Happy 4th Birthday Emerson :)

Emerson was so excited to open her gifts from Blake, Reese, Cal and I!  She LOVED the Sophia book her brother and sister picked out for her at Chapter's and was also very excited to open up Lambie from Doc McStuffins!!  She is still all about the stuffies :)  With her birthday money from her Great Grandma's, she would like to buy a stuffed monkey.  I think that is the only animal she doesn't have yet!!! 

Emerson was treated to a super fun date with Grandma D on her birthday!  They went for tea/lunch/treats at the Duchess bakery and went shopping at Kingsway Mall.  Grandma let Em pick out a new outfit, Emerson had a great time, thank you so much Grandma D!!!  I have a feeling she won't be taking off this new top and tutu for quite a while ...

The rest of our day was somewhat crazy, most especially for Cal who played 2 hockey games and was on the ice for Blake's hockey practice!!  All in new skates ... needless to say they are broken in now!!  My Mom dropped Em off at our house, picked up Blake and took him to his hockey practice where he met Cal.  The girls and I got ready to go to a friend's 6th birthday party.  After hockey practice Cal dropped Blake off at the party and headed to his last game of the day.  The kids had a blast at the Angry Birds themed party and Emerson especially was very happy to see the face painter/entertainer Lady Dolphin!!!  She is quite enamored with her and I must say Lady Dolphin sure knows how to entertain ;)  Emerson had her face painted 2 times - the first time as Princess Leia and the second time as Ariel!!  

The kids and I headed home for bedtime and then my Mom came over to babysit for us (thank you sooo much for all your running around on the 16th Mom.  Without you we would not have been able to do even half of this! ).  A friend picked me up and we met our hubbies at the Oiler's game!!  It was a wicked game!!!  After the game we went to a pub for a few hours, great double date night :)

Emerson had a wonderful day and was appropriately spoiled :)

Sunday was bit slower paced with Blake's hockey game followed by a pizza dinner (as requested by Em) and 2 delicious birthday cakes (1 Emerson picked up from Duchess and the rainbow cake that fell over before her birthday party!  Both were DELICIOUS ;) )  And so Em's birthday celebrations wrapped up ... lucky little girl, there were many days of celebration :)

Emerson, we can not believe it has already been 4 years since we were blessed with our first baby girl.  I remember the surprise when the Dr. said, "It's a girl!"  I remember looking at my Mom and your Dad with what I'm sure was a shocked expression on my face!  When I checked into the hospital on what would be your birth day, 8 days post due date, the clerk joked (direct quote), "It's going to be a stubborn little girl!"  Then when you were born, as one of the nurses was assessing you, she said, "She's going to be saying her ABC's by the time she is one!"  And sure enough, by the age of 2 you were speaking full sentences and surprising everyone with your vocabulary!!  Thank you Emerson for all the joy, love, hugs, kisses, twirls, fashion shows, stories and excitement you bring to our every day!!  Don't ever lose your fierce independent streak, it will serve you well in years to come but also never lose your big heart and loving nature.  You are one of a kind Miss Em and we are so proud to be your Mom and Dad :)  Love you beyond words sweetheart!

xoxo

Where does the time go?!

My gosh, Emerson's 4th birthday will soon be upon us - unbelievable.

We've been busy the last few weeks.  On the 2nd we were invited to a friends surprise 40th birthday party.  We had a great time - my time was a little too great ... let's just say I was not feeling very well on Sunday and very thankful for an awesome husband who came home Saturday night at a decent time to pay the babysitter and let her get home at a decent time ;)  Oh and I should also give my awesome hubby props for allowing me to sleep off my self-induced illness on Sunday morning/early afternoon!!  This year is the year of 40th birthday's amongst a group of our friends, so we have quite a few of these parties coming up!!  Great to get together with friends who we don't see as often as the old days.  So anyways, Sunday for me was pretty low-key but it was Superbowl Sunday, so Cal headed to a friends house to take in the game while I got the kids to bed early and resumed my horizontal position on the couch ;)

We had our first Oilers tickets of this shortened NHL season on the 6th.  It was great to take in a game, we're happy to be season ticket holders again (1/4 of the games!) and look forward to these much needed date nights :)

On the 7th, the kids and I picked up Cal from a course he was on and we headed to the RV show.  We really had no need to go but we've been visiting the show every year for so many years, we really wanted to go!!  Plus we hoped to see our new trailer, which we did!  This link should take you to photos of a trailer nearly exactly like ours (http://www.coachworksrv.com/rv/new/Cherokee%20by%20Forest%20River/2013-Cherokee+by+Forest+River-Grey+Wolf+26+DBH-edmonton-b2bb8a4e0a0a00a40040f2f10cffa142.htm)!  Can't wait to tow it home and especially can't wait for our first camping trip!!

That brings us to the weekend and Emerson's 4th 'Rainbow Dash' birthday party!!!  Em requested a gymnastics birthday party for the 3rd year!  We tried to host the party on her actual birthday but due to a competition being held at the gym on the 16th, the gym was not open for parties on that day.  So we held the party on the 9th.  The 1 hour of floor time with the gymnastics coaches is always a big hit and a lot of fun :)  We had cake, played a few games and opened gifts during our 1 hour in the party room!  Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us, Emerson had a blast and we hope all the kidlets enjoyed themselves :)  After the birthday party, we went out for dinner with our good friends, the Streadwick family.  It was Julie's 40th birthday that day so a big celebration was in order!!  Although we had an 1 1/2 wait before we were seated and spent an 1 1/2 at the table (way past the kids bedtime!), we had a fabulous time and all the kids were so great!!  It was a nice end to the day :)

The next day we all went to Blake's hockey game to cheer on the Bobcats!!  After hockey, Mom and Dad came over as we had invited my cousin Aaron, his wife Daryl and their baby Brody over for supper.  It was great to visit with Aaron and Daryl and meet Brody!  He's such a cutie and reminded me of Blake as a baby ... I think maybe it was his cute head of hair :)

Which brings us to the 11th, Cal's 34th birthday!!  We had a great day, taking Blake to school and then hitting Tim Horton's for a breakfast date ;)  We had dinner and cake that night for Cal and as usual, the kids were super excited to give their Dad his birthday gift and sing Happy Birthday!!

This week is meet week ... again!!!  It always comes far to soon in my opinion :s  Such a crazy, hectic time leading up to meet week.  Cal is also playing Telus hockey on Thursday night and is in a corporate cup hockey tournament this weekend.  Saturday is Emerson's 4th birthday, we have a birthday party that afternoon and Cal and I are going to the Oilers game that night!!  Once again, super busy but FUN busy so we shouldn't complain ;)

Take care, have a great week!!

xo
Tracy

Busy Days

Although every day feels busy, the last few days have seemed extra busy!!  But fun busy :)  Meet week is always a crazy week for me, trying to fit in several hours of work in my 'free' time, isn't so easy.

Yesterday afternoon we had a friend over for a little play date!  The girls had a great time, playing and coloring :)

Yesterday evening I took Blake out for supper and then to an Early Literacy Learning Night at his school.  It's always nice to spend 1 on 1 time with each of the kids but amazing how different that time is with each of them!!  Blake and I enjoyed our dinner and the Early Literacy Night.  I enjoy watching Blake chat and have fun with his schoolmates :)  And it's always great to visit with the other parents!  During one of the sessions during the evening, the teacher was pointing out some key words in a book and asking the children to define those words.  One of the words was 'cheap.'  Mrs. D asked the students if anyone knew what the word cheap meant.  Blake raised his hand and Mrs. D asked him to define the word.  Blake said, "It means you have lots of money."  I had a good chuckle at that definition!!!!  I have no idea where he learned that, too funny!!

Today was really busy but again, the good and fun kind of busy!  This morning I had a Cameron's Closet meet and a friend offered to have the girls over while I went to the meet.  So we took Blake to school, came home and loaded the van for the meet and then I dropped the girls off to play!  The girls and I really appreciated the play date, they weren't bored/antsy in the van for 2+ hours and I wasn't interrupted by, "Mom?  MOM!!  Mom?!  I'm hungry!  I have to pee.  Can we watch another DVD?"  LOL!!

This weekend brings another 40th birthday hall party and the first time we will have a babysitter over who is not a close friend or my Mom or Dad!!  My Dad's cousins daughter is attending U of A and was interested in babysitting, so we had her over to meet the kids and she is babysitting for the first time tomorrow night.  The kids will be sleeping, I'm sure it will all go fine!

Talk to you soon :)

Tracy

Family Date Night :)

Em, Blake and Reese with the jerseys/t-shirts they chose to wear to the game!

We've been excited to take the entire family to a hockey game for awhile now.  Cal has taken Blake to a World Junior game and an Oiler's game but we wanted to take the girls too!!  With the NHL strike, we thought an Oil Kings game would be perfect.  So we bought tickets for last Sunday, the 27th.  It was family fun night at the Oil Kings game, with an afternoon start time of 4 pm, a Kids Zone and a reduced price on kids meals!!  We had a blast and are soooo glad we chose to take the family to an Oil Kings game vs. a very busy, very expensive, not to mention not really geared-towards children, Oiler's game! 

The kids were very excited to go to the game, especially Emerson who was counting down the sleeps.  We made the night extra exciting by taking the LRT to the game ... ;)  

It was a great game, the Oil Kings won handily and entertained the crowd with a line brawl at the end of the game!!  The kids sat well for 2 periods of hockey and during the rest of the time, they bounced away in the bouncy houses, had their faces painted and balloon animals/hats made and we sat for a few minutes for a quick hot dog/hamburger supper!!!  

Not long after the game started, Blake turned to me and said, "Mom?  Is this like watching us play?"  I was speechless for a moment.  How sweet that he actually thought this is what coming to one of his games was like!!!  During a fight that broke out on the ice, Blake turned away and didn't want to watch.  I explained to Blake that sometimes when older people are playing hockey they get very competitive and excited and want to protect their team and players and so push and shove sometimes.  He thought for a moment and said, "I don't want to play hockey when I'm older."  Poor guy!!  I said, "Oh, don't worry, just because you might play hockey when you're older doesn't mean you have to fight!  Not everyone fights when they play hockey!"  He looked at me and said, "Ohhhhhh.  Good!"  lol!  They all cheered and clapped and had so much fun!  Reese would clap her hands and look around smiling, I'm not sure she knew why she was clapping but she loved it!  Blake was chanting, "Go Oil Kings Go, Go Oil Kings Go!" and then they scored and he said, "It worked!!  My cheering worked!!"  :)  He was definately really into the hockey game itself and will enjoy another Oiler's game with Cal later in Feb.  

Reese and I :)

Blake and Emerson with Louie the Lion, Em's favorite part of the Oil Kings game :)

It was a perfect family date night, one we will for sure repeat next season :)

xo

Tracy

1st Loose Tooth

Blake has his 1st loose tooth (1 of the bottom, middle teeth)!!!!!

We'll see how long it takes to fall out ... could be awhile ;)

In the meantime, I will be coming up with the Tooth Fairies 'plan of action' ... lol!!!

xo
Tracy

Cuteness Overload :)

These kids are just so darn cute, I want to squeeze the daylights out of them!!  But instead, I settle for a trillion kisses and tickles :)

~ Reese is hilarious.  A seriously funny little girl!!  It is crazy how much she has picked up from Blake and Em.  She is already a master staller at nap time and bedtime.  "Just one minute, Mom.  I have to go see something."  "I'm thirsty!"  etc etc.  And the way she says, "Just one minute." kills me!!!  So, so cute!  

Reese is definitely the most affectionate out of the 3 kids.  Just the other day she sat down next to me on the couch, covered us both up with a blanket, cuddled in to me and said, "I love you Mommy.  And I love this blankie."  Heart melted :)  I get a lot of "I love you's" :)  I love it!!  On Thursday, while we were waiting to pick Em up from Preschool, Blake and Reese were playing and hugging/wrestling when Reese looks up at Blake and says, "I love you Blake."  :) :)  

A side of Reese that not too many people have seen is the 'tude!!!  o.m.g. ... I need to catch her arm crossing, pouting face on video.  Seriously unbelievable!!  For example, on Sunday night Cal asked her to have some more supper and she (sitting in her booster seat at the table), throws her arms across her body, frowns, puts her chin down and says, "No!  All done!"  Honestly, it is so hard not to smile and laugh, it is actually cute!  But not something we should encourage!!!

Reese has sat on the potty many times, each time at her request.  She can sit for quite awhile!!  Just the other day she wanted to sit on her Dora potty seat, so I set it up and she climbed on.  After approx. 10 minutes she pointed to an Elmo potty seat and said, "I want Elmo!"  So she climbed off, I switched seats, she sat down and said, "I poop on Elmo, it's my special seat!"  Lucky Elmo ;)  lol!!!  (and no, she did not go to the washroom that time, after many minutes of sitting on Dora and Elmo!!)

~ Blake is getting into football.  Last Sunday he wanted to watch football with Cal!!  So cute!  After the Colts lost, Blake says to Cal, "I'm glad the Colts didn't win because if they won and played the Bronco's, who would we cheer for?!  Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck?!"  Pretty sure there was a grin from ear to ear on Cal's face ;)

Every night before bed Blake HAS to give Reese a hug and kiss.  He chases her around (she's not always open to his hugs and kisses!!) until he catches her and gives her a hug and kiss!  They have a much different relationship then Em and Reese.  Actually both girls have a more 'rough and tumble' relationship with Blake.  They love to wrestle with him!  It is so funny!!  Reese usually sits or lays on Blake and he lets her.  It's really funny, they giggle the whole time ;) 

Blake is really into saving money and doing chores for money!  In fact, before Christmas he came home from school with 80 cents and told me, "Brooke gave me some money!"  I was surprised and thought it was odd but got busy with lunch and putting Reese down for her nap and didn't ask anymore questions.  Later that afternoon when Cal got home from work, Blake told Cal that Brooke told him she had some money and so Blake said he asked her for some!!!  lol!  I had a little conversation with him about that ;)  We're glad he is interested in saving money and we can not believe how well he can count and add money - wow!!!  He is definitely strong at Math, we'll see if that continues!  We're working on figuring out a good chore/allowance chart for the kids.  We started out with some simple chores and $5/week a few months ago.  We've also done a ticket system with the kids, which worked but if they do all their chores every day that = $20/month.  I think that's a bit much for a 2, 3, and 5 yr old!!  The last thing we need is another $60 worth of toys in our house every month!  So we're going to start a new system where they get 25 cents/chore.  We'll see how that goes!  For now, Blake has saved quite a bit of chore money and birthday and Christmas money and has his eye on a few toys!!  We'll be making a trip to Toys R Us soon :)

This week, Emerson has been waking up early so one morning I decided I'd lay with her for awhile, until at least 7 am!!  I laid down and Blake said, "Mom?  Can you lay in my bed?"  I told him that I was afraid I was too heavy to sleep with him on the top bunk but that on Saturday morning he should come join me in my bed!  He was happy with that and this morning climbed in to bed with me for some morning cuddles ;)

~ Emerson is getting really excited for her birthday party!  I have a feeling she'll be inviting everyone she sees to her party!  Today she was looking at FB with me and asked me, "Who is that?"  I told her who they were (friends who live in Regina) and she said, "I want to invite them to my birthday party!"  She's very excited, wants to have a 'Rainbow Dash' party (a My Little Pony character) and have the party at the gymnastics club (again - this will be her 3rd!)!  In a way I'd like to have the party at home so I can do more party games, etc. but the gymnastics club is so fun for her and the kids and she looooves gymnastics.  So, we might do that again.  It is also quite reasonably priced and the biggest bonus of all - no cleaning the house before and then again after!

Em is soooo into dance!  She told me she wants to take another dance class, she has to wait too long for her class.  We think once a week is enough for now!!  But I think we'll see if there is a summer dance camp that she can go into, she would love that!!  She is very excited for her dance 'performance' but it is not until June, so she has some time to wait!

I know I've said it before, but it is just sooooo sweet how Emerson treats Reese!!  She is so helpful and is always trying to keep Reese happy and lend a helping hand whenever Reese is in need :)  Emerson calls her Baby or Sweetie and if Reese is upset, Em will often stroke her head and say, "It's okay Baby!"  Very sweet, I love it :)

Poor Emerson is getting really bad growing pains at night :(  I feel so bad for her.  Blake was the same way and still gets them every now and then.  I hope maybe Reese will escape them.

~ This morning we went to a minor hockey week pancake breakfast.  It was great, all compliments of KC St. Matthews hockey club!  Blake and Em each got 4 airbrushed tattoo's, 1 on each arm and cheek!

This afternoon my Mom came over for a visit and after the kids were in bed we went to visit my Grandma Kelley, who is living with my Aunt and Uncle.  They are leaving for Florida on Monday and Grandma Kelley just got out of the hospital after having an angioplasty.  But she looks great, is in really good spirits and has the go ahead to travel to the States.  I hope she has a great trip and gets lots of rest and soaks up the sunshine :)

This evening I called my Grandma Marg to wish her a very happy birthday!  I miss her so much, I wish we lived closer and could see each other more and she could see our kids.  But we do talk often and the kids have skyped with her and Grandpa and talk to them on the phone too.

I hope you're all having a great weekend :)

xo
Tracy

PS:  I moved the Resolutions post over to ramblingsofasometimesmadmom.blogspot.com

Holidays in Review

Boxing Day 2012

Wow, here we are ... 2013.  I feel like I just celebrated the millennium but no, it's 13 years later and that bar where we celebrated is now closed.  Hmmm ... I feel old!!!  Actually, I was just chuckling to myself the other day after these words were out of my mouth before I even thought about what I was saying, "When I was a kid ...!"  Oh boy, way to age myself!

So welcome to 2013!  I'm not sure why, but I am not exactly 'pumped' for the new year.  I can't put my finger on it, but I just don't feel great about the year.  Sorry to be a Debbie-downer, hopefully ol' lucky 13 will prove me wrong :)  Maybe that is it - I've never been a fan of the number 13!  But, as with age, I think I should forget about the number and concentrate on making some goals and enjoying this wonderful life!

We had a great holiday season and it's not over yet!  Cal goes back to work on Monday, so we get to enjoy a few more days together!  We've all been sick off and on.  Colds, coughs, sick to our stomach's (and the other nasty stuff that often goes hand in hand with this), sneezing and stuffed up.  No fevers thankfully and thankfully we were all better (for the most part - at least enough to enjoy the coming celebrations!) by the 22nd.

We had fun at DWS Consulting's 1st Christmas party on December 22nd!  Emerson was super excited to play with her friend Danielle!  The girls were very cute and we had a chuckle when Emerson and Danielle started comparing outfits and got excited that they were both wearing black tights ;)  Too cute!!  Reese enjoyed tagging along with the girls and Grandma pulled out a new Lego set to entertain Blake ... he didn't complain but it was obvious that he wasn't enjoying dancing and playing Barbies with the girls!!  It was nice to visit with some of Mom and Dad's closest friends and people I have gotten to know over the years, and it was nice to meet some new people and put some faces to the names I often hear!  AND great to see my sister and her family, especially cutie-pie Connor :)

The 24th brought a busy day, with last minute wrapping and preparing to host some of the Cameron family on Christmas Day (yes, I made 2 trips to the grocery store due to forgotten items.  Yes, I did make a list ... don't ask ;)  lol!!).  That evening, we enjoyed the pj service at St. Albert United Church, the kids were quite excited to attend Church in their pj's and even more excited when at the end of the service, we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and enjoyed birthday cake ;)  The kids spread their reindeer food before bed, set out cookies and Christmas milk (a.k.a. egg nog) for Santa and carrots for the reindeer and headed off to bed.  They slept great, I was wondering if Blake and Em would get up in the middle of the night to see if Santa had arrived but they didn't. That is coming soon though!!!  Cal and I both remember sneaking downstairs to see our stockings in the middle of the night :)  It was very sweet to hear Blake and Em talking about Santa and his reindeer after we had put them to bed.  Brought back many great memories of sharing a bed with my sister on Christmas Eve!  I think in the future Reese will sleep with Em on Christmas Eve so they can all be together, excited and chatting :)

Christmas morning began in our house at around 7:15 am.  Which for us, is not too early!!  The kids were all bursting at the seams to open their stockings and gifts.  Blake's Lego City Forest Fire Police Station, Emerson's Baby Butterscotch and Reese's Baby Doctor (a.k.a. Baby Alive Feel Better doll) were the Santa gifts and all caused a lot of excitement!!  My favorite part of 'gifts' is the stockings!  I love stuffing the stockings with all the fun, little things and the kids always enjoy them!  Let me tell you, Captain America and Hello Kitty toothbrushes can cause quite the excitement ;)    Mom and Dad brought breakfast over around 10 am and the kids enjoyed showing them their new toys and gifts!  Gerry and family and Bev and Bruce joined us a little later in the afternoon for dinner and more visiting, playing and gifts!  It was great to see everyone and nice to have Bev with us on Christmas Day :)

The morning of Boxing Day, we loaded up into the van and picked up Grandma Kelley on our way to Stony Plain!  She recently moved in with my Aunt and Uncle (Mom's brother), who live just a few minutes from us.  We haven't spent Christmas with Grandma Kelley in many, many years, so it was great to have her with us for our 'Smith' Christmas :)  We had a great day at Mom and Dad's - a delicious wife saver breakfast, opening gifts, visiting, playing, relaxing and a delicious turkey dinner!  The kids had fun with Connor, especially the girls who like to treat him like their baby ;)  And Connor was a champ, he didn't mind at all!!

Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts we received and for sharing the most important gift of all, the gift of time, with our family :)  We had a really great Christmas, each year gets better and better and easier too, with the kids getting older and more resilient to later bed times and missed naps!

We had a few days of rest before a fun night out for a friend's 40th birthday party!  His wife hosted a hall party and we all had an absolute blast!  We visited with so many friends, some who we don't often see due to how busy all our schedules have gotten since having kids (a.k.a. reduction in partying!!)!!  Blake, Em and Reese had a ball playing with all the other kids.  Emerson put on quite the performance on stage, dancing away, complete with high kicks ;)  A few parents were taking pictures and video of the kids on stage and Emerson ensured she was near the camera!  Every time the camera would move, she would follow!  She's quite the little performer!  We also had fun with the photo booth that was at the party!  Em 'photobombed' many pics and we got a kick out of all the props and accessories, having fun taking family pics and pics of the kids with friends!

To round off a great 2012, we spent our last day of the year ski-dooing and tobogganing at my parents lake lot.  It was a beautiful winter day and we had a great time, having a hot dog roast, riding Dad's ski-doo (hard to get the kids off!) and Blake made a few trips down the hill on his new snow racer (and Grandma tested out Em's flying saucer!)!  We had pizza at Mom and Dad's that evening and headed home with some tired out kiddo's!  We thought we might partake in the Family Fest in Stony Plain, but the kid's were pretty much done for the day!!  Maybe next year!  We were invited to the neighbours for some New Year's cheer but our baby monitor wouldn't reach that far :(  Cal encouraged me to go on over and he would hold down the fort, so I did and I really enjoyed myself!  We visited and played Scattagories, it was fun!  I made sure I was home before midnight, with cheesecake in hand, to ring in 2013 with my hubby ;)

In between all these parties and celebrations we have enjoyed some tobogganing and outdoor skating and spending time all together.  We hope you have had a fun Christmas season and wish you all the best in the New Year :)  I still need to work on my goals for 2013 ... more on that to come!

xoxo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

PS:  Here are a few photo's I've taken throughout the holidays:

Our sweeties in their pj's, ready for the Christmas Eve pj service!

Emerson, Jenna, Reese, Colby and Blake on Christmas Day, in their new pj's made by Grandma Bev :)

Our Smith family with Grandma Kelley, on Boxing Day :)

Cal and the girls, ready for some ski-doo'ing!

Grandpa and Blake, heading out on a ride!