SPD

Dexterity

Sebastien is working on his dexterity (though who knows, he might be left-handed). His favourite toy right now is a spoon.

It's an extra good toy when someone puts food on it for you!

After he has dropped (or thrown away) the spoon for the 856th time (no exaggeration. I swear) it is also fun to have a dance party with Papa.

Or to model ultra-soft fuzzy sweaters hand-made by Ruth!

It's still a little big, but it will probably be too small by next week.

A Helping Hand

Sebastien wants to help Papa. Actually, he just wants to chew on the screwdriver with his razor sharp little chompers. And that would help Sebastien's cause, since Papa is installing some safety latches to keep some of the more perilous cupboards inaccessible.

One of those Days...

It was one of those days...and on days like that, it's good to get out of the house. Sebastien was plopped in his chariot - which he has enjoyed lately - and taken for a walk around Boulevard Lake.

Well, halfway around, at which point he clamoured to get out in no uncertain terms.

This was a bit better. For a while. And then Shiner couldn't decide where to pee, and some trouble pulling off an appropriately dignified pose for a photo....

Wee Matilda was the only one keeping it together!

Teething Woes

Sebastien got two new teeth in the last day. This is why there is no smiley picture of him for today.

He did find some solace on Papa's lap, chewing on his hand, looking at a new Marc Tetro book from the library. It's not only good to look at, it tastes good too!

Wishart Conservation Area

Wishart is a great place for a hike in the fall. Especially if you like climbing over and under fallen trees. It is worth it for the payoff at the lookout. Of course, some people staunchly kept their backs to the view the whole time. Which is better than trying to crawl off the lookout.

Sebastien had his own appropriately sized chunk of apple to eat, but he quickly eschewed that. He prefers to chew on Mama's food. Or Mama. He's not picky.

And, a semi-successful self-portrait. At least one of us is in there, not just a pile of leaves.

Floor Time, Part 286

Sebastien at his studies. I hope he doesn't study that book too earnestly - it claims to be about porcupines, but they sure look like hedgehogs...

His face is changing again...and soon his hair will obscure it!

A Fine Day

Summer returned for a day, and Maaritta came to play. It's interesting how babies "play" together...

I wonder what will happen if I pull her hair?

Wow, she's really mad now, guess I'd better hide down here.

And then there was some tussling over the bunny in the blue dress, but in the end Maaritta did the mature thing and let Sebastien play with it, while she took out her frustrations on the squirty bath toy.

She got the last laugh in the end, though. She not only won the race up the stairs...

...and she did it with the bunny in hand. Crazy kids.

A Nice Day for a Walk

Lately the weekends have been sunny here, and the weekdays rainy. Consequently, the Cascades are bigger than they have been all year.

It's a great place for a picnic on a sunny day. Sebastien is not a fan of the sit-down-and-eat school of thought. He prefers his food to go.

I wonder what would happen if we gave him two cookies at the same time?

Missed Opportunities

Sebastien plays with this typewriter obsessively, every day. It reminds me of the whole monkeys/Hamlet thing.

But every time I fire up the camera, he scoots away from the machine. Which is odd, he usually is quite happy to pose. Perhaps he is embarassed by his hunt-and-peck technique.

Rodeo Boy

We got ourselves a mean panther wrangler on our hands.

And he's not afraid to tackle his Mama either!

And at the end of the day, we have a tired baby boy who just wants to have a bath. (Actually, he just wants to get in so he can practice climbing out).

Pushing Buttons

Pushing buttons and putting his fingers into all kinds of nasty places.

Danger, danger! (as Ruthie would say).

He's Got the Whole World...

...to play with. But all he wants is to a) eat the car key, b) romp in the driveway,

or c) steal part of Papa's cookie.

Can't blame him. It was a Smartie cookie. Yum.

Moving Forward

Sebastien discovered the joys of pulling up and standing some time ago - but then he kind of forgot about it, and we didn't hasten to remind him.

Apparently, he has rediscovered this...

You get the picture, no? We may have to modify his highchair to accomodate this new obsession. Or we could just wait until he is hungry enough to sit down.

Proportional Representation

That is, the number of highchair pictures here fairly accurately represent the actual proportion of our time is spent feeding Sebastien, or procuring food for him.

It does NOT represent the amount of food he actually eats. It's amazing how long it takes him to chew a piece of cheese, with his two teeth. Then again, peas he doesn't chew at all (we have proof. But we won't share that).

Nine Months!

Uncle Peter does a massive detour on his way home from Duluth to come see Sebastien, and Sebastien's new house.

Sebastien gave him a personal tour, including his favourite nook, the inside of the container cupboard.

Of Mulch and Men

Now that the hideous cold is over, and we dare venture out onto the grass again, it is time for Sebastien to help David mulch his pear tree. Or un-mulch in this case.

And then Sebastien is also very helpful with the celeriac harvest - he helps cart some of it off!

With friends like these, who needs grocery stores? Or playgroups?

In other news:

So, we always give Sebastien a little toy during his meals, or he gets all ornery and crabby. But today, we gave him a tomato to play with, and thinking it was a toy, he ate it!

Well, okay, he ate part of it and then made a whole bunch of Calvin-esque Yuck faces and threw it on the floor. He may be messy, but he sure is entertaining.

Acrobaby

Sebastien performs his usual antics for Laurie and Diane.

And then pulls out all the stops for his Mama and Papa.

And yes, we were spotting him. We are going to have to get a padded floor soon.

Dietary Considerations

It's all a ruse really, all these pictures of Sebastien holding food. He doesn't actually manage to put it in his mouth. He has no problem putting it in his hair, though.

And the red triangle he can put in his eye or ear with remarkable accuracy.
What a star.

Housewarming

Our house is pretty cold these days (since we waved bye-bye to the old boiler, but have not yet waved hello to a new one!). Babies are like furnaces, so we invited another over to play and heat our space up a bit.

Sebastien and Maaritta - eyeing each other's trays, of course.

Maaritta shows Sebastien the motherlode of noisy things. And bedlam ensued.

He must have eaten a lot of lunch...he looks really round. Or maybe, like a bird, he looks fatter when it's cold. Perhaps he has puffed out his feathers.

Voluntary Confinement

Yet another hillbilly playpen for Sebastien. He's not really confined, though - he does know how to open the doors. He just prefers to bang on them.

The Dark Side

Of buying an old house, is that somehow, you always end up with a room that looks like this. Luckily, we have boxes we haven't unpacket yet.

They make a great barrier between Sebastien and the icky bits that he is inexplicably drawn to. Plaster dust? Yum!

Ding Dong

Is what the doorbell said all day, as we had many pop-in visitors.

Ok, that's a lie, most of them just wandered in and hollered Hellooooooo. And we were happy to see them all. Especially Samantha, as Sebastien is quite enamoured with her.

Almost as enamoured as he is with David, who Sebastien has a smile for anytime, anyplace.

Playdate

We had a small pile of babies here today. Sebastien was quite intrigued by wee Skye in her car seat. Maybe he remembers how comfortable that seat is when you're not 22 pounds.

And then Sebastien went to supervise Scotty playing with Sebastien's new toy. Amazing what you can find at a yard sale. What Sebastien doesn't realize is that Scotty doesn't have to share anymore if he doesn't want to - he can just walk away now!

Except for Sebbie's Papa. There's enough of him to go around, anyway.

And him we didn't find at a yard sale.

Babyproofing 101

We could use some lessons...

For now, we are doing re-active baby proofing, instead of proactive. Oh well. He hasn't found the china cabinet yet. But then, neither have we.

Of Onions and Boilers

After his first taste of onion. He's looking a bit wary.

And decides to take food matters into his own hands.

And then, for some extra special after dinner fun, Sebastien visits the wreckage of his old friend the boiler.

Where Does the Time Go?

Really. I think someone sped up the clock this week.

In the meantime, Sebastien has been practising his pose for when J. Crew makes a baby catalogue. Sweater courtesy of Sylvia's knitting skills. Very stylish, and absorbent.

And when that got boring, Sebastien played chase-the-wineglass with his Papa. They did three laps of the carpet, and then Sebbie caught on that even if he caught it, we weren't going to let him drink it.

Well, Phooey.

Momentous Occasions

To celebrate the first day of school, Sebastien wore his ABC overalls. Maybe next year we'll get him ones that say DEF.

In other news, Sebastien now has bright shiny refinished floors to crawl on! Maybe one of these days we'll even put the furniture back.

Packin' Up

Here Papa, you play with the cow. I have a plane to catch.

And then, after an eternity on the airplane (we were due for a flight delay at some point. It's just too bad it had to happen with us sitting on the plane with 10.1 kg of wiggly boy on our laps), Sebastien finally gets a chance to stretch his legs. He likes the temporary bed-on-the-floor arrangement.

A Gazillion Pictures

Another trigger happy day in the life of Sebastien's dutiful photographer(s).

First there was lunch. Sebastien eschewed the highchair, and lunch in general, and showed us an alternate use for chopsticks. Rat-a-tat-tat on the lovely and loud metal chairs.

And then, a visit to Sylvia and Albert's, where Sebastien tried many pairs of arms on for size.

Sebastien discovered a pool that was just his size to splash around in. He thinks he is getting away with something, but secretly, we approved of his shenanigans.

And all that play makes Sebastien a tired boy. Sebbie is a bit of a tricky sleeper - he needs to be contained, or no sleep will come.

Lucky for us, Sylvia just happened to have a big enough container!

Ta-da. Now if only Tupperware made containers this big....

And for those of you that think this is an awful lot of pictures for one day, I say Harumph! I was showing saint-like restraint!

Mirror Friend

Sebastien shares some love with his mirror friend.

Either that, or he's really vain. That's odd, because no one has ever said he was cute. Especially not to his face.