Picking Food Up Off The Floor

When Balloons Attack1

The balloons attacked again last night, but Noah successfully fended them off. I think we need to remember to put them away before we go to bed, so we all don’t have heart attacks.

Posted: Edmonton, Family, Miscellaneous

On-line Learning3

The computer has been an invaluable tool for us of late. It’s amazing to think about the electronic culture our boys are growing up in, when I never used a computer until I went to university. We’ve been using the computer mostly for two things (in addition to playing music and watching videos). The first is to look up musical instruments and listen to their sounds, and watch animals via live or recorded feeds from National Geographic. And more recently we’ve been doing iChat with the grandparents and aunts and uncles. Using my new MAC with the built in camera makes it so much easier!

When the boys started being able to point out the sounds of instruments in music I thought they might want to see what the instruments looked like and what they sounded like. So off we went to Google images to find trumpets, drums, clarinets, flutes, oboes and violins. Then I found a few sites that also gave sounds for the instruments (although most were midi so they weren’t great), but I also found lots of ideas for specific pieces of music that highlight specific instruments that we could download and they could listen to. So from time to time when they’re listening to music the boys will ask to look at instruments on the computer.

About two weeks ago we started watching feeds from National Geographic from a watering hole in Botswana, Africa. There’s not always much to see and usually it’s antelope. But sometimes there are monkeys, warthogs, and elephants that we have seen. The other day the boys and I were watching an elephant drink and then wash himself. The boys were mesmerized. They still don’t quite understand what’s going on though. Soon Bran ran off down the stairs and came back with a sock, he wanted to help the elephant wash off by rubbing his sock over the elephant on the computer screen. He said “helping to clean”. I think he thought he was drying him off! They’ve also gotten to watch grizzly bears in Alaska and Elephant Seals in California. It’s so amazing! Although what they really want to see more than anything is a lion or tiger come to that watering hole. I think they have a tiny chance with the lion, but there are no tigers in that part of Botswana. I hope they get their wish. Although I’m sure I could just find a video somewhere else, like YouTube.

If you’re interested in the National Geographic site, you can check it out here.
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/wildcamafrica

More recently the boys have been “emailing” the family and friends. My mom sent them this great email where she told them about things, like the fact that she works in a castle (this is true by the way), and that they should have their mommy help them look up those things, like what a castle is. And that there was a bat in the castle and that we should look up bats. So off we went to Google images for a look at castles. We actually got to look at the castle where Grandma works which was really neat. Then we went to the bats page. Brandon was so excited, he kept pointing at different pictures for me to enlarge and every time I would go back to the email he would get upset. So we spent a good half hour looking at bats, talking about what bats look like, what colors they are, what their faces look like, their wings, etc. Then he helped me reply to grandma’s email by telling me what colors the bats were that he saw, and other features that he could remember, like that they hang upside down, have eyes and ears, etc. We had lots of fun! Thanks Mom!

If you have any other suggestions of interesting images to look up, send them our way.

Posted: Drew & Bran, Family

When Things Go Bump in the Night1

or…when balloons make funny shadows.

At 4:30 this morning Mike and I woke up to Noah barking and growling like crazy. We weren’t quite sure what to do. So Mike crept downstairs with me following close behind. When he got to the bottom of the stairs he turns to me and says, “you’ve got to see this.” “This” was Noah barking and growling at one of the boy’s balloons. There must have been some change in the air that caused the balloon to move slightly and Noah just freaked. After chuckling over Noah’s seeming distress and moving the balloon out of sight, we had a chance to think about how we responded to Noah’s barking. Should we have taken a baseball bat with us? What if there had been someone in the house? We decided that Mike, upon seeing them first would have peed his pants and turned around to run upstairs but because I was following so close behind he would have crashed into me and we probably would have gone tumbling down the stairs. Maybe that alone would have scared them away! Or at least caught them off guard. I guess maybe we have to come up with a plan. Although hopefully the only people breaking into our house from now on will be balloons.

Posted: Edmonton, Family, Miscellaneous

Making their Parents Proud3

Lately the boys have been doing some fun things that have made both Mike and I proud, mostly because they are things that we are interested in!

A few weeks ago when Mike was putting Drew to bed, Bran and I were doing puzzles. Bran gathered up all the puzzles and then started tapping on them. He told me it was his computer. He was working like daddy. So we’ve been sending off pretend emails to grandma, nana and papa. Eventually we’ll get to the real thing, but I’m not quite ready to confuse them over when they’re allowed to touch the computer and when they’re not.

Mike started teaching the boys to play Carcasonne not too long ago. The version of the game is very basic. The boys have to take turns taking tiles out of the bag, they have to lay a tile next to another tile, they may not pick up any of the tiles already on the table! This was been working fairly well, although it’s not a simple as you would think! But it’s music to his ears when his little boys run up to him asking “play a game daddy?”

For my part the boys have taken a real interest in music. They love to listen to music and whenever I have Itunes running on the computer they want to come to the table and just watch the screen and listen to the music (even though the only thing on the screen is a photo album cover). Getting to watch the visualizer is a real treat. They especially like listening to Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, Appalachian Spring, and Hoe Down. During Fanfare, whenever the trumpets start playing they yell “trumpets, yay!” Bran is always asking where the flutes are so we wait for the next song to hear the flutes. They also like listening for the elbow (aka the oboe, they even point to their elbows!) Sometimes when I’m trying to get them into the kitchen (either from watching a video or just being distracted with play) all I have to do is put on Fanfare for the Common man, and they literally come running! Dan got the boys the CDs, “Classics for Children with Arthur Fiedler” and Peter and the Wolf. They’re awesome and the boys are starting to listen to those as well.

The other day Drew learned how to play a note on his plastic flutaphone. He can put his right finger over the first hole and take it on and off. He gets so excited that he starts jumping up and down and running for a high five. I wish I could get a video of it!

The boys are also starting to really enjoy swimming. Drew is especially taking to it (although Bran did awesome at lessons today). And often doesn’t mind going under when he jumps off the wall. The boys throw their boats out into the water then jump off into our arms and swim to the boat. Drew really gets his legs going and I think he could almost swim without me holding him if he didn’t panic a little bit when his head goes under. We’ve had fun going to the pool in Becky’s building. This Saturday we start another round of swim lessons. I’ve noticed one problem that Bran might have with moving to the next level which is where they really start to put their faces under and that’s that he can never keep his mouth closed! The boy is a mouth breather and I can’t get him to hold his breath, or even keep his lips together to go under. The instructor suggested that we practice humming. I think he’ll get there pretty soon.

Becky if you read this…when we were telling the boys about going to swim lessons Bran kept saying, “going swimming with Becky!” So now they are learning that our Saturday lessons are with other kids in a class so to distinguish in their minds, Bran keeps saying “going swimming with other kids”. Now hear around the house, “going swimming with Becky” and “going swimming with other kids” usually made in the form of a question so we will tell them which one they are doing!

Posted: Drew & Bran, Edmonton, Family, Friends

Organized and Not So Organized Activities2

Yesterday I took the boys to this really cool morning of play at the North East Edmonton Gymnastics Club. I met another wife from the department who has been taking her girls to this drop-in morning so I decided to meet up with her and check it out. Basically it a giant room of gymnastics equipment and the kids run around and play on whatever they want. I like that’s it’s not organized because I don’t think the boys could handle, “now we’re going to practice our tumbling…” when there’s a room full of other fun things to play on. Especially when I have them both together by myself! So the boys got to swing on rings and high bars, balance on balance beams, jump on trampolines and run, hop and roll down this long trampoline like run with obstacles for them to run/hop over or around (it probably has an official name). Everything was their height and when it wasn’t (maybe a bigger kid was on it) someone would change the height for us. We haven’t yet got to try the rope swing, the horse, or much of the tumbling mat. But we’ll try that next week. I’ve been getting really anxious about how bad this winter is going to be with them in the house, but now we can look forward to Gymnastics Fridays!

So that was our unorganized activity for the week. Our organized activity is that the boys are taking swimming lessons again. Saturday mornings at Londonderry Leisure Centre. It’s a huge pool with swim lessons going on all morning so the boys can watch the bigger kids having lessons too, which they seem mesmerized by. This place is really cool because they have a teaching pool for the little ones that’s only 2 feet high. The place we were last year didn’t have that. The boys can actually touch the bottom which they think is the greatest, and we don’t have to hold them the whole time which gives them some independence. Today was just getting used to everything so we practiced bubbles and front and back floating. Bran loves to back float and he’s getting very good at it! Drew is getting good at bubbles and will sometimes push off with his feet and semi-swim/float just a short distance, maybe 6 inches until he starts to go under and then comes up sputtering, but not upset. It’s a 10 week class and I think they’re really going to enjoy it.

Posted: Drew & Bran, Edmonton, Family

Haircuts2

The boys went for haircuts again last Tuesday. They whole way there they couldn’t stop talking about going to get a haircut. We go to this fun place where they get to watch cartoons and sit in fun chairs, like 4 wheelers, or jeeps. Once again they totally switched on us. Drew sat in his car, watched his video, and even let the woman put a cape on him. (They’ve never done capes or clippers, it’s always been cut with scissors.) So the first thing she did was put on the cape and the second was get out the clippers. Drew let her clip his entire hair with the clippers without one problem. Toward the end his neck was getting itchy and it was bothering him, but no problems with the cutting. Unlike before when he would have to be held while he was crying.

Unfortunately Bran was taking a tune from the old Drew and he just screamed and yelled “no” every time we tried to put him in chair. Finally I held him and he got a clipper cut too. He finally calmed down a bit when he got to hold a stuffed animal and a lolly pop. Unfortunately after a bit of trimming his lolly pop was covered in hair and then the inside of his mouth, so he screamed about that too. I was feeling really badly until the woman told me that recently she had had to chase a little girl all over the shop to trim the back of her hair! Bran’s a riot though, because after the haircut I asked him to say thank you and was expecting a brief, but nice thank you…maybe. Instead he says “thank you for my haircut”! It was so cute and I think it made the woman’s day after having such a difficult cut.

Now that the boys seem to be okay with the trimmers, I’m thinking about buying a set and just doing it at home. I tried with the scissors and I can’t do it with them, but maybe the trimmers will work and it doesn’t seem like you can mess it up as badly as with scissors. Then…maybe I can do Mike’s too. I bet he won’t notice if I add a little bit of color or gel, what do you think?!

Much thanks to Becky who bravely joined us on this expedition and who was such a great help!

Posted: Drew & Bran, Family

Withdrawal1

Mike’s brother Jeffery and his wife Holly have just left after spending the week with us. It was a great visit and we always enjoy getting to see them. Only now I think we’re all going through withdrawal. The boys are missing the constant attention and I’m missing the extra bodies to give them that attention. The boys are missing the acrobatics that ensued when uncle Jeffery played with them and looking up diggers and cars on auntie Holly’s computer. I’m missing extra hands to clean up after meals, make meals, hands to keep the boys occupied while I did some laundry, actually put up photos (I think I’ve finally caught up!) and even take a nap! Plus with all the extra people around we actually got to go do some fun things too! We took a walk to the Portuguese bakery (unfortunately they were out of custard tarts, sigh…), we took Noah to the puppy park and he got to swim in the river (the boys did a little swimming too! and Noah even got the mats cut out of his fur and several brushings), we went on a bike ride, and took the kids to the play zone at WEM where they ran up stairs and slid down slides. Anna and Joel watched the boys so the four adults could get a break and we went to an U-20 FIFA match (Canada vs. Austria and Chile vs. Congo) which was awesome, Becky came by on short notice and watched the boys while we went and played 18 holes of disc golf. The weather was horrible for golfing, but it was still a lot of fun. I haven’t gotten to play since Christmas and only a couple of times since the boys were born. We also stayed up way past our bedtimes and talked or played games.

So now, it’s time to get back to our normal lives but we’re all going through family withdrawal. At least we get to look forward to my mom’s visit in a few weeks!

Posted: Edmonton, Family