The Junior Chronicles

Annual photo

2010-11-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to Santa's workshop at one of the local malls. There were gingerbread houses and balloon animals. It was a good time. It was also the arrival of Santa. So along with all the other fun, we had an early chance to see the big guy in red.

As long as he will be willing, I hope to get an annual picture of the jellybean and Santa. Can you believe this is his fourth Christmas?!? This fourth one was good. The Santa was awesome. The jellybean looks a little unsure, but he was really excited to see Santa. I wasn't really prepared for the fact that I was going to be a part of the picture, but hey. What ever works.

Photo happy

2010-10-08T19:53:00.005-04:00

Well I don't know if you know, but Marty bought me a beautiful camera for getting my PMP, our anniversary and my birthday for the next 50 years. I still have a whole lot to learn, but here are some of my favorites. And I have a pretty good subject too!

We went camping a few weekends back. I didn't get any good shots. This one isn't great but I like the fact that he is kissing me even though he was screaming that he didn't want to get his picture taken.

Last weekend we went apple picking. Well, there weren't any apples on the trees, but we still had lots of fun with some friends. It was a great afternoon and had lots of awesome photo opportunities. The last shot is of our friends daughter stretching her little fingers to try and grab an apple out the giant bins.

This was Kevin and Sabrina's little guys birthday party. The best, most gorgeous day of the whole summer. In September.

Well, you don't really need to know much about this shot, do you?

These are two of my favorite shots. We were playing with the giant bubble wand in the back yard and I fluked into these two pictures. Now if I can only figure out how to accomplish this more frequently instead of one in every thousand!

A Summer Day

2010-07-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

Take a beautiful summer day, add good friends, a cottage in the 1000 Islands and a two hours trip on the boat. What do you get? Two very crispy people (me and the hubby) and a three year old that is so exhausted today he can't seem to handle anything.

But I digress. Here are some pics of one of the best days this summer so far. We can't thank J. and M. enough for inviting us. If only we could do this for weeks at a time.

So this was the view for the day.

The jellybean got to play with some of the boys' giant water blasters. This one was actually too heavy for him if filled completely.

The jellybean and I took a tour on the tube. I got to go on by myself too. Way fun.

Sabs and the fam were there too. We were having fun taking pictures. I love this colour feature on our rinky dink camera.

And I love this picture. It really reminds me on the pictures my parents took of basically nothing more than a moment in time. Most of the pictures of my childhood look a lot like this.

Just as we were going to head back to the main land, a huge storm blew in. Sucks when you are forced to stay longer with friends you only get to see once in a while! The sun broke through again and we were able to get onto the boat for one last ride. The jellybean had a great day, and our water baby found out another way to enjoy the water. On top of it at high speed.

I really hope this turns out to be a yearly visit.

Ya Deutschland!

2010-07-03T22:22:00.000-04:00

3 Years Old

2010-05-27T21:43:00.001-04:00

Dear jellybean,

A month has already gone by since you blew out the candles on your awesome Spiderman birthday cake. Time just seems to slip past us. The past three years attest to that. There is so much to say, and I have no idea where to start.

You've recently had a growth spurt of sorts and are now more than half taller than me. Soon it will be too difficult to pick you up. I don't look forward to that day. You still are a great eater, but dinner time can be a painful test of patience as it can take up 45 minutes for you to finish your plate. You finish it, which is great. But it would be nice if we could leave the table a little earlier.

You have become a mommy's boy. Much to the chagrin of Daddy. You tend to want me to do everything for you. I am trying very hard to encourage you to do things by yourself, and let you let Daddy do stuff too. It's a work in progress.

Potty training is still in the works. You will go a week with no accidents and then have three in one day. But only with pee. You are a pooping in the potty expert, for which we are very grateful!

You still aren't a very physical guy. You tend to stumble and trip over your feet every once in a while. You are hesitant to try new things like the scooter or tricycle. I know you would love them if you just tried, but I am trying not to force you into anything you don't want to do. Like swimming. We'll try that again in a few months.

You love to play with your friends but have learned to do independent play. Considering you are an only child, this is great. But you often come up and say "Will you play with me Mommy?" Which just melts my heart. How can I say no? You are a super hero fanatic. If it were up to you, you would watch anything to do with super heroes all day and play anything to do with super heroes all night. Your favorites at the moment are Superman, Buzz Lightyear and Ironman. Red is your favorite colour. I don't know why, but I love the fact that you have a favorite colour.

Your language skills are still way ahead of the curve. Now you like to sing your own little songs. Most of them have to do with you butt, farting and booger-nuggets. You are a boy.

At the moment you choose whining as your form of communication. We are not a fan of this and are trying to figure out how to get you back to using your words. And if you aren't whining you seem to be crying. Put both together and you have a set of parents with very little patience sometimes. We try to remind ourselves that it is only a phase and we all have to work together to get through it.

You have a daily job to help out with the household: you feed Stinky. You give her a big scoop first thing in the morning and at supper time. I like giving you a responsibility and sense of being a contributing part of the household.

So there you have it. Three years old. Mommy and Daddy love you more than would seem possible. You our are lives and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I love you jellybean.

Mommy

March and April

2010-04-11T20:27:00.005-04:00

I know I know. I have been ignoring this blog. It's terrible really. But here is a whole whack of photos from the past couple of months. From stuff around the house to going to the sugar shack to Easter at the sister's. It's all jellybean, all the time!

First up: one of the fun nights we spent at Winterlude festivities. Jellybean had a grand ol' time and so did we!

Super Jellybean!

Playing in the rain.

Best friends.

On the hay ride going tot he sugar shack with his new best girlfriend.

Checking out the horse.

Feeding the goats.

Painting Easter eggs.

Morning Easter egg hunt.

Blowing bubbled with Daddy.

There you have it. The past couple of months in pictures. Hope you all had just as much fun!

The engineer

2010-02-24T13:52:00.001-05:00

Our little engineer.

Happy Birthday Nanna, Take One

2009-12-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

A visit with Santa

2009-11-29T07:07:00.001-05:00

Friday I picked the jellybean up early and we went on an adventure. We were going to see Santa. This year, we decided to visit a different Santa. Last year, was a bit of a disaster, if you remember. The Santa at Bayshore Center came highly recommended. So we braved Friday afternoon traffic and drove across the city. We were also meeting my friend D. and her daughter Q.

At first he was excited, and then he got scared. He flip flopped back and forth. I thought maybe if Q. went first he might see that it was all OK. Well, he was a little nervous. No way was he going to sit on Santa's lap. Santa shifted over and asked if the jellybean wanted to sit on Mommy's lap next to him. He was good with that. And then Jiggles, one of Santa's awesome helpers (seriously, Jingles and Peppermint were top notch) asked if the jellybean would sit on her lap next to Santa. He said yes! Ladies man already.

So here you have the Christmas 2009 picture. It seems to help when you have a really nice Santa and some great elves.

And yesterday morning the jellybean helped me put up the Christmas lights outside. The Christmas season has officially begun in our household. A full two weeks before it usually does. I think I am in need of a little Christmas cheer.

Family portrait

2009-11-16T07:58:00.002-05:00

This is the first family portrait done by the jellybean. I'll keep it forever.

Potty Training Update

2009-10-04T10:51:00.001-04:00

Well yesterday was a complete write off but today we have had two successful pees in the potty! The jellybean was so excited I could help but laugh. The little dance he does is ridiculously cute. We will definitely have to get that on video.

Bonus, the jellybean insists that I get a Smartie candy when he does. Sweet!

Potty Training

2009-10-01T16:53:00.001-04:00

It would seem that we are potty training.

We've tried a few times, making the jellybean sit on the potty, but we weren't trying very hard. Considering that he doesn't tell you when he has pooped his pants and just flat out refuses to sit on the potty most of the time, I figured he just wasn't ready.

Then I picked up the jellybean at daycare on Monday to find out that his little friend B. is now in underwear. I thought that maybe they could do this together. Then on Tuesday I find out that his little girlfriend G. is starting to use the potty as well. And finally yesterday the hubby comes home to tell me that the jellybean got a Smartie. A Smartie for having peed on the potty. So it looks like we are potty training.

I have no idea what I am doing. I am completely relying on Delia's expertise and direction on this. I hadn't read anything about it, just assuming that we had a while before getting the process going. So off to WalMart to buy some underwear. How is it that you go into WalMart to buy some underwear and come out with two giant bags of stuff? But I digress.

Now we have underwear, we have Smarties and we have a potty. Delia is going to start in earnest tomorrow and I will continue on the weekend. Well, Saturday morning it isn't going to happen because friends will be babysitting while I am on the picket line, but the rest of the weekend we will stay at home and I will try and potty train. It will be all me since the hubby is off to Toronto for a stag. I am not getting my hopes up too high. I think it will be a long drawn out process, not entirely convinced that he is ready for it. But I guess we had to start at some point, right?

Interpretive Dance

2009-09-08T18:44:00.004-04:00

Not having been home for several weekends in a row, we were really happy to have a long weekend at home with nothing planned. It ended up being really busy, worth several posts actually. But we will start with the one thing that the jellybean is still talking about.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a sign at our local mall advertising that Toopy and Binoo were going to be at the mall. For those that don't know, Toopy and Binoo are cartoon characters from a show of the same name. Toopy is a rat (or is it mouse?) with a stuffed friend called Binoo who is a cat (I think) and they go on imaginary adventures that last about 5 minutes. The jellybean loves them. LOVES. THEM. So when I saw the sign, I thought "Gold! I'll be the best Mommy ever."

I told the jellybean's girlfriend Dimples' mom about it and we all decided that this should be a family affair.

Here they are in anticipation.

This is when they finally saw them.

Here are the stars on stage.

And here are the real stars of the show. Toopy and Binoo were rocking it on stage, but the jellybean and Dimples were totally rocking out in the crowd. They were truly the stars of the day.

Buttons

2009-09-03T21:16:00.000-04:00

Mom had a tin of buttons when I was a kid. She was a big sewer and kept every button that fell of a piece of clothing or that she found. It was a pretty big tin, well at least to a five year old. I have some really fond memories of playing with those buttons. I can vividly remember what some of them looked like, even the feel of them. I spent hours and hours running my fingers through the tin, sorting the buttons into size, or colour, or shape, or which ones I liked best.

Today the jellybean found my pitiful little Mason jar of buttons. There are maybe a couple of dozen buttons in it, nothing special, no gems. But he wanted to play with them. So I took the jar to the front steps, where we seem to spend most of our before dinner time these days. At first he stuck his little hand in the jar and pulled out one button and a time, turning it over in his hand and showing it to me. "Look at this one!"

Then he dumped them all onto my lap. We were out there for a good hour playing with the buttons, lining them up or making button towers. It was a fight to get him in for supper, only won by promising more button play after supper. I figured he would forget but as soon as the last bite was chewed, he asked for the buttons again. So back out on the front porch for another hour before bath time. He even had to bring some in the bath.

I love that he seems so taken with playing with buttons. It's a silly little thing, but it's something that I loved as a kid and I am glad to have this to share with him.

From the mouth of babes

2009-09-02T20:35:00.003-04:00

For a while now I've wanted to post the funny things that the jellybean says on a regular basis. The words that he wraps his little tongue around with difficulty, and the new words he creates to mean something, which we have to continuously guess at. I've been wanting to do this for months, thinking all the time of all the cute and funny little things he says. Now I find myself with a little time on my hands to do it, and I can't think of any of the things I wanted to write down for prosperity.

Maybe if I start writing they will come to me.

Biddy/Blanky: He used to call his special blanket Biddy. It is now Blanky. I liked Biddy better.
Popcorn-corn-on-cob: corn
Pop-key-cewl: popsicle
Beyey: Belly
Garietta: Gabriella
I yah yew: I love you (my personal favorite)
Diosaur: Dinosaur
Tiger Movie: Madagascar (The first one. The second has guns.)
Peas: Please
Sca-wee: Scarry

I know there are tonnes more. I'll try and write them as I remember them.

A week at the cottage

2009-08-18T21:34:00.001-04:00

Last week at the cottage meant a lot of things.

Making sand castles with uncles.

Going for a paddle.

Snuggling with Nana.

Doing goofy stuff in the water.

Eating lunch at the lake.

Watching some movies.

Playing with the dog.

We even got to take a great family photo.

This is what we want people to believe.

This is what it's really like.

It was a great week and already looking forward to next year.

A perfect cottage day

2009-08-14T08:13:00.002-04:00

Started today with a paddle with Marty and the jellybean. The lake was like a mirror. The sun just coming up over the trees and it's strength just starting to be felt on my cheeks.

Back to the cottage, into our bathing suits and playing in the water. The hubby making sand castles with the jellybean. Me and Max making sand art out of stones and snail shells.

Left over spaghetti for lunch. Marty volunteering to put Max down for nap and stay up at the cottage so that I can go down to the lake. Sitting in the sun, reading my book, I look up to see that the resident loons have graced me with their presence. They grant me a little trill before diving down and out of sight. I jump into the water when I get too hot.

Max wakes up and he and the hubby come down to the lake. The afternoon spent in the water, playing, swimming, knocking down sand castles, singing silly songs.

Barbecued steak and potatoes for dinner. Strawberry and rhubarb pie for desert. The day ends with snuggling with the jellybean until he falls asleep.

Campfire and roasted marshmallows. Falling asleep to the sound of the loons cry.

Wake up tomorrow and repeat.

Canada Day in the Capital

2009-07-04T19:36:00.001-04:00

We were supposed to be heading down to Kingston to spend Canada Day at water's front with a bunch of friends. When the weather was crap, we all decided that we would call it off. And when it started to pour rain at about 8am, I was thankful for our decision. And then it stopped raining. And it started to get warm. And the sun would peek from the clouds now and then and sizzle you. So instead of sitting around the house all day, what did we decide to do? Head over to Parliament Hill.

If you like throngs of people, over priced food and the fear of loosing your kids, then Canada Day in the Capital is the place for you!

We mostly stayed in Major's Hill Park, where it wasn't shoulder to shoulder. We had some pizza, listened to some music, walked around a bit, tried not to loose Max and people watched.

We tried to get up on the Hill but it was impossible. So we headed home. On the walk home we saw this:

The Snow Birds passed over a couple of times actually. It was really cool. What did Max see?

The excitement had just tuckered him out. We ended the day with a pop in at our friends Meredith and Ron, which turned out to us spending the afternoon and having dinner, after playing on their home made slip and slide (using dish soap). It was a blast. Though we would have loved spending the day with our TO friends, this was a good way to spend it too.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T21:10:00.002-04:00

A very happy Father's Day to all the father's and father friends in my life.

A lucky son

2009-06-12T08:29:00.001-04:00

Max doesn't know it yet, but he is a really lucky guy to have Marty as his father. There are tones of reasons, but at the moment I'd say one of the biggies is that Marty is a teacher.

No matter what they are playing at, Marty some how makes it into some sort of learning fun. Whether it is language, numbers, colours or letters, Marty's brain is going full tilt with teaching that it spills over into his play time with Max and I think that's awesome. Max is going to learn so much over the summer, I'm so excited for him.

I know when he is a teenager Max is going to hate that his father is a teacher, because Marty'll be on him about school work and stuff, but for the moment I am going to enjoy the blissful ignorance of a two year old and his lucky fortune.

Free food Miss? Um, yah!

2009-06-12T08:28:00.001-04:00

It would seem that if you blog for long enough, PR companies get whiff of you and give you free stuff. Now I will never be the caliber of blog that gets free cameras or car seats or trips to Disney (yep, there are mommy bloggers out there that get these things on a pretty regular basis). But if someone is going to offer me free food, my answer will pretty much always be: Heck yah!

Recently I was asked if I wanted to try and possibly review new meats that Presidents Choice is offering, as well as some other new food products.

First up: Memories of Dad's Grill: Maple, Apple & Beer Sauce. This stuff is good. We have used it several times on pork tenderloins on the barbecue and love it. It's got a really nice flavour, not too sweet, so it doesn't't burn on the grill; major bonus. It's now going to be a stand by when I don't have time to do marinades or rubs.

Second up: PC's tender and tasty grilling stake and the new Steak Spice Marinade. Again, this stuff is good. The steak is huge, a great price (the ones I bought were under $6.00) and either Canada AAA or USDA Choice grade. It would be nicer to see that they only use canadian beef, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. We are huge fans of Montreal steak spice, so to find it in a marinade was sweet. We marinated the stakes over night and Marty slapped them up on the barbecue. Yummo! The steak was nice and tender and tasty and the marinade gave it a great bite. Max even ate a chunk, and he is never fond of just meat (meaning not mixed with something else). During grilling season, this marinade will be another stand by in our fridge.

So enjoy your grilling season. Hopefully we will finally get some weather where we won't have to grill in touque and mitts and will actually be able to eat on the deck outside!

Disclosure: I was sent these items with no obligation to review. No other monetary compensation was given.

First Kiss

2009-06-02T13:01:00.001-04:00

This morning after I had kissed my boys, said my good-byes and have a nice days, Max came up to me and said: "Mommy, can I have a kiss?"

Cue heart melting. It's the first time he aske dme for a kiss. Today is going to be a good day.

2 Years Old

2009-05-15T19:32:00.001-04:00

Dear Maxim,

You are two years old. Holy cow, when did that happen? When did you go from being a little baby to a little boy? And a little boy you are!

You love to roar like a dinosaur. You love to watch bugs and try so hard to pick up ants with your little fingers. You still prefer to eat with said fingers rather than using a spoon or fork, but you are getting better at it. Keeping true to yourself, you are still a really good eater. There isn’t much you turn your nose up at, but cooked peppers and zucchini. You love all fruits and could eat your weight in “nanas” if we let you.

Walking and running come easy you now. You still aren’t much into climbing things, but are starting to explore a bit more. You are attempting to jump too, which is the cutest thing ever. You can now go up the stairs on the play structure at the park all by yourself. And your favourite thing to do at the park is to sit up in the little house and “make muffins.”

You language skills blow daddy and mommy away. It isn’t very often that we don’t understand what you are saying. You have been speaking in full sentences for a few months now and to hear “Can I have a cracker please Mommy?” is normal in our household. You talk to your toys and animals in your own little language and even laugh at your own jokes. Your favourite things to play with at the moment are your race track from your cousin Mitch (whom you adore) and Play-Doh. You still like to read books and now are starting to sing songs. Singing “Down By The Bay” with Mommy makes her smile and laugh. It’s one of her favourite things to do with you.

You love to be outside. We have planted a runner bean together and you run to it every day to see if “bean grow?” You always want to go walking up and down the street to visit certain houses. Karl’s across the street to smell the flowers; Allison and Daryl’s to visit Milo and if you’re lucky go inside and play the piano; and Jenn and Jim’s to play with your two buds Xander and Mason. You often cry when we have to go home, and we end up carrying you under our arms.

Speaking of crying, you are a crier. And a whiner. Some days mommy and daddy have a hard time listening to it. You aren’t the best at listening to mommy and daddy when we are trying to talk to you, especially if you are playing with your “boys” or watching TV. You even push us out of the way sometimes when we interrupt you. These are the times you end up with time outs, which you don’t like one bit. We have witnessed a couple of full fledge, fling on the floor tantrums. Those are tough on mommy and daddy but we are trying to figure it all out.

Would we want it any other way? Never. Daddy and Mommy are constantly amazed by you and can’t wait to see what new and fun things you discover.

I love you my jellybean.

Mommy

From Baby to Boy

2009-05-11T21:52:00.001-04:00

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. I hope you had a few moments to yourself, and was smothered with love and appreciation for how truly wonderful you are.

I was woken up (after a lovely sleep in) by Max carrying the card that he made at daycare. And he actually gave it to me! He usually says that his crafts are "mine!" but this time he gave it over freely. And I loved it.

Saturday was more my day then Sunday. A morning hike with two of my closest friends turned into lunch which turned into shopping and me getting home at dinner time! Love Marty for going with the flow and being OK with me going AWOL.

Sunday was family day. Morning at the park with the dog (it was bloody cold!). Then we went to the mall for lunch. Max loved the mall. It's not somewhere we go frequently, especially with Max. I would never be able to get any shopping done. But he enjoyed himself so much, walking on the patterns of the floor tiles, checking out the gigantic flower and plant pots, the water fountain, and the escalators! They were his favorite, bar none.

There was an ulterior motive to the mall trip. We decided that Max was due for a hair cut; his very first hair cut. And for his first cut we figured we would do something special. Yes, we were sucked in. There is this place called Melonheads at the mall. It's a hair salon for kids. You can sit in a race car, Thomas the tank, horse, etc. TVs with cartoons on, sparkly gels, coloured mooses. You get the picture. Max wanted the rocket ship. The hair dressers are really nice and good at what they do: trying to cut hair on a moving target. Max wasn't phased by the cutting, he just didn't want to sit still. So she brought him a toy, and that lasted for a few minutes and then the sucker. Now that worked! And he got his hair cut. He has gone from being my little baby to my little boy, just like that. In 10 minutes.

I have to admit that I teared up. My heart hurt. He is growing up.

So with no further adue, here's the new do.

Before

After

A few people have said that he looks a lot like Marty. I see my dad. It's actually uncanny how much I see my dad.

Happy Easter

2009-04-21T21:23:00.003-04:00

OK, so I'm a week and a bit late, but better late than never. Right?

We headed down the 401 to the Big Smoke for the long weekend. The weather was really nippy (the wind froze you to the bone!) but we had a great time with the Detto clan. Marty and I even managed to get away by ourselves on Saturday afternoon to the AGO (Thank you Nana!). It was spectacular. I can not say enough about it. The new building is gorgeous. The contemporary galleries are inspiring. The Thompson Collection is mind boggling.

But I digress. Easter.

Easter morning I hid some eggs for Max in the living room. He was so excited. He thought looking for them was all the fun and didn't seem to care that if he opened them up there were surprises in them. And he didn't even know that the little "baby eggs" were chocolate. He just liked carrying them in his hand as they melted, completely oblivious.

We also had some outdoor hunting.

There was t-ball on the lawn with the cousins.

And helping Nana with the stuffing.

And an early birthday cake, which he graciously shared with Uncle Mike. He was blowing the candles as soon as Nana brought the cake in from the kitchen.

The weekend unfortunately ended with a nearly 5 hour drive back from Oshawa (which should have taken 3) after getting stuck behind an accident. Max was a real trouper. It was Marty and I that were whining and complaining. But all in all a very nice Easter weekend.

A potty

2009-03-25T21:13:00.001-04:00

I bought a potty for Max last night. No, I don't have any lofty ideas about starting training soon. I know I'll be lucky if he gets out of diapers before heading to junior K. But he's starting to talk about having stinky diapers (even when they aren't) and attempting to pull down his pants (which he hasn't been able to do yet) so I thought that maybe we should at least have one in the house so that he can familiarize himself with it. I bought the most simple one I could find, no bells, no whistles, no clapping when something hits the bottom of the bowl.

I left it in the middle of the living room floor last night. When he came down this morning he ran into the living room, saw it, said "My poop!" sat down on it and went "Ahhh..." Where does he get this stuff? He kills me!

Boy Genius

2009-03-18T20:20:00.001-04:00

OK, so maybe he isn't a genius, but I think he's pretty darn smart. And, too cute for words.

Dancing Max

2009-03-18T19:58:00.001-04:00

We go from moments of pure joy to utter devastation within a nano second in these here parts. It always amazes me how quick a 23 month old's mood can change. From screaming and yelling to giggles and snorts. I love the happy, barely tolerate the whining and get down right testy with the screaming and yelling. Throw in kicking and slapping and I am plain old bitchy.

The weekend was great, with lots of the good stuff, along with with a great time with friends and their kids. But this blog is really just a gratuitous post so that I can post this video. When I came down stairs from my Saturday morning sleep in (I love my husband) this is what I was greeted with.

Remembering Meme

2009-02-13T13:30:00.003-05:00

My grandmother died yesterday. She was 99. She outlived two of her children.

Meme was a woman of great wit. She had the sharpest tongue and made everyone laugh. She was smart and while she still could she loved doing crosswords, mots cacher and watched any sort of news program she could find. She raised 10 children, 5 girls and 5 boys. And was the matriarch of an enormous French Canadian brood. We had 5 generations of women in our family. I can't even tell you how many cousins I have. Seriously, I can't. Most of them I wouldn't even know if I passed them at the mall. My Meme was an incredibly strong woman. I'd like to believe that some of my tenacity came from her.

Meme loved to play cards. My dad's family are card nuts. I'm serious. They used to get together, put the kids in the basement, throw down some food every once and a while and play for entire weekends, sleeping in short 45 minutes stints. OK, that might be a bit of a twisted memory, but playing cards is a huge part of my family culture. I imagine at the family gathering this summer in her honour, there might be a deck or two unwrapped.

I have been very blessed to have known all four of my grandparents quite well. I'm glad that Max has that chance as well. He didn't get to meet Meme, which I am feeling very guilty about at the moment, but neither of them would have remembered or understood.

How did I honor her today? I went out and had some "Steamies." Steamed hotdogs. And a poutine. Meme loved her steamies. It was Marty's idea. I love him for that.

Merci pour ton esprit, Meme. Je t'aime.

Momentous moment

2009-02-12T20:05:00.003-05:00

As Max stands on a chair and "helps" me make cake (dinner actually, but he always says "Make cake").

Max: I love you Mommy.

Me: (crying) oh I love you sooooooo much Jellybean.

I continue to cry as I try and make dinner. Oh my god I love this child! I can't even tell you.

Supposedly Marty has been coaching Max for this one. I love him for that.

A Lovely Winter Day

2009-01-25T20:59:00.001-05:00

Today was just one of those lovely days. I wasn't sure how it was going to be after having a terrible night sleep (that's another post of its own). But it ended up being quite nice.

We usually do family swim at the Wave Pool on Sunday mornings. The waves aren't on and it's packed with little ones. The warm pool (hot really) is really nice on a cold winter's morning. But today we decided to go to the Aviation Museum instead. We hadn't been yet, and Marty has a membership, so why the heck not. Max LOVED it. It's great to run around in and he went bonkers for the "appies," which took us a little while to figure out were airplanes. We just figured he was really really happy! This is a museum that we will go to often. It's 5 minutes away and great for Max to run around in. And there seems to be a lot of places for animation. There was story time today, which Max lasted all of 2 minutes, and a craft which we didn't get to. Living 5 minutes away means you can go for 45 minutes and it's not that big a deal.

This afternoon noon I got to take a little nap after doing a few quick groceries. And then my adventure started. Meredith, Julie and I went for a ski. Not just any ski. We packed a dinner, and skied up to a little cabin in the Gatineaus. It was awesome. The ski in was a nice gradual up hill. Took about 45 minutes. The cabin has a bunch of picnic tables and a couple of wood stoves. People had been in and out all day, so the stoves were nicely stoked and the cabin was cozy. One thing we need to remember the next time (because there definitely will be a next time) is to bring candles. Thank goodness Mere had a head lamp or we would have eaten in complete darkness. Cabin in the woods = no electricity. We should have thought of that. And the ski back in the dark was interesting. It was so much fun. I brought wine, bread and cheese. Julie brought veggies, dip and sausage. Mere brought stew, in a skinny thermos. It went in, but we couldn't get it out. Next time we bring soup! The ski was just long enough to keep us warm, and not too long that we felt exhausted and dreaded the ski back. I am really looking forward to the next time. Hopefully it will be soon.

Miscellaneously Max

2009-01-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

Here's a bunch of miscellaneous things that Max has been up to lately.

Sitting watching some football on Sunday, Max was yelling at me "Cookie!" I chose to ignore him. Then he wanted to sit on my lap, facing me. I was watching the game, and basically ignore his yelling at me. Max then took my face in his hands, turned it towards his face, looked right in my eyes and said: "Mama, yook (look), cookie." It was the funniest thing. Every time I turned my face he did the same thing. Marty and I were in absolute hysterics. It deserved at least a cracker.
Marty covers his mouth, burps and says "Pardon me." Max covers his mouth, blows out and says "I bewrp." Sometimes he says the same when he farts.
Max likes to empty one of his baskets in his room, sit in it then say "Mommy, row row boat." Which decoded means, Mommy, lets sing Row row row your boat.
Max is starting to pretend things. Tonight in the bath he pretended to eat ice cream.
If the phone rings, Max points to it and says "Hewwow?"

Christmas pictures

2009-01-06T21:53:00.005-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from the holidays. They went too fast and I wish I had a few days off work to get the house cleaned, sleep and get organized. Oh well.

At Olga and Jonathan's on Christmas Eve.

Max and Duncan at Meredith and Ron's for Christmas Eve dinner.

Max's first look at his new tool bench on Christmas morning.

Max "fixing" Makka Pakka.

All strapped in and ready to go to Nana and Opa's.

New trucks!

Mr. Potato Head is awesome!

Max sitting at the kids table at Dave and Andra's.

Max playing with his new doctor set with Mary-Francis.

Max playing Play-Doh with his best buddy Mitchell.

Christmas baking

2008-12-29T20:11:00.003-05:00

OK, I'm going to be straight up here. I don't bake. The only thing I do are chocolate chip cookies on occasion and brownies (which I can easily say kick ass); occasion doesn't mean "special." It just means when the mood swings me and that ain't too often.

So what did I do for Christmas baking? I bought an order from Karen. And I am not even playing up the fact that I could pass them off as my own. I am full fledge admitting, I didn't do it. People who know me would know anyway.

But what about all the fun that my friends have with their kids, decorating Christmas cookies? Most of my friends (if not all) have their kids help out in the kitchen with various cooking tasks. I knew that I wanted to have fun with Max in this way too, but always thoughts he wasn't old enough yet. Until I saw Erin's pictures of her cooking with Matthew, who is only a few weeks younger than Max. I got inspired.

Again, since I am not the big baker, I decided that we would decorate some rice crispy squares. Stockings actually (I got suckered into buying the real Rice Krispies that came with a little Christmas stocking mold). Max seemed to really enjoy himself and didn't think eating them was a priority.

I enjoyed this so much that I thought I would take it another step further on Sunday. I bought one of those ginger bread house kits (can't even fathom how make this from scratch!). I figured if he liked putting sprinkles on rice crispy stockings, he would love putting candy on the ginger bread house. It didn't quite go as well as I hoped. It would seem that the devil infiltrated Max's body during his afternoon nap, and he was down right miserable. We did manage to have a few pleasant moments though.

That was before Christmas. Now it's after Christmas. We just got home from the Detto family Christmas, Max is down and I am going to cuddle with the cats. Hopefully I can get a full Christmas synopsis up before the New Year. Oh, wait, that's Thursday isn't it? Well I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you then.

'Tis the Season

2008-12-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and yours the best of the holidays season from me and mine.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Sad Santa

2008-12-13T17:18:00.003-05:00

I don't know who looks more sad, Maxim or Santa. I think we need to do a redo.

Favorite toy

2008-11-27T20:52:00.000-05:00

Max's favorite toy at the moment? Potatoes. No, not Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head, just plain potatoes. The video says it all.

My favorite photo of Max at the moment? Baby got butt crack.

Santa Claus Parade

2008-11-23T14:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was the annual Help Santa Toy Parade. The firefighters collect new toys (or money) which are donated throughout the city to needy kids via different organizations. What a great way to start the season. I know Max is a little young, but we are going to try very hard to teach him that Christmas is not about the getting but about the giving. We plan on making this parade an annual event. Yesterday was the start of that tradition.

Even though Ottawa is the 4th largest city in Canada, the parade has a real small town feel, with local legions, dance troupes and different shops marching or driving a decorated truck. And since it's the firefighters, there is a great assortment of old time firetrucks. The kids love it.

This is Max waiting for the parade to start. Actually, he is a sleep. We had to wake him up when it started. He didn't say much. Just took it all in. We tried to get him to wave at people but I think he might have been a little over whelmed by it all.

Some highlights? Well, here is what I mean by small town feel. This is the local comic shops entry. Nothing says Christmas like Boba Fett.

And here is another favorite. I think it was one of the local catholic high schools. I like the modern touch of pushing baby Jesus in the stroller.

The local bus company had the best float.

And Santa himself was pretty good. He was fully bilingual which was great. And Max had the perfect view of him.

What I don't have a picture of is the funniest moment of the parade. It came when a a group of people were walking by (I didn't catch what organization they were from), but it was kids and adults alike all waving to the crowd. One man was pull a wagon with his kid in it. The man was ringing a bell. The kid had fallen asleep and was flopped over, nearly falling off. Marty started saying "Bring out your dead!" I nearly peed myself. And so did the guy next to us.

It was a great way to kick off the season for us. I think even Marty the Grinch might be warming up a bit.

Sleep, sleep and more sleep

2008-11-19T21:16:00.001-05:00

What happened between 8pm last night and 6:15am this morning? Max slept. He slept without waking up, without getting his leg caught in bars, without shmooshing his head in a corner. I actually woke up at 5am and didn't really go back to sleep, expecting to hear the usual early morning wake up cry. I love the big boy bed!!

And you know what? Now that he is sleeping more comfortably, we have realized that he talks in his sleep. I just heard him murmur something. It's such a sweat sound. And he wants to sleep with books. Oh how I love my boy!

Monumetal Moment

2008-11-15T14:46:00.001-05:00

This is Max sleeping in a sea of blue on the double bed. Yep, Max has moved on from his crib.

It's not like he has never slept in this bed before. He used to take his naps on it when he was a baby, before he could roll over. And when he wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, Marty or I crawl into this bed with him to sleep. What's different this time? Last night, he slept in it all by himself.

Yep, last night we decided we would give it a shot. For the past week Max has wanted to go into this bed for story time before bed and it's been a bit of a fight to get him into the crib. So I figured, hey! why not?

We read some stories together in it, I gave him bidi (his blanket), said good night, closed the door and that was that. Well, he did holler at me for a few seconds, but I think it was more because he wanted milk. The picture is when I went up to bed. No, I didn't turn the light on, it's just the flash.

Now he is taking his nap. I thought it might be a little more of a challenge to get him to stay in bed for that, but he just talked to himself for a while, cranked a little bit and then went quiet. Once again, Max is my little sleeping trouper. We have been very fortunate with the sleeping thing. I know I'll end up paying my dues when he's a teenager.

But for the time being, we now have a little boy in the house. No more baby. I figure we'll leave the crib in the room for about a week before taking it out. How's Mommy doing? Pretty good actually. I was really excited for him yesterday. It was fun lying in bed together reading stories. And being a double bed, Marty could join us too. And both of us can't wait for the day that Max comes into our room on a Saturday morning and crawls into bed with us. Or maybe I can wait for a that a little while longer. I don't need him growing up too fast now.

Ick

2008-11-05T08:09:00.001-05:00

Coming home last night after having dinner at St. Hubert's (food's OK, but they cater to kids, even though Max at NOTHING!) I was accosted at the door by a giant spider.

How giant was it you ask? Once I stopped freaking out and managed to open the front door and run and hide, Marty showed it to Max.

Marty: Look Max. A spider.

Max: Apple?

Yes, that's how big it was. Max called it an apple!

No, I didn't take any pictures. I was still cowering inside trying to get it's crawling body out of my mind.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T20:39:00.000-04:00

Here are our Halloween pictures.

Yep, there is only one. We had everything ready. Max in his costume. A little trick-or-treat bag. Had Max saying "Trick-or-treat" ready for a little video. And then... the flashing red light of death. The batteries on the camera died. Ack! So no pictures of Max going crazy over all of the lit up "pumpies" (pumpkins). No pictures of him trying to climb our neighbors' stairs. No pictures of Pooh Bear melting down when he had to leave our friend Allison and Daryl's.

But I did take pictures of him in his costumes. No typo, costumes in the plural is correct. I bought this Dumbo the elephant costume a month ago at the consignment store because it was just too cute. It was a bit small though, but he did wear it to a the playground last week for a neighborhood party.

Max's care giver brings the kids to a playgroup and they had a little Halloween party on Thursday. Max dressed as Pooh Bear. These are the pictures of when we tried the costume on.

He didn't want to take the hat off.

So use your imagination for the trick-or-treating part. Now we have a bowl full of mini chocolate bars, which we don't need in this house. I think maybe Marty will use them as incentive for his kids. I just want them gone. I've already had five tonight!

At last

2008-10-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

Let us recall where we were coming from. Remember this? This is what the basement looked like before the renos.
This is what it looks like now.

Not bad, ey? It's not entirely finished. The furnace room is still jammed with boxes, but it's usable. We spent most of this rainy Saturday in the basement. Max loved his new play area. Part of the reason we spent most of the day downstairs was because our upstairs was void of furniture. The furniture you see in the basement was in our living room. So now our living room looks like this.
Wow. That couch is huge! I am completely dwarfed by it and Marty is in the lap of luxury. So there you have it. We have adult furniture in our living room (which Max is already enjoying as you can see) and we have an awesome rec room basement.

Happy days.

My guys

2008-10-17T19:42:00.001-04:00

Nothing makes me happier than seeing my two guys in a laughing fit.

Thanksmas 2008

2008-10-15T20:34:00.000-04:00

Thanksmas has come and gone. The weather was spectacular and the turkey was delicious. What more could we ask for.

Max didn't nap on the way down, and wouldn't go down at Tammy's. And can you blame him? Look at the mother load!Max did very well with lots of clothes, a cool aviator winter jacket, some MegaBlocks Cars stuff and the Fisher Price easel. Now all we need is a basement for it to all go into (by this weekend my friends!). Marty and I did very well this year too. It's great now that the kids are into making stuff. We got brownies (which are delicious!), chocolate dipped spoons (which are coming with me to work for my hot chocolate), cookie mix (haven't done those yet), some flavoured oil, bread dipping spices and potato soup in a cup (which is also coming to work with me). Not bad, ey?

What did I end up doing? I made Crispix mix. Two different kids, a sweet and a savoury. Big hit. Did you know that there are a ton of Chexmix recipe options (Crispix is the Canadian version). Check out the website. There are even micriwavable options!

Oh, what do you think of Max's pumpkin hat? I love it and so does everyone who sees it. Karen knitted it for him. She also does the most adorable strawberry and watermelon hats.

Back to Thanksmas. This is where you could find Max, most of the time. With his big cousin Mitchell. I don't know who was enjoying who's company more. But Max couldn't get enough of him.

There is a new park near Tam's that is very cool. It has all these musical instruments. They were a little high for Max, but he still really enjoyed himself, especially on the slide.

That night we went to see Mitchell's hockey game. Max loved the clappers and running along the boards yelling "Hockey!" Marty was in heaven.So there you have it. Another Thanksmas come and gone. We came home on Monday and had another turkey at Meredith and Ron's. Another beautiful day and lots of adults and kids to entertain Max. A wonderful way to end a great long weekend.

Apple picking

2008-10-05T21:03:00.001-04:00

This morning we set out to Canamore Orchards to do some apple picking. The website said they had u-pick until mid-October. I thought about calling ahead of time, but each time I thought of it, it was after hours. Do you see where this is going?

The orchard is out near Embrum, which is about a 40 minute drive. Max napped all of the way (seriously, he was asleep before we hit the end of our street). Great start if the day. We get inside to pay, NO MORE U-PICK. Well, we had decided to go to a place that had a bunch of extra stuff, since Max wouldn't have had much to do with the picking. Things like mazes, train rides, wagon rides, you know, fun stuff. So we decided, hey! We're here. Let's do it. $15.00 dollars later (yep, 1-5) we went through the door expecting some fall fun. What did we get? Some owners how were pretty rude, some pathetic mazes, a pig that did not look very healthy and a goat that ate my hair. Seriously! The goat took a chunk of my hair, and left some sort of goo. Did the kids have fun? I think so. Will we go back next year when the u-pick is on? Not a chance.

To see the bright side, we were outside for a couple of hours, the kids walked around and had fun, and we got a couple of cute pictures.

Eating, or rather, Not eating

2008-09-29T21:54:00.001-04:00

Do you remember when I used to brag about how great an eater Max was? How proud I was that what ever I put in front of him, he would eat with gusto. It could be spicy, lumpy, smooth, cold or hot. He would eat it up and barely leave a scrap or crumb. Meal time at our house has now turned into this:

He took his masked potatoes off his plate and onto the his tray to better smear them around and pick out all the peas. This child has now become a very difficult eater. He is currently living on peas and porogies. Supposedly he is eating well at Delia's.

Am I worried? No. Have you seem him? It's not like he is starving! But it is getting a little annoying all the food I am wasting. I imagine this too will come to pass. I just have to ride the wave and be happy that he seems to be able to eat his weight in fruit and yogurt. Somehow I've got to figure out how to get some protein into the child.

Making Daddy Proud

2008-09-27T12:43:00.003-04:00

I think this is the only reason Marty wanted to have kids.

Basement Renos - Day 5

2008-09-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

No picture today, they just didn't turn out. I know, I know, you must all be so disappointed!

We got the walls primed. We are both still coming down from the high. We had to use some pretty nasty stuff to cover up the dark wood paneling. The house still smells bad and I can't imagine it will get much better since it's so damp. Ugh. But it's done. Now we wait for the guy to call us for the drywall mudding quote. We have NO IDEA how much that will be. How do you find out the going rate of a contractor?

The other part of our day was spent at IKEA. I used to really like IKEA. It's polish has definitely worn off. I do believe however, that it is because of the one store in Ottawa. They only carry about 75% of the items found in the catalogue or online (something I was always suspicious of and which was confirmed for me today by an employee) and the staff leave much to be desired. We went looking for the middle of the line flooring that we saw online. It turns out that the Ottawa store only carried the high end and the low end. It was over a $300 difference! Yep, we went cheep. Ah to be able to renovate with a real budget instead of pennies found behind the bookshelf! Maybe one day...

But back to reality. Marty and his friend (Marty, or as I call him, Dolan) are making a go at putting in the floor on Sunday. So, anyone out there up for a visit? I can't imagine I want to be here with Max when the swearing starts and little bits of fake wood start flying across the room.

Basement Renos - Day 4

2008-09-11T21:58:00.000-04:00

Carpet up. Body aching. Tomorrow: priming the walls and buying the floor. So tired. Going to bed.

Basement Renos - Day 3

2008-09-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

No photos of the basement today. You can't really see the progress. We finished the drywall and got ready for carpet ripping. This included taking up metal strips that were randomly located through the carpet covering up frayed seems, lifting up the trim and sort of cleaning up after the drywalling.

Then we went carpet shopping. OMG carpet is expensive! After picking my jaw up off the floor, we decided IKEA laminate floor is the way to go. It's a quarter of the price of the cheapest carpet. So we can buy a nice throw rug to go on top. I know it's not the best quality flooring out there, but we don't plan to be in this house for ever and it will look good when we sell.

Here is Max helping out. We hope to start priming the walls tomorrow after the carpet ripping. Oh, does anyone know a good drywall mudder? There is no way we are going to get that done ourselves in this century. Man, there are a lot of screws!

Basement Renos - Day 2

2008-09-09T22:49:00.001-04:00

We have a ceiling!! Well almost. Ron and Meredith came over tonight and dry walled. We are almost done, but we all hit a wall and figured it would be best to leave it instead of waiting until someone sliced a finger open or drilled their hand to the ceiling. But you can see a remarkable difference with just a white ceiling!

That was all done tonight. During the day, Marty cleaned out the basement, I went to IKEA for some curtains and came out with instant art, bibs, dishes for Max, ... no curtains. It always happens. You go in for a $20 purchase, and you leave without that thing you intended and your bank account $100 lighter. We also went back and forth to Home Depot several times, and which will happen several more times for the next few days.

Tomorrow, ripping up carpet and maybe even some painting!

Day 1 - Basement Reno

2008-09-08T21:00:00.001-04:00

Today is the first official day of our basement renos. We have been toiling with the idea for a while now, and I decided that I would take the week off (from a very crazy time at work at the moment) and plug away at the basement with Marty. Supply teaching calls won't come for another couple of weeks, so we needed to act now.

This is where we are now.

As you can see by the wood paneling and orange carpet, the last time the basement was renovated was probably around 1972. Prior to us ripping out the ceiling tiles, the basement housed and enormous amount of crap (which is now stuffed into the furnace room) and Marty's computer. Basically it was a hovel for Marty to disappear into.

With Max, we have accumulated more stuff, and the 12' x 12' living room is starting to feel a little crowded. Considering it's basically the only place that Max has lived in the past 16 months, I'm surprised he's a well adjusted as he is. Our big hope is to have a play room type of space in the basement, along with some storage and Marty's computer desk. I had huge dreams of getting it all done this week (installing pot lights, dry walling the ceiling, painting, putting down new carpet, putting up shelving and buying a new couch), but I have had the harsh slap of reality hit me pretty hard. Now I will be happy if we get the ceiling done.

So, what did we accomplish on Day 1 - Basement Reno? We came across some potential electrical problems, so didn't get anything done over the weekend. But with the wonderful help of Meredith's dad, Jim, we were given the green light and could proceed with the lighting installation. So that's what Marty accomplished today. What did I do you ask? I did a little bit of work in the yard, and then went to the spa. Yep, Marty slogged at home and I sat in the sauna and whirl pools of the Nordic Spa in Chelsey. If you live within an hours drive of Ottawa and haven't done this, Go. Do. This. It's the best stress reliever that I have ever come across.

So what's in store for Day 2 - Basement Reno? I think some carpet riping and dry wall buying. Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Me!

2008-08-31T20:47:00.001-04:00

It was my birthday yesterday, and we were in Montreal with my family, and extended family, The Belangers. There are so many things I'd like to talk about: what the past year has been and on turning 37, but I am just too tired (Max has a cold and I have been up with him since 4am). So, instead, another photo adventure. I know, not terribly inspiring, but my brain just can't handle anything more than that.

Marty and I decided to head to Montreal once more before the start of school and the best time just happened to land on my birthday. It turned into a little party with all of the family. It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoying Tammy and Matt's new backyard, and in-ground pool. Yeah.

A little family time in the pool (oh, did I mention it's a salt water pool and heated to 80 degrees?)

Marie-Francis and Claudia enjoying some time together before Claudia and family move to Chelsey (yeah for us!).

Charlotte was having a great time heating Adrian with the water blasters.

Dominique and Tom (boyfriend: we like him) helping out with Max while Marty and I enjoy either the pool or some cool yummy adult drinks. I can't remember.

Max on his way over to push Alex off the chair. I hope they learn to play nice together.

After dinner (Montreal smoke meat brisquet on the barbeque, barbequed potatoes, coleslaw, rye bread and DQ ice cream cake) everyone got back into the pool. They have some very cool lights in the pool, even a strobe light!

Danielle got Mom to take Alex in the pool. Supposedly he wouldn't go in at Margaret's, but maybe the heated pool was more up his alley.

So there you have it. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day weather wise, and I got to spend it with some of the most important people in my life. Pretty good birthday.

A day at the zoo

2008-08-31T20:45:00.001-04:00

The Toronto Zoo rocks! We went last Saturday with the Stewarts, when it was hotter than Hades, and had a great time. Instead of blabbing on and on, I thought I would put a wonderful weekend in pictures.

The Sting Ray exhibit is on at the moment. It's very cool. Max seemed to like playing in the water more than petting the sting rays. Marty didn't really like the sensation. I thought it was way cool. You can see the sting ray at the bottom right hand corner of the photo.

Oh my, what big ears you have! Better to hear you with my darling!

Max's was very much into walking everywhere, as long as he was holding onto my finger.

What did Max get excited about most? Lions? Tigers? Giraffes? Zebras? No. Fish! I see a fishbowl in my near future.

Marty was so excited about Max seeing elephants. I was a little worried that Marty would disappointed. It was getting late in the day, Max was really hot, he hadn't had a nap, and we didn't know if the elephants would be close enough for him to really get a good look. But neither the elephants nor Max disappointed. Here is the look on his face when he saw them. Then he shot his arm up in the air and did his elephant noise. Marty just beamed.

There is the most incredible splash pad at the zoo. It's huge and considering the heat, it wasn't too crowded. Marty brought his swimsuit and joined in on the fun. I was very grateful for the opportunity to let Max cool off. He loved it!

We ended the day sitting in a little patch of shade and eating - you guessed it - watermelon. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Again, we have to thank the Stewarts for their hospitality. There was a lot more fun over the weekend which included water fun in their backyard, some yummy drinks after the kids were in bed, and of course, good food. I can't until we get the basement done and we can finally have them over to our place. Soon guys, very soon!

Weekend fun

2008-08-19T22:09:00.002-04:00

We had a great family weekend. On Saturday we went to the Experimental Farm. This is such a great place. It barely costs us anything because I can get in free with my museum card and Max is free up to the age of 3. So Marty bought an adult membership for $34.00, which includes the Science and Technology Museum and the Aviation Museum. How great a deal is that?

So Max mooed at the cows, baaed at the sheep, neighed at the horses and doot-dooted at the tractors. Actually, there is an exhibit on tractors at the Farm at the moment and I thought Max was going to go into a fit seeing all the tractors. And the fact that he could sit on one, oh my! We made his year I'm sure! Forgot the camera, so no pictures of the look of pure joy on Max's face.

Then on Sunday we headed to Lac Philippe in Gatineau Park. It's a little out of the way (about a 50 minute drive) but so worth it. It's not too crowded and is totally a family beach, with lots of little naked bums running around. Dan, Heather and Sara joined us for most of the day. We playing in water, picnicked, played in the water and ate LOTS of watermelon. I think Max could eat his weight in watermelon if we let him.

In the water, Max had a little visitor for a little while. Heather couldn't stop exclaiming that it was the biggest dragonfly she had ever seen. It was a doozy!

Baby genius

2008-08-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

Sitting on the stairs at the front of the house, Max is playing with seeds that have fallen from our poplar tree.

He takes two seeds and lines them up.

"How many seeds do you have Max?" I ask.

He points to each seed. "One, two."

I run into the house to call Mensa.

Girl TIme

2008-08-12T21:34:00.000-04:00

I love Marty. There are many things to love about him, and I won't go listing them here. But one thing I do love about him is how he never seems to mind when I mention something I would like to do, without him or Max. I usually feel guilty about asking. Not only because I am missing out of my time with Max, but often it means Marty has Max for a full day and night, not getting much time to himself. For the most part, these times are what I call my "Girl Time." Last week I got to have two Girl Times.

The first was Thursday night. I went out for dinner and a movie with some of my girlfriends from work. We went to see Mama Mia! What a blast. I don't know if you have been reading any of the reviews, but they are mostly right. It's so bad, it's good. As nice and Pierce Brosnan might be to look at, he can't hold a tune in a wheel barrow. Makes you question why he was cast in a musical. He was so bad that I laughed until I cried, yelling "Please stop!" at the screen. And of course there was lots of singing. Well worth the $10 entrance fee. If you like ABBA (and honestly, who doesn't) this is definitely worth a look. It doesn't need to be seen on the big screen, so you can wait until it's out on DVD. Then you can laugh and sing in the privacy of your own living room.

The second Girl Time was this past weekend. Heather was in need of a break from motherhood. After almost 15 months of never being away from Sara, the time had come. I had mentioned it to Marty and he said "Why don't you both go to Montreal for a girl's weekend?" (Did I mention how much I love the guy?) We left Saturday morning with a spring in our step and money in our pocket for a little shopping. A little shopping? Is there such a thing in Montreal?

We arrived, had lunch, shopped, had ice cream, shopped, had dinner, and then could barely move as our bodies protested against all the walking. We ended up going to my parents a little earlier then expected and could barely make it to 10:00pm. Oh how different a weekend in Montreal is for me now!

Now it's Marty's turn for some Boy Time. He definitely deserves it.

Words

2008-08-06T17:22:00.001-04:00

As you know, Max has been babbling away in his own language for a long time now. Ever since he found his voice at 3 months old he hasn't really stopped. Now he seems to be saying a new word ever day. Being the proud Mama, I feel the need to share Max's ever expanding vocabulary.

Here are the words he has down packed:
Mama
Daddy
Hi
Bye
What's that?
That
No
Doggy
Hat
Cat
Baa Baa (for sheep obviously)
Belbow (elbow)
Up

Here are the animal sounds that he has when you ask: "What does a ** say?"
Neigh
Moo
Woof Woof
Baa Baa
Meow
Roar

Not bad, ey?

A Day at a Cottage

2008-08-04T21:05:00.001-04:00

I love cottages. I love friends with cottages. I love swimming in lakes and sitting around in muskoka chairs. I love fire pits and barbeques. Can you tell we had a great day?

Our friends Julie and Pete invited a bunch of us up to their cottage for the day. It's the perfect distance away, 1 hour. Invited were basically everyone you hear me talking about. Karen, John, Emily and Hope, and Meredith, Ron, Ella and Duncan. Julie and Pete have two of their own as well, Nathanial and Maggie. Eight adults and seven kids all under the age of 5. At least we still out number them!

It was a beautiful day with sun and cloud. Not too hot, with a little breeze to keep the bugs away. The lake was warm and the wine and beer were plentiful. Ahhh... I didn't really want to leave.

Everyone had a great time, especially the kids. What more could you ask for!

Detto Family Vacation (in Pictures)

2008-07-28T21:29:00.005-04:00

We got back from the yearly Detto family cottage vacation on Saturday. It was a really nice week with lots of time down by the lake, lots of eating good food, and lots of laughing and antics (both kids' and adults'!) Here are some pictures from the week.

We weren't there fore more than a few minutes and Max swindled Rick into reading him a book.

Day two and Max in in the water.

Max hung on Connor's every word and action. Come Christmas time, he'll be running after Connor!

Max discovered Bacci. Lining up for the perfect shot.

Max also discovered and new toy. You can see how excited he was when he figured out all the knobs and dials.

Little cousing Emmy. Check out those gorgeous blue eyes!

Max and Mike did some bonding.

And Max and Opa too.

Dinner time!

Chili was in doggy heaven.

Another milestone

2008-07-15T20:49:00.001-04:00

No, no, he isn't walking. But it won't be long yet!

Today at the library Max pulled himself up to standing for the first time. No, he hasn't done that yet. As he doesn't crawl, he is never on his knees so pulling himself to stand is a little trickier. Try pulling yourself up from a sitting position. It's damn near impossible! But our little guy did it today. Marty tried desperately to recreate the scenario for me when I got home from work, but it wasn't to be.

Today was the first of the many things that I will miss the "first time" of. I was too excited to hear about his accomplishment to care that I missed it. That bodes well for future events I imagine.

How cute is he?

2008-07-14T20:37:00.001-04:00

For Max's first birthday, Nana and Opa bought him this cool truck toy. It's sort of a walker that transforms into a ride on toy that transforms into a wagon. And on the steering wheel there is a horn button. When Max first tried it, he repeated "Doot! Doot!" Every time that he plays with it, he will repeat "Doot! Doot!"

A few days ago he saw a picture of a truck and he said "Doot! Doot!" How cute, right? Wait, it gets better. Today Marty calls me at work with this little gem that made my heart melt.

Max was taking his afternoon nap. The recycling truck comes down our street, making a stop at each house. A few minutes later Marty hears quietly through the monitor "Doot. Doot." Every time the truck moved to the next house, Marty would hear it again. This is how Max woke up this afternoon. How cute is that? Too cute. Man I love that kid!

Marty and Max left for Toronto

2008-07-07T16:58:00.001-04:00

...

(insert sound of crickets here)

Happy Canada Day!

2008-07-01T22:23:00.001-04:00

Hope you had a wonderful day and that the weather was as spectacular for you as it was for us. We went to Grass Creek Park just outside of Gananoque for the afternoon. Actually, the afternoon turned into the whole day. It was wonderful. We were with the Stewarts, the Guerins and the Druirys (Beth who is 8 months pregnant with twins and looks fabulous!). The day couldn't have been any better.

Here are some moments (funny that we only have pictures of Max and no one else! Honestly, there were other people there!)

Max eating... what else is new

2008-06-21T07:56:00.000-04:00

Max had his first apple the other day. Do you think he liked the experience?

I am starting to avoid going into the museum lease days, even though it's one way to pass the time (work has got ridiculously slow again). Why am I avoiding it? There are so many babies.

I can't believe how many babies there are in there every day. And every time I see one, my heart aches for Max, especially if the baby is close in age to him.

My little baby is turning into a little boy and it's just going by too fast. I mean look! He's eating apples on his own now! Soon he'll be leaving for university. Ugh. I can't handle this. I need to go watch an episode of early Friends when they were all single, childless and carefree.

Gardening

2008-06-13T20:21:00.001-04:00

I enjoy gardening. I didn't know if I would, so I started small when we first bought the house. Then I discovered that I really liked it. I only have perennial gardens, no veggies. We live on an old garbage dump from the early 1900s and our soil is contaminated, hence no veggies.

I am still learning. I wouldn't say that I am a novice, but I don't know if I am yet into the intermediate classification (if there is such classifications). I tend to talk about gardening as if I know a lot more than I do. For some reason, people seem to think I am an old hat at it. Hopefully the advice I have been giving is good and not just blowing smoke!

Here are the fruits of my labor so far this year. I haven't spent nearly enough time in the gardens and they are looking a little jungle-ish, but some of the blooms are gorgeous.

Weekend at home

2008-06-10T20:33:00.001-04:00

Went to Montreal for the weekend. It was hot. I'm talking melting the tar on the pavement hot. And it was Grand Prix weekend. We managed to avoid the traffic, but there was no avoiding the heat.

Max beat it by staying cool in his new pool.
Then Max spent a whole lot of time playing with Mitchell...
And eating...
And more time in the pool.
It was hot but time well spent with the family.

Weekend with the Stewarts

2008-06-10T20:21:00.001-04:00

You’ve heard me rave about our friends Dave and Andra, and their two beautiful daughters Zoe and Andy. Well here I go again.

We headed down to Oshawa on Friday, June30. It was sunny, the road was clear and the baby was sleeping. It looked good, until about an hour in when Max woke up and decided he didn’t want to be strapped into his car seat and every time I turned around to look at him, he screamed louder and put his arms out to be picked up. Heart breaking and funny all at the same time.

We arrived at the Stewarts’ to open arms and screams of joy from the girls. They are so in love with Max, Andy especially. She was all over him. Andra constantly tried to get Andy to give Max some space but she wouldn’t go for it. Max didn’t seem to mind, or at least he never protested. There was lots of playing and goofing around. Max went down really well and once the girls went down the adults sat around with drinks in hand, chatted and watched Battlestar Galactica. It was a wonderful evening.

Saturday morning we woke to beautiful blue sky and hot sun. The weather network was still forecasting rain, but we decided to chance it and packed up and headed for the park. We went to a park in Whitby (I think!) down by the water. Dave had packed his little portable barbeque and we had hotdogs and veggies and chips. It was a great picnic. We blew bubbles, and played ball and played in the park. The weather was a little cool, but better than being a hundred degrees!

When the sky turned black at about 3:00, we packed everyone back up and headed home. The rain never came and we ended up barbequing and playing in the back yard. Max had had about 30 minutes sleep the entire day and was a little squirrelly, but the girls were good with entertaining him. Adam and Beth (pregnant with twins and looking fabulous) came for the feast. It was another great evening. The boys played Guitar Heroes for an absurd amount of time, once again. I think they are actually going to get carpal tunnel syndrome.

We ended the evening with Marty and I convincingly beating Dave and Andra at a game called Like Minded or Think A Like or something like that. We beat them twice actually! It’s a really fun game to play with couples. Easy, no need for huge amounts of concentration and you can get into some fun discussions.

Sunday morning, after a great breakfast we went to the park where Max left his little bum skooching trail behind him in the sand. Marty ran the dog and then we packed up and headed home. It was a wonderful weekend, with good friends and I am already looking forward to our next visit. If Marty and I get off our asses and get the basement done, maybe they will be visiting us!

Walking

2008-06-02T20:07:00.000-04:00

This weekend Max took his first tentative steps unaided. Actually it was just one step: from the couch to the ottoman. I beamed with pride and so did he. He was just so pleased with himself.

Today he stood by himself for at least 15 seconds. He still puts his hands up to grab onto my fingers to do any serious walking, be he lets go every once in a while to test the waters. If only he would pull himself up. He still insists on using my fingers for that. He also wants to walk up the stairs all the time but he hasn't figured out bending his knees and it makes it a little difficult. I imagine by the end of the summer we will have a true toddler on our hands.

What weekends are all about

2008-05-25T21:34:00.001-04:00

This was a good weekend. I can't say great because of a couple of things that happened that I will get to, but it was really good.

It started Friday with a little shopping. Actually, I was returning a pair of shoes I bought online. I bought shoes on line from FeetFirst. It's great because if they don't fit or you don't like them, you can bring them back to a store! Very convenient. I actually bought two pairs. One a size 6 and one a size 5. The 6 fit, the 5 were too big. Go figure. So I returned them and went hunting for a pair of strappy sandals to wear the the wedding we have in a couple if weeks. No luck. Either supper high or not my size. Don't know what I am going to wear. So that was one thing that down grades the great to good.

Saturday was a busy day. Max was up at his usual 5am. I tried for an hour to get him back to sleep. It was my morning to sleep in so Marty got up and I went back to sleep. We made it to the dog park pretty late due to Max's much needed mid morning nap. After the park we had lunch and then headed over to Sara's birthday party. Heather and Dan live right in front of a park, so they set up a picnic table and some blankets for the kids and had an instant summer party. Max was in need of another nap by this point and was not the most pleasant person, but he managed to steal some toys from Sara, even though it was her day, which made him smile. Then there was cake. Yummy cake that Sara and Max seemed to enjoy thoroughly. We had to leave a little early because Max was getting more and more cranky (even after a belly full of berries, goldfish crackers and cake) and needed a nap. So we got Sara to open her birthday present and got Max home. We felt bad that we had to bail, but it was just going to get uglier and we didn't want to ruin everyone else's enjoyable spring afternoon.

Max had a solid two hour nap. Actually, we almost had to wake him up. We were going to Marty's friend Chris' place for dinner. It was a really nice evening. Max did OK until he was really hungry and then was pretty cranky until food was on his plate. Then he was pretty good. He made it to about 8:30, which is really late for him. We considered putting him down on their bed, but he is just starting to get into a good through the night sleep schedule and we didn't want to mess that up. And guess what? He didn't fall asleep in the car and then slept straight through to 6:08 this morning. Nice!

Today was beautiful. We got out to the dog park on time and ended up running into the marathon runners. We decided to walk along the running route and cheers them on. There were a lot of people out on the corners, or sitting on their front porches cheering. It was a great community feel. I get very emotional during these kinds of moments. I'm not sure what it is. It's like when I cry during the Olympics, or hear the Native People's drumming. It touches me on a different level and I tear up. Call me a weirdo.

When Max went for his nap after lunch, I ran out to get groceries. I do it at two different places. I start off at Price Choppers and then go to Loblaws to get what ever I couldn't get at PC. When I got out of the car at Loblaws, I realised that I didn't have my wallet. I left it in the shopping cart at PC. Shit. I race back to PC (I couldn't have been gone for more than 10 minutes) and check the cart. My wallets gone. I go inside and ask the cashiers if anyone has turned in a wallet. Nope. I walk around the store to see if I could see it in anyone's cart. Nope. I start to curse humanity. I get home, mad at the world. Call of the credit cards to cancel them, figure out how I am going to get my license and OHIP card, and thank god that my bank card is with a friend (long story). At least I can get some access to money (very little money, but money none the less).

I wake Max up, stuff him into the car and head over to Karen's (yes, I drove without a license). We haven't seen each other since I went back to work and it was so nice to be able to go for a visit. With the nice weather, we all ended up in the backyard. Max had a great time playing with the plastic veggies in the kitchen, skooting around a new yard exploring and loved sliding down the slide. It was so nice to sit and catch up with K and made me realize once more that it's something I really want to keep doing. Maybe we can plan a monthly meeting? At least that way we know we are seeing each other at least once a month and any other chance meetings would be bonus. I must suggest this to her. This visit definitely made up for the lost wallet.

When I get home there is a little note on the front door "Hi, I found your wallet. I'll come back around 5:30. Dave" My faith in humanity was restored. Dave showed up a few minutes later with wallet intact, every penny still in place (actually there were only pennies in there!). This should have been a great weekend right? Well the fact that I canceled all of my credit cards and when I called them back to see if I could cancel the cancellation, that just doesn't seem to be something they do. So that knocked the weekend down from great to really good.

Then we had dinner outside on the deck. Hmm, maybe I should be classifying this as a great weekend after all. How as yours?

A deck

2008-05-17T18:47:00.002-04:00

And here it is. The deck.

It's lovely isn't it. Built in just four days. Mom and Dad arrived Sunday night. The building began Monday morning and by Thursday when I got back from work, they were sitting under the gazebo having a beer. Let summer begin.

How can we repay my parents for all of their help? Not sure yet, but hopefully they know how much we really appreciated it. Now we have a great place to spend the summer and Max is loving it already. Just a railing to put up, some landscaping to do and the backyard will be our little paradise. I plan on spending my summer there. Care to join me?

A visit from the Detto grandparents

2008-05-10T11:41:00.003-04:00

Last weekend Nana and Opa came for a visit. They are Marty's parents. We are really lucky in that we don't have two grandmas, or nana, or grandpas, or papas. All four of the grandparents have different names. It does make things easier, trust me.

Anyhow, I digress. Nana and Opa arrived last Friday evening. We had a great barbq feast, Max opened his birthday presents and there was lots of giggling. You see, Nana has a great knack for getting Max to laugh uncontrollably. I don't know what it is, but he just loves laughing with her. It's really sweet.
Max really likes his new truck. He sits on it saying: "Toot! Toot!" which is the sound it makes when you hit the horn. He gets rather annoyed when you stop pulling him around the living room and kitchen. I can't wait until he can propel it himself!

Saturday was the most beautiful day, but it wasn't raining so we headed out to the Tulip Festival. Since it hadn't been a very sunny week the week before, the tulips weren't at their peak. A few had opened, but most were waiting for a little sun on their petals. Regardless, Major's Hill Park was busy. We arrived for lunch and poked around the international tents to figure out what to eat. There was a huge selection. I ended up eating Argentinian and Marty and the grandparents ate German. The Argentinian food was really nice. I don't remember what I had, but it was made fresh on the spot and was really yummy.Max displayed his German heritage with pride.

After lunch we poked around the site a little more and then went for a little walk through the Byward Market. The sun never really came out and we were feeling a little chilled. So what better to do than go to the French pastry shop. After an overload of chocolate (blueberries for Max) we headed home and ordered Greek on Wheels. The best Greek food in the city by far. Nana and Opa were very gracious and offered to babysit for us, so Marty and I went to see a movie. We saw Baby Mama, which was really good. Marty called it a chick flick that guys would like. I just thought it was really funny.

Sunday turned out to be a really rainy day. So Nana and Opa decided that they would check out a day early and make their way back to Brampton. Not before filling up at Chez Cora's first. The line was long and the service slow, but Max was pretty good considering. The food was good as usual and Max eat his weight in pancakes and ham.

It was a quick visit, but a really nice visit. One thing that I really liked, Opa's nose kisses (Inuit style) with Max. You just know that this is going to be a thing for Opa and Max. I love seeing things like that in the making.

Time to go back

2008-04-27T18:48:00.000-04:00

The last few days have been pretty teary eyed for me. Every time I look over at Max and think about not being with him 24/7 my eyes well up. I just can't seem to help it. For the past year, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, I have been with him. There are a few hours here and there that we weren't together but they aren't significant. Tomorrow I will go nine hours without him. Nine hours, 540 minutes, 32400 seconds. That's a lot to count down.

As you can guess, I am a little apprehensive about going back to work. The apprehension is primarily about how much I am going to miss Max. It's going to be terrible separation anxiety, for me that is. I don't think Max is going to be too put out. He gets to have a great summer with his dad. I get to have a great summer looking out my office window and thinking about all the fun things they are going to be doing. I think I might come down with a couple if "symptoms" over the summer. (cough cough)

I am a little apprehensive about going back to work, on the work front. It's been a year. Things have changed, things have happened. I'm going back to a boss I am not terribly fond of. What's nice is that everyone at work has been really looking forward to me coming back to work. That's a nice feeling. I am looking forward to new projects and using my brain in a completely different function. Marty says I need to go back, that it's time.

I haven't been feeling guilty, but I imagine that will come. There is no question about me staying home. It's not something that I want to do, and I know that in my heart. And there is no way we could do it financially either.

Whether I think it's time or not, it's tomorrow. Now I have to figure out what to wear, get my cycling gear organized, remember to pack deodorant and try and get to sleep. Wish me luck.

Maxim's First Birthday in Pictures

2008-04-27T18:18:00.000-04:00

One Year Old

2008-04-24T08:23:00.001-04:00

Dear Maxim,

Today you are one year old. It doesn't seem right. You just arrived in our lives. How can you be one already?

This past year has been one of the most challenging and rewarding of my life. The first few months were rough, especially the first few weeks when Daddy worked nights and feeding you was very difficult. Who would have guessed that you would become the big eater that you are today. The last few months have been so much fun as your personality has blossomed and you have become more mobile.

You are still a pretty laid back little guy, happy to play by yourself. You usually only cry when you are hungry or tired. You do scream now, but primarily when you are frustrated. You are completely mobile, but you have decided to take your own path and not crawl. You have perfected the bum skoot. It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen, and I love to watch you do laps around the living and kitchen with the biggest smile on your face, so proud of yourself.

Your favorite things to play with at the moment are the metal mixing bowls and magnets on the fridge. You also love to take books of the shelf and turn the pages. Often I watch you as you "read' them to yourself. I hope I have instilled in you my love of reading.

You are a chatter box. I laugh all day at your chatter, wishing I knew what you were saying. When we go out you tend to be more quiet, taking in the new environment. It takes a while for you to get comfortable, but once you do, you treat everyone with your chatter again. You can now say "Hi", "Oh-oh", "What's that?" and of course Daddy. One of your favorite books to read is My Dad. You can't wait to get to the last page and say "Daddy!", much to my chagrin.

You love to swim. You have had a love affair with water since you were born. Hopefully this love will stay with you for life. You love to eat. Hopefully your love of food will stay with you also (in a healthy way of course) and you don't stress me out and become a picky eater.

My love for you is impossible to put into words. My heart swells every time I see you, and aches every time I have to be away from you. I worry about being able to help you achieve all of your dreams and goals and try to remind myself that you are your own person and will chose your own path in life. I can only hope to be able to guide you along it.

You never cease to amaze me and I know you never will. You are my one year old boy, no longer a baby.

I love you jellybean.

Mommy

It's baaacckk!

2008-04-23T11:10:00.001-04:00

For the past 18 months I have been pain free. Let me qualify that. My intestines have been pain free.

My IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) had been in a remission, to find lack of a better term. The honeymoon is over. Today the tell tale cramp is back. I knew it was stress related and this just reinforces that. I am anxious about going back to work and now my body is catching up with my head. Yeah. Back to the all fiber all the time diet. Ugh.

Not going as planned

2008-04-22T14:12:00.001-04:00

This week just isn't going as I planned it. I wanted to do so many things with Max, and so far we haven't been able to do any of them.

Yesterday was swimming. I wanted to go to the wave pool with him for the last time with Olga, Meredith and Heather. Well after waking up at 5am, he melted down at 10am and needed to go to bed. Actually, so did I as I had been up since 3am. So Monday didn't work out.

Today was play group. I have been going almost every Tuesday for several months now and this was going to be my last one. I was really looking forward to it. I have met some really nice mothers and Max enjoys playing with the toys and seeing all the other kids. Why didn't we go? Max woke up at 4am today. He had a nap from 8-9:30 and then went down for his usual nap at 12:30. It's now 2:10 and he is still asleep. Play group is from 1:30-3:00.

The rest of the week should fare a little better as my plans are not time oriented. But I can't say I am not disappointed that the first two days didn't work out. If only Max knew what this week is for me, maybe he would be a little more cooperative.

One more week

2008-04-21T15:55:00.000-04:00

This time next week I will be sitting in front of a computer. But instead of it being in my living room while watching Max do laps and chattering away, I will be sitting in my office at work. Yes, I have one more week of maternity leave.

A lot of people are asking how I am feeling. Am I looking forward to going back. Am I ready. I don't know how I am feeling, I am looking forward to going back at some moments during the day, and no I don't think I am ready.

Yesterday I felt flustered and rushed, thinking about all these things that I wanted to get done before going back. Like cleaning the basement, getting the backyard ready for summer and organizing all of Max's summer stuff. Marty kept reminding me that he is home for the summer and will get some of that stuff done, but for some reason, I feel like I should have accomplished more before going back. I had all these ideas of things I wanted to do on mat leave. Who know taking care of a child was so much work.

The more I think about it, the more I know I will be OK going back. I will enjoy the work and change of routine. Though I also know that the first few weeks will be a huge adjustment for me and I will have to get used to the ache in my heart when I leave in the morning. Marty promised to come meet me for lunch a few times over the summer.

I'm pretty sure this won't be the last post about going back to work. I figure I will get more frantic and more emotional as the week progresses. Aren't you lucky!

Bad Parenting Moment No.156: First Blood

2008-04-18T13:59:00.000-04:00

Poor Max had a pretty rough week last week. First falling out of bed, and then falling down the stairs. Yep, he fell down two of the back stairs. The fall isn't too steep and the stairs are actually padded, but with the luck he was having, he landed on the stroller wheels for the Chariot. So not only did he have the fright of falling down stairs, he cut his head.

Needless to say, Marty and I were beside ourselves with guilt. It was one of those situations where he thought I was looking after him and I thought he was looking after him and neither of us realized that the door to the back stairs was open.

So there you have it. First blood drawn at 11 1/2 months. I think that's a pretty good track record. I realize that it pretty much is open season for bumps, lumps, bruises and more bloody body parts. No delusions over here. I just think we did pretty got for at least the first year!

Here is Max about a half hour later. He's over it. Marty and I, well lets say we are still kissing the bobo better. I think more to ease our guilty consciouses, than for Max's benefit.

Visiting friends

2008-04-11T16:43:00.000-04:00

I love having good friends. The kind that you don't talk to every week, but when you do see them, you just fall into your routine, help yourself to the food in the fridge and put your feet up on the couch. Josee and Brian are those kind of friends.

The trip down was great. Max slept almost the entire time, I got to sing to some great music and the weather was spectacular. I hate the drive to Montreal, it's just so boring. When we arrived, Olivia was at daycare, so Jo and I had the chance to chat while Max enjoyed the freedom of a long hallway to skoot down. When Olivia came home she was super shy and wouldn't even look at me or Max. I figured it would just take a little time to get reacquainted.

It was so gorgeous out we decided we needed to leave the house. So we went shopping. Now wait, before you get up on your horse, we went outdoor shopping. I had my first experience at Quartier Dix-30. This place is the future of big box stores, and the ultimate suburban shopping experience. I would describe it as a village of stores, with hotel, spa and movie theater. Very pleasant on a beautiful Spring afternoon, but I can't imagine it being a very popular place in the middle of January. Supposedly they have open air concerts and free hot chocolate in the winter to encourage people to come. I enjoyed being able to window shop outside on a beautiful day, and also bought a pair of pants for work (that makes 2 now!) and a couple of books for Max. It was definitely very popular with the mommy crowd.

Anyway, back to the purpose of this post, my visit. Once Olivia had been around me for a little while, she warmed right up and then just wanted to be with me, play with me and talk to me. She would actually tell Josee that she didn't want her to talk to me anymore. Max just loved her and skooted his little butt off following her around and laughed every time she got near him. Maybe it's the hair.

We did lots of reading and hanging out. Max went down so quickly from skooting around so much, he couldn't even finish his bottle. Josee and I weren't much better, both barely being able to watch a little TV after the kids were down.

I wish I could say Max stayed asleep all night and I had a blissful night. Max woke up at about 10:00. The playpen that I brought was the small one, which is really too small for him. So I took him out and brought him to bed with me. I got up to try and fix the blind while Max squirmed back to sleep and then I heard it. Bad Parenting Moment No.142: Max fell out of bed. He cried for all of 30 seconds and then fell back to sleep. This freaked me out. Needless to say, I didn't get a great night sleep.

6:30 Max was awake and there was no turning back. I could hear that Jo and Olivia were up, so I decided to face the day. Max and Olivia played some more, I got to have a shower (yeah!) and a nice breakfast chatting with Jo. Max started to show he was really tired at 9:30, so I decided to pack it in and head home, thinking the bulk of the rush hour traffic was done. I tend to try and believe that there are moments during the day when the traffic is not bad in Montreal. We got stuck for about 20 minutes, which isn't really that bad. Max fell asleep before we hit the highway, only to wake up after we got through the traffic and still had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. Many Raffi songs and nearly running out of gas later, we made it home.

It was a great visit and I don't really know why I waited until 2 weeks before heading back to work to do it!

Follow the Cheerio Trail

2008-04-05T17:10:00.000-04:00

Max's butt skootch in action.

Sugar Shack

2008-04-01T10:47:00.000-04:00

This weekend we went to the Sugar Shack. Or to be correct la Cabane a sucre, since we were in Quebec. It was a real food mill one, where they herd you in like cattle and roll you out. The food came fast and furious and it was all good. Ham, eggs, sausages, baked beans, les oreilles de chris (which is basically deep fried pig fat, and my personal favorite), potatoes and pancakes. They didn't have any split pea and ham soup, which didn't upset me too much as I am not an enormous fan. And of course to finish it all off sugar tart and pudding au chaumeur (cake with melted maple butter over top is the easiest way to describe it).
Max ate his weight in ham, potatoes and beans. You can imagine the diapers I have changed today.

I think he was afraid Ron was going to steal some of his food.

There were a few Cabane a sucre virgins, Dan and Heather among them. As you can tell by their slight deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, they were a little overwhelmed at first but assured me by the end of the night that they enjoyed themselves. After we all had to undo the top button of our jeans, we headed out to pull some taffy. This is when they pour hot maple syrup over snow and you twirl it onto popsicle sticks. Hmmmm...

It is a tradition from my childhood and I am really glad to be living in an region of Canada that I can continue the tradition with my family. It was a great evening and now I am good until the sap starts to flow next year.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T18:36:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter everyone! Hope your day was filled with family and chocolate bunnies.

This is Stripes the Bunny. No, I did not knit him. I knit the "eggs." Somehow they look more like balls than eggs.

Max seemed to enjoy seeing Stripes this morning, but after bitting it's foot, took little interest. Stripes will go away for the year and reappear next Easter, I think with a little more excitement.

Hmm, now to find some chocolate...

Winter fun

2008-03-22T20:16:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Ski Vorlage which is a little ski hill in Wakefield. Compared to the hills that I learned to ski on, the entire hill is a bunny hill, but for the area it's a nice family hill. They really cater to families and it was fun to walk around.

Why were we there? Obviously it wasn't for Max's first ski lesson. We went for Ella's fifth birthday party. It was fun. Mere and Ron had invited a few of Ella's friend's and their families to go skiing for the day. Mere made sandwiches and veggies and an awesome cake: Polly Pocket Ariel on a downhill ski slope! It rocked. They skied, ate and then skied some more. We went for the cake and then watched Ella and Duncan come down the slope. Oh did I mention that Duncan is 2!

There was a little hill that we could push Max down in his sled and he just loved it. Both Marty and I were excited that in a couple of years we could be the ones coming down the bunny hill with Max in tow.

First Wave

2008-03-20T18:51:00.001-04:00

A blog worthy moment in the life of Max. He waved today!

We thought that he might be waving a couple of times, but we couldn't really tell whether it was a true wave or just some arm flailing. But today, my friend Caroline was leaving and she said Bye! and waved, and Max waved back. Even better, Marty was there to see it as well.

I think my heart swelled is a little bit more.

Grass??

2008-03-17T10:13:00.002-04:00

Wait... do you see what I see? Are those some blades of grass peeking through the snow?

If only! Those are "blades of grass" that I knitted. As I mentioned before, I have begun to knit. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy knitting, but I discovered it was more the projects from the knitting class that I didn't enjoy doing. I don't think I will ever knit clothing, other than perhaps a cool hat for Max, but I think I will get a kick out of knitting little things like these blades of grass. I found a simple enough pattern for Christmas stockings, which I am very excited about trying out. I love the idea of knitting stockings for the three of us and having them for years to come. Christmas stockings are my favorite thing about Christmas. I'll keep you posted on that project.

Dinner conversation with Maxim

2008-03-13T15:39:00.003-04:00

This happened when Dominique was here. Max was having a total conversation with us during dinner, hand gestures and all. Too bad we just didn't know what he was talking about.

Marty or Quagmire?

2008-03-12T21:13:00.002-04:00

For anyone who watches Family Guy, I think you might get a kick out of this. Doesn't Marty look like Quagmire?

Note: I love Marty for letting me post this picture of him.

Marty's day of surgery

2008-03-11T21:13:00.001-04:00

Today, Marty had all four of his wisdom teeth surgically removed. They were impacted, one in the bone. Needless to say, he was under general anesthetic for this. When I picked him up he was so swollen, you could barely recognize him. My heart broke.

Chili didn't leave his side the entire day. Edgar, saw lap opportunity, and Max finally fell asleep in my arms at 4:30 this afternoon. After sitting on the floor with him for a half hour, my ass was numb and I needed to get up to make dinner. I managed to get both myself and Max off the floor and Max onto Marty's chest, STILL SLEEPING! Sometimes I amaze myself.

Marty finally had a little bit of soup tonight, and the swelling has gone down. I think I will sleep in Max's room and let Marty snore to his heart's content tonight. Hopefully tomorrow he will be feeling better.

Nurse, mother, dog walker and cook are off to bed now.

Snow, Snow and more Snow

2008-03-11T18:20:00.003-04:00

56 cm of snow on top of the 350cm we already had. That was our weekend. This is the house pre-shovel. Actually, pre-snowblowing (god bless Daryl!)

This is the shed. No way of getting into it and getting the second shovel.

This is the garbage can. On Saturday, it was NOT covered.

This is the arbor, the one we got married under. The wind chimes are half covered in snow.

This is what we saw when we dug out the gate and tried to get to the driveway. Chili seemed to be the only one that was truly enthusiastic about the mounds of fluffy snow.

This is after Marty shoveled a little path from the backyard to the half of the driveway that is shoveled. The other half is holding the snow, which had nowhere else to go.

Swimming

2008-03-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

Today was swimming class. The three little bums on the side of the pool are Sara (with Mummy Heather), Max (with cousin Dominique), and Matteo (with Mummy Olga). Notice Max's bald spot.

Regardless of the look on Max's face, he really did enjoy doing the swim class with Dom, and Dom said she had a good time too. It was a little hard for me to sit on the side of the pool. Not because I was nervous about Dom having Max in the pool, more because I wanted to be in there having fun with him.

After swimming Max had a two hour nap. Dom and I actually started making noise upstairs to try and wake him up. He still had to have his lunch and we wanted to get to the Market. We finally got out of the house around 2. We walked around the Market, checked out some funky shops and then hit the Tea Shop. Then we had to rush to the train and Dom made it with 15 minutes to spare! It was a great couple of days with Dom.

Our trip to Texas

2008-02-28T08:06:00.007-05:00

Finally, a chance to give you our trip to Texas in pictures.

Here is Max at Chicago's O'Hare. We had one flight down and were waiting out the first of the 2, 4 hour lay overs. You know what happened for there rest of the day.Here is dad playing with Max on our first day. It was a beautiful sunny day (notice Max in shorts and no socks!). We took it easy on our first day, checking out the RV park and doing some outlet mall shopping in the afternoon.
We went to the Gladys Porter Zoo. It was a nice zoo, not too big and it is part of a Species Survival Plan, which basically means they are helping to breed endangered species in captivity. Tammy had the great idea of renting one of the strollers at the zoo, which made it easier for Max to sit up and check things out. He really seemed to like it. I think he is looking at some tiny monkeys in this shot.
Stopping for Max's lunch break.
After the zoo we headed into to town (Brownsville that is) to look around and have some lunch. Max was wonderful and slept through the whole thing! We had some incredible Mexican food. You get fresh salsa and tortillas when you sit down. And I am talking just chopped up fresh salsa and warm out of the fryer tortilla chips. We didn't know what was on the menu, so we all ordered something different and loved all of it.
On Wednesday we went to Mexico. It's the most surreal thing. You park your car, walk across the Rio Grand, which is the natural border between Mexico and the US, you put 35 cents into a turnstile, and... you are in Mexico! No, seriously. Coming back into the US is obviously a little more complicated with border guards and US customs. We shopped and had some more great food. Max was great considering he really isn't a fan of shopping. At the restaurant, Max was manhandled by everyone, which was something I got used to very quickly. Good thing I am not weird about strangers touching my child. I went to the bathroom and when I came back Max was in the arms of a strange woman. She was the owner and we had seen her while eating, but Tammy said she basically walked over and took him out of her arms.
This is Max showing Hobo his new rattle that Tam bought him in Mexico. Oh, and Mom and Dad on the patio.
On Friday we went to the beach. We packed up a lunch and the whole family, Hobo included, headed to South Padre Island. The weather was gray and windy, which was probably better than full sun. When the sun did peek through a couple of times, it was really hot. I don't think Max would have done very well in the full sun. The beach is hard packed and you can drive up on it. This made it very easy to push the stroller, so we went for a nice long walk. Max loved watching the waves and the birds flying around.

Max even got to dip his toes into the Gulf of Mexico. It was a quick dip as the water was really cold. He didn't seem terribly impressed by it all but seemed to like the fact that his toes were sinking into the sand.
On our last day we went to see this very impressive basilica, where Max discovered that if he yelled his voice would echo. He got louder and louder and I tried finding an exit faster and faster as there were several people in the chapel praying. Max thought this was a wonderful game. Mom also took us to her favorite Texan barbecue place. It's basically a shack made of plywood and corrugated metal, but man the food was good and you got a whole lot of it. So there you have it. A week of flip flops and palm trees. It was a great vacation which went by super fast. Thanks again Mom and Dad. And a huge thanks to Tam, whom made the two very long days of travel possible. I don't think I could have done it without you.

Vacation coming to an end

2008-02-21T21:15:00.001-05:00

Our little vacation is coming to a very quick end. It's been a nice get away from the cold weather, but it will be nice to go home and see Marty. I know how much he is missing Max.

The past few days have been nice. The zoo was OK. I am not a huge fan of zoos, but this one is small, well maintained and part of the species survival program, so there were a lot of little baby animals which are always fun to see. Tuesday we went to Mexico. Basically just walked around, I bought some silver rings (had to stop myself from buying a gorgeous necklace, but living on credit means sacrifice! ;-) ), we had a nice lunch and made it home for dinner. Wednesday was a blah day. Grey and rainy. We did some laundry, ran a few errands, that's about it. Today we went to South Padre Island. Typical sea side town. It would have been really nice if the sun was out. It was super windy and grey. The sun did peek through a couple of times, enough to get a little colour in my cheeks and Max got to play in the sand and dip his feet into the ocean (no swimming as the water is only about 18 degrees). Now we are all tired from being out all day and I am looking forward to bed.

I think tomorrow will be spent getting some last minute shopping done, going for one last Mexican food lunch (they have been amazing so far) and packing. Then up at the crack of dawn on Saturday for the LONG journey home. I can only hope that Max is half as good as he was on the way here. All week he has been his usual laid back guy, only melting down when he is really over tired. My parents have been flaunting him all over the park, and all the other grandparents seem to like having a little snuggle from a wee one, reminding them of the ones they are missing at home.

Stay tuned for Tiny Moments from Texas when I get back.

Travelling Hell with an Angel

2008-02-18T21:27:00.002-05:00

Here we are in Texas. The sun is warm and the sky is blue. Couldn't ask for better. How was the trip dow you ask? Hell. Well actually, Houston was hell. But let's start from the beginning.I woke up at 2:30 with Max and didn't get back to sleep. I knew it was going to be a long day. Up at 5:00am, out of the house at 6:30 and off to the airport. Went through the ridiculous US security and customs. Had my letter of consent to travel from Marty (they did ask for it), was allowed through with my 4 bottles of water for Max's formula. Everything was going well.First flight, 2 hours to Chicago. How did Max do? He was an angel. He didn't cry at all, even napped for a little bit. Wow! Have I told you we have the perfect kid lately? Four hour lay over in Chicago. How was Max? He was an angel. Again, have I told you how perfect our kid is lately? Three hour flight to Houston. How was Max? He entertained people, laughed and napped again. Have I told you... you get the point. Then we hit Houston.First of all, the George Bush International Airport in Houston is a pit. It is old, ugly and the people are not friendly. How long did we have there? 3 1/2 hours. First thing, we had to change terminals. No problem, right? Ha! In this airport, you have to go through another security check, full on with taking off your shoes, getting your bag swabbed for explosives and NOT allowing ANY water through, even for baby formula. Can you believe this? We just went through O'Hare, one of the largest airports in the world, and we had three bottles of water with us, no questions asked. No questions, because we had already gone through a security check. Where the heck does Houston think you have been between terminals that all link together and in which you can't get out of?! How was Max through all this? You guessed it, an angel.So now we are getting ready to get on the plane. After we are all on board we are told that 6 people have to get off the plane or it can't leave. They had to put in extra fuel to make sure we would get to our destination an hour away because of bad weather and strong head winds. Well, 30 minutes later, they finally had 5 volunteers and they figured that was good enough. In that 30 minutes the weather changed from light rain to full on electrical storm. We were stuck on the tarmack for 4 HOURS! So long that we had to pull back into the gate to get the toilet drained because it was full! 4 hours in which Max slept. Did I mention her was an angel? (yes I know, it's getting old, but this was a very long day and he never cried once) We had to wait out the weather, not a single plain was leaving or coming in. Once things cleared up, there was 100 plains waiting for flight path approval. The pilot was really nice and gave us updates every 30 minutes or so. Did I mention it was a tiny little plain? Only 80 passengers.When we finally got off the ground, the flight was pretty bumpy and made me hold on to Max really tight. I was actually nervous for the first time flying. We landed, everything was fine. Mom and Dad were waiting for us (they had been at the airport for the 5 hours of delay), they didn't loose the car seat (another worry of mine), we got to the RV, everyone plopped into bed and as I closed my eyes I realised that I had been awake for 24 hours. Ugh.That was day one. Yesterday we went outlet shopping. Yes, I spent an obscene amount of money and today was the zoo. So far so good. Tomorrow Mexico and Thrusday the beach. Sounds good to me!

Bye Y'all

2008-02-15T17:05:00.002-05:00

We head off tomorrow. I am still packing. Feels like I have been packing for weeks. It really is incredible how much you have to pack when traveling with a baby. Especially a bottle fed baby. Especially when your travel day is 18 hours! Hey, we're traveling points and beggars can't be choosers.

I am really looking forward to the trip. Not only because the temperature for the week is in the mid 20s, but because my mom is going to have so much fun with Max. He is so interactive now. One of his favorite things to do is pass you stuff. I think it is the cutest thing ever.

I am sure that I will have the chance to post a couple of times while in Texas to let you know of the adventures we have been on. I don't think I will be able to post photos, so there will probably be a huge photo montage when we get back.

I am still a little stressed about the flight. I know that I tend to worry, and Max ends up being a really trouper, but this time the travel can be painful for him. He still has a cold and is pretty stuffy. I just don't want him to be in pain. I have bought some saline drops and will put them in before each flight to try and at least have a little moisture in there. We'll see what happens.

OK, off to more packing. Bye y'all!

A Winter Day

2008-02-10T10:40:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a great day. A great winter day. It didn't start off great, but definitely made up for it by the end.

Our friends Dave and Andra and their two girls Zoey and Andy were in town for Winterlude. We were supposed to meet up with them at the Snowflake Kingdom with Kev, Sab and Kathryn. The first problem was finding parking, which we finally did at the museum. Then as we were unbuckling Max, we realized that the backpack was not in the car as I thought. Crap. Marty said he would be fine carrying him around, but I felt terrible.

Second problem, the number Dave gave us for his cell didn't work. You see, there are hundreds of families, all dressed up in their winter gear. Trying to find one family is basically like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. We met up with Kev and Sab (using the cellphone) and ended up walking around for just over an hour trying to find the others. No luck. We enjoyed the time but it was noon and we were all getting pretty hungry so we decided to head home and wait to hear from Dave and Andra. We did hear from them, just as we were getting to the car. It was decided that Marty and I would go to Kev and Sab's for lunch and Dave and Andra would call us when they got back to the hotel. The second part of our day was to go swimming with the kids at the hotel pool.

Once we finally all got together we were eight adults and six kids. Mike, Julie and their kids Jayden and Harrison arrived as well. Thank goodness it was a suite. We all hung out for a while and then headed down to the pool. Holy crap it was cold!! I was surprised that Max didn't complain. He is used to much warmer water when he swims. It was Marty's first time with Max in the pool and they both had a great time. I was very happy that Marty decided to swim.

After the swim it was back to the hotel to hang out again. We ended up ordering pizza and stayed until Max could barely keep his eyes open. He did so well even without any nap.

It's interesting how kids can bring friends together more than before kids arrived. You'd think it would be the other way around, that kids would make it more difficult to get together, but it seems that they are the ones that bring you together. We are so fortunate to have friends with such great kids. Marty and I will learn a lot from them.

This is Jayden the oldest, with Max the youngest. Is Max's head bigger than hers? Ack!

Knitting

2008-02-08T17:13:00.000-05:00

I am learning to knit. Actually, I am taking a class in learning how to knit. It's actually a lot of fun. Five women sitting in a living room, drinking jasmine tea and eating whatever goodies Karen brings with her. I guess you could call it a "Stitch 'n Bitch" but it's an actual class where we are learning how to do stuff. There is a small period to bitch at the end of the class.

The first project we are doing is a scarf. A scarf that I have had to rip out three times. I am finally making some progress and have learned how to fix my mistakes (excellent reason to take a class might I say), though I am finding it extremely long and somewhat boring. Once you learn to knit sstraight rows, there isn't much excitement in it. So Karen suggested I try a dishcloth. She had this great easy pattern and a ball of cotton. Yesterday I sat down during Max's three hours of nap (yippee!) and knit myself this lovely little dishcloth. It was extremely satisfying to have finished something. Unfortunately the scarf we are making isn't the nicest of colors. I am pretty sure it's going to end up in the Goodwill bag if I ever get to finishing it.

Aunty Iris, I am now one less person you will have to knit these for!

Mystery solved

2008-02-01T19:11:00.000-05:00

The mystery of the baby halitosis has been solved. It seems that the nasty breath is an indication of teething. Max had the stink on Wednesday again and it got me thinking, "didn't he cut his tooth the last time he had this?" Karen had the same thought process. So, two days after the stink arrived, Max cut his second tooth. It's not the only sign, but it seems to be the first one to show up. Yesterday he was drooly, a little cranky and wanted to chew absolutely everything. And then lo and behold, his second tooth arrived over night.

Another milestone today: we lowered the mattress in Max's crib. "You haven't done it yet?!" I hear you scream at the computer screen. Don't forget, Max isn't really showing much interest in mobility and there was no real need to. But yesterday he had his toes on the top rail, and Heather told me today that Sara was standing in her crib this morning. That was enough to stress me out and the mattress was dropped. My little guy is getting bigger. The next step is the big boy bed! Ack!

As I sit here in tranquility, Marty is upstairs dealing with a screeching Max. Max loves his bath. So much so, that when Marty takes him out he pretty much has a melt down until he is dried, lathered and dressed. Looks like swimming lessons next week will be a hit.

9 months old

2008-01-24T18:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Maxim,

You are 9 months old and Mommy and Daddy are still completely in awe of you.

So what have you been up to in the past three months? Well, you finally rolled from your back to your front. You have done it a few times, but really don't see the need for it. You much prefer to sit. This is your favorite thing to do, sitting. You are starting to spin around on your bum, more from wiggling than from willing, but I think you are starting to think about moving. We now put you on your belly when you are in a good mood and you push yourself backwards around the floor. We really should put a Swiffer on your belly to help pick up all the dog hair!

You pushed through one tooth, and there doesn't seem to be any more on the near horizon. It wasn't a terrible experience for either of us, so I am hoping the rest come in with little fuss. Only time will tell on this one. You now go down for your naps all on your own, and in your crib. You rarely cry, and if you do it is very short lived. You tend to just babble to yourself and kick the aquarium on and off, and then finally drift off to sleep. The one thing you do need to sleep is to put your blanket over your head. The first time you did this freaked Mommy and Daddy out, but now we just go unwrap it when we go to bed, but you always manage to bring it back up in your sleep.

Your nights are on the majority really good. You go to bed around 7:30, wake up about 4 or 5 for a bottle and will usually go back to sleep until about 7:30. And when you do wake up you don't usually cry, you let us know you are awake by babbling to the aquarium or your stuffed cougar. You love bath time and splashing Daddy. Now you are starting to cry when Daddy takes you out. You experienced your first time at the pool, which you weren't too sure of at the beginning but really warmed up to the whole experience by the end of it.

You continue to love to eat and now insist on feeding yourself. It gets really messy, especially when you are eating yogurt.

Our routine is busy. We have Olga and Matteo over most Mondays, Tuesdays we go to play group, and Wednesdays is Karen's. Soon we will be starting swimming lessons on Tuesdays and I hope to go to family swim on Fridays when we can.

You are still a really laid back kind of guy. People just gravitate to you and your easy going ways. You are starting to cry a little when Mommy leaves the room, but on the most part you are a pretty happy little guy. And for some reason, you love to watch Mommy and Daddy fumble and drop things. This really sends you into side splitting laughter, and of course, we are more than willing to perform for you.

I have three more months to spend with you full time and then I have to go back to work. I am already starting to be a little sad that I won't be spending so much time with you, but know that Daddy is going to love every moment he has with you this summer.

I love you Jellybean!

Mommy