DPoD July 11th - Museum of S & T - featuring all the coolest stuff!

We were up and at it early again this morning. We made it to the museum of science and technology for when it opened (we actually had to wait a moment for the staff to let us in) and immediately went for the big guns. The snowmobile was a lot of fun since there was no one in line and we could go on 3 times in a row. Big C drove the 3rd time and smiled the whole way. He also took a seat in the car that was parked inside nearby. He will certainly be a force to be reckoned with when he gets on the road himself.

We then headed over and made a rocket for mommy. She'll be glad to know that Monkey did the glueing, the application of the fire, the rolling and the taping. He's remarkably proud of his work.

After that it was time to go see the steam engines inside the museum. Oh my goodness, there is a firetruck exhibit. The only thing cuter than Big C waving his hand frantically yelling 'train, train' is Big C waving his hand frantically yelling 'fire truck, fire truck'. He was absolutely beside himself. I think that they're both ready to move into the museum - considering that Monkey told me ' daddy, you an go home and big C and I can stay here forever, Ok'. We wandered around the antique fire trucks and Big C was desperate to climb the little fence that they had around it and go in to play with them. He was appropriately restrained but just LOVED looking at them.

After we blissed out there, it was time to go outside to see the real live functioning steam train since it was nearly 10 and Monkey requested sitting in the big car and going on the first ride. We accomodated both after a snack of pear, mini-wheats, banana and cheese. (see 2nd post for more details and the photos)

DPoD July 11th - Museum Part II

So we went on the really cool train with the really, really loud whistle (both boys ears were properly protected of course). Monkey and Big C were in total bliss. Total and utter bliss. They should both sleep soundly tonight. We climbed aboard and could see everything on the engine. We were about 10 feet from the whistle, the bell, the funnel, the dome and all of the parts of the engine that Monkey could rhyme off. We went the length of the track and stopped in front of the sheds. Big C spent most o fthe time waving at everything and everybody out the window. When we stopped at the end of the track and they opened the shed doors I thought that both boys would burst. We rode the tracks again in reverse and Big C enjoyed the wind in his hair. We took a quick photo in front of the engine, then headed in to visit the tunnels (the Nortel exhibit). We had a great time there in the netting, which has been closed for repairs every time that I've been there, and in the tunnels themselves. Then it was back to the train for one last ride before we went home.

This time we chose the superintendent's car and Big C took up his own chair beside the 2 of us. He looked so regal sitting there all on his own. We had a great last ride and then packed things up to go home for lunch and a nap.

Phew. What a wonderful morning. See you next Wednesday trains and fire trucks!!!

DPoD July 10th- our visit downtown

Today was awesome!

The day started out exchanging our tent at CT since there was a hole in the one corner. Every good camper knows that will only lead to problems in the future (read - waking up in a big wet puddle). We also got mommy her ice cream before we came home since they are out at the local grocery store - yay!

Since Big C had an early nap (he was exhausted at 10 am) Monkey and I played a lot of learning games, and then got ready to go downtown so that we could ride home with mommy. We took the usual bus, train, bus route downtown and then unleashed ourselves upon the parliament buildings. We had a really good snack, then looked at the 'Women are declared people' statues that they had out. Monkey just had to sit in the big bronze chair.

We followed this up by looking at the river, the bridges and the boats. BIg C was quite interedted in the boats and Monkey was sure to keep a hand in daddy's the entire time. Then we visited the cats behind parliament. A favourite for both boys. We stopped to throw a coin in each into the fountain (we each made a wish) and then I noticed that we still had about a half hour before mommy finished work. Off for ice cream! Monkey had a cone and did very well to eat it all himself with minimal spillage. Big C split a hot fudge sundae with daddy. What a treat.

We went to mommy's work and the 4 of us ventured home. Mommy made the day complete by taking the boys to the park while daddy went off to soccer. On a personal note daddy added two records to his collection - scoring in the first minute of the game and scoring when we only had 7 players. All around a banner day. I'm looking forward tomorrow morning (after a solid night's sleep!)

DPoD July 9th - Monday morning silliness

Monday morning has brought about a good deal of rain. This means that we won't be venturing out this morning into the neighbourhood. What it does mean is that there were lots of activities to be done around the house. We watched the birds invade the back yard after mommy and Monkey seeded the lawn yesterday. Monkey enjoys shooing them away by calling out 'Go away birds, don't eat our seeds'.

We did some artwork and then also played Roll n Play. You roll a multi-coloured cube, then pick a card of that colour and do the activity - loads of fun as Monkey tried to teach Big C how to do things like brush your hair, find your bellybutton and find something yellow.

We went and played upstairs where Big C enjoyed rocking on the horse that we borrowed from E-man.

Then it was time for lunch so we finished off the last of the strawberries and made up some whipped cream. Monkey was very helpful in the whipping process and both boys enjoyed having a beater at the end.

Daddy v Bunny - Part I of II

I'll start this message by stating that no bunnies were harmed in the making of this blog post. Yesterday my Sunshine (that's my wife) went out briefly with Monkey and left big C and I to get ready for supper. I looked out our window and noticed that the bunny we hadn't seen in weeks was next door relieving himself on our neighbours yard. He gave me that glint in his eye that said 'that's right, I'm back. What're you gonna do about it? '. I knew that in the position he had placed himself he was pinned. I called the neighbours to find out if I could come into their yard to catch him. No answer. At this time I took it up myself to do a quick test of the security of our property. I placed Big C in the back yard with me, took two of our patio chairs and put one on our side of the fence and one on our neighbours and delicately hopped the fence. I had thrown a large Rubbermaid container over with me so that I could catch the little varmint. After about 5 minutes of a little dance back and forth I trapped him under the Rubbermaid container right hear the hedge line.
Victory was mine! I had him pinned under the container and now had to hop back over the fence to get the lid to trap him entirely so that I could go release him in the woods. Big C was very helpful and kept a close eye on the container (which I secured with a bag of Black Earth) while I got a large board to enclose the bunny.

Then Sunshine and Monkey came home. It took a little bit of explaining to get them to understand just what I was doing with Big C on one side of the fence and me on the other with a large container. Once they found out that our nemesis the bunny had been caught, we were off in the car to release him. Monkey and Big C were quite excited that we were finding the bunny a new home where he would lots of good things to eat - other than mommy's flowers. We arrived at the place in the woods and took the makeshift trap out of the trunk. I stood triumphantly over the container, Sunshine poised at the camera, and lifted the lid on the count of the 3. And....

no bunny.

Darn magic bunny.

Official score : Bunny 1, daddy no score.

Daddy v Bunny - Part II of II

So the bunny came back the very next day.

Magic bunny, you're mine.

I spent all last night trying to figure out how you escaped the trap and where you had hidden while I celebrated your apparent capture.

Sunshine and Monkey were on the back step having a little chat after dinner when she told me to come quickly and bring the container. The bunny was now in our yard flaunting his independence. He was on the north side, so he could get trapped if the area by the gate was secured. I took the back yard and Sunshine monitored the gate. The dance this time was much shorter, however this time the capture was confirmed by Sunshine, who did an excellent job of ensuring that he didn't escape.

We loaded the kids back into the car (though we may need to explain to the boys what deja vu is) and headed out to the spot in the woods. There was enough kicking and movement in the container the reassure us that either the bunny was indeed trapped or he was really, really good at this game.

The trap was brought out of the trunk, complete with the hunter pose for the camera, and it was placed on the ground. Again on the count of 3 (and this time with feeling) the lid was lifted and....off he went. He scurried off , in the direction of our house, and hopefully found himself a new home. Good luck little bunny and good riddance.

Official score: bunny 1, daddy 1.

(let there be no tie breaker)

DPoD July 7th - Some more words that Big C knows

Also:



Airplane



Berry









Bus (I think that it was his first word outside the family)



Truck



and Mommy ( we love you mommy!)

DPod July 6th - Some Words Big C knows Part I

For those of you who aren't familiar with the language of Big C here is the first installment of some words .hat he knows. This week has shown some real changes in his ability to communicate:

Baby

Badger Day (Badder dee)

Ball

<-- Book ______Cheese

DPoD July 5th - Reader in the morning

Ok. So I'm posting the picture from last night and what do I see when I come to investigate the silence that Big C is making from our bedroom. The little monkey is poised on one of the chairs in our room, book in hand, quietly chatting to it. What a little treasure this kid is.

PS - Monkey, I hope that you're having fun at grandpa and grandma's on your sleepover. Big C is loving playing with all the toys he never gets to himself.

DPoD July 4th - reader in the evening

Tonight Big C fell asleep curled up next to his Alaska 1,2,3 book. In fact, he fell asleep clutching onto it as '8 white bears waving goodbye' sent him off to slumberland. Thank you Godfather J for the new leader in the 'cutest moment ever' category.

DPoD July 3rd - The Camping Experiment

Monday night (Monday was a busy day so it already got its due) Monkey and daddy decided that we would try camping out in the yard. This was largely prompted by the fact that it's something that I've wanted to do for a while with Monkey, but moreso by the Canadian Tire flyer that had an 8 man tent on for half-price. I purchased the tent Saturday morning as the store opened to be sure that we can make more memories in the future.

Anyhow, we gave it a go Monday night. We took out our sleeping bags, a flashlight, some books to read, a phone (in case we had to call mommy for snuggles or snacks), Manny and our pillows. We talked for a little bit about how camping works (that it's Ok to pee outside, even though he already pees in the garden), about how it would eventually get dark and we'd wake up when the sun was up in the sky, that there would be some neighbourhood noise and that we'd see mommy and Big C in the morning. We tried, we really tried. He was also really cute with the questions that he asked the ways that he tried to stay awake no matter what. But at 7:40 we figured that we given it our best and went inside to bed. Monkey fell asleep quite shortly after. Needless to say there will be more attempts after the rain this week, likely on Friday or Saturday night. We'll keep you posted.

DPoD July 2nd - Berry PIckin !!

We awoke this morning (at 6 am of course) and after daddy and the boys had some time together it was time to get the day started with mommy. We decided that it would be a delightful idea to go picking strawberries. We recalled what a great time Monkey had last year and were sure that the boys would have a lot of fun. Little did we know that Big C would have a phenomenal time running through the aisles of berries. He would come back to daddy to get a picked berry and then run off to eat it, check out the landscape and then return for another.

Monkey was particularly concerned about the 'prickly bushes' that were scattered through the field. We now know that we can protect nearly anything in the universe from him by surrounding it with prickly bushes. Monkey would eat/ pick at about a 1:1 ratio and was thoroughly red-handed by the end of it all. E-Man and his parents came with us and by the end we were all sitting in the field quietly chatting and eating the delicious red fruits all around.

Big C had such a good time that he fell fast asleep about 2 minutes into the drive home. It was conspicuously quiet soon after we got into the car and we were able to reach back and get some Ok photos. The ones you see here were taken just before and in our driveway. Needless to say there are lots of berries at snack times and desserts in the days to come. I think that raspberry season is next - woo hoo!!

DPoD July 1st - Happy 10th Canada Day!

Happy 140th Canada Day to all and happy 10th Canada Day together sunshine.

For those of you who don't know, we met on Canada Day 9 years ago (thus making this our tenth). I ventured up from London on a whim with my buddy Darcy and she was in town between years at Trent university. We met downtown and we saw our first fireworks together that first year. They always make us feel young. After the fireworks ended we made arrangements to meet each other the next day through a bank slip with red lipstick writing down the address where I was staying in town.

After a brief 2-day trip to Peterborough to help her look for an apartment (and we saw some doozies) we returned to Ottawa and started a long distance friendship. That friendship grew into a relationship and soon enough we fell in love. From that love came 2 beautiful boys and a home full to the brim with love that we could have never even dreampt of. Every Canada Day becomes better than the last and every morning that I wake up next to her I feel blessed to have such a wonderful, vibrant, passionate partner in my life. I love you sweetie.

DPoD June 30th - Monkey gets a job with the city

Ok, so this is actually from Friday. It got bumped due to the really cute bear pictures.

So Monkey and mommy saw the workers from the city here to repair some of the sidewalks around the neighbourhood. Mommy and Monkey went to check it out. The city workers adored Monkey and involved him in everything. This overjoyed Monkey and they all had a great time putting on Monkey's vest, having him measure things out and help with the work and then gave him a big high 5 at the end. I did notice that they wouldn't let him wear the white hat, and based on how wonderful they were to him I'll refrain from making any of the usual white hat comments. All we have to do though is bend those child labour laws a little and Monkey would be able to pay for all the milk and yogurts that he's been consuming. He grew out of the pants that were rolled up in the family pictures that we had taken just 6 weeks ago. He's taken to an afternoon nap now and then, so I'm not at all surprised. Here's looking forward to Canada Day tomorrow!