Street Performers Festival

Last weekend we took off to the street performers festival. This is Charlie's favorite festival we have and it is lots of fun. We rode the train to Churchill Square and when we got off we saw the fountains were on at the wading pool. Claire was super excited! We didn't have her swim suit but it was nice and hot and she wanted to try it out anyway!

Then, we walked over to the square to see the performances. There are letters painted in various places on the square and you can check a dry erase board to see who is performing now and who is up next. We picked a random act and it was pretty good. After it was over we went into the mall to eat lunch. On the way I saw a sign on the ground that said "Dance Party! Insert coin to activate." It had a cup beside it. So, when we finished eating and came back out to the square Charlie sent Claire to put a loonie in the cup. Charlie had seen this performer on the news and thought he was funny. Claire had to tell him that she put money in his cup because he was talking to some fans. He said, "oh you want to hear some music and dance with me?!"

Claire danced it up!

We went to see who was performing next and sat down to wait for a show to start. We watched a guy escape from a straight jacket and then picked one last show before going home.
This guy was amazing! He got inside a gigantic hula hoop and twirled all around in it.

He even picked a little boy out of the audience and at the end of his show he had the boy hold onto him while he twirled him in the hula hoop too. I'm not sure I would've let Claire do that!!
By the time his show was over the kids were HOT and tired. So we headed back to the train to go home.

Grayson was out in minutes..

This girl was sleepy too, but she hung on until the train ride was over...she just loves the train!

It's hard to get pictures of me when I am always holding the camera! :)

Happy Father's Day!

**Found this post that I never finished from Father's Day**

Yesterday, we took Charlie to the new splash park I found. This one is much closer to home and is so super nice. If the weather would cooperate I think I might live there part time! I sure do miss hot, sunny weather and lounging by the pool this time of year, but I guess this is the closest thing!

Claire didn't know what to think with Charlie there too. She spent the whole time right by his side. Poor Charlie, the water was freeeezing!

She had to show Daddy her dancing!

Grayson lounged in his stroller. I love how he put his foot up!

Charlie took Grayson through and he was less than thrilled. I guess his little toes weren't expecting to touch that cold water!

"Get me out of here!"
It didn't take too long for Claire to get cold too. So, she found some birds that were fun to chase...

It was a nice "family day" together. Thanks for being such a great Daddy, Charlie! We love you!

It's getting hot in here...really!

I just want to start by saying it has been HOT here. Yes, I just typed those words correctly. We have had temps in the 90s the past several days, which it has been nice to see the 90s again...but on the other hand...we have no air conditioning. NO AIR CONDITIONING! Which has been miserable. You don't miss the good ole A/C until the temps are in the 90s and you have no relief!
The kids have had some interesting pajamas lately. I bought them nice pajamas back in the spring, but it has been so hot at night that they are too warm! Grayson especially. He has been sleeping in a undershirt and diaper lately.
Anyway, in an attempt to catch-up on my lack of blogging lately here are some pictures I have taken recently...

Perfect example of taking pictures with kids. Charlie's smile never falters and the kids never look! Arg!

On Canada Day we have some friends over to celebrate my birthday...and I decided I needed a birthday cake at the last minute. Check out my pink cake! :)

Grayson's first time in a pool. The water was the perfect temperature and he played for a long time in the pool. Yay!

I had just finished washing dishes when I looked over and saw this. I asked Claire how Grayson got a stuffed animal in his jammies and she just giggled. Nothing like 3 year old humor (though it was pretty funny!)

He had no idea there was anything back there! Charlie says that Claire is enjoying entertaining herself at her brother's expense. Which might explain the little people prince I found in his onesie yesterday...

Aren't they sweet?

Grayson's New 'Do

Last Thursday I took the kids to get their haircut. This was a big moment for Grayson...his first big boy haircut! It was a little sad to be cutting his "baby hair" but I was ready to even things up! Charlie insisted he was growing a mullet, haha!
We went to Beaners, which is Canadian-based. They have several different cars to sit in while you get your hair cut. They put Grayson in the yellow Mini Coupe because it was the most contained. It didn't matter, though because Grayson sat so still throughout the whole cut. I was one proud Mama!

Claire chose the Barbie jeep to sit in and happily got her hair trimmed. She was especially thrilled when she got glitter gel put in at the end.

I wanted to document the kids "new looks" so I took my camera along while we went for an after-dinner walk. Man, taking pictures of two kids requires super-human patience. 

Typical Grayson expression!

Finally, two smiles!

My little kids are growing up so fast!

Out & About

Yesterday I got a brand new toy and I am soooo excited! I have been wanting a new camera for the last six years and we finally took the plunge and joined the DSLR world! Yippee! So, today I had to take it out for a spin.
First of all, I got the kids up early so I could take Grayson to see his plastic surgeon. He just wanted to see how his scar was healing and he was very pleased with how it looks. He told us to keep massaging his lip, but other than that the red line will continue to fade. We have to go back in November or early December....but we are very pleased with everything...the doctor...the outcome...the healing!!!
Then, I headed out to meet a friend at an indoor playground. It was windy and chilly today and this was the perfect place to be! Claire had a super time running around and driving the cars along the track.

We ordered lunch and just sat back while the kids played. Ahh...so nice!

Grayson just loved exploring a new exersaucer! He was full of smiles for the unfamiliar toys on the tray!

And then Grayson figured out that his exersaucer bounced. It made a nice squeaky sound when he bounced and he loved it. He bounced and bounced and bounced!

Of course when we left...the sun was out and it felt so much warmer! Hopefully tomorrow will allow us to be back outside!

11 months...the countdown has begun!

Grayson is 11 months old! Can that be true? Where did my baby go??

We have now started the weaning process and I am a nice mixture of sad and happy. Sad to be done with the bonding of feeding my baby boy, but happy to have my body back, ha! Last week I dropped the 4 o'clock feeding and it has been going okay. I am planning on dropping one feeding a week until his birthday. Grayson is (kind of) learning to use a sippy cup. He has been given the sippy cup many times but has yet to get anything out of it by himself. He does seem to like the Avent cup better than the hard plastic Playtex cup, though. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he gets the hang of it soon!

We have been leaving home to enjoy the nice weather a lot lately and this boy is just so laid back. He loves to sit in his stroller and is even content to just crawl around and watch his big sissy play. He now can crawl pretty well on his knees. His newest accomplishment is going from crawling to sitting. I have gone to get him from his naps a few times and found him sitting up in his bed.

AND...he is FINALLY sleeping through the night! I read an article on the internet about how to sleep train your baby and it worked! I do think that he was also just ready, but still...it worked!!! The article said to go in when your baby wakes up and cover them back up, pat their back, etc. but not to pick them up or talk to them and quickly leave. Of course they will scream (and boy did Grayson!) so go back at 2 mins, 5 mins, 10, 15, 20, etc. until they stop crying. The first night I went back in at 2, 5 and before I got to 10 he fell asleep. Then he woke up an hour later and I went back at 10,15,and 20 and he fell asleep and slept through the night. He has only woken up twice in the last week and I have just ran in and patted his back for a few seconds and he has gone right back to sleep until morning. YES!!!!!! I think part of the reason he has been waking up is because he is working on some new teeth. It looks like four are coming quickly. Yay for new teeth! 

Some other new things this month are: he is babbling more and he can now push buttons on his toys to make them light up or make music. He is also eating more and picking up and feeding himself some foods. His favorites right now are avacado and peaches. I have been giving him mixed vegetables and peas to feed himself and that works pretty well.

Grayson is still wearing 12-18 months onesies and 6-12 or 12-18 months pants. He is in a size 4 diaper and I think he will be in that size a long time. I did notice that his 18 months sleepers aren't so big anymore. He will be in a 2T before I know it! Yikes!
It is true that the older they get the easier things are. Grayson has gotten pretty easy to take care of. He keeps to his schedule pretty well and still likes to take two naps a day. The only problem we have been having lately is getting his diaper changed...that boy can flip over the fastest I have ever seen! Even with a toy in each hand, he still flips! It is almost impossible to change his diaper and put his clothes on at the same time. I find that when I get to the clothes part I have to move him to the floor because I need to sit down, ha!

So, now I am only a few weeks away from Grayson's first birthday party. I need to get busy! We are pretty much settled on having a Mickey party. This boy just loves his Mickey! We are going to invite some friends over. I do hate that family won't be attending, but we are thankful to have some friends that can celebrate with us!

Summer loving

I should be spending this time typing Grayson's 11 month post. But I'm not. Instead I thought I would list some things that I am loving right now. Enjoy!
1. The way Claire says "yep I do!" in response to 99.9% of all questions that cause her to respond positively. (some variations are "yep I would" and "yep I will" and "yep it does")
2. The fact that Grayson has slept through the night 2 out of the last 3 nights. And last night he woke up long enough for me to pat his back for 10 seconds and leave his room. Hurray!!
3. The splash park. It is my new love. I have been there the last two days. Heaven! Which leads me to...
4. The slight tan I am developing! It is HARD to tan in Canada!
5. These new piggie tail sets I have been working on...

So fun to pick out colors for them!
6. Cosco....we just became members. (Man that place can suck the time out of the day...and I thought IKEA was bad!)
7. I love love love that Claire is into dressing up all. the. time. Yesterday she was in a sleeping beauty dress and insisted her name was "Princess Zalla" and she was going to marry her prince.
8. These bible song CD's my Mom got Claire. They have been great! And I just love to hear her little voice singing from the back seat. Soooo cute!

9. And speaking of the Bible, Claire has been wanting to say prayers by herself at night. She has been thinking of one person and then asking God to keep them safe. Makes me a proud Mama to hear her talking to God like that!
10. Hearing Grayson's little voice say "Mama." Some things just need to be bottled up...like his little baby voice and maybe a couple of his fat baby toes! :)