March

More Milo Milestones - End of March 2010
In the past few days, Milo has started to stand on his own for a few seconds. He can't push himself up to standing from the ground, but if he's half way there leaning on something or if you help to get him balanced on his feet, he'll let go and stand solo. Of course, Kaden's favourite thing is still to squash Milo and he doesn't hold back even as Milo tries to reach new ground. It doesn't help that Milo thinks his brother is hysterical and encourages him by laughing. However, with Kaden occupied with his guitar, Milo shows off some standing (and squawking) while watching Daddy through the kitchen window. Too cute.

Feels like spring - March 31, 2010
Snack time at the park. I have no idea what has caught their attention.

Who needs toys?! - March 30, 2010
We have no lack of toys to keep our boys occupied. I try to bring a smattering of them into the kitchen to help keep Milo entertained (and within my eye line) while I cook dinner. But why play with toys when he can open the cupboards?! The pots are clearly much more interesting!

Kids in a cart - March 29, 2010
Kaden peruses a Canadian tire brochure while Milo does a little light reading of his own.

A keyboard means many things... - March 28, 2010
We still don't watch TV with the kids, but Kaden does watch a few DVDs (either kids music or books on DVD) as well as YouTube (an excellent source for Go Train videos). While watching his favourite he uses the computer keyboard as his piano. As is the way with second kids, Milo is being exposed to media at a much earlier age. He doesn't "watch" like Kaden does, but he sure tries! Later that day Milo got to open an Easter card...I thought it may have been his b-day card from GG, which seemed to have gone missing in the mail. However the Easter card she mailed after his birthday card arrived first...perhaps his birthday card will make it in time for Easter?!

Happy Birthday Grandpa - March 27, 2010
We're just about done with birthday month, but not before celebrating with Grandpa.

So Proud - March 26, 2010
Milo is getting up and around so easily these days. He's pretty proud of himself!

Music Man - March 25, 2010
Playing guitar is just that much better with the ol' birthday crown!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILO!!! - March 24, 2010
A year ago today we welcomed Milo into our family. Amazing that a year has already passed. So many things have happened this year, but we try to take the time to remember what's important and enjoy every moment with our kids. Our little man is a busy little guy. He's calm, cool and collected...until he's not...and then he's got a pretty fierce temper! Pretty funny to watch sometimes. He loves to watch the fans go around on the ceiling and he's developing a love for wheels (in general and as a part of cars, buses, diggers, etc). He's starting to become a more fussy eater as he now has the independence to put food in his own mouth. If you try to sneak something in he doesn't like his clever tongue will seek it out and push it out! One of Milo's other favourite things is to watch and play (and be squashed by) his brother! It was another lovely day in March - only sweatshirts/sweaters required to go outside. We were able to spend some time outside playing on the deck. I even managed to take a few pictures with Milo's birthday flag - it's not easy to get him to sit still, or look at the camera, or not try to grab the pinwheel! The kids and I ate dinner and then celebrated with some yummy birthday dessert. Kaden helped to serenade Milo while he feasted. Once Daddy was hope we opened gifts, which Milo very seriously examined! Kaden also helped to make sure the train puzzle assembled correctly! A good day for a birthday.

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Milooooooo. Happy Birthday to You!

Cupcakes with musical accompaniment.

Kids will be kids - March 23, 2010
Kaden lounged on the couch playing with a new birthday toy. What a rough life, eh? Milo continues to demonstrate the challenge of mastering the fine-motor-skill technique of getting more food in your mouth than on your face!

Milo is getting so expressive and communicative with his sounds, actions, words and signs.
On the eve of his birthday I thought I would see if I could capture some of it on film.
Of course once I made mention of his favourite things...the fan...he was off to see if he could find it!

Kaden's loves music. He loves to sing and he loves to jam.
One of his new favourites is the Laurie Berkner Band - here he performs "The Goldfish"!
(Apparently...his pants don't fit him that well!)

More mobile by the minute - March 22, 2010
Yup - Milo can climb stairs...now we'll just have to work on coming back down again!

The partying continues... - March 22, 2010
Kaden celebrated his birthday with his friends at playschool today. The birthday crown was a big hit and was worn for many days afterwards as well!

Happy Birthday to Kaden!

A fun song to end circle-time (in preparation for Easter)!

A new perspective for Milo - March 21, 2010
Finally Milo will see what we're talking about every time we stop to watch the signal lights and train crossing near our house! One of his many milestones; Milo takes a new look at his surroundings as he faces forward in the car.

Birthday Party Maddness!!! - March 20, 2010
We celebrated the boys' birthdays with a joint party this year. We had all the grans and great-grans (minus one who lives on the West Coast and one that had an unfortunate sniffle), a great-aunt, local uncle and cousin and a handful of friends. It was a really fun afternoon (albeit a bit chaotic). The kids music teacher came to play and sing with the kids before lunch and then we stopped for food before delving into the presents. I think a good time was had by all. It's hard to believe another year has flown by. Not the least mind-boggling is the fact that we have a three-year old and a one-year old! Kaden is such a smart, happy toddler. His vocabulary continues to grow faster than him and his love of music (both singing and playing) is blooming right along too. He strums his little heart out on that plastic "eyeball" guitar. He was so excited to show it to Miss Mandi when she arrived with her own (real) guitar. Milo has changed so much this year (as they seem to do when they're so small). He keeps us on our toes and is such a fun-loving little guy. He's not yet walking, but he cruises around like a champ. He's starting to pick up sign language and is making more animal sounds and attempts at words everyday. We're very lucky to have two such wonderful boys and it was a treat to celebrate their birthdays with so many of our loved ones.

After the party (and naps) the boys spent some time playing with their new toys. Milo finally got a spin in the car while Kaden checked out a new board game with Poppa (thanks Roberts' family!).

Boys and their toys - March 19, 2010
What else are finished basements for?! Kaden and Milo scored a slide from Nanna and Poppa and a Cozy Coupe from Uncle Drew and his crew - THANKS everyone! Can you tell who's happy about the new basement playground?! It will take some convincing I'm sure for Kaden to understand that both gifts are for both boys!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KADEN!!! - March 18, 2010
It was a busy day for our busy boy. Hard to believe Kaden is THREE already! Given that March is our mega-birthday month the birthday banner and birthday hats are out for pretty much the whole month. Kaden decided to start his day by wearing the birthday hat for breakfast. The day was cool, but sunny, so after breakfast we took the kids to the park. After some time on the swings it was down to the lake for some rock throwing. Milo is less than impressed by "nature" and it takes some convincing (or distraction) form him to let you put down and even more so for him to want to put his own hands down! All the activity pooped out our little guy who napped on the trek home. Later in the day we walked up to the train crossing near our house to watch Go Trains. Kaden was less sure about posing in front of the signal lights with his birthday flag. He loves to watch the trains, but he covers his ears to muffle the roar of the engines so I think he thought a train might sneak up on him if he stood there too long saying "cheese"! We wrapped up dinner with some birthday cupcakes. Kaden took a few tries at blowing out the candles (some may have been doused with spit!), which Milo thought was hysterical. We waited for Daddy to come home in order to open some gifts. It was a fun day...with more birthday celebrations on the horizon!

It's a stereo, no it's a CD player...no...it's a CAMERA!
Once Kaden figured out what he actually got he was excited about the possibilities.
In case you're wondering what he wants to photograph first, he's talking about the horses we saw at the sugar bush.

Nanna and Poppa are here! - March 17, 2010
Whether in BC or Ontario, Nanna and Poppa have been with us every March to help celebrate Kaden's birth and birthdays. They've already added Milo's birth to the list and are back to help celebrate his first birthday as well. In preparation for the kids' birthday party on the weekend, Nanna and Poppa arrive a couple days ahead to have some quality grandparent-grandkid visiting time (and to help me with last minute birthday prep!). Turns out group shots aren't the best when the group is staring at the sun (too bad we needed the car to balance the camera to take the picture). I did manage capture the first signs of spring in our yard. Only mid-march and the crocuses are already up...take that BC blossoms...

Back to the Beaches - March 16, 2010
It might technically still be winter, but with so little snow this year we're taking advantage of every nice day to start enjoying the outdoors again. Today we head back to the east side of town to join up with our best beds for a morning at the park and a trip down to the lake (it is never too early for rock throwing season to start)!

Bring on the Birthday Bonanza - March 14, 2010
March is birthday month in our family (Daddy, Uncle Chris, Grandpa, Kaden, Papa and Milo). In preparation for the birthday blitz we thought we'd start the month off by hosting a birthday brunch for the Ross-clan to celebrate the adult birthdays. Unfortunately, Uncle Chris couldn't make it, but Braydon sat in in his place for the group candle-blowing.

More new discoveries - March 12, 2010
Milo has discovered his tongue and will show it to you when asked. He's also perfecting his "I don't like getting in trouble" face. Teething makes him want to bite down on things, but when I "scolded" him for trying to do just that on my knee his little lip stuck out and his wet eyes quivered...it's so hard to keep a straight face when he genuinely looks so sad and sorry. Kaden also discovered that watching landscaped videos on Daddy's iPod is easier when you turn the whole docking station as opposed to turning your head 90 degrees!

Sugar Bush Field Trip - March 11, 2010
Kaden's playschool took a trip to the sugar bush. Not wanting to miss out on the action (and not quite ready to send him on a school bus all by himself) I volunteered to go too! Kaden thought the school bus was awesome. The best part of the trip (and maybe the day) was that the bus got stopped by some signal lights to let a freight train pass. The kids were all well behaved and after taking a tour of the facility they enjoyed a lunch of pancakes and sausages...and of course, syrup! They had been talking about making syrup in school in preparation for the trip and Kaden was well versed in the terminology - he knew that it was a spiel that was used to tap the tree for sap and as a result he got to help our tour guide do just that. There was also syrup for sampling, which is always a drink to have on a winter's day!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! - March 10, 2010
We celebrated Craig's birthday today with a visit from Auntie Martha - a nice treat. The boys had fun helping Daddy eat his cake and open his gifts - although gift wrappings are always much more interesting that "grown-up gifts"!

Brothers, Balls and Curls - March 9, 2010
The kids like to be near each other, but don't always like the outcome. This was a particularly good day for sharing space at the "stereo table". I took the pictures more to see the comparison of height between the two of them.

Later that day Milo and I were playing in the basement. Still clearly living out some remnants of his previous life as a dog, Milo starts to cultivate his LOVE of balls.

We think Milo is going to share Craig's and my curly hair genes.

To colour or not to colour - March 8, 2010
I thought I would see what Milo thought of crayons. He seemed to like them, but not for colouring! He tried holding them, batting them around, throwing them...but by far his favourite thing was to try to put them in his mouth (quelle surprise)! Notice his "innocent" facial expression in just about every picture!

Budding creative genius or future food critic?!?

Early Spring Swing 'n Slide - March 6, 2010
The boys and I head down to the park for our first swing of the New Year. It's a little bit later than we may have been able to start in BC, but I figured early March in Ontario isn't too bad. There was still "snow" on the ground, but none that got in our way. How cute are they?!?

You might think they are talking to each other, but I think they're sharing the joy of swinging with anyone and no one in particular!

Check out those crocodile tears! Milo has started the ol' gag of throwing things on the floor. While he obviously still has a lot to learn, he clearly knows that he doesn't like the sound of a "stern" No Thank You from his parents. Almost broke my heart (and my lip from having to bite it so I wouldn't laugh out loud) when his little eyes welled up with tears and his lower lip quivered out in a little pout!

Grandpa's Trains - March 5, 2010
The boys and I are spending a couple of days at Grandma and Grandpa's while new windows are being installed at our house. Today Grandpa brought out his boyhood trains again to show Kaden (Milo was snoozing). Kaden hadn't seen them since we first arrived in Ontario last year and he was very excited about playing with them again (so was Grandpa!)

Here's what I saw...
Kaden trying to move the train forward a car at a time so he can push the whistle button to "fill" each one - typical Kaden.
Grandpa wondering what is taking so long for the train to go around the track and teaching Kaden the ways of neutral - typical Grandpa.
They worked it out and both had fun in their own way ;]

Crazy Hair Day - March 3, 2010
The theme at Kaden's nursery school today was Crazy Hair. He has such fine hair, but he did let me put three clips in to give him a bit of an up-do. I think the clips started to bug him while at school so they were out by the time I went to pick him up, however he came home a red-head! Later that day Milo and Kaden were playing very nicely together with the apple tree (fortunately Milo was able to figure out Kaden's "rules").

Here you can see the boys in action playing together - too cute.
You'll also notice Kaden's "coughing phase"...it was almost like a nervous tick (although despite being "fake" he still covered his mouth with his arm - good boy!).
For a couple weeks he just coughed pretty much non-stop (except when sleeping). Thankfully it passed.

A lamb-like day to kick off the month - March 1, 2010
There is still snow on the ground, but it's sunny melt weather. We haven't had much chance to play in the snow this mild winter (not that I'm complaining), but it seemed like a good day to go and tromp about in the snow and puddles! What better combination?!? Milo took his first spin in the backpack and seemed to enjoy himself. Ali was so excited to accompany us, but I think she quickly wished otherwise as our 45 minute outting only saw us getting as far as around the block! We were on toddler speed not Labrador speed!

Kaden has been watching some old Sesame Street skits on the internet. One of his favourite finds involves numbers (of course). These particular clips end each time with a very clumsy baker standing at the top of some stairs holding a number of desserts to highlight the specific number being showcased. Comedy ensues when the clumsy baker proceeds to fall down the stairs smashing the desserts and covering himself in the process. Kaden has been emulating this act for DAYS and I'm sure he has suffered many bruises for his art! At least the snow provides some sort of cushion...

Milo is slowing starting to pick up on some signs we have been teaching him.
Although this video isn't the best demonstration it sort of shows him signing one of his new favourite things - a fan!