A visit to the aquarium

Kevin took a few days off last week so we could hang out as a family of three for a while before that changes forever :) Though we thought about going away, in the end we decided to stay home and be tourists in our own town, doing a bunch of things we don’t usually get the chance to. It was brilliant. A highlight was our trip to the aquarium in Galway. It was Sam’s first visit and he really, really enjoyed it. It’s so much fun doing things like this now that he’s old enough to truly take it all in. He’s still talking about the fishes :) A few pics…

Spring in the garden

The weather here has been pretty terrific lately. Yes, we’re still getting days of lashing rain and hail stones, but when the sun shines and it’s 10 degrees in the garden you’re bound to find us outside. Sam is loving all of the fresh air and opportunities to dig in the dirt. Here are a few pics from the last little while….

Playing with his shadow

Playing hide and seek. He really didn’t think I could see him :)

Looking at ladybugs with our magnifying glass.

More digging with the team.

My little yogi

With baby on the way I started back to pregnancy yoga in January and I’m loving it. There couldn’t be a more relaxing way to spend an evening and it’s wonderful to connect back with my wonderful teacher Penny Jones, and even see some of the same faces that were in the class with me when I was pregnant with Sam :)

A fun bonus to come out of all the talk of yoga in our house is that Sam has really taken an interest in it. It’s adorable. He gets out our mats, lays them side by side and asks me to do stretches with him. Last night Penny suggested I teach him the three-legged dog and here is he giving it a go. I think he nailed it :)

I love the concentration on that little face. He really gets in to it! We found this adorable poster on Pinterest the other week, so we’re learning our poses one by one. Kevin tells me that last night while I was at class he invented the t-rex pose. He’s still not sure how it goes, but he’s working on it :)

He’s going to be better than me in no time.

All of that effort really wears a kid out ;)

Samisms

Sam has been absolutely cracking us up lately. Now that he’s really talking, and always talking! he comes out with some of the most hilarious statements, and totally leaves us wondering where he gets his material. A few recent examples….

After (unintentionally) flipping backwards off the bed: “I didn’t see that coming!”

While wrestling with Daddy because he didn’t want his (very) wet diaper changed one morning: “I’m not impressed.”

His idea of poetry, often repeated from his car seat while driving: “What about a boot!” (followed by peals of laughter)

At the dinner table: “Wow Mommy, you made a lovely dinner!” (Though dinner conversations can also involve an awful lot of “I want to get down!” and “I don’t like it!”)

Certainly is a favourite word right now. He uses it when he wants to be sure something he’s after will actually happen, like “Sam can certainly have a cookie.” or “Sam will certainly play with his trains.” Speaking in the third person is also a popular past time of his :)

And he loves to repeat phrases his two Nanas use, which he finds endlessly amusing. As in “Snug as a bug in a rug. Nana says that.” and “Nana says ‘Heavens to Betsy!” Also followed by peals of laughter.

I swear he hears phrases and locks them away in his brain knowing they might come in handy at another time then pulls them out. Two is such an adventure of an age. It can be seriously trying at times, but also filled with the most delicious little moments where they just about take your breathe away :)

Rainy Day Activity #1

So the weather in Ireland has been pretty darn wet lately. We’ve been lucky, other parts of the country have been hit by devastating floods. We’re just suffering from cabin fever. No comparison.

But finding ways to keep busy and attempting to keep boredom at bay when wind and rain is hammering the house and making it feel as if we’re adrift somewhere in the North Atlantic, means we’ve had to get creative. One HUGE saving grace has been this incredibly large colouring sheet. That it depicts a giant construction site means that Sam thinks it’s just about the coolest thing to colour he’s ever seen. That is is 5 metres long means it’ll keep us busy for a good, long while. He and I (and Dad in the evenings) can happily sit side by side on the floor with our markers for an hour. It’s a godsend.

We picked this one up at our local German grocery store Lidl for 6.95. Sam couldn’t hold a pen back when I bought it but I had a feeling it would be much loved one day, and I was right. It’s been one of the best purchases I’ve made in the past two years :)

French company Omy make fantastic versions though, and seem to ship everywhere. Happy colouring!