Six

D. turned six years old on December 13! December 13 was a Friday. She took carrot muffins to school to celebrate. For supper she chose fries, chicken nuggets, broccoli, and chocolate cake. We gave her her birthday presents from us: 2 books (one French, one English) and a Playmobil set (set 4015, to be exact).

On Saturday she had a birthday party with 3 friends from school. They had mini-pizzas, cheesies, and broccoli for lunch and decorated cupcakes for dessert. There was one nose-head collision involving many tears and a little blood - but other than that, it went well! The friends were quite enamoured with her bunkbed. They did a lot of climbing up and down often without making use of the actual bunkbed ladder!

D had talked about having a pinata and playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey but when it came time to go to the store for supplies for those activities, she desisted. Her Papa and I had googled something like "DIY kids birthday party" a couple days beforehand. The only idea we followed up on was this:

We had scheduled a birthday lunch with extended family for the following day (Sunday) but a snowstorm forced us to cancel. We've rescheduled for this Sunday which means more party guests: her grandparents and uncle will have arrived for Christmas holidays. Hooray!

We had another snowstorm today. All the district schools were closed so D. experienced her first SNOWDAY. She was pleased to enjoy some hot chocolate at a local café:

She also came to my office for a while in the afternoon. She watched the Lorax and did some drawing at my desk while I finished up some work. I was thinking about her experiencing things that I experienced as a child: waking up excitedly wondering if school would be cancelled, for instance. I also remember my dad bringing my brother and I in to his office, which was also at a post-secondary institution. I've been thinking about this generally since we moved here because we often go to my grandparents' place for Sunday dinner, like my family did when I was D's age. There is something precious about these repetitions.

Verbalness

Even as we're following up on a recommendation that A see a speech therapist, his vocabulary has expanded a lot this fall. Here are a few notes on recent developments:

He has started to talk about himself in the first person. Two examples: (1) At a special town event on Friday after we had had a horse-and-wagon ride through downtown, he said, "I like it horsie!" (2) When he feels like his mittens are askew or his boots are falling off, he says, "My mitten!" or "My boot." But he has an adorable pause between each word, more accurately transcribed as: "My. Mitten!"(Sidenote: look what happens if you google the word "askew"!)

He has always called his sister... oh man, I don't know what letters to put together to replicate this sound! It's something like if you isolate just the "an" syllable in "angela" or "anger." Anyhow, now he has started to call her, appropriately, "Dorty." (I'm thinking about how when SHE was little, she used to call herself "Da-ta.")

He has this awesome word that is a combination of because + pourquoi + parce que. It sounds like "Percuz."

He used to called peanut butter "dap." Now he says something like "peanut butter" but it sounds like "papa pillow."

He's got "Merry Christmas" down pat.

Obviously his sister WHO IS ABOUT TO TURN 6 (!!) is incredibly articulate. But we can still notice her learning new words. Earlier this fall she was really into inserting the word "technically" into her sentences. And one thing that I've noticed about her speech is she overuses the verb "grab." I find this very endearing. I'm not sure where it comes from; it might be related to the use of "prendre" in French. As an example: she'll talk about something "grabbing a lot of time" instead of "taking a lot of time." 

Our Little Student

A couple weeks ago we had our first parent-teacher interview. We didn't go in with any specific questions; we were just curious to hear more about D's behaviour at school. The teacher told us that D is "a lovely little girl" and "a pleasure to have in the class." She's where she should be in terms of learning. She gets along well with both girls and boys. She likes the house corner best. She asks for helps when she needs it (the teacher quoted her as saying, "I think I need some help"). She helps others.

The teacher also mentioned a couple observations that reassured me that D isn't putting too much pressure on herself to be little-miss-perfect. Apparently, she is sometimes too chatty! And sometimes she's a bit pouty when she doesn't get a turn to do something.

D. was waiting out in the hall doing some drawing and reading during the interview. Afterwards we told her that we'd take her for a little treat before we went to get A. We offered to let her pick out a new book at the bookstore, or go her for a milkshake at the diner, or choose a sweet at a café. And what did she choose? To go get Cheesies at the convenience store! Classy.

Halloween 2013

These first two photos are not actually of Halloween but they fit under the general Halloween-y theme of, ummm, posing or disguise or props or something.

A. watching Big Comfy Couch with Bob the Builder and "Pilot" (a Playmobil figure). I believe he has chocolate on his face.

D. pretending to be a detective.

Last night (the night before Halloween) we decorated some giant pumpkin cookies and went to a Halloween Carnival at the elementary school. 

And without further ado, here are their Halloween 2013 costumes!

As is immediately obvious, one of these costumes was a lot more work than the other! We are inordinately proud of this Wonder Woman look as we've never put so much effort into a costume. It is a creative mix of materials from two different thrift stores and a craft supply place. Plus, we managed to winterize (fall-ize?) the standard superhero bathing suit that Wonder Woman usually wears without compromising on style and recognizability. We googled "Wonder Woman kids costume" for inspiration and now D. really wants to put her own photo up on the internet to inspire others. Paying it forward, people, paying it forward. 

A. was a pumpkin for two reasons. First of all, he has really been enjoying pumpkins this fall. Whenever he sees one, he points it out and says, "punkin!" Second, I wasn't sure he would want to wear a more elaborate costume-y costume, so we sent with something simple and comfy. The hood has a little stem on top, which you can't see in the picture. 

We went trick-or-treating with some friends at about 10 houses. I thought we'd be out way longer but D. got cold and wanted to go home to eat some treat. A. would've kept going for sure. After every house he would say, "More punkin! More Halloween! More bonbon!" I was glad that we got home early enough to give out some treat to a few trick-or-treaters at our front door.

Here they are assessing their treat. They ate a bunch before bed. 

 Good times!

Trouble, Yah!

How 'bout an anecdote about each of them before I hit the hay on this late Sunday evening of my birthday (35!)?

• Little A. has always nodded 'yes' or shaken his head 'no' in response to questions. But just over the last few weeks, he has started saying 'yah' instead of nodding. It's not a 'yes'; it's clearly an emphatic, often drawn-out 'yaaahh!' in any kind of situation. For example: "Are you hungry for some cereal?" "Yah!" "What kind of cereal do you want to have?" "Ay-ah-Eeets!" "Mini Wheats?" "Yah!" (Okay, there's just no way that a written description can capture the cuteness of this 'yah'... but you can perhaps imagine a percentage of the cuteness.)

• Apparently in D.'s kindergarten class, kids can get sent back to their desks if they are misbehaving on the carpet. Recently, she admitted (laughingly, sheepishly) that this once happened to her! One of her friends has "fluffy" socks (tube socks, I imagine) and he pulls elastic strings out of the socks to play with, even going so far as to (if I understood correctly) put the elastic string in his teeth. Flossing, I suppose? Anyhow, D was somehow involved in the elastic extraction or she was playing with said elastic and they both got sent to their chairs. She seems jealous of the tube socks because she can't manage to extract elastics from her own socks.

The Bulk of October

Holy moly, time flies! Before I just logged on here, I never would've guessed that my last post was from as long ago as October 1.

Speaking of that Sickies post, about a week after A's throat infection, D had an ear infection! This was actually her first ear infection ever. So we were Antibiotic City for a while there. Thankfully, all four of us are now patients of a doctor + nurse-practitioner team here in town. Access to medical services is much easier than it was in the big city. Case in point: last week it seemed like A had some kind of infection on his penis (likely caused by his antibiotics). I called the practice when it opened at 9am and got an appointment for him for 1:30pm. (We kept saying, "oh, his poor little peeny!" which made D laugh hysterically.)

As I also mentioned in the previous post, we had a lovely visit with my in-laws. One memorable moment: the kids both really got immersed in playing "restaurant" with Grandmaman and Grandpapa using their pretend food. So cute.

Then my parents and my brother visited over Thanksgiving. Our big family meal was at my relative's farm so the kids got to see baby kittens and cows and tractors. AND they both got a pony ride! I was impressed that they both had the nerve to do it.

A final bit of catch-up news: A has started going to daycare 3 days a week. It was tough at first because 1. it was new and 2. he started when he was still recovering from the throat infection. Now - only a couple weeks later - he seems to really like it! They have a huge backyard with play structures and toys; he calls it "big garderie park."

Sickies

So many people seem to have horrid colds these days, including - unfortunately - little A. He's been stuffed up for over a week now. A trip to the doctor on Sunday resulted in antibiotics, so he is now on the mend. (I'm reminded of the Strep Throat Nightmare of July 2013, when D was actually hospitalized (hospitalized!) to receive IV antibiotics, steroids and fluids. I shudder at the memory. Thankfully, A didn't even come close to that extreme situation.)

Here are some happy photos, taken just yesterday. He looks so much more chipper than he did the day before. He went to an orchard with his papa and grandparents, who are visiting us! He really likes pumpkins. He points them out and likes to go over to sit or lean on them.

Fire (Works and Trucks)

We are at the end of a fabulously busy weekend: it was Fall Fair in our little town AND I was attending parts of a conference on campus. The weather cooperated to the max: it was like summer again.

We had lots of memorable moments at the fair:

• D. held a baby chick in her hands! 
• We found the exit to the corn maze! 
• We went on a wagon ride! 
• We ate famous fresh fry/chips purchased from a foodtruck! 
• We climbed on real firetrucks at the firefighters' open house evening! (see photos below)
• A. marvelled at tractors and bulldozers! 
• We found an excellent shadey spot to watch the parade! 

Much fun was had by all...followed, of course, by serious fatigue: they were both asleep by 7:50pm last night which has probably never happened before ever.

I think my favourite moment was taking D. to the 9pm fireworks on Friday night. This was her first time seeing real fireworks and she was sooo excited. We sat on a grassy hill watching the super-impressive-for-such-a-small-town show. D. basically did a running commentary the whole time. Her comments included both exclamation ("Wow!"), prophecy ("Here comes a big one!"), analysis via simile ("That one looks like a waterfall!" "That one looks like floating bubbles!"), and reflections on the after-effects ("That one lighted up my eyes!").

When the show ended, she was disappointed that it had been so short. She said she wished she could see it all again. And then, after everyone had clapped and people were all starting to walk/drive away, the fireworks started up again for the finale. It was such a magical moment, as if her wish had spontaneously come true.

On the way home she kept talking and talking about the fireworks. She told me that it was one of the best things that had ever happened to her in her life. Magical, indeed.

Play Together

Right now, as I write this, the kids are playing together. With a 3.5 year age difference between them, playing together hasn't happened much thus far, which has frustrated D at times. But now there seems to be hope! And it's so adorable.

Just now, under perfect circumstances (a quiet Sunday morning at home, both of them having eaten super well at breakfast and being in good moods), D invited A to play a game that involves jumping around on our bed and throwing all their clothes (diaper included) "overboard." Then, D told A that they were going to "go to book club." So for the past 15 minutes, they've been lugging books from the playroom shelf into our bed and looking at them. A is exclaiming, "Boo cub! Boo cub!" (i.e. book club). Like I said, so adorable.

Thanks to this playing together, I had time to finish a recipe that I want to bring to my grandparents at lunch time and LePapa had time to have a shower and get dressed. And I'm blogging! Unprecedented!

I was going to add info about how their more habitual interactions involve D making A scream and us saying "D, don't make A scream please." But let's end on a positive note: book club is on-going! And I'm going to get in the shower.

Happy Sunday to all. :)

Atlantic

Last Saturday we drove to the shore. This jaunt was made possible by the fact that for the first time in our lives, we own a car! We rarely need it day-to-day but it's essential for getting out of town. So, on Saturday we travelled about 45 minutes to a beach that we'd never visited before.

Love love love the smell and sight of the ocean! The kids were absolutely delighted too. A kept saying, "Big, big, BIG water!" (His pronunciation is weird sometimes but we knew that's what he was saying.) D kept proclaiming how much she loved this place.

We had a blast collecting shells and throwing rocks into the water until we got too cold and hungry. It was a bit chilly and really windy: normal for late afternoon in September, I suppose.

We were about 15 kms from the bridge to PEI so we headed over that way. We were too hungry to actually spend much time there, but it was neat to see it. D had some questions about how a bridge could be built in the water and why the cars don't fall right off.

We stopped at a random restaurant on the way home where we all ate fries and various other things. The ride home was stressful because A was acting like he was feeling nauseous. We really didn't want him to throw up; fortunately, he fell asleep instead! The next day we gave him some Gravol before heading out for a 30-minute car ride to the shoe store and to visit my grandparents. He seemed slightly drugged but not at all nauseous. At least D seems to have outgrown her carsickness, which used to plague her almost any time we traveled.

Let me end on a less vomit-y note with some photos from the park on Monday:

Fruity Bob

A is requesting that we read the same books over and over these days. I'm not complaining; any manifestation of book-loving is fine by me! Two are song books that came with accompanying CDs. The CDs are so incredibly scratched up that only about half the songs will play. This is because we used to let A play with the CDs when he was smaller. The question one must ask is: were the gleeful moments of A playing with the CDs worth the frustration when those CDs now no longer function?

Anyhow, the point of the story is that we read sing through these two books many times each day. There are certain songs that A does not want us to sing so he shakes his head "no" when we get to those pages. When we sing Michaud est monté, he likes to act out Michaud falling out of the tree.

The other book he wants to read is Bob the Builder. Rather than read the actual story (too complicated to interest him at this age), he likes to greet all of the characters. For example, he'll say, "Hi, Scoop!" and then I'll say, "Hi, Scoop! Scoop says, 'Hi A!'" We also sing the Bob the Builder theme song. We laugh because when A sings the first line (i.e. "Bob the builder"), it sounds like "Bob la banane" or "Bob ananas," which prompts D to say, "Bob pineapple!" (ananas = French for pineapple).

The Getting Dressed Game

D and I get into the igloo we built together (i.e. completely under the covers of our bed). We cuddle a bit and chat until D says (always in the same tone), "But Mama: we can't stay in here forever." Why not? Because we have to get dressed! But how can we get dressed when it's so freezing cold outside the igloo? Well, here's our strategy: we spring out of the igloo, put on one item of clothing (all the while exclaiming, "Oooh, it's cold! Oooh, it's cold!"), and then jump back into the igloo to warm up before the next item. Repeat, repeat, and by the end of the game, we're dressed.

I think D likes this game because it's amusing and predictable. More importantly, she likes it because it guarantees her a slice of one-on-one time with mama and it satisfies her need for some physical contact/play. I can't remember when we first invented this game but I'd guess it was at least 6 months ago, probably longer.

I'm reminded of how ferociously she resisted getting dressed back when she was two years old. One strategy/game we employed was to play "One Thing." She had to put on one item and then she could go run up and down the hallway before the next item. I suppose One Thing must have been an early precursor of The Getting Dressed Game!

Daughter Starts Kindergarten!

D has been anticipating this day for a long time: today was her first day of school! She was hilarious this morning, talking non-stop from sheer excitement. She kept saying to her brother, "Do you want to bring sister to garderie? No! You want to bring sister to SCHOOL!"

After a breakfast of cereal and a chocolate-chip pancake (left over from our Saturday morning tradition), she got dressed, brushed her teeth, and was ready to go. It was pouring rain outside so we took a few pictures in the verandah:

Her kindergarten class has a gradual entry so only a third of the kids were there today. (Apparently, D was the only girl in this first batch.) She was kinda quiet when she came home but after extensive interrogation, we have learned that they read 3 books, ate lunch, went on a tour of the school... and who knows what else. She came home with a construction paper craft resembling a stoplight. She explained to us that the red, yellow, and green lights symbolize the levels of noise that the kids are allowed to make in different contexts. She said her favourite part of the day was when they "sat and watched messages on a screen" - whatever that means! Her teacher seems nice - and maybe kindof shy? She didn't say much. I will need to talk to her about the fact that she spelled D's name wrong on all her labels!

Even though she didn't wake up any earlier than usual, and even though she has been accustomed to much longer daycare days - D was exceptionally tired this evening. She needed lots of cuddles. Before bedtime she got all existential ("but why are we meant to die?") and she was asleep shortly after 8:00.

FYI: the school day is quite short here - we can drop her off anytime after 8:00 and then we pick her up at 1:55. The kids who take the school bus leave even earlier. We don't qualify for the bus because we live so close but we kinda wish she could go on the bus because A's nap can easily conflict with the 1:55 pick-up time. Anyway, no worries. We will likely meet parents who could bring her home in a pinch or I could walk over to fetch her if need be.

I leave you with two final pictures of our babies, taken yesterday while we were making muffins for D's lunch.

Utensil

A often chooses to eat cream cheese on toast for breakfast. We cut it up into little bite-sized squares for him. I recently noticed how he feeds himself these little squares: he stabs his index finger into the cream cheese so that the piece sticks to his finger and he can lift it to his mouth. Hilarious. Too bad I don't have an accompanying photo for this post!

You may remember that A was almost entirely indifferent to solid foods until he was about 13 months old. Now he often eats as much - or more than - his sister. When we call "It's ready!" at mealtimes, he GASPS, drops what he's doing, and runs to the table. Lately he gets down off his chair a few minutes into the meal and wanders around a bit before he continues eating. Another thing he often does a few minutes into the meal is to ask for dessert. His personal word for dessert sounds something like "hahoum?", the origins of which are completely mysterious. He will often keep eating his meal in tandem with dessert or even after his dessert.

As for D's relationship with food, not much has changed lately although she will sometimes surprise us by trying something new. Sushi, french fries, and desserts are still her favourites; she still eats zero fruit. One thing that I find so endearing is that she often drinks (herbal) tea, particularly chamomile before bed, or mint or vanilla nut creme in the afternoon. Sometimes we have tea parties. 

Sunshiney Day

At the end of April, we found out that we'd be moving here in the beginning of August. That gave us about 3 months to speculate on what it'd be like to live in this new place. Pouring over a map of the region, we imagined biking up a nearby trail to a lake where we knew there would be a public beach and a park. This afternoon, we did it! It was probably about a 25-minute ride, factoring in a number of self-imposed hill-avoidance detours.

That blue dot is the bike trailer containing our children.

Our fabulous destination!

Happiness on the sand! His sister was equally happy but she was off playing with friends and didn't get her photo taken.

Riding through the waterfowl park on the way home.

It's very strange and amazing to us that we live close to a place like this. The kids had a blast in the water and on the playground. On the way home we stopped for a quick supper. A didn't want to get back in to the bike trailer after that; he probably would've had the same reaction about getting back into a carseat if we'd been driving.

We're left hoping for some more clement weather so that we can do this outing again.

It Is Now August 2013

Neglecting this blog over the past year was a side effect of the fact that I got a job. Deciding to revive the blog has to do with the fact that we moved (a major, inter-provincial move - not down the block like our last move) and somehow the move makes me want to start documenting again. I started a post that was going to be an overview of the past year, focusing on the kids' milestones. But that feels like a really overwhelming post to write so I'm just going to jump right in with the basics of the present.

D is 5.5 years old.

A is 2 years old.

We now live in small-town New Brunswick.

Life is good.

Papa makes chocolate-chip pancakes every Saturday morning.

Their new sleeping arrangements, although A usually joins us for half the night.

Sunday dinner at their great-grandparents' house. Mmm, gravy.

Being eaten by a hippo.

Handsome lad. (He looks taller here than in real life, I'd say.)

Posing at the weekly farmer's market. We get 2 loaves of that bread there.

Ellipses to Indicate the Year-Long Blogbreak

...