Glossy lips!

Before I forget, AK had her 2.5 year check up yesterday. She is 27lbs and 35 inches tall. She's going to be taller than her mama before I know it!

AK got into her lip gloss the other morning. She spent a lot of time with the glitter too. I think I have a diva on my hands!

Boxing Day and public holidays

I had the day to myself on Boxing Day. I pretty much did nothing, other than read, watch a movie, go to yoga, go to the beach and put together the vanity set. It was a much-needed quiet day. And it's a good thing I rested up as I babysat the next day!

I hung out with Jake and Molly all afternoon, then AK joined us around 5pm. Thank goodness Tammy came by to help too, and Brent came home to get the kids to bed, as it was very very busy!!! Jake and Molly were awesome and they all had a great time playing together after supper.

On Tuesday, AK and I headed over to Dart Park to meet up with Cindy and her family, and with AK's old nanny Angella, and her son Alex. It was chilly - all the kids had on pants and sweaters, as did the adults too! We walked down to the water, there is ironshore there, and it almost felt like a spring thaw. The water kept washing up over the ironshore and trickling down through the cracks. With the breeze, and my eyes closed, I almost felt as I was in MB for spring!!!

AK and I also did her new kid's yoga DVD. She loved it (and so did I!). This will be a great thing to do when the evenings get dark early and AK wants to burn off some energy before bedtime.

Unfortunately I got that wicked stomach bug yesterday... ugh... still not 100% but much much better than I was yesterday. xo

Christmas Day

It's a big big one, Mommy!

Princess laptop from Uncle Chris, Aunty Kathy, Rylan and Cade

Princess makeup set from Grandma and Grandpa, complete with tiara and wand

Putting on some lip gloss

Taking a break...

After three weeks of being told to stay away from the presents, I think AK was shocked when I encouraged her to open them!

Angel costume from Gill, Jim, Alex and Anna

Electronic game from Grandma and Grandpa

Books from Grandma and Grandpa

Taking a break again... this present opening thing is hard work!

AK was most impressed with the fact that the milk and cookie was gone, and that Santa had left a note for her. It took her a bit to get into the gift opening but she really seemed to enjoy playing with all her new toys. Lots of glitz and glamour for this little girl - her big gift was a vanity set, and she also got lots of new makeup and dressup things to use with the vanity. AK is pretty spoiled... I must say!

She was also very helpful, helping me open MY gifts!

We had a nice breakfast with my friend Yvonne and her friend Tracy who are holidaying on the island right now. We then went to church, and AK attended her first service. She did really well, and I'm sure it helped that the service was only an hour long!

AK went to her daddy's after that, and I went to my friend Charmain's for supper. It was a great meal, and we played games after supper. I was on my way home by about 9pm though... all the Christmas festivities played me out! xo

Soon come

I've been remiss in putting up the Christmas photos... it was great fun and I am looking forward to sharing stories with you.

Unfortunately I've been knocked flat on my butt today with a yucky stomach bug. I am miserable and you would not enjoy the stories I have to tell right now!!! xo

We're ready for you, Santa!!!

Milk and a cookie for Santa

New pajamas for Christmas!

PJ pic with Jake and Molly

Next to the Forsyth tree

Santa came and worked his magic!!!

South Sound Christmas Lights!

Countdown to Christmas - 2 more sleeps!

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Hugs for Mickey Mouse!

Candy cane! (AK has unfortunately entered that phase of smiling where she looks like she's in pain instead of happy)

AK looks afraid of Santa but she really quite enjoyed seeing him!

Girls' Movie Night Out!

Cindy and I decided to take the girls to see the Muppet Christmas Movie at Camana Bay tonight. A screen is strung up outside so we get to sit on blankets on the ground, with lights all around us, to watch the movie! It was so fun and the girls were wonderfully behaved for their first real, big girl movie experience!

Waiting for the movie to start

Molly cuddling with Cindy

Molly didn't quite make it to the end of the movie!

AK wouldn't even smile for the camera, she was so engrossed in the movie.

I think the girls had a great time :) and it was a fun Christmas memory to make. The ladies in front of us had it right - champagne, cheese, crackers, grapes... some people had pillows, some kids had their PJs on.

Yay for another public holiday!

From the Cayman Compass yesterday:

Royal wedding a holiday

The marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be a public holiday in Cayman

It’s official, next year, the Cayman Islands will join the UK in celebrating the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton with an additional public holiday.

The wedding is scheduled for Friday, 29 April 2011 which will also be the date of the extra public holiday.

This new holiday will officially become part of the schedule of public general holidays when a Public Holidays Order is issued next year, in accordance with the Public Holidays Law (2007 Revision).

Even better - the holiday is just a week after Easter so we'll have two short weeks in a row!!! xo

Santa Claus's Video Message for Annabelle

Santa Claus's Video Message for Annabelle

Click on the link above to see. AK loves this video. She has watched it about six times today. She sits there with wonder in her eyes, and loves that Santa is talking to her. She talks a lot about the toys that he is going to be bringing her. Four more sleeps!!!

ps - the video takes a while to load - don't be discouraged - just hang in there!

Beach Day!

AK and I took the day off of school / work today as a friend of mine was coming in on a cruise ship for the day. It almost felt like we were playing hooky by going to the beach!

We were up at the usual time, but took it easy, took our time waking up today! We ran a few errands before heading downtown, AK helped me mail my Christmas cards at the post office. If you were wondering, you will be receiving your Christmas card VERY late this year!!!

We met my friend and her family downtown (there was her, her husband, her little boy 4yo and her little girl 2yo) and we headed down to Public Beach. Cindy also met us with Molly and Jake. We played in the water, on the sand, on the playground, had some food and drinks - our usual day at the beach! AK is really taking a liking to Baby Jake and to Molly.

We dropped the cruise shippers off downtown, and headed home. AK was so tired she fell asleep in the car. She napped for another couple of hours, at least, when we got home. As she has locked herself in her room twice over the weekend, I left her door open a bit and it was lovely to have her come out of her room and find me in the living room with her sleepy eyes. (Aside - luckily the door knobs are the kind you can pop the lock open using a bobby pin. Still scary times for me though! I need to find something that will keep AK from pushing the lock in, as she's still a wee bit too wee to successfully open the door when she tries)

My worst fears have been realized - when I attempt to sing along with AK, she stops singing, puts her finger to her mouth and says "sssssssss, mommy be quiet!" (she can't quite do shhh yet). So she either wants to be the center of attention or she doesn't like my singing. I'm guessing it's the latter...

My company today asked if I wanted anything from Canada so I asked for some mini Coffee Crisp bars. They told me a sad story of their luggage getting lost, but one bag was delivered to the ship this morning... unfortunate the CC were in the other bag! Oh well! I'd have gladly given up the chocolate bars for them to have both bags back!

Last night was a late night for AK. I was invited for supper at Cindy and Brent's but wasn't able to put AK down to sleep there before we had supper so by the time we finished supper and I looked at the clock, it was 9pm! AK and Molly were pretty happy playing and watching Christmas movies though. I am still wondering when a late night = a sleep-in the next morning!

AK is asking about her little friends - wondering where Hunter, Matthew and Gracelyn are. She knows that they are in the snow and the cold. AK and I watched a video of Matthew playing in the snow this morning - funny stuff - and AK told me "I like the snow!". xo

Weekend edition

• AK was wonderful for Brent and Cindy last night. She didn't even get upset when I left her to go to my Christmas party! She told me that she and Molly watched a "christmas video" before they went to bed.
• Karen gave me a beautiful scarf from Egypt yesterday. AK loved it - she wrapped it around her like a sari and had to go see in the mirror how beautiful she looked!
• AK likes to ask "mommy, are you happy?". How can you not look at that sweet face and be happy? It's been a great weekend together.
• AK is becoming fanatical about "washing hands". I'm on the verge of wondering if she has a problem!
• We had Mike and Julie over for supper tonight and AK entertained us with her versions of Christmas carols. She had a really great time visiting with them tonight. She ate up her supper of sausage, perogies and vegetables! She nearly cleaned her plate, and really enjoyed her treats after supper.
  
• AK sang her songs to Grandma Z on the phone today too.
  
• AK keeps checking out the gifts under the tree. It is tough for her to see them and not be able to open them all!
• We went swimming again today... brrr... the water hasn't quite warmed up to pre-cold front temps yet!
• My Christmas party was great fun :) I started waking up around 630am, thinking "man, I am not looking forward to getting up with AK this morning", then realized I didn't have to get up with AK, then started to miss her :P I fell back asleep til 830am, which was heavenly. Still a bit tired but nothing a good night's sleep won't fix.
  
• AK helped me decorate some Christmas cards today. See the artist hard at work below!!! xo
  

Pool Party!

AK and Molly cuddling after the swimming
Molly showing Karen how well she swims!

Jake catching a ride with AK

Finally - the ever-elusive mother/daughter photo!

Happiness is...

Letter to Santa Claus!

After AK's nap yesterday, we headed down to Camana Bay to the pool party. On the way there, I pulled up at a red light, looked over and realized that Santa Claus was in the vehicle next to us! He didn't have his hat or beard on but he did have his red suit on! I pointed him out to AK, and she looked over at him with the most wondrous look on her face! She was too surprised to wave to him, and seemed very shy. She kept sneaking peeks of the jolly old man! Once the light turned green, Santa pulled away and got ahead of us quickly. AK kept asking "Where's Santa?" and so we talked about how he is busy making toys, delivering gifts, drinking hot chocolate and eating candy canes these days!!!

We then got to Camana Bay and delivered the letter right into Santa's big red mailbox! I hope he writes back!!! xo

One week 'til Santa comes!!!

Hello everyone!

AK ran like the wind across the playground when she saw me yesterday :) it was great to see her! She enthusiastically showed me all the Christmas decorations all over her daycare and we stood at the door to one classroom for quite a while - they had "stars" and "snowmen" and "presents" and "candy canes". We hit up the movie store quickly for a Thomas video then came home. AK was quite happy to run around and around the pool for quite some time, then she discovered a small water fountain for washing her hands. She then washed her hands a million time - but discovered that "soap in the house". Molly and Cindy came by for a play (and a drink - can't drink alone, you know!) which was great. Molly and AK "cooked supper" for us - hot dogs, french fries and vegetables! They both love the snowman / dog Jingle Bells ornament.

This morning, AK was "making breakfast" and I asked her if she was making bacon for breakfast. A bit later, she asked "where's the bacon Mommy?" so I actually had to make some for breakfast! We had a nice meal of blueberry pancakes with turkey bacon. Thank goodness I had the bacon in the freezer! I guess I have to watch what I say - not sure AK would have been too impressed if I hadn't been able to deliver.

We spent about an hour with Charmain this morning, wrapping gifts. It was fun :) When we came home, AK and I wrote a letter to Santa Claus together and she decorated it with stamps, stickers and marker. We'll deliver it to Santa's mailbox this afternoon.

AK has a bit of a song repertoire. She starts with Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, then goes right into the ABC Song, then finishes off with her mangled version of Jingle Bells. She gets the Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way part right, but completely mangles the next line :) she always ends off with a very strong "SLEIGH!" though.

I've noticed that her pitch is much better than mine - she can certainly carry a tune much better than her mama. Thank goodness. I would have hated for her to be as tone deaf as I am.

We had some nice cuddles in bed this morning, and AK is down for a nap right now. I need to make a dip for a BBQ this afternoon. Karen is having everyone over for a pre-Christmas get-together. AK will then go home with Molly for a sleep-over so I can go to my Christmas party! I have a new dress that I'm looking forward to wearing and I know it will be a fun time with my colleagues. We are going to an Italian restaurant for supper and who knows what will happen after?

Am now finished all my Christmas shopping, just need a bit of groceries next week, but not much. All wrapping is also done, and there is just a wee bit of baking left to do. Maybe AK and I will do that tomorrow morning. I think the next week will fly by - we have so many fun things on the calendar. xo

AK at school

Jeremy had the following to say this week:

She was really excited to go to school for her party today. It was really nice to see after she was so cranky earlier on in the week. I’m sure she’s having an awesome time. She looked great with her hair in a ponytail and in her red shoes, ¾ jeans, and a new red top – I’ll try and get a picture of her later.

Unfortunately he was not able to get a picture of AK... shame as she sounded so cute! And she was cranky, I guess, as she was a bit under the weather earlier this week. Not a surprise with the crazy weather we've been having.

She seemed to really enjoy her party. Do you ever notice that whenever you ask her what she did during her day at school she says “painting!”. The color is always yellow and she paints circles “round, and round, and round…”

Can't wait to pick AK up from school today! Cindy and Molly might pop by for a bit, which would be nice. xo

Brrr!

I took some friends to the airport this morning at 6am... the temperature was 19C! I don't think I've ever seen a number that low here before!

I know this isn't cold to you guys, but it is unusual for Cayman!

xo

Finally in the Christmas spirit!!!

I found the tart shells on Friday, finished most of my shopping on Saturday and spend yesterday baking, wrapping and making perogies! The Christmas season is underway in my home :)

I did a baking exchange with 7 other girls yesterday. How awesome to have a variety of baking in my fridge now. I still have a few things I want to make, but it's more done than not at this point. We also managed, between 8 of us, to make 12 dozen perogies. Baba's dough recipe yielded some wonderful, stretchy dough that everyone said was very easy to work with. None of the perogies opened up as we boiled them - success!

I also attended the church's choir concert last night. They are truly an amazing choir and it was wonderful to just soak in all the music and singing.

AK will be surprised to come home today and see the gifts under the tree. I've only put the gifts for other people under the tree for now, will remove them on Christmas Eve and put hers and mine under the tree instead, so it will be another surprise yet for her when she gets up on Christmas morning. We have a little gift to wrap together tonight for AK's school Christmas party on Thursday. I hope she enjoys doing that with me.

The cold front here continues. I can see the water from my office and there are some big waves and whitecaps. It was nice to open my windows as I baked this weekend. Even with the oven on, it was still very pleasant in my home. xo

Glorious sleep!!!

AK slept 12 hours, and I 9 hours, last night!!!

I think we both feel much better now! xo

Tired :(

There's two tired girls in this home tonight... I have been dragging my butt all week, cannot seem to get caught up on rest and work is not giving me a break. AK cried through her whole bath and bed routine tonight, no stories, straight to bed by 730pm.

And of course I could be in bed myself but there's so much to do!!! My yoga studio reminded me of this today: "Always do your best, but don't overdo! When you overdo, you deplete your body and go against yourself, and it will take you longer to accomplish your goal". I think those are wise words for many of us as we head into the holiday season.

I left work a bit early today and picked up AK for a playdate. Angie and Milanna had us over for some crafts and playtime! It was really great to see everyone and all the girls (4 girls around the same age) had a great time. I never realized how noisy girls can be when they get together!!!

I got a chicken soup going in the crockpot, and started the first of my Christmas baking tonight. I have lots more to do (and need to find frozen tart shells... I'm having a hard time finding them and am not really feeling like making tart shells from scratch as I can't even find the little metal cups that the shells go in...) but at least I've got a bit of a start. Will do a bit more every night until it's all done. xo

Mid-week review

We are having such a busy and fun week. I forgot to mention the other night I was eating some potstickers with a sauce of soy sauce and rice vinegar. AK asked what the sauce was so I told her it was soy sauce. She said "I like soy sauce" and I didn't believe her so let her taste it. She loved it! She's the princess of condiments.

Today when I picked AK up from daycare, I noticed that her milk cup was still pretty full. I asked her if her milk had gone off and she said "No, Mommy, it's on!". Smarty-pants!

AK was looking at a Christmas decoration at Christie and Chris's place tonight of a Santa sleigh and three reindeer. I asked her if she knew the names of the reindeer. She let me know that their names were "Tinkerbell, Rudolph and Christmas". Who knows where she came up with that??? AK also looked at the Christmas tree there and said "I like it!" She is not shy about voicing her opinion.

We are having a bit of a cold front here. It's sunny but cool. When we came home from our supper out tonight, the car registered only 22C. Brrr. The office is so cold, as I guess the regular AC is still on, but it is nearly impossible to concentrate on work as I'm busy trying to keep warm! I will send AK to daycare in pants tomorrow... we don't get much call for that here! May even dig up some socks :)

AK is eating really well these days. We had supper at the Babbs last night - chicken, veg and rice stirfry. AK didn't care much for the broccoli but ate everything else. Tonight we had chicken, mashed potatos and gravy, carrots and buns. AK ate up the chicken and the carrots. We had cherry pie for supper and AK said "I like pie!" so I gave her a bite of cherry. She told me she liked it but the face she made said otherwise! So I just gave her pieces of the crust with cherry filling on it. She liked that better than the cherries.

She knows where we're going, and when we have to turn. She notices when we don't turn towards home as we leave daycare, or if we drive past our road. She knows which was the grocery store is, or where her friends live. We were talking about Santa Claus and I asked her if she wanted to see Santa Claus this year and sit on his lap for a picture. She nodded yes and said "Molly too!", which surprised me. She then said that she would give Santa "a high five" and it reminded me that on the weekend, we had walked around Cindy and Brent's complex to look at the lights there. There was a blow-up Santa which AK and the other kids high-fived. I asked her who else should go to see Santa with her and she said "Jake and Hunter". AK managed to recount our adventure on Saturday in connection with our chat about Santa Claus. How amazing and fun it is to see her memory start to come together in such a way that she can tell me a story!

I should get to bed... it's been hard for me to get myself to bed early this week!!! I have some catching up on sleep to do this weekend. Can't wait. But of course I'll likely keep myself way too busy! xo

Christmas tree

AK loves the Christmas tree. She asks me to plug in the lights whenever she's around. She likes to look at the ornaments, take them off and "wear" them on her wrists.

She pulled one off today that said "Baby's First Christmas" on it. She wanted to know about it so I told her that Grandma Z had bought it for her for her first Christmas. AK looked at me and said "when Annbew baby?" Wow - what a smart cookie.

She loves the Jingle Bells ornament from Hallmark and sings / barks along with it now. I'll try to catch it on video as it's really cute. AK loves to sing and dance these days. Thank goodness she doesn't cover her ears and ask me to stop singing when I play along with her!

Fountain fun - no words needed xo

Christmas at Camana Bay

View of the Christmas tree and the marina into North Sound from the Observation Tower

Checking out the sparkly decorations

Cheeseball!!!

The tree on the Crescent

The cutest gift-topper ever

Yesterday afternoon, AK and I headed down to Camana Bay to check out the decorations and try to get a good picture for the Christmas card. I didn't post the one I picked so you'll all have a surprise in your card when you get it (if I ever get them out...)

AK was sitting on top of one of the big presents and kept asking me what things were. She realized that if she ran her fingers through the "snow", she came away with sparkles on her hands. She then started trying to rub the sparkles off on me and I asked her why she was putting sparkles on me. Her answer? "To make you happy, Mommy!". Lesson of the day - sparkles make people happy :)

Gingerbread houses!!

On Saturday afternoon, after a LONG nap, we headed over to Cindy and Brent's for a gingerbread house decorating party!!! Jenni, Cindy and I picked up these decorating kits at Cost U Less. We figured we could finish up after the kids got bored... they were SO into it that they were all there until the bitter (sweet?) end!

Holding the candy on until it sticks

Molly hard at work

Discussing the decorating scheme

Showing off the hard work!!!

Look at these great ballerina outfits Jess found for the girls!!!