A DAY OUT WITH THOMAS

On Saturday we went away with two other couples and their kids. Our three families have vacationed and spent a lot of time together in the past since we all had big boys about the same age. Now Chris and Kim have adopted Keely (4) from China, and Randy and Terry had two little girls (1 1/2 & 3) staying with them for a bit and so off we all went to see Thomas. Then, (after driving back to Black's Harbour to pick Brady up off the late boat) we hit Moncton for the big boys.
Thomas was lots of fun. The little ones loved the train ride. We also got "A Day Out With Thomas" shirt. There were a few other things going on to see and do there so we went early and spent some time before our ride. The weather was lovely and we had a great time. Our fam also hit ToysRUs and bought a new "little" car to ride around on. Thank-you to everyone for the tickets, gift cards and money. It was all used this past weekend and we really appreciate it all.

Posing in front of a poster.

Fun on the bouncy castle.

Snacks and more posing.

The grate they found to throw rocks down was also a big hit.

We're finally on Thomas.

Camera shy?

Been there, bought the shirt.

 

Hello everybody.

 

Glued to the "ninoe".

Photo op.

 

A good day!

 

Trying out the new diggers at The Boardwalk.

 

It didn't take him long to get the hang of it.

 

A tired boy.

 

PRECIOUS!

 

I'M THREE

HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY PRECIOUS BOY! It was a wonderful day of celebration, not to mention it was like Christmas all over again. Presents galore (thanks everybody for your contributions!). We had a party with 8 little friends, a monkey cake and lots of fun. The party was supposed to be at a park but the weather didn't cooperate so we went to the church, which has a ballpit and climbing nets. It was great.

This is a special birthday card from Keely with pictures of the two of them taken over the last couple of weeks. He loved it!

A favorite present was Brady's firetruck with levers for moving the ladder and buttons for the lights and siren.

This past week was our Rotary Festival. There was lots to see and do and we kept really busy. My sweet friend Kim spent countless hours constructing a pagoda for her daughter Keely for the doll carriage/wagon parade. They needed a cute little panda to help pull her around and we were able to help them out. Guess what? They won first prize. Thanks Kim :)

WE LOVE SUMMER!
Every day that's been fit we've been to either the beach or the pool. We're making the most of this good weather. It's so cute because we always see at least one of his little friends from daycare and they always want to talk to him. He usually wants to "kug" them. We always take a "picpic" lunch with us wherever we go and that's fun. We dig holes, make sand castles, make roads for dump trucks, load dump trucks, play in the water and just have a wonderful time. Even with the 60 sunscreen he's still got a bit of a tan and his hair is lightening some.

 

 

 

He loves "going to work" wearing his fishing gloves. He'll go to the door and say,"Bye-bye. Miss you."

 

His speech is getting better all the time. His balance is still improving. He's doing well with his fine-motor skills - he even fastens himself in his carseat. Luckily he can't unfasten himself yet. He loves to walk to my parent's house in the stroller in the morning and stay for a visit with Cooper while I walk back home and get the car.
We've had a summer packed with activity and friends and fun.
 
How many boys does it take to mow our lawn? All of them.

June 29, 2013 - ONE YEAR AGO TODAY...

WE MUST BE WILLING TO GET RID OF THE LIFE WE'VE PLANNED, SO AS TO HAVE THE LIFE THAT IS WAITING FOR US.  Joseph Campbell


THEN

NOW

One year ago today, a fellow named Tony delivered a little boy and his belongings to Grand Manan to begin a new life with his new family. His life changed, and so did ours.
Because of this upcoming anniversary, my emotions have been tumbling around all week. I've been thinking about where we were and where we are. Just yesterday he asked me to sing to him. I randomly started to sing Shine Jesus Shine.  He suddenly pushed back from me and looked at me and said, "Boat. Sing on boat." I didn't know what he meant at first. And then it hit me - that's the song I sang to him every weekend on the ferry, from February through June, when I walked him to sleep on the Sunday trip back to Blacks Harbour. He seemed to think about it for a bit, then snuggled back in and wrapped his arms around my neck. It made me cry. How could he remember that? I had forgotten all about it until he said that. Was that a good memory for him or a bad one? There's so much I wonder about. There's so much I worry about.

Cute things he says:
keypoo - barbecue
s'at are? - what's that?
Wywee - Rylee
Cub day? - Is it a Club (daycare) day?
kiet - quiet
dadoo - thank-you
bozer - bulldozer


What's he like now?
He is very friendly and loves people, whether he knows them or not. He's talking more and more all the time. He's very independant. He can be stubborn. He's very curious and wants to touch everything. He's beginning to sing. He's still in his crib and loves it. He loves to dance and clap to music. He likes taking things apart. He loves going to church. He loves going in Sherman's truck. He still has his baba at night before bed with lots of books and snuggles. He loves trains and firetrucks and fire extinguishers and heavy equipment. He can be very loud. He's really heavy. He's very impulsive. He loves chasing the wild bunny that's in our yard all the time. He still goes to bed easily and wakes up happy. He loves to hug. He likes talking on the phone now. He loves playing in puddles and throwing rocks in water. He's still in pampers and is not quite ready yet to train. He loves to help. He has the sweetest little voice. He is full of energy. He loves Bulls-Eye barbecue sauce and mustard. He's very strong. His gross-motor is gaining all the time. He is well-liked by all the kiddos and workers at daycare. He still talks about what we did on March break. He holds his pencil perfectly. He loves his boots. He loves Brady's friends and they love him. He sometimes throws things or hits things when he's angry. He loves being outside. He's left-handed but throws with both. He loves bugs. He is happy. His skin is like silk. His kisses are very wet. His laugh is musical.
He is wonderful and special and unique and marvellous and beautiful and precious and we love him very much.

 

MAY

Well, May is certainly flying by. We've been away a bit this month - we had a great trip to Moncton to see my brother, my pregnant sister-in-law and my two super-sweet nieces. We've also had to go to Saint John a few times lately as we've just found out that Brady has celiac disease, and so we've been doctoring. Brady did get his driver's licence last week though, so that was a highlight (for him).

BIG BOY AND LITTLE BOY HAVING A SNUGGLE
 

We've had fun making tents in the kitchen. They're a good place to get dressed or to relax. He loves to dress himself, and then undress himself, and then dress himself again. Sometimes things get put on backwards (brown shirt), but who cares?

He's still in his crib - he's made no effort to crawl out of it and he loves his bed. He's a great sleeper and I'm very thankful for that. He likes to go to bed early (around 7:00) and get up early (5:30 - 7:00), which is good for me with work. It usually gives us time to be together before the rush of the day starts. He still has a nap in the afternoon but he's shortening that himself.

HE DOESN'T USUALLY SLEEP ACROSS HIS BED, BUT I HAVE CAUGHT HIM TWICE IN THE PAST LITTLE BIT.

The Toronto/Boston hockey series was pretty exciting. Last Sunday night a friend of Brady's asked to come for the night so he could watch the game with us, and we had some of our friends in as well. There were lobster rolls and bacon-wrapped scallops to eat. So, we just had to let him stay up for a bit to enjoy some of the fun. He had a great time, this future hockey star.

Today we went to the police station to see the police cars, the ambulance and the fire truck. It didn't go over too well. Somebody had to be woken up early from their nap to go and wasn't in the best mood for exploring. He perked up later, though, when we went to the park, and then to the store.

THE ONLY THIING WE WENT FOR WAS SHERMAN'S PEPSI. IT SEEMED LIKE SOMEONE HAD A FEW ITEMS ON THEIR OWN GROCERY LIST...