A Window on our Wednesday

They have cute little-kid sniffles. They have sweet little sneezes. And they cough like hairy-eared truckers with a pack-a-day habit spanning a few decades. They do a lot of gross baby things that do not phase me in the least, but those coughs are downright embarasing. So even though they seem to be feeling better today we skipped music class and headed to the park for some open air. And a fancy coffee for me which I so deserved after a couple of sleepness nights with these two!
While we were there Liam entertained me with his favorite game: hiding. My favorite part of the game is when he jumps out of his top-secret location (like behind the curtain for the 80th straight time) and yells "PEEK-EE-BOOOOO!" So today I'm bringing some of the fun to you. See if you can spot him!

She's sure she just saw him a minute ago.....

Mama Called The Doctor and The Doctor Said....

....no more monkeys jumping on the bed! And they likely won't be for a while as a second wave of that faithful September Head Cold has taken up residence in the kids' nasal passages. (That'll teach them not to lick the toys at the doctor's office! Actually, it probably won't.....) We'll be replacing music class and jungle gym with orange juice and extra naps this week. Two things that are running at full speed over here? The hand sanitizer pump and the washing machine!

Older and Wiser

The other day we dropped off Liam's preschool application for next fall. (I know! Preschool!) While we were there he got a glimpse of the kids playing in the school's dream playground. Back in the car he asked ever-so-sweetly: "Mommy, go park?" I agreed the park looked like a lot of fun, but that park is for kids just a little older than him. That answer seemed to satisfy and he turned his attention to the world outside his window...until a few minutes later a hopeful voice from the backseat asked me: "Mommy? Older now?"

One Tooth, Two Chin Wonder

She's okay with sand on her chin(s) but when it comes to the knees...she learned to improvise on her crawl very quickly!

Chasing Summer

That's what it feels like we've been doing the last couple of weeks...trying to bank as much outdoor time as we can before we have to dress two babies in full winter gear just to go get the mail!
I know the hiking/canoeing shots are getting tired. Just remember, as soon as it starts raining at least 80% of the photos you see here will feature sticky kitchen linoleum in at least one corner. Mojo's tail will be in someone's face for the other 20%.
These are from our trip up to Squamish to pick up our (still nameless) canoe. No, we didn't walk there. But when in Squamish you might as well strap a baby on your back and take in a waterfall or two!



Of course we took a moment to set up the obligatory family portrait courtesy of the camera timer. Note Matt's straight jacket-like hold on Liam....


....I think that's because Liam enjoys sprinting towards said camera as it is perched on a rock for a timer shot. If a hike doesn't get the heart pumping a little faster, then THAT will!


Next up....some babies on board! The kids have definitely found their groove out on the water. Liam enjoys putting his feet up, singing "Row, row, row" and snacking on apple slices....


And if you thought he looked relaxed, Sarah has raised the bar even higher. Here she is taking a siesta in her bow bed. She even had her own little parasol. I can't say she wasn't infringing on my leg room, but I'll take a charley horse over a squirmy baby in a life jacket any day!

And so would she, it seems. She was much happier when she woke up this time around!


Have a great weekend - if all goes according to plan the canoe will be back on the blog on Monday!

Synchro-Napping and Other Good Things

I imagine the "real world" chatter around the water cooler this week probably involved famous people behaving badly and the new fall prime time line-up. The mommy chatter around the bouncy castle this week was all about toddlers behaving badly and the community centre's fall activity line-up. It's all the same, isn't it?
Anyways, as the moms compared class schedules like a group of highschoolers a level of outrage could be detected. Turns out, a highly sought-after music program for 2 year olds was scheduled for 1:15pm. Hello? Are they crazy?! That's naptime! One of the moms emphatically - perhaps even a touch psychotically - declared that she lives for naptime. It was a moment of solidarity. For some reason we all feel guilty about this being the highlight of our days. But I'm going on record here: one of my proudest achievements as a mother is the consistency with which my kids nap. And today marks the third time this week that they have synchro-napped in the afternoon! (One exclamation point just doesn't do justice. Have a few more: !!!!!!!!!!!!)
Moving along...and since the kids are napping anyway (oh, why not?...!!!!!!!!!!!!) Sarah is 8 months old now.



Awwwww. She's cute, huh?
Here's a peek at what she's up to now:
* she has entered what Matt recently coined as "The Barnacle Phase." She protests as soon as she is set down and then makes an immediate dash for our ankles. Making dinner has become an Extreme Sport that combines preparing multiple meals for allergic/picky/pureed-only eaters with hopping over some of said eaters with large pots of boiling whatever-we're-having-for-dinner. Try it sometime. I guarantee that body-shredding feeling!
* She will eat anything....as long as it's orange. Sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, peaches...all good. Peas? Not so much. I'm not worried though - Liam went through a sweet potato phase too. At least I won't freak out when her nose turns yellow from it like his did! (It went away. Eventually.)
* She's crawling almost as fast as Liam can run, and she's pulling herself up and shimmying along the furniture. Will she be walking by her 9 month update? I hope not!
* She hates the bath. It takes two of us (and we could probably use a third!) to wash her hair. She is super strong and twists and arches her body around the tub the second she spots the shampoo bottle coming her way.
* Still just one tooth.
* She learned to clap a few days ago. It's very cute, although she has put her own spin on it....instead of a traditional palm to palm clap, she alternates slapping the tops of each hand. Here's a picture....

Okay, a few more. :)
Partners in crime....

In Search of Bunny Foo Foo

You'll never believe this, but on yesterday's walk through the forest LIAM FOUND BUNNY FOO FOO! Yes, he did! And in Liam's words, he is "HUGE!" and he's "YELLOW!" (Bunny Foo Foo looks like our Canoe-noe!) We took turns carrying him home, but alas, when we awoke this morning he was gone.
Not to worry though. He later hopped right out of this glue stick. Bunny Foo Foo was in the Glue Glue! All is well...as long as Liam's eyes don't stay that way!

Peek-A-Boo!

She's Big, She's Bossy, and She's All Ours!

No, not that one (although there are some obvious similarities)...THIS ONE!:


We haven't named her just yet, but we took her out for an inaugural paddle around the lake today. To my great relief Liam seemed to understand the "don't rock the boat" concept and Sarah....well, she was angry at the world. What really had her going was:

1) her life jacket
2) the sun in her eyes
3) it was naptime

She stopped her screaming and squirming long enough to catch her breath on my knee. And then she was at it again.

By the time we got back to shore she had come to terms with 1 and 2 and enjoyed a long 3 snuggled up with the diaper bag.


Lesson learned.
Meanwhile, back on the boat....


This little guy had a great day playing with paddles, splashing in the water and shouting "Ca-noooooooooe!" A true voyageur.

A Sure Thing

Babies in swings are cute. Always. But I think she takes it up a notch!

Is There a Nicer Word for "Snot"?

If there is, do let me know. Because Matt and I have been living in a petri-dish with two sick kiddos the last few days. And because we don't particularly like the idea of Liam running around chanting "SNOT!" like he does with the word "poop" we are in search of a less giggle-worthy word. It's the elephant in the room. It's the caked-on blob on my neck. It's the curious sheen on the knee of my jeans. It's everywhere. Cold Season has arrived.


In other news, we unintentionally spent a good portion of the kids' incubation period at my Mom and Dad's little cabin in the woods. Sounds rustic? Not really! I would trade my kitchen for theirs in an instant. But it is a cabin nonetheless, and with that comes 3' ceiling, loft-style sleeping accommodations for the kids....which wouldn't be a problem if they weren't - ahem - snotting and barfing all night long. And if Matt and I were hobbits, I suppose. But they were, and we aren't, so it gave our little holiday a certain je ne sais quoi. Throw in some heavy rainfall and by day 3 there was some serious cabin fever to go along with the real fevers. By yesterday both the rain and the fevers had broken, so we ventured outdoors and headed for the hills.


Hard to tell here, but Liam was standing on top of a very large flat rock. Very safe and I was easily close enough to catch him if he were to take a running leap, but not wanting that to happen Matt and I said "Stand verrrrry still".....and he mustered up all his concentration to do just that!

One tough mama....


Nice view, but I'm pretty sure Liam is wiping his nose on Matt's jacket here....

Part II: Outtakes

Growing up, we would often go on summer roadtrips outside of our usual radio frequency. We would pick up a talk radio station that my Dad loved, but never failed to elicit groans from the rest of us. And then we would be shushed. (Sorry Dad, you know it's true!) The fact that I am now married to a news/talk radio junkie does not escape me.
Anyways.
There was one program that would take a random topic - say an unsolved murder mystery, or how bubble gum was invented - and uncover some information that inevitably made you say "hmmm. I didn't know that....." and it would always end with the wise host saying "and now you know the rest of the story."
That's my long way of saying that the pictures you saw yesterday of happy kids at a happy picnic were maybe not the most accurate picture. What you didn't see:

• Matt spent 2.5 hours driving around town to find an infant life jacket for Sarah so we could take the kids for their first canoe ride. (He finally found one.)

• The kids were extremely under-napped and over-tired but Liam was REALLY excited about the boat.

• We arrived at the canoe rental shop about 30 minutes after they stop renting canoes for the day....at 4:30. (Hello?!)

• Matt tried to bribe the All Powerful Renter of Canoes.

• No deal.

• We found ourselves another body of water and another canoe shop.

• They were closing.

Did I mention Liam REALLY wanted to go in a boat? (So did Matt, for that matter!)
We decided to enjoy our picnic anyways, the but the over-tired, under-napped business kicked in pretty quickly.

• Liam's pants were on fire and he couldn't sit still for a second.

• Sarah was tackled.

• Every third thing we said was "Time Out!"

• A trip to the water park was promised for good behavior, but alas.....we went home with a dry boy. Except for the tears.

"And now you know the rest of the story."