19 Months!

Truman yesterday insisted on wearing a clip in his hair (like mommy does). He had a little fit each time I tried to take it away from him and I tried explaining to him that only girl's wear hair clips. Luckily I managed to distract him before we went out, but I did capture a picture of it.

Today we went to our first gymnastics class - which basically entails children running around and playing on all sorts of equipment. I was beat by the end of the class and just about ready for a nap. Truman seemed to enjoy it, especially music time, where they sang three versions of the itsy bitsy spider (which is Truman's favourite song these days). Jerry actually has been singing it to Truman over the phone. Below, is a picture of him doing the actions to the song.

Only 3 more days until Jerry comes home.....it can't come soon enough!

Truman's New Seat

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Truman refuses to have anything to do with his highchair. I think it has a lot to do with the fact at day care, he sits at a little table with his friends. At home, he doesn't understand why he can't sit at the dinner table with me. The high chair has not been used for days. This evening I propped Truman up on a pillow so that he could actually reach his food.

Truman's new favourite place to sit is on the little garbage can in the bathroom. He likes to squeeze between the sink and the toilet and just sit. He never sits for very long, but does it whenever he has the chance.

You may have noticed in many of the recent pictures on the blog that Truman often has his soother in his mouth. Too often for me, but it is like he can't function without it. Funny enough, he never has it at day care not even to nap! So, once Jerry returns (because honestly, I don't have the strength to do it right now) we are reducing the usage time of Truman's soother. I am sure there is going to be a lot of complaining in our future.

Happy Easter!

Truman and I headed to my parent's house yesterday so that we could spend the rest of the weekend with Nanny and Oopa. Truman was so excited to see Morrie and I think Morrie too was excited to see us.

Earlier today Alexis and Alison came over for a little play date. Both Truman and Alexis did a great job of sharing their food and toys. I didn't hear "mine" too many times.

Here is a picture of Truman working diligently on the computer this morning before he started his Easter Egg Hunt.

Tina, Pat and Misty joined us at my parent's this afternoon for a feast. I think that I am still full from the meal. Truman had fun playing with both his aunts, and his uncle Pat. He had Oopa and Nanny take him up and down the stairs a few times, which I think tired them out!

Truman has seemed to have lost his appetite a little this weekend and has been napping quite a bit. He had two naps this weekend that were over 3 hours in length. Very unusual for our usually active fellow. Hopefully nothing is bothering him and he's only going through a growth spurt. Not that I should be complaining....it has been giving me a lot of time to myself.

Only 1o more days until Jerry is home!

Mine!!

Truman learned a new word this week...."mine". Now, everything is "mine". I guess the positive thing here is that he hasn't said "NO" in awhile. I'm sure that he picked up this word from another child at day care. Why couldn't he have picked up a nicer word???

Truman now likes to sit at the dinner table and wants nothing to do with his high chair. This game never lasts long because my little one refuses to sit still, then Mommy loses patience, he gets popped in his high chair, insert tantrum, wait for the calm, and finish dinner.

Life has been hectic over the past week and I am looking forward to the fact that tomorrow is a holiday. It will also be great to have the extra day together. I'm hoping that Truman will sleep in, at least until 7am....please!

Day 2

So far we have survived day one and two without daddy. I have managed to so far stay on top of things. I have been able to drop off Truman at day care earlier than usual (which then means I am on time for work). I have tried to stay organized, preparing for the day ahead. Hopefully this trend will continue. I have to be honest, I was extremely tired tonight after a stressful day at work, then running around when we got home. Only 13 more days until Jerry comes home.....and 15 more days until we leave for Cuba!

Tina and Misty came over last night, which helped me out a lot, not to mention that it is always nice to have company. I have had so many offers from friends and family - offering me babysitting services or for me to drop Truman off if I need a little break. I am so lucky. Even Baba made dinner for Truman for a few evenings to help me out - how truly wonderful! Thank you so much Wanda for dropping the food off!

Auf Wiedersehen Dada

Jerry left tonight for Germany for 2 1/2 weeks. It will be awfully lonely and quiet at home and Truman and I will miss him terribly. I promised Jerry that I would be more diligent in updating the blog - so I am going to try to do so at least every other day. A tall order, since I have been neglecting my duties as of late. Here's a picture of Truman sitting in Jerry's suitcase - he liked helping his father pack (because he loves putting things away, my neat son).

Truman has started to enjoy singing songs - his top three favs, in no particular order are 1) Baa Baa Black Sheep, 2) Old McDonald, and 3) Itsy Bitsy Spider. He will request a particular song and have me sing it over, and over again. Why do children not tire of the repetition?

Jerry and I have also been trying to be strict with "please" and "thank you". Truman generally has it down, but sometime will mix "thank you" with "please". Although his "please" sounds more like "mease"...I'll take it! I am happy as long as he'll have good manners.

Here's a picture of Truman in his big boy chair, well really we just took off the tray to see if he would prefer sitting up at the table. I have been struggling lately in trying to get Truman into his highchair. After a messy dinner, we decided to put the tray back on the chair until Jerry and Morrie return. How do families with toddlers survive without a dog???

18 Months!

Today our little Truman passed two milestones - he turned 18 months and he graduated to the toddler room at school. We are so proud of our little Tdot. He has had a somewhat difficult transition to the toddler room over the past few weeks, but we'll see how Monday goes. Truman will miss his friends Brendon (Baba), Jake (Jake-Jake) and Logan (Lolo), who have formed a little clique (Lolo was only recently allowed to join). I am going to miss all the teachers in Infant Room 1.

Truman's favourite word lately is "NO"....he replies "NO" if I ask him if he wants breakfast, if he wants to get dressed for school, he will even say "NO" if I ask him if he wants to play with his toys! The only thing that he won't say no to is a second cookie. Luckily Truman is learning to be a polite young man and will say both "please" and "thank you". We'll see how long that lasts.

Update

OK, so it has been a long time since I last updated the website. It feels like forever, and I have been so exhausted at night that I can't fathom writing even one line. So, what have we been up to? Well, earlier this month Truman had his surgery to put tubes in his ears. It was a long day for all of us, but I am happy to report that things seem like they have improved, especially in terms of Truman's behaviour, he has definitely been less cranky. We have a follow-up appointment in a few weeks to test his hearing again, and hopefully now he can hear at a more normal level. When we returned home from the hospital the poor thing was so hungry he ate from about 3pm until he went to bed non-stop. The nurse warned me not to feed him too much, but I couldn't deny him, and he ended up being just fine.

Truman, Jerry, Grandpa David and I went to the Auto Show on Sunday. I can't tell you how much Truman enjoyed going into the backseat and trunks of all the cars and trucks. He is going to love cars just as much as his father, or so Jerry hopes. David became even more smitten by Truman at the auto show as Truman said David's name for the first time. All other misdeeds to date have been forgotten. I had the biggest scare of my life however. I had to change Truman in the women's bathroom, and when we were finished, I put Truman down and before I knew it he was running out of the washroom screaming with joy at the top of his lungs. Thank goodness Jerry was there, I have never moved faster in my entire life.

On Tuesday night, Oopa babysat Truman and the entire time Truman sat at the front door whining and calling "Momma". He was so upset that we left, in fact the only thing that calmed Truman down was to sit and sulk in his crib. He didn't even want to watch cartoons, which is one of his favourite past-times these days. I am hoping that this is just a quick stage that he is going through.

Peanut Butter Face

Truman just loves to pose when I bring out the camera. He loves having his picture taken and as you can see, our little one is fairly photogenic! I just had to take these peanut butter pics the other morning.

His personality is in full bloom these days. He loves to talk (although I really think he just likes the sound of his voice). I have noticed a few "shy" episodes when he encounters new people/situations. He has also started hiding on us. One morning this week when we were getting ready I was trying to find Truman so that I could put on his jacket. I looked in his room and couldn't see him, and then heard a giggle coming from the closet. Too cute! He hates when mommy is not in the room and you can hear Tdot scream down the street if I dare to leave the house without him!

We are still having challenges trying to get Truman to eat meat. This afternoon I fed him some soup which had chicken pieces in it. He freaked out, and I had to fish the chicken out with my fingers so that he would stop crying. Although, the previous night, he did eat spicy ground beef that we used for tacos! He is particular I guess.

Truman continues to be neat, today I foud him putting away all his books before we went to our music class. He likes to put "back" all his toys when he is finished with them. He dislikes having snow on his boots and insists on wiping it off. I often find him in the kitchen at day care helping his teachers clean, and they tell me as well, that he enjoys putting the books and toys "back". My little helper.

Fashion Faux Pas

After a few days of not going to daycare Truman was a little stir crazy being at home. He was bored of us and desperately wanted to get out. At one point Truman went to the front closet took out his shoes and jacket. Once I had his jacket on, he refused to take it off and complained at the front door. When I asked him if I could take his jacket off he shook his head no in protest. Jerry and I were so sick we couldn't take him out. Luckily his Oopa and Grandmother came at different times to take him for a walk (and so we could get our much needed rest). Thank you!

Today when I went to pick up Truman from daycare this is what he was wearing. Nice outfit! I especially like the pink flowered pants and no socks. Now, I am not a bad mother, I did leave a change of clothes for him, but he pooped through both sets! Good thing he didn't mind! I had a good chuckle!

I forgot to mention in an earlier blog that we went to the ENT specialist last week and our dear Truman will need to get tubes in his ears. He still has an ear infection, which has lasted now for about 3 months. When he took the hearing test we found out that he can only hear loud sounds. All of this will be cleared up the beginning of February and we should be able to see results instantly. Her only advice until the surgery was for us to speak loudly to Truman so he can continue to pick up new words!

Who's Not Feeling Well?

Tuesday morning I get the call at work....the one from the frantic day care worker asking me to pick up my child as soon as possible because he has been throwing up all morning. Tuesday morning I had some important HR business to attend to, something that was urgent and could not wait. Jerry was expected in court and he too could not leave work. When I finally got to the day care it was close to 11am and for the first time in a long time I felt guilty. I felt guilty for not leaving work sooner to pick up my son. The guilt came to me as I entered the classroom and saw the look on the teacher's faces. Here, is when being a working mom becomes difficult. I am torn between my career and my child. Truman can't go back to school for 48 hours, so finding alternate child care can sometimes be a challenge. Luckily, Jerry took today off to be with him, and I have arranged to be home tomorrow. The only problem now is the illness has passed on to Jerry, and I am sure that I am next. And now I wait to pay my visit to the toilet.

Let me tell you that cleaning up vomit when you have run out of paper towel is not the most enjoyable job, especially when your dog is trying to eat it! Yikes! Truman had never thrown up before, let alone spit up. We have been lucky up until now. I think the poor thing was frightened when it happened. At least we have not had another episode since yesterday evening and he seems almost back to his normal self. I truly felt like a mom yesterday, and was wearing my badge proudly. I even made chicken soup from scratch to which my son turned up his nose.

Here is a cute pic of Truman and his best friend Jake from last weekend. Truman kept trying to pull Jake's thumb out of his mouth so he could give him a kiss. The two of them loved having Ryan pull them around in their makeshift train. Too adorable!

Mischief and Manipulation

Our darling son has been getting into mischief and is very manipulative these days. He loves to get into everything and I have been finding that most of my nights are spent cleaning up after him. Although, truly I don't mind and it is probably why I fall asleep in an instant each night.

Tonight, I found Truman in our Tupperware drawer....he took out every container we own. He thoroughly enjoyed stacking the containers, putting one inside the other, oh and his favourite....chucking the pieces across the room. Now I had no excuses for organizing the cupboard this evening (Jerry has been asking me for the past few weeks).

Now on to the manipulation. Truman now loves to take my hand, or Jerry's hand and lead us to where he wants to go...whether it is downstairs to play, or to go to the next room. Today, when I picked Truman up from day care, he took my hand, his teacher's hand and lead us out of the classroom, up the ramp and to the front door. This evening, when we got home, Truman was hungry, but I had to make his dinner first and tried to distract him by playing with some toys. Truman was at his high chair and determined to eat. He came over to me, put the toy neatly away, put the top back on the toy box, took my hand and lead me to his high chair. How can we not give in to his wants? It's seriously hard.

At day care, Truman is now on "poop patrol". He informs his teacher who has had a "poo poo" and tries to check their diaper to confirm. He will also let us know when he has had a "poo poo" by pointing to his bum and saying the words. Nice! Hmmm...is toilet training in my near future? Yikes...not sure if I am ready!

Mr. Mom

My dear husband spent the last two weeks taking care of our little one. Jerry did a great job entertaining our bundle of energy and my two boys had a lot of fun hanging out together. My only complaint was that I didn't have a gourmet meal or a vodka tonic waiting for me when I got home. But I did have chauffeur service to and from work everyday....beggars can't be choosers.

Jerry and Truman discovered the Ontario Science Centre during the holidays. They enjoyed their trip so much, Jerry bought us a family pass. Truman loved playing in the mini Loblaws and playing in the kitchen. At one point a bigger kid pushed Truman and took his toy and my little guy pushed him right back. Unexpected from our usually sensitive child. Go Truman! I think day care must be paying off!

We have noticed a lot of "Virgo" behaviour from Truman over the last few weeks. One afternoon we took a family walk and some snow got on Truman's boot, he quickly bent over to wipe the snow away. Yesterday we were at my parent's for dinner and Truman insisted on using a coaster for his sippy cup! LOVE IT! Jerry is so very happy that we may have a neat child. Looks as though Morrie and I are the messy ones in the family....OK, I am the only messy one, just me.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I realize that my wishes are coming a little late, but we've had a busy few days and looks like more jammed packed days ahead. Christmas Eve I had the pleasure of working, but my dear husband was such a gem and packed up the car with presents, food, and puppy in tow and picked me up once I was released. We headed to the 'Jax to spend Christmas with my parents. Truman decided to spend Christmas Eve the way any good Topolski would, with a baguette and a bottle of the finest French wine.

So the food gauging began (and to be honest it really hasn't ended). Truman insisted on helping out in the kitchen Christmas Eve. He is already starting to be such a good sous chef.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Truman this Christmas. His face was priceless when he saw his super new wagon from his aunt T, Uncle Pat, and Nanny and Oopa. He could not get enough of climbing in and out of the wagon, pulling it, manipulating it any way possible. Truman then helped all of us open our gifts with delight. He loved ripping the paper and throwing it. By the time we finished unwrapping all our gifts, the little tike was exhausted. Off for a mid-morning nap!

Christmas dinner at my parent's was a feast (of course), with the majority of the cooking being done by my sister. Many thanks for filling our bellies. Yum yum! Truman loved everything except for the turkey, our little vegetarian.

Boxing day we went to Wanda and David's for dinner and were joined by my parents, Pat and Tina. It was so nice to celebrate together, especially since we have such a small family. Truman was adored by his grandmother Wanda and she provided his favourite food for him (pomegranate).

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday Season!

Holiday Fun!

On Thursday evening Jerry, Truman and I met at Yorkdale Mall for dinner and to visit Santa Claus. Dinner went very well and I was surprised to see that Truman ate most of his food, since he has not been eating that well lately. There was a short line up to see Santa and Truman was very patient, however when it was our turn, Truman started screaming as we approached the man in the red suit. He could not get away from Santa fast enough and kept reaching for Jerry to save him. Saturday morning we decided to try again, in hopes that maybe Truman was just a little tired on Thursday night. We arrived early at the mall only to find the longest line up to see Santa. I had a brilliant idea to visit Santa at Bayview Village. When we got the BV, there was not one child in line to see Santa. We decided to approach things differently this time. First Jerry sat down beside Santa and then I tried, but unfortunately there will not be a picture of Truman with Santa this year. On the weekend we headed to the Sullivan's for some Christmas fun. All the children (Truman, Christine, Dash, Ethan, Olivia and Troy) were dressed in their holiday best, well, until the clothes started to come off of a few of the kids. It was cute seeing all the kids play together, especially Ethan and Christine. Here are a few shots of Christine, Ethan and Truman playing in the "store" that Ethan opened up. I love the imagination!

Here's a picture of Dash, what a handsome boy he is. He reminds Jerry and I of our nephew Joachim. I don't think we heard a peep from "little" Troy all night, what a good baby!

Pajama Tima

This weekend we spent most of the time indoors because of the huge snow storm..and since we were not going anywhere, why get dressed? The Topolski family spent most of the weekend in our pajamas! After what had seemed like hours of play, on Sunday, Jerry and I looked at the clock and could not believe that it was only 10:30am....we were not sure what we were going to do with ourselves or Truman for the rest of the day! After Truman's nap, if you can call it a nap, since he slept for a total of 20 minutes, we all headed outdoors to shovel the snow. Cabin fever was setting in. We then braved the roads and headed to the Starkman's for a late afternoon play date. Of course Truman fell asleep and we spent the better part of an hour in the car, in the driveway waiting for Truman to wake up. The boys had a great time chasing one another up and down the hallway, playing with toys, and sharing a lovely meal made by Rebecca.

Busy Times

Between holiday parties, house hunting, birthday celebrations, and ear infections I have been a very negligent blogger. I apologize and will try to be a little more diligent in keeping everyone updated in Truman's life.

On Sunday night we went to Wanda and David's to celebrate Jerry's birthday, which was on Friday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR JERRY!!! Here is a picture of Truman trying his very first latke on Sunday, I think he inhaled it about a minute. On Saturday Truman and I headed out to visit my parents and along with Pat and Tina went out for dinner to celebrate Tina's birthday (which is today). HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT TINA!!

Yesterday, Truman came down with yet another fever and I am sure the result will be another ear infection. Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with our doctor so that she can take another look into his ear. My little Truman is not himself and has slept quite a bit today and insists on being held for most of the time. I can't wait until I get the call for an appointment with the specialist so that we can rule anything else out.

Here's a picture of Truman at the Goodman's Christmas party a few weeks ago. At the party we ate pizza, made gingerbread people, and watched a magic show.

15 Months

On Monday I took Truman for his 15 month check-up (although he turned 15 months on Thursday). Our "little" boy is growing! He now weighs 24.5 lbs and is 80.5 cm in length, which puts him at the 50th percentile for weight and the 70th percentile for height. Perfect! He hasn't been the best eater at home lately, but from what his teachers at day care tell me he loves food, especially bread....definitely a Topolski! Let's see, what is new with Truman? His new favourite thing to do is sit down on a chair, a bench, the couch. He wants to do everything that we do. If I sit down to take off my shoes, he copies me. We went outside this morning to shovel the snow, he wanted to help. It's adorable. Yesterday Jerry and I taught him some new dance moves. Raise the Roof!
What has our weekend looked like? Friday night we had dinner at Wanda and David's house. Truman loves to be at his grandparent's house and has really taken to Wanda. She helped him walk up and down the stairs at least 30 times. Truman had his music class Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon we went to some more open houses (no luck). Saturday night my parents came over to look after Truman while Jerry and I went to my work Christmas party. Truman took his nanny's hand and lead her through the house showing her his room, his books, and his toys. Truman didn't even flinch when we left, I was so relieved!

First Snowfall

Truman discovered snow for the first time as a curious toddler on Thursday. It was still snowing when I picked him up from daycare and when I brought him outside, he looked into the sky and said "Wow! Bubbles!". I explained to Truman, that in fact, it was snow and not bubbles, but he quickly disagreed with me and told me that it was bubbles. Bubbles, is his favourite word, well, it was until this weekend when uh-oh became his most favourite expression. Nonetheless, Truman was fascinated by these white flakes, that to him resemble bubbles.

Thursday was also aunt Misty's birthday - Happy Birthday Misty! Truman, Tina and I had a nice time celebrating together. I can't tell you how delicious the cake was! YUM!

On Saturday, I took Truman outside so that he could actually play in the snow. Truman decided to touch the snow, but I don't think he liked how cold it was on his fingers, but he was still quite curious about it. Saturday late afternoon, we headed to the Starkman's and had a play-date with both Jake and Macayla. Jake and Truman had a great time chasing one another up and down the hallway. It is neat to see the two of them actually interact. Macayla was a sweetheart and it was so nice to see her again, I can't believe it had almost been three months!

This morning we took Truman for bagels and cream cheese (his fav), went for a nice long walk with Morrie and then went to visit Grandma, David, Baba and some of their friends for dinner. It was such a beautiful day and such a relaxing weekend.