Happy 2nd Birthday, Reese :)

Today is Reese's 2nd birthday, although i you ask her how old she is she will tell you 3!!  We had such a great day!!  When we awoke this morning, Reese opened our gifts to her.  Then it was off to drop Blake off at Kindergarten!  After we dropped Blake off, Cal, Em, Reese and I made our usual stop at Timmies ;)  We all had breakfast and enjoyed chatting with some neighbouring Timmies customers!  We love visiting Tim Horton's in the mornings, everyone is so friendly and we're usually the youngest people in there!!  After breakfast, I took the girls to Come Play With Me.  We all had a great time, the girls absolutely love this program and Miss Christine :)  It's so much fun to see them singing and dancing and loving craft time!

After Reese's nap we all headed out side to play in the snow and sled down the 'hill' in our front yard!  Our neighbour used his quad and blade and enlisted the help of a city operated bobcat to create a huge snow pile in our front yard.  It's awesome and the kids love sledding down the hill!  Of course, playtime outside is often followed by hot chocolate and being Reese's birthday we added marshmallows to that hot chocolate ;)

Reese had a great day, enjoying a favorite dinner (chicken nuggets and yam fries) and enjoyed another round of "Happy Birthday" and cake!

It is hard to believe our Reesey is 2.  She is a smart little cookie and has learned soooo much from her big brother and sister.  It is amazing how a little person can pick so much up, just from being around a 3 and 5 year old!!  She has an extensive vocabulary and puts long sentences together!  Her words are not always easy to understand but she sure has a lot to say!!  Reese is very independent ... she does not want help with anything!  Dressing, taking off her diaper, feeding herself, climbing up and down stairs (no matter how steep), when we attempt to help her, we get a stern, "ME DO IT!"  We can not imagine our family with out her, it would feel incomplete.  She has brought so much joy to our family and has really brought out Emerson's kind, loving, motherly nature, which often amazes me!  She is so, so, so good with Reese, it is heartwarming.  Blake is also great with Reese and such a fantastic big bro!!  

Reese, we love you beyond words.  Your spunky personality, your goofiness (love your dance moves, I really need to capture them on video!), your love for your family, your infectious laugh, your gorgeous blue eyes and pinchable cheeks, from your head to your toes you are a perfect little package :)  You are such a cuddly little girl and I love how you gently pat my back sometimes when I hug you.  You are becoming more and more of a Daddies girl, 2 seems to be the age this happens in our house!  Thank you for being you Reese, letting your individuality shine through, keeping every moment interesting and fun and bringing much love and joy to our family!  We love you more then you will ever know and can't wait to enjoy this next year with you :)

xoxo Mom and Dad

It's a Paw-ty!!

We hosted Reese's 2nd birthday party on Saturday the 17th.  It was hard to pick a date/time that worked around Blake's hockey schedule but we figured it out!

Her party was a puppy theme and I had a great time planning!  Thank you to Pinterest for all the fabulous ideas and Etsy for the decor ;)  Reese had a cold and wasn't in the best of moods but by the time the party got into full swing she was her happy self and had fun!!  We made puppy party headbands (I had to call them hats around Blake because there was no way he was wearing a headband!!) and the kids enjoyed adopting a puppy at Reese's puppy shop!  They chose a puppy stuffie, filled out an adoption certificate, and filled their loot bags with puppy supplies (kibble, puppy vitamins and fetch sticks!)!

Thank you to everyone who came to the party and helped us celebrate our baby girls 2nd birthday!!  We hope you had a dog-gone good time!!  Reese is having lots of fun, discovering all her new gifts and Blake and Em are also enjoying them ;)


xo
Tracy

Fundraiser's, Dentist's and Parties!!

Lago Lindo preschool's big fundraiser is coming up on November 17th and I volunteered to be on the Fundraising Committee.  I'm asking myself why?!  lol!  Like I have all the extra time in the world ... but if I don't volunteer, I'm just like the rest - "Someone is taking care of it."  "I'm sure they have enough volunteers."  "I'm too busy!" etc etc etc.  Volunteers are hard to come by!  And truthfully, I am enjoying our committee meetings and meeting some of the other Mom's!  The lady who is the head of the fundraising committee is extremely organized and has ran many similar events, so knows what she is doing!  We're having a pub night and silent auction, along with a few different raffles.  Our goal is to raise $8000.00, which will cover the field trip expenses for the year (including busing), the Christmas party and year end party and a yearbook for each child.  Anything over and above $8000.00 will go into a savings account, which is for the building of a new preschool.  We're working hard, hoping to beat last year's $10,000.00 raised!!

Emerson is getting an appliance, called a crib, in her mouth to help her stop sucking her thumb.  Our dentist recommended this appliance when she was 3 years old but I've found it hard to come to this decision.  I really feel for her, it is a huge help in comforting herself and falling asleep and to take that away seems cruel :s  But on the other hand, we will be thankful in a few years when she doesn't have jaw and teeth alignment problems from thumb sucking!  And she will thank us, I'm sure!  Our dentist applied the same appliance in her daughter's mouth when her daughter was 3 and said that she noticed a huge difference in just 6 months.  If you look closely, Em's teeth are starting to form a peak in the front, which is from sucking her thumb.  Her first appointment was on the 7th.  She did well, but it was tough having the metal rings fitted to her teeth and the impressions made.  I've never had impressions made, but my Mom, Cal and Lindsay have all told me it is not fun.  Em seemed to have a hard time remembering to breathe through her nose, so we just kept reminding her and she got through it!  The appliance gets cemented in on the 15th.  Wish us luck :)

This morning there was a nice Remembrance Day service at Church.  Sunday school was cancelled due to the special day but they ran some kids activities at the back of the Church, which our kids enjoyed!  One of the Sunday school teachers let us know that next weekend the kids will be building ginger bread houses.  This has sparked a lot of excitement in Blake and Em!!!  They're very excited for next Sunday ;)  This afternoon we attended Danica's 2nd birthday party!  Danica is just 1 day younger then Reese!!  We had a great time!  Jodi hired "Lady Dolphin" to face paint and entertain and she was an absolute hoot!!  Quite the character ;)  I'm not sure if she was in 'character' or if that is her personality?!  It was hard to tell!!  But regardless, she was a lot of fun and the kids loved her!  Emerson had her face painted as a heart princess, Blake was Captain America and Reese allowed Lady Dolphin to paint some pretty designs on her cheeks and forehead!  It took a little convincing, in the form of Daddy getting some painting done of his own ;)  Cal is such a good sport!!  Jodi told me her Mom said to her, "Tracy's husband is so good with kids!  He's just letting them paint his arms, his cheeks!  What a good guy!"  That he is :)  Unfortunately, on the way to the van Cal stepped down onto the road and rolled his ankle.  It was quite painful and hard to walk on but we think it is just a sprain.  He'll be resting it for a week or so and we'll be keeping an eye on it.

Monday is a STAT holiday and we were hoping to go public skating but with Cal's injured ankle he is not going to be able to go.  Instead, we'll still all go to the rink but I'll just go on the ice with the kids.  And because Monday is Cal's day off (due to working 4 10's) he gets Tuesday off too!!  I don't know why I feel like I have to defend Cal's work schedule but I do ... some days ... especially when it results in a 4 day long weekend!!  He works very hard and earns every minute!  He not only does a fantastic job in is current role but is also helping cover a management position (one he turned down ;) ) and works a lot of O.T. in the evenings, covering work in his previous position!  So while he may not have a 'traditional' work schedule, he puts in more then his fair share of hours ;)

Tuesday morning we're going to do some errands for Reese's 2nd birthday party, which is on Saturday!!  Coming up quickly!  We're having a puppy themed party, and we're all looking forward to it :)  I can NOT believe Reese is turning two.  Oh, and we are going to celebrate my birthday on Tuesday evening!!  Chinese food and cake ... yum yum ;)

Take care everyone, talk to you soon!

xo

Tracy

You Are Unique

Today I had the pleasure of volunteering in Blake's classroom during an in school field trip!!  It has been a volunteering kind of two weeks for Cal and I!!  And we love it :)  We're very thankful for the opportunity to volunteer in the kids classrooms.

This in school field trip was all about being unique and different.  It was fantastic!  Such a great lesson for the kids.  The leader was wonderful, she travels from school to school running this presentation in kindergarten classes.  The students identified how they are unique from their classmates and did some fun exercises, forming trains based on hair color, eye color, activity preferences, etc.  The blue eyed train would walk around the classroom and pick up the green eyed cars, etc. etc. until one long train was formed!  They also did a craft where they chose activities they like to do and objects they like and put together a small model of themselves, choosing their hair color, eye color, clothing, socks and a hat.  I asked Blake what he learned from the field trip and he said, "Everyone is unique and special!"  Objective met :)

After the field trip, Blake and I went shopping for some new long sleeve t's!  His classroom seems a bit chilly to me!  Then we went to Cora's for brunch.  It was delicious, I'd never been before!  It was a great 'date' with Blake!  We find he's so quiet, doesn't say much so we're trying to spend some more 1 on 1 time with him, hoping he'll open up a bit more :)  And while he was definitely not a chatterbox (like his sisters!) we enjoyed ourselves and had some good chats!!  It's nice to focus all your attention on 1 child once in awhile!  When we're by ourselves with Emerson she talks our ear off!!  But as you know, she is quite the story teller and we find ourselves wondering, "Hmmmmm ... do Mrs. York and Mrs. Chong really live together?!"  "Did Emerson really go to see Cinderella last night while we were sleeping?!"  LOL!!  The stories she weaves are something else ;)  But we enjoy hearing them and spending time with Em, as she keeps us entertained and tells us allll about everything!!!  Reese is a bit quieter, being almost 2, but I can see in the future she will be as chatty as Em!

I'm hoping we can squeeze in time to get our flu shots this week.  We never got the flu shot last year and I think it was our 'sickest' winter.  I've heard there is a nasal mist available for the kids but it is a live culture?!  I think we'll just stick to the same old needle, as I've heard more kids who are getting the nasal mist are getting the flu before building an immunity because it's a live culture.  I don't know but I do know we've gotten the needle before, so we'll stick with that for this year!!  And hopefully the kids will cooperate.  I've never had problems with them before but as they get older, they get a bit more scared!

Talk to you soon,

Tracy  

Happy Halloween!!

We had a rockin' Halloween!!

Emerson & I at her preschool Halloween party 

It started off with Emerson's preschool Halloween party on the 30th.  I volunteered in her classroom that day and we had a blast!  The party planning committee did a great job putting together the party.  There were numerous craft stations, a decorate your own mini-pumpkin station (the mini-pumpkin was a Christmas orange!), decorate a Halloween cookie station and a bean bag toss!  And of course a delicious pot luck!  I love this preschool :)  So well organized and even though there are volunteer commitments and slightly higher fees, it is all so worth it!  Em LOVES preschool and her teachers, which is so awesome!  She's so bubbly and talkative and cooperative and Mrs. York and Mrs. Chong have told both Cal and I many times that she is such a good classmate and friend to her peers, which is so awesome to hear!

Blake & I at his KG party

On the 31st, I volunteered in Blake's classroom for his Halloween party!  We had a lot of fun!  I wore my pink Crayon costume and coincidentally, Mme. Monique was dressed up as a blue crayon!  During the parade through the classrooms everyone kept asking us if we'd planned our costumes.  We didn't but it sure looked like we did!!  I enjoyed my morning in Blake's class.  The kids are all so sweet and Halloween is such a fun time, you can't help but get swept up in the children's excitement!!

Our dragon, puppy dog & ninja

This year Halloween Day was quite chilly.  I don't remember the last time it was this cold on Halloween.  But the kids were very excited to go trick or treating and thankfully we could fit quite a few layers under all of their costumes (in fact, Reese was sweating when Cal took her costume off!)!  So we bundled up and headed out!!  We stopped at most of the houses on our block and then the kids jumped in the wagon and we ran as fast as we could to the Parenteau's neighbourhood!  We were hoping to get some protection from the wind in one of the crescents but it didn't happen!  The girls visited a few more houses and decided to head back home with Cal.  Blake and I continued on with Eric, Christa and Berlyn.  Blake was getting quite cold but he did not want to stop!!  The Parenteau's headed home and we started in the direction of our house.  Blake kept saying, "Only 3 more houses, Mom!"  But would see some cool decorations and say, "And that one, Mom!"  lol!  He had quite the pumpkin full of candy!!  Finally a pee break was needed and we got home as fast as we could :)  I love Halloween, the excitement of the kids, the visiting with neighbours and friends, seeing all the adorable costumes, it's all just so much fun :) Can't wait for next year!!

We hope you had a fun and safe Halloween, too!!  And kept somewhat warm!!

xo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

3 nights, 4 days

Closer to leaving for Denver, I started getting a bit worried about leaving our kids for 3 nights, well 4 really because we didn't get home until midnight Monday, and 4 days.  We keep a pretty close arm around their shoulders and I know we're kind of helicopter parents at times, but that's us.  They're not used to us leaving them, 99% of the time Cal and I are both home for bedtime, there's probably only 3 or 4 times in Blake's life that either Cal or I haven't put him to bed.  That's just how we roll!  I worried that Emerson would miss us, she can be quite a mommy and/or daddies girl.  She has matured emotionally so much over the past 6 months but still has her 'moments'!  Moments when it takes a special word, a special embrace, or just knowing her inside and out to calm her down and get her back to happy, bubbly Em!  I worried that Blake would worry.  He is such a worry-wart.  A week prior to us leaving he was asking all kinds of questions, "Why if it is only 4 hours away, can't you go to Peyton Manning's game and come home the next day?"  We told him the airplane ride was approx. 4 hours, which prompted the question.  "Where are you going to sleep?"  etc, etc.  And I worried Reese wouldn't sleep well and would be grumpy!  And I worried that asking someone to take care of our three kids for this long of a time was a bit much to ask of someone!!  There are days when I am overwhelmed, exhausted and have a hard time keeping up with all that needs/should be done, never mind someone who isn't used to the 24 hr/day chaos of 3 munchkins!!

But turns out everyone did well (although Reese did not sleep her best!).  My Mom said everything went better then she thought it would, which is fantastic!!  She got Blake dropped off at school on time, all the kids were super cooperative getting out the door (they always are, thankfully!), Dad took Blake to hockey on Sat and Sun, everyone went out for supper, Blake and Dad completed a tough Ninjago LEGO set, they played, shovelled snow, and had fun!  Sounds like they were on their best behaviour, thank goodness :)

We had a wonderful time in Denver!  We walked a lot, enjoyed numerous leisurely brunches, lunches, dinners and beverages!  We slept in, took naps, shopped and had a blast at the Bronco's game!!!  Our hotel with nice, our king size bed heavenly!!  Downtown Denver is very nice, we felt really safe and walked for blocks upon blocks, checking out the shops along the 16th street mall.  We also visited the Cherry Creek shopping district and mall, which was also very nice.  The mall was pretty normal but the outside shopping district was very nice.  A lot of upscale stores and a nice part of town.  And of course, we had to visit a Super Target!!  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, for our wallets) all our luggage was stuffed full and we didn't have enough room to do much shopping at Target ;)  It was fun to look though!!  We had a great time and some much needed R&R :)  We visited Mile High Stadium the first day we got there, just to see it, check out the Bronco's store, and figure out how to take the light rail there for the game!  Took us awhile to figure out the bus/train system and our first visit there we took a really round about way, but that's the fun of discovering a new city ;)  Game day was very exciting!  We headed to the stadium early and got to see some of the players walking in.  We hooked up with a friend of a friend at a tailgate party, which was cool!  Walking through all the tailgaters was fun too, people sure take their tailgating seriously!!!  It's awesome!  I wish we lived in an NFL city, it would be so much fun!!  Our seats were great, not super close to the field but not too high up either.  The Bronco's and Peyton Manning played awesome and kicked butt!  We saw Peyton throw 3 TD's!  The energy in the stadium was crazy, 76,000 screaming and cheering fans!  Can't wait to go to another game!!  We'd like to go to Indianapolis if there's ever a Colts vs Bronco's game!  Cal's still a big Indy fan and an Andrew Luck fan, so it would be pretty cool.  I'd like to fly in to Chicago, see a baseball game there and drive to Indy but not sure if we'd be able to pull that off!!  We'll see!

We facetimed with the kids a few times.  And they wanted to see our hotel, etc, so I sent some pics via text to my Mom!!  They missed us, it was really sweet to see their smiles and feel their tight hugs when we got home!  We went in to check on Blake and Em and they woke up and gave us big hugs :)  Reese woke up not long after we got home, so we got to give her a big hug too!!  It felt like we were gone for a good amount of time!  Not too long, I really don't know if I could leave them for a week.  I wouldn't want to try, at least not yet!

Thank you SOOOOO much to my parents for taking care of the kids so we could get away.  We really, really appreciate it and we are so very grateful for your help, love and support!  We'll let you re-charge your batteries for a year or so and might hit ya up again for a few nights ;)  Ha, ha ha!!!

Next up, Halloween!!  I'm volunteering in Emerson's class tomorrow morning and in Blake's class on Halloween Day.  Looking forward to it!  Talk to you soon :)

xo
Tracy

    

Star of the Day!

On the 16th, Emerson was the star of the day at preschool!  Reese and I stayed in the classroom for around 20 minutes, so I could see what star of the day is all about!  I'm so glad I stayed, it was so cute to watch Emerson in her star role!!  She had a special seat next to Mrs. York, was line leader, did the weather and the date.  And then, the letters of her name were scrambled on the board and she had to name each letter and together with a helper she chose, unscramble the letters to spell her name!  She did an awesome job, knew each letter in her name and almost got the correct order of letters!  I should maybe be ashamed to admit that I was surprised, but I was!!!  I now know, we have been underestimating Emerson!  We never really thought she paid that much attention when we were doing learning-type activities but apparently she was/is!  And I'm sure preschool this year has helped, too.

Em & I on the John Janzen Centre field trip!

Once again, Emerson surprised me on the field trip I accompanied her on to John Janzen Nature Centre, yesterday.  I was very excited to go on Em's 1st field trip and Emerson was also very excited to have me along!!  The bus ride was a big highlight for all the kids!  I think they could take a short bus ride around the neighbourhood and call it a field trip and the kids wouldn't mind at all ;) But we did go to the nature centre, which was our first visit.  I've heard of the centre but have never looked into going.  The field trip was awesome!  Our leader was so great - very good with the kids, and very fun and knowledgeable.  Emerson had a blast, I enjoyed watching her complete the activities, answer many of the questions (and correctly, too!) and was very surprised by her eagerness!  She was nearly always the first to follow the directions of our leader, often at the front of the group and always raised her hand to answer the questions.  And like I said, most often she was correct!  Not enjoying being the centre of attention, at times I almost wanted to shrink into the woods so as to avoid the looks from some of the other parents!  At snack time I was chatting with two of the other parent volunteers and they both remarked at how smart Em was ;)  And I had to admit, again, I was a bit surprised!  I said she obviously pays more attention then I realized and I do believe she learns a lot from her older brother and some of the t.v. shows he watches!!!  I was very proud of her :)  But she put a dent in that when at snack time and then again during a group photo her and another girl got into a bit of a pushing match!!  LOL!!  These two girls just seem to butt heads, I've seen this a few times!  I haven't asked the other girls Mom, but I wonder if she doesn't have an older brother, too?!  It's actually kind of funny, but not at the same time.  What I've witnessed is Emerson and this girl standing very close to one another and what has happened is one or the other gives the other a light push so as to create some more space and the other retaliates with a harder push!!  It doesn't go on or escalate but regardless, they shouldn't push!!  They few times I've seen this happen, I've always reminded Emerson to keep her hands to herself, move to another spot, etc, etc.  Like I said, funny but not funny!!  I hope Em keeps this feistyness (but controlled) as at this point in time, no one is going to push her around and I'd like that to continue into jr/sr high school!!!

The same day Em and I were on a field trip, Blake and Cal attended a pumpkin party at Ecole Bishop Savaryn!  Thank goodness for my Mom, who babysat Reese so Cal and I could take Blake and Em to their school events.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom!!!  The boys had a great time, Blake came home with some really cute crafts, had fun singing songs, listening to stories and having a special snack!  It was nice for Cal to accompany him and I am also very thankful that Cal can change his work schedule to attend these types of events in the kids lives :)  Blake is very excited to wear his Halloween costume to school on Halloween day and I am looking forward to volunteering in his classroom on that day!

Reese, not being in school, has not had any special events in her life or stars of the day, other then the usual day to day 'stuff' and her usual starring role in our family ;)  She is getting close to her 2 yr birthday, which we find hard to believe.  I feel like she should only just be turning 1 and still our baby.  However, she is growing up so fast and so much each and every day and is very obviously, nearly 2!!  Along with Blake and Em, Reese visited Beaners this week and got her 2nd haircut.  She barely had any hair trimmed but somehow the hair cut made her look a little bit older.  Each day, she speaks clearer and says more and more words and sentences that often surprise us.  She loves playing with her new bath tub doll (in and out of the tub!).  Her and Emerson play so well together, it is heart warming :)  Emerson is so great with Reese and it melts my heart to hear Em call Reese 'Hun, Hunny, Sweetie' ... so adorable, the terms of endearment and the sweetness of her voice.  Blake is also absolutely fantastic with Reese but she definitely plays better with Em.  Reese is so, so cute and has a very strong mind and will!  She is stubborn and knows how to play her "I'm the youngest of 3 card!!!"  Or she'll say, "I'm sorry Momma."  And *poof* I've forgotten what she's just done!  Blake and Em may argue once against something she has said or done or asked for but before long, Reese wins.  Reese seems to always win!  Makes me wish I was the youngest instead of the oldest, in my own family ;)  lol!!

Tomorrow morning, in just a few short hours actually, Cal and I are leaving on vacation!  We have never left all 3 kids before but are actually quite relaxed about the whole thing!  They are all getting older now and Mom and Dad will be watching the kids.  I have typed out a few pages of instructions and our usual routines and feel very confident ;)  Hopefully Mom and Dad feel as confident!!  I'm sure 1 or 2 or maybe 3 of them may act a bit out of sorts but overall, I think they'll have a nice time and enjoy each other's undivided attention without interruption from Mom and Dad!!!  I am SO looking forward to some down time!  Sleeping in, wandering around, eating and drinking what we want, when we want, and mostly going to a Bronco's game!!  Can not wait!  So excited!!!  We don't have any plans other then the Bronco's game on Sunday.  I don't care what we do to be honest, I just don't want to be rushed around sight seeing or having to be up at a certain time, etc.  We really just need to relax and take it easy.  We need this :)  Thank you so much to Grandma and Grandpa D for taking on this 'job'!  We appreciate it greatly and hope everything goes smoothly!

When we are back I'm sure I'll blog about the trip!  In the meantime, enjoy yourselves and have fun preparing for Halloween!  We are back at midnight on the 29th and have an extremely busy few days ahead of us, with Halloween activities at KG and PS and then of course, Halloween night!  But I can't wait, I love Halloween :)  Chat with you soon!

xo
Tracy