Beach Bum

Another hot one today here in Yellowknife.

I spent the hottest part of the day scrubbing the kitchen. 

Not so smart.

After Piper's nap we went to the beach.

Smart!

It was beautiful and Piper had a great time playing 

in the water and sand with Cole.

For any of you out there that don't know it,

swim diapers do NOT keep pee inside.

We learned this in Jamaica and AGAIN today,

as Piper peed on Cole's mommy's beach blanket. 

Oops. 

What happens when you pee and you've been sitting in sand?

Daddy strips you down and rinses you off in the pond. 

xo

Feeling a breeze Piper?

A No-Splash Pool Party

No one ever said that you need water to have a pool party!

Whatever keeps them occupied, happy and quiet

makes a Momma happy!

xo

Rub a dub dub
three cuties in a tub!

Daddy Day Spa

Who doesn't love to read a magazine while getting their hair done?

xo

Reading Yummy Yucky.
A magazine featuring delicious and disgusting cuisine. 

Mother!
Shouldn't you be doing my nails or something?

Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes

When George Jones sang,

"Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes"

he was talking about past legendary country singers.

I am NOT talking about country singers.

I am talking about Mounties.

One in particular.

Piper's Dad!

xo

They kinda fit....

Well, maybe they're a 'little' bit too big!

Pouting Pool Party

If you've been following the weather in Yellowknife lately,

you know it's been HOT. 

Thirty degrees with no wind and no clouds to shade you from the sun.

AND because of where we are, 

the darn thing barely dips below the horizon for more than a couple of hours.

I believe sunset is just before midnight now?

And up again a couple of hours later. 

I haven't seen real darkness since we were home in Newfoundland.

The point of my rant about the midnight sun,

is that at 7pm it's STILL thirty degrees. 

Can you tell I'm not a huge fan of the midnight sun?

I find it really hard to sleep. 

It's not nearly as bad here as it was in Fort McPherson,

but my brain cannot figure out this day/night stuff when the sun is ALWAYS shining!

Sorry.

Back to my blog.

It's been HOT.

Piper's been HOT.

Too hot to sleep well. 

With her window open and fan on, we still can't get her room to go below 32 degrees.

Not napping well makes Piper cranky.

Two days ago we stuck her in her little pool on the back deck to make her cool and happy.

It worked for 15 minutes.

She was CRANKY!

So we fed her and put her to bed.

After a not-long-enough nap, 

she was up and wanting to get in the pool again.

Fun!

For a little while.

After coming inside for dinner and then being cleaned up for the night,

(still much too hot to wear clothes)

Piper decided that it was time to swim again. 

Momma said "no".

Piper didn't like it.

She cried  screamed for 20 minutes.

Too bad that she has a very determined mother

who will not back down once the word 'no' has been used.

Get used to it baby girl.

Learn what the word means and then back away. 

Ha!

xo

Swimming in my pool with Daddy!
This was the second swim of the day.

And of course, trying to convince my best bud to get in with me!

After supper she spies the pool again.
Please mom please!
I've only been in there TWICE today already!

Poor child. Life is so rough!  

Waaaaaaaaa... my mommy is so mean! Waaaaaa!

Full of Beans

This kid is crazy about gassy foods!

If she isn't crying for broccoli,

it's beans. 

It's a good thing it's too hot in Yellowknife for clothes,

or else I'd be doing A LOT of laundry!

xo

Must. Get. The. Last. Bean!

Good to the last drop!

Using her sign language skills to ask for "more".

Note: 

For anyone that doesn't know, I am NOT a fan of baby sign language. A few years back I babysat a couple of kids that had been taught it, and since I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell me, it caused them to be incredibly frustrated. I swore I would not teach my children baby sign language. 

Well,  if you recall a blog post from a while back, we babysat little Miss Wynn. She knows a couple of signs and is VERY quiet. She would put her little fingers to her mouth like a little bird to tell us that she was hungry and then tap the tips of her fingers together to tell us that she wanted "more". Mark and I both thought that this was ADORABLE, so we decided to teach Piper just these two basic signs. 

Piper caught on straight away, but somehow lost the meaning of the language. Instead of doing the signs quietly, she shouts "NUM NUM NUM NUM" when she's putting her fingers to her mouth for food and yells "MORE MORE MORE" while she's tapping her fingers together for more. 

Sigh. Where is this kid's red hair? She's definitely feisty enough to be a redhead!!

xo

Under the Table Deal

Not quite the 'under-the-table-deal" that usually occurs,

but Blue wasn't complaining. 

He WAS lying under the table, 

so little Miss decided to settle herself down there as well to share a cracker.

Of course,

as soon as I get the camera out, 

the dog must come to investigate.

I missed the perfect shot by seconds.

Oh well.

The under the table picnic was still super cute!

xo

Stay Blue. Stay. STAY.
Fine! Don't listen.
Come, Blue, come!
Good boy!
(Insert eye roll here)! 

Best buds sharing a snack under the table!

Blue, Are you Hungry?

It's a SLOW process,

but it keeps both babe and pup entertained!

What more could I ask for?

xo

A kibble for you Blue!

One.

Piece.

At.

A.

Time!

Yum!

Now he MUST be thirsty, right?
Sippy cup?

Pool Party!

Today Piper attended her very first pool party!

One of her little friends just turned one

and we were invited out to celebrate!

If there is one thing that we learned today...

it's that SUMMER is the time to have a birthday party!

We had so much fun 

and are trying to figure out how we can throw a party like this

for our little January baby.

Only thing we can think of...

move to AUSTRALIA again!

It's summer in January down there. 

PERFECT!!

xo

Just splashing around!

MOM! This is FUN!!!!
(See the giant mosquito bite on her eye? Ugh!)

THIS is how you celebrate a birthday!!
Oh January, why must you be so cold???

Once again... pooped from a fun and busy day!
Passed out before we drove 2 blocks,
with a car in one hand and Minnie in the other!

Happy Aboriginal Day

Today was another beautiful sun-shiney day in Yellowknife.

It also happened to be Aboriginal Day,

so we celebrated by going on a lovely hike to Cameron Falls.

Piper made a new best friend with Mark's coworker

who let her play in the water longer than any of the rest of us. 

Days like today make us extra sad to be leaving the North.

It truly is beautiful here!

xo

After about a 30 minute hike we arrived at a quiet pool so the kiddos could get their feet wet.

Piper didn't want to get out of the water at all... 

... so we played pass the baby!

Chris and his girls had extra turns though,
as Piper decided that they were her new best friends!

Piper, quite happy to be included with the big girls
as they sat on towels and at lunch!

My little family with Cameron Falls in the background.

Time to hike back to the truck!
Go Daddy Go!

It wasn't a long hike, but it wasn't a walk in the park either!

Daddy and Piper taking a break.
I love how she put her feet down on the rock too!

It was a LONG hike for at least one of us!

Bullseye!

It may look as if my child has bad aim...

but no.

She got the straw exactly where she wanted it!

This girly girl as an obsession with her nose.

SIGH.

I look forward to the day

when she's sitting at the dinner table with her new boyfriend

and I get to tell the story of our trip to Newfoundland...

when I had to take her to the doctor

because she had fingers up BOTH nostrils

ALL DAY LONG!

True.

The doctor had to prescribe a steroid antibiotic 

to help her sore, agitated, abused little nose heal.

Little girls.

Little girls.

LITTLE GIRLS!

xo

I'm overtired.
I'm cranky.
And I just want my straw up my nose.
So there!

OH MOM!
Must you take a photo of everything I do!
Can't I have ANY privacy?

Note: 

In the second photo, she's actually drinking water off of her tray. She learned this from her best bud, Blue. She does the same thing with food. 

Little Locksmith

It always amazes me when Piper does something new.

Something that we had no idea she knew how to do.

Like a few days ago,

when she took my keys and proceeded to try to lock the door.

Wha??

It's a little unnerving to know that there is a little person out there

who is watching my EVERY move. 

That's a lot of pressure. 

Better make sure I'm at my best.

I keep reminding her that

it's more important to be kind than pretty...

but she keeps waking up prettier and prettier.

I guess it's up to me to make sure she's kind.

So far so good.

She's so loving that I'm not one bit worried!

xo

At first, happy to press the buttons...

... but then I shocked my Momma by trying to lock the door.
Not only am I kind AND pretty,
I'm also super smart!!!

Ready for the Runway!

With the wacky and weird stuff

that you see on fashion runways these days,

I'm SURE this will catch on. 

A future designer on my hands maybe? 

xo 

Strutting her stuff!

And making a turn so you get the full view!

In case you couldn't figure out what she's wearing...
it's the infant carseat cover!
She's been wearing it like that every day now for a week. 

Love Bugs

Pretty self explanatory today.

Piper is suffering from 

Cranking-Baby-Syndrome!

She has a severe case!

So when daddy needed to sleep before his night shift,

we ran to the park!

Luckily, 

Cole and Duggan met us there.

The wee ones had fun...

and Daddy had a nap!

xo

Here are the bugs! 

Cole taking the Captain's seat!

Even when they switched seats he still insisted on being the Captain!

But... the backseat wasn't good enough...

So he reclaimed the front seat again... sort of.
Who would be the 'backseat driver' if they're both in the front seat?