pedal

How do you explain pedaling to a two-year-old?

(Pedaling as in bike-riding, not peddling as in hawking our goods or selling drugs illicitly. Sheesh - what kind of parents would we be?)

The answer is - I don't know. But we tried. We brought out Joe's trike for the first time today (a garage sale find from last summer) and, while he was excited to get on it, he wasn't so sure what to do from there. I imagine that by the end of the summer he will be zipping up and down the sidewalk but, for now, he's satisfied to sit on the seat and shuffle his feet on the ground to get moving. Oh, and ring the bell. He is very satisfied to ring the bell.

Happy Trails.

the office

We surprised Daddy at the office today by stopping to visit. Joe has learned that Daddy is an environmental engineer and that he:

keeps the sky blue and the grass green,

the dirt healthy and the water clean.

So... we wanted to see just how exactly he does that. And, it would seem, he does that by sitting at his desk and typing on the computer. He also eats melons and keeps long tubes by his desk. So, see? Fun for everyone.

it's thursday

And that means Jonah is here. He's our Thursday morning playdate, while Andrea takes Lily to gymnastics. So we have boytime over at our house, playing trucks and legos and fisher price and - Jonah's favourite - twains.

We love Thursdays.

seven months

30 weeks

egg hunt

the participants

the hunt

the prize

(not really... the pie wasn't a prize but I made it from scratch and I'm awfully proud...)

joy

That's what we wish for you this Easter season. Alleluia. And hip hip hooray.

henry's way or the highway

Henry, oh Henry... you are a hungry fellow. For a babe who liked to nurse every 1 or 2 hours, we thought the transition to solid food would be easy... that you would be so very hungry you would gobble it all up.

We were wrong.

Mealtimes turned into crying times as we tried to squeeze a spoonful of pureed veggie of the day through your clenched lips. No matter the food, you resisted. You. Did. Not. Want. It. Thankyouverymuch.

Until... Sunday. I blended up some chicken, carrots, pasta, cheese, basil, and tomato sauce. It was chunky. It was tasty. And you loved it.

So, it seems, pureed is not for you. You would prefer your food as we would eat it. Whole. Solid. That's why today you ate a cucumber slice and a pear (not mushed up pear... no... you prefer it in slices). And, it would also seem, you would rather feed yourself.

So now that we understand each other, bon appetit.

29 weeks

27 & 28

I have worms

... right here in this bucket.

This weekend finally felt like spring. We had some good outside time in our backyard - making a row of dirt castles - and at the park - where Henry sang in the swings (even though he was totally embarrassed that we took him to the park in his pajamas... he'll get over it).

Hip hip hooray... three cheers for good weather.

to this little girl...

bonjour

We went to Montreal, this little Kantor family. David had a business meeting, so the rest of us tagged along for a weekend of being tourists in this belle city. (Belle - that's the extent of my French, really truly.)

It was... an adventure. It was fun. It was a learning experience. It was equal parts peaceful and exhausting. It was worth it.

We learned more about our sons - that Henry really can sleep more than three hours at a time if he tries, and that Joe is a trooper (though we failed to give him credit... we thought he was just being grouchy and not wanting to participate, and we wondered how our 2-year-old so quickly became a sullen teenager... until we realized that he had a terrible fever and that he was actually trying to participate but was just so, so, so tired) and an excellent big brother (he sang the national anthem to Henry - Henry's favourite song - in the car until Henry stopped crying and drifted off to sleep).

We learned more about faith - as we visited St. Joseph's Oratory and Notre Dame Basilica, we were reminded of determination and grace and protection and hope, hope, hope. And we learned we can have all that, too, if we but slow down and turn to God (I forget that... a lot).

We learned more about ourselves as parents - that, once, we travelled together as a couple and could see, eat, and do what we wanted when we wanted but, now, we travel as a family and it really is much more fun to ask your son what he wants to see and eat and do.

We learned a lot about the Tim Horton's crowd. They stare.

We learned what we'd pack the next time.

And we learned that we'd like to do this again someday.

Merci, Montreal. (Okay, I know a few French words.)

Getting there... there were a few stops like this, just to give the car seat a little rock.

And our first day went something like this... a lot of resting in the hotel. Please note how Henry rests with his eyes wide open.

And then we went swimming... Henry's first time in a pool. It was a saltwater pool, so it was tasty.

St. Joseph's Oratory...

The Kantor boys, attacking Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwiches.

Joe... trying to be enthusiastic at the Biodome.

Joe, no longer needing to be enthusiastic. We ended the day with jammies, a fruit plate, and Caillou on David's laptop.

The Kantors at Notre Dame. Joe felt much better on Sunday morning. Thanks, Pharma Prix and Tylenol.

And it ended, as all good things do, with a group hug. Then we went home.

road trip

I'll tell you all about it if I get all the other things crossed off on my "to do" list tonight.