5 Moms, 5 Babies!

2nd Annual Moms and Babies camping trip!

What a fun past few days Caleb and I have had. We started our weekend with an evening of babysitting Lydia's little boy, Kai. Caleb was a wonderful helper, who did most of the entertaining and kept insisting that we 'check on the baby' after Kai had gone to bed. Lyd and Nick have helped me many times with Caleb so it felt great to give them the precious gift of a date night. 

Holding wiggly Kai

We then hit the road for our 2nd Annual Moms and Babies camping trip. We had a great group consisting of 5 moms and 5 babies - Lyd and Kai, Nina and Maria, Cate and Elias, Rae and Gus. We wanted to stay close to town so we headed to Porter's Lake Provincial Park for the night. The weather was perfect, the campsite was great and the kids were wonderful. They even managed to fall asleep in their tents so the moms could have some quality girl time by the campfire.

The happy campers - Cale, Gus, Elias, Maria and Kai

It happened to be 'Canada Parks Day' so there were some activities set up in the afternoon, including Potty Toss. Must be a Nova Scotia thing??!

Of course, curious Caleb needed to check to see if their were any pipes under potty!

Our adventurous weekend didn't leave much time for packing or finishing up work related things, so I was ready to hit the office on Monday morning with a full 'to do' list. I was on a roll when I received a call at 10 am from Caleb's daycare - he had fallen from a play structure and landed on his arm. From the amount of crying he was doing, his teachers thought I should get him checked out. So, we headed off to the IWK Emergency Room. Caleb was an extremely tough little guy, staying very brave while doctors looked him over and took x-rays, and 5 hours later we left with Caleb's fractured arm wrapped up in a plaster splint. He's feeling fine now, and we should be able to take the splint off in a few weeks. Phew, what a day!

Showing off his injury

Happy about the signatures, much less happy about the news that he can't go swimming for awhile!

On the road again

Well, I have some news. The Sprague/Jeffries family is on the move...again. Only 3 months after moving into our beautiful dream home, we are once again packing up and starting a new (unexpected) adventure. I've accepted a job with the provincial government as Coastal Coordinator - and my new office will be in Cornwallis, NS. So we are moving to the Annapolis Valley, and we just found a house to rent in downtown Annapolis Royal. We are going to rent our Bayside home because we just can't quite bear to part with it so soon. Annapolis Royal was voted 'The Most Liveable Small Town in the World' by the United Nations in 2008, so that can only be a good sign. We are feeling good about our decision and although we will miss our friends/life in Halifax, we think Annapolis Royal will be a great place to raise Caleb and actually settle down. For real this time.....I hope! In the past 11 months we have spent 4 months in Jamaica, 4 months in Duncan's Cove, 3 months in our new house in Bayside and now, another new place to call home.

Here are some amazing photos taken by Grampie John while Caleb was in Fredericton last week. I'm sooooo glad to have him home, but from the looks of things, I don't think he missed me quite as much as I missed him!

I love this photo! Cale and Monica enjoying a laugh over snacks. 

Jeffries family meal - 5 cousins reunited!

Home alone

Caleb is spending a full week in Fredericton. He's 3 and a half now, and it turns out that big kids can go on vacations without their parents! He's been with Greg and Linda for the past few nights and will move to John and Maureen's tonight. I know he is having action-packed days filled with swims at the 'waving' pool, parks, popsicles and visits with friends. Alan and I have been having fun, too, but I must say that the excitement of having an empty nest wore off very quickly. I miss my little sidekick and absolutely can not wait to have him back home.

At first I was excited to make an efficient trip to the grocery store without having Caleb push the cart, or to drive to work without listening to the same 3 David Myles songs on repeat, or to sleep in until my alarm goes off. But I can tell you that I can not wait to for him to come home on Sunday, and I especially can't wait  for Monday morning when I hear his little feet running into our bedroom and I help him up into our bed for some early morning cuddles, even if it is an hour or two before my alarm goes off.

Here are some photos of our grown up boy.

Learning a new trick

Aly and Ava came to visit last week

Stretching during his first ever soccer practice

First crush

Well, hello there!

This past weekend, Caleb fell in love. She was a bandana-wearing, gypsy accordion  player, and she stole Caleb's heart at a music festival. Cale had been looking forward all week to our trip to the Full Circle Festival in the Annapolis Valley. He packed his bag full of instruments (uke, guitar, microphone) and was feeling ready to dance and play along to the live bands. He didn't know what to think when Kate and Rich hit the stage (they are described as a jazzy blend of American folk and Balkan classics). He had never seen an accordion in action before, and he stood completely still, absolutely transfixed, for the first 5 songs. Then he decided it was time to dance. As he stared up at Kate longingly, he let loose - dancing and playing for the rest of the set. At one point the band even gave him a 'ukelele solo'! When the show was over, he was the first one in line to talk to her. When she stayed for his dad's set, and started dancing, Cale was overjoyed. He kept talking to her, pointing up to his dad on stage, and closely following her every single dance move. It was quite hilarious and, thankfully, she was a good sport and didn't seem to mind the young boy who had suddenly latched onto her side!

My favorite quote from Cale this weekend was after he asked what a sign said on a roped off area for musicians - I said 'It says Musicians Only'. With an apologetic look on his face, he glanced up at me and said, 'Sorry mom, it's for only me and dad!' Because obviously our 3 year old son is a musician!

Front row centre, for dad's show

Last weekend was just as great. Greg and Linda came for three whole sleepovers, Tyvonn came for one sleepover, AND we spent one day at the Shubie Wildlife Park. Such an amazing day trip near Stewiacke - highly recommended!

Gardens and Oceans

Green thumb

We are making GREAT progress on our yard and garden. It has been so nice to move into a house that literally needed no repairs, so we've been able to put lots of our time and energy into making our yard a wonderful space to play, relax and grow our own food. I have never had a garden before, so this is all new to me and since the first day we moved in, I've had my seeds ready to plant. I have garden fever - I've seriously been itching to get out there and start making things grow! However, the very first thing I'm learning about gardening is that you need to be patient. But now, finally, the soil has warmed up, the risk of frost is gone and we just finished constructing our two 6x6 ft raised beds. Tomorrow we finally plant - cucumbers, tomatos, potatoes, peas, beans, carrots, lettuce and spinach!

I think Cale has caught of touch of the garden fever as well. We've been talking a lot about where food comes from and what we'll plant this year. I told him we could grow anything he wants to put into his salads - without hesitation he said 'Let's grow croutons!'....I guess we still have lots of learning to do!

We spray painted an old garbage can to make a nice rain barrel!

This week is World Oceans Week, and the marine team at my work have so many great activities planned that I decided I should get in on the fun. And, what better way to celebrate Oceans Week than by bringing a giant blue shark into Caleb's daycare!? Yes, I had a colleague dress up in a shark costume and visit Caleb's class. His teachers did a great job of planning activities for Earth Day (which has led to Cale's recent obsession of pointing out and picking up garbage), that I knew they'd be up for the fun. It was a huge success. The kids were so adorable and Cale is now so proud that his mom has a friend who is a 'real shark'. And, to make oceans week even better, I saw my very first wild otter last night  splashing in the water in front of our house. Amazing.

Cale hugging Hector the Blue Shark

Sleeping and settling

It already feels like we’ve been living in our new house forever. I think we chose a great home in a great community. I stopped by our new corner store Mabel’s Market the other day and after picking out some fruits and veggies, I realized I had forgotten my wallet. The cashier told me just to take everything home and pay next time.  Thanks, Mabel!

 We have most of our decorating complete, including some DIY projects that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. The first was painting some old brass lamps – see below. Alan also built a chicken wire compost container, a record shelf and is working on frames for our raised garden beds. Luckily our little sidekick often refers to himself as Bob the Builder, so he is always ready to help out with his tools.

Before

After with new couch in living room!

The best thing about our new house is that Cale is sleeping better than ever!! We’ve upgraded him to a twin bed and he is truly embracing having his own bedroom. To encourage and reward him for falling asleep on his own and for staying in his bed through the night, we bribed him with what he loves best – PARTIES!  We have started having ‘Good night parties’ each morning, complete with pancakes (chocolate chip pancakes on the first morning), songs and at his request, printing an image from the computer (hey, whatever works!).  We are trying to keep this going, but also trying to move away from the food rewards, so we’ll continue to print pictures and give lots of praise and encouragement as long as it keeps working. The change has been quite incredible. Not having to sit beside him while he falls asleep is amazing and actually frees up an hour or more each night. He’ll even get up on his own to go the bathroom and put himself back to bed. Yes, it has taken way too long for us to get to this stage, but it sure feels good!

Helping dad build a raised bed

We had a great mother’s day weekend with my parents visiting. I knew they would love the modern finishings and feel of the house, so it was great fun to have them here and show them all around. This coming weekend will be a boys weekend at home, as I’m off to Vegas for a friends wedding. Should be a blast!

Love you, mom!

First visitors

Gathering wood for the back yard fire pit

 We are loving our new house. Everything about it is perfect and it feels just like home. We had our first visitors this weekend - Grammie Maureen, Grampie John and Aunt Teresa. They got right to work helping us unpack, reupholstering some chairs and cleaning up wood debris in the back yard. It is so nice to finally have room for company - so feel free to come and visit us this summer!

Go Mooseheads Go!

 Some friends were also able to stop by and check the place out this weekend. Baby Kai Fudge came by and we got to have the photo shoot that I've been dreaming of for years. Lydia and I with our baby boys - in none other than matching tie-dye Bob Marley shirts! Amazing.

Photo op!

Future BFFs!

New home, new priorities

Lichen!

A new chapter of our lives is about to begin. It feels like buying our own home is something we've dreamed about for so long, it is hard to believe that it is actually happening in only a few short days.
We have been lucky enough to live in some beautiful homes over the years, but none of them were truly 'our home'. Now we get to finally settle and build our life in a place that is all our own.
I'm feeling so excited about so many things, I thought I'd share some of my hopes and dreams for our new home.

1. Develop a true sense of community. I can't wait to get to know our neighbours, and become an active member of our new community. I'm ready to join an association at the local school or community centre, and just get involved and feel a part of something long term.

2. Grow our own food. We have never had a space to garden so this will be my first ever attempt at getting to know an outdoor space and learning how to grow and preserve my own food. Putting in some raised beds will likely be our first step this summer.

3. Keep our house more organized and clean. No more clothes not being put away or beds not being made, it is time to give all of our belongings a permanent home and take responsibility for our space. I'm going to try and get Caleb to help out with this goal, and I'm planning on giving him some of his own responsibilities. Just last night we decided that one chore he could take over is clearing and setting the table. We've officially given him the title of  'table captain', which he seemed excited about. We are going to try and give him an important role and make it seem as exciting as possible!

4. Stick to a family budget. This will be a really positive (and necessary) step for us to take and I actually can't wait to crunch the numbers and create a plan for us to stick to. Geez, that truly was an adult statement!

5. Have my own space to get creative. We'll soon have a home office (!!) and a workshop in our basement. I can keep all of my supplies in one place and hopefully I'll be inspired to take on lots of craft and DIY projects. I have big dreams in this department and I can't wait to get started.

6. Sort out our night time routine, once and for all. It's time for me to admit it - Caleb, at 3 years and 3 months, still isn't sleeping though the night. I think it is partly our fault, partly Caleb's personality and partly the various living situations we've been in over the past 8 months. I shared a bedroom with Cale in Jamaica for 4 months, then things didn't improve too much during our time at the glass house. We have one bedroom which is an open loft, so our sweet little fella sleeps only 1 meter away from mom and dad.  We take turns putting him to bed each night, which means we actually lay in bed with him until he is asleep and then we sneak away for a few hours before heading to bed ourselves. Every night, Cale wakes up crying and I roll out of one bed and into another, and end up sleeping with Cale for the remainder of the night. Every night. I'm ready for this to end and to finally get a good sleep routine going that will benefit all of us. Uninterrupted sleeps are still a fantasy for me, but I know we will get there. I think since Cale has never had a 'comfort item' he still uses me as his security blanket. When he wakes up in the middle of the night and his beloved blankie (me in this case) is not beside him, he starts to cry. Time for him to learn to self soothe once and for all. As always, I'm always up for hearing advice from others who have dealt with similar sleep issues. I know it can't just be me who has found themselves in a less than ideal sleep situation 3+ years later...surely!

Bring it on mom, I'm ready!

Mommy, is this Spring?

I have some time to share a few photos tonight because both of my boys have been asleep since 7:30! They are both recovering from a round of illness that struck our home over the long weekend. We still managed to squeeze in some fun, and an Easter egg hunt, in between all of our cuddles. This Easter, the bunny was very thoughtful and brought lots of raisins, stickers, new crayons and bubbles - along with just the right amount of chocolate to share with mom and dad.

Ya, I'm sick, but I'm still going to play outside

Glass house in the sun!

Car Talk

Just scooting along!

Cale and I headed to Fredericton this weekend for a mini vacation. Alan is touring in Saskatchewan and I had just finished up a really busy week at work, so we decided a road trip was in order. I'm not sure how most 3 year olds handle 4.5 hour drives, but Cale is turning into a great little travel companion. We chat non-stop about his current favorite topics - cars, machines and radio djs. He pointed out and named every large truck, tractor or machine we passed - 'Look mom - a big rig!', or my favorite quote, as we were passing a construction site 'I saw a builder with his head down.  He must have been looking at the building plans'. Amazing. He also asked questions about every single button or gauge in the car. He now knows what everything in the dashboard is and exactly how it works. My favorite game this trip was the radio request game. I would use my imaginary phone to call the radio station and make a request. DJ Caleb would answer and sing my song, unless of course, he was busy and he'd answer by saying 'Sorry, the radio dj is not here right now. Please leave a message after the beep - Beeeeeeep!'.

Evolution of Cale's drawings: The Monster Phase (with fingers and toes, sometimes called 'claws'!)

The countdown is officially on - only 3 more weeks until we move into our new house!! It is on Prospect Road, just outside of Halifax, on the loop to Peggy's Cove. It is a beautiful 3 bedroom house, with an amazing studio that will soon be Alan's music space. The best part of all - it is on the coast with an amazing ocean view. This will be Caleb's 4th house, and all of them have been on the ocean. I'm so happy that 'Caleb's Coastal Life' will continue and that we will finally have a place to call our very own!

Sold!

Cousins!

My brother and sister-in-law are off enjoying a March Break trip to Cuba, so Aly and Ava are spending the week with my parents. And what does that mean? A road trip to Halifax!

Caleb had been waiting for weeks for Greggy, Linda and his cousins and to come and stay with us at the glass house. He couldn't quite believe it when the big day finally arrived. We packed in as much family fun as we could handle - Peggy's Cove, Natural History Museum, restaurants, beachcombing, concerts, a candy store and visiting with our amazing neighbours Tom and Bev (here is how amazing Tom is -he built the glass house by hand!). Alan and I even managed to have one night away to celebrate his 30th birthday. The only sad moment was when the Greg, Linda and the girls dropped Cale off at daycare on Monday morning. Apparently, with his head hung low and his lower lip stuck out, he very, very slowly shuffled his feet down the hallway and into his classroom. Mom said it was a heartbreaking (but also hilarious) scene.

Cale is a lucky boy to have such wonderful cousins. I really hope he gets to spend some quality time with his other cousins soon. Hopefully there will be a big reunion this summer...maybe even at our NEW HOUSE! Details to come once the final papers are signed!!

Peggy's Cove with Linda

Best beach finds - seaglass, pottery and a clay pipe fragment (likely made in the UK the 1800's). I've been searching for this particular beach treasure for years!

Notable quotables

Skating on a  perfect Caleb-sized pond in Duncans Cove. 

Life has been busy at the Sprague/Jeffries house. Work, a sick boy, a wild weasel loose in our bedroom (which seems to have shown itself out), and hunting for our first house!! Wow. It's definitely the first time I've posted a sentence like that!

Caleb seems to be bursting with questions and hilarious quotes these days, so I wanted to make sure I captured a few of them. During our morning commute, Cale has decided to play a game "Guys, I have 3 questions for you" he'll say. "First question, (and this is an actual string of questions from last week) how do boats stop? Second question, what does a bees nest look like? And last question, why do you have to work to make money." As you can imagine, these questions give us lots to discuss while sitting in traffic at the rotary!

A couple other of my latest favorite quotes are:

This morning before breakfast - "Mom, quick, I need an appletizer!"

He loves words, spelling and sounds so I was impressed when he said "I can spell machine - p...p...p...p..pachine. It's starts with a p." So close!

And when he was feeling particularly sick he woke up and said "I just don't know what will ever make me feel better." Heartbreakingly adorable.

Family fun with Photobooth