Pancake Breakfast and May Day Parade

Today we got up early and headed to Fort Langley for our first parade. Before the parade started there was a pancake breakfast that we just had to attend. After filling our tummies with a yummy breakfast, we headed over to find a good spot to watch the parade. I love community things like this! There were people outside selling cotton candy, ice-cream, and other goodies. There were also hot dogs, snacks, and people selling silly little children's toys. There was even a big church garage sale going on! The street in Fort Langley was lined with children and parents, and walking by were clowns making balloon animals, and children selling kettle corn. When the parade started, Elysia loved it. She watched as the Police motor bikes drive by, the fire trucks, and she really loved the horses. It was a fun afternoon!

We just arrived at the parade, and found the perfect place to sit and watch the festivities.

Elysia and Cody hanging out and waiting for the parade to start.

The best family pic I managed to take.

Ummm...I think Elysia is ready for her nap...

It was a fun day!!

She's Growing Up So Fast!

I can't believe how quickly my baby girl is growing up!

OK, she's still tiny, but she has her own mind and a whole lotta' spunk.  We took her shopping yesterday and put her in the shopping cart.  For the most part she likes it, but she has also taken to putting her mouth on the handle of the cart!  So gross!!!  Of course we bring a supply of wipes so that we can clean the cart before our little kiddo can munch on the handle, but it still doesn't stop me from trying to stop her from eating it.  She gets so mad when I stop her, too.  I thought we had found a way around that little problem by giving her her soother while shopping.  No such luck.  Apparently the soother isn't nearly as tasty as the yucky shopping cart!  But here's our latest problem.  When I put her in the cart at Shoppers, there was no seatbelt and she decided she didn't want to sit down.  She stood up, hung onto the back of the cart and turned herself around!  She did this twice!  So there I was standing in the store saying, 'Elysia Grace!  Stop that right now!  You have to turn around and sit down properly.'  Yeah, like that works. 

We also went swimming for the first time last Monday.  Steve, Elysia and I went to our local Community Pool and played in the water for about an hour.  Elysia loved it!  She looked so cute in her little swimsuit, too.  I'll definitely have to get a picture of her in it.  She giggled, splashed around, and really enjoyed her time in the water.  In fact, we liked it so much that we went again yesterday!  This summer, I am enrolling her in swim lessons, and I think it will be a lot of fun for both her and I.

Elysia isn't quite walking yet, but she sure does crawl.  That girl can move!  We are trying to help her get the idea of walking, though.  Today her Uncle Tory held her hands and she walked around the living room.  She had a huge smile on her face and baby-babbled the entire time.  It was so cute.  Then he let go of her hands and she stood, unaided, for about five seconds.  All by herself!!  Huge cheer for my baby girl!  She's awesome.  Thankfully my Mom had her camera handy for the big moment.  You go, girl!

Mother's Day

I had my first Mother's Day last Sunday.  It's hard to believe that last year at this time I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my baby girl.  In so many ways the past year has gone by so quickly, and yet at the same time it feels like my daughter has always been a part of my life.  Does that make any sense?

Mother's Day was really nice.  After church, my little family went out for brunch at a place in Fort Langley.  The food was delicious, Elysia was well-behaved (YAY!!!), and Steve and I were able to enjoy a nice meal.  I'm hoping that next Mother's Day we will be able to enjoy brunch with both my family and Steve's.  How wonderful it would be to share this special day with lots of Mothers!!  After Brunch, the three of us headed over to my Mom and Dad's house for a few hours.  It turns out that my Mom had breakfast made for her by two girls at 6am!!  Omelette with not quite cooked veggies....Yumm....  :-)  Very thoughtful though, don't you think?  I'm hoping that in a few years Steve and Elysia will make me breakfast on Mother's Day.  That would be so cute!  I can just imagine my little Elysia helping her daddy.

After our visit, we headed out to Abbotsford to visit with Steve's Mom and Sister and her family.  We had a really nice dinner, and because it was Mother's Day we didn't have to eat 'Me n Ed's Pizza' (Steve's favourite).  He'll have to wait for Father's day for that meal!!!

My sister in law also sent me a lovely Mother's Day gift.  She gave me a box of chocolate covered fruit.  Delicious!!!  What a nice treat that was. 

Have you ever noticed that all special days seem to centre around food?  Or perhaps that's just me...

11 Months old and full of personality!

My daughter turned 11 months old a few days ago.  With each and every passing day, my daughter both impresses and surprises me with her big personality.  This doesn't mean we don't have our challenges!  For about two months now, my daughter has begun to show a true independent streak.  She lets you know when she wants to get up in the morning (think drama queen), pushes your hand away when she has had enough to eat, argues bitterly (in her baby babble sort of way) when it's her naptime, and is quite insistent that she'd rather explore than be held down.  There is one thing I know for certain, and that's that I have a very feisty, curious, determined baby girl, and I love her more and more with each passing day...even if I get frustrated once in a while!

I had a rough day with her yesterday.  For some reason, Elysia woke up grouchy and pretty much stayed grouchy all day long.  OK, I admit it.  This made Mama kind of grouchy too.  Well, 'kind of grouchy' isn't exactly accurate either.  Like Elysia, I was just plain grouchy too.  Just ask Steve!!!  I'm not sure if she was teething, or not feeling well, but it made for a rather trying day.  She woke up screaming, got mad that I wasn't giving her her breakfast fast enough, and complained bitterly about having a morning nap.  Then she woke up screaming, hated getting dressed, and was just little miss grumpy pants.  So we went out!!  Best to share my little ray of sunshine with the world instead of greedily keeping her all to myself at home, don't you think? 

We actually had plans to meet a woman who I went to high school with.  We met at our ten year reunion, became facebook friends, and both of us became first time moms last year.  After chatting back and forth, we decided it would be fun to have a play date.  Her son was adorable!  At five months old, he was wonderfully pudgy, had lots of dark hair, and was a cute and pleasant little boy.  It was really nice spending the afternoon with her and her son.  Elysia enjoyed getting out of the house, I enjoyed her improved mood, and we both enjoyed the wonderful company.  A few hours later, we packed up and headed to Grandma and Grumpa's house for the rest of the afternoon.

This morning was completely different.  Instead of waking up and hearing her crying, I heard Elysia playing in her crib.  When I went into her room to get her, she greeted me with a beautiful smile.  She giggled when I played with her, ate her breakfast without getting mad, and absolutely loved going for a walk with Steve and I.  What a difference a day makes!!
Such personality in a little package...Watch out world, Elysia is most definitely here!