A much needed update

It's been far too long since I posted a McNelson family update! A lot has happened since the last post so I'll try to keep things as succinct as possible.

The first big event of the year was Amber's first birthday. We had a small celebration with just a few family members. The birthday girl had a pretty great day....especially when the birthday cake came out!

Mmmmm.....can I have cake for dinner too?

Other highlights of her birthday included:

Goofing around with "Uncle" Aaron

And getting in a birthday snug with Tibs

And the day wouldn't be complete without a birthday nap/snug with Grandma :)

Just over one month later I celebrated my big 3-0! I had a fantastic birthday weekend thanks to Tim who started things off by taking me out for a fancy dinner at one of Vancouver's revolving restaurants. The view from the top was amazing and the meal was delicious too!

Great view in the daylight

Even better view in the nightlight :)

After a great dinner we kept the celebration going with a trip to the Aquarium with a great group of friends. Although it was a big year to celebrate I opted for a more subdued celebration as there were a number of us that had small children. We had a great time nonetheless!

What's a birthday without cupcakes!

Our next family adventure was our trip to Mount Cain last weekend. It's always quite an ordeal to get there, but it pays off 100 times over when you get days like this:

It snowed so much that the first morning we were there the mountain was just a nice place to hang out. Everyone that did battle the mountains of endless powder said that they spent the entire morning getting stuck in one snow bank after another. Once the runs got a little more 'tracked out' we were able to get some nice powder turns in before closing time.

Amber also got geared up a few times for some snow treks. What is hilarious about this photo that you probably can't fully see is that Amber is such a marshmallow in this suit that she is actually physically stuck wherever I put her. Poor thing, although it's nice not having to worry about her being cold!

As for a general Amber update, she's progressing steadily. She's finally started pulling herself to standing - one morning I came into her room to find this:

She was standing, waiting for me to come and get her. When she saw me enter the room she started bouncing and shrieking with delight. I couldn't help but laugh :)

Due to our daycare provider being on vacation, Amber has been spending some quality time with Dad and, because she's so spoiled, Grandma McCourt has also been around to spend some time with her.

A familiar pose? I think so :)

Since Amber has been spending so much quality time with Dad these days she's really developing a great bond with him. She has the biggest smiles whenever she sees him and lately. She's also thinks it's hilarious to feed him her snacks. I guess she notices that he steals them any ways....lol.

I think that covers everything since the last blog. Hopefully I'll keep up with the posts a little better in the future so I won't have to have these mega posts every couple of months!