My 34th birthday.....

We had a great night last night.

Scarlett decorated the kitchen, with streamers, she set the table with birthday plates cups and a table cloth.

She didn't want any help, she made me wait upstairs while she did it so I would be surprised when I came downstairs.

Martin took her out shopping and on her own she picked me out some very beautiful slippers and p.j.'s. Hot pink slippers, and hotpink p.j.'s with snow flakes all over them. I looked like a big thing of cotton candy.

It was a great birthday, the kids were so excited to sing to me, when I dropped them off at daycare, they made all of the teachers wish me a happy birthday, and they invited most of them to the party.

Our night at the Rockettes....

Scarlett and I went to the Hummingbird Centre to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes.

Scarlett was mesmorized during the show, the look of excitement and joy on her face was pretty amazing.

Of course now she wants to be a Rockette.

Her favorite part was the Wooden soldiers, and the multiple Santa's as they explain how Santa can be in so many places.

I absolutely loved the Nativity scene at the end. Very well done, and totally in keeping with the spirit of Christmas

We will definetly go again next year.

Silly us we set off to the mall this morning, with the idea of seeing Santa. We had high hopes for a quick line-up and then off to finish our shopping.

Almost 2 1/2 hours later, this is the best picture we could get. Scarlett did want to go up at all, and Kaleb was making the really silly faces.

Over all give the waiting time not a bad picture

Scarlett's Senior Kindargarten Picture and report card...

Mrs Stickle


What a great report card, we are so proud of her.

Our interview with the teacher went great, she really didn't have anything to talk about. Scarlett is acceling at reading, and she is going to start sending home harder books for her to read. At the end of Kindergarten they should be reading at a level 5. By the end of Grade One they should be somewhere in the 16-20 range. Scarlett is at the 14-16 level.

Agian we were told that she is accelling at all academic aspects of Kindergarten, socially she is a great asset to the class. She is very friendly and outgoing with all of the kids, and is friends swith all of the students.

She still needs to work on appropriate reactions to things that she is asked to do that she dosen't want to. While she has grown up emotionally, it is still the one thing that is holding her back.

We talked again about giving her harder work to do, as she is a bit bored. Again the teacher talked about how she is going to have her more involved in Grade One work starting in January.





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Thanksgiving 2006....

What an amazing weekend.

Temps were in the late 60's early 70's. Unheard of weather for here.

We had a great time, with Derek Mic and Blake, Grandma and Grand Tokarski..

Kaleb managed to ride his bike through the whole path in the forest. I only had to carry it over the fallen trees and such.

It was so nice to get a beautiful long weekend, one last time before the snow flies.

As usual we packed up the cottage, turned the water and such off. I doubt we will go up again before Christmas but you never know.

Dinner was a typical turkey, stuffing, potatotes, apple pie, banana pie etc. Mom went out to buy the turkey but came home with a frozen butterball that is pre-stuffed and is cooked from frozen

We all agreed the dinner was great except for the turkey, it was really bad. LOL Oh well live and learn, I see these cook from frozen ones all the times, I thought it was a good idea but apparently not.

Nova Scotia 2006

Our rafting trip was amazing, we started by walking down the walkway you see to the left.

We walked right into the mud and muck and then into the zodiacs.

When we started out the river was very small, and most of the lake you see in the picture is a large sandbar.

Within 3 hours the water level rises to upwards of 15 ft past the end of the walk way.

We were told the water that comes in the Bay of Fundy is more than all of the fresh water in the world.

While these are pictures taken from River Runners website they show what we did while rafting.

There was no way we could have taken pictures during the trip.









This shows the tidal bore entering the river, the day we went it was only about a 2 ft wave.













Many times our boat totally disappeared in the water, and was completely full of water.

Pictures of the kids from May 2006

We were so pleased with the way these pictures turned our of the kids.

The two of them together we had blown up and it is hanging in the front hall of the house.

The one of Scarlett kissing her brother was not planned, so it is really a special picture, showing the love she has of her brother, or at least had for that moment.

Canada Day Weekend 2006

We spent 5 days at the cottage for the Canada Day Long weekend.

The weather was really great, it was a bit cloudy and a bit of a breeze so it kept the temps down. Which also kept the bugs away, so all in all a perfect weekend for the cottage.

Scarlett finally mastered her two wheeler, by the end of the weekend she was going faster than I could. She did take one really good tumble and skinned her knees and elbows but other than that she did great.

All of us went to the boat launch , Kaleb made it the whole way on his bike, I was so impressed, I figured I would end up walking him back and trying to figure out how to carry his bike while pushing mine.

We tried to do the same ride again the next day but Kaleb had a breakdown, about half way back and cried the whole way.

Scarlett scared us to death on the Sunday, I was sitting on the dock with her reading a book, when Ryan asked her to go swimming. I told her yes and off she jumped into the river, she swam out about 15 ft then turned around and started to swim back. I looked at her and thought something was wrong but couldn't figure it out, then it dawned on me that she didn't have her life jacket on. I just about fainted on the spot, I didn't know what to do. I jumped in the water just in case, but she did make it to shore.

I am more freaked out now than before, when she jumped in what if she hadn't come up, we never would have found her. We had a discussion about water safety and I doubt she will do it again, she scared herself because she new she was having trouble.

AHHHH the joys of motherhood.....

the joy you feel as you snuggle in bed with your 5 year old and go over your day.

The kisses and hugs you get as she drifts off to sleep.

Watching your little girl (who's not so little sleeping like an angel beside you)

Ahhhh the wonders of being a mother.
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Then reality hits, your angel flails during the night, kicking you in legs , bum, does a 180 so that her feet are in you face.

She takes the blankets, or has to sleep ontop of the blankets which then won't let you pull them up.
She thens turns the 180 back and ends up punching you in the face.

But the most precious part is when you roll over to find out not only is her bum in your face, she has somehow managed to pee right on to your pillow.

Being a monther is so much fun.

Kids daycare pics June 2006 ....

To my daughter on her fifth Birthday

May 18, 2006

Scarlett,

Happy Fifth Birthday!

Last night I admit I got a bit teary eyed thinking about how you were turning 5. How can this be, just yesterday I was being told that you would be entering this world backwards. I swear it was only last week that you took your first steps, or maybe it was last month that I heard for the first time “I love you Mama”.

My beautiful girl, you make me smile every day. (You also make me mad and frustrated and angry) but boy can you make me smile.

I was just reading the letter I sent to you 4 years ago on your first birthday, how my favorite time of day was when we snuggled together in the morning. I am so thank-full that this is still our normal routine. I love waking up each morning to look into your eyes and hear you tell me you love me.

You have grown into a beautiful young girl, you are still very much your own person. You are opinionated, stubborn (boy are you stubborn), you are loving and caring, very protective of your brother. You still have no fear of anything, one of your friends moms asked if you would be capable of having a sleep over, I laughed at this question. You my daughter can go anywhere and do anything without looking back.

Each day I watch in amazement as you grow and mature. You started Kindergarten this year and I have loved watching you learn. Within two months you learned all your letters and numbers and moved on to reading. It is amazing to hear you reading to me, I could sit for hours ( and actually I do this a lot).

You are a very outgoing child, and have many friends. Lately your best friend is Katherine from next door, the two of you are joined at the hip. At least 4 or 5 times a week she is at our house or you are there for dinner. You both have a love of ponies and spend hours imaging yourselves riding through the forest.

Listening to the stories you create amazes me, your imagination is endless. For some reason you ask to talk about things every morning while I’m in the shower. “Mom, can we talk about drains” was the question today. Why do we have drains under the sink. Where does the water go. Why? You are forever searching for answers to many questions.

Your protectiveness of Kaleb makes my heart skip a beat sometimes. You won’t tolerate anyone picking on him or treating him badly (although you’ve been known to do it yourself) If I tell you you can stay up late, you ask about Kaleb. If I give you a treat when Kaleb isn’t around, you make sure I save him one. I truly hope that the two of you continue to grow up together and remain the best of friends. On weekends at the cottage you tend to sleep in the same bed, your father and I love to stand at the door and just stare at what beautiful children we have.

My sweet angel, my princess and my Scarlie bear and my chicita banana, all of the names express my love for you.

The past 5 years have been the most amazing journey, one that I never dreamed could be so much fun, I look forward at your future and wonder what you will become, I dream about you as you enter each new step in the road of life.

As always I love you, and will be here for you always

I love you

Mom

The Danger of Kindergarten.....

The pictures don't acutally do justice to the injury.

Scarlett was running in the playground when her and naother boy named Matthew banged into each other cheek to cheek.

He came away without a mark, but she looks like we've taken to beating her.

The school had me take her to the doctor and for an xray just in case. The doctor acutally called the school to verify my story.

What will they be when they grow up ....

Two kids sharing one room, dosen't really work.....

Kaleb has been temporarily moved into Scarlett's room while Martin paints his.

Up until this point Kaleb has had a child lock on his door because he won't stay in his room. So each night we give him a kiss and a hug, then we stand at the door, blow him a kiss, pretend to do a big hug and squish him, he does the same back. We save we love you, sweet dreams and see you in the morning.

But now that he's sharing a room with Scarlett, this is the routine. Good night Kaleb, sweet dreams, big hugs, see you in the morning, and don't get out of bed.

For about 5 minutes we hear nothing, then maybe a few jumps on the bed, a little laughter. Which is okay, kids will be kids , we can't expect them to just go sleep.

Around 9:00 I go upstairs to make sure they are asleep, and find them both sitting at the window sill talking to the neighbours. So I clsoe the windows and the blinds and read them the riot act.

11:00 I go to bed, I do my nightly ritual of kissing the kids, and of course I find the windows wide open, its 0 deg outside so their room is just a tad bit cold. They both are asleep.

Around 1:00 a.m. I am woken up by a strange noise, kind a static sound. I go to Scarlett's room no kids, I try the spare room nothing, I find them downstairs with the TV on and sound very low.

I stood in the hallway listening, they were giggling about how we were asleep and didn't know. It brought tears to my eyes they were so darn cute. I eneded up leaving them there, I figured one night wouldn't hurt them.

Around 2:30 I heard them come back upstairs and go to bed, my sweet little angels.

Scarlett's first orthodontist appointment.....

she does need to have some work done. Probably next year, once her adult teeth are in in the front.

He says he will put spacers in her teeth to help her upper jaw grow more. He says she's not that bad, her teeth do touch at the front but she naturally moves the top ones back since its more comfortable.

The price for this first round is about 1000.00 so not too bad yet. Of course he is also saying she will need braces at 10 or 11 at a cost of 6000-7000.

First swimming lesson of 2006.......

Both Scarlett and Kaleb had swimming the other night. Kaleb is in private lessons, which the teacher agreed was a good idea since he really wasn't listening, all he wanted to do was dive under the water.

Scarlett did really well, she can almost swim the required 10m on her front, on her back is a different story , she tends to sink like a stone. She also tried tredding water but that didn't go so well either, again she sank.

Both kids said they had fun and wanted to know when they go back again.

What do you do with snow.....

Skating is over for the year

Both kids had their last night of skating. Scarlett passed level one and will move to 1 hour lessons in September.

Kaleb's report card said that he is slowly getting better, and is almost skating now. He is so funny to watch, he can almost run on the ice but there is definetly no gliding going on, he has mastered the art of walking on ice.

Scarlett is getting faster each day, she is starting to do bunny hops, and twirls. She dosen't pay attention during the lesson just wants to skate around the rink. What a surprise her not listening.

Another milestone achieved........

Scarlett lost her first tooth today, (4yrs 10 months) the bottom middle left (Central Incisor). It was quite an exciting event.

Over two months ago we noticed one of her teeth was loose, she had been trying to get a watch off her wrist by biting it and jarred the tooth. So we wiggled and watched and nothing happened.

The tooth seemed to become stable again for another couple weeks, just wiggling a little bit.

This past week she has really been working at it, and tonight it was just hanging there. So I started playing a game with her, how far back can you push it, now how far forward. Martin being the dutiful father told her she should pull it out or he would tie a string around it. Then he comes back from the garage with pliers she was not impressed and pulled it out herself.

We put the tooth in a fairy box complete with pillow and mirror to check out the new space in her mouth.

She is now in bed happily waiting for the tooth fairy's arrival.

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The tooth fairy ended up leaving her $2.75, she was quite excited to have that much money. She took me out for breakfast the next day and bought muffins with one of her quarters. She was so proud to pay for it herself. The adult tooth has now started pushing througholing through and she checks every night for more loose teeth.

This is a picture of her talking to her Grandma, telling her the great news.

What can you say about a girl with an attitude!

Scarlett has perfected the art of eye rolling, sighing, and getting on your last nerve.

Each day you wonder which child will crawl out of bed. The happy girl who wants to come and snuggle for a moment and talk about the day ahead. Or the little demon girl, who will start the day with "I hate you" "I want a new family".

She wants to be a big girl, who can stay up late, she wants a TV in her room, and most especially wants to play Barbie.com 24 hours a day. When told no, she can't control her feelings and launches into a litany of I hate you's.

On the good days (which still outnumber the bad by far) she will come into my room around 6:00 and snuggle under the covers. She will kiss my face and wake me up. She doesn't like it if I get up right away, she wants mommy time. We lay in bed and discuss who her best friend is this week. (believe me it changes almost daily). We talk about our day, what were going to do.

She still loves her brother, and looks out for him but I can see the beginning stages of her wanting less to do with him. She has recently announced that she wants to bath alone. She doesn't want him to see her private parts and god forbid she see his.