Plays Well With Others

I was right, I got the camera out and that lasted all of 2 min before someone was bleeding (Ava fell). After that things went well, it took a little time for Ava to let new kids into her personal space, but a little bit of crazy running did the trick.
At one point Ethan walked into the room eating an apple
"Is it ok that he's eating that" Jen asked (Jen being my friend not me)
I was a little shocked to see that he had helped himself to their fruit bowl. He disappeared around the corner again and came back with a half eaten nectarine. Apparently Ethan loves the idea of an help your self fruit bowl.
I am so glad I got to spend some time with an old friend and another Mom.
Thanks Jen for the great day!

I would like to know how kids know when your planning on getting up and out of the house early. Every time I have morning plans someone is up all night. I need my beauty sleep these days, I get bags under my eyes and my skin looks tired (well that's what I see in the mirror anyway, it looks a little better once the smeared mascara is removed).

Ava woke up at 5 this morning and after being poked at for about an hour she fell back asleep beside me in bed. She woke up with the biggest grin on her face when she realized she was laying beside me.
I think I may be the luckiest Mom on the planet........
Today anyway :P

A Play Date

We are going on a play date today. It's the first one since we arrived back here. I chalk it up to being busy in the big people world and none of those big people having kids the same age. That is about to change as I have some how found some extra time, not sure where I found it, but I'm loving it.

Ant was home for a day so we made the most of it. We went out for a nice relaxing breakfast, the appetizer was a single serving packet of peanut butter. Ethan just couldn't hold off till the main course. We ordered the supplies for landscaping the back yard, which should solve the flooding issues I have been having. And played which I think the Bambinos loved the most. All was grand till it was time for Daddy to leave. Ethan was not impressed, he was devastated the poor boy. He was a little forgiving once there was talk of Daddy flying planes, every boy knows that's as good a reason to go as you can get. Ava on the other hand gave him a wide grin and a wave then was back to what ever she was doing when she had been interrupted for her hug and kiss good bye.

I'm going to bring my camera tomorrow, maybe there will be some time to take a few pictures..... hmmmm three 2 year old and a 9 mth old who am I kidding.

Candy Coated Chocolate and Kittens

I found out that although these things don't really seem to go together when you throw in some toddlers it changes the way you look at it.

The internet was down because of the thunder storms over the weekend. Seeing as we don't have TV, we took a trip to the store to rent a movie so I had more to stare at then the wall once the bambinos were in bed. After chasing each other around the video section of the store Ava and Ethan got to pick out a treat. Smarties are a favorite so each with a box in hand and me with a movie we headed home. You know how you learn some thing new each day well if you ever need to get a kitten to come out of hiding or say follow you home all you have to do is shake candy coated chocolates in a box. So what should have taken a minute or two turned into a 20 min parade of kittens and toddlers intertwined in a playful but slow walk home.

I Think Maybe I Should Stop Pointing

This is what you get if you are doing something offensive
Say like singing off key
Or trying to feed her dinner.

Water

I'm done with water, well at least on my basement floor. I don't want to shot vac it up or bail it out or do anymore unnecessary laundering of all the towels in the house. I was greatful when I woke up to blue skies I was all "ha ha day what are you going to flood with today there is not a cloud in the sky", but apparently mocking a day is not for the weak of heart. To my dismay as I entered the basement there it was water! All over the floor, but how could this be sun rays were bouncing around the room reflecting of the glistening floor. An over flowing sink from the washing machine so what have I learned :P
Never mock a day it will ALWAYS win!
P.S. Now I'm done with water.

What a great day! I haven't had a day like this since we left Thunder Bay. It flowed, was relaxing and the bambinos were in a fantastic mood ( well except for the usual dinner disaster of offering something other then the accepted menu). It was more then just that though, I felt relaxed as a parent. I've been really up tight since we've been back. Every little thing felt stressful. I couldn't just hang out with my bambinos there was always some underlying feeling that I wasn't keeping up. So may I stay on top of whatever it is, and I am thankful for today.

I also took some pics today, didn't get time to process them or even get them downloaded to my computer yet, maybe tomorrow

What has my life come too?

When Ava eating her lunch is a highlight of my day. I know it was only meatballs and some mac and cheese, but folks really this kid doesn't eat much. Most of her time spent at the table she's hidden behind a sippy cup of juice or has slouched down so that only her big blue eyes can be seen. It must have been our busy morning. It started as I glanced at the clock and blurredly saw a number that looked a lot like a 5. Blaming the blurred vision thing I stumbled across the hall to find Ava awake and a little chilly. I bundled her up and brought her in with me for a snuggle (and a little more sleep). She had no interest in sleeping any longer and began poking me in the face pointing out that I did indeed have a nose and a forehead. I have to admit in my state I had forgotten so I'm glad I was brought up to date. Getting up that early does wonders for getting out of the house early, as I drove out of the drive way I thought the clock was broken. We ran some errands then stopped at the park. There is a day camp of older kids that play there in the mornings and the Bambinos are fought over for their attention. So they love it and gives them a little freedom from me to hang out with people who are a little cooler then their Mom. Although I was dancing around the kitchen after lunch....... Really cool :P

Cute Things About Ethan

Yesterday we were in Wal-mart and the toys caught his eye, but that's not were I saw the spark that came when we walked towards the vacuums. Then there was joy, cleaning supplies are where it's at didn't you know.

Cars, buses, planes oh boy! Anything with wheels and an engine amazes him. Ethan can tell them all apart just by their sound. We'll be sitting in the back yard the rev of an engine with get him all excited and what is about to come into view will come spilling out of his mouth "BI BI" or "TR TR" as he points to his ear in case you haven't heard it.

Ant has been showing him planes taking off on the internet. His reaction is priceless, his response "WOH WOW WH-HA" I've tried to catch it on video, but he only reacts the first time he sees it.

I have to add tonights events as well. Our back door floods if we get lots of rain. So I came home tonight to a flooded basement. This in turn to Ethan's enjoyment meant a snack and a great shot vac show as I sucked up all the water. He was so CUTE, tiny boy in a big chair eyes big with excitement. You have to love him!

Mel's shower

Boy was she stinky.... no no the baby shower, not that she didn't shower while we were there I just didn't think you'd be overly interested in it. Here are some pictures I got....

Some days are for chillin

YUM! Strawberry Tarts

I love this picture
She's so grown up

Cutting the Cake

A trip to NYC

Wow that would have been nice..... not that it was a dream..... no more like a plan never reaching fruition. The dogs in the kennel, kids taken care of and no room on the plane. Flying standby is not the most reliable way to go. Oh well it was a great weekend either way. Our group consisted of my sister, her husband, Ant and I. To make the best of the situation as a girl what do you do..... you guessed it, shopping. We also went to see the new Batman movie, loved it. Boy do I miss the popcorn I haven't been to a theater to see a movie in forever. Actually the last movie I saw inverted on the screen and started playing backwards halfway through so what a treat to see the whole thing.

The Bambinos had a great weekend with Nanny and Granddad. They got to spend some time at the beach had dinner a McD's. When we picked them up Ava had had her hair done up in two little braids sooooo cute. She looked like such a big girl.

Did you know Ava can show you all the numbers from 1 to 8? Even out of order.
I didn't until today.
Cool stuff.

Mel's Maternity Pictures

I have to say that I have the most beautiful friends. And they all seem to be willing to stand in front of me while I'm holding a camera. Crazy I know!
Here is a sample of some of the shots that I got.......




Can't wait to meet Budha

Talking

I would have to say that Ethan is talking, he will even throw a sentence out every now and then. Now I'm still having trouble getting half of it, but he is quit insistent in what he's saying. Tonight at bath time he kept repeating "now now". I thought he was making a cat noise, but the dirty look told me otherwise because it actually means COW. Made evident by the white and brown spotted pig he was holding up at me.

A baby shower

I can't believe it's been almost nine months since my friend Mel told me she was pregnant. I heard all kinds of pregnancy stories over the winter while I was miles away in Thunder Bay and missed her terrible. This weekend was her shower and I wasn't going to miss it! It was a fantastic day, the Bambinos roamed freely getting to play with kids of all ages. It wore them out and we didn't hear a peep out of them all night long. I got to hang out with some of Mel's bestest of best friends. They are everything she said about them.
In the picture, Ava had a blast playing with this balloon.

Yesterday I got to take some more Maternity Photos. I have to go through and edit them, but I think Mel will let me post some for you to see when I get them done.

Guest Post :: Brian Acton

It is not very often that I get to photograph children anymore, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself. Please enjoy!

- Magical Ethan -

Another Picture Day

Playing outside

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful. There was no humidity so we spent most of the afternoon and evening outside. We had a house full for a BBQ my sister Nik came over and brought Mr Chris and half his family, well not really, but we had a lot of fun. With so many people around the Bambinos were worn right out....... very cool at bed time they were out like a light.

Some pictures I missed

I am trying to organize all the pictures on my computer and store them to disk. But the program I'm using confuses me. I have saved them in two separate spots now, but am unable to reopen them.... not a good sign for preserving them for future use.
The fun thing is I found some I liked, but I hadn't previously posted, so enjoy.......

Pictures of the day

Other then my day starting really early, it was a good one. We got out of the house really early. We got all our running around done by 12 just in time for the Bambinos to fall asleep as I pulled into the drive way. I woke them up with a bribe of being able to help me put away the groceries if they didn't cry. I'm not looking forward to when the bribes won't be in my favor anymore.

New this week
Ava and Ethan have started playing together, as in follow the leader or playing tag. I've also seen Ava try to get Ethan involved in a game she was playing. This is the start of what everyone has been talking about that they can amuse each other. So loving it! With this new skill however comes tag teaming, one after the other through a series of tests for me..... really we're not supposed to do that? Ethan at this point will let Ava do more of the testing although he is more defiant on his own.

I took some pictures in the backyard today so if I get to them tonight I'll post some :)

Bees

Ava found another bee today. She somehow managed to pick the only stone on the shore with a bee sunning on it. This one got her on the other hand. She shed a few more tears this time. The swelling wasn't as bad though, hopefully this is her last painful run with BEES.

Canada Day

Waving to granddad in the boat

We made a quick trip to the cottage in the morning. The kids did great this year, there were no tears about the life jackets for the boat. Ava even willingly got into hers.

Race You

Nothing better then a nice cold drink and a deck

Ethan and a his apple

The discovery of stones

Hope you had a great one!