Family Dinner at Ikea

Next up - shopping!

The Voice from the Back Seat

With the weather heading south, daylight dwindling and the holidays closing in we've put away the bikes and have become one more vehicle stuck in the gridlock. We've been driving to daycare and work for a couple of months now and despite the potholed roads, terrible traffic and general surliness of morning commuters the trip has unearthed some genuine gems.

From the back seat, a little voice pipes up: "Daddy, when you get a big job, then maybe we can park in the parking garage".

Still Mo'ing Along

This month I donated my face to fight cancer. That's right. I'm growing a moustache for Movember and not just because it looks really cool. In Canada, all funds raised will go towards prostate cancer research.  There's less than a week to go, so get your donations in.

For those particularly offended by my lip caterpillar, I'll even auction off the chance to shave it when we're done and dusted, 'cause right now the part of me that wants to keep it is growing . . .

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Clearly it's the holiday season. The stores unveiled their displays before back before we'd even carved our pumpkin. Canned music everywhere pipes out the Little Drummer Boy and Jingle Bells. Retailers are bombarding us with promises of savings for a deep dark black Friday.

Just in time too. Following some strict rationing, we've just finished up the last of the Hallowe'en candy. Now maybe we can actually get through dinner without negotiating each mouthful for a specified number of rockets.

At least we're on the correct side of the blackmail this time around.

He knows when you've been bad or good
so be good for goodness sake

And I've already got the Christmas lights up.

Fall adventures

Happy Birthday Mommy!

The wee man was pleased as punch this morning to wake his mom with presents and a nice handmade card. It was especially thrilling since the card had pumpkin stickers on it.

Happy Birthday, my love! Thanks for being the best mom/wife/partner I could wish for.

Love CanaDad (and O-L-L-I-E too)!

Incredible Costumes

So a couple of years ago, when the wee man first arrived, we opted for a complete family costume. With the little guy bearing a striking resemblance to Jack-Jack (and his various attacks), we opted for the Incredibles. With a trip to the Fabricland, some long underwear and fabric dye, our costumes came together.

Mariah & Family

Cheesepeople

Seems we're in famous company. Maybe they'll come by tonight for some tricks or treats.

Spirits of the Season

The spirits of the season, in time they are upon us,

ghouls and goblins with them, leak a greenish puss.

The grave stones creak and crumble, 

as the ground shudders with a rumble.

The skeletons beneath, unhappy with their lot,

their arms thrust forth, steaming and to the touch quite hot. 

The spiders having spun their webs in hopes of larger prey,

we are lucky if we pass them and survive another day.

Still no sighted sign of slithy toads,
though travel be unwise upon these very roads.

Ghastly cries of wailing banshees fill the evening air,
others move no longer, their oozing corpses line the stair.

Thick mists envelop us, venture forth we wouldn't dare,

for out there in darkness lies some other dank nightmare.

Gettin ready

He already fully grasps the concept of treats. Tricks is also considered just another word for treats.

Face Grown

I've taken the plunge. This year I've donated my upper lip in support of men's health. That's right kids, I'm doing Movember.


So please be generous, donate and watch my Mo grow.

The teenage years are starting early

gooey goodness

Having first shared in the ooey-gooey goodness of s'mores earlier this summer with his cousins, the wee man was emphatic when they were offered in Jasper. I'm not sure the portion size of this version (or the inclusion of ice cream) was ideal.

We were still peeling him off the walls two days later.

We all scream for ice cream

Early morning at Pyramid lake

Training him well

Yesterday evening, as I was preparing dinner, cleaning up after the wee man's usual swath of destruction and generally trying to remain sane, the phone rang. A long distance ring. I expected one of his grandparents, an aunt or even a distant friend. Instead, in the midst of the roiling turmoil that stands in for our regular evenings as we try to get some food into the munchkin before we hit full meltdown, on the line was that special kind of evil - the telemarketer.

At that precise instant, the wee man issued an ear-splitting howling barking cacophony of such intensity that as the windows vibrated and the floor shook. Before I could say another word it was the telemarketer who wanted to get off the phone. And as I hung up, as suddenly as it had begun, the audible assault stopped dead. The wee man grinned.

And so did I.

The long way round.

We need to do something about that hair

More good times.

1, 2, 3 . . . Ready or not!

Freedom!

Into the woods . . .

Cottage morning coffee

Mischief is about to commence

Pardon the Interruption

Summer's just been too nice to sit down in front of the computer and type out some text across the interwebs. So we've been phoning it in, literally, with a bunch of Hipstamatic shots from various summer adventures.

Again, the patio, a beer and the warm summer sun are beckoning, so I'll just leave with you some artwork that wee man did specifically for his Gia-Gia and Aunt GaGa.

It helps that we finally got a scanner/printer.

Class trip to the island!

And so it goes

Rather than eating his tasty meal, the wee man has announced he's "taking Elmo to Starbucks for dinner".

At least it's not McDonald's

Fun time in the Distillery District

Focus

Happy Father's Day!

Fun at the Toronto beaches rib fest!!!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Game 7

Tonight's what it's all about. One game, winner take all. Lord Stanley's summer residence is about to be determined.

The wee man will in bed before the puck drops but let's hope he witnesses some victory parades down Jasper Ave, through The Forks and maybe even up Yonge Street after tonight wraps up on Robson street.

Go Canucks!

Don't Feed the Animals (on purpose anyway)

Over the past couple of weeks the wet weather has receded and we are finally basking in the warm sunshine of summer. Take one part sunshine, add a patio set gifted by a generous neighbour and all of a sudden we have an extension on our house: a new dinning room! Mealtime has been permanently shifted to the back deck (remember to ask me in November how it's going).

Aside from the obvious benefits of Canadian summer (see any one of a hundred beer commercials for specifics) taking our tea outside is tremendous for one simple reason. Evenings spent on our hands and knees scraping, wiping and chipping away at foodstuffs have vanished. Prying molten cheese from the gaps in the hardwood is no more. "Flow on!" I say to the rivers, lakes and pools of water, juice and milk. Quickly cementing mashed potatoes, individual grains of quinoa and sticky smears of peanut butter? Enjoy young squirrels, raccoons and neighbourhood possum. Your clean-up services are greatly appreciated.

Now I can enjoy a beer, have a conversation with my wife and let the wee man experiment in his food laboratory to his heart's content. Summer. Let's hope it's endless.

Mr. Uppity

In true toddler form this fine Saturday morning.

Ride For Heart

At the starting line

Yesterday Mum-mum, Dada and Ollie joined 13,000 other riders participating in the 2011 Ride For Heart . 25kms up and down the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway traffic-free and in support of a great cause. It was a lot fun riding on highways that normally fly by and the weather was gorgeous.

All told The Ride almost reached its fundraising goal of $3.9 million. You can still help get to that amount as fundraising remains open until June 12th with funds going to leading-edge research to extend lives, by improving existing treatments and developing new ones as well as meeting emerging challenges - such as childhood obesity, women's risk and a rapidly aging population.

Pit Stop at the halfway point

Raising over a thousand dollars meant we were designated VIPs (Very Important Philanthropists) - note our fancy riding jerseys. Unfortunately they didn't come in quite the right size for the wee man, but he really dug the free Becel sweatbands. I think he may take his everywhere from now on (congrats markerters!).

The little man's ride

We had a blast, even if the little man expressed his displeasure with a portion of the ride in fine toddler fashion. It was a public service really, inspiring the riders near us to pedal just that little bit faster. Dada hauled the little not-so-little-anymore man the whole way, although Mum-mum offered to share the load (but that would be a lot like asking for directions). The downhills were great, but Dada definitely felt some of those uphills. Let's just say that this week's commute will be a breeze.

Mum-mum

We had so much fun and raised a good amount for this great cause that next year we might have to do the 50km or even go for the 75km. Maybe the little guy can do some of the work himself too. I wouldn't mind taking a nice rest in his luxury cabin. Or maybe I just need a fancier bike to make it that much easier (one has to blame the tools, no?).

The CN Tower from the Gardiner

Once again, A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to this worthy cause. 

You were with us for every kilometer of the route.

On the DVP

We made it!

We completed the Ride For Heart! High five at the finish line.

A Little Quiet Time

There's a hole in my bucket. . .

Fun with Zippers

I spend a great deal of my time trying to encourage learning and development in the wee man. So I'm not sure why his learning and development continue to surprise me so. Case in point - this evening his manual dexterity reached new heights. Now I knew he was pretty good at getting into Mumum's purse, but I had always assumed that was because she often left it wide open and in easy to reach places.

Turns out his little fingers have learned how to manipulate those confounded YKKs, as I discovered as I cooked dinner tonight. Distracted and struggling with a protein in the oven, vegetables on the boil (and maybe a bit of internetting) I failed to notice when the little guy helped himself to a pre-meal snack from our bulk bag of rice. Yes, a burlap sack normally sealed by a zipper, one filled with small, dry grains of rice.

I mean I know I have to lock the doors and the cabinets, but do I need luggage locks now for everything else?

Fun at the park for Victoria Day

Date night rapture and all

Muffin Monster

Early morning parking

To give Mummum a sleepin for Mother's Day!

What is a Playstation?

Snip, snip

The rats had overtaken the house, at least there was evidence of them. Around corners, darting behind doors, creeping up stairs we'd catch glimpses of their ginger tails.  Two years of growth had not only resulted in the one hair statement Mummum had sworn never to endorse, but the wee man was also well on his way to a minor league hockey career. There was no denying the mullet. So after more than two years, and much humming and hawing, he was going to get his first haircut.

He seemed to enjoy the process, although I'm sure the life size Thomas that served as his chair, copious toys and bubble blowing, all played a part.  Now that the first is one over, I may well just slap a bowl on his head and trim away. I haven't actually counted, but I'd be happy to wager that at his salon of choice the going rate was close to a dollar hair.