CREMMA - All About Baby!

March

Spring, is that you? - March 31, 2011
Today is the last day of quarantine. We suited up to go on a puddle hunt and see some trains.

Life's pretty good - March 30, 2011
The boys took it easy this morning apparently...relaxing in the bike/running trailer and then back at the house on their bean bag chairs! Again looking for things to do without coming into contact with anyone else I thought it might be fun to take the boys on a run while they had their snack. Of course, pushing 70 pounds plus a stroller is a huge deterrent to forward momentum! I did have the forethought to run a flat course at least. I'm not sure I'll do that again any time soon. While I grabbed a quick shower the boys relaxed while being entertained by Thomas and his friends.

What to do when you can't go out? - March 29, 2011
Well...we can go out, but not with other people. So, this morning I took the boys up to the airport to see if we could find a good place to watch some planes take-off and land. We did see a few good ones, but they had just as much fun being in the front seat pressing all the dials and knobs!

Next stop on our fun people-free outing? The car wash! Kaden loves it...Milo is still a little suspicious.

Cool dudes! - March 28, 2011
It might be snowy and still a wee bit cold, but the wagon was calling and so were the trains.

While Craig was off with Milo at his music class Kaden and I took his bike for a spin around the block.
He's getting stronger, better and faster every time we go out.

Chicken Pox - March 27, 2011
No...no pictures of the pox, but Kaden does have them. Grrrr. Yes - he was vaccinated. Regardless, we found out he was exposed two weeks ago (the gestation period) and as luck would (or wouldn't) have it he managed to pick them up. Fortunately it seems the one thing the vaccine did do for him was to give him an extremely mild case - no other symptoms/ailments and only a handful of very minor pox (no itching or any other gross things I heard they could do). However, despite feeling fine we still had to keep him away from most people and places as he is now contagious for up to 5 days. Lovely. We took the boys for a really nice walk in Rattray Marsh - fresh air always does the body good. Sorry for a few shots being blown-out. We realized after some poor lady kept trying to take our picture that Kaden must have changed a setting on the camera when he was taking pictures on a previous day. Whoops. We had fun walking the boardwalk, tossing snow down onto a thin ice-covered creek and playing down by the lake. As if Craig's legs didn't get enough of a workout, he then had to lug the boys around the house later that day. What else are Daddy's legs for?!?

Like Mother Like Son? - March 26, 2011
Craig said there was nice light...all I see is Milo and I mid-chew! Needless to say, we seem to do that fairly similarly!

Final birthday wrap-up - March 25, 2011
I just thought I would take a picture of all the awesome birthday wishes and love bestowed upon our boys. Thank you.

Milo and his car transporters...he LOVES them.

I thought I would try to get a picture of the boys together to help mark their birthday milestones. It's a harder task than you might think. Here's what I got...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILO! - March 24, 2011
Yikes! Milo is two!!! I've said it before and I'll it again - where does the time go?!? At Kaden's suggestion, we set up a Blue's Clues hunt for Milo this morning as well ;] His clues tipped him off to head downstairs to the train table where he found two new train pieces! He was excited to play with his trains and run them through the new clock tower and signal lights.

This is the face of somebody with too many jelly beans in his mouth! I gave each boy 4 jelly beans for dessert after lunch (Kaden thought he should have 4 and Milo 2 for their respective ages, but I told him Milo did get 2...twice)! As soon as they were laid in front of him, Milo shoved all 4 into his mouth. Ridiculous!

Grandma and Grandpa also stopped by today to wish Milo happy birthday and bring him his present, but somehow I managed to miss taking any pictures...I'll have to wait for Grandma to send me some...

Milo was also a hard one to photograph with his 2-year pinwheel. He was quite suspicious at first. I tried to distract him while sitting on the chair, but he was faster than me (and the camera flash). The last photo is probably the best but it was blown-out with the flash. You can see the terrible job I tried to do to fix it...I'll put Craig on the task to right my wrong asap.

I tried to capture another shot of Kaden today too...you should see how many I had to take to get these two!

Craig wasn't home during the day, but he was able to come home early to be a part of the b-day dinner and present opening. Less tears were shed as I took the cake to be cut this time as I left mini eggs behind to munch! After dinner it was Milo's turn to open presents just for him. He got some new wheels and just wanted to introduce them to his other trucks rather than open any other gifts! We ended up with a good arrangement - Kaden opened and read the cards and Milo opened the gifts. Then everyone played!

What happened to 'pring?! - March 23, 2011
Ack! Seriously...Milo was just perfecting saying "there is no more snow" and then this!!! Bah. Now he's saying "what happened to 'pring?" Good question.

We did manage to make it to the grocery store. I guess I should have taken the box of cans downstairs! Milo looks pretty relaxed leaning back in his chair holding onto his vacuum accessory!

Beanbag chairs are for more than just sitting...

Wagons Ho! - March 21, 2011
Kaden will likely always have his birthday during March Break. Not to be forgotten he got to take the "birthday case" home from school when he returned on Monday. The weather is still looking good so the boys and I broke out the wagon and walked up to the tracks. It's GO Train watching season again.

The fun never stops! - March 20, 2011
Before they head back on the road, Milo got his gift from Uncle Drew et al. A plasma car! Thank you!!! The boys enjoyed taking turns zipping around the house.

All of the Ottawa travelers were out the door by mid-morning. So we packed up the kids and drove only a few short blocks from our house to "Maple Magic". I only just discovered this museum was in our neighbourhood. It's not as big or fancy as a true sugar bush, but it was all the kids needed for a fun outing to get pancakes! Shortly after arriving and before the line started to form we discovered that the city bucket trucks were onsite taking donations for rides in their buckets. Pretty cool. Kaden was eager to take a ride. He was SO high in the air...it must have been at least 5 stories (or more). Milo liked the idea, but as soon as we suggested putting on the harness he quickly changed his mind! We took a quick spin around some of the demonstrations and then hopped on the wagon ride for a loop around the surrounding subdivision! Once back he took in our pancake lunch. Delish. With a purchase of maple syrup under our arms it was time to head home.

Look up in the air - is it a bird? is it a plane?
It's Kaden!!!

The March birthday celebrations continued over at Gran and Grandee's. Tonight's star attractions were Great Papa as well as Kaden and Milo. However, when the chaos of gift giving and receiving began there were also gifts for Craig, Chris and Tim. It's a busy month to say the least.

Never as good as when it's not on camera...
Milo's latest game is to ask us "What do you say when you burp?". He does this whether he has burped for real or pretend.
So you respond, "I don't know, what do you say?"
As he's figuring out humour his first answer will be, "milk" or "spoon" or whatever else in his eyesight that will prevoke a laugh?
When you say, "Milk??? Noooo...that's silly!" Milo then pipes up, "Excuse me!"
In this case...it's just burps. But his excuse me is still pretty cute.

PARTY TIME! - March 19, 2011
Today we celebrated both Kaden and Milo's birthdays with our friends and family. We held the "kid party" at one of their favourite play gyms (The Mighty Jungle). It was a great way to celebrate. Fifteen kids, 4000 square feet of kid-friendly play space, snacks and cake. Call it a day and somebody else cleans up. My kind of party.

Back at the house post-party the boys opened all of the gifts they received. Thanks to everyone for all the awesome toys, books, puzzles, games...spoilage (and love)!

Later that day Craig wanted to show Drew the Xbox Kinnect...to do so was an exercise in managing kids, but everyone took turns (even Poppa who apparently is the one I inherited the bowling genes from) and had a blast.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KADEN! - March 18, 2011
How can it be that Kaden is four today?!? Where does the time go? Nanna and Poppa arrived yesterday and we expected Uncle Drew, Auntie Glenda, Ben and Mia later in the afternoon. It was looking to be a fun-filled birthday weekend. To start the day we set up a "Blue's Clues" hunt for Kaden to find his present. He was very excited when he saw the first paw print. He quickly grabbed his handy, dandy notebook and hopped aboard the dump truck in search of other clues. He quickly sketched each on into the book as he went. The final clue led him into the basement where he put it all together...water bottle + bell + helmet = big boy bike!!! He was very excited. So was Milo...and unbeknownst to him he benefited from Kaden's gift as well. With the upgrade to a two-wheeled bike, Milo was soon to be the proud owner of a tricycle! Ah the joys of hand-me-downs.

Once we were done breakfast and finally dressed for our day we got outside to give the new wheels there first text drive. We were lucky enough to have another Daddy-Day too (with family in town and the upcoming b-day celebrations we thought it would be nice if Craig could be home to be a part of it all). It took a few tries, but with the help of the occasional push Kaden was getting the hang of it. By the time he looped the block once he was picking up steam and ready for the next loop. Milo enjoyed his tricycle ride too...his feet don't quite yet reach the pedals though ;]

After our morning exercise is was back inside for snack and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa (who somehow missed being in the shots!).

Uncle Drew and crew arrived while Kaden was at camp. Craig went to pick him up (and unsuccessfully take a picture of him with his 4-year flag) while the rest of us left for the park. By the time Kaden and Craig met up with us we were ready to head down to the water. The kids had fun exploring the rocks. Ben led the way with Kaden hot on his heels. It wasn't until the two of them found a massive log to try to toss into the water that we intervened to head back to shore! After a few good rocks were tossed it was back to the house for more b-day fun.

Taking a picture of a willful, birthday-crazed 4-year old who wants to run and play with his cousins is a hard thing to do. I got one on the actual day at least ;]

Kaden has been asking us all day to set up another Blue's Clues hunt for him. What? More presents? Given that part of Milo's and Kaden's gifts from Nanna and Poppa were too big to wrap (and currently hiding in the room with Ben and Mia were to sleep) we decided to let him hunt for those before dinner. The paw prints were laid out on a living room chair, a kitchen chair and the door knob to the basement bedroom (not so much thematic as directional). Voila - bean bag chairs! Awesome. We finally turned the entertainment over to the TV so the adults could have a little visit and prepare for dinner. I tried to take a picture of all four cousins, but they are all starring dimwittedly at the big screen. Milo got bumped from his chair, but managed to find a place to hunker down regardless. And of course, as with any visit from Ben, Craig's transformer box was pillaged and scattered! Our boys thought they were the best things ever - fortunately they don't ask for the box between Ben's visits ;]

All day Kaden kept talking about his birthday cake. I had to quietly try to remind him that we had decided upon ice cream sundaes (he's not a sweet tooth and rarely eats cake so I thought it would be better to pick a b-day dessert he might actually eat)! Fortunately he was happy as a clam with his tub of vanilla ;] Of course, at one point during the day after reminding him again about his dessert selection he decided he wanted a cherry on top. I knew he wasn't going to like maraschino cherries...but he's the birthday boy after all! After the candles were out Nanna helped the kids make their sundaes. Everyone enjoyed their chocolate smothered ice cream with smarties. The cherry was put on top and then eaten by Daddy. After dessert? More presents of course! A great day.

Spring, is that you? - March 17, 2011
Happy St. Patrick's Day! We didn't pull out any green to wear, but we did manage to find our spring coats and hats. March Break turned out to be a pretty good week weather-wise. Kaden was in a camp every afternoon so on our way out the door to drop him off today I managed to scrounge up some lighter duds. The picture is not great of either boy, but at least they are standing in the same frame!

The boys are faster than the flash - March 15, 2011
Are words really needed?! Too bad I couldn't capture their gigantic smiles from the front, but they were too quick for me. You can get a sense though even from this angle. Look out!

More friends to walk - March 14, 2011
Today we took a walk around the block with both Froggy and Digger the Dog - a friend for everyone (although I think I still ended up carrying them both by the end). Too cute.

Let's GO! - March 13, 2011
Poor Auntie Martha. Everytime she comes to visit she gets treated to a trip downtown on the GO Train. We lost an hour of sleep last night, which messes with the morning schedule a bit, but we managed to get ourselves downtown for a late snack/early lunch. The best part of the trip was the ride home. We managed to sit at the front of the train; however going west the engines were powering us from behind. So not only could se see forward out onto the track, but we could see the engineering driving the train. Kaden was emulating the driver and both boys enjoyed watching the world woosh by. Another highlight was hearing the engineer sound the train's whistle to scare a teenager taking pictures away from the side of the tracks. Gotta love the GO!

Welcome, Auntie Martha! - March 12, 2011
After a week of work in TO, Auntie Martha was able to spend the weekend with us. Yay! One of the highlights of her trip was the cool new play d'oh she and Uncle Cliff gave to Kaden for his birthday. I think the adults had as much (or more) fun playing with it! The boys loved to see her and were still calling for "Auntie Marfa" after she left!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! - March 10, 2011
I asked Craig ages ago if he could book today off so that we could help him celebrate his birthday. An added bonus to him being home was that he could accompany Kaden on a school fieldtrip. The kids spent the morning at Lowblaw's taking part in their cooking school. They looked so cute in their little chef's hats making pizza and fruit kabobs. They took a tour of part of the grocery store to look for the items they used to cook and got to play some party games while waiting for their meal. Fun! I took Milo to gymnastics and afterwards we all met up at the Sunset Grill for lunch. A good way to spend a Thursday morning.

Kaden chopping and taking part in limbo fun!

After the boys' naps/quiet time we delved into Daddy's gifts. Milo was quick to start unpacking the paper while Craig tried to read the cards the boys made him. Kaden's was pretty funny...if you have a hard time deciphering his printing it says, "Dear Daddy. We won't tell you your present because it is a secret and surprise. Love Kaden and Milo"! It wasn't long until both boys had chemicals in their hands and Craig was happy to know that we had got everything he needed to set up our aquarium again. Kaden and Milo started by helping Craig to assemble the aquarium stand, but were thankfully distracted by the box! The two of them had such a great time colouring it. I especially like the ones where they are bent over themselves and/or the box and drawing upside-down! It started as a sky scraper, but quickly became a snail's shell (demonstrated by Kaden on the floor). The best part of Craig's day was the post-dinner theatre! After we all sang Happy Birthday blew out the candles I took the cake back into the kitchen (and by that I mean only a few feet away and still within eyeshot) to cut the cake. While everything sounded okay behind me Craig quickly pointed out that Milo was crying SO hard that he was silent. Apparently he was upset that the cake had left the table! By the time his lungs kicked it and he was supersonic Kaden managed to squirm in his chair in such a way that he fell off and banged his head on the floor! Both boys were in hysterics and all Craig and I could do was laugh. Soon enough everyone was back in their seats with dry eyes eating cake! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Bowling with our buds - March 5, 2011
Today's playdate adventure took us to the bowling alley. Before we got ourselves organized at the start Milo walked out onto a very greased lane. He slipped and fell straight back on his head. Ouch! He was pretty grumpy afterwards and let Kaden take most of his turns. However, despite the rocky start everyone managed to have a great time - bowling or not. Isabelle was a bowling fiend carrying the massive balls all by herself and outplaying both her mom and big brother! Not to be outdone, Kaden had a great game himself and even managed to unseat me as the reigning champ (I took a picture to show Daddy) In fairness to me however, I was consoling Milo...and I was ahead when the clock ran out during our 2nd game!

Colourful Cotton Balls - March 5, 2011
Like yesterday, Milo found a new way to put the craft supplies to use. Now that he can open the craft drawers on his own, I have to keep an extra close eye on him. I've seen him walking out of the kitchen with a marker in the past! He found a bag of colourful pompoms and started sorting then on the counter.

He was placing them so meticulously it looked like there might be some method to his maddness!

Crafts are more than they appear! - March 4, 2011
The boys smocked-up this afternoon to do some crafts - Milo with the vehicle stamps and Kaden with his paints. Sure they did a little stamping and painting, but they had more fun doing their own thing with each crafty supply. Milo quickly discovered his vehicles would stand up and he could drive them. Kaden spent most of his time, and had more fun, mixing the various colours of paint in his tray.

Camping prep - March 3, 2011
Grandpa had just returned out tent so I figured it would be fun to set it up in the basement. We've told the boys we are going camping this summer so it seemed like a good idea to at least start the introductions with tangible equipment.

iTunes is apparently fun to watch - March 2, 2011
Look at those sad little puppy eyes...you would think they were watching something heart-wrenching on the computer. However it was just the iTunes music library! I had put some music on while we played in the basement and then I popped upstairs for a moment. When I came back down both boys were squished onto the chair at the desk. I of course tried to get them to look at me for a picture with no luck so instead I just tried to catch them "in action". They were just listening to the music and then when the song changed Kaden pushed the down arrow on the keyboard so that the blue line would highlight the current song. Hysterical.

Is March starting like a lamb? - March 1 2011
It was still pretty chilly by the lake, but we joined our buds for a playdate at the park. I think the kids probably could have stayed longer, but seeing as I wasn't in toasty warm snowpants I pulled the plug first. We had lots of fun first though.