Canada's Wonderland, here we come!

On Saturday, we took the kids to Canada's Wonderland for the PCL family picnic.

We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and immediately made our way to Hanna Barberaland for the kids rides. We had time to wait in line and ride just one (Swan Lake) before it was time to head to the group area for lunch. That was the great thing about this being a PCL day -- not only were our admission tickets paid for, but lunch was provided as well (as long as we went to the group area at a designated time).After lunch, we walked back to the kids area and hit a few more rides before stopping for sno cones and ice cream. By this point it was about 2:30, and we figured we'd probably last about another hour. But as the afternoon wore on, Alex dozed off for about 45 minutes in the stroller, and Austin's energy never seemed to run out. He was having so much fun, he was running on pure adreneline. (It helped that we brought the extra stroller for Austin. He didn't use it much when we were in the kids area, but it meant he didn't have to walk from one end of the park to the other and he had somewhere to sit down when he wanted to.)

So, after going on the kids roller coaster (twice), the swings, a few other rides and saving time to run around the playground, we finally decided it was time to go home -- at 6 p.m.! At which point, we realized maybe we should get the kids something to eat for dinner, because by the time we'd get home, they'll be too tired to eat.

Like the good parents we are...we decided to get them something we'd know they'd eat, rather than spending a lot of money just to get them something they'd only pick at because they were too tired and too wound up to eat. So, we bought them mega ice cream sandwiches for dinner! Hey, it's better to have something in your stomach than nothing at all. And let me tell you, neither of them complained about getting to eat cookies and ice cream for dinner! Although, they were both kind enough to share with mom and dad!

By the time we got home, just before 8 p.m., it was pretty easy to get them both into bed -- at which point, they both passed out for almost 12 hours.

Although Alex wasn't able to go on as many rides as Austin, she had a lot of fun on the ones she could go on. And even though the most exciting ride Ryan and I went on barely went over 10 miles an hour, it was still one of the best times I've ever had a Wonderland.

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Pictures from the last few weeks

My last post didn't include any pictures because I hadn't had a chance to download the camera and sort through the photos. So, here's a quick look at some of the things we've been up to lately:

Ryan took the kids to a nearby fun fair on June 6 (while I was in Ottawa) and Austin had his face painted. Even the bandana is painted on!

Alex checking out the ponies at the fun fair.

Austin hanging out with Dora.


Austin started soccer at the beginning of the month. He's really into it this year and is doing really well.
He shoots....
One morning, I stripped the kids down to their underwear (or diaper), rolled paper across the kitchen floor and let them go wild with finger paint. Alex spent more time painting herself than the paper. Needless to say, when the painting was done, they both went straight from the kitchen to the bath!

Because it's been super-hot this week, I set up our splash pad (it hooks up to the garden hose) in the front yard. This is Alex sititng in the puddle of water. Do you think she likes it?

One last thing I forgot to mention in my last post: now that I'm a stay-at-home mom, I've also decided to go into business for myself. I am now officially a part-time freelance writer and I already have two clients (both who need me to write the copy for corporate websites)! I'm pretty excited about this new venture and am hopeful that I'll get some business. I don't need a lot of business, because afterall, my days are pretty busy with the kids, but I'm looking forward to getting back into writing again.

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What we've all been up to lately

It's been a busy few weeks.

At the beginning of the month, I travelled to Ottawa by myself for the weekend -- leaving Ryan with the kids -- to see my sister who, in her 24th week of pregnancy was put on strict hospital bed rest. I stayed for three days and when things started to look up, I came home on Monday night. She's doing ok for now, and, thankfully, still pregnant. But she's still hospitalized and will be for the remainder of her pregnancy (however long that may be).

While I was off in Ottawa -- Ryan took the kids to a nearby fun fair where the kids apparently had a blast.

The next weekend, we all hung out close to home -- getting stuff done around the house. And this weekend, Ryan has been playing in a baseball tournament all weekend. It rained yesterday, so I kept the kids at home, but today, I brought the kids out to watch two of the three games.

Austin is done spring swimming lessons and he passed the level! He did amazing, and can now (among other things) swim with a lifejacket, unassisted across the width of the pool. I have signed him up for a summer swimming session in July. And, I managed to find a pool not too far away that has a guardian swim class (mom and tot in the water together) at the same time as Austin's swim level, so Alexandra will be taking her first swimming lessons this summer too. She loves the bath, so I'm hopeful that she'll love being in the pool too.

The swim classes are every morning for a two-week period in mid-July. It should be fun, and it'll give us something to do every morning.

Austin is also 'playing' soccer again this summer. We signed him up in the same league as last summer -- a session only for two and three year olds -- and he is really enjoying it again. This time, he has a far better attention span and is really getting into it. It also helps that the league limited the registration to about 20 kids this year -- instead of the 60 to 70 they had last year.

A few things about Alexandra:

• She still doesn't really speak, and although she has a few words, she rarely even uses them. However, I'm amazed at how well she can communicate with us without needing words. When she's hungry, she shakes her high chair; when she wants to go outside, she gets her shoes and tries to put them on; when she's tired she often points to her bed or asks for her blanket (her very special blanket that she can't sleep without).
• Her understanding of language is also very good. If you tell her that it's bath time, she'll drop everything and walks to the bathroom, if you ask her to give her what she's holding, she'll bring it to you. The only thing she doesn't listen to is the word 'no'.
• She's the sweetest girl, but has one heck of a temper -- already. I have a feeling she's going to be trouble!
• She has a shoe fettish right now. She is constantly going to the front door, picking up shoes (anyone's shoes) and carrying them around the house until she finds their owner. Or, she'll throw them in her shopping cart and push them around. The downside to this, is everytime we want to go out, we spend 5 to 1o minutes looking for shoes!
• She's a klutz and at any given time has no less than three bruises or scratches on her face. But almost every time she falls, she gets right back up and keeps going and so, I often don't even know when the newest bruise came from.

I guess that's about it for now.

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New photos

I don't have much to write right now, but I just wanted to point out that I put a new slideshow in the sidebar.

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