My Guy...

... is the dad who will eat the manta ray shoved into his face by an overzealous toddler.
... is the guy running his first half marathon this weekend (Go Daddy!).
... is the husband that takes out the garbage every week without any nagging.
... is the friend that is the "help desk" for computer problems.
... is the chef that cooks complicated recipes and they turn out well!
... is the philanthropist who is riding "The Big Bike" for the Heart and Stroke Foundation on May 11th

Follow This Link to support his efforts on The Big Bike! Thanks!

Flash Back!

... 8 months pregnant with R - photo by Noriko Vickerson

...R's birth announcement photo

...B's 20 week ultrasound photo

...B's birth announcement photo

Just reminiscing...what is a mommy blog without sentimental pictures of those very early days! Turn on your speakers for sappy music accompaniment. Leave a comment with your best mommy tip. Here are a few sentimental ones and a few practical ones I've received:

...soak it all in (cliched but true)

...consider yourself successful if only one is crying at a time (for moms of 2+)

...use a straw with a yogurt tube for an on the go snack (props to Housworth)!

...put your tea in a travel mug even when at home (then you don't have to nuke it 50x)

...keep a dustbuster in your car (I think I have to credit hubs with that one)

...and of course --> take lots of pictures!

Toast n' Jammies

....the doting big sister

...the basking little brother

...brutha n' sista love sealed with a kiss on the forearm!

R & B really do go together like...toast n' jammies, salt n' pepa, brutha n' sista! Who knew that early morning bedhead could be so cute?

Seventeen months...

Today was one of those random days when I had to go to work. I missed this little guy. Of course, I missed his sister too but for some reason when I am working it is my littlest one who I think about most often. Maybe because B is not yet able to tell me about his day. I know he was having a great day spending time with Daddy and R. He even got a little visit in with his beloved Grandma! It is hard to believe that he is already seventeen months old. In just seventeen more months I will be back to teaching full time. Park days and play dates will be more seldom...but we will always have the summer!

Flash Forward

Something about this picture makes me see forward ten years into the future when R is a teenager.

She may no longer have daily gems like:

"No, I am'pt!" (which means "No, I'm not!")

counting: "...thirteen, fourteen, five-teen, sixteen..."

very sincerely to B: "I love you, brother!" (and then squeezes him and kisses his head)

But at thirteen, R will still be hilarious, and keenly smart, and loving. She will probably still love music and dancing and dressing up. Her vices may still be "treats" and "T.V" but I am sure that she will have a lot more self-control. I bet that she will continue to be confident and outgoing and that people will be drawn to her. It amazes me at age 3 what a strong personality she already has. She truly is our "little gem" and always will be.

Seattle

We spent the weekend in Seattle and hit all the hot spots for the under 5 crowd (the Children's Museum and the Seattle Zoo). Traveling with kids is always an adventure...long car rides, lots of walking, junk food and late nights. Our kids were troopers though and we had a great time. It was nice to have Gma and Gpa there to help wrangle the kids - especially at the zoo when B just wanted to jump, run, and climb. Here's B and Gma in a face to face meeting with a penguin!

Airplanes

B is at the way too cute stage where all it takes is an airplane flying overhead to make him happy. Helicopters make him ecstatic...Dogs riding in the back of trucks parked beside us at a red light totally get him pointing. He loves walking down our street to look at the excavators that are parked there. When a truck came and dumped a load of dirt off at our house he thought it was so exciting. For him it is the little things that matter - especially when they are really big and noisy!

Sunshine

Many of my own childhood memories center around playing on the street. My brother and I were allowed to play between two particular streetlamps as our boundaries. We kept ourselves busy with activities like running races, riding bikes, playing street hockey and lemonade stands. We had a neighbourhood full of kids to play with and we usually stayed out until those streetlamps went out. Then we would still wait until we could hear our mom calling us before we would reluctantly go inside.

Gems: Part I

Our "precious gem" has so many gems of her own. There are a few classics though which I need to write down before I forget:

yogurt = "nogurt" (she has said it like this ever since she started talking so I don't correct it...I wonder how much longer it will last)

After getting in trouble for wrestling with B: "Don't worry mommy, we're not wrestling - we're muscle fighting!"

After I say thank you: "Good manners, mommy!"

McDonald's = "Old McDonald's" (again, I don't correct it, I just enjoy it)

She also had a brief period where she subbed the "sh" blend for the letter "s" (that one we were actually a bit concerned about but it has faded).

Right before she turned two she insisted calling her dad and I by our first names. The more we tried to correct it the more she did it so we finally had to ignore it and it also faded.

Currently her favourite schtick is to talk like a robot and to get you to talk like one too - she finds it "hiwarious"!

Stay tuned for Part Deux when I remember more of her gems. B is also brewing up some of his own...

Post your own "gems" in comments - they are just too funny!

Grandpa T

We had an afternoon visit from Grandpa T today. As you can see the kids were loving his story time - they got right into this one! I was loving the fact that they were entertained which meant that I was able to do those little things like windows, recycle, organizing the laundry room, etc... It is nice to be heading into the weekend with those things already accomplished. Thanks Gpa T! The kids love playing with him because he is one of those grandpas that never really grew up (he even had a nap at the same time as B!). They always have fun with Grandpa!

Little dresses

R met a new little friend at ballet who shares the same first name. We went over for a play date last week and the mom showed me some adorable dresses she was sewing for her daughter and her nieces. They are called pillow slip dresses because you could literally use a pillow slip to make them - they are that easy! Well, I decided to try my hand at this sewing business. I found instructions on the internet (ignored the part about the bias tape and the surging because I don't really know too much about those terms) and just "winged it". It was actually very easy and turned out okay...this one is just way too big. It will fit her better at about age 6! I also made a lavender coloured one for a friend's sweet new baby girl. I plan on making some more to send here: http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/. Check it out - it is an organization that helps girls in Africa. It started out with the goal to send 1000 dresses to Malawi, in Central Africa and has since grown to distribute 35,000 dresses to 10 different African nations!

Science World

We took the kids to Science World...it was great! There is something so free about telling your kids, "Go ahead and touch everything!" They loved it too! As you can see B got right in there. R also got right into it. She was mesmerized by the demonstrations on "Locomotion", "Bubbles", and "Balloons". They also both loved the giant keyboard that you can dance on (think: the movie "Big"). We could have stayed there all day but B needed his nap eventually. When we finally dragged them out of there B fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. If we lived closer we would definitely get a membership!

Easter Weekend

Our weekend was crazy busy and super fun. Between family dinners and visits with friends we were booked from Friday until Monday. There were puddle walks, egg decorating, and of course egg hunts! For B the highlight was the puddle walk. We decked the kids out in rain jackets, puddle pants and rain boots so that they were impermeable to water. Or so we thought, until, B picked up a nearby bucket - scooped up the muddy water, opened his mouth and dumped it over his head. What a nut! For R the hunting for eggs was definitely the best part of her weekend. She got quite the haul! For both kids the most terrifying part of the weekend was our close encounter with the Easter bunny at the park. They both wanted nothing to do with that bunny and would prefer that he would just hide eggs anonymously without rearing his furry head!

Happy Easter!

Another bunny post! I just can't help myself! We had a couple of bunny friends over today for an egg hunt and to decorate eggs. The bunnies had a blast. We managed one picture with all four bunnies looking and it only took three adults standing behind me clapping and jumping around. I guess that's why the un-posed pictures of kids usually work out better!

My Brother

He sat still long enough to have his picture taken so I decided to post it...now you're famous! Well, okay so I have two followers (my mom and my husband) who already know you, who may or may not see this. Shout out to Uncle B!

Suzie Homemaker

I have been home with the kids for over three years now and I think I am getting better at the home-making business. I felt like a pioneer woman today! I spent the morning planting trees and hauling dirt in our yard while hubs was baking a carrot cake with R and B was napping. (I think we may start a tradition of leaving a piece of carrot cake for the Easter Bunny). I iced the cake while R & B gazed at it with longing eyes. Then I took one of my old dresses and sewed it into a "pillow slip" dress for Ruby. Imagine, gardening, semi-baking, and semi-sewing all in one day! Thankfully, we went to my parents' for an Easter dinner tonight. Our house is an utter disaster!

B Naked

What is cuter than a baby wearing nothing but a diaper and a soother!!!

How about one peeking out from his mommy's curtains...B loves to be semi-naked and he is beginning to really resist putting his clothes on (read: flailing and kicking and screaming) so sometimes he just boots around here sans clothing. It is just more pleasant for everyone this way!