campin'

It was a cool, wet weekend in PEI but the kids didn't seem to mind a bit and the camper was so big it easily accommodated the 9 of us we sought its warmth. We saw waves, osprey, blue heron, blue jays, lobster and the red rocks and sand of the little island.

Our wet walk down to Cabot Park Beach and shoreline:

 Lydia.

 Kate.

 Carter.

 Me.

 Pappa on a walk this morning with E.

He tried but Elliott just couldn't keep his heavy eyes open on our long walk.

Heading home this evening. It's amazing that the law allows anyone with a license (including me) to drive a 34' vehicle.

We arrived home this evening to sunnier skies. Can you spy our little guy?

Tonight Kate thanked us for camping. We'll be thankful when Elliott can keep up with the big 3!
Happy June everyone! AJ

tgif

It's Friday and I'm pooped.  There's a new boss in town and he has been working me to the bone this week. The boss is of course Elliott. If you ask Kate "who's the boss?" she always replies "Tate." But she's wrong - it's the littlest one. He's so set on practicing walking and pretty much always insists that he use my finger to aid him. I was able to catch a moment earlier this week when he chose the little bus instead of me and I thought it would share it with you all. Please excuse Kate and her bad behaviour towards her "son" as she refers to Elliott.

All the best for your weekends. We're doing a camper trial run this weekend to PEI.  We have a very big camper trip planned to Toronto for Father's Day (with Candace's family) and this will be our chance to see how the babies do and to work out the equipment kinks in the new camper.  Wish us luck! Oh did I mention we're going to eat lobster in Cabot Park with Grammie and the cousins?

xoxo - aj

wheels

We've had some great progress today in terms of getting our kids moving. Elliott took his first solo steps behind a baby walker and Kate has got the hang of her new tricycle. Our deck was completed as of this morning and it seemed to be the motivation that they both needed to get busy.

Elliott and his wheels (unfortunately I couldn't video and spot his walking).

Kate and her wheels.

Other firsts - yesterday Kate asked "You love me Mama?" Of course I answered yes. Well it turns out she loves me too. Today several times out of the blue and for the first time ever, she said "I love you Mama." followed by "I love Elliott. I love Papa too. He a big guy."

And a final couple Elliott firsts - Elliott has learned to clap his hands and is as pleased as punch when he does so, he has pulled himself up from sitting and has learned to sip from a sippy cup on his own.

Hooray kids! xoxo Mama

grandpapa

It's Grandpapa George's 58th birthday today. Papa I wish I was there so Kate and I could give you lots of kisses, sit on your lap and eat your cake. Happy Birthday Dad. We love you so much.

No birthday cake to be found here so we have to munch on tooth floss. Yes after putting Elliott down for a nap this week I found Kate sucking the peppermint off of an entire spool of tooth floss.

Our little man laughing while practicing standing.

We've had a lovely weekend here - hope you have too. xoxo AJ

wild things

Life has been just life these last days. The weather is pretty wet and every break in the rain the kids and I try to head outside. We did have a weekend of visitors - first Grammie Donna and Carter stayed the night and then my cousin Sarah and her new husband Chris stopped in for the night while exploring the Maritimes on their honeymoon.

Grammie reading Where the Wild Things Are to our wild things Kate and Carter.

No hands E.

Kate's blossoming imagination - she's sleeping here with all her babies after a big trip grocery shopping: a coaster, pony, bottle scrubber, 2 tractors and Barbie.

A funny face that really makes her look grown up.

In other news our renovations have been at a complete halt. The guys have destroyed our bathroom, the plumber and electrician have done all their prep work and now we're just waiting on the stuff - tile, toilet, sink. And unfortunately with the rain the roof and deck have been at a complete stand still as well. Patience is a true virtue. And as of two and a half years ago my stock of patience has grown ten fold.

 Have a lovely week everyone. xoxo aj

out = in

Yesterday was Elliott's nine month birthday which means he's been out in this world for pretty much as long as he was in my belly. All I can think is - man pregnancy is long.

We chose to mark this occasion with concerted efforts to regain more normalcy and sanity in our lives - namely - sleep training.  Elliott much like baby Kate is a horrible sleeper and getting worse. I'm talking I can be up three times in an hour; eight plus times a night. But as with all things in a parent child relationship it's probably been my fault.  I hate him crying and being in any discomfort so I have always indulged him. That is until Friday night when Papa took over.  I actually have slept the last two nights in our in-law suite over the garage. A soundproof sanctuary. And for the first time in well over a year I got to sleep through the night without getting up to nurse or pee. Glorious! And wouldn't you know it Elliott was up once for a bum change plus a couple pulls on a bottle and then stirred a second time but quickly fell back to sleep. I'm trying not to count my chickens quite yet but I believe we may be on the road to a soundly sleeping baby. He even went down without too much fuss for our babysitter last night as Cody and I went out for a date. Again - glorious!

Big news on the Kate front too. We're so proud of her as she has been doing some excellent potty training. She's nearly in undies all day with few accidents. She's so proud every time she goes she runs around looking for Elliott to share the big news with. The persuasive power of a few jelly beans and chocolates.

Happy nine month baby E. We love you two - even more now that we're each gaining or regaining a little independence. xoxo - aj

two - million dollar families

Happy Tuesday everyone. It's kind of cold and ugly here today but currently the kiddies are sleeping so I'm enjoying catching up on some long overdue to do-s. Including a blog about the weekend.

We did make it over to the island - finally! It's the first visit since Christmas. One of the definite highlights was watching our kidlets with their cousins in our hotel pool. Laughing, screaming, jumping and dog paddling around in their water wings. Much to our surprise and pleasure Kate even donned a pair and was little Miss independent in them. It was awesome. Elliott was even grinning ear to ear.

Other weekend news - Cody landed in the Summerside hospital with a pretty serious case of Strep. I too have been battling it but am faring much better. I keep saying that I'm shocked at how sickly we seem to be as a family. Here's hoping we're on the post-daycare upswing!

Pajama party.

Party's over - at least for Elliott.

 Sunday and the party is back on.

Watch out world these girls are the next generation.

It looks like there may still be hope in our young men. Aren't they lovely?

This week we have some home renovations starting - so that should be an adventure. Eventually we have plans to renovate our whole house but we're starting this year with the main floor bath, the back deck and our roof. The main bath is currently a two-piece with laundry and we are going to move the laundry downstairs in order to install a shower for all our lovely guests to use. We're excited as the demo starts tomorrow and there's already a huge bin in the front drive. I'll take some before and after shots and share them with you when ready.

A great week to all of you! AJ