Zoo Trip

We've been wanting to go to the zoo all summer, but the weather got too hot and things kept coming up (rain, casts, colds, etc). We finally found the perfect day to go this week and had a fun time at the Toronto Zoo!

Magna Doodles and activity books for the 2-hour car ride

Nice Fall colours

We made it!

Emily's first trip to the zoo was last year in August. It's amazing how much she's changed since then!

Zoo Trip 2011

Jessica got to enjoy the zoo too this year, although she really didn't like getting close to any of the animals. Any time we got close, she would repeat "No. No. No..." until we left.

Here are a few pictures of our zoo adventure!

You can't tell from this picture, but Emily was VERY excited!

(Jessica not so much)

 2011    vs.    2012

Splashing in the same puddle she did a year ago

Unlike last year's trip to the zoo, this time we brought lots of snacks and food. The girls really enjoyed their picnic lunch on a bench (between the elephants and hippos).

 2011    vs.    2012

Riding the stone hippo

My favourite animal at the zoo: the lemurs! 

They were so cute.

Jessi liked them too

Jessica was not a fan of being this close to a rhino.

Emily enjoyed it! 

Sleeping tigers...

... and white lions. Snore!

Emily's favourite part of the whole zoo was riding the Komodo dragon...

... until she kissed him and bonked her lips/teeth on the metal. Ouch!

Bye bye zoo!

We expected the girls (especially Jessica) to nap in the stroller, but no such luck. I guess there was too much to see! That means that when we left at 2:00pm both girls were dead tired and ready to go home. Surprisingly again, neither slept on the way home, so I had to work extra hard to keep them content. During the last 40 minutes of the ride, the only thing that kept Jessica from melting down was putting stickers on Daddy... So I did.

Until next time, Toronto Zoo!

Interview with (16-Month-Old) Jessica

Nathalieland: Good evening, Jessica! How has your month been?
Jessica: Well it could have been better -- I fractured my wrist and caught a cold!

N: Ouch. Are you feeling better now?
J: Much better, thank you. And I guess I should thank my fracture because it made me into a full-time walker this month.

N: Great! What are your growth stats?
J: I'm not sure how much I weigh -- probably around 20lbs. I wear a size 4 diaper and mostly 12-18 mo. clothing. I'm pretty petite, just like my mom and sis.

N: And you're super adorable too! What's your personality like these days?
J: I'm a funny, happy girl. A little timid, but very articulate. I'm still a big Mama's girl and walk around the house yelling "Mama! Mommy! Mommy-a! Mommy-a!". I also still LOVE to snuggle, especially with my mommy.

N: What about your Daddy?
J: I prefer to be with my mom, but I love my Daddy just as much. Every single time I try something on (like a hat, hair bow, scarf, etc), I immediately say "Daddy!" because I want to go show him how I look.

N: Are you still nursing?
J: Nope. I had my very last nursing session at the beginning of the month. I'm all done now and I've forgotten that it ever existed. Mommy surely misses it more than I do.

N: Well it was a very special bonding experience! What are some of your favourite activities?
J: I love puzzles, reading, and playing with [the pieces of] board games. I enjoy following my sister around and want to do whatever she's doing. Too bad she doesn't appreciate that and often says "I want to be alone". I apparently also share the same love of being buried in toys that my sister did at this age (see pictures below).

Jessica - 16 months old

Emily - 16 months old

N: Cute! Anything else?
J: I love being sung to. It's a surefire way to calm me down when I don't want to get dressed or have my diaper changed. Mommy also sings to me at bedtime and at random times throughout the day. My favourite thing to do is ask her to change the lyrics of a song to make it about "Mommy", "Daddy", "Sissy", then "Jessi" (I can say my name now!).

N: Are you doing anything exciting this coming month?
J: Yes. I get to celebrate Thanksgiving this month with my whole family. But the most exciting thing is that I went to the zoo TODAY!

N: Oh fun! Is that why you were late for your interview?
J: That, and the fact that on my actual 16-month birthday (September 25th), Mommy and Daddy celebrated 12 years since they started dating!!

N: How sweet! Well make sure you give us a recap of your zoo trip, Jessica.
J: Will do.

Weekly Update - Fall/Preschool/Phone/Shows

Hello Fall! The weather is really cooling down lately. If the sun is out then it's not so bad, but when it's behind the clouds the air is so chilly. We're down to daily lows around 10 C (50 F), with an average around 15 degrees. Personally I'm a fan of hotter weather and hate it when it's time to put away the sandals and pull out the coats! We're thinking of planning a trip to the zoo this week -- we might have to pack hats and mittens!

School Visit. Tomorrow morning Emily and I are going to visit her preschool! She's still not ready to go (not potty trained), but the teacher suggested we take a tour and participate in the activities to see if it piques Emily's interest. I wrote a book for Emily about our upcoming visit, including pictures of the school. She's definitely prepared; now it's just a matter of whether or not she'll enjoy it.

On the Phone. Up until just a couple of weeks ago, Emily was always afraid of the telephone. Maybe she didn't quite understand how it worked, or the voice on the other side freaked her out. Regardless, she would refuse to talk into it or even listen to a conversation. The other day while we were playing around I asked her if she wanted to call Grand-Papa on the telephone and she said yes! She ended up having a cute chat with him and since then has called him a few more times. She usually speaks pretty softly and says random things like "Here's Hatty. There's a ball over there." (She must think my dad can see what she sees). It's super cute to watch!

Season Premieres. There were a couple of season premieres last week (The Office and Parks & Rec). It's nice to finally have something to watch on TV! I'm looking forward to getting back into weekly shows and date nights with Steve.

Building a Home:: Step 8: Designing a Floor Plan

The step of designing the floor plan has been an ongoing one -- one that I've been working on for months, if not years. It's hard to believe that it's finally complete!

It was clear to us that we wanted to build a custom home. Our first home was custom, and while it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed being able to make every decision from room sizes to room locations to windows, etc. It was also wonderful that I could continually tweak the plans until I was completely satisfied.

Like I mentioned here, early on I had sketched some floor plans of my "dream home" -- a home which suited our every need. Keep in mind that I'm not an architect so these are very rough sketches to provide an overall inspiration.

(I wasn't really sure what I wanted on the second floor, other than approximate layout)

Some of the top crietria on our wish list included:
- Extra long dining room for our family gatherings (we typically host a minimum of 12 people on every occasion; this number will only grow with more nieces and nephews to come).
- Large mudroom off the garage.
- Front porch (not included in the sketches).
- Kitchen layout similar to our current one (which we love).
- Kitchen open to the great room.
- Large upstairs laundry room.
- Basement rec room, gym, and sewing/craft room.

The prospective builders took these sketches as inspiration for their design. Then once we selected our builder, we got to sit down with them and go through every detail to make it just right. It was an intense process, taking weeks of planning, countless emails discussing changes, and many sleepless nights (my mind would not turn off!). We're finally done and are thrilled with the final product.

Without further ado, here are floor plans for our future home! It's a 2800-sq.ft., 2-storey home with a finished/walkout basement.

Main floor

Second floor

Basement

One of the main changes we made while designing it was to move the guestroom down to the basement (instead of it being on the second floor). I provides more privacy for our family and our guests, and it allows for a bigger laundry room upstairs.

The "step" shape at the back of the house was something I designed to minimize the evening sun shining into the kitchen/dining room (a pet-peeve of mine). I also like it because it adds privacy to the deck/patio.

Designing our floor plan will probably be my favourite (and the most important!) step in the entire process of building our home. I've enjoyed taking what we have, tweaking it to make it even better, and getting everything we want out of it. I love to imagine myself walking through the house and how we'll use each space. Most of all, it'll be exciting to see my dreams/visions come to life.

Previous posts:
Step 7: Determining the Property Lines
Step 6: Accepting Delays
Step 5: Deciding When to Build/Sell
Step 4: Selecting a Builder
Step 3: Increasing the Budget
Step 2: Setting a Budget and Obtaining Financing
Step 1: Finding a Lot

Cast Off!

Last picture with the cast!

Jessica's cast came off yesterday! The appointment went about as expected; a long wait (over an hour) in the waiting room, Jessica crying the second we walked into the cast room and the entire time the technician took the cast off, and Jessica shrieking and flailing while they did her x-rays. She was so exhausted from all the stress and crying that she fell asleep on my lap while we waited for the results.

(Picture from my phone)

The x-rays confirmed that she had a small fracture in her wrist. The doctor said she should be fine and that was it! We were sent home.

No more cast!

Jessica has been doing great since the cast came off. She's been using her wrist and is able to crawl, although you can tell she's using it lightly (probably from weakened muscles). She has a bit of redness/scratches from the cast but she doesn't seem to mind!

Sometimes she points at her arm and says "boo boo", so I ask her how it is or if it's all better and she says yes. Such a relief! Now I just have to stop overreacting every time she falls, fearing that she'll hurt herself again.