Tales of Timbit

Timbit the Talker

2008-03-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

My little boy has turned into a headstrong verbose independent little man as he approaches the ever beautiful 2 year old mark. Am struggling with what I am going to do when Bebe Numero Deux comes along given sammy’s insatiable maman addiction. Ahhh tis going to be interesting…VERY interesting!! Am admittedly scared about how the boy is going to take to the addition of an extra family member…I have been given varying words of advice from various veteran parents and am thinking I am going to opt for the suggested strategy of downplaying the whole event. The latest tip from a neighbor is to start holding a stuffed animal or doll on your lap so that Sam Man will be accustomed to having to share maman…hey I am open to anything right now!

Sammy the SPONGE has a rampant case of verbal diarrhea repeating and picking up on anything and EVERYTHING other people say….god he is a man of many tales..recounting and recollecting anything and everything he observes…it frightens me how sharp the guy is….we are going to have to buck up if we ever think we are going to outsmart mini man! I was burned the other day when I referenced the movie Jackass..only to have my little parrot echo back jackass for the rest of the day! Have also been struggling with sharing issues and enlightening sammy to the fact that the world is not totally Timbit-centric as is supposedly common amongst toddler types.

We just returned from a weekend getaway to the Falls…Sammy stayed behind in St. Catharines to bond with his grand ‘rents whilst we gave the man some space for an overnight away. I am totally looking forward to next summer once the little lad is big enough to appreciate the wonders of sight seeing but we must first work on learning to respect boundaries and not wander off!

We’re now anxiously awaiting some real springy weather so to better enjoy the outdoors…AMEN…this winter has dragged on WAY WAY too long!

Toddling and Tootling Along

2008-02-21T12:49:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

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.

Happy '08!

2008-01-14T10:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year friendz and fanz!

Once again we must apologize to all our followers for the slack efforts over the holiday season/ new year…Timbit was on a tear closing out the new year with a bang with multiple holiday fetes and feasts to attend. He did manage to squeeze in a quality visit with Santa in order to submit his request for any and all things loud and musical. The boy was not disappointed on Xmas having been flooded with gifts by his fans. The busy boy has been filling his days with sampling his new prized possessions and stylin’ new fashions. Despite having tried to encourage the fam to play down the commercialization and gifty giving aspects of Xmas..the boy was overloaded with goods over the holiday. There has been no room for boredom with all of Timbit’s new loot! Thankfully we have opted to go ahead with our basement reno starting this month (VERY exciting) which will allow us to better store all of the new additions to Sammy’s train, book, toy, sports equipment (and you name it) collections!

Little Drummer Boy Makes His Holiday Debut

(the drum definetly stole the spotlight from the plethora of other goods showered upon sammy this holiday)

Speaking of new additions…it is now OFFICAL….we will be welcoming a new meber to our family this June. Sammy is going to (hopefully) be embracing a new sibling this spring with whom to share all of veteran wisdom and prized possessions. I am admittedly very nervous about the juggling act that will be required to manage a pair of offspring but am reassured by the fact that Senior Sammy will have passed the 2 year milestone by the time his new bro or sis pops on the scene….fingers are double crossed that the bouts of ‘The Terrible Twos’ will be kept to a minimum!! Timbit is faintly aware that there is a baby in mom’s “tummy” and points to my belly when asked where the baby is? Should be interesting to see if there is any additional build up of interest or queries?

All in all we are off to a rearing start for ’08 as we expand our humble abode and our fam unit!

1.5 years and Counting

2007-11-29T10:10:00.000-08:00

The little man is now officially a year and a half/ 18 months old!! I am really getting excited for Sammy to hit the 2 year mark when we can finally quit counting the child's age in months...it really strains the brain sometimes!!

Sooo 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”Hi Mom” and “ Hi 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. Timbit has become more and more talkative….he is ever so adorable in the way that he now says PEEASE when asking for something….all I have to say is “ What do you say?” which he quickly replies ….”PEEASE PEEASE PEEASE”….ah how can one say NO to such a polite young gentleman!!

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 repertoire…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 started playing Sportball with his dad on Saturday mornings….Sportball is an interesting combo of instruction in ‘soccer, tennis, basketball, golf…and all ball related sports’…the idea is to intro little budding athletes to the joy of the sports world….I of course have much greater expectations for the little lad.. hoping/ insisting that he be ready to enroll in multiple top tier sports academies by next fall at the latest….am expecting BIG things from this BIG boy….our retirement fund now fully rests on his shoulders!! I want him excelling at any and every sport JUST like his athletic and agile maman (okay I hope any and all of you readers are not choking from laughter right now).

This busy boy just gets more and more fun and entertaining by the second!!

Happy Hallows Eve

2007-11-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yoda and His Jedi Protige

Trick or Treater Timbit revelled and rocked out for his first official Trick Or Treating mission. Sam Man and his papa worked hard with seamstress Nana to whip up some pretty impressive Star Wars' themed outfits with Sammy dressed as Yoda and His papa as an aspiring Jedi prodigy. Needless to say, Yoda made quite the splash with his entire constituency circle. The Robed Rugrat won the award for 'Best Costume' @ Daycare and then went on to thrill all of the neighbours. We fired up a little impromptu Halloween Bash with Uncle Mikey, Kali, Nana, and our neigbours over some gruel, grog, and sugary goodies before hitting the streets for some loot.

Wiener Neihbour and Pal Ollie

Sam the Ham solicited each of the hosts/houses with an adorable "Hi" and then a " Bye" after he collected his loot.....we had to cut him off after soliciting the immediate neighbours as we didn't want to crate home too many tempting treats to RAWK Sugar-Free Sam's diet....he did score some raisins for which he got the green light....His hypocritical parents have meanwhile gorged themselves stupid on all the loot for which their dear son toiled so long and hard to collect...I should feel so guilty and exploitive for my actions.

The boy has been racing around like a mad man and has really been picking up speed....I have to say that I am really enjoying this age and stage as the little man is so much more easily engaged and easy to communicate with...it really is quite unreal to watch him grow up to be a little boy!

Grandma and Grandpa Come to Town

2007-10-25T07:32:00.000-07:00

Mister Man has been blabbering blurting out more and more these days. He is starting to string together words and feels more than articulate with his portfolio of vocabulary. Anything within his sight that he is unfamiliar with, he points to excaliming ' DAT' DAT'..wanting desperately to know what 'THAT' is?? We are slowly but surely learning to bridge the gaps between our different forms of communication.

Sam Man was showered with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa who scooted in from St. Kitts to catch up with Mister Mover and Groover. Spoiled Sam Man was swimming in gifts from his adoring grandparents…at this rate there is going to be no room or need for any gifts at Christmas time given the endless generosity on the part of the boy’s gaggle of grandparents. Sam Man then led his fans down to the Beach so Grandma and Grandpa could treat the ‘poor starving’ boy to an Italian feast at Il Fornello’s. Naturally the boy was riding one incredible carb high after ingesting mounds of bread, pasta, and more 'complex carbs'. We opted to go to the recently opened Dufflets to scoop up a healthy smattering of dessert offerings and theb head back to our 'humble abode' for to consume and digest the goodies. Needless to say, we were riding one incredible sugar HIGH after the obsene and gluttenous amount of sugar consumption.

The Clarmitage Gang has slowly but surely fallen into a comfy 'fall groove'. Sam the Man has become ever more confident and comfortable with his daycare possee..especially now that he has ascened higher and higher atop the ladder of seniority amongst his classmates. My only complaint these days is the man has failed to submit to a peaceful and serence bedtime routine....n matter how we 'set the stage', the guy will always end up screaming his guts out when put into bed....he is defeintely a lover of attention!!! He has started showing movements of hauling himself out of his crib but has defintely started making the motions to haul himslef over the bars. I fear it is only a matter of weeks until we have to "graduate" from his crib to a "big boy" bed : (

I hate the fact that these kidlit creatures insist on growing up way faster than you are reday for them to do so!! I seriously wish he would ask for permission to progress to his next milestone.

Munchkin in Montreal

2007-10-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Torrid Traveller Timbit road the rails with his ‘rents, Pops and Uncle Mikey to Montreal for his first ever visit to La Belle Province. We hopped aboard le train on Friday afternoon and chugged our way eastward. Sam Man so pumped by the excitement of the trip on the Choo Choo that he did not sleep a wink (against my greatest hopes and expectations). Unfortunately the trip coicidded with the boys’ super duper maman needy streak wherby he must spending every waking minute with his mother in full view….There were non stop chants of MOM MOM MOM and fuss pot sessions every time I stepped out of sight…..his attachment to me has been a bit trying…..love the loyalty but also nice to be able to go pee without a freak out attack on the part of the Samster

Timbit Takes in the Sights and Sounds of Montreal
The scenic train ride was actually a relatively peaceful and pleasant one having been able to pacify timbit with all things electronic, food, and friendly seat neighbours. I have to say that train travel is A1 when it comes to travelling with little munchkins. Timbit crashed out shortly after our arrival in Montreal and refuelled his energy stores with a super slumber in the new surroundings. Saturday, the gang of piled into our rental van and headed to the Eastern Townships for a daytrip. Timbit was fortuate to be able to take in the awesome colours of the fab fall folliage whilst also experiencing the backroads of the Townships.

Tyke Timbit Shows Off the Wonders of Technology to Grandma E

We all popped into visit beloved Mrs. Eldridge/ Grandma E to allow Sammy to finally introduce himself LIVE in person after having offered only a preview of the legendary lad via photos. Hammy Sammy was full of vim an vigor and put on quite the show for Mrs. Eldridge and her fellow housemates at the seniors home. He was totally enamoured with the offerings of the library and proceeded to empty and re-stack most of the book shelves. I definetely think the boy is sniffing out a potential career in library science. After our visit, Pops led us on a tour of Brome Lake Country to point out all his old stomping grounds and hotspots from his former glory days. After a long and lovely day in the coutry we motored back into the city. We were then showered with a surprise visit from Mar Mar's family who were sad and disappointed that Guest of Honour Sammy/ Timbit the Tease had descended into Never Never Land before the whole gang arrived to meet him. Although regretful about missing the party in his honour, Sammy has vowed to make a return appearance.

Sunday, Sam Man was treated to a grand tour of Old Montreal as well as a classic heart sopping Quebecois meal of poutine and hotdogs. Tuckered Timbit passed out for most of the sightseeing.

Feasting in L'il India

2007-10-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Blissful Bunch with Bloated Bellies

The weekend was a beautiful one and we seized the opportunity to soak up the sunshine buzz down to Little India. Uncle Mikey tagged along for the veggie feast. Sam Man led the charge for the food line and manage to inhale quite the interesting/bizzarre combo of garlic naan, cucuber salad and butter paneer sauce. He is definetely acquiring his parents' 'interesting'/ weird palate.

Timbit Fielding one of Many Fan Calls

Timbit's obsession with phones continues. Anything that remotely resembles or can serve as a mock phone/PDA is an automatic hit with the boy. The guy wil yap into a credit card if given the opportunity. Any potential meltdown can be averted by donning a techno gadget of some sort. The Cline side definetely emerges in the boy with his obsession for all things electronic....so much for the affinity for organic green and healthy age appropriate toys. The phone is definetely a way to channel his verbosity and gregarious nature. Timbits vocabulary is expanding everyday as is his expressiveness. The boy is seriously contemplating taking a run at the next Canadian Idol title with his singing and dancing act. Music Man plays one mean act with the measuring spoons and metal cookie sheet.

We are still having to learn how to conserve our stamina and pace ourselves throughout the day in order to keep up with the Torrid Tike....I so envy his endless supply of vim and vigour.

Sailing Sailing Over the Ocean Blue (or Murky Ontario Waters)

2007-10-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was jammed with heaps o’ excitement and action. Saturday, our Strathmore Blvd Street gang congregated chez nous for a pizza party. We fired up half a dozen pizzas loaded with freshy organic goodies fetched by Pops and Mar Mar at Brickworks. We fuelled up for our night out on the town to take in Nuit Blanche – the night long artsy phartsy celebration of the arts in T.O. Sam Man took a pass on the evening after having tuckered himself out amusing the neighbours with his latest ‘stand up’ routine and from gorging himself with the pizza feast. The grandparents were kind enough to stay over night so that we night revelers could be afforded a morning sleep in.

Supercharged Samuel did not disappoint his sleepover guests and was up and at ‘em at 2:30 AM and then at 5 AM ready to rock ‘n roll. After a morning visit with a trio of grandparents- pops, mar mar, and nana, we packed up for an afternoon of cruising Lake Ontario with Captain Field who afforded First Mate Sammy to set sail on his first ever boat ride this past weekend. James kindly (and bravely) offered to take us all out on his sail boat for a leisurely sail on the lake. Sailor Sam was all in all a good first mate despite his desire to pull and tug on any dangling rope/sheet shroud and all the other loose but ever important parts of the sailboat. Thankfully we were loaded down with treats so we were able to pacify the mini matie with goodies when it was important to sit still. Pre-sail, the expanding sammy was already at the upper limit for the weight restrictions on the life jacket and I think he was totally maxxed out by the time he had ingested half a butter chicken roll, a pecora and whack of sweet treats over the duration of the sail (miraculously he didn't chuck up his chips). Sam Man and I were banished below in the cabin whilst the rest of the crew perform any serious manouvres/ tacks so to avoid having either of our HUGE noggins wacked by the boom. The weather was el perfecto and Sailor Sam was most impressed with his initial nautical voyage. We capped off our day with some bevies at the sailing club- the little man had obviously not shed his sea legs and proceeded to take a huge nose dive on the parking lot pavement. Brave boy managed to shake off the pain and shock pretty quickly but chalked up some pretty impressive scrapes and bumps to the head. The keener sailor barely made it to the car before crashing out from his big day on the open waters.

The wordy and whizzy busy boy continues to amaze me with all of his new feats and sayings.
He has got some good rhythm and roll and loves to shake it like a mad man when in earshot of any music.

Dearhearts Daycare Darlings

2007-09-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

Our neighbour Melissa is a professional photographer. With the gorgeous weather of late, she seized the opportunity to capture some candid and group shots of the Dear Hearts of the daycare.

Sam the Man didn’t let anyone and hammed it up for most shots.

Class of 2024

Sam Trying His Darndest to Impress the Ladies

(whilst his gal pals whislt they are totally oblivious to his antics).

Zonkered After Posing All Day

Sammy's First 'Class Picture'

2007-09-26T07:40:00.001-07:00

Dearhearts Daycare Darlings

(Sammy was apparantly too busy having a staring

competition with pal Ollie to smile for the camera)

Weebly Wobbly Walking Man

2007-09-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sooo Steady Eddie/ Sammy has finally found his footing. After many months of deliberation the Sam Man has finally decided to join the rest of the Biped Bunch. The teetery tottering tot first started out his routine by taking a handful of steps and then falling to his knees in favour of crawling-his more efficient mode of movement. After almost 2 weeks of practice, the young lad is oozing with confidence and now motors along at an impressive pace. He has yet to break out into a full blown sprint so I have been spared any crazy over exertion. I was warned that my was "OVER" once Timbit learned to amble independantly...but I have to admit that I am pretty pleased by his new found mobility as it allows my back and biceps reprieve by not having to carry him everywhere he shouldn't be crawling!!

The young lad has also developed into quite the verbose social animal. He can spend chunks of time conversing with anyone...he is especially pleased with chattting to himself -given that he is such an engaging and fascinating intellect. Our newly adopted cat-Buttons is also high on his list of preferred conversational partners. He and Buttons have quite the rapport going on....Sammy loves to fire practice golf balls at the feline to fetch. Words in his current portfolio include:

MOM (although admittedly DAD was uttered beforehand) DadPop (translation= bubbles) Buttons (our cat)Cheers (the man is hilarious how he toasts anyone with a drink in their hands)Ya (affirmative yes)

On the topic of scoial motor development, the little man is most definitely a quick study when it comes to anything technology related…the man is more than comfortable playing with a wide array techno gadgets- the blackberry and the projector rate first atop the boy’s toy list….have got to start sourcing some more organic alternatives!

"So Much For the Earthy Organic Baby Image"

Between the walking and the talking…life and times have been more than interesting in the Clarmitage Household.

Labouring Lad Makes a MOVE for Labour Day

2007-09-04T18:25:00.001-07:00

Sammy an Simon Spent from a Laborious Labour Day

Soo Slowly But Surely Burly Sammy officially took his first unaided steps this week. The little lad was quite please to strut his suff unaided ...although confident he is still much more comfortable crawling on all fours than cruising as biped.....Timbit has outlined a number of good explanation for his slower start to amble upright....crawling is much more advantageous when it comes to: a) scavaging fallen food scraps off the floor b) striking up conversations with our four legged feline friend Buttons c) burns more calories allowing him to justify is insatiable appetite Excuses aside, Timbit thought it high time to quiet his curious fans by taking his initial first few steps. Each day he has been building his confidence and is getting ever closer to bolting off into a full blown pumping power walk.

Stallion Sammy Slathers it On Thick for

Unsuspecting Fellow Picnic-er

The weekend was spent bidding adieu to the last house guest Zoe before she jetted off to start her Carribbean cruising adventures. Despite all of his begging and pleading, Timbit's request to tag along as Zoe's chaperone was flatly denied seeing that he would be too sorely missed my his mass fan base here. I am quite certain the lad will have more than enough adventures to fill his log book over the coming years.

Food+Family= BLISS

Holiday Monday we ventured over to Trinity Bellwoods to help stoke the celebrations for a the Momo Join Facebook campaign- an initiative sparked by Barry Choi and Mark- designed to pressure Monique into joining Facebook. A fine gaggle of folk assembled at the park with Timbit as we all tried to lobby Auntie Mo into sucking it up and joining the critical mass on Facebook. Timbit loved the excuse to pow wow with a group of old and new pals in the west end but was feeling a tad hypocritical seeing that he has yet to bite the bullet and seet up his own FB profile.... the poor guy just doesn't want to be too accessible to his expansive fan base. Timbit was over the moon with excitement with the endless find fare offerings of picnic eats and treats. The boy was certainly at no risk of developing scurvy after ingesting almost a full quart each of blueberries, strawberries, and peaches (which ultimnately led to copious and plentiful diaper changes). He of course used the group outing to strut his stuff in the spotlight and show off his walking/ toddling abilities and revelled in the rounds of cheering and applause. Having hunkered down close to the CNE, Sir Social got to also take in his frist Labour Day air show...the little lad now has aspirations of training to being Sammy Snowbird...GOD let's just hope he blessed with more coordination and focus than his maman!! We then capped off the LONG weekend with a dinner run to Ghandi Roti......Despite his belly busting with picnic treats, the spent and tired Timbit was able to ingest a Butter Chicken role to refuel from all of his hob knobbing and circulating......Sam Man definitely chalked up some LABOUR for his Labour Day weekend.

Failed Lobbying Attempt to get Auntie Mo to join Facebook

Tireless Timbit is now getting his ducks in line to launch his power packed fall season.

Empty Nesting

2007-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Timbit has been feeling a little lonely not having hoards of fans storming the now that Hotel Clarmitage has quieted down for the season. Saturday, Sammy finally got to pow wow with his pen pal Isla who was finishing up a tour of Ontario. Isla was in town from Sackville, NB and Suave Sammy manage to convince her to squeeze him in to her chalked full social schedule before flying back to New Brunswick.... Despite feeling less than pafait from his teething torture, Smoothe Sam Man was still able to woo and impress his lovely lady friend who is 4 months his junior. Timbit gorged himseld with mixed bag of brunchy eats and treats before passing out from a food coma and fraternizing fatigue. Sunday was hardly a day of rest for young Samuel, we spent the day firing up a farewell Fiesta for Sammer Senior who whisked off back to Tanzania after 3 weeks here in the homeland. We used the excuse to invite over half of our street and Sarah C who was also fresh back from a visit to Tanzania….Needless to say all of these galloping globetrotting guests have more than whetted the Sam Man’s taste for adventure and he now stressed with where to set forth on his first global adventure…..India is high atop the list given the boys preference and desire for their gastronomical goodies!

Timbit has been a bit of a Molar Monster over the past week…..the poor devil has been hammered with fever, crimson red cheeks, soupy diapers and a need to jam his fists in his mouth. One molar has cut through with a handful more about to erupt through his gums…the pain and suffering has taken its toll on us all and led to the ingestion of lots of soothing chewy food and baby Tylenol by Timbit and free flowing boozies on the part of the sympathetic spectators. Tuesday we rolled out the red carpet for a visit from Sweet Sophie and maman Rachel…we took the opportunity to scout out the East York Farmers Market whilst the fresh fruit is still in abundance….The Tortured Teether was less than impressed by the ‘organic outing’….one knows they are in trouble with a Sour Sam on their hands if he refuses all food and drink offerings…not even fresh baking or fruit could numb and quiet the pained little lad. We made it home after a long, loud and tearful trip home..funny how a 20 minute stroll with a wailing child translates into what feels like a 20 hour session in a torture chamber. The battered boy made a miraculous recovery once we reached home to the porch where the boy could roam free and show off his tricks and schtick to his lady guests…..with his spirits perked, Sam Man hammed it up for Sweet Sophie and Rachel. The mommies rewarded themselves with a sizeable bowl of Kawartha Dairies ice cream after the disastrous outing. Sage Sammy managed to simmer back to sweet spirits as he knew that he had a bday party on tap in the later afternoon for one of his little daycare friends. After bidding adieu to his afternoon guests, Sam Man cleaned spiffed and spruced himself up for his pal Tyler’s bday party across the street at the daycare. Ohh was the wee man pumped to be able to revel and rock with all of his fav toys and pals alongside a supersize spread of Scooby Snax. I loosened up and allowed the little lad to sample some bday cake for the occasion….Sly Sammy manage to dig into both his piece of cake as well as those belonging to his unsuspecting seat partners….Needless to say the Efferfecent Eater was coated head to toe with cake and icing by the time the party wound down. Papa and I then exited for our final soccer game of the season whilst sammy hung out with TaTa who looked after the spent Sam Social. The poor guy crashed at 6:30 PM and was down for the count until 7:30 the next morning…..the entertaining machine seriously had the life sucked right out of him.

Chatty Cathy Kidlet keeps spouting out new words and expressions….he is definitely not a shy guy when it comes to wanting to express himself…the latest words are POP his word for bubbles and Bub Bub for his bottle…..Maman is of course rates high atop his list of favorite and endearing words

Little Labouring Lad is now looking to lay low for Labour Day weelend and refuel to ensure a fun and productive kick off to the fall season.

Frenzied Feasting

2007-08-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Tiny Timbit was on a cultural tear for the weekend.. Saturday we sussed out the organic farmers market @ Brickworks where we scooped up loads of fresh organic GOODNESS…. Needless to say the voracious eater was in HEAVAN with the mounds of gastronomcal goodness abound. After loading up on treats at the hippy trippy marketplace we headed back to inspect Nana’s new digs…Sammy had a blast ambling and climbing over furniture and test driving all the ‘toys’ -unlit candles seemed to be a scary new infatuation. We then scooted down to the waterfront for a ‘little clubbing’ and helping of lunch at the tennis club to round out our mornng pigout session.

Stuffed with stamina laden treats, Sammy rolled back home to hook up with Uncle Mikey and his long lost gal pal Kali…..Timbit did not hold back in wooing and whooping it up for his “crush” ….we then marched down to Little India to scope out the South Asian fest and sample yet more divine worldy treats…Overprogrammed overstuffed Samuel was so knackered by the time we reached the cultural extravaganza that he slept through the whole fiesta despite the wafting airs of yummy nummy Indian spices and (lots of sam man’s all time
corn on the cob vendors) and blasting bollywood tunes at record high decibel levels. The sleeping dragon sprang to life right as we were leaving and insisted on his own helping of fresh naan bread to power him up for the stroll home. Tuckered Timbit kicked back for the evening with Ta TA whilst mama and papa bear escaped for dinner out on the town and allowed sammy a ‘rent free break.

Sammy was hardly afforded a day of rest on Sunday as the gang of us traveled out to Oakville for a bbq building bash at Rich and Chris’. Starving Sammy pressured the building crew to speed along construction so that the poor hungry lad could fill his belly with grilled goodness….As per always sir sammy won the award for ‘Best Fed’ guest having ingested food for everyone. Sacked sammy proceeded to crash HARD after his whirlwind weekend. The Clarmitage’s have played host to a non stop flow of amazing houseguests over the last few weeks…zippy zoe having been the latest addition to the mix in visiting from west Virginia….Sam is due to roar back into town from her eastern Canada tour….no lack o’ entertaining for Host W/ the Most!

Tireless Timbit started his ‘work week’ off with a bang … Mister Health Nut started the week off right by heading to his Chinese Medicine practitioner to get tested for some potential allergies…..Swanky Sam Man was quite pumped to have an excuse to cruise around Yorkville in his pimped up Bugaboo …too bad his deshevelled granola mom messed with the ultra hip baby look he was striving for. We then zoomed home on the subway in order catch up with auntie schmelly over lunch…..schmelly was especially popular with the young man as a result of the oatmeal raisin cookies she brought ‘for dessert’ – an very special treat change from Sammy’s the normally ‘sugar free’ status. Not surprisingly, the boy then retired way early from his fast and furious schedule. The man is seizing every possible opportunity to be outside before we are force to batton down the hatches for winter!

Sam Man Gets Up, Stands Up, Stands Up for His Rights

2007-08-13T07:58:00.001-07:00

Bathing Beauties

Sam Man is UP but not quite ‘at ‘em’. Supersize Sam just now oozes with pride over his ability to swoop his way up into a yoga ‘powerful pose’. He dons a smug smile on his face every time he ‘gracefully’ springs into standing position. Sammy threatened to make that first step by placing one foot out in position but then promptly splatted down on the ground due to utter exhaustion from the whole exercise. Wee man has also developed into an avid climber..ready to scale himself up on anything and everything that looks enticing and inviting.

Tireless Timbit has been firing up a spree of endless hospitality these past few weeks. The little man rolled out the red carpet for the Semples (Vangroovy crew) who have just finished their 3 week tour of duty in Trenton with 6 month old Evan. Sammy offered them some respite and relief from life on the army base by hosting the family chez the Clarmitage casa for each of thepast 3 weekends. Sammy has been able to don Evan with all of his veteran words of wisdom of the ‘IN’s and OUT’s’ of infanthood…Prodigy Evan was so inspired by Sammy that he almost went for his first crawl and sampled some funky new solid food offerings. Timbit has been quite the impressive ambassador for his guests insisting that the crew take advantage of all of the fiestas and events on tap in T.O- the highlight being the Hot ‘n Spicy Food Fest where the fiery Timbit stocked up on about 3 dozen bottles of firery hot sauce and got his fill of curry and roti. Sam Man was a wee miffed at being shut out of the beer festival last weekend. His disappointment was negated by the fact that he got to log some overdue bonding time with his grandparents who spoiled him yet again with more toys a treat helping of junk food. I have assured Mister Eager Beaver that he will have plenty of future opportunities to imbibe and savour the ales and lagers of the world. We’ve also had Senior Sammer from Tanzania and Zoe from West Virignia install themselves chez Auberge Clarmitage whilst they visit Toronto and catch up with Timbit…the nonstop barrage of visitors has resulted in lots of wining and dining and late nights for Sammy Social. He has held up well and been most outstanding at sharing his toys, space AND rub a dub grub.

Sunday Social Hour- LOVE those guests who bring and DO EVERTHING!

Timbit is now up to 3 days/ week at daycare and seems to be loving logging the extra time with his buds. Not surprisingly he has been voted the BEST EATER and BEST Sleeper of the bunch…..yet more proof that he is indeed the son of Timmy/Mark Cline.

The young is now laying low in preparation for another busy whirl round the social circuit this upcoming weekend.

The 'BIT is BAAAACK

2007-08-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Rumour Has It ..You've Missed Me!

Okay obsessive fans...after a prolonged summer hiatus...the Timbit Times are back in production...Loafy Oafy maman has been too damned exhausted in these sticky sicky sky high temps trying to keep up to Speedy Sammy to even try and entertain writing something remotely noteworthy.

Sam Man Recconnects With His Gal Pal Savannah

Sammy and Savannah Beatin' 'Da Heat

Tiny Timbit has ballooned into a honey crueller/ jelly donut (take your pick). He has definetely filled out. Mark is now quite insecure over the fact that my biceps are double the size of his as a result of my Timbit Weight Workout regime. The 15.5 month old is yet to take his first official 'hands free' step. I have been told by countless people that our lives 'ARE OVER' once the kidlet starts walking but man my back and arms are ready for the ambling to start..... I read in the paper that man evolved from crawling on hands and knees in order to conserve energy...I am convinced that Sammy is not up marching as of yet because A) his huge cranium prevents him from balancing properly and B) He won't be able to consume the same crazy level of umpteen million calories per day once he 'gets his walk on'. Anyhoo, the boy is plenty adept at getting anywhere and everywhere he pleases and seems in no hurry. You can catch him standing on his own every once in a whilst oblivious to the fact that he is unsupported.

Sammy Social is has definetely become more yappy happy over the past few weeks. He is quite entertained just sitting and reading/ chat to himself for considerable chunks of time. We have fostered a bit of a cute (albeit sometimes tedious habit) in teaching the little man how to raise a toast and say cheers when he drinks. Now whenever the Sam Man is ingesting a beverage, anyone in plain view must be ready to raise a glass to Sammy Sipper.

Timbit- the social animal has torn up the social circuit this summer- yet another excuse for the slack summer reporting. Sam Man is in for another action packed weekend which we vow to report on promptly now that we are back on gear.

One sad note to report...the next few entries maybe a little lacking and unsubstancial in the pictoral/photo department.....me in my wisdom went and put the camera through the wash a few weeks back...I am now having to rub my pennies together to save for a new one!!

On behalf of Sir Timbit we want to convey a HUGE thanks to our crazy loyal fans....because of you Timbit Times is BACK online!

365 Days Old+ Counting

2007-05-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

BDAY Boy/ Party Unicorn Lives It Up

Bday Boy Timbit marked his Numero Uno Anniversaire with a flood of celebrations. Saturday was a marathon fiesta with a whack of pals on tap from all over the map. Our house was crawling with kidlets. The little philanthropist asked for donations in lieu of gifts and racked up a bunch of great toys to donate the Salvation Army . I was a mean wicked maman by not allowing him to sample a piece of birthday cake...Sammy managed to work around this On Sunday , a grand total of 26 family members came out to spoil the little lad with affection and a ton of loot. Sammy the Stud is going to be the best dressed lad in town with all of his dapper new outfits.

Party Hardy @ Club 100 Yonge Street

Timbit wound up the bday circuit with an afternoon birthday bash at Armitage Associates. His gal pals spoiled him with yet another cake and a whack of more prezzies...Needless to say party prince is now coming down from riding quite the festive buzz and ego high from the marathon of fiestas. Hopefully the next few days won't be too anticlimactic for the high flying Sammy Boy.

Sammy Takes a Swipe Out of His Birthday Cake

Mmmarvelous Innaugral Mommy's Day

2007-05-17T12:19:00.001-07:00

Sammy Sr. and Sammy Jr.

Toast All the Mamans For Their Day of Honour

Sammy is growing like a weed….Busy Boy is always on the move and is definitely giving us a run for our money. The BIG milestones of late are saying hi and waving at anyone and everyone. He is much more verbal rambling and babbling non stop to anyone who will listen. It is quite adorable waking up in to his morning sermon/revelations from the crib.

The little boy certainly did not disappoint me with a wonderful first mommy's day. The little man showered me with an adorable hand crafted card with beautiful prose. We then fired up and a bbq feast with Nana and Grandma on tap to partkake in our joint day of honour. It still spins me out that I am actually a mom.

The rest of the week was filled with our funtastic habitual outings. We're back at soccer on Tuesdays and the little man sits at the sidelines with his fellow fans-Jacob and Amelia cheering us on....He is pretty good on the self amusement front....cheerios and a few toys seem to keep the little man preoccupied for 10 minute blocks..I was forewarned that parents are best to plan out their days in 10 minute intervals in order to mesh with kids limited attention spans....I now fully understantd and appreciate this tidbit of advice.

Mover and Shaker has still yet to take his first official step...we are waiting with bated breath for the 'end of our freedom' once the man decides to waltz upright on his own. The warmer temps are a welcome change to allow us to embark on new outings and take in new sights after the closure of outerware season...love the ability to say bye bye to the jackets and hats!

Timbit Raises a Sippy Cup in Salute to His Maman

Sam Man has now almost finished his latest sessions of swimming and of singing...we are now going to scrounge for some summer fun activities to keep us sane and stimulated for the summer. I am still on the fence about going back to work more than 2 days a week in the fall so want to max out the summer fun possibilities!

Cheerleader Timbit

2007-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sammy Speedster is Bound and Determined to Be

More Adept Behind the Wheel than His Maman

Timbit was full of vim and vigour these past few weeks having found his voice as well as greased his wheels to spin around at top speeds. Despite not walking yet, the mobile maniac has found a way to locomote any which way possible at increasingly torrid speeds. He is quite innovative in the ways he gets about! His latest mode of transportation is his new radio flyer scooter that he got for Xmas. Sammy's thick and powerful legs can't quite straddle the seat and reach the floor but he manages to propel the car forward with his sheer force.

Pusher Pops Sparks Sammy's Crackberry Habit

Super Sammy climbed out of bed early to come out and cheer on the thousands of avid runners and walkers for the Sporting Life 10 KM. Patient Sportsfan Sam sat on the side of the Yonge Street course whilst his Slow Mo' Mommy dawdled and stubled through the course at the very back of the pack. Sadly, Supporter Sam fell asleep waiting for his slow poke mom to toddle on by. Post-run, Spectator Sammy worked up quite an appetite and scarfed down a veggie burger, pasta salad and a whole banana in order to refuel from his strenuousw cheerleading exercise. Mini Man Sam has evolved into quite the champion eater...each time I pick him up from daycare, the caregivers report on the ingestion of his mega mealtime feasts of a minimum of 2 helpings of the lunch time offerings. The boy appears to have aspirations to reign supreme at those zaney eating contests where contestants ingest mitfuls of food by the dozens. I am now very curious to find out what Mega Man Sam tips the scale at these days!

Sammy Catches Springtime Fever

2007-04-30T12:29:00.001-07:00

Little Literate Shows Off His Love for Literature

Sam Man's bustling week was highlighted with our outing to the Green Living Show. Eco Savvy Sammy is forever doing his part to shrink his eco footprint and fuel some serious fire power behind the green movement and spur hope for the future generations. The young man was extremely well behaved and most attentive at the various seminars and information sessions. He scored some serious points with his fellow Green Gang given his preference for cloth diapers and a a vegetarian diet. The budding advocate was a little disappointed at being denied a membership to the Green Party...apparantly he is a wee young at 11 months old to officially join a political party. He was given enough information to chomp on to spur his fellow constituents into action. Rabble Rousing activity aside, the highlight of the show for Sam Man was the food sampling...the man was delighted by the whack of new vegetarian products being flogged...especially the Vegan Jamaican patties!!

The nicer weather has allowed Timbit to celebrate the advent of his first ever BBQ season. President’s Choice Best Ever Meatless Burger and Portobello and Swiss Cheese Burger seem to be Veg Head Timbit’s favorite grill offerings. The boy seems to have a voracious bottomless appetite…Supersize Sam can inhale an entire burger at warp speed. The is becoming ever more independent refusing to allow us to feed him….Mister Maturity insists on eating anything and everything that’s served up on our plates so we dare not exclude him from any of our mealtimes.

Splashy Sammy kicked off his new swim session at the swanky Leaside Pool facilities. The Veteran dolphin is ever keen to splish splash around and build upon his aqua abilities. He is most adorable sporting a life jacket with his chubby cheeks oozing and spilling over the sides of the vest….there is definitely no chance of him drowning with the solid boy’s body composition!

The boy is adjusting to 2 days away from his maman at daycare….there is still some separation anxiety to overcome at morning drop off but all in all the little man is settling well and cultivating some solid friendships with his daycare posse. It is a bit bizarre when we tour the neighborhood/park and passerbys/kidlets recognize Sammy from via his ever bustling daycare network.

The week was jammed with visits from all the grandparents and a tour to visit a whack of other fans. Workaholic Timbit logged another full day at Armitage Associates before being rewarded with a lunch out at Over Easy (an all day brekkie joint) where he more than cashed in on his hard work with 3 helpings of toast and some omelet….there is never a fear of this child starving to death!

Despite scooting, crawling and scrambling at record speeds…mister locomotive has yet to make his first official step. The race is on to see if the boy can record his first pace before his first birthday.

Sunshine on Our Shoulders Makes Him Happy!!

2007-04-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Sammy Slider

The man has certainly learned to get his motor running... we have all been getting a good cardio workout chasing the boy up the stairs and around the house. He is getting to be much more verbal with his interjections and demands to see, touch, and explore things....the guy is ultra frustrated when I am unable to pick up on his cues!

The muchos glorious weather has allowed us to explore a whole new green oasis –the park- where swings and the slide are fan favourites with the petit park enthusiast. The nice weather has allowed us to bust out of hibernation and embrace spring fever. Sam Man has worked to strengthen his constituency circle having built of quite the network of neighbourhood pals from daycare, yoga, library, and music class. It is a bit surreal when you walk down the street and passerbys recognize Sam and myself or Mark.

The man is growing leaps and bounds and can’t believe that we are fast approaching the young lad’s first b-day!! Where does time fly??

PS. Sadly Sammy failed to bellow out I LOVE MOMMY for my bday yesterday ...but he is practicing hard to scream it out loud for Mothers Day!

Sniffleophagus

2007-04-16T07:36:00.001-07:00

Phun With Phriend Phinn

The poor Sniffly Sam Man has been reeling from a rotten bout o' the sniffles. His nose has been running like a leaky faucet and he has been harvesting a crop of unsightly boogers. Thankfully the rest of us have been able to steer clear of the germs that have invaded the poor boy's system. The little man's immune system is being put to the test having been exposed to all the new germs and worms inhabitating his fellow daycare mates. TUFF guy Timbit has managed to roll with the punches and ride out the storm.

The little man is now in a frenzy to practice perfect his oratory skills in order to belt out ' I Love Mommy' by my birthday on April 24th! I have full confidence the focused Sammy will be able to sing and scream it out loud for my Bonne Fete!

Stairmaster

2007-04-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

Tiny Timbit is rebounding from a fun but frantic Easter weekend of family fun and frolic her in T.O. as well as St. Kitts. The little Lucky Duck managed to pull in a nice haul of sweet treats for his innaugral Easter which he seflessly handed off to his dear parents. Mark and I were not so lucky and got slammed with a stomach bug on Sunday night/all day Monday. TUFF Timbit manage to dodge any germs and spent all day Monday catering to his weak and feeble 'rents.

Our lives have now been thrown for a loop that the brave boy has now conquered the stairs with NO FEAR at a torrid pace. I literally turned my head to take off my shoes for 1/2 a second- only to see the little bunny boy hippity hop up the stairs. We are now racing to find a baby gate that fits our funky shaped staircase to fend off any potential spills and thrills.

Timbit seems to be acclimatizing okay to his 2 days out at daycare. His little gal pals seem to have taken him under their wings allowing him to settle in to his new posse of friends. The poor guy has been suffering something wicked from the descension of his fangs- the latest additions to his mega mouthful of teeth. I really can't wait until this teething torture is OVER!!

Our primary focus now is to crank up our physical training and conditioning so to be able to keep up with Timbit on a Tear!!

Hippity Hoppity Happy Easter

2007-04-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

Scrambling and Rambling

2007-04-03T18:20:00.001-07:00

The Little Man has been a busy bustling boy scooting around and trying to climb on everything. His favorite conquest is scaling the headboard in our bedroom. Despite the Little Man's Supersize Me status...he tears around at quite the impressive speed. It is admittedly exhausting keeping up to the guy!

Timbit Shows Off His Enviable Pecs and Biceps

The Wife Beater- One Timeless Fashion Piece

The week flew by with Super Sam having soared through his first 2 days of daycare drama free. He has managed to charm the pants off his 3 caregivers as well as his new pals at daycare. The gender split seems to sway in his favour with the girls outnumbering the boys 3:2 each day..not to mentioning the 3 sweet female caregivers that fawn over Studhorse Sammy.

The boy is now gearing up for his first visit from the Easter Bunny. Given his stellar behavious and ultra good looks, Sammy is banking on raking in some yummy organic treats from the Easter Bunny

Farm Fun and Frolic

2007-03-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Little Man trekked up to The Valley for the weekend which helped to spur his spring fever. Creepy Crawler was most keen to rekindle his friendships with all of his farm pals. On previous visits, the little man has been rather non chalant aroud canine host Tipper Taylor....things have since changed...Sammy revelled in tustling and rolling around with his canine pal. Sam Man was most thrilled to whirl around the place sussing out his surroundings from a new perspective from down on all fours. Nana was most accomodating- lending out any and every kitchen utensil, pot and pan for Timbit to play and make beautiful music. The weekend was highlighted with lots of cultural outings out n' about the Beaver Valley including an extravagent dinner out to Pizza DEEElite...life is so much more exciting now that Sammy is able to launch his teeth into pizza and other solid sensations.

Playing Peekaboo w/ Papa Pete

The strapping young man has grown up so much. He is getting bigger by the day and is now sporting clothing sized for 2 year olds. He is most entertaining with his expanding vocabulary of coos, caws, hoots, and hollers...he is busy ramping up his motor skils in order to belt out his first ever proclamation...I love my MAMAN.

Senior Sammy and I inspected the daycare accross the street - Dearhearts. Sam Man worked the room introducing himself to all the kidlets ensuring they were 'up to snuff' and intellectually 'on par' with the young man. All of the stakeholders seem to check out and and TImbit has given the place the thumbs up. He is now on tap to spend Wednesdays and Thursdays with the Dearhearts gang. Daddy is signed up to do 'drop off' duty so to ease maman's heartbreak and separation anxiety. Timbit insists on being spared the humiliation of his mother blubbering and sobbing in front of his new pals.

Grooming the Gentle Giant

2007-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sammy Fights Off Split Ends With His

Stringent Deep Conditioning Regime

March Breaking

2007-03-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

March Break was anything but an excuse to loaf and lounge for Timbit on a Tear. The boy served up quite the hospitality for a whack o' fans and to all of his doting grandparents.

Monday, we chillaxed with Nana and lunched down at the Bus Terminal - the kitchy krazy restaurant down the street. Sam Man amused his fellow patrons and server staff with his cheeseball smiles and food tossing endeavours. Tuesday, the Grandparents-in-Waiting Trudy and Laird venutred over to visit and log some practice play before the arrival of their grandkidlet in May. Timbit scored some swanky oraganic bath goods and yet another stuffed puppy. Timbit's huge surplus of stuffed puppies has squelched any deep desires for aopting a real live canine friend anytime soon.

Friday, Sam Man logged yet another day at the office and then fired up some pre-Paddy's Day celebrations with his favorite blondes...Karen and Natalie. Timbit was well restrained steered clear of the Green Beer. He was more enamoured with the offering pizza and cheerios to help fuel the celebrations. After closing out the week with a bang, Grandma and Grandpa who roared over the Burlington Skyway to help the young man mark his firt Patrick's Day.

Move Over Stever Carell ...
Sammy stars in the LIVE version
of 'The Office'

Sunday, #1 loyal Nephew Sammy caralled the family in front of the big 'screen'/ sheet to watch Uncle Mikey's latest masterpiece- Canada's Next Great Prime Minister. Sam Man was impressed by the calibre of programming but was more than confident that he would have served as a much superior candidate. The political animal is now busy devising his platorm to launch his campaign for the next show..... I am urging him to skip the mock parliment and head straight to the political stage....Stephen Harper watch out.....Sam Man means business with his popular campaign to have mandatory afternoon siesta hour observed accross the nation.....His lobbying campaign is building some serious steam.

Our young man is growing up way too fast.... he crawling around exploring everything and anything and is most insistent on hauling himself up every piece of furniture, bucket, basket, aor anything he can get his head into.....I have some serious physical conditioning ahead of me if I have any hope in keeping up to this guy.

Creepy Crawling and Monkeying Around

2007-03-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

After kicking off the week in the Big O/Orangeville, Sam Man scooted back in the blinding snow to his home turf to recover from the weekend and regroup for the gruelling work week.

Tuesday, Sarah S. came over for a pizza party with puppy dog Finn. Sammy delighted his guest with his newest moves and magic. The Little Engine that Could is finally crawling after weeks of hanging out on all fours with no locomotion. We are now scrambling to babyproof our pad as much as possible in order to fend off potential dramas/ disasters. The Toddling Timbit is now keen on pulling himself up on any and every inanimate and animate object within view.

Wednesday Sam Man got to hang out with Great Auntie Pat and her pup while I (finally) got my haircut. Sammy has adopted a pretty non chalant/ WHATEVA attitude to all of the puppy dog pals he has encountered over the past week. Again, Sammy was much more intent on shredding magazines and newspapers than interacting with his canine host. We then bopped off to music class so the Petit Percussionist could make beautiful music with his pals.
Sam Man Chillaxes With Great Auntie Pat + Pup

James swooped in for a surprise visit for a crazy overdue catch up. Sam Man him James in on the latest neighbourhood sagas and dramas of newest toddler friends whilst James regalled us with tales of his trips to China and Fernie. It was then off to swimming for Sammy's last hurrah at his swim class at Earl Beatty. Eager Beaver has signed up again for the next session swim but is switching to Leaside pool in order to 'take the plunge' with his splash pal Julia.

Timbit went on quite the tear around the weekend social circuit. Saturday, the boys headed off for some hard core playtime with a gaggle of dads and kidlets at Fenton Headquarters whilst the mamans cleared out to get their tootsies spruced up for the upcoming spring season. Sammy was pleased as a peacock to be able to test drive/smash and crash all of the older kids toys and trinkets as well as rock and rattle all the fascinating new window treatments and decor items of the household...the kidlet is into EVERYTHING these days......magazines and curtains seem to be the fan favorite. We all congregated for a huge gorge fest of seasfood, cheese, cake and anything and everything gluttunous. Sir Sammy-Food Afficianado sampled just about anything that travelled within 3 feet of his mouth. Before sinking into a permanant food coma, sammy and I snuck home whilst the dads headed out for a Man Movie night to take in 300....Timbit wisely took a pass on the flick as he deemed it excessively violent and racey.

Brunchin' w/ Da Babes

Sophie- Sam Man's Latest Crush

Sunday, Sammy was fortunate enough to be included in the gals bunch date with a gaggle of my old school buddies. Timbit was more than tickled to be the sole gentleman invited to dine with 6 lady friends. As per always, Sammy charmed the pants his fellow guests with his cajoling, cackles, and cheesy smiles. Sammy was particulary fond of 15 month old Sophie...whom Sammy was quick to snag a seat next to at the table.....I am afraid that the boy was a little too much of a showman and came on a little too strong for the dainty little lady.....he insisted on plunging his hands into her snack bowl to "share" her food and then proceeded to "sample"/ snack on all of her toys. I have to give the gal credit for being pretty non-plused about Sam Man's strong 'pick up' tactics. After slurping down yet another feast, we rolled back home to convene with Pops and Mar Mar for a dash down the Danforth.

Scholarly Sammy Proves He Is Mensa Material

Sacked Sammy managed to stay awake enough to score some new books from the the doting grandparents before fading away into a silent slumber whilst his fans ushered him in his chariot up the Danforth. It was then off to bedy bye early for the Tuckered Timbit after yet another demanding week of networking, eating, sleeping, and expanding upwards and outwards.

Hustle Bustle and Birthday Fun

2007-03-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

Bonne Fete SUUper Nana

Timbit has been doing his best to fend off the winter blues by playing a wild game of catch up with a wide cast o' pals and pets. Friday, Jake and his chocolate lab- Ella came over to fire up a BBQ Bash and to watch the Raps play. Sadly, Sam Man was more impressed with playing with his pile of magazines and boxes than with watching the game or bonding with his guests. I swear to God the boy is part gerbil given his obsession with shredding crumpling and shredding any paper in sight.

Gentleman Sam Prefers Blondes (especially those bearing gifts)

Saturday, Lynny and Krista came over for a catch up visit and to shower indulged Sam Man with yet more cute yuppylicious baby clothes. The outfit designed for 18 month year olds- JUST barely fits over Supersize Sammy's busting belly. I am so hoping that as the boy stretches out some more...he may (just maybe)be able to re-visit some of the skin tight duds he has already outgrown. Mandy also popped by for a visit to show off her girth growth since her last visit....just 8 more weeks until she is due to pop out a sidekick for Sammy. We sussed out this wicked kitchy retro diner/old train staion for lunch . The place was decked with classic artificacts vintage Atari systems and highchairs from circa 1970. We then trekked off to the Scarbs- the epicenter of cultural to reunite with daddy who had been helping out a friend with repairs and fix ups on their place. Super Scammer Sammy and I swooped in for the evening to cash in on the 'thank you' dinner after his poor papa drowned in the sweat of his labour. We rolled home at an early as the picky pernickety timbit would not lower himself to slumber in the playpen....pens are apparantly for swines not for the Selective Sammy.

Timbit and Expectant Maman Mandy Compare Girth Size

I ended up cuddling up with the hulky bulky Supersize Sammy for one night's stretch was a special treat. I totally love listening to the super man's sighs, grunts, and snores while he slumbers away in La La Land. Monday morning it was back to the Big Smoke for Timbit to log yet another gruelling and demanding work week.

Age Inappropriate Toys

2007-02-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

What Kind of Parents Would Let Their Child

Play Air Guitar With A Chainsaw?

Sammy has since been warned that he will NOT be allowed to operate his chainsaw without sporting his safety goggles.

Spills, Thrills and Teething Torture

2007-02-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

Teething Bites!!

Teeter Tottering Timbit has been bopping and along at a torrid pace.....The poor battered boy has taken quite the beating over past week having taken a handful of impressive tumbles and splats, booms, bashes and crashes on a multitude of hard surfaces.....We have been trying our damndest to set up cozy comfy padded spaces for the monkey to sprawl out on but the boy is insistent on squirmning his way off on to the cold hard floor. Solid Sam Man has become quite resilient at bouncing back from some impressive spills and wipe outs without any major grief or drama....he definitely inherited his mamans high tolerance for pain.

Timbit Woos and Wows His Latest Lady Crush

Tuesday we bombed off 'up north' to Richmond Hill to meet up with brand spanking newbie 4 week old Shoshona Berznoger. The young lad cranked up the charm for the little lady so to make a splashy premier impression. Sam Man was most patient and supportive for our second ever driving outing. I was rather white knuckled but we managed to sail up north and back again sans drama and the car in one piece. After logging a long drawn out day, Timbit was ditched by his parents who were invited to watch the taping of Uncle Mikey's new show Canada's Next Prime Minister (to air March 18th on CBC). The adoring everfescent Tracey was signed up to hang with Sir Sammy while Mark and I took off to watch the taping. The Snubbed and Slighted Sammy was none too impressed to be left out of 'the action' and proceeded to howl, scream, bawl, and then puke before passing out for the his crushed (but compassionate companion Tracey (we are hoping to god we haven't burned our bridges for future babysitting dates).

After a night of sweet slumber, the diligent Timbit logged half a day at the AAL office on Wednesday morning in order to earn a bit of pocket change. Busy Bee then scooted off to his beloved music class where the Sam Man and his fellow child prodigies were given the green light to pound away at the 'Big Daddy' kettle drum untap their reservoirs of creative energy. The boy is now obsessed with beating and hammering away at any hard surface to practice his percussion. Thursday, Book Worm Boy finished up his final session at his library program. The program definetely sparked his voracious appetite for books...literally...the boy was more keen on eating the books than actually reading or singing from them. Thursday afternoon Sammy got got to catch up with his elder pals Matthew, Claire, and their ma Kendra. It was good to catch up with this gang who are long time residents of 'our hood'. Sam Man went to town 'test driving' all of their toys and fawning over the family feline...he is now counting down the days 'til he is showered with his very own putty tat.

Friday we headed back down to 'the mothership' for a week's end wrap up session with the Armitage Associates crowd. Sammy was left to consult with the Boss Man whislt his maman slipped out for lunch. Sam Man and his Proud Pops embarked upon a hard core training program -board room table aerobics and board room table shuffle board. Sammy has now mastered the coveted art of sliding, spinning and shooting coasters accross the table.

The weekend was highlighted with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa who swooped in to chillax with Sweet Sammy. Sam Man dismissed his parents for the evening in order to garner full and complete attention from his fans.

Fuelling Up on ZZz's before a Sizzling Saturday Night

The Teething Timbit took Sunday out to relax and tend to his aching gums. For most of the week, the poor man has resembled pie-eyed lush with his crimson red cheeks and the puddles of drool dripping from his aching gums. Brave Boy has managed to push through 2 more chompers on the top and is now the proud owner of 6 pearly whites. The boy has become quite the proficient and independant eater as a result of these new cutting and sawing instruments.

We are now waiting for the boy to finally 'make a move' on all fours...he has been teasing us with his rocking motions but has yet to bolt off into a full crawl. He is most interested in standing and pulling himself up...which is outright terrifying...Despite wanting to see the boy progress and thrive, I am hoping that the boy takes his sweet time before taking his first step...I have assured him there is absolutely NO rush.

Happy Valentines Day Love Sweet Suave Sammy

2007-02-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

Cutie Cupid Sends Lots O' Love For Valentines Day

On Da Move..

2007-02-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

Chillaxin with Da Dames

T'was a lovely dovely weekend of chillaxin and just hangin'. Schmelly ventured out EAST to visit and join us on our weekly stroll down the Danforth. As per Timbit's request, we scooped up some new foods to try out. The wee lad's voracious appetite has forced me to devote A LOT more time in the kitchen than to which I am accustomed. Sophisticated Sammy is now enjoying the likes of quinoa, millet, turnip, and ricotta and due to his father's influence he is a BIG fan of every/all forms of carbohydrates. Sunday, the Sam Man was treated to a visit by his grandparents who scooted at high speeds down the QEW to visit with their favorite Torontonian Timbit. The boys were left to play hosts with the most whilst I disappeared for an indulgent afternoon of shopping on Bloor street.

Timbit kicked back with a pretty low key week. Mark made a guest appearance at music class on Wednesday. Sammy was thrilled to have both parents in tow but I think Mark was most pleased to be able to spend an hour with a roomful of mmmarvelous mommies.

Freshening Up After His Intesive Workout

Sammy fired up some royal hospitality on Sunday playing hosts to his proud pops, Kali, and Uncle Mikey. Pops went to town and pulled off this amazing spread of mmmega meat chile, bread, and of course beer. Abstainer Veg Head Sammy steered clear of the carnivorous feast and opted instead for a quacky of veggie delights and his bottle. It was then SHOWTIME and the Sam Man displayed his latest flip flop/ yoga routines to his fans. Despite not being able to crawl, the boy has become quite proficient at moving to whatever he sets his sights on. Rolling and doing 'the worm' seem to be his favorite methods of transportation. At 22 pounds (and growing) crawling is not exactly the easiest or most desirable way to haul oneself around. After resisting cracking open the playpen, I think I am going to have to crack 'the jailhouse' out just to have an area to allow the man to safely roll and romp without banging himself up.

No words to speak of (literally) yet...although I know he is just busting at the seems to declare his first attempt of "I love my maman"....Stay Tuned!

Locked Out and Nowhere to Go

2007-02-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

Cookie Monster Includes All Major Food Groups For His Picnic Feast

Despite the frigid Feb climate, Timbit has been quite creative in keeping himself engaged and entertained. We have still been making a habit of getting out everyday to shake off the cobwebs and get some oxygen pumping to the brain.

Monday, Elaine ventured over for a long overdue catch up session. Squirmy Wormy Sammy impressed her with his twisty topsy turvey routine and extensive vocabulary of coo's caws, goos and gaws. Tuesday, Uncle Mikey and Nana came over for their weekly catch up and demo of Superman's latest stunts.

Sammy Catches Up With Long Lost Lady Elaine

Wednesday, Music Man started his new music class with Clappping Land. The hippy trippy name of the class is quite indicative of its whimsical wacky nature. Despite looking like she just disembarked from the Peace Train, Sophia, the instructor is amazing! She led Sammy and 18 other kidlets through an hour of dancing and playing with drums, marrocas, and all sorts of other percussion instruments. After an hour of frenzied activity, Sammy was more than ready to crash out in his stroller for the long stroll home just before the real drama and saga of the day began...... soooooooooooooo before we rushed off for music class, I neglected to ensure that I had both my house key and wallet. It wasn't until we were steps away from returning home that I realized I had locked myself out with NO wallet....not so smart on a day with a minus 25 degree windchill. With Nana's help, we tracked down Daddy at work who was able to come and save us whilst we sought refuge in the library......Tough Man Sam was able to take the whole ordeal in stride and snoozed through most of the drama (whilst his maman had a near emotional meltdown and muchos panic attack). I am now seeking out ways to have my key surgically attached to my hand to prevent a repeat performance.

Thursday, the budding literary buff made a return appearance at his library group. The little man has not quite tuned into the fact that the library is generally a place for quiet downtime. Whilst most of his fellow storytimers were engaged with the lap rhymes and storytime, Crazy Cline was busy bopping and hopping all over the place. He is a nonstop ball o' energy and vigor these days and is more than please to show off to any willing audience. Despite his wavering attention span, Sammy seems to get a kick out of the other kids and welcomes the change of scenery and the opportunity to chomp down on some of the delectable storybooks.

Rubber Ducky Models His New Rain Gear

Timbit closed out his tough work week with a visit from Larissa. It's been a while since we all caught up. Spoiled Sammy was delighted to be showered with some more X-mas gifts which included this adorable yellow rain slicker. He is now pumped to find some flash rubber boots to round out his rain gear. It's quite scary how the coat, sized for 18-24 month yr olds, fits his robust figure. It's big enough that he should still fit into it come spring time and so Singing Star Sammy can treat us all to a rendition of 'Singin' In the Rain'. We mowed down a mountain of Thai food b4 mellowing out for a LOW key evening. We are almost at the tail end of our TV free week...has been quite interesting/healthy to dial out the boob tube for a full week...surprisingly daddy has not gone into shock from network t.v. withdrawl...The Whirling Dirvish Timbit has provided more than enough input and stimulation to fill our entertainment needs.

22 Pounds and Still Very Much In Expansion Mode

2007-02-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

T'was a lazy low key week mostly indoors with the mercury dipping to some nippy low levels.
Sunday we zoomed off to Markham to visit 6 week old Baby Jacob and his proud parents Adel and Nahid. Senior Sammy was quite excited to test drive Jacob's fly new toys to ensure they were up to snuff' and in proper working order. The grown ups gorged on a huge feast of Ghandi Roti whilst the poor little boys felt jilted having to sit on the sidelines whilst we inhaled our wraps of goodness.

Senior Sammy Makes a Splash with Newbie Pal Jacob

Timbit kicked off his work week with a visit from Nana and Uncle Mikey on Monday and then a quickie supper with Pops on Tuesday. Timbit regaled his fans with tales of his weekend and showed off his latest flipping and flopping moves on his mat....Mister Mover and Groover is making more and more threats to crawl but is still just teasing us with his creeping motions. Sam Man went to his 8 month doctor's appointment on Tuesday where he received a clean of bill of health and confirmation that he is at the top of the charts for both weight (22 pds) and cranium circumfrance (poor boy is plagued with his mamans BIG noggin).

Mister Maturity Pushes Out His Third Tooth

Wednesday Sammy got to reconnect with his pal Phinn who was fresh back from his trip visiting his 'rellies' in Ireland. I so admire these newbie parents who jet long haul flights with small babies. The logisitics and the stress would cause me to melt. Thursday was Literary Genius Sammy's first day at his Library program. The outing allowed us to meet other neighbourhood kidlets and experience a nice change o' scenery. Keener Sammy was quite keen to show off his clapping abilities that he had mastered his music class. To my amazement, there were 3 sets of twins attending the session in a group of 20 babies. How these poor parents juggle a pair of babies each and everyday is beyond me!! Don't get me wrong...I love the Tiny Timbit but I have no idea have no idea how these families manage juggling 2 babies at a time without losing their minds!!

Timbit Fires Up a Dinner Date With His Fan Club Groupies

Social Sammy closed out the work week with a visit from Monique. We sailed down to Sarah's for yummy lunch to warm our souls from the nippy weather. Sam Man hammed it up big time his fellow patrons. Our server was incredibly patient in cleaning up the large pile o' pita shredded up by Sammy the Gerbil whilst he chowed down.

Sammy then fired up his innaugral SUPERBowl weekend. Pops and Martha came over to nourish us sportsfans with some 'soul food' before we shoved for an exhilerating afternoon of making a dishwasher purchase and then heading out to Oakville for game time. T'is been quite the fruitful 2 weeks for the CLARMITAGE household with the family having scored both a washer/dryer and a new dishwasher...Timbit is now eagerly awaiting instruction on how to use these magical new assets so to dutifuly help his parents with the domestic duties. We then rolled out to visit the Kerr's who fired up quite the hospitality for Superbowl Sunday. Sammy was quite mesmerized by all of the fanfare and hooplala of game day. He did not disappoint his fans and entertained his fellow fans with lots of cheers, jeers, hoots, and hollers to fuel the game day excitement. He made a new friend in 10 month old Matthew who was also on hand for the Big Showdown. Matthew is a refreshingly large and solid baby who rivalled Sam Man in build and stature. Admittedly, Sam Man was more mesmerized with the big screen TV than with the actual game. Sammy was given the green light to stay out past his bedtime in order to watch Prince perform at the halftime show.

It was then curtain call and home to bed in order to fuel up for another high flyin' week o' adventure.

Movin' and Groovin' Along @ 8 Months

2007-01-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Sacked Out Sammy Refuels From His Torrid Growth Spurt

Well Sammy has started his engine and is ready to motor- in constant need of action. He is now 'scooching'/ squirming everywhere and threatening to crawl any second now. You can't keep your eyes off the little locomotive as he is ready to fling, flop, and roll anywhere these days.

The young man has finally been able to savor his first REAL taste winter with the mercury having dipped and the snow god Ulr having finally dusted us with some real white fluffy stuff. Sammy is sporting some blazing crimson red cheeks these days as a result of both the colder blustery temps and from the emergence of his third tooth. The wee wun is just dying to get the green light to hit the slopes and test out his new red sled.

Sammy Social rolled out the red carpet to a whole host of fans this week. Last weekend Sammy fired up a training camp for a crop of 'parents to be'. Friday, Jason and Mandy came over to show off their 'bump' and to shower lucky ducky Timbit with a belated X-mas gift. On Saturday, 'Maman in Waiting' Rachel came over to hang out with the Sam Man whilst his parents ventured out to consume some high culture at the Toronto 'RAWK' game. Sammy has been giving his babysitters a definite run their money and is no longer the perfect angel when it comes to 'hitting the hay'. Bedtime involves some serious manipulative mind games when it comes to distracting the little guy and luring him into a slumber. I have yet to adopt the perfect textbook bedtime routine and instead opt to distract him with any possible 'new' toys and trinkets long enough to tucker him out.

Sammy Cranks Up the Charm for Maman To Be Mandy

Sunday, after a brief and frigid trot down the Danforth, we ventured out for a huge curry feast at Jamie and Jodi's. Sam Man delighted his fellow guests with his latest acrobactics and highly intellectual coos and caws. Tired Timbit was left to slumber in the hosts' luxious mammoth king sized bed...quite the step up from his highly juvenile crib.

Sir Sammy Awaits a Ride in his Chariot

Wednesday night, we played host to Julia Ankemann- who is just shy of her 3 month birthday. Studhorse Sammy really didn't know what to make of his little pal but was most congenial- sharing his space/toys with Junior Julia. Swimmer Sammy deeked out for his swim lesson before coming back to entertain his lady friend. It was quite scary to witness how much Supersize Sammy towered over little Miss Julia (who is only 6 months his junior). The little man has transformed from a little infant to a strapping sturdy toddler in what seems like 'just overnight'.

Tuckered Timbit Melts From Excessive Entertaining

Timbit closed out the week with a bang by playing Toronto amabassador to his visiting grandparents. We ventured downtown to pow wow for a stamina building brekkie at Eggspectations before kicking off a day of post-holiday bargain shopping. Retail savvy Timbit blazed a trail through the Eaton Centre leading his maman and grandma to his favorite fashion outlets where he scored a whack of stylish staples to round out his wide winter wardrobe (the boy is now sporting clothing for 2 year olds and socks for 3 year oldsto cover his bulky brawny calfs). Friday night, Timbit was left to rule the roost and entertain his doting grandparents whilst his parents deeked out for a highly cultural evening of 5-pin bowling. We are now chomping at the bit to enrol Sam Man in his first 5 pin league. All he needs is a pair of shoes, a personalized bowling bag to compliment his impressive beer bowling gut/girth. I have to give Danforth bowl a huge plug as one classic Freddy Flinstone nostalgic venue that is to be enjoyed by FUN seekers of all ages.

Sam Man is now set to celebrate his 2/3 year old b-day with Pops and Martha whilst banishing his parents for another night out. Cheers and happy 8 month mark to the (not so) Tiny Timbit!

Timbit Does His Part to Tame the January Blahs

2007-01-19T09:06:00.001-08:00

Sammy kicked off the weekend early with a hazy lazy lunch date at the local grub and gruel pad 3's Companywith his pals Phinn and Isabelle... the young man was on his best of behaviour and charmed the doting cafe patrons. We then roared out to the West End to hit Ronces for a quickie weekend visit with Ms. Schmelly before hooking up with the Freitsma's for a Indian gorge fest of lots. Sammy was quite taken with the his Elder Hostess Extraordinaire Ms. Meals and all of her fantago spread of toys and groovy gizmos. After inhaling the mamoth feast, our hosts were most accomodating in rigging up an inviting makeshift bed in the bathtub so the Tuckered Timbit could catch some zzz's whilst his parents got trounced at '90's version of Trivial Pursuit.

Saturday we caught up with Kavi and Auntie Mo over Ghandi Roti 'SOOO GOOD'. SuperstA Sam Man impressed the ladies with his latest 'bag o' tricks' clapping, snorting, and lots of squirming. The wee wun is making lots of threats to crawl but there has been no formal locomotion to be made on all fours as of yet....but stay tuned sports fans. Tracey and Jazzy Jim ventured over for a highly intellectual evening of watching YouTube clips....Sammy's personal fave was the chronicles of Gay Robot....man the poor child is going to be in need of some serious therapy early on in life.

Sunday we left him to his own devices to entertain Nana whilst we toured around T.O. trying to find a dishwasher and washer and dryer to replace our ailing evironmentally destructive Totally 80's appliances....tis funny how one seems to place a much higher premium on these labour/time saving devices once children appear on the scene.

The week has been a rather low key and chillaxed one with minimal outings due to the freezing temps. It was actually rather refreshing/ reassuring for Sam Man to be able to experience some sub-freezing temps after the scary streak of signs of Global Warming/Warning weather. Highlights included another trip downtown to 'Lunch with the Ladies' of Armitage Associates. Sammy then logged some 'chargeable hours' while chairing the company administrative meeting. The Wee Wun raised a motion to a) have a jolly jumper installed in the boardroom and b) drive more traffice to the Armitage Associates website by posting a large headshot of himseld on the landing page. The motions are now under serious consideration by the company president.

Sam Man made a strong second showing at his swim class. The boy was on fire and definetely gave his swim partner papa a good workout as he splish splashed all over the pool in chase of any and every ball in sight.....the brilliant boy is now begging to bail out on these juvenile tot classes and jump straight into water polo. Sammy's greater than average girth is proving to be most advantageous in allowing him superior buoyancy. We rookie parents have now learned that swim class necessitates much more frequent diaper changes after one's child manges to slurp up 3x their body weight in water over the course of their swimming lesson.

Sammy continues to grow like a weed...now filling out clothing inteded for two year old bodies. Despite my requests to SLOW DOWN, the boy continues on his developmental odyssey. I will admit that the days get more and more entertaining as the young man shows off more of his strong willed personality.

Tis time to hunker down and refuel for 'da weekend!

Sam Man Make's a 'Splashy' Start to the New Year

2007-01-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Sammy Celebrates a Belated 'Box'ing Day

Sam Man has been on quite the visiting spree this past week...catching up with his pals post-holiday season. I have been quite impressed by the lad’s humbleness not to rave and brag to his friends about the crazy haul he raked in over xmas. It’s funny despite all the new and wonderful goods the little man received from Santa and his fans, Tupperware and wooden spoons still seem to rate as the young man’s favourite goodies.

The boy has become way more vocal and is constantly in need to ‘do the locomotion’ be it rolling, bouncing to new heights in the jolly jumper, or creeping (we’re not quite crawling yet). I keep reassuring the boy that it is OKAY to take his sweet time in learning to walk.

Sam Man has been quick to fire up a packed social schedule this past week. Thursday we had a visit with Auntie Schmelly whilst on her break from the Montessori Monkeys. Timbit was keen to show off his new social and super exploratory self- showing off his latest and greatest toys and tricks. Sunday, Sam got to catch up with his new pal Julia who ventured over with her ma and pa to cook up an amazing seafood feast of scallops and marlin with dad’s favourite molten lava chocolate cake for dessert. Needless to say, Sammy was not all that enthralled to be shut out from the feast and having to settle for his humble dinner of squash and mango puree. Sammy was quite intrigued by his junior pal Julia....it’s quite incredible how much of a difference 6 months make in terms of a child’s development...I can barely remember the Little Timbit at that age...so SCARY!

Sammy Consults Melly Montessori on the Latest and

Greatest Developmental Toys To Add to Her Classroom

Tuesday, Timbit got to hook up for lunch with Auntie Mo, Jen, and Savannah. As the sole male in the group, Sammy took full advantage of hamming it up and WOWing the ladies with his horse play and squeals of delight. The boy is developing quite the hilarious cackle/laugh....it should be interesting to see what kind of laugh the guy develops given the crazy chuckle of both his nutty parents.

Sam Man Hams It Up For the Ladies

Wednesday was a huge day Timbit made a SPLASH (literally) at his first swim lesson with his dad. It was a hilarious spectacle to witness and Super Splasher spent the better part of the hour blinding his dad with his extreme kicking routine. Aqua Man Sam showed NO FEAR as he logged a vigorous 45 minute workout with his dad.

Timbit Takes 'The Plunge'

Yesterday, Timbit continued on his 2007 reunion tour and caught up with his yoga pal Phinn and his ma for coffee. Phinn and Timbit are the same age and it is so scary to witness how fast each of them have grown up over the past few months. It is quite adorable to watch the two of them interact and check each other out. It was then home to rest up for the long night ahead of us. Last night, Sammy was commandeered by his dad to play Junior I/T Guy and help set up the new DELL’s at Pop’s office. Sam Man had a hay day shredding the paper, the shipping boxes from the new machines..the boxes and the office plants definitely ranked as more of a highlight than the computers.

Sam's Latest Career Aspiration- Professional Mover

The Wee Wun is definitely much BUSIER and in need of action these days. The house continually looks like a bomb site as we seem to roam from room to room to exhaust each and every item of its entertainment potential....If the saying ‘idle hands are the devil’s workshop holds true- Sam Man is definitely and angel!!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

Feliz Navidad and a Very Happy New Year!

Sir Sammy would like to wish everyone a belated Happy Festivus and Joyous New Year. Tis been a bit of a battle for us humble little family as we have all battled a yummy melange of coughs, colds, and flu bugs since X-mas Day.

Santa Sammy Makes His Rounds on the Festive Party Circuit

Despite our battered immune systems, we were all able to ring in a very Merry Christmas Season with lots of friends and family. Sammy fired up lots of pre-Xmas visits with his pals including Andrea and Jamie who flew all the way in from Sydney, AU to visit the man (as well as a few family members), the Armitage clan, and other VIP's.

Tiny Timbit Teaches Crazy Auzzie How 'Real Men'

Bundle Up Properly for Winter

Sam Man went on quite the extensive tour for his innaugral X-mas having ventured to St. Catharines, then to Niagara Falls, on to Fonthill, then back to Toronto for a Xmas dinner, onwards to Orangeville for Boxing Day, and then up to Kimberley for a few days before ringing in 2007 with his sick and pathetic parents.

Finally Catching Up With 'GREAT'est Uncle Tim

Anyhoo, Sam Man has kicked off the New Year with a bang and has so far stuck to his impressive list of New Years resolutions: To go up at least 2 pant sizes To put on at least 10 pounds To sample as many new ethnic cuisines as possible To build up his quads with his diligent jolly jumper sessions To utter I LOVE MY MOM as his first full sentence... and the list goes on. We will report on his progress in sticking to this list of vows for '07. Tiny Timbit relays high fivers and cheers to a great kick off to '07.

Busy on the Birthday Circuit

2006-12-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the pause but tis been a busy crazy two weeks with the advent of the jolly holiday season. Party Man Sam ended off last week on a high note with a visit down to the Armitage Associates Global Headquarters to roast and toast El Presidente John Armitage on his ‘40th’ birthday. Sammy was lured downtown with the promise of lots of lovely guests, fine food and an outing to the Distillery District....little did he know that he would have to work for his supper by logging a few hours at Armitage Associates before the party started. Unbenownst to me, the Wee Wun/mini headhunter was recruited to sit in on two candidate interviews with his slave driver grandfather while I ran around to run a few errands. The Little Lad was obviously valued for his good judge of character.

Tuckered after a 'Tuff' Day at the Office

Saturday, Timbit chalked up his first jolly holiday party at Tracey and Jim’s. The young man was so excited by the company and impressive spread of food that he wet his pants. Sunday, the party continued at Pops and Martha’s for some Indian eats and birthday toasts. Birthday boy pops fired up his infamous chicken korma. Sammy got to sink his teeth into his first Naan bread allowing the poor man some welcome relief from his teething woes. The wee wun logged totally wiped from his huge night and retired to bed for a marathon sleep.

Pooped after Excessive PartEEing

Disciplined Sam Man finished up at yoga and music for the season. He has racked up quite impressive portfolio of pals from his classes and his voice and muscles are nice and limber for the holiday season. We have started going for coffee après class with a gaggle of the kidlets and their moms’. One of his bud’s Phinn has discovered his ability to howl and scream. Poor Sam doesn’t know how to take the shrill thrill of screaming sounds and totally breaks down into tears everytime Phinn exercises his lungs. The poor boy just gets upset when other babies steal his thunder. Tracey and Jim were kind enough to come over and hang with Timbit last Wednesday. Timbit was having such a great time with his pals that he didn’t even notice Mark and I slipping out to see WICKED AGAIN without him... Sensational Singer Sammy has warned us that that was the LAST time we are to head out to a big name musical without him! Thursday Sam Man finally got to meet and connect with his Auzzie import pals Andrea and Jamie. The man did his best at playing ambassador to his visitors ushering them down the Danforth for some yummy Guyanese roti and Carribean treats and showing off the ‘main drag’.

The week was a busy one having been firing up lots o’ fun for the holiday circuit. Saturday the Sam Man was left to entertain Grandma and Grandma whilst Mark and I went out for a marathon evening for Jeff’s birthday. After an insanely late night out for his parents, Timbit wanted to teach his ma and pa a lesson and fired up a wake up call/scream at 6 AM Sunday morning.....Sammy wanted to ensure that his parents think twice before firing up excessive frolicking and libations without him!

Little Elf Sammy has been swamped on the social circuit this week leading up to X-mas. Monday we lunched downtown with long lost pal Niti. Sweet Sammy made up for lost time and flirted up a storm with Pretty Niti. Sammy has definitely stolen a piece of Smitten Niti’s heart. She brought him back this adorable traditional outfit from Punjab..the little man is now dying to get to India especially after his new taste for naan bread. Tuesday, we fired up a year end feast with all of the yoga gang. Sam man has made vows to practice his donward dog and lotus position in order to stay limber and lithe throughout the stressful holiday season. Wednesday we set out to fire up some fa la la la festivities with the AAL gang and end off the season. As per ususal it was a gathering of all ladies and Studhorse Sammy. Sam was seeking out every piece of mistletoe possible in order to get slathered with his fair of kisses from all his blonde beauty Armitage Associates pals. Yesterday we reunited withe the Auzzie imports for a night out in Kensington Market for their annual Christmas lantern festival. The solid and sturdy Sam weathered the cold and revelled in the wonderous eclectic parade of lanterns, stilt walkers, drumming circles and all sorts of new cultural wonders. Timbit gave a huge thumbs up to Kensington’s crazy cultural community cohesiveness.

We are off to kick off the heart of the holiday season! Will be back SOON with lots of tales of holiday hob nobing.

Feliz Navidad and all the Best!!

Xo Timbit and his ‘Rents

Savvy and Sassy @ 6 Months Old

2006-12-02T17:13:00.001-08:00

Nature Buff Timbit Answers the Call of the Wild

Timbit is now 6 months old.....hard to believe that half year has whizzed by so fast. He has added a few new feats to his list of tricks so far and getting more and more steady on his feet.

Host with the Most Timbit rolled out the red carpet for his Grandma after she was lured down from St.Catharines to stay for a few days. Timbit was left to entertain Grandma on his own on Monday whilst maman whisked off to work for the day. I now am struggling more and more with what to do when my mat leave is up...the little guy is just so cute and addictive it’s hard to start contemplating leaving him during the day. After a condensed day downtown, I soared home to reunite with Sammy and Grandma for a night of gourmet eats i.e. 967-1111 whilst Mark was out firing up the rocks at curling.

Sammy + Grandma Fire Up the Fun Whilst Mom is Away

Tuesday we punked off yoga as Sam Man had his 6 month check up.....we have to now devise a new nickname as the not so Tiny Timbit tipped the scales at 19.6 pds....it’s no wonder I have developed this amazing new upper body strength. Six month check up= pain and suffering for me and timbit as it marked another round of shots for the little man. Timbit tried very hard to bite his lip and numb the pain of the ordeal but the poor guy had to unleash a few rounds of blood curdling screams to get over the pain and torture of the whole horrific experience. I have to commend the boy on his lung capacity with those deafening screams of horror. Besides the treachery of the needles, the Doc granted Sam Man a glowing bill of health and has encouraged him to continue to grow his sophisticated palate with new eats and treats above and beyond veggies. Grandpa came back for a visit on Wednesday night whilst I scurried out with the gals for an evening OUT!

Wednesday Sammy made a return appearance at his music class. Timbit seemed to jive to his ‘own beat’ having loved the first half of the class but then proceeded to divert more attention to playing with the radiator than to singing about reindeers. Nana then swooped in to pick us up to head up to the farm for a little retreat out of the city. Sammy and I were invited to partake in ‘Girls Night’ with a handful of the Beaver Valley babes. All of “The Valley Ladies” delighted in a chance to share a giggle with the Tireless Timbit whilst we chowed down on a scrumptious Martha Stewartesque feast. Thursday we puttered around prepping some yummers X-mas treats- salsa, chocolate sauce, and some x-mas nut mix.....Sammy was astonished by his mamans rare domestic tear. Sam Man and I were then left to guard ‘the fort’ whilst Grandpa T and Nana went out to toast their 5th anniversary.

Friday Sammy was reunited with his long lost papa who miraculously seemed to have survived without us for a whole 2 nights away. Mark trekked up with Mike and his new galfriend Caley to whom Smitten Sammy seems to have given the two thumps up!! Studhorse Sam spent much of the weekend flirting with Caley and trying to steal the glory and thunder from his rival Uncle Mikey.

Studhorse Sammy Sets Eyes on his Latest Lady Crush

Saturday we trekked up the trails for Sammy’s first hike....the young man did a great job at orienting his parents in the right direction. The fresh air served as the perfect tonic to knock the man out for most of the afternoon. Sammy was quite intrigued with all of the animals in the house and seemed to be more than comfortable with being knocked and knudged by Canine Uncle Tipper. During an innocent round of play, Sweet Sammy ACCIDENTLY took a swipe at Mark’s eye...sending poor Daddy to hospital. Nana and Mark headed off to the Meaford hospital on Sunday morning to get his eye disinfected. Doting Daddy came home sporting a pirate patch to protect his eye.

Settling the Score- Sammy: 1 Dad: 0

Due to Dad’s eye injury, Timbit was treated to a day of play with his stay at home papa on Monday. I took the opportunity to zip out for lunch and allow the ‘boys to be boys’. Tuesday we made our return to yoga after our week off. Timbit was admittedly less than zen and mellow and squirmed and squeeled through most of the class. He was more interested at making eyes at the ladies in tights and squealing and squirming his way around the room. The 10 AM start seems to conflict with the Little Man’s nap time and so he forever out of sorts at class.....then without fail he is bright eyed and super spunky Sammy as soon as the class is OVER!! Sammy Social is all about the post yoga chat sessions but not so interested in the workout!

Wednesday, Sammy and I rendez vous’d with two of my old work maties- Kendra and Anita over some Greek food. Anita was in visiting from Rome for the holidays and the Sam Man was one of the VIP’s on her tour stops. Sammy got quite a kick out of Anita and lured her back to our place for a post-op visit for the remainder of the afternoon. Smooth Slickster Sammy has now secured an open inivte to visit Anita in Geneva.

Music Man Sam Makes His Debut

2006-11-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

Sammy Social has spent another week swirling his way round the social circuit. Sammer (aka Crazy Hair Lady) paid a surprise visit en route from Victoria to Dar Es Salaam. Sam Man was thrilled to be able to show off his latest and greatest tricks, treats and teeth that he has sprouted since her last visit in September. Timbit was a wee disappointed that Sammer (Sr.) failed to tote back an elephant, warthog, zebra or other African pet friend to play with and he is now hoping Santa will fill the bill for a new pet.

Sam Sr. Surprises Sam from Tanzania

Wednesday marked the first day of Sammy ‘singing debut at music class. We’ve signed up for a 4 week special music class for kids up to 10 months. One of Timbit’s yoga baby bud’s Phinn convinced us to partake in the singing sessions. Sam Man was quite sweet to humour and tolerated his tone deaf maman as I hummed and hawed my way through the class with the 10 other kidlets. Music Man Sam is now contemplating going on tour after mastering his repetore of songs. He is scoping out the abilities of the other classmates to suss out whom he might recruit to back him up on vocals.

Do you like American Music? I like American Music!

Sam Man took advantage of the nice temps and sunshine for the remainder and we strolled up the Danforth with Phinn and his mom Erin . We headed to the Big Carrot to scoop up some fresh organic veggies for the Sammy to sample. The man has developed quite the impressive palate having added an impressive listing of eats to his diet: kale, sweet potato, zucchinni, chickpeas, butternut squash, and oatmeal. I am shy to introduce meat as of yet for fear that he will develop into a flesh hungry carnivore like his daddy. We then strolled back east along the Danforth for a java date at this new little funky café Niche up at Greenwood. In the past 8 weeks we have been blessed with the opening up of not one but TWO neat coffee stops along our emerging growth strip of the Danforth. Hords of socially starved new moms now flock to these new venues in search of social interaction and an outlet to field questions/ frustrations and fulfill their java/stamina needs to propel them through the day.

Friday, we set off the Roncesvales for Timbit’s weekly rubdown at with Heather at Healthy Beginnings. He has become quite fond of the weekly ritual in order to relieve the stress and tension of his daily escapades of growing, eating, sleeping, and eating. Ohhh to have to sholder the stresses of a 6 month old. Friday night, Timbit was left to bond with ‘the boys’ watching hockey and swigging back bottles while I whisked out for the evening.

Sammy Stakes Out Busy Bee Midwife Melinda

The weekend was jammed with lots of action. Saturday we stormed up the Danforth again and made our weekly visit to Grassroots to scoop up some chlorine free diapers for Sir Sammy. We stumbled into Ms. Melinda who has been in hiding since the summer. Sammy listened intently to al of her tales of her recent visit to Nunavit and is now pumped to make his first trip up to the North to see his first polar bear.

Sammy and His Fellow Sports Fans

Sunday, we headed up to Orangeville to visit Super Nana, and the Illick Clan. Avid hockey buff Timbit got to watch both Charlie and Katie shine on the ice for their respective hockey matches. Timbit brought showered the teams with his good luck and good karma with both of them chalking up a win. Sammy is now eager to strap on the skates after having been immersed in hockey crazed culture of Orangeville. After fuelling up with some of Super Nana’s infamous date squares and ginger snaps, we sped back to T.O. to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa as Timbit had finally convinced his Grandma to come and hang with him in T.O. for a few days. Tuckered Timbit then retired to his crib after his tiring tour.

Timbit Adds More Fans to His Busting Supporter List

2006-11-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

Snug A Bug in His Snowsuit

Wednesday, we were blessed with a visit from proud expectant parents- Adel and Nahid who were super sweet to shower us with yummy Middle Eastern/ Greek food for dinner. (We really have to stop milking this 'struggling new parents' act and put and end to all of the charity and freebies flowing in from all adoring Sam Fans. Sweet Sammy has allowed us to ride in cruise control with all of the aid and help that has flooded in over the past few months). Adel and Nahid are set to welcome a new kidlet in December another new pal for Timbit to add to his expanding circle o' friends. Sammy was in fine spirts and helped to fuel the excitement of the 'proud parents to be' to welcome their wee wun in a few short weeks.

Timbit Tempts Adel with a Taste of Papahood

Thursday night, I was banished from the house whilst Timbit, Mark, and Uncle Mikey indulged in some 'boy bonding' in its purest form- a of watching watching hockey, eating pizza and drinking beer. Fortunately Sammy was sage enough to take a pass at the beer and pizza and stuck to the bottle of formula. Despite still being totally engrossed with 'the bottle', the young man is developing quite the sophisticated and exciting palate. So far, he has added squash, carrots, sweet 'taters, and chickpeas to his diet. He has embraced the spoon as friendly utensil and now reaches out to guide the spoon into his mouth during a feeding. He is hoping to progress to some carnivourous offerings soon ...with the hopes of indulging in some 'bird' at X-mas time.

Friday, the stressed out Sam Man went for another rub down with Heather- his massage therapist. The boy is totally hooked on the rush of endorphins and zen feelings that rushing through his body after his massages and is now signed up for treatments until mid December. The boy is set to fend off any poential stress and tension from the busy holiday season.

Saturday, Timbit finally got to hook up with and intro himself to Samuel (Sr.) Sam Johnston and Lyn. They came over for an afternoon visit and showered the Wee Wun with a load of loot including two of my favorite muppet characters- Beeker and Fozzie Bear. Tiny Timbit has since been very vigilant with his new toys to ensure that his envious maman doesn't steal them out from under him. Sam Senior is now proposing Timbit be the topic for his next art school project ....stay tuned for more details on 'A Day in the Life of Sammy C'.

Sam Senior and Small Sam Unite Forces

We spent the rest of the afternoon 'tearing up' the Danforth with trips up to the Carrot Common and then up to Canadian Tire for some ever exciting purchases of diapers and other sundry items. We then made a final stop at Beanies- one of the funky new java joints here in 'the hood' to suss out a jewellery show put on by our neighbour Tara. Sammy was all smiles with all of the attendees adding a whack of new admirers to his fan list.

Sunday was an exciting day as we got to meet 'New Kid on the Block' Baby Julia who was born Novemeber 13th. Stallion Sammy jumped all over the opportunity to 'score' popularity points with the new little lady. Timbit was most charming and chivalrous ensuring that Julia garnered the majority of the spotlight with her debut appearance for most of the guests although he still commanded a lot of attention with all of his priceless smiles and giggles. It was hard to believe that Tiny Timbit was just a small as the 7.5 pound Julia less than six months ago!! Time flies when your a growing boistorous boy. We trekked home after a marathon afternoon/evening after making a last and loving first impression with the new little lady.

The Timbit continues to add more and more sounds, screams, caws and hollers to his growing baby vocabulary. His giggle and loud laugh continues to become more and more animated. He seems to have inherited a combination of both his maman and papa's evil cackly chuckles.

Superman Sam sure does a great job at keeping his parents amused with more and tricks and treats as the weeks progress. The Mini Man is quite the treat!

Social Sammy Does the Circuit

2006-11-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Timbit Kicks Back After His Whirlwind Week

Tis been a whirlwind week for the wee wittle wun and his chalked full social calendar. Thursday, Timbit stayed look after home front whilst Mom and Dad jaunted out for Mark’s birthday dins. Tired and Teething Timbit was less than impressed to have been left behind and apparently screamed out his frustrations for babysitters Mandy and Jason. T’was a nice practice run for the proud parents to be to soothe the seriously stressed and sore Sammy.

After his ‘stressful’ work week, we trekked out to High Park so the wee lad could unwind for an hour massage at Healthy Beginnings. The Wee Wun was all too happy with the rub down to soothe him of his tensions before kicking off the weekend. Saturday we travelled the Danforth to scoop up goodies for Mark’s b-day festivities on Saturday night. Sam Man was pretty zonkered from all of the fresh air and didn’t manage to make it to the birthday party hour. The party centred around Totally 80’s Trivial Pursuit- so Tiny Timbit would have been at a serious disadvantage given that the content was ¼ century before ‘his time’.

On Sunday, we whisked out to Oakville for a baby shower for Janis and Yoel who are expecting their Wee Wun in January. Superstar Sammy was on his best behaviour and amused the crowd with his caws, smiles and giggles. As per always, Kiersten had prepared a feast fit for royalty. The little boy did his part in stoking the excitement of the parents to be with his stellar decorum. Of course all good things come to an end and the overtired partygoer had a major meltdown on the car ride home....Man does he ever know how to break his parents’ heart with his desperate screams. We finally made it home so the Pooped Partygoer could inhale a bottle and then retire to bed.

Monday was another important ‘First’ for Tiny Timbit – as it was Sam’s first election experience. The Wee Wun dutifully accompanied his parents to the voting polls so to witness them exercise their democratic right. Sammy got to ‘stretch the rules’ by helping his dad vote. After a careful analysis of the candidate pool, Sammy helped his dad cast his ballot for his preferred mayoral and city counsellor candidates. Sammy is now expecting big things from David Miller for his second mandate.

Sammy and Dad Head to the Polls

Tuesday, Tiny Timbit was anything but zen and quiet and endured some rather rough patches as the Wee Wun prepares to sprout some more teeth. My heart goes out to the guy with his burning red crimson cheeks from his troublesome teeth. Timbit struggled through yoga before passing out for a long overdue nap. We then strolled down to the funky new java joint in our hood called Niche for a sanity break with one of the other Zen Mamans and her little boy Phinn who is just a week younger than Sam. It is quite cute to see Sammy scope out and interact with other kidlets.

We then scooted home to meet up with Nana who came down to help out with the garden and finally finish up his new dresser. Martha Jordan popped over for dinner to finally meet up with Sir Sammy for her innaugral visit. Sammy was a saint and entertained us while we slurped down a sushi feast. Despite having started on solids, Sammy had to skip out on the fine offerings but is keen and eager to soon savour his first sampling of sashimi.

Tuckered Timbit Refuels From His Week with a Super Siesta

Happy Birthday Daddy

2006-11-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Timbit 'Ties One On' To Celebrate Dad's '25th' Birthday

Countdown to Dad's B-Day

2006-11-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sammy Steals the Spotlight With Grandma and Grandpa

T'is been another exciting week in the wacky wonderful world o’ the Sam Man. Saturday we trekked up to Canadian Tire so Sammy and Daddy could get a jump on constructing their X-mas wish list. Daddy eagerly led prodigal son Timbit over to the tool section for a crash course on building the perfect workshop. The exercise turned into quite the brainwashing mission on Dad's part with Mark working to convince Timbit to put a joiner, router, and chop saw high atop of his wishlist to Santa. After the C-Tire outing, we rolled home to retire over some Indian delights.....poor Timbit had to settle for his plain jane mashed carrot puree while watching his parents indulge in fabulously flavourful mali kofta and chana masala. The Wee Wun has vowed to sink his little teeth into some yummy Indian cuisine before chalking up his first birthday.

Sammy brags of his stellar behaviour and latest tricks and talents to Grandma

(the race is on to chalk up lots of brownie points before X-mas)

Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa ventured into T.O. to ‘celebrate Daddy’s birthday’ (although we all know the true reason for their visit was to lay some more love on Tiny Timbit). Birthday Boy Daddy elected to go to Jack Astors for dinner where the Wee Wun got to test out his new Big Boy booster seat. Again, the Little Lad was shut out of the offering of good eats and had to settle for his Old Faithful formula. After another big day, the Tired Timbit faded early and chalked up a solid night’s sleep to ensure a good kick start to the brand new week.

Timbit Chalks Up a Happy Halloween

2006-11-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Little Stinker Makes His Debut

The Little Stinker survived his first Hallows Eve experience in one piece. He made quite a splash at yoga in his skunk outfit despite having been mistaken for a panda by a handful of unperseptive onlookers. Despite being awarded the Best Dressed Award for his costume, The Sam Man was none too interested in calming his mind or seeking out any zen like feelings for most of the class. Surely put off by the freakish buzz of Halloween, Timbit spent the better part of the yoga hour sobbing against his maman before passing out for the rest of the class.

Diligent Sammy spent the rest of the afternoon helping his Nana fill her orders and attend to her business affairs. Sammy predicts Nana's sales would skyrocket once he be allowed to accompany her on her sales calls. The aspiring Material Man is driving a hard bargain and insisting on a 80/20 split on all new business!

Timbit in Negotiations With Nana to Help Drive Sales Numbers

Despite a rough yoga class, the Wee Wun stuck to his health kick regime and settled down to a nutricious dinner of mashed carrots. Sammy was very timely in sprouting his new teeth in time for Halloween so to sport the perfect Jack O-Lantern smile.

Who Needs Face Paint When You Got Mashed Carrots?

Caught Red Handed Handed with Hand in the Candy Bowl!

After greeting a handful of eager trick or treaters, Tiny Timbit retired for the evening filled with dreams and wonderment as to what to dress up as for next year??

Wednesday we made a jaunt down the Danforth before meeting Daddy for lunch. Sam Man has made quite the splash with the local merchants so any appearances made by the little man spur lots of excitement. We then bopped downtown to meet dad for lunch. Our baby crazy server fell instantly in love with Sweet Sammy and insisted on hanging out with the lad for the entire lunch hour. The Wee Wun was an angel thrilling the lunch crowd with his smiles and budding baby vocabulary. The boys were then left to bond for the remainder of the lunch hour while I jotted off to do a few errands. Daddy brilliantly rigged up the Baby Bjorn under his suit jacket and paraded the boy around the city core. It was then home again where the Sam Man relished in some downtime after his cruisey afternoon.

Out N' About

2006-10-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sammy Off to a SOLID Start

Sammy Social spent the better part of last week getting out n' about meeting and greeting more of his fans. On Tuesday we paid a visit to Penny and Dave so Timbit and his dad could hookup their computer. Despite their combined brainpower and I/T wizardry, they were not able to do the set up due to the problem of a broken monitor. The outing at least served as an excuse for the Wee Wun to score some extra playtime.

Poor Timbit's teeth have been driving him bonkers so the days have been little long as of late. Two new fangs are threatening to pierce their way through his top gums. On Wednesday, Daddy and Maman escaped downtown to see The Hip play whilst Timbit stayed at home to entertain Nana and Uncle Mikey. Sadly, the poor guy screamed his guts out -Nana chalked the sadness up to his torturous teeth but I think it was more a result of his maman's absence. The sobby screaming session seems to have seriously squelched any potential parenting aspirations on the part of Uncle Mikey.

Auntie Jane and Uncle Bob paid a surprise visit to chart the NOT so Little Man's mega growth spurt since their innagugral visit back when Tiny Timbit was a mere 2 weeks old. Thursday, we trekked back up the subway line on to visit with Lynny for our inaugral visit. Timbit has discovered his voice and was quite amusing belting out lots of amusing yells and 'tunes' for us to enjoy....thankfully he seems to be able to carry a little more of a melodic tune than his tone deaf maman.

Long Overdue Visit With GREAT Aunt Lizard

The weekend was a fairly quiet one for the Little Man. We braved a wild weekend visit to Ikea. Timbit policed our shopping to ensure we didn't go overboard in the spending department to conserve so to have ample disposable denaros to spend on Timbit for his first X-mas. Project Manager Timbit then spent the rest of the afternoon supervising his dad's construction of our Ikea goods.

It was then to bed early as the Wee Wun acclimatized his inner clock to the Time Change.

Teething and Other Trials and Tribulations

2006-10-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

Psyching Dad Up For Halloween

Mister Maturity has managed to push out two bottom teeth with 2 more cutting there way through his top tender gums. The Little Lad has been quite a good sport given the fact that he had sharp dagger teeth pushing through his poor swollen gums-and ambesol has been a god sent to help fend off the suffering Tuesday we were honoured by a visit from Pops and Hot Shot Producer-Uncle Mikey. Timbit gave his Uncle some much valued constructive criticism on Dragons Den. He has insisted that he be allowed to appear on next season’s show to pitch his brainiac ideas. Timbit cannot divulge too many details about his latest proprietory idea. He is quite confident that his idea- the Bottomless Bottle-designed to satiate growing babies and their voracious appetites -will garner lots of interest from the panel of Dragons.

The week was chalked full of visits with friends and other Sam fans. Tuesday Sammy attended his second yoga class. Timbit pushed himself so hard that he pass out cold on his yoga mat halfway through class. He is slowly building his stamina to be able to stand on his BIG head. Wednesday we headed downtown to stroll through Yorkville so Timbit could get a jump start on formulating his wish list to Santa. Sadly our outing was cut short once I was enlightened to the fact that I had forgotten Sammy’s bottles at home. The poor Starving Sammy proceeded to scream the majority of the return trip home on the Danforth line. Due to this act of sheer stupidity and carelessness, I managed to lose my nomination for Maman of the Year. Thursday night Mandy and Jason came ventured over for dinner to celebrate the news of the impending arrival of their new baby- due in May. The Sam Man is going to have such a great gaggle of pals to hang with over the coming months with all of the new kidlets brewing.

Friday, Sir Sammy reunited with his gal pals – Savannah, Jen, and Auntie Mo. We strolled over to Leslieville to visit at Jen and Savannahs fab new pad. It was like Christmas morning as Sam was free to sample and test drive all of Savannah’s new toys. He was particularly thrilled with her souped up Exersaucer! We then got to witness Savannah pose for her photo shoot with Frank the photographer. Sam was a wee jealous at not being centre stage and the prime target of the camera so he proceeded to pass out for the majority of the afternoon. We then reunited with Auntie Schmelly for the evening to take in some flicks and mow down some ‘za. Due his ongoing suffering from the teething, Sam Man was a wee out of sorts and tested out his lungs with some serious screams and shrieks- the little lad certainly does not suffer in silence. My heart totally goes out to the poor guy in this torturous and traumatic teething period.

Courtney and Jack Debate Who is Sam's #1 Cousin

(Sammy of course NEVER Plays Favorites)

Sammy was quite grateful for the arrival of the weekend as he was granted a welcome breather from his ‘rents. Saturday, Pops and Martha came over to babysit whilst his parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle and cuzzies headed to see Wicked. Sadly Sammy was shut out of the show as the tix were purchased 6 months B.T (before Timbit) . His jealousy over not being able to take in the play was quickly squelched given the opportunity to frolic and ‘fire it up’ with Pops and Martha for the afternoon. He was then reunited with his cuzzies and Grandma and Grandpa on the home front. Timbit eagerly listened to the rave reviews for Wicked from hen bopped along to the soundtrack in his exersaucer before calling it a night. Sunday, Sam Man again took a breather from his doting parents. After having successfully shipped his parents off, Sammy got to hang with soon to be mommy Jen for the afternoon. Sam Man was rumoured to have been on his best behaviour so to boost Jen’s excitement re: becoming a new mom. We closed out the weekend with another visit from Pops and Martha. Sammy sat on the sidelines whilst the rest of feasted on Indian delites. The boy was frothing at the mouth with jelousy watching the rest us devour the curry, naan, and paneer. We have decided it is now time to let the maturing lad sample his first taste of solids.

Sammy Teaches Pops a Lesson About Sharing His Toys

We have whipped up a batch of muchos mashed and mushed carrots and are set to let the food ‘fly’ this week. Stay tuned for an update this week as the Adventurous Aficionado takes his first stab at solids.

They're HOOKED!

2006-10-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Tiny Timbit Joins His Fellow Fans As They Get Their Weekly Fix of the Hottest New Show on Television
Dragon's Den Airs Wednesday Nights 8 PM on CBC

'Ruffin It' Up North

2006-10-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Family Bonding in the 'Wilderness' of the Muskokas

Well t'was yet another 'action packed' weekend for Tiny Timbit as we launched into a whirlwind weekend. Before heading out of the city, Timbit/ Don Juan played the chilvarous 'host with the most' to three lovely ladies here on the homefront. Auntie Mo arranged for us to rendez vous with Jen and her baby Savannah over some gourmet Swiss Duck. The Timbit was quite pleased to flaunt his seniority and show off his mature mat tricks and exersaucer stunts to younger Savannah who is a whole 2 months his junior.

Entertaining the Ladies is Exhausting!

After an exhausting afternoon of entertaining and eating, the Timbit, in tow with his 'rents, trekked up north to visit the Fenton's as well along with a giant gaggle of other guests. This was Timbit's second visit up to Riley Lake -having already visited the cottage when he was a mere 3 weeks young. Needless to say he was quite the HIT, showing off his maturity and bubbly personality to the gang. Despite his love for the water, the young lad was sage and decided to steer clear of swimming in the freezing frigid lake. Sammy witnessed his nutty (albeit brave) father wade int the insanely cold water as he helped to extract a raft from the lake. Sammy opted to spend most of the weekend napping and lounging by the wood fireplace whilst sipping from his beloved bottle. There was a grand total of 17 of us bunking in at the 3 bedroom cottage for the weekend. Given VIP Timbit's 'New Kid On the Block' status, we scored a bed/bedroom to ourselves whilst the rest of the guests had to scramble for floor, coach and tent sleeping space. Saturday night, Sir Sammy retired early to bed to score some valued beauty rest.

Supervising Dad's Unpacking Job

Sunday we zoomed back to the Big Smoke so Timbit's maman could attend a Thai cooking course in the afternoon. The Wee Wun has his fingers crossed that his mom will be able to master some half decent green curry by the time he starts on solids. He and his papa were glad to be able to chalk up some macho male bonding for the afternoon and unwind from the 'stressful' weekend of sleeping, eating, and chillin'.

Namaste and Happy Short 'Work' Week

2006-10-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

In order to recover from his hectic holidy weekend of entertaining and eating, Tiny Timbit embarked on a new regime of weekly yoga class . We attended our first class on Tuesday which is thankfully located just across the street at Wooedbine and Danforth. The little guy took to the class like a n elastic band stretching and showing off his downward dog and child's poses. It was a good way to get out and meet some other local kidlets with whom to hang and get to know Feeling quite zen and relaxed from the session and managed to K.O. for the better part of the afternoon.

We then headed out West to Bloor and Spadina to hook up with Auntie Schmelly for a long overdue visit to wish her a belated Happy Birthday. The Sam Man was most disciplined and steered clear of all of the java offerings in favour of his beloved bottle. We learned all about the joys of Auntie Schmelly's plum new Montessori posting. The Little Lad is now couting down the days until school starts.

Reunion with Auntie Scmelly

We then roared over on the super stuffed streetcar to meet Daddy for dinner at Ghandi Roti. Sammy was able to delight in the smells and hustle bustle of Ghandi's 'ecclectic' atmosphere but was sadly shut out from sampling the roti. He was anxious and antsy over not being able to sink his gums into the delightful doughy stuffed treats but we reassured the little that soon enough he too would be able to sample some of the Indian delites.

Aficionados Checking Out the Queen West Arbour Art

Thursday marked the final day of our stroller class in The Beach. It has been a nice routine to march down to the Boardwalk to get some welcome fresh air and meet other local kidlets. Sammy is defintetly the most vocal of all the babies and loves to test his vocal chords and battle with the instructor for control of the class. As if the stroller fit class was not workout enough, we came home to find a fabulous new addition to the Wee Wun's rapidly expanding home gym. Nana had picked up an Exersaucer which spurred squeals of delight and an exertive afternoon of pure cardio. I have a feeling it is going to be a long while before the novelty of this new addition wears off.

Gobble Gobble to Terrific Turkey Times

2006-10-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sam Man has once again chalked up a week packed o' action and cheap and cheerful thrills. The wee man is getting ever bigger and stronger by the milisecond. He has now taken to tugging and tuslling with my hair any chance that he can. This past week, Nana and I have been working to get his room spruced up a bit so to make it a wee less chaotic looking. The Wee Wun is on tap for some new curtains and a freshly painted chest of drawers.

Thursday we made our visit to the beach for Strollerfit for our weekly workout. The Sam Man coaxed and pushed me extra hard this week in order to make some room in my belly for Thanksgiving eats and treats.

Wiped and Worn Out from his Weekly Workout

Friday we packed up and headed to St. Catharines so Sam Man could visit the 'rellies' whilst Mark and I attended Rob and Win's wedding in Hammertown. There was definetely no room for boredom whilst bunking in with Grandma and Grandpa. The Wee Wun was thrilled by visits from his cuzzies Katy, Court, and Jack. I am not even sure that he even noticed our absence given his demanding schedule of schmoozing and entertaining his fans.

On Sunday, we buzzed back to St. Catharines to reunite with the Sam Man unday marked Sammmy's inaugural Thanksgiving dinner. The weekend marked Super Sammy's third time away from his maman and yet again the young lad braved his overnight with minimal/ zero separation anxiety. Grandma valiantly prepped a hearty and yummy Thanksgiving feast to devour and enjoy. Bound and determined not to pack on any extra holiday weight, the regimented and disciplined Sammy steered clear of the big feast and opted instead to undertake a rigourous workout of arm circles and 'running' on his mat. Boy did I ever feel guilty stuffing away the pumpkin pie while the little man steered clear of temptation and perservered withhis gruelling workout.

Sammy gives thanks and learns about his hardworking forefathers who laboured so dilligently to allow him his life of leisure and PLENTIFUL food supply

It was then time to retire back to T.O. to enjoy a quiet holiday Monday of clean up and chillaxin. After having survived one too many rides in our pig sty of a car, Sammy prodded his papa 'into action' to clean, scrub and clear out the car. Papa was awarded a huge gold star for his efforts and Sam is now proud and willing to be seen riding in daylight.

Big Boy Bops Around the Beaver Valley and Beyond

2006-09-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Meaford Fall Fair Fans

Sir Sam was a busy boy playing host to his Grandma this past week. I had to make a quick getaway to La Belle Province (in Drummondville) to attend a funeral and left the Sam Man in the quality care of his Grandma Grandpa. Despite his abscence at the funeral, Sammy made quite the splash 'in spirit' as Nana proudly criculated glamour shots of the Little Man to ALL the Illick relatives and extended family. Grandma gets a huge high five for having stepped up to the plate to 'bond' with Timbit twice in one week.To my great and shocking surprise, the Wee Wun seemed to survive with minimal emotional scars and separation anxiety from his Mmmmarvelous Maman. A plus of heading out of town was that Mark had to step in and take Sammy to the doc for his latest round of shots. I will admit I was not disappointed in pawning off the responsibility of having to witness the poor lad get poked and prodded with injections. Brave Boy seems to have endured the latest round of innoculations. I think the exercise was definetely more painful for Daddy than Sir Sam.

Friday we headed downtown to partake in the Armitage Associates Fall Luncheon down at Spring Rolls on Church. The Wee Wun seems to have taken a liking to the sight and smells of the Pan Asian fare. The Sam Man was thrilled to partake in his first pow wow with the inner Armitage Associates contituency circle and offered some valuable input on his thoughts on the current 'Talent Marketplace' and the latest hiring trends. He has agreed to continue his weekly consulting gigs at Armitage Associates on condition that he continue getting first dibs on the board room table for use as his change table and 'tummy time'.

Chairman of the Board Sammy ponders the firm's 3rd Quarter Objectives

Friday night we packed up to speed up to the Beaver Valley for another visit to Springbrook Farm to visit our fam and fans up north. Sammy had a great weekend frolicking in the fall foliage and hangin' with Tipper, Cordell, and the barncats. We toured the Meaford fall fair on Saturday where Sammy scored yet another piece of clothing from Nana- an adorable ski hat in which he resembles one of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. We also scooped up a gorgeous handknit fisherman's sweater from one of the vendors;

After being teased with all the sights and smells of yummy fall eats and treats all weekend, the Wee Wun has started showing signs of teething. He is set on sharing in all the fresh fall fare offerings. Sammy is bound and determined to chomp down on one of Meaford's crisp apples before the harvest season is out. He has been quite a good sport at bearing the pain of his emerging fangs. Oragel and Gripe Water were his best buds on Sunday.

Sammy was busy giving his Halloween costume a trial run with his 'first fitting'. The little stinker looked oh so cute in his costume amidst the pumpkins and bright fall colours.

Despite being spoiled to death with lots of Nana's fine home cooking all weekend, we had to make our regular visit to Pizza Delite for dinner in Meaford. Sam more than 'DELITE'd the to proprietors Cathy and Noel for his innaugral showing at Pizza 'D'. Sam's adorable coo's and smiles totally stoked Cathy's need and desire to be a Grandma whether or not her poor daughter is ready for the 'urging' and persistence. Drool Monster Sammy had was swimming in pools of saliva from both his painful gums and the sweet smells of pizza. I think someone has inherited his papa's total weakness for all things bready and cheesy!

Cathy and Noel celebrating with the Petit Pizza Delight Franchisee 'in waiting'

We rounded out our Northwestern tour with a visit to see Super Nana in the "Big City" o' Orangeville. Sammy was more than proud to show off the growth spurt that he has experienced in his girth line and his multiple chins. Super Nana was most thrilled with the 'bonding opportunity'. Our dining extravaganza continued with a visit to Kelsey's for dinner and back to Nana's for fresh gingersnaps and date squares for dessert- again with poor Sammy being shut out from the 'solids' selections.

Super Nana with her All Time Favorite Great Granchild

It was then back to the Big Smoke so Tiny Timbit could 'call it a night' in his own bed and reflect on his action packed Beaver Valley visit.

Sammy Does the Lunch Circuit

2006-09-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

T’is been quite the action packed week for the little man having wined and dined all around the downtown core. Monday we met up with Dad and then Tuesday we trekked to Queen West to meet up with Auntie Mo for long overdue catch up at Teroni over antipasto and pizza. Sammy showed some serious restraint by taking a pass at all of the yummy pizza and pasta offerings in favour of his bottle. The little man sparked some serious stroller envy amongst the yuppie Queen West babies cruising around in his Cameleon. Given his maman’s less than stellar driving record, the Little Man has been most patient and brave to be chauffeured by his mom all around town in his fabulously fly stroller.

Downtown Dining Date with Daddy

Liquid Lunch with the Ladies

Thursday we punked off our weekly date in The Beach in favour of strolling along the Danforth for a granola outing to Grassroots with Auntie Mandy came over for a long overdue visit. We trekked along the Danforth so we could scout out the latest organic sweat shop free baby clothing offerings at Grassroots.

Showing Off My Mad Jumping Skillz to Mandy

Sam Man finished off his week by making a return trip down to Queen Street to visit his social activist papa who was volunteering at the Car Free Day festivities. The Wee Wun did his part in minimizing his carbon footprint by taking transit and chugging around in his emission free stroller. Sammy then led the crew to Mister Greenjeans to unwind over a few cold bottles before heading out to visit Uncle Mikey at CBC. There has been no lack of fanfare and publicity over the Little Lad on the part of Uncle Mikey amongst family, friends, colleagues...or just about anybody. Upon entering the CBC building, Tiny Timbit was showered with adoration and praise by his huge and growing fan base at the CBC. Uncle Mikey led us on a quick tour around the studios and newsrooms to meet his colleagues and watch the news roll in. Watch out Peter Mansbridge...Sam Man was eagerly eyeing up the Chief Anchor chair. Sam was most impressed with his tour of Uncle Mikey’s cubicle which was plastered with timbit glam shots. After the huge downtown jaunt, we headed home to meet up with Pops and Martha for a catch up and to rake in some more gifts from more Montreal fans. The terribly tired Timbit then retired to bed to rest up for his weekend visitors.

CBC's Poster Child

Saturday morning , the next round of Sam Fans flooded through the gates to visit the Wee Wun. Grandma and Grandpa trekked in from St. Catharines for an early sneak peak bonding session before the arrival of the Kilyk Krew. As per usual, the Sammy suffered NO lack of attention and was doted over by cuzzies Katie, Courtney, and Jack and Kelly and Bob. Proud Patriach Pat and Mmmarvelous Matriarch Becky manned the ship whilst we ‘kids’ fled to Queen Street for a bit o’ shopping and some eats. Sammy surprisingly suffered zero separation anxiety from his parents having been surrounded by his crew of doting fans for the afternoon. Being the youngest grandchild on his papa’s side, Sam has managed to score some wicked new toys and gadgets from his cousins. Jack kindly introduced the Wee Wun to his CHA CHING windfall of Bob the Builder sets and Tinker Toys that he had inherited from his cousins. The Little Lad now has grand aspirations of a career in architecture.

Frolicking Fam Fans from Fonthill

After an action packed agenda last week, Tiny Timbit is laying low for a Lazy Hazy Sunday to rejuvenate for next week’s thrills and spills.

Sammy the Rabble Rouser

2006-09-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Mom, Pops and The Jr. Activist Lending an Ear to Romeo

Sir Sam-A-Lot (nickname stems from his supersize status) had an action packed weekend of entertaining and getting out n’about. Saturday afternoon the Wee Wun played host to a gaggle of new friends –Rich, Jodi, and Jamie. Papa fired up the BBQ with an impressive offering of carnivorous treats from our favourite Danforth flesh vendor-Royal Beef- whilst Sammy entertained the guests with the latest gossip and toilet humour he learned from his fellow Beach Baby pals.

Sunday we headed out with pal’s James and Alex to participate in Sammy’s first ever activist event. The Toronto rally was in support of sending a Canadian backed UN mission to serve in war torn Darfur. L’il activist Samuel joined a good crop of his fellow youth to throw his support behind the cause. One of our all time heroes Romeo Dallaire was on tap to show his support for the mission and remind us of the frightening parallels between the ’94 horror in Rwanda and the deteriorating situation in Darfur. Sam Man was there in full force relaying his support for the Darfurians.

After his activist afternoon of, Sammy led the charge to the Rebel House to debrief over a few cold bevies and some ‘scooby snacks’. The disciplined Sam Man skipped out on sampling the Rebel House’s fine microbrewery offerings opting instead to show loyalty for his bottles of formula. It was then time to head home to retire early after the action packed weekend.

James and Sam Showing Some Respek and Solidarity for Darfur

Sam is now asking all of his fans to follow his lead lobby their MP’s and the Honourable Stevie Harper to step up and do their part and offer up troops and logistical support to Darfur. Timbit has taken time out his busy play day schedule to compose a letter template for anyone else who wishes to throw their support behind a mission in Darfur. To learn more about whats going on in Darfur, please visit Stand Canada.

Life is Rough

2006-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Bathing Beauty awaits his

poolside bottle service.

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

2006-09-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

After a long and very thoughtful pause (due to Mommy's loss of the username and password for the bebe blog) , we are back up and running here at the Timbit Times with some Crazy Catch Up Correspondence.

It has been quite the action packed 2 weeks. Notable highlights for Sir Sammy include:

Hosting his first overseas guest.
Surviving his first overnight away from his 'rents.
Attending his first wedding

Friends Carla and Kevin hosted a 'one of kind' wedding Labour Day weekend extravaganza up near Mansfield. The nuptuals served as an excuse for friend Sammer MacDonald Sam to make a return trip visit back here to Canada. Sammy and I made an early getaway for the country and headed up north on the Thursday night with Nana. We made a pit stop to visit with Super Nana in Orangeville to show off how his latest growth spurt. On the Friday night we stayed at Springbrook farms with Nana before leaving Sammy in the care of his Uncle Mikey, Nana, and Grandpa Peter for his first overnight away from his 'rentals. Sammy did not appear to suffer one bit from separation anxiety after being smothered with nonstop attention and affection from his weekend keepers. The one night hiatus was likely a welcome change of scenery for the little lad but it was definitely tough on Sam Man's parents.

The wedding was hosted at a fabulous cottage on a beautiful property where almost half of the guests set up camp for the weekend. We arrived 'sans Sam' on Friday and were treated to a fabulous barbeque dinner and a night of chillaxin and catch up around the fire with friends. Most of the guests were ultra hard core and camped in tents for the entire weekend. Because Sir Sam was residing with us for the Sunday night we scored a room AND a bed in the main cottage for the entire weekend. Sammy was definitely our ticket to luxury. The soggy wet weather cooperated and cleared long enough to allow for a beautifully cozy outdoor ceremony after which Sammy comandeered 'his keepers' to deliver him to reunite with us to partake in his first wedding reception. Mike and Nana were long faced and vexxed at having to return Sammy to his rightful guardians after his night of babysitting his uncle and Nana.

The Wee Wun was definitely a hit with the wedding crowd. It was an opportunity for the Little Man to bond with the nutty cast of characters- Emily, Nix, Kevver, and Sammer that I worked with in Guyana. After an action packed night of 'workin' the crowd' we retired to the cottage where Sammy got to share a room with mom, dad, and 3 new girlfriends. The next morning we enjoyed our final spread of breakfast with the wedding crew before heading back to Toronto. Kevin and Carla and their families deserve an ultra hug HIGH five for having wined, dined and entertained such a huge cast of characters for the whole weekend whilst simultaneously staying calm, cool and focused enough to pull off a wonderfully magical wedding ceremony.

Sammy trying to woo the Beautiful Bride to Be before she ties the knot

Last weekend Sam Man chalked up a fine weekend of hosting Grandpa and Grandma as well as 'the other Sam' or better know as the Crazy Hair Lady as she finished up her 2006 Canadian tour back here in Toronto. On Monday we made a visit to the Armitage Associates headquarters for a visit with the crazy crew- Pops, Natalie, and Karen and Daddy joined in the fun. Sam played chaperone to the Armitage Associates gang whilst we dined at Spring Roll for one of the company's quarterly lunches. Sammy opted to stick to skip the Spring Rolls and Red curry in favour of a vintage bottle of formula.

The week was filled with exciting outings with 'the other Sam' whilst she shopped and delighted in the Canadian 'comforts of home' before trekking back to Dar Es Salaam on Wednesday night. Sammy is now eagerly planning his first East African visit to climb Kilimanjaro and spy up some giraffes and elephants.

The Little Lad continues to grow cuter and more charming by the millisecond!

Official (Second) Launch of Timbit Times

2006-09-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Official Launch of the Timbit Times

Okay fine fanz .....here it is FINALLY.... the first instalment of the Timbit Times-chronicles of Sweet Sammy Cline. (This is actually my second attempt at launching the blog after I brilliantly lost the password for the first posting so the date for this one should read August 28th) I am an admittedly horrifically careless and neglectful new maman for not having commenced this cyber anecdote collection earlier than his 3 month birthday mark (which incidentally was yesterday-remarkably I remembered ).

Just as an FYI for all you new subscribers to the Times- Sammy has adopted the nickname Timbit- a derivation of his papa's nickname Timmy.Anyhoo....I am going to TRY my very best and log/blog the latest and greatest endeavours of the Wee Wun here on these very pages so to keep the Sam Man's fans and friends up to date on his latest harrowing adventures. This weekend was highlighted with Sir Samuel's inaugural visit to his papa's proud homeland in grape and vino country-St. Kits aka St. CathArines, Ontario and surrounding area to visit his grandma and grandpa. As per usual, Sammy C. was the star of the evening wowing the family with his enthusiasm and exuberance on his flash vibrating play mat....I swear to the gods that the world would be one heckuva happier place if we were all granted time to shake our sillies and stresses off on our own vibrating pad. Sunday we trekked on our adventures to Fonthill where Sweet Sam helped his cousins Jack, Courtney, Katy 'tie one on' for Katy's 14th birthday party. Sammy was one heckuva a good sport sitting put at the sidelines whilst we all hoovered our juicy succulent steaks, taters, and ice cream cake. Little Man is now eagerly anticipating his first teeth in order to indulge in offerings more exotic than his blah bland diet of baby formula.

Kelly explaining to the Wee Wun that not all parties are thrown 'In Honour of Sam'

Today we kicked off the week on a mundane and mellow note whilst waiting for a Rogers Techie Surf to 'boost our signal'...I'd like to say it was worth the wait and anticipation but we'd be lying! We tried to distract ourselves with some Baby Einstein but opted to divert our attention to our all-time favourite pastime-watching the ceiling fan- oh my how our days seem to WHIRL with excitement! Soooo sports fans... that's enough rambling and raving to fill my first instalment of the Life and Times of Sammy C'. I will try to include some more glam shots of Subject Sam once we get our camera fixed from a weekend mishap (the birthday party/ 'Fun in Fonthill' got a little out of hand).