Love the morning babbling....

No, no, no...not Mommy's...I mean Clarissa's...(errrrr...let's not tell Carolyn about that one....)

It is so much fun to listen to our wonderful little girl when she wakes up in the morning. She sings, she laughs, she explores with new sounds, it is priceless. We are so blessed to share our world with this incredibly special person. Every day is a new adventure. New expressions, new sounds, new dances, new tricks, and...errrrrr...new attitude..."I want this and I want it now!!!", or "I don't want this and you better not try to give it to me!". Ok, there shouldn't actually be quotes around those statements since she doesn't actually say it. It's more of a very clear demonstration. Oh, speaking of tricks, this morning after listening to her play, and laugh, and sing, and talk, I decided that it was time to go and see her. So I quietly walked to the door of her room and peaked in. There was this beautiful girl sitting with her dolly in one hand and her pjs in the other. Yep, sittin' in her diaper with her pjs completely off....and very proud of the whole thing. Like I said, priceless.

So, what else has been going on....well Daddy had a birthday, he's still going to physio 3 times a week with no real progress with the back pain (and becoming rather frustrated and annoyed with the whole thing), we celebrated our first Mother's day (It was very special, and Grandma came for dinner), Grandpa went to Costa Rica to visit Uncle Don, and probably lots of other stuff, but I am just too tired to remember. Oh how about the Flyers battling back from 3-0 in the series, and then from 3-0 in game 7 to win?!?!?!?! Beauty!!!! Now it's time to burst Halak's bubble!!!!

Ok, too tired to write more.....I'll let the pictures talk....

4 llllooooonnngggg days at CHEO...

The three of us are very, very happy to be home from CHEO after a scary bout with pneumonia.


Clarissa was thrilled to see her bedroom and all of her toys again. Mommy and Daddy were thrilled that their special little girl is so much better than she was just a few days ago when she was quite sick and had a fever of 39.9 celcuis. We are hoping that all continues to improve.















You know how when you go on vacation and then you get home and you say to yourself "Boy it is good to be home!!"? Well that statement will NEVER mean the same thing to me after a vacation. Today "IT WAS GOOD TO BE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!". To see our girl smiling, playing, running around (well wobbling around a bit after not walking for 4 days) was priceless!
















I can live with less than 3 hours sleep in three nights, I can live with not eating right, I can live with feeling awful, but seeing my sweet little girl with a plethora of tubes and wires hooked up to her...and seeing her held down while she endured this poke and that prod....and seeing her cry for hours was......well pure torture for me and her Mommy.

I pray that we never have to go through anything like that again....knowing that at some point we probably will. The whole experience has me thinking alot about parents with really, really sick children. Where do they find the strength? I hope that I never need to find the answer to that question. Those parents will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Anyhow, I must say that we are hugely grateful for CHEO. We are very fortunate to have them and their staff. I have always supported CHEO, but I have never truly appreciated why until today. They really took good care of our girl.

We also are so very grateful to Grandma and Grandpa who (were always there even though we were in isolation) after a couple of days of crappy hospital food brought us a wonderful dinner last night that I believe really helped Clarissa to get over the hump to be ready to come home. After not eating very much for a couple of days she could not get enough of her dinner last night. Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandpa. You are theeeee best!!!! We all love you very much!!!


Anyhow, let's see some more of a happy girl....(in her Tigger shirt that Daddy and Grandpa got for her in Myrtle Beach!!)....don't forget to click on the pictures to see them bigger.....



















It is great to be home!!!! We love her soooooo much!!!

Clarissa will be very happy to see Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow.

A great Easter weekend!!!!

Here's hoping that everyone had a great Easter weekend from those of us in Clarissaville. As usual we had our two Easter bunnies (Benji and Lenny) inside the house.














We also had a visit from an Easter bunny in the backyard.

















The weather all weekend long was beautiful. Daddy golfed in shorts on Friday, Mommy, Daddy, and Clarissa played outside then we bbq'd on Saturday

















Sunday started with Clarissa doing a wonderful job of her first Easter egg hunt. She found all of her eggs that Mommy hid.




















Next was an excellent visit with Grandma and Grandpa that included Clarissa's second Easter egg hunt, a spectacular turkey lunch/dinner, and a visit with Uncle Don (who is in Costa Rica) on Skype.

















It rained a bit on Monday morning, but that was ok because it gave Daddy some time to put Clarissa new table and chairs together. She did not waste any time in using it to entertain with her best friend.

"Back" from Myrtle Beach

Well Clarissa is happy to announce that Daddy and Grandpa have returned safely from a week of golfing at Myrtle Beach.












The weather was fantastic, the hotel was fantastic, the golf was fantastic, the steaks at Angelo's were fantastic, and the Yuengling (the best beer in the world) was fantastic.


















Oh and the bunkers...they were fantastic too......


















Having said all that.....it was soooooooo good to be home to my girls!!!!

Clarissa and Mommy really enjoyed having Grandma over to keep them company while we were gone!!!





















We did meet a new friend while we were in Myrtle Beach.....
















But it is still really all about this.....

Needles....more needles....and huge cuteness...

Clarissa is learning to feed herself......













....and she is learning to dress herself to go outside.....


















....and she is learning to touch her toes.....
















....and this....well I don't think that I need to say anything about this do I????
















We have been spending quite a bit of time at the doctor's office catching up on Clarissa's needles....and she is NOT happy about it one bit. In fact, she can't stand going there anymore. The poor girl has been stuck with more needles than her Grandma's pin cushion.

Between visits to the Doctor though, all is well in Clarissaville.




















She has learned to climb up on the bunnies' hay box.....err...but she can't get back down. So a hundred or so times a day she climbs up on the box....and then squawks until Mommy or Daddy comes to take her down.
















I had more to say, but nothing can follow this........

Some things that I have noticed......

I know, I know.....nothing for weeks then two posts in one day. First things first.....














I was thinking about some things that I've noticed lately.....some things have changed around here since Clarissa has been on the move. Let's see....

1) We apparently are not allowed to put toilet paper on the toilet paper holders anymore, so one has to search and usually reach awkwardly to find it. A certain little girl has taken a liking to pulling on the paper until it all comes off the roll into a big pile on the floor.

2) The days of going to a drawer in the kitchen (well anywhere in the house actually) and opening it up to grab something are over....drawers have childproof (and...errrrr.....Daddyproof....) locks on them. A certain little girl has taken a liking to opening drawers and taking stuff out.

3) The days of going to a drawer and opening it up (assuming that you can get passed the childproof locks) and actually finding what you were looking for are over......Mommy has moved everything to new, safe places....so Daddy now needs a cherry picker or a scissor lift to get a ziplock sandwich bag.

4) The days of being out somewhere and reaching into my coat pocket and finding what I expect to find there are over. A certain little girl has taken a liking to going through Daddy's coat pockets and removing stuff and hiding it somewhere....somewhere that I'm sure we'll find if we decide to move and need to pack everything up.

5) The days of having the whole house in a true state of "clean" are over. A certain little girl has taken a liking to.....well I don't think that I need to finish this one....

6) The days of pouring myself a glass of pineapple juice.....and getting to drink it are over. A certain little girl had taken a liking to pineapple juice....well pineapple juice that is in Daddy's glass.

7) The days of getting to the door in the morning on the way to work and finding a matching pair of footwear are over. A certain little girl has taken a liking to taking Daddy's shoes/boots and bringing them someplace (hmmmmmmmmmmm maybe if I find them I'll find the stuff from my pockets.....could be....)

8) The old sitcom gags on tv of the Dad tripping on a toy and landing flat on his back (did I mention that the xrays on my back showed a small crack and some compression issues?? Nothing to due with tripping on a toy....but....) are based on truth.

Just some of the things that I've noticed......and I wouldn't trade any of it for anything.....

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!!

So much has gone on. The Red Team got together for our annual Chinese New Year party at Will and Fannie's a couple of weeks ago. They were fantastic hosts as always and Will cooked up a heck of a feast for us all. Clarissa enjoyed meeting all of the guys from the team (and the girls of course).
















We also celebrated Chinese New Year in Clarissaville on Sunday and a great time was had by all. Clarissa got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa which she thoroughly enjoyed. Her and Mommy even got all dressed up for the occasion....