PNE, happy 100th!

On Friday the family made their way down to English Bay to watch the PNE parade. It had been 15 years since the last one. Beach Avenue was lined with people to take in the special event. There were floats, performers, and even tethered balloons. Finally, to kick off the celebration the Beach Boys and Bryan Adams performed at Empire Stadium. Tracey got to fulfil a teenage dream to watch Bryan perform live. He played all his hits including "Summer of '69". Suffice to say, he rocked the home town crowd. Here are some pictures from the parade and one from the concert. Roger and Tracey were up close, stage right.

Rocky Mountaineer ride...

Yesterday, Roger, Tracey, Malcolm and Melody traveled by train to Whistler. It was their first ride on the Rocky Mountaineer train. It was a three hour ride up and a three hour ride down with spectacular views of the Howe Sound, Cheakamus River, Coast Mountains, and all the other beautiful sights one sees while traveling up to Whistler. They got to walk around the train, see all the different types of cars, and enjoy some snacks all while taking in all the beautiful scenery. The kids were great little travelers. They didn't fuss and were very well behaved. Here are some pictures from the trip, including the family lunch at Whistler.

Bowling redux.

Malcolm has been wanting to try bowling again for some time. Whenever, we walk by the Bowling Alley he mentions how he would like to try again. Roger usually tells him that it's a rainy day activity and that the next time it rains they could go. Low and behold, the weather was quite wet this past weekend. Apparently the second time around was much more successful. Malcolm did extremely well, bowling an 82 (all by himself I might add). I'm not sure if he really understands the concept of aim and scoring yet, but he was very enthusiastic and compliant. Here are some pictures from the event:

We discovered a great new park near our house yesterday called Grimston Park. It's only a few blocks away and it has a brand new playground and water park area. Malcolm had a great time with his new friend Emma racing around the wading pool.

Melody is doing great, she's adding to her long list of food she likes. So far she hasn't turned down anything. Watermelon and Mango still top the list, but she really likes chicken, rice and the Heinz cereal cookies. It's so cute to watch her eat, she shows such excitement and anticipation for what's to come.

Oh and here are some pictures from the family's recent trip to Spanish Banks. It wasn't busy at all:



Roger and Tracey got the opportunity to venture out without the kids last night. It's been a long time since they had a date night. They decided to head to the Richmond Night Market. Here are some of the delicious foods they tried, starting with the ever so popular meat on a stick, deep fried cheesecake and Sukiyaki Rice Burger. They managed to stock up on some Korean socks as well.

Whew, what a busy few days we've had.

Whoa, what a busy weekend it's been in the house. We entertained three days in a row with three different groups. First it was Roger's family bbq on Saturday. We managed to corral all the family from Vancouver, New Westminster and Bellingham for a wonderful Kalbi lunch. Then it was our Miracle Berry, taste-tripping party the next evening. Uncle Lane and Jen were in town to help join in the festivities. And finally, Joseph, Nicole and Uncle Glen came over for a bbq dinner on Monday. Whew, it's been busy. Fun was had by all, here are some pictures from the various events. Oh and cousin Corina has been staying with us for the past few days, it's been really fun having her visit. 

Melody's favorite food hands down has been watermelon, she just can't get enough of the stuff. In fact, she cries for it as soon as she sees it.

 

Happy 8 Months Melody.

You bring us joy

You bring us laughter

After all, what more could we ask for

Today you are 8 months old

You've come so far

As babies go you've certainly raised the bar

We love you so

And we're so happy that you're with us

Everyday with you seems like Christmas

Back from Kelowna.

The family had a great time in Kelowna visiting with Scott, Michelle, Sydney and Nolan. The weather was hot, the pool was cool and catching up with old friends is always wonderful. The new house is simply amazing and not just because they have a pool.

The kids have sure grown, Malcolm got along very well with both of them. Sydney is the sweetest little girl, she entertained Melody for countless hours, playing with her and keeping her company. Nolan was especially generous letting Malcolm play with his toys and share his books.

The sleeping situation is always unpredictable, but for the most part things worked out very well. Malcolm and Roger slept upstairs while Tracey and Melody took the basement. Both kids adapted quite well to the new environment. The sad part is Melody and Malcolm both managed to pick up the flu the last day they were there. They're both fighting coughs and fevers. Let's hope they both recover fast. In the meantime, here are some pics from the trip and their mini-photoshoot at the house.

Lunch at the A&W in Merritt:

Beautiful Sky in Kelowna:

Fire Kelowna Style:

Underwater Family Shot:

Melody Relaxing in the pool:

Leb wohl mein Freund, güte reise.

This week we had to bid farewell to our good friend Ryan, as he made his way back to Vienna. It was a week filled with good times and good laughs. It's pretty unbelievable that he and his family have been living in Austria for two years now. Here's a picture of uncle Ryan helping Malcolm walk along a beam.

Here's the shot below with the boys on his last day in Vancouver. See you next year Dr. Ryan. Next time we'll see you is Andrew stag! We all better start preparing for that doozy. Roger's started drinking more regularly to strengthen his liver for that one.

A big ball of worry, that's what kids are...

No matter how old kids get, parents tend to worry about everything along the way. First it all starts with, how they're eating, how they're sleeping, are they pooping enough, are they peeing enough, so many concerns. Unfortunately, it never stops. During this next stage, we're worried about socialization, confidence, manners, and what we're fighting with right now is what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.

It's interesting because now that Malcolm is older some of the same fears that we had when he was a baby don't really even come into consideration when it comes to Melody, and like I've said before Tracey and Roger both agree that raising a toddler is way more challenging than a the baby ever was, well Malcolm anyway. The emotional and developmental stages are so different, so much more delicate to keep in check. We constantly walk along a tightrope made of eggshells, where any slight mis-step or movement can either send the boy into unbridled laughter or at the other end of the spectrum inconsolable frustration and despair. The maddening thing is that we just don't know what we're going to get. Right now if we can keep it to one meltdown a day we consider the day a good day. Today, was not one of those days.

Nevermind terrible 2's...

It's been a rough go lately, as Roger tweeted the other day: "Reasoning with a 3 year old is an exercise in futility. Doing and saying the exact opposite of what you want is utterly exhausting."
Malcolm has been less than reasonable when it comes to doing simple things. Any number of things can set him off and his defiance to daily tasks like eating breakfast or cleaning up his toys sometimes send him into a crying and screaming rage. I think that Roger and Tracey's recent approach of working with a reward system for good behaviour has been working with some success; however, it isn't easy. We all know that Malcolm is dealing with a lot of things, the development of his brain, identity and not to mention the start of preschool. These are all stressful events at the best of times. We're all trying our best, let's just hope that things improve. I guess the most heartbreaking thing is that we know he can be so, so good. He's an articulate, energetic, intelligent and inquisitive little boy, too bad that boy leaves sometimes and we're left with an unreasonable, inconsolable, little lump.