Easter #2

We had a great Easter with Uncle Steve and Auntie Lee, and Cadence loved having them here. We ate, we hiked, we napped, and we hunted for Easter Eggs!

Auntie Mer sent Easter gifts up for Cadence, including a little wooden whistle. Cadence mastered in a very short time.

Cadence got this great easel for Christmas from Nana, but it was too big to fit in our car so he got it delivered straight to the door this past weekend. He loves it--we pulled out the chalk, the crayons, and it's likely to be a fixture in the living room for years to come.

Our friend Kim came by at the beginning of the weekend with a little backpack for Cadence. He put in his ball and a book, and won't let us take them out now, but does enjoy wearing the bag around. He also seemed keen on wearing the bunny ears that Drew bought last Easter. Our little school bunny.

Family Sesame Street time before bed.

Easter morning was lots of fun. Cadence got into finding eggs and putting them into his basket (no one told him there was chocolate under the foil. Worked for this year, but not likely to hold water again next year!)

After a short hike out at Pete's Dam on Easter afternoon


We built up a great appetite and had Easter dinner after the hike. Cadence loved playing with Uncle Steve and Daddy--actually, I think it was a lot like having 2 of daddy.

A friend shared this picture from our snowshoe trip a few weekends ago.

Getting Ready for Easter

Last weekend we had a nice weekend in Sudbury--Cadence had fun with his Gammie & Grampa, Drew and I got some shopping in...I even managed to read a good chunk of the Saturday Globe! (that is real luxury from my perspective). This weekend, we're celebrating four days off with Uncle Steve & Auntie Lee up from Toronto. Thought I'd share the couple of pictures we had in the can before we head into the Easter weekend, as I'm sure there will be a lot to share after Sunday!

Common sight after a Tuesday trip with Daddy to the Early Years Centre.

When we were in Sudbury, Cadence sat up at the table with the adults--real dishes, too!


So, since coming home we've done the same--no more tray; he sits right up at the table with us. On day one, he took major interest in the spinach salad and proceeded to eat not only directly from the bowl but with the salad tongs as well. He was so into the salad, we decided to let him continue for a one-day only special.




The view from our ditch.

Snowshoeing and Auntie Mer

It's been a busy couple of weeks--Cadence has had a cold and cough that just hasn't seemed to taper off until these last couple of days and as a result I've been just keeping up with life--nothing extra. But I think we might be coming out of the fog, and so here are some pics from the last little while.

Auntie Mer came for an extended weekend visit (she's still here!) and although we've not done much exciting, we hope that the visit's at least been relaxing for her and a nice respite from city life for a few days.

Saturday was a beautiful day, and we all walked downtown together. Lucky us, two planes were not only parked on the ice near the marina but just when we came close enough to get a good look, they both took off! The red one is long gone at this point and the white one is just getting ready to start taxying down the ice.


We celebrated her birthday together yesterday; here is Cadence helping her open one of her gifts.


I know I look particularly special in this photo, but I promised Drew I'd post it. Cadence loves having horsy back rides.


Two weekends ago Drew, Cadence, and I went snowshoeing with a local hiking group. It was 3 hrs of snowshoeing and we went about 5.5 km, much of which was uphill.


The view, of course, made it all worth it.


Cadence finally fell asleep for about the last hour of the hike.


Cadence loves trying on other people's shoes. Actually, we get a pretty good kick out of it too.


Self portrait.

Still more winter.

It's the Family Day weekend, and so far we've had a nice family time. The weather's perfect for being outside, which makes the days much easier as Cadence is quite content as long as he can play outside.

Last weekend Drew set up his drum set, after a long rest. Started showing C. the ropes. Um, sticks.


A change of schedule sent Cadence to daycare on Valentine's day. I can't believe they start this so young...and no one said anything to us, so Cadence didn't bring anything for the others, but came home with valentines from all his little classmates! Here he is checking them out with Drew. We parents exercised our authority by removing all candies & chocolate before he could figure out that they're actually food. He also made us a lovely valentine that day (which he actually has in his mouth in this picture; it's a heart made our of play-doh that they then baked). Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!


Friday night was the health unit's curling funspiel--it had been years since I curled last, but it's amazing how quickly it comes back. Drew and Cadence came for the first bit, then went home and Drew put Cadence to bed...allowing what was my FIRST EVENING OUT on my own since Cadence was born. They're baby steps, but they feel great.

I don't remember necessarily doing this, but it looks as though I'm explaining the rules of the game to Cadence. I think he just really liked a) the brooms, and b) that some of the rocks were blue. Right now, it's ALL about blue.


We're all being assigned our teams. He sure seems to want to take part...


He wants skip just like his mama! Few years to go, little guy.




The roads today were questionable, so it was easier to just stay put & play outside. Cadence enjoying the view.


The father & son toboggan team. They crashed into the snowbank on the other side of the road.

Dad teaching son how to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

A Trip to the Salon

Drew's off to the fishing derby to shoot some video, and Cadence is napping after a fun hour playing outside.

Last week one day, our neighbours had someone come & blow the snow out of their driveway. I wasn't there, but apparently it was worth watching (from the comfort of the snow scoop) for a very, very long time. Then, on the same walk, Drew & Cadence (& luckily not Tofu) saw six deer at the end of the road. Big afternoon!


One morning this week, Cadence just up & climbed into the regular chair at the table for breakfast. He ate his whole breakfast there. I worried a bit that this might be the beginning of rejecting the high chair, but luckily this has not been the case. Possibly due to the fact that the next time he climbed into the regular chair, he slid out the side under the arm rest & fell onto the floor (no injuries of course).


And, yesterday morning we had a family visit to the hair salon. A first for one of us; I'll let you guess who. I went first, then Drew & Cadence had their hair done at the same time. I don't think Cadence disliked it (as you might suspect from these pictures); I think he was just kind of stunned. I'm happy because he still looks like himself, just a little tidier. I had worried that all of sudden he'd look like a 4-year old or something, but not the case.



Can we go now??

NHL here we come!

So there's actually quite a problem locally with parents putting unrealistic expectations on their kids to be great at hockey. I hope what follows will not be misinterpreted as such behaviour on our part. Really, we just want him to fit in...

I think Cadence and Tofu were actually alone outside at this point...Cadence patiently awaits whomever is going to push him around in the shovel. He's completely disowned the actual sled in favour of the multiple-purpose (i.e. transport and tool) shovel.


This is way harder (on the adult) than it looks.


Some other kids were playing hockey when we arrived; I think this was Cadence's first exposure both to skating and to hockey. He was very impressed...and they even let him play with their ball (luckily Tofu didn't notice).


Think he'll be a goalie like his daddy? (skates have been removed at this point).


Playing soccer on the rink. Now that he's felt the magic of steel strapped to his feet, I think soccer has now been downgraded to 2nd favourite sport!


still waiting...

Not a tonne new here--crazy storm today across the north, Cadence is at daycare, Drew's upstairs working, & I'm just relaxing, sipping some coffee. Gotta love life in the North!

So I've been trying to encourage Cadence to develop an attachment to a stuffed animal or something, to help him settle at night better. He really couldn't care less...but yesterday he insisted that the shovel come along on our walk up to work. Maybe we'll bring the shovel to bed? (not really...)


I taught Cadence how to put his hands in his pockets yesterday too, which he seemed to enjoy.


We had our picture window replaced last week. Cadence was a big window helper for the guys outside.


Here's the framed window...we need to figure out what to do next--don't really need curtains for privacy, but more for aesthetics. To stain or not to stain? Too many decisions...

Yep, still winter.

it's Sunday, and Cadence is napping. I'm making some rice pudding, Tofu's playing with his favourite ball, which he gets only when Cadence isn't around since it can create some tension between them.

Last night was a big one--our first evening out (sans bebe) in just over 18 months! Gramma & Grampa came over, and Drew and I went out for an afternoon ski followed by a romantic dinner at Subway and then a friend's birthday party. We also stumbled on a moving sale on the way and spent way too much money. But all in good fun (roof racks for the car plus some great handknit sweaters for C, useful in particular since it's -30 today).

We only stayed out til 9:30 or so, but it was the first time that someone other than me put Cadence to bed. Next experiment is two-fold: a) Drew tries to put him to bed while I'm out, and b) see what happens when Cadence wakes up in the night & his milk source/comfort source isn't there. So I'm quite excited about the prospect of returning yet another teeny bit into the world of the normal.

We haven't been up to a tonne; Drew's film group is doing great, he had another meeting with his media group, I'm enjoying my work still and enjoying the band. Starting to think about planning for a veggie garden this summer, & after I finish this post (if naptime is still on), I'm going to look into starting swimming lessons for Cadence. Something that we do together on a regular basis.

The one thing we of course do a lot of is play outside in the snow, and shovel.

Cadence LOVES to shovel. If we're going somewhere in the car, first we have to do some shovelling. Drew and he have come up with a great way to clear the driveway.


Of course the big scoop's good for more than just transporting snow..


Our friend Kim came by & brought Cadence his new favourite toy. He loves buses, and this one has every detail covered. The lights, the door that opens, the little children with books & classes (& one of colour!) that bounce up & down, the song, but the best part is that all the voices have British accents. This is no Wal-Mart toy. "coycle", "squair" and so on. Very cute.


After Christmas, Drew brought home a gingerbread train set. It was a little old for Cadence, but we gave it a try. Hard to be productive & not let him eat all the icing, throw the balls, etc. Maybe we'll try again next year :)




We had a four-day spell of warm weather, which was completely bizarre but right at the beginning made for perfect snowman weather. Hard to walk in for a little man, so Cadence just sort of sat in the snow & watched as Drew & I struggled with the incredibly heavy wet snow. But we got it done. By the next day he had lost his head; Drew made a new face on what used to be the torso, but then it was just a heap of slush. Oh well. I'm sure we'll have more chances before spring arrives.