stairs!

Nathan made it up the entire staircase by himself!!

Thomas the Train

Nathan was at Marilyn's today so I took Andrew to the mall to see Thomas the Train. There were lots of kids and we could hardly see anything (the picture gives you an idea of the view we had). What a dumb show. Bring out the train right away....these kids have very short attention spans!! The conductor sang and danced for the first 10 minutes...Andrew couldn't wait anymore. He wanted to go on the escalator! So we left and went up the escalator and down the elevator. He really enjoyed that!

Andrew is feeling better so tomorrow he will be going to school.

Mya's birthday party!

We went to Mya's birthday party yesterday! Andrew wasn't feeling great but he sure perked up when they mentioned "ice cream cake". Nathan was so busy crawling all over the place and trying to pull himself up....he isn't happy unless he is free to roam like the others! (Uncle Mike and I are bad bloggers....forgetting our camera at home. Shame on us!)

Andrew was still a bit warm through the night but he seems to be ok today. I kept him home from daycare though just in case.

Standing

I found Nathan standing up in his crib this morning! He's learned to pull himself up now....look at this picture, pretty confident for his first day!

Cars

This morning we went to Andrew's favourite store....Home Depot. He was going crazy in there looking at all the lawnmowers, and now they have some snow blowers too. I had to get him into a shopping cart quickly!

Then this afternoon Uncle Kirk came over and dropped off a couple of battery operated cars! Nathan doesn't seem to mind that his is a pink Barbie car (we'll spray paint that a bright red colour soon). We didn't really get a chance to try it out because the battery is recharging....we'll try it first thing tomorrow morning! Thanks to Cheryl and Steven for giving them to us.

library

Today Nathan went to Marilyn's so it was an Andrew day! He cried this morning because he thought he was going to Marilyn's too but when we told him he was going to Papa's house, he immediately stopped crying and said "Andrew happy!" We went to Papa and Grandma's house for a visit this morning, then went to the library this afternoon. We rented a bunch of Wiggles DVDs, an Elmo one and a Nursery Rhyme book...his favourite story is the Three Little Pigs (he's afraid of the wolf though).

Rama

We had a great time at the concert last night. Journey is celebrating their 30th year! No wonder there were alot of old people at the concert....but the music was great. You forget how many songs that you actually know. I lost a little bit of money at the slot machines.
The kids had a fun time at Nana and Grandpa's. Andrew loved when Grandpa took him for a tractor ride. This morning Andrew picked some apples and we saw a deer in their backyard!

School

Andrew cried again when I dropped him off at the daycare centre....actually, he wasn't crying, he was sobbing...could barely breathe! It was sad. But he seems to really like Miss Shelley so she came right up to him and held out her arms and he went right to her.

Tonight we are heading up to Casino Rama to see Journey (wow, that's a blast from the past isn't it!?) We'll be dropping off the kids at Nana and Grandpa's house on the way up and go lose some money before the concert starts. Should be fun! We'll be back tomorrow morning.

Matthew & Samantha

Today my friend Lynn and her two kids came over for a visit. We had alot of fun! While they were here, Nathan managed to pull himself up to a standing position! Won't be long now before he starts walking.

School.....Day 3

Well today was Day 3 of school....it's not getting any easier in the mornings. Andrew cried and cried! The worse day yet! After prying him out of his carseat, I finally managed to get him into the daycare centre but he kept running for the door. One of the girls came out and asked Andrew if he wanted a snack...that seemed to calm him down and he went with her to the classroom. She signaled me to leave so I did. I didn't phone this time but I'm sure he was fine.

I went to pick him up around 4:30 and he was sitting on a chair and one of the girls was reading him a story. He ran over to me but he didn't cry this time and there was no look of terror on his face. He actually looked kind of happy! He gave Miss Shelley two big hugs and a high five before he left. Maybe it is getting better?

Joan's party!

Today was Aunt Joan and Uncle Mike's annual corn roast. The weather wasn't great but the kids had a great time! Andrew had a busy day and although he only had a 20 minute nap on the way up there, he wasn't short of any energy that's for sure! He went into the pool, went on the trampoline, chatted it up with his new girlfriend (they actually were having a conversation that only they could understand), played on the slippery slide, and got to ride a pony for the first time....he enjoyed it! Nathan was a bit fussy all day...he wouldn't take a nap there! We stayed overnight in Beaverton...I left the party a bit early to put the kids to bed at Nana's and Grandpa's house. I get there and let Chester out right away (he didn't come to the party) and he gets sprayed by a skunk!! Lovely.

Wedding

We went to Ron and Julianne's wedding today. Nana and Grandpa stayed overnight to watch the kids. The wedding was alot of fun....nice to see some of the old highschool gang there. The drive from the church to the reception hall was interesting! The question of the evening was "how long did it take for you to get here?!"

Standing

Here's Nathan standing.....he had some help getting up but he can stand for short periods of time now.

I had another kid-free day! Nathan went to Marilyn's and Andrew sat in the car and cried. I wasn't expecting Andrew to go to Marilyn's today. Marilyn said to see if Andrew wanted to come in because there was going to be a birthday party today. I went back to the car and told Andrew about the birthday party and he stopped crying. I took him into Marilyn's house and he was fine. Andrew is always in for a party! (cost me an extra $25 though! Oh well.)

So I came home with no kids and talked to mom....we ended up going out for lunch (Japanese food....delicious!).

Then in the evening I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate factory with some friends (Anne and Sue). The movie was pretty good (I'd give it a 7/10). It was nice catching up with the girls! Andrew cried as I was leaving but not for long...he had a good night with Bob.

School - Day 2

This morning I dropped Andrew off at school. He cried as soon as I pulled into the parking lot...it was as if I was pulling into Marilyn's driveway! I said "you don't want to go to school?" He said "NO!" I said "do you want to go to Marilyn's?!" He cries "YES!" Don't do this to me Andrew.

I managed to get him out of the car and I brought him into the daycare. He's still crying. The girls took him and as I was walking out, he had stopped the crying. I called awhile later and they said he was fine. When I went to pick him up, the kids were all sitting on the floor listening to a story. There was Andrew sitting there with his thumb in his mouth holding his blankie. Miss Kelly said that Andrew had another great day....ate lots, had a nap, loved going outside. But they can't get that blankie away from him. Andrew turned around and saw that I was standing there so he jumps up off the floor and runs over to me with a look of terror on his face. "Mommy!!!" he says half crying. He looked as if he had been held hostage for the past 7 hours. Oh well, we'll keep trying.

Nathan went to Marilyn's for the day...so I had a kid-free day! What a treat! I went into work (to talk about my return), then went to the doctor (he's not happy with my blood pressure....back on medication, this time we're trying a different pill), then got my haircut, then went grocery shopping, then it was pretty much time to go get the kids! I was exhausted!

Nathan will be pulling himself up to a standing position very soon!! His legs are so strong. I have to move things off the floor now because he gets into everything.

Get me outta this crib!

Nathan is trying to stand up in his crib now. He gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth while holding the slats. He's got laminate flooring in his room and the crib has wheels so this morning I went to get him and he had moved his crib to the middle of the room! I have a feeling he's going to be walking very soon (oh no!)

Andrew has peed in the potty a couple of times now. It's coming along slowly.

Today we went to grandma and papa's house. Papa was having some technical difficulties with his computer again so he called Bob the computer guy to come take a look. Everything seems to be in working order again...for now!

First day of "school"

Andrew had his first day of preschool today! He was all excited to get going! We got there around 8:15 and right away he ran over to the toys and started to play with them. I had to pull him away to get him to join his class. They had a coat hanger all ready for him with his name on it so that is where he hung up his backpack. I met his teacher...."Miss Kelly" and there's also a "Miss Shelley" who wasn't there yet. As I was saying goodbye to him, he started to cry. Miss Kelly took him back into the classroom and as I was walking out, the crying had stopped.
I went back to pick him up around 4:30. He came running over to me and cried Mommy! She said that was the first time he had cried since the morning....she said he had a really good day! He loved the outdoor time, he ate alot (they had Rice Krispies for breakfast, and fajitas for lunch), he fell asleep on the cot for naptime right away, and they made maracas (shown in the picture)!

It will take some time to get used to the new place but hopefully in time, he'll be running in there to go play with his friends.

Julia's house

Today we went to Julia's house ("Ah Ah Ah" as Andrew said) to see how she was doing after her surgery. She was doing just fine!
All the cousins had a great time running around and wrestling in the dining room. Andrew just loves to chase Selena! Nathan and Andrew had a little nap on the way home.

Wow, family get togethers are certainly different than what they were 5 years ago....they must have been so boring before!

Birthday Party

Today we went to Charlotte's first birthday. Andrew had fun although he was way out numbered by girls!

Crawling!!

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Nathan has learned to crawl! Here's a video of him crawling.....

We had a bit of a break this week....Bob's parents took Andrew home for a couple of nights. He didn't hesitate at all when Nana asked him if he wanted to "sleep at Nana's house". Right away, he went to the door and got Nana's shoes for her! So off he went, didn't shed one tear, big wave good bye!
He had a good time there...he got to ride the tractor, play with Rachelle, and even saw a rabbit and some deer!

Today Bob took Andrew to "school" to meet the teachers and tour the daycare. He got to sit in a circle with the kids and joined the singalong. The ladies there said that it looks like he will fit in just fine! His first day is Monday. He will go two days a week for now.

Aunt Mikiko

Aunt Mikiko passed away on August 8th.
We love you Auntie Mikiko and will sadly miss you forever.

Grandpa and Nana

Today Andrew went to Marilyn's. He was crying as we were driving to her house and I told him that this might be the last time he has to go there. He seemed to understand what I was telling him. I dropped him off and went straight to the daycare centre and picked up the registration forms. Came home, filled them out and returned them. He is going to start going to the daycare centre next week (two days a week). I hope he enjoys it there. He knows that he will be going to "school" soon and he seems pretty excited about it...he was searching the house for his Spiderman backpack. We'll see how he does! I told Marilyn and she understands. Nathan will be going to her house full time starting October. Now if he starts crying every morning when I mention her name, then something is definately not right!

Grandpa and Nana came over for dinner and are staying the night! Andrew might go home with them and spend the night at their house tomorrow. We'll see what happens when Nana asks him tomorrow morning.

Today we went to the park with Cheryl and Steven. They went home this afternoon. It was nice to have them over! Cheryl has done the babysitting course so we'll be giving her a call in the near future!

Cousins!

Cousins Cheryl and Steven are here for the day and night. Andrew was very excited that they were here! We went to Cullen Gardens. It was alot of fun...there is alot for kids to do. Andrew liked going through the Miniature Village (he managed to climb up to one of the displays while I had my back turned and started to push one of the miniature cars around! He looked like a giant.) Afterwards we went to the splash park (it was basically just a couple of water slides and a wading pool but enough to cool the kids down), the big sandbox, the maze, and the wagon ride! The gardens are amazing there. I would have liked to walk around more but Nathan really needed his nap. If you are looking for something to do, I would definately suggest going there. It costs $12.99/adult and $6.50/child (kids under 2 are free)

TGIF!

Wow, this week went by quickly!
Today was a great day....not as humid. We went to visit Matthew and Samantha today! Andrew had a swim and then played with all of their toys! It was like a toy store at their house! Then Mom went out for dinner with her friend Lynn so Dad stayed home with the boys...actually Uncle Kirk and Steven came over for a visit so they had a good time too.

Thursday

Another hot and humid day! I'm starting to look forward to Fall now!

Well as I figured, Andrew didn't go to Marilyn's today....but Nathan did! I thought I might as well try Nathan there since I would have to pay her anyway. Andrew didn't want to go to Marilyn's but he also knew that I was going to Papa's house. Next Tuesday I will try to drop both of them off there and see what happens...I'll tell Andrew that Mommy has to go to work (which will be the truth soon enough...October). Marilyn said Nathan had a one hour nap in the morning and a two hour nap in the afternoon!

Here's Nathan posing in the new computer chair we bought.

Hump day

It was another hot and humid day today. We went to the Early Years centre this morning. Ended up hanging out there for almost 2 hours. Andrew is into anything that he can build, whether it be building blocks or things that snap together. He played with one toy for about 45 minutes!

Here's Nathan enjoying some of my popsicle.

Tomorrow is Marilyn day....great.

Marilyn's

Andrew went to Marilyn's today....but as usual, he cried. She said that he stopped crying as soon as I left...should I believe her? He's always in a good mood when I go to pick him up and he says that he had fun so who knows. But then again he always says he eats macaroni every time I ask him what he ate for lunch there so maybe he doesn't really know what he is saying! Or....maybe she does give the kids macaroni everyday?!
I'll try to take him there again on Thursday but I know right now it's going to be the same as today.

Here's a video of Chester playing soccer tonight after dinner. This was after he had been running around for 20 minutes so he was tired at this point if you can believe it.
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Holiday Monday

Today Andrew got to do one of his favourite things....watch daddy use the lawnmower and the trimmer! After that was done, he wanted to watch the Neil Diamond DVD so we put that on, made a pretend microphone and listened to "Cherry Cherry" about 10 times in a row! Every time the song finished he would scream "more! more!" Even when he was playing with his Playdoh, as soon as the song was done, he'd grab the converter and try to rewind the song! Yikes!

Weekend

This weekend was pretty good....Bob took Nathan up to Uncle Cam's cottage for a night so Mom and Andrew got to hangout. We did our usual shopping at Toys R Us and we also went to visit Selena and Mya on Sunday. Andrew has alot of fun playing with Selena. I think his favourite thing this time was finger painting! It was a bit messy but he loved it. Cousin Julia was there too. She is looking more like a little girl now than a baby!

Bob said that Nathan had a good time at the cottage. He loved the water! Of course Bob brought the rain with him!