It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

...Christmas!

I have a weekend trip to Toronto to share but that task seems a little daunting for a Sunday night.

Instead I am posting some pictures of the weekend.

We started it off right with a Friday night swim with our youngest friend Olivia.

Saturday began with Fiona's ballet dress rehearsal.

Her third dance recital is taking place next week and they are cute cute cute.

 In the afternoon we took in the Festival of Frozen Trees with our besties.

{There may have been a few Elsa, Anna and Olafs.}

 The new story corner was a welcome addition.

 And of course cookie decorating is a must.

 Cedric needed a little decorating help but had no problem completing the eating portion solo.

 We took in what we could of the decorations while running between children events.

 This was our first year sending Fiona in to the "secret kids only shopping".

In the whirlwind of figuring out how much money she needed and accidentally letting Cedric slip in behind her we failed to explain that this was her chance to buy Christmas gifts for others.

That's ok I thought, there are elf helpers in there, they'll explain it to her.

When she came out with that cheeky smile on her face, however, I just knew she had found some treasures for her own collection.

I know her so well.

In that moment I felt a mixture of emotions.

She was so happy and excited so I wanted to share that with her.

At the same time I felt like I had failed her.

I hadn't equipped her properly, not only for that shopping spree but for life.

Had I created a materialistic, selfish child?

Hadn't we discussed at length what the true spirit of Christmas was?

I expressed this to Jeff on our way to dinner.  He didn't disagree but kept fairly quiet.

After a lovely dinner my sweet child, who had behaved so well in the restaurant, said out of the blue "Mommy, I just love you."

I wanted to cry that I had doubted for even a split second the character of this wonderful little person.

I had forgotten that she is 4. 

{Four and a HALF she would say.}

I leaned to Jeff and said that I thought I had been too harsh in my initial reaction.

He said "no, not at all" of course {smart guy} but chuckled a little and I knew that he knew that I knew he had known that all along {smart guy}.

 This is one of the best shots I could get of Charlie all night.

The kid just does not stay still!

On Sunday we headed to our favourite tree lot at the U of A to visit those trusty Forest Society students.

We browsed the trees and I thought of picking a pine with those nice long needles or a sparse Charlie-Brown-looking douglas fir but we just kept coming back to our tried and true Balsam.

And the students approved, saying that it gives off the best smell and lasts the longest.

They're the experts you know.

Cedric was a big help carrying the tree.

 Fiona helped by cheesing up the lot.

 But the real smiles came when the candy canes were busted out.

I'm telling you, we just love those forestry students.

 They sawed the bottom and even offered to load it on the car.

 We declined since we were all prepared-like with bungee cords this year.

Fancy, I know.

  I forgot to get the shot of the tree loaded up at the lot which gave me the perfect excuse to get our lights in the background.

Christmas is officially in full swing over here.

Summer Recap 3: Back At It

So this is what I would usually consider Fall but since summer actually goes well into September I'm counting it.

Back to school came fast and I felt unprepared to be honest.

Luckily the transition back felt really easy since we were returning to the same program on the same days and already knew the drill.

The kids love that preschool and were really happy to be back.

This year we have also decided to enrol in a second preschool program.

 I wanted to get a little more involved in the community nursery school and have the kids meet more of our neighbours.

It has hit me lately that Cedric doesn't have any of his own friends yet {though he loves Fiona's friends} and I thought this nursery school could be good for him in particular.

He chose his favourite "cycle shirt" for the first day {and every day since}.

So far so good.

They've only been for a couple weeks but have delivered only glowing reviews.

Fiona also picked her own outfit, she is the "matching" queen right now.

This little change for us pales in comparison to the one our BFF Charlie made.

We are so proud of our little kindergartener and are lucky enough to have the opportunity to pick him up once a week.

Back to school also means back to Ballet and our regular Saturday morning routine.

The walk with this beauty and a little visit to the market are some of my favourite parts of the week.

Feefs settled right into the class, especially considering a couple of her good friends joined.

The class is great as always.

And the uniform couldn't be cuter on all these little ballerinas.

I know as I reflect further back into summer I will miss those hot lazy days.

For now though, we have all welcomed a little routine back into our lives.

Cecchetti Dance Theatre's Swan Song {but it's really mostly about Fiona}

I've said before that I have witnessed big change in my little girl this year.

After Fiona's year end dance performance I reflected on how far she's come in even this small part of her life.

When we first started attending the Cecchetti Dance Theatre classes I could barely peel Fiona off of me and certainly couldn't leave the room.

I sought help from the instructor with no great expectations.

But man, ask and you shall receive.

She immediately formulated a plan to transition Fiona into the class and make her feel comfortable.

After only a handful of weeks I was dropping her off and getting the backhanded wave as she sprinted to line up with her classmates.

She loved the classes so much that she even ran her own "dance show and lesson" at school just a month after the last performance.

 I volunteered to be one of the supervising parents at the show again which was exhausting but great.

I love being a part of the excitement backstage and seeing the beautiful performers up close.

On the other hand, 13 three and four year olds can wear a Mama out.

I was thankful for the lunch break and thoroughly enjoyed my date at Next Act with sweet Fi.

 The show was Peter Pan and once again blew me away.

The kids were captivated and forgot all about their own performance as they waited for the cue in the wings.

 Once they shuffled onstage, however, they stole the show.

Again.

Who wouldn't love these little lions and zebras?

As I mentioned in this post, the Cecchetti families received exciting news that the school, starting next season, will be the new Edmonton studios of the Alberta Ballet.

They certainly have earned it with the amazing instruction and organization.

Never would I have believed that it was possible to incorporate all levels and ages of performers into such a beautiful production, until I saw them do just that.

Again.

As long as this continues to make Fiona as happy as it does now, we look forward to many amazing performances yet to come.

Fiona's First Ballet

Fiona has been to watch the Alberta Ballet once which I shared in this post.

The preview that we attended at that time was the perfect length for an almost 3-year-old.

I was planning to make this year's Nutcracker Fiona's first experience with a full ballet.

Then we received some most wonderful mail, two tickets to the dress rehearsal of Alberta Ballet's latest offering, Class Acts.

How, you may ask, did we get so lucky?

As a testament to the quality of Fiona's dance school, Cecchetti Dance Theatre, they have been asked to join the Alberta Ballet as its Edmonton Studios.

As a current Cecchetti student, Fiona was invited to this performance.

And being such a kind Mama I skipped happily the whole way there agreed to go along.

I still haven't gotten used to the new courtyard outside the Jubilee entrance.

I love it, but it feels like a different building than that of my childhood.

Fiona told me as we chose our seat that she was scared and wanted to sit close to the back.

We agreed on one half way down and she looked around tentatively.

 After a while she settled into the seat, clutched her ticket and with a deep breath informed me that we could move a little closer.

 She took my hand and led me right up to the third row.

A little closer indeed, kid.

I was ecstatic since I rarely pay enough for such a great seat.

It took all my strength not to sneak a couple of close up pictures of those beautiful dancers but I'm a rule follower you know.

We absolutely loved the show.

I'm usually a sucker for classical ballet but this production had none of that.

What it had was pure entertainment, great music and a backdrop that was not in the least bit fussy but set the stage for each number seamlessly.

 Fiona had her treat radar on and spotted the ice cream immediately at intermission.

 We sat on those very steps just as I remember doing at her age.

Now this is a view that hasn't changed a bit.

I gave Feefs an out, telling her that if she would like we could head home.

She looked at me like I was crazy and informed me that she would like to go back and watch another show, thank you very much.

That's my girl.

 I was so happy that there was still decent light when we left so I talked Fiona into a picture.

She really was a happy camper but I mean, do you know a 4-year-old who will hold a smile for 10 seconds?

 We are so thankful to the Alberta Ballet for the opportunity to see this fabulous show.

We completely forgot that it was a dress rehearsal. 

Not once did they call a reset and our {untrained} eyes didn't see a single glitch.

Our 6th Day of Christmas

On our 6th day of Christmas Fi danced in the Snow Queen.

It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

I mean, need I say more?

Ok, just one more thing.
The fascinator.
That is all.

Sorry for the blur but I did not get any other parents permission to post their kids faces online.

Also I swear I would do her hair like this every day if she would let me which of course she won't.

 And I just had to share this picture of the men of the house at our pre-show brunch.

Half way there, we just might make it twelve after all.

Green Bag

It's been so long since I've done a "green" project.

It's actually been a while since I've done a project of any sort.

Unless you count yard work and gardening of course. 

All our summer time is spent outside and at the lake.

Everything else takes a spot on the back burner.

Fall is the perfect time for a little reusing since our needs change at this time of year.

The kids are involved in new activities so we need to equip them accordingly.

Fiona started a dance class this fall.

I'm in heaven by the way. 

This is in fact the sweetest dance class you've ever seen.

These little 3 and 4 year olds are dancing on hundred year old floors to a live pianist.

The teachers are amazing and it's within walking distance of our house.

Like I said, heaven.

After the first class we realized a little bag to put her gear in would be helpful.

We have approximately 253 reusable totes to choose from but none fit the bill.

Up to the attic we went in search of some fabric and instead spotted this...

My friend Julie passed this down and it was one of our faves.

When I was planning out this project I actually couldn't bring myself to cut this dress.

You know, on the off chance I want to use it again?

I don't know, maybe I can pass it forward someday.

Anyways, because of my hesitation, this project is reversible.

1. Turn inside out.
2. Pinch the bottom hem.
3. Accordion along the whole hem.
4. Feed {threaded} sewing needle through all layers.
5. Loop back and repeat until accordion is sewn then tie off the thread.

That's it, super easy and ends up looking like this.

Fiona loves it and Mama loves the cost of $0.

Weekend in the City: Why Hello Again Playgrounds

Our neighbourhood friends and I have commented many times how little we see each other in the winter.

Once we can get outdoors it's like we come back to life.

The playground especially is a hub of activity.

You're almost guaranteed to run into a friend or two.

If not, you usually make a new one.

We're a little behind on playground season since we had those 2 glorious weeks away.

This weekend, though, we got back to it.

The playground by our community hall is a true gem.

Not only does it contain our local spray park but it has the greatest vintage equipment.

It also has a couple chess tables which make me reminiscent of the parks in Paris.

Not to mention it's blocks away from our Farmer's Market, also a gem.

One of these community friends I speak of happened to be on route to her dance recital when we bumped into her {at the park of course}.

We took a chance and ended up with the last 2 seats in the house.

Fiona didn't stop talking about it for the rest of the day and is now enrolled for September.

Daddy was absent due to some necessary catching up at the shop on Saturday.

 We made up for it with a trip to our other playground on Sunday and brunch at our favourite diner.

We missed you playgrounds, good to be back.

The Pursuit of Their Happiness

I really want my kids to find their thing.

You know, the activity that you can't wait to go to.

Not the one that you like but you fake sick once in a while to get out of.

The one that you go to anyways and try to cover up the illness.

I liked playing soccer as a child {for fun} but didn't enjoy the games.

I played the flute as a pre-teen and really enjoyed playing {for fun, at home, by myself} but lessons were a drag.

When I found my "thing" {at 15 years old} it changed my life.

I thought about colorguard everyday all day and couldn't wait for rehearsal nights.

{For those of you who are all "color-whaaa?" check this video out.}

That's what I want for them, whatever it may be.

Now, confession time.

Although all of the above is true, I also really hope that one of them choose ballet as their "thing".

We started a parented dance class and the moment I put those little pink slippers on Fiona I was sunk.

The world of ballet is so appealing to me, from this outsiders perspective at least.

I am well aware of some of the negatives to this art form, particularly body image issues.

It just warms my heart to think of her little body achieving such beautiful movement.

So far Fiona's a much bigger fan of hockey and gymnastics but I'm not throwing in the towel yet.

Besides, if she opts out I can always hope Cedric has a mini-Baryshnikov waiting to jete out.

Weekend in the City {Wedding Style}

It's over, just like that.

No more weddings this summer.

Jenna married Steve this weekend and it was fabulous.

I was so honoured to be a part of this wedding as I was the last.

I loved that they were so different yet had many similarities. 

Different: Picture locations

Let me just start by saying that those who know Jenna know that my girl has connections.

They also know that if she has her mind {or heart} set on something, step aside, it will happen.

For location #1 she had us climb up a ladder and through a trap door {I'm not making this up folks} to the roof of the Sutton Place hotel.  

The remainder of the locations were also urban and just as fun.  

Nothing, however, topped the finale at a XXX sign on Jasper Avenue.

Same: Favours

Jenna also had some locally sourced and hand packaged favours.

I was able to snag a couple extra of these great smelling soaps during tear down the next day.

Different:  Guest list.

Jenna and Steve had an "Adult evening of dinner and merriment".

I always love kids at a wedding, seeing them tear it up on the dance floor is great.

You know what else is great?

Zero responsibility!

Grandma and Grandpa came over to hang with Feefs and Ced while we partied.

And party we did!

{I shouldn't say zero responsibility since I did still zip home throughout the day to nurse.

Thanks to the bridal party for being so accommodating.}

There was only one exception to the rule.  We all needed this Mama {below} to stay longer than an infant nursing schedule would allow so Chloe joined the party.

Same:  Flash Mob.

The Father-Daughter dance transitioned into a mash up of "Stayin' Alive", "YMCA", the "Chicken Dance", "Macarena", "Greased Lightning" and "Single Ladies".  It eventually got everyone on the floor for "I've got a Feelin" and was a perfect kick off to the night.

{I have no pics since I was involved.  Can anyone help me out?}

Same:  So much love and a touch of nostalgia.

The day was so easy going and real.

Jenna had a part of her Grandmother's veil {which her Mother also wore} made into a gorgeous comb.

Different:  Formal shoes.

My glutes got a good workout!

Same:  Comfy shoes.

Being ever the thoughtful friend, the Bride bought us bridesmaids some picture/dancing shoes.

Different:  Midnight lunch.

The urban feel of the pictures was complimented by some street meat courtesy of Fat Franks!

It was a huge hit, genius right?

Same:  Beautiful.

Jenna said in her thank-yous that Pinterest planned her wedding.  

But even Pinterest couldn't have infused this much heart and soul.  

This day had Jenna written all over it.

{You know you're special if Bridget Ryan MCs your wedding.}

Congrats Jenna and Steve!