dancing machine.

First off, thanks to everyone who sent Kale and I well wishes while we were sick last week. I literally spent the entire week on the couch and only went back to work yesterday. I'm still far from 100%, but am getting a bit better every day. Kale managed to fight off my bug last week, but has been running a fever for the last two days and has a pretty terrible cough. 

But rather than whine about how awful we're feeling at our house, I thought I'd blog about this little dancing machine:

 

When Kale was about four months old, I signed us up for every baby and me class I could find - swimming, salsa, signing, etc. Salsa and signing were flat out fails, and swimming was fun for the half hour we were in the pool, but terrible for the hour after that it took us to get dressed after (I still have nightmares about the locker room full of screaming, wet, cold babies and stressed out parents). 

The only class that Kale showed any real love for was music. During that class he smiled and cooed - completely uncharacteristic behaviours for my generally high-needs baby. It was during this class that Kale really started to develop his dancing skills and love for music. 

As he's gotten older, Kale has become better at telling us about his musical preferences. He often takes me by the hand and drags me to the laptop and uses some kind of sign to tell me what song he wants to hear on YouTube. And then he breaks out the moves. Which, of course, is awesome. 

Here's a sample of the songs that really get Kale's booty shaking (and the signs he uses to tell us): 

 

1,2,3,4, Feist (the Sesame Street version). Meg over at Two Steps Forward told me about how her little guy Ollie is obsessed with this song and so I decided to check it out for Kale. When Kale wants to hear this song, he points his index finger and shakes it four times (just like she does when she's pointing to the monsters). He also says "'iest? 'iest?" Thank goodness everyone in this house likes Feist because we hear this one A LOT. 

Roar Like a Lion, Patty Shukla. I don't even know how we stumbled upon Patty Shukla, but it's pretty safe to say that Kale is a big fan of her work. When he wants to hear this song (which is approximately 18 times a day), he puts his hands up by his mouth and "squeaks like a mouse" (see video) and says "eek, eek, eek!" 

Wheels on the Bus, Sharon, Lois & Bram. So he'll pretty much take any version of this song, but I have to admit that I can really only tolerate Sharon, Lois & Bram. Kale loves to do all the actions that go with this song - but doesn't necessarily like to wait to go through the whole song with one action before moving on to the next. Thus, the wheels on the bus go round and round, open and close, wah-wah-wah and up and down, all at the same time. Kale asks for this song by moving his hands round and round and raising his eyebrows. 

Mahna Mahna, the Muppets. My co-worker just about dropped over dead when I told her I didn't know this song. Feeling as though I was depriving my child of a musical gift, I immediately YouTube'd it - and then immediately regretted it. Because this song gets stuck in my head for HOURS, at least once a week. Kale, of course, loves it. 

I Can't Help Myself, the Four Tops.  My dad used to sing this all the time when I was growing up, but with a whole different set of lyrics. Or at least I remember the lyrics differently (I always sing "sugar pie honey bunch, you're a disco dancer," until Kris kindly pointed out that disco was invented about 10 years AFTER this song...hmmmm). When I sing this, or play the video, Kale goes absolutely nuts. Who would have guessed he'd be such a motown fan? 

So this is just a taste of the great music we get to listen to around here. What's playing at your house? 

sick mama/sick toddler.

Since Kale started childcare in September, I feel like he's been almost constantly sick. There's just a rotating cold in the tiny classroom that seems to make runny noses and fevers a bi-weekly thing. Kale has had his share of congestion and coughs which made me believe that having a sick toddler was the worst thing ever. 

But then I got sick. And then Kale got sick. And then I realized that being a sick mama with a sick toddler is actually the worst thing ever. 

Oh, the lessons we learn as new parents. 

I've been stuck on the couch for three days now with no signs that I'm getting better. When one symptom fades, another replaces it. Kale seems to be fighting it better than me, but even when he's feeling under the weather, he still has lots of energy and wants me to do everything with him. 


It's been a rough week.

distract & destroy: adventures with rice sorting.

Sometimes the only way to get something cleaned up around here is to let Kale make a second mess somewhere else. A little "distract and destroy" if you will (and yes, I'm totally referencing Tobias Bluth). 

This weekend I wanted to tackle the mountain of dishes that had accumulated in my kitchen sink and so I got the brilliant idea to set Kale up with a couple bowls of rice and a scoop to keep him distracted.

For about four minutes, he was totally content to scoop the rice from one bowl to another as I scrubbed away at the pots and pans. I thought to myself "toddler's are so easy to entertain!"

At about the four minute and one second mark, things started to get a little out of control...

And at four minutes and 15 seconds, distraction became destruction...

 

It's a good thing he likes to clean.

We're down to the wire! Only two more days to vote! 

Please click below and vote for us (we're around 100 votes). 

how to dress a toddler for the winter

Last winter we didn't have to worry too much about dressing Kale for the outdoors. Since he wasn't mobile, the only time he was really outdoors is when he was sitting in something (a sleigh or a stroller) and we could pile the blankets on. 

Wait - who am I kidding? We hibernate in the winter. The only time Kale was outside was for the five seconds it took to get from the house to the (warmed up) car. 

But this winter? This winter we're going to be outside. Kale LOVES the outdoors and may or may not be related to Wim Hof. When it comes to dressing for the outdoors, I have a motto - the more layers the better. Big, puffy, LAYERS. Except that doesn't really work for Kale. There's all these things to think about. Here's what I determined I needed for Kale: 

• a jacket that would be safe to wear in the car seat 
• a snowsuit that he could wear for playing outside that was easy to get on and off (Kale is reaching the age where he wants to dress himself - I wasn't about to battle with a two piece every day)
• boots that are easy to get on and off (see above)

And guess what? I think we found it all! And for WAY less than I was expecting (how often does that happen when it comes to shopping for kids?). Here's what we ended up with: 

 

Patagonia puff-ball reversible jacket. Wind resistant, water repellent and compressible. Kale can wear this in the car seat (we put him in the seat without the jacket and buckled him in, took him out without loosening the straps and then put him in with the jacket and didn't have to adjust the straps). This jacket is warm enough for him to wear to and from the car and is perfect for the fall and spring. We got it in a size 2T, so it should fit next fall too. Oh, and it's reversible. Which means I only have to wash it half as much.... 

 

Mountain Equipment Co-op toaster 2 bunting suit. I actually considered buying this last year, but wasn't sure if we'd need it (we didn't). But I knew it was a hot seller and so Kris and I picked it up a couple weeks (glad I did since it's now sold out online!). It's a one piece that is super easy to get Kale in and out of. We bought it in size 18m, but it fits large and so should fit him all winter. Even though it's big, he can still move around pretty comfortably.

The last thing for us to pick up was the boots. We went to a kids shoe store and they measured Kale (he's a size 5) and they recommended that we get a size 7 to last him for two potential growth spurts he could have this winter. We tried a few pair on and he was walking really well in them despite their larger size. However, they were really, really expensive! I was not willing to drop $80 on boots for Kale, but they only had two pair left in his size (and it hasn't even snowed yet!). Luckily, we found them 50% off at another store! This NEVER happens to me, so I was pretty excited. 

Sorel Children's Snow Commander. They have one velcro strap across the front and the tongue comes forward so you can make sure the foot is actually all the way in the boot.

 

All that is left are boots and mittens. I don't plan on spending much on these since he'll likely loose them two minutes after I buy them. I'm also unwilling to buy mittens until I figure out how to actually make him wear them.....

 

There's only a few days left! Please give us a vote :) 

an artist in the making.

Last week Kale's school had an open house so family could come check out what the kids have been working on. While most of the kids buzzed from one activity to another, Kale was interested in showing us two things: (1) a water activity that involved transferring water from one cup to another (and inadvertently involved a major mess), and (2) drawing on the chalkboard (also slightly messy).

I attempted to pretend that I'm laid back mom that doesn't worry about major messes by recreating the water activity at home, but after a small flood all over the hardwood in the living room I decided to focus on the chalk.

We have a chalkboard in our kitchen that we use to make to-do lists and then we picked up a chalkboard easel at Ikea last weekend. Kale is super in love with both.

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18 months.

Simultaneously the shortest and longest year and a half of my life (in all the best ways). 

What Kale loves: 

• Running. Every night, starting around 6pm, Kale starts to run. He literally runs circles around us. As in, I sit on the floor and he runs in a circle around me. Non-stop. Sometimes he runs from one end of his room to the other, sometimes he runs from the bathroom to the office to his bedroom. And repeat. It's like he's getting rid of all the energy he has left over at the end of the day before collapsing into bed. Tonight as I sat on the floor and my 18 month old ran circles around me I thought back to the newborn days when he'd spend his evenings crying and resisting all my efforts to soothe him. Now he runs. Both have a dizzying effect on me. 
• Drawing. He's just become interested in drawing this past week or so, but he loves it. He particularly likes drawing on chalkboards and despite the dust of the chalk that ends up all over my pants, I love watching the concentration he uses to make his scribbles. 
• Cooking. Kale has taken a real interest in my cooking lately and loves to help out. I'll let him stir things on the stove (with my supervision, of course) and flip an egg and he thinks that's pretty awesome. When I'm making dinner he'll pull out the pots and pans and takes a big spoon to sample all his creations. When he's hungry he takes me by the hand, walks me to the stove and says "cook!" 
• School & school friends. Kale absolutely loves school and the friends he's made there. There are only 6 kids in his class and so the kids all seem to have really bonded with one another. I love to arrive early and peek through the window of his classroom to watch him and the other kids playing. It really is amazing to see how they all interact. 

What Kale hates: 

•  Being sick. Kale's immune system has taken a huge hit this month as he adjusts to an environment filled with the illnesses of other toddlers at school. He's had two pretty bad colds over the past month and they've taken a toll on everyone in this house. As much as I'd like to think that his immune system will get stronger as the result of being exposed to different things, something tells me this is just the start of a long winter of runny noses and a never-ending cough. 

Things to celebrate/milestones/big events: 

• Mike & Alaina's Wedding. Kale is turning into quite the little wedding crasher. This was the fifth wedding he's been to. Crazy, right? He actually managed to stay awake long enough to finish dinner and hear some speeches (and karaoke!), but failed to hit the dance floor. This wedding was particularly eventful for Kale since he got to meet Judah of Two Skinny, One Fat fame IRL.

 

• First pony ride. Kale took the first step to becoming a certified cowboy by doing a couple loops on a pony at Springdale Farm. I wasn't sure how he'd react, but he loved it so much that we had to fork over the ridiculous fee for him to do it twice. 

• Halloween. Kale was the cutest chicken of all time for Halloween and had so much fun visiting the neighbours and collecting candy (for his parents). 

According to Kale. 

It didn't really hit us how much Kale is talking these days until we started making a list of all his words last night. He's saying about 35 words and while not all of them may be intelligible to a stranger, he says them consistently and in the correct context (ex. he says "guck" for "truck" and "laulee" for "laundry"). This month he learned the dreaded "no," but after a week of constant "no, no, no, no" he seems to have gotten over it using it so often. Thankfully he hasn't figured out "mine" which is my second most dreaded word. 

His favourite words? "Uh oh!" "cook" "hot" and "mama." 

My favourite pictures from this past month: 

I just posted a bunch of my favourites the other day, so I'll refer you here. 

Want to help celebrate 18 months of Kale? Give us a vote:

You have to scroll down the page to find us - we're in the 30ish votes range.

And because I wish I knew more local mama bloggers (at least more Canadian mama bloggers!), I signed up for this and am hoping you'll give us a vote! It's for a 'Top 25 Canadian Mom Blogs.' You actually have to click the button and then scroll down to find us and then vote. Because why make it easy, right?

between colds we have fun.

A couple of weeks ago all the kids in Kale's class came down with a cold. We kept him home for a few days and he seemed to bounce back pretty quickly. Then he became super congested, but seemed to be happy and healthy otherwise. The congestion slowly got worse and worse and I decided to take him in the doctors to make sure that it wasn't anything serious (or contagious). 

This was the first time he's gone to the doctor's for anything other than a check up and hopefully (but very unlikely) the last. The doctor sent us for a chest x-ray, which was an experience I'd rather forget. Poor Kale had to sit in a contraption from the 1920's and had to scream his little head off (seriously - I managed to calm him down with a few killer renditions of "'dem bones," but the technician told us it was easier to get a picture when he was taking deep breaths from the crying). The doctor didn't seem worried so we packed him up and sent him back to school for the rest of the week. 

On Thursday one of his teacher's mentioned that he was having a lot of dry diapers and he wasn't eating or drinking much. By Thursday night all the congestion started to flow out his nose and he began to develop a cough. Yesterday his poor nose was dripping constantly, he was coughing, still not eating and drinking much and was all around miserable. At one point I was sitting on the couch and he walked over, curled up in my lap and fell asleep. This has NEVER happened before! Kale is pretty specific about how he likes to be put to sleep and dozing off in mama's lap is not it. 

Today he seems to be feeling better. The nose is running less. The cough is not as constant. He isn't battling a fever. Last night we actually got some sleep (it's been a long, rough week for sleep since we've had to prop him up in our arms so he can breath and he's been snoring like a trucker in our ears)! 

While Kale has been sick, blogging hasn't been happening. But between the two colds, we've been having fun. Here's what Kale has been up to: 

Taking naps with Papa. Kale's little arm slung around his papa's neck KILLS ME.

Playing in the leaves. I feel like this has been the shortest fall season ever. Many of the trees around here are already bare and I can feel winter in the air. 

Jumping on the bed. Kale has been working very hard on jumping lately. I often see him off on his own, attempting to catch some air when I peek in on him at school. 

Getting totally embarrassed by mom's dance moves at Bluegrass Brunch.

Pumpkin carving! Considering how much Kale hates getting his hands dirty, I was really surprised at how much he enjoyed cleaning out the pumpkin!