going through some old CDs

And this is what we found...some pictures from when Monkey was a baby. Wow, it is hard to believe who he has become...This is the day that he discovered his feet...Here he is with BigE

And again with big E doing the only thing that Big E knew how to do with a pacifier...steal it from Monkey!

Halloween in the costume that Grandma made. They've both grown out of it now

In Uncle Jon's truck

Simply georgeous!

This was his first day. Only hours old.

Colleen, this one is for you!!! Remember this??? This was the first time we met...crazy!

I have always loved this one

Monkey and Mommy

I an only sit and think of how far we've come and how quickly it has gone. It is like holding water in your hand.

Dave has had to give up a great deal to be a father

...a real father that is.  The kind who is unselfish and generous.  That is the kind of father that Dave is.  So he has given up a lot.

First, Dave has had to give up sleep.  Days and perhaps even weeks worth of sleep.

Then he had to give up beaters.  Who doesn't like the beaters fresh out of brownies, cookies, cake or something else yummy??

But tonight, another ax fell and I think that it was almost more than Dave could take.  

The boys have now come to love apple peels.  You know the ones I mean.  

The ones that you get when you are making a pie or crisp or something apply and yummy.

  

Dave uttered two words to me, and I think that he means from the depths of who he is:

DARK MEAT

I love the dark meat and he likes the white meat.  I have been teaching the boys to eat the white meat.  Thanksgiving might get a little ugly this year!!

I <3

Our Mac

A special Friday with Mommy

Monkey has been having a great time at school, the bus and day care.  As a reward, I took today off and volunteered in his classroom.  We started the day off with a breakfast out, just the two of us.

Then we biked to school.
I helped the teacher out in the class for a while and re-confirmed my decision not to go into teaching!!!  It was fun, but I wouldn't be able to handle it on a daily basis!  There is a reason why we have all been born with different gifts and talents.

Then it was time to do the Terry Fox Run.  The kindergarten kids got to walk around the yard 3 times and then play on the structure before going home.  They loved it.

The walk was fun, and we saw some of the usual suspects hanging around!!
What a fun day!!  It was a great reward for Monkey.

By the way.  Apparently the school is especially looking to have male volunteers go in from 10:15-11:15 to read to the kids.  They have lots of female volunteers, but would really like some strong male role models for the kids.  Any takers?

A playdate

Not surprisingly, Mrs Bussey is tired these days.  Since I am off work today, I offered to take eman back to my place for the afternoon.  We hopped on our bikes and went off on our way.

We played in the backyard with the new nets, played in the basement, played outside.  But then, the best part:  We picked raspberries.  

They loved it!!
The bushes are pretty big this year.  I guess the boys will have the winter to catch up to the new growth we'll see in the spring.

Dave did throw me completely under the bus by not having lemonade popsicles on hand.  I promised the boys that they could have one before I checked the freezer.  OOoops.  Expectant little boys don't like it when you go back on your word.  I looked in the basement freezer and found ice cream filled popcicles and freezies.  All was forgiven!!

Yes it's true

Yesterday, as I was getting up, I looked out the window and off in the distance I spot the one that got away.    Monkey and I put our shoes on and went out in our PJs to go and grab it.  Can you tell what it is yet?

Action shot taken while walking...what is this wonderous thing??
Glory be!!  It isn't one hockey net IT IS TWO HOCKEY NETS!!!!
Yay!!  I threw them over one shoulder, took Monkey by the other hand and we went to the bakyard and played soccer in the dewy grass with our PJs on.  Shay-la-la is lucky that it was 7:30 and we didn't want to wake her up on her day off.

Yay!!!!!!!

Is it true?

Taking Soccer Mom to a Whole New Level

Yeah, I wouldn't let my kid tackle this woman's kid:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=5876937
(be sure to scroll down to see how she's just following the rules in her state)

Quick update

Monkey's week has been going really well so far.  He is feeling really proud of himself and we are feeling really proud of him.

Warm fuzzies all around!

Making personal pizzas

It is already September 23 and I am pleased to say that I am still holding up to my end of the deal cooking-supper-wise.  This is not an easy task when I walk through the door at 5:15 and supper needs to be ready at 5:30 for the hungry calves.

I can tend to be home a little earlier on Tuesday nights so I planned to make mini pizzas.  We took an English muffin and cut it in half.  Then I put on the sauce and everyone got to choose what they wanted to put on the pizzas.  
The boys thought that this was a tremendous idea and were very excited to participate.
Big C was surprisingly careful and contentious with his pizza.  He did put quite a bit of toppings in his mouth : )
Monkey came over to supervise a bit.
Mimi came and made hers...
The best part?  They were a HUGE hit.  The boys chowed down and ate every bite.
Big C's placement is a "little" busy so it was hard to capture.
This was after about 3 minutes!!
We'll do this one again for sure.

Oh don't give me that look!

I couldn't resist, it just looked like too much fun. I opted to tie the chain around his neck and still got the same time as Mr Bussey.I could survive for 1 minute, 13 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Back to work,
Saje

On the road again

Monkey went over to play with Miss T this afternoon. After a spill on his bike he wasn't too keep on riding it for a bit. So they went for a spin in Miss T's Solstice.

He thought it was awesome.
How cute...

Monkey quote for the weekend

Monkey went with Grandpa to help take down Grandma's stall after the craft show.  When he arrived he asked Grandma if these were her items, she told him that they were.  When a potential buyer came by to take a look at a bowl Monkey admonished her

 

Monkey-Put that down, it is my grandmas!!

 

Poor defenceless woman looks helplessly at my mother

 

Grandma-Laughing her a$$ off.

 

Woman buys the bowl and get the heck out of there.

 

Monkey gets himself into a hurry to get things packed up since people wouldn't stop touching Grandma's things.

 

I got to take care of the baby!

Today I swung by the Bussey household at Big C's request. Luckily they were just hanging out so we went in. Little Miss was causing all sorts of trouble as you can see. Oh wait, nope, no trouble, just laying in her bassinette. Dada was mowing the lawn. Much to my amusement he would mow a stripe and a half and then have to empty the bag. Our yard does not have nearly the same amount of grass!!! Since my kid was causing about the same amount of trouble as the baby Momma asked if I could hold down the fort while she had a shower. I was more than happy to oblige.
I strapped the baby to myself and proceeded to sway, dance and bop around the house to keep her settled. At one point I got a good strudy burp out of her which seems to have been the source of her distress. It has been a while since I have been yucked on so I didn't mind one bit.
Peacful little miss.

All too soon Dada took her from me to show her off to the neighbour.

Gymnastics

It wasn't much of a stretch when we were deciding what to sign Big C up for this fall to figure that he would love Gymnastics. We've been to a couple of places and seen what they have on offer. We did a car seat clinic awhile ago at Starr Gymnastics and I wanted to support them since they support the SEATS Coalition. They seem to have a nice clean facility and a keep energetic staff.

He had a ball.

He wasn't too sure about being dropped off and having me sitting in the parent observation area. He kept coming back every 3-5 m inutes to report on his activities.

It was the same report every time "I'n doin gynasics". It got to the point where the other mommies would let me know that he was on his way.
They have enough trampolines that the kids each get to play on one at the same time. He thought the jumpoline was great. He on his, then wandered over to the next one, then the other one. His poor teacher spent a great deal of time coralling him!
They put stamps on his feet at the end of the class. He was very proud of that.

PS after reports that his teacher's name is Monkey, it is not, in fact Monkey. She teaches the 5-6 year olds apparently.