Happy 4th Birthday to Jean

This past weekend we celebrated our darling Jean's 4th birthday.

She is so much fun - loves to dance and party!  I just want to share some of the amazing pictures from her party; many are courtesy of Great-Aunt Janie (aka GA Janie). 

Even the boys were not afraid to celebrate "Princess-Style"!

Grandma Mary Ellen as the Fairy Godmother

This is precious... sharing a moment with Jean as she opens her presents.

Every Princess needs a new pair of shoes!

Having some silly fun with Jean!

Jean and her cousin, Allie... two perfect little princesses. 

Jean's Ariel-Little Mermaid Cake - made by Mommy!

Alex helping Jean open one of her birthday cards.

Jean's Princess Party was a perfect success!  We enjoyed some great family time and celebrated our little girl.  It doesn't seem very long ago that we were travelling back and forth from the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at the Civic Hospital in Ottawa, hoping to take our little baby girl home with us.  Those days were sad and long but now we look back and see how happy and healthy she has become.  That experienced taught us that life is precious and to enjoy our children each and every day.  It is going by way too fast but I am loving every minute of it! 

Celebrating Halloween McGregor-Style

   

I just noticed that there are two pictures of Jean in that mix of cutie-pie costumes!  On Halloween evening we toured around Renfrew and area visiting family, friends and neighbours.  It is very difficult to fit all of our loved-ones into the tour but we do our best. Top left is Jean (Snow White), Alex (Batman), Grace (Hawaiin Girl), Jean (again), bottom left is our niece, Allie (Ladybug), our nephew Noah (Duck), our other nephew, Ross (Dragon) and Ian (Batman).  We had a great night too much candy, quickly chats and a bit of craziness at GA Janie and GU Bill's!  As usual, we end our evening with a cup of tea and more treats at Grandma Ann and Grandpa Jim's.

It's Tough Being Almost 4

We are now beginning our 3rd month of this school year and that means that Jean has settled into kindergarten... or has she? 
Being tired is part of being in kindergarten.  There are no naps (at least regular naptimes) at school but not only that, it is a busy place.  It is a wonderful place to.  Jean comes home from school very content and likes to tell us about her day, what songs they sang and stories they read.  She has finally started to show an enthusiasm for learning her numbers and letters and is doing quite well despite a rocky start.  We keep her home one day week to allow her to relax on her own and decompress.  Unfortunately she doesn't want to be at home with me - she wants to get on the bus with Grace and Alex and go to school to be with her classmates. 
Jean will turn 4 years old in a few weeks.  I look at her and see such a feisty and happy little girl, ready to take on her world but I also see a very tired child. 
What do you do in your household to keep everyone well-rested?  What did you do when your children were small that seemed to work?

So What's New?

I love having the house to myself in the evenings after the kids go to bed.  Ian is playing hockey tonight and I am sitting at the laptop just enjoying my time.  Tonight was busy but so much fun.  After I met for dinner with my book club, I went to the Halloween Dance at our school.  Ian brought the kids a little earlier and after spending some time trying to find them amidst the foggy smoke and little dressed up creatures, I found Ian and Jean sitting on the sidelines having a snack.  The rest of our evening was spent watching all of the kids dancing, running and having so much fun with their friends.  We live in a great community and I am so happy to be a part of a vibrant school.  I forgot my camera and iphone tonight but really wished I could have captured some moments... so many priceless ones.  Close to the end of the evening, a parent-friend told Ian that she thought he should win "Father of the Year" for dancing with his kids.  I love that about him - he is not afraid to have fun with them.  Another wonderful moment.

Tomorrow is the first Saturday morning we have spent at home with all 5 of us in ages!  After a busy summer and fall of Saturday Farmers' Markets and then last year having hockey every Saturday morning, we have tomorrow morning "off".  Alex usually has hockey and Jean usually has dance class but tomorrow there is NOTHING planned!  I am really hoping everyone sleeps in (at least a little bit) and then we are going to relax for the day.  The kids don't want to go anywhere; they just want to play games, build lego, do some crafts and I am hoping to do some sewing.  Then we will make homemade pizza tomorrow night and watch a movie or two. 

Happy Weekend to all of you! 

 

Sharing Some Precious Moments... in Pictures

The kids had fun showing off how they feel about eachother... just precious.

To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, we are doing a few different, special things throughout the year.  In late September, we had a good friend do a family photo shoot for us.  Words cannot express how I feel about our pictures - they are just breathtaking and amazing.  I want to share some of them on my blog...



On our farm we have few old buildings left, due to a barn fire in 1997.  This picture is in front of the Machine Shop and it is made of beautiful, old barnboard.  I loved how Grace looks in this picture.
 

This picture was fun... I always love kissing my husband!

Rhonda knows Jean's personality and this picture shows her perfectly! 
In our family, Jean has the spunkiest personality - I love it!



Grace looks so mature in this picture... such a beauty.  Her smile is contagious.

Our handsome boy, Alex.  He looks so relaxed.



This picture makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Our kids love being together.  Don't get me wrong, they certainly have their fair share of arguments and fights but they spend a lot of time together and it is easy for them to show how much they love eachother.  Rhonda was so excited about the lighting in this spot... it is just beautiful.

 

The lighting in this picture is so magical... you would almost think there were not any kids running around us acting crazy!  It looks peaceful and romantic!

These pictures are some of my most prized possessions... I am proud of my family and proud of my marriage.  This coming year is full of celebrations for us - next is a little trip to Quebec City - just Ian and I.  Then it will be something really exciting... stay tuned!

Fabric, Patterns and Creativity

I just finished one of the most beautiful quilts I have made in my short career as a quilter.  Actually I started quilting when I was 8 months pregnant with Alex (my middle child), which was almost 6 years ago but as I was raising 3 babies, time for sitting at my sewing machine awake, was very limited.  I'm not exactly sure why I picked those weeks to begin a new hobby; maybe I was nesting but despite why I started, I have grown to absolutely love all things related to quilting.  This quilt in particular was made out of love for somone and I chose the colours and patterns with my thoughts about them.  I don't always sew for someone else... actually I usually just sew and quilt for myself and then it leads into a gift for someone.  You can never have enough quilts and quilted objects in your home.  I love fabric and patterns and being creative so quilting is my passion. 

New Traditions

Mom and her grandchildren:  L-R, Clare, Jean, Grace, holding Alison

This weekend the kids and I enjoyed a sunny but cool cottage weekend with my mom, sister and my nieces.  My mom decided to plan a weekend getaway between our two homes (we live 6 hours apart) to a cottage where we could enjoy relaxing, playing and just plain bonding with eachother.  Despite all of our hectic schedules we made it work and had a great time.  There were just a couple of "downers" such as the poor condition of the cottage and the lack of sleep BUT despite that it was wonderful.  As usual, my mom planned it perfectly to include good food, fun kids activities (an entertaining Halloween party) and good wine. 

 

 Being together is good for our souls but getting together can be difficult.  When we do find the time, it is relaxing and fun.  My own children love to see their cousins and I love how my neices, Clare and Alison, just fall into my little family dynamic so easily.  They are full of hugs for me which makes my heart sing.  It is so easy to love neices and nephews and those two girls are no different.  Alison almost let me take her home with me (I am a bit lonely for a little munchkin at home during the daytime) but Carollyn wouldn't let me put her in my van. 

 

During supper tonight, I asked the kids what their favourite part of the weekend was and Alex replied that he loved seeing Clare (isn't that sweet?) and going to the playground, Jean loved the play structure the best and Grace loved it all!  My favourite part was after the children were sleeping and we could sit down and relax and chat about our lives.  My mom is very proud of my sister and I and it shows.  We come from a long line of strong women (body and soul) even though life hasn't always been easy.  Being together is the most meaningful part of my weekend.  It is a nice tradition to start... just my mom and her daughters and grandchildren.  Let's hope we can meet again like this next year.