"Cheeeese..." This photo is from June, but it should tide everyone over until I get the more recent ones on here.

Hold up on the pictures....

So, Grampa uploaded the pictures off of his camera onto my computer. Unfortunately, he uploaded them to the wrong program, so now I can't get them transferred to the proper program to post them on the blog...*deep breath*...

I'm sure there is a way to do it and I'm sure that it is very easy and obvious, but I can't seem to figure it out.

As soon as I solve this problem, I will post pictures from our weekend in Cabri/Swift Current.

Enjoy your day!

-Denise & Monica

"Cabri Days" was fun!

Well, we had a great time in Grampa's hometown on the weekend. We enjoyed meeting up with Aunt Marilyn, Aunt Elaine, cousin Judy and great (and another great for Monica) Uncle Oliver. We also got to see great (great) Uncle Bert, who was in the parade on the band float, and great (great) Aunt Joan.

We arrived in Swift Current around supper time on Friday. Monica only slept the last half hour of the trip, but, despite being very tired, she was the life of the party and enjoyed playing in the pool and the hallway of the hotel with her cousins.

Saturday morning it was off to Cabri. There was a parade at 10:30am, which we had intended on seeing. However, due to construction on the highway, we were held up by about 20 minutes and so, we only caught the tail end of the parade. We did get there in enough time to see Uncle Bert on the band float. We then all gathered in the town hall for a chili lunch.

In the afternoon, we got a chance to see "Saskatchewan Express" perform in the Cabri School. It was a great show and Monica loved watching them. She was extremely tired before the show, but, boy, did her eyes light up when the group took the stage. She was smiling, clapping and singing along. She stuck it out for almost the whole show. Eventually, though, I did have to take her out for a walk in her stroller, so she could have a little snooze. After a little cat nap, she was good to go for the rest of the day. We headed back into Swift Current and she spent the rest of the day playing with Johnny and Levi.

So, we had a full weekend, but we had a super time. Now, we're looking forward to heading up to Edmonton, on Sunday, for a week. Monica can't wait to see Aunt Elaine, again, and to be reacquainted with Uncle Ron. She will also get a chance to meet some cousins. Of course, I will introduce her to IKEA. You're never too young for IKEA.

While in Edmonton, we'll be staying at the "Fantasyland Hotel". This will be an adventure for all of us. Monica and I will try out the wave pool and maybe I'll take a trip down one of the slides (without Monica, of course). I've never been to the waterpark at the "West Edmonton Mall". I've seen it many times, but it will be fun to actually get in the pool and see what it's all about.

Well, I guess that's all for now. We did enjoy a nice visit with Kelly, Jennelle and baby Matthew, yesterday. Monica says "sorry", Matthew, for hitting you in the head with the changing pad. I'm sure you'll get the chance, in coming years, to pay her back!

We hope everyone is having a great week. If we don't update this before we leave for Edmonton...we hope everyone has a nice couple of weeks!

-Denise & Monica

*I will be posting pictures in a little bit. Probably after Monica's nap!

"Hey! How'd you get into that other room, Mum?" - Monica loves the mirror. I've found her kissing herself many a time.

Family Fun Weekend!

Well, I'm up, unable to sleep. Ugh...I hate when this happens. I figured I was disturbing Monica's sleep, so I decided, after waking her up twice in the attempt to do so, to just get up and do something else. I'm so restless. It's been a week and a half. I think I have experienced every possible emotion in the past couple days and now I'm finishing off the week with excitement to be taking off on another brief break from the city.

Tomorrow, Monica and I join the rest of the family for "Cabri Days". Cabri is my dad's home town, so we're heading back there for a type of reunion. We're looking foward to seeing Aunt Elaine, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Hank, as well as many other relatives that I'm sure we'll get the chance to see. Maybe we'll even make it out to the farm.

Grammy, Grampa, Uncle Todd, Auntie Angela, John, Levi, Isaac, Monica and I (did I leave anyone out?) are staying in Swift Current for the weekend, so there will be plenty of commuting going on between Cabri and Swift Current. We're all bringing our own cars since, no doubt, we will all be running on different schedules. Ah well, it'll be fun and Monica is looking forward to staying in another hotel, equipped with a pool!

So, I'm still wide awake. I hope Monica is sleeping well. I better go check on her. I'm sure I will eventually fall asleep, even if only from sheer boredom.

We hope everyone has a great weekend! You'll hear from us in a few days!

-Denise & Monica

Monica, in Gord and Donna's backyard. Thank you, Donna, for the use of a blanket. Monica really doesn't like the feel of grass!

Since Lisa tells me there can never be too many pictures of Monica, here are a few more...

"Looove these Dilly Bars!"

"Got anymore of those scrumptious Dilly Bars?"

Falling down on the job

So, I missed my Sunday blog update. Sorry to all of our regular readers who did not find an update this morning. Yup, this means you, Megan, and Grammy! I guess Auntie Butchko would fall under that category, too.

And what have we been up to? Well, let's see...We had a great time visiting over at the Bowen's on Friday night. The BBQ was great! Thank you, Gord. Monica especially enjoyed the Dilly Bars! Thank you, Donna. She also received her first big girl purse from Megan! Thank you, Megan. Unfortunately, Monica and I had to leave the festivities early, but it was past our bedtime. However, Monica did sing through the whole car ride home and stayed up another hour, playing blocks with Mum, before going to bed. I guess she just wanted some Monica/Mum time.

On Saturday, my kerazy Scottish aunts arrived from Calgary. We all love when Auntie Nancy and Auntie Maisie come to town. They, and Auntie Bernadette, came over for supper to Grammy and Grampa's last night. Todd, Angela and the boys were also in attendance, so we all had a great visit. Todd did take some pictures which I don't have...*hint*. It was quite the scene getting those pictures taken. Perhaps they will appear on here at some point??!!??

Today was just another Monday. We got out for our walk this morning after two days of not getting out because of the cruddy weather. It's a great way to start the day. Other than that, we did a bit of shopping this afternoon, but nothing too exciting.

Well, that's all for now. I hear a crash coming from the kitchen which would bring us up to 3 on the broken glasses scale. There is a lot of bad luck going around this house. However, I dropped a glass this afternoon that did not break. Amazing, I know!

Below are a couple videos taken on Friday night, by Megan. Please turn down your speakers so you don't have to listen to me...please.

Have a great week!

-Denise & Monica

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Movin' on up...

It was only a matter of time...

I didn't post about this on Sunday since I was already posting enough pictures and I needed to post this picture when I made the announcement. Monica has now learned how to climb stairs and pull herself to standing. After not being around any stairs all weekend, while we were in Saskatoon, she came home and, in no time at all, she was climbing up the hallway stairs. I think 3 stairs is probably her limit right now, but I have to keep my eyes on her. It won't be long before she's trying to get up to the top level of the house.

Needless to say, we now have safety gates all over the place. Monica, of course, does not see any need for these useless pieces of equipment, and is quite ticked off. If I get a chance to take some video tonight, I will add it on to this post.

We just got back from a trip to the pool with John and Levi. I think Monica found it a tad bit overwhelming with all the people. Now that the school's are out, the pools are quite crowded and loud. Maybe we'll give the Lawson a try again. I don't think it gets quite as much major traffic due to the fact that it is, quite frankly, a boring pool.

Well, not much else is planned for this week. We'll get a chance to visit with Megan on Friday evening (and her mom and dad, of course), so we're really looking forward to that. Until then, we are just enjoying the weather and soaking up the sun.

Hope everyone's week is going well. Talk to you soon!

-Denise & Monica

Update: I have added a 2 minute video below. My intention was to record Monica climbing the stairs, but she was more interested in what I was doing with the camera. Oh well. We'll try again next time.

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"Aww, come on Mum. Enough with the camera already."

Monica having a blast in Saskatoon.

Back from S'toon...

And we had a great time! Thanks Grammy and Grampa for taking us with you! Monica especially enjoyed the new home we lived in while there. She loved roaming in the hallway. In the mornings, just like a dog/cat, she would sit at the hotel room door whining for me to let her out. We had many an argument when her reluctance to eat was solely due to her desire to get back out into the hallway to play. *Note: To anyone else who is travelling and planning to stay in a hotel with a young baby...bring outlet plugs. I'm glad I did!

Monica and I were even able to get out for our regular morning walks. I really enjoyed walking along the river. I'm going to miss that. After our morning walks, we would head down to the pool, which was especially nice since the weather was quite hot. The pool water was frigid, but that didn't stop Monica trying to crawl back in each time I took her out.

On Friday, the hottest day of the year, we went to the Saskatoon Zoo with Grammy(Grampa was working). We really enjoyed it, but the heat was pretty unbearable, so we only lasted a couple hours. We ended our excursion with a visit to the monkey house which was air conditioned...*phew*. Monica laughed and waved at the monkeys.

Other than that, we did some mall browsing, but didn't buy anything. We did make a trip out to the Berry Barn which Monica enjoyed...until I would not let her crawl off of the deck onto the brick patio. I did not forsee that ending favourably.

Well, I'm sure that's all for now. Below, I have posted a 2 minute video of Monica swimming in the hotel pool. The picture quality isn't that great because of the lights reflecting off of the water, but it's not bad for a first attempt at including some video of little Monica. Thanks to Jennelle and Kelly for the idea, which I got from their blog.

Have a great week, everyone!

-Denise & Monica

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To heck with "Sesame Street"!

"You ever seen this, Mum? It's pretty good"!

"I guess I can take a moment out. This story line with Rex and Mimi is starting to get to me, anyway".

9 months, on Saturday, and going on 16 years, already?

So, Monica is becoming quite the young lady. Sh has even graduated from "Sesame Street" (yes, it was short-lived) to "Days Of Our Lives". I'm sure she'll have her phases, but as you can see by the pictures, she's quite enthrolled with "Days". Well, at least I can catch up on the story lines, and they are as ridiculous as ever!

I am happy, and relieved, to report that I made it through my graft surgery yesterday. Aside from being somewhat uncomfortable today, I'm doing fine. Monica and I had been planning on taking her cousins out to the pool around noon today, but we may change that to a date at Dairy Queen. Really, the most painful thing right now is talking, smiling and eating. As long as I don't do much of any of those things, I should do well. I'm sure I'll continue to feel better throughout the day.

Monica, as I type, is watching the "Doodlebops" and singing along. Yup, she's expanding her reperetoire (sp, anyone?) everyday. As long as it gives me a few minutes here and there, I won't complain.

We're looking forward to our trip to Saskatoon tomorrow. It's always nice to get out of Regina. The weather (I know, it's doomed) is supposed to be great, which is an added bonus. I love summer. Above 30C may be a little bit too hot, but I'm not going to complain.

Well, time for Monica to have some breakfast and then we'll head out on our walk. We will return in just enough time for Monica to catch the last half hour of "Days" and I will have a shower. This works out perfectly!

-Denise & Monica

"Dum dee dum dee dum. Done in there. Where should I go next?"

A guiltier looking baby I've yet to see.

"Outta my way, I'm comin' through!"

"Argh, this is harder than it looks!"

She's a crawlin' machine!

Ok, I know I've been reporting on Monica's crawling, but now she is REALLY crawling. Warning to Kelly and Jennelle....babies are FAST and that's an underestimation. Just when you think you've got a second, maybe even two...subtract that by one or two. Don't let Matthew fool you, either. He'll pretend he's interested in something while eyeing something else. Usually that something else is something he shouldn't touch. They're sneaky wee rascals. Why, just this morning, Monica was slowly creeping up on something (breakable, of course), she could hear me coming up behind her and she broke into a sprint. I am happy to report that Mum is quicker than baby girl thought.

So, we had a nice Canada Day long weekend. We spent, pretty well, all day with Andy on Friday. Sorry, I was not thinking and did not take any pictures. We went to noon mass, which was a very impressive Canada Day celebration. Grammy then treated us all to lunch at Houston Pizza. Thanks, Grammy. Later on in the day, after getting caught in a rain storm (Sorry, Andy. Who knew those clouds would catch up with us, huh?), Auntie Angela and the boys came over and we all partook in a BBQ. Thanks, Grampa...too bad you weren't feeling well.

And it was from this point that the weather went kinda downhill. I'm not going to report on what the weather forecast is for this week because I want it to stick this time. Monica and I are looking forward to taking a little trip to Saskatoon with Grammy and Grampa. We leave on Thursday and return on Sunday. We're excited to be staying in a hotel with a pool and doing some shopping. Maybe, if the weather is nice, and Grammy wants to, we will make a trip out to the Saskatoon Zoo. I haven't been there in many, many years, and I don't remember it being all that special, but maybe Monica would enjoy it.

So, that's all from us, I think. I'm looking forward to my gum surgery on Tuesday. Ah yes, I couldn't think of a better way to spend my time. At least it's a short procedure. I'm just not looking forward to those needles. I've witnessed many a patient receive needles in the two spots I'm going to get them and I've not seen one patient, yet, smile through it. Yes, believe it or not, there are better places than others in the mouth to receive a needle.

Ok, so enough out of me. Grammy is trying her darndest to give Monica the hiccups. If only she wouldn't have them for 3 hours afterwards.

Have a nice week, everyone!

-Denise & Monica