Hallowe'en came early this year...

Family Time

Work has been unbelievably busy lately. I have been trying to keep up both of my blogs over the past few weeks - but obviously Owen's has suffered. It isn't that he hasn't done cute things or entertained us with new accomplishments - but when he does we seem to be away from home, and my laptop.

As I mentioned, work has been busy - events, planning, meetings galore etc. I worked a couple weekends on top of the work done at the office due to various events and consumer shows. You learn to appreciate the time spent with your family when you have to be away so frequently. Today I had a conversation with one of the younger managers at the office, trying to find a time to do some errands for our social committee. We were finding it difficult to locate a half an hour that was free for both of us, so he suggested we go after work.

I leave at 5 from the office. I arrive at 8, leave at 5. I am not a clock watcher but my time with my son is important so I want to have as much as possible with him before he goes to bed. As I see it everyday I already put in an extra 1/2 to 1 hr due to arriving at the office before anyone else. Not to mention the oodles of days I work on weekends (which I don't get time off for...). So am I going to stay late to do an errand for social committee?

No.

Of course like other young people at my office - this manager didn't understand. He is there until 10 some nights. Whoopidity doo. I said of course that I have a family and I want to spend time with them, in particular my son (sorry hubbie!). I said someday when you have kids - you will understand. He said, he doesn't think so, that he won't have a problem staying late even with kids.

I have run into this before, younger - no-children staff who don't get why you have to take time off occasionally when your kid is sick, or why you rush out of a meeting to get home in time for dinner... Perhaps my mind is fogged up, or hind-sight isn't 20/20 after all - but before I had Owen I never thought like this. I always assumed that a baby would change how my life was. I didn't know how, but I certainly wouldn't have made a statement about something I know nothing about.

Owen's Favourite Books (right now!)

1. Clang, Clang - known to most as Mortimer, by Robert Munsch

2. Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

3. Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Bad Day (or for short Bad Day), Judith Viorst

4. Alligator Pie, Alligator Pie if I don't get some I think I'm gonna die... Dennis Lee

5. Duck in the Truck - Jez Alborough

6. How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight - Jane Yolen

7. Bad Dog Marley by John Grogan

8. Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type - Doreen Cronin

9. Ugly Fish Kara Lareau

10. Colourful Mouse Golden Books

Language

I find myself answering back to my son in his own language. Twice this evening I caught myself.

Brushing Teeth:

As usual Owen says "Me Do It" and I say "No, me do it. Then you do it."

Book Reading:

He helps me read, filling in the word she knows. Polkadot becomes Cokeadot. And, what do I do? I say "right, Cokeadot."

Nice.

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Squishing Up My Baby Bumblebee

Uncle Jeff

My brother came to visit today. "Uncle" lives in London, England - so he and Owen don't see each other that regularly. The first time Jeff (the Uncle) met Owen was before he had moved overseas, and around the time Owen was a couple weeks old. Jeff wasn't keen on holding Owen. You can see in the picture to the left, he is looking over Kim's shoulder (Aunt). I believe that day we managed to get Jeff to hold Owen for less than a minute while he was sitting on the floor. As I recall it took quite some time before Jeff became comfortable to hold Owen. Owen must have seemed breakable.

We had to work Jeff in slowly into the role of "Uncle". Say to Jeff, "here you hold him". Or, sit Owen down beside him on the sofa. Later on of course Owen would do it himself. Sit himself down beside Jeff and hand him a book. Somewhere there is a picture of that. Jeff still stares at Owen - with this look of "Holy crap, what is that?" or "Why is that kid jumping up and down like that?" - but he is much more comfortable with him around. This picture taken in June, shows Jeff throwing Owen around in the back yard.

Today, Owen insisted on going with me to pick up Uncle at the Go Station. At the house Owen ran around like a mad man from one side of the house to the other, running to jump on Jeff - taking Uncle Jeff by the hand to the window to see a rainbow. "Come Uncle, rainbow". All in all Owen was being a bit of a show-off. "play with me, play with me!" A kid throwing himself at you is a bit harder to fend off than a possibly breakable 2 week old. But I think Uncle Jeff is enjoying the role. It is too bad that England is so far away.

Facial Expressions: By Owen

As seen this summer!

Growing Up

Did you wake up one day and realize your baby was no longer a baby? Did they one day somehow seem older by some sort of divine misfortune?

Somewhere along the way Owen stopped being a baby. I don't recognize the exact moment. But rather it seems a series of moments that all equal the sad fact - Owen is now an independent 2 year old.

Obviously there is no fine line between "baby" and toddler or pre-schooler, but once your little one moves from being a baby it seems strangely evident - at least to you. All of a sudden, the words "me do it" break your heart every day. They walk up the stairs on their own - not crawl. They insist on pouring their own apple juice, getting the water out of the fridge dispenser with no help from you. They have figured out how and when to pout, the perfect funny face to make you laugh. Maybe, like Owen they have learned to fake cry - but aren't old enough yet to keep it going for long enough to trick you yet.

They have developed their own personality, compassion and humour. You can see their future in this new found individuality.

Sir Poopy Pants

Sir Poopy Pants is one step closer to becoming diaper-less! Yesterday, he peed in the morning on the toilet, and then he pooped on the toilet after his nap. We clapped and hugged anyone within reach. By George, he's got it! Apparently we aren't alone, at a neighborhood BBQ some other parents asked if we had done the "Potty Dance". We hadn't so next time we will add that into the routine.

Now in case you think we are amazing parents, I should admit bribery was at play. We bought a Thomas the Train kit at Costco, which included 250 reward stickers! So for every pee in the toilet he gets one sticker, and for every poop he gets two. Yesterday, he got three stickers...the first day we implemented this new training mechanism.

He sticks his stickers right on his little potty and seems very proud of it. I figure by the time he is done his potty will look like a Nascar with all the badges.

Civilization: 1 km

This is what one amusing sign said in Ottawa. It was ironically placed near the Parliament building but of course it was just a a sign for the Museum of Civilization.

Anton and I met in Ottawa and we remember it fondly. We thought with a week off it would be a good place to take Owen. We broke the journey into two parts, first day travelling as far far as Anton's parents house for a short visit, and the second day on to Ottawa. On the first leg of the journey we stopped in Belleville to have lunch. We sipped a Happy Hour Daiquiri, and Owen tested the lemons from our water glasses:

We thought that by splitting the journey we would hear less whining from the backseat. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Half-way from Anton's parent's house Owen began his never ending tirade of "Get out Mommy!", "Too tight, Daddy", " Open the door" , "Get out, Get out!". So in Perth, we gave in and stopped for lunch where we got Owen his first Kid's Meal - complete with markers which he used to decorate napkins and the table at Harveys. On the way out of town his ex-ray eyes saw a Ice Cream shop and he began singing "Ice cream, Ice cream yum-yum-yum." We were not fooled by his cuteness. Later in the trip he reenacted this trick with " I love Bagels, yum yum yum".

In Ottawa, we went straight to the Museum of Nature, which for those of you who have never been, is an amazing looking building. Basically it looks like a huge castle. So much so, that after Owen has dirtied his diaper, he announces to us that he had "pooped in a castle". Owen was in his element counting caribou, pointing out baby Bison, roaring at Dinosaurs and flapping his wings in the bird area.


The following day we kept the museum theme ( obviously, I am going for the "Best Mom" award) and headed to the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau which has an amazing Children's Museum. So great, that we were there all day. Owen who loves to entertain took up the opportunity to dance on stage:


At the museum he banged on drums, drove a boat, an airplane, coloured a beautiful picture, drove a motorcycle and a car, operated a cash register, and served a dish of ice cream to another child in the Kid's Cafe. All in days work for Owen! After the museum we went for coffee with two old friends, and this is what they saw of Owen:

kids say the darndest things

I have a horrible memory. My husband tells me that all the time. And it isn't that I have selective memory as some women do - I simply do not have enough room for all the stuff going on in my brain - so some things have to go! Sadly, it often seems to be the little things in life. Stuff that people say...

Owen says and does cute things all the time. Sure every mom says that. But mine really does. LOL. Whenever I hear another mom tell a story of what her kid does or says that is funny - I say you need to write that down. Will you remember that quirky thing they did 10 years from now? A girl I work with for example has a three year old who is currently obsessed with his "pee-pee". She told me today that if she helps him put on his "knickers" - as she pulls them up - he will say "no mommy, it has to point down not up!" Apparently, most of the time he prefers to go commando- and since he usually dresses himself in the morning she has had to warn the daycare that he likes to hang free.

That is the type of story you need to write down for posterity.

So here are a few cuties from Owen. I have likely managed to forget many of the others. But I have a blackberry now and I intend to use it when Owen does something cute when I am away from a computer...

Thomas the Tank Engine

A few weekends ago a friend and I took the kids to the Halton Railway Museum. Owen loves choo-choo trains. He used to obsess over Thomas, but now he seems more interested in real ones and toy ones than the ones on television. For those of you who have not had to endure hours of Thomas & Friends this might not be funny to you - but for those intimately acquainted with James, Percy, Duck and Thomas...


To the unacquainted this looks like a giant garage for Trains.
For Owen - this is "Tidmouth Shed! Tidmouth Shed, Thomas Sleeping!"
In the TV show, Thomas and his fellow train friends, go back to the engine shed - called Tidmouth - to close their train eyes.





This man who was kind enough to loan Owen his hat, is actually named Kevin (I zoomed in on his name tag to find this out). But to Owen his name "Mommy, sih Topham Hat ovuh der"...

Sir Topham Hatt is the Chairman on the Railway in the TV series Thomas & Friends. Shockingly in the much older books he is called the "Fat Controller"




Potty Humour

Finally one more story. As we are trying to get Owen potty trained (so far only 3 successful "pees") - we seem to spend a lot of time talking about "peeing" "pooping", the parts required, the potty, the toilet....We even have a lovely British book called "Who's In the Loo?" which describes a Rhino in the loo who had a "Hot Curry" and Penguins taking a "Piddle."

The other night before bedtime, Owen was doing his usual running around, jumping on beds and all out sleepy time nutty-ness when he tooted. I made the mistake of saying "what was that?" and he said "I faaarted". I laughed - second mistake - since after I laughed he of course repeated the fact that he farted two more times. My husband will likely kill me for writing this, but the story doesn't get saved for posterity without it... Apparently when Anton tooted a few days ago, Owen said "Daddy pooping", and Anton corrected him and said that he farted not pooped. Likely he also explained that pooping gets done in the toilet. So now when Owen farts he makes sure you know it. If only, he would let us know when he had to "pee" or "poop".

A Few of Owen's Favourite Things

The park by our house. He actually believe that it is his swing, and his slide.







Any animals, but he loves Elephants. He has seen them twice this year at the Toronto Zoo and African Lion Safari. He also likes to sing "Elephant, Elephant" and run around the living room swinging his arm.





Owen loves going out on the town! He likes watching all the people, and dogs at the Market. He also loves the fact that Mommy always buys him fruit. "berries peas... "





Playing with kids his age, especially if the toy is big enough for all of them.






Reading. Owen will drag three or four books to you and say "read it". Current favs: Duck in the Truck , Bad Dog Marley, Who's in the Loo, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day (known as "Bad Day) and The Gruffalo.




He has one more favourite - and that is anything that has wheels, can fly or goes "choo-choo". But since we just when to the Railway Museum - I will save that for a post all on its own.

Walking in Papa Gordon's Shoes

Enjoy this video of the little entertainer:

A Star is Born

Owen loves to sing and dance. Everyday he comes home from school humming a new tune. This morning when he woke up I heard him singing BINGO, he even spelled it correctly.

But the song two nights ago was hilarious. We have some video but it requires some editing (something I need to figure out how how to do!). Likely some of you will know the song "I Like to Move it" by Reel 2 Reel. It would likely be considered "Old School" - a song of the 90s. When Anton arrived at daycare to pick Owen up apparently a few of the kids were singing "I like to move it, I like to move it" together.

At dinner time he began signing it again. After dinner he ran madly around the coffee table singing "I like to Move It" and then he would spin (one arm up in the air - as though he was trying to do a Pirouette) and fall down. Over and over.

I asked at the school - and apparently one of the kids started singing this song and then they all just jumped in. A other mom at my office said the song is in a movie called Madagascar, so I assume the kid who began the singing enjoyed that particular film.

Since I don't have the "I Like to Move It" video here is another entertaining piece:

With Age Comes Wisdom

I have been lazy in writing these days. I spend hours on the computer reading other blogs, yet I don't seem to find time to write in my own. I should have lots to say considering that it has been months since I have managed to find the time.

Owen celebrated his second birthday on May 22...and May 12 (with his friends), and May 20th (with his Nanna and Poppa) and on June 3 (with his Bobbe and Popcorn - short for Poppa Gordon).

With age comes wisdom they say, and it appears to be true. This wisdom has manifested itself as a "creative" side in Owen. Owen has found creative ways to stay up later, encouraging you to read just one "more book". He sips at his milk every so slowly, or after finished one book he bats his eyelashes and says "mommy, more bad day" (which refers to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Bad Day). How can you say no to reading a book. TV no problem - shut it off. But a book...that is different it would be like turning down a request for more apple, or watermelon.

Another night he proved he was ready for business school - well at least smart enough to begin negotiating. His favourite meal - pizza was on the line. He had already had two pieces and with his tiny tummy he should have been full. He said "more pizza"; we said sure one more piece. He ate that piece and said "more pizza". We said, no more and offered some Watermelon. He continued, "more pizza, more pizza!" When we said no again...he screeched "One more piece, Mommy!"

Just last night before bed time I spent five minutes rounding him up to go for his bath. Finally I had him crawling up the stairs, and what does smartie-pants do? He waves at the mess of toys he has left behind on the floor "bye-bye mess". He knows that after spending time chasing him upstairs there was no way I was going to make him clean up the mess...

While Owen has learned to put on the charm and negotiate - he doesn't always succeed in getting his way - but I suspect he will continue to try!

Thomas, Gordon, Percy and Duck

Perhaps without the word "Duck" at the end - you might think I am referring to some of Owen's classmates or playmates. However, any parents of little boys know exactly what I am talking about.

Thomas, Gordon, Percy and Duck are all trains from "Thomas and Friends". My parents gave Owen Gordon the train as a gift (chosen likely for its name, identical to my fathers first name) a few months ago. Ever since then Owen has managed to sweet talk his way into two more "Choo-Choo Trains".

Now everyday he has to spend five minutes in the morning, standing forlornly in the doorway waving at the family room floor. "Bye-bye Gordon", "Bye-Bye Thomas", "Bye-Bye Duck" - and then repeat. And repeat.

A week ago we went out to buy him something to put all his toys into, and we found one with Thomas on it. Again Sweetcheeks smiled his coy little grin, and began pointing at each train on the shelf - naming them - Percy, Thomas, James... We were so impressed by how smart he is that we didn't see that Owen had packed every piece of Thomas furniture into the shopping cart. We arrived home with a Thomas bedroom set, including a toddler bed, table and two chairs, a stool and the intended toy bins.

Personality

Every day Owen shows us more of who "he" is. Sharing with us his personality. he surprises us daily with his sense of humour, his kindness, and his easy going nature.

Since he was a baby he has always been very relaxed, a textbook baby that cried only when hungry, wet, tired, or hurt. He continues to be so easy going, often able to entertain himself with his own toys. Unless of course he is hungry, then he stands in the kitchen staring at you saying "eat, eat, eat" and he gets under your feet asking you to lift him "up - chair".

Owen is helpful. At school he is usually one of the first kids there, and his teachers will ask him to help take down the chairs off the toddler tables. He practically runs to help to do this. In the evening as we are cleaning up the dishes, he grabs his broom.

More and more I think he is a bit of a neat and organized child. Surprising since, Anton and I really aren't! After his bath he puts his toys away, when he spills cheerios he says "mess" - although he is slow to clean them up eventually he does. Today he was playing by himself, and I noticed he was taking his dinosaurs out and lining them up in a row.

The most amazing thing I notice is Owen's sense of humour. He loves to make people laugh. And he does it easily. Whether it is dancing and spinning in circles, laughing to himself, or jumping on top of mom or dad and giggling - he is regularly smiling. He will do the same "trick" over and over again of course if it gets the right response. Today we spend a good half an hour, where Owen puts a leaf on his head and says (hands up in a shrug) "Where'd it go" then he shakes, or spins, or jumps and the leaf falls on the floor. Then he says "there it is" and laughs.

While everyday he is learning something new so are we!

As Owen would say ** "bye bye computer"

** This week he has been saying "bye" to everything as he leaves a room. "Bye pen", "bye choo-choo" , "bye coffee" (my coffee), "bye mommy" "bye daddy"!

The Phone Thing

So the "pone" or phone as we call it has remained - for some time one of Owen's favourite items in the home. Whether a cell phone, a cordless, or a land-line phone he is intrigued. He has five "play" phones - but these don't have the same effect.

When guests visit, he borrows their cell phones and shows off by wandering around talking into it. Pausing. Then talking. My brother visited once awhile back - with a phone that doesn't look like a typical phone, yet - somehow Owen knew it was a phone and began his telephone comedic show.

The obsession continues. When the phone rings. He says "pone" and then runs for it. Today, I called home when I was out, Anton let Owen answer the phone. He said "Hi" I said "Hi Owen", he said "Hi Mommy". Does that count as a conversation?

Later on Anton's parents phoned and we asked Owen if he would like to say hi to Nanna. He got on the phone and said "Hi Nanna" then "Hi poppa" and then he pointed to the phone and said "In- poppa" - as if to say that Poppa was "in" the phone!

If the obsession continues - by the time he is a teenager we might need to get a second line just for him. Mind you, even without the obsession by then we might need one anyhow.

IQ 2007

I swore I wouldn't be one of those moms who is constantly telling people how incredibly brilliant her kid is, how speedy he is in putting together puzzles...or bragging about how many words he can spin together, or the latest and greatest - amazing trick he did that day.

But I beg your forgiveness as I do just a bit of bragging about Owen. He has got to be the smartest kid on the planet!

Over the last few months he has been learning more words every day, in fact it has increased exponentially every day... Owen may even attempt that word if we asked.

Today he said "got dinosaur book" - that is three words all together! Never mind that "dinosaur" sounded like "donsaur". He actually has names for various of his favourite books (he sleeps with three of them), for example "no book" is a book called Sadie's Snowman, "no" is "snow". The alphabet book seems to be known is " E I , E I " - and whenever he sees the alphabet he says this...

He can point to pictures in the book and say "sun", "kitty", and "apple". He can tell you what sound the animals make. Dinosaur - roar, Cow - Moo, Duck - Quack. He knows the number "2". In the Hungry Caterpillar book he says 2, when we count the fruit. He accurately names every mode of transportation (boat, train, truck, airplane, helicopter...) and then puts them correctly into his puzzle

While not brilliant he says "Up or Down" - yes both at the same time - when he wants to be picked up or put down. However, he has just said "Up the stairs" - so for at least this - he has dropped the down part of the equation.

Did I mention he sings? He sings songs to himself, he sings along with the TV. Sometimes he sings Ring Around the Rosie by himself and spins in circles. He gets the tune - but not the words - except for the word down - which he says emphatically and falls down!

Oh! No! Snow

Today we took Owen out to enjoy the snow. While I dislike the snow, it was worth the 45 minutes outside to see Owen have fun in the sled.

Like last year, not too many smiles - he just sat wide eyed checking everything out. He waved at dogs that passed by, and said "bye bye doggie" long after they were gone.

I believe, despite the lack of smiles, that he had a good time. An hour after we got home, he asked Anton to open the front door. Anton said it was cold outside. A few minutes later, Owen walks into the kitchen with his hat and mittens on, once again asking us to open the door!

Before bed I read him Sadie's Snowman which is about a little girl that makes a snowman, and then a squirrel steals the nose, a racoon steals the smile and the birds eat the eyes. Then of course the snowman melts, the little girl rebuilds him etc. Until the end of the winter when she freezes the left over water. Throughout the story Owen points at the snow and says "snow" and at the melted snowman " Oh no, snow down". When the squirrel steals the carrot nose he says, "Oh no, snow nose". He is such a genius.

Adding some colour

Owen got a brand new bedroom and play room today. Well, at least a new colour. Here is his beautiful new blue bedroom. It is the same colour as his old room, so he should feel right at home once we hang up his pictures.

We couldn't decide on a colour for his playroom, which will also be a guest room. So we asked Hannah's mom Jennie for an idea - and she said a buttery yellow. Great choice - it is pretty, fun and yet it can be toned down for a guest room. It is hard to tell from the photo, but it is more yellow than it appears here. When the guests come to visit - as you can tell we have a few things to move around or stuff into closets!

Owen helped us move all his furniture back into his room. Then he wandered around playing with each of his toys as though it was his first time seeing them! He even put some of them away without being asked!

And no need to be concerned (as if!) We haven't forgotten our room this time. While it didn't get a new paint colour - we did get some new bedding and a new wall hanging - thanks to some gift certificates... We finally have a "finished" room - we even have decorative pillows.

Lots of other things to do around the house, but Owen seems pleased with his colourful new spaces.

Now if only the house would clean itself.

The Angel in the Next Room, the Devil in My Bed

How is it that he - this little angel - knows exactly the nights that I decide to stay up late (10pm)? It is as though he has some sort of spidy sense that tells him that "this is a great night to wake mom up for a couple hours"

Some days I feel as though he is out to get me. And I am ruined for the next 24 hours. Then night rolls around again and I get sucked into trying to do something for myself - and - sigh..end up staying up late again. Perhaps the same thing will happen this evening - if I keep writing this.

Last night, the first night in awhile that he has woken up in the night (hence my staying up late...Murphy's Law), he woke at 2, and despite cajoling and begging he refused to sleep in his crib. This usually is a symptom that he has cold, or that we are not at home (he dislikes change). So I bring him into my room and he lies there happy, smiling at me, giving me kisses. Did I mention sleep. No. He was awake despite cajoling and begging for almost two hours. Just lying there with his eyes open.

4:30 rolls around and I doze off, he has a milk and finally sleeps. Sometime around five he has spun himself around so that his feet are in my face, and he is sleeping across the bed. I know this because he has kicked me in the face.

6:10 the alarm goes off, snooze.
6:19 the alarm goes off again. This time I change the alarm time to go off at 7.
7:00 Get out of bed and tip toe around...eyes are actually blood shot.
I woke Owen at 7:30 poor kid, but he smiled happily at me. I think he was thinking " I got her good!"

tigger bounces no more

After dinner...their was an operation - on Bouncing Tigger. It seems he was hit one too many time and he was down for the count.

Anton took it upon himself to try to get the bounce back into Tigger. However, Tigger it seems is out of commission - with little bounce in his steps. Owen will have to deal with a Tigger that just says "bounce with me....my tail never fails...bounce again, wanna?" While vibrating slightly. Owen answering Tigger, "Wanna"

Poor Tigger. He only lasted a month.

time flies...

When I was off on maternity leave I had time during "nap time" to update a website with Owen's pictures, call friends and family and keep my photographs in order. In fact, I had time to create a scrapbook in Owen's honor.

Now, back at work - I have little time to keep up with my TV programs, book club and laundry - let a lone make long phone calls and ensure that all the stories about Owen's progress and photos to boot are passed along.

So I will try my hand at a blog. Since I appear to be "online" occassionally! While I hope my family and friends will appreciate hearing about Owen's latest adventures - my true goal is to keep an accurate account of his toddlerhood so that I can share it with him when he grows up.

Favourite toys: Blocks, cars, choo-choo trains, anything he can push around the floor and make noise. But the ultimate toy is a $3 Dirt Devil broom. He helps out by sweeping the house, and when we have the mop and bucket out - he dips his dirt devil in the bucket and helps with the mopping.

Least favourite toys: Probably Bouncing Tigger. If you squeeze Tigger's hand (paw?) it bounces and sings. Owen hits it over.

Favourite food: Cheese, Apple Juice, Peas. He also loves fruit, whatever is in season. Currently - Mandarin oranges.

Favourite Activities: Dancing (Ring around the rosie - "we all fall down" is very enjoyable" - over and over and over again). Singing (basically making interesting sounds - loudly), talking on the phone (hi nana, bye nana), and of course sweeping.

Favourite words: "Bob the builder" "choo-choo" " nana" - banana "mommy" "daddy" "cheese" "apple juice" "ball"

so...here is my new years resolution. To write in this blog for Owen once or twice a week. You can't say I am not goal oriented...