Monday, November 28, 2011

Pedal car restoration

We've been waiting for this weekend. For months, Alan and I had been hearing all about a major project that my dad and our good friend Eric had been working on - the restoration of a 1930's pedal car. My dad found the car for sale in an old garage in Zealand and it was just like one that he had when he was a kid. The car needed a lot of work - paint job, new tires, new apolstery, and more. After 8 months and many hours, the car was finally ready to be unveiled!

Before

After! (this photo also shows what happens when you ask a one year old to smile for a photo)

We revealed the car to Cale at Eric's house on Friday night, just before a bunch of musicians showed up for a Grasse Circle jam. Caleb was so impressed with his new car, that he drove it tirelessly around Eric's house that evening and continued to drive it all weekend.

Love at first sight!

Thanks so much Greggy and Eric! Caleb will have some wonderful memories in his new car...if only we can get it home!! I think dad and Eric may be more attached to their little project than they are letting on. It stayed in Fredericton this weekend because apparently there is a bit more work to be done, like pinstriping!!

My dad as a child in his push pedal car!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Saying 'I love you'


Caleb's new words of the week are 'I love you'. It is incredibly heartwarming to hear 'I love you, mom.' coming out of his mouth. He'll say it as he runs past (as he no longer walks), he'll say it in the car, he'll sing it in a song, and last night at dinner it became a full on lovefest. Cale was saying, 'I love you, dad....I love you, mom' on repeat. Alan and I were smiling at each other, feeling content in the moment and lucky to have such a sweet little boy. The moment quickly lost some of it's sentimental value, however, when Caleb said with complete sincerity, 'I love you, spoon.' Followed by 'I love you, fork. I loooove you, pillow.' I guess love is a bit of a difficult concept for a one year old, but I'm still happy to be at least as important to him as his precious cutlery.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Early mornings

First school photo!

I seem to remember a time when setting the clocks back in the Fall meant an extra hour of sleep. These days it means that we've somehow lost an hour and have been waking up ridiculously early for the past couple of days. I'm talking in the 4 am hour. Today we made it until 5:30, which somehow seemed like a much more reasonable time to wake up. We got off to a good start when Caleb asked for a bowl of cereal and I said yes, he then patted me on the back and said 'good mom'! I laughed out loud and actually did feel like quite a good mom indeed!

Overall things are improving on the sleep front. He's adjusted to being in a bed instead of a crib and Alan's magic fingers are able to get him to sleep quite easily most nights. He still wakes up once in the night, but most times he'll fall back asleep after we pat him for a few minutes. Not all the time, but most of the time. We have also made progress on the weaning front. I've only nursed him 3 times this week. The first few days were a bit of a battle, but this morning he didn't make any indication of wanting to nurse, so I'm starting to have hope that he may actually be weaned before he is 7!!!

I discovered a great parenting tip this week. You can easily remove crayon markings on the wall with toothpaste! Who knew?!! I'm beginning to realize that for all the amazing, wonderful things a child learns, the parent is always learning something new, too.