Old and New

Wednesday night we went for dinner at a friend's house(C and B with baby E)...they've just had a baby (2 weeks ago!) and invited us for dinner. (There is something SO WRONG about this...we should be having them over, bringing them food...they are doing so well I'm flabbergasted!) The baby is adorable. Amazing how we forget how little they are once our own grow big. It was a lovely evening. Katie and I were playing around with the camera yesterday (after her noon nap, which was 2 hours long...apparently, Katie did receive my note about napping!).
For the record, this is what I see:
...and this is what she sees:
And in wonderful news...say bye bye old and useless:
...hello new...and useless:
(for the moment, until we get it level...the floor in the laundry room's a heaving mess and unless we want a dancing washing machine (we don't) we (Ben or other strong male types) need to spend some time making the machine level)

But we are definitely happy to have a new machine. Clean clothes are so close, I can smell it.

What are you doing this weekend? I suspect we will be doing laundry. =)

PS...bowling last night (thanks to babysitters Ken and Cheryl) was something of a disaster for the whole team. We all did rather poorly...usually if someone is off the other(s) pick up the slack, but not yesterday, we were all in it together. We're hanging out near the very bottom of the rankings and I don't see that we'll be crawling out any time soon. It's a good thing we've decided it's more about having fun than winning. (funny how Fun vs Winning is inversely related to High vs Low scores) (did I say that right? Ben, is my math-speak ok?)

Dear Katie,

You are a super smart baby. We know you know how to sleep through the night. I know you can nap for two hours at a time. You've set a very high bar for yourself and I expect you to keep up.

Why were you up at 11pm last night? We couldn't find anything wrong and it can't be a poop issue because you're eating lots of prunes. You know better.

And more importantly, after last nights "fiasco", why would you only sleep for 45 minutes this morning? You know very well that 45 minutes does not a nap make.

I'm not mad at you, and I always love you, but I expect better.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mom

P.S. Ok, so you're awake now and perhaps I owe you a small apology after seeing the state of your diaper. That's a fine reason to end a nap. We can work on a poop schedule that does not disrupt the nap next week. Love you! Mom

Opposite Day

Yesterday was Opposite Day.

I woke up and showered right away (I usually shower somewhat later), got all dressed up (I'm usually not so dressed up...no sweats, but jeans and whatever shirt I can find), and went in to work (I usually stay home...duh). I went to work at my non-Katie job. We had a retreat yesterday to which those of us on leave were kindly invited. It was fun getting back into work thoughts again and seeing colleagues.

Missed Katie lots but she was in good hands with Grandpa Dan. The end of day report from him was that she was happy all day, napped well and ate well.

I have no pictures from yesterday (I know you really wanted pictures of a conference room.) but I do have some from the day before.

Grandpa Dan made a mobile (a while ago...!) that we put up in Katie's room. Cute elephants and piggies. They float nicely and I think Katie likes them.

Monday night we went to (great) Auntie Joan's for dinner with my cousins...like old times!
John-Paul says Katie's much heavier that he was expecting!
Grandpa Dan had just returned from England and barely said hello to anyone before running over to say hi to the girl he missed most.
Uncle Joe was eager to spend some time with Katie and learn about dresses, leggings and girly stuff while teaching her the mechanics of clapping (he's a smart engineer).
Grandma Mary was enabling Katie's wine habit.

And David (in from Vancouver) spend quality bonding time with K. Smiles everywhere!
There were lots of people for a weeknight thing (Mark was there too...did we forget to make you hold Katie? We'll have to do that soon!).
And Auntie Andrea worked her magic and whispered funny secrets in Katie's ear.

It was a very fun evening and a special thank you to Auntie Joan for hosting!

And thank YOU for stopping by. Have a nice day!

Fish and Lights

Good Monday morning! How was your weekend? Mine was good.

Friday (or maybe Thursday..I don't know I'm just a baby) mom and I went to Grandma's place to do laundry (mom says the new washing machine will be here on Thursday...she seems pretty happy about it.).
I thought doing laundry was boring so I sat and watched Grandma's fish.
Whoever thought just sitting and staring at a big box shaped thing could be so much fun! I could have sat there for hours.
But mom decided we should do some reading too. We read a book about kitties. I like it when they go "meow". My love affair with kitty meows started when Grandma Cheryl read a book about kitties to me and said meow. I just LOVE it!

Saturday mom and dad thought it would be fun to take me to dad's school and watch something called "Voleebal". It was dad's school against Grandpa Ken's...so he and Grandma were there too. And mom and dad's friend Coreen was there...everybody was there...why weren't YOU there?. So, yeah, they thought it would be FUN to take me to LOUD place with lots of screaming teenagers. Are they CRAZY? Do they remember how I freaked out at dad's school on Halloween when there were lots of people? I have such good hearing that all that RACKET hurts my ears. Anyway, I knew what to do and as soon as I started screaming and crying they got me the heck out of there. GOOD!
So dad and grandpa stayed while mom and Grandma and I went back home and played. Nice and quiet. Grandma brought me a new toy...something nice to chew on that makes my gums feel all nice. And we listened to some nice music from when Grandma was little...something called "beetles?" Part of my "muoosyc edookasion" they said. Whatever that is!

Sunday mom and dad got these neato blue sparkly things and said they were going to put them on the house. I don't know why but I don't care. The sparkly things were neat.
Can I put some up in my room mom?
And so we had a nice weekend. I am very good now at moving backwards while on my tummy. And I'm an expert sitter upper. So if you know any babies that need some sitting up tips, you tell them to talk to my mommy and arrange a play date.
Today we're meeting babies at Strollercize because mom's knee is feeling better. And we're meeting mom's cousins for dinner. And Grandpa comes home today from England! I can't wait to see him...I missed him!

Have a nice Monday!

A bit of this and a bit of that...

Not much going on lately and no photos to prove it!

Last night was Thursday, so bowling and babysitters. Andrea and Sheldon who also came over for dinner (YUM...couscous stuffed chicken with orange sauce and orange rosemary green beans from the new Canadian Living...CL has the best recipes!)

Katie's flu shot on Wednesday was such a non-event...she didn't even blink when the needle went in. I don't know it it was Dr magic or what, but this was the best shot yet. We go again in 4 weeks for the second half.

Hmm...I did something to my knee...nothing major I'm sure, but it hurts a bit and I'm skipping Strollercize today. Again...that's twice this week. Skipping more than attending. Let's hope this is a phase. (and a short one!)

We might be having a visitor this afternoon, so I may have pics for you later.

Still doing laundry at Grandmas. Washing machines have been scouted and we may choose soon.

And that's all for now, have a super weekend!

PS...I made banana bread yesterday from this recipe...omygoodness is it good. Try it!

Baby's got a brand new...

...pair of mittens! With the weather staying on the colder side I felt it necessary to whip up a pair of mittens. They, of course, match her favorite hat.


Once I knew Katie was appropriately protected against the cold, we walked over to Southgate to look at Washing Machines. And warm fuzzy sleepers.

Shopping was fun...didn't buy any WM but did come away with two sleepers, which I can now say, result in a very good night's sleep.

We were lucky to get a call yesterday from Joanne who stopped by with C and G for a visit. Katie just loves Those ___ Girls. Toys were shared, Bumbo was sat in and Goldfish were consumed in great quantity. A good time was had by all.

Today we prepare for Katie's flu shot. And think about dinner...Any suggestions?

Bad News and Good News...

We have good news and bad news...can you guess?

Our washing machine (WM) is apparently around 20 years old and replacement parts are expensive. How sad! (tee hee...can you hear the sarcasm?)
Good news is of course that this enables us to buy a new WM! Yay! (well, new or new to us, whichever comes first and/or cheapest).

Based on our preliminary research (Consumer Reports and Investigative Grandpa at Sears) we would probably like to get the front loading WM. Less water, less energy, easier on clothes etc. The WM style of the new millennium...(although it's my understanding they've been around in Europe for years.)

We talked it over with Katie while at dinner Chez Russ and Steph (SO Yummy...I know you said it was a simple meal, but it was SO SO good...sorry we took off so quickly...little one slept like a dream anyway!) (Uh...even when mom tripped on the ExcerSaucer and it played music for like 10 minutes after turning out the lights and heading to bed).

Where was I?...oh yes, talked it over with K and she's very excited about the new WM.
So, today K and I are off to the mall to seek info and great deals on a WM. And pick up new fuzzy warm sleepers...it's cold out there!

Stay warm!