Vacation

Last Saturday I came home after two weeks spent traveling and visiting in B.C. I traveled alone - what a luxury! Yes, I have an amazing husband...and an amazing Oma, Grandpa and Aunt Lolo, who stepped in to make my absence easier. It's not like I really do anything around here anyway.

I met my niece Hanna for the first time, all of eight weeks old, and fell totally in love. It only took about 5 seconds to capture all these different expressions in the montage below. I don't think I've met a wigglier baby, but she's also pretty relaxed. Nina is an amazing mother, and doesn't let just having had a baby stop her from doing a craft show, making us amazing meals, and driving us around Gabriola and Nanaimo. It was good to spend time with her and remind ourselves how similar we are.Rhea and Winter made the trip to Gabriola Island to spend some time with us. Winter is the coolest little girl. We had many baby dance parties. How I wish we all lived closer together! Being an Aunt is the best.
No matter how much fun I was having, two little shadows were always missing from my day. There was nothing quite like seeing these faces waiting for me when I got off the train.

Jem. Sweet, so snuggly, and argumentative.
"Hey Jem, this weekend you and Violet and Nana are going make cookies and have a tea party!"
"No, we're not. I'm going to make bananas and Violet and Nana are going to pick flowers."
Violet. So bright, and always drawing, dancing and making up songs. I called everyday while I was away, and she'd run to the phone and yell "HELLO?! MAMAAAA!" The day before I came home she said "Mama, you're going be so happy when you see all the drawings I done for you. Not even happy, you're going to be thrilled!" And I was.
The Captain of My Heart, Mr. Jesse Bee Handsome. Happily taking care of our children while I go on holiday is one of the nicest things he's ever done for me. A new face, kitten Ruby. Elsa went missing just before Thanksgiving and we're hoping she found a deserving family with a house full of warm radiators. Ruby is a most excellent kitten, although Jem is still doubtful of her. He's suspicious of her purr, and will occasionally suggest we take her back to the Hume Society and get another cat.

Good to be home.

Typical.

Dinner Time

I've missed some significant events that I've been meaning to blog about.
Thanksgiving. Jem's first real bed (which we're setting up in the picture below), and the arrival of Hanna, another beautiful niece to add to my collection of beautiful nieces.
In time, I hope to catch up and post some photos. My work has been busy. Good for me, bad for blogging.
Till then, it's the funny tidbits that will have to do.

"Jem, come sit at the table, it's dinner time."
"no."
Jem, dinner time, please come sit with us."
"...is it lobster?"

Little Jems

Jem, while drawing yesterday:
"Mama, you want me to draw a black horse?"
"Sure Jemmy, that sounds nice"
He looks at the crayon in his hand and the scribbles on the page for a while....
"Mama, can you say no?"
- - -

Jem, while hugging Violet
"See Mama, I'm not hitting Violet!"

Hey! Look Here! A Long Post!

I finally weaned Jem a few months before his second birthday. What finally made me want to really stop for real this time was that during an ultrasound (due to - surprise! - some pain I'd been having in a breast) the technician asked me how long I had been nursing. I answered. She exclaimed "Well now, you have been nursing for two years! That is why your breast is sore!"....which turned out to be true, thankfully. That, and I also became that mother who's kid runs up to her at a dinner party, tries to lift up her shirt and says "I want boobies!" and points to the side that he wants. True story.

I was worried that Jem, my baby, my little buttercup treasure of sweetness and sensitivity, would take it hard. But he didn't. He's replaced it with one of my t-shirts clutched in his soft little hands and pressed to his face at naps and bedtime. Not just any t-shirt - it must be one that I have worn recently. Last night I tried to give him a freshly laundered one, and he sent it back like an overcooked steak. At one point he was actually holding on to three shirts at a time, but thankfully he's down to one again. The only part that kinda weirds me out is that he'll just come up to me and say "that's a nice t-shirt, Mama" or "I like your t-shirt, Mama", like he expects me to take it off and hand it to him immediately. That would be a good one for a dinner party.

Last weekend was his big 2 birthday party. I've been trying to get him to tell people he's two now, but he is confident that he's still 1, and there is just no way to argue with him about that. The stubborn is strong in this one.

He was very serious about opening his presents.

At Jem's request, I had made a "bulldodozezer chocolate cake"

He blew out his candles all by himself, although Violet was at ready should he require her superior candle blowing skills. Actually, she showed remarkable restraint*.

Rejecting his fork, he ate his piece of cake with the shovel of the bulldozer.

That was pretty funny.In other news:

Violet was getting a little jealous of Jem's birthday cards and wishes.

"That card says Jem is the sweetest boy in the world?"
"Yes, it does"
"But am I the sweetest girl in the world?"
"Yes, of course you are!"
"What about I'm the sweetest girl in the UNIVERSE?".

* The best idea I've ever had was to give her a little instant camera to take pictures during his party. It really kept her happy. Much to my delight, she is developing an interest in photography.This was her first full week of school and taking the bus. She loves it.
She gets her backpack ready early and eagerly walks to her stop.This was her only moment of hesitation before getting on that big bus all by herself for the first time. She twirled a fall leaf in her fingers for a few seconds,
and then she was headed up those steps.

I thought I would be sad about Violet going to school, but I'm not really. I'm so happy for her that she likes it. She was ready for some new challenges. Anyway, this ushers in an exciting new era of quiet afternoons. Jem still sleeps for a couple of hours, Violet is at school, and I have time to update the blog!
Win, win, win.

My Man Jem

This morning Jem walked up to me and asked
"you want a coffee, babe?"

Day 1

Today was Violet's first day of junior kindergarten! It's a staggered entrance, only 5 kids starting each day this week, so she doesn't go back again until the 14th (at which point she'll be taking the big yellow bus). I feel like I can defer any overwhelming emotion until then. She's in the afternoon class. We arrived a few minutes early and saw the lunch break in full swing. She stopped, stared in wonder, then yelled "KIDS! LOTS OF KIDS!", and took off toward them.Dropping her off was a family affair (Grandpa came too!).Jem played in the yard while we waited for her teacher to come and call her.She ran into a friend from preschool and they had a good laugh. When the big bell rang, she put her impossibly large looking backpack on.And was the first in her line. She remember to wave at us as she went in. When I came to pick her up she was happy and tired. As usual, I had to pump her for information, and she gave me the bare minimum of how the afternoon went down - she had a good time, her teacher's name is Ms. Gibson (actually, it's not) and she doesn't want to talk about school anymore.
My big girl.

Yeah, we've been pretty busy.

20 Years Later

Early morning

Sometimes I wake up a little earlier then everyone else. Violet has often crawled into bed with us at some point during the night. Jem is still quite in his room.
I marvel at our beautiful family...before they wake up and start annoying me.

The ABCs

Group dynamics

At the park yesterday, Violet noticed a group of kids (up to no good! 8 year olds in skimpy bikinis! boys who were swearing!) that interested her.

"What are those kids doing over there?"
"I think they're taking water from the pool and making a mud puddle in the sand"
"Can I do that too?"
"I'm not sure, they look like older kids. They may not want you to join them"
"But I'll just go there and sit beside them and say 'ribbit, ribbit' and they will think I'm a pet".

Way to fit in, kiddo.


And, can I just mention that Jem is a very smart boy? Well, he is. Like Violet was, he's a good talker at his tender 21 months of age (ex. Mama, you going to work in the red car? Mama, can I hold you? I'm going to play the four-wheeler with Daddy!) and even makes the jokes.

"knock-knock!"
"who's there?"
"oranges!"
"oranges who?"
(a moment of silence)
"knock-knock!"
(...and repeat as long as you're up for it, but I'll tell you right now that there is no punch line)

1, 2, 3....

4!Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby!
Thanks for making me a Mama.

Just sayin'...

Jem can rock a kerchief.

Go where?!

(Violet yelling excitedly to Jem)

"Let's go to Liver Land!"

Drive-In

Excuse me, but Sir would prefer you didn't remove his vehicles while he eats.

Epic Adorable

The Performer

Dear God

Violet mentioned she'd like to say a prayer the other night.
It went like this:

I love you
I love you
Thank you
I'm sorry
You look lovely
You smell like roses
I love you
Thank you
I'm sorry
I love you.

It's her collection of nice things to say all strung together. Amen!

lil'Thug

(the bruise on his nose is from a collision with a chair)

In other news:
A discussion in the car started after I made a reference to when we were a couple before kids.
Violet: But where was I?
Parents: There was no Violet yet.
Violet: But was I just some goo?
Parents: No, there was nothing that was Violet. Mama and Daddy hadn't made you yet.
Violet: But were was my body?
Parents: It's like there was a little bit of you in Mama and a little bit of you in Daddy, and we hadn't put you together yet.
Violet: So, like, there was one half of my body in Mama's tummy, and half in Daddy's?
Parents: Yes, like that.
Violet: What store did you go to buy my head?

Logic 101

After Jesse and I told Violet that there would be no dessert until she ate some of her dinner, she responded "I've eaten my dinner, I just haven't put it in my mouth and swallowed it yet".

Libeskind never had small children.

(alternate title) Our Visit to the ROM.

Could there be a museum addition with more places to bang your head/pinch your finger/fall down/get stuck/climb up walls? NO.

But Violet was fascinated by the lecture on the icthysaurus....not really. After about 10 minutes at the museum all she just wanted to do was eat in the cafeteria.
Nana was there though! She makes everything good.

A funny story: As we were leaving Jem pulled down some of those rope partitions that they use to mark where to line up. After the clatter died down he yelled "eye of the tiger!".
Stick it to the man, my son.

Oh, and if you say "I love you" to him, he says "I love you too". THE SWEETEST BOY.

Rain Boots!

Since the weather this weekend made us want to actually go outside and stay outside, we took the babes to the Experimental Farm. They both had their new rain boots on, so they splashed around in great big muddy puddles and were generally cute together.I managed to yet again dress myself completely in a monotone drab colour. I only notice this has happened once I'm out. Yay brown!


In other news: Jem is absolutely terrified of cows.

What you've been waiting for.

This is as pink as hair can get.

What I've been waiting for.

Violet and Jem sat and played for at least half an hour together on Friday. Quietly. Sharing. This is big news, and I credit the magical properties of Play-Doh...and I gave them both knives.
In other news:
Jesse, Captain of My Heart, did this to his hair in the name of charity. It's a prelude to being dyed bright pink tomorrow.

Excerpts

Violet, on why she came into our bed in the middle of the night:
"I woke up in the night and felt like I had to barf, but that would wreck my bed, so that's why I came into your bed".

Jem, stopping to chat during a nurse:
"Nurse....boobies....lub you.....lub you, boobies....doo dat....yesssss".
Yes, I think we're all agreed that I've nursed him long enough.

Jemmy Rolls

There is only a short window of time where it's funny to find your son playing princess video games naked in his sister's bed.

Welcome

I'm an Auntie! Jesse is an Uncle! Jesse's sister gave birth to an adorable little girl on Friday. Her name is Winter, she's baby perfection, and we plan to spoil her.

From Deep Within Princess Territory

It's still all about princesses.
Uncle Max came and spoiled us all rotten a couple of weekends ago. We hung out, ate out, and he set Violet free in a toy store, telling her to get anything she wanted. This dress was what she wanted VERY MUCH, and she's been wearing it every day since. Jem got something too....his very own vacuum! But, seriously, why can't they make these little replicas work? Our floors would have been immaculate by now.