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!