In March Rowan and I made a trip to Calgary to get in a visit and celebrate some birthdays. We were able to spend a few days with Baba, Dido, Pra-Baba, Lena, Jackson and Makaila. Rowan had a great time spending some time and playing with everyone, and was very excited to go out for Baba's bday dinner and watch (and help) her open her bday presents!
Ahhhh, it had been so long!!! But finally, at the end of January Nana and Papa came up to watch Ro and allow me the indulgence of having a real, official holiday! I had no worries that Rowan would be fine here, and as such, I took full advantage of my time away to sleep through the night, eat on whatever schedule I wanted to, drink multiple alchoholic beverages without worrying about how I would feel in the morning, lay around the pool and do absolutely nothing, and dance late into the night. I had a great trip and through that realized that I do need those kind of breaks, and that it is also okay to take them. Definately won't be the last time....thanks Nana and Papa!!!
Near the end of the month Rowan and I packed up, along with the whole Finlayson crowd, and headed off to Jasper to take part in Blair and Christine's wedding. We had a lot of fun with everyone, and I have to admit that having a sitter for a couple of nights so that we could partake in some dancing and adult socializing, didn't hurt!! It was also very interesting for me as I think I got a pretty clear glimpse of Rowan's budding personality. She was incredibly outgoing with everyone there, introducing herself (as "princess Rowan!"), having conversations with whoever would talk with her, and completely ditching me on occassion!! Once again, something I attribute to her being "totally Tityk". Unfortunately I didn't get any good pics of the actual wedding to share here, but I guess Ro is the star of the show.....
Rowan's third birthday party was spent having a luncheon and playtime with Jackson, Makaila, Kate and Colin. Of course, Cath, Lena and Ellen were present as well. Rowan truly thinks she is a little princess, and as such, Cath provided this wonderful castle cake! A good time was had by all, and despite the cake (sugar) rush, we even managed to get them down for a bit of a sleep afterwards, allowing Lena and I some welcome downtime! I can hardly believe that she is now truly a toddler/pre-schooler, and I gotta tell ya, 3 isn't looking good for me! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I didn't have to deal with the terrible 2's on top of everything else last year, but I guess this will be a year of all new challenges for both of us!
So for Christmas Eve the Finlayson Clan joined us at home to share in some evening festivities, which included opening the Christmas Eve jammies. Cath had also prepared some letters from Santa (of course she did!) and all the kids received a personal email from Santa as well!! Since Brad was working, Cath and the kids had their first sleepover here. The kids were all so excited and it was no problem at all to get them to bed....finally a nice glass of wine in the quietness of the house....
