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!

RCMP

 

During our last week together before school starts and with Daddy back at work, we headed off to the RCMP stables where the training takes place for the musical ride. We went with some friends and all thought it was pretty neat.

         

MOMENT: Awe-struck

The horses for the musical ride are big and beautiful. Tavish didn't say much about it, but certainly spent some silent time staring in awe at everything he saw and had a huge smile when he had a turn in the saddle.

3 Months

Yup, on August 28th - Keva's 3 month-iversary, she was taken to the doctor for a check up. She's growing so fast ... like 90th percentile fast! She also got her shots. Poor baby, but what a trooper! The party must go on, so we went socializing with big brother Tavish after her appointment and told her tale of woe...

MOMENT: Healthy Babe

Such a wonderful disposition Keva has. There's even a short video taken on her 3 month birthday to support that unbiased (well ... mostly) claim. She's also tall and heavy for her age - all the signs of good health ... and being fed power milk! ha.

In the car seat on our way to see the doctor.

Tall. About 25 inches tall at 3 months.

Heavy. Over 15 pounds heavy. Nearly double her birth weight!

Construction Chaos

There's no denying we've been on shaky ground around here and surrounded by NOISE. (Pardon? I can't hear you over the jackhammer, excavator, dump truck and bulldozer along with the usual  bus traffic outside the door...) However, there is some happiness amid all the dust: toddler occupation. It seems there could be a future construction supervisor in our midst ...

MOMENT: Whatcha doin', Tavish?

Standard answer: "watching 'struction". It's chaos out there, but it's Tavish's happy place. He loves watching the workers do their thing. Truthfully, it has been a blessing in many ways for getting things done (or 'resting' a little longer in bed in the morning), but it will be a pleasure to see these vehicles move onto another construction site. In the meantime, if you need to find Tavish for any reason- check our front window.

Stay-cation Camping

It's always nice to get away, so we spent two nights camping during Tom's final week of "parental leave". After sleeping in 5 different places in 8 nights with 2 kids, we opted for the camp ground over a canoeing trip this year to minimize the amount of planning required. Plus, this way, we had lots of space to ensure that we ate well and relaxed (as much as is possible with two kids anyway).

Setting up our 'home'

Hanging and hammocking

Beach bums

Mom & son

Daddy & daughter

Happy camper

MOMENT: Portable Home

Car-camping enables all of the amenities of home, just much smaller and ... well, a little dirtier. It was high density living like we're used to - Tavish even played with the 'neighbour' kids. Tavish had his first roasted marshmellow, we spent hours at the beach, and only one night was interrupted by a raccoon. Good times, good times...

Family Feeding

How many family members does it take to feed Keva? Sometimes, all of us...

MOMENT: Feeding Siblings

Tavish wanted to help feed Keva, so we encouraged it. I arranged for the bottle to be filled, Keva ensured a healthy appetite, Daddy was trusted to hold Keva properly, and Tavish was invited to join in on the feeding. Keva spoke highly of the experience when she had a full belly too.

Mesmerizing Mobiles

Both Keva and Tavish enjoyed the great mobile of elephants from their stroller bassinet. They also both thought that their musical mobile was pretty neat too...

Tavish and the elephants

Keva and the elephants

MOMENT: Black and White

Black and white objects are supposed to stimulate a baby's visual development and it seems to be the case with both of our babes. Tavish began checking this mobile out when he was about one month old. Keva had to wait until 2.5 months before we dug it out (blush, second time parents). Regardless, it seemed to be enjoyable visual and physical stimulation for both babies when presented with it.

Sportslexia

It's no secret that Tavish likes sports - any sport. He's even drawn to the equipment. He noticed some of Daddy's gear in the basement and wanted to try it out ...

MOMENT: Equipment Required

We both enjoyed the games that Tavish made up in the yard as they evolved to incorporate little bits of soccer, golf, hockey, and perhaps even some baseball. Certainly though, it was the gloves that made the game memorable...