April Instagrams

Here’s my collection of my favourite instagram photos from April … only halfway through the following month!

Spring Showers & A New Arrival

Exactly a week ago, our good friends Amanda and Alex welcomed their first child into their lives – Little Mr. Carter. He is a sweet, tiny, quiet little guy – at least he’s quiet anytime we visit :) Congrats again you guys – here’s to many future adventures with your little family!

Two weeks before Amanda gave birth, I helped my friend Shannon host a baby shower in Amanda’s honour! Because of the struggles that Kyle and I have been through with baby loss and attempting to get pregnant again, my friends were very respectful when discussing the shower, and wanted to ensure I was okay to come. I was so thankful that, while they knew it could be hard for me, they still wanted to include me, and didn’t just assume I wouldn’t want to go. And not only did I want to come, but I really wanted to help out in any way I could. I think it was part of my healing process from the past year and half. Of course these things aren’t easy, but I can’t hide my head in the sand all my days. Plus, I love planning parties, and so I made it my mission to find as much blue stuff as I could!

The afternoon was full of some of Amanda’s close friends from town, delicious food, and pops of blue to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the baby boy. Amanda had a last chance to visit with girlfriends without worrying about feeding, burping, and entertaining a baby – and we all got too basque in her pregnancy glow one more time. Shannon planned some fun baby-related games to entertain everyone – one of them being smelling and tasting (if you dared) some jarred baby food and trying to guess what it was. Yikes. I see why people make their own baby food now! That stuff all smelled terrible and nothing like what it was! Although I’m not knocking those who feed their babies this – a busy mama’s gotta do what she’s gotta do. And then Amanda opened all her beautiful gifts – and in a town this small (meaning little choices for shopping) it was a shock that there wasn’t one item that was duplicated!

Hope you had a great time Amanda – and that you are settling into your new life as a mom :)

March Instagrams

A little late into April, but here’s my favourite Instagrams from March.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grab a Seat & Your Favourite Drink, Let’s Catch Up

Oi. I keep saying it, but I’ve really neglected this little site. So much stuff has happened over the past few months, and I haven’t really shared much of it. And since I’m using this site as way to preserve and share memories with family and friends, I thought I’d give a brief little run down on all that happened in the 2nd half of 2012 (or at least what we caught on camera). And what better time to catch you up then 1/4 way through 2013! ha.

Camping & Outdoor Fun

Last summer in our Northern Capitol City was glorious. Most days were sunny and the weather was perfect – not too hot, and never chilly; I think it would have been Goldilocks-approved. We took advantage of this. We went camping nearly anytime Kyle had a weekend off – savouring the outdoors with absolutely zero distractions. Other nights and days were spent boating or swimming in one of the many lakes that surround us; or playing lawn games at my parents place since they have a sweet, long yard that is great for bocce, lawn darts, and croquet. Yes, last summer was amazing – it was almost good enough to get us through this treacherous winter. Here’s hoping that this summer is half as good and we’ll be happy!

Fall Visits, Birthdays & Spookiness

In the fall we had a few visits from family. The first was my Auntie Linda who came to help my grandmother move – she wasn’t here long, but it’s always nice to see family even for a short time. We all went out for dinner one night while she was in town and we were blown away when her order of ribs arrived – her plate could have fed all four of us!! Kyle’s dad, step-mom, and sister also came for a visit in the fall to see our new house. It was another short visit, just over a weekend; so short that the only picture I snapped was of Kyle’s dad shoveling off our balcony – I’m not sure why, but it cracked me up so I snuck a photo.

There were also a few birthdays celebrated in the fall. Both my friend Ali and I turned 30 last fall. Her birthday was spent enjoying beverages and having a great time at one of the local pubs. For mine, Kyle organized one last get together in our old apartment, complete with delicious gluten-free strawberry cupcakes! Kyle’s birthday is only 4 days before mine; so we usually celebrate part of the week together. This year Kyle’s sister came over to eat dinner with us.

The most significant event of last fall was the big move into our new home! Which was shortly followed by Halloween. We took advantage of having our very own front porch, so we carved up some pumpkins and put out some spooky decorations. What’s more frightening than a swarm of spiders?!

Christmas Cheer!

After Fall comes the most wonderful time of the year: the Christmas Season! We started a tradition not too many years ago where we put up our holiday decorations the weekend after American Thanksgiving; this way, we can watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (where Santa makes his first arrival of the year!) followed by the National Dog Show (where we obviously root for the Bernese!) – both of which we record to watch later.

We were fortunate this year to have Kyle’s mom and step-dad come up North to spend Christmas with us – there was lots of eating, drinking, and being merry while they were here! As with every year, my parents hosted a food-filled gathering on Christmas Eve. We stuffed ourselves on appetizers and the anticipation of the following day’s festivities. Christmas morning brought the best gift for Kyle and I: we were able to pick up Kona from the animal hospital after she had spent a full week there in quarantine. The poor little thing had Parvo – and had to be separated from us a mere 5 days after we got her. I’m sure it was more traumatic for us than her. But yes, the very first thing we did Christmas morning was go grab our little pup! Then it was off to my parents for some gift opening & monkey bread – and back to our place to continue opening gifts with Kyle’s family. And while everyone was pretty spoiled that day, I am sure Kona was probably the most spoiled of us all – with everyone giving her extra snuggles after her hospital visit. Later that day, Kyle and I hosted our first Christmas dinner – and it was 100% gluten free of course! There were 12 people gathered in our brand new house, and we couldn’t have been more happy.

Phew! Now to keep up with 2013….