5 Little Pumpkins (October 27, 2010)

Five little pumkins sitting on a gate

The first one said "Oh my, it's getting late!"

The second one said "There are witches in the air!"

The third one said"But we don't care!"

The fourth one said "Let's run and run and run!"

The fifth one said "I'm ready for some fun!"

Then "Wwooooooo!" went the wind

And (clap) OUT went the lights

And the Five little pumkins rolled out of sight!

Mother Duck said Quack Quack Quack QUACK!!! (October 21, 2010)

"We're going on a Duck Hunt,

we're going to catch a BIG ONE!

What a beautiful day--we're not SCARED!

Uh-oh! A River!

A deep COLD river!

We can't go over it, we can't go around it--We'll have to go THROUGH it!

Splishy-sploshy, splishy-sploshy, splishy-sploshy!"

(For other versus [grass! mud! a forest! a swirling whirling snowstorm!] see the book 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt")

"Five little ducks went out one day

over the hills and far away.

Mother Duck said Quack Quack Quack Quack,

but only 4 little ducks came back."

(Four, three, Two, One and Sad Mother Duck)

But definately the best part of going on a Duck Hunt is splashing in the puddles!!!

Thank you! (October 7, 2010)

Today was my birthday (my 3rd anual 29th birthday-HA!) and we had a really fun day!

Thank you to my mom and dad who picked Amelia up from school and gave me the gift of 2 hours of quiet time while the other kids were napping! AND brought Amelia home with a delicious chocolate zucchini cake (complete with candles) that we all shared for snack.

And a giant thank you to all of my other lovely moms and dads who pitched in to give me a fabulous birthday gift! I can't wait to get my pedicure- what a treat! and it will be hard to choose when browsing in the kids section at Chapters. What a lucky lady I am to have such wonderful families!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Hello Fire-Fighter! (October 1, 2010)

Today we went for a neighbourhood walk around the block and to buy some apples at Sobey's.
We met some firefighters doing their grocery shopping, and they let us look at their big firetruck! Hailey even got to climb up into the drivers seat! (Everyone else was too scared!)
On the way home we saw Jim, the postman, filling his truck with parcels.
What an exciting neighbourhood walk!

I have a picture on my phone, I just haven't figured it out yet...

September 2010

Nighty-night dolly!

Hailey is involved in some dramatic play. She is wrapping all the dolls in blankets and tucking them into toy boxes while singing "twinkle-twinkle" to them!

Happy Birthday Brody! (September 23, 2010)

Today we celebrated Brody's 2nd Birthday!
What a big boy you are!
I just know you are going to grow up to be the super-hero you dream to be!
We all loved sharing some cupcakes with you for your special day!

Welcome Olivia! (September 7th 2010)

Today we welcomed Olivia to our home!

She is a sweet little pea and all the munchkins just adore her!

They think it's especially funny how she eats her lunch!

mmm yummy carrots!

We can't wait to get to know you, Olivia!

Goodbye and Good luck Miss Sophie (Wednesday, August 25, 2010)

Sophie is moving on and up in the world, going off to preschool before she turns 3!

We celebrated her special last day with dancing and cupcakes and lots and lots of hugs.

Sophie you're a funny girl who kept us on our toes, and it seems a little quieter without you! Thank you for my beautiful book and music, we think of you every time we share them.

Hi Ho It's off to the park we go! (Wednesday, August 18, 2010)

There is a great splash pad and playground at Gibbons Park that is just perfect for toddlers, and fun for bigger kids too! My mom accompanied us on our little feild trip, and we all had a really good time. Even though it was a little chilly, Hailey and Broday loved playing in the water, and Sophie and Daniel were having a fantastic time on the slides, and the "up-down" teeter-totter. We packed a picnic snack of muffins and watermelon and played the morning away. What a great day!

Happy Birthday Alecia! (Friday, August 6, 2010)

OOO Alecia! We can't beleive you are already 2! What a big girl you have turned into.

Amelia and I baked a chocolate zucchini cake to share for snack to celebrate the special occasion. I think Brody really liked it. He looks worried I'm going to take it back before he's done!

We are having so much fun I forget to post!

Some pictures of our summer fun!

• Sophie, looking so glam in her "polka-dot bikini"
• All uf us playing outside in the pool on a warm morning.
• Some lego fun indoors. (I am trying to encourage small bouts of group play, to work on sharing, taking turns and such)
• And one picture I got at Gibbons Park--I will take more next time we go out!

I realized we never shared Sophie's big news--she became a big sister in May! How exciting. She is very humble, and doesn't talk about it much, but we know she is very proud of her little brother Gabe. :D

We are also on the count-down to Alecia's big day! Happy 2nd Birthday Alecia! We will share a special snack for her special day!

Stinky Feet!

Working on a group picture. We took turns tracing our hands and feet, then comparing them! Hailey has the longest feet. Daniel has the widest feet. Alecia has the shortest feet. Brody has the most ticklish feet!

Backyard Fun

Hailey practising her bubble blowing. Getting one off into the air is very exciting! Daniel is (not so) patiently waiting for his turn to blow a bubble too!

Wow, we have really had a taste of summer this week! Everyone has been really great about putting on their sunscreen and wearing their hats, I am so glad that we can all be safe in the sun.
I am trying to get all the kids to have at least one cup of water (in addition to their usual juice and milk) while they are here on hot days. Not everyone is such a fan, but it sure is easier when they are thirsty!

I am planning a succession of animal themes throughout the summer: backyard animals, bugs and insects, zoo and jungle animals as well as farm animals, which will lead nicely into the end of summer harvest.

We have planted some yummy veggies in our garden and it will be fun to watch them grow and taste them as the summer goes on. We put in some yellow squash, spinach, two different types of tomatoes, lots of carrots and some green onions--I wonder what we will get to try first?

What's Cookin'?

This is a picture I took a couple weeks ago. Alyssa and Amelia have been exploring their culinary sides. They made oatmeal chocolate chip muffins (that were so delicious!) and later on in the month they made some oatmeal raisin cookies that were probably the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had! (Their secret? Substituting cinnamon for the vanilla! We were all out of vanilla, and the cinnamon was sooo yummy with the raisins!) Even Hailey (our resident 'avoider of sweets') ate a cookie.

Flutter by, Butterfly

Amelia and Alyssa are growing a Butterfly Garden in a corner of our backyard! We can't wait to see how the flowers look, and count the butterflies that come to visit us over the summer.

And we finally have grass to play on in the backyard, and sand in the sandbox! When the weather warms up we will pull out the little pool and have some great water fun too.

Happy Mother's Day

Just a quick pic of our latest creations. I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Mother's Day. You all deserve it! (Thank you to Hailey, Lisa and Tom for my "Best Second Mom" Flowers!)

The Middlesex-London Health Unit has been out at our playgroups lately promoting the "Nipissing Screening" checklists. The checklists highlight milestones that are generally accomplished three months earlier, so if there are any acheivements that your child hasn't made yet, it could be an indication of some developmental delays. I think the checklist are great at highlighting a child's accomplishments too. There may be milestones your child has reached without us even noticing!

Summer is on it's way! I have had my 2010 vacation dates posted for quite some time now, but just in case you didn't write them down I will be off from July 5 - 9, and from August 30 - September 3. We are really looking forward to spending some time at the beach and going camping this year!

Ring Around the Rosie

It's funny that the little boys get a kick out of dressing up like a princess, just as much as the little girls do. We put on party dresses, necklaces and carry our favourite things in a pretty purse. Then we top it off with a tea party or a game of 'ring around the rosie'!

April 26, 2010

Happy Birthday Daniel! We had some fun at snack on Monday singing the birthday song and tasting some birthday cake.

Check out all the birthday pictures in the slide show!

"Spring, spring, spring!" sang the robin.

One of favourite spring books right now is "Home for a Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown, in which the robins, frogs and hedgehogs welcome in spring!

We have been going for some lovely morning walks now that spring has arrived. So much time outside means it is definately time to bring in the sunscreen and sunhats. We are also in the middle of landscaping the backyard. While it is still safe to play there, it can be very muddy, so it is a good idea to have some boots here for playtime until we are finished and have dried out a bit.

This morning on our walk we were checking out the mailboxes (we always make sure they are all locked up tight) when the bus drove by. How exciting that the bus driver waved at us and beeped his horn for us when we waved hello to him as he drove by! Then Hailey led us in a rousing rendition of "the horn on the bus goes Beep BEEP BEEP!!!"

We sing another song about the bus which makes the kids giggle:
(tap your thighs while chanting)

"A hip- a hip- a hippopotamus
Went on- went on- went on the city bus
And all- and all- and all the people said
YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!!!"
(squish your cheeks with your hands)

We would also like to welcome Alyssa to the group! Alyssa is in JK in the mornings and will be joining us for lunch 4 - 6 afternoons a month. She is lovely and has really hit it off with Amelia. The girls have already enjoyed an afternoon outside painting their toenails (oooh la la) and an afternoon indoors painting princesses.

Sunday was Hailey's 2nd Birthday! What a big girl. We celebrated on Friday with a little popcorn party and practiced singing the birthday song together. (and of course I forgot to charge the camera, I'm sorry.)

Thanks for your support when I went crazy and decided it would be a good idea to walk 30K. My next adventure is jogging 5K on May 16 for Ovarian Cancer here in London. I'm aiming to finish in less than 45min, which is certainly a drop in the bucket when compared to my previous goal of less than 6 hours. Wish me luck!

March 18 2010: Quack Quack!

Today my friend Tasha and her children, Sophie and Jakub joined us for a March Break outing to the duck pond. We donned our "backpacks" (even Brody!) and walked down Silverbrook to the "marsh". It was SO beautiful out. The ducks weren't home, but we left them a little snack anyhow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Everybody's Irish on St Patrick's day! We celebrated the holiday this week with green gluings, yummy cupcakes and party hats! We even danced a little to some celtic tunes.

I'm In A Race!

I just wanted to give a formal apology for the lack of postings. I'm sorry. :D
I have an excuse though.
My sister convinced me to join her in the 30K Around the Bay Roadrace in Hamilton at the end of March. So I have committed myself to a few hours of training everyweek.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to extend the number of hours in my day. I applied, but they haven't approved my request. (haha)

The kids are all amazing me. We have officially made the transition from Amelia and "the babies" to a house full of toddlers. It has been an eye-opening and rewarding experience. Singing songs is one of my new favourite things now that everyone is learing words and actions. What fun! We have been working on a new one--I will post a video of them shortly.

Thank you to everyone who shared Valentines, it was very sweet. We had a lovely couple of weeks reading stories about friends and family. How fantastic that Family Day and Valentine's Day were on the same weekend. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and spent some quality time. Mike and I took the kids tobogganing on a "real hill" (thanks Amelia) and we are excited to do it again before the winter ends--it was a lot of fun!

If you haven't already, please take a couple minutes to update your contact information on the sheet I sent home with your tax reciepts. And if you don't mind, on page two please just focus on any changed medical conditions or allergies as well as food likes and dislikes. (I'm sure you can imagine how much fun it is cooking for four toddlers.)

Also, I am currently working on transferring all the information from the other webpage onto the blog. It seems silly to have two pages. I really like the layout of this one, except that right now some of my categories are yelling at us in CAPITAL LETTERS. And I haven't yet found a good solution for the calendar or the menu table. But I will.

Sleeping Kitties

Sleeping Bunnies

(Please forgive my singing!) This is one of the little games we like to play when we are having trouble playing together nicely. It seems to make our little group cheer up and interact more positively!

See the sleeping bunnies 'till it's nearly noon

Come let us wake them with a merry tune

Oh so still, are they ill?

Wake up sleeping bunnies! Hop hop hop!

Sensory Play on a Cold Day

Our First Week Back (January 4 - 10)

Here are Brody, Daniel and Sophie playing with our new train set. Daniel got it for Christmas from his Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie and Nana. Aren't we lucky?

We had a pretty good week after a long holiday, everyone practiced sharing and gentle hands AND we got to celebrate Amelia's 5th birthday. Happy Birthday Amelia!

Alecia is toddling around like a pro, and Brody is picking up lots of new words and sounds. Sophie is setting an example for everyone with her wealth of knowledge about animals and colours. Hailey is singing us songs and counting to 13. Daniel likes to do all the actions and is doing some successful parroting of words. Amelia is reading letter sounds and picking out sight words in our favourite books. A few weeks sure brings about a lot of changes!

For the next couple weeks we will be exploring snow. (How could we not!) We are reading lots of books about snow, snowmen and winter. We are also talking about winter animals and are going to be putting out a bird feeder so we can help our animal friends through the cold months.

I have added some new pictures to our slide show.

We are having SO MUCH FUN!

Crafty at Christmas (December 2009)

Just wanted to share a couple pictures of the kids working on their Christmas crafts.