Guess Who…

Started school today!

 

Alex started Junior Kindergarten today – and he did a great job! He didn’t cry one bit. Mom and Dad didn’t cry either (at least not this morning – a tear or two may have been shed the night before).  Turns out there are quite a few kids we know in his class which makes the whole transition easier for us to handle.

One of the items we had to prepare for school was a jar with some identifying things in it: a crayon for eye colour (brown), a number of items matching your age (4 Korean coins), something green if you were a boy (a piece of leg0) and a picture of when the child was baby or toddler. The teacher was to pick one jar a day and the glass was to guess who the jar belonged to. Alex’s jar was the first one picked! The guessed it was him from the picture…

Alex – 10 months old

Not too surprised there!

Goodness – where did this baby go?

 

Labour Day

Most people who know me would laugh if I told them that I enjoy hiking. I know Matt laughs at that. But it’s true. I love walking in the bush, or on trails all smelling all the earthy aromas (cheesy I know).   On the last day of summer vacation we took a nice stroll down in our local hiking area – the Old Grove. We took a trail that we don’t normally go on this time because we had heard about a really cool frog pond.

Despite the heat and the whining from a certain 4 yo that he was “too tired” it was a very nice walk… although next time I might be tempted to just take Mason

~~~

Fun Flash Back to Labour Day 2009 when we did a walk in the Grove on the last day of summer.

This is one my favourite pictures of Alex – look at that sweet face!

 

 

Cottage Summer 2012

Most years we go up to the cottage in July. This year, because of work and a number of other factors, we didn’t make it up. Instead we spent some time in August. We were up at Matt’s parents place for a full week mid August, and then up again the following weekend.

The first full week was a lot of fun – despite less than ideal weather (think single digits over night – brrr!). We went over to our property and “closed up” for the season. We took out the dock (well, Matt really did – I helped push at one point – the crazy huge dock spiders are reason enough not to get involved), covered up our “toilet” and brought a few things home. We also had some friends up for two days which was a lot of fun - especially for Alex. He loved having playmates there. We hunted for frogs, went fishing, boating, had dinner with family down the lake, and mostly – relaxed.

Our second trip up was for a wedding reception at a resort on the Lake of Bays. Lake of Bays is in heart of Muskoka  where you can find “cottages” (think $$,$$$,$$$) owned by various celebrities, NHL players, etc. I was really looking forward to catching a glimpse of some of these places… but sadly it was dark when we go there. The reception started at 9pm, and since our baby sitting fell through last minute, we had Alex with us. He was a real trooper though, tired little guy, but he held out until close to 11:30. The resort was gorgeous from what we could see – I really want to go explore one day in the daylight. The rest of the weekend was a bonus. Great weather so we could finally get in the lake for a little swim.

I can’t wait to get back up there at Thanksgiving. By then the leaves will most likely have fallen since many trees were changing colours already, but the crisp cool air is something I look forward to.

School?!

Back before Alex, I didn’t really believe people when they said that kids grow up so fast. Now I do.

In just a couple of weeks, Alex is starting Junior Kindergarten.  Yes, I’m quite emotional about this big step!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m very excited for him. I’m excited that Alex will meet some new friends, learn new things, become more independent…  but…

Alex’s speech is something that is of concern to us. Right now, Alex is unable to say his name - something we are supposed to have him able to do before JK.  It comes out more like “Ali Robi”.  (note to people choosing kids names – make sure it is easy to pronounce!) We are working on the sounds, but its going slowly.   He is still in his SmallTalk, and we work on various sounds and word endings all the time, but like everything with Alex – it will all come when he’s ready.  That being said, we have really seen a real development in Alex’s sentences - much longer, more complex, and even more clear. I’m sure his speech will improve quite a bit once he is around more of his peers.

Alex is excited about school. He told me this week that he wants to take the bus! It picks up the neighbourhood kids just down the street.  I was hoping to drive him – but I think the bus will be good for him – so long as he can find his classroom after he gets off the bus…

Alex will be attending Junior Kindergarten, every other day, at a school which has a set-up called “Balanced School Day”. With a Balanced School Day, the day is split up into thirds with no main lunch break, rather two nutrition breaks.  It is also a peanut free school and there is boomerang lunch – everything you bring must go back with you – no garbage allowed. As you can imagine, that leads to all sorts of things we need to consider: lunch containers, smaller portion sizes, creativity with the food options, teaching Alex what he’s allowed to eat at each break…

So, to deal with this concern, we have purchased the “Balanced Day Lunchbag” – the hockey print of course. Also we have also picked up some special containers that have “flip” closures to make it easier for little fingers to open and close.  It’s also been suggested to me to send one thing in a baggie so that Alex an put any “messy” garbage like pudding containers in there – last thing I want to see at the end of the day is pudding all over his bag! I’m also going to be researching balanced day break meal ideas – you can follow me on Pinterest if you are interested in  them too.

I’ve also been getting his school wardrobe ready. We just need to get him some running shoes and rubber boots and we will be set for a while.  And we need a backpack – I’m thinking Spiderman.

As seen at our house…

I should put some window cleaner in there….

 

Brickman’s Picnic!

One of the events I look forward to each summer is the picnic put on by Bob an Marilyn Brickman. This picnic is for the families who have adopted from South Korea through Children’s Bridge – and lucky for us, it is located about 10 minutes from our house. We went again this past Saturday, it was the fourth time we have been able to attend. I love going and seeing all the little boys and girls as they grow up - especially Alex’s “Seoul Siblings”! Luckily this year, most of our group were able to attend.  There was Barb, Andy, Daniel and Matthew, Belinda, Steve, Adam and Benny, Emily, Jeremy, Xander and Belle, and us.

Like last year, the boys flocked to the pond in search for fish and frogs. Daniel even picked up a few!

Saturday also happened to be little Isabelle (Belle)’s birthday! She turned two so all the kids celebrated with cupcakes.

The mommas had a nice group shot – thanks to Andy our photographer.

We then attempted a kids group shot… well. You know how difficult that can be!

I’m hoping one of the other moms has better shot…

We missed you Karen, Kevin & Lucas – hope we see you again soon! Thanks Bob and Marilyn!

 

Happy (belated) Canada Day!

A week ago was Canada Day – as normal I’m a tad late. That’s the way I’ve been rolling lately, but that’s ok. As long as things get done right?

Anyhow, Matt was up north at our property on Canada Day, so Alex and I hit the town with family and friends for the local Canada Day festivities. We normally are up at Matt’s parents cottage on Canada Day so this was a real treat. We had lots of fun. First off, we went downtown with my mom for the street party. There were food vendors, kids activities, live music and various awards. Alex got a balloon dog, ice cream, and we had some Kens French Fries (some of the best fries around!). We also sat and watched some local musicians, including Loreena McKennitt who sang O Canada.  On the way back to our car we saw another famous star – Christopher Plummer! He also lives in town seasonally for the festival.

On the way home Alex fell asleep, which was a good thing – I needed some time to prepare a salad for the bbq at our friend Cathy and Ryan’s place that we were headed to. I ended up having to wake Alex up – I know, something you should never do!, but we were running late. At Cathy & Ryan’s we had a swim and a really nice bbq. We all then had to rush to our friends Sarah & Jeremy’s for the parade! (yes, we were running late – again!). The kids had a blast at the parade. It was short and sweet, but enough entertainment (and treats) for four year olds.

After the parade, the kids played and did some sparklers. When it was dusk, we all raced back to Cathy and Ryan’s to see the fireworks! Got there just in time for the start. It was a perfect end to a wonderful day.

Happy Canada Day!

Surgery

So yesterday I had another laser laparoscopy to help deal with my endometriosis. A few minutes before the surgery I discovered that really good friend of mine was going to be scrubbing in on the surgery – kinda weird… but it was comforting too. I’m sure she saw a tad too much of me, but hey, it’s her job. Turns out my tubes were completely blocked and there was a lot of scaring from the last 3 laser laps and my organs were all stuck together. My doctor was able to open one tube and get my uterus unstuck and some other fun stuff, I’ll find out more at my post opp apt in a couple of weeks. So now I’m resting at home for a week, trying to to check my work email.  The good thing is that the crazy heat that has been sitting on SW Ontario the last few days has lifted and it is much more comfortable outside.

Yesterday, as we were going up in the elevator to the surgical ward, there was a boy who was about 15 years old with his mom and sister all excited about his girlfriend giving birth, and then in the show I was watching when I was resting at home there was an announcement of a pregnancy, and again in the book I was reading. Ugh. It always seems like pregnancy is being shoved in my face at the worst times.  The purpose of the surgery was to help relieve some of the pain I have each month. I had been considering a hysterectomy, but after consulting with the doctor I couldn’t go through with it. I know – I am supposed to have dealt with my infertility issues before we adopted, but I guess a little piece of me hasn’t. Sorry – just had to vent.  Ugh.

I know we have an amazing little boy who I love to bits – wish he was at home right now so I could get a big hug.

Happy Father’s Day Matt!

How I love my boys…

As crazy as they may be!

Happy Father’s Day Matty!

Tuesday Tidbits

• 30 for 30 Challenge update: So far so good! 1-bath-time fun, 2-firetruck fun, 3-firetruck fun (cut short due to tantrum), 4-building with blocks…. you get the idea.  After I posted the 30 for 30 challenge I thought… yikes. Everyone is going to think I’m a horrid mom for not “playing” with my child all the time and having to challenge myself to do it. But it can be hard to find a good slot of time when you are a full-time working mom. And as I’ve read from the comments, for a stay at home mom for that matter.  But making sure I find the time has been good for me. Alex gets so excited when I suggest we go play with his toys. Makes this momma smile. The last 2 days we haven’t had our play time just due to scheduling, but we will be back at it tomorrow.
• 2 weeks ago we went to our speech therapist Julie. Alex is doing very well. Julie can understand most words now and see’s his progress. My frustration is that Alex speaks well when he is with her. At home – not so much. Sigh. We are still working on T’s, P’s and now N’s.
• I mentioned before that there was a chance that our neighbourhood school was turning into a French only school. Lucky for us that choice was overturned, and Alex will be able to go to our neighbourhood school in the Fall! So that’s great news. However… I was dismayed to discover that they do not offer a JK orientation. Just show up on the first day. That should be interesting.
• We had a garage sale on the weekend… and it rained all morning. What a washout. Still got rid of a lot of stuff including a stroller, slide and toys which will help free up some space. My mom watched Alex Friday night so he didn’t realize I was getting rid of a lot of his baby toys.
• Sunday was a beautiful sunny (and hot) day around here, so we broke out the little plastic pool and slip and slide and let Alex and his buddy Preston have a good play on them. It’s amazing how much use we get out of these toys each year!
  
• I’m running the Handmade Culture craft show again this Fall! I’m very excited about it. If you are around Stratford on September 29 between 10 and 2, be sure to stop by the library!
• Hog Jog update… I won’t be doing it this year after all.  With my new job at work, I need to attend Library Board meetings and turns out the next one is the same night as the run. So I don’t feel quite as bad about not “training” as well as I should have.
• Alex is registered for soccer this summer. 4 was the minimum age and since Blast Ball didn’t go very well last year, we thought we would try this. And well… soccer is turning out quite a bit like blast ball.  Alex is “fine” during warmup, but when the games come around he just clams up and refuses to go on the field. Here’s hoping next week is better!

I wish this had turned out much more crisp – but loved the attitude captured!