style

I recently have been snapping shots of Cadyn's current style, so I can look back in a few years and smile.

Not visible in all of these photos, but layered beneath, is her selection of must-wear, beloved t-shirts...Elmo, Care Bears, and Daddy's Little Cupcake.


This PJ set from Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Joni for Valentine's Day continues to be a favorite...

...as does balancing things on her head. Thanks to Aunt Maia for these uber fun handmade heart crayons.

Some of the outfits I like very much. Other times, if we are leaving the house, I am scrambling to find one piece that I can try to talk her into that will pull it all together. Needless to say, we allow extra, extra time on those days.

book worm

I used to listen for Cadyn jabbering away in the baby monitor to indicate she was up for the morning or awake from a nap. Recently, instead, I have needed to crank up the monitor volume and intently try to pick up on the faint sounds of pages turning. BG is a bit of a book worm and would be completely content for hours lounging in her bed, thumbing through all of her favorites.

a baby boy!

We are expecting a little baby boy! Before we started trying for another baby, I envisioned a precious little red-headed boy waiting up in God's arms to come down to our family. Caleb, on the other hand, always thought we would have a house full of girls. I am so ecstatic for him, especially, to have a son and (hopefully) someone who will want to play catch with him for more than three seconds :)

I am 19 weeks along now, almost halfway. It has gone so quickly. This week also marks when I have started to show and also feel noticeable movement from our little guy. Just flutters here and there in the couple of weeks prior. Speaking of movement, I just have to say how in awe I am of the beauty of an ultrasound. We saw him rolling around, the chambers of his heart beating, such detail in so many bones, and his tiny little toes and fingers. Amazing. This isn't our first time, of course. But, when I was talking to my mom giving her the news today, she said 'I wish I would have been able to have that experience with my babies.' It really made me appreciate even more what a beautiful gift it is to see our baby boy in utero.

Now onto planning for a name and nursery revamp, both things we have waited on up until the anatomy reveal. I am sure Cadyn will be a big help with the process. We still haven't fully explained her big sister status just yet. But, she was picking up a few things from the ultrasound process. After we got home and she woke up from a nap, the first thing she said was 'I get a little brother?' Aw.

family day

Today is Family Day in Canada, which coincides with President's Day in the US. Cadyn and I are very excited Caleb gets the day off of work for an extended weekend. In an effort to continue to explore Calgary, the mission for today was to check out the new TELUS Spark Science Centre. It opened only four months ago, so it is as bright, contemporary, and fresh as could be. The exhibits are very much hands on and focus on the areas of science, discovery, and art. There is also a very playful Creative Kids Museum. Cadyn really enjoyed the entire experience.

Any water feature is always a big hit with this girl.

Check out this slate wall that kids paint with water - adorable.

BG pulled me down close and wanted to hold my hand while she showed me her artwork. Melt melt.



Lately, she tries to balance anything and everything on her (and my) head.

Cadyn wanted to catch one of those enclosed pendulums pretty badly.

At one point, the sheer giddiness of the Science Centre overtook our girl and she felt the need to lay on the floor and do a happy dance.



These saloon doors provided quite a bit of entertainment and seemed to be near the top of BGs favorites of the day. Now Caleb and I are trying to figure out where we can install some in our home :)

A dinner out at our favorite go-to brewery for delicious grub, Brewsters, made for a pretty great end to our Family Day.

date night

Saturday evening Caleb and I splurged on a very rare date night out, while Cadyn stayed with our babysitter, Syd. BG, you should know Mommy and Daddy are opposites most of the time, but two things we both greatly appreciate are a fine dining experience and seeing a movie in a theatre. We tried the highly recommended authentic Italian cuisine at La Piccola Napoli. It was very romantic and nice to enjoy a meal sans toddler. After the movie, we capped the night off with dessert at Halo lounge. Such a refreshing night.

And in super-exciting-jump-up-and-down-and-twirl-around news, I finally found a Canadian store equivalent to Target. Eeeeeeee! I could hardly contain my excitement as we strolled through each and every aisle of The Real Canadian Superstore. Yep, that is the name. Probably why I totally dismissed it for the entire seven months we have lived here, assuming it was a gear type store. Anyway, after being informed I was shopping at one of the most expensive grocery stores in the province (Safeway), the Superstore was suggested. Today we tried it, totally going in with the mindset of only buying groceries. To my sheer delight, they had much more than fantastic food prices. Their home, kitchen, toys, every single department had fresh and modern design, just like my beloved Target that I have been sorely missing.

Cadyn was loving the holiday section, complete with giant bunnies bigger than her. She and I both were also giddy about the Joe Fresh apparel section. SO cute. BG picked out about twenty different pieces that Daddy made her put back on the racks. Don't worry Cadyn, just you and I will be going back very soon.

happy valentine

I have a very happy valentine today. She got to go to music class, see her friend Olivia, get Gymbo stamps, and was given a personalized valentine cookie by her instructor, Miss Heidi. All things that made Cadyn smile ear to ear all morning.

We have been busy with valentine crafts in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

BG painted watercolor pictures and/or sent personally decorated cards to her cousins and closest toddler and baby friends.

We sent all of Cadyn's grandparents a 'long distance hug.' Thanks to Pinterest for the idea.

And BG and I baked and decorated heart-shaped cookies to continue the festivities.

Good thing a certain sprinkle-monster appeared to take care of our extras.

Mmmmmm. Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Love to all of our devoted readers. ♥

weekend

Another relaxing weekend is behind us. On Friday morning Cadyn and I joined a fantastic little weekly play group. Our new friend Claudia hooked us up with this recently formed circle of moms, dads, and tots. BG is actually the oldest of the kids, with most of them around 18 months, and one little boy who is almost 8 months old. Cadyn can hardly stop talking about the play date...I had fun pwaying, Mommy, go back soon? and Pway with boys again? I very much enjoyed the adult conversation, so we are both looking forward to next time.

This past week Cadyn has figured out my first name, eeek! The first time I heard it she was in her bedroom, sweetly saying Tisha Tisha Tisha randomly before I went in to get her for the morning. Then just last night, during our bedtime routine, she was facing me while we were rocking and she said Hey, Tisha! to which I tried to ignore it and change the subject. She looked me straight in the eyes and kept saying Hey, Tisha! clearly wanting a response. So I said, Hey sweetie, your name is Cadyn Colette and my name is Tisha Marie. To which she responded excitedly, Tisha Reeeeeeeee! I thought the few times I have heard her call me Mom (instead of Mommy) in the last few weeks was frightening, but the actual first name is intensely more strange. So, I am doing everything in my power to help her understand it will be Mommy from now on, until forever.

And a few random photos: this one is of Cadyn 'helping' me put groceries away.

She unpacks every single item from the grocery bags and strategically lines them up around the entire kitchen. You should see her proud smile when she is finished. Love it.

BG also loves to 'help' Daddy fix things around the house. Here they are finally taking down the baby gate at the top of the stairs. Yes, it was way overdue, but sometimes I stick with the better safe than sorry mindset.

super bowl in canada

Well, Caleb and I can confidently say watching the Super Bowl in Canada is very different from watching it in the USA. The biggest difference was that the much anticipated new and exciting commercials are blocked. They substituted with mostly local commercials, which we all know are generally terrible in any country.

The second difference was that the only other person we were watching the game with was Cadyn. While she is great company, it just wasn't the same as our big party with friends last year, nor the Super Bowl parties we have gone to nearly every other year prior. We toyed with throwing a party with some of Caleb's co-workers, but given the lack of entertaining commercials, coupled with no one really giving a hoot about American football up here, it wasn't a great combo.

The one good thing, I didn't let our setbacks stop me from making a feast. I do love any excuse to make an absurd amount of appetizers. So, we snacked on new recipes of homemade salsa, ultimate guacamole, crispy jalapeno poppers, onion dip-stuffed pig skins, cheese steak egg rolls, and green chili. Yum yum yum.

This was Cadyn's attire for the game. It was hard to tell who she was rooting for. She is now insisting on picking out her entire outfit every day, right down to the accessories.

finger painting

Caleb and I bought Cadyn some finger paints for her second birthday. I have been reluctant to try them, hoping she would grow out of her current 'dirty' phase. We have about fifty conversations daily (at her questioning) regarding if things are dirty or not. Food, floors, gloves, hair, plates, clothes, etc...the discussion never ends about the cleanliness of these items. This girl does not like being dirty.

BG briefly tried finger painting in an art class we previewed at Gymboree. Needless to say, she was not impressed with the gooeyness and the stickiness, that is why we have stuck with music class.

In an effort to try and help her through this phase, we tried it again today. After about thirty minutes of mostly resistance, I said to myself, Yep, I know my girl, and this just isn't happening today. See the look of Mommy, sewiously, you want me to paint with my HANDS?!

I painted my own picture and tried to show her how fun it could be. Cadyn liked watching me, often wanting to hold the bowls of paint for me, but not actually having to touch it herself.

Then something miraculous happened. I was washing my hands, getting ready to clean everything up. BG wanted her hands washed as well. Then she says I paint, Mommy. I said You are really going to do it, with your fingers? To which she replied, Yeah, and smiled. So, we tried it again, with fresh hands and a fresh piece of paper and she went to town.

Giddy girl.

She painted up a storm, getting those hands nice and messy...

...as well as other things.

Clearly I cannot get enough of these pictures. It just makes me so happy to see Cadyn enjoying a break from being clean and tidy. Only time will tell if this was some sort of therapy toward the 'dirty' obsession.

Our finished masterpieces.

She seemed to like washing up just as much as painting :)

play date

Cadyn had a fun play date today with her new friend, Olivia (21 months). We met Olivia and her sweet mom, Claudia, in our music class at Gymboree. It was so nice to get to know them both better this morning at their home, as well as watch the girls interact.

Below are some lounging around photos from earlier in the morning. Love this girl.