December musings

Wow! It is the last month of 2010 and as always, it's a good time to think back of our year together. Our three most fun adventures would have to be:

1) Hawaii trip with wonderful friends
2) Celebrating Canada Men's Gold medal in Downtown Vancouver
3) Bright nights at Stanley Park

For Vince's 33rd birthday, we took him to Squamish to take part in the "Polar Express Train". I guess it was more for the kids than him but then again, it brings us so much joy when we see them happy. The train ride was 50 mins. long and it was a bit too long for our little ones. We should definitely try it again when they are older and can appreciate the story more. During the train ride, a lot of people came in their PJs and they even gave out hot chocolate and cookies like the story.

Currently, we are in Toronto visiting my side of the family (Isabel's side) while Vince stayed in Vancouver to work. Thankfully, Auntie Lulu came along for the plane ride and was integral in helping out with the boys. I have come to truly appreciate my sister for all that she does for our family! She's so loving and reliable. I just love her to pieces! It's hard to believe that when we were growing up, I used to be so mean to her and would even beat her up. :( What a bad big sister I was! I shall try to make it up to her from now on...

One of the main reasons why I wanted to bring the boys to Toronto is for them to get to know their great-grandparents. I feel as though it's a real privilege for them to still have great-grandparents and it's also such a blessing to see four generations together.

Changes

As the leaves have started to fall, it is a clear indication that the last days of summer are coming to an end soon. Sept. 21st marks the last day of summer! It's always sad for me to put away our flip-flops, t-shirts, shorts, etc. I always try to hang on to summer and whenever I can, I will always wear my flip-flops :)

I remember that the last blog that I posted was about the mundaneness of life and how I was learning to embrace the "every day ordinary stuff". Ironically, I miss it as this month has been a month of changes. It's the start of a new school year and I went back to work part time at Fleming which is my old elementary school. It's quite nostalgic walking down the same hallways as I did when I was a child. Even some of the old teachers are still there! My old grade seven's teacher's son is now teaching his class. Talk about a small world!!!

The boys are transitioning to their respective daycares and I'm learning to juggle working and being a mom. The house is definitely not as a clean but I am reminding myself that it's okay and things will settle down as we all get into a new routine. Despite it being difficult to adjust to new schedules and being more tired, I have to come realized how much I do love teaching and that I have made the right decision to go back into the workforce part-time. I still spend most of the week with the boys but it's also nice to have work to look forward to, as well.
Here are some updates on the boys...let's start with the younger one...

Noah's 14 months' update

• N turned ONE back in July and we had a really fun Luau to celebrate his first birthday!
  
• Nicknames: Noey, Nono
• N started walking just a few days before he turned one and is now getting a lot better walking independently.
• N can climb up and down the stairs all by himself
• He still seems to be the calmer and happier one of the boys
• First words are: Adah, Babu, Mama
• Loves to eat noodles, veggie crackers and anything that Aidan is eating
• Loves to play with anything that Aidan's playing with

Aidan's 3.5 years' update

• Fave song: Down by the Bay (makes up his own lyrics like ghost eating toast and moose kissing a goose)
• Began attending Sunset Daycare in Sept. and loves the teachers and his new friends. He's learning so many new things there like empathy. The other day, I was feeling sad and he gave me a hug and drew me pic of the whole world to make me feel better.
  
• Fave activities: reading and art
• Started riding his no-pedals bike in Aug.
• Aidan is telling me to write that he loves swimming with Joshie!

**We want to thank Auntie Melissa for taking our family photos for us this summer at the Oval. We absolutely love our pics! It was nice to include the dogs this time around**

Back to the mundaness of life

ALOHA! We got back from sunny Hawaii at the end of May and it's hard to come back to rain, rain and more rain. We had a lot of fun traveling with our friends as there were a total of four families = 8 adults, 4 boys and 1 girl. Ever since coming back, we've realized how mundane our lives are...

We can pretty much tell you how our every day looks like:

6:30am: kids wake up
7:00am: feed them breakfast9:00am: A goes to preschool, N naps
11:45am: pick up A from preschool
noon: lunch time
1:30pm: nap times for both boys
4:00pm: after nap activity: library, go to the park, playdate, cook dinner
5:45pm: dinner
6:45pm: get ready for bed...good night!

I wonder how we can inject some spice into our lives? I guess, it is in the mundane ways of life that we find security. I know for a fact that if we were to mess up the boys' nap schedules in order for us to go out, etc. then we would be the ones to pay for it in the end. Kids in general like schedules because they would know what to expect and helps them to function better. At least, it is in my family's case. I just need to accept this phase of my life and embrace as it is, mundane and all.

I am reminded of what our dear friends have told us: "we are living the life!" as most people aim to have a family, dogs, a home, etc. and we have exactly just that. I need to really remember that especially when my three old throws his epic tantrums, and my ten month old attempts to drinks from the dog bowl....

Spring already?

I was just thinking about how long it's been since updating this blog, and I couldn't believe that Winter has come and gone, and we are already now mid-way through Spring. The reasons for this blog are mostly to keep a record of the things that our family goes through and to keep in touch with those that are far away. This past season has been a memorable one as it was filled with lots of fun and activities. Our city hosted the Winter Olympics games and I was pleasantly surprised at how I ended up enjoying them. I loved all the different cultures getting together for one common goal and the energy on the streets were electric. We've also been busy renovating our home; it seems like an endless task but it is slowly coming together. VC has been working very hard on our backyard getting it ready for the summer bbqs by laying down some flagstones, new fencing, etc. Can't wait until it's all done and I can sip a glass of sangria on the new patio.

Noah's Update

• Age and weight: 8 months and is close to 25lbs (just 6 pounds less than A)
  
• Nicknames: Noey (given by A) Godzilla (because he likes to destroy A's trains), Noahsaurus (given by Auntie Lulu) and Notastic (given by daddy cause he's fantastic!)
  
• Started crawling in late Feb. and is now going all over the place and even climbing the stairs. He is also cruising along the sofa, too.
• is enrolled in Music Together classes with big bro and has been thoroughly enjoying the music and is the "social butterly" of the class as he goes to each person and says hello in his own way.
• Loves, loves, loves to eat, especially our food. He's been refusing to eat mush and even though he still doesn't have teeth, he's pretty good at eating noodles, Os, and small chunks of food.
• generally a happy and easy-going baby and his giggles light up my day

Aidan's Update

• Age: 3 years old
• Nicknames: Coop, bug
  
• Started preschool in March at Spare Time Kids World and has been enjoying going to school and learning new things
• Some of his favourite places to go to are: Aquarium and Science World
• Potty-trained when he was 2.5 years old =) but is still in diapers for night though.
  
• According to A, his best friends are: JM and CG
• Favourite dog: Rylee
• Favourite bird: owl
• Favourite colours: red and blue
  
• Favourite food: bunnies and fish congee
• Newest obsession: Lightning Mcqueen from CARS
  
• When we observe A during his various play dates, we've come to realize that he can be the ruthless ring leader, making others follow him or play with things that he insists that they should play with. We are working on teaching him that he needs to let others do their own thing and if they choose not to do what he wants them to then that's okay too.
• I love Aidan's enthusiasm for life!