Halloween Eve

Sweet child of mine ...

I've been 'that' Mommy, all concerned about the quality and quantity of candy that this time of year seems to invite. There's the dairy and wheat concern that people seem to accept, but my dislike for unhealthy doses of unhealthy sweets seems less socially acceptable. We went to a party at a local dance studio the weekend before Halloween where he was given a generous dose of sugar as a parting gift. Tavish put this 'loot' bag into the fridge for safe keeping after he enjoyed a candy or two. Daddy said the rest of the candy was for Halloween day.

As any normal 4 year old would, Tavish requested some candy daily between the party and the night before Halloween when he says to Tom at bedtime: "Daddy, I can give out my candy from the party to people who come trick-or-treating to our house tomorrow." He expressed that he wants to be sure we have something to give kids who come here. He really is the most generous 4 year old I've ever known. And as I was writing this (and frantically cutting yellow bristol board), I heard the patter of his feet coming downstairs. He had a sticker in his hand that his teacher stuck onto his shirt "I am a caring friend" because he was concerned that we'd forgotten to put it on his mirror with the other ones his teacher has given him. We're not the only ones who have noticed his innate kindness toward others...

We've especially noticed this in Tavish's relationship with his sister. He has always been sweet and considerate but he's even factoring Keva into his future plans. He recently likes to talk a lot about what he'd like for his birthday party in March. Turns out, he'd like to give stickers to his friends, but the best one to Keva and wants to be sure she can help him blow out the candles and will be sure to give the first piece of cake to her. He's so loving and generous...

My heart is happy.

It Happened Today

It happened on October 28th. Well, it's been happening slowly I guess and I have always known that it was coming. The shift. The pull. The separation. All summer I had a feeling that we were on the edge of a big change and I was right. Today it was obvious with this one moment...

MOMENT: Pom Pom

Tavish is growing up. Of course he is, but I mean he's growing up by separating from us being Mommy-baby, to Mom and son - he's a 'big boy'. With the weather cooling, I pulled out last year's toques and put one out with his coat. When he came to get ready for school at the front door, his words confirmed it all...

Tavish: Mommy, I don't want to wear that hat
Mommy: Okay, sure. Is there a reason?
Tavish: I don't like to wear pom poms anymore
Mommy: Oh. Okay, pick another one from the bin
Tavish: I don't want you to throw it out or give it away though, I might wear it on a weekend or something...
Mommy: I won't, not until you're ready for it to go
Tavish: yeah, I just don't want to wear it to school...
Mommy: Alright, you can wear whichever hat you'd like, but we need to get going
Tavish: so I'll tell you when I'm done with it or it's too small, then you can give it away, okay?

Aw, maybe he's feeling the separation too and is building up the courage to let go, the same way Mommy is trying to...? Either way, this loveable stripey hat won't be donned this winter ... well, unless it's on a weekend...maybe.

Stripey hat circa March 2013

Pumpkin Fun

'Tis the season to purchase pumpkins. We were off to a nearby school in search of a pumpkin patch (welcome to urban living). We found what we needed and carved out some festive faces.

My Lil' Punkins

MOMENT: Scaredy Cat and Snow-kin

On our way

Peeking for pumpkins

Found some! 

Pumpkin bodyguard

Captain carver

Meow!

Snowman pumpkin watches over breakfast

I'd picked up a single pumpkin from a market earlier, but Tavish had grander plans "want to make a snowman from pumpkins?!". Um, oh ... sure, okay. So, more pumpkins were needed. We pulled out the trusty red wagon and went searching for supplies and found what we needed down the street. Mommy drew up a design plan, Daddy ensured the creation had structural integrity, Tavish dug out seeds and Keva provided enthusiastic support - it was a full family project. We also made use of our solo pumpkin to add a feline friend to our family: a scaredy cat. Yes, we like our pumpkins creative and original....

Thanksgiving Cottage

Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays and the fall colours are the highlight of the year, in my humble opinion. Enjoying a long weekend with both of these things and the addition of good people at a cottage - memories are sure to be made...

Thankful. So very, very thankful

MOMENT: Thankful in Cottage Country

We had a great time at a rented cottage near Bancroft with Megan, Paul and Xavier over Thanksgiving complete with sharing celebratory meals, rowing a boat, hiking some trials, plenty of play time and lots of laughs. Leads me to wonder, could this be a new annual tradition?

Ready for the road trip

Peeking around in the forest

Heading out for a hike...

...and lichen what we saw

Row, row, row your boat...

...gently with your family...

...merrily, merrily, merrily, looking at a stream

Boys finding fun inside

Littles sticking together: little guy entertains little gal

Unimpressed that dinner required waiting

Coming to the table turned things around

Food makes waiting worth while---especially corn on the cob

Thankful for feasting with friends

It can be hard (and fun) to say goodbye...

Volleyball

Tavish's gym coach has been teaching the kids volleyball. He excitedly shows me how he holds his hands properly then how he moves his arms to hit the ball forward, backward, or up high. Not sure it's for every 4 year old, but he's loving it. Perhaps it has something to do with our earlier adventure with Grandpa Mike to watch a Ryerson volleyball tournament in early October?

Volleyball watchers

MOMENT: Set, Bump, Spike

We took the streetcar and made an afternoon out of volleyball watching. Tavish observed intently then began asking questions about the rules and about specific players he'd noticed. Then, he was able to tell us things: "player 15 is really strong when he hits the ball", etc. It was a good time and the schedule for other sports has been consulted for future outings...

Lil' Skipper

"Skipping is jumping for joy, step after step."

- Terri Guillements

One of the things Tavish has learned at school is skipping (or at least we think that's where it came from). His technique improves dramatically with every joyous hop. At first, he could really only hop on one foot. He's come pretty far even from this video. His running too is a source of sweetness. He's pretty quick for a kid that hasn't completely lost his toddler running wiggle!

Heart Map

Tavish was moved to a different classroom one last time to one with less students (17) and a great LTO teacher. It was curriculum night after his second day in her class and it was informative and welcoming. We checked out the work that was up displaying drawings that showed "the people, places, and things that are most important" to them. We saw a few drawings of ice cream and other random (and often unidentifiable) illustrations. Then, we stumbled on the best one. No bias, but we think our son is clearly a noble genius...

Monkeying Round

"There are rich counsels in the trees."

- Herbert P. Horne

Turns out, Tavish loves climbing trees. I guess I should have seen it coming with the way he climbed up the escarpment and then the boulders at the beach. Now he's taking on trees and climbing on up...

MOMENT: Tree Top

The 'kindergarten' playground at his school has a few trees and one of them seems to always have a young child climbing up it's small, low branches. In typical Tavish style, he observed this behaviour for a few days then I turned around one day to find his limbs up among the tree limbs. This became his main after school attraction. A friend has a "climbing tree" in their front yard. This treewas more robust and complicated to climb, but he was up for the challenge. All of this was great practice for the apple tree we stumbled on at the Brickworks in September, he scrambled on up and returned with a snack for the whole family! This climbing thing can be fruitful after all. Yum!

Enjoying the fruit of Tavish's labour

Street Party 2013

One of the more exciting events to anticipate with our move to this neighbourhood and street was the annual street party. The street is blocked off to traffic and there is a plethora of activities for adults, kids and families. It sounded like an amazing event. I later found myself recruited onto the Street Party Planning Committee and then knew it was going to be great - there are residents of the street that do an incredible amount of work to make it so.

Here are some of the events that were planned:
- street yard sale; craft tent with bird houses to paint, jewelry to make, and your bike to decorate
- cupcakes to decorate; EMS to visit (police, fire, and ambulance)
- obstacle course; bike parade; kids games; street sports (soccer and hockey)
- street potluck; kids movie outside; dance party; tiki bar; bonfires

To make it even more magical, this year's event was framed around the street's 100th birthday, there was birthday cake and a plaque that was unveiled to commemorate this milestone. September 21st was the much awaited day and it finally came as did the rain...

MOMENT: Can't Rain on our Parade

The rain was relentless. It literally did not stop raining until about 8pm. Constant rain. The event was not for the faint of heart. However, the spirit on this street is alive and well. Shelter was cobbled together, events were cut or modified, children were soaked, but the party went on. The turn out was apparently very poor by contrast to past years, but the people from the street made a real splash anyway. The annual raffle where the prizes are from local businesses was exceptional and despite the lower number of people, we made close to the same amount as past years! The prizes were impressive - you could win some real loot! (sadly, our family did not though) All of the money went to raise money to replace the trees that our street lost in a big storm this past summer. This was a great experience with little digital documentation due to inclement weather, but we are keen to do it again next year - we will keep our rain gear ready!

Tavish  was 1 of only 2 kids in the initial bike parade.
They kept biking, so more kids eventually joined!

Blurry from rain or was it the speed?

The crafting must go on!

Rain won't keep our son inside!

Niagara Bound

With our new proximity to Niagara Falls, we thought we'd take a fall day trip with the family for some apple picking, waterfall watching, and escarpment hiking.

MOMENT: Local Adventures

We discovered a small, organic apple orchard where you could pick your own apples. Tavish climbed up ladders and picked us all a snack in addition to more apples to enjoy throughout the week. We then made our way to the Falls. Neither Tom nor I had been there since we were very young. Still impressive. We then went on a hike where Tom and I had this realization (while huffing a puffing on the way up):

We always figured there'd come a time when Tavish would be faster and stronger than us, but we certainly didn't think it was going to be when we was four...

When we hiked back up to the top, Tavish asks if we can do it again (without any sign of fatigue). Um, no. We're thinking next time, we'll strap Keva onto his back to even the playing field a bit...

An apple a day...

The apples of our eyes

Watching water fall

All geared up...

...with our game face on

What goes down must come up

Tavish and Mommy watching the water

Going back up...

Making it all look so easy...

Junior Kindergarten

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go."
- Dr. Seuss


Auntie Colleen came to the house to help out with the first morning. This was especially helpful as Tom had a work obligation that was scheduled before he knew the date of Tavish's first day. She joined us for the inaugural walk to school and then walked around with Keva so I could put my full focus on this important day.

Tavish: First day of school (Junior Kindergarten)

Tavish's support crew for the walk to his first official day

Auntie Colleen's 'good luck' handshake

MOMENT: Let Him Go

To be honest, it took every ounce of strength (and posed positivity) I had to leave Tavish at the school with his teacher. From drop off, I went to the Office, despite my fear of being 'that parent', to address my concerns with the Principal. The good news is that it worked, his first day would be his only day in that classroom. He was moved into Ms. C's class after the weekend to join another 32 JK/SK children. Also good news, Daddy was able to accompany us to Tavish's second, first day of school which was especially memorable because they both rode their bicycles!

Daddy and Tavish on day 2 of the first day of school

** Spoiler Alert: Tavish would only be in Ms. C's class for 3 1/2 weeks before he is moved again into a smaller class with Ms. T. Yay! This is where things begin looking up for our first experience as parents of a child in the public education system...

Test Run

Tavish's new public school had a staggered start, so his first day of school was on Friday, September 6th. In an effort to help with the change, I'd arranged a meeting with Tavish's new teacher for Thursday after school. With excitement, Tavish donned his new backpack and filled it with food (from his little kitchen) to carry. It was very sweet to see the pep in his step while I followed along with some secret dread in mine. Time will tick on regardless of my trepidation so I am eternally thankful for Tavish's authentic optimism because it can even make Mommy, who is naturally weary of change, feel some excitement too... 

Excited to see his new school

MOMENT: Public School

I will not glorify this experience. Tavish was a trooper and bravely met with his teacher and his new sparse classroom. There wasn't a great welcome, nor a sense of clarity about what to bring or expect, there also wasn't much in terms of effort made by the teacher to engage or connect with Tavish. His positive attitude made the best of the situation and he generated excitement about the idea of meeting new friends and playing in the playground. I just wish I could share his joy and am grateful that he protects it ...

The new backpack filled with pretend food

And...he's off running!