A Wonderfully Windy Day

Instead of merely waiting for the perfect summer weather to arrive, I have been making an effort to enjoy any type of weather that comes our way. Since we had been having lots of "wind storms" as Layla puts it, I bought a kite. Of course the wind didn't return for weeks after buying the kite but yesterday it finally did.

The boys stayed home and Layla and I went kite flying, a first for both of us. The kite only cost $3 and was made of cheap plastic. That, and the fact that the dog had jumped on it in the van while trying to protect us from an elderly man walking by and we had a beautiful princess kite with a few rips and tears. It worked nonetheless.

After flying the kite we went to the park and played. I guess they must have had rain on the other side of town which I discovered while going down the slide. Despite a wet bottom, Layla and I had fun spending the afternoon playing at a different park than usual and there are no injuries to report.

I don't know Who She Get's It From

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. We dressed in shorts and tank tops and spent the whole day outside. I don't know what it is with Layla but every spring she seems to be the klutziest little girl I've ever seen. After the spring is over, it subsides, and then BAM! Spring comes and she is constantly hurting herself.

Yesterday morning we were outside and I was videotaping Layla hula-hooping. (If I could figure out how to get that video from my camera to the blog I would) as she was hopping up the 2 stairs from the grass to our deck she caught her toe on the step and face-planted onto the deck. Cue the tears.

When Greg got home from work we went to the park. Her and Greg were playing basketball and she jammed her thumb on the ball. Cue the tears. Then she befriended another little girl at the playground and was showboating her monkeybar "skills" when she slipped between 2 and hit her chest pretty hard on one of the bars on the way down. I was thankful it wasn't her teeth but nonetheless, cue the tears. So she decided to go on the swings. Greg was pushing her while Baron watched me play basketball. As Greg gave her an underduck, Layla thought she would wave to me at the peak of the underduck. Well, her bum slipped off but she held on with her one hand, came down and face planted in the dirt/wood chips. I ran over, she was spitting out dirt and you couldn't see her face. That's right, cue the tears. We thought maybe it was time to go home but she insisted she was fine and wanted to keep playing.

At home we while Greg was barbecuing, Layla and I were drawing with the sidewalk chalk and playing hopscotch. I was sitting on the step of the deck and she excitedly came over the sit beside me but missed the step. She was however, close enough to get a scratch up the length of her back from the step. Tears tears, polysporin, tears.

We did however get through the day without any trips to the emergency room which seems like quite a feat considering.

I think I'll wait until summer to take her training wheels off her bike which she has been nagging me to do. It's just not worth the tears.

Here's a flashback of the beginning of Layla's clumsiness. She fell while on a walk and scratched her nose on the sidewalk. I hated the stares we got while she had a huge scab for a nose.

Any Ideas?

So there is a weird type of tree we see around Oliver and we just have no idea what it is. These "balls" scatter the ground beneath this tree at the school.




At first last year, I thought they were dried up fruit of some sort but, no, that's not it.






The bark is also interesting on this tree.




So, does anyone out there have any idea what this may be called? Anyone seen this type of tree before?

Baron's 1st Play at a Park

At 7 months old, Baron got to take his first trip to the park as a participant. He didn't say much but I could tell he had a good time. Here he is on the playground equipment. He just couldn't resist trying to take a taste of those bars.

He also got to take his turn on the swings. There were no baby swings as this was a school park but that just meant that Greg and I got to get in on the fun.

Layla demonstrated how to go down the fireman's pole but Baron didn't seem to interested in trying so we just watched.

...and of course the slide.

Break time

Monkey bars

I am not sure what this was supposed to be but we pretended it was a school bus, so I guess it's Baron's first time on a bus.

Air-Basketball

We went to the park yesterday afternoon and Greg challenged Layla to a game of basketball. She agreed, but there was a problem...we didn't bring a ball. Well, if people can have fun lip syncing, or air-guitaring, why can't we play basketball with no ball?

It was hilarious to watch how serious Layla took the game. She dribbled down the court, took shots, played defense, and my very favourite, ducked when Greg shot so she didn't take a ball to the head.

Baron and I cheered from the sidelines, I went for Layla and he cheered for Greg. Layla won, but it was close. Greg missed a last minute shot for the win, he's still upset about it today. It was lots of fun, but today when we went, we took the ball.

Lady & the Tramp or Beauty & the Beast?

This morning Layla asked for left over spaghetti for breakfast, sure, why not? Greg and I sat chatting over our coffee when we looked over to find Layla feeding Chester her noodles from her mouth! I quickly grabbed the camera but Layla said she didn't like the way it felt so she didn't want to do it again. Understandable. However, a few minutes later she was at it again, and this time I was ready. I love how you can see his vicious fang sticking out of his mouth as he delicately takes the noodles hanging on her chin. Not to be left out, Baron lets Chester clean the food off his hands and face after he eats. It's a win-win situation, actually win-win-win, Chester gets a treat, Baron gets clean (and a tongue massage) and I don't have to wrestle him down with a wash cloth. Why doesn't everyone have one of these?

Ahhh, Spring, the only thing better is...SUMMER

With the warmer weather comes yard work, but also, Baron finally gets to join in the outdoor fun. Before we could play, Layla and I raked the lawn. She was a great helper cleaning out under the cedars.

After we were done raking, Layla found her jeep in her garage (aka the shed) and cruised around the yard with her music blaring and harassed the dog.

When Greg got home from work and Baron woke up from his nap, Layla took Baron for a cruise in her jeep. They both loved it.

We barbecued and played some more. It was great to be back outdoors and active again. That was the whole reason for moving here so after an exceptionally cold and snowy winter (by Oliver's standards) we were all thrilled to be back at it.