Baby teeth

Two nights ago at bedtime I realized Sofia had a loose tooth. She wiggled it and wiggled it but it must not have been ready to fall out. Tonight I noticed that her big tooth had already poked through her gum!

So we did what any good parent would do and tied dental floss to it and let her sister slam the door...

Salmon

The Dybdal family made their annual voyage to Glodstream for the salmon spawn. This year the girls were really excited, asked lots of good questions, & showed respect for the river and the fish.

Schoolyard Games

At the end of every school day I load all 3 girls into the van and say "OK Sofia tell us what you did at school today". Most days I get the standard "We had centers, then went to the bathroom, then ate lunch, then played outside, then centers and then it was time to go home".  Some days I get a bit more "At center time we were allowed to pick TWO centers. I picked lite-brite and painting." (Sofia ALWAYS picks painting.) Today I was super surprised. Today I got "When we went outside to play Regan and I pretended to be mermaids and we had to run away from the knights. Gabe, Johnny, Carter and ummm KK were the knights. They were chasing Regan and I but we kept running away from them." Me "Sounds like fun. What happened  if they caught you or Regan?" Sofia "Oh nothing. You got to run away again but then you knew you just had to run faster." It was amazing what an image I got in my head as she told me. Images of myself running with kindergarten friends around my schoolyard. Images of Sofia  in years to come sitting quietly whispering with her current BFF. I can't believe how old my 5 year old is. She has her own world. From 840-240 she is just Sofia, not sister or daughter. She can be who she is. She can learn who she is. It's amazing to witness. My sweet baby girl already has wings.

Independent

I let my girls have control over what they wear (although I admit to trying to persuade Sofia to wear something other than leggings). Lately Solveig has been putting on Maizies underwear. This day they just happened to be on the outside of her pants. I snapped this pic on the way to pick up Sofia from school.

Solveig fingerpaints

7.10.12

Happy Anniversary to us. Grant & I invited his parents and sisters to share our anniversary dinner this year because it was on Sunday. His parents always cook on the Sunday. All 5 kids were very well behaved and only 1 glass was broken (Sofia was cheers'ing with her cousins). It was fun.

Cute

I sent my kids out to clean up the toys in the yard before the rain started. I put on some tunes and started doing some dishes…

GOAL!!

Today was the first game of our 2012-13 soccer season. Sofia is number 13 this year & it's proving to be luckier than #20 from last season. She scored twice today!!

I'm so proud

What a proud Mum I am. Both my girls have decided to donate their birthday money to the Terry Fox run.

3!!!

Today our sweet Maizie celebrated her 3rd birthday! 

 Auntie Tracy & Maizie

 Radical shades

 Sweet angelic Maizie

Mmmm cupcakes

Maizie is 3. Wow, that went fast! Maizie is a lovely girl with a head full of dreams and make believe. She is sweet and thoughtful and is the first to share her food with Mum or Dad. She is no shrinking violet and perhaps shrieking violent would be a better moniker for her. She is sweet as pie until things don't go her way and then it's screams, kicks, and thrashes. She is learning to control her emotions and is getting a lot better at expressing her frustrations using words. She loves her sisters and enjoys playing with them. Even though her bed is right beside Solveigs and underneath Sofias she is always wanting sleepovers with Sofia. She has very quickly stepped into the 'big sister' roll during the day while Sofia is away at school. She is an anatomy nut right now and is always asking questions about bones ("bomes") or body functions. 

1.5!

September 17 was Solveigs half birthday. Mumma had to work but Daddy celebrate with the girls. They ate a 1/2 lemon cake and Solveig tried to blow out 1.5 candles but Maizie beat her to it (twice). Daddy was very sweet and took video for Mum since she missed it. 

 I'm not sure if she was saying "Cheese" or "Happy Birthday" 

My sweet baby is 18 months old. She talks in sentences, sing a few songs, and runs! She is up for anything, riding bikes, climbing at the playground, chasing her sisters and friends, and getting into mischief. She likes baby dolls & stuffies and is usually found sushing them while she paces around the house. She is can be cheeky and is developing a sweet sense of humour. She isn't afraid to let her opinion be known and she stands up for herself with her sisters. Most of the time it doesn't seem like there is much 'baby' left in my baby, she has grown up fast!

Sofias first days of school

Her first time going to meet her teacher and see her new classroom.

 Her first assignment. Write her name on the line beside the words "Bonjour a" and draw a picture of herself. Sofia being Sofia wrote her name across the top of the page (no where near the line) and her picture was of a flying robot.

 Her first day of school. Daddy stayed home and we all went together.

 Sofia, Maizie, & Solveig

My beautiful charismatic girls.

 Sofia and her Daddy

 Sofia and her Mumma

(look how tall she is already!) 

Maizie was ok until she realized we were leaving Sofia behind. 

It was odd, she saw Sofia go into the school and was ok with it. She even hugged and kissed her goodbye while Sofia was all lined up with her classmates waiting to go in. After Sofia had gone into the school Maizie and Solveig played on the equipment for a few minutes. When we said "It's time to go" that's when Maizie said "No we can't go Sisters in there" and pointed to the school. 

Sofias first day of school

Tomorrow is Sofias first day of kindergarten. Last Friday she and I went for an hour to meet her teacher and explore her classroom. On Monday she went for 3 hours in the morning and today for 2 hours in the afternoon. Tomorrow it's game on.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't crying while I typed this. My baby that I waited so long for has grown up and is part of the world now. She doesn't belong just to Grant and I now she is part of a class and a school. She's gonna learn things I don't know and she's gonna make friends I don't know. She's so ready for this but I'm not. I am going to miss her so much. An hour before school and a few hours after (on the days I don't work) don't seem like enough. I'm not ready but I'll never be ready and I know it only gets harder from here… so tomorrow morning I'll put on my biggest brightest smile and hug her extra hard and say "Have a great day Bean"

B Girl

Maizie adds 'b's on the front words. It's one of those kid things that I'm going to miss once it's gone. Hopefully Grant will add to my list.

Bemember - remember
Bnana - banana
Blijah - Elijah
Bnilla - vanilla

A future snap shot?

Tonight Sofia started to cry, sob really.  She curled up into me and said "I just can't stop crying" so of course I told her to cry all her tears out. After about 30 minutes of tears I was told that a) she would've preferred to watch fireworks than ride her bike in a parade. b) she wants to ski all year round and ice skate as well. c) she wants to ask Santa for a skateboard with monsters & batman on it for Christmas but Christmas is too far away. d) she wants a radio that she can listen to lots of kinds of music on. and e) she wants to wear makeup but we won't let her until she's 18 and that's sooo long away. 

Well I did what any mother would do, I held she while she cried, wiped her tears, smiled to myself while her head was buried in my shoulder. I listened to what she and came up with as many solutions as I could. I let her lead the conversation. After we were done we put all her feelings into a bubble and blew the bubble into the sky letting go and releasing them. 2 minutes later she was giggling happily sitting next to her Dad.

While Miss Sofia was having her break down her sisters were being clowns. Wrestling naked, climbing onto the back of the couch and meowing, fake crying, and throwing balls. I believe tonight was just a small snap shot into our future. 

Big day

Today was a big day for Sofia and I. 2 days ago she asked me to cut her hair and told me that she wanted it short at the back and long on the top. Knowing that this was way over my skill set I booked her into the salon.
Today she walked in nervous but excited. She explained to the hairdresser that she wanted the back bottom braids cut off short cause they hurt the most when we brush her hair out. She wanted the top cut a bit but with some long pieces.

The hairdresser looked at me and said what do you want. And I replied confidently its her hair. I waited nervously. Worried that Sofia might burst into tears. She didn't. She beamed.

Helpers!

Everyone slept by themselves last night. Which on this house means I slept with Solveig in the spare room and Sofia slept with Grant and Maizie slept by herself! I feel amazing today! And after finishing an assignment during my morning coffee I'm trying to get caught up on folding and putting away 5 loads of laundry. Most nights I sleep with Solveig and Maizie in the spare bed and often Sofia too. Not great rest for me but it's cozy.
Anyway the girls are feeling great today too! And they are eager to help. I'm putting their clothes in their closet and they decided to come make their beds. While I showered (with Solveig and Maizie) this morning Sofia straightened up the whole living room! With out me even asking. I love great sleeps!! Hopefully with spring here better weather and more fresh air will mean more nights like that.

Happy Birthday Solveig Johanna!

This baby girl is amazing! I am so thankful to the universe for choosing us to be her family.