labour day at dow's lake

Hope you all had a great Labour Day, the final public holiday of the summer.....sigh! Today we got another one of those things-we-would-like-to-do-this-summer packed into our agenda. It all started with football this morning, we came home, had lunch, Lilah napped and then we were on the road again. We rented one of the pedal boats at Dow's Lake, which is a beautiful scenic man-made lake right in the city, pretty close by where we live. Well that's when Labour Day started for us! Pedaling a boat around a lake on a beautiful sunny day sure is fun 'labour' though. Even Lilah thought so, she got right in the action, pedaling away and saying "Help Mama"! Yes, she was a big help, even though I had to hold her up the whole time and my biceps were so not loving the workout! Good times! After the 'hard work' was over, we enjoyed some Mexican food on an outdoor patio and then took a walk around the lovely flower gardens by the lake. Our next stop was Chinatown where we topped the evening off with a mint bubble tea. Mmmm! More pictures here.

all the fun of the fair

It was Lilah's first trip to the Country Fair and it certainly didn't disappoint. We had a smashing day packed with amusement rides, face painting, bouncy castles, a horse ride, candy floss and so much more. Colin and I would certainly not have received the parents of the year award though - we put Lilah on a dragon ride, one that she just barely skimmed the height restrictions. Well, lets just say it was very fast and it went up and down and around, kinda like a mini child style roller coaster! Colin and I looked at each other in horror once the ride took of, it was several seconds later when it came flying by us and we saw Lilah wasn't crying, that we breathed again. I admit at that stage we did snort a bit, at our own silliness and in relief! I think all the (older) children laughing and squealing around her may have saved the day. See the first picture below for the pictorial evidence of Lilah on the wild dragon ride, she did manage a wobbly wave on the fly by. The highlights of the day (for Lilah) were definitely the bouncy castle, the face painting and the candy floss. She had a lot of fun and we had a pretty tired little butterfly on the drive home! All the pictures from our day at the fair are here.

outdoor football season is over

We call it football back in the UK, but since moving to Canada we've had to call it soccer to avoid confusion! However, I've taught Lilah the word football, just because it makes more sense to explain to a child, foot on the ball, you know?! Anyway, the last game of the outdoor football season was tonight. It has been the highlight of Lilah's Thursday evenings, getting out there to watch her Baba play. Okay, maybe more like running around the field, or playing with the spare ball, or picking flowers, or doing gymnastic stunts, or checking out the player's juice, or anything else you can imagine a toddler doing! She's been out at almost every game, but it was only tonight that she started hollering, "GO BABA". Funny girl! Oh well, at least we won't have to drench ourselves in mosquito repellent any more!

[ more picture here and here ]

wordless wednesday

two new molars

Lilah's had four restless nights and a runny nose. All the signs were there, but unfortunately I just didn't seem to quite figure it out until this morning. As I brushed her teeth, I caught a glimpse of some new pearly whites, yep, two new lower second molars are making their way through her gums. Our poor girl. Well tonight we finally got it right and gave her some pain relief before bedtime, albeit a few nights late! Sorry Lilah. You'll have all your teeth before we get this teething thing figured out. Speaking of which, she only has her two upper second molars to get and then we're all done with the teeth thing, for a few years, all being well. Phew!

mama to ma-meee

So I think taking Lilah to the park, et cetera and her listening to (most of) the children shouting for their Mommies has influenced her a little. In the past week, I have been upgraded from Mama to Ma-meee. Yep, that's just how she says it, she hangs onto the e at the end for longer than necessary most times. It's funny, because the first time she said it, she gave me the cute look and grin that says 'I'm being funny here'. It sounds just as lovely as Mama and she sure is our funny girl! It's only a matter of time until she is otherwise influenced, and Baba becomes Da-deee. I don't think he likes that idea, at all! Here's a little movie of her saying Ma-meee and a few other things, I'd just love to bottle up her sweet little voice.

On another note, I took the following pictures yesterday. The second picture below is for those of you who only get to see the happy smiley pictures, and think our girl is all sunshine and roses. Ha-ha! That's some attitude from a tired girl, she wanted me to get her Piggy, but instead I was taking her picture. She has mastered 'the pout'! Oh and really, it is quite rare that she shows attitude, long may it continue. Of course, I'm also her (very biased) Ma-meee and I just think she's perfect!

a special thanks to Joanne for the beautiful hand-knit cardigan Lilah is wearing

[ more pictures here ]

over nine months

We've been home together, as a family, for over nine months now.
Nine whole months.
Three quarters of a year.
Did someone hit the fast forward button?

A picture of our sweet daughter for each month, December '08 - August '09.
We are so very much in love with you, Lilah Grace.

the shopping trolley

Oh yes, she's definitely my daughter, a girl after my own heart! You know, she can even do a speed wobble with the shopping trolley, now that's an art, even I can't do that! I measured Lilah a few days ago and was surprised that she has grown an inch since her second birthday, which was in late May. That's an inch in three months. I guess we'll have to go clothes shopping soon. New season, new size, new style! Yeehaw!

[ a few more pictures here ]

experimental farm and gardens

Lilah and I were at the experimental farm and gardens today. Such a beautiful day to enjoy it all, along with a picnic. We are squeezing every last drop out of summer and living it to the full this past few weeks. Because soon, all too soon, summer will be so over! You will notice that I take a lot more pictures of flowers now, that's because they can't run away from me. Oh the joys of a two year old! More pictures from today here.

dairy queen sundae

When you want every last drop of melted ice-cream, you use a straw!

[ more pictures here ]

dora (the explorer's) backpack

It took me three full days to figure out why she was infatuated with the backpack, I know, I'm a little slow! It's her new word of the week and it comes straight from the mouth of...Dora! Anything Dora says (or does) is worthy, really really worthy, when you're two years old. And just in case you're wondering what worthy means, here it is: "Having worth or excellence; possessing merit; valuable; of high position; to exalt into a hero." Hmm, competition for Piggy?

canada science and technology museum

Today being the thundery feels-like-32°C-with-the-humidity day that it was, we decided to join our wee playgroup at the Science & Technology Museum. It ended up that we didn't see any of the other playgroup members. The museum was jam-packed, there were summer camps galore, maybe in the vicinity of a hundred children. Yeah, that's a lot! However it all added to the adrenaline and excitement for Lilah! She now seems to thrive with other children and social settings, so it was all good. I'm not a fan of museums, we actually brought Lilah to this one back in February or March when we were just home a few months and I remember being bored out of my mind! But now that Lilah is so social and wants to participate in everything, (even though she doesn't understand much of it yet), it was a lot of fun! Here are a few things we enjoyed...

The Crazy Kitchen - Lilah loves that dizzy feeling, I lost count on the number of times we walked/stumbled through it. You'll find a more accurate definition here on why we felt dizzy in the crazy kitchen!

Effects of Liquid Nitrogen - Very cool demonstration, about 20 minutes long and Lilah (at 2 years old) was captivated!

The Optical Light Area - Several dark tunnels and stairs with wild flashing optical lights, I mean for a child, does life get any better? I had a hard time keeping track of my girl!

I guess we'll be back, maybe sooner than we think! My photos are dreadful, I cannot seem to figure out how to shoot in the dark, without having to use the flash, but if you care to take a peek, there are some here.

fibre optics

crazy kitchen

liquid nitrogen

she scores!