Christmas Day

Sophia put two things on her Santa list this year - pony and make-up.  I am not sure where the pony request came from.  The make-up, well, she's been using her markers to colour her nails, hands, feet, and face for a few months now.  I do not know where the fascination with make-up and nail polish comes from because I don't wear make-up nor do I paint my nails.  Anyway, for her presents, Santa brought  her a pink My Little Pony toy and face paint (Santa agreed that Sophia is way too young to wear make-up!).  When she unwrapped the face paint, she wanted me to put some colour on her eyes.  I obliged and let her choose a colour.  She chose brown and kept the colour on the entire day.  So all her photos from Christmas day look pretty silly.

She does look like she has eye shadow on.

Her silly eyes

Enjoying all the toys she received.

A Purdy's ribbon turned head band.

Playing hair stylist with Mommy.

Our Christmas morning and early afternoon were lazy and relaxing.  We opened presents and played with Sophia's new toys.  Then at 3pm, we started to prepare for our family Christmas dinner and things got pretty busy.  After our guests left, we finished cleaning up, then we had to pack for our trip to Revelstoke.  It made for a long day but it was still a good day.  We still had a happy Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Santa's presents have been delivered and are waiting for Princess Sophia under the tree.  Ingredients for our Christmas breakfast and the Lorico family Christmas dinner are ready.  I'm looking forward to a joyous, lazy and relaxing Christmas day.

Merry Christmas!

Not going to make it

I was aiming to beat the number of posts I did last year (38) and in the summer, I was on track to do it.  But I am not going to make it, unless I write 11 posts in 7 days.  That is simply not going to happen.  I used to write my posts during my lunch breaks.  Alas, my new, much busier role at work has made taking lunch breaks that are longer than 15 minutes quite rare.  And in the evenings, the 1.5 hour I have between the time Sophia goes to bed and the time I need to be in bed is filled with chores.  And why do I need to be in bed?  Because I have a 6am workout at the gym and getting enough sleep is always a priority.

My last post was over six weeks ago.  I don't think I've ever gone that long without posting anything since I started this blog in 2005.  I feel sad that I have not managed to find the time to sit, get my thoughts together, and put them on "paper".  Writing helps me decompress and clear my mind.  I feel that I am losing out on something important to me.  It is just so challenging to fit it all in.  How do other parents do it, I wonder.  Work/life balance is an illusive thing.  I wish I had the answer.

Halloween 2013

Halloween 2013, a set on Flickr.

Trip to the pumpkin patch, carving our pumpkin at home, and trick or treat

Nun of your business

I haven't dressed up for Halloween in years but I decided to partake in the fun this year.  My costume is a pregnant nun with a headband that says "nun of your business".  I don't think my mom would approve...

Saturday morning cuddle

My first pumpkin

Today, I carved a pumpkin for the first time ever.  I was in a team with two of my colleagues, Tommy and Travis.  Tommy can draw well and he drew the outline of what we were to carve out.  I scooped out the seeds, then we took turns carving the cute face of our pumpkin.  Travis provided the arms for our cute little guy.



Isn't our pumpkin cute???  I'm pretty happy with it and it was actually quite fun to do.  Looking forward to carving the pumpkins we have at home this weekend.

There is a price to pay...

Hanging out at the park
Originally uploaded by Liezel&Ed

Having Fridays off gives me a long weekend to hang out with Sophia. It is marvellous and priceless. But come Monday morning, the daycare drop-off is teary and emotional. The conflicted struggle of the working mom guilt is heightened.
Sigh...

Time with two grandmas

Ed's mom came for a visit recently and we managed to go out for lunch with my mom.  It's not very often that Sophia can see both her grandmas at one time.  I wish I had cleared out the clutter from the table first for this special photo opportunity!  Oh well.  At least we have one photo to capture the moment.

Reaching another milestone

This is Sophia's last week at her toddler daycare.  Next Tuesday, she will be joining the "big kids'" (3-5 year olds) daycare.  It will be in the same building as her toddler daycare, but a floor below.  Our commute and routine will be the same.  The main change will be the ratio of staff to kids.  At the infant and toddler daycare, there were four kids to one teacher.  At the 3-5 daycare, there will be eight kids to one teacher.  There will also be a bigger spread in the children's ages in the 3-5 daycare.

Milestones like this highlights how quickly time goes by.  It seems just like yesterday when 13-month-old Sophia started going to the infant daycare.  She handled the transition then very well, and so I am hoping the transition to the big daycare will go smoothly, too.  Three of Sophia's friends from the toddler daycare are moving with her, and having friends around during a time of change is always comforting.

Here are some photos from when she first started going to daycare and from her last picnic with the toddler group a month ago.  Kids grow up so fast!

No more bangs

Prior to 2007, I was still a little girl when I last had bangs.  But I was looking to change things up a bit in the spring of 2007 so I decided to go for it.  I really was not sure if I was going to like it or not.  I liked it enough that I kept the bangs until 2013.  Earlier this year, mainly due to laziness about going to get my hair cut, I started growing out my bangs.  I just put it up with a clip, not caring much if I looked funny with a clip on my head or not.  I just didn't want the hair on my face.

Now, it is official.  My "bangs" are chin length and really wouldn't qualify as bangs anymore.  No more bangs.  We'll see how long I last...

Birthday #3

We recently celebrated Sophia's third birthday.  The celebration lasted throughout her birthday week, first with a family BBQ at the park, then a cookie treat at her daycare, and finally a birthday party at our local community centre.  She was quite delighted by all the attention and, of course, the presents from everybody.

The Low's and the Lorico's do not get together very often.  In fact, the last time Ed's dad and my mom saw each other was at our wedding ten years ago.  So it was such a treat to have both families present for Sophia's birthday picnic at the park.  We held it at a park in Richmond that had a water spray park, a playground and a picnic area.  The day started out cloudy but by noon, the sun was out in full force.  Our close friends the VanDops also joined us for the picnic.  Sophia loved having her friends Aves and Joshie with her at the park.

With Nanay and Gong Gong

Candles out

A week later, we had a party at our local community centre and the invitees were mainly Sophia's friends from daycare.  The gym was transformed into a play area with a bouncy castle, ride-on toys, hockey nets, and an assortment of toys. The kids had so much fun playing and running around the gym.  After the play time, we headed to a party room for some lunch and cake.  Sophia asked for a chocolate Mickey Mouse cake and was quite excited about it.  Not sure if she didn't like how it tasted because she hardly ate it.  Oh well.  And thanks to our friend, Josh, for being the photographer during the party.

This was the first time for us organizing a kids' party and it was a lot of work!  I found the loot bag the most stressful, just because I didn't know what to put in it.  I didn't want to fill it with junk but I didn't want to overspend, either.  Then all the work on the day of the picnic and party, transporting the food, drinks, and other stuff we needed.  It was pretty exhausting.  But, of course, seeing how happy Sophia was made it all worth it.

Happy third birthday, our darling baby girl.  Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

Pics from Drumheller

Drumheller, July 2013, a set on Flickr.