for the love of cars

My boy has a love of cars. The older boy. The young boy so far only has a love of familiar faces, warm baths, and milk.

Back to the older boy and his love of cars. We encouraged it for sure by watching the UK version of Top Gear while Buzz played nearby on his road map rug with his giant collection of tiny cars. We buy him said cars when we are on shopping trips. For $1 and change he is thrilled, we talk about the colour, make, model, and year. This generally provides us with a long conversation (by three year old standards at least). 

Much to our delight Buzz started to recognize cars while we were out and about. Chevrolet, Mercedes,Honda, BMW, car after car he will name them, our version of the billboard alphabet game.

When asked about his favourite car he might tell you Lamborghini, but when asked what he will drive when he gets big, the answer most definitely is a Toyota. My whole family drives Toyotas and so this practical decision is quite likely in his genes. He would probably choose a red Prius just like the little one he often carries in his pocket.

If you look at pictures of Buzz you are likely to see a car in his hand or beside him on the floor, he has one with him at all times. I find them everywhere. The diaper bag, underfoot, the stroller, the car, in my bed, in Buzz's bed, in kitchen cupboards and for certain in the bathtub, they are everywhere lest he need one at a moments notice.

We can't  wait to take him to the car show next year, his eyes will be as big as saucers. My hometown is home to a great many classic cars, some of which are brought out to be shown along the roadside once a year. We were unable to go to see them this year, but when next we go and he is able to see his teeny muscle cars in life size greatness he will likely be thrilled.

While children often go through stages of things they like, their interests changing on a whim, our sons' appreciation for cars has been here since before he could speak. I suspect this interest will stick around for a while.

I bet  his dreams are filled with cars (and hopefully rainbows and unicorns too), he does after all go to sleep surrounded by them. I love that he is so enamored with them, it is endearing and of course endlessly entertaining on road trips.

Pregnancy, a Birthday, and the Arrival of Tulips

Well here I am, I am currently 35 weeks pregnant and just as our spring/summer is getting into gear I am slowing down dramatically. My energy level is doing just fine (thanks to the iron I started taking last week),however I am now an incredibly slow walker. I now take the stroller with me places simply so that I have something to push ahead of me to keep my forward momentum going. The stroller also comes in handy when Buzz decides he does not want to go in the same direction that I do, I can no longer pick him up and carry him down the street so he goes in the stroller despite his protests.

We celebrated Buzz's birthday last month by going on a train ride at his request, a perfect outing for my transit obsessed son. We hopped on the Go Train and rode it out to a park on the water where we had a picnic complete with mason jar birthday cakes, it was a very wonderful day. 

Buzz has recently shot up in height and he is enjoying it with every inch of his independent three year old self. He no longer has to stretch to reach the buttons at the crosswalk, and much to his delight he can now see over some store counters. He is becoming more curious and increasingly confident and as sad as it is to watch the baby in him slip away, watching the child in him become more prominent is wonderful. Perhaps Buzz's great moments this month was that he discovered that swings are not as scary as he thought they were. Previously he was terrified of them, not wanting to go anywhere near the swings, however now we can't keep him away, he giggles with the thrill of it all whenever he goes on them.

We have also been working away at the garden, much to Buzz's delight. He now has his own garden tools courtesy of his grandparents, and is anxious to plant seeds. He took a moment this evening to explain to me that the rain comes down and the seeds grow up, I love that he has some understanding of the process. This weekend we plan to plant potatoes and may plant carrots and beets. Our rhubarb has grown so much it is remarkable and the peas that we planted earlier are doing well. Buzz was most excited about the tulips that came up in the garden, we cut one and he carried it around in a coke bottle for the better part of a day, I even caught him giving it a kiss. It is amazing to see how much wonder and appreciation he has for the garden. Below is a picture of Buzz digging in the dirt near his beloved tulips.

As we get closer to the arrival of our newest family member there seems to be more and more that we need to do and also more and more that we want to do. Trying to find a balance between cleaning and organizing, and enjoying the spring is challenging but with any luck we will manage to be ready for the baby when he gets here. Our main goals are to get our home organized with a space for the baby's crib and swing and to  have the garden as completely planted as it can be before our little ones arrival. We also need to create a shady space at the garden so that we can spend time there with the baby. It seems that our summer will be full of excitement!

What I Love Wednesday

Hey...its Wednesday. What do I love? Hmm....... I've got it! I love when Ed tosses Buzz in the air (and catches him of course). Buzz giggles, Ed smiles, and for a moment a tiny piece of the world becomes a better place.

There is nothing better then having friends over for the day, so today that is exactly what we did. Today J and his mama M came over and we had a great time. The boys did some serious playing, we walked to the garden, and then came back to our place for some pizza and hello dollies. Buzz had a great time, and despite looking incredibly tired after J and M left, he wouldn't fall asleep for a nap. These no-nap days can be difficult to handle, he is only 2 and its a little early for him to not be sleeping in the afternoon. By the time 3pm rolls around we are both ready for a break. To keep him busy while slowing him down a little I opted to break out some craft supplies today. Sparkly glue was a huge hit with Buzz, I'm definitely going to have to get some more.

 Luckily all of this crafting really wore Buzz out and he is currently napping in his room. We'll have to cut this nap short so that we can go and weed the garden tonight, but any nap is a good nap.