Saltbeef Junkie

Elliotte was born in PEI,

but she's a true Newfie at heart.

We took her to Newfoundland

where she ignored most of the toys around

and played with a saltbeef bucket instead!

She has Newfie blood in her veins for sure!

Piper liked the bucket too,

which resulted in a few epic meltdowns 

over one not sharing the bucket with the other.

Sigh.

If it's not fighting over the empty tissue boxes,

it's fighting over the empty beef bucket.

BIG sigh!

xo

xo

Pickled Pink

While in Newfoundland

we were excited to visit Costco, 

which is always a treat when you don't live near one.

I'm not sure if my girls have been in one since last November

when we went Christmas shopping in Moncton.

Not that it matters.

The point of this story is to share how excited PIPER was to be there.

Because of the samples!

My mother gets just as excited about food samples,

so she had the perfect little partner tagging along.

You should have seen those two.

Piper was riding along in the cart

scouting out each sample stand.

When she would see one,

she'd excitedly point and shout to her Nana

that another snack was ahead.

I should also point out that we were in the store

during the craziest sample frenzy that I have ever experienced.

There were sample stands everywhere!!! 

I'm not kidding.

There was one on each end of each aisle and one in the middle.

Piper and Nana were in their zone!!

After sampling roughly twenty items,

Piper looked up at me and said,

"What IS this place, mom?"

Haha.

She honestly thought it was the best thing ever.

Just ask her about it the next time you see her.

She will list off all of the things that she tried!!

Yogurt,

caesar salad,

guacamole,

fruit juice,

pancakes,

honey,

ham,

roast beef,

granola bar...

She will gladly tell you.

She will also tell you that there was only one thing that she tried

that she didn't like.

That was mozzarella cheese dipped in balsamic vinaigrette. 

She wasn't a fan of that one. 

:-)

Elliotte wasn't as impressed. 

She just wanted to get down, run around and climb on everything.

Her usual!

xo

xo

I gave Elliotte a pickle and she decided to do this before eating it.
Silly girl.

It's usually Elliotte who is copying everything that Piper does,
but this day, after seeing us laugh so hard at Elliotte,
Piper was the copycat!

First Day of Preschool

I interrupt blogging about our trip to Newfoundland

to post about Piper's very first day of preschool.

She was pretty darn excited.

And for all of her excitement,

her mommy matched her in worries.

Piper is 3.5 years old and has only ever been out of my sight

a handful of times.

That's what happens when you move around a lot

and are not fortunate enough to have family close by.

With Piper so used to being with me,

I was terrified that she would get upset when I dropped her off at her preschool.

There are days when we attend playdates or playgroup

where she will not get out of my arms,

so I was really worried that she would be shy and scared on her first day.

Silly me.

I had nothing to worry about.

She did great!!!

On the way there,

she asked me if there would be a lot of people there.

I said, "yes, but mostly kids and a few teachers".

Then she asked me if there would be enough room for everyone. 

Me: Of course!

I then told her that if she felt sad, frustrated or even happy,

that she could tell her teacher.

She seemed pleased with this.

We arrived at her school and she announced,

"this looks just like playgroup".

Me: That's because this is the same place that we have playgroup,

but this time it's only for kids and teachers, 

not for mommies and babies.

She was okay with this.

We found her name above her coat hook,

hung up her backpack

and changed into her indoor shoes. 

(Elliotte instantly sat down on her little bum and tried to take her shoes off too.

She was determined to stay and play with her big sister!)

By this time Piper's little friend, Nola, arrived 

and immediately ran to Piper saying, "Piper! My best friend."

Soooo cute.

A few minutes later, Claira arrived and embraced Piper 

in the smallest, yet cutest bear hug ever.

Yea. 

Piper was going to be just fine here!

When it was time for me to leave,

Piper was holding on to my hand quite tightly all of a sudden,

so I started to worry again.

I lead her into her classroom where I noticed Nola starting an art project...

with PAINT.

Piper LOVES paint.

As soon as I pointed out what Nola was doing,

Piper threw her arms around my neck,

gave me a huge kiss,

did the same to her sister

(without me asking)

and then ran for the art tables. 

That was it. 

She never looked back. 

What a trooper. 

My big little girl is really growing up.

I'm not going to lie,

I was quite emotional as I walked out of the school and to our van.

I probably would have cried...

but Elliotte decided to do that for me.

She was NOT impressed with not being allowed to stay and play,

so she made that VERY clear.

She screamed.

She arched her back and refused to get into her carseat.

She was NOT a happy camper.

Two more years until your turn, Little One.

Two more years.

xo

xo

Our big Preschooler!

And her mini-me.

All ready to go.
Goodness, I can't stop looking at this photo.
She looks so grown up to me here!

A very sad little Elliotte.
She wanted to stay at Preschool and play too.

Three best buds all smiles after a great first day at preschool.

FYI:

I arrived at the scheduled time to pick up Piper to bring her home. When I arrive, one of her teachers is cleaning up from snack and I ask her how it went. I was told that Piper did great and that she was currently sitting in the back room all by herself. ??? Of course I ask why she's back there alone. Her teacher laughs and says that she's STILL eating. Right! That makes sense. Piper is the slowest eater that I've ever known. It takes her FOREVER to eat every meal. As a result, she was the last one in the snack room on her first day of preschool. Her teacher laughed and said that she must have been hungry because she told her that her mommy only gave her beans for lunch. Hahahah. True. I gave her a bowl of beans and a slice of bread with butter for lunch, thinking that the beans would help keep her feeling full until she came home. Problems was that she was eating two beans at a time, so was only able to finish half of the bowl before it was time to get ready for school. Silly little girl. Otherwise, I was told that she did wonderful for the rest of the afternoon. She was a little shy and wanted the art teacher to go with her to explore the other learning rooms. That teacher explained that her job was to stay in the art room to help kids there, but that there was another teacher in the other two rooms that would be happy to show her things in their rooms. Piper was reluctant at first, but did venture into the two other rooms and wasn't long coming out of her shell. Hooray! On our way home, she told me all about her afternoon and says that she's excited to go back again on Monday. Way to go, Piper Cee!! You really are our big girl now!

Cassandra's Graduation Party

I'm not exactly sure where time goes,

but it sure does go by quickly.

And though I honestly believe that it has sped up,

since I had my own children,

there are also things that happen in life to make you realize

that it has been flying by just as quickly all along.

Like when your little cousin,

who you remember being born,

graduates from high school.

Oh my.

I feel OLD.

Cassandra graduated in June,

but lucky for us,

her graduation party was thrown during our last visit home.

Piper and Elliotte had so much fun being surrounded by family.

I can't think of anything they love more.

Congratulations Girlie!

We're proud of you.

Good luck with your new adventures!!

xo

xo

All dressed up for the party. 

How lucky for my girls that Cassandra works in a cupcake store.

Very happy with her cupcake.

VERY happy.

Elliotte was not to be left out.

And then there were two happy little girls.

Happy, but messy.

Even after having her own cupcake with extra icing,
Piper wasn't far from the cake when it was being cut.

After stuffing my kids with cupcakes and cake,
someone thought it would be a good idea to break out a fancy office chair
and spin my kids.

There was a lot of squealing delight...
that led to a very late bedtime.
So worth it!

Whisk-ey in the Jar

We decided to make pies at Nana Pope's house.

Three pies.

One each.

Well... one for Piper,

one for Elliotte

and then one for the adults.

Why not.

xo

xo

These two don't stay still very often,
but they didn't have any complaints about sitting in one place this day.

Sharing!

Things got a little messy after they decided to share.
It was in Piper's hair and on Elliotte's arms and legs.

Voila.
Three chocolate cream pies.

Hap-PIE-ness.

Sharing with Poppy.

Sharing with Nana. 

But happiest sharing with herself!

Thanks a Minion

While in Newfoundland,

Piper went to see her very first movie at the cinema.

We went to see MINIONS.

Fun.

She really liked sitting in her own theatre chair,
the giant 'tv' screen and having her own box of popcorn,
but she lost interest in the movie about 15 minutes before it was over.

I think that would count as a success,
considering it was her first movie.

Little sister stayed home with Poppy.

We had counted on her napping for the entire time that we were gone,
but she had other plans.

Just before the movie started,
I checked the phone for text messages.

There was one.
It stated that Elliotte was awake
and had poop up to her bellybutton.

A nice treat for Poppy,
who never changed any of his own daughters' dirty diapers.

Good job, Elliotte!

xo
xo

Excited for the movie to start!

Here come the previews.
These two are pretty intense.

I foresee many movie dates in our future!

Soooo, we are back in PEI now after two and a half weeks in Newfoundland. Time to get back into our old routine with a few additions. Now that Piper is three, we were able to register her in Pre-K for one afternoon a week and a beginner ballet creative dance class. We're excited to see all of the new things that she will be learning this year!

Our flight yesterday afternoon went amazingly well. Piper, as usual, thinks that flying is awesome and was an absolute rock star. She's happy to sit back with her seatbelt on, put on her headphones and watch her little personal tv, while she waits for the flight attendant to deliver her snack. Honestly, this kid thinks she's in first class on every flight. It's quite hilarious. Elliotte is usually a little more squirmy, but not this time. After takeoff (of which I'm surprised you all didn't hear the squeals of delight coming from both girls), Elliotte passed out in my arms. Just like that. No fuss at all. She must have been beyond exhausted for that to happen because this kid detests sleeping in your arms. I'm not complaining. It was lovely. One child quietly sleeping in your arms while the other enjoys her first class entertainment.... best was to fly!!

When we reached Halifax, Piper was just about jumping out of her skin with excitement to see her daddy. As soon as she saw him at the arrival gate, she threw her arms open and ran straight for him. It took Elliotte a little longer to spot him, but once she did, she was out of her stroller and into his arms as well. Such a lovely moment. They really missed him. That fact was evident during one particular Skype session when Elliotte kept crying because her daddy wouldn't pick her up. 

Aunt Krista and baby Eli were also at the airport to greet us. What a special treat. After retrieving all of the luggage and installing the carseats, we decided to head back into the airport to all have lunch together. While there, I was giving Eli some cuddles when he decided to fill his diaper. And I mean FILL it. To overflowing. Very much like the poops that both of my girls were famous for. There was poop from his bellybutton down to his toes. Aunt Krista asked Piper if she would like to help her change the diaper. Piper jumped at the chance and went along with her to the restrooms. 

Though Piper has helped with hundreds upon hundreds of diaper changes, she has never helped with the diaper change of a little BOY. I was curious as to how she might react once Eli's diaper was removed. Well, she did not disappoint. After quietly accessing the situation for a moment, she looked up at Krista and said, "Wow. He's got a really big vagina." Hahahaha. 

Thank you for that, Piper. You never disappoint! You possess a wonderful gift of doing and saying things that make us all laugh. We never laugh at you, but at the way you see the world. Thank you a million times over for every time you've ever made me laugh or smile. I love you!

The Goats on the Farm go "Ah Cho"

There is lots of family to see in Newfoundland.

 

We spent one afternoon at the farm

with the Lynch side of the family.

 

The girls and all of their cousins had a great time

running around, feeding the animals and racing on tractors.

There was a pile of old tires filled with sand for climbing there.

Piper kept yelling for everyone

to race her to "the top of the cupcake".

Only little girls!

 

Elliotte mostly liked the animals and the tractors.

 

She had no fear of feeding the animals whatsoever

and sometimes got a little too close.

 

At one point,

she was face to face with a goat while feeding him a leaf of lettuce.

 

The goat sneezed.

 

Elliotte was so startled,

that she ended up jumping backwards

and landing right on her little bum.

It was adorable.

 

But it was even more adorable when she stood up,

faced the goat again

and started pretend sneezing back at him.

 

xo

xo

 

Piper getting a little help from Uncle Mike with a tractor ride.
Elliotte was following close behind asking for her own turn.

Five cousins in one big chair.
The littlest one in this crew is missing,
but he was there at the farm at least.

My little fresh veggies.

Here's Elliotte with her sneezing goat friend.