Yes...that's my kid with beans on his tray.

THE STRIKE IS OFFICIALLY (almost) OVER! My summer vacation can finally begin (soon). Splash pads are open. Riverdale Farm. Centreville. Pools! sweet! Now if only we had some nicer (warmer) weather.

Today was a teeny bit sunny... so Ben and I headed out for a much needed walk to the park. We passed a couple of moms on the way...who gave us some rather weird glances. Yup. That's my kid. My kid with beans on his tray.

We head out to the park ... what do I pack for Ben? Cooked (cold) carrots and green beans. He eats them like they're candy. Whines when his tray is empty.

We pass a mom dishing out some buttertarts to her son (can you believe it?!). Ben -- beans. Yum. Well at least he eats his veggies. For lunch, I made him a broccoli, cheese and egg omelet. He wanted more toast to go with it.

Yesterday I turned 30. (more on that later). Ben ate the cake but wouldn't even remotely touch the frosting or the ice cream. He's my kid,...I swear. I've already had 4 pieces (2 yesterday and 2 today). Good thing I don't have to share.

So... fine. Ben won't eat solid fruit (I've just about given up on that one). He will however eat this... and beans for a snack. And frankly, I'll take what I can get.

Thanks Christa!!!

How pretty eh?
Christa made me this new siggy!

wordless wednesday... (a 15 month comparison)

It's the summer... you'd figure I'd have more time to update...

***warning -- longest post ever, I'm making up for lost time***

And yet, I've totally been slacking off on the updates.

Adam and I have been celebrating our -turning 30- month. Adam's birthday was the 16th, mine is the 26th ...and our 6th wedding anniversary is TODAY!!!! We sure know how to pack lots of things into a small amount of space. Needless to say, I'm kinda sick of eating out at restaurants and so for our anniversary we're having a picnic in the park and going to see a movie (sans Ben!).

Speaking of Ben --- his new trick? Hiding stuff. It's seriously driving me crazy. Where's his sippy? (in his truck). Where's the remote for the TV? (in his truck). Where's the camera case? (in his truck). Thankfully, he only has 1 hiding place. In his truck. He flips the lid on the seat, and then stashes stuff in it. Pretty brilliant (and yet, oh so annoying).

Anyway,... without further ado... here's the latest installment of Ben pictures. (And as you'll totally see...we've been pretty busy!)

Ben and I went to visit my cousin, Jill, and her baby Jake!

Ben thought Jake's caterpillar book was so "wowweeee". Guess we should get him a larger version of his! Jake's book comes complete with a plush caterpillar that FITS INTO THE HOLES! No wonder Ben loved it.



Ben gets into trouble...

Forget walking... Ben's into RUNNING.
Celebrating Adam's birthday...(officially known as Cake #1)






My boys... checking out Adam's 3oth birthday gift...(Adam has the "wowweeee" expression,... but Ben is totally saying,"what mom, can't you see we're busy?")
Cake #2 -- a celebration with friends!







Leigh and Jesse's gift for me... don't I have the best sister and brother-in-law (2b)?
Cake #3...
Is it totally weird that I keep wishing for the same thing?

Cake #4... Sotto Sotto with Jerry + Lucretia






Phew... now it's time to watch some TV. (Our gift from Jerry+Lucretia+Eric+Linda!). Ben loves it. Can you tell?

...I'm turning 30. I swear.

Yesterday was definitely a highlight for me. Could be the highlight of my month...if not my year. I went with my friend, Cathy, to a casino for lunch. We were baby-free and enjoying every second of each other's (non baby) company. After lunch, we decided to have a peek into the casino. "I'm going to totally get carded", I say. We walk past the security guard.

"Excuse me?", he says. DARN IT. CARDED?! You've got to be kidding me.
He explains that he has to check ID on anyone that doesn't LOOK 30. (fine, whatever).

I explain that I'll be 30 in less than 2 weeks (but who's counting, really?) and bust out my driver's license to show him. He doesn't believe me and runs it through the scanner/checker thing to see if it's fake. As if. Nope,... I'm actually 30 (minus 13 days)... shocking, isn't it?
Cathy asks him how old he THINKS I am... and he hesitates and then says, "22". I shaved off 8 years and I didn't even have to go on '10 years younger'.
I'd like to say that I'm pleased by his response, but I'm not. I have 3 decades of life behind me. 2 university degrees. A husband. A baby. A career. I own my own car. And yet... I don't look my age.

How can I start looking older? (Lose the bangs and start wearing shirts that don't come from American Eagle would be the obvious first start)...

Woodbine Splash Pad...

It seems to be the only thing (water related) that hasn't been closed down due to the strike. We visited it this week and had a blast!

...oh and a silly one of Ben. Playing with the ribbon...

walking down the street...

Other mothers totally check each other out. It drives me crazy but I'm also to blame. I totally do it too. Mothers check out what the other kids are wearing (or not wearing -- no socks? no shoes? shouldn't they have a hat on in this weather? I wonder if they put on sunscreen?), the type of stroller they have (and the make, style, and colour --- oo that stroller was SO last season), if they're eating or drinking something (and overall ability to multitask), how much weight the mom has lost relative to how old the kid is seated in the stroller, and if the mom looks like they have it all figured out... (wow brushed hair and clean clothes -- how DOES she do it?).

I'm also totally tempted to ask moms if their houses are clean. Did they just pick up and go when the baby woke up (leaving toys, books and sippy cups strewn all over the living room -- not that I would know that from experience, or anything...no not at all!) or is their house immaculate. I want to follow them and peer into their windows to see. Am I the only one with 2 types of blocks scattered all over the floor?

I honestly think I pick up Ben's blocks at least 4 times a day. If not more.

Yesterday -- I picked up blocks during nap #1, nap #2, right before I vacuumed, after dinner... and then again after Ben was in bed. I wouldn't bother, but I think Ben enjoys taking the blocks out (or dumping them out ... as he's realized that dumping the whole bin is a lot faster at getting the job done). I also can't stand blocks all over the floor ... don't even bother asking me how many times I've tripped over his toys.

He's cute though...so I let it go.

Solid fruit?

My goal this summer is to get Ben interested (and have him actually swallow) a piece of solid fruit. It's at the point now where he's not even interested in pureed fruit...(let alone anything remotely solid)...so his fruit intake has gone way down. (He loves asparagas and green beans though - yay?).

I've even tried blending fruit in the blender...and he still notices... any advice?

The other day I was eating a pear...and Ben kept pointing at it. I figured -- why not? Here he is attempting to take a bite...

...followed by his usual reaction. Gag. Sigh.

Waiting in line for passports...

I finally got around to getting a new passport (mine expired a while ago)... I figured while I'm standing in line, I should probably get Ben's done too.

Step 1 -- get the pictures.

Did you know that kid's pictures are "more of a challenge" to get and so passport places tend to charge more? The place we went to charges $10 for adults and $15 for kids! Crazy. The place is walking distance from our house though so whatever. In we go. Adam comes with us. We're armed and ready with toys, snacks and milk. Ben took an awesome nap. He was in a smashing good mood. The man asks us if he can sit on his own. (Um,..yes?). We plunk him down on the chair. Ben sits there like he was born to take passport photos. No smiling. Well behaved. No teeth showing. Done. It takes all of 5 seconds. (And we have to pay extra for this?). My turn. I take longer. (go figure). The man takes the picture -- too much glare -- glasses have to come off. Picture #2. Done. We wait 5 more minutes and get our pictures. The man only charges us for 2 adults... guess Ben was acting super mature ;)

Step 2 -- fill out all the paperwork.

How annoying are those forms? Thankfully they're online (and pdfs) so we were able to type right into the form. Brilliant. We stick all the forms + appropriate documents into a ziplock bag.

Step 3 -- go to the passport office.

Adam comes with us (such an awesome husband!). We get into line...and smell poop. DARN IT. Adam takes Ben to the washroom and I start the process of waiting in line. Adam is gone a long (LONG) time... (to the point that I actually start to worry). In he strolls... with Ben... who is wearing a different shirt. I look at Adam and ask him if I really want to know what happened. He says no. I leave it at that... although he still feels the need to tell me details. Poop. everywhere. Hands. fingernails, hair. shirt. ewww. The sink only has cold water. They find another bathroom. ewww. Ben then begins to entertain everyone that decided to get passports (sorry folks). He walks around. He bangs on chairs. He waves at his adoring fans. The couple beside me ask if he's friendly. (Obviously). It's 9.15am. Nap time. Oh oh. Thankfully, we're in and out in less than 40 minutes (perhaps they rushed us?)... and home in time for nap #1.

All in all... a success. The passports are supposed to arrive in the next 2 weeks. We hope to take a drive into the USA sometime in August. We really need a vacation.

Anyway... the point of this post? To show you how cute Ben's passport photo was. This kid takes good photos. Mine however, not so much. I didn't bother to scan it because the only people that will have the privilege of seeing my passport are the border crossing guards. Suckers.