New Years pics

 Unfortunately Kayla is missing from a lot of these pics...she needed some adjustments to her attitude:-)

Kayla's attitude is still not fully adjusted:-P

Just because...

Here's a few more just because I think they're cute:-)

The girls are into holding hands recently which I think is just too cute!

Finally...Siblings!

I got a few shots with all three kids actually looking at the camera and looking sort of half decent...it only took about 40 pics to get these precious few, so enjoy them!:-P

Kayla loves her little brother and smothers him with kisses (quite literally). She has also progressed to calling him "Camey" which is pretty cute and is catching on as a nickname with the rest of us! Sure beats "Memahs" (who knows what she was thinking with that one!)

I think this one is my fave:-)

Mattea likes to sneak in some cuddle time with Canaan right in the few minutes after Kayla goes to bed, and before she herself has to go. She loves for Canaan to lie beside her in her bed and always asks if he can sleep with her. And of course, the answer never changes:-P

He kinda looks like a little frogger here, but Mattea's smile was cute:-)

D&D's visit to TO

Last week we had a visit from Davis and Danielle! We were so excited to have them come to Toronto and to be able to meet Danielle and to spend some time together.


The visit allowed for some learning experiences for the kids, but also for Davis:

Mattea learned that Uncle Davis had "funny tricks" - which was him holding her hand and then switching his hands without her noticing. She would laugh and laugh and then beg him to do it again. The trick never seemed to get old and kept her quite content to hold hands while we shopped!

Davis quickly learned that Mattea has surprisingly bony knees and elbows and she knows how to uses them in her wrestling matches. He also learned about fighting etiquette....after mercilessly attacking your opponent, you then go back and say "excuse me Uncle Davis...I'm sorry for fighting you".

He also learned never to let Dr's Newallo and Newallo treat him for his wounds...Kayla is not known for her ability to administer pain medication and her treatments usually result in the need for more pain medication. She may have given him a stab wound to the chest while trying to inject him with a plastic needle.

He also learned that babies can scream for long periods of time without a) hurting their voices or b) stopping! - courtesy of Canaan letting us know he wasn't too happy about all the car rides and shopping trips (just preparing you for the future Davis!)

and I don't think Kayla ever quite learned that SHE was the "punkin" that Auntie Dani was talking about. She would keep going and looking around as if she is going to find one.

All in all, the girls had a great time with their Uncle and new Auntie. Mattea claimed very quickly that Uncle Davis was her new best friend and that she loved him. And when dropping them off at the airport, Kayla cried for a good 20 minutes afterwards saying "oh no!...Unco!!!" 

So Davis and Dani, thanks for coming!!! We miss you!!!

Mattea 3 years old

3 years old at last! In some ways it feels like she is older because we can't imagine life without her, and at the same time, I can't believe we have a 3 year old! Mattea is full of spunk and cracks us up with all the crazy things she says and does. She is also very observant, meticulous - she definitely doesn't miss a beat! 

At her checkup today she weighed 36 lbs 8 ounces and was just over 40 inches tall - so still at the highest end of the charts in terms of size. WNBA here we come???

She loved her time at daycare, but says she would rather be at home with Mommy, so she couldn't wait until summer time and it was no surprise that she had a long list in her mind of "things to do" which include going to the beach...going to the zoo...going to the pony farm...etc etc etc! Not sure how many of those things we'll be able to cross off but so far she seems pretty happy with just be home and doing a whole lot of everyday "nothingness":-)

We did get a great deal on some 2 day Wonderland passes, so we went with the girls and to our surprise, Mattea LOVES rides. She was not afraid of anything and went on literally every ride she could and the faster the better in her mind! Because of her height she was even tall enough for the Ghoster Coaster - which was her favourite ride of all!

She loves doing any kind of craft or activity and desperately wants to learn to write (she is forever asking me to make outlines of letters for her to trace!). She also loves games and can actually beat us at memory games etc! I'm hoping over the next month or so to get in as much learning with her as I can before the new baby comes along!

"I'n two yeyahs owd!"

That's right, Mattea turned 2 years old last Sunday! She has been super excited about birthdays recently so when it came time for her own, she was definitely ready for the cake, the decorations, the party and the presents! We had a small Dora themed family party for her (her latest obsession!), and she had a blast. She is a very spunky little girl, and loves to read, do puzzles, play outside and play imaginary games (especially with her playmobil and stuffed animals). She weighs 34 lbs and is 38 inches tall, so she is still in the 95th percentile for weight and well off the charts for height. She is alot of fun and we love her to death!

Some pics from her birthday:

- Reading up in her room while her cousins play!

Running through her new birthday doggy sprinkler (who she thinks is Slinky from Toy Story). He shakes his head back and forth, spraying water...and she sternly grabbed his face and said "Linky...listen to me! Stop shaking...and sit still!" - I guess she had enough of the water!
Here is her birthday cake:
These sister shots were taken at the end of June:

This was her at the zoo back in June:

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Dare to Compare...

Here are some pictures of Mattea and Kayla both at 9 weeks old.

Sisters!

As requested...here are a few sister pictures! Hard to get them both looking pleasant, and at the camera - especially at the same time!


So what do you think....any resemblance to each other??? Let me know if you see it, because I sure don't! :-)

Drama Queen

That is exactly what our little Mattea has become, as you will see from this series of pictures (all taken literally within seconds of each other). Talk about mood swings! Let's just say...there is never a dull moment with her around! She cracks us up with her dramatic personality and as you can see....the many faces that come with it!

Meeting her Uncles!

Mattea finally got to meet 3 more of her Uncles and her soon-to-be new Auntie! Davis, Logan, Kaden and Kari came for a visit to Toronto a few weeks ago. It was SO nice to see the boys again and to meet Kari for the first time. We got to spend a day together, and went shopping at Vaughan Mills Mall and then just hung out at our place. It was a great visit, but of course way too short:-( We hope they come back soon and stay longer next time!:-)

Mattea - 18 months old

Mattea is now a year and a half! Time sure has flown! She weighs 28 lbs 4 oz and is 35 3/4 inches tall, so still well off the charts for her height but has definitely slimmed down. Those chubby thighs are no longer:-( She has a huge vocabulary and chatters nonstop (not sure where she gets this from???:-P). She seems to think that she is a big girl now and that she should be doing anything and everything that adults are doing. This means that I can't get away with doing any cooking or cleaning without her right by side..."helping":-/.

She loves to read, colour, do puzzles, and cook us all her favourite foods with her kitchen set. Her current favourite book is her Toddler Bible, and she wants us to read over and over that Adam and Eve should NOT TOUCH THE TREE! or they will be sad for disobeying God (I guess she can relate to this?!) Her favourite Christmas gift was a little dolly stroller (its always the $5 gifts that are the winners!), which prompted her to finally embrace her doll. Now that her dollies had a mode of transportation, she quickly named them on her own after girls from her daycare and now Allison and Michelle are subjected to her constant abuse...I mean...tender loving care:-)

But of all the things she likes to do, there is one activity that tops the rest by far! This little girl loves "shows" or "moo-bies"! She gets to watch 1 a day and will sing, dance and chant when she knows its movie time. She is in love with the Backyardigans and has memorized most of her videos and will narrate for us (just in case we didn't know what was going on after seeing it for the 100th time!):-)

Here are a few pics from December (17 months old):





And a few pics from November (16 months old)