Fall & BFF's

I am loving the fall this year! Dressing Aryn up in cute, warm outfits, going for walks, and hanging out with friends has taken over our daily activities. Even though it's still +28C outside, it's a manageable +28C and we are not baking and sweating all day. Albeit, I am not looking forward to winter. 

Aryn's personality is really starting to take form. She's stubborn as a mule, hilarious, and does not like to listen. She never stops talking, but we have no idea what she's saying. A friend called it, "Arynese" and I think it's quite fitting. I do wish she'd start speaking in English a bit more, but I know that it will come sooner than later and it'll be harder to keep her quiet once it does.

Either way, she's a brilliant little girl who refuses to do anything anyone asks her to do. Which is why potty learning is so difficult. The kid is so stubborn! But, I digress.

We went out to Kayben Farms on Friday with some friends. Watching the littles run around in pure glee was wonderful to watch. I love watching Aryn with her little friends, and the friendship between Aryn and Anna has really blossomed. They get along so great, and they play together very well. Who would have thought a 2-year old could have a BFF?

I mean, come on. How cute is this?

Watch Anna get some air!

Aryn's love of animals is so apparent. The horses (who apparently are "Moo"'s.... umm....), the donkey, the pigs, and the roosters were all given lots of food and love from these two littles.

Aryn even got pecked by a rooster and there were no tears. I almost cried watching it happen but she just yelled at the rooster and walked away, holding her finger in her hand. It was quickly forgotten when she saw the pigs. Thank goodness. And no mark on her finger. Yay!

We had a great day together on Friday. The warm air, the yellow leaves and the pumpkins decorating the farm made it feel like fall. Fall normally means winter is coming. This year, it means just new outfits for outdoor adventures. I'll take that.

Dinosaurs

For the past week, we've been holed up at home with the damned Hand Foot Mouth disease. I was going stir crazy; as was Aryn. It was grumpy pants overload. So this morning, while eating breakfast, I asked Aryn what she wanted to do today. She roared.

So... I took that as a sign that she wanted to go to Drumheller.

Never mind that we were watching a lion on TV. Nope. That had nothing to do with it.

So we quickly got ready, got in the car, and drove out to Drum. It's only about an hour away and a totally different world.

Baby and mama had a great day together, just cruising through the museum and going for a walk along the path. Baby and mama days are the best. And she was awesome. Man, I love this kid.

It was a day of, "Mama WOAH"'s and lots of smiles. Baby girl even smiled AT the camera. Kudos to her friend Anna's mom for teaching her the "cheese!" and cheesy grin at the camera. Life saver.

I don't know what happened to this photo but I love it!

I also discovered that my kid is a giant. A 4-year old before us was the same height. A 4-year old.

Aryn also re-discovered her love of moving animals. We stayed at the turtle for almost 20 minutes. Ryan, can we get a turtle?

We even went to the World's Largest Dinosaur. Yeah, that's right. Do you see her?

Thank you, Aryn, for such a wonderful day. Mama loves you.

I know, I know... I have been awful at blogging the past week. There are so many factors as to why. Namely, after Aryn's birthday party on Saturday, she came down with her second bout of Hand Foot Mouth disease, and it's deadline week. So I'm spending more time at the computer sending off emails and getting ads than taking photos and thinking about what adventures we've gone though this week. And there really hasn't been much adventuring this week. It's been a slack week... we quarantined ourselves at the risk of infecting others. Not that it matters; pretty much every little at Aryn's party got HFMd. Where it came from, none of us know for sure.

I'm not a germaphobe. I like Aryn being around kids who are sick because it builds immunity. I don't care if she has a stuffy nose or a little bit of a fever. We deal with them, and don't really give it much attention or thought. In March, when she first came down with HFMd, it ended up being 2 full months of one sickness after another, so we pretty much have this new outlook of, if we could handle that, we can handle anything!

But I am really annoyed with this bout of HFMd. It has really affected our lifestyle. I like taking her for walks, and playing at the park, and playing outside, and having fun zoo dates with her friends and grandparents. And because of this, our whole lives have been put on hold. I'm grateful that the Health Link told me that it's not that big of a deal and we don't need to be in quarantine, but I still don't want anyone to get this so we're self-quarantining ourselves. And I'm annoyed by it.

But I digress.

Little Miss is throwing quite a fit here... they have become a recurrence and humorous addition!

Despite the big black and white blisters on her poor feet, this kid is a ball of energy this week. From running around the island 15 times, giggling the entire time, to zipping from one toy to the other, it's been a hectic week. Deadline weeks are never fun toddler-wise. All she wants to do is play and all mama can do is work!

The toys this kid got for her birthday proved how spoiled she is, and has really been a blessing keeping her entertained this week. We've discovered which ones keep her entertained the best: the (loud) piano from Hunter, the Mr. Potato Head family from her friend Grace, and the dress-up clothes from Keegan. This is not to say that she does not LOVE all of the other toys (I mean, she was ridiculously spoiled), but these toys have moved into our living room and have set up shop and are not allowed to be moved. While this makes for a messy living room, I don't really care. Baby girl loves her some toys!

Despite this being a crazy week, it's been filled with so much wonderfulness. Our bedtime cuddles have gotten so much more enjoyable, with Aryn just wanting to lay there being held and cuddled, a short story read to her ("I Love You Through and Through" is a favourite), and listing off the body parts ("Eye, Nooo, Mow, Eeee." It's music to my eeeee's.)

I love you through and through, baby girl.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too.

Ho hum

I haven't blogged for a few days... and I haven't taken any photos. Life here is hectic. It's my deadline week and Aryn just came down with her second bout of Hand Foot Mouth disease. FYI, you're only supposed to get it once. Not my kid. She gets it twice... since March. Yay!!

I don't even have anything fun to blog about!

Wish us luck. It's going to be a crazy week. I may need to start drinking.

The party

This week was a hot one.
Saturday was supposed to be cool.
It wasn't cool. It was perfect.

Littles happily and excitedly walked through the 'Aryn Street' sign, carrying bags and smiles, and came to celebrate our little girl. So much love and happiness. 

The decorations all symbolized her, with her weird obsession on all things Sesame Street, namely Elmo and Cookie Monster. Baby girl loves that high-pitched red guy and screams, "Mo!" every time she sees him. Even if it's on a tshirt of a random kid. Baby loves her some Mo.

Aryn understood that all of these people were here for her, celebrating her and loving her. But she was too busy having so much fun to acknowledge it. So many friends to play with; so little time.

And gifts? baby girl was so spoiled... and I think next year we're not going to open gifts during the party because... well, mama opened them all. Baby girl was too busy running around the tree.

The baby group I started last year has blossomed into a group of amazing friends. Even some of the newer members just fell straight into the group. We all get along, we all have fun together, and we all enjoy each other's company. And this party proved that.

Yes, I know this one isn't in focus. None of the ones of her in the swing were. But I still wanted to emulate her dress in the swing. Pure awesome.

Super awesome cake courtesy of Grandpa Bob! Thank you Grampy for making the cake so special for Aryn! FYI: it tasted delicious!

Our birthday weekend celebration has finally ended, and I'm so grateful for such a wonderful and fun-filled time. So much love was poured into this tiny person of only two years old. What will bring this next year? I can only expect greater things for her. And more love.

Happy happy happy birthday, baby girl. 

Special thanks to Anna Luv Designs for Aryn's super awesome tutu dress!! Even though she refused to wear the tutu for the second half of the party, it was perfection and I would recommend them to anyone! Thank you Anna Luv for making Aryn's day even more special!