Happy Birthday Kyle

Ten years ago my life was changed forever as I began to navigate babyhood for the first time.  In some ways it's hard to believe 10 years has passed already since Kyle was born.  In other ways it's hard for me to remember a time before I was "Mom".

Kyle's past and present stats...
2001: 8 lbs, 20 inches
2011: 80 lbs, 56 inches (only 8 inches away from matching me!)

Kyle is smart, funny, sweet, a great big brother to his sisters and just overall a great kid.  I feel blessed to be his Mom.  I love that he and I have some interesting conversations, and I hope he always comes to me and shares his thoughts as he gets older.

We started out the birthday celebration with a Mario Bros themed pool party the day before his birthday.  I love to make a special cake for each of the kids on their birthday to fit the theme and this year was no exception.  I did a Mario cake with Mario jumping on a giant brick to get coins and some power up mushroom cupcakes.  Once his friends all arrived there was swimming, water balloons and a coin hunt.  Kyle had a great time with all his friends.

After the party, 3 of Kyle's friends (who are all brothers) stayed over for a sleepover, a first for Kyle.  They had a great time trading pokemon cards, playing video games and staying up late.  Eventually I did get them all settled down for bed...in the basement, I did think ahead and put them 2 floors down from our bedroom!

On Kyle's actual birthday there was more pokemon card trading, video game playing fun with his friends in the morning followed by a family zoo trip in the afternoon.    I think Kyle had a great birthday celebration.  Now he's still making his way through all the cool gifts he received, and even pestering me to take him shopping to spend some of the gift cards he received (normally Kyle avoids shopping at all costs).

It's been an exciting 10 years since I met this incredible little boy.  So much has happened and changed in our lives since becoming parents for the first time.  I can't wait to see what the next 10 years hold.  Oh wait, that means teenage years for all 3 kids...hmmm...not too sure about that!

ten years ago

ten years ago I was about to become a mom for the first time

ten years ago I was huge (and I mean HUGE)

ten years ago the house we live in was still under construction

ten years ago I was about to meet one of the most important people in the world to me

ten years ago I couldn't even imagine being the parent of a 10 year old boy

ten years ago Jeff and I looked much younger!

now I have learned how fun and frustrating it is to be a parent

now this house has become a home where we have grown to a family of 5

now I have learned all about video games, bakugan and pokemon among other things

now I have watched a tiny baby grow into a smart, funny and sweet 10 year old boy

now I have one of the most amazing kids in the world

walk in the park

it's hot outside!

We've had a very warm week here in the GTA...a heat wave with record breaking high temperatures.  Which means it's a very good time to own a pool.

Kyle and Jillian have been enjoying their second week of day camp.  Kyle has participated in some very cool activities...he's been mountain biking, zip lining, tree climbing and kayaking among other things.  Jillian has also been doing lots of fun things including canoeing and visiting a castle (she left a note for the mystical friendly dragon that lives there and even received a letter in return...a very polite dragon indeed).  We've had many crafts coming home from Jillian.  This macaroni dinosaur is my favourite...I love that no matter how far we've come technologically in this world, macaroni and glue are still the quintessential camp craft!  And you'll notice my girly-girl manages to pretty up any artwork she creates with hearts and butterflies...even a dinosaur skeleton.

In the evenings we've been making use of the pool to cool down.  We have lots of great neighbours who have been joining us for pool fun and bbq'ing.  The kids love seeing their school friends regularly throughout the summer (having a pool in the backyard is great for your social life!). 

here's a good reason to have kids...

Kyle, Jillian and Leah were all very excited when I suggested we wash my van together.  I went out and bought some big sponges, filled a bucket with water and soap and let the fun begin!

They really had a lot of fun.  Eventually Leah decided to ditch the sponge and just use the soap on the van as fingerpaint.  Definately a fun thing to do when the weather is hot.

King and Queen of the castle

My sister lives beside a huge park with several play areas for the kids (which is a huge bonus for when we visit...makes it so easy to get the kids out and about to burn off energy!).  They love this particular playground the most due to the very high climber...as in high heart rate inducing for me.

They both made it all the way to the top and were vey happy to pose for pictures.  Jillian wasn't coming down until she reached the very top.  She did get a tad scared on the way down, but Kyle coached her on the best path down and she was on solid ground in no time.

Of course my social butterfly managed to make a friend, as she does wherever we go.  Being bilingual while we visit Montreal is a huge perk from having the kids in french immersion (heck, they know a lot more french than I do...Kyle is my official translator).

 

Leah had fun as well climbing and sliding...

And I got to hold this little cutie the whole time.  I just love my niece, besides being absolutely adorable she is also just about the easiest baby I've ever met.

cousins

I love how excited my kids get when they find out we will be visiting Montreal to see Alicia.  They love their newest little cousin and love spending time with her.  On our recent trip they got to feed Alicia (a novelty for my big kids, I never used bottles so they never got to do any feedings), see Alicia laugh and giggle and of course spend lots of time holding her.

Nothing says summer vacation like lounging around in your pjs!

broccoli

What do you do when your 6 year old asks for broccoli every night for dinner?

You make broccoli every night!  Jillian has always enjoyed broccoli cheese soup, and lately she has been loving it steamed with some butter and spices.  Even when I'm not planning to make it with our dinner, I can't possibly say no when a child of mine is asking for veggies!  Jillian is definately my most adventurous eater, and she eats the most variety when it comes to veggies.  Although Kyle has added quite a few foods to his limited repetoire lately, including carrots.  I used to be quite lazy when it came to mealtime, and rather than fight the kids to make them eat vegetables I was serving them fruit with most meals.  Then a few months ago I decided enough was enough, I made veggies mandatory at dinnertime.  Since then all 3 kids have largely increased their veggie intake, and I don't hear any complaints!  It's amazing how children will rise up to whatever bar you set for them, setting it low doesn't do them any good.

** After I started this post, you would not believe what my two girls asked to eat for breakfast one morning...that's right...broccoli!  The two of them sat down at the kitchen table with a container of raw broccoli and some cream cheese and finished it all off!