Go Flames Go!

Elle went on a daddy daughter date Friday night to her first ever Flames game. She was all set in her Flames "Jersey" (don't call it anything other than that or you will be in trouble) and as they were leaving out the door she was shouting.. "no daddy we forgot my skates, I need my skates and my hockey puck". Change of subject! They drove to the train station and took her first c-train ride down to the Saddledome. Curtis text me a few pics througout the night, which are posted below. When they got home all Elle had to say was "Daddy hurt my ears mommy!" I guess Daddy was cheering too loudly for her liking! Curtis reported that he saw far less of this game than normal. Hmmmm I wonder why!.......










All the cheering and popcorn and fun made for a sleepy Elle, and a heavy load for Daddy to carry all the way to the train station!

The elusive front tooth

Finally Olivia's front teeth have both emerged. She has had the one on the right for quite awhile, and now a month or two later along with lots of slobber and sleepless nights she has a toothy grin! And yes she loves to grin. Most times it's mischievious, in these pics she was excited becuase I was chasing her.

A page from the book of Elle

On our way into the library the other day Elle was doing her usual 2 year old routine. Stopping to look at anything on the ground, playing in the melting snow with her boots, Stopping in the middle of the parking lot to look at some construction going on. As with most two year olds she is not concerned with moving very fast and has no sense of urgency. I on the other hand was holding Olivia in one arm; who is now by the way 19 pounds and wanting to also play in the puddles, and on my other arm was my oversized purse that overflows with spare diapers and wipes and all the other essentials that we mothers carry around in case of an emergency. (which by the way never happens until the one day we decide to leave it all at home because we won't need it!) Needless to say I was not as interested in all the seemingly fascinating things that were going on as we walked into the library.
I said something to the effect of "Elle let's get a move on, you can't just stop in the middle of the road there could be cars coming" That got her to look up at me as she made her scared face and shouted "Ahhhhh mommy cars, cars and ran to catch up. We finally made it to the sidewalk. We were approaching the doors... correction Olivia and I were approaching the doors. Elle was still lagging behind looking all around at some construction going on. Impatiently, I said something like "If you want to go to the library you need to hurry up, just stop looking all around and let's go." I turn back towards the doors and heard Elle say a few seconds later, "Mommy, I am not looking around anymore" I turn back around and see Elle walking with her hands covering her eyes, she is walking towards me without looking. I burst out laughing and attracted some attention from some people passing by. We both started laughing hysterically. For the rest of the day we went just as fast as Elle's legs would go! I think I will pack the stroller next time!
From the Olivia page: She began crawling on Jaunary 16th. She has not stopped moving since. I forgot about all the things that Elle liked to get into when she started to crawl. For example my plant that Elle liked to have for a snack Olivia also enjoys as well! What a mess.

Lately

It never ceases to amaze me how fast babies grow up. Olivia is sitting up and can now eat with us at mealtimes instead of watching us in awe.


So far her favorite meal has been broccoli mixed with sweet potato. She laughs and giggles and loves attention from her big sister who, to her is the funniest person on the planet.. She is getting to be less and less of a mommy's girl and by that I mean she will actually let other people hold her without mom being right beside her.

She just made it through the arrival of her first 2 little bottom teeth. I can't speak for her but I know I almost didn't survive it! Elle is such a chatterbox these days she loves talking on the phone and asking me lots of questions to which she usually already knows the answers.


She is very dramatic and can change her expressions from happy to sad at the drop of a hat. Usually when she is sad or upset you can just ask to see her happy face and it will automaticaly appear! Curtis continues to be very busy at work and I have now gotten into a normal weekly routine with the Day-home. I have been able to reserve most Mondays and Tuesdays just for me and my girls apart from the kids we have before and after school. This is so great because it gives us time for appointments and grocery shopping and some one on one time with Mommy. I am back at my piano lessons once a week and enjoying it. It is a challenge some weeks to find the time for practice but I am managing so far. I am no longer a teacher in Young Womens. I am still the ward camp director and I was called as the Personal progress specialist, which means I help the girls get all their goals checked off and i'm in charge of planning two big events a year, one of which is coming up in less than a month, "In Excellence" where we celebrate the girls who have moved out of the YW program. There is certainly never a dull moment around here and always something to keep me busy that's for sure. I have added pictures of what we have been up to over the past few months. Curtis,Olivia and I travelled to Las Vegas for my brother Nathan's wedding.

It was soooo hot in fact 10 degrees hotter than normal for September there, so we roasted. Elle stayed home with her Nana which was very fun and exciting for her. We also visited the Calgary Corn maze, had a cabin trip in there and caught Olivia enjoying her first foods. Other than that just some fun family time at home together.

Growing like weeds

My little girls are getting bigger by the day.



It reminds me to enjoy every moment and not get too annoyed when Elle finds her way to my bed in the middle of the night. She's not going to want to snuggle with her mom forever!



Olivia is soon going to be less dependant on me as well.



2 more months and we get to start the fun of solid foods. Her daddy has let her suck on a couple of different fruits and she liked it way too much so we won't try that again until she is old enough to really enjoy it.



We had an awesome photo shoot with our photographer and I can't believe how much smaller both girls look in these photos from just a couple months ago.

A day with my Girls!

There are only a few more weeks until School starts and when it does I am back in full swing with the Day-home. I will not have Mondays and Fridays off anymore. I have been trying to make the best of this time I have that's just for Olivia, Elle and I during the week. Today we had a really great day in the sunshine. We went down to Prince's Island Park and saw the ducks and geese and the WAWER(water)as Elle calls it.



We walked over to Eau Clair Market and Elle loved playing in the water pools with the sprayers and on the playground there. We didn't bring her swimsuit so she just jumped in fully clothed.





We had lunch inside and there is a really big and fun playground inside by the food court which Elle had a blast on. I can't wait for Olivia to be old enough to play with her big sister, I think that will be so fun to watch.





Our drive home was long with stops for diaper changes and consoling for Olivia who had a sore tummy. We don't have any plans to go anywhere for the long weekend which will be a change for us. There is a Fringe Festival and some other things that are going on this weekend for Heritage Day, so I am sure we will have fun at home. Curtis has been working like crazy for the past 3 weeks with the hail storm that we had in Calgary. There have been lots of late nights and weekends at work so we are happy to have him all to ourselves for three whole days.

Our latest.......

It is July and i'm still not sure if summer has arrived yet. We have had a few hot days in between overcast, rain, wind and hail. I will keep waiting.
Olivia is now three months old and she finally had her first real photo shoot. The pictures turned out really cute. We had the opportunity to get away from it all and head out to the island for some fun at my family's cabin. Though the weather wasn't hot and sunny like I had hoped we were still able to enjoy our week away sightseeing, playing and visiting with family. We went to Longbeach in Tofino and also spent some time at Cathedral Grove. Elle loved the beach and was go go go the entire day. I celebrated my 27th birthday while we were away and it was a nice change being with my famiy on my special day. We got to spend time with most everyone from my immediate family. They all made the drive up the island to spend time with us at different times throughout the week. My Granny and Grandpa made it up for my birthday celebration which was nice and my Grandma also made the drive later on in the week for a visit. A couple days after we returned home Olivia and I went out to our Wards girls camp. I am the Camp Director and wanted to be there for the our spa day I had planned. It was a blast. The girls soaked their feet in mini kiddie pools and we painted their nails . I made a face mask and put it on their faces with cucumbers on their eyes and we listened to spa music, they loved it. It was a really fabulous day. I wished that I could be there for the entire camp, but we weren't sure how well that would work out with a 3 month old. Olivia made the move over the weekend from the bassinette in our room to her crib in her room. I can't believe when I look back at pictures, she swam in that bassinette and now she barely has room to lay out straight in it. She has adjusted with no problems and loves her musical mobile that was passed down from her sister! I am working on getting the rest of her room just right, I love decorating my kids rooms. I startback after 2 weeks off from the Dayhome this week. I have been interviewing for new kids like crazy and have a couple new kids starting in August but still need a couple more so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it can be full again soon. That is it for anything new, hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Send your sunshine this way please!

Olivia June Dry : April 13th, 7lbs 5oz

Our little Olivia is growing so fast, she is 7 wks old now. She is such a great baby. She is never fussy and is always so happy. She smiles for Mommy all the time. She gave me her first real smiles at 4 wks which was such a nice surprise. She loves being in the tub and coos and smiles and splashes the whole time. She is growing rapidly. At her six week checkup she weighed in at 11 pounds. She is getting cute and chubby little rolls on her thighs! We love her so much and couldn't imagine our little family without her.

A full and eventful March

One last post before our little family of 3 turns into a family of 4. Note worthy events in our lives for the month of March included Curtis' 32nd birthday on the 8th, and Elle's 2nd birthday on the 27th. I also tackled a very lengthy TO DO list of items before baby comes. Only a couple things left to do so I am feeling almost ready for baby. Everyone keeps telling me that because I am not ready for baby to come yet the baby is bound to arrive early before my list is completely checked off! We will see. I figure I have a good week at least left to go, so plenty of time. We are starting to get really excited and anxious to know if the baby is a girl or boy.

For Curtis' birthday we had a family dinner and I was lucky enough to get to escort Curtis to a Flames game, a gift from his Dad. I decided after the game that it was going to be my last while pregnant. Those lines to the washroom are way too long and those stairs seem extra steep. We had a great time though.

We had a couple of days childless while Elle was enjoying a sleepover at her Nana's this month. We decided to take advantage of that time and went out for dinner to the Japanese Village my favorite, and we also went to the movies, something that we do very rarely since Elle joined us. It was really great to just have some time for the two of us before baby comes.

Elle was spoiled on her birthday and enjoyed the balloons and presents and attention. We had a smaller gathering of just close family which was nice and not as overwhelming for her as her first birthday. We had a delicious birthday cake made by my cousin who is taking the baking course at SAIT. Thankfully this year Elle can use a fork, and we didn't have as much cleanup.

The slideshow has some birthday pics and other fun times mostly outdoor,that we had in March. Elle really loves to be outside as much as possible, I can rarely distract her from wanting to stay outside on the short walk from the car to the the house. All day today she was out in the back garden with her pail and shovel helping Dad work on the yard. She is such a fun and happy little helper.

We can't wait to update you on the excitement to come this month as we wait for baby to arrive, so we will keep you posted.

Almost 2 going on 13!

Today Elle found some mascara in my purse and decided to put some on just like mommy! She actually did get some on her one eyelash but it is evident from the pictures that I still need to teach my daughter that less is more! We thought it was pretty funny especially since she ran right over to daddy with mascara in hand after making herself beautiful in the front mirror, and was so excited to show him what she had done. That is when I came down the stairs thinking that Curtis had attacked her with a jiffy marker.... he was quick to tell me he had nothing to do with it! Oh how quickly they grow up.

Christmas has come and gone

2009 ended great for the Dry family. We stayed in Calgary for Christmas and Elle was spoiled as usual! Her face was so cute christmas morning as we brought her downstairs to all the presents that Santa brought. She looked for a second and then let out a gasp of surprise. By the 4Th or 5Th present she wanted to be done so we had to open alot for her or be very persuasive. It was a long but fun day for her. Santa brought Curtis a photography course for Christmas. He is all enrolled. It is through the New York Institute of photography and it is all done correspondence using Internet DVDs telephone and mail. He has three years to complete it and he is nervous since it has been so long since he has done anything school like. He was very surprised and happy. Santa brought me a jewellery dresser I have wanted for a while that matches the rest of our bedroom furniture. On boxing day we took off for Fairmont where we met up with my Sister and her family and my oldest brother and his family who made the drive from Victoria to see us for the week. All the kids had fun playing together and though Elle and I were feeling a bit under the weather we still enjoyed a day out in the snow with the snowmobile and toboggan. The highlight for Elle was Radium Hot Springs. She had a blast and kept plunging into the water with no fear even if there was no one ready to catch her. We have to watch that child,her dad has made her fearless. My baby bump is growing and I can no longer keep up with all the things I give myself to do each day. I get so frustrated because I feel so lazy but I just can't do as much as I could a month ago. I am definitely slowing down. Only about 3 months to go. It is going to fly by and we are getting so excited for baby. I am thinking a girl would be great so we don't have to go out and buy anything but we will just have to wait and see! We don't think Elle really has any idea what is going on with the new baby coming. She did successfully make the big move from her Crib to a big girl bed last weekend and she loves it. Curtis captured some middle of the night shots of her (which are above). She is growing up and is going to be a great big sister.

Since July........

I am not so good at this blogging thing. July was over 3 months ago. Needless to say alot has happened in the Dry family over the last 3 months however here are just a few:

* Elle and I went on a little vacation to my parents cabin on Vancouver Island for a week in August, Elle had a blast in the Lake and the boat and hanging out with all her little cousins.

* We went to Fairmont for the September long weekend with some of my family that live in Cochrane. They are always a fun bunch to be around and Elle enjoyed wearing everyones shoes but hers around the cabin, a fun hobby of hers!

* Elle turned 17 months, then 18 months, then 19 months and now is about to turn 20 months old this month!! Can't believe it.

*I started back at piano lessons in September after the summer break. I am really enjoying my lessons and it is great to feel like I am making progress. I have started a Christmas song for the Christmas Concert. I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming.

*Elle was a little skunk for Halloween and had a long day of trick or treating and visiting with all her family and friends. She especially likes to fill her treat bag from the candy bowls herself. And the best part is shaking and dancing with her boxes of smarties.

*The Dry Family will be expanding come April. We are expecting a new arrival April 15th . The pencil test says it is a little boy so we will see if it is accurate for two babies in a row.
Stay tuned for some updated pictures.

Cousins

MMMMM... Cookie! Elle and her cousin Emma had a great time visiting together when my sister and Emma came from Victoria over the summer. My sister Shannon came for a visit with Emma and we went and experienced a few of the great attractions that Calgary has to offer. These pics are from Heritage Park. I was very disoppointed with this outing as the boat ride was closed for repairs and that was the one thing i was most excited about...and of course no rain cheques.. .

Heritage Park

This is the Heritage park Train ride.

The Calgary Zoo being little 'Joey's'

Emma at Calaway Park way up high.

Me and my little rider

The girls checking out the view!

Emma and Elle are only 6 months apart so we are already seeing how as they get older that gap begins to get smaller and smaller as Elle catches up. I think these two are going to be really great little friends. We can't wait till Elle is old enough to travel for summers to Victoria and for Emma to come to Calgary to play. What fun it will be.

Elle & Dune Buggy's & Sand & Sun..........

(If you haven't already noticed I am a bit behind on the blogging.. so you are getting lots of posts in chronological order over a very short time, so I can catch up on everything that we have done in the last month.)

The Dry family went on a road trip to Utah in May! Some who know Curtis may know of his not so fond attitudes towards visiting Utah but this trip brought Utah out on top in his books! He even said that he would now rather visit Utah than Edmonton! (Sorry Katie)

We left and drove all night this way Elle was able to sleep all night and that always makes a road trip with a little one way easier. We arrived on May 16th a Saturday morning and the plan was for my parents to get into town from Victoria on the Sunday. We stayed with my aunt and uncle who I haven't seen in almost 2 years. It was great to catch up and we really enjoyed spending time with them. They hadn't met Elle yet so that was fun to introduce her. .
Now, we had only heard many, many, many great stories from my family about Sand duning so we were dying to see what all the fuss was about hence the big reason for our trip.

My Dad has a dune buggy and some ATVs that he keeps in the states, and my uncle who we stayed with also has a Dune buggy and AT V's as well. So off we go with our Caravan of toy holding trailers behind us. We travelled a couple hours before we arrive at our destination, or to what appears to be a humongous parking lot of sand with no one in sight, wind blowing so hard you can't even open the car door, and when you do you are completely exfoliated by all the sand blowing everywhere. I have to say my first impression of this leisure sport was not what I had expected. You could see the disappointment in my dad's face as he looked on our faces and told us how he had never seen a day like this before at the dunes... of course it would happen to us!

Thankfully the wind quickly passed and we found a camp spot with running water and flush toilets and we soon fell in love with the sand dunes. It was such a blast and Elle was also on board with the adventure of it all. She had her first ATV ride with Daddy, and then she had her first Dune buggy ride with Grandpa, Grandma and Mommy. You can tell from the pictures that she was so excited she fell asleep riding in the dune buggy every time. Puzzling since these machines are not quiet and it's not always the smoothest ride. When she did wake up there was always a smile on her face or I would hear her talking to herself in delight. It was so hot she was always slathered in sunscreen so she was always coated in Sand since those two things like to stick together. She has never been SO dirty but as all kids do, she loved it. There is one place there called "Sand Mountain" It is a700ft mountain and it is straight up. My dad took me up it in his dune buggy and the whole way up you are looking straight at the sky. It was a real thrill. Unfortunately for Curtis who was riding the ATV behind us, my dad forgot to tell him that he wouldn't be able to make it up this particular mountain on the ATV. We had to watch him as he gets halfway up and powers out and then realizes that he can't go up any more and he is going to fall off the mountain backwards. He stops and balances, his tires drop in the sand and he manages to jump off without catastrophe and pull the machine around and drive back down. Not an easy maneuver. That was nerve wracking. We all came away unscathed, though up until a couple weeks ago we were still getting the sand out of our ears! The pictures really don't do the dunes justice. It was so much fun. Curtis has even been dreaming about it.

Also while in Utah we were able to visit the Salt Lake temple. Curtis got a really cool shot of the temple but it is actually a picture of it reflected on a big fountain pond. See if you can spot it on the slide show.

Excitement in Edmonton

At the beginning of May Curtis had a work conference in Edmonton. Elle and I got to travel along with him and we made a weekend of it so we could visit with Mike and Katie~! We got to stay in a hotel for the duration which was nice to have someone else to clean up after us. We had a great time and after my most favorite stop: 'Bath and Body Works' (it's a serious addiction of mine, and is going to be bad when the store arrives in Calgary this summer) we even visited the West Edmonton Mall Amusement Park. Who would've thought an indoor park could be so much fun. It was not fun for Elle however, when she saw her daddy and mommy shooting up in the air and dropping down to the ground in no time and heard me screaming from losing my stomach up at the ceiling.....whoops. She was so upset and cried as if something awful was happening to us. She can be a bit sensitive and it is cute because it shows me just how much she loves us. She also does the same thing when Curtis 'tries' to wrestle with me. That's right Daddy...don't mess with mommy!

Elle's Leisure Suit

Just had to share some pictures of Elle in her Leisure suit. I think she looks pretty cute. Ready for a major kiddie workout! She got this outfit as a gift for her 1st birthday.