Two!

My baby is all grown up. Well, not quite yet, thankfully, but he is now TWO years old. His Sept 1 birthday fell on an action packed week. I took the week off to spend some time with the kids before Caleb started a new school year. We did our annual 'Mom and Kid' camping trip, spent a day hiking and canoeing in Keji, had friends visit and hosted a big housewarming/birthday party in our new backyard. Unfortunately, we also spent a day in Sussex with Alan's family for the funeral of his grandmother Jeffries. It was a sad occasion, but it was a very nice celebration of her life and it always feels so good to have the whole Jeffries family together. Here's how our last week of summer went down:
1. Mom and Kids Camping Trip

I made 'Happy Camper' t-shirts for the kids this year. They were a big hit!

4 moms and 6 kids joined in on the fun at Blomindon Park this year.

Cale and Kai about to get dirty on the beach!

3. Housewarming/Odin's second birthday party


We wanted to invite all of our new friends and people we've met who have welcomed us into our new community. We opened up our home and backyard and over 60 people arrived to celebrate. I was especially excited that our newly relocated family from Sudan attended the party. The 6 kids (ages 4-19) were a bit shy at first, but it didn't take long before they were into the snacks, playing badminton with balloons and pushing Odin around on his tractor. It's hard to express how amazing it felt to be able to host so many wonderful people in our own home.




It's a party!



People couldn't believe the number of kids in attendance. Here are a handful of them - not bad for our little 'retirement community'!

And of course there was some music - which delighted Odin as he started a one-man dance party!

"Go faster!!"

3. Back to School/ Caleb's New Smile
Caleb lost his front tooth and he's now left with a winning smile!! (It's ok if you think it's a tiny bit frightening!). One tooth fell out, and the other migrated into the middle - a perfectly appropriate smile for entering into grade one.

Yes, my son *slightly* resembles Sloth from the Goonies!

We had a big final day of vacation before I headed back to work and Caleb started back to class. We followed hours of outdoor play with preparations for our big day ahead. We laid out clothes, ripped the tags off his new school sneakers, cleaned out his bookbag, packed a lunch for the first time in months, and headed in for an early bedtime. Tuesday morning we were up and ready to roll. I snapped the obligatory 'first day of grade 1' photo, then drove Caleb to school to start his new year off on the right foot, only to realize (AFTER I was in the building) that school doesn't start until Thursday. Parenting fail on my end - but two bonus summer vacation days for Caleb! Who would have thought that school didn't start until Thursday?!? I'll know to check next year. Haha.

First day of Grade One photo (Take One!!)

4. Video time!!


Odin is a super adorable little boy. He talks non-stop, although 90% of what he says is about trucks. He can make great short little sentences, like this morning when I was packing him up for daycare and he declared "Odie No Wendy's, Odie Beach!!". I wish, little fella, I wish. He loves to joke and make people laugh. He is strong, brave, physical, gentle and loving all at the same time. Here he is singing some of his original tunes and showing off his signature dance moves. Sorry the aspect ratio on the video is a bit off - he does actually have a very nicely shaped head!