Puppy Fever

Max stayed home with Dad today. We all just got over a terrible flu last week and Max was running a fever this morning - again?! Honestly. As usual though, you would never know that this little peanut was sick, he is still a chipper little guy even when he is feeling a little under the weather. So he and Daddy-o stayed inside and played today. Max has all sorts of toys, big noisy trucks, tiny little trains, John Deere tractors all of which he loves but lately he has been quite attached to this adorable hand knit puppy dog. He loves to make the puppy bark and lets his puppy help him pick up toys...and sippy cups...

Thank you to my mom's talented friend, Gwen who lovingly made this puppy for Max - he is very special!

Mr. Fix It

Hi there! It's been a week of building, painting, fixing over here. I am SAD to be going back to work tomorrow - we have only chipped the giant iceberg that is our To Do List. Max had a great week - I am sure tomorrow's daycare drop off will be dramatic as it always is after too many days away.

We are anxious to get into our bathroom again - right now our beautiful tub and tile are in but today is painting day and we are currently without a bathroom sink. Carm is losing patience with the entire process and wants to "burn our house down" as he so eloquently put it yesterday...yikes. Max just wants to be like his daddy and build things too - he had a great time this morning putting his new step stool together. Hope everyone had a happy New Year and good luck getting back to the grind tomorrow!

Christmas Was...

- Our first fake christmas tree...no needles, no watering

- A little boy just learning about Santa and all the magic of the season

- A new fir scented candle

- Minimal mall madness and simple wish lists

- Cups and cups of wassail

- Parcels from the mailman, even on a Sunday

- Cookies

- Mischief, climbing, jumping and tumbling

- No airport madness, no luggage for us this year

- More ham than we know what to do with

- Toy Story 3

- A bathroom reno - white subway tile and a deep soaker tub

- An unexpected visit from Ian and Holly

- Early mornings

- Baking with a special helper

- Eric's Christmas eve arrival

- Skype chats with Grandparents and siblings

- Snuggly new PJ's

- Play dates and catching up with Toronto friends

- Planning for 2011 and pondering some big decisions

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas Day!

Good Night, I Love You!

It can't get much sweeter than that!

Happy Halloween!

It was a year ago today that we donned the Star Wars costumes and made our Halloween debut as a family. This year was a bit more hurried. I just returned from 10 days in China on Thursday and the thought of putting my (jet-lagged) self in a costume was a little tough to bear (I think Carmon was happy with this too). Max on the other hand was totally game for a day of fun and quite adorable in his dinosaur costume.

This afternoon we headed over to a neighborhood restaurant that was hosting a kids Halloween party. Max and Reid had their usual squeals of delight when they saw each other. These two are serious BFF's!

Max must have known he was going to have Cheezies at the party...could this be why he refused to eat lunch before we left?

Happy Halloween! Hope you had a spooky day!

Fall

Fall is perfect in Toronto - it really is. The leaves are turning and the air is crisp, the lake sparkles and the sun seems brighter and happier these days. Max likes to stomp through the piles of leaves and say "crunch!".

new shoes

We are doing just great over here - it's been awhile since we've checked in. Max and I are flying solo at the moment as Carmon is busy at home with Harvest. Max has been on his best behavior and has been such a good little guy while daddy is away. He put on a very brave face for the first 10 days, but the last few days he has been asking frantically for "Daddy!" Carmon has been sending little video messages to us from his phone. Max and I have been watching them over and over again. His face lights up every time he watches and he blows kisses - it is adorable. Although, this is making me panic just a wee bit as I am scheduled to fly to China in about 8 days. I am not sure who will be more traumatized, Max or me...

September 1 - first day in his new daycare room

September was a flurry of activity - Max graduated to the Junior Toddler room at Daycare, it's official, he is a big boy now. That transition was not without some drama - it took him a few weeks to adjust to the new drop off but now we can really see that he is enjoying his new group and is making lots of friends. He has a few BFF's - Aiden, Sasha and Christian.

On the weekends he loves to play with Reid, Kylee and William. We had a great time at William and Kylee's birthday a few weeks ago and now his new favorite song is "Happy Birthday". We sing it a lot!

horsing around with Reid

a delicious birthday party

My mom also visited in September - Max calls her Gra'kra. She stayed for a week and it took Max a few days to stop from running down the hall to the spare bedroom in search of Gra'kra once she had gone.

We enjoyed the Cabbagetown festival and even sat and watched the parade. Max had his first balloon - we had to tie it to his hat so that it didn't fly away.

anxiously awaiting the fire trucks at the Cabbagetown festival parade

anchoring his new balloon

Riverdale farm is always a hit - but lately the animals are not the draw, it was the John Deere tractor that stole the show.

lovin' that John Deere

a paparazzi shot of Max and Grandma

We are looking forward to Halloween - this will be such a different experience from last year - I often stare at that picture of our first Halloween and wonder how that little baby morphed into this big handsome boy!