A Morning at the Zoo.

The Bowmanville Zoo had free admission today. I'm not 100% sure but I believe it was because Bowmanville is celebrating its 150th birthday. Laura and I decided to take the boys. How can you pass up a free trip to the zoo. The boys really seemed to enjoy themselves.
They zoo has a few, shall I call them carnival rides. I took Jack and Nicholas on the one that spins. That was a lot of fun. I didn't think I would be able to get Jack to go on but he did and really enjoyed himself. They then went on the boat ride. I was so proud of him for going on it by himself (well with Nicholas). Jack is always a little bit leery when in new places and with trying new things. It was a fun, successful visit. I'm hoping if we make it again, maybe we can try to go the water park.
My favorite part of the zoo however had nothing to do with the animals. While Jack and Nicholas were having fun playing at the playground, to my surprise Amy and Kim (a couple of girls I worked with at the group home) came up behind me with two kids from work. I was so excited to see them. I haven't been by the group home in awhile to visit. I hugged and kissed the kids many times. I miss them so much. I was almost in tears because I was feeling so overwhelmed seeing them. I really need to go by there and visit. It's been far too long. I'm starting to get teary eyed now just thinking about them.

You call that a barricade?

From our living room, there are two entrances into the kitchen. One of these is very simple to block. I simply roll the dishwasher over a little more and voila, you can't get into the kitchen. I didn't have anything to block the other entrance so I thought I would try the umbrella box from the patio set which is for some reason in the kitchen. Apparently, I need to invest in a baby gate.

I'm already starting to miss him and he hasn't even left yet.

Well the Jackster is off to Midland today to spend a few days. Somehow, these few days always turn into a week or more. I'm going to miss the little guy while he is away. The house is certainly going to be eerily quiet with him not here. It's going to be nice though to have some 1:1 time with Oliver. Although Jack has adjusted well to having a new person in our home and being a big brother, he can be pretty demanding for your time and attention. I sometimes feel bad for Oliver that I don't have all the time I wish I did to spend alone with him. It's a real balancing act trying to fit in enough 1:1 time with each of the kids. At least Oliver still takes 2 naps every day which provides me with plenty of time to hang out and play with Jack.
Have fun with my little boy Nana and Grampa. I hope you realize how hard it is for him to be away for such a long time.

Oh, and just want to say thank you to Chantal, Kyle and Milli for taking my Jack up north to see my parents. They really, really do appreciate it and I do too! xo

Forgetfulness

I am so upset. Shawn and I both totally and completely forgot that Jack has his Blastball picture day yesterday. It wasn't until Midnight that I remembered. Now he isn't going to have a picture of his first year playing. It isn't his solo picture that I even care about because I know I am capable of putting him in his baseball shirt, giving him a bat to hold and taking his picture. It's the team picture. He's going to be missing from it. I don't even know that they take a team picture, I'm just assuming they do. I'm very, very disappointed about this.
For this, I am blaming my mother. I get my great (okay my not so great) memory from her. She is even more forgetful than I am. Nana, couldn't you have just not passed on that specific piece of DNA to me? Of all things.... J/K Nana, you know I love you!

What is even funnier is that Shawn is the teams coach. Is that going to look bad?

Happy Father's Day

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

-Henry Ward Beecher

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, Bill, Dave and of course Shawn.
God Bless xo

Crazy Mosquito Bites

This past weekend we headed up to Shawanaga to visit Shawn's parents. Shawanaga is an Indian reserve located in Nobel which is about 20-30 minutes north of Parry Sound. It seems we tend to make it up there every year in early June. It's an easy way to get Mother's Day, Dave's birthday, Father's Day and Shawn's birthday all taken care with at one time. It's always such a busy time of year with so many celebrations. Shawn's sister Laura and her husband Johnathon as well as their two sons Nicholas and Shane also came up. Derek too. He is one of Shawn's best friends. It was a full house but we had a lot of fun, aside from all of the bugs.
Speaking of bugs, Jack tends to have allergic reactions to mosquito bites. He got a good bite on his left ear which caused his ear to swell and stick out. I finally broke down and gave him some children's Reactine after speaking with the pharmacist. I say this because I don't like to give my kids or take myself, medicine unless it is really, really needed. Aside from catching him rub in once in awhile (which I'm assuming he does when it itches), it doesn't really seem to bother him. The pharmacist told me it's important to get the swelling down because it could cause a breakdown of something (I don't remember what) which would require an antibiotic. His ear looks much better today.Oliver is 7 months old today!! I can hardly believe it. It certainly doesn't feel like it's already been 7 months. He has grown and changed so much. He is just a big bundle of sweetness. There is nothing sweeter or more rewarding then watching my children grow into the little people they are too quickly becoming. Along with that goes watching their ever-evolving relationship. Oliver's eyes light up and he always get a giant smile on his face each and every time he sees Jack. Jack notices this and it excites him. He will even say to me "I think he loves me Mommy, I think he loves me!" He is very good to Oliver. Always there when Oliver cries, he gives him random hugs and even shares his toys with him once in awhile. It's just all so exciting.

We are in Midland now for the rest of the week. Jody goes for her 2nd ultrasound tomorrow. I am so excited. I am going to go with her. I can't wait to see her little babe who is growing inside of her. I'm even more excited to find out if I'm going to have a new niece or nephew. I will let you all know in my next post. Until then, enjoy every day as if it's your last. xo

Blastball

Jack played his first BlastBall game tonight. BlastBall teaches all five basic fundamentals of baseball---hitting, throwing, catching, running and fielding. Shawn was asked if he would like to "coach" and he accepted. I was interested in seeing how Shawn was going to manage fourteen 2.5-3 year olds. For any of you who don't know Shawn, he is definitely not one for large groups and not much of a talker. This isn't something I would have ever expected Shawn to agree to do. Luckily with the help of some parents, it all went smoothly. Should be an interesting 6 weeks. Jack did well. We lost his attention however by the end of the second "inning". He decided it was time to go check out the playground. Oliver was well behaved while we watched Jack play. He sat quietly and was full of smiles, even though it was cold and raining. I'm still amazed that a 3rd inning was actually played. It should be fun to see how all the kids progress in the next six weeks.