A Happy Thanksgiving

Lemmie helping Daddy bake in the morning:















Snuggling with Grandma's blanket after not having a nap. It's her favourite blanket... must be because she chose it herself:





Walking around in Mama's shoes:







Happy Thanksgiving!

April/Early May MEGAUPDATE!

Since it has been a while, I thought we'd update today with an April/Early May MEGAUPDATE... Update... update!!!!

To start us off, we have some pictures of Lia eating with a fork and spoon. Looks like Mama made some of Daddy's favorites there. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes (with skins on, of course!) and veggies.

Here she looks a little skeptical about the fork.

But she's willing to give it a try. Mama has been a lot better than Daddy about letting her try fork and spoon eating.

And here's Lia Marie in her new turtle sandbox. Actually she has two, one for Nanny and Papa's house, and one for our house.

She particularly likes the Dora the Explorer bucket. Actually, she particularly likes ANYTHING with Dora on it.

It looks like she can dig, but mostly she likes flinging the sand everywhere with the shovel.

Here we are in to May. It's naptime, and please take note of the orange striped kitty. $4 at Ikea. She's got a house full of toys she could care less about, but try touching the $4 Ikea kitty, and she'll go Mike Tyson on you!

Awww, little angel. I wonder where she hides the horns.

Naptime is over, so Mama and Lemmie head off to toddle around out front. Notice how we're trying to get as much use as possible out of the gorgeous little skirt G.G. (that's "Great Grandma") got her in Scotland.

Oooh, look, I found my shadow!

Can I pick up my shadow?

As you can see, she also likes to run.

Here is Lia Marie ordering Nanny around.

And Nanny showing her the big, huge rock out front.

If there is one thing Lemmie loves in this world, it's dogs! And here she is out visiting Papa's hounds at the kennel. She has a new job. She is the official hound feeder, and goes out there with Papa to feed them almost every day.

Here she is on the inside of the kennel (I think) which would mean it's time to fill food dishes.

That brings us to today. Today Lia woke up to a surprise. After she went to bed last night, Daddy turned a giant box in to a playhouse! She's a little skeptical at first.

"Daddy, I'm going in here, OK?"

Hanging out inside (and partially outside of) the new playhouse. Didn't Daddy make cool windows?

And in case you're wondering where the giant box came from, it was the Patio Set Fairy. Yesterday the Patio Set Fairy (AKA Nanny and Papa) came back from Wal-Mart with a surprise for us all. The new patio set we have been wanting! Here's a picture of it. The umbrella isn't up yet, because we still need to get a base for it, but isn't it great? Once we take care of the couple of wasps we found out there today it will probably become our most used part of the house now!

Hope you enjoyed! Have a good day!

Kiss Me I'm Irish

Just a little St. Patrick's Day treat for you. It's Lia in her "Kiss Me I'm Irish" t-shirt that Grandma sent us as a St. Patrick's Day present. She seems to love it. Thanks Grandma!

Sitting on the stairs, wondering why Daddy is taking my picture.

"Why did Daddy put me all the way over here and go sit on the steps? I'll go walk over to him and ask."

"Almost got you!"

I swear I didn't pose this one, she went directly for the green toys all on her own!

Even when being photographed, she's got only one thing on her mind. "Read to me again, Daddy!"

Isn't she cute?

I think she's looking for a price tag on this giant teddy bear.

Typical Irish. Drinking!

I just love the zombie walk she does. She's adorable.

"Hey Daddy. Just cause my shirt says 'kiss me I'm Irish' doesn't mean to take it literally, OK?"

Well, hope you enjoy. Have a good St Patrick's Day!

Lia's New Pajamas

Since Lia got some new pajamas last night, we figured we'd give her a bath and let her model them for you all clean.

Here she is in the bath. She loves playing in the bath with her rubber duckies and floating books.

After the bath, she had to get all dried off. She was cold, so she got all wrapped up in a towel

After we got all dried off, we put the new pajamas on, and came out to see Daddy and read a story before bed. She kind of looks like a wet rat after a bath, ha ha.

Of course, we have to point out that Daddy has Chief Wahoo, or "Wa-WOO," on his head.

Then it's time for a story. Last night we read a little critters story. It was cute. Lia loves to turn the pages herself.

So then she went to bed. This morning, she was still a little tired, so she hung out in her chair watching tv with Mama and Daddy.

And right now she's in the playpen, waiting for daddy to finish writing this blog!

Hope you enjoyed!

A Year in Pictures

Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Baby Girl (Sorry that it's late!)

I wanted to celebrate you turning one with a recap of pictures from the past year.



From the very beginning you owned my heart. I couldn't believe how very perfect you were in your belated Christmas dress!



A snuggly little Bear in her Pooh Bear pajamas.



So alert at only three days old!



Sleeping so beautifully on St. Patrick's Day.



It wasn't too long before you were trying to crawl.



Testing out a double wrap with Aunt Alison.



With the turkey that Papa hunted.



The smile that we still love so much!



You always have this mild look of amusement... a little skeptical of our parenting abilities.



Riding around the zoo on Daddy.



Party at Grandma's house.



Meeting Grandpa Mallon



On a trip home from Grandma's house



Helping with the laundry



Determined to learn how to read



Skeptical of Daddy's toys



Possibly one of my favourite pictures ever



A sweet girl snuggling with her bottle



You are so incredibly beautiful when you sleep



Straight feet - I couldn't resist



Get his nose!



Your first Canada Day!



At the wedding



A cute sailor dress!



At the Hockey Hall of Fame



You're so serious in this picture



You in your pretty pink bow



Laughing at your friend Caitlin during Daddy's birthday



Splashing in Grandma's pool



You're growing into such a beautiful little girl



Always adored by Daddy



Cuddling with Me



You're nuts



The first longies I made



In your skirt from Scotland



My sweet giraffe



Mischievious



With Grandpa



It has been wonderful to watch you grow over this past year, baby girl. Thank you for blessing us with your presence and making us so very happy.

Love,
Mama

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

In honour of my beloved Grandpa's birthday, I've decided to dedicate a blog entry to his memory.



My Grandpa could moo JUST like a cow. He did so willingly and was always met with squeals of laughter from grandchildren - until we got old enough to roll our eyes on the outside, and squeal with laughter on the inside.

My Grandpa could (and did!) pop his bottom false teeth out to lighten any situation.

My Grandpa could make you feel like you were the only person in a crowded room. He had this beautiful way of focusing on you and listening when you were talking.

My Grandpa could sing "Paper Rosie" like he was actually in Calvin County. He loved Classic Country music.

My Grandpa loved to sing. You could hear his voice clearly when he sang in church. It wasn't overwhelming or obnoxious, it was unique and comforting. It was strong, and made you feel like he believed the words of the hymns he was singing.

My Grandpa was completely biased when it came to me. There wasn't a smarter, cuter, or harder working young woman in the entire world as far as he was concerned.

My Grandpa insisted that I was "Grandpa's Sweetheart" no matter what boy or man I introduced him to. Even as he danced with me at my wedding he called me Grandpa's Girl and Grandpa's Sweetheart.

My Grandpa loved my Grandma completely. He showed it by playing at driving her crazy and always letting her know how much he needed her. As she goes out on her own conquering a Scotland trip, and independent bus trips, he's somewhere saying "Way to go, Bet".

My Grandpa loved to listen to, and tell, stories about all of his grandkids. We all loved sitting around the table at dinner and afterwards telling the same "kid" stories over and over again.

My Grandpa had a way of teaching lessons without preaching. A simple "Well I have a new little sweetheart on the way" will stick with my brother his entire life and remind him that every 'sweetheart' was someone's little girl.

My Grandpa would have been such a wonderful Great Grandfather, and during his hospital stay after his heart surgery told every nurse that helped him that he had to get better because he was going to be a Great Grandpa.

My Grandpa was silly, he was sweet, he was loving, and he was gentle. Not having him around is such a great, great loss, but I am so incredibly thankful for the nearly 23 years of memories that he has left me with.

Today and always, I love you Grandpa.

November Pics

I haven't been very good about taking pictures of Lem this month - we've been adjusting to Mama going back to work and trying to get the house into some kind of organized state.

But here are a few pictures that were taken while we were in Buffalo last weekend.

Lia Marie in the dress that Aunt Lu bought for her:



Lia Marie looking mischievious:



Lia Marie the sock monster:



Take care,
El