NARRATING THE CAMERA ROLL...

 ^^^  Making Fairy Soup in the backyard.  It has become a favourite activity of ours :)

 ^^^  Fun at the park!  The girls love going here and we try to go every night before bed :)

 ^^^  Our pet chipmunk, "CHIPPY" (obviously).  Sometimes, when I need a moment of silence, I tell the girls that Chippy is on the deck.....(don't judge me).  It works like a charm.

 ^^^  I get a kick out of this cutie!

^^^  Trampoline / Fort.....same-same.

 ^^^  So proud of herself for doing "big girl things" at the park :)  Also, I love this dry-fit shirt and fancy hat combination.

^^^  Without Internet on my phone this summer, I spend more time using apps that don't need wifi.  Hence, the outburst of A BEAUTIFUL MESS collages on my Instagram feed :)  Nory and I have been workout buddies the last few nights.  

^^^  These two spend most of their days glued together.  Juliet is the biggest Daddy's girl around!

^^^  We persevered through the "GRASS TOTALLY FREAKS ME OUT" hump and look where we are now!!!!  Juliet - 1, Grass - 0!!!!!!

 ^^^  Left Side:  Check out the doll house we purchased off Kijiji on the weekend!  Kijiji is one of the best invention's of all time.  Right Side:  I can't help but see Juliet's cousin Max when I look at this picture of her.  I love all the blonde hair, blue-eyed cuties in our family :)

 ^^^  The thing about sunglasses for kids is that they are approximately NEVER used as intended.  But you can bet she screamed about the sun in her eyes during our morning walk ;) 

 ^^^  I want her hair.  Or, at the very least, I want my hair to not go grey and fall out from raising her...

We're BACK IN CANADA!!!!!!!!!!

It took us about 24 hours door to door, but we arrived home to our cozy Lakefield house on Friday!  The journey wasn't the smoothest one ever (with Juliet scream-crying for most of the first flight, Nory projectile vomiting during our Toronto descent, and Juliet vomiting on the car ride home), alas, WE SURVIVED and we've been on a fairly good sleep schedule ever since!  (KNOCK ON WOOD, and anything else that doesn't make me eat my words.)

Canada is SUPER!  FREEZING, but SUPER!

Some interesting facts about Juliet's transition to Canada:

1)  She was NOT HAVING anything to do with grass on day one.  Since then, we've graduated from being carried around in the grass, to walking in the grass with hand-holding and shoe-wearing, to walking in the grass with sock-wearing.  GO JULIET!

2)  She is obsessed with flowers.  "FLOWER!!!!" is her new word and this morning I parked her in front of the flower section at the grocery store so that Daddy and Nory could take care of check-out.  Juliet was IN HEAVEN and often requests to be flower-hunting throughout the day.

3)  She loves "SIDE!!!!!!"  Or "outside" as the rest of us call it :)  All the new colours and sounds intrigue her and - regardless of the lower temperatures - she wants to be in the backyard.  It's so cute.

4)  She stops every once in a while and says "kitty cat gone".  She definitely misses her kitties, Ben and Winka!!!

Some interesting facts about Nory's transition to Canada:

1)  "It's COLD HERE, Mama!" - a short-lived idea from our little furnace.  The girl was walking around in a tank top while the rest of us were bundled yesterday afternoon.

2)  Every so often, she asks to go back to her house.  So she can see Ben and Winka and Kari and Seton and Elsie.  And her toys.  And why didn't we bring her Orbeez to this place?

3)  Her "cozy one" is still very much in our outfit rotation.....

4)  She loves her Grampy.  Can we walk to his house today, Mama?  Is he coming back to play today, Mama?  Where's Grampy, Mama?  I want Grampy to come back to the park again, Mama.....  (We are anxiously awaiting a coffee date with him this afternoon!)

Other things we've been up to:

^^^  The 2nd Annual Fairy and Dragon Festival!

^^^  A visit to the pet store and the park with Nana, Grampy, and Coco!  Juliet can't stop talking about this "puppy!!!!!!!"

 ^^^  Phil has been raking leaves out of the garden and Nory discovered the JOY OF FALL in the process :)

 ^^^  Left Side:  A piece of fairy artwork for Uncle Graeme.  Right Side:  SNUGGLES with UNCLE GRAEME!!!! xo

Our first overnight visitors are coming on Thursday and we are SO, SO excited to see them!!!!!!  In the meantime, we will be in the garden, at the park, or on the trampoline!!!  We might even witness Juliet playing in the grass with bare hands and feet! ;)

Who knew POPSICLE BEHAVIOUR could reveal so much?

Let's pretend it is 45 degrees Celsius outside and we are all sitting around together for the first time, eating popsicles.

Rather than sharing any details about either of our girls, I feel we could simply point you in their direction and you'd automatically have a PRETTY ACCURATE IDEA of what each of them is like...

Because in addition to this visual, you'd hear Juliet squealing with delight and Nory panicking to catch every drip ALONG WITH urging someone to PLEASE CLEAN UP HER SISTER.

Night and day, these ones :)

And then there's the funny reminder that, regardless of personality, KIDS WILL BE KIDS :)

Phil's Commercial Debut!

A while back, Emily got a text from a friend asking if she knew anyone who would be interested in shooting a commercial.  And, being the "best friends" that they are.....

EXHIBIT A:

....Emily knew that this gig was right up Phil's alley.  He attended an audition, was offered the role as "Police Officer #2", and spent four glorious hours filming with a new pal named "Rock".  CRAZY, RIGHT?!  The final cut was released last night.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S.  I was only slightly annoyed that Phil and Em took a picture together on Best Friends Day (June 8th).

P.P.S.  Stay tuned for another Shrimpy's commercial featuring two of Phil's best friends - Adam and Tim!

NARRATING THE CAMERA ROLL....

^^^  She basically stayed on the paper...

 ^^^  Left Side:  The crayons BASICALLY stayed in the box.  Right Side:  That's BASICALLY a good visual of what remains after we do arts and crafts together. 

^^^  Threenager painting party :)

 ^^^  Hide-and-seek / tag / please run off all your energy

^^^  Daddy being the best sport around :)

 ^^^  Left Side:  "What do you mean we are on our last jar of peanut butter?!"  Right Side:  Sup?!

 ^^^  Alex hosted an early birthday party for Gem and we were in charge of the cake-making.  The theme was "CATS and CUPS" (hence MEOW and PARTEA).

^^^  This quiet, wee thing sneaking away and making me panic!

 ^^^  She has a bit of a personality...

^^^  I'm going to miss snuggling with this little sweetie every morning.  She's our coffee buddy!

Juliet is ONE AND A HALF YEARS OLD!

Yesterday was Juliet's second half birthday and we had the traditional half-cake to celebrate!  The occasion marked the first time we've seen a child of ours really, COMPLETELY dive in to a piece of cake, making the affair seem like a bigger milestone than usual.  (With Nory, you might recall the Failed Cake Smash Session of 2014, along with her general dislike of all-things-messy.)

Some things about Juliet at AGE ONE POINT FIVE:

1)  She loves a good mess.  Give her watermelon.  Give her oranges.  Give her the fastest melting popsicle in the world.  She'll take it and handle it with as much grace as any sticky child can :)

2)  She believes that a spoon and a jar of peanut butter constitutes a meal.  #definitelymine

3)  She sneaks away and hides quietly in the best hiding spots.  FOR REAL.  She excels at hide and seek and I have had my heart racing a few times in the last couple of weeks.  The girl has SKILLS!

4)  She doesn't like to be away from Nory for too long. As time passes, she starts to ask for Nory in the sweetest voice.  It's really adorable, but kinda heartbreaking when she's not greeted as warmly during their sister reunion.  

5)  Juliet's developing some TOUGHNESS and THANK GOODNESS for that!  She is starting to defend herself when the Nornado strikes - something Phil and I feel is absolutely necessary ;)

6)  She goes through phases throughout the day where she needs to be held - and not sitting down held - but standing up held.  She will say "uppy!!!!!!" and refuses to be put down until she feels comfortable and ready.  Usually, these moods strike after she wakes up or after we get home from work.

7)  She loves Ben and Winka.  LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Who knew we would be raising two little cat ladies?

8)  Words we hear often:  kitty cat, pizza, shoes, outside, Auntie, Kari, Mommy, Daddy, Nory, "Nory bad" (ha!)....

9)  She loves saying bye-bye and blowing kisses.  She is also a hugger with the people she sees regularly.  It is SO CUTE! :)

10)  She loves having "taco time" (being wrapped in a towel).  It used to be related to baths exclusively, but she will now bring us a towel during anytime of day and ask for "taco time" with her clothes on!

11)  Being outside is her happy place and we can't wait for cooler temperatures in Canada!

We love you, Juliet Tyko!  The upcoming plane ride might be a tough one, but once we get to Lakefield, you're going to be thrilled!  There are so many people waiting to snuggle and play with you :)

XOXO