Jackson, February 18

Jackson, Jackson, Jackson. What can we say about our dear Jackson. He makes the world seem technicolor at times and other times . . . he is the reason I am in desperate search for a gong! (To hit my head against for relief! I actually tried to find one at the Mandarin Chinese restaurant the other day and surprisingly they didn't have one!)

On Sunday, we were the ward spectacle as I had all three kids and Jackson cut loose, running back and forth at the front and on the stand. I finally caught him (while wearing high heeled boots and carting Avery in my other hand) and hauled him out, leaving Jayden on his own for quite some time.

Earlier today he talked Brad's ear off about playgrounds, cars, candy, and whatever else he could think of. (For those of you who don't know Brad, it is really hard to get a word in edge-wise so for someone to talk HIS ear off, well, that is certainly something!) Truly, there are times hitting your head against a gong--and feeling the throbbing and ringing sensations--would really be satisfying. Fortunately, there are studies out that indicate good communicators are amoung the most successful people out there. We take comfort in that.

This afternoon, he posed well for some photos--I think he is a natural model, I didn't tell him to pose in any way. Then, a few minutes later, as I was upstairs feeding Avery, he opened the fridge and broke the shelf on the door. Milk, quiche, pickles, juice . . . you name it, it was broken and on the floor. Guillermo had a hay day and Jackson was banished to his room. (After several earlier episodes, I banned him from ever opening the fridge again without permission.)

Avery, February 18

Discovering those magical toes! I wonder if they taste as good as they smell??

Our little Avery--don't let her sweet facade fool you! She is ready to jump in on the rough housing with all the boys.

Avery's little tongue is her first greeting to strangers and family alike. She just loves to stick it out and see other people's tongues. If your name is Guillermo and you have lots of black fur, she just loves to feel it tickle her all over! YUK!

New Jumper

Instead of getting a new walker, we got Avery a self-contained jumper. I always wished I had had a jumper for the boys but couldn't find them. This one is really neat. First off, there are no wheels for floor hockey! ;) And secondly, it has a lot of fun toys on it (although none can touch Avery's fascination for her fingers!). It has a little piano, mirror with spinning frog, chewable sun flower, and lots of buttons to twist, rattle, and spin. Avery loves it. So do the boys. They will climb on it when I am not looking and bounce on it. I am pretending I don't see for now . . . it is less dangerous than wheeling across the floor and falling down any of our three sets of stairs!

Avery Pics

A few new snap shots of Avery. I am trying to find some time for a good portrait session with the kids . . . but with all the snow shoveling we've been up to these days, it is hard! Check back in a week though, and barring any more snow storms, I might have something!

Avery's Walker

Avery just loved our little walker. She found all the toys on it fascinating and would be happy in the walker for a good 20 minutes.

The only problems were that the walker had wheels . . . and Avery wasn't the only one who found it fascinating. The boys loved to run and jump on the walker, sliding across the floor . . . and loved to play floor hockey . . . with Avery in walker as the puck.

Needless to say, the walker is in storage and we have a new one . . . without wheels.

Snowy Days

This year has been incredible for snow. I think that all the snow we were supposed to get last year (but didn't) fell this year. In fact, someone mentioned that we got 150% of our normal YEARLY snowfall in the past two weeks. I would believe it!

Here are the boys playing around in the aftermath of the third storm of the year. (I think we have had 4-5 storms, depending on when you think one ended or started since it really hasn't stopped snowing this month!)

To give you an idea of just how much snow we have been receiving (in one storm alone), here are some photos of our most recent. This is all from one-two storms (depending on how you count). And, it is after two days of melting in the sun. Rumour has it that there is another storm on its way tonight.

I have often used the expression that cleaning my house while my kids are around (and awake) is like shoveling during a blizzard . . . this winter I have actually experienced it literally. And cleaning while my kids are awake is very much the same! I think everyone in the GTA is absolutely sick of shoveling and I take back ever making fun of anyone who has a snowblower . . . Where did you find yours? Do you know of any good deals?? (We have been shoveling an average of 5 times a week, and sometimes it has been three times in one day!)

Sailing Away

The boys were kept very busy one afternoon when they decided to decorate a big box (and a few little ones) to make a ship. They spent the next few days sailing to Toy Island and Snack Cay. Jackson decorated the inside while Jayden oversaw the exterior. Mom is currently on the look out for more large boxes . . . to help keep her boys out of trouble! :)

So Beautiful!

Jackson's vocabulary and sentance structure is mimicking Jayden's these days. He is really getting good at expressing himself. The other night he strung together the phrase, "Oh Dad, that is just beautiful!" Of course, coming from Jackson it was in regard to three types of cookies Brad had brought home for dessert one night and lined up on the table.

You Have a Tongue? So Do I!

Avery has discovered that she has a cute, little tongue and loves to stick it out at people in hopes of seeing theirs. The trick works both ways, if you stick your tongue out at her, she will fish around in her mouth for a bit until her little pink tongue finds its way out. I will have to take a photo of it some time!

Our TRUE Artist

I finally scanned in several of Jayden's HUNDREDS of drawings and thought I would share a few of them with you. If you would like to order prints, there will be a limited amount available (to keep the value high--for those of you who collect artwork!). I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

The Big Green Monster (and Little Blue Dog)
Garbage Truck
Race Car
Magician
A Sunny Day

Fire on Ice

New Year's Day we woke up bright and early to go skiing at the Caledon Ski Club. (Thanks, Dido!) Jayden got some lessons from mom and dad for his Christmas present and was in ski camp with his cousins, while the rest of the Templeman clan came out for a day of skiing on fresh powder. Here Grandma is waiting for Jayden to come up the lift.
Jayden was good and fast enough to be bumped up to the older group and got to ski on other runs around the club. Don't they all look so cute? I like to call them "Helmets on skis"!
Our little ski bunny hoping to get as good and fast as mom one day.
Jayden and his certificate of completion for the Kinderski program.

Hockey (Day) in Canada

New Year's Eve morning (bright and early) was spent with the Templemans at an arena in the Canadian tradition. Brad and the boys went up while Melanie and Avery (who were now sick with a wicked cold) stayed at home to recover. Jackson was a natural--which is pretty impressive since he is so clumsy in life. Somehow when you put some sports equipment in front of him though, he turns into a sports superstar!

Jayden and Grandma puttering around. Poor Jay didn't have any skates but he didn't mind. It was still fun to slide around in boots!

Since none of the Templeman Boys' hockey careers worked out, they made up a new sport: Canadian Kid Flinging. The kids just had a ball!

Christmas 2007

On Christmas Eve, we had the Struks over for some finger food and a great time. Avery got her picture taken with her Great-Dido (Great-Grandfather). Although she doesn't seem to be very happy here, she actually did have a fun evening.

All that late night partying and early morning present opening tuckered Avery right out. She loves her swing--our first child that we've been able to use it with! (The boys never cared for it much.)

Can you believe all that stuff? We really did try to keep things small this year and not buy many presents . . . but Santa has other ideas! Apparently he got things wrong this year. Even though the remote control bulldozer was a hit, it wasn't the CRANE WITH WRECKING BALL that was ordered. Tsk tsk, Santa.

Spending money on toys for Jackson is pretty much in vain because all he really wants and likes is CANDY. He is eating Dad's chocolate bar here for breakfast. The Cars pj's from Grandma in Calgary were a big hit though, he insisted on putting them on right away.

Jayden got a remote control helicopter from Santa . . . Dad helped Jayden test it out all day and night. I think Jayden was able to 'touch' the controller once in between Dad's time and the races with Uncles Drew and Justin. After the big morning, we headed off to Grandma and Grandpa T's for dinner with the rest of the Templemans.

Trip to Michigan

Now that the Canadian dollar is so strong, shopping up here is really ridiculous. So, we decided to do our Christmas shopping in the U.S. Our current favorite place is Detroit, Michigan. Of course we had to wait until the last shopping weekend before Christmas to do it! (I don't recommend this if you have 2 preschoolers and a newborn, particularly when they are all sick!)

We had a great time though and got all of our shopping done . . . with time to spend with Jasmin (Melanie's friend from BYU) and seeing an amazing (though VERY LENGTHLY) Christmas Light Show.

The kids really enjoyed the hotel we stayed at--it had a pool so clearly it was first rate!

The Start of Blogging

Now that quite a few of our friends and family have blogs (and they have put the pressure on us to have one to), here we are. I must admit, it seems perplexing that I, Melanie, should be one be one of the last to start a blog. I have been writing stories and detailed journal entries since I was five years old; started up school newspapers and magazines; and been a yearbook editor. I LOVE to report! I guess, in the busyness of life, and trying to keep up with emails and my own journal and family albums I didn't think I could find the time.

But I have been inspired by looking at other's blog sites and realized that I can actually cut down my work load by blogging! Emails will get sparser, as you can refer to the blog site for photos and updates, and our yearly family album will be written through out the year instead of a mad rush to get it printed before the discount coupon expires!

I hope you all enjoy peering into our lives as much as we have enjoyed catching up on all of your happenings!