Ok, so it's been a while. No excuses other than time is just getting away from me. Every day I think I will spend some time working on my blog after the kids are in bed...and everyday I don't. And this past month, I've had some really good blogging material, but now that I've sit down to blog I can't remember much of what I wanted to blog about. Old age is settling in I suppose (no comments please!). Anyway, here's a rather lengthy report of all the happenings since my last post.
1. Last weekend in April - One of Brian's really good friends from college along with his wife and son came for a visit. We decided to take the kids to the aquarium and they all loved it. It was especially exciting for Julia, she couldn't stop pointing at all of the fish...and of course vocalizing her excitement as well (lots of grunting and screaming). It was rather crowded that day so the noise level was already at a high level. Thankfully no one really noticed all of her squeals...
Back at the house, Claxton and Samuel enjoyed being firemen before bedtime…
2. I finally reached my wits end with our antique washer and dryer. I mean, how efficient is it when you have to sit on the washing machine to prevent every load from becoming off balanced and thus producing an obnoxious buzzer going off? A buzzer that would wake the dead no less. Then after that great pleasurable experience you have to in fact dry your clothes 2-3 cycles before they are completely dry. Enough already. We had actually been shopping for a washer and dryer for a little while so that when the time came and ours actually kicked the bucket we would have knowledge of what's on the market these days. So, we found what we wanted on sale. Date nights just aren't what they used to be...
(Click picture for full image)3. Mother's Day - Well, it was a low key sort of a day. I was treated to lunch at what has become one of my favorite places to dine - Five Seasons. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at home with Brian and the kids. Upon arriving home from lunch I noticed a couple of gifts waiting for me on the hearth. I was very surprised to receive two very unexpected gifts - a camera, and a pair of earrings that I've had my eye on for a few years now. I've kind of wanted a small camera I can carry in my purse for a while, but not high on the priority list, just something I thought would be nice to have. I love Brian's camera and will still continue to use it to, but it is just too bulky to carry around for play dates and things like that. Very cool. I'm so excited. And then the earrings. Ok, I admit it, I'm picky. And it's not really often that I ask for something very specific, but I had seen some earrings a while ago that I really wanted. Nothing fancy, just some silver hoop earrings. The uniqueness of them is that rather than being just round hoops, the edges are square/round, just like my wedding band. I saw some when we were in Banff a few years ago and have wanted some ever since. I actually put my order in sometime ago and was really starting to give up on this one. But just when you least expect it... And the reason it has taken so long is that Brian was searching all over and couldn't find the ones I wanted. Well, leave it to H&A, they seem to come through for us on all of our jewelry needs…or I guess more appropriately…my wants. I love them!! Thanks for searching until you found just the perfect ones.
4. We wrapped up swim lessons in mid May. We could not be more pleased with Claxton's progress this year at Dynamo Swim Schools. Claxton is jumping off the side "like Jonah" (thanks Veggie Tales), swimming six to eight feet out to Dad. Then Dad turns him around and sends him back to swim to the side of the pool. He reaches for the side and pulls himself out. We are taking a break from swim lessons over the summer and will advance to regular group classes (without Dad) in the fall. Julia will start lessons for the first time in the fall. So it looks like Dad will still be going to swim lessons for a little while longer!
5. Early to mid May Julia took her first steps. It is just so hard to believe that she has reached this stage already. Claxton was her biggest cheerleader. I had been telling him that it would happen just any day so he was keenly aware to be on the look out. In fact, he was the first to see her walk and proudly announced it to the rest of us. "Mommy, she's walking. Sweet Girl is walking!!"
Julia loves her big brother. If he's in another room, she's looking for him or calling him. And he knows her call. Right now it kind of sounds like Dai, but he knows she's trying to say his name. His usual response is "here I am, Sweet Girl". The two are really starting to enjoy each other's company and it's a whole lot of fun watching them!
She likes sitting at the bottom of the steps and kicking her feet and occasionally she's try to sneak up the stairs when were not looking. We bought beach chairs for the kids for our vacation. But in the meantime we've had them in the house and Julia really likes climbing in and out of her chair. I think she spends about fifteen minutes at a time just doing that over and over again.
6. We're spending more and more time outside these days. Claxton has become quite the little explorer. He likes exploring the edge of the wooded area of our yard. He likes pulling the bark off the trees, playing with sticks and pine cones, and checking out the different leaves (thankfully we haven't come across any poison ivy). We have a couple of small trees that he can climb on and does as often as he can. On another day, he found a caterpillar on the swing set. He is indeed all boy. And if the mail comes when we are outside, well, he must run to get it. Often times before I'm ready for him to go because he's not allowed to go by himself just yet.
First spotting of the caterpillar
Must call Dad to tell him about his find
Showing off his find...
7. Julia is quite the littler explorer in her own right. However, most of hers is done inside the house. Her favorite place to go on an adventure is in the pantry. If the door is left open and Julia is nowhere in sight, the first place to check is the pantry. 99% of the time you'll find her there. I think she might have a napkin fettish. There are napkins in a drawer she can reach and she loves to pull them out one by one, wad into a ball, then take to the trash can. She would do this all day if I would let her. So I retrieve them from the trash, spread them out to make the look like new again and put back in the drawer for her to do the next time she sneaks into the pantry. It's a fun game. Her other fun thing to do is open the Crystal Light boxes and dump the packets on the floor, pick them up and put them back in box and do it all over again...and again...and again. Another fun game - who needs expensive toys?
She's become quite the little helper too especially since she started walking. She likes to take her dirty diapers and any other trash to the trash can. She knows exactly where it's at, how to open the door and put it in…and is very proud of herself when the job is done.
8. In late May we started having two visitors show up either in the mornings while it was still cool or late in the afternoons when the temperature began to drop for the evening. Our visitors were Peter and his friend... The kids both enjoyed looking for them everyday. And for about a week, they showed up everyday.
9. The last week of the month we spent with Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle Brad, Aunt Anne, and Kyle. We really enjoyed our time together and a special highlight was being able to celebrate Kyle's birthday with him this year. Here's a glimpse at some of the things we did on our trip.
More updates coming soon, stay tuned...
