Another IATSE Christmas

Len's work (the stage hands union) alwasy does a party for all of the kids of the members for Christmas on a sunday morning so that all of the members can attend. It is an affair to remember, taking over three of the Canadian Opera Company's rehearsal halls it's so large. So, this morning, we got dressed all pretty to go...

We got there and got ourselves some bacon (and eggs, sausages,pancakes, coffee, ham, potatoes, etc.)

The event was massive as always, with a acrobat/balancing act this year, two craft making tables, three bouncy castles, a blow up train and...
The electric rider track. This was the highlight of the party! Adara was so amazingly adept at steering around all of the other kids that the operators and other parents were commenting. Particularly remarkable since there wasn't another child under five years of age even attempting navigating the ring on these bad boys.
And then, we got our faces painted, got a gift from Santa (last this year, and she was without a complaint for the enitre 45 minute long wait) and called it a day.

Walking Baby

I have to say that I'm thrilled that Adara and I had our first trip out to "take baby for a walk" a few weeks back on a lovely sunny day. This was the first time she asked, so i made sure that there was room in the big stroller for both "baby and baby and baby stroller" in case they got tired and off we went. She walked a very solid six or seven blocks before giving into exhaustion. I loved it as I have such strong memories of walking my babies up and down the street.

The Great Ship Alvie

Tonight, Pirate Captain Adara and Pirate Mamma built a ship. A great and mighty ship!
With a bold and brave flag!

And many passengers carefully tucked into their beds with their babbas in the below ships...

As well as on the fore deck. We can't wait for Pirate Captain Dadda to come home and see it!

Celebrating out west

Adara got to celebrate her actual birthday out west with Len's mom and dad, and cousin Jericha and Aiden and all the aunts and uncles.

The Fairy/Pirate, Dragon/Cowboy

Halloween with Adara was an interesting event requiring much inventiveness and creativity; but we were up to the task!
For weeks Adara had been saying that she was being a transformer. So, lazy mom that I am, I had established that such a costume existed at the store. Then she returned from out west saying that she would be a fairy as she'd been playing fairy with cousin Jericha. Fine, she'd returned with a new fairy dress and wings, so all good, nothing required of us. On saturday when we had a toddler halloween party, I realized that she'd envisioned a fairy wearing wings and nothing else. Hmm... that wont' work. So, I suggested fairy pirate as obviously pirates must wear pants and boots and hats and things. No problem she loved that. We dressed her in jeans, a shirt, her tall brown boots with the pants tucked in , her pirate hat, fairy wings and fairy wand. All good.
Then on sunday, 5 minutes before trick or treating she announced that she would be a cowboy. What? I don't have anything resembling a cowboy costume except the same brown boots and a neck kerchief. This was no costume that anyone on the street would recognize, she was going to be dissapointed. So looking desperately around the room I yelled "how about a cowboy dragon?" She loved it and so we were off. jeans, jean jacket, neck kerchief, her cowboy hat (because it has a lariat tie), ever popular brown boots (thanks auntie Kristen!) and the dragon tale (thanks Gretel of Fancy Pants Kids). A cowboy/dragon. The neighbours loved it and Halloween was saved for annother year! I shudder to think of what next year might bring!