Month 30

 Another month down. Time just keeps flying by. I just have to look at the expanding belly to realize 6 months are down, and your time is starting to dwindle as an only child. Hard to believe you are going to be a big sister soon. You really have no concept of what is happening. I keep saying baby and you point to my belly, but then you point to yours and say baby. lol.

 Summer is here and it's hot, hot, hot. You love swimming and spend days in the pool. I know at daycare you and your buddies have a blast splashing around. Grammy bought you a princess pool that is also a favourite.

 Gramps bought you the cutest life jacket, we will have to take you to visit so you can go to the beach and test it out. I am pretty sure you would love swimming in the lake.

You are so funny lately. Of course still the biggest ball of energy on the planet. You love your princesses and are so cute when rhyming them off.
You wear out this mama on a daily basis but it's so worth it. This month is short and sweet. Ending with the always, love you forever. Stay you, stay cute and always remember that mama and dad love your BIG hugs! xo

Snakes in a Tree

 Yes, that is actually a garter snake in our tree/juniper bush in our front yard. Was sitting on the couch and I looked out our bay window and thought, is that a branch or something stuck in the bush?
Nope, upon further inspection, it was a snake. So throughout the morning, Audra and I watched it move around a little, disappear and re-appear.
When he wasn't in the bush, Audra would ask "where nake go?"
And probably continued to ask where he went for the next week when she looked out the window.

The bathroom update

 I keep forgetting to post these pictures. The bathroom has been done for awhile now, or let's say 99% complete. We need to put the trim up and I need to buy a new shower curtain! So even though it took a little longer then expected, I think it looks great. Jamie did a fantastic job. He had a bit of help, but for the most part took it all on himself. And even though he became a mild perfectionist, in the end it was all worth it.

 Big, huge medicine cabinet now. In love with it!

 Ignore the wall that needs some trim, but the floor turned out great. I will have to post the pictures of Jamie actually cutting out the floor. It's crazy how small it actually is space wise.

 All new hardware. It's so nice after a few months to finally have toilet paper on the roll where it should be.

 Nice, new big sink. And a cabinet underneath that to this day still isn't filled, because it's been so long since we have had a cabinet in our bathroom, that we're not sure what to put in it. It currently holds a container of smarties that are used to bribe the child to sit on the potty! lol

Lovely high efficiency toilet, and who has the best measurer in town? Jamie's measurements were so good, that you look at the sink and toilet side by side, and if they were any bigger, would not have fit. Good job!!!
Here's to a nice new bathroom.

Reversible Bucket Hat

 One of my favourite pattern books, Oliver + S, had this adorable bucket hat that I have been wanting to make Audra for awhile now. It was fairly easy to make, there are many mistakes on it, but I am trying to not be so critical about it. Audra isn't complaining about it. She likes wearing it, always a plus. She calls the gnomes "Santa" which I think is hilarious!!

 The inside, or outside depending on how you want to wear it, is fun flowers and sunshines. I think the only thing it is missing is a strap or two to keep it in place.

A day of baking

 A day or two of baking yielded some very yummy treats to snack on and share. Audra and I made butterscotch chip cookies. Which is a great recipe to freeze once made. So now we have some in the freezer for later.

 These were the cupcakes we made in previous post. Audra loved the colours in them. She thought they were great.

 We had some peaches from the market, that were getting a little soft for my liking, so I turned them into the fruit filling for my polish cake. I am not sure what it may be called in polish, but we call it polish fruit cake. lol.

 And then there was pie. One of my goals on my 101 in 1001 is to make a good pie crust. Any crust I have made so far, has been ok. So I had some high hopes in making this dough. And thankfully, it turned out really well.

 Now I just need to practice rolling out the dough so it looks nicer then what these look like. But once you fill them, no one is the wiser. I turned the sad looking crusts into yummy Rhubarb Custard Pie, which was well received by everyone. Even Audra throughly enjoyed a piece or two. I took it into work and my staff had it devoured in a day or two.

New Dress

 This little dress was put together last summer, but was really big for the little Monkey. This summer fits perfectly. I took a t-shirt and attached a skirt, and voila. The skirt is recycled from a shirt of mine, that just didn't fit right again after pregnancy. I really liked the funky print and thought I could do something with it, instead of just getting rid of it. Save a bit on the fabric budget, recycle a bit, and make something cute for Audra.

Trying to get a two a year old to pose and stand still for any length of time is always a miracle. You gotta take what you can get somedays. It's nice and cool for her and makes for a great summer dress. Now if I could only get her to stop lifting up her skirt?!

Natural Cleaner

 So the concoction in the jars, busily marinating away is vinegar and lemon and orange peels. It will be a all natural cleaner for everything. I hate the smell of vinegar, but love cleaning with it, so hope that the peels will help eliminate the smell. You take the vinegar and peel mix and let it sit for at least two weeks. You then mix it with water, and have a great cleaner (hopefully). Can't wait to test it out.

Month 29

 29 months. Wow, time just keeps on trucking along. It's been fun having some time off, and being able to hang out with you a lot more then usual. Damn work for usually getting in the way. You are a little ball of energy who wakes up just full of beans and for the most part goes to bed full of beans. How you manage to go up to bed and not fall asleep due to sheer exhaustion, is beyond us.
You love to dance and it's funny watching you. You are getting more and more co-ordinated as you grow.

 We had two weeks of family time, which was really nice. We definitely don't get to spend enough time together when everyone's working, so some lazy days were great. I know you liked having both mom and dad home. This will probably be the last time we have a big chunk of time together before the baby comes. Jay doesn't have vacation again until October.

 You never cease to amaze us. You love paper and pens and colouring and stickers. Hmm, wonder where you get that from? We pulled out some real scissors and you went to town shredding that paper. I am going to have to buy you some lefty scissors. Those right hand ones were giving you some trouble.

 One of your new favorite things is to run and grab the stool in the kitchen and you want to be part of whatever we are doing in the kitchen. Last week we made cupcakes (going to need to make you a little apron!!) and you wanted to do so much! You have helped Jay to wash the dishes, hey, we aren't going to deter that behavior. There will be some day that you won't want to help out. We'll take it while we can take it!
We did lots of visiting and seeing friends and family this past month. You are such a ham around everyone. You are so well-loved. You literally light up the room. You certainly make me and your dads day-EVERYDAY!

You are getting more and more concepts of things. We finally have you agreeing and starting to say yes, instead of just repeating the right sentence minus any yes.
You get that we are going up hills, whether it be to Kristin's (or Ti-Ti as you like to call her) or the the Millers, you understand that we are going up. You say hill, we'll get to mountain eventually.
Your counting is so much better and we usually get to somewhere between 15 and 20. Yay!!
There will be things you say that we aren't sure where it came from, but makes us realize you are one smart cookie.
Keep smiling, keep being your cute self, don't drive your father and I too crazy with the screeching and spitting (where did that even come from!), and always hug us as tight as you do saying I love you. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.