The school debate begins

Last week was junior kindergarten registration week, only no one told me. Is this something that all parents are supposed to naturally know about? I don't remember reading it in any of my parenting handbooks. I mean, September is still many months away. Am I the only one out there who totally missed the boat on this one?

The thing the sucks the most about missing registration week is that I am now scrambling to figure out what to do. If I don't act fast, he might not get a spot. For the past couple of nights I've been frantically working through all of the possible scenarios. But none of them are without fault.

The first dilemma: location. Neither of the two public schools in my area are close to our house, which means we would have to put him on a school bus. He won't be four until the end of November which means he's still going to be a baby in the fall. We can't just ship him off to school on a big, scary bus can we???

The second dilemma: timing. JK only goes from 8:00 - 10:30 am, so you need to have a childcare plan for the rest of the day. Can I bus him to my caregiver's house? That's something I'll have to figure out. Should I send him to the school that has a daycare located in the same building? If I do that, won't he be overwhelmed by spending so much time in an institutional setting?

The third dilemma: Alternative vs. regular public school. On this issue I'm leaning towards the alternative school. The classroom sizes are smaller, I agree with their teaching philosophy and I've heard great things about the staff. All around I think it would be a loving, nurturing environment. Plus there is a daycare right in the building. I haven't ruled out the regular public school option but I'm a little wary of it because of some stories I've heard.

The fourth dilemma: English or French. We've weighed all the pros and cons and have come out in favour of English. Both hubby and I feel it is really important that he get a good grounding in his first language before going into late French immersion. Almost everyone I know thinks this is a stupid idea but it's the right decision for us. I just know too many people who have gone through early French immersion who can't write well in either English or French.

The fifth dilemma: to go or not to go. JK is optional and we're seriously thinking of opting out. Right now the little guy goes to a wonderful nursery school three mornings a week. If we bumped that up to 5 days a week, would it really be much different than JK? I really doubt it. Also, it would allow him to spent one more year with his caregiver who we all absolutely adore. I like the idea of him spending his afternoons at her home instead of in an institutional daycare. This option is definitely the most expensive. Nursery school combined with daycare is pretty darn expensive.

I guess it comes down to where we think he'll be the happiest. Next week we are going to tour the alternative school and feel it out. I'll keep you posted on what we decide.

Am I a boy?

The little guy is always asking, "Mom, am I a boy?" When I say yes, he then goes on to ask me the sex of virtually every other person he knows.

Tonight as I was putting him to bed he said, "Mom, I'm a boy but I'm not a garcon." I replied, "Yes you are. Garcon is the French would for boy. Tu es un garcon."

For some reason he always gets really mad at me when I speak to him in French. This time was no exception.

"Mom, don't talk Spanish!" (he's obviously watching too much Dora)

"I was speaking French, not Spanish," I assured him.

When I asked him who had told him he was un garcon he told me A-RG (the little girl from the home daycare he goes to) said he was a garcon whale shark. So I told him that he should tell her that she was a fille whale shark.

Kids are too funny!

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I've been running in to a new parenting challenge these days. The little guy is becoming quite the escape artist. He thinks it's absolutely hilarious to run away from me in public places and head straight for the door.

In the past he wasn't strong enough to actually open the door so the behaviour didn't freak me out quite so much. But now he is able to actually escape outside....in the winter...with no jacket on...into parking lots. You see why this has me concerned?

Last week after playgym, hubby went outside to pull the car around while the little guy and I suited up. I knew there was a chance he would make a break for it based on events from weeks past, so I made him hold me hand and stay close. I also instructed him firmly that he needed to stay with mommy. Wouldn't you know it, he bolted the second I let go of him for a second to zip up my boot. For those of you who know me, I'm a pretty darn fast runner. But the little guy is Ben Johnson on steroids fast (I'm only slightly exaggerating here).

Within seconds he was around the corner, down the hall and out the back of the building (hubby was pulling the car around the front of the building). My heart was pounding out of my chest as I ran out of the building after him and watched him sprint into a parking lot full of cars. I grabbed his arm and yanked him back from the parking lot. This is about the time I completely forgot all of the wisdom from my Elizabeth Pratley parenting books on "anger management". Boy did I ever yell at him. Normally I'd feel remorseful about this but, quite frankly, it was important at the moment for him to see how upset I was about the danger he had put himself into. What if I hadn't seen where he had gone and caught him in time? Being the typical 3-year old that he is, he thought my wild eyed yelling was all very funny. (Has this ever happened to you? Seriously, is there anything more infuriating?)

His laughter died off pretty quickly when we discovered that there were no handles on the outside of the doors. Our choices were to bang on the window and hope that someone noticed us, or to walk around to the front of the building. I decided to take him on a walk. It was very cold that night and he is what you could call a "cold weather wimp." I figured that it would teach him a good lesson, particularly since the recreation centre is gi-normous. We literally had to walk a full city block in the icy cold wind to get around to the front. The little guy protested loudly and burst into tears. I explained to him that we wouldn't be in such a mess if he had listened and stayed with mommy like I had asked. While the yelling didn't work, the cold walk seemed to drive my point home.

I was convinced that this experience had cured him of his running away habit. But no. He's done it three or four times since.

I was mentioning this to a friend of mine over the weekend and she said, "Why don't you get him a leash?" She was dead serious. I've always felt hatred and contempt for parents who put their kids on leashes.

"That's so humiliating!" I replied.

"That's the whole point," she said. "Make him walk on a leash for a few days and he'll never run away again."

She does raise a good point....but there is not way I'm going that route. Frankly I think it would be more humiliating for me than it would be for him.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with runaways?

Halloween in February

Another better late than never photo. Here is the little guy dressed up in his dragon costume (which he thought was a dinosaur).

Apple picking

Here are some photos from our last blast of fall at the apple farm. As you can see, the little guy ate his weight and more in apples :-)

The fall fair circuit

Again, a little out of date but what the heck?


I love this photo! The little guy clapped with excitement after watching a performer do a high dive onto a crash mat.


Nothing like a little drive out in the country.


We visited many a reptile show on the fall fair circuit. Here we are with a giant snake. I actually touched it!!!

Underwater wedding - better late than never!

Okay, so I am almost a year late posting these photos. What can I say? We were have some major photo storage problems that we've only just resolved. The good news is that you're going to see a lot more photos on my blog from now on, starting today.

Here are a few pics from my cousin's wedding last February in the tropical tank at Sea World in San Antonio. It was such a cool wedding as you can probably guess from the photos.


All dressed up in his little wedding outfit that cost me a fortune and he only ever wore once.



Although Sea World was closed the week of my cousin's wedding, the staff were nice enough to let us have a quick visit with the dolphins. They were so happy to have visitors!


The bride and groom mark their union with an underwater kiss.


The groomsmen stayed on dry land during the ceremony.


Much to the little guy's pleasure the kind staff at Sea World gave him his balloon back after the wedding. There is a strict "no balloon" policy at the park because a balloon landing in a dolphin tank can be deadly.

A total Mamma's boy

The little guy is such a Mamma's boy sometimes it's not even funny. At gymnastics today he wanted me to be right next to him the whole time and freaked out every time I tried to take a seat on the sideline. Instead of participating, he clung to me. I said to hubby, "I think it would be better if I left." He agreed.

So I toodled on off to do a few errands. I could hear him crying after me but I didn't look back.

When I returned there were only 10 minutes left in the class. Unspotted, I tiptoed into the gym and watched in amazement. Not only was he grinning from ear to ear, he was fully participating and actively listening to his teacher. Hubby told me that the second I left he transformed into a totally different kid. The teacher and all of the other parents were completely blown away by how much he changed when "mom" was out of the room.

Get this. One of the other kids decided that he didn't want any help on the balance beam and crossed it all by himself. The little guy decided that he too didn't need any help and walked across the beam unassisted both forwards and backwards (and the beam is pretty high off the ground!). If I had been in the room he would have cowered and demanded I hold on to him the whole time.

He's the same way when I volunteer at nursery school. He clings to me and follows me around like a puppy dog. But I hear from others about how he normally integrates beautifully with the other kids, and is totally happy go lucky. It would be nice if, for once, I could actually witness this with my own two eyes.

On the one hand, it's nice to be so loved. On the other, it's not healthy for him to be like static cling. Until things change I'm afraid I'm going to have to pull a few more disappearing acts.

A first and a last?

The little guy did his first-ever pee in a urinal tonight. Obviously I wasn't there to watch and this is a second hand account.

The urinal was really tall so in order to pee into it he had to lean into it as far as he could. In the process he triggered the automatic flusher. When he came out of the bathroom his hair was soaking wet. Poor guy! Hopefully this experience doesn't scar him for life.

Winter meal blues

On weeknights our meals have been getting pretty sad of late. Hubby and I are usually so tired by the time we get home that neither of us feel like cooking. So we either throw something easy (and boring) together or we order take-out (which is also getting boring). For some reason everything - including cooking - takes so much more effort in the winter.

Our meals improve drastically on the weekend. Hubby usually works his magic and creates some culinary masterpieces that put our weeknight meals to shame. And, if we're lucky, there are a few leftovers for Monday (the worst cooking night of the week).

Today the little guy and I went to the market and bought all of the fixings for a homemade guiness stew. It's simple to make and nothing hits the spot better on a cold January night. Just as we arrived home, our neighbour stopped by with a homemade lasagna (a thank-you gift for house sitting). Add that to the big pot of leftover curry in the fridge and we're off to a good food week! Finally, a little relief for the winter meal blues.

Quick update

Last night he used the washroom at a restaurant. And, so far today he's refused to wear a diaper or a pull-up...even for his nap. Maybe that means he's going to accept our offer!

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Today the little guy proved to be a "mostly" good listener at gymnastics class, thus earning him a sticker at the end of class. There were a few incidents (including one where he escaped out of the gym sprinted down the hallway). But every time he misbehaved we made him sit on the sidelines until he composed himself and was ready to start listening and cooperating.

He was definitely a lot more relaxed and independent today than he was for the first two classes. Now that he's comfortable with the teacher and the other kids, hubby and I are able to mostly just sit back and observe. And because he wasn't running all over the place like a wild man, he learned some cool new things -- like how to do a handstand against a wall and walk like a crab. On the bar, the teacher got them doing flippy-doos. At each dismount he laughed and yelled, "That was getting really amazing!" These were all good confidence boosters.

Our final offer to the little guy

If you do all of your pees and poops in the toilet we will buy you some toy robots...and you can have a lollipop and some chocolate eggs....and a baby sister (well, maybe not right now)....and we'll take you out for ice-cream....and we'll let you watch Caillou any time you want....and we'll let you fly in a rocket ship....and you can have a hot dog party and invite all of your friends....and you can drive the car...and you can have pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for a week....and you can go to Loblaws to visit the lobsters....and you can blow the hairdryer....and we'll take you to the movies....and you can put sprinkles and raisins on everything....and you can coat yourself from head to toe in stickers...and you can play in the sink and we won't get mad if you spill water on the floor....and you can carve a pumpkin and have a Christmas tree even though it's the wrong time of year....and you can choose out whatever underwear you want....and you can play with fire (well maybe not, but you can watch daddy make a fire)...and you can eat breakfast on the airplane...and you can jump on the bed...and you can have a cat even though I'm deathly allergic to fur....and you can wear pajamas to daycare....and you can have a sip of my adult drink...and you won't have to have a hair wash for a long, long time...and we can play the alphabet game...and we can read the same books over and over until mommy and daddy go insane...and you name it, you got it!

What do you say? Is it a deal????

The things we do for our children

Yesterday, the little guy told daddy he wanted to bring his toilet seat to nursery school. No problem. It's compact enough to fit in his knapsack.

But no, he didn't just want to bring his toilet seat. He wanted to bring his footstool too. Daddy (being the nice daddy that he is) indulged the request because it was the first time that he had shown the remotest interest in using the toilet at nursery school.

So...off they went to nursery school toilet seat, footstool and all much to the surprise of the teachers. But when it came to actually using them he chickened out. DOH!!!

In the heat of the moment

Sometimes the most unbelievable things come out of a child's mouth in a a moment of anger. Tonight the little guy had one of those moments. Daddy was trying to get him to change into his pajamas, but he wanted to continue playing in the sink. He was so furious, he yelled "I'm going to push you over and you're going to be all gone!"

Poor daddy! We have no ideas where those words came from...

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Today I took the little guy back to the doctor to have his ear checked. Great news! His eardrum has completely healed with no scarring whatsoever.

Parenting 101

I have to admit that I was taken aback when someone I admire and respect greatly gently suggested that it might be time to look into some parenting classes. My jaw just about hit the floor. I was speechless. The words stung me like a slap across the face.

In the few weeks following, I've been thinking a great deal about what she said. I know she didn't mean it as an insult. As a lifelong child educator her advice was well intentioned. I think she believes that all parents should take parenting classes and should seek out opportunities to improve their parenting skills. But, even so, I couldn't help taking what she said personally and questioning what I was doing wrong.

On the whole I think that I'm a very good parent. I'm definitely not perfect but I "mostly" do all the right things. My biggest flaw (which I openly admit) is that I get frustrated easily by whining and nagging. Whining is like nails on a chalkboard to me and the little guy knows it and uses this to push my buttons. Hubby often tells me to stay more relaxed and positive. When I am able to stay positive it definitely pays off, but sometimes it's really really tough.

I haven't looked into any parenting classes (and I'm not sure if I will). But I did order a few select parenting books, including The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. I really liked a couple of her other No-Cry books: The No-Cry Sleep Solution and The No Cry Toilet Training Solution. I find her advice very down to earth and practical. Her parenting style also meshes with mine. A lot of what she writes in the book is stuff I already know but sometimes forget. Like the importance of using humour, for example. I often get find myself getting negative which makes the little guy's behavior go into a downward spiral.

I also need to get better about preventing tantrums and whining and analyzing why and when these behaviours occur. The book offers up a lot of good strategies for addressing these and other not-so-nice situations. Many of them I already use, but I've also come away with a whole new pile of tricks to try.

On the whole the little guy is pretty well-behaved but, like all children, he has his moments. I guess a little education on my part couldn't hurt. And when I'm finished, I'll pass the books along to hubby to read (even though when it comes to parenting he's practically perfect in every way). Ultimately, the more educated we are as parents, the more happy and peaceful our life with baby boy will be!

It's a telling sign

I obviously don't clean our house very often because every time I take out the vacuum, you know who asks "Mom, who's coming over?"

One of the main reasons I like to entertain once in awhile is that it forces me to clean. There's nothing like expecting dinner guests to get the adrenaline going!

Why did I ever cancel the cleaning service????

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Last night the little guy stayed up way too late watching movies. Hubby brought a projector home from work so he could turn our living room into a theatre. It was a part of his special "guy" night while I went out for a "girl" night (which I desperately needed!). When I got home at 10:15 the little guy, to my surprise, was still awake watching Winnie the Pooh on the new couch (see last night's blog post and you'll get an idea of how well hubby's night went...). I wasn't overly thrilled to find him awake but I figured it probably wouldn't kill him. After all, it was the weekend. And it was their special "theatre" night.

Even though he slept in this morning, he's been a total lunatic today from lack of sleep. And let me just tell you how much being a total lunatic and gymnastics don't mix. If you read my story about last weekend's class and multiply the insanity by ten, you'll be getting close to how bad things were this morning. So bad, in fact, that his teacher almost didn't give him a sticker at the end of class. From across the room we heard her say something to the effect of, "I'll give you a sticker this time but next week you need to do a better job listening. If you don't listen you won't get a sticker."

We too had a chat with him and told him that he'd have to sit out next week if history repeated itself. Afterwards he apologized to his teacher, and told her that he would listen from now on. You could tell from the look on his face that he really did feel remorseful.

I'm optimistic that with a good night's sleep the next class will be much better (or at least slightly better :-).

Stay tuned....

A word to the wise

Don't let little boys who are not quite toilet trained sit on the brand new furniture without a diaper. That's all I'm saying!

Bragged too soon

Potty training is almost back to square one again....Or at least it feels like it.

Right as I was feeling sorry myself about it, my new book arrived in the mail. It's called "The No-cry Potty Training Solution." There are a few ideas in it that we're going to try. For one, we are going to stop asking him if he wants to use the potty. Instead we'll say, "Let's go to the potty." We're also going to get really strict with potty times when he gets up, before we leave the house, when we get home, before bed. As I'm reading the book I'm realizing that part of the problem is our lack on consistency.

One of his big issues is doing poops on the toilet. From now on, even if he's doing them in his diaper, he is going to be sent into the bathroom to do his business. And the clean up will also take place in the bathroom.

There are also some helpful suggestion on handling issues about using toilets in public or at daycare. We'll try them all and see if anything works.

The author says that complete daytime potty training normally takes between 3 and 12 months from start to finish. So we're just going to have to look at this as a long-term project rather than something that can be accomplished in a few weeks.

On the upside, according to this book, 98% of kids are potty trained by the time they are 4 years old.

These are a few of my favourite things

- Mornings in the kitchen. While I'm making lunches, the little guy sits on the step of our kitchen footstool eating his cereal. He's such great company!

- Choosing earrings. I have an extensive collection of earrings crammed into a very small, messy jewelry box. The little guy thinks it is a treasure chest. Often I let him "carefully" rifle through it to choose a pair for me to wear. After much rifling and much commentary about what he's discovered in the box, he always chooses the same pair - they are long and ornate with green gemstones. I used to never wear those particular ones because I thought they were too fancy. But now I wear them all the time and I get tons of compliments!

- How he always manages to tumble into our bed in the middle of the night and snuggles in right next to me.

- The excitement on his face every single night when his candy cane light comes on (it's solar powered). He always runs to the window to check on it and then yells, "Mom look! The candy can light is on" as if it were the most exciting thing ever.

- Getting artwork. Lots and lots of artwork.

-My new nickname, "Mommy turtle."

- The rubber boots he gave me for Christmas so that we could play in the puddles together.

- When he says, "Oh yes, I think that's a wonderful idea" or "Thank you very much," or "Well....no." It's not the words per se, but the way he says them.

My little tumbler

Today was the little guy's first gymnastics class. We've never signed him up for a sporting activity before so we had no idea how it was going to go (he often has trouble adjusting to new environments).

At the beginning of class he was a little nervous and wouldn't even look at the teacher or the other kids. While the teacher started the class in some fun warm-up games and stretches, daddy and I had to stay on the floor and stretch too. At first, he would have none of it. He turned to me and said angrily, "This isn't gymnastics!!!" He was expecting it would be nothing but somersault all of the time.

The "pizza" stretch won him over. During this stretching exercise, the kids had their legs in a wide V and when a pizza topping was yelled out they had to madly slap their hands out on the floor in front as though they were making a pizza. Each kid got to choose a topping. The little guy was absolutely chomping at the bit to have a turn. "Mushrooms!" he yelled. From that moment on, all of his nervousness melted away.

Toddler gymnastics is designed to keep all of the toddlers busy and active all of the time. Instead of waiting patiently for a turn on the beam or the bars, the gym was set up in a circuit to keep everyone in constant motion. There were hoola hoops to jump through, tunnels to climb through, cylindrical obstacles to crawl across, structures to climb up and jump off off, balance beams to walk across, toddler sized bars to swing on...It was essentially toddler heaven. The little guy LOVED it!

There was just one problem....getting him to follow the circuit. Instead of jumping from hoop to hoop like the teacher taught him, he preferred picking them up and tossing them. Instead of crawling across the round foam gym mat, he continually tried to roll it across the room. Daddy and I stayed very busy throughout the entire gymnastics class trying to get him to stay on course or cleaning up his path of destruction. None of the other kids were perfect either, but the little guy definitely stood out for his ability to beat to his own drum. At one point I yelled out, "It's like trying to herd a cat!" But you know what? It was totally worth it because he had so much fun!

The other parents were howling with laughter watching his antics. He might not have been the model student, but he certainly made up for it in entertainment value!

Newsflash!

The little guy actually used the potty at daycare today! Just once. But hey, it's progress!

I'd love to write more but I'm too darn tired tonight.

Being shy is a curse

I should know. I've struggled with being shy since I was an infant. I was so shy in elementary school that I wouldn't speak to any of the teachers (or women in general, for that matter. I wasn't as shy around men.). They sent me to a resource teacher to find out if I knew how to read, write and do arithmetic. I wouldn't talk to her either. Acting on my mother's suggestion, they brought in a volunteer from the community to work with me -- an older lady who reminded me of my grandmother. Around her I wasn't shy at all. In fact, I talked her ear off so much that she couldn't believe that I was so timid around others.

In Grade 9 I made a conscience decision that I was not going to be shy anymore (or, at least that I was going to pretend not to be shy). I knew that I couldn't live my life that way or I'd never succeed. It was a good decision that has served me well. At times I've even convinced myself that I'm not that shy anymore. But the truth is that I struggle with it every single day. I work in communications and have to lead a lot of meetings, make cold calls, interview people etc... Doing these things goes against every grain in my body, but over time they've gotten a lot easier.

I put off returning things to a store because I feel too shy to explain why. At mix and mingle events I just want to crawl into the walls. The list goes on and on.

Baby boy is also shy. Not as shy as me, but enough that it causes issues. He often tells us he's "a little nervous" about going to nursery school. "It's too danger!" he says. When we really talk to him about it he admits that he's shy around the teachers. But it's not just at nursery school, but in all new environments and in virtually all of his interactions, including people he knows really well!. It takes him a good fifteen plus minutes to come out of his shell. Once he feels comfortable he's very outgoing and interactive, which I think is a good sign.

I really hope that he grows out of his shyness, if that's actually possible. If not I just hope he doesn't let it get the best of him.

Making small talk

Language development is so cool. The little guy now tries to initiate small talk by asking me questions. Yesterday he said, "Mom, do you like snowmen?" to which I replied, "I LOVE snowmen." There was a bit of a pause and then he asked, "Mom, do you like cookies?"

I've noticed him doing this with other children as well at the snack table.

He's also using the language skillfully to get what he likes. When his friend didn't want to share a coveted toy with him, he said to him, "But I have to go home soon. I need a turn because I have to leave in a minute." I thought this was a very clever tactic and it worked!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year quietly this year with a meal of traditional chinese New Year lettuce wraps for dinner, followed by an evening out to see James Bond in the theatre. We were home at 11:00 p.m. and asleep well before midnight (are we losers or what?).

Amma flew home yesterday after a week-long visit. I miss her already! Not only did hubby and I go on three real dates (including to our favourite restaurant) while she was here, every time we came home the house had been tidied and the kitchen cleaned. She helped with the cooking and the shopping. And, after a particularly rough night with baby boy that included a full pajama and sheet change, she sent me up for a long afternoon nap while she kept the little guy entertained.

Whenever she comes to visit it reinforces how important it is to get out once in awhile. My New Year's resolution is to hire a babysitter every couple of weeks so that hubby and I can have a date night.

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A few highlights of our holidays thus far:
- On Christmas night we took turns making toasts. When someone asked the little guy what he would like to toast he said he wanted to toast "to all of the drinks." Who wouldn't drink to that!

-Since becoming parents we've started new Christmas traditions. The big one being that we do not travel at this busy time of year. The airports are too busy, the roads are too icy and the stress too great. For the second year in a row, Amma spent Christmas with us -- a new tradition that the little guy will come to cherish, I'm sure.

We now put up a tree each year, to his delight. And this year, for the first time, we introduced a stocking (which Santa filled with five or six small gifts). Under the tree there was one big gift from Santa - a giant garbage truck with all the bells and whistles (including recycling!). There were also a couple of smaller presents, mostly books and puzzles. And of course he received lots of toys from members of our extended family. Although I was really tempted to go overboard with toy buying this year, I am really glad I restrained myself. He loved everything he received and Christmas was just the right size.

- The little guy and daddy built the coolest rocket ship ever out of a wrapping paper tube (photo to come). It has fire coming out the end, racing stripes, and astronauts seated inside. He's played with that rocket ship more than any of him Christmas presents combined. Priceless!

As an aside:
When we asked him what he wanted to do the other day he said he wanted to see rockets. So we took him to the museum where they have a huge outer space travel display, including a little rocket ship you can climb and play in. He was in heaven!

- The underwear is slowly but surely replacing the diaper, although we have had our fair share of setbacks. Sometimes we can get him to do number 2 on the toilet but other times he is so overcome with anxiety that we have to give him a diaper. I'm not sure what the best strategy is, other than to keep up the positive reinforcement. I don't want to push him too hard because I know that can backfire leaving us at square one again. Any suggestions?????

A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down

If only a spoonful of sugar was all that it took. Giving the little guy antibiotics three times a day is nothing short of hell. It usually takes us a good 30 to 40 minutes for each dose to get the liquid down his throat. Often, all or most of it is spat out or dumped. We have to continue this routine for TEN days (shoot me now!).

We've threatened to take him back to the doctor. We've tried mixing the meds in with food and drink. We've bribed him with treats. We've temporarily taken away his toys and his teetee. We've tried negotiating, reasoning, begging and pleading. His unfaltering pig-headedness makes him immune to all of these ploys. Sometimes he leaves us no choice but to hold him down, plug his nose, and squirt the meds into him mouth.

Today the situation improved slightly. We discovered that he will sort of tolerate the antibiotics if they are mixed in with orange juice. I let him do activities on Starfall while we administer the medication. He can't advance to a new screen or start a new activity until he takes a big swig. This method seems to be working and it is only taking us 10 or 15 minutes per dose.

I'm really hoping that the antibiotics work because I don't think we could survive a second round.

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We've had some amazing toilet training success in the last week. He's barely had any wet diapers. Our strategy is to put him in underwear all of the time. If he wants a diaper when we go out he has to wear a pull-up on top of his underwear (to make him notice any accident).

In the last couple of days he's done three or four poops on the toilet. He's also been initiating going to the potty or toilet without being prompted.

When we are out in public he is still reluctant to use the toilet. Even so, we've been carting around his portable toilet seat so that it's there if he needs it. I'm hoping that he won't fall back to his old ways once he's back at daycare....

Positive reinforcement is really paying off. Heck, he's even starting to use it himself. Yesterday when we went to the farm one of the horses took a giant pee in the stable. The little guy watched in amazement. When the horse was done he said to the horse enthusiastically, "Good job!"

Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately our holiday season is off to a rough start. The little guy had a cold that started off harmlessly enough, but then turned rather ugly. For the past two days he's had a low-grade fever and has been pretty lethargic. This morning I noticed blood in his ear and immediately suspected an ear infection.

We took him to the urgent care walk-in first thing this morning and to our surprise there was barely anyone in the waiting room. Then, the triage nurse took one look at his grayish complexion and let us cut right to the front of the line (thank you!). It turns out the little guy has a ruptured eardrum. We were amazed that he didn't tell us his ear was sore because it is very painful right before it ruptures (sorry if I'm making anyone queasy). He did tell us a few times that his head was sore but he was pointing at his forehead. The doctor said that this is very common with toddlers because they have a difficult time explaining what kind of pain they are experiencing. The little guy is now on some heavy duty antibiotics for the next ten days and the doctor says that he should start feeling much better soon (hopefully in time for Christmas morning???).

Our plan was to have a quiet roast beef dinner tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve. But we've decided that we are going to postpone it until Boxing Day. Amma arrives at 11:00 tonight, so we thought it would be nice to include her in the feast. Also, given the little guy's medical condition, what we really need is a hassle free night. We'll save our strength for tomorrow's festivities. After we open gifts, we are going to make a nice brunch. And then, in the evening, we are going to KM and KSH's house for dinner.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chappy happy!

This morning the little guy was singing at the top of his lungs, "Frosty the snowman was a chappy, happy soul!"

I kind of like his version.

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We bought a Charlie Brown tree today for $20. Baby boy was, of course, thrilled. Hopefully the tree won't topple over because of how heavily weighted down the bottom half is with decorations (in some spots three layers deep!).

Funny tidbits

The other day Baby Boy was reminiscing about his recent visit to the doctor's office.

"Did we go to the doctor for a ketchup?" he asked. :-)

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Every weekday morning Baby Boy watches me make lunches for the workday. He's kind of fascinated with the idea of packing a lunch and likes to pretend that he needs one too. Often times I'll find oranges and apples tucked away in his knapsack. And sometimes when I'm preparing lunches I turn my back for a second and a bag of vegetables has mysteriously gone missing.

The other day he yelled, "Bye, I'm going to work. I brought my lunch!" He was trotting away with a carton of cherry tomatoes with a slice of bread smushed inside.

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This morning he was busy playing in the sink with "his guys." His guys are what he calls his sharks, dolphin and whale bathtub toys. At one point he ran into the living room to tell me that he was doing some cooking and asked if I wanted to come see. "Sure," I said. When I got to the sink he showed me his hardboiled eggs (he'd filled a little pot with water and was floating to white egg cups inside) and his cedar plank salmon (a dish sponge on a cutting board). He proceeded to smear the salmon with sauce (bubbles and water).

Underneath his on which he was standing was his teetee (blankie arranges in a little ball) with a stuffed frog sitting on top. He told me that he frog with sitting in the pond and to be careful not to step in the water.

What an imagination!

Snow day!

Today we had so much snow that I had no choice but to pick up the little guy in the toboggan. He loved it! I did not. My arms are still burning from pulling him up those steep hills. Tomorrow there is supposed to be another huge mess of snow, so I guess I'll be getting my exercise!

When the weather started getting colder in the last week, we started insisting that the little guy wear his snowsuit. He didn't like this idea on bit until daddy told him it was like an astronaut suit. Apparently being an astronaut is cool! Every time he puts it on he brags that his astronaut suit is blue and that other astronauts get to wear white. Hey, whatever works!

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What is it with all of the illnesses? I just got over three nasty colds in a row, with maybe two days of respite in between. Frankly it's embarrassing. Everyone at work must think I'm really sickly (I guess I am sickly now that I have a toddler in nursery school).

Just when I thought the worst was over, I got a stomach bug. It's not serious enough for me to stay home from work, but bad enough to make me feel like crap pretty much all day.

Oh the joys of winter!

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Some quick highlights:
- The little guy is really getting into 30 piece puzzles. He's able to put them together all by himself with little or no guidance.
- We got him some new skates and a helmet on the weekend. Can't wait to try them out!
- I accidentally let him fall asleep watching teletoon about a week ago. Ever since, he begs me every night to watch the "bunny show" (Bugs Bunny)
- He's become quite the chef. Our pots and pans are always full of apples, oranges, lemons and other assorted fruit that he nabs from the fruit basket.
- We bought some sprinkles to make "rainbow" pancakes a few weeks ago. Now he thinks that sprinkles should go on everything, including his morning oatmeal. I think I should start pouring them on the foods we can't get him to eat. It might just work!

Another first!

Tonight we decided to take the little guy to the movie theatre for the first time to see Madagascar 2. We predicted one of the following two scenarios:

1. He'd be totally freaked out and we would have to leave after 5 minutes
2. He'd totally LOVE the movie and want to stay at the theatre all night

Thankfully he went with scenario 2. It didn't even bother him that his chair kept on trying to swallow him up! Throughout the movie he had a giant grin on his face. At one point he turned to daddy and said, "After this one, can we watch another movie?"

The whole "you have to be quiet in the theatre" message was lost on him. We had to hush him several times during the movie when he cried out, "What's he doing mom?" or "Look, there's a flamingo!" or "Is that a television?" or "Can I have some more chocolate?" Luckily there were only a handful of other people in the theatre and they were sitting really far away from us.

I'm looking forward to more nights out at the movies. Even if they are all rated "G."

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In other news....

Today was baby boy's annual visit to the doctor. He's in the 25th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Long and lean, just like all of the other kids in the family. Fully clothed, he only weighed 30 lbs. The doctor said that there was no reason for concern and to keep giving him Homo milk.

After a lot of research and discussion we decided to opt out of the flu shot. Neither of us fall into the high risk category, and frankly there isn't a lot of scientific evidence out there to show that the flu shot is effective in protecting people against the flu. The doctor took the opportunity to remind me (or guilt me) by saying that young children die every year from the flu. I guess he's just doing his job...And as parents we're just doing our job too by not exposing our son to unnecessary injections.

We've survived the terrible twos!

It's official. Baby boy is three years old! To mark his big day we had his first ever birthday party with friends yesterday. We kept the event nice and small -- just a few kids, some pizza and cake. There were no organized games or loot bags. The idea was to just let the kids run around and play.

In the morning, baby boy was absolutely beside himself with excitement. When the first guests arrived at the door he was actually shaking in anticipation. And of course they all came in the door carrying gifts! And there were not one, but TWO cakes in the kitchen including a chocolate one with rainbow sprinkles on it! Oh, and there were candles on the cakes! Plus his brand new backhoe that daddy gave him was sitting on the coffee table waiting to be shown off! (am I doing a good job of capturing the excitement that was in the air?)

Other than a few turf wars over toys and a broken juice glass, the party was a smashing success (a noisy, exhausting success). Afterwards we all slept for two hours.

In the evening we went to KM and KSH's house for dinner and helped decorate their Christmas tree. Baby boy was in heaven because he got to hang all of the non-breakable ornaments on the tree. I wish I had taken a picture. It was so cute! All of the bottom branches that he could reach are three layers deep in decorations. He was so pleased with himself and his decorating job!

A born vegetarian

Getting the little guy to eat meat has been a struggle since he was a baby (with the exception of steak on the bone). Daddy was trying to get him to provide some details
about what he had for lunch. When no details were offered up, he teasingly asked, "Did you have a monkey for lunch?"

"No," baby boy replied with a little grin on his face.

"How about a squirrel?"

(big grin) "No."

"I know, you had a horse for lunch."

"No Daddy. Animals are for looking at, not for eating."

Spoken like a true vegetarian!

First snow

Tonight we were walking down the street and it began to snow (sorry for using that 4 letter "s" word). Baby boy was mesmerized. "Look," he cried, pointing at the sky. "Look at all of the corn flakes."

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It was his worst nightmare. Today, teetee (his blanket) went missing from daycare. His caregiver tore up her whole house looking for it. She sent her husband outside to search the yard. When one of the other moms arrived early today to pick up her daughter, she also joined the hunt and actually drove up and down the streets that they had taken on an earlier walk to see if teetee was lying on the ground somewhere. They all searched and searched but teetee was nowhere to be found.

All the while that this was going on, the little guy sat quietly and bravely on the couch with a look of concern painted across his face. Just as the search was about to be called off, he had an "aha moment."

"The truck!" he yelled and ran across the room. And sure enough, there was teetee, stuffed into the back of a toy semi-trailer, safe and sound.

I think it's incredible the lengths to which others went today for the sake of a blanket. Thank you everyone! And especially thank you to AG who kindly offered her blankie to baby boy during the crisis. What a little sweetheart!


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A lot of people have sent me emails about my last post. Thank you so much for your support! You'll be glad to know that the worst is over. Bedtime went smoothly last night and tonight. The doorknob cover seems to have done the trick. We leave the door open a crack on request, but let him know that it will be shut if there are any escape attempts!

My week from hell

Or maybe I should say my last three or four weeks from hell. Baby boy has been bossy, whiny, and pigheaded. And he refuses to listen to me. When he acts up and I try to talk to him, he laughs at me, swats at me, runs away, created even more havoc etc....Some days I feel like I'm the biggest failure of a mother in the world. Last night, for example. I was hosting my book club, so I put on a movie for the little guy thinking that if he wasn't asleep, at least he would be entertained enough to stay in bed. Wrong!

He repeatedly escaped from the bedroom and sneaked downstairs. In the process he caught his second wind and went completely wild (I'm talking swinging from the trees jungle wild) in front of my friends. Eventually his constant party crashing resulted in the book club ending early so that I could go tame my tiger. I was so embarrassed. Even after my guests left I couldn't get him settled. It was like he had just downed a 2 litre bottle of coca cola or something. I tried laying in the bed with him. Within seconds I became a human trampoline. So I left the room. Not 15 seconds later, the door was open again and baby boy was streaking back and forth down the hallway yelling and throwing stuff. My mounting frustration just added fuel to his fire. He knew he was "winning" and became even more obnoxious. So I decided enough was enough. I told him if he left the room again, I was going to lock the door. He didn't listen so I slapped on one of the baby proofing door nob covers. On my way out of the room I said, "Mommy told you if you opened the door again I was going to lock it. I guess you weren't listening."

After much wailing and a couple of visits from daddy, he finally fell asleep at around 10:45 (normally he's sleeping by 7:30) But I stayed away. I knew that if I went back in the room this was going to become a nightly struggle.

Tonight baby boy said, "Mommy, you leave the door open. I don't like the door locked." I said, "Okay, I'll leave the door open a crack. But if you leave the room I'm going to lock it again." Ten seconds later he opened the door and proceeded to climb down the stairs, while spitting over the side of the railing. So I put him back to bed and said, "Mommy is going to lock the door now. I told you not to leave the room and you didn't listen. (insert repeat of last night's wailing)

It's now after 10:00 and I can still hear him bumping around upstairs (but at least he's not wailing anymore).

Calgon, take me away!

Just say yes

Apparently the word "no" isn't supposed to be in a mom's vocabulary. I hear this a lot: "Don't say no, Mommy. You can't say no. You have to say yes."

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The little guy is learning how to undress himself. Today he removed all of his clothes and announced proudly, "Look! I took off all my parts!"

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Our little potty enthusiast got a little overly enthusiastic the other day. He was showing off how he could carry his full potty to the bathroom to Grandma. Unfortunately he fumbled...Enough said.

All souped up

Today it was so foggy outside you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. Foolishly I decided to drive the little guy to daycare. On the way I exclaimed, "It's like driving through pea soup!"

A minute later he said, "Mom, are we driving through noodle soup?"

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He's getting really excited that Grandma is coming to visit this weekend. After daycare today I took him to the grocery store to stock up on some grandma essentials (apricots and coffee).

When I told the little guy that Grandma really likes apricots, he replied, "Can we go get Grandma and eat the apricots?"

"But Grandma lives in another city," I said.

"Why don't we go to the airport and bring Grandma the apricots?"

Great idea, but we may be waiting for a long time for her flight to arrive!

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I feel like I'm a kid again. Somehow I got "voluntold" to make posters for the nursery school fundraising event (Trivia Night, November 22 for my friends who might be reading this. It's an adults only event with booze so I think you should come!). What was I saying???.....of yah, so I had to make posters. Freehand. Using markers. How I of all people (I was a straight C art student) got sucked into this I'll never know.

The posters are nothing to write home about, but I sure had fun making them. I even got out the scissors and the glue to make some little star bursts....Hopefully everyone will like them (or pretend to).

Did I mention that there is going to be a raffle with tons of cool prizes? What are you waiting for? Tell me you want to come and I'll sign you up!

The smell of moonlight

I was putting on hand cream tonight and the little guy said, "Mom, you smell like moonlight." I'm not sure what moonlight smells like, but I'll take it as a compliment.

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Baby boy hollered down to us from bed tonight. Daddy went up to find out what was the matter. Here is a transcipt of their conversation:

Dad: What's going on?

Baby boy: I have a beaver (translation: fever) in my tummy.

Dad: You have a fever in your tummy?

Baby boy: Yah, my tummy kind of hurts.

Dad: Oh...

Baby boy: Becuase I'm not feeling very well.

Dad: You're not?

Baby boy: No, because I'm feeling kind of sad.

Dad: Why?

Baby boy: Because I want to watch a movie.

Dad: A movie?

Baby boy: Yah, I want to watch Dora.

The conversation then turned into an argument about Dora vs sleeping. Daddy eventually won and left the room.

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Daddy brought home a great big pumpkin for us to carve for Halloween. The little guy was beside himself with excitement.

"Are we going to carve the dunkin?" he asked.

Our "dunkin" turned out great and looks really spooky when lit up.

Afterwards we roasted the dunkin seeds and had a very tasty snack.

Nuts to that!

Trying to reason with a toddler can sometimes be frustrating. Very, very frustrating. Sometimes I say things when I'm frustrated that come back to bite me in the butt. Things like, "You're driving me nuts!"

This morning the little guy threw the line back at me when I wouldn't cave in to a whiny request. Or, at least he tried to throw it back at me. He threw down his hand and yelled, "You're feeding me nuts!"

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We thought that the little guy would enjoy watching the classic children's movie, Mary Poppins. Right before we played it for him, he asked, "Are we going to watch Lolly Poppins?"

The security blanket

"Teetee" is the little guy's beloved security blanket. It follows him wherever he goes. To him, it is a member of the family.

Lately we've been trying (not very successfully) to break his dependence on teetee. When we go out, teetee stays in the knapsack for the most part. He is comforted just knowing that it is near by, just in case. Most of the time he does just fine without it.

At nursery school, teetee stays in the knapsack in the coat room. When Daddy drops him off in the morning, he always reassures him that teetee is in the bag, safe and sound. Yesterday, as daddy was getting set to leave the classroom, baby boy ran over and stopped him.

"You leave the zipper open just a bit, Daddy?"

I guess a security blanket that's too securely out of reach can't really do its job.

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I smile about this every single night. After the little guy gets out of the bathtub he streaks across the bedroom, opens the door and yells down the stairs, "You come upstairs please mommy?" or "You come upstairs please daddy?"

When we get the call, it means we're on goodnight hug and kiss duty.

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While goofing around one day, daddy called the little guy a "Poohba." The little guy replied, "I'm not a poohba, I'm a goof-a-man."

:-)

Ten second update

Things have been pretty busy lately around here lately so here is a very quick update:

- Baby boy did two poohs on the potty this weekend. Voluntarily, with no prompting whatsoever!

- He's starting using expressions, like "That's not the only one in the world," and "I'm going to keep my eyes open." He also starts lots of his sentences with, "Actually, I would like to...."


- We went up to KM and KSH's cottage on the weekend and had a great day. The little guy did a lot of rock throwing into the lake and collecting branches for the campfire. While we were there he also befriended KM's parents and managed to keep them very busy with all of his goings on. Hubby and I could sat back and did absolutely nothing all day. Boy is it ever nice to do nothing sometimes!

- His preferred drink these days are either chocolate milk or orange juice "tinis." We shake up the milk or juice with ice cubes in our martini shaker. Then we serve the chilled beverage in a fancy glass with a piece of lime and a decorative stir stick.

Being a toddler can be tough

Like for instance, today when we were walking to the butterfly exhibit. On the long trek from the parking lot to the building he came to a dead stop.

"I want picked up Daddy," he said.

We explained to him that he was getting too big to get carried. He shot us the saddest look I've ever seen. With a quivering lip and big sad eyes he said, "No, I'm not too big!!!" The look was enough to break anyone's heart.

Lately we've been having a lot of these sorts of conversations. One the one hand, he's proud of all of his big boy accomplishments (i.e. pulling himself up onto the play structure by himself, peeing into the toilet, taking off his own shoes, pulling his pants up and down, drinking juice out of a martini glass etc...).

On the other hand, being a baby has its advantages too (i.e. total lack of responsibility). Often he'll pretend he's a baby and ask to be carried, rocked and wrapped up in a blanket. And then he'll proclaim, "I'm not a big boy, I'm a baby."

I guess when it comes down to it, he'll always be my baby.

I am a repository for gross stuff

In the last couple of weeks, baby boy has had a non-stop runny nose. And each time that he sloppily blows his nose, I somehow end up being the recipient of his moist kleenex. The same goes for half eaten food hunks and slimy banana peels. Sometimes he places his cast-offs directly into my hands. Sometimes they are thrown into my lap, as though being tossed into a waste bin. I'm constantly trying to redirect him to the garbage can.

I'm also a human rag sometimes. Apparently baby boy thinks I enjoy it when he smears sticky peanut butter hands all over my jeans. Or when he wipes snot all over my sleeve just as I'm about to leave for the office. Or when he takes his greasy fingers to the lenses of my glasses.

Some days I feel like I have a sign on my face that says, "Gross stuff goes here."

Positive reinforcement

Using positive reinforcement is helping a lot with the potty training. Baby boy absolutely glows when we say, "good job" or "I'm so proud of you" after he's made a successful trip to the potty.

The words of encouragement seemed to have rubbed off on him. The other day I took him into a public bathroom with me. I just about died of embarrassment when he exclaimed loudly, "Good job, mummy. You did a big pee pee!"

He melts my heart sometimes!

Today, he was telling me about how much he liked one of his nursery school teachers.

"She's the best kind. Just like Mommy." :-)

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When baby boy was an infant we taught him a number of hand signs so he could tell us if he was hungry, needed to be changed etc...It really worked!

As soon as he learned how to speak, we stopped communicating with signs. I'd sort of forgotten about them until yesterday. Baby boy started showing me the bathroom sign.

"You do this," he said, and proceeded to show me the sign for bathroom. "You do this when you need to go pee pee or pooh-pooh." And then he leaned over with straight legs and put his head on the ground. "And this is how you do a pee," he said. Not sure what exactly he was trying to demonstrate but it sure was cute!

He's diggin' this weather!

Today was such a beautiful day! To celebrate the last really warm day of the season, the gang from the park had a pizza party. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera. But here is a picture that kind of captures the mood of the park on a beautiful summer day.

How was your day?

Getting information out of the little guy is like pulling teeth. Our conversations usually go something like this:

"Tell me about your day. What did you do?"

(Distracted) "ummmmm....good."

"What did you have for lunch?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? I bet you do. What did you have?"

"Ummmm.....pasta." (he always says pasta even though it's rarely on the menu and he doesn't even particularly like pasta!)

"What toys did you play with?"

"I don't know."

"Did you go outside and play?"

He runs away to play before answering me.

Luckily his caregiver is very good at filling in the blanks for me so I get a pretty good picture of his day.

With nursery school it's a different story. Because we don't pick him up from school we don't get any instant feedback on what he's been up to. And no matter how many questions we ask, the details are always pretty sketchy.

We were, however, encouraged by one tidbit he offered up today -- he said that he used a potty at nursery school! If he's telling the truth, that's great news!

I can't wait to volunteer in his classroom to find out what he really does all morning.

Dirty Dancing here I come!

It's official -- I'm going to see Dirty Dancing live on stage on November 1! I'm meeting my friend ES in Toronto for a girl's weekend (sans hubby and baby boy). All I can say is I'm going to be watching the calendar with "hungry eyes," and I'm going to have the "time of my life." I'm feeling kind of emotional right now. Oh I forgot, "big girls don't cry." I can feel all of you rolling your eyes at me right now, so I'll stop now :-)

The bedtime dodge

I didn't realize it could start so young. Baby boy has started testing out various ways to do the bedtime dodge. Here are a few of my favourites:

- "I'm so hungry. I need to eat my dinner." He tried this line on me tonight after eating several snacks plus a big dinner.

- "I need to go pee pee on the toilet." This is a good stalling ploy and it works every time. He knows that we'll be beside ourselves with excitement if he shows any interest in the toilet at all. The problem is that once he's seated he actually has no intention of peeing. Rather, he sits for long periods of time, making us read him books.

- "You read this to me?" he'll ask as he hands us the longest, most repetitive and most annoying book in his collection.

- "I want daddy to come upstairs." or "I want mommy to come upstairs" depending on who is on bedtime duty. Often, his need to see one of us leads to quick escapes from the bedroom, and naked streaking down the stairs.

- "I'm going to sleep in the bath." This is among his favourite stalling tactics. Virtually every night we have to peel him off the bottom of the bathtub, where he lies pretending to be asleep.

- "Heeeheeheeehhheeeee." Who needs to go to the gym when you have to chase and wrestle down a squealing, laughing toddler to put him in his pajamas? It's like trying to put pajamas on a cat! No joke.

- "I want another song." Our brushing teeth routine involves singing a selection of children's song. Sometimes baby boy won't open his mouth until the right song is sung. Or, he'll insist that the song be repeated again and again (although that doesn't usually work!).

- "I want socks!" or "I want my other yellow teetee." or "I want water." This is what we hear mosts nights after we've finally sat down on the couch after an exhausting bedtime routine. And he's persistent. He'll repeat his demands loudly and repeatedly until someone comes back upstairs.

It's amazing that most nights we are able to get him into bed by 7:30!

This really makes me sick!

Lead paint in toys and now this. What's next? Headlines like this really make you think about how scary this world can be sometimes.

Report card: week 2

The nursery school drop-off went pretty smoothly this morning. On Friday, daddy heard the little guy knocking at the door as he was leaving. It just about broke his heart! Today, he was too drawn in by the tantalizing toys that he didn't get very upset when dad left.

When I picked him up from daycare I asked how things went at nursery school. He said, "Daddy didn't cry at the door this time." :-0

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I love the month of September, just before the leaves start to turn colour. I love the crispness of the mornings and how, as I walk along the street, I'm reminded of walking to school on the first day of school.

The afternoons are warm, but not hot. The night air perfect for sleeping.

But now I have even more reason to love September -- the fall fairs that take place every weekend. Last Saturday we had such a great time at one such fair. We watched the tractor pull, the cow round up and the greasy pig contest. We ate garden fresh corn on the cob with butter. We wandered through barn after barn admiring all of "best in show" livestock and drooled over the winning pie contest entries.

I think the best part about country fairs is just getting out of the city for a day and enjoying the warm country hospitality.

Summer vacation photos

We finally have our little photo storage problem under control, so you'll be seeing a lot more photos on this blog from now on. I'll start with some pictures from our week at the cottage.

Some of the little guy's favourite things to do included:



hanging out by the water,


watering the plants with his teapot,



splashing....eerrrr....swimming,


hanging out with his new friend Kermit,


stuffing his face full of burgers,


helping dad make dinner on the BBQ,


and picking flowers for his mummy!

Day 1: A big success

Well I don't know what I was so worried about. Day 1 at nursery school went incredibly smoothly. After about half an hour of hanging out with him in the classroom, and getting to know the teachers I said, "Mommy is going to go now. I'll come pick you up later." He replied, "Bye Mom," without even looking up from the game he was playing.

When I picked him up, the kids were all outside on the playground. Baby boy was so busy digging in the the sand with one of his new friends that he didn't even notice me. I took to be a very good sign.

One of his teachers reported that he got upset a few times after I left and went looking for me at the door. They were able to cheer him up and distract him easily with fun activities. Once his initial nervousness subsided, he had a really good time.

When I asked him how his morning went he said "Good." He went on and on about all of the toys he played with and the crafts that he did. Later on he confessed, "I cried at school." We talked about how lots of kids feel a bit nervous and upset on the first day of school. I also told him that I was very proud of him for being so brave.

His next day of nursery school is on Wednesday. Hopefully now that he knows the routine he'll start to feel right at home.

Big days!

A couple of big day updates. First, it's hubby's birthday today. Happy birthday sweetheart! Hope you are having a giant seafood feast on the east coast tonight. We'll have a big surprise waiting for you when you get home. Unless of course you know who spills the beans to you over the phone tomorrow, which is entirely possible.

Tomorrow is another big day: the little guy's first day at nursery school. We've been trying to get him pumped about it all week. I've booked the day off so that I can drop him off and pick him off on his first day. It's an important milestone that I just don't want to miss. Plus, I want to be close by in case things go badly...I think I'm more nervous than he is!

After I pick him up we are going to go out for lunch and do a little birthday shopping. And then, after his nap, we are going to bake daddy a birthday cake. Shhhh...don't tell!

Tune in tomorrow to find out how the first day of nursery school went!

Do you want to play toes?

It's our latest game. We dip our feet in the kiddie pool and then play "toes" by walking around the deck leaving toe tracks. He could play toes for hours :-)

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Like all children his age, the little guy goes through a lot of "phases." Here are a few of the latest:

- Reading phase (he's alway liked books, but he could literally sit and read 50 books in a row these days. I am truly sick of Curious George and Elmo and Big Bird playing the alphabet game!)

- The "hot breakfast" phase. Every morning he says, "Mommy, I want hot breakfast." By that he means instant raising and cinnamon oatmeal.

- The "new" tee tee phase. Instead of dragging just his yellow tee tee (aka blankie) around, he also carries around a yellow receiving blanket. At the same time. Wherever he goes.

- The "sock" phase. Heaven forbid I forget to put his socks on before bed (even if it's the hottest night of the year). If I ask him why he wants socks he says, "But I need them!"

Olympic fever continues

If baby boy could get a face to face meeting with the International Olympic Committee he'd probably make the following suggestions to rename events:

1. Boxing would be called "peefing."

The other day he asked me if I wanted to "peef" with him (translation: box with him). He put his rubber boots on his hands and said, "Look, I have peefs!" Later he brought me a pair of runners and said, "Here you go mommy. You put on your peefs on your arms."

With peefs on, we had a little boxing urrrr...peefing match. Truth be told it was actually more like playing pat-a-cake.

and....

2. Diving would no longer be called diving. It would be called "the jumping in the water" event. And diving boards would be called the "blue blocks that the girls jump on."

We're in!

We've been on the waiting list for our neighbourhood nursery school for a couple of months. Parents in my neighbourhood talk about it as though it's the best nursery school on the face of the earth. Many of them waited months and months to get their children in so I thought his chances of getting a spot for this fall we slim to none. But today they called me to say they have a opening for him starting in September. It will be every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 - 11:30. His caregiver will pick him up and take him back to her place in the afternoons. Sweet!

It's a cooperative nursery school so the price is really reasonable. The reason being, of course, is that all of the parents are required to do volunteer work. There is snack duty, laundry duty, and volunteer in person duty too. I'm kind of looking forward to it. My only concern is that three days a week may be a bit overwhelming for him. I guess we'll wait and see. We can always withdraw him and try again next year if it isn't working out.

Our little nest

In the summer our comforter usually ends up balled up on the floor at the foot of our bed. And apparently that is just where baby boy likes it to be. He's converted it into his "nest." One morning I asked him what he was doing in his nest and he told me very matter of factly, "I'm sitting on my eggs." He also likes to use his nest for collecting "eggcorns" and for sleepovers with "Buddy bear" (aka Whinnie the Pooh) and various other stuffed friends.

But perhaps his favourite nest activity is to curl up and get all cozy and then pretend he's a kitten. Every once in a while he pops his head up and asks, "what you doing mommy kitty cat? What you doing daddy kitty cat?" Usually our response is, "We're sleeping baby kitty."

Olympic fever

The little guy has Olympic fever. While watching the gymnastics on tv the other day, he turned to daddy in wide eyed excitement and exclaimed, "I want to do that!"

While he may not have mastered some of the more difficult tumbles and flips, he is pretty good at somersaulting (forwards and backwards). And, he even did a diving somersault! But like all good gymnasts he knows that points are lost on the landing so we've coached him on the "stick the landing" pose. We just yell, "Stick the landing!" and he puffs out his chest, stretches his arms up in the air and gives a gigantic grin.
He then says, "I'm doing the Olympics!"

The vacation is over

Back to work tomorrow....sigh....

Our second week of vacation was pretty awesome. We went on fun outings everyday after a leisurely sleep in (if you call 7:30 sleeping in....). Our week included a BBQ picnic with LD, RD and SD, a trip to the farm with ML, AL and CL, exploring the outdoor portion of the children's museum, a trip to the equestrian park to watch a horse jumping competition, a full-day biking adventure, walks through the market, lunches out, a BBQ pizza party etc... All in all it was a very fun and relaxing week.

Back from the beach!

Week one of our vacation is now over. We just spent a week at a beautiful cottage on a quiet lake near Algonquin Park (photos to follow once we buy more memory for the computer and I can actually download the pics). I think that it was the laziest week we've spent since before baby boy came along.

Here are a few cottage highlights:

- Every day we went for a nice long canoe ride. Last year baby boy was terrified of the canoe so we were delighted that he turned over a new leaf. He even helped with the paddling! On our first canoe ride he was overwhelmed with excitement. With heartfelt emotion, he kept saying "Thank you for the cottage!" and "Are we on vacation????"

- When we told baby boy that we would be going to the cottage, it came with the promise of seeing lots of frogs. At first he was disappointed -- where could they all be? But we soon discovered their secret hideout - in the grass and rocks near the front of the cottage. On one of our frog encounters, he said "He's real hungry mom. He needs a peanut butter sandwich."

- Lucky for me, Daddy was the only one who saw any snakes at the cottage. He just about stepped on one while crossing the deck one day. I asked him what it looked like and he said he'd never seen one like that before and that it was "plaid." The next day he encountered another plaid snake. I kept teasing him that it must be some distant relative of the plaid lochness monster from that crazy pinochio/wizard of oz show we used to watch when we were kids. Does any one else remember the plaid, tea drinking lochness monster????

- The little guy's imagination knows no boundaries. While outside with daddy he said, "I saw a snapping frog (kind of like a snapping turtle, only a frog) and a hammerhead tee tee (tee tee is the name of his favourite blankie)." When asked for some additional details about what the snapping frog was up to he replied, "He was pumping and scrunching." So, to all of you who are reading this, beware of the elusive pumping and scrunching snapping frog -- it's very dangerous!

On the morning we were set to head back to the city the little guy was very disappointed. I assured him that we would go on a little adventure on the way home. That idea seemed to appeal to him, so he gave it some thought. When we got loaded into the car he proposed his own idea for an adventure.

"We're going to Constanchayo," he said.

"Where's Constanchayo," daddy asked.

"It's in Canada."

"What do they have there?"

"Things."

"What kinds of things?"

"Ummmm....horses. Grey horses, black horses, and orange horses."

"Are there people in Constanchayo?"

"No, just horses."

Unfortunately we weren't able to find Constanchayo on the map...


- I may have mentioned in an earlier post that the little guy is terrified of moss. We have no idea why, but he stops dead in his tracks whenever he sees it. The cottage grounds were full of moss, which turned out to be a good thing. The continuous exposure made him relax a bit.

"Moss is a plant," he kept telling us. "Moss can't hurt you."

To prove he was right, I made a point of patting the moss and telling him it was soft and fuzzy like a cat.

"You pat the moss, Mommy?" he asked every time we came across a moss patch. I must have patted moss a thousand times a day. When I invited him to try, he refused (he's still not completely cured). But, he did stomp his foot on some moss once, and touched some lichen on a stump near some moss. That's progress, isn't it?

- Hubby and I decided that we were going to put toilet training into full action while on vacation. So far we've failed miserably.

Daddy taught him how to pee in the woods, figuring it was a skill that all young lads should acquire. Unfortunately, baby boy thinks that the peeing is not limited to the side of a tree. He figured the middle of the deck and on the floor of the cottage were also good pee spots. And every time he would do a little sprinkle, he'd come up to us with a wide grin and demand a candle and a treat. One step forward, two steps back (again!!!). At this rate, he's going to be in diapers until he's a teenager!

Oooo lollipop

I can't believe I forgot to post this story! When we were in Toronto visiting family a couple of weekends ago, the little guy watched his 3 year old cousin eating a purple lollipop. Having never had a lollipop before, he wasn't sure what to make of it. He had no idea what it was. All he knew was that if his cousin was eating one, he wanted to eat one too. He turned to me and said, "Mom, I want a grape on a straw." :-)

What a cutie

The little guy sat here and watched a donkey in the field for a good 45 minutes straight. Every time I tried to convince him to leave to look at other farm animals he said, "No! I want to stay with the donkey!"


Just doing a little driving....


and a little more driving.....


and some more driving....Did I mention I like to drive?

My smarty pants

Last week my caregiver took the kids to the park to see the ducks, geese and turtles. While there baby boy noticed some pigeons hanging around. He asked CC if pigeons ever go swimming in the water, which she thought was a very good question. Just as she was explaining that pigeons were more of a land bird, a pigeon swooped down into the river and started splashing around as if to prove her wrong.

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Baby boy asked me one day if his friend M had a daddy, to which I replied, "No, he has two mommies. Most kids have a mommy and a daddy, but some kids have two mommies and some kids have two daddies." After I explained this two him he ran off and played. I wasn't sure if he had actually paid attention to what I said or not until the other day when he blurted out, "M has two mommies. One brown one and one white one."

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Baby boy knows how to tease me. If he wants to get me going he says, "Mom's a boy" so that I'll correct him. And then he keeps repeating it because he thinks he's so funny. The other day he came up to me and said, "Hi Daddy." I replied, "I'm mommy silly." He looked at me with a sly little smile and said, "No you're not -- you're daddy!"

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The little guy watched intently as daddy marinated some lamb chops the other night. Hubby explained all of the ingredients he was mixing in. When he got to the wine vinegar, baby boy said, "No daddy, I want you to pour the wine in a glass for me."

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Today, hubby took the little guy to the toy store and got him some new animal figurines. He's going through a real marine animal stage right now, so they added a hammerhead shark to his collection. And, they bought a horse and a cow. As they were browsing through the cow section, hubby picked up one that he thought would be a sure winner. "Look at this nice cow," he said. Baby boy shook his head and said, "No daddy. That's a bull, not a cow. I want a cow." And guess what? He was right!

I live with Destructo

Why is it that I decided to cancel our house cleaner? Bad move. Very bad move.

When baby boy is bored and wants our attention he dumps, throws, pours, and smears things all of the place. I feel like I have to follow him around with a washcloth, mop and bucket. Just one of these days I'd like to come home from work and say, "Ah, look at my clean, clean house." We can all dream, can't we?

I haven't entertained in months because, frankly, I'm too embarrassed by the state of the house.

One of the kids that baby boy hangs out with at the park has a nanny who cooks and cleans! If Nannies weren't so darn expensive I'd look into hiring one to look after Destructo...err....I mean baby boy. A Marry Poppins type, who would fly off with her umbrella each night and return promptly the next morning.

Speaking of childcare, our caregiver has pneumonia, the poor thing! Although it sucks worse for her, it's also bad for us because we don't have a backup sitter (with the exception of a close friend who already has her hands full with 2 kids!). I've thought about registering with a nearby childcare centre that offers emergency services in situations like this. But when it comes down to it, I'm really uncomfortable dropping him off at an unfamiliar daycare. I think it would 1) terrify him and 2) lead to issues of mistrust. I think a better approach would be for me to find a university student who lives in our neighbourhood who is looking for the ocassional babysitting job. Baby boy really likes young ladies, and would probably be thrilled to entertain a student for a day! Plus he'd be on his own turf which would make things a lot easier. Especially if I had the sitter come over occasionally for a couple of hours.

But that brings up the whole issue of our grungy, disgusting house again! Would a sitter be totally grossed out by the state of our home? Possibly, unless of course they have roommates, in which case our place would seem like a sanctuary :-)

From the mouth of the babe

We've never given the little guy candy before (other than the odd chocolate chip). When he saw his cousin sucking on a purple lollipop he said, "I want a grape on a straw!"

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Last night we had a picnic at the beach to escape the heatwave. There was a little boy swimming around wearing a florescent yellow pair of snorkeling goggles. He was so jealous! For the next hour or two straight he kept repeating, "I want green googles. I want I own!"

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We took a ferry across to Toronto Island on the weekend. When the little guy heard we were going on a boat he announced that he was going to paddle the boat and catch a fish :-)

Happy Canada Day!

We had an awesome weekend/Canada Day.

On the weekend we went on a little out of town adventure with SB, which included a nice wilderness walk and some rock throwing into a lake. Baby boy talked her ear off the whole way home. He rattled on about the barns and the horses and pretty much everything else he saw out the window.

On Monday night we went to a Shawarma party at KM and KSH's house. Mmmmmm.....shawarma....After not eating shawarma because he filled up on chips, the little guy took a dip in the hot tub with a number of sexy young ladies. He was one happy dude until we announced it was time to go. All the way home he wailed, "I want to swim in the hot tub! I want to sleep at K's house!" Poor guy.

But we made it up to him on Tuesday with a huge long Canada Day bike ride. We rode more than 30 km, following the most beautiful trail ever along the river. I can't believe we hadn't discovered this trail years ago! We stopped at a marina to watch the RCMP lower their boats into the water. They were going out in full force to patrol the water for drunken Canada Day boaters. After our long ride, we had a late lunch in the market and watched all of the crazy people dressed up in their Canada Day outfits. Then it was off to the water park to cool down. When we finally made it home, we blew up the kiddie pool and had a good splash in the backyard. All in all, it was a great day for all of us. And....after baby boy went to bed, hubby and I got to watch the fireworks from our rooftop deck. The view was spectacular!

The only thing that really sucked was not getting to sleep in the next morning...Oh well, back to the grind I guess!