Pool

The boys are just loving the pool.  Zachary is doing really well with his swimming lessons.  He will get into the pool with me and will often times go to Alec (their instructor).  He loves to hold onto the flutter board and kick his feet.  I am very proud of how far he has come this summer.  Next year should be even better.

Nicolas prefers the little pool.  He is not fond of the big pool.  Mostly it's due to the fact that the water is much colder than the little pool.  Plus, at the little pool he can do whatever he wants and he doesn't have anyone bugging him to blow bubbles in the water or to kick his feet.  He will however, come into the pool and play around.  He just doesn't seem to like it as much as Zachary does.

Here are a few pictures of the boys playing in the pool on Tuesday night.  About an hour or so after we got home, we discovered that both boys had low grade fevers (Zach at 102.3 F and Nicolas at 101.1 F).  The fevers are finally gone as of this afternoon and their mood has picked up along with its departure.  Although, they were not exactly all that difficult during this cold.  They still managed to sleep almost the whole way through the night and gave me a 3 1/2 hour nap yesterday afternoon.  The runny noses are still here today but even that seems to have subsided somewhat.

Zachary swimming:

Nicolas just hanging out:

The boys playing around in the pool:

So sweet!

The boys and I have befriended a few people at the grocery store near our house (a Loblaws).  The lady that usually works at the self serve check-out is named Selina and she lets the boys push the buttons and write with the little pen on her palm pilot.  The boys think it's pretty cool and always looks to see if she is there as we are making out way to the cash.  She is so sweet and always takes the time to acknowledge us even if she is really busy.

Zachary and Nicolas love going shopping at the grocery store and are always asking whether or not our other "friend" is there.  Our other friend is the butcher who's name I did not know until last Friday when I finally asked him.  The boys always strain their necks to see if he's there as we approach his counter.  He always comes over to talk to the boys and to shake their hands.  He just recently got back from a week's vacation with his wife down in Mexico.  We had not seen him for a while due to this vacation and my explanation to the boys was that he was visiting the ocean.  Much to their delight we finally got a chance to see him on Friday.  He talked to us for a few minutes and then told the boys he had something special for them.  He disappeared and came back with two wrapped packages.  The boys opened them to find two t-shirts from the Maya Riviera where he had vacationed.  He said that he wanted to pick something up for his buddies!

I was so floored I almost couldn't even mouth the words "thank you".  I could not believe that he had not only thought of my boys while he was away but also took the time to bring something back for them.  I knew he was a sweet and kind man, but to do something like that is just beyond nice.  The boys and I are working on a thank you picture to bring to him the next time we are there.  The boys would not put their t-shirts down during our entire visit to Loblaws.  I was hanging some laundry out on the line today (including the shirts) and when I asked who gave it to them, they both happily exclaimed, "Our friend!".

I still can't get over the generosity...

Trip to the mall...

It was quite warm and sunny today so we decided to head over to the mall to walk around.  I had a few things I wanted to look for anyway and the boys just love the fountains.  So, we headed over with Auntie Nat and Alexandra in tow.  It was so cute to watch the three of them walking around...

The trip was good for a while until Nicolas decided to stop listening to anything I said... typical 2 year old behavior.  Nonetheless it is not something I will tolerate especially when in a busy shopping mall.  So, due to all the crying, we packed up and headed home.  The crying continued until we got home and the pouting went on after that.  Hopefully it will register with him that throwing a tantrum is thrown in public will guarantee that we will leave said place.

I happened to have my camera in my purse and caught a video of the three cousins dancing in the entrance to a store...

First trip to Dairy Queen...

Steve and I took the boys out to Dairy Queen for the first time last night.  They loved it!  The enjoyed watching the lady make their cones.  They were very polite and thanked the lady when she gave it to them.  They ended up eating the entire cone!  Needless to say they had a bit of a sugar rush afterward... but we all had a great time...

Zachary licking his cone:

Nicolas licking his cone:

Here is a little video of them enjoying the ice cream!

Sickness...

I know I have not updated very much lately but things have been quite crazy around here.  Steve came back a week ago from another business trip to China and has been quite ill.  He went to the doctor on Monday and is on antibiotics that are not working.  He will be returning to the doctor today or tomorrow for further testing.  One of the things the doc diagnosed him with was strep throat... which he happened to pass along to me.  I was at the doctor yesterday to find out that the strep was just starting.  So now I am on antibiotics as well.  Luckily I caught my infection early and the meds seem to be working.  Other than the annoying sensation in my throat, I am feeling ok.  I am just busy watching the boys (all three of them) and trying to keep my eyes open for any signs of the boys catching it.  So far (knock on wood)... so good.

We have also been busy trying to get things done at the new house.  For those of you who are unaware of this situation, Steve and I just bought a second house near our place.  It is an investment property that we will be renting out to Steve's parents.  They wanted to move closer to all of their grandkids and we were happy to help.  Of course there is a lot for us to gain in the situation as well... the boys will be able to see their Mom-I and Pop-I whenever they want and whenever I need an extra hand, they will be there.  Now, if only we could find a way to get Nana and Papa up here too!  Maybe when we are ready to invest in another property we can work on them...

Anyhow, we have a lot of work to do to get the house ready for Mom-I and Pop-I.  But with all of these hurdles popping up, it hasn't been easy.  Thankfully Steve's brother Dan has been available to come and help.  He is really good at this type of work and is very reliable.  Without his help this week, I don't think we would have been able to get very much done.  Hopefully Steve will be on the mend soon and he can get to working on the house.  I know he is dying to start working over there and being stuck in bed is killing him... great way to spend a week's vacation!

The boys are doing great.  They are learning new words and sentences by the second.  We have also entered the stage of "Cars" mania in our house.  They are obsessed with the movie and anything related to it.  It is driving me a little insane actually.  But, they are cute so I put up with it.  I will post again soon with some pictures...

Talking...

These are just random videos I took of the boys chatting with me.  They were so cute that I decided to share...

Zachary talking about playing in the "awa" (ie water/ sprinkler):

Nicolas talking about the flags and some of his family that loves him:

Fun in the sun...

We went to my sister-in-law's house yesterday for Sabrina's birthday party.  She has a nice in-ground pool and I was hoping the boys would get to play around in the water.  Sadly, the water was way too cold.  Nicolas decided he wanted in until he felt how cold the water was.  He got in up to his waist and decided that was enough. 

The boys however, got the chance to spend some time with most of their cousins.  The older girls (all but one of the cousins there were older than them) were so good at playing with them and keeping an eye out for them.  It is so cute to see them all chasing after the boys.  And the boys loved every second of it.  At one point they had all 5 girls waiting on them hand and foot and they were in heaven.

We will be doing it all over again in another month except this time all of the cousins will be there for Grandpa's birthday.  It will be great to see them all together.  Hopefully the weather will be just as warm but that the pool will be a little warmer so that my boys will want to go in. I was lucky enough to have Carolyn look after the boys for a while so that I could go in the pool with the older kids and play.  What a great day!

The boys did not nap at Carolyn's (or if they did it was not longer than 30 minutes) but made it until bed time.  It was only when we were in the bath that they were becoming a little unbearable.  They went to sleep with minimal fussing.  Nicolas complained a little because he had thrown all of this stuffed animals and blankets in Zachary's crib in an attempt to wake him up.  That did not work at all.  I went in thinking they were both still awake and turned on the light to find Nicolas' stuffed animals.  Only to find Zachary sound asleep and not even flinching when I turned on the light and moved him to get Nicolas' bear.  They both slept in until 9:15 this morning when I finally went in and helped them wake up.

Here are a few pictures from our fun day:

Zachary and Brownie the Bunny:

Nicolas and Brownie the Bunny:

The boys playing with Lauryn and Katie:

Fiona helping Nicolas with the water gun:

Lauryn fixing the water gun for Zachary :