One busy girl!

Earlier this week Helena spent a good bit of the day 

with her Duplos and ABC building directions.

Look how far she got!

Benjamin

By now he has lots of nicknames: Benj, B-Boy, Buddy, Benja-booty-boo.  He's 17 months old, so still a toddler, but also such an independent person.

His smile is one of those that everyone comments on.  When he smiles, it's obvious everywhere - his mouth, his eyes, his cheeks, his forehead, even his ears.  He loves to play laughing games with his sister and mom, and he loves it when his thighs are tickled.  He still thoroughly enjoys peek-a-boo, but now prefers to be the one "hiding" the other person's face.

He is such a good picker-upper.  You say, "Benjamin, it's clean-up time" and he immediately picks up his trucks and puts them in their spots.  If you say, "Benjamin, it's nap time", he will start cleaning up and will not want to come with you until he's decided the room is clean enough.  Besides trucks and balls, his current favorite toys - the kids' broom and dustpan.

He has an inclusive heart.  If one person gets a hug, he wants to make sure everyone gets one.  If one person is putting on shoes, he'll get out the other people's shoes and try to gather everyone up.  One night Benjamin woke up at 2 a.m. and was crying for water.  After his drink, I said good night and went back to bed.  Two minutes later he's crying again.  I go back and he is insistent that I give his sister, who is sleeping a few feet away from him, a drink.  It took me awhile to convince him that I did not need to wake Helena up for a drink of water!

He's a boy of few words but still full of communication.  He says baa (ball), bye-bye, wa (water), meh (milk), hi, and uh-oh.  Through body language, he can ask why and where, plus express a bunch of thoughts.

He loves hats, mittens, bike helmets, and boots.  He loves to put things in the garbage for us, which we thought was great until we noticed that things are starting to go missing.  He's finally only crying for a few seconds after we leave him in the nursery.  He's figuring out how to put Duplos together and loves to play construction site.  He loves to do whatever his sister is doing, and always wants to be on the counter watching when I'm cooking.  He loves to stand on the stool and he detests having his teeth brushed. 

I wish he would stay at this stage forever and I can't wait to see what he's going to be like 3 months from now.

Helena's First Women's Event

I coordinate baby and wedding showers with a few other ladies at church, which means Helena hears about the events.  She has been asking - the correct word would be pleading - to attend one with me but they have always been too late in the evening.  So when a friend asked me to come over for tea one evening, Helena immediately asked if she could come too. 

That night Helena asked if she could dress up for her first Women's Event. As John took a picture of us before we left, she said "Daddy, take lots of pictures, as this is a night you're going to always want to remember."

Melissa turned the evening into a special "Women's Event" for the three of us, with treats and a special teapot and teacup for Helena's orange juice.  Helena was great, asking questions as to be involved with the adult conversation (such as "Miss Melissa, is your baby wearing your clothes?" (meaning hand-me-downs or clothes Melissa had purchased).  She was also very careful to not interrupt and not talk with food in her mouth.  When we left, she asked Melissa if she could come to another Women's Event sometime.

I can't wait to take her to more events, real ones or otherwise.

Leaf Fun

Snowflakes were falling this morning. It's time to accept the fact that warm fall days are over.

 

But speaking of warm fall days, Remembrance Day was fantastic. We went out for a ceremony which my kids did spectacularly at, I must add, and then we simply enjoyed the sunshine & its warmth while playing in the leaves.

The kids had a fantastic time.  Benjamin likes to walk through the pile, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Helena likes to run and jump!

I know every parent feels this way about their children, but it must be said anyways.  I'm so lucky to have these two kids as mine.

Happy Halloween!

Third year of a rainy Halloween, but also third year trick or treating with friends!

Girl Scout vs. Girl Guide

We had our first opportunity to buy Girl Guides of Canada cookies this year.  We bought the Chocolatey Mint Cookies, to see how it compared to Girl Scous of America version - Thin Mints.

They are quite similar, but see that white creamy layer?  It adds just the right amount of smooth cream for John to have decided he likes these better than Thin Mints.  The crunch of Thin Mints is something I've always liked as it makes it different from other cookies, so that makes me prefer Thin Mints.  Helena and Benjamin?  They happily ate these but I'm sure they'd do the same with Thin Mints if they had the opportunity!

Random Fun Fact: Girl Scouts started selling cookies in 1922, with the Thin Mint variety appearing in the 1950s.  Girl Guides have sold cookies since 1927, with the Chocolatey Mint option not available until 1995!

Photos

Sorting through photos months after they were taken is a good exercise for me.  After all that time, I'm finally able to whittle them down to the best ones.  At the same time, however, it's an emotional experience, as it always takes me back to those memories when my kids were so little!

That's what I'm doing now while I sit in Tim Hortons, waiting for the birthday party Helena's at to finish.  Since these photos of Benjamin's life brought me such joy, I'm sharing them with you.  I hope they bring a smile to your face!

Time with My Boy

Helena is at full-day Vacation Bible School all week, so Benjamin & I are having lots of Mommy-Son time: playing with balloons, knocking down towers, and playing under the table.  Today we went outside with my idea being we'd wonder around the park, looking at sticks and leaves and the like.  

Benjamin had other plans:

We watched the construction workers for at least 15 minutes.

We also sat with the statue of Herman Northrup Frye for at least 10, patting his book, rubbing his arm, and waving at people as they walked by.

He is really so much fun.

The iRobot Scooba

Our neighbors were gone for the last 10 days, and while they were gone, they let us borrow this beautiful machine:

The iRobot Scooba

This version of the iRobot doesn't sweep and doesn't vacuum - it MOPS!  Plus, it really works.  Could there be anything more glorious?  Our floors haven't felt this good ever.

Family Music Nights

Some friends gave us their extra keyboard this week, and tonight was our first Family Music Night.  The idea was for John to play the keyboard and the rest to sing, dance, and play other instruments.  It quickly turned into the three of them monkeying around on the new toy and the mom sitting on the couch watching.  Still very enjoyable!

Dinosaur Zoo

Helena has been quite interested in dinosaurs for some time now, so when the theatre just down the street started to show "Dinosaur Zoo", going to see it was an easy decision!

The show is set up so the "zookeeper" teaches you about dinosaurs while the dinosaurs come out.

When a puppeteer/zookeeper ran out and announced that the T. Rex had gotten loose, Helena yelled "I want to go home Mommy!"  After a tight squeeze, a promise that I would protect her, and a reminder that the dinosaurs are just puppets, she calmed down.  But it was amazing how life-like they were.

After the show the baby dinosaurs were out so we could see them.  Helena was very brave when touching the baby triceratops and baby duck-billed dinosaur (the hadrosaur), but she stayed safe by only touching the blanket of the baby T. Rex.

For our wonderful niece Anamarie

Our niece recently emailed us, asking us to come visit soon and telling me that she loves the blog.  There's nothing like that for encouragement to get back on here!

So, Anamarie, these pictures are for you.  We try to have dinner picnics once a week, and this one took place on a rooftop garden.  I wish you could come eat with us!

St. Catherines

We all traveled with John while he attended a conference in St. Catherines, located a few hours away from Toronto.  It was such a great long weekend.  The kids and I just played, drove/rode in the car, played, shopped, and played some more.  John was able to join us for a good portion of our fun, so that was an added bonus!

The best part of St. Catherines, in Helena's eyes, was definitely the carousel.  It's an old carousel that continues to cost five cents per ride.  Helena rode nine times with Benjamin's rides totaling four.

The best part of the hotel for Helena - either the pool or the TV.  Helena doesn't watch much at home, but we let her watch a good bit while at the hotel.  As you can tell, she was enthralled.

The shopping wasn't their favorite, but the kids loved riding in shopping carts together.

Please note this cart from Target was over half the length of our car!

Picnics at the parks were some of my favorite moments of the trip.

Enjoying the natural beauty and all the grass was wonderful.

It was fun to just have time together, away from all our responsibilities.

Helena was absolutely zonked on the last day.  We carried her into the mall to the food court and ate lunch, then carried her back to the car and strapped her in, all while she was sound asleep.

Happy Birthday John & Benjamin!

What a fun day we had, celebrating our two birthday boys.

I didn't figure the heat would have such an effect on spiral candles, so John's candles looked more than sad.  John still enjoyed the brownies, though!

Benjamin was not sure what to think about his Creamsicle Cake.  First time having ice cream - liked it.  First time having white cake - was happy to leave that on his plate. 

Presents were fun - Benjamin paid much more attention to the wrapping paper, the ribbon, the tissue paper, and the boxes than he did the presents.

Helena didn't mind though - she pulled the presents out of the bags or boxes and then she played with them.

I love you John and Benjamin.  You are the best guys around!