All Things Sebastian

Deep Thoughts....

2012-01-20T10:15:00.003-05:00

While sitting listening to Sebastian read a book this morning he turns to me and asks, "How come the word big is so small and the word little is so big?"

Our Holidays in Pics

2011-12-30T09:48:00.003-05:00

Decorating the tree

One of the many places we found Elfred

Playing with cousins in Michigan

Poor Elfred! We hoped he didn't think the reindeer were real!

Elfred hanging off the Advent Calendar

Elfred on the wreath

Elfred wanting to be a part of the centrepiece

The Good Lovelies, Dublin United Church Dec 21, 2011

Our walk in the woods

Sebastian's note from Santa

This is the only present Sebastian asked for. A Jack-in-the-Box!

Our family (don't mind the hands on the hip. It's an inside joke for us...)

Our backyard at night


Finally snow!!!

Four Generations

2011-12-30T09:06:00.001-05:00

Our Holidays

2011-12-29T21:31:00.001-05:00

I have been attempting to update our blog for the past few nights and keep getting distracted, so hopefully tonight will be the night! We have had such a wonderful holiday that it's hard to know exactly where to start, however, I must start somewhere! So, I'm going to try to do a quick review of our holiday and what we've been up to, and I'll probably add pictures later as we have a lot!

We started the season in early December when we went to get our tree. Every year since moving we've gotten a live tree and this year wasn't any different, however this year, the tree did not fall on me, which is always a good sign!

We took our time decorating the house and luckily I remembered to get the Advent Calendar out and filled with Hershey Kisses and ready for when Sebastian returned home from school on the 1st. As Sebastian has gotten older each year I've noticed how much more of a great little helper he is with decorating the house. When he first started decorating the tree when he was 2 he was only given the ornaments that would not break, but now at 5 he's able to handle the breakables and is also able to decorate more of the tree, which is a lot of fun. He also helped me figure out where to put things around the house and as he told me at one point, "You know, it's not always about where you want to put things Mommy!" After explaining that I've been doing this for years without any input and that I tend to be a control freak (Shhh! Don't tell anyone!) Sebastian seemed to understand that he had to gently guide me with his ideas! Needless to say, it was really nice sharing the time it took to decorate the house with him and I was also reminded that things don't need to be "perfect" to be beautiful!

This year Elfred was also introduced into our home. If you are familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, then you will know all about Elfred our little house Elf. Elfred came to visit us on the 1st of December and he went back to the North Pole with Santa on Christmas Eve. Although it was nice having Elfred hanging out with us, with us trying to figure out where he was every morning, he really wasn't here to tell Santa whether Sebastian had been naughty or nice. For one, I don't agree with using such things as Elves to put fear into children to behave but secondly, Sebastian isn't the type of kid who needs such methods of social control. He genuinely is a good kid, despite by mommy bias!

I was also smart this year and purchased gifts throughout the year so there was no mad scrambles to the mall nor the need for last minute wrapping so our days leading up to the holidays were quite relaxing as everything was done. Jamie, Nonee and I attended Sebastian's Holiday concert on Tuesday December 20th and as a treat, as the children at Sebastian's school collected and donated 40 boxes of food to the local food bank, Sebastian was able to wear his pajama's to school on the Thursday.

As Sebastian didn't have school on the 23rd and Jamie was off we spent the day playing, watching Christmas specials and going for a hike in the woods behind our house. It took us about an hour to do a loop and it was a nice walk, albeit cold, with the ground lightly dusted with snow. We saw lots of deer prints, but no deer.

Christmas Eve was spent with Sebastian's Nonee & Papa at our house and we were able to Skype with Aunt Becky in B.C., which was an extra special treat as she did not come home this year for Christmas. We spent the evening grazing on food, being merry and Sebastian went to bed excited with the prospect of Santa coming in the night.

The next morning Sebastian and I tip toed downstairs to see if Santa had been here and he had! Santa left Sebastian a note thanking him for the cookies and milk and Elfred left Sebastian a note too saying good-bye and reminding him that he may be back next year. Sebastian waited patiently for his Nonee and Papa to arrive before we opened our gifts and enjoyed a lovely breakfast of Overnight Raspberry French Toast. We then relaxed for a couple of hours before heading over to Nonee and Papa's for Christmas dinner with the family.

The following day Uncle Danny came for a visit and Sebastian excitedly showed him his gifts. It was nice having Uncle Danny over for a sleep over and we're always sad to see him leave as he is so much fun to have around.

We spent the rest of Boxing Day playing with Sebastian's new toys and we realized, when we went out today, that we hadn't left the house since Boxing Day! However, we're not complaining as we felt nestled and cozy in our house playing a number of games, such as table top soccer, Cars 2 Monopoly, Pinball, Guess Who and Cadoo as well as completing a number of puzzles, Lego sets and creating Spirograph and Shrinky-Dink artwork. It's really nice seeing that 3 days later Sebastian is still getting a lot of enjoyment out of his gifts!

And as yesterday marked our first real snow of the season we headed outside into the backyard and played in the snow for a bit. Today, with the snow still falling, we headed downtown for lunch and then went ice skating at the new Market Square. This was the first time the 3 of us have been skating together and it was so nice seeing Sebastian's skating lessons pay off - man is he fast! After we were done we got a treat at B-Chocolate and then headed to Planet Bean for some hot cocoa. It was definitely a great way to spend the day and I think we are all going to be sad when Jamie has to return to work next week! As much as Sebastian and I keep ourselves busy during our days, there is something so special about the 3 of us spending so much quality time together that it's almost magical. It definitely makes me appreciate all that we have.

Tomorrow we are going to do exactly what we've been doing all week... staying in our pj's until mid-morning, playing games and playing in the snow. We'll add Skyping with Grandpa to the list as it's his birthday tomorrow, but other than that, we'll do exactly what we've been doing all week. Not a bad way at all to spend the holidays!

Hoping everyone has had magical moments throughout the holidays!
Kim

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T14:11:00.000-05:00

The Sweetness of his Soul

2011-12-03T20:42:00.000-05:00

Ever since I can remember Sebastian has been a very sensitive and intuitive child and I hope as he gets older we will be able to continue to nurture him so that he grows up to be a sensitive and intuitive adult.

It's hard for people who don't see him on a regular basis to see this side of his personality so I wanted to write about something that happened earlier today that demonstrates the sweetness of his soul....

Today was Sebastian's Great-Nana's birthday. If she was still here with us we would have been celebrating her 85th birthday today (Sebastian and her were 80 years apart). Well we have a photo album of Nana sitting on our one side table. It's been there since her death and it's filled with 'memories' of Nana.

Well Sebastian has not paid much attention to this album since Nana's death last September and I have no memory of him ever actually looking at it. Today he picked up the photo album and brought it over to me on the couch and said, "Let's remember Nana and talk about her memory."

I don't know if it was intuition or just consequence, and it doesn't really matter, as Sebastian was not told what today was. What mattered was just how sweet and innocent it was for Sebastian to want to sit down with me to look at the pictures of his Great-Nana on the day of her birth. We sat there together and looked at her pictures and remembered our loving Nana. And as I've said to Sebastian in the past, a person is never truly gone as long as they remain in our hearts and I'm so thankful that Sebastian still holds his Nana in his heart.

Little Surprises

2011-11-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

I have not found a lot of time lately for blogging. Now with Sebastian back in school and with work and teaching I'm finding it hard to sit down and actually dedicate the time to keep a written record of what is going on with Sebastian. I have a feeling as time goes by there will either be longer blog posts explaining in detail everything that is going on or short little blurbs giving a quick update as to what is happening. Will be interesting to see how things turn out...

Anyways, the reason that I am updating is because Sebastian has been full of little surprises lately. The first surprise came a few days ago when I started an on-line reading program with him. In order to figure out where your child's lessons should be at there is a 40 question quiz. After 3 mistakes the quiz stops and the computer puts your child in the "class" in which they belong. Well Sebastian and I started the quiz and it was interesting to watch his little brain in action. He is amazing at deducting which words are which based on their phonetics as opposed to sight and he made it up to question 33 out of 40 before he got his third answer wrong! It was nice to see that reading to him so often has started to pay off and that he is actually reading the words as opposed to having memorized them.

The second amazing thing that happened actually occurred today. After Sebastian's swimming lesson we decided to stay for free swim so after I got into the pool Sebastian says,"Watch this!" and off he goes and actually swims!!! Now I had been watching him for the whole lesson and it appeared that he had been using a pool noodle or floatie throughout his lesson. Somewhere within the 5 minutes I left to go and get my suit on our lil' pumpkin began to swim! It was awesome seeing how proud he was of himself, which he should be! We stayed in the pool for an extra hour this afternoon and Sebastian didn't get tired once of practicing his swim!

So there you have it, our two little surprises, which really aren't so little!

Annual

2011-10-12T15:30:00.002-04:00

Sebastian had his annual check up today. His stats are as follows:

Weight: 40.8lbs
Height: 45"

Marshmallow Moon

2011-10-02T15:59:00.001-04:00

I last blogged about this duo in March 2010 when Sebastian was 3.5 years old. At that point in time he couldn't get enough of these two so when I found out early this spring that they were coming to town I jumped at the chance to purchase pre-sale tickets to this event.

Well, last night was the night. After heading out to run some errands we ventured downtown to have a nice family dinner before going to the theatre to see these two live. This was the first show of its type for Sebastian and at first we were hesitant that he might have a hard time seeing two of his favourite characters live, but he was fine and loved it. Which is great, because we have tickets to see another group of imaginative friends next month!

Oh and one of the neater points of the night was when we asked Sebastian if he would like to get a souvenir of tonight's event, in which he had the choice of a t-shirt, a light up wand or a plushie toy he said no, he didn't need anything! He was overheard by two of the staff who commented about how they've never heard a child say such a thing before! Needless to say, we were pretty surprised he didn't want anything, but more proud that he realized it wasn't needed! That's our boy! =)

Happy 5th Birthday!!

2011-09-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

Monday Sept 19th marked Sebastian's 5th Birthday. It seems like such a cliche but it really is amazing how quickly the past five years have flown. As I wrote on Facebook...

It's amazing how quickly time passes.... 5 years ago today I was privileged with becoming a mom to a wonderful, loving, creative, energetic, curious, intelligent, silly and adventurous little boy (to name just a few qualities!). Happy 5th Birthday Sebastian!!

This year we tried to keep things a little more low key than in the past. In the past we've had birthday parties in the park but each year the weather just hasn't seen to cooperate. Our last birthday party in Toronto was a Sportball party, which was really great, but we were hoping to go back to basics with this one.

So the festivities started on Saturday when we had a few of Sebastian's closer friends over for a birthday party. We decided to have a "marsh" theme and along with having a marsh themed cake I made a scavenger hunt for the kids to do at the marsh and all the children painted a ceramic frog. Although we didn't do the scavenger hunt as the kids were too busy playing, which is actually a great thing that they didn't have to be kept too occupied, we had a lot of fun. It was a wonderful afternoon spent with friends and Sebastian really enjoyed himself.


The birthday cake that I made, including the chocolate bugs. First time using fondant.

Another view of the cake

The scavenger hunt that we didn't get around to doing

The ceramic frogs that the kids painted.

The following day, Sunday, we drove to Paris where Sebastian celebrated his birthday with his Grandad. I know of a few people who talk about disliking having to share their birthday with others, but for Sebastian I think it's very special that he is able to share his birthday with a man that is 81 years his senior. We all know that there will come a time when Grandad will not not be with us to celebrate his birthday and I'm so thankful that Sebastian has these special memories of being "Birthday Buddies" with his Great-Grandfather.

Sebastian's birthday buddy. Happy 86th Birthday Grandad!

Make a wish!

And as Monday was Sebastian's actual birthday his Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit to help us celebrate followed by a birthday dinner with his Nonee and Papa.

Our "actual" 5 year old playing "Animal Upon Animal" with Grandpa on his birthday

And as much as I'm saddened that five years have come and gone and that there is no longer any "baby" left in Sebastian, he will always be my baby. I am so thankful that we were given this opportunity to be parents to Sebastian and that he is such a caring and sensitive little boy. It truly is amazing watching him develop and grow and I'm so thankful that we are here to take this journey with him.

Happy 5th Birthday Sebastian.
We love you to the moon and back.... (x10!)

Our Summer in Pics - Part 3

2011-09-20T13:05:00.000-04:00

Hanging out on cousin Derek's bike

Dragonfly Park

Snowbirds at the Waterloo Airshow

Riverdale Farm.

Royal Ontario Museum

This was right after they got "married" by holding hands and twirling in circles.

Being tourists at the Toronto Zoo

One of Seb's favourite animals!

Mmmm...Beaver Tails!!

Batman and friends

Our lil' Tiger!

Shucking corn with Zia Ang and Nonee

African Lion Safari

1st Day of School and this is how Seb wanted his picture taken!

Showing off a strawberry from the garden

Part 2 - Our Summer in Pics

2011-09-20T12:23:00.002-04:00

African Lion Safari

Wonderful day with friends at the African Lion Safari

At Nana's house playing bocce with Uncle Dan and Trevor

Daddy cuddles by the campfire

Having a pause during our 5k hike around Kettle Lake. Awenda Provincial Park.

Sebastian's new friend

Sebastian taking his "friend" for a walk up his arm


How the "boys" felt about having to pack up and go home

Happy "boys" sitting on a patio in Creemore ON

Our Summer in Pics

2011-09-20T10:42:00.000-04:00

Look Out on the Cedar Trail, Pinery Provincial Park


One of Seb's fav activities while we're camping - Playing in the dirt!

Paddle boating, Pinery Provincial Park

Sebastian's favourite place to sit. He calls this the "Hum"

Backing Up a Bit...

2011-09-20T10:11:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that yesterday my little boy turned 5 years old and I still haven't even updated the blog on all our summer activities! So, while he's at school this morning and I'm recuperating from 3 fun-filled day of birthday celebrations I figured I should back up a bit and write an update on our summer prior to getting to the birthday fun.

Our summer was a little different this year as it marked Sebastian's first summer break from school. As he participated in a number of different programs during the school year (music, gymnastics, ice skating etc.) I thought it would be interesting to put him in programs during the summer. I didn't want to put him in too many programs nor did I want a full-day program so we did 1/2 days. He went to two summer art camps at Creativity Greenhouse that he absolutely loved and another week was spent doing gymnastics. We then spent our Saturday mornings at the soccer field where Sebastian played in the U5 - TimBit league. Overall, his soccer skills need some work but he thoroughly enjoyed himself by learning secret handshakes on the field and picking up every stick and pine cone he could find!

We also managed two 3-night camping treks this summer at the Pinery and Awenda and true to tradition, we had a thunderstorm each trip! Since we've started camping with Sebastian when he was 18 months old we've always had a storm. Luckily Sebastian manages to always sleep through them and they have not been too violent. After four years, we're now pros with weathering the storm!

The rest of our time was spent playing with friends, going on adventures in the conservation area, and going to the African Lion Safari. And as the summer winded down we managed a 3 day trek into Toronto to go to some of the places we used to frequent when we lived there. We went to Riverdale Farm, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Zoo. It was fun hanging out in the City again but as Sebastian noticed on the DVP when he asked, "What's that smell?" it was nice to leave the City and come back home to the quiet and clean air (on the days the "farmer's perfume" isn't wafting through our windows!), although we do miss our friends there.

Overall it was a nice summer, although two months definitely do go by way too fast!

The Games We Play

2011-08-08T20:03:00.000-04:00

Today while we were at the African Lion Safari Seb and I found ourselves standing in quite the long line for the train. I decided to pass the time by playing some games with him and we were able to pass the time quite easily playing Eye Spy, Rock, Paper, Scissors and 5 questions (where one person has to guess what you are, such as a cheetah, by asking only 5 questions).

This got me thinking of all the types of games I used to play as a child with my family and the fond memories I had. As such, I thought I'm make a list for Sebastian of the types of games he would play with us at this age. They are all games that Seb comprehends and can play easily with us:

- Harvest Time
- Junior Boggle
- Trouble
- Sorry!
- Go Fish
- War
- Uno
- Old Maid
- Eye Spy
- 5 Questions
- Rock, Paper and Scissors
- Busy Town Mysteries Eye Found It!
- Cat in the Hat, I Can Do That!
- Cariboo Island
- Snakes and Ladders
- Dominoes
- Kerplunk
- Bingo
- Connect-the-dots
- Mazes
- Find the Item in the Picture

Deep Thoughts by Sebastian

2011-08-08T19:53:00.000-04:00

Tonight while lying in bed after reading a bedtime story about aliens and a frog the following conversation occurred:

Sebastian: Is space real?

Jamie: Yes, outer space is real.

Sebastian: Are aliens real?

Jamie: I have never seen a real live Alien but I have to imagine that if we are here on this planet that there are some kind of life on another planet.

Sebastian: I think we're the Aliens.

Jamie: Yes, we could be the Aliens to some other aliens.

Sebastian: We could be the Aliens to... birthday cake (giggle giggle).

Yangtze Valley by Matt Hirt

2011-08-02T20:11:00.000-04:00

Just a note for memory lane....

After searching for a good week or so for the name of this tune Sebastian's cousin Kassy recognized what we were singing and was able to tell me where this song was from and I was able to track it down.

Sebastian and I sing this song all the time. He sings one line and I sing the other. It's become our theme song of sorts. It's not very complicated and we're not always in tune but all one of has to do is start singing and/or humming the song and the other follows. We're quite the team the two of us!

Summer! (pic heavy)

2011-07-13T22:05:00.001-04:00

Well it's finally here! Sebastian's very first summer break!!

I have had quite a few parents "warn" me about summer break, stating how kids struggle with not having the same routine as the school year and how antsy they can get around the house. So far, Seb's been great, but I don't believe things have changed all that much for him. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with him so he's used to it just being the two of us. Of course, he may have more difficulty adjusting to the freedom of summer break once he's in school full-time, but we have another summer before that will happen. However, I think I'm the one having some difficulty adjusting to Seb being home as I had become use to having two days to myself!! =)

As we're hitting mid-July, this is what we've been up to:

Sebastian has continued with his swimming lessons and although he's not quite swimming independently I foresee that by the end of the year we'll have a little swimmer on our hands! He's also playing soccer, as seen by an earlier post, and this week he started going to an art class 5 days a week in the afternoon, which he absolutely loves!

We've also managed one over-night camping trek at Glen Rouge in Toronto with friends, which I would recommend to anyone who lives in TO and wants to attempt camping close to home before venturing farther. I would also recommend camping there if you are used to the sound of traffic lulling you to sleep! I must say, the night we came home I awoke in the middle of the night and all I could hear were the frogs in the marsh. It was bliss! I do not miss Toronto traffic at all!!

We are also just about to head up to the Pinery this upcoming weekend for a 3-night camping trek with friends and then we have another 3-night camping trek planned in Awenda with Nonee and Papa for August. Between that, Seb, similar to art class, will be in a gymnastics camp at the end of this month.

In the meantime, we have been enjoying ourselves going on various adventures, hanging out with friends and meeting new friends. Tomorrow Nonee is coming over and we are going to go for a hike in the woods. There is a section of the conservation area near our home that reminds me of Awenda with its tall canopy, which is absolutely beautiful that we will be sharing with Nonee. Last week while I walked and Seb rode his bike through it we were greeted by a couple of deer, which always seems to make my day. Even though seeing deer is now becoming a regular occurrence for us, I am always in awe when we come across them. It's almost as if they are "allowing" us into their world. Seb and I will usually just stand still in silence and watch them, as they watch us ensuring that they have enough space to "escape" into the woods. It's always a special moment.

Other than that, there have been sprinklers and gardening, groundhogs, baby bunnies, the African Lion Safari, friends and new friends to occupy our time. I am amazed at the social life this boy has and am continually grateful for being able to experience these things with him.

Loving life,
Kim

Baby bunny

Silly Seb!

Mr. Deer

We are constantly being protected by Spider-man and Princess Presto!

Camping with friends, Canada Day 2011

Happy 30th Birthday Uncle Danny!

Mr. Groundhog

Last Day of School!

2011-06-30T20:55:00.000-04:00

Today was Sebastian's very last day of school. Next year he'll be starting SK and I'm pretty sure he'll have the same teacher as well as the same schedule. Considering he had such a rough start to the school year it was bittersweet when he started talking about how much he was going to miss going to school and seeing his friends as the end of the school year approached.

It was actually quite comical seeing Sebastian with his friends. There was four of them that hung out together all school year. At the start of the day whoever was already in the kindergarten area would see Sebastian approach and run to the fence yelling his name. As I drove Seb to school, most days we would sit in the car until the bell rang as he didn't want to get out to play (and of course this changed the second last week of school!) so when we approached the fence the kids were already in line. As soon as Seb entered the "gang" would all say his name emphatically and run to give him hugs. It was too cute for words! And of course, if another member of the group entered into the area after Seb the same thing would happen to them. I wish I had a video of it, it was priceless to see how these boys went on hugging each other and being so excited to see one another! No wonder the teacher had to separate them during actual class time as they would never get any work done!

Overall, Sebastian had a great school year. He started bringing home books to read and he also began to do math. His ability to sound out words and spell them phonetically also improved greatly. I was also lucky enough to participate in some of the school's activities with his class, such as the Terry Fox Walk, the Scientists in School program (in which I showed and taught his class about bugs) and the end of school trip to Spring Ridge Farms.

I would love to post a pic of Seb with his friends, but unfortunately, I don't have their parent's permission to do so. I may edit this to include their picture as we will be seeing everyone again on the 24th of July.

Hoping Seb enjoys senior kindergarten as much as he enjoyed junior!

Sebastian with his teacher Mrs. Yo

On this day in history.....

2011-06-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

Sebastian scored his first goal in soccer!!!

Our Virgo Child

2011-05-30T21:42:00.000-04:00

For fun this evening, I checked out Sebastian's zodiac forecast and this is what came up:

Sebastian has come to this earth with a mission to carry out. He is here to change the world around him, to help others rethink their priorities - and to make a lasting impression on all who ever meet him.

He is not here, though, to make a fuss or demand attention. Sebastian has a much subtler way of working. Sebastian likes to interact with people one at a time, quietly and calmly. He likes to befriend them, ask them questions, absorb their point of view... and then discreetly suggest smart little ideas that stop them in their tracks!

He's not going to wait till he's grown up before he begins this process. He's not even, necessarily going to wait until he can talk. Or walk. He's going to listen carefully and watch intently from the moment he draws his first breath... and he's going to reflect back a kind of quizzical attitude that causes his parents to put aside their ideas about how to bring up children, his teachers to reconsider all they learned at college... and his friends to be very glad that they have found the company of such an interesting and different character.

Sebastian is rarely going to be antagonistic or confrontational. He works through reason, through trust, through communication and through 'play'. But Sebastian is never going to accept that things are as they are because there's no other way they can be. Gently but firmly, he's going to keep on pushing the envelope, stretching the boundary and coaxing the chaotic world around him to recognise its own shortcomings... and start exploring more sensible alternative policies.

Life Cycle

2011-05-17T18:02:00.000-04:00

Tonight during dinner Sebastian mentioned, "Mrs. Richardson's life cycle centre is closed." I asked him what the life centre was about and he mentioned that they are growing beans and oak trees in her life centre. Jamie then said, "What is a life cycle?", to which Sebastian replied, "It's what happens first, then there's a middle and a last." Sebastian then stated, "First you get a piece of yarn, then you knit with the yarn and in the end, you will have a scarf. That is a life cycle."

So there you have it, a life cycle according to a 4 year old.

Thank you

2011-05-16T20:56:00.000-04:00

Dear Sebastian,

Yesterday I ran my first ever 5km race and it was the most absolutely, awesome-est thing in the whole wide world running down the road towards the finish line and being totally surprised by seeing a man wearing a bright orange jacket (Daddy) and a little boy with his bright little yellow rainboots (you of course!) standing along the side of the road cheering me on.

And I just wanted to write this to say thank you to you and Daddy for being there for me in the pouring rain and cold to cheer me on. It was worth every step of the race.

Love,
Mommy xoxoxox....

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

Silly Snake Sticks

2011-05-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

Doing Nothing

2011-05-03T10:09:00.000-04:00

I love how to a 4 year old spending your day at home playing is considered "doing nothing." I'm always amazed and thankful that we have a son who can be occupied within the confines of his own home and kept busy enough that we are not constantly having to go out on a daily basis in order to keep ours and his sanity! Not that we don't like going out, as that's not what I'm trying to say, but it's nice to be able to hang out at home at least one day out of the week and have enough activity that Seb can still be exhausted by the end of the day and in bed and asleep by 7:30 p.m.!

Today, for example, was one of those days. Like the majority of the week, it's been a pretty overcast and wet day. We did manage a bike ride through the conservation area and continued to the playground for a bit on Wednesday and managed to get home just in time before the skies opened up, but today as I'm still fighting a cold, and I'm doing my best to keep Seb from getting my cold, I figured we'd just stick around at home and play.

It wasn't until after lunch and Sebastian was on the floor putting together his second puzzle that it dawned on me how "doing nothing" to a 4 year old is really quite extensive! At that point I mentally went through what we have done today and made a mental note that we were actually quite busy doing the following:

- Blocks. Our morning started with Sebastian building a city in his bedroom
- Painting. Sebastian found a toilet paper roll and decided to use it as a telescope for his Pirate Ship. I suggested he paint it, which he did.
- Having a tea party. While the telescope was drying we went downstairs to the basement where I sat back and enjoyed my tea while Seb had his honey water.
- Sebastian then constructed a ceiling for our basement
- We then had a picnic on our living room floor of honey water and Easter chocolate. Yum!
- I think we then had tv time before lunch, which was my doing as I wanted to see his reaction to the Royal Wedding. In Seb's words, "I like the music, but church is boring. Can I watch the Magic School Bus?" So that is what we did.
- After lunch Sebastian played independently with his Iron Man and Buzz Lightyear toys. During moments like this when Sebastian is "lost" in his imagination I have learned that intervening is not a wise choice. It's nice to sit back and watch him as his imagination takes him to wonderful places.
- We then constructed a few puzzles and played a board game before sitting at the kitchen table and doing some colouring.

Which of course, brings us to now. It's 3 p.m. and Sebastian's two favourite shows are on: Diego followed by Wild Kratts. He gets an hour of tv and when Wild Kratts are done we'll have another hour of "doing nothing" before dinner. Oh how I can't wait to do nothing!!

Listening Ears

2011-04-14T16:04:00.002-04:00

About a month ago Sebastian had been in trouble at school for not listening to his teacher. As a result he had to sit separately from his friends and was told that if this behaviour continued he would miss out on activity time.

Since that time I have made a point of "securing" Sebastian's listening ears as part of our good-bye routine in the morning before the kindergarten gate. Well today when I went to pick him up his teacher took me aside and told me that Sebastian didn't have a great day as he was throwing things around and when she took him aside and asked him if he had forgotten to put his listening ears on today he replied, "No. I have them. They just came unscrewed." She said it took every ounce of her willpower not to burst out laughing at his response.

Once in the car without being prompted he told me all about how his listening ears came unscrewed and how as a result he didn't listen very well, instructing me that next Tuesday I better make sure I put them on better!

If he can come up with such quick excuses now I think we may be in trouble!!

Addendum:
Later in the evening while lying in bed Sebastian told me that he was going to put a piece of tape on the table at school and then start colouring on it. When one of the kids tells the teacher that he is drawing on the desk he'll say he wasn't as he was really only colouring on a piece of tape. I suggested that he let his teacher know of this master plan and he said no as he wants to see what she'll do when she realizes she's been tricked. Oy! Thinking I may need to write a little note to the teacher letting her know what this kid has in the works!

If you could be a colour

2011-04-12T16:34:00.000-04:00

I asked Sebastian what colour he would be if he could be a colour and this was his response:

"I'd be black because black would be water and then I could swim better. Actually I would be every colour because that would be my favourite colour if we mixed all of the colours together and made one huge rainbow that would be my colour - the rainbow!"

"Pardon our mess, child development in process"

2011-04-11T21:44:00.001-04:00

I just took this quiz called What's Your Mothering Personality and thought I'd publish my results for Sebastian so that one day he can let me know whether or not he agrees with the results....
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Mother and Child by George P Hatsatouris

"Inside our children, I believe, is a truth that tells them what's best for them. I am always listening for that truth." INFP – The "Tuned In" Mother
(Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving)

Aware, astute, and understanding, the INFP mother is sensitive to her child's needs, feelings, and perceptions. By observing and listening to the cues of the whole child, she is "tuned in" and naturally develops an intuitive feel for what he or she needs. Responsive and helpful as well, she tends patiently to those needs as they arise.

The INFP mother is comfortable letting her children follow their own course of development and make their own choices. She offers encouragement and uses her insights to head off trouble and difficult issues.

The INFP mother takes vicarious pleasure giving her children good experiences and watching them enjoy childhood. She's happiest creating pleasant, memorable times for the whole family.

Strengths

Cultivating a one-on-one relationship with each child. Accepting and gentle, the INFP mother places a high value on having a close relationship with each child. In cultivating that relationship, she readily makes time available for each child one-on-one.
Interacting with her children. The INFP mother spends time playing with her children side by side when they are young-making yarn dolls or clay figures, playing catch, or reading books together. As they get older, she finds other ways to engage them and interact with them.
"Tuning in" to feelings. The INFP mother pays especially close attention to her children's feelings, really listening, trying to understand, and finding appropriate ways to respond. She is also comfortable sharing her own feelings with her children, inviting them to listen and understand her feelings as well as their own.
Building happy childhood memories. The INFP mother is dedicated to creating good times for her children, making sure they experience a wide variety of fun activities traditionally associated with a happy childhood: picnics, pets, Winnie the Pooh, Girl Scouts, a day at the beach, fireflies, ice cream cones… opportunities that will soon pass and never come again.

Struggles

Focus. "Tuned in" to feelings and responsive to everyone's viewpoint, the INFP mother may feel overwhelmed if everyone is needing something from her at the same time or when different points of view are being expressed. To whom should she listen? And whom should she "tune out"?
Decision making. The INFP mother works hard at sorting through various options to decide what's right for her children, and she tends to deal with each situation as it arises. At the time, she may feel disadvantaged by her ability to see all sides and may wonder if she is doing the right thing. Her reluctance to formulate black-and-white "rules" and policy statements for her children can leave her feeling permissive and guilty.
Societal expectations. The INFP mother struggles to balance society's expectations for order, organization, and schedules with her need (and desire) to turn to a child's need of the moment. Keeping a household running may seem at odds with the job of raising children. Her motto may be, "Pardon our mess, child development in process."

Tips

Rather than constantly doing, the INFP mother may function at her best when she has large blocks of unstructured time—time to deal with the unexpected, time to pursue creative projects, and time to think things through. Always giving to others, she can benefit from giving to herself as well—time to take an afternoon nap, read, walk, bike, or watch a movie or play.
Naturally tuned in to what others think and feel, the INFP mother needs to practice tuning in to her own wisdom (and trusting it!) when making decisions on behalf of her children. Because the INFP often represents a minority point of view, she may have learned to discount her own intuition about her child when facing a teacher, physician, or administrator. The INFP mother can empower herself as a parent by confidently acting on her tuned-in understanding of her child, even when others don't see it her way… and by giving herself room to make mistakes and learn from them.

March Break!

2011-03-24T13:30:00.002-04:00

Last week was Sebastian's first ever March Break. As a memento to Seb I thought I'd break down the activities that we did. We mainly just stayed around town and went to a few places we had never been to before. Although it was nice, I think next year we may have to head out of town for a few days... Anyways, here is a brief review of our week:

On Monday our friend Ellis came over. They ate way too many cookies and ran amok throughout the house when they weren't arguing over who got to feed the baby (Seb's Monchichi).

We spent Tuesday with Sebastian's Nonee who had the day off of work. We went to Belgian Nurseries and enjoyed a nice lunch out.

On Wednesday we did pottery.

Thursday we stuck around at home. We played outside in the yard, drew with chalk on the driveway and went for a hike in the conservation area behind our house

On Friday Seb and I went for another hike through the conservation area, but this time with friends. We then checked out the Children's Museum, as we had never been there before. We arrived just in time for Seb to participate in some creative play, which he absolutely loved! We then spent what seemed to be hours playing and it was very difficult getting Seb to leave!

We then travelled into Toronto on Saturday to see Seb's friend Nate and his family. Seb and Jamie went to explore the Comic-Con with the boys while I had a nice afternoon with the girls. We then had dinner with our friends before heading over to spend the night at Uncle Danny's. In the morning our friend Jon came over for a visit.

To wrap up March Break we decided to have our first ever "Movie Night". We got on our jammies after dinner and cuddled on the couch with our blankets to watch a movie. We really only did this as Seb had napped along the way home from Toronto, which meant that bedtime would be pushed back an hour or two. However, we probably won't have another "Movie Night" for awhile now as we learned that TV still tends to wire Sebastian out so he took even longer than normal to settle into sleep for the night. However, I'm okay with "Movie Afternoons" if it still means we can get our jammies on and cuddle with blankets on the couch!!

Can you tell which Batman is Seb?

Schoolhouse Weekend

2011-03-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

In early February we headed back to the Schoolhouse to spend a weekend with some good friends. It was quite an adventure as the sun was shining nice and bright as we left home and by the time we got to Mount Forest we were in a full blown snow storm. The driving was quite treacherous and I unfortunately did lose control of the car. While driving down a curvy section of hwy. 12 we spun out and landed in a snow drift. Lucky for us, a good Samaritan stopped before CAA could get to us and pulled us out of the bank (the snow was so deep it on my side of the car that it was past my window!). Luckily we weren't injured and the car was fine. Needless to say, Jamie drove for the remainder of the weekend! Sebastian was great during the whole thing. As we slid down the hill he didn't say a word until we landed in the snow. And of course the first thing he said was, "Are we there yet?"

Once we arrived safely at the schoolhouse the boys went out to play in the snow. I always get a kick out of watching Sebastian and Campbell play together. You never know what you are going to get! They spent some time playing on the bunkbeds and after dinner they put on a "dance party" for us before getting on their pajamas and having stories read to them by the fire. In the morning we could hear them talking in their bedroom about what they had dreamed about the night before, who had woken up whom and what they were going to have for breakfast.

As Campbell had ski lessons on the Sunday we headed to the ski club and went for a hike to see some of the steeper ski hills. Seb wasn't too impressed initially with the distance of the walk, but we were very proud of him as it was quite a far hike for a 4 year old but he managed! The walk wiped him out and he slept for the majority of the drive home, which was, thankfully, uneventful.

Overall, it was a nice way to spend the weekend (minus the whole snow drift thing!).

The boys sharing the "school desk" to eat their dinner

Dance Party!

Can you spell.... ???

2011-02-28T09:19:00.000-05:00

Why, yes we can!

Seb's new thing is spelling out words. Not too sure when exactly this started but he now will just state a word, for example, "drop" and spell it out phonetically. He does this all over the place. For example, we'll be in the car and he'll say a word and then attempt to spell it out or we'll be at the dinner table. He requires some assistance at times but for the most part, he's doing a pretty good job!

This morning

2011-02-27T08:59:00.000-05:00

Our first words this morning while giving our morning hugs....

Me: "Good morning sunshine"
Seb: "Good morning momshine"

Rite of Passage

2011-02-23T13:25:00.002-05:00

This morning as Sebastian was walking upstairs with a piece of paper in one hand and tape in the other he slipped and knocked his chin on the stair. I could tell by the cry that it wasn't going to be pretty and sure enough he split open his chin. After doing all the standard first aid stuff I took one look at it and knew that stitches were required. So off to the emergency we went.

I've had stitches in the past so I recall the horrible needle you get to freeze the area as being the worst part of the experience but luckily they now use a topical ointment to freeze the area, so Seb didn't have to experience the agony of the "hugest mosquito in the whole wide world sucking your blood" pain that the old needles caused.

It took 4 stitches to fix him up and we didn't even have to wait for eons to be seen, which was really nice. The longest part was waiting the 20 minutes for the freezing to take effect.

When we arrived home Seb asked if he had missed gymnastics today, which he did. When told that yes we missed class he said, "Good. I didn't want to go." Let's hope next time he doesn't want to do something he can just tell us as opposed to making us take him to the emergency! =)

Family pics

2011-02-22T10:08:00.001-05:00

On Sunday we had some family portraits done. This was the first time we had professional pics taken of the 3 of us and I wanted to share.

To see some of the pics, please click the link here. These are just pics from the photographers personal website so when we get the actual pics I'll post more.

He Skates!!

2011-02-03T19:23:00.000-05:00

Wow. My first blog post of 2011 and we're already in February! I'll try to do a quick summary of what's been happening....

Our holidays were marked with Sebastian being ill prior to the actual holiday and we're still following up medically with him. So far we've been to two ultrasounds and he's had blood taken out twice. We have one more round of bloodwork to do within the next couple of weeks and another follow up ultrasound in 6 months. Not too sure what exactly is going on, but when he was sick his white blood cell count was really low and then with his second blood work was done his hemoglobin and platelets were high. We're also keeping an eye on the lymph nodes in his abdomen because they are enlarged. Their size hadn't changed between ultrasounds so I'm hoping that he just has large lymph nodes. However, we're not too sure exactly what this means but it's being watched, so I guess that's a good thing and I'm doing my best to stay away from the Internet at the moment as I'm sure if I were to read something it would send me into a whirlwind of what could possibly be wrong. For now we'll just wait and see and since he seems pretty healthy we're okay with that.

Other than that, our holidays were wonderful. It was a smaller group than normal for Christmas but it was still nice. I was on call on both the 24th and 25th from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. and luckily didn't have any emergencies nor a lot of calls to deal with so I was able to spend the time with my family. The holidays were then followed up with having friends & family over for New Year's, which is something we haven't really done since Sebastian's birth! We actually managed to stay up until 1 and it reminded me of old times, without quite as much alcohol! The children even went to bed at their regular times which left the full evening for us to visit. It was great! Will definitely be doing this again next year!

We then headed down to Fort Erie to see my family, which was very nice.

{Oh right, this blog is supposed to be about Sebastian!!}

Okay, so back to Seb...

The main reason why I even started this blog post was to make a note about skating. Sebastian started taking skating lessons in the fall and the first few sessions were basically him sitting on the ice learning how to stand on his skates without falling. Once standing he would stay that way for a minute, if that, before falling and/or choosing to fall.

On January 22, 2011 he got up and stayed up!

Anyways, that's Seb in the dark blue.

Santa's Message to Sebastian

2010-12-16T12:18:00.000-05:00

We've been doing this the last couple of years with Sebastian. The previous years he just sat and watched the message, but this year he nodded his head and responded to Santa! Anyways, I thought this was cute so I wanted to share Sebastian's message from Santa.

First Holiday Concert!!

2010-12-16T12:09:00.001-05:00

Just arrived home a short while ago from attending Sebastian's very first Holiday concert at school! It was very exciting... not only was it a first for Sebastian but it was also our first holiday concert too! And I loved how Sebastian's face lit up when he noticed Jamie and I in the audience (How could he miss us? We were standing up and waving wildly!!) and then proceeded to point us out to his friends!

Anyways, it's the little moments like this that remind me not only how blessed I am to have such a wonderful lil' guy for a son, but also how blessed I am to be a mom.

All Aboard!

2010-12-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we took Sebastian for his very first train ride (Note: the subway when we lived in Toronto doesn't count) on the Santa Express.

I booked the venture back in August when a friend had mentioned it to me and had anxiously been awaiting the day. We don't necessarily enforce Santa in our house... Sebastian doesn't know that elves are supposed to be watching you and that if he's not good he won't get presents. But he does know who Santa is and we're not too sure how much he believes in him. Right now it's more about the magic of Christmas than anything else.

Anyways, we boarded the train at 3 p.m. and were immediately greeted by "Jingle" and "Bells", two of Santa's elves. We were given hot chocolate and cookies and were informed that Santa was flying in straight from the North Pole to meet up with the train and that we would be meeting him along the way. At that point "Bells" started to talk to Sebastian, explaining that it was her job to make sure that all the kids on the train were good and that if not, Santa wouldn't be bringing them any presents. Sebastian's face was priceless... he just looked at her as if she was from another planet and I had to explain that Sebastian didn't really know about elves or about the finer intricacies of having to be good to get presents. She then asked him what he wanted for Christmas and Sebastian just shrugged and said he didn't know. I had to explain to "Bells" that we haven't focused our Christmas's on the presents and that overall, we were just lousy parents when it came to this whole Santa Claus thing! Poor "Bells", I think we ruined her gig but she improvised, and told Sebastian, "I can tell just by looking at you that you're a good boy."

So off we went on our trek. We were entertained by "Jingles" and "Bells" as we enjoyed our hot chocolate and cookies and then about half way through the trek who do we stumble upon?? Santa and Mrs. Claus waving to us with their reindeer beside the track! This was Sebastian's very first encounter with Santa so I had asked him, as he was sitting by the window, if he wanted to trade me seats so he would be closer to Santa when he came on our train, but he said no and mentioned that he was a little nervous.

As the train was 3 cars long and we were in the middle it took a bit for Santa to make it to us. When he did make it to us Sebastian just stared at him, which made Santa chuckle. Santa asked Sebastian if he had been a good boy and Sebastian said, "Yes" and continued to stare at him quizzically. Sebastian asked where Santa's mouth was as his beard was covering his mouth and Santa chuckled once again before giving out a large "Ho Ho Ho". Mrs. Claus gave Sebastian a nice bell before they moved along. Overall, it was pretty anti-climatic.

The rest of our trek was spent singing Christmas Carols and just relaxing and talking about how cool it was to see Santa. Sebastian was pretty smitten with "Bells", which was really funny as Sebastian isn't normally the type to get all silly about these types of things, but it was really cute. He didn't want a picture of him and Santa but he sure wanted one with him and "Bells"!

It was definitely an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon and we'll be definitely doing it again next year. Who knows... maybe by then he'll need to know about the elves but for now, it's nice not having to "threaten" our boy with Santa and his elves to get him to behave!!

Happy Hallow's Eve!!

2010-11-01T22:14:00.000-04:00

Batman & a very serious lil' Vampire (this was his school costume as they had a strict "no mask" policy), 2010

Batman 2009

Sir Sebastian of Lumsden, 2008


Our lil' Bag O' Bones, 2007

First Hallow's Eve, 2006

Annual

2010-10-29T13:59:00.000-04:00

Took Sebastian for his annual appointment today, albeit a bit late (this is what happens when your Dr. only works a couple of times/week). He was a champ as always and pleasantly surprised me by not even wincing when given his booster shot.

I was worried as to how he'd respond to the needle, as in the past I would just nurse him while he was given the needle. The answer I figured out, is sugar. Was given a lollipop before the needle and he didn't even notice it! Of course, his poor arm is a little tender now but with the help of some pain medication and boo-boo fish I'm hoping he'll be okay.

Anyways, our boy's stats are as follows:
Weight: 35lbs
Height: 43"

Life's an Hour Glass

2010-10-22T22:02:00.004-04:00

Came across this song this evening and thought I'd post it here. I love it's playfulness and simple reminder to be present and in the moment... Something I try to do daily so that I won't miss all the little moments I have with Sebastian because I know I can't have them forever.

Song: Hourglass by Mindy Gledhill

Fall Colours (pic heavy)

2010-10-20T21:38:00.016-04:00

Just came back from a weekend getaway up north to enjoy the fall colours. Unfortunately, we were a little late to enjoy the fall foliage (mental note to self: go earlier in the season!) but the scenery was still beautiful. Sebastian really enjoyed having his Uncle Danny to entertain him along for the trek and it was great being in a place where Sebastian could be amused just by playing on the bunk beds in the one bedroom! While there we played outside, trekked along the Bruce Trail, drove up to Meaford to check out Grandma Lambe's pies and spent our evenings relaxing in front of a roaring fire. Overall, it was a nice weekend spent with family and we'll definitely be returning to this spot again!

Tabs

2010-10-19T09:38:00.011-04:00

Our beloved Tabs
April 1997 - October 18, 2010

No Tears!

2010-10-14T16:00:00.001-04:00

This past Tuesday was officially Sebastian's first day of school without tears and now I can proudly say that he didn't cry today and thus, we can mark this as being his first week without tears! Let's hope we've reached the turning point!

"Home Fun"

2010-09-29T16:32:00.009-04:00

Sebastian came home on Tuesday with his first homework assignment. Sure it is referred to as "Home Fun" as opposed to homework, but don't be fooled, it's homework. For any other kid, I'm sure it would be fun but for Seb, who is not enjoying school, attempting to engage him in completing this assignment was not an easy task in itself.

In the end, he was only 1 out of approx. 5 kids who actually completed the "Home Fun"!

1st Day of School

2010-09-21T09:43:00.007-04:00

Well Seb's now been in school for approx. 1 hour!

Our morning started off well. We got up at our normal time around 7:30 a.m. and after having a quick shower Seb got dressed for school (and luckily still wanted to wear the clothes he had helped pick out last night), had breakfast and off we went! He had wanted to take the bus but I explained that we would be taking him today as it was his first day. Thinking that perhaps next Tuesday we may try the bus.

So we drove Seb to school and we decided to park on a side street near the school so that we could walk a bit with him. Coincidentally we parked immediately across the street from another child that Seb has played with a couple of times this past summer, which was nice as they then walked to school together. Once at school the children were lined up in 3 rows in the Kinderyard a.k.a. "the cage" where they waited for their teachers to come to bring them inside.

This was the most difficult part because the kids just stood there in line for about 10 minutes waiting. Seb's backpack was getting heavy and he started to state that he didn't want to go. Sure enough by the time his teacher came to bring her group into class he was in tears. I was doing pretty good myself up until that point. Although I know he's in very capable hands it is horrible having to put on a smile and tell your kid they'll be fine when all you want to do is jump the fence, give them a huge hug and tell them they don't have to go if they don't want to! But alas, I did not. Jamie and I reassured him he'd be fine and walked away as Mrs. Yo, his teacher, brought him into the school. Chances are he stopped crying as soon as he walked into the classroom.... (or at least, that's what I'm telling myself!).

Update: At the end of the day when Sebastian came out the doors with his class he looked uncertain of himself but as soon as he saw me he broke out into a big grin and his teacher released him into my care. He didn't have much to say about school except that it was fun and he talked about some of the kids he played with today. When we came home he ate the remainder of his lunch (he had only ate some crackers, cucumber and strawberries at school!) and had some birthday cake in celebration of surviving his first day of school. So far we have not heard any negative comments about his day and he appears to be in good spirits. Hoping Thursday goes just as smoothly!

A night of firsts

2010-09-20T18:33:00.008-04:00

Tonight is the first time I have ever had to pack Sebastian's backpack and prepare his lunch for school!! Can't believe that he's actually going to be starting junior kindergarten tomorrow!

Last week we went to Sebastian's new school (and when I say new, I mean new..it was just built) for an hour and met his teacher, who is wonderful, and starting tomorrow he'll be at school every other day full-day with alternate Fridays. He's supposed to be taking the bus but for now I'm okay with driving him. Our plan is to park near the school but far enough so that we can walk to get some exercise.

Anyways, I have no idea where the last 4 years have gone but what I do know is that come tomorrow morning Jamie & I will be driving our lil' guy to school. I've already forewarned him I may cry, but not to worry as I they will be tears of joy and pride for being the mother of such a wonderful boy. I also told him I will put a special note in his pocket so that if he gets worried or lonely throughout the day he can look at the paper and see all the hearts I've drawn to remind him how much his mommy and daddy love him and that we are thinking of him.

I know he'll be a superstar tomorrow.... As for me, I'm really going to miss him but I know that starting school is a rite of passage and Seb is definitely ready for it!

Whose Child Is This?

"Whose child is this?" I asked one day
Seeing a little one out at play.
"Mine", said the parent with a tender smile"
Mine to keep a little while.
To bathe his hands and comb his hair,
To tell him what he is to wear,
To prepare him that he may always be good,
And each day do the things he should".

"Whose child is this?" I asked again,
As the door opened and someone came in.
"Mine", said the teacher with the same tender smile.
"Mine, to keep just for a little while.
To teach him how to be gentle and kind,
To train and direct his dear little mind,
To help him live by every rule,
And get the best he can from school".

"Whose child is this?" I asked once more,
Just as the little one entered the door.
"Ours", said the parent and the teacher as they smiled.
And each took the hand of the little child.
"Ours to love and train together.
Ours this blessed task forever."

-Author Unknown-

Happy 4th Birthday Sebastian!!

2010-09-19T21:55:00.007-04:00

I can't believe that it was 4 years ago today that Sebastian came into our lives! It's amazing how quickly the last 4 years have flown by and it's also amazing to think that in just 2 days our little guy is going to be going to kindergarten!! But of course, that's a whole other post!!

Anyways, we had a low key day celebrating all things Sebastian. Grandma and Grandpa, Nonee and Papa, and Aunt Becky and Uncle Dan all helped us celebrate the day. We have one more birthday celebration to go when we celebrate his birthday along with his Great Grandad (who's birthday falls on the date that was supposed to be Seb's due date!).

Overall it was a nice day spent with family and it's so nice having so many people in Sebastian's life who love him so unconditionally! Thank you!

Nana

2010-09-19T21:06:00.011-04:00

Eleanor Doris Whitehouse
Friday December 3, 1926 - Monday September 13, 2010

On Monday September 13, 2010 the world lost a beautiful and wonderful lady, Sebastian's Great-Nana - Queen Eleanor.

We are so appreciative that he was able to experience 4 wonderful years with her and words cannot do any justice to explain the emptiness her passing has left in our lives.

We started referring to Nana as Queen Eleanor one day as Sebastian, Jamie & I were visiting her at home. Aunt Judy pushed Nana on Grandad's walker through the kitchen en route to the bathroom and as she passed us by we told Sebastian to wave to Queen Eleanor. Nana, hearing us, gave Sebastian the "Queen wave' and she continued to do so up until her last night with us.

In fact, it was 1 week ago today almost to the exact time that Nana gave us her last Queenly wave. As we held her tight for those extra few seconds saying good-bye and telling her how much we loved her, we turned around one more time as we were leaving the room to see her beautiful face. There was Nana lying in her bed giving us her Queenly wave.

Sleep well Queen Eleanor, you will always be in our thoughts, our hearts and in our dreams. We love you and miss you more than words can say.

Our Summer in Pics - Part 2

2010-09-02T13:43:00.023-04:00

Posing as "angry" after having a haircut. I love this pic - shows off the little rebel within!
Silly faces!
Super Seb!
Yes, he knew it was summer!
African Lion Safari
African Lion Safari
African Lion Safari with friends
Donkey Sanctuary
Donkey Sanctuary
Camping, Guelph Lake
Camping, Guelph Lake
Train rides, Riverside Park
Carousal rides, Riverside Park
Toad in the garden

Our Summer in Pics - Part 1

2010-08-24T20:42:00.013-04:00

Going for a trek in the conservation area behind our house...

And stumbled across these two!

Soccer!

Pinery Provincial Park

Pinery Provincial Park

Pinery Provincial Park

Silly Faces! Pinery Provincial Park

Farmer Seb!

Waterloo Regional Children's Museum

Summer

2010-08-24T11:49:00.009-04:00

This morning we took Sebastian to a "bus orientation" session for the upcoming school year. It really wasn't anything too extensive. We watched a video on bus safety and then boarded a school bus to take a ride around the block. However, while riding the bus and noting to myself that I needed to blog about this, I also made a mental note that I really needed to sit down and provide an update on our summer and what we've been up to. I'm hoping this won't turn into an essay, but I won't make any promises.

First off, we've had a nice summer. It hasn't been too busy but it also hasn't been too lazy either. We've taken some time off of some of our favourite things, such as music class, but have continued with swimming lessons on Mondays, art classes on Thursdays in July and soccer lessons via Sportball Saturday mornings. When we're not doing that we've been little tourists in our own back yard.

Most of our summer has been spent exploring neighbourhood parks and hanging out with friends. I ran into an old friend/co-worker from Toronto at the local YMCA at the beginning of the summer and we've managed to get the kids to the park a couple of times together, which has been nice. We've also attended a few attractions in our area, namely the Donkey Sanctuary which is less than 10 minutes away and the African Lion Safari, which is about 25 minutes away. We spent Canada Day in Cambridge once again enjoying the parade and a bbq with friends and we've been to Riverside Park a couple of times to enjoy their carousel and train rides.

Another thing we've been doing this summer is gardening. We created our first garden earlier this year and have really enjoyed the bounty we've been getting. We've even discussed and started planning on how we're going to extend the garden for next year! We've also enjoyed going to St. Ignatius every Friday to pick up our CSA (community shared agriculture) share. While there we've enjoyed wagon rides throughout the farm on their Family Days and have enjoyed picking our own herbs and exploring their lovely grounds. The best part of all this though is Sebastian getting an appreciation of food and where it comes from. It's great watching him care for the garden and we absolutely love how much he enjoys eating the fresh veggies. If we're not careful he'll eat all the veggies before we even have a chance to have some!

And last but not least, we've managed two camping treks in this summer! Our first trek was to Pinery Provincial Park with friends in July and just this past weekend we went to Guelph Lake for a couple of nights. We really enjoyed the Pinery, as there are lots to do and the beach is absolutely beautiful, and it was great being able to go camping with friends. Their little one is a year younger than Sebastian & he thoroughly enjoyed having someone around to play with. It was great watching them get dirty and explore together and it also gave us a little down time, which is something we don't get much of when camping alone. Really looking forward to going again next year!

I'm sure there are more things to report on but these are the things that stand out the most for me at the moment. Can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by and that our lil' grub will be starting school on the 21st! Now we're looking forward to Ribfest this upcoming weekend, Seb's 4th birthday, the official first day of school, seeing Robert Munsch at the River Run Centre and an excursion north for a long weekend to enjoy the fall colours with Uncle Dan & Aunty Alice in October.

Sorry for the essay!! But if you've read through it I hope you've enjoyed it!

In One More Month...

2010-08-19T16:11:00.002-04:00

We are going to have ourselves a 4 year old! Yikes!!

And yes, I know I need to update the blog. I've been thinking about it and will hope to have an updated post shortly!

Our Star

2010-06-25T21:44:00.008-04:00

Today was Sebastian's last day of the winter session at the Little Gym. Sebastian absolutely loved this program. It ran for one hour and he participated without me, although I was always present. I loved watching him run around the gym with a smile on his face and he absolutely loved the balancing beam, never showing fear of falling off, with large leaps of faith into the air at the end of the beam.

Anyways, today was their last class and hence their "show". During the past month the children have been practicing various routines during class and today we were able to see them put the pieces of their routine together. We didn't know what to expect and what happened totally blew Jamie & I away!

The "show" started with the kids hiding behind a gym mat while their coach "Mr. Brent" introduced them. Sebastian was the first child to be called. He came out from behind the mat, looked at everyone in attendance (we were all in the gym whereas usually we are outside of the gym looking in - yes, it's like a fishbowl!) and then waved to everyone and giggled as he took off running around the mat. He continued to run around the mat while the other children were called with a huge grin on his face. It was awesome!

Introducing....

The kids then came to sit with us and Mr. Brent asked who wanted to be the first one to show off their routine. Lo and behold Sebastian put his hand up and jumped right up to the mat! He remembered the whole routine from the steps, forward roll, monkey kick and donkey kick. I was so proud of him and more importantly it was clear to see how proud Sebastian was of himself!

The whole time Sebastian volunteered to go first, although we did encourage him to sit and let other children go first. He excelled on every apparatus and showed off for his daddy when he hung from the very top of the uneven bars.

This was a side of Sebastian we had never quite seen before. We have always known he was a pretty cool kid but it was his level of confidence that amazed us.

And since Sebastian might not remember this day I wanted to let him know just how proud we truly are of him. Even if he didn't remember the routine and didn't want to be in the limelight we'd still be proud! We are so lucky to have such a wonderful son with such a unique and wonderful spirit!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T07:13:00.004-04:00

Happy Father's Day Jamie - I admire so many things about you, your work, your many accomplishments, the things you value... But one of the things I love the most about you is how terrific you are as a dad. We are so lucky to have you!
Love Kim & Sebastian xoxoxo

And wishing all the Dad's our there a wonderful Father's Day!!

Then & Now

2010-06-06T20:49:00.009-04:00

Definitely not the most attractive of pics, and of course I'm not talking about Sebastian, but I just had to share. The first pic was taken on Dec 28, 2006 when Seb was just over 3 months old and the second pic was taken yesterday. Needless to say, neither was posed. He may not look too much like me, but he sleeps like me!

Frog Pond!

2010-06-01T10:50:00.001-04:00

About two weeks ago now I decided to be adventurous and go on a trek with Sebastian on his new balancing bike. The bike isn't too new per se, as we purchased it around Easter time, but he's been slow to taking a liking to it since it's so much easier for him to push along on his tricycle. However, as I've been encouraging his use of the bike I decided it would be neat to go for a long walk to the mailbox, which entails just walking along the path behind the houses on the next street over.

Anyways, it was quite the adventure. As there's a downhill leading on to the path Sebastian dismounted his bike and started skipping merrily along until he landed flat on his face! Luckily he didn't hit his head and with some kleenex and a water bottle I was able to wipe up the blood. He now has two skinned knees and an elbow and I thought for sure he'd just want to come right home, but I was pleasantly surprised when he said no. So we continued on our journey to the mailbox with an hour's break at the pond enjoying the frogs (and a turtle that we spotted).

It was a great morning, hot but not too hot, and I thought I'd take the moment to share some of the pics as well as a video of Sebastian saying hello to a frog that I thought was pretty cute/funny.

Chatty

2010-05-11T17:59:00.007-04:00

I don't know if I've ever posted this video before or not, so I probably should go through the blog to check...

I was just going through our pictures, looking for ones of our old garden, when I came across this gem. It was taken on Sebastian's 19 month un-birthday and I absolutely love what a little chatter-box our little guy was! Of course, you have to forgive my singing!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!

2010-05-08T18:48:00.006-04:00

This is so shameless....

But I am pleased to announce that via momsrising.org I won the Mother of the Decade Award!

And considering that Sebastian isn't even close to being 10, this is such an accomplishment! My acceptance speech will soon follow!

Snappity-Snap: Milestone Marker

2010-05-07T10:40:00.006-04:00

Just a quick post to make a note of another milestone that Sebastian has accomplished - snaps!

As of yesterday, Sebastian is able to snap up his own pants. In the past, he would independently use the washroom and then would require assistance in doing the snap to his jeans. So yesterday he's in the washroom and the next thing we know, he's out and his pants are fully snapped! He was so proud of himself, and so he should be, especially since we've never attempted to teach him how to do up his snaps. We had just assumed, and correctly I guess, that he would figure it out when he was ready to. Way to go Seb!!

Lullabies

2010-05-03T19:32:00.011-04:00

Since Sebastian's birth we have had a pretty consistent bedtime routine, in which Jamie will bathe Sebastian etc., and after having read the bedtime stories I will then sing Sebastian lullabies as he nurses/cuddles (at which point Jamie also lies down and falls asleep!).

Well, as I've been singing pretty much the same lullabies for so long I thought I should write them down so that Sebastian would have a record of the songs that were sung to him. I often change the words to make them more meaningful to us, and quite enjoy trying out new songs, however, I've consistently sung the following:

Hush Little Baby
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
My Sebastian Lies Over the Ocean (sung to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, in which I've added the following lyrics as a second verse):
Sebastian's the cutest little boy,
The cutest little boy I know,
Sebastian's the cutest little boy,
And I love him so
You Are My Sunshine
Rock A Bye Baby, in which I've changed the last two lines to:
And mommy will catch you, cradle and all
Bicycle Built for Two
Sebastian's Lullaby (*sung to the tune of Brahm's Lullaby) :
Go to sleep and goodnight
It is time to go to bed
It is time to lay down your head
And go to sleep.
Close your eyes pumpkin pie
It is time to go to sleep
Close your eyes pumpkin pie
And have sweet dreams all night.
Ba Ba Black Sheep
By N' By (*one of our favourites, but instead of singing "Good Lord" we sing "Good night")
And of course, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to place him in bed and tuck him in, in which for the second verse I sing:
When the blazing sun is gone
When there is nothing to look upon
Then I'll shine my light so bright
Guiding you throughout the night
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
How I wonder what you are.

Some nights we only get through a few and on others I sing more lullabies. But these are the ones I've been consistently singing to him since birth. I consider these our special songs and I really treasure this time with him, especially since I know it won't last forever.

Wild Thing!

2010-04-25T15:43:00.006-04:00

Just wanted to display Sebastian's newest creation from art class - it's a puppet created after the creatures from Where the Wild Things Are, in which Sebastian had to cut out all those felt pieces himself!! He named him "Sardina".

Rockets, Frogs & Fairies

2010-04-25T14:58:00.014-04:00

I'm typing this with a poor sick Sebastian by my side. =( Not too sure what he picked up or where but it all began Friday morning around 10 a.m. when he vomited. He vomited once more before having a nap, only to wake up in time to grab the bucket, vomit and crash again. After waking we had one more incident of vomiting around 4 p.m. and by 7 p.m. he was just exhausted and in bed for the night. The next morning he ate breakfast just fine but wasn't hungry for the remainder of the day. I managed to convince him to get some crackers in him and that was followed by popcorn later in the afternoon, but other than that, he basically just sipped honey water all day.

This morning our lil' guy slept in until 8 a.m., which is unusual for him, and was asleep again by 10 a.m. so I knew he still wasn't better. He was complaining that his stomach was still hurting and was still refusing to eat so I attempted to persuade him with butterscotch pudding. When that didn't work I knew he was definitely unwell. Sure enough, we're lying on the couch watching Nascar (because it's on and it's like McQueen, not because we actually follow it) and sure enough, the vomiting starts again! UGH is an understatement at the moment.

However, prior to Friday we had been having a fabulous week so of course it was just too good to be true!

On Monday Sebastian and I, after our music class, spent the afternoon we explored our neighbourhood and spent some time playing at a playground off of Revell Dr, which both Sebastian and I really enjoyed. While there I spoke with another area mom who informed me of another playground in the area that I had not known about called either Dragonfly or Butterfly Park. It's nestled behind Bishop Mac Highschool, which is in walking distance from the house. I had been planning on going there Friday afternoon after gymnastics, but alas, this little sickness sidelined that plan for now.

Tuesday is car-free day as Jamie is at work, so we spent our morning making a rocket ship (and puppet show house) out of the box from our new bbq. We coloured it and pretended to explore many planets. The afternoon was spent once again at the nearby playground before exploring the marshy area near our house for frogs. On the weekend a man and his young child walked by with nets and I had inquired where they had been. Unknown to us, the little marshy area a few doors down from our house is filled with frogs! We could always hear the frogs at night but just assumed they were deeper in the woods. Anyways, there were frogs everywhere! I didn't take any pics as I didn't have my camera on me, but next time we go I definitely will. We also saw a large animal swimming in the water away from us that I was unable to identify. My initial thought was beaver, but chances are it was most likely a muskrat. However, I didn't get a good look so I will have to do so next time, if I ever see it again.

Flying to the moon!

Wednesday is also car-free day, so we walked to the library (well I walked, Sebastian was pulled in the wagon) and then explored the playground in the vicinity. There we met another group of kids and their Nanny who mentioned that they liked going to the "Frog Pond". When I asked where the frog pond was it ended up being that little marshy area a few doors down from our house! Have I mentioned lately how much I love our new home?? The fact that I don't have to travel far to get to nature nor do I have to spend money to give Sebastian such simple experiences really makes me happy. Seeing kids explore nature is one of the simplest pleasures in life (to me of course!).

Thursday was art class followed by a trek to the vets with our kitty Niles. After we dropped Niles back off at home we ventured to the local mall as I had to pick up a few items. I am definitely not a shopper and hate crowds, but the place was pretty empty so we spent some time just wandering around. Sebastian wanted a dress up costume and I ended up finding him a "fairy" outfit, as I like to call it complete with a wand, wings and a skirt! He absolutely loved it!

My little fairy!

And that brings us back to Friday... but I won't repeat that!

So we did have a wonderful week and I hope this upcoming week will be just as fun, provided Sebastian is on the mend of course! Hoping my lil' guy feels better soon.

Sleepover!

2010-04-16T18:47:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday, almost a week ago now, Sebastian had his very first sleep over away from home!!

The last time Jamie and I had spent a night without Sebastian was almost over two years ago when we had spent a night at the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto to celebrate our Anniversary. At that point in time Nonee and Papa came to our house and stayed the night with Sebastian. If my memory serves me right he managed pretty well. He undoubtedly survived the night and so did we.

Well, for the past little while Sebastian has initiated conversation about having a sleepover at his grandparents. As we're now approximately 20 minutes away we felt much more comfortable with this idea and last Saturday we used the occasion of our friend Shawn, who now resides in Montreal, being in Toronto for Sebastian to have that sleepover at his grandparents.

Needless to say, when we went to pick Sebastian up the next morning he was in great spirits and apparently had a wonderful time only asking for me when he went to bed and upon waking (our cuddle times). He was asleep by 8:30 p.m., which was only an hour later than normal, and actually slept in until approx. 7:30!! Now, if only I had that great of a sleep... I was up at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. I finally managed to fall back asleep by 7 only to wake up for the day at 8:30! So much for sleeping in (and I had a slight hangover to boot!)!!

Anyways, there will indeed be a next time (haven't told that to Nonee and Papa yet!) and I think being so close and being able to see his grandparents more frequently has really helped Sebastian feel much more secure being in their care. However, next time I think Jamie and I are going to go out for dinner and a movie and be in bed by 10 so that we actually get a good nights sleep!

Artwork

2010-04-11T12:31:00.007-04:00

Sebastian started attending an art class this past February in Cambridge through Kids Creations and I wanted to share some of his most recent work.

The picture below is based on the art work of Eric Carle. Sebastian painted the background and made the fireworks in the sky. He had some assistance cutting out the pieces he had painted for the car, person, goat and fox before he glued them in place.

This second piece is a picture of the Universe.

Ladybug Ladybug Fly Away Home....

2010-04-08T18:54:00.007-04:00

Just a little story I wanted to share so that Sebastian, who may not have a memory of this, will know how we came to having two ladybugs for pets in the winter of 2010....

In late January Sebastian and I came across a ladybug in our home. As our beloved Chester likes to pounce on anything that seems to move, we were worried that it wouldn't last too long if we didn't intervene. Since it was the middle of winter we grabbed Sebastian's little bug house and decided we would do our best to keep the ladybug safe until spring. One ladybug soon became two and we quickly learned, thanks to the wonders of the web, how to keep these little creatures alive.

So today, while Sebastian and I were sitting at the table doing some artwork, I noticed a ladybug crawling on the floor. As the weather has been nice, albeit wet, and it is now technically spring I decided I would just place it outdoors. About five minutes later I figured I should check in on our ladies to see if they needed fresh water. It was at that moment that I realized the ladybugs were missing. My brilliant power of deduction lead me to the conclusion that I had just let one of our ladies free.

I did a quick look around and couldn't find the other ladybug. I really hoped that when I did find it it would still be okay, because the irony of keeping a bug alive for 3 months only to meet its demise by one of our cats would not have made me too pleased. Shortly thereafter I located the other ladybug and decided it was time that he too left the nest. I placed him on the front porch and watched him fly away.

Sebastian was very cute about the whole thing. I told him how proud I was of him for keeping the ladybugs safe and warm during the winter months, in which he told me that he was proud of me for taking care of them and thanked me for giving him the idea that we should keep them!

I swear, nothing gets past this kid!

Easter

2010-04-05T13:11:00.017-04:00

After 3 full days of busyness I thought I'd take some time, while Sebastian is playing with his Star Wars lego-men, to update everyone on our Easter long weekend.

So Friday morning, as I had previously blogged about, Nonee and Papa came over for a visit. Jamie had made some homemade cinnamon buns earlier that morning so we enjoyed those, while watching a couple of goldfinches at the bird feeder, with our morning coffee before settling down to colour some Easter eggs. After Nonee and Papa left the 3 of us headed outdoors where we all worked on the garden.

On Saturday Sebastian, Nonee and I headed to St. Jacob's to do some shopping while Jamie and Papa were busy constructing our raised garden. When we returned home a few hours later they were still busy and we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine, playing in our backyard, while we watched the garden be made.

Which of course leads us to yesterday... Easter! Sebastian gave the Easter Bunny a little present so when he awoke at 6 a.m. he anxiously went downstairs to see if the Easter Bunny had accepted his gift, which he did! He then patiently waited for Nonee and Papa to arrive to participate in the egg hunt. After the eggs were found inside we proceeded outside to enjoy the beautiful morning and hide the eggs once again in the yard. After Nonee & Papa went home we packed up the car and headed down to Ridgeway to visit with my Aunt Helen and family. We then headed to Aunt Shari's where we enjoyed another egg hunt and a wonderful Easter dinner.

Sebastian loved looking for the eggs and spending time with his cousin Jeremy. In fact, he talked about Jeremy all the way down to Ridgeway and it was great seeing how happy he was when we finally got to Jeremy's house! Jeremy is really good with Sebastian and I hope one day Sebastian will appreciate how kind and helpful Jeremy has been to him and that they will always have a special relationship. When asked what the best thing about cousin Jeremy, Sebastian said, "The best thing about cousin Jeremy is that I like him. And the way he wears his hair is like an animal, a shark and starfish under the sea that has huge, huge, huge, huge, huge teeth." Not too sure if Jeremy would like that description of his hair, but Sebastian thought it was a pretty neat description!!

Hoping everyone enjoyed their Easter and the beautiful weather.

Admiring his eggs
Working on the garden
Easter Egg Hunt!
Outside Easter Egg Hunt
Our new garden
Sebastian & Jeremy
Looking for eggs with Aunt Lynda (those are all his eggs under her shirt! 37 in total!!)
Cuddling with his new afghan from Nana

Worms!

2010-04-02T20:08:00.012-04:00

After having a nice morning hanging out with Nonee and Papa and colouring some Easter eggs, we spent the majority of the day outside playing in the yard. Jamie has been working hard on constructing our vegetable garden, so while he was doing so Sebastian enjoyed himself by playing in the dirt and experiencing the joy of worms. I think the pictures speak for themselves!

Overall, it was a good Friday. ;)

A snippet to remember

2010-03-26T14:07:00.006-04:00

This is going to be a short post as this is an entry for our memory book.

Sebastian does not watch a lot of tv. We can go days without turning the set on and when it is on, we usually have an hour limit. Well there is one television show that Sebastian just loves. He will laugh out loud at the antics and will actually request to watch this show (thank goddess for the pvr!). When it's not on he will talk about it and what he thinks the characters would be doing in any particular situation. And although the show isn't one of those "watch me and your kid will learn their ABC's" type of show, it really is imaginative, weird and funny, which to me, is just great.

So, what is this show you ask? *insert drum roll here* It's Toopy & Binoo! In fact, Sebastian is sitting right beside me on the couch while I'm typing this watching an episode now. When asked why he likes it so much he replied, "The funny parts!". That's all I could get out of him before he told me to take it off pause!

Well that's it for now. Back to your regularly scheduled program....

Family Portrait

2010-03-25T20:16:00.006-04:00

Today Sebastian drew his very first portrait of our family. I absolutely adore it (even if we do eat fireflies & I have a big head!!) and love the look on his face when I compliment him on his accomplishment.

We then spent some of our afternoon making bugs.

Spring

2010-03-23T18:57:00.000-04:00

I think I seem to start the blog the same way each time, with me stating that I've been meaning to sit down and write but that I am finding it difficult to find the time and energy to do so these days. This is mainly because our days are just way too busy and by the time Sebastian is in bed for the night, albeit before 7:30 p.m. on most nights, I'm either running out to run some errands and/or spending some quiet time with Jamie and blogging just isn't on my top list of priorities.

This past month we've been busy planning our new garden. We had some veggies in containers in Toronto on the back deck but we never ventured into planting a vegetable garden as our yard was a) mostly shade and b) I was never convinced the soil was safe. So now that we have the space we've plotted out a 5x10 space and have started some seedlings indoors. So far we've planted the pumpkin, peas and peppers. This upcoming weekend we'll be starting the beans and tomatoes and shortly thereafter the carrots, lettuce and numerous herbs will be started. Sebastian has always helped us with the gardening at our old home so having him assist us build the garden and plant the seeds really isn't anything new. But I am looking forward to being able to share the experience of harvesting our vegetables with him. Along with the garden we also purchased a share at the Ignatius Farm CSA. Every Friday I plan on heading out with Seb to the farm to pick up our veggies. They also have opportunities for share members to help in the crops, which will be perfect for Sebastian to experience.

Planting our pumpkin seeds

It's also that time of year when the trees are being tapped for maple syrup. Last year we went to a sugar bush in the Niagara area with my sister and family and this year we were lucky enough to actually assist with tree tapping at a farm in Floradale ON. Papa helps out at this farm so we had decided to go and visit with him one Saturday so that Sebastian could see the animals. And it just so happened that when we arrived everyone was in the bush beginning to tap the trees so we headed on out and gave them a hand. After having a quick warm up we went into the barn with Papa where Jamie and I were able to feed two lambs (Sebastian did not want to feed the lambs). Sebastian took a liking to one of the lambs and continued talking about him throughout the week! I must say, it's so nice having such a great Papa who helps us give Sebastian these experiences.

Sebastian with his favourite lamb

And other than that, along with our weekly scheduled programs, the simplest of things, such as writing with chalk on a driveway, playing in the backyard and exploring the walking paths behind our house is how we spend our days. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Exploring with friends

Winter Getaway

2010-03-04T09:24:00.031-05:00

We just returned on Monday from a lovely long weekend up north near Huntsville at a place called Cedar Grove Lodge. This was the first time we have been there and it definitely will not be the last! We now understand why so many return to vacation here year after year! We will definitely be joining in those ranks as we were able to do what we had wanted to do... Experience winter the way it should be experienced - Outside!

We didn't do a lot of outdoor exploration the first day we got there as check in wasn't until 4 p.m., but as we walked back to our cabin after dinner we walked out on the lake to admire the stars and the full moon. It brought me back to years in high school in the Outers Club when we would go to Bark Lake in the winter and spend our first night trekking through the snow with our eyes closed (trust walk) only to end up lying flat on our backs on the lake looking at the stars. Majestic doesn't even begin to describe it.

The following day we spent the entire morning outside playing in the snow. After breakfast we donned our snow attire, picked up some ice skates and took Sebastian out to the rink on the lake. This was the first time he had ever been on skates! Jamie unfortunately did not get to skate as there were no skates his size but it enabled him to be a more stable support for Sebastian. Sebastian however, was more interested in playing hockey than actual skating, so when he realized we didn't have a puck he quickly lost interest. However, when on the skates there were a couple of times that he would purposely fall and we were surprised at how easily he managed to get back up to a standing position with the skates on without our help. Lessons may be in the cards for next winter!

After skating we played outside for the remainder of the morning, hiking, tobogganing and making a snowman. After lunch we played in the games room where Sebastian amazed us with his billiard skills. There were a variety of games, such as air hockey, ping-pong and shuffle board and we were joined by another family with small children. The remainder of the day was spent watching the Men's Olympic game (Yay Canada!!) while the kids played nearby. It was really cute watching these two play together and we're hoping we'll see them again next year at the lodge.

On our last day we went snow shoeing for a bit and just hiked around the property and lake. It really was a lot of fun and we're really happy we were able to give Sebastian this experience. Looking forward to next year already!!

There are quite a lot of pics so I've made them smaller, but if you want to see them better just click on them & they will enlarge.

Pool Shark

2010-03-02T13:09:00.003-05:00

Chewbacca Part 2

2010-02-25T20:48:00.005-05:00

I was going through some of our older blog posts, taking a trek down memory lane, when I came across this video that was taken when Sebastian was just over 2.5 years old. Not only did it have me laughing out loud, it also reminded me of a statement he had made during the holidays, that I had wanted to blog about but forgot to do so.

We were watching snippets of Return of the Jedi for the first time (and I say snippets because I turned it on just as Luke was fighting the Rancor and didn't want to traumatize the poor kid!). The scene was with the Ewoks and Seb exclaimed, "That is a raccoon. That was Chewbacca when he was a baby." Even when I told him that no, that was an Ewok he wouldn't believe me. However, he also does not believe me when I tell him that Chewbacca does not carry a guitar, as he would like to believe. I keep telling him it's a man-purse, which is a nicer way of saying that he's carrying an ammo pak, but he just doesn't believe me! He's convinced Chewy plays in a rock & roll band! Now that, I would like to see.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2010-02-23T14:09:00.006-05:00

For as long as Sebastian could talk when questioned what he wants to do when he grows up he has answered that he wants to be a garbage man. We have no way discouraged this, as we have not questioned his decision nor have we attempted to offer him other alternatives as to what he can be when he grows up. Lately he's making garbage a whole family affair. His daddy is going to help and so is Uncle Danny. He's sitting beside me right now looking at his library books so I'm going to ask him a question or two about this and just type what he says:

Me: So, Seb, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Seb: Garbage man
Me: Why?
Seb: Cause I want to be a garbageman with Dan.
Me: What are you going to do?
Seb: Dan the garbage man will take out the garbage and and I will stay in the truck. And Dan will stand on the pole and I can stand on the pole And when I grow up Dan can be a garbage man, I can be a garbage man and Alice can be one too. We can all be garbage men. Dad can be one and you too.
Me: What's the best thing about being a garbage man?
Seb: It's because I want to take out the garbage with Dan.
Me: Why Dan?
Seb: It's cause I haven't seen Danny what he does when someone wants to pretend they're a garbage man with Dan.
Me: Why not a doctor?
Seb: It's because Dan's so cool. I haven't seen Dan before and Dan hasn't seen me in awhile.
Me: Do you love Dan?
Seb: I do. That's why I want to be a garbage man with Dan. Because I love Dan.

Dan - I really hope you are reading this!!!

Of Dragons and Zippers

2010-02-19T20:08:00.004-05:00

I came to recognize today that some of the best conversations I have with our son is when he is sitting on the toilet. Today we discussed in great length how much Sebastian would like a dragon costume. We talked about how I could make him one and what type of materials we could use. He asked if I would knit him one, even saying I could purl it if I wanted! In the end we decided that I could easily sew him one. When he finished his business we sketched it out and tomorrow we are off to do some fabric shopping together so that we can make him into a dragon!

We also went out for dinner this evening. Upon completion of dinner Sebastian said, when Jamie was about to do up his zipper, that he wanted to try doing it. Sure enough he managed to latch and do up his zipper all on his own!! The look on his face was priceless when he realized he had mastered it!!

Have I mentioned lately how much this kid amazes me??

Off the cuff...

2010-02-10T19:22:00.009-05:00

As I'm typing a big fat cat, who is actually the baby in the family, named Chester is sitting on my lap. Jamie is beside me sipping some port with Niles to the left of him and Tabs sitting at his head. Seems like our other babies come out for attention once Sebastian is down for the night! Anyways, I haven't updated in a bit so I thought I'd just start typing and see what flows out...

Sebastian stopped having afternoon naps shortly after we moved to our new home. We were finding that if he napped he wouldn't be going to bed till close to 9:30 p.m. or even later. Now that he's chosen not to nap bedtime is usually before 7:30 p.m! It's actually quite nice as it gives us some time to ourselves in the evenings and with him getting close to a 12 hour night's rest he is usually in wonderful spirits throughout the day.

Now that Sebastian is fully independent with getting himself dressed in the morning we have found that he really doesn't like to wear a single item of clothing that we had purchased for him for this winter! Instead he will opt to wear his "soccer outfit", which is a rugby shirt from Wales, his "G-force" t-shirt, his "Batman", which is really a gargoyle t-shirt, his "polar bear" hockey shirt and/or his Spider-man, Batman or Buzz Lightyear costumes. Did I mention that these, excluding his actual costumes, are short sleeve? Some days, if we're really lucky, he will change his clothes a number of times and wear all of his favourite items! It's been a struggle to have him dress appropriately for the weather and we have come to a compromise that on the days in which we have programs he has to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt until we come home. Once home he usually very quickly proclaims that it's time to change, runs up to his room and comes down in one of his favourite outfits! And it's hard to complain because it's great that he can dress and undress himself, including socks and underwear, without our help. What does suck though is that I have no clue why we spent money on clothes for him! Should be fun when school starts in September!

Speaking of school, Sebastian is now registered to attend jk in September. He is much more excited about this prospect than I am and I wasn't even going to write about it, but it is such a milestone that I had to at least give it a mention. He will be going alternate days full-time, including every other Friday. I have the next 7 months to get used to this idea so I will leave the writing of school until closer to September when I may be able to stomach the idea that our little baby is going to school! *gulp*

Sebastian has also started playing independently in his bedroom. This is something that he would never do before and it's nice as he will sit on his bed and read his books to his stuffed animals and/or play quietly with his toys. It's also nice to see that he's feeling comfortable enough in our new home to know that he is safe to play upstairs without us. He has yet to do this with the actual playroom in the basement, but that's pretty understandable considering that it is much farther away.

Anyways, I think that's it for now. Sebastian is starting his new art class tomorrow morning and we'll be heading away for a weekend at the end of February to a log cabin in the woods, so another update should hopefully follow within the next few weeks. Hoping everyone is staying warm and safe!

Cheers!
Kim

Some of Sebastian's favourite outfits:

Wheeee!!!

2010-01-10T20:27:00.003-05:00

Compare that to last year's "sledding" with Sebastian I would have to say that this was a lot more fun!!

Olympic Flame

2009-12-28T20:04:00.009-05:00

I know I mentioned this in the last post, but I felt that this should be its own separate post for Sebastian to reflect back on one day.

This morning the Olympic Flame passed through Guelph between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. As the flame was going to be heading out of Guelph near Nonee and Papa's house we decided we would meet up with them to watch history in the making.

It was a wonderful morning and the only regret I have was that I didn't cheer loud enough! But in my heart, I was definitely cheering!

'Tis the 5th Day of Christmas

2009-12-28T19:38:00.009-05:00

It seems like this has been the Christmas that just won't end. Not that we want it to end, as we've been enjoying ourselves immensely, however, it seems that we've been celebrating straight now for the past 5 days!

On Christmas Eve we got into the car and went to pick up Aunt Jennifer in Hamilton so that she could spend the night with us and help us celebrate Christmas. We then spent the evening at Nonee and Papa's enjoying a wonderful array of foods and each other's company.

Christmas morning was extra special for us this year as it was the first time in over 13 years that we actually woke up in our own beds!! For our first Christmas at our new home Nonee, Papa and Aunt Becky came over in the morning to watch Sebastian open up his Christmas presents. After a wonderful breakfast, Nonee, Papa and Aunt Becky left to go home and we had a couple of hours to relax with Aunt Jennifer before we got ready to go over to their house for the remainder of the day. We had a wonderful afternoon and evening with family and Sebastian really enjoyed himself, playing with all his new toys and helping everyone open up their presents by sitting on their laps and assisting them with the unwrapping! Dinner was as wonderful as usual and we retreated home once again later in the evening. Sebastian gave us an extra present by sleeping in on Boxing Day and our day was once again spent with Nonee, Papa and Aunt Becky at our house playing video games and enjoying each other's company while grazing on food all day long.

On the 27th Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Shari, Uncle Dan, Kassy, Jeremy and Sophia came over for a visit. Once again, Sebastian really enjoyed opening up his presents and playing with his cousins. After dropping off Uncle Danny at the bus terminal we headed over again to Nonee and Papa's house to help them eat some more of the leftovers. I must say, I really wish my in-laws weren't such good cooks! Sebastian is very lucky his Nonee and Papa make such great food but my waistline suffers every year!!

Which brings us to today...our 5th day of celebrating. We woke up around 7:30, got dressed and rushed over to Nonee and Papa's to watch the Olympic flame pass through Guelph. It was a memorable moment and I'm glad we managed to get out the door by 8 a.m. in order to observe such an occasion. After breakfast we said good-bye to Nonee, Papa and Aunt Becky and headed home. We then took Sebastian sledding! This was the first time he freely went down a hill without one of us pulling him! Jamie and I took turns sitting in the sled with him and it was a lot of fun. We both enjoyed listening to Sebastian squeal with delight while going down the hill! After a nice walk through the trails we played in the backyard making snow angels before coming in the house for some hot cocoa.

Overall, we've had a wonderful relaxing holiday and hoping everyone else has enjoyed theirs! Tomorrow will probably be much slower as we're having some furniture delivered and we're hoping to see Aunt Becky one more time before she has to head back home to B.C. We're then off to Fort Erie on the 30th to help celebrate my dad's birthday. Again, we'll be busy but when it's spent with family it's well worth it!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday!
Cheers!
Kim

On this eve...

2009-12-24T10:36:00.009-05:00

On the eve of Christmas, as we're reflecting back on Christmas's past and enjoying the moment that is today, we can't help but feel overwhelmed with how lucky we are to have such a wonderful son in our lives. Merry Christmas Sebastian! We love you!

2009
2008
2007
2006

These are a few of his favourite things....

2009-12-18T20:40:00.008-05:00

These are just little bits of information about our boy that I wanted to document.

Favourite animal(s): giraffe, hippopotamus

Favourite colour: orange

Favourite thing to play: Superheroes. Sebastian loves either wearing his Batman or Spiderman costume or just prancing around in his underwear pretending to be a wrestler (thanks Jeremy!). He has recently asked me if he could get a Buzz Lightyear costume. This of course means that getting dressed in the morning, and even appropriately for the weather, has been quite interesting. Sebastian is now pretty independent with picking out his own clothes (as he refuses to wear anything we ask him too!) and the only thing he still requires assistance with are the snaps/buttons. Most days he will get dressed only to change 15 minutes later into one of his costumes. He also really enjoys playing with Lego (particularly his daddy's space kit from his childhood) and our Millenium Falcon. His imagination astounds me, not to mention the conversations we have. Our most recent discussion centred on whether Chewbacca carried a guitar or a man-purse. Of course, I say it's a man-purse but Seb is very adamant that he carries a guitar. I think a rockin' Chewbacca would be a wonderful sight to see! And lastly, Sebastian loves ryhming. He'll be playing with his toys and just start rhyming off a bunch of words and put them into song. Newest thing is rhyming like Dr. Seuss (he'll even ask you if you have a Gox to Box!).

Favourite Books: Doesn't really have any. We recently got the book Silly Sally from the library and he was quite sad to see it go (hint hint to those who still need to purchase a gift for him!).

Favourite TV Shows (out of the ones we allow him to watch): Animal Mechanicals, Sid the Science Kid, Super Why. He also really enjoys Sid and Patty from CBC Kids.

And if you were to ask him what he enjoys doing with me the most it would be watching Christmas Specials (I'm such a sucker for them!) and with his daddy, it's the Lego. I can make houses and ships but his daddy is the Lego King in our house!

Busy!

2009-12-16T19:33:00.017-05:00

As the holidays are fast approaching I figured I would take some time to update the blog before the busyness of the holidays actually hit!

Sebastian has done really well with adjusting to our new life in our new home and City. The first two weeks were quite hard on him and we weren't too sure how the three of us were going to survive this, but with a game plan in place (distract, remove, ignore) we quickly had things stabilized and our lovable excitable bear was once again himself.

Right now our days are pretty much just spent playing around the house and exploring the neighbourhood. Come the new year we'll be attending Music Together once again as well as Creative Critters and a program at the Waldorf School in the area. We'll have two "free days" during the week to do what we please when Jamie has to commute to work. I'm looking forward to getting out and meeting new people and having Sebastian meet children his age, and since Sebastian enjoyed participating in programs in the past I am hoping that this will add some more enrichment to his days.

Anyways, I really enjoy sharing pictures of what we've been up to, as opposed to writing about it, as it enables others to actually see what Sebastian is doing. I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the magic of the season!

Helping cousin Sophia celebrate her 1st birthday!
Candy Land Festival, Cambridge
Arts & Crafts
Enjoying his Advent Calendar
Going to the tree farm and cutting down our own tree!
Three thumbs up!
Enjoying himself with Aunt Judy at Nana's 83rd Birthday Party!
Helping string the tree

We're Here!

2009-11-18T19:22:00.010-05:00

Just a quick update, as promised, as to what we've been up to...

In mid-October we got possession of our new home. As it was 3 bedrooms upstairs with a large rec room in the basement we decided now would be a good time to add that 4th bedroom/office in the basement. With that said our weekends were spent in Guelph constructing a room in the basement (correction; when I say our weekends were spent constructing a room I really meant Jamie and his dad!).

During this time Sebastian and I would play around the house and spend time with Nonee. On one of those weekends our friends Stacey and Brendan, with their son Campbell, came by for a visit. As we had little to no furniture in the house Sebastian and Campbell really enjoyed being able to dance around, and I thought these videos were way too cute not to share! The first video is Sebastian in his "skirt" dancing around as a ballerina on his own and the second is Sebastian and Campbell rocking it out to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

As our actual move occurred on October 31st we decided to remain in the area and celebrate Hallow's Eve with Brendan, Stacey and Campbell. It was a cold night but a good one, with Cambridge, more specifically Old Preston, providing a wonderful backdrop to our haunts with all their century old brick homes and trees. It was a great way to celebrate our "official" first night at our new home.

Since then we've been slowly transitioning into our new community. Sebastian and I have scouted out the conservation trails behind our house and have made a couple of treks to our new library, where we've started attending their preschooler program on Wednesday mornings, and the playground. There's been a lot more happenings going on, including helping Campbell celebrate his 4th birthday, celebrating daddy's and grandpa's birthday and attending cousin Sophia's baptism, but I will attempt to write another blog entry within the very near future including those events. Hopefully it won't take me nearly as long to update the blog as it did this time around!

Hoping everyone is well,
K.

Chubby Cheeks

2009-11-10T14:59:00.006-05:00

I'm feeling very delinquent with this whole blogging thing lately. With the move now behind us there has been a lot to update on, but unfortunately, I just haven't had the energy to do so. However, since I know people have been checking the blog I thought that perhaps I'd just take a quick trip down memory lane and give you a short little video to view.

I had been reminiscing the other night, after having watched a video of a friend's 20 month old, and found this in the vault of our videos. This was taken in May of 2008 when Sebastian was just shy of being 20 months old. His cute chubby cheeks, the fact that he's eating lima beans and the way he talks makes me chuckle every time!

On Thanksgiving....

2009-10-10T18:49:00.010-04:00

Just wanted to wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving and to let you know that we are very grateful to have you in our lives.

Love,
Kim, Jamie & Sebastian.

Annual Check Up

2009-09-28T14:17:00.005-04:00

Took Seb to his annual check-up this morning. He weighs 31lbs and is 38.5" tall. No concerns were noted and he got a clean bill of health.

And as I'm typing this Sebastian is running around in his Batman costume playing the guitar. He just asked me to close my eyes while he plays music... So with my eyes closed I asked, "What does it feel like to be 3?" His answer, "Like a Cowboy".

This I did not know...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEBASTIAN!!!

2009-09-19T17:14:00.001-04:00

We love you to the moon and back,
Mommy & Daddy xoxoxo...

Sebastian's thoughts on Caterpillars

2009-09-05T08:29:00.005-04:00

Sebastian was up quite early this morning so we came downstairs and watched a bit of Owl TV. Part of the segment covered the life cycle of caterpillars, during which, Sebastian made the following insightful observation/comment:

"Why do they eat the leaves? Then they have nothing to crawl on."

I didn't know what to say... so we just held hands instead.

19 More Days....

2009-08-31T09:36:00.007-04:00

Until Sebastian turns 3!!!

Sebastian turns 1!
Sebastian turns 2!!
Almost 3!

A Camping We Will Go....

2009-08-12T16:15:00.010-04:00

Just got back a few days ago from our annual family camping trip. We headed up to Earl Rowe Provincial Park this year for a few days of rest and relaxation in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, the weather was definitely not on our side this year. It rained for pretty much the majority of our trip and as such, we chose to leave camp early.

Unfortunately it wasn't early enough as a severe storm hit just as we were clearing up our dinner dishes (lucky for us everything else had been packed). Once the wind picked up I ran to the car with Sebastian and sat there wondering if I should be making a run to the nearest comfort station, while Jamie and his folks had the horrible task of taking down the tarp in the severe thunderstorm. The wind, thunder & lightening was quite frightful and luckily once again, Sebastian slept through most of it.

Upon leaving the campground Sebastian awoke and started to cry because he was upset we were leaving...

Glad to see he loves camping as much as we do, but it made us sad to know how upset he was so we're hoping to grab another camping trip in prior to the end of the season. We drove home in darkness, as the storm had knocked out the power to the majority of the towns we drove through, and watched the zig zags of lightening crash throughout the skies. We followed the tail of the storm home and made it home safe to our snug and warm beds without incident.

The Cottage

2009-08-10T20:28:00.012-04:00

In early August we spent a few days at my co-worker's cottage. As some of you may remember, we first took Sebastian to this cottage when he was 10 months old. It was a very nice and relaxing few days spent at a leisurely pace and Sebastian continues to talk about Balm Beach and all the frogs he spotted at Wye Marsh! Anyways, for fun I thought it would be interesting to see the differences between Sebastian then and now. Hope you enjoy the trek down memory lane as much as I did!

Our summer in pictures part two

2009-08-10T20:06:00.008-04:00

Spaceman Seb at the Science Centre
Lovin' the trampoline with cousin Jeremy
Sebastian's 1st roller coaster ride, Marineland
We went to Marineland with Aunt Shari, Uncle Dave, Kassy, Jeremy and Sophia
Holding a boa at Jungle Cat World at Griff's 4th Birthday
Petting a tarantula at Jungle Cat World for Griff's 4th Birthday
Painting the porch with Daddy getting ready for our house to sell

Our summer in pictures

2009-07-27T14:02:00.013-04:00

Instead of writing more I figured I'd just update the blog with pictures of what we've been up to. There will be more to come.

Swimming with Daddy at Campbell's house
Showering with Daddy
Playing with Campbell
Playing in his garden
Swinging with cousin Jeremy
Cuddling with Grandpa

Catching Up

2009-07-27T13:49:00.004-04:00

So I've been rather lax with my blogging this summer so I thought I'd take the time to explain all the exciting things we've been up to and why we've been absent from the blogging-scene.

First off, we've been busy as always with trips to the zoo, Marineland and the Science Centre as well as various outings visiting friends and family out of the City. Things were really hectic for us at the end of June when we finally, after months of de-cluttering, put our house on the market. To say it was a crazy week would be an understatement! The For Sale sign went up on a Monday and one week later with over 65 appointments and 10 offers, we sold our house over asking! It was very exciting but also very draining and I will never sell our house again!

Sebastian was a great sport throughout but it took a toll on all of us as I would be running behind Sebastian every morning with my window cleaner wiping up his handprints off the mirrors and doors and the poor kid wasn't even allowed to sit on the couch without a sheet over it to protect it from dirt, cat hair etc. The evenings were the worse as we had appointments every evening until 7:30 p.m., which meant we weren't getting home until 8 p.m. Once Sebastian was down for the night Jamie & I would then complete our cleaning routine before we could go to bed. I have no clue if we would have survived having our house on the market longer!

So of course with selling our house meant buying a house. Our weekends were devoted to house hunting not to mention family parties to attend. Amongst our busy social schedule we finally purchased a home in mid-July and thus, I now have the time to update this blog!

Anyways, there's a lot of great things about this neighbourhood we love and that we'd be sad to leave. For example, I love the library, Farmer's Market and we have a great bunch of neighbours that get a thrill out of Sebastian. I'm also going to miss Sebastian pointing at the hospital he was born in and exclaiming, "Look mommy! That's my hospital! I was born there!". But I'm not going to miss the pollution, the busyness or the violence of the City.

With that said, we'll be heading to Guelph in the fall and am hoping that the pace of life will be much slower, quieter, safer and cleaner. Looking forward to getting connected to our new community and our new home.

Milestone Marker (again!)

2009-07-27T13:45:00.003-04:00

As we're approaching Sebastian's third birthday in a couple of months it's amazing how we're noticing slight differences in the way that he now does things. For example, he is now alternating feet while walking up/down stairs, as opposed to taking each step one at a time. I can't tell you exactly when this happened, but it's happened. Just one more milestone to check off the list!

Milestone Marker

2009-07-10T21:16:00.007-04:00

Well it's official... Sebastian is now wearing underwear!!!

We had a laissez-fare approach to toilet training since Sebastian first used the toilet just over a year ago. We'd put him on the toilet throughout the day and encourage him to use it, which he did. We didn't force him to use the toilet by any means, so there were times when he chose to still use the diaper, so it wasn't until he was actually able to tell us he had to use the toilet that we knew he was ready to start wearing underwear. Coupled with the fact that he has been going all day and even night with a dry diaper for the past week we're pretty proud of our big boy (he no longer likes it when I call him my little boy) for demonstrating to us he was ready. Way to go Sebastian!!!

2009-06-30T14:09:00.002-04:00

On Thursday evening while the 3 of us were out having dinner Sebastian saw a rainbow for the very first time. And of course to remember the occasion, I'm making a note of it here. Nothing too exciting compared to everything else that's been going on in our lives, but that's a whole other post to come when I actually have the energy!

Hope everyone is well,
Kim

Who switched the plates??

2009-06-21T09:38:00.003-04:00

This morning while enjoying our Father's Day breakfast I looked over at Sebastian and realized, while watching him take a sip of his milk from his glass, that there wasn't one single "baby/toddler" item on our table. The sippy cups have been long gone, the little forks and spoons and even those cute little toddler plates that are sectioned off so you can keep the peas away from the potatoes are long gone. In fact, sitting beside me isn't even a toddler any more. It's a boy. My boy. Our boy. I can't even recall when exactly we made this switch to regular plates, cutlery and glasses with him, but we're there in full force.

That, coupled with the fact that earlier this week our lil' munchkin showed us he can actually do somersaults, has made me a tad bit sentimental for times past. I say just a tad because I'm also left with the anticipation of what happens next!