A new nephew!

We are thrilled to welcome another nephew today! Cameron Geoffrey  was born at 5:30pm weighing in at 8lbs, 3.5 ounces and he sure is cute! Congratulations to Erica, Kevin and big sister Layla!

We had secretly been working on a gift for big sis that I will post now that Layla has received it :) I got the idea from......you guessed it, PINTEREST! It is a "big sibling" kit which you fill with activities for the big sibling to do at the hospital to entertain them while mom and dad are busy with the new baby. I would have preferred a bag without any design on it but it was tough to find the right material without a print so I used one bought at Ardenes. I bought iron-on adhesive from fabricville and some purple fabric from there as well. I cut out "big sister kit" on the purple fabric, ironed the adhesive on and then ironed the wording onto the bag. We then took the kids out and let them big out items for their cousin to put in the bag. They picked several books and crayons. I would have made her a t-shirt but ran short on time so found a local crafty mom who owns a t-shirt design shop. She was so excellent and efficient and sent me multiple designs to choose from and had it made and delivered for the following day! Check out her shop on facebook "Angie's Special T's". She custom makes just about anything you might want! Here is the final product:

6 years later...

Tomorrow marks our 6th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe it was that long ago; however at the same time so much has happened in 6 short years! Our wedding day was one of my happiest memories and will forever bring a smile to my face when reflecting over the emotions experienced July 8th, 2006. I felt as though my heart would burst and I couldn't stop the tears of joy. We were touched in so many ways by loved ones and thought it was a magical start to the rest of our lives together. There was excitement and anticipation of the start of something amazing. I couldn't wait to become Mrs. Downey and to share of love with those closest to us. Marriage is something that was and is very important to me. It is something that I looked forward to as many little girls do; and it was a day that lived up to my expectations. I remember soaking in moments and saying to my new husband.."we have to remember this very moment as it is". It went so quickly but is forever a day we reflect on with love and pride. Although marriage has it's difficult days and sometimes you have to work at it, it has been an incredable journey for us. Becoming parents tends to take your full time and attention however it is important to remember that you loved each other first and those beautiful children are "all because two people fell in love". I could not imagine sharing my life with anyone else and look forward to many more years of sharing ups and downs but remaining together through it all. So happy Anniversary to my wonderful bestfriend and husband; thank you for being my love, my friend and my rock.
 Here are some photos in memory of our special day:
(photos by Jeff Scott A Wedding Photo)

As expected we had a great Canada day! We went to Musquash for the festivities and finished off the day with the uptown fireworks. Kaiden took part in several games and was able to collect some fun prizes. The kids proudly wore their homemade shirts as well as some Canadian flag tattoos:

 Avarie was in awe at the fireworks and kept saying "wassat?" which is one of her new favourite things to say!

Holiday Weekend!

Those who know me, know that I love a holiday as well as a good theme. Being that it is Canada day tomorrow, we have been working hard at our patriotic gear for the day. The kids and I got our inner craft on after being inspired by "Ideas and inspirations for crafty parents". We made these adorable Canada day shirts:

We are planning to check out some of the festivities outside of the city and will finish the day with SJ's annual firework display. Kaiden is excited to say the least and keeps eagerly describing the fireworks to his sister who slept through the entire show last year. Hard to believe that last year Avarie was only 4 months old on Canada Day; what a difference a year makes!

Stay tuned for pics from this years festivities, which are such to be lots of fun!  Heres to a safe and eventful weekend!

Bring on summer!

ahhh...remember that feeling of the beginning of summer when the possibilites appear endless and you dream of beaches, icecream, bonfires, camping and so much more; I sure do! I am determined to provide a life that my children will look back over with fond memories of time spent together having a great time. We have been talking about upcoming plans for camping trips and are looking forward to many outdoor activities and fun throughout the summer. So bring on the summer and here's to good weather and great times!
Curiousity...

 Ahhh....!

 My beautiful kids!

We asked Kaiden what he wanted to do this year for a sport for the summer and he chose t-ball so we signed him up :) He started last week and did great!

This past weekend was Father's day so we decided to do a project for Geoff. With Grandma's help we did a little photo shoot with the kiddies and a special message on their feet:

We then did another little photo shoot at home and put together a framed collage, here are some photos from our project:

Here is the final project

A day fit for a Princess

Pretty much from the moment Avarie was born my mother wanted to have a tea party for princesses. We decided to wait until after the birthday parties and take a day some weekend to invite some little girls over to drink some tea and dress up in a princess dress. We had some beautiful little ones come by and had a great time. Daddy and Kaiden were excited to get out to see a 3D movie and really had fun! Here are some photos of our day

My little man

Happy Birthday Kaiden

To The boy who made me a mom,

5 years ago today I gave birth to my heart who would forever walk around outside of my body in the form of my beautiful boy. My dream as a child was to grow up to become a mom. From the moment I dressed up my dolls and cradled them in my arms, I longed to someday be called "mom". On this date 5 years ago you made that wish come true. The past five years have tested me, taught me, strengthened me and amazed me in so many ways. It is an incredible gift to be given the chance to view the world through the eyes of a child and being a mom is that opportunity. I hope that daddy and I are teaching you what it is to love with all of your heart and love without judgement and accept all the differences in the world. We hope that you will grow to be independent and strong but will always need us in your life and will always want us in your life. My wish for you is that you will cherish your childhood memories and will go on to have children of your own and will pass along your wonderful compassion and big beautiful heart. I hope your 5th birthday party was everything you wanted and that you will look back with happiness and joy. Although I tried to make a deal with you to stay 5 forever I know that you will grow up and someday I will look back on how much fun we had and how much excitement and joy you experienced on this day. I love you to the moon and back, Happy 5th birthday..
Love mom

The Birthday Boy

 The Cake!

 Cupcakes

 Spare Tire donuts

 Monster Truck set up!

 Loot bags

 Decor

 License plate place settings

 The birthday boy shirt

 Monster truck arena with cookie crub "dirt" and licorice "tires"