Palmer's World

La début de l’été!

What to expect this summer?  We had Sierra enrolled in virtual Spanish classes for the month of July.  There was some government-subsidized program that cost us $10 for the entire month.  She spent the morning with Madame Ana and others who wanted to learn Spanish.

Sierra seemed interested in the concept of learning a new language and it also gave her something to do in the mornings instead of hanging out with Ezra every day.  I’m sure we will look into camps in the future for her.

In the end, I’m not sure she was entirely enthused to take Spanish lessons.  I always laugh when one morning she kept telling me she didn’t want to go and when she eventually showed up to class Vero heard the teacher ask her “Como esta?” and Sierra replied “PAS muy bien!”.  Hilarious.

I think she was expecting something similar to the school she was in the year before and…it wasn’t.

So we tried it out, and she stuck with it until the end but there was a little coercing near the end to keep it up.

As for Ezra, I can’t believe how a few months ago I saw him crawl down up and down the steps on the deck and now I see him walking up without holding onto anything!  He is a brave boy.  He understands everything we say to him and we are learning his language.  He can’t say his S’s yet so Yes = Ye(ch)(ch) or Sierra is still “Ah ah”.  Milk and more milk are pretty easy to understand.  He’s pretty good at getting his own milk from the fridge now as well!  Soon enough he can pour his own cereal and we can sleep in again!

Canada Day started out at the Petrie Island beach.  We didn’t bring anything for swimming but it was nice to play along the shore.  My soul needs the water!

We are mastering the family selfie photo.  Mastering meaning at least the parents look at the camera.

Canada Day bicycle ride

I had a good laugh when Sierra asked why that guy had a really tall hat.

 I will always think of this joke when I watch A Christmas Story

Comparing

Wow, I’m not sure what I said to deserve this face!

I can’t remember why I was out of Vars one evening, but I do remember the long stretch down Rockdale Road and seeing this incredible rainbow for the entire 15km stretch.  It was inspiring.

Mmm…marshmallows.

Can’t be easy setting up a tent while there is a water pistol on you!  We did find a leaky mattress which we couldn’t fix so we had to delay having fun in the tent this year.

Making some hot dogs

I believe we were watching the opening band for a Trews show at the Horseshoe Tavern.  Sierra was loving it.  I love her expression in this photo.  Sheer fear?

We wanted to check out a trail near us that we had never been to.  It was a very big mistake.  The further we got in, the more mosquitoes attacked us.  At one point we just had to call it and run back.

I wasn’t around for this, but I can only imagine Sierra told Maman that it was a drawing of her.

When the guitar comes out, they like to give it a few strums when I first start out but then they move along and find other things to do.

Muscles Palmer

Ah, a proud moment.

Not the action shots I was hoping for, but Sierra was excited about it.

I made the decision earlier this year that I would not be bringing my empties to the Beer Store anymore, but I would find some kind of good cause to donate to them.  Ezra and I went out to Crysler, ON where they are collecting empties to improve their park equipment (I think?  I can’t remember specifically.)  While we were there we had fun in their park and it’s one of my favourites in the area because there aren’t a lot of people and there are a lot of fun things for Ezra.

This turned out to be a neat purchase.  It’s a bunch of short stories involving characters you don’t really see in the film.  Think: the guy who reviewed the probe droid footage from Hoth.

Getting out of the rain

Sierra teaching her brother how to jump.  It’s funny to see Ezra try and jump.  It’s always a one foot lands and the other one lands after.  He hasn’t mastered the two feet at the same time (I’m talking about off the trampoline)

Sierra and I building the R2-D2 outside one afternoon.  You can see the level of concentration it takes but I’m quite proud of how well she does.

Fun in the hot tub – Ezra the Rocket!

Saturday night is movie night and the kids run straight to the couch for it.  Sometimes the movie on TVA is a dud so we just watch a Disney movie.

Check out what Mom made me!  This is way better than the Kap100 stuff they are putting out, in my opinion.  I just don’t like the Kap100 logo.

Awhile ago we walked on a trail in Crysler, ON and wondered where the rest of the trail went to.  We found out later in the summer when we parked our car at the Home Hardware and biked to a fabulous trail which is lined with farmers fields and different plant life.  Sidenote: Crysler is pretty awesome.  I can see myself living there.

I can only assume Thunderstruck was playing.  They never tire of that song!

Sierra was pretty excited to try out this new rock climbing wall at Max’s place while we kept an eye on their house while they were away.

I never knew how much fun it was to play ‘avoid the ball’ on a trampoline

Haha!

I don’t think I got to taste one mini tomato from our own garden this year!  But that’s ok.  Vero says that it’s fun to see them eat straight from the garden.

Uh, yes Google, I definitely am mistaken for Eddie Vedder from time to time!

Hanging out at the Castor River one morning

Check out that first carrot of the year!

Watermelon is something I don’t remember having as a kid but it’s great on a hot summer day

Truth!

I have to admit something.  With Sierra in the house with Ezra, I’ve really leaned on her to be with him and teach him things.  But the past year I’ve been on ‘Oh he’s a baby so we have to keep things away from him’ mode.  It wasn’t until Vero started talking about him turning two years old in a month’s time that I realized that there were things that Sierra got to play with that I haven’t bothered with.  Hence, the day the playdoh came out!  He quite likes it.

Another bike trail that we tried out this summer.  This one is part of the cross Eastern Ontario trail and I’m pretty sure if I kept going on in for another forty kilometers I would have ended up at Beau’s Brewery!  Anyhow, this one was decent.  It was a hot day and there was adequate shade.  Nothing much to write home about…very straight.  Give me a river to bike next to!

What better way to get Sierra to go faster than to have a race?!

Sierra and I went on Max’s trampoline again one afternoon.  I have to tell you, my heels really hurt after!  I think that on a trampoline I should be trying to land on the balls of my feet and not the heel?

Helping make a salad

Excitement one morning

Hanging with my girl

Ezra helping out on grocery pickup day

I had a good laugh when my beer order from Cowbell Brewery came and it was almost as tall as a two year old!

Marshmallow treat after supper

The Olympics started up and I had some activities to occupy Sierra’s time in the morning.  Thank you Tokyo!

Grandmaman and Grandpapa paid us a visit and our first photo with them was the kids wanting to hop in their trunk!

Sierra hunting fireflies

Reading a story

Hanging out at Cassandra park

 

Always a fun way to ride

We decided to get a new BBQ when the ‘end of season’ deals started.  We decided to build it on a very hot day!  I will say right away that there are two strange design flaws with this.  1) The temperature gauge fogs up after a rainstorm if the cover isn’t on.  I think I figured a way around that and it’s to put the cover back on a hot day and the condensation evaporates.  But still!  2) Every time it rains the water collects at the bottom of the doors and I can already see some rust!

Either this a very intense staring contest or Sierra is explaining the rules to a game.  That usually takes about ten minutes.

Having a snack at the Castor River

Could this be my first live show of the year?  Perhaps!  Note the water pistol in their hands in case I mess up!

After a lot of work by Vero to fortify the garden she came out to find our first tomato was already eaten by something!

I’m not sure the call for a timeout worked on these two jokers!

We decided to head to Petrie Island one morning.  Who is that in the distance?  Why that is Vero on her brand new kayak on its maiden voyage!  While Sierra and I swam around a bit she got to test it out.

Ezra preferred playing on the shoreline with Grandmaman

Everyone loved the kayak!

Snack time

A few of us took out Sierra for a ride.  She didn’t last too long with me and here she was in a race against me to get back 

Beautiful day at the beach!

I always love seeing decks like this.  It shows that folks are enjoying the summer.

Preparing some corn

Pretty sure Ezra ate the whole bowl of strawberries

Having fun with Grandmaman

The Limoges park was a hit other than the splash pad being closed when we showed up

We pull out the bouncy castle for special events and this was definitely a special event!

Ezra’s early birthday gift.  Sierra and Ezra were quite good at it!

I remember before this game Sierra was putting up a fuss about wanting to play at the coffee table and we were trying to have her go on a regular table because it’s inconvenient to sit on the couch and play.  I said “Listen, your grandparents are old so we need to move to the table.”  “WHOA WHOA WHOA! WE ARE NOT OLD!” and that was the end of that.  Reminder: don’t call people old!

We had never ventured into the park in the back of the school.  It was pretty eat!

 

 

 

Sierra

June 2021…the end of the school year!  This was a big deal for Sierra.  I’m not sure she really understood what was happening.  We didn’t bring it up too much but you can tell that the teachers must have been pretty excited for the summer and inherently Sierra was too!  “Trois semaines d’école Daddy!”

Without knowing what we were getting into with virtual learning with a four year old, we are really happy with the results.  She surprised us with how attentive she was, or at the very least, how much she stayed in her bedroom while school was on.  I would say personally that she had a 90% attention span.  She didn’t pay a lot of attention in the early morning where it’s mostly the show and tell portion (everyone is asked to bring up to three items that match the sound of the week) which is understandable.  Unless a kid is showing you their awesome new Laser Tag toy, you’re not going to be that interested in them showing you a ball or an orange.

But after snack time things really picked up and she would be excited about story time, or math problems or science experiments.  I think Maman took over the lion’s share of that work which was usually in the afternoon and required parental assistance.

She made a few friends and I really enjoyed how they had ‘breakout rooms’ where kids could just play amongst four of them.  The first few months didn’t amount to anything as sometimes I would notice none of the kids talking to each other.  But with some coaxing Sierra must have started chatting to other kids because she was always talking about some friends in class and I also remember meeting some of them while preparing lunch one day!

All in all it was an overall pleasant experience for Sierra.  I can’t speak for other kids and I know that the kids who had to flip flop between physical and virtual school a few times in the year did not have the same experience Sierra did.  We will see what happens in the Fall.  For the time being we have registered her for virtual class as they had a deadline to do so, but who knows what the future will bring with lower COVID cases and high vaccinations around?

Ezra

Ezra is a talking machine these days.  It’s still hard to figure out what he is saying!  Here are a few words that I’ve been picking up lately:

Maman

Daddy

Ah-Ah = Sierra

Bobin = open

mado = tomato

poon = spoon

ork = fork

He’s really good on his feet these days.  Last year I had the back deck all barriered up so he couldn’t crawl onto the lawn by himself.  This year I’m staring at how he has progressed from crawling up and down the stairs to actually walking up them with the help of the guardrail.  He has even started sitting at the kitchen table with us although he has had a few bad falls on his head so we try and limit him for the time being.

The other day I let him play with some play-doh which he is really enjoying.  I think the next year will be starting to think about what activities are generally introduced in a daycare environment and introduce him to that.  I already play songs for him in the mornings sometimes and he loves helps making meals on his high tower bench.  He still has to learn now to eat some of the ingredients!  Ha ha.

Must have been some Thunderstruck playing with these dance moves!

Check out the fish Grandma caught!

Virtual school has been neat as we had to photograph everything she did in the school year. 

Ezra started to play with blocks a little more.  He understood when we asked him to build a high tower.  Pretty good!

I bought this Besnard Lakes shirt one night and realized I need to keep a note of what all those symbols meant for when someone asks me!

A day off of school during the week means that Sierra and Ezra get to go on an adventure together!  Here we are at Cassandra Park

Snacktime!  Did I mention that Sierra biked alongside me all the way to the park?  She’s really good around town now.

Where’s Ezra?

There’s Ezra!!!

It felt like a long wait but the day had finally arrived to get my first vaccine for COVID19.  I had an appointment out in Rockland.  Other than some road closures, it was easy to find and it was well set up.  They had people in the parking lot announcing when we could enter.  Then we all lined up (as you can see) and entered the building.  They lead you through a maze of checkpoints of people asking you if you have symptoms and checking your health card and finally you get seated next to the person who gives you the vaccine and then onto a waiting area in case you faint.  This particular vaccination clinic was in a hockey arena and reminded me of the one back home.  

Big thumbs up for dessert

Showing Ezra my bandaid

Cool sky.  This was hilariously the morning where I declared that we would head to the beach.  Vero did comment that the skies looked quite black in the distance.  Sure enough there was a massive thunderstorm coming our way so we just took another route back home.

But we did manage to stop and do something on the way back home.  A visit to the giant rooster!  It was so windy that Sierra had to hold onto her hat!

The cool tub gang

Look who snuck in the front seat!  Nice try.

Determined to go near water, we went to Petrie Island on a Sunday morning when the temperature was already in the high 30s and it was jam packed.  My mind raced to think of a spot near water without people.  We ended up in Cumberland and walked down near the ferry and voila!  A great spot to hang out.  There was a few glass objects around that I had to move away but it was fun dipping our toes in and watching the ferry come back and forth.

Watching the waves

Hanging out on the shore

Enjoying a snack

These flamingo hats that Maman ordered are a hit!

Here’s Ezra with his best friend in the Summer of 2021

I’m pretty impressed that Ezra caught a photo this good of me!

This is more his style when you look back through his photos

This was a pretty cool gift that Vero and her sisters got her Dad.  He is a bricklayer and the person who made it took a silhouette of him from a photo and put it into the trowel.

Flying into orbit!

This is a typical spot for the kids to hang out when I’m preparing lunch…right at my feet!  Maman has the same issue for supper!

This kid can’t stop dancing

Weeeeeee!

There are good adventures and then bad ones.  We wanted to check out a trail fairly close to us and got eaten alive even after using insect repellent!  We basically ran down this trail for a bit and decided to run back!

Since the trail was a bust, we decided to go to a cemetery near town.  It turned out to be an extremely hot morning but was fun for the kids to run around in and there was a nice shady spot under a tree for a snack later on.

Cemetery fun

I can’t remember but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t even raining that morning and he just wanted to dress up like this!

Behind the scenes of the Don’t Fret sessions.  There’s a lot of gear to be set up and I was going to tear it down for the first time in months since my parents and Nanny Sybil were going to visit.  Afterwards I streamlined my setup and it went pretty well with just using the camera audio!

What a mess of wires!  I was not sad to see this get eliminated from my setup.  Originally I wanted it for two reasons…reverb, and a recording of the show.  But I started noticing that it wasn’t recording properly.  Then I realized that one night my ears were ringing after an evening with headphones so I decided not to do that again.  In the end, I’m not sure if anyone noticed the reverb but the first time I played without it, it didn’t sound like it made of a difference across the internet.

Well well well.  Look who is getting back into LEGO.  Of course I bought this so the kids could play with it as well.

Ezra was really interested in this video about firefighters

One lovely afternoon on my walk, Sierra decided to join me and I brought along a treat.  Now when I ask if she wants to take a walk with me she asks if there is a special treat in it for her!

The kids don’t look too sure about being on this ride

Giving the garden some love

The winds were fierce so we tried out our new kite!

Ezra always loves playing with Maman’s sunglasses

Checking out my father’s day card.  It’s cool that the kids are getting to an age to give me personalized gifts!

Looking at a great photo book I received for Father’s Day

Ready to hit the road!

A walk in the woods

The Castor River hit the mark for my wish to spend time with my family near some water on Father’s Day

We were adventurous and I carried Sierra out to the middle of the river!

She wanted to model herself out in the middle

Harrrr

Later on in the day we tried to go near the water in Casselman but there were a bunch of anglers there so we played in the park a bit before picking up some St Hubert

A WITCH!

Day 1 of the R2D2 build

I love this photo.  He was enjoying using some chalk.

Hanging out one morning

The last day of school is something to be celebrated!  The number of professions she wants to undertake is impressive!

There was a virtual Disney World parade to attend on the last day of school.  We all enjoyed seeing all the Disney characters go by and how excited the kdis were.

A treat after supper on Sierra’s last day

Sierra took this great photo

I still have a good laugh when I see this image

Hammocking

Visitors!  Ezra hanging out with Nanny

Look at all the smiles!

Enjoying a snack

Day 1 of Dad’s visit I ask him if the trailer is worth saving.  He says no.  I say ok.  Two days before leaving he says “I thought about it and we can rebuild it.”  And so started the adventure of rebuilding the trailer!

 A Kapuskasing 100th anniversary beer…supposedly only available in Timmins where it’s brewed unless you specially order it?  Not sure if that was a smart plan.  Also…talk about a light beer!

Ezra showing Papa his iPad games

Nanny mentioned that this was her favourite spot at my house

Awhile ago I wanted to order this feeder for the kids but I decided to send it to my folks first to see if it was a success or not first.  I had a good laugh when they showed up at my house with it!  We were hoping for birds to go into it but we had some hungry chipmunks in there to watch instead.  

Playing slinky

Look who showed up the next day!

Grandma playing pirates

After a raccoon sauntered out from under a deck a month ago, Dad helped me patch up all the holes

Enjoying some watermelon

This might be my all-time favourite picture of Nanny!

One day I was scrolling through Facebook and Sierra saw a photo of buttertarts and said “Oooh, what’s that?”  Then Grandma showed her how to make them.

Eating cheerios with Poppa

Giving this kid a haircut was quite the adventure!

Happy Birthday Mike!  Mom helped make this creation come to life.  I thought it was a fun gift to give for his fortieth birthday.

Pretty sure we were getting eaten alive by mosquitoes in this photo

After this photoshoot I had to explain smiling and looking into a camera

It was great seeing my folks and Nanny for a few days.  They hit the road and we started preparing for Canada Day

Beautiful!

R2D2 got put aside when Grandma brought a few of my old LEGOs down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I have to work on my facial expressions while trying to take a selfie of all the family on bicycles, we had a good time going around the block!  Sierra is getting really good at keeping up and we can go further around Vars now.

I’ve had my eye on some studio monitors for a few years now.  We shall see if they actually make a difference when it comes to recording.

We have a regular Mike McCready in the house!

The Tusken Raiders always get a good laugh in the house

Kick off to Star Wars Day

Seriously, how did these kids end up looking like Luke and Leia? It’s uncanny!

At least this year I knew that you cannot put icing on a hot cake!  Poor Yoda from Year 1 of cake making.

Super smart!

Every single time Thunderstruck plays he dances!

Ezra helping to stack some wood

This mattress has become a pirate ship

Who is having more fun?

This was the photo that made me realize that Ezra is a little boy now.  No real need to keep an eye on him when he is on Sierra’s bed in fear of him falling off.  He was just sitting there having fun.

Does every kid tell you how things are supposed to work?

I’m pretty sure we asked the kids to do a play for us.  It was quite good for something with zero preparation!  Clearly Hallowe’en is on their mind in the month of May!

The best Mother’s Day flower ever?  No doubt especially if you consider the vase.

I had a good laugh at this one!

Hanging out in the garage

Pretty good at colouring inside the lines!

Pretty impressive dinosaur!

Not sure if Ezra wanted to get the hat or pull a prank on Maman.

Bahaha, Qui Gon clearly didn’t see this one coming.

Enjoying a freezie on the hammock

I’m not why kids love showing their belly but they do!

This might have been my favourite science experiment of the school year.  I had to freeze a dinosaur into a bowl and then we had to break the ice.  However, we had Ezra with us and it’s not like I wanted to give Sierra the hammer and a block of ice in her bedroom.  We brought her outside on the front porch and gave her some goggles and she spent quite a while trying to chip away at it.  Finally at the end I had to go outside and drop the thing over the ground to shatter.  She thought it was hilarious.

A full week before the May long weekend here in Canada and here we are setting up the garden!  Vero had some big plans this year which involved taking any container we could find and using it.  Sierra and I drilled some holes in some pails.

Each year it gets a little easier with our helpers!

This is exactly how I’ve been feeling after seeing all the American tours starting up this spring and Canada had no movement at all.

Hydration is key

When I have days where spending time at home is getting to me, I smile when I think of this comic

No mosquitoes yet in May so it’s a perfect spot to catch some Adam Baldwin on a Friday night!

Vero wanted to try and hang up netting to help with the mosquitoes

It was a multi-day project but I have to say that it made quite the difference at night!  I’m quite proud of Vero’s work on this.

Nothing wrong with an ice cream cone after supper

Har

I’ve realized that science experiments most always involve food colouring

Wow, talk about annoying!

That’s Vero

Strumming along on the uke

Having fun after nap time

Seriously, look at this fortress!  No mosquito can get in!  However, I have a hard time getting out for another beer without letting mosquitoes in.  Woops?  I need to bring out the kegerator onto the deck.

A typical sight on grocery pickup day.  Ezra and I sit and wave at cars

Checking out the garden after five days of growth.  Time must be extremely frustrating as a child.  I remember mailing away for a Mumm-Ra action figure and couldn’t understand the 4-6 week timeframe.  Pretty sure I went out to the mailbox every single day that summer wondering when the heck it would arrive.

Vero found a tick in our backyard.  Doh!

Mozart!

 

Long weekend roar!

We finally got around to making a sand area for the kids.  I’m not sure where I got the idea for a sand tent (maybe online somewhere?) but I like the thought of it being in the shade and not having critters coming in during the night.  Not sure if shade is an actual issue under our trees.

First trip to the Castor River in 2021!  It’s always a fun time.

Ezra figuring out how to play hide and seek.  He thinks if he can’t see us, we can’t see him!

I love the one hand on his hood to keep him out of the water

The water was fairly low so we could play near it

Poor guy!

We found a trail near Crysler and went to check it out.  It was a pretty great trail but we realized it would be better to come back with our bicycles the next time as it was quite long.

Another angle

Who doesn’t love a sprinkler on a hot day?  Maybe Ezra.  I don’t think he’s a fan of getting sprayed all day.  Time will tell.

Hanging out with my love

I’m not sure what she just ate but she was excited!

Helping make some spaghetti

Ezra loves just hanging out in the swing at the park

Pretty cool to have a partner playing music with me

Sierra’s birthday!!  Here is a beautiful dress she got from her grandparents

Making the cake.  Hands off Ezra!

She sure loves putting on the candy

These sunshine balloons surprisingly stayed up considering we didn’t use helium

A bouncy castle!!  Vero scored this off of Kijiji for $100.  Totally worth it.  We kept it up all weekend and will bring it out for special occasions.  It has a few tears in it but nothing major.

Good spot to hang out!

Sierra’s friends were thoughtful to drop by with a gift

Sierra got a great cook outfit but clearly someone took it for himself!

Happy Birthday Sierra!

A helping hand to climb up the bouncy castle

This must have been from our East Coast themed ‘Don’t Fret’ session.  I can tell by my Dad’s hat!  I had a great laugh and still do when I see this photo.  The Don’t Fret sessions are a good time and I enjoyed learning a bunch of East Coast tunes for this event.

View from the bouncy castle

The neighbours were very nice to Sierra and dropped this new toy off to her.  It took her a few minutes but she got the hang of it!  Ezra and her roam the backyard a lot looking for criminals.

I may have caught the ‘action figure’ bug during the pandemic.  Here was a shipment that was sent from Big Bad Toy Store.  Too bad I got dinged with import fees!  I don’t know if I’ll order from them again as the price comes very close to what Canadian specialty stores offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always had this grand vision of keeping Sierra and Ezra posts separate so that each of them can just look at their own lives by checking out their own posts.

I think Vero always thought this was silly and I’m sure others did too.  Probably up there with my idea of taking a monthly photo of them with a chalkboard and how I’ve been missing the mark on that one for a few months now!

I think being in the house during the pandemic for so long is just making simple tasks even harder.

Also, after doing a post of photos of Sierra’s 59th month I’ve realized that there’s really not a whole lot of photos of just her and I usually leave the ones with both her and Ezra for the Ezra spotlight.  They are ALWAYS TOGETHER which is amazing.

All that is leading to a change where I’ll spotlight each month of our lives together.  If one of them eventually lives in the backyard and sends photos of them living  in the wilderness, then I suppose I can do a spotlight of them again!

For the time being, why divide up souvenirs of our lives together?

Poisson d’avril!

The Easter bunny visited!

Too nice to go to school indoors

Ha!  I’ve been tempted to do this a few times in the past year

Supper outside

Showing off her beautiful shirt

The Castor River has called us back home!

We also checked out the park in Rockland along the water and Sierra had a fun time navigating this structure

Sierra and Abbey have this game they play over Facetime where they have to look at the emoticon on the screen and then try and find it on the keyboard

I built this this summer!  I’m not sure if it was a mega hit.  I found that the baking powder was stuck at the bottom and I had to shake it a lot.  But Maman has been with the kids a lot in the afternoons and they seem to enjoy it.  I’m just not sure if she would tell me that I should try it again.

The purge has begun!  Some friends dropped by to grab a lot of stuff to help out with their newborn.  I was very excited to start getting all that stuff out of the house!

Oh festivals, how I miss thee

Truth

Nice hat!

I was pretty impressed with Sierra’s lego maze!

Sierra imitating Dad’s fangs from apple slices

 

Afternoons with Maman are always the best

Showing off some new books they bought with some money from Easter

Never a dull moment here

Two seater swings are so much more fun!

Hunting for worms

Trying on an old hat of Grandpapa’s

I’m not sure what is going on here but Sierra always used to put her head into a pillow or on the floor when she didn’t get her way and Ezra also now mimics that movement.  Now I just laugh every time I see it happen.

Peek a boo!

Moving on up to the big kids swing!

Vero found a good trail behind the school and we found this old tire hanging there

A rare family photo

We came across these structures not too far from the school.  We think that there may be classes that come out and learn about making tree forts

I think he was excited to see snow again after a few weeks of it melting

Another adventure in the rain for us

I’m not even sure what is going on here?  Maybe a science experiment for school?

Sierra teaching Ezra how to use the tricycle.  Interesting fact: this is the same tricycle that Vero grew up with!

I would like to say this was a somersault but no, it was just Ezra being mad about something and he’s burying his head

Super Ezra!

Ezra is really liking his ipad time.  There are a few neat apps that he plays.  One involves crushing trucks with a dinosaur foot in a junkyard

Ice cream!

Count Ezra

Searching for worms in the garden

Go Team Canada!

 

For historical reference, we paid $700 tax included to get the driveway sealed.  They did start out the with a $900 price tag but balked at that one trying to remember what we paid the last time.  They did say that a ‘water based’ sealant was applied last time and that’s why it wasn’t good anymore.

That’s probably a bunch of malarkey.

I feel as time goes by I get slower and slower at updating this website and then I fear that I will forget little details about my children that I want documented!

Until I get around to updating a few things, I thought I would just chat about Ezra at this point in his life.

Ezra is 20 months old.

Currently I get to take care of him a lot in the mornings and then Vero takes over in the afternoons.  Sierra stays in her room for the most part taking school but Ezra is VERY excited when he sees her emerge from her room.

He’s a really loving child.  He will go and hug Sierra when she comes out of her room.  He waddles over to her at full speed and practically collapses in her arms.

He’s really good at walking these days.  We even took him in the forest the other day and managed to navigate branches without falling over too much.  That being said, I still don’t understand how he can just be walking around the kitchen sometimes and do a complete wipeout!  I blame his socks.

His vocabulary is really getting good.  He says thank you when we pass him something.  The other day I asked him if he wanted to stay in his chair or get down and he replied with get down!  I think last night I heard him say bedroom.  He can definitely say Maman and something that resembles Dad but not enough for me to notice sometimes.  I feel sometimes that all his words sound like he is underwater but I’m assuming he’s just learning to enunciate.  I can’t remember what Sierra was like when she was learning to speak.

I laugh sometimes at how much of a different force of nature he is compared to Sierra.  The other day when we were all out looking for worms in a rainstorm, Sierra wanted to pick up worms on a stick and move them over to a puddle.  Ezra wanted to squash them all with his boot which resulted in Sierra screaming “Nooooo!” like when Darth Vader was born.

Life with Ezra has become significantly easier compared to last year.  We no longer have to have portions of the back patio fenced off to prevent him from falling six inches.  He now climbs up and down the stairs like a champ and wanders around the yard and we aren’t overly worried about him.  We did start closing one gate near the garage so he doesn’t wander off to the front yard without us.  We always have an eye on him but you never know where they go when you are handling the BBQ for a few minutes.

He really loves his swing set and whenever we ask if he wants to get down he says No.  In fact, he replies no  quite a bit these days but it makes sense when he says it.  I don’t think he has mastered yes yet but if we ask him something and he doesn’t say no then we know he probably wants to say yes!

Ezra enjoys watching anything large like trucks driving by.  Our weekly voyage to the grocery store parking lot results in us staring and waving to the cars as they drive around.  In fact, he waves at every car that goes by and people are generally nice enough to wave back!  He also likes hearing the train going by in the distance and tries to say choo choo.

Now that I’ve started livestreaming concerts with the family, I bring out the guitar quite a bit more and he loves it.  When I say “Guitar?” his eyes light up and he runs to the guitar case, opens it up and proceeds to pass me two picks, a capo and my pedal.  Then he strums the guitar for about three tunes and gets tired of that.  He’s becoming quite good at strumming!

He loves bathtime with his sister but I’m not sure she loves getting buckets of water dumped over her head all the time!  He has to figure out those fine motor skills because a bucket of water over the head usually results in him bonking the bucket into her nose or head half the time!

He is really enjoying reading these days.  He is starting to choose new books to listen to, but then he also has his routine of reading a book about Boots and Je T’aimes de la tête au pieds”.  Recently he really likes Garbage Delight (which I’m delighted about!)

To the jealousy of many other parents out there, he is a great sleeper.  He has an afternoon nap which lasts between 1-2 hours and he heads to bed around 7:15PM and wakes up anywhere between 7 and 7:30pm without much trouble during the night.  He tosses and turns once in awhile but I can’t remember many times that he actually wakes up.

He is a very happy kid and there is always a smile on his face.  I even managed to get a good picture of him laughing the other day which I love.

Overall, we are happy with his development and he makes me feel old some days but I manage to get some energy to horse around with him as much as I can because in about five years time, he’ll have no interest in me!  Ha ha.

“Good tunes Dad!”

The Force is strong with this one

Tiny dancers

I think he was trying to wink in this photo

I thought this look he have his sister was hilarious

Checking out a reflection with Maman

Not sure if he enjoyed wearing Sierra’s wig

Ezra does some funny things when he wakes up from a nap these days

When I saw these two play on the swings together all I could think of was “Finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to pushing my kid on a swing!”

Good toque head

“Likely story Dad!  Tell another one.”

A typical weekly outing to get some groceries.  We would wander the parking lot and he would wave to everyone who passed him by.

Limoges park have these really long chains on the kids swings which make for a fun ride

Spring time is always the most fun time for toddlers I think

Ezra always feels the need to help give Sierra a push

Having a snack with Maman

A good photo opportunity but he hasn’t mastered the tricycle yet

Ezra quite enjoys mopping up the mess!

Ezra quite enjoys when I practice guitar in the mornings.  When I say “Guitar?” he goes over to the case and opens it up.  Then he passes every guitar pick he can find as well as my capo and pedal.  Lately he has been deciding to sit in various spots of the guitar case which is hilarious.

Ezra discovering the wonder of chalk

Trying on Sierra’s hat

Ezra likes trying for a high five while swinging next to Sierra

He’s getting the hang of building blocks!

By the looks of the snow on the ground, this was probably the last voyage of the SS GT Sno-racer for the year

I have realized that a post gets a lot of attention on Facebook when there’s a kid involved!

I had everything lined up in the span of 8 minutes to acquire this gem from Belleville.  Then Vero reminded me that our neighbours were going to give Sierra their old kid car for her birthday.  SO CLOSE!!

In the quest of ‘trying to find a spot to go outside not near people’, we found this little park in Casselman on our way to St-Hubert.  Unfortunately part way through our visit Sierra said she needed to pee!  I’m pretty impressed that she managed to hold it in for another 30 minutes until we got back home!

Sierra taking some photos of her brother

Fredo + Dad = love

Ezra was seriously rocking out to some Pearl Jam in the basement one afternoon with me.  It was pretty amazing.  I also realized that if I ever want a good cardio workout, I just need to pop in the last 30 minutes of a Pearl Jam concert and jump up and down imagining I’m at the actual concert.  Way more fun thatn the elliptical!

I’m not entirely sure what this photo was for, but chances are it’s when I win a game of Carcasonne against Mom when the score is really close or really wide apart.

Snacktime

Vero took some photos of the pathway in the park and the bad shape they were in.  In July they ended up fixing a bunch of it up which is great for kids on their bicycles!  I’m quite proud that she mentioned it to the community association.  Sometimes all it takes is asking the question to someone!

Poor He-Man!

Poisson d’Avril!

When Sierra went into her room, we hung a banner with a bunch of fishes on it.  She found it very funny.

Poisson d’Avril Sierra!

 

The pranks kept coming when I put peanut butter in their grilled cheese sandwich!  Sierra really enjoyed April Fool’s.  She kept putting pots and pans on our chairs and saying “Poisson d’Avril’ a month after April Fool’s.  We tried explaining her the difference between a prank and April Fool’s but she just kept saying it.  

Tall kid!

Filling up the feeder.  I think a squirrel ate it all the next day

Years ago we never burned the brush that fell down throughout the winter.  Now we try and keep on top of it.

Vero told me this was quite the leg workout!

First cone of the year!

Easter was definitely fun this year with Ezra able to walk around and look for some eggs!  He seemed to catch onto the concept after awhile.

I think this may have been the day where Ezra discovered how amazing this shopping cart is.  He brings that everywhere in the backyard with him!

Pull my finger (thanks to Shannon for that one!)

Reading outside

One of the first hot tubs of the year with the kids.  I also realized how long my hair was getting when I had to put it in a ponytail so it wouldn’t get wet!

Figuring things out

First of many meals outside

Yeeeeehawwww!

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying a hot dog from the campfire

Sierra wanted to wear this to school one morning

She was quite excited to construct shapes from popsicle sticks

I believe this photo was from the activity which involved making your own mini-pizzas.  We had a good laugh when we figured out that it was the teacher who wanted to make them for herself and decided it was probably a good idea to make it into an activity for the rest of the class!  A lot of prep work for this activity!  Haha.

I think this might be teeth?  It’s ironic that she probably ate all of those marshmallows after!

Generally the in depth science experiments happen when Vero is taking care of Sierra but sometimes I get to partake in it.  The video I haven’t shown you here had a total failure of a snow volcano experiment.  I then pivoted and just put some stuff in a cup and had Sierra add what needed to be added and BAM!  Science experiment success!

Sierra found it extremely funny that she was wearing Dad’s t-shirt.  She couldn’t stop laughing.

I think this meetup one afternoon was before another lockdown.  I also think this is when I told Mike that Trish got married during the pandemic and his mind was blown.  I had a good laugh at that!

Crazy hair day at school!

I’m sure this will turn out to be an entertaining read

The kids have grown to love a game involving us taking off our shirts and running to someone on the couch who catches us and throws us.  It’s been the highlight of the winter!

Making the house pretty for Spring

Painting Easter eggs out in the sun

Sierra is getting pretty good at writing letters!

Good one!

I would definitely do this

I was THIS CLOSE to getting this from the kids.  My buds lined up people to pick it up for me and everything.  Then Vero reminded me that we were getting a car from the neighbours for Sierra’s birthday.  SO CLOSE!!

I believe this was taken in Casselman where we found a little park near the river.  We stopped there for awhile before picking up St-Hubert.