Three Birthdays, Easter and a whole lotta fun in between!

Hi All,

So the past few months have been very eventful - with all three of my boys having their birthdays - and birthday parties - and with me trying to pack two weeks worth of fun into the every other weekend that I'm home to enjoy time with my boys.

Alex in the ball pit

Since being back at work I have really learned to appreciate my boys and the time I get to spend with them even that much more.  They are both so much fun and are my constant source of stress relief and happiness.  I really feel so lucky that I get to come home everyday to be their mom (and playmate).

Ian and Alex the Dinos

Since turning three Ian has started doing activities (dance, gymnastics, mini-Y) on his own - which has been great for him.  He is learning how to interact really well with other kids - planning and playing games with them, talking to them about himself and asking them questions, and discovering what it means to have a 'friend'.  He has surprised me with how well he follows instructions during dance and gymnastics on his own - it seems way better than when I was there!  He has started getting really into make-believe and imaginative play and will create whole scenarios for himself, Alex and I to play - he can get pretty creative.  He is also a little sponge - absorbing so much about the world around him - almost every time I talk to him he is amazing me with how much he has learned and understands.

Ian and Alex lounging around

He has also impressed me with how well he is doing with Alex - he will now often include him in games that we play (even without me prompting) and will even create games for him and Alex to play on their own.  He watches out for his little brother around the house and lets me know if he is getting into something he shouldn't (like the garbage or the toilet or Ian's lunch...).   Alex just seems to idolize Ian and tries to do everything his big brother does - I think Ian will have a constant tag-along pretty soon.

Ian and Alex posing

Alex continues to enjoy music of all kinds - dancing and clapping along whenever its playing - sometimes even getting a little head-banging going.    He has also started to use a few basic 'words' like ma-ma-ma-ma-ma for mommy or na-na-na-na-na for nanny or da-da-da-da-da for daddy, uhh for up, ah-gah for again.  He is still reluctant to walk - he will stand on his own for several seconds - and will even dance on his own - but only until he realizes he is not holding on - then he promptly sits down.  He is starting to walk holding on to my hands though so I'm hopeful his first independent steps are not too far behind.

Alex exploring

The boys and I went back to the reptile show again this year - and had even more fun this time around.  Ian was just as excited to see all the reptiles - but he knew more about them this time so he found it even more exciting.  Alex enjoyed watching from his stroller for the most part - but did seem to find the reptiles pretty exciting when they moved.

The first of my boys to have their birthday was Daddy - the big 30!  He decided to have an alcohol-theme costume party - so David dressed as Captain Morgan - Ian as Baby Captain Morgan - Alex as Jim Bean and I dressed as Tequila.  The party was a lot of fun and their were some amazing costumes - like Auntie Tifs 'Bloody Mary' and Matthews 'Moosehead Logger".

On Guard!

I want to be a pirate too!

Ian helping daddy blow out the candles

Ian and Alex enjoyed the reptile show so much we went to see another one at Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton.  It was a weekday so there were only a few kids - which meant that Ian got to get up-close and personal with all the reptiles during the show.  He got to hold a leopard gecko and a bearded dragon lizards, pet a caiman's tail and play with a huge snake.  Alex wanted to play with the reptiles too - but we told him he was a bit too young.

Ian holding the leopard gecko

Inside a man-eating plant - oh no!

As an early birthday present, David and I took Ian to Detroit for Dinosaurs Alive - a dinosaur exhibit featuring animatronic dinosaurs, ride-on T-Rex's, dino golf, fossil mining and lots or other fun things to do.  Ian had a great time running around and looking at the dinosaurs - he could identify almost all the animatronic models and had a great time making them move.  He also loved riding the T-Rex!

WOW! Dinosaurs!

Playing dino golf

Riding the long neck

Look at those teeth!

Giddy up triceratops!

Riding the T-Rex

Hello Stigimoloch!

Ian chose to have a snake and reptile-themed birthday party this year and requested an alligator cake - so I delivered.   His party ended up going really well - Ian was in a hurry to open his gifts - but that worked out great because the kids just ended up playing with them!  

Alligator Cake

Lizards catching bugs

Playing Hungry Hungry Hippo

Blowing out the candles

Easter was a little different this year because I worked most of the Easter weekend - so the Easter Bunny made a special stop during nap time on Easter Sunday.  Alex was the first to wake up and had an awesome time finding his eggs and cracking them open to get to the treats inside.  We had done a few 'practice' egg hunts prior to the real thing so Alex found his eggs like a pro.  When Ian woke up he made quick work of his hunting grounds before moving on to a second egg hunt at Grandma and Zayde's.

Alex on the hunt

Eating the eggs

Enjoying the spoils

I found one!

Look at them all!

Alex ran his first race this April along with Mommy - and actually ended up beating me by a good few inches!

Alex with his race medal

Alex's birthday also went very well.   Although I tried to ask him, Alex wouldn't commit on what he wanted for a birthday cake - so I let Ian decide - and he went with a panda bear.  It was Alex's first time trying cake so he was a little hesitant at first - taking just a little bit of icing on his finger - but after that first taste he dug in like a champ!  He also did a great job unwrapping his presents - with a little help from Ian and Matthew.

Alex's Panda Cake

The birthday boy!

The three boys in the ball pitt

Cousins cuddling

Happy Birthday Alex!

This looks cool!

YUM!

Can I have some more?

Working on the presents

Yay! My very own dino tail like Ian's

Matching tails!

Ian showing Alex how the Jack-in-the-box works

As a birthday present/mommy is on vacation and wants to do something fun trip - Auntie Laura and I took the boys to Great Wolf Lodge.  It was such a fun trip - the boys (and I) had pretty much nothing but fun for the whole two days.  Ian learned to swim on his own (with water wings) and loved the water park, the magiquest and the wolf den bed.  Alex's favourites were the water jets, crawling into and splashing in the wave pool and pulling the tissues out of the box in the hotel room.

Wolf Den!

I want to climb too Mommy!

Lets go swimming!

climbing the wolf den

To the top bunk!

Hi Mommy I'm so tall!

Snuggled in for the night

Boys posing at Great Wolf Lodge

To celebrate one of the first nice weekends of the year, Auntie Jenn and I took the boys to Storybook Gardens.  The boys had a great time.  Ian especially liked the animals, the bouncy pillow and the slides.  Alex liked the animals too, the toddler climber and the picnic lunch.

Look rabbits!

Petting the donkeys

Crawling through the tunnel

Posing with humpty-dumpty

Well, whew!  They was a busy three months!  Now we're getting into summer - beaches and parks and swimming and more fun with my boys.  Its going to be a great time :)

Love Amanda