Well life is still pretty busy as we are still getting settled into our new house. We have pretty much unpacked but now we are painting some rooms. We put a second coat of paint in our “office” room tonight… it was previously a bright pink/coral… sorry no pictures until we put the room back together (I download onto the desktop). It is taking forever to get painting done since it involves naptime, evening & weekends. I am sure Carter would love to help paint but he tends to make more work anytime he “helps” you do something.
Carter is doing great. He seems to like his daycare… well school since it is called Jellybean Academy! There are no tears when we drop him off or pick him up. He takes off his coat, wanders into his room and gets right in on the action, & then when we pick him up he likes to point out all his favorite things (the mural, wagon, kitchen, guinea pig). They comment on how cute he is (of course) and how much he eats. There is only one other kid that eats even close to what he does. Apparently he always has two helpings of lunch and a few helpings at snack time. He also eats breakfast at daycare even though he eats breakfast at home too! I think they are amazed since he is quite tall and lean still. They also send him home with all kinds of little crafts & paintings as well. They are basically smeared paint & randomly glued items on construction paper… too cute, yes they are hanging on our fridge! Anyway he definitely likes the classroom setting, so I may have to start looking for an actual preschool.
Carter is talk talk talking now. He is starting to repeat everything you stay, although some words are clearer than others. Shawn is having fun teaching him words like boobie and bum. He has tonnes of words now but his most common words are mama, dog, grandpa, tractor, more, dirty, up, down, and of course no. Lately he loves to “hide”, which is amusing because he can’t help peek to see if you are looking for him. He also likes to chase the dog (or be chased if he is holding a cracker), dance, play with is race track, feed the fish, help Mama dust (give him a swifter duster & he goes to town), and play hockey with Dada. Yes we have a hockey net and sticks. Shawn is determined to teach him how to shoot. He also likes to go outside & will “help” shovel the snow. He is getting used to the snow and lately he likes to pick up and carry around the biggest boulders he can find. He also loves the water, whether it be the bath or the pool. He is now eating with utensils & his food must be in a bowl or dish. Yes a little neurotic. But on the good side of this he likes to wash his hands and will request to have them washed. We are working on a regular cup. He can drink from it but he prefers to play with it, meaning he places food in it, stirs it or rinses is fingers.
He sounds so wonderful… well he is now a toddler so he does have his moments too. So so stubborn and he will now have tantrums if he doesn’t get his way. He is also a testy little bugger. Tonight, he was drinking his disgusting soapy (likely peed in) bath water from a little shovel he plays with in the tub. Well, of course I ask him to stop… he doesn’t stop… so I threaten to take the shovel… doesn’t stop… take the shovel, he has a fit, I wait a while & then tell him he can have it if he doesn’t drink from it, he gets it back, pretends to drink form it, smiles & laughs, then drinks from another bath toy followed bay a loud “AHH” while he looks at me and smirks. Well it wasn’t the shovel he was drinking from. His grandpa Willett is convinced he has the “mischievous twinkle” in his eye (like how his uncle Trent was as a kid)… I am worried he may be right. Did I mention that his grandfather and uncles think it is good fun that he is such a character!
So Shawn told me it “hardly ever snows in Toronto”… whatever! This year we Toronto has had more snow already than the last 2 years combined. The only good thing about snow is that the weather is usually milder. Today though we had a cold snap and for my Phoenix friends going to the park in shorts, today it was 6 Fahrenheit! Yikes! I now wear a large down-filled coat with a gigantic hood to keep me warm.
There are things I miss from Phoenix that I am still trying to find here. A good moms group for one. I am glad our neighbour across the street has young kids, so we may have to have a playdate! Also looking for a cheap housekeeper and somewhere I can premake frozen dinners (SuperSuppers!). It is odd the things I depended on to make life far less stressful. Luckily the community center has all kinds of “kiddy” classes & swimming for Carter.
All for now. Things are good here. We’ve been very busy lately but hopefully relaxing times are ahead!
Posted by sheelagh 