Toronto Visit - Welcome Baby Owen!

I became an aunt again in September so Anna and I flew to Milton to join Mom and Dad in welcoming Baby Owen to the family! This trip closely coincided with Dad's birthday, so we all pitched in to get hockey tickets (Go Pens!) and Jersey Boys tickets for him. I was the lucky one to get to go to the events with Dad and we had a great day in the city! here's Dad outside of the Air Canada Centre.

Me just before the game started - we were in the "lower" upper bowl at centre ice...great seats!

Face-off - it was a great game - Crosby had 2 goals, Gonchor too, and Malkin had a couple assists I think. Good night to be a Pens fan :-) No pics from Jersey Boys, but it was fantastic!!

Mom, Dad, Anna, and I also had fun exploring Milton and hitting my favorite places. here's Anna at Kelso - we spent Thanksgiving 2007 at Kelso too :-) It was a beautiful day and we hiked to the top of the escarpement...too bad those pics are on Dad's camera...along with the Springridge Farm pictures - I must get copies!

Anyways, it was to spend time in Milton and downtown, and especially fun to meet....

Baby Owen!! What a little sweetheart he is - I can hardly wait to visit again!

Anna couldn't stop kissing him when Grampy was holding him...she wasn't as impressed when I was holding Owen :-)

Randoms...

The past couple months Anna has taken more interest in Riley...she loves to pat and hug him, but still does not like to be licked!

I brought a mini Crosby stick back with me from Toronto and Matthew just loved it! He refers to himself as Crosby when he's using it - proud Mom! I then order a Geno stick and a goalie stick (we say it's a Fluery stick) so that we could play hockey in the hallway. Once my Geno stick arrived, Matthew called me Geno for 4 straight days...

Sissy never wants to be left out :-)

Chad's birthday was mid-November, but with the family still getting over the battle with the flu, there was just a small celebration. Grammie and Grampy Smith were able to come in and brought delicious stew and cake!! High Five!

Halloween - Better Late Than Never!

We had a very busy fall full of busy work schedules and the swine flu, so I've been very behind on the blog. Halloween this year was very fun as Matthew was fully aware that it meant lots of treats! We spent Halloween in Middleton again this year so that we could visit family and go for a fire truck ride. First stop was Grammie and Grampy Barker...I think Matthew weasled some extra treats :-) He is not wearing his hood, but he is a monkey...or a monkey monster according to him!

On to visit Grammie Cole and Ed where boxes of the Cheerios as well as Halloween treats were waiting!

The fire truck ride was a highlight! Matthew and I went last year with Dad, but in the little truck, so this was his first year on the big truck! It was also Anna's (tigger) first fire truck ride. Here are the kids with Grampy (Nana was holding down the fort at home).

Me and Chad with the kids waiting for our turn to go up on the truck. The kids were surprisingly well behaved and had a lot of fun on the truck. I'm sure we'll be back next year!

Community Fall Fair

On Saturday we went to a community fall fair at a nearby church. We weren't sure what to expect and were really impressed. There were several kids games, bouncy slides/structures, food, and music. All for the low price of $1 for kids and cheap food!! Matthew climbed up this giant pirate ship slide with Chad, but then wanted to go down by himself - he just flew down as you can see!

Off to the games...here's Nana helping him with the kangaroo catapult.

Sissy was just chilling out with Grampy most of the time. We had her bundled...it was windy!

The fishing pond was exciting...plus Matthew got a prize!

And he was very interested in shooting the gun at the cans - he did pretty good too :-)

Daddy's turn with Sissy!

Another slide...

Grampy holding Matthew up for the ring toss.

The bean bags had velcrow to attach to an X-Os board. He got two to stick!

The magical whale and the babies. We'll be back to the fair next year for sure!

We've Got Top Soil!

We finally decided that we'd lay the sod this fall instead of next spring (tax credit incentive!). Chad rented a mini-excavator so that he could do most of the work himself. Between the weather and scheduling issues, he ended up calling up the troops (ie. Grandparents) to give a hand so that we could finish spreading top soil by Friday night. The troops had already spent time in Beaver Bank this week as Sissy spent most of the week home with the flu and then an eye infection...thank goodness for Grandparents! In any event, it all got done and we are anxious to lay the sod next Friday - thanks everyone!!

Terry Fox Run

This year the Smith family did the Terry Fox Run in Sackville, even though it was raining. I must say that I missed being at the Milton venue...it always had tasty treats, good music, and a community vibe. The Sackville site had three loop options, which was nice, but you felt a bit isolated from the event just walking along streets without a "central" gathering area. We still had a great time though - the kids were gems in the jogger and Nana and Grampy spontaneously decided to join us. Once again, Chad did the full 10 km on behalf of the family, while the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely walk and then a snack at the Sports Stadium.

Haircuts at Sharky's

Yesterday the kids got haircuts at Sharkey's. It was Anna's first time and I wasn't sure how well she would cooperate....

Sissy's before shot...not too impressed, but not fighting it either :-)

Matthew's before shot. He has a doggie on his cheek from the Beaver Bank Fall Fair :-)

Almost done...

Sissy's after shot - what a doll she is and she was soo good the whole time!

Cool dude all finished!

Smileys Provincial Park - Sept 7.09

Matthew spent last Sunday night in Wolfville with Grammie and Grampy, so Monday morning we met them at Smileys Provincial Park in Windsor for the exchange. It was our first time to the park and it was really nice. It's right along the river and has a great playground, campsites, and a couple of trails. I'd been anxious to go on a hike for weeks, so it was nice to get out, even if it was a short visit.

First stop - playground :-) Anna enjoyed the swings and trying to climb the slide.

All grins from my boy going down the slide!

Family shot before hitting the trail.

Sissy was all decked out in her fall gear and enjoyed being up with Grammie.

Grampy and Matthew having a tickle break.

Matthew and Grammie racing to get to the end of the trail!

Last picture before we went home :-)

Happy Birthday To My Babies!

Matthew Barrett is now 3 - wow!! How time flies, it seems just yesterday that he was a wee little thing and not a metre tall and 34 lbs! He is quite a little character these days - superior negotiator and an excellent memory. That memory comes in handy for learning new things and back-fires on Chad and I when we've made forgotten promises :-) Matthew still loves books and balls. He can read many books from memory and loves his bedtime story. We play basketball almost daily, along with bowling, and boy does he love to dance. After supper we often dance together in the toy room with Sissy bopping right along! Matthew is really good with numbers - we practice simple addition and subtraction using bowling pins, ducks, fingers, and blocks. He recognizes all his numbers up to 10 and can reliably count to 13...the teens kind of all run together. He knows his ABCs (and lots of other songs!) and continues to learn to recognize different letters. Over the past 2-3 months, Matthew has also become quite a computer geek - at least with Seaseme Street that is. He is a big fan of counting and letters with Elmo, completing patterns with Cookie Monster, and walking dogs with the man. He still loves Thomas, the Wiggles, and Lion King; but also enjoys the Backyardigins (going to see them in October), Nemo, the Aristocats, Cars, Goofy, and other Disney movies. We've been taking lots of day trips and Matthew loves spending time (and talking on the phone) with his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousin(s). He continues to love any outside activity including the playground, the beach, and the park. Personality wise he's very social, but timid; focussed, but goofy; specific, but easy-going as long as there's a logical explanation...he's also incredibly sweet and affectionate with lots of hugs, kisses, and I love you's. Oh, and Teddy and Riley are still pretty important! We are so proud of our little man - it's scary how fast he is growing!! Love you baby boy!!

Anna Marie, aka Wild Thing, at one year weighs in at 20 lbs 12oz and is 79 cm long. This makes her long and slim, with a big bum :-) She is full of it - always into something and full of mischief! Unlike Matthew, who was reasonably content to play within his surroundings as a baby, she is always on the move. She crawled a full 2 months earlier than Matthew and has been taking 3-5 steps at a time for the past couple of weeks, so walking is just around the corner. Anna loves to wave, give hi 5s, and is now becoming more affectionate with hugs and kisses. When she hugs me she pats my arm - it is so sweet! She has a stuffed pink dog named Rosie who sleeps with her every nap and at night - she just loves Rosie! Anna loves to dance and gets so excited when we play music. She also likes to roll balls and bring books over to me to read. She lights up when Matthew is around...even though he is sometimes a bit rough. I have no doubts Anna will be able to hold her own as she gets bigger! After a bit of trouble with the introduction of finger foods, Anna now enjoys a regular toddler diet. Her favorites are cheese, bread, yogurt, soup, apple sauce, spaghetti and ham...and of course any little "treats" that come her way. She has a few words - Mama, Dada, Nana, as well as yes and no - she is pretty good at shaking her head "no" too! She enjoyed trips to the beach this summer and loves to be out in the grass...too bad we don't have any yet...maybe next year :-) Her personality is more feisty and dramatic than Matthew, and a little devilish - watch out teen years! Our baby girl is almost a toddler and we can't believe it - we're so blessed to have our girl! Love you Sissy!

Go Crosby Go!

August 7 was a big day in the HRM and for all Crosby/Penguins fans! Sid the Kid brought the Stanley Cup home along with a special guest - Max Talbot! The Smith fam went to Cole Harbour Place to battle the crowds (75,000 fans!) to get a peak at Sid and Max. I almost got Talbot's autograph, but just wasn't pushy enough. We stayed for the Q&A and enjoyed being part of the festivities. Matthew was doing lots of cheering - Go Crosby Go! - and clapped and yelled everytime to crowd did - I guess forcing the kids to watch Pens games on tv is paying off...I've got a little Crosby fan :-)

Camping at Jellystone

The long weekend in August we went on our first family camping trip - to Jellystone Park in Kingston. Nana and Grampy came too, thankfully, as camping with the kids and Riley is a lot of work - even more work than I expected! The first day was quite exhausting, but we really enjoyed ourselves on day two. Grammie, Grampy, Sean, Cathy, and Shay visited at campfire time, so the kids really had a family weekend. The campground has a waterslide, playground, bouncy pillow, pool - endless activities for kids. Matthew's favorite part was the waterslide - he went again and again and again :-) Sissy enjoyed lots of stroller rides and meeting Yogi Bear. The weekend was not without a couple of miss-haps...Riley broke his collar trying to sniff a dog passing by and then took off through the campground to search out Grampy S. Chad didn't give Grampy B warning when throwing a football in the dark...and it ended up in a neighbour's fire pit - Matthew will tell you an animated play by play of each event :-) Overall, it was a fun weekend and the kids did great!

Anna was a little skeptical of Yogi Bear...

Sissy exploring the camper...this may be the only time the kids were in this camper as we're trying to sell it. Time will tell, but either way I'm sure they will grow up with lots of camping experiences! Mom just might have to suck it up and go back to tent camping :-)