Out Of Touch With The World

I have been out of touch with reality the last month as we have had no Internet. We took down the computer to set up the Christmas tree and did not seem to get around to re-hooking it back up til now. Dann and I did buy each other a new "Mac" computer for Christmas and we have gone wireless, so that is exciting.

Here are a few photos of the last month and our adventures.

We met my Aunt & Uncle in Edmonton for a Pre-Christmas visit and the kids loved all the attention. Of course, we had to do a West Ed trip and Emma rode all the rides while I got a bit of shopping in.

We also went to Ikea... love that store!

The play area in the cafeteria is awesome. We had a great lunch and visit with Harley & Helen while Emma and Ethan ran around. Ethan is totally mobile now and cannot sit down for long!

He keeps me running 24-7...

Emma got this beautiful sweater from Grandma Helen and Papa Harley (above). She loved wearing it while she played!

Grandma Helen could not get enough of Ethan...

and Ethan could not get enough of Papa Harley reading to him (turn the page).


Here is Emma with Santa.
Ethan did not want anything to do with Jolly 'ol St. Nick!







Christmas morning was quiet but nice. It was just the four of us and no pressure to cook brunch or a turkey (we had x-mas dinner at a friends). The kids were very excited (Emma I guess, Ethan had no clue). Emma was up at 6:30 a.m., so that was not too bad. Ethan woke around then too, so "gift opening" was in full swing by 7:00 a.m.

Emma was so impressed that Santa ate her treats and took the time to write her a note (the reindeer loved the carrots as well).

Ethan loved the Woody doll from Grandma Hein (too cute).


Emma got this cool "American Idol" Barbie from Auntie Eileen & Uncle Ed. The Barbie sings and you can sing with her. Emma loves it!

Note all the "Littlest Pet Shop" toys in the background. Emma is "Pet Shop" crazy... (she got too many to count)!


Love this photo...
Emma got these funky wash cloths from Auntie Eileen & Uncle Ed as well

Sorry it took me so long, but we hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2008!

Weight Watchers Goal!!

Sorry I have not been posting much lately... going back to work full time takes a big chunk out of my Blogging time! Today I am going to share a little bit about "ME" instead of the kiddies!!

For those of you who did not know, on March 28th/07 I joined Weight Watchers to get rid of the extra baby weight and the in-between weight I put on between Emma and Ethan. The journey was long, but I took it one week at a time, and with a lot of dedication and accountability, I reached my goal last week. As of November 14/07, I lost 66.6 pounds (my goal was 65 pounds)!! I am now on the "Maintenance" part of the WW Program. Today I weighed in and I was down another 2.6 pounds for a grand total of... 69.2 pounds!!

The program really works and I look forward to becoming a life time member with WW. Having to weigh in once a month (one of the conditions for keeping your life time membership with WW) will give me the strength and accountability I need to maintain a healthy lifestyle!

Below are a couple photos of me before I lost weight and then a couple of me today, after loosing 69.2 pounds. I would like to loose another 6-10 pounds, but I am very happy, satisfied and proud of where I am right now.

BEFORE

(X-mas 2006)

BEFORE

(April 2006 - 3 months pregnant)

AFTER

(today... 69.2 lbs lighter)

Happy First Birthday Ethan (10 days late in Blog world)

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

ETHAN!

Not sure where the time went, but my baby is one... holy cow! Here are a couple pics of our "little" celebration. I feel a bit guilty that Ethan's party was "down graded" compared to Emma's 1st B-Day, but we just knew a lot more people with children around the same age as Emma in PR. Hopefully this will not come back to haunt me... LOL!

From the photo below, Ethan is very proud to be one!

Emma wanted Ethan to have the "Little People" Dinosaur collection for his B-Day, so we used a couple of them to decorate his cake. Ethan liked it and the cake was yummy (carrot cake with cream cheese icing).

Ethan's Post Page

Since Ethan turned one this past week, I figured I would post a page just for him.

He's so darn cute... okay maybe I am a bit biased?!

Hopefully this will be the only time I see my boy behind bars!

Ethan loves to jump on his Zebra by Fisherprice. I tried to down load some video, but it was taking way too long! I am sure you can imagine how excited Ethan is when he is pushing himself up and down.

Ethan pulls himself up now and has discovered how to climb 2 steps... ugghhh!

My parents came up for Thanksgiving and we all had a great visit.
Ethan really enjoys hanging out with his Papa!!

I know this is Ethan's page, but I had to sneak in a photo of just Emma.
She made this turkey hat at pre-school for Thanksgiving... too cute!

We had a "Pre" Birthday Cake for my Dad and Ethan while my parents were visiting. Papa and Ethan's Birthdays are only 3 days apart. This gave Ethan a chance to practice eating cake for the first time!

Happy Early Birthday Boys!

It did not take Ethan long to figure out cake is yummy!

Ethan was helping Emma with her arts & crafts
(okay, maybe Daddy was helping Ethan a bit).

As you can see in the above photos, Ethan's hair was getting a bit "out-of-control".

We decided to take him to the Barber for his first "real" hair cut.

I told the lady to keep the length & curls in the back... he'll have plenty of time to wear a brush cut when he is older. I wanted Ethan to look like a little (baby) boy still, not a 3 year old!

Ethan has discovered how to open my cupboards...
After this video, I went out and bought locks. I know they are only pots, but the way he flings the lids, I am scared he will put a lid through the glass on the pantry door!

Mamma's Boy...

Ethan chillin' in his Pooh chair watching T.V.

Ethan @ 1 Month Old

Ethan @ 12 Months Old
He's grown just a bit!

Stay tuned for Ethan's "First Birthday" photos!!

(where did the time go???)

Calgary etc.

As I mentioned before, our vacation started out in Calgary. We rented a condo for one week. Rowena came with us and she really enjoyed seeing the sights. We also got a chance to visit with some friends and family, who we miss dearly!

This first photo was taken at the Calgary Tower. They added a glass floor and it was pretty freaky standing on it and looking down. Emma and Ethan had no problems, but it took Rowena and I a bit of courage to take the initial step.

This lovely bear is in the lobby of the Tower...

Our friends Jenny and B told us how much fun the Calgary Science Centre is, thus we took a little tour of the facility. We all had a blast and Emma loved all the exhibits. She didn't even mind messing up her hair for this attraction!

Ethan loved all the different music exhibits and he sported his "Cowboy Hat" well.

Emma and Dann jammin' to some tunes.

This equals...

this... too cool!

We took a drive to Banff to show Rowena the moutains. She has been to Jasper before, but she liked Banff better (so do I).

How I miss those Canadian Rockies!

Emma in front of the Banff Springs Hotel (above)

Rowena and Emma posing in the courtyard at the Banff Springs Hotel (below)

Cool Family Shots!

Ethan doing a little "Tourist" shopping!

Dann goofing around at our friend's house.

He loved these "Spidy" glasses and cannot wait for Ethan to get bigger!

We went to the zoo, but did not take many photos.

We did manage to capture this one of Emma and Rowena.

The End.

Short Video Clips from Disneyland

I have not downloaded any video footage from our video camera, but I thought I would show you a few videos from our digital camera. The quality is not great, but whatever.

This is Emma on the Sea Carousel in California Adventure

Emma on the Tea Cups, wanting her Dad to spin more.

Emma chatting with Princess Jasmine, asking her why she was not at Ariel's Grotto for lunch, while Ethan tries to steal the show!

Our Disneyland Adventure

We have been on holidays for most of the month, and visited many spots, including... DISNEYLAND!!

I will blog all about our excellent adventure later this week, but thought I would start with the hot spot first.

Emma did not know we were going to Disneyland until we told her at the Calgary Airport. She responded in true Emma style... "overwhelmed and crying"!! After she wrapped her head around the whole idea, she was very excited (about 10 minutes after the fact).

The photo below is Emma showing us her first response to our surprise.

This photo is the front gate to California Adventure @ Disneyland

Here is the photo I remember as a kid.. the front gate to Disneyland!!
It is hard to believe Mickey's face is all fresh flowers.


This photo of Mickey and Walter is made up of tiny separate painted pictures (approx. 1"x1").
It is very cool to look at.



Emma at California Adventure Park. I went on that roller coaster (Screamin'), while Dann and the kids watched. I had a blast and felt like a kid again.

I have to admit I was a bit nervous at first, but I figured if I could give birth to a 10 1/2 pound baby, I could go on a darn roller coaster! I am so glad I did!

Dann and his pal Goofy! I really do not need to say more do I?

I love this pic of Emma...

Emma enjoyed a lot of the rides, but her two favorite were the carousels (one in Disneyland and one in California Adventure). She must have went on both like 10 times.

Ethan enjoyed going around in circles too.

I do believe the "Tea Cups" was Emma second favorite ride. Actually, Emma would say "Soarin' over California" was her favorite ride, but we do not have any photos of this. The ride simulated like you were in a hang-glider, soaring over the sky in California. It was sooo awesome... it was the best ride we went on!

We ate lunch at Ariel's Grotto with Ariel and friends. Emma was so excited to be able to meet and dine with the Disney Princesses.

Emma made Ariel a picture and she gave it to her when they met. Ariel was very sweet and thanked Emma.

Emma and Cinderella

Emma and Belle

Emma and Snow White

Emma and Sleeping Beauty, who she was dressed like that day.

The "Character Lunch" was awesome and I recommend it highly to anyone who has a little Princess of their own. Emma was in her glory and still talks about her lunch date with all her princess friends.

Fantasyland...

Emma danced with all the Princesses below at the "Disney Princess Fantasy Faire". She got to become a member of the "Royal Court"... It was a lot of fun.

Friday morning we had breakfast with Minnie Mouse and friends. The breakfast buffet was amazing and Emma had a hoot meeting and posing with all the different Disney Characters.

Emma dressed up like Minnie Mouse that morning and I thought this photo was one of the best shots we got all trip.

Emma and Tigger

We spent a lot of time at Mickey's Toontown, which was magical even for Dann and I. The detail that is put into each ride and display is amazing.

Emma is driving Goofy's car below (which was crashed into his mail box).

Emma jammin' on the piano at Mickey Mouse's house.

Emma powdering her nose at Minnie's

Dann and Emma on the rocket ride (forget the actual name).

I watched with Ethan... my tummy does not handle the rides that go in circles too well.

I guess Disneyland has a bit of crime of it's own. This was an offical Anaheim Police car parked by the gates at California Adventure and Downtown Disney. Cutest little "golf cart" police car I have ever seen! I wish I could have seen it cruising down the road with it's lights and sirens on!

We watched the Parade one afternoon. The floats were awesome and Emma loved seeing all the Characters dancing around etc.

Pluto really hammed it up for his photo with Emma.

The family with Mickey Mouse

Our final day, we decided to do one more Character Breakfast. We went to Goofy's Kitchen and ate with Goofy and friends. Emma was thrilled because Jasmine was there (she was not around at Ariel's Grotto for lunch).

Goofy lived up to his name!

Emma with Wendy

I never knew the difference between Chip and Dale until this trip.

Dale has the brown nose and Chip has a black nose (learn something new every day).

Our last afternoon at the park.

Ethan was spent...