Two Years Old

Keira is growing up so fast! I really notice how much when I'm babysitting younger kids and babies. I still call her my baby girl but she's definitely not a baby anymore!!

Cuddles with Daddy on the couch

Reading books in her crib/bed. I'm hoping to transfer her to a toddler bed soon!

I found Aidan's old desk in the garage and set it up for Keira ... she loves it!

Another garage find - Aidan's Fireman costume that Mama made

Looking all grown up with some of the other munchkins. Those pants are a size 4 and they just barely fit! Crazy ....

Keira Killed Brobee!

I had planned to put the two Brobee's from Keira's birthday party up on her wall ... but since the cardboard was too thick I had to wait for the hammer to come home with Michael so that I could use some nails. In the meantime I stuck them between her crib and the wall and she took the opportunity to kill them during her nap

. I was just a *little* upset, to say the least ... but they are only cardboard creations ... even if they did take me HOURS to make .... I wasn't sure whether to keep them or toss them, but now the decision has been made for me!

Lego-mania!

That's right, Lego-mania has swept the Latham household! First Aidan came home from Abbotsford with some bins of Lego and Fabuland and then Michael returned from Kitimat with a good sized box brimming over with all sorts of blocks, people and other interesting Lego pieces as well as instructions for some very very cool sets!

After a couple days of Aidan playing with the box of Lego in his room I decided it was time to step in and help him out - and have a little fun with the Lego myself!! I organized the pieces and we slowly began to build the sets, starting first with a Star Wars X Wing Fighter. Aidan was over the moon about it and super excited when it was done! Once I get started on a project it's hard for me to put it down until it's finished, so after awhile this is what our kitchen looked like:

We finally got all the sets built and Aidan posed for a couple pictures on the couch:

Can you tell which his favourites are?!?

It's so nice to have toys that Michael and his brother played with that are still considered cool by Aidan. He is SO lucky to have all this Lego just fall into his lap!

Family Day

Michael had this great idea to designate one day of the week as 'Family Day' and do something special together. We decided that Sunday would be a good day and we had our very first Family Day almost 2 weeks ago.

Originally we planned to go down to the river so the kids could play, but then we decided to go to the Sun-sational Kids Festival which was completely underwhelming. There was absolutely

nothing going on which was pretty disappointing, but the kids played in the park a bit, we all had a slushie and that improved things.

After that we headed home to round up our bottles and take them to the bottle depot to cash them in for our Family Day Fund. We must have saved our bottles for longer than I thought because our fund is pretty healthy!

While we were at the depot the kids got to draw on the floor with some chalk - such a great idea! They enjoyed it, but definitely needed a bath after rolling around on the (completely disgusting) floor so we headed home for a quick bath before dinner at Boston Pizza.

All in all a pretty successful first Family Day!

The kids coloring book had a punch out memory game and I thought the little guys looked so funny!

Also, while I'm thinking about it, why do I have no followers? If you're reading this, feel free to click the 'Follow' button in the box to the right. You know, the one where it says YOU HAVE NO FOLLOWERS. Even just to make me feel a little better :)

Anti Perspirant

So here's a confession: I don't usually wear any deodorant or anti-perspirant. Michael goes through them at a rate that astounds me, but I can't remember how long it's been since I bought one. Given that I've had mine for probably a year it wasn't that much of a surprise when the last time I went to twist it up, a couple chunks fell out because it was so close to the bottom. I didn't really want to buy another stick and I tried rationalizing with myself that since I hardly use it, I probably don't need it, right? Then I saw this Degree stuff in the store for a pretty good price and I figured I might as well buy it. Since it was new, I used it right away. It's always fun to open and try new things! The smell was amazing!! The scent is 'sheer powder' and I cannot get enough of it. Now I wear it almost every day, just so I can smell it. At this rate, I'll have to go buy another one in about a month.....

Not Impressed

I made some playdough to go in the treat bags for Keira's party, so of course the kids had to play with it! While they were playing playdough I was tidying up Keira's room until Aidan came running in and said "Mommy!! Keira's throwing her playdough all over the floor!!"

I came to see what was going on and as I walked into the kitchen Aidan says "I knew you wouldn't be impressed Mommy!" I had to laugh as I heard him repeating one of the phrases I use with him all the time when he does something not too smart - and sure enough, I was not impressed to see playdough all over the floor!

Keira's Birthday Party

Feeding her baby some 'muck' on her birthday

Carefully supervising me getting the cupcakes ready for her party!

The two Brobee's I made for her party - she LOVED them!

Yo Gabba Gabba cups ....

.... Toodee treat bags ....

.... Yo Gabba Gabba plates!

Another party game - I had to put it up on a really sappy tree so it was wrecked by the time the kids were done playing the game. Too bad cuz I'm sure Keira would have loved it up on her wall!

The finished cupcake plate! I cut out the figures from the packaging of another gift she received from my parents. They worked SO good as cupcake toppers!!

Looking at the AWESOME card that Tara made for her

Playing the Brobee game at the party ...

.... the idea is to stand and throw play food into the bowl at his feet so that Brobee can have a party in his tummy - if you watch the show you'll get it :) He sings a song about eating food and having a party in his tummy.

What a LUCKY girl!!Giving one of the Brobee's a hug at home

and a kiss!

She had such a great time at her party, running around with her friends, having snacks, playing games and opening presents!

Banana Bread

I love banana bread - especially with a nice hot cup of tea. It's good for breakfast, afternoon snack or ... anytime really! I baked 2 loaves today, and since the first one finished around 3pm we had some for our afternoon snack - perfect timing! Here's my favourite recipe from the Company's Coming cookbook:

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 cup bananas, mashed or pureed

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside. In a second bowl cream the butter and margarine. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Mix in the bananas and then mix the two bowls together, stirring just until blended. Bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes.