The birthday party

Yesterday was Sydney's birthday party. We had it at Lowville Park & the weather was perfect. The only bad thing was the amount of bees swarming around- luckily no stings though. The kids played on the playground, ate lunch & cake, played kick the shoe & then played in the river with the little nets that we put in their loot bags. I hope fun was had by all, because Sydney had a great time. Brad & I drove separately, so I left first with Jason to get him home for a nap. He crashed before we got out of Lowville. Sydney followed shortly after with Brad & she crashed before he even pulled out of the parking lot. Sydney & Jason slept for over two hours- which is unheard of in this household- so I think they were definitely tired.

Ellie

Ellie's sister, Katie

Emma

Alina (& Matthew, Emma's brother, is in the Snuggli)

Evelyn

Julia, Evelyn's sister, & Jason

When the wind keeps blowing out the candle, improvise.

Kick the shoe before getting in the river.

Sydney's crayfish

Three Years Old

Miss Sydney

According to child development theories the past year was supposed to represent "the terrible twos". A time where you are branching out, learning more about what is around you, what you can do, & 'knowing' what you want or don't want. Truthfully, the two's didn't seem too bad. We probably have enough fingers to count how many tantrums you had over the past year & even those were pretty mild compared to what we have observed others do (your brother for example). For you I wouldn't classify the last year as 'the terrible twos', but I would call it the year of crying. For a little girl who hardly ever cried at all from the time you were about 6 months old- you certainly became a sensitive wee thing over the last year.

There was a time that you would fall and have numerous bruises & we wouldn't have any idea where you got it or what happened, because you would never cry. Now, if you do anything as simple as bump your toe you cry & want us to kiss it. Lately Mommy & Daddy are not willing to play that game with you- we trying some tough love. I am thinking that your brother has something to do with your crying. You've loved him from the moment he was born, but I do think that you have missed the solitary attention you once got. Imagine what it would have been like if you were older when he was born?

You are quite a chatty thing & you speak very well. You still have trouble with your fff sounds & they all are still shh sounds, but you are willing to let us work with you to a certain degree to fix that. We are getting tips from Noreen- although she might start charging us soon for private consultations. You are still a book lover. Now it is neat to watch you because you will pick up some of your books and tell us or your baby what the story is about. You also will bring us books & ask us to help you because you don't know the words. Your Daddy & I are both thrilled that you love books so much & hope that it continues. You have been a good role model for your brother because he too is becoming more interested in stories.

Baby is your constant companion. You play with her, read her books, take her for walks in her stroller & sleep with her at night. The past few months there have been many phases of naked Baby, but Daddy refuses to let you leave the house with her naked- so I think we are starting to leave that phase again. Besides your kitchen, she (& her accessories) is really the only toy you play with. You still like puzzles, but have not been playing with them as much lately. You just got some new ones for your birthday- so maybe your interest will be renewed. What you do like is anything related to crafts. Painting, colouring, stickers, using scissors, & stamping. You love it all & thankfully will sit with that activity for awhile- which makes it more worthwhile to get out.

You go to daycare 3 or 4 days a week & although you have fun when you are there, you keep telling us that some days you don't like going to Jo's. It seems that you are the one who is having the most difficulty adjusting to Mommy going back to work. You also have not liked sharing your Mondays at Grandma & Papa's with Jason. Now that you are only there every other week, the Sunday nights that you have come home with us have been tearful. Lucky for you though, Mondays Jo takes you guys to the library which you love. So leaving Grandma & Papa's is tough, but getting you to Jo's Monday morning is not so tough.

Now that you are getting older, it is neat to see the difference in how you play with your friends. Before now, it would be a bunch of kids in the same room playing with toys, but not really playing together. Now, you will actually play together for a period of time. You also love when your friends will come play in your room with you. You really seem to like your room & you will often spend a lot time there by yourself looking at all your books.

You really are a sweet little girl. You are considerate of your friends, you are great with your brother (most of the time), and you do a pretty good job of listening to your Mom & Dad. If I had to pick two things right now that you do that drive me crazy, it would have to be (1) the crying and (2) the dawdling. Eating meals, unless it is something you love, is often quite painful. I don't want to be the Mom that insists that you eat everything on your plate- I just wish you would pick up the pace a little bit. Getting dressed is another adventure sometimes. You want to do it yourself-which is great- but your selection & time makes me cringe.

Next year we will be getting you ready for school & the thought of that already brings tears to my eyes.

Sad trip home from the mailbox

Tonight was Brad's "drink night" with his work buddies, so I was running solo. We had a quick & simple supper so that we could play outside before it was time for me to get Jason ready for bed. We went for a walk to the mailbox & on the way Sydney asked if there would be another pink envelope for her. GG sent her a birthday card a couple of weeks ago which was pink (GG was a little early with the card) & now Sydney is in hopes of receiving another one. She was also saying that she didn't want to open it right away, she wanted to save it until her birthday to open (she doesn't get that from me!).

In retrospect I know that I gave Sydney the wrong answer. I told her that since Saturday was her birthday there might be a card in the mail. I was thinking that Brad's parents always mailed her card, but I was wrong. We opened the mailbox & there was a card, but it was for me not her. She literally dropped to her knees on the sidewalk & started sobbing. I was so totally caught off guard by her reaction I stood there a little stunned for a minute. I told her that she could open my card if she wanted & she could save it to her birthday, but the damage was already done.

Had I known how upset she was going to be that she didn't get a card in the mail today, I would have lied & told her my card was hers. She never would have known the difference. I think tomorrow's trip to the mail will involve preparing her for the event that there is not a card there. With a silent prayer that we find one inside anyway.

She's so cute

This morning at breakfast Sydney told Brad that "tomorrow is Mommy's day to stay home with the kids".

I hope to figure out our scanner at work to share the results of our photo session from a couple weeks ago.

Locked out

Tonight I was trying to get supper ready & I had something on the barbeque. I went out for a second to check it & when I come back I can't get in. Sydney has locked the patio door on me. This is only one of the problems. The second problem is that while I was out she climbed up on the stool (not a problem) & her brother climbed up right behind her! So, before she can turn around to unlock the door for me- I need Jason to get down. He of course sees me through the door & is laughing at me. I am sure that if my neighbours could hear me they were getting a good laugh.

I am telling Jason to get down off the stool, probably said it about 10 times before he actually did it. Laughing at me the whole time. Then I am telling Sydney to unlock the door. Thankfully she knew what I meant. When I get in we have a little talk about her not touching the door.

Then not even two minutes later, Jason is climbing back up on the stool again. The child can't walk yet- there is no way I want him standing up on the stool. Until suppertime, Jason continued to test me & kept climbing up on the stool. When he would not get down, I removed him from the stool & he laughed at me the whole time. Little bugger.

Oh yeah, we were on holidays last week

After being back to work for only a month, I had a week of vacation booked. We had no big plans, just day stuff. Which by the end of the week turned out to be a good thing since Jason had a case of Roseola. Nothing serious of course, but made me feel very guilty to have to call two moms of young babies. We had visited with Jenny on the Thursday to see Baby Kaitlyn & the very next day Jason was covered in spots. "The book" says that they are supposed to be irritable before the rash breaks out, but that was not the case for Jason. He was miserable most of the day Friday & Saturday morning. Thankfully he had returned to normal after his nap on Saturday.

Our week consisted of our company picnic on a very chilly Sunday- but of course Sydney still went in the pool. When it comes to swimming, she is so much like I was as a kid. Monday Sydney & I went to the dentist. This appointment was just for Sydney to watch them clean my teeth & see what it is all about, but she was a very good girl & let them brush her teeth too. Let's hope she is this cooperative during her official appointment next February. I am sure she will be- she's a pretty good girl about that kind of stuff. I am sure when I go with Jason in a couple of years it will be a completely different experience. Currently you practically need to put him in a headlock to brush his teeth.

Tuesday we went to my Mom's to stay overnight & do some visiting with friends & family. My cousin Carrie came up to her parents so we had a nice visit with her & her two kiddies as well as my Uncle Ralph & Aunt Marlene. On Wednesday we went to Storybook Gardens & the kids really enjoyed it. At first Sydney was hoping that we were going to another cottage for our holidays, but I think she really enjoyed all the different little things we did.

Jason enjoying some blueberry pie at the company picnic.

Not fancy face painting, but she liked it.

Storybook Gardens

Sydney could not wait to see Humpty Dumpty at Storybook Gardens.

We were trying to get her to kiss the frog to see if she could turn it into a prince, but she wasn't buying it.

Don't have a good picture of Jason on the carousel, he did not like it.

How do you get a group shot of a bunch of kids?

I enjoy taking pictures, but by no means claim to be a professional at it. My hat is off to those people who have managed to get a great shot of a bunch of children. I am beginning to believe that being a professional has little to do with it- luck is the main factor at play.

After my experience with Sydney & Jason last Friday at Sears, it was no surprise that getting a group shot of Sydney & Jason with their cousins proved to be difficult. Try sitting an almost 3-year-old (Sydney), a 2-year-old (Liam), a 1-year-old (Jason), and a 4 month old (Mallory) on the couch & see what you get. We didn't get that "classic" shot that you enlarge to place on display for people to marvel at the wonder of your skills, but we did get some funny shots. You will note that trying to keep Jason on the couch was the main issue with trying to get the group shot. Mallory may only be 4 months old, but she looks as if she is trying to separate Jason & Liam from one another. Maybe she'll be trying to protect her big brother rather than the other way around.

Before the chaos, Brad got this cute one of Mallory

Sydney liked the task of trying to get Jason to sit for the picture

Which as you can see, was not a simple task

Photo Session

Today I took the kids to Sears to get their portraits taken. My hope was to get at least one good shot of the two of them together, but was not being too optimistic. Getting a good picture of Sydney & Jason in the same shot? Has not happened since he was a little baby that could not move.

Since Jason's patience, ahh if you can even call it that, is much shorter than Sydney's we did his individual shot first. Five minutes into that 'attempt' I was starting to pray that I would get any shots of him. He would not even look at the photographer, let alone smile. First we tried sitting, but he seemed to want to stand. Then we tried a few things where he was standing & then all he did was cry. The photographer told me that she didn't have another session booked for awhile, why don't I take him for a walk & try to make him happy. Translation? Take him away.

Thankfully Sydney was being the dream child. I had done a lot of prep with her before we got there knowing that Jason was going to be the challenge child & I needed her to be on her absolute best behaviour. We went for a walk in the mall & there were the mechanical rides. I thought, hey why not try it? A special treat for Sydney because she was being so good & something fun for Jason to cheer him up. Wrong. He hated it. By this time I was thinking- let's go back try some shots of Sydney, give Jason some time to warm up a bit & try again. If it doesn't work, book for next week when Brad & I are on holidays & take the tag team approach. What was I thinking doing this on my own???

We went back & Sydney did a great job. Although, she kept sticking her tongue out. A new nervous trait??? There were so many great shots of her that I had a hard time choosing at the end. Jason??? Well, we did get 3 decent shots of him. But he is only smiling in one of them. And the only reason he is smiling is because he is about to lunge at me. Thankfully she could crop me out of the picture so that we could keep it as a keeper.

The group shot was out. I did order one sheet of the semi-sorta good one (& only one) because I decided that I at least wanted to have one photo to mark the agony I suffered. Also, I had bought the kids really cute 'matching' outfits for their pictures. I figured that this really could be the only year I could do that. Brad absolutely hates Jason's shorts. They are the same plaid as the capris that I bought Sydney & she wore a red t-shirt & Jason wore a blue polo shirt. Truly they are very cute, but I am quite certain that this picture could be the one that Jason looks back on & bitches about the clothes that his mother dressed him in. These shorts will be the equivalent to the many 'leisure' suits that my brother wore in his childhood.

I tried to get a picture of the 2 of them together at home, but no luck. Jason just doesn't stay still long enough.

Travel time = Fun time

Today we took the kids to the beach in Port Dover. The time spent there was a lot of fun, but the travel time took as long as the time that we spent there. It will be so nice when Jason gets to the age that he is not so nap-dependent because then we will really be able to do more fun things with them that involve a drive to get there. The problem is that Jason really does not sleep in the car. He will eventually have a nap in the car, but there is often a lot of crying before we get the blessed silence. Then when he does fall asleep, it is never for too long. When he is tired, he wants his bed. Sydney sleeps really easily in the car, but she can also go a day without a nap as long as you put her to bed really early. So in order to have a fun-filled day for the whole family (parents included) we are best to do trips that are within a half-hour drive home.

Sydney was funny at the beach. When we got all settled & told her she could go in the water, she just took off running. The beach is shallow for a long way out, so she could run close to shore & not be too deep. When she decided to turn around & come back to us, she overshot where we were & I had to go wave her down. I thought she would have been close to tears because she couldn't see us (but we could see her), but she was just concerned that she couldn't 'swim'. Apparently she was not thrilled with how shallow the water was because it didn't allow her to swim. She has gotten really good at swimming with her water wings, but I am concerned that when we return to swimming lessons in the fall that she is not going to be pleased that she can't wear them in the water. Hopefully that goes OK. If her early traits are any indication of what type of swimmer she will be, I think she's got some of me in her. I think she will be a good swimmer, but will always use her legs more than her arms. She can go pretty fast, but she's only using her legs.

Jason too shows signs of being a water child, but he has to work on walking first before he can tackle swimming. Although, he seems to think that he can go on his own in the pool because he is often pushing me away. I would never do it, but I am often tempted to give him a taste of what would happen if I wasn't holding him in the pool. Maybe then he would appreciate the safety I am providing him. Not likely. Right now, I just encourage to stick to the sand. Now that he isn't constantly putting it in his mouth, there are far fewer battles.

Bisbee North

This past weekend we went to friends' of ours cottage. This is an annual thing that they have been doing for years, but the activities over the past few years have changed quite a bit now that kids are on the scene. Brad was commenting on how he used to take a case of beer and some Crown Royal just for the weekend. Thankfully the quantity of consumption decreased dramatically by the time I entered the scene.

It was also amusing to hear our friend Tim complain about the noise that some 'kids' were making across the lake the night before we arrived. I am quite certain that a few years ago there were nights that neighbouring cottages were wishing that the Bisbee guests would pass out for the night. You know you are getting old when you are referring to people in their late teens/early twenties as kids.

Ed & Becky brought their tent trailer up & that is where we slept for the night. It was quite cozy, but I was wishing that I brought the extra blankets that Brad mocked me for packing. It was a nice night, but did get cool in the trailer. Jason was restless around 3:30am so I brought him into bed with us & his head did feel pretty chilly. He probably would have been fine if he had some hair to keep the warmth in. I was thankful that he did go back to sleep once he settled down & realized that I was not going to talk or play with him. However, when he woke at 6am & saw that I was right there- well play time started immediately. I was thankful when he realized that Brad was there too so that he could go climb all over him.

Sydney liked her sleeping arrangement too. She got a big bed all to herself & thought the curtains were pretty neat. Unfortunately she had to have a game of peek-a-boo with Jason at bedtime which got them both worked up & had to be supervised until they went to sleep. I didn't mind too much since I was halfway through Harry Potter & welcomed an excuse to sit and read for awhile. My nose was in that book as much as possible this weekend & last night I could not go to bed until I finished it. Thankfully I finished by 11pm so that I wasn't up all night reading- but it would have been worth it if I was.

Sorry there are no pictures of Matthew Becky. I only had the camera out the once & that was when Matthew & George were in the cottage.

A very hot birthday party

Yesterday Brad & I took the day off to celebrate Jason's birthday. We had our families over to celebrate. It was a very busy day getting everything ready, surviving the heat, and making sure that everyone had what they needed. I'm still tired from it all & really don't have much energy to write much, so I will just share a few pictures.

Greeted Jason in the morning the same way we did Sydney- with the camera.

Jason's 'Scoot About'

Something he can draw on & plays music. Sydney has her own pen too, so hopefully they will play well together. We'll see.

Since Jason wouldn't nap in the afternoon we started things in reverse order. His smash cake was first, then presents (opened by his cousins while he ate), then play, then dinner, then cake again. Jason wasn't too sure about the candle that we had in front of him.

Trying to get a good picture when there is more than one child in it
- next to impossible.

By the time everyone got their picture, I had sweat streaming down the side of my face.
It was just too hot for posing- as you can see, Sydney had enough.

It took him awhile, but he eventually got into it.
Then of course was not too pleased when I took it away.

Birthday boy had his own pool.

Smacking some balls around. Could have been in his birthday suit, but thought he might get too much grass in his unmentionables.

One Year Old

Amazing as it seems a year has now come & gone. You & I may not have met until you were a day old, but that does not seem to have impacted the bond we developed. One theme has remained consistent throughout your first year of life- you were a Momma's boy. Your level of dependency has had it's peaks & valleys, but when I am in the room you seem to keep very close tabs on what I am doing. I have a love hate relationship with this, but it probably falls more often to the love.

In the last couple of weeks you have started to cruise around on furniture, but have not tried to take any big steps away. You are still scooting around, but I do see you in a crawl position more often now. However, you quite often land flat on your tummy because you try to move quicker than your body has learned to go on all fours. Therefore you quickly get back onto your bum & scoot away. You still seem to save crawling to get you through tight spots. A couple of weeks ago you mastered getting up the stairs & you can also come down the proper way now too. The problem is that you do not realize that you NEED to come down on your tummy & cannot go head first. Therefore, although you are much better- stairs are still very much a danger zone for you.

In the right environment you are a chatty wee thing, but I still would not say you have said your first word. You say dada A LOT, but I am not convinced that you are using it to refer to your Dad yet. I think you just say it because you can & you always get a reaction. You point a lot & it often sounds like you are saying "that!", but again we are not sure. There are a lot of words it sounds like you are trying to say, but nothing that is clear yet. One thing is clear, you do want to talk!

You still love music. If I am holding you when I turn the radio on you will always smile and start bouncing in hopes of a dance around the living room. Your Dad has always been a great one to get out on the dance floor, but let's hope you develop a better rhythm than him. Trucks and cars are your favourite items of play right now. You still love to drive Sydney's fire truck or little car around the living room & kitchen. You got a whole fleet of your own for your birthday so I sure hope you like trucks & cars for awhile yet. You also like to hit things around like you are playing hockey, but we were not successful in finding a little hockey stick for you that we didn't fear was going to cause serious injury. Hopefully we will find something by Christmas.

Your sister loves to colour & you are also developing the same love. We got you an Aquadoodle mat for your birthday in hopes of finding something that you liked to do & could be done with less argument from your sister. We also don't really care if you put this pen in your mouth because it won't hurt you, but would like for you to learn to keep them out. Hopefully you learn this lesson much sooner than Sydney did. There were many days that Sydney came home from day care with very dark spots around her mouth. You are a pretty clever little boy with puzzles. It is neat to watch the look of concentration on your face when you are trying to figure out anything new.

You are still all about the applause. Whenever you do something that you think we should take note of you clap. It is really quite funny. You have learned the sign for 'please' and you even used it once when I told you 'No' to something. Clever little boy. I was so impressed that I did end up giving you what you wanted anyway.

We don't go to the doctor for your 1-year check-up until the 13th and I am quite curious to see how much you weigh. You are one solid boy. We are positive that you meet the weight requirement for the car seat, so you are now sitting forward in the car. This picture is of your first ride facing forward & you thought it was pretty neat. The wind in your face was a new experience.

Last month I said that each month you have something that you do that drives us crazy. Last month my big complaint was about diaper changes & there was a big improvement in that area. Thankfully this month you didn't throw any major curves at us. On holidays you were waking up MUCH too early in the morning & you had a couple of bad nights, but you were pretty good natured throughout the day so it wasn't a big deal. We learned afterward that one of your molars poked through & the other one on the top is also starting to poke through- so you were forgiven because considering the size of those teeth you did pretty good. You now have 9 teeth all the way through, 1 partly poking out, & I can feel the bottom molars starting to push up- so you definitely have a mouthful of teeth already.

I went back to work last week & was sad that this had to happen before your birthday. We took today off to be sure that we could celebrate with you. You seem to love day care. Yesterday when I picked you up to come home you came to me, said your hello & then pushed me away to get back down & play with the toys. You will also reach out for Jo sometimes when I am holding you. This makes me happy that you seem to love her, but sad that there is someone else who you 'want' to go to when your Mommy is already holding you. However, I am sure that if I gave you to her- you would want to come back to me. I haven't done that test, because I am not prepared to deal with it if you don't come right back to me.

Your Dad always scolds me when I call you a baby because he says you are a big boy. I agree that you are a big baby, but essentially you are still a baby. I promise that I will stop calling you a baby sometime within the next 6 months. If not, definitely by the time your friends start coming around.

Back to Work

Well I am now sitting in my office, eating my lunch and preparing to go for a walk with friends. So far today has gone very well. Brad & I both were able to work out this morning, get ready for work, get the kids ready for daycare (mostly Brad), and make it to work on time. I had a productive morning which is more than I can say about my day yesterday. My first day of work without a functioning phone, a computer not configured properly, & a general feeling of where do I start?

Pick up of the kids went well last night. On Mondays I pick one of them up at Grandma & Papa's and the other at Jo's. Since we had left Jason overnight at G & P's I was worried about another silent treatment, but it didn't happen. However this morning he really gave me the once over when I came downstairs dressed & ready. His look said, 'Where do you think you are going?'. Brad said that drop off at day care went well & hopefully I will have the same success later.

I am not naive- I realize that we will likely hit that point where the kids really clue in to this being their every day life now & protest. It was the second week before Sydney cried when Brad pulled up in front of daycare. We will see if Jason is sooner or later. Sydney this time is being pretty good. Both mornings she has asked me not to go yet, but she doesn't kick up a fuss when I say I really have to go now.

Although I am at work & feel that I am focused here...my mind keeps straying to wonder what they are up to at Jo's. *sigh*