Grandma's Birthday!

Birthday are so exciting for you whenever there is a birthday it's as if it's your own! Grandma was here to celebrate her 65th with us this year and we went to Cuckoo at Coombs market to celebrate. They have the most tasty woodburning oven pizzas.
Mommy made this cake for Grandma and it was also very tasty. Of course, you helped with the blowing out of the candles.
Happy Birthday Grandma!

The dolphin in the forest

Yesterday I took you to school (you are still protesting all the way but that's another story) and at the end of the day I always have a chat with the girls to see what you've been up to. Maria told me that you all had gone for a walk in the forest and that a little animal was making a chirping noise from afar. Apparently you asked "What's that noise?" and Maria didn't know so you said "Maybe dolpin?" LOL!
I had to explain to her that we had been in Mexico last month and met Eggshell the dolphin who made a whistling/clicking sound in the water. It didn't make it any less funny, the girls were cracking up about it. Oh, Will!

Trains at Heritage Acres

This was such a fun day! We went down to Victoria a couple of weekends ago to see the trains that the Tatras had been telling us so much about. They have four or five weekends a year where the public is invited to have a ride on these trains that are the hobby of some retired men who enjoy it.
There were alomst 2km of track winding through the forest, over trestles and through tunnels. It was so much fun! Will even pulled on the whistle!

There were all sorts of other things to see too, like old carriages and tractors. Well, tractors are always a hit...

First day of School!

This was taken on your first day at Aspengrove!
Mommy and Grandma took you for a half day in the infant and toddler room and you did really well. We sat with you and lingered around until after snack time and we said goodbye to you when you were just about to go outside for a little playin the sandbox. We thought it was a good opportunity to part with you and it was but it was still a bit of a scene. It was very scary for Mommy to leave you with others alone for the first time, even for only an hour.

The teachers do insist that the parent go to the child and say goodbye so that the child is not taken off guard when they try to find them again. So Grandma and I did go to you and say that we were leaving but that we were coming back. There was a moment when you were just outside the door with Grace and you were crying for me and trying to push the door back open while she was trying to pull it closed. I hid around the back of a bookcase to watch and that was really hard. I was counting on Grace to distract you and she did a great job of redirecting you to the activities outside and then we watched from the window for a while. You went to the sandbox and found a digger (what else?) to dig with and you seemed to be just fine. I had a little cry which I didn't expect at all, and the Grandma and I left to have a quick cup of tea before we came back to get you.

The teachers told us that you had been just fine playing and exploring for the hour or so that we were gone and that you were adjusting really well. I just can't believe my little baby is two and ready to start learning about the world.

Day one was a great success!

Basking

This is mommy's favourite part of swimming in the pool. The brief moment when you will let me wrap you up in a big towel and hold you tight.
It is basically the only time you'll let me do that without being on the go.
We were nice and warm and snuggly, it is the best!
And I got a kiss!

We jump together!

Mommy jumps.

And Will jumps:

We all jump together!

Weeeeee! This was my favourite weekend by the pool. It was how I pictured the whole summer being. Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side most days, so we're hoping for better next summer. At least the Labour Day weekend was good to us so we could get a last dose of sun!

Auntie Shannon

Auntie Shannon came to visit this weekend. It was her last weekend here since she's moving back to Ontario :(
We spent the weekend by the pool and soaked up the last of the summer sun!

Watering with Mommy

Have I mentioned that you LOVE to water the garden? You have your very own little watering can but much prefer the hose:

By the end of it you (and Mommy) are usually soaked but it sure is fun!

Three generations

This is just a super cute shot of Grandma, Mommy and Will just about to go out for the day!

In the pool with Grandma

Grandma came to visit us for the month of September to help with your start to school and we have had some great weather!

You can't help but show off:

You love this trick:

The pool is such a big hit with you. You stay in and are even able to dog paddle around when you have your vest on, but not quite swimming yet. Your favourite is to jump in of course. When you are ready to get out you say "Wiw so freezing!" and mommy will wrap you up in a big towel and you'll actually let me hold you like a baby for a little while (like 30 seconds or so) and then you move on to watering the plants around the pool or filling up your watergun in the water.

Photos with Colette

Our family friend Colette took us out to the water's edge in Victoria to take some photos for us and wow did they ever turn out to be beautiful! She got some really gorgeous shots of us!
This is my personal favourite, and so beautiful that Colette entered it into a contest!
Love the colours!

Daddy's new car!

So we went to the Tatras for the weekend with one car and came back with two! Daddy saw this beauty in Vic and had to have it. I have never seen him so smiley, he had a permanent grin on his face so this was a must-have! It was time for daddy to have a little toy ;)
Now, all we can hope for is no speeding tickets...
You seem to like it too!

A weekend with the Tatras

Last weekend we made a trip down to Victoria to visit the Tatras and stayed over Saturday night. You boys got along famously, playing inside and outside on the drivewhay with the hundreds of toy cars there!
You three really got into playing together, it was really nice to watch. Plus it allowed the adults to have some time to talk too which is foreign for mommy and daddy ;)

On the Sunday we went out to Sidney and took the ferry to Sidney Spit. It is an all sand island that is very beautiful and you kids all had the chance to run around and pull baots in the water and play in the sand. It was lots of fun!

You, Dean and Aaron throwing rocks into the water:

We even met the Captain!

One Minute.

Lately you have been trying to persuade us into getting what you want by saying those simple words "one minute." It goes something like this:
Will sit in Daddy's car, one minute. Or, holdy Will's hand, one minute.
The funniest part about it is that you hold up your index finger when you say the one minute part. Like when I'm trying to get you into the bath and you want to keep riding your bike you'll say "Will ride bike, one minute (with pointer finger up)."

And there is also the "'lil bit" done with fingers together to indicate a tiny amount. That sounds like "Will have cookie, 'lil bit."

Priceless.