Storyteller

This is a Tavish-told tale of two books. These are his current favourites. The best part, he likes reading these stories to us - complete with sound effects and enthusiasm. Neither story is terribly short, clearly videoed, nor are they perfectly audible if you're coming in cold - but this storyteller is worth giving a listen just the same.

MOMENT: Cranky Bear



The general gist: a lion, zebra, moose and sheep find a cave with a cranky bear. They decide to cheer him up by giving him antlers, a mane and stripes. There is roaring then a thoughtful sheep who makes the bear a pillow from it's wool so it can sleep. Aw.

* distracted videographer at the start, the quality improves...






MOMENT: No Sleep for the Sheep



The general gist: a sheep goes to sleep in a 'big red barn on the farm', but is waken by a series of animal visitors. 'Go to sleep says the sheep' politely every time 'please don't (oink, quack, neigh etc) anymore'. In the end, the rooster wakes them all, except for the sleepy sheep. Yawn.

* poor lighting, but the story is told so well!

The Bedford Band

This is a glimpse at our rough beginning as a family band. Please pardon the absence of rhythm, pitch and tone. Maybe this will be worth millions some day? To stay focused, we remember that we'll never be worse than we are right now (practice makes perfect).

MOMENT: Playing our Instruments all Together

There have been some recent additions to Tavish's musical collection of the harmonica, shakers and our bear bells from canoe tripping. My childhood ukulele from Hawaii was delivered in person by my Mom on her recent visit. Tavish loves this 'gee-tar'. A quick trip to the Dollar store expanded his instruments to include a recorder and a tamborine. The rest is Bedford Band history...

Fiddle-dee-dee

We biked to a free kids concert during the annual Tulip Festival. Chris McKhool's "FiddleFire" was phenomenal! They played a wide range of music with the violin/fiddle, piano, bass and drums. Tavish was enthusiastically 'playing' all of the instruments and joined in by clapping along and dancing too.

MOMENT: "A Violin Sings, A Fiddle Dances" - unknown

Tavish air 'played' most of the instruments he saw, but seemed most drawn to 'playing' the violin/fiddle. We learned these two instruments are the same, but are named based on the type of music they are playing. Huh. Either way, he's a natural!

Rock Around the Clock

The cuteness of this video speaks for itself ...

MOMENT: Dance Like No One's Watching



FLASHBACK: Early Moves and Moans

When Grandpa Mike provided us with the above video clip he took, he also included some old footage. This is Tavish circa November 15, 2009 at the whopping age of 7.5 months - a year and a half ago. It was a time when he was on the cusp of crawling, teeth were appearing and sounds were forming. Oh, and he was chubby and had substantially less hair. Aw.

Game Time

"When I grow up, I want to be a little boy"
- Joseph Heller

MOMENT: Chase and Chuckle

The Richardson's came over for dinner one night. While the adults and baby Lucy hung out at the table, Sam and Tavish entertained themselves. They invented their own game that involved the precise hanging of a shirt, some chasing, a whole lot of chuckling with some manners thrown in. The excitement went on with intense enthusiasm for a long, long time. Indeed, the best in-house entertainment you could ask for on a Friday night.

Toot your Horn

Daddy pulled out his trusty (and a little dusty) trumpet and teamed up with the toddler to make music. They claim to be pretty good, but they do like to blow their own horn. Ha.

MOMENT: Tavish play that?

Someone pointed out to me once that Tavish generally talks in questions. His voice almost always goes up at the end of a sentence. Here is some proof to that observation when Tavish's statement is delivered as a question: "Tavish play that?" Evidently, pushing keys is fun and all, but blowing into the horn has its appeal too.



MOMENT: Blow and Tell

See our son blow his horn then take off to trumpet to Grandpa Mike about it ...

Eager for Easter

Easter is even more fun with an eager toddler craft making, bunny print following and nature walking ...

MOMENT: Chick and Bunny

Crafting a chick for Grandpa Mike was a big hit for Tavish. He was especially excited that both hands were traced. He was also pretty excited about going to Grandpa's and that the Easter Bunny was coming.



MOMENT: Let Me Spell That Out For You

This festive craft provided an opportunity for Tavish to demonstrate his signature abilities and to showcase his spelling. It was indeed a happy Easter.



MOMENT: Tracking the Bunny

Tavish is a rookie at this, but he did manage to follow the Easter bunny trail to some treats ... with the odd "hi Ellwood" distraction. Fair enough, a dog can be a pretty exciting site to see in the morning. :)



MOMENT: Forest Frolick

We made use of the land out at Grandpa's to explore. Seems we have a mini adventurer on our hands, Tavish was impressed by flowers, interested in 'baby' trees growing next to their parent, intrigued by deer poo and keen to keep on trekking.