Mommy's Birthday Bumps

Oh my! 

Turning thirty-five was not uneventful.

There were some really lovely parts to my day,

but there were also some very "not-so-lovely" parts as well.

Lovely part:

Climbing into Piper's bed with her in the morning

and having her sing Happy Birthday to me in her sweet little voice. 

 

Not-so-lovely part: Having Piper have a full blown epic meltdown

over not wanting to get dressed.

And I mean FULL BLOWN with kicking, hitting and screaming!

Lovely part: A birthday breakfast at Nanny and Poppy Lynch's house

with Aunt Cindy and Uncle "Sill".

(Piper is still struggling to say her "Ph" sounds.

Not-so-lovely part: Both girls decided not to nap for the entire day.

We had some shopping to do,

but they will usually pass out in the car for at least one hour

or for the commute home at least.

Not today.

Lovely part: Shopping with my mom and having both girlies

act like polite little ladies for 99% of the time! 

Not-so-lovely: Having Elliotte fill her diaper past capacity

and Piper crying for a snack

as we're stuck in a brutal traffic jam

with traffic virtually at a standstill.

Lovely: Picking up Swiss Chalet to take home for supper.

SO-not-lovely: Having Elliotte reach out and grab my lovely birthday supper

and yank it off of the table.

Yes.

My chicken, vegetables, roll and sauce 

were splattered all over the floor.

I honestly used my hands to scoop all of the food into a pile

and then placed handfuls back onto my plate.

Thank goodness that my mother keeps her floors spotless,

since at this point in my day,

my options were to continue eating

or start drinking!!!

Lovely: Despite my dinner's unexpected flight and crash landing,

it was delicious!

Not-so-lovely: (yes, there's more!) though it was beyond lovely 

to have my family sing Happy Birthday to me

and to watch the wonder and excitement in my girls' eyes

at the sight of the birthday candles,

it was a little less lovely to watch the beautiful cupcakes get devoured

when I could not partake.

(My doctor has asked me to remove dairy from my diet again for Elliotte.)

Sigh.

At least the day ended on a lovely note.

Piper went to bed early

after we read some new stories and had a wonderful cuddle together.

Elliotte was overtired and was giving Nana and Poppy some heck

while I was having quiet time with her big sister,

but she immediately settled down and fell asleep

after Nana gave her my pajama top to snuggle!

Love!

I finished the day with a bowl of frozen grapes

(I'm amazed I resisted alcohol)

and a chuckle about the day.

Thirty-Fifth year, please be kind!

xo

xo

 

Cookies and Carrots

I have one little girl that loves to eat sweets.

She will eat just about everything else too,

but she dearly loves her sweets.

My other little girl is only new to eating,

but I have a feeling that this one will just love food in general.

She tried carrots for the first time two days ago

and couldn't get enough.

I remember when Piper started eating solids,

we would be so excited to get two tablespoons of food into her.

Elliotte is so different.

She keeps eating until you stop feeding her!

These two are complete opposites,

but together they make my world go round!

xo

xo

I placed the cookies and milk on the table and told her to wait.
She sat like this and didn't take her eyes off of those cookies until
everyone else was ready to sit too!

Finally!

Miss Eleanor, you make wonderfully delicious cookies!

Washing down the goodness.

No cookies for this little one.
She got great-grandpa cuddles from Poppy C instead!

Elliotte's first time tasting carrots.

I think she liked them.

Yes. I'm pretty sure she liked them!

Little Gardeners

My grandmother never fails to produce an amazing garden every year.

Piper thought it was great fun 

to harvest a few vegetables with the help of her Poppy

and great-grandmother!

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photos or not,

but her cheeks are stuff full of snap peas in every shot.

She raided the pea plants first and loved them.

Then she wouldn't stop eating them long enough

to properly help with harvesting any of the other veggies.

Elliotte was happy to watch,

but I'm sure she was eyeing Piper's peas!

xo

xo

Piper "helping" her poppy harvest some beats.

And super excited to help harvest her very favourite veggie: carrots

Collecting the potatoes and throwing them in the bowl as Nanny "Gandy" digs them up.

After digging up the potatoes,
Piper picked up the bowl and started walking back to the house
as if she's done this her whole life.
It was so funny to watch!

Showing off her loot! 

Four generations in the garden.

Miss Elliotte and her momma hanging out.

Down the Basin

We took a similar photo to this one

In this exact same spot two years ago. 

Obviously one tiny person was not in that photo.

I needed an updated shot of my beautiful family

In one of my favourite places on Earth.

This photo was taken in front of my parents' summer home,

which is "down the basin"

In Bay L'Argent.

I spent so much time here with my grandparents when I was younger,

that it is particularly meaningful for me to have 

MY children here with THEIR grandparents.

xo

xo

Traveling Trio

Mark's Uncle Phil and Aunt Cindy

escorted this traveling trio of Lynch Ladies to Newfoundland.

 

We rented a van and drove from PEI to Halifax

and then flew to St. John's from there.

 

Piper did not stop talking for one minute

of the three hour van ride.

She is such a little chatterbox.

 

Yes.

I know that those of you reading this

that knew me as a child are thinking

"KARMA"!

 

Ha!

 

Both girls were great flyers again.

I guess we really have passed on the traveling gene to our girls.

 

xo

xo

 

Piper and I at the start of our journey.
Piper was super excited about being in the van because of all of the windows.
She asked me to hold her hand as we drove out of our driveway,
which makes me think that she thought the van was actually
somehow also an airplane.

The rest of the travel team.

The tiniest traveller passed out soon after crossing the Confederation Bridge.

Piper gazing at the clouds down below
with Uncle Phil and Aunt Cindy.

Mid-flight entertainment?

Mommy entertaining Elliotte with an empty water bottle
(the crinkling sound is lots of fun)
and Piper with a colouring book!



Step-Sisters

I still have some photos to share of

Aunt Cindy and Uncle Phil's visit,

but since we are now in Newfoundland

I don't have the same access to a computer and my photos.

I will try to have those photos on here soon.

 

For now I'll post a pic of my two little "step" sisters.

 

All of the kids in our family

have gotten their photo taken on the stairs of my parents home

in Bay L'Argent.

(The house belonged to my great-grandfather.)

 

This weekend was Piper and Elliotte's turn!

 

xo

xo

 

Silly little step-sisters!



Summer of Visitors Part Six

Sorry for not posting lately,

but we've been busy with more visitors

and a sick baby. 

Mark's Uncle Phil and Aunt Cindy

are visiting from British Columbia.

Both girls are having a wonderful time 

being spoiled with all the extra attention, cuddles and kisses!

Elliotte hasn't been feeling great,

but we hope she will be good as new for Newfoundland.

One more sleep!

xo

xo

Piper receiving her very first Kinder Surprise from Aunt Cindy.

Realizing what it is.
(Another smile so big it hurts!)

Our little chocoholic takes a bite before exploring the 'surprise'. 

Doing the puzzle with a little help and a mouth full of chocolate!

Elliotte was too small once again,
but that didn't stop her from being super happy for her big sister!

Painfully Happy

I'm sure I've mentioned this a million times already,

but Piper just LOVES her friend Nathan!

You can really see it in this post.

She is having so much fun 

that it looks like her face hurts from smiling so big. 

There were SO many giggles!

(They got into a little bit of trouble together too,

but their cuteness totally helped them get away with it!)

xo

xo

Just look at Piper's face here when Nathan was giving her a horsey ride.
I've never seen her smile that big before!!
I think the skin on her face is stretched!!

Of course she needed her Cowboy hat to accessorize her ride!

Little Miss Elliotte got in on the fun as well.
She wasn't nearly as impressed.
I'm sure it will be a different story next year!