First Bicycle Ride

The girls have officially gone on their first bicycle ride of the year. We have had several days of weather in the double digits over the last week, perfect for rediscovering the outdoors:

-we have gone cycling once
-to the park at least 5 times
-our middle one tried in-line skating for the first time

The latter led to our 2-year old insisting we buy her in-line skates. I tried to explain the they didn't come in her size, but to no avail...

A Snowman and the Principal

My kindergartener had a very eventful week at school. On Monday morning, she built a snowman. Yes, in the middle of April!

And on Thursday morning, she made her first visit to the principal's office. Thankfully not because she had been punished, but because she had read 20 french books chosen by her teacher. She received a french book, a certificate, and sticker.

I think the week might only get better. Sunday will be in the double digits, and we may well go for our first bike ride of the year!

The Girls Meet Elsa

The girls met Elsa at a birthday party last Sunday. At least, they truly believe they had! While only one of our daughters has seen Frozen (at school, on a rainy day that forced them indoors at lunch), our girls seem to be fully aware of these sisters. With ubiquitous Frozen merchandise, I should not be surprised.

The birthday party was for my four-year old's a class-mate. The queen paraded in an hour into the party, and most of the kids took notice. The birthday girl would not leave her side. Elsa read them a story, danced with them, sang with them, applied Frozen stickers and tattoos, and finally posed for photos.

So talented was the impersonator, that even my 6-year-old thought she was in the presence of royalty...

Last Skating Session

The last of four skating sessions with the kindergarteners took place this past Friday.  The four sessions spanned over a little over a month, and I cannot help but reflect on the progress. Not only did the group as a whole improve (as evidenced by very fewer skating "aids" being used), but my daughter's skating skills incrementally improved. Not only was she falling less, but she was also enjoying herself more by the last session. At the first session, I had a hard time convincing her to stay on the ice the entire hour, whereas by April 1st, she did not want to get off the ice.

Her french speaking skills have also shown improvement. A month ago, she really wasn't making much of an effort to speak french.

Here are a few sentences I heard her speak at the last skating session:

"Maman, fais mes patins," she asked indicating that I should tie her laces.

"Maman, vas là bas,"she said once on the ice, indicating that she did not need my help, and that I should skate elsewhere. Or perhaps she was embarrassed by my presence...

"Mme Marie, est-ce que je peux boire de l'eau" she asked her teacher once she had gotten off the ice.

So it is with mixed feelings that we place our skates into storage for the summer...

A Good Friday

Because of my week-end work schedule, there are few opportunities for family road trips. Good Friday happened to be one such opportunity that we had been considering for some time. I had avoided spending too long on the road with all three kids as hearing "are we there yet" every five minutes can be tiresome. Especially with three kids repeating the same thing over and over again. So we hatched a plan:

We would buy behind-the-seat iPad holders for the three iPads we own, and set up some kid-friendly movies. As our girls generally get almost no screen-time, we knew this would be a special treat. Our plan worked out well until part way there, the girls realized they weren't watching the same films...and one had no film at all as the iPad in question did not contain enough space for a full length movie. We did make it to Ottawa, our destination, roughly two hours after our departure, without a single stop.

We had a lovely visit with an aunt and cousin in Ottawa. They were very hospitable, and managed to feed our picky eaters a wholesome lunch. We then all headed off to the "Canada Agriculture and Food Museum." They had a special set-up for the long week-end, which included a visit of several barns, and a hands-on session with chicks, baby rabbits, and ducklings. The girls received some tasty egg-shaped chocolates as we headed to the car. 

Thankfully, on the way back,  our youngest fell asleep. Our oldest, however, woke her up after about a half an hour because she was upset about the movie she was watching...she wanted to watch the same show as her middle sister, and complained quite vocally. But we did eventually make it home,  and our girls have asked when we will next return to Ottawa.

Overall, as our cousin in Ottawa put it, it was a good  Friday...

Winter Carnival

The week after March Break was called "winter carnival week" at my kindergartener's school. The plan was as follows:

Monday: Jersey day: kids can break from the usual school colours and wear a jersey from their favourite team
Tuesday: Kindergarteners build a snowman
Wednesday: Kids bring in the large ice cubes they had frozen to build a castle
Thursday: Crazy hat day
Friday: Musical show entitled la Diva Malbouffa

Our daughter missed the two first days with yet another virus, this one most likely influenza

Wednesday in photos:

Thursday, we didn't really know what to expect for Crazy Hat Day. I had already chosen a funny looking hat from our dress-up trunk. Luckily my sister, a teacher working at the same school, gave me the heads up: The hats should by handmade, and the kids parade their hat sin the gymnasium in front of the others. There is one winner per class. Thanks mostly to Pinterest and a hot glue gun, I was able to throw together a cupcake hat, stuffed with a balloon that my daughter had blown up on her own. She came in second in her class, not bad for a last minute crazy hat!

On Friday, my daughter  could not tell me much about the show, except that she had enjoyed it, that she sat on her teacher's lap the whole time, and that there were "googly eyes" in the show.

When the carnival committee planned the Winter Carnival Week, little did they know that there would be spring-like weather, and the snowmen and castles would melt before the end of the week...

My Three Little Princesses

A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be nice to take the girls to a Disney on Ice show. We had considered it in the past, but deemed the youngest too young to attend. By the time I begun my search for tickets, I could only find four seats together. Should we leave the "baby" home with grandma and attend with the older two, or perhaps should I attend with three girls, and their Papa would join as at the end of the show (as his workplace is a few blocks away)?  In the end, we opted for the latter...

So it was that on the last day of March Break, I drove down with the three girls. I had been advised by my cousin that the girls should dress up. They gladly donned some princess costumes that had been gifted to them, and my cousin loaned them the matching wigs.

From the beginning to the end of the show, the girls were rapt in attention. I was particularly impressed by our two-year old that clapped on cue, and waved good-bye to all of the on-ice characters.

Their favourite, hands down, was Olaf the snowman. 

Overall, we had an incredible time. We did not buy any merchandise, but did share a box of popcorn. The girls are already asking to return next year, and I think we just might look early enough to purchase five tickets...