Games

As many people know, James and I are avid gamers. Yep, we love to play games. We often have people over until all hours of the night playing competitive games that rial up many of the players.
So, in typical Palanacki fashion, we're getting our kids started early. After dinner we like to pull out games for our kids to play. It might be a simple as Memory or a bit more challenging like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. (That can be challenging if you're three.)
Tonight we decided to take a turn at Candy Land. I have to admit, this was not a game that occupied my shelf as a kid. Tonight was the first time I have ever played. I caught on quickly and gave the kids a brief run-down on how it worked. They did remarkably well and only tried to cheat a few times (that is inherited from dad, not mom). I found myself getting irritated at times and had to remind myself, they are only kids and they are having fun. Jameson really needs to work on volume control; he gets so excited he starts screaming which then gets Stellan screaming with excitement too. Other than that they were great sports. Jameson got the special card that sent him all the way to the ice cream cone, almost to the end but then, on the next turn, got a sucker (or lollipop) card that send him practically to the beginning. He's too young to realize that that really sucked. He kept playing with a smile on his face, just happy to be spending time together with his family. Again, my son always has a lesson for mommy.

Splash Pad

I decided to take the boys and the twins, Aaron and Allison, to the new park and splash pad in Amherstburg. I expected it to be a cool day so I didn't plan for the kids to go in the splash pad. They had a great time in the park but the twins kept looking longingly at the splash pad. My boys decided that it might be a good idea to go in, after all, their role models the twins thought it would be a good idea. I changed them into their spare clothes so they could run around in the water but still have something dry to go home in. They both ran excitedly to the edge of the pad but then looked hestiantly at the other kids running around. With much encouragement and prodding they edged closer to the water where Jameson, inevitably, got a little wet. That was enough to send him back to us crying and wailing that he was wet. (Uh, wasn't that the point?) I was not at all sympathetic; afterall, if you go to a WATER SPLASH PAD, chances are pretty good that you are going to get wet. He continued to cry and I continued to give limited sympathy. Since I wasn't anticipating the romp through the water I didn't have towels to dry them off. This upset Jameson even more and the crying elevated. (Let me clarify, he was barely wet. There were a few wet drops on his body but nothing was completely soaked.) At this point Stellan came over where he proceeded to take off his shorts. He wasn't bothered by the fact that he had gotten a few drops on him. He then took his shorts, walked over to his brother, and started rubbing his back in order to dry him off. What a great brother. What a lesson to mommy.

Animals

During our extended stay in Canada it gave Jameson a great opportunity to become comfortable around animals, especially dogs. While we stayed with my in-laws they played with Glenn and Erika's dog, Manny. Stellan loved him instantly and Jameson eventually warmed up to him and actually started liking him. This was quite an accomplishment, before this he would scream as soon as a dog would come close to him.

One night, when the boys were staying with Auntie Allison for the evening, they had an encounter with Allison's neighbour's puppies. The neighbour was taking the dogs (not sure what breed they were but they were of the teeny ankle-biter type) out for a walk. As soon as Stellan spotted them he wanted to run over and pet them and kiss them. (We're working on that, I don't trust dogs.) The lady did bring over her 3 dogs and the boys instantly crouched down to pet them. I was eventually able to pull them away so we could head into Allison's house. On the way in Jameson asked, "Why didn't the doggies talk? Oh yeah, only pigs talk". Guess who just finished watching Babe?