Ontario Part 2

The rest of our vacation was spent visiting family. On the way, we stopped in Niagara falls for a little splash and relax time!

Next stop was to (finally!) meet my nephew. What an adorable little guy!! Jason and Julie are easily the proudest parents I've EVER seen. Why wouldn't they be?

Of course, Grandma came to visit with all of us. We even went to Storybook gardens for the afternoon.

Now, we all know that Sebastian is a little charmer. I keep saying that I'm really glad he's adorable because he's such a trouble-maker! He knows how to read people so well. Case in point: a slide for riders bigger than 42 inches. Sebastian is only 40" so we told him that he couldn't go up the long tower of stairs because he would only be told to walk back down.

"No, Mama. I go up."

Up he went. From the ground, all we could hear were a few giggles from the supervisor at the top of the stairs. Next thing we see are Sebastian's feet coming out of the slide followed by an ear-to-ear, "I told you so!" grin.

"I telled her I was big enough, Mama. She my fwend now, Mama. Next time I go up, she'll say, 'Hi Sebasian." Sure enough, the next time up, we see his little head looking out the guard rail and hear "Hi Sebastian!" from the supervisor. Charmer.

Matthew seemed to enjoy himself as well.

Last stop was Luke, Allison and James.' The boys got in a few laps in the pool and Luke even shared some of his toys.

As all vacations are, this one was too short, but we made the most of our time with good friends, family and laughs.

Ontario 2011

Another successful trip to Ontario. For the first time in years, the weather at the cottage was amazing. We also took in a trip to Niagara falls and got to meet my new nephew. What a great trip!

It didn't start off so great, though. Our luggage was lost for a while and we ended up with no car seats. To add insult to injury, we got lost in the airport looking for our rental car. It got ugly at one point when all of us were at the end of our ropes and we threatened the kids by letting them know their fishing rods were going to meet a terrible fate if they didn't shape up. The exact words escape me, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with backing over them (the fishing rods, not the kids!). We are all tired, cut us some slack ;)

All was right with the world once we got to the cottage. Another great year of water fights, fantastic food and drink, swimming like little fish and of course, Boaty. We also added fishing to the roster of events. Matthew even caught one. We didn't get a picture, but it was as tall as him and must've weighed 10 pounds.

The newest thrill was jumping from the dock. Tentative at first, then nothing could stop them. That said, Sebastian wanted us in the water to catch him and demanded we open our arms to him and get a "yittle bit cwoser."

Matthew was so proud that he could do it all by himself.

Of course, we ended the time with a little bit of R&R.

Matthew's lost tooth

First tooth out! It came out without too much fuss, but I did realize Rob is as afraid of wiggly teeth as he is of spiders! It was kind of fun being the hero for a minute! Matthew was very excited for the tooth fairy, who left him $4.00 for his pearly white. Another milestone come and gone, and soon he will have finished his first full year of kindergarten. How is that possible? I remember when that little tooth first came in and now it's gone to make a tooth house or a tooth car or maybe a tooth airplane.

Sebastian

Sometimes I can describe him as my ultimate joy. Other times, my absolute despair. Tonight I had just finished reading some stories when he got out of Matthew's bed (where we read) to go say goodnight to Rob. As he was leaving, he grabbed my hand, opened my fingers and kissed my palm. Then he closed my fingers around my palm and told me "I give you a kiss, Momma. Don't evah, evah lose it. You can put it in your pocket if you want."

I love our kids so much. They make me want to cry or pull out my hair almost every day. Then I get a gift like this to help me realize it's worth it. After noticing Sebastian's little baby belly is slowly disappearing and he's "almost 4, then I will be 5, then 6, Momma. Just like Massew's goin be 6," I realize time goes so quickly. So what if I'm bald and crazy? I'll always have a kiss in my pocket!

Mother's Day and More

The boys and I followed Rob to a Pepsi hockey tournament to celebrate Mother's day. The boys enjoyed watching Daddy play even after they got over their initial disappointment that Daddy was not going to be playing for the New York Islanders: "Daddy, will you be on TV??" The highlight of the game (let's be honest: period) we watched, was climbing endlessly on the bleachers in the arena. A giant jungle gym, they boys had a fantastic time.

Matthew waiting for Daddy to score.

Goal!!

Mother's Day I woke up to all three of my boys (plus me!) in a double hotel bed. I couldn't have been happier. That is, until I got simultaneously brained by Sebastian's head and kicked in the nether region by Matthew. What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than to spend it at an indoor amusement park? We realized that Matthew's fear of heights might actually be real when Rob insisted he go on the roller coaster "because you'll like it." He did NOT like it. Poor little guy. It'll be a long time before we get him on anything that takes him more than 2 feet off the ground. Sebastian, on the other hand, asked to go on the same roller coaster no less than 4 times. "I yuv it, Mama."

Sebastian and Mommy pirate

Engineer Sebastian and Matt (call sign Rubber Duck) the Big Rig driver

When we got home from the park, Rob had to make a mad dash to a store to fulfill one of Matthew's Mother's Day wishes: a big hat with pink flowers. The hat and its adornments are beautiful. Rob later told me that Sebastian had wanted to buy me a pink princess scooter. Apparently all the girliest of girls have them. Clearly, I am the girliest girl there is!

My favourite Mother's Day gifts include: a hand-made "mobile" that hangs in my kitchen and possibly (probably) poses a significant fire hazard. Hand painted by the one and only Seb. Matthew made me a flower vase, where the stems of the flowers had coupons redeemable for: 1) hugs 2) clean up of all toys in bedroom 3) reading a story to Mom. I can't wait to redeem them all!

Thanks for a great time, boys!

Go Big or Go Home

I wish I could do everything the same way our kids do: big. Everything they want to do is done with absolute enthusiasm. If they're going to throw a rock, they're going to throw a big one. If they're going to throw a temper tantrum, they're going to throw a big one. If they're going to be happy, they're going to be elated. We're constantly telling them to settle down or quiet down, or stop being silly. Soon they'll start to listen and I think I'll really miss our silly/loud/enthusiastic little boys. I guess I just need to join in and worry less about settling down and more about living large.

Our loveable huggable kids

Gems:

We recently had a 3 month old baby over at the house. When he was crying, Sebastian told us that he was faking.

When I asked Matthew if he liked going to Beavers, he says (with attitude): "Of course I do. What's not to like?"

Our conversation about faith: "What's faith, Mommy?"

"Believing in something you can't see."

"Like I have faith that Santa is going to come even though I can't see him."

Don't worry, I had a short conversation about the real meaning of Christmas after that.

After picking Sebastian up from daycare this week:

"I didn't get a time out today, Momma." Proud.

"That's great, Sebastian. Do you usually get a time out?"

"No." Pause."I usually have 8 time outs." Maybe it's time to investigate why his teachers look so relieved when I pick him up.

Matthew is so serious and thoughtful. He told me he wants to be a scientist so he can be smart like me. I'm pretty sure he's already smarter than me.

As soon as we reach the end of our rope with Sebastian, he looks at us and says: "I yuv you. You the best Momma (Daddy) in the whole universe. I a good boy now? How 'bout some nuggles?"

Our favourite things right now: Uno, basketball, soccer, catch.

Thanks for making our lives so much fun, boys!