So Helpful

Scott is growing more and more independent all the time. But rather than being rebellious, he often demonstrates his independence by being helpful. For example, recently he has gotten up several times before everyone else and has set the table for breakfast of his own accord.



I also notice how great he is at getting himself ready for bed. It used to be a bit of a battle and it would drag out for a long time, but now he runs off to get ready for bed and does everything himself. I meet him in his room for prayers and reading and it is really pleasant.

One reason he goes so fast is that we don't let the two kids use the bathroom at the same time (they can't leave each other alone in there) and he wants to be sure that he gets there before Katie. Whatever the reasons, he is making his own choices and he is really growing up. He's almost six!

Story Time With Katie

One day R came into the kitchen to find that Katie had arranged all her dolls and stuffed animals on the stairs as an attentive audience while she sat opposite on a chair and pretended to read them a story. Very cute. This is just one example of how Katie often likes to go off and do her own thing. Sometimes you can hear her giving voices to her dolls and animals. Often, she will ask you not to watch her, because she gets a little self-conscious.

Katie Singing, Sleeping & Painting

Sleep-painting



I caught Katie drifting to sleep while painting recently. This doesn't happen very often, but she is definitely more likely than Scott to fall asleep somewhere other than her bed. Often times at night she says, "I am SO SLEEPY" and she just wants you to carry her up to bed. Scott always has energy enough to keep playing, no matter what time the clock says.




Katie Singing

If you ask Katie to sing a song, she will go into her squeaky "baby voice", but if you catch her singing to herself, then she goes into a fairly impressive full voice. We got a video example of each one -- including a very cute song she made up on the spot about grandmas and grandpas and great grandmas and great grandpas.

Open Gym

We had some free time to kill on a Saturday so I went with the kids to the YMCA for open gym. Scott and I did pretty well with the badminton set, while Katie explored the gymnastics mats; however, the real fun began when the kids found tricycles on the other half of the gym. They discovered that there was a little storage compartment in the back of the trikes and they put all the badminton birdies and hockey pucks in there.

Local Celebrities

On Family Day we went to a rally to raise awareness about the prospects for a middle school in our community. It was pretty much the only cold day we had in all of February, so we bundled up in bulky coats and braved the elements in support of our cause. We also ate some chocolate chip cookies and played around on the ice rink.



While we were there a reporter from a free-circulation newspaper asked us some questions and we ended up with our quote being used in one article and our picture being used in another:



At least three people saw the article and told us about it, so that pretty much makes us famous. Hopefully, we aren't known best for our public protests and righteous indignation. Hopefully, I am known best for my fabulous beard.

Quotes from Family Day Weekend

We were able to swing a babysitting deal while we went out Friday evening for dinner. The kids said some funny things at bedtime while we were gone.

Katie was saying that mom lets her do something-
S: Katie didn't actually do that. Lying is against the commandments. 'Thou shalt not lie.'

Trying to get Katie to go potty-
K: I'm going to go downstairs and be a bad girl and you can tell my mom.

Scott was (once again) worried about coyotes. He said, "Dad told me they come inside and eat babies." I said no such thing. I told him that coyotes have no idea how to open a door. There's a difference.

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On Family Day

The waitress at the diner said "Hi baby" to Katie.
K: Why did she say 'hi baby?' I'm not a baby. I'm growing up. I'm three.

Scott coming back from a playdate at a friend's house
S: There was an older girl there too. She rides the bus.
R: You recognized her?
S: I recognized her head.
R: Her head?
S: Yeah. Not Her clothes.

D: Katie, count to ten.
K: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30.
D: Wow Katie! I didn't know you could count to 30! (I didn't know she could count to 10)

Coming downstairs at Grandma's house to find auntie K still in her workout clothes, including a sleeveless shirt-
S: Why are you wearing a shirt with no sleeves?!
K: I just finished working out.
S: Why are you still wearing it?
K: I just finished when you got here.
S: Are you going to wear that all day?
K: Do you think I should?
S: No.
(Scott would prefer to wear shorts and a short-sleeve shirt every day of the year, so we have had to teach him that he must wear a long-sleeve shirt and pants during the winter. He is somewhat draconian in enforcing this principle upon others.)

Wedding Party

R's cousin B got married and we took the kids to the reception. As usual, Katie was very excited to see the pretty white dress and to wear her own "wedding dress" that she got for her uncle Brad's wedding in December. She also liked to dance out on the floor with the fancy big band playing.



Scott mostly liked that he could eat plate after plate of fruit... plus the occasional brownie.

Date Night: Gluten Free, Crowd Free

February date night was scheduled for the day after Valentine's Day, hopefully to avoid the crowds of nannies and romantics (and romantic nannies). As it turns out, crowds were still an issue -- we really could have used a few more people to fill the space.



We had dinner at Calgary's first and only all-gluten-free restaurant: Heaven Artisan GF Cuisine on 17th Avenue. I had purchased some vouchers recently that got us $40 worth of food credit for only $20, and I figured there would be a lot of other people crawling over each other to use the vouchers, so I made a reservation for 7pm. Good thing. It is possible that they could have chosen to close the place early if they didn't know we were coming. Actually, there were two other couples in the place when we arrived, but eventually we were the only ones left in there, and we were severely outnumbered.



The food was absolutely fabulous. We got a fabulous sampler appetizer, R got an enormously cheesey lasagna and I got a plate of 4 different tacos (the shrimp taco was the best). We followed it up with a great dessert of fried plantains in a sweet cinnamon syrup. We will definitely be going back.



Afterwards, we enjoyed some time alone in the Eau Claire cinema, waiting for The Quartet to begin. Eventually, another few couples came in just before the show started, so we didn't have the whole place to ourselves. I shouldn't be surprised, since the film was about a retirement home full of former professional musicians, but we were several decades younger than the average age in there.



The movie was lots of fun and the food was fabulous. A wonderful date night with my Valentine.

Valentine's Day

Everybody knows that Valentine's Day is a crazy day to try to go out for dinner. So we went out for lunch instead and stayed home for dinner.



There was no school that day (Teacher's Convention) so R brought the kids downtown on the train and we ate together at the food court on the top floor of the Eaton's Centre. It was a pretty lively day there at the mall, with part of the 2nd-level concourse turned into a dance floor.



The kids got a chance to see the Devonian Gardens (including several enormous fish) and took LOTS of turns going down the slide at the severely crowded indoor playground. Apparently, everyone goes out for dinner in the evening on Valentine's Day, but all the nannies take their charges to the indoor playground for lunch.



In the evening we had a Valentine-themed dinner where everything was shaped as a heart, from strawberries and ice cubes right down to the salmon. Scott really enjoys having "fancy" dinners, so he loves these occasions.





I love these occasions because I get cute notes from the kids and new tube socks.



Date night was officially set for the following evening. Hopefully all the nannies will stay home and we can have the playground to ourselves.

Bishop

The ward primary president (head of the children's Sunday school in our congregration) was changed on Sunday. The lady who had been serving in the position for the last few years stood at the podium and shared her feelings in our church service on Sunday. I told Scott that she was a bit emotional because she wasn't going to be the leader anymore and would miss being with all the kids. He said,
"She actually likes me. Because she is in our class."

He was a bit confused why she would change. I explained that even the bishop (head of the congregation) can change sometimes. I told him that our bishop from our old ward (Scott describes him as the one whose hair has slid down to the sides of his head) is not the bishop anymore, but someone else is the bishop there now. I told him that both his grandpas had been bishops before, but now they are not.

S: Were you ever bishop dad?
D: No. Would you want me to be Bishop?
S: Yes.
D: Why? Then I would have to sit up at the front and not with you.
S: But then you would know all the candies that I like.
(In both this ward and our previous ward the bishop has handed out candies to the kids after church.)

I had to fight not to laugh out loud.

Surf's Up

Sledding

There is a great sled hill just down the block from our house. One day Scott and I had the whole place to ourselves so we even tried out some jumps. Here is our conversation when he came back up the hill--

S: Dad! I did it! It wasn't bad. It was a jump and I did it! Now you do it!
D: No way.
S: I did hurt my bum. It is so fun! Now you do it!

Scott's First Suit

Scott always wears a jacket and a tie to church, but he's never had a proper suit. He has a pretty swanky black velvet blazer that looks fabulous, but now it is getting small and he has also been a bit jealous that a boy in his Sunday school class has a suit. He sees me and and the older boys wearing suits and he wants in on the action.

I found a pretty sweet solution. For Christmas I ordered him a blue blazer from Old Navy that is intended for a school uniform. Then I got him a pair of uniform blue trousers to match ... Well, they almost match. The whole set was about 25 bucks and he was over the moon about it.

He wore it for the first time the Sunday after we got home from our trip. If only he could figure out how to work with buttons. Once we get him dressed in this stuff, he can't get himself back out of it.

Date Night: GhostBusted

I left to work early in the morning and found this cute little ghost hanging from the light switch with an invitation to go to dinner theatre for our January date night. How sweet. There was a sucker inside the ghost, so that was also sweet.

It turns out that R had arranged a double date with her parents to the Jubilations Dinner Theatre to watch the show "Ghostbusted", which was essentially an 80s nostalgia musical loosely related to Ghostbusters, chock-full of your favourite chart-toppers from everyone's favourite decade.



The show was set primarily in a grand old hotel, and all the waiters were supposedly dressed to match the theme and acted in character. It seems to me that they were simply dressed in whatever Halloween costume they could find. I was glad that our waiter (named Gunther) was not quite so obnoxious as the male waiter who was dressed in a long white beard, wore an ill-fitting wedding dress, and climbed up the wall behind us during the main course of the meal.



The food was actually quite good and they took great care of R's gluten-free requirements. Rather than feeling like a second-class citizen, she felt like she had even more choice and better options that then rest of us. I was just happy that they brough out my pop in what was essentially a medium-sized pitcher with a straw.

The show was a lot of fun. I was shocked that I had never heard of this place before. We will definitely be going back.

Winter Practice at the Driving Range

Following on the success of our ski outing to Canmore, Scotty and I rented skis at the University and went over to the city-run Shaganappi Point Golf Course where you can x-country ski during the winter months. They have a simple circuit around the driving range where you can practice your skills without too many obstacles -- aside from a steep hill or two.

Scott really liked going down the hill, but he found it a bit challenging to climb up the backside of the hill, especially in this one spot where it gets quite steep. He worked on his herringbone step, but it was hard for him to maintain the position while he stepped with such short legs. In Canmore he let me help him up the hill when it got tough, but here he decided he was going to be completely independent. I marveled at his persistance when he fought against the slope for about 5 minutes straight -- climbing a step, sliding back, climbing a step, falling down, tears, repeat.

I tried to stay well clear of him and hold my tongue, looking off toward the fabulous view of downtown to help him feel more relaxed about it. Finally, after what felt like 10 minutes of struggle, I stepped in behind him and held up a hand to make sure he didn't slide backwards, also helping him to his feet when he fell. He resented my interference, but once we got past that one little spot he was off up the rest of the hill by himself, so I think he should count it a victory.

He took an emotional bruising and he was very frustrated at times, but he never gave the slightest sign of giving up. Scotty is a tenacious boy.

I Keeping This Daddy

Katie loves to give hugs. Plus, she makes these happy chirping sounds -- adorable. Several times lately she has wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "My Daddy. I keeping this Daddy."

Katie Turned Three!

Holding up one finger is pretty easy -- a baby could do it. Holding up two fingers is a bit trickier -- but manageable. Holding up three fingers is hardest of all -- it's a complicated mess of thumb and fingers. Fortunately, they don't give that job out to just anyone: You have have be three years old to do it.



Katie's birthday fell on a Sunday this year and we had lots of time for her to practice her fingers and to open presents and eat cupcakes and beat a pinata and all the fun things you get to do on a birthday.



Originally, Katie had told us that she wanted a "Dora Mermaid Birthday" party. We weren't quite sure what to do with that, but then it changed. She wanted a princess birthday. What a novel idea. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?



My primary duty is pinata construction, and I wasn't sure what to do with Dora Mermaid except maybe slap a printed picture of Mermaid-Dora on our standard balloon-shaped pinata. However, with the princess theme, I ventured into the unknown and fashioned a castle-shaped pinata from a cardboard box. I cut out the side panels, leaving just the edges of the box to provide shape to the papier-mache covering. A little purple spray-paint and we had ourselves a pinata.





What should you put in a castle-shaped pinata? You should put in t-shirts with tiaras printed on them! Everyone gets their name included on the shirt. Boys get to trade tiaras for swords. It's hard to be sure, but it seems that the inclusion of swords on the shirts prompted the boys to playfight like maniacs for about an hour afterwards. It was total craziness.



Katie requested cupcakes with purple frosting. She has a Dora picnic book where they eat cupcakes with pink frosting, so I guess she still retained some Dora elements in her birthday. The cupcakes were gluten free, delicious, and purple.





Happy Birthday Katie!

Flaming Hair and Snowy Skis

Scott has been begging to go skiing. We can see the C.O.P. ski resort from several spots in our neighbourhood and once he sees the lights turn on over there, he knows that the season has started. I looked into some lessons last year but we never made it happen. This year I was exploring possible ski trips and heard from a co-worker that he had been able to take his whole family out x-country skiing with rentals and lessons for about a 1/3 the cost of an alpine trip. His kids are the same age as ours, and he said that they loved it. Well, that sealed the deal. We made plans to go at the first opportunity.





The weather was perfect for our trip up to the Canmore Nordice Centre: sunny and hovering near freezing. We arrived before our schedule lesson time and took advantage of the sledding hill, which is free to use. They use a grooming machine, so it's really nice, plus they added a few gentle rollers on one of the runs that Scott really liked. Katie went with Mom & Dad a few times and then she was ready to fly solo. Tons of fun.





Our family lesson was great, although Katie warmed to the idea very slowly. We practiced falling down and getting up and then we went back and forth in the training area. For one of the drills you had to put a bike tube around your waist, with a rope tied to it, which you used to pull the instructor (Charlie) behind you. Scott managed to pull Mom and then he even pulled Dad. Charlie said that Scott was a natural. Mostly, I was impressed with how tenacious he was, showing no reservations or discomfort about trying to move around on a slippery surface with ungainly planks strapped to his feet. Katie didn't really want to wear her skis, but she walked back and forth with us to be part of the action.



Eventually we graduated to the steeper grades, and we learned how to climb up hills and ski back down. Scott loved that part and long after our lesson was over he was still going up and down that hill -- he essentially bawled when it was time to leave for dinner, and wanted to know when we were coming back.



We had dinner in Canmore at the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, which has been a favourite spot in the past, thanks to its gluten-free offerings and its kid-sized stone oven replica complete with plastic food to play with. The kids coloured pictures while we were waiting for our pizza and Katie leaned a little too far over the candle holder. Suddenly her was on fire! I quickly smothered the flames with my hand and there was no damage done -- aside from a few scorched strands on top and an unpleasant smell of roasted hair. Katie cried a little bit because all the excitement had scared her, but she was fine. The guys at the table next to us were pretty excited as well, as they had witnessed the whole thing.



It was a very successful day and we look forward to doing it all again -- the flaming hair notwithstanding.

Looking Pretty

Katie has a lot of patience when it comes to looking "pretty". She will sit contentedly on the bathroom counter for as long as it takes to style her hair or paint her toenails. For Christmas she got lots of new hair clips and some fancy nail polish, and she is very excited about it all.