Waiting for our guests to arrive Saturday night

Merry Christmas Eve friends and family! The shopping is done, the gifts are wrapped, the cookies are baked, the groceries are done, the advent calender is full of pompoms, the Christmas bread bought, and the kids are EXCITED.

Our annual holiday party on Saturday was another success. Spending time with friends; warmed by cider, egg nog, rum, and of course the holiday spirit made for one beautiful night. Clara and Chloe were able to catch up a bit after seeing each other so rarely during the past few months.

The girls catching up

Leo and Max were inseparable especially singing backup during the RockBand exposition at the end of the evening. Marc and I were free to chat and catch up with friends, our kids are really growing up!

Rock Stars in the making

Auntie Dorothy extended her visit by an extra day and as a result we put her to work. She helped me accomplish some last minute baking and helped get the apartment in shape for our 50 odd guests. I realized how handy an extra adult is around here on Saturday afternoon.

Tonight we are off to celebrate Christmas Eve and Jim and Jayne's new kitchen with a meal of Tourtiere and Gratin Dauphinois (scalloped potatoes). Sounds yum huh? Then, Clara and Leo will go so bed in their new green striped pajamas and tomorrow morning we'll open our stockings, eat Portuguese fruit bread, snack on clementines and mango, and open the gifts under the tree at a leisurely pace. We'll likely stay home in our pajamas unless the mood strikes us to out for a walk or to do some sledding.

While playing around at JibJab.com the other day, I let Leo watch a video about farting elves. I should have known better. Being that his favorite words usually refer to bodily functions of the digestive system, Leo really liked the cartoon. He watched it several times and has referred to the farting elves kind of obsessively since.

Yesterday we ran into Catherine from the Carrefour. She was dressed as a lutin (yes, an elf), I turned to Leo and said "look Catherine is an elf today!" He looked at me with a complete serious expression and said "no, elves have green butts." His definition of elf is obviously set in stone because this morning Marc asked Clara a rhetorical question: "did an elf put toys in your slippers?" Leo piped up "No, I don't have a green butt!"

Check this out - the kids can't watch it enough! We're deep in the holiday spirit right now, the countdown is on :)

Guess who went to school on the first snow day of the year? Yup, Clara and I trudged through the snow to find an empty school building yesterday morning. It turned out to be a great day and I'm sure if we'd known school was closed we'd have been sluggish all morning and wouldn't have done half the things we did.

I wasn't sure if the Carrefour would be open since most garderies and all the schools in Montreal were closed because of the all-day snowstorm but we decided to take the sled and make our way up there anyway. I'm glad we did. There were several other old siblings in Leo's class and the energy was really great with so many kids excited about the snow. We decorated gingerbread men and promptly ate them, sang, danced, and ran around like fools in the gym. Instead of going straight home we went across the street to the new restaurant for lunch with two other families. We took over the old bank vault and continued the party over sandwiches and soup. Clara rekindled an old friendship with Mathilde from her preschool class last year. The difference was, this year Clara talked! The two big girls giggled maniacally while Leo wrote his name over and over on the blackboard wall (this restaurant really is an excellent place to eat with kids).

Gingerbread cookies right before they were devoured.

I love how Leo writes his name, I didn't even teach him, he just picked up a pencil a few weeks ago and wrote the letters ELO. Now he generally puts them in the right order but his Es usually have at least 4 horizontal lines... I love it and will get a picture of it some time. Of course that would require that my camera to stay turned ON when I want to use it... I'm having issues with it right now.

Back to our snow day. After lunch we headed back home in the sled - it is much easier pulling two kids downhill on Saint Denis than up hill. When we got home we shoveled the front steps and played in the snowbanks until we were too wet to stay outside. All hell pretty much broke loose while trying to get everyone out of their wet snowsuits, boots, hats, and mitts. Five and three year olds don't have much patience when the are DONE being cold and wet. I diffused the situation with the offer of a Christmas movie, the first one of the season. The Santa Clause kept them away from each others throats long enough for me to figure out dinner so when it was done Clara did some colouring (what is new) and Leo instructed me on how to colour a page for him :)
The day was pretty much done then. We (I) ate dinner and then it was into pajamas and stories on the couch. Leo fell asleep on my shoulder listening to Holly Clause. I don't remember the last time he did something like that! Clara fell asleep pretty quickly as well once she was all tucked in and her back had been well tickled.

So, now that Clara, Leo and I have experienced a "snow day" I think we'll be looking forward to the next one. And if Environment Canada has any clue what they are talking about, we'll be in for a few more days like yesterday this year.

This was taken today. Still snowing but school was opened.

Clara made a most excellent observation tonight, "hey, people who use sign language can talk with their mouths full!"

Leo's top explanations for getting out of bed after lights out:
1) "my blankets are all messed up"
2) "you need to 'nip' (snip) my toe(nail)"
3) "I had a bad dream..."
4) "I hear a weird noise, a really weird noise"

Lately, if he is not completely and utterly exhausted at bed time, Leo wanders out of his room at least one time per night, and employs one of the above excuses. If he were not so darned cute and convincing I'd likely become annoyed with this game but the facial expression and gestures Leo uses to emphasize the point are just too far over the top to respond with anything other than a hidden smirk and mock concern. After 8pm this guy turns into an actor I tell ya!

Halloween started in our house at 7:20am. That is when Clara woke up with shining eyes saying "its Mecredi, its Halloween!" She quickly wolfed down her breakfast and brushed her teeth so that she could get to the step she's been waiting for since Saturday morning when she first saw her Cinderella gown all stitched together. Making the gown is a whole other story - it involved two visits from Auntie Dorothy and many hours of our working together. I did learn a lot about dress making but I'm still not sure I'm up for tackling another project of this scope for awhile.

Cinderella/Cendrillion

Anyway... back to Clara's thrilled expression as she put the dress on. She swished, and twirled, and posed like a princess right up to the moment Papa pulled her out the front door to get her to the all-day Halloween party at school. It sounds like the party was a huge success, all I know for sure is that a lot of candy was consumed and that Clara did Halloween themed activities in each classroom over the course of the day.

Doin' a twirl

Once the princess was gone, Leo and I got ready for his last Petite Parleurs Class which was also to be in costume. Unfortunately, we discovered the day before that Leo absolutely could NOT abide by the feeling of a polyester blouse against his delicate skin. You see, he was Captain Hook in a gorgeous white puffy sleeved shirt under burgundy velour vest and pants but that only lasted about 30 seconds at the Carrefour Halloween Party. So, on the day of Halloween, in hopes of Leo actually wearing his costume we selected a very comfortable gold coloured, soft, long sleeved shirt. Thankfully this was an acceptable substitution and although he only wore his pirate hat when requested he did stay in costume all morning and then again all afternoon at the Halte Garderie. By being at Les Ateliers d'Education Populaire all day Leo managed to go trick-or-treating around the building twice; once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Not bad for a half dressed pirate.

Back home after a fun night on the Plateau

After a quick dinner of chicken's fingers dipped in blood we met Lea, Naomi, Yan, and Eva for some trick or treating. The weather was perfect, the kids were able to layer under their costumes and a lovely time ringing bells and watching their bags get fuller and fuller! There were a few scary costumes answering doors. Lea bolted at the sight of one guy but Clara's strategy was to stand her ground and stare him down while stealing glances at us adults to ensure this was indeed just a costume and not something she should be running away from. Leo's party trick during the evening was dropping his pants... really they were at his ankles at least 3 times during the evening. It was not his fault though. The velour pirate pants were a little too loose in the waist so when Leo got a good trot going or was climbing stairs they'd work their way down and eventually end up at his feet. He took it in stride announced, "Not again!!" every time!!

We can't seem to kick this virus out of our house! Last week Marc was stopped in his tracks by a stomach bug and even though he's back at work and all the rest he's still not feeling quite right. Then, last night at around 12:30am Clara made it clear that she's been affected by the same tummy bug. Poor girl was stuck on the top bunk in a miserable state when we came rushing in. She's home today lying on the couch after several unpleasant awakenings during the night. Leo may or may not have already had a speedy version of the same bug, which just leaves me... I'm crossing my fingers and washing my hands in hopes of skipping the whole unfortunate experience.

Apple picking 2007
With no Carrefour apple picking trip this year, we were left to our own devices to organize a trip to an apple orchard. Luckily, with family living in Mont-Saint-Hilaire this is not a difficult thing to accomplish. Grand Papa Marcel did the research for us and yesterday a small caravan of two cars (ours and the Duponts) arrived in Saint-Hilaire to pick him up. We drove through some rain as we went up the mountain to Petit et Fils' verger but it ended as we pulled into the parking lot. The kids were very happy to discover that there were animals and a playground as well as a tractor ride and a tall grass labyrinth at this particular orchard. The apples were beautiful - red and sweet and easy to pick for the shorter crowd. We picked and ate and enjoyed the fresh air.

Clara managed to bring back several objets de la nature for her One Hundred Days project at school. She decided what her collection would be all by herself and has been having a good time building her nature stash.

After getting our fill of apples we made a quick stop over at a friend of Karen's who happen to live right in the MIDDLE of the construction on Fortier in Saint-Hilaire. Even though Marc and I know our way around the area quite well, we still had a bit of confusion dealing with the round about way to get to their house. Anyway, it was a was a quick visit and then we were off heading home heavy with apples in our trunks. Just as we got off the Jacques Cartier bridge Leo made an awful noise in his sleep and proceeded to upchuck all of the apples he'd eaten - YUCK!!! I will just take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the greater being that decided my children would not be prone to motion sickness. If I had to deal with car puke on a regular basis I'd seriously never leave the city again! It was just gross and poor Leo was so confused and upset, we pulled over, realized not much could be done and zipped home to clean up the poor boy and the horrific car seat. After a bath and clean clothes Leo seemed to feel fine. He's clearly weak but not terribly sickly. I really don't know exactly what is up, I just know that I'm not giving him raw apple again for a few days. He has, however, eaten apple in pancakes this morning with no trouble so that is a good thing, especially considering I have many, many pounds of apples to bake and cook with this week :)

Our champion!

Our day in point form:

• Marc was sick and either in bed or on the couch all day.
• Leo tossed his cookies this morning, took a good nap and was fine for the rest of the day.
• Clara ran a Cross Country race at school (300m) and didn't stop once.
• I had a blood draw, spent some time with Catherine and Vanessa and volunteered in Clara's classroom.

Whew, I'm glad we all made it. And, Marc is feeling better this evening so yay for him :)

A selection of Clara's recent artwork. Clockwise we see Grand-papa and Uncle Alex, then a family portrait in front of our building, then a princess locked out of a castle (because the key is on the other side), and a dragon with one tooth (the hygienist visited school that day).

Ever since school started, Marc and I have been struck by how different Clara's art has become. Her style has completely changed, she has adopted all sorts of new tricks and instituted many new details into her creations, she has also become prolific. For example, after lunch Clara has a period of relaxation. This is a 20 minute quiet time. The kids in class are given a choice of what relaxing activity they'd prefer and they are asked to maintain silence during this time period. I believe the options are, play dough, self massage (drive a car or truck along your arms, legs, and torso), or drawing. Let me just say that with the exception of one day Clara has produced colourful butterflies and a few hearts for a week and a half! She is obsessed LOL. She has also instituted a rule of thumb that cracks me up - all girls have eye lashes and boys have eye brows, it is a distinguishing characteristic regardless of the animal.

An unfinished butterfly masterpiece

Grand-papa gave Clara an artist sketch book this past weekend and she has spend several long sessions with her head bent over the pages picking up and dropping various colours of crayons and pencils. She has continued what she started at Grand-papa's house - still life drawings. Her sketchpad is blossoming with drawings of toys, pieces of furniture, my sewing machine, a sculpture, etc. It is so much fun to watch this creative side develop. Perhaps I'm especially excited because of my own lack of artistic talent - I laugh when Clara asks me to draw with her, I foresee her passing me in ability int he near future, but for know we are having a good time sharing a page of paper and doodling.

Pictures and an update from last week...

Clara was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday, and despite having to miss her first day of school (yes, she even cried when she realized she'd miss a bricolage they were going to do) we managed to have quite a bit of fun. Leo and I decided to share with Clara the secret of Goop - cornstarch and water mixed into a fascinating liquid/solid state. They played with their bowls of goop silently side by side for quite some time, both loving the feeling of the slimy mixture all over their hands and fingers.

Saturday was a family day at home. We played guitar hero, YUM junior and made sushi. It was a really nice day of just hanging out and having fun. We all had a hand in the sushi making and agreed we have to do it more often, not only was it an enjoyable activity but it was absolutely delicious as well! I've just noticed that none of these pictures give away Leo's secret- he spent all weekend in just a shirt and underwear! You see, he's still working on the potty thing and it seems that the less clothes there are between him and the toilet the more chance he has of making it there on time! LOL

We laughed a lot and Clara got the giggles more than once... in this video she's trying to keep the laughter going and is kind of forcing it at times but as you can see some of it is real, hard core, belly laughter. Marc knows exactly what to do to make her laugh - he's almost mastered the art of physical comedy!

Some of our spectacular sushi - we ate them as we made them so we never did get a picture of a full tray. In fact this picture was taken after Clara and Leo were full and had wandered away from the table, otherwise all other photos include at least one hand reaching into the photo frame!

Can you believe it? The very day after Leo turns three, he FINALLY pees in the toilet! He actually showed some interest in the smarties and made a serious attempt to get to the bathroom every time he needed to go! I'm floored, I'm also no fool, I know tomorrow could be completely different. Right now I'm just celebrating his first big boy attempts.

Setting up 3 candles

Leo is 3 tomorrow. We celebrated his birthday with a party on Saturday morning. He has been looking forward to this birthday party for several weeks. I had originally planned on throwing a Pirate birthday party for my little fan of Captain Hook but when I asked Leo what he'd like for his party his response was always the same... "I want blue berries". So, what is a mama to do? I threw a Berry Birthday Party for me little berry lover :) Marc and I made a blueberry shaped, blueberry birthday cake and Clara decorated with random little bits of paper stuck on the walls that represented berries LOL. Leo ate... and ate, and ate (qu'elle surprise). He also played with his friends with the exception of Citrine, the neighbors dog whom Leo would have liked to invite as well. Max, Cohen, Zaco, Lea, Naomie, Chloe and Clara all made Leo's morning wonderful; they played, danced, jumped, sang, climbed up and down the bunk bed, and generally acted like it was a massive playdate (which it was). I also got to catch up with the moms and dads of Leo's friends which was equally enjoyable. Talking with Jenne who is currently waiting for her baby (or maybe she's not anymore??) I remembered so clearly the days before Leo was born. The anticipation is so high when you are waiting for your child - I'll never forget it. What a gift my boy has been, how can he be three already?? But like I said, he's not three yet, there are about 12 hours to go before I have to admit it for real :)

Tickle fight!

Today is Thursday, that means I get to spend two uninterrupted hours with this beautiful girl all on our own. Our weekly Thursday date happened by accident. I signed Leo up for one morning and one afternoon per week at the halte garderie this Fall so I'd have some availability for appointments and to help out at Clara's school. The plan is working beautifully and it has the added bonus of Clara being at the receiving end of my undivided attention after school on Thursdays. Today I had a plan for our time alone, a few weeks ago I'd heard about a series of books called BOB Books that are for early readers. I decided to get a set and was excited when I found them at Indigo a few weeks ago.

I know Clara very well, and I know that one must choose ones opportunity very carefully when if comes to introducing a new concept like learning to read. We've been playing around with the alphabet for a long time already. I'd say at this point Clara recognizes all the uppercase letters of the alphabet, recognizes about 80% of the lower case letters, can write everything she recognizes and with reminders can write all the letters in both UC and LC, and knows the sounds of about 90% of the letters. Armed with this arsenal of pre-reading skills I introduced Book 1 titled Mat. And guess what??? She did it!!! Clara read the entire book. She sounded out the words and was ecstatic, thrilled, proud and more when she got to the end and I proclaimed (through teary eyes) "you just read a book!" She read the book two more times before dinner and had there been more quiet time she would have started on Book 2 for sure.

I can't even explain how proud I am of Clara B, we've been taking steps towards reading for so long and it is just so absolutely amazing to see her put together the information she has and be able to use it with such success. There is no doubt that she is motivated to continue. In fact, this evening she was desperate to read to Leo, unfortunately he was not interested in staying still but thankfully Papa came home and happily sat while Clara read to him instead.

Tiger Leo also made some huge strides this week, he's been spending more and more time in French environments (halte garderie, Carrefour des Petites Soleils, community lunches, etc) and on Tuesday afternoon, after spending time in Emmanuelle's class at the Carrefour Clara asked him if he spoke any french. His response: "Ummm... yeah... I say manger". How appropriate, the first word Leo says all on his own with no prompting in French is: eat!

When Clara and I picked Leo up at the halte garderie this afternoon the first thing he told us was this : "I didn't fy today, I didn't fy" which translates to "I didn't cry today, I didn't cry." In past weeks, Leo has felt it was his duty to cry before taking a nap, he seemed to think it was a point of pride to cry for about 30 seconds before accepting that it was quiet time. I guess today he finally gave in and didn't bother. His caregivers were full of wonderful things to say about my Leo boy - I get the feeling he's pretty much won their hearts, especially with all his big boy tendencies, apparently he loves to help with the babies and is quite a chatterbox.

"Next time I'm going to be a bird."
-Leo, 2007

I have not a clue what he was talking about but just so you all know, next time he'll be flying somewhere I guess!

Leo had his first dentist appointment yesterday. He completely exceeded my expectations, he was a perfect patient. He climbed up on the exam chair as soon as he saw it and smiled sweetly at the hygienist who offered him a toy from a bowl full of plastic rings and things. He didn't speak a word while we waited for the dentist, he just looked shy and gave bashful smiles, but as soon as she arrived and asked him how he was doing Leo just opened his mouth nice and wide and waited. Talk about aiming to please...

Leo did get very chatty after his exam was done and continued to talk with both the dentist and hygienist while I had my teeth cleaned. It seems like he didn't even need a bag full or toys or snacks to keep him occupied (which I'd completely forgotten about preparing before we'd left the house), he just needed a few books, some people to talk to and a set of plastic teeth and an oversized toothbrush :)

So, all in all it was a perfectly normal and smooth dental exam from the kid who won't let anyone near him to wash his face!?!?! I don't know how to explain it but I'll just say I'm grateful and leave it at that.

"Can your SEE it?"

Big changes for Clara B. She lost her first tooth on Wednesday and then got a major haircut yesterday. The tooth came out at dinnertime, Papa T was even here to see her slightly panicked reaction. Once Clara had spit out the "hard thing" in her mouth and realised her tooth was no longer hanging on by a thread to her gum she was mighty proud of her little, tiny, pearly white treasure. At bedtime Clara put her tooth under her pillow and when she woke up in the morning she lifted the pillow with such enthusiasm that the envelope hiding under it went flying off her bed making clink, clink noises as it went down. We found it quickly and soon enough Clara was dancing around planning what she'd do with her change!

Fashion pose for Mom.

More going to school pictures. Can you tell the novelty has not worn off yet? I love watching Marc and Clara head off in the morning, they are chatty and smiley and it is lovely time of day - well... the time is not so great, but I hear it will be even earlier next year so for now 8:10am will do.

"Can you find the other strap Papa?"

"Bye Mama, have a good day too"

They're off!

The day before school started for Clara and Chloe. I still can't get over how they've grown up. Hmm... off to hunt for a picture of them together back in the beginning.... here we go :)

Taken almost exactly 5 years before, August 20, 2002!

Off to school

My kids are getting "bigger an bigger an bigger" as Leo would say.

Here it is, Leo's post!

Leo sings... I Wanna be Sedated, Shout at the Devil, No Woman No Cry, and innumerable original compositions that tend to end up sounding like one of the three songs mentioned above!

Leo plays... "Cages", and "Trapped" all day long, except when he says it it sounds more like "tages" and "fapped." He'll build an animal cage out of any available material, favorites being shoes, skipping ropes, and board game boxes. Our living room is constantly littered with Leo's constructions, just this morning Clara had the camera and captured this beauty, and remember, this is a simple, understated cage, just wait until I post a more complex construction :)

Leo wears... Pink shoes. During our recent shopping trips to Payless for Clara's school shoes Leo has taken a fancy to trying on girls shoes (in all fairness, the boys shoes are too high to reach). He always seems to pick the pinkest, girlie-est pair to dress up in. The other day he put on my pink shoes and headed to his room. He called Marc and I in to see his "decoration" soon after... we call it Mr Croc-head.

Leo is the cutest, ear-lovin', breakdancing, cage making, animal loving 2 & 3/4 year-old I know. Don't you all agree?




**I'm editing this post to add a few other important Leo facts.

Leo is tough... He had a nose bleed last week after a collision with his big sister's knee (really, it was an accident). Now most of my blog readers know of Leo's intense hatred for all things having to do with cleanliness. Can you imagine his reaction to me trying to squeeze his nose, hold his head forward, and wipe off the blood pouring down his face? Yes, he pretty much shrieked, shook his head wildly, and smeared blood all over both of us. Now, just so you can all have an accurate picture of the scene (no I did not run and grab the camera - though the thought did cross my mind), imagine one of those CSI crime scenes. With the wild head shaking and the shrieking, Leo managed to spray blood everywhere! It was horrific. It probably only took me about a minute to subdue him and squeeze his nose long enough for the blood to stop but in that minute he created a visual that will live in my memory forever. By the time Marc got home from work you would never have known of our ordeal - I still don't know if he knows how bad it was!

On to tough Leo story two. Would you believe it, the very next day, as a result of another accidental run in with his sister Leo managed to get his eyelashes stuck in his eye! The irritation created an almost immediate swollen eye and the eye jab gave him a nice little bruise. Thankfully, as soon as we were able to get his eye lashes back where they belonged, the swelling went down and Leo was left with a very subtle black eye.

Add the countless banging his head on the kitchen counter incidents and everyone has to agree that Leo is one tough cookie :)

Clara just said "freakin' cool." Man, I love this girl's vocabulary!

Leo deserves a whole post of him own, I've got to spend some time one of these days to write down all the awesome things he says on any given day.

The countdown has begun - 7 days until school starts.

Today Ann Marie accompanied us on a clothes shopping spree. Clara was lots of fun at H & M she made several clothing decisions on her own and there were no tears over the things we left behind - probably because the bag we brought out of the store was so big! Anyway, she's better dressed than me thats for sure!

More pictures from camping last weekend thanks to Tim.

At dusk, when the mosquitoes come out to play.

Basking in the glow

Clara B asking me what must have been a very important question. It is one of my new favorite pictures of her.

"bekfast" for Leo :)

Three kiddies in a hammock. They played in there for ages on Sunday morning.

The kiddie table, uh cooler

Wow, we just spent a fabulous weekend camping with old friends and lots of new ones too. We were invited by Christine to join in on an annual camping weekend in La Minerve. On Friday morning we filled our little car to the brim with all the camping gear we own plus water, food, and toys and headed out on a weekend of fun in the sun. We met up with Catherine, Eric and Vanessa along the way and they guided us past Mont Tremblant, through the town of La Minerve to a beautiful piece of land on the side of a lake shared by only one other landowner. Ahhhhhh....

Marc set up our tent (oh how we love the E-Z-up tent) while I got the kids settled in their new space. The weekend flew by after that. We swam, we ate, we talked (oh how Leo talked), we cooked, we gazed into the campfire, we played in the sand, we stargazed, we laughed, we snuggled in sleeping bags, we canoed, we peed in the forest... (what, too much information?? LOL). Before we knew it Sunday afternoon was upon us and we had to say goodbye to not only a little corner of Mother Nature's best but also many friends. Clara and Elise had spent hours chattering and giggling and had been wonderful playmates as far as I could tell. Leo befriended the dogs; Nella, Tigger, and Chica. We often caught him hugging and petting whichever was closest - that kid really is an animal lover.

As much work as it is to prepare (and clean up after) a camping weekend it is absolutely worth it to be able to relax, breathe fresh air, and see our kids absolutely thrilled with the wide open space and so much to explore. I hope to find my way back up to La Minerve next year if Jouni and Katia will have us!

Leo exhausted after a day of fun

For her majesty, Auntie Ann Marie (the hard ass) here are some pictures of the littles. I seriously have barely pulled the camera out of my backpack this Summer. I can't keep up with my kids as it is never mind digging through the depths of the backpack to find the camera for a photo op!

Showin' some skin skating in July

At the mini farm in Granby Zoo

There is too much to say so I'll say hardly anything at all. Short version is - Summer had been great; we're keeping very busy with Day Camp activities, French practice for Clara, drop in daycare for Leo, and lots of socializing. The kids are are tanned, healthy and happy. I'm even a bit less pale than usual! LOL

PS. Zoo pics from last week are on Karen's Blog

I just calculated how much Clara walked today; she walked 6.17km! I'm impressed not only by the distance but also by the speed she kept and her lack of whining. How does a 5 year-old trek 6K on a normal day? She goes to Parc Lafontaine, then to Les Ateliers D'education Populaire, then to Lunnetrie New Look (where she has her first eye exam), then home for a rest, then back to Les Ateliers D'education Populaire, and finally home for the day - Whew!

Leo spent the afternoon at the halte garderie for the first time today. As expected he had a wonderful time, unexpected though was that he consented to having a nap and even snored! While telling Papa this evening about his afternoon, Leo commented that the animatrices' had no ears. Marc and I giggled immediately - both daycare providers are Muslim and wear a hijab but as far as Leo was concerned they just didn't have ears!

Thankful...

Showing off her newest dresses!

This is one lucky girl. Her Auntie Dorothy and our friend Mary know just how to put a smile of this girlie girl's face. You are both very thoughtful and generous, Clara and I both appreciate the toys and clothes that have found their way into our home via Ajax and Bowmanville! xox

The mountain of toys Clara sleeps with every night in her top bunk!

The Arc-en-Ciel 5th Birthday Party

The rainbow cake

Blowing out 5 candles!

How it all ended

Clara's guests were: Leo, Chloe, Zaco, Ruby, Paloma, and Leah. A perfect little group of friends for a fun afternoon of face painting, game playing, cake eating, bubble popping, and general silliness.