a big little boy's new room

Once my parents left yesterday morning we got to work putting Felix's room back together and making a few big changes in the process. We got rid of Walter's open sided crib-bed and upgraded him to a proper toddler sized bed with a larger duvet to keep him fully covered and warm throughout the night. It's a bit of a bed shuffle around here as whenever we buy a house and move we plan to have Henry and Walter in twin beds and Felix will have this toddler bed for a few years, but in the meantime ... It was time for Felix to stretch his wings as well, almost 2 and a half as he is now, and so we opened up his crib to a three-sided bed and spent some time moving furniture around. Making his room more cozy and colourful instead of just a change table and a crib and a sound machine and an extra heater. Sometimes this transition to a big boy bed can be a big adjustment and so I had Freddie the Frog, a gigantic softie, ready to soften the blow and make Felix feel excited for this big change. And Freddie was a big hit … but also with Henry and Walter, sigh. Sharing well is often not our strength around here and there was tears from everyone, even Mum I'll admit as it ended up being such a frustrating night after a tiring day. We didn't let Felix nap yesterday so we wouldn't have to deal with him getting out of bed endlessly and playing around his room. At 6:50 pm we were all exhausted and it was time for bed for these three boys … and thankfully there wasn't a peep from Felix after 6:54 pm. He stayed snug under his blanket just as we left him, immediately asleep and quiet the whole night long. Success! So a new cozy and colourful room for a growing up boy. A boy who's stepping down stairs on his own, who's getting ready to potty train in a few months, who can count to ten and dunk his head under water at swimming lessons and laugh hysterically along with his brothers. A boy who sleeps with Charlie and Mansie and Bunny every night, who loves his space jammies best of all and who is the only one to be really, really attached to his Blankie. A boy who talks non-stop to his Mumma all day long, asking 'why' and telling stories and singing songs and insisting on being very independent all.the.time.

It's pretty great watching this big little boy grow up. I hope you like your new room, Lovie.

days with grandma and grandpa

My parents came for a few days' visit this week which coincided with Henry's special Grandparents Day at school on Friday. Was he ever a well loved boy that day! - as Grandparents from Kelowna and Grandparents from Duncan all came to tour his school, meet his teachers and see his many projects and artwork so far. My parents and Sam's parents have known each other for years, of course, and are good friends so the four of them all came back to our place for lunch with everyone, except for Henry who stayed on for the rest of the school day. Felix and Walter, however, were just tickled to sit in between both their Grandma and Nana and they didn't want to get down after lunch for fear of missing any of the fun conversation and the chance to just.be.loved.on.by.everyone.

I downloaded all of these pictures from my Dad's camera, lest you think I ought to take any credit for them. I'm too often just out and about with my phone's camera instead these days so I was happy to let Dad do the snapping and then get them on my computer before they left. Rain was forecast for every day of their visit but then every morning the sun would burst through and it was a different week of weather entirely. There seemed to be lots of just life back and forth busyness while they were here, with school drop offs and pick ups, Kindergarten field trips, swimming lessons and Sam working late. But we still managed to get my parents to my two favourite places here in Esquimalt … the Veterans Cemetery just a few blocks away and Saxe Point Park, an amazing green space just tucked right up to the ocean's edge. Walter and Felix had extra grandparent time while Henry was busy at school though Henry had his share of special time too. I did find Henry and Walter snuggled into bed with Grandpa this morning, listening to all the stories from my childhood and Henry was Biggest Brother in Charge last night while Grandma and Grandpa took the boys out for pizza, Mum and Dad out on their own date.

Thanks for coming to visit, Grandma and Grandpa! You just can't beat flying kites on a field overlooking the Pacific Ocean, can you? Pretty spectacular.

happy easter!