Calling Mommy

Matthew and Renee "calling" me from payphones outside a Thai restaurant near home. We went back to the same restaurant a few days laterand Matthew propmptly said the the waitress "Mathew want noodles, an mango an beef, an aroz (rice)", the same dishes we'd had a few nights earlier.

Lunch

Noodles

Chinese Food in Pyjamas

Lunch

Renee and mommy, eating "tofu, rice, bocoli, beef"

Fw: Bloooooooo

After eating candy at cousin's birthday party. Candy was preceded by 1.5 hours of juming on trampolines.

When Daddy's Away . . .

Mutliple choice test:

Which of these things happened one morning this week, while Marc was travelling:

(a) Renee put make up, mostly mascara, all over her face and hair, when she looked in the mirror she didn’t like what she saw and said “why Mami, why”

(b) Samuel climbed up to the counter, found the Trader Joes S’mores, openned them and the dried mango with scissors and fed Matthew “choclet” for breakfast

(c) Samuel got his boots and jacket on by helpself, explaining “Daddy is in Ottawa, so I have to help you Mami”

(d) While driving to Abbeywood:

• Samuel said “when I grow up do you know what I want to be? A superhero, Spiderman”
  
• Matthew’s response was “no, Mafew spider man”
  
• Samuel: “No you are Superman”
  
• Matthew: "Mafew Superman”
  
• Eduardo “Well, I want to be HE-Man”
  
• Samuel: “Is he a superhero”
  
• Eduardo: “Yes, he’s the strongest man in the universe”
  
• Renee “no dat’s Gigi” (in reference to Regina, my mom)
  
• Eduardo: "she's not even a superhero"
  
• Mathew: "Mafew superman"
  
• Renee: "Gigi"
  
• Samuel singing: "Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can . . ."
  
• And so on and so on, and so on
  

(e) all of the above

Math (aka Matthew)

Samuel has decided to shorten Matthew's name to a nice catchy "Math". "Hey Math, want to play bad guys", "Math, do you want an orange"

Matthew loves, loves, loves, cannot get enough oranges, literally eating 2 whole ones in one meal and asking for more. On a recent Friday night at my parent's house, he got a chair, moved it to the counter (not easy to navigate due to the way the kitchen table is placed). He then ate an apple. He moved the chair back. A few minutes later, he moved the chair to the counter again. This time he ate a nectarine. He left the chair at the counter. Then he came back to eat another nectarine. And a pear. And then he asked for "ajana" (naranja = orange). And after that he ate all of him dinner. Renee also eats large amounts of food and is decidedly carnivorous, omnivorous really given her love of broccoli.

Matthew, though imitating Samuel, has taken to taking about bad guys and likes the idea of being one himself "Mafee bad guy, Mafew coo bad guy" (cool bad guy. He's also seen a few you tube videos that are too old for him (and probably for Samuel too for that matter) so he's been exposed to things that he finds scary. Then he tried to show us what scary looks like - picture this: Matthew with his hands formed like claws, making as mean a face as he can muster (hard because he is sweet through and through, except when he has a tantrum), saying "Mafew scary". He then ask us to imitate what scary looks like or will comfort us when we pretend to be scared "tis ok mami, Mafw not scary".

Silvia Lulka
PIN: 20973F0D
Mobile: 647-248-2417

Yesssssssss, Beneyney Efmos, Course

Just a few of the words that grace our ears.

Matthew and Renee have started saying yessss, ya and yeah are no longer.

Matthew says "couse" (of course, without the of and r), most often in response to "Matthew do you want a kiss?" "couse Mami".

Samuel has started to write letters, not really words though. But he'll write a string of letters and ask "what does this say". Last weekend the letters were E F M O S, so I read it as it would sound, and asked him what Efmos was. he explained that it's Plop Plop and Ding Dong's mom's last name and her first name is Beneyney (sp?), but Plop Plop and Ding Dong have a different last name. So there you go, it was Beneyney Efmos who named her children Plop Plop and Ding Dong.

And a significant milestone in my life, and that of Matthew and Renee. I recently travelled for work for 3 days and nights. I barely got the words "I'm going on a business tr. .." out of my mouth before Samuel started jumping up and down, shouting "SLEEP OVER" (he stays with my parents when Marc travels, and last time didn't want to come home). Matthew was ambivalent. Renee said "No, Mami stay with Nene" repeatedly, or sometimes "Nene go couver with Mami" (Renee is goingto Vancouver with Mami). So I was worried, but it was all for not. They were fine while I was gone, slept well, asked for me once in a while but were fine. I was fine too, except for the cancelled flight, time difference and insomnia.

How Matthew Uses the Kitchen

We got Samuel a play kitchen for his 3rd birthday, it was in instant hit, he loved it and still cooks with it to this day, so does Renee. Matthew though prefers an alternative way of amuzing himself - if you push the kitchen over, you can use it as a slide!! Who knew??

A house boat truck

An example of recent art. I love the complexity, intricacy and symmetry.

Bubble Bath

The boys like predending to be Tocayo (my dad) with bubbles to emulate his beard. Here Samuel is being "Sonic Underground Tocayo"

In this picture Matthew is being Tocayo. Other times, he is Batman, Superman, Spiderman, kitty cat, dog, or lion. And sometimes a combination. "Matthew, what's your name" "Mafew kittkycat, batman lion rrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr".

Renee, in this picture and on a regular basis, is coveing her mouth while fake giggling and saying "boys is silly"

Two-and-a-half

Dear Matthew and Renee,

You are two and a half, the quintecential 2 year old girl and boy.

Renee, you are a girl through and through. You love dolls, especially Emma (Hanukah gift from Regi and Tocayo). Upon sighting a Barbie in Regi and Tocayo's basement, you picked it up gently and said "my baby".

You are precocious and recently told Daddy that you were six and when he asked if you were older than Samuel you said yes. You also got a Walt Disney purse kit from daycare, complete with a brush, compact and fake lipstick which you love "applying". Despite being the yougest and smallest, you act as a second mother to Matthew and Samuel (and Daddy and me for that matter). This morning everyone was downstairs and I was enjoying a few minutes to myself. You came upsatirs, openned my bedroom door asked "Mommy, what you doing?' I said "watching a little of Mommy's TV" and you said "OK Mommy, I go downstairs to see what boys doing". You often say "boys is silly" and cover your mouth in a fake laugh when you see your brothers being rambunctiouis.

You love "witing" (writting) which is a series of squiggles that look like WWWWWs in a row across a piece of paper, or sometimes, just a few WWWs on one page and then you move on to another page and another page and another page. You also love reading. There's a Spanish picture book you really like with animal pictures - when you name the animal in English, I give you the Spanish word and sometimes you repeat it but other times you argue back "no perro, doggy".

You take the normal toddler possesiveness to a different level, saying "my" several times in a sentence. "I want my Mommy my lap", "I want to my make with my Mommy" whenever I an cooking. After seeing Niagara Falls out of the car window, you exclaimed "my window my waterfall", and in the week since our trip there you've said "I want it my window my waterfalls" several times, as if we'd be able to make them re-appear.

Matthew, you are a boy through and through. All about trucks and trains. You love playing with train tracks. Tonight, at bedtime (or an hour after as you refused to go to sleep), you insisted "I need duba decka in bed" ("I need my double decker bus in bed") but then agreed that "duba decka can stay on floor".


We went to the Royal Ontario Museum today, or as you call it "dinosar house" (dinosaur house) or "muzemum" (muresum) and saw a marshal arts demonstration which you were enthralled by. You have been trying to immitate their moves all day, coming quite close to doing summersaults and cartwheels. I think if you had a little bit of instruction in gymnatics you'd be flying through the air.

You love eating, and ask for "befast cheerio pasitas" when you wake up (breakfast with raisin bran cereal, as all cereal is referred to as cheerios). You actually cheer when food is placed infront of you. A couple times, you have wanted a banana badly enough that you have bitten through the skin before I could get to peel it for you. You love "smoka sama" (smoked salmon). You also love coffee, asking for it by name when Daddy and I drink it. For a while you used to call is focky (reversing the consonants) which really confussed us.

Despite this love for food, you are ever generous with it. You frequently offer us bits of your food and don't like it when we say "no thanks", you reallty want the recipient to enjoy as much as you do. When you give something to Renee, you give it to her, she takes it, and then you say "tank-you Nene" - it could be that you are telling her to say thank-you, but it sounds more like you are thanking her.

You hate the cold, and get cold very easily whether it's outside or even inside, you are quick to get the shivers and have chattering teeth. You always want to wear your hat, scarf and "goves" (gloves).

Renee and Matthew - you are a joy to be with. You keep us euqally entertained and on our toes. On our way home from a restaurant tonight, you had the following conversation:

Matthew - "Matthew superman"

Renee - "No, Saml superman, Matthew Batman, Renee ABCD" (for the boys it is a reference to what super hero they want to be, for Renee it's her favourite You Tube video)

Matthew, emphatically - "No, Matthew Superman"

Renee - "No, Matthew naughty, boys silly"

Matthew - "No Matthew superman"

Marc - "Renee, Matthew can be superman"

Renee - "Matthew superman, Saml superman, Nene ABCD, boys is silly naughty"

And so on and so on, I was laughing so hard I could barely drive.

Here's to many more fun conversations!!

Samuel on Cutting the Grass and other things

On his way down to breakfast a few days ago:

Samuel: "Let me go first. I have to cut the grass" (as he picks up an empty laundry basket and holds it in front on him, on the stairs, as he descends) "the grass was so sharp yesterday, it cut me" (face completely serious) "it cut me so hard I even bled inside my bones".

At the bottom of the stairs:
"See how nice it is with the grass cut?" (while still pushing the laundry basket around the hall on his way to the kitchen)

_________________

Plop Plop and Ding Dong are making quite a come back. Plop Plop has blue hair and is a boy, Ding Dong is a girl with yellow/orange/red hair. They travel a lot. They also say mean things, bad words and stick out their tongues, but Samuel is quick to tell them not to do that.

Tonight I was introduced to Plop Plops mother, her name is Poo Poo. I couldn't help but laugh, to which Marc said, "Don't laugh" but Samuel responded by saying "It's OK to laugh Mom, Plop Plop's mom is laughing too". I guess with a name like that you'd need to laugh.
_________________

Samuel got a couple lego sets for his birthday and he makes some fantastic structures / ships / creations. His designs are impressively symmetric and explanations of them are very creative. He has made Mexico, pyramids, spaceships, firetrucks, boats, kings, house-truck-boats. He plays with them for hours, but gets frustrated when they don't stick as firmly as he'd like.

_________________

The Christmas season has resulted in Samuel asking a lot of questions about Christmas, why we don't celebrate, why we don't have a tree or lights, who Santa Claus is. The answer invariability is about us being Jewish and celebrating other holidays like Rosh Hashana, Purim, Hanukah, etc, I list all of them for him, but what he seems fixated on is Halloween (which doesn't really make it on the list of "Jewish" holidays).


On our way to pick up my grandmother a few weeks ago, he asked "Is Babby Jewish?", I said yes, and he responded "Oh good, then she celebrates Halloween"

And last night at dinner as we were enjoying the last of the Halloween candies, he came up with a creative suggestion "We should save these candies, and get a tree, and decorate it for Halloween, and put candies on it. Is that a great idea?"

Matthew's first movie

We took Matthew and Renee to their first movie today, Yogi Bear, and of course Samuel came too as did Regi.

It was the 3D version and Matthew LOVED it. Sat, legs crossed, glasses on for the entire hour+ movie, with brief dancing interludes when Yogi danced and Matthew joined in.

True to her character Renee sat for no more than 10- minutes at a time, Regi's lap, my lap, the floor, the stairs, going out to get more popcorn, etc.

Matthew still seated after the movie

Renee's First Clothing purchase

We went shopping for new winter boots, although if you were a passer by you would have thought I was torturing Matthew and Renee. I tried to soften the experience of shopping by bribing them with new socks. Both took me up on the socks, and Renee also asked for this outfit. "Mami, Nene want it pink petty. Mami buy". No boots were purchased.

Peer Pressure Already???

Samuel went to his friend J's birthday party this weekend. He asked me to get him clothes that would make him look so good, handsome and cool, like sweat pants.

As gift wrapping, I usually do craft or white paper and let the kids draw on it for decoration. Samuel asked me to write a very tender message to his friend on the package. When we got to the party he asked me to not show anyone the present, he only wnated J to see the message.

Tonight, as he was brushing his teeth, I asked him if he wanted to get his haircut. He said "No, because then my friends won't like me with short hair. They'll come to me and smell me like this (sniff, sniff) and say 'you're stinky with short hair' and 'short hair is stinky' and I like my friends so I don't want to get my haircut".

There you have it. The beginning of peer relationships and perceived peer pressure.

Plop Plop and Ding Dong's Role in Creation

I bet most of you didn't know that Plop Plop and Ding Dong helped Gd with creating the world. "Honest, they did" says Samuel "they helped make the platform for the dinosaurs. The Dinosaurs tested the platform Plot Plop and Ding Dong made with Gd to see if it was wobbly, and when it wasn't wobbly then people came". How does Samuel know this, you ask? "I know because Gd told me yesterday"

And did you know that "aliens come in round ships from space? But sometimes they come from the water because that's where they live. Or they can come from earth and live there"

The best news though is that tomorrow when Samuel goes to school he'll be telling his friends that we (Marc and I) are nice. This was a change from earlier in the evening when we told him that he couldn't watch Scooby Doo, at that point he was going to tell his friends that we were mean, and they were going to attack us and kill us for real.

And that's a fairly typical bout of bed time tales. Good night.

Happy Hanukkah

The first night of Hannukah we had "sufganiot" (jelly stuffed donuts, or in our case Timbits). Matthew fell in love. The next morning, he woke up talking about "suganiot". Judging from the furniture found in the kitchen, he brought a chair from the living room to the kitchen, climbed on the chair to get to the leftover Timbits. And judging from the smile on his face and Timbit in each hand, he succeeded. But that's not all. Being the loving and generous soul that he is, he gave one to Renee and one to Samuel. And then, buckled into his car seat, he realized he had none left for himself and the tears began to flow. He cried and cried "Mafew want suganiot, Mafew love suganiot, Samel and Nene hav suganiot". He calmed down enough to ask for more and thankfully we still had another small piece in another box. He was happy as can be after that. When I picked them up at day care, Matthew re told the story "Mafew lov suganiot, Mafew no suganiot, Mafew cry suganiot, Mafew eat suganiot, Mafew cry suganiot" etc.

---------

Samuel: "I'm Jewish. Matthew are you Jewish?"
Matthew: "No, Mafew Baman (Batman)"

Me: "Matthew, is Samuel Jewish?"
Mathew: "Yeap"

Me: "Matthew, is Daddy Jewish?"
Mathew: "Yeap"

Me: "Matthew, is Renee Jewish?"
Mathew: "Yeap"

Me: "Matthew, am I Jewish?"
Mathew: "Yeap"

Me: "Matthew, are you Jewish?"
Mathew: "No, Batman"

Reflections on NaBloPoMo

23/30 isn't bad. Reflecting on this year's November gets me thinking of last year's NaBloPoMo, and the previous year's and of what next November will hold.

Will Matthew still be as exuberant as he is today? Will he be euphoric, generous and loving, except when things go wrong, will he loose it like he does when he's 2?

Will Renee continue to be independent and intelligent, staying out of her brothers' way when their play is physical and rambunctious, but always eager to egg them on?

Will Samuel's hands loose the last little bit of baby fat? Will he still have the most fantastic imagination and gift for telling tales?

Will their interactions be as hilarious as they are today? Will the boys be as tight as they are? Will Matthew and Renee will kiss each other?

Stay tuned for NaBloPoMo 2011 . . .

(and some posts between now and then)

Bedtime Imaginations

Tonight at bedtime "Mami, there are s may imaginations in my head, they won't let me listen to your bedtime song"

And a correction, or addendum to a previous post - Samuel loves " . . . everyone, except aliens, monsters, ghosts and zombies".


All 3 kids have been sick this weekend. Matthew and Renee with diarrhea and Samuel with a fever, cough, cold bug. We stayed home all weekend, with a few key exceptions:
- "Mafw go shopin loblo with dady" (Mathew went shopping at Loblaws with Daddy)
- and Regi took Matthew and Renee to my grandmother's this afternoon while Samuel and I napped
- and then, for a heavenly 2 hours, everyone went out for dinner and I stayed home, ate matzah ball soup and relaxed :)

Birthday party

Decorating the birthday cake

Multi-generational licking of spatulas and spoons

The finished product

Don't blink of you'll miss the birthday boy . . . oops missed him

Easier to catch him sitting down


Matthew had a hard time getting used to the indoor playground at first, barely cracking a smile . . .
. . . but once he got on the slide, there was no stopping him.

A trunk full of gifts, pizza, fruit and cake eaten, fun had by all. And the best part of was bedtime when Samuel said "Mami, my whole day was my favourite".

Car dialogue

Here's a 2 minute snip it of the running commentary in our life, I typed thsi as we drive home from Samuel's birthday party:

Marc - what do you want for dinner?
Samuel - what we had for first Monday (not sure what first monday is)
Matthew - Tuesday
Renee - Monday, Tuesday
Matthew - train, i want it train, call baby (reference to calling my grandmother)
Renee - no Monday, no no no no, no Tuesday
Matthew singing - I want to move it, move it
Renee - no no Monday, wesday, tusday
Matthew singing - happy birthday Samuel, happy birthday Daddy
Samuel - my head hurts
Silvia - we'll get you medicine when we get home
Samuel - drinking medicine?
Matthew - achoo
Renee - more Samuel
Matthew - a a a a a a a a a ch o o o o o
Renee - acho
Samuel - acho, choc,cho, cho achoo choo (singing), when I get older I will be stronger
Renee singing - oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (tune of waving flag)
Samuel singing - Spiderman, spiderman, ta ta ta ta ta da, ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta da, look out here comes spider man.

And on and on. Two toddlers' trains of thought, out loud is hilarious, and add Samuel to the mix and I wish I could type fast enough to capture it, or that they keep going after the video camera came out.

Shabbat at Home

Our Shabbat dinners are at my parents' house, a lovely multi-generation celebration that marks the end of the week and beginning of the weekend. There's such wisdom in having a ritual for that demarcation and reason to pause, I can feel the tension leaving as we recite the blessings and sing the songs.

What we miss out on if hosting our own dinners. The time will come for that when we have a dining room (vs. playroom) and the kids are older. But the pride that Samuel took in setting his beautiful Shabbat table on Friday makes me think that I should do what I can to host Shabbat dinners to home in the near future.

Everything here was chosen and placed on the table by Samuel while Matthew and Renee sat in thier booster seats and watched.

When Marc got home, we light the candles, blessed the wine/grape juice, gave thanks for bread and ate the favourite "bagl smok sama" and "ke chee" (bagels with smoked salmon with cream cheese) meal. Singing Hinei Ma Tuv (how good it is to be amongst friends) between bites.

Shabbat Shalom!

Thanks for the birthday card Rachkael

Table setting

Last night, Renee opened the drawer with the plastic plates, took out 4 plates, 4 forks and set the table. BY HERSELF!!! (the empty place setting is in my spot, not sure what the message there is)

Samuel Speak

"I love everyone, in the whole wide world (arms outstretched). Except aliens and pirates"

My sister's keeper

In the car this morning:

Matthew: Mami, Renee want more pan (pan = bread)

Me: Renee do you want more bread?

Renee: Renee want more pan

I give Renee more bread

Matthew: tanku (thank-you) Mami

Renee: taku (thank-you) Mami

Tocayo, Baby and the Birthday Boy

Turning 5

Dear Samuel,

You beamed when you woke up this morning, smiling ear-to-ear, ready recipient to the hugs, kisses and "happy biday" greetings from Matthew and Renee.

At your birthday ceremony, you wore your crown with great pride and confidently walked around the "sun" (candle). You loved showing everyone the pictures you choose to bring to school. When your teacher asked you what you were going to do as a 5 year old that you couldn't do as a 4 year old, you told her you'd tell Matthew and Renee to stop jumping on the bed.

You served everyone fruit - pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon and grapes on your request. And sat with Jaeli and Ori to enjoy it.

We went for dinner at Terroni, again at your request. You were quite shaken when you arrived. Your Baby Rebeca (great grandmother) had fallen while crossing the street on her way to dinner, and you were right next to her when she fell. You asked why she fell, and if it hurt, and why she fell, and if she was ok and why she fell repeatedly. Thankfully, she seems to be ok, but true to your empathetic nature, you weren't so ok.

As you saw her look better, you perked up. Insisted on your own pizza, in addition to the one you were already sharing with Matthew and Renee. You loved the gifts from everyone.

You insisted on Happy Birthday in 4 languages, but weren't a big fan of the flourless chocolate cake. You did stop to talk to several tables and wait staff to share the news of your 5th birthday.

Matthew ate and ate and ate. Renee was wild. You tried to tell her to calm down and even pointed out that she shouldn't jump on pizza boxes. Unfortunately, your efforts were futile.

When we got home, we started to put together your fire truck Lego and you fell asleep with Daddy.
My guy, mi senor Samuel, thank-you for 5 years of the most fantastic journey. Your are a treasure and a joy to with.

XO

Birthday Candles

from the cupcakes we had for breakfast - yum!

He loved the mini Lego figures from Matthew, and silly bands from Renee, and Firetruck from us. All shared and opened before school/work.

The best bedtime book ever

We have a photo album of Samuel's first year, and he choose to read it as his bedtime book tonight, in full consciousness that he turns 5 tomorrow.

He asked all sorts of questions - why did I cry was a prominent one. He identified my Zaide who he really only met once at the age of 3 months. Vickie - he had lots of questions about T (was he my friend? Is he bigger? Where does he live?). He tried to put both fists in his mouth imitating a baby picture. He relished in the stories of who gave and made him clothes and blankets, and who came to visit, who gave him toys. And, he knew exactly what toys we still have, including the baby gund plush caterpillar I said we had given away already but found later tonight while looking for pictures to take to school tomorrow.

It was a lovely way to reflect on his first year. And so fitting, he is such an empathetic person, and reflective, with a great memory.

Next time I blog, I'll officially have 5 years of parenting under my belt. THANKS SAMUEL!!!!

Note the 'socks'

They may look like gloves (my gloves to be more precise) but they aren't. They are super jumpy socks that give soon-to-be 5 year olds the power to jump while counting backwards from 10.

Result of water colours

While I drank my coffee and read a cook book . . .

Renee loved what she did, until she saw it. She looked at the reflection in the mirror, saw the black water colour on her face, started to cry and said "Mafew did tis". When she cleaned the water colour off she proudly declared "I did it"

Dental Hygiene

The love, love, love brushing their teeth (bush teef). And call out the toothpaste(s) of choice by name "blue" = our adult toothpaste, "Dora" = the kids' toothpaste with Dora's picture (the marketing works brilliantly) and "bear"= toddler toothpaste which has a bear on it.

A kiss is just a kiss

The first kiss tonight was a full-on on the lips kiss (but I missed it).

For Renee's Aunt Racheal

Remember this sweat shirt? The look of indignation was due to my instance that I take the picture.

Yogurt mmmmmmm

Day-in-the-life: Dinner Time

Matthew, Renee and I got home before anyone else. We got the music going so they would dance while I changed. But, they had other plans - Renee draged a chair over to the counter to climb on it (the counter) to help herself to a pencil, and Matthew loudly announced "mami, mafew pooed" (Mami, Matthew pooped). He didn't he just peed but I'm guessing that his penis was outside his diaper (it often is, Matthew and his "pene" are close friends who spend as much time together as possible) because he was soaked.

Fast forward 10 minutes, now everyone has dry / clean / dinner appropriate clothes. Matthew tries to get into his booster and gets stuck. Renee refuses her booster and insists on sitting in Samuel's chair which she has moved next to Matthew, and Samuel isn't home yet so this is fine. Diner is served, a weird left over combo of pea soup and quesadillas ("pizza" or "dilla") with guacamole ("mole") and salsa verde ("sok"). Renee asks for water, Matthew for "app jus". When I get the apple juice, Renee wants it instead of water and Matthew yells and cries, he wants the "ote appl jus" (other apple juice, also known as orange juice).

The each have their beverages, soups, dinners.

Renee takes Matthew's quesadilla and takes a bite. I give Matthew one of Renee's quesadillas, but he says no and Renee gives Matthew his quesadilla back. The also exchange guacamole and soup, and pour drinks in and out of each others cups and sound bowls. When Matthew does something Renee says "no matthew" and then does the same thing and then Matthew says "no renee". Liquids and sauces get spilled, they each take their napkins to clean their respective messes, which really just causes a bigger mess, but it's the activity and its intent that matter at age 2. They were hilarious and fascinating to watch. They have whole conversations with themselves and each other, laughing hysterically.

Marc gets home, and then Samuel. Dinner continues, and then ends with the eating of 3/4 of a pineapple largely by the kids and the fight over Halloween candy.

Post-dinner was a disaster of Samuel purposefully pouring a cup of water on Matthew and Renee's bedroom floor, biting himself while jumping on the bed, Matthew having a total breakdown when Marc read Samuel a book and I tried to take him to bed.

I expect to hear the nightly pitter-patter of feet with the "mami, daddy, come bed" call in a few hours.

Good night!

Matthew's Boots

Matthews choice of footwear on Sunday.

On Monday, he refused to put on pants or socks (or let me do it). he was successful in putting his shoes on, his own shoes, right foot in right shoe, Velcro and all. It just added insult to injury though when I took his shoes off so I could put his pants and socks on. And then, like a switch turned off, he stopped crying as soon as he was buckled in his car seat.

Shabbat shalom

"Samuel"

He was beaming at his monarch butterfly work on Thursday.

NaPoBloMo

For the third year in a row, here I come!! (late, yes, but I'm here).

Snippet of Life - Nov 3

Tocayo and Regi came by tonight. After a dinner of "pino" (pepino = cucumber), smok sama (smoked salmon) and bagels, the kids and grandparents danced the night away, at least until bedtime.

Matthew demonstrated his teethe brushing prowess, selecting every toothpaste at least once. Brushing, when reminded (vs. his preference to suck the tiny smear of toothpaste), he brshed font "front" and open. He's getting pretty good at the motion, but his aim with the bristles is still off.

Renee peed on the potty 2x at daycare, but said "no way" to the potty at home this morning (yes she say no way, it's a quote).

Samuel and I played rock, paper, scissors to bridge the gap between him being finished dinner and Matthew and Renee still eating.

A good night on all counts.

Equation in the Thousands

"Samuel's Mom & Dad,
Samuel learned addition with the stamp game today and completed an equation in the thousands! I am very proud of him.
Leslie"

Wow!!

Perfect fall day

And Renee on the swing

Matthew on the swing

Swings on a fall day

From the mouths of babes

Recently overheard:

Samuel, playing by himself grabs a toy phone "hello, regi, sh!t, you're stuck in traffic in your driveway, oh sh!t".
Me "what did you say"
Samuel "sh!t regi is stuck in traffic in her driveway"
Me "where did you learn that word"
Samuel "from daddy. If you don't like it I won't use it at home, just at school"

Matthew "nene, lou yu" (renee love you)
Renee "mathu, lov yu" (matthew love you)
Tickle each other
Nano seconds later
Renee "no mathu, no mathu, no" waving finger

And row days later, a perfectly clear Matthew and Samuel is no longer "memel" but "Saml"

Serving salad

At Shabbat dinner

(and she ate it oo)

A night apart

Monday night, for the first night in their entire lives, Matthew and Renee and I are apart. I was traveling for work and alone in a hotel. And it was hard, I missed them more than words can say, came close to tears a few times.

And what was I doing on this momentous night? Watching Sex and The City 2, missing my kids, husband and pre-kid life all at the same time.

They met me at the airport and I walked so quickly to get to them, I walked into at least 2 people!

A few weeks ago, on the second day of Rosh Hashanna, Samuel and I had a day alone together, and it was fantastic. We started by waiting for the first garbage truck to come. It was collecting yard waste, but Samuel seemed a little nervous about the truck and wanted to stay in the entrance of the house when the it came by. By the time the second garbage truck came to pick up the regular garbage and organic waste, Samuel was completely enthralled by the garbage truck. We followed it to every townhouse in the complex. We ran around corners to see if we could beat it, watched as every bin be dumped into the hopper and very piece of garbage be crushed by the crushing panel (thanks to the garbage truck books Marc bought Samuel, I can name all the parts of a garbage truck). He asked the garbage collectors about the truck and the garbage and where it went and why it smelled. He also explained to them that the smell would go away when the truck went by the sprinkler because the sprinkler would clean the truck. We went home and made lunch, spaghetti with pasta sauce with peas and a huge amount of herbs de provence. He loved it. Making it, eating it, cleaning up after it, all of it. We went to the see a movie, and later “played” video games. All was great until he fell, hit his head really hard, hard enough that there was a silence before the panicked cries and after the cries a “mommy, I want to go home now and sleep on my bed”. To keep him awake and entertained, we bought some silly bands and legos to make a dump truck, and other trucks that we could pretend were garbage trucks. He perked up and I remembered that I love legos. A Shabbat dinner topped off the day. It was amazing.

Samuel, waiting for the garbage trucks

Matthew’s best day would be last Sunday when we went on the subway. He loved every minute of it and talked about it all week “Mahew like tren” “ah love subway” ‘mammy there tren” every day all week. Until yesterday, when Marc took the boys on the subway train again. He continues to love “ha ball” (high ball), “o-side” (outside) and “dacing” (dancing). He also loves singing the Shabbat blessings, any day of the week, any time of the day. I'm sure picking me up from the airport would be amongst his top days, not because he came to see me, but because he got to pull my bag and eat pizza while pulling the bag. We had pizza at the airport and as we were cleaning up the table, Matthew grabbed the last bits of 3 slices of pizza. He pulled my bag with one hand and held on to the 3 pieces of pizza with the other hand all the way to the car, about a 10 minute walk, eating along the way. He was in heaven!

Matthew on our way back from the train

(note the sunglasses, that's how he insists on putting them on)

Pizzas and a suitcase, what more can a boy want?

Renee wasn’t so impressed with the subway train, and had a similar reaction to the train as she does to animals – shakes at the introduction, jumps in my arms and stays there hanging on for dear life. She is working on potty training and loves her “pulla” (pull-ups). She holds her own when the boys play with each other, entertaining herself independently or by watching their shenanigans. She has been sick for a few days, but seems to be getting better. She's so tired, she has bags under her eyes.

Shana Tova

Rosh Hashana is a time of year to reflect, to take stock. A holiday of rituals - eating apples and honey, hearing the shofar, round challah, being with family and friends. It always sneaks up on me - schools starts, work gets busy after the summer and it's always at a bad time to take days off - but I'm always grateful that it's here. A built in break to reflect.

Samuel is in his 3rd year of Casa (SK equivalent) and is taking his role as one of the older kids in the class very seriously. He came home after the first day of school to show us how 3rd years "have to sit like this" with his back super straight, his face super proud. He is obsessed, and I mean obsessed with garbage and recycling. Not only does he count down the days for our garbage days, but it's one of the first questions he asks people. At bedtime, he requests that we read the garbage collection calendar - "Thursday September 9 there is no pick up, Friday September 10 there is green bin and garbage pick up . . . ". He continues to have a most visid imagination and had his camp counselors that he wasn't coming back to the last week of camp as he was going to be in Israel. He absolutely loved camp, made real strides in swimming, and came home singing all the old stand by camp songs. A particular favourite was "everywhere we go, people always ask us who we are, so we tell them, we are the LULKAs, the mighty mighty Lulkas" I loved it, not sure what Marc thought :)

Playing Garbage

Matthew is a boy in every sense of the word. He kicks and throws a ball with uncanny skill. Most of the time, he's a happy-go-lucky guy, but when he gets mad, watch out - fists flail, neck vein pops, tears flow, body shakes. He love jumping on his mattress (despite repeated warnings, distractions, it's futile to dissuade him). A few weeks ago, he dove into the wall so hard he actually dented it. The cry that followed the first few seconds of silence was intense. I thought this was a teachable moment, so I took the opportunity to say "Matthew see the whole in the wall, see your the bump on your head, it hurts, so no more jumping on the bed" he looked at me, smiled, tears stopped and he said "jumping bed" and went right back at it. (if there was ever a lesson in telling kids what to do, not what not to do, this was it!). For weeks after, he'd say "head, wall, ou-y" pointing to the spot on his head and spot on the wall. This was replaced with "head, floor, ou-y" after he fell off the mattress and onto the hardwood floor. He loves fries ("papas"), hot dog dog, grapes ("yvas" = uvas), strawberries ("presa" = fresa), juice ("jus" or "ugo" = jugo). He has fallen in love with Amanda, Samuel's former teddy bear with a plastic doll's face. They cuddle and kiss all through bed time. He loves taking a bath, especially pouring water from containers ("watefa" = waterfall). He also loves brucshing his teeth and is partcular about which toothpaste he wants to eat, I mean use. True to his age, he often says "i do dis" (I'll do this), but not as often as his sister.

Bath time

Renee's favourite phrase is "I do dis". she loves to sing, particularly ABC, Twinkle Twinkle and Bah Bah Black sheep, and while that are the same tune her diction is good enough that you can differentiate which one she is singing. She is an avid and speedy "reader", she loves books but it's rare to actually be able to read one to her as she flips the pages so fast. She loves drawing and puzzles. She warms up to new people eventually, but when faced with a crowd her preferred place to be are my mom's, Marc's or my arms. She pinches, hard and purposefully, but then cries terribly when we respond with a firm "no pinching". She says thank-you (tak-u) and please (peas) in both languages (gasas = gracias, pofavo = porfavor). She's starting the toilet training process and takes great pride from using her potty and getting a "pula" (pull-up).

Drawing during Pictures at Nottawasaga

Matthew and Samuel get along famously and have really taken to playing together. Matthew and Renee still seem to have their own way of communicating with each other, although I haven't heard the "ewok" language in a while, they can look at each other and laugh hysterically. A few days ago, they woke up and despite our efforts to get them back to sleep, they decided that 5:30 was a beer time to tickled each other and that they did for about 10 minute, roaring with laughter. All three egg eachother on to do more things the shouldn't, like here when they moved the living room furniture around to be able to jump on it. The second picture shows Samuel helping Matthew over the back of the chair.

(no Matthews were harmed during the taking of this picture, he thought this was fantastic)

A few more pictures from Nottawasaga where we celebrated my grandmother's 90th birthday:

4 generations

One great-grandmother, 11 great grandchildren