Friday Afternoon

I had a blast on Friday. Wanted to share this one because it blew me away. Declan has had a really bad cold lately so I had to take him to the GP to get checked out. Turns out he has another ear infection. We are patiently waiting for him to get in to see an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist as soon as possible as this is getting ridiculous. I am not sure if he is just getting used to the pain or what but he was in an amazing mood. I decided that after the Doc we had some time to kill so we went to Dundas park.

It was glorious outside; the sun was out and there was just a gentle breeze. It felt like it was 25 Celsius even though it was probably only 18 or so. We got to the park and he saw the playground and went nuts. He loves slides right now and so curious about the equipment. All he wants to do is climb everything which is awesome. We must have run around that playground for about 45 minutes and then he noticed some teenagers on skateboards in the newly paved portion of the park. He walked over and just stood in amazement as these kids did kick-flips and ollies in an effort to impress the girls that were with them. He laughed when they jumped and laughed harder when they fell, which made me laugh inside.

Then it was back to the playground and saying hi to all the other little kids playing there. You can tell that some have not done the daycare thing because they really have not figured out how to socialize quite as well. They seemed terrified of him when he came up to them. I felt bad for Declan because he just wants to play and some of these kids really have no idea how to do that. We stayed for a bout another half-hour and then I asked him if he was thirsty. We went back to the car and he sat in the back with me while he drank an apple juice drink box.

Another day of running around was done and he was totally spent and content. Like I said, I had a blast!

Easter

Easter is a funny holiday. The most holy day in the entire Christian Calendar is celebrated with baskets of chocolate delivered by a rabbit. It definitely tops the absurdity of Christmas. We had an extended Easter weekend this year. It began around 6:45am on Friday when the alarm went off so that we could get up and out to Dundas for the annual Easter Egg hunt. I honestly was not looking forward to it because I had been asleep for a grand total of maybe 3 hours at this point, but this year is the first one that Declan is able to run around for so I thought that I should go.

We also had the pleasure of the presence of Andrea’s cousin Jacob for the hunt and Declan adores him so that made it a bit more exciting. Once we arrived we went to the Caution Taped area for children up to 3 years old and Jake made his way over to the area for the kids his age. At the stroke of 8:00am we were off and running… well maybe not so much running, but Declan was picking up eggs in the immediate vicinity. Within 5 minutes were done. The various Stalkerazzi taking photos of their precious snowflakes in the cold Spring morning were furiously trying to get as many good shots as they could, while we just wanted the goods.

Once done we made our way over to Jake and found out that he had suffered an Easter tragedy. Against all good sense the organizing committee decided that his age group would climb a 100 foot 60 degree slope to get to their eggs. Jacob thought that his best option would be to get as high up as possible and get the harder to snatch eggs before everyone else. The problem was that once he got up there and filled his basket, he slipped and fell down. His eggs all fell out and he ripped his jacket. Poor kid… he looked miserable and I honestly think that he was crushed. We offered him some of Declan’s eggs because God knows the kid does not need them. He politely refused and just sulked. It was kinda heartbreaking.

Later that day he described his ordeal as the worst Easter ever to my parents. He had totally ignored the fact that he got more presents and candy from my folks and he knew that there would be more on Easter morning.

On an unrelated aside, I had a wonderful moment of discovery on Friday evening. We were headed to my parents for dinner and Jake was in the back with Declan. They were playing and singing together and Andrea looked over at me and said, “you know this is what it is going to be like in about 2 years.”. I looked over at her and smiled and said, “Funny, I was just thinking the exact same thing.”. It was a great feeling. Declan has a great model on how to be a big brother in Jake.

So really….What happened? I swore that I would get better at this whole blogging thing! Time to be realistic. I am going to have to try and do this as often as possible instead of twice weekly since it is obvious that I can’t commit to this. Where to start…? Oh yeah… I am gonna be a dad again! I found out recently that Andrea is going to have another baby, and it’s a boy! Awesome. We are incredibly excited about the August arrival of baby number 2. Things have been hectic and both Andrea and Declan have been pretty ill over the past few months which has not been easy.

The recession has hit our family finally. My sister’s boyfriend lost his job and it seems like my Dad’s is going to be a week by week affair for the foreseeable future. I can remember what it was like when we were kids and Dad’s job would go due to the economy. It happens every 10 to 15 years and it is pretty rough. At least now my folks don’t have to worry about supporting us kids. That’s probably a load off. I am sure that it will get better sooner rather than later but it is gonna be a lean few months for a lot of people.

There is always some hesitation to talk about jobs and the like when things are not going well because you don’t want anyone to dwell too much on the problems that they are having or get too upset about. By the same token I feel bad not discussing it because I worry that my Dad is not talking to my Mom about it which can be hard.

Luckily for us we have a little man running around the house that helps keep everyone’s minds off the troubles that they are having, even if it is just for a little while. Declan is such a happy little guy it makes my heart swell. He cuddles at just the right time and falls asleep on Andrea every night. He loves to give kisses and is insanely ticklish…which has been hilarious! He is a little boy in every way. He is curious, precocious, and exciting. Everything is new to him and fun. He plays cars and runs around with the soccer ball. I love it. I really can’t wait until the new one arrives and they can grow up together. I always wanted a brother and I think that he will be a wonderful big brother.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I will honestly try and update a bit more frequently.