A Birthday & Some Backyard Beauty

 Canada is absolutely beautiful this time of year. I forgot how wonderful the summers are in Alberta. When it wasn't raining it was a beautiful 24°C. The sun was shining and the breeze was cool. Everything was lush and green and it made me long to come back for the entire summer, with Jakob of course.

This is my G-ma & G-pa's house. They moved into St. Albert back when there were only two traffic lights in the whole city. I have so many memories attached to this house. 

 This is raspberry patch in the back yard. G-pa has thinned it out a bit so he could get back there and pick them. I dearly miss the raspberries. Even though I love Vegas with all my heart I look forward to living somewhere where we can grow raspberries and other fruits.

 The climbing tree. There used to be two swings on this tree but one year there was a lot of heavy snow and it broke off the front branch. This tree was also home base for the many baseball games we had in the backyard as children. 

 I think I miss the trees most of all. There is a canopy of green. Big, tall, beautiful trees. I remember when my cousins would visit from Texas and they would say "It smells green here." I always thought they were insane but now that I live in a desert I totally understand what they mean. 

 G-ma was  feeling better the second day we were there so we got to take some pictures and visit out on the deck. It was beautiful!

 Ethnie and her Great-Grandma Heyden. I'm so grateful that Ethnie has not one but two living Great-Grandmothers. What a lucky girl!

 There was no shortage of kisses to be shared with Peanut. How could you resist those cheeks?

 I know G-ma doesn't like her hands. She says they're old and that is exactly why I love them. I think they are beautiful and I hope once I have experienced as much as she and Great-Grandma Palmer have that my hands will look like that too. Age is a beautiful thing. (I know I say that now, we'll see if my tune changes down the line.)

 Getting in a pre dinner nap with Great-Grandpa.

 I brought home a little Tobler tradition and had everyone tell Mom why they loved her at dinner since it was her birthday. This is Daddy telling her that he loves her "THIS MUCH!" So cute!

 Some yummy chocolates from Chris. Not exactly a surprise visit from Vegas but not everyone can be as creative as me! ;)

 While Mom and Dad were out cleaning the temple the missionaries stopped by to give her some birthday doughnuts. I recorded them singing happy birthday to her. It was very sweet of them!

 Trying to wind down after a full day of adventures. Obviously she's not very impressed with my constant need to take pictures. 

 Poor Tigger, laying on the floor crying because G-pa is cuddling Ethnie and not him. 

I already knew Ethnie liked T.V. Her first movie was Rio and she stared at the screen the entire time. At my grandparents house the T.V is going non-stop and she was glued. She would cry because she couldn't see the screen at times. Poor girl, too bad we don't have T.V at home.

I {adore} this picture! So stinking cute! It was a wonderful day. Happy birthday Mom! I hope it was your best one yet!

Our First Visit

 

Just showing up at people's houses really throws everyone for a loop, especially when you have a baby with you. I had mentioned my plan to G-ma two months ago but I never brought it up again. I figured the fewer people that knew, the less chance we had of an accidental slip up. Plus it's just fun shocking everyone. Daddy picked me up from Sarah's Monday morning and we headed over to the house to surprise everyone there. I snuck into G-ma's bathroom and she smiled and said "What are you doing here? Are you alone? Where is that baby of mine?" This is their first picture together. We don't have as many pictures of G-ma as we do G-pa simply because G-ma wasn't feeling so well the entire time we were there. No fear we plan on fixing that once we get back home in July :).

This is the first time G-pa got to see Peanut. Well, in person... Skype is great and all but it's not the same! The first time they set eyes on each other they both beamed.  Every time Ethnie saw him after that she would get the biggest smile. It was sort of magical really.

 For those readers who have met my G-pa you would understand why it's different from G-ma. G-pa is a little more distant, he doesn't really like crowds and while he enjoys his grandchildren he just doesn't know how exactly to show it. You more or less have to force a hug out of him. This is why I thought it was so special. On several occasions he would walk up to me and take Ethnie from me. I loved it. It's amazing the effect a baby has on people. 

 I know I share a lot of hand pictures, I just think they tell such a story. Ethnie's hands were just so itty bitty next to G-pa's. G-pa had no problem posing for pictures with her... another unusual act. Obviously this made me rather happy :).

 I got to see my puppy once again. He was doing so much better since my last visit but boy was he jealous of Peanut! Even if someone else had him on their lap he would whine and cry because someone else was giving attention to Ethnie. She also had a few toys that he wasn't allowed to touch. He was very curious and whenever she'd cry he'd run in to see what was the matter. We tried to keep them separated though... especially since I've experience first hand her little grip on hair. I don't think Tigger would appreciate that too much.

 On the hunt for little teeth during bath time with Oma. Ethnie is drooling like crazy and loves to chew on anything you give her. It's just a baby being a baby but it sure does look a lot like teething. We can't feel any bumps yet though. It was a wonderful first day in Canada. As you can tell Ethnie was all tuckered out!

"Oh My Gosh"

 

A little while ago I decided that I wanted to surprise my mother for her birthday. So Ethnie and I flew to Canada and surprised her at work. She was so shocked!

We walked into the office to try and figure out which classroom she was in. All of a sudden I heard her voice (she talks pretty loud) coming from around the corner. I zipped out of the office to avoid being discovered early.  We had Dad walk around the corner and give her a card I made. I was a horrible daughter and I forgot to send her a Mother's Day card. Yup, I suck! Anyways, Mom reminded me three different times that her birthday was coming up and she expected a card. Dad told her that it just got here and that I told him to have her open it immediately and record it. So she starts opening it.

 

 

Make a wish....

 

I hope you wished for us to be there with you...

LOOK UP!

 It also had another little interactive flap. Pretty clever. Thank you Pinterest!

 Hiding in the hallway while she's reading her card.

 All she kept saying was "Oh my gosh!" She ran up right away and grabbed Ethnie. It took her 5 minutes to even notice me. :)

Still in a state of shock. I'm just saying... this was a pretty bomb.com birthday present!

Showing her off to all of her students. It was a wonderful surprise and I'm so glad that I did it! Happy Birthday Mama! We love you dearly! Thank you for being such wonderful Mother and Oma! 

 For our most interested followers here is a video of our arrival. 
Disclaimer: as I hit Chris with the burp cloth before my Mom walks into her classroom I say "Top that birthday present sucker!" No I did not curse and I probably should have chosen a better word. Oops!

Girls Night

 I was very lucky to be able to spend the night with my darling friend Sarah. I needed a place to stay for the night since I wanted to surprise my Mom at school. It's been almost 2 years since I've seen Sarah and I missed her dearly. Thank you so much for opening your home to Ethnie and I. We love you dearly and can't wait to see you in July!! 

Ethnie's First Flight

I am going to be 100% honest, I was not excited to fly by myself with Ethnie. I had nightmares about it for weeks before our surprise trip to Canada. Not only was I super nervous about going through security with a laptop, car seat, stroller, carry on with bottles and a baby; I was also freaking out about having a 3 month old on a plane for 3 hours. I mean what if she starts crying and I can't stop it?? On top of all of that there is documentation. Because Ethnie is an American and I am a Canadian, there are plenty of hoops I needed to jump through to prove she was in fact my daughter and that I had permission from Jakob to take her out of the country. Some of these documents included: a passport for her signed by Jakob (because he's American), I then needed proof of his signature so I needed copies of his DL and passport. I needed a signed and notarized letter from Jakob giving me permission to take  Ethnie, I needed her birth certificate to prove I was in fact the mother. Plus, I need all of my immigration papers. No biggie. :) Let's just say it was A LOT to try to remember!

Jakob was able to get me through the employee security line so it wasn't as busy. I loaded everything up and then I forgot I had my phone in my pocket. I also forgot my passports on the table. Then I got selected for additional screening... I'm always selected. So I got searched.

Ethnie fell asleep as soon as we got on the plane and she slept for most of the flight which was wonderful. She woke up about an hour outside of Edmonton and was a little bit fussy. Thankfully I had the entire row to myself and I was surrounded by wonderful women. One offered to help me hold Ethnie while I filled out some paperwork. I was so grateful. Traveling took a lot out of  Peanut but she did wonderful :).

Jakob's First Father's Day

Just when you think you love someone as much as your heart can hold, you watch them as a Father and that love multiplies ten fold. I love nothing more than to watch Ethnie play with her Daddy. I love the way her eyes light up and a big smile spreads across her face. She loves her Daddy so much and I could not have asked for a more perfect man to not only be my husband but the father of our child as well.

I was very privileged this week to be able to spend time with so many important father's in both mine and Ethnie's lives. First there was Great-Grandpa Heyden. He and I have always been close and you could tell Ethnie had him wrapped around her finger from the moment he first set eyes on her and every time she saw him she'd just beam! 

Opa van den Berge. I couldn't have asked for a better father or friend. He is such an example to me and I look up to him so much. I am very thankful to have him as a father and even more thankful that he is Ethnie's Opa. 

Grampa Tobler. We got to make him a card to show him how much we loved him. It was of course inspired by Pinterest. (source and instructions.) It was last minute but I was excited about how it turned out. I love beng able to watch Grampa with Ethnie. They just love each other so much! We are so thankful that Gramma and Grampa are so close! I couldn't have asked for better in-laws! I love them both dearly.

Dad got an iPad card. I didn't have a silver marker to add details but it turned out pretty darn cute regardless. I phoned all of our nieces and our nephew and asked them what they wanted to say to Grampa and I added it to his card. Grampa seemed to really like it. :)

For Daddy's final Father's Day gift he got a Shemag Keffiyeh Scarf or in other words one of those scarves you always see on military movies. (Here's Matt Damon, Jakob's man crush ;) sporting one in Green Zone). I hope that he had a wonderful Father's Day week. We are so happy to be back home with Daddy! Happy Father's Day Babe, I love you!

Father's Week: Day 6

"You tie us together." Jakob is the golden thread that ties our family together. Obviously when most people think "Father's Day" they think ties. I had to get Jakob the first of MANY fathers day ties to come. :)