Olympic pride lasted for 2 weeks but the memories a lifetime

This was during the torch relay on Feb 10th, 2010. The torch relay made its way through the streets of Ladner and we had front row seats at the local McDonald's where the crowds were impressive for Ladner. Abby was laughing with her daycare friends who joined her for the great day!

This was the beginning of a little girl who kept talking about the Olympics everyday. My favorite is still "daddy you get the golden medal". We made a paper with shoelace budget medal at home and colored it gold with sparkles. We take turns being golden medalists.

I'll always remember Abby's face when she saw Quatchi, Sumi and Miga at Robson Square the one Saturday we made it downtown to enjoy the festivities. A close second is the face she made seeing the zipline people fly across the afternoon sunny sky. Wow was said more than once!

Her 2 month old brother Hudson shared in the Olympic frenzy with her sister and they both sported either their Canadian hockey jersey or Canadian toques. I will continue to sing Oh Canada to them at night every night forever! I love my country and my kids!

Abby playing her way, the only way!

Ever since uncle Davey showed her how to play the guitar she has been clutching her little geeetar and strummin' to her own beat. Notice the one dangling string...so sad but don't tell her that!

Thanksgiving Dinner pics

Ok so I suck at blogging on a regular basis but when I do finally sit down and type I enjoy it all the same in mentioning some things Abby has done lately. Bike rides around Ladner have been a great way to connect after daycare and working on puzzles each day has proven fun but something I predict will be Abby's strong suit... concentration. The month and a half that has flown by has been filled with sun, laughter and some new sayings and ideas Abby has come up with. Yesterday was her 3rd birthday and I know April has posted on her blog a couple moments we had that day and so I'll just say I'm proud of Abby and her many feats and I'm proud to to be her daddy teaching her what I can everyday.

Something I hold especially close to my heart is the love for the song Oh Canada Abby has had for a longtime. Here in one of our daddy daughter moments we sing to Hockey Night in Canada. We sing loud and strong for our country and she always says Go Canucks Go after the song is done. I hope to do this with her for years to come.

These are the days

Approaching the end of summer I wake up to cold in the air and at night we're closing our screen door earlier with the temperature change at night. Abby likes to have her jammies on at night again and the fan is off in her room more than it is on. It does sadden me a little to know this is my last summer just with Abby. The months to come will bring anticipation of the baby arriving and I plan to make these last months with Abby the best ever! I plan on showering her with love, teaching her all that I can, and be more adventerous. Everything I try to do already but I want to show her more of the city so we have our teaching moments and let her explore with her creative mind.

Here's a few pics of our relaxed summer days together. As a father of one I still can't believe how I'm going to share my same love for another but I know I will and everyone seems to say that same thing. What most people know or should know is that my daughter is different. I don't mean I think she's going to be better than every kid out there or that she's odd. I mean she carries a certain uniqueness that sets her apart from most children when it comes to imagination, gentleness and concentration. Abby can finish a 49 piece puzzle with little guidance and owns a 100 piece that she likes to attempt over and over. Her daycare friends she holds close to her heart and talks about them over the weekend and is giddy to see them on Mondays. Her imagination takes her to a forest with dinosaurs, then to an ocean with the whales and sharks, she had sushi with us two days ago and associated the seaweed on the sushi rolls with seaweed at the beach. I think its an exciting way to think and I hope she keeps an artistic look on life coupled with a strong work ethic through her older years.

Diefenbaker Park offers nature experience

Ok not sure why it takes 2 weeks to post again but it has. People always say I'm so busy and I just couldn't get around it, well that's crap, it's really just remembering to do it and spend the 10-15mins. to update. My take on the last few weeks...

Abby gets measured for the 3rd time on the wall of height and proves to be a whole 3 inches taller from March 30th/09! Now she loves standing against the wall and explain to everyone how big she is getting, pretty cute stage right now.

Abby and daddy went for a memorable bike ride around Ladner which at first Abby said she didn't like but once we got on and was feeling the wind on her face she was saying faster faster daddy. Sadly we have only done this a handful of times and need to do it more before the summer ends.

Today she assisted April in painting a side table pink that will be added to Abby's new room when baby number 2 arrives in December. Abby insisted she help and we love making her a part of everything we can, she stroked the brush with precision and was very careful not to spill and she didn't! This same table was painted light green for when Abby arrived in October of '06. This table was my table when I was a child so it's been around. Of course at that time it was a crappy brown with original everything but it worked all those years!

Dairy Queen called us out for ice cream as it was a little hotter and it didn't disappoint. Abby had a childs cone that was huge but she never tries finishing anything that is too much for her. She gladly hands over the cone about half way done and never asks for it back. I love this because it shows she knows her limits and harly ever indulges in any form of too much. Daddy gets more ice cream this way too;-)

Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen was a last minute thought and wow what a pleasant quiet family orientated park. We waddled around with the hundreds of ducks, went on all the playground equipment, discovered dragonflies up close, noticed large catfish in the pond that had to be steroid induced...they were massive and a Chinese fishermans dream come true! No fishing allowed of course but exciting for Abby who saw how big some fish really are up close. The best was our stumble upon a live gardener snake that was at the steps by the playground. It slithered along with pace and stagger and stopped to view what was next. Abby was loving it and had already coined the snake "Ka the snake" from the jungle book. One of her favorite books/DVD! I have to admit it was equally exciting for April and I but afterwards April kept looking in the grass for it which makes me laugh. A great day venturing to another park for Abby and DQ is always yummy!

The polite summer storm

I've noticed real change in Abby the last 2 months. She has formed so many sentences with ease and carries a conversation with decent listening skills for being 2. I'm so lucky to wake her up most mornings a little later than previous when I held my old position at work. She wakes up happy, not tired and very talkative. Sometimes I know when she has had a dream or a thought that remains high on her to do list. Yesterday is was the pool as we ventured to the local indoor pool and then got ice cream before visiting my sister at her new home in Ladner. Abby woke up the next day and said "the pool and the whale and the splashing and the bunnies" all while waving her hands and eyes large and wide. Ladner has many bunnies running around just outside the pool in the grass area.

Last weekend we made a trip to celebrate my aunt's 50th birthday with the family and her friends. Vancouver never looked so beautiful showing off it's array of colours throughout the skyline all evening. The storm brought rain and lots of it in waves, thunder, lightning and when all cleared much later on the sky showed reds, oranges, blues, and purples. Abby was not afraid of thunder, lightning or heavy rain. In fact, she was so excited and wanted to see everything! Showing her what mother nature can do was a lot of fun for me. Abby had several inquisitive perspectives on the whole event. We stayed quite late and Abby was great all evening and going to bed later than usual. She really likes the Besth side of the family and runs around the everyones legs while stopping to say hello, asking for a snack politely, or politely asking someone to move to the side. I hear "thank you very much" and it makes me proud.

One of the things Abby has always done with most adults and some friends is share a hug but from the side. She will approach the person with caution and almost always hug with her back or side to you. Something unique yet again which I can't help but just love!

Random thoughts as I type. Abby put together a 30 piece puzzle she has tried many times on her own and has now done it! The look on her face was priceless, so happy she accomplished it herself.

Abby helps stir cooking ingredients, water plants with mom/dad, get things off the counter, puts her sandals on herself, wipes down cupboards and says she's cleaning, works the computer mouse well, speaks and responds to phone calls, pees/poo's on the potty most times, takes books and reads(looks at pictures) for 20+ minutes at a time giving mom/dad time to relax. She's become easier to manage in all aspects and knowing we have to go through this one more time does bring some anxiety to me I admit but really I can't wait for the baby to arrive in December and celebrate Christmas with our new addition. Once they're 2.5/3 it's so much easier though!

Bedtime routine

Most parents after the dinner, playtime, bath, brushing the teeth, reading books, telling made up stories, and soothing songs are so tired they make very little of the one or two hours left in the evening. I'm no different and love catching up on PVR'd shows such as Rescue Me, SYTYCD, and sometimes a movie. I always go to bed feeling like I've done nothing productive with my evening but I tend to forget that I did everything that is expected of me as a good father. All the solid parenting(pat on the back) comes from a need to be there and develop the mind of such a impressionable little girl, my daughter. Lately Abby has said and shown some things that are remarkable to me. You ask yourself at times did she really say that? Where did she learn that? How could she know that one? These are a few of the ones that come to mind...

"Daddy, can I hold that one please?"

"I cannot do that today daddy" (Cannot makes me laugh everytime!)

"I went poo poo on the potty daddy!" "I did it"

Hugging her mom without prompting and a hug that would melt anyones heart. She wraps her arms around her neck and places her head down and pats or rubs her back. So cute!

The pronouncing of big words I guess impresses me the most...

"Important" Always perfectly said.

"Dangerous" Perfect also.

"Congratulation" A new one.

I know she struggles with the letter "L" sometimes. The word Lucky is easy but Lobster would be difficult. Very fun to hear when they're wrong and she likes to be corrected and pronounces the right word well soon after. It brings to mind when we watch golf on tv she'll say "he tried again daddy" in reference to a golfer putting and missing. Love that she gets it!