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!

Easter Eggs

Not only were the kids busy with Easter crafts for the past few weeks, they've also been dyeing and decorating Easter eggs.

Even Thomas got into painting an egg. It was his first time painting anything at the daycare. He was very gentle and careful with the hollow egg, and it turned out great!

The bigger boys liked the activity too. We also got these special egg paint sticks. They look like Q-tips, but have coloured dye inside that makes it easy to paint the egg with. I've gotta say that Dollarama was a really great place to get arts and craft materials, as well as games and treats, this Easter season.

I believe that is where I got these fun fishing sets (either there or Walmart). There is a magnet attached to the end of each fishing line, and three fish with magnets at their mouths. Oscar and Thomas both loved going fishing in their little ponds.

Then we got out some other sea creatures we have tucked away and it became more like an ocean. Noah and B. enjoyed the same activity in the afternoon when the little guys were sleeping. Maybe they can go fishing in the wading pool this summer!

I set up an Easter egg hunt (just plastic eggs, no chocolate) for when we came back from school with the big boys. They all picked up their baskets at the front door. Noah and B. knew they were only allowed to collect 10 eggs. After that they had to start helping Oscar and Thomas, or find some eggs to give to Leila.

It turns out Oscar was very skilled at finding the eggs, and gave the bigger boys some tough competition!

Thomas was not too interested in the egg hunt. Leila thoroughly enjoyed taking each and every egg out of her basket and throwing it on the floor.

Her game looks fun too, no?

The older boys and I made chocolate egg-shaped cupcakes to serve at Leila's little daycare birthday party the following day.

During this activity, I remembered, as a kid,  my mother giving me the egg-beaters with icing on them, after she had baked a cake. I couldn't then, in good conscience, restrict them from the same delight. They enjoyed licking their spoons. Ha! Okay, well, in B.'s case, a ladle!

I think the little princess appreciated all their hard work. By the end of it, Noah and I couldn't stop laughing at what she had done to her sweet little face! It doesn't look too messy here, but she really did end up painting one whole side of her face, and good chunk of her hair, with chocolate!

Happy birthday again, pigtail Jane!