From Cal to Em

I needed to blog this, as I want Emerson to see this one day :)  Cal's FB post this morning:

A HUGE Happy Birthday to one of the most strong-willed little girls with the biggest heart! WE LOVE YOU EMDOG! Mom, Dad, Blake, Reese, Heidi and Jazz! Here's a song that reminds me of her even though we've never done it, soon maybe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IheODRwalEw

Happy 3rd Birthday Emerson!

We have had a great day celebrating Em's 3rd birthday :)

Emerson was so excited to open her gifts from Blake, Reese, Cal and I!  She LOVED the elephant stuffie her brother and sister got her and all the kids had a blast in Em's new pop up princess tent!  

We dropped Blake off at preschool, ran some errands, went to Timmie's for a snack and then to Come Play With Me!  Em had a great morning!!  At Come Play With Me she didn't want to tell anyone except for Miss Christine that it was her birthday.  And I told Miss Christine that she wouldn't do well with everyone singing to her ... but she was very happy with her birthday wishes from her favorite teacher!!

After lunch Emerson and I ran some party preparation errands and then we met up with my Mom and Dad.  They took her to buy her birthday gift!  They bought her a bike and apparently Emerson was very excited to "accessorize" the bike ;)  She was all about the basket, horn, bells, etc!  She chose a purple, Tangle-themed bike!  We haven't even seen Tangled, but apparently it's her favorite movie?!  lol! 

The rest of us met the three of them and Cal's Dad at Red Lobster for dinner.  It was delicious as usual and my Mom made princess cupcakes, which were very cute and yummy :)

I think Emerson had a great day!!  And she is looking forward to her birthday party on Saturday at Dynamyx Gymnastic's Club :)

I found it very cute today, how whenever someone would say happy birthday to Emerson, she would say happy birthday back!  It was sweet!! 

We hope you had a fun day Em and love you very, very much!!

xo

To Emerson on her 3rd birthday

We love you so very much Em!  You are a very special little girl and bring much joy to every day :)  You keep us on our toes, that is for sure and challenge us in ways we've never experienced!  You are very passionate and have a mind of your own.  You are independent (I can do it myself!) and very helpful (I can help!)!  You are sweet and have a sweet tooth ;)  You love your brother and sister so much and play so well with both of them, although you and Blake are closer at the moment.  You two love to play vacation together and often "travel" to Fort McMurray and Disneyland!!!  You also pretend you are taking Reese to the Dr.  You LOVE your stuffies and your babies.  You will not wear pants and a shirt, only dresses.  More specifically, dresses that twirl!!  Today you chose to wear a sweater dress and I was quite surprised ;)  When we are at home, we let you dress however you choose ... which almost always involves a tutu and usually involves a tiara!  You wake up and want your pj's off and a tutu on (you have 4!!).  Some days you choose to wear your underwear on the outside of you pants!!  You have been saying you want to be a Princess when you grow up and know that in order to be a Princess you must marry a Prince.  At times you will say you want to be a doctor when you grow up, but usually quickly change that idea to a Princess!!  You love music and dancing and twirling.  You love arts and crafts, especially crafts that involve the use of a glue stick and/or glitter!  You love stamping and always ask to finger paint!!  You can spend quite a bit of time with a sheet of stickers and a sticker book, but nothing keeps you still for long!  You color a picture faster then I've ever seen!!  You are active ... running, jumping and keeping up with Blake!!  You are excited to start unparented swimming lessons and have been telling us for months that you are going all by yourself.  Not with Mom or Dad, by yourself.  We are allowed to watch!  You have fun at gymnastics but sometimes tell us you don't want to go.  We ask you why and you say, "Because there are too many kids."  We understand your aversion to crowds ... neither your Dad or I are much for crowds either!  You are a smart girl Emerson and I try to tell you often how smart you are!  It is hard not to tell you how beautiful you are every second I spend with you ... I look at your big green eyes, gorgeous long, wavy hair and can't believe how beautiful you are!  But I want you to grow up feeling smart and confident as well, not just beautiful!  I see the way you "do" your hair in the mirror and think, "Oh boy ... !!"  We love your imagination, your cuddles, your kisses, your sweet smile and the way you talk non-stop when we are 1 on 1 with you!  It melts our hearts when you kiss and hug Blake and Reese and most especially when Reese hugs you and you say, "Aww, she hugged me!  She loves me!"  I love when I am driving with you and you talk a mile a minute!!  I love looking in the rear view mirror and seeing your facial expressions as you tell story after story after story :) 

You are growing up so fast Emerson, but will always be our baby girl!

xo

Mom & Dad

Happy Birthday Cal!!

Friday we packed up a bag full of snacks and the sit n' stand stroller and embarked upon the r.v. show!!!!  We were on a mission to find a floor plan and price we thought would work for us!  The kids were so excited to go (this is a yearly tradition for the Cameron/Smith family!) and had a lot of fun looking in trailers and bouncing in the Western RV Country monster truck bouncy house ;)  My parents kept an eye on the kids for us and we were able to see a lot of r.v.'s!!

Saturday was Cal's 33rd birthday!  Blake, Emerson and I went shopping for a gift for Cal last week.  We knew he needed a new Flyer's hat, so that is what we were looking for!  We went to a few different stores.  The thought Blake put into this purchase is unbelievable!!  He would inspect each hat I handed him, try it on, check the size, see if it was adjustable, the color, what size the logo was, etc, etc.  It was really cute!!!

Cal and Blake had hockey Saturday morning and before they left Blake wanted to tell me something.  He (not so quietly) whispered to me that he was going to tell all the kids that it was his Dad's birthday and that Dad was going to tell the coaches!  I told him that Dad would probably not tell the coaches!!  When they got home from hockey, Cal told me Blake made a point of telling every single person on the ice that it was his Dad's birthday.  At the end of practice they all huddle together and do 3 cheers, and yesterday after the cheer Blake asked everyone to sing happy birthday to his Dad!  So sweet :) :)

My parents came over for supper and cake that evening.  The kids were so excited to sing happy birthday!!  After supper Cal and I went (back) to the r.v. show.  We checked out every single r.v. that we thought we would be interested in and still liked the first one we found!!  But we're not 100% sure if we want to buy a new one this year ... such a hard decision!  After the r.v. show we went for a beverage and to chat about if we really want to buy a new r.v. this year.  For now our plan is to take our current trailer out for May long weekend, then list it for sale and see what happens!!!  With Reese being around 18 months come summer, we know this camping season will not be the easiest, but next year and the years beyond should get easier!  So maybe we'll just do a few short trips this summer and look to buy again next year ... maybe.  Plans change, we'll see what happens!!  I think the salesman and dealer from the factory in Indiana thought we were the most indecisive people they've ever seen ... I don't how many times we went back to Coachworks RV to look at the trailer we liked, or how much time we spent sitting in it, looking around!!!  And chatting with the 2 of them!  Was great to talk to a Colts fan though ;)  lol!

Today we had a Valentine's Day party/baby shower with our New Mom's Group friends!  My friend Cindy had a baby girl at the end of December.  It was nice to have some baby snuggles and meet Ainsley!  The party was a lot of fun and the kids and I enjoyed making their own valentines and popcorn treats for their friends (thank you Pinterest!!).  Tonight when I asked Emerson what her favorite part of the day was, she said, "Handing out popcorn treats to my friends and the ladies giving me candy!"

This week is going to be crazy ... teleconference meeting will take up my evening tomorrow, preschool Valentine's Day party Tuesday, Kettlebells Tues and Thurs evening, Emerson's 3rd birthday Thursday, meeting with Cameron's Closet helpers Wed evening, Cameron's Closet meet Friday morning and pick up Cal's Mom from the airport Friday night! Then Emerson's birthday party Saturday afternoon.  Wowzers ... not sure when I'm going to clean house, make Em's cake, do the loot bags, plan the party food, oh and SLEEP!  Phew!  February is a BUSY month!!

Have a great week everyone :)

Chatterboxes!!

~ 'tude ~

Emerson: "Don't talk to me!"
Mom: "Sorry Emerson, but I am your Mom and if I have something important to tell you, I'm going to talk to you."
Emerson: "No, don't talk to me.  I'm a big girl."

Emerson: "I don't want to wear this.  I want to wear a dress."
Mom: (pulls a sweater dress out of Emerson's closet)
Emerson: "NOT THAT DRESS!  I don't like that dress."
Mom: "Why?"
Emerson: "It doesn't twirl."

Can't argue with that!!

Emerson: (runs into our room at 7 am this morning) "Hey guys, why didn't you wake up?"

She scared the crap out of us!!!!

~ questions ~

Blake (while watching Max and Ruby): turns to me with an innocent, sweet, lip half curled smile, "Mom?  How old do you think he is?"
Mom: "Who?"
Blake: "Max"
Mom: "I'm not sure buddy.  What do you think?  Around 2 maybe?"
Blake: gives a little giggle and says, "I think he's more like 3.  Just like Em.  He's about as tall as her!"

Honestly, the look on his face, the tone of his voice, everything was just so FLIPPIN' SWEET :) :)

Blake (after a conversation and Internet search about Albert Einstein with Cal): "Where is Albert Einstein?"
Mom: "He's in Heaven."
Blake: "With God?"
Mom: "Yes."
Blake: "Well how come we don't see him when we go to that place?"
Mom: "What place??"
Blake: "You know, with that guy."
Mom: "What??  Ohhh ... Church??"
Blake: "Yeah."
Mom: (laughing) "Heaven is not at Church Blake." (Heaven discussion ensued!!  None of which made much sense (of course) to Blake!!)
Blake: "Am I going to Heaven?"
Mom: "Yes, of course.  But not for a long, long time." (oy)

~ i can talk ~

Reese: all day long, "Moooommmy ... Mommy?  Mommmmmmmmmyyyyy ... Mooooommyyy?"
Me: all day long, "Yes Reese?  What's wrong Reese?  Come here Reese. Yes Reese?  What do you need Reese?  Let's go play Reese.  Are you hungry Reese?  Yesssss Reese???"

She loooooves saying Mommy!!!  She also says Daddy, thirsty, blankie, teddy, baby, and cheese string!!!  lol!  She also loves to watch Heidi do her "job" outside and stand at the back door saying, "Heeedi ... Heidi ... HEIDIIII!!" 

Love all the chatter (most of the time!)!  Never a quiet moment in the day ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!  Isn't the weather fabulous?!  Thanks Mother Nature!!!

xo Tracy

Mom's 50th birthday party!

Last night we had a "ladies night out" for my Mom's upcoming 50th birthday!!  It was lots of fun and although it wasn't a complete surprise, a few of the guest's did surprise her ;)  Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate our amazing Mom!!  Love you so much Mom, glad you had fun last night!!

xo

Hi!! Where has January gone?!

Reese:

~ Reese still has 8 teeth only ... 7 of which came through in 5 or so weeks this summer.  She's been teething hard these past 2 weeks, has the acidic poops, drooling, red cheeks, and the "I'll chew on anything" symptoms to prove it.  Poor girl!  Come on teeth, break through!!!!

~ Reese is very opinionated and it is quite hilarious to hear her voice her opinion!!  If she has something and one of the kids try to take it away, she "chirps up" and runs away!  I wish I knew what she was saying, but I have a pretty good idea ;)  And her grip is like no other.  Really, I can't believe how tight she can hang on to something?!  Super grip strength!!!

~ Reese is still very, very cuddly.  I love it :)  She's cuddly to most everyone in her life, but most especially to Mom!!  I think it's because she pretty much slept in my arms for her first 4 months!!  I hope she doesn't lose that cuddliness :)  She will randomly come up to me for a hug and then go off and play again, totally melts my heart.  Her running hugs are great too!

~ Loves watching other kids!  At the Y, I often see Reese walk up to other kids and watch them intently.  Like she's observing what they're doing, but super close to them!!  I think personal space is a lesson learned a little later in life ... 

~ Loves dolls!!  L-O-V-E-S ... way more then Emerson did at this young age, but that could be because Reese has been exposed to them since the day she was born?!  She carries them around, hugs them, pats them, it's all very cute!  I especially love when I witness her selecting which dolls she's going to play with - she often picks 2 dolls up, looks them both over carefully and puts one away!!
~ Last week Reese did the coolest thing - I put goldfish on the kids table for her and she went to the kids cupboard, picked out a bowl, brought it back to the little table and put all her goldfish in it.  I was amazed!!!  I think that is pretty darn smart for a 1 yr old ;)
~ Reese has mastered going backwards down the stairs!!!  PHEW!  We have a lot of stairs in our house and we use all the levels of our 4 level split, so it was a relief when we saw Reese turn around and go down the stairs safely.  She has taken a few falls, but overall is very safe on her own.  I can't wait until we no longer need any baby gates!!  She's been going up stairs for months, but going down is a harder task to learn!
~ Where Reese gets her dance moves from, I do not know!!!  I've been trying to capture her dancing on video for months, but have not been successful thus far :(  Her hips can sure move though!  Boy oh boy ... it is SO cute.  I just wonder where she learned that?!  I see belly dancing in her future ;)  (not!)
~ Today Reese officially earned the title of "Monkey" ... she climbed on top of the coffee table and climbed on top of the kids table in the kitchen and was trying to climb onto the island.  OMG!  OUR kids don't do this ... I mean, Blake and Em didn't ... but apparently turkey-butt does!!!!  What a goof, she is so stubborn and determined sometimes!!!  REALLY determined, hope that serves her well as she gets older :)

Emerson:
~ Emerson is enjoying her new gymnastics class!  She has the same Coach as last session and has mastered the forward roll :)  We could have put Em in unparented lessons (the Coach from last session recommended it) but we couldn't find a time that worked for us.  Next time!
~ We've pre-registered Emerson in a pre-Kindergarten program called 100 Voices.  It is a new program in the Edmonton Catholic school district.  My friend's son was in it this year and they loved it, so she recommended it for Emerson.  And even better, it is the same hours as Blake's kindergarten, in the same school!  I'm not entirely sure what the criteria is to be accepted, but they will be in touch with us in the spring.
~ On the way to gymnastics last week Emerson said, "I don't want to see those kids."  I asked which kids and she said, "The kids in my gymnastics class."  I asked why and she said, "I'm not very interested in boys."  She paused for a moment and then said, "Well except for the boy at home."  I asked if she was talking about Blake and she said she was!!  She then went on to say she doesn't really like kids.  And this would be why she needs to go to preschool next year ;)  What a girl!!!
~ Em asks to put on a dress, pretty much every morning!!!  So now I've convinced her to wear a cardigan and leggings or tights with her dresses ;)  She also is usually wearing a tutu when we are at home!  The instant she puts on one of her numerous tutu's, she starts prancing around and doing her "ballerina dance!!"  It is very cute :)
~ I look at Emerson every day, multiple times through out the day and can't believe how beautiful she is.  She's really grown into her looks and has such gorgeous eyes and smooth skin, it's hard not to tell her a thousand times in a day, "You're so beautiful Emerson."  I do tell her sometimes, but really that is not the message I want to send our little girly girl!  So instead, I take a line from The Help and twist it a bit ... I try to tell Em (and Reese too!), "You're such a nice girl Em (Reese)!  You're so kind and smart!  I love you!"  But boy is it ever hard to not just look into their eyes and say, "You're so beautiful!" a trillion times a day :)
~ Emerson is so excited to start unparented swimming lessons ... she talks about them a lot and says, "Without you Dad!  All by myself!"  Hopefully she's as excited on Day 1 :)  Definitely a change from when Blake started and we had to psyche him up for them!!!  I guess it's different for her too, because she looks up to Blake and see's him in unparented lessons.  We told her we're not going in the pool with her, but we're all coming to watch on the first day :) (not until March BTW)

Blake:
~ Blake is growing!!!  And growing some more!  That boy is so tall for his age!  He had his preschool immunizations the first week of January and is in the 97th %tile for height and somewhere around the 90th for weight!
~ Every week Blake seems to skate faster and faster!  And he's carrying the puck now too!  He continues to have fun at hockey and skating lessons and swimming too :)
~ Blake came with me when I registered him for Kindergarten a couple of weeks ago.  He was very quiet ... sat in the chair as I filled out the forms and asked questions ... walked along side me as we toured some of the school.  Afterwards he didn't have much to say about the experience!  Typical Blake - I have no worries about him in K next year!  He'll do great I'm sure and I think it will be really great when in a few years he'll be speaking, reading and writing English and French!  Oh, and he'll have a Christmas concert and be able to celebrate the reason for the season vs. a "Winter Celebration"
~ Blake loves his sisters ... love, love, love.  SO cute and sweet.  Until he and Em start fighting ;)  Or until Reese wants nothing to do with the millionth hug of the day!!!  Thankfully there's more loving then fighting going on and it melts my heart to see and hear them playing together so well.  Blake often gives in to Em to keep the calm in the house but sometimes Em gives in too!!  I love hearing, "Okay Em, we can do that!"  or "Okay Blake, you can have it."  So cute, so nice to love your siblings :)  One of their favorite games to play is, "Going on vacation!"  They pack their little cars, pack bags (teddies and blankies of course!) and go on vacation.  Usually to Fort McMurray!!!
~ Blake is also LEGO crazed ... he reads his lego maps multiple times through out the day and dreams of all the LEGO he might one day have
~ Last week at preschool his buddy asked him over for lunch.  Blake thought for a moment (there was a pause) and asked, "What are you having?"  I found this very funny, because I know Blake wasn't going to agree to lunch if it wasn't something he wanted!!!  (side note: neither had asked their mom's if they could have a lunch date!)
~ Blake makes up words and Em copies him (surprise, surprise!).  His latest is moss-weigh-hey.  Not sure on the spelling, but that is exactly what is sounds like.  Now that I think about it they mostly say it when they are excited, i.e. when I tell them Dad is almost home, if I ask them if they want lunch, to go to a playgym, etc, etc.  moss-weigh-hey everyone, to me it almost sounds like "peace out" or something kind of "chill" ?!?
~ Blake had an optometrist appointment at the beginning of the month and all is well.  There was something small the Dr. mentioned to Cal, I can't recall what it was ATM but nothing to be concerned about yet, which is all that matters :)

There's a not so quick update on our hearts and souls :)  Love these little ones like crazy, and crazy is sometimes where they take us ...

Cal and I are doing great as well!!  Busy, busy!  I started a new exercise class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  I am LOVING it!  It feels so good to get out and burn some calories and do so with a girlfriend :)  And the instructor is beyond amazing ... checkout her website.  I'm trying Hatha Yoga, should be interesting ... I seem to have lost some of my flexibility over the years!!!  (some = pretty much all!)

Hope you are all well, not sure where the last 23 days have gone?!  I can't believe I haven't blogged!

xo