A day at the Science Museum

This week, Papa and I had not one, but two full days of fun with the kids where neither of us were working! On Tuesday, we headed to an old favourite, the Biodome. Friday took us to Montreal's Science Centre. We left bright and early, and would have stayed all day if Baby hadn't needed a nap.

The girls played with pulleys, built bridges, constructed a ball track, and looked in wonder at the ball floating in the air.

Here is their day in photos:

Baby's first sled ride

The large snowfall, coupled with the warm weather made for perfect sledding conditions this week. So off we went into our back yard, down the path to the forest, then back again. There wasn't much in terms of hills, but the girls enjoyed themselves nonetheless. The older girls even fought over who would pull Baby!

First Snowman

On Thursday, after a sufficient snowfall, we made our very first snowman since moving to our new home! We were planning on making five snowmen, one for each of our family members. In the end, the snow was not as sticky as we would have liked, so we ended up with one tiny one:

Later on the same day, inspired by her outdoor experience,  S1 painted a jolly snowman:

S1's First Dental Filling

Our oldest was very brave this week: she handled her first dental filling without shedding a tear! The bad news is that we are back for seconds next week. The dentist explained that because the cavities are on opposite sides of her mouth, she could not fill both at once; S1 would risk biting and hurting her lower lip were it completely numb...

Here is a photo of S1 post first filling. The dentist is in the background. S1 is holding up a finger to indicate her first filling, and donning her surprise from the dentist's treasure box: star-shaped glasses.

Two Down, One to go!

And just like that, S2 decided last week that she would be a big girl, and no longer require pull-ups. We had not pressured her to give up diapers, and we had decided that the best strategy (for us) would be to let her choose the timing on her own. With only one accident in nearly two weeks, I would call it a success! 

Another year or two, and hopefully S3 will join her siblings...and no more diaper duty for us! Can't wait!

First Snow

Much to the girls' delight, a blanket of snow fell Sunday night. I was a little worried as our lawn boys had not picked up the remaining leaves (which they promised they would do in November once the trees were bare). But my girls did not seem worried.

Monday afternoon, we donned our snow suits, and headed out. The girls enjoyed shovelling, cleaning the car, and S2 had her first taste of snow!

Home Sweet Home!

We have been back home for a little over 4 days, and it is almost as though we hadn't left. We were greeted on Tuesday evening by three very excited little girls, and we very quickly returned to our usual routine:

1. Sleepless nights:
-courtesy of S3, a new runny nose
-by Friday, S1 had joined in with a cough of fever of her own
-thankfully S2 sleeps like a rock, otherwise we would be out-numbered!

2. Challenging mealtimes
-S1 has thankfully stopped throwing her food, but still refuses to eat half of it
-S2 won't sit still, and falls off her chair a few time per meal
-S3 just makes a big, cute mess!

3. And most importantly, fun and games the rest of the time, as evidenced by the tea party they had tonight:

San Fransisco, here we come

I write these words from an altitude of 36,000 feet, somewhere between Denver and San Fransisco. My husband sits by my side on the Airbus 319. We left our girls behind in the trusty care of Grandma and Auntie. 

I will be attending a four-day conference in San Fransisco and we will be on our first vacation since S3's birth, almost 15 months ago.

When we left the house, the girls were sound asleep, so we were not able to say a proper goodbye. However, earlier in the week we had prepared the older two for our trip. They made a list of things they wanted us to buy them. 

Although we have been in the plane for only 5 hours, I miss them terribly. Here is a sampling of my worries:

Will they be happy? Will the baby sleep through the night? Will they get sick or injured? Will my mom and sister survive? Will I be able to sleep, or will I worry too much? Will the house be a mess when we return?

I find it hard not to worry, even though I am fairly certain that they will survive, and we will enjoy our trip. 

Thank goodness for FaceTime!

the Double Halloween

Our lucky girls celebrated Halloween not once, but twice! At school, they trick-or-treated in the various departments of the Y. This was followed by a pot-luck party attended by the parents. The girls donned their indoor costumes for their day-time party: S1 as a cow-girl, and S2 as Abby. S3 stayed behind.

Later that afternoon, S1 and S2 helped decorate the house:

Artwork by S1

And after dinner, all three girls headed out for their very first trick-or-treating experience in our very own neighbourhood. The baby was returned to her Papa after about five houses, while S1 and S2 lasted the whole block. The girls also had another first: handing our candy. 

Our Baby, the Ball Girl

Thursday afternoon, we were invited over to play by our 7-year-old neighbour. He was particularly excited about some miniature hockey nets he had recently purchased. S1 and S2 made a bee-line for the play house, and started preparing a series of pretend meals. S3, however said "a ball", ran to the makeshift playing field, expertly picked up a hockey stick, and chased the ball!

This did not overly surprise me because she:

-bounced her first ball at 9 months of age
-spoke the words "a ball" before she could say Mama and Papa
-insisted on joining in with much older kids playing soccer and street hockey
-has her own tennis racquet

Here is our little ball girl in the neighbour's basement:

The Perfect Holiday Monday

We were both off work on Thanksgiving Monday, and we spent a terrific day with the girls. We had not planned too far in advance, but one thing we knew for certain was that we were not going to bake a turkey!

The sunny weather inspired us to spend the day outdoors: We headed to our favourite local farm for some pumpkin picking. It happened to be the last day of apple-picking, and although the girls and I had already been, Papa had missed out. So it was that we filled two large bags full fo Spartan apples after a pleasant tractor ride to the orchard. We had to use the ladders, as most of the remaining apples were high up in the trees. Papa, at 6'3" did most of the picking, but S1 and S2 also got to climb the ladder once each with their father. As for S3, she picked the most apples, all off the ground!

After our bags were full, we headed over to the pumpkin patch and collected a few small pumpkins, as we were already weighed down by two large bags of apples. S3 attempted to pick up the heaviest pumpkin she could find, whereas her sisters choices were more realistic.

Back at the farmhouse, we purchased some fresh corn and squash, freshly-squeezed apple juice, and snacked on some pumpkin cookies.

Back home, the afternnon breezed by: 2/3 of our kids napped, then out we went for a walk to the local park.

That evening, our hearty  dinner consisted of:

-corn on the cob
-spaghetti squash
-apples
-and barbecued chicken burgers for the non-vegetarians

And were it not for the incident in the bath that evening, it was a perfect day. Half-way through bath-time, S3 decided to poop!!!

Return to the Mundane

After a difficult week last week (between Papa being away, and another round of upper respiratory tract viruses), it was nice to return to the mundane: attending pre-school for the first time in one week; playing mostly indoors as the weather has not been so nice; running outside to check the mail; attending swim lessons...

But mostly enjoying doing nothing out of the ordinary...

Here are a few photos of the mundane:

building a fort with the outdoor cushions that were brought in 

Just plain cute!

Baby Goes Apple-Picking

Just a few days ago, we went apple-picking with the girls' preschool. Normally, I would have left Baby at home with Grandma while I attended the field trip with the older two. But with Grandma out of town, I headed down the the apple orchard with all three girls.

It was a nice end to a tough week. The weather was warm, and the girls enjoyed a tractor ride to and from the field, filling their bags with Spartan apples, playing in a farm-style park with toy tractors and labyrinths, and petting farm animals. I wasn't sure that I would survive the week as Papa was away on business. While my wonderful sister stayed over and helped tremendously, the nights were difficult. With frequent wake-ups by both S1 (another cold) and S3 (the usual).

Here are a few photos from our sunny apple-picking experience:

Come September

The fall session began this week for gymnastics, swimming lessons, and a first for our girls: skating lessons.  Shouldn't they have at least one day off? my mother asked me the other day...Whatever for if it's all fun and games?...Perhaps we could use a day off though!

Three Sick Girls

Three girls: during less sick times...

I thought I was sleep deprived until this week..
I thought my girls were whiny until this week...

I had read recently about the Enterovirus D68 making it's way through the United States, causing mild to severe cold-like symptoms, and sometimes respiratory symptoms leading to an unusually high rate of hospitalizations amongst children. I didn't think much about the article until my three girls came down with a fever on the same day!  S1's woke up Monday morning with the sniffles. By Monday night she was febrile, and very tired! S2 woke up from her afternoon nap on Tuesday with hot cheeks and a temperature of 38.4. I remember thinking how fortunate it was that the baby was so well and energetic...until bedtime when she was excessively cranky and hot!

Thank goodness for antipyretics! By Friday morning they had all recovered.

I no longer think my girls are excessively whiny...
I now appreciate the interrupted sleep that I normally get.
But most of all, I am thankful that the girls did not need to be hospitalized!

Photo Session with the Kids

Just before S3's 1st birthday, I made an appointment at a local photography studio. They had a summer special: one 45-minute photo session, and one digital photo for only 50$.  To make a long story short, I liked most of the photos, and purchased 21. Yes, 20 more than I had intended to! It was no deal, but the photos were spectacular (at least in my eyes).

Here is one of my favourite action shots of our three princesses:

Preschool Begins!

I had been looking forward to this week for some time. I had signed S1 and S2 up up for three half days per week at the local YMCA. The plan was that S3 would stay home with Grandma, I would drive S1 and S2 to school, workout, relax, then bring them home.

Their first day was Wednesday, a work day for me, so they were dropped off and picked up by their father who was working from home...And Friday was their first day with Mama. After a good breakfast, the girls grabbed their school bags and lunches, and we headed off to the Y. The girls insisted I stay, but within a few minutes, they indicated that I could leave.

I headed to the running track on the upper level, and impressed myself by jogging 6km after a two year hiatus from running (or perhaps I should specify I did plenty of running after the kids). While I jogged, I looked out a large window, and saw my girls happily playing in the courtyard below. Talk about a guilt-free work-out!

After a quick shower, I headed over to the large mall across the street and simply browsed around. When was the last time I shopped without two to three kids vying for my attention and pulling me in opposite directions?!


First day of school:

No Pool: No Problem!

It was a hot week in Montreal, and we couldn't find a pool. Our local outdoor pool was closed as the lifeguards had returned to school. The neighbouring indoor pools were closed due to annual maintenance, in preparation for their fall season.

Finally, we discovered a new Splash Pad the had opened not too far away. We went not once, not twice, but three times in the same week. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves (except when they were fighting over which water jet to step on).

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

This Tuesday, we (S1, S2 and I) headed to Park Safari with two of my cousins and their children. I asked myself during the long drive over whether or not it would be worth it...

As it happened, the kids did not complain too much on the way over, S2 fell asleep on the way back. And in between, they enjoyed a water park geared towards young kids, enjoyed some ice cream, and saw many animals, including lions, a large tiger, and some sleeping bears.  So exhausted were they by 14h, that we decided to forego the driving safari, and instead drove home...Perhaps next year we will return, I told my toddler after she asked to return the following day!

The Tennis Staycation

We spent a fun-filled stay-at-home vacation last week. The theme: Tennis.

Papa took the week off work and attended daily tennis matches at the Montreal Rogers Cup, watching the likes of Maria Sharapova and Agnieska Radwanska.. The event kicked off with Family Day, and S1 and S2 attended. They had their faces painted, tried wall-climbing, and even gave some mini tennis a go. They enjoyed it so much that we decided to order a mini tennis net for home. Baby also joined the fun, readily getting her hands on any tennis balls that her sisters weren't using.

The week ended with Papa and Mama's very first date night since the birth of S3: The quarter-finals!