More vacation

Brad & I also took last week off & it was mainly to address a long list of "to do's". To consider the renovation finally complete (pictures will come soon, I promise) there were a lot of little things that needed to get done. Thankfully Brad's parents kept the kids for a day & Mom kept the kids for a day so that we could really focus on getting stuff done without the "help" of little hands. Not to worry, we also tried to make the time fun for the kids to make sure that they actually benefited from spending a week with their parents instead of a week playing with their friends.

We took the kids to Lion Safari on Friday & it was a fun day for both of them. We braved the wreckage of our vehicle & drove through ourselves because we figured it would be better for the kids. Sydney couldn't wait to see the lions & since they were at the beginning her interest decreased from there. Jason on the other hand was more interested in pointing out the buses than the animals until we reached the giraffes. There he got soooo excited! It was pretty cool because one walked right in front of the van so we could get a very close look. I think the kids liked best being out of their car seats, but we explained this was a one time only deal & was only so they could see better. Sydney of course still asked the other day if she could sit in the front seat again- can't blame the girl for trying.

After spending an extended time with Sydney, it amazes me how many times a day I hear "Mum-aay". It is also great to see how wonderful she is with her brother. We really lucked out that she is such a great big sister. I wonder how long it will last that they play so well together & get along. In September things will change a lot when they go from seeing each other all day, 6 days a week to only seeing each other 4 days a week. School will likely be an adjustment for them both. One of the things we wanted to do last week but didn't was go to Sydney's school & play in the yard & peek in the windows. It is something that the school recommends to help the transition. We will definitely need to do that soon. I was also hoping that she would participate in the "First Ride" program & ride the school bus to her school this summer, apparently her school is not participating. I also have heard about what some of the other schools in town have done to help the transition & am very disappointed that our school did not. I hope it is not an indication of what happens when school starts!

The Taylor Nine at Pigeon Lake

Last summer we talked with Robb & Michele about going away together for a vacation next summer. We agreed that we would rent a cottage at a housekeeping resort together for a week & have a family vacation. This plan of course was made before they got pregnant & gave birth to twins. But, we went ahead as planned. When we first arrived & I saw the cottage I was worried that I would be out of my mind within 48 hours, but things went surprisingly well. Everyone got along really well & the kids had a blast. Robb had to work on the Friday so the Taylor 5 headed out on Thursday. Although we were sad they had to go, I was secretly hoping that my two children would sleep better without so much activity around.

My most memorable moment for Sydney was on the Wednesday when she informed us in a very cross voice that "I don't like being 3!" This of course was prompted by our request (requirement) that she take a nap. She was hitting a wall- staying up too late & getting up too early. Sydney was getting up in the morning as soon as she heard us get up with Jason (which was a much too early hour of 6:30am). I think she was afraid she was missing something because she could hear us talking with Michele who was also up with one of the twins. Max on the other hand we had to wake up every morning. She also saw some kids riding their bikes without training wheels & also decided that this was another reason she doesn't like being 3- she wants to ride her bike like a big kid.

Jason's most memorable moment was related to his new saying "All done". The cottage did not have a bath- only a shower. Jason has showers often, but this shower had really high pressure, but only came out in little fine sprays so it was like a needle hitting your back. Each night trying to shower Jason he would say in a very fast, panicked voice "All done, all done, all done..." until the shower was over. It is kind of cruel to be laughing about his "torture", but his voice was so cute during each episode. He also woke us up one morning with "all done" and he has also taken an aversion to teeth brushing which is often done to a chorus of "all done". He still doesn't have a lot of intelligible words, but there is no mistaking this phrase!

Here are some shots with some further commentary.

Bonding with (Grinny) Grace and (Mad) Maddie
Jason LOVED holding the twins. Maddie gets a bad rap for being the more difficult one, but she gets a special place in my heart because she reminds me of Jason (i.e. has no problem telling you what she wants or doesn't want).


Lots of time to play

Jason's in back yelling, "I'm open!"

Happy kids make happy parents

The big kids head off to the park
The best part was we could watch them right from our cottage

X
"I don't want to take a nap!"

Looks like Mom & Dad knew best

Rub-a-dub-dub

Gracie's in the...sink

Time at the beach

A trampoline in the water- pretty cool

Date Night

Part of the plan of spending a week together was also the trade off of babysitting services. So, Brad & I had all 5 kids from 4pm to 11pm. Since Maddie had given Michele 2 nights in a row where she did not go to sleep until 1am, it was my goal to have both girls in bed before they got home. I am happy to say that I did succeed, but I am very thankful that I never had twins. These two do not work together...when one falls asleep, the other wakes up. They rarely are asleep at the same time so it is VERY busy with them during the day. Hats off to you Robb & Michele!

Finger paint helps them not to miss Max

Finger painting lasts 15 minutes

Monster hands lasts 5 minutes

Clean up lasts about 45 minutes

Last night at the cottage


Peterborough Zoo before heading home

If you are ever in Peterborough, check out the park it is great. There is a zoo, playground & splashpad that are all free!

The train costs a dollar.

Mmm, Mmm Ice Cream

This is from last week, but it still makes me laugh so I need to share with you! Brad cannot believe that I want to post it, but I think it is priceless.

Happy Birthday Canada

Today we had a great day, but unfortunately it will be a short "holiday". Tomorrow is back to work. We went to Webster's Falls where they had some activities for the kids, some music & some dancers. It was nice to picnic with the kids & see them enjoy themselves.

Sydney got her face painted & thankfully left it on her face since it was a long wait to get it. Jason was troubled for awhile that we tied his balloon to his shorts, but then he just went with it. He spent the day running around.


Both kids crashed on the way home & Jason went right to bed when we got home. I knew Sydney would not go back to sleep if we got her out of the car & she needed a nap too. So, Sydney slept in the car & I just waited in the garage while she slept. We are those crazy people who have a Lazyboy in our garage- but in our defense it is only a temporary stop on its way to somewhere else. Although its presence in the garage allowed me to catnap while I waited for Sydney to wake up. Maybe we don't need to get rid of it until the fall??? Surely a kid heading to college might pick it up off the curb if we were to put it out?

June in Review

I can't believe I went a whole month without blogging- bad me. There are many things that I thought about blogging, but at night once all that needs to get done gets done- I have been beat. June was a busy month with lots of things to do. Here are some of the highlights:

Jason's First Haircut

No he didn't really need one, but he had a tuft of hair on top of his head that was driving me crazy. So I got the clippers out & shaved his head- he really liked it & last time I cut Brad's again- Jason came running. He patted his head & said "hair, hair", so he technically got 2 haircuts in June. I am sure that every three weeks when I am cutting Brad's, Jason's will get done too. Hopefully it with generate some real growth!


Mom's Birthday/Retirement/Moving Party

The time finally came for mom to retire & with this change in life she embraced another- moving to a new city. So we hosted a party to celebrate these changes in her life & a lot of family and many friends came to celebrate. I know it meant a lot to Mom to see everyone there- even though she told us the last thing she wanted was a party. Just shows that not even Moms always know what they want- sometimes kids can know best.


Father's Day

It is terrible that I didn't even blog on Father's Day, but in my defense I didn't blog on Mother's Day either (although I was only a day late). But you know, fathers do deserve a very honourable mention. Especially the father of my children for all that he has put up with during our renovation when the project isn't something he wanted to do in the first place. So I thank him for being not only a great dad, but a very involved one too. Jason is definitely beginning to see that his dad is a pretty cool guy & fun to play with. Unfortunately for Brad, Jason seems to most often want him when Brad is trying to read the paper. Sydney of course has always loved her dad & continues to be a Daddy's girl.



Ellie's Party

Sydney's friend Ellie moved to North Carolina in November & this month she came home for a visit. Since this month is also Ellie's birthday, Kate organized a surprise birthday party for her. Ellie was thrilled!!! Wendy (Ellie's mom) thinks that it was the best day of Ellie's life so far.

Sydney had to scoot off from Ellie's party to go to Max's party, which apparently was quite fun. I missed it because I was heading up to Stratford. Ellie's party ended with rain, so our clean-up was quite rushed, but I did discover that Jason loves to play in the rain. It was so cute to see him running around in the rain & spinning in circles.


The Move

With Mom's planning to move to Burlington everything went pretty smoothly. She found an apartment that she really liked, her house sold quickly for what she wanted, she got rid of a lot of stuff so that she didn't have to move it & the movers she hired did a good job. Before she left Stratford I went up with Jason to say my goodbye to the house. Although I really only lived there for a few months, I always loved that house & continued to call it home until Brad & I got married. Jason as you will see below came to help pack boxes.

Mom is settling into the apartment well & we are working on getting some window coverings up so that she is not a free show to her neighbours. The whole length of the apartment is windows, which is great most of the time- except when you don't have blinds or curtains. This week that should all change.


Summer Fun

June had some really hot days & A LOT OF RAINING DAYS! I cannot remember the last summer with so many thunderstorms- & we are only starting July! Since I love thunderstorms I was not too bothered by the weather, but I am hoping that it is over now since we are heading out on holidays in a couple of weeks. I don't mind the rain at home, but I don't want to be stuck too long in a cottage with Max, Sydney, Jason, Grace & Maddie! Especially now that Sydney says, "I'm bored". I have figured out that this is her code for "Mommy, I want to watch t.v.".

But for the hot days we hit the pool next door, which resulted in Sydney going commando since her bathing suit bottoms kept coming off when she was trying to swim & jump in. Check out Jason's UV floatation suit- definitely looks like a linebacker!


I also introduced them to the novelty of running through the sprinkler. As you can see, Sydney loved it. Jason...well he took awhile to warm up. Not surprising though, he is like that for most things (& people). He eventually did tolerate it, but I don't think he will jump up and down with excitement when we do it again.



Being the "older" one

Sydney is truly a great big sister. Now that Jason is trying harder to say words, she really encourages him. The other day she was so proud that she taught him how to get on the horse & how to get off. It was so cute, she loves to show him how to do things & they really do seem to love being together- lets hope it continues.


Now we have 2 new little ones in the mix & both Sydney & Jason are adapting well to them. We are constantly amazed at Jason's interest in them. We babysat them for a few hours last weekend & Jason wanted to get right down on the floor & play with him. But we need to remind him to be gentle! When we go away on vacation with them, we will really need to keep our eyes on him.