We have arrived in Montreal and are now settled into our new place. We are renting a place in N.D.G/Westmount area. We were fortunate enough to secure a $7/day daycare spot for Kai so we ended up moving to a nice area that was close to his daycare and close to Kira's school but still close to the Metro so that Jon could easily commute to work each day.

The kids seem to be adjusting well. It was pretty tough for them the first few weeks, especially for Kira who was missing her friends a lot. For Kai, it took him about a week to adjust to his new daycare as he was used to having his sister stay with him all day. He would cry when we left and run to us when we picked him up. The 5th day he stayed all day on his own and hasn't looked back since. He is at a great daycare where they provide him with fun activities, outdoor time, and a hot lunch and snacks each day. It is music to my ears to hear them say that we are not to pack him a lunch or snacks and that he has to eat what is prepared for him. Once less lunch to make, woohoo!

Kira and I spent the first week here looking for a place to live and trying to get her a certificate to attend the English School Board Montreal schools. Anyone that talked to me in the last few weeks we were living in Vancouver would know how much stress and anxiety I had trying to obtain the necessary documents required by the School Board for Kira to get her certificate, it wasn't pretty. Thankfully, she was approved and started school that next week. She is in Pre-K and goes 5 days a week from 0800 - 1420, after school she stays for the after school program and plays with her new friends. She actually gave me instructions to not pick her up until after 1600! Last week she started taking the school bus to school each morning. She LOVES the bus and eagerly jumps out of bed each morning in anticipation of her short ride to school. She is so much happier now and really seems to have adjusted to Montreal. She is also already counting to 15 in French and learning other French words; she sings songs in French and teaches me words too ("cause you can't speak French, Mommy.") 

Jon seems to be enjoying his new job, which is good since we moved over here for it. He takes Kai to daycare each morning on the Metro (or the "hoo-hoo tunnel" as Kai calls it) and because his work is right in the Metro station he doesn't have to worry about traffic or weather delaying his commute home.

I am currently not working, though am seeking some sort of part-time work. Later this month I am starting French school, the goal of this school is to make you fully bilingual within 12 months. It will be intense for sure, but it seems impossible to find a job without at least basic conversational French. It is a great opportunity to learn a language and the cost is crazy low, so why not, right? 

Here are some pictures of the family

Daddy + Kai begin their walk to the train

Skylanders!

This kid is a riot. Don't you just love the boots?

On her first day of school! She has to wear white/navy blue to school each day

She picked the strawberry costume for halloween. 

Montreal-bound for the Fall

The summer of 2012 has turned out to be a pretty crazy time. Jon's company shut down just before the Canada-day long weekend and he, amongst many others, found himself suddenly unemployed. Following Radical's closure a bunch more Vancouver studios shut down and the job prospects in our beautiful city were beginning to disappear.

Jon received interest from several companies from Vancouver, California, Toronto, and Montreal; and after much discussion, we made the decision to move the family East to Montreal where the video game industry seems to be going strong. Just 1 month after being laid off, Jon had found a new job and we were given just over 30 days to up and move our lives. Needless to say, August has been chaos. We have decided to rent out our house here in Vancouver in the hopes that we can return to live here one day. We were fortunate to find renters very quickly, as well as a good property manager. The rest of this month has been spent taking care of the "little things" around the house that have been on our to-do list, as well as purging toys, clothes, furniture, and gearing up to say farewell to family and friends.

The good thing about Montreal is that Kira will be able to start pre-kindergarten when we arrive. She is very excited to go to a "big school" and learn French. That will be our first task after we move into our new rental out there, then I will have to find a new daycare for Kai, and after that I'll  be going to French classes so that I can learn the language. Finally, a LaBonte from our family will speak French!

Here are some pics that we've snapped of the kids, there are more to come, but probably not until we are settled in Montreal.

Father and Son nap time

Upside down on the monkey bars

Kira + my dental hygienist pose for a pic (on my phone!) while I suffer with the flouride rinse.

Priceless

This kid LOVES to paint

So, obviously, a lot has happened in the last week. A lot is still happening and we will update everything once we have a better idea of what the future holds for us. Thanks to everyone for the messages, Jon seems to be doing well, and is very much enjoying his "summer break" thus far.

Kira finishing her first year of preschool!

Cheese!

Lots of friends over for dinner. Our table never looked so huge

"go, go, go, STOP!"

Kira had a blast on this ride, we were visiting Grandma + Grandpa on the Island

Driving the train

Kai hanging out with Grandma in the ocean

Sliding on a soaking wet slide in the pouring rain. Gotta love it.

Hanging out with Isabel

Kira is wrapping up her first year of preschool later this month, hard to believe that she's only got 1 more year until she starts kindergarten. She's very excited and loves school. She can't wait until she's 5 and then she can go to the "school with the red doors and the hopscotch". 

She's been doing amazing with her swimming lessons. With her being 4 they don't require parent participation (hallelujah), I was concerned with her being afraid of getting in without one of us there to hold her, but she went right into the water with her class and hasn't looked back. Last week she put her head under the water for the first time, it was quite a remarkable achievement for a kid that has never liked swimming. 

Kai just had his 18 month shots and is paying the price for it as he's been feeling a little off for the last day. He is a true Lim though, he is still eating like crazy and not letting a little thing like a fever and upset tummy stand in the way of his meals. He also had his routine eye exam last week and the doctor indicated that he seems to be developing a few issues, nothing serious right now though, but she alluded to glasses in the not-so-distant future. Poor kids. We have to take him back again when he's 2 so that she can look at his tear ducts as they don't seem to be opening quickly, this is why his eyes are constantly watering.

Here are some pics of the kids for your viewing pleasure....

Hopscotch at the elementary school

Kai loves running and pretending to do hopscotch with Kira

Waiting for the bus

For Grandma Tracy --- His shirt says "catch me if you can" and  as you can see, you can't, this kid never stops moving!

Putting together a puzzle

He's sad because his balloon is keeps floating and he wants it to stay on the ground beside him. 

Kira's Father's Day present to Daddy. She was so excited to give it to him.

Sick little dude hanging out on my lap

Silly faces  - she's turning into a real goofball

"learning" to use chopsticks (or how to shovel noodles off the plate)

Charming, isn't she?

Oh dress up...note the socks

Yes, she posed for this one.

Practicing her writing!!

"Hi Mommy! Take my picture!"

Kai loves the doorbell feature in their playhouse

His first nasty bail, courtesy of the sidewalk. Being the all-star parents that we  are, we didn't even notice it until the next day. 

So the family is home now and life has returned to normal (chaos). The kids took a few days to adjust to the time zone and there were some very, very long nights with Kai screaming because he wanted someone to come play with him in his bed or rock him back to sleep. Thankfully he's back to his normal, happy, playful self now. It didn't help that he cut a new tooth AND got a nasty viral rash a couple of days after getting home.

Kira adjusted fairly easily; she was woken up a number of times by Kai but otherwise didn't seem affected by the time change. She's started back to her gymnastics again, we've moved her to a new place that is closer to our house and she seems to really love it there. This weekend we are starting them both in swimming lessons; it will be interesting to see how Kira does in them as she really doesn't seem to like the water...

Now that Jon's game is completed and in stores he is back to working normal hours. It's nice to have him home before the kids go to bed - especially now that Kira doesn't nap anymore as bedtime can be quite "entertaining".  Kai has been practising saying "daddy" and now greets Daddy when he walks in the door. I guess you could say it's his first actual word that he can use at appropriate times. He also says things like 'what are you doing?' and "that way" but he understands A LOT more than I remember Kira understanding at this age.

Rocking out in the car at the playground

Yep, she still dresses herself --- this was a particularly bright combination

Watching Kira on the slide

Pirate Bunny! Yar

Kai went and sat with Kira on the couch. She was so excited to have him sitting on her lap. They were there for a good 5 minutes or so before I took this picture. Too cute.

Few more shots from Malaysia...

Playing at the mall

Kai's a pro at sliding down the stairs on his bum

Pizza night with Uncle Dylan

Amazing - she ate pizza! 

Kai at the doctor's office - he got bronchitis while away

Hanging out with Auntie

Sleeping baby

They shared a bed at Uncle Randy's 

Tropical princess - this is from Club Med

Building sandcastles on the beach at Club Med

TV Time

"That way!"

Gearing up for some squash