A special visit from Great-Grandparents!

This week we had more special visitors come stay with us, Marcel and Bev Cote, my Mom's parents from BC. When all was said and done, they arrived on Tuesday, not Monday, but that was okay, because it gave Hope and I more time to get things ready for them, and I even managed to nap twice! Just a random shot after breakfast on Monday. The morning sunshine is glorious in our living room.
Monday night after supper Josh graciously cleaned out the garbage cupboard for me, and Hope of course had to be right in there too. :o)
Granny and Grampi arrived shortly after Hope's nap on Tuesday afternoon. Hope was rather dopey still, but Granny knew how to fix that - with a present!
That got Hope smiling and interactive right away. :o) A new baby doll, and this one has a soft tummy for cuddling. :o)
I poured the tea and we all sat down for a few minutes at the table. I had to work on supper pretty quick, but by that time Grampi and Hope were relating well, and so I left her with him to look at books while Gran and I finished dinner. Hope wasn't quite ready to sit on his lap just yet, so I pulled up a chair for her.
Granny wanted a picture of Hope on the little Pansy stool Granny gave her a while ago, so here it is. :o)
After supper, we headed downstairs to play in the basement while Josh taught violin for a couple hours in the living room.
Grampi took Hope down while Gran and I finished the supper dishes. When I got down there Hope was prancing around with the dress up hat on her head, the wooden caterpillar bumping merrily along behind her most of the time.
We played and laughed lots as the evening was wore on. I gave Hope a snack, and then as a last resort to charm her in her very tired state I pulled out her toy cell phone.
She was delighted to instruct Granny on what she wanted done with it, and kept asking "please" that Granny would ring it and put it to her ear for her. Granny was flabbergasted that the phone said "hello" and "goodbye!" Modern toys, I tell ya!
Showing Granny how you say "Hello-a," or "Ha-looooow-a."

Wednesday morning everyone got up at different times. By the time Grampi roused himself (I was so proud of him for sleeping in) Hope thought she should have toast with him as a mid-morning snack. So, I plopped her in her chair and she ended up staying there for over an hour! My midwife arrived for my 32 wk pre-natal check-up, so Granny and Grampi kept Hope in the kitchen with them while Josh and I met with the midwife in the living room.

When the check-up was done, I returned to the kitchen to find Hope still in her chair, playing with some oven mitts, of all things. Granny and Grampi had been teaching her "pat-a-cake" and she was having a blast with it!

Time for a quick walk and playtime at the park before lunch. Since Lydia's visit, Hope has gotten into slides, and that was pretty much all she wanted to do when Granny and I were playing with her this morning too! She must have done the slide at least 12 times!

While I got soup and sandwiches set out for lunch, Granny and Hope played with the ball in the backyard, since it was such a nice day.
After lunch, Grampi and Hope looked at books. Hope toted the baby doll almost everywhere with her.
After her nap, Hope and Granny looked at books. She's really into "booooooks" these days. She says "book," but doesn't usually get the "k" sound on the end.
Since it was so nice, and I had an available man, I decided we'd BBQ for supper. Hope took the doll stroller and Ellie out to the backyard to hang out while I got supper on. Granny helped Grampi rake leaves....
They never stop, those two wonderful folks! The lawn looked great, and Grampi did an excellent job of BBQ-ing! It was so nice to be able to use the BBQ one more time this season.
After supper, Josh showed Granny and Grampi the i-pad. They were both quite impressed, and Granny declared that she wants one for Christmas. :o)
Hope toddled over to the other couch to see what the big attraction was. :o)
The coolest app on the i-pad, in my opinion, is the star-gazer one. You can hold up the i-pad in any direction, and it shows you the galaxies above where you are looking! Pretty neat.
One more time for the Farm Animal book before it was Hope's bedtime.
Hope telling Granny "Duck."

It was a wonderful visit, though it was short. Granny and Grampi headed out the next morning, Josh was working in the city, and Hope and I were home. I had a music student come for a lesson in the morning, and then Hope and I tidied up, went for a walk, had lunch on the lawn, re-sheeted the guest bed, and then had afternoon naps. :o)

Weekend Visitors

Last weekend we were blessed with a visit from my sisters and some English friends of theirs, Bryan and Ann Norford. Chloe and the Norford's were in Edmonton for a writer's conference, and Lydia was here for HOPE TIME! :o) Hope was glad to have Auntie's attention again. :o)Bedtime stories in the recliner rocker.
Makin' pancakes Saturday morning.
Hope was a little dazed that morning, but she got excited when she saw the pancakes on the griddle! She ate 2 1/2 pancakes and a good portion of scrambled eggs too!
Good thing she filled her tummy, because after brunch Lydia and I took her outside with us to do some fall yard work!
While I pulled out dead flowers and plants, (we've had several frosts and a good deal of cold weather already) Hope played in the bag of peat moss that Lydia was working into the flower beds.
She was quite concentrated on what she was doing, and not really interested in smiling for the camera, as you can see. But Lydia was a "good girl" and smiled for the camera! :o)
After a bubble bath and some lunch Hope tried her very first Peanut Butter cookie! I was putting some in a bag to take to some friends, and when Hope saw what I was doing she said "cookie," paused, and added "please." She's got a couple two word phrases she's starting to say, but this one surprised me! :o) I think she remembered baking the cookies with me the day before.
With Lydia keeping Hope company in the back seat of the car, we headed off to visit our friends Jason and Nicole and their new twin girls, Louisa and Amelia. Hope stayed sleeping in the car for the first part of our visit, but when she woke up she sure wanted to see those two babies - and wanted to have one hand on each! :o)
I had Louisa and Josh had Amelia at that moment. My lap was feeling really full! I passed when Jason came by with hot tea, but it sure hit the spot later. :o)
Hope's fascination with hats and babies continues. It'll be so fun to have our own baby in the house soon and see her be the big sister. :o)
After Chloe and the Norfords got back from the conference, it was playtime for Auntie Chloe and Hope. Here they were gleefully saying "bye-bye" to some blossoms that had fallen from the neighbours tree. The breeze was just right for Chloe to pick up the blossoms, toss them up into the air, and watch them be carried away by the gentle breeze.
Such priceless expressions. Simple things are so beautiful, especially in the eyes of a dreamer.
Not a really great shot, I know, but I wanted to at least get one picture of the Norfords. :o) Bryan, Chloe, and Josh were seeing who-could-do-what with their hands while Ann looked on. Having just had a hip replaced two and a half weeks earlier, she was ready for some rest after a big weekend at the conference.
Miss adorable getting ready for....
a much needed hair cut, courtesy of Auntie Chloe. I painted Hope's fingernails to keep her looking one direction while Chloe trimmed her hair. :o)
Hope really likes having her nails painted. It's so cute. She knows you do both hands, not just one!
Sunday morning before leaving for church, Hope entertained the Norfords by emptying her toy basket one toy at a time, toting each one to Bryan at the table. It was rather charming. :o)
Wearing her new jumper. :o) I had such fun sewing it for her.
....Taking the ball to Bryan.
After a church and a lovely meal together, all the guests left, we had naps, and then playtime with Hope.
A few weeks ago I showed her how to set up books on the floor, and she's getting good at it with these little ones.
She found the stroller tucked away in her nursery and pulled it out for a ride. Maybe one day she'll learn that the baby doll should go in the stroller! :o)

What a blessed weekend it was. A quick turn around of the house was required as we were expecting Granny and Grampi to arrive the next day. :o) What a blessing from the Lord to have so many dear folks visit us here!

A Weekend around the house

Last weekend, we all were kinda down with colds, so we stayed close to home for the most part. After French Toast and grapes for breakfast I thought I'd try doing Hope's hair in two French Braids. (no connection to having just had French Toast, by the way)
I just had to put her top stuff in a piggy tail, and then we were all set. It worked pretty well, and stayed in pretty well too. :o) Fine baby hair sure braids a lot better when it's damp!!
Sunday after church. I just made that little jumper for her, and it was a perfectly grey and rainy day, so quite suitable for wearing something fall-ish.
Tried the hair in two half-French Braids. :o) So thankful for her natural curls at the back!
Tea bags into a tea box. A new game she devised. :o)
And, while Josh and I were at the other end of the living room, Hope found the Bohnanza cards and happily occupied herself by taking them all out of the box, and trying to put them back in again. She must have remembered having fun doing that the weekend before... :o)
She managed to get about 15 cards back in the box, and then I finished up for her. :o)
All ready for bed, and what better way to settle down than by bouncing on Mommy's exercise ball?
This is her and Josh's "thing to do" and it's so cute to watch them play together!
I had just picked up that little lion fridge magnet toy for her the day before, and she wasn't letting it out of her hands!
Miss hilarious herself! This is called "get ready to be struck by the oncoming ball!"
Facing it like a real woman!!!
Okay, enough excitement. Time to get on with the business of settling down for real by watching a DVD with Daddy and Mommy.
Learning about the Holy Land with Ray VanderLaan. :o)

For your viewing pleasure and laughter, please enjoy the following clip!