Happy Halloween!

Its looking like it might be a wet and soggy Halloween night for the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, but that doesn't stop Spider-Man and the One-eyed Monster from wishing you a Happy Halloween (or collecting treats)!

E had no doubt in his mind that he was going to be Spider-Man this year. He's been trying on his costume daily since he received it! H, on the other hand, didn't express any opinions on what he wanted to be, but PC and I felt the One-eyed Monster was appropriate - and really, couldn't you just squeeze the poop right out of that little face.  He was quite upset getting into his costume, but then realized how silly he looked in the mirror and he was all for it. What a boy.

Spider-Man has been slinging webs since his birthday and the best moment have been when we were outside taking these pictures last week and two older boys riding by on their bikes randomly shouted 'Hey Spider-Man'! He ripped off his mask and said 'Oh my gosh... they thought I was really Spider-Man Mommy'.  Some moments in life you just can't script!

I am sure these two characters will have fun knocking on doors this evening! I know I will have a great time witnessing it! I love the extra enthusiasm these holidays bring to my life because of the kiddies. It does make all of the time and effort that we put into getting ready for these special days worth it when you see how much joy it brings for them.

 Thanks to Dolcetto Designs for the FREE custom Halloween cards!

Happy Halloween!

Help Mark Heal

I don't normally do this type of thing on my blog, but this is a story about someone who I met and got to know in University, and now his post-university story has really stuck a chord with me.

Mark is battling stage 4 melonoma (skin-cancer). His story gave me chills because he has a beautiful young family and he has already been through this battle once before. He needs the support of everyone - and is truly relying on the kindness of strangers to get him and his family over this major hurdle.

Please visit the link below, and if you feel compelled to make a donation he is the kind of guy that will be forever grateful.

Help Mark Heal... and please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers in the months ahead.

http://www.gofundme.com/helpmarkheal

THANK YOU!


Dear 16 year-old me... is a video that I encourage you to watch to learn more about melonoma. Education is the key to prevention.

The birthday project for Mom!

Today is my Mom's 60th birthday - (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!)... and what an amazing milestone she has reached.  I remember when I was younger and thinking sixty was old, but now to be in my thirties and have my Mom turning sixty, it doesn't seem old at all! She looks great and now that her and my Dad are both retired, I think they both seem more youthful and relaxed than ever before.

My mom is not an over-the-top person... she is generally easy to please and agreeable, but she does make it known that she is not fond of being the center of attention - at all. With this milestone birthday approaching, I knew she would not want a big surprise party because she is just not that kinda gal, but I didn't want to let the occasion slip by without much mention of it.  After all she is SIXTY, and that deserves some kind of celebration in my (humble) opinion!

About six months ago I stumbled upon a link where a daughter did this fabulous project for her father... and it got me thinking that it was an awesome idea to put in my back pocket for a special occasion in the future.  Well fast forward and although I was in the middle of planning E's birthday party, I thought, what the heck, I think I can pull off 'my version' of the this project too.

So... I took stock of addresses that I had from my wedding folder, and then enlisted my Dad to do some undercover work with my Mom's address book (which thank gawd she still uses the old fashioned pen and paper style book thrown in the junk drawer, my Dad had no problem getting the info I needed). I emailed my invitation lady and got her to whip me up a quick request card informing people what I needed them to do, and BAM! ... I was off and running.

I complied a list of sixty candidates that I thought would be happy to participate and that she'd be happy hear from, if not surprised in some cases.  I located some colourful note cards and envelopes and got my stamping supplies out.  After a few evenings of dedicated prep work, I had sixty cards ready to mail out.

I really wasn't sure exactly how this was going to come together after I dropped the invitations in the mail, but when my Dad was at my house for Thanksgiving, he mentioned that he gets the mail most days, so he could collect the incoming cards as they arrived and save them up until today.  He took this job seriously, and did not disappoint as this morning he was able to present her with a mail bag full of wishes and I know she has enjoyed reading each one.

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this birthday project a total success.

To my Mom... you are a special woman who means a lot me. You are also a special Grandma to my two boys. I am so happy that you continue to play an active and present part in our lives, and I really can't thank you enough for always being at my side no matter what the obstacles or success stories have been. I hope you enjoy this milestone today... and PC, the boys, and I look forward to helping you celebrate many more years of health and happiness.

Love you and miss you.
xo
 

Special Helper Homework!

Today E has been chosen by his teacher to be the special helper for his class. Yesterday,  he came home beaming with the news that today would be his day and that he had to 'prepare a coupla things' for his class.

Included in his bag was a note from the teacher informing us that he would be the 'L'ami du jour' and a request to have us help him fill out a some information about himself (in French) for the class and to practice the sentences he would have to say this morning to introduce himself.

E was pretty excited to get down to business but when we opened the special folder that came home with him, the booklet he was to fill in was no where to be found. I am not sure if the teacher forgot to include it (which E claims) or if he misplaced it somewhere between school and home.  Either way we had to improvise... but we got the job done!

The one activity was to draw a picture of himself above the sentence 'Je suis un garçon'. I was pretty impressed at how he followed instructions to draw his head and then added in the facial details with minimal guidance. He also had the French sentences down pat before we even started to practice them. He's retaining much more French than I had anticipated at this stage and the good news for me is that its helping me to practice my outdated French speaking skills too.

I am excited to hear how his day went today, I am sure he'll be bummed that this special recognition didn't last longer than a day!

Spiderman Birthday Party!

For E's 4th birthday party, he requested a Spider-Man theme, so I put my spidey sense to work at organizing a little afternoon of fun for a small group of classmates and friends.

This was the first year that I decided to downsize his celebration into a small party of friends and then a family party. This was also the first year that E was in school, and that opens up a whole new world of friend selection. I did not want to invite the whole class or even half the class, but there were a few names that E kept mentioning so we limited it six friends and started the planning. E was very eager to have his buddies over to play at his house so we decided to do a few games, with cake and presents, on a Saturday afternoon at our house.

I searched around for some fun Spider-Man themed ideas and found a cool no-sew cape pattern online. E loves wearing capes around the house to do anything so I figured he might enjoy a spider themed cape for his special day - and if E had one, all of his friends should have one too!

The capes were probably the bulk of the work... but honestly I would do it again! They turned out better than I had envisioned and both my boys are still wearing them to play superhero games at home. E was grinning ear to ear when he put his on... and that made my day.

The rest of the party was low key... we did an easy 'Don't sit on Spidey' game and then a 'Pin Spidey on the Web' game. They were straight forward and easy to pull together. I had the cake done by a new gal near our house (Jo's Frosting's) and it was beyond delicious! It was a red velvet cream cheese cake and was very good not to mention the aaaaaaaaaamazing Spider-Man detail she created on her own. I did some cupcakes on the side with some fun toppers that I was able to download online - add in some balloon trees and the party was ready to roll.

It turned out be a beautiful day out for the party, so we got the formalities wrapped up in enough time to enjoy some outdoor play. E was seriously in heaven running circles outside with his friends. I was happy to see that we were able to achieve what he wanted for his special day.

E concluded at the end of the day that it was 'my bestest birthday ever' so that made it worth the effort entirely. I sent cupcakes to the school on his actually birthday to celebrate with his class and then finally we did a small family party on Thanksgiving weekend. He was over the moon to be spoiled with three special celebrations and he is still talking about the events and reading all of the fun cards he received.

The Spider-Man party is now in the books, but the love for Spidey in our house has grown enormously with all of the new Spider-Man gear E has received. Every night from 5 to 7 you can catch one happy boy slinging webs with a giant smile thanks to Spidey and friends!

The birthday balloon tradition!

On E's birthday its tradition that we release a helium balloon into the sky as way to celebrate with those who are no longer with us here on earth, but to the many guardian angels that we know are celebrating with him.

This year was no different from past years, except that E's excitement to participate in this tradition was ten-fold. He was dancing around at the thought of letting the balloons go and even remarked 'I hope you guys are ready for this'!

We let the balloons go.... and while they may have got snagged on the neighbours tree for a couple a minutes, they were high in the sky in no time! I'm not sure how E truly felt but I know I had a warm feeling after they disappeared and the sentimental side of me was shedding a tear.

Thank you to all of our guardian angels up above for continuing to keep this little boy and his baby brother safe for another amazing year. We love you and miss you everyday.

 

Thanksgiving!

Every year around thanksgiving, I get a little sentimental, but I really do love that there is a time of year that reminds us to reflect on what we are thankful for. This year is no different from any other in terms of what I am thankful for.... family and good friendships mean the world to me and I am so thankful to have an abundance of both in my life. I love my family and friends, and I hope health and happiness continues to follow them throughout their lives. 

And it goes without saying, but my little turkeys and their Daddy are at the top of my thanksgiving list! Love my boys and all of their shenanigans! They are getting so big and very busy, and they definitely keep me on my toes, but I would not have it any other way. When I think about all of the happiness they bring to my life, I am truly thankful. They are the best!

I hope all of my Canadians readers had a wonderful long weekend where you could set aside a little time to 'give thanks'! To my American friends, your turn is coming, so rest up!!

Happy Thanksgiving!
 

Emery: Age 4

Emery... my sweet, loving, growing boy, today you are 4.

Turning four is a milestone you've have hit with stride. I can't quite grasp the fact that I have a four year old boy, but you are bouncing off the walls at the thought of being four!

I tried to help you put your shoes on this morning before school, but you politely reminded me 'its okay Mommy, I don't need your help anymore'. This has been the underlying theme over the last year for you. You have gained so much independence and are very proudly doing many things on your own without requiring much help from anyone.

You finished your pre-school program in the spring and it was easy to see from that experience that you were ready to take on kindergarten. You've eased into the school routine so well. Any concerns Mommy and Daddy may have had were quickly erased when you bounced off that bus at the end of your first day grinning ear to ear.

You make these big milestones look like just another day, and Mommy and Daddy feel lucky to have a boy who takes everything in stride.

You absolutely, one hundred percent, love school. You love it so much that when we announce its the weekend (with tons of enthusiasm) you start to pout and say 'but I don't wanna quit school'. We can't help but laugh (and wonder if you'll be this enthusiastic in 10 years)!

You have made new friends at school and are starting to develop a little social life. I love listening to you recount your conversations with your school buddies (Alex, Ceilib, Gabe, and Luke)  of the games you were playing at recess and who said something funny or did something inappropriate. So far (a month into school) your teachers have all reported how well your doing.

This past year you started swimming lessons and between hanging out at the cottage and Grandma & Grandpa C's pool, you were a little fish! You also started playing soccer this past year. You had a blast and although the summer was hot, you didn't mind running the field and scoring goals all. season. long. You were sad when soccer was over, but then skating started again, and with new skates to start the season off, you are ready to gain some speed this year. Road hockey is also another favourite of yours and you have lots of fun playing in the driveway with the neighbours.

You had an amazing summer of fun at the cottage with Grandma & Grandpa C and travelling north to Thessalon to visit Grandma & Grandpa B. You didn't mind being spoiled by both sets of grandparents, and playing the reassuring big brother to Hudson as he experienced new things for the first time.

You are 38 lbs and 44 inches tall now. You have taken a real growth spurt in the past couple of months and have grown out of a lot of clothes. You are into all things superheros now, your favourite one being Spider-Man. We often call you 'Emery Parker' - Spider-Man's brother! You requested a  Spider-Man theme for your birthday party this year, and were so excited to have your friends over to play at your house.  You have asked for a Spider-Man Transformer for you birthday, and I am sure you will get that and more!

In addition to Spider-Man, you like to watch Octonots, Bubble Guppies, Batman, and Man-tracker (with Daddy).  This past year you went to your first movie theater movie and thought it was pretty AWESOME! You like playing transformers, and anything that lets you dress up in a cape. You are big into navigating your way around the computer. You often ask to watch a show on the YouTube, and if we can't find one suitable, you tell us with simplicity 'should probably download it then'!  You make us laugh every day.

You have always been a caring individual, but the older you get, the more we see how truly empathetic you are to others. When someone is hurt or needs helps you are right there to tell them 'its going to be okay' or 'I can help you'. You do get in trouble from time to time, but you like to explain why you thought it was okay to do what you were doing, or tell us what you thought was going to happen vs. what actually happened. You say the words 'actually' and 'totally' a lot! You love to chat... (like your Mommy)! Daddy thinks you have a word quota that you MUST hit every day before you can fall asleep, its somewhere between 25 and 30,000 words a day! No wonder you have no trouble falling asleep at night!

I love that you can express yourself to others, and that you maintain your manners often without prompting. This past year, you and Hudson have really learned how to play together. You engage him in so many games, and really make it fun for him. You know when to give in and when to stand your ground. Your genuine nature is sweet, caring and respectful and you make both Daddy and I so proud on a daily basis.

This year I wish for you smooth and exciting adventures, filled with love and happiness each and every day. I hope you realize how special you are to Mommy and Daddy, and that the day we welcomed you into our family was truly life changing in the best way possible.

Have an amazing birthday my big boy and keep enriching our family with your kind and endearing ways.

Lots of love today and always.
Mom
xoxo