Growing like a weed/flower

Draya has finally reached 30 lbs. She also just grew out of all of her size 6 shoes and now she wears size 7. I'm not exactly sure how tall she is, at least 36". They measures her at Daycare and said she was 39" but she hasn't outgrown all of her pants yet so I think they're a little off.

May Long Weekend 2008

Update & photos coming soon...

Happy Easter

We have had a lovely long Easter weekend.
Thursday night I & G came over while L visited P in the hospital (he had a pin put into his ankle). Mommy went to a hockey game!
Friday was quiet with just a little shopping at Staples, the pet store and Toys R Us.
Saturday we went to visit E & S & their 2 boys A & M in Beaumont. Draya & A coloured Easter eggs and we had a very nice lunch. That night Draya had dinner at G'ma & G'pa's while Mommy & Daddy went to see a movie.
Sunday morning Draya was excited to find that the Easter bunny had visited. He left little chocolate eggs around the living room for her to find, a Toopy and Bino puzzle, a stuffed bunny and some other sweet treats. Sunday afternoon Mommy & Draya visited Nana and Papa and then the whole family went back to G'ma & G'pa's for Easter dinner.
Monday has been quiet, filled with a mix of relaxing and housework. Draya & Daddy watched Enchanted (for her 3rd time this weekend) and went to the park.
Tomorrow it's back to daycare & work.

3 Year Check Up

Today Draya went to see her pediatrician, Doctor M.
She weighs 28lbs and is 36cm tall. She is in the 25% on the size charts for her age.
She is in good health. She cooperated (mostly) while she was there and got a pretty sticker.

Christmas Vacation 2007 Highlights

Dec 22 - We joined Uncle R, Auntie K, G, Nana, Papa & Auntie S at Uncle C & Auntie K's house. We has a lovely dinner and opened a few gifts. The cousin's played happily together. Afterwards we stopped off at the Solstice party. G was still their so she & Draya had great fun chasing each other around while we grownups visited. Much fun was has by all.

Dec 23 & 24 were spent cleaning the house, doing some last minute grocery shopping, wrapping gifts and prepping food for the 25th.

Dec 25 - Christmas morning we opened gifts at home. Draya wasn't particularly thrilled about being woken up at 8am. Once she had some cereal in her we told her that Santa had visited. She ran to the window to look outside. We pointed her towards the living room where she quickly got the hang of opening gifts. Needless to say she made out like a bandit. Mommy & Daddy & Santa were all very generous. Highlights included an indestructible kids camera, 2 pairs of Cars jammies, a load of toy food and the movie Finding Nemo. Then we went to Grandma & Grandpa's for brunch & more gift opening. Highlights from there include a doll's house & a toy helicopter (to go with her Tomas lego). Then we went to Nana & Papa's for dinner. Draya took her nap in the car between parties. Gift highlights from the evening include a doctors kit, some wonderful books (Winnie the Pooh goes to the Doctor is the favourite so far), a stuffed Shrek & Donkey & a princess hat that she calls her 'barbie hat'. Draya and G were both pretty wound up by the end of the night and Mommy felt a little bit like she had been run over by a Christmas train - but it was still a wonderful day!

Dec 26 - Uncle R came over to set help Mommy & Daddy with some technical things and them Mommy & Daddy's friends M & S came over for the afternoon, dinner & games. Draya finally got to watch all of Finding Nemo, and Bambie too.

Dec 27 - We all went to Grandma & Grandpa's for brunch & a visit with Uncle K, Auntie L & W. The cousins has lots of fun playing together. Draya kept trying to steal W's new truck. She also really liked the dress-up trunck that she received. That night L & A came over for dinner & games.

Dec 28 - Mommy made stew and we all went over to TL & D's for dinner. Draya adores baby W. I think she's itchin' for a baby brother or sister but we're not quite ready to give her one... yet.

Dec 29 - L & P & I & G, L & M & B, T & H & J all came over for dinner & a kids gift exchange. Draya received a wonderful game called Hullaballo that she & the girls immediately opened and played in our bedroom. It's all about shapes and colours and pictures and even though it says that it's for ages 4 & up she actually did pretty well at it. She also got 2 great books and a cute ladybug dress-up set. She has been using the skirt from it to play ballerina.

Dec 30 - Draya got up and insisted on playing Hullabaloo first thing... in the bathroom. We had a quiet day at home because mommy is sick with a cold.

We accidentally left our camera at Nana & Papa's on the 25th so we're missing photos from all of the days after that. But, Daddy picked it up today so Mommy will download Christmas Day photos soon.

Next up... New Years Eve at Morgan's...

Where did October go?

Time is REALLY flying past in Draya land. Three weekends ago she stayed home with Daddy while Mommy went to Banff and two weekends ago she went to see Robert Munsch at Mommy's theater with I & G. This past weekend was a little quieter, J came to visit and so did I & G. She has also spent quality time with G'ma & G'pa & Nana and other friends and family over the past weeks and we have been visiting TL in the hospital as often as possible.
Draya has recently been enjoying colouring, finger painting, ballerina dancing, riding her bike to the park, playing with her babies and putting her puzzles together. She has discovered some new favourite videos too including Blues Clues, Richard Scary, classic Pixar shorts (she loves the snowman in Knick Knack) and the movie Cars (we have watched that one a lot!)
For Halloween Draya dressed up a a cowgirl for a party on Saturday and as Little Red Riding Hood at daycare. On Halloween night she went for sushi with Mommy and then went to Halloween Hoopla for an hour where Daddy was juggling .
Other highlights in Draya's fall have included raking leaves with Daddy, baking cookies with Mommy and getting her flu shot. She is chewing her fingers lots too because her back molars are coming in and she hates baths (again).
Mommy recently downloaded the camera - finally. Some photo retrospectives are coming soon, I promise! Before the end of November... hopefully...

Busy Vacation

Mommy & Daddy are on vacation now so Draya is too. Yesterday we all went swimming at the ACT pool. Today Draya helped Mommy bake star shaped tea biscuits. We have been reading LOTS of books, singing & dancing and and playing together. Tomorrow we're going to play with I & G. Next week we'll go to the Fringe!

Weekend with Grandprents, Playing Outside & Field Trip

Draya's first weekend away from Mommy and Daddy ended up going really well. Grandma & Grandpa took her to the zoo and over to her cousins. She ate pizza and other yummy things. She watched Treehouse with Grandpa and had fun playing with Grandma's quilting material. She stayed there from 4pm Friday to 3pm Sunday while Mommy and Daddy went to Jasper for a wedding and some much needed R & R.
Draya has been enjoying playing in the backyard recently. She loves making 'cakes' in her sandbox and singing Happy Birthday. She also likes making me lie down and then covering me with grass. Then we switch places and I cover her with grass.
Today Draya went on a field trip to a farm with Daycare. She saw horses and goats and chickens and had loads of fun running around and feeding the animals.
I have a bunch of pictures to download from the camera so a photo update will be coming soon...

The Once Again Mobile Child

Draya is walking on her own again! Yay!! It took her knee 2 weeks to get better but, as of yesterday, she is up and running around once more.
In other news, we took her to Shrek 3 last weekend. She watched about 2/3. Daddy was awesome and entertained her in the lobby so that Mommy could watch the rest. Hurray for Daddy!

A crazy long weekend

Draya & Mommy & Daddy have had a very busy Canada Day long weekend...

June 29
We all went out to L's parent's acreage for the wedding rehearsal. Draya ran around a lot!

June 30
Mommy got her hair done at the salon. Draya stayed home with G'ma & G'pa while Mommy & Daddy went to L& A's wedding. It was wonderful! Draya partied at home without us. She went to bed very late.

July 1
Draya got up early. We all went to L&A's gift opening. She was pretty well behaved. Then Mommy had to work at 3pm so Draya and Daddy came along to the Sp. Grove St Fest. She HAD wanted to go home but then she found out there were bouncy tents and the festival. Her mantra as we got out of the car was "bouncy tent, bouncy tent, bouncy tent..." Mommy went to work and Draya and Daddy went to bounce. While in one of the tents another child bounced on her leg and hurt her. Not even an ice cream sandwich and kisses from Mommy could console her... she insisted on going home- so Daddy took her home. She refused to walk & put weight on her leg all evening so Daddy took her to pediatric emerg. at the U of A. There were x-rays taken but nothing was broken so they sent her home. It was an other very late night for all.

July 2
The entire family slept in until 11am, even Draya. She still didn't want to walk at all. Daddy went to a play reading and Mommy and Draya tried to go and see Ratatoui with L&P&I&G. The alien short before the film scared her and she started to insist we "go home!" After 5 min of continual requests Mommy decided that she didn't want to make the rest of the audience listen to a cranky child - so we left. The nice people at the theater were kind enough to refund my money. We went home and watched Shrek. So much for Draya's first trip to a movie theater.

A quick Draya update

Draya put rice up her nose tonight. I guess it was bound to happen eventually.
This morning she insisted on calling honey "buzz spread". I'm not sure where she leaned it but it sure is creative!
Yesterday, when she spied a banana in the fruit bowl that had been cut in half she exclaimed "Oh No! Banana broken!"
This morning Draya was so excited about giving her daddy the Father's Day card that she picked out that she waited in the bathroom for him to finish his shower and gave it to him as soon as he was done.
We went to IKEA today and she had fun playing with the toys and testing all of the beds and cribs. We bought her a new bedside table and a wall clock for her room.

Cars & Ogres & Shoes

Today I turned on the t.v. and flipped thought the channels to Treehouse for Draya. She made me go back 3 channels so that she could watch NASCAR Racing instead. It only held her interest for a few minutes but it was funny. It's all because we watched Cars last weekend. Shrek is still her big hero though. She talks about Shrek & Donkey & Dragon ALL the time and loves playing with the Shrek toys we got from McDonalds & Save on Foods.
Draya also insisted on walking down the stairs in my heels tonight - with help from Daddy of course. Usually she just walks around in them upstairs.

Photos & Weekend Update

As usual, Draya had a very busy weekend. On Saturday she went to I's BD in the park and then to H's BBQ. On Sunday she went to G'ma & G'pa's with Daddy while Mommy stayed home and had a relaxing & quiet afternoon by herself. It was a wonderful Mothers Day gift!
Below are some photos of her Saturday adventures...

In the morning Draya helped Daddy make pancakes.
When we arrived at the park, the BD girl got Draya some ice cream and the girls posed for photos.
Draya had lots of fun climbing the ladder,
sliding down the spiral slide,
and swinging on the big kid swings.
When things began to quiet down, she spent some time going through S's wallet.
After we left the park, all 3 of the girls enjoyed using I's new patio set.
Later, Draya had lots of fun playing in the tall grass at H's house.
And then she rested... for a few seconds.

Also, Mommy has started a Fan Club for Draya on Facebook. So far it has 33 members - all friend of Mommy & Daddy & Draya of course - it's a private fan club and you must have Mommy's permission to join.

Status Update

Draya had her 2 year (26 month) check-up today. She is 25.5 pounds. As always, I have forgotten how tall she is but she IS petite, in about the 30% percentile size wise, but well proportioned. But we'll be keeping her on 3% milk. I also need to get a little more fiber into her diet.
On another note, I am going to actively try curbing her T.V. watching. Some days she sees close to 3 hours! I was reading an article in the Dr's office & as I have known all along, that is too much! And clips & movie trailers on the computer will count towards her T.V. time too.
The good news is that Draya LOVES to be outside and for walks. As soon as it dries off again here we'll probably go to the park every night that we are at home.
Last night I took Draya to the opening of the Sp Gr library. She coloured a puppet, decorated a cookie and had great fun splashing in the puddles in the parking lot! We even took out some Mercer Mayer books for her.

Easter Weekend Update

As the Easter weekend draws to a close our whole family is ready to go back to work and daycare. Daddy is starting a new temp job and Mommy and Draya will be back in Spruce Grove after an almost 2 week hiatus. Some relaxed moments have been enjoyed, some partying has been done and a few productive things have been accomplished. Maybe not everything we had planned to do... but some.
On Friday night Draya & Mommy visited Nana. Nana gave Draya a wonderful velcro vegetable set(like this - without the fruit) that she has been playing with/scattering all over the house all weekend. It's great!
Saturday we celebrated J's 2nd BD and visited with H & T and our other friends who were party guests. Much fun was had by all - especially the children who had loads of cool toys to play with!
Easter Sunday dawned and Draya enjoyed a few chocolate eggs and some of her favourite Pocky. The Easter bunny also brought a wonderful (rather messy) bubble wand/toy, Shrek & Shrek 2. Since it was a special day we watched both movies, the first in the morning and the second that night. Draya absolutely loves the Shrek 3 trailer on line and she actually sat and watched each movie most of the way through. She only lost interest for a while during the second one when Shrek turned into a man... she's an ogre fan.
During the afternoon on Sunday we went to Grandma & Grandpa's for a nice Easter lunch and visit. Draya received a belated birthday gift from her Uncle Dave - a Duplo Thomas the Train - Percy at the Water Tower that is really neat and some Easter stickers, markers and paints from Grandma that were also a big hit.
Today we all went shopping. Draya was mostly well behaved but Mommy & Daddy were still exhausted after the excursion. One of the things we purchased was the main Thomas the Train set to go with her Percy. It is so cute and we're going to have fun playing with it too :)
I'll have photos to post as soon as I download the camera. Happy (belated) Easter everyone!

Television & The Terrible Twos

Draya has a new television favourite… The Muppets, or as she calls them, “Puppets”. We have Season 1 and quite a few of the “best of” ‘s on DVD. This morning she insisted on “Puppets” instead of Curious George while Mommy was getting ready for work.

The Terrible Twos have shown up right on schedule. The day after her birthday she had her first really big tantrum. We’re pretty sure it lasted over half an hour (we kind of wish we had timed it). She has also started using the word “No!” more.
A few days ago we has our first big fight in the car. I actually had to stop the car while driving and take something away from her! She was rubbing her Mum Mum (a brand name of baby rice cracker) on her seat belt strap, making a huge mess and a noise like nails on a chalkboard. I repeatedly asked her to stop and she repeatedly refused. Needless to say she screamed when I took the Mum Mum away. But, by the time we got into the city she cheered up and wanted to sing.Daddy says it’s like her warranty expired right after she turned two. I say it’s great birth control – now I don’t want another child until she’s at least three!

In other news Draya has learned to open the bathroom door. This actually makes me happy because now if she goes in and closed the door behind her (as she often does) I know she won’t be stuck.

Solstice with tea & potatoes

Another weekend has flown right by. Draya had her last swimming lesson on Saturday. Mommy worked in the afternoon and the whole family went to L & A’s excellent Solstice Party in the evening. All of the little kids exchanged gifts and Draya got a tea set, a Mrs. Potato Head, a little people princess and some wonderful books. Sunday morning she happily served tea to Mrs. Potato Head while her little people decorated the table. Sunday at lunch Draya went to her Grandparents so that mommy & daddy could volunteer for Summer of My Amazing Luck (great play!) at TN. That night we all had dinner at G’ma & G’pa’s. On Monday G’pa took Draya to the mall & back to their place as mommy was sick. Mommy DID find time to download the camera though so photos are coming… soon…

A Quick and Long Overdue Late Night Update

Life has been busy in Draya's household! There is so much that the little princess/monkey has been up to and so little time. Mommy should really be sleeping but she's currently up late due to a post show/work buzz.
So, here are a few quick updates...
* Draya now speaks using two words together all the time. Her new words are WAY to numerous to mention.
* Our bathing beauty figured out on Wednesday how to blow bubbles in the bath (with her mouth) and how to zerbit the bottom of the tub. Mommy really needs to clean the tub more often now if baby lips are going to be touching it. Draya also zerbited the bathroom floor but mommy quickly put a stop to that!
* Draya likes snow. She likes to dig in it with her shovel and put it into her bucket. Photos coming soon.
* Draya loves to wear either her winter or rubber boots around the house. She can put them on all by herself.
* Today she tried to dress herself. After she was already fully dressed. Photos coming soon.
* Draya thinks she should be able to ride on Ginger's back. Ginger does not agree and slips away quickly each time she tries to climb on.
*After a recent gaming session with L & A one of our Settlers dice was nowhere to be found. So daddy asked "Draya, where is the the dice?". Draya replied "dice, dice, dice", wandered over to her winter boot, turned the boot over, shook it, and out tumbled the missing dice. Lesson learned: if something has disapeared - ask the baby.

A Few Quick Stories

As life speeds past, our favourite little princess has been constantly coming up with more cuteness! Here are a few recent stories…

When daddy and Draya were in the hotel washroom in Red Deer, Draya want all the way along the aisle, stopping to open each stall, point and say ‘potty’.

At the restaurant in our hotel she started calling every older gentleman who entered ‘papa’. Well, she has quite a few papa’s of her own (2 actual, 2 chosen and 2 great) so I can she how she might think it means everyone!

Draya has learned how to turn on the CD player. When she wants to dance she will turn it on, wait for the music, dance a little bit by herself then approach mommy, holding her arms out, saying ‘dance’. She also likes to dance with her dolls and teddy bears. She holds their arms, sways and turns around in time to either a CD or the tunes some of her toys play.

Draya’s new words are to numerous to mention! A few that stand out are ‘water’, 'book' and 'please'. She has also started putting more than one word together sometimes.

When Draya wants the straps on her booster seat or highchair undone (after she has done them up herself – not when she is sitting in the chair) she says ‘beep, beep’ until someone fixes them for her.

Draya has started swim lessons again. So far so good but she still hates it when we try to make her float on her back.

One of Draya’s new places to play is under her high chair. She will steal a set of keys, stick one into one of the chairs exposed screws and pretend she’s driving.

Draya has been eating more recently. She’s probably about to have a growth spurt. The other night she ate two (small) slices of pizza without spilling any and wanted more. Asking insistently for ‘pizza, pizza’. We were all out though and she had to settle for angel food cake instead.

Recent Accomplishments and Settings

Draya is getting a LOT better at eating with a spoon now. She scoops cottage cheese into her mouth and doesn’t start using her hands until at least half way through the bowl.

Draya has mastered the ‘NO’ head-shake very well but once she gets on a roll she’ll say ‘no’ to anything.

Always a fan of her belly button, Draya current ‘comfort’ position is right thumb in mouth, left hand exploring belly button. It’s cute NOW but we’ll have to wean her off of it eventually.