Snow Day

I hate being cold!!! Zach was getting some cabin fever today, however, so I decided to brave the blizzard and take Zach out to play in the snow. All the layers of clothing make it easier to keep up with him as he can't move quite as fast. He's also still a little unsure of what to do with all this cold, white stuff.

He loves to help sweep and vacuum inside, so it wasn't a big surprise when he also wanted to help dad shovel the walks. What a great helper, indeed!!

Takin' a break from all the hard work.

Merry Christmas from the Corie's!!!!!!!

Halloween Fun!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Meet Zachary the turtle.

He really wanted to show off his shell.

He got quite the loot of candy, which his parents were happy to take off his hands. I LOVE Halloween!!

Oops!!

So ... I've learned many things since I've become a mother. This day, I learned a very important lesson ...

When they tell you to take the lid off a bottle before putting in a microwave - they mean it!

I'd actually been very faithful at following that rule, but was in a huge rush that day. I threw it in the microwave and was getting Zach in the bath, when ... BOOM!! It took me a few seconds to figure it out, but when I ran back into the kitchen, I found this ...

and this ...

The explosion had blown the microwave door open and milk was EVERYWHERE!! It even hit the cupboard doors across the kitchen. Impressive!! Needless to say, I always take off the lids the bottles now. Yet another lesson learned (sigh).

Thanksgiving Weekend

For Thanksgiving, we miraculously were able to get all the Bennett's together in Lethbridge for our annual family photos. With some of us living in Edmonton and with all of our crazy schedules it can be difficult to get us all together. A friend of my mom's, Shannon Pratt took our photos this year and did a great job!!

Kaleigh was so kind to let us stay with them in Sterling for the weekend. The boys had so much fun playing together (aka constantly stealing each others toys!).

Zach got caught red-handed with the tv remote.

[On a side note, other than saying 'Mama', 'Dada', 'Whaz That?', and 'All done', his most common words are 'No', and 'Don't!'. Whenever he gets caught with something he shouldn't have (eg. dad's computer cord, the phone, or basically any piece of technology) he says 'No' or 'Don't' almost before we do. It's actually quite humorous, but makes me wonder if I say it too much ... ??]

We were also able to celebrate Kaleigh's birthday while we were down.

Happy Birthday Sis!!! Isn't she gorgeous??!!

We hurried back up to Edmonton on the Monday to hang out with all the Corie's. Zach had a blast playing with Auntie Lanise in the wagon and pushing some of his dad's old trucks around the yard. Overall, it was a fabulous weekend. We are truly so blessed!!

It's a Girl!!

Introducing my new and absolutely ADORABLE little niece - Claire Corie!!

We are sooo excited that some more estrogen has finally been added to the Corie Family!!!! Below is a very proud Grandma Corie.

The Corie gals got together to put on a baby shower for Mary and Claire at our place. We had a blast making and decorating (... and eating...) cupcakes and getting everything ready for the event! It was a great success and so fun to celebrate the arrival of such a cutie!!

Here's some pics of some of the food and decorations...

The guest of honour!! (I can't get enough of her hair!!)

Congrats John and Mary!! You guys already make incredible parents and you definitely have one precious little gal!!

Catchin' Up

I think I've sat down more than a dozen times to blog, but since I'm the world's greatest procrastinator and life has been a little hectic lately, here is the LONGEST blog post ever!! This post is somewhat of a rundown of the rest of our summer and Zach's birthday.

It's hard to believe that Zach is already one years old! Here's just a few random pics of our mischievous little guy ...

August Long Weekend

We finally convinced (... or coerced) someone to come visit us in Edmonton! The Kutarna's came for a couple days over the August long weekend and what fun we had!! We took Zach and Natalie to the Fantasyland Amusement Park for the first time, went for a quick dip in the Legislature pool, and the kids enjoyed more swimming in our little kiddy pool. We were so sad to see them go.

Something I look forward to every year is the Edmonton Heritage Festival. Mark took me there for the first time when we were dating 5 years ago and we've tried to make it back every year since. We missed out last year though as we were in Calgary and I was 9 months pregnant. You just can't beat the selection of incredibly delicious food from over 85 different cultures. I was SO excited to be able to go this year and it definitely did not disappoint!! We went with all the Corie's and Zach even enjoyed a few delicacies!

Back in June, a good friend encouraged me to sign up for a 10K race with her. The furthest race I'd ever run is a 5K, which was over 6 years ago. I figured with 2 months to train, it would be a breeze ... not so much!! It was a blast though and I did enjoy my occasional morning runs with Zach in the chariot.

I wish I could say that I had this medal because I won first place (ya right!). Even if it was just a participant medal, I felt like I deserved it. Now for the half-marathon ...

I had such a great cheering squad!

Fairmont

Mark's parents were so kind (and brave) to take Zach and I with them to Fairmont for a few days while Mark had to work. Zach actually did incredibly well for the 6 1/2 hour drive out, with only a couple pit stops!

My mother-in-law is going to hate me for posting these pictures, but it was a classic practical joke. Enjoy the photo sequence ...

Still trying to figure out where the ball went ... what a good sport!!

Fun at the Farm

A friend of ours invited us out to her parents' acreage for an afternoon of fun. Zach got to meet his first real live horse but he was a little hesitant.

What a brave boy!!

He even got to go on a tractor ride, but he was getting a little overtired and wasn't too sure about the whole experience.

Zach Turns One

I can't believe that my little guy is already one! He had such a fun birthday ... or at least his parents had fun spoiling him!! I made him a 'special' birthday breakfast of waffles (ok, they were really just Eggos, but he didn't know the difference!)

He even had a few friends over for lunch!

I'm not too sure, but I think he likes cupcakes!!!

Trying out his new toy from mom and dad.

That weekend we also had a family BBQ at our place with many of our extended family. We planned to have the BBQ outside, but it started raining right when we were about to eat. It was a packed house with over 26 people, but it was a blast!

Lucky guy got to eat another birthday cupcake. It didn't take him too long to remember that he LOVES cupcakes!

He wasn't too sure about the birthday hat though ...

He sure got spoiled by everyone. He didn't know which toy to play with first!!

Zach started walking a few days after his birthday ... and hasn't stopped since. He still loves to explore EVERYTHING! This year has truly flown by, and we are so grateful to have Zachary in our family. From the time I held my little boy, I was completed hooked and I've loved every moment since. He definitely keeps things exciting around here!! I've absolutely loved watching him learn and make exciting new discoveries, and he's helped me to remember to appreciate the little things/moments in life. He's my little best friend and I love it all!

Happy Birthday Bugaloo!!