SPD

Trick or Treat

Hey! Hallowe'en is supposed to be fun for kids!

How come we have such a grumpy little king?

That's a bit better. Life is more fun with other bebes.

Life is way more fun with Shiner. Hard to tell if Shiner is smiling. Probably not...

Happy Hallowe'en, all around. It snowed here in Thunder Bay. It always does. (Good thing fleece costumes are so cute).

Getting Ready

It's Hallowe'en tomorrow. We have some things to do.

Sebastien is in charge of taking inventory of the chips.

Papa is in charge of carving the pumpkin.

And Mama is on costume detail

(It's much cuter with him in it.)

Tupperware Fun

Plastic containers are so much fun - first you get to eat the good stuff inside them, and then you get to practise putting a lid on them.

And for the record: a) it's not actually tupperware. But then, nobody says tissues, they say Kleenex, and that's my excuse. And b) he likes his overalls all unbuttoned like that. We do know how to use buttons.

Brrrrr

It's brrrrr outside. Maybe we will spend the morning inside.
Papa is a'snoozing on the couch, Sebbie is a resourceful little guy and makes do with his boots.

And then he joins the gang for Scrabble. That gene he gets from all sides.

Oh, and let's not forget snuggles. We have a very snuggly boy. And we like it that way.

Family Time

Hallowe'en is coming. We're not sure yet what Sebastien is going to be, but we know it's going to involve this swank yellow crown.

Johanna came to visit, and in true best-auntie fashion, brought Sebastien a new friend. No name yet, but really, what do you call a blue giraffe?

One of the great things about Johanna's visits is that we always get a family picture out of it.

Not that we know how to pose like regular folk, but at least we are all in the picture.

Sebastien is pretty willing to share his secrets - like how he manages to steal his Mama's apple and sneak a few bites!

He's not so sure about sharing his Papa's arms, though. He's making pretty sure that he's next in line for that cuddle.

Shoveling it In

Somebody is tired of those weenie baby spoons.

This is misleading, though. He isn't shoveling it into his mouth at all - he's trying to fling it around the room. Silly Mama giving him such a great tool to do it with. Funny though.

Up in Arms

Sebbie spends lots of time up in arms.

Papa's arms.

Mama's arms...

And Peggy's arms. Though, technically that is her lap.

Musical Chairs

Sometimes you just need a new perspective on life, to get you in the eating mood. I'd get tired of sitting in the same chair every night, too.

Dry Dock

Sebastien is doing a lot of boating on dry land these days.

Row, Row, Row your boat....all day long.

Well, maybe there is a little bit of water in his life.

And if all else fails, he can always go swimming in the sea of toys.

The Muppet Show

Here is little Dr. Teeth, creating some (non-electric) Mayhem.

And trying on his Kermit-coloured hat.

And then while we were at it, he tried on this great hat he got from Aurora.

Of course, we thought this hat would fit him in a couple of years.

Poor Sharky

Sebastien tries to sample Sharky's food. Over and over and over...

Much to her disgust.

Rob saves the day by showing Sebastien how to eat a beer coaster, and distracts him from the yummy catfood.

With great success - he practises on an arrowroot.

Random Play

Our little gnomes. We remember when they were almost the same size. No longer!`

Maybe this is why one of them has gotten so much bigger.

Next week the other gnome gets to play in the fridge, we promise.

New Hobbies

Well, modeling exceptionally cute sweaters is not a new hobby.

But the sewing machine obsession, that's a new thing.

Must be he gets that from his Mama.

Literary Baby

Ok, ok, he's not really reading the Globe. He just wants to destroy it.

And, here there is ample fodder for his destructive tendencies, and his literary urges.

10 Months!

10 Months old, and crafty. No eating unless he gets to hold a spoon too.

And sometimes,, he ups the ante and wants to have his spoon and his fingers in the action.

Good thing we bought those 40 facecloths 11 months ago.

The Beat Goes On

Well, once you're in party mode, it's hard to stop.

First, we pick some tunes...

Then we roll up the rug, kick off our shoes, and have a little dance party.

And, then to round out the evening, we throw some blocks around.

And then the little partier went to dreamland. Life is sweet.

Happy Birthday Scotty!

And cake was had!

And Sebbie was right in there like a dirty shirt playing with Scotty's new toys.

Speaking of which, his shirt probably was dirty - with the cake he was trying to steal off everyone's plates.

Milestones

Now here's a momentous event - Sebastien can now play on the bed (with supervision!) for more than a nanosecond without launching himself off the end.

It might be the fun stripey bedspread - he seemed quite enamoured of it. Maybe because he has spent most of his infancy wearing stripes of some sort.

This and That

Thunder Bay is not so lucky as to have an IKEA, but we do have a darn fine Salvation Army, where many a fine toy can be found for under $2. Sebbie likes this toy from all sides.

And then Matilda came over and showed off her tummytime tricks. She's been practising for days.

And little Sebs got in on the action, and showed Matilda one of his current favourite toys.

Which happens to be a bright orange, pitchfork-shaped rattle. It's a bit weird. He especially likes it when we velcro a bear-bell to it.

Wrong Side of Bed

This usually sunny boy got up on the wrong side of bed after his nap today. A little sunbeam time with Papa on the couch was good therapy for that.

And if he DID get up on the wrong side of bed, he'd hit his head on the wall - that would make anyone grouchy.

Peasant Boy

Sebbie gets back to his agrarian roots and spends some time sorting through a box of potatoes.

But if he were really showing his German side, he'd chuck that turnip away. Which we might do anyway.

Rainy Day #5

We've been to the library already...twice...the conservatory is a good rainy day outing.

And Peggy is always up for a stroll through the jungle.

Now if we could only take a wee stroll through the desert...

Post-Turkey

All these rainy days...we've all got cabin fever. Even wee Matilda.

And Sebastien mooches a snuggle from Martha.

Giving Thanks

Even the bebes got to eat some Thanksgiving dinner!

Though Scotty was too busy to come to the table. It's weird how little kids are obsessed with brooms.

Sebastien decided that green beans aren't so bad when they are festooned with Cheerios. He has Cheri to thank for that stroke of genius.

A moment of co-operation. In a few years, they'll probably be cooking up diabolical schemes. Or at least trying to spell rude words with the magnets.

But for now, it's all innocence.

Right, Ruthie?

Occupational Hazards

As a parent of a crawling and standing tyke, it is unwise to wear baggy pants, unless they have a good, tight drawstring.

Unless you have deep-seated nudist tendencies...

Practice Makes Perfect

If knees were feet, Sebbie would be standing. He'd just be really short.

He is quite adept at putting the lid of this box near the box. Someday he will destroy it, and then it will puzzle him no more.

Speaking of things he would love to destroy....

Or maybe he would just like some of that yummy Riesling. See, he's drooling for it!

Sensory Overload

Oooooh!

Aaaahhhh!

Wheeee!

Yipppeee!

Our little swinger...

Fall Fun

It's way more fun to play find the baby in leaves than in blankets.

Except, then you have to strip the baby down and take all the leaf bits out of his diaper. That's kind of fun too.

Clowning Around

It's another grey, rainy day in Thunder Bay, and Papa is home for the morning. Papa thought it would be fun to play with Sebastien, but Sebastien is too busy practising his headstand.

Well, wait a minute, maybe playing with Papa would be kind of fun...

Yay!

Okay, what's next?

(Naptime is what's next, mister).

Leaves are Falling

And Sebastien wants to help rake.

He wants to help really, really badly.

And he's really, really upset when Mama takes the rake away.

He got over it eventually. But not much raking got done. Which is fine, the leaves were kind of damp anyway.