Milestones

This week Ella and Owen each reached important milestones.

Ella is now officially potty trained. She was just about there before we left Calgary, but unfortunately we had to start again once things had settled down after the move. It's taken a lot of creativity to get this girl to go! We've sung songs ("There's lots that you can do when you're sitting on the potty... tra la la la la.."), danced liked butterflies to the potty and sat in front of the TV waiting for the poop to come. And alot of lolly (candy) treats as encouragement. Thankfully, she's made the break through and now knows when it's time to go. We haven't had any accidents in about 5 days. (Don't ask me about the one at the pool last week!!!)


Owen is officially walking. He's still a little but wobbly, but is walking more and more each day. This is always such a funny stage. He looks like a little godzilla coming along!

Happy Birthday Mum

Today was my birthday. It's great having kids around to help you celebrate!

Present opening.... (I didn't have to do a thing!)
Birthday cake - Mum bought a Baskin and Robbins ice-cream cake - delicious!

Here's Owen going "Ohhh" at the candles. Owen is a screamer. When he wants something he points and screams. The intensity has increased the paste few weeks and we are all getting sore ears! This was one of the few times he was quiet during dinner!


This afternoon we went to the science center and for a walk along the banks of the Savannah river.

Here is Sam last night with his stash of Australian goodies. Delicious! Thanks Simone! Sam loved the Snack chocolate and wanted to teste all the different flavors. I think he would have eaten the whole block if he was allowed to! Sam is a fussy eater but when it comes to chocolate and sweets he has no problem eating a lot!

Yesterday we went to the library. Ella chose an old Heidi movie to watch. Omi plaited her hair for her so that she could look like Heidi. She wore it like this today too.

Happy Birthday Chris

It was Chris's birthday on Friday. The kids were so excited wanting Dad to come home all day so that he could open his presents - I should say so that they could open his presents for him! We made pizza and Kay's lemon cheese cake for dinner. Mum was very impressed that you can buy ready made crumb crust here. So much faster than having to crush the biscuits (or cookies, or graham crackers), mix with butter etc.




This morning we went for a walk along the Savannah river before Church. The weather has cooled off quite a bit and we all enjoyed getting our for some fresh air.

Omi has arrived

After much anticipation and excitement, my Mum arrived last night from Tasmania. Her flight was scheduled to arrive at 7:50pm but it got in 20 minutes early. She was already waiting for us with her luggage by the time we got there. It is such a long trip (4 flights and over 24 hours!) and we are so happy to have her with us, but sad that Dad can't be here too.

Sam was the only one to come to the airport with me. He has been so excited, but then got all shy when he saw Omi for the first time and would not stand next to her to have a photo taken.
Omi got the meet the rest of the crew early this morning. As you can see from the photo, Sam is the morning person in the family. Always happy and ready to got first thing.

This afternoon we all went for a swim at the pool

Fort Discovery

Chris had the day off on Friday and so we went to "Fort Discovery" which is a science museum here in Augusta. The kids had a great time . We purchased a 12 month pass so we can go periodically during the year. We had a pass to the science center in Calgary and in Chicago we lived within walking distance of the Museum of Science and Industry. The Museum of Science and Industry is HUGE and makes the Calgary and Augusta science centers seem really tiny by comparison. At the one in Chicago there is a full sized submarine, plane and steam train inside and that's just the beginning! We really miss it.



On Saturday we worked on the backyard. It was a disaster when we moved in. Very little grass and way too many ants! So far we've had three trees removed, put up a retaining wall and at the moment we are getting ready to lay sod next weekend. Chris and I are total city folk. We are not used to getting our hands dirty like this! We will be very happy when it's all done and we can sit back and enjoy watching our kids roll around in the grass.


This is a picture of Chris using a tilling machine to break up the ground. It was a very messy, dusty job.

Happy Birthday!

This week Sam's cousin Andrew turned 4 and so did his friend Mitch. The problem is that Andrew lives in Texas and Mitch is back in Calgary. To wish them well we made a couple of happy birthday videos.

To cousin Andrew.....


To Mitch....

My Dad goes to school

At the start of July Chris started a 3 year residency in periodontics. After his first day, Sam asked "Dad, how did you like school today?". l Just as if he were the parent and Chris the child!

The first few weeks Chris had orientation and lectures. This week he started in the clinic doing exams.. Here's Chris all ready for his first day seeing patients. This is what he will be wearing to school for the next three years!


For almost a week we've been somewhat home bound. All three kids have been sick with a nasty virus. First they got a fever and then broke out with blisters all over their lips and mouth. Very painful! Sam, Ella and Owen have been coming up with all sorts of things to do to keep themselves entertained (along with way too much TV!). Here they are in a train they made from left over packing boxes.

Happy Birthday Owen!

This week Owen received a package in the mail from Calgary. A birthday present from Grandma! (His birthday was on July 6th). He got a huge smile on his face when I handed it to him. But he had to fight with his brother and sister to hold onto his loot!

We love our little Owen. His nick name is "Elmo". Ella could not say Owen when he was born and so she called him Elmo and the name has stuck. Here are some other things we love about him:
- his laugh
- his cheesy smile whenever he gets what he wants
- his determination
- his brilliance. We call him our little professor because he is very observant and always trying to figure out how things work.


Here's a sample of Owen's laugh. It's still just as hearty!