Soccer

William is now on a soccer team. I use the word 'team' loosely as there is rarely any concerted effort to work together towards a common goal, like scoring, but they do wear the same jersey. So they are, from cotton/polyester blend standpoint, a team. They are called the Robins.

While we would like William to enjoy and thrive at athletics we really don't care if he does. If he has fun and gets some exercise we are happy. Around the house he is an extremely competitive little boy. His printing and math need to be perfect. He needs to win every board game that he plays and when we play baseball in the backyard the only pitches that count are the ones he hits. On the soccer field however, the 'us versus them' concept eludes him. He's a happy puppy who runs after people instead of the ball, falls down on purpose, shakes his fist in mock anger when the other team scores and who gets stuck in the mesh when playing goalie (it took two of us to get his fingers out). The most passion I've seen from him was when he thought I was eating his granola bar on the sidelines.

He takes water breaks whenever he wishes, expects a sticker from his young female coach after every practice and asks me to remind him to poo when we get home. It's not exactly World Cup stuff. I don't know if he'll be an athlete. He has the physical tools to do well should he wish. Right now he's just a goofy, 4 year old boy.

May 24...

The long weekend in May is traditionally a work weekend up at the cottage. The raking, burning, cleaning etc gets done and the cottage is prepped for the summer season. With portions of the Raz clan having moved away we have been short staffed in recent years. Thankfully, our patriarch is a freaking mule despite being in his 70s (That's a compliment Dad!) and this year our boys also chipped in where they could. Mind  you, being 4, 2 and 1 the bulk of their efforts were focused on throwing leaves on the fire outside......but they WANTED to help, which is a step in the right direction.

We had rakes in our hands most of the time, but a few photos were taken.

He's only one...but you still get the sense that he's a big lug

Not yet Bo Bo...but one day.....

Jill teaching William a new card game. He smiles when winning

Sometimes...

Some times they are cute. Some times they appear to like each other.

By the way, if the photos make Joshua look like he's built like a little oak tree, it's because he is.

Heavy Lifting

I often say that I look forward to the day that my boys can mow the lawn, shovel the lane and complete other manual tasks for me. The truth of course is that, like most parents, a part of me wishes they would never grow up. They can drive me nuts but they're also lovable and funny. Children are as perfect as a person can be. However, in a blink of an eye they will be teenagers, then twenty-somethings, and then like me. I DO hope that they take on many of the manual tasks in my life, but  as those years come and pass I hope that we do all of the manual work together. Just like me and my Dad.

When we purchased our home the deck was rotting. We knew that and managed to squeeze 1.5 summers out of it. This spring we had to tear it out and build anew. My father, always eager to help, did most of the tearing out while I was beavering at my desk. We're making progress on the new one though. My boys, of course, take every opportunity to run into the backyard to chat with their grandfather and to play with the tools.

This....

Became this.....

Became this....not bad for two mornings of work!

Busy Baby

Josh is now 13 months and by far, out of the three boys, into everything. It is a very cute age, but busy, busy, busy!

His favourite things to get into include: 

• pots and pan drawer (pushes lids along the floor -- lovely sound -- and bashes and clangs the smaller pots)
•  tupperware drawer (general throwing of containers and lids and the odd time trying to put a lid on the container)
• broom and bag cupboard (at least he tries to clean up the mess he and the other two create)
• corner cupboard (dangerous, he almost removed the lid from my container of cocoa)
• pantry (anything and everything he can get his paws in, also likes to hide in there, see video)
• dishwasher (tries vehemently to get in there, has bionic hearing and as soon as door open, scrambles over only to throw his whole body down on the floor in  exasperation as once again being thwarted by mom and dad)
• bathroom (loves toilet, continues to try and play in the bowl, and love toilet paper even more -- amazing how fast they can spin that roll in mere seconds)
• shoes and boots (he has a thing for removing the laces from Jud's boots

And the list goes on...

Baby Steps

On March 22nd, Joshua turned 1 year old. Two weeks later he decided that enough was enough. Crawling was beneath him. It was for lesser beings. Crawling was for those who were prepared to watch. It was for those who were prepared to be left behind. Game on.

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 :)