My little people

I took this photo last week, on Kirstin's first day of Kindergarten.  Alex is in Grade 4 and Connor is in Grade 1.  I go back to work in three weeks. Time is flying --- it's cliche, but it's so true!

 I have been very blessed to be able to take a year off to spend with Brooklynn.  I'm ready to return to work, but I'm going to miss being with her 24/7.  I'm pretty sure she's going to miss me, too.  The first few weeks are the hardest on both of us and I'm dreading the transition.

Anyway, I don't have anything clever to say about this photo, I just love it so much I wanted to share.  My last few posts have been pretty "baby-heavy" so I wanted to remind myself that I do have 3 other children that also are achieving milestones.  I am very proud of all of them and everything that they can do, even if I don't catch it all on film!

Dancing Queens! :)

My two beautiful daughters playing together tonight.  I love how babies (at least all mine, anyway) just instinctively dance when they hear music. I don't do that, just drop everything and dance, and you probably don't either! We should.  Maybe it would keep us young!

We caught my parents dancing in my kitchen last week because a good song came on the stereo.  They do that a lot.  It's charming!  (And how cool that my kitchen is so spacious I have a dance floor!)  They haven't lost that instinct, which is probably why they're still together after all these years.  Maybe I still have it too, buried somewhere deep down, lying self-conscious under all those negative voices that keep saying, "You can't dance, so don't try".  I'll have to test that theory... take a break, crank the tunes, grab someone's sticky little hand and see where it takes us!  Before my kids stop dancing, too.

Anyway, enjoy!  If you want more, there are 3 more videos just like this!  Just ask, and I'd gladly bore you with more!  :)

Dance party at our house...

Crawling

Baby Yoga

The Cobra

Swimmer's Pose

Plank

Downward Facing Cat

Under the Sea

Kirstin's Dance Recital - Part 2!

"We get to keep theses wands, Mama!!!"

 Kirstin's Dance Recital, May 30th, 2013 - Part 1

From sawmills to incest...

When you tune out the radio and tune in to your children, the drive to an out-of-town soccer tournament can actually be quite interesting...  

You know those puzzles that say "change one letter at a time to go from shrimp to pooper in five moves" --- I dare you to solve that, by the way, it just came from the top of my head. 
,.
Well, here's our version"

Go from sawmill to incest in five minutes.

Give up?  It's really quite easy.

Alex - Mama, what's that building?

Me  (shutting of the music so I can hear) - Oh, that's Plateau, a sawmill.

Alex - Like where Grandpa worked?

Me - Yes, exactly.  My Dad worked at a sawmill.

Kirstin - Where did Daddy's Dad work?

Me -  He was a teacher.  (And anticipating the next two questions...).  Daddy's Mom was a teacher, too.  My Mom used to be a teacher but she quit to stay home and take care of her children.

Kirstin - Were you the only one she took care of?

Me - No, I have two brothers, remember?

Kirstin - Oh yeah, Uncle Eric and Uncle Vince.

Me - No, Uncle Eric and Uncle Nathan.  Uncle Vince is actually my brother in law.

Kirstin - What's a brother in law?

Me - Well, that means that he is Uncle Eric's boyfriend.  They live together.  Like Aunty Janis is our sister in law because she married Uncle Matt.

Kirstin - Oh.  Are Uncle Eric and Uncle Vince married.

Me - No, but they want to spend the rest of their lives together. It's like they're married. 

Kirstin - Mostly girls have boyfriends, right?

Me - Most of the time, but sometimes boys can have boyfriends.

Alex - And girls can have girlfriends, right?

Me - Yup!

Kirstin - Can I marry my brothers?

Me - No.  No, you cannot marry your brothers.

Kirstin - Why not?

Me - Umm... well, you just can't.

Alex - Is it illegal?

Me - Yes, it's definitely illegal.  People in the same family cannot marry each other.

Kirstin - Why not?

Me - Umm, well, I guess it's because if you have children they'd have birth defects.

Alex - Because the mom and the dad are the same?  (Smart kid)

Me - Yes.

Kirstin - What's a birth defect?

Me - They'd be unhealthy, I suppose.

Kirstin - Oh... why?

Me - I have no idea! Besides, you don't know how to play banjo.

Kirstin - Oh, okay.

And that's how we ended up talking about incest on our way to soccer.  I have learned that sometimes, it's okay to say "I don't know" to your children.  Other times it's okay to run with it and see where it leads.

I love my inquisitive kids.  They're going to go places, I tell you... as long as I don't have to walk more than one of them down the aisle at the same time...