Run Up for Down Syndrome

This Sunday, our family is doing the Run Up for Down Syndrome.  We are walking in support of my nephew Declan.

After seeing this photo,  I am sure it is no surprise that our team is called "Decky's Daredevils."

It is our second year of participating in the event.  For a recap of the fun click here.  Last year, we attempted the 5 km walk.  One hour and sixteen minutes later, we knew that in subsequent years, we would set our sights a little lower.  Three munchkins under three expressing their independence at every turn and one four year old who now qualifies as a big girl and we think the 1.5 km walk is a good fit for all of us.

This is the fifteenth annual Run Up for Down Syndrome hosted by the Down Syndrome Research Foundation (DSRF).  The event brings families and friends together to raise awareness and funds for the Down Syndrome Research Foundation.  The DSRF believes in life long learning and that it is "never too late or early to learn."  Their research looks at the best way to tap into the unique learning styles of people with developmental disabilities. Using their findings, they work to develop programs with meaningful instruction to support people with Down Syndrome to reach their full potential.

Over the past two years,  I have watched Declan learn to crawl, climb and walk.  I have witnessed him learn words and use signs to communicate.  I have been the recipient of his devilish grins and many blown kisses. I have watched his parents set high expectations for him and have seen him live up to these expectations.  I want for him what I want for my own kids and for the kids I teach and for my other nieces and nephews:  To be happy.  To feel loved.  To be connected with others through social relationships.  To learn to his full potential and use this learning to contribute to his community in a way that makes him feel fulfilled and needed.  It is because of all of these things that I will don devil ears on Sunday and walk with my family.

To participate in the Run Up for Down Syndrome, click here.
To make a donation, click here

Date Night with a Twist

 We were fortunate to have a date night this weekend.  You know one of those nights where the grandparents love up on the kids, feed them and put them to bed while you feel the freedom to choose a nice restaurant and take your time to enjoy the meal.  It was one of those evenings and we met friends at a local restaurant and had adult conversation and glanced slowly over our menus with no rush to order.  The post dinner events included a warm drink, a stroll along the beach and a tour by our resident photographer, Captain Canada.  It was a beautiful evening and no good photographer is going to let that go to waste.

We decided to forego photos of our meal because we were not sure how much that would up our geek factor.  But, the rest of the evening was captured beautifully in pictures.  As you can see from the photos, when your stroll along the beach is been facilitated by a photographer, it becomes not just another walk on the beach.

Head shots for our next presentation?

There were romantic poses and lingering looks of love.

It was nice that we were able to get a couple shots of us together.  Yes he is real and not just a make believe husband.

When the sun went down, that's when things really got crazy.

This photo makes me think of the opening of So You Think You Can Dance.

And like any great date night, there is always a little romance.

Wordless Wednesday- What's Good About Where We Live

The rain is pouring down outside my window as I write this and it has not been the best spring in terms of weather.  But that does not take away from the fact, that I love where we live.  I feel so fortunate that we live close to great parks, paths and trails.  We also live near excellent community centres, delicious food and good friends.  We had some time to appreciate these things last weekend.

What's good about where we live:

Places to walk, run or cycle where there is lots to see and smell and hear.

While swimming may not be advisable, you can bring your pails and shovels and build and explore.

We are close enough to dyke trails that we can catch a sunset up close and personal, once in a while.

Posing for Captain Canada for one of his weekly photo challenges

We have access to community gardens so we can be a part of growing, caring and harvesting.

Sarah's pre-school class is caring for a garden plot.  We learned a lot about planting vegetables this week. 

Jack made an excellent supervisor until he got hungry

Snack time

The parks near us are big and varied.  There is always a little nook that has yet to be explored.

Can you say yummy food?  Our little village is home to a variety of of delicious meals and snacks.  The newest is a little shop that serves mini-donuts.  No more trips to the Playland for a donut fix.

Jack's donuts needed to have chocolate and sprinkles.

Sarah loves raspberry frozen yogurt

All of these things at our doorstep, make us very, very happy.

What is it that you love about where you live?

Weekend Round Up- Keeping up with the H's

We made the most of our long weekend and headed south of the border.  Seattle and the surrounding areas seems to be our new favourite get away.  We travelled with the H family and loved every minute.  They keep a steady pace while on vacation and we did our best to keep up.

Here is a sampling of our weekend of fun:

There was a thumbs up for fun.

And yoga moves.

There was a four year old girl who learned to love the water this weekend.

And a two year old boy who went the other way and decided he didn't like the water at all.

There were kids who loved the water and enjoyed posing for the camera.

There was Canuck colours and Canuck pride.

The boys searched high and low for a place to watch the Canucks game in Everett, Washington.   They stumbled upon this pizzeria.  A nice high definition t.v. and excellent pizza and everyone was happy.

All eyes on the game. 

After the Canucks victory.

After a busy two days, we had one tired little boy.

He fell asleep eating his pizza and slept for over two hours.

To be continued.......

Wordless Wednesday: The Evolution of Sarah

Sarah turned four last Friday.  As usual, I spent a lot of time thinking back to her birth, her other birthdays and how fast time goes.  This sent me into a see saw of emotions related to the baby that is gone, but the little girl that is growing before our eyes.  She is not a baby anymore.  She is growing up so fast.  I love watching her grow and change.  Talking to her and learning more about her and how her brain works is a pleasure.  I headed to our photo library and pulled out a few photos to allow me to reminisce.

December 2007- Sarah 6 months old

May 2008- 1st Birthday Party

May 2009- 2nd Birthday

May 2010- 3rd Birthday

May 2011- 4th Birthday

Happy Wednesday!

Taking Control- A.K.A. Living with a Two Year Old Who is Expressing His Independence

Pull out any parenting book, google two year old and development and you may read some or all of the following:

- expressing independence
- likes to make his own decisions
- wanting control
- growing need for independence as he tries to do more and more things himself

Yes to all of the above.  We see this in Jack everyday and while I relish the fact that this is a good sign, it can be downright exhausting.  During the course of a typical day, here is a little taste of how Jack enforces his will and seeks independence.

Meal Times:  To buckle or not to buckle, that is the question.  Jack clambers up into his booster seat for a meal or a snack and it is time to play Russian Roulette with his buckles.  Will he want to be buckled or not?  Will he want to do the buckles himself or have someone else do them?  Get it right and the meal goes well, get it wrong and you have a screeching barracuda on your hands.

Getting Dressed:  I have written before about pajamas and puppy pants.  Jack wants to choose his own clothes all the time. He will not wear it if he has not chosen it. Lately, my son has become sweat pant boy.  His favourite pants are currently sweats that have the elastics around the ankles.  If you are reading this blog right now in sweat pants with tapered legs, don't be offended, but I see these types of pants more as lounge pants that should not be worn outside the house.   So I am a little disappointed that his cute khakis and stylish jeans have been pushed to the back of the cupboard. As far as shirts go he wants dinosaur shirts, Cars shirts and hockey shirts.  Sometimes, we try to trick him (especially when I need to do laundry and none of his preferred shirts are clean) and pull out a golf shirt and say hockey shirt, but he never falls for it.  When all else fails and we need to get him out of the house, he just wears his pajamas.  I am here to tell you a boy in Batman pajamas at the mall garners a lot of attention.

Bath Time:  The latest development is towel colour. Tonight at the end of the bath, he demanded a green towel, "No Cars towel, Daddy.  I no like the Cars towel.  Green towel."  For future reference it was a light green towel, not a dark green towel.

Entering the Car: Jack has established a very clear routine for entering the car.  We open the door.  He climbs in.  He closes the door and stands on the floor of the car and buckles his car seat.  Then and only then does he climb into the car seat to be buckled.  Try to buckle too early and there will be kicking and screaming.  On a particularly tough morning, I may be the one doing the kicking and screaming.  But don't worry it is only the tires of my car I am kicking.

Couch Time: Want to settle in to watch a show?  Snuggle up to view a movie?  Sounds inviting, but do so at your own risk if you plan to do it on the couch currently occupied by Jack. Captain Canada faced the wrath of Jack yesterday when he sat beside him on the couch (they were planning on watching Toopy and Binoo together) and Jack promptly sent him to his room.

Bed Time: Jack loves to be snuggled at night.  But you must be on the left side of the bed and stay off his memory foam pillow.

Tell me, how does/did your two year old express his/her independence.  Please, take pity on me and let me know I am not the only one dealing with these control issues.

Weekend Round Up- Things I Learned During Sarah's 4th Birthday Parties

It was a weekend of birthdays around here.  One birthday girl, multiple birthday parties.

This picture makes me smile and cry a little at the same time.  When did she get so big and grown up.  I love this girl!

Sarah was born on Mother's Day 2007 so Friday was her "real" birthday.  We started the celebration with our family tradition, shamelessly stolen from Michelle and Teresa, breakfast cereal of the birthday girl's choice.

Gram and Bubby joined us as we ventured to the new Disney Store in Burnaby.

Saturday was her family party complete with a pinata.  Sunday was her friend party at a local gymnastics  club, Cartwheels.

Here is what I learned during all of this flurry of activity:

Early morning haircuts and early morning diapers do not go together. If you hold a screaming boy who is getting an early morning hair cut, without a morning diaper change, you will get peed on. I bet you are thanking your lucky stars that there is no picture of that little scene.


There is such thing as too much cake.  We had cupcakes, cake and more cake.  Now I am a big fan of cake and if you know me or have been reading for a while, I am all about icing.  But by last night, I was actually tired of cake.

The cake as requested by the birthday girl.  Pink with princesses on top.

If you pull a wagon, they will come.  Gram was giving rides in the wagon on Saturday and all of the sudden she was recreating the story of the Pied Piper.

If you have snack and give tickles, they will come.  They flocked to Auntie LB like bees to honey.

Whistles in a pinata,  never a good idea.  That won't happen again.

With the right tools, getting kids undivided attention is easy.  All you need are trampolines, slides and the promise of fun times to come.

Kids love to do somersaults on a balance beam.   I was not a very agile child and as an adult a somersault on a balance beam looks downright painful.  But upon completion, the kids were grinning from ear to ear.

Three birthday parties makes for a busy weekend and a tired momma.  We are going to work really hard to reduce the number of parties by one for next year.


Blowing out candles never gets old.  Even on the third time, Sarah could not get enough of blowing out her candles.