Team Trumpet

Tom's trumpet has made a comeback...

MOMENT: Team Tooting - Take II

It was long ago that we discovered Tom's HS trumpet and showed it to Tavish. His ability to blow air has come a long way since then (Toot Your Horn - May, 2011). Here we are, a year and a half later (almost 1/2 of Tavish's life), and once again the trumpet emerged for some play time. Turns out, Tavish may have inherited his father's tune tooting abilities after all.

Half a Year: Our 6 Month Old

At 6 months of age, Keva is officially a real smiler and a mover. Half a year already?! (sniff) 

MOMENT: Our Blue-Eyed Girl

Although the roll overs have pretty much ground to a halt, Keva still manages to make her way around a blanket on the floor. She has found her feet, likes hanging out on her tummy, and is making funny faces and imitating sounds. Her eye-hand coordination is excellent. She already recognizes some signs (milk, sleep) and can search out her immediate family when she hears their names. Oh, and her 'spike' has grown to a full-fledged comb over and no one has ever worn it better than she does...

The Start to Sitting

No, Keva's nowhere near sitting unassisted, but one has to start somewhere...

MOMENT: Timber!

She gets so excited when she's upright. She doesn't seem to mind falling over from it either. One would assume that would foster the desire to sit upright on her own. Try though we ... er, um ... I mean 'she' might (or might not), there's no sitting yet. But, practicing is part of the fun for everyone, right? Well, everyone except perhaps for Tavish at this particular moment we captured anyway...

Look Mom, Two Hands!

Mercifully, she still loves the bottle and my, does it show!

MOMENT: No Assistance Required

Apparently, old habits fade slowly. I continue to remain concerned that one day Keva will just stop accepting the bottle. Just because it's what happened with Tavish, does not mean that history will repeat. Although she is rarely offered one, her eagerness is just so ... obvious ...

Caged in a Nest

I have an Uncle who gets up early, so to avoid disturbing the slumber of my Aunt, he retreats to his 'nest'. This 'nest' is basically another place to nap or sneak a few winks without bothering anyone. Turns out, Tavish had a similar idea on his own except that he referred to it as a 'cage'. It seems that being captive in his 'cage' actually led to him having (gasp) a wee-nap! Cage, nest, bed - hey, whatever works for getting a bit of much needed (but often avoided) sleep...

MOMENT: Nest construction

To build this nest, Tavish made use of some local bedroom supplies and one key piece from the far off bathroom. Who knew that the bath ramp we use in the tub for Keva would make such a comfy bed for a pre-schooler? He thought of everything - toys, books, pillows, a chair and blankets...and was exhausted enough after building it to actually get some shut eye. Caged in a nest? Perfect.

Construction Culmination

For what seems like a long, long time - our conclusion about the construction on our street was that it would never be finished. However, amid snow flurries, plummeting temperatures and continued traffic craziness, the job seems to be coming closer to a close... at least until the spring (sigh).

Supervising the hose-thawing work 

Just when we thought the construction season was over...

MOMENT: Construction Fatigue

It was a Friday morning and I pulled back the curtain in our bedroom to what I assumed was the pinnacle of the construction action. The diggers were in full force digging a massive hole into the yards of our neighbours promising that ours would be next. All of this amid buses, garbage trucks and plenty of loud noises. I instantly called Tavish over - he was sure to be elated with this spectacle. I was wrong. He looked for a moment, said "huh", then was quickly distracted by the regular events of our morning. I was astounded and concerned. Tom seemed to sympathize with Tavish, "it's construction fatigue, Kath". Aw. He did perk back up again later and the frozen hose (that delivered water to our house for about 4 months) adventure did stimulate renewed interest. Phew! Without toddler excitement, living with constant construction is just down right inconvenient!

Tiny Dancers

Just when I thought Tavish's dancing days were behind him, he recently started to shake his booty with Mommy to some tunes in the living room. Keva also seems to be moving about a lot these days for a baby who doesn't yet crawl. We don't hear the music, but with all that motion, I believe that she does.

MOMENTS: My Movers and Shakers

It's a montage of motion. Brace yourself.

So the Garden Goes...

I guess it's true that all good things do eventually come to an end. The falling of the leaves marks the end of the garden season and thus begins the task of putting away for the winter all that we so carefully set out in the spring...

Every worker needs a supervisor...

MOMENTS: Seasonal Shift

Halloween passed. The leaves had piled up and the garden had stopped growing. It was time. Tavish and Daddy worked away in the yard and on the deck during that first chilly weekend in November. Once again, the little red wagon came in handy...

The Difference a Year Makes

Cliche but true - they grow up so fast and time really does fly when you're having fun ...

MOMENT: Hey Diddle Diddle!

Just over one year ago, I caught a sweet moment with my then 2.5 year old on my cellphone (hence the poor quality). It was a Thursday, November 3rd and he'd be starting 'school' on the Monday. He was innocently singing through his book and clearly didn't know much about camera or cellphones; it was too sweet to commit to memory only. Fast forward a year and he's singing again - this time to his sister. Aw.

Fascinating or Fiction?

I was chatting with a woman who told me that when her son was 2.5-3 years old, he could describe what it was like being inside his Mom. I thought a lot of things about that. First, the whole idea of children remembering that is strange and weird but also fascinating... but also likely that child's attempt at fiction. However, it did remind me of an earlier conversation with Tavish that was along those lines which gave me some pause. Then recently, we had another conversation about it that now has me leaning more toward this concept being more fascinating than a work of fiction...

Tavish in utero
(almost 3 months pregnant)

MOMENT: Swimming

The first time we took Keva swimming, I said: "Tavish this is Keva's first time swimming". Very matter-of-factly, Tavish said "no, she was swimming in your belly". He didn't elaborate, he just seemed very confident with his statement.

Fast forward to the other day where he had drawn a picture of "Mommy with Keva in her belly" on the magnetic board. He asked to put it in Keva's room as decoration. I decided to use the opportunity to ask the question...

Mommy: Do you remember when you were in Mommy's belly?
Tavish: Yeah.
Mommy: What was it like?
Tavish: Swimming.
Mommy: Was it dark?
Tavish: Yeah, a little bit.
Mommy: What else do you remember?
Tavish: Hearing Mommy and Daddy talking.
Mommy: What were we saying?
Tavish: I dunno.
Mommy: What else could you see?
Tavish: Nothing. Well, sometimes the other kids...

Clearly, this is when my inner-astonishment faded back toward feeling this was all the work of fiction. But, who really knows? In my opinion, the whole thing is fascinating either way. Rest assured, when Keva can talk, I'll be making some inquiries.

Mommy & Tavish
(8+ months pregnant)

Halloween Highlights

'Tis the season to carve a pumpkin, create costumes, proudly parade, and take tricks or treats... and we did it all!

MOMENTS: Creative Costumes

Originally, I believed I would again 'create' costumes from things around the house. Then I stumbled on a second-hand dalmatian costume. Cute. Hmm, what can go with that though? (I like themes) Ah-ha: firefighter. Enter second-hand costume further down the rack. Must get toddler on board. Proves to be a cinch - what three year old doesn't love a fire truck?! Time to be creative and ... voila!

A firefighter (with truck).

A dalmatian.

Put them together for a great themed team costume!

The family attire for the parade
(yes, I'm wearing Tavish's pumpkin costume from last year...)

Trick-or-treat pals: firefighter, cat, pirate

Smartie Pants & Dumb Ass get a night out!

Fabulous Fall

Some great moments of motherhood happen when a Mommy is given the opportunity to connect with some old pals amid the fall colour splendour. Two dear friends from "home" came to visit and this Mommy enjoyed every moment of it.

Kath, Jen & Christie before our night out

MOMENTS: Capturing Colour

Amid our shennanigans, we took time to delight in the fall colour explosion. While we wandered around in the company of Keva, a few photos of the fall display were captured. My love of this season has me compelled to share a glimpse of Keva, fall style. Thanks again for making the trek, ladies!

Fall foliage giving up some green

Nature taste-test

Leaf litter cushioning

Seeing autumn for the first time
through the eyes of my daughter

A Tale of Two Teeth

Turns out, we have dentally advanced children. Tavish got his first tooth at 6 1/2 months and people were surprised at how early that was. Enter Keva. She was sure not to bare a toothless grin for long, her first tooth appeared at the ripe old age of 4 1/2 months.

MOMENT: Toothy Grins

Imagine our surprise when we noticed one Sunday afternoon in MEC that our 4 1/2 month old had a tooth. I called Tavish over to see and he studied her until he spotted it. "Good for you Keev! You have a tooth!", he exclaimed while excitedly patting her leg. So, the next day, I diligently tried to capture this tooth on camera.

Keva's first tooth
Age: 4.5 months

This put me in mind of when we pulled over from our Thanksgiving wedding weekend drive to feed Tavish. That was when I spotted his first tooth and wanted to take a snapshot to remember this discovery by.

Tavish's first tooth
Age: 6.5 months

Keva must have decided that the teething pain wouldn't be worth it for one measly tooth. Two days later, on Tuesday morning, there was tooth number two. She seemed protective of it (or was just preoccupied feeling it herself), but like a mother does, I persevered and captured what I could. A mother also goes back over old footage of her first born to see what she can dig up as well...

5 Months

Here she is on her 5 month-iversary sporting her festive attire complete with pumpkin hat, trick-or-treat shirt and seasonally coloured top...

MOMENT: Proportional

Our little grower is proportionally healthy and holding near the 97th percentile for length, weight and head circumference. She has also accidentally discovered rolling and has sprouted not one, but two teeth!

On a Roll

More movement ... this time in the form of rolling. The bonus? It was caught on video...

Keva before her epic roll

MOMENT: That's Better

Keva isn't the biggest fan of being on her tummy. Her tolerance of it has certainly improved, but she clearly communicates (read: protests loudly) when she's had enough. On October 11th (Grandma's birthday), Keva took matters into her own hands and went from being on her belly, to happily being belly up. Sure, it wasn't intentional and was motivated by curiosity, but over she went with her doting fans there to cheer her on.

Giving Thanks

The long weekend of Thanksgiving gave us a lot to be thankful for...

Crisp bike ride with Daddy

Food for our feast

Colourful hike

A family to be thankful for...

MOMENTS: Moving and Making

Tavish's had a PD day on Friday giving us more time to play together. We took a ride on the only transit train here that day before having lunch with Daddy at his work and going for a family swim. Daddy used his bike to keep up with Tavish on his Strider-bike on Saturday. We dinned with company over three evenings (two turkeys) and created a separate seasonal craft for each host. We went to Kanata where Tom took the kids on a hike through his childhood 'hood. Then, most importantly, we gave thanks over dinner with Grandpa Mike. So many wonderful moments, but the highlight for me was when Tavish shared what he is thankful for. It went something like this:

Mommy: I'm thankful for the health and happiness of our family
Daddy: I'm thankful for the food we're able to grow, share and eat together
Grandpa Mike: I'm thankful that my family is healthy and safe
Tavish: I'm thankful for Keva and that I get to be her big brother

Picking Pommes

It's that time of year again-apples, apples and more apples all picked on our annual family apple-outing...

En route to the orchard on a tractor-pulled wagon

MOMENT: A Little Lady and a Ladder

There were two exciting new additions to our annual family apple picking trip: a new babe to add to the experience, Keva was great company; and a toddler who used a ladder to reach higher apples which, according to Tavish, are better.

Keva's first trip to the orchard

Loving the apples reached by ladder

Gathering with a new perspective

One for me, one for the bag...

Along for the ride for this year.

Pure sweetness ... and the apples too!

Phone Genes

I love to talk on the phone. Turns out, I'm not the only one in my family...

MOMENT: Gabbing with Grandma

Until recently, Grandma got quick hellos and the odd goodnight by speaker phone. Lately, Tavish has been requesting the phone for his ear and nestling himself in for a deep and meaningful chat with Grandma. Although it cuts into my chatting time with my Mommy, it's worth it to see them connect. It makes sense that he enjoys her because everyone knows that "a Grandma is a Mom with extra frosting"-anonymous.

4 Months

As un-luck would have it, we lost our camera. Boo. It had photos of Keva on her 4 month-iversary on her own as well as in the chariot for our run with Tavish (on his bike) to drop him off at school. Sniff. This photo of Keva is of her at 4 months and 1 week. It's okay, she was equally as cute on both days....

MOMENT: Busy Baby

On her 'birthday', we ran to Tavish's 'school', went to pilates together then for a family swim! This baby can keep up. Without further ado, here she is:

Hammock Hanging to Hammer Time

"Grandfathers are for loving and fixing things."
- author unknown

There really are so many wonderful perks to the neighbour being Grandpa. The unplanned outdoor meetings and the creative indoor play options are among the highlights. Both generally begin with a toddler enthusiastically disappearing to the other side of the fence...

MOMENT: Quiet and Loud

Tavish is an outdoor kid so from a parents point of view, these disappearing acts are especially appreciated when there is meal prep or other indoor distractions going on at our house. On this particular day back in mid-September, Tavish had disappeared and Tom had returned from work to join the kitchen/baby frenzy. When we stepped outside to ensure all was well and that our toddler wasn't over staying his welcome, we were met with this sight while peering over the fence...

.

Meanwhile, back in the summer on a separate occasion of playtime together, things were significantly less tranquil. That Grandpa Mike certainly has a way of creating 'projects' and activities that speak to the interests of a three year old boy...

"Being grandparents sufficiently removes us from the responsibilities so that we can be friends."
- Allan Frome

Tub Buds

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.
- Vietnamese Proverb

MOMENT: Bathing Beauties

... and putting those hands and feet into the tub together - super cute.

Stroller Seat

Yet another reminder that our 'healthy' (read: large) babies grow quickly: graduating from the stroller bassinet to the seat to stroll with a view beyond elephants...

MOMENT: Improved Sightlines

With Tavish we tried to keep him in the bassinet until we left Toronto because it was handy for carrying him to our upstairs apartment if he fell asleep. No such luck, on his 3 month birthday - he graduated to the seat (1 week before we moved). For Keva, we use the stroller a bit less so were able to keep her in it just a bit longer. Mind you, she was doing a crunch-like move in the bassinet a few days earlier ... she was ready to see what was going on in the world from an upright position. She graduated at 3 months and 10 days...

Tavish's first seat stroll in Toronto

Keva's first seat stroll in Ottawa

Strolling together in style: Tavish on 2 wheels, Keva on 4

First Day of School

Well, our 'baby' went back for another year of Montessori school in the Casa program. These 'big' days so obviously point out the passage of time. We had to buy him new shoes (size 11, when school ended in June, he was wearing size 9), he's grown several inches (negligent parents haven't kept record of height (blush), but is 41 inches now), and is certainly less toddler - more boy. At the risk of sounding cliche, they really do grow up so fast...

With his new size 11 shoes

The face of a growing boy

MOMENT: Letting Go Can be Hard to Do

Tavish seemed hesitant about school starting, even though he put on a brave face in the morning (as you'll see in the video). He even noted sweetly a few days before that: "it's not my first time" in calm response to my pumping up 'the first day of school'. I was also a real mix of emotions about the whole thing... letting your kids grow up is hard. (pout) The first drop off wasn't exactly smooth (picture some screaming as I walked away after he pittifully said "I want to go home with you" - heart break for Mommy), but thankfully Grandpa Mike stayed with Keva so I could focus exclusively on Tavish. At the end of the day, he was happy and excited about school again (relief for Mommy), so this is a good news story after all!

Toddler Talks

Kids really do say the darndest things...

MOMENT: Funny Fellow

#1: Having dinner the other night, out of nowhere, Tavish pipes up excitedly: "it's tomorrow!".  (pause)Tom and I shared a confused glance. Not wanting to immediately quash his enthusiasm, we slowly started to respond "well, honey tomorrow is..." when Tavish interrupted confidently with: "the popsicles are ready!". Huh? (pause again) Oh, the day before, Tavish and I made popsicles together, which understandingly, he wanted to eat right away. I gently told him: "the popsicles will be ready tomorrow". He seemed a bit disappointed, but was overall still keen to make popsicles. So, our toddler was mostly right, the next day was indeed "tomorrow" and we did, in fact, enjoy "tomorrow's" popsicles that night after dinner.

#2: In the car on the way to morning drop off at Tavish's school he says from the backseat: "If something happens to this car, then maybe we can have a convertible. You know, one of those ones with two seats - that two people go in. I can go in the seat that doesn't drive and you can go in the other seat that drives. And Daddy and Keva can go in this car! Or, they can go in a convertible too...well, a different convertible - or ours when we are done." I'll be honest, I was touched that he invited me into his 2 seater convertible (heart melt).

Bucking Baby

We have movement! Sure, it's not graceful, nor conventional - but it is movement. She's off!

MOMENT: Backward Movement is Still Movement

Keva's not a huge fan of tummy time ... so perhaps she'll master a method of movement that is less common? We think the motivation for moving was based in irritation but seems to have evolved to bucking back for simple pleasure ... and perhaps for a change of scenery.

Bear Cave

Daddy decided to introduce the ipod to Tavish with some headphones. Whoa, cool. Even cooler - listening to the ipod in the "bear cave" that Daddy built. It has provided endless indoor construction potential and hosting opportunities.

Hosting Chomper and Keva in his "bear cave"

MOMENT: Getting Cozy

Who needs to build a "fort" when you can have a "bear cave". Tavish loves it and is always keen to invite Keva in to join him. He even built a bear cave around her of her very own. He kept bringing her toys, made sure there was music, and visited her often. Aw.

Keva's own cushiony bear cave

Open Wide

Tavish's came with us to the dentist about a year ago to ride in the chair and look around because the dentist wanted to wait until he was three to take a look. So, off we went for his first 'offical' trip to the dentist... 

 MOMENT: "Ahhhh"

Tavish was well prepared and ready for the dentist. Truthfully, we thought they were going to do a cleaning - so it turns out, he may have been over prepared. Oops. Regardless, he opened up wide and let who ever wanted to look, have a peak!

You'd like to do what?!

Oh, sure - no problem. Ahhhhh...

Treasure chest gift chosen!