Two Monkeys: Nicholas & Joshua Read

Our first full day in New York was a rainy one, but we didn't care. We heard that there was more snow coming down in Ottawa, so anywhere else that didn't have the white stuff coming down was pleasant. One of the best features that Nicholas loves about the hotel is the big screen TV that he can view from his top bunk. Since we don't have cable at home, nor does he have free access to watching TV, he was fascinated with watching the History Channel. After we woke up around 7 (we lost an hour because the daylight times savings meant we jumped ahead by an hour - so we really were up at 6 am) we quickly got ready and headed out to get some breakfast. Traveling with a picky 9 year old isn't fun - he is more amenable now than he was when he was 2,3,4,5, 6,7,8...after all these years, I've always hoped that he would snap out of it. Still picky after 9 years! We ended up at Tivoli Cafe for breakfast - bacon sandwich for him and oatmeal for me. Great start to the day. A...

It's March Break 2019 and it's the first time I've taken a real vacation during spring break. Joshua doesn't like to walk and I've been itching to get back to NYC. It's probably been about 10+ years since I've come to the city. Nicholas is now 9 years old and growing up really fast. He's nearly as tall as I am and in Grade 4 this year. I decided it was a great time for him to learn more about the world, experience a big city, and explore the great city of NYC. He told me earlier this year that he had no desire to fly. My friend Lesley had always talked about driving to Poughkeepsie, parking and then taking the train into Grand Central Station. We started on the journey to New York on Saturday, March 9th - left at 8:30 am crossed the border at Gananoque, south to Utica, past Albany, then we got to the train station at Poughkeepsie. The journey wasn't too bad at all - Nicholas helped to navigate the whole way. Budget travel all the way: $20 for the...

We've all spent a fantastic week up here in Mont Tremblant renting a chalet on Lac Solitude. The boys have gone canoeing, trampolining, kayaking, fishing, swimming🏊🚣 and we've also hopped into the hot tub every day. They have been well behaved and have enjoyed each other's company. Some highlights from the week include: -Minnow fishing with their new nets -Nicholas caught 5 Pollywogs  -Nicholas kayaked on his own -Watching the sheer joy in Nick and Joshy as they did their trampolining  -Homemade popcorn -Dada making a campfire for marshmallow roasting -chicken drumstick on the grill -Bourassa for yummy food -Horse meat burgers -Canada Day we all wore red There is one more day left - we can't wait to do everything one last time!

Nicholas continues to be a little monkey with great skills for swinging around. Check out his latest moves on the bar at Centerpointe park.

Joshy and Nick have both been helpful over the past few weekends. Nicholas helped to plant all my potted flowers and Joshy helped to water the newly planted flowers. The result - a colourful medley for the front. The boys are proud of their creation and I am thrilled to have some flowers in the garden. They have also been very helpful with cleaning the deck. The hose is one of their favorite things to play with. I have been sprayed a few times but it was the small price for letting them have some fun!

Easter is here and so is winter. After such a long winters that forced the boys to spend most of their time indoors, we decided that we needed to get away. I took the boys down to Toronto to visit their cousins - Melia (2) and Aiyla (4 months). The girls have grown so fast and the boys were excited to see them, and Auntie Ami and Uncle Danny. We spent Friday morning doing an Easter Egg Hunt that was organized by Danny's friend in a park near her house. The hunt was well organized and the kids loved it. I bought bunny ears for them all and they have enjoyed wearing them. After the hunt, we went to lunch in Unionville. It was 16 degrees out, so we were able to find a patio to enjoy the nice day! Since we were close to the zoo, we made a quick trip to the zoo to see the pandas, lion, lion, otter, polar bear - Joshy wanted to see the elephants but we never came across them. Nicholas was a monkey and climbed all over the place - if we weren't watching, I'd swear that he woul...

Thursday July 10, 2014 - Our day with Nicholas ! Because Joshua wasn’t with us today, we decided to go bike riding with Nicholas.  We set out at about 10 a.m., going east on the Pleasant Park sidewalk.  Jean went ahead, then Nicholas, and then me.  Nicholas was a little slow, but very steady.  Jean got ahead a way, but I was just behind Nicholas, ringing my bell when I wanted him to go a bit faster.  He stopped me underneath an oak tree and told me he wanted to pick up the “dreidles” lying about.  He pocketed 4 acorns and we resumed riding. It took about 20 minutes to get to the bike path that leads to the allotments; Nicholas was more relaxed and zipped along the paved path to our garden.   The first thing we did was check the peas that he’d planted 2 weeks ago - growing nicely.  Then I attached the hose and Nicholas watered much of the garden.  Then he noticed me using the Japanese hand-hoe I bought 2 or 3 years ago at Lee Valley, cutting o...

Nicholas had a fantastic time at his first bluesfest. He danced and ate beaver tails with mama. He did complain that it was a bit hot. We had taken the bus down to the site. It was a fantastic day with mama.

Congratulations Nicholas on your graduation from Ganon Preschool! We had a wonderful celebration on Monday, June 9 to celebrate the graduation of the JK class. The kiddies performed for the parents a little skit - Nicky remembered his line, phew! Then it came time for their song and Nicky froze - he wasn't able to even crack a smile. Everyone sang and did the hand gestures, but Nicky held his poker face. We were all there to cheer him on - Cam, Joshy, Nana, Yeye, Uncle Duncan, Popo & Dorris. It has been an amazing 3 years for Nicholas at Ganon, the best decision we made for his schooling so far. The class this year was so balanced, and filled with kids that were so happy to be together. I think his best friends ended up being the girls!

Little Joshy has recently taken to singing to himself either Mr. Golden Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun….or Let it Go from Frozen. It is so fun listening to his little voice sing the song while he is doing his morning puzzles. Puzzles have also become his latest obsession - he put 3 together this morning. The puzzles are the first things he runs to in the morning and when he comes home. When he finishes, he is so giddy and happy with pleasure. It's the simple things I love about this kid.

Nicholas helped me to make some chocolate chip and blueberry scones. He was excited to watch them rise in the oven.

Nicholas shared with me his carefully packaged bath ball and sugar scrub! I feel like a princess with all these gifts from the boys.