1st trip to HK (Part 1)

Hubby and I were DREADING this HK trip for months.  We were worried that the kids wouldn't adjust well to the time difference, the hot weather and the fact we will have to re-sleep train just freaked us out.  We just finished sleep training with Nate (no more night feeds!) a week or two before the trip and we had to do that again??  Well, turned out what we worried about...all came true!!  Arrggghhh....  

Nate completely happy cruising around our departure gate:

Ali completely mesmerized with the humongous airplane.  She stared at it for a looooong time and kept on asking when we could board.

Por por is on the same flight with us and she was trying to show Ali all the different planes.

A very content toddler, but grandma already looked kind of defeated.  LOL.

I managed to smile still.  Well, that's before take-off....right...

Nate was just too excited about this whole plane experience.  It turned out the bassinet was a bit too small.  He is a skinny baby, but he is too long for it.  So what happened you think?  Turned out Nate loved mommy a lot.  Yup, por por was able to give me breaks from time to time when we were heading to HK, but on our way back, I was holding him 12 hours SOLID.  No joke.  My arms were asleep and my back and shoulders were aching for a few days.

Nate: "Nap?  Sleep?  What's that?  Time to play, mommy!"

Poor little Ali was SOOOO exhausted but she was so uncomfortable that she couldn't sleep.  She tried sleeping on the floor, then a minute later, climbed onto the seats (por por and I took turn sitting somewhere else with Nate), then back to the floor.  She kept on doing that for a long time.  Ali got really frustrated and upset and after an hour of struggle, she finally fell asleep.  She was able to sleep for 6 hours on the entire flight.  We think that Ali could have slept longer if the seat belt sign wasn't on (we had to bring her back to her seat, poor Ali!)

My little angel finally got a little bit of rest.  The silly girl insisted to sleep with her luggage.  Yup, that's my girl. 

Merry-go-round

Ali's best friend at school is leaving.  His mommy is expecting twins (boys!) at the end of this year so it makes sense for them to send Dominic to somewhere close to their home.  We took advantage of their summer break and went to the Burnaby Village Museum for a playdate.

Taking the streetcar with Dominic.

"Waiting" for the streetcar at the station.

Since the PNE visit, Ali got really fascinated with blacksmiths.  We just happened to catch one of the blacksmiths in action.

Can't miss the cowbell!

Ali and Dominic just LOVED running on the field.  They had so much fun.  That's what the kids love, good company and a place for them to run around.

And their favourite - merry-go-round!  I think we were on it 4-5 times.  It doesn't make sense for the pregnant lady to go with the kids, so I went with them.  Man, I was so dizzy after.

 

Thanks for the wonderful playdate, Erin.  Ali and I had so much fun!  Good luck with the pregnancy!

Sebastian turning 3!

Just got back from a really hectic vacation.  Now it's time to blog!  Not on our vacation, but the stuff before our trip.  Ali's little boyfriend is turning 3 and before we head to the party, we had a little playdate with her friend, Isla.  The gals really enjoy their time together.

Daddy is exhausted pulling the two little ladies around the neighbourhood.

Time to do some cleaning, girls!

While the spray bottles are out, why don't we clean the cars, girls?

Both our kids slept in a bit and we were late for the party, but just in time for the cake!

Mason enjoying his snack on the big boy chair:

Ali and her handsome bf, Sebastian.  Isn't he adorable?

Sebastian's mommy has never heard of Gangnam Style.  Seriously??  No way!  Maggie's mommy pulled out her phone right away.  Mason and Ali know it quite well.  You should see the way they dance.  Hilarious!

 

Thanks for the awesome birthday party, Any and Erik!

Explosive diaper at its best

Compare to Ali, Nate has way less explosive diapers.  Maybe he doesn't eat as much?  I don't know, but boy, did we just hit a jackpot last week.  I felt the need to blog this so that my little guy would know how much "fun" mommy had when he was a baby.  (Yes, mommy deals with sh!t all the time!)

It is not a pleasant experience when there is a leaky, explosive diaper.  It is much worse when you have a toddler demanding for your attention when you are dealing with the crap.  After we finished our snack, I ushered my kiddies to the living room to play.  I put the boy down and wanted to go and wash my hands.  Then I realized I spilled something on my shirt.  My first reaction was, "Hmm, what did I spill?  Did I spill the jarred food?  But I just gave him yogurt.  Was it because of the dishes?  But it doesn't make sense."  It took me a while to realize that his diaper might be leaking.  Oh yes, yes, it leaked.  As Nate wasn't wearing any pants, there is *ahem* evidence EVERYWHERE.  (Now, why am I always alone in situations like this?)

Assessing the situation, I thought both baby and I need to change immediately.  Reassessing the situation, need to bring the little guy to the change table in his room, otherwise, he is going roll and it would be impossible to clean afterwards.  And off we went, badgering my girl NOT TO WALK close to those tiles.  While I was concentrating on the task at hand (man, there was so much poop!!), I heard my girl jumped off the couch.  Immediately, I told the girl to STAY AWAY from the poop, afraid that she would spread it everywhere.  Ali replied, "but I NEED to get my cards, I NEED them."  Her cards were really close to the poop tiles.  My heart just sank.

After changing baby, I left him in the playpen, and scout to see what the damage was like.  Thank goodness, Ali was able to stay clean.  And then I realized how much poop there was on the tiles.  Really?  And the floor too?  Okay.  While I was cleaning the tiles and cursing this whole event, I started to wonder when did he actually poop??  He wasn't doing it when I was carrying him.  That just meant...he must have done it when he was eating.  Crap.  My suspicions were further confirmed by the big honking poop on his high chair.    And of course, the poop sat in the gap between the seat cover (that can be easily washed in the washer) and the chair.  Right.  It's just too perfect of a scenario.  

Off I went to the laundry room with all the poopy clothes and seat covers.  Little girl, being ignored for the whole time, really wanted to go downstairs with me, but I couldn't let her.  I mean, my hands were covered with poop.  And the tears started to flow and then came the screaming.  My girl was breaking down.  Meanwhile, my little boy was super upset (being trapped in the playpen) started to blow raspberries. It was like listening to a symphony of cries.  

 

And that's what changing leaky diaper is like when you have two kids.  

CEFA fun day 2012

Can't believe Ali is 3 years old already.  There is huge difference between this year and last year in terms of her physical growth and abilities.  I am super lucky that my mom is in town so I could take Ali out and spend more quality time with my girl.  Thanks mom!

Ali's throw is infinitely better than last year.  It is still really funny to watch her do bean bag toss tho.  Hahaha. 

 

Ali made me a crown.  It looks like I am taking a picture with a celebrity, with the sunglasses and the "cool" look on her face.  LOL

 

Ali made a bracelet for por-por and one for herself.  Cute.  The beads table seemed to be the most popular - with the teachers.  Quite a few teachers just gathered around making their own bracelets after lunch.

Can't call it a party without face painting.  I thought Ali would go for flowers or butterflies, but she went for...

Spider-gal!  Well, I sort of saw that coming (Ali has a Spiderman look-and-find book), but I couldn't help but asked her three to four times, just to make sure she really, really wanted to be Spiderman.

Enjoying lunch with her bff, Dominic.

Okay, I need to explain a bit here.  I was sharing food with Ali, that's why she has two plates in front of her.  

Playing hide-and-seek after lunch. 

Parachute time!  Ali used to be so scared to go under the parachute, but now she totally loves it!

Wearing her crown with Teacher Milet.

A big hug with her friend, Michael.

 

Both of us had a great time.  It is indeed a "fun day"!

PNE 2012

It is funny that my husband and I had stopped going to PNE for a long time and our children has renewed our interest in the fair again (more like for the kids than for us).

Ali was very interested in the blacksmith.  She was very intrigued with the making of the horseshoes.

Gathering around for the bunny show.   I didn't know bunnies can go through the obstacle course just like dogs (except much, MUCH slower).

Ali's absolute favorite - Kid's Barn.

Here is Farmer Ali growing her crop.

Gotta take the tractor out for a ride.

After going through all the tasks, Ali earned her lucky dollar to buy a pack of cranberries!

After dinner, it's Superdogs time.  Ali "won" a teddy bear when she playing one of the carnival games.  Seriously, it is cheaper to go to a toy store to buy a cute teddy bear than this junk.  Just look at that thing.  Oh well, I guess its the experience that counts, right?

Can't wait until next year when Nate can actually join in the fun!

Nate's first haircut

Man, I was doing so well (in terms of blogging) in August and just lost it!  Mental note, gotta try a bit harder!

Nate had his first haircut last month.  He is much luckier than his sister.  Not much cradle cap found on this bunny.  His hair was a bit uneven.  Since it was getting pretty hot, daddy decided to give him a buzz cut.

The "before" pic:

I genuinely thought it would be a disaster.  Not that I don't believe in my hubby's skills, but Nate is just so SO squirmy!  It turned out that Nate was quite intrigued with the razor the whole time and was really happy to sit still to get his haircut.

His big sister would not miss out on the action.  Ali helped by brushing his hair.  Nate was just so happy that his sister was "playing" with him!

Daddy's little helper, watching intently...okay, got sidetracked by my camera.

My little man was super excited to show off his new look.  What do you think?

Two happy hairdressers and one satisfied customer.  Success!