Leo's got a new look! As cute and adorable as Leo's long(ish) hair was we decided it really needed to be cut. There were two reasons for this decision 1) The 4 dreadlocks coming off the back of his head were permanent 2) his head was getting damn hot and sweaty and its only May. So over the period of about 18 hours Marc and I snipped and clipped at his beautiful blond hair. We are not done yet, there are many stray hairs still to be dealt with but the majority of the work has been done. In fact, I may even take it a little shorter yet once the real heat of Summer kicks in.

What do city kids do when the weather gets hot? They invite their friends over and stand in buckets of water!

Chloe and Zach came over for a long awaited play date. The four kids played in the backyard until they were hot and hungry, took a break for lunch and some indoor play, then headed back out armed with 4 buckets, a ladle, a few dinosaurs, some plastic dishes, and a hose full of cold water! Needless to say it was a great day!

She's a graduate! Clara had her last day at the Carrefour des Petites Soleils today. I can't believe her 4 years at the Carrefour are coming to an end. I'm proud of my girl, she's grown so much over the two years of preschool. She tells me she'll miss her teachers Emmanuelle and Mayalene but she is also excited about going to maternelle after the Summer is over. So, the big question is where is my baby and who is this big girl???

This morning Clara and Leo came out of their bedroom jabbering happily to each other. Normally one of them wakes first and a few minutes later the other stumbles out of the bedroom, so it was odd that they were both together and wide awake. I asked who woke up first and Clara said "we woke up together." It was only later in the day that the whole story came out. Apparently, during the night a scary song came on the radio (they have the classical music station playing softly in their room at night) and Clara got afraid so she decided to snuggle with Leo. She said she climbed into his bed and he moved over without opening his eyes so they could share the pillow. They must have slept awhile together and then when they woke up they played with some tutus before coming to greet Papa and I. I guess this is another reason we don't need a third bedroom right away!

Mmmmm - Leo Pizza!

Leo is so tired that he's playing hallway pin ball. He's walked into the wall three times on one trip to his bedroom! It will be an early night for him I expect.

Check out how Robin says I'm hungry in the middle row, it is exactly how Leo says it and I usually reply the same way - "Leo, you just ate, you can't be hungry again!"

I've been gone for 5 days all on my own. Clara, Leo and Marc seem none the worse for wear. When I got home Marc told me a conversation he'd had with Clara, it went something like this..

Clara: (sigh) I just want to get married..... I'm just not so sure about kissing a boy...
Marc: Oh.

Yup, that was it. Marc decided that this kind of statement cannot be commented on by a father to his 4.5 year old. I concur, it is hilarious though!

I spent my vacation reminiscing with friends and playing with their babies while still getting to sleep through the night... oh sweet, sweet sleep. It was wonderful. I did miss spending Mother's day with my kids but I spent plenty of time thinking about my sweet babies and looking forward to hugging and kissing them when I got home. Of course, when I did get home late Monday night they were both fast asleep. Clara did rouse when I snuck into her room for a mandatory kiss, the first words out of her mouth... "Did you have a good vacation Mama?" What a sweetheart. Leo didn't' realize I was home until the next morning when he heard my voice in the living room. Marc said he sat bolt upright and scooted off the bed with lightening speed. He stumbled down the hall towards me calling "Mama, your back!" I couldn't have asked for a better homecoming!

Me in Sackville with Margo, Terri, baby Lauren, Catherine, and baby Rachel

I have two stories that involve Leo and the bathroom. Neither are particularly positive so don't get your hopes up for any potty training action. But, neither are disgusting so don't be afraid to read on.

On Monday while getting ready to head to the Carrefour Leo was playing his favorite game with Marc "I'm hiding" would be the most appropriate name. He hid in the bathroom and locked the door giggling madly and repeating "I'm hiding, I'm hiding Papa." Guess what? Leo does not know how to unlock the door. So there he was in the bathroom trying to get himself out, while Marc and I were on the other side of the door trying to coach him on how to turn the little knob again. There was no panic on Leo's part but when Clara got wind of what was going on she became extremely concerned, "Is Leo going to be stuck in there forever?" "How will he get out?" "Is he going to miss Carrefour?" It turns out that Marc had tested how to break into a locked bathroom years ago, so after realizing that Leo was not going to unlock the door anytime soon we used a paper clip and popped the lock and opened the door. Leo was still smiling and Clara was relieved.

Leo's next bathroom adventure involves water, lots and lots of water. I left him "washing his hands" under the running faucet (for too long apparently) the day after the locked door incident. When I returned I found great puddles of water all across the counter, covering the tile floor, and spilling over the edge of the counter like a mini waterfall. He later showed me what a great fountain you can make by putting your hand right against the running faucet, it creates a most excellent spray! Ugh, we used up most of our towel rags that afternoon cleaning up together. I've learned a few lessons over the past few days and will be supervising Leo's bathroom time a little more closely for the next while.