happy birthday Jordan!!

Jordan is TWO! I can't believe that it's been two years since he arrived and made us a family of five. He has such a personality and wants to do the same things his big brother and sister do (always). He expresses his desire for independence often by saying "own" and - and then getting food out of the fridge or pouring himself (and the floor) a glass of milk all by himself. He'll get his own diapers out, and knows where to find his PJs and clothes and soothers. The soothers are one of his favourite things - he calls them "yummies" - and he'll hunt for them under his bed when he wakes up from naps and nighttime sleeps. He loves reading books, watching Shaun the Sheep and/or Totoro, and keeping track of baby (sometimes he sleeps with her and sometimes he wants me to keep her). He's a hefty little fellow but is quite particular when it comes to what he eats and what he eats it with (he'll only use certain little spoons); he survives on yogurt, cereal, toast, bagels, bacon, salami, fries, and fruit, and he won't eat much else. (What a diet!) He also likes visiting Liz and her faux ceramic backyard animals, and he'll talk about Sandra and Bruce when he sees their cars in the driveway. Here's a look back at all three of them on their first, second and third birthdays:

Hendrik's first and second birthdays...


Alana's first and second birthday...
  

Jordan's first birthday...



I LOVE looking back at photos and videos (we need to take more videos!) and am so so so thankful I have this record of our lives.

I know that this might be a bit of a mixed bag as far as answers go, but I thought we'd ask Jordan the usual birthday questions (plus a few more); here goes!

who is your best friend? No answer. He said "Yeah" to "Hendrik and Alana?" 
what’s your favourite colour? Pink
what’s your favourite food? Daddy Yogi (Plain yogurt with maple syrup)
what do you want to be when you grow up? Gramma
what’s your favourite book? Cow. (I'd say it's The Gruffalo or a dinosaur book or The Boat Alphabet Book.)
what’s your favourite animal? Piggie
What's your favourite number? Two.
What do you like saying? Own. 
What's your favourite word? "Gramma. Bumps"

birthday picture-post plus: Hendrik is 6!

Finally! Here are some pics from Hendrik's birthday party. It was definitely wild - and our house was no arena for the energy these kids brought, so even though Steve and I were a bit "meh" about having a party at a playgym, 'twas the right choice. I'll let the photos do the talking and get a Christmas post up soon (we have a tree! and I've baked! aaaaand the kids fight over the advent calendar!)...

camila, alana, edward, lucas, grayson, hendrik and ahaan

these pictures show a fairly calm and collected boy, but silliness reigned!

a taste of the sillies, far right. loading up on pop, pizza and cake.

playing!

on his actual birthday Marg did a Pokeball cake - it was great!

fruit loooooops for the birthday boy + opening presents

Oh! And the annual birthday interview:

Who's your best friend? Grayson
What's your favourite colour? Golden
What's your favourite food? Ice cream
What's your favourite book? Captain Underpants
What's your favourite song? Weird Al's Just Eat it (and Shut up and dance with me)
What's your favourite sport? Baseball
What's your favourite subject at school? Math
What do you want to be when you grow up? After a long pause he said, "I want to be what you are (to me). And then. I just want to be like daddy." We asked him to elaborate but he said again, "Just what you are." 💕

Links to previous birthday posts are here (so fun to look back!!):
Turning 5 (London)
Turning 4 (London)
Turning 3 (Gatineau)
Turning 2 (Beijing)
Turning 1 (Trento)

and she's three!

the birthday girl and her cake, finally! another Grandma B creation...

I can't believe we are FIVE days into September! We've had a few big days around here, the most notable of which was Alana's birthday earlier this week - our little girl is three years old! Looking back on earlier birthday blog posts, it's hard to believe we're already at the three year mark. She woke up asking for cake (of course she did), and asked for cake again for lunch and dinner, and was pleased as punch that she was having a party - just for her! Highlights were opening presents, playing pin the tail on the doggy, getting to eat icing off of a few pieces of a beautiful pink doggy birthday cake (her request, made by Grandma B), and having some of her favourite people in our back yard to celebrate with her (Grandma and Gramps were there, along with Aunt and Unc, Liz, Sandra, Sofia and her two girls Adriana and Chrysoula, Paul and Ahan and Bipasha, Maeve, Kari and Paul, and the rest of her immediate family). Steve did a great job on the BBQ feeding the crowd, and though rain threatened, those that were able to take the heat and humidity stayed outside for food and activities. Top presents include a doggy game that we haven't figured out yet - but there are six little plush doggies and she loves them!, a battery-powered bubble blower, a vintage Fisher Price purse (she was using the lipstick as a screwdriver this morning to fix handrails upstairs), little George (a cat stuffy), a Magna Doodle, and books (both kids are loving Tools Rule! and I'm especially into Black Cat White Cat). It was an amazing day, and here are her answers to the annual round of birthday questions:

What's your favourite animal? Emu and ostrich (I was sure she'd say doggy)
Favourite colour? Pink
Favourite food? Quesadillas (surprise!)
Who's your best friend? "these guys," she said, referring to little George and Chrissy dog (a plush doggy from Chrysoula and her sister).
Who's your best friend - person? "You!" (mommy)
What's your favourite place to go? The YMCA.
What's your favourite book? My Favorite Run

with her new vintage FP purse + contents

Her latest thing is giving me hugs ... all the time. In the car she'll ask for an "arm huggy" and at dinner she face plants into my lap to give me a hug - even in the middle of the night she wakes up and wants to give me a hug. I love it. I love it a bit less in the middle of the night, but it's still adorable.

And another latest thing that is starting on Tuesday is PRESCHOOL! The littlest one is also going to school, just down the street from Hendrik's elementary school. Hendrik and I also start school on Tuesday, so it will be one busy day; I'm hoping it'll be relatively stress-free, calm, and without incident. We've been talking about school with Hendrik for quite a while (we're even doing the sleeps countdown), and he seems excited to go back (though whether or not he realizes what going back to school is or means, we're not sure). We've had a few get togethers with some kids from his class, so at least there will be a few familiar faces. I have a list of things to get to, so should run... Happy September!