Water and Blendtec

A few weeks ago I joined a parents social group called Moms & Dads with Monkeys. I learned while on maternity leave with Caleb that such groups are a great way to meet new friends and make sure to get out of the house. I finally got around to attending my first meetup event: a playdate at Centrepoint Park. It was morning so Liana stayed home and Evelyn slept in her stroller most of the visit.

The splash pad was great

Water bucket dumped on head

Hard to get him outside but happy once he gets there

These 11 and 17 month olds were reminders of the fun I'm in for next year with Evelyn

Caleb probably only has a few years left of play structure fun

Monkey

With the kids starting school week after next we've also been taking advantage of using the pool more often. 

Caleb's been sticky with me lately, literally

Caleb's been taking Swim Kids 1 lessons through the City since July. Yesterday he got his report card and passed! There are 10 levels in all. When I was a kid the levels were colour-based instead of numbers, and we'd get patches instead of stickers when we'd pass.

Last weekend I went to Costco with my mom to show her the Blendtec so she could keep an eye out for a future sale. Lo and behold there was a promotion happening ($359 if any of you are in the market). Sales people were doing a demonstration and everything. I wonder if they assume we purchased it impulsively and how many people actually impulse buy such expensive stuff.

Liana setting up our new friend

About six litres of Potato Kale soup for dinner and freezing
(we pureed all of it so the boys wouldn't complain about onions)

Black bean brownies - these were impossible to make without
a pro blender as molasses paste is tough to make

Evelyn's been great. I brought her with me to a friend's baby shower last weekend and she slept through most of it. Last night she hit a new record of consecutive sleep hours: 6.5 (from 10:30pm to 5am). She's also getting stronger. When daddy holds her upright over his shoulder her head is stronger, less bobble-like.

Liana's primping for back to school. She got her hair trimmed (so subtle it isn't noticeable), got her eyebrows waxed for the first time (at her request!) and bought her first eyeliner. I'm to give her an eyeliner tutorial this afternoon. As was the case with hair styles, I suspect she'll surpass my makeup skills in no time.

Finally have Evelyn's baby announcement cards so I'll be working on sending those out within the next few days.

Skyzone and Civic Long Weekend

Last Friday Julia came over for some baby cuddles. She watched some Buffy with Liana and I and demonstrated defensive loyalty to the annoying character that is Xander Harris (I'm of the opinion of this guy). We also talked exciting wedding stuff, as I am one of the chosen ones to be a bridesmaid for her July 2014 wedding. We're going to make a mini family vacation out of the event and spend a few days at the venue: Calabogie Peaks Resort.

On Saturday Cathy, Gena and I took the some of our kids to check out Skyzone, a new local trampoline park. It was pretty awesome! There's trampoline basketball, dodgeball, foam pit, and free-for-all. I'll definitely go again but will wait until winter when outdoor physical activities lessen.

Cathy and the kids then came over for lunch, swimming and, of course, baby cuddles. Ethen and Ella were super swimmers and all the kids were troopers swimming in the cold water...except for Liana but, hey, she made us some smoothies.

A sleeping baby is the best kind to cuddle

Londyn was okay on his own with just a noodle

Super diver

Raspberry almond smoothies

Sunday we did our usual lunch at my parents and Magic: the Gathering in the afternoon with friends while Liana watches Evelyn. Liana and I then spent our usual ridiculous amount of time in the evening meal planning, listing ingredients and going grocery shopping.

Monday was the Civic holiday so we decided to visit Mountain Grove for the day.

Diaperless wiggle time for the baby

Takes away the fussies

The cat that's getting too big for the magazine rack

Big stretches on the playpen bed that grandma bought for our visits

Staring contest with grandpa

Liana's cooking adventures continue. In fact, she's considering becoming a dietician, nutritionist or other health professional when she's older. She's also taken to taking pictures of her food so she exerts effort of presentation. My role is usually to buy her what she needs and help clean of the disastrous kitchen messes that follow her culinary adventures. The other day though we forgot to buy slivered almonds which Liana told me she needed for key lime pie. She started cutting almonds manually but since the baby was napping I offered to take over. After 30+ minutes of chopping almonds you can imagine my surprise when she takes the bowl and adds it to the mixture in the food processor to blend...

World's Best Hummus and Creamy Pumpkin Soup

The chef in action

Loaded Vegan Pita with Peanut Butter Hummus (caramelized onions were so tasty!)

Pie crust (good thing those almonds were sliced first!) and coconut cream whip

Completed  Raw Vegan Key Lime Pie

Maple baked tofu with lime and jalapeno basmati rice

Roasted vegetables and chick pea couscous with sundried tomato dressing

Evelyn smiles are still few and far between. Here are three unsuccessful attempts at catching one on camera.

 Here are some recent miscellaneous pictures.

Liana insists on dressing up and dressing up her sister even on days we don't leave the house

 

New pyjama set from recent shopping trip (also bought new pants and the cutest jean jacket ever)

 

Smiles and Superheroes

Update on Evelyn:

Evelyn has started smiling (like, on purpose!)! Haven't tried to catch it on camera yet because they're still few and far between and when they happen I'm busy letting my heart melt. Sometimes her mouth just hangs open, other times she gets a Jean Chretien style half smile, and occasionally she figures out how to smile perfectly. Watching her go through the motions makes smiling seem like a puzzle she's struggling to figure out.

A less fun experience has been caring for her first diaper rash. Poor girl. Not sure what caused it: Huggies disposable wipes we used on her while we were between washers? diapers may need stripping (they've been less absorbent this week)? the heat? Anyway, we've been giving her some naked time to air out the area a bit. It's a messy endeavor that's worked best while laying down on a towel in shady areas of the backyard and by providing longer stretches on the change table.

Yesterday I took Evelyn to her last midwife appointment. She's now 61cm long and 10.8lbs (was 54 cm and 9.3lbs at birth).

Some Evelyn pictures from the last few days.

Super dad calms mad baby

Love the little cape...

Evelyn and Isaac meet - they are one week apart

Sleepy from watching their parents play Magic all afternoon

Time to pack them up

New outfits as Evelyn now fits in her 3-6 month clothing

Pretty new blanket

Mistaking tummy time for nap time

Not enjoying tummy time

Getting her hair washed

One of her last baths in the baby tub as she's growing so quickly

Gazing lovingly

Update on Caleb:

Caleb's superhero camp is finished and he'd like to stay home the rest of the summer. We'll see how it goes because he's already starting to act bored again. We borrowed a ton of movies from Julia though and he has a playdate at the new trampoline park Saturday morning.

Wearing the crafts he made at superhero camp last week

He started off as Super A

But ended up as Super Bob

When Caleb read this to me he read "reward 100,000 ice cream scoops"

Talking to his baby sister

Update on Liana:

Liana's been awesome. She's still content cooking/baking, watching Buffy with me (college years now) and helping to care for Evelyn. She also picked up Fables again - graphic novel series based on fairytale classics that we're both into - which she had set aside since March Break. I stopped reading them myself as they're $15 a pop that I couldn't justify paying for only myself (for books that take such little time to complete). Now we're both ready and eager to procure volume 14. Also, we're thinking about registering for some raw food workshops.

Liana loves baby cuddles just as much as the next girl

Photobomb dog

Taking solo shots of Liana because we barely have any recent ones

And she desperately wants to replace the one used for her in the Family Member Profiles page (she thinks it's horrid)