Snow Dragons

Life with Liam becomes more and more interesting as he can communicate more and more things.  And now, it is getting to be even more interesting as he is starting to develop what we can only assume is a very vivid and creative imagination.

Right now, it is Snow Dragons.  What is a snow dragon, you ask?  That's exactly what we wanted to know!

Liam has been talking about Snow Dragons for a week now and we have asked everyone he has been in contact with recently if they know what a Snow Dragon is and no one has a clue.  The incredible thing is the amount of detail he has come up with about these creatures that he has imagined.  

Through countless conversations with Liam about these creatures, this is what we have learned, all quotes from the expert:

What do snow dragons look like?

"Like dragons but snow dragons are white.  They have big wings and they fly far and fast. They roar like a dinosaur."

Where do they come from?

"They come from the sky, but not this sky, a different sky."

Where do they live?

"They live in caves."

Do they have friends?

"Yes."

Are their friends people?

"Yes, girls, I think."

Are they big or little?

"They are big, but sometimes little.  The big ones have little ones."

What do snow dragons eat?

"Sometimes bugs because snow dragons don't like bugs.  Snow dragons don't like juice.  They drink water."

On Wednesday morning, when we woke up to the first snow of the year, we learned more about the mysterious creature.

"Liam, it snowed last night."

"Did the snow dragons come?"

"I don't know, why?"

"Snow dragons bring the snow.  They come with the snow clouds.  And they play in the snow."

On Friday when the snow was all melted, this is what he told me.

"The snow is gone.  It melted into water.  But it's OK because the snow dragons will come back and bring more another day."

I have no idea where this sudden surge in imagination came from, but I love it and I hope that it continues!  

Conversations with Liam

It really doesn't seem like that long ago that Liam's only word was "Ada" for Daddy.  But a lot has changed.  Since he moved to the preschool aged program at daycare this summer, his language has exploded.  And although I miss the toddler talk days when I was "Nonny" instead of Mommy and before bed he said "Lu Lue" for I love you, it is so much fun and (often funny) to have real conversations with my boy!

Some of these conversation just need to be recorded forever!!

While driving in the truck . . . 

Liam: "Mommy, what is this road called?"

Me: "Prince of Wales Drive."

Liam: "Is the prince of wales a whale?"

While out with Grandma on Remembrance Day . . . 

Liam: "Gabba, what's that?" (pointing to her poppy)

Grandma: "It's a poppy."

Liam: "Why?"

Grandma: "Because it is Remembrance Day.  It's to honour all the men and women who were in the wars.

Liam: "And the Dinosaurs?"

At bedtime . . . 

Liam: "I love my blankie.  Where did you buy it?"

Me: "Your Grandma L made it for you."

Liam: "Why?"

Me: "Because you were a little baby and needed a blankie to sleep with.  She made two, one for your bed at home and one for daycare."

Liam: "I don't have a blankie to sleep with at preschool anymore."

Me: "Why not?"

Liam: "It's broken." (looking very sad and disappointed)

Me: "What do you mean it's broken?"

Liam: "I don't know.  It's just broken."

Me: "What happened to it?"

Liam: "Sometimes blankies just break." (getting sadder with every word)

Me: "Do you want mommy to talk to Terri tomorrow and find out why your blankie is broken?"

Liam: "Yes.  And dragon too."  (dragon is his sleep toy)

Me: "OK, I will talk to Terri in the morning."

Liam: "Thank you Mommy." (big smile and hug)

**I did talk to Terri the next morning at drop off, Liam's blankie and dragon are both completely fine and he sleeps with both every day.  I have no idea where this conversation came from, but it was cute!

In the bath . . . (This one may get me some spam comments, but it is too funny not to share!)

Liam: making a funny groaning noise

Me: "What are you doing?"

Liam: "Just this." (he was holding his penis up and poking his testicles.

Me: "Why are you doing that?"

Liam: "Because.  Mommy, what is this?"

Me: "Umm, your testicles."

Liam: "I don't like it, please take it off, mommy."

Me: "Pardon?"

Liam: "I don't like it.  Please take it off."

Me: "I can't take it off, it is part of you."

Liam: "Why?"

Me: "It just is."

Liam: Silently continues to explore, then after a minute looks at me.  "Mommy, I think it's just dry skin. I think it will go away by itself."

Stay tuned for more Conversations with Liam as I am sure that there will be many more that I just have to share!

Trick or Treat!!

Liam had been talking non stop about Halloween for days leading up to October 31.  It seemed as though he actually got the concept this year.  He wanted to be a dinosaur, we found a costume at Value Village, it was a little on the small side, but Grandma altered it so that it would fit nicely. We were all set.  About a week before Halloween, he even insisted that we decorate!  He enjoyed helping Daddy carve a jack-o-lantern.

Pumpkin Carving Time!

The day before Halloween, we tried on the costume to decide what clothes he would wear under it and a melt down happened.  He didn't want to wear his dinosaur costume.  He thought it was too small.  Monday morning, as we left the house to go to daycare, he freaked out when he saw the costume.  He said he wasn't going to wear and told me to leave it at home.

I wasn't sure what Halloween night would bring.  Would we actually go trick or treating?  Or would we stay home with an upset little boy.

Fortunately, when we got to daycare, he was happy to put his costume on.  He wore it all day.  He came home excited to go trick or treating.  And insisting that Mommy dress up too!

I'm a dinosaur!  Roar!!

Mommy is a witch!

We set out, going to Gabba's house first.  Where he insisted that Grandma coming trick or treating with us!  And then we were off, to what I expect would be a few houses, maybe out for half an hour or so.

Trick or Treat

Let's go to people's houses!

But we kept going and going and going.  Our little dinosaur was a very good little trick or treater, knocking on doors, saying Trick or Treat, saying Thank you and Happy Halloween and giving lots of dino roars!

After each house, he asked to go to another house and another and another.  We finally had to stop him after an hour when he was literally getting too tired to walk.  And fortunately too tired to protest!

Let's go to another house!  I want to go to that one!

The best conversation of the night was at our final stop was at the Marlborough Pub.  It is a favourite place for all of us to eat.  The staff have been making a big deal over Liam since he was a newborn.  

The conversation went like this.

Waitress: "You are such a cute dinosaur.  I have a chocolate bar for you."

Liam: "I don't like chocolate."

Waitress: (jokingly) "Well, would you like a french fry instead?"

Liam: "Yes please!"

Waitress: "Here you go." Handing him a Mars bar.

Liam: "Is this like a french fry?"

Waitress: "Sure."

When we got home, Liam was still holding the Mars bar and talking about it being like a french fry.  So, we opened it up and let him try it.  Ever since, every time he sees a Mars bar, he recognizes it as being "like a french fry".  And the boy, who really didn't like chocolate, now likes Mars bars!

Checking out the loot after a fun night of trick or treating.

Since Monday, Liam has been asking if Halloween is over.  And making me promise that it will come back next year.

Halloween And Allan's Candy

A few weeks ago when the Halloween decorations started appearing in stores, I asked Liam what he wanted to be for Halloween.  I expected that at almost 3 years old, he would have an opinion this year.  The conversation when like this.

Me: "Liam, what do you want to be for Halloween this year?"

Liam: "Yes, Mommy." (This is his standard answer for when he doesn't understand the question.)

Me: "What do you want to dress up as for Halloween?"

Liam: "A shirt."

Me: "You want to be a shirt for Halloween?"

Liam: "I want to wear a shirt.  I just need to wear a shirt."

Clearly, at that point, he did not understand the concept of Halloween!

Now, however, he does.  He decided not long ago that he wanted to be a dinosaur.  He is thrilled with the dinosaur costume that we found him and has been practicing his dinosaur growl and asking daily when he gets to wear it.

Because this is the first year that Liam even remotely understands Halloween and because we live in the country and in 9 years have never had a single trick or treater come to the door, we don't really have any Halloween traditions yet.  Unless buying candy "just in case some one comes" and eating it all ourselves counts as a tradition?  I am however looking forward to creating some fun filled family Halloween traditions.  

Last year, we visited a local pumpkin patch, which I think was probably the beginning of an annual tradition.  We enjoyed a wagon ride and explored the pumpkin patch.  This year, given Liam's current obsession with corn fields I expect we will also be making our way through the corn maze.

I expect that this year will also see Liam and Daddy carving a pumpkin or two together, which will, after Halloween be cooked into their favourite dessert, pumpkin pie.

Regardless of your choice of Halloween traditions, it is impossible to celebrate the holiday without CANDY!!!!  This year, Allan's is helping us in the candy department.

With Allan's you are getting Canadian made candy from a company that is celebrating it's 77th year in business.  Everyone who enjoys candy has at one time or another tried Allan's iconic Big Foot candy that has been teasing our taste buds for more than 25 years!

Allan's has three types of individually wrapped, peanut free candy mixes that are available for Halloween.  Allan's Intense Jubes and Jellies, Allan's Chewy Rascalz, Allan's Fruit Buddies all of which you can find at Walmart, Loblaws and other key retailers.

We have all been sampling some of these Allan's Halloween candies and I can say that if you are a lover of candy, you won't be disappointed in these treats.  Keep them hidden if you want any to be left on Halloween night!

Disclosure - I am participating in the Allan Candy Company program by Mom Central Canada.  I received compensation for my participation in this campaign.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

Seventh Generation Diaper Donation Program

As you will recall, I recently posted about being given the opportunity to try out some Seventh Generation products. 

 I signed up for this blog tour for a few reasons, I try to use environmentally friendly products when possible and as I have tried some in the past that have been anything but useful, particularly when it comes to diapers.  But one of the big reasons was to be a part of the Seventh Generation Buy One Give One Campaign.  For every package of diapers purchased in October, Seventh Generation will donate one package to a woman's shelter in Canada.  

I was given 4 packages of diapers from Seventh Generation to donate to a shelter of my choice as part of the campaign.  It is a wonderful feeling to be able to give these diapers to the local food bank as there are far too many families in our area who can't afford the basics for their children.

You can help too, all you have to do is purchase a package of Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers and know that another package will be going to a mom in need somewhere in Canada.

Thank you Seventh Generation and Mom Central Canada for giving me the opportunity to participate in this wonderful donation program.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Seventh Generation program by Mom Central Canada.  I received compensation as a thank you for my participation.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

Baby And You - Online Community on Facebook

As a mom, I am always excited about places where I can talk about my son and I know that most other moms are the same.  And as an avid Facebook user, I was happy to discover Baby and You, a family-friendly page created by Loblaws where moms and dads can come chat about their kids.

You can ask questions, answer questions, look at current fliers, find the closest Loblaws Company store to you, have access to exclusive saving and even participate in contests.  They are currently running a contest that will give away $500 worth of Joe Fresh gift cards!  And who doesn't love Joe Fresh fashions for the whole family?  I know I do!

Head on over to Baby and You and share with everyone what your Thanksgiving weekend will look like or what your kids are wearing to the festivities this weekend.  See you there!

“Disclosure – I am participating in the Baby and You program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Loblaw Companies. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Club Foot Update

**Note** Liam was born with a club foot and has been dealing with treatments since he was 6 days old. First was a series of six casts over six weeks, then a tendon elongation followed by a final cast for 3 weeks. Then came the really fun stuff . . . Denis Brown boots and bar . . . Liam had to wear these shoes 23 hours a day for 3 months and now continues to wear them at night.

Last week, Liam had his annual appointment with his orthopedist, Dr. Jarvis, at CHEO to have his club foot checked.  And we can finally say that the end of treatment is in sight.

At the end of February after: 2 months of casts, a tendon elongation procedure, 3 months of wearing his Denis Brown boots and bar for 23 hours a day and 2 years and 9 months of wearing them every night, Liam will be finished with his "sleepy shoes".

He will still need follow up appointments at CHEO to make sure his foot stays straight as he continues to grow.  We will still have to watch him as he plays to ensure that he is sitting on his bottom, not on his knees.  But other than that, everything looks good.  Dr. Jarvis was very happy with the progress Liam has made and so are we.

When we watch our little boy run around and play it is hard to believe that there was ever a problem, a problem that caused us so much concern, a problem that we have dealt with every day of Liam's life.  

In five months, the "sleepy shoes" will be a memory in the closet to show him when he is older.  We will no longer have that daily reminder of how scared we were when they told us, at just minutes old that there was something wrong with his foot.

Tonight, as I took Liam upstairs and lay him in his crib, he looked at me and said, "I need my sleep shoes because it is bedtime."  I look forward to the night when I can finally tell him that he doesn't need to wear them anymore.