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.

Wouldn't you know it - today, one day after I celebrated Clara making it to her 5th birthday without any major injuries she goes and gets her first goose egg! Yes, she's got quite a bump on her forehead thanks to a miscalculated dance move that had her crashing face first into the side of the coffee table - ouch! But, as a result of her unfortunate incident, I am now 100% sold on homeopathic arnica gel. I've always put it on the kids bumps because I've heard it helps heal and sooth the area but I never had a clear idea if it really did anything other than calm the recipient. After Clara had smashed into the table I saw the spot on her head starting to turn blue and purple, after I put the gel on it seemed to dissipate. By bedtime all that was left was a bump - no bruising what-so-ever. Yay arnica!

Today was the big day - Marc and I managed to get our firstborn to her 5th birthday! I think our stats are pretty good:
Emergency room hospital visits: 1
Broken bones: 0
Stitches: 0
Loss of child in a public space: 1 (on Mom's watch of course)
_________

Clara's 5th birthday was all about her of course. She woke up to find a BIG box at her place on the dining room table. She ripped it open with shining eyes and positively grinned from ear to ear to see all the pink and plastic inside! Our gift to her was a mini Barbie princess and a castle! With the princess came a lovely little tiara for the birthday girl which she then wore all day long.


At 10am I dropped Clara off at Emmanuelle's for her weekly French session. They decided to bake a birthday cake and came home with a warm strawberry and chocolate cake at noon. In the afternoon we played a game of pin the party hat on Chirp and decided to go swimming at the indoor pool since it was rainy out. Swimming was excellent - Clara did not want to wear her water wings so I had to pay special attention to her antics; she's super confident and forgets that she can't swim for as long as she wants to just yet. Leo was also very confident, he skipped the usual first 15 minutes of holding on like a chimpanzee, I had to hold onto him for a change!

Dinner was the birthday girl's request - chicken on the bone, I tried a new recipe which I thought was delicious but only got a so-so review from Clara B. She prefers the grocery store marinated (super salty) chicken drumsticks, I've promised to try again (with more salt) sometime soon :)

All in all Clara's 5th birthday was a beautiful day filled with smiles, giggles, and many, many precious moments. Our girl is growing up and with each year I feel like I've been blessed to get to know her a little bit better. As always, I am looking forward to all this next year will bring!