Huge Book Sale...fun, fun!

This afternoon we went to the Book Depot's fill a box sale, which happens four time a year. There is a huge warehouse full of every different kind of book and you can fill a box for $30.00. All of the books are new, some have an imperfection, mark, etc. David and I had both been looking forward to the sale for quite some time, so we were pretty excited. It was a little overwelming due to the sheer quantity of books and how they were just stacked on tables; but it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Sarah happily sat in the cart looking at books and playing the musical books over and over again. I thought it was pretty cute how she set up the books so that she could look at several at once. Once we got home we realized there were several kids books in our box that we didn't put there. Sarah would often pick up a book and throw it in the box, so we know where those came from.

While we were browsing around I couldn't help but think of our "reader" friends and wished they could have joined us. Rachel, Dan, Matt, Libby, mom, you would have loved this sale!

I was excited to get three different slow cooker cook books, something that I've wanted to get for quite some time. They worked out to about 75 cents each so I was pretty thrilled. I love using the crock pot. And with fall here and baby on the way, I look forward to putting my crock pot to very good use in the months ahead.

Thanksgiving at Balls Falls

Yesterday we went to Balls Falls in Jordan (about 15 min away). Every Thanksgiving there is a large festival/ craft show at the conservation centre. There were lots of vendors selling handicrafts, art, ceramics, etc. It was nice to have something different to do for the afternoon.

The Main area is kind of like Burnaby Village and/ or Fort Langley. There's an old chuch, mill, homstead, etc.

Sarah loves giving kisses, and we love receiving them! She's just too cute.

Always so happy! We have so... much to be thankful for! We feel so blessed to have Sarah and can hardly imagine having another in just a couple of weeks.

Looking out at the waterfall

The leaves are just starting to get really pretty here. In about a week or so the trees should be at their most beautiful fall look. We're looking forward to going for a couple of drives to enjoy the scenery.

Little monkey girl

Pine Cone Research

Quite some time ago I posted about being a part of a research company. They e-mail me questionnaries to fill out and in return they pay me $5. Each one takes about 10 minutes to complete. On a few occasions they have sent me new food products to try out and then I complete another survey for another $5. Very easy money, especially if you have time to be at the computer at some time in the day, better than doing nothing on facebook.

Anyways, the company is looking for more participants. If you are interested in joining just leave me a comment with your name and e-mail address and I will forward you the referral e-mail that I received so that you can join. You are also welcome to e-mail me at sharindavid@hotmail.com and I'll forward you the e-mail.

Thanks.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with friends from our church life group. Two of the couples were out of town, so there were three of us couples and 5 kids (under 2) that got together to eat turkey and spend some time together. We had a great time just hanging out and eating great food. Thanks Adam, Emma, Shane and Michelle!

What's More Fun?

Playing with the toys or playing in the bin where the toys go? This past week Sarah seems to be rediscovering many of her toys. Each day we dump out all her toys in the living room, sort and play. It's interesting how she plays with the toys differently than she did a few months ago. She's much more intentional, enjoys opening and closing items, filling things up and carting them around the house. Sarah continues to LOVE her books! I don't even want to think about the number of times we read/ sing Baby Beluga in a day and make the animal sounds from her animal books. We are loving her curiousity and desire to learn and discover new things.

End of the Gardening Season

(Photos from our garden about a week ago)

I realized that I haven't posted on here in nearly a week, so I figured it was time again. David often checks our blog in the evening and keeps asking me why I haven't posted anything new. Well, not much new and/ or exciting has been going on here these days. I've been getting ready for baby, spending as much quality time with Sarah as possible, working on card orders and taking it easy in between. Not to mention that my "computer time" is often spent working on "business/work" stuff.

This week has seemed to officially be the end of gardening season for us. The cooler, windy weather is upon us and the sun suddenly doesn't seem to be shining as much. So the other day I pulled the tomato plants out...ahh.. so sad. We have been amazed at the amount of veggies that we have got out of our little garden this summer. In some ways it has been a love/ hate relationship. We have loved all the fresh produce but not always loved how we always had to figure out what to do with it. At one point we had 30 zucchini's ready to be used. The other week David used up the last of the tomatoes, a bunch of fresh basil and red onions to make amazing spaghetti sauce from scratch..yum! Sarah and I are already missing all the fresh tomatoes!

We also got quite a few little sugar pumpkins from the garden. I planted the seeds specifically to use for pumpkin pies. I've already baked two of the pumpkins. I made a couple of pumpkin pies and then pumpkin cheesecake squares the second time around. I had never used fresh pumpkin before, but it was all surprisingly easy and everything turned out really well.

We still have lots of carrots in the garden, I'm not too sure what I'll do with those. I suppose I'll just keep cooking them up; Sarah likes to eat them with her meals.

This week I'd like to bring the outdoor toys/ furniture into the garage and finish getting cleaned up before the days get even cooler and/ or I just don't feel like doing it anymore.

Bear Hugs

Loving her daddy time

The other day Sarah found her bear costume in her closet. Amazingly, she could still fit into it. It was on the big side last year and now it's a little snug, but it still fits. She had fun walking around with the tummy and hat on. At this point she was getting a little hot so we took the tummy part of the costume off.

Drinking from a Straw

Yesterday, before my doctor's appointment, we went to Pizza Hut for lunch. We've become fans of buffet restaurants since having Sarah. There's no wait time, you just get your food right away. We love how we can easily give Sarah an assortment of food items. A little mac and cheese, pizza, salad bar items...good stuff.

Once we were pretty much done eating and Sarah was getting restless David let her out of her high chair to come stand next to him. She's always liked to play with straws but never figured out how to use them. Then all the sudden, she seemed to know what to do. She was having a great time drinking lots of water and sucking on our lemons (loves lemons!).

Another little milestone for our little one! She's becoming such a big girl already!

36 Weeks...Counting Down

Time is flying by! Today I had my 36 weeks appointment, now it's appointments every week...hate that part. All is well. My doctor is so... relaxed about everything. Today I finally asked him to actually measure me since all he normally does is weigh me, listen to the baby's heartbeat and feel my stomach. He said I'm measuring a little on the small side, but no worries.

So I thought it was time to post some pics again, I have indeed grown and become more uncomfortable. This baby continues to be a mover! I am sleeping well, it just takes me a little longer to get comfortable and fall asleep. However, I'm one of those people who falls asleep pretty much instantly normally, so this is not a big deal. By the end of the day I'm feeling pretty tired. I've actually had a nap the last three days in a row, which is really odd for me. However, I thought it was probably a good idea to start taking advantage of the down time I have to rest and relax. It's also wishful thinking that I might be able to train my body to nap better, especially once the baby is here. You never know.

David and I are both getting excited and looking forward to meeting our little mystery person. Will we have a boy or a girl? What will he/ she look like? Similar to Sarah or very different? We'll just have to wait and see.

It's kind of funny since I'm in no big hurry to get this baby out at the moment. I think the memories of labour are still a little strong in my mind, therefore no part of me is looking forward to this inevitable experience. I'm also aware of the reality of waking up in the night, all those feedings, constant diaper changes, etc. Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking having our kids so close together (not that we thought it would happen as it did, but we knew it was a possibility). Sarah's now at such a great age, and now we're heading back to the baby stage. I know it will all be good and work out; I'm just really aware of the reality that will be hitting us soon enough.

If you haven't filled out our baby pool yet and would like to, now is the time. Just visit http://bebepool.com/saysomsacks There's a Starbucks gift card in it for the winner. It's been fun seeing what people think.

Adventures in Eating

For the past couple of months feeding Sarah hasn't exactly been the most pleasant experience. She always wants to stand up in her chair (she can get out of all kinds of straps, even the shoulder ones), she takes forever, only eats certain things, makes a big mess. Neadless to say, lunch and dinner time resulted into my most grumpy times of the day.

That is, until this past week, progress...finally! Sarah had always been such a good eater and still loves to eat, so I couldn't figure out what was going on. All I knew was that she was transitioning between eating like a baby to eating like a todder. She wanted independence but seemed frustrated that she couldn't do things on her own.

So here's what we've figured out. Sarah needs to have an element of control in the feeding situation, not surprising. She must have her bowl of food in front of her and her own utensil to feed herself. She sometimes gets the food in her mouth and other times will take the time to put each piece on her spoon. I can still feed her at the same time to speed up the process and make sure she actually gets something.

She likes to have her cup available to her at meal times and throughout the day. She gets a bottle when she wakes up and just before bed. Sarah can drink out of a regular cup pretty good as well, but still needs assistance in order to not get it all down her shirt. I've also been happy that she seems to love water. For the longest time I would add a little apple juice to the water to sweeten it up. Then one day she seemed happy with just plain water, yahoo!


She eats pretty much everything, we're so thankful for that! She loves macaroni, stuffed pasta, rice, all meat, veggies, fruit, etc. She normally eats one of these bowls about half to 3/4 full of her main meal, then some fruit/ veg, some cheese, and perhaps a baby cookie. She continues to love tomatoes and will often eat a half a regular size tomato with her meal.

I'm happy to say that as long as she has her bowl, etc in front of her she rarely stands up while eating and is quite content with the whole experience. Thank goodness. Both David and I are glad that we're made progess in this area and that Sarah's learning to be a good little independent eater, especially with the baby coming.

Loving her pasta! I sometimes take off her shirt to eat, depending on if the main item is covered in tomato sauce or not. Keisha continues to be Sarah's little sidekick, always at her feet during meal times just in case she drops a "treat."

Little Pink Boots

I picked up these little pink boots at the baby/ kids sale that I was showing my cards at the other week. They are just too cute! Sarah loves trying to put them on herself and enjoys tromping around in them. They're still a little big, but she'll grow into them.

I've been playing around with selective colouring the last couple of days and thought I would apply it to these photos. I love how they turned out!

And yes mom, it seems that Sarah is a boots and dress kind of girl too. Thought you would enjoy these.

Most Annoying Toy

Yesterday Sarah rediscovered one of her old toys. The problem is that now she knows how to turn it off and on and change the music settings. This thing could sing forever! Sarah has also discovered that if she walks and stomps on it really fast it gets really noisy and makes lots of different sounds. Good times...