An Easter Visit

This past Easter Sunday Jill and I took the boys over to my grandmother's for a quick visit. She is 90-something and loves her babies. I should know her exact age, but I can never remember it and it doesn't really matter. So long as we show with Tim Horton's tea and a baby, we're welcome. I took a picture of her holding Joshua, who is now 1 year old and, by the account of many, the son who looks most like me. She is smiling in all of the photos and Joshua, who is usually a twisting, flailing monkey when  you try to hold him, sat placidly on her lap. She was happy and he was content. I couldn't have scripted it any better.

42 years ago she held me like that. Often. For two years I was the only grandchild, so I imagine I was held a good deal. I'm hoping that years from now William will remember his 'Nanny Donut'. He's a smart boy and at an age where memories begin to stick. If her health holds perhaps Bo will have some hazy memories too. It's unlikely Joshua will, but I'll have photos such as this to show him. One of my uncles was there and we later exchanged emails about work and a book. In his last email he deviated from the thread and wrote "I was thinking over the weekend how things are playing out so well for you. You really struck it rich with that wife of yours and three boys." I know that of course. And looking at that photo I realize that I'm one of the fortunate few who has been wealthy from day one. The boys wore us down, but it was a good Easter :)

William's Garage Sale

William isn't the world's greatest listener. He will tell you that he is great at everything, but truth be told, he's a poor listener. As a result, William experienced his first 'garage sale' as a skier this past weekend. For a four year old it was an epic wipeout. His skis flew off, his goggles came loose and he did a few somersaults at full speed. Had he chosen to listen to his father, there may have been a few more turns and fewer 'french fries' (skis straight) as he made his way down the hill. Needless to say, he was quite scared and upset when he struggled to his feet. Not only was he upset, he was done. The tears ran freely, his head hurt, he refused to put his skis back on and he wanted his Mom. Immediately.

I tried everything in the book to get his boots back into those bindings. There was no way we could end what had been a fabulous season on such a lousy note. His last memory could not be of eating snow while do 20 km/h. Bribery failed. This was bigger than candy. He wasn't open to negotiating either. In situations like these brow beating blows up in your face, and shaming a 4 year old simply isn't an option. After 20 minutes of tears and chatter, I played my best card. I let out a huge burped.

Burping tends to work with boys. He stopped crying and a happy twinkle appeared in his eyes. So I burped again. Only this time I claimed it was the snow that burped. Then the chairlift that burped and so on. These things were burping because Daddy was so heavy that they couldn't breathe. If there is one thing William loves, it's imaginative play. He also enjoys teasing me. So we were off and skiing yet again. I swear I forced myself to burp 3000 times in the next 1.5 hours. But we laughed and we skied on a sunny Spring day, so the chest pain was worth it.

A final note about listening and William. After what I just described above one might think that he would try to slow down on the hill. Might want to listen to his Dad and squeeze in a few turns. Well, one would be wrong. He DID begin to turn more because I told him that the snow monster would eat his skis if he knew where he was heading. So he had to turn to trick the Monster. He knows I'm full of crap but he loves a game, so it all works out in the end. But as we rode up the chairlift for what was likely our last run of the season, I asked him why he wouldn't listen to me and turn more. Did he not want to be more in control? Had he enjoyed falling? He was resting his chin on the bar, "relaxing" as he liked to call it, and turned his head to look at me.

"Daddy, you just have to let me do my thing"....the teen years should be fun.

William enjoying his monster hotdog from the Spring Skiing BBQ. Ate the whole thing.

The Joshman turns the big 1

It was Joshua's 1st birthday on Friday. Hard to believe, at yet it isn't, that he's already zoomed through his first 12 months of life. 

He is a feisty little guy, very much aware of his place in the family. A wallflower he is not. He likes to get his party on with Elmo and any music with a strong beat (he was giv'n her the other day when Jud played Queen) and loves yelling "Ma-Maaaaaa" first thing in the morning, rattling the crib bars while the other two whine for Daddy. 

You're still my little mama's boy with baby hulk hair. We luv ya and wouldn't want you any other way!

A few pics from his bday celebration. I love the last one. He looks so crazy.

Wind In My Face

We first put William on skis last year, when he was three years old. He was too young for lessons so most weekends I would take him to a local hill, ply him with jellybeans and hot chocolate, and catch him as he flew down the bunny hill. He knew that I would grab him before he crashed and therefore had no fear.

This year he was old enough for lessons, so we signed him up at Vorlage, a family oriented skill hill about 45 minutes from Ottawa. He was part of the Mosquito program and he loved every minute of it. His lessons ended  a week ago, so this past weekend I took him back to the hill to see what he had learned. His instructors had left us with the impression that he was tentative and would need to follow me down the hill. As we headed to the chairlift he pulled the goggles off of his face and set them atop his helmet. He looked up at me and said 'I love the wind in my face'.

 That set the tone for the morning:)

The first video is the top of his favourite run. The second is the bottom of his favourite run.

Did we miss them?

Wait until the end to draw your own conclusion...

So last week was Jud's Birthday, also our 5 year anniversary! The boys wanted a Transformers cake and I did my best. The best part of course was blowing out the candles. Josh was uber excited.

For our anniversary, we decided to take a much needed mini-break to Mont-Tremblant. We skied, relaxed, drank beer, ate nachos, and enjoyed some tranquility for three glorious days and nights while Jud's folks looked after the boys. I cannot tell you how great it was to get away!! We decided we need to get away more often...amazing how young we felt while away....

...and then back to reality...

Of course we missed them...sorta...

Siblings

Some people choose to space their kids apart. We did not. 

William is 20 months older than Bo, and Bo is 20 months older than Joshua. Yes, there is a lot of fighting over toys, pushing, kicking, punching and the list goes on.

There are also moments like these and they tend to outnumber the ones that make you go and hide in the bathroom.

Being in the middle, Bo is trying to find his place. He adores William, "Em" as he calls him, and loves playing with him. But there are times when William has a friend over and Bo gets pushed to the side. He tries to keep up but isn't quite there yet.

It's nice to see him engaging with Joshua. He's a good little big brother  :)

Music Soothes the Savage Beast

Our boys are part beast. At least 50%. As of late, Josh's new name is "Angry" (coined by Jud) to which the boys added "Bird" hence "Angry Bird". 

Josh likes to hit to express his frustrations at not being held 100% of the time, not eating whatever you're eating and being neglected for a millisecond. He especially enjoys hitting Jud, seemingly just for chuckles. 

William can be quite stubborn and demanding (no idea where he gets that from) and Bo's new name is melodrama. 

Mornings around here tend to be loud and crazy and as much as I am beginning to loathe poppy-dancy music, it seems to buy us moments here and there where I can sip my lukewarm tea. 

William's "Gangnum Style" has improved some, and Josh seems to like a strong beat. Not sure how Bo feels about any of this. 

As for me, I'm moving towards Bluegrass.