Banquet '07

This is my friend Erica.

This is Kim, a little drunk.

This is our "Rookie of the Year" Crystal.

A slight change from my regular writings, this one is mostly about me! We just wrapped our 2007 football season last weekend and we had a blast. Our banquet was held Saturday night and our team was in charge of decorations, we rocked. Our rookie, Crystal, won the league's "Rookie of the Year" award, yeah Crystal. Yours truly won my team "Offensive Player" of the year, I was a little surprised, but very honoured of course. A few of my team mates had a little too much to drink that night, hey Kim, but it was a great night and a wonderful season. We have our big Sun Bowl tourney this weekend and that's it for the year, ah a little sad. Well I guess that about wraps it up for now.

Parksville

We had a wonderful day in Parksville yesterday, we went to the beach and rode on the swings and had ice cream. We got to the beach and took Grace's shoes off, she was not to pleased with that, I guess she just needs to get used to being barefoot. She would not go in the little tide pools at all, in fact she sorta screamed. Kelly finally put her shoes back on and all was well with the world. She loved the beach after that, she went into all the tide pools and splashed and picked up sand dollars. She had on her little green croc shoes so every time she walked on the sand after being in the water she squeaked, she thought this was quite hysterical. We then headed to the big children's park that they have there (Duncan needs something like it). She rode the swings and the teeter toter and a swing set that goes round and round, she would have stayed on it all day if Kelly and I hadn't had enough of the sun. So then we had an ice cream cone and settled in for the drive home, most of which Grace slept through, thankfully. All in all we had a great day, it is so nice to have a place fairly close by that you can do so many things at. We most certainly be spending a few more days up there this summer.

Not Too Much Going On

I know that it has been awhile, I haven't been feeling to creative lately. Kelly just got over having pneumonia and I have a sinus cold that just won't let go, very annoying. Anyway not too much new, we are almost finished up the yard for another spring. I just have my deck pots to do and maybe the backyard flower beds, if we get our stairs done in time. Gracie is talking lots, she has several dozen words and is even speaking in simple sentences. She is also almost got the hang of dressing herself, she can do the socks, and the pants, the shoes are also a pretty consistent feat. We are still working the top, she hasn't quite the over the head concept. I am also very lucky that she likes wearing her hat, as you can see in the picture. She's so cute. I recently went and visited my friend Kim in Nanaimo and had a very nice visit, that's her daughter Abby with Grace, Abby is 3 weeks older. The girls got along quite well, which is always nice. I just got back from a record fast shopping trip to Nanaimo with my cousin Jen, who is 6 1/2 months pregnant with her second, and her little girl Avery, who is 4 months older. They were hysterical, chasing each other around The Gap and talking away to each other, it was so cool to watch them interacting with each other. Well I guess that's about it for now, looking forward to the long weekend.

The Yard Work Weekend

Last weekend we spent the whole time working in the yard. First we had to remove a whole bunch of shale rocks that were falling apart. We then had to replace them with alan blocks. Next we rescraped the hill going into the backyard with a little bobcat and finally we tidied up in the back fourty. Grace enjoyed playing in the bucket of the bobcat and then Kelly took her for a little ride, which she loved. We still have a few things left in the backyard to do, like put in stairs from our upper deck to the ground and a couple stairs from the lower deck to the ground. Fun times around here with the yard.

Grace, the Cat

Kelly, in all his wisdom, thought that he would leave the sliding door open with the cat door closed, I told him that Gracie was still small enough to fit through, but he said "Oh no she's not". Well, I was right. Now it is a fun game.

Good Friday

Wow, could Friday's weather have been any more beautiful? Kelly and I took Gracie to Beacon Hill park and to the petting zoo, she loved it. The baby goats were the cutest thing I have ever seen, Gracie was not really to interested in petting them though, she was happy just to be running around outside. She was quite funny naming all the animals that we saw, a miniature pony, a donkey, some chickens, some baby bunnies and a lot of ducks. We went over to the children's park as well, she loves to swing. She was even patient while waiting for her turn on a whale ride, we were quite impressed. She was so good, she just walked and ran all over the park. We stopped at Home Depot on the way out of Victoria and once we were back in the truck she passed out, I don't think we even made it back to the highway before she was sound asleep, so cute, drool and all.

Time Flies

Wow! Time has really gotten away from lately, I'm sorry it's been so long since my last entry, no excuse really. There really isn't too much new around here, Gracie is finally getting some more teeth. She has all four front ones, 2 on top and 2 on the bottom, she has three molars, at least they have come in "on time" and she is finally cutting some more. I was beginning to think that she may never get them. Daycare is going really well for her, she is learning something new everyday, it's crazy. We just got her 18 month shots, that was a rough day for Daddy, as he had her all day. Recently Diva, our big cat, has taken to sitting on the edge of the tub when Gracie is bathing, I am dreading the day she falls in, hopefully that never happens. There is not too much else going on around here, kind of boring. Well, more to come later, I guess.

Daddy's Little Girl

This picture is about as true as you can get to showing what a Daddy's girl I have on my hands. She really does just adore him. I just thought I would let you all know how much I enjoy keeping you all updated so for anybody out there reading these please leave me some feedback so I know you enjoy reading them. I set it up so that you can leave anonymous messages just sign your name at the end. Thanks for reading.

Miss. Independent

A true testament to how fast our children grow is their insistence on doing everything for themselves. Gracie has been attempting to feed herself for quite awhile, but it has only been fairly recently that she has really gotten the hang of a fork and spoon and where they go. Now of course is the putting on of her socks and shoes and her tops and pants. She has mastered the socks, most of the time, the shoes are pretty good, except for getting them on the wrong feet. The top is still difficult and she can get her pants on, but doesn't know how to pull them up, that takes coordination that she doesn't completely have yet, but we're getting there. I love watching her, if you ask if she needs help, it's usually a no, until she gets really frustrated and then she will ask for help. She loves music, of any kind, if a show starts or finishes she sort of stops whatever she is doing and just listens, sometimes the listening is accompanied by dancing, which is always cute. She also loves to sing her ABC's, she likes to hear you sing them, and sometimes, when she thinks that no one is listening she will sing them herself. I love watching her grow, it just amazes me that they learn so much from the simplest of tasks that we all preform on a regular, daily basis. God, it's great.

What A Dreary Day

It is a very dreary Friday afternoon. All I can hear in the backyard is rock drilling and cement pouring, very annoying. Grace is finally allowing me to put her in pigtails and she is leaving them in, at least for a little while. It's amazing how much she suddenly looks like a little girl when she wears them, she's so funny. She was in the tub this morning and I was doing my hair, she kept coping me, pulling it with her fingers, like she was using the flat iron like me, it was quite cute. Everyday she seems to get a little older and a little smarter, I hate how fast it goes. She just wants to be able to do everything, I wish I could freeze time, at least for a little while longer. Alas, time marches on and my little girl grows ever bigger by the day. I will just have to take lots of pictures. Ta for now.

My Little Mexican Girl

This is the cutest dress I have ever seen, Kelly's dad brought it back from Mexico and Gracie got it for Christmas. I just put it on her today and it's so very cute. I couldn't resist sharing it with everybody. Nothing new around here these days. Kelly just got over being sick, so that's good, we have just puttering around the yard the last few day trying to get the yard ready for spring, I can't wait. For me football is gong well, we start on the 18th of March so lots of time still for practice; but it goes by so fast.

Sundays Are Great!

I know its been awhile since my last entry, but not too much has happened around here lately. Last weeknd we attended a wedding reception in Nanaimo, I think that Gracie stole the show. She was very good and thankfully not the only little person there. Today Kelly and I took Gracie to the the park, she loves the swings, the weather was just too nice to pass it up. I must say though, that with no sun shining on the park, it was a little chilly. Well that's about it from here so I hope that you are all enjoying my little blog. Ta, ta for now.

I Almost Peed My Pants...

I thought I was going to pee my pants, Gracie decided that she would like to wear my winter boots. They are taller than her legs are long and when she looked at me while she was wearing them, my eyes filed with tears and it was all I could do to get up off the couch and grab the camera. She was so proud of herself, she then decided that she would follow me to the bathroom, which is all the way down the hall, all I could hear from the bathroom was this stomp, shuffle, stomp, shuffle. Oh, my gosh, the funniest thing ever.

Rathtrevor Beach

What a glorious Sunday I have just spent with my family. Kelly, Grace and I hopped in the car and headed for Rathtrevor Beach, which for those of you that don't know it is in Parksville. We spent an hour walking along the beach looking at shells and searching for crabs, we never did see any crabs. Grace did so well walking on all the rocks and through the sand. In total we probably wandered up the beach about a mile. We came across two beautifully intact
snail shells, we brought them home and Kelly got them all cleaned up, they look great. We came home and had an awesome dinner and a really nice visit with Kelly's dad and Steph. I am looking forward to a summer full of walks on the beach.

My Daughter, The Scholar

Gracie has this little chair that she hasn't sat in for months because she is a little to small to be able to get in and out without help, but this morning, she discovered she has grown enough to do it herself! She then grabbed one of her books from beside the chair and started to read to her doll Maddie, it was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen. I couldn't resist telling you all about it, so enjoy.

Another Year Gone!

Wow! It is so hard to believe that another year has come and gone already. We had a great Christmas and an uneventful New Year. We spent most of Christmas Day at my mum and dad's, which was very relaxing. Gracie was so good, she enjoyed all her gifts and is still playing with all of them. She had a couple of very late nights however, Christmas Eve was spent at my Uncle Les' and then over to Stef's (for those of you that don't know, that is Dave's girlfriend), I think 10ish was Gracie's bedtime and then Christmas day was about 9pm. Ah well, it was Christmas. New Year's was extremely uneventful, my parents came over for drinks and appies, and went home about 9:30, my dad was falling asleep on the couch, we also didn't make midnight, maybe 11ish, HA HA. All in all it has been a great holiday season and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year. We wish you all the best.