lately

Right now I have two kids fast asleep (what!?), so it seems like the perfect time to sort through some pictures and catch-up.  

We've had visitors, been visitors, chased down the ice cream truck, made a sandcastle, hiked, played in the park, gardened, picked strawberries and herbs, had a little birthday celebration and read a lot.   

And of course there were a lot of things not captured in pictures, like the morning Billy, Jacob and my dad fished from the shore of Vaseux Lake.  They caught a fish but that wasn't the highlight; Jake spotted a big turtle and my dad caught it for him to examine.  Fun. 

Made this One Pot Pasta and was impressed with how quick and easy it was. (I added sun-dried tomatoes and some spinach too).

Well done Holland! and very cool.  Brings back a lot of great memories and I would love to go back.  

And books, books galore!  Officer Buckle and Gloria was excellent and so clever; A Visitor for Bear had Jake laughing out loud, is so charming and beautifully illustrated; Strega Nona a classic; All the Awake Animals are Almost Asleep a study in alliteration; and two wordless picture books - Where's Walrus and Flora and the Flamingo were pretty cute too (Although not nearly as coveted as the first two books listed!).

lately (again)

More of the same in terms of sunshine.  Sunglasses, sunhats and of course sunscreen -- check.  It seems to me like the perfect time to start thinking about picnics, so that will be on out to-do list next week.  Isn't this the prefect picnic bag?!

Magnolia blossoms could possibly be one of my very favourite things! 

This week we had such a good bunch of books.  The most requested turned out to be The Three Pigs, which had Jake in stitches.  So well done.  And the runner-up, The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit.

I've been trying to squeeze in more reading time and quickly finished Speaking from Among the Bones.  I think this series is so unique and charming.   Now, what to read next?

And, just as soon as Avery wakes from her nap, we're off to meet Billy downtown for coffee and snacks.  This will be the first time in a long while and we're excited to see that guy!    

lately

We're outdoors more and more these days.  That shining sun just feels so good.  Jake would golf all day long if he could.  No biking.  No kicking a soccer ball.  Just golf.

Avery's taken a couple steps on her own and had a few massive face plants.  She's a concern, that's for sure.  She's also been waving and it's just about the cutest.  Ever.

Jake is potty trained!  We gave it a quick try a while back and he wasn't at all interested.  (He even said "Mom, I just want to pee in my diaper please".  Umm, okay then).  Then a few weeks back, he just decided to go for it.  There were three accidents and he is now completely diaper free.  He's been going without my help and we haven't had a problem out of the house yet.  I'm sure something is bound to happen, my only hope is it won't be too traumatizing for myself and Jake ;)

Make Way for Ducklings is just about one of the best books ever.  A classic.  The illustrations are completely without colour but so beautiful and charming.  And you just have to love the duckling names.  Jake requested it over and over and over again.  Jake also loved The Circus Ship and Me...Jane.

And tax time... ugh, tax time!  Billy's been working twelve-hour days and Saturday's too.  Luckily it's winding down.  We will be happy to see more of that guy.

rainy days with peter rabbit

Jacob received the happiest gift from a dear family friend (the kind that is so much a part of your family you still call him Uncle, even though you've been an adult for a long time now).  The first 12 Beatrix Potter books!  Perfect for snuggling-up with on these rainy days we've been having.

I imagine that not all almost-three-year-olds would be thrilled with these delicate, little, pastel-pictured books, but Jake is.  Absolutely thrilled.  He has a good attention span for lots of words and little details.  So we've been reading and reading and reading them (usually until I ask for a break).   

Jake was already familiar with Beatrix Potter; we put a few of her books on the iPad and he would patiently sit and listen to the read-aloud.  Now he can sit with the Tale of Squirrel Nutlkin and recite many of the lines.  And a cute result of all this Beatrix Potter loving, is he putters around the house mumbling things like "it gave a tremendous bobbit"  

He doesn't seem to have developed a favourite (yet) but I know that I am always sneaking The Tailor of Gloucester to the very bottom of the pile.    

  

Avery isn't much into books, but she does happen to like this one.  

She can only handle sitting though touch-and-feel books, so far.  

I wonder if she'll turn into a little reader like Jake, or not?!

lately

Clearly I've gone a little overboard with instagram. 

We've been ejoying play-dates in the park and taken a couple walks along the lake.  Hello ducks! 

Avery has started to stand on her own!  Little by little.  Yesterday, for about 15 seconds followed by a terrific wobble and a save-your-life-catch by mom.  And this new trick is making everything else a little frustrating.  Like crawling and sitting is such a major waste of time now ;)

And, as you can see, she's also eating yogurt.  Big hit.    

And we hit the jackpot with last weeks library books.  No major duds, which doesn't often happen.  The favourites were: Miss Rumphius, Anatole (which Jake has completely memorized) and Library Lion. 

I just started I Am Half-Sick of Shadows which is practically my first book since Christmas!  Way too long.    

our day

Today started at five-thirty this morning. 

(not funny Avery.  not funny!)

It has included some coffee, reading Miss. Rumphius, the dentist, 

puzzles, coffee again and this...

Silly girl.

Sticking her tongue out all-the-time these days.

An update to our day: Avery started to climb the stairs, with Jake's encouragement.  And she was beaming about it!  Totally thrilled with herself .  Billy and I couldn't be more pleased that we both witnessed her reaction (we are less thrilled about the actual climbing part). 

lately

 This is long overdue...

Read Lullabies for Little Criminals and American Wife over Christmas.  Both so good.

Aunty Brenda took us all out to the energy plex (Pictures ten and twelve) and Jake had the most fun, ever.  So much climbing, bouncing and jumping -- he's still talking about it.

We cannot keep-up with Avery these days!  She has been crawling and crawling and crawling...  perpetual motion with no signs of slowing down.    

 These videos have me thinking Amy Poehler is just the sweetest person ever.  And even though they're basically for teenagers, I'm totally into them.  She's so sincere.  (This one is especially good around the 1:30 mark.  Why didn't I ever realize that?!).

Made this in the slow cooker and it was so good.

And if your toddler picks out neon orange sunglasses at the supermarket, just say YES!   

our favourite library books of 2012

One of the wonderful things about being back home is utilizing the library.
Because I could literally go broke buying children's books.  I'm a big fan.  Jake too.  We take out a big stack each week and while some are duds,
others we just eat-up.  

Here are some of the winners...
(the books Jake wanted to read over and over and over...)

An Egg is Quiet

Couduroy

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes

Iggy Peck Architect

The Little House

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel

Madeline's Rescue

The Lion & the Mouse

My Friend Rabbit

Olivia... and the Missing Toy

356 Penguins

 Ball for Daisy

Farm

Cloudette

How beautiful are these pictures of An Egg is Quiet?!  

It's a rare to find a book so elegant, simple and engaging.  Especially one that falls into the biology category.  So well done.
Possibly the perfect Easter gift.

(I think I have some pictures of Iggy Peck too and will try to find them because it's such an impressive book!)

What are your favourites?!