I am not above bribing.

Trying to take pictures of Jake at hockey practice was an exercise in futility. The equipment I have will not operate under the low light conditions at the arena. I decided I needed to upgrade, so I took Danny to the Camera Store to see what I could do.

And the answer was, not much unless I have a ton of money to spend. Which I don't. So I settled for a speedlight, and I am hoping that it will do the trick. We'll have to wait until Sunday to be certain.

Of course, I had to test it out. Let's just say that Danny was less than cooperative at first.



I'm not sure why, maybe it's the thousands of pictures he's had taken of him in his two year old life. So I did what any self respecting mother would do.

I offered him chocolate.



Chocolate is a great motivater.



Especially in the two year old demographic.



Is it just me, or does the colour seem a little off in the last two? I may change them up later.

Jake's old obsession...

This kid has been obsessed with hockey since he was old enough to hold a stick.


This weekend is Jake's first hockey practice. He has been waiting for this for a long, long time. Yesterday we went out and got him his gear. You wouldn't believe all the equipment it takes to protect a hockey player. As a worry wort of a Mom, I am glad for every little bit of it.

So, we had to try everything on the moment we got home. We started with the chest protector/shoulder pads:


The pivotal moment of the helmet placing:


The whole package. Move over Sidney Crosby, there is a new kid in town:


So Sunday is the first practice of many, I am sure. Wish us luck.

Danny's New Obsession

I found a Dora puzzle at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and Danny was smitten. Since then, we've added a Three Little Pigs puzzle, a Little Einstien puzzle, and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse puzzle to his repertoire. I thought I'd do a little picture documentary to remember this phase. These things change so quickly.

Small, still chubby fingers getting to work:


As you can see from the intense look on his face, doing puzzles is serious business:


Verifying with Mom that everythings where it is supposed to be:


Completion. I thought these hideous glasses were long gone, but apparently I was mistaken:

My goofy, goofy children...

Global Fest

We dragged the boys out to Global Fest on Wednesday night to take in the fireworks. Jake was absolutely fascinated. At first he thought that they were too loud, and covered his ears with his hands. By the end, he was staring at the sky in amazement. And so were we.

Danny was mildly impressed, but still had a good time.



Jake and his cowboy popcorn.



And the rest of the show....

Wounded Boy

Hello from the sick house. After two weeks of nasty illness, we are on the mend. And to add insult to injury, or rather injury to insult, Danny got smoked in the eye by Jake's golf club. I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of the damage until day three, it was that bad.



Day Five:


Yep, that is him asleep with a sucker in his mouth. I am expecting that mother of the year award anytime. Right after I was sure he was asleep I took the sucker out and gave it to his brother. Apparently, the same thing happened when the boys were with their grandma. She gave them both a sucker and then Danny fell asleep with it in the car. Jake asked if he could have it, and grandma obliges. Then when Danny woke up, Jake asked "Hey Danny, where's your sucker???" He was warned about pulling that one again. Oh yes, back to the healing process.

This picture was a week after the first, so a week and a half after the incident.



He was a trooper though. He only cried for a couple of minutes after the whack, and if you asked him what happened, he said "Jake tried to get a hole in one". He has learned to give Jake a wide berth when a hockey stick, baseball bat, or a golf club is being swung.

Nature....

Is this not scary? I hid in the house to take these, as lightening scares me shitless. I'm sure they could have turned out a lot better, had I been outside and somewhere that you could see the entire strike from point a to b. But for my first attempt, I am happy.