Day 20

I love these shoes. Love, Love, LOVE them. They are cute and red and the most comfortable things I've ever put on my feet. And so I wear them a lot. Like, so often that the 3-year-old from two doors down has noticed.

"Why you wear dose shoes always?" he asked me the other day. "I don't ALWAYS wear them," I stammered. "Ya you do!" he yelled. "Well, they're my favorites and so I like to wear them a lot…" I tried to explain. (And later, I wondered why I was trying to justify myself to the neighbour's 3-year-old; but that's another post). "Um, okay…" said the 3-year-old.

The bottom line is: I'm 34 years old and I really like these shoes and I can wear them every day if I want to. :)

Day 20

Five years ago today, we said "I Do." And what a wonderful five years it's been.
(I guess I'm cheating a little bit. This picture was taken on July 26, 2003.)

Day 19

I call this one, "Hey Daddy…What's that?"

Day 18

Isn't this picture amazing? Nate took it this afternoon while Gracie and I were in the back yard finger painting and blowing bubbles.

Day 17

Gracie loves rice. Plain, flavored, she doesn't care. Give her a fork and she'll shovel it in. Tonight, when she heard the noise the rice cooker makes when it's done, she immediately ran for her step stool and stood in front of it at the counter, pointing and yelling. When I finally came into the kitchen she gesticulated wildly at the rice cooker, rubbed her tummy very enthusiastically (her sign that she's hungry), then got off her stool and tried to climb into her high chair. I wasn't sure what time Nate would be home for supper, so I thought it wouldn't hurt if I fed her early.

By the time Nate got home she had already polished off a big bowl of rice and pork chops, so I let her out of her chair to run around while we ate supper. Well, she headed straight for her bookshelf, brought her Daddy her favorite book and installed herself on his lap. Daddy started reading, and the next thing he knew, Gracie had his fork and was eating his rice. I got him another fork :)

Day 16

This is Gracie's bathroom step stool that came with her potty seat. I keep it in the bathroom for her so she can wash her hands after she goes to the bathroom. But yesterday, while she was using it to wash her hands, she got this look on her face, and if she was a cartoon, a light bulb would have turned on over her head. "I can use this ANYWHERE!", she would have said if she could actually talk.

She picked up the stool, ran into the kitchen with it, and immediately climbed up to the kitchen counter. Then she moved it over to the other counter in front of the dishwasher, and grabbed her soother with a great big grin. Unfortunately, my picture missed the big grin.

Day 15

Have you heard about this cookbook yet? Every recipe in this book has some sort of pureed vegetable in it, so that if your children are refusing to eat their veggies, you can hide them in their favorite recipes like chicken nuggets and grilled cheese sandwiches. There was a huge debate when it came out - while some parents went YAY!!!, many other parents thought hiding veggies in their entrees was giving in to your picky children, and failing to teach them about proper nutrition.

Personally, I see it as good way to get a little extra nutrition in the recipes that maybe aren't so great for you. Especially in the dessert recipes.

So…I've been trying lots of recipes from this book lately, and pictured in the jar are the very yummy donuts - although I didn't have a donut mold to bake them in so I just baked them in my mini-muffin tin and made my own "Timbits" instead. They're made from pureed pumpkin, and are just about the yummiest things I've ever put in my mouth. (You also have to try the chocolate pudding made from pureed avocado. Heavenly!)

Day 14

This is both a cute picture and a thank you to Jody Spark and family for the lovely present, because Gracie LOVES this puzzle. When she was really little, I would bring the puzzle out, point to each letter and tell her that it spells Gracie. She would just give me this weird look, grab the puzzle pieces and play.

Now whenever I bring out the puzzle, before she flips it over to play with it, she points to each letter and makes me spell it out, and when I'm done she very enthusiastically points to herself with a great big smile.

Day 13

Poor Gracie had a nasty fall at the park. She was running and tripped over her own feet and landed on her head, right on the birthmark on her forehead, which makes it look worse than it actually is.

Day 12

This is Puppy, one of Gracie's beloved stuffed animals. It's not a very good picture, but the other night, Puppy needed surgery. The seam on his back was coming apart and he is now missing an ear. I had kept track of the ear until I had time to do the surgery, but when it was time to wheel him to the O.R., the ear was nowhere to be found. So I stitched him up the best I could, and the next morning I showed Puppy to Gracie and I asked her if she knew where his ear went. She put her two palms up in the air like "I don't know!" and started looking. I got distracted and headed to the kitchen to start making breakfast, and a few minutes later, Gracie came running to the kitchen with it in her hand. Her father and I looked EVERYWHERE for that ear the night before. I have absolutely no idea where she was hiding it.

Day 11

MMMMMMMM…my very first bite of corn on the cob!

Day 10

It was a rainy, thunder and lightning kind of day today; a day that mommy thought was perfectly suited to inside play. Gracie, for the most part, agreed. She puttered around and played happily all day -- until she found her sidewalk chalk. And after explaining that it was pouring down rain outside and that sidewalk chalk was most definitely an OUTSIDE TOY, it suddenly occurred to mommy that there was a chalk board upstairs.

Nate built Gracie a wonderful toy box that has her named engraved on the lid, and for the outsides, he found chalkboard spray and made her two chalk boards. So, I handed our girl some chalk and let her draw on the furniture. She had a ball!

Day 9

Sorry I've been so lax at my picture taking lately. First, I had to work at the City View and remember how to be a workaholic again, so I just didn't have time to take any pictures -- or have anything interesting to take a picture of, really. Then, when Gracie got home from Grandma & Grandpa's, she was pretty much attached to me for a few days. Which was nice, 'cause I missed her so much I can't even describe it, but made it hard to take a picture -- how do you hold a camera when you are also holding a 30-pound toddler who is refusing to be put down? And the 30-pound toddler is also usually your inspiration for the picture?

Then, just as I was starting to be able to put her down again, she got the stomach flu and spent three days throwing up on pretty much every available surface in our house. The poor kid was so miserable she just wanted to sit on my lap and be read to or watch some videos. Every time she would throw up I would sit her on the couch when she was finished so I could clean it up, and the poor thing would cry giant crocodile tears until I was finished and could come and cuddle with her again. So…again, not exactly easy to take a photo. And what to take a photo of, exactly?

Well, this morning she was on the mend and willing to sit on the couch by herself, so I snapped this picture. She was watching her very favorite movie, 101 Dalmations.

Day 8

So, what do you think of my Canada Day cake? I made it a day late, but I decided "who cares?" I've been working at our newspaper the last few days, 'cause the guy who has my old job needed a vacation. Gracie has been staying with my parents and since they were bringing her home today, I thought I would make the cake for everyone to enjoy when they got here. If you want to make one, the recipe is at www.kraftcanada.com. It's WAAAAYYY easier than it looks!