Funny sayings of the week

Shaylah: "I can't remember, so I need to rub my hippocampus".


Me: "Let's go put our pj's on".
Caelan: "Mommy said pee!". (giggle, giggle)

The little graduate

Shaylah has officially graduated from pre-school and will be going into Kindergarten in September.  Where has the time gone?  She has attended our local pre-school for the past two years and has enjoyed meeting the kids in the neighbourhood.  She has made some really special friends and all of them will be moving with her to "the big school".  She is so ready to move on and learn new things.  I am a bit sad that she will now be gone all day, but I know that she will thrive.

The kids had a whole ceremony where they sang 4 songs for the parents, received dimplomas and talked about their future.  When Shaylah was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, her answer was a "Doctor".  I actually thought she was going to tell everyone that she wanted to be a "Rock Star", since that is her usual answer.  When I questioned her later, she told me she had been thinking it would be more fun to be a doctor during the day and a rock star at night.  This girl has got it all figured out already!

 Shaylah has had the same 4 teachers throughout her time, but 2 of them will be leaving next year for new adventures.  Thank you to Veronica, Tuhue, Juliet and Melissa.

Shaylah's very best friend is Bronwem and thankfully she lives just a few houses away.  Already I am getting daily questions about going to visit her at her house.  I am sure we will see a lot of Bronwen this summer.

I am so proud of Shaylah and the big girl she has become.  Her teachers report that she is a natural leader, that other children are drawn to her personality, she is very kind to others and loves to share and help people.  What more could a mom ask for?

Beautiful Ballerina: Ashlyn

Father's Day

Johnny dressed Caelan just like himself on Father's Day.  So cute!

 And here is a picture with all three of the kids.  They love their Daddy!

 This is the special card that Ashlyn made for Johnny at pre-school.

 And here is Caelan's card.  I especially love that Caelan loves Daddy because "he loves Mommy!".  That makes me so proud of both my boys.

Father's Day is always low-key for us.  We gave Daddy a special breakfast in bed of waffles with blue whipped cream, three different kinds of berries, oranges and special juice.  The kids each picked out presents for him, which included a new sweater, a pair of shorts and new earphones.  We went to church and then a bike ride later in the day.  So glad to have such a special Daddy in our lives.  We love you!

Spring

I don't know where the time has gone, but it is way past time to update the blog!  I am so looking forward to this spring being over.  It has seemed so long! 

So the recap...
I started out by having surgery in mid-April.  I had been having a lot of abdominal pain and a very palpable lump near my c-section site.  I had tried to have it removed in the winter by a plastic surgeon, but after getting me on the table, opening me up and digging around for a while, she decided it was too deep to do without general anaesthetic.  Great news!  So I was referred to a general surgeon and it was removed in the hospital with the proper medication.  I was worried it would be as painful (or worse) than the first attempt, but this surgeon was amazing.  Good thing too because Johnny was out of town during the days following, so I was fine without the extra help.

Speaking of Johnny being out of town, he is a lot these days.  This current project has been 3 years in the making and is finally coming to an end in July.  It takes him to Victoria 3-4 days/nights every week, which has been stressful on all of us.  I am lonely in a house full of kids and a dog, if that makes any sense at all.  I just really want my partner in life back on a full time basis.  The good news is that because of this project, Johnny was able to get a promotion at work.  He will still be working in Victoria, but it will likely be only one night a week instead of multiple nights.  Plus, with all his hotel points, I am expecting a pretty nice vacation in the fall.  :)

My kids have been involved in all kinds of activities this spring.  I have mentioned Shaylah's t-ball, but we have also been doing swimming lessons for all three, ballet for Ashlyn and soccer for Caelan.  I have really noticed the twin bond the two little ones have now that I have placed them in separate activities.  They are such confident little creatures when they have each other, but I realize now how much they rely on each other for support.  When you take one away from the other, their confidence goes with them.  It has been a hard transition for both of them.

May started by me missing a birthday party for Ashlyn and Caelan.  It was on the calendar, but I forgot to turn the page to May 1st.  Oops!  It would have been their first friend party without Shaylah and they were really looking forward to it.  Boy did I ever feel guilty for that one!

Caelan also had surgery this spring.  He has been monitored since birth (because he was so little) for his hearing and speech development.  He was diagnosed with a mild hearing loss due to fluid build-up in his middle ear.  I didn't notice it in everyday life, but his hearing tests were very clearly impaired.  He had tubes put in his ears and his adenoids removed on May 31st at Children's hospital.  What an amazing hospital!!  They take such great care of my little ones and I am forever grateful to them for everything.  Caelan was a superstar and never complained of being hungry, despite a very long wait prior to surgery.  I was warned that he would have discharge from his nose and some bad breath....boy, did I underestimate how bad it would be!  The constant yellow mucous and rotten egg smelling breath was continous for 10 days and it was almost too much to bear!  Thankfully it didn't bother him at all.  What did bother him post-surgery, was the fact that the volume of sounds in the world had just magnified.  He walked around the first few days with his hands over his ears yelling "That's too loud!" to everyone in the house.  I think he has finally adjusted now though.  :)

(taken on my iPhone)

Other fun things that happened recently include:

1.  Hats Off Day Parade, which we walked in with the Pre-school.

2.  Child Run, which we all ran in and raised $680 toward BC's Children's Hospital. 

The kids each got a medal and were so proud of themselves.  Unfortunately, Shaylah had spent the previous two days throwing-up and wasn't too into the running part of the day (poor girl).  We have discovered a new talent for Ashlyn though.  That little girl was weaving in and out of people and getting quite frustrated when other were slowing her down.  She wanted to run it again as soon as she finished!  I think this will be a yearly activity for us and it definitely goes to a good cause.  Thanks for all the donations!!

3.  Pre-school fieldtrips, including a visit to the Firehall, Maplewood Farm and bowling.  So fun!  So hard to believe that Shaylah has officially finished pre-school and will be attending Kindergarten all day next year.  She is so ready, but this poor Mama is NOT!  Her graduation ceremony is next week, so I will be posting photos of that later.

This summer we have nothing planned with the kids and I am so looking forward to just taking each day as it comes.  We will likely spend some time at home, some time at Birch Bay and a few days camping in the Lower Mainland.  We are all due for a nice break and some family time together.  Johnny is hoepfully going to take a few weeks off before starting his new job in August and we are all excited to have him home.  Hopefully this will mean more time to update the blog too!

T-ball: First Game

Shaylah joined a t-ball team this year through the Hastings Little League.  Her team (The Rockies) have only had 2 practices so far.  The first practice only 3 kids showed up and the second practice was cancelled due to the rain.  I was a little worried the kids would end up running to third base instead of first, but they all did amazingly well.  This is Shaylah's first experience playing a team sport, she is by far the youngest on the team and she has never played baseball before.  She was fantastic though!  :)  Just look at her batting form!

 In this t-ball league, the first three balls are pitched to the player by their own coach.  If the ball is not hit, then the player gets to hit off the "T".

 She is such a good hitter, she made it to first base each time!  Look at how fast she runs. 

 They don't keep score in this game, but Shaylah was able to run all of the bases each time up to bat except for one.  Here she is touching home plate.

 Daddy was her first base coach.

 Ashlyn and Caelan can't wait until they get to play next year.

The Big Party

I have never had a party for any of my kids (I know I'm a bad mom!), but this year Shaylah decided that she really wanted a party with her friends.  She invited seven of her favorite classmates and one friend from church (plus their parents) to our house for a big celebration.  It was fun doing the planning with her....she knew exactly what she wanted and helped plan each activity.

First:  Lunch time.  We had hotdogs, fruit and veggie platters, chili, and chips.  Isn't that every 5 year old's dream lunch?
Craft:  The kids decorated Ikea frames with paint, glitter glue and gems/stickers.  It was amazing to see the creativity flowing!
Games:  They played "pin the jewel on the Barbie necklace".  Shaylah even played a second time without the blindfold so that her best friend who was home with the flu would win the game.  :)
Piniata:  The highlight of the afternoon!  Filled with stickers, toys, play jewelry and (of course!) candy.

The party was Barbie and Princess themed, but there were plenty of masculine touches so that the boys wouldn't feel left out.

Here are a few photos!

It must have been a good party, because this is what happened while I was cleaning everything up.  :)

My First Race

I know Johnny won't be pleased with this picture, but it is the only one I have.  This was taken just after I finished my very first running race!  It was only 8km, but you have to start somewhere, right?  It was pretty fun to be part of the crowd, even if the winner almost cut my time in half.  :)  Johnny was so nice to stay with me and cheer me on, even though he could have finished much closer to the front of the pack (thanks!  But officially in the standings I beat him by a few tenths of a second).  I am so thankful for a beautifully sunny day and the amazing scenery around Stanley Park and the Seawall.  Next goal.....a 10k race.  Also thanks to Johnny's family who sponsored our run in the hopes of getting rid of prostate cancer for good and the Cecil for babysitting!

Shaylah's 5th Birthday

Shaylah turned FIVE on March 18th.  It was a school day, so she wore her special "Birthday Girl" shirt and ribbon to school to make sure that everyone knew.  She said she definitely felt different and was quite excited to finally be big enough to chew gum and go down the waterslide at the pool.  After school, we went and picked out a special Hello Kitty birthday balloon and came home to have dinner with her Bridgewater cousins.

Dinner was at Shaylah's favorite restaurant, Boston Pizza, where she had Bugs'N'Cheese, green salad, chocolate milk and blue jello.  We came home to open presents (thanks everyone!) and had cupcakes for dessert.

Happy Birthday my sweet big girl.  We are so proud of you and are so excited to be allowed to watch you grow up!

Dora and Diego

We got to meet Dora and Diego at the mall this past Saturday.  Shaylah kept pretending she was too old, but I actually think she was the most excited of the three kids.  She wanted to let Dora and Diego know that her brother and sister were big fans.  :)

The Beluga whale from the Aquarium was also there to give out hugs.  Ashlyn, of course, was too shy to say "hello".

2010 in review

We are now well into January and I have not posted in quite a long time.  It is amazing how little time or energy I have for blogging in this stage of the kid's lives.  Everyday I think of something I should blog about...and then I let it time get too far ahead of me.  This is my attempt to try to capture the most important parts of 2010.

Shaylah:  She has turned into such a big girl this past year.  2010 was the year she turned 4 and started her second year of pre-school.  Shaylah continues to be the child that make friends easily and seems to be the centre of all activity amongst her friends.  This year she discovered birthday parties and cupcake cakes; nail-polish and lip-gloss; the boy she wants to marry when she gets older; and shower-baths.  She has become fearless in the water and has entered the much anticipated "sunfish" level for swimming, where she is learning to tread water and do the front crawl.  With Daddy being away during the week, she has also discovered that it is much more fun to sleep with Mommy than alone in her own bed, much to Daddy's dismay when he is home.  Shaylah continued on with her ballet lessons and has decided that the ballet bar is hard work!  She also learned how to pump her legs on a swing to keep it going and has mastered how to ride her bike (with training wheels) all by herself.  Shaylah's favorite color for the year is gold (to match Belle's dress), her favorite "food" is candy, although salmon, spaghetti and boiled eggs are also favorites, and she likes to wear dresses everyday.

Caelan:  Turned 3 this year and has been given a excellent report by the many specialists that are following his growth and development.  He officially gave up diapers, discovered hockey and finally agreed that clothes were OK to wear.  Caelan started pre-school and has a best friend (Jake), although he still relies heavily on his sisters for most of his social interactions.  Caelan started swimming lessons and has learned how to put his face under the water, although he still prefers to wear goggles when swimming for fun.  Caelan will eat anything given to him, his favorite color is blue and he loves Diego, Cars and Spiderman.  Caelan is a bit of a wild child and loves to make noise and silly sounds!  He has had to return to speech therapy to improve the pronounciation of his words, although it is not hard to hear him, since he only has one volume....LOUD!

Ashlyn:  She continues to be quiet and sweet one and was also given high praise by her developmental specialists.  Ashlyn also turned 3 this year and started pre-school with her brother.  She has two best friends (Abby and Alanah) at school and she loved school immediately.  Ahslyn has discovered a new love for ballet and will often be seen showing off her moves whenever and wherever there is music.  Ashlyn loves to be a princess and asks to wear a dress everyday, but mainly she just wants to be like her big sister.  She will only wear pink and makes it clear that pink is the only color that matters in life.  She was potty trained by the summer, developed a large vocabulary, learned how to run and jump and made huge gains in her confidence in the pool during her lessons.  Her favorite foods are cucumbers and mandarine oranges, often eating 4 or 5 oranges at a time.  She has not developed the sweet tooth of the rest of the family, chosing to eat her frutis and vegetables instead of sweets.  She continues to be on the smaller side, following the 5th to 10th percentile curve, but she makes her presence known with her sweet personality.

Marsalie:  Is very happy to be moving into 2011 without any children in diapers.  She continues to work 2 days a week at Sunny Hill and still loves the job.  At the end of 2010, she decided to join a gym and has begun a new adventure in running, hoping to run a 10km race in the very near future (thanks to Johnny for all the new running gadgets!).  She once again donated her hair to children with cancer and is sporting a new shorter hair-do.  Marsalie and Johnny managed to get away for one weekend this year without the kids and saw their first NFL football game in Seattle.

Johnny:  Johnny remains busy at work and continues to travel to Victoria most weeks.  He has joined Marsalie in her gym membership and is a great motivator on the treadmill when running beside her.  He hopes to beat his personal best at more than one half marathon this year, with the ultimate goal of completing his first marathon.  He is hands-on with the kids every moment he is home and loves to teach them about all of his favorite sports, read them stories before bed and take them to the playground.  He proudly sported a moustache for the month of November to raise awareness for prostate cancer during their "Movember" campaign.