.fall is here.

Fall has officially arrived.  I love this time of year before the rain really sets in. The leaves are changing color and falling. Pumpkin spice lattes are back at Starbucks (along with an amazing pumpkin scone that I've just discovered this year!) and shoe stores are filled with boots. It won't be long now until winter blows in and someone's first birthday is here!

We took at trip to the Aquarium and Stanley Park today and got some amazing fall shots in the leaves. I'm so glad we made the effort to hop out of the car and take some pictures even though Miss. Nyah was getting sleepy.

.pumpkin patch.

A couple weeks ago, we took Nyah to the pumpkin patch in Maple Ridge to pick her first pumpkin. Nyah's friends Brody and Austin meet us there for an amazing day. The weather was absolutely glorious! It reminded me of the year Rylynn was with us for Halloween and I took her to the patch. It was so beautiful and sunny we had to wear sunglasses! It turned out to be such a fun day! Lots of photo opportunities, a corn maze, petting zoo and pumpkins! Here are a couple shots from the day! (Truth be told... it's way more than a couple!)

 

The sign says it all!

 

 

Yee Haw! (There was some debate to whether this was a horse or a unicorn... I think final decision was it was a tuff'd of hair not a horn)

 

 

My lil sunflower

 

 

Look at me standing all by myself with the pumpkins! (with mama's hand behind as a safety of course!)

 

 

Mid clap

 

 

 

 

Friends at the petting zoo

 

 

She wanted in there!

 

 

Baaaaaaaaaa

 

 

Paning for gold... hoping to strike it rich!

 

 

Austin

 

 

You gotta be quick if you want a pic of Brody. He's always on the go!

 

 

Daddy and Nyah posing in the pumpkins

 

 

Pumpkin love

 

 

Play time!

 

 

It wouldn't be a day at the patch without one pic of my girl sticking her tongue out!

 

 

Best friends!

 

 

Austin

 

 

Brody smiling through his cold :)

 

 

Gorgeous!

 

 

Family love

.11 months.

Today my baby girl turned 11 months old. It feels so bitter sweet. I'm excited for all the things to come but sad that the past 11 months have flown by. Since daddy was at work and it was just me and the little miss, I thought what better way to celebrate this mini milestone than with pancakes! Nyah had never tried them before and I thought it would be really cute to make 11 little mini pancakes for her and I to enjoy. What a disaster this turned out to be!... lol... I have made pancakes a million times before but never have I ever failed at it like today! Maybe it's because I knew in my head I was going to blog about our little brunch so maybe there was all this pressure to make it cute and perfect! I mean I did even put on makeup thinking I would get a couple shots of Nyah and I eating together (which totally was not happening after the mess I made of myself!). It went downhill pretty fast. I made the 11 mini's in one pan, took a couple shots and then tried to flip them. Stuck to the pan. So I washed the pan and started all over, this time with less mini's in the pan. Stuck again. So I washed the pan again. This process repeated itself over and over until we ran out of batter! Determined to make my girl pancakes, I took a break and nursed her, gave her a botttle for a top up, and then I made a new batch of batter. I still don't know what was wrong with my first 100 attempts but this 2nd batch was much better. Although this time around I decided to throw the idea of 11 mini's out the window and go with just 4! They turned out great! I got Nyah set up to eat and quickly made myself a couple to eat. Needless to say it didn't turn out how I expected but I'll never forget it that's for sure! haha!

 

I had such good intentions! haha!

 

 

Clearly my helper was helping contribute to the mess!

 

 

After a very long wait... we finally have pancakes!

 

 

And she loves them!

 

 

One is just not enough!

 

 

Hmmmmmm!

 

 

Check out the little curls coming in by her ears.... darling!

.1st boat ride.

Today we had so much planned and it all went out the window.  My parents are coming for a visit on Monday so we had hoped to get the playroom sanded, cleaned, primed and painted before they came.  Our friend is coming tomorrow to put in the new carpets so now we are really under the gun to get it all done in the morning. But skipping out on our never ending list of things to do to go boating with friends on Alouette Lake was totally worth it! The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had an amazing time. Nyah was such a good sport! Poor little thing couldn't move her head or bend her arms in the life jacket. She looked so uncomfortable and so ridiculously cute at the same time.

This was her first time out on a boat and I was a little nervous at the whole idea. I'm a super strong swimmer but the fear of something happening and her ending up in the water was terrifying to me. I think Shawn could tell I was a little nervous and took it nice and easy out on the boat. It ended up being such an enjoyable day. Floating, chatting and basking in the sun. I always find being near or on the water so peaceful.

Shawn and Jenn's little guy Ayden was so much fun too! He's such a good boy with the sweetest giggle you have ever heard. I love that he was so easily influenced to squirt Jay with the water gun! Any kid that will team up with me against Jay is number one in my books... lol.

After spending the afternoon on the boat both Nyah and Ayden fell asleep. Of course Ayden slept like an angel and Nyah woke up after half an hour! Luckily the sound of the engine and the long trip back to the dock put her out again.

We got home around dinner time and because the 3 of us were so exhausted we decided to just order a pizza. I'm so tired as I'm writing this and tomorrow we have another super fun day ahead of us. It's Nyah's boyfriend, Brody's first birthday! We can't wait to celebrate with them!

.baby fever.

If someone had told me 2 years ago that I would have been blogging about the topic of this post I would have laughed and made some kind of tongue and cheek remark. Oh... how things have changed. Thanks to a sweet little baby named Avery Leigh, I now find myself with a case of serious baby fever! There I said it!... Eek... baby fever! What does that even mean? Is it an internal confirmation that you want a baby? Or in my case another baby? Just thinking about the possibility stresses me out but on the flip side... babies are such a gift and we would be so blessed to have another. Holding Avery in the hospital, less than a day old, brought back all the feelings of when I held Nyah for the first time and I had this overwhelming feeling of sadness that I may never hold another tiny baby of my own. And so.... I caught baby fever. Ever since that day all I think about is babies. Poor Jay is probably so tired of EVERY conversation starting with... " so hypothetically speaking.... if we did have another....".... lol.

Making the decision to have another baby is serious stuff. I lay awake at night snuggling with Nyah wondering if she would feel like she missed out not having a sibling. I worry if we do give her a brother or sister will she feel less loved. Will we be able to afford it? Would we be able to survive 2 kids? If we didn't have another would I wake up one morning with the biggest feeling of regret?

I imagine what life would be like with 2 kids (and for some reason I always imagine 2 girls)... 2 sweet girls playing together... best friends... Don't get me wrong... I'm not completely delusional... I have a sister so I remember all the fighting, hair pulling and biting that goes with it. Maybe it's our age that's adding to the pressure or that we would like them close in age if we did have another. All I know is that baby fever has consumed my brain. It's all I think about and talk about. I heard a great quote a little while ago... "You never regret the children you have, just the ones you don't have". Ahhhhhh... I never imagined that we would be contemplating another and definitely not so soon! I guess we will just have to wait and see what life has in the cards for us.

Here are just a few snapshots of Miss. Avery. How can you not just fall in love with her! Congrats Tracey and Kyle! We are so thrilled for you both!

 

Miss. Avery Leigh

 

 

I love baby yawns!

 

 

Sweet dreams

 

 

I can't write a post without including at least one photo of my little monster! Nyah at 9 1/2 months

 

.1st family trip.

On July14th we loaded up the car with pretty much everything Nyah owned including the dog and made the 4 hour (usually 3 hour without a baby) to Kamloops. Nyah and I had done this trip once before when she was 5 months old and it went very smoothly. This time around I had a feeling the trip wasn't going to be so easy breezy with an 8 month old and I was right! The first 45 minutes in the car passed without a problem. Miss. Nyah was asleep. But once she woke up and realized we were still in the car she was not a happy girl. Insert crying and tears for what seemed like forever here! It was so bad we decided to pull off at a rest stop to give her a break. Jay and I had stopped at this same rest spot once before on one of our many trips to the loops and it was infested with mosquitos. Turns out the mosquitos never left! Yikes! There were so many that I didn't even want to take Nyah out of the car to nurse so I ended up bringing her into the front seat with me while the pesky mosquitos swarmed the car waiting to attack! After a short break, we decided to continue on our journey. I usually really enjoy the beautiful scenic mountain drive in the summer time but with a baby it feels like a game of beat the clock. The whole time you are anticipating with anexity when she'll wake up. You feel guilty because she doesn't understand why she has to be strapped in the car for so long and that the end result is going to be so fun at grandma and grandpa's house. Once we finally got there, I was able finally able to relax.

Rylynn was so excited we were there. She kept Uncle Jay busy the WHOLE time playing baseball and jumping on the trampoline. Watching Rylynn interact with Nyah is so special. She is always so gentle and kind with her. Given the many difficult adversities and challenges Rylynn has had to face in her life, she is an amazing little girl. Her spirit is so sweet and the things she says are so loving and wise beyond her years. Rylynn showed me Nyah's rattle and one end is a heart and she said to me "Auntie Leah... this is like me and Nyah... One heart together". Bless her heart! I love Rylynn very much and we share a special bond having been through some tough times together. There is nothing in the whole world I wouldn't do for that kid.

Overall the trip went really well. Everyone got to visit with Nyah and Jay and I got to spend time with Rylynn. As always I brought my nail polishes cause it's become a tradition that I give Miss. Rylynn a manicure. This time it was purple with a top coat of sparkles! Too bad that after a couple hours she has picked a lot of it off. Funny girl! My Uncle Walter and Auntie Beth came up to the house for a coffee and donuts and to see the little one. It's always nice getting to visit with them.

The drive home was much better than the drive up. We left later in the afternoon hoping for a long afternoon nap and it worked. So all in all I'd say it wasn't too bad although I don't think we'll be doing it again soon. Travelling with a baby is exhausting!

This girl is seriously good at baseball!

Prettiest baseball player EVER! I love that she's playing in a pretty blue dress with sequins!

That is the face of a HOME RUN!

Yahoo!

My 2 best girls!

Grandma and grandma's girl.

Grandma's going to be mad I put this on here but too bad! Somehow Grandpa managed to avoid the camera this trip so we will have to make up for it next visit!