still going

we've hauled the kids around a few places this summer. the playground, library, and weekend farmers markets are regular features. we went downtown to the sacred heart rummage sale one saturday morning and ended up wandering around little italy. had lunch at the cafe, did some grocery shopping. earlier in the season, we took in the int'l childrens fest. we took them to kdays/capital ex/whatever twice - once to see mika's beloved backyardigans and again to see her auntie janis sing and see the doodlebops. we were going to take her to see great big sea, but the kid doesn't handle nightlife well. there have been meetups with friends at the legislature grounds and at home and birthday parties and so on. so much activity compared to last summer - last summer was a bust practically.
mika went to the zoo early in the season and returned today with her daycare. her behavior was apparently so remarkable there that she is immediately being moved up to the transition room to prep for preschool. she's a budding devil worshipper - all she could talk about this afternoon were the goats, bats, and spiders that she saw. she'd only answer 'yup' or 'nope' if you asked about other animals and activities. ANYWAY - she also conducted herself quite well and helped corral and soothe the more wily kids. when one girl kept wandering off, mika went and coaxed the other kid to hold hands with her. tears from other kids were met with an "it's OK, calm down. don't cry ", which is what she says to declan when he cries. she also told her daycare teacher today that she wanted her baby brother to be there (at daycare) with her. he drives her batty and it's only going to get worse, but she loves him nonetheless.

declan still prefers to be in a carrier rather than a stroller - we alternate between the forward-facing one and the beco. it's 95% beco though. he's sitting up on his own for longer periods and is quite good at scrawling and rolling to his targets. he's enjoying a range of solids now - mixed cereals, peas, squash. tonight it was a half jar of pea/brown rice mush. i'm saving the sweet veggies for 2nd last and fruits for last. he wasn't a fan of green beans. neither am i - so it goes.

back to mika, she loves the downtown farmers market. when we head over to callingwood on sundays instead, she cries at first: "NO! I want the OTHER farmers market". the promise of berries calms her down.
mika was intrigued by all the old men ranting in italian at the cafe. she had a cup of pistachio gelato. well, half a cup then it was passed to daddy. she made no notice of tent city (inner city shanty town) when we went past.
it was sweltering each day that we took in the ex. mika was confused and bewildered by the live backyardigan experience at first. she loved it though. i think she thought it was the best thing she had ever seen in her life. when it ended, she stood there watching people leave and was gophering her little head every which way. when it set in that the show was over and everyone was leaving, she broke down - it was too much for her to bear that it was all over. a giant lemonade and the promise of rides cheered her up pretty quickly. mika went on the carousel, of course. she loves merry-go-rounds with a passion. the surprising thing was that she wanted to go on the ferris wheel as well, so off we went. mika loved seeing all the cars below - she was in awe. and there were many cranes to count from up there! the kid loves cranes - i think uncle lucas had a love on for cranes as well at her age. mika tried to get on the wild dragon roller coaster, but she was denied - she was too short - and too furious that she couldn't ride the dragon. hrm. she went on the helicopters instead. i had her ride in the back with a couple of older little girls up front in case mika got scared. she was fine. a ride on the train after that and we were out of tickets.
the doodlebops may have impressed mika more than the backyardigans. seeing her auntie janis sing was pretty exciting for mika too. danny's littlest sister is a dynamite performer - she can sing like you wouldn't believe! janis took mika to the butterfly tent after her performance. the butterflies were landing on mika and offending her. first she didn't want them to touch her shirt. then she was mad at one because it was blue when it was flying, but brown when it landed on her arm. the nerve of that butterfly! the kids' grandparents from high prairie were there and we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon with them and janis. it was great to actually get to see them again - it had been since mika was born. mika wasn't feeling well to begin with that day and the experience became too much for her and she started having serious meltdowns, so we parted ways and just strolled her around a bit. any attempt at doing ANYTHING was futile - except going home.
i can't think of what on earth else we have been up to - had a visit from auntie amber and uncle dave - and lisa! that was cool. auntie tamara should be up for a visit soon too. my brain is obviously tapped for the night. we have heritage days this weekend. i missed the street performers! silly. considering the cariwest parade - will it terrify or delight? hmm...
dragon boats should be kewl too. i'd add links for everything referenced in this post, but i'm too tired. e&oe, eh?

Happy 29-Month Birthday, Mika!

I've been slack about posting Mika's monthly updates. There hasn't been much new stuff, just refining the skills that she already has. Er, except badminton. She can serve.

The playground and transit system are helping her deal with shyness in a big way. When strangers talk to her on the bus, she gives them a blank stare now instead of a scowl or just hiding. Mika has no problem approaching other kids now, for the most part. She still needs time to assess them, but can do it rather quickly now. She seems to get bad vibes or something from the odd kid here and there. I like that. It's reassuring somehow that she seems to wait to get a sense of the person before charging into a new relationship, even if it is just a one-time teeter totter pal or someone to run screaming through the library with.

Ah! A new thing came to mind: photography. Mika spends a bit of time each day taking pictures with an old broken digital camera. No, it's not because she's had a camera in her face her entire life. I'm thinking it's more likely due to her love for that %^&*$ Diego character who also has a camera. Mika is serious about it - apparently setting up shots and whatnot. Daddy suggested getting her one of those fisher-price rugged toddler binocular cameras and a flickr account.

Language! Mika picks up words like nothing now. We help her articulate things correctly if she doesn't get it right away, but the kid is good! Strong tongue from flapping it all the time or something. Last night she said 'physicist' perfectly on the first try. I think she said 'nucular' too though. Too much Simpsons? At the chiropractor, she sat up at the reception desk while Declan and I were getting our treatments. As I sat her in the chair, I told her how to answer the phone if it rang. I took her a second try, but she said 'chiropractic' clearly. It can almost be too much fun getting her to try out new words. Thanks to Kris for letting me know about the spirited toddler friendly clinic.

Toilet training is a subject we'll just not talk about this month, ok? ok.

The emotions of a toddler can be oh-so-very trying. Mika cried on Sunday because we went to the callingwood farmers market and she wanted to go to the downtown one. If she wants the car to go left and Daddy makes a right, she cries. She screams at the top of her lungs at night unless Daddy goes in and holds her hand while she falls asleep. Last night, that wasn't enough either and after 2 hours of mayhem, he finally just told her to stop screaming, close her eyes, and go to sleep. And she did.
Everything scares her: cars, trucks, any loud noise, baby monitors, grass, spider webs, people, shopping carts, etc. etc. Most of all, the distant sound of a train whistle puts her into near hysteria. I told her that it was just the long lonesome train whistle crying in the wind. She looked at me for a second while processing what I had said and continued her meltdown. Time to up the frequency of the reverend on our playlists or something.

Pleased to report that she still loves her brother. Still loves spelling names and drawing, playing in the sprinkler, playing golf, reading, reading, and more reading, jumping and running with Declan, and the list could go on...but the baby just woke up...

"Is he dancing, Mom?"

Two Teeth!

Declan has both his bottom teeth poking out now. They are sharp and he has strong jaws. 'Nuff said!

soon-to-be toothless wonder

7-11 is currently carrying Simpsons movie promo items. I went in for a slurpee and came out with that plus a couple of boxes of Krusty O's and a couple of cans of Buzz Cola.
Foolishly, I let Mika try the Krusty O's, which appear to be nothing more than Fruit Loops. Of course, she LOVES them...and why not? 16g of sugar per cup.

Happy 5-Month Birthday, Declan!

The guy has officially made it to 5 months and his personality is really starting to shine through. He's such a happy little guy and will usually give away smiles to damn near anyone. If you hold him up and make him dance back and forth, he giggles with delight. Tummy tickles work for that too. Declan is loving the exersaucer these days. If he drops or loses a toy that he was playing with, he stomps and yells like you wouldn't believe. He cries like you're breaking his legs. Hand him back the toy and it's all quiet again.
Declan LOVES his big sister. Mika seems to think that Declan is OK too. She comforts him if he cries in the car, brings him toys, always wants to share what she is eating with him, and on it goes. When Declan wakes, Mika is right there with me to go get him. When Mika wakes, she asks for Declan to come and hang out in her crib with her for a few minutes, which he also loves. Declan isn't used to crib life though and ends up with his legs stuck through the bars in a matter of minutes.
Mika even gives Declan her favorite can't-live-without-it Gritty Kitty when he is upset.
Declan is still rolling, rolling ,and combat crawling around. He's almost ready to stand on his own and is having fewer crashes when sitting up on his own. Soon it will be time to buy some Baby Mum Mum's for him. - he's growing up much more quickly than Mika - I swear!
Anyway, he is a very well-loved little boy.

Stuff

Declan still loves The Fratellis. It's been his band since birth. When nothing else will get him to sleep, I throw on Costello Music. He bounces in his beco carrier singing along until he passes out. It's a sure sign that sleep is near when he starts singing. His fave songs seem to be Flathead (of course, too many iPod commercials in utero), Chelsea Dagger, and Baby Fratelli. I've tried other similar sounds to see if its just a certain beat that he likes and its a no go. Fratellis or nothing.

Mika imitates Declan's singing and forms a chorus with him.

Mika loves nicknames. We all have many from her. I am most often called Domi or Pumpy now. She calls Declan either Deckie-Lin, Deck, or Dex. Usually Dex.

I've probably posted all of this before but I am too lazy to check. It's hot. 32 degrees hot. Off to the air conditioned museum....

Happy Canada Day, eh?

The kids had another great weekend. Mika spent her time at the local playground/waterpad on Saturday, but Sunday we headed down to the legislature grounds. We met up with Ellis and Avery (and their parents, Deniz and Cheryl) and the kids splashed away the day. Somehow we always luck out and get a decent and shady spot. Ellis and Avery are two of the best behaved and fun kids that we know. There wasn't even a hint of misbehavior all day. Mika and I left Declan with Daddy and had some 'alone' time. After standing in line with me for 20 minutes to get a latte, Mika was still doing OK. She hates standing in lines. The latte cart was also serving gelato, so the Nuggs ended up with an orange gelato cone and we had a nice time just sitting on the steps watching the world go by. Girl with her cone, Mama with her latte. We left at around 5 and didn't go back to watch the fireworks as Mika was beyond exhausted. Monday we ended up at Baba's for supper. I just meant to grab the steam cleaner (thanks mom!), but we stayed. Auntie Bling called after we had made plans to see if we were up for smoe chinese for supper. Had to take a raincheck.
Baba has golf clubs! Mika loves to golf. At home, we just have the cheesy cheap plastic clubs - Baba's aer a metal shaft with plastic ends. Mika had a great time golfing, watering Baba's garden, and harassing Scruff the Cat. I'd post more about how awesome these kids of mine are, but Mika just woke up. No time for posts!