Best. Friend. Evah!

My Dylan is such a little charmer and he knows it! He is so hard to resist. Last night at the dinner table, he wanted to move his chair and sit with me. So, he tilts his head sideways and gives his charming little smile and says "Mommy, sit with me". Then he pauses and really grins and says "Best....Friend....Evah!!!".
It was so adorable - who can resist this????? Not me. I laughed so hard and I think he got a million squeezed and kisses.

So, now this morning, he kept saying; "Best EVAH!!!" and laughing. It is adorable. I could eat him up with a spoon!

And my darling Avery writes me a love note everyday at SK. It comes home in a little envelope and always say Mom 2 Avery with hearts (To Mom, Love Avery). I love them! It's nice to know she's thinking of me at school!

Peter Pan

I took Avery to see her first live theater performance last night - Peter Pan in Stratford. She loved it! It didn’t start until 8:00 which is her usual asleep time, so she was exhausted by the time it ended at 10:30. She was so good though. I loved watching her little face light up as she whispered “Mommy, are they flying for real life?” It was so cute.

It was pretty fitting that this was her first play. Peter Pan has always been a huge favourite of hers. The Peter Pan Disney cartoon was the first movie she would watch when she was little. At daycare, when she was two, she used to get her teacher to call her Peter Pan and she called her teacher Hook. Then she got the second Return to Neverland movie and then both Tinkerbell ones, and now her favourite is the family, non-cartoon Peter Pan movie.

It was a magical night and I am so glad we went. I can’t wait to take Dylan to something similar when he is older.

Flowers

Saturday morning Avery came in to wake me up and asked 'Did you see the flower I left you, Mommy? I asked her what she was talking about and she lifted my pillow up and there was a little pink flower from our garden. She said "I wanted you to sleep with it. I put water on it so that it wouldn't die."

Then last night I go up to bed, and she has snuck in and put a pink paper mache flower that she made me on top of my pillow. God, that girl is so loving and adorable!

Just feel like writing

The whole reason I started this blog was so that I could capture some memories and moments of my kids lives while they are young. However, I need to write to accomplish this, so I thought I would jot down some thoughts.

Our summer so far:
This summer has been great. Things we have done:

African Lion Safari - we've been twice, once with Mark and once with just the kids and I. Both times were great. Avery and Dylan both really enjoy it. Their favourites seem to be the boat ride for both, the splash pad for Avery and Dylan loves the elephants. The second time, Avery turned on the charm and talked me into buying them both a stuffed monkey (like they need MORE stuffed animals).

Red Bay - we went and spent a couple of days with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. The kids both loved it there, especially the beach. We also spent a day up there at Storybook Park. It was fantastic - rides, animals, waterslides. The kids LOVED it. I had to go on all the rides because Mark is a bit of a wimp that way, but I enjoyed it. The worst part of the trip was the drive there and back. Constant 'are we almost there?' and bickering drove me CRAZY.

We've also had Tatum sleep over for campfire night. That was alot of fun. We have also had numerous campfires and a night of fireworks with the neighbours which have been great as Avery and Nicole play together well (most of the time).

Avery: She is such a beautiful little girl. I am so proud that she is my daughter. She is so close to reading. She now recognizes sight words and can get through most 'Learn to Read' books. She loves spending time with the Gravett cousins (especially Tatum and especially in their pool). She has improved tremendously in her swimming over the past 6 months and is so close! Avery can't wait until she starts SK next month. She asks me almost daily how many days are left until 'Big girl school'. She is so great with Dylan and I really need to work on appreciating that more and lay off a little when she's just not in the mood. She is very sensitive and can be hurt easily by friends. I am hoping that she develops a bit of a tougher skin, but she definitely gets that from her me. She loves to sing and dance. Her favourite song to dance to is still 'Mama Mia'. She will start her dance classes again next month and is excited to be dancing in the Paris Fair in a few weeks. She just finished soccer and baseball. Her soccer team was undefeated all season and won all four tournament games to get the big trophy. She was pretty stoked. Love, love, love my girl!!!

Dylan - My sweet, charming, cuddly little dude. He is at an age where he is changing so much so quickly. His vocabulary has exploded and he now talks in sentences (which may or may not be understood by others). He knows all his colours and can count to 12 by himself and 20 with a little prodding. He also loves to sing and dance and adores his big sister. He played soccer, but was not too keen on it. He would play for about 20 minutes and then annouce 'Done'! He is doing fantastic at swimming. I think he is going to be a little fish. He doesn't have the fear that Avery has. He also loves his Gravett cousins - especially Mckinley. He is fully potty trained at 2 1/2. We put a pull-up on him at night, but it has been dry every morning, so we can probably switch that to undies as well. I am over the moon that he is my son. He can melt anyone with his charming little smile, and the little stinker knows it!

She shoots and she scores!!!!

Okay, I know that is a hockey reference, but Avery scored a goal last night at soccer - the first one of the game! She can totally keep up with the boys. I am super proud of her. She is so fast!

Dylan had a great time watching her for a little while and then Daddy had to take him home. It's his turn to play soccer tonight if this rain stops.

"Big" Sister

We took the kids to the doctor on Friday for their annual check-ups and booster shots. Avery weighed in at 38 lbs and her 'little' 2 year old brother weighed in at 35 lbs.

Dylan was in the 96th percentile for height and weight. He is just a solid little dude - not one roll of chub on him, just solid.

Avery was in the 95th percentile of height and the 50th percentile of weight. She is my dainty, delicate little princess. She was also a fantastic big sister as she volunteered to get her needle first. She was so brave! Her dance recital is coming up this weekend. She is dancing in the fairy group (how fitting since she looks like a little pixie) and is going to be just beautiful. I can't wait!

At the same time, there is a horrible case in the States about a boy named Ethan Stacy that I cannot get out of my mind. It has had me in tears for weeks. I cannot imagine how his family feels, if I am so horrified, angry and sad. I don't understand why this could happen to such a sweet, adorable 4 year old boy. A boy who has had his life vicously and so unfairly cut short. It makes me ache thinking of all the things that he is going to miss out in life and how much his family is going to miss him. I'm crying at my work at desk just writing about it. I am so sorry this happened to you, Ethan. I wish this world were a better place where tragedies like this did not happy.

Happy 5th Birthday, my beauty!

Well, Avery had a wonderful, excited filled 5th birthday. Saturday she had 15 of her most favourite friends and cousins over, as well as her little brother Dylan. We had a bouncy castle, pinata, pizza, cake, and lots of fun outside. Avery got absolutely spoiled. It looked like Christmas with all of the gifts she received.

Sunday, we had the family get-together. She got spoiled again. It was a gorgeous day, so we spent it outside, barbequeing and more fun on the bouncy castle and playset.

I can't believe she is five years old. It really is crazy how fast time goes once you have children. The years seem to be flying by, and I am trying to take in the little moments and just enjoy every second of them being little. I am so proud and lucky to have Avery as my daughter. I love her and Dylan more than I could have ever imagined it was possible to love someone.

Tomorrow, I am volunteering with her JK class to go to the Butterfly Conservatory. She is so excited that I am able to come. It should be a wonderful day.

Some pictures from the weekend:

Easter has come and gone.

Well, Easter weekend was absolutely gorgeous here. We got to let the kids hunt for their eggs outside this year. It was great. Avery and Dylan, along with our little neighbour Nicole had a fantastic time. Here are a few pictures:
Then, they had some fun playing outside with their new bubble machine:

All in all, it was a great weekend. We also made it out for a family hike in the woods. The kids did great and had a blast. Avery didn't complain once, (we were gone for an hour - up and down some very steep hills), and even jogged on the way back to the car. I keep telling her that once I complete the C25k program, she will be my jogging buddy. Dylan did so good too. He only had to be carried up a few hills and at the very end. The kids were excited to see 4 snakes.

Dylan's newest thing is peculiar. He adds the sound e-ah to everything. Like MommyEEah, DaddyEEah, AveryEEah, DogEEah. You get the point. It's cute, but I hope it doesn't last too long.

Avery has been great. I've really been on her about whining lately (I CANNOT stand whining). However, I think I need to back off a bit. I think most of it is because she is feeling like Dylan gets away with things she doesn't and we tend to ask her to give into him more than we should. She is the best little girl ever, so I need to be more conscious about giving her as many (no, MORE) praises then I do critisisms.

I love them both more than anything!!! They both get haircuts on Saturday. I'll be sure to post pictures. I think Dylan will have more of a change than Avery.

I'm looking forward to a casual weekend. Sometimes, the weekends with no set plans turn out to be the most fun. Avery and I are having a 'girls night' tonight. That usually entails staying up a little later to watch a movie, eat popcorn and licorice together. Then we take over mine and Mark's room (he gets the couch) and we talk and giggle until we fall asleep. Nothing too exciting, but she loves them.

We have been having beautiful weather this week. It's been so nice to have Avery and Dylan playing outside after dinner. They love going to the school to play on the equipment, or playing on our playset in our backyard.

I can't believe April is around the corner, and then that means May is next. It's hard to believe that my little princess is going to be FIVE. Why does it go so fast? Even my 'baby' Dylan is growing so fast - potty training like a champ and talking SO much more suddenly. He is still so cuddly though and I hope that remains for a long while.

Canada is GOLDEN

This weekend was great, but the highlight was definitely Canada taking the gold during the USA/Canada game. We were at Grandma Donna's watching it. Even the kids got excited about it (especially Avery). Good times.

Once again, it's been awhile since I blogged. Everything is going great. I just signed up Avery for baseball, soccer and swimming for the summer. Dylan is just doing swimming. He'll have to wait a year or two for the other sports.

Dylan's vocabulary is getting bigger and more enounciated daily. It's so exciting watching them learn to speak. My personal favourite is his new "love you, mommy". Usually followed by his famous hug and a big kiss.

Avery is doing great at school and still really enjoying it. She is becoming such a little ham/comedian. She LOVES it when she can get me to crack up.

I am on a weight loss mission. I am at the highest weight I have ever been (not including pregnancies). There is a 40th birthday party being thrown for one of our good friends April 10th. I am hoping to lose 15 lbs in the next 6 weeks or else it's just going to be a depressing evening out. I also want to be healthier and happier in order to be the best mom I can be. The healthier I am, the more energy I have and in turn, the better mother/wife/friend I will be. I'll try to remember to post my weekly weight lost to track my progress.

Here's a reminder to myself that summer is coming! These gray, cold, dreary days will not last forever!