In the beginning....

..... was framing!

The lads were hard at work this weekend - and the transformation has been so exciting! My role in the basement-raising is to take the odd photo and manage the toddler, which has definitely been the easier job in light of difficulties encountered with drain rough-ins and the like... However, we are certain to have a spectacular space to enjoy if these two DIY guys have anything to say about it!

Baby in a box

This is the living room toy box - which seldom houses toys (our girl typically squirrels them away in kitchen drawers, closets and various other cubby holes - or strews them about the floor). This must be one of the first times that our girl has actually put something in the toy box...

Grandpa arrives!

Grandpa arrived on Saturday: much to his grand-daughter's delight and excitement. His arrival brought gifts for all: walks, cuddles and stories for our girl, a professional contractor for dad, and a box of chocolates for mom (thanks, grandma!). However, this may have been the first and last bit of recreation that grandpa enjoyed: no sooner did he park the stroller than we had him pick up a hammer... he has been in the basement ever since....

the projectionist

Our daughter has inherited her dad's love of film, and is crazy for the cool projector that Papa bought her for Christmas. The projector reads books, while flashing little movies on the wall or ceiling. Very cool...

Princess child

Daddy has been calling our girl "Princess Child" or "Princess Baby" since day one... and the title seems to have stuck. She loves her crowns, and she alternates between these dollar-store treasures throughout the day. As you will notice in the first photo: she sometimes even wears two at once...

Over Christmas, in Zellers, she found a garrish silver plastic crown that was at least 5 inches high that featured the full phrase "BIRTHDAY GIRL" in upper case. She wore it throughout the mega-shopping trip, with everyone that she crossed smiling and saying "happy birthday, princess". She basked in the attention of being the birthday princess, even though her birthday was two months previous...

season confusion...

Our girl seems to be suffering from a bout of season confusion. On this Saturday morning, she was wearing her winter hat (there is always a hat of some sort on her head that she has smuggled from the hall closet, and often a scarf as well) - and running about the house kicking a beach ball with her yellow Crocs. They say the chinooks affect us in funny ways...

my pride and joy...

I'm extremely proud of my Christmas cactus... I have a decidedly brown thumb, but my christmas cactus (who has been my constant companion of seven years) has been blooming like this for the last two months. This poor plant was starved for water and light for more than a month between residences two years ago, and has needed re-potting for the last five years (a roommate's grandmere took pity on it and re-potted it during a visit to the squat we were living in during law school) - and yet it still loves me.

what's that? Twins!!?

Our bright-eyed one year old niece is going to be a big sister to TWO siblings in June... and my brother Bryan is going to be a father of three under two. A thoroughly daunting prospect for the expectant parents - but very exciting news for this auntie and uncle!