Painting with water. We haven't done this in ages and K has never done it before! She did a fantastic job, as did Mr. P.

I ordered an eclectic set of tea-time dishes from Ebay. There were a lot of different items in the lot and of it, this is what I decided to keep! The rest is in a bag and ready to go to Sally Anne.
Here they are freshly scrubbed and cleaned.

I know Patrick and Kathryn will have a blast with these in the tub and in the pool!!

My daughter is a flirt!

My cousins and their sons came for a visit and Ms. K flirted shamelessly with Tyler the entire time. When he was out of her sight, she called for him, and when he was sitting on the floor she insisted on sitting in his lap.
Look at that grin!! She's just so happy to be with Tyler.

I don't think the feelings were entirely recrpirocated... I think Tyler is trying to sneek away in this picture:

I was taking some random shots of the cats, and Kathryn insisted on having her picture taken too. She's such a cutie-patootie with her big grin!!



She wasn't so happy when I put her back in the kitchen with Daddy while I ran down to do some laundry.
Yesterday, we took the kids to Fairy lake again. We had gone last week and had a great time feeding the ducks. This time I came prepared with some crackers that no one liked so we could feed them to the ducks.



When we arrived, there were no ducks to be seen, so we walked the path around the lake:
Finally, around the far side of the lake, we got close enough to the ducks and swans to feed them. Unfortunately, the ducks did not like the crackers, but the swans did!!
We walked around the the open area of the lake again, and fed the swans and some HUGE fish which Shaun says were Carp. They were eating crackers and bread that people were throwing in - I had no idea fish liked bread!!! It was quite the sight.

We took the kids to Story Book Park today. They had a BLAST and we had a nice time too.

The first thing we did was ride the "train" to take a tour of the park. Its small with everything very close together which is good when you have small children. Once you are inside, everything (except mini-golf) is free! There are parks and slides and swings, rides for younger ones and older ones and a small water park and wade pool. There are also free-use BBQs - just bring your own meat!

We took lots of pictures and a few movies too. We stayed about 4 hours and had a great time. We'll definetly go again next year.

On the "train" taking a tour of the park:

P and K riding their first ride:
P very excited about the park:
P exploring the tunnels:

P's favourite ride. He went on it 4 times! K went on with me once too and really enjoyed it:

We also went on the strawberries but weren't very fond of it at all. Patrick also went on 2 other rides with me but Shaun didn't take any pictures.
After lunch, we hit the water park. P in the wade pool checking out the frog that is spitting water, there was one on either side:
Now he's walking under the spray:
I had hoped K would nap in the stroller, but she really wanted to get into the water too:
Shaun helping her in:

P on the waterslide. He went down several times!! There were lifeguards at the top and bottom. We got a movie of it - check the bottom of the post:
Worlds scarriest creature:
The kids weren't interested, but I fed the Japanise Deer. They were cute and made really great noises that K thought were interesting:
More food please!

Yesterday morning we all went to Owen Sound to return the mirrors and shower curtain rod we'd purchased that didn't work with our new bathroom. We were able to get 1 medicine cabinet with mirror we liked, and my parents were willing to try and get us a second one at their nearest store before coming up to visit on Tuesday evening.

We also went to Walmart (surprise!) where we found this new toy for Patrick. I was negative about getting it at first - our kids are truly spoiled with toys already - but Patrick is definetly behind in creative play abilities, and since it was only $30 we thought we'd give it a go. As you can see, he LOVED it!! He really got into it - more creative play than I have ever seen before and he was chatting to himself and pretending the whole time. Definetly worth the investment. Kathryn likes it too! On the other side of the top (it flips over to convert from a mechanics work station to a carpentry work station) there are spots for 17 plastic nails that you can bang in and then remove with the hammer and she likes that!! The hooks are also shapes that only go into their specific shape spot in 2 locations, and there are screws and screwdrivers. There is a working drill (lights, movement and sound!) and there is also a table saw, and a grinder/sander that both work and have sound. In fact, there are over 60 pieces altogether!
After naptime, we took the kiddos into the pool again and Grampy and Gramma came over too. The kids had lots of fun riding in the pool lounger - they call it a 'boat'.
And Patrick had a blast just swimming around with his floaties and ring as well as with people. Here he is showing off his 'rocketship' - he learned that at swimming lessons as part of learning a front and back float.
Kathryn is really getting the hang of kicking her legs when she is swimming with us! And she loves the water. She also likes to sit on the edge and play, but yesterday she really wanted to be in the water with us which was nice.
Kathryn's turn: Here is a movie of Kathryn swimming with Shaun:

Its Potty Time!

I have been saying for a couple weeks now that once the bathroom is complete, I am going to attempt to potty train both kids at the same time. I am planning to make a routine of it - we all go pee on the potty when we get up, before nap, after nap, etc, etc but I was planning to start slow with one routine trip to the potty (when we get up) and add them slowly.

This morning, Kathryn's diaper was BONE DRY. This has never happened before! So I asked her if she would like to pee on the potty. Kathryn has actually peed on the potty before at my parents place, and has a real fascination with it right now. She's asked to go lots of times, but has only had that 1 success.

So off to the bathroom we went. I supported her while she sat on the big potty. She tried, but only tooted a few times. I asked her if she'd like to try her own potty and she agreed so I stood her on the tile and raced down to the living room to get the little potty. By the time I got back up, she'd already peed on the floor, but I put her on the little potty anyway. I didn't think anything was happening.... I asked her if she was done and she said no and then a few seconds later she stood up... and the potty was peed in!! And quite a lot too.

After I figured out how to take apart the potty to get the 'pot' out, we dumped it in the bit toilet and she flushed it away (and then I cleaned the floor!).

I'm so proud of my little girl! And its so nice to have her interested in using the potty!! We always joked she'd be trained first - and we just may have been right!!

A little humour....

A father came home and found his three children outside, still intheir pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.
In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon , and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor,a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor.
Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.
She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and calmly answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?"
"Yessss..." was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Swimming fun!

Now that the pool is (finally!) crystal clear and clean, we've been in the pool almost every night after supper.

Your may remember that last year, Patrick wasn't too interested in being in the water, but mostly content to be on the pool deck and throw toys in. We are happy to report that this year he is completely different! Patrick actually wants not only to BE in the water, but he wants to SWIM in the water and now that he wears water wings and a ring, he's able to move about the pool as he pleases - he's even learned how to change direction just by changing how he kicks his feet. I've uploaded a video (its at the bottom of the post and I can't move it up for some reason) of Patrick swimming with Grampy.
Kathryn loves the pool too, but she's more where Patrick was last year. She loves to get her swim suit on and go outside to the pool, but she's more content to be on the steps playing with water toys than in the pool with us, or in her 'floatie' pictured behind her. She does love the pool though and we hope that next year she'll be where Patrick is now.
Shaun's parents got the kids each a hooded towel for post-pool use and they really like them! Here they are on their way upstairs to get jammies on.

Video: Patrick swimming in the pool with Grampy. He likes to play a game that he and Daddy made up - he tosses in some of the floating discs, and then he swims around to retrieve them all before going back to the stairs and tossing them in again. Its a great workout and he's all over the pool.

Interesting article about SAHMs:

July 15, 2008
If Every Mom Were a Stay-At-Home Mom
By Veronica
If every mom were a stay-at-home mom, the public schools would shut down due to a lack of teachers.
If every mom were a stay-at-home mom, giving birth would become much more dangerous. All those mothers who are midwives and OBGYNS would disappear. The hospitals could not staff enough nurses for basic patient care. The pregnant women who already must drive twenty miles to a birth unit might have to drive fifty.
If every mom were a stay-at-home mom, I would lose my pediatrician. My kids would go farther and wait longer to see a doctor. My sister's clients - children with neurological disorders - would spend years on waiting lists before seeing another physical therapist who specializes in their treatment.
If every mom were a stay-at-home mom, some of the most brilliant scholars I know would not be available to affect the lives and minds of students. My children's future education would be immeasurably the poorer.
This stay-at-home mom has one thing to say to the moms who leave home to earn a paycheck at a job worth doing: thank you. Thank you for caring for patients and protecting citizens. Thank you for repairing our streets and driving our buses and picking up our garbage. Thank you for writing our newspapers and teaching our kids. Thank you for being an example to my daughters of the many options they have in adult life. Thank you for making my decision to be a stay-at-home mom a real choice.
The media-manufactured "Mommy Wars" tell us that mothers resent and judge each other. Sometimes we do. But sometimes we recognize that the world needs different people to make different choices. The truth is that as we all struggle to provide the best for our kids, we can't make it without each other. Your choices affect me, and mine affect you. We really are all in this together.
So the next time a belittling feature on a morning news program tries to exploit you emotionally; the next time a snooty mom at play group or school treats you like you are just a "part-time" mom; the next time you feel isolated and unappreciated in the challenges you face, please, come back and read this thank you again.
Because it will still be true.
Veronica Mitchell also posts at Toddled Dredge.

While visiting in Orangeville, Grandpa came one night for dinner. We enjoyed a nice time with him, and Dad was able to snap a few pics of us together.

Reading Kathryn a story:
Patrick reluctantly joined us for a picture. I would have cropped me (and my closed eyes) out but I don't know how to do that on my Dad's computer!
I also got a nice picture of Sara playing with Ms. Kathryn.

Yesterday we went down to the beach. WE were planning to stay for the Bruce Power Beach Party and get some free food, but the weather was questionable, and we were there way to early and... the kids got bored. We left before dinner but I got a few shots!

Swinging: I love the sky in the background!
Walking along the pier, Kathryn found some yellow flowers.
Shaun and Patrick walking WAY ahead.
Summer Sibs!

Kathryn has become our little mother. She mothers her dollies (feeds them bottles and in the dolly highchair with pretend dishes and food, burps them, hugs them, gets me to pretend to change their diaper, puts them to ni-ni with blankets), she mother's the kitty (gives him treats, dry food, toys, and covers him with a blanket), she mother's her brother (makes him pretend food, checks to see if he's pooped, gives him toys, etc) and she mother's us making us food in the pretend kitchen and then serving it to us with plates at the big table.

Its very very cute, but it does get a bit wearing in some situations. For example, she has really gotten it into her head that dolly needs to be buckled into a car seat when she comes in the van. This has resulted in several tantrums when we try to explain that Kathryn needs to be buckled into her seat, not dolly. When we asked her where she would sit, she pointed to Patrick's seat, and when we asked where he would sit, she gives us this blank look like she was tired of explaining it to us.

On one especially tiresome trip to Canadian Tire, Kathryn insisted on bringing dolly into the store. Once we were inside, she LOUDLY insisted that dolly sit in the baby seat WITH the buckle on and she sat in the bottom part. Thankfully my mother was along for this trip and she had Patrick in a separate cart... heaven only knows how it would have turned out if I had to go that one alone.

So it was decided that Kathryn needed a dolly car seat. And so the search began. Fortunately, we found a really nice one on Toys-R-Us and Gramma Ellen bought it for her.

It arrived today!! At 11 o'clock!! I was so super excited I could barely get the kids through lunch and into bed fast enough so I could check it out for myself. I resisted the urge to open it before lunch becaue I was certain it would mean that Kathryn wouldn't nap... and she needed to because she had gotten her 18M immunizations in the morning and was quite tired and cranky.

So, after the kids were napping and my chores were done, I opened the box, removed all the bits holding dolly and her bottle and the car seat into the wee box it came in, and set it up in the living room so that Kathryn would see it as soon as she got downstairs.
Cute isn't it? This is Kathryn's 5th (6th?) dolly. She loves them all equally and they are all quite different. This car seat, despite being plastic, actually has a 5-pt harness AND a belt channel so it can actually be buckled into a car with a lap belt. Neat huh???
When Kathryn came down from her nap she noticed it immediatelly and was quite pleased! As you can see, she is holding the wee bottle (which she has decided is a juice bottle). She's also wearing Patrick's crocs from last year as they were playing with a box of shoes while I put laundry away....

SIDE STORY: Patrick actually put on a pair of high-healed patent leather zip-up shoes with a silver heart pull. They were in K's box of shoes and are hand-me-downs from Sara's girls. I was on the phone with Shaun when he walked into our room and I just about died laughing - it was histerical. He was so proud of himself for putting them on by himself but he looked so silly in high-heels. I wish I'd had the camera handy!!

Back to the main story: Here is another picture of Kathryn with her new dolly and car seat. She has already mastered buckling the strap over dolly's tummy to keep her safe, but still needs help to unbuckle it.

Of course we couldn't order something for Ms. K without getting something for Mr. P too, and we decided to get him another v-smile game. After doing a quick search, I decided on the Dora one, because it looked more complicated but it was a character he would recognize as we've seen the show before. It is supposed to be for 4-6 year olds.
He was so excited when I showed him the package and even MORE excited when I opened it and he realized it was a new game. He ended up playing it all afternoon and was actually very upset when I said it was time to play outside for a bit. After dinner, he went right back to it, stopping only briefly for a quick shower with Daddy.

Its really is more complicated than his other ones (which he's completely figured out and is likely bored with now) and is challenging him. He has to use the pen attachment in order to complete some levels and he's getting better at it. The puzzles are more challenging which is good - he loves to figure things out.

Back to Kathryn's 18M check up - she is now 82 cm tall and weighs over 10 KG. I measured Patrick while we were there too, and he is 99cm and over 15 KG. He's just had a HUGE growth spurt which I hadn't even noticed until I put a pair of pants on him this morning (it was chilly here!) and they were way too short! We've been in shorts for over a month now, so I didn't realize he was growing so fast. I had to toss 2 more pairs of pants in the bucket for hand-me-downs.

PATRICK WROTE HIS NAME!!!

He has NEVER written a letter before in his life... in fact, he's out right refused to, but just decided he wanted to. Shaun's mom dictated the letters and he wrote them out!! I'm very impressed with his first attempt!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!
I bought Canada shirts for the kiddos and wore red myself so we were very festive.
I also got to try out one of the bows that Anna sent to Kathryn! She looked VERY cute and she was very good about keeping the bow in her hair!
The next day, I dressed her so I could use a second bow...
And on Friday we tried out the 3rd. SO CUTE!! Thank you so much, Anna!!