Poof!

And a year of memories have floated away on a breeze. I'm sure to forget but I hope I remember. One day, one week, one month slips away so easily into a year. I reeeaaallly want to type "and what a year it was" because I'm missing some creative gene that can think of anything better to say. But giant things happened this year! Things like moving, my cousin's engagement, co-MCing their wedding, my sister and neices' epic 34 day visit last summer, my two best friends had babies, another cousin is pregnant, my brother-in-law married, getting pregnant and then sadly miscarrying, my baby turned 3 and my baby started pre-school. Big! Huge! Year! Jay is still an amazing and proud business owner and entering into year 4! We're still getting the hang of the this parenting thing with many mistakes and many successes. I'm so so so proud of my biggest boy, he makes my heart swell and puts a smile on my face every single day.

Mr. GQ

Scoutie trying to keep up with Dylan

Posing for a photo! Er, what?!

Scout at the cottage

Beach picnic!

Chantry Island

Waiting for the Port Elgin train engine to come by.

Pool!

Birthday party!

Another birthday party!

Wiarton hike!




Ryan and Darlene's wedding day!





The Harnest Family.

Burning off steam

Late one afternoon, Dylan and I went to the beach for a little workout. That kid pushed me hard on that sand mountain.

Run Dylan Run!

California

One of my favourite things about this trip was seeing California decorated for Christmas. Unfortunately I was so busy keeping Sir Runs-into-traffic alive that I was not able to spend some time taking great photos. As I browsed through my photos I realized that this one taken at the aquarium is the only festive photo I took and it is blurry. BUT Dylan is sort of facing the camera. For the few minutes I made him sit there like a prop he had his body twisted around to watch the train circling the tree. Kerri and I are standing far enough back to get the whole tree in the shot and yelling to Scout and Dylan to look over. Not a great shot but a good memory.

He is definitely not a baby anymore.

Cousins on the play boat at the aquarium.

Keeping a tight hold on his new truck but not compromising his ability to expend energy.

So behind in photos! Here's California which is nice to look at after the storm we had yesterday!

Warning! No makeup in the next photo! But hey, we're both looking and we're both smiling!

California Christmas

We had a California Christmas last weekend. The gifts were wrapped and placed in a mountain in the middle of the living room floor. Mom was up first, it was the earliest she got up for the whole trip. Scoutie slept through all the banging around and finally woke up around 7 or 7:30 after I kicked her bed. Hah, I kid.

Presents!

Some random kid... Wait. That's my baby looking like a big boy. Nice haircut done by Daddy!


Loves her new baby!

Thinks the new baby's chair is for her.

Let me in that gift!

Pretty excited about the frog blanket. Her friend Tonton has the same one so she kept referring to it as Tonton's blanket? She was thrilled though.

Kissing cousins! The kids were quite affectionate with each other. There was hugging and kissing every day! The difference in their interactions between this visit and our July vacation together was amazing. They were both pretty patient with each other, played with each other and Scout, who was a little nervous of Dylan in July, was giving as much as she was getting. Dylan is lucky that she is really mellow and easy going with toy sharing but there were times where she told him off and refused to let him steal her own toys right out of her own hands. Way to go Scout!

Central Park Playground