House hunting

Belated happy hearts day everyone! For the past couple of months we've been busy looking around, finding for our possible new home. We didn't limited our search in Brossard but visited nearby area like La Prairie, St. Hubert, Greenfield Park and Longueuil. House hunting is fun yet stressful. We are not in a hurry but everything happened so fast. We've seen houses of different styles, bungalow, two storey, split level, semi-detached.. and after careful consideration of it's value including location, community and accessibility, we've finally decided to get the house at C section of Brossard, this is the golf course area in Brossard and is now under development.

We've seen a lot of houses in that area including condominiums. My husband once loved a house in La Prairie but the area is not like Brossard, the accessibility and location is not good. So since I'm still on the way of learning to drive and it would be a hassle to take public transpo, we've agreed to stay in Brossard. We are accustomed to this area and we feel that this is really our home. This area is good for children and young families like us. Compared to the other cities in Quebec or Montreal, Brossard is not crowded. Some said that they didn't like the South Shore area because of the Champlain bridge, but for me and those living in the South Shore, they never know how we feel since they are not living here. Each day I'm traveling , that bridge serves as my relaxation. Who wouldn't be amazed of the magnificent view of the St. Lawrence river and downtown Montreal as the backdrop? In the morning, the sun rays added reflection and change the color of the river and the buildings around the river becomes as precious as sparkling gold. At night, it is totally different. The lights of the buildings and darkness pleased the eyes of a passerby.

So, now we are in the process of documentation and we've agreed to move at the end of May. This will be our 1st year here in Canada. How time flies! Have a great week to all.

Back to reality

Holiday is over and we're back to reality. Elyse is back in the daycare from Christmas vacation, for more than a week she stayed at home with me making a mess all over the house, playing, dancing, singing. In a middle of nowhere she would ask me "out of the blue" questions or would even tell me about a person she met / saw before. She is just adorable at this stage and continuously amaze me with her curiosity and good memory. She also love going to school and last night she said she miss her playmates.

One day while she was in the couch asking me to give her Stick-o, actually she already had a lot that day so I said, we don't have anymore. She said, "we buy stick-o at maxi!". I said, "do you have money?". She responded, "Yes! I have money!". So I asked her, "Where is your money?", "At mommy!" she said. Then, I told her "I don't have money!", and she immediately replied, "Oh, it's my daddy!", I just said, "Your daddy don't have money also!". "We buy money!" that's what she said! I was speechless for a few seconds and can't help but laugh out loud. At first she was in awe but later on laugh with me.

I have a video here showing her favorite moves! Have a great day!

What I Like?

While looking inside the fridge or going to a toy store she would always say "What i like?". Kids are just smart! This afternoon when i picked her up at the daycare and we were on our way home, she just remembered her plush puppy. Accidentally she left it in the daycare. It is not allowed to bring any toy in the daycare but with the absence of any of her favorite toy, she would throw tantrums the whole day. So, her teacher allowed her to bring one but would then be placed in a box while in the school. She can only get them when it's time to go home.

So to make her stop from crying, i just said "Ok, we will buy another puppy at Maxi." After 10-15 minutes travel and we we're just into our doorway, she immediately told me "Mommy, we will buy puppy at Maxi!". I can't believe it, she remembers! Before going inside Maxi, i asked her to promise me that she will be a good girl, no more crying and should eat a lot to become as pretty as her favorite princess. And she said " ok, promise!"

And when we got home, I told her that it's time to eat her favorite pasta. She love carbonara over spaghetti with red sauce. She just said, "I like pasta with yellow sauce!" She only meant, carbonara! By the way, it's her picture with princess accessories and her favorite plush puppy. While she's playing now, she just said "Ohh my goodness!" :) Yeah.. Ohh my goodness! She really knows what she likes.

First day in the daycare

Yesterday morning, i have to wake her up at 8:00am since we have to be at the daycare before 9:00am. It's only 10 minutes away from our place but the preparation will take a lot of my time, so we have to be really early. At the daycare, their breakfast will be served at 9:00am then some exercise, following activities at the park and coloring / writing activities. But maybe the summer is really over, it's getting cold here so going out might not be that fun.

The hardest part was when i left her in the daycare, I said goodbye to her and she embraced me tight. She was playing when i left so she didn't noticed. I really don't want her to see me go so I left quietly. After that, I headed back home to clean-up and got finished before the 12:30 pick-up time. I was at the daycare while they were having lunch and Elyse didn't noticed me. I was asked by the teacher to wait outside the room then she accompanied Elyse, telling her "Look who's here! See, i told you.. your Mommy will come back." Yes, she cried.. about 10-15 minutes and every time she remembers me. But the teacher said that for the first day, she did very good. She also said that we will see if she will cry a lot tomorrow or she'll be better, if the latter, then on Wednesday she will start her whole day stay.

Elyse seems excited to tell me her stories, she said that she played outside in the broom broom / car. She said that she had vegetables and milk, but according to her teacher she didn't took her milk since it's in the cup. When i asked her if she like her school, she said yes! I told her that tomorrow we will come back again but she seems puzzled. Maybe she's thinking that I'll leave her again tomorrow.

I miss you!

Yesterday morning when she woke up and still in her bed, she just said "Daddy is in the office." Maybe she just realized that her Daddy already left for office while she was sleeping. So, I said "Yes, Daddy is in the office because?" and she replied "to buy milk for Elyse!". And as her morning routine, she didn't failed to say "Good morning Mommy.., "Good morning Austin.., Good morning Tasha.. " and so on. Around 7:00pm when Daddy arrived from the office and she rushed to him, embraced him tight and surprisingly, she said "I miss you Daddy!". We we're laughing with amusement! Having such a sweet little girl is indeed the most wonderful blessing. To hear those words melts my heart. Kids are truly amazing!

I have mixed emotions about Elyse going to the daycare. Yes, I'm lucky that I got a daycare for her but on the other hand, I can't hide my sadness for this milestone in her life. It's exciting for her but it is also her first step away from me. I'm afraid that she will learn to be independent, gain a lot of friends and discover new things. I can't deny the fact that she's growing up so fast, faster than I can imagine. Maybe I'm being too selfish but I'm just a mother. I will miss her mess, her voice, her tantrums.. everything. Although she continuously testing my patience, most of the time she's making me smile and laugh. She inspires me and makes me realize how wonderful life is.

Homogenized milk and Daycare

Since we arrived here in Montreal, i started introducing 3.25% homogenized / fresh milk to Elyse but i wasn't successful. She still prefer the Nestle formula or follow-up milk. For the past couple of days, i started mixing it again in her daily diet and yesterday she wasn't aware that she's already taking pure homo! I'm so happy that finally she didn't bother to ask for "new milk" or "change to other milk". I was waiting for her reaction but she took it just like her formula.

I'm still actively searching for a good daycare.. the reason why I'm not visible in the blogosphere these days. I have visited a lot of daycare and I'm so so happy that i found a very good, clean, organized and educative daycare just 10minutes away from my place. The Romanian owner is very nice, she's a bit strict with her policies but i guess she can work things out. I guess she's experienced in her field, i trust her and i know she can take care of Elyse. I was surprised when she told me not to bring Elyse's feeding bottles, and on her first day i don't even have to stay, it's a bit strange, I'm getting nervous too because I really don't know what will happen. But she assures that Elyse will get used to it. According to her, "she will be fine!". She told me not to worry too much. She knows the feeling of a first time mother and leaving my precious daughter behind will never be easy, most especially she is my only child but she made me understand that it's only for the best. It will be the first time that Elyse will stay in the daycare and will be away for 8 hours a day, 5 times a week. So, my husband who was also surprised, laughed over things after i told him the scenario. He said "good luck" to her and hoping she can easily pull things off.

Now, we are always telling Elyse that soon she will go to school and she just have to be nice to her classmates and teachers, that mommy and daddy will go to office so she can have more toys. She said "yes" but this morning when she woke up and i was not beside her, Fred told her that mommy is in the office.. she cried a lot and screamed "mommy, mommy!". Well, good luck to us! September 8 is her first day in the daycare. I hope that Elyse will cooperate well with us! I really hope that "she'll be fine!".

Happy weekend to all!

Another weekend with my little girl

It's Saturday once again! I have been busy all day with the household chores and at the same time changing my header, the colors and some details here, notice the changes? I feel more comfortable with the overall look of my site now, I think it's refreshing than the previous one. Actually, I want to do more.. I want to change the template but i can't find a better one. Well, choices are limited here and it will really take time to change everything. For now, i leave it that way.

Lately, my little girl is being more "madaldal" and hyperactive than usual. She just can't keep quiet or stay in one place. Whatever she's doing, it is always accompanied by singing, hopping or running. Sometimes even on her sleep she's talking! It's her habit to open the fridge and ask herself "what i want?", then ask herself to choose, "apple? orange?" she will think for a while and answer her question too, "orange, yes!". Right after getting what she want, she will automatically say "thank you, mommy! thanks!" She definitely knows how to make me smile and give-in to her never-ending please!

Happy weekend! :)

Meet my telephone operator

I can conveniently wash our dishes or do other household chores without getting bothered who will answer the phone. My little girl is my phone operator, every time the phone rings she will stop whatever she's doing, ran to get the phone, press the talk button and say "hellooo!." Most of the time it's her daddy on the other line, so she will talk to her daddy like a grown up and respond to every question asked to her. When i tried to asked her who was on the other line, she said "It's daddy!." And then she started telling her daddy what's she's doing like making a castle, color color or watching tv. How time flies! For me, she's still a little girl, but every time she talked to me, do some new tricks, making me laugh, telling stories.. I can't accept the fact that she's growing up so fast! Ohh well...
Just a white background for cleaner and simple design. Now, i want to share this lo i made a while ago. Happy weekend to all! Enjoy!
credits: dcorbitt flower, red, blue and sequins ribbon, claudi ribbons (recolored), fa tag and sheet, lleila stamp, jasmin olya stitch

MMR, Meningitis and more

This afternoon at around 3pm, Elyse had appointment at CLSC (centre local de services communautaires / local community service center) for her immunization. CLSC's are free clinics runned and maintained by the provincial government.

She got vaccinated twice today, her 1st shot of Meningitis and her 3rd of MMR. For her MMR, she was advised to repeat the 1st shot since it was given before her 1st birthday. According to the nurse, the MMR vaccine will not be effective if given before the 1st birthday. I'm a bit alarmed here since I'm not so sure if it's safe to have the MMR shot for 3 times? The nurse said, it's better to have 1 more, than 1 less in immunization. I searched thru the net and they said no one will get overdosed by MMR, so I guess the nurse knows what she's doing, right? :)
The best part of living here is that we can enjoy the free medical benefits which includes immunization! Soon we will receive our health card but I'm surprised that they didn't ask me to pay for her immunization. I really thought I have to pay first and reimburse later since we didn't have a health card yet.

About Elyse, she cried a bit on the 2nd shot which I guess is the MMR. After a minute she was running around the lobby again and playing with other kids while singing. We we're advised by the nurse to wait for another 15 minutes before we left so we can check if Elyse had reaction to the vaccine. Thank God, she seems fine and looked like nothing happened.

We passed by Zellers and saw some items on sale so before going home, Elyse got another ball again.. this time, with strawberry shortcake character. Hay.. the first who got her attention was thomas the train, then lightning mcqueen, then the backyardigans leap pad, dora's toy organizer and lastly the ball again! I just remember that we have a leap pad at home so now I will check the model if we can get those backyardigans filler. I also got throw pillows in light brown at 2 for $9.97, what a great deal! Hope you all have a great day! :)

I love...

This week has been another milestone for Elyse.. she just made "pee pee" on her potty seat for the first time. That was last night! On the second day since we seriously started her potty training. Yeah i know.. she should started earlier, but of course I have excuses! :) When we we're still in Morocco she's not interested to sit down on her potty and I don't even want to push her if she's not ready. I know...the right time will come, I don't need to hurry but should introduce it to her step by step. In her case, now is the best time... even if she don't feel the urge to "pee pee" or "poop" she will ask me to come with her in the toilet so she can do her thing. That's my girl!

Barney days is over! Backyardigans here we come! At first, it was Pablo.. then Austin.. and now Tasha.. Who's next? Tyrone? Uniqua? Well, she love them all.. When she wants to dance, she will hold my hands and dance like the Backyardigans.. at the end of the song, she will pose like Pablo.. stretching her right arm, bending her head on the right and lifting her left foot. Ohh, I just heard that she's asking daddy to buy her a cd. Hmm.. I just told her to "poop" on her potty tomorrow, then maybe we can get a cd for her. And she said "opo mommy". Good!

Do you like to play in the slide? "Slide! Slide! Slide! Yey!!!" She's always excited to play in the slide.. actually, we are her favorite slide! She would always ask me or her daddy to sit down in the couch and stretch our legs. So, we decided to get her a slide and as expected she's enjoying it. She's not the only one playing there, all her toys are also loving to slide. :)

Happy and safe weekend to everyone!


weekend-snapshot

Elyse and Quebec city on Father's day!

I have been scouting for daycares around the area and so far i like the Les Canaries and Au Pied de lechelle in Boulevard Rome. Both are subsidized by the government and has a long wait list. It pissed me off that most daycare centers here will let you know that it usually take a year or two before getting a place or will ask you to leave your name and phone number so they can call you once there's a slot available. I was in total panic knowing the situation and I guess I'm still lucky when Au Pied de lechelle in Boulevard Grand Allee finally informed me that they have place for Elyse in the afternoon! I think the time and schedule is best for my little girl since it's her first time to stay in the daycare center. So, this afternoon at 4pm we will visit the place and I hope the place is good for Elyse.

We also enrolled Elyse at Le Petit Gym where she will start her first class this Saturday. I'm sure she will not let the day pass without visiting Funtopia which is just beside the Le Petit Gym. We visited Funtopia last week and she had fun playing with other kids, but most of all her favorite slide is there. Now, she always want to be out in the sun, running around the park, enjoy the water in the pool and swinging all day long!By the way, last father's day we visited Quebec city with some friends here. It was a charming city! We've been to Sainte Anne de Beaupre, Chateau Frontenac, we even rode a cable car going to Mont Morency and watched the cycling competition in the city.

credis: aamorin paper, kskd tape, gunhild storeide frame, chere-kaye wordart.

It's her again..

Elyse's 2nd birthday celebration is incomparable to her 1st. For so many reasons, we didn't really plan for a big celebration. We just had dinner at Buffet and Bar Newport here in Brossard, gave her a cake and ice cream that she truly enjoyed. She knew it was her birthday but was in awe when her daddy came in with a cake, singing the birthday song. Soon she realized that it is really her birthday! After that, she was singing the same song for herself until we got home. :)

Before coming here, we didn't have any idea how we're going to celebrate her birthday especially being away from close friends and relatives. Thank God for meeting nice and wonderful people here who treated us like their immediate family. Settling down has been easier with their help and advices. Thank you so much!!!

To my dearest Elyse, Happy birthday! I love you and God bless you! Mwah! :)

It's your special day!

What's up with her?

This morning, Elyse just bite the teat of her feeding bottle and tear it. Lately, biting is back in her routine and i guess because of those teeny-weeny-teeth coming out again. But this one must be her worst bite ever, take a look!

I'm sorry for big bird because she's always been her favorite friend to bite. Sorry for the word, but nose picking is another bad habit she's been doing lately. I caught her but still kept on doing that while i was taking pictures. From time to time she would say "yuck" and smile on the camera like she's doing it only for fun and picture purposes. My super kulit bulilit is growing up fast and will soon turn 2. Whenever asked how old was she, she would respond "I'm one year old", i reminded her that next month she will be "2 years old". Surprisingly, she said "Oh no!."

As I've mentioned in my previous blog, Elyse had her first haircut in Manila and here's the storyboard.

No for haircut!

This was Elyse's first haircut from a professional hairdresser. Since birth I was her only hairdresser, so now you know why her hair was in total mess! We went to "cuts for tots" in Robinsons Galeria. When she first saw the car and toys inside, she was amazed and excited. But when the hairdresser started to spray some water on her hair, it's another story. I will just post the story board here later. For now, here's a snapshot and my latest lay-out. I'm bored and not inspired to do a lay-out.. so I'm not that happy with this lo, the same with the little girl on the picture.
Happy and safe weekend everyone! :)

credits:
kb frame, mco paper, nathy bling, akiloune border doodle, lisbonlioness alpha, misty cato number bits, scrapdoll journal paper

She Want It Now!

While i was cooking for lunch my little girl kept asking me if she can have carrots. So i gave her uncooked carrots and she ate it! :) And then she went inside the room, now she's counting "one, two, three.... three balls!" As a curious Mom, i went inside the room and saw her sitting in the floor with three balls and yes she counted it again and again! :D

She's now calling me "Go out Mommy! Let's go! Pleaseeeeeeee", asking for her jacket and shoes "Come on Mommy! Walk walk there! (pointing to the door), I'm telling her to please wait because I will tell Daddy that we will go out, she said "Ok, fine!" There she is asking her friend Big bird to come with us. So, I guess we're off to LPG (La Pause Gourmande) now.

We're back with our favorite Almond and Honey Croissant! She's asking me if she can have soup so, I guess I'll be cooking her favorite chicken soup. :)

About the lay-out:
I have been keeping this picture in my hard disk for quite sometime and didn't noticed that I'm not yet done with the lay-out. Blame it to blogging and blog hopping! I never thought it would be this addicting. :) Happy Friday everyone! God blees!

credits: sea paper, miss mint paper, touche d' orange stitch, crenee buttons and elements, cbombria alpha, dsf journal

Un, Deux, Trois

around 12 midnight when elyse started yawning and getting sleepy.. so i got her milk and put her to bed. before sleeping..again, she is talking to her friends, murmuring.. then suddenly, she started counting in french alone!!! un, deux, trois, quatre....up to dix! correct in pronunciation pa! yey!!! i was so excited that i called fred who were in the living room that time.. and of course he is a picture of proud daddy! he even called his parents back home and told them about the news. :)

credits: mlima paper, cbombria red papers and flowers, touch de' orange stitch, michelle guymon and flergs alpha