A Day with the Boys

Today was another fabulous spring day. The boys and I had no firm plans but I knew that being outside would be a must! Let's look at our day in pictures...

Logan somehow managed to shove his feet in his rain boots from last year and sat on the kitchen floor looking at his new photo album.

Jacob went down for a nap shortly after breakfast and so Logan and I headed outside to hang up the laundry.

Logan went on a bug hunt, turning over rocks and combing the grass for tiny, little creatures.

He relaxed on the porch for a while to make some important calls.

Once Jacob woke up from his nap, I loaded the boys into the stroller and we headed to the park.

Logan still loves the baby swing. He can swing on the big swing, but the baby swing is his fav.

Jacob is still a bit weary of the swing, but he's starting to like it more.

Jacob tried out the slide for the first time.

I think this is SUCH a cute picture of Logan.

The posed together on the slide. Logan wanted to slide down together but I pulled the plug on that one. I don't think we're quite ready for that yet.

We went to visit the ducks and geese. We got to see two male ducks fight for a while and chase each other around until one of them flew away. At one point they flew right over our heads!

We quickly headed home for lunch so that Logan could watch Caillou. We established quite a routine where Logan will watch Calliou on TV while I get lunch ready. When his show is over, he comes upstairs and we have lunch. He's a pretty routine focused kid so I wanted to make sure we made it home in time.

Jacob enjoyed banana for lunch today. (I leave the peel on so that it's easier for him to hold it).

And Logan had applesauce.

We ran some errands this afternoon (I forgot the camera) and then came home to get supper ready.

Jacob cleaning himself up after the meal.

We coloured eggs...a post with more pics of this will follow soon.

We had some naked time and then it was off to bed!

Sure Signs of Spring

Today it was nice enough to use my new clothesline for the first time, so I did.

To hang out all the winter clothes we shouldn't need to wear anymore!

Thanks Aunt Pamela!

Today the boys got a package in the mail from their Aunt Pamela. I decided to leave it for Logan to open up after his nap since the time from the end of his nap until daddy gets home can be long some days.

You might not believe it (I wouldn't if I hadn't of been here) but Logan napped for 3.5 hours today! Yes, really, it's true. I think that this is the longest nap he has EVER taken. I can probably even count the number of 3 hour naps on one hand. So by the time he woke up, I was itching for him to open it up.

He was pretty excited when I handed it to him as he loves mail. So he tore into it, found the card which he quickly opened to find stickers inside. Then on to the rest, something for Logan and something for Jacob.

Logan got an Elmo photo album filled with pictures of him, him and Pamela and some other family members. He loves it! One of his favourite things to do these days is look at photo albums, specifically of pictures of himself. Another favourite is Elmo.

You hit the jackpot Aunt Pamela! Here are some pictures of him enjoying his new gift. I tried to get one of his face, but he wouldn't look up!

Studying the pictures carefully.

Turing the pages to see what's next.

Leaning in for a closer look.

He was saying, "I see Logan. I see Aunt Pamela. I see Jacob." (When he sees pictures of himself from when he was younger, he often thinks they are pictures of Jacob).

When he sees pictures of the whole family, like the one above, he says, "There's everybody."

Jacob sat patiently on my lap while Logan opened the parcel, looked at his photo album and then moved on to take a look at the new teething toy that Jacob got. Once Logan went back to his pictures, I took Jacob aside to let him check out the toy for himself. It's a hit!

Feels good on the gums.

I feel like he's asking to see himself on the display on the camera to see if the picture is any good, haha.

Thanks!

We really appreciate it Pamela, thanks for thinking of us. Have fun on your trip! We'll see you very soon!

Emergency Bathroom Reno!

Last Sunday night during Jacob's bath, I thought to myself that it was certainly time to give the shower walls a good scrub - it had been much too long since I last did that. It's not my favourite job by any means so it regularly is neglected.

After Jacob's bath, it was Logan's turn. I took Jacob into his room, put on his pjs and sat down to nurse him before bed. During this time, Scott sat in the bathroom with Logan while he bathed. As I was sitting in the rocker, feeding Jacob, I heard something splash into the tub and some choice words come out of Scott's mouth.

When I finished feeding Jacob, I laid him down and went into the bathroom to see what the commotion was about. The following is what I found...

Yes, a section of three tiles, pulled off the wall by a suction cup!

The bath toys are stored in a bag which can be hung on the wall with suction cups. Logan likes to put the bag on the wall and then pull it off. Last Sunday, he pulled too hard I guess, it all came down! At that point, at least I knew I no longer had to clean.

The wall in behind the tiles was really wet and we soon realized that many of the other tiles were also loose. Concluding that everything would need to be taken down and redone. Not an easy feat with 2 small people in the house but needing to be done quickly since we only have 1 shower in the house. (Although we've always planned to put a shower in the basement...at this point, we really wished we had!)

We headed out to Home Depot on Monday night and bought what we needed for a quick (but proper) reno of the tub surround. I made arrangements for the boys and I to stay at my parent's house for the weekend so that Scott could get the work done without his little helper.

We did continue to use the shower since we figured we couldn't make it much worse than it already was.

The hole covered up to protect what was behind it. Notice how much condensation had developed behind the plastic from the wetness of the wall.

A "before" shot of taps and shower head. One thing I always hated was the fact that the old tiles didn't go all the way to the ceiling.

My mom came and picked up the boys and I on Thursday afternoon where we would stay until further notice from Scott. When Scott arrived home from work on Thursday, he started the demolition.

All the tiles removed, revealing the wet drywall which was even moldy at the bottom, ew.

All the drywall removed, now just the block wall. The block wall was also a bit damp by dry by morning.

The plumbing also needed to be replaced since it was old as well.

The plan for Friday was to get the new cement board up (there was no cement board before which was part of the problem, says Scott) and as much tiling done as possible.

New cement board.

More cement board.

The start of tiling. The trick is to lay the tiles from the centre out.

We chose big tiles to make it go faster and a blue accent piece to spice it up a bit.

All the tiling was finished on Friday night.

When I talked to Scott on Friday night, I was pleased to learn that all the had left to do on Saturday was the grouting so we'd be able to come back home Saturday afternoon. So when he got up in the morning he did the grouting and put the (new) taps and shower head on.

The finished product at the top.

A close up of the blue accent.

The new taps.

The two walls meeting - it's so shiny!

A view of the finished product!

We're still not able to use it as the grout needs to be sealed on Tuesday but it looks great. Scott worked hard to get it done quickly.

The bathroom wasn't on the top of our list of things that needed to be done but looking at it now, we could certainly use a new medicine cabinet, new vanity...home renovations NEVER end!

And He Sits!

Well, it's official, Jacob can sit unassisted. Sitting, (in my opinion) is one of the best milestones. It makes babies much more independent but still keeps them contained to where you put them (for now).

Jacob loves being able to sit up and play with his toys and prefers this now to many other activities.

What a big boy!

Sandbox Time

Another spring re-discovery is the sandbox. Scott built the sandbox last spring and it was a hit all last summer. I see history repeating itself as Logan uses the sandbox daily again. He'll even play in the sandbox by himself when I'm in the kitchen, yahoo!

Filling up his pail...

...and dumping it out!

Finding something buried under all the sand.

What a great (and dirty) place to play!

Always take extra clothes...

...when going on a walk with Logan!

Last week when we were out for a walk on some trails across from our house, I wished that I had something extra to put on him!

He was walking behind me as I pushed Jacob in the stroller. He was looking around and examining everything that he saw and just doddled on behind. Next thing I knew he was yelling from behind as he was sinking into a little swamp!

I only managed to snap one picture before I realized the urgency with which I should get him out! He thought it was funny until he was out of the water and freezing cold.

He was so wet that he ended up riding home like this.

His pants dripping and drying.

And his socks.

What a kid!

Outdoor Friday

Scott was off work on Friday so we had him around for an extra day which was awesome. The weather was still great so we were able to do a lot outside!

We (well really I) decided that we (or really I) needed a new clothesline. A nice long one to dry my clothes more quickly and get more sun on our diapers. So, on Friday, Scott put up the new one. Of course, the weather was no good on Saturday so I haven't gotten to use it yet, hopefully soon!

It runs from the house...

...to a tree across the yard.

Jacob's been spending more and more time outside. The grass is still a bit too wet for him to sit on so I've been keeping him to the porch for now to help him enjoy the weather too.

Sporting his hat that's too small. Man, my kids have big heads!

He's cut out of this pic a bit but look how blue the sky is.

Later in the day on Friday, we headed to Waterloo Park so that Logan could burn some energy and see the animals.

Saying hi to the swan.

Chasing the ducks.


He probably would have chased the ducks forever...he was running after them saying "Quack! Quack!"

It seems like he has a new obsession putting his hands in his pockets...

I wonder where he gets it from...