Halloween

Well, Sarah didn't think much of her costume to start with.

There was a lot of general complaining, but as soon as she got in the John Deere wagon and got outside in the crisp night air (0 degrees), all was ok.

We even got a few oohs and aahs. We took her around to a few of the neighbours that we know and got her to bed. She seems to have yet another cold, but she's been sleeping like crazy since Sunday. It could be a reaction to her 1 year needles, I suppose.

Pilot Mound and Swan Lake

Today we went for a drive down to the South West of Winnipeg. Pilot Mound and Swan Lake are where my mom's grandparents were from, so we went to check the place out. Sundays are VERY quiet in small towns around here, so there wasn't a lot to see, but it was a beautiful, sunny day and the scenery was nice. Just to the West of Morden the prairie started to be less flat - it's called the Pembina Valley and it's beautiful even without any leaves on the trees. Sarah desperately needed sleep because we went out to dinner last night and she stayed up way past her bedtime so she got plenty of that today.

We went to see the mound at Pilot Mound (originally left from the glacier that went through here, and then a First Nations sacred site and burial ground) and then we went on to Swan Lake for a bit of a walk around town.

A few Sarah pictures

This week the sun shone for most of the time and it's starting to freeze every night. Sarah and I get out for a walk pretty much every day and during the walk we get to the swings. Got to get some swinging in while we still can! She's loves to read in the tub (notice the two bandaids on her arms from her 1 year shots) and bang on the glass at the back door when I got out to the garbage or compost bin.

She has developed quite an impish sense of humour (where on earth did she get that from? It must have skipped a generation.) Sarah also had her first babysitter experience on Thursday night. Dale was working late and I had to get to work, so I called on the Lindenwoods Babysitting Coop, which I recently joined. What a brilliant idea! We babysit each other's kids for points - no money changes hands. Sarah's first babysitter's name is Christine. Sarah woke up while I was at work, and instead of screaming bloody murder because she didn't know who Christine was, she let her walk her back to sleep. It took about a half hour, but it wasn't tramatic. Either she wasn't fully wake or she isn't as picky about who looks after her as I expected. Either way, it was a great experience. Christine is coming back this Thursday because Dale has a mess dinner to attend.

Before and After

While my (Anne's) parents were here visiting, my Dad (Bill), who doesn't like to sit around, got to work. First, he and Dale built the fence on one side of the yard and the gates at the side of the house, then he worked on the backyard (with Dale helping when he could). We built some raised beds and Bill moved 6 yards of dirt from the front to the raised beds in the back of the house in one day. Next, we bought a little shed, and some pavers and set them up. So, all that's left is to do all the planting in the spring, which is the fun part!

A quiet week after all the visitors

This weekend was very quiet. Dale was in the States on an instructor trip and the grandparents had all left. Sarah and I went to the zoo on Sunday morning. The zoo is all set up for their big Hallowe'en extravaganza so Sarah was ooing and ahing over all the extra stuff. We went to see the monkeys, as usual, and we went into the Australian exhibit to see the loorikeets and wallabies, which Sarah was very interested in.

Sarah has been doing quite a bit of walking during the past couple of days. She walked for her daddy when he got home last night, which made his day. She's also enjoying talking on the phone. She had a chat with her Grammie the other day and instead of pushing the phone away as she usually does, she stopped to listen and smiled.

Today was Sarah's visit with the pediatrician. She got her 1 year shots which she wasn't too pleased with but she survived and promptly went to sleep in the truck on the way to Costco.

Sarah's first birthday

We had Sarah's birthday party on Sunday so we could have it in the middle of the day. Supper time isn't Sarah's best time of the day...
She unwrapped gifts to start and did a great job of pulling the tissue paper out of bags. Aunty Kelly and Uncle Simon gave her a 50 dollar bill...which she didn't want to give up. Bummpa Arndt gave her a John Deere wagon which she thought was a lot of fun! Grammy and Grandaddy Gardam gave her things gradually over a few weeks - a sleeper (handmade), a whale, a duck that quacks... Mom and Dad went looking for a toboggan but it was too early in the season, even in Winnipeg, so she was given Mega Bloks, a zoo tractor with a trailer full of animals that it pulls behind, and an outfit.

When it came time to blow out the candle on her carrot cake with cream cheese icing cupcake, Daddy first put on a cat in the hat hat...not Sarah's idea of a good time. It may have had something to do with the fact that Daddy snapped the elastic a bit. Oops. After she recovered from that, Sarah really enjoyed looking at the lit candle and the singing. She didn't realise that she was supposed to eat the cupcake and the little bits that Mommy gave her she wasn't so sure about... Eventually when we all left her alone, she played around with it, got her fingers into it, a bit of icing on her lip and eventually the whole thing ended up on the floor. Fair enough. And that was the end of Sarah's party.

On her real birthday day, Sarah took 3 steps for mommy and a couple more for Nana and Bummpa. She hasn't taken many more since then, though.

Thanksgiving

Dale's brother, Scott, his wife Angie, and Sarah's cousin William came to visit during the week of Thanksgiving as well as Sarah's Bummpa and Nana (Dale's dad and his wife). Sarah opened her birthday present from Scott, Angie and William a little early...she loved the Monster book and looks absolutely fabulous in her little Roots yoga outfit. Now she can do the downward facing dog in style! Did you know that she can also walk in the downward facing dog position? Crazy.

We had Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday and Dale's birthday dinner the following Thursday. He's now officially old - well...40 years old anyway.

Fort Whyte

We went for a walk at Fort Whyte last weekend and there was a cold wind blowing! Much to Sarah's chagrin, we bundled her up in her fall/winter jacket, gloves and toque. She liked the walking part of things, but she didn't like that she was so bundled up that her arms stuck out straight. Hmmm....this could make this winter a bit difficult.

Camping in Riding Mountain National Park 29 September

2 days after we arrived home from Alberta, Anne's parents, Heather and Bill, arrived from BC for a 3 week visit. The first thing we did was to pack up to go camping for the weekend. Riding Mountain National Park is a 3 hour drive from Winnipeg and it was beautiful. It was 27 degrees on Saturday, but it got cold at night. Sunday was cold as well. We went for a walk in the nearest town which has an old resort town feel, like Waterton National Park, and had an ice cream on Saturday. Sarah fell asleep in the backpack, so we put her down by the tent to continue her nap.
On Sunday after a cold morning cooking pancakes, we packed up and drove home. Along the way we stopped and had a wander through Margaret Laurence's house in Neepawa. Sarah had her lunch in her portable high chair on the table outside the house and didn't think anything of it. This is a kid who is used to travelling!

Wetaskiwin Visit 22 September

We went to visit Dale's family in Alberta this weekend to see the Grandparents and to go to Shannon and Brad's wedding (Dale's cousin). Sarah had a great time at the wedding, but she had to exit the ceremony pretty quickly. She couldn't keep her thoughts to herself! Sarah got to see her cousins, Rylie, Rachel and baby William too.

Sarah also very much enjoyed visiting with Daisy and Lady the dogs...she just LOVES dogs! Sarah also received her birthday gifts a bit early from Grandma and Grandpa Holm.