Someone's turning 8....

Olivia, I am writing this pretty much in disbelief that you are turning 8 already. In literally 1 hour and 50 minutes, you will officially be 8 years old :) No booster seat - WHOO HOO! :)

You are growing into such a beautiful girl -- inside and out. I love you so much. You have such a compassionate heart. You are very quick to help someone in need. You are also very silly -- in a good way, of course. You tell funny jokes, you act goofy to get Leah to laugh, and you break out in silly dances :)

You make me smile every day, Olivia. You also make me wonder why God ever chose me to be your mom. I feel inadequate at times and pray that I am doing a good job.

I love your hugs, snuggles, and kisses. I love the pictures you draw me and the poems you write for me. I love how you make sure your sisters are having fun. I love how you don't quit - how you figure out how to complete whatever it is you want to get done. You are very resourceful - you definitely get that from Dad. You guys are two peas-in-a-pod when it comes to that :)

Your beautiful face lights up my day. I love you sweetie!

Now on to the fun stuff...take a look at the pictures from your birthday party last weekend. It was a flower theme and you had so much fun with your friends.

Flower cupcakes
(Super easy. The secret is to cut marshmellows on a diagonal)

Flower pots waiting for their owners.

Painting a flower image on a canvas.

Concentrating!

The masterpieces!

Water relay with watering cans!

Painting flower pots

The crew.

Silliness with the tissue paper.

FOOD! Happy Birthday, Olivia!

And tonight you got your ears pierced!! We said you had to wait until you were 10 but we caved and thought it would be nice birthday present for you. You were so nervous but so very brave too. Your first pair of earrings - ruby studs - how special!

Happy Birthday, my sweet angel. You are a gift from God.

"I don't like the look of that 'gun'..."

"I'm so nervous I'm hugging this stuffed animal so tight!

Getting marked up.

You were so nervous, you wanted your back rubbed. Poor muffin...

1-2-3 Go!

Checking out your bling through some tears

All smiles. Your earrings are beautiful, just like you :)

In memory of Great Granma Paluck

Granma passed away this morning. She fought hard after her fall a week ago but NaNa said she was ready to go. Your great Grandpa Paluck passed already so they will be reunited in heaven - what a reunion that must have been!

Here are some great pictures that we took when we visited her in Moose Jaw the summer of 2011. She was so tickled to meet you, Olivia and Jordyn :) Leah, you were a twinkle in our eye still so you didn't get to meet her but she did have pictures of you so she could see you every day.

Great Granma Paluck, you will be missed greatly but your memory will be cherished forever. We will have your picture framed and displayed so the kids will always remember you. You must be having such a great in heaven. We will see you again. Until then...

Leah

I took this pic of Leah last week because I thought she looked so darn cute in her sweatshirt. Do you recognize it NaNa? It's 12 months in size and it has fit her for a couple of months already. She can hold her own at 10 months :) She is 21 lbs already -- apparently, she's 78% for weight and 96% for height. That's my girl!

And she is definitely beginning to babble. I am almost positive that she is saying "mum mum"! It might be wishful thinking but I'd like to think she is actually calling me. YAHOO! Olivia's first word was "dada", Jordyn's first word was "YaYa" ("olivia").

Until next time....

Valentine's Day

I know this is a bit late buuuut as they say, "Better late than never."

Corey and I only started to 'celebrate' Valentine's Day a few years ago. I personally think it's a cash grab for our poor husband's. However, we celebrate it for the girls. This year, I made heart shaped pancakes and set a special place setting for them that had a necklace, stickers and some chocolate kisses. Corey buys the girls roses every year.

They came down the stairs with huge smiles on their faces! In Olivia's lunch I packed a heart-shaped sandwich, and strawberries (plus her regular lunch items). The littlest thing, like a heart-shaped sandwich, makes her heart swell. So adorable. For dessert after supper, I brought out chocolate dipped strawberries to many oooh's and aaah's. Doesn't take much to impress my little cuties - thankfully!

Girls - we hope you enjoyed this year's Valentine's Day. We look forward to celebrating many more with you.

Winter Wonderland

The last few weeks have seen LOTS of snow fall here in Ottawa. Just this past week, we saw 20cms fall. Of course, the kids LOVE it :)

On Corey's birthday, we went to Winterlude on what seemed to be the most beautiful day of the winter. Olivia and Jordyn had a blast going down the ice slides while Leah chilled out in the sled. Hopefully next yeare Leah will be able to enjoy the ice slides too. Here's a pic of us at Winterlude - we managed to squeeze everyone in :)

 

We visited with Oma and Opa too. Jordyn thought she'd get a little funky.

And the girls had a blast wrestling and playing around with Opa.

Today we are having friends over for supper and then we're going to 2 birthday parties - adults only! WHOO HOO - date night for Corey and I!

Until next time...

A New Milestone

Leah has REFUSED to drink much of anything except for nursing. I have tried for a couple of months to get her drink from a sippy cup. That was a big fat fail!

She eventually would take a sip or two - a day - if I took the top off and put the cup to her mouth. But then so much would come out she'd choke. Which meant she wouldn't drink anymore that day. SIGH!

I wasn't too concerned because she had a good amount of wet diapers and she didn't seem dehydrated. Still,  Olivia and Jordyn were drinking from bottles at 3 months!

Finally, this week, she started drinking from the sippy cup WITH the top on. However, she wouldn't if the 'slow flow valve' was in it. Yesterday, I thought I'd be daring and put the valve in. I gave her the cup and VOILA! She started drinking from it. HALLELUJAH!

We, of course, made a big deal of it. Started "Whoo hoo"ing, clapping, etc. Crazy things parents do :)

That's one of many milestones down...

What some people's kids say

My kids personalities shine!

Olivia is my sensitive girl who has such a big heart. She is very concerned about other people and already show an ability to sense someone's need and go and help. Love it!

Jordyn is our "class clown". She is always laughing....at her own jokes :) Dancing. Running. And running. AND running.

Leah is our quiet (so far) observant daughter. She gets a kick out of Jordyn's antics and I have heard her belly laugh more than once at her. When Olivia comes in the room, Leah beams showing all 7 pearly whites.

Here a some comments I was privy to this week:

Jordyn:
When we walked outside, after getting her all packed up from pre-school, we smelt the distinct odour of manure. What did Jordyn say? "P-U!! A cow tooted!!". I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I still am 3 days later. She's such a ham.

Olivia:
She will be mighty upset in a few years when she reads this...

So, her and this boy, Liam, are good friends. They have little crushes on each other actually. They were 'boyfriend/girlfriend' for a long time. All that meant was they played together in school ;) In SK, somehow they bonked heads and ended up kissing - which I think just meant their faces bonked and their lips touched. She was MORTIFIED! However, a couple of days ago this was what she said:

Olivia: Mommy, remember in SK when Liam and I .... you know..."
Mom: "Kissed?"
Olivia: "Mom!! Don't say the word! I really don't like that!! (she is still mortified. GOOD!)
Mom: "Ok...."
Olivia: "Well, Liam and I were talking about that. And we thought that since we... did that... we would marry each other when we get older"
Mom: (Trying to hold back a grin and tears because she's so darn cute...) "Sure honey. You know what we've talked about before. Your boyfriends and eventually your husband has to love God very much, he has to treat you VERY well, and he has to love his family."
Olivia: "Oh yes mommy. He loves God very much. And he's such a funny guy. He makes me laugh all the time:

I love my girls! They keep me hopping every day. I am challenged by them to be a better person. They are gifts from God and I thank Him every day for them.

I don't have an antic from Leah because she's only 9 months and is JUST now starting to babble a bit. She's on the move with just learning to crawl. She loves her sisters so much. She is a blessing.

Can't wait to see what today is going to bring!

A Day in the Life...

So, how does one capture the moments of life?

1. Keep a journal? I tried that - I have about 7 that I started...and then stopped...
2. Frame lots of picture? I take tons of pics, but I don't develop them...
3. Blog? I can do that!

I want this blog to serve as memory lane for my wonderful little family.

So, here we are today - January 24, 2013:

I look forward to reading this blog one day and seeing all the shenanigans that we have been up to :)