Mommy's Little Helper

I guess it's a classic case of "monkey-see, monkey-do" ...

MOMENT: The Lure of Laundry

It seems that our little fella likes to keep on top of the laundry. He's quick to lend a helping hand by getting it out of his room and into ours. I wonder if he'd be eager to use the washing machine too? Hmmm, tempting ...

Friend & Food?

Tavish's ability to communicate by animal sound has proven to be an asset at the table. He is not too chicken to say what he wants ...

MOMENT: Bok-Bok-Bok

Tom and I were serving chicken the other night. Tavish liked it. He asked for "more" in his sign language. Tom clarified: "you'd like more chicken?". Tavish paused pensively. "Bok, bok?" Tom replied: "yes, chicken. Here you go". Next thing we know, our communicating protege says "more bok, bok pees". Hope it's not too early for Tavish to accept that his chicken friends are fun and tasty!?

Halloween Happiness

Halloween has indeed found a fan in Tavish. He went bananas over it, which makes sense ... he was a monkey! (har, har) He participated in the preparation of the pumkin, added sound effects to the costume and paraded with pride.



MOMENT: Pumpkin Pleasure

"Gum-pa-geh" is now a household favourite for Tavish. I guess that the pumpkin was a labour of love for him. It's beginning to overstay it's welcome, but I don't think Tavish will accept that. I thought I was brilliant to take it outside with us today to play with the intention of leaving it there. Tavish would have none of it - he refused snacks inside after demanding it, only to bring pumpkin to the door with a smile. A good little problem solver - he can have his pumpkin and eat with it too! (sigh). Guess it all started when he spent time in scooper heaven:



Then came the joys of being a poker face. Tom cut out the face in wee-pieces so Tavish could poke the pieces in or pull them out. The whole thing became a homemade shape sorter. After every piece was put into the pumpkin, he wanted "more":



Posing with "Gum-pa-geh" has been easy, he'd hug it all the time if he could. It has been lit and enjoyed with every meal since Saturday. Tavish even helps Daddy blow it out. Not too sure Tavish will take its absence well. Here's a wee-tribute to the soon-to-be-late Gum-pa-geh:







MOMENT: Marching Monkey

Tavish the Trooper or Marching Monkey? Both. He was a trooper and a marcher on the brisk neighbourhood parade and potluck. It was a chilly one. Note the thickness of the costume - there were a lot of layers under that monkey suit!

BOO!

To help introduce Halloween, we read "Halloween Faces" that Grandma gave Tavish for Halloween this year along with last year's "10 Trick-or-Treaters". So far, I'd say that Tavish is catching on and finds this holiday pretty entertaining ...





MOMENT: Ack! Eek! (hehehe)

The first time I read "10 Trick-or-Treaters" yesterday, Tavish went into hysterics. To share the funny with Daddy, I read it last night to before bed and we caught it on video. A little less funny than the first 20 or so times I read it, but seemingly still enjoyable. Happy (almost) Halloween.



Thanks to these festive books, Tavish started pointing out "gum-pa-kins" on our walk and can now identify skeletons, vampires, witches and ghosts ...

MOMENT: Boo for Baby

Tavish refers to everyone under the age of 5ish as "baby". However, there appears to be one special "baby" simply called Baby. You may have noticed Baby in the video? He discovered her in a drawer of random hand-me-down toys in his room awhile back. Now she is in his crib with him most of the time when he's in there playing and/or sleeping. This morning I opened Tavish's door to see him reading "10 Trick-or-Treaters" to Baby and heard him say "Boo!". Sure enough, he was on the page with the ghost. Certainly the funniest start to my morning in a long, long time. Oh, here's a photo of Baby ... probably self-explanatory that Baby was a hand-me-down from a friend's daughter?



We are looking forward to our neighbourhood Halloween Parade and Potluck on Sunday. No doubt, an entry to commemorate it will follow. Hmm, wonder if Baby should join us? BOO!

Slip Sliding Away

Until recently, if we are at a playground and there are seagulls or squirrels to be found - Tavish is following them. However, the simple slide has garnered smiles and several squeals of delight as of late as well. Fun.



MOMENT: Wee! Heehee! (repeat)

Move aside, Tavish has discovered the slide! He climbs up to the top of any and every slide without reservation. Even the twirly swirly ones designed for "big kids". If he can get up to the top (with or without help) he'll go down to the bottom - a smile while sliding, a laugh at the landing and some "more" signing when walking back. Ahh, the joys of the slide. When I join him, I can feel all kinds of unimportant stuff slip sliding away. Wee! Heehee!

All Fun and Games

No really, it is. We're a funny, funny family and we like to play games. We're pretty sure we've always had this much fun, but Tavish seems to really, really enjoy the games lately ...

MOMENT: Funny, Funny Daddy

This is not the first time we've witnessed hysteria around here, but it is the first time it's been caught on camera. I challenge you to remain straight-faced through this video. Consider yourself warned, what's going on here is highly contageous ... in a funny sort of way. haha.

Say What?

He's talking! Well, okay ... not 'talking-talking' but he's well on his way to clear and accurate communication with, um ... er, well - animals. Lots and lots of animals ...

MOMENT: Talking is for the birds

Tavish often gives a blank stare (or, the stink-eye) to new people. I guess he has a 'shy' streak? Nah, doubt it as this 'shyness' is pretty quickly put aside when I ask: "Tavish, what does a cow say?". He does sometimes hold steady on the blank stare though when he's simply not up for connecting nor impressing. Most of the time though, he is up for it and is keen with the long "mooooooooooooooo" followed by a huge smile. For some reason, he is extra pleased with himself when he immitates a cow. From here it moves onto chickens, ducks, snakes, owls, dogs and more - depending on how interested the stranger is and how many animals Mommy can remember. To be fair, his repertoire of animal sounds has become quite extensive. As a result, this 'show and tell' conversation could be quite a lengthy presentation that perhaps isn't for everyone so I try to exercise discretion. If you're reading this though, then it probably is for you so I'm throwing discretion to the wind. So, although the video below is missing some sound effects, you get to witness some of Tavish's animal talk without the risk of being delivered the stink-eye! Enjoy.