The meaning of hockey coffee

What is Benjamin referring to when he asks for a hockey coffee?

A walkie talkie!

And what about a hooga cake?

A scuba tank!

It's a lot of fun to play Legos with him.

Benjamin's Latest Word

Benj is talking more and more all the time.  It's so much fun.  Here's his latest word:

"hockey coffee"

Anybody want to make a guess for what it means?

(It has nothing to do with this picture.)

Hint #2 - It has nothing to do with a drink, so Auntie Katie, it's not hot chocolate.

Hint #3 - He was looking for something in the pile of LEGOs... 

Laundry

John commented this morning that our house is very British.  When I asked why, he said, "Because we have towels hanging everywhere!"

It's true - as soon as we're done with breakfast, we turn off the extra radiator and throw a wet towel on it to help it dry.  If the sun comes out and I'm not planning on doing laundry that day, the towels get put on the line to help them dry and to just air them out.  After the kids take a bath at night, their towels get hung on the railing upstairs to dry out.  Helena commented on the kitchen stinking a couple days ago.  Why was it stinky?  I'd washed towels but it was raining so they were hung up in the kitchen.  There's just nothing like the smell of wet towels - even clean ones!

But I don't really mind.  I'm just loving having a washing machine right in our house.  It's so nice not having to take at least 6 elevator rides to do laundry!  Plus, I have the greatest helper to hang up the socks.

Happy birthday to my two guys!

Today is the longest day of the year, Father's Day, and John & Benjamin's birthdays!  

Happy birthday to the little boy who is learning new words every day, who would be happy to run everywhere all the time - unless he decides he just must be carried, and who can bring a smile to my face without doing anything.

Happy birthday to the man who works tirelessly for our family, who can't wait to get home to see his family, and who loves to spend time with his family.  You are a wonderful father, John, and a great husband.

Where is Benjamin?

Recap of February

We started the month in Niagara Falls with my parents.  It was so much fun.  None of us had ever seen the falls in the winter, and they were breathtaking.  We also spent a bunch of inside time at a water park, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

As you can imagine, the kids were more than exhausted after all that fun.  They both fell asleep within five minutes of starting to drive back home.

 

John & I went to Canoe, called "the best restaurant in Toronto," while they were here.  The food was delish, the view was amazing, and the company was excellent.

After grocery shopping one day, Benjamin helped empty the clementines!

John attended our church's men's retreat one weekend, so all us moms & kids had our annual sleepover.  We totaled 4 moms and 7 kids this year, and all of us went to play in the snow the next morning.  We made quite the sight as we walked to the park!

Another walk in the snow :)

The kids moved from pattern block cooking to pompom cooking.  They now have a Pompom Cafe Menu and play this every single day.

Benjamin had no fear feeding camels, llamas, bighorn sheep and donkeys.

Last but not least, the annual Yorkville Ice Festival.  It has been such a treat to be just 3 blocks away from this fun winter event.  This year's theme - Egypt.

Recap of January

Once again, lagging behind in my blog posts.  Something about the extra step with transferring photos makes me procrastinate and then simply ignore blogging.  Thanks to the lovely Kay for providing some motivation!

Helena and Benjamin really began playing together in January, not just playing in the same room or H being nice to B or B following H everywhere.  One morning H wanted to be twins and B was happy to go with it.

Kitchen play moved to the next step when they started cooking with pattern blocks.

 

B became quite interested in playing and feeding babies and animals, which reopened that type of play for H.

 

 

Helena had her first drop-off birthday party.  So much fun!  I can't believe she's four.

The month ended with a visit from Nani and Papa.  As you can tell, H was more than happy to have them here!  More about their visit to come...

Events of December - before Christmas Eve

It was a fun month for us, one full of special activities.  Scroll through for a quick synopsis!

 

Allan Garden Conservatory Christmas Open House - They had wagon rides, which were lots of fun, and apple cider.  This was the first time Benjamin had tasted apple cider, and once the liquid touched his lips, he would not take his mouth off the cup except to ask for more.  We obliged, and I believe he had four cups. 

Christmas books kept Helena busy!

During a visit to the mall, Helena asked to have her picture taken in front of every single gigantic pink reindeer!

 For the most part, B-boy was a terror around the manger scene but I did observe him doing something other than destroy it a couple times.

We had snow, and lots of it, for a few weeks before Christmas.  It was all gone by the 20th, which meant this was the first non-white Christmas of my life.

Why would anyone walk on a cleared sidewalk when there's snow to tromp in?

Of course the traditional sugar cookie decorating happened, with Benjamin asking if he could eat a cookie each time he decorated one.  When I finally said yes, he happily scarfed it down, and then proceeded to no longer ask but attempted to take a bite of every cookie when I wasn't looking.  He's a clever one!

A trip to the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District.

Helena was an angel in the Christmas pageant again.  Here she is with her good friend Holly.  Notice her socks - they're Elsa socks.  She asks me if she can wear them every day.  When the answer is no (which is more often than not since I don't have a washing machine), she asks if we can do laundry.

Benjamin and I were invited to visit Helena's preschool to make gingerbread houses.  It was fun to see her in that environment with her schoolmates and her teacher.

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.

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.

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.