Kid cuteness

Just a few notes from the week: first, I have often said that I could take a picture of Eric eating every day of his life and it would still be funny. This kid has an uncanny ability to get himself covered in anything he touches. Today it was chocolate cake. Check out this funny face:

Yum! Chocolate cupcakes!

Of course, he does things besides smear food all over his face. This week we're marveling at the fact that he has clearly started using two-word phrases - he's only 16 months old for Heaven's sake! All I can figure is that in this house you better start talking early and fast if you want to keep up.

As for Thomas, I would say that the most memorable moment of the week was when we visited Luca. Luca's still a little unsure about having these two crazy kids around, and this week we were at his house, so he was a bit shy. Our sweet boy went over to him, held his hand, encouraged him to play and played with him for a long time. I know his daycare teachers have told us about this sort of behavior in the past, but it was really fun to see it myself. I was wildly impressed.

More happening, of course, but it's time for bed. We've hired painters for next week - they're doing four rooms! - and now we have to get ready for them and André is sick. Better sleep while I can.

anniversary weekend

Just want to note that on Friday André and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We went to D'Arcy McGee's for dinner - with André's colleague Sharon & her husband - and then to the NAC to see 2 Pianos 4 Hands which we loved.

It seems completely crazy that we have only been together for 5 years - and known each other for a mere 6 1/2. We laugh about me moving continents, us buying a house, having two kids, etc. etc. It's been a busy time. For the record, there is no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with - busy or not.

And it was a good weekend. COLD (-28C on Sat!). But T & I went to skating lessons and then we had Lora & Luca over for a playdate. Thomas and André spent an HOUR outside in the frigid weather "shoveling the driveway" (André shoveled a lot.) This morning we had a playdate at Cosmic Adventure, I ran errands during nap, we were back out in the snow, and then this evening Christine came for dinner before she headed back to Oxford. Thomas is making jokes about "bakin' the bacon" and our chicken dinner being dinosaur poop. Eric is using two-word phrases and is suddenly fascinated by books. Both boys are lavish with their kisses and enthusiastic with their passions.

I live in a house full of love and wonder. May the next five years be as happy as these last ones.

(And when you read this, my love, thank you. You are my perfect match.)

waffles?

This morning Eric woke up at 5:30 - 5:30! Let's pause and consider how much later that is than 4:45. Ah, the wonders of sleeping 'til 5:30. But I digress. We hung out for a while, nursing, playing (on the xylophone - a subconscious attempt on his part to wake the rest of the house; with the dinosaur), making tea. Finally, I asked if he was hungry. "Yes" his little head went up and down. "Do you want food?" Another emphatic yes. So we headed into the kitchen and I began my morning offers:
Oatmeal? No.
Yogurt? Some hesitation, but no.
Cheese? No.
Various fruits? No, no and no.
Toast? No.
I tried yogurt again - got a definite no.

Now, in between my suggestions, Eric had been saying "Fff". And occasionally, "Fl fl". Finally, he said it again and squirmed out of my arms. "FFL." He grabbed my hand. "Ffl!" He led me across the kitchen, through the baby gate and into the back room. "Ffl!" He patted the waffle iron.

And we had waffles for breakfast.

Smart kid :)

(Side note: we'd planned to have waffles for breakfast, and specifically we planned buttermilk cornmeal waffles. I may never go back to regular old: they were delicious!)

learning new words at age 3 1/2

For the past few weeks I've noticed Thomas carefully, and almost constantly, creating his own personal cache of words and phrases. He repeats new things quietly under his breath after I say them or read them. Sometimes he says them once, sometimes he repeats them a few times right away or quietly over the course of the next few minutes. Occasionally he asks me what something means, but most of the time it's just Thomas, learning.

I love it.

Try, try again

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've decided I'm ready to try blogging again. Last time I got a little caught up in thinking about my audience & eventually writing became a burden - yes, even though my audience is pretty much exclusively family & friends. But I still have all these things I want to say - and now that the boys are 16 months & 3 1/2 I might even be able to get a few things down now and then. Mostly I just want to record some observations - and I want a place to be able to hold on to the memories of specific moments, to be able to vent or brag or just record. So, I've changed the name of the blog to something a little broader (and dang funny, thanks goes to André for that), and here we go again. Let's see what happens.

Word Play

Thomas' ability with words is often remarked upon. I won't even pretend that I don't get giddy with pride every time this occurs.

Some recent examples:

When I get Thomas up in the morning I dress him before breakfast. While this does have the disadvantage of allowing him to get his clothes messy before school, he's usually inclined to cooperate when clothes stand between him and food. Not so much when clothes are the obstacle between him and school (which he hates going to ... and leaving).

One morning I arrived in his room and the first words out of his mouth were, "Daddy, I'm a butterfly." I replied, "Oh, that's nice, and why are you a butterfly?" Him: "Because butterflies don't wear clothes."

That same day, he finished dinner before Mandy and I and he wanted to play. Mandy told him that we would play with him "after we were done eating." He fixed Mandy with a hard glare and said "Then stop eating."

Today I was getting him ready for bed and said, to help set expectations, "Thomas, we're going to read two stories before we turn the lights out and nuggle." Without looking up from the legos with which he was playing he cheerfully replied, "Okay, two it is."

* nuggle = snuggle

Things to remember while pumpkin picking

 

1. Bring Grandpa Dave
2. Invite lots of friends
3. Ride behind a tractor!

Paco, Sofia, Thomas, Grandpa Dave, Finn and Mary on the "hayride"

(Raina, Rosie & Benoit were also there!)

4. Bring extra clothes in case you decide to run into a giant mud puddle...

...with your friend Finn.

5. Choose your pumpkin carefully.

6. Recover from the hard work with ginger cookies & apple cider.