First Party Day

Jadon had his first 3 year old party day. The class marched in a little hesitant and coy, but they bravely stood there, smiled and even sang. So sweet. It will be interesting to see how the class grows over then next two years. We are enjoying Jadon’s opportunity to make his own friends and be his own person without the influence of big bro. It is also kind of fun listening to Nate recount his 3 year old class memories.

Talia is 10 months

Talia has accelerated the pace over this past month. She is much more content to be left on the floor as she can scoot wherever she needs to go, pull to stand and cruise along. Her brothers have "compassion" on her every now and then, escorting her where they think she might want to go (usually straight to mommy!). She has a new tooth, loves to eat most anything (that is not mushy), and babbles on as if she were talking to you. She copies our sounds and has us laughing daily.

Meadows Maze

We spent a lovely afternoon at Meadows Maze with our great friends "Aunty Lynda, Joelley and the Great Suzinni". The day started with rain which kept other visitors from the Maze. By the time we arrived, the rain had passed and the sun even made an appearance. The attraction has two highly complicated mazes (let's just say, we were thrilled to make it out without an escort or call for help, even if it was through the "entrance" versus the "exit"!). There were also several "rides" which the kids ensured we went on. One was a hayride pulled by a tractor. Another was a tractor disguised as a train pulling many "train" cars. The highlight for the children, (horror to the mothers although it did bring squealing laughter) was a "barrel" ride pulled by a quad (ATV). Oh my! The driver sped through the course over many, many bumps. The said "barrels" were not equipped with shocks and therefore the older bodies absorbed each jarred movement. Regardless of the upcoming chiropractic appointments and massages, this older body would still do it again. The children's laughter and frightened expressions made it completely worth it. There was also a long slide made extra slippery with grain sacks. Our little people enthusiastically climbed the hill repeatedly for the thrill of the ride. Another highlight was the petting zoo/farm where we could interact with the animals (if that is what you call wrestling goats to keep them in their pens!) We will not hesitate to make this an annual event. Thank you for the pleasant memories Lewis family! (And, for all the fabulous photos!)

We're in School!

The beginning of September brought new school experiences for both Nate and Jadon. Slowly they are sliding into their new schedules.

Nate entered afternoon Kindergarten at Rochester Elementary (roughly 1 km from our house - we know this

thanks to my sportband, Nike+!) He is in a French

Immersion class and so far loves it. Not that it didn't take some adjustment. Check-in day brought some anxiety and he did not want to join the

kids on the tapis, but eventually he did. The next day, we had a private interview with the teacher which was well recieved. As we were waiting to meet our teacher, we could hear other classes in session. Nate heard some children and adults speaking English. He said, "Hey Mom, those people are speaking English." I responded, without thinking, "Yes, they have both English and French classes here." Nate did not hesit

ate to tell me, "I want to be in the English class". Hmm, maybe shouldn't have broadened his horizons and left him thinking that all school was only taught in French. So far, however, he hasn't minded French one bit. We are starting to meet some new friends in the neighbourhood and also looking forward to the start of soccer season.

Jadon also started 3 year old preschool at Wind and Tide. He is very familiar with the routine from accompanying Nate to preschool over the past 2 years. He was a little unsure on his first day, choosing not to leave Mommy, Nate & Talia. During his next class, he donned some "brave" underwear and managed to march into class, wave good-bye to Mommy and stay the entire one hour class. We are now up to 2 hours with the whole class and still enjoying our independence. Jadon still likes to be escorted by Mommy into class, but is agreeable to being left. Can't believe how big & grownup these boys are getting!

Good thing Talia keeps reminding us just how little they started. She was exhausted with all the running back and forth between schools.

(After fighting with formatting for the past hour, I am just posting this with pictures out of order and text in all sorts of weird configurations. Any advice, fellow blogspot users? I know all of you are smart cookies though and can piece it all together!!!)

On the move

Talia is 3/4 of her way through her first year of life. She no longer sits still. How thrilling for her to reach her brother's enticing toys, dog's food, forgotten bits on the floor, or whatever else looks "delicious". Our level of alertness has been increased a level or two as we try to keep up to her. As she is on the "slight" end of the growth chart, we were requested to visit the doctor to ensure we were keeping up with the curve and not sliding down it. Looks like we aren't quite keeping up, but not dropping off enough to be alarmed. Talia is loving her food and now that she can enjoy a wider variety, we will be sure to provide tasty morsels a little more frequently. She has now stretched to 26 inches and weighs 16lbs 11oz.

Boston Bar

We had a great little get away at the end of August with the Funk family. They invited us to join them at a very remote cabin near Boston Bar. The scenery was beautiful and the company welcoming and adventurous. We weren’t so sure about the journey to get to the cabin as there were many, many bumps, potholes, etc that you find on a single lane logging road and we were towing our trailer. It was well worth the journey (at least once!?!) Turned out the journey home “rattled” us much less. Maybe part of the initial “jolt” was the unknown.

Nate discovered fishing and Uncle John is now his go-to guy for all things fish! He caught 2 little fish (which were released) and was simply beside himself. He was so interested in fish that he even ate some a few weeks later (well, deep-fried “fish ‘n’ chip” style). That’s a big step for a picky eater (at least when it comes to “meat”).

Parksville

We adventured with our good friends, the McGladdery’s, to Parksville in the beginning of August. Our journey began by towing our trailer onto the ferry and riding across the ocean. Boats are oh, so exciting for kids (OK, the adults seemed to enjoy the ride too). Would like to say it was worth the price to ride the ferry, and well, maybe it was, just once.

The location, weather, and company were absolutely fantastic! The beach seemed never ending especially if the tide was out! We could never quite tell if the tide was coming in or out in the afternoon and were caught once on our own private island.

Our boys loved riding their bikes. Seemed to be a common theme of most children in the playground. Jadon grew leaps and bounds in his ability to ride a bike, just from trying to keep up to the older boys.

With all the warm weather we experienced this summer, the province did not allow any campfires at the campground. It just isn’t camping without smores, so we improvised and roasted marshmallows over the barbeque. Not quite the same but it does make for one evenly roasted marshmallow.

Todd and Corine generously remembered Brent’s birthday and we all celebrated with cake.

We visited Cathedral Grove during our visit, which is a celebrated forest of old growth trees (some being 800 years old or so, you can correct me Forester Todd if I am mislead!) The boys loved climbing on anything they could. There were some large snags (fallen trees) that were just far too tempting. Thankfully at least one of the parents was agile and without a small child or camera to supervise the lumberjacks.

Near the end of the week, our beautiful views were obstructed by smoke from a forest fire. The smoky air created fabulous colour for sunset pictures though!

Jenn’s cousins live just north of Parksville and were gracious enough to drive down to visit us. The children had an amazing morning together and the adults had a wonderful visit as well. Made us feel like we would love to be a whole lot closer!