Princess-itis?

Ah, yes. Every 4 year old's dream..to be a Princess. Addisyn has been Princess crazed lately. Every movie, every dress up item, every board game, every hair accessory. Yes, it all has to be something to do with Princesses. She's definitely not the only one, as I have seen many Mommy's posting on Facebook how their little girls are going through the same thing.
I remember being around her age and all I would dream about was how I would meet a Prince. We would fall in love instantly and even though I was just a plain girl from a small town, he would love me the moment he saw me. We'd get married, and ride in a carriage that was sparkling with diamonds and pulled along by two beautiful white horses. We would live in a beautiful castle and have two beautiful children, one a boy and one a girl, and they would be perfect in every way. Every morning he would kiss me and tell me he loves me, and every night he would kiss me and tell me he loved me again...this was my Princess dream at the age of 5.
Addisyn has expressed how she longs and dreams about the same thing. She wants to meet her Prince and fall in love and live together forever.. I almost caught myself telling her that she'd be lucky if she met a Prince and married him, but then I realized that I am living my fairytale 5 year old dream.
Sure, Jeremy isn't the son of a King, and no we didn't ride in a carriage pulled by two white horses on our wedding day. But he sure is my Prince. And he loved me the moment he saw me and took me for who I am. We don't live in a castle, per say, but it's 'OUR' castle and we are proud that we call it home. We DO have two beautiful children who are absolutely our world, and to us, perfect in every way (a boy and a girl to boot!) He kisses me every morning and night, and tells me he loves me with the same look in his eye as he had when we first met. As I was telling our daughter this, she looked at me and said "I hope I meet my Prince when I get older Mommy..and I hope he's just like Daddy."
And as the story goes, we lives happily ever after <3

This is Addisyn's drawing of Repunzel (from the movie Tangled) with her pet chameleon, Pasqal. She drew this for me after our chat :)

Yay new things!

I got my new camera lense! WOOT! This may not be the least bit exciting to you folks, but it was definitely the highlight of my day :)
After talking about a Canon 50mm camera lense non-stop for a month now, my husband must have thought it was a good idea to get it for me so I'd stop talking about it..because that's just what he did. Early Mother's Day gift for me!!! Best. Husband. Ever. So, this post is short and sweet and kind of boring, but here is a picture taken with my new lense.

xo

Cute kids!

I have found that I LOOOOVE taking pictures of kids. Whether they are my own or someone else's, I find that you always get the best pictures from kids. They do so many things that make you smile and make themselves smile, you know that even when it's not posed, the picture will turn out great!
I had the pleasure of goofing around with my camera and capturing the O'Toole kids the other day at Victoria Park in Kitchener. They are SO cute, but definitely a handful! (Just ask their mom!) They were here, there, and everywhere so I am surprised that I got a good shot of either of them..but I did!!! They gave me my workout for the day, so I didn't have to go to the gym, plus they got me more comfortable with taking pictures of things that move reeeaaaalllly fast. LOL!
Watching them run around and enjoy each other, the ducks, the water, and the park was awesome. It put me in such a good mood. It made me with that I was a kid again. No worries, no responsibilities..hey, we all feel like that sometimes I suppose. I remember climbing trees, playing in puddles, and not having a care in the world except what my mom was making for dinner. But being able to capture those moments on camera for their parents was great, and I can't wait to do it again!!

Here's my favourite picture from that day. They are so cute!!! :)

Germs, germs, everywhere..

And they won't leave!
Poor Layne just cannot catch a break. He was finally to the point of sleeping like a little Prince. Going to bed at 7/8 and sleeping until 2 or 3, then sleeping until 6 or so. That may not sound like good sleep to you non-mommy's, but for me, that's awesome! Then...the germs his the Parsons household. It seems his sister brings home more germs than you can shake hand sanitizer and soap at, although, she never gets sick herself! Figure that one out. Layne is now up all the time a) because he can't breathe and b) because he wakes himself up by snoring or coughing.
What sucks the most is that he can't down some Buckley's, blow his nose, and fall fast asleep. He really has no defenses when it comes to this nasty cold.
Alas, this picture is all he's got.

April showers

Okay so yes...a day behind on my picture project. DANG! I need to get better at this..anyways.

The other day Addisyn was restless from being inside for the whole day, so we decided that we would try to beat the rain before it decided to show and go to the park across town. Weeeelllll, we didn't beat the rain, but luckily we were armed with umbrellas and Addi's raincoat! I was also armed with my camera, and since I am practicing the 'manual' setting I thought it would be a good time to take some pictures.
I loved watching Addisyn dance around without a care in the world. She was actually excited that it started raining harder, and that's when I got the best pictures of her. (Layne and I were safe underneath a gazebo, of course.) She made me be able to appreciate the small things. Like how fast the water was flowing, how many ducks there were swimming along the river, how many raindrops you could catch on your tounge (even though that's impossible to count..) Overall, we had a great afternoon even in the worst weather!

So you can see her cuteness below :)

Hoppity Hop

WHOA. Very behind in my blog and 365 picture project. Like, 4 days behind. So, as you'll see, I am posting 4 pictures that I took over the last couple days and posting them..so kind of cheating, but hey!

I hope everyone had a great Easter. This weekend was so busy busy busy. From travelling, to picking up stuff for Easter dinners. BUT, I must admit, seeing family and watching Addi and Layne have fun visiting with family and eating chocolatre (Addisyn, anyways) always warms my heart.
Makes me think about how easily we forget what some holidays are all about. Like Christmas.. all the gifts and turkey and stuffing and gifts..lol. I find that even I forget what we are really celebrating. Easter is definitely one of those holidays where I always stop and think, while I am eating turkey and having my 3274283462634th chocolate, that we are celebrating something much more than a bunny that drops off chocolate. Now, everyone has different beliefs so not everyone celebrates the same thing on Easter. But I still think it is really important to make sure you don't forget to be thankful for whatever you DO believe in.

Here's some pictures I had fun taking over the Easter holiday (and when the weather was BEAUTIFUL!)

Hoppy Easter everyone!! xo

Where is my husband?

OH, he's downstairs working on the basement! Yes, my husband has gone missing for many hours of the day down into the basement to work on his pride and joy. As you may have guessed, we are finishing it (finally) after talking about it ever since we moved in here..so for a year now. Mister Fix-It has done everything himself, with some help from his dad here and there, and it's looking awesome!! It's crazy how it's not even done, and I can already picture how great it's going to look.
The deal is that I get to decorate and "accessorize" when it is all done. I'm already going through colours and decor in my head. Eeeek! Oh, the things that excite me these days. Jeeze!

Here's the progress!
Have a great start to the week everyone!!

Time for sidewalk chalk!

Ohhh hello sun! Is Spring around the corner (still)..? Let us hope so. Or else this beautiful weather has been a nasty tease!
Of course when the weather gets nice, what does every child want to do? Play with sidewalk chalk, of course! Yesterday Addisyn drew a lot (and I mean a lot) of fairy pictures. She drew fairy dust, fairies, wands, dresses. The whole shibang. It was awesome to be outside in just a sweater, and be able to talk Layne out for his outside play time. He loved watching his sister draw and was laughing and smiling the whole time. We all went for a walk before hand too. Ohhh nice weather..PLEASE STICK AROUND! If you're ever in our area, and it's a nice day, feel free to stop by. If you have kids, I'm positive Addi can keep them busy with her chalk. LOL.
Since I didn't post a picture yesterday, here's two photos of Addisyn's wonderful drawings. She hopes you like them :)

I love you through & through.

I thought I'd share this cute little storybook, since it's become one of Addi's and Layne's favourites. It's most definitely the way I feel about my two munchkins.. and I'm sure you other parents out there will think of your little ones too. It's the type of book that makes you smile. :)

I love you through and through.
I love your top side. I love your bottom side.
I love your inside and outside.
I love your happy side, your sad side..
Your silly side, your mad side.
I love your fingers, and toes..
Your ears, and nose.
I love your hair and eyes..
Your giggles and cries.
I love you running and walking..
Silent and talking.
I love you through and through..
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow too!
- Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

Great day for the Falls!

Helllooooo Spring!
We had a great taste of Spring, and decided to check out the Falls. Addisyn has never been and was ever so excited to see something to big. As soon as she saw them, her face lit up and a loud "Woooooow" come out of her mouth. It was so amazing to see how something we have seen so many times, and something that has lost its appeal to US..be so amazing and new to a little one. I only had my cell phone to take pictures with, but I got one of Addi's first time to Niagara Falls. If you look in the corner, you can see a tiny rainbow! I am so glad my camera phone captured that!! 
All in all, it was a great day with family and one I KNOW Addi will never forget!!!! :)

Drawings of a 4 year old

How kids draw always amuses me. I love to see how they invision things looking: people, pets, cars..everything. Addisyn's window drawings never disappoint. She has these "Crayola Window Writers" markers that she loves to draw on her windows with. I will admit, sometimes I join in and we write silly things like "Addi loves Kale" or "Mommy loves Daddy". Today I walked into her room to find a drawing of 4 stick figures. When I asked her who they were, she told me this:
"The green one is Daddy, you're beside him, then there's me, and then Layne is the blue one."
When I asked what we were doing she said:
"We are holding hands and walking to our castle."

Apparently, we are the royal family. Who knew!

My friends don't come & go..

Yesterday I got to spend the afternoon with my BFF's. Not just 3 of them..but ALL 4!!!! Ford flew in from Vancouver for a few days and we all just picked up where we left off. It was nice to see her..and we had a ton of good laughs.
It's crazy that in public school you hear people telling you "You won't be friends with half these people in high school.." Then in high school people tell you "You don't even talk to these people when you go off to college.." But that has never been true for me. Sure I've had the odd friend who moved or we've grown apart. But these 4 girls have always been in my life. Ever since I can remember. We've had our up's and down's and have went without talking for weeks..sometimes MONTHS at a time. But thanks to our bond (and a new BBM group that Miss Katie Prain decided to develop..lol) we have never lost our connection. And I don't think we ever will. I love, love, love these girls. They are family.

And now, a blast from the past..almost 5 years ago to be exact. Addi's first picture with her "Auntie's".

Messes suck!

I spent 3 hours and some cleaning and organizing Addisyn's room/closet Wednesday. The amount of stuff she had was ridiculous. I honestly didn't even know she had that many toys/colouring books/crayons and markers. Not only did I find a specific place for EVERY toy she owns, I re-folded her clothes and organized her drawers too. Jeeze!
After finishing that I felt pretty good about what I had accomplished. Until I looked at Layne's closet.

It has yet to be tackled.. :(

"But Mom! Handy Manny's on!"

Why is it that Handy Manny trumps everything (according to Addisyn) in our house. Dinner, bath time, bed time, and picture taking time.
Today I was playing around with my camera and thought I'd get some shots of the kids playing on the floor. They were both happy as could be so I couldn't of picked a better time. Layne was practicing his sitting up skills (which are coming along quite nicely) but was being distracted by other things, making him tip over, so I suggested turning on the tv so that he'd pay attention to what was straight ahead of him.
Big mistake.
Addisyn was then occupied by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then, you guessed it, Handy Manny. I think I took about 15-20 photos of her half smiling looking at the freakin' TV. The ones I DID get of her looking at the camera will be posted on Facebook, but for this post I'll let you see how hard it is to get a picture of this little girl sometimes!!!!
..and now I have the stupid Handy Manny theme song in my head.

Like father like son

Phew. Okay, so now I am all caught up on my 365 picture-a-day project after this post. Tomorrow I start back to my one post a day. And yes, if you are counting, today I had to post THREE pictures just to get caught up. I guess that's what happens when weekends are busy!
I keep hearing everyone around me and everyone/anyone who has laid eyes on our son comment on how much he looks like Daddy. Daddy's blue eyes, eyebrows, smile, facial expressions .. everything. The truth is, he does. He's Daddy's twin. I am come to terms with this. Even though I carried him for 9 months, went through 7 months of intense morning sickness- which included 2 hospital visits complete with IV's, and then pushed him out after 9 hours of labour... but I'm not bitter. Hahaha..
BUT, if you take a look at the picture below, you'll see that Layne looking just like his Daddy isn't a bad thing. Daddy was quite the cutiepie himself when he was little (and still is, if I do say so myself!!)

"Any man can be a father.  It takes someone special to be a dad." - Author Unknown

Layne's 1st Kisses & Birthday Wishes

Yes, yes I am behind on my 365 picture-a-day thing. I know. That's why I am posting two pictures on this post, for days 5 and 6.
Layne experienced his first kiss over the weekend while we were at our friends' house for dinner Saturday. Breanna LOVES Layne. She's so good with him. And hey! Layne didn't cry or push her away when she kissed him, so he obviously didn't mind it that much :)
We hosted our nephew, Liam's 7th birthday party at our house on Sunday. Everyone had a blast, we got to visit with the Parsons family, and of course Liam was spoiled. What are birthday's for right? I must say we have two of the cutest nephews around. I definitely filled my junk food quota for the week though. Maybe even month. Mmmmm cake!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :) And now, onto the cuteness..


Layne's first kiss.. ahhhh so sweet!


Happy Birthday Liam! xo

Sun makes me thankful!

Today when I went grocery shopping there were ladies from the Canadian Cancer Society selling daffodils. I'm always, always, always wanting to give to the CCS so, obviously, I bought a bunch. They weren't open and to be honest, they looked somewhat...yucky. The lady handed them to me and said "put them in warm water when you get home, let this beautiful sun shine on them, and within a couple hours they'll be beautiful."
So I did just that.
As you will see in the picture below, they did turn out beautiful. Now not only today did I enjoy the sunshine that will be bringing Spring, I got some pretty flowers out of it too. I can't help but look at them and think how fortunate I am. I've never had to deal with having cancer or a disease. I've lost so many family members and friends to cancer and it's so unfortunate. But I have also witnessed so many strong people fight and beat cancer. From a great-aunt of mine who I love dearly, to a handsome little boy we know who is honestly a huge inspiration to me. Looking at these flowers on my dining room table I realize that life is all about being thankful everyday for what you DO have.

It's amazing what a sunny day can do, eh? :)

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

A sister's love

Lately I have been noticing the bond between Addisyn and Layne. I've watched him go from not really knowing who his sister is, to seeing him smile and giggle everytime she walks into the room. I've watched Addisyn go from really not knowing what to think of him, to wanting to be around him every single minute.
Today when while I was taking their pictures, I was trying to get Layne to smile. He was more interested in the Easter eggs that were around him than looking at Mommy and her camera. Addi said to me "Mommy, don't worry.. I'll get him to smile." She walked over to where I was, said "Layne!" and instantly he looked up and had the BIGGEST smile on his face. I got one of the best pictures of him I've taken since he was born. Addi didn't  say "see?" or "told ya I could get him to smile".. she looked at me and said "I just love my brother."
After experiencing this, along with how well she treats him, how often she wants to play with him, how well he responds to her, and how well they actually do play together, I find myself hoping and praying that this bond..or SOME sort of bond will last between them. Brothers and sister's aren't really known to be 'close' as say, sisters are..or best friends are. But I really hope that one day, they can both look back on the pictures and videos I've captured of them and realize that they loved each other so much. And even though they'll grow and change, I really hope that love never does.

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.  ~Vietnamese Proverb

Shoe vs. Dog

Whoever has a dog, raise your hand. Whoever has a dog that they love (for some reason) even though he chews everything in sight. *raises hand*

Last night, Jeremy and I were talking about how Gibson (our chocolate lab) was becoming quite "bold". By bold I mean stealing food when there's a chance or opening to do so, licking Layne's spoon clean while I'm waiting for Layne to be ready for another spoonful of pablum, and chewing stuff just because he is angry, for whatever reason. I mean, he's still a puppy, yes. And he is a lot better than he used to be, but it still drives us nuts!!!
I let Gibson out into the backyard this morning and notice that Jeremy's boot had lost the battle between itself and the dog. I had to laugh a little. It IS Jeremy's fault for leaving his boots out there knowing our dog has a habit of bypassing his Kong (chew toy) to chew on people's things. But I also had to laugh because as I was taking this picture, I realized that Gibson's cuteness has saved him multiple times. He really is a good dog. Great with Addi and Layne, and he has more of a personality than most people do. AND, if he left us, we would all miss him dearly. He came over to me and looked at me as if he was saying "Mommy.. I chewed the shoe, but now you have something to blog about!" Not to mention wanting his presence known in the picture.. :P 

“No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich."- Louis Sabin

Teddy knows best..

Over the past couple weeks, Jeremy and I have been trying really hard to get Layne used to soothing himself to sleep. We rock him and comfort him until his little blue eyes get heavy, and then into the crib he goes. At first, it was horrible. He'd scream so loud I thought his little lungs were going to give out, and then calming him down afterwards was a war in itself. BUT...we kept being persistant.
After a few days of being stubborn and getting frustrated, we invested in an "Ocean Wonders" thing for his crib. Ya know, the ones that have the dim lights and play ocean sounds? Yeah. That. It helped a bit but Mister Layne needed more..

Teddy is his new fav. Not sure what's so special about this Teddy in particular, but he loves to hold Teddy tight. Maybe it's the feeling of having something close to him while he drifts off, or maybe it's because it's soft. Whatever the reason, they are buds. So now you can comment on how babies aren't supposed to have things in their cribs with them, and hopefully I don't get too many people on my case about this (afterall, I DO take Teddy away when he is completely asleep..) but he's attached.

"Everything in life I share, except of course my teddy bear" - Anonymous

Oh hey blog!

So, I broke down and decided to keep a blog. Not sure if anyone will choose to follow this or not, but I love to share stories and pictures from my every day life and I thought..what better place to do so!!! Addisyn and Layne are always doing so many things to make me smile, and sometimes I forget to jot them down or post a photo of them, so I thought if I could steal a couple minutes out of everyday to keep a small blog, perhaps keeping track of all these funny moments wouldn't be so hard. I'm sure my husband can watch them while I type this up, right?? :)

I wanted to start a 365 day picture project, but I'm not sure if that will actually happen. I just think it would be nice to look back on my year in pictures next year at this time.

With that said, stay tuned!!