A Few of My Favourite Things

Toddler conversation has to be the top thing. I absolutely LOVE having him very earnestly look me in the eye and tell me some baby whopper. He'll even often enjoy his own joke with a good, hearty laugh at the end of his story. He'll also laugh and talk with his friends on the other end of his shoe-phone, or remote control-phone or even the ever-clever perogie-phone (or noodle, or blue berry).

And of course, I can't resist the words he has mastered. His favourite is "All-done". Beit the end of dinner time, the end of wiping the face, or the end to a very short nap, the phrase is coming in very handy.

We are tackling a tooth/sinus issue this week that is disrupting everyone's sleep, of course. And the mosquito bites are looking more and more like chicken pox - on only his face and hands (the bits not covered by his pj's. He's bearing it all in relatively good temper, though.

He is most precious.

Another Beautiful Day!

Sunday dawned bright and unrecognisable once again after 6 days of gloom and soak. Two in a row!!

The little man woke up as sunny as the day, full of cheerful play. His fashion choices for the morning were top of the line. A long-sleeved diaper shirt, his favourite hat and of course, his shoes.

We did some fishin...

Some toy assemblin...

And some camera muggin...

After a quick morning nap, we hit the road. The picnic spot was nestled under a lush canopy of mature trees with tons of structures geared toward toddler+ play. All of Kaleb's 2nd cousins made an appearances - there were babies everywhere! Unfortunately, I was so busy chasing ONE toddler around willy-nilly that I didn't have much opportunity for photo ops. Here is what I did manage:

THANK YOU BBQ!

The weather was just fantastic!!

We had a turn-out of 50+ people and of course, 'pony' rides on Big Bill were a huge hit - with the kiddies and even with a few adults.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and certainly we were sorry that so many who've helped us could not make it! We're always happy to have people pop in for a visit, so don't be shy!

Shirtless Men

Made you look!

The Little Man is growing into a quite a loving, playful little dude. He's practicing his laugh. He'll often seek us out for a hug or a good tickle-wrastle. His vocabulary is expanding to a lot of "gurglegurlgegurlge"s and tongue flapping... literally. He loves to sing along and dance to any tune. He enjoys all the different dogs that come through his home and he's just dying to get up close and cuddly with the horses.

Speaking of the beasts, I've had to make the difficult decision to transition myself from my fun-loving paint horse to something a little more child-friendly. Patrick's older horse is mellow enough for a rowdy toddler but mine just isn't comfortable with the sporadic energy of youthful tiny people. Rather than tempt fate with higher-than-necessary odds, I've vowed to try and find Scotch some young person who wants to devote their lives to all things horsey... there's tones of us 14 year-old versions out there and he has a lot to give. Or maybe a gentle retire-ee who wants to spend sunsets on the trail... He'd be a good match for anyone wanting a puppy-dog buddy.

I find the morphing of priorities and life goals to be a touch unsettling, almost as though I'm having difficulty placing my thumb on exactly the dimensions I want to eek out next. I envy my younger self her black & white perspectives... things were much easier when I only had to think about myself... but life sure is sweeter, now. Wouldn't trade anything about my life for the world.

Thankful for Another Mother's Day

My second Mother's Day was pretty spectacular. We spent a very low-key morning together, going for a wagon ride and just soaking in the beautiful day. I was able to catch a nice nap, play with my horse and was treated to a FABULOUS movie, followed up with a home-cooked BBQ. Doesn't get much better than that!

Stylin' in his new shades:

His current favourite toy(yes I mean the box, though the hat is a close second):

Where's Your Tummy? (He even pushes it out for better effect.)

Better than a Lazy-Boy!

And just for giggles, a mother's day ride:

Every time I open the internet my homepage is this blog. I would like to write more often, but find myself in too much of a fog. I stumble through my days, booking enjoyable things like work, horse time, friend time, etc. Yet I still find myself struggling to FEEL my days... Little indicators of stress are popping up on my physical self like psoriasis, which I haven't seen since I left my prior ill-fitting career. I step over house clutter that would never have even been allowed a foothold. Craziest yet - I allow the poor hubby to do things that I would NOT have let out of my specific hands-on control. He's certainly messing up laundry out of desperation and I can't be bothered to care. This is going to be the year of over-hauling my health. I AM going to re-establish the sharp clarity my type-A self thrives on. I AM going to wake up...