Mommy is learning

So, I decided to take a class...something to get me out of the house, doing something fun. Well together with Marie-Eve, we chose to take the Wilton Cake Decorating class at Michaels. I have very fond memories of beautifully decorated birthday cakes that Mom would make, and I though it would be fun to do the same for Sophia. So far I have enjoyed the class, and am excited at the prospects of making lots of fun, lovely looking cakes. What I didn't think about was having to make and ice a cake every week for three weeks. That's ALOT of icing...I guess I should start letting out the waists of my pants now...especially as I am planning to take the second level in November...even more cake. Won't David be happy.

Anyway, here is my very first cake...



Next time I might even get it centered! :)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Yeah, um, so just some proof that Sophia truly is watching us more closely than we thought...





(***DISCLAIMER***: we really AREN'T bad parents...Sophia took these EMPTY cans from the recycling container in the pantry, and then spent a bunch of time pretending to drink from them. Not our fault that she is smart enough to figure out which way is up!)

I'll be RCMP'ng Ya!

One of the things that Todd really wanted to do was to check out the brand new RCMP museum. It's shiny. Very high tech too, even including a floating head RCMP officer. You really have to see it to believe it. You come to Regina, and I will take you there! Promise.

Sophia and Todd had a great time wandering through the exhibits together. There's even an interactive Forensic Science display where you can look at your fingerprints and so some sleuthing for yourself. Lots of Fun.

I decided it might be a good place to try out Sophia's wrist leash (for lack of a better word). Yeah, that worked out good (insert rolling eyes smiley here). From the fuss she kicked up you would have thought that I had either put it on too tight or had little needles sticking into her wrist. Needless to say, it was a complete and utter failure. Thankfully, we had her squeaker shoes on and Uncle Todd has endless patience for his niece. In the end we had a good old time.

Uncle Todd watching Sophia watching the horse.

Trying on the RMCP hat. Not too sure that it's the right fit right now. Maybe a future career...maybe when she can put on the hat without crying???

Our daughter, the cartoon officer. This was a happeir uniform moment. She liked this hat better. Although, after we took the picture, a couple of folks who were watching Sophia hamming it up for the camera turned to Todd and asked if daddy was going to get his picture taken too. He was very quick to point out that he was the Uncle, not the daddy!

One of my favorite Uncle and Sophie moments. Todd can always get a huge toothy grin from his little Sophia.

Sophia was fascinated by the horses at the museum. Todd was gracious enough to spend a long time holding her so she could see better.

I'd like to be YOUR friend.

"Mazin'" Pumpkins

Uncle Todd ventured out to the prairies for a week of fun with Sophia (and, well, us too but really he was there to visit Sophia). One of the things we did was venture out to the Dutch Growers Green House to check out their indoor hay bale maze. It was the perfect height for a toddler. So, we dutifully suited Sophia up in her costume, so that we could get photos of her having fun amidst the straw and pumpkins.

We thought the costume would be fun to wear...Sophia didn't. She wasn't a big fan of the hood, and spent a lot of time trying desperately to get the darn thing off. Finally, after getting a couple of photos, we freed her of the top part and let her run around wearing only the paws. Still cute!

We had a great time, and the best is that it is free, but they request the donation of canned goods for the Food Bank. So we had a good time while helping folks out in Regina. A truly fantastic way to spend some of the Thanksgiving long weekend, and start prepping for Halloween.

an adult eyed view of the maze. What a great, toddler sized outing!

A somewhat skeptical Sophia in her monkey costume. It even has a banana stuck into side pocket. Too cute. Ah our little monkey girl.

One of the greenhouse cats decided to join us on our maze wanderings. There are several cats in the greenhouses, and they are all really friendly. Sophia was mesmerized by the cat and kept wanting to touch it. Uncle was more than happy to oblige.

Coming around the corner.

The greenhouse had pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colours on hand. We decided to plop Sophie down in the midst for some photos. She was thrilled to find Sophie sized pumpkins to which she could cling. Just ignore the Christmas lights in the background. The greenhouse likes to mash together holidays.



More Sophia sized gourds.

Fall Leaves

We had a few beautifully coloured leaves gathered along the sides of our yard. I decided it would be fun for Sophia to have a little bit of outside time crunching the leaves while the weather was still decent. I am not sure that she was convinced that these dry, crackly things were fun...but David and I had a great time. And heck, sometimes that is all that matters.