I'm sure there's a reason we taught them to talk

While I don't remember it being a conscious decision to teach them... this whole 'kids able to talk on their own' thing has its pros and cons.

Bedtime routines have evolved somewhat... and each is enjoyable in their own way... most of the time. When putting Zach to bed, we usually have fun chats about whatever he did that day "played", read a book and then the routine of turning out the light "green light, go" and ensuring that all his sleep toys are tucked in comfortably. That crew consisting of Joey, Mickey Mouse, Moose-Moose and Lion.. Lion, by the way, gives fairly decent back scratches. Then it's "good night, sweet dreams" and therabouts 8pm it's done.

Little miss, however, is not so much into the sit-in-the-chair and read bedtime stories anymore... now we must sit on the floor and she may read to me (or have me read) teacher-style (display book, read page, turn page, display and repeat)... or she'll want to try any put "ponies" (those hair elastic thingys) in my unfortunately inadequate hair. It takes forever to convince her to get into her now toddler-bed and most of the time she doesn't go willingly. When she does, all her friends must be there... which currently include Charlotte (the frog), Dora, Daisy, Baby, Princess, Sheepy, Minnie Mouse... several of whom all evidently need or should have their own blankies (tea towels). But we'll have chats about who she played with or how many 'ponies' daddy should get in his hair. When she doesn't want to go to bed... she'll squawk or screech at me. In fact, back to the subject line, whenever she doesn't get anything that she wants, that's what she'll do.

Getting out of the house, on a daily basis, is another unfortunate impact of this whole kids-talking thing. Everything rolls right along until almost exactly 8am when somehow the listening stops... shoes or boots won't go on and they'd rather play or run around instead of getting ready an in to the car. Drives me nuts... and there's yelling on both sides.

Still though, I love those night time chats before bed...

Blogs are useful...and time for kindergarten!

Tomorrow marks another big milestone... tomorrow Zach has his orientation to kindergarten and meets his teacher, Mrs. Branchaud. It's just staggering that this day is here already.

This also serves as a great reminder that blogs are very useful parental tools... filling out the lengthy intake form, I had to answer questions on when he had his first words, first two-words and first sentences.

Having two munchkins at various milestones... some of these dates get muddy in the mind.

I will renew my commitment to chronicle the lives of the two wonders... Zach now 4 years, and Aly a very precocious 2 years.

11.1.1

A new day, a new year... and I guess the first year of a new decade!

January 1st is often a fairly dry day... now complicated by having to occupy Zach (a busy 3yr old) and Aly, who is entering the terrible 2's right on schedule at 19 months. Two munchkins who care not that mommy and daddy went to bed at 1:30am. Aly decided 5:45a was a good time to start her day.

Christmas 2010 went really well... Grandma and Grampa came up bearing a staggering number of gifts for their grandmunchkins. The highlights being the Rose Petal cottage, complete with tiny furniture; a large 2-seater wagon which comes with seat belts. Thomas the train has made his first appearance in our house along with all 3 Toy Story movies and Lightening McQueen is still God in the house. 2 Mack trucks and several more Cars paraphenelia.

For me.. I doubled the number of waffle makers I owned in 5 minutes.

Here's to a fantastic 2011... Disney in March up next!

Milestone in life

... to pick up from my last post. Yes, they did win! It was pretty stressful... having to leave with 10 minutes left in the 3rd period and then refreshing my Blackberry browser every minute to get news... only to have it go to OT and then rushing up Main St. USA to make our dinner reservation (Crystal Palace) and having an off-duty waiter tell me "Hey, congrats!".

Yeah we did!!

It was colder than normal in Florida that trip... good for visiting Disney and the bugs had a ball. The 2nd week, in Palm Coast, was still cool and weather not great so having to come up with stuff to do was challenging.

Since then, Aly's 1st birthday was a smash... nicely cooperating and smearing her first cake all over her face. Zach's 3rd birthday in August had its moments... having it in the park was nice but setting up nearly gave me a nervous breakdown. We'd bought a talking Lightening McQueen big inflatable balloon in Florida. When tying it to the picnic table, it was pretty windy and it kept flying in my face. So I tied it to the bench and another gust of wind got it and before I could blink it was up up and away. Noooooooooooooo the helium-filled balloon was gone like a rocket and in minutes was in Gatineau airspace.

All this, not the purpose of this post!

Today was my last day at the department I've been with for the last 11 years and altogether the last 16 years. Natural Resources Canada has been a great place which really gave me my first shot but it's time for a change. Monday I start at Public Safety Canada! New adventures, new staff... intimidating but exciting!

Now, if only Aly and Zach would stop taking turns getting various illnesses, viruses and coughs... a good nights sleep seems like such a great thing now!

Off to Disney and Gold 2010

It's 11:21pm right now... we are all packed and ready to fly to Florida early tomorrow morning. It means getting up at 4:30am but the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are on and Team Canada is in the semi-final game against Slovakia. The winner goes to the gold medal game, which would be Sunday (February 28, 2010).

Once again, I am leaving Canada the day before the Olympic Gold Medal hockey game.

This has happened once before.

In 2002. I went to Guatemala.

That turned out pretty good for Canada.

I'm just sayin'.

This will be Alyssa's first plane trip and, shockingly, Zach's 3rd (and he's only 2.5 years old). 5 days at Disney World before we meet up with Grandma and Grampa to stay at Orange Lake and then Palm Coast.

Here's hoping it's the happiest place on earth... Sunday especially.

I must get better at this

Ok... I knew it had been a while since my last posting. It has always been something I mean to get to every day but then, by the end of the day, am too tired to write it. I knew it had been a while, but last August??? Sheesh..

That isn't to say I haven't been thinking about it or thinking of topics, phrasings etc.. to use. But by the time we get both munchkins to bed and have some relaxation time, well, I'm pretty zonked!

Rituals

One of the topics floating in my mind is/are the rituals that evolve with Zach. A couple of months ago, he got a 'big boy' bed which really consisted of removing the drop-rail... but I'll get to that later. Until then, we had a very predictable bedtime routine that I always smile about. We'd get upstairs, brush his teeth "I want to do it!" and then sit in the armchair in his room and he'd pick out a story for me to read while he drank his milk and held Joey. Then, the conversation would go like this:

Daddy: Are you ready for bed?

Zach: Yeah (small voice)

Daddy: Should we get into the bed?

Zach: Yeah (small voice)

(Get into bed)

Daddy: Hug?

Daddy: Hug for Joey?

Daddy: Another hug for daddy?

Daddy: Ok, time for bed. I love you

Zach: I love you daddy

Daddy: Good night Zach

Zach: G'night daddy

Now that he (as of December 2009) is in the big-boy bed, the ritual has changed a bit as he now insists on getting into the bed without assistance.

When we modified his bed... he got a pillow and blankets. He did his afternoon nap that day no problem. We patted ourselves on the back for being good parents. Then we put him down for bed at night... all went well.. until about 10:30pm when I, downstairs watching tv but about to come upstairs, suddenly heard a loud bang followed by crying. Sprinting up the stairs, I discovered that he had indeed fallen out of bed. We had focussed so much on him potentially voluntarily getting out of bed that it never occurred to us that he might in-voluntarily get out.

Come to think of it... I'm not sure why I don't fall out of bed regularly. I mean, how do we/our body just know not to fall out of bed??

We bought a bed rail...

Siblings

Zach and Alyssa are starting to interact.... we can count on Zach to make his sister laugh but still need to work on how to be gentle with a baby. She went from no crawling to full-on tear across the floor literally overnight in December. He got a ride-in police car from his Nana & Grampy for Christmas (2009) and needed to be stopped a few times from running over his sister... or stepping on his sister... or stop banging her head against the refrigerator... or dragging her around by her leg... this is all new territory for me, this sibling thing.

Eating

Alyssa has progressed quickly to solids and is up to the pureed mush stage, cheerios and wafers. Zach has turned into one of the pickiest eaters I've ever seen. Pretty much every meal we need to cajole, plead, threaten, bargain, negotiate to get him to eat his dinner. I, in fact, hate the war we call dinner right now because it's very very trying on the patience. That and trying to stop him from bringing his foot up onto the table...

Being Cute

Saves them often.

Fifteen years before I was a parent, the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series for the first time... the first time a Canadian team had won the world championship. A year later, they did it again.

As Blue Jay fans in the early 90's, we got used to winning. The SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) was sold out every single night. The joke used to be that the easiest job in town was being a ticket-seller for the Jays because you were done in April.

Tonight, August 7, 2009, the Jays are having a reunion of those two World Series teams. It's really hard to believe it's been 14 years since the last time they won. The memories are so clear in my mind. These were my heroes, the guys that excited not only a city but an entire country. I still remember the lineups, the thrill when Joe Carter or Robbie Alomar stepped up to the plate. White, Alomar, Carter, Winfield, Olerud, Maldonado, Gruber, Borders, Lee in 1992.... WAMCO of 1993 (White, Alomar, Molitor, Carter, Olerud).

I still get chills... remembering exactly where I was for each. In 1992, with my friend Anne-Marie and her roommate (who's name I'm blanking on) at their apartment on Uplands Drive, way past midnight and slamming my hand on the ground when Winfield hit his double down the left-field line and yelling "run! go go!" and then, because closer Tom Henke had already been used, Timlin coming in to pitch the 11th inning and the play-by-play which is burned into me.

"Nixon bunts... Timlin up with it... tosses to first... and for the first time the world series banner will fly NORTH of the border!"

Flash forward to 1993. WAMCO led the way... Olerud, Molitor and Alomar went 1-2-3 in batting average in the league. The World Series, this time against the Phillies, followed almost the same script, losing game 1 but winning 2 & 3. Game 4 in Philadelphia which became the highest scoring game in world series history with the Jays coming back to win 15-14 and then watching game 6 in Toronto... Glen and I eating and watching the game at JJ Mugs on Yonge Street and then the play-by-play yet again...

"The 2-2, well hit down the left field line... way back and.... GONE! Joe Carter with a 3-run homers... the winners and still world champion, the Toronto Blue Jays". I have to add here that the radio commentary by the late and legendary Tom Cheek had the best line "Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run"

I still get misty watching it...

Those were my heroes... I looked up to these guys, I followed all their games, their stats, got the Carter jersey. The world needs heroes to look up to and be inspired.

It was good to see them again tonight... and Winfield still wants noise.