Hockey

Ian LOVES hockey.

Anyone who knows our family knows that we are pretty avid hockey fans and players and I guess the fact that we get up at 5 am on Saturdays to play shows a certain level of dedication. Perhaps this is why Ian is so incredibly passionate about it.

And when I say passionate, I mean PASSIONATE. Ian knows every word of Stompin' Tom Connors' The Hockey Song by heart. When he got new hockey gloves he wore them to bed every night for weeks. He regularly sleeps with his goalie sticks. His second word (after bus) was puck. He can identify almost every NHL logo. He has a list of no less than 4 favourite players. "Five hole", "Top Shelf", "One Timer" and "Short Side" are routine phrases that come out of his mouth and he knows exactly what they refer to. When we were in Squamish earlier this month he asked if we could watch hockey during breakfast when I reminded him that there aren't any hockey games on in the morning his immediate response was "well, we can watch highlights on TSN mom". Cam and I managed with basic cable until, at age 2, Ian requested that we get TSN.

Zoe and Ian at the Hockey Hall of Fame

Ian started out as a fan when he was only 2 months old by watching our Saturday morning pick up games. Luke, Cam, my dad and I play while Ian (and now Lex) watch with Grandma Rita. From day one he was mesmorized. He was the only 2 year old I know who would sit still for pretty close to an entire hour for anything let alone watching shinny hockey. For the past couple of years we have been getting up a half hour earlier so that Ian can have a skate before our game starts. Every morning it's a struggle to drag him out of bed but not on Saturdays. On Saturdays we simply have to say "Ian, time to wake up for hockey" and he's out of bed like a streak of lightning selecting his jersey for the day. We had to institute a Jersey Fridays rule because if we let him Ian would wear a hockey jersey every day. My mom recently asked him what he was going to do now that hockey season is over, without hesitation he quickly responded "summer hockey" as if he was stating the obvious.

Ian's first NHL Hockey Game- Leafs and Redwings
Ian & Uncle Scotty- GO Redwings!

If you've ever visited our home you have most certainly had a small hockey stick thrust into your hand with the question "wanna play hockey with me?". Ian plays no less than three types of hockey before breakfast every morning, and I'm not exaggerating when I say every morning. The day starts with him fiddling with his table hockey game as he gets dressed. Then he takes a few shots on net with his sticks downstairs while he's waiting for breakfast to be put on the table. When he finally sits down to eat his Kaberle and Luongo figures have a prominent spot on his placemat. After school he might play a bit of road hockey outside before doing the above mentioned hockey activities in reverse order prior to going to bed. I recently read the book Outliers where the author discusses the reasons behind the success of apparent outliers in society such as Bill Gates or Wayne Gretzky. One of his theories is that it takes 10 000 hours to be extraordinary at something. Given his current trend of a few hours of hockey a day Ian could reach this number before his 10th birthday.

Every activity turns into hockey - in this picture Ian was playing mini golf. His golf club became a goalie stick and the back stop a hockey net in short order.

When Cam was off work earlier this year he would pick Ian up from school at noon on Fridays for a quick lunch at McDonald's followed by a skate at "his" rink (the outdoor rink at Bathurst & Dundas). The first time they went Cam put money in the parking meter for an hour. Two and a half hours later after making two subsequent trips back to the meter to add more time they left the rink only once Cam promised that they would return the next week.

Before Ian got interested in the NHL his favourite team was the zamboni.

I admire Ian's dedication. I have always been a "compulsive joiner", on every club, team and committee going. I've always really liked being involved but I don't remember every having this level of obsession about something. I have to admit I'm a bit in awe of it. Sometimes I wonder if we should be trying harder to redirect him to other activities and broaden his horizons but I suppose there could be worse things than a healthy, active, fun, family friendly activity with which he could be obsessed. Mostly though I worry that our commitment to his "hockey career" won't be nearly as strong as his.

I think Lexi will be an interesting study in the role of nurture vs nature. If she asks for a hockey jersey before a princess dress or if her Barbie's first activity is a few slapshots on net we'll know that Ian has made an impression on her.

Lexi trying out Ian's hockey gloves

A couple of weeks ago Ian told me that he is going to be Sidney Crosby when he gets older...sometimes I think it's possible he could be right.

Easter- New Beginnings

We just returned from a great long weekend in B.C. visiting my best friend Kristin and her family in Squamish followed by an amazing Turkey dinner with Uncle Tom and Aunt Sandra in Ladner. We left behind a warm sunny weekend in T.O. for 5 days of rain in B.C. but it was worth it.

Kris and I have been friends since I tried to help her find her errant Holly Hobbie lunchpail in Junior Kindergarten. We were unsuccessful in the search but have remained bestest friends since. I have always felt that we walked life's stages together and now that we have kids the same age we're sharing the journey of motherhood together. When we were preparing for our trip out west I would tell people we were going to visit my best friend, Kris and Ian would pipe up to remind me that we were going to see his best friend Kamille too. It's funny how much of a memory these two have for each other despite only seeing each other a half dozen times or so in their lifetimes...can connections like that be genetic I wonder?? Alexa, Me, Karis, Kris, Kamille & Ian

I have always admired and been inspired by Kris. She is the most creative, organized, positive person I know. Every time I return home after a visit with her I am full of ideas. It may be about some new craft or new way to organize things at home or an activity for the kids but there's always something. This time she has inspired me to be more diligent about my blogging. She has a beautiful blog at k4trotter.blogspot.com that is funny, heartwarming, tearjerking and witty and I wait for each new post with the anticipation of a kid on Christmas morning. I am now determined to update this blog more frequently. I want to be realistic so I'm setting a goal of at least once a month (which is better than the current once a year) but I'm hoping to post more frequently.

Ian and Lexi started off the first two mornings in Squamish at 4:30am since they were still on Toronto time so the three of us made a trip to the local Tim Horton's at the crack of dawn for breakfast with the loggers. The Daddies left the rain of Squamish for the snow of Whistler while the Mommies and kidlets donned our rubber boots for some singing in the rain and a swim at the local rec centre.We discovered during this trip that Ian's rubbies were full of holes, good thing Grandma Rita has made sure he has not one but two back up pairs!

No Easter weekend would be complete without coloured eggs so Kam and Ian got to work.

Lucky for Kamille and Ian the Easter Bunny made a special visit on Saturday morning. The Easter Egg hunt started the day off with excitement and continued the day with a sugar high.

The baby girls, Alexa and Karis sharing a bath.

After that we were off for a visit with Uncle Tom and Aunt Sandra in Ladner. Easter Sunday began with our annual trip out to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary with expert birder, Tom Bearss. The highlight/lowlight was when Ian got nipped by a Canada Goose whilst attemping to feed a crane like Uncle Tom. It was extraordinarily difficult to keep a straight face while Ian lamented about this incident. Cousin Scotty was particularly helpful in dispensing advice to our young son when he recommended that should the problem arise again in the future Ian should simply "kick the goose in the head". We have spent the past week explaining to Ian why we should not "kick (insert noun here) in the head". No visit to Ladner would be complete without one of Aunt Sandra's gourmet feasts and this Easter was no exception. We had a full turkey dinner with pretty much every vegetable you can name. Delicious right down to the third helping! I couldn't resist posting the two pictures below. This is pretty much where you can find Tom when he's not birding. The one with Ian was a couple of years ago.
So ends the first post of my new resolution. Hopefully it won't be another year until the next.....