Cedric is 5! {and 4 too}

I just spent a few hours looking through old posts of my kids growing up.

Doing so gave me a renewed sense of just how important documenting a few of our moments is.

I do love sharing but love reflecting even more.

So here we go, I'm documenting Cedric's 5th birthday.

Which was at the beginning of March. 

Not too bad, only 1.5 months late.

{But wait for it.}

 I was determined to dial back with the themed parties.

Then Cedric asked for a lego birthday and I just couldn't stop.

The cake was fun to make but the candle holders put it over the top if you ask me.

 Dollar store plates made for good lego blocks and dollar store cups were easily made into lego heads.

The kids got those lego storage heads for Christmas and they became the perfect snack bowls.

 Ced has long dreamed of an outdoor party which proves challenging with a March birthday in Edmonton.

We decided, however, to commit to the idea and ended up with a beautiful balmy winter day.

We loaded up the wheelbarrow and headed down to the creek to roast hotdogs.

We also took our piñata down.

We usually buy one at bulk barn but this year had a homemade lego block.

 I made it by gift wrapping a box that I had weakened a little and putting card stock circles on it.

I was a little worried that we'd end up having to rip it open but on the second round it literally exploded and sent the kids running and screaming to the candy, perfect.

 After lunch, the party was moved to our house for cake and more birthday fun.

 Cedric stated after that it was the best birthday ever.

But he said that last year too of course.

So here's what you've been waiting for, Cedric is 4!

{And was for a whole year, in which I neglected to share.}

Last year was hands down a Paw Patrol theme.

This one I did keep pretty simple with minimal decor {streamers and balloons not pictured}.

Dog bowls filled with puppy chow naturally.

And my kids have somehow decided that it's not a party without a piñata.

They are a nerve wracking part of each of our parties but who am I to deny this dangerous fun?

Happy birthday x2 buddy!

Life Update

I have so much to say about these two amazing creatures.

Of course when I finally have a minute to write, much of it has left my head.

Worth a try though so here we go.

 One thing I will never forget is this conversation.

Me: {Reading an article about a woman who is dying of cancer and has two young children with tears streaming down my face.}

Fiona: "You ok Mommy?"

Me: "You know Mommy loves you guys so much right?"

Fiona: "We know Mommy."

Me: " And you know that Mommy would do anything for you and your brother right?"

Fiona:"Yep."

Me: "If there was anything I could do that would make your lives better I would do it, ok?"

Fiona: {Pause} "You're doing it Mommy."

 As we prepare ourselves Fiona for kindergarten I'm noticing some pretty big bravery.

The babe that I wasn't sure would be ready I now have no doubts about.

Cedric on the other hand is a huge personality contained in a tiny {yes still} body.

He has an obsession with underwear and has been known to change into a pair of his playdate host's undies from time to time.

He loves singing along to Annie.

He calls all cranes "Cranky" from Thomas the Train.

As in "Whoa Mommy look at that big Cranky!"

He will often approach me and say "Twoo {true} wuv's {love's} kiss" and plant a big smooch.

Him and Bunbuns are still semi-attached and can usually be found nose to nose.

He has a wicked sweet tooth.

He has also had two black teeth from his many falls.  

Did you know teeth can fade back to white? You do now.

His nicknames are Ced, Cedced, Mr. Ced, Ceds and Super Dave.

The latter is probably the most fitting.

The lake has given us some great moments as always.

Though we wish there could be more of them.

It seems wrong that the summer is half gone.

 We still have the cabin listed as we're hoping to become lake neighbours with our besties.

This summer we watched them welcome another member to their family {more on that later, no promises on a timeline}.

Our desire to share those lake memories became even more apparent.

Our Alberta prairie day trips to see them will have to do the trick for now.

And they are.

Cedric is 3! {And Has Been for Almost a Month}

When I asked Cedric what type of birthday he would like he gave his answer without a hint of doubt.

"Mota-cyco!"

Motorcyles that is, for those who don't speak Cedric.

After some thought we expanded a little to motorcycle racing.

Mostly so I could fill the house with these sweet banners.

He didn't mind, of course.  As long as something was "vrooming" he would be happy.

Our new chalkboard wall got it's first workout.

A calligrapher I am not, but I had some fun with it.

This balloon and streamer combo is always a hit with the kids.

And who needs party games when you have toy cars and tracks.

I have been rotating the prints in these frames with free online printables to suit the occasion.

Freepik.com had plenty of choices.

The cake needed to be motorcycle themed of course and after scrapping many a Pinterest idea I copied this graphic from one of the birthday boy's old onesies.

We had a great turnout of family, friends and neighbourhood kids and Ced definitely felt the love.

Thanks to everyone who celebrated {on that day or any other} our boy turning 3!

Whoa, Where Did Summer Go? Let's Recap.

I have so much to share.

I do not, however, want to photo dump you so I'm going to attempt a summer catch up in instalments.

Let's work backwards though to take advantage of the now first.

 Lake life has been so good to us as always.

We have such a beautiful little world up there.

And just when I think it can't get any nicer, some Pelicans drop by to say hello.

In reality they're probably saying goodbye but let's not go there just yet, I have to catch you up on our summer right?

Fiona is growing like crazy, more mind than body these days.

She is starting to show interest in letters and even a little math.

She sings all the time and recently started "playing" her guitar but only when Cedric is willing to accompany her on drums.

 Cedric is keeping his steady growing pace, he's never been a weed that one.

What has exploded, however, is his language.

He is communicating clearly now and has the manners of a champ.

He never forgets his "pease", "fank you", "wow-come", "sowwy" {lots of sowwys} and my favourite "scuse-ee" with a hint of an italian accent.

 We had such a great summer but {as I've said before} these chilly days of fall are my favourite.

The colours are starting to appear on the trees and the cozy sweaters are getting their workout.

 Our evening walks are just a little darker, the sun just skimming the tops of the trees.

 This summer has also seen a change in Feefs and Ced dynamic.

Sure, they fight more as Cedric is finding his confidence and standing up to his big sis.

But man do they love hard.

It is not uncommon to find them "nuggling" or playing happily together.

I know it will continue to change but I sure am enjoying this phase.

One last recent development I will leave you with is one that my feelings change on daily.

We have decided to list the cabin that we love so much.

It was a hard decision but we have our sights set on a new property.

This place would take us to the same lake as our friends who are actually more like family.

We love where we are but can see so many benefits to moving.

So we're giving it a go even though it's not the best time to buy a lake property.

We are willing to hold out for next year but are staying hopeful.

In the meantime, knowing our time there could be short, we are enjoying it that much more.

Some Favourite Pics From the Weekend

This was a bonus weekend for us.

I was supposed to work on Saturday then mid week a friend reminded me that she owed me a weekend and that she would take this one.

Well she sure didn't have to ask me twice, I jumped at the chance to get back to the lake.

There was plenty of horsing around by these munchkins which produced this.

I was attempting to get a nice picture of Fiona but these days I get a lot of duck lips.

Then Cedric jumped in with this epic photobomb and now one of my favourite shots of them.

 It was Daddy's birthday last week {kept quiet on strict orders}.

He had been talking about paddle boarding so after searching a bit I found one in our price range.

We both had some fun with it this weekend, definitely a good buy.

The kids insisted on watching him and tested their balance on the floating dock.

Fiona says: "Cedric, you have to balance with your arms like this."

Cedric says: "No Nona."

{Nona=Fiona}

We're used to big skies in Alberta but at the lake they're something else.

Not something I will tire of any time soon.

Yoga Kids

We have had 2 amazing weeks full of loads of time at the park/lake/pool/walks, pretty much anywhere outdoors.

Read: not in front of the computer.

Finally a rainy day has given me the chance to catch up on this little record of our lives.

One little problem being that I haven't taken out the DSLR since Canada Day and have a mere 10 pictures on my iPhone.

I haven't even instagrammed in a week, shocking I know.

That's how nice this weather is people.

Luckily Melissa at True Yoga came through today with a bunch of pictures of the kids at their yoga camp last week.

I dropped the ball on registering the kids in summer camps.

Cedric, being under 3, is actually too young for most but I missed all the spots for Fiona as well.

We ran into some friends two days prior and they mentioned this yoga camp again.

Obviously too late to get them in right?

Wrong.

Within a couple hours of my email Melissa responded that sure, they could take 2 more.

Surely not a two year old though right?

Wrong.

They'll take Ced too.

I was ecstatic but a little worried about my baby crying for half the day and sulking for the rest in this strange environment.

To my amazement within a few minutes they were both happily waving goodbye.

Apparently a few tears were shed initially but on the remaining days the drop off was smooth sailing.

I even asked Fiona if she would like to come home early with Cedric on the third day {you can do half or full days} and she replied without hesitation "no thank you".

They absolutely LOVED it.

I shouldn't be surprised.

I have always loved Melissa {the studio owner} and every class I have taken at her studio.

I'm so happy that my kids can now have the same great experience.

So happy in fact that we have registered the kids for another week at the end of the month.

They are running 3 more camps over the summer and I'm sure it's not too late to register if you are in Edmonton and have little ones.

The camp consisted of the usual crafts and park visits combined with some {you guessed it} yoga. 

It was good for their bodies but I also feel like it was good for their souls.

Fiona came home with some wish flags {a take on Tibetan prayer flags} upon which were her wishes that everyone have a home and all the trees grow.

She also wished to be old enough to drive, have magical fairy powers and cloudy days {it was so hot} but that is neither here nor there.

Cedric made no flags but apparently made it very clear that he wished to be naked {again, so hot}.

Thanks Melissa {and Vanessa} for this great week for the kids and these sweet pictures.

Here's the link to the website for the camps or if you're just looking for a great yoga studio in Edmonton.

Out for Summer

School is out for another year.

This was a special one since it was the first year that both kids were in preschool.

They started separately since Cedric had to start in October once he turned 19 months so I don't have a picture together for the first day.

I did, however, remember in the nick of time to snap this last day pic.

I'm glad I almost forgot since I would have been tempted to stage and coordinate a little.

This way they are completely in their natural state having picked their own outfits.

 I can't even believe what a baby Fiona looks like on her first day.

I remember thinking that she looked like such a big girl.

Story of a parents life.

You can never imagine that they could possibly look any bigger than they do at this moment.

Then they very quickly prove you wrong.

 Cedric's first day picture is pretty perfect.

He may now be bigger, have much more language, and even more amazing hair (right?) but his little personality hasn't changed a bit.

Apart from his confidence that is.

We were so impressed with how comfortable he became at school, a far cry from in this post.

Now you want to talk about natural state...

The first picture is the only one in which they weren't running, jumping, pushing or screaming.

And Fiona is carrying socks?

Not matching of course, she would never wear matching socks...obviously.

The kids have already been asking when they get to go back to school.

Remember when you loved school that much?

Me neither.

Update on Cedric and Spring

Sure I can update you on Spring, I am the authority on seasons don't you know.

Obviously incorrect but I will say that I can't believe spring is almost over and I have yet to talk about it.

I have been watching cherry trees bloom and kids rolling on beautiful lush grass on Instagram and wondered longingly when that would begin here.

Finally, in the last few weeks our fruit trees have blossomed and our lilac is just now in it's full glory.

Our lawn is another story, it needs a lot of TLC.

We're pretty tough on it so it seems to be in a constant development phase.

I'm also pretty sure I let our beautiful plum tree die.

This tree has year after year produced enough plums to yield dozens of jars of plum jam even after we eat as many as physically possible.

In the last couple of years a second tree has grown next to it, this is the one pictured below.

It hasn't yet produced fruit but we haven't needed it to because of the abundance of the first.

This year, however, our big tree didn't bloom at all so I'm not expecting any fruit.

What do I know though, I'm no arborist, maybe there's hope for it yet.

We managed to plant the garden again this year so now is the time when I sing to it a little, recite some positive affirmations then say a little prayer that something will grow.

I'm sure I'll be a good gardener someday, right?

Looks like Cedric's not convinced.

 Of course I have more important living things to tend to so I give myself some slack.

Cedric certainly has me on my toes.

He is determined to attempt and accomplish everything.

His favourite phrase right now is "DID IT!"

He's so proud when he keeps up to his big sister and her friends.

Though I'm also so proud of him I often wish the thing he "DID" did not involve heights, speed or objects that could be used as a weapon.

He called me "Mom" today for the first time and I already miss his previous names for me which included "Mum-mum" then "Ma-yee" most recently.

He can seem so big at times so I do things like not cut his baby curls off.

I totally understand the little-boys-with-long-hair thing now.

I mean how can you bring yourself to chop those sweet little locks.

I did however give him the dapper style you see above to eschew comments like "what a sweet little girl" or "how old is your daughter?"

I joke of course, not about the comments I do get those, about letting them guide my choices for Ced. 

This handsome devil can rock any style he wants as far as I'm concerned.

Cedric's Airplane Party

The celebration is officially over.

Cedric has turned two and we have thoroughly recognized that fact.

The final piece of that puzzle being, of course, the party.

Between Germany and colorguard and well, life I dropped the planning ball and sent these email invites out during the week prior.

Luckily most of our friends made it and the kids had a blast.

My no gift request was initially because I didn't want anyone rushing around finding a last minute gift.

But if I'm being honest it was so lovely to only have a few gifts trickle in over the last couple of weeks.

After a birthday I would usually have an overwhelming need to purge and there is none of that this year.

Now don't go feeling sorry for Cedric, he still received more that enough for his birthday I assure you.

I like to choose a theme to at least guide the cake I will be making.

Cedric is totally obsessed with planes at the moment so it wasn't a hard choice.

I searched for airplane cake templates and came across this Mom's brilliant design. 

I just added a little to the cut detail here and pieced it together a little differently so even though it's not my original idea I still wanted to share.

I loved that only one cake batch was required, keeping it simple.

I used this chocolate cake recipe again because I always love the way it turns out.

After you bake your 2 9" round cakes you simply cut both in half.

That's the only cut for cake #1.

Then cut one of cake #2's halves in half again and cut a third off the end of the other half. 

 Secure the 2 halves of cake #1 together with icing.

 The last cut is to split each of the sections of cake #2 except the end quarter {which is extra}.

 The largest pieces become the wings, the next become the tail and the smallest become the horizontal stabilizers. 

{I would have called these the back wings because I know zilch about airplane anatomy but I looked it up for you, you're welcome.}

Slather icing {I used this buttercream recipe again} over the whole cake.

 Then add whatever details you desire with a piping bag.

I had one decoration which involved a bag of white balloons, some twine to tie them all together and bringing these airplanes down from Ced's room.

Last minute party=one decoration.

The best parts of any party of course are the guests.

Cedric, being the second child and so young, doesn't really have his own group of friends.

Fiona's neighbourhood friends, however, are so much fun and great buddies to Ced so they helped us celebrate.

 We even had my Aunt join us from Ontario via Facetime.

Birthday smooches from Diana for this guy, he was in heaven.

  Cedric is so loved, we are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives.

I think it will be upsetting for me when my kids' birthday parties are only for their friends and not my own as well.

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate the big 2!