Pumpkin Patch

It felt like fall today as we went on Melissa's first preschool jr. field trip to Willowview Farm's pumpkin patch.

The two cutest pumpkin heads on the farm...

Melissa in a sea of pumpkins...


All the Preschool Jr. classes running at Creative Edge were together today at the farm... and we were surprised to run into our friends from Kindermusik class... Alexis, Sydney & Melissa together again! (it was hard to get a decent photo with all three of them)

Boarding the hay ride which took us all around the farm...

Enjoying the ride....


And unfortunately my camera batteries died when we were dropped off in the pumpkin patch where Melissa got to choose her very own little pumpkin. After selecting the perfect pumpkin we rode back on the wagon to the petting zoo where Melissa got to pet and feed a variety of friendly farm animals. Lastly we all received an apple and a cup of orchard fresh apple juice, that was amazingly tasty.

Melissa's specially picked pumpkin:

Lovin' Preschool Junior

Every week Melissa looks forward to going to her Preschool Junior class that we started this fall at Creative Edge. There is a variety of activities we get to enjoy with the other mothers & tots.

Here Melissa is riding on this neat car/scooter with Kiera. The mobile moves forward when you turn the steering wheel back and forth.

Craft time is always a hit for us.
This week we were on the Thanksgiving theme...

and Melissa was pleased with her piece of completed art!

Then we move on to the painting station which has new and different types of painting instruments each week to inspire the little artists.

It is fun and messy... strangely somehow I have been the one to come home with paint on my clothes (and I don't even do any painting!)

Once free-play-time is over we have circle-time... where we sing & dance. Here the kids have selected their instruments to serenade us to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and many other favorites!

Melissa playing the keyboard with great ambition!

Next is story-time... and Melissa is eager to sit up close and take it all in.

This class we had a special treat and the parachute came out!

Our final song "Open them shut them... open them shut them..."

"put them in your lap..."

Singing her ABC's

When Melissa is comfortable in her surroundings, it is quite typical to catch her singing to herself. Her songs often are somewhat repetitive, but all the same very cute and innocent!

Today I was making dinner and she was putting together her alphabet puzzle singing to herself... something like "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, falling down, falling down... "



Once she figured out that I was videoing her, rather than just holding the camera up and not taking a picture, she wanted to see herself... and then perform for the camera. So I had her sing her ABC's... which is a song that gets a lot of airtime around the house. She has some cute 'hang-ups' in the song. The one that has stuck around the longest is her version of "L-M-N-O-P", she says "ekabeko-p". I don't know what happened this time I was videoing her... she ended up forgetting W-X-Y-Z... hmmm...

Blue Heron Reserve Walk

It was such a beautiful sunny Sunday yesterday that we joined Kiera & family on a walk on the dike in Greendale.

During the walk the girls got into a game of hide-and-seek. Here the two girls are running to find a hiding spot with Kiera's dad.

Two very inconspicuous girls 'hiding' behind the tree!

Oh.... we found them :)

The view from the hiding spot Melissa & I chose... you can see the seekers approaching us.

1-2-3... I see Kiera!

There was plenty of wilderness path to run like the wind...


They got so worn out we had to piggy-back them on the way back!

Happy Birthday Nana

One thing Melissa looks forward to is celebrating a birthday. We have been looking forward to Nana's birthday for over a week now, and Melissa was overjoyed to finally go to Nana's house on Saturday to have cake & open presents!

Melissa & Nana...

Opening the present...

Blowing out the candles...

Cutting the cake...

Devouring the chocolate cake :)

Last Summer Picnic

Two weekends ago was likely the last few days of the summer heat. We enjoyed lunch at my parent's church family picnic.

The food was a great mennonite spread... farmer sausage burgers, and shown here Melissa is eating watermelon & Rollkuchen.

Cousin Lexi... seriously enjoying the festivities! Actually here she is trying to figure out who to mooch some food off of next! Even though she is very "petite" she can really pack it down :)

Auntie Darcie & cousin Xander enjoying the shade of their umbrella... it was very hot!

Melissa practicing her little girl charm on her father.... and I think it is working :)


Now for a little shake, shake... she has the moves!

Candyman Kim

Melissa lucked out in our new 'hood.... we have this neighbour who always has a sugary treat in his pocket. Needless to say it didn't take long for Kim to win over Melissa's affection (but probably longer than most kids). Now she keenly looks for Kim every time we are outside.

Surprisingly she has overcome her hesitation about leaving the safety of our yard to run across the cul-de-sac for a candy.

Checking the loot... tonight it looks like "breakfast" (gelatin sugar in the shape of two eggs, a baguette and a slice of cheese)

Scarfing breakfast... she hardly takes time to breathe and chew!

Phew.... a little calm before the sugar kicks in :) Thanks Kim!

Manamana

Today during lunch I broke out in song, singing "Manamana.... do-do-do-do-do". And in typical response Melissa said "Stop singing Mom!" So I went to YouTube.com where I found exactly what I was seeing in my head as I bopped to the music. She was rather intrigued by it, and now is happy when I sing "Manamana"!

Science World

This weekend we explored Science World with the Rivard family...

First stop was the 'Grossology' exhibit where Melissa was a mini-contestant on body function game show. (Needless to say the odds were stacked against her as her fellow contestant had much more knowledge & experience in this field!)

Next she practiced for her career in medicine on a huge "Operation" game board. It was evident a little more practice was necessary. (Note she is pulling the patient's kidney out of its arm)

Then there was a showdown between Thomas' and Rivards on who could push over more pegs on this massive pegboard. (I think they should sell these things this size in the store... it would provide hours of entertainment!)

Then out of the blue Melissa broke out in dance on this dance floor.

One of the biggest hits of the day for the girls was the water tables throughout... they could have spent hours playing and getting wet!



And what trip to Science World would be complete without a picture of this electric arcing ball (unfortunately the flash removed the electricity).

Here Melissa is puzzled why she can't grab the apple which was an optical illusion.

Over lunch Celeste was hammin' it up... and was very proud to show the camera her "bo-bo" (Dora band-aid)

The girls feeling re-energized with some food in their bellies.

Thanks to the technology provided we were able to age enhance the girls from a photo... here is Celeste at 70 years of age.

And here are a series of pics of Melissa... the first one is her at age 7, the next of her at age 21, and the last is her at 70 years old!

In the bug section Melissa & I walked a few steps in the body of a crab & bee.

I must say we had a great time visiting Science World.... we'll certainly have to go back and finish it off one day soon, as there was much more to see than we could fit in our 4.5 hour visit. And a special thanks to the Rivard family for coming out to visit... we hope to see you guys again soon :)

Birthday Cats

Today is a special day for Melissa's two little furry feline brothers,
Pepper & Crash, who turn 6 years old today!
Melissa helped Crash celebrate by putting a little party hat on him.



As you can see Crash loves to take his cat naps in Melissa's pink Dora chair. There is one big downfall to this cosy seat... is that it is located right in the middle of Melissa's playroom and he often can become part of her tea parties.