On Your Marks....

If you've spoken to me in the last few days, this won't be news. But for the rest of you, here's the deal:

1) I'm tagging along on Matt's trip to China this Friday.
2) The kids aren't coming.
3) I'm super excited about #1 and having some pretty mixed feelings about #2. As in, embarassing crying jags to strangers, mixed feelings.

I know I should be completely happy for the break, the extended "date" with Matt and the prospect of 12 hours of "quiet time" on the plane ride (and that's only the first plane ride!). But...I have the cutest, sweetest kids in the world, and even if I do hide from them in the bathroom every now and then, being away from them for 10 days is going to be hard. Very hard.

Case in point. She projectile vomited all over the car today. Took this picture about an hour and a half later. And she's still cute! Those cheeks! The slippers! Even the fuzzy hands! All cute!


And this little guy, even though he pulled his infuriating bolt-through-the-parking-lot stint, told a grandmother at the mall that her baby granddaughter was "just gorgeous!"

I just know that with a few thousand miles between us I'm going to forget all about the tantrums, the foul smells, the fights over plastic garbage trucks, the seemingly endless meal/snack/snack/meal/snack/snack/meal/snack preparations, and be thinking of these angelic little faces and how good it feels to snuggle with them at the end of the day. They are exceptionally good snugglers.
On that note...we have assembled a sizable team of enthusiastic and capable caregivers to step in for a little while and judging from their ambitious plans these kids are going to be as jet-lagged as we are when we get home!
Check in for some posts from the road, and perhaps even a guest blogger! :)

Taking It Outside

This weekend's weather forecast may say otherwise, but Spring is officially here! This means we are getting out of the house and exploring the great outdoors as much as possible. Fresh air = tired kids and this is great news for everyone by the time 8pm rolls around. :)
A few of my favorite out-and-about shots from the last week or so.....

A spontaneous picnic lunch-date outside Matt's office....

Believe it or not, we scoped out our campsite for our first overnight foray into the woods. Okay, our reservation is in June...but I like to know what we're getting into!

If you're wondering...he's being a tree....


Liam is counting down the days until that water park in the distance gets turned on. I am wondering if Sarah will think that's fun, or just a bath in disguise....?

Ants On A Log

Liam's first taste of a childhood favorite....the soy version, of course!

I Call This One....

....."The Donald".

Where's A Tutu When You Need One?

Sarah's favourite song is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" - but only the live version. And since there's no way I'm going karaoke on this blog (again), you'll have to settle for her favorite iTunes selection.
Both kids obviously inherited the Awkward Dance Gene (dominant on both sides) but my favorite part of this video is where they pause for a little "conversation". Just a sampling of our daily soundtrack. :)

** I know some of you (Dad) will be wondering where her shirt is and why the kids are rarely fully dressed. Skin is a lot more washable than clothes. Let's leave it at that.

WHEEEEEEE!

What? Mondays don't make you feel this way?

Backfired!

One of the great things about preschoolers is their fascination with everything they see, and their willingness to emulate it! (Okay, it's not always great.....) Earlier in the week we had some window washers here doing a spring clean on our windows. Liam thoroughly interviewed them about the job (as he does with gardeners, garbagemen, etc.), and now he not only talks about window washing non-stop, but he was anxious to try it out for himself. I saw this as an opportunity to get the bottom fifth of my windows and a kids' table cleaned, so I set him up with a squirt bottle full of water and a towel! It wasn't long before he realized the squirt bottle was the only job perk, and he recruited Sarah to do the grunt work with the towel......


Sarah started off doing an impressive job, but of course Liam went squirt crazy and was soon way ahead of her. With all that water pooling on the table she had no hope of catching up using the conventional towel method. So she improvised.....and my opportunistic plan backfired!


An Update on Project Bathtime: Day 3
I think I ended up with more water on me than Sarah did. She is not giving in without a fight...but neither am I!

Do You Smell That?

Sarah's new trick: pinching her nose to inform us when her diaper is stinky. Not that we really needed the extra tip-off.....


An update on Project Bathtime: Day 2
I enlisted Liam (an enthusiastic bather) to help me spread the good word on bathtime by joining Sarah in the suds and demonstrating the kind of low-key fun we're aiming for. He was keen to oblige. Sarah was calm entering the bathroom and exhibited some interest in the floating toys. She usually starts to get agitated when her clothes are coming off and a dip in the tub looks inevitable, but she was holding it together. The session was starting well!
Then...I took off her diaper. And she peed all over the floor. She has not done this kind of thing in well over a year, so it was completely unexpected and caused a little bit of shrieking on my part. Sarah was amused by my reaction and launched into her happy dance (reminiscent of Riverdance) right in the middle of the puddle. All that splashing tipped her joy-meter off the scale, and she was giggling uncontrollably - which is probably the cutest sound ever. And completely contagious. Defeated, I half-laughed as I hoisted her out of the puddle and into the tub. But Liam was still laughing a little too exuberantly and I turned my back to find him with a big grin on his face and....peeing all over the bathroom floor. Now that is not funny. Laughter turned to a mama roar which scared the you-know-what out of Sarah and Liam, which meant that within mere seconds we went from a happy little tub party to a trio of miserable, pee-soaked screamers. Better luck next time.

Park-Ing

Liam recently made his debut at one of the local "big kid" playgrounds. He seemed comfortable on the steepest slide, and was brave on the spinning tree. But I think he's reserving judgment on the overall experience. What do you think his expression says?

Water Torture

Mark my words. I am going to be the meanest mom ever and subject my little girl to a nice, warm bubble bath every single day until she does not behave like a maniac in there.
Tonight's episode was particularly nasty. All hands were required on deck, so no pictures to prove my point. Just imagine this face but wetter, slipperier, and well...madder.


Game on, Sarah. Game on.

Summer Practice

Isn't cold season over yet? I thought we were in the clear, but by Saturday the kids' sniffles had turned into barking coughs. Of course, if life were a TV commercial they would spend all day under the covers with their stuffed animals listening to endless tellings of "Where The Wild Things Are" and cooperating ever so nicely with me and the medicine dropper. But let's be real. They were cranky. And in no mood to stay home (again). So we did what any sane parents would do: belted them in the bike trailer, tossed in a few blankets, toys and snacks, and let them snuggle up while we pedaled around Stanley Park! Mission Accomplished: the kids were fooled into resting, distracted by the view, the sunshine and a little fresh air. A pause to play at the beach didn't hurt either!
Oh, and by the way Matt....I've got a bump on my leg! Did you know that?! ;)

What A "Normal" Saturday Morning Looks Like...

...at least, this is what it looks like at our house!


Not sure how it happens, but Matt and I seem to end up on those tiny chairs more than the kids do! But only Liam wears a helmet to breakfast....I suppose it's an improvement from his bucket head days. :)

Her Side Of The Story....

"Look, Mom! I found the remote!"


"No, of course I didn't make this mess. I'm not even here!"

"It was him!"

Miss Mischief

The last few months have been very entertaining as we have watched Sarah's personality blossom. I am happy to report that she is so much sweeter than early indications might have suggested. :) At 14 1/2 months she....

* Has pretty close to a mouthful of teeth! A far cry from the one little tooth she had at Christmas. That means we've been through a lot of teething the last couple of months, but she is putting her molars to the test and seems to enjoy the results.

* Is not talking - yet. She puts together strings of "mamamamamam" and will mimic some other sounds, but she's holding back on the real words. Not that she doesn't understand us! She can follow instructions such as "Sarah, go get your bunny" and when she gets in trouble she will often direct herself to Liam's Time Out corner! She knows a few official signs, but has developed her own way of communicating: two arms up means "Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Throwing her back against the corner cupboard in the kitchen means she's thirsty.

* Is the biggest kissy-face ever! She will kiss anyone (including Mojo) and anything. If you're not in range she will blow a kiss your way. And if you happen to be the bird she is watching out the window, then she will pucker up to the glass. No one is safe from the slobber.

* Has a fiery temper. She can flip from super sweet to really angry in no time at all. She doesn't hold anything back, and sometimes it is really a sight to behold. Hmmmm, I think she might get that from me.....

* Is in the 25 lb range and finally at the point where I can't cart her around on one side of my body all day anymore. For the last 2 1/2 years my left arm has been remarkably toned....I suspect it will catch up with the rest of my softness in short order. ;)

* Is becoming a bit more selective about what goes in her mouth. (FINALLY! That is one tough phase to keep on top of!)

* Has no fear. Climbing. Jumping. She hoists her little body onto the sofa, and then launches herself off the back. She drags chairs around the house so she can reach food on the counter. Or so she can reach the computer and wiggle her fingers around the keyboard.

* Has a thing for buttons and dials and when I am busy in the kitchen Liam is my watchman...."SARAH'S IN THE TV CABINET MOOOOMMMM! SHE'S PUSHING ALL THE BUTTONS!!!!!!"

* Still needs to be in bed by 7pm, or things will get dicey. And if dinner is ready one minute past 5:30....bring your ear plugs. This girl is hungry.

* Sustains minor injuries regularly (see comment re: daredevil nature). Regardless of where she bumps herself, she pats herself on the head. Meanwhile, a nice bruise is forming on her thigh....

* Likes to scoot around the kitchen floor by lying down and sliding herself backwards. She thinks this is nothing short of hilarious. The rest of us are somewhat puzzled - but we clap and cheer her on anyways!

So Long, SuSu

By day, he's a Big Boy: potty trained, puts on his own shoes, and can tell us about events that happened months ago with startling clarity and an impressive vocabulary. But by night, he's still my baby: diapers, crib (he doesn't want to give it up just yet) and a soother (or susu, as it's called around here). To be honest, I hadn't thought about it much, but I kind of like it that way.
Last night he got all ready for bed, but when it came time to clip that susu on to his jammies we discovered some threatening cracks in it. We had always known (and so had he) that this was his very last susu. No replacements. But it was still an unpleasant shock to Liam and the panic began right away. Wailing, screaming, and some huge tears were finally staved off with a few rounds of "knick-knack-paddy-wack" (quick thinking, Matt!) and then he was tucked into bed with his army of plush friends. 5 minutes went by. Then 10. So far, so good. And then.....the hysterics began. After a few short trips into the room for reassurance, I went back in for a real cuddle. We sat on his little couch and talked for a long while. He tried so hard to be brave and he talked about all kinds of things that are important to him: his puppy, swimming, Dad playing hockey, garbage trucks, granola, and then, his voice wavering....."Mama, I just feel like cryin'!" And so did I. We both cried a few tears about little boys having to grow up. And when it was finally time to say goodnight, he blew me some kisses, said "I love you Mama!" and went off to sleep. All night. I don't expect that we're out of the woods just yet, but it was a big step....for a little boy.

You've Got a Little Something....

It's no secret that Sarah's bathtime is....an ordeal. So in the interest of self preservation we often overlook the odd tangle in her hair, or that extra sticky spot on her cheek. Until spaghetti night. Then we start filling the bathtub about the same time as the pasta pot!
On another note....Sarah is a great eater, and quietly shovels fistfuls of food into her mouth at dinnertime. It's her quietest and happiest time of day. But her sense of humor is starting to emerge and she has discovered she can get a few laughs out of the bowl-on-head trick. Yes, it's funny the first time....

I Owe Mojo An Apology

The Easter Bunny wasn't the only furry white creature hovering around the candy at our house Sunday morning. A certain bandit known as Mojo discovered he has a penchant for marshmallows before the kids even knew what they were missing. There were a few rounds of "Bad Boy!" and a backyard banishment, but in retrospect I think he did us a favor. 3 marshmallows and 2 jelly beans before breakfast does not make for a pleasant preschooler by the time 9am rolls around!

Mojo gets a whiff of something tasty before retreating to the other room for his own private Easter hunt:

The kids check out each others' loot:


Some technical difficulties are preventing me from sharing photos of Sara's first bite of marshmallow (a bit confused) and jelly bean (chewy!), but based on her reaction I can assure you there will be more opportunities to witness it!

Next up: washing marshmallow goo out of Sarah's hair. I have a feeling I know how that's going to go.