Blake's 6th birthday party!

Today we had Blake's 6th birthday party at the St. Albert Bowling Centre!  We had 13 kids, for 1 hr of bowling and 1 hr of pizza, cupcakes and gift opening!  

Blake had a great time, and so did we!  He invited 5 friends from school, 2 of his cousins, his sisters (of course!) and 3 other friends.  He would have loved to have invited his entire class but we limited it to 5 ;)  

Blake requested a GI Joe theme for his birthday party, so Cal, my sister and I combined our efforts to make a "Cobra Commander" birthday invitation and at the last minute I found some reasonably priced GI Joe decor online!!  We went with cupcakes for the 'cake' with little army figurines I also found online.  And white cake and icing of course, as Blake does not care for chocolate!!!  Blake and I hit up Dollarama for loot bag goodies and had fun choosing items and putting them together earlier this week.  I love that Blake had to customize each bag!  He knew that certain friends preferred certain colors and so had to make sure they got that color of toy in their bag :)  

The party-goers were all so well behaved and seemed to have a great time!!  This was the first time our kids have bowled and after some warming up, they all loved it.  We foresee a few more trips to the bowling alley coming up!  Maybe this fall or winter when we're looking for an indoor activity. 

Thanks again to everyone who joined us today and spoiled our boy :)  He is over the moon with his new HotWheels toys, Lego and GI Joe!!!

This week Blake and I will be making cupcakes to send to school on Friday for his class and on Sunday we have some more birthday festivities planned with more family and friends!  He'll be good and spoiled by the week's end and I think that is great - he more than deserves it :) :)   

~ Tracy 

Reese

Our Reesey is a little spitfire!!!!

She is so darn adorable, I want to take a bite out of her daily!!!!   Not literally, I hope you know what I mean ;)  She is at a great age, talking SOOOO much!  In fact, last week after dropping Blake and Em off at school Tuesday morning, Reese and I went grocery shopping.  We were browsing the aisles when an older lady walked up to us.  She ooo'ed and awww'ed at Reese for a few minutes and then turned to me and asked, "Does she always talk that much?"  I said, "Yes she does!!  Non stop!"  She told me she heard her talking non stop throughout the grocery store and really enjoyed listening to her :)  She said Reese was so cute, not too loud, just happy to share her stories!  It was very sweet :)

Reese loooooves to sing!  She breaks out in song anywhere and everywhere!  Her favorite songs to sing are the ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  It's very cute, she has a very sweet, soft singing voice.  Speaking of singing, a few weeks ago Reese started insisting that Emerson sing her a song at nap time :)  It's very cute, Em sings and reaches through Reese's crib rails and strokes her forehead!  She wants Blake to join in every now and then.

We want to move Reese into a 'big girl' bed very soon.  Just need to haul it up from the basement and get a mattress!!  It would be nice to have her in it before camping season, but I'm not sure that will happen.  We also need to concentrate a few days on potty training Reese.  She's ready and uses the potty now and then, so I'm thinking it will be quick.  Just need to find the time ...

Reese is still enjoying her swimming lessons!  It's crazy how brave she is in the water!  She shoots right down the slide and under the water, no problem at all!!  She's excited to 'swim' through the hula hoop that the instructor holds under the water, no problem at all!  We'll take a break from swimming lessons for the summer and next winter Reese will be able to move on to unparented swimming lessons :S  That is hard to believe ... our baby will be 3?!  Wow!

I still take Reese to Come Play With Me at the YMCA, 1 or 2 times a week.  She loves it and since she's getting a bit older, has an easier time doing the crafts!  The glue actually goes on the paper, instead of all over the table ;)  She loves circle time and I adore watching her sing all the songs and do all the actions!

On one hand Reese is very much the baby of the family but on the other hand she is growing up far faster then her brother or sister.  She is fiercely independent and stubborn, insisting on doing EVERYTHING by herself - getting dressed, eating, opening and closing things, putting her shoes on, doing her own hair, etc, etc, etc. She refuses help with most everything and says, "I don't need your help!" and "I can do it!" numerous times a day!!!  It can be frustrating but if she tries it and does need help she will say, "Mommy help me?" :)  At Church on Sunday as Cal and Reese were going down some steep stairs, Cal asked if she needed a hand and of course she replied, "NO!"  An older gentleman was coming up the stairs and he remarked at how independent she was and said it was a good thing, you'll appreciate that in the future!  I'm sure he has noticed her 'independance' shining through during Church ...  We now take her to the Church nursery after the children's stories, at the same time that Blake and Em go to Church school.  She enjoys it there, playing with dolls, watching Dora, snacking, it's a real party down there!!!  I was hesitant to drop her off  but she has a hard time keeping quiet at the back of the Church and even though the ministers make a point of letting everyone know that children are welcome during the service (there are even toys, books and coloring sheets at the back of the Church for kids), she was a handful!!  And we had no problems, she stays with Grandma Marilyn in the nursery and has a great time :)

Reese follows along in her big sister's footsteps, creating her own dance moves and routines!  She says, "Watch this!" as she twirls, jumps and hops around!  It's very cute and she is very proud of herself ;)  She also loves to ride the plasma car and attempt to ride the tricycle and Em's bike!!  She makes up fun games and has a vivid imagination, just like Blake and Em.

I'm hoping to get the girls in a gymnastics class in the fall, as long as I can find classes running at the same time and on a day that Em doesn't have preschool!  I know Reese would love it and Em keeps asking to do gymnastics again.

So there's an update on our 3rd child ... most often known as Goose and Reesey ;)

Mr. Blake

Blake's turn for a quick update :)

Blake will soon be 6 ... soon to be a kindergarten graduate!!  He is enjoying kindergarten and we are very impressed with how much he is learning and bringing home, especially since Christmas.  It's really neat to hear him interacting with his teacher in French, every morning when we drop him off at school  He and Mme. Emilie greet each other in French and have a short conversation!  She speaks French to the class as much as possible.  It is amazing how fast he has picked a second language.  I took him to his Demonstration of Learning on the 14th.  This was his second Demonstration of Learning.  This time he took us through his morning routine, identifying his name and his classmates names on the Smart Board, putting the days of the week (in French) in order and saying them as he did so and singing their days of the week and months of the year song (in French).  He told me about their recent religion discussions and the 'seeds of friendship', how they grow and what can help them grow.  He showed me the numeracy station, sorting dinosaur eggs into the various colors, telling me the colors in French, and then I asked him to create a pattern (I used ABBAC, with each color corresponding with a different letter).  We did a few of these patterns, he was way too fast and way to proficient ;)  He read me a book in French, identified various shapes, numbers and letters in French and showed me a short video on the iPad's of his class singing some of their daily songs!  His favorite centre was the fine motor centre, which during his last unit was a paleontology centre.  He told me how the centre works, what the safety guide lines are (I had to wear plastic gloves and goggles to 'dig' up some dinosaur fossils!) and what they are doing at the centre.  He has always been interested in dinosaurs, so this unit was right up his alley!!  They've learned about the world during the time of the dinosaurs, herbivores vs carnivores, how to tell the difference between the two, etc, etc.  He was very excited for his in school field trip on the 21st, a paleontologist came to the classroom!!  Which is why we thought a trip to the museum in Drumheller was a good idea.  The last time we were there, I was pregnant with Reese.  Great timing with Blake recently learning about dinosaurs at school!!

Blake LOVES math!  He will spend a lot of time doing addition in his head and on paper.  He plays a game where he rolls two dice, writes the two numbers down on a piece of paper and then adds them up!  Cal recently showed him how to do long addition (I think that is what it's called?) and he's been practicing that!

Blake was really excited to have Max over for a play date over Spring Break!  He told me Max loves science and Lego, just like him :)  Blake seems to be quite a 'popular' kid in school ... I keep hearing about all these girls who have a crush on him!!  Honestly, makes me worry a little bit but I guess that is the nature of girls?!  He has another school birthday party coming up on Friday and is excited!  I asked him what Brooke would want for her birthday and right away he said, "Monster High stuff!"  I told Cal and he said, "Isn't that like Goth Barbie Dolls?"  Yup, I think so!!!!  LOL!!  He's making lots of great friends in Kindergarten ... for example, his "bacon twin!"  Yup, that's right, his "bacon twin!"  I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but he informed me that after a couple of weeks of school, he and Gavin figured out that they both really love bacon, so Blake started calling them the "bacon twins!!"  Apparently Gavin also thinks it's funny ;)

Blake still LOVES Lego and we recently convinced him to put away his Thomas trains/tracks/accessories and turn his train table into a LEGO table!  This has given him more room to build and spread out a little bit more!!  I'd say LEGO is his #1 favorite activity, although he also really enjoys drawing and 'inventing'!  He is always asking to do science experiments and I have to admit I'm not that good at coming up with experiments :(  I've been looking on Pinterest though, so hopefully we'll put something together!

We had Blake's hockey wind-up party on Saturday afternoon.  We had a great time!  It was held on the military base, at the fitness centre.  There were 2 party host's that led the kids through games of floor hockey, dodge ball and soccer and then we also had a party room for snacks and food and trophy and Coach gift presentations!  He had such a great little team this year, I hope next year is just as great :)  The kids were all pretty tuckered out from running for 3 hours straight, not to mention the had swimming lessons before the party!  Good times :)

Blake's looking forward to playing ball hockey this Spring, it starts mid-April!  He's also talking with Cal about training for his next ABC Kids Event at the Canadian Derby Marathon :)  He likes to run, just like his Dad!  Emerson is going to give it a shot this year, too!!

Blake has some fun field trips coming up - a visit to sing to Seniors at the Kipness Veteran's Centre, a field trip to Prairie Gardens and a field trip to the Valley Zoo!  Hopefully we can get in on the volunteer list for at least one of those!!

So there's a little update on our favorite little guy :)  Love him to death!

All about Emerson :)

Also known as Em, Emmy (Reese started this nickname), Em the gem and Sweetie!!!

Emerson is LOVING preschool.  She flourishes in this environment!  She is outgoing, friendly, helpful and such a pleasure according to Mrs. York and Mrs. Chong ;)  They have told us they can not believe she is not 5 yet and thought for sure she'd be going to kindergarten next year.  She could go to KG but she would be the youngest in her class, being only two weeks away from the March 1st cut-off.  And we've decided she could benefit from one more year of preschool!  We feel that most especially, emotionally she will mature more next year and be better equipped for longer days at school.  She knows all the letters of the alphabet but is still getting the hang of writing them and working on writing her name (I feel bad for giving her such a long name!!).  Anytime I've volunteered in her classroom, I have been very surprised at how many questions she can/does answer!!  She's a wealth of knowledge ;)  And so polite and follows all the classroom rules!  I think this is definitely one of the reasons she is such a nice student to have!  We've registered her for the three morning's a week program (M/W/F), beginning September 2013.

Em had her 1st play date at a preschool friends house a few weekends ago!  She was very excited but a little unsure too.  But once we got to Samantha's she ran off and did not want to leave when I came to pick her up ;)  In fact, she wanted to sleepover!!!

Emerson continues to enjoy dance class but even more so, dancing around the house and putting on 'performances' for Cal, Blake, Reese and I!  She is quite the performer and very precise with her dance moves and foot placement, etc!!  She came home from dance last week with a sheet that had her year end recital performance on it, so she can practice at home :)  She's very excited for her year end recital, especially to dance on the BIG stage!!!  And big stage it will be, her recital is at the Jubilee!!  I don't think she has any idea of just how big that stage will be, hopefully there will be no stage fright ;)

Em loves playing soccer at home and is really excited to start soccer at the beginning of May!  She kicks the ball around at home and is always saying, "I'm really good at soccer!"  She told us the other day that she wants to play goalie so that she can use her hands!

Emerson continues to enjoy swimming lessons!  She is very proud of her bobs and how many bobs she can do ;)  Blake and Em also recently started going to Mighty Munchkins again!  They enjoy the sports, games, crafts and free time at Mighty Munchkins!  I love how Blake watches over Em, always by her side and making sure she is not left behind :)

It is adorable to see Em and Reese playing together.  I really enjoy listening to their interactions.  Their play time often includes building forts, going to the swimming pool (the bath tub - without water in it), going to the spray park (Reese's bedroom), playing in Blake and Em's room, going camping, dancing and putting on performances and taking care of their babies and husbands (seriously, Em named one of her dolls "Husband" and Reese followed suite!  It's quite hilarious - especially when they put their husbands for a nap ;)  LOL!!).  They rarely argue, Emerson often gives in to Reese ;)  And Reese knows that and plays it up, in my opinion!!!!!  She'll start the tears and Em will be all, "It's okay Baby.  It's okay Reesey!"  Hmmmmm ... something about the 'baby' in the family, maybe?!  JK!!  I'm glad they play so well together and very happy they have each other - a sister is one of the greatest gifts :)  Add to that a kick a$* brother and they are both very lucky girls!!!

We did go through a troubling time with Em last month :(  It started with night terrors, which sometimes lead to middle of the day tantrums.  I used to think Blake had night terrors but no, I now know what night terrors are!!  At her 4 yr check up she had, had a few of these episodes and from what I could describe to Dr. Radisic, he also thought they were night terrors.  She starts whimpering, kind of crying in her bed, her eyes are closed, and then it turns into all out screaming, kicking, hitting, etc.  If she gets out of bed or we move her, she opens her eyes but the 'episode' can last anywhere up to 20 minutes.  It's terrible.  Absolutely terrible.  And stressful.  We would bring her downstairs because we didn't want her to wake up Blake and Reese, sit her on the couch and try to calm her down by turning off the lights and the t.v. and staying near but not interfering too much.  She'd all of a sudden snap out of it and want Cal to put her back to bed.  And she'd fall asleep in an instant and in the morning when we ask about it, she had no idea.  Of course she makes up stories!  We'd ask, "What happened last night Emerson?  Why did you wake up so upset?"  Some of the answers we received included, "My lips were chapped and bugging me.  I had to go pee.  I didn't like my covers."  Did I mention how terrible and stressful it was?!  It was hard because Cal and I both got instantly angry but we learned to just let it play out for the most part. For a week it was almost every night.  Thankfully she seems to have grown out of it!!  Not only was it hard on us but we noticed it was also quite hard on her :(  The morning after she looked quite tired, I'm sure it took a lot out of her.  We've been making a special effort to spend a bit more one-on-one time with Em and Cal and I both read 1-2-3 Magic, a great book on discipline.  I think sometimes Em might feel a bit left out, I totally get the whole middle child thing.  Blake is older and more involved in extra curricular activities, which equals more one-on-one time with 1 parent and Reese is alone with us quite a bit too (parented swimming lessons with Cal and every Tuesday morning with me) but Em is often with us and at least one other sibling!  Not that this should constitute throwing a MAJOR tantrum but I do think some special time with just her has helped, as well as us keeping our cool and using a specific discipline technique!!  Ahhhh the challenging side of being a parent ;)

I had a great time accompanying Emerson and her class on a behind the scenes field trip to Sea Live Caverns!  We had never been to the cavern's!  We fed the sea turtles, learned all about the penguins and had a private seal lion show.  It was great, Em loved every minute!  The preschool does so many great field trips, a few weeks ago they visited Rutherford House.  Rutherford House was Em's first field trip without Cal or I.  She enjoyed it and had some stories to tell about the infamous Rutherford mouse!!!

Emerson is super excited for camping season!!  She regularly wants to start packing and often refers to time lines as, "Is that when camping season is?"  :)

~ Tracy

Spring Break/Easter 2013

Highlights:

~ Em and I had a blast at an Easter party, hosted by her preschool classmate

~ a family day trip to Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum

~ fun at Kidz Quarterz

~ Blake was very excited to have a kindergarten friend over for a play date!

~ a visit with Connor and Lindsay

~ tons of fun at 2 Chapter's 'Spring Break' events!

~ puddle splashing, trips to the park

~ many games of Go Fish :)

~ lots of 'slow' mornings, cuddled up in Mom and Dad's bed, watching cartoons!

~ waking up to treats from the Edmonton and Stony Plain Easter Bunnies on Easter Sunday!

~ a nice Easter service at Church

~ and best of all, a 10 day 'staycation' with the entire family :) :)

Tim Horton's Timbits Hockey Tournament

We sent the majority of our weekend at the Terwillegar Rec Centre cheering on Blake and the Bobcats!!  It was a fabulous weekend, tons of fun partaking in the Timbits tourney!!  Blake played 2 games on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.  Between games on Saturday the team went for lunch.  The kids (and adults!) had so much fun!!  Tournaments really bring a team and their families together, I think they should have a tournament at the beginning of the year too :)  Also between games, the kids lined up for air-brushed tattoo's and balloon animals!  And the biggest news from the weekend ... Blake scored his 1st goal!!!!  Everyone was SO excited - Cal and I, Emerson and Reese, the other Coaches, parents and his teammates.  It was awesome!!  I think Blake was a bit surprised ... after he scored he turned and raised his arms, looking for Cal!  Once he saw Cal and Cal raised his arms, he started skating towards him, it was really cute!  And then he skated by the bench for high fives!  Blake, Cal and I are kind of sad the hockey season is over.  Some of the other Mom's and I were saying how much we'll miss seeing each other.  We will need to plan some play dates and we will see each other at the year end wind-up at the beginning of April.  It was a great season, spent with wonderful kids and parents and a lot of fun was had by all :)  Here are some fun memories from the weekend:

Signing off as a 'Hockey Mom' ... until next season!

There's a 1st time for everything!

Yesterday evening was the first time the kids were put to bed by someone other then Cal, myself or my Mom!  Our babysitter did fabulous, for which we were very relieved ;)  She told us the kids were great and probably could have put themselves to bed!!!  She's great, has tons of experience with younger kids - she has two younger brothers and has worked in a daycare.  So now that we've overcame that 'hump' we have now planned two more evenings out!!  It's great, albeit expensive with the babysitter fee's!!!!  lol!

It was a busy day for Blake - he had his Cabane a Sucre celebration at school that morning and his first Sports Spectacular class this afternoon!  He enjoyed the Cabane a Sucre celebration, especially the la tire (maple toffee) and the horse drawn wagon ride :)  The girls and I were busy this morning, with a Cameron's Closet meet!  They are so good during these long mornings, I am very grateful!

Today was Blake's first two games of the Timbits Hockey tournament!!  Super exciting and lots of fun - blog post to follow ;)

Have a great weekend!!

xo
Tracy