We managed to pick up a second hand pair of "snow partys" for Heather and she loves them. I have managed to get her up to the Nordic Centre once or twice a week to let her get to grips with them on her feet. She loves to pretend that she is Thomas the tank engine going in the tracks and she loves to see all the other skiers passing by. After about 30 mins she tells me that it is time to go home for he favorite drink, hot chocolate. She enjoys a hot chocolate after we have been skiing, sledging or out for our winter walks. Along with her music class, swimming class , little French story and craft class and play group she is a very busy and active girl, still has an abundance of energy in the evenings and is reluctant to go to bed. However we wouldn't want it any other way!!

This week was the first opportunity for both of us to take her to Norquay ski hill in Banff and she enjoyed going up the magic carpet with daddy and loved coming down the hill.

The Ice Magic Festival

The Ice magic festival is held in Lake Louise every year. 12 teams of 3 carvers are given 36 hours and 15 blocks of ice each weighing 300lb to transform into seven foot tall world class ice sculptures. There are lots of other fun activities to do while these poor people have to stand in the shadow of Victoria Glacier and temps of -20.

Terrible job if you ask me, I mean you have to have freezing temperatures and be outside ...for 36 hours!!!

Well it wasn't the warmest of days and the weekend was plunged back into temps of below -20. But with family time to spend, we decided to go to the festival as we have often seen the sculptures, but never seen the carvers in action.

There is the "little chippers festival" which allows the kids to learn the art of ice carving, learn to drive a dog sled (although we never moved!!!), see the fire dept, face painting and mask making...Oh and getting lost in the enchanted forest ice maze.

Little chippers.

"Moosh, moosh!!".

Well after all the fun at the "Little Chippers Festival" we decided to go up to the lake and watch the ice carvers in action, however when we arrived up at the lake the sun was hidden behind the mountain, the wind was gusting and by the time we walked from the parking lot to the lake we were desperate to get indoors. We quickly walked past the poor frozen carvers, glancing at their works of art to quickly find the entrance to the hotel !!!!

Once again...really unfortunate career path, if you ask me!!!

Second child

With a second child I have found that their development occurs before you realise it and they are doing more things before you know it. With Heather we were always excited with the anticipation of the next developmental stage of lifting her head up, rolling, sitting etc, however, with Finlay it seems to happen all of a sudden, he will suddenly seem to get his balance and sit for a while, and leaves me thinking "So you are almost ready for sitting now." In a way it is great, but you realise that you missed all the trying.

This is all the trying that we miss.

along with a helping hand.

trying again, solo this time.

Little bit of Heather's magic dust.

and I've done it.

Finlay is such a soft loving boy and loves to snuggle into your shoulder and make a lovely snotty mess on my tops, he loves touching peoples faces and cheeks and loves to be kissed on the lips and on the cheeks. You can turn a little upset boy into a giggly happy chap by simply talking to him and kissing or blowing raspberries on his cheek

Differences

"Taily!!!"

It is amazing to see how children become aware that they are not the same and that they have differences. While I am changing or bathing Finlay, Heather has realised that there are marked differences between her and her brother, his' taily' being the obvious one. Heather comes out with some funny ideas and this is her idea about her 'taily'..." My 'taily' hiding, yours is already out, mine come out later... Yeh ??!!!!! "
This is her take on what a bra is for....."What's that mummy?" "It's a bra Heather!" "That keeps your nipples warm?" "Yes it does Heather!!!"
Over the past couple of months She has become aware that Daddy and Mummy have names and often asks James or Elaine to come and play or asks us what we are doing. The amazing thing is that she will go to her alphabet puzzle and bring back the "J "or "E" or" F" and say " This is James, he is tired, or"This is Elaine she goes here" or " This is 'Flinlay' boy, he needs to sleep". She will also bring the "L" and say "This is Lainney".

" I'm a tiger in my den!!!"

At the moment Heather has been a little less interested in her books and has become very active in imaginative play, she loves to dress up using tea towels, small blankets, shoes and hats of varying sizes and enjoys making a den under her little table and pretend that she is camping or in her own little house, and over the course of 30 mins or so, collects her tea set, pillows, dolls, produce set and various other items and after a while she wants me or Finlay to come in too !!! It gets a little crowded in there and Finlay is often unsure at first but then quickly finds it a whole lot of fun. However she is such a little busy body that she is often on the outside running around and gathering more toys she never stops and is always on the go....don't know where she gets her energy from!!!! It warms my heart when I leave them both in the den together and I can hear them giggling and laughing from where I am in the kitchen, I then take a peak and smile at the two sets of feet poking out of the den.

Solid Food

Finlay turned 6 months and because he has been such a hungry little boy, I decided to start him on solid foods....well sloppy rice cereal!!! Heather has been promoted to the " Big persons chair!!" and Finlay has been promoted from the bouncy chair on the floor or the bumbo chair on the table to the high chair at the table beside the rest of the family. And he looked pretty proud of himself, full of smiles and grins at his sister beside him, both giggling together...just imagine what it will be like in a year from now!!!! He has taken to it as well as a 6 month old can and usually ends up with cereal all down his chin and all over his face.

Moonlight ski

The full moon was on January 11th and it has been said that the Goat Creek trail, from Canmore to Banff is just amazing, and if caught at the right time, you don't have to use a head torch. This is a 15 km cross country ski trail through a mountain valley starting near Canmore and ending up 3 hours later in Banff. We have a few adventurous and crazy people in our neighbourhood who were up for a good night out. So on the Sunday 11th the five boys left at 9pm with their backpacks filled with first aid kit, bear spray, extra clothing and a few snacks and one can of beer. They completed the run in 3 hours, returning at 1 am. The following day they were raving about it so much that the girls felt that it was something that they could also do and also do quicker than them!!!....

The race was on!!!

So on the Wed night the four girls left at 9 pm with backpack filled with first aid kit,bear spray, extra clothing and a few snacks, no beer. We completed it in 2 1/2 hours. We didn't have the privilege of a full moon and had to use our head torches the whole time. However, when we arrived at the end and got to the van, after having to extricate the spare key from somewhere under the wheel arch, we were welcomed by a crate of beer and 2 large bags of crisps!!!! We then turned round to enjoy seeing the moon rise out from behind the mountains into the valley that we had just skied through.

The whole experience was amazing the smell of pine was accentuated, I'm sure due to the fact that our vision was reduced and our other senses were more alert. We stopped on many occassions to turn our tourches off and look at the thousands of stars and listen to the silence of the forest and the mountains.The shadows of the trees sillouetted against a star lite sky was beautiful . And the mountains looked larger than ever with their snow capped summits shining in the night sky.

Of course I was pretty tired the following day. When I crept into the house Finlay woke for a feed and then he wanted feeding again at 6 am. Oh well no rest for the wicked, but if you are going to be tired, then you may as well be tired, while enjoying yourselves!!!

Ice saftey

1 inch will end your day
2 inch dogs may play
3 inch you may, but depends on what you weigh
4 inch both may
5 inch okay

First time on skis.

" Come on guys, I'm waiting !!!"

We had all taken Heather to the Nordic centre to let her have a go on skis. Here in Canmore, they like to start 'em young in the hope of gaining another Olympian. They have little white plastic skis that strap onto toddlers boots and you can see little tots walking around the snow tracks !!...Well as you can guess, James and I were all over that!!!!

We walked into the hire shop and Heather went right up to the rack with the little plastic skis, dragged a pair off and placed them on the bench, waiting for someone to help her get them on.

"Come on Dad, have your fingers frozen !!!"

Smile for the camera and looking good.

Time to go solo.

..and away we go !!!!

After 30 mins on the snow, she was wanting a carry, so we packed the skis away and then took her and Finlay for a soak at the Banff Hot Springs for a treat. That evening she was saying that she wanted to go again, so the next day we took her again, this time she went on a down hill stretch between Dad's legs and loved it.

James and I have enjoyed a week of getting back into the skiing. On Tuesdays, Heather goes to day care, so we decided to go skiing, taking turns to look after Finlay. Well bare in mind that I am usually a snowboarder, have only had one ski lesson and have not been on a hill in two years let alone being let loose on my own...a recipe for disaster as you can imagine..... and yes it was a sight to behold...talk about trying to teach yourself to ski as you are descending....images of Bridget Jones and auntie Helen were flying through my head and bringing smiles to my snow covered face!!!!

I did sustain an owie to my elbow and only discovered that while driving home, once the adrenalin had worn off !!!!

Here's to next Tuesday!!!!

Cross country skiing has also altered for us now that we have to tow two. Lots more grunting and trudging as opposed to sliding and gliding !!!
More complaints of sore backs...more excuses to go for a hot tub !!!!

"All I want for christmas is my two front teeth"

My Two Front Teeth.

As most of you know, Finlay has been drooling for months now and soaks 2 bibs a day. The two nights before xmas he was becoming more restless and waking in the night with pain...thankfully I had packed some teething remedies, which came in very useful.Then Bingo...Xmas day the two little white teeth had popped through, with much relief to Finlay and the rest of the family!!

He is now 5 1/2 months old and he weighed 12lb 9oz, he is an extremely happy little boy and loves to giggle and smile. Heather just loves it when he giggles and she is ecstatic when she can make him giggle too.She has this wonderful, almost put on loud laughter, which makes us all giggle!!! This has helped their relationship no end and now they enjoy laughter together and are both looking for the interaction from each other.

Who could resist a giggle with this little cheeky rascal ?

Xmas Day with the Gunns

It took about 30 mins to get everybody bundled up and organized!!!

But it was worth the effort!!

The kids had enjoyed a morning of opening presents and playing with new toys. We then all enjoyed a bit of fresh mountain air, blue skies, snow and temps of -16, the kids enjoyed a well earned nap and then we had our xmas dinner