Pre-Baby Girls Date

I think that there is a point in every pregnancy after your first where you start to feel a little bit of guilt. 

I always start to feel a little bit guilty about the time that the new baby is going to take away from our older kids and how it will effect our relationship. I know in the end that it will all turn out ok but I still make a bit of an extra effort in the final weeks to spend some quality time with the kids. 

Sydney has been so amazing lately. She really has stepped into the role of big sister and she has been helping us out with making the bedtime routine a little bit easier for our entire family. We decided that it would be the perfect time to take her out for a special afternoon. I picked her up after school on her early dismissal day this week and we headed out for frozen yogurt. She loves to pick out all of the toppings and has a great time trying everything out. The next stop was the nail salon for a manicure and pedicure. She has been talking about doing this forever! I was waiting until she was old enough to really enjoy it, but we have definitely reached that point. She sat happily and enjoyed every minute. She picked out her own polish colour and told me how good the warm water and massage felt. I hope we are not creating a monster here!

Mrs. E

Our Baseball Player

Dave and I have always looked forward to the time when the kids would be old enough to get involved with sports. We have also always known that we would let them guide us when it came to what they got involved in. 

When Sydney turned five the doors opened up when it came to what she was able to register for. She had already tried Sportball, which introduces kids to a new sport every week, so we decided to let her pick her sport for the spring. She surprised both of us by choosing baseball and with that we set out to find a good league for her. In the end we decided to put her in an actual Little League that starts with t-ball and practices once a week with games on Saturdays. She was so excited to pick up her uniform!

We began practicing right away. The league held some indoor spring training sessions that she took part in and we set up our T in the front yard for her to start using. 

Before we knew it, it was time for her first game! The kids at Sydney's age are non-competitive. The games are parent led and score is not kept. It is more a case of learning the rules of the game and the basic skills that she will need to move up to full on baseball. I would be lying if I said that we didn't need to convince her to get more involved in the beginning. But now that she has figured out how the game works she is so much more into it. She gets excited to bat and wants to be in position to get a lot of action like first base. Here are a few photos from the start of the season.

Henry is Sydney's ultimate cheering section!

Mrs. E

Brass & Baubles ~ Sunrise Citrus Quilt

Do you ever get an idea or find inspiration that makes you want to tackle a new project immediately? It happens to me all the time. 

A few weeks ago I saw a photo on instagram of the most incredible, simple quilt that I knew I could recreate in my own way. I have been really into bright citrus colours lately and I envisioned a bright spring quilt with an amazing ombre look. I made a quick trip to my local quilt shop and came back with these beauties....

After some quick cutting I started chain piecing like crazy! I had a vision and I wanted to see it completed.

The end result is amazing. I did some free motion quilting and the entire thing came to life! I hand bound it with a solid red and now I'm in love! This beauty will be listed in the Etsy shop soon.

Mrs. E

Sydney Anabelle ~ Disco Day

I don't know if this is common at every elementary school, but I swear Sydney's school has a themed dress up day every week!

A few weeks ago the theme was Disco day! Luckily our girl has some serious hair that works well with the Disco theme. The best part about a theme like this is that most kids have no idea what Disco is. We started with braiding her hair into three braids the night before while it was wet. She slept on it and wore her hair like this until it was time to get ready for school the next day. All it took was some hairspray, some teasing and a sparkly headband and she was transported back to the '70's. 

Mrs. E

Summer Has Arrived

Well, it's official. Summer has arrived very early in Edmonton

All week temperatures have been close to 30C and they are expected to be that way most of the next week. It is crazy how unseasonably warm it is! I can't say that I'm complaining, but I will say that it was completely unexpected. The kids have been loving every minute of the sunshine but the heat is taking some getting used to. It has been a week of early naps and bedtimes to combat some of the exhaustion that playing in the sun brings. It has also been a reminder of how much work it is is to get kids ready to go outside to play. All of the sunscreen, water and hats!

The pool has been set up, the sprinkler is on and we have been having the best time. I am definitely running out of clothes that fit me these days though. I have never been pregnant during the hotter months of the year and I absolutely refuse to buy summer maternity clothes for three more weeks of being pregnant. So for now I am leaving the house in some pretty interesting outfits. Here are a few photos from the last couple of days. We even managed go get a lot of our planting done!

Mrs. E