Never say never

When I said we were done I really did mean it. But then I changed my mind. Luckily Nick was easily persuaded.  

Introducing Ethan Andrew Steeves born January 12th at 431pm. He weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 21.25 inches long.

When we told the kids Oliver was very excited about having another brother and immediately said we should name him Jack. Isaac said we should name him Olivia but when I informed him that was a girls name he decided on Peanut. Peanut evolved to Jack Peanut Angry Bird Steeves which we decided against.

Ethan is now 6 weeks old and the transition has been relatively easy. There has been zero instances of jealousy from either one of the older boys and Isaac especially is completely and totally in love. He loves to tell strangers that he is a big brother AND a little brother and constantly refers to Ethan as HIS baby.

This time we are definitely done. I mean it. Seriously.

Dear Mom,

I have always planned to write you a mother's day post but it just never happened. I have even started a couple over the last few of years but life came up and they never got done. Then I killed the blog not thinking at the time that I hadn't yet done that post I'd promised myself would get done this year. So what's a blogger to do but to resuscitated the blog in order to tell the world about her fantastic mom.

We have had our ups and our downs like any mother and daughter. I know growing up I thought you were the strictest, most unfair parent in the world. Calling the parents of my friends who's party I was planning to go to (or at least telling me you were going to), enforcing the insanely early curfew of 1230 am when all my friends could stay out so much later. You will correct me and say, as I've heard many times that it wasn't me that had the curfew but instead it was your car that had to be home. I knew it meant the same thing. You had lots of rules that were meant to keep me out of trouble and I only have one thing to say:

I BEGRUDGINGLY ADMIT TO YOU NOW, PUBLICLY AND WITHOUT RESERVATION THAT YOU WERE RIGHT.... ALMOST ALWAYS. (Fenders?)

Now that I have kids I hear your voice coming out of my mouth all the time. You know what they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Sooner or later I'll be saying things like "there is nothing you can do after midnight that you can't do before midnight". And while I'm sure the words won't be the same I'm sure some version of "don't let me catch you necking at the Byway" will be heard in our house as well. All you Mom-isms are somewhere in my mommy bag to be pulled out when the time is right. I thank you for them.

I have learned so many lessons about life from you. You've instilled the value of family because in the end, that's all you really have. You have taught me not to take life too seriously and that whimsy is a must. I got my creative mind from you. You've made me believe that I deserve cubby holes and that holding out for them is well worth the wait. You've always been available to listen to me complain, give advice and help with whatever I've needed no matter what. You've forgiven me many times. You've always been someone I enjoy spending time with and not just because you're family. Our family vacations are some of my favorite memories, especially the ones we've had as adults. You are a wonderful Oma to my kids and I'm so happy we live close enough that you are a constant in their lives.

I called you recently with a complaint about  the kids being ungrateful and you laughed at me. You said that I should get used to it because it will take another 30 years before they learn to appreciate what we do for them and that's if I'm lucky. I can understand why you say that. I often realize much too late that I didn't give you appropriate thanks for some little thing, some huge thing or just for your friendship. I feel guilty about that because I always appreciate you, even when I don't say it when I should. I don't know where I'd be without your guidance and love and I am proud to call you Mom and Friend.

So here's to you on Mothers day from a most thankful daughter. I love you very much. And Just like you always say to me... Don't forget to Dance.

The pros and cons of beating a dead blog.

This blog is on life support and is holding on by a thread. Make that 2 threads. The house and the birthday letters. They are really the only things I care to post about anymore. I like the idea of keeping up the house posts as a way to have an album of the changes we've made in the house. It's all in one place. It's not that I couldn't make an album elsewhere it's just this one is already started.

Just like the house pictures, I like having the letters all together in one place. My ultimate plan for the letters is to make a book and give it to the boys on their 18th birthday. Because they started in that format, I enjoy the idea of it being book of blog posts. So why not continue doing them? The issue: My boys deserve to these letters to be unsensored. I have always tried to be honest with anything I post but its natural to make choices on what you say when you know you are posting for the masses. Honesty and full disclosure are two different things. Some things just aren't for public consumption.  I want the memories to be as personal and honest as possible. I also feel that the boys may not want something that intimate splashed all over the internet. Not that they care now but they might in 5 or 10 years when their friends Google them.

My experience as a blogger has been very positive. It was a great way to keep family and friends up to date on our lives when we lived so far away. It's been a baby book of sorts, document the kids first years and I'm glad to have that. Unfortunately I just don't have the time or energy anymore to continue posting on a regular basis. And truth be told, I just don't think my very average, southern life is very interesting. For the important things, I take pictures, I have the photos, I share the photos with the important people and post a few for the masses on Facebook. I think that offers up just the right amount of our lives. I just don't feel the need to share everything anymore.

So I think what's going to happen is this. Babies and Bulldogs (The originial and enduring name) will enjoy the immortality that only internet can offer. I plan to start a new, private blog where I can do the birthday posts in the format I like so much. I may share access to that blog with certain people (if anyones cares) but for the most part it will be family only. When the time is right I'll have someone make a book of those posts and the boys will have an enduring website dedicated just to them. I will continue to post the house photos for my own need of having them here. And you never know, I may write the odd post if the mood strikes me. But I doubt it.

So I want to thank everyone who has followed our lives over the last three and a half years. You've seen my kids grow up and have witnessed our Northern adventure. I thank you for your interest. I also appreciate the friendships I have been privileged to make through the northern bloggin community and know that they will continue long after the blog is gone.

Thank You.

NOW... the blog is dead. Flatline_______________________________________________

The bedroom

After being here a year I finally decided to give our bedroom a well needed make over. I say well needed but really it wasn't a horrible room. It was just a little beige. Taupe I guess but it's all the same to me. You'll know by now I like to live in technicolor and most of our rooms are in big bold color. One of the reason I hadn't painted until now was because I really didn't know what I wanted. I've been looking for about 10 months for the perfect duvet cover to build the room around and although I found many I liked, Nick exercised his veto on almost everything I chose. I finally gave up and went with something plain and decided to make the room the statement piece and not the cover.

The other reason was time. Between work, Nick's shift work and the kids getting in the way I just didn't want to get in to a major project. The perfect opportunity came when Nick took the kids to Florida for 3 weeks and I had the house for myself for 2 of those weeks. I got to go down for a week and loved the time but my temporary bachelor life was a nice treat as well. With nobody to get in my way but the dog, I got it done.

I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. I still have to get the bed skirt on the bed which I own but just haven't bothered with. I also need to come up with some other decor or furniture to fill in the space around the bed. That will call come in time. I have no idea what I want and don't have the money to make any major purchases at this time anyway. I feel the room is sexy and cozy at the same time and I love being in there now. Oprah once said your bedroom should be your sanctuary and I feel like I'm alot closer to that now.

Happy Birthday Oliver v 4.0

Dear Oliver,

Four years from this moment you came in to the world, early and on your own terms. I should have known then that you’d be a handful. I often say the person who coined the twos as terrible had clearly not lived through the threes yet. If I’m completely honest, much of this year was a challenge as you pushed your boundaries and tested our patience. When I’m at my wits end I think of what your Oma  once told me. She told me that when kids turn 4 they turn in to lovely little people. I’ve held on to that and I’m thrilled to say that in the last few weeks I feel like she might be right. You’ve been just delicious lately and I hope we see this side of you more and more as the year goes on.

 

This year has brought so many changes in your life. You were thrown from our quiet, isolated life in Nunavut to a world where you’ve had to navigate all new social situations. You’ve found your place among our extended family. Isaac, Erik and yourself have become the best of friends and you love spending days at Courtney’s, Oma’s and Grammy's. You've also adjusted from being at home with me to going to a babysitter and to Preschool 3 days a week. You seem to be thriving and we’ve seen so many positive changes brought on by the additional stimulation and structure that going to school brings to your life. I love hearing about what you've learned at the end of the day. And I really enjoy you singing me songs your songs. And of course, you never sing without doing a silly dance along with it. It's just the way you roll.

 

You are growing up to be a wonderful young man I can be proud of. People always comment on how polite you are and how you are very considerate and kind to other people. You wear your heart on your sleeve and that heart is huge. You aren’t shy to tell people you love them or will miss them sooooo much. I'm happy to say that you are also very, very smart. You love to see how things work and still have that love of pushing buttons to see what happens. You are forever surprising us with how your brain works. You seem to be 3 steps ahead of us most time and know how to work things to your advantage. I see your father in how your brain works and I’m already dreading your teenage years. It will certainly be interesting.

 

Through all the ups and downs you always keep us laughing. Whether it was a memorable quote or you just being the silly guy you are you can always bring a smile to our faces. Some of my favorite quotes of the year are:
-I’m a pizza eater and this is my pizza eater costume!
-(after farting in the tub) No mommy, you don’t have to say 'excuse me' if there’s bubbles.
-Get Tank out of here! He’s freakin’ me out!
-I’m all dressed and I look fantastic!
-See you at my house Santa! Don’t forget to be quick and bring Super Mario 10 with you!
-I’m sweet.... and sour.
-When I turn 8 I’m going to get boobs like yours.
-“what’s going on?” Said on the Scrambler while laughing insanely.
-Snackarama!

 Some things I want you to know about your self-

-You have a mad obsession with Mario Brothers and insist that we call you Mario. Isaac is Luigi and you call Dad Yoshi. And me, you call me Princess and I love it.
-You have learned to write your name and your letters.
-Your favorite friend at school is Brooklyn and her mom tells me she feels the same way.
-Your favorite colors are green and orange.
-Your favorite food is pigs in a blanket.
-Your favorite toys (other than the Wii) are Hot Wheels cars.
-Your snuggles are the still the best.

 

So here’s to you O-Boy.

Happy Birthday
I love you
Akuluuk

Love Mom

 

 

All things Santa

I know, I know... it's been forever since I've posted here. I'm just busy. Busy with work, kids, family, and living life. I've managed to finish my Christmas shopping before December 1st which is always my goal and am only left with a mountain of wrapping to do.

The kids are lots of fun this year because they are just that much older. Oliver is totally aware of Santa and all the fun that goes along with that. We did the obligatory visit with the big red man at the mall and I was pleased that Isaac didn't cry. Oliver talked his ear off with talk of the Mario Brothers 10 game he wants for the Wii and didn't want to leave. We left with a call of 'By Santa! See you at my house!!' as we walked away.

A couple weeks later we went to the Santa Clause Parade. I love a parade as you all know and I was excited that the kids got to see their first real southern parade.I knew the postal workers would be leading Santa's float so we got the kids to write their first letters to Santa

I'm so proud of Oliver's letter. He wrote every word himself, all I had to do was tell him what letters to write. I kept the real letters and stuffed the envelopes with ones I'd written because I wanted to keep the originals for their memory boxes.

Now Santa needs to get that wrapping done....

From now on, I'm in there!

I read an article last week that made made an impact like nothing has in a long while. I'm sure many of you have seen it being shared around Facebook. It's an entry at The Huffington Post by freelance writer Allison Tate called 'The Mom Stays in the Picture.' Allison writes about being at a family event where her son begged her to take photos with him in the photo booth. She didn't want to because she was not at her best, still holding on to some baby weight. Not dressed in her cute clothes. She goes on to talk about how so many moms avoid being in photos preferring to take them instead. She makes a case on why we should be getting in the pictures because our kids will value those pictures when we're old and gone. This is a crude summary and doesn't do her beautiful words justice but you get the gist. Her account is moving and had me in some serious tears reading it. If you haven't already, take a few minutes and read it yourself.

I really connected with her message because I am one of those woman who have very few pictures with the kids. Look back at this blog. It's not very often you see pictures of me, especially in the last year or so. When I do ask someone else to take the camera for a change I end up deleting their efforts 99% of the time. I just can't stand the sight of myself,  I couldn't care less about whether I'm wearing cute clothes, or if my hair is done. For me it's all about the weight. I've talked about it before when things were going well. I've posted about my good intentions earlier this year. Unfortunately, that and a couple other well meaning tries have ended in miserable defeat and a few more pounds. I just can't seem to get myself together and photos just show me how far away I've ended up from where I want to be. Reading Allison's words makes me realise that I'm being very selfish. Like she says, the kids don't look at me and see me as their FAT mommy, I'm just Mommy. The woman who snuggles them at bedtime. The woman who dances with them anywhere they feel like dancing. The woman who loves them for just who they are. So maybe I should give myself the same courtesy.  Not that being overweight  obese is a good choice, and I still want to fix that one big negative in my life but in the meantime this mom is going to get in the picture and stay there. I don't care how fat I think I look, how many chins you can see. I'm going to be in that picture.

In honor of Allison and my kids, I created my own photo booth like shoot. We had fun and I got some good shots. And I don't hate any of them. I look happy. My kids are smiling. That's what I want them to see when they look back when I'm gone.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

O learned this song at preschool this past week and I've been bugging him to sing it to me over and over. What makes me happiest is that he seems to find it impossible to sing it with out doing the silly dance. How his dancing makes me smile!

Sorry for the terrible quality.  I took this with my phone which apparently takes bad video.

Happy Birthday Isaac v 2.0

Dear Isaac,

Today, at this moment of this post, you turn 2. In the last few months you’ve transformed from a little baby to a little boy who can keep up to his big brother with very little trouble. I really realised that a few weeks ago when all of sudden you were making it to the top of the play place with him instead of just playing in the entrance like you always had. I looked up and you were coming down the slide which you had never been able to get to before. I was very proud of you in that moment.

 I have so enjoyed this year with you. You are at that age that everything is adorable and you are cuter than most. But of course I may be a little biased. You have a huge personality and are a child of highs and lows. I call you my little drama queen and I’m sure there are many fits and tantrums to come in our future. But with those fits comes enthusiasm and obvious joy and excitement for things that make you happy and I love that about you. You also love to cuddle and hug which I take advantage of any chance I get.

 We are all very impressed with how smart you are. You can already name most of the letters and numbers. You can count to 10 and you know all your colors. You have an amazing memory too. I usually only have to tell you once what something is called and you remember it. You are talking in full sentences and for the most part are now speaking English. For quite a while you spoke mostly Isaac-speak which meant only we could understand you.

 Isaac Speak Glossary:

Na-na Thank you. pronounced Nach (german like sound)
Titi- Courtney and Kirsty

Tooky- Cookie

Kee- Car
chuck-truck
Anoo- Airplane
ato- Oliver Pronounced Auto
Amo- Oma
Apo- Opa
Tac tow- Tractor
Bit bits- Ritz Bitz (your favorite snack)
And- Sandwich
Tooky Paws- Bear paw cookies

 Things I want you to know about your 2 year old self:

-You never go anywhere without a dinky car in hand. You call them all Twin mill 3 which is your favorite Hot Wheels car from the Oliver’s Wii game.
-You love books. If I don’t now where you are in the house it’s a safe bet that I’ll find you in your bedroom with a book on your lap.
-You’re one tough little man. You rarely bat an eye when you fall down and scrape your knee or bang your head. But if your hands get dirty you’d think it was the end of the world.
-I don’t know why but every night you take your blanket and lay down outside your door and go to sleep. I can’t imagine it’s very comfortable but it’s your thing. You’ve been doing it for about 2 months now so maybe you’ll grow out if it soon.
-This year’s go to food is a Cheeze Whiz sandwich.
-My favorite Isaac quotes of the year: You at 14 months saying ‘Mmmm, Taaa-sty’. And you holding out your hand for mine saying "rha'mon' when you wanted to me to take you to the 'Peen' (aka: Trampoline.)

So here’s to you Mr. Smiley Pants. You are such a special little person and I look forward to seeing your smile every single morning. I'm enjoying every moment of being your mom.

Happy Birthday
I Love You
Akuluk
. 

Mom

X0X0X0

 

My little lumberjack at 1 year



My 2 year old little mischief maker.

 

Oliver's First Day

My little man started pre-school today.

Oliver being Oliver I wasn't sure what to expect from him. He claimed to be excited but for anyone who knows O, he doesn't get excited about anything.

EVER.

I guess you can't change a kid overnight and the day turned out to be a truely Oliver day. He wasn't at all interested in doing what the other kids were doing, he just wanted to do his own thing. I kept thinking that at least he wasn't the kid who was crying in to her mothers lap the whole time and left early. So things could be worse. I'm sure the next few months will change O alot. He's not used to a stuctured environment like that and he's certainly not used to being around a large group of kids his own age. As much as I love his independent spirit, I hope that he learns the value and the fun that can be had with participating in a group. I haven't been able to find a way to make that happen for him. And maybe he just is who he is.

He says he wants to go back on Monday so that's a good start. I think things will be different too when I'm not there with him. Only time will tell.

FREX

FREX- Fredericton Exhibition

Also known as a sure sign summer is over.

As a kid I always looked forward to the exhibition just before school starts. I'm a lover of thrill rides although I have to say that the rides they had at the Ex when we were kids were much more exciting than what they have now. One thing that hasn't changed is the crazy amount of money you spend before you've paid for one ride ticket. No wonder we always had to beg to get mom and dad to take us. Luckily we are only catering to a preschooler and a toddler so they are pretty easy to please and don't need to stay all day.

The petting zoo was a big hit.

'What's going on!!?!!' O's favorite Scrambler quote.

Illegal roller coaster ride.

Isaac (with a little help from me) won the round we played and walked away with a stuffed shark.

You may notice the caption on the roller coaster picture. You had to be 36 inches to ride so the plan was to let Oliver go on himself. At the last minute I asked the ride operator if Isaac was too small to go on. He said that as long as he would stay sitting down, he was welcome to go along. He was thrilled to be able to go. He was raising his hands and giving the operator high 5's as the car went by along with the other kids. There were probably a few adults wondering who the crazy parents were that let their baby go on the roller coaster but I'm glad he got to go. He loved every second of it and asked to go again when they were done.

Now that we've been to the Ex, school can start. My baby starts Preschool on Wednesday and he's nervous and excited. Where does the time go?

Happy September all!

Science East

This past weekend we had planned to join another family for a camping trip. Unfortunately, mother nature had her own plans that directly opposed ours so Saturday morning we took the kids to Science East in Fredericton instead.

When we went in they told us to: Touch Everything. We took that to heart and even though I'm sure the science was lost on them, it was awesome to take kids somewhere that you say Yes, Go ahead instead of always No, No, No.

We had a great time.

I love getting the last word

A few months ago I got an email from Aaron Spitzer who writes for Up Here Magazine. The message asked if I would be willing to do a quick phone interview on the subject of sealift. After a couple emails back and forth we agreed that he'd use a quote from one of my old posts. I was not at all disappointed that I didn't get to do a real interview. As I told him, the quote from the blog is much more eloquent than anything I would have been able to come up with on the fly. I was glad not to have the pressure.

The article was published in the July/August issue of Up Here and although it took a while to get, I finally got to read 'my' article. It's called Summertime! Aaron writes about the things that rock about summer in the the arctic and that of course includes sealift.

I'm so excited to be named and quoted in print. What I was even more surprised and thrilled about was that I got the final word. The section I contributed to was #24, the very last one. While I'm not going post the whole article I thought I'd share my section.

Up Here Magazine Page 39.

If you are interested in reading the piece in it's entirety you can check it out here. I'm sure anyone who has spent a summer up north will relate and get a good chuckle out of it.

Thanks Aaron for including me.

Mattress Vs. Hardwood. HARDWOOD WINS!

Isaac has developed a new, very weird habit.

He insists on falling asleep in the hallway. He'll hang out in his bed for a while after I put him to bed but inevitably I find him here.

Even at my sisters house.

Every single night.

We even moved his bed over so it's right by the door thinking that would be close enough to make him happy but nope.



A little DIY

It's been almost 6 months since months since we moved in to our new house and I'm still trying to get everything in it's place. Decorating is hard when you have no time and no money... and most of all, almost zero home design flair. Having said that, I think we've done pretty well at making it a home that we're comfortable and happy with.

I have been wanting to get 'just the right thing' for the wall in the dining area for what seems like forever. I have a vision of some great photo being blown up on one of those 3 piece canvas panel things. The problem with that is that for one they are expensive and two, I have yet to find a photo that will be just right. Then I remembered a friend who had the same dilemna and decided to paint herself something. The problem with that is that she's very talanted artisically where I am not.

I started perusing the internet for ideas and found this on Pinterest.

Source

It was pinned (is that the right term?) from a blog called The New Domestic. I loved it. It seemed like it would be easy to do and cost effective so I went to Michaels, bought the supplies and gave it a whirl. It's pretty simple. Just tape a canvas with painter's tape and paint what's left. Rip off the tape and you're done. They give detailed instructions here.

Here is my final product.

I would do a few things differently next time like not use spray paint because I think it would be easier and cheaper. It was cheaper but the extra work it took to avoid overspray (which I didn't avoid after all) and the wierd blotchiness you get if you look at it from the right angle isn't really worth the $20 or $30 more I would have spent using arcrilic artist paint.

BUT- I love it.

As a tip- I taped the canvas off then took a photo of it. I then used my Photoshop program to decide what color should go where. I'm not great at visualising the final product so this helped get it just right.

Thanks to Nerissa and Peter for the idea. Your blog is fantastic for decorating ideas and I'll be stealing more of them in the future.

Camping

Nick and I decided long ago that when we had a family we were going to be campers. We had originally thought it would be a good way to get away without spending alot of money. Now that we have that family, we're realising it's also great way for us to spend quality time together without all the interruptions of TV, computers and the other sort of media our family is so addicted to.

This weekend was our first foray into the world of tenting and we made it back alive and in one piece. Dirty, tired, and a bit sunburned but in one piece. We took the kids to Jellystone campground in Woodstock NB which seems to be THE place to take your family as per many of my Facebook friends. It's a campground that caters to the kids with games, activities, playgrounds, water slides, pools and hayrides with Yogi Bear. Since we had no idea how it was going to go we thought going somewhere where there was lots to do might be a good first time place. At least we wouldn't have to try very hard to keep them entertained. I'm happy to say that the weekend went very well. The kids loved our monstrous 20 foot tent that was almost too big for our site and ran around in it all weekend. They especially loved the dual water slides and we took turns racing each other with each kid. Oliver and Nick played mini golf and Isaac made a friend with the little boy at the next campsite. We even got lucky and got to be the first ones on the hayride so the kids got to sit right up front with Yogi which was a big treat for them.

I don't have many pictures to share of the weekend because there were many water activities and then I also forgot my memory card. I did manage to get one on Saturday but had already missed many good photo ops. Here are some of the few that I did get.



The 20 foot tent wasn't a typo. You send your husband out for a tent and he comes back with a house.

They were having a 'Christmas in July' theme while we were there. These people really went all out including poinsettias on their picnic table.

I was disappointed that I didn't bring any lights or decorations but we just didn't have the extra room. We got to enjoy these across the way instead.

Yogi's nightly hay ride.

Apparently Yogi is Oliver's favorite bear. He told me that although you couldn't tell by the look on his face here.

Tank did really well with the exception of throwing up all over the the top of the tent as we rolled it out to set it up. I'm glad that wasn't an omen for what was to come over the course of the weekend.

The kids ate nothing but PB and J and Cheeze Whiz sandwiches all weekend but I didn't argue as long as they ate something. 

Our first time was a success and we will be going again soon. I do need to figure out how to pack more efficiently so that we can drag less stuff along with us. We need to leave room for very useful things like the coffee and Ice cube maker.

We said we wanted to be campers. Nobody said anything about roughing it.

Dating Myself

I had a moment the other day. A moment that every woman will have at some point. A moment every woman dreads. The moment you realise you're.... old,  Middle aged, over the hill.... let's go with 'Older than you imagine yourself to be'.

I went to get my nails done and was being worked on by a young girl who I would guess to be around 23 or so. We were talking and ended up on the subject of the movie Magic Mike. We gushed excitedly like girls do about going to see it and she talked about Channing Tatum being oh so hot. I said that I agreed but that it was Matthew McConaughey that I was excited to see.

That's when it happened.  She..... said.......

" Yeah, I think that's who my MOM wants to see too"


Gulp...

Today I miss Nunavut

Happy Canada Day everyone!

Today is the first day that I can honestly say that I am genuinely missing being in Nunavut. Canada Day up north was my favorite celebration of the year and I have many fond memories. Just like the rest of Canada the northerners aren't embarasse to show off their red and white garb and always put on a great day of activities. My favorite part of the day was always (as you already know) the parades.

Oliver, 6 months.
Photo Credit- Jen Eichenberg

National Anthem, Cape Dorset.
Photo Credit Jen Eichenberg

Showing off our colors
Photo Credit Jen Eichenberg

Cape Dorset
Photo Credit- Jen Eichenberg

Candy Toss in Pangnirtung

Cars as far as the eye can see- Pangnirtung

More Colors- Pangnirtung

Oliver 6 months- Cape Dorset

This year I spent most of the day just Isaac and I. Nick had worked the overnight so he was in bed most of the day and Oliver was with my parents. We went to the midway that they had set up and spent a little time on the carousel and on the truck ride. Then it was time for the parade.

After Nick got up we went to get Oliver and had dinner with my parents and Grandparents. We had 'birthday cake' for dessert and sang Happy Birthday to Canada and talked about how we were so proud to live in this amazing country.

Happy Birthday Canada!