Oh the toys they have for kids these days...

How I would have loved something like this when I was a kid. My very own castle in my bedroom, with a drawbridge at the front door...
windows on all sides...
and a transparent wall or two.

The doctor is in

Smudge has passed her medical exams and JJ is being her good first patient. In the picture below he has just had his reflexes checked...
and now it is time to take his blood pressure.
What a pair. They sure brighten up a dull January day.

JJ's way of handling the January Blaahs.

Get out the shades...
make a few adjustments...
then go for a spin! Zoom Zoom!
Do I look cool Amma?

The coolest!

You just never know...

Mommy wasn't feeling well last week and took a couple of sick-days off work. When JJ went down for his nap on those days, we brought Smudge over to our house to play so Mommy could have some rest time.

We brought the Castle and the Sesame Street House up from the basement for Smudge to play with, but as you can see in the pic below, they sit untouched in the background. What was her favorite toy on this day? The candle from the centrepiece on the coffee table. She sat right on the table and gently took the candle out of the glass holder, held it in her lap and chattered away about this and that, then put the candle back in.
She then went over to the tea-cart and got another candle, came back to the coffee table and moved the inner candles back and forth between the two holders all the while chattering, chattering, chattering.
I don't know exactly what she was doing, but she seemed to be having a grand old time. You just never know where her imagination is going to take her on any given day, but she sure keeps me entertained and makes me smile when she takes me along for the ride.

Just follow me...

Big Sister is into playing games these days, and on this day Little Brother joins in the fun. They leave Sister's room hand in hand and...
...walk to Brother's room. I can hear her saying to him as they enter his room,
"Now you wait here hunny and I'll be back to get you in a little while. Have fun and be good."
She soon goes back for him and they head out to the kitchen where they go for a ride on their helping stools.
Then the helping stools as stacked up and they both perch on top.
Big Sister counts to three and they are both supposed to jump off. Sister takes a flying leap...
...but Brother takes his time. It's a big jump for him.
They repeat this little game over and over and over again, and I run for my camera. You gotta love their imagination.

What?

It has been very cold and wintry in our area for the past few days, but people and dogs continue to brave the cold winter winds to go for a walk. As AC and I walked smartly along the street the other day, I took a second look as this lady walked towards us. What kind of a purse was she carrying? On a closer look we saw this...She had a little pooch in her pouch! We stopped to say hello to dog and owner, and I asked if I could take a picture. Both were happy to oblige.

Now that's a smart way for a little guy to go for a winter walk when it's -24 outside. BRRRRRRR! He was snug and warm though and looked ever so cute.

Posing

One morning I could hear Smudge and JJ having a grand old conversation with all the animals in JJ's crib. I tried to sneak in and take a picture without them seeing me, but as you can see I had no luck with that. By the time I focused the camera they were both standing up and playing to the camera.
Big Hams, both of them.
Speaking of hams, I wonder who thinks she looks pretty fabulous in her new dress?

Turtles

I was working away in the kitchen the other day when I heard Smudge complaining that she couldn't get her shell on over her head.
I went over to see what the problem was, and she explained to me that she was a turtle and she needed me to help her get her shell on straight.
There, I think we solved the problem and she is now a very happy turtle safely tucked completely inside her shell. JJ on the other hand wants to see what's going on.

And the adventure continues...

More expensive toys.

The other day I posted pics of the kids having a great time sailing down an imaginary river in basket boats. Such expensive and unique toys are hard to come by I must say.

On the day pictured below the kids were once again experimenting with unique toys. Can you see what they are? Yes, you guessed it, - empty paper towel rolls. Actually we only had one, so I cut it in half, and they made great trumpets, flutes, spy glasses...
and flying machines. They flew through the air with the greatest of ease, bounced harmlessly off noses and chins and provided endless delight to one and all.
Total fun!

At the window

I just loved this picture when I walked into Smudge's bedroom last week and saw her and JJ looking out the window. There wasn't much room on the top step of the stool, so Smudge was hanging on tight to her little brother.
I took two more pics, but the first one is the best. Enjoy!

Winter Walk

It snowed all day Saturday so AC and I stayed in for most of the day, but just before dinner we ventured out for a short walk in spite of the weather. Skies were grey, roads slippery, and the winds brisk but it was a nice walk in spite of Old Man Winter's best attempts to keep us indoors.

Sunday dawned sunny and cold and absolutely beautiful. We bundled up, grabbed our cameras and ventured out into the brilliant winter day. The north wind was bitter and went right through us as we walked along the streets leading up to the park, but once we got there and into the shelter of the trees, we were almost toasty! Almost! Why don't you grab your coat, pull on your mittens and join us for the walk.

After a ten minute hike through the sub-division we left the road, and wandered down a narrow path to the water's edge. It is such a fast flowing river, we have open water on it all year long. We stopped to take a few pictures...
...then headed into the woods. The trees were all decked out in their winter finery, and treated us to quite a show.
Pretty huh? Don't know if you can see it in these pics or not, but the light had a pink glow to it and the snow ranged in colour from blue to mauve. It was a beautiful walk. We stopped often to take pictures...and more pictures...
And then took pics of each other...
taking pictures.
There was a great photo-op everywhere we looked.


We eventually left the woods and walked across open fields for a while, but the wind got at us in these open areas...
so we soon headed back into the woods
but not before we greeted this very friendly dog. He was having a blast on his snowy walk.
At the end of our walk, we passed this park at the edge of our sub-division and noticed this lone Canada Goose and three ducks clustering around a small pool of open water. Crazy goose should have flown south long ago. I hope he has some thermal underwear to help him get through these cold, cold nights. Going down to -27 tonight. BRRRRRRRRR

Off to work I go

Jboy had his Black and Decker Tool kit in hand and wandered around and around the house looking for things to fix the other morning.
He grabbed the mitten dryer and off to work he went. Happy as a clam.

A Gathering of Friends

Gathering with friends is such a nice way to warm up a cold January day.
Hope you have a warm and wonderful day too.

Leftover Christmas pics

It is a dull dreary day in January and it's time for me to sit down and organize some files. First on the list is to clear out the December pics and close that file. OK, that job is done and here are a few leftover Christmas pics I thought were worth holding onto.

Amma got a new laptop for Christmas, but it didn't take Smudge long to get her little hands on it and give it a whirl. Jboy wants to be right in there too. I only had to show Smudge once how to open a new file, get into the text box and start typing. Now when I sit down beside her all I have to do is say hit the compose box, arrow down, type an A, hit enter, arrow down, etc. and she knows where each key is and when she all done typing her gobblygook, she uses the mouse to scroll down and hit send! Amazing how fast and easily kids pick up how to use the computer.
The kids loved their plasma-riders, but Jboy had to turn his upside down to see how the wheels worked.
Smudge loves to help in the kitchen, so she got an new apron to wear when she is up to her elbows preparing her favorite recipe, or doing the dishes.
Amma got a new shower cap from Santa...
but it looks a lot cuter on Smudge.
Oh the joy on this little face.
Christmas Eve song-time with Amma.
Buppa enjoying a smackeral of wine on Christmas Eve.
Hmmmm? Who's this?
Someone in disguise snuggling up to Amma
Tag teamed.
Telling Amma a story.
A tired little munchkin needs to take a break.