Wren was given this horse from Kenton's aunt Kim, and his cousins Kari and Kendra, along with a Curious George book of stories that she loves. She gets Kenton to read it to her every night!
I am slowly putting up our new photos of the girls in the house. Kenton insisted on making the frames for the pictures that will hang in each of their rooms. I protested the idea somewhat as it means I will have to wait. Ha!
He has an aversion to buying things from Ikea (and rightfully so), when he could just make them himself. Then he cringes when I say something like, "And I want Ellie's frames to be white because they will stand out on the grey walls better". It's as if I have no appreciation for his woodworking skills by wanting to cover up the natural wood with cheap paint, how dare I! It's not quite that bad really, but more amusing as this banter happens almost every time I want something new for the house...if it's made out of wood...
Yes, there is a sticker on her forehead I couldn't get her to take off.
Our next door neighbours are in the process of selling their house right now. They are the best neighbours we could have asked for. They are a young couple with two kids almost the same ages as ours, but a boy and girl. I get together with the mom and our kids play at least once a week. We borrow sugar and eggs from each other when we run out for our baking, and our husbands lend each other tools when needed. They have never been loud or had crazy parties (anyone who knows me will know how much I treasure this) and are friendly and helpful.
Today as I fed Ellie on the couch and Wren played by the front window, as sad thought came to my mind as Wren exclaimed "Mason home!" as her friend and his family pulled up in front of their house. I realized that as sad as I am to lose them as neighbours, I am more sad for Wren in that she won't understand where he went once they move away. She gets so excited when we see them out for a walk or hear them in their backyard and she always wants to go play with him and his little sister. I'm sure his mom and I will arrange occasional playdates but it won't be the same for her to not have him next door anymore.
When Andrea and I were growing up, we had the best neighbours across the street from my parent's house. There was a boy my age, a girl that was Andrea's age, and then another much younger brother. We used to play Barbies with the girl all the time, and soccer baseball in the summers on their lawn. It was never quite the same after they moved away and we missed having playmates so close by.
Despite feeling sad for seeing the neighbours leave (at least it's not until the end of summer), I have seen a bunch of kids on our street, and hopefully Wren will get a chance to make friends with them over the next few years.
In other news, we just finished one of the best tv series we've seen in a long time- Downton Abbey. No, not Downtown Abbey. Downton Abbey. Andrea introduced us to it and we were instantly addicted. It's by the BBC and the creator/writer was the same one who made Gosford Park. The show is a drama that explores the world of a wealthy family and the lives of their servants in the home and the dynamics between the two prior to World War One. If you have seen it, you will find these paper dolls hilarious. My favourite is Mr. Pamuk in Matthew and Mary's cut outs!
I was just reading my favourite blog and laughed at this post. We just bought Wren Native shoes for two reasons. 1) They were the cheapest "sandal" in the store, and 2) Everything else was ugly, end of story. I can't even believe they charge $130 for a pair of Birkenstocks for kids her age!! Anyway, funny. She is like, so cool.
Next summer I am going to beat the rush and order both her and I a pair of these.
