I present to you... Sir Sebastian of Lumsden!

Happy Hallow's Eve Everyone!

Tonight marked Sebastian's very first time Trick & Treating and it was awesome!

Last year Sebastian was much too young to actually go door to door and/or even have some candy, so since this was his first time really experiencing Halloween we weren't too sure how much he'd enjoy it. But like everything else, Sebastian definitely didn't disappoint us. He did a great job with daddy's help knocking on people's doors and saying "Trick and Treat" and we were even more proud of the fact that he said thank you to everyone without having to be reminded to do so.

Posing with his friend/neighbour

What was also neat was that Sebastian didn't seem to be bothered at all by the various spooky things that people had put out to decorate their homes. Our one neighbour had a coffin with a skeleton propped up against their house and Sebastian approached the skeleton and said "Hello Mr. Skeleton!" Luckily the skeleton wasn't animated as I'm not too sure how much he would have liked a moving skeleton! All and all I think we hit about 15 houses in total before we decided to come home and call it a night.

Overall it was a great night and we're happy Sebastian seemed to enjoy himself so much. Hoping everyone else enjoyed the night.

Blessed Be,
Kim

Pumpkin Gutting 101

Today I was all geared up to share the joy of carving a pumpkin with Sebastian. The first thing we did was decide what we were going to carve. I had drawn a picture of Makka Pakka but Sebastian thought it was a clown so that idea was out. I then drew a cool mummy-like thing (well, I thought it was cool), but Sebastian didn't know what it was - so Strike 2. I then drew a regular jack-o-lantern but Sebastian didn't seem to be all that impressed - Strike 3, I was out.

So I went on-line and started looking at images of carved pumpkins. Sebastian saw the one of Jack and exclaimed he wanted Jack - so Jack it was! First issue, done.

Now came the fun part. Cutting open the top of the pumpkin and pulling out the pumpkin guts. Seems that Sebastian really isn't fond of pumpkin guts... hopefully he'll develop a taste for it as he gets older..what fun is Hallow's Eve without pumpkin guts?!?!?!

Boots!

Lately Sebastian has been demonstrating, quite well in fact, why people call the second year of life the Terrible Two's. He has two winter jackets that I have purchased which he absolutely refuses to wear. I have no idea what we're going to do when the cold weather finally comes.

However, with all that being said, last weekend I purchased Sebastian a pair of winter boots. The boy won't take them off!!! Now if only I can work the winter jacket deal in here somewhere we may indeed have success!

In his pajamas getting ready for bed

Art Day!

Yesterday, after spending our morning playing with Sebastian's friend Leah, Sebastian decided that he just wasn't going to nap. So, to pass the time we decided to do some arts and crafts.

Initially Sebastian did some watercolouring but then we became a little more adventurous. I had purchased some canvas a few months back and thought that it might be neat for Sebastian to do his own art project to put on his bedroom wall. These are pics of Sebastian working hard and the last picture is the finished project, which has yet to be put up in his room.

In celebration....

Following the long weekend we took a trek to Fort Erie to help celebrate Nana's (Sebastian's Great-Nana's) 95th birthday. We rented a cottage to make it a weekend away from home for ourselves, but unfortunately Sebastian came down with croup so it wasn't nearly as relaxing of a weekend as we had hoped. However, he's now better, we were able to visit with family and despite being so ill he fondly talks about playing with his cousin Jeremy on the golf course!

Thank You Aunt Becky!!

This is long overdue... Sending out a special thank you to Aunt Becky who lives out in B.C. for Sebastian's birthday present, which he received on the Thanksgiving Monday. Here are some pics to show you what he thought of it!

Our Day...

To work off last night's feast Sebastian and I spent our morning at Riverdale Farm running around and talking to the animals. It was a great morning to do so, as it wasn't too busy and we spent some time speaking to one of the volunteers as she milked one of the cows. The unfortunate part of the experience is that Sebastian now thinks I have udders and teets. Lovely. Just lovely. =)

Before we left we went into the kitchen at the farm and had some freshly baked oatmeal cookies. We were even lucky enough to see a freight train along the way home, which was the icing on the cake for Sebastian. The kid was in heaven - animals, running, fresh air, tractors, cookies and trains - oh my!



After his nap we headed out to vote. A word to those who have yet to do so and are bringing their young children with them. Do not tell the volunteers that you figured the best way to vote is to give the pencil to your toddler and have him choose who you're voting for based on where he scribbles! It amused me, but alas, I was the only one who was amused. Needless to say, I voted...



We then spent the remainder of the afternoon at the park and I'm hoping that all the fresh air has tuckered our lil' pumpkin out. Cause I know all this fresh air has definitely tuckered me out!

And although it does look like he's wearing the same thing he had on yesterday your eyes are not quite deceiving you... That's his fall sweater/jacket so pair it up with jeans and voila, he looks like he hasn't changed in days!!

Took some time out of our busy schedule to take a morning walk in the ravine. We played in the leaves and collected a few to make our table centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner this evening. Sebastian is now napping, the turkey is about to be put in the oven and we're waiting for Nonee and Papa to arrive to help us celebrate the many things and people we are thankful for, one of whom is Papa. Happy Birthday Papa!








Hoping everyone is having/has had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo....

Today Sebastian and I spent our morning at the zoo. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I realized just how much I love the Fall. I love it so much in fact that I'm pretty confident I can say it's my favourite season. However, this isn't about me...

While at the zoo we went to the Stingray Exhibit where Sebastian watched the Stingray's swim around and I was actually able to pet quite a few. Sebastian was a little timid of them, as he would withdraw his hand from the water whenever one approached, but it's not surprising as they move so effortlessly throughout the water and there was quite a lot of people around. And for those who have never had the experience of petting a stingray, the best word to use to describe how they feel is squishy. Very squishy.



We didn't get through the whole zoo... It took us two hours to get up to the Gorillas and by that time we were both hungry and Sebastian was beginning to yawn from all the fresh air and exercise. I am hoping to go again sometime in the near future and hopefully will start in the opposite direction next time. Poor Sebastian though...he had a hard time leaving as he began to cry stating he didn't want to go. I told him that it was lunch and naptime for the animals and that seemed to work. We weren't even at the 401 and my lil' animal was fast asleep. In fact, he's still sleeping now!

Hoping everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather!
Kim

Annual Check-Up/Review

Sebastian had his two year annual check up today. Not too much to report as he's a perfect lil' pumpkin and we were out of the doctor's office within half an hour. We now don't need to return unless Sebastian becomes sick, which hopefully, won't happen anytime soon. I should however give an update as to the many wonderful things that he's doing at 2, so without further adieu:

Stats:
Weight: 27.75lbs
Height: 35.5"

Activities:
- Loves to read. He will sit contently and look at a book, turning the pages one by one, and has started pretending to read what is on the pages. His favourite book at the moment is Richard Scarry's "Cars, Trucks and Things That Go". He reads it every night before bed. Once with Jamie and then again (!!) with me.
- Skips/gallops/runs/jumps/hops
- Throws/kicks/attempts to catch and dribble balls
- Uses 5-6 word sentences
- Loves to draw/paint and will tell us what he is drawing
- Knows his colours
- Counts and recites his ABC's
- Attempting to pee standing up because, as he will say, "I'm a big boy"
- Is very sensitive to other children and what/how they are feeling. For example, he will often tell us if someone is sad/happy etc., based on what they are doing. He is also able to tell us how he is feeling
- Enjoys watching YouTube clips of vintage Sesame Street. His favourite clip is "Orange sings Carmen". (previously posted about this)
- Has just begun interacting more with his toys, for example, he will speak with his toys and take them places with him
- Tells us what to do (a lot!) - I should actually rephrase this to say that he attempts to tell us what to do!
- Consistently goes pee on the potty
- Loves to help us clean and bake/cook
- Loves to dance, which really entails running around in circles in the front room. He will often ask me to put on music so that he can dance and most times I'm allowed to dance along - but not all the time
- Playing with other children. Sebastian really enjoys his play time with Leah and the children at his daycare. He's also quite friendly to other children, often saying "Come play" to them even if he's just met them and it doesn't matter if they're older or younger than him.
- Will often tell us about things that happened days ago and has a good memory of events/people/places etc
- Climbs! Climbs! Climbs! He's a regular daredevil and tries to climb on everything!

This list is definitely not exhaustive, but these are just a few of the things off the top of my head.

Life is definitely not boring with a two year old and yes, I know it sounds so cliche but it's the truth. Although every day is so busy with new experiences and accomplishments it's amazing being able to re-experience everything again through a child's eyes. I think if there's ever a time that it's so pertinent to stop and smell the roses, again cliche, this is it. Even if I didn't want to I think Sebastian would see fit that I did!!

CIBC's Run for the Cure Part 2

"There is no pebble so small that it won't make ripples when tossed into a body of water." - Charles Peck

Yesterday Sebastian and I participated in this year's CIBC Run for the Cure for Breast Cancer. Overall we raised $575., which isn't too bad considering we only started fundraising a few months ago.

It was a cool morning but it quickly warmed up, for me at least, once I got into my stride. It took us approx. 1 hour to finish the 5km walk. I'm sure we could have completed it in under an hour but it's hard to boot along with so many people! Now if I really get my act together maybe next year I'll run it....



Participating in the event was actually more emotionally overwhelming than I had imagined. A lot of people had on signs declaring who they were walking for and it was really sad to see people walking for those who were no longer with us. We weren't really walking for anyone in particular. We were just walking because we could. Not to say that we were walking because we know how to walk. We were walking because although I've never personally been touched by having or truly knowing someone with the disease, I wanted to participate in something that was bigger than me. I hope as Sebastian grows he will realize that he is much more than just an individual in a mass of people living on this earth and that we are all interconnected.

CIBC's Run for the Cure

Tomorrow Sebastian and I are going to be participating in this year's CIBC's Run for the Cure. Sebastian of course, will be in his stroller while I walk the 5km. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's not going to be too chilly and that it won't rain, but luckily for us, we don't melt so we should be fine regardless (albeit a little wet, which just gives us a better excuse to have hot chocolate!).

If you would like to participate by contributing to our walk please go to CIBC's Run for the Cure's official website here and from there you can do a search for my name.

All contributions are tax deductible. Not only will you be assisting in the fight to end breast cancer but you will also be contributing in helping us teach Sebastian about compassion and giving to others. I'm hoping that this will be the first of many experiences.

Thanks in advance. Many thanks and hugs to those who have already contributed and please send us warm thoughts tomorrow as we set out on our walk!
Kim

Orange You Glad We Love You!

One of the many things that Sebastian enjoys doing is watching vintage Sesame Street clips on YouTube. We have a few favourites that we always watch, for example the Lady Bugs Picnic, the Fairy Alphabet and The Count Meets Cookie Monster. However, Sebastian's favourite clip by far is "Orange Sings Carmen". Not too sure what it is exactly about this that he loves, but loves it he does. He even tries to sing along with it (and tells me quite emphatically at times not too!). So, since he loves this so much I thought I'd capture this moment in time and share it with those whom he loves.