Little Misses Turns ONE!

What a fabulous day we had celebrating Francis FIRST birthday. I know a picture says a thousand words but I honestly could post a thousand pictures of this wonderful day. So instead you're going to get 20-30! Francis was just in awe with all the people that suddenly turned up at her house. She knew something was up but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

 As soon as she woke up she was a happy camper and into her traditional

morning routine of flipping through books.

I had fun staying up till the wee hours of the morning making all sorts of yummy stuff. Thank to Grandma Hedges who came up with the "Teddy Bear Picnic" theme everything was in the shape of a teddy bear including the honey teddy bear sandwiches. Thankfully, some buddies came to the rescue the day of and got it finished up in time.

I know Francis wasn't aware of it all but I just had fun doing it myself. It was my own way of celebrating such a delightful addition into our lives and the wonderful smiles she's given us over the past year.

 I kept the cupcakes simple and easy. The kids thought they were fun......

 

......and Francis found them tasty.

Even the ants thought they were yummy!

 Francis got all sorts of kisses including a double whammy from Auntie Bonita & Mommy

 The weather cooperated clearing right up and we were able to go outside and enjoy the nice weather true picnic style. O and see our friend taking pictures in the background, that's Jeremy. Thanks to him we have all sorts of lovely pictures to capture such a wonderful moment in time. So the fabulous ones on this blog are thanks to Jeremy!!!!

 Francis stuck pretty close to Grandma......

......and Daddy as they were her constants.

All sorts of friends.... 

and family made it out making it all the more special of a day.

Even Uncle George came out from Edmonton.

All the kids had simple fun just being kids. The tent caterpillars were a hit with the little fella in the picture above. I was giving him stickers for collecting as many as he could. They went home with mama...sorry Kara! LOL

It was such a great day.

Basic fun with fabulous people.

 

Francis enjoyed it all, including showing off her skill of being able to climb into a chair.

Along with her natural talent of loving her brother who was feeling sick.

To break things up we opened presents in the evening after she had had a nap and allowed herself to process the party.

Surprise surprise the cardboard box turned out to be a hit!

 However, she loved the IKEA chair we bought her so much that she was in it before Uncle George even had all the screws in.



Its incredible how quickly my little girl has grown into a toddler. 

 She consistently puts a smile on all faces that are around her.

 Francis is truly a delightful light in our lives that we just can't ever get enough her.

♥Love You Turkette♥

 

VIDEOS

 

 Video of Little Lady the morning of her first bday CLICK HERE

Francis in her new chair from Mom & Dad CLICK HERE

Video of Uncle George & Francis building her chair CLICK HERE

 

 

750km Accomplished in ONE DAY

 That's right we made it all in one go. Edmonton to Alberta, a total of 750km. We drove away from PG about 830am and rolled into Edmonton around 630pm. Two stops and lots of sunshine made it more than bareable. It went better than expected. I knew there would be a few tears. Francis winged a bit here and there and gave some good shouts, But little Mr Man kept it all together until the last half hour. He didn't nap at all and he was more than happy with it all.

 Uncle George was the best. He just went with the flow. Helped out where he could and just was easy going about it all.

 It didn't take long for Francis to warm up to Uncle George. He was more than fun to sit and play with.

 Alistair enjoyed getting out of the van in Jasper and getting a bunch of fresh air at the same time. The weather was more than gorgeous so the drive it self was stunning as the mountains all had fresh snow sparkling against the blue sky.

 Little Misses obviously had a couple melt downs but as soon as she got out of the carseat she was more than relieved and soon cracking smiles.

A little blueberry yogurt and life was back to being just tickityboo. So now after getting the kidlets to bed, which wasn't much of a fight, I'm chilling with a nice glass of red wine and ready to see how the next few days unfolds. I'm really excited and curious how Alistair will respond to the ABM Therapy we're getting over this next week. I'll keep you posted. Now its time to bid you all a good night! Cherrio Juels

NORTHERN DECKS

 

 It's that time of year again! The Prince George Home Show is behind us.....whoop whoop...... thank goodness! Its such a whirlwind leading up to it. Jason built another deck in our driveway but this time promoting his "TUFDEK...The World's Strongest Vinyl Decking". I have to admit its damn good! Not the cheapest but the best! It even gets used for commercial roofing. So yeppers it's waterproof. Kinda fun actually this year giving it a push as we lived with it on our front deck all winter. So were able to know how it works fantastic first hand which made it easier talking to people about it. Everyone seemed to like the whole idea of it which is a bonus for us. It sure wasn't the warmest of days though. This picture looks like it was a beauty for a weekend but man it was windy and cold! Luckily the precipitation was kept to a minimum as people are still willing to stop if they aren't getting drenched. Anyhow, a successful show. Definitely was talked out by the end of it......yes surprise surprise I was talked out. I guess the thing is you just say the same thing over and over and over again. As you can see we picked a name for his decking side of things "NORTHERN DECKS". We figured its short, sweet, and easy to remember.  We also got a website started too so check that out. www.northerndecks.com Again easy to remember and kind of a necessity with the way the world seems to be going so cyber.

 Jason's been using our little carport and Mom's farm to store stuff which has been handy in some ways but a pain in may others. Is got to the point that he was just running from one spot to the next so much that it was starting to waste valuable time. So alas Daddy has his first shop!

 Its pretty nice for him to finally get to this stage. Its been a long time coming and he's made it work in the past but it was time to take the jump to the next stage.

Even though Dad has been running nonstop he always finds time for his kidlets.....and his wifey.

 We just think he's fabulous......I guess that's because he is!

 

Switchin It Up

So I'm always trying to switch things up a bit to keep Mr Man entertained and stimulated. So today when I snapped him into his stander I was trying to figure what I should do with him to keep his mind off of what he was really doing. Basically, we just had a bunch of fun! I started off with dancing him about the living room/kitchen which I have added a video for you to check out. I'll just apologize ahead of time for the singing component! Then I wondered how he'd react to being pushed up to the piano. He wasn't too keen on doing his own plunkin on the piano but once I did he seemed to really enjoy it. He watched my hands as well as put one of his hands up on my arm as I played. It was a pretty special time. I tried taking videos but I so get stage fright with the whole playing piano in front of others....even a silly video camera that I totally make a disaster of the music! LOL Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard. Anyhow, it was neato that he got something out of that whole experience. I may just have to try plunkin on that piano of my mothers a tad more since the kidlets love it so much!

 

VIDEOS

 

Alistair & Francis Bonding

 

Dancing with My Boy

 

Alistair Playing the Piano

 

Spring Has Sprung

 Spring has truly sprung for me when I start getting dirt under my finger nails. It happened a tad earlier this year then expected. The sun was shining with double digits warming the sole. It was gorgeous. Any reason to get out and rake a couple leaves peaking out from under the edge of the melting snow, breaking up some ice on the patio or planting some Hens & Chicks with my little girl. Its just amazing to watch her curiosity. It brings me back to the basic enjoyment one can get from life. We don't need all the shinny bells and whistles to make the world go round or feel complete. I didn't need to run to the store to get her the perfect Easter treat. Just an old rotten basket filled with dirt was a great focal point for Francis day. She got so much enjoyment out of pulling the little succulents out as I tried to plant them and shortly there after she was stuffing them back in the dirt. It continuously amazes me how many firsts are bombarding her little inquisitive brain. How exciting to join her in all these precious little moments.

 Yesterday we headed out to Grandma's Farm for Easter Dinner. The cutest thing occurred. As always we haul in the kidlets and all the gear. I dropped off Francis with Grandma and she didn't want to do anything but literally hug Grandma for a good 20 minutes. She'd raise her head and then promptly snuggle it back into Grandma's sweater. I think all parties were thoroughly enjoying themselves!

The barefoot family attempted a family photo. Out of ten shots this was the best of the bunch. Three out of four faces isn't bad.

 

I'd like to leave you today with this 8 minute video clip. Its worth the watch and it touched home for me and made me remember to not forget about "the gift of an ordinary day"  CLICK HERE

 



Standin Man

Somehow we keep finding room for new adaptive equipment in our home! This was pretty neat though as we tried Alistair in a stander quite some time ago but he really used it to his advantage ie. he'd buckle and hang in it so he didn't have to do any work. However, now with some growth under his belt, foot splints, and some consistent work at home getting him to stand in his routine day it seems to all have paid off.

He actually seemed to enjoy this stander and Lynn, his PT, was wondering if he's getting some proprioception throughout his body that helps calm all the extra movement he tends to have. Anyhow, its neat and gives Alistair a new perspective on life. Now to incorporate it into our daily routine!

Saturday Smile Stimulator

I thought I'd share a small window of the fun we have now that there are two kidlets in our house. Such uncomplicated and unstaged beautiful times.

I get to smile all the time now!

 

Click on the links below

 

Smile Stimulator #1

 

Smile Stimulator #2

 

Have a Stupendous Day!