Wednesday, September 25, 2013

September


Noah's first day of Senior Kindergarten went off without a hitch. Myself and the daycare kids (and my husband, of course) delivered him to school on this first day. He was so excited!


I have to admit that I said "Hug?" instead of "Say cheese" before I took this photo, but even I wasn't expecting such a precious shot! Ahhhh....young love....


We usually do far less arts and crafts in the summertime. We are too busy enjoying the outdoors. With the start of September though, we are starting to get back into crafts, like painting. During one painting activity, Noah and B. got very curious about colour mixing, so we experimented on a large sheet of paper. It took a little convincing on my part that we should try mixing other colours besides "orange and _____". I wanted their curiosity to be leading the activity, yet I still wanted them to see what colours were produced by mixing primary colours. Clearly they are far more advanced than me, and interested in much more complex ideas.


My friend Nevella, whom I met at teacher's college at U of T many years ago, dropped by for a short but sweet visit last week. She brought her new baby daughter, Mykah, with her: only 7 weeks old! Mykah is so beautiful. She gazed so deeply into my eyes. Thomas and Riley loved seeing such an itty bitty baby, and Leila, though a little sulky, permitted me to hold and love baby Mykah for just a little bit! Riley really took a liking to Nevella, and asked when we would be seeing her again!


The weather has been all over the place in September. Some days feel like summer, and some days certainly feel like fall. Most days, whatever the temperature, we have been blessed with perfectly sunny weather.


And I'm blessed to have these perfectly cute children filling my days!


I can't believe my son Noah is now 5! Here he is the day after his birthday. He had had his family party earlier on this day. We went for a bike ride last year after his family party too. Perhaps we are starting a tradition?


We have a new baby starting full-time at the daycare next week. Her name is Amadea. This week she has been spending little bits of time with us just to get to know us a little better, before she goes full force!


So far she is adjusting pretty well. She misses her mommy at times, but has many happy moments, even in these first few hours with us. The kids already get excited for her arrival each day. She has now usurped Leila's role as the littlest in the gang! Leila feels a little threatened by this, but is also adjusting quite quickly. We are all learning how to share hugs! :) (Read: And not kick the other kid off.)


Thomas is also adjusting to not always having my lap during story time. I make sure to give him extra hugs and reassurance whenever my arms are free! Actually, even before Amadea's arrival, Thomas was known to yell out a brash "No, that's MY Charla!" to Leila, if he saw her approaching (scooting over) while receiving a hug from me.


Noah had his final 5th birthday celebration at school this Monday.

 

 He was very proud of his birthday crown!


Recently we (everyone except Leila, who stays with my assistant) have been taking a daily hike in a very small wooded area beside Lithuania Park.


The kids just love following the little trail. The first day, we got burrs stuck to our clothing. Poor Riley got some in her hair, and was extremely patient while I removed them.


The next day, we were a little more savvy. We located the burrs and made sure Riley was extra careful with her long, beautiful hair. The kids are so great, looking out for each other!


It's great to explore nature with them. We found a snail on one of the stems of a plant. One time we even found teenagers in one of their natural habitats, harmlessly rebelling in the seclusion of the woods. :)


We end the hike with a climb up a hill


Sometimes, our buddy from Noah's kindergarten class, Salim, accompanies us. Actually, he and his mother join in our adventures so much that they're practically part of the daycare! He's a great kid.


On our very first hike here (this season), we met this clean, friendly cat (probably belonging to one of the people who live in the townhouses beside the park).


She followed us through the forest, rolling here and there in utter happiness.


She let the kids pet her, and stayed with us even after the hike, on the large grassy hill.




Okay, that's it for now. I leave you with a couple more photos from our hikes!


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Noah's Loblaws Cooking Party!


We had Noah's 5th birthday party on the upper level of a Loblaws store. Loblaws does kids' cooking classes for birthday parties.


Twelve of Noah's friends showed up for the bash; some from the daycare, some from school, and some old cherished friends.


The first thing the kids did was to write their names on, and colour their very own chef hats. After that it was time to wash hands in preparation for pizza making!


Noah helped the teacher demonstrate how to make the dough. He was the star chef! Actually, this party was perfect for Noah, since at this point in his life, he desires to be a "cooker" when he grows up. He plans to own a pirate-themed restaurant. He has got all of the details of this worked out, including chicken fingers on the menu; a must.



Next, the kids chopped up some toppings for their pizza, using relatively safe cutting utensils. :)


I have never seen a group of kids this age so calm for almost 2 hours. It was the most relaxing children's party I think I will ever attend!


It was also relaxing having someone else 'run the show'. It was completely worth the cost, since I would have paid the same amount had I done everything myself.



Noah really enjoyed himself. He is getting very skilled at introducing his friends to one another.


At the beginning of the party, one of the ladies running the workshop said that he was very big for a 5-year-old, and that he must be eating lots of healthy food. Noah informed her that he was actually growing so much because he eats so many cheeseburgers!


Once the kids had put their toppings on their pizzas, it was time for them to ice their cakes.


There was a lot of taste-testing, or quality control, going on!


Finally it was time to sing happy birthday to Noah. I love this so much. It is one of my all-time favourite things in life: hearing a group of family and friends sing happy birthday to my children!


I ordered him a chocolate cake, with yellow and pink icing on it (his favourite colours).


After the party, there was a mini photo shoot of Noah with two of his friends from school.


The cutest chefs I have ever seen!


Finally, we said good-by to all our friends and headed downstairs to do our grocery shopping.


But we found one more little chef who was helping his mommy and daddy do a little grocery shopping as well! Gotta love Oscar! I think he has got to be the coolest chef!


Thanks again to all of Noah's friends for making his birthday party so memorable!