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.