A Happy Visit

Had a great visit from our friends Karin, Ella & Jonathan today. They were escaping the dust & fumes of packing and painting in their house (getting ready for their impending move). It was a great distraction for myself and Keira, to have visitors in the house. Otherwise, it would have been a boring Saturday.



First off, the discovery of the spare room and the inflatable mattress within. Jackpot! They were jumping up and down all afternoon in between of (Jackpot #2!), finding the dresses in Keira's closets (closet-plural as I keep some of Keira's clothes in the spare room closet as well). They had to be "princesses" for the afternoon!







They're finally at the age where they actually interact and converse with each other though Ella is the assertive one and Keira is the I-don't-care-what-you-want-to-do-I-will-do-what-I-want-when-I-want. And both are incredibly active, like double Energizer-bunnies!

By 5pm though, Keira was going through a funky meltdown (yep, you guessed it! no naptime today) but had a great supper and even funkier bubble-bath (perhaps upset at me for promising to take a bubble-bath with Ella, who had already gone home).

All through the day, Keira's obsession was Jonathan, the baby. She loves babies! Perhaps it's an affinity she picked up on from our caregiver Val. She wanted to hold the baby, kiss the baby, was concerned when he cried... sweet.



Hopefully we'll have another day like this together soon. Guaranteed tomorrow, all I'll be hearing is, "Where's Ella? I wanna play with Ella! Where's Jonathan?? I wanna go see Elllllla!!!!"

Happy Easter Everyone!

Naked as a jail-bird

Yep, this is how everyone comes into the world and this is the way Keira loves to be...naked as a jail-bird. Most days, she starts undressing as soon as daddy comes to pick her up at the caregiver's. First to go is her coat, then as she's in the car, the boots come off, socks as well.

If she's hungry, she'll wait to undress until after she's eaten her meagre supper (because not only does she like to be naked as a jail-bird, she usually eats like a bird too!). By the time I get home, I see the trail of clothes from the front door all the way to the playroom and her bedroom. Like pieces of a puzzle strewn all over the place... pair of socks by the door, shirt in the playroom, pants in her room. Sometimes she'll leave her dirty pull-ups by the Diaper-Genie because she can't open it up by herself, so that's nice. At least she tried!

My mom being the old-fashioned korean prude tries to guilt me to get her to dress. You know the drill: "oh! she catch cold!", "ai-ya! she make sick!". But I don't want Keira to have any shame of her body. She DOES know it's not ok to undress in public and other people's homes but sometimes, it's really hard to convince her to KEEP THE CLOTHES ON. And if we're somewhere where there is 1 person with a shirt off, that's it! It's proof enough for her to take her top off too!

New Friends, Old Friends

Keira and I were invited today to see one of my friends from the Cegep-era, Heather. She's now an amazing photographer (Heather Ogg Photography) and has her own design studio, Updriven Productions. She wanted a photo shoot of kids and invited us over. Don't think she caught any of Keira worth keeping (Keira was too busy playing with all the toys and the other kids) but she took great shots of the boys, Noah and Oliver.



When I told Keira yesterday that we were going to see new friends she was excited but wouldn't accept the fact that besides Noah at daycare, there couldn't be another Noah elsewhere! I went on facebook and showed Keira the "other" Noah but she kept repeating, "is not Noah!". lol. Does she think we're all one-name wonders? There is only one Noah? One Keira? hmmm...



On top of getting together with these great gals from the past, the kids got their face painted by the talented Nancy G! Check out her website! Doodlebugfaces. This is a great idea for any parties involving adults & kids. Nancy has a way with even the most difficult kids (i.e. Keira!) and the results are amazing.


Glitter!!


Almost done!


The finished result...wow!

We also saw Dawn who is also a designer AND she has her own business at home. Damn! I'm missing something here. lol.

Anyways, Keira was preoccupied with Heather's daughters Sarah & Lindsay who really took care of her. There's something about older girls that Keira loves. Maybe 'cuz they spoil her and she knows it! lol.

If you're looking for someone to do your family or individual or even (and this is for you Joyce!) doggie portraits, just contact Heather! And if you want some fun entertainment at your next family/kids event..contact Nancy. The kids will love her!

Winter Wonderland

Can you believe all this snow? Can it stop already? We have absolutely no more space to put snow on our lawn (wherever that is). Keira has fun sledding in the front yard though. Yesterday, she climbed all the way to the top of the snow hill in front while we were shovelling and yelled out, "Look at me! I did it!!!". hehehehe.

Just reminiscing here... Can't believe how time goes by so fast.


After nearly 2 and a half years of complaining why it took so long for Keira's hair to grow...


And I forgot about these pics...I think these were taken the first week Keira was home from the hospital.

Some Neat Sites for Kids Stuff...

I love all those new kid-product sites out there. In the past 3 years, there have been an explosion of well & hand-made kid products out there for furniture, clothing and accessories. You no longer have to shop exclusively at Sears, Gap Kids, Rodin etc for products everyone is buying. Now you can get great design for kids anywhere! Most of these online shops ship internationally.

I love these sites :

Sparkability
MuseoLinen
Ollie&Lime
threepotatofour



And there's more....

10 Things That Make Keira Happy (for now)

1. Spaghetti (with or without sauce)
2. Bacon, breakfast sausages, ham and according to the babysitter, bologna! Ackpffftffpt!
3. Going naked
4. Watching all her fave shows (must include music & dancing) on tv & dvd
5. Balloons
6. Cutting up paper (with her blunt scissors) and throwing all the pieces around
7. Going to see & play with her friends (sometimes, any friend will do-i.e. kids at the park)
8. Playing hide & seek with her daddy
9. Playing "scary tiger", also with her daddy
10. Bubble baths

Jon & Kate + 8

I have to say, I am fascinated by this show. I can't imagine having 2 kids (which is why after 3 years, Keira is STILL an only child) but having 8?!! Having twins and then sixtuplets, I think I would have imploded (brain) and exploded (belly). I've been watching this show for a while including checking out their website.

I find Kate to be incredibly annoying and a control freak but she does love her kids and I love the fact that she's tough when she needs to be (love it when she says to her fighting kids: "now go and hug your brother/sister!") and pretty calm overall (considering there's 8 of "them" and only 1 of her, lol). I can't even imagine the insanity she and her hubby Jon go through when each toddler has their individual tantrum sessions. I mean, how many corners in the house do they have to accommodate each "naughty" kid?!

You can find me on the weekends watching this show on TLC usually with my mouth open and staring at the screen. I also love the fact that Jon is half-korean and I find each kid adorable! hehe. I'll just plug it now, asian kids are cute!

Adam's 3rd Birthday!

Here's the wonderful Adam, already 3 years old! What a cutie... He asked for a blueberry cake...strawberry comes close!


All the kids patiently waiting for mummy & daddy to get them their lunch plates...ah the life!


Pressies! When pressed by my sister what he wanted for his birthday, he gave a quiet and serious answer: "I want candles mama." And why you may ask? Because he's passed a year of going to other kids' parties where they all got candles on their cakes.


These kids play rough, wallflowers stay by the wall! Cuts, bruises a-plenty here (Keira has a bruise to prove it)!


Family portrait.