Ella and Grace behave been playing Peek-a-Boo through the toy mailbox they have on their LittleTykes garden.  It is SO funny to watch as they squeal at each other.

I managed to capture it on tape today.  I’ll transfer it off to my computer and see how it comes across on the new web site and links.

I’ve standardised the web site with a new skin which gives it a nice look and feel. I’ve also brought in some old posts from the old web site. I’ll continue the process tomorrow – after I get some sleep!

Rick

When Kelli and I were getting ready for dinner, Mac said the funniest thing. We had the cousins over (Liam & Mason)  this past weekend because Mike had taken Nancy out to Mont Tremblant for a quick get-away.

Earlier in the day Mac had drawn / written something on a piece of paper and rolled it up into a scroll. He made one for Liam and one for Mason.

When Mason opened his up, he asked Mac what is was and what it said.

Straight faced – Mackenzie replied:

“It says www.com”

Did he get that from Advertising? Mom or Dad? Who knows.  It is just hilarious that he’s using web terminology at 3 1/4 years!

I wanted to start of the start of the second year with a commitment to keeping the website up to date with both news and info tid bits as well as with pictures.

So – here is the redesigned site.  A place to have simple posts put up on the webserver and an image gallery.  Both Kelli and I will be contributing to keeping this puppy up and running happily – so stay tuned for updates!

The girls turned one yesterday. They were very cute in their party dresses and hats.

Just wanted to say that Mac and I had a wonderful day today. We decided that I would take Mac out to the Experimental farm while Kelli and the girls would stay home. I got Mac ready and packed up the car - then Kelli had a thought... Why not bike up, since it was AMAZING weather outside. I repacked and got the bike and trailer ready.

10 AM ish. Off we go - but first, Mac had not eaten much breakfast, so I decided to stop at Kettleman's bagels for a some food. From there, on to the bike path and down to Dowe's lake for a picnic. We were eating bagels with cream cheese, feeding the ducks, kicking dirt and running in the grass - needless to say, we didn't care where we were or where we were going. This went on for quite some time, until he remembered that we were heading to the Experimental farm.

On the way to the farm, I glanced at my watch to realize that it was lunchtime. We stopped to get some food from a chip truck and proceeded to have picnic number 2 at the ornamental gardens. I wasn't able to be as laid back here, since Mac likes to play in the dirt (or should I say flower beds!) so I decided we should move on.

At the farm at last. We made it in time to see them wash some cows and then how to make home made ice cream. Then it was off to the barn to see the tractor exhibit and down the road a bit to get to the Sheep barn. We wrapped it up with a nice horse drawn wagon ride.

It turned out to be a FANTASTIC day with Mac. I haven't had so much fun in a while. It was great. We got home and Kelli and the girls were in fine spirits as well. All is good in the house of Claus.

Oh yeah - one poop accident in the park in the toilet training category. No big deal, there was a bathroom around the corner and I brought a change of clothes. It was my first external to house poop'ing, but I made it through it.

Nothing too bad that a towel can't keep up with. We're sticking with it, but we have to keep our supply of GUM up in the house.

We're giving it a try. Mac has shown an interest and we have enough time and hopefully enough patience to give it a go. Mac loves Gum, so his "reward" for a successful pee is a half piece of gum. It seems to be working. Kelli went out and bought a bunch of big boy underwear to keep him focused on keeping dry.

I love this stage in their development. Both Ella and Grace are expressing themselves by smiling and giving you the occasional cooing sound. I am in going to be in big trouble as they grow, because a single smile melts my heart. They have a power over me for sure.

I am so happy to be spending time with all of the family this summer. It's going to be great.

We had all the grand-kids dressed in white T shirts with jeans down at the beach for a professional photo shoot as a Mothers Day gift for Nanny Pat. It was quite the ordeal getting everyone up and ready for the shoot. It was fun and for the most part everyone cooperated. I took a shot or two as they were working, so I should have it up in the next round of the photo gallery. The Girls were in a jean dress and jean capris with white sleepers underneath. It was a lot of fun.

Mac has had his first experience with Gum today. He seems to have mastered the art of chewing and not swallowing. This is a good thing, since I don't want to have to deal with an upset tummy. On the other hand, he likes to take it out of his mouth and play with it by sticking it on multiple objects only to put it back into his mouth later. Not the most sanitary snack, but he's adamant on keeping it once it has been chewed.

Kelli decided to put Mac down for a the night this evening. It has been a while since she has done it. She's been awesome looking after the girls while I handle the night time ritual with Mackenzie. She had a pleasant surprise when he treated her to over 45 minutes of chatter about everything on his mind. This included songs, actions, stories of people including Jon, Alison, Dave, Susan, Piper and Ronnie, Papa, Grandma, Nanny ...... the list goes on and on and on. She said he wouldn't stop, but at the same time I am sure that it was something that you didn't want to stop if you were there - it must have been sooooo cute!

I sent Kelli to bed early so that I could finish making her Mothers day gift. It's a molding clay handprint photo frame - from each of the girls. I'm going to have Mike give me a hand finishing it up sometime before the girls go down to bed for good around midnight.