.here fishy fishy.

Last month, we made the trip downtown to visit the Vancouver Aquarium. We had a coupon from the Entertainment Book that I had been dying to use but it wasn't valid during the summer which I guess was for the best as Nyah still would have been a little young. The Aquarium is such a magical place. I always find it so interesting to see how life carries about in the ocean. Here are a few photos from our visit. I have to give all the photo credit to Jay as he was the camera guy on this visit!

 

A little out of focus.... but super amazing!

Nyah thought they were really cool!

 

I don't know why we stopped to look at ths guy! I hate snakes!!!!! Luckly, he was behind glass so we were safe! Haha!

Gorgeous!

 

The rainforest exhibit is one of my favorites! There are butterflies all around, birds flying, turtles and sloth's slothing!

And who doesn't love dolphins? Such a great show!

I was so excited for Nyah to see the Beluga's but to be honest she was more interested in the grate on the floor and the people behind us! But at least we were able to get the famous "under water" photo!

One day she will appreciate this experience!

.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