Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Hope that everyone is enjoying the Lunar New Year. We love anything Lunar and are looking forward to a special meal tonight and then again tomorrow night, with friends. As we don't have family who lives on the Coast, many of our dear friends are like family to us so spending this holiday with them is very special. Last year, I made a traditional, complete with homemade dumplings, fish and long life noodles. This year I decided that making the dumplings and everything else was just too much with so many guests and a busy girl so we are headed out to dinner both evenings. Can't wait!!! Annie woke up this morning, telling me everyone who was joining us tonight and then tomorrow night too. She kept saying "I memberd, I membered".
Oh and I realize that I didn't update the sleeping arrangements. Well, after those two nights, we were back to Daddy putting Annie to bed in our bed and then transferring her to her little bed beside ours so that she can access us easily in the night. We are still dealing with nighttime issues and I think we will be dealing with them for some time. These things just don't go away that easily :(
Have to run - being called upon by a small person - it took me three hours to get this much down so pictures next time!!! All the best to everyone in the year of the Rabbit!!!

Missed opportunities...

I knew that having a toddler who is turning into a preschooler before our eyes was going to be busy but little did I know how busy we would be!! My well organized and ordered life is no longer, I now am forgetting to pay bills and just keeping up with the laundry is a challenge. I am not complaining though, far from it. I love my life with my brilliant, beautiful and charming child. Her sense of humour is amazing and she has us all laughing every day. Annie is a little bossy though but I guess that comes with the territory - her Mom is a little bossy too!!!
Anyway, I am missing opportunities to write about the precious moments that are happening in our daily life. To many, they may seem pedantic but to us, they are family memories we want to cherish.
For instance, today we had a special fondue dessert because it is a special day. I had the chocolate out on the counter and Annie was busy unwrapping it, asking me what it was. I told her it was the chocolate for our dessert and she said "Oh, dat makes sense, dat makes sense, dis is chocolate, mnnnnnn". It was hilarious and because I laughed, she said it over and over again. She also insisted on being the one to cook it all by her "selse" but we were able to negotiate to a truce where I was able to help her with the recipe!!
Another activity which is related to cooking is Annie's love of having a "birthday party" with all of her babies and I mean ALL of her dollies. Luckily, we have kept the dolls down to only around ten. So Annie prepares the M.ellissa and D.oug birthday cake toy that we gave her for Christmas. As an aside, if you have a preschooler THIS is the toy to buy!! After the cake preparation, all the babies who are still in their beds (all around the living room floor) with their covers and their respective animals, have plates of cake served to them. When they are eating their cake, the tea set is then set up (on a little box WITH a tablecloth I might add) and they are all given some "berry" tea while Mommie reads them poetry (my favorite part). The first five times we played this game, I thought is was cute, now, well, it is not so novel but Annie came up with this all on her own, sets EVERYTHING up and plays away using her imagination. THAT is the part I love. She gives each of us presents (imaginary ones) which are sometimes VERY big and heavy according to Annie, which we open and show our joy at the gift she has chosen for us. We then give her a gift and she is just as thrilled with it. We also play the "message" game where we use her toy cell phone and leave "messages" for friends and family. Annie loves the train sets that she plays with at different stores so she decided that our living room rug was a train track and built a hill using a handtowel with stickers. We were then required to chug-a-choo around the rug and go over the hill. It was hilarious!!! Annie is also into "playing games" so we play dominoes as a family and we have a matching card game that she loves. So much fun.
Now that I start to write these little stories down, more come flooding into my brain. Annie as most children her age, is into stickers and colouring. I pick up so many stickers off the floor it is crazy but she loves them and sits for some time, focusing on where the next sticker should go. Annie "knows" they are to go on paper but for some reason, her Dad ends up at work with stickers on his pants!!! Too funny.
Annie talks a mile a minute (like her Mom) and some of her expressions are priceless but for the life of me, I can't remember any right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That will be the next post...

Happy New Year... a little late!!!

I keep meaning to post but life has just been sooo busy over the holiday season. We had a wonderful Christmas and Open House. Annie is now a firm believer in Santa Claus and is playing happily with all of the neat toys that he brought. She can actually tell us who gave her what which is very neat!!! I think what helped was going through her toys and taking the nicer ones she doesn't play with anymore, to the food bank before Christmas. Annie and I went through the toys together and anything that she didn't want to send, we didn't. I am happy to report we had a good size shopping bag full of toys to give. We are hoping that they made other children very happy this Christmas. I just feel we have so much and it is so important to teach Annie to give to others. She is growing so fast that we might do this more regularly however I do know it will be harder as she gets older and becomes more attached to her things.

So, in a nutshell, we are settled in the new house, we had a wonderful Christmas and we are looking forward to getting outside and using our new backyard very soon. We had the windows open and cleaned the deck yesterday as the weather was great!!! Annie is loving the idea of the sandbox that was a wonderful re gift from Auntie Colleen, Uncle Bob and the boys. Unfortunately, the sand was out in the rain so we have to wait for a nice day to put it into the sandbox to dry :( Oh well. Those lovely days are coming soon and we are eagerly waiting for our flowers to come up through the earth!!! Can't wait to start gardening again!!!!!!!!!

Enough of that, here are some photos.

Blogger won't let me add more photos and the divine one is calling for attention so... will try more later!!!

Annie REALLY does cook...

Here we are preparing squash, one of Annie's favorite vegetables. The chicken is in the oven and the rice is in the cooker...

Here is Annie with her creation!!

Annie also likes to set the table. She is especially excited about the Raspberry Vinaigrette that we will have with our spring greens. We don't normally have the telescope there or boxes of food on the table but with a toddler...

And finally here is the cook, looking out our front window, waiting for Daddy. This is one of the Christmas wreaths that we made together the other day. Our theme this year is Candy Canes!!!! Imagine that~~

As an aside I HATE these blinds and am planning to have a consultant come and create some beautiful window coverings - dupeoni silk perhaps...

She did it!!!

Night two of sleeping in her own room in her big girl bed!! Annie gets up in the morning and runs into our bed. It is really sweet. She is liking her big girl bed but we haven't done anything with her bed beside ours. I will let her decide (with some guidance of course) when we need to take it apart.
In other news, we have had lots of snow here the last few days and little miss likes to wear her snow pants BUT doesn't think that you need to wear pants UNDER the snow pants. Too funny. Oh and we have an electric fireplace that only works with a remote. Well, I couldn't find the remote two days ago and Annie found it under the chair. We gave her lots of praise and positive affirmations. So yesterday, I couldn't find it either and Annie found it. Guess where? Under the chair. She told me that she had made it into a game. What a girl!!!
But I can't find it this morning and it isn't under the chair. Hmnnnn...

Another milestone... kind of...

Annie decided yesterday afternoon that she would sleep in her big girl bed all by herself. I went into our room and she went into hers, got into bed and went to sleep. She had a good two and half hour sleep which she really needed.
So, last night she decided that she would sleep the night in her big girl bed too. She went through her nighttime routine with Daddy and instead of falling asleep in our bed, she fell asleep in hers.
I was a little (really, really,to the point of tears) sad that she was leaving our room as she has slept in her little cot or her crib beside our bed since she came to us. Anyway, at around 1:13 am, Annie came crying into our room. She said that she had to use the loo and low and behold, Daddy hadn't put on her nighttime diaper. She was still wearing her Do.ra pa.nties. They were dry though!!!! After a quick pot.ty break, Annie climbed into bed with us and at 3 am I was finally able to put her in her little cot.
This morning, Annie was up at her usual time and she told me that she wasn't going to sleep in her big girl bed by her "selse" tonight but she would for her nap. A little too much I guess BUT it was Annie's decision and we were thrilled she felt secure enough to attempt it!!!

November so far...

Annie and her Dad are out int he backyard doing this, so I have a few moments to download some photos!!!

So far in November we have spent some time decorating Annie's door...

We have spent some time decorating her big girl room. Thank you Joma for the beautiful quilt!!!

We went on an airplane to Ontario...

We went to the same restaurant we went to when the photo at the top of the blog was taken. This is a happy munchkie-moo, enjoying her mango bubbles from out bubble tea. And yes, I know these are not good for kids!!!!

Uncle Kevin and Blake taught Annie how to play hockey... she is an excellent stick handler.

We went to my Dad's birthday surprise party. Annie is the one in the back with the tartan dress while her cousins are in front of her and beside her under the table. Thanks Auntie Tatie, for bringing the movie!!! I love this picture. It is so "kid" and exactly what we would have done at my Grandparent's parties if they had portable DVD players!!!

We hung out in Ontario with some crazy people and then came home...

It has been quite a month so far!!!!