Thursday, January 15, 2009

JOHN - The Dad Who Didn't Know He Was Extinct


Matthew was blaring his idog at the table the other evening. John gave him the choice of turning it down or off. Matthew refused to do either, so John turned the idog off and took it away from the table. Matthew of course had a meltdown and he yelled, “Daddy, you’re extinct!”. When I asked him a while later if he was still mad at Dad he said, “ I’m mad and he won’t listen to me and that is why he is extinct.” He makes me laugh with his storybook influenced view of the world around him.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

I think they are here!!!!

Matthew was so cute this morning waiting for his Grandma, Poppa and Auntie Sammy to arrive. He knew they would arrive sometime after Michael had his nap, so from about 10 am on (a few minutes after Michael had gone down) he kept running to our tiny front window to see if they were here yet. Every little noise he heard, he would jump up and yell, "I think they are here!" and run to the front door. He didn't relax until we called them to find out exactly when they would arrive.
Once they were here it was all pillow fights, climbing on Poppa, and opening gifts. Matthew couldn't believe Christmas was here again so soon. We had a great day visiting, a delicious Chinese Food dinner and an even better apple pie for dessert (Thanks Grandma & Poppa).
John and Bucca even snuck a nap in while Michael was napping and Auntie Sammy ws entertaibning the big guy.
I think Matthew's 'Cars' collection is complete now - with his new deluxe Mack truck and the pink Japanese reporter car 'Suki'. He is thrilled that he can now ride Lightning McQueen around in a real Mack, instead of pretending with his other trucks.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Fitness Classes

Matthew loved his soccer class Tuesday, and had a great time at his Fitness for 3's class this morning. They played tag, ran around the indoor track, played other informal games, kicked balls around, and Matthew even got to teach his class how to play "tickle catch", his only little ticklish tag game. He loved it so much he asked to go back to the Rec. Center for Jungle Gym time this afternoon. 3 hours of running, and he didn't collapse into bed. Where does his energy come from?

Crawling! (almost)

Michael has been working hard learning how to get around the living room. He has almost mastered this whole crawling thing. He is getting up on his knees, rocking back and forth, putting a leg forward, and then lunging forward instead of moving the other leg. It isn't a pretty sight, but it gets him from A to B. Nothing is safe now. He is pulling baskets off the shelves (mostly filled with his toys so it is okay), opening the DVD player, turning the stereo on, and trying to eat Matthew's books. Pretty soon he'll be fast enough I'll have to put up the baby gates to keep him off the stairs. The next 6 months should be interesting.

Another Playdate

Matthew had another playdate today, this time with Robyyn officially instead of accidentally. Darcey and I decided to meet at McDonald's to ensure that the kids would eat their lunch and have somewhere to play while we relaxed, chatted and tended to the little babes. Darcey even treated us to dessert (when the kids weren't watching) and introduced me to the cinnamon melties - Mmmmm...too good! Matthew and Michael were fascinated with little Natasha. It just amazes me the difference 5 months can make - Michael seemed so big sitting up in the high chair next to sweet sleeping Natasha in her car seat.

Indoor Playgrounds and Slushy Snow

Wednesday was going to be a lazy day for us all, until my friend Lauretta called and invited us to join her and her daughters at a local indoor playground. We met up with them around 11am and did not return home until after 3pm! When we got there Matthew immediately started climbing, sliding, and jumping around with Katie. He also really liked the ride in cars. Much to our surprise my friend Darcey's daughter arrived at the center about half an hour later with her playdate Kai and Kai's mom, Tammy (we met them at the pumpkin patch with Darcey in October). All 4 kids started playing house, pet shop and other imagination games. I got to have a chat with the moms and feel like a real person (Matthew and I have great conversations, but he is only 3).

After hours of play we drove home in the rain, as soon as we got home Matthew insisted on playing in the snow. Since Michael was asleep and had transferred to his crib without waking up I said ok. I didn't realize we would be outside in the slush for over an hour! Brrrr! At least he ate and slept well at night.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Soccer for 3's


Today was Matthew's first soccer class. Although getting to the rec. center and parking was 100 times harder than it needed to be (thank goodness I have a wonderful husband to bring me Chai and fix all my problems), the actual soccer class was not as chaotic as I thought it would be. There were about 10 three year olds following the instructor (for the most part) side stepping, walking backwards, stretching and eventually running with soccer balls and kicking into the net. Matthew thoroughly enjoyed himself and can't wait for the next class. I will hopefully get better shots next time, but I only had my pocket camera and it doesn't do well indoors.

6 month shots - ouch!


Michael had his 6 month shots yesterday. Matthew was very supportive, telling him it would be okay and holding a toy to distract him throughout the process. None of that was needed though. Michael didn't flinch or cry during either shot - the only part he fussed about was being restrained so the nurse could actually give him the shot. This photo is of Michael in the play area while we hung out for the recommended 15 minutes after the shot. What a brave kid! Or perhaps his legs are just so chubby he didn't notice the needle;0)

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Project 365

I am so excited about my most recent scrapbook page I just had to post it here. I decided to attempt Project 365, which is essentially taking a photo a day, everyday, for a year to document daily life. I will then scrapbook and journal my photos (some people just create a blog or on-line album). Next January I will have an amazing album (I hope). So enough blabbing, here it is:

For those of you who are into digital scrapping booking, I used a template from Ikea Goddess http://ikeagoddess.blogspot.com/, and a freebie digital kit called Winter Spell from http://scrapmalin.com/. I recolored some of the images to match my photos.

If you are wondering why there are only 4 photos for week one, it is because all my other pages will be full weeks (Monday to Sunday). So I started on Jan 1st and ended this week on the Sunday Jan 4th.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Happy Holidays!!!

Well, I have fallen a bit behind on my posts - we have just been having too much fun. Here is a very brief recap.

Christmas was fabulous. We had my parents over for the day. They actually arrived before Matthew woke up - he slept in until 8am. We ate way too much food, and both boys were spoiled. Matthgew got all of his Santa wishes - sunglasses, Buzz Lightyear and a Puss in Boots. He was really sweet opening his gifts. He truly enjoyed each gift and wanted to play with them before opening another.


Christmas night just before dinner we even had a brief visit from my Uncle Brian, Aunt Sheila, Thomas, and Pat. It was wonderful to see so much of our family, and we spoke to most of the rest of the family on the phone at some point in the day.

Boxing Day was a play indoors kind of day with all the snow we got.
Then on the 27th we went to visit my Aunt Meriel and Uncle Ray, as well as my Auntie Anne and her husband George who were visiting from Washington. Matthew had a great time playing with my cousin Brendan. When we were driving home he said to me, "I like those aunts and uncles, and the cookies were delicious." That made me smile, and think we really should visit more often, especially since we live so close, but life is busy. As for the cookies, he should know if they were good or not - I think he had at least one of each variety.

In the days to follow, we played a lot in the snow, played Lego and Playmobil, did some shopping, and finally went to our friend Ryan & Lauretta's for New Years. The kids (Katie & Matthew) stayed up until 9pm - Michael was unfortunately up most of the night. The adults played poker - until Ryan inevitably won.

All in all it has been a fabulous end to 2008.
Best wishes to all of you in the New Year!