Now I Know My ABC’s

Emma was very proud of herself singing the ABC’s all morning, so I told her we would video it to show Grandpa Nichols… so here you go!  Enjoy!

Disappointment

So we thought we would do something fun with the kids tonight and take them to Lethbridge to go swimming.  We had a few things to get done first, so while I ran into Costco, Lennard fueled the van up.  Then we went and got something to eat, meeting Roger first to get some parts to take home to my dad.  Then we had to stop at Canadian Tire, Nysha's and Mindy's.  By then it was about 6:30ish so we hurried over to the hotel where the pool is.  Emma had been fairly patient all night and was more than ready to go swimming, so it was a HUGE disappointment when we got there and discovered that they weren't letting the public in to swim (they were at capacity).  To say that she was sad is an understatement.  I felt so bad that we had talked it up all day and then we couldn't go.  The trip home was not a happy one... Hopefully we can try again in the near future!

Laundry Room

We are on the home stretch to having the laundry room completely DONE!  So exciting!  We got the vinyl and some pictures put up.  The countertops are on, the drawers in, the laundry sink hooked up… it’s great!  In fact, I don’t remember when doing laundry has been so much fun!  The kids got right into it too.  Who knew that watching laundry go around and around could be so entertaining!

Tired Boy

I really wish I could figure out what to do with this little boy.  He is NOT sleeping very well at night.  I have tried keeping him up during the day to see if he would sleep at night and this is what happens… every time!

He can’t just sleep on the couch either… the cushions HAVE to be off!

Daddy Daughter Time

I love seeing these two snuggled together watching a movie… it makes my heart happy.

Happy Valentine’s Day

This is what I found when I came in to the kitchen this morning... Ben had pulled a chair over to the counter and was helping himself to the pecan pie!  I don't blame him... pecan pie for breakfast sounds good!

We had a lot of fun with the kids today.  We had a yummy dinner of lasagna roll-ups and then the “Valentine Fairy” came to visit!  The kids searched the house to see what she’d brought and ended up finding a little stuffed animal and a treat in their bedrooms!  By the way they reacted you would have thought they’d won the lottery! 


It doesn’t look like Ben is very happy in this picture… but he really was…  I promise!

Swimming is Fun… Really!

Well, it’s been just over a week since Emma started her swimming lessons.  The first week was rough… really rough.  Thankfully, she is doing much better this week!  It’s still not perfect – she says she is scared frequently, but she will now do most of what she is asked.  Every single day she asks if she can go, so I don’t think she’s as ‘scared’ as she says.  Here’s a little clip of her in the pool.  We’ve got to get her actually kicking her legs, but at least she isn’t crying the whole time!  Any improvement is good!

Traumatic… for Daddy

Lennard was NOT impressed to come downstairs and find Emma dressing Ben up!  Ben was thrilled… they were going to a ball! 

He was so proud of his dress and shoes… I was just happy to get a picture of it (aka: blackmail)!  I thought it was hilarious.  Let’s just say he didn’t stay in this outfit for very long!  ha! ha!

On a side note… I love seeing Lennard read to Ben each night.  What a good daddy!

We’re Having a Picnic, Mom!

There are moments when you just have to laugh at the imaginations that kids have.  We’ve been working on getting the laundry room done and when we came out, we found these two… “We’re having a picnic, mom!”

I don’t know, Ben… I think you might be able to fit more in!

Swimming Lessons

Today was Emma’s first day of swimming lessons!  She was so excited to get to go swimming… until she had to try to get her face anywhere near the water.  To say that she freaked out would be a bit of an understatement.  It made me question whether or not I should have put her in to lessons quite yet.  She is the youngest in her class and definitely did not enjoy it today.  The teacher, Talia, is only 17, but I was quite impressed with how well she dealt with Emma.  I guess only time will tell if it’s going to get better for her.  I hope it does!

This was the first part of the class… the second half didn’t go so well…

Play Date

This afternoon, Emma had a play date with her little friend, Vienna.   It was quite entertaining to watch as they played… hard!  They are both quite strong willed, so there were a few bumps.  Three year olds definitely have a lot more energy than I do!

        

First item of business was to dress up!  According to Emma they had to ‘go to the ball’.  Vienna made sure that Emma ate her ‘dinner’ first though!  I had to laugh seeing the princess playing with the tool table.

Next, they got to explore their artistic sides and finger paint!  Though it only lasted about 10 minutes, they sure had fun.

Then it was time for dinner.  They each got to roll out their own pizza dough (with a little help) and then make their own pizza.  Emma ate more of the toppings before they made it on to the pizza, but after some coaxing, some went on the pizza too.

After dinner, they played downstairs, watched a movie and had some fun playing the drums and singing in the microphone.  Overall a very fun afternoon/evening for them… and now this mommy is heading to bed!

Hangin’ Out

   

I came downstairs to find out what the kids were doing and this is what I found… Ben chillin’ on the floor and Emma nicely tucked into the recliner.  At least they weren’t destroying anything!