Oh, hello terrible twos

Tonight was the first night that the 'terrible twos' truly came a' knocking at the door. We had temper tantrums, we had tears, we had a crazy two year old, who for some unknown reason, held a chewed-up piece of cucumber in her mouth for HALF AN HOUR. Not kidding. She wouldn't swallow it, she wouldn't spit it out. She just cried. With a mouth full of cucumber. Seriously, I don't even know how you do that.

Oh, and when I say 'we', I mean 'me' because Rob had taken to bed with round five? seventy two? of the dreaded fall cold that's been lingering in our house since September.

I put her to bed half an hour early because she was delirious after missing her nap today and she woke up an hour later SCREAMING. It was clearly a bad dream because she was inconsolable. And we all know, there is no doubt she was having a nightmare about CUCUMBER!

It probably looked something like this:



Anyway, I'm sure it's all because of the missed nap. And maybe I'm a bit stressed out about food because madam had a check-up today with her pediatrician (who likes to see her every 3 months because she's such a midget). And I shouldn't even be sad because she gained weight (yes, she weighs as much as a sack of potatoes now. Mini potatoes, mind you!)

Nevermind, I live in hope that some day she will actually get on the growth chart. In the meantime, I will stop trying to feed her cucumber, because it's not like it has nutritional value anyway. Chocolate milkshakes, here we come! Not a cuke in sight!

Here is the little mini tyrant on a walk last month.



In other news, I just spent an hour watching ALL the clips on the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Woot woot! I remember VERY distinctly watching the wedding of Charles and Diana. And I was SO jealous that I wasn't a flower girl. (Seriously, in my Commemorative book, one of their flower girls was PICKING HER NOSE. I remember thinking that if they'd been smart enough to ask me, I would have kept my darn finger out of my nose). Mom, you'd better find that book and scan that picture for me. Maybe I can send it to Wills and Kate to convince them to give me a chance this time. For all the good clips on the newly engaged lovebirds, including the full interview, check out bbc.

Oh, and

For all of the pics and details about my very fun and relaxing road trip with the elder sis, check out Lee's blog.

At the Fair...

We had SUCH a fun time at the Fair yesterday! Evy and Rob came to meet me after my shift, and of course when they showed up I was holding an Eastern Milk Snake (as you do!). Evy was quite enamoured with it and with the Black Rat snakes we had there and kept asking to pet them.




After the quality reptile time, we did all the things you're supposed to at the Fair including watch some horsies:



And we spent a lot of time at the Petting Zoo. Evy was almost beside herself with glee and was literally running in circles at one point because she couldn't contain herself. There is nothing quite like the enthusasm of a two-year old!



And just like the Port Hope Fair, the goats were very popular. And Evy was quite popular with them!!



All in all, it was a very successful trip. And believe me, I did take pictures of the butter sculptures, but they are on my phone and I'm too lazy to track down the cable to transfer them. Take my word for it, they were aweeesome!

The Fair is on until Sunday, so get there if you can! We recommend the SuperDogs show! Arf arf!

Off to the Fair!

Am off to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair for 2 days - one of the perks of the job. I get to visit with dozens of school groups and teach hundreds of kids about biodiversity and how all living things are connected. Cool, right? (And yes, the snakes will be there again).

If you haven't been to the Royal before, you're missing out. The country truly comes to the city for 10 whole days. There are thousands of animals - cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. Plus the horse shows, which are amazing. And of course, my favourites, the Wonder Dogs. Woot woot! And people, let's not forget the butter sculptures. I'm not kidding. Giant sculptures made of butter. (We're thinking of setting Evy loose in there to see if she can finally gain some weight!)


So, if you happen to be at the Fair in the next few days, stop by to say 'hi'. If you can't make it, don't worry. I'll take pictures. And extra pictures of the butter sculptures, obviously!

It's that time of year again...

... When the skies above Millbrook are filled with hundreds of honking Canada Geese. We seem to be on the flight path of many of the noisy feathered friends as they make their way south for the winter.

Taking off from the pond

Evy loves them and always sends them on their way with a 'goodbye geese' and a hearty wave. When I ask her where they are going she says, "Home". (Like, duh, mom).

On goose patrol

Though this weekend was a bit chilly, we spent a lot of time outside. Nothing like a late afternoon stroll by the pond on a frosty day.

Saucy snotty (on what must be week 4 of her cold -

I blame the making out with Sam)

Anyway, happy end of daylight savings time - aka - welcome to pitch black at 5pm! Doh! Isn't fall grand?

Olde Fashionedee

More pics from the fun last night in Port Hope. But these ones cracked me up because they are grainy and look like old polaroid shots. I'm pretty sure there's a picture (or 100) exactly like this of Lee, Ben, and I when we were kidlets. (Sorry Emily, you were only a twinkle in someone's eye).





And just look at these two? Why they almost look docile and obedient, don't they? Nice try, boys!

Kissing cousins

Yes, you've all heard a dozen times how much Sam and Evy love each other. But honestly, they love each other so much, I'm not sure it's legal.

They find each other SO hilarious, and tend to pick up each other's bad habits. They are both very good kids when on their own, but together, their naughtiness factor increases exponentially.

Evy and I had the pleasure of dining with them tonight, and, as always, Sam & Evy provide the entertainment. Just a normal visit for the crazy kissing cousins, involving:


Some play time, obviously:




And then a quick kiss:




Then, after supper, a little quality time in the bathtub:




Followed by a dose of good dental hygiene:




Which leads to more smooching:




Then some time for giggles in bed:




Then, you guessed it, more kissing (I like the eye gouge on Evy):




Then more pillow talk hilarity:




Then a little insanity:




And at the end of it all, a very happy little girl who is SO glad to have her cousins close by!



Seriously, what exactly did we do for Wednesday night fun before they moved here? Thanks for dinner, sister!! Thanks for sharing your saliva with my daughter, Sam! Charley, thanks for being patient with the young chimpanzees. Chris, thanks for putting up with us!! See ya tomorrow at the same time??