Happy Halloween!

Every time we took Olivia to the zoo, she was mesmerized by the giraffes. We decided that would be a great Halloween costume for her this year. Olivia looking at the giraffes last time we were there:


We started the day at Room to Grow, her playgroup preschool for a fun party.

Bowling with pumpkins with her friend Tesfa

Then we went to "Boo at the Zoo" and took pictures our our baby giraffe in front of the real giraffes!

She wouldn't stop looking at them long enough to cheese for the camera

Then we came home and waited for trick or treaters

I love my Daddy and my bird dogs!

15 Months!!!

While we were in Jasper, Olivia celebrated her 15 month birthday!! We had two photo sessions this month...the one by the lake didn't really work, as it was a little windy for the sign.

What changes this month-- the biggest being walking!!! She is now a very proficient walker and prefers that to crawling. This has made a huge difference when we go places. We let her explore now that she can stay clean! Another huge one this month, "Mama"! I finally have been given the title I have worked so hard for :) Her language has also really exploded. A friend asked me the other day how many words she has. I guessed around 30. That gave me the idea to sit down and write out a list of all of her words and I found that she has over 50 words! I couldn't believe it! This month, she also got three new teeth! This brings the count to 15. She has also learned NOT to share, great! She still prefers books to any toy but has developed an interest in stuffed animals and babies. It is so sweet to see her hug and kiss them. She is truly such a joy!

Jasper

With his new Canadian assignment, Mike gets one Friday off each month. It is intended to be a day to make doctor's appointments or other activities that need to be done during the work week. We decided to use the extra day this month to make the trip to Jasper. It is in the Canadian Rockies, about a 5 hour drive from Calgary.

We had a fantastic trip and Olivia did surprisingly well on both the long drive there and back. There are several points of interest along the way that are just breath taking. We got a chance to revisit Banff and Lake Louise on our way to Jasper. We got to see several waterfalls and tons of snow capped mountains. It was truly so beautiful!!!!!!

Athabasca Falls

Lake our hotel was on

Our hotel, Fairmont Lodges

Hiking down into a canyon

One of the many waterfalls

Medicine Lake...each winter natural springs drain the lake. In the summer, the snow melting off the mountains fills it back up.

A moose!

Our hotel again

Maligne Lake...Olivia was here

Refusing to put her pants back on after a diaper change. We were so cold, she didn't care though!

Doing some shopping

Playing her new maracas in the hotel lobby

The fam at the hotel

On the FREEZING hike to the Columbia Icefield glacier

Olivia loves her backpack, but she didn't really enjoy the hike it was so windy and cold, so we never made it to the glacier. Maybe next summer!

Snow

It is really cute to see Olivia walk over to the window and say "snow". A word a Texas toddler may not have! She loves looking at it coming down.

Belly buttons are the best

Olivia discovered her fabulous belly button after thinking mine was the coolest. Anytime she has on a dress or shirt that makes it accessible, she goes after it. She calls it her "owwww" because every time she finds mine, she jabs her finger in it and I respond in pain. :)

Like Father like Daughter

Olivia likes things HOT!

Every time I open the refrigerator, Olivia goes right for the Tabasco and puts it straight in her mouth.

Calgary Corn Maze

Last weekend, we headed out to the Calgary Corn Maze. http://calgarycornmaze.com
What a cool idea! Each year they cut a maze out of a huge corn field. This year, it was cut to look like a T-Rex. They also have a petting zoo that Olivia just loved. They had sheep, miniature donkeys, rabbits, ducks, turkeys, and goats.

We chose the coldest weekend so far to go (about 20 degrees), so we didn't last long. Olivia had on her snow suit jacket, hat, and was under a blanket inside her stroller. We, however, were FREEZING.

Crayons

We may have the next Picasso on our hands -- first time actually using the crayons and not eating them (well, not eating them the entire time, that is).

Walking

We finally have a walking toddler! She is so proud of herself when she makes it. She is a lot more brave on carpet than on hardwoods. She is still relying on crawling more often than not, but tries out her walking skills frequently. She has been taking a few steps for a couple months, but she is confident enough now to make those longer journeys.

WHEELS!!!!!!!!!!

After months of waiting, Olivia and I finally have wheels!!! After a huge debacle with our car title, we were finally able to ship our car to Calgary. We were told we needed the original title to cross the border and we were certain it was in our Doha shipment. We waited on our Doha shipment to arrive, only to find it wasn't in there. Once we told them we couldn't find the original title, somehow it was then okay to have a certified copy. Great -- wish we had known that in July! Calgary welcomed my car with a little snow dusting.

SNOW

We had read that snow was in the forecast for this past weekend. I figured just a few flurries mixed in with some rain. On Saturday, we got our first snowfall of the year. I took a picture to document the event...looks like rain, but that is snow. Nothing stuck to the ground.


This is what we woke up to on Saturday. That is "stick to the ground for-real" snow. It is early October!!! We are in so much trouble.


Maya had zero interest in checking it out. She put one paw outside and then ran back inside!

Oops turned hilarious...

I accidentally bonked O in the head with her ball and that started a fit of belly laughs

Crazy weather creates crazy outfits

The weather here is unlike any other I have ever experienced. It is common here to have a 30 to 40 degree temperature difference from morning to afternoon. It is really hard to dress Olivia for this. It can be 30 to 40 degrees when we wake up and then 70 to 80 in the late afternoon. Our house has no a/c, so in the afternoon in our west facing living room, it can get warm. So these crazy temperature swings can lead to some pretty unusual morning outfits for Olivia...

While Daddy is away...

the girls PLAY! Mike is in North Carolina this week for leadership training. It is a great honor that he was selected for this training. His nomination means his bosses believe he has leadership qualities and potential for bigger and better things. We are so proud of him and his dedication. I was a little anxious to be in a new city by myself for a week, but so far we have been fine. On the bright side, it has meant Olivia and I have wheels! My car is STILL NOT HERE! It is loaded on a truck and should be here within the next two weeks...finally!

We have had lots of activities this week. We have had playgroups, music class, and lots of shopping.

Swimming in the baby pool that came in our Doha shipment.

Finally tolerating car rides.

Climbing IN the toy basket

Skyping with Nonna

Planned Outfits

Last weekend in preparation for our WIN against the Tech, we were, of course, all wearing burnt orange. We went out to breakfast and to run a couple errands and several people asked us questions like, "Did you all plan your outfits?". Seriously, what kind of question is that?!

First Day of "School"

There is a fantastic little preschool in town that I found on-line. http://www.room-to-grow.ca
It has several different programs, one being "playgroups". Once a week they give 10-12 mom's and their 1-2 year olds access to their classroom. They have a "no plastic or battery toys" philosophy. They have all wooden toys, a train table, art easel, sand table, kitchen, books, etc. A majority of the time is unstructured with the last 15 minutes being a teacher-lead circle time, with a new theme each month. This month is farm animals - Olivia's favorite! Olivia and I both really enjoyed it. Ducky got to come to her first day!

Duck and Pong Pong visit Calgary

We had such a fun time with Ducky and Pong Pong (my parents) last weekend. We went to two different Farmer's Markets (Ducky's favorite) and she finally got to eat BBQ from Mike's favorite place in town, Palominos. When Ducky was here last, we tried several times to go, but they have really weird liquor laws here and many restaurants do not allow children. Palominos' liquor license only allows them to have children in their restaurant until 5:00. That has taken some getting used to.

They helped us get all of our pictures hung and decorating done at our house. Our Doha shipment arrived and we are finally completely moved in and settled! It feels great to have all of our stuff in one country for a change.

Reading with Ducky

Mike and my dad played golf on Saturday at Banff Springs. After they played there, my dad read in his golf magazine that it is rated #5 out of all North American Gold course. They loved it!

Maya and Olivia = BFF

Maya could have done without Olivia up until the past month or so. Now, Olivia has a special place in that Bird Dog's heart...