Flower Girls

Mark and I bought a house on a half acre of land.

I think half of that land is covered in a garden

that I'm told was award winning.

Well it isn't winning any awards now.

I was too exhausted from my pregnancy last summer to do anything with it

and now this summer I'm just too darn busy.

I've managed to put a few hours of work into it so far,

but to be honest, 

I haven't got a clue what I'm doing.

I don't know a plant from a weed,

so I'm pretty much just trying to make it look tidy.

I'm not sure I'm even achieving that.

If anyone would like some plants,

please come and take mine.

My garden is MUCH too big for me to maintain.

If Piper were to read the title of this post,

she would say "Silo Girls".

She still can't say her 'f's', 

but for some reason, 

she can't (or won't) pronounce any part of flower correctly.

Sort of like play-dough.

It sounds more like potato when she says it.

Pay-tay-oh.

I say "play".

Piper says "play".

I say "dough".

Piper says "dough".

I say "play-dough".

Piper smiles and says "pay-tay-oh".

Then she laughs.

I laugh.

And we're no further ahead.

If you ever babysit for me,

Piper does not want to play with potatoes. 

Just a heads up!

I'm curious what Miss Elliotte's speech is going to be like

if Piper is the one she is learning from. 

Then again,

with Piper as a teacher,

Elliotte will be reciting her ABCs in about two weeks.

She only hears that song 42 million times a day from her big sister!!!

xo

xo

Piper thinks that watering the "silos" is great fun!

My first success of the year!
How can it possibly be easier to keep tiny humans alive than plants??

Piper may be doing all of the work,
but Elliotte is paying close attention.
She's never far away making sure that Piper does the job right.
(Can you find her back there?)

Our little forman watching over the flock of workers!!

A Sad Farewell

Today we sadly had to say goodbye

to Piper and Elliotte's great-grandmother.

She was fondly referred to as "Nanny Marjorie" by Piper

and will be missed dearly by her entire family.

I'm sure in years to come,

Elliotte will be disappointed to find out that she never got to meet her Nanny Marjorie,

but perhaps she will find some comfort in knowing 

that she laughed out loud for the first time
just hours after her great-grandmother's passing.

I've heard stories of babies and small children

being able to see people and things that we cannot,

so I'd like to think that Nanny Marjorie stopped by to meet our little Elliotte

and to tickle her toes. 

Thoughts like this warm my heart.

Nanny Marjorie is now in a better place without any pain,

but will be missed forever.

xo

xo

Piper getting some cuddles from her Nanny Marjorie last June
at her grandparents' anniversary party.

Four generations.
xo

Sisters Swinging

The  weather is FINALLY warming up.

Today was beautiful,

so Mark and I decided to take the girls to the playground.

Piper squealed with delight to discover that the swings are back

after being taken down for the winter.

It was the very first time that Piper and Elliotte have gone swinging together,

since Elliotte joined us on the outside.

(There were a few in-the-womb swings last year.)

Both girls had so much fun!

xo

xo

Can you spot the little sister? 

Peep!

I love that we caught Piper mid-squeal in this photo!
People could probably hear her giggling for miles!!

Cuddly Carrier

One of Piper's favourite things to do 

when we bring Elliotte inside in her carseat,

is to sit next to her and share a blanket.

One thing to note is that it always has to be one of Elliotte's blankets.

NOT Piper's. 

That would be unacceptable! ;-)

xo

xo

Piper thinks this is super fun for some reason.

Elliotte doesn't always agree.

You're So Vain

I pray that Piper's self confidence can stay with her

for the rest of her life.

This kid loves herself,

but loves everything and everyone that is around her also!

As for Elliotte...

she's just happy to have someone her own age to talk to.

And yes,

she's trying to talk now.

In the past few days she has made a few noises that were so loud

that she frightened the daylights out of herself. 

xo

xo

I hope that Piper never has any run ins with the law,
but I do think that a visit from the Fashion Police may be in order!

Oh look mom!
I made a new friend.

Why hello there pretty girl!
Where have you been all my life?

What Makes My World Go Round

THIS is what makes my world go round.

What more could anyone ever ask for?

Elliotte is ten weeks old here

and is showing off how strong her neck is already!

Piper laughed out loud the first time she saw Elliotte do this!

xo

xo

I've mentioned how much Piper likes to try to play with Elliotte,
but I should also mention how much Elliotte loves to watch Piper!!
She is really starting to notice her more and to respond to her.
It is so fun watching these two learn to love and get to know each other!

 Elliotte being sad that her sister decided to ditch her for something more fun,
or she was just tired of holding her head up?!?!

McHappy Day

Within the past year,

we have known two families that have children

 who required extended stays at hospitals.

One family was lucky enough to be able to travel back and forth from home,

which was incredibly fortunate seeing as how their daughter

was in the NICU at the Janeway for more than 6 months.

The second family spent a lot of time at the Janeway,

but then travelled to Toronto where their one year old son 

had to undergo cancer treatment and a bone-marrow transplant. 

This family had to rely on the Ronald McDonald house

in order for their family to be able to be together and close to their sick son.

(I'm happy to report that he is doing wonderfully well right now!!)

We have always liked to support McHappy Day,

but this year we felt it was even more important to do so.

It's hard to understand why any child has to ever be ill or in pain,

yet it's a wonderful world that we live in 

when people come together to make their journey

as easy as possible!

Kudos to any of you who also supported this wonderful fundraiser!

xo

xo

She still loves to DIP anything that she eats!!
It's the closest thing to playing with her food that we allow,
yet she still tries to play with it EVERY meal.
(Can you tell that it frustrates her mother to no end!) 

Thankfully Elliotte slept through lunch,
so she didn't know that she was missing out on a Happy Meal.
Next year you can have one too baby girl!