Best Little Dumer Vacation Yet! (Part 1)

After just one day of Kindergarten, we made the looooong drive down to Eugene, OR to visit with family and friends, for Dad to see some Duck Football with Uncle Stu and later to spend a few days on the Oregon Coast 

The kids were fantastic during that long drive, we made excellent time hitting the road at 8 am and arriving at 5:15, but that is still quite a trek.  We believe they earned some running and play time on Cousin Evan's playground before the sun set.  It was an exciting time for them, spending the nights in sleeping bags and sharing Evan's room.  The Little Dumers are clearly comfortable at the Leaton abode and though there were a few early morning wake-ups much fun was had by all.  It was heartwarming to see the kids playing together!

Before Daddy and Stu got on the bus to head to Autzen Stadium, we had a little time to shop for fresh fruit at Thistledown Farms on River Road, which also has a petting farm and play area.  Jordy had fun interacting with the goats.

We can't really say the same for Cygni.

 Jordan also loved playing among the hay bales and slides with Evan

 After shopping though, the fellas put on their yellow shirts and cheered the Ducks on.

It was a nail biter!  

But the Ducks happily pulled out a victory over Michigan State in the second half 46-27.  

Go Ducks!

I think someone's making faces at you, Auntie Virginia!

While the Daddies watched the game, we had a low-key afternoon and evening at Stu & Tina's, playing in the yard, watching the game and sharing a BBQ dinner with Papa Larry and Auntie Virginia.  It was nice to take it easy after a grueling road-trip.

Sunday was our day for a picnic in the park.  For the third year in a row, we gathered old friends together at Emerald Park for a potluck lunch.  We rented the shelter this year: the best way to ensure gorgeous weather!

Mommy got to wish Deija 

(one of her favourite college kids, and apparent god-daughter -- it's a long story) 

good luck before she headed out for year two of post secondary education 

in a new school in California. 

One of our favourite things about these picnics is seeing how much each of the kids has grown over the year since we last got together and it just warms our hearts!  We talked it over and are going to try to get them together in a group for a photo each year from now on.  And really, now that it's come up, we should do that for the parents too!

 Not only is Chloe a crack shot at Bocce, she's an excellent bossy-pants too!

 Hayden looking like a teenager already!

 The kiddos decided to roll down the hill

Thank you to everyone who made time to come see us, yet again.  

We really do look forward to seeing you each and every year and we love you all to bits!

Monday morning we went over to Auntie Virginia and Papa Larry's home for breakfast.  Jordan ate everything on his plate and the bacon was especially delicious, Larry! And after breakfast and a bit of shopping we went to Auntie Tricia's house for lunch and said a final good-bye to God-daughter Deija (sorry, the irony is just too delightful to resist!)  While there, J-man decided to climb into a laundry basket and have a look at Gavin's juke box.

Hm, don't think he is terribly impressed by the selections available.

 Then that afternoon, Lola Nitzie and Grandpa Tom had a big treat in store for the Little Dumers: Their first visit to Chuck E. Cheese's!  Oh man!  You should have seen these kids light up as we walked into the door and they realized what sort of place they were in!  Jordy just started running around to look at every game and ride!  Daddy yelled to hurry and get some tokens before tempers flared, so Mommy did! What followed was exhausting for Mommy and Daddy but we are pretty sure it was the highlight of the Eugene visit for the Little Dumers.  Thank you, Lola and Grandpa!

After the kiddo were tucked in, we parents took advantage of Tina and Stu staying home to decompress at Blairally, a hangout recommended by our friends Tricia and Gavin.

Really, Tina said it best: we had spent the earlier part of the day at Chuck E. Cheese's - where a kid can be a kid; Blairally is where a grown-up kid can be a kid!  It was fun just looking at the beautiful vintage pinball and arcade games lit up like a summer carnival, but even better to drop a few quarters and play around!  $7 in coins can actually still buy you an evening's entertainment!

 Just some of the arcade titles available to play!

 Chris got his highest even score on Ms. Pac-Man: 68,940

Happy Guy!

Click here for Part 2!

Summer with the Little Dumers

A conversation between Jordy, Cygni and Mommy about clouds last Monday

C (pointing at the sky): What's that Mommy, what's that?

M: Those are clouds.

C: They're white clouds and yellow clouds

(Mommy didn't see any yellow clouds, but... you know.)

C: I want to eat them!

J: Me too!

                                M: You want to eat them?!  What do you think clouds taste like?

C: Umm... like umm... like chicken!

M: Chicken?  I think they probably taste like cotton candy.

C: Yeah, like cotton candy!

J: The clouds taste like marshmallows.

M: Ooh, marshmallows, if they taste like marshmallows I want clouds for dessert!

J: Yeah!

C: I want two big ones!

No clouds available for dessert today, just Russian style blueberry pie

Summer is nearly at an end, and the Little Dumers have kept Mommy pretty busy.

Every Wednesday we took Jordan to a summer camp called Social Adventurz, run by Jordan's OT, Deb and run out of her company's facility in Burnaby.  We really wanted to keep Jordan stimulated over the summer, and bolster his social development, one of the areas he struggles with.  When we learned that this camp was offered and run by a familiar figure to Jordan we knew we had to sign up.  Over the summer a curriculum focusing on sensorimotor strategies that would help with attention was rolled out to Jordan in a group environment with two other kids of similar age and we were expected to practice as a family at home each week.  We learned about:

1.Thinking Thoughts and Feeling Feelings
2.Keeping on task within a Group Plan
3.Thinking With Our Eyes
4.Keeping our Bodies in the Group
5.Whole Body Listening

Sometimes Mommy and Cygni would drop Jordan off and go about some errands while Jordan was in camp, and other times we waited on premises.  We're happy to report that not only did Jordan have ZERO problems being dropped off with this new group (even on day 1, when Mommy thought for sure he may be anxious or emotional,) but he also improved a little every week and consistently participated in the activities.  On the last day, Mommy was proud to hear from Deb that he did an excellent job listening with his whole body and was many times used as an example to the other kids of how to do it!  Well done, Jordy!

Here he is with his buddies from Social Adventurz

Together they built a "boat" then took turns telling the others which direction they wanted to steer it.

 Cygni entertaining Mom while out for a snack one day, waiting for big brother

He still needs a little help, but Jordy is learning to slide the pole!

 Jordan is growing up so much!  And we are really noticing him bloom these last two weeks.  He has gotten up the courage to slide the pole at the park a couple of times. And he's taken up doing his own balloon twisting!  We are fairly certain this will be a hobby of his in future.  He is demonstrating patience more and more; just the other day that he can wait an HOUR in line for the balloon twister to make his request and asking nicely if Dad would play the DVD he borrowed from the library and when Dad said he wanted to watch football isntead, he waited a while then came back later and tried again.  He's not perfect, he certainly has off days, but he is getting better all the time.  He's definitely got some independence stuff down too: he will mix up his own chocolate milk, buckles his own seat belt, wipes his own bum (sometimes Mom or Dad feel the need to give it a final pass just to make sure he did a good job, but we're happy he's making the effort,) and takes his dishes to the sink.  He's talking a lots, initiating friendly conversation with new people, and saying a lot of spontaneous things that are completely original as opposed to simply using "canned" mommyisms or phrases from his favourite programmes.  We are really very proud of him.

Jordan is quite the dabbler in the art of balloon twisting.  
Check out this wacky hat he made ALL BY HIMSELF last weekend:

 The simple pleasure of grilled cheese sandwiches and watermelons for lunch!

Nice ensemble, Jordo

We've also been super busy with renovations!
Even though we contracted out nearly all of the work, we needed to be around for contractors when they arrived and we tried to be there when they left, so it took some serious schedule juggling some days.
We replaced our dilapidated car port and electrical room, got new custom aluminum railings (you can see above the elcectrical room to the top-right of the photo, some siding replaced and a fresh coat of paint too. And now we are broke!  No major renovations for at least 2 years, please!

Still we found time to spend with friends!  We hung out with Mommy's friend Eryn several times, sometimes just hanging out at home, but once we head up to Burnaby Mountain and had a picnic and another time we went to the trampoline park.  Besides playing with E, we also had a few bicycle outings with little pals Nolan and Isabella.  It's great to see the kids zooming around and having a great time.

 Cygni: Queen of the Rock!

 Playing with Eryn

 It was a sweaty time at Extreme Air Park!

Goofing with Cousin Bella

Cycling! 

 Ice cream break at Rocky Point Park!

Wheeling around Coquitlam City Centre Park with Nolan and Bella

I know it seems terribly remiss for me to be only just getting a library card for Jordan, but we finally got one a few weeks ago!  And this is what he chose, a multi-media excursion:

And of course, we also found time to get out and about as a family.

 Pitt Lake

 Picnic in another park, with Daddy this time.

 And our summer favourite: the fair at the PNE!

Mommy had a great time taking Jordy on his first ever roller coaster, 

and as you can see from the pictures, he absolutely LOVED it!

 Watermelon juice break!

Cygni's first ride on the Ferris Wheel!

 Aww!  Lots of cute bunnies and chicks in the farm display!

 Jordan even got brave enough to stroke Rusty's muzzle

 Sugar!!!!!!

  Jordy won this Spiderman hammer on his own by sinking one at the midway hoop shots game!

Wish I could have gotten a photo or video of it, 

but he made the shot before I was even finished paying the carny!

 Teacup twirling

Annnnd they're out!  What a day!

Last week we went to Daddy's work for the EA Summer Carnival and the kids had a blast!

 J-man got to meet Transformers Bumblebee and Optimus Prime!

 And when he saw the dinosaur, he just had to go say hi and take him for a walk

 Cygni was happy with a cup of cherry shaved ice and a butterfly on her arm

 And they capped all the fun off with some digging in the sand!  

Jordan graduated to a full face paint job; 

only last July he was barely courageous enough to have a single star painted on his cheek.

Today we received a postcard from Jordy's soon-to-be Kindergarten teacher, Stacey. Jordan was very excited to get mail!  His comment after reading the note and seeing the pictures:  "I want to go there!"  Me too buddy!

Once again, we aren't sure how appropriate it is to share Beer Fest details on our kiddie blog, but the fact is that The Little Dumers, though teetotalers, were there and had fun too.

 Cygni shows off our custom Beer Glasses

So as you can see, we've had a lot of busy fun, hence the summer drought when it comes to fresh blog posts. We're preparing for yet another school year to start this Thursday and for a big trip down south to Oregon too.  Look for some new posts in another week or two.  Until then, cheers!