My reason to smile today

Tonight I met a friend for dinner and I had Maizie with me. We were seated beside an elder couple. Maizie woke up shortly after we were seated and sat on the table smiling and looking around before she wanted to be fed. Once she was done I sat her on my lap and I ate my dinner. As the elder couple were leaving the restaurant the lady stopped by our table. She asked what my childs name was and then said "Well Maizie, I turned 72 today and you are just starting your life. Here is something for your future." and she gave me $2 and told me I had to put it towards her education. Well Ma'am, Happy Birthday! and I can assure you that money will go towards my daughters education and I will repay your thoughtfulness as well. I know that my baby made you smile today but you made me smile as well.

Christmas Day

Mmm, mimosas for breakfast!

"Papaya!"

Fancy glass

Maizie with her new things

A train and some big beads from Santa, a book from us, and a doll from Sofia

Sofias new craft center

The tree after Santa had come

I came downstairs first to set up the computer with my Dad on skype and to video tape Sofia coming down the stairs. Sadly, my camera and I managed to screw up and there is no video. So in order to preserve the memory here's what happened. Sofia came downstairs and ran to the computer to talk to my Dad. When we prompted her with "Did Santa come" she walked right passed the presents and over to inspect the cookie dish. She bent over and picked each one up in turn and looked inside. When I asked "Did Santa eat his cookies and drink his milk" She said "No Mumma not milk, hot chocolate!" (or rather hawt cockyate) Then Grant had to prompt her to look at the tree and the presents that were waiting for her. She immediately recognized the portable DVD player for what it was and picked it up and ran to our computer to show it off to my Dad. Then she sat and played with all her new craft supplies.

The DVD player has been renamed "my 'puter" and she pretends to type on it like she sees us do on our laptop.

She didn't really understand the whole Santa thing and that is ok by me. Next year she will for sure. She really liked opening the presents and since she got to open Maizies this year there were tons for her to open. Next year will be a bit tricky because Maizie will want to open her own!

I love Christmas and this year was great. Lots of fun memories!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve like always was spent with Grants family. It's so nice to get the whole crazy family together, this year was special because Uncle Andrew was able to join us for the whole evening for the first time.

Maizie, Auntie Tracy, Sofia, and Uncle Andrew

Beckett, Ethan, and Sofia

This was the first dinner at my inlaws with a kids table. Becks was not impressed, he kept coming over to the adult table and asking to sit on peoples laps. I think he thought he was missing out. Dinner has become a bit of an international feast. Grants Grandmother (Mormor) sends sausages and ribs from Norway and I have made Atakilt Wat the last two years.

Santas blue cookies and chocolate milk.

Sofia got lots of cool toys but this one got opened right away. She has carried with her the last few days and the words " Maybe I take a picture" have been heard over and over. We went for a walk on Christmas Day night and she took pictures of the Christmas lights in the neighbourhood. I've still got to download the pictures from her camera, I can't wait to see them!

Unique

That's my girl! She's one of a kind. The older she gets the more of her personality shows. The more freedom we are able to give her the more she shines. It's a rough balancing act raising a strong minded child. I want to nurture her so she feels comfortable expressing herself but I can only do that when she is willing to follow the rules. Sofia isn't a great sleeper and when she's tired she demands a lot of attention. However the last couple of nights she has slept through the night and we have had AMAZING days! She is so funny! She has been listening to me and using her words to express her opinions really well. She seems to understand concepts that I think she be way beyond her years. I have to remind myself a few times a day that I am the mother of a 2.5 year old.

Every time I asked Sofia what kind of cookies Santa likes her answer was "blue". So tonight she and Grant made blue sugar cookies. Earlier this afternoon Sofia helped me layer the lasagna that is our Christmas dinner this year. Grant came into the kitchen while we were building the lasagna and I said to him, "I'm smiling because my daughter is helping me make Christmas dinner." There were times that I never thought that would happen.

Thank you Bean for filling my heart with laughter and love today. I know that I tell you this everyday but thank you for being my daughter.

Walking

We spend a lot of time outside going for walks. We walk to the store, at the park or lake, and somedays we just practice our silly walks up & down our street! With a toddler and a dog walking is a great way to pass the time.

Sofia giving Cat a shoulder ride.

On Sundays we try to get out for a family walk at the lake or the ocean. This Sunday we woke up to a centimetre or two of snow so we went for a walk at the lake.

Sofia and Cat walking at the park on the way to the jungle gym.

Miss Maizie snug as a bug!

Oh Christmas Tree!

Sofia had a lot of fun decorating the tree this year.

Randoms

Maizie loves this lion. If she is awake while we are eating then she is in this chair. She talks, smiles, giggles and bats at the lion. I took this picture this morning after breakfast... Looks like the lion wore her out.
As Maizie is getting bigger I am allowing Sofia to hold her with a bit more independance. This is the latest position that we've found works.
The thing I've enjoyed most about Sofia not being in daycare anymore is Pajama Time! Most days our goal is just to get out to a park for a dogwalk and play time so we can take our time getting ready.
This picture is for Uncle Ben. Moka House in Cook St. Village. Sofia and I went for coffee last week after an appointment that we had downtown. Sofia said to me "It's nice Mumma. I like watching the cars" Sofia loves to go for coffee and we've been checking out different coffee shops around town.
11 weeks old and Maizie has started grabbing her toys. For the last few weeks she's been batting at them but in the last couple of days her hand has been opening up and her fingers closing around them. She is a marvel to us. (Especially since we haven't done any reading on infant development so we have no idea when to expect new things from her.) She has good head control and likes to "stand up". If she is standing she likes to bend and extend her legs. We can't wait to put her in the jolly jumper! She is going to be a jumping machine. She is very vocal and has many sounds. I've been playing a game with her where I repeat her sound and she smiles and giggles in response. I like to mimic her facial movements too, again she responds with smiles and giggles so it must be a good game. A couple of times she's copied me (but that's probably just a coincidence).

After 2 weeks of having both girls home with me I am more in love with them than ever. Sofia and I have had some power struggles but I am sure to never enter in to a battle with her that I can't win. I try my best to set her up for success, it's a bit exhausting always trying to be a step ahead but I find it a really effective way to parent her. We are sorting ourselves out quickly and falling into a very pleasant routine.

Craft Time!

We started out yesterday with a walk at the lake to pick up some supplies to make a Christmas craft with.

Starting craft time with a hot chocolate and some goldfish crackers.

Learning about gluing.

The finished product!

I usually try to let Sofia do the craft with no help from me, I will admit I had a hand in this one. I did however let Sofia take the reigns and she chose where everything went and put most of it on herself. This was the first project that we have used glue with and it was pretty interesting watching her learn.

YEAH DECEMBER!

I am so excited for Christmas this year. Sofia is so excited and is loving all things Christmas! She and I have been doing crafts and I'm trying to teach her Christmas carols. Yesterday we went to her Auntie Tracys to decorated her Christmas tree and bake cookies. It was a wonderful morning and I hope it will become a tradition. Tracy has a artificial tree so she puts it up early, we get a real tree and it doesn't go up until right before Christmas. For me it was a great way to start our season of celebration! Sofia has been giving away some of her crafts and she is so proud of them. Everytime she makes one she tells me who she wants to give it to. She is very thoughtful and has surprised me with some of the names she's said!

Well both girls are sleeping (very rare during the day) and so I'm going to go get a jumpstart on dinner. When Grant gets home from work we are going to put up the Christmas lights! Yeah!

I'm in love

I am so in love with my family!

Grant: Grant is such an amazing Dad. I have so much fun parenting the girls with him. I really feel like I get it now, everything that he an I have been through was leading us to where we are right now. I feel like we are invincible. Our relationship feels so strong. I don't think I have ever been happier than I am right this minute.

Sofia: Continues to amaze me daily. She has such an amazing sense of humour and mischief. At least twice a day she says or does something that makes me think "I need to write that down so I never forget it". She makes me belly laugh at least once a day. She's my sunshine. Today I taught her a new "game", it involves her sitting still with her hands in her lap while I leave the room for varying amounts of time. It's SO funny! Everytime I go back in the room and she hasn't moved I made a big deal about it and she'd say "Do it again Mummy. Go away!" She adores Maizie and is a really attentive big sister. Today we talked about how one day she'll get to teach Maizie to walk. She is so excited.

Maizie: Sofia amazes me daily and Maizie just leaves me in awe. I still can't believe that Grant and I created a person! Does that feeling every go away? It boggles my mind to think about it. Yes I get that millions of people have been doing it for thousands of years ... but it is really freakin' cool! Maizie is changing and growing so fast I sometimes want to freeze time. I snuggle and cuddle her as much as I can because I know that someday she won't be my Itty Bitty anymore (she'll be a busy toddler in the blink of an eye!). I adore breastfeeding her, what a lovely and empowering experience. Maizie gives smiles freely now but also has a pretty decent scowl. She's working on her giggle and really likes it when we repeat her cooing back to her. She tries out different sounds. Today Sofia and I heard her say "goooo BaBa" Maizie has no idea what she said but Sofia couldn't stop talking about it. She said "Mumma Maizie said gooo BaBa. That cool hey? She said BaBa! That funny hey?"

I am in love with my family. I am content and happy. Today is a good day. I am thankful. I know that I am lucky and I appreciate all of it.

Yesterday was Sofias last day of daycare. I'm sad for her but I'm happy for me. I want to raise my own kids, I'm happy that I get the chance to be home with her again. I have only worked for 8 months of the 18 months that we've had her. I know how good daycare was for her and I hope to be able to find a morning program for her a couple of times a week. The socialization is good for her and the break is good for both of us. I don't have to go back to work until October of next year. I have such big plans for the next 10 months!

Sofia cooks

The other night I let Sofia make her own peanut butter "sam-ich". I think more peanut butter when into her mouth than on the bread but she was very proud of herself.

Sisters

I love my brother but I always wanted a sister. There just seems to be a special connection between them. I am loving having two girls so close in age and can see the bond between them beginning to form. Sofia is in love with Maizie and tries to include her. Maizie stares at Sofia and smiles. I know the future holds many power struggles and hurt feelings but it will also be full of sharing and secrets.

Hockey!

is a favourite past time in our house. When the weather is nice Sofia plays road hockey with two boys across the street (the Dads play too). The boys have full goalie gear so who ever is in net is dressed safely. Sofia has taken to wearing her baseball glove to help her stop Daddys shots.

Maizie even took part in a game the other night. Daddy is good at keeping the girls busy while Mummy makes dinner!

The bird makes her smile...

Thanks Melanie & Kira.

Sunday Morning

We have a Sunday morning ritual in our house that involves pajamas, eggs & bacon, coffee, and "Breakfast with the Beatles". It's a ritual that was started by my parents when I was a teenager and I love that it has become part of my adult life too. This passed Sunday (November 1st) we changed things up a bit. Because of the time change we were all up a little early, as soon as I saw the sun was shining I suggested a walk at the lake instead. We picked up breakfast sandwiches and coffee on the way and spent a lovely morning enjoy the fresh air.

Sofia and Qimik off roading

Maizie slept through our outting

Yes, even with two kids I still take pictures of my dog!

Sofia & Daddy log walking

The Dybdal girls! all sporting new knits from Magra. (Thanks Mom!)

Remembering

There is so much I want to remember. Both my girls amaze me, I am thankful for everyday with them and try so desperately to remember every moment. Maizie is just so wide eyed and beautiful, it's so easy to love her. Sofia has us in stitches a few times a day, she has such a great sense of humour but even just her being her makes us laugh. I can't say enough about Sofia, she is such a great girl. She has so many great qualities and I know she is going to grow up to be a lovely person.

Sofia has a stool that is supposed to live in the bathroom to make her more independent in there. Lately she's been moving the stool around the house to help her reach things she isn't supposed to touch. Grant took the stool away because she was using it inappropriately. This cracked me up.

Mumma ~ Sofia, can you go wash your hands.

Sofia ~ No

M ~ Please go and wash your hands.

S ~ No I can't.

M ~ Yes you can. Please go.

S ~ I can't wash hands. Daddy take 'tool away and say "S'ia no more use 'tool" I can't wash hands.

Oops, sorry! At least she had a good excuse.

On Friday afternoon Sofia wanted to play outside so she got on her boots and a jacket and headed out into the backyard. I started straightening the kitchen and Maizie was sleeping. I was watching Sofia blowing bubbles out the kitchen window and feeling weepy because I know that soon she'll be even bigger and more grown up than she is now. As I looked around my messy kitchen I realized that getting my boots & jacket on and going to blow bubbles with my girl was far more important! I went and sat on the picnic table with Sofia and she immediately held the bubble wand up to me and said "Your turn Mumma". She put her hand on my arm and when I blew a few bubbles she said "Good blowing".

We sat there and blew bubbles for 20 minutes or so. I shed a few tears because I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Sofia saw those tears, gave me a hug, and said "You okay Mumma. You happy. I love you" Then she said, "Daddy come home soon. S'ia say 'come on Daddy, come blow bubbles too.' Daddy come sit 'side S'ia. Move over Mumma so Daddy can sit. We take turns with bubbles. Daddys turn, Mummas turn, S'ia turn, Maizie turn. Oh, Maizie can't blow bubbles, she too small. That's silly" and then she feeling into giggles. Oh how I love those giggles! She has the most infectious giggles.

Sofia has a great memory too. When we drive past places she's been she tells us. Last week we went to a friends birthday party at the McDonalds down the road from us. The following conversation happened on Saturday and again on Sunday...

Sofia~ Look Jesse birthday party. 'Member?

Daddy ~ Yes, that was fun.

Sofia ~ Member Mumma? That was lots of fun, hey?

Mummy ~ Yes, we went there for Jesses' birthday. That was lots of fun. That's McDonalds.

Sofia ~ Old McDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O

Daddy ~ Sofia, you're adorable

Sofia ~ No, I not adorable I just S'ia!

She continued to sing all the way home while Grant & I laughed. On Sunday we laughed even harder! We drove passed the McDonalds 6 times this weekend and every time we talked about Jesses birthday party.

She also does it with things that people have given her. I think she can pick out any book on her bookshelf and tell you who gave it to her, and she's the same with her clothes and toys. This morning I put a fleece on her and she said "Magra gave that to you. Thank you Magra Mmm cozy"

Sofia has one more month of daycare and then she will be staying home with Maizie and I. I am so torn. I can't wait to have her home with me but she loves daycare so much it's going to be so hard to tell her she can't go anymore. I really hope that I can provide enough fun and activities for her and she enjoys staying home with me and isn't too sad.

Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en! Hallowe'en! Trick or Treat!

I dressed Sofia in black & orange for the day. She is wearing her Misfits shirt (skull on the front) but she wouldn't pose for a picture.

I dress Maizie in this pretty Christmas Fairy outfit

(that I borrowed from Sofias Build-a-Bear!)

Sofia had her own pumpkin this year. After she'd cleaned it out the first time she kept putting the guts back in it so she could clean it out again and again.

My job is to pick out the seeds and bake them.

Sofia & Daddy carving her pumpkin

Sofia was SO EXCITED for trick or treating that this was the best picture I could get!

A very tired princess!

Who ever decided to turn the clocks back on Hallowe'en night was sure using their heads. What a great idea! Sofia stayed up an hour past her bedtime but once the clocks were set back it was like she went to bed on time! I think the time change was absorbed pretty well and I haven't noticed that Sofia is having trouble with it.