old father, time

There are any number of explanations for a cake with three candles, most of them sandwiched between two and four, but the real reason is none of those...it turns that out Papuks is older than any of us can count, so we thought 3 should just about cover it...Papuks nodded his approval.















It was also an excuse to get a fancy glass to stick fingers inside.




















Or just stick your fingers inside any old cup.













And for the record it was sparking pear juice.

5:30 a.m. contemplation

In case any of you were wondering what Vecais gets up to at 5:30 am that couldn't possibly wait until a more civilized 6, or even (is Mamuks dreaming??!) 7 - apparently it's that glorious morning light, filtering in through the north facing window and dappling the walls of Vecais' favourite library nook. In other words - the perfect atmosphere for deep contemplation of "Sam's Sandwhich" and other canonized favourites (Lacradzis, Miffy's Magnifying Glass, Tails).

BackyardOgans

(at least that's how it's pronounced in Mudzuks' rivetting rendition of their theme song)

More fun than you can shake a stick at, apparently.

Mudzuks finds out if River is ticklish...

... while Vecais thinks Toddlerhood is not really an age, but rather a state of mind.

Vecais' way of saying "Anywhere but Home, James!"

Perhaps Vecais suspects the grass is always greener (er, and in this case it probably is)

Resident gardener

Mudzuks thought Teddy might enjoy some outdoor pursuits as well

The Future's So Bright...

(who sang that cheezy song anyways...?)

garden games

While some get their kicks with S&M, Mudzuks and Vecais are more partial to a rousting game of S&L, mondo-sytle (thanks to the ever-vibrant imagination of T. Stinky)

Weekend morning visits and Introduction to Sprinkling 101

Last weekend, as on many weekend mornings, Muduzks and Vecais started the day with a visit with their Oma and Opis. Mudzuks even decided she wanted to memorialize the moment with an intimate snap of her grandmother.

Afterwards, Hugo checked in with his menagerie for a little lovin'.


Later in the (unseasonably warm) day, Mudzuks discovered this whole business called "sprinkler." But although she and Kaiva may have similar taste in swimwear, they weren' t exactly on the same page when it came to braving the spouting cold water on that particular afternoon (although granted, Kaiva was far more brazen in the face of a polar bear dip in the kiddie pool...)

Isn't EVERY day Mother's Day?

Nonetheless, this one was particularly lovely.

We started the day off by bribing Mamuks with gifts, which we of course got to open (always a good idea), accompanied by pastries, fresh juice and fruit, and coffee (always an even better idea.We think Mamuks really likes coffee).


Then the regulators saddled up...



And headed out for the wild.


Not far into our little jaunt we met a kitten. We think he wanted to come home with us but Papuks said he probably had a home. Nonetheless he sure tried to flirt with Vecais. Vecais responded by playing head games with kitty.

The walk was long and arduous so we had to stop for a recharger hug.


And then to climb a tree. (Actually, the climbing tree part is just for the heck of it.)


Then in the afternoon we rounded up the other two generations of mothers at Nanny's house. Aleks and Vecais serenaded all the women folk with a little duet.

Mother's Day is in fact so great that even WE get presents on Mother's Day. Nanny and Aleks bought us this play house for Nanny's yard. But as always with presents like this, the box it came in is always more fun...

for Aleks!

how does YOUR garden grow?

Tree peonies?

Lilacs?

Tulips?

Lily of the valley?

Dandelions? (confession: that's the neighbour's yard)

Or endless loads of laundry?

water works

So, we're on our way home to bath, bottle and bed, when all of a sudden the wheels screech to a halt, and Mamuks and Papuks are backing the car up onto the sidewalk so that they can huff and puff and try to fit a huge white thing into the back of the car...we think it had something to do with the letters F-R-E-E (Mudzuks deciphered that one) stuck to the front of the white thing. Now, we may only have a combined age of less than five, but even we know that we already have two white sinks, a white bath and a shiny double kitchen sink, so what in the name of Armitage Shanks and American Standard, are they doing with this monster?





















Turns out it's not for inside, but something known as a potting sink. Despite the fact that that sounds vaguely illegal, and regardless of the risk of prosecution, Vecais agreed to provide some first class cleaning services to make that old sink sing (say that quickly ten times).















After getting all hot and bothered, it was time to cool down, in the only sensible way known to seventeen-month olds...















Why didn't I think of that?