Deep conversations about realism

This morning while getting ready for school Zoe gave Jasmine a medal:

Zoe: "Jasmine this is for you, it's special just for you because you are such a good little sister"...

while putting on their boots the conversation continues:

Z: "Jasmine that is a REAL medal you know, like REALLY REAL. Not like the Grinch, the grinch isn't real. But you know what else is REAL?"
J "What?"
Z: "Well, you won't believe this, but a long long time ago when we were not even born, not even born!! Dinosaurs were REAL!! It's true, dinosaurs like T-REX. And you know what? Well you would have to hide if you saw them because T-rexes are meat eaters, and Jasmine WE have meat inside us... so they would eat us!! it's a good thing we weren't even born yet"
J: When I was born I was a teeeny teeny baby. I was at the hoppssital and Auntie Fandra was holding me"
Z; Ya. That's a good medal eh? Do you like it?
J: ya. Let's go Zoe.

these conversations entertain me to no end!!

Ply him with wine Nana

** On behalf of Grampie **

Erin called to say she thought she better keep Jasmine home as she was definitely not feeling good. But when Erin told her, Jasmine went into one of her little acts and proclaimed she wanted to come to Nana’s. Erin called us back and Mom went to get her at Zoe’s school. She was as good as pie and we had a great day here.

Mom went to get Zoe at 11:30 and when Zoe walked in she exclaimed "Nana your house is so beautiful". When we were driving them home we went down to the end of Quarry Point looking for lights. There was only one house besides ours with lights. Zoe exclaimed "You have an awful lot of scrooges living on this road!". But she had more to say. Zoe told us "If I ask Vladimir to your house and give him a glass of wine wouldn't he be less grumpy? If he see’s me? the best looking little girl in the world?" OH man I was having a great internal laugh. Jasmine just takes it all in and remembers exactly what Zoe say’s for sure. She is so busy at home giving Tiger pats.

Morning Conversations

Every morning the girls come into bed with us for some morning snuggles (well these days Zoe comes in at about 2AM and snuggles up and goes back to sleep, but that's a whole other issue!) In the actual morning Jasmine comes in and usually announces that "it is Mawninnng Tiiime". This Saturday Morning's snuggle time conversations just had to be written down.

So just before Jasmine comes in, Zoe awakes, sits up and stretches... "Mommy, Daddy... I have to tell you something" OK we say, "I don't believe. I don't believe in Santa" and she ever so dramatically hangs her head. " I won't believe until I SEE him" (She recently watched a movie 'Elf On The Shelf' where a little boy doesn't believe in Santa... and clearly she thought this was an interesting idea to test out)... I asked her what she didn't believe about him? "I just don't believe if he'll leave presents. AND.." without skipping a beat she continues.. "Mommy, Daddy I have something else to you. I don't believe in E.T. anymore, it's true, I just don't believe in E.T." !!!

After Zoe's big revelations Jasmine came in and announced the morning, she snuggled up and we were talking about going to Hudson's "Walk through Bethlehem", Jasmine says "I think we should talk to God" Grahame says OK, yes let's talk to God... Jasmine says with the proper tone "OH FOR GOD's SAKE... see that's how you talk to God." !! Zoe then throws out a few of her little sayings... "Oh for sheets' sake, we've all lost our marvels" Grahame taught them how to say a little prayer and minutes later we're back to Christmas and the Christmas Tree, Zoe says "We should put the Christmas tree by the fireplace, but not too close to the fireplace it could catch on fire. Actually we shouldn't have a fire because Santa could burn his feet and then how would he walk all the way back to the North Pole?".... So much for her not believing!!! Can't wait for Christmas this year, the magic of Christmas is already filling our house and its awesome, as are these morning conversations we get to have!!

Another laugh from the sweet ones.

Jasmine and Nana arrived home at 9:10 on Tuesday morning November 29-2011 and Jasmine first has to feed the cats, then a bit for Penny, then peanuts for the squills, then the birds, then it was good morning Grampie.  Then a big hug for me after which she put a puzzle together, then she played oppisits with Nana. and talked and talked and talked.  Soooooo much fun.
At 11:30 we went to get Zoe from school and then we were off to Pointe Claire on the way Nana sputtered about something and Zoe saysYou will have no Christmas Nana because God is watching. Jasmine chimes in with he can see everyone in the world you know Nana and you will have no Christmas. 
Then while Nana went in to get a couple of things at Loblaws.  I went to move and went ouch as my knee had hurt so Zoe says Grampa you should fill that knee with love and it will be all better.  I reply with, where do I get this love and she says from me Grampie.  Apparently Zoe told Nana that she is in love with Bradley.  Can you beleive her coming out with that?

Piggies

Last week I went out for a little ladies night and left Grahame with the girls and a ham in the oven for their supper. They were thrilled to have a "Daddy Daughter night" as they like to call it.

When I got home around 11ish Zoe walked out of her room still partially asleep, glanced at me and murmured that she had to pee. I brought her in the bathroom and as she slouched over the potty, she glanced at me with a sleepy smile and said "Mommy guess what we had on Daddy Daughter night?" What? "PIGGY!! and it was GOOOOOOD!" without another word she returned to bed and to sleep.

The following day we were at a birthday party for one of their preschool friends and they had a clown (Zoe refusing to go into the party for the first 10 minutes due to said clown is a whole other story!!) so when the clown asked what everyone wanted as balloon animals, Ella had a flower, Cassidee had a cat, Cleona got a doggy. Jasmine what do you want?" I want a PIGGY" she says, and turns to me and says "Mommy we ate piggy, I like piggies"

(Clearly my vegetarian routes have not been sewn into my children!!)

Auntie Sandra's gonna live here one day....

I was sitting with Zoe one day telling her how much I missed her. She asked why I lived in Ottawa.  I explained it's where I worked, but that someday I would probably move back to Hudson.

"Won't that be great?" I said and hugged her "we could play all the time!".

Later that afternoon, Zoe was sitting with Nana. She looked at me, then at Nana and said "Nana -Auntie Sandra is moving in here with you and Grampie". Mom looked horrified for an instant, then looked over at me with a smile. "What's that now?" she asked.  I laughed - then told Mom about my conversation with Zoe.  "Well Zoe" Mom replied "I think someday I'll move in with Auntie Sandra. But only one of us will survive".

'true 'dat.  :)

It's TOO spicy!

Jasmine always makes me laugh when she throws out her funny one liners.  The "it's too spicy" is a classic!

I'm not 100% sure because thee might be others involved, but I'm gonna take credit for this one. Or blame as Erin would put it. ;)  I remember Mom going to give something to Jasmine, and I took it away saying "Mom - she won't like that - it's too spicy". This was probably a year ago and I have no idea what the food item was - maybe salsa? Anyways, ever since then, if ever there is a food or drink that Jasmine does not like, she tells you it's because "it's too spicy". Nana handed her a glass of perrier water, and she took a sip, pushed it away and said "No Nana - id too thpythee".  Mom dug in a finger, swirled it around til the bubbles were gone and handed it back. All better.  And yes - ewwww. But it worked for Jazzie.

What a kid!

"the banana bread monter ate it"

Erin's drive to school with the girls

Posting this on behalf of Erin - this was her email to us this morning:

This one killed me this morning too....

On our way to school this was our conversation:

Me: "OK we're only a little late for school, here we go"
Zoe: "Mommy did you know that we are ALL in a story book?"
Me: "a story book? what?"
Zoe: "yes a real live story book. And today's book is about Zoe and Jasmine going to school. See we're all in it. just like that"
Me: Really?
Zoe: "Yes, and you know who writes the book Mommy?"
Me: Who?
Zoe: GOD
ME: OK
Zoe: Yes, GOD writes the story and we're in it forever, even when we die we're in it. like forever....and even my great grandfather he writes in it too, from heaven, or from in my heart. yes from in my heart.
ME: Did Nana tell you this Zoe?
Zoe: No, nobody told me mommy, it just is.
ME: Are you sure Nana didn't tell you this, how did you think of this?
Zoe: I just know it mommy, my heart tells me.
Jasmine: My heart.
Zoe: we're at school and it's raining we're going to have to run. Is grandma picking us up?
Jasmine:Grandma yay, let's go.

And that was my morning drive!!!

Vladmir and ET haunt Quarry Point

We all had dinner together this past weekend. Sharon was up from the big smoke, and Erin, G and the girls came by to have dinner at Nana & Grampie's house. As always, they were quite entertaining. Zoe had immediately decided that Nana's house was too "dark and spooky" to spend the night in. Jasmine, thus far, seems unfazed. I'm sure it has to do with the whole ET fiasco. Who knew one pretend alien could cause such problems. During dinner, Zoe began telling us about her walks with Nana and Jasmine down the path behind our house. She warned you have to be careful not to go on Vladamir's property - because he does not like that. She was very adament. At one point, the phone rang and Mom got up to answer it. She looked at who was calling and looked back at us wondering whether or not to answer it. I guess the uncertainty on her face spoke volumes to Zoe. She leaned forward and said "Oh no - is it Vladamir??". We all cracked up. Later on, she also threw out "Oh for God's sake" which almost made me spit up my drink.
After dinner, Zoe gathered up her things and headed home with her parents. Jasmine stayed behind and enjoyed being the full center of attention, as I'm sure Zoe also had with her parents! Jasmine was full of beans and had fun putting together some puzzles and sharing stories with Sharon and I. She gathered up some books and started heading up to bed with Sharon. As she went, I reminded her that we could put on a surprise breakfast for everyone! Sharon didn't know what that was, so we explained and then Sharon offered to help too. "No" was Jasmine's immediate response. She turned to me and said "only Fandra helps". That's how we roll. An hour later, I had settled the dogs and was heading up to bed. I peeked in on Sharon and Jasmine, but evidentally Jasmine had moved over to Nana's bed. I peeked in there and Jasmine was lying against a pillow looking at a book. As I walked in, she looked up, put down her book and said "ummmmmm - Fandra - me and  Shawon and Nana are doing the 'prize begfast now". As she said this, she scrunched up her face and looked down. "What?" I said shocked. "So what - I'm kicked out of the suprise breakfast club - just like that? What happened to you and me dude?". She just scrunched her face and said "ummmm  no - you can't". It was hilarious! Nana came in to put some more of her aloe cream on her lips. She said to Jasmine "here - I'm going to put some on your little face too" since Jazzie had a scratch. Jasmine fought back saying "No - No Nana. It's not foe my wittew face, it's foe my wips" as she spread some over her lips. She is such a character!! "You're in my bed" I told her "where amI supposed to sleep". She moved over and patted me to sleep next to her. "What about Nana?". So we decided that Nana and Sharon would sleep together in the other room, and me and Jazzie would sleep in this bed. I went to the bathroom and came back, and somehow Nana was next to Jasmine. So I went on the other side. Surpisingly still awake, Jazzie was telling stories and reading books. So I packed up my book and went in with Sharon. After 15 minutes, Jazzie came in and crawled next to me, then decided to jump into her little bed. I tucked her in and went back to the other room. Musical rooms as always!
The next morning, Zoe called to say she would like to come by for breakfast! Erin dropped her off and we ate some brekkie, then got dressed and headed outside to gather some moss for baby Jesus' crib. On our way out, Zoe had to point out the picture of her great great grandfather. "Do you know where he lives, Auntie Sandra? He is here. In my heart." She says this while holding her hand over her heart and looking so sad. She blows me away.
After gathering moss and decorating the creche, we did some adventure walking and then headed to HYC to put the cover on the boat. The girls played in the park and then played 'shadow catch' with Auntie Sharon.

Nana's breath

Grampie asked me to post this one!

Jasmine was on the potty last week when Nana came in to wipe her. Nana then picked her up and began walking out to the hallway.

"Nana - what is that smell??" Jasmine asked.
"I don't know. You didn't poo did you" Nana replied.
"No" Jasmine said.

A pause.

"Nana - it's your BREATH" Jasmine exlaimed.

Now - Nana claims she had just been cleaning something and still had the cleaner smell on her hands.  But, I'm tending to side with Jasmine and think Nana had one too many garlic crostini's at lunch.

:)

'twas the night before Halloween....

Another sleepover with the angels - lucky me!  Erin & G were heading to an "Adult Party", as Jasmine informed me, so I picked up the girls Friday night and we headed to Nana & Grampie's.  Nana was at her own function, so I got the girls mostly to myself!  It started off a little rocky for Zoe. As we were leaving, she suddenly began crying and holding on to Erin. She just didn't want to leave her Mom. We finally convinced her to come with Jasmine and I, but Erin promised to call and if Zoe was still upset, she could come home.  The ride to Quarry Point was teary for Zoe - despite my distraction efforts of spotting halloween decorations. We went in the house and I gave the girls some juice and a cookie.  I then sat with Zoe and asked her to tell me about school and ballet and her friends.  After about 5 minutes, she suddenly touched her cheeks and said "Auntie Sandra - I stopped crying!!" and threw her arms around my neck yelling "I missed you so much".  I told her I missed her too and how happy I was she stopped crying!  Erin called and was happy to hear Zoe had gotten over her spell. The girls and I played the Dora bingo game...twice...and then we gathered some books and headed up to bed.  With Jasmine on one side of me and Zoe on the other, I went through about 4 books.  Somewhere on book 2, Jasmine fell asleep.  About halfway through book 4, Zoe was out.  I left the two of them snuggled together and Dad and I watched the last game of the World Series - which I had no idea was happening.  Who knew? Mom arrived home around 10 and we moved Jasmine into her bed and left Zoe in the same room.  Knowing Zoe would wake up, I decided to crawl in next to her so she wouldn't be scared.
Sometime in the middle of the night, I heard "Fandra".  A pause. "Fandra??".  I sat up and saw Jasmine standing in her pack'n'play.  "My tummy 'uz itchy, so I scwatched it". She then turned around, and snuggled back into her bed.  I lay in bed thinking 'I'm not sure I needd that information at 2am, but ok' and got up myself just to make sure she had covers on her. 
Sometime later, she called me again and this time decided she wanted to crawl in with Zoe and I.  So she did. But she as a squirmy woormy.  She settled down evetually, only to crawl out of bed and back into her own space. 
Sometime later, she again crawled into bed with us, this time talking non-stop.  I could not tell you what she was saying, different things, mostly animal related.  Zoe sat up, looked at me and said "Auntie Sandra - I think I'm going to sleep with Nana".  I told her that was a great idea -and she got up and headed to a quieter room.  I envied her.  Jasmine continued to regale me with stories until she finally settled down - and headed back to her own little bed.
This time she stayed asleep through the night and woke up in the morning, fully awake as always, and determined to drag me down to get Tiger and Sootie. As we fed the cats, she told me all about their routines. How Sootie sleeps up high because Tiger can't jump that high, how Tiger like his food, how he sometimes bops her...but she bops him right back.  It was quite comical!
We all had breakfast and then the girls and I headed down Green Lane with the dogs.  We stayed there most of the morning drawing on the pavement and playing hopscotch.  Before you knew it, Erin had arrived to take them to meet the new addition to the Metcalfe family - Charlie the dog! It all went by far too quickly! :)

E.T., Jason and Freddie....oh my!

It was an odd weekend with the girls. Fun as always - how can it not be with those two - but odd nonetheless. I picked the girls up late Saturday afternoon. We had a nice dinner, followed by some games and puzzles in the evening. Zoe is very fond of our sheep throwing game. I basically chuck a large sheep at her while she runs towards me. Sure - it sounds bizarre. But we both get a kick out of it. OK - mostly me. Anywho - we were playing the sheep throwing game when the sheep kareened off Zoe's head and into one of Mom's MANY oil lamps. I watched in slow motion as it fell off the table, bounced on the carpet, dislodged the top glass part which then broke apart as it hit the floor. Oops. Zoe immediately yelled out "AUNTIE SANDRA DID IT". I started laughing. Mom wasn't impressed. Whatever - it was fun. That pretty much ended the sheep game. So - we helped Jasmine finish her puzzle - and it was around there that Zoe got hold of the video case for E.T. I remember telling her last year - maybe even the year before - that I thought the movie would be too scary for her. Perhaps remembering that, she made it clear she had no interest in actually seeing the movie....but could I possibly go through the entire storyline for her? She was particularly interested in the pictures on the back of the case - is that ET? Who is the boy? Where are they going? Not thinking anything of it, I went through the storyline as best as I can remember it. It's been what....20 years since my last viewing of ET. I was fuzzy to say the least - but I made stuff up as I went along. Zoe had to see pictures of ET. So I googled some pictures and showed her - and she commented how "cute" he was. Seemed fine. Then she said "what if ET comes back". This should have been my first clue. I didn't catch on. "Ummm - well - I don't know. I guess he would be with Elliott". She didn't like this. Suddenly she was having visions of ET landing in her bedroom at midnight. I took her upstairs to read her some stories and get her mind off of ET. Right. The questions started and I took a new tact. "You know Zoe" I said "ET is just a movie. It's not real. ET isn't real. Elliott isn't real....". "Elliot isn't real???" she exclaimed surprised. "Well....I mean - yes - Elliott is real - but he's an actor". "What's an actor" she asked. Yeah - this was going well. It was 9:00pm with no end in sight. Luckily she was tired - and after a few more questions answered - and hopefully the image of a midget in a plastic costume resonating in her brain - she fell asleep. With a death grip on my arm. I tried to leave twice - unsucessfully. When she started to snore, I thought I was clear. I sat up and moved my arm - which despite her being fast asleep - was STILL in a death grip on my arm. At around 10:00, Mom and I headed up to bed, and Mom woke Zoe up as she came into the room. I was in the bathroom when Mom walked in, followed closely by Zoe. Clearly Zoe had no intention of being alone when ET came back down to earth. She wasn't crying or upset - she padded back to bed and fell back asleep with Mom. Jazzie was clearly not as affected by ET. She did not wake up at all - so no midnight stories to share from her.
The ET theme continued the next morning. We all got up and headed to Tutti Frutti in Vaudreuil for breakfast. Zoe continued asking questions about ET. Where did he live? How did he get lost? Why was Elliott helping him? Who were the bad people? How did he get home? How did his parents know where to meet him? When she ran out of questions, she would ask the more generic "tell me the story of ET again". When Mom was talking to me about something else on the drive up, Zoe tried to interject with another question. When Mom told her to wait a moment while she finished her story, Zoe waited patiently for at least 3 seconds and tried again to get her attention. When that didn't work, she blurted out "hey - I'm not getting any attention back here". That had us all laughing. At the restaurant, we had a wonderful brekkie of pancakes and loads of fresh fruit. We then walked around the mall complex while Grampie paid. At the end of the mall was a Halloween Store. Now - in retrospect - perhaps after traumatizing Zoe with ET, we should have reconsidered going inside. But in my mind - I was thinking there would be pumpkins, spiders, cats, some silly masks. I was NOT expecting a life-size Jason and life-size Freddie Kruger to be flanking us as we walked through the door. To boot - each was speaking (Jason with his KKKK-KKKKIIIILLLL and Freddie mumbling something about dreams) and each was moving - Jason swinging his "sword" down as you went by. Oh great. Fabulous. Could be my last babysitting gig. Zoe wasn't too disturbed - she simply walked quickly by and stayed at the back of the store with Nana. Jazzie was scared - but intrigued. She kept looking back - while hiding behind racks so Jason couldn't see her. She didn't want to go up to him - but I did let her watch me walk up to him and poke him to show he wasn't real. She seemed ok after that. We saw lots of great costumes and masks - and they wanted me to try a few disgusting smelly ones on for a laugh. We left the store and headed back home. We weren't in the car 5 minutes before Zoe said "tell me the story of ET again".
I suspect the afternoon continued in a similar fashion after I dropped them off to their parents. As I was putting on their jackets and shoes to head home, I quickly put on Jasmine's shoes and left the straps open - figuring I was carrying her to the car and she had a short walk into the house from there. But as I put on her jacket, she looked down and said "Fandrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaah....you idn't frap me" whereupon she bent down, clearly annoyed, and tried to do it herself. I started to laugh and couldn't stop.

Well - Happy early Halloween all! :)

Tales from the birthday sleepover

After a fabulous 3rd birthday party for little Miss Jasmine Jolyn, she and her sister and parents came to Nana and Grampie's for dinner.  They were having such a great time with their Aunties - that a sleepover seemed like a GREAT idea!  After such a busy day, they both went to sleep easily.  Now I realize this blog is solely about the girls, but I would be remiss in not mentioning a few very funny moments from that night.  Grahame and his friend Dion were enjoying some wine while reminicing and talking "guy stuff" with Dad in the kitchen.  They eventually decided to head "home" around 9:30.  On their way out, they came in to share some of their wisdom with us in the family room.  Dion had us all in stitches - quite a funny guy.  At one point, Grahame decided Dion was going to spill his glass of red wine and struggled to get it out of his hand. Once he did, he began mock kicking him and...quelle surprise...spilled some wine.  As he ran to get a cloth, Dion stood quietly and then announced: "I`m sorry, but I pooed in your refridgerator".  As we were doubled over laughing, Grahame comes tearing in holding a pair of Mom's underwear saying "it's ok, it's ok - I've got it under control".  Mom jumped up and grabbed back her undies - finding a rag instead.  Erin managed to corral the guys towards the door. 
Sharon and I slept in the room with Jazzie while Mom had Zoe in her bed.  Jasmine evidently had a lot on her mind that night.  No less than 5 times, she woke up, stood up and began chatting with me in the middle of the night.  The first time she was talking - and since I was half asleep - I completely missed what she was saying - but somehow knew she had asked me a question.  I wasn't sure how to respond - so I said "OK".  There was silence, then Jasmine said "No Fandra - do you 'member when Marney was a wittle puppy?".  "Yeah" I said - not remembering Marley every being a puppy.  "Yeah" Jazzie said "she was so cute".  She then snuggled back down in her bed and fell back asleep.  I stood up and checked to make sure she was covered in her blankies and then went back to sleep myself.  She woke up again and said "I tink I ate too much shoogah today".  Sharon immediately let out a low giggle.  I tried to keep it together. "Mmmm -yeah - you probably did".  Jazzie replied "yeahhhhhh.  Dat why my tummy wumbles".  She then crawled down and went back to sleep.  She woke up a few more times - I think at one point saying "in da mowning we tan get up and pway.  but not mowning yet." She is too cute that child!  When morning DID come around, the first thing she had to do, after giving Grampie a hug, was find Tiger and Sootie and feed them - which we did.
Zoe had her own moments.  Clearly stuffed up, she decided it was allergies. She announced this to me while lying in Nana's bed - quite dramatically.  After a big sigh, she said "I think I have allergies".  I asked her to what - and she said she didn't know.  The girls and I went to the kitchen to get breakfast, and Zoe decided it would be a GREAT idea to have a surprise breakfast for the rest of the family (which they had just seen Caillou do).  So they put plates out, cutlery, I handed them things from the fridge, they picked out cereal and crackers and soon had quite the spread on the table.  They were quite proud to show everyone what they had done! While sitting at the table, Zoe says "NANA...I have bad news". Mom said "Oh no - what?".  Zoe sighed and said "I`m allergic to tea."  Dad asked her HOW she knew this.  With no arrogance or sarcasm, she simply said "Because I'm smart". That easy. 
After breakfast we headed down Green Lane for a walk.  Zoe again impressed with her spelling - spelling out each of our names on the pavement.  As Jasmine, Sharon and the dogs headed to the house, Zoe decided that some adventure walking was in order.  She headed into the woods across from Marshall's and spent some time wandering.  I stayed on the edge walking, eventually leaning on the rock.  Zoe came out and said "COMMON" and brought me into the woods.  Now - in fairness - there was a time I knew every nook and cranny of those woods.  That time has passed.  I gingerly stepped around, fearing bugs,snakes, poo, wet icky stuff...whereas Zoe hopped joyfully through it all.  I followed her around as she explained the different parts of "her woods".  After about 10 minutes and the need to cross a muddy crevasse, I told her I would wait for her in the foyer of the woods.  She jumped around the back - I could see her moving behind trees.  She eventually came out and we crossed the road to Nana's.  "Oh - this is perfect Auntie Sandra - come with me".  She then took me into the woods between our house and the catnapper next door.  I was taking some pictures when Zoe stood up, threw her hands on her hips and said "Enough Auntie Sandra - put the camera down and come with me".  So - I left my camera sitting on a rock and followed Zoe through the woods.  At one point we went down a little hill - with only pointy rocks leading a path down through the sludge.  I paused thinking of how I could get down without breaking something.  Zoe looked back - clearly seeing the fear in my eyes - and said "Do you want me to come and hold your hand?".  "Yes" I said.  So she did - taking my hand and leading me down.  When I saw a way out onto the path, I took it and told her I would take the road more travelled while she bopped through the woods.  She seemed OK with that.  We found cool mushrooms, neat flowers and leaves.  Zoe kept exclaiming "isn't that INTERESTING".  She climbed Big Rock and, on her way down, she hit a bush - scratching her face.  I told her that this was all part of the adventure walk - a few scratches were ok.  She then purposely walked into another and exclaimed "I now have 5 more".

A fun weekend! :)

A New Record

This afternoon Zoe and Jasmine broke a long standing record at the Metcalfe pool. This is the latest date we have EVER had anyone actually swimming in the pool. Yes you read correctly. It is September 23rd and they were in our 64 degree pool! It was Jasmine's idea and Erin and I were sure she would just put in a toe. But no, on went the suit, the floaties  and in she went. Zoe, never one to be left behind, was soon in there with her. Zoe even took off the floaties and did a "real" swim. At one point Zoe did comment that it felt like ice, but she still went back in.
We also had a visit from our chipmunk couple who are very brave and come quite close to us, especially Jas. It was a happy afternoon

Inukshuks and tree counting!

I spent some time with the girls this weekend in Hudson.  Our first order of business was a walk down Green Lane with Grampie.  Jasmine was trying out her new tricycle (courtesy of a garage sale Nana hit that morning) and Zoe was riding SUPER FAST on her tricycle!  They were intent on showing me the Inukshuks at the end of the road.  The girls would ride ahead and then circle back to us as we meandered along.  We stopped in front of the Marshalls' to draw on the pavement.  Zoe shocked me by writing out her name.  She further shocked me by writing out my name as I gave her the letters.  Wow.  She is growing up so fast!  We continued along and came upon the Dumont's house.  Zoe yelled back to me that she found the bridge and it was ok - she would cross it.  Uh-huh.  I didn't remember a bridge or water, for that matter, in front of the Dumonts', but evidently there is some little bridge over the ditch.  They both had fun playing in the little wooded garden area on their front lawn.  Mrs. Dumont came out and Jasmine ran over to give her a hug!  I heard her say "It's my birthday soon.  I'm 3 on my birthday."  Jasmine then jumped up on the big rock and declared "I'm King of the castle, Fandra is rascal".  Zoe followed suit - both of them having a good laugh at that!  We then drew some more on the pavement and finally reached the Inukshuks.  Jasmine immediately threw her arms around the first Inukshuk in a hug.  Unfortunately, they aren't so much made for hugging.  The whole thing teetered in her arms.  I ran over and tried to steady it - scared the whole thing would collapse on her foot.  I pulled her back while putting my knee in front of the rocks and pressing down with my hands.  I was trying to re-adjust the rocks to balance them again - and while I was doing his Jazzie yells out "Fandra - you're BREAKING it!!".  I had to laugh - from the mouths of babes!  Luckily - the Inukshuk remained standing....for the moment.  Grampie enjoyed his walk and seeing the girls doing their thing.

The next day, I dropped by on my way home.  The girls were outside with Erin and Grahame.  It was a gorgeous September day and they had just finished trimming their hedges and cleaning up the gardens in the front.  It all looked gorgeous!  While Grahame mowed the lawn, the girls and I played in their secret hedge-hideaway.  Then over to the swingset where we gave each other plastic shocks!  Then ended it with the girls putting on a show for me under the tree.  It was a lovely show with singing and dancing - and halfway through Zoe dragged over a chair for me to sit in.  I propped Zoe up and she sat on one of the tree branches as I held on to her.  She then began counting - and I joined her.  We counted all the way to 50 - laughing along the way.  Jazzie had to do the same!  I got some snuggles in between too!  They then threw themselves into the pile of grass Grahame had just dumped.  I told them I didn't think that was such a good idea - then Zoe loudly declared she was a "Grass God" and would never come out.  Erin wandered over to announce she had slugs and would the girls like to see.  Yup - bad to worse.  Seemed like a good time to head back to Ottawa.

:) Love those little munchkins!

Jasmine's First Day of school!!!

Little Jasmine woke up on Wednesday morning uber excited! She jumped out of bed and ran from bedside to bedside to tell Daddy then Mommy then Zoe that it is "my fuwst day of schooool"!!

I think she has been waiting for this moment since the first day she saw her sister go to school last year!

She had her backpack on over her jammies by 7AM and told me there was "no time for breakfast", she was ready to go!!

I tempted her into cereal and a smoothy and then had her dressed in a new school outfit that I bought her, thinking it was adorable... but she and Zoe had a different plan and before I knew it they had worked together to redress her in an equally adorable outfit!

When we got to school she was a little shy, doing her 'head tilted pouty face look', but she didn't whine or cry or cling, she quietly sat down at a little table and started to draw and bravely waved goodbye.

I think it was harder for me!!

So Zoe and I walked out and went to the bakery and to the sandy beach trails for some lovely one on one time which almost kept my mind off the fact that my little baby was 'all alone' at school!

When we went to pick her up she came running with the biggest smile on her face, she was so happy and proud of herself!! It was apparent that Jasmine had a blast and was "very good, very old for her age" as her teacher told me.

Today she was super excited to go again and this time with her big sister... And another chapter starts.

Preschool day 1 for Zoe

Zoe had her first day at a new preschool today! She insisted on picking her own outfit and was eager to get there! All went well, she got to see Ella and Cleona from her school last year. One of her teachers is a friend of ours who seemed excited to have her there... so little Zoe was happy as can be!!

I've got to admit it was a bit disappointing that I couldn't walk her down the street to Lise's school again this year, but the new school is a little bigger and I think she'll love it just as much !

Poor Jasmine was dying to stay too, her day will be tomorrow though... will post her pic then!

I know it's only preschool but I still feel like they are so old going off in their little back packs into a group of other kids. Can't imagine when they get to real school ... let alone university!! I'll stick to preschool now thank you very much.

Zoe - all sweetness!

As we headed back to my house from the park, Zoe took my hand and said "You're going to miss me when I go camping, aren`t you?".  I said I certainly would miss her.  And then she said the sweetest thing - which I can only partially remember - but something to the effect of "it`s ok - when we are apart just think we're already together again".  Whoever taught her this saying will have to clarify it for me - but whatever it was was just the sweetest thing ever!  That is our Zoe - sweet, kind and so very thoughtful!

A day at the park

I had a lovely surprise visit from Zoe & Jasmine...and their two chauffeurs ;)

The girls had a sleepover on Friday night before their big camping adventure.  Zoe came in to snuggle with Jasmine and I on Saturday morning.  I am always amazed at how the girls can go from asleep to **wide-awake** in the blink of an eye.  Zoe crawled up into bed and whispered something to me.  Suddenly Jasmine sat straight up in bed and yelled out "Today...today I go camping!!".  So funny!  We had some breakfast and then headed to the park while Erin & G picked up some groceries for the trip.  The girls had lots of fun at the park - both girls loving the monkey bars which I had to help them across each time.  As we were leaving, Zoe suddenly discovered that if you press the big button on the elephant, water spurts out.  They initially sat and watched the water from a safe distance.  then slowly they would run near it and away.  Then they would run through it and away.  I realized they were getting soaked - but having so much fun.  Common!  As if I could say no.  Needless to say we headed back to my house for a warm bath and some treats before they headed off to their camp adventure!

Jasmine swims too!

Following very closely in her sister's footsteps, little Jasmine Jolyn swam for the very first time on July 31, 2011 at the age of 2 years and 10 months.  Wow!  Erin invited Mom, Dad and I up to the Metcalfe pool in the afternoon so that we could see Zoe swim.  As I walked up to the gate, I could see Jasmine hopping up and down on the other side.  "Fandra Fandra..see me swim" she yelled out when I opened the gate.  "Alright" I said, but quickly followed it with "Where's Zoe?".  Apprently Zoe was inside with Auntie Laurie.  Erin said "actually - this is good since they are at 2 different levels - we`ll let Jasmine swim first".  Now - I will admit I was expecting to see Jasmine jump into Erin`s arms and call it a day.  I should have known better since Jasmine is quite determined and adventurous.  So - Jamine places herself on the steps and jumps out towards Erin.  Erin just kept backing up and backing up - and there was little Jasmine who kept kicking her legs and moving her arms....it was UNBELIEVABLE!  I was truly shocked!  Apparently it had happened earlier that afternoon.  Not only was she swimming on her own, she was swimming with confidence and excitement!  We all stood around and cheered her on - and she kept going, and going.  She would take breaks in Erin`s arms or on the steps - but not for long.  She kept throwing herself back in the water!  I called her our little energizer bunny!  Zoe did come out, but wasn`t much in the mood for swimming.  :(   She will be though - and will likely love that she and Jasmine can now swim together.   I feel sorry for Jasmine`s swim instructor.  Because of her age, she is forced into a class that is clearly beneath her own skill level.  As Mom put it, when the teacher takes Jasmine and gently swooches her in the water, Jasmine will turn around, give her an "are you kidding me?" look, push away and swim off into the deep end!  What a kid!

Jazzie J

Jazzie's arrival in the world was announced to us by Zoe. She proudly wore a button that stated "I AM GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER". The family was thrilled! Another little bundle of joy was coming our way - how could we not be? I'll tell you a secret - I was hoping it would be a girl. The formula worked so well with Zoe, it seemed a shame to mess with it! I don't think I was alone - I don't want to name names, but I think a certain "Erin" and "Grahame" were pretty happy about that news too! Jasmine Jolyn Dorcas arrived in the world on Sunday, September 14th. Her parents had been preparing her arrival while also juggling life with a young toddler. Luckily there were many hands around willing to help out. Grandma & Grandpa, Nana and Grampie, Auntie Laurie, Sandra and Sharon were all parts of Zoe's inner-circle and were also there to help when Erin and Grahame were welcoming Jasmine to the family. Her name was a well kept secret until the day she was born - as was Zoe's. Her parents were finishing up her room on the day she was born.  She was a bigger baby than Zoe - and longer.  She had an absolutely angelic little face!  Two in a row - nicely done G & Erin! She certainly was able to draw a crowd at a young age - much like her sister.  She was more of a staggered sleeper and a bit fussier than Zoe was.  At 6 months old, Grahame and Erin made a very scary trip to the hospital where poor little Jasmine was diagnosed with a bladder infection. Such a scary moment for her parents and all of us.  She was OK in short time.  I guess the silver lining, if there was one, is that because Jasmine was a bit fussier dealing with her bladder and what seemed like a constant cold in her younger years, her Mommy spent loads of time snuggling with her.  Unlike most 2nd children who don`t get quite the 1 on 1 time as the first, I think Jasmine was an exception.  Zoe got spoiled by the rest of us and Jasmine had lots of special time with her Mom.  Jasmine was also a little more focused in on her parents in a large crowd - unlike Zoe who was more open to strangers.  If her Mom was holding her and you tried to get her away - GOOD LUCK! She wouldn`t cry or fuss, she would just cling to Erin with everything she had.  However, when her parents weren`t around, Jasmine was a snuggle bunny with the rest of us too! When Jasmine drank her bottle, she would play with your hand and fingers.  Before she learned to talk, Jasmine would communicate through grunting.  She would point at things or people and grunt  DAT! or UH!  She has always been very observant with people.  She is more serious minded than Zoe and tends to stay back and take in a situation on her own.  But when Jasmine smiles...oh my!  As her Grandma said, nobody but NOBODY has a bigger more beautiful smile than our Jas!  To match her smile, we quickly realized she had a BIG personality!  Jazzie had no intention of being 2nd banana and, at a young age, made her presence known in most situations.  This, coupled with her charm and sometimes shy manner, made Jazzie an instant star in the family.  Just after she was born, I`ll admit I was a little worried about how this little bundle would follow in the amazing footsteps of Zoe.  Very quickly, I realized that would not be an issue.  Jazzie has forged her own path and her own way of doing things - and it has been a pleasure to watch her personality unfold!  She and Zoe became fast friends!  Zoe loved her little sister from the start.  I remember she was very protective of Jasmine and vice-versa.  If I snuggled Jasmine too long and she pulled to get away, Zoe would yell out "HEY - THAT`S MY SISTER!".  And, as is the case today, Jasmine mimics whatever Zoe says and does.  So a lispy "HEY...DAT MYYYYYYYY SISTEW" would come from Jazzie.  Erin has many stories of how the girls played so well together at a young age - often conspiring together and putting on shows.  But for all the great times, of course there were a few fights too.  They are, after all, sisters!  The day before Jasmine's 1st birthday, I witnessed my first Zoe/Jasmine fight.  Jasmine became incensed that Zoe took her spoon.  She stood up angrily and grunted at Nana to do something about it.  When Nana did not react quickly enough, Jazzie took matters into her own hands.  She turned, bopped Zoe on the head, tried to bite her arm and then shoved her little fists into Zoe's hair and started pulling.  I grabbed her and started to disentangle her hands. She gave a final grunt of anger towards Zoe and went back to her toys. What I love about Jasmine is that she is passionate!  Sure, sometimes it comes out in some tantrums, but mostly it comes out with BIG love, BIG smiles and BIG adventure!  She is the first to spot me in a crowd and run full speed into my arms!  The first time this happened was at HYC on Canada Day.  The beach was jam packed with people.  I was looking around trying to find someone, and the firs person I see is little Jasmine.  She was about 9 months old sitting on the sand and she had spotted me long before I spotted her.  As my eyes found hers, she had a big smile and was already waving.  She got up and started towards me.  My heart melted!  Around the age of 1, she created a language all her own.  Her parents and Zoe understood it a bit more than the rest of us.  But Jasmine belted out her words with full confidence and lots of animation!  And within this language were normal words that could be understood.  In fact, she started saying words around February of 2010.  I`m still arguing that her first word was Fred.  OK - she couldn`t say the full word, but as early as 8 months old, whenever Fred came into the room, she would make a "FRRRRR" sound. Common!  Brilliant!  She continued to flash her brilliant smile - and sometimes mixed it up with that mischevious, sideways, pursed lips, hunched up shoulders, shy/embarassed look.  Jasmine always had a a lot of energy.  As a toddler, if she wanted you to go somewhere with her, she would drag you around by the hand and yell out "too too".  One time at Nana and Grampie's, Jasmine proudly dragged me into the bathroom to show me how she had unrolled an entire roll of bathroom tissue into the toilet.  Erin came up and got level with Jasmine and told her this was a NO.  Erin then asked Jasmine what she should say.  Little Jasmine looked up with puppy dog eyes and said "Soweeeeee".  It was too precious!  As she grew, it became evident that Jasmine likes things to stay the same.  When Grampie sat in Nana's chair one day for lunch, Jasmine led him by the hand back to his seat!  She is very smart and has an extremely good memory.  I remember when she went through her NO NO NO stage.  If you did or said something she didn`t like, she would let you know.  Nana would sing songs to her, and if she disapproved of the song, the NO NO NO came out until a new song was sung!  One thing that Jasmine has become known for is her love of animals - all animals!  She loves watching the birds and feeding the squirrels - but she especially loves the cats and dogs.  She would drive us crazy by insisting we go into the garage to get dog cookies all afternoon!  She loved giving the dogs their cookies and then leading them to their beds by yelling COME COME at them.  She would sit and snuggle with Fred for hours.  In fact, if Jasmine likes something, she can do it over and over and over again.  anyone who has played Ring around the Rosie with her can atest to that!  I just love her to bits!

Grampie remembers.

August 5th 2011.

It is 9:20am and as I sit and wait for the start of another swim lesson for our sweet, sweet, grand daughter Zoe, I finished reading the blog started for Zoe and Jasmine by Sandra.

I would like to add two comments: (1) We are so blessed in having the two sweetest little grand daughters in the whole world and we love them both with all of our heart and soul. (2) Thanks to Sandra for getting this blog started. Now we are faced with the real challenge, getting our memories to come up with a few of the cute saying by each of the girls.

One thing I really enjoyed was our Tuesday night drive up to St Lazare with mostly Zoe singing songs but the last few months of them living there Jasmine was also getting into singing songs and following the moon through the car window or sun roof.

Fairs and Flashlights

So yesterday was the big Hudson Street Fair that Zoe and Jasmine have been anticipating pretty much since last year's event! It was about 105 degrees but the heat didn't slow them down! The pony rides were first (of course). After two rides each they knew the ponies by name were reveling in the glory of being seasoned horse riders!

Following the ponies they were treated to some snazzy face painting...

Zoe got her eyes all dazzled up, meanwhile Jasmine wanted to go with a tiger face, or as she put it "the scaawey one". They both loved it - I was pretty impressed too!


After a quick hot dog with Nana and Grampie and Auntie Sandra, they met up with some of their friends, Sofia, Jade and Maya then we were off to see their soon to be ballet teacher. They loved the ballet studio and got all signed up for lessons. After some ice cream at Bob's we were headed back down the street to the air bounce where they loved jumping around in the chaos of it all. Finally Mommy and Daddy had had enough of the heat and the noise, and the girls were getting over tired and over stimulated so off we went to walk home, love love love that we could walk!!

We got home and minutes later the whole family was sound asleep on the couches! After our nap we had a swimming party next door then Sofia and Jade came back for some my little pony time, all four snuggled up on the couch!

This morning I got out our camping box from storage and gave the girls their sleeping bags and new flashlights, I haven't seen them since. Last I checked they were in the closet in Zoe's room I over heard Zoe saying "OK now you open your mouth... OK, that's good. Now check my mouth ahhh..." nothing like the entertainment of a flashlight!! Oh...Jasmine just came in and showed me her back pack full fo stuffed animals and books and said "We're all packed and ready to go Mommy, bye!" I told her to have a nice journey, she ran downstairs and said "Zoe, let's go on our journey" Zoe's reply: "yes, exactly. Now.. where is the journey?" !!!

Uncle Rob's pool!

In one of the last weekends of July, Grahame, Erin, the girls and I all headed down to Sharon & Rob's for a long weekend.  The weather was set to be perfect, as it has been most of this summer, and we were all looking forward to some time lounging by the pool.  The girls arrived and immediately wanted to get in the pool.  They especially loved their "baby pool" ie: the hottub.  I loved splashing aound with the girls - and was so impressed with how well they were both swimming!  They occasionally threw on their floatees, but I was amazed that both would jump into the big pool straddling a noodle...no floatee!  Zoe's confidence is increasing every day.  Jazzie, our little daredevil, just loves copying her sister!  She also decided that she wanted to jump off the diving board, with me cathing her, and did so with no hesitation.  She came very close to imitating her Dad and running the length of the diving board before jumping into my arms.  She came close - but decided in the end to jump in from the edge!

At one point on Friday night, the girls sugar kicked in big time!  They began running from the hottub over to the table where we were all sitting watching them, and back again.  Each time yelling something out before heading back to the pool.  It was quite hilarious. 

Somewhere, somehow, Zoe has began using the line "WHAT THE??" and was using it much of the weekend.  Thankfully nothing follows the sentence - so it`s all good.

Auntie Sharon decided to give the girls chocolate moments before heading to bed on Saturday night.  Brilliant.  Shocking that the girls suddenly had energy and no desire to sleep.  Mom and Dad decided that she who caused the problem should manage it and went down to their bed.  Sharon had both girls in her room watching TV until the sugar high had subsidded.

A great time had by all - wonderful dinners outside and swimming under the stars.  :)

A Proud Moment for Zoe

I received this email from a proud Mommy:

Just wanted to let you all know that Zoe swam on her own for the first time today!!!

After a whole weekend in Rob's pool with Auntie Sharon and Auntie Sandra it was bound to happen, but I was still so excited!!!
In her lesson this morning her teacher just gave her that extra push by letting go of her hands and off she went, swam about 5 feet then did it over and over again jumping from the stairs and swimming to her teacher....!!! She swims with her face in the water and still needs to master coming up for a second breath, but she did awesome, I'm so proud!!

I'm so happy I decided to skip out of work for 45 minutes to witness it!!

yay!!
Followed moments later by a very proud Daddy:

Soooo...back to swimming lessons today for Zoe and she swam all on her own!!!!! I guess the 40 odd hours in Rob's pool really helped!!

THANK YOU!!

Hooray for Auntie Sandra starting this, Thank you!!

It still blows my mind that they are no longer babies, that they are both out of diapers and walking and talking and full of character and charm and wit driven by their very own big personalities! I never knew how much my parents loved me until now - Zoe told me once that she loves me until her heart is in little itty bitty pieces, which doesn't even begin to describe it, but it's a start!

I am "working" right now, but will start posting some of my favorite memories soon and will keep you up to speed with their ongoing adorable, though sometimes mischievous behavior, like when Jasmine poured coffee all over my car seat yesterday, or when a few weeks ago Jasmine came to me cuddling something that I couldn't quite make out and said "look mommy, isn't it cute?" I looked closer and sure enough she was holding a frozen raw chicken breast?! Of course, yes... who doesn't cuddle raw chicken?! Never a dull moment with them around I tell ya!

Duh....Winning!

One of my personal favourites! On a sleepover weekend at Nana and Grampies, and during the hype of Charlie Sheen mania, I couldn't help but play a little joke on my brother. I taught them both to say "duh...WINNING" - which they would pronounce to their Dad when he returned and asked them how they were. I can say that I had WAY more fun hearing them repeat it over and over throughout the weekend. And they delighted every time i laughed. And to this day - they throw it out at just the right moment! So friggin cute!!

Zoe bear

Zoe's birth was more anticipated than Prince William himself! She came into the world without much fuss - from the perspective of someone who wasn't there during the 24 hours of labour! I remember being down the weekend before her birth - hoping that she would make an appearance before i headed back to Toronto. As it turns out, she decided against being born on St Jean Baptiste, the infamous Quebecois national holiday, and chose to wait a day and came into the world on Monday, June 25, 2007. She was small and delicate - her Nana's words. Her parents said she took to a sleep and eating routine pretty quickly - but I think that first month or so was an adjustment to the new parents. They both looked a little haggard with the sudden sleep deprivation, but we were all impressed with how quickly they became a family. Erin is a natural born Mother - so patient and loving. And Grahame was a confident and proud Daddy out of the gate - he fell in love with little Zoe - as we all did. How lucky to be born absolutely adored by a legion of people...and she had done nothing to impress us yet (as she would in later years). Nana and Grampie, Grandma and Grampa, Auntie Sharon, Brenda, Sandra and Laurie - all lined up to gaze in wonder at her beautiful little face! She didn't cry very much - unless there was a good reason to. In her first few months, we all scrambled to get a chance to snuggle her. When you would give Zoe her bottle, she would pull on your ear as she drank. As she came into her toddler years, she had an immediate love of books. Helped by the fact that Grandma worked at the Library, and that her Mom would read to her all the time, she was insatiable when it came to reading and story telling. She was the happiest of little girls - always laughing and smiling. She rarely played shy - and was happy to be passed around from person to person. What was quickly evident was that Zoe was smarter than your average 6 month old. And as she got older, what really stood out was her ability to remember anything at anytime. How many 1 1/2 year olds upon seeing their Aunt would follow up a hug with "Where's Fred?". We also quickly learned that she would pick up on thing you say and repeat them. One of my personal favorites - her consistent use of the phrase "OH...MY...God" or "I don't care". She was a snuggle bunny from the start - and she especially loved to snuggle wiggle with her Mom. At her first birthday party, she despised her balloons. She loved her clothes from a young age - would always be excited about getting clothes as a gift. and she soon loved dressing herself. As per her Mom, she insisted on dressing herself in her Halloween costume and red rubber boots for a trip to the grocery store. Her love of books and stories combined with her incredible memory made for some interesting story times. She began to know the stories so well, she would recite along with you - and react to things that were about to happen on the next page. For one book, her Grandpa had used a scary voice that she didn't like, so when she came to the page on which he used the voice, she would flip the page over yelling NO NO NO. She became infamous at a young age - just over a year and a half. She made her first YOUTUBE video with a message out to her Auntie Sandra and Sharon. In it, she said "I wuv you" with some coaxing from her Dad, and then did a ripping version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. At the age of 2 and a bit, she loved playing chase with her Dad. They would rip around their basement in St Lazare. Whenever she fell, her Dad would tell her "walk it off, walk it off". Since she loved repeating things, she would also say that when she fell. However, with her little lisp, it came out sounding more like "f*** off, f*** off". She was a great big sister from the start - absolutely loving Jasmine and treating her like she was her own little baby. Her tendency to copy things you say created a pretty hilarious moment. Through her actions as a youngster, Jazzie earned the nickname "trouble" from her parents. One morning Zoe spotted Jasmine crawling out of her crib and into her parents room, and she yelled out "hey trouble - get back here". She had her first official haircut on September 25, 2009. She woke up the next morning and announced "I got my brains cut!" and then immediately corrected herself and said "I got my haircut cut". Zoe has almost always had a need to understand what people are doing and saying around her. this often led to interrupting people mid conversation. Her parents taught her to say excuse me - and so you would, and still do, often hear her say "Excuse me Auntie Sandra/Nana/Mommy, what are you telling stories about?". She loved, and still loves, anything and everything Princess! She and I would spend many a Sunday morning watching Beauty and the Beast - and she could soon recite many of the songs and certainly knew that story off by heart! She loves dressing up, loves ready and loves having people make up stories that involve her and her sister. It would take some imagination every time I put her to bed - I just knew i had to have my "a" story game on. When she was 2'ish - I hugged her and said "I missed you so much". For the next year, overtime she hugged me, she would repeat those words. Let's not forget that every Dorcas member had a different word to describe just how much they loved her - and she knew them all. Grampie loves her BIG BIG, Sharon loves her HUGE...and i'm sorry i can't remember the rest. ask Zoe. She has always been all sweetness. Once when i was leaving, she made a sad face. I said "but you are goig to Grandma's house". She immediately got excited and said "and i get to see Auntie Laure - and i miss her" and without skipping a beat, grabbed my arm and said "i'll miss you too". Adorable! The nighttime rituals of these adorable ones left their parents a little harried at times. Erin would come up to check on her crying little ones and announce that she was going back downstairs and would not come up again - so to go sleep. Once night, Zoe lay in bed listening to Jasmine cry. Evidentally, she had had enough and cried out "Mommy is not coming up here anymore. Go to sleep". On another occasion, Zoe was crying for her Mom, which started Jasmine crying as well. This didn't impress Zoe who yelled out "NO Jasmine - it's MY turn to cry!!". In April of 2010, she took on the task of helping her Mother teach Jasmine new words. She would encourage her throughout "Jasmine - say Apple. Very good!"  Zoe is above all sweet and kind.  She is thoughtful, very articulate, extremely intelligent and lovable!  I just love her to bits!

What did you say?

Who can forget Zoe, when she was getting into the groove of speaking around 2 1/2, would often ask you to repeat your question to her with a high pitched "what did you say?".  So cute.

She can spell?

The girls and I were playing in the basement just before we left for the Yacht Club.  My Mom came down holding their bathing suits.  I said quietly "we should bring those in case they want to go in the p-o-o-l".  My Mom responded she didn`t think it was open.  Just as I was standing up, Zoe yelled out "But I want to go to the P-O-L".  I was so schocked I stopped dead in my tracks and said "what did you just say?".  She repeated her spelling.  Now how brilliant is that??

A walk with Jazzie

Jasmine and I were making our way from the pool down to the beach.  "Fandra...I want to go pool".  I told her we couldn`t go to the pool, but that we would have so much fun on the beach.  She hung her head and said "oooooookkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay".  In these moments - she completely reminds me of Eyore - she is so sadly resigned.  I said "thank you so much for listening Jasmine - thank you".  She stopped and turned back towards the pool.  I had to re-explain the above, to which she once again uttered "oooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy".  And off we went.  :)

Hudson Yacht Club July 2011

While Grahame and Erin were helping some friends move, Auntie Sharon and I, along with Nana and Grampie, took the girls and had a wonderful weekend at the Yacht Club.  The girls were on the cusp of starting their swimming lessons and were excited to show us what their Mom had already taught them!  We spent a lot of time down at the beach while the girls played under the watchful eye of Grampie.  I helped Zoe collect sea shells for her tidepool...which we had just learned about that morning on Max&Ruby.  When the time came, we gathered our stuff and moved up to the pool.  The girls enjoyed splashing around in the baby pool, but eventually Zoe had a hanckering to hit the big pool, amd sp we headed in.  I walked her around the shallow end - and then held her hands while she kicked.  Nana had the smart idea to get the girls new floaties that Auntie Laurie had bought them.  Once they had these on - their confidence level soared!  Zoe was able to swim on her own and proudly declared "look - I don`t even NEED swimming lessons".  Jasmine, the daredevil of the family, put on her floaties and flung herself into the water splashing and showing off.  Jasmine happily dunks her entire head underwater - while Zoe is more cautious.  I challenged both girls to a race across their pool - which they won! Erin joined us and helped manage the chaos that a few kids in a pool can create.  The girls and I moved to the ladder where Jasmine had been happily throwing herself from into the water.  Zoe bucked up the courage and followed suit - though with far less abandon.  She was still so proud to be jumping in the water!  The bell rang at 1 to indicate adult swim time.  We crawled out of the water, dried off and headed down to the canteen for lunch.  Happy days!

And so it begins....

Zoe and Jasmine.  The two cutest little girls on the planet.  And fuuuuunnny!  Despite having tracked some of my niece's funny moments from the time they could crawl, I have been doing it on paper.  Ugh.  I know.  Welcome to the turn of a new century Sandra.  And so I start fresh with a blog dedicated to ensuring that all of those adorable things they do and say are preserved forever.  The entries will be in no particular order as I wade through old notebooks and fresh memories.  I will try to indicate either their age at the time or an aproximate date.  I hope that one day they will get a kick out of reading the antics that kept their family in stitches....