Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Pump up the Jam

Tonight after a moderately successful dinner - the chunks that covered the floor were large enough to be easily gathered and the smeary hands didn't end up on parental clothing - we kicked back for a little family fun time. The wee man gathered up his new plastic animals and found them a new home, in amongst the cables, modem and speaker wires behind the amp. Spinning the nobs and pushing buttons, he was working the sound equipment like a veteran of the club circuit. Being old, the beats that sprung to my mind were less Pete Tong and more "Pump up the jam" alongside a little "Whoomp, there it is".

Should I be concerned that he seemed to know the words? What do they do at daycare?

Tomorrow we might have to Jump! Jump! as the Mac Daddy makes us . . .

Friday, September 17, 2010

Feminine Fragrances

Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs
Sometimes I wonder if my son is having an affair. Maybe a romance with an older woman?

Every day I pack him off to daycare, bundled securely in the blanket of our family's love. I drop him off and he can't wait to be rid of me. Does he not want me to see something? Does he not want me to know?

Despite his joy of seeing me at pick-up, I still can't shake the feeling that there's some sort of magnetic attraction pulling him back, away from me. He misses daycare on the weekends, and we have fun, but there's just something off. Something nagging at me, like lipstick on the collar, or folded restaurant receipts tucked away in his wallet.

Maybe it's just because he smells like he's strolled through beauty section of major department store and stopped at every fragrance counter for a sample squirt. Actually that's it. Now where did I put that shampoo?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Summer, Summer, Summertime

Second week of September and already summer is fading from memory. Fall seems to have wrapped us in her cooling embrace. The leaves haven't gone yet, but the days of sipping pints on patios is well passed, football has begun (I've already seen more than all of last season) and shorts aren't really an option any more. 
It was a great summer though!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Over the long weekend we decided to head to the zoo. It was a grey day with "chance of showers". We thought it would be a bit of gamble. On his many trips to Riverdale Farm, the wee man has shown only fleeting interesting the various beasts. As he's gotten older though, his interest has seemed to grow. If his vocab is any judge, all he knows are animals.

He liked the zoo in Edmonton, but would he be down with its bigger cousin in the Tdot?

We needn't have worried. The first enclosure we discovered was the Sumantran tiger. He thought these were some cool cats. Then when we rounded the corner there was the elephants. "Wow!" Then in pretty short order "ellafulalunt". Now he was hooked. No riding in the stroller, forget sitting still atop daddy's shoulders. This kid was off to the races to see what animal was lurking behind the next bush, tree or bend in the path. Good thing there was a fence between us and the lions.

We rounded out the day with a stop by the rescued Polar Bears. These were the best animals yet.

We will be returning.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Date Night

Labour day, the last long weekend of summer.  Three days of mumum and dada with the added bonus of Gia-Gia (grandma) and Aunty GaGa (my sister). It was to be a grand weekend. He was finally getting over his recent illness, we had support in additional adults, and he finally has gotten comfy with returning to daycare after various summer vacations. The stars were aligned. This was going to be big. It was time for date night, on a Saturday. And a big Date Night at that. It was our anniversary, our third, but the first time one of us wasn't pregnant or breastfeeding. Grand plans, I tell ya.

We were going to try something new, something hip even. We were going to try one of those trendy Toronto restaurants where they don't take reservations and sometimes you just have to sit at the bar and wait for your table. Good food, tasty cocktails, not feeling beholden to pint-sized despot. Even our babysitter didn't have curfew. This was going to be huge. We were going to go for it.

First we stopped at our resto of choice: unfortunately, closed for the weekend. Revamping the menu or something. OK, no biggie. We thought we'd try number two on the hip list.

Second stop: no resos allowed, but we won't seat you at the bar either. What happened to those tasty cocktails? And actually "how about you poke your little head in a little while and see how it's going".  Hmmm. Unfamiliar with the "head-poke" night out technique. We must be less cool than we used to be.

Third Stop: progress.  Got on the list, but with a wait time anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. Are there any other restaurants round here?

Fourth, fifth and sixth stop: "What do you mean you don't have reservations?"  "But up the street they dont take them . . ." as doors close cooly in our faces forcing us back out in the unseasonably chilly night air. Did I mention that despite being the last long weekend of summer, the temperatures were closer to late fall? And weren't those lots of empty tables in there?

Pause for deliberations. We are definitely not cool enough anymore. How does this going out for dinner thing work again? Did it used to be like this? Why does that place stink like putrid fish? Has it always been this loud in restaurants? What? Where do we go now? Happy anniversary honey.

We finally did find somewhere to eat. Our waitress was great and the food decent, but it wasn't quite the night we'd planned.

And just to top it off, the little guy made sure to add his two cents. He clearly didnt see anything wrong with 4:30am start to Sunday.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Age of Wonder

Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs
Vocabulary is a wonderful thing. We're starting to develop one with the little man. So far it's pretty monosyllabic, but he can communicate more clearly everyday. We've nailed words like Giraffe ("fiafia"), Sheep ("baa"), apple ("Pa") and baby ("bebe"). It's a pretty random assortment and I'm not sure how talking about baby giraffes who eat apples with sheep will help in a job interview down the road, but it's a start.  He's also pretty big on the wow-factor. Not just wowing his parents with new words, but the simple expression of "Wow!"

Case in point, picked him up from daycare with plans to meet mum-mum at the grocery store (after a couple of weekends lounging at cottages the shelves were pretty bare at home). Grocery stores don't really get my juices flowing, even if you count the rush from cashing in a coupon to save a quarter on some lunch meat or whole dollar on a pack of diapers. I actually particularly dislike the store in question - it's one of those all-organic with crazy high prices to match joints, even if the food is actually pretty good. Well we walked in the front door, the little man actually holding my hand instead of pulling his ragdoll resistance, and there was only one word for it:  "WOW"!

The whole place heard it. The entire store stopped in its tracks - the cashiers cracked up, the stock boys paused and mum-mum heard our arrival from way over in the produce section.

I'm thinking maybe we need to take him out more.