Thanksgiving and Eye Surgery

Sunday morning Jon and I got up and started prepping Lois' turkey to get in the oven! Her and Tim were away for the weekend in Vancouver, and the bird was defrosted and needed to be cooked. I love making stuffing and cooking a turkey, so I was happy to do it! We worked hard to get it all ready and in the oven, and then we had a really low key day.

 Jon still wasn't feeling great so he napped in the afternoon and we just stuck around home (home being the Lampards house, not our home). Tim and Lois came back later that afternoon and we spent the evening with them. An easy Sunday. These are our selfies before bed that we sent to my mom.

 Monday morning we got up and made mashed potatoes for thanksgiving dinner at Hanna and Ian's later that day! Q is such a "helper" - she always wants a job and is so eager to help out! So here she is helping her dad with the potatoes. Cuties!

 I found this on my phone later that morning - she took it herself! She is really getting good at taking picture of herself.. haha! I put it on instagram with the caption "I am thankful for this girl who makes me laugh every single day". Which is the complete truth. She is what I am most thankful for in the whole world, because it is just beyond me how I got picked to be her Mama. I am so thankful that God created us to be together, and entrusted this beautiful, wild, firecracker girl who is full of sparkles to me (well to us actually... Jon is thankful for her too!). You do make our life so much more full Quinnybear.

 I didn't take any pictures that afternoon, but Quinny and Madi were SO cute together!!! They played so well and gave lots of hugs and were awesome together. They really are turning into best friends, and that makes me SO happy!!!! It was another great thanksgiving dinner out at the Evans house!

Tuesday morning we were up bright and early to head to Vic General. She was born with blocked tear ducts, and we have been hoping that they would open on their own, but that hasn't happened. Basically, that just means she can't drain her tears, and her eyes always look watery because the tears have nowhere to go. They said it could cause problems for her later in life, especially if she ever wears contacts or things like that, and high chance of re-occuring eye infections. So it needed to get fixed! We took her there in the pajam-jams and Elsa came too. The nurse was awesome with her, so gentle and sweet. The nurse checked Elsa's blood pressure, and gave her a band to wear as well. I love nurses like this, they are clearly in the right calling.

 Both her and Elsa, waiting and ready to go! She was so happy all morning, letting the nurses do what they needed to do, and just going along with it. I was once again so grateful for my easy going child!!

 She was allowed to take Elsa with her into the OR, which I thought was awesome. Jon was allowed to go to, until she was sleeping then he had to leave. So he dressed in his scrubs and we waited for her to go in! (he didn't steal the scrub pants this time haha!).

 The doctor said that the operation went very well and that they opened both of the ducts. There was some bleeding though so we had to watch that - it was coming out of her nose. The nurses came and got me because she was having a hard time waking up. I went back there and could hear her immediately, screaming her head off. The noises she was making were awful and unlike anything I have ever heard her make before. I grabbed her and held her close, and she kicked and screamed and tried to get away from me. It was like she didn't recognize me or even know who I was. The nurse said that some kids react this way, and it is similar to a night terror. It was awful. I just held her really tight and whispered to her. After about 15 minutes she calmed down and could look at me and I knew she was back, because she was really seeing me. They gave her popsicles and juice to make sure her stomach could handle it. She did, and she wasn't sick at all. Eventually they gave her the go ahead and we were allowed to leave, and had instructions on what to watch for and how to take care of her. Overall it went really well and we are glad its over and behind us!

 In a tiny little wheel chair. Patients aren't allowed to walk out the door, so we wheeled her down. The  nurse gave her this stick thing that had fish in it that float around. She was pretty pumped about it

 And I bought her a "baby" Olaf for doing so well. Here she is on the way home, clinging to both and sleeping. 

 The rest of the week went by quickly! She got a headcold which was lame!! So not sleeping great and more tired and a bit more grumpy, but overall pretty good! This picture of her pony tail totally shocked me! Look how long it is! Her hair is growing so fast!!

 On Wednesday we had a bunch of running around to do, which included Walmart. As we were leaving she says "Mama! Lunch! Lunchtime! Me! Fries, pease!" so I gave in and got us McDonald's. Bad decision, I felt instantly gross. But she loved it, and it rarely happens, so oh well.

 We went to the Burdge's for dinner that night. I love hanging out with Sharon, just chatting in her kitchen. Those moments make me miss living close by and we could visit frequently. She made soup and eggos... it was great. Thursday was MMO in the morning, and here is Q playing with Sarah. Jen said that she had Sarah wrapped her around her finger the whole time. Those Monahan girls really love Quinny and Ady and will do whatever the little people want them to! So cute!!

The afternoon was spent in Crofton. Lois drove up with Hanna, Nana and Stef to see the house that we are buying! Jacob Dorian was doing our house inspection, and didn't mind if they came to look around while he was working, so they came up! I was so excited to show them around and get their opinions!! The past few weeks have been filled with house stuff... going back and forth on a price, settling on a price, coming up with the money for a downpayment, praying that the bank would approve us... there's been bumps along the way but now it seems like its all working out! God has done some cool things through this whole process and has orchestrated it all. It's pretty fun to watch it all unfold! We are excited! So if it all goes through (which we should know this coming week) then we move Nov 13th! Crazy! Pretty awesome. The only bummer is that its in Crofton and not Chemainus. We love Chemainus soooo much.... but Crofton isn't that far, and there are a TON of young families in Crofton, so I think that could be good for me! Yay!

Marika and Daniel's Wedding

Thanksgiving weekend was a full weekend! We came down on Friday because the Kremlers (the three boys came to Wildside the past few years and their family is awesome) had their homecoming football game and wanted us to come watch. I was feeling SO sick that day, super tired and nauseous and just all around terrible. So I stayed behind and ended up sleeping all afternoon while Jon and Q cheered the boys on. I was sad to miss out! But I definitely think I needed the sleep. Jon said Q cheered the whole time yelling "GO TEAM! GO TEAM! YAY!" and clapping happily

The next morning was Marika and Daniel's wedding day! Jon had a bunch of last minute things to get ready for the reception since he was the MC. My job was to make the kissing wheel - I was pretty happy with how it turned out. All in her fall colors with funny things on them.

We walked into the wedding and it was in a beautiful barn that they had decorated. It was exactly as Marika had described when she talked about how she wanted her wedding day. Brad was up in the rafters serenading us all. It was really pretty and laid back in there.

We couldn't take pictures during the ceremony! But I hugged her afterwards and her smile made me cry - just so big and so bright and full of joy. She is such a gem, and I love her so much!!!! Watching these camp girls of mine get married to men who really love and cherish them is such a beautiful thing!!! It makes me incredibly happy. She looked so beautiful!!!!

I love this picture!!!! And I love these people so much! Ahhh!! We took a camp family picture after this and there was a lot of us all crowded in... can't wait to see it!

We then had to run around and look for glow sticks, which were harder to find than anticipated! So I got sparklers instead for their send off later that night. After that task was done, we met up with this awesome group at a pub. We had gotten three texts from different people asking where we were, which was so nice! I love that this group of young adults love us and want us around and bring us into their circle, even though we are older than they are. We walked in and I had Q strapped to me in the Tula, and she was sleeping. I made a joke about being "old balls" as we walk in with a toddler haha. But she woke up pretty quickly and they were excited to see her, and she went from person to person, talking and getting food haha. They are so good to her and genuinely love her and that makes me happy. We laughed a lot and had some appy's. I was glad we went, it was super fun.

Sidney is such a gorgeous place!!! The pub we were at was right on the water with a beautiful view! Quinny of course loved the boats and couldn't get enough of them

Beautiful Bridemaids

Q was up standing beside her dad as he MC'ed. The intros were hilarious - he added in a random fact about each person that was a total lie as they walked in. But he delivered it in a way that you wouldn't know it was a lie... how he comes up with this stuff is beyond me! Funny guy

The wheel game was awesome. I was worried that nobody would spin it, but it got spun lots! Andy and JL had the best kiss of the night... she stood on a chair and he dipped and swirled her... quite impressive!!! And graceful, which is hard to pull off with a kiss like that haha!

I didn't cry too much all day - just when I hugged Marika after the ceremony. But then Lisa gets up there and gives her MOH speech and I am LOSING it. Crying. lots. Their friendship is just so awesome.

Newlywed Lovebirds!

The "old" married couple, a whole four months in! 

She wanted to say hi to "Meeka" so Jon let her have the mike and she said "Hi Meeka" in her sweet voice and then giggled. Too sweet!

Lovely Lisa. She did such a good job as MOH

My Sharon. Isn't she gorgeous?! She makes 40 (almost!) look so easy and effortless. Bombshell

Tom spent a good chunk of the evening again with Quinny - just such good buddies! He taught her how to "princess wave" and they were waving at everyone. So cute!!

My little dancing queen danced the whole evening away and I barely saw her! Vanessa is her wedding dancing partner and those two danced hard! Q was all over the place, being so crazy in a funny way. She loves dancing! It was fun to watch

And I got a SUPER funny video of Jon dancing to one song... Jacob was teaching him his moves, and it was hilarious! Such funny boys.

The wedding was so beautiful and fun and full of love. We are so excited for them! Jon had fun MC'ing and it was just all around a great night. We sent them off with the sparklers and then headed home - wasn't a very late night! Jon wasn't feeling great, he was super tired. Trevor and Nate were here when we got home, watching the hockey game with Calea and Aimee. Jon went and snuggled with Trevor, who loved it. Thats the thing about lifelong friends, theres no boundaries, is there? Look at how tired Jon actually looks here haha! It was a good night :)

The Weeks Go By too Quickly!

Time is just flying by these days! It seems like I blink and two more weeks have passed!! Our life is so busy these days, but a good busy - filled to the brim with good stuff! Here was our week two weeks ago!

My mom and Grandpa were in a "turkey ball" golf tournament and won! It was rainy and yucky outside apparently, and my mom sent me this of them playing! Cold, but having fun together!

Typical meal time in our house - she doesn't sit in the high chair anymore, but we can't pack it up and put it away, because her "babies" need to sit in there. And at meal time, she makes sure to prop at least one baby in there, and bring them food, cutlery and a glass. What a girl!

Sunday night swim time with the Easson's has started again! I was feeling kinda sick, so I got out early, but really enjoyed watching these guys play! Q and Ady are just so cute together, such besties

She has learned how to open our screen and window out the front and hangs out there. I worry that one time she might try to escape! We have to watch her like a hawk. She hangs out there like this and when I ask her what she's doing she responds with "fresh air mama". haha! She also yells "HI!" to anyone who might be walking by. See why I need to watch her closely?!

I worked one afternoon for a short shift, so her and her daddy had a playdate, which of course included the beach! Happy west coast girl

 I sent them a bored selfie... the center was empty! Easy paycheque, but kinda sad. I would love to see this place packed with kids

 And they sent a selfie back that made me laugh... she carries that phone around with her and takes "pictures" all the time. She is taking a selfie at the same time as Jon haha!

 She is crazy for keys and unlocking things right now also. She sees a keyhole and will start yelling until she's allowed to "open" it. A little explorer

 This is SO funny... I videoed her to send to my mom, because she had taken her shirt off by herself and was wiggling her butt and singing to herself and making funny noises... totally lost in her own world, just dancing and singing with no shirt on. She really does make me laugh all the time

 Movie time. She's not allowed to have her bubba unless she's in bed (its been that way for quite a few months already) but this day she really wanted it while she watched her movie. I told her no about 17 times. Finally she gave up asking and just went and cuddled with her blanket and watched her movie... when I peeked a few minutes later, she had got this baby that has a bubba attached and was sucking on the plastic one! What a sneaky, clever girl haha! It couldnt have the same effect, but must have been sufficient enough for her!

 I found a cool looking "foam" recipe that you make using dish soap and water and water paint. I used my kitchen aid to blend it all while she helped to stir

 It didn't turn out quite as it was supposed to. Not sure what I did wrong? I'll have to try again. It made me laugh because I thought it looked so fun and wanted to try it for her... forgetting that I have a child who does NOT like to get her hands dirty. So reaching her hands into all these bubbles was very stressful for her! i put toys and sea shells in there for her to search around for, but that still didn't really entice her

 Eventually she got both hands in there, but it took a lot of promoting! And I had to give her a tea towel to wipe her hands on everytime she pulled them out, because she would get so stressed at how "dirty and messy" they were - I tried explaining that bubbles aren't dirty, but she didn't really care

 She played for about 10 minutes and then she had enough. Good try mom. Gotta keep brainstorming!

 Another page in the quiet book done! A fish puzzle that i cut out of the felt and glued all together.

 Wednesday that week was a LONG day... this picture pretty much sums up the whole day. Hannah was sick and not very happy and cried A LOT, and that just totally threw off Q and Jacob, who would then also both become whiney and cry. Here they are, all three crying at the same time. YIKES! I do NOT like kids enough to deal with this kind of day! I was super stressed but worked hard to keep it together and not show it.

 I decided that action needed to be taken, and it was time for a time consuming craft! I made pumpkins out of this dough recipe that you bake, and pushed their hand prints into it and baked them. Once they were cooked, I let them all paint their pumpkins. The two big kids loved this and spent a good hour painting their pumpkins. They turned out pretty cute! This gave me time to hold and cuddle Hannah who just needed extra love and attention since she was sick. I painted hers and she sat on my lap and "helped". The break from the crying was very awesome!

 I really like these kids, but I was pretty happy when Sarah came and picked them up. But its a good test of my patience! Character building!

 After nap time that day we packed up and headed to camp for family dinner. Tom and Joyce were in town, because Tom taught this week. Joyce took Lisa shopping so they didn't come to dinner, but Tom was there and he hung out with Q pretty much the whole night. He played hide and seek with her, gave her whipping cream, and was just all around awesome. His love for her is so sweet!

 And this just made me laugh and I sent it to Mary, because we both feel the same way. WHY call me when we can text??!! Talking on the phone is just not for me. I would WAY rather text! Is that a result of my age/generation? Probably haha.

 Family walk! We took her out in the wagon, but about halfway through she wanted to pull the wagon. She tried to convince Jon and I to sit in it so she could pull us haha! It made the walk go much longer with her pulling, but I love walking at her pace sometimes. She sees things so differently than I do, and its a good reminder to slow down and just enjoy the moment. I love my family and easy moments like this.

 The beauty of a small town - she can pull her wagon down the middle of a quiet road with us behind her and there's no worries. Love these fall evenings!