Evergreen Brick Works… or as Aidan would call it- Sick Bricks

We woke up this morning with Kendall coughing pretty badly and me not feeling so well. I let Kendall sleep in a little bit so we didn't make it to church this morning :-(

Daddy still wanted us to go out as a family as it's the last long weekend until school starts on Tuesday. I suggested we go to Evergreen Brick Works.  I had heard about this place from my co-worker and she said it would be a great place to take the kids. I didn't think daddy would oblige as Evergreen Brick Works is close to downtown and he never likes going there. 

It was a scorcher of a day. I think it was close to 40°!

There was a beautiful pond at the Weston Quarry Garden where you and Kendall looked at turtles, tadpoles
and bugs. 

Lounging by the red Adirondack chairs by the pond.

You knew that these were lily pads. I don't know how you knew, but you were looking for frogs. Unfortunately
we didn't see any. 

The beautiful surroundings.

Everything is possible.

You and Kendall took turns watering the plants at The Children's Garden in Chimney Court.

You asked why it said 'Valley' and I said it's because we were by the Don Valley. I don't think you understood.

Inside the Young Welcome Centre. You and Kendall wanted to pose with your butts out. Aish!

The Kilns building. This was a really neat space where bricks were once fired. 

There were lots of graffiti on the walls and equipment. You said they weren't graffiti, but Pokemon designs.
Now that I see it, it does sort of look like Pokemon designs.

Kendall in front of the many graffiti signs at the Brickworks.

Daddy wanted you to pose in front of this cry baby photo. I asked you why daddy wanted you to and you said,
"It's because I'm a cry baby." True dat!

We went over to The Pavilion to check out the Farmer's Market and most importantly, to check out the food.
We got this pulled pork thing from Pimenton and it was delicious!

Fish tacos. This was okay. We also got Jamie Kennedy's infamous frites, beef dumplings, chorizo sausage
wrapped in pastry, fresh oysters and fresh squeezed lemonades. 

My family.

Enjoying the view. What a great day we had.

"Mommy, there's a mini grape growing out of our tree…"

Classic. 

This morning, before heading off to school, I was setting up the stroller on our driveway and you happened to be looking at our tree. The buds are starting to come out now and you kept picking at the tree. You called me over and said in a matter-of-fact voice that there were little grapes growing out of our tree. I told you they were tree buds, but you insisted that they were grapes. Haha. 

You are also beginning to demand more play dates with your classmates. Today, I picked you and your best friend,
Mateo up from school for a play date. It's actually pretty nice having your friends over because you guys play
very civilized and it gives mommy a breather. I noticed that having play dates with your school friends are
much less crazy than having play dates with your non school friends. I guess it's because you guys have a certain
way of playing at school with rules and boundaries so it's very interesting to watch.

Life of a mom

If you are a mom, then you will know that nap time is king. You basically have to arrange your day around it. Also, if you're like me where your toddler is no longer taking daily naps, but when they do, you basically honour that time. 

I usually take you out first thing after I drop Aidan off at school because that's when you're in the best mood- you're fed and you're not cranky. Today, I took you to the park because the weather was nice and then we went to Michael's to pick up a few craft items for a scrapbook project that I'm working on for missionaries- Bryan and Christina. Since Michael's is close to Auntie Jessica's house, we stopped by for a play date. By the time we left Auntie Jess' house, it was time to pick up Aidan from school. Lo and behold, you fell asleep on the way home. I had to chill out in the car for a good 15-20 minutes in order for me to let you sleep a little longer. 

And look how happy you are after your nap. That makes it all worth it!

This is what an S/K (Senior Kindergarten) looks like

How is it possible that you are entering Senior Kindergarten?? It seemed like yesterday when we were dropping you off for your first day of Junior Kindergarten. How time flies…

You were so excited to start school. Although you have been going to daycare every day in the Summer, I think you were bored. You really love learning so I think you were excited to finally start the school year. And now that kindergarten is full time, I imagine that you will learn so much.

This just made my day!

Today, your daycare class moved back into their regular space. The school has been renovating all summer so it was nice to finally get back to your original classrooms. Kendall has been adjusting really well at her new daycare (your current daycare). She cried for about a week straight so I was really worried, but for some reason something clicked and she was amazing this week. She even waved goodbye to me. I think it helped that I got you to hold Kendall's hand before entering the daycare. I think she is comforted that you are with her. What made it even better? I found these snapshots of you and Kendall taken at her new daycare in her cubby. It really looks like you guys love each other even though most of the time you guys want to claw each others eyes out!

So long, farewell~

Becoming a mom turned me into such a sentimental wuss. I don't know why, but every little milestone makes me into such a cry baby. 

Today was your last day at your daycare. You are starting a new daycare that Aidan is currently attending. The reason why we wanted to put you in Aidan's daycare is so that the pickups and drop-offs are much easier for both daddy and I. Last winter, daddy had such a hard time going to 2 different daycare centres to pick you both up. We would have put you in Aidan's daycare sooner, but they only accepted kids over 2 2/1 until recently. They are now accepting 2-year olds. I guess the demand is high where we live…

I didn't think that today would be a sad day for me. However, it made me realize that my babies are growing up. This daycare was the daycare Aidan started at when he was 1 so it's a little bittersweet. I think I now know why people keep having more kids. 

Your teachers- Miss Karina and Miss Sandeep wrote you a beautiful card and inside were handprints of all the kids in your daycare class with a class photo. I literally had a lump in my throat when I read this. Thank you Karina and Sandeep!

There's hope in the promise of the cross

From left to right: Cameron (9), Daniel, April, Tyler (7)

Earlier this week, while I was browsing online during my lunch break at work, I came across a story on the Yahoo homepage of a woman, April Smith, who had lost her 2 sons during a Tornado in Arkansas on April 27. Having 2 kids myself, I immediately felt a deep pain and huge sorrow. I could not imagine what she was going through. However, the story went on to say that it was only through her faith in God that she was able to be at peace. She knew that her boys knew Jesus and that they would be OK. She was in such emotional pain, but she knew that God is good and God had taken them home. 

It is through her story (which went viral, BTW), that so many people came to know God and even Christians that were wavering in their faith were able to come back to God. Amen to that!

Her friend, Jessica, posted a blog post of her friend's incredible story of faith, which I am going to link here. I know that the boys' deaths were not in vain. There are so many things that happen in this world that we don't understand, but we have to know that God is good. Jessica, in her blog post, posted a scripture verse that her other friend had shared and I'm going post is here. It's from Isaiah 55:8-11:

8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

We are all here for a purpose- for God's purpose. This world that we live in is only a temporary residence. So we have to live knowing that the world we live in is only temporary. We have an eternal home waiting for us. So we must live to serve God's purpose.

O God, please be with April and Daniel as they are healing physically and emotionally. We know your heart breaks when we suffer. When we see this world through our eyes, it's hard to understand and grasp the terrible things that happen around us, but thank you for giving April a small glimpse into your wonderful plan. We know you are good and you are faithful. Let us continue to put our faith in you that you will make everything ok. In Jesus' name, Amen.

My heart melts

Sometimes you are just so sweet that it makes me feel this deep, deep love for you. And if something were to happen to you or Kendall, I don't know what I would do…

There's nothing you love more than…

VANILLA ice cream! (It has to be vanilla. Not chocolate, not strawberry… just plain vanilla)

Oh, and you love tacos, macaroni and cheese, pancakes, shredded cheese, milk, popcorn and chips.

Kendall, a girl completely her own

You are now 20-months old. I find that this stage that you're in right now is so interesting in that your personality is really showing through. You are COMPLETELY different from Aidan. Whereas he has a lot fear, you are totally fearless. Whereas he could sit still for hours at a time, you are squirmy. He never touched anything, you touch everything. He's an extremely picky eater, you eat anything and everything. The list goes on and on… Let's just say you two are polar opposites. 

I find that you and Aidan are fighting a lot more these days. It's always about wanting the same things.
Like the rocking chair, in this example. Instead of just letting your bigger brother have it, you come at
him with claws out proclaiming your territory. It's actually quite interesting to see. 

Queen of the castle.

Love/hate relationship. Sometimes you get along, sometimes you don't.

Aidan started Korean school a couple of weeks ago so as soon as he left with daddy, you wanted to put
on your shoes to mimic him. 

Sad that you're all dressed, but have nowhere to go…

But not sad for long! You always have a smile on your face.

"Let me out!"

I took a video of you trying to take off your boots. Watch the 1:23 mark to see Kendall at her funniest ;-)

Special bond

Daddy's going to get mad at me for saying this, but I think you love me more than daddy. You always tell me how much you love me; you give me kisses even when I don't ask for them; and you always bring me home pictures you drew for me. I don't see you doing that to daddy. Plus, when daddy asks whose side you're on, you always say you're on my side.

It's moments like these that make my heart melt

We had a pretty chill day today. There was a snow storm (again…) so we really didn't want to go out. Lately it's been so cold or snowy that we've just been hibernating every weekend. This winter has been brutal to say the least…

Sometimes when we are all home for a long period of time, we can drive each other crazy. However, today was a pretty good day. You got along great with Kendall and we just had a really relaxing day. I caught you hugging Kendall and decided to take a photo of you two. I know sometimes you can get pretty annoyed with Kendall because she cries or touches your things, but I know that deep inside you really love her.