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Ohhhh Cedar Valley is the place for me....

Ok well it is official. Kadin starts pre-school Sep 4. It came to us kind of quick.

We had thought we would leave him in daycare and I would take care some of the schooling here and then next year we would simply put him in regular school.

But then Hasan told me about Cedar Valley School. He had seen some info on it and maybe this is the type of place we would want for Kadin. I did my research about the school and its teaching philosophy. Cedar Valley is a Waldorf school. This is their mission statement:

"The Cedar Valley School provides a holistic education that addresses the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical aspects of the child. The school develops confident, independent thinkers who have a strong social and environmental conscience and who respond to the world with compassion and creativity. The school community honours the child, fosters harmonious relationships and celebrates the wonder of life."

If you want to read more...and by "you" I mean grandparents (heh) then check this out http://www.cedarvalleyschool.com/.

I have to be honest when I read about this school it was exactly what I wanted. And after meeting all the parents, volunteers and teachers, Hasan and I both know this is a special place and we cannot wait to see how it guides and educates Kadin. For me its a dream. I am so excited and although it seemed maybe a little obscure to Hasan at first, he is now 100% on board.

This school is a private school and so we had to apply and do an interview and all that good stuff. It was nerve wrecking but Astrid (Kadin's teacher to be called Miss Astrid from here on out) was a sweet, smart lady and she made us feel comfortable and extremely welcomed.

What's interesting about this school is not only the Waldorf method of teaching but the things Kadin will be taught in this pre-school. He will bake bread and this is done from scratch including getting the wheat ready. At Cedar valley there are no toys that display cartoon characters or super heros or anything you would see in main stream media. The toys are wooden and hand made. The children are compelled to use their imagination to its greatest extent using these toys.
The children are taken on nature walks and not simply put outside to play. Although they do do Free Play as well so not everything is structured.

The children are also expected to make up and tell stories in groups as opposed to simply reading books. (This is not me saying that reading books is bad now people!!!!!)

At Cedar Kadin will be introduced to music and other languages right from Kindergarten. However he will not learn ABC's or counting until a later age maybe 6 or 7. This does not concern us. Kadin already knows these things.

We initially thought just pre-school but after hanging out with everyone yesterday and going to the orientation last night we are floored. How can we not expose Kadin to these people who like us have his absolute best interest at heart?

We know after meeting everyone that our son will be taken care of in a warm and comfortable environment. We do not think for one second he will be lost in the shuffle of 20 kids, we know he will be in a class of 6 with 2 teachers. This is important for us as it is for every parent facing the school system.
This choice could not make us happier or put us more at ease.

And now sentimentally I am sad. My first baby is going to school. I dont even know how we got him here. Kadin is so grown up now and going to school is the beginning of so many changes. I am afraird for him although there is no reason to be. I found myself overtly questioning every volunteer and giving them the "Momma Eye" of dont f*!k with my baby!

But in this case it was truly unnecessary. The school removed those fears by showing us the Criminal Check everyone has to get done, even parents.

OK so enough about that. I am finding it hard to fight the momma tears.

Also this week Kadin is joining up in Tai Kwon Doe (I probably butchered that - too lazy to look it up). He will become a tiger and really all I want is to see him in the uniform. :)

Now Declan. Well what is there to say? :) He does walk a lot more now and he loves the freedom of it. He has this crazy laugh that he unleashes when he has a good go at walking. Still no real words but he uses "na na na na " in the most annoying way when he is upset. Its sort of his cattle call for Kadin and Hasan - when he wants their attention.
Declan does imitate all sounds as much as he can and he knows it amuses me. We have this little under ground language that only him and i use when I want him to do something or he wants something. It generally consists of clicking sounds and yummy sounds but he gets it right everytime and thats all that matters right now.

Declan has two teeth. One on top and one on the bottom. And boy do we know it when they are coming! lol I fear the day he realizes he can do damage with them. He already pulls hair visiously and thinks it hilarious.

Last night we left Declan and Kadin with a sitter. Declan's first time with a stranger. Even though it was Hasan's co-workers wife I just hated doing it. But we had to for the Cedar Valley orientation. From what they told us he fell apart after about 45 minutes and when we finally got there he was in full on sobs - the ones where kids cant stop from inhaling...yeah that one. It's really hard. I knew he, and I for that matter, wasnt ready for this separation. So never again unless I have to.

(And for those of you that dont have kids - and for those of you that do but live near your families - do not judge me for this choice!)

Declan is very attached to Hasan. Probably for many reasons but maybe because Hasan is the one who sleeps out in the other room with him at night when he gets up. Declan is definitely challenging us. In ways Kadin never did.
So we adjust and we try to make do as best we can. He still doesnt let us sleep so we kinda take turns catching up. He will be one in less then a month and I still feel like Im living with a newborn.

Ok so here are the pics. Enjoy.

Declan is never to be left out of anything no matter how dangerous. Here we can see him clearly beating Hasan over the head with a toy.

And now stepping on Kadin's head.

And here we have poor little Kadin being taken over by brother and father.

Poor Hasan. Maybe I should help.

Well Hasan is actually reading to the boys here but because he is always shirtless I decided to take out the best part of this pic.

Im pretty sure I am being told off here.

Now here are all the pics from our day at Alice Lake with our Waldorf family. :)

Hasan is trying to use the banana to get them to look forward. See how that works? Now if only Hasan could grasp the concept! :)

I love the tree in the background of these pics.

Declan only put his toes in the water but boy he loved it! he didnt want to come out and even tried to let go of my hand and make his way further out. Little dare devil!

There is our new little school boy. *SOB*

I like this pic believe it or not. hehe. Its real nice.

Hasan took this. I put it up so you could see the scared lady in the background. Thats Miss Astrid. Kadin was in her arms 5 minutes after we got there. He adores her already.

Sleepless Summer Nights

Ok no more about the sleepless nights, I swear. I get it - you get it. We tried the "stay silent in the room and move towards the door" process, but after weeks there was no change and it was this process that caused our downstairs neighbours to bring out the ear plugs.

So another plan. Now we have our queen mattress on the floor of his room and mostly Hasan and him sleep there. Declan does still get up about 3-4 times a night. And yes I'm serious.

Honestly I have never exaggerated the stories of Declan's sleep habits. Never.

Yesterday he had another first as he climbed our entire flight of stairs! :)

We have been busy taking advantage of the fantastic weather and of course forgetting the camera. Last week was Logger's Sport and this weekend we had a wedding.

We did manage to take this one pic before leaving the house. I had been subconsciously dressing them the same for weeks so I finally decided to push through and here are the results. Gorgeous! hah

Another First for Declan

Declan took his first full set of steps last night. So now he walks. God help us all. No I kid. It was very exciting and we can't wait to see him running around with Kadin.

Do you love the outfit? heh

Nothing

No new post. No new pics. Everyone is so tired. And now its as bad as it gets. The neighbours are wearing ear plugs. To me that is scary. Its so hard.

Oh Declan why won't you sleep? :)

Did I mention it has gotten worse and he hardly sleeps at all during the night?

No more toothless grins

Well yes Declan finally has a tooth. It was a long time coming. We hope that somehow, by some miracle he will sleep through the night now...its possible right? heh
We have been practicing standing and walking, so far he simply throws himself at the receiver and narry a step is made. ;) even at this young age Declan has a fierce connection with Hasan. Kadin was the same. Hasan is the one he goes to for everything and if given a choice it is Hasan he chooses. Its ok though....I know it changes.

Declan has started trying to put the words together. He will point to things and say "Dat?" Or when he touches something he says "Dat!" more matter of factly.

I know he can say mom cause he smiles the smile of the devil when I ask him to. That's OK. For everytime he doesnt say it I am blessed with Kadin saying it 48 times...a minute.

For however much Kadin may look like me he makes up for in personality like Hasan. ie) Talk....talk...talk....talk...talk.....

(love you honey)

I mean I am not complaining. I would rather the "all personality" then a delicate little thing. This works better for me and for him. Shyness is hard to overcome. And well Kadin will never have that concern. But like the little girl at the park this morning, some kids can be overwhelmed. I figure when he goes to preschool this fall he will find others like himself and he wont be so scary to other kids heh

Speaking of preschool we are looking into something a little different for Kadin for school. At least preschool for now and we will see where it goes from there. Its a Waldorf Education (use google) based school and we are pretty excited.

We still have an interview to go through so we shall see how it pans out. Kadin is already excited about his "new" school.

Ok onto pictures. There are quite a lot. First a few from around the house.

Corrupting our boys...shame on you Uncle TV...shame.

"NERDS!" I actually call them that so much that when asked "What does mommy call you?" Kadin replies "Nerd!"

Declan has the craziest smile. He really gives it everything he got. I cannot wait until there are a few more teeth in there.

Here we have Kadin stealing alone time with his "computer".

They play fight a little on the floor. Kadin has to watch himself though. When Declan grabs his hair he screams for us to help. Even now Declan appears to enjoy the play fighting. I just dont want it to be too too much ya know?

The smallest thing can keep a baby happy. Here Declan plays with the velcro on a pillow and my favorite, how he bends down to look into this tiny little mirror on his bouncer. He gets very concentrated trying to see himself.

Funniest thing? All he can actually see is one eye!!! It makes me cry its so so funny to watch. Declan just sits there starring, saying nothing, making no noise and occasionally he looks up and smiles and giggles at us. Priceless.

Here I have caught the extent of Kadin's tiredness when he comes home from daycare. In one he fell asleep while I was clipping his nails, again, and yes he is still biting that "blood pressure pumper thingy". And in the second well he is resting his feet on his dresser and he has cookie in his mouth and on his face.

Kadin loves to dress up and I cannot wait for this Halloween to collect costumes for him. This costume goes on everyday and here we have Declan taking time to adjust.

And finally to celebrate our second anniversary Hasan, the boys and I headed to Gibsons (home of the Beachcombers) for a night. Hasan and I appealed to each others sensibilities for gift giving. I gave gim a novel and headphones for playing his computer game and he got me an emerald necklace. :)

Here we have the family waiting for the ferry at Horseshoe Bay. There was no wait and the ride across was gorgeous. I saw many "cottages" I was very jealous of and the coastline is beautifully scenic.

Some pics from the hotel.

Ahh yes Molly's Reach y'all!!!! It was real nice and the food was delish. Here is the marina just down from Molly's. Gibsons was beautiful Sechelt and equally as nice.

And here we are waiting for the ferry next day. That was actually an hour and a half. Dont the boys look happy? It actually wasnt as bad as it may appear here. heh

Now that's better...