Life Update

I have so much to say about these two amazing creatures.

Of course when I finally have a minute to write, much of it has left my head.

Worth a try though so here we go.

 One thing I will never forget is this conversation.

Me: {Reading an article about a woman who is dying of cancer and has two young children with tears streaming down my face.}

Fiona: "You ok Mommy?"

Me: "You know Mommy loves you guys so much right?"

Fiona: "We know Mommy."

Me: " And you know that Mommy would do anything for you and your brother right?"

Fiona:"Yep."

Me: "If there was anything I could do that would make your lives better I would do it, ok?"

Fiona: {Pause} "You're doing it Mommy."

 As we prepare ourselves Fiona for kindergarten I'm noticing some pretty big bravery.

The babe that I wasn't sure would be ready I now have no doubts about.

Cedric on the other hand is a huge personality contained in a tiny {yes still} body.

He has an obsession with underwear and has been known to change into a pair of his playdate host's undies from time to time.

He loves singing along to Annie.

He calls all cranes "Cranky" from Thomas the Train.

As in "Whoa Mommy look at that big Cranky!"

He will often approach me and say "Twoo {true} wuv's {love's} kiss" and plant a big smooch.

Him and Bunbuns are still semi-attached and can usually be found nose to nose.

He has a wicked sweet tooth.

He has also had two black teeth from his many falls.  

Did you know teeth can fade back to white? You do now.

His nicknames are Ced, Cedced, Mr. Ced, Ceds and Super Dave.

The latter is probably the most fitting.

The lake has given us some great moments as always.

Though we wish there could be more of them.

It seems wrong that the summer is half gone.

 We still have the cabin listed as we're hoping to become lake neighbours with our besties.

This summer we watched them welcome another member to their family {more on that later, no promises on a timeline}.

Our desire to share those lake memories became even more apparent.

Our Alberta prairie day trips to see them will have to do the trick for now.

And they are.

Whoa, Where Did Summer Go? Let's Recap.

I have so much to share.

I do not, however, want to photo dump you so I'm going to attempt a summer catch up in instalments.

Let's work backwards though to take advantage of the now first.

 Lake life has been so good to us as always.

We have such a beautiful little world up there.

And just when I think it can't get any nicer, some Pelicans drop by to say hello.

In reality they're probably saying goodbye but let's not go there just yet, I have to catch you up on our summer right?

Fiona is growing like crazy, more mind than body these days.

She is starting to show interest in letters and even a little math.

She sings all the time and recently started "playing" her guitar but only when Cedric is willing to accompany her on drums.

 Cedric is keeping his steady growing pace, he's never been a weed that one.

What has exploded, however, is his language.

He is communicating clearly now and has the manners of a champ.

He never forgets his "pease", "fank you", "wow-come", "sowwy" {lots of sowwys} and my favourite "scuse-ee" with a hint of an italian accent.

 We had such a great summer but {as I've said before} these chilly days of fall are my favourite.

The colours are starting to appear on the trees and the cozy sweaters are getting their workout.

 Our evening walks are just a little darker, the sun just skimming the tops of the trees.

 This summer has also seen a change in Feefs and Ced dynamic.

Sure, they fight more as Cedric is finding his confidence and standing up to his big sis.

But man do they love hard.

It is not uncommon to find them "nuggling" or playing happily together.

I know it will continue to change but I sure am enjoying this phase.

One last recent development I will leave you with is one that my feelings change on daily.

We have decided to list the cabin that we love so much.

It was a hard decision but we have our sights set on a new property.

This place would take us to the same lake as our friends who are actually more like family.

We love where we are but can see so many benefits to moving.

So we're giving it a go even though it's not the best time to buy a lake property.

We are willing to hold out for next year but are staying hopeful.

In the meantime, knowing our time there could be short, we are enjoying it that much more.

Some Favourite Pics From the Weekend

This was a bonus weekend for us.

I was supposed to work on Saturday then mid week a friend reminded me that she owed me a weekend and that she would take this one.

Well she sure didn't have to ask me twice, I jumped at the chance to get back to the lake.

There was plenty of horsing around by these munchkins which produced this.

I was attempting to get a nice picture of Fiona but these days I get a lot of duck lips.

Then Cedric jumped in with this epic photobomb and now one of my favourite shots of them.

 It was Daddy's birthday last week {kept quiet on strict orders}.

He had been talking about paddle boarding so after searching a bit I found one in our price range.

We both had some fun with it this weekend, definitely a good buy.

The kids insisted on watching him and tested their balance on the floating dock.

Fiona says: "Cedric, you have to balance with your arms like this."

Cedric says: "No Nona."

{Nona=Fiona}

We're used to big skies in Alberta but at the lake they're something else.

Not something I will tire of any time soon.

Canada Day {Lake Style}

Happy Belated Canada Day!

We raced out of town as soon as I was done work on Monday to get our watermelon faces on.

 I was torn about leaving town since it meant missing the inaugural High Level "Light the Bridge".

Not that it compares at all but I did experience it via video and now if you missed it, so can you.

Yet another thing to love about this city.
The lake fireworks paled in comparison of course but it still set the festive tone.

One of the highlights of our celebration was a visit from cousin Avery, Auntie Brie, Grandma and Grandpa.

The kids are even more enamoured with her now that she's interacting.

At about 3 1/2 months she's at one of my favourite stages.

So much discovery and still such a baby.

As we relished in this new life in our family I remembered the one that was lost last year on July 1st.

I still think of you often Grandad but on Canada Day I am reminded of your commitment to your country, family and friends.

Thank you.

Boat season is in full swing and Fiona has found new confidence on the water.

She channels her Titanic and races to her spot at the bow as soon as her foot hits the deck.

She is also much more confident in the water and jumps carefully lowers herself into the water {just like-a Mama} readily.

These crazies cannon balled right in of course.

I fully expect Feefs to be doing the same by the end of the summer.

I also fully expect to be proven wrong and have her do something like rediscover her fear.

Because if there's one thing I've learned as a parent it's that I will always be proven wrong.

 They will seldom do what I'm sure they will and, you know, I'm becoming comfortable with that.

Keeps me on my toes right?

Last year Cedric would have jumped off the side of the boat at speeds upwards of 60 kph.

This year he seldom looks up, clutches at me when the boat picks up speed and wants nothing to do with swimming in the lake. 

If I'm being honest though, I'm happy to see his cautious side since it so rarely makes an appearance.

Update on Fiona and the Lake

As Fiona stomped out of the room screaming today {or something like that, I've lost track} my {pregnant} friend Jenna commented that "this is why they don't come out 4."

There could not be a more true comment.

I remember when Fiona was first born we had a friend from Calgary stay with us for a while.

I agreed to watch her 4 year old daughter on the days she went to work.

She was a sweet girl but I remember at the time thinking that I would never have enough energy to parent a preschooler, ever.

At the time I certainly did not.  

But only because I was the mother of a barely crawling baby.

I had yet to be broken in.

I hadn't had to run after/ reason with/ argue with/ reprimand/ hand out consequences to/ have my feelings hurt by a child yet.

I only knew how to parent an 8 month old, it's all I needed to know.

Now I have this beautiful girl who will be attending public school in only a year's time and I still find myself wondering if I am doing the best I possibly can for her.

At least now I have the energy.

Fiona loves dressing like a princess {just ask the cashiers at the grocery store}.

Fiona loves to sing and dance but only on her terms, if you ask for a performance you will most likely get a no.

She starts many sentences with "Well, most-blee..." or "And even I..."

She still loves eating at a "res-iss-trant" and can often out-eat us all.

She's a fast runner and has recently started choosing a scooter as her mode of transportation.

She's so funny but this side of her personality stays most-blee at home.

She is cautious but will at times take some {calculated} risks.

She surprised me the other day by going down the big waterslide at our pool all by herself.

Months ago she shocked me by doing this for the first time then a fall on the way out made her rethink the decision, until now.

She is constantly surprising me.

She is a breath of fresh air.

 Until she's not.

Fiona likes to do things like colour all over her body or cut chunks of her hair off.

Don't even mention what I'm in for in her teens, I know.

 Then moments later she'll do something so sweet like pick me a bouquet of "flowers" or line them up the steps.

 She still needs more sleep than most children much younger and has reverted to taking a daily nap.

Pretty much anywhere.

 She loves the lake and can't wait to break out the pink lifejacket.

We're one step closer since we got the dock in a couple weeks ago.

This was one of our big projects out there since we turned the large section into a floating dock.

We managed to get it done in a day since the kids cooperated and it cost us a total of $10 for materials since we already had 2 barrels.

Now we're just praying that it holds up.

 We toyed with the idea of investing in running water {with tanks} and approached the bank for an equity line of credit to do so.

We have almost two hundred thousand in equity but found ourselves having to fight a little too hard for the loan.

According to the bank, Jeff's salary cannot count towards our income since he is "self-employed". 

Never mind that Jeff is payed a monthly salary by our company with multiple shareholders.

Never mind that we provide work to 8 people and have written letters of employment for their financing.

In the end we dropped it since the frustration wasn't worth the end result.

At this point I would much rather haul a couple of water jugs and use the outhouse than plead our case to another banker.

May Long Weekend in Pictures

We had a fabulous long weekend at the lake.

It was full of great friends, great food and great fun; peppered with a little work.

The lake is up again.

Can I get a hallelujah.

 The weather was beautiful.

The kids were happy.

 Fiona honed her art skills.

 There was much more laughing than crying.

Our new screen door took a beating.

Cedric was thoroughly impressed that this {empty} beer bottle featured a bike.

 Food takes so much better at the lake.

 The kids pitched in.

 A rare snuggle with the dogs.

We stayed out as late as possible by the warmth and light of the campfire.

 Thanks Christy for capturing a family photo.

 The kids refused to come in during the single rainstorm.

 But even indoors felt like an oasis.

Here's to a summer full of the same simple moments.