Jam Sandwiches & Grass Whistles

Harley let out a bark just before 3 a.m. and I instantly knew the intruder could only be about two feet tall. Sure enough, little miss appeared beside the bed and crawled in for the rest of the night. She stirred again around 5 so I closed the blinds tighter and delivered water service before she happily drifted back off until after 7.

The moment she spotted sunshine it was game on for the day. I made myself a coffee while she started with homemade applesauce and playtime. The sun was shining full force but the wind still had a bite to it. I also realized I had left the garage door half open overnight with all the plants sitting nearby in the chilly 7-degree garage. Thankfully everything survived.

Sporting her Mom's little girl apron while "cooking" 

watermelon break eating like a puppy

always singing

Busy building her Duplo projects

This is a camera she made snapping a photo of Grandpa in his big brown

Grandpa eventually emerged from his sleep-in and joined the morning fun with coffee and cartoons. By late morning I recruited him into full-time Renn duty so I could squeeze in my workout before he headed off to another rodeo work bee for the high school rodeo weekend. Apparently supervising a busy two-year-old required recovery time because he promptly followed it up with a nap in big brown.

Lunch for Renn consisted of two jam sandwiches and ice cream, clearly the diet of champions. Grandpa polished off the last of the soup before heading to town.

My blooming tulips blowing in the wind

The afternoon turned into full kid chaos in the best way. I had invited the Paetz kids out, Amanda was taking Asher to Okotoks so the other three were dropped off together after lunch. Before leaving, Amanda quickly trimmed Renn’s bangs.

B rolled into the yard right behind them, fed the horses and headed off to work while Kaylin messaged saying she finally got into the doctor and officially has a sinus infection. Steroids, antibiotics and spray are now onboard. Hopefully rest helps too. She has been suffering for over a week. Renn too was plagued with this crusty eye infection.

Asher reading to the girls <3

The kids had an absolute blast with the “new” kitchen setup along with Duplo building and all the usual toy adventures- an afternoon of noise and imagination. Eventually we bundled up and headed outside to walk the dogs while the sunshine shone with little wind. During the walk I introduced the younger crew to an important prairie life skill — whistling with blades of grass. Ais and Arch proudly mastered it while Renn confidently pretended she had too.

grass whistling lessons

Archie also achieved his goal of petting Cooper outside which was honestly a pretty big accomplishment. Aislyn spent time loving up Mr Jenkins.

Back inside everyone cooled down with ice water and chips before disappearing back into play mode. Meanwhile I tackled dog chores, feeding then washed every single dog dish, watered plants, hauled planters back inside and checked on seedlings. The green onions and seed planters are officially sprouting.

Amanda and Asher returned after 5 and stayed long enough for a hilarious round of Renn’s version of “guess what I’m drawing” before loading back up for home.

For supper, little miss requested an exact repeat of last night’s meal because apparently when you find perfection there’s no reason to branch out.

Always singing and I always miss a ton

she can wink!

Bath negotiations also happened tonight. Renn remained deeply suspicious of the wind even after I opened the door to prove it wasn’t scary outside. The compromise? A shower instead of a bath — but only if Nana joined her. Naturally.

Fresh pajamas on, trampoline routine complete and bed time snack smoothie pouch consumed. Grandpa rolled in around 6:30 after rodeo work with burgers for us and purple grapes plus orange juice specially requested by Renn. More snacks.

Could she be any cuter?

Bedtime finally arrived. Stories and bum taps took a little longer tonight despite the busy day, but by 7:18 she was finally sound asleep.

I got the robot cleaning flors as S and I wrapped up the evening watching more Funny AF while the robot handled the daily collection of dog hair and toddler crumbs.