WTG, Buddy!

One day, I looked over and saw THIS:

which blew me away. It had been my habit after bath time to write out the next steps before lights-out and draw a clock indicating the time we were going to his room. And one day, I forgot. So, Adam took it upon himself to do it. He even got the time right. It was on the late side that night - 7:15 is what we're usually aiming for, so that Dion and I can watch The Office together at 7:30. I think it was his first attempt at a clock and this was one of his best 5's I've seen.

The Thinker

Naomi is rather pensive for a toddler. I like how that shows up here. I also like the crazy outfit. Naomi has a ladybug obsession and she found this summer top with ladybugs embroidered on it among Clare's hand-me-downs and demanded that it be put on her.

Happy Birthday, Dion!

I don't know much about fashion but ...

Aren't some looks supposed to (at least attempt to) appear effortless or accidental? Y'know, like "oops, you can see my bra strap/boxers" or like the feathery hairstyles from the 70s were supposed to look "wind-swept." But then when you lose sight of the wind-swept part, you end up with the teased-out, hairsprayed, rock-hard monstrosities of the eighties?

So, I really got the giggles when I thought about the outfit on the guy at McDonald's. I'm sure that I've seen this before but I had just not thought about it. His boxers were showing. (to each their own.) They were showing a lot. (again, to each their own.) But his pants were not saggy. closer to skin-tight. And he was wearing a BELT.

Dude, you're trying way too hard. Find another way to accessorize. Actually, the belt was kinda nice. It was a good accessory. Too bad it was upstaged by the display of actually-kinda-ho-hum-boxers.

Adam Behind The Camera

Adam was kinda bored during some of the games at the TUC Playoffs a couple of weeks ago, so we let him use my camera. with a little help so that at least it didn't get dropped.

So here's how an ultimate tournament looks through the eyes of a 3-year old. It involves a lot of knees, feet, grass, and sky. A lot of the grass and sky shots were left on the cutting room floor. You get the idea anyway.

Old Stuff - Naomi Walking

Naomi had been walking for almost two months when we finally got around to getting some video of her. It's taken another five months to post the video. Thanks to MarkMark for the footage from May 5, 2010 at Kevin and Susanna's place. Those are Junko and MarkMarks' boys, Leif and Conan, in the foreground.

TUC Tuesday Playoffs

Oops! I started this as a draft and never got around to publishing. Ah well. Here are some pics from a couple of weeks ago.

Today, when I came home ...

from dropping Adam off at daycare, I found that Naomi had passed out asleep on the floor ...

right next to her father, who was home sick with a cold, ...

and that Adam had earlier vandalised our bedsheets ...

and that my anniversary present had arrived in the mail.

Sorry about the photo quality but I've lent out my camera and used Adam's.

12 months check-up and check-in for Naomi

Naomi had her 12-month check up visit earlier in the month and got a clean bill of health. And these are the stats: 19.5 lb (under 20th percentile) and 30.5 inches ( over 90th percentile)*. Uhm "delicate" as someone very delicately put it.

Naomi is a lovely little person. She's very affectionate, self-sufficient, active, adaptable, and good-natured, which makes her strong will even lovelier. I should mention that we do call her the squirmiest baby in the world. Dion even calls her the squirmiest baby ever, but come now, that's got to be an exaggeration.

Naomi's babyhood is almost gone and it's almost never been. She's just not into being a baby. She never took a pacifier or a bottle, sucked her thumb, had a blankie or a lovey. Well she kinda has a few favourite soft toys in her crib (a bear with a bunny-ears hoodie, a turtle, and a small fabric doll we call the Jester) but they're not really comfort objects. Luckily, she rarely needs any comforting or soothing.

But she tenaciously hangs on the worst of all babyhood traits: NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Seriously? 13 months old now. Cut me a break. I don't know if she has ever slept more than 5 hours straight. And those 5 hours, when then come, are never 1am to 6am or even 3am to 8am. 6:30pm to 11:30pm, maybe. On the upside, she'll tolerate naptime or bedtime shifts and she goes to sleep very easily. She usually goes into her crib quite happily and puts herself to sleep - no need for rocking, or stroking, or singing.

Here's a verbal snapshot of Naomi at around 1-year old. (Visual snapshots will have to wait.)

Likes
- dancing
- kids' songs, especially If You're Happy and You Know It and Five Little Monkeys
- kids' music videos on Youtube
- cheese, grapes, noodles, pears, water, milk, legumes
- ride-on toys and playground features
- splash pads
- bubbles!
- climbing
- new! books. Moo, Baa, La La La is a favourite
- soft toys
- pushing buttons
- keys
- shoes
- bathtime
- doing things BY HERSELF JUST THE WAY EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT, TYVM, especially self-feeding
- whatever Adam is doing

Dislikes
- being dressed and diapered, having her nails trimmed. NB: all of these requiring staying pretty still.
- pooing
- sunglasses and hats

Newish and Developing Skills
- using a fork
- drinking milk from a cup (half a teaspoon at a time) or a straw
- matching clothes and shoes to people and their parts
- giving kisses
- waving at socially appropriate moments
- stamping feet, pouting, and giving dirty looks
- a few words (in descending order of clarity): Up, Mum/Mumma, Dada/Daddy, Ada(m), Baa (the sheep sound), Bottle (for her water bottle), Book, Bear, Turtle, Grape, Music, and I think "Did it!"
- pushing a train around the track, sometimes without destroying said track which has been carefully constructed by Adam

*It took me a while to figure out why this wasn't displaying properly. I had used less and greater than symbols but then blogger took them for a non-sense html tag and deleted everything between.

Runners Up - Fingers

Here are the photos that didn't make the final draft of Naomi's "I Love You Through and Through" post for fingers. I really do love her fingers, telling by the number of times I photographed them.

And this is the one I did choose (with Dion's help).

Happy Birthday, Naomi!

Naomi had two nice birthday celebrations. The first was at the Gerrard Resource Centre on Friday the 18th.


I made the same cake as I did for Adam's birthday - Apple Spice. In fact, I had frozen the excess cream cheese frosting and saved myself quite a bit of time. The mini cupcakes turned out even better because I reduced the baking time to 18 minutes.

This was the only time Naomi so much as touched the cake. She just wasn't into it.

Adam, on the other hand helped himself to about four cupcakes while Naomi focused on her beloved cheese. I guess he figured it was payment for helping her blow out the candle.


The next day, on her actual birthday, we went to the CN Tower to celebrate. Here she is trying to do anything Adam is doing, as is her way.

[Dear future 10-yo Adam who has stumbled across the archives of this blog,
Do not complain that your sister's first birthday was oh-so-much-more-glamorous than yours. Trust me, lunch at the CN Tower was at least as much about you as it was about her. ]

[Dear Auntie Joan, do not look too closely. You will be horrified to learn that her dress was not ironed.]

Naomi scored the onion rings that came with Dion's steak but barely touched the nine-dollar serving of green beans we ordered for her.


still not so sure about this cake business.

Survey says....?

How could I have been so misguided? Cake is the bomb!

Happy Birthday, Munchkin!

Thanks for the laughs!

Naomi, I Love You Through And Through*

I love you through and through.

I love your top side.

I love your bottom side.


I love your inside


and outside.


I love your happy side,


your sad side,


your silly side,


your mad side.


I love your fingers


and toes,


your ears


and nose.


I love your hair


and eyes,


your giggles,


and cries.


I love you running


and walking,


silent


and talking.


I love you through and through,


yesterday,


today,


and tomorrow too.

*Poem by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak


I'm getting this post done a week past my self-imposed deadline of Naomi's first birthday. Like a similar post I wrote for Adam, this contains pictures from Naomi's twelfth month (plus two from her 11th and one from the day she was born.) I'll have another post of great pics, from among the literally hundreds that I took this month, that didn't make the final draft.