Category: Family

Catch-up post #1, January 2008

Well we are quite far behind on our family updates. I’ll try to get a couple of updates out so you can see what we’ve been up to. Well it probably boils down to being sick a lot. Heather’s dust allergy has kicked up with a vengeance, I got quite sick in February, and Katrine has been happy to share in the bountiful joys of illnesses from daycare, including a bout of “hand, foot, and mouth” that she also shared with her father.

January started off with Heather’s birthday and a gluten free cake. Katrine was quite distressed that this was a store bought cake and not home made. However she was mollified when given the opportunity to enhance the decorations on said cake.

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We pick up later with Heather and Katrine at the Robbie Burns Supper (ah The Bard) where Heather danced and managed to have a really bad bout of asthma.  Katrine looked cute, and managed to find a playmate for the evening named Catherine… just to get everyone confused.  Glenn and Grandma T. were the only ones from the family to eat the Haggis, a big loss to everyone else in my opinion.

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Finally, when not sick, we managed to take some time out to go skating at our local outdoor skating rink.  Katrine always seems to enjoy herself, and is getting quite good with out the help of any formal lessons.  She has asked about hockey on occasion, but we’ll wait and see if that is a real interest before making any decisions.

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Look for a couple more posts up coming over the next couple of days.

Happy New Year!

I am finally taking a moment to wish everyone all the best in 2008!

The holidays were busy for the Attwood clan. The highlight for Katrine was the pink digital camera that Santa brought her. Some of her pictures are actually quite good. For us it was new years eve at the zoo. It gave us the chance to see the nocturnal animals moving all around. Plus, the had a really good kid friendly show on as well. Even better, it got us out and moving after all of that turkey. We have also had alot of fun playing in the snow. I mean, you never know when it will melt away. Today, Katrine had particular fun building a snowman which she named Frosty.
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Cookie decorating party

The last few weeks have been rough on us, so it was nice to have a fun diversion. This time around it was cookie decorating. A group of my girlfriends and their kids came over and we baked and decorated cookies. Most were consumed during this process but a few made it home with the little worker bees. When they were done with the cookies, all of the children ran around and played. It got loud but they had a lot of fun. For me it was nice to have a chance to chat and visit with friends. Glenn? He escaped the madness by going shopping for new skates for Katrine. He actually managed to find her a pink and white pair that fit perfectly. Now we can go skating again!!
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Making a Pumpkin Pie

For most people, making pumpkin pie means opening up a tin and going from there. Well this time around, it was a bit different. Between Katrine’s 1 trip to the farm and my 2 we ended up with three pie pumpkins that needed a purpose. What do you do with pie pumpkins? Make pie of course. Glenn dug up a recipe on the internet and we dug in – literally. Here is the story of this adventure…

Dig out those gutts. We then nuked them and whizzed them in the blender but no photos of that. Glenn did manage to knock a pot lid off the counter onto his foot during that process and was hobbling around for most of the week.
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Pour stuff into a big bowl and mix.
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Bake.
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Lastly, enjoy.
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Glenn found it too fluffy but Katrine seemed to like it. She did object to the lack of whip cream and the fact that they were eating pumpkin pies when it was not Thanksgiving.
We put the tree up today(I know but I LOVE Christmas) and she was simply trembling with anticipation. When we put out the nativity she started to sing Jesus loves me(…”and you do too”) and announced that we couldn’t forget Baby Jesus’ birthday cake. Then she wrote her first letter to Santa asking for a camera: “I w a c” and a wobbly rectangle. We are hoping that Santa can read preschooler. Tomorrow we are heading out to the local Santa Claus parade(not Glenn though because of football playoffs).

Happy Halloween!

Katrine was really excited about Halloween. She had us decorating pumpkins, cutting out ghosts, icing cookies, the works. We went to Boo at the zoo with one of Katrine’s friends on Sunday and she had a blast. I think that watching the otters swim around like lunatics with her friend was the highlight of our visit. Last night she went to her Grandfather’s nursing home in her costume and came home with some goodies. Today at school they ate cake, wore costumes and went trick or treating around the room. We thought that she would be all gung-ho for tonight. Well, the main event was a bit anti-climactic. She went to four houses and declared it too scary. Then she spent the rest of the night watching TV while munching orange popcorn.
At least she looked cute. This past summer we went to see Surf’s Up in the theater. She didn’t move at all during the movie and insisted that we stay until the last credit had rolled off the screen. So, she was a surfing penguin. She tolerated the costume but loved the surf board that Glenn made for her. I think that it will get a lot of use before it crumbles to bits.
Happy Halloween everyone!
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Happy Thanksgiving

The fall has been full of changes…some pleasant and others not. Glenn began a new job the first full week of September. It has been a good move and he is enjoying the new challenges. The second week of September, my Nana passed away at 95. Her funeral was lovely and the support of family and friends was overwhelming. September also saw Katrine return to gymnastics, me to dance and Glenn to hockey (he has already scored a goal this time around!!), Katrine also started to take Highland dance lessons. Thus far she has mastered most of the basic positions and highcuts. We are worked on bowing. Most important though, she is having fun and burning off steam. October has dawned with unseasonably high temperatures and beautiful sunshine.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

First day of School!

Katrine began preschool on Monday. She loves it. Every morning she puts on her little Strawberry Shortcake backpack and heads out to the car. She talks about her nameless friends, the blocks and bikes. Today she even told us about making cupcakes…and not the gluten-free kind that we have to make at home but real gooey, gluteny things that they will eat tomorrow. She had her first school injury yesterday when she fell down going outside for a fire drill and bit her lip. She really surprised all of the teachers when she didn’t cry too long but dusted herself off instead. I have to tell you that the school’s lack of freezies to treat mouth booboos troubled her deeply. It was all that she could talk about last night. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this love affair continues.
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The summer draws to a close

August has been a very busy but fun month for all of us.
We traveled to Ottawa over the long weekend for the Children’s Bridge Picnic. While there we visited a few museums. Our favourite was the display of Chinese artifacts at the Museum of Civilization. It was extremely interesting. Katrine however, was not impressed. She much prefered the children’s section of the museum and had to be pried away at naptime. We also explored the Museum of Technology. We actually had a wee ride on a steam engine which was pretty cool. During our visit we were lucky enough to be able to meet up with one of the families who adopted from the same orphanage. The girls had a wonderful time playing together.
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A calligraphy brush. This was displayed alongside some scrolls. It was really interesting to look at the product capable of being produced with such a utensil.
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We were also lucky enough to be invited to spend a weekend at Glenn’s sister’s cottage which was super relaxing. Katrine actually went in the lake this year, thanks to her floaty bathing suit. (It is a swimsuit that has pockets that hold blocks of foam which allow the child to float. It gave Katrine enough confidence to risk the lake and she ended up having a great time.) She also went fishing with her cousins. Both of them caught fish while Katrine enjoyed going through the motions.
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This month has also seen us journey to the Lantern Festival, attend soccer games, picnic with friends and generally have a wonderful time. Katrine passed Preschool B swimming and was super proud of herself. She has also learned how to ride a two wheeler with training wheels. I guess that next year will see her with a few more scrapped knees as she works on not using training wheels…I think we will just enjoy this phase.
Katrine starts preschool tomorrow. She is both excited and nervous. I am setting up my classroom starting tomorrow and Glenn starts a new job next week!!!! Katrine will also have her first Highland Dance class in two weeks time (we will see how that goes, keep your fingers crossed) and will go back to Chinese and gymnastics. Hopefully it will help her sleep to be so active.

Wild Toy Animal Hospital Visit

Today we went the the Wild Toy Animal Hospital at the Toronto Zoo. It seems that Monkey has collected a few boo-boos that needed look after, and he is sorely behind on his vaccinations. 296300303 First we needed to go through Triage: 306 Then came our examination by the Veterinarian: 312 Then we needed to get our vaccinations: 315 Next was the X-ray to check out his paw: 318321 After that it was a heart ultrasound: 324 Then he was looked at by the surgons: 327 Finally he was bandaged up and declared “good as new”: 330 As proof, here is Monkey’s health certificate: 333 The rest of the visit did not go as well, as Katrine was somewhat afraid of the Dinosaur exibit. As well we forgot her swimsuit, and despite urging from Mama and Baba, Katrine insisted that she could not under any circumstances go in the splash park. It was probably for the best as we came home for luch and a nap.

At the splashpad


at the splashpad #2

Originally uploaded by grattwood
Well I finally went and got a Digital SLR (a Nikon D200 if you’re wondering)… it’s a reward for all the work I’ve been doing, and will be doing especially on Father’s Day.

So we went for a walk with Katrine to the local splashpad. It was a good way to test the new camera, and a great way for Katrine to get cold 🙂