Firsty

Monday was a big day of firsts for us! Our school was finished with not a moment to spare and both kids started in their new classrooms. Here they are walking to school on Monday morning. I love that the school is now in a little patch of forest!

Liam has suddenly decided to speak, and all the way to school he was happily burbling "dool, dool!" Kieran chimed in and reminded him how great it was that they were both going to the same school, but Liam got all mad and insisted, "no, MY DOOL!!". I wasn't too concerned about him handling a full day away from home; here he is about a nanosecond after I dropped him off:






















Can you believe Kieran is in Grade 1? He has homework! He also has a simply fabulous teacher, I can't wait to see the fun they are going to have this year. He is as pleased as punch to have his very own desk and homework bag. I will just be impressed to see him SIT in a desk for more than an instant. He and his classmates were so cute when they all saw each other, gleefully showing each other all their loose and missing teeth and figuring out who was the tallest....


After school was Kieran's first karate class, which he said was awesome even though he was exhausted from school. He's not exactly catching flies with chopsticks yet but he seems to be taking to it with a lot of enthusiasm. I think it is because he realizes that it is his first step towards becoming a Jedi Master.

Liam is very upset that he is not allowed to do karate, and spent the whole 45 minutes in the waiting area doing his kicks and blocks and yelling "kee-yai!". He can't wait to be six. I told him "I'm sorry Liam, you're too little for karate". To which he responded, "NO! meme BIG! meme BIG kee-yai!" which I think is Liamish for "But I must be tested early if I am to begin my padawan training".

Big day for my big boys.

Great Big Evening

I've been thinking recently about how certain periods of one's life have a soundtrack. When I was six we were sailing around the South Pacific and my soundtrack was filled with songs of John Denver, Roger Whittaker and all the folk songs my Mum played on her old folk guitar.

In recent years our soundtrack has been provided by Great Big Sea. Their song "Ordinary Day" got me through the purgatory of writing my dissertation in grad school, and while we were living in the US, they were one of our lifelines to Canada. We saw them live in San Francisco in a tiny bar when Deanna and I were both 8 months pregnant with Aila and Kieran, and we were hooked, and since then we have gone to their shows any time they've come within a day's drive. We saw them again in Seattle and I met my wonderful friend Kerry at a Great Big Sea show - I think it was destiny - and Kerry and I went to see them a couple of weeks after Liam was born. When we moved back to Canada with a brand new baby and finding myself far away from my girlfriends, "Clearest Indication" soothed my lonely soul.

Like me with the sea shanties and folk songs of my childhood, Kieran has also become a big fan of their music - but then, any band with a large repertoire of songs about pirates and other scoundrels and heroes has got to be cool!

So last weekend GBS played live and we took Kieran to his first ever concert. I don't think he really knew quite what to expect, but as soon as the lads came on stage and started in on Captain Kidd, he was entranced. It was wonderful to see the look of wonder and amazement in his eyes to see his favorite music actually being played in front of him. We were blessed with the tiny venue and the warm summer evening, so we were very close to the stage. Ironically, had we gone by ourselves without Kieran we could have been right at the front of the stage where the lads like to banter with the fans, but this night was all about sharing the experience with Kieran. It was after his bedtime, so he fell asleep after only a few songs, but it was a lovely evening and a fine way to end the summer!

Photo op

Today we went for a photo shoot with Gordon Lafleur. He took us to a wonderful site on the Englishman River, a beautiful spot that we hadn't been to before. I can't wait to see how the photos came out. He was gracious enough to allow me to take these snapshots of the boys while he was photographing them. Don't you think the photos will be just gorgeous??

Pretty little hoppitses

This one's for Nannie...

Liam is still experimenting with spoken word. He's not yet convinced that it will give him more of an advantage in life than his current selection of signs, grunts and liamspeak. The other night, as an additional perk of babysitting, Kelsey taught him to say "hobbit", which when you think about it is actually quite insightful, the actual description of hobbits being:


They are ... a little people, about half our height ... There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blustering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow)...

JRR Tolkein

Anyway, after dinner last night, I entertained myself by making Liam say "hobbit" for Daddy. Liam suddenly disappeared, and fossicked about in the bathroom for a few moments before emerging with one of the bath animals.

"Hoppit!" he yelled with glee! "Hoppit! Hop! Hop! Hop!"

Behold, my friends, the hoppit: