Thomas the Train

It it’s big, makes noise and moves, Owen and Brandon will like it.  Trains, cars, trucks, bulldozers…you name it, they will probably think it is the coolest thing around.  Thomas the Train is a big hit in our house and last year we found out that Thomas comes to Heritage Park in Calgary each spring.  Last year was a lot of fun, but we thought Brandon would really enjoy it more this year.

While the sun was out and warm for our zoo visit, the weather wasn’t quite as nice on our Day Out with Thomas.  It was sunny but there was wind and it was cold, as you can tell from the picture.

But as soon as we boarded the train, all was forgotten and the ride around Heritage Park with Thomas pulling us was thrilling.

After the train ride, we made our way to one of the many tents set up with everything Thomas. The tent that attracted the most fun was the one with all the train tables set up for the children to play and enjoy. Owen was right in there but the tattoo line up caught Brandon’s eye; Mom and Brandon stood in line and waited patiently for our turn.

After that, there was popcorn, so of course we had to take a break!

Due to the weather the trip this year was a little shorter than last year but I am pretty sure Owen and Brandon very much enjoyed everything there is to see. We would very much like to come back to Heritage Park and see everything else in the park.

Calgary Zoo

Our first mini-holiday for the summer was a trip to Calgary to see the zoo and Heritage Park.  We planned our trip on the weekend of Zoe’s fourth birthday and lucky for us, Zoe, Isaac and Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma H were all able to come with us!

Brandon was mesmerized by all the animals and would get as close as he could and watch the animals in awe.

A few times we had to remind Brandon that there were many more animals to see.

Owen on the other hand, was much more interested in the next thing he could climb, sit or jump on.

Or just clowning around too….

Brandon got Grandma to give him a boost up, so he could see the animals that were hanging around up top too!

There were a few playgrounds in amongst the animals and those were a big hit.

Such a big hit but an equally big downer when it was time to leave the playground and head onto see more animals…

Isaac had a great view of everything!

And when the boys got tired, they twisted Uncle Derek and Daddy’s rubber arm and got rides on their shoulders!

There there was the merry go round, and that was it, it was Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, can we go can we go!?

This is the second year we’ve made the trek to the Calgary Zoo and I have to say, the ice cream is the BEST!

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day; the kids really do make it so rewarding! Owen and Brandon bought me seeds and tins for planting herbs indoors. We planted them right away and again, the seeds kind of all fell into a pile instead of a long line, so we’ll see how they grow. We also made time to see all the mother’s in our lives — Grandma K, Grandma H and Great-Grandma (GG) — and those we could not see, we sent cards to show that we were thinking of them.

We made a special trip to GG’s house this year; as GG loves pictures, we found a really great picture of Owen and Brandon and put it in a frame (and we actually found a frame that was specifically for Great-Grandma!). Brandon was adamant that he would carry and hold the present for GG all the way there.

Owen was on the look out for GG’s house….is it that one, or that one?

GG was very excited and happy to see us and have us at her place. Owen and Brandon love to wander through the hallway and check out the rooms for pictures and trinkets.

Gardening with Kids

It seems with children I have been inspired to grow, in many ways, but this particular post is concentrating on growing outdoor vegetables, fruits and plants. I want to show them that the fruits and vegetables that they enjoy, grow from seeds in the ground and that we can grow them ourselves. We are equally lucky to have wonderful neighbours; last year our neighbours grew Sweet Peas (flowers) and they were so beautiful and smelled so great that I wanted that for myself, in our yard this year. Our neighbours brought over a cup of Sweet Pea seeds and told us to plant them on Good Friday — a week or so later – I finally found time to plant them. Funny enough, Owen’s room at his daycare planted seeds of their own choice and grew them in a pot at daycare — the funny part was that Owen picked Sweet Peas!

Owen and Brandon were excited to put on their rubber boots, grab their shovels and get digging with me. It wasn’t the greatest of weather that evening, warm but gloomy and the ground was still pretty wet but we managed to poke holes and put the seeds in.

After watching for a bit, they were ready to try it out for themselves.

Owen and Brandon were equally excited about the seeds and surprisingly they took turns and shared to plant the seeds; they say you should plant them in a row and not crowd them, but when you are working with kids, it’s all about dumping them in and then Mom coming behind and straightening them as much as you can.

The idea of planting soon got old and they found something new to do!

I am happy to report that the Sweet Pea seeds were planted the last week of April and today it is the 6th of June and I can spot some Sweet Peas coming up!

Owen and Brandon are balancing around what will soon be my vegetable garden!  We will be planting peas, carrots, green onions, lettuce, green peppers and sunflowers.  I am very excited for the weather to warm up, dry out the soil and allow me to get out and plant some seeds.

Practice Cake

It was the beginning of May and Owen’s fourth birthday was coming up.  The decision on the cake changed every day, every hour, so finally I asked Owen, what kind of birthday cake would you like for your birthday?  Cars or Spider-man.  Owen picked Spider-man.  I was able to find a Spider-man cake pan from Micheal’s, with coupon!  The only thing was, Owen didn’t understand that his birthday wasn’t for a few more weeks and that today was only deciding on what kind of cake.  Aunty Claudette buckled under the pressure of an almost 4 yr old, crying and upset and confused as to why there was no cake today — and his 2 1/2 yr old brother who wasn’t too sure what was happening but was upset because his older brother was upset.  Aunty made a deal, what if she made the cake today and then Owen and Brandon could decorate the “practice” cake tomorrow.  Cheers, clapping and squeals came after the announcement….

True to her word, Aunty Claudette stayed up that night and baked the Spider-man cake.  Owen and Brandon were so excited to see Aunty and the cake and icing and sprinkles. They immediately got to work – Owen wanting chocolate icing and Brandon wanting vanilla icing.

They giggled and were goofy when they got icing on their fingers.

Licked the butter knife clean of icing and sprinkles.

Don’t forget your fingers too!

 

And here was the end result. Not bad for an almost 4 yr old and 2 1/2 yr old boys.

Potty Training, part two, Daddy’s turn

There was one extra day after Easter that Daddy stayed home, for one last day to ensure Owen and Brandon were really good with the potty training.  Uncle Derek, Aunty Colette, Zoe and Isaac brought a wonderful Easter gift for Owen and Brandon — bubbles.  But not any ordinary bubbles, colored bubbles.  The weather was great and Daddy was feeling confident about the potty training, that he got the boys ready and took them out to the driveway to play bubbles.

And the bubble machine begins to blow bubbles….hummmm….the colored bubbles are cool but look at the driveway?

Owen enjoys standing and watching the green bubbles break against his pant leg…

Owen and Brandon are having too much fun, laughing and jumping and kicking at the bubbles….they look to be getting a little too close to the bubble machine….but then it’s the pictures we need, so Daddy keep shooting!

Alas, the bubble machine finally got kicked over, the clothes were covered in green, as you can see with the shoes. I came home to a laundry room full of green clothes — Owen, Brandon and Daddy’s clothes and jackets!

Thankfully, Crayola’s washable colored bubbles really are washable. Everything went in the washer green and came out clean, as you can see with the shoes!

And Aunty Colette, don’t feel bad, I saw these same colored bubbles the week before Easter and debated on getting them. Who knew they would be such a mess?!

The Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter Bunny, the Easter Bunny….we woke up Easter Sunday morning and when we headed downstairs, why there were little Easter eggs hidden all over the house. They were in the bathroom (what!? the Easter bunny took a break in the bathroom), in our shoes, in our toys and in the kitchen!

Owen loved hunting for eggs, he searched everywhere and always left one for Brandon.

Brandon found a few eggs and was done. He took his stash to the couch, dumped it out and proceed to open and eat!

After the hunt, Uncle Derek, Aunty Colette, Zoe and Isaac came over for one last visit before they headed home. Uncle Derek sat down and that was it, Owen, Brandon and Zoe were all over him and Isaac sat and watched with such intensity….just wait Isaac, soon, soon.

Happy Easter

Easter was about a month ago, but well you know my story….Sean and I struggled to balance enjoying Easter and visiting with family and taking pictures, but we did get a few…

I found an egg decorating set that came with a stamp and stamp pad and thought that would be a lot of fun. So Owen and Brandon tried it out..such concentration…

After that, Owen and Brandon dove right in….that little wire egg holder, what you mean you are suppose to use that?! Nah, my fingers work just fine…

Owen’s fingers are looking pretty greenish blue, hopefully the food coloring washes out easily?!

Whoa look at my hands, I look just like Shrek!

Despite the non-traditional way of dunking Easter eggs and the fact that the food coloring does not wash out easily resulting in Owen and Brandon spent most of Easter weekend with fading shades of green hands, we got such pretty eggs!!

Happy 4th Birthday Owen!

Happy Fourth Birthday Owen!

I am 4 yrs old today. I weigh 46.40 lbs and I am 43.50 inches tall. I am wearing 6X, extra small and small tops (depending on the store) and I am slowly moving from 5T to the size small in Little Boy clothes for pants. I wear a size 13 shoe – my feet have continued to grow and I think I moved 2 shoes sizes this year.  I still love my afternoon naps and they are still just as long as last year. I love to sleep and Mom and Dad love it too!

My eating habits have changed, there was once a time when Mom or Dad could put anything on my plate and I would willingly wolf it down. These days I am a little more particular (not picky) about what I want to eat. Some of my favorites still remain – blueberries, watermelon, pasta, chicken fingers, carrots, cucumbers. I’ve added a few new ones, pineapple (which I so lovingly mix up and call apple pie), strawberry or raspberry yogurt only, Eggo’s, raisins and blueberry raisins and broccoli. If I could and if Mom and Dad let me, I would have pasta and meatballs every night for supper and train (baloney sandwich cut into a train shape) sandwiches every day for lunch.

I am so independent – at times I like to pick out my clothes and dress myself, but if I am tired Mom gets that job back. Last summer Brandon and I moved from our day home to a daycare. It was a little daunting at first with so many kids and such a different schedule but having Brandon there with me, helped me know it was an okay place to be. Now almost year has passed and I love my daycare, I have lot of friends and love all the activities we do all day. The daycare has helped me become more independent, over the winter they taught us a couple tricks to getting our jackets on by ourselves; I proudly showed Mom and Dad the tricks at home and even taught Brandon.

I am working hard to use my words and express my feelings and wants through words instead of crying, screaming, hitting or throwing things. Mom and Dad tell me I am doing really well at this and are so proud of how I can express my feelings through words most of the time. When I am tired or bored, it’s harder for me, but I am working at telling Mom or Dad – I am bored, I need something else to do (so that I don’t pick on my little brother). Ha ha

My speech is really improved, the sentences I string along and the fact that I am remembering things we did yesterday, a month ago and bringing them up in daily conversation continues to amaze Mom and Dad. I am so helpful with my little brother Brandon (when he lets me) and there are times when Brandon will call for me in the morning or ask me to help him with meal times instead of Mom and Dad.

I will start wearing eye glasses this year; our family doctor is outstanding and she recommended at three years having my eyes tested and thankfully she did. It turns out I need eye glasses to help improve my vision, so I can enjoy reading books, playing, watching tv, doing everything so much more.
Potty Time, this has been one of my biggest accomplishments this year. I have moved from pull-ups to underwear and am learning to tell when I have to go potty and to go on my own. Just a month ago, Mom and Dad started to potty train Brandon and asked me to help. Now Brandon loves to come potty with me and we have races to see who can pee first.

I am still doing gymnastics but have moved from Parent and Tot to Kindergym (doing gymnastics all on my own). I really enjoy it and the coaches are working hard to challenge me and keep me busy (otherwise I tend to goof around, as any typical boy would do). At the daycare we go swimming once a week and then on Friday’s I do swimming lessons during the day. I love to swim and love the water.

My new likes are Spider-man, Batman, Superhero’s and Transformers and I still like Cars, Toy Story (Buzz Lightyear and Woody), Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse. I also love puzzles and building with Lego. Mom is so happy, as she loved doing puzzles and building with Lego when she was young! I love pretend play, whether it’s cooking with Brandon in the kitchen or on the BBQ or dressing up as cowboys, policemen, firemen, etc.

My birthday party will be Spider-man with a bouncy house at my Aunty’s this year.

Potty Training

So I have come to a fork in the road, potty training.  For the better part of the past 12 months Sean and I have worked at potty training with Owen.  Stumbling along the way, trying this and then that, changing expressions, tone and words and googling, googling, googling for advice, tips, anything.  By the beginning of April, Owen was at a really good place and we knew he was so close to being really done but there just wasn’t enough time over the weekends to really get over that hump.  At this point Sean and I were trying to figure out what to do, when my Mom gave me a Potty Training Manual that a co-worker of hers, daughter used with her children.  Anything is worth a shot!  We read it over and liked it and decided to take 3 days off and go hard with Owen.  Along the way and planning we noticed that Brandon was really receptive to the potty training concept.  He wanted to pee when his big brother peed and he wanted to go running when it was potty time.  It took a couple days but Sean and I decided, if we were going to do it, why not just do it with Owen and Brandon together — maybe they would feed off each other – in a positive way! ha ha  With taking on this task, we decided we needed a week — we split the week — 3 days with Mom and 3 days with Dad.

We stocked the house with tons and tons of underwear — Spider-man, Batman, Woody and Buzz, Elmo and Cookie Monster, Hot Wheels and Transformers.   We bought a bunch of small “treat” toys and wrapped them.  We did a Costco trip to fill the house with extra food to account for a week at home together.  We were ready.

The manual recommended to have the boys help “throw” away all the pull-ups in the house – it’s underwear only now baby!  I hid the pull-ups all over the house and we spent….10 minutes doing that (what I expected to take longer).

Then we did some crafts….another 10 minutes. I dunno, you tell me, but boys don’t seem to stick with anything for long. I hear that girls will do crafts for much longer and sit still longer? Oh well, they had fun while they did it. Owen with intense concentration and…..

and Brandon, just interested in exploring (or what I call, making a mess!).

But at the end of it, Brandon was interested and cooperative enough to stand next to his painting. Owen was done and gone, no getting him close to his picture.

All the while I was filling their bellies with water, juice, milk, anything they would drink to help with the potty training.  There were a couple accidents, as expected, I learned quite quickly to line the couch, chairs, beds with towels to help absorb any wetness (and the boys pretended they were at the beach).  The nap-time and bedtime potty training was a little more stressful (for me) but limiting the liquid intake close to sleep time helped a lot.  Luckily for us the weather cooperated and we were able to do a couple quick trips to the playground and walks in the wagon (potty and then quickly get outside and be back within an hour).

I am writing this at the middle of May (and did the potty training the week of Easter) and can say that it was well worth it.  The most rewarding words are “Mommy, Daddy, I have to go potty” and see them dash to the potty and see the smiles on their faces when they go potty!