January

Hello Grandma and Grandpa! - January 20-31, 2009
Kaden and I arrived in Toronto on January 20th. We didn't take possession of our new house until the end of the week (and we didn't actually move in until the end of the first week of February) so in the interim we were very grateful to Grandma and Grandpa to take us in! Again, Kaden loved having all the attention from his non-stop grandparent love-in! Until we got the keys to our new place and received our things it just felt like we were on vacation! Kaden had fun playing Grandpa's piano. He figured out how to turn it on and off and how to make a drum beat play in the background while he went back to playing with other toys. Grandpa broke out his train set from when he was a boy. Kaden already had a love of trains starting with the skytrain in Vancouver, but this may have tipped him over the edge. He got to use the remote to move the train and push a button (always a hit) to sound the whistle. He continued to relish the fact that he had numerous people to read to him and to keep building those towers. Grandma's addition to tower building was to blow it down (works especially well with "crazy towers" that are off balance to begin with)! Kaden continued to do well with self-directed play and read time (the toy suitcase made an excellent bench) and we bought him a Mr. Potato Head (which he still oddly enough refers to as Mr. Tuber Head) with many accessories. I'm not sure if this one particular creation should worry me at all. Another expansion to the tower repertoire was the "upsidedown tower"! We made a trip to the library and played in the snow. Another treat bestowed upon Kaden came care of Grandpa. Kaden has a set of books, which he loves, all about rockets and submaries and planes, boats, etc. Kaden doesn't yet watch tv, but Grandpa showed Kaden snippets from movies like Appolo 13, The Hunt for Red October, October Sky, Titanic, etc. to show him "real" planes, trains and automobiles! What a hit!
 
Editor's note...Grandma and Grandpa took many photos of our visit...we will return to this page later and edit in some of the good ones they took.

"High and Low"

Moving Day - January 19, 2009
Kaden and Nanna stayed back at the hotel while Poppa and I returned to the house to close up the last boxes and watch the movers do their thing. It turned out to be a great day for a move - no rain!

Foggy, Foggy, Foggy! - January 18, 2009
We took one more day off before the big move. From the hotel downtown it was a short hop across False Creek for a quick shopping trip and lunch at Granville Island. After all the snow at Christmas, Vancouver was now plunged into a lengthy patch of fog. Although we couldn't see very far from the end of our noses, Kaden enjoyed riding the "big boats" to and from the Island.

Last Day in the House - January 17, 2009
With just about everything packed, Kaden got his first taste of McDonalds! It was to be our final lunch in the house. After today's nap we were moving into a hotel downtown to prepare for moving day.

Final Aquarium Adventure - January 14, 2009
All work and no play is no motto for a toddler. Staying cooped up in the house, even with non-stop grandparent attention, isn't fun either. After a few days of packing and playing we took a break to visit the aquarium one last time.

Weeeee....Kaden continued to say "more" even after he was cut-off.
He tried to be even more cunning by counting to three himself and trying to swing his legs into the air (too bad that wasn't caught on video)!

Welcome Nanna and Poppa! - January 7-12, 2009
The parade of grandparents continues. Nanna and Poppa came to help Kaden and I pack up the house in preparation for our move. We had about 10 days and it was prefect. Each day Poppa and I would tackle a few hours of packing while Kaden and Nanna had fun playing. As always, Kaden loved the attention and directed his grandparents appropriately to be his playmates. As with our Christmas visitors, building towers was still all the rage. However, 10 days of tower building can take its toll on a Nanna so she craftily guided Kaden away from just building perfectly aligned "regular towers"! By the end of their visit he was building "twisty towners", "pair towers", and of course "crazy towers"! Kaden also lapped up the extra bodies to read him stories...and the grandparents managed to spell each other off occasionally so they had their own time "to play" as well!

Daddy's last day in Vancouver... - January 3, 2009
It was with a very sad heart that we said goodbye to Daddy again today. Not only will we miss him again as he leaves to go back to work in TO, but this is his last day in BC. We will be back to visit often, but it really started to hit home when he had to leave his keys behind. We have so many wonderful memories of our time in BC as well as in our first house.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! - January 1, 2009
Wow - 2009 is upon us. This will be a year of great change and excitement for the Calvert Clan as we prepare to head across the country and settle in Toronto before we welcome our second son. Kaden starts his New Year off right by wishing all those close to him a Happy New Year!