Winter Weekend

Oh, isn't this new look great? Thanks AC!

We are a bit weary, but home safe and sound from our Winter Weekend visit with family in Peterborough and Toronto. The roads were clear and dry for the trip down and back, but we were treated to beautiful winter scenes at my brother's country retreat, as they had lots of snow fall before we got there. The view from every window was fabulous to say the least.

This was taken from the bedroom window just before breakfast. You can't really see it on this picture, but we had been treated to such a heavy frost during the night, all the trees were coated with ice and sparkled in the sunshine. It was quite beautiful. When I walked past the master bedroom I saw cute little new addition to the family all curled up in "mom's" PJ's. It looks like she is settling in nicely and being treated like royalty.
This is my dear brother with his "babies". Star - the new girl - is on his lap, and Oliver is standing guard beside the chair. All three furry beings are cute huh?
We had a nice Winter Weekend, and it looks like we brought the snowy weather home with us. Oh joy! I love the snow, so bring it on I say.

Breakfast with Grandpa

After our weekend away, Smudge seemed very happy to see Grandpa this morning.
She sure brings out the sunshine on a cold frosty morning.

Not quite sure!

I thought Smudge would have fun making footprints in the light dusting of snow on the side deck. Nope! she took a few tentative steps out the door and stood stock still, just looking at the ground. She didn't seem to like the squeaking sound the snow made under foot.

I had to get a shovel and clear a path to the front door of her little house before she would take another step. Once the snow was cleared away, she puttered around on the deck and stayed outside for almost a half hour playing by herself. Oh joy. The fresh air is so good for her, and it is good for her to play on her own too. I didn't get a thing done inside the house though because I was afraid to loose sight of her for any length of time. As long as she was chattering, and banging around I was fine, but when things went silent I had to go to the door to check things out. Needless to say I spent the half hour like a jack-in-the-box, up down, up down, up down, and back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, to the door. It was quite the work-out for both of us.

We are heading off early tomorrow morning for a visit to Toronto, so things will be pretty silent on the blog for the next few days. Will talk to you all when we get back next week. Have a good weekend.

Kitchen Help

It is hard to find good kitchen help these days, but it looks like Grandpa has found the perfect little helper who really gets into her work.
Her particular method of sorting the pots and pans makes for extra washing up though.
Wow, who knew that a hand could look so fascinating when viewed through a splatter screen.

This pot makes your voice sound ever so neat, when you place it over your head just so.
What wonderful new discoveries await one when you have the perfect helper in the ktichen.

Rebels

AC and I went for a walk on Sunday, and we just had to stop and take a picture of these silly geese.
Don't they know that they should have flown south by now? Mother Nature has been trying to talk some sense into them, but they just won't listen. Even the snow storm we had a while ago didn't get her message across.

Winter is coming guys, fly away, fly away, fly away home.

Smile

I know this is not the greatest picture, but it makes me smile so thought I would share it with you too.
The Smudgster hasn't quite mastered the art of smiling naturally for the camera. What a kid!

Just Ducky

Mommy and Grandma went to a craft show on the weekend, and Mommy bought Smudge this cute little step-stool to help her reach the sink in the bathroom.
Smudge thinks it is just Ducky thank you very much!

More PD photos

Just a few more play date photos for you to enjoy.



That girl really like to talk on the phone. Oh my, makes me wonder what awaits us when she enters the teen years?

Jumping Beans/Beings

As you can see, I was busy at a Play Date with Smudge and her best friend Evan yesterday.


Lots of fun was had by all, including Mommies and Grandmas.

Smudge Lesson for the Week - Call a good friend and make a date to have some fun. You will be glad you did.

Snow Walk

These pictures are from last week, but I thought they were still worth sharing with you. Smudge was quite taken with the fluffy white stuff and just had to get her hands into it. Didn't take her long to discover that it was cold and wet and she needed her mittens though.

She seems deep in thought in this picture doesn't she? I wonder what thoughts are going through her little head.
What fun to experience snow for the first time. So glad I am along for the ride and get to share all these firsts with her. It is such a privilege.

Pumpkin Pie?

Halloween is over now and it is time to figure out what to do with the pumpkin. Maybe make a pie?
Or maybe instead of cooking, I will just hang around the kitchen and look cute.

Monday Morning Chores

There is always so much work to do on a Monday morning. One thing Smudge has to learn is that the right foot ware helps you get the job done much faster and in greater comfort.

Grandma's boots were not the answer for speed or comfort today. Fun to play in though. Clomp, clomp, clomp, clomp, clomp. Around and around the kitchen she went having tons of fun. Cute too!

Piglet-Smudge

Look who came knocking at our door last night. A cute little Piglet!
Grandma was sitting out on the porch ready to greet the little Trick-or-Treaters so she was all ready for a visit from Mommy and Smudge-Piglet
After a visit to a couple of the neighbour's houses Smudge decided that it was time to sit down in the driveway and examine her loot.
As you can see from all of these pictures, her favorite "treat" was a pencil one of the neighbours handed out.
While Grandma resumed her duties of handing out treats, Smudge took advantage of the two seconds of free time, and promptly dipped her hand in Grandma's coffee cup making a royal Piglet mess. You can't take your eyes off of her for a minute. She is quick as a Piglet-bunny and is on top of things and into things before you know it. Time to distract her with the goody bowl. She didn't want any of the treats, just liked getting her hands in the bowl.
We started handing out goodies a little before 6pm and before 8pm, 210 treat were gone so we closed up shop.
Busy but fun night.

Snow Baby

First romp in the snow, and I don't think Smudge had a lot of fun. She could hardly walk in her boots, and each time she lost her footing she couldn't get back up. Grandpa rescued her and took her off the deck and down to the lawn to play in her little house.
That wasn't much better. There wasn't as much snow on the lawn, but the wind was fierce in this less protected area and Smudge only lasted about two minutes before she burst into tears and wanted to go in the car for a ride!
Seeing as the roads were rather icy, that wasn't about to happen, so a tearful baby was promptly brought back into the house. Temperatures are supposed to rise tomorrow, and the winds might abate, so we will try for another playtime in the snow then. I will let you know how it goes.

Royal Treatment

On our early morning trips to Smudge's house, this trio brought smiles to our faces on many of them. After a week or so of seeing them every morning, I got my camera out to take a picture as we drove by, but they weren't walking that day, or the next, or the next. I kept trying to get a picture, but we were either later, or there were early. I eventually gave up.
Imagine my delighted surprise the other day when I was out walking with Smudge, to see the trio coming towards me. I stopped and asked if I could take a picture, and they were more than happy to oblige. The little guy is getting the royal treatment isn't he? What a hoot!

Hope they bring a smile to your day too.

All Gone

This is what greeted us at the park on our last walk there. Yes, the colour is all gone.
A few leaves are hanging on, but after the snow we had last night, I am sure they are all gone too.
Our shadows are waving bye-bye to Autumn. Winter has arrived.
Hope to post some snow pictures tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Grandmaman's Visit

Mommy went on a little holiday this past weekend, so Grandmaman came to help Daddy babysit. Smudge thought this was great fun, as lots of time was spent snuggling and playing with Grandmaman.
I grabbed the camera to get a picture, and Smudge soon had us all in hysterics with her antics. When she saw me with the camera she scrunched up her face in a phony smile and hammed it up for the camera. What a hoot. She has never done this before and we all thought it was quite funny.
When we all started to laugh at what she was doing, she looked at us as if to say "What? Am I not supposed to smile for the camera????
Here she is pulling the same face for a picture with Daddy. Goodness she was funny.
Oh Smudgester. You do make us laugh and brighten our days. What a cutie you are.

It's the Little Things

A big event at our house on Thursday's is a visit from the garbage truck. As soon as Smudge hears it coming down the street she races to the front window to make sure it is the garbage truck and not a school bus, then she wants to go outside to get in on the action. On these cold mornings we have to put a hat and coat on before she goes out on the side deck to get a closer look.
Then she come back inside and rushes to the front door to see it stop in front of her house. The garbage men know her now, and always wave. Lately then have even made sure they raise the drum and put the truck through its paces for her.

Finally, I got a picture of Smudge with the little pumpkin we bought for her at the store the other day. She tried to lift all the big pumpkins and couldn't budge any of them, so she was quite excited when she found one she could manage. Somehow it ended up coming home with her.

Smudge Lesson for the Week - It's the little things in life that bring the greatest joy. Look for them all every day. Don't let any of them go by unnoticed.

Snack in the park on a windy day

It was very cold and windy today so we didn't make it all the way to the park on our walk this morning. It is cooler and windier down by the water even on a mild day, so we stayed away on this frosty morning. We didn't stop at all to take pics this morning, hence these older ones from last week. I had to post something for you Smudge fans, and these were ready and waiting!
Enjoy!

Helping with the housework

After she has drained the last drop of juice from her juice glass...
and the colouring is finished...
...it is time to help with the housework. She has her own little pint-size broom and dustpan, but that won't do. She has to have Grandma's broom.
So guess who gets to use the small broom! Yep, you guessed it - me!

Pumpkin Shopping

We took The Smudgester shopping the other day, and she was a busy busy bee in all the stores. She had to say hello to everyone she passed, and jabbered up a storm the whole time we wheeled her through the stores. She sure brought a lot of smiles to a lot of faces that day. What a cutie.

When we let her down to check out this pumpkin display, she had to try to lift every one within reach. Not one of them would budge, but she kept trying. Finally we came to another display of little pie pumpkins and she found one just right for her little hands, and carried it all around the store.
It was fun to go pumpkin shopping with this Little Pumpkin.

Another Sunny Day at the Park

I know this colour won't be around for much longer, so I thought I would post a few more pictures I took at the park last week. I just can't help myself, this time of year is so beautiful.

As you can see, it was a cloudy day, but the sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds and made for the most marvelous colour and light show.






Oh autumn. My favorite time of year.