Singular Focus

Since the girls are away, someone gets a little more attention....and loves it!!

Some stats of the day:

• Cute as a button;
• Still not walking;
• LOVES broccoli, go figure;
• Sleeps all night long;
• 14 months old;
  
• My baby girl!

Sunday morning and all is quiet...

Sunday morning and it's just Eric, Madison and I (the two older girls are at grandma's for a sleepover), it's quiet peaceful and a little lonely... but only just a little! I guess this is what life is like for those who have 1 child. Calm, manageable and relaxing on weekend mornings. We can actually do things for ourselves! However, never in a million years would I trade in the craziness and the wonderful things that I do miss this morning for anything. The things to miss are the beautiful little smiles that greet us, the giggles between sisters, Madison's clear LOVE for her sisters - she giggles and screams when they are in the room, and follows them everywhere; I also miss the details, Gillian's puffy blond hair and her cuddly little 3 year old body, Abigail's wonderful smile, her square feet (!!) and her "conversation"; I'm pretty sure they had a great time sleeping over and are probably running around their house as I type. So fun was had by all, on both sides - peace and quiet here, fun and adventure there.

Some photos from Halloween last weekend:

I jiggle...

I've never jiggled before, even when I was a little on the heavy side at the end of high school/university. Back then I was at least strong... soccer, rowing and working out at least once a day certainly helped, and as a result I was heavy, but at least I didn't jiggle. Now, when I run I feel things moving that really shouldn't be moving, namely my butt. And parts of me are soft, and squishy where before I had a little bit of definition... just a little bit. Otherwise, I don't feel over weight, I just feel weak. I get out of breath faster, I can't bike as fast, and I get tired holding Madison (who for the record, weighs 28lbs at 13 months... cute little porker!! :))

I know exactly what I need to do, I even have access to a great gym at work with every kind of machine available to me. I am just so tired all the time, I've become lazy (well ok, find... lazier!) I'd rather sit on my butt eating M&Ms (kind of like right now). I just wish my motivation hormone, gene, DNA or whatever would just get kick started.. but it hasn't happened yet. It was turned off over the past year, I think having baby #3 turned it off. And I'm afraid my body will be too deteriorated (cursed with really bad knees, stiff toe, and loose ligaments) when that motivation button has actually been pushed... my fingers are crossed that a good base that I had will carry me through....

Time for another bag of M&Ms....

Annual Autumn Photo

Each year I'm just so stunned at how beautiful it is up here when the leaves change. I love every minute of it!!

Whao... not another page!!

I'm scrappin' like crazy, it's so much fun! Just wish my supplies were better organized! I have them half categorized.. it will be a work in progress for a while :) All three last weekend at the park. Off to watch Survivor!!

Gillian

My favourite set of photos of Gillian from the summer... I just love everything about each and every photos I took of her on this walk up the road... her puffy flowing hair, her dress and how it contrasted against the greenery, and the action shot! Typical Gillian! (Thank you to the wonderful Kayleigh for your inspiration!! I completely lifted your page because I loved it so much!! Thanks!!)

Big Week Here

Abby lost her first tooth! She's only 5.. seems too young to loose her first one, but I think she was "working" on it, making it come a little sooner than it should!! As soon as she got it out, she started yelling and screaming with delight, and rushed downstairs to show Daddy, so cute. Now all that remains is a huge gap, just waiting for the first adult tooth to come.

This week....

I rode my bike 3 times!! I scrapbooked!! I also started work!! OK so the last thing, not so exciting, but I'm on a new project, new office, new people, so it's making returning to work a little easier. 3 days a week helps too!

The kids have been looking at their individual scrapbooks quite a bit these past few days. Abby has one with her pages, and receptively Gillian with hers. Then Abigail said "Where is Madison's book??" uuuhhhh... well... Mommy hasn't put it together yet! I've been caught! So I've made it a priority to get at least a few pages started, and done, to start putting together her book! Of course I also created a few with Abby at the hot air balloon festival. Off to hammer off a couple more :) Later!

Getting into the swing of things...

Summer is over...well summer "holiday's" are over, and now that we have entered the world of sending a kid to school, we actually can say we DO summer holidays now. It's been a big week for our family, Abby started school, Madison started at the daycare, and Gillian is getting ready to start nursery school. Big, exciting changes that luckily everyone is very excited about.

First there was the obligatory Back to School haircut last week. Took the girls to the "Salon" and they got washed, cut and curled... a very exciting thing for them - they are such rough and tumble girly girls! Curls one minute, rolling in mud the next!

Then came home to play in the yard






(Madison isn't quite ready for haircuts, but won't be long!)

School didn't start for Abby until Tuesday, so Monday we did a quick trip to Valley View Animal Farm... where the kids always have fun:

And then it was time! Time for Abby to move on to the next stage in life... with routines, responsibilities, learning, fun, new friends, and new experiences... Kindergarten!

We are so lucky that our neighbours and babysitter take the same bus.
Someone to watch over her and help her!

And for the other girls.. a few more years to wait. So it's home time with Mommy - which is special too!

My friend Jen

On Sunday Aug 15th I came home from shopping with Abby to have my husband give me the shocking and sad news that my friend Jen had taken her life on Aug 14th. She was a young professional woman, mother of two beautiful girls, wife to Matt and an aspiring photographer. But, most importantly she was my friend. We met at Neuchatel Junior College in September 1992 and quickly became best friends, spending all of our time together, traveling together around Europe and getting in trouble together. We arrived as kids, experienced the excitement, the challenge and the joy of living abroad, which allowed us to grow up, gain confidence and return home as different people - as adults. After graduating we both attended UBC, and while we were in different faculties, with different friends, we still remained good friends. Trips to Whistler to ski, Rowing on the UBC rowing crew, and the infamous beer gardens, we still managed to have loads of fun. We again graduated, Jen got married, I moved to Ottawa then Taiwan, then back to Ottawa again, but through all this we kept in touch, and eventually discovered the convenience of Skype. We spoke often about photography, and kids, as we were both launching a small photography business and were experiencing the same struggles and frustrations of doing so.

When I heard the news I was shocked, I had no idea she was unhappy. I was so sad to have lost a good friend, someone to talk to about the business, and life. I was sad for her family, especially her children and husband. But even with all the questions, the guilt, the feelings of wishing to have been able to do something more, and the sadness, I had to look back at our friendship, and cherish what we had, what we experienced and know that she will forever me in my memories as my happy, crazy, argumentative, stubborn, smart, creative friend. Here are a few memories from our year to share.

Suicide is a scary thing, I don't profess to understand it, and no one can. Just remember to hug your best friends, tell them how much they mean to you, and talk to them honestly and openly. We all struggle and get down, it's nothing to be afraid of, or ashamed of, you don't have to suffer alone.

I'll miss you Jen, have a beer with Andrew will ya, it's on me!

The wonderful world of Madison

She is really turning into quite a little girl. Just starting the very foundation of communication, saying a few things that sound more and more like words. We never got into the whole sign language movement, which is a great thing, I just didn't have the time and patience for it, so her communication is really starting from scratch verbally! It's such a cute age when they start to "speak" - saying Bye Bye, saying Uh Oh, when she purposely drops things, (actually she says it even before dropping them!), and clapping. She also has the most expressive face, smiling at everyone - which just started happening recently, before she was a little hesitant - squinting, and the most classic Madison face is what I call the "Frankenstein", where she will drop her head and look out of the tops of her eyes, to really pretend she is hiding from you... it's quite funny! It's really fun watching my last baby grow up and cherishing each moment of it... bitter sweet in a way.

Melow Yellow, Green Day

The weekend was nuts. Nuts in the fun sense of the word, but still nuts.

Friday night, as I've already blogged, was full getting ready for Abby's party, which was a huge success. Saturday was the clean-up and prep for an evening out with Michael Buble!! We went with our cottage friends for dinner and concert, and while I was totally exhausted, I really really enjoyed the night! And what can I say about Michael.. he is just so charismatic, hot, talented, and fun to see in concert! Sunday rolled around and still with little sleep, we managed to get ready for having our parents over for Abby's second birthday party/dinner! I made a fantastic Stuffed Pork Tenderloin from the Canadian Living Cookbook, parents brought the wine and gift and my mother in law brought the cake. It was so good, even the kids ate it!! :)

We were all just bagged after all this, so today was a mellow day! We didn't go anywhere. Just stayed put. It was so nice not to have to drive, grocery shop or clean the house. Eric went for a run and I went for a walk in the woods. I rarely get to go out for a walk on my own, no kids no husband just me and the dog. I took the opportunity to bring along Gigi the G11, and try and capture my photo of the day for The August Break. I was feeling inspired and motivated, perhaps because I was alone and had some time to think about what to shoot, rather than just tending to the kids. It was fun. And this is what I got:

The August Break, Aug 9th, 2010

And just one to share from Sunday night, as all the other shots were crap, so I'm not posting them!

The August Break, Aug 8th, 2010