sisters

more birthday

today was rather anti-climactic after the party day. Dad and Isaac were out the door early for church, and "us girls" puttered about while getting ready for church in town. We let Norah open gifts from the family last night, and she was enjoying them this morning. The rest of the cake came with us to church and was polished off there.



opening gifts, and modeling the new tutu.
















the new bike, from Grandpa Tom. She was very excited, but it was cold out, so she hasn't ridden it yet - and we haven't found a helmet locally yet either.
She is very proud of it. Isaac is glad to share his bike riding tips with her.

the birthday party

Today was the big party for Norah. "Finding Nemo" themed, as per her request. Which was a good choice, given the large number of little boys in her circle of friends, who would probably not appreciate the pink princess theme we were expecting.

Plans were made, friends were invited. Wasn't expecting to hit the snag of not being able to find a Nemo cake in town. Thankfully, a friend in town with cake decorating skills responded to our "cake emergency" phone call and helped out.

The house was decorated, 'aquariums' were made with blue jello and gummy fish (ick!, but loved), the kid-sized tables were waiting and ready, lunch was made. The guests arrived, fun was had. We enjoyed a lunch of "octopus hot dogs", submarine sandwiches, goldfish crackers and the kids favorite party punch. All the invited guests had fun, although we missed one pair of sisters who couldn't make it because the weather was nice and their family was busy combining the land. A couple of sea-themed crafts were made, giggling was plentiful, and aggression was minimal.


It was lots of fun.
The cake, courtesy of Melissa's decorating skills, and mom's baking.









One of the doorways, transformed into ocean waves, complete with seaweed.













Norah being mobbed as she opens gifts. There was lots of gift opening "help".









Most of the guests. Really, you just can't get them all in one shot. When the average party guest age is 3....

On love seat: (l to r)
Ryker, Isaac, Norah, Keanen, Kevin

in front: Olivia and Ruby
Dreya is hiding behind mom's leg in the background, Isabell is exploring, and younger siblings Jorja, Tyler and Hailey are scattered in the room.

I am aware that Norah's dress matches her cake. Entirely coincidence. Really. It's just her most 'party' dress right now, that was weather appropriate. However, it does affirm her choice of themes. :)

took this picture the other day

Just after a rain storm breezed past us, I called the kids upstairs to see the rainbow(s). They were sufficiently impressed. This picture hardly does justice to how beautiful it was.

progress in French

Isaac can now count to 8 in French. Tells us that stories are shared on the 'tapis'. Calls his teacher "madame Kate". Is able to do "head, shoulders, knees and toes" almost completely correctly.

In Sunday School this week, he even wrote NOM:______ on his craft, then added in his name.

I don't think he even knows he's learning yet!

Norah's new obession

"hey mommy...I think that new magazine has some nice pictures in it. pictures of kid stuff. can I see? please, can I see the kid stuff in the magazine"

(not realizing the can of worms about to be opened) "sure, Norah"

"yay!"
which was soon followed by
"wow, I want this. And this. And this too. I really want this bouncy slide, maybe for my birthday, ok?"


A big sarcastic thank you to Sears and the ridiculously early release of the Wish Book, and big ol' BOO to me for leaving it on the kitchen table for a day. She's obsessed.

end of an era

the crib is down. Ruby had taken to jumping out, and climbing in on her own. It appeared to be time to dismantle the crib and 'upgrade' to the toddler bed.

We were not quite prepared for how hard it was going to be to take the crib down. It has been up almost constantly since Isaac was born, even if there wasn't always a baby using it (as opposed to bunking in with mom and dad). A slightly more emotional experience than we had counted on.

As the toddler bed got involved with our basement floods back in '05, the base of the bed is in need of sanding to fit the frame (again). We currently have the headboard up though, with part of the frame, so that it looks like more than just a mattress on the floor. I'm hoping to paint the toddler bed soon, and Norah's bed, so that they are the same colour of white. As the girls will probably be in these beds until we buy a bunk bed set, we're hoping to keep them looking nice for a few more years. The bedroom looks so much bigger without the crib, and we took the armchair out too. It's turning into a big girl room!

a summer of growth

goodness! With Norah's 3rd birthday around the corner (what? what?), I decided to update the kids' stats. It's pretty easy to do, given that they love measuring things and weighing themselves - especially in pairs.

Isaac is now 44 1/4 inches tall and 41 pounds
Norah is 40.5 inches tall and 36 pounds (same weight as she has been, just taller)
Ruby is 36 inches tall and 30 pounds

no wonder they all outgrew clothes this summer! Especially with Isaac being all limbs these days.