Timbit the Talker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Snip Snip Buzz Buzz- Timbit Gets a Makeover

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

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

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

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

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

Gregarious Guy on a Tear

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

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

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

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

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

Happy '08!

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

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

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!