December

Nothing but smiles - End of 2009
We have had such a wonderful year. It has been a year filled with change (new jobs, new cities, new houses...new sons)...and it has been a year filled with family. Most importantly it has been a year filled with love and laughter. Our boys bring such a joy to our lives and always find new ways to put a smile on our faces (and each others faces too)! Happy New Year - see you in 2010!

Christmas - Take 3! - December 31, 2009
After missing out on the annual gift-opening at Nanny's on Christmas Day, Gran and Grandee hosted a New Year's Christmas celebration - thank you! It was actually very nice to spread out all the love and gifts over the week. The kids had fun working their way through the mountain of gifts and spending time with family. The big hit of the night was a xylophone given to Milo from Nanny and Great Papa. It would be hard for you to tell that the gift was Milo's though as Kaden took an immediate liking to it. That's going to be the way of things though...what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine as they say...just wait until Milo is old enough to follow the same mantra!

Balls of Fun! - December 30, 2009
We discovered a new play gym not too far from our house. It is aptly named Balls of Fun...basically it's just a big room filled with various balls and ball related activities (and slides, no play gym is complete without slides). Both Kaden and Milo had a blast...I think Daddy may have had the most fun though. Kaden is still saying "balls of fun was tons of fun!". Thanks to the Roberts who gave us the info and the gift card to go!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Milo's getting bigger! - December 28, 2009
Milo finally got to stretch out in his new big-boy car seat. I think he likes it.

Merry Christmas, Mommy! - December 27, 2009
We knew when we bought the house that the appliances were eventually going to need replacing. We hope that they don't all go at the same time, but over the holidays the washer was the first to bite the dust. Thank goodness for Boxing Day sales and a very generous gift from GG - we got ourselves a new washer/drying set. Devine. I feel quite grown-up now as this is the first set of "real" laundry machines I've owned! Kaden of course helped Daddy with the installation.

Kaden will tell you that the workbench from Santa was his favourite Christmas toy, however his new stereo comes a very close second (thanks Grandma and Grandpa). He has been using our stereo since we moved and it was down at his height on a table, but now he has his very own. What more could a boy want?!

Boxing Day (aka Christmas Take 2!)- December 26, 2009
It was time to say goodbye to the gingerbread train, but not before Daddy and Kaden sampled the cargo. We managed to get out of the house today and go to Grandma and Grandpa's for our Christmas celebration with them...of course we forgot our camera. Highlights of our 2nd Christmas include Kaden's very own CD player and Milo pulling himself up to stand!

Misters Fix-It! Kaden worked along side Daddy with his new drill. Too cute.

Merry Ho Ho Ho (and just a little bah hum bug)! - December 25, 2009
Our first Christmas in the new house and Milo's first Christmas ever! The big morning arrived, but not before I got the stomach flu (bah hum bug). Despite that though the boys had a great day. Kaden was so excited to see the empty plate of cookies that it took some prompting from us to notice the gift and stocking left for him from Santa! However once he did he caught on quickly to the morning's fun. Craig did a great job of keeping the merriment and excitement going for the boys while I took refuge on the couch. He said it was like herding cats to keep the flow of gift opening going with Kaden while trying to keep Milo from going after Ali's toys! We obviously put a stop to Grandma and Grandpa coming over in the morning and we also had to cancel our plans to go to Nanny's for more gifts and dinner at Aunt Debbie's that night (and our trip to Ottawa later in the week). It was unfortunate, but we didn't want to pass on the plague and the kids were content to play with all their new toys. Nothing says Christmas dinner like leftover pasta! After the morning's fun, Milo and I both packed it in for a nap, but Daddy to Kaden to the basement to reveal another present...his very own kitchen (thanks Nanna and Poppa)! What a hit! When I came down later he was so excited to tell me all about the flames in the bbq (not for touching of course) and to brew me about a dozen cups of coffee. It's hard to keep Kaden out of the basement now!

One of Kaden's new presents was a piano.
This is no ordinary piano though - it's button heaven. To add to that it has a microphone and removable recording device.
Kaden lost all sense of carrying a tune, but he was overjoyed to be able to record himself, play it back, and sing along with himself.

Merry Christmas Eve! - December 24, 2009
A special day for our little man's 9 monthiversary. Milo is getting faster at crawling and is moments away from pulling himself up to standing (he's perfecting his downward dog in the meantime). Still no real chatter other than his part-dolphin part-caveman sounds...and of course his "dadadada"...but he's got an insatiable appetite and is full of smiles and laughter for his big brother.

Photo-ops just aren't what the used to be! Milo is a smilely kid, except for when it comes to posing for the camera. We don't have a reliable trick yet to catch his attention and make him smile. Of course, the distraction of bows and ribbons is hard to compete with. Then you add in a toddler who thinks it's funny to watch us struggling to get Milo's attention so he decides to join in on his brother's interest in the wrappings. Too funny.

After dinner we took the kids out to see the snow (which was replaced by rain shortly after) and to see some of the neighbours' Christmas lights. It was a nippy night, but good for a short stroll. Part of the outing was intended to spread the reindeer food (aka oats and sprinkles) that Kaden made at playschool. We wanted to make sure Santa knew where to guide his sleigh!

Milo had to turn in for the night, but Kaden helped us get prepped for Santa. We left milk and cookies for the jolly ol' elf and some carrots for Rudolf. You'll notice that our fireplace is elevated, so before I had to move it to lay the stockings, Kaden put a pillow on the hearth to give Santa some padding for when he plopped out of the chimmney!

Some assembly required - December 22, 2009
It's a whole new generation of kid toys. Since when was a drill required to put gifts together?!

Strong like bull... - December 20, 2009
Kaden got a kick out of Daddy wielding an axe. We had a tree removed from our front yard and we kept some of it for fire wood. I think it was just a good excuse for Craig to buy his own axe!

Kaden's Christmas Concert - December 18, 2009
Today was the last day of playschool before the Christmas break. As such, Kaden's class hosted a Christmas concert/party for parents and guests. Grandma was able to join us, which was excellent (not just for Kaden who was excited she came, but for me too who really needed the extra hands)! Kaden did pretty well sitting and participating in some songs (in fairness to him he didn't sleep well last night and had a cold today), but he was super stoked to see Santa. He kept smiling and pointing and telling his teachers that Santa was here. He even went up to talk with Santa about his bag of presents! Somehow he even managed to hold Santa's hand during the final singing of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. He didn't seem to know about or want to sit on Santa's knee, but he liked the book Santa brought him.

You can see here the difference in Kaden's singing at school versus at home (posted below).
However he really likes Jingle Bells so I think he gave that his all!
The second video cuts out just before the excitement of Santa's entrance, but Kaden needed a Kleenex!
            

What could be better than a box?! We're getting a lot further in the unpacking, but not all of the boxes have made it out of the house. This wardrobe box fills the upper hallway perfectly and makes for a great tunnel!

Boys and a box (I'm sure it won't be the last)!

Nothing is better than the sound of laughter.
Apparently I found Milo's funny bone in the bath tonight.
...hopefully you can hear Milo's laughter over Kaden's preparation to 'sneakily' turn the camera off..."ready....steady..."!
 

Practicing for the Christmas Concert - December 2009
In anticipation of not hearing Kaden sing at the Christmas concert at the end of the week, I got him to sing a few of the songs at the house. Sorry the lighting isn't the greatest... it's on our list... The last video is a tribute to a toddler's attention span...hysterical.

A good day to bake - December 17, 2009
Not too much on our social calendar today, so after a little playtime in the morning, Milo took his morning nap and Kaden and I got down to baking. We mixed up the dough for both gingerbread men and sugar cookies. Unfortunately both have to chill before you can do anything with them. But while Kaden and Milo had afternoon naps I baked the gingerbread men so we could decorate them before dinner. After Daddy got home we got to work on the sugar cookies. We've still got a few things to make, but at least the house smells a little more festive!

Milo has discovered that blocks don't just have to be eaten!
 

Milo's Moments - December 15 & 16, 2009
I dug out the ol' Christmas tins for the Christmas baking I intend to do, but before they will be used to store goodies they make for excellent drums. Milo had fun rolling and banging the tins, but each time he moved them he squinted his eyes in response to the noise he made with them! It didn't take long before a tin rolled close to the computer and Milo's attention was diverted to the shiny blue lights! If course by moving him away from the computer he just got closer to his heart's desire...the stairs! Cheeky. Along with crawling, Milo is working on perfecting his downward dog! I don't know what the goal is (I'm pretending that it isn't the first step towards standing). While practicing his doggy moves he also checked in with his pal Ali. The two of them just love each other! Milo also likes all the things in our mid-reno-not-quite-set-up house that he probably shouldn't play with...hinges, holes that have yet to be covered by baseboards, stairs! Although his crawling is getting much better and faster and he now can push himself up onto his knees. Clever little baby.

Happy Birthday, David! - December 13, 2009
We were invited to our best bud David's 3rd birthday party at Gymboree. What a great place to have a kids party. Milo was a little overwhelmed at first, but settled in after a while. It was hard to get a picture of Kaden as he was a whirling dervish until he stopped for pizza and cake! Fun.

Don't you just wish people would tell you when you have food stuck to your face!

December Daddy Day - December 12, 2009
Now that Milo is crawling we need to make the house a little safer for him. In addition, with Ali's return today we can't have her inadvertently bopping kids down the stairs so we've once again become a gated community. Kaden helped Daddy install the gate to the basement. Daddy brought Ali home from Grandma and Grandpa's today (Ali says thanks for the holiday!). It was great to have her back with us and she quickly settled in. Kaden and Milo were also happy to have her home. While Milo was snoozing in the morning and Daddy was showing Ali her new digs, Kaden decorated the gingerbread train Nanna got him. He had a lot of fun. Not too many candies were consumed - although I did manage to convince him to have his snack first so that it didn't compete with Smarties! I think the most fun he had was when he got to use the bags of icing by himself at the end...basically he created what amount to a hazardous waste spill beside the train! He also enjoyed dumping the remaining candies into the caboose (an excellent snacking tray for Daddy as it turns out)! Once Milo was up and the train was done we bundled everyone up to take Ali on her first walk of the neighbourhood. We looped up to the local grocer for some milk and all came home with rosy cheeks. We kept the holiday spirit going later that day by starting to decorate the tree with the boys. Basically they got to open their annual tree ornament from Nanna (thank you!)...Kaded helped adorn the tree with both his and Milo's. With a toddler's attention span and "gentleness" and a mobile baby (you can see we obviously need a gate soon for the stairs going up) we saved the rest of the decorating for the adults post-kiddie-bedtime. A good day.

Crawling exploration - December 11, 2009
Not only is Milo crawling, but he's crawling wherever his limbs will take him. I think he was somewhat surprised to find himself under a chair once he sat us though! Kaden also likes to get down on all fours and play with Milo.

Weather - 1 : Calverts - 0 - December 10, 2009
Are we in Vancouver still?!? Seriously, can you see the remarkably small amount of snow accumulation we woke too this morning? You wouldn't know it given the traffic situation. It took Craig almost an hour and a half to get to work today (bleck). The kids and I waited until 9:30 to try to head west towards Toronto to visit some friends. We couldn't even get out of our neighbourhood (not because we were stuck in the snow, but because we were stopped by cars at every exit)! Fortunately westbound traffic was okay so our friends made the journey instead to see us - thank you! We got our first pics in the snow though and filled the car with gas, so at least the trip out wasn't a total bust!

It's hard to get dinner organized with a babe in the throws of his witching hour and a toddler wanting you to play...so I devised a new plan...Milo eats some before dinner nibbles and Kaden gets crafty. It's worked the past two nights anyway!

Bye Bye, Milo!

It begins...after dinner I put Milo on the kitchen floor to see what he would do.
He crawled.
I guess we better secure the gates (and everything else too...)!

Daddy and Kaden played a game of hide and seek before bed. Kaden is hysterical!
If he is the one hiding you can hear him telling you where he is going to hide while you're counting and as soon as you get to 10 he runs to find you!
If he is the one counting you can hear him say "where are you" almost as soon as he starts to look...and tonight he even ran right past Daddy who was "hiding" in plain site!

Let it snow, let it sleet, let it rain! - December 9, 2009
It's finally here - winter. Well...we started to see some initial accumulation today, which quickly turned to big goopy puddles of slush, which almost as quickly washed away with the rain. Regardless, the temperature is decidedly dropping and the wind is howling off the lake, so we pulled out the ol' winter coats today. They're cute and they're warm!

Circles Small, Gums and All... - December 8, 2009
Milo loves his tooth brush. He just merrily sucks and chews away at it and presumably his two little teeth get cleaner in the process. He has such a death-grip on it though that you literally have to forcibly pry it away from him, which often leaves him in sobbing tears. It's a work in progress. Here our two boys clean their pearly whites together.

Today Milo took a peek at the tunnel. He seemed to like it, but was hesitant (or possibly unable just yet) to venture too far inside.

Hello, Milo!

Progress...Milo is certainly able to crawl.
He still seems to do it more out of motivation to get to somebody or something,
but it won't belong before he discovers his freedom.
I'm in big trouble.

This picture didn't turn out very well, but I was trying to get a picture of our first snow flakes with the two roses still clinging to life in our overgrown back yard.

Our tech-savvy son - December 7, 2009
Now that the basement is used for another play area (there's no where sacred in the house anymore) Kaden has discovered we have a computer. We always had it, but it was in the toddler-unfriendly basement. Kaden LOVES Poppa's computer and knows all about YouTube and emails, but has never asked us about it. Last weekend while we were at Grandma and Grandpa's Kaden was introduced to Grandpa's computer, but for a different purpose - typing! Grandpa set Kaden up with a blank Word document and let him have at it with the key board. I don't think Kaden has put it together that all computers can give him the joy Poppa's computer brings with kids songs/videos on YouTube so he happily typed away. Of course seeing our PC, which is a similar set up to Grandpa's, Kaden now asks to "do his emails". Typically he emails Nanna. Of course, as is par for the course with our tot, once he masters something he sneakily finds a way to do more. What started out as innocent typing using the keyboard has now advanced to using the mouse to change the font colour while he types. Since then, Daddy has introduced him to a paint program where he also uses the mouse to select colours to draw on the screen (it will blow his mind when we unpack the tablet). He's really very good and usually stays within the confines of the program we open for him...except of course that he has now figured out how to use the mouse to close the open window...

Our first dinner guests! We REALLY miss seeing our best buds on an almost daily basis so it was a real treat to have them over to see our new digs and to enjoy some dinner. The kids were really excited to see each other as well. Kaden and David actually play together (as opposed to beside each other as is typical for toddlers), which is so much fun to watch. I think it is because they are so familiar with each other - like siblings. We will miss being so close to them, but we'll also make sure to see them as much as we can before they move too (back to Ottawa...sniff, sniff).

Oh stereo, how I missed you so! - December 6, 2009
There is only so much unpacking one can do with kids underfoot. So while Milo was napping one morning I found Kaden one of his favourite "toys"! Good thing the stereo box was well labeled! Not only does he now have his books on CD back again, but he now has access to the stereo itself (we don't have shelves to put it on so it's down at toddler height). You try telling a button-crazed tot that he can't touch what is within his reach. He is really good at putting the CDs in and out (he's well practiced from using Grandpa's DVD player) and sticking to the remote to control it, but it wasn't long before he figured out he could push buttons on top of it as well. Fortunately he's pretty good with it. We've since found the Christmas CDs as well as a pack of other kids CDs. Now the couch is piled high and deep in audio media and the stereo is hot to the touch from use (open, CD in, close, play, stop, open, change CD, close, play, new song, volume up, volume down, stop...repeat...you're lucky now if you hear a few beats before the process starts again)!

Several ways to get around - December 2, 2009
Between unpacking boxes we try to have a little fun. Milo manages to get a ride on the toy car while Kaden is napping and we took a stroll around the block to check out the new neighbourhood the other day (have to take advantage of using the stroller before it snows...feels a little west coast around here these days).

Check out Milo's motoring in action.
 

Milo's bridge and shuffle! - December 1, 2009
Our house is barely ready for a toddler to terrorize it, but it's certainly not ready for a mobile baby - yikes! Milo's crawling is imminent. He's getting himself up consistently into the 'wobbly bridge' and has almost eeked-out a arm-leg combo to start going forward. Mostly he lunges forward onto his belly. However, that does not mean he's staying put! He's got a good system worked out to shuffle himself along by sitting, reaching, pointing his toe, twisting and pushing...or something like that. It's impressive and it's fast! Look out world here he comes! Other new things include playing in the basement - not done in Toronto and rarely done in BC. Kaden loves going downstairs. He's also rediscovered a toy he had when he was learning to move. It has become a new favourite. We just need to work on not running into Milo "by accident"!