Family

My parents came to visit this weekend and we had a blast.  We did a Costco run, Christmas shopping, cooked, walked with Bella, and bought a humidifier for our extremely dry house. We also celebrated Gagu's birthday. Allie talked about Gagu's birthday nonstop, especially about eating cake and ice cream.  I think it lived up to the hype for Allie!

We went to the Western Development Museum on Friday. It is a museum that does a great job of capturing the history of Saskatoon and life on the prairie starting with the first settlers.  Let the record state that the first women settlers in Saskatchewan were much, much, much tougher than I could ever hope to be!  The museum also has a street with an old fashioned town and sections dedicated to trains and old fashioned cars. We had a great time, even if it doesn't show in the photos below because my almost 2 year old daughter wasn't in the mood for pictures!

Allie pointing out the horses to me in the stables.

Allie LOVES the big trains!  I think it all stems from her obsession with Thomas.

Driving an old fashion car.

Saturday night was the Cargill Christmas party and Poppy and Gagu watched our two girls.  They did a great job, Allie and Bella didn't even notice we were gone.

They also took our Christmas card picture, but since most people reading this blog will receive a card, here is just a sneak peak of me and Allie from a photo we aren't using. Again, she wasn't in the mood for pictures, so it is amazing we actually got one that worked!

Sunday we went to church and then to brunch at the beautiful, old hotel in downtown Saskatoon. Allie really enjoyed her chocolate mousse.  It was right after she finished eating this that we realized she was quite sick. 

Luckily Gagu was here to cuddle with her.  (Bella wasn't sick, but she needs cuddles every day anyway!)

Allie is still sick today, and requested to rest with all of her babies.  She thought they might make her feel better.

We were sad to say goodbye to Poppy and Gagu this morning, but we head back to Minnesota soon for Christmas and we can't wait to see Poppy and Gagu again and the rest of our families as well.  

Her Future's So Bright...

She's gotta wear shades!   

Usually just before bedtime we watch a bit of TV with Allie. Last night, Allie wanted to wear her shades while she watched My Little Ponies. 

This morning we babysat her buddy Callum while his mom went to a baby shower.  Allie slept in so late that she was still in her pajamas when Callum arrived. At least she didn't demand to wear her sunglasses!

It was a fun, lazy Saturday morning. Hope you are enjoying your weekend too!

Lunch Date

I get to have a lunch date every day with this cutie!

Today as we were eating I was reminded, again, of how blessed I am to have such a happy, spunky, smart, and delightful little girl.  I just have so much fun with her every day.  

She doesn't wear this bib very much anymore, but asked for it today.  She dropped a piece of food in the bib. Love this facial expression as she's trying to find it!

She had to get a better look.

Now that Allie will be two in about 2.5 months, I'm really starting to notice some of what we are teaching her pay off.  For example, if Bella is in her way, she will say "excuse me Bella". Or, when we cross the street, she will automatically grab my hand.  Her please and thank you's are the best they've ever been and she loves to clean up her toys.  Today we were listening to a Christian song on the radio and she heard the word God a few times.  She said, "mommy, God make puppies" because we have a book called God Made Puppies.  It melted my heart!  She is definitely absorbing what we're teaching her.  

Don't get me wrong, she's not perfect.  We still get plenty of this:

And lots of this:

But, she's growing up and it's a lot of fun to watch. In fact, I don't think I've ever had so much fun! :)

It's Here!

Winter has arrived.  We woke up this morning to this:

Allie helped Dan shovel the driveway.

I'm so sad that winter has arrived in full force, but I am thankful for the BEAUTIFUL summer and fall that we had and I'm excited to introduce Allie to snow angels, snowmen, sledding, hot chocolate...all the fun things winter has to offer!

One benefit of winter is that it stays dark later in the mornings, which means Allie has been sleeping in. Past 8:00 AM some mornings!  It is very cute because some mornings she wants to read in her crib for awhile before she gets up. I grab my Kindle and sit in the rocking chair in her room while she reads in her crib.  It is a nice way to start our mornings.

Yesterday we went to the Children's Museum and had a blast!  Dan and Allie played some instruments. (I love the expression on Allie's face. She absolutely adores her daddy).

Practicing the piano and getting ready for the lessons that her Nana has promised to give her whenever we move back to Minnesota. 

We played dress up.

There was a mirror that Allie spotted herself in.

She checked herself out and said "pretty Allie".  

And then took off running. I love Allie's spunk!

There were LOTS of stuffed puppies at the museum.  This one was one of her favorites. I think she's pretending to feed it a treat like she feeds Bella treats.

Dan showed her the tent in the "north woods" section of the museum.  She got excited to camping with Nana and Boppa someday!

It was a great weekend...even with all the snow.  :)

Halloween Part II

Happy Halloween!  Today we went back to the corn maze, in costume, so that Allie could run around with some of her friends.  We took pictures together, even though my puppy wasn't cooperating. But, since I hardly ever take pictures with her, I thought I would post anyway.

Kara and her little monkey Nixon.

The corn maze did not go as well as the first time we went there earlier this month.  I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.  

Even a crying pumpkin is a cute pumpkin.

We quickly ditched the corn maze and headed over to our favorite play area in a local mall.  It was a lot more fun, trust me.

Tonight Dan took Allie out trick or treating.  They had a blast!

Here is Allie with the pumpkin I used to trick or treat with as a kid. My Aunt Sue made it for me and it is so fun to pass along to Allie. Thanks Aunt Sue.

Checking out the houses trying to figure out which one has the best candy!

The picture quality isn't very good because I didn't change my camera settings, but I thought these photos of my family trick or treating were so sweet. I am so blessed!

Literally running, with her pumpkin out, to get more candy!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Halloween Part I

Last night we decorated pumpkins.  Allie loved it up until the point that Dan showed her the inside of the pumpkin.  That is the point that Allie became scared of "Halloween pumpkins".  (She calls all pumpkins "Halloween pumpkins").  So, she ended up keeping her distance while Dan and I carved.  

First she got to color the pumpkins.

Then the paper.

This is as close as she got to the inside of the pumpkin.

The finished products.

Today Allie my puppy and I went to a Halloween party while Dan went to his basketball game.  We had a blast!

There was an arts and crafts table, so we decorated a pumpkin.  Allie tried to eat the decorations first, but eventually learned what to do!

As usual, Allie loved the balloons!

The host of the party was this little lobster, also known as Ryan.  Allie and I go to Kindermusik with Ryan and his mom and Allie is always VERY concerned about "baby Ryan".  She wants to make sure Ryan has the right instruments and is sure to keep her eye on him.  It is pretty cute and shows me that Allie will be a good big sister someday. SOMEDAY, not anytime soon, SOMEDAY! :) :)

The original playgroup dressed up as a lobster, a puppy, a monkey, and a lion. These boys are Allie's first Canadian friends and she loves them.  

This one is my favorite because Ryan finally got his lobster shoe off and chucked it at the camera!

I also loved these photos where Ryan was pulling Bryson's monkey tail, which of course made Bryson cry because he couldn't walk forward.  Too cute!

There was a giant, spinning pumpkin outside and Bryson and Allie loved watching.  

It was a great party and a very fun weekend. Tomorrow we have another Halloween play group and trick or treating, so I'm sure I'll have a few more photos to post. 

Happy Halloween everyone!