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