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Leah is such a little girl these days, leaving her baby ways far behind her. Most nights she sleeps on the mattress in the floor on her home. She can master all the equipment (except for the swings) on our local, little playground on her own. She can drink from a normal glass with no problem. Leah loves to talk up a storm and narrate what is going on around her. She loves seeing buses drive by and looking out for diggers.

Leah has also become more opinionated about how things should be. She will argue the funniest things. We were at a coffee shop the other night and Morgan asked her if she wanted to sit on the chair with him. As it was upholstered and a large chair, Leah was convinced it was a couch and would ‘correct’ Morgan every time he called it a chair.

One of her new favourite phrases is “do it in myself” which generally works out fairly well. Translated that means she wants to do it by herself. Her dexterity is coming along so she can be quite helpful. Just last week she has starting insisting on climbing into the car on her own and into the car seat. I love it as it no longer means trying to lift her at funny angles so I don’t bump her head every time we go in the car.

She also likes to dictate her hairstyle of choice for the day. I’ve fallen in love with the double ponytail though after a week straight of ponytails, she seems to be favouring the au natural look. The hairstyle that looks like I haven’t washed her hair in weeks with hair constantly in her eyes. It definitely isn’t her best look but I haven’t broken that news to her yet.

One last story that I though was quite funny. We were mostly done eating dinner and encouraging Leah to finish the food left on her plate.

Me: Leah, are you going to eat your chicken or your potatoes?
Leah: Chicken
Leah plays with a piece of chicken
Me: Bok, bok, bok
Leah continues to play with chicken
Me: Leah, eat your chicken
Leah:No, it’s an animal
Morgan and I chuckle to ourselves while worrying about how to deal with future vegetarianism and excessive playing with food as Leah continues to prance her piece of chicken around the table.
Leah eats the chicken and we sigh with relief.

I love conversations with toddlers.

We were able to go up to the lake this past weekend and enjoy some beautiful weather with my family. The perfect way to start the day, sitting on the deck watching the lake with daddy. What a great view to enjoy while eating breakfast.

Leah spent lots of time in her kiddie pool on the deck sinking her plastic boats, pouring water out of her watering can and splashing with Grandma. Having your feet in a cool pool in the shade was definitely a great way to enjoy the hot weather.

Hanging out on the deck with Grandpa and George, her monkey also made for good times. Leah learned how to blow bubbles on her own which kept Leah busy for a few hours this weekend.

Leah wasn’t too keen on swimming in the lake so she just dipped her feet in the water with Daddy. She liked ‘writing’ her name in the sand.

It took Leah a few minutes to warm up to everyone when her uncles came up with a couple of their friends. Once she was comfortable, she enjoyed kicking the ball around with them.

We went for a little boat ride but Leah wasn’t too impressed. We dropped her off and I got to watch the guys wake board and ski. They can do some pretty amazing moves.

Leah loved all the time she got to spend with her Grandma and Grandpa. (I think they enjoyed it as much as she did.) Leah loved cuddling with Grandma for her nighttime stories before going to sleep.

Every once in awhile I go through a phase that usually lasts for a week or two, go crazy on one thing, and then don’t touch it for a month or two. Last month I went on a baking kick and was trying out new recipes while stocking up on the oldies to have in the freezer. Cookies, banana bread, pitas and crackers were in great supply and I’m sure I gained a few pounds.

I found it interesting when I left some cracker dough on the counter after making a few batches and got distracted when the kiddies woke up. Morgan took over the operation. I am all about efficiency while Morgan likes things to be very neat. Can you tell whose is whose?

Rest assured, they both tasted the same and both were delicious and all were gone in a very short period of time. After a baking spree, it was time to borrow my mom’s sewing machine for a few weeks.

I have discovered a wonderful, free bounty of unique sewing patterns online. The measurements are usually a bit of a guessing game and I can’t find a pattern for a shirt made of non stretch cotton for the life of me but it is great fun for a spontaneous urge. Here are my last two creations. A funky shirt…

and super comfy pajama pants.

Not sure what is next but my neighbour gave me some awesome, old fabric. I think a dress is in order. It makes me want to learn how to sew my own clothes but for now Leah is definitely the better way to go.

Summer has felt so relaxing thus far. I feel so free with a much lighter work load. When I want to meet up with friends there is no rush to try squeeze in a quick visit after work but before I need to start on dinner. I can clean the whole house in one morning. I no longer need to plan play dates days in advance. I can hang out the laundry whenever I want to. I am able to pick berries and make jam on a weekday. (A luxurious lifestyle I know:) )

I’m starting to get accustomed to this relaxed lifestyle and am slightly worried September will be a shock to the system. I’ve been blessed to have some friends who aren’t working during the summer and we have lots of opportunities to hang out with our kiddies who are great friends too. September will be a little easier knowing they will be back to work as well and Leah will be able to hang out with her friends at our house during the day.

We visited Redwood Park on Friday with a few friends. We were the first to arrive so I got to enjoy some one on one time with Leah. She loved trying out all the equipment. She even wanted to try out the big slide by herself but got scared once she up to the top.

There is a big merry-go-around at the park that Leah enjoyed. She didn’t want to sit so I let her hold on to the pole instead.

Today we checked out the Tour de White Rock. We arrived just as most of the booths were shutting down and getting ready for the criterium. The criterium was thirty laps, a kilometre each, around the heart of White Rock. Leah sat and waited very patiently for the race to start. We picked out who were we going to cheer for and got Leah in on the clapping.

Leah got a little restless near the end of the race so Morgan walked her around a bit. I got into the race as the guy we were cheering for started off well, then petered out to last place but slowly made his way up to third place until the last corner where he was involved in a large pile up. He was okay and did make his way to the finish line once he got himself and his bike sorted out.

It was so nice to enjoy the outdoors and community with our whole family.

The hot weather has come and we are enjoying it as much as we can. Yesterday we visited with some friends at the water park. Leah loved meeting up with her buddies and running through the tunnel and around the water park…. until the water came on. We found a spot where water wasn’t spraying but was pooling before it went down the drain. She enjoyed pouring water into a container and then dumping it out again.

Leah’s highlight of the day was seeing Gabby. They haven’t seen each other for about a week and Leah definitely missed her.

Yesterday afternoon I finished blowing up Leah’s kiddie pool in the back yard and let them play with a little bit of water in it today. Leah had a blast. She hardly got wet, just like yesterday but that doesn’t take away from her fun. She loved watering my flowers with yogurt containers and using spice shakers from the pool to water the grass.

In ‘big girl’ news, Leah has had no nap for a few weeks now and potty training has started. I took away her nap as she was staying up later and later (past 9 pm on a regular basis) and waking her up early from her nap wasn’t helping her fall asleep earlier. It was a rough couple of weeks through the transition but she is faring much better now, going to bed at 7 (the earliest bedtime she has ever had). I’m hoping she will start to sleep in a little more but we will take it as it comes Most mornings she is up at 6:30 talking to herself and I get her up at 7.

Potty training is coming along slowly but she is making progress. I’m finding it difficult to be consistent as I still want to go out and about with her, which definitely requires a diaper. For now she is running around the back yard with just a dress so she can figure it all out and run to the potty when she feels the need to go.

We went to Crescent Park on Saturday morning with Morgan’s family. After about fifteen minutes in, I got distracted from the playground and took the two oldest to see the big equipment.

There were a few big machines on the side of the road for road building, all of which were pretty dirty looking. This big roller looked the cleanest and was the easiest to climb on so up they went.

It made Leah look so small.

Then off to the beach we went. Leah tested both her boots and rain pants ability to keep her dry.

She loved touching the sand and immediately going to wash her hands the second they got dirty.

Her boots and rain suit stood up pretty well but in the end she wanted them off.

Leah loved to play in the sand, smash other people’s sand castles, watch the kayakers and lean up against the big rock. Hopefully we can spend more time at the beach this summer soaking it all in.

We spent the morning of Canada Day with my Dad making and serving over 1200 pancakes at my mom’s work. Leah stood holding my hand while she watched me scoop strawberries and pour syrup on everyone’s pancakes. We faithfully did our job until my brother came. We hung out with Uncle Trevor for awhile until one of Leah’s best buddies showed up. We had fun showing them the animals, the fields and the scrumptious pies.

After eating pancakes for breakfast and lunch, we headed over to a huge celebration at Cloverdale Park. We had to park a fair ways away and Leah wasn’t overly impressed. We found a kid’s area for them to play along with the band. It took awhile for her to warm up on the drums but when she finally came around, she had fun. It started raining pretty hard after that so we left and finished our afternoon at home.

Who would have thought it would rain on Canada Day? Summer sure has arrived now though and we plan to make the most of it.

Some things we have been up to in the past week…

…hanging out and the occasional snack picnic at the park

…since we hang out at the playground so much I decided to have some fun with the camera. Can you see what it says?

…gave a special Father’s Day card to an awesome daddy.

…shaking a water, oil and food colouring mixture to see it separate again.

…visiting the animals at Grandma’s work. Leah wavered between excitement and apprehension.

…eating burgers at Father’s Day lunch. Leah would take a big bite, getting her hands dirty in the process and then wipe then with a napkin, repeating the process over and over again.

…dragging her half inflated pool inside the kitchen so she can take a nap in it while I wasn’t watching her for five minutes. We are trying to phase out nap time as Leah is staying up later and later at night.

…punching down the bread while kneading the dough.

On Saturday Auntie Andrea came by for a nice visit. Once Leah woke up from her nap, we headed off to Redwood Park. It seemed like such a shame to drive on such a beautiful day but the park is so beautiful it is worth it. It feels like you are so far removed from city life.

We walked the trails taking breaks to watch beautiful brides and their entourages taking pictures, to smell a great Scout barbecue, to eat some snack, to pick some buttercups and to give kisses.

There is also a great playground area that Leah and Auntie Andrea had fun on as well.

I’m so glad Leah has such great aunts and uncles that live near us. She loves to be around all of them as do I.

Leah loves to watch almost anything that is moving with bugs being no exception. An ant or wood bug can keep her amused (until it starts charging her which leads to desperate cries for help) for quite awhile until it disappears between the cracks in the sidewalk or into the grass.

Leah definitely has strong opinions on her footwear and hats. She also has an opinion about her clothes I pick for her on any given morning but she doesn’t get any choice there. She has a love/hate relationship with her boots, thinks her shoes are okay and adores her sandals. Here she is rocking her rebel look with her snazzy wheels. At Grandma Fran’s house she had a blast trying on lots of fancy hats while twirling her pretty dress.

I can assure you I didn’t raise her this way. Growing up I picked the first clean thing out of my closet and wore it. Running shoes went with almost every outfit. I think Leah might be a little more choosy than I was growing up. At least I will have someone to help me dress stylish when I’m old.