Potty time...

...for Adam! He loves sitting on the potty like his big brother. Often, when Daniel goes into the bathroom, Adam follows right behind and sits on the little potty while Daniel sits on the toilet. It's so cute and he looks so proud of himself.

As we all know, Adam doesn't have the easiest time going #2. It really is a painful process for the poor little guy. So we've started sitting on the potty when he needs to go and he's gone pretty much every day for the past week or so! Yay Adam! He is so proud and he looks so much more comfortable. Oh, how I wish this would continue for a long time. Wouldn't it be great to have a 1.5 year old who was potty trained? I know that that isn't coming for a long time but if I have a little guy who doesn't cry when he goes to the bathroom and I get a few less diapers to change...I'm not complaining!

Family Fusion dinner

We went up to the community centre this evening for the monthly Family Fusion dinner. Every month, they serve a dinner based on one culture and provide entertainment from a different culture. Tonight it was Indian curry with Japanese Taiko drumming for entertainment. The food was alright; of course, the boys wouldn't touch it. We ordered pizza for them. I knew Adam wouldn't eat the pizza, either, so I ate that (not being the biggest curry fan) and brought Adam a cheese sandwich!

They had fun with a bunch of little friends, running around the gym while the adults ate and visited. A few of Daniel's StrongStart friends were there, but he took quite a liking to 17 month old Olivia. He played with her the entire time, and was far more gentle with her than he ever is with his 17 month old brother!

Adam was a little out-of-sorts this evening. His cheeks were bright red the entire time, so he might be getting teeth again. But he still tried to play with the other kids. Poor little guy kept getting knocked over and was not pleased about it!

They were both fascinated by the Taiko drumming, but it started a bit late and they both got a little cranky. We had to leave before it was over. We were glad we went, though. It's a really fun community tradition and it was nice to see some friends and neighbours that we hadn't seen much over the winter.

Hockey!

We signed Daniel up for floor hockey on Saturday mornings, thinking it would be a fun way for him to run off some energy. Daniel's buddy Carson was there as well and they had a lot of fun. Daniel was definitely a natural! As much as I'm not a hockey fan, I was pretty proud of him! Adam had a lot of fun running around, chasing the balls, and playing with an Adam-sized styrofoam hockey stick.

Floor hockey is on Saturday mornings from 9:30-10:15 from now until February 14. It should be fun to see how much Daniel learns.

Updates on the boys

I was just talking with James about how the boys are doing so many new things and I haven't written about any of them. They are so much fun and are learning so much and I know I'm going to end up forgetting some of them. So here's a post just about the new discoveries of Daniel and Adam.

Daniel:

• He has so many new and funny words these days. One day, he came up to me and said, "Mommy, I have a mission for you." I asked what my mission was and he answered, "Amam have a poopy diaper!" with a sly smile. Sneaky little guy! He's also coming up with some pretty good words these days, like ferocious.
• He's starting to play on his own more and it's so fun to listen to him talk with himself. He take two toys (lately it's been two dinosaurs) and have a whole conversation with them. It's usually about how one is the mommy and one is the baby (or brother - drudder, in Daniel-ese) and how the baby needs the mommy to help him.
• Speaking of brothers, Daniel often reminds us that Adam is his best buddy. It's so cute when he comes up, "hugs" Adam (more like a choke hold) and says, "Amam my best buddy!"
• Daniel is starting to sing songs. He does a pretty good version of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and the ABC song. He sang a bit of "The Wheels on the Bus" today and I think I even caught a bit of "Baby Beluga."
• He just started floor hockey lessons on Saturday. He was a little nervous at first but it didn't take long for him to get comfortable. He's a natural - he held the stick perfectly the first time and followed all the drills and games. I'm really afraid that we're going to have a hockey player on our hands. I do not want to go to 6am practices!

Adam:

• Adam doesn't say any actual words yet, but he is a great communicator. He can totally get his point across these days. If he hurts himself, he comes up, points to the injury, points to the thing (or person - Daniel) that hurt him and holds his owie up to be kissed. It's so cute! He does some great sign language to tattle on his brother!
• He understands absolutely everything now. If you ask him to give something to Daddy, he walks right over to James and delivers it. He can even retrieve something from off of the kitchen table and bring it to the sink.
• That latest skill means that he's a great helper these days. He loves to set the table, load the dishwasher and put toys away. I love it!
• Adam loves animals. He loves to read any book about animals and he gets all excited when he sees them on TV. He loved going to the petting zoo - we'll have to take him back again soon. He's starting to make animal noises. Mostly he just does a dog sound, which doesn't really sound like a dog. But he's starting to do lion/tiger/dinosaur sounds as well.

One of the greatest things is how well Daniel and Adam are playing together these days. I love that they can sit and play dinosaurs or cars together. Sometimes they'll just play side-by-side, but occasionally they do interact and it's the best sound to hear them laughing together. I'm really looking forward to when they play together even more. Right now, it doesn't last for too long and usually ends up with one or the other grabbing his brother's toy!

Happy New Year!

All the best to everyone in 2009! We've had such a wonderful year and I'm sure that 2009 will bring us even more happiness and adventure. We wish the same to you as well.

We didn't exactly ring in 2009 with much excitement. The four of us watched the classic Winnie the Pooh movie (which both boys loved).

Then Daniel and Adam went to bed. Daniel had the hardest time falling asleep. He'd lay there for the longest time, fighting to keep his eyes open, and then would force himself out of bed with various excuses. "I'm tared [scared]." "I'm grumpy" (when I caught him coming out of his room). "I want hot chotowit in bed." "You not cut my nails, Mommy." The excuses were getting stranger and stranger, and he was getting more and more out of it! Finally, he gave in and fell asleep.

James and I stayed up and watched the third Harry Potter movie (we're a little behind) and didn't even realize when it hit midnight until we heard Daniel say, "Whatcha watchin'?" For some reason, he woke up at 12:00 on the dot. I guess he knew something was going on! After asking for hot chocolate again, he fell back asleep. I don't think he ever was really awake. James and I talked to my sister and parents on the phone, wished them a happy new year, finished our movie and went to sleep. We sure know how to ring in the new year!

Boxing Day

What a fun Boxing Day we had! Uncle Clarke and Aunt Gayla rented out a skating rink in Penticton and the entire Rowe clan headed over there for an afternoon of skating and hockey. It didn't start so well for us. Daniel fell asleep in the car on the way there and was not pleased to be woken up. He and I sat in the stands for a while to watch everyone and wake up while Adam got his new snowsuit on and headed out onto the ice with Grandpa. Adam wasn't so sure about the whole ice thing, but he didn't mind it. Finally, after about 15 minutes, Daniel said, "Maybe I want to go tating now." He got his cheese cutters on (double-bladed skates that go overtop of boots) and heading onto the ice. It didn't take him long to be laughing and having a great time. He usually went out with Grandpa, sometimes with Daddy. I asked him if I could take him but his decision was, "Well, maybe no. I want to go with Grandpa. You too slow!"

Grandma and Auntie Lauren got a few turns, too.

Daniel had a great time zipping around the ice with Grandpa.

Our little family on the ice. We're not the best skaters but we had fun!

Half the ice was used for a hockey game but we stayed on the tamer side, where everyone was just skating around. Occasionally, Grandpa and Daniel would zoom by. They fell a few times, but Daniel always came up laughing.

Daniel even got to try out a bit of hockey. He liked it. I hope he didn't like it enough to want to actually play hockey. I don't think James or I could handle 6am practices!

After skating, Aunt Judy brought cookies and hot chocolate for everyone, which was a huge hit.

After skating, everyone headed over to Auntie Kim and Uncle Peter's for a lasagne dinner. It was a big party, with 25 people there. Some were visiting, some playing Lego and Ninja Turtles, and there was a Connect 4 tournement going on. It was a nice way to wind down.

Adam kept showing off his cheese face to all the cousins. What a show-off!

No Boxing Day gathering is complete without an extended family Rock Band. Aunts, uncles and cousins all gathered in the TV room to play or watch. Even Daniel got to play the drums with cousin, Tyler. Somehow, Adam slept through it all.

What a fun day! The boys were exhausted by the end of the day, but they had a great time. In fact, the whole trip was fun. The next day, we had a nice, quieter, visit with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Campbell and headed home on the 28th. Fortunately, our drive was pretty uneventful. It snowed a bit around Manning Park, and the road got a bit icy, but it was good ther rest of the time...until we got to Hope. There we drove through a huge freezing rain storm. Then we were stopped outside of Chilliwack for 45 minutes behind the scene of an accident. But, we still managed to get home in about 8 hours, which is pretty good for us!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! After much anticipation, the day finally came and the boys had a really good time. They got an easel and art supplies from Santa. Adam loved the easel. I guess Santa saw how much he liked the one at Strong Start (the drop-in preschool we go to). Daniel was more interested in the Hot Wheels colouring book.


First we opened stockings, one of the traditions that is a bit different between the Rowes and the Terrys. We always used to open presents first, then stockings. James' family does stockings first, then presents.


Grandma and Grandpa really got into the Christmas spirit.

So did Adam!

The boys spent a lot of time with their art stuff. I guess Santa knew what he was doing when he picked it out for them.

When Auntie Lauren and Uncle Duncan got up, we opened presents. Grandma and Grandpa gave the boys a cool driving game, which both of them loved and, surprisingly, shared really well.

Auntie Lauren gave Adam a puppy that barks and moves when you pet it. Adam loves all things animals, especially dogs, so this was a great gift for him. He's not getting a puppy any time soon, so this will be a good substitute.

After presents, we bundled up, got in the car and drove to Great-Grandma and Grandpa Rowe's for brunch and presents. The boys got new snowsuits, which they really needed in this weather. Daniel was still wearing his from two years ago (size 18 months!) and Adam was just wearing a fleecy outfit in the snow. No wonder they cried everytime from being too cold!

The boys fell asleep on the ride from Okanagan Falls back to Summerland and had a good long nap before Auntie Linda, Uncle Mike, cousin Courtenay and her boyfriend, Josh, came for dinner. The turkey turned out well, as you can see from the paparazzi that was photographing it!

After the delicious turkey dinner, the boys went to bed, the adults played Yahtzee or Scrabble and visited until the guests (well, the ones who hadn't all but moved in) went home. It was a very nice Christmas. Christmas has been so fun this year because Daniel has been so excited and Adam feeds off of his excitement. We were very lucky this year!