Abbotsford

On the Thursday after she spent all of Wednesday in bed, we had plans to go to Abbotsford for the weekend. Jon had a Youth Workers Convention and we were going to go with him - all week I had went back and forth on whether we should stay home since she was so sick. But she woke up Thursday and the fever was gone! YAY! And she seemed way more energetic and better. So we decided to all still go, and got packed up and heading out for the Duke Point afternoon ferry. She still was not totally herself, but she was much better and the promise of a ferry ride perked her up - this girl LOVES the ferries!

Ben and Shayna met us in Abbotsford the next day and the boys went to the conference and I got to hang out with Shayna for the day! The only downer is that Q naps in the afternoon, so I couldn't do much that day. But still AWESOME to be with my bestie! That evening we went swimming and Q got to wear her "new" (thank you Varagesale for the $2 in perfect shape bathing suit) bathing suit for the first time! SO CUTE! I wish the top was a bikini top instead, because when she swims the top flops up and bugs her, but the bottom skirt is just so cute. And she loves that its purple. She is her mothers daughter!

We did the best we could to keep these two apart, so that Q didn't breathe all over poor little Norah. But Shayna is amazing, and pretty chilled out. So it didn't bother her that much, since all of Q's symptoms were gone by then. OH man, Q has BIG love for this little baby (as do I!!!!!). Norah is in good hands with Quinny around - she makes sure Norah is okay at all times, and bosses everyone around with how to take care of her. Very sweet.

Quinnlyn is so affectionate with other kids - she always wants to hug and hold hands. Norah seemed happy enough to let Q hold her hand, so win win!! (Also please note Q's sweater - I bought it for $4 before Christmas and it became one of my fave - a nerdy snowman, so hilarious. Love this sweater. I'm sad that its almost too small now). 

This is my favorite picture these days. I would like to frame it for Q's room. Shayna is an AMAZING mom already, so sweet and attentive. And she is also such a good Auntie to Q, patient and kind and silly. Being all together is the best.

Friday night we met up with some of our mainland friends! SO good to see them!!! Kevin and Brady both have very special places in our lives, and I loved seeing them! The other guy is Sam, Ben's brother! This picture also made me laugh because neither of the little girls are being held by their own parents. That's the sign of close friends, isn't it?! Jon must have been the one to take the picture, since he isn't in it. But he was there too!

Saturday the boys went back to the conference and Shayn and I both had late check outs. So we went to the contentintal breakfast (best free breakfast around!) and then Norah napped and we packed up! We had the afternoon to kill, and I was unsure of how Q would do without a nap, but there wasn't much choice. The nice thing about being with Shayna is that I know without a doubt that she would never judge us. She doesn't care if Q would be tired and moody, she would just roll with it and not be annoyed. We wanted to find a Starbucks to get a drink and eat lunch (free bag lunch that we took from the conference center haha!). This is how they spelled my name. Sigh, come on Starbucks. Are you guys trained to purposely spell even the easiest name wrong?

Then we hit up the Carter's store and we both did so good and refrained from buying all the pretty baby/kid things! I did buy Q a new pair of gum boots that were half off, since her cute Toms ones are now too small. Man this kid is growing fast!! We just bought those in September! Then we wanted to hit up the consignment store called Once Upon a Child. It's the same chain consignment store that Medicine Hat has - big, amazing clothes, so cheap! Once there, we both found lots of new things for our girls! I ended up putting most of my stuff back, because Christmas just happened and she doesn't really need much. But I did get her a pair of shoes, a dress, and cute shirt/sweater. And I bought Ady two pairs of shoes haha. Shayna got tons of ADORABLE things for little Norah - tiny human clothing is the BEST. We spent a long time in there, looking around. It's so big and they have so much! Q played with all the toys and was happy as could be, no nap and all!! Next door to the store there was this giant indoor "playground" they called it. We took Q in there and it was like a giant Ton of Fun, for those of you that know what that means. It was like the McDonald's play play times ten. So huge. So many kids! We stayed because we noticed that there was a little section for just toddlers 3 and under, which was perfect. I could see her at all times and its not nearly as overwhelming. I love that Shayna not only pointed out the "playground", but she was eager to go in, and pushed for us to stay. Most people who don't have kids at that stage would not want to be in this loud, crowded place, but again, she's just the best and was happy to let Q play.

She is such a watcher, she has always been like that. She doesn't miss a thing. She observes everything and sees what everyone else is doing. She is also timid when it comes to talking to new people or jumping into new situations. So she was just sitting there, happy but quiet and not running around like the other kids.

So I took off my shoes and went in with her to help her warm up and get comfortable. It was pretty fun

Then after a while I got to snuggle this little beauty because Shayna said she wanted to go play with Q. WHAT! She WANTED to go in there and play. Can I say anything else about how amazing this girl is?! How I lucked out and got her as my best friend will always be beyond me!

The boys were done around 4 and we headed back for the ferry to come home - they were coming too! Ben took a week of holidays and they spent it with us. Yay!! Q watched Veggie Tales on the Ferry and Norah did too for a little bit. The being sick for a week and no nap that day started to catch up and Q was pretty tired and clingy. Jon walked around with her for a while after the movie. It was a really fun weekend and great for Jon to take in the conference and learn lots, but we were happy to get home!