birthday party

On the weekend, following Avery's actual birthday, we had a little family party; because what's a birthday without a birthday cake!?  When I asked her if she wanted chocolate or vanilla, she said she wanted chocolate AND vanilla.  Smart girl.  At that point I'm not certain she even knew the difference but she does now.

She was sweet, shy and excited about the whole thing.   

And decked out in her new purple cape, she happily blew out two candles.

  We did the wishing for her.  

May there be many, many happy and healthy birthdays to come and may she always know how deeply we love her.  

turning two

This sweet girl turned two!  And sleepless nights aside, these last two years have been an absolute dream.  Avery, we love your wild energy, sweet kisses and hugs, and all those loud sequels of delight.  You bring us so much joy and we feel grateful for you every single day.      

We had a little cupcake celebration on her actual birthday -- chocolate and red velvet.  The kids choices. 

They were thoroughly enjoyed.

I am sad to see one go; but excited to see what two brings. It's that happy-kind-of-sad that all parents feel when their kids get too big, too fast.  Time flies and kids really do grow like weeds ;)

Even though she will always be my baby, 

she's not a baby any more.    

Love this little munchkin.  Like crazy.

may

May was a blur.  

It went by quickly and dragged on forever in equal measures.  There were lots of things going on in May - running through the sprinklers, birthdays, the waterpark - but the biggest development was that Avery moved from her crib into a bed.  And it was not a smooth transition.  There were many sleepless nights.  Many early mornings.  Many many tears.  

It all started on a Saturday night when Billy found her perched on top of the crib railing. One foot dangling inside her crib; the other dangling outside her crib.  A recipe for disaster, no doubt.  So we dragged out all of the furniture she could climb, placed her crib mattress on the floor and put up the baby gate.  And what followed was weeks of crying, waking in the middle of the night and more crying.  

The next morning we bolted all of her dressers to the walls and converted her little crib into a little daybed.  The fact that she was still sleeping in her same crib, in the same spot, on the same mattress, with the same sheets and stuffed animals didn't ease her upset in the least.  She just wasn't emotionally ready for the "big-girl-bed" but was physically able to climb out of the crib.  

A week later, we got a double bed for Jake and moved his single bed into her room.  She watched Dad and Grandpa drag the bed from Jacobs room and into hers with delight.  She was very proud to have Jakes bed.  She made us play sleep in there all afternoon but when it was time for nap/bed she was terrified all the same.  

We shushed, we sang, we slept on the floor, we let her cry, we patted, we rocked, we shushed some more, we sat outside the bedroom door, we reassured; but nothing seemed to help much.  She'd fall asleep (out of sheer tiredness, no doubt) and wake-up in a total panic.  Slowly (as in two weeks later), she started to settle at bedtime better but would still wake two or three times in the night and take a long time to settle back down.  She'd settle quicker if Bill put her down.  We even resorted to lying (which feels just awful!) and would tell her if she lay down quietly, the other parent would come in and give her a hug.  A couple times I found Jake sitting outside her door telling her that everything was okay.  And that's how a whole month becomes a blur ;)  

When we finally felt like she was showing fewer signs of being frightened and more signs that this was becoming habit, we let her cry it out and thankfully the second night she fell back asleep without much crying.

Now we're all functioning much better on more sleep and enjoy snuggling in her new bed.  And how can you not love this smiling girl.   

jake turns four

F O U R

Wow, did that ever happen fast.

Four was ultra exciting because it was the first year Jacob got to have a kids party.  We planned a picnic for his friends and their families, made invitations and Jacob hand-delivered them to each child, planned a scavenger hunt, made mini cupcakes and cupcakes for the kids to decorate, made a picnic feast, Jake filled goodybags, and then... May 10th arrived with rain in the forecast.

Luckily my Aunt offered her house up as plan b and we made a last-minute location change (THANKS aunty Brenda and uncle Mont!).  It turned out to be overcast with just a few drops of rain so we were able to play in the bouncy castle and do the nature scavenger hunt outside BUT picnic and decorate cupcakes in comfort inside.  Perfect. 

The guest list was definitely the hardest part.  I think the smaller the better but there were a lot of family friends to invite and a few of his good friends from preschool.  Plus their siblings!  We ended up with nine kids (four more were away on holiday, phew!), Jake and Avery too, and then everyones' parents. 

But everything went smooth... 

The bouncy castle was a huge hit 

(I can totally see why people buy those things now)

  

Time to picnic

And onto the nature hunt.  All of the kids got a red pail with a printout of pictures of things to find: rocks, flowers, twigs, leaves, pinecones, pine needles and acorns.  

Last but not least, cupcake decorating with a lot of sticky little fingers and happy kids

A party success!  And a four-year-old with a huge grin on his face.  

Kids were sent home happy with their loot-bags and we then popped forty balloons, vacuumed up about a million sprinkles, wiped-up after all those sticky fingers and were home in time for Avery's nap.

    

I had a hard time with Jake turning four, seems so fast and sounds so big.  But we love watching him grow, seeing his sharp little mind work and love that kind heart of his.  These four years have been a dream.  Love him so hard it hurts and always will. 

valentine's day loot

Jake came home from school bursting with valentines!  

We sat down together and read them all out; and each time I read who the card was from he would gasp.  He was genuinely thrilled and every card put a big, bight smile on his face.  Along with the Valnetines' was a lot of goodies: cookies, candy, pencils, straws, tattoos, erasers... which only added to the excitement.  I'm sure every child arrived home feeling very loved.

The highlight of the school party for Jake was "eating two cupcakes and crackers".             

valentine

In preparation for Jacob's Valentine's Day party we've been busy crafting.  Jacob and I have been working while Avery naps.  Chopping up crayons and melting them into Valentine hearts.  Jake was a big help taking all the wrappers off and filling up the heart moulds with crayon bits.  It turned out to be a really fun activity for just the two of us. He then carefully helped put a valentine and crayon in each bag and sealed them up with a sticker.  Fun and done.  

We're all set for the party :) 

The theme is "Helping Hands Party" and Jake is so excited.  Helping hands has been a daily theme from the start.  "Hands are for helping, not for hurting" is a common phrase in a class made up of majority boys and all the sudden a few weeks ago everyone seemed to get it.  We keep hearing that everyone's helping hands are perfect - good news! - and they're going to celebrate it at the Valentine's party. 

It's our first school Valentine's, so I'm curious to see if parents are suppose to stay and help hand valentines' out or if the teachers are going to hand out all four-hundred themselves.

sledding

Daring and adventurous are not adjectives that we would use to describe either one of our kids.  Jacob falls squarely into the careful, cautious and circumspect category; so it comes as no surprise that he doesn't like sledding downhill.  At my urging, he's doubled with friends a few times and it went as expected.  I find him at the bottom worried or near tears.  One time he went down smiling, so I think by next winter his slow-to-warm-up-to new-things personality will be ready to embrace sledding.     

He still loves being in the snow and at the sledding hill at fountain park.  He likes to go down - without a sled - and loves climbing back up.  He's all smiles once you take the sled out of the equation.  

 Avery doesn't like going downhill either.  She likes to stand at the top - perfectly still - bundled up like a puffy pink marshmallow.

She's still warming up to the sled all together.  She doesn't like being pulled around in the sled but hasn't figured how to bail-out of it quite yet.  She just sits really still, really awkwardly, looking unimpressed and sometimes cries.

Somehow, by complete miracle, I got her into the sled and pulled her all the way to Jake's school.  We enjoyed coffee and banana bread (definitely a bribe) at the coffee shop until 11:15 and then picked Jacob up.  Then I got both of them onto the sled, pulled them to fountain park and we played on the hill.  Pushing my luck ever further, I then loaded them both up again and pulled them all the way home.  

On the way back we had 4 kids and 2 sleds and there were definitely a few moments where I thought we might not all make it home.  

                

Jake had a blast and Avery just gave in.  My friend had to carry one child and pull the other for a while but luckily her house wasn't as far.  (This was a motion shot because there was no way we were going to stop and risk having someone jump out).    

big white

Although it's now our second winter at home we finally made our first ever trip out to Big White.  Billy's office put on a family day that included tubing, skating, a bonfire and hot chocolate.  It's a much bigger ski hill than I imagined and it was so beautiful coated in fresh, sparkling snow. 

Our drive up was as pretty as could be.  

The closer we got; the whiter the trees became.   

We packed the kids into the sled along with our skates, helmets and snacks and were greeted by one of the skating rinks.

We started out with tubing, kind of .  They called it Mega Snow Coaster Tubing and that pretty much summed it up perfectly.

It was instantly clear that Jake was never getting on one of these tubes and flying down the runs.  The tube park consisted of giant rubber tubes, a lift where one of the attendants attaches your tube and zips you up the hill, and your choice of five groomed runs that are steep and fast.  At the top another attendant gives you a push and will ask you if you want them to spin you (no thanks).  All children must go down on their own tube (!) but you can go beside your child and hold on to their tube.  They spread hay down at the bottom to help slow you down.  It was impressive and intimidating.  Billy and I took turns.  We each only went once - Ha.  

   Next up was skating.  Jake eagerly started out but a runny nose soon had him in tears and that was it.  He was cold and done.  

Look at the beautiful view from the small rink!

At this point Jake was melting down in the sled and firmly said NO to a family portrait. We warmed ourselves by the fire and enjoyed a much needed snack and hot chocolate for Billy and I.  I have no idea why our kids don't like hot chocolate! 

Bill modified the tube ride for Avery.  She wasn't impressed.    

Before heading back, we took the gondola up to the village and shared some pizza and doughnuts.  It took a little to convince these tired (and cold) kids that the gondola was a good idea but it was a definite highlight and the perfect way to end our Big White trip.