magic and awe of this season I am sure makes for many wide eyed babies. They really have no idea what is going on. They can't unwrap presents, sing carols or eat turkey. They just sit back and take it all in. Makes you wonder what is going on in her little mind. Wouldn't we all like to know.

The day started with the early morning call to Michigan to Ken's family. We did present opening over the phone and silly us didn't see there were another 2 gifts under the tree until later. Doh! Then we did our stockings as a family. An hour later the rest of the family come by for brunch and presents. It will be a bit different now with Mike married. He has another family to add to the mix. So we figured the morning was our time, then he and Josee were off to her family's place and Dad and Rita were off to sleep as they were leaving for Mexico late last night.

Ken performed a puppet show for Ariel to the "I want a hippo for christmas" song, mostly because we actually bought her a HUGE hippo stuff toy. My brother filmed it while I held Ariel, hehe. She was pretty tired at that point and fell asleep shortly afterwards. Thus missing the presents. Oh well. It felt weird opening hers, but she really couldn't do it anyways. She loved her new play things, and thats all that matters right? I realized we ended up mostly with video footage, rather that pictures, but thats ok. Moving pictures are more fun to send to family.

We were to be going to dinner at Fran's place but sadly, she fell ill that morning, as were the extended family that was to come. Poo. We ended up going for turkey leftovers at Nana's, which in the end was good for Ariel, since the morning was sooooooooooo crazy.

Today was a big lazy day. Ken animated, I played with Ariel and we just enjoyed the quietness. Later we drove Nana and Papa to the ferries for their mini trip to Victoria to see other family. Following that, we took our car in (I still can't believe they were open today) to get the muffler looked at. Stupid thing needs to be replaced along with the tailpipe. Blah. We also will have to get a few other things done in the new year, makes me miss those car free days. But in the end, it was a gift we never had to pay for, so putting some cash into it now doesn't feel too bad.

We got our Victoria accommodations booked for our visit to see Mike, Trudy and the boys. Looking forward to seeing them. Whee! Tomorrow Dianne and her sister Karen are coming by for a visit in the morning. The car should be ready after that and we may go out for an adventure. Time will tell. As for now, some other cute pictures from the past few days, including our matching dress dress picture with church friend Nicole, funny bib with Uncle Mike, a full stocking and a picture with Daddy. Enjoy!

We wish you a merry Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas, Ariel style!

On the first day of Christmas Ariel had for me
a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the second day of Christmas Ariel had for me
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the third day of Christmas Ariel had for me
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the forth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the fifth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the sixth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the seventh day of Christmas Ariel had for me
7 delicious cookies
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the eighth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
8 fancy presents
7 delicious cookies
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the ninth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
9 wet bibs
8 fancy presents
7 delicious cookies
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the tenth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
10 fuzzy blankies
9 wet bibs
8 fancy presents
7 delicious cookies
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the eleventh day of Christmas Ariel had for me
11 books for bedtime
10 fuzzy blankies
9 wet bibs
8 fancy presents
7 delicious cookies
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

On the twelfth day of Christmas Ariel had for me
12 stinky diapers
11 books for bedtime
10 fuzzy blankies
9 wet bibs
8 fancy presents
7 delicious cookies
6 funny rattles
5 movies with Dad
4 woolly hats
3 pretty dresses
2 snowflake shoes
and a mouth full of 'binkie'

Merry Christmas!

Hope you enjoyed our version of the 12 days of Christmas! Hee.
Peace, love and joy to you all.

The days are never boring

You already know with a title like this one, that this is bound to be an interesting post. Lets start off with the small things and build up. I woke up this morning and my eye was hurting. I went to the bathroom and saw that I had a sty on my eye lid. Great, with that I now resembled Quasimodo. Always a nice way to start ones day.

Ariel and I went to coffee. Stella had a gift for Ariel, a baby sock monkey! Will post a picture soon, as I need to post her in her strawberry hat as it is also wearing one. Lol. Too cute. Ariel loves those sock monkeys. After coffee, I went and got the stuff I needed for the potluck dinner tonight. While walking home, with Ariel in the snuggly, I tripped when stepping onto the curb. Well, needless to say we both went down. Since I reacted to protecting her, I landed on my knees and managed to bend up my umbrella pretty good. Ariel was fine, no harm at all. She looked at me like it was a game or something. At that point I could feel my legs burning in pain and my face heat up from embarrassment. When I looked up, several people were running over to make sure we were both ok. I was glad we were close to home, as my knees were killing me.

Once home and Ariel was happily playing on her blanket, I removed my pants to see the damage. I had good sized raspberry burns, some popped blood vessels and pretty nasty skinned areas. You could sure tell I pushed to fall that way, rather than on Ariel and protecting her head at all cost. I could care less about the pain knowing she was fine, but it was starting to hurt that much more. Took some pain pills, cleaned it up and rested. Ever since the great rollerblading fall of 96, my knees have never been the same, this didn't help them in the lease. Took a bath when Ariel napped and that seemed to relax the muscles. Note to self, don't trip again.

So if that wasn't enough for today, as I prepare to leave at 4pm for Christy's, I look out the window and see several police with the shields and guns walking around our building. Oh good grief, now what! Nana arrives to bring me some crackers for the party to go with my appetizer only to see this situation, and was told to leave. Now, that got her pretty upset and I don't blame her. I was really confused why it looked like we had some mob boss hiding out inside our place. I called Christy to give her the update, not sure when I would be able to get out, as the cops were now blocking the driveway.

Within a half hour, they were yelling to this guy to get down on the ground. It was soon I realized it was our neighbour, the one the police seem to visit every few months. Sigh. He sounded really mad, I think his girlfriend calls the cops on him when they have a fight, and they did have one earlier today in the parking lot. It looked like the ended it well, but with this sort of scene, I guess not. I have no clue what she said to get what looked like a swat team out, but it couldn't have been good. Finally at 5pm, it was good to go. No more hiding out, and I was glad to get going. Ken wasn't impressed, especially when the couple came home later that night. Needless to say, he was yelling at her for what she did, so who really knows if it was justified. I really think she kinda is one who cries wolf. I am hoping this latest installment gets them kicked out. All the neighbours are really sick of it, as its like a joke now.

And so ends my day. I am glad its over. I had fun with my friends, and that was the nice ending I needed.

Ariel and Kermit

Last night Ken decided to bring out Kermit to see what Ariel thought. She was really captivated by it thats for sure. Enjoy!

How many shopping days left?

So we went to the mall today in the little volvo that could. Hee. I really enjoy the busy shops during the week down to Christmas, mostly since I really have nothing to buy! Haha. I did check out some of my favorite stops and did find Ariel some good bargans. Old Navy had oodies of things under 5$ each. Woot. Why is it that dressing kids is much more fun than shopping for myself. For the few things she got, I found one shirt. In my defense, its really a lovely shade of plum. At least I have something nice to toss on with the old black skirt. Also we stopped at Baby Gap, oh big mistake! Super cute onsies that an animator would go nuts over....or any wacky parent. Hehe. Actually, she was spending some of her Christmas money, so its all fair.

The find of the day I think was brought on by the fact it is uber cold today. Maybe deep down I am wishing for a bit of warmth. Its crazy I know, I zm the winter girl, but maybe, just maybe this little summer baby is affecting me. How much? I bought her a bathing suit! Not just any suit, but a bikini! This could be the part of me saying, hey if you can't wear one, let her! Especially before she develops into a teenage hottie, eep!

So our day ends as we prepare for dinner and tomorrow a party with my high school gang. Cool!

The family christmas card

Ariel is still sleeping... she better not do this christmas morning. Hehe. Anyhoo, thought since all the cards are mailed or emailed, I can post our annual christmas card image, this year of course we got to add Ariel. Awe. Its a fun tradition I think people look forward to, and one I always want to make time for. I am making a scrapbook of the previous years, of the original paintings. What a fun way of remembering our family as it grows. Plus its a great way to drop 5 pounds and have great hair every year.

Had a nice visit with Aunty Deb last night. Ariel was excited to see her, and I am sure vice versa. Ken had a fun time at his party and even had a drink. Whoa! That one drink had him rather sleepy this morning. Thats what happens when you don't drink, one will be enough to make you a little off... so don't drink and drive. Take a cab or bus, like my sweetie! That was my public announcement. Ken and I know too many people affected by drunk drivers and the aftermath of it, and we hate it, so don't do it. Be safe. Thank you for listening.

I guess I should see if I can wake the girly, otherwise the day will be over. Blah.

New friend

Although I was planning on going to Richmond today, even after I told myself to rest hehe, I decided at the last moment not to and I am glad because we got 3 parcels in the mail. Woot. One was our slide show of the photo shoot we had done with Maria, uber gorgeous. So nice to have someone do a slide show for you, especially when you usually do them for others. Also got the various presents for Mike and Ken that I ordered for Nana. Internet shopping is just not her speed. The last parcel had a cute card from Meeka and a friend she made for Ariel. Needless to say, I think she is hooked Aunty Meeka! Thank you so much! Happy happy, joy joy!

This morning, Maureen, Fran and the kids showed up on our door. So glad we cleaned up somewhat last night. Its not perfect, but I can blame that on the baby right? The kids wanted to borrow some movies and I asked what they wanted. Tim replied 'Happy Feet', which is still in theaters. I laughed, oh no pirated movies in this house, to which he said, but there aren't any pirates in it. LOL. I can't wait till Ariel says things like that.

Tonight Ken is staying late for the work party and I am getting a visit from Aunty Deb. Yay. Ariel is grabbing a quick nap so I should grab some food. Looks like the high school gang is meeting up this week for the annual get-together. It be nice if we all could be there, but some are living out of the area, sniff, Julie. Do call if you come to town, love to see ya! I did hear that Jaime had baby number 2 in the past year, another little boy. NO idea on details, since I got this via the grapevine with our family connections.

So the days are getting busy and growing few as we get close to Christmas! YAY!

3rd Sunday of Advent

Ho ho ho! Here comes santa baby! This morning was breakfast out with the whole family, treated by Nana and Papa. Yum! It might have been hard to get moving so early but the food was worth it. Not to mention seeing everyone. Jo said her exam went well, yay. Mike shared about the gang party happening a few doors down at their apartment building, and how they had to call the cops. However, upon waiting for them, the party people had called the paramedics. They saw someone go out on a stretcher, so sounds like a wild night. Here we thought we were the only ones with strange neighbours. Hehe.

Church was good, lots of rocking. The kids sang 3 songs and were ever so cute. Can't wait till Ariel is up there singing. Whee. She may not have gotten to sing, but Ed made sure Ariel got her first christmas goodie bag, which is tradition after the children's musical program! We will be sure to help her out with it, since she shows more interest in the bag anyways.

We were to go to Hans and Anna's tonight for party celebrating his PhD, but I am somewhat feeling yucky and another migraine on the horizon. I am starting to wonder if I may be sick... as the throat is feeling a bit scratchy. Hmmm. Either way, early to bed and a quiet night at home is much needed. Especially since next sunday is christmas eve. Did anyone else miss that sneaking up? Good grief. Much still to do for preparing my brunch for the big morning. So no being sick. Blah.

Ken is working this week but then is off all next week, yay! His work party is tomorrow but I don't think I will be going. Tomorrow I must rest, rest, rest. HA! Easier said than done. I have a hard time sitting still. Be good or you are going to be sick on your baby's first christmas, must keep telling myself that. Blah.

Speaking of baby, I hear her babbling to daddy. I think I may go join my family, but first a nice, long bath.... ALONE! Whee.

4 Months!

Yay for Ariel! Hard to believe its been only 4 months since she was born, but I guess people still say that when their kids are 17 years old. I told her to smile nice for her blog picture, and she gave me the smile somewhat like the ones Mike use to give as a kid. The good ol' shark smile (minus the teeth).

Today was a busy day of fun. Maybe too much fun and craziness... you will get the drift in a bit. We started off the day with an early visit from Nana. She mentioned that our friends Darrel, Maureen, Andrea and Tim were coming by for a visit to her place this morning. They just arrived the previous day from Alberta. So we got all bundled up and headed to see everyone. It was just starting to rain lightly. Another storm is on the way tonight, eep.

The kids sure have grown since the summer. They were showing off the neat reports they made in home schooling, about their summer vacation. Pretty impressive. Ariel babbled away for everyone, and it was nice to catch up a bit. After the visit, Ariel and I headed off for our day at the movies!

We were the first ones there, so I ate my lunch while Ariel played with her toys. Soon the theater was filling with mommy's and babies... lots of babies. It was then that Erin and little Carter spotted us. They invited us to sit with them and their friends, which was really nice. Ariel cooed during the previews and shortly after eating, fell asleep in her carrier on the chair beside me. She slept through the whole movie.

Somewhere during the film I started to feel a bit funny. My head started throbbing, and then without much warning, full on migraine. Ack! I closed my eyes at times to regain my self but by the end of the movie I was rather weak. I got out to the car, and of course its now dumping rain. I was very blessed to get home without any incident, however once I pulled into our parking spot, I was running to toss my cookies (sorry if thats too much info). Stupid migraines always do that to me.

The worse part was a fellow in a truck saw me when driving by and asked if I was ok. I am sure he thought I was some crazy drunk chick who had been driving with a baby in the car and now was throwing up. Sigh. I explained my situation and that I was ok. Nana was nice enough to come over to watch the princess so I could shower and recover a bit. I feel fine now, but I really can use a good sleep tonight.

So today was fun and eventful as usual. It never fails to be when it comes to me. Wonder if Ariel will be anything like me that way. Hehe. In closing, Ariel wanted to show off her new trick. She loves to grab her feet. In fact she kicks until her shoes are off just so she can see them, what a nut. She also is starting to respond to her name a bit. More so in the morning when she is fresh. Other new things, almost rolling over from back to tummy. She is so close, but I think she is just choosing not to. Ariel is also reaching for toys around her and holding them. Its pretty exciting to see. Happy 4 months baby girl, we love ya!

Birthday fun

So it was little Ellie's birthday today. Well, she isn't so little anymore. She was turning 5 years old. Its amazing to see her compared when Maria and Gerd brought her back from Russia when she was only 18 months. She is such a sweetie and was very excited to have Ariel come visit on her special day. In fact, one of her gifts was an "Ariel" the little mermaid scooter. Hee.

Ariel was already to go with her gift in hand. Mommy helped wrap it up of course. Stella picked us and Nana up to go. Ariel loves sleeping in Stella's car, not sure why, but she sleeps 9 times out of 10 in it. She only had a quick nap though, for we arrived in very little time.

We arrived and Ellie was flying around the room on the new scooter. It was pretty cool, complete with shell shaped bell. Ariel took awhile to get use to the new surroundings but soon was grinning. Maria and Ellie even got Ariel a cute little bear blankie. She was thrilled and flashed her winning smile, (can see that on her blog). Awe!

Ellie loved the painting book we got her and even tried it out during our visit. (It was a little mermaid one of course). Stella had made Ellie a sock monkey and Nana gave her several books. Stella then read one to both the girls and they really enjoyed that.

We headed home shortly after that, but it was a lovely morning and some yummy treats. Makes me look forward to celebrating Ariel's first birthday in the summer. Whee.

Tomorrow is the big 4 months old and a movie date with mama, should be fun!

Disbelief

And yet, not totally surprised. Why should our town be any different. Our local high school apparently was on a lock down today following threats a student made about bringing a gun to school. The police searched the school and there are 2 people in custody, no one was hurt.... maybe not physically, but that safe feeling has been taken away from all that attend there. I sat thinking about all the teens I know at that school, not to mention teachers and friends. This isn't an image I want to think about. Not my school... possibly my daughter's future school. Sigh... Thank you Lord for protecting them all today.

I will share all the fun of today a bit later tonight.

After the storm

I am happy to say that we didn't seem to have any damage around our place after the storm last night, but I did see one huge tree that came down over the little foot bridge behind the shopping center. CRAZY! Really hope no one was under that when it fell. Here is a pic I forgot to include in the last blog. Ariel and daddy posing with her new nativity set we got her. Its from Fisher Price, and all little people. Is that too cute or what? It even has a light up star that plays a Away in a Manger. Awe! Years of fun this will be.

Today was a shopping trip to the village for my materials for making antipasto later this week. Yum. I also managed to get a sheet of my famous painted sugar cookies made today (since we didn't get to them last night). Still have some more dough but I need more food coloring so it will have to wait. I also started a secret photo project for my blog with Ariel's help. Stay tuned, it will be super cute. A hint... a visual christmas carol. Hee.

Ken is working late tonight, so its just us girls hanging out. Ariel is busy playing with her toes and anything that makes a crunchy-crackle sound. I think I will take it easy tonight, as I am pretty tired. So in closing, here is the little princess in a candid moment.

The Party Princess

Back again! Ariel is sleeping, so I shall take this time to update you all on our weekend of parties. On Saturday night it was our church's annual christmas banquet. Only this year it was held at the christian school because we are lacking a kitchen. Kinda a necessity for an eating event. It was decorated ever so lovely and the food.... oh man... I don't usually do seconds, but I did then. It was amazing!!! Ariel got to wear her new dress from Grammy Liz. Awe! Ken was stuck in traffic so we went with Nana. He arrived not too late, and was able to relax and enjoy the evening.

As usual, Ariel was a little darling. She was getting a little restless so I took her out to a bench in the hall so she could stretch out and kick. We got home around 10ish so it took us about an hour to get her into bed. It was hard on her to break with her regular routine, but once she was sleeping, it was smooth sailing till morning.

The next day was church and a chance to wear the penguin outfit again. Needed something comfy since we were on the go so much that day. After church, and second advent, it was lunch at Nana's with Mom's old school friend Brenda. Then on to our Bible study's christmas party in the afternoon. Ariel had a good time entertaining us, and the cat Minnie. We played some games, ate some goodies and had a really nice time. Since we got home right at dinner time, we decided to have some chinese food for a treat. Yum. Watched 7th Heaven's christmas episode, sooooooooo good, and then hit the hay.

This morning I was back at the dentist for the tiny filling I needed. I must say, after having an epidural, the dentist needle is NOTHING! Still unpleasant though since it took a long time to wear off. Nana came to watch Ariel, who was still in bed when I left. She never woke up while I was gone, she likes to sleep in like her daddy. Before Nana left, she let Ariel have a present early. Inside was a cute red winnie the pooh dress, a red sleeper with a cute kitty and a christmas bib. Awe. More fun christmas clothes, whee!

Speaking of clothes, the dress I got Ariel for Christmas eve, the one in her photo shoot, turns out Lesley's daughter Nicole got the same dress so we are going to get a picture of them together matching. TOO CUTE!

The remainder of the day has been pretty low key. Made a double batch of pumpkin muffins and made some sugar cookie dough for Ken and I to make cookies tonight. Hmmmm cookies..... hehe. We also finished the sock monkey's for Mike and Trudy's boys. I think Ariel likes sock monkeys. Don't you?

This week is slowly filling up, got a birthday party midweek for little Ellie who is turning 5. Thursday is Ariel's big 4 month old b-day and so we are going to the movies! They have a cool thing called Stars and Strollers where you can bring your baby and they keep the movie sound lower, lights not completely out and lots of other moms. TOO COOL. I am so excited. Its finally a chick flick showing. You'd think it be mostly chick flicks, but ever since I got the newsletter about it, every movie has been a shoot-em up. Blah.

Well, Ken is on his way home so I should start dinner. Bye!