We've had a busy last few weeks and it's been absolutely splendid! My parents came to visit with Aly and Ava for a few days before taking Caleb back to Fredericton to spend his March Break. This was a big trip for him, and he was very, very excited and had a wonderful time on his own. Alan's folks then brought Caleb back over on the ferry at the end of the week, and Caleb's cousin Tanya came along for the adventure. So we have had a ton of family time and we all loved it, especially Odie! He woke up each morning wondering who would be downstairs for him to play with. He certainly missed Caleb on the days he was gone, but I really enjoyed having some alone time with my 'baby'. And now it we are resting up after all the fun and relaxing close to home over the Easter long weekend. Alan will even be home to join us tomorrow and we can finally all spend a day off together on Monday. Let's hear it for family time!
We took a day trip to Halifax and spent some time checking out the amazing new library! Aly and Cale shared a drink at the cafe on the top floor. Ava wasn't allowed to have a sip because she was car sick on the drive. Good times!
Odie. all alone for a week, passed much of his time playing his favourite game - guitar case car ramp.
Baby's got the blues - Odin insisted on bringing the harmonica on his wagon trip to the grocery store. Missing big brother for sure!
Caleb loved having a 'little sister' for a few days. We introducedTanya to life in the Valley by taking her to meet our friend's newly hatched chicks!
Caleb dueting with a chick
Grammie cuddles!
Paw Patrol with Grampie! Odin could hardly stand the suspense!
Grampie John is always gifting great books to his grandkids. Odin was so happy to have another lap to read on.
The boys got to see their dad preform with his band this weekend at at a Bluegrass Brunch in Berwick. They had their dancing shoes shined up and couldn't wait to hit the dance floor together.
Love letter that I found in Caleb's backpack! He still loves using our first names!
"Bruiser"...that was how our doctor referred to Odin during his 18 month check up yesterday! At 27 lbs, he is still in the 98th percentile for height and head size, so the doctor is predicting that we'll have a big boy on our hands.
Our little bruiser is doing wonderfully well at his new daycare. It is hard for me to believe that he can sit still during circle time, wait in line to wash his hands, sit on his own chair and eat his meals using utensils and nothing but regular cup. Each day we seem to move further and further from having a little baby in our life.
He's also developed into quite a little talker. The doctor said at this age he should have about 20 words, even if they are not perfectly pronounced. Odie has a ton of words, some of them very clear and some of them only a parent's loving ear could possibly understand! Nore means more, height means light, Caleb is still lovingly referred to as Caco, a horse is an indescribable sound that comes from deep in his throat and cheese is a similar sounding grunt. He is very consistent with these terms, so we seem to have no trouble understanding his needs (which do often seem to revolve around cheese!). I've posted a new video below showing off his newly expanded vocabulary. He still doesn't like to use the 'L' sound much, so we have been trying to over-emphasize it when talking to my parents on skype and saying the word 'Linda'. This has resulted in a new name for his grandmother - Lalala. Just watch and see!
Post-bath curls!!! Yay!
We are also experiencing the other 'joys' of toddlerhood - he loves to drop items just to see what sound they make and he will scream if something happens that he doesn't like (his sense of volume control has not yet been fine-tuned!). A great example of this is when he opened the cupboard doors a few days ago, grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds and proceeded to dump the entire contents onto the floor. After being mesmerized by just how far the mess had spread, he looked up at me innocently and said 'Uh oh.' (Caleb likes to remind him that 'uh oh' doesn't count if you did something on purpose). I quickly grabbed the broom and dustpan to begin cleaning up the mess, when Odin decided that actually, HE was going to be the one to clean it up. He grabbed the broom in one hand, the dustpan in the other, and proceeded to push the majority of the seeds under the stove and into other irretrievable places. I was at the end of my patience at this point, and took the broom back to just get the mess cleaned up, already. Well. Odin was dismayed and heartbroken. He burst into tears, became red in the face, and let out a terrible scream at the injustice I had just put upon him. After several deep breathes (on both of our behaves) we managed to get the floor cleaned up and everyone calmed down. I don't think Caleb ever really threw temper tantrums, but I have a funny feeling we may begin to experience some meltdowns with #2!
Later that night, Caleb had an adorable quote that I need to share. He said, 'Mom, isn't it funny how things can be both big and small. Like how Odin is so small but he takes up such a big space in our hearts'. So true.
I also wanted to share a couple of photos of some crafts Cale and I have been working on. These were inspired by a book given to Caleb on his birthday from John and Colleen. We love it!!
Acrobat Land - taking arts and crafts to a new level!
I've taken a ton of great photos over the past couple of weeks that I can't wait to share. As March approaches, we are about to transition into a new routine. Odin will be 18 months tomorrow, so he can finally start attending the daycare in Annapolis Royal. His current home-care situation turned out to be great, but having him in town will make my commute time, and life in general, so much easier. This is also where Caleb goes after school and he can't wait to get off the bus and have his little brother waiting for him. I'm sure Odie will be overjoyed when 'Caco' walks in the door!
I'm also finally feeling settled in this little town. Over the past few months I've been able to make some good friends, which isn't easy these days! But I'm beginning to build a great network of moms that I really enjoying spending time with. One of our good friends lives on a farm (where we lived the summer before Odin was born), and I'm learning how wonderful it is to have access to all the joys of farm life, without having to do all of the work! This week we were very excited to visit some chicks that had just hatched from their incubator. Odin, being the little animal lover that he is, couldn't get enough of them...and the cats, giant dog, chickens and horse. Great times, and great photo ops, ensued!
Hanging with the chicks:
Odin, my viking farmer. Such a fantastic homemade hat!!
Other February fun:
Alan's birthday - complete with a homemade t-shirt! He was away for the actual big day, but we made sure to celebrate early.
Just chillin' at a playgroup he attended with his babysitter!
Indoor picnic with some friends. The 'make your own' salad bar was a big success!
We love going to the Family Fun Nights that are open to the public each Friday at the local school. Odin can't get enough of the balls and often sneaks into the equipment room looking for more (because there just are never quite enough for him to play with!)
Hiking in Kejimkujik National Park on an incredibly mild and sunny February day. We live only 40 km from Keji and we are hoping to spend lots of time there this summer.
Taking a break during our hike. Caleb thought Odie looked camouflaged!
Although he only has a few words, Odin can definitely find ways to tell you what he wants. Like this morning (Monday) he was determined to have us eat breakfast by candelight, and he wouldn't sit down until all the candles were lit! It was actually a nice start to my week!
Our little one is growing up FAST! He has developed a new awareness of the world and he wants to be right in the middle of everything. He is discovering the joys of independence, which makes our life easier (and more hilarious) in many ways, but also has some challenges.
The word 'no' has become a staple as he learns that he has control over his own mind and body. He first began asserting this new-found power at meal time, as he basically refused to eat anything we were serving for a few days - just because he could. He would push food items away or casually drop them on the floor. We won this battle by basically ignoring him for one meal and not offering him any food at all. The feeling of being excluded was enough for him to start asking for food almost immediately and now he is back to being a voracious eater at mealtimes!
He is also very quick on his feet these days and I often get that 'pit in my stomach feeling' when I've lost sight of him for a few minutes and hear only silence. Most of the time, I find him deeply engaged in playing with a toy, but sometimes I'll find him climbing up on the back of the couch, or he'll be causing trouble in his favourite room in the house - yes, this would be the bathroom! Sometimes he is innocently brushing his hair, but more often than not, I'll hear a familiar flushing sound and know exactly where to find him. Thankfully, he is pretty good about not flushing our items down the toilet, but he sure gets a kick out of watching the water swirl into the abyss! Here are a few of his other new skills:
Odie - just being adorable!
Master of Utensils!
Odin has progressed from playing peek-a-boo to playing hide and seek. He can be quite hard to find at times (as you can see!). Caleb plays along so well - really hamming up the 'where is Odin' role!
Hanging out on his bathroom stool, hoping someone will turn on the water.
We officially have a 6 year old, and we spent the entire week celebrating how happy we are to have him in our lives. And it was a big, big week beginning on the Saturday before Cale's actual birthday. Our little town is one of many across Canada who have stepped up and formed a local committee to assist with the relocation of Syrian refugees. The town has been raising money, collecting donations and even renovated a beautiful old home and filled it with furniture and firewood in anticipation our new family's arrival. There has been a lot of discussion about refugees in our household because the house that has been purchased for the refugee family is directly across the street from us. This means, sometime in the coming weeks, we will be welcoming new neighbours who (hopefully) have a couple of children for my boys to play with.
Caleb, being the incredibly empathetic and generous little fella that he is, was quite concerned when he heard about why the family needed to leave their home country and how they would be arriving here with very little. He thought it was exciting that a local group had come together to help them settle into a new life in Canada, and he wanted to help out to. So the idea of a fundraiser was born - and after recruiting a couple of his friends, we held a 'Hot Chocolate and Cookie Cale' at the new outdoor skating rink in Annapolis Royal. Caleb personally began collecting money around our house (we have no more loose change anywhere!) and donated money he received as Christmas gifts and even the toonie left to him by the tooth fairy.
Caleb and his friends, the Froese sisters, were hoping to make 10 or 20$ from the sale, but after spreading the word around town, people came out in droves to support the cause. People donated cookies to sell, the local coffee roaster turned up with pots of coffee to share and even the fire department was out working late the previous night to flood the rink and make sure it was ready for the big event. I was utterly blow away by the support. The kids ended up making $769 in 2 hours, and the local paper was there to report on the event. The article captures the spirit of the day, and Caleb was delighted to be interviewed. His week continued to get better as his teacher read the article to his class and people commented to him that he was the 'talk of the town'! It was wonderful to feel we did a little something to contribute to this nation-wide effort, but the real work will begin once the family arrives and we are given the opportunity to be the best neighbours we can be in order to help the family settle into their new life in our community.
And unbelievably, the birthday week fun was only beginning. On Caleb's request, we decided to head to Fredericton to celebrate with friends, family and most importantly COUSINS!! We spent 4 days and nights playing outside, watching Aly and Ava play basketball, seeing the new Star Wars in the theatre (!!) and squeezing in as much fun as we could. Here are some photos and our annual birthday interview!
Birthday party fun
Birthday party sliding at O'Dell Park (photos by Greggy)
And our other very grown up fella!! He doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun.
For my birthday, I asked for something homemade. I was delighted to receive this beautiful bouquet of flowers!
We've been trying to beat the winter blues by staying active and enjoying the great outdoors as much as possible. Having some wonderful Christmas gifts, and two January birthdays in our family, sure helps a lot, as well. We can't wait to head home to Freddy to celebrate Cale's 6th birthday on the 29th. Some of my friends have been posting an 'All About Mom' interview on facebook lately, so I thought I'd give it a try with Caleb. The idea is to ask the questions and let the kids respond completely unprompted. Haha! What a great memory. I'll have to try this again in a couple of years. Caleb's 'All About Mom' interview:
1. What is something Mom always says to you? 'Caleb'
2. What makes mom happy? When Odin sits down on his bum
3. What makes mom sad? Odin hitting
4. How does your mom make you laugh? When I act silly like a penguin (not sure when I've ever done this, but after a quick discussion he said he would love if I did!!)
5. What was your mom like as a child? Cute
6. How old is your mom? 37
7. How tall is your Mom? 4 ft
8. What is her favourite thing to do? Go for a walk
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? work
10. If your mom became famous, what would it be for? helping the fish!
11. What is your mom really good at? swimming
12. What is your mom not very good at? Not taking care of Odin (ie- I am very good at taking care of Odin)
13. What does your mom do for a job? her job is to work for the Apartment of Fisheries!!
14. What is your mom's favorite food? pasta
15. What makes you proud of your mom? cooking a really good supper
16. If your mom was a character, who would she be? Elsa (Princess from Frozen)
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play together 18. How are you and your mom the same? Both have blue eyes
19. How are you and your mom different? She is older than me
20. How do you know your mom loves you? because she hugs me
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Africa
22. How old was your mom when you born? (takes a second to do the math and ...) 31
And a few photos of our January fun:
Winter hiking with friends. We stopped for a snack and even built a fire on the snowy beach.
We've been so busy enjoying our holidays and building amazing toy sets that I haven't had a second to update the blog! But I did take lots of photos to share. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here is our holiday in review!
Pulling out all of our decorations for a special Christmas breakfast! This was our advent activity for the first day of our holidays - complete with a kids menu and all.
Christmas Eve cuddles. So excited for the big day! We had a brunch with friends then cooked our own turkey. Needless to say, we are still working on the leftovers!
For Odin, it was the Christmas of the Dog! Much to his delight he received 3 little dogs to go along with the 1 he already sleeps with every night. The love was immediate.
Boxing Day Soccer Game in PJs! We had a green Christmas in the Valley, but it didn't stay green for long.
By December 27th, we were building snowmen!
On New Years Day, we received the greatest gift of all - family! The final sunset of the year was a beauty, and made for a great ending to a very warm and magical winter day.
For our NYE celebration, we started up our own Board Game Cafe. We played several different games and awarded tokens to the winners after each round. The kids set up a pretty impressive 'prize store' where the tokens could be cashed in every hour! Here we are in a heated game of Mustache Smash!
At the New Years Day Levee at the Annapolis Royal Legion.
Meeting some local celebs at the Levee (the Town Crier)
And Premier Stephen McNeil!
And to wrap up a wonderful holiday - Alan and I escaped to Halifax for a night without the kids!! It was my first night ever without Odin, and I missed the little fella, but not for too long! We had an amazing dinner on the town, hit up Bearley's House of Blues for another New Years Day Levee (where Alan hopped on stage for a song) and made the most of our night together in the big city! And luckily for Greg and Linda, Odin slept through the night and all four kids were wonderful. It's looking like we just might get another night out sometime in 2016!!
The matching Christmas PJ's have arrived! This may be my favourite new holiday tradition.
I've been so busy writing about all of the amazing things little brother can do these days, I almost forgot to write about Caleb's wonderful recent achievements. Caleb is loving school and is thriving in the classroom setting. He is one of those kids who can sit still all day while trying to apply everything he has to his work. Thankfully, the teachers do their best to keep the kids moving and as active as possible throughout the day. One tool they use is a great website called 'Go Noodle' where kids get to select silly videos that encourages them to dance, jump, try yoga positions and even practice meditative breathing. They also choose a cute character that grows bigger and stronger as they complete the videos. We now do this at home, too and we love it.
Cale recently brought home his wonderful first ever report card, and I had a great meeting with his teacher in my first ever parent-teacher interview. (It was a real 'I am officially an adult' moment for me!) His teacher confirmed everything I already knew - he is bright, thoughtful, polite, keen, kind and loves to play by the rules, of course! His teacher even used the word 'spectacular' when describing him and said she wished she could clone him! He is now diligently practicing for his upcoming Christmas concert which I can't wait to attend and take videos of to share with everyone.
Right now at home we are all wrapped up in Christmas spirit! It is so much fun (and so easy) to create magic in the house at this time of year for a 5 year old. Alan and I put the gifts under the tree last night and when Caleb woke up, he spent 20 minutes oohing and awwing over every package. We have also started up our advent calendar again and I've added in a few new fun activities for us this year. The 'Build an Elf Village' day was a huge success. I left out a bag of mini marshmallows and a box of toothpicks and let Caleb's imagination run wild. He loved it. Today, Caleb is home sick and his activity is to write a Christmas song with his dad. Next week I'm going to let Caleb do some grocery shopping for the local food bank, bake some holiday treats to share with neighbours, take the boys to have Breakfast with Santa at the legion and build a gingerbread house. So much to look forward to!
Rooms for 2000 elves!
Odin now prefers to feed himself breakfast and he doesn't care which end of the spoon he uses! This new step towards independence leads to another indication that you have a toddler in your home - the uncontrollable messes that seem to follow you everywhere! These messes are often lead to an extra load of laundry.
