Made you smile!

She does, doesn't she?The other day, we discovered that kids 2 & under are free at Galaxyland at West Edmonton Mall. And apparently, their chaperones (since they are not tall enough to go alone) are free as well. Which means that we went on the carousel for free. And this one is much slower than the one in Paris. We were by ourselves, so this is the only picture I got, but she's clearly much happier than she was on the horse in Paris. She was quite disappointed when our turn was over.

Yesterday she decided to get out the pouch Grammy made and cart her baby around just like Mommy carts her.
"See, I can bend and everything!"

She does not, however, like to hold still for very long.

And this morning, Andrew's mom and I escaped at 7am and went and picked strawberries.
Between the 2 of us, we got 4 gallons in less than half an hour. Not too bad.
So today, I guess we're making jam.

Birthday wishes from around the world.

This parcel actually arrived last week, but with the holiday weekend, the post office was closed for 4 days.

Some friends in Japan sent Katie a nice birthday gift. She was so excited to get some mail just for her. Inside, she found a new purse with a bunny on it, a toy fan, a beautiful handkerchief and a little washcloth. She stuffed it all in her purse and demanded "PENNIES!" to put in there too. She loves her new purse, she was a little upset that I wouldn't let her take it to bed.

Then she wanted to take a picture with a more realistic expression.

2 of 2 - June 28

Today was a scorcher. So we decided to play in the water.

First we tried the sprinkler, but that well water is cold, and she wasn't real sure what to do with it.
So we got out the little pool.
Still really cold, but she seemed happy enough with it.
That's more like it!
Ew! A bug!

Hmmm. This is fun!Thanks Mommy!
Then she got tired of playing in the water and decided to have a car ride.
This is the face I get when I ask her to smile for me.
And this is "show me some teeth."
What a little goof.
And Bailey cried the whole time, because we had to tie her up so she wouldn't get the water all muddy while Katie was playing. She sure had fun diving in after Katie was done though!

1 of 2 - June 27

Today, Papa put our garden fence back together for us. We had to take it down so that we could get some peat moss delivered this spring, to mix into our sand. Look at all that green now!

Of course, Papa had help from the chief nail loser, er, nail holder.

I think she dropped about 12 nails.
Good thing the ants keep us from going in the yard barefoot.

This is what happens now when she knows you're taking her picture.
She turns into a ham. Daddy helped with the staging.

Finally got her to look at the camera, but what a goofy face!
Thanks go to Aunty L. for the adorable jammies.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I just love to be a helper, especially if it means that I get to sweep.
I also love my cool dude glasses and my green shoes.

I love to read my books and I love the new deck.
Not really so big on wearing hats outside though.

I really love horses.

I love bubbles!

Do NOT like how bubbles taste,
but I'm learning to keep my mouth away from that stick.

I love my Papa, he's lots of fun to play with.

I love noodles!

And I love to be a goofball in my bath.

Happy Birthday Katie!

I can hardly believe it's been 2 years already since you were born, but at the same time, it seems like you've been in our hearts forever. You are so much more of a "big kid" every day. Talking more, and so much clearer, exerting your independence, exploring, it's so much fun to watch you learn and grow.

Today we went to the zoo again. Just like last year, but this time Katie is big enough to go on her very first pony ride. She was so excited, and kept patting the pony and telling it "good boy, horsie". We didn't tell her that the "horsie" was a girl. She was disappointed that she had to get off, and a little confused that Mommy didn't get to have a turn, but she loved getting to ride. Much more interested in the other animals this year too.


She was a little bit disappointed that this train didn't go when she told it to, but we promised her that next time we'd find the one that does move.

Almost there.

Yesterday evening we celebrated Katie's birthday with a nice little barbecue. We had both sets of grandparents, one Aunty & Uncle, 3 cousins, and 2 other guests. It was a lovely time, even if we goteaten alive by the mosquito hordes when we tried to escape the heat in the house. No pictures yet, they're on everyone else's cameras! Tomorrow the little bug turns 2.

Gunga's here!

Too much fun.

Katie just loves her new friend. Mooch is used to older kids and is still a bit shy around Katie.

He just hates it. Can you tell?
I swear this cat has a permanent smile.

We got a new deck installed, finally. Someone already figured out (in less than half an hour!) how to unlatch the gate, so I had to put a lock on it.

It makes fun noises when you stomp your feet.

She loves this, because she can come in & out by herself. And she can't get off of it by herself, so I can do a little puttering in the kitchen and watch out the window. Not that she isn't in & out of the door 1200 times a minute checking to make sure I'm still there.

There's the kitchen window right over her head.
And her "couch" that I found at the hardware store. She was so excited.

Another newbie

New cat #2, Hugs. He's 2 years old, the snuggliest cat I've ever met, and he was very, very unhappy when his old owners moved from an acreage to the city and he wasn't allowed outside anymore. It broke their hearts to give him up, but they wanted him to be happy, so they gave him to us. We've had him a week now and we love him. He's a sweetie, totally lives up to his name, loves to go outside but stays in the yard, and he's been hunting mice already!

And we've changed Tipsy's name to Mooch (Katie's word for kiss).
So now we've got Hugs and Smooches.

Mooch has finally decided that we're okay and she comes out of hiding when everyone is awake instead of only when I'm awake.

June 1st.

Katie is going to be 2 this month. I can hardly believe it.
She's such a big kid these days, putting on her own clothes, putting on her boots, exploring the yard without needing to hold my hand. It's so much fun to watch her learning things.

A few days ago, her friend T came to play again while his Mom went to work. They had so much fun. We spent most of the day outside, but we were too busy playing to take any pictures out there.

Maybe we need another chair?

This was hilarious. Katie dug this harness out of the toybox, put it on, handed T the leash part and laughed hysterically when he started leading her around. He wasn't quite as entertained.

New friends and a new hat.

First up, we have a new friend. Meet "birdie.' He is huge, plastic, and supposedly good for scaring away the woodpecker who keeps banging on the metal stovepipe every morning at 6. He had to live inside for a few days because Katie was in love with him.

She's also very excited about his eyes.

Then came the new hat. The cousins outgrew their bike trailer, so it was passed down to us. Had to do a little preparation, but we should be good to go as soon as this rain stops.

And our other new friend. She's 6 months old and her name (for the time being) is Tipsy. She's very sweet, loves kids, and is currently crashed out in one of Bailey's beds. Completely ignoring the cat bed I got.

Oh right. I was going to share.

Trey wants a tower too. Took him about 2 seconds to figure it out. Trey is our friends' little boy who is about 2 months younger than Katie. They are great friends. They play together so nicely, and we don't generally have to worry about what kind of trouble they're getting into. Every time we leave the house now, Katie says "Trey? Trey?" And if you ask her if she wants to go play with Trey, she's got her shoes on and her coat in her hand before you have time to blink.