Photo Wednesday: All Aboard

This afternoon, darling daughter decided to give some of her "peeps" a ride in her small wooden wagon. She is shouting "Bye, Mommy" to me as she pulls her wagon. Two year olds can be so damn cute.

Photo Wednesday: Welcome October

I snapped this photo today while we were out on a walk on the wonderful trails near our house. Fall has certainly arrived and it was a great day to stomp and wade through leaves.

Photo Wednesday: Preschool

Today was a momentous milestone for us as darling daughter started preschool.

Wearing her little back pack, it was a wonder that I didn't cry this morning. However, I did shed some tears during last week's orientation session while darling daughter was playing at the various stations preschool staff had set up for the kids. I had to look away and look interested in the reading corner so no one noticed I was getting teary-eyed. It doesn't seem that long ago that we brought her home from the hospital. Now, she is saying full sentences and going to preschool. In no time at all, she'll be going to kindergarten.

There was no tears this morning as there was a flurry of activity as parents filled out last minute forms, paid snack fees and provided immunization information. When I returned, I was welcomed with several pieces of artwork, most of which are laid out to dry in a spare room.

The preschool years have started. It is good for both of us. I have two hours to myself and darling daughter is able to socialize with other kids.

Photo Wednesday

Lately, for whatever reason, I haven't been taking that many photos, but I did catch darling daughter feeding her Pooh Bear lunch the other day. Toddlers are funny creatures. I bought that bear when she was about two months old because it reminded me of the huge Pooh Bear that was in one of the waiting room at CHEO that I used to sit and wait in when I was a kid. Until last week, it sat quietly on top of a book shelf. Now, she has taken a huge interest in him and he is now a regular at her tea parties. I'm surprised he hasn't joined the crib posse that consists of two stuffed Care Bears, a little purple cow, a Cabbage Patch doll, a doll and two assorted teddy bears.

Photo Wednesday

This week's edition of photo Wednesday is a stinker, of sorts. It is garbage day on our street. The amount of garbage we place at the curb has been reduced drastically with the faithful use of our organics bin. Our garbage consumption has been further been reduced with the introduction of potty training as there are less diapers going to the landfill.

While I may seem like a bad neighbour for complaining about the following, I am tired of going out every garbage day and seeing the lack of recycling boxes at the curb. Of the residents who use this garbage pad, we are the only ones who use a green bin. Actually, there are only a handful of organics bin users on my street. Except for our blue bins, others of their species are rarely seen at the garbage pad. However, I should mention one of my neighbours did put out their blue bin after this photo was taken. Also, remnants of a dresser were also added to the pile. (Come on people, have you ever heard of an organization called Goodwill?) I will give my immediate neighbour a pass on this because she barely makes any garbage. (It really is quite amazing. I'd like to know her secret).

But please consider this a public plea of sorts: please, please, please consider using the green organics program. It substantially reduces garbage output. Less garbage in bags at the curb is a good thing. Plus, you are paying for the program so you might as well use it.

Rant over.

Photo Wednesday

This week's photo is of darling daughter mucking around in the mud on the ocean floor at the Bay of Fundy. By the time we left, both dear husband and darling daughter were covered in mud. (From darling daughter exploration and from dear husband carrying her when she realized her sandals and feet were covered in mud. There was a bit of a freak out on darling daughter's part). As a true dirt-a-phobic, I did my best to keep clean. We soon realized that it may not have been the best idea to bring a toddler to explore the floor of the Bay of Fundy, however, we did have fun, despite the dirt and the long wait to clean off our shoes at the water station.

Photo Wednesday

Dear readers, I'm sure you are wondering how this beaten up, downtrodden laundry basket is this week's Photo Wednesday photo. But there is a story behind this laundry basket. Four years ago, I saved it from the landfill as my grandmother was ready to chuck it out, along with its two siblings. The laundry baskets were done, she reasoned. They had a good life. They had served her well since she bought them back in 1984. (Yes, 1984. I remember the year well). But I saw a glimmer of life left in these baskets and I rescued them.

They have been serving me well for the last four years, but this one is starting to show its age. Dear husband has been quietly hinting that I should take it to the curb and say goodbye. But I can't. This is one of the best laundry baskets ever. Yes, it is falling apart. Yes, it is cracked in several different places. But its cracked side hugs to my body when I haul it up and downstairs. I know the time will come to say goodbye, but I hope to get a couple of more years out of it. Who can say they own a 26 year old laundry basket?

Photo Wednesday

I discovered this scene in darling daughter's booster seat earlier this week. I absolutely had no hand in this. Apparently it was breakfast time for darling daughter's puppy. I'm assuming the reason the face cloth is on the puppy's face is a proactive move on darling daughter's part to keep his face clean during the eating process.

Photo Wednesday

This week I have another tower creation to show the world. This time, it is made out of alphabet blocks and animal pieces from Darling Daughter's Melissa and Doug's farm puzzle. I thought I'd take a quick photo of it before it got knocked over.

Photo Wednesday

This week's photo is of tower building. Or in this case, tower rebuilding. One of the new activities darling daughter and dear husband have been doing in recent weeks is building towers and knocking them over. They have great fun.

Photo Wednesday

This week's photo is of darling daughter pretending that our new green bin is a shopping cart. "Shopping cart, shopping cart," is what I heard come out of her sweet little mouth as she was trying to push it around the house when we got it on Monday afternoon. The "shopping cart" is now at the curb, waiting to provide a deposit to the organics truck.

Photo Wednesday

There are two photos this week, both of which feature darling daughter's posse. At the current moment, she cannot go anywhere without her beloved Care Bears and baby. They go with her for nap time, bed time, play time and snack time. In the above photo, she insisted that they come up with her as she got changed for the day. Below, they are lined up, watching her eat breakfast.

Photo Wednesday

This photo was taken at last Saturday's Barrhaven Run for Roger's House. As part of the race kit, I received a T-shirt. Unfortunately, I didn't like the cut of the neckline. Fortunately for darling daughter, she loved it. She wore it the night before and during the race. We've also found the key to keeping her happy and entertained during running races: bring the wagon instead of the stroller. That way, she can climb in and out when she wants to.

52 weeks: a photo essay

Recently, dear husband sent several photos of darling daughter to his parents. After they received the package, my father-in-law thanked dear husband for the photos, but he had a question: where was I in the photos?

I wasn't included in any of the photos as I hadn't taken any photos of me and darling daughter together in months. This is likely due to the fact I've been in group photo withdrawal for the last four months.

I've been meaning to blog about this project for months, but the subject slipped my mind. Anyway, photo Wednesday seems like the perfect opportunity to blog about it. In February, I finished my 52 weeks with darling daughter photo project. I should preface that this wasn't my idea. I got the idea from an online moms group. The premise of the project is to take a photo of you and your child (or children) once a week for a total of 52 weeks. They can be posed photos. They can be photos of you reading together, or playing in the park. The possibilities are endless. At the end of the project, you have a treasured keepsake. And it is a way for moms to get photos of them and their little ones together as moms are usually the photographers of the family.

I started the project when darling daughter was nearly six months old and it ended when she was 18 months. I have photos of us doing laundry together, her watching me knit, blowing out the candle at a family gathering to celebrate her first birthday, reading stories, playing with toys and at the park, craving a pumpkin at Halloween and decorating the Christmas tree. While a good majority of the photos were taken by dear husband, some of them were taken by myself.

While I was happy to finish the 52 week project as it took some work, I was a bit sad to see it come to an end. Obviously, I wasn't that sad to pick up the camera and start on 104 weeks with darling daughter. I'd like to do it again, but I'm not too sure when. I wonder if darling daughter would be willing to participate in the 52 weeks with darling daughter -- the teenage years?

Photo Wednesday

I took this photo after darling daughter and I lined up her Little People along the dining room table this morning. She'd bring one to me, I'd say the name of the character (ie: sheep, boy, cow, pig), and then I'd ask her to say the character's name. Obviously, we repeated this several times. She is very partial to the sheep. Also, she thinks the horses are cows. Oh, soon-to-be two year olds are funny and cute little creatures.