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Checking out the buttercups. Leah has learned she can pick the dandelions and buttercups from the park but my garden is off limits to little hands (and feet too).

I have very few pictures of Leah and I even though I take tons of pictures of her and her friends on a regular basis. I need to start to take pictures of Leah with everyone she loves to spend time with and not just her friends. When Leah looks back on all the pictures of her, I want her to see the love her grandparents and parents have for her and the fun memories. Here is the classic self portrait.

Leah loves puddle jumping when she gets the chance. We walked further along the path by the duck ponds then we normally go and found two large puddles. Leah and her friends had a blast jumping and running between the puddles. When we walked a friend home yesterday and the puddles had evaporated Leah was so sad that they were gone.

Once the rain stopped this morning, I suited up the kiddies and we set out to jump in the puddles. Everyone had a blast and I enjoyed watching the action and their delight.

She looks so much older with a ponytail bobbing as she walks. I’m sure this new hairstyle won’t be commonplace until her hair grows a bit more but it is a nice change every once in awhile.

I’ve started taking our sand toys to the park so the kids have more to do besides the playground equipment. Even though the bark mulch isn’t ideal for our sand molds, the kids still love to do then and don’t see any difference. Whether I use the bus, car or turtle mold, it still looks just like a small pile of mulch but they love it.

Leah insisted on wearing her winter jacket even though it wasn’t that cold. These days I let her make some choices herself, even if I don’t think they are the wisest of decisions. With matters of defiance and the like though, I don’t back down and she has to deal with the consequences.

I take the kids down to the park a lot and we have been watching a group of ducklings grow. It is amazing how fast they start to look all grown up. This past week I noticed a new group of brave ducklings that we will get to watch grow. They are so cute.

Our garden is coming along nicely. For a week I was anxiously awaiting some signs of life from the potatoes and onions I had planted and once the rain started, they popped up and grew so fast. The first pic is my onions growing.

I found two random bushes in my father in laws car that is currently living on our yard. I didn’t need anymore bushes as our yard is so overgrown to begin with so I left them be until they started showing pretty flowers. I still wasn’t sure what they were until the tiny blueberries started to form. Then I was delighted and planted them in my garden for our eating enjoyment in mid August.

Potatoes and Tomatoes.

Some flowers.

I like to do a variety of art projects with the kiddies to keep me and them from getting bored. I do need to keep it really simple as they are still learning the basics of painting and gluing. As they develop more mastery in these areas, we can move on to actually creating something recognizable. To liven things up a bit, we used colourful tissue paper to glue onto our papers instead of regular paper. Exciting, I know.

Here is my karate girl or a shepherd from the church Christmas production. Your choice. I had some left over fabric and had a little fun with Leah.

Painting and making a necklace out of salt dough beads.

My mom bought a present for Leah and her friends to play with while in Vancouver.

Any guesses?

How about now?

I think I was more excited than Leah was. They actually work properly and now Leah won’t have to attempt to use my marble one (that she dropped on her toe the other day). The kiddies haven’t figured out how to press hard enough while rolling to flatten their dough much but all in time and they have fun just rolling it.

Their attention span is growing, which I think is just lovely, so we can stay at the table longer than five minutes. Playdough seems to be the great, old standby that kids of all ages enjoy and when it gets old, we get to create some more.

You’ve been two for almost a month now and I would have to disagree with the “terrible twos”. The tantrums and defiance started way before your second birthday and still continue on though not as often. You have learned how sharing works (asking and waiting for an affirmative answer before taking a toy) and very recently you learned about turn-taking (if someone says no, then saying ‘turn please’ and giving up a toy after a minute when someone asks for a turn). These concepts have gone a long way in helping you control your emotions while expressing what you want.

All your life you have been pretty much on target for meeting all the big milestones such as crawling, walking and talking. You have always had friends ahead and behind and have stayed in the middle though I think you are excelling with your fine motor skills. You are talking a lot now and sometimes repeat a word over and over again till Daddy or I repeat it back to you so you know we understood. You speak in 2-3 word sentences and love to identify your surroundings.

We put you to bed around 8:15-8:30 and you wake up around 7:30. Between 12-12:30 you go down for a 2-2.5 hour nap everyday. You love oatmeal with mashed banana for breakfast, a bun (or some leftovers) with plain yogurt topped with cinnamon for lunch and generally you enjoy whatever we are having for dinner minus the vegetables. For snacks you love cheese, apple sauce and cheerios. You have been loving peas lately which is a welcome addition to your diet.

You seem to enjoy every part of your day whether we are going to the park, playing inside, working on art projects, helping me prepare dinner or shopping. You love hanging out with your friends and with almost anyone who will give you attention. In new surroundings or with new people you take a little while to feel comfortable but once you feel safe you are friendly, smiling and ready to go.

For breakfast and lunch you now sit at your special table and only use your booster seat at dinner (otherwise you wouldn’t be able to reach the table). You are drinking from a real cup now and using proper utensils.

You have grown so much in this past year and we love you so much. You are a delightful, happy daughter and we are so glad you are part of our lives.

On the May long weekend, we met up with some friends to see a parade in Cloverdale. Their little boy loves parades, especially when marching bands are involved so we thought Leah might like the parade experience too. We ended up sitting with some friends we happened to see while trying to find a spot. Leah moved from her spot only to get lollipops (though she didn’t know what they were and still doesn’t). Otherwise, she sat still for an hour and a half enthralled by all the floats and action. The lady next to Leah was super nice and loved watching the kids interact. By the end of the parade, Leah was cuddling up to her leg. I think Leah didn’t realize I was behind her and not beside her.

There were so many vehicles including some that didn’t seem that spectacular but now that I have a child I realized they were for the enjoyment of the children. Really, who else would cheer, wave and jump excitedly for a garbage truck?

We thought of Grandma Fran when this group went by.

There was quite a variety of floats and groups in the parade.

Before Leah, I didn’t go to many community events but now I am hooked. There are so many festivals and events that are fun for kids and adults alike and a lot of them are inexpensive or free. I think we may just join the parade circuit as spectators.

Leah and I visited a lovely garden park with some friends on a rain filled Saturday. We didn’t let the rain stop us from enjoying the flowers and the rain most certainly did not stop our kiddies from running throughout the park, laughing and giggling and exploring all the trails.

I missed most of what the tour guide said but still had fun watching Leah run as well as enjoying all the wonderful scenery. She was quite the character.

Thanks to my friend Katherine for all the pictures. I love her pics… I might just ‘forget’ my camera at home more often.

We have been enjoying spectacular weather here and are spending lots of time outside. Yesterday we walked over to a local, big park and I played with Leah on the playground while Morgan ran laps around the field.

I enjoyed the one-on-one time with Leah and let her climb on the big equipment. Usually I have at least one other kid with me during the week which keeps us close to home and to fully fenced, quiet, toddler playgrounds. Though I enjoy the time Leah and I get together during the week, the weekend is special as I can let go a little more with just one child to watch over.

That doesn’t mean we don’t like hooking up with our friends on the weekends though. Leah still asks for her friends (usually Gabrielle) and talks about then during the weekend so when our schedules allow, we venture out but with moms in tow. I enjoy the adult conversation while spending time with our little ones (who are not so little now).

Here is our first visit to the beach this year that had the sole intention of exploring and getting dirty. Leah wasn’t a big fan of the sand getting on her sandals or the sand sticking to her hands. Fortunately she soon found the fun outweighed getting dirty. Here are some pictures courtesy of Gabby’s mom.

Another one of my mommy friends invited us along to check out an amazing local park on Friday. I’m not a huge fan of driving to play at a park but for this park it is worth it. It is set in a large forest away from the road so you feel like you are far away from civilization, though it is only a five minute drive away. There is lots of playground equipment for every age as well as cleared areas for running down hills and blowing at dandelion puffs. There is also a large, covered picnic area. (Our city should hire me to write park reviews.) Needless to say, we will be visiting again in the summer.

In the last pic, Leah is playing musical chimes. I love cool additions to playgrounds that let the kids do more than just climb a ladder and go down the slide.

Here is Leah enjoying her snack at the duck pond. I packed up all the kid’s snacks and we were able to watch the baby ducks and hear the birds tweet while eating fruit and in Leah’s case, cheerios and raisins. Looking back, I’m not sure how I survived the winter with all the kids inside so often. For now, we will try to make the most of the sun.

For her birthday, Leah’s uncle got her this cool bike helmet. Now she can go for rides in the bike trailer with Morgan pulling her. She loves going for strolls around the neighbourhood as well as wearing her helmet and knee pads. When we got to the park, she refused to take them off. She probably was better off that way as she was playing with older kids with their cleats still on from soccer practice who were not so mindful of a much smaller child behind them.

She stood her ground pretty good though and kept saying ‘wait’ and ‘turn’ when she was waiting for her turn for the slide. I’m glad these important principles actually are sinking in when I try to teach them many hours of everyday. Not sure why, but it amazes me when she relays these things sometimes. She isn’t dumb and I’ve gone over them hundreds of times but it still leaves me in awe.

Here are some highlights from the last few weeks.

We visited a local conservation centre with Leah’s friend, Gabby and her mom (who sent me a few of these pics). Leah and Gabby loved jumping in the rain puddles and took a lot of convincing to go explore other parts of the farm.

The conservation centre educates many school groups about the environment and sustainability throughout the week. It also hosts scientists from around the world who are studying environmental causes. The people who run the centre try to live off the farm as much as possible. They have a large garden full of produce year round as well as tending chickens and a cow.

Leah has decided that becoming messy once in awhile is totally acceptable. Especially when it comes to chocolate cake batter.

She is becoming even cuter…. if that is even possible.

Leah turned two on Friday so we had a small celebration during afternoon snack. The girls helped me make the cupcakes that morning.

When they donned some shades, the girls thought they were pretty cool.

On Saturday, we celebrated Leah and Morgan’s birthdays along with Mother’s Day. Leah had a great time giving and receiving presents as well as trying her new goodies out. She loves spending time with our extended families and we are so blessed to have them nearby.