Author: Heather

First Skating Lesson

Elspeth had her very first skating lesson on Tuesday – Preschool Skate.  She was soooo terribly excited about it.  She insisted on wearing her “skating princess” t-shirt to nursery school.  While at school, she showed off her “skatey” moves which are adorable but have little to actually do with skating.  Then she simply couldn’t stop smiling when it was time to put on her skates.  I don’t think that the smile left her face the whole time on the ice and I know for a fact that she didn’t want to get off.  I spent the time taking photos and just enjoying as Katrine ran around playing with a friend whose younger brother was also skating.  Can’t wait to go back next week.

A 10th Birthday and a Fall Fair

Every year we go to my brother’s for the weekend to celebrate my nephews birthday.  For the last few years (with the exception of last year where Elspeth was not really ready to do crowds) we have helped him celebrate at the local fall fair by checking out the displays, the baking (my sister in law and neice both won prizes this year!!!!), the rides, parade and demolition derby.  This year we added lawn tractor racing to the itinerary.  Aside from being FREEZING we had a wonderful time as a family.

Displays that stuck out to me:

This hula pumpkin may not have won the ribbon but I thought that it was adorable.
One of the children's categories was to make an ear of corn. Can you believe that some child was patient enough to string together this ear of corn entirely out of beads?

Cuteness:

As you can tell from the last photo, it was really quite chilly as we were taking in the entertainment:

Both Elspeth and Katrine really enjoyed these races.

 

The demolition derby was more my speed but a little confusing for Elspeth while Katrine once again spent the entire time worrying about the drivers. (Glad she missed the car which threatened to go up in flames while she was at the bathroom with Grandma).

 

 

Trying out kung fu

Okay, we are a busy family.  Inspite of that fact we have added on yet another activity…at least until the end of October at which time we will actually have to commit for real.  Kung fu – a truly chinese martial art.

Why kung fu?  Well, a few years ago Katrine went to culture camp run by our local FCC chapter.  One of the activities was kung fu and she loved it.  We looked and the only places we found offering kung fu were downtown or in Scarborough. Neither of which worked with our schedules.  No kung fu.

Well, we have a reasonably close kung fu school so off we went to check it out.  Now we hoped that Elspeth would like it and that Katrine might be interested in picking up a relaxed, non-competitive physical activity.  We were not expecting to all sign up but that is exactly what happened…at least until the end of October.

I must say that I am having fun.  Both Glenn and I get to go once a week by ourself and then another time with Katrine.  It is hard (at least for “huggable” me;  Glenn is already awesome after all of those years of karate) and today I hurt horribly from yesterday’s class but we might just stick with it as long as we can maintain our schedule.

No photos of me modelling my fashionable uniform but cuteness in the form of my three sweeties.

I bet that you noticed that Elspeth’s outfit doesn’t quite fit.  Turns out that their xtra small t-shirt was not meant for a child taking size 24 months.  One of these days I will get around to hemming it.

 

First Day of Nursery School

This morning I dropped Elspeth off for her first day of nursery school.  She was so excited to wear the new “Hell-oooo Kitty” backpack that her grandparents gave her along with her new shoes purchased just yesterday as her feet have finally grown into size 6!!!

Got her backpack on and she started down the steps.  I turned to lock the door and when I turned around she was at the sidewalk beginning to walk the route we take every morning to Katrine’s bus stop.  “Elspeth, where are you going?”  “I go little bus mama.  Go school.”  I felt so bad when I had to explain to her that we would be traveling by car not bus.  The damage to her spirits was temporary as once we arrived at the parking lot she was ready to go again.

Of course, traffic was an issue so when we arrived, all of the kids were inside already.  “Mama, where friends?”  Well, once she saw that they were inside she was  gone with a kiss hug and was content until I arrived to pick her up before lunch.  Hopefully the pattern will continue.

What does Elspeth do when Katrine is skating?

By now, you all know how much time we spend at the arena each week.  This season there are multiple or extended visits in a day.  If it was just me, I would easily find any number of ways to relax and have some fun.  But what exactly can a two year old do to kill time for an hour or more in an arena when she is not allowed to skate.  I am posting some of my favourite photos to give you a snapshot of what life is like while Katrine skates.

We have a very simple daily schedule:

1. Snack

2. Read a book (I mean, you can never do too much to encourage vocabulary growth and a love of books)

3. A page of “homework” which is really a page of colouring, cutting or such.  One of her favourite activities right now it to practise copying shapes.

4. Some other activity from her bag or the ipad or her Calico Critters house.  On very long days I lug that as well as as the other bags into the arena and we spend the time arranging the furniture or making food or giving baths.  We thought that we needed to branch out and try to incorporate some imaginative play along with the other activities.  I really miss the Duplo wall which was at the arena we frequented this summer.  It got daily use at both drop off and pick up.

Now I am hoping that once December comes, Elspeth and I will be able to hit the ice trail while Katrine is skating.  That would nicely change it up.  The trail is there right now but there is no way that I am trying to pack a scooter or trike along with everything else.  Even I have my limits.  Check out the photos and if you have other simple, and light, suggestions for activities please share.

First Day of Grade 3

Last year Katrine insisted on matching dresses.  This year it is hats.  However, you won’t get to see Elspeth’s until next week after her first morning at nursery school. :cry:   Katrine seems to like her teacher and has been happy everyday when I pick her up.  Fingers crossed that this year will be reminiscent of Grade 1.

This outift was matched with a blue rain coat and purple boots due to vast quantities of water pouring out of clouds in the sky.  It was an interesting look when it was all put together.

Apple Picking Time

We decided that we should head out to our favourite apple orchard as early as possible this year given the warm temperatures followed by the late frost.  Luckily, “our” orchard managed to save a number of varieties which flowered later.  The remaining apples are delicious and crisp.

Gingercrsip:

Paula Red:

Katrine loves to go picking almost as much as she loves eating fresh from the tree apples (they have a more crunchy texture).  After many years she knows how to spot good apples which are on the small size (aka perfect for lunchs in that they will actually get eaten instead of thrown in the trash).  Elspeth started to bounce in her car seat as we pulled in saying “pick apples, pick apples”.  This year she not only ate apples but also picked a few.  It is nice that she is enjoying this family tradition.  I was a bit disappointed that the Macs are not yet ready but I had fun watching the girls, dreaming about apple recipes yet to be made and soaking up the sunshine.  Glenn liked the fresh apple fritters and playing with the girls on the piles of hay bales.  Overall, a high point of the summer.

 

Tug Fest, Wasaga and a Playdate

And come they did.  Katrine enjoyed this so much when it was up at my parents three years ago that she begged to go back when she heard that it was coming back.  The highlight of Tug Fest for Elspeth was the tug parade on the Friday night.  Everytime a boat passed she would wave, clap and bounce up and down.  I think that for Katrine it was getting to visit each of the tugs.  One family had build their tug from scratch and documented the whole process in a photo album.  I think that Katrine would have spent much more time going over the album and asking questions if there had not been two rather large dogs on board.  Her other favourite was the huge tug.  I mean, she insisted on waiting at least half an hour to get on the boat even though it was swelteringly hot.

Sunday we head to Wasaga for some family relaxation and fresh air.  We spend so much time indoors at arenas or driving to and from them that we just need to get outdoors sometimes.  The day was a success capped off with even more ice cream (seems to be a theme this summer).

The family castle

 

Kattine, "Mom, look! The bucket ate too much sand and threw up."

Just to bring you up to speed, we also drove up to Orillia for a playdate with one of Elspeth’s China sisters.  To be able to arrange for the pair of girls to speed time together, while also being able to ensure that Katrine wasn’t bored was certainly provided by the renovated park and beach at Couchiching Park.  We went there for a few reunion playdates when Katrine was younger and it was getting warn but still fine.  Now, WOW!!! Fancy.  Definetely had something for all ages.  I regret that Elspeth hasn’t been able to spend as much time with her China family as Katrine.  They are more spread out geographically (both across Ontario and into the US)which presents a few more challenges.  Plus, for us at least, school schedules, a child who only stopped crying and screaming in a car within the last 4 months (thank you Dora CD and electronic gaming devices) and of course weekend skating add to the obstacles.  Glenn and I are continuing to look for possible solutions that will allow Elspeth to continue to stregthen these bonds.

Gotta have more ice cream!

 

 

Elspeth's 'Aie' was brave enough to let our little one "use" her camera. That was a happy girl.

Archeology Dig

Last week we spent the day at a local lake with some friends.  After splashing, boating, snacking and having fun it was time to pack up for home.  While taking a load of stuff to her car, my friend noticed people diggin in the woods behind an orange fence and went for a closer look.  Turns out they were archeologists.  While starting construction on new houses in the area, evidence of a Huron village was found and they were in the woods searching for artifacts.  Unfortunately by the time we managed to corral all of the children and get to the woods, the experts had gone for lunch.  The older kids were disappointed that we wouldn’t just let them go snooping around to see what they could find while the younger ones were simply done.

Although I can’t share any particulars about the process (perhaps one of you can offer some insight), I have never seen a real live dig only mock ups in books, museums and my classroom sandtable whenever we study dinosaurs. I thought it might be a nice change of pace to post this and share the photos with you.  I was suppose to do it last week but life got away with me.  Enjoy.

Back to Nature

We were thrilled to be invited back up to Glenn’s sister’s cottage this weekend.  With better weather we not only managed to stay dry but had a few more adventures.

1. A butterfly hunt.  As you can see below, not only did the girls go and find butterflies that their aunt had hung from trees around the cottage but they also had a blast decorating themselves with them too.  Gotta love a game which can be enjoyed in multiple forms.

2.  Frog hunting. Our original plan last weekend (which got rained out) was to not only go to the cottage but attend the local fair.  At said fair, the girls were going to enter the frog contest – biggest frog, ugliest frog, longest jump; before re-releasing said frogs.  You’d think that with all of the moisture it would have been easy to find two frogs.  Nope.  They were smart and stayed hidden.  So here we were with two decorated bug catchers and nothing inside (hey, two girls, we decorate everthing).  As you can see, only one litte frog (toad actually) was found.  After a brief stay in her plastic home, Toad-ette was freed.  Elspeth had a more eclectic display in her catcher.  It captures the essence of her many walks in the woods.  The only thing that fascinated her which was not included were mushrooms.

3. Mushrooms. Of course, Katrine had to go on her traditional mushroom hunt thereby introducing her sister to the fascinating world of fungus.  With a two year old the hunt goes like this:  “Mama, mushroom!”  “No, sweetie fern.”  “Mushroom!”  “No darling, dirty stone.”  “Mushroom! Mushroom!”  “Yes, that is a gill mushroom.”  Maybe it is time to show her Katrine’s mushroom photo album.

4. Haliburton County Fair. To make up for having missed the fair last weekend on account of pouring rain, we drove over to the fair in Minden on Saturday.  It was alot like the fair that we will be going to in September for my nephew’s birthday – FUN!  The handicraft and children’s exhibits were excellent.  I am always amaxed at the obvious time and effort put into the various entries.  Then you look at the children’s entries and are blown away by the creativity.  Katrine was really interested in the vegetable entries; particularly the huge zucchinnis while Elspeth really enjoyed looking at the sheep.  There was a display put on by the army and both girls climbed up onto the tank.  Katrine was blown away by all of the technology inside (gadget girl).  Elspeth got up and got scared but didn’t want to come down.  So, of course when Glenn lifted her down there was a kicking, screaming tantrum much to the soldiers amusement.  Of course, as with any fair, you have to top it off with some ice cream.

5. Fishing. Okay, if you read last week’s post, you will know that Elspeth is a speed fisher.  Mama baits hook, Baba casts, Elspeth reels like it is a race and is then confused that there is no fish on the hook.  Well, this week her aunt and Grammy found the perfect rod for her which might just allow her to final catch something…if she can manage to stand still while holding it.  She got a few nibbles but Katrine landed the catch of the day.  I will let the photo tell the tale but she was thrilled.