More Puddles, Slides, Swings and Dancing!

Karen here.

We've had a lot of fun with Magnus the past 2 weeks. Even though he normally goes outside both in the morning and in the afternoon at daycare, Matt and I find ourselves taking him to a park when we pick him up. But when we bring him inside, he just wants to go back outside!

No wonder Magnus has been sleeping like a rock! The poor guy is exhausted come dinnertime! But that's how we like it!

So we've gotten quite a few videos of him having fun on the playground. Firstly, here he is 2 weeks ago discovering that not all puddles are the same.

The past 2 weeks have been super nice in Toronto. Most of the snow is gone [sorry Adam and Lauren, stuck in Halifax with metres of snow still! :( ], and Mags now wears splash pants instead of his snowsuit (although he did wear his snowsuit 2 days lately due to highs of +1 or +2... not the balmy +8 we've recently gotten used to). I need to get myself a pair so I can run around with him in the wet and muck! Look at how much fun he gets to have! Last weekend Matt and I brought him to the same playground cuz it's at the schoolyard across the street from our house. I think Magnus has a strong 'no fear' quotient.

Also last weekend, Magnus was in fine form at the house after naptime. Check out his new happy dance (about 50s and 2m). 

And a few days later he celebrated another puddle with his happy dance.

For fun, here are a few more videos of him going down the slide.

And he likes the swings too.

And as a closer, Saturday morning was my morning to sleep in. However, I got up a few minutes after Matt and Magnus did cuz we all slept in till almost 8am (sleep in 'till 8!?). And I found my men thoroughly enjoying... what else other than Magnum PI and a cookie!

Baby Stuff

Karen here.

So, by now most of you know that we're expecting our second child on August 1st. I am now 20 weeks pregnant, or exactly half way. Only now am I starting to actually feel pregnant. I certainly have a bump, and I can certainly feel the baby moving around (although it's only a bit still and only a few times a day). We were happy to have had an ultrasound appointment this past week where we captured the baby sucking its thumb!

Well, maybe it was sucking some or all its fingers. Dunno. But still, cute pic!

This second time around does feel different. The biggest thing is I feel like I'm not paying this baby any where near the attention I paid to Magnus when he was in there. Obviously I can't because I have Magnus to chase after. But that doesn't lessen the guilt. I do take the new babe to prenatal yoga every Sunday though, where I get to spend an hour thinking about him/her. And as it turns out, it's one of the calmest times of my week. I really enjoy it. :)

And speaking of yoga, my friend, Melodie, joined me at class last weekend. She, too, is now expecting her second. Her first child, Calvin, is only 3 months younger than Magnus, and she is currently due 3 months after me again! Plus we work together, sitting side by side. (sigh) It's absolutely amazing having one of your good friends in the same position you are in life. In fact, I'm lucky to have 3 friends currently pregnant. :)

But anyway. After yoga class, Melodie came to my house to hang out for a few. Her husband, Pete, brought Calvin over and we had a play date. Now, babies this age don't really play together, and as you can see from the videos below, they had conflicting agendas.

Poor Magnus was tired for some reason. Matt had just gotten back from a run when Pete and Calvin showed up. So here is Magnus 'helping' his Dada stretch.

Too cute, eh? It was a really nice visit.

Stacking, Pulling and Stomping, Oh My!

Karen here.

We've posted a few videos now where Magnus unloads our grocery bags and stacks the cans. It turns out that he spends quite a bit of time stacking actual 'stacking cups' while at daycare. I had tea a few weeks ago with our daycare lady (she lives down the street), and Magnus wowed me with this:

But all this stacking practice has entered our daily lives, like unloading the groceries. Or when we're out shopping. When we went for a walk a week ago, we stopped at good ol' Shoppers Drug Mart to pick up a few things. While Matt darted away to the post office line, I tried to entertain Magnus. It's not hard, really, if you let him do what he wants to do. Like take stuff off the shelves.

And yes, he did so at Canadian Tire too, but I only managed to capture the 'tail' end of it.

I also tend to take a number of videos where Magnus walks ahead of me, rarely capturing that cute grin of his. Rather, you see the back of his hat or snowsuit. For example, here he is a week or so ago wearing my gloves after soaking his at the park. I just think it's cute.

The last couple of days have felt like spring. It's been 7 degrees or more during the day and people on the street outside my work venture out to get coffee with no jackets! It's so great! And I'm sure Magnus can feel it too. I've picked him up from daycare the last few days and each time he insists on staying outside. Sounds good to me cuz I can only read "Little Blue Truck" so many times before I go crazy. Now, yesterday as we were walking home, he discovered a puddle... a fun muddy puddle at that. It was so cute to see he walk through it, turn around just to walk through it again. I caught the tail end of it again, but here he is exploring a puddle.

Yes, I'm a horrible mother, choosing to take a picture of my son's muddy face rather than clean him up right away. Can you blame me? :)

It's above freezing? Let's hit the beach!

Matt here.

This past weekend, for the first time in about 40 days, the temperatures in Toronto got above 0C.  Although I don’t mind the cold and snow, it was nice to see the sun.  So, like most Canadians do once it gets above freezing, we decided to hit the beach! 

In our new location, we are quite lucky to be a quick 5 minute drive to the Toronto Beaches (12 minute jog!) while at the same time being quite close to downtown and work.  This past winter there was a design competition at Kew Beach in Toronto where 4 groups designed “Warming Huts” around the existing lifeguard stands.  With the warm temps, and with Mags’ new splash pants, we decided to check them out.

Here’s a view of downtown from Kew beach. I like the pic: although Toronto is one of the great cities of the world, from some viewpoints it still remains just a snow covered piece of land sitting beside a very cold lake.

View of downtown from Kew Beach

Here’s Mags, getting lost in the barrens.  

After gracefully falling on his face, Mags explored the only Warming Hut that actually gave off warmth.  It was called “The Wingback”, with tall walls blocking the wind while protecting a fire in the middle.  

Mags exploring the Warming Hut

Fire within the Warming Hut

Note on the fire and the warming hut: while Magnus and I were sitting there catching some heat, a kid beside us wanted to throw a piece of wood into the pit.  His mother said no, saying that he would just get ashes on everyone who was sitting around the fire.  So, what did she decide to do?  Yup, SHE decided to toss the piece of wood onto the fire...  I will let your creative minds imagine the comments that were rolling around in my head as I grabbed Mags, handed him to Karen, and wiped the ashes off of my coat.  Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that my words would have warmed up that hut a lot faster than any damn piece of wood.

 

In closing, I wanted to post one last pic.  We keep thinking of how big Mags is getting, until we see a photo of him like this one beside his mom and we are reminded that he is still just a little guy, exploring the world around him. 

Mags followed by his bodyguard

Unpack and Stack

Matt here. 

Another weekend is here!  This was supposed to mean skiing, but I decided that I would rather sleep in than drive 1.5 hours to a mediocre ski hill.  However, I forgot that I typically wake up at 6am anyhow, and Magnus is rarely asleep much after that, so no skiing or sleeping in...  I guess this means that a nap will be in order!  Like people say, "That's just like Matt, always looking to the positive and the bright side."

It sure is tough to convey sarcasm in a blog...  After my return from Buenos Aires a couple of weeks ago, I had been telling my folks over Skype how nice of a trip it was and then when I was done there was a slight pause before they asked, "And, so, what was bad about it?"  I didn't realize that I had such a predictable behaviour pattern. 

Now, back to the weekend.  Saturdays usually mean doing groceries for the week.  This also typically means Magnus "helping unpack" once we get home.  He seems to really like that Red Bull!  And check out that Devilish laugh at the 1:35 mark.  Sometimes it goes on for a while.

 

I hope that everyone has a great week!  For those of you in Eastern Ontario, enjoy the +0C temps!

Kicks from Buenos Aires

Matt here.  

Back from Buenos Aires for a few weeks now and have a moment to give a quick update.  

Hmm, where to start... 30C, great patios, great food, and great company.  I met up with three friends from my MBA class.  Although we all lived in Toronto at the time of the MBA, they are all now dispersed (Chile, Seattle, and Newfoundland) while I am still in Toronto.  Funny how I needed to get a new degree so that I didn't have to travel while for my key buds it was the exact opposite.  

On the food point, I think that I might have had my best steak ever at Don Julio's steakhouse.  The top ranked restaurant ended up being a short walk from our rental house.  It was raining on the walk but with the great tree canopy over the streets (it seemed even in the downtown core there was canopy) we barely even noticed!  Another good sign for the night was that, although there was a big crowd outside waiting for tables, we somehow managed to get seated within a couple of minutes.  A great evening all around.

Above Don Julio's Bar

The Kobi steaks in Tokyo were great, too, but when cost taken into account, the Argentinian beef can't be beaten!

On a daily basis, before seeking out our afternoon patio, we would check out a part of the sprawling city, including Plaza de Mayo.  It was here, from the balcony, that the Perons would speak to their adoring crowds:

General Manuel Belgrano

Another highlight was the colourful and artist filled neighbourhood of La Boca.  Some artwork was purchased, and some was not: 

A gift NOT purchased for Karen

Although Buenos Aires was great, it was equally great to get home.  One of my travel companions, Tim, had bought a gift for Magnus.  It was actually at Tim's 2012 Christmas Party where Karen and I met.  Tim seemed to feel guilty for not having sent something from Seattle when Mags was born and more than made up for it by giving Mags his first pair of cool kicks.  Although Magnus initially appeared to be interested in his new shoes, it soon became clear that getting his hands on the box was his primary focus (as a side note, check him pushing me out of the way at the 56 second mark):

Eventually the box went away and the shoes became the focus.  Although the first fitting was not a huge success...

Unhappy, yes, but stylish!

...we soon discovered that it was not the shoes but instead the manner by which they were applied.  We have now figured out how to get the shoes on him more easily and they have become a Magnus staple.  We were actually out this past weekend looking for Karen's birthday gift and all the salespeople at the trendy clothing store were gaga over the shoes.  Let's hope that Tim has not created a dandy!

Eager to get out and show off his new kicks

Lastly, soon after my return from BA, Karen had to take off to Milwaukee for work, leaving Magnus alone with me for 2 nights (for the first time ever!).  It made me think of the time Homer J. was left alone with the kids for one night:

Not to fret, Mags and I survived the experience!  Here he is after I picked him up from daycare at the end of day 2.  Our Little Lebowski in his toque from his Aunt Tanya.  

The "Dude"

Well, BA is now just a fading memory, but with Tim's photos, the AFA shirt that I got for Karen, and Magnus's cool kicks, there should be a lot around to bring those memories back to the forefront.  

The question now is, where are the 4 of us gonna go next time...?  

And will I be able to cover the cost when Karen gets her turn?