We began our 4-day holiday weekend by saying goodbye to summer with one last hurrah in the pool. It felt more like a hot tub soak than a swim … very luxurious! By Monday, most of our maples out front began shedding their leaves much to the excitement of the boys. They played outside while I spent a good part of the day pulling out cold-weather clothes and sorting through and putting away their summer gear.
Connor has been home sick since Monday. He’s caught a bad cough. I worry that it will worsen and turn into a night of relentless wheezing. I’ve been giving him his puffers which have helped a little. He insists that he can’t miss school on “Fabulous Friday!”
I hope you feel better by then, too, bubba.
“Is it morning yet, Mommy?” Connor asks. I pry one eye open. Light is beginning to stream through the balcony doors but it’s still very early.
Connor had wrapped Cam’s gift — Crusher, a Skylander Giant — last night. He’s excited for Cam to open it but I tell him, “Not yet.”
Disappointed, he climbs into bed with me and I feel the roughness of his clothes against me. He’s already dressed for school. I pull the covers over him and cuddle him close hoping that he’ll settle. He doesn’t. He’s chatty but I don’t remember our conversation.
A half hour later, I’m jolted back to consciousness. The clock is buzzing. I reach over to turn it off and make a mental note to ask Mike why he has his alarm set, not at 6:25 or 6:30, but at 6:24 am. It’s still too early to wake Cam up. I tell Connor to stay in bed until after I finish taking the recycling and garbage out to the curb.
At 7:00 I finally give Connor the nod to get Cam’s presents out while I set up my camera. Cam loves Connor’s handmade card with peek-a-boo flaps. He looks at it at length before turning to Connor’s present. Cam is overjoyed when he opens it. Crusher is “exactly what [he] wanted!”
Later, as I’m walking the boys to meet the bus, Connor turns to me with a big smile and says, “this is going to be the BEST day ever,” repeating what Cam had said earlier.
Mike came home from an out-of-town work trip in time for Cam’s birthday dinner. Cam chose to go to Swiss Chalet this year. The KinderSurprise that comes with each kid’s meal, no doubt, was a big factor in his choice. Afterwards, we came home for Cam’s cake and a video call from Grandma and Grandpa.
On Saturday, we hosted a family party for Cam. The kids swam, played on the Wii, did crafts and roasted marshmallows while the adults ate an abundance of food and dessert. We still have left-overs in the fridge, and this is after almost every guest went home with tubs full of food. I didn’t get a chance to take many photos. Just a few of the kids.
