Little Valentines

Well, it has been a cold, cold winter. Our family was fortunate to warm it up a little with a trip to Hawaii (and San Francisco on the way there and back). But now it is back to reality, and we at the daycare are trying to enjoy the bearable days when we can. 

Thomas an Oscar have been playing in the schoolyard after we pick Noah and B. up from school. Noah and B. travel back and forth from the yard to the playground, but the little ones know that they are allowed in the front yard only. Oscar could probably try out the school playground in the spring, when he's not wearing big boots and a snowsuit, and when it isn't too busy. It can get pretty wild on there when the kids are first let out for the day!

Anyway, they (Oscar and Thomas) don't seem to mind their limitations at all. Oscar at 2, is very skilled at befriending the school-aged kids, and he does so with minimal conversation. He always seems to understand what the game is, and jumps right in. He doesn't know that he isn't 4, and the other kids don't seem to realize it either!

Thomas is much more comfortable toddling around in his boots and snowsuit than he was at the beginning of the winter. He is more confident at getting around, and fusses when it's time to get back in the wagon to go home. Some days are slushy, and some days are a little icy. When it's a little icy, he may fall about 20 times, but this does not deter him. With his puffy snowsuit, he is not able to get himself back up, so my job is to set him back on his feet, and off he goes like a wind-up toy!

The kids made heart-shaped butterflies for Valentine's Day decorations. Doesn't our front door look beautiful? They also did other Valentine's crafts, but most importantly, all of them made a big Valentine's card for their parents.

We also made heart-shaped cookies. I made a batch with Oscar in the morning, when the older boys were at school, and Thomas was asleep. Leila is very clingy to mommy these days, and she insisted on "helping" by being attached to me in the carrier.

I could tell that Oscar does a lot of baking at home, since he really seemed to know what he was doing! He had flour all over him by the time the cookies were in the oven. I tried to capture his physical state in the pictures below, but he just would not, or could not, stand still!

The next day we iced the cookies and put sprinkles on them. I did the same activities with the older boys in the afternoon, when Oscar has his nap (and Leila and Thomas go down for at least a half hour too, if we're lucky!). I made some more batches of cookies at night, and we ended up with a lot of cookies!

When the icing had dried we put them in Valentine's treat bags and gave them to friends and family. They were so delicious!

 I loved how all the parents brought Valentines and treats for their child to give to all their daycare friends. We had a special Valentine's lunch when we had returned from retrieving the boys from school. I put their Valentines gifts from me and from their friends at their usual spots at the table.

They each got to have one of their treats before lunch.

We had Valentine's juice (fruit punch) and used Valentine's cups, plates and napkins. I would have gone all out and made heart shaped pancakes like last year, but Noah said he would rather have cheese on a bun, and after all the cookies we made, I deemed that a good enough reason to save myself the work. :)

After lunch Noah decided to open his bag of Valentines from his classmates. Boy, was that a trip down memory lane. Nothing had changed. Still a self-decorated paper bag, filled with little cards from so many friends. I know some people balk at Valentine's Day and call it a Hallmark Holiday, but who cares when you're 4 and it gives you this much delight? I still remember being excited with all the Valentine's cards I received in kindergarten. In the dead of winter, I think it's a great celebration.

The littlest Valentine was sick for the occasion. She was sick for almost the whole week....poor thing. Here she is in one of her better moments, opening up the gift she got from Thomas. Inside the box was a Valentine's bib. Too cute!

Happy Valentine's Day! (a little late)
Love,
The High Park Home Daycare Gang

Happy Holidays, Happy Birthday, and a Daycare Reunion

The daycare kids helped me unload the Christmas decorations this year, and they fully participated in decorating the tree. While I was trying to wrap lights around the tree, they (at least the older boys who were not napping at the time) were trying to decorate the tree with chains of gold beads. It made my task much more difficult, and finally, quite humorous. They proceeded to hang the ornaments; three, even four to a single branch. Our final tree looked....well...let's just say it had true character!

We had fun making a few Christmas decorations this year, one of them being Christmas tree ornaments. These were the same ornaments we made last year: Popsicle stick stars decorated with gems. They are so fun! Even Oscar made an ornament. This is not an easy task for a 2-year-old, and takes great fine motor skill.

B.'s mother bought us a gingerbread house, which the kids and I had great fun decorating. And for the following week we enjoyed breaking it apart for well-deserved treats (read: after eating nutritious meals followed by fruit!).

On Oscar's last day at the daycare before the holidays, we had a birthday celebration for him. He's now 2 years old! He started at the daycare when he was just a baby: 8 months. My, how he has grown! I hadn't had time to decorate the night before, so Oscar helped me quickly get some streamers and balloons up while the big boys were at school. Thomas and Leila provided the "ooo's" and "ahhh's". Oscar especially loved running up and down the hall with the streamers.

When Thomas and Leila went for their morning naps, Oscar and I made chocolate chip cookies. He seemed to know what he was doing, and his mother later informed me that they do a lot of baking at home, so he's quite the veteran.

Just before we went to pick the older boys up from school, I set the table, party-style, so it would be ready when we got back for lunch. Oscar promptly climbed up onto a booster seat and patiently waited for the festivities to begin. He was just so quiet and serene. He knew this was for him, and he seemed thankful, even flattered. Fortunately he was easily encouraged to hop down from the table, and into the wagon. 

Soon enough we were back for lunch. After lunch, we all sang happy birthday to Oscar and helped him blow out his candle. It was a very special time and he just seemed so happy that this was his day. The kids, Daniella and I, in turn, were happy to celebrate this little munchkin!

Thomas was the youngest to enjoy a cupcake. He apparently really liked the happy birthday song and kept repeating from his highchair, "Happy....happy...happy!" Indeed. Who wouldn't be happy with a cupcake in hand?

I received special permission from A. to post the photo below on the blog. Though intangible, A. had given what would truly be considered a gift to Oscar. He spent time with him reading Oscar's favourite daycare book: Get to Work Trucks. It was so precious a moment. When I gushed over the photo and showed it to A., he gave his approval for this photo, and only this photo, to be posted of him online.

After naps, the older kids helped Oscar open his gift from us. It was a big blue tow truck, in all its glory. We showed him how to tow other vehicles, like the tractor he is hooking up in the photo below. He was so engrossed in his new towing enterprise that when the other kids begged for a turn with this truck I thought he was going to see red. I was pleasantly surprised that he agreed to give all his friends a short turn. But soon he and the truck were reunited. The other kids begged for more turns but it was an unequivocal "No" from me. To separate boy and truck any longer would have been cruel.

Oscar pronounces Leila's name as "Lala". I have fully adopted this as her nickname, thanks to him. I just love it. He is very protective of her. One funny incident occurred when Leila was playing with her ring-stacking toy. Thomas, sitting not too far from her, had taken a few of these rings to play with, himself. Leila loves  Thomas and was happy to share. But all of a sudden, I hear Oscar running down the hall towards us, exclaiming in a deep, stern voice, "LALA! LALA!" He dutifully, and with an air of great purpose, retrieved the rings from Thomas and delivered them back to Leila. This seemed to calm him. Still, just to be sure, he looked at Thomas and  once more repeated in an authoritative tone, "Lala. Lala." I could not stop laughing.

Here are a couple of photos of him helping the little princess with her drink, when she was the only one left at the dining room table after dinner. This is why I love posting pictures. These moments are often too sweet for words.

And here is Oscar in his usual state of perpetual motion. Happy birthday little dude. You're awesome!

We were so lucky this season to get a special visit from our long departed (to the U.K.), yet not forgotten, daycare kids, Lucas and Maya! We had a play date with the former group of five: Noah, Aidas, B., Lucas and Maya. We had pizza for lunch, and lots of goodies as well. Poor Maya came down with a fever during the visit, and thus obviously could not fully enjoy herself. All of us parents thoroughly enjoyed catching up.  I sincerely hope we can do this again next year if and when Lucas and Maya are in town. We still love you, kiddos, and you are always welcome here!

Halloween and Other Fall Activities

Fall is my favourite season, and I love decorating the apartment with kids' fall-themed crafts. One of the first crafts we did for fall was this cute leaf craft. I cut leaf shapes out of Bristol Board and the kids painted them, as well as a little flower pot. Later, they glued eyes to their leaves, and a Popsicle Stick to the back. I helped them draw a mouth on. Then we anchored the 'leaves on sticks' into the flower pot with tissue. Oscar was particularly proud of his work and kept pointing up at his decoration, saying "Leaf!"

I also cut out many leaf shapes from the kids' paintings (in which they used fall colours). I then hole-punched the top of all of them, and got the older boys to string black yarn through the holes. I taped the yarn to the back of each leaf to hold them in place, then hung the stringed leaves around the apartment. (left picture below) So pretty!

Another fall craft we did was ripping orange, gold and red tissue paper into little pieces, and gluing these to leaf shapes. (right picture above)

Usually we play outside Noah and B.'s school for a while every day. At least one day every week though, we have been playing at Lithuania Park and playground. The bigger boys really crave a visit there every now and then, since we pass it on our way home every day.

One day, we ventured over to High Park to jump in the leaves. I was hoping the leaves would still be carpeting the ground in the forest area (since it's stunning to look at, and we had brought our own kiddie rakes) but the machines had already formed them into huge piles. This is also an awesome time to visit though, and the kids and I had a blast jumping in the leaves.

Thomas loved the challenge of climbing up the mountain of leaves!

What a great, safe way to climb!

Leila watched the boys. She'll be able to fully participate next year! As you can see from the photo on the bottom right below, it was a very beautiful place to be. Oscar was away that day, but we were planning to return with him the following week. Unfortunately, when we were able to go, the weather did not permit it.

Later that day, after a short nap, Thomas made a strong case to be let out of his playpen. However, shortly after he joined us, he conked out again, smack dab in the middle of the floor. Our talking did not awaken him. He is just so determined to keep going, even when he is exhausted! (He and Leila are very similar in this way.)

Speaking of the little princess, here she is enjoying a story with Thomas. Daniella reads Thomas and Oscar a story every day before their nap. Oscar was away this day, so Leila subbed for him. Leila's usually still  eating at this time. Okay, more like I'm still trying to get food into her mouth at this time!

A couple of days before Halloween we managed to scoop out a pumpkin. Oscar and Thomas helped the big guys. Later on in the afternoon, we enjoyed the delicious roasted pumpkin seeds!

Here are my two little pumpkins on Halloween day, posing with our very basic jack-o-lantern (created with the 'let's just do this fast" carving approach). After our Star Wars themed good-bye party for Aidas at the end of August, Noah had been afraid of Darth Vader. This Halloween he conquered his fear by being Darth Vader. What a divergence from last year's firefighter costume!

Leila was very comfy in her kitty-cat costume. And Thomas wore a beautiful hand-made lion costume. Isn't this the cutest lion you've ever seen? Oscar refused to wear his costume, although he apparently was persuaded to dress up that evening. His mother reports, "We were able to get the costume on him by feeding him a steady stream of M&M's". Love it! He then had a fantastic time trick-or-treating for the very first time.

In the afternoon when the younger guys were having their naps, Noah and B. played a Halloween game that we had created together. We used foam pumpkins, spiders and ghosts as spaces on our game board. Most pumpkins were blank but some said things like "Go back 3 spaces". All spiders were "Miss a turn". And, if you landed on a ghost, you got to skip ahead to the next ghost.

We made the "Finish" spot of the game board a haunted house (picture below), and used a large foam die. They had an audience consisting of Leila. See if you can find her in the picture below! This was a great way for the bigger boys to play quietly, while still getting to move around a bit.

Next they played Halloween Tic Tac Toe. I taught them the strategic move of blocking another player from getting 3 in a row. I think they are getting the hang of this game now! They are still both very bothered when the other one wins. Sometimes the loser will refuse to play again. I guess that's just how it goes when you are 4 years old (or close to it).

But switch games and all is forgotten. Both were up to the challenge of the Halloween memory game (recycled from last year).

When everyone was up from naps we played freeze-dance. When the music was on, the kids were supposed to dance over all the foam pumpkins. When the music stopped, they had to stand on a foam ghost. I thought this would be a good game for Oscar to play, but instead of playing, he grabbed our toy vacuum and insisted on 'cleaning up'. He got so into his work that he kept pushing B. off one of the ghosts, and then vacuuming over it again. It was hilarious to see him fussing about this. It's as if he was saying "I just vacuumed that, and you keep messing it up!" 

Next, Oscar manned the Ghost Toss game. I had lollipops covered in tissue with ghost faces on them. The kids had to stand a fair distance back and toss the ghost into the bucket.

For dinner, we had meatball spiders (meatballs with carrot legs, on a spaghetti web), and read spooky books. Still, Noah and B. were most excited to go trick-or-treating that night (despite the pouring rain). I'd say it was a successful Halloween party, though Noah corrected me on this. It was not, in fact, a party, because there was no cake. Alas.

Here's Mr. November (Thomas) in the firefighter hat. He loves to wear this around the apartment, and "hat" is one of his many newly learned words. This was just too cute not to post!

The two photos below of Oscar have got to be a couple of my all-time faves. How awesome is it that I got Oscar, in his ACDC shirt, on his big rig? This was not an easy feat for a kid who's almost always in motion! This was his absolute favourite truck for a while, but this past week he is all about the big dump truck. He loads as many little cars and/or pretend food items as the truck bed will hold, and then pushes it around the apartment. One day he dumped the load in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room (such a convenient location!), then walked away to play with something else. It brought back memories of when I had been looking after five 2-year-olds (Oscar is nearing 2). Two-year-olds have an incredible ability to trash an area, then move on. Trash another area, move on. Don't get me wrong, the other kids all know how to make a mess too. There is just something so distinctive about how a 2-year-old does it. Anyway, rock on, Oscar!

For the month of November, we have had a delightful 5-year-old join the daycare. Although his parents have permitted me to use his name and portray him in pictures on this blog, the boy himself has requested that his photo not be on the internet. (Yes, he is already a mature and thoughtful man at the ripe old age of 5). So, I have edited the picture below not to show his face, (as well as B.'s) and will refer to him as A. So for now we have both an A. and a B.

Some of the things he has said have been quite humorous to me. For instance, one day we were all about to come in the building, and he and B. were banging against the door. I told them that they'd better not do this, or they'd get in trouble with Jennifer. A. said, "Who's Jennifer, Charla?" I thought carefully for a moment about how to word it so that he would understand, and replied, "She's the big boss of the building."  He came back with "Do you mean the resident manager?" I looked at Daniella, kind of taken aback. She replied  with a huge grin, "Yes. Yes, A. That is what we mean." Precocious 5-year-old!

A couple of weeks ago, on our way home from school, A. requested leave from the daycare for the following Monday. I mean this literally. He said, "Charla, can I take leave from the daycare next Monday? I want to go to my friend Tony's house for lunch." I had a good laugh over that one!

Another funny incident was around the time of the Indian festival Diwali. Since A. And B. are both from India, I thought it appropriate that we do some Diwali themed activities. One night at dinner I told the gang that we would be watching a short video about Diwali on the computer the next day. A. piped up with, "Why do we need to watch a video about Diwali? B. and I already know about Diwali. We're celebrating it now with our families." You see what you get for being inclusive? Ha ha! I said, "Well...maybe it will be good for Noah and I to watch it then, and you two could tell us more about it." Just to clarify, there was nothing rude about his tone. His question was completely innocent. He was just bewildered at why we would do such a thing. 

Diwali is the festival of lights, and is celebrated in India with fireworks (among many other festivities). So, I thought it would be a good idea to do a craft showing fireworks. We spread glue on construction paper in a star shape, and then put sprinkles over top. And, as was foreshadowed in the previous paragraph, the only kids who opted not to do the Diwali craft were the two that do actually celebrate the holiday. Oh well, happy belated Diwali anyway!