Tickled Pink: Weekend Update

Claire cutting up zucchini

Friday night we had no plans other than to eat dinner together as a family. I made an asian chicken dish with brown butter mushrooms, zucchini cherry tomato sauté with brown rice. It was delicious and Claire even helped me cut up the zucchini in the kitchen. I just gave her one of the little kids Ikea knives, it wasn't sharp at all. She was so proud to have her own knife and help in the kitchen. After dinner we gave the girls a bath and put them down for the night. Kyle and I watched an episode of Saving Hope we had recorded on the pvr.

I was able to do Abby's hair for the first time

What her hair looked like after her pony tails came out

Saturday morning Kyle offered to take Claire out with him while he ran some errands. He went to pick up light bulbs and head to the bank. I stayed home with Abby while she had her morning nap. I was able to tidy up around the house and relax for a little bit. It worked out perfect because Abby was just waking up as Claire and Kyle arrived home. For Valentine's day Kyle came home with a latte from Starbucks and chocolate peanut butter cups. Yum Yum!! He also had Claire hand me a small wrapped box, he had bought me a gorgeous pair of earrings from Appelt's that is part of their Elle line. It was a great start to the weekend! My parents came over after the girls woke up from their naps to babysit them while we went out to the Tragically Hip concert. We met some of Kyle's coworkers and Scott and Susie at a restaurant Rudy's close to the MTS centre downtown. We went for a drink before the concert started at 9:00 pm. We were lucky enough to have seats in the box that Kyle's work has seats in. It was more comfortable to sit and watch the concert than being on the floor or in the nose bleed section. They also had a TV in the suite so we were able to catch the end of the Jets game before the Hip came on. The Jets literally scored the last shoot out goal and won the game as the lights were dimming to signal the start of the concert. The concert was so much fun, we all had a great time singing along and dancing. They played their album Fully Completely from front to back and then added 5 more songs at the end.

My parents brought the girls some Valentine's day stuff

Gord Downie was entertaining

My date for the evening

Sunday Kyle went over to my parents all day to help my dad put up the drop ceiling in the basement. He took Claire with him so she could visit with my mom and my sister. My sister and Derrick were there to help as well. I was able to stay at home with Abby while she napped. On Saturday we noticed she slept really well in the morning for over 1 hour and 30 minutes but then in the afternoon she took over an hour to fall asleep and didn't nap very long. We thought maybe she's ready to transition to one nap a day. I thought I would let her fall asleep for a little bit while I was breastfeeding her in the morning to give her a little cat nap to tie her over until the afternoon. She had a little snooze for 15 minutes or so then I packed her up and we headed to Safeway to pick up some groceries I needed for dinner. Then I put her down for her afternoon nap while I baked a chocolate cake and prepared dinner for our friends we were having over. She did great, she slept over 2 hours and was well rested when she woke up. I was able to prepare the rest of dinner and dessert while she slept.

Abby is getting better with the sippy cup

Abby can eat chicken now!!! Yay

Even though she doesn't like whole milk she enjoys yogurt

I made slow baked honey mustard ribs, rice, asparagus, green apple salad and chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream. I had to text my friend Erica to ask her what I should do for the peanut butter icing and the chocolate gauche I wanted on the top. She is an expert when it comes to baking and she was able to help me out termendously to get everything right. Thanks Erica!!
We had our friends Corinne, Tyson, Julie and Rob over. Julie is a support teacher at my school and Corinne used to work with us but is now at a different school. We usually rotate between each others houses for dinner. We hadn't hosted them for a very long time so we thought it was our turn to have them over for once. It was great to see them and our husbands all get along so it makes for a fun evening. We ate lots of food and the dessert stole the show, not to toot my own horn but man was it good! I'll be making that again. We were able to put the girls to bed by 8:30 while they stayed for another hour or so and hung out.

Monday morning was nice to relax and not have any plans. Kyle took Claire outside for a sled ride to the park. Makena was happy to go with them and play in the snow as well. The temperature was a lot nicer then the last few days. Claire loved getting outside and hanging out with her daddy and Makena. Abby and I hung out inside and played downstairs. I enjoyed a cup of coffee and some new granola I bought at Costco over some yogurt. It was delicious and healthy! We didn't do much all day other than clean up, play, Kyle worked a little and the girls had naps and quiet time. It was very relaxing. Abby was able to eat some yogurt and cheese at lunch time, that was exciting for her. It's so nice to have new foods she can eat. We drove over to Kyle's grandma's place for dinner at 5. She made some yummy comfort food for dinner, breaded chicken, perogies and cucumbers with onions and sour cream. Claire ate well and then had some fresh strawberries for dessert. It was nice to visit with her and let the girls play with their great grandma.