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This has been one eventful week. I will share more later when I get the pictures off of the camera but for now, here is my list of excuses for not blogging:

– had to finish packing apartment
– sign papers to sell apartment and buy a house
– moved all of our stuff
– cleaning house and unpacking
– trying to make a neglected garden look better

In addition to the above, here is a list of some of our excitement for the week:

– money transfer by lawyers occurred one day late breaking our contract two days before moving day
– credit card number was used fraudulently day before moving day
– new neighbour backed into my car on moving day
– day after moving, find a massive flying ant invasion in our master bedroom moving their way across the room coming out of the storage area under the stairs

Now that the ants are gone due to an exterminator, we are settling in quite nicely and are so happy to be in this house. The first night Morgan and I felt like we were living in someone else’s home. With our ensuite bathroom, it could easily pass for a B&B.

I am glad unpacking is so much faster than packing itself and almost all our possessions have found a new place in our home. It is slowly sinking in that this house is indeed our home and I feel so incredibly grateful.

I think yesterday might have been my most productive day since Leah made her debut over a year ago. We started nice and early heading out to the berry farm to stock up on some blueberries and raspberries. Grandma took her lunch break super early to allow my friend, Katherine and I to climb aboard the shuttle bus on our own to discover the most amazing, bountiful fields of blue.

For the year, I only go through about one ice cream bucket of blueberries to use in a few sauces, in muffins, on a cake or in a crisp. Much to my own surprise when I was preparing to freeze them, I had picked over two ice cream buckets full. Enough to share with the family in exchange for great childcare while picking.

Then off to the raspberry fields where the season is winding down quickly. Leah meandered down the row while I tried to hunt down the odd berry in an effort to pick enough for a batch of jam. I was almost successful using about an extra half a cup from the berries we purchased to make six cups of crushed berries. I gave up the hunt when Leah started attaching herself to me which made walking from berry to berry a little more difficult.

Leah fell asleep on the two minute ride over to my parent’s place which led to a fabulous nap giving me lots of time in the kitchen. At one point I had crushed raspberries in one container for jam, next to the fruit salad I was working on while noodles for pasta salad were boiling as I was defrosting three pounds of ground beef for a massive lasagne operation. Good thing my mom has a fair sized kitchen.

Auntie Anna came over and played with Leah for me which was a great treat as I could finish making the jam while not worrying about when Leah would need me. As they were busy playing hide and seek around the house, I asked Leah where Auntie Anna was and she replied saying nana. I was so proud of her and was able to get Leah to repeat it a few times while stirring boiling berries on the stove.

We ended the day with a great birthday celebration for my sister surrounded by great family enjoying wonderful conversation and a feast. Around nine o’clock we headed home, Leah falling asleep almost immediately in the car with Morgan and I following soon after we got home.

Today Leah and I went out to check out the Tour de White Rock and the block party hosted by the city this afternoon. We meandered through the many businesses showing their wares, watched the children’s bike parade and met a few people with character.

Though I am usually not one to stop someone in character, I couldn’t resist Captain Jack Sparrow. Leah did not share the same sentiment as me even though Jack was gracious enough to try make conversation with her.

After we met Jack, we looked at delightful, handmade purses, tried a new variety of apples, watched a hot air balloon tethered in the school field, listened to local performers and saw a street entertainer trying to pump up the crowd. We enjoyed every aspect of the block party and plan to head out after dinner to see some of the time trials where the racers reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers an hour.

We are back home, have finished sifting through laundry and are ready for more of the usual routine happenings around here.

Like Leah walking around our local water park with a spaghetti scooper in her hand.

Or Leah walking down the hallway, eager to runaway from home.

(She is sure going to miss her hallway of freedom when we move. She loves to go into the hall whenever she has a chance and refuses to come inside when we reach our door. I however, won’t miss trying to bring all the groceries up with multiple trips from the car to the apartment while wrangling the food in the stroller and carrying a babe through fire doors, locked doors and a elevator that has an attitude.)
We always love to hang out with the moms and babes from our mommy group as well as our other friends in the neighborhood at the beach or park.

It is great to be gone but also great to be back at home.

Now that Leah is fourteen months, this is what she is up to these days:

– she can point to her head and nose when you asked, “Where is your….?” (not always in the presence of other people)
– is quite the determined little girl and can throw a great tantrum to go along with her spunkiness
– enjoys swimming and bath time
– would much rather walk than ride in her stroller
– refuses to eat veggies on their own but will eat them when mixed in with a sauce
– can sign ‘more’ when she wants more food
– plays on her own very well, still working on sharing
– gives great high fives
– can say mama, dada, nana(as in banana but not referencing anything in particular), woof, hi, bye
– loves to babble
– adores dogs as long as they stay about 2 feet away from her
– overcome her fear of the broom but still has a ways to go before she comfortable around a vacuum
– generally very happy and a pleasure to be around

We have been having a great time hanging out at the lake with everybody. Morgan came up with my parents and sister really late last night and I have been enjoying him being around. Here are a few glimpses of what we have been up to.

Checking out the lake

Going ‘swimming’

Enjoying breakfast outside

Morgan built this chair set (out of a kit)

Making friends with great Uncle Dave

Morgan learned how to slalom ski.

Enjoying the sunset

We have a great farmer’s market in our community where vendors sell everything from organic, frozen beef to homemade jewelry. Usually the guys aren’t overly excited about the prospect of leaving the house around 9 am on Sunday morning to check out fresh vegetables and such so my friend and I take Leah on a nice stroll into the middle of town.

I love checking out the wares and the whole concept of homemade or homegrown goods though I usually don’t come away with much in my buggy. This past Sunday I decided to be a little more adventurous and bought green and yellow zucchini, beets and carrots.

Though I have never cooked beets before, I’ve seen my friends feed them to their kids so they must be good. I cooked some up with carrots until they were soft and the carrots looked like beets from the strong color of the beets. It was a hit with Leah when I mixed the vegetables with applesauce. I also grated all my freshly purchased veggies and put them in my muffins which tasted good (and healthy). Since I had some of this grated mixture left, I put some in my spaghetti sauce not so sure how it would go over but turned out absolutely delicious.

Lately I have been on a big kick to include a wide variety of vegetables in anything that will taste good so we are all overall healthier and that Leah will still get a good amount of vegetables even though she loves to eat grains. So far it is turning out splendid and I haven’t ruined any of my creations.

Last week Leah decided to curl up with some carrots in her stroller and take a little snooze before we headed out for church.

Yes it is true, kids can sleep anywhere when they want to.

Lately I have been one busy momma making sure Leah and I enjoy our summer while packing everything I don’t think we will need for the next three weeks. I think I am being overzealous out of ignorance and fear.

I have never moved before except from my parent’s to this place. When I moved into the apartment I didn’t own many things and the stuff I bought I just left in the boxes it came in. It was an extremely easy move with no perishables or anything time sensitive that needed to be packed or unpacked.

This time it is a much different story. I keep reminding myself our new place is extremely nearby, it will all get moved/cleaned in time and all work out. But until everything is done, I will keep searching out our place for things we won’t need for a bit and throw it into a labeled box.

Leah’s room has now become packing central. Sorry Leah, but I figure you have overtaken our living room as your playroom long before we intruded on your room so it’s all good.

Since we have been busy and a little more stressed lately from selling our apartment and buying a house we decided to go on a last minute vacation. I left at the crack of dawn this morning with Leah up to Osoyoos lake where my aunt and uncle along with their family are having fun boating, swimming and relaxing. My parents along with Morgan will be coming up early Saturday morning to join us for our short and sweet weekend. Here is the view from where I am blogging right now.

My plan is to soak it all in along with some boating and swimming with Leah while waiting for Morgan to come up with her babysitters grandparents.

Last week Morgan met up with us at the park on his way home from work while we were playing. I hadn’t taken Leah outside all day so I called Morgan and brought some snacks to tie us over till I made dinner. Leah was happily surprised and loved showing daddy where we hang out while he is at work. I think she looks like a pirate in the picture below.

What could be more fun than wearing a pretty dress while playing with bark mulch and a yellow dump truck?

The other day, we were hanging out at the beach with some friends from my mommy group having a good time when we were happily surprised to visit with Auntie Anna who happened to be at the beach as well. Leah was having a great time putting rocks on top of the log.

Leah adores being outside, even bringing herself to tears if I don’t take her out on the deck when I am hanging out the laundry or watering the plants. The funny thing is that there is hardly room to walk, never mind play as the deck is full with a vegetable, container garden and two large drying racks. I am looking forward to letting her play outside in our big yard with her wagon, ride on toys and swimming pool. Until then, we will make the most of our little outdoor space we can claim as ours.

As soon as Leah woke up on Canada Day, we headed down south to visit Grandma Fran and Granddad Sid as well as some of Morgan’s extended family. We had a great time playing on the playground, splashing in the pool and even squeezed in a nice, long nap.

We arrived at their trailer nice and early to miss the congestion at the border and gave them their wake up call. Once Grandma and Granddad had their tea, they were ready to face the day. We cooked up a wonderful breakfast feast including pancakes, french toast, maple syrup, strawberries and whipped cream. What a great way to start the day.

After breakfast, Morgan and I took Leah and her three year old cousin to the playground. Leah was fascinated with her older playmate who only had to take a glance at her to make them both erupt in laughter. Morgan is so amazing with young children and soon he had other kids asking him for a push on the swings as well or help onto the tire swing.

Leah’s cousin kept her entertained and so happy that Leah forgot about being grumpy during her normal nap time and kept walking around kicking a ball, playing with rocks and following her cousin around until everyone left for a picnic lunch at the beach. Leah and I stayed behind for a nice snooze until everyone come back.

After lunch, we hit the pool with all the kids. Morgan has never seen Leah ‘swim’ before so it was great to share that experience. With her cousin, we spent time throwing her in the air and catching her as she hit the water with squeals of delight calling for more.

We had to jump out of the pool to come back for a steak and potato dinner before we packed everything up. Everything referring to playpen, booster seat, stroller, diaper bag, backpack full of swimming stuff and Leah’s food/utensils/bib/sippy cup. It looked like we were going away for a week. It was well worth the trip and we said goodbye and left at Leah’s bedtime so she could snooze in the car.

By the time we arrived home, it was only half an hour still our local fireworks started so we drove around our now crowded city to find a spot. Leah woke up so we walked over to a viewpoint and enjoyed them all together as I was holding her all wrapped up in a blanket.

It was late when we finally came home and we all slept deeply. Leah even had longer naps yesterday to make up for all the excitement.

Here are all the kids

Leah is not sure about other babes.