How the parents saved Christmas (in July)

We learned a very valuable RV life lesson last weekend that I must share. We decided to spend one night at our 'local' campground, Dunromin, in Granville Ferry. It was a Saturday night, so we knew it would be busy, but we had no idea that we were arriving during 'Christmas in July', which turned out to be a particularly big night for the campground. I noticed on the daily event board while we were driving in that Santa was arriving at the playground at 8:00. When I paid for our site, I confirmed this with the worker who told me that Santa would be in fact be there that night with presents for all the kids. Wow, I thought to myself, Caleb is going to loooove this and how generous of them to hand out a candy cane or dollar store item to each kid. When I told Caleb, he couldn't believe his luck. Santa? Here? Tonight! With presents?!?! Amazing!! I overheard him excitedly discussing this with the kids on the playground all day. At supper he told me that Santa was here last year, too, and that he arrives on a golf cart!

Earlier in the evening

By 7:45, the playground was buzzing. I have no idea where all these children came from, but there seemed to be about 80 of them all sporting their little Santa hats and elf pyjamas. Alan and I watched as Caleb tried to act calm while he paced by the road watching and waiting for the magical golf cart to pull up. At 8:00 sharp, the big man arrived towing a trailer full of gifts. He merrily jumped out of the cart waving hello and seated himself on an oversized adirondack chair in the centre of the playground. The chair was probably built solely for this annual celebration. Caleb watched in awe, and was the first child seated directly beside Santa's shiny black boots. At 8:01, my heart sunk as I realized that the gifts were definitely not dollar store items. These were REAL gifts. Big and wrapped in festive paper. These gifts were definitely not from the campground staff, but from parents. Parents who were not newbies to this whole 'Christmas in July' at a campground experience. These parents, unlike us, had come well prepared for this event.

I looked up in terror at Caleb, who was watching with big bright eyes as Santa started calling out names on each of the packages, knowing that there was definitely not a parcel with his name on that trailer. Alan and I stared at each other, shaking our heads. We were about to watch our little boy gets his heart completely crushed. We knew we could not stand by and let that happen. I threw Odin in the stroller, asked Alan to stand guard and be ready to comfort Caleb in case I didn't get back in time. I literally ran to the campground office to see what items I could purchase and find a way to sneak back into Santa's stash. $6.25 later, I was armed with a glow stick, a flimsy frisbee, a $1 Surprise Bag and a bag of rock candy. I explained the urgency of the situation to the worker, and he kindly 'wrapped' my parcel in a plastic bag and wrote Caleb's name on it. I sprinted back to the playground, snuck up to Santa's helper and handed her my package just in time. There were only about 6 kids left when Caleb's name was called out. He jumped up, no longer able to contain his excitement, and was handed his plastic bag. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice the lack of wrapping paper. He opened up the gift and was overjoyed with all of the contents. A surprise bag?!? A glowstick?!? Oh, Santa, you really out did yourself this time!

And that, my friends, is how the parents saved Christmas in July.

Stepping up to receive his gift!

Sunny days of Summer

Our co-pilot guiding the way to Kempt Shore while sporting his new 'fish head' hat. 

This past weekend we packed up Sunny and headed off to our first festival of the summer, the Kempt Shore Acoustic Festival on the beautiful shores of the Minas Basin. We had done a trial run with Sunny earlier in the week by spending a night at the Dunromin Campground in Granville Ferry, and things had gone really well (mind you, we only had to drive 3 km to get there), but we were feeling very ready for our first real trip in the old gal. After 13 summers of tenting with Alan at festivals all around the maritimes, we were super excited to hit the road in our little home on wheels, and to bring our two wonderful little boys to share the experience with.

Having Sunny at the festival was better than I could have imagined. We were able to cook all of our own meals, instead of filling up on french fries from the canteen all weekend. We had our own bathroom, so no port-a-potties for us! We stayed dry under our canopy when it rained. We had our own space to play, nap, relax and even host a fantastic late night jam session.  It is so nice to feel organized and know that you have everything you could ever need for a successful weekend. Board games, extra clothing, band-aids, snacks, drinks, towels, blankets...everything has its own little space in Sunny. Who knew that RV culture would suit me so well!

And of course the boys were fantastic. I felt like I was walking around with three celebrities at times. Alan ripped it up on stage all weekend and received many hellos and as we walked around the site. Caleb, with his fish hat that he had purchased at a yard sale earlier this summer, was getting comments everywhere we turned. At one point he said to me 'I think I've gotten something like 40 or 45 compliments on my hat!'. And Odin, with his bright eyes desperately trying to make eye contact with everyone around him, was also charming people and making friends around every turn. More than once we would be watching a show on the stage and I'd notice that Odin had at least 10 people behind him completely captivated - smiling, waving, clapping and laughing with him.

Odin loves to clap to music. The second he hears a little ditty on the radio or in passing, he'll begin clapping. Last night, I was laying in bed watching a show while he slept beside me. He had been sleeping for about an hour when the show's theme song came on during the ending credits of the show. Immediately, his little hands went straight up into the air and he began clapping! In his sleep! It was quite hilarious.

We now have a week off before heading out again in Sunny to a bunch of festivals throughout August. Sounds like a great way to spend my final 6 weeks of maternity leave.

Sunny's first jam

A love letter (to family and Fredericton)

Cousin party at Kelly's Creek. I love watching these kids make memories together.

It's hard to believe that 10 months have passed since we first hopped on the ferry to embark on my one year maternity leave adventure in Fredericton. I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. Spending time so close to our family and friends has brought all 4 of us so much joy. I don't think Caleb has ever felt more friendship and love in his entire life. The closeness he has developed with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and especially cousins mean so much to all of us. And what an amazing way for Odin to begin life, with so many arms to hold him, so many faces to smile with him and so many people to share in the amazing developments of a baby's first year. Our boys are incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful influences in their lives. How we ever will go back to being on our own, I'm not sure, but I do know that I wouldn't have traded this year for anything.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year wonderful by celebrating so many special occasions with us - birthdays, mother's day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Patriots games on Sundays, lunch dates with Grammie and Grampie, play dates with Teresa at Kathy and Roland's,  inventions with Greggy, piano lessons with Linda, Wednesday afternoons with Ava, watching Alyssa play basketball and the list goes on  and on... We will especially miss the ordinary days, just hanging out together because we could.  We may just have to have another child so we can do it all again! (**this is a joke, so don't get too excited, Linda!!)

Watching Dada play in Officer's Square

It has also been wonderful to rediscover Fredericton after so many years away. I love this town and I can clearly see why so many friends have decided to stay here to raise their families. Here are a few of the many things we will miss about this wonderful city:

- The Northside market. I have always loved the Southside market, but the Northside location was a new discovery for me. Amazing food (amazing falafels and delicious Ethiopian veggie meals), home baked pretzels (Caleb's favourite weekend treat) and weekly visits with Perley the Magician.

- Fredericton library - living without internet or cable the past few months means we've made several trips to the library for books, music and DVDs. This year's entertainment can be summed up for me with The Gilmore Girls (finished 5 seasons!), The West Wing and Choose your Own Adventure Books  which are as great as I remember.

- The TransCanada Trail. This is where Caleb first learned to ride a bike, and many, many trips soon followed. We stashed our first ever geocache here and found several more. The trails are such an incredible gem in the city.

- YMCA - It felt so good for me to join the gym and regain some sanity by spending an hour away from both kids (thanks mom and dad for giving me this precious time off). The Y is also where Caleb spent 9 months in junior kindergarten making many good friends and memories, and also where Odin had his first swims.  I can't wait to join the Fundy YMCA once we get back to NS.

- Friends! I was able to spend time with many close friends this year. Jill, Owen, Harris, Brent, Sarah,  Leah...the list goes on. I didn't actually get out as much as I thought I might, which may have had something to do with the fact that I had an infant latched onto my side 24 hours a day, but that made the times I did spend with friends all the more valuable and it truly felt good just know you were near.

- The Johnston family and the Alders family who shared their homes and wonderful waterfront views with us. Without them, this year would not have been possible.

Thank you all so much. We are already looking forward to our next trip back in August.

The boys and I took a trip to Bar Harbor with Greg and Linda last week. Lots of exploring and seafood consumption took place!

Tidal pool love

Mt. Katahdin look off

And we are off. Don't worry, there is a rope attached to the canoe!

All about Odin

It's happened. My little baby has turned a corner this past week. Something in his brain has been switched on and you can almost see the wheels turning as he begins to understand, really understand, all the goings on around him. The growth and development are almost tangible. His mind and body are ready to learn and he is mastering new tricks each day.

Repetition is essential for a baby to learn new skills and sounds.  Odie will work for days on sounding out one letter at a time. Today he is working on his 't' sound. A few days ago it was 'n' and before that the 'mamamas' and 'dadadas'. He will intently watch hand movements and actions before attempting to mimic them. He claps and waves constantly, shakes his head 'no', can point to a nose and is working on his high fives and kisses. Pretty impressive talents for a 9 month old. He has moved from a creep to a full on crawl, pulling himself up and all. This newfound mobility is both exciting and terrifying to witness. Maybe we are in need of a baby helmet!

Clapping in man pyjamas. So dignified.

Most of all, Odin is filled with joy these days. It's hard to believe he was once a difficult infant, screaming the second he was out of my arms. He is now completely comfortable with people and he thrives on making eye contact, smiling  and instantly stealing the heart of everyone he meets. He loves to reward us with big belly laughs after being tickled and is an all-around happy, adorably sweet little boy. I'm definitely feeling like a pretty lucky mom these days.

Father's day gift for Alan (and Sunny). I'm hoping this will really tie the RV interior together!

Sunny!

After years of dreaming, we are so happy to finally introduce the newest member of our family - Sunny, a 1986 GMC Citation 20 ft. Motorhome! We are beyond excited with our new purchase and with the many family memories that will soon be made. I have always loved the fact that Alan grew up going to bluegrass festivals with his family, staying in a camper and falling asleep to the sounds of  musicians jamming outside his window.  I love that my boys' summers will now be filled with similar experiences and memories. And my being on maternity leave means all 4 of us will be able to travel together and road trip around the Maritimes for the next few months.

 As happy as Alan and I are, Caleb is the one who is completely over the moon. In the past 24 hours since Sunny joined our family he's made bold statements such as "This is all I've ever wanted in my whole life.", "I love Sunny to death", "I can't believe this is ours - we really have our own camper!" "I love Sunnt 100% right now, and when she is all fixed up I'll love her 200%!", and my personal favourite "I scream, you scream, we all scream for Sunny!". He hasn't left Sunny's side since we bought it, and of course we all wanted to sleep in Sunny last night so we made the maiden voyage to Grammie and Grampie Jeffries' house and slept in the driveway! Cale asked before falling asleep where we were going to camp the next night. In many ways it feels like we finally have a home for our family of nomads. A space to renovate and really make our own. As Paul Simon said 'Sunny gets sunnier day by day, by day by day.'

First night at 710 McEvoy

Enough space for everyone

Brothers on the top bunk

And now for a few summer fun pics!

My happy little guy. I love his toothy grin. 

Having a laugh at the beach

The swimming docks are now in the water at our home on Kelly's Creek. We were spending all of our time by the water until Sunny came along!

12 weeks of summer

Graduate!

It's official. We are now on summer vacation! Caleb has graduated from junior kindergarten and I have 12 wonderful weeks of maternity leave left, so we are planning to make the most of it! Here is our list of fun activities so far. We are hoping to cross them all off and add many more!

1. Catch a fish
2. Bike across both bridges in Fredericton (walking bridge and Westmoreland St.)
3. Music festivals
4. Annual mom and kids camping trip

5. Swim at the beach in front of our house! 

6. Sleepovers with cousins
7. Build something BIG with Greg (go-kart, maybe?)
8. Day trips to Sussex and New Denmark
9. Upper Clements Park
10. Tent in our back yard

11. Find 50 geocaches with Ava! We've found 20 so far this year, so 30 more to go this summer!

And now for a wonderful little video of Caleb singing 'Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree'. This performance was part of a concert that my mom put on for seniors living at Shannex. Needless to say, the concert was a huge hit. I love that my mom brings her students to spread joy around the town, and Caleb loves chatting up the audience after the show.

Back across the Bay

Crossing on the Fundy ferry 

This past weekend, my parents, the boys and I, headed back to Nova Scotia for Caleb to attend his primary school orientation at Champlain Elementary in Granville Ferry. The last time I crossed the Bay of Fundy on the ferry Odin was only 2 days old! The trip was great in many ways, however, it definitely made me realize how quickly my maternity leave is coming to an end. We'll be living back in NS before I know it, so it was a great reminder that I must try to really embrace my last few months as a full time mom.

Cale and his new buddy Samuel Champlain 

Caleb had a great time during his orientation. He saw some familiar faces from his old daycare, impressed his future teacher and aced the hearing, eyesight and speech tests. There is no doubt that he is 100% ready to begin 'real' school.  His Jr. Kindergarten program at the Fredericton YMCA wraps up this week, so I'm really looking forward to having the entire summer off with all three of my boys. We are hoping to go on tour with dad as much as we can.

We then headed to Halifax where we were able to meet up with a few friends whom we hadn't seen in way too long. I spent the night with Lydia and Nick and was finally able to meet their new baby girl! She is 6 months younger than Odin, so of course a photo shoot took place. It has been so nice to have my bff on maternity leave at the same time as me. Even though we aren't in the same city, we are able to have frequent daytime mat leave chats that I truly cherish.

 We also met up with my not-so-little-anymore brother, Tyvonn who is now 16 years old. It was so wonderful to see him again and hear about all the great things happening in his life. My entire family has such a special relationship with Ty and spending time with him is always a great time. He is going to be getting his driver's license soon so I'm hoping that a road trip to Fredericton will be in his plans for this summer!

Odin and Mia - Future best buds

Tyvonn receiving his late Christmas gifts from my dad - some signed Matt Stairs baseball souvenirs. 

Odin is cutting two new bottom teeth, so I had to include a couple more shots of his adorable smile before it changes! He is such a happy little fella and his toothy grin melts my heart.

Alan and mini Alan

Spring has sprung

New favourite activity for both little and big brother! 

Spring is in the air. The sun is shining, the snow has melted, the trees are beginning to bud and Caleb's face has healed. All is well in our world. Odie has somehow turned 8 months old and is learning all the new tricks that come with this exciting stage. He is now semi-mobile. He 'belly shuffles' along the floor, not quite able to crawl yet. He loves attention and definitely moves quicker and further if a crowd is watching and cheering him on. He is making a range of sounds 'dada, baba, mama', and Caleb's personal favourite 'oooga', which has earned him the new nickname of 'Ooga Booga Monster'. He looooves to eat and is thriving with whole foods. I'd have to say his favourite food experience to date was very likely chicken wings - I ate most of the meat and then passed him the bone which he proceeded to gnaw on until he polished it clean. It was like watching a baby caveman in action! 

We are also making progress on the sleep front with Odin. I haven't written anything about this to date, partly because I'm just not as concerned about his sleep patterns as I was with Caleb and partly because I think I was a bit hesitant to admit that we've been co-sleeping with Odin since the day he was born. For some reason, it feels like this practice is highly frowned upon in Western society and I rarely have talked about it with anyone other than close friends and family. We weren't planning on co-sleeping with Odin, in fact I was really hoping we would have him sleeping on his own from the very beginning, but he really seemed to need to be by my side even more than Caleb did from literally his first night in the hospital. Since then he has slept in my arm every single night of his life. In many ways it has been a beautiful thing. He is warm and cute and cuddly and I rarely wake up even while feeding him during the night. I have been feeling rested and bonded and happy with this arrangement for the most part. However, after 8 months of this arrangement, I am starting to feel trapped. Particularly in the early evenings. I used to be able to lay with him until he fell asleep and then sneak away for an hour or two until I was ready for bed. This no longer works with a mobile baby when the high risk of him falling out of bed is just too high. He is also no longer an infant, when research shows that co-sleeping has the greatest benefits for the child and mother. The time has come to make a change. Thankfully, Alan has taken the lead in the transition of getting Odie to sleep in his own bed and his magical combination of rocking/singing/bouncing has been working really well. We are getting our cherished kid-free evenings back as both boys sleep safely in their own rooms....for a few hours anyway, but that is another post for another day!

Discovering grass!

Caleb with a genuine smile!

Wipeout

On Sunday evening I had the biggest scare of my parenting life. Caleb, the world's most cautious and sweetest little boy, had a brutal bike crash. He wiped out going downhill and landed directly on his face. Thankfully he didn't break anything, but his forehead, cheek, chin and mostly his nose were seriously scraped up. It hurt. Badly. It bled. A lot. It was a terrifying thing to witness, but we were able to make it home, get him cleaned up and now we are in the process of healing. I felt so bad for him. He was really just getting the hang of biking and starting to build his confidence. And the tough part is that he listens so, so well. I was walking with Odie in the stroller and he was going downhill - only 2 driveways and then he would stop and wait for me (his idea). A neighbour stopped to help us out post-crash, which was truly a lifesaver, and Caleb wouldn't let him drive him home until he was wearing his seat belt. That's how safety conscious he is and that's what broke my heart the most about the whole situation. One thing I didn't know about Cale is just how strong he is. I wouldn't have described him as tough before, but since this has happened he has put on a very brave face (helped out by ice, tylenol and a new lego set that Alan raced out to buy) and this afternoon he was determined to set out on a bike ride. I was so proud. 

It made me realize that my life as a parent is really just beginning. There will be more injuries, accidents, heartbreaks, misfortunes, disappointments....many, many things that my boys will have to face and I will be no the sideline wishing I could take their pain away. Kids are so fragile and life can be so unfair at times and there is no real way for parents to shield them from getting hurt. All you can do is  teach them to be wise and strong, trust them, believe in them, encourage them and be there to love them wholeheartedly the second they need it. I now understand that parents are fragile, too.

And now for some happy pictures. I can't bring myself to post a photo of Caleb's face right now, but the scars will be there for sometime so you'll see when things aren't quite so raw. And if you happen to see him in the next week or two, let him know that you've wiped out before too, and that you've heard from his mom what a great bike rider he is.

Before the accident Cale had been spending hours a day outside. He even invented a new sport - inline scootering!

Cousin time in the back of Greggy's truck!

Happy little brother

Post first spaghetti meal (always makes for a good photo op!)

This is how I'm getting some hands-free time these days! Whatever works!

The road home

We are back in Fredericton after our truly excellent adventure. After DC, we continued North and made a stop that I'd been dreaming of for years...the PEZ Factory in Orange, Connecticut! The giant Visitor Centre was filled with vintage pez, walls covered in pez decor, a scavenger hunt, trivia and many excellent souvenirs.This was the only time on the trip where I was really tempted to shop!! We ended up with 13 new pez for my collection (which needs a new total count, but is somewhere near 575!!), some stickers and just a few items of 'pez wear'!

I'd drive that Pez VW any day!!

Our next stop was a visit with Alan's sister Kim and her family in New Hampshire for a few days of  fun. It was so great for Caleb to spend time with his cousins who taught him all kinds of new songs, dances, games and introduced him to some true New England slang. It was wicked! Our last night on the road was spent with great friends in Portland, Maine whom we hadn't seen in way too many years.  They now have 3 year old twins (which Caleb was very excited about) and it was so nice for our families to finally meet.

American cousins!

Now we are home, happy to be out of the car and settling into yet another new house (this time in Mactaquac). One of my favourite things about our trip was a 'Road Trip Journal' that Caleb and I worked on together throughout the journey. It is my favourite of all of our joint projects. - definitely a keeper. We filled it with stickers, ticket stubs, maps and memories. I see many of these travel journals in our future. Perhaps a European one should be next....

Cover Page! 

We were welcomed home to even more family fun with Aunt Mary and Sarah's families in town for Easter. We've been filling up on cousin time, family dinners and enjoying the spring weather that has finally made its way to NB. 

More Cousins!

Happy Easter from the best  dressed little guy  I know!

Mountains, museums and the very first Metro ride

Hey dad, let me take the wheel! I'm so happy to say that we've broken Odie in! He has been wonderful in the car for the past several days. Very, very few tears, lots of sleep and an overall feeling that peace has been restored during our car time!

Hotel buddies for life

After spending a few consecutive nights in hotels, we were incredibly happy to pull into Brevard, North Carolina where we were greeted by my dear friend Carolyn, on the doorsteps of her beautiful home. Perched on the mountainside and surrounded by nature, the home has been built over the past several years by her husband and it is truly a work of art. Carolyn is a friend of mine from when I attended Susquehanna University in '98-99. Another great friend from those years, Emily, lives only an hour away in Asheville. It was wonderful to catch up with them both and spend a few days in this remarkable part of the world.

Pisgah National Forest is the 'Land of Waterfalls'. Hiking with Carolyn (and Cale's trusty pirate flag)

Rooftop Patio at Carolyn's. Caleb's favourite place in the State. We had a Equinox party and bonfire up here one night. 

Father and son bonding time at the Asheville Pinball Museum. $7 for all you can play!

From North Carolina, we continued on through Tennessee and into Virginia on route to Washington, D.C. We knew Caleb would love seeing the national monuments and especially the wonderful Smithsonian museums. Most people may not be willing to take a 6 month old and a 5 year old into a big city for a day of viewing museum exhibits, but it was well worth the journey. Cale was ecstatic to ride on his first subway, and then he whole-heartedly absorbed as much as he could at both the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. He is such a sponge and now officially knows more than I do about outer space, rockets and satellites! 

Natural History Museum

Riding the Metro!

The thing I am enjoying most about our trip is the time we are spending together as a family of 4. This is our first chance to just be together for an extended period. Each day we have so much time to talk about things, laugh, play, cuddle and make memories that I will always treasure. I'll miss this feeling when we get back to our regular life next week.