June - a great start to the summer

Well, it's been a busy June with relatively great weather here in Ottawa. Two toddlers and my crafts keep me extremely busy these days. Not to mention I am playing softball in a co-ed league. And I will say that I don't completely suck, either. I'm far from the best player on the team (yes, I am *likely* the worst, only b/c of my lack of experience on not due to any lack of athleticism on part - did I hear I "snicker" out there???), but it's fun, and I have both caught balls and hit balls AND made it to base. I'm no expert but I'm aware these are ALL GOOD THINGS!!!

The boys are amazing. What else can I say? They are cute, happy (for the most part) and play together like nothing I'd ever imagined. I can now with gusto tell people I am confident and happy with my decision to have the boys so close together. This is why we did it - they have become FRIENDS :-) Of course they bicker and fight and grab toys from one another but for the most part, these two will run around and play together for HOURS. My days are busy and exhausting but so much fun. I never realized the kind of satisfaction and warm happiness I would feel from raising my children and watching them grow and become little people.

And growing they are. Peter had his first dentist appointment. It was a huge success, he went in with a great attitude while the dentist showed him around her office and let him play with all her machines and equipment. She said his teeth looked great!!! I was floored, with all the difficulty in brushing this kid's teeth for the past 3 years I figured maybe on the inside they were all black and rotting - not so at all!!!

Pete has become excellent at counting and is starting to recognize a few letters of the alphabet. He's not too keen to sit down for a long time to "work" yet so I'm not pushing him at all. He has another year before school starts so he might as well be a kid as long as he can :-)

And with being three comes some new independence-seeking. Pete really wants to do everything by himself now, like going for a pee (wonderful! mommy not needed), and wiping his bum after pooping (not wonderful at all! very messy later). He can get himself a simple snack from the fridge, can *almost* completely dress and undress himself and is making more and more decisions every day. The only part Paul and I are struggling with now is his inability to LISTEN. I've heard from my mends (mommy friends) and loyal Gardners that this is, indeed, normal, common and doesn't require a straight jacket. But it drives me crazy and as we hop from one reward system to the other, I wonder if this little boy will ever listen to his mommy again. Gulp.

And there's David. Saying so many words now, or trying to anyway. Mostly he can be found at any point during the day piping up "Pete Pete Pete Pete Pete" adoringly at his older brother. He truly worships Pete, follows him around, wants to do everything he does. It's dang adorable. I felt David was a late talker so I'm so happy at 20 months he is saying 5-10 new words every day. He is so friendly - he says "hi and bye" to everyone we see, whether at the park or the grocery store. He is starting to say "please and thank you" as well. We were able to instill this early in Peter and are so thankful he is typically a polite little boy.

And it appears I am being blessed with yet another early nap-kicker. Pete barely napped a day past his second birthday, and David wants to break that record now. Over the past two months David has occasionally not napped - meaning I put him in his crib and he plays quietly for AN HOUR OR TWO. I would peek in later and he'd be awake and laughing. He can climb out of the crib but doesn't seem to do it at naptime, so I'm thankful of that. This week was the worst, other than van cat-naps he didn't nap in the crib once :-( And the scary part is he is never cranky or tired - he'll play happily with Pete all afternoon, eat supper, have a bath and smile and go to sleep at 7:30. My saving grace is that both boys are phenomenal night time sleepers and both give me 12-13 hours of peace. So I would venture a guess that by the end of summer our little David will have kicked the naps and will be joining his older bro for "quiet time" so mommy can have a 60 minute break and remain sane.

Well, let's have a look at our life, why don't we????

Paul built a small fence and a gate on the side of the house that had been open. It's looks beautiful and creates a wonderful little jail inside the backyard for the boys. Mommy is able to spend sunny afternoons knitting in the shade while the boys splash happily around in the pool.


Many hours spent digging and creating in our sandbox . . .

Some of my summer plants, not looking great in this picture but quite yellow and delightful nonetheless.

Pete and Rudy in the backyard . . .

David grabbing a few chips before a barbecue . . .


Pete chillin' with a freaky look on his face.

Me with my cool new sunglasses!

Awwwww, brotherly love :-)

The rest are just a few random shots I got of the boys in some of their new summer duds I scored on sale. Cuteness factor = high.

Summer Fun

We had a barbecue with friends last weekend. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast!! It's so nice to sit back and relax (a little!) while the kids run around and play in the back yard . . .

Here is David and Mea enjoying a snack:


Mea looking cute as always!!

Me blowing bubbles for everybody!

Taylor protecting her ice cream from Rudy :-)

David up close and personal with his new friend "Vanilla":

Hmmmmmm, "mom is so not going to be happy about this one"!


And a cute one Paul snapped the other night of the boys and their milk!

Stanley Cup Final Game Three

Paul and I were phenomenally lucky this past weekend and came into some tickets to game three of the Stanley Cup finals. For those of you not from around here, the Ottawa Senators are playing the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and are, sadly, losing three games to one.

Thankfully with Lord Stanley on our side Saturday night, the Sens came through for a great game and a spectacular victory - beating the Mighty Ducks 5-3. Around these parts hockey is EVERYTHING so being in the Stanley Cup finals is huge for this city. The atmosphere is simply electric and family-like, complete strangers hugging and slapping high fives when the Sens win. And on the other side of things, sharing compassion for each other on sad nights like last night, when the Sens lost 3-2 in game four at home.

We truly hope our Sens can bring back another win as the head back to the Governator's territory, so for now we'll wait in anticipation and cross fingers with the rest of the city.

Here is a shot of the crowds and the pre-game excitement before Saturday night's game:



Here's looking directly at Scotiabank Place, before we went inside:

Paul . . . very excited to get in and find his seat:

Dave and Paul enjoying a beer up in our nosebleed seats - second row from the TOP. I'm sure an airplane almost hit my head ;-)

Paul and I enjoying the game!!! And looking totally lame b/c we are the enjoy cheapskates who don't own Sens jerseys . . .

A look at the ice from WAY up in row R, section 3!

Warm up!!


For the second period I switched seats with Doug so I could sit with Karla in their season ticket holder seats, first row of the third section. Here is the second period face off - *big* difference in viewing and much closer to the ice. Best seats in the house, I'd say!!!