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.

Gobble, Gobble Resurrected

After a year hiatus, we decided to attempt a scaled back version of Gobble, Gobble. We wanted to keep it to a manageable number and only have to cook one turkey. We had some issues with said turkey but other than that, dinner went off without a hitch. Turns out we didn't need to set so many places as the kids were done and off playing again in the basement before the adults had even served themselves! Simon of course, asked for a hamburger and Miles balanced off the few bites of dinner he ate with a few servings of ice cream.

The boys are at a great age now. They are perfectly happy on their own and playing with the big kids. It was also nice to have a new found space in the basement now that the pool table is gone. It was another great night spent with friends that we don't often see and it just makes us realize that we need to make more time for friends!

Simon - JK Parent Teacher Interview

Well with 36 families, a day wasn't enough for Simon's kindergarten teacher to schedule parent-teacher interviews. When we didn't get any notice home my girlfriend (who is also a kindergarten teacher) assured me that it the teacher didn't schedule a meeting, she had no issues with Simon. Of course, I needed to hear this first hand so we arranged a phone interview with Miss K.

Well it turns out my friend was correct as Miss K. apologised that she did not meet with us face to face. Past years, they had 2 days to do the interviews where this year they only had 1, and she wanted to meet with the parents with kids who were having trouble.

The highlights from the conversation about Simon:
-follows direction really well (wondering if she is talking about our same kid)
-very cooperative
-well liked by the other kids and the teachers
-very good candidate to go into French immersion
-very polite
-"Charmer"
-good with all shapes, letters and numbers (up to 10 required)
-always willing to help

And the stuff to work on:
-Very slow at getting dressed (yep she is talking about our son) as he socialises a bit too much and is always one of the last ones ready
-Fine motor skills are weak (expected for a boy at the age of 4. She suggested some alternatives to pen and paper for working on them: Lego, spelling out his name in Cheerios, play dough and cutting.

I'm a pretty proud parent over here. Of course, we would love to see a little more polite, cooperative and helpful around the house as well :) but a least he's showing his best side to the rest of the world.

More Simon Funnies

This morning while getting Simon dressed for school.

Simon: "you know it's not picture day today Mummy."
Me: "I know. It's tomorrow."
Simon: "then why are you dressing me in cute clothes".

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While discussing dinosaurs in the car.

Simon: "Crocodiles are a type of dinosaur still living"
Me: "Yep"
Simon: "There are some nice crocodiles that speak Spanish and some that aren't nice that don't even talk at all".
Me: (better stop watching Dora)

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What we get from Simon about his day at school.

Me: "What did you do at school today Simon"
Simon: "We just sat and stared at the wall"

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While talking about having a playdate with his friend Nik (where he spent Thursdays this summer)

Me: "Maybe we could have a playdate with Nik soon"
Simon: "I hope he brings some Oregano"

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While the ref had his hand up for a call at Matt's soccer game.

Simon: "Who's that man giving a high five to?"