Next Stop... Lethbridge

We headed to Lethbridge Friday morning and Emma was in a foul mood right off the start. She complained about the all curves in the road and demanded that her Daddy stop turning the truck so much as her blanket kept falling off her lap. For you prairie folk, this does not sound like a hard request, but for all of you who reside in B.C., you know there is not a staright road to be found. After the road thing, she started in on how uncomfortable she was and that her bum hurt. Every 10 minutes she asked if it was time to get out and stretch. To top it off, Emma only slept 25 minutes of the 10 hour drive (and yes, we have a DVD player... that did not seem to help too much that day). You can imagine how happy Dann and I were when we saw the "Welcome to Lethbridge" sign!!

Although this photo was taken in Vernon, I blogged it just to remind me how cute my gal is and not to hold the bad travel day against her... hahaha!

Emma loved the bubbles that were shooting out of the bubble machine and was trying to catch them before they popped on the ground.

Grandma & Grandpa were very surprised to find Emma ringing their door bell. Although our visit was only for a couple of days, it was still nice to be able to spend some quality time with my parents.

We took Emma to Henderson Lake for some play time and she loved the dock and wanted to jump on it, as she liked all the movement. The guy fishing on the dock might not have been that impressed about all the movement, as I am sure Emma scared away the fish on a few occasions...

OH WELL!!

We were able to meet my friend Peggy's new little girl over a cup of Java. Annya is a beautiful baby and very well behaved. Emma loved her and was practicing her "big sister" skills.

As you can see, there was always time for "Tim Horton's" on this vacation (isn't there a commercial that use to say that???). Although Dann could do no right in Emma's eyes for most of the trip, she did not hestitate to pose with her Daddy for the camera.

Not only did we surprise Grandma & Grandpa, but we surpised Great-Grandma too! She was happy to see us and of course, Emma stole the show!!

First Stop... Kelowna

We started our journey on May 26th and made our way through Jasper National Park, enroute to Kelowna. On our way through the park we saw a black wolf. The wolf was very cool and very active. It was in the ditch while we were driving by, so we stopped and took a few photos. The wolf was not bothered by our presents, but kept an eye on us while rolling around in the grass playing. It was one of our highlights of the trip, as Dann & Emma had never seen a wolf in the wild before. I had the pleasure of seeing a wolf last year while driving through Jasper, but not as close as this time

We made lots of stops along the way, as our little girl does not sleep too much while travelling. Emma enjoyed posing for the camera... as you can see!

Once we arrived in Kelowna, we headed for Ian & Phyl's place. We always enjoy our stay there and their company, not to mention the lodging is awesome! Emma was apprehensive about Sydney (the dog) at first, but within a day or two, they were close buddies. Sydney loved coming into the guest house and spending time with us when Mommy (Phyl) was away at work.

The view from the main house and the guest house are breath taking, and as you can see, Cinderella (Emma in her new dress-up gown) found her Prince Charming (Dann catchin' some rays) enjoying the sun. Although there was some rain, this particular day was hot... just the way we like it!!

Here is Emma riding her bike with Molly... ya that doll is a world traveller!!

We managed to spend a few days with our old pals from Powell River. Baby Hazel is all grown up since the last time we saw her, and looks just like her Daddy!

Emma and Sarina were very excited to see each other and once they settled into playing, one would never guess that a year had past since their last "play date".

Hazel kept up with the older girls and they all had fun together.

While Branden was at work, Jenny, Dann and I took the girls to two different water parks. They really had fun splashing, chasing each other around and playing on the tire swing.

Emma had a little "incident" while running around at the water park, resulting in a skinned knee. She sobbed on my lab for approximately one hour, but eventually got back into the game and never looked back (hard to see, but she has a large band-aid on her left knee. Thank goodness there was a first aid person on duty with an abundant supply of bandages).


Hazel and Sarina loved the water slides at both water parks, going down repeatedly!! Emma on the other hand, stood at the end of the slide "supervising". I see a "forewoman" or "boss" position in her future, as she is very good at instructing others what to do and how to do it!

Although the girls live apart now, I think they will always have a lasting, long-distance freindship.

We stayed in Kelowna for one week, but the visit came to an end very quickly. We left June 2nd to Lethbridge for a surprise visit with Grandma & Grandpa.

Stay tuned for more vacation photos in the days to come...

And The Winner Is.....

This is a beautiful picture of a baby girl in the womb @ 20 weeks, exactly where I am at in my pregnancy, except our little one does not have a clitoris!!

That's right, the doctor called this morning with my test results and he told us that we have a healthy baby BOY!!

Nothing Much New

Emma has been hitting the pillow "hard" the last month, I guess it must be all the fresh air she is getting.

Every night it is a treat to go in and check on her before I retire. Emma is usually flipped around, feet up against the wall, or head buried under her pillow.

She is getting so big, it is hard to flip her around the right way.

Last week the new Canadian Tire store had their grand opening and Dora was appearing in person. Emma was soooo excited about meeting Dora, so we headed to the store early and waited in this UGLY line for 30 minutes, which is not bad because a lot of people waited over an hour. Dora arrived and Emma was pumped!! We moved through the line and then we finally got a glimpse of Dora... well this is where Emma's attitude about Dora changed. I guess Emma was expecting a 3 foot Dora character, like on TV... to Emma's surprise, Dora was almost 6 feet and had a HUGE head. Emma got scared and when it was our turn for a meet & greet, Emma held on to my leg so tight! She would not go up alone for a photo, so I had to carry her and she would not even go between Dora and I. Needless to say, I was not expecting to get my picture taken that morning (no make-up and a ball cap).

OH WELL!!

A co-worker of ours had a baby girl and we headed over for a little baby shower. Emma could not wait to hold baby Isabella. Emma is a natural and the babe was so perfect!

I must be getting excited about my own!!

This past week we had amazingly hot weather and of course, Emma broke out in a heat rash. Her face was so red and bumpy... pour thing. I used a sun screen that irritated her face too, so it was a double whammy!

It is starting to clear up... what can I say, she inherited my sensitive skin (triple whammy).

No Further Ahead...

Here are the first offical photos of Baby "X"

They are not the greatest, as the little gaffer was not being that

co-operative for a photo shoot.

We are no further ahead though...

Two weeks ago, the ultra sound tech at my amnio said if he had to guess the sex of the baby, he would say it is a girl. Today at my ultra sound, the tech said if he had to guess, he would say it's a boy!!!

I guess we will have to wait for the amnio results for a positive gender diagnosis.

We should know the results next week!!!

Today's The Day....

Our Ultra Sound is today and we should be able to find out if we are having a BOY or a GIRL... although the amnio I had last week will tell us the sex of our child, no questions asked, we'll see what the tech has to say today.

So... keep checking the blog and soon you will know the outcome too!!

Picnic Play Time

Emma is always busy playing picnic/tea party with all her stuffed friends. She is really good at thinking up ways to entertain herself, but she was happy to hear that Holly from my watch was coming for dinner. Emma set up a special picnic and grabbed Holly the minute she walked in the door to come play with her!

Holly is awesome with kids and all the children in the office like her. Emma's favorite things to do with Holly are playing kitchen and sleepover.

Emma and Holly were all tucked in for the night on the soft & comfy floor...

As you can see, Holly fits right in around our house... truth be known, it's a small price to pay (playing with Emma) for a home cooked meal!!!

Four Days Of Nights

Dann has been working nights, and Emma is missing her Daddy. Emma's behaviour can really change when she is missing Dann, and last night was the worst. I found myself out of control and Emma just fed on that! By 8:00 p.m. I was ready to lock myself in my bedroom and let her do whatever she wanted. I told Emma this and she started to cry, "don't lock yourself in your room mom", she said with tears in her eyes. That is when I told Emma we needed to have a talk in mommy's room. We got on the bed, cuddled and talked about her behaviour that evening. Emma said sorry for being rude, talking back and not listening and mommy appologized for yelling. We cuddled for awhile and then I tucked her into bed.

Before Dann did leave for work, Emma was an angel and they had some good Daddy - Daugther time. Dann's shoulder rides are a favorite, and as you can see below, Emma had to get down on the floor & check Dann's toes for "toe jam". Our gal is obsessed with toe jam... not sure what to make of that, but I will try not to read too much into it!

Dann is finsihed his string of nights this morning, so he can have the afternoon/evening shift with his daugther tonight, as mom needs a sanity break!!!

Who Made This Big Mess????

EMMA... that's who!!!

Yes, my daugther was a bit busy last night. Emma decided that almost everything should get dragged out to play with. Needless to say, it took longer than "10 seconds" to clean this up!!

I cannot complain too loud, after all, she entertained herself for a long time, which aloud me to do some things around the house!




When Emma is not busy pulling out all her toys from the cabinets, she is into watching the birds out the window at the bird feeder. Dann and her made these binoculars out of a paper towel roll and she thinks they are pretty niffty!

I guess my green thumb is not so bad after all. Emma and I planted these sweet peas 3 weeks ago, and they are out of control. We will plant them in the backyard by the fence as soon as it gets a little warmer at night.

Emma is pretty proud of her plant, but I have to remind her not to touch it, as she wants to pull the leaves off etc.

A Little Family Time

I forgot to mention... Emma and I were able to make it over to Dean & Claudia's for a visit while we were away. The kids loved hanging out and playing, and I am sure Richelle loved the fact that she was not the youngest.

Dress-up was on the list of things to play, and Emma thought her Uncle Dean would look great in the clown wig... not sure how he felt, but she thought it was funny!!

While the kids entertained themselves, I had a nice visit with my bro & Claudia.

The kids are all getting big and of course we decided to take this picture at the last minute. It was past all of their bed times, so trying to get them all to cooperate for the perfect picture was not in the cards.

We Are Home

We arrived home Sunday evening and our trip was wonderful. Although it rained for approximately 70% of the time, we managed to keep ourselves busy & enjoy the company of our family & friends.

Emma was very excited to help Papa Harley & Grandma Helen with their daily duties, including "Brushing Max". I am sure Max the Dog was happy to see us leave, but he'll miss all the extra treats Emma snuck him behind Grandma's back!

Emma loved playing outside in the front yard at Grandma Helen's and managed to pick a few flowers, even after she was told not to. Gotta love that little grin and tonque face Emma was sporting... you know she is up to no good, and she knows it too!!

The few SUNNY days we had, were spent down at the beach playing with friends and eating ice cream. It truly is a beautiful area (to visit)!!

Emma found her favourite swing and it was like we had never left. I swear I pushed her on that thing for 45 minutes straight... Mom's will do anything for their little girls!!

Emma was excited when she got to spend some time with "Baby Kennadie", although she is not the baby we remember. She is walking, talking, and has a personality now... how fast they grow up!!

Emma begged me to go to the "Seal" park as well, so we made the trek that way too. Grandma Helen managed to do a little climbing with her gal, and Emma thought that was great!

The airplane was a hit and Emma had quite the imagination when it came to playing on it. She insisted that I fly the plane with her, but I spared you that photo... some things are better left unseen!!

Our trip would not have been complete if we did not make it to Hannah's house to "Jump on the Trampoline." Emma was prepared to move in and she took quite a liking to Hannah ... like she was her big sister. Hannah was great and entertained Emma for hours while I got to visit with Lee-Ann.

Good times had by all!!Emma even managed to push her new "big sister" on the swing... it was cute to see!!
Last but not least, our final few days were spent with Calli & Company. Although the girls have changed a lot, they still played like old pals. Every so often, one of them would voice their independence, but the problem would quickly resolve itself, and it was back to playing!

I do believe "Dress Up" was the biggest hit for the girls! Check out the shoes. Emma had Calli's flip-flops on and Calli had Emma's dress shoes on (silly kids).

It was sad to see them hug good-bye, but it was even hard to try and explain to them that they would not be able to play together the following day. It's hard being three!!!

Overall, we had a great trip and we are soooo happy we were able to see all of our long lost freinds, we do miss you!!

Now we look forward to our next adventure to Kelowna!!