It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

It all begins with a tree ... and some Santa hats.

MOMENT: O Christmas Tree

The trek to the nearby market to select our tree has become a bit of a tradition, it seems. So too has wearing silly Santa hats while decorating it...

Team Trumpet

Tom's trumpet has made a comeback...

MOMENT: Team Tooting - Take II

It was long ago that we discovered Tom's HS trumpet and showed it to Tavish. His ability to blow air has come a long way since then (Toot Your Horn - May, 2011). Here we are, a year and a half later (almost 1/2 of Tavish's life), and once again the trumpet emerged for some play time. Turns out, Tavish may have inherited his father's tune tooting abilities after all.

Half a Year: Our 6 Month Old

At 6 months of age, Keva is officially a real smiler and a mover. Half a year already?! (sniff) 

MOMENT: Our Blue-Eyed Girl

Although the roll overs have pretty much ground to a halt, Keva still manages to make her way around a blanket on the floor. She has found her feet, likes hanging out on her tummy, and is making funny faces and imitating sounds. Her eye-hand coordination is excellent. She already recognizes some signs (milk, sleep) and can search out her immediate family when she hears their names. Oh, and her 'spike' has grown to a full-fledged comb over and no one has ever worn it better than she does...

The Start to Sitting

No, Keva's nowhere near sitting unassisted, but one has to start somewhere...

MOMENT: Timber!

She gets so excited when she's upright. She doesn't seem to mind falling over from it either. One would assume that would foster the desire to sit upright on her own. Try though we ... er, um ... I mean 'she' might (or might not), there's no sitting yet. But, practicing is part of the fun for everyone, right? Well, everyone except perhaps for Tavish at this particular moment we captured anyway...

Look Mom, Two Hands!

Mercifully, she still loves the bottle and my, does it show!

MOMENT: No Assistance Required

Apparently, old habits fade slowly. I continue to remain concerned that one day Keva will just stop accepting the bottle. Just because it's what happened with Tavish, does not mean that history will repeat. Although she is rarely offered one, her eagerness is just so ... obvious ...

Caged in a Nest

I have an Uncle who gets up early, so to avoid disturbing the slumber of my Aunt, he retreats to his 'nest'. This 'nest' is basically another place to nap or sneak a few winks without bothering anyone. Turns out, Tavish had a similar idea on his own except that he referred to it as a 'cage'. It seems that being captive in his 'cage' actually led to him having (gasp) a wee-nap! Cage, nest, bed - hey, whatever works for getting a bit of much needed (but often avoided) sleep...

MOMENT: Nest construction

To build this nest, Tavish made use of some local bedroom supplies and one key piece from the far off bathroom. Who knew that the bath ramp we use in the tub for Keva would make such a comfy bed for a pre-schooler? He thought of everything - toys, books, pillows, a chair and blankets...and was exhausted enough after building it to actually get some shut eye. Caged in a nest? Perfect.

Construction Culmination

For what seems like a long, long time - our conclusion about the construction on our street was that it would never be finished. However, amid snow flurries, plummeting temperatures and continued traffic craziness, the job seems to be coming closer to a close... at least until the spring (sigh).

Supervising the hose-thawing work 

Just when we thought the construction season was over...

MOMENT: Construction Fatigue

It was a Friday morning and I pulled back the curtain in our bedroom to what I assumed was the pinnacle of the construction action. The diggers were in full force digging a massive hole into the yards of our neighbours promising that ours would be next. All of this amid buses, garbage trucks and plenty of loud noises. I instantly called Tavish over - he was sure to be elated with this spectacle. I was wrong. He looked for a moment, said "huh", then was quickly distracted by the regular events of our morning. I was astounded and concerned. Tom seemed to sympathize with Tavish, "it's construction fatigue, Kath". Aw. He did perk back up again later and the frozen hose (that delivered water to our house for about 4 months) adventure did stimulate renewed interest. Phew! Without toddler excitement, living with constant construction is just down right inconvenient!