Tubs in the Sock

Sorry ... I mean, socks in the tub. This is how you can detect tired parents... their toddler is sitting in the bathtub with nothing on except her socks. Bright red socks. No camera nearby, but take my word for it, Keva's Daddy must have been feeling the fatigue when getting her ready (or nearly ready) for her bath that night. *yawn*

Play Imitates Life

Since grocery shopping has to be done, why not take along some helpers and make the most of it? I've said it before and will say it again, grocery shopping with Tavish and Keva is kinda fun...

Mommy's helpers

Snack break!

MOMENT: Getting it Done

If their play does at all imitate real life, then it would suggest than not only am I a thorough shopper, but I must enjoy it because they make it look that way when they play...

Phantom Phoner

Keva loves the phone (like mother like daughter). I'm embarrassed to admit this, but Keva's first official 'sign' actually was "phone". Several months back on our way home from dropping Tavish off, I stopped to check the messages that had come in on my phone. I looked down to see my daughter, with a twinkle in her eye, holding her hand flat to her ear saying "uh-uh". Um, yes ... phone, Mommy is on the phone. It's true, her first sign wasn't "food" or "more" or "sleep" or any other sign we do a lot around here. It was one she made up herself  "phone" (blush). My parents must be loving this ...

MOMENT: Phone from my Feet

I'm even more embarrassed to admit this story, but it's such a good one (and I'm confident in my overall parenting abilities) that I'm going to share it anyway. I was almost  finished what I was working at on the computer when Keva let me know her nap was over. I don't recall what I was focussed on, but it seemed important at the time. So, not wanting to neglect her (see? good parent), I went to rescue her right away. When she was engrossed in some independent play, I thought that I could quickly finish off what I'd been doing on the computer. She was immediately onto me ... she always knows when I sit down. Both my mobile and cordless phones were on the couch beside where I was working. She, of course, was instantly lured over to them. In a moment of weakness, I caved and dismissed her having the cordless phone in her hand. I just need one more minute. A moment or two later, I hear my cellphone ring. It wasn't on the couch, it'd fallen to the floor. When I grabbed it and answered I heard "hii-eee" in stereo. "Huh-huh". My daughter, sitting at my feet, my cordless phone to hear ear, looking up at me with pride. She'd called her mother. On the phone. No idea how, but I got the encrypted (and not-so-subtle) message. The computer was put away and we were phoneless and fancy free together in our living room ... well, right after I captured the moment after this life lesson from my daughter...

* note: Keva's wide-open mouth is her way of saying "yes"

Superheros

Tavish has been schooled in the world of superheroes at school. It's amazing how a child ill-exposed to television or pop culture in general can become an expert so quickly, but it's certainly happened. As parents, we are ill-equipped for this genre of stuff': no toys, books, apps or shows in our house. This might (groan) have to (sigh) change (gasp), but just a little...

MOMENT: Mighty Paper Heroes

It seems that Tavish's most informed friend in all things superhero, is Jacob. "Who knows the most about superheroes, Tavish?" "Jacob, he knows everything". I was at the school one day and said to Jacob "You know so much about superheroes." He smiled proudly (wearing a superman shirt and a red piece of material as a cape) and then said "Tavish knows almost as much as me now too!". From what I've seen and heard, Jacob has only ever been Superman. It's no wonder Tavish LOVES dressing up in costumes when he can, it's peer pleasure! Jacob dubbed Tavish 'Green Lantern' and boy did that stick...

At any point, I may turn into my superhero alter ego 

One evening while getting ready for bed, I heard something crinkle in Tavish's pants pocket. Tavish pulled back, smiled and said "can I show you something?". I was intrigued. He turned around to secretively and carefully pull something out of his pocket. He took his time and got it perfectly organized to show me. He spun back around with a bright smile on his face and had these in his hands...

At school, he had carefully torn out these pictures from the back of a magazine. He looked at me and asked sweetly "do you think this green one is Green Lantern, Mom?". He also said "Mommy, did you know that this Batman and Superman are lego?! I can tell by the feet. Batman and Superman lego!" The situation is pretty real, he fell asleep with these things in his bed that night and I overheard him playing with them in his room after stories. A few nights. They are still sitting in a bowl in his room. I don't think they still hold the same appeal, but he hasn't exactly parted with them either.Yeah, this superhero thing is a culture that permeates a young boy's life indeed. Wow.

Fine Dining

In response to the oft asked: "what's for dinner?", I've joked "I'm not sure, what have you made?" This usually elicits a chuckle, but one day, Tavish chuckled, paused, and then a wash of excitement came over him. Following another pause he said "but I can't use the big knives". "I can help you with anything that needs big knives. Is there something you'd like to make?" A final pause. "Yes, pasta!" And so ... it happened, our 4 year old made us all a pasta dinner ...

Stirring

Serving

Enjoying

MOMENT: Sous Chef Becomes Head Chef

A few days later, Tavish picked out the kind of pasta noodle he wanted (spaghetti) and helped select a few key ingredients at the grocery store. I drove him home and he took things from there. All I did to help was carry the pot of water to the stove, cut a few of the vegetables (carrots, celery, onion), and work with the ground beef. He even handled the garlic press largely on his own. Chef Tavish had everything under control. He served us our dinner with pride. Bon Appetite! It was delicious.

Boogie Boy

It was a nice break from solo parenting to take on dinner time with my friend Renee and our collective four children. (Both hubbies happened to be out of town for work.) Okay, so it's never 'restful', but it does make that evening pass more quickly and if you bravely opt to venture out, it leaves less meal time mess to clean up. We checked out a new local restaurant. It wasn't very busy, so the boys kicked up their heels ... literally.

"Any problem in the world can be solved by dancing."

- James Brown

MOMENT: Dance Like No One's Watching

And dance they did. Maksym got the party started, Tavish was quick to join, and Seb busted out some dancing shoes to boogie too. Keva sat this dance out, she was enjoying the last of her meal. It was a great time and the staff there were loving it and thanked us on the way out. No discount applied, but we weren't kicked out either, so we came out on top I'd say.



MOMENT: Baby Dance Moves

Keva's no stranger to dancing, as the above video may imply. She dances a lot...pretty much any time she hears music of any sort, she lets us know with her trademark moves. She even finds herself fairly entertaining. Sitting? Standing? No problem, she can move to the music!

Seek and You Will Find

When Mommy is away, the kids will play...

"Life is more fun if you play games."

- Roald Dahl

MOMENT: Ready Or Not, Here She Comes

While I was out one evening, the kids discovered a new game to play together. Tavish did the hiding. Keva did the seeking. Daddy captured the moment. Mommy shares it with you. Enjoy!

Simon

"No one has fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true educator should be to unlock the treasure."

- Emma Golman

When Tavish's class was created in October, there was another transition for Tavish and his young classmates to make. One boy, Simon, stood out. He is 3, doesn't speak much English, doesn't have any siblings, has never been away from his Mom, and was now in a class with different kids, a different teacher, and no Education Assistant. It was a lot for him. There were tears, shortened days, and his Mom having to stay with him when he was there. Tavish's teacher took this situation to be an opportunity to work on 'empathy' among Simon's classmates. It worked. It worked very, very well ...

"The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of
empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other."
- Meryl Streep

MOMENT: Kindness

Ms. T sent Tavish home with a sticker on his shirt that read "I was a caring friend today" on his second of third day in the new classroom. When I asked Tavish who he helped at school, the conversation went like this:

Mommy: Who was the friend you helped today?
Tavish: Simon. He's like a baby, but he's not a baby. He cries a lot.
Mommy: How did you help him?
Tavish: I did what I did for Keva. I say "shhh", I put my arm around him and I bring him toys
Mommy: Does Simon like that?
Tavish: Yes, it helps him to not cry and feel better

Day after day, stickers and positive comments from Ms. T have come home. "I helped to tidy up today". "I was kind to a friend today." "I was very helpful today." One day, she explained that she was going to run out of stickers and that she's never seen anything quite like this before with how helpful Tavish is with Simon.

I saw this play out myself when Keva and I showed up to the school for the Halloween parade. Tavish was in line with his classmates, holding Simon's hand. I thought he'd rush over to be with his 'digger', but I could tell he felt confident that he was where he needed to be. There was no letting go of Simon's hand either, I could tell that too. When I smiled in acknowledgement to Ms. T, she was quick to note that she didn't ask for this, but that Tavish just seems to know what Simon needs. Aw.

On more than one occasion, we've seen Simon with his Mom and when we say hello to them, she's quick to say (in broken English) "your son, it's your son, he so good! thank you! thank you for him!" or "Simon okay now. It's your boy. Thank you!" I'm pleased to report that Simon is now attending full days most of the time and, according to Tavish, doesn't cry anymore and his Mommy no longer has to stay with him.

Tavish and Simon waiting for the parade to start

Parading along hand in hand

"It's not so much the journey that's important; as is the way that we treat those
we encounter and those around us, along the way."

- Jeremy Aldana

Constructing Halloween

Tavish initially suggested he wanted to be a fire truck again this year. I had to think quickly on my feet. I knew it would be more cumbersome for him this year, so I came up with making Keva into some sort of vehicle to support his costume. (Yes, I'm going to try to get away with sibling costumes as long as they'll let me.) He liked it so the TK2 Construction Company Ltd was formed...

Foreman Tavish keeping safety a priority

Keva digging and steering clear of danger

TK2 Construction Ltd is a family company

MOMENT: It Takes a Whole Family...

There was a fair bit of sewing, taping, printing, and glueing that was required, but this construction crew was certainly equipped! Tavish and his buddy, Riley, had a good time trick or treating in the rain (with their Keva driven back-up vehicle) on our very festive street. We were surprised with the crowds - somewhere around 200 kids! We ran out of candy and blackened our home to still have a ringing doorbell. Kids take their candy seriously. Tavish does too, of course, but he can only have some of it (note: majority of candy contains either dairy or gluten). To get around this, and to support the reduction of unneeded amounts of candy, the "Switch Witch" visited Tavish. He was very excited with the mini granola bars, nuts, globe ball, and small lego kit he received in exchange for a bunch of his candy. Phew! Here's to hoping she can make an appearance for years to come...