What we're up to...
As the days begin to stay light longer and we see temperatures rising above zero occasionally, we're encouraged that winter may eventually come to an end. Emilie has been talking for weeks about how she is looking forward to just "walking out the door" in her bare feet with a summer dress on. And I remind myself when I step on wet carpet in a perpetually soggy entrance with an array of winter outerwear drying everywhere, that after winter comes dead grass tramped all over the house - so indeed, getting your socks wet from melting snow provides something for which to be grateful.
All in all, we are enjoying the many outdoor adventures of a wonderful winter: snow shoeing, skiing, sledding, skating, and shelter building. Joseph and John Paul built an amazing little shelter at Grandpa and Grandma Millette's acreage with just a few nails and pieces of wire besides the supplies they found in nature. They are all ready for an outdoor survival scenario and plan to send in their applications for the tv show Alone.
On one especially glorious winter day while dog sitting at the acreage, we took the kids across the field on skis and sleds for a little outdoor hot chocolate by the woods.
Around our yard have been many and varied snow forts, little sledding hills, and coloured milk carton ice-block inukshuks. Making little outdoor kitchens and cooking as been a major winter pastime.
On our colder days, we have been busy indoors with endless board games, wood-working, reading, and imaginative games.
About the kids...
Emilie's favourite pastimes include dressing up in fancy dresses, giving tea parties, and making people elaborate pretend meals. She was overheard recently telling John Paul: "3 plus 4 take away 1 is the same as 3 plus 3, and that equals 6." On another occasion, overhearing Joseph tell Mommy that he thought "we" must be a noun in the sentence, Emilie was quick to shout, "It's a pronoun!" Indeed, she is smarter than we thought. Emilie has decided that "preschool" is a completely inadequate title for her current "four and three-quarters" age; she insists upon filling out a white board's worth of letters daily during school time to show Daddy, as well as filing through alphabet cards saying sounds and/or painting. Emilie has an eye for details and can frequently be found meticulously drawing very precise designs or organizing her clothes boxes. Speaking of details, Emilie is a master at memory games - especially the ones she has studied to the point of "rememorizing" so she can beat everyone at the game.
Meanwhile, Jude continues to keep everyone on their toes. He climbs everything and anything; his protesting screams when he is removed from such heights are, I'm sure, easily heard by our neighbours. When he manages to get into the "off limits" bathroom, he can sometimes be found sitting on the potty, fully clothed, saying, "Go pee!" His vocabulary has expanded to include everyone's names, commands such as "Get out!" and "Breakfast!" and "Basement!" and endearing lines like "I wuv you!" and "NO!" Recently, he was found standing on a kitchen chair drying dishes and has since been dubbed Danny II as he shows signs of surpassing his "in-famous" father's 4-year-old feats (backstory: Dan frequently reminds us that at 4-years-old he was doing dishes, attending school, and playing hockey - Can anyone really live up to such young talent?).
When firing on all cylinders, John Paul boasts of finishing school by 9:30-10am every morning (he does, however, usually begin by 8am, give or take 15 mins). After Christmas, John Paul began taking piano lessons, proudly walking the 1/2 block to our piano teacher's home every Thursday afternoon with Joseph. He has quickly learned all his "Twinkles" as well as various other ditties and boasts performances at two recitals, including playing "Mary had a Little Lamb" and "Hot Cross Buns" all on black keys. Speaking of firing on cylinders, we have discovered that John Paul's optimum firing occurs directly after feeding time (i.e. supper) when he can be found tearing around the house at top speed and high volumes and is speedily exiled to the basement for the rest of his firing - this may or may not include guns.
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| John Paul's happy dictation |
Our resident inventor and scientist, Joseph is often found in the basement carving, building, or repurposing wood, cardboard, and whatever other items he can find around, pick up at Grandpa's, or salvage from the garbage. Joseph frequently sets up science experiments for everyone to enjoy and/or chats about what a cool invention some new idea would make. When not inventing, Joseph is curled up somewhere with a book and, inevitably, in another world or era. His favourite reads these days include a plethora of Canadian historical history novels. The downfall to Joseph's many and varied interests resides in his short-term dedication to an idea; he will often decide to do something, begin immediately without thinking it through, and later drop everything when he realizes the shortcomings of his thought process or planning. Joseph continues to be a great help around the house, often rescuing his littlest brother from the crazy shenanigans he gets himself into.
