Sunny Days, Chasing the Clouds Away

We had a great day today. The sun was out! Vancouver has been suffering from the second worst winter on record (or something like that) with regards to the number of actual sunshine hours. We saw a glimmer of hope, and decided to take a trip to Stanley Park to capitalize on the blue skies. (We didn't count on the gale force wind, but hey, you take what you can get.)

Nate started the morning with paints. We've notice over the past week that Nathan's vocabulary has really picked up. He's started repeating whole phrases back to us and putting some together on his own. Yesterday in the tub he got "throw against the wall" (my admonishing him for dumping a huge amount of water "against the mom"). Anyway, he delighted in making worms and bubbles on his masterpieces, while throwing in the random "O-tay", his new favourite expression of agreement. (O-tay = Okay)

Here he is with his materials... note the studied concentration, the way he combines colours with unconventional flair, and the dexterity with which he wields his brush.









You will note in these photos that Nathan has graduated to the toddler swing... there is no strap or bar at the front. This could be scary stuff for some two year olds, but not our fearless boy!







We moved on to the climbers, where Nate traversed the moving walkway to get to the "worm" tunnels. He seemed a little unsure about coming out the far end, and reversed course to go back to the beginning. As Nate would tell you, "I'm adventurous... not stupid."








We capped of the trip with a visit to the slides. Nate only did 25 slides before mom and dad got too exhausted for him to carry on. It's hard work repeating, "One, two, three, whee!" At the end we dragged him kicking and screaming back to the car where he promptly fell into an exhausted sleep.

More Photos...

Courtesy of Grandma Claudia, here are some photos of Nathan whooping it up while David and I were away. I'm not even going to ask why one day he was wearing a touque indoors, and the next his swim trunks.

Enjoy!

Nathan's Big Adventure

Well, aptly titled, it should read, Mandy and David's great adventure. Although David has taken some business trips for a few nights, the last week in February, marked the first time we had both been away from Nathan for more than an evening. David and I had a business trip to Montreal, Ottawa and NYC (a lot for 6 days) and I was simultaneously excited to go and sick with worry over leaving Nate. I didn't know how he would cope without me. I figured it would be a tortuous ordeal for me, David (because of me), Nate, and Nate's caregivers.

David's parents arrived a few days before our trip, driving in from Calgary. Nate spent a few days with them, instead of in daycare, and was perfectly happy. Naturally, I knew this was because he would see me at the end of the day. For him, it was just a slightly different routine than going to daycare.

With great trepidation, and leaving a detailed three page list of instructions for Ron and Claudia, not including a page of relevant phone numbers, I headed off to Montreal. David had left (with no emotional hesitation as is befitting fathers vs mothers) the day before.

The first thing I did in Montreal was call home. Nate was happy. Of course, I was certain that this would change when he realized mommy (Mimi) was not coming home to tuck him into bed. The next day I phoned, only four times, and to my astonishment, he was having a great time. He had gone to sleep easily, happily the night before. It was only an anomoly I assured myself. He would have trouble the following evening, certainly.

But no. The days progressed and Nate basked in the attention of two adults constantly tuned to his needs. After all, why prefer daycare or mommy and daddy when he had two grandparents to wrap around his fingers?

I learned to call a little less. Only once on the last day away. I was pretty impressed with myself overall. It could have been much worse. Nate? I think I detected a glint of disappointment in his eyes when he learned we were home.

I am still waiting for the photos from Claudia, but I did get some photos of her and Nate making cookies after my return. Note Nate's technique... definitely a baker in the making.

Pressing out the cookie shapes:
































Rolling out the extra dough:
















Note the fine technique:






















Enjoying the spoils:

Turning Two Too

Nathan joined the ranks of two year olds and terrible toddlers on Feb 8th; however, he's neither terrible, nor did we celebrate on the 8th. Given the family flu bug, we post-poned the little celebration. We were joined by a few friends, only one succumbing herself to a bug/virus.

Nathan, on a roll since Christmas, happily tore into presents and made a general mess with the wrapping paper. For me, the biggest triumph was my Blues Clues cake. I printed a template from the internet and set about to make it the morning of. It wasn't too difficult (if I can do it in the kitchen, anyone can). However, the icing was a little tricky given the crumbs. I've since heard a few icing tricks which I may apply in the future... should I get as ambitious with other cakes.

Here are a few photos of the event. You'll notice Nathan feeding his friend Jessica from his own plate. She's not extra short. We just only have one booster seat.

Nathan with his new train set (courtesy of Grandma Val and Grandpa Keith)



Here he is ripping into the booty. Note him checking the bag to make sure he's got every last bit of gift.







Digging into the cake: