Back To School : Simple Traditions

School Season is here! Kids have returned to school, did you do anything commemorate the day or wish you had?!

We ourselves have a grade one'er and a preschooler on our hands! As a parent these are big moments for our kids (and us)! It's a weird, exciting, slightly terrifying transition going from 24/7 parents to only seeing our kids about 6 or so hours a day! This is why I want to share some simple ways you can commemorate this big change and even start a yearly tradition for each new school year!

1. Take A Picture

Last year when Rylee started Kindergarten we started our first tradition by capturing her on her way in her first day of school outfit with an old picture frame I refurbished into a chalkboard. This year we did the same thing for her first day of grade one and for Zachery's first day of preschool!

2. Celebrate With A Special Treat

Last year we took Rylee out to her favourite restaurant, Chinese. This year we did take out and celebrated at home. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or super expensive, but taking a time out with your child with a hot chocolate date, or going for ice cream, or bake some cupcakes is a great way to celebrate their big day and create a fun memory with them.

3. First Day of School Questionnaire

I saw this everywhere on social media this year, we do this for birthdays so I opted out but its still a great idea! Ask your child some simple questions like, "whats your favourite colour?", "Who's your best friend?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?", and so on. This is a great to hold on to and compare over the years.

4. Create Something

Most first days back to school are half days, set aside your afternoon to create something with your child. You could go all out with a paint your own pottery session, paint or craft class, or keep it budget friendly by creating something at home. One idea could be making a shrinky dink keychain of their handprint, as the years go by you'll have a cute mini keepsake of how they've grown, check it out the tutorial here.

5. A Special Gift

I'm not about over spending or creating a materialistic tradition, but think about holding on to one of their back to school essentials (new shoes, t-shirt, backpack), get them the one thing they had their eye on and surprise them when they wake up for their first day back to school. Another good and educational idea could be a new book from a series or author they love.

Good luck with the back to school transitions with early wake ups and tired little people. One day they will be grown and enjoying these moments now will be something you never regret!

Last Day of Kindergarten : Rylee

Today was the last day of school! Are you excited? Or does the thought of two months home with all your kids get you totally overwhelmed?

Our oldest, Rylee, graduated from kindergarten today and I for one, am totally ecstatic! No more forced schedules, no more early wake ups (for Rylee at least), and no more fighting to get out the door! And we get to see Rylee all day, everyday. That alone is the icing on the cake, I love having her home. She may be one more kid to care for, but she's a helpful kid, and she's at an age where I can actually hang out with her and do crafts or other fun things.

To celebrate her last day we took her to her favourite restaurant, Chinese food, where she got to pick whatever she wanted (iced tea and a whole plate of sweet and sour balls to herself). I know it may "just" be kindergarten but I'm still so proud of her! Over the year she's learned to count from 1-100 and to count in multiples of 10 up to 100, she's started reading basic words, she's taught herself how to skip, she can do some basic addition, and her artwork has improved significantly!

Just for fun, below you'll see her first day of kindergarten. Putting these two pictures together I can actually see she's grown (hard to believe, this girl grows at a snails pace!), and her face has definitely matured, she just looks so much more confident! This girl blows me away, she's such a spitfire, with so much personality and independence all rolled into one. I hope everyday we as parents can do right by her and set her on paths that help her grow, she's got so much potential and so much good in her that I just can't wait to see where she soars.

Smile Project : Month 3

Here we are, capturing our third month of the smile project! What is the smile project? Head back here to check out the beginnings, but in a nutshell, over the period of one year I will take one picture, every month, of each kid, with one instruction... Smile! What they give me is what I capture, one shot is all I get, unless it's completely a blur... which lets face it toddlers can get blurry real quick! In that case I try again a little bit later because I'm looking for their natural expression in that moment. 

After this year is up we'll have 12 months of looking back over their unique take on expressing their characters through one single word. We'll see physical growth, emotional growth, and mental growth as they learn to understand instruction and their own definition of being joyful through the expression of smiling. I'm really looking forward to the end result. Here is month three.

Rylee:

Zachery:

Adelyne:

Adelyne : 18 Month Update

Toddlerhood and up only exists in this house from here on out! I have very much mixed emotions about this! Every new milestone Adelyne hits excites me and breaks my heart just a little bit. She's our last baby and a part of me wants her to stay just that, a baby, forever, and then the frazzled realist in me pipes up and sees we are getting closer to a less demanding life... which this momma desperately needs!

Adelyne recently hit her 18 month milestone and boy has she changed since her 12 month update. She's 22lbs 13oz now and has grown 2.5 inches making her 29.5in tall; she's got 10 teeth (4 molars, 4 up top, and 2 bottom); her hair is long enough to be considered a mullet when its not constantly matted (she's the first one to be blessed...or cursed? with curly hair); and she's in 18m/2T clothes and size 4/5 shoes.

She's started to really vocalize herself and can say: Bubba (milk), water, puppy, hat, go, no (that's her favourite), yep or yah, Dad/Mama, cold, in there, stop, hot dog, and bowl... you know the essentials. She's also started recognizing where her body parts are and can point when asked where her hair, nose, teeth, tongue, bum, belly button, feet, and hands are.

She's feisty as ever and is impatient and demanding for what she wants (bad combo). She's yet to learn the ability to share (she hoards her toys and pounces on anyone who touches them). She's super kind and gentle to animals.  She's a great cuddler (when she sits still...) and gives the sweetest hugs and kisses.

She still loves her food, the more the better, and some faves are apples, kiwi, yogurt, avocado, craisins, rice, mac&cheese, and much to my dismay... hotdogs are her absolute favorite thing. Her favorite things to play with currently are my Ipod, and her sisters Melissa & Doug Folding Princess Castle. Her favourite books are Robert Munsch's "The Paper Bag Princess Board Book" and Sandra Boynton's "Belly Button Book". Other things she loves is stealing grandma's breakfast, hot tub time, and playing tag, Things she's not highly fond of: her car seat, brushing her teeth, and other kids sitting on my lap.

Smile Project : Month Two

Last month I introduced to you what I call the smile project. It's simple, every month for one year, I give the kids one Instruction ("Smile!"), and take one picture (so long as its not a complete blur then yes one picture!).

You can check out the first month here to compare how these monkeys show off for the camera. Rylee this month was super eager to pose in front of the camera, Zachery was not so impressed, and Adelyne apparently thought it was a good idea to hide her smiles... all show great expressions of their character and I'm super excited to get to month three, stay tuned!

Rylee

 Zachery

 Adelyne

Zachery Turns Three

We just celebrated Zachery's third birthday, well sort of, time really escapes me as it's already been two weeks! Recently I've been watching a lot of our old home videos from our time in Thailand and it almost feels like another life reminiscing that's where Zachery was born and spent the first four months of his life.

The beginning of his life was very much an adventure (He's already been to five different countries!), fast forward three years, we haven't traveled to anywhere cool and exotic, but his personality shines through and through as a little explorer.  He loves to be outside wandering around collecting things; he loves to climb things; jump off things; pretend we're on a roller coaster when we're driving (I'm not saying I drive fast, but where we live there are a lot of windy curvy roads!); he's fearless, carefree, and beats to his own drum.

The other thing that stands out the most and is my most favourite thing about him is that he's our little joy giver. His smile is goofy, his laugh is contagious, and he's a complete ham in a crowd of people. I can't tell you how many times a week people notice how happy he is and the twinkle in his eye.  Its always encouraging amidst these hard toddler stages, it reminds me to stop and just enjoy him and all his awesomeness. I mean it's a truly wonderful thing to watch such a tiny person (my tiny person!) lift the mood of an entire room of people.

Here's a few pics from his paw patrol party  

Smile Project

I've wanted to start this smile project for a few months now, I've been holding off for the New Year, because honestly starting halfway through a year really threw off my OCD perfectionism (the struggle is real here). Ideally this would have started on the first of the month haha but I can deal with being a few days late...

So the project is to take a picture of the kids once a month for a year asking them to smile and capturing the first face they give me. Obviously there will be some mixed emotions from unwilling or over zealous toddlers but the real point is to capture their change and growth as a kind of time lapse. I'm excited to see how it all turns out... so here goes month one!

Rylee

Zachery

Adelyne

Santa 2016

It's that time of year again, you know it... Santa Claus is coming to town! (This is now where my inner Elf is screaming, "SANTA! I Know him!"). We had a family weekend away and lucked out with the local mall putting on a special PJ party with Santa! I only wish it was socially acceptable for us adults to come to the mall in our pajamas... I mean not on a regular basis, but you know once in a while, that would be ok... right?!

It was lots of fun and a great way to kick of the Christmas season. We got a free picture with Santa and Rylee got to tell him what she wanted for Christmas (an art set). After seeing Santa the kids got to make ornaments, get their face painted (a reindeer, snow leopard, and snow tiger, aren't they cute?!), and waited ever so "patiently" for balloon hats.

Thanksgiving 2016

Every holiday around here consists of a whole lot of family time, its great even when sometimes its too much haha. But it's only a few times in the year that we all get to be together, for that, its worth the noise, over stimulation, and bloated turkey bellies. 

We had the pleasure of hosting some cousins and Sevio's mom for the majority of the weekend. We did brunch, bitter anger filled games of Risk (is there any other way), hilarious rounds of mafia, the pumpkin patch, and lastly $1 ice creams... aka goodbye summer.

Apart from the delicious dinners, my favourite was hitting up our local pumpkin patch. This fun experience is a fall highlight for us and the kids, and beats store bought pumpkins any day! Rylee was on a mission to find one she could carry herself... until she learned the little ones aren't so great for carving... Then we were off to find the biggest, roundest one. Adelyne and Zach had a blast traipsing through the jungle of vines picking up whatever pumpkin they could get their hands on.

First Day of Kindergarten : Rylee

First day of school, first day of school! Our first born embarked upon her first day of kindergarten, a whole hour and half of it! We have to wait until next week, after the preliminary gradual entry ends before we see how she does with a full day. But I have no doubts that she is going to absolutely love school! She is so super excited to play and do crafts and meet new friends, you know all those fun things school has to offer, and we're excited for her to learn and also just for her to have her own time. 

We are going to miss her around home though. As much as her constant need for attention and need to do "fun" things can get annoying, she is actually really helpful throughout the day. Her bother and sister I'm sure are going to miss having her to play with, I'm interested to see how Zach reacts to not having his Rylee around they like two peas in a pod so surely there is going to an adjustment period.

Funny spoiler: I totally spelled "kindergarden" on that sign... haha oops! Thank goodness for photoshop.

Adelyne : Twelve Month Update

We just had Adelyne's 12 month check up and she's 19.2 lbs, and about 27 inches tall! Over the last few weeks I keep looking at her in amazement, shes just getting so big! Rightfully so, this girl has earned the nicknames of "Hoover" and "Garburator" in our house. Such a breath of fresh air having a child who is happy to eat whenever and whatever is set before her... it is beautiful... so very beautiful!

She's in 12m clothes, size 2/3 shoes, she's got no teeth, and not so much hair but what she does have is wild and mad scientist like. She loves bath time, meal time, and playing in the kids Hape play kitchen, and her current toy of choice is the Melissa & Doug Pound a Peg. As for development she's started climbing, she's incredibly strong; she's saying "mama" more frequently now and "more" but its more like "moe moe"; and she follows basic instructions like "shut the door" and "sit on your bum". She still sleeps horribly, we get to wake up typically 3 times a night... it's awesome. She may not speak yet but she can be very clear communicating what she wants/doesn't want, she's very strong willed, she's playful, and for the most part very happy and content, and yes she is still a momma's girl through and through (its exhausting, but lovely all at the same time).

Happy Birthday Husband

The husband just turned 29 this weekend! We kept his day pretty low key, a part of me feels a little bit guilty that I couldn't make this birthday that marks the last year of his "roaring 20's" a little more special... I tried, I truly did, but the combo of a summer birthday and three kids did not work in my favor. Next year will be better my love, next year I promise!

We did escape to Victoria, BC to wander along the waterfront in the James Bay area. It was incredibly windy which cut our time at the beach short, it was cold! But it was fun watching the waves crashing, kites buzzing around, and birds struggling to fly (honestly the funniest thing ever). Along the way we strolled by a huge cruise ship sitting in the port, I felt like an ant standing beside that monstrosity! Next up we visited a family favorite, fisherman's wharf, where an eclectic village of houseboats unite into a little bustling foodie community with live entertainment... the feeding of the seals (and attack of the birds). Here we calmed hangry toddlers and adults with what else, ice cream! For added smiles we let the kids play in the park above the wharf before beginning our journey back to our car.

Concluding the day we finished up with a horrible car ride searching for the perfect restaurant for dinner, Adelyne decided it was a great time to lose her mind... no big deal. It was long day of walking, and windblown faces but I think for the most part enjoyable and fun to be all together for some much needed family time.

Adelyne : Eleven Months

Adelyne is growing up too fast! Eleven months? I can't even grasp this. Since she's our last I think these moments are hitting me extra hard. Its bittersweet to watch her grow and develop out of the baby stage, it makes my heart hurt, I just want her to stay my small little baby forever.

She now weighs about 18lbs 4oz. She is chasing after her brother and sister. Her latest trick is giving kisses, but only on her terms, letting you know by using her other trick by ferociously shaking her head "no". She's a curious button, always pointing and looking at things in bewilderment (I'm trying desperately to catch it on camera).  And last but not least, this girl knows how to throw a fit, I'm talkin' the sprawled out, head in the floor, legs flailing, complete and usually inconsolable meltdowns, and typically a sure sign she is ready for bed... immediately... go to bed, go directly to bed, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

We Are Family

When you have a mother who has given her all just to give you the world, then you best believe we're going to celebrate her!

This is a woman who worked three jobs just to provide us kids with all our needs (and wants), and yet still found the time to cook us dinner, teach us manners and respect, be helpful and generous to others, the importance of working hard, to believe in ourselves and never be afraid of trying something new. She even still found time to be at almost all my games, drive me to all my off island soccer practices, and coach many of my and my siblings various sport endeavours! She's amazing! Shes put up with a lot from me and my brothers and sister, we sure as heck didn't make it easy for her! But we all made it out alive, with a few quirks of course, but with good heads on our shoulders and a drive to make something of ourselves one way or another. And now as a mother myself she's instilled in me the importance of supporting and believing in your kids in whatever path they choose...even having an open door for her grown adult children to come back and fill up her empty nest! Long story short, I have a great mom that needs to be celebrated!

So, yesterday we pulled together and threw her a surprise party to commemorate her 55th birthday, and mission complete, because surprised she was! It was also a bit more of a special occasion too, because it marked the two year anniversary of the passing of my Dad, so it was good to have the time together  with all the immediate family and some of her closest friends to just relax, enjoy each others company, and of course eating A LOT of great food! Times like this always make me remember how important and awesome "family" is, we are all so different, yet somehow we are one, its beautiful! Thanks for making us one big beautiful family Mom, we are all together as one today because of all love and hard work you and Dad poured into us growing up.

"Families are like branches on a tree, 

we grow in different directions, 

yet our roots remain as one."

Here we are, all of mom's glory, multi generations to be proud of.

Adelyne : Six + Seven Month Update

It is almost a daily  occurrence where I am looking at Adelyne amazed and being hit with pangs of sadness because my baby girl is growing so fast! I haven't the foggiest how she went from a squishy immobile newborn to this miniature person who holds her own ...honestly... how?! 

She is now seven months old, half way to eight! Over the past two months she has changed enormously! 

At her six month check up she weighed in at 6.76kg (14.9 lbs) and was measuring 63.5cm (25 in.). She's slowed down a little bit in her growth, but nothing alarming since the two before her are petite themselves. It was one week before her half birthday that she officially started crawling, she was rolling places weeks before, but this is when she finally figured out how to move her legs and hands consecutively to propel herself forward. And by propel I mean it, this girl goes places, she's fast and sneaky! She also started solids around five and half months which she has taken to quite fondly, but thats another post!

Lately she's following in her brothers footsteps and discovered that the floor holds endless possibility of appetizers... we are constantly pulling bits of who knows what outta her mouth! I'll note right now that I vacuum daily... if not twice daily... and she STILL manages to find things! I like to call her hurricane Adie because she's also learned how to pull herself up on things and likes to clear all items from their rightful places, the living room is in a constant state of disaster. fun times. fun times. As for things she struggles with, the big one is sleep, and is as stubborn as mule when it comes to sleeping in her crib, she also has mommy separation issues... its hard some days, I'm a person who desperately needs my own space, too much clinginess throws me over the edge! But on a bright note she continues to love music and will perk right up with bright eyes and smiles when you sing to her... a current fave is "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

Zachery Turns Two : 20 Questions

Our Zachie boy just turned two! TWO! He is still so much of a baby in my eyes that its hard to believe that he's into that official toddler category. Every year I like to document (and eventually ask) what their current favorite things are. It's 20 questions, the same 20 questions every year, as time goes on we'll have something to look back on and laugh at and see how much they change over the years.

You can read his answers from last year here.

 
20 Questions for Zachery : Year Two

1 // What is your favourite color? Blue.

2 // What is your favourite toy? He likes any kind of sports ball, a current fave is his golf ball and hockey stick used a golf club.

3 // What is your favourite fruit? Grapes.

4 // What is your favourite movie? Not that into TV yet.

5 // What is your favourite outfit? Not outfit, but his jacket and shoes are his favourite things to wear.

6 // What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch? Anything, this kid is a bottomless pit!
7 // What is your favourite game?  Baseball or Basketball.
8 // What is your favourite animal? Dinosaurs and puppys.
9 // What is your favourite treat? Welchs Fruit Snacks.
10 // What is your favourite book? A Big Boy Now by Eileen Spinelli (He likes the bikes).
11 // What is your favourite song?  Ring-a-round-the-rosie.
12 // Who is your best friend? Rylee.
13 // What is your favourite drink? Milk, aka "bubba".
14 // What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Olaf, Puppy, Blankie, and now Dinosaur.
15 // What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast? Yogurt and cheerios.

16 // What is your favourite thing to do outside?  Ride bikes.
17 // What is your favourite word?  Mine and no.
18 // What is your favourite thing to do?  Ride bikes, help cook, and eat.
19 // What is the latest thing you've learned? That a golf ball goes on a tee before you hit it (this, he figured out all by himself!).
20 // What do you want to be when you grow up? Can't answer that quite yet :P

wanna read more 20 Questions... go here! 

Adelyne : Four & Five Months

Our lovely little Adelyne hit her five month birthday on boxing day! We have been so busy that I missed her four month update so here I will try to remember the milestones in correct order and update both months. 

Four Months

At her four month check up she weighed in just over 13.5 lbs and was beginning to roll consistently from back to front and front to back. She started cracking more smiles at us which was pretty sweet. It was also around her four month mark that she got her first cold. She was congested in her chest, days and weeks went by and it just lingered on, so after the third week she developed a sporadic congested wheeze, which was a tad concerning because there's asthma in my family history, so that is when I broke down and took her to the doctor. The doctor agreed that her wheeze is concerning but due to her having a cold its really hard to give a clear diagnosis on whether she truly does have asthma or just a bacterial infection that just needed to run its long drawn out course. Just in case we went home with asthma medication and a special infant inhaler to use for a week and then to use as needed after that. Long story short the wheeze subsided and the cold lingered for a few more weeks and she has a check up in the next couple days.

Five Months

This girl experienced her first Christmas, first snow (if we could really call it that...), and met her aussie living Aunt Dani & Uncle Sam for the first time! She really began getting herself about during this month, she's not quite crawling, but she's definitely not staying where I leave her. She's also started giggling when tickled or watching her crazy brother and sister. Her favorite toy so far has been her Lamaze sensory octopus, its got lots of legs to grab a hold of or in her case to chew on. She loves her hands, they are regularly stuffed in her mouth, or shes attempting to suck her thumb all the while trying to suck on her soother... I think she's just mastering the skill of multitasking early on.

Adie's first Christmas (ps. why am I not in this picture?)

Snuggles with Great Gramma GG

Sweet moment with Gramma Jamma