Week in review

I realized the other day that I've not been very diligent about posting lately. My apologies. Funny and sweet things are happening all the time - I just forget to jot them down, and then I forget to write about them!

The biggest news is that we got a new dishwasher!! I am so excited about not having to hand wash every single dish. My dry hands are thanking us as well. It was delivered yesterday and the men who made the delivery and handled the install were very sweet and let Bennett help them! He was so very excited to see them show up. The second they walked in the door, he nearly screamed, "Hi guys! Lemme go get my TOOLS!" and then he scampered downstairs and returned moments later with his toolbox ready to go to work. Thank goodness one of the guys was a grandfather. He showed Bennett what needed to be done and even invited Bennett to use the official screwdriver!

Bennett was so proud of himself and how he helped!

Over the weekend, Oma and Grandpa brought over a temporary rink they had bought for Bennett to use in our backyard. Bennett helped set it up on our deck. We are anxiously awaiting the weather to remain cold enough to maintain a frozen surface!

On Saturday evening, Brian had a departmental holiday party to attend, so Bennett and I had a Mama Date. We went downtown to see the lighting display in Victoria Park and then had dinner at Campus Hi-Fi Diner. It was super chilly, so we were absolutely in the Holiday Spirit!

Running around the live tree on the bandstand

Creepy four year old looking Baby Jesus in the nativity

I believe this is as close to Santa's lap as we're getting this year!

Merry Christmas! We'll have to go back and redo this shot with Brian included.

No more diapers!

It seems our little baby is growing up! For the last couple of weeks, he's been begging us to sleep without a diaper. We've been hesitant because he wakes up with a very full diaper each morning, since he sleeps like a log from 9:30 to about 6:30/7:00 each night. Last night, he took off his diaper at 9:00, fell asleep, and stayed that way until 7:00 this morning, when he hopped out of bed, scampered to the potty, peed and came back to snuggle with me for a few more minutes. DRY AS A BONE!!!

Hallelujah - let's hope this keeps up. I'd love to be done contributing those things to the landfills.

School II

The tour was great! We loved it and even talked with the director about enrolling Bennett in January if possible. She was very positive and encouraged us to complete the application paperwork and find out what our obligation to The Lab School was regarding withdrawal.

Brian and I had a very long conversation about the pros and cons (really, not a lot of cons!) and decided to bite the bullet. I dropped the application off at the Montessori school this morning, and then sent an email to the admissions contact letting her know that we were serious, and needed to move quickly due to a deadline of November 30 for letting TLS know that we were going to withdraw. She called me within half an hour to let me know that Bennett was accepted for a January start!

Such a relief to know that we don't have to think about school for him again for a very long time. I have a very good feeling about how much he's going to like being in such an enriching environment. I'm also encouraged to think about how we can use Montessori ideas to organize and enrich our home life too. Yay! This is a great birthday present, this sense of peace.

Check out the website: http://montessori.on.ca/Home

He's be in the half-day Casa program, five mornings a week.

School

Brian and I went to an information session for the local Montessori School last night. I was ready to pull Bennett from The Lab School right then and enroll him in Montessori. We have a tour of the school today. I imagine it will be hard for me to honor our commitment to TLS afterward. I really love the way Maria Montessori approaches learning.

He understands similes

We were all snuggling the other morning and someone let out a large toot. Bennett popped up all grinny and said, "You're like a tuba!!"

Ice Time

Today, Bennett had his first "on ice" hockey experience. He smiled the ENTIRE time!

For the last few weeks, Bennett and I have been traveling to Stronach Community Center on Saturday mornings for a class called Music Menagerie. It's a chance for Bennett to play with some instruments and other children. It's held in this huge community center that also houses two large ice rinks. It became our routine to watch the hockey players after class was finished.

One morning, we got to class a little early and were able to watch hockey before class. We saw something we hadn't seen in previous weeks - a Parent Tot skate time. It was kind of an open skate sort of thing and it's free! Every Saturday morning from 9 - 9:45. I told Bennett that as soon as Brian was finished writing his current grant, he would love to come and skate with Bennett.

We finally got to go today. Brian told me that Bennett didn't complain one single time - not about the cold, not about his equipment, not about falling down over and over. His only tears came when it was time to go home. He cried and cried and cried. But then we stopped to watch a little more hockey and he stopped crying. All afternoon, though, he just wanted to go back to the "arena". So, we arranged for him to play a little more in the backyard. Thank you to Oma and Grandpa for the equipment - Bennett loves it!

Right after getting on the ice for the first time!

It's a little slippery . . .

This PVC thing is crap!

Dad is the best support.

Ready? Steady . . .

And he did it!!

Here's a little video:

The "Ugh!" you hear from me is not about Bennett. It's that lady, and her very poor timing. Ugh! And the quality is poor because I was zooming in from behind the glass.

And finally - hockey on the back deck, after he patiently waited for Brian and me to clean out the gutters.

His Halloween costume hood makes a great hat!

Granna Left Today

We tried our hardest to block her - but it didn't work. Boo hoo!