Out With the Old and UP with the New!

We said goodbye to our 'baby' yesterday:

After I took this picture to mark the end of another stage, I thought about how very long we waited to have this piece of furniture in our home! I just can't believe that we're already moving it out ... I'm a bit sad I must say! Cadence continues to tell us she's a big girl and I'm afraid I think she's right!
There were no emotions on Cadence's part ... she fell asleep without ANY problems and even her 'brother' snuggled in for the night ... looks like we'll be losing 2 babies!


We didn't actually receive the new mattress until today, so here is the bed in it's almost finished state:


I still need to find a bedskirt and duvet cover ... but I'm holding out until I find the right ensemble ... for now this will do!
The important thing is Cadence and Daddy like it:

AND mommy and daddy treated themselves to an early anniversary present too ... a bed fit for a king! Or a bed that will fit the king and queen and their 2 'babies' who are sure to visit on a regular basis!

Oh and Jody ... her room got a new bed too ...
We sure worked hard this weekend ... lots of moving and lifting and washing and making beds. I'm looking forward to using my little step stool, climbing in to bed and having a good night's sleep ... it's been a while! Sleep well y'all!!!

Mommy's Little Helper

Cadence was very excited to help out in preparing snacks for our company. She did a great job too ... I gave her a quick lesson and handwashing and she was good to go:


And does Heidi know us or what? Check out the funky apron she brought for Cadence:

I can't believe we didn't force, I mean find the opportunity to take photos of us in our 'cooking attire'! Even more disappointing, I am sorry we did think to grab photos with our friends, the Nelson family (perhaps I should have put it on my
list!). I even had the camera sitting right on the counter! Despite that faux pas, we had a GREAT afternoon catching up. It has been too long my friend, but I am glad we finally managed it! There WILL be photos next time and there WILL be a next time!

Creativity?

On Tuesday night when I got home from my course, Cadence came running down the stairs to tell me about her bobo ... on her foot. She told me, "I fell in the pool, our pool" ... my stomach turned ... for a moment, until Sean yelled down to inform me that they hadn't even gone outside! One of the girls at work thought Cadence was quite creative ... me ... I call her a liar, liar pants on fire!
"Bobozema" ... now THAT'S creative!

One Little Monkey

Hip and Cool!

Just 'cause she is:

Cadence's Mother Has Been on a Mission!

I know ... I have not been keeping up ... at least not HERE!
I have been a slave to my lists and committed to completing EVERY single task before rewarding myself each night with such things as a glass of wine, a soak in the tub and a good night's sleep. For the most part, I have been able to keep up.
My weekend To Do list was as follows:

*unpack my suitcase
*Sleep Country - purchase beds and mattresses
*clean out pool and filters
*Home Outfitters/Sears/Bay - purchase bedding
*Allandale Paint Centre - pick up paint
*begin painting the headboard
*pull weeds
*purchase plants and put urns together
*gymnastics
*grocery shopping
*attend jewelry party
*clean and stain deck
*laundry - putting stuff away AND doing more loads
*make returns to Gap/Winners
*Koho - purchase pool chemicals and settle 'bill'
*get out golf stuff and dust it off
*check chemicals in the hot tub
*organize outdoor storage shed

As I look at it now, it doesn't seem as overwhelming as it did on Friday night ... maybe that's because those were all things we
had to do AS WELL AS entertain and parent Cadence ... not an easy feat. She insists on helping us do EVERYTHING which slows down our process. I cannot begin to tell you how very grateful I was to our neighbours who kindly invited Cadence to play with their children while we got the deck done ... MANY, MANY thank yous!
I've been feeling anxious that we are way behind on things as compared to other years which has put me into my current overdrive ... in fact tonight there were 3 'items' to complete after my golf lesson ... bedtimes will be late this week! In the end, I've come to realize that we lost two weekends ... one for the wedding and another for our nights away over the long weekend.
Regardless ... I'm am sticking to 'the lists' and will be caught up by the weekend ... yep ... that's the plan alright!

Let it be written ...

Can you decipher Cadence's 'writing'?

Apparently this says, "One Vitamin". Not bad Cadence!

Today was ALL about Cadence... afterall she is officially 2 and a half today! We started off our day with home made cinnamon buns and fresh raspberries and then we enjoyed a long semi hot shower. Afterwards we did some yard work ... the ‘whole family’ ... okay, so it wasn’t ALL about Cadence. We seeded the front lawn and began vacuuming the thousands of worms out of the pool ... fun huh?! Cadence did get a few breaks ... a bike ride, wagon ride and some baseball with dad, while mom carried on! Following our morning of hard labour we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the deck and then got ready for our ‘surprise trip’. As a rare occurence Cadence fell asleep 3 minutes prior to arrival at the zoo. The sight of the elands and giraffes in the distance were enough to perk her up though! This year we purchased season’s passes so we are good to go ANY time! Apparently Cadence’s favourite animal was the snake ...?
Our last stop was her favourite neighbourhood park. I just can't believe Cadence’s agility and fearlessness ... no toddler structure for this girl! She was up every climber to the top, yelling ‘stop’ at us every time we tried to just get close enough in case she lost her footing.
We had Cadence’s favourite meal for dinner: salmon and caesar salad and then it was off to bed time routine. I must say, she was out like a light within minutes!!!
She sure deserved today ... mommy's got another 'trip' Wednesday ... daddy on Thursday. We'll make it up to you pumpkin ... promise!
Only a few photos from the day ... didn't charge the battery! Enjoy the latest round of the BACK of Cadence's head! Sheesh!!!

Trips for Everyone!

We have upgraded our language and begun to tell Cadence the truth ... imagine ... and I wondered where she learned to lie!
Prior to my last girl's weekend, anytime Sean and I went somewhere, it was known as 'going to a meeting'. This girl is sharp and we knew she wouldn't buy it for much longer. As such, we were up front this weekend about mommy's trip and daddy's trip.
Mommy went to celebrate a special birthday with some gals in the family and Sean headed north for a reunion. Don't worry, Cadence got her 'trip' too!

Where is Spring?

The signs are there ....


but it has NOT arrived!

In Case You Didn't Know ...

"You gotta be careful when you use snissors!"

Picnic

On the way home from up north, we stopped at a rest area for a picnic. Despite the sunshine, the weather was a bit cool, but we toughed it out!

Cheers:

This face shows Cadence's thoughts on flies:

Can you believe our little peanut ate most of this 'sandwich':

Cadence's first experience 'roughing it' ... not fun!

The Wedding

At the church (before the ceremony!):

The cake cutting ceremony ... yum!!!! My mom's cousin makes ALL of our 'family' cakes and they are THE BEST! Her frosting is unbelievable and is a complete secret ... someday, some way ... we need to get our hands on that recipe! Come on Annie ... share!!!!

All the 'boys' in their finest:

And us girls too!

Uncle Mike and his lovely dance partners:

It was a great evening ... amazing food, fine wine and a chance to laugh and hang with the cousins. Geography and life has gotten in the way of being able to get together much over the past years so when we do, it is definitely to be celebrated! So glad we got to do that this past weekend ...

The Birthday

Look who's ready to 'party'!

The cake:

The surprize:

The party games:

The presents:

Best wishes to Donna, who truly IS foxy at fifty!!!!

Snapshots of the Weekend ...

It was a BUSY one and I haven't the time for the full play by play post. I'll try to back track through the week as I have a lot of lovely photos to share. For now, here is a little glimpse ...

A birthday girl:

A little bubbly:

Party dresses:

Oh ... and a newly married couple:

More to come ...

After yesterday's futile attempt to get a smile, Cadence readily took photos today.
"Mom, I posing!":

Here's a foot pose:

I sent the little diva to go get a pair of socks so I could put on her new running shoes with the blue stripes (to match the pants). She came back with her flip flops that match her outfit EXACTLY ... the girl pays attention!!!

Here's hoping for some 'poses' in these outfits ... ready to go ...
Dress for the ceremony:

Dress for the 'evening':

We're basically packed and ready to go ... again! I think this is the last road trip for a while .....
See you Sunday!

Smile!!!!

Smile Cadence ...

Come on ... smile!

Please .... smile for mommy!

Cadence?

You get the picture!!!! Wish I did!

Home Sweet Home!

It had been quite a while since I'd left Cadence for an entire night ... in fact, it might even have been almost a year so ... I was a little worried. I must remember how 'resilient' my girl is! She and her dad had a GREAT time. Unfortunately when I called, talking to me was not of particular interest to her ... not when the park is next on the agenda! Oh well ...
On a happier note, arriving home couldn't have been more sweet! The squeals of delight more than made up for the lack of conversation and I was thrilled to hear her declare, with NO prompting whatsoever, "I missed you mom!". She is one incredible kid!
We spent the rest of the day hanging out and playing ... gotta take advantage of that sun while we have it!

Smile Cadence????


A girl with her own 'style':

3rd and Final ...

Sean's on his way home ... from work ... at noon ... it's his turn!
Let's hope this is the last of it .......

Girls Getaway ...

The motto:

4 girls, one night, not a cm3 of space to spare:

A little 'spread':

The guests of 'honour':

Ready to spread our wings:


That's as much as you get ... other than ... The Sound of Music was awesome! I smiled all the way through, except for the two times I wept ... it's The Sound of Music for goodness sake! The flu certainly kept me 'at bay' ... in fact, I would have to say the morning after was the best I'd felt in an entire week ... definitely NOT your typical girl's getaway weekend ... actually it was atypical in other ways too but I'm not at liberty to share here ........

Busy week coming up ... will try to get back to the real subject of this blog ....