Elise's First Birthday

Elise had her first birthday this past month and although we wanted to celebrate her day, it was difficult since we were all sick, Elise included.  It has been a rough month, first the flu, then a terrible cold circulated the house and left us all feeling under the weather.  The cold weather and being stuck inside for weeks at a time hasn't helped either.  And on top of that, Elise has started teething her one year molars, which has led to a number of miserable days with a non-stop runny nose.  We did have ice cream cupcakes from Dairy Queen and opened a few gifts on her actual birthday so that her very special day didn't go by unnoticed.  We had to postpone her actual celebration with friends and family to a later date so we didn't spread our germs to everyone.  We did eventually have her birthday near the end of the month.  Uncle Julien and Aunty Chantelle, Uncle Rob and Aunty Nat, Sarrah, Ryan and Scarlett, and Denny, Chelsea, Emily and Logan joined us to celebrate Elise's first birthday.

 

 

 

 Happy First Birthday Elise!  We love you so very much!

 

To see more pics from the month of March, click here.

Disney On Ice

At the beginning of March, my sister-in-law and I took Sophie and Madeleine to Disney On Ice.  Despite the fact that Sophie has not seen any Disney movies (she is quite sensitive when it comes to scary parts), but does know a few characters from books we have read, and that she was not feeling well (she had a bit of a fever that morning), she still desperately wanted to go see the show.  And of course, we had a great time.

Happy Birthday Doc!

Sophie continues to enjoy everything that has to do with doctors.  So when I found a tv show on the Disney Junior website called Doc McStuffins, all about a little girl who is a doctor for broken toys, I knew she would love it.  After watching a few episodes, Sophie set up shop in the play structure downstairs claiming it as her clinic.  She played for days, pretending to fix all her stuffies, one by one, and then marking them with a happy face sticker when they were better and ready to go home.  She knows the name for all the doctor's tools and sometimes insists on being called Doc.

When it was time to start planning Sophie's birthday party, she was excited about having a Doc McStuffins party.  We celebrated her birthday this past weekend at the Vecova Centre. We rented the gym for an hour, letting the kids run around and burn off all their energy, and then headed to one of the party rooms for pizza, snacks and cake.  It seemed like a much better option than having a bunch of three year olds take over our house for an afternoon.  Plus, there was no clean-up. Yay for Mom and Dad! 

 

 

Her party was well attended; Doc Emily, Doc Caiden, Doc Clara, Doc Nixon and Nurse Leland, Doc Gabby and Nurse Brynn, Doc Camilla, Nurse Liam and Nurse Josh came to celebrate Sophie's third birthday with us.  Sophie got all sorts of great gifts including some of the main characters from Doc McStuffins in stuffie form, a pink dump truck, a Doc Play dough set, puppets, a giant stuffed puppy and Elefun.

Ryan and I got her a Doc McStuffins doctor kit and a dress-up doctor outfit, including scrubs and a lab coat, for her birthday.  The only sad part was when Sophie realized that the stethoscope does not actually turn her stuffies to real life, like Doc's stethoscope does on the show.  But her ability to play imaginary games has really taken off since we had that talk. 

Happy Third Birthday Doc! We love you so very much!

To see more pics of Sophie's birthday and the month of February, click here.

Up, Up and Away!

There she goes!  My baby, Elise.  Her first few steps were just before Christmas, and then she took a break from walking.  Last week, she started practicing again.  One night, while she usually goes to bed at 8 pm, we could not get her to sleep.  She practiced walking back and forth between Ryan and I from 8-10 pm.  And she just keeps getting better and better every day.  Soon she will be chasing after her big sister!

A Crazy Thing

So a crazy thing happened to me today...I finally got Elise down for a nap and immediately rushed Sophie to the craft table to make a birthday painting for her dad.  We got the basics of the craft done and when I suggested we add some fish to her painting, she said, "No.  I'm done.  I think I will go play now."  And away she went.
For the last few months, I have felt guilty about not spending enough one on one time with Sophie.  Elise has been busy teething, so fussy and wanting me to hold her constantly.  I have tried to make the most of her nap time by doing something fun with Sophie, like dressing up as king and queen, building castles with straws, playing outside (although on a few occasions, by the time we got all bundled up and outside, Elise would wake up and we would have to rush in), or doing crafts.  But when Elise is up, she has been dominating my time, wanting to be walked or held.  But in the end, it has helped Sophie to learn to play on her own.  She will sit and play Pet Shops/My Little Ponies/Little People/Minnie Mouse for up to an hour on her own.  These characters all live together in various Little People domains and visit the Pet Shop Vet Clinic often. 
I have folded my laundry, swept the floor and still have a minute to write a blog.  Wow!  What a crazy day!  Hope there are more.

I haven`t had a chance to write about our Christmas yet but here are some pics you can enjoy.  Click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Two Girls in the Tub

Sophie and Elise had their first bath together a couple weeks ago.  They had a blast, playing and splashing.  Ever since, Sophie asks daily if her sister can join her in the tub.  So much fun!

 

 

To see more pics from the month of November, click here.

 

 

 

Dr. Meow's Big Emergency

Ever since I got Sophie her doctor's kit, she often asks me or Dad to play doctor or sometimes she is content to just play by herself and examine her stuffed animals.  So it was no surprise when we went to the library a couple weeks ago and found a book about Dr. Meow, who works at Kiss-It-Better Hospital, that that became her new favourite book.  We read it numerous times the first few days we had it, then it became a favourite before bed book.  We have read it so many times, Sophie now "reads" the story to us.  It will be a sad day when we have to take Dr. Meow back to the library.