Daddy-less adventures

As he seems to do once a year, Kyler left us this last week to go to a research conference in Toronto. Which means I had four days of single-motherhood... with three kids. I was anxious about it, to say the least.

Day one: Wednesday

Technically, Kyler left the night before. We drove him to the airport, he gave the kiddos and me hugs, and then I put everyone to bed. Calista may have cried a little on the drive back from the airport.

But the first full day started with fort-building, which is mildly frustrating to attempt with two crazy children (thanks, Caleb, for deciding to nap decently this week!) and a crazy cat. But the end results were fun.

Also included on this day was me showering while all three kids were awake, without anyone crying and Caleb having a diaper blowout requiring new clothes after he'd been dressed only 30 minutes. We also played with sidewalk chalk and ate Life cereal, which we got special for while Kyler was gone.
After lunch, Calista and Craig got to go hang out with friends from church, Liam and Anna, while Caleb and I went to my last midwife appointment. Caleb weighed in at 10 lb 13 oz, and 23 inches long, which means he's gained about 3 pounds and 3 inches since birth! Yay!
Playing with friends meant Craig didn't nap... so when we got home, he crashed. At 4:40 pm.

Calista and I tried to wake him, but we were unsuccessful. He slept through dinner and us starting to watch Mulan. Finally, at 6:40, he woke up. Calista and Craig both wanted to sleep in the fort, though the word "sleep" probably belongs in quotes. Calista fell asleep around 10 PM, and I have no idea when Craig fell asleep, since he was still awake when I went to sleep.

Day two: Thursday
Calista and Craig, despite staying up late, wake up on their own around 6:30. All the better to get a jump on our day, I suppose.
After more Life, we headed to the zoo.

Which mad me a little nervous, since last zoo trip (the first one I did with all three kids), Craig ran off while I was nursing Caleb and we went home early.

Well, here goes take two! (Yay for a zoo bathroom selfie?)

Caleb in the carrier!

Happily, the kiddos were a lot better this time, perhaps because they knew I meant it when I threatened to go home.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we stopped by many of our favorite places.

Calista was really excited when I pointed out this Emerald Swallowtail butterfly to her.

And Craig got to see the komodo dragons, which are his favorite.

I like the building, too, because it has a place to rest, warm up or cool down (depending on the season), have a snack, and nurse Caleb... which I did.

While Calista and Craig played on the statues.

All in all, it was a successful zoo trip, though Craig fell asleep on the walk back to the car, then woke up when I transferred him into his seat and wouldn't go back to sleep. So no normal nap on this day, either.
Instead of napping, we got out the pool and played on the deck.

Calista and Craig had fun filling it up and getting wet...

But only if they were getting themselves wet. If their sibling got them wet instead, it was the end of the world. Oh well.

Speaking of the end of the world... I had Caleb dip his feet into the water for the first time (with Calista as the designated photographer. She didn't do too bad, did she?)

Caleb did NOT approve of the pool time. Oh well!

Craig will spray you!... if the hose is on.

Calista refused to pick up her toys and books, even after I told her she couldn't play with the Wii (which she'd been asking to do all day) unless she did. She decided she'd rather go to bed, instead, at 6:30. So they went to bed, and while they didn't fall asleep immediately, they did stay upstairs and I had some alone-ish time. (Calista did decide to clean up the next day, so she was allowed to play the Wii then.)

Day three: Friday
We started with my first post-partum zumba day!

Caleb fussed for a tiny bit, but calmed down pretty quick and I was able to do zumba the whole hour.

Except when I paused to take pictures of my adorable children.
When we got home, I fed Caleb, swaddled him, and put him down in the bassinet while I showered, and he fell asleep, and napped for almost TWO hours! Craig also got to have a more normal nap schedule, yay. While he napped, Calista begged to take the cat for a walk.

I finally consented. The cat loved laying on the sidewalk. Calista tried to convince her to walk: "Go, kitty! Move, kitty! Stop playing with your leash! MOVE!" It wasn't terribly successful...
After Craig woke up from his nap, we went to what the kids call the "slurpee park."

Can you see why? (It's actually Craig's slurpee, silly boy).

Caleb got to be outside a bit, which he seemed to enjoy despite the impending thunderstorm.
Then we headed home, and the boys got a bath.

I figure, if you measure my single motherhood success by how clean my kiddos were, I didn't do too bad.

All three of them had baths in the days Kyler was gone, and Calista even had two!

Calista also bit Craig. But that isn't as much a sign of success...

Day four: Saturday
Calista and Craig got dressed out of pj's straight into swimsuits, because it's not summer if you don't do that at least once, right? Once the swimsuits were on, we headed to the spray park.

Calista and Craig had a lot of fun, and Caleb slept a lot.

I wasn't complaining about that, though.

After lunch eaten at the spray park, we came home for Craig to have a nap.

And for me to attempt to get a picture of Caleb smiling, but not quite getting it. Still, looks cute, right?
I also set up the tent in the basement... more on that later.
Once Craig woke up from his nap, we headed to a different park.

Craig in his pajamas, because that's what he changed into when we took off the swimsuits.

And after a bit at the park (and avoiding the thunderstorm!), we headed to Dairy Queen for dinner.
Finally, it was time for movie, popcorn, and bed in the tent!

I survived until Kyler got home!

Overall, I can't really complain. Especially since Caleb picked this week to start napping in his bassinet, rather than in someone's arms. But in general, the kids were good and we had fun. I'm still always happy to have Kyler around, though. I like having a partner in parenting, especially one as good as he is.

Proud Canadians

Happy (belated) Canada Day!

This little guy's first!
Per tradition, we went down to Raymond to spend Canada Day with Kyler's family. We only stayed a couple of days (I wanted to sleep in my own bed with my not quite 1-month-old as much as possible!), but we had a lot of fun.
Also per tradition, we took attempted a cute sibling picture.

I am not sure it is possible to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera, not blurry, and smiling.

Still, we tried.

After struggling to get pictures, we had a little time before the parade.

Naturally, a music-less dance party was in order.

Then, it was off to the parade.

We waited a little bit as the parade slowly came to us.

Kiddos were pretty patient, though. Plus, they did have cousins to play with.

And to watch for in the parade, too, like Jarrett!

Though Caleb didn't really watch any of it.

Craig only got nearly run over once - I chased after him and grabbed him quickly enough.

After that, he stayed a little closer to the curb.
Calista, though, got in on the action.

She was pretty successful, too.

After the parade we headed to a baseball game.

Specifically, one that included this guy.

Another cousin! Yay, Carter!
While trying to explain the rules to Calista, I realized just how strange baseball is. Oh well. Since there were cousins to play with, Calista and Craig liked it.

Even Caleb got in on the family/cousin action, since we played a bit of pass the baby in the ballpark.

When the game was over, Calista was thrilled to learn that Carter's team won. She kept chanting, "Our family won! Our family won!"
The game was so exciting that the ride home was pretty quiet...

Yup, they all fell asleep on the way back to Grandma Maria's.

Craig stayed asleep for a little bit, but Calista woke up, and got invited to go with some cousins to get slushies.

Then they headed to the town party, where there was a bubble pit.

 Just in the street! What fun.
And to increase the messiness, they also played in the sand.

After all, is there a better way to celebrate Canada Day than as a sand angel? Probably, but it was still fun.

We ended the day with fireworks and more friends and family (though no more pictures). And, since it is now July, Calista's count down to her birthday (it's my birthday month!!!) has begun...

Go Black Polka Dots!

Calista played soccer again this year, and she loved it.

When we signed her up, I told her I couldn't be her coach this year because of the baby - I was due 2 weeks before the end of the season!

So Kyler volunteered to be her coach instead. She loved that.

This year, her team was black. When Kyler asked the kids what was black, one yelled, "polka dots," and somehow that was the name that stuck. So we all cheered for the black polka dots.

While Kyler coached her, I mostly followed Craig around the field

and the playground.

 It was redone since last year, much to Craig's delight.

He loved Calista's soccer days.

...even if it doesn't look like it.

Calista improved in her skills, in addition to having fun.

And of course, ran around until she was exhausted.

Calista also had a much improved attitude from last year: no tantrums, and no tears unless she was hurt.

All smiles here!

Way to go, Black Polka Dots!

Preschool graduation

As silly as it is to have a preschool graduation (it's not really possible to flunk out is it? So what accomplishment are we celebrating?), when the time came for Calista's, of course we were there.

Even if some of us slept through parts of it...
They had a cute little program, where they sang cute little songs.

No surprise to us, Calista and her friend Nolan were by each other the whole time.

Calista did such a great job, and clearly was having a blast.

The she got her little certificate, and of course a picture with her teacher, Mrs. Waldof. Calista loved her, and gave her a big hug before we left.
Mrs. Waldof had previously asked each child what they want to be when they grow up. Calista said, "A scientist who studies all the bugs and all the things."

If that's what you want to be, baby girl, we support you!
Calista has grown up so much in the last year, and we are very proud of her. Kindergarten, here she comes!