2. Party One was on Saturday with Jak’s Calgary grandparents.  We wanted to do something low-key, but something we knew he would enjoy.  The answer — a trip to the park!  (Thanks to auntie erin for suggesting Helicopter Park…it was a hit!)Jak’s favourite part of the park wasn’t the swing.  It wasn’t the slide.  It wasn’t the merry-go-round.  It was a ramp.  Yes, you read that right.  He spent the majority of our time at the park just going back and forth, up and down the ramp.  Crazy kid. 

3. Here are some “behind the scenes” shots of our time at the park…

4. Maguire was at the park, too.(I promise he’s under that blanket…)

5. One last round of photos from the park — boys being boys!

6. We had dinner at our place after our park adventures, and I made sure to have a giant chocolate cupcake for Jakzen for dessert.  In preparation for what I assumed would be a messy experience, I stripped him down and plunked him back in his chair, all ready to dive in and get dirty.  First, he was unsure what to think of our singing…and even more unsure of the sparkly candle.Once the sparkler had burned out, he picked up the cupcake and we were all ready with our cameras to capture him attacking it with gusto.  No such luck.  He took one lick, and put it down.  Apparently there really is such a thing as too much chocolate…

7. On Sunday, it was Olivia’s birthday.  Crazy that this weekend marked her FIRST birthday.  Already!  She’s such a happy little girl — and a total ham for the camera.

8. Yesterday we had a party with some of Jak’s best buddies…and of course, more cupcakes.

9. Maguire, the party animal.

10. Jakzen got the obligatory cupcake with a candle in it again…and once again, he wasn’t sure what to think.

Thankfully Jak has good friends like Ronan who *tried* to teach him how to blow out the candle. 

Jak made a couple feeble attempts at blowing, but in the end, Ronan saved the day and blew out the flame — and Jak was grateful!Of course, Jak didn’t want anything to do with eating the cupcake, and opted instead for a chocolate cookie.  Which he LOVED…and his mommy finally got those messy birthday shots she was looking for.   

Here is Olwyn’s email and the photos she sent me…

Here is Grandpa Monte and Jak hanging out at Prince’s Island.  Cost of parking: $5.25 ,  hot dogs and drinks:  $10. 25 —  building precious memories with our grandson —— priceless!!!

Doing a little girl  watching – who wouldn’t fall for these cuties?

Mom doesn’t do it this way but  I have a good view of Grandma!

How’s the water Jak? Don’t get those fancy orthotics wet – your Mom will kill me!!

Pretty cute!!

Hey, Grandpa – the water is great!!

What an amateur – I could fasten this thing up faster myself!!

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa (and Granddad, too!) for taking such good care of our little guy while we were away.  PS – if you would like to “borrow” Jakzen a few more times in preparation of the addition of TWO more grandkids in the next couple of months, you just let us know! 

2. Why do I need to know how to refer to my/his umbilical cord, you ask??  During one of my ultrasounds they found  that the umbilical cord (see?  mine or his??) only has 2 vessels.  Normal cords have 3 vessels — 2 arteries and 1 vein.  My/his cord has 1 artery and 1 vein.  Not a big deal, apparently, but it can be a marker for something else more serious.  Thankfully in my/his case, all’s good.  I had a fetal echo done last week and the tech didn’t see anything alarming.  Good!  I wonder if I’ll remember to ask to see what my/his 2 vessel umbilical cord looks like after I give birth……

3. And speaking of giving birth, TWO friends had babies in the last week!!  Welcome to baby Rhys and baby Zac.  Yup, more boys.   

4. Water park last Friday.  Water park tomorrow.  I wasn’t sure how Jak was going to like the water since he didn’t like the pool when we were in Great Falls, but he LOVED it.  He scooted right in and proceeded to sit and kick and splash for quite some time.  It was only after I noticed that his little bottom lip was shivering that I knew it was time to get out!  I had my camera, but didn’t get any shots of Jak in the water.  Nick, however, got this cute one of Hayden! 

Oh, and I just remembered!!  Jak was splashing and playing in the water, and then all of a sudden decided to bend forward and dunk his face.  Once.  Then twice.  And on the third time, he came up spluttering.  Got a little water up his nose, I think.  Regardless, I was super happy that he wasn’t scared, and even when he spluttered and it spooked him a bit, he still didn’t want to get out.  Atta boy! 

5.  An observation at the water park — us moms covet other mom’s cool stuff.  Theresa had the best sun shade/umbrella any of us had ever seen…and apparently that anyone had ever seen, since a number of other moms came up to ask where she got it.  I liked it so much, Nick is (hopefully!) picking one up for us, just in time for our repeat visit to the water park tomorrow, and our camping trip scheduled for the long weekend! 

6. With holidays, busy schedules, etc., it had been a few weeks since we saw Nick’s family, so we got together for a BBQ on Saturday.  What a fun afternoon/evening!  We started out at the T&T Market to pick out our dinners.  On the menu??  Lobster and crab…and a few meaty shishkebobs for us anti-seafoodies (although I did have quite a bit of both lobster and crab, and found it quite tasty!  I’m blaming on the pregnancy…).  Monte picked out the crabs. 

This is pretty much the exact same shot as above, except for the inquisitive lady in the background, perfectly positioned between the crab claws!

Here’s Jak checking out all the crabs.  He wasn’t quite sure what to think, and lost interest quickly when they stopped moving. 

7. Aren’t kids supposed to sleep less the older they get??  I’m finding that Jak needs more sleep these days.  Perhaps it’s a growth spurt or something — he’s already so tall!  All I know is that he’s a grouch if he doesn’t get enough sleep…and he’s been grouchier than usual these last couple of days.  But perhaps it has something to do with the heat, too.  Huh.  I dunno.

8.  Jak has mastered the stairs and prefers standing now whenever possible.  He’s still not keen on getting back down to the floor, so hopefully that will be the motivation he needs to walk unassisted!  We shall see…

9. I wish I had a green thumb but, alas, I definitely do not.  Jen came over for a visit on Friday night and brought peonies (is that right, Jen!??!) from her backyard.  They are these HUGE flowers that look and smell amazing.  And they are lasting a long time, too!  She’s got a great backyard, Ralph and Kara have a beautiful backyard, I could sit on the deck at Monte and Olwyn’s all day, and mom and dad have been slaving away at making their yard perfect, too…and well, we have some sparse, dry grass.  I suppose at least it’s not a hayfield anymore — thanks, Dad!!  I vow , here and now, to one day have a beautiful backyard.  Hold me to my word, okay??  (And perhaps come over and help me learn how to plant/grow green things!)

10. Speaking of backyards, I filled up Jak’s little inflatable pool today, and this afternoon we ventured outside to check it out.  I was a bit wary of his reaction — he liked the water park, but hated the swimming pool, and this was somewhere in between.  At first he just splashed around in it from the outside. 

And then, he dangled his toes over the edge.  And then, quite by accident, he slipped and landed on his butt.  The water was still a bit chilly and took his breath away, but then he decided it wasn’t too bad!

Add a few toys, do a bit of splashing, and you got yourself a pool party!!

In celebration of the day’s festivities, I whipped up some appropriate treats (thanks to some inspiration ala Bakerella).  In Richard’s words, “it’s the first time I’ve had steak and then hamburgers at the same meal”. 

Nick’s stepdad enjoying his burger. 

And Nick’s dad enjoying his, too.  Teeny tiny wee burger in those big giant dad hands. 

Jakzen — and Nick and me, too! — are very fortunate to have these 2 dads so close.  They have been great role models for Nick, so I know that Jak can only benefit from having them in his life.  I see many years of tools and projects and great adventures in the future! 

As for Jakzen’s dad, well, I can’t wait ’til Jak is old enough to know just how great his dad is.  Nick is a dad that happily forfeits his scary movies for cartoons.  He’s a dad that always manages to get Jak dirty when they go to the park.  He’s a dad who rushes thru the door after work to lay on the floor and play with his boy.  He’s a dad who tastes Jak’s icky broccoli to be sure it’s not too hot.  He’s a dad whose son lights up when he walks in the room.  Yep, Jakzen is a lucky little boy, and I can’t wait to see the 2 of them grow-up together.   

Just one dad left to mention.  (And he just happens to be my favourite…)  My dad, of course!!  He put up with 18+ years of living in a house with a whole lotta estrogen.  But despite that, he managed to remain strong and determined, hardworking and handy, considerate and funny, generous and kind – the epitome of what makes a great dad.  Yep, he’s definitely the “toughest softy” you’ll ever meet.  Wish I was there with you today, Dad!  Hopefully we’ll get to see you soon!  xoxo