Playing 'Catch Up' Again!

Here we are in summer once again!  And, once again, I find myself wondering where did the time go since my last 'ramblings'?

Halloween rolled around and Aidan enjoyed the daily chocolate treats from his 'Halloween tree'...

Chocolate!!

As darkness closed in and pumpkins were aglow, my happy little grandson 'transformed' into a rather angry 'Hulk'...

Mini Hulk

 Winter soon arrived bringing lots of snow and lots of outdoor fun...

Lovin' the winter!

 Aidan spent last Christmas with his other grandparents, and had lots of fun with all of his cousins, while Nana and Papa enjoyed a lovely Christmas Day spent, (for the first time ever!), with my sister and her family.

Valentine's Day soon followed, and once again, Aidan plucked a tiny chocolate treat from his 'Valentine's tree'.

'Bangers and Mash' and green peas were on the menu for St. Patrick's Day...

Top o' the Mornin'

  

 ...followed by a yummy chocolate cake...

Yummy!

 April Fools Day arrived and Aidan and Papa decided it would be as good a day as ever to wear underwear on their heads...

The April 'Fools'!

 Aidan has recently discovered a love of art!  He is enjoying learning about and exploring with acrylic paints...

Look Nana!

Messy, but fun!

Ready for more!

...and proudly showing the 'poured acrylics' canvas he recently made for his momma for Mothers' Day...

The artist and his masterpiece!

I recently visited Aidan's school and was delighted to find a wonderful 'wall' of student art on display in the school office.  Earlier in the year every student had been requested to submit a drawing with a 'tulip' theme.  This being in recognition of the school being chosen as one of only 150 schools across Canada to receive 150 tulip bulbs in honour of Canada's 150th birthday, coming up on July 1st.  

At the end of the second world war, Holland presented Canada with hundreds of tulip bulbs as a gift of thanks for our participation in the liberation of their country from the Nazis, as well as for providing sanctuary for members of their royal family.  These bulbs were planted in Ottawa, our capital, and are a huge attraction when they all bloom each springtime.

And so, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, 150 schools were chosen to each receive 150 tulip bulbs.

The students artwork was then transformed into posters, magnet, mugs, key chains and trivets as part of a fundraising effort.  As well, each drawing was transferred onto 4" tiles, which were framed and displayed in the school office for all to see...

Each of the three frames measures 2' x 6' (Aidan's tile is in the top frame, fifth row down from the top, fourth tile in from the left, and was titled 'Tulips Under the Sun'.

As the school year draws to a close, we have a very busy summer to look forward to.  There will be two weeks of day camps, as well as more swimming lessons and hopefully a trip or two to Nana Carol's cottage with cousin Emmet.  

My beautiful boy is growing up so fast.  This is his grade 4 school photo, taken earlier this year, and birthday number 10 is just a few days away!

There goes Summer!

Hard to believe it's autumn already!  Where did the summer go?  It sure was a busy one.  End of June and school is out!  Time for a birthday party...number 9 already!

Happy 9th Birthday my beautiful boy!

Aidan's favorite -Chocolate Birthday Cake!

It was a very hot summer, with lots of trips to the beach or the splash pad to cool down.  Aidan and I joined my sister 'Nana Carol' and her grandson Emmet (also nine years old) on a trip to Niagara Falls.  Our hotel package included a two-day pass to 'Fallsview Water Park'.  So much fun!

We're here!

Two Nana's and 'the boys'!

Once we settled in to our hotel room, it was off to the water park for some fun! Then a trip on the 'Maid of the Mist' for yet another soaking, this time up close and personal with the falls...

All aboard!

That was refreshing!

A trip to Niagara Falls wouldn't be complete without a visit to the arcades and wax museum.  Mini golf and a Ferris wheel ride.  And two very tired little boys (and their nanas)!

Fun at the Arcade.

A ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Nana and Aidan

Nana Carol and Emmet

A couple of weeks later it was 'off to Nana Carol's cottage'.  This was the first summer Aidan swam in the lake...all those swimming lessons finally paid off!

Swimming at the cottage

Having fun with a 'noodle'!

Jumping off the trampoline!

Before we could say "Hey, where did summer go?" September was here, and time to head back to school.  Aidan will be in grade 4 this year.  A new teacher, and some old and new friends.

Somewhere in our busy summer we found time to keep up with some school work, mostly reading and a little math.  Aidan did such a great job with his reading that Nana and Papa bought him a fish tank and six fish.

That's a lot of fish!

A happy little boy!

And so it's back into the routine of school and Friday night sleep-overs.  The air is much cooler now, and the leaves are beginning to fall.  Time to start thinking about Halloween very soon.  But it was a very good summer!

Nana's been AWOL!

Yikes! Has it really been over a year since my last post?  Nana has indeed been AWOL.  Of a sort.

Now that the little love of my life is growing older (nine years old today!) he is developing a social life of his own.  This is all wonderful of course, but our visits now are more 'scheduled' to fit in with the social calendar of a busy little boy.

This past year was filled with lots of wonderful (I hope) memories.

Some of Aidan's favorite things to do were...

Playing in the fall leaves

Making a Snow Angel...

...and a Snow Man (of sorts!)

And there were swimming lessons

And hanging out with Papa

And hunting for Easter Eggs

 Summer holidays brought lots of trips to the beach and swimming pool, as well as...

Hangin' out at Nana's ...

...sharing popsicles with Nana

 July brought around another birthday, number eight...

A school trip to the pumpkin farm in October...

 ...and a 'Ninja Turtle' Halloween...

Christmas 2015 was one for the record books.  Usually knee deep in snow and wrapped up for the cold wintry weather, last Christmas Eve was sunny and warm.  So much so, we were able to enjoy our tea on the porch...no snow...no coats...just lots of sunshine.

Christmas morning, and 'Santa' made one little boy very happy...

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  The snow and cold weather arrived soon after Christmas, as we knew it would.  While on Christmas school break, Aidan got to experience his first 'live theatre'.  A trip to Toronto, meeting up with 'Nana Carol' and cousin Emmet, to see a Christmas Pantomime!

As a child growing up in England, I have very fond memories of the excitement and anticipation of my trip to the Christmas Pantomime, so it was a lot of fun to be able to introduce Aidan to what I hope will become a new annual tradition for him too.  

Aidan's great-nana was Irish, so of course, Aidan loves his mashed potatoes.  To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, we enjoyed a dinner of 'bangers and (green) mashed potatoes...

Hard to tell, but they really are green!

We signed Aidan up for soccer lessons this spring.  It was a great introductory class and (most importantly) lots of fun...

Ready to 'play ball'

And now summer is here!  Today was the last day of school.  It's shaping up to be a very busy summer, with two weeks of day camp, more swimming lessons, and a trip to Niagara Falls with 'Nana Carol' and cousin Emmet.  The four of us should have a blast getting soaked on the 'boat trip to the falls', as well as the 'walk behind the falls'.  Somewhere in the rest of summer, we plan to spend some time at 'Nana Carol's' cottage as well.  Making memories!

Today, the little love of my life turned nine years old!  Hard to believe how quickly the years go by, but I love being a part of every stage of his life, new interests, new talents and accomplishments, and lots of questions!

Relaxing on the porch

Chocolate Birthday Cake...of course!

Happy Birthday, my beautiful boy!  Here's to the next nine!