Storyteller

We mentioned once before about a DVD we borrowed from the library, featuring Robert Munsch telling some of his stories. We don't have a copy of "The Paperbag Princess", but Isaac liked it so much when he heard Robert Munsch tell it that he has asked Jane to recite it several times since. Here he is, telling it himself for the first time. We were blown away with how much he remembered! (He even mimicked the inflection of Jane's voice in parts)

Because it may be a bit hard to understand if you aren't used to decoding Isaac-speak, Jane transcribed it below so you can read along.

This is the paperbag princess.
(Jane)
Once there was a princess named Elizabeth and she was engaged for married to a prince named Ronald.
(Jane)
And the dragon came around the castle (growl of blowing fire) and burn it all down and kidnap that Ronald away! (pause for effect. HA!) And Elizabeth got herself up and dust herself off and went to find that dragon. Went the way and knock-knock the door. The dragon come say 'go away, I'm tired. I a long day.' And then Elizabeth 'not going to bother you today. Is it true, is it true, is it true that you can fly, that you can fly the world...
(Jane)
'Is it true, is it true you fly away from all the world around in 5 seconds?' 'Of course it's true. I'm a dragon - the fastest one' Then he go and say 1,2,3,4,5 (snoring). Then that dragon falled to sleep. Elizabeth tip-toed from the dragon back to the place for kidnapped Ronald and say 'Ronald, I'm here to rescue you my prince'. And he said 'Elizabeth, your hair is a mess, you have dirt on our face, you are wearing a paper bag. Come back rescue me when you look like a really real princess.'

(No idea what he is saying...tick tock?)

'Ronald, your hair is so neat.' Elizabeth 'your hair is so nice and your clothes are clean. You look a real prince, but you are a bum. And they didn't get married afterall.

Little Artists

Auntie E gave Isaac and Simon some finger paints for Easter and we broke them out today, along with some canvases that Jane found on the clearance rack at Michael's. Isaac saw us painting with brushes last week (repainting some furniture), so he insisted they use brushes. (So civilized, that boy. HA!)

Although they each had their own canvas, they seemed to prefer to work on one together before moving on to the second one.

This picture looks a little more neat, but started as a few big globs that Jane helped Simon spread it out a little.

A Family Resemblance

Isaac is the spitting image of Josh, and has been since the day he was born. Simon looks a lot more like Jane, though he gets the red hair from Josh`s side of the family.

Here`s a picture of Simon now and a picture of Pop as a baby. Do you see a resemblance? Granted, Pop is quite a bit younger in this photo than Simon is now. A little digging through some old photos will surely find a better example, but this will do for now.

A new house is being built across the street from us, and the boys love to play on the deck and watch all the goings-on at the site. Luckily, the sun has been shining, so we have been able to enjoy lots of time out there.

`I`m just fixing something on the car.`

`Is it working now?`
`Let me just get in and try it out.`


Simon isn`t so sure that it`s a good idea to have two in the car.

Isaac, however, thinks it`s a great idea.

`Oh right - What are those guys up to across the street?`

Isaac`s Lines

Isaac has a certain love for order. Not that he necessarily likes things to be clean all the time, but he likes things sorted: cars together, animals together, blue items together, whatever.

Usually everything gets sorted and put into one long line across a room or down the hall. Sometimes he manages to tightly pack a bunch of different shaped items into a small space.

Yeah - we`ve worried that it`s a bit of OCD or a sign of something else. A quick google search can easily make you worry less or worry more (as with anything, really). As a result, we aren`t googling anymore...we`re celebrating our kookie little toddler and his love of making lines.

Here are a couple of his lines from the last day or two.

This line was kind of quirky because it was multi-directional. (Josh got a huge kick out of the stuffed animals in the boxes)

And the outdoor line!

As you can imagine, pesky little brothers don`t bode well for a lasting line. We try to remind Isaac that one game is putting the line together, and another game is taking it apart. Isaac has learned to let Simon remove items (sometimes) and Simon has learned to leave the lines alone (sometimes).

Duck Visitors

For the third time in the last two weeks, there have randomly been ducks roaming along our street. We're not exactly sure what they like about our area - we are about 1km up hill from the river and no where near any lakes. In any case, the boys had fun watching them in the yard and feeding them some bread.

When we were just watching them (before we got the camera and the loaf of bread), Isaac would shout "He's gonna get me!" each time the ducks moved toward him. It took him a while to get comfortable being so close to them. (Maybe Jane as inadvertently passed along her bird fears to him...)

Apologies for the loud wind sounds in the video!

Loving Spring

We are just loving this early Spring! Josh was on vacation from work this past week, and we went for lots of walks and trips to the park. Yesterday, we flew a kite (or at least made an honest attempt) and today we went to the Irving Nature Park. So nice to get out there and get some fresh air!

Here are a few pics from today's walk

Simon often surprises us with how perceptive he can be. The planks on the boardwalk were not all evenly spaced, and he stopped walking to put his hands into the larger spaces.

Isaac was excited to see some little fish in the marsh

And once he saw them, Simon wanted to get right down there!

Isaac was delighted by all the birds, and pretended to fly with them. Simon thought this was hilarious, but then started waving and yelling 'hi' to them.

We headed down to the beach before going back to the car, and Simon loved the sand. It's easy to forget that he may not have any warm weather memories!

Isaac was throwing rocks into the water. When we told him to throw just one more and then it was time to go, he paused like this for a moment first and said: "I have to think of a really good wish." He was wishing on each rock he had thrown - how sweet is that?

Life is good!
We've had snowstorms later than this - and today we were just in windbreakers at the beach!

Music with McGuire

We were so pleased to have our good friend Matt McGuire come over for brunch recently. It was great to catch up, and let him get to know the boys a little better. They got on like old pals!

"Tub Time!"

This video is several weeks old, but we forgot to upload it. Isaac and Simon love having tub time, and we love hearing Simon ask for it.

Happy Easter!

After mass on Easter Sunday, Nan & Pop, Grammie and Grampie, Auntie E, and Uncle Tom came over for an Easter egg hunt! Isaac and Simon had lots of fun, hunting for eggs filled with some of their favourites - animal crackers, yogurt covered raisins, gummies, and wee little toys. Here are some pictures of the fun:

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