Little David turns TWO

Let's flashback two years ago . . .



Yes, "Thing Two" as we so fondly call him, has reached that stage of toddlerhood where one can really not get away calling him a baby anymore. He has turned two years old!! What a big guy, it's hard to believe. We opted out of the big party trend this year and just had a couple friends over for lunch and cake. It was a lot of fun and not overwhelming like a big party is.

Here we are with our TWO year old!! He was so happy and thrilled it was fun to watch (oh, and cute too, I should mention!)


His prized Diego cake - I bought it at the last minute instead of making it myself (that was my plan until I found out how much all the supplies would cost!) and was so happy with it. It was delicious - David's not a big cake fan but he definitely ate some :-)

Blowing out candles like daddy taught him!!

Digging in - this icing is so good mom!!

Unwrapping his presents, he was pretty good at it but had some help from big brother, of course!
Look at all this fun stuff!!!

Proud Granny with the birthday boy . . .

Proud daddy and birthday boy!!

The best part of the day was David's fascination with his balloons . . .

He eventually convinced daddy to cut one off for him :-) Made for one happy little boy!

Superhero pals

Pete and David have had colds on and off the past couple weeks. They've gone in and out of being PDS (pretty darn sick) and then slip into periods where I almost think they are getting better. Pete had a nasty case of laryngitis this weekend. It wasn't all that fun. Not only did he have this nasty frog in his throat that drove him bezerk, but he couldn't talk and was easily frustrated by his inability to communicate with us. He didn't sleep well either, we had a few nights he woke up 6-8 times a night, totally bothered by the cough and husky throat situation. He seems a bit better today so I hope we're turning a corner.

David actually seemed a bit worse today, with his cough seemingly coming back. He's typically always in pretty good spirits though, and aside from some minor clinginess, he's still raring to go.

This morning was my volunteer day at Peter's preschool. It went well, although I was tempted to keep him home b/c he wasn't back to normal yet. I figured that was too big a step backwards, after more than a month of insisting he go back each time, twice a week, no matter how hard he cried. His teacher informs me he stops crying within 5 minutes of my leaving him, and he is certainly happy when I pick him up. He doesn't tell me he hates it there or is upset that I've left him there - all good signs, right? So we chug along. Last week was actually much better - almost no tears at all either day at drop off and none at all at home (and those are the hardest - the breakfast tears and the relentless begging that he not go - the insistence he has come down with some rare disease and is simply too sick to go to school). So I was bound and determined not to miss today if we didn't need to.

Pete was very proud to have his mom there :-) Of course I completely screwed up by taking in cookies with NUTS for snack . . . in a nut-free school. I mean, I'm a teacher, I'm aware of the nut-freeness of our society today. But I forgot, and Pete had urged me to bring his favourite Dutch cookies in to share with his friends. Thankfully I also brought fresh fruit, so the kids - while disappointed - didn't starve.

I found Pete to be quiet and shy at school - I don't know if that is b/c I was there today, or because he was not feeling 100 per cent. But he is certainly a smart kid - he knew the answers to all the teachers questions and I beamed when he repeatedly raised his hand and gave *correct* answers when called on by his teacher. He seemed helpful and attentive as well, shocking me into the reality that your child acts differently with others than he does at home with you. Hhhmmmm, what have I taken on here?

And on a lighter note . . .

The boys have taken up a serious relationship with my dishtowels lately. They are on a superhero kick and adore dressing up like their favourite superhero a la dishtowel extraordinaire!

Pete plasters on his Spiderman swim goggles and rollerblading gloves to complete the look:

David and his dish-wiping cape make a narrow escape from the dangerous villain above.

Simply too cute to be all that dangerous ;-)

He means business. Stay out of his path or he'll trap you in his web!

Master of his room

Pete is becoming more and more independent - and why not, right? I mean, he's three and a half now!! So instead of the many complaints to mommy about David going in his room, climbing up on the top bunk or bothering his toys or books, Pete came up with his own fool-proof plan to keep his little brother out of his room.

And somehow this line of stuff did manage to keep little David out - for the time being. Poor Pete will get the shock of his life when he realized David will be moving in with him soon enough. He's a bright kid, so I think he's already "getting the picture". He's asked a few times where the little girl will be sleeping when she arrives :-)


We took the boys to a local pumpkin patch and Halloween park - it was lots of fun but was windy and chilly the day we went - didn't get many photos. Here are my guys in the corn maze. We made it out alive, thankfully :-)
I splurged on a new fall outfit for Peter from Gymboree - it was marked down, plus I had an additional 25 per cent off. It was a great deal - it really suits him so well. It has a sweet down vest and cuffed jeans that go with it. He models it here on a cool Fall day (and we haven't had many lately!!).

Thanksgiving and B Day

We had no family visiting this year for Thanksgiving so I decided to tackle my first Thanksgiving dinner (cooking it I mean, I have mastered the eating part). It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be - I guess good planning and compulsiveness are good qualities in a Thanksgiving chef.

I took most of my recipes out the Martha Stewart Everyday Food cookbook - my mother got me a subscription a few years ago and one comes to my door each month. The meals are easy to make and delicious - important in our kitchen, without a doubt. The turkey was small, because it was only the four of us and Granny Brigid who ate dinner. I coated underneath the skin with an herbed butter that I made the night before - I don't know if that made the difference but the bird was delicious. The stuffing was too, I found that recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook. Yum yum.

I kept the table simple, because I didn't have a lot of room (small house syndrome) or a lot of time. And no, there are no pictures of anyone actually sitting and eating b/c by that time the flurry of activity that comes from preparing 6 dishes at the same time was starting to overwhelm me a little bit. Thankfully it was amazing and everything turned out well. Brigid brought the freshest, most delicious apple pie ever for desert - it wins the blue ribbon for sure!



David is very keen to get his hands on all that food, and wishes we would all just sit down and stop taking pictures!!!

B Day

Saturday was B Day here. That's right. B Day, Bunk Bed day. The day we finally had the bunk bed we ordered delivered. In ten million little tiny pieces. It took Paul (I helped a little bit, but for the most part watched the boys so couldn't do too much) about 3 full hours to put the whole bed together. Every single little tiny piece of wood and screw came separate. He *almost* caved in and admitted to me that perhaps spending the $60 for the delivery guys to install the bed "might" have been worth it after all. Hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm . . . he never sees it my way beforehand though :-).

I had been nervous all week about the bed. We all know Pete is not very embracing of change - of any kind. He'd already cried when we mentioned we were getting a new bed. Even after exhausting my efforts to explain, in detail, just how COOL this big boy bunk bed would be, how likely every child in our neighbourhood would be DROOLING over the excitement and aura that was THIS bed, Pete was unimpressed.

We woke up Saturday morning realizing we had to come clean with him. So we were upfront.

"Pete, your new bunk bed arrives today and we're taking apart your old single bed."

The screaming and crying at this point could surely be heard across the river in Quebec. He had a full out tantrum and laid crying on his floor for what seemed to be a long time. He begged and pleaded with us not to take apart his bed. Shortly after we managed to get him dressed and dragged him out to a local indoor playground for the rest of the morning (it was raining). He and David had a great time at the playground and were happy and content when we came home for lunch.

As soon as the truck arrived to deliver the bed after lunch, Pete was in much better spirits. He was fascinated watching them carry the pieces in to his room. Paul asked Pete to be his special apprentice to help him with the arduous task of assembling this grand structure. Pete felt important and soon grabbed his toy toolbelt and toolbox, completely ready for action. Ahhhh, peace in our household once again.

It wasn't until suppertime that the bed was complete. I scrambled after dinner to put on all the bedding so Pete could sleep there that night. He was excited - even keen - to explore the new bed. He climbed the ladder to scope out the top bunk and to declare to all of us that he was now "the king of the castle". We soon realized it was going to take great efforts to keep little David from climbing up the ladder and also getting in the top bunk (which, clearly we don't feel is safe for an almost-two-year old). Not to mention the kid is crazy and would probably jump off the top.

At bedtime, Pete asked us if David could come into his room for a sleepover. Eureka!!! My prayers answered - I wouldn't have to beg and plead with Pete for him to allow David to sleep on the bottom bunk, here was everything being handed to me on a silver platter. We agreed David could have a "sleepover" and felt confident things were going to be all right.

Except a) David only wanted to sleep on the top, not the bottom, and b) he wouldn't settle down and stop jumping around on the bottom. After close to an hour, we gave up, put David in his room in his crib and Pete cuddled up in the top bunk. The silence was golden and within minutes they were both asleep.

So one battle conquered, another yet to be tackled. We still have a few months before David needs to be sleeping in Pete's room, and it seems he is not quite ready yet. And in a way, I am in no rush for them to be roommates, for I already fear sleepless nights from the boys keeping each other up, or one getting sick and waking in the middle of the night, or any number of other scary nighttime scenarios I have thought about . . . all which lead to mommy not getting exactly the eight hours she needs every night to remain a rational, sane person ;-)

So here is the room with the new bed . . . you can thankfully still see quite a bit of the mural we had painted a few years ago.

And here it is, the new bed!!
***(Yes, I realize 3 1/2 is too young to sleep on the top bunk of a bunk bed, but Pete has on a number of occasions on vacation already done this. He is extremely coordinated - not t0 mention we purposefully chose a very safe bed with a sturdy ladder and rails - and we would never have moved him there if we did not feel he was 100 per cent safe and comfortable. We take the ladder down during the day so that David cannot climb up.)

Who is my real daddy?

Peter: "Mommy, where does my *real* daddy live?"

Me: "Uh, what do you mean?"

Peter: "I mean, where does my real daddy live? Do I have more toys at his house? Like new toys, that I've never seen before?"

Me: "Uh, Paul, that tall man that lives with us, he is your REAL daddy Peter . . . he's the only one."

Peter: "Oh, I was just curious about my real daddy."

Me: "Paul IS your real daddy Peter - he's all you've got honey."

Assuming Peter picked this up at preschool, I followed this conversation with a discussion that explained that some boys and girls have more than one mommy and daddy, and that sometimes they live at a different house. But that they all love the children all the same, equally. I presume more difficult conversations are to come, this is likely the first of many :-)

p.s. The other interesting conversation we had yesterday went like this.

Peter: "Mommy, David is really annoying so I've decided to put him in jail for a little while."

Me: "I know sometimes little brothers can be difficult but wouldn't you be sad if David wasn't around to play with you?"

Peter: "yes, I guess he's not that bad but when he touches my toys I may put him in jail."

Weekend in Toronto

The gang headed to Toronto this past weekend for a wedding - my good friend Jenny and her now hubby Ted!!! It was so much fun . . . the wedding was fantastic . . . it was held at Sunnybrook Estates - so beautiful.

Here it is - it's an old estate in pristine condition - really beautiful.

A few friends told us not to underestimate Toronto traffic so we didn't. We arrived 90 minutes early with lots of time to spare. So we walked around the grounds at Sunnybrook and checked everything out. There was no one around to take our picture together, so Paul and I took pictures of each other all dolled up :-) Not lookin' too bad for a couple of old parents!!!



We didn't get a lot of good pictures unfortunately, we are in dire need of a new digital camera. Here is the wedding party standing on the stairs. We were too far back to get a good one of the bride and groom, it was just the way we were seated.

Here is Jen walking down the aisle with her dad. She looked absolutely stunning!

Flashback to the 80s . . . two good friends of mine from high school. Heather is on the left and Nicole on the right. They both looked amazing!!

Nick and I at dinner . . .

Heather giving her maid of honour speech - very well done!!

Some of the wedding party getting seated.

Jen on her way to her seat.

Nick and her husband Paul looking happy and adorable!

One of the reasons I didn't get a lot of good pictures is because I was co-emcee for the evening and was often up at the podium speaking in front of everyone!!! I was *much* more nervous than I thought I'd be, and certainly couldn't calm any nerves with alcohol. Although I thought about it ;-)

The boys were very good while we were away, they visited with their cousin Aiden and played with Anne and Dave and the rest of the family. We were lucky enough to stay with Anne and Dave for the weekend, so it was great to have a nice place to relax and feel comfortable when we weren't all dressed up for the festivities.

The boys had a major jump-fest on Anne and Dave's bed. They're still talking about how much fun it was!!!


Here is a great close up of Aiden and his adorable smile!!!

Here are the three of them jumping off the bed onto the mattress on the floor. Miraculously no one was hurt!!!