A Musical Interlude

A little air guitar...

some harmonica...

a bit of ad libbing...





and an encore...(the second song is dedicated to our Maritime friends!).

In case you're wondering, Bryn does not spend all her time eating. It's just the best place to get her on video.  :)

Fall Cleaning

Without any excuses or preamble as to why it's been so long since I've last posted, here is our summer in review.

It was a busy summer and it really didn't seem like it was even here. The weather in June was terrible, July was hit and miss and the warm weather didn't really start until August. The Labor Day weekend brought fall with it and it came fast. The leaves are turning color now and it's dark by 8 o'clock. It's definitely not summer anymore.

In late July we had the pleasure of meeting one of our blog families -- Janice, Scott, Kyle, Kira and Emma who live in northern Ontario. We've been communicating through email and our blogs for a few months and were able to get together when they were here visiting Janice's mom, who lives in Saskatoon. (In fact she only lives about 3 or 4 blocks from us -- it really is a small world.) We had a four-family gathering -- Shea and Caia had us over (thanks, Shea!) and Lorraine, Rowan and Adia, who also live in the city, were there too. It was a great visit and so nice to see all the kids together. We're so glad Janice and Scott could take time out of their busy holiday schedule to meet with us and we're hoping to make it an annual reunion. We've met so many amazing people in the adoption community through blogs and email and it's wonderful to be able to connect in person.

Five kids in one room can create a little bit of chaos!

Adia, the youngest of the group at 16 months.

Trying to get all the girls to look at the camera at the same time was quite a challenge.

The happy moms and our girls -- Shea and Caia, Lorraine and Adia, Kira, Janice and Emma, Bryn and me.

With Janice's mom living so close to us we were able to meet at our park one evening and then came back to our place so the kids could play. Here's Emma (she's 3-1/2) having fun on Bryn's play centre.

Kira is almost 9 and a super big (and little) sister!

Bryn and Emma.

Luckily Janice took of photo with Kyle, her mom Gwen, and Scott because I forgot to (sorry guys, I'll remember next time.)

In August we finally managed a long overdue visit with Sharon, Daryl, Tanys and Regan who also live in the city. They travelled to China to meet Regan the week before we went for Bryn. We don't get to see them as often as we want but it's always a good time when we do. Shea and Caia came too and it was another great time.

Jessie has a new friend, Tanys.

Regan, Bryn and Tanys having a picnic.

Well, three happy kids out of four is still pretty good. (Maybe it was an ice cream headache.)

Caia and Tanys had a blast running around the yard while Regan and Bryn were happy playing in the splash table.

The latest news in our house is Bryn is now in a "big girl" bed. A few weeks ago she suddenly decided she didn't like her crib. It was okay for naps but she put up a huge fuss every night for about two weeks when it was bedtime. It got to the point that she had to sit on my lap to fall asleep and then I'd put her in her crib. One night I asked her why she didn't want to sleep in her crib and she said "I don't like my crib. It doesn't work very good." The next day Girard brought the bed we'd been storing for her up from downstairs and the first time she was in it she slept through the night. For two whole nights! Since then she's back to her nightly wake ups but at least I have a place to lay down with her now when I go in to settle her down.

Bryn was so excited to have her new bed she didn't even wait for me to put sheets on it before she climbed in.

I've enrolled Bryn in a couple of activities again this fall which start next week. We're taking a music class with Shea and Caia and a gym class with Lorraine and Adia and we're really looking forward to having weekly visits with them. We've got so used to seeing Shea and Caia every week last spring at gym we've been suffering withdrawal all summer.

Bryn has really turned into a little girl this summer. She's grown up so much and seems so much more into everything. I'm continually amazed at the fact that at only 2-1/2 we are able to actualy have a conversation! Her latest saying is "instead". "I would like yogurt instead of fruit, please." Then she'll say "Did I say please in a nice voice?" We're still trying to work on the yes, please and no, thank you. She needs a little reminding but she's very good at correcting me when I don't respond right. The other day she asked if I was going to work that day and I said no. She told me I should say "no, thank you". She's also big on "because". Bryn, let's get ready for your bath. No, because I want to play a little bit. Bryn why aren't you eating your fruit? Because I have an owie on my leg. (We're going to start working on logic one of these days.)

She's also turned into a really good informant. When she says something I haven't heard her say before I'll ask where she heard it and she often tell me where. Usually it's from a TV show or something she heard at daycare. The other day she said "Mom, do you have a huge head?" Yes, Bryn, as a matter of fact I do have a large head, who told you that? "Dad said that." Ha! Busted!!

I wasn't expecting it to happen when she was this young but Bryn has already started asking a million questions. "Why does food make me grow? Does Jessie eat food? Why doesn't Jessie get bigger? Why is it daytime? Where does a cow poop? Why is Papa your dad?" And my favorite of the past week: "Why is the moon not a circle today? Because it's a half moon, Bryn. Where is the other half moon, mom?" Yikes.

No post would be complete without a couple of cute-to-me where does she come up with this stuff stories. One day Bryn was sitting on her bike and was having trouble getting going. She said the bike wasn't working very good and I should put new batteries in it. And a few weeks ago we went to see Sesame Street Live and since then we've been singing the Sesame Street theme song. She had her little broom out one day and was holding it up in the air and waving it back and forth. I asked what she was doing and she told me she was "sweeping the clouds away". If I had thought of that myself we might have had better weather this summer. :)

My big girl.

Two and a Half!

I know this is cliche, but I can't believe how the time has flown. Today Bryn is 2-1/2! It's hard to believe six months ago we had her first real birthday party and six months from now we'll be having another. We're halfway to her turning three! She's changing before our eyes, almost daily, and it's been amazing to watch the transformation from baby to toddler. Also, August 5th was our 18 month anniversary of being a family, another milestone that's hard to believe.

Bryn now measures in almost 35" tall and weighs 27.5 lbs. which means she's grown about 1" and has gained 1/2 lb. in 6 months. She's still a good eater but has been more active in the past 6 months and is slimming down a little and losing some of her baby fat. (Unfortunately I think it's somehow morphed into me, but that's another story.) At 2-1/2 she still hasn't had a haircut other than the occasional trim of her bangs -- her hair is growing but it's still soft and fine.

It's been a busy summer and we've been having lots of fun despite the fact the weather hasn't been very summer-like until this past week. Daycare is going well but working full-time sure cuts into our together time. By the time I pick Bryn up after work and we get through supper we don't have a whole lot of time to play before it's time to get ready for bed. I'm having to start our bedtime routine earlier now because she's gotten very good at stalling before bed. It takes her forever to eat her pre-bath snack now, something she used to be finished in 5 minutes. "Are you done, Bryn?", I'll ask. "Almost but I need more pretzels", is usually the answer. Then she has to "play a little bit" and do a "sen tecond" tidy of her toys. Then she realizes she still has to get all her stuffed animals changed and ready for bed. This is all before her bath.

Of course her bath takes awhile and by the time we get around to her glass of milk and bedtime story it's usually close to an hour later. Then it's "one more song, mom, a big one" or "one more story" or "I just want to cuddle a little" or "but I'm still awake" -- the list of excuses not to go to bed goes on and on. One night told her it was time for bed and she said "not yet, mom, let's talk a little."







Other than loving to be outside playing in the sandbox or her splash table, some of Bryn's favorite pastimes are singing, coloring and playing with her playdoh. She also loves paints and markers and lately is really into "I Spy". Her imagination is taking off and she plays pretend a lot with her little kitchen and her toys and she's started making up her own words for songs to the tunes of other songs she knows. She still loves books and has memorized parts of some of her favorites.

She loves her stuffed animals and is always busy changing one of them "because he's stinky" (of course she has to use wipes and the whole bit so we're going through wipes like crazy) and putting them down for naps. We help her out with putting the diapers on her them because she can't manage it on her own. Poor Girard, who hadn't even changed a baby's diaper before becoming a dad, is now putting diapers on stuffed lions and bears. He's amazed at the things Bryn can talk him into doing.

The things she comes up with continue to amaze and amuse us. Some of her favorite foods are "cot of cheese and canola bars". The other day she started really enunciating her "th" sound and she looks so cute when she thrusts out her tongue to say things like "three". "First a ball" is something new -- as in "first a ball I want a snack then I'll go in the tub." When she sees a gas station she'll say "look, there's a gas station, mom goes potty there". One night at supper Girard took his plate into the livingroom to watch a few minutes of football and Bryn yelled at him from the kitchen "you're not s'pose to eat in the livingroom, Dad!" There's never a dull moment around here, that's for sure.

The big thing now is "when I get bigger". When she wants something she can't have I always say she can when she gets bigger. The list is long -- "when I get bigger I can have coffee...earrings...black (dark) chocolate...beer (yikes!)...peanuts...paint (makeup) on my face...drive a car...go to school" and on and on it goes.

Today we went to the Ex and Bryn's favorite thing was a pony ride, her first time on a horse, She also had her first sno-cone (I know, she's been deprived for the past 18 months!)  :)











I had to include this video, it just cracked me up when Bryn rolled up a magazine one day started smacking the livingroom window...

Summer in the City

The weather has been beautiful lately and we spend most of our time outside. Bryn loves being outside whether in our back yard or at the park across the street from our house. Here are some random photos from the past few weeks. I'm still experimenting with our new camera so some of these might look a little soft but I love them anyway.

Bryn loves playing in the water.

The wetter she gets the more fun she has.

Jessie waits patiently for Bryn to share her Cheerios.

She loves her new swimming pool.

Girard and Bryn flying a kite in the park.

Our park is full of dandelions and she had to pick 

and blow every one of them.

Jessie loves summer, too.

Our flowers are getting lots of water this year.

Our beautiful little girl celebrates her second Canada Day.

Building castles in the sand.

A Girl and Her Dad

We spent Girard's second Father's Day in Regina with family. We had a great time and dad and daughter had tons of fun. No Father's Day would be complete without a nice gift so Bryn and I continued the tradition we started last year by buying Girard a lovely tie. Last year found two at Value Village which I'm guessing were vintage 1973 (there can't have been a decade other than the '70s with such "colorful" ties). This year we opted for a flashy Canada Day tie from the Dollar Store. One of these days we'll get Girard to model his ties so I can post some photos.

Bryn shootin' hoops with a little help from her dad.

Helping Girard with dishes.


Bryn playing in her first soccer game.

Celebrating a goal.

The Hengen/Barnard World Cup soccer teams.

Having a rest after the big game.

Katja's 14th birthday was the same weekend.
Happy Birthday, Katja!