Toddling and Tootling Along

Little Man continues to amaze me with his growth and development. The guy has a memory like a sponge remembering names and events like a genius. He is quite the cock of the walk at daycare these days having moved up the seniority ladder in terms of age and development. He is now able to go out for walks without the stroller and is invited to help take the dogs out for strolls in the park.

Our basement is still a work in progress but is coming along nicely which is VERY exciting! Sammy's favorite activity is to go and inspect the work by "the Man" (his code word for the work crew) and inspect all of their tools and materials. Needless to say the man is oh so fascinated with the assortment of screwdrivers, hammers and other machines on site for the project. One of the more exciting developments to transpire is the return of our washer/ drier which had been out of commision for the last month having been stored in the garage whilst we had the foundation poured and electrical work completed. Sammy has been tickled pink with the "Washing 'Sheen'" ...obviously the poor guy was longing some clean clothing on a more regular basis!!

Sammy Social has been on a roaring tear around the social circuit these last few weeks. Last weekend he was able to whisk his doting parents out of town whilst he entertained Nana, Uncle Mikey, Pops , Mar Mar and a host of others..... Timbit ceased the opportunity to bop around town for exciting excursions including a trip up to the Native Cultural Centre where he got to inspect all sorts of exciting sites and scenes including a campfire and a wigwam. He also got to indulge in a little retail therapy at IKEA with Nana and Mikey where he scored a new push toy to add to his bursting toy collection....thank god we have a new kidlet on the way to help share and justify the boat load of toys.

Sam Man is soaring atop the development charts schpewing out new and hilarious words…and actually starting to string together VERY complex compound sentences like Bye Mom/ Bye Dad. He has still to get over the needy “Mom, Mom, Mom” phase wherein he has to be within earshot of anywhere and everywhere I go….although initially flattering ..it is now just trying on the nerves.

The little man has almost finished up yet another term at music…he has now graduated to the toddler program for kids up to 4 years old….he seems to have been up to the challenge of this latest ‘promotion’ and has enjoyed adding new and louder instruments to his repertoir…now anything and everything in his path seems to serve as a percussion instrument…one way to keep him quiet and engaged at the grocery store is to let him bang on a tub of yogurt whilst we peruse the aisles. Sporty Sammy has also finished up his first term of gymnastics and sportball....the sporty group gatherings seem to appeal to the little lad's high energy levels but the boy is not always keen and eager to listen and follow instructions ..preferring to march to the beat of his own drum...am going to chalk up the short attention span to his age and gender.

We're now just crossing our fingers for warmer weather...the boy is quite fond of his afternoon strolls which we partake on everyday after daycare...the boy is quite difficult to lure inside even on the brutal bitter days. He is less than fond of sporting his gloves which is not great recipe for long walks outside.....this contentious issue has led to quite a few melt downs and tantrums when I am forced to drag him kicking and screaming back indoors....ohh we are just loving the emergence of the feisty hard headed toddler who knows EXACTLY what he wants!!! No NO NO is by far our favorite word these days....which has definetely spurred some challenges to the nerves!! Beyond those struggles , it has been a riot to watch the little man develop his beautiful little personality. It is hard to believe how a little guy can continue to grow cuter and cuter each and every waking day!!

Snip Snip Buzz Buzz- Timbit Gets a Makeover

We finally got Sammy’s long lock’s lopped off. It was quite the outing. At first the guy was just terrified of the whole ordeal screaming in horror of having to sit in a chair whilst a women gingerly greeted him with a pair of scissors. I have to say that the stylist was ingenious with her tricks of the trade- resorting to a whole whack of diversions..bubbles, books, toys….the crying client then settled down once given a car and the car keys to tinker with. Stylin’ Sammy was then right into the groove and settled by the time the stylist the razor to the neck…..the highlight was as the end of the appointment when the Big Man relished in being able pay for his cut. He then trotted off to log his usual chalked full Sat of music and Sportball.

With the aid of Maman’s Helper Mel, we dragged the poor boy off to look at lighting for the basement. We are under the gun to pick up all of the fixtures for our reno as things are humming along at a decent pace…it is going to be SO great once all the work is done!! Right now we are on tap to have everything finished for April 1st …so we’re just hoping that our crew can stick close to the critical path. It will be great to reclaim our living and dining room and actually have a place to spread out with all of the toys and trinkets. Tool Man Timbit loves checking out the progress of the basement. Every morning “The Man” (actually different teams of men) come in to work…..as soon as Sammy hears the thuds and bangs start up…he is keen to tear downstairs with his dad to greet the men and drool and awe over their tools and instruments. The morning ritual seems to be a favorite father son bonding routine these days….I can forsee the many many moons to be logged at Home Depot + Canadian Tire together….

I will admit to getting very nervous about juggling 2 kidlets. On Sunday, we had friends and their 3 kids (all under 5) over for dinner. Sammy played quite the host with the most –sharing his toys and showing the kids around….it was not until I went to hold the newborn baby Kate that he started to go crazy bananas with jealously…he insisted on “Baby Down and Sam UP UP UP”… he was having no part in this Share the Parent gig! Mark later tried to pick up Claire the 3 year old after she was hurt….once again Sam Man got his nose out of joint and insisted that he be held and Claire be discarded…t;was not a welcome forshadowing of days to come when new baby arrives on the scene!

We are also slowly acclimatizing to having me back at work full time. I really hate leaving the little man all day 5 days/ week…it’s so hard to jam in everything each day and feel like you are getting ahead…especially with our house in shambles and upside down from the reno. I so miss the guy each day that’s it’s really hard to stay focused and on track. He is just so amazing with all of the vocab and little colloquialisms he has picked up….Oopsie Daysies is a biggie fav these days. He is also great at nailing down people’s names..the guy has definitely got potential as a recruiter given his mastery for remembering names and faces!

The wee man is now getting set to ring in his second Valentines Day with Buttons, Nan and Uncle Mikey. I may even cave and allow him a little sampling of chocolate!!

Gregarious Guy on a Tear

Talkative Timbit is on a tear with regards to lapping up language...the guy is turning into a total motor mouth….sadly whilst amassing his slew of new words..his new favourite appears to be NO. The headstrong little boy certainly knows what he wants and does not want and clearly let’s us know it now…we are just learning to roll with the punches and take the new found stubbornness in stride….man you can sure tell that the bullheaded boy is just on the cusp of falling under the sign of Taurus. Little loquacious man continues to amaze me with the words and statements that come out of his man…he is a total sponge.

The bustling boy has fallen into quite the impressive routine of activities. He has adjusted well to the full time schedule at daycare now having moved up the ladder of seniority being one of the older kids of the bunch. I think it has been a harder adjustment for mom to dive back in the full time routine than for Sir Samuel….It is nice to be privy to “grown up” time during the day but it is seriously tough to stay focused from missing the little guy all day.

Prodigal Sammy is back into his programs with music on Saturday with his maman and then Sportball with papa in the afternoon…I am so totally adverse to having an over-programmed overscheduled kidlet but the day seems to work and allows us to embark on a nice Saturday out on the Danforth. Sundays, Papa and Timbit head off in their leotards for gymnastics. Despite being the youngest kid of the lot, the little man seems to have adopted a love for jumping, swinging and bouncing…the fact that he has a huge crush on his instructor Sarah has certainly helped to fuel his budding passion for the gymnastics scene. The highlight of all his little group classes are the little premiums/ stickers shelled out to the participants at the end of each session….the totally reward focused little lad covets the end prize.

Sammy the Snowman is loving the plethora of white fluffy stuff that has fallen upon us over the past week….his new loves are (to)“bogganing” and shoveling. We have to count our lucky scores with our son’s passion/ obsession for brooms, mops, shovels and any other cleaning/ tidying utensil….would be some freak of nature if I turned out having a neat freak for a son!

With more snow in the forecast, the Sam Man is in for one busy bustling weekend.