One, Two.....THREE!

From this....
To this....


Three years. Wow.
This was Liam's most fun birthday yet, because it was the first time he has understood what birthdays are about...at least from a party/singing/cake/presents perspective! He had been looking forward to it for months and in the week leading up to the big day would ask first thing every morning "is it time for my birthday?" It was so fun to finally say "YES!"
This weekend we had a picnic to celebrate with family, and Liam was spoiled rotten....including his teeth! (Right now he is really into identifying which foods are healthy and which are not. He's very accurate, but did announce that on his birthday candy is healthy. That's my boy.) There are about a thousand photos from the picnic, but here are just a few!
That's ketchup chip residue around his mouth. Liam's favorite....

Strolling with Dad...


Just two of at least a dozen goofy faces made at the cake (which for the record was gluten/dairy free and delicious!)...


Proof....


4 Cox's in a tree...because Liam is three!


Today was his "real birthday" and it was pretty low-key. I started off the day with good intentions to take lots of pictures, but ended up with just a couple. Here is the morning bowl of granola....
I didn't get much further than that. :)
Sarah has been having some (ahem) "digestive issues" since her no-holds-barred approach to the gummy bears at the party, so Liam helped me take care of her. (He's pretty nurturing when he wants to be!) During her morning nap we played with his birthday presents in our pyjamas. Trains, moon sand....picking things up with a robot claw. We left the breakfast dishes in the sink and just "played toys". He was very happy. I had promised him last week that on his "real birthday" we would go to the water park since he's been busting to get there since December. Of course, the rain wouldn't let up so crossed our fingers on Sarah's issues (and double-diapered) then we headed to the pool. He wore a life jacket for a little while and floated on his back (ears in!) without me holding on for the first time. Then we recruited Matt and headed to McDonald's (Liam's choice!) to have fries and apple slices dipped in honey for dinner. Poor Sarah was restricted to rice and water and was not too happy about it. A little nature walk after dinner and he announced from his car seat "now I'm getting tuckered out!" I think it was a good day.
Here is a little scene I found on the kitchen table today, courtesy of our now-3-year-old....

I think it's going to be a fun year. :)

In Bed With The Enemy....

....and a piggy bank?
These two are known to fight like cats and dogs over Liam's little collection of coins in his piggy bank. Sarah will grab fistfuls and take off running....which for her, is more of a vertical stride. She'll bounce about 10 paces before Liam takes her down. It gets ugly, but yesterday I found them (gasp!)....sharing!
It was a brief peace. But at least it lasted long enough for me to get the camera!

Strawberry Patch Kids

Remember this? Well, it's that time again!
Since the strawberries Liam has been nurturing on our deck are looking a little waterlogged (and I think I'm going to turf them after he goes to bed and then blame it on slugs), it was especially important to distract him with the real thing. So strawberry picking it was!
Now, the kids love strawberry picking. And they love any outing that includes Grandma. But there are two other activities that topped the list today:
1) Rock picking.
2) Strawberry eating.
In between that, we did manage to fill a few pails with juicy red berries. And because the evidence is being rapidly depleted (mmmmm) , the photographic proof will have to do!


Liam is watching the bakers turn strawberries into shortcakes and pies. I thought he might be disappointed he couldn't try such a wheat-y delicacy....but he was more impressed with the spinny tractor chair in front of the window!

The Call Of The Wild

Matt and I sat at the computer early one morning about 3 months ago. It was the first day of campsite registration for this summer, and we were anxious to beat the hoards of winter-weary campers to get the best sites on the best weekends...starting with this one. We we were up before the kids. We scoured the map, determined the best location in the campground and we went for it. We had a screen full of windows open, fingers posied on the refresh button, and even gave that old-school phone registration thing a try too. We did it! Success! But in the days leading up to our adventure it became clear that Mother Nature didn't get the memo. If it wasn't cold and grey, it was drizzling, pouring rain, or thundershowers. This weekend's forecast didn't look so great either. But we spent days (literally) planning and packing and there was no way we were doing all that for nothing, so out into the woods we went. With our car packed to bursting, a couple of kids beyond excited at the prospect of s'mores, and me armed with a typed, mostly pre-prepped and cooked meal plan for 2 1/2 days for 4 very individual meal requirements, Mother Nature decided we were a force to be reckoned with, and backed down. I wouldn't have wanted to mess with me either. One point: Me.
The weekend was fantastic! The kids loved all the dirt and rocks and the leniency on hand/face washing. Liam was over the moon about s'mores. Sarah liked to snuggle with me in my sleeping bag. Which brings me to the downside of the trip: sleeping. Both of the kids were not on board with sleeping in the tent sans parents. Or before it was dark (somewhere around 10pm). Or while they could hear any other noise, like a crackling fire. Or birds. And there was a rumble going down between the birds and chipmunks somewhere in the neighborhood of 4:30am. One point: Mother Nature. Maybe 2 points, since the one thing we forgot in the pack-a-thon was Matt's hayfever medicine. But who's counting? ;)
Anyways, here are a few pics from our trip. I was especially happy to get a few shots of the kids in the sweaters my Grandma Lot knitted for me many, many moons ago. I always thought they were kind of itchy, and as it turns out the kids do too! Matt called this my Eddie Bauer Kids Catalogue photo shoot as I chased them around the woods with the camera, but it made me happy to see them in the sweaters. And I'm pretty sure my Grandma Lot would have said "jolly good!" or something to that effect if she saw them too!

Marshmallow torching - er - roasting, lessons:


Matt and Liam were up in the tent for a long time during the Bird Incident in the wee hours, so Sarah and I got up in the somewhat later wee hours and played with rocks while the boys caught up on some sleep. I unearthed 2 large rocks from her full-zip jammies later that morning. Still puzzled about that one.


Sarah kept trying to dip her finger into the water jug and lick them off. Never got a drop, but that didn't stop her from trying!


Our tent backed onto these woods and Liam would drag Matt back there to play "Paper Caper." Loosely based on a book he reads, he stood in the hollow center of an old stump and got Matt to feed twigs through the sides. He'd push them out the other end as "paper". Clever!

There's An App For That

A new "toy" debuted around here this week: an iPod Touch. So of course, we are quick to find all the kid diversions this gizmo has to offer! Wheels on the Bus, Quiet Boggle (ok, that's for us) and this morning Matt found a preschooler flash card app. He put Liam through the paces. Liam nailed them all. And after a while of Matt repeating "What's this?.....What's that?......What's this one?" Liam turned to Matt and said with a sympathetic tone: "You're not very good at this."

Don't Worry, Sarah....

I guess you don't have to wear pants!

Ragamuffins

It's 7pm.

Liam is wearing:
Pyjama top....covered in stickers
Shorts (it's raining)
Christmas socks (they're not just red, they have trees around the cuffs)

Sarah is wearing:
Capris pants (still raining)
Blue frog socks (soon to be semi-covered with bright pink butterfly shoes)
Top covered in chocolate. Because I gave her ONE chocolate chip and it looks like she took a dip in Willy Wonka's chocolate river.

They're going out with Daddy. He's okay with the wardrobe selection. I get 30 minutes to myself. So I'm okay with it, too. But not until I get a picture.

D Day

No, not that one. This is D as in...Dump. You're in for a good one. :)

It all started back in October, when Santa came on the scene. It was probably on a Wednesday (our garbage pick-up day) that I asked him what he'd like Santa to bring him, and he said rather definitively "A Garbage Truck! A big one!" And he didn't waiver one little bit. Santa delivered on the truck, and the casual interest in garbage has gradually escalated into obsession territory.
* Liam's alter-ego - Recycling Man - has recently taken to running around the house shouting "Reduce! Recycle!" Apparently re-using isn't as important.

Anyways....we knew we had to get this kid to the dump one way or another. Conveniently, the Vancouver landfill happened to be having its annual Open House this weekend! And the rain dried up! So.....off to the dump!

The kids (okay, just Liam) were so pumped about this all week long. You might not get that impression if you saw them as we headed out in the car this morning, but nonetheless.....

This was Liam's version of paradise:

Diggers, Bulldozers and Compactors just sitting there, asking to be climbed all over...

And a mega sandbox to play in too. So what if he didn't have a shovel...this kid will improvise!

Sarah came along for the ride....

...but truth be told, she was way more into the bubbles!

I kind of like bubbles myself, so couldn't help playing around with this one a bit. I think I like it, but then again, I'm partial...

At long last it was time to board a tour bus to have a look at the main attraction. Sarah is ready with provisions for the 20 minute return trip.

And there it is.....lovely, lovely garbage.

Let's leave it at that, and head back to party central for a little face painting...

Liam requested a dinosaur, but I think I'm getting more of a dragon vibe here. He didn't seem to mind (or notice)...

Before we left we were allowed to fill up a bag with compost, and Liam wasn't going to let us leave without doing just that!

Yep, there are plenty of these in compost:

Sarah, on the other hand, was more than ready to leave! I wonder what crazy activities we'll all do as a family to encourage her interests....

A few errands and a quick kiddie catnap in the car later, and we were ready for a picnic.

I just love this hair...

Sarah is smiling here because she knows what's coming next...

You've got to click on this one for full effect.....

Sarah's shoes fell off about 147 times today. Frankly, I'm surprised we made it home with both of them. She was pretty good at bringing them to us to put back on, and she thought the repetition was quite hilarious!

It didn't stop her socks from looking like this, however...

Back on the run. I do love how she still puts her arms up like a brand new walker when she gets a little momentum in her step.

Liam got to play monkey in a tree, and I got to play mother hen, cluck cluck clucking about how I don't like him 7' up in trees! How can a 2 year old possibly sit still in a tree for pictures (and changing of memory cards) when he can barely pause long enough to use the potty? Fortunately, my clucking was without justification. But I have to do it, Matt. I just have to. BOK!!!

At the end of the day - tired, happy kids (and parents). And a whole lot of photos for me!