A Few Things We Enjoy

 We really love our strawberries ("stawbabies") - which also include raspberries - and "beeboos" (aka blueberries).  We've been buying them all year-long for the babies, but was it ever tasty to have them fresh earlier this summer; including a plethora of raspberries from our own garden.

Dressing up!  I do find it bittersweet that last summer's almost-too-big hats are small enough now to be the cause of much mirth amongst the under-two set.

I think it's almost time to get a full length dress up mirror for them.  Colin loves to hunt down big people shoes and clomp around them - until the momentum gets the better of him. The playgroup we go to occasionally has a super play kitchen which seems to hold their collective interest for a good 20 minutes.  And I still entertain hope that they (read: Keith) will soon be able to colour without eating the crayons.  All of this means that within the next two months, I suspect our very baby playroom will become a little more big kid-friendly.  We'll have to say a fond farewell to the Exersaucer which will be cleared out to make room for the table and chairs that I am attempting to recover; some of our precious books will be replaced in the book slings now that they can reach them, and hopefully our bins of Duplo and wooden blocks will become a little more popular.

A few other recreational things that we LOVE:
-  Evelyn:  RAFFI.  This child is Raffi's #1 fan.  The Lord preserve you if you play a Raffi song that isn't in her repertoire of acceptable Raffi songs;  singing, especially "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus" and, of course, anything Raffi; her dolly and her various accessories (yesterday, we spent a good ten minutes applying "keem" to dolly's delicate skin); making Bunny and Gigi dance to music, biting her siblings.

-  Colin:  Evelyn's dolly.  Keith's cars.  Pointing out everyone and everything real and imagined (Evelyn, Keith, puppy, his bottle) that "bite you".  Colin loves little fiddly things like rocks, blades of grass, Matchbox cars - he almost always has to have something in his hands if he's walking around.  One of his greatest loves is his stuffed dog Puppy and "bankie".  He really enjoys making things move and putting things together, so I suspect he'll be my biggest block and lego fan.

-  Keith:  Anything with wheels and a motor; but particularly busses, garbage trucks ("dobig tuck") and my parents' car, which he has christened Opananacar.  He will announce every vehicle that passes, including type and colour.  He can spend half an hour at the window in this pursuit.  He still loves his books and singing, although he is SO over "Old MacDonald".

One thing we can all agree on:  bubbles!!

People ask me all the time whether the kids play well together, and I would say they do remarkably well.  They're evenly matched in size, strength and determination, so there isn't usually a clear winner when they do scrap it out.  They still play better when I'm out of the room, and have learned a few important techniques to keep the peace and to get what they want:  they barter and trade.  Eventually, they will let another sibling use a contested toy.  Of course, the moment you try to establish ground-rules and turns (the concept of sharing is still a few years beyond their comprehension), all hell breaks loose - they do a much better job if left to their own devices!

Busy Babies

A collage of a few short videos showing what we've been up to this past week.  And no, I wasn't deliberately trying to get all artistic and go "soft-focus" with the camera; somehow (read: 30 grimy fingers) a huge smear affixed itself to the lens.  It took me a while to figure it out, but I got it cleaned off... until the next time, of course.

Jumping

Taken tonight.   Probably not the best pre-bedtime activity...

Pictures!

We've been extremely fortunate to have Aunt Jane visiting us for the past week, which means tons of fun (and help!) as well as some excellent photos to share:

Evelyn enjoying Nana and Opa's garden (and, as evidenced by her wet hat, Nana and Opa's sprinkler, too) on a warm Sunday evening 

Colin shows us how to turn on the itty bitty splash pad at one of their favourite parks

Colin at the counter under the playstructure... ice cream for wood chips, anyone?

Said itty bitty splash pad

Keith counting the buses, cars and trucks.  

Keith and Colin clowning around

Evelyn, her farm and... her hair

We love Aunt Jane!!  Is there room for one more?!

Overheard....

Yesterday evening, Sprocket and the babies were playing happily in the living room.  Edward asked Evelyn: "What do we say to the puppy?".  Evelyn replied with a wagging finger: "Stop it, puppy!"

This morning, when Edward brought Keith down to join Colin in the kitchen for breakfast, Keith greeted him with "Hello, buddy".

Each of them can say "Keith" perfectly, although Colin tends to come out as "Kahleen" and Evelyn was "Ai-ee" for quite a while.  But today Keith managed "Evahleen".

They are talking up a storm!  Evelyn is our little echo, repeating the last word or two she hears.  All of them love to pick an animal for "Old MacDonald" (our tooth brushing song), although on occasion they come up with "cookie" or "chair".  They continually amaze me with their vocabulary and comprehension.

Of course, in public, they tend to clam up.  Their linguistic capabilities are my own personal Polka-roo - you'll just have to take my word for it!

Evelyn and her dolly

Evelyn got a new dolly from Dammie and here she is putting her to bed... at the end, she whistles her a little lullaby... We leave Shediac for Ottawa tomorrow via Quebec City. Here's hoping for a smooth and uneventful trip!

More From Shediac

After complaining about the weather in my last post, we've since enjoyed back-to-back dazzling, sunny and hot days, which of course, means we've spent our afternoons playing in the sand at the beach!



 Keith, Evelyn and Colin ready for some waves, "bumpin' up and down in their little red wagon".  We loved "Ratti" (Evelyn-speak for Raffi).

 Evelyn doesn't want Sprocket to miss out on the fun!

As promised, babies in bathing suits.  They love digging in the sand and finding treasures like hermit crabs, shells, periwinkles and...

....seaweed, although Keith looks a little skeptical.  Thankfully, cousin Sarah was there to hold his hand.  And yes, his shirt does say "Danger! Giant Squid". 

Today, the weather started off a little rainy, but that didn't deter us from heading out to the Magnetic Hill Zoo.  Edward remembered it as a rather depressing place, replete with a "bear pit", but it has since become one of the most decorated zoos in Canada.  We were extremely impressed with the beautiful, well-kept grounds and animal enclosures.  Keith roared at the lion, and they were most excited about the bears, ducks (and ducklings), and of course, the river otters and their antics:

 What a great place to spend the morning!  It's hard to believe we're leaving in less than a week.  Here's hoping the better weather holds, and we have a  few more lazy days at the beach before we head home to stifling hot Ontario!