Hello Santa!

We FINALLY went to see Santa this week at the Bass Pro Shop, of all places! Sophie was curious, but got nervous and cried when we handed her to Santa. She quickly recovered and - while we didn't get a smile - at least she's not bawling!

Two cards, one order

I'm a little late, but today I ordered both Sophie's birth announcements and her 1 year birthday invitations. I completely forgot to order birth announcements until it was way too late, so I never did. But I just hate that blank page in her baby album, so I bit the bullet and ordered 10 cards. Maybe the grandparents will appreciate the keepsake as much as I do. At least I'm not ordering Christmas cards too! :)

Here's a preview....

Horseshoe Bay Vaca

Benoit and I have always taken a little vacation around the holidays to just relax together and thought we'd carry that tradition on now that our family has grown. So Benoit, Sophie, Baby C2 and I headed to Horseshoe Bay, which is about an hour from Austin. We just lounged around the resort, ate some good food (early with the senior citizens) and slept a lot. It was great!

Sophie had a blast in the hotel room. She really enjoyed the full length mirrors on the closet and being able to explore everything in the room.
We took a walking tour of nearby Marble Falls' Christmas Lights - really pretty!
We discovered some exotic birds on our stroll around the resort. Sophie was not a fan - they scared her when they started 'talking' to us!

Found a really cool waterfall at the resort - great photo opp!

Deja Vue

So we finally announced our news of Baby C2 due in June. We are ecstatic, of course, and a bit surprised our news came so early. Sophie will be 16 months old, so I'll definitely have my hands full for a while. We'll find out in January whether we're having a boy or girl and we haven't even started one single thing to get ready for this baby yet. I figure, we'll just wait until we know what we're having and then we can get busy with the details.

In other news, I attempted to take Sophie's Christmas card photo last weekend, which was disastrous! We suddenly had a cold snap in Texas, but I really wanted that perfect picture so we bundled Sophie up and out we went to a local park. We unwrapped her right before I started shooting but it was windy and she was not a happy little girl. I eventually gave up my dream and we got a decent shot by the Christmas tree later that day. So here are the photos that didn't quite make it this year.

By this time, Sophie was REALLY mad at me....

Our little green thumb

So here's what happens if you turn your back for one minute - maybe even thirty seconds - with a crawling, cruising, curious child in the house!

Busted!

Look at all this dirt mom!

This is so much fun!

I'm coming over for a muddy hug!

Spooky days are here!

This week has been full of spooky goodness as we celebrate fall and Halloween around town. We went to Fall Festival at a nearby church with our neighbors last Friday. Sophie went as an octopus, perhaps not the scariest costume around, but super cute. Then we went to a birthday party - Halloween themed - and she was decked out in her 'scary' tutu. So fun! I think she mostly wondered what she was wearing, but was a good sport about it. We have another Halloween playdate on Friday and then she'll dress up again (along with Cody) for trick or treaters Saturday night. Enjoy the pics!

PS - The last one is of my dirty, dirty dog who was playing in the mud this afternoon. He's looking at me like "Why can't I come inside?".

A Day at the Park

(Delayed publish - just uploaded pics.)

On a beautiful, sunny day this week (a rarity with all the rain we've been having), Sophie, Cody and I went to Frisco Commons Park. Frisco has done a pretty good job of developing several parks around town. This park has a very nice lake stocked with fish, several paved walking and biking trails, nice pavilions, and a huge playground. I'm sure Sophie will enjoy that in a couple of years, but this time around we just took a blanket and chilled out on the grass by the lake after a short stroll. I decided to test out my new camera and have added a few fave's below. Sophie had a blast just being outside - I swear she's going to love camping, hiking, etc. She's happiest outside, no matter what the weather is like. She enjoyed digging in my diaper bag, playing with the grass, feeling the wind in her face (it was seriously windy!), and watching Cody play next to us. It was a great fall day and I can't wait to go back with Benoit, maybe with a picnic next time.

Posing for the camera!

Playing with the grass.

Last minute kisses

Benoit's mom and aunt left this afternoon - it's always sad when family leaves. We had a great visit and we're all so glad they made the 3000+ mile trip to see us. Sophie is spoiled rotten now, but it's totally worth it to have some grandma time. We spent the weekend window shopping in Grapevine's adorable downtown shops and re-energized with some amazing barbecue at Crazy Eights, a very Texan joint where you order right off the smoker. We were all entertained by Sophie dozing off on her jumper this morning. She was just having too much but could barely keep her eyes open. Now when she's jumping, she raises her hands above her head like she's on a roller coaster - so stinking cute! Enjoy the pics and video below.....

Cody enjoyed supervising the paint job.

Sophie and Tante Lise playing horsie.... Yummy BBQ!
And the link to the video of our Sleepy Jumper!

http://www.youtube.com/user/2blovely

Rain, rain, go away

Poor Grand maman and Tante Lise have had rain all week during their visit. I'm sure they had hoped to enjoy some nice fall weather and spend some time outside as it's already so cold in Canada. Just last week they had their first snow. Dallas, on the other hand, has been rainy and hot/cold- from 85 degrees one day to 55 the next. So after they painted my dining room and family room (woo hoo!) they have spent two days at the mall. Yesterday, I picked them up after Sophie's nap and they had only toured the first level of the mall, so today they are back for level two. That's some serious dedication! Benoit's mind is blown - he just can't comprehend how a woman can spend so much time shopping. It's rather cute.

I think tomorrow will be sunny and we will take advantage with a trip to Grapevine, a nearby adorable downtown for some shopping and lunch. As long as we have enough Cheerios for Sophie, we can make it for 3-4 hours.

Time with Grand maman and Tante Lise

This week Grand maman Ginette and Tante Lise are visiting with our family. They arrived on Friday night and we've been very busy since then. We went to the Nasher Sculpture Museum, the Dallas Stars game, brunch at Corner Bakery, and the Dallas Arboretum. It's very nice for us to have time with our Canadian grandma! I know that Sophie is enjoying every minute of it. I'm definitely enjoying the new paint and all of the help! Here are a few pictures....

At the hockey game - we left early and missed the shootout. Boo hoo!

At the Nasher Sculpture Museum - a beautiful find....

Exploring the pumpkin patch at the Dallas Arboretum....

At the pumpkin house....

Cute pumpkin pic!

Petting the goat at the petting zoo....

Crawling along

Sophie and I played 'Chase Mommy' today - I crawled around the couch and she would follow. I crawled into the formal room and she would follow. Occasionally, she would get distracted and stop to play with Cody or pull up on the couch to get the remote. You know, only stopping for the important things! She also played in her bouncy for an hour today, which is quite an accomplishment since she never made it past 10 minutes before. I think it tired her out because she went down for her nap pretty easily.

I'm also crawling through my checklist of things to do in preparation for Ginette and Lise's visit. Benoit's mom and aunt will arrive on Friday and I still feel like there is so much to do in this house! It doesn't help that we just moved in and remodeled. I'm slowly getting things done, mostly during naptimes, and I'm exhausted at night. It's good for me though - gives me a deadline and I work best under a deadline. Today's list includes:

• Hanging curtains in our bedroom


• Trimming bushes in backyard


• Hanging flags in garage (oh yeah, Canada for Benoit, US for me)


• Painting nook in living room


• Having glass for new shower installed


• General straightening up so Thursday's cleaning day won't be a beast!

One item checked off!

And the days go by

Only 1 day left until Benoit comes home and I can't wait. He's a huge help with Sophie and I love hanging out with him in the evenings. He's been gone all week, so I'm especially ready to see him again. We're planning for a date night on Sat, which is always fun. His mom is coming in next weekend, so this is the last chance for a date night for a few weeks. Not sure what we'll do, but I'm thinking about seeing The Invention of Lying - sounds hilarious.

Sophie had another shot today but she only cried for about 10 seconds. She's also has a diaper rash that just won't go away and the nurse recommended A&D ointment, which I've never heard of. So I'm off to buy that this afternoon and hope for the best. We've been 'airing' her out most evenings and using a hairdryer on low heat/low speed to dry her bum between diaper changes. It takes forever!

In other news, Sophie started pulling up on her own. I often find her standing at the side of the crib when I go to get her up from a nap. She pulled up on her bookshelf the other day and started crying b/c she couldn't figure out how to get down. So cute! I pulled out some 12 month clothes for her - thanks Neely! - and have started packing up 3-6 month clothes. It's always so sad to put them away b/c I know she'll never be that little again. Yet another reminder that my baby is growing up so fast.

I'm super pumped to have my bath tile wrapped up today. It was quite an ordeal to get the right edge for the bath tile and after multiple trips to the tile store, I've got the right one. Carlos is installing it today and then the glass folks will come tomorrow to install the shower. (Strike that, just got a call from the glass folks and they will not install until Monday! Aaagh! So no finished shower until then. Boo hoo!) I'm likely to take the longest shower ever once it's all done! Not to imply I haven't been showering elsewhere, it's just that I'm so stinking excited about my new one. :) This week I hung all the towel rods and last weekend we hung the new lights. Almost done! I'll post pics when it's finished, but here are some of the progress to date. Enjoy!

Hello Blogging World

I'm a virgin blogger so I'm a little nervous. But I suppose this is a great way to connect with family and friends (and perhaps others who find our little life interesting - HA!). So here goes....






Benoit is coming home tonight (woo hoo!) from traveling for work. I love the days when he comes home. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? So true! Anyway, next week, he'll be gone M-F. :( Ido hate when he travels so much, but I know it's just part of the job. Ironically, I left my consulting gig so I could be home with my family.


Sophie is 7 months and MOBILE! She started crawling on her tummy a couple of weeks ago and now she's pretty quick. It's like she's been looking at her world for months and has been busting to explore it. It's so much fun to watch her. I know moms (and dads) everywhere can understand the joy and awe of watching their child discover something new. Cliche maybe, but I adore it! Her recent discoveries include the cables behind the TV, the dog's food (no - she didn't eat any before I got to her), and her toy basket in her room, which she promtly flipped upside down. Weekend to do list = babyproofing!

Right now, she's growling like a tiger. A lady at the Corner Bakery asked us if we had a dog when she heard Sophie! I wonder if she's copying Cody? I'm sure she'll get a kick out of that when she's older. Last week she was smacking her lips. It changes all the time!

For my Franciphone family, I apologize for all the English. I hope you will be able to read the family blog. Nous t'aime!