Summer Fun

School is out in just a few weeks. I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by.

And while I've watched Hannah blossom into a girly girl who only wants to sport dresses, hairbands and ponytails what I really can't believe is that Alex is 8.5 months old. Crawling, eating solids and getting himself into plenty of mischief this little boy has grown up way too fast.

I'm not sure if it's the second child syndrome or the mom working on mat leave syndrome or a combo of the two but boy, is he a big boy! 

While we are active in a playgroup and attend a weekly music class I feel like he has been slightly neglected in the activity department. In Hannah's first year we did mom and baby yoga, infant massage, mom and baby pilates, playgroups, a music class and a gym class. Hmm...as I type that out maybe I overdid it :)

I did want to enroll Alex in a class at Le Petit Gym but from my experience with Hannah learned to wait until he was crawling. And now that he is on the move I reconsidered it but then shelved the idea. For a few reasons: 1. Its a good 20 minute drive 2. The class times are not ideal 3. Its expensive

I feel slightly guilty but while trying to rationalize it in my mind remembered that I had enrolled the entire family in the Mummies List Music in the Park. So while I have already spent $100 on a summer's worth of music I might as well take advantage and hit the parks as often as I can to entertain both kids.

I'll definitely be trying out Blossom Studio Yoga in NDG with Hannah and bringing both kids to hear Jennifer Gasoi at Westmount park. And we'll see who gets to spend alone time with Alex and I, perhaps Terry Joe Banjo.

Last year Hannah and my very pregnant self enjoyed a summer of music and I'm sure this one will be more of the same!

 

Birthday Bonanza

Yesterday we celebrated Hannah's 2nd birthday with a party for her friends and family.

Wanting to keep it somewhat low key we reserved a place at Le Petit Gym in TMR and invited about 10 families to celebrate with us. 45 minutes of running, jumping, bubbles, parachutes and a bouncy station and the kids were in sheer delight. Then pizza, veggies, cake and fruit made it that much sweeter.

I think the photos below pretty much sum up the whirlwind of wonderful fun that Hannah (and her parents) had.

The one thing I do want to talk about is the presents. In my last post, I said that I didn't want Hannah to be overwhelmed with gifts but I think what I really meant is that I didn't want Hannah to have bags full of plastic presents set upon her. So while I fully intended on letting her open only a few gifts post-party, I peeked in all of the bags and was completely impressed. I guess I was expecting our living room to be full of plastic, cheap presents but our friends and a family surprised me. The gifts were educational, paper-based, creative, recycled, and most of all fun! One family even made a donation to the Montreal Children's Hospital.

So I take back everything from my last post. Being a birthday party virgin I obviously had no idea what to expect. And I'm sure not all 2nd birthday gifts are like the ones we received. Guess that just goes to show that my values are very similar to my friends (guess that's why we like each other :) )

So without further ado, here are some snapshots from birthday #2.

Yummy!

Make a wish!

Not exactly my vision for Minnie Mouse but a 2 year old really doesn't care about design :)

Bouncing!

Bubbles!

Happiness!

Special Moments!

Celebrities are Moms Too

Flipping through glossy magazine pages we always see photos of moms like Nicole Richie, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Garner spending time with their kids. I often wonder if these photos were snapped on a rare occasion when the kiddies are without their nannies.

Well, today I got a dose of celebrity mommy-hood, playing alongside Sophie Gregoire at Le Petit Gym.

And I must say Justin Trudeau's wife is one fine mom. In fact, I think she was one of the most enthusiastic, caring moms there.

At first, I questioned whether she was putting on a show to impress the other moms but after the 45 minute class you could see her genuine kindness and love for spending time with her daughter. She got up on the inflatable mat with the lot of us and was bouncing around, sang along with the rhymes and was beautifully casual throughout it all in a cardigan and a pair of stretch pants.

Her mom even came at the very end to pick them up since it seemed as though they had walked over with their Bugaboo.

With two kids almost two years apart I wonder how she does it while maintaining a successful career and playing the role of the perfect wife to Mr. Trudeau. I guess her secret is safe for now. We'll see if in the coming weeks her little one is eventually accompanied by a nanny. Or maybe she will surprise us all by being just a regular multitasking mom like the rest of us.

Sweating to the Nursery Rhymes

Hannah is currently knocked out in her crib post our first session at Le Petit Gym in TMR. We took advantage of a free class this morning, with the Birds, aged 10-19 months.

Hannah, and her friend Cassie, were among the youngest in the group, still stuck on all fours. And though the other kids were running around, climbing on the apparatuses and catching bubbles in their tiny hands, my little 10 month old definitely had fun, with an audio tape narrated by Baz Luhrmann playing in the background.

We signed up for the winter session to begin in a few weeks, when she might be a bit more mobile (hoping not, at least until I get a gate for the kitchen). With 19 weeks of jumping, swinging, bouncing and more, this new Friday morning activity will most probably be a weekly anticipation.

And though the price tag may be steep at $380 for the session, plus membership, we will surely use it towards the government's physical activity tax credit for children.

So on February 5th we will officially be a bird. And though flying may not be in our future, Hannah will probably be soaring from the fun of it all.