"Movember"

November is a month that we love in this house..it settles down after halloween allowing us a time to remember those who fought for our country and to then begin preparing for the holiday season. We feel that when it comes to the holidays..you gotta "go big or go home" and by saying that I mean in terms of cooking, spreading love and cheer, crafting, holiday movies, parties, events and much much more! We tried to enjoy each moment and make events, such as our annual tree cutting day. We found the perfect tree lot that we continue to visit each year to chop down our tree. We cannot wait to select the perfect one for this year! We have also been already thinking of our Good Deed advent calendar and what deeds we will place in each little door. One of my co-workers is going to join in with her son and we are planning a lunch date to develop our list of 25 deeds. We will work off of last year's list and add some news as well. Kaiden is so excited for the Santa Claus parade this year and are anticipating that Avarie will love it! We can't wait for our annual group supper before as well!

News around our house include; Avarie has transitioned to a big girl bed! We were a little hesitant because our girl is a climber and a firecracker so we weren't sure it would go smoothly but so far so good! She LOVES her big bed (so much so, she doesn't want to get up in the mornings!).
Avarie has been "talking" more and more and keeps us all in stitches when she discovers a new word. One of her new words is "more" and it is quite funny listening to her say "More please" (she sounds exactly like Oliver twist he he). She also loves to hide behind her hands and say "boo!". Fav characters currently are Beauty and the Beast and Mickey. She also LOVES to be read to, especially from her "where's baby" book. She very much loves her big brother and laughs hysterically anytime he plays with her (warms my heart!)

Kaiden is still loving school and has been taking in so much! He told me all about learning French ("Bonjour means Hi!") today and sang me a song about Rememberance day! So sweet to hear his excitment about learning! He loves his class and his teachers. Kaiden has been skating at Canskate for a couple of weeks and although we have had a rough patch, we are hoping a trip to "The box" for some new skates might help. He loves to skate and his first few weeks went very well and he was moved up a level. We purchased new skates for him (brand new on kijiji) and ever since he has been having a rough time. We are hoping trying on a few pairs to get a better fit will help :) We have decided he is so clever that he might be a lawyer (or a politician you be the judge!) On Thursday night he asked me to put on Mickey's christmas carol. While putting the DVD in, I said "okay but if daddy asks, it was your idea" (Geoff has been trying to hold us off holiday items as long as he can ha ha).  He looked at me (placing the DVD in the player) and said "You are the one putting it in right now". Very clever boy he is!

Alright enough for tonight but I will wrap things up with a pic in honour of 'Movember"..get your pledges in for a good cause!

It has been a busy but awesome month so far! We have been busy preparing for Halloween. We had a costume change but rose to the challenge and spent the past few weeks building. Kaiden loves the classic "Ghostbuster" movies (as do we) so decided he would like to go as one. Not one to ignore an excellent couples idea..I immediatly decided Av would be "Stay Puft" and of course Chloe is always included so "Slimer" it was! We used our imaginations as well as some help from family and collected items and spent many nights designing and putting everything together. Not going to lie, Geoff and I might have had more fun than the kids with costume building ha ha. Anyway long story short, they turned out awesome! The kids had their debut yesterday at a local Halloween party and were a huge hit!

So without further ado..introducing..the Ghostbuster, Staypuft and Slimer!

 

 

We also did our annual pumpkin carving evening on Friday night. The first night was a bit of a bust but we attempt again the following night with success! Here are our finished pumkins:

 



 

We are good and ready for Trick or Treating and we are hoping for safe weather and thinking of all those affected by Sandy. Stay safe and make good decisions!

Ode to Pollyanna

okay so as I have stated many times..I love fall. October is my favourite month for several reasons. This month includes, thanksgiving, my birthday, halloween and beautiful colours and crisp temps..what's not to love?? Anyway presumably for this reason, I adopted a "pollyanna" attitude as of late. I have been entertaining (or annoying ha ha) my co-workers with "glad games" and excerpts from "The book of awesome". On a serious note though; this time of year always makes me feel so thankful for my friends and loved ones and all of the things that bless us. I am fortunate to have a job but that also puts a great deal in perspective. I am often reminded of hardships and struggles that people around us go through and know how blessed we are. I hope that we all take time this weekend to reflect on the joys and blessing in our lives and appreciate all that we have. We are having two thanksgiving dinners this weekend and I am looking forward to some quality time with my niece and nephews and parents and siblings.
Kaiden and I have been busy decorating the house for Thanksgiving and Halloween, here are some of our projects:

Ahhh...beautiful fall

Fall is in the air and I am LOVING it! Two weeks into September and school is going great for Kaiden :) A happy boy = a happy momma. He loves school and has run home each day happy and looking forward to headng back in the morning. He had a "best day ever", which was due to his class being called last after recess so he got to play longer (love that the simple things make my sweet boy so happy!).

September is a busy month with lots of exciting events to come! We are having our family pics done this month by the ever-talented Bryn Robinson..check out her website Here :) Kaiden has a few school events this month and we are gearing up for some fall traditions.

Today we registered Kaiden for Canskate after a couple of weeks of back and forth between that and hockey. Kaiden has been asking to play hockey for a couple of years and we were ready to sign him up for this winter. However after he kept saying he didn't want to skate with a stick and that he just wanted to skate, so we decided to look further into Canskate. We looked into both options and made the final decision with him, to go with Canskate for this year. We figure that if he loves it and feels confident and wants to next year we will enroll him in hockey at that point. He is quite excited to start and is happy to hear his buddies will be learning with him as well. We also registered Miss Avarie for dance starting in October. It is a class that a parent attends and interacts as well. I am looking forward to introducing her to some other children and letting her burn off some energy. She is our little busy body so I am sure she will have a great time!


Ok to wrap things up here are some photos of my sweet children, I love that they love each other so much...

T'was the night before Kindergarten...

Well..it's the night before the first day of school. Before I start..full disclosure that this might get over the top sappy and emotional, but hey, that's me and I find writing to be therapeutic so here goes:

Today we set out to have a light and fun day and we succeeded. We asked Kaiden if he could do anything today what would it be? He said go to the white playground with the green dragon (aka Westfield). We piled in the truck and off we went. We had a great time and he was pleased with his choice. Daddy took him for a haircut and then we made our way home to pack his bookbag, pick out his clothes and pack his lunch. We went over his lunch notes to remind him of what they say (he is still learning reading but recognizes "I love you" and "Have a good day"). He was quiet and broke my heart just a tad when he asked if I could stay with him tomorrow (sob) but said he is very excited. We read "The night before Kindergarten" and he asked questions about what would be there and if there would be naps (and as I fully admitted to the facebook world..I sobbed on and off during the book). I cuddled with him and let a few tears escape as I held him and wondered how I can let him grow. He is such an old soul and a sweet kind hearted boy, and as his mommy I worry. I worry that he will be scared when I am not there and I worry that others will be unkind. I worry about bullies and also worry that he will be afraid and I will not be there to hold his hand. My heart hurts thinking of my first born..the boy who made me a mom..letting go of my hand and beginning the journey called school. I hope that his teacher is nice and thinks about what an important job she has and what an important role she will have in my child's life. Time to take a deep breath and put a stop to these tears because I know that my kid will rock school just as he rocked preschool and without a doubt my kid will move moutains...

One week....

Well..we are down to one week before Kindergarten. I realize that I have written multiple posts about this but in all fairness it is a big deal. We have started picking up lunch supplies and laminating lunchbox notes and starting to get on an early bedtime schedule. So many firsts to come for us and our little man. I came across this poem on facebook yesterday and...full confession..I have not read it without crying since:

A Mother's 1st day of school prayer:

I wonder what you're doing now,
and if everyone is treating you kind.
I hope there is a special person,
A nice friend that you can find

I wonder if the teacher knows,
just how special you are to me,
And if the brightness of your hear
Is something she can see.

I wonder if you are thinking about me,
And if you need a hug
I already miss the sound of your voice
and how you give my leg a tug

I wonder if you could possibly understand
How hard it is for me to let you grow
On this day know that my heart breaks
For this is the first step in letting you go

"Sob"...this sums up the emotions I am juggling and makes my heart ache. How do we learn to let our hearts walk around outside without our hands strongly grasping theirs? I know that we are not the first and will not be the last but wow this is hard. I already miss him and he hasn't even begun. I am so thankful I had so long with my boy and hope that we have given him a great foundation to begin this next journey in his life.

Okay I am going to wipe the tears away and stop sobbing (until next week as I am not going to pretend there will not be tears). Today we went to the airshow and the kids had a great time! We are enjoying vacation and hope to head to the Aquarium as well as the Exhibition this week. That's all for now folks...I will add more vacation shots over the next few days :)

Vacation!

Well today was my last day of work for two glorious weeks. I love my job however it is always nice to have a break! We have a week of day trips planned for the kids and then the second week will be Kaiden's first day of school. We have spent the last few weeks picking up new clothes, school supplies, and today Kaiden went for an appointment at the optometrist. He did excellent and has perfect vision! I am feeling so many different emotions about the upcoming first day of school. I am excited for him and for the many fun days to come with school; however I am sad that my time at home with him has come to an end. I will miss him but cannot wait to watch him soar. He has made us so proud in so many ways and I know he will continue to do so. We have several special things planned for his first day and can't wait to hear all about it. Here is a photo of our little man with his new sunglasses: