Ciao Bella.

We had said no pets. And then we got a fish. And then Swish the fish died and we got another fish. And that fish unfortunately went down the sink when I was cleaning the tank. And then we got a hamster. And that hamster was much loved but was lived a very short life. Then, we got another fish which is still swimming happily today. And Big Sis has been begging for a pet of a the cuddly variety. We discussed pros and cons of a dog (no one has time to walk it multiple times a day), a cat (mama is allergic to cats), a hedgehog (its noctural and from having a hamster, noctural pets are not great for kids that go to sleep at 7:30pm), a bird (not cuddly), and a sparkly pink unicorn (couldn't fine a reputalbe unicorn breeder). So it was down to a guinea pig or a bunny.
And then I found someone on Craigslist who was selling an 8 month old floppy eared bunny with the cage, pet carrier, extra bedding and food for $10. I am a sucker for good deals so we trekked out to Langley on picked up our new pet.  The kids were so excited to meet their new pet. They held tightly onto the pet carrier the whole ride home.

We gave Big Sis the honour of naming our new pet and anyone living with a little girl might be familiar with the "Rainbow Fairies" book series. (Side note : I don't understand the allure of these books and why there are 100 books with the same plot, doesn't Jack Frost know by the 89th book that the fairies will always save the day?) Anyways, we had just finished reading "Bella the Bunny Fairy" so Big Sis insisted that our new pet be named Bella. I think she hopes that the fairy would come with the bunny but I think she's OK with setting for just the bunny.

My dear husband that believes strictly that all animals need to live outside loves his sweet little girl so much that he is temporarily allowing Bella the bunny be in her room until he has the time to build a sweet bunny mansion in the backyard.

Ciao Bella. You are going to be much loved by these two kiddos.

the mitten.

Another parenting rite of passage - Bis Sister's first time in her school play. It was a re-telling of Jan Brett's The Mitten - a book I have read a million times because she loved it when she was little. She was cast as Grandma Baba. She was a pretty adorable little grannie pretending to knit...

She practised her lines every day, she knew her lines and everyone else's lines too..apparently her entire class could recite the whole play verbatim! She is such a introverted and shy one that I was so proud of her to work through her eebie jeebies and perform her part. This is the same girl that was too nervous to ask her kindergarten teacher to go to the bathroom so she would hold it from 8:30-3:30 every day. This is the same girl that in the beginning of the year would be not be able to say anything back when her teacher greeted her every morning.This is the same girl that a week ago when there were more kids than usual in her Sunday School class - broke down and cried when the teacher asked her what her name was. 

So my heart was overflowing to watch her say her lines, she even looked like she was kind of enjoying the experience. You can watch the 10 second clip above or watch the entire 5 minutes of the The Mitten right here

Little by little, I hope we are helping our sweet, introverted girl gain a little more confidence and find her voice. Great job Grade One's!!!