5 mo.

Photo cred: My brother, Joel.

Ollie is a cutie!  This month he learned what a dog was and he loves them.  He is chunking up a little bit because he is nursing so much--which has also been a problem because he got some teeth and he's been biting his Mommy's boobie off.  I have been sliced to blood now and let's just say that is a doozy to heal because it really doesn't get any time off.  He also got some thrush and then my boobie got a yeast infection from that so this month hasn't been my favorite for nursing.  But I do love my little Goobie Goobie Boy!  Fingers crossed that next month will improve!  We plan on starting him on solids as soon as we're settled into our new house in CA.  I'm praying that will make him happier and want to gnaw on me less.

Stop Growing Up.

This has been happening for a while but today made it all official.

My baby girl is all grown up. I mean I expected her to end up wearing a bigger shoe than me someday, I just didn't expect to have to worry about it so soon.  I mean she is 9.  I'm sad.  I hope she takes a while to pass me up though it will be fun to share shoes for a while.

Beautiful Snow Day

It's been snowing all night.  We're so glad because it had been so warm this week and the snow was melting into a disgusting mud mess.  Along with the mud mess came a disgusting entry way and floor in my house.  This snow is so clean and fresh and beautiful.

Originally I was going out to bring our big stroller in because it got super wet yesterday in the rain and it had frozen. I was going to let it defrost and dry in the house. To get the stroller into the house I had to clear a path with the shovel. After a few minutes of being outside I decided it was too beautiful for the kids to miss out watching dumb t.v. so I made everybody (except Oliver who was sleeping) go outside.

We buried Tati like she was at the beach.

We cleaned off the cars.

While she was working, Chloe turned one car into a snow slide.

Gavin was determined to pull the sled around but that was hard work.

I could barely pull just him on the sled.

And in between having fun,

and getting tackled,

we made some snow angels.

It was a perfect morning. I love how quiet and beautiful everything is in the fresh snow.

Then we came inside and enjoyed some hot chocolate.

Bad Day Blues

Tati had a bad day at school recently. There's a girl in her class (we'll call her Twyla) who is a bit of a butt. Tati has told me about Twyla a few times.  On this day, Twyla apparently told Tati that she doesn't like her and also that she was going to have a girl playdate at her house and went out of her way to inform Tati that she wasn't invited. So I'm doing the afterschool pick up and I see Twyla's mom wrangling all these other girls with her and she's talking all loud saying, "Oh Twyla has been wanting a 'girly' playdate forever with all her 'FRIENDS' so I had to organize it."  I just smiled even though I realized that this scene was probably going to make Tati sad. 

I was right.  When Tati came out of her classroom, she was on the verge of tears as the girls all walked away. She was heart broken that she wasn't invited. I was sad for her too. Part of me wanted to say something to Twyla's mom but then I started to think about it.

Did I really want her to go to Twyla's house? No.
Does Twyla's Mom strike me as awesome? No.
If Tati had been invited to go to Twyla's house, would I have let her since I have no idea where she lives or what kind of parents she has? Probably no--maybe if Twyla's Mom made some effort to show me she was nice/normal.

Then I started to teach Tati some important life lessons:
-Sometimes things don't go as we want them to but that is a part of life.
-Sometimes people are mean for no reason.
-Even if Twyla says mean stuff to her, Tati should still be nice to her--having said that, she doesn't have to be "friends" with Twyla and that is fine.
-And finally, we don't tease people or rub in the fact that you have something or get to do something that they do not because it is mean.

Let me say, that I know there is always some sort of conflict always out there--you can't avoid it.  This experience brought out my Mama Bear a little bit and also helped me to put into perspective that it's ok and we can just move on.  I told her how much we love her and no matter what bad stuff ever happens in her life, she would always have us and we love playing with her. Despite the pep talk, she was still a bit bummed and she needed something to cheer her up.

So I busted out our secret weapon:

And that did the trick.

My Buddy and Me

One of the fears we had when I was pregnant with Oliver was that Gavin was going to be jealous of him or mean to him.  We really had nothing to worry about.  Honestly he has never once been mean to him or complained about him.  He loves his brother.  He sings to him, he talks to him, he hugs and kisses him, he even tries to give him his toys.  Here are some cute shots I've gotten of the boys together recently.

Aren't they cuties? Hopefully they'll be buddies forever.

Rockin' Grad Party

This post is old and was unfinished but I've been determined to finish it because it has some great news and a fun part.

The great news is that Greg has officially finished his PhD.  That means his dream of being "Dr. Daddy" have finally come true.  He was also able to snag a temporary teaching job at the U of Alberta this semester while a professor is on sabbatical.  It has been great.  It is the class that Greg has been the TA for for like ever and he loves the subject matter:  Igneous Petrology.  To celebrate this milestone in his life, we enjoyed a great party thrown by some friends.

It was a geology themed party and it was super fun.  Some of the desserts were:  a layered trifle, "stone"ground tortilla chips and dip, a huge slab of fudge cut and then set like a fault line, lava caramel popcorn, etc.  (I wish I took some pics--really fun).

Anyway, we mostly mingled and ate the food which is my kind of party but there was also rock climbing in the garage and what geology party would be complete without a little quiz? 

So dust off your pencil and grab a piece of paper because you are now going to see how much you know about rocks.  I'm wondering who besides my Mom and Melissa are excited about this.

First:  Write down the following options at the top of your paper: (Answers at the end)
Basalt, Granite, Limestone, Marble, Sodalite, Ggypsum, Rose Quartz, Topaz, Geode, Obsidian, Pumice, and Peridote

Now number your paper 1-12.

Here you go.  I would click on the first photo to zoom it and then you can scroll left-right to see them bigger.  Good luck!

Want the answers? Scroll down.





















1. Rose Quartz (the color was a giveaway)
2. Geode
3. Marble (this is also known as Calcite so if you knew that, you are extra smart)
4. Granite
5. Topaz (these vary in color)
6. Sodalite (the blue was a giveaway here)
7. Gypsum
8. Limestone
9. Obsidian
10. Peridote
11. Basalt
12. Pumice

For the record, I (the wife of a Geologist for some 12 years) got 10/12.  For fun, put your scores in the comment section.  

Gavin the Builder

They've been putting in a new power line right outside our backyard.  It has been both interesting and irritating.  Our windows shake most of the day and it is quite noisy.  But there are some bonuses too.  I noticed this dude was just chilling in his backhoe waiting for his turn to work so I went outside and asked if Gavin could take a picture in the backhoe.  He was really nice and Gavin LOVED it!

He brought out his little toy backloader to show the worker.  The worker was nice and told him it was cool. He was smiling non-stop while Gavin was out there. I couldn't decide if he was happy someone was appreciating his work or whether he was smiling because he was remembering how awesome it is to be a little boy. Either way, I was really glad he let us have this experience.

Snowvembrrrr II

It snowed on Sunday.  The kids were SO EXCITED!  It was beautiful and soft and oh so white.  But it was cold.

This idea of running outside in jammies and bathrobes seemed like a good idea in the moment.

But after several minutes, the hands reddened and froze and they came in a bit cranky.  Yup, that pretty much sums up Winter here.  It is really beautiful and fun at first and then it gets old and people get cranky. 

Halloweeny 2013

This year we were Vikings with our 2 little dragons.  The kids love that movie, "How to Train Your Dragon" so that was kind of the inspiration.  I bought Oliver's baby dragon costume before I was even pregnant just because I knew we were going to have another baby.  That and it was on clearance at Carter's for $2.  How could I resist that?!

Tati decided that she really didn't want to be a Viking at school.  I agreed since I had no plans to go to the school and help her with her hair and all her accessories that I didn't care if she wore something else.  So she dug out her old kraken costume (that is too tight and short) and wore that.  Here she is right after school.  Something so hilarious about a kraken with a backpack and a scarf on, eh?

We usually have gone to the costume parade at the kids' elementary school but since Tati already strutted her stuff at school with the other kinders and it was right during nap time I told Chloe we probably wouldn't make it.  She told me she was fine with it and that it actually made her feel a bit more grown up if we didn't go.  (tear)

For Halloween night, we were dressed up in all our glory.  Honestly I thought I ended up looking more like Pocahontas than a Viking but oh well.  I really enjoyed fish tail braiding the wigs.  It was especially funny because Greg was my head for the wigs as I detangled them.  Note:  Always store wigs in bags when you pack up your Halloween crap.  Also, supposedly lotion is a great detangler but it sucked.  The other idea said vegetable oil but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Here are some fun pics that my friend, Jeanette took:

The weather was favorable for here. No snow like last year and the kids made out like bandits. Our favorite babysitter even accompanied us and helped Gavin with his bag. Mostly Gavin just enjoyed ringing the doorbells and screaming "Happy Halloween" at the end.

The Professor is in.

Tati decided to wear some of our funny dress up glasses and I just couldn't stop laughing at how much she looked like Professor Tralawney in the younger years.

All you Harry Potter fans should enjoy that one.

3 Mo. Old!

Some new tricks:

• Big giggles.
• Sucking fingers.
• Looking at you when you talk to him.
• Bobbling his head really hard.

Favorites:

• Anybody holding him.
• Getting rocked to sleep.
• Sleeping with Mommy in her bed while he drinks his milk.
• Being outside.
• Showering.
•  

Dislikes:

• When Mommy eats red peppers or broccoli

While Mommy's Busy

9/1
There are times when I am really busy with feeding Oliver.  Sometimes it can take quite a long time to finish and burp him and change his diaper.  I feel a little guilty at how much time I'm not available for my other kids but then I go upstairs and see this:

 How's that for an awesome fort?  And here is what it looks like inside:

Tati said they were going to sleep in there. This is what she looks like when she is sleeping, just in case you wanted her to show you.

And what bed is ever complete without a bunch of treasures inside? I think little kids have a lot in common with hoarders. They both love to hold onto their treasures and sleep with them.

Buffalos Eat Snacks.

Greg's parents were here visiting with us this week.  We decided to take them out to our favorite get-away spot and drove over to Elk Island.

It was a bit chillier than normal but the kids didn't seem to mind.  Come on.  Isn't this beautiful?!

We took their bikes with us this time which we've never done before.  Boy, they LOVED riding down the trail.  Gavin struggled riding through the leaves so he kept getting off and on his bike and asking somebody to carry it for him.  It was fun and cute to watch them on their bikes.  The girls would ride on ahead and then turn around and come back when they got too far ahead.

We were glad that they kept coming back to check in because I was worried that they'd run into a buffalo on their way.  Little did I know I would be right on the way back.


We were stranded on the path.  He was just sitting there having a snack and wouldn't budge even when we tried to scare him off.  So I strapped the baby on in the baby carrier and Grandpa had us all bush whack down the ravine and then our plan was to go around the bison.  Unfortunately we were right where he was on the path, he finally got scared and he bounded down into the ravine where we were but luckily it was just behind us.  Nothing like a near death experience to get your blood pumping!

Once we made it back to the car, we were able to do some more investigations about what had happened.  Tati was the first one to get to the buffalo.  She said, "I saw him so I stopped."  Then she rode back and told Chloe to stop.  Then they waited for Grandma and Grandpa to catch up and then us.  (We were way behind due to a grasshopper incident with lots of tears.)  We were so proud of Tati that she stopped and handled the situation safely and without freaking out.  She said she just remembered what we had told them the very first time we went to Elk Island that if you see a buffalo, just stop and slowly walk backwards away from it.  I'm just so grateful that she didn't try and pet it or say "hi" because those are both things I would expect from her.  **Disclaimer:  He looks smaller here than in real life but he is a young male.  We figured that made him more dangerous than normal.**

We made a fire this time.  Most times we've gone it has been too hot to even have a desire to make a fire so we planned this time to roast some hot dogs and also to roast some marshmallows and make smores.  It was really fun and the kids LOVED it!  Both Tati and Gavin surprised us by how well they listened to the fire safety rules and how well they roasted their marshmallows--turning and toasting it.

As we were roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, we heard a bunch of "squaking" like crazy.  We looked up and saw a bunch of birds that we'd never seen before.  We couldn't believe how enormous they were and how noisy they were.  Big, and white.  It finally hit us and we remembered one time when we were there and ran into a bunch of bird watchers with awesome cameras.  They were super excited because they had seen some trumpeter swans.  That's what they were.  Chloe was reading that book by E.B. White when we were there so it was kind of a big thrill to hear the bird peeps talking about seeing them in real life.  She kept looking along the lakeside for them.  Never did see them then.  So she was really pumped to be able to see them this time.  Evidently they are endangered.

Ok so back to the grasshopper incident.  Gavin found a grasshopper and wanted to take it home but having a grasshopper required that he use both his hands to keep it from hopping away (poor thing).  He also wanted to ride his bike.  So I suggested he either ride in the stroller and hold the grasshopper or that the grasshopper ride in the hood of his sweatshirt as he rode his bike. He initially chose to have the grasshopper ride in his hood then the decided he was too tired to ride his bike so wanted to ride in the stroller.  That just required us to get the grasshopper out of his hood.  That's when we noticed it had lost a leg.  Poor thing.  But Gavin refused to let him go.  He said, "He's ok Mommy.  His leg is not hurting."  This pic in before he lost his limb in nam.  No disrespect to those who have actually been to nam.

He just fell right in love with that thing. Speaking of falling in love.  How cute is Gavin here?

Oliver just mostly sad around looking cute or enjoyed people holding him.  It's hard to put him down sometimes because he is so cozy and happy and he makes you feel happy.

As we were heading back to the car and recounting our adventurous day at the park, Greg and Gavin had the following conversation:

Greg:   "Gavin, do you know what buffalos eat?"
Gavin: "Yeah."
Greg:    "What do they eat?"
Gavin:  "Snacks."

Selfies

She is 5.  She is coo-koo.  She loves selfies.

I'm worried about what the teenage years might look like already.  We have an old, crappy digital camera that we let the girls use when we go for outings.  Tati's shots were basically all her and shots of inside the car or glare on the window.  And movies of her talking silly. 

I just showed her this collage and she asked me if I could print it for her.  Ha, ha.

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time!

The leaves are
f
a
l
l
i
n
g

down.  All around the town.  We thought we'd take advantage of the beautiful weather and squeeze in a last minute hike before all the leaves were down and the snow comes.  Still no snow yet!

I just strapped on my little "Baby Birdie" as we like to call him or in this case he was a little baby bear, and we were off!

Here's a super cute one of Gavin. Wasn't the lighting great?

Here's a cute, little waterfall that the girls fell in love with.

Trying to get a good picture of the kids is like herding cats. Is that the saying? Apparently herding cats would be like taking pictures of my kids.

The kids had a blast. The girls had their cameras and were taking blurry pictures of each other and of leaves and rocks and what not. It was great. We stopped half way and had a snack: seaweed, edamames and granola bars. Greg was here too, he just was behind the camera.