My baby is 5

Three short years ago we held Elspeth for the very first time and today she is 5.  She had a wonderful day and we enjoyed it with her.  That said, I am a bit sad because today reminded me of that time we missed.  Anyways, enough sad talk.  It really was a great day.

She is this many fingers.
She is this many fingers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elspeth requested last night that she be allowed to start the day with donuts.  So once we were all up and organized we headed out to Tims.  Of course, the downside of a sugar protein-less breakfast are the mood swings which hit.  Thankfully a lunch of leftover ham went a long way to curing that problem.

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Donuts were followed by presents.  The favourite BY FAR was Katrine’s gift – a giant Penguin.  Now, Katrine saw this penguin back in August when we were out once day and begged me to go back and buy it because Elspeth simply had to have it for her birthday.  So off I dutifully went one evening and after a month and a half the penguin finally made it out of the cupboard.  He was greated with shreaks of join and spent the rest of the day being loved on.  Elspeth is beside herself happy that her penguin family now has a daddy.

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Glenn’s family joined us for Thanksgiving tonight and this time it was turkey and all of the fixings minus the pies.  In honour of Elspeth’s birthday we had cake.  Yup, when offer ice cream, fruit, cookies, any number of suggestions which were offered; she insisted on cake.  I got smart and went with Glenn’s favourite figuring at least someone would eat it.  Well thank you McCain.  Tonight’s cake hit the spot and was enjoyed by all with the exceptIMG_3531ion of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, dinner was followed by more gifts and oohs and aahs. Before she finally had to take off her Elsa dress and get ready for school.  Tomorrow she gets to be special helper AND go to Sparks so it will be a great day.

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Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  Also known as turkey and ham feasting weekend!!! Mmmmmm.

Dad had to sleep off the effects of too much food.
Dad had to sleep off the effects of too much food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We began with my family’s celebration.  It is always great to see everyone.  I know it hasn’t been that long but the kids are all growing up so fast.  I mean my niece is in high school so it is even more important.  She is almost grown up :(.  Too fast.  Gotta really make the most of this time and the kids certainly did.  They laughed, talked and even had a snowball fight.  I love how much of a good sport their cousins are.  Even though the eldest is  older by four years she gets down and joins in whenever they ask.  They both love it.

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This was also the year where I had pie for dessert.  Yup, gluten free pie.  I made Elspeth and myself a gluten free lemon pie in honour of her birthday.  The lovely non-GF pumpkin was made by my sister-in-law and that ended up being for her upcoming birthday.  It was great.

 

Thank you Pillsbury GF crust.
Thank you Pillsbury GF crust.
Loving the painted leaves.
Loving the painted leaves.
This was one of our centerpieces. Elspeth made it at Sparks.
This was one of our centerpieces. Elspeth made it at Sparks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was of course followed by presents and some time outside in the sun.  Oh, and a nap for grandpa.  Ample amounts of food will do that to you.

 

Both birthday girls.
Both birthday girls.

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The next morning, grandma helped the girls christen Elspeth’s new Babycakes maker.  They worked together to create toast cups for scrambled eggs.  No, they were not perfect but they had fun making them.

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The final surprise of the day was the arrival of drumming socks for Elspeth just in time for her up coming show.

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5th Birthday Party

 

Today was Elspeth’s 5th birthday party.  What a happy girl.  I can’t believe that in just a week my little will be 5!  What was the theme of the party?  Why Frozen of course!  Is there any other party theme at the present time? :)  We had bought her a Elsa dress for her birthday but it seemed that today was the best time to give it to her.  What a lovely smile we received in return.  No fears, we didn’t leave Katrine out.  I recently found an Olaf t-shirt on sale when I was out running errands.  Our party assistant was not only thematic but loving her new outfit.

The decorations were simple.  A combination of bought (donated by wonderful friends after their daughter’s party – thank you, you made Elspeth happy) and homemade.  My favourite decorations were the sign made by Elspeth and the Pin the Nose on Olaf game.  It was Katrine’s brain child.  She took it and ran with it. The funny thing about the game was how each player, inspite of having a blindfold on, managed to get Olaf’s nose in the correct place.  Birthday party luck? Fluck?  Don’t know, but they had fun which is what matters.

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Because it is a young kid’s party we had a lot of options.  That way they could move from an activity to another when they became bored.  As long as they were happy it was all good.  We did plan one whole group activity so that we could get the food out while the children were otherwise occupied.  It was an Indoor Snowball Fight!!!!  Balls of stuffing being flung through the air at each other and oft times at the adults.  Laughter, laughter and more laughter.  I would highly recommend this as a party activity.  In fact, I am saving it for the girls to use this winter on those super cold days.

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I found that these are cheap and kids love to run around my downstairs through these.
I found that these are cheap and kids love to run around my downstairs through these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We finished up with treats and then gifts.  I have to admit that I love giving the kids parties.  I have such great memories from my own childhood parties.  They rocked and thinking of them always makes me smile.  One part that I have fond memories of are my mom’s cakes.  One year she made me a teddy bear sitting up and another my very own Cabbage Patch Kid.  It was awesome.  My girls love to make cake and gladly stood outside with their dad mixing up the batter yesterday.  The gladly iced them and covered them with blue sugar.  They proudly served them today but it was the guests who ate them.  Both girls declared “We don’t like them.”  Sigh.

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Here is my question to you.  What do you do instead of birthday cakes?  Suggestions welcome.

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Markham Fair

We ended the week with a fun family outing to Markham Fair.  It was really fun…aside from the rain.  With all of the rides wet, the girls were a bit disappointed.  I was disappointed that I was the only one interested in the tractor pull.  Loud engines, bellowing smoke, what is there not to like?  Maybe next year we will need to try either the Monster Trucks or Demolition Derby.

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Anyways, we did see the Super Dogs show.  Which was as enjoyable as at the CNE.  Those dogs are really talented and not to mention adorable.  From there we went off to grab some food.  Boy was I surprised to discover that I got to eat too!!  While Glenn and the girls munched on roast beef Kaisers I enjoyed a steaming baked potatoe full of green onions, cheese and BACON!  Everything is better with bacon.

Markham Fair dinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we headed to the exhibit buildings to see how the girls had done.  Did I not mention that not only was this the summer of popsicles but also of crafting for the fair.  The crafting ran right up until the last day when Glenn supervised the making of rice krispie treats for the kids catergory.  I think that was the highlight of Katrine’s fair prep.  Elspeth enjoyed all of the art, and we did lots – veggie prints, fingerpainting, stickers, stampers, cutting, glueing  Me?  Watching my girls create.  My least favourite memory?  Having my fingers burned while holding things that were being glued.   They did well.  They didn’t place in everything but that is okay.  Nevertheless, they will be happy when they get to actually hold their ribbons on Sunday.

The girls at work:

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At the Fair:

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Tenor Drummer Takes the Stage for the First Time

What a weekend.  The girls got to break out the sprinkler one last time.  They raked leaves and jumped in them.  Ran around, screamed, laughed, smiled.  It was a great weekend with that alone.  Then it got better.

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The pipe band was invited to play at the local theater open house.  So off we went!  My parents had picked up Elspeth’s new kilt on Monday and she is use to her drum now, so the timing was perfect.

Once the band members attending had gathered they marched out with our little drummer girl at the end of the line.  Proudly drumming as she walked.  They played in and then after Oh Canada played Scotland the Brave before playing themselves out.  She was adorable and did a great job.  The past 9 months of practising have been well worth it as you can tell by the smile on her face.  Next big drumming thing is her show at the end of the month.

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Video: To follow!!!

When the band was done, the girls got to explore the other exhibits.  Meeting Curious George, eating gelato and cupcakes before coming home to more outside playtime.IMG_3362

 

We have a Spark!

Today was Elspeth’s first day of Sparks.  She was sooo excited.  In fact, she asked first thing this morning when she would get to go to Sparks.  I was a Brownie back in the day and only quit when it came time to chose between dance and Guiding.  A lot of great memories.  Hopefully it will be as fun for her and we got off to a great start tonight.

Here she is, our Spark.

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Our first fall fair

This weekend we went to our first fall fair/Charles’ birthday weekend.  As usual, get the cousins together and fun was had by all.  The fact that the kick off parade supplied ample candy may have helped things get off to a cracker jack start.  Now let me explain the reason that most pictures are of Elspeth.  Katrine spent large chunks of the day with her cousins – on big kid rides, admiring their entries, looking at animals or playing at the park.   Elspeth got to hang with us – little kid rides, kids zone, park.  Family time and smiles.  After seeing all of their cousins’ entries (2 firsts to boot! whoot! whoot!) the girls got even more excited about their own entries for our up coming fair.

Of course the girls loved the pink tractor....
Of course the girls loved the pink tractor….
...and the pink and purple hot rod.
…and the pink and purple hot rod.
Walking back to their house we passed this amazing display. Happy fall!
Walking back to their house we passed this amazing display. Happy fall!
Elspeth found some wheat and then turned it into a wheat family by breaking it apart.
Elspeth found some wheat and then turned it into a wheat family by breaking it apart.
"He, he mommy. A pumpkin on the potty."
“He, he mommy. A pumpkin on the potty.”

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Look at how tall they both are!
Look at how tall they both are!

 

A Hot Shot is born

We just found out today that Katrine is a Hot Shot.  A member of the Skater Ontario Hot Shot Team that is.  Very proud of our wee skatey miss.  She worked hard at the seminar in August and got chosen to this year’s team (sorry, fell down on the job and didn’t get photos).  What does this mean?  That she has potential I guess.  Definetely that she is working hard and improving.  So I am not 100% sure what I am bragging about other than that she made some province wide team for her skating and will be monitored and maybe get to go to a seminar.  Just the same, Yeah Skater Katrine!!!!

 

An Apple Pie

It was a banner day today.  I baked an apple pie of the gluten free variety that did not suck!! Yup, it is true.  The pie did not suck.  It actually tasted like my apple pie of olden days with all of its appley goodness.  Thank you Pillsbury for the excellent gluten free pastry.  I am a bit rusty but inspite of that it rolled out really nicely and browned nicely and was flaky to boot.  Delicious!  To top it off, I had to super cute helpers.

I put Katrine to work peeling and chopping.
I put Katrine to work peeling and chopping.
Elspeth was unhappy that she wasn't allowed to chop. Eventually she got into laying the apples and adding cinnamon.
Elspeth was unhappy that she wasn’t allowed to chop. Eventually she got into laying the apples and adding cinnamon.

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