Archive for 2011
He’s a Sport[baller]!
Posted on: November 15, 2011
As mentioned before, our toddler’s got a love on for “Bass-be-ball!” (aka basketball). I guess toddler’s are limited to the toys they have available at their disposal, and the net was just given to him – not like it was his choice or anything. But once he got the hang of shooting hoops, he fell in love. It’s a great way for him to burn energy get some exercise, and it’s set up in our sparsely furnished basement, so he has the freedom to really run around like crazy focus on his skill development.
Last week I discovered a community program offered for toddlers that I thought would appeal to our little tyke. It’s called Sportball and is basically a non-competitive introduction to many types of sports. I had a free pass, so thought we’d give it a whirl. And when we showed up last weekend, the sport of the day was … Bass-be-ball! Wasn’t Niko just delighted. It’s a parent/child class, and it was so cute to see him involved and listening to the coach, while practicing the skills with Daddy.
Of course, what would a new outing be, without some photos and video footage to document the action?
Video Clip: Our Little Double Dribbler (11 sec.)
Chasing the Hoop
Dribble Practice
He Shoots, He Scores!
A Handful O’Stickers
Posted on: November 14, 2011
In the wee hours of the morning, when it’s still dark out and Borys and I would rather be catching some Zzzs, than propping our eyelids open with toothpicks and accompanying our two year old to breakfast, we will do almost anything to remain wrapped in the comfort of our warm sheets. On a regular day, Niko will wake anywhere from 5:15 to 7am. 7am? That’s actually OK, and I would even consider that sleeping in, in I’m-a-parent-of-a-toddler land. But anything that starts with 5 or even early in the 6s is just way too early!
Here are some strategies we use to keep our little soldier quiet for just a bit longer, while we try to prolong our slumber. After we hear the first quiet beckoning that ultimately gets progressively louder and more insistent as time passes,
“Daddy! Daddy! Daaa-deeee….” etc.,
our strategic planning ensues.
1) Change his diaper.
2) Bring him into our bed.
3) Turn on the TV – quietly.
4) Give him a drink.
5) Give him Cheerios.
And then this weekend a new strategy to add to the list.
6) Supply him with about 100 stickers for dozens of minutes of extended shut-eye for mama and daaa-deee.
This is how it all went down. After duly beckoning and then receiving steps 1 through 5, Niko was uncharacteristically quiet on Sunday morning. I just drowsed the minutes away, enjoying this quiet reprieve, occasionally and only half-consciously taking a piece of broken sticker-surround from his passing hand. The happy chirps of his chatter a far off sound in my sleepy state. When I finally did fully awaken at 7:20 (hip hip!), it was to the site of one happy toddler with a left hand completely covered in stickers.
To be honest, the site of it was a touch disturbing and before I fully clued into what covered his hand alarm bells sounded in my head, but those minutes of extra sleep were all worth it!
Video Clip (36 sec.): Sticker Hand
Note the tell-tale signs of sleepy-daddy-hair in the top left corner of the first picture below.
1) 32 weeks and 5 days pregnant.
2) Note to husband: bikini bottoms do not count as underwear!
During my stint in the hospital I had a short list of “please-bring-mes” that I dished out over the phone to my lovely hubby: one of these things being underwear. A few hours later, he trots in with the items and I begin relishing in my requested delights: a gossip magazine, ChapStick, leftover Halloween candy, etc. Then I get to the underwear and hold them up with an inquisitive look.
Borys: Yah, I wasn’t sure which ones to bring, but those looked thick and big so I picked them out. Maternity underwear, right? Or are they a bathing suit?
Granted they are black, but still, how many pairs of underwear has he ever seen that are made out of bathing suit material? Plus I don’t own any maternity underwear!!! They’re too “thick and big” for my liking.
Me: Withering look, with a secret smile inside.
Thanks goodness I requested two pairs. And thank goodness the other ones weren’t part of a bikini.
3) “Chee-yos” (that’s Niko-speak for Cheerios) in my bed.
Yes a weird thing to smile at, but one night this week Niko had been hungry before going to sleep, so I got him a little bowl of Cheerios to snack on while I read him a bedtime story in my bed. Of course his little hands couldn’t help but spill a few here and there, but they were milkless, so what’s the big deal? Together, we picked up all the renegades (or so we thought), and then I scooted him off to his own bed.
The next morning I awoke to an array of random Cheerios stuck to my legs and arms. Guess we missed a few. But still, the memory of the little guy enjoying his snack and leaving traces of himself behind, was enough to put a smile on my face.
4) Good news from the NICU: a baby born at 32 weeks has the same chance of survival as a full term baby.
Not to say a 32 week old baby, wouldn’t have other health issues, but just that the survival rate is so high put a smile in my heart.
5) Rediscovering my library card.
I checked out a book and started reading it!
Toddler Feeds the Poodle
Posted on: November 10, 2011
Niko’s got a new job. He started feeding Frasier. I’ll fill up the scoop (an old sour cream container), and he walks it over and dumps it in the dish, never failing to make it there without a proud smile on his face. Even though it takes a little longer for him to do it, than it would if I just did it myself, his utter air of triumph from successfully completing the task makes it all worth it.
Each day he walks the length of the kitchen, scoop in one hand, other hand cautiously guarding the top, whispering “Careful. Careful.” to himself. Then he slowly crouches down and dumps the food in the dish. The first few times he did it, there was much, like let’s say half, of the food on the floor – but he picked it all up. Over the next few days I taught him to crouch and dump slowly and now he can do it, often without spilling a single bit of kibble. Way to go little man! And when he does succeed without spilling he congratulates himself with a “Niko, no spill! No spill!”. And when a few do hit the floor: “Niko, pickin’ up the Frasier food” and his little fingers go to work.
Hey, the more responsibility I can shirk off to this little minion guy, the better! It’s great to learn a sense of responsibility early, right?
Other ways he likes to help:
1) Packing Daddy’s lunch: getting the soda water and other various items from the cupboards and fridge and placing them on the counter. Not to mention sampling some of Daddy’s snacks along the way. (This morning I found him biting into the Saran Wrapped Oreos only once he had managed to glean a few crumbs from between the punctured plastic.)
2) Giving Frasier cookies: He’s grasping “Sit”, “Paw” and “Good Boy”, although at times he’s not interested in giving the dog a cookie and will willfully exclaim “No Frasier cookie! Niko, cookie?”
3) Making rice: He carries the rice and pots to the counter. And once I make the measurements he pours it all in the pot.
4) Putting his clothes in the laundry basket: Self-explanatory.
5) Cleaning his toys: Well, we’re still working on the “like” factor of that one…
Hot Chocolate Face
Posted on: November 9, 2011
- In: Eat It | Parenting | The Great Outdoors | The Niko Files
- 1 Comment
It’s November. And despite the fact that the days are getting shorter and the temperature in general is dropping, we’ve had a few nice days. Last week, Niko and I played out front for quite some time. It was sort-of mitten weather, but seeing as Niko was running around a lot, he soon ripped off the extra layer. And even though the sun was shining and he was warm, I was more of an encourager of his actions and kept my mittens on. What better way to drain a toddler’s endless supply of energy than racing back and forth across the front lawn? Anyway, while he was running as full blast as his little toddler legs would take him, I took a more leisurely approach and let him win (most of) the races.
And what better way to reward ourselves for enjoying the somewhat brisk temperatures of a November afternoon than to go inside and celebrate with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Niko didn’t know what sort of treat he was in for, seeing as he’d never had the stuff before, but when I asked him if we wanted any, his enthusiasm gave me a clear answer.
Niko gets so genuinely excited about the little things – even if he doesn’t know exactly what he’s getting excited about! I love it! Although, I suppose anything with the word chocolate in it, is enough to pique his interest.
Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go
Posted on: November 8, 2011
My baby girl’s keeping me up all night and she’s not even born yet! I know there’s a lack of sleep involved with newborns, and for this I am mentally prepared. But what book, friend or millionth piece of advice out there, forewarns expectant mothers that the sleepless nights may come even before the baby is born. Don’t get me wrong, at this stage in the game, when my little babe is at a gestational age of only 32 weeks and 2 days, I would rather be having sleepless nights while she’s still nestled in my belly, than while she’s born prematurely and living in an incubator at the NICU. But still, I just wasn’t prepared to be up all night with my unborn baby. They just don’t warn you about these things.
So the other night around 2 AM I started having labour pains. What else to do but monitor myself for 20 minutes or so, waiting to see if they would subside or if indeed these pains would mean a trip to the hospital? After about 20 minutes of me timing contractions, listening to my husband’s sleeping-breathing and growing increasingly anxious, I figured it was time to wake him and get this “birth plan” into action. But what “birth plan” really? I mean, it was too early – AGAIN! And I wasn’t exactly hospital ready. But what else can you do when baby starts knocking on the entrance to the world? Little Niko was of course unaware and seeing as we couldn’t get a hold of my father-in-law I called on my friends Traci and Paul to come over and Niko-sit. Ironically, I had just asked them that night if they could be our emergency back-up babysitters if I ever went into labour in the middle of the night.
Anyway, Traci came over. Borys and I rushed to the hospital and I was hooked up to many monitors – not to mention poked, prodded and tested in various ways to see what in fact was going on. Thankfully after a few hours of contractions – and yes they were real contractions, painful and clearly documented on said monitor, they subsided. Turns out baby girl was knocking, but not quite ready to open the door! Phewf!
And after that, I didn’t get a bit of sleep. All I could hear was the beating of my unborn baby’s heart, projected from one of the monitors. In a way, it was nice to hear, the constant and strong beating of that little heart inside me. But some shut-eye for mama to be would have been nice too. Borys on the other hand, had no problem falling asleep. So really it was the beating of her heart intermingled with the quiet breathing of my husband that created the perfect recipe for a sleepless night. I blame them both!
1) 31 weeks pregnant!
2) After a brief lesson from my friend Heather, I finally learned the basics of an Excel spreadsheet and successfully stepped into the millennium by transferring my paper and pen budget into electronic form.
3) Morning bedhead and fireman attire.
4) Borys finished painting the Malkovich room. (See item #3 for further explanation).
5) Niko slept until 10 after 7 this morning – not his usual 5:30 wake-up as has been the norm this week.
Duck, It’s Halloween
Posted on: November 3, 2011
I had this grand idea (like so many of mine…) that toddlers were into dressing up. I envisioned a trunk full of dress-up clothes and Niko enjoying the costumes and items for hours. Embracing my love for a good deal I scoured Kijiji for toddler appropriate dress-up items, and I found some: a duck, a dog and a dragon. What could be better?! I bartered on the price with success, and then picked them up. This all happened at least a month before Halloween and the idea of dressing up for the holiday had not even crossed my mind: simply I wanted a bunch of dress up clothes for my little guy, and I was starting with Kijiji.
However, not all went as planned. The dragon had a hole – bye bye dragon! The dog is way too big! And the duck? Well the duck fit just right. And did Niko enjoy it? He sure did – for about 15 minutes, and then it’s moment in the limelight was done. The duck was cast away with the likes of the abacus only to be dredged up as an afterthought when he caught site of it’s yellow fur out of the corner of his eye.
Things I learned from this experience:
1) Toddlers may be too young to appreciate the joy to be had by a dress-up box.
2) Outfit-type costumes may be too cumbersome, not to mention too hot, for a toddler to enjoy on his own or for very long.
3) Not to live too vicariously through the little guy: despite the fact that one of my favourite things to do as a child was to play dress-up (fashion shows etc.) at my friend Alison‘s house, my son may not embrace these same interests.
So then Halloween rolled around. And I didn’t even ask him. Niko was going to be a duck and waddle his way to a few neighbourhood houses in his first ever attempt at trick or treating. Although…I did almost buy him a vampire costume in early October. It was just so cute and would have been a great addition to his tickle trunk – but let’s face it, that idea really hasn’t taken flight (just yet). So I resisted the vampire attire and Niko successfully waddled door to door, collecting candy and whispering “trick or treat” before he even reached the houses.
Note: As of late, Niko has developed an aversion to having his picture taken. I now end up with a lot of blurry pictures (see middle picture down below), or ones where he completely turns his back (see picture in top right corner).
His First Jack O’Lantern
Posted on: November 2, 2011
Life lessons from toddlers: little things make them so happy.
Just seeing all the pumpkins, not even buying one, was an exciting event in itself. And once we actually bought a pumpkin and brought it home, Niko excitedly viewed it out the window for days. Of course he had no idea what lie ahead – the gutting, carving and lighting of the Jack O’lantern. But in his two year old mind, just having a pumpkin in our yard was cause for daily glee, as well as seeing all the pumpkins scattered about the neighbourhood as we drove home from daycare. I’m not sure if you could say anticipation was building, because his realm of experience doesn’t allow for that, but definitely his excitement was mounting, as he noticed more and more pumpkins on people’s front porches and the odd ghost lingering around in a tree.
So pumpkin carving day arrived. We brought the pumpkin in and asked him what type of face we should carve on it: happy? sad? scary? Three times we asked him and three times he wanted a sad face. But Daddy vetoed that, saying Niko didn’t really know what he wanted and that he wanted Niko’s first Jack O’lantern experience to be a good one. So a happy face it became. Niko had a great time, gutting and watching the carving. The only glitch? Once he saw the candle he couldn’t resist blowing it out – as he’d done at his birthday party. So we re-lit it, turned out the lights and let the magic happen!
I’ll blow this thing out yet…
- In: Mommy Time | Parenting | The Niko Files
- 3 Comments
As of late, like let’s say, oh the last 7 months, I have become progressively more limited in what I can do in a day. A high-risk pregnancy means lots of ultrasounds, lots of appointments and lots of rules, and my husband is one the biggest proponents in supporting/enforcing these rules. And I get it. It’s his baby too. And naturally we both want what’s best for the little body growing inside me. I’m all for adhering to the rules of this inactive lifestyle, but that’s not to say that it’s not a challenge. I am a naturally active and busy person. I think of myself as an accomplisher, and being off work and limited in my daily allowances of movement has not been without it’s challenges.
Especially challenging during these last few months has been my decreased ability to interact with Niko. Not that I can’t see him and love him on a daily basis. But there’s no more lifting of the little tyke, which makes it hard to comfort him in his two-year old times of need. Like when he has a boo-boo or just isn’t feeling 100%. Anyway, we have adapted, and time is marching on.
In talking with my friend Sue a few weeks back, she said not to worry, my main job now is incubating. Ha. I liked that. I’ve adopted that as my mantra, and I have somewhat grown to accept that dust bunnies will take longer residence under my bed during this time of incubation.
Parenting 2.0 
