Our Baby Size Life! » party

St-Pat’s-a-comin’!

John — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:54:58 +0000

Saint-Patrick’s day is right around the corner, but Sammy had some good ol’ Irish fun on the weekend as it was the day of the parade and new family tradition of meeting at a pub for some green beer and Irish stew! When we’ve recovered a bit, and I sift through the photos, to get the ones I can show, you know, without any legal issues, I’ll throw ‘em up here for you. Until then, here’s a pic of Sammy gearing up for his third St-Paddy’s day!

That’s my little Irish Leprechaun! Until next time, if you wish it, he’s hoping you all have a wonderful St-Patrick’s day, when everyone is a little Irish, and we’re glad to have you!

Cheers folks!

2nd Birthday Blowout!

John — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:31:16 +0000

Holy Cow Folks! The party just ended! I had to finally kick the grandparents out after 3 weeks… No choice, the house is falling apart. We’re still finding people passed out under piles of Sam’s toys. We had kids swinging from the chandelier and adults on all fours. We had two birthday cakes that absolutely demanded we eat at least one piece from each. I found a policeman’s holster, no gun yet, and there’s a goat locked in the upstairs bathroom. There’s two strangers living in my car and something has been making funny noises from my shed. The turkey baster has been used, but the two toilets haven’t. There’s also the rotten smell coming from the basement and the neighbor is missing, but I am sure those two things aren’t related. I do have some good news! The mystery meat in the buffet turned out not to be my aunt’s cat as we found it in the microwave…

So all in all, it was a typical Irish 2 year-olds birthday party.

Sammy was dumbfounded by all the attention he got, especially during the Happy Birthday song. A deer in the headlights comes to mind. But he suddenly warmed up when he figured out he was allowed to actually rip paper off of some new TOYS!!! Freakin’ kid was flying left and right to protect his gifts from the other little kiddies trolling for treasure. No fights broke out, however, as he quickly decided to share the newly unwrapped gift when he saw another package waiting for him. We also taught Sam to tell people how old he was because we thought it would be cute to see him tell people he was two years old at his party. He did pretty well:

Here are some pics of the day… We have too many to post, and my brother still hasn’t sent me all of the pics he took that day yet:

We had a BIG gang of family and friends over and we’d like to thank them all, albeit belatedly, for their generosity and good humor. We had a great time and we loved having everyone over… now we get to rest up and put the house back in order in time for… Saint-Patrick’s Day!!!!

P.S. My Aunt is looking to adopt a new cat…

Birthday Preview???

John — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:12:18 +0000

Yes that’s a McCain cake pan on his head… He’d just finished scraping every little morsel out of the thing and he decided the only logical remaining course was to wear it like a hat… Which is normal for an almost-two-year-old. Right?? Hey! He was high on icing sugar at the time!!! This Saturday is Sam 2nd birthday and the gang is coming over to have some fun! Will it be a wacky and wild as this dessert session? Either way, I bet there will be some icing everywhere, a few loose diapers and, definitely, a couple tired parents… We’ll be back soon to fill you in on all the crazy eating details!!!

Sammy Takes on the Big T.O.

John — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:04:12 +0000

What a crazy weekend we just had! We kicked in about 1200 km in just over 12 hours of driving to head on down to see my sis in Toronto. You see, it was an important occasion, as my nephew was being confirmed. Now, Melissa and I were both born and raised into Catholic families and you could say we were practising Catholics until… well until we reached the age of reason Folks, folks! Settle down. I like to joke around remember? Lets not get off track here eh? Ahem! So, my sis was throwing a party after the ceremony on Saturday and had invited us to go along.

We, of course, said No.

We were too busy, Sam was sick and I left a camel in the oven… Whatever excuse I came up with, my sis bought it. So the stage was set for a nice little surprise. We packed up Thursday night and left mid-afternoon on Friday, finally getting to her house at around 10 pm. We were a little cautious about having Sam stuffed in his car seat for six hours, as he had been a little under the weather the last couple days, but he was a trooper! He cried a little when he was hungry midway into our trip and again a little at the very end because he could not get into his normal sleeping position while strapped into his chair. We got there and snuck up to the house…

Looks like our lying worked! She was happy we came down, and so were we! It was a very fun filled, if short weekend, but we had loads of laughs, some great food and an epic street hockey game, as is custom when our families meet. As per every year, my brother and I take on my nephews and their friends to a Montreal Vs. Toronto street hockey game. The prize: Unquestionable Domination… And bragging rights. We’ve never lost a game as my bro and I really put it to them… no crosschecks or anything like that, just good hockey. We clean ‘em out… because, well, they deserved it! The trash talking these kids do is legendary. Whenever we talk on the phone, there’s always a comment like:

“I gonna beat you down when we play man! Your goin’ down!” or the old “I’m gonna kick your butt dude!”

So my bro and I take it upon ourselves to… what’s the word? Teach. Or impart our wisdom of life upon them… and totally crush them! Our last game ended 52-23 in our favor. This time, however, we modified some rules to make it a fairer game… and it was. We ended up playing to a 9 – 9 tie because it was past 10 pm and we lost the ball in a yard. Visibility was close to none, so we called it there. Close, I know. They almost pulled off a victory after what, 7, 8 years?!? Hehe, nice try boys, but you’ll have to do better next time!

My sis really oudid herself on this one. Food galore! Her famous canellonis and lasagna were great once again (and we even got some to take home!). Everything was just perfect. My nephew is now one rich kid… With all those confirmation cards exploding with money, he got excited before opening each one to see what color bill was inside. Pink. Pink. Brown! Hey hey hey!

We headed back early on Sunday morning and got in, after a side stop at an uncles house for lunch, around 5 pm. We were as pooped as, well poop! We ate, then slept. End of story. But here a re a few pics that I took of the weekend… I HOPE MY BROTHER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW WILL SEND ME SOME OF THEIRS… AHEM! HINT HINT!!!

Sam’s First Birthday: Gifts!

John — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:17:04 +0000

Hey people! What a crazy, sick, flu-ridden, ear infected, sinus infected week! Every since Sam’s been starting daycare, he’s brought home the whole array of kiddie sicknesses that one can bring back from a daycare. Kids really do share everything… and they then pass it on to the parents! So, all that aside, I am, again, at home today with sick Sammy who’s recovering from a sinus infection. Yeah he’s doing good… the little bugger’s Irish! He’s tougher than nails baby.

Now, I know his birthday was about one month ago (already!), so I’m gonna breeze through the last part of his first birthday posts: the gifts. After Sam had spaced out on the cake, we got him cleaned up and decided to let him use some of that newly acquired sugar-induced energy on unwrapping some gifts. And Sam didn’t disappoint with some very involved gift paper tearing… until all the wrapping paper was gone… Then he’d just crawl away, onto the next gift! So next year, we’re telling people to just wrap empty boxes!

Sam was spoiled as friends an family gave him some great stuff: clothes, toys, stuffed animals… and a huge, kick-ass kiddie play-set! It’s got a soccer net, a basketball hoop, a climbing ladder and a slide! I can see him having some good fun with this thing in our yard this summer! The box was huge and Sammy-boy needed a little help unwrapping it, but as you’ll see in the pics below, he got it! Melissa and I would like to thank our awesome families and amazing friends for all their love and generosity! We were even given a lasagna from our long-time friend has a gift! It shows she knows me, because I can always be bought with food! And yes the lasagna was too good! SO thanks again!

That’s it for now, I hear Sam waking up from his nap and it’s time for lunch!

Take care and be good!

Sam’s First Birthday: Prep-time!

John — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:18:54 +0000

It’s taken me a while to post about this, but I just had so much to write about, stuffing it all in one post seemed like a bad idea. So what the hell, I’m splitting it up. First we’ll tackle the preparation for our little guy’s party. Now I don’t know how this idea snuck into my head, but when we started talking about his birthday back in January, I was under the impression that a baby birthday party was an easy thing to plan. I’m thinking Sam’s only gonna be one year old; he ain’t gonna remember squat, right? So, we should put together an easy party: blow up a couple balloons, throw a few decorations around, wrap a box or two, pay for a cake and BAM! We are done folks.

Not so.

Mom had her say too.

Now wait just a second before you fill the comment box with the sounds of cracking whips or asking me where my pants are. She brought up a couple interesting points in her argument, and I admit that while she was right on those, I was right on… well one or two others. So, like any couple, we compromised (I let her think she won ). Having set the ground rules for the party, a hard decision awaited us: the theme. Did we need a theme? Did we have to have a theme? Would theme be overkill? Sam was not even one yet and didn’t really express interest in anything in particular. What kind of theme could we possibly do? Sam likes the nipples on his bottles… Should we do a nipple theme? Imagine the cake! Finally, after a week of brainstorming, Melissa and I sat in the kitchen eating lunch, while Sam played on the floor near by, when we suddenly had an epiphany. Actually Sam clued us in: he tickled Elmo… And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sammy checking out the theme

Elmo floats above all!

Next thing you know, it’s Sam’s big day, and we are running around trying to get everything done in time. Melissa’s big project was the cake. It was the focus of the party, so she was using that sharp-shooter concentration of hers to get it done… No pressure!

Melissa working her baker talents...	...almost done...
Elmo! I'd say the cake was a success!	Hmmmm! Left over cake and icing means Elmo cupcake clones!

While Melissa was again displaying her culinary talents, I was on Sam duty. Did I mention I had a bad cold? Well I did. You know that guy you see on the news every year… The one who gets trampled by a bull in Spain during the running of the bulls? That’s how I felt. I was hopped up on DayQuil and Advil Cold & Flu pills. Should I have mixed? Maybe not, but they got me through the day! Suddenly the door bell rang. It was around noon and the party was starting a 2 pm, so we weren’t expecting anybody, so I run up and answer: it was our neighbor and her son with a gift for Sam! His first official birthday gift! They gave Sam a set of children’s books, but not just any books. Her son hand picked, from his own collection, his favorite books and gave them to Sam. Talk about a thoughtful gift! He was happy to give them to Sam since he had so much fun reading them when he was little. We loved his idea and thoughtfulness. I’ve written it before and I’ll surely write it again: we have great neighbors!

Sam unwrapping his gift... Once all the tissue paper was gone, he lost interest!	Melissa looking through the books... which one shall we read first??
Sam and our neighbor!

After our friends left, Sam was now ready for his party. Putting him down for a quick nap beforehand was a good move on out part… We knew he would have a busy day ahead of him, but we just weren’t sure how busy. Would he make it through? Would I (my really, really bad cold remember )? Would the house survive all Sam’s kiddy friends hopped up on icing sugar and soda pop? Sam Vs. the cake: who survives? Who got drunk and strip-teased on the living room table?

Come back soon, and I’ll tell you all about it!

That’s it for now folks! Take care and thanks for reading!

Maxime is 1!!!

John — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:26:05 +0000

Sam going to Maxime's Mom...

This past weekend, we, ahem, well Sam was invited to his friend Maxime’s 1st birthday party! But since Sam’s legs are too short to hit the gas pedal, we drove him there and got invited in too. Which is good, cause I would’ve hated waiting, and freezing in the car for a few hours while Sammy-boy parties it up with the lady-babies inside. Last time that happened, the cops showed up, someone flushed some powder and everything got out of hand! So, it was nice to get inside and see our Sam in action around other babies. It’s an interesting thing to see, because we are with Sam most of the time, and he’s alone, so he plays and acts accordingly. Then, at these parties, you plop your little pamper packer in with a couple other chubby offsprings, and you can see things you wouldn’t have thought a possibility only a couple hours ago.

Sharing violation!

Case in point: sharing. Yeah, that’s a tough one for two kiddies to master, but Maxime just turned one, and Sam will be this week. I’m thinking it’s a little early to start pushing the concept of sharing on them, but after what I saw at that party, it might be a good thing to “slide” it in there on a daily basis. Now it’s not like Sam tore every toy away from Maxime and tried to use his head as a step-ladder… He did that last time they played It’s funny, and a little odd, to see your “sweet” kid smack the toys out of his playmate and proceed to push him over to get to the top of the toy pile. This time around, Sam was more into the “I want your toy” mentality, grabbing whatever Maxime had to keep as his own… for three seconds before discarding it.

Buddies!

Immediately, I kind of chuckled at his boldness: me boy’s got a pair eh!?! But then I realized that I, being a parent of said emboldened child, must now act on this situation and set it right. This is when the parents learn as well. Because we are no longer the bystanders, looking down on two kids aggressively dominating the toy population, laughing and commenting on how funny and cute they are in their little battles. We are now responsible for Sam’s behavior in social situations as well, not just in the privacy of our homes. Sheeesh! Parenting indeed! Get off your ass Dad and tell Sam to share and be nice!

Maxime digging his Cars cake

Overall, the party was great fun and Sam was a good boy, despite my exaggerated view of his playpen encounters. Maxime had his birthday cake all to himself, and he was hesitant at first to get messy and dig in; but eventually, once he tasted the icing and cake, he smeared himself good. We all had a good laugh watching him to that, the other mothers in the room reminiscing about their own kids doing them same. Next up, he unwrapped his gifts while I held Sam in my arms. Sam wasn’t interested in the presents, he was now effectively six feet higher up than usual… Which brought him closer to the balloons hanging from the ceiling! Sam’s a big fan of balloons. He swats and smacks and twhacks them all while giggling along. I wonder if he’ll still love them if he pops one?

We left shortly after, and Sam was sleeping in his car seat thirty seconds into the ride home. Played hard he had, poop he know was. This Saturday, it will be Sam’s turn as he will turn 1 on February 20th! We can wait, it’ll be a fun party with Sam hopefully getting very messy with his cake… which will be in the same theme as the party. I won’t tell you what that theme is now, but suffice to say, it’s a theme he loves. Speaking of his party, I’d better get going on some of the planning! Thanks for reading, have a good week everybody!

Next week it will be your turn Sammy!

Birthdays & Mother’s Day Weekend Extravaganza!

John — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:19:50 +0000

The Mother’s Day weekend is traditionally a big one in our families. Not only was it Mother’s Day, but it was also my mother-in-laws birthday on Saturday, my brother-in-laws birthday on Sunday and my own birthday on Monday. So we had a lot to celebrate, and we did, with three days of fun with family and friends! It all started off on Friday night as my good buddy Daniel and his wife Anna Maria invited us over for a great birthday meal! Anybody who knows me knows I love a good home-cooked meal, and Dan & Anna Maria gave me a yummy B-day gift with a great Italian-style lasagna (complete with bechamel sauce!!!) preceded by an entrée of lobster with marinated artichoke hearts. A nice salad and two types of cakes for dessert later, I was stuffed silly. Sam, while enjoying his bottle-o-milk, was a good boy being pretty quiet all evening while Mom and Dad played with Dan & Anna Maria’s two kids, Christopher and Amanda! After a meal like that, Melissa, Sam and I slept like babies… well for Sam that’s not much of a stretch, but you get the idea.

Saturday was a crazy, hectic day so the good nights sleep was, in retrospect, perfect timing. We had decided to have Melissa’s whole family over for the aforementioned birthdays/Mother’s Day mash-up and we had lots to do! As I try to do every year for my mother-in-law, I made some homemade spring rolls! They are always a big hit, so I enjoy making them, and I will most likely post the recipe in the near future. It was a BYOB party and we all had a great time with the last of the guests leaving around midnight. Sam was exhausted as he was passed around more than a 2 dollar joint. Check the link below for some pics of that day.

Sunday was my family turn as Melissa, Sam and I packed up the car and header to my parents place for the day. And what a beautiful day it was as we spent most of the day outside in the sun playing all kinds of sports with my 5 year old niece Meghan. We had some great salmon on a plank cooked on the BBQ (again, I’ll post this recipe too) and some Nanny-made apple crisp for dessert. Following supper, we gave Sammy-boy a bath/bottle combination which is a sure knock out for him. It’s was another great day with family that I live for. It was not perfect, however, as my sister and her family couldn’t be there with us , but we thought of them the whole day.

Getting home Sunday night and seeing my bed was a welcome sight. All that fun and my 30th birthday still hadn’t passed yet! I still had a couple hours left to say goodbye to my twenties, but I ended up sleeping them off and dreaming of what the next decade would bring with Melissa and Sam…