Month: April 2013

A busy spring day in our house

The day started off with….what else? Skating.  It was Katrine’s last competition of the season.  She skated her solo the best she has thus far this season and she is very proud of herself.  It has been a rough season and I have to say that I am glad it is drawing to a close.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that the high points of a well skated solo and a newly acquired axel are pointing to a better season to come.  That is not to say that this season has not had its positives because it has.  Katrine has landed all of her single jumps, she passed Preliminary Dance and at least the first part of Preliminary Freeskate; it is just to say that a season without some sort of health issue (last year’s scarlet fever and this year’s concussion) would be greatly appreciated.

After a lunch at the local mall, it was back home to plant a tree. On Friday, Katrine brought home a sapling from school as part of the Stewards of the Earth program.  We were asked to plant said sapling and take photos.  Apparently, the class which returns that most photos of saplings being planted will get to meet the mayor.  This was an exciting prospect so plant we did.

And yes, that is a little wall around the sapling which the girls built.  And, being girls, the sapling has a name – ThornyBushTree (or some such thing).

A delicious steak dinner was followed by a family nature walk.  The girls watched frogs and birds…

…and then had the requist “sword” fight.  Gotta love my girls.

16 sleeps and the dentist

1. 16 more sleeps until our trip!!!!!  To celebrate we gave the girls some really adorable hairbows.  Apparently they are not really the thing for a nine year old sooo Elspeth now has two.  Hehe.

2.  The girls and I went to the dentist this afternoon.  They were thrilled with their new toothbrushes and small toys (little ducks whose eyes pop out when you squish them).  Well, we are off to the orthodontist to see about getting Katrine’s teeth straightened.  And little Elspeth has a pre-cavity in the back of her front two teeth.  :(  I suppose that is a small price to pay for not brushing your teeth for the first 22 months of your life.  Thank goodness it doesn’t need anything done to it right now.  Definetely not looking forward to having to get it filled.  Not sure how she would handle that especially as she quite likes our fabulous dentist right now.

The Eldest Is 9!!!!

Yep, we have a nine year old – a tween. 8-O   She has had a great past few days celebrating her birthday.

Friday:

Katrine woke up to a breakfast muffin complete with candle.

After a day of school and skating, she came home for some outdoor time with her Grammy and sister.  There is no one quite like a grandmother to watch you whip up “potions” in your “potion lab” (funny, in our day it was mud pies).  Grandmas, ooh and ahh more appreciately than moms.  After daddy got home it was time for dinner and pie.  Yep, not cake but pie. Lemon meringue to be precise.  Complete with candles!

Then it was time for some gifts.  You know that you have a tween when she gets excited about clothes and tickets to Cats.

Saturday:

A much calmer day.  The cookies for the loot bags arrived this morning.  They look delicious!  (About half the kids left the party eating the cookies so they must have tasted good too!  Iced shortbread which was “melt in your mouth good” according to Katrine.  The fact that they came on sticks simply made them that much cooler).

Then it was time to make up the cupcakes with Baba!  Because they were gluteny, poor guy had to stand outside in the cold wind to begin the mixing process so that no flour got over the kitchen.  What a devouted dad and husband.  Once baked, the cupcakes were cooled and iced which was of course the best part as the birthday girl got to eat the leftover candies.

Sunday aka Party Day:

I got a great deal on a zumba party so Katrine was able to have a large party this year.  It was a nice excuse to see some of her China sisters as well as school and skating friends.  The girls worked hard and made it through 40 minutes of solid cardio before really needing a break and snack.  The one really good thing about having a party outside of the house is that there is more time to stand back and take in the smiles and laughter. (Baba is not in these photos as he assumed younger sibling distraction for the majority of the party.)

Now my 9 year old is all curled up  in bed dreaming of all of the wonderful things which have happened over the course of her birthday celebrations.

 

Cherish the small things

Sometimes in the midst of horrible news we are reminded to cheish the small stuff.  Today provided just such an opportunity.  Katrine finally landed her axel.  A very big deal for our girl as she has been working towards it for quite a while.  We chose to celebrate with a family outing for frozen yogurt with multiple toppings.  A time to laugh and smile together while marking a success brought about by hard work.  To the families affected by this newest batch of horror, my heart goes out to you.  To the rest of us, let us remember to treasure the time we have with our families even more.

Thornhill Fun Skate – Part 2

Today it was back to Thornhill Community Center.  This time to cheer on Elspeth.  She woke up super excited that it was her day to skate.  That excitement lasted until about 10 minutes after she got off the ice.  Then she was tired (as you can see in the photos).  Once her snack kicked in she was back to her happy self.  She was also quite pleased to have a new ribbon for her board…although, she did object to the fact that it was not pink. She also competed in a new skating outfit because she actually grew out of the one that I made for her (see post on Winter Glitters from January).  I think that she looks right cute in this dress though.

 

Thornhill Fun Skate – Part 1

Our first visit to the competition was Friday for Katrine.  So, this is her post.  She had a lot of fun and came in fifth.  We were very proud of her (as you can see in the photo).

At dinner, she drew a picture of herself skating in her dress for the judges.  It was pretty cute.

Back to the arena tomorrow morning for Elspeth’s skate.

Sensory Progress!

When Elspeth first came home she was bombarded by new experiences.  Some she embraced while others inspired distrust.  Textures were one new experience which she was quite weary of.  Walking in mud or even puddles….hmmm, are you sure?  Dig in this sand box?  Look of concern.  Stick my hands in this water table….well…maybe.  Playdough?  Oh, this is squishy.

Paint was a particular concern.  Especially if it got on her figers.  That would result in whines and hand waving to request that the offending speck of paint be removed immediately. Well, we have progress.  As you can see, our little girl now loves to paint.

She is also not so concerned about the location where the paint ends up. (Take a close look at her eye lid.  That streak is my favourite.)

To top it off….We Have Finger Painting!!!!!!

Happy times!