Jurassic Halloween

Well, we are all ready for Halloween. Costume is ready (dinosaur, of course) and the pumpkin is carved.

It's the dinosaur from the Jurassic Park logo!

After we carved it we were thrilled with how spooky it ended up looking! Let's just hope that big head can hold itself up through Halloween.

Our little one is a little spooked this year with all things halloween. Everything seems to be freaking her out a little (to the point that smiley faces look creepy to her now) but the promise of candy seems to be giving her the push she needs to go trick-or-treating. Fingers crossed!

Happy Halloween!

Sprinkles and Stripes

Well, just in time for snow (yes snow! in the first week of October) I finished knitting my daughter's new hat and mittens for this year.

I was looking to do something different that I haven't done before. I always think it's great to teach yourself something new on a small project, so my daughter's winter gear seemed perfect. And, oh my, how cute they turned out.

First up, the hat. The pattern is A Most Bespeckled Hat. A lovely, easy, and ridiculously cute pattern for a hat that uses fair isle, or stranded, technique. My first ever, and I loved it. I used Cascade Ecological Wool for the main colour of the hat, and I used Malabrigo Worsted Merino, in Deja Vu, for the "sprinkles". Using malabrigo means that each and every sprinkle was a different colour, and absolutely adorable. I can't even tell you how cute the pompom turned out.

This may be the cutest thing I've ever knit. Ravelry details here.

For her mittens this year, I thought I'd try out stripes. I used the same yarn - the ecological wool for the main colour, and the malabrigo for the stripes. Again, they turned out so cute! As I did last year, I lined these mittens with grey fleece to make them extra cozy and warm. It gets windy here in Calgary, so lined mittens are a great idea. I used techknitter's instructions for lining mittens found here. Just be sure to make the mittens slightly larger to accommodate for the lining. Here is the pattern I used for the mittens.

 Ravelry details here.

A quick dash to the store to get a new winter coat and snow pants, and she was all set for the snowy (and chilly!) morning. Nothing like waiting till the last minute to find out your child has outgrown all their winter wear! We went from shorts and a t-shirt to a snowsuit all in 24 hours. 

I guess this is why stores here start selling snow suits in August.

Dress-up Finnegan

Is it inevitable that a child with a small dog or cat may try to dress up said dog or cat? My daughter was playing with the mountain of dress up clothes she has collected from Build-a-Bear, and decided it was time to try the clothes on Finnegan, who happens to be just slightly larger than the stuffed animals she dresses.

Oh my. He seems to dislike the socks very much.

It turned out to be a great afternoon, and you know what? In the end, I don't think he minded all that much.

On another note, after dress-up Finnegan wandered into the kitchen and spotted a piece of banana on the floor that my daughter must have dropped. 

Utter confusion. He sat looking at it for over 10 minutes before finally walking away (with several backward glances). He wouldn't eat it, he wouldn't even get close to it. Oh, to be in his little mind!

Finally - The First Tooth!

September 18, 2012, A is 7 years and 7 months old, and . . . she FINALLY lost her FIRST tooth! Yay!!! 

You have never, ever seen three people more excited. And no, it wasn't one of the two teeth that have been wiggly for months, but it was the one tooth on the bottom that got wiggly just that morning. Her adult tooth had already come in behind her baby tooth (our dentist calls it shark teeth) and on this morning, the adult tooth finally pushed it out. Well, mostly.  We tied a string around it, and my husband pulled. And because my daughter didn't really know what the heck we were doing, she didn't flinch or put up a fight. One hefty tug later, the tooth was out!

Truly, I'm a little embarrassed to say that it was one of the most thrilling moments of my life.  We waited a long time for this milestone!

Here she is with her loonie from the tooth fairy, along with a special letter. She bought a chocolate doughnut from Tim Horton's with her dollar. A great opportunity for her to order her own treat, and pay for it, all on her own. No eye contact, but success all the same. I am so proud of her.

It's Baaaack

I decided at the end of August that I would take A off her joint pain/inflammation medication and see where we stood with her pain. The fact of the matter is, she hasn't been given an official diagnosis of JRA (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) and I hate the thought of giving her arthritis medication everyday when we don't know if she even has it. And now it's back. Her knees have been hurting, and a new joint joined the party . . . her ankles. 

Oh, I pray we find out what is causing this pain. I don't want to mask it anymore. It's been years, and I think it's time we figure out the cause. Such a brave girl we have.

Meanwhile, she'll use Daddy to help her during those tough times when she can't walk.

Best Friends. Tuckered Out.

The school days are exhausting the both of them. They truly have a special connection, and I'm so glad she has him in her life.

*heart melting*

Tougher than a T-Rex

Well, she's off to grade 2 today. Yesterday was full of anxiety, tears, and anger, but it looks like she let it all out, and was prepared as she could be for the first day of school.

I'm so proud of her. I picked her up for lunch and we talked about her new teacher and being back at school. It's difficult - she's unsure of everything, and doesn't like the fact that things are quite different than last year - but she's hanging in there. It's all we can ask. She's brave, determined, and I know she's capable of this and so, so, so, much more.

She's tougher than a T-Rex! I loved that she picked out this shirt to wear today.

On another note, look what I found on my kitchen chair the other day:

Gotta love those women palaeontologists who can hand feed a T-Rex.

Happy first day of school!