Daddy the Rockstar

I think I've mentioned before that Jeff is a drummer.

It's his "thing", the one he loves doing with all his being.

 And he's really {I mean really} good at it.

It's also one of the reasons that our paths crossed so it's an important part of our story.

With all the working and parenting and husbanding there hasn't been much time for drumming.

He has, however, had a great opportunity to do some studio drumming at Two Bodies of Water Productions.

Jeff has known the owner James for a while.

They have played together in the past and James has amazing musical knowledge.

It's a huge compliment that he puts his trust in Jeff to drum for his clients' tracks.

I have been wanting to see the studio for a while.

I thought Fiona would also love seeing Daddy at play work.

So last Sunday we headed down.

The studio is tucked away in a set of commercial condos and doesn't look like much from the outside.

Actually, this sign is the only indication of what lies beyond the walls.

Don't let that fool you, once you get inside it's impressive.

{Sorry for the grainy photos, you can almost see Jeff's head popping up at the back.  I will buy a nice camera soon, promise.}

It's great to see James {who used to jam in our basement} living his passion.

It's also great to see Jeff drumming again.

I used to love going to his gigs at seedy pubs but this was much more cushy.

Fiona loved it too.

She even got a tour and a chance to offer her two cents during a song listening.

PS He was recording for Shaun Boscsh who is definitely worth a listen.

Our New Family Portrait

This blog has been saturated with Cedric milestones so I'm happy to shine some light on Fiona today.

{Light that doesn't involve talk of genitalia that is.}

Fiona and I will often sit down to draw or craft and so far it's been fairly Mommy led.

Well, that's changing.

Fiona leads craft time now, she knows exactly what she wants to make.

If I'm lucky she'll take a suggestion here and there but that's a rarity.

The other night we sat down with just markers and paper and this little girl blew my mind.

Drawing has been mostly scribbling and the odd shape until now.

Fiona always has an explanation for her masterpiece but I can rarely see it.

Then she does this.

Now I'm not expecting anyone else to see this as beautiful.

I, however, think it's amazing.

{And no, I'm not offended that I am by far the largest.}

The members of this family have eyes, noses, mouths, arms, legs and even feet.

And in the right spots.

This is big people.

Definitely a keeper.

Cedric's Photo Party

It took me a while to decide what Cedric's first birthday party theme would be.

I kept asking myself what Cedric is "in to".

I know right?  Is a one year old really "in to" anything?

So I decided to make the party about what I'm in to.

And that is pictures of Cedric.

A theme was born.

It snowballed from there.

All puns were intended and stretched out at painful length on this invite.

 Decor was, what else but a bunch of pics of the birthday boy clipped to paper banners.

I also cut out "Oh Snap" in cardstock and sewed the letters together for a vertical banner.

A couple of Jeff's Grandpa's antique cameras made for a great centrepiece.

 For food we needed something "cheesy" so quesedillas fit the bill.

The Brie & Pear and Goat Cheese & Asparagus were delicious, both will be made again.

All possible food puns were pulled out to complete the menu.

I made a 2 tier cake covered with fondant with a camera graphic on top.

It's not quite as I had envisioned it but since I was designing this at 3:30am I'm letting it slide.

Yep, I realized that my store cake batter didn't work at midnight.

After Jeff did a convenience store run for eggs I ended up making this chocolate cake.

It turned out great but at the time that end result didn't seem possible.

Of course it was all worth it when I watched my little man devouring his piece.

 We set up a "photo booth" on the Mac which was a lot of fun.

The masks were a huge hit and were a Dollarama special for $1.25.

To reiterate the birthday boy's opening sentiment, thanks to all our fabulous friends and family who made it out to celebrate!

Last Weekend - Finally!

I didn't want to let last weekend go without sharing since it was such a great one for us.

I love winterguard season but I feel a huge relief when it's over.

Getting those Sundays back as a family day is amazing.

Last Saturday Fiona and I had a mommy-and-me outing.

Diana tipped us off about this great event held by the Alberta Ballet.

To introduce their 2013 season they put on a sampler performance for the public.

This was the first time Fiona had seen live professional ballet and she loved it.

I mean, how can you go wrong when they open with the Sugar Plum Fairy?

After the performance there were crowns to make and costumes to try on.

We even found one just for Fiona.

{I promise, Fiona wasn't being grumpy, just silly in my photo attempt below.}

We finished off the day with a couple of birthday celebrations.

On Sunday we decided to head to the zoo.

In the winter?  You might say.

I was a little hesitant myself but it was great.

The place was all but deserted and some of the animals seemed more content in the cool weather.

One exception was the water fowl who's winter abode pales in comparison to the summer pond.

{No photo included, it was too sad to photograph.}

This was Cedric's first real experience seeing jungle animals so his reaction was great to watch.

Here's to many more lazy family days in our future.

I've Known it From the Moment That We Met...

Today has been an emotional day for multiple reasons.

I have emerged from this March 6th feeling above all, lucky.

I feel especially thankful for our two beautiful babes.

Today is Cedric's birthday and this reminds me that they won't be babes much longer.

Yep, my little man is one.

We had a small celebration dinner at Urban Diner since we'll do it up on the weekend.

Jeff and I spent some time reminiscing about a year ago today.

I was so confident back then that the delivery would go well.

{Jeff was not I found out after the fact.}

Of course I was nervous and emotional but I knew at the time that all would end well.

I don't know if I would have that same confidence today.

I never doubted that my body would birth our children safely.

Even when it seemed like all the odds were against us.

But in the past year I've watched some of my most cherished friends lose their babes.

Amazing, healthy, smart women.

Women who deserve only happiness.

A great friend said to me {after finding out that they weren't pregnant that month} that she believed we each have to wait for the right soul to find us.

Whether or not I believe this, I think it's beautiful.

Cedric, I feel already that you have a kind and wise soul.

It is the soul that made our family feel complete.

"...no doubt in my mind where you belong."

Adele

Understanding Gender

I'm taking this blog to a new place today.

I was going to tell you about our weekend but that will have to wait.

We have entered the kids-say-the-darndest-things phase of our lives.

And for some reason I feel compelled to tell you this {somewhat inappropriate} story.

Jeff has been saying that he feels it is no longer appropriate to bathe with Fiona for a while now.

I don't feel the same way but after this bath-time conversation, I get it.

Cedric: Sleeping.

Fiona: One end of the tub getting her lather on.

Mommy: Other end of the tub laying back.

Fiona: Mommy, I washing my peen-ass.

Mommy: Fiona, you don't have a penis.

Fiona: Yah, like Daddy have a peen-ass.

Mommy: Yes, Daddy has a penis...

Fiona: And Cedric haves a peen-ass.

Mommy: Yes and that's because they're...

Fiona:  BOYS!

Mommy: Right and Mommy and Fiona are...

Fiona: GIRLS!

Mommy: Right so do we have penises?

Fiona: No.

Mommy:  Ok, glad we got that sorted.

Fiona: Mommy...

Mommy: Yes Fiona?

Fiona: If I be a boy, I have a purple peen-ass.

Our AGA

After an unsuccessful attempt at reintroducing ourselves to strollercize this morning we are at home licking our wounds.

I was that Mom leaving the building on the double with 2 wailing children.

My trick to not joining them {in the wailing} is to over compensate on the calm factor.

The more they cry the calmer I am.

When I'm almost at the breaking point I'll try smiling and can usually avoid melting down myself.

I'm sure I look insane to an outsider.

The other trick though is to convince myself that any witnesses are not thinking, "Man, those are some bad kids, she must be a terrible Mom" which, let's be honest, is the conclusion I come to naturally.

Instead I imagine them all thinking "Man, she's so calm, what an amazing Mom."

In actuality, I promise I'm not narcissistic enough to believe that anyone's even paying attention to us.

But it always feels like all eyes are on you when the kids are misbehaving.

Now, I don't want to give the kids a bad rap here.

Everyone's allowed to have an off day now and again but they really are wonderful babes.

Last night for example.

We took advantage of the Servus Community Access Night at the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Some great friends of ours tipped us off about this FREE evening on the last Thursday of every month.

They weren't able to make it this month but since Jeff was home on time we were.

{Jeff's been home for dinner every night this week.  It's a miracle folks!}

I am ashamed to say that this was our first time in the galleries at the new AGA.

I'm pulling the baby card and the business card since we've been in the thick of it since the grand opening.

{I know excuses, excuses right?}

I'm ashamed because this is an attraction that really makes me proud to be an Edmontonian.

The gallery was great, Fiona was great, Cedric slept {which is great}.

It even felt a little like a date which demonstrates how out of touch we are with dating now.

We're getting there, slowly returning to the real world.