Resurrecting the Blog

I have reached my boredom limit sitting in a hotel in Bathurst, New Brunswick for the past three days and counting. I was slated to testify at a PSLRB hearing but the lawyer decided not to call me. So I travelled here, and waited, and being the mecca that it is, I'm stuck at the hotel with nothing to do. I've maxed out my unproductive web activity so I figured why not try to use my Facebook updates to trigger my memory and catch up on my blog. Enjoy!

Milesisms

With Miles still being so far behind verbally, he doesn't come out with nearly the number of notable funnies that Simon did at the same age but when he does, he generally has us all laughing. Heard earlier today after Miles killed yet another bug. Matt: Miles, why are you so anti-bugs Miles: Daddy, that wasn't an anti-bug, that was just an ant.

It was good while it lasted

Matt and I have had a good run. Two rambunctious boys, one six and one almost 4, and no head wounds to speak of .... until now. We knew that Miles would likely be the first. He is definitely less cautious and a lot more spirited than Simon. The surprising thing was how it happened. Technically he fell on the stairs but it was only the second step and some bad luck falling backwards while sitting down to tie up his soccer cleats. Considering he has fallen down the whole flight of stairs with nary a scratch, it was surprising what damage such a small fall could do. We rigged up a bandage and carted him off to the hospital. No stitches were required but they did glue it together and after seeing the work that he's done with the scabs on his face, bandaged him up tight. He is the happiest patient and obviously suffering from his ordeal.

Hockey Night in Canada!

We swore we wouldn't be a hockey family but with Matt instilling a love for hockey (and the Pittsburgh Penguins) and Simon learning how to skate we were doomed. Simon requested hockey as his winter activity so we signed him up for an Intro to Hockey session. The hockey is for ages 4 to 7, so Simon was on the younger side. I think this was ideal for him because he does not like to be last so he was really pushing himself to keep up. They worked those kids hard and by the end of it, Simon was sweaty and a lot better of a skater than when he hit the ice. We hoping he's as enthusiatic for the remainder of the session since we signed him up for the spring session too!

Simon dressed and ready to hit the ice.


Finally a stick - sadly no puck though.


Hockey swagger and style already.

Rocking the Dentist

Simon has been to the Dentist many times now and has always impressed me with how cooperative he is. I wasn't expecting the same from Miles. I didn't even think that he would open his mouth. His favourite part was definitely the self-serve water. He filled and refilled that cup over and over, and for good measure flooded the floor. They managed an exam and a polish! Here are Miles and Simon rocking the exam.

Gearing Up

Simon is so excited to start hockey. We borrowed some gear from a friend and Simon now insists on wearing full gear for mini-sticks in the basement. Even Miles got in on the action.

The Lego Solution

I am obsessed with storage, after the influx of LEGO from Christmas, I needed to come up with the perfect play space and storage before it got out of hand. I spent a lot of time searching blogs for what other people had used to rein in the chaos and came across a great option at IKEA Hackers. It transformed some standard IKEA units into the perfect play space with lots of storage. Matt got to work assembling things and then we headed out to Home Depot for the remaining supplies to finish off the time. I still haven't gotten around to organizing the LEGO so it's all scattered about the table but the table is a huge hit. Simon is always sitting down and playing with his beloved Star Wars characters. I expect we'll be spending many any evening over the next number of years creating masterpieces. Now to find the perfect resting spot.

Ringing in the New Year

Bed time at our place is between 7:30 and 8:00pm - definitely not conducive to ringing in the New Year - but since babysitters are hard to come by (and expensive) on New Year's, we thought we would just see how far we could push off bed time. We had a great time with friends and though the adults peaked at about 10:30pm (I was trying to get everyone to celebrate a Newfie new year) the kids made it until midnight. I think Miles managed the extra hour after shocking his system with an impromtu, fully clothed shower at 11:00pm :) We missed the ball drop and we were all lame and left shortly after the stroke of midnight but enjoyed the evening out with friends. Sadly we didn't get any pictures....

Santa Claus 2011

We were late with our Santa visit this year but thankfully we got there early and didn't have to wait in line long. Miles isn't old enough to get the Santa concept yet and he isn't a fan of the big guy. He was game to go visit him though with the promise of a candy cane reward. Simon was first up and he surprised us by asking Santa for LEGO Star Wars :) Miles joined his brother and posed for a few photos. The poor little guy was terrified and kept swallowing like he was trying not to throw up! Santa wanted to know what Miles wanted for Christmas and he shyly pointed at a candy cane. Santa obliged and Miles took off. I think next year, he'll be more excited and will have a list ready to go!

Pittsburgh Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. For Matt, our pilgrimage led us to Pittsburgh and two sports shrines, Heinz field and Consol Energy Center, to see the Penguins and Steelers in action. The journey started months ago when we were lucky enough to score some hard to get face value Steelers tickets. We drove down on the Saturday and spent a few hours shopping at the outlets, then we headed into the city to enjoy a rare kid-free dinner at a restaurant without a kids menu! The next day, we opened our blinds to a sea of black and gold. Being from a town with a fickle fan base, it was incredible to see how crazy Pittsburgh is about the Steelers. Every...single...person in town was decked out in the team colours. We headed to the game early and checked out the tailgating. It looked like a lot of fun but it seemed that you definitely needed to "know" someone to get the full experience. The stadium was increbile and it was a beautiful, warm day - quite the surprise in December. The game started off with a blocked field goal and that set the stage for the day. Lots of touchdowns and by luck, all the action was in our end (with the exception of the sole Cinncinnati touchdown). It was fun to be part of the action. Following the game, we made a repeat trip to our favourite restaurant from our last visit. Monday was the Penguins game. We got into the pregame skate and got an upclose and personal view of all the players. It was really neat to see Sidney Crosby. The other players are mostly unrecognizable to me but Matt was like a kid in the candy store. The game that night was a little bit of a disappointment, not only did the Penguins lose, but Sidney Crosby got knocked out again, by his own player no less. I have no doubt that we'll be heading down to Pittsburgh again in the future, it is truly an amazing sports town.