What a girl!

My little baby turned two!  She is our Canada day baby.  What a sweet little one with her sparkling eyes and wide smile.  She loves to help, though she can get a little difficult when she has other ideas, and her constant stream of babbling is the soundtrack of my life.  (Alongside all the other noise that is 3 kids...)

For her birthday, we went strawberry picking at the Organics Farm.  It was our first time at this particular place, but it won't be our last.  The kids loved it.  Especially little miss.  She could be found at all times in a strawberry bush eating whatever her little hands could find.  Messy mouth, messy hands and a mama who didn't mind.  Her kind of day!

To top things off, we went to another nearby farm for sweet peas.  That was M's idea - or at least he wanted it the most.  D loves that boy, so we squeezed in a side trip.  Sweet peas are a big deal in our house.  We sit around and eat them together in the evenings while we talk away, or play chess.

M is really into chess as of last weekend.  We went to the Dormition monastery and some old friends were visiting at the same time.  Lots of kids running around, to say the least.  It was wonderful!  But since it rained non-stop on Saturday, most of their activities were indoors.  The older boys were wrapped up in chess for a large part, so M picked up the basics there.  Now, all he wants to do is play chess.  I don't mind in the least!  When I'm not available to play against him, J plays for a bit.  Failing that, he plays both sides himself.  Hilarious to watch.  ("Mom, I won the game."  "Really, honey?  Which one of you?"  "My white side.")  Of course, there was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday while we were still in Michigan, so a proper trip to the pond was of the order.  Frog catching was the jeu de jour.  :)

J was just in seventh heaven with all the girls too.  She was the youngest besides the babies, but they played pretend to her heart's content.  She was so sad when we had to leave.  She still keeps asking for her new friends to come and visit - all the way from Wisconsin!  I love seeing these babies of mine find such wholesome, sweet and true friends.  This place is such a haven of love for our family.

I have started another baby sweater just in time for July swimming lessons.  (The two older ones have lessons everyday for a couple of weeks.)  It's the same pattern, but in a different colour - a pretty pastel pink.  I'm trying to cover my bases!  :)  Knitting in a new colour is fun, it feels like a whole new project without being overwhelming.  I still have that lovely gray sweater waiting to be finished.  It's not done yet, but I'd say it's close to 70%.  If we have a boy, the sweater will be the perfect gift to another friend expecting a girl.  If we have a girl, well, a little baby boy who has yet to debut will profit from my knitting zeal.  I do love the milo that Kim has been working on, so I might just have my next project queued up. Not to shabby!

I know it's summer time and most people aren't thinking about books and school, but I thought I'd share some of our favourite reading choices for those interested in such things.  Despite being the time for outdoors, there are plenty of times we curl up together on the sofa with a book.  Usually during afternoon nap/quiet times or on rainy days.  These are a few stories I've noticed get reached for quickly with Paddington and all the Beatrix Potter stories, of course.    

Well, I wish you a happy weekend, full of outdoors and adventures.  I'm off to finish shoe shopping for the boy.  (He happens to SHRED his shoes faster than I could have anticipated...)  And then it's jam time.  I hope.

Toodles!