Harvesting Kale: October 2011

Kale's smile

I'm happy to report that in the last month Kale's on demand smile has gone from this:

To this:

Phew.

Kale has always been an adventurous eater - he'll eat anything we put in front of him. We eat a lot of spicy food around here (think Mexican and Indian) and Kale doesn't bat an eye at any of it. He just eats it. And eats. And eats and eats and eats.

However, we didn't realize just how good of an eater he is until he started Montessori in September.

You see, the last thing we do before we leave in the morning is eat breakfast (normally at 7:45am). Kale usually eats an egg, fruit, half an avocado and some cheese. Then on the way to school (8am-8:15am) he eats a snack. This is normally used to distract him while trying to get him buckled into the car seat. Once at school, he has a mid-morning snack (around 10am) and then eats a full lunch before I pick him up at noon. So to recap, between 7:45am and 12pm Kale eats a big breakfast, two snacks and a big lunch.

For the first few weeks after Kale started school I would pick him up and the teachers would comment on how well he ate at lunch. After awhile I actually got a bit annoyed. Every single day the teachers would tell me "Kale ate really well at lunch today!" I started to think it was just something they said. A kind of offhand comment that would please the parent.

Then one day he had a substitute teacher and when I picked Kale up she spent a good ten minutes telling me how impressed she was with how much Kale ate at lunch.

After about a month, the teachers started posting a quick written recap of the kids day. All the kids names are listed on a piece of paper and then there is a column to write comments about diaper changes, snack, lunch and then overall comments.

Every day I look at the snack and lunch column and see "ate well" or "didn't eat too much" beside the other kids names. Every single day it says "ate very well" beside Kale's name. In general comments it usually says something like "Kale LOVED lunch today."

One day a couple weeks ago the school called me to let me know that Kale was running a fever. When I arrived to pick him up, his teacher told me that despite having a fever of 102, she had no idea that he wasn't feeling well because he was acting completely normal. But when it was time for lunch, he didn't eat much. She said she knew right away that something was wrong and took his temperature.

Yesterday I picked Kale up and before I went in his class I peeked through the window. There was Kale, sitting at a table by himself eating. All the other kids had finished and were off playing. One of his teachers was sweeping around him while Kale continued to eat, oblivious to those around him. I waited five minutes and then came in. Kale looked over at me, smiled - and then continued to eat.

If it wasn't for the fact that he spends hours in the evening running laps around the house, I'm sure this kid would be 100lbs. by now.

good words/bad words

It seems like every day or two Kale attempts a new word. Most of them are still pretty unintelligible for people that don't spend a lot of time with him, but there have been two very clear words that he's recently added to his vocabulary. One makes my heart melt and the other makes my heart drop. Shall we start with the good?

"mo?" aka "more?"

Depending on how much he wants "mo" of something, "mo" sometimes does come out as "mor" (starts the r sound, but doesn't really finish it). It always comes out as a question and it's almost always related to food. Example: he finishes his plate at dinner, picks it up, puts his head to one side and asks "mo?" *heart melts*

This is by far my favourite word that he's learned. Even more than "mama" (probably because I hear "mama? mama? MAMA?? MAMAMAMAMA????!!!! at least four thousand times a day). But the best? THE BEST? When he's nursing and I unlatch him (he would stay there all day otherwise) and I say "all done, Kale" and he looks up at me with those giant blue eyes and says "mo?"

And how are you supposed to say no to this face?

no.

Kris and I are so, so careful with this word because it's not one we wanted to him pick up early on. We explain things. We say "I can't let you do that because...." We say "Kale, that's probably a bad idea because...." And when we glance over and see he's about to yank the cats tail and have 0.5 seconds, we shout "Kale!" instead of "no!"

Then he started school. Then he turned 17 months and started to get a mind of his own.
And that's when he started saying "no."

The first time he said it, I just about fell over. When I ask him if he wants to do something (i.e. brush his teeth), he looks at me, puts his hands behind his back, leans over at the waist toward me and says "noooo" and then stomps away.

Sometimes we really have to struggle not to giggle at him. Because sometimes, when everyone is in a good mood and patience is abound, "noooo" and his little attitude are actually really cute. But sometimes? Sometimes it makes me clench my jaw and draw my breath. I have to stop myself from saying "what did you just say to me?" (because, really, he'll just repeat "noooo").

But honestly, 17 months and just learning "no?" I think that we did pretty good at getting this far.

brothers from (very) different mothers.

After witnessing me give birth to Kale, our cat Bubbie has never treated me the same. I'm convinced that he's misinterpreted the whole experience and believes that he saw me at my weakest (when it was actually my strongest). As a result, he's lost all respect for me and treats me as an inferior species. This means I'm vulnerable to random attacks by a furry tyrant. Sometimes they come in the middle of the night when I'm walking to the washroom. Other times they're in the middle of the day when I'm lounging peacefully on the couch. They're always unprovoked. Example: yesterday I was walking down the hallway when Bubbie jumped from midway down the stairs and flew over the banister in an attempt to take me down. It was easily a five foot drop. He didn't care. He has no fear of humans.

Or so it appears.

Because if there is one person that makes Bub Bub nervous, it's the other mini tyrant that lives here. Kale LOVES that cat. As soon as Kale rolls out of bed he yells "Bub bub?" and goes full speed into the hallway to find him. Same thing when we come home. Whether we're gone 2 days or 2 minutes, Bub Bub is the first thing Kale thinks about when he opens that door.

Unfortunately, the feeling is not mutual. Eighty percent of the time, Bub Bub wants nothing to do with Kale. He gets nervous when he sees Kale heading for him and runs. If he's not fast enough, he's not afraid to give Kale a swat or two to tell him what's up. However, the other twenty percent of the time Bub Bub appears to show signs of kindness and patience with Kale. He does this by freezing in one spot and allowing Kale to maul him with hugs and kisses. Trust me, it's more love than anyone else around here gets from that cat....

And now I share with you a dozen photo's to demonstrate the evolution of their love.....


2 months. After Kale was born, Bub Bub went into hiding. This may be the first time that the two were actually in the same room. Seriously.

4 months. Kale makes contact for the first time.

7 months. A passed out Kale is decidedly less frightening. Bub Bub snuggles in for a nap. (THEY'RE HOLDING HANDS!)

9 months. Kale cannot decide on a best friend: the toothbrush or Bub Bub?

12 months. Kale discovers the way into Bub Bub's heart is through food. Particularly yogurt.

12 months. Now that Kale provides Bub Bub with yogurt, Bub Bub allows him to hug him for 4-5 seconds per day.

14 months. Yogurt still does the trick.

Does this picture really require a caption? I highly recommend enlarging it to get a better look at the love on Kale's face.

Yesterday. 17 months. Nap buddies.

And so I'll take the random attacks and a deteriorating relationship with my cat if it means these two get to be friends. It's clear that Bub Bub only has so much room in his heart and tolerance for humans. The things we give up for our kids.

guest blogging

I am all kinds of late on posting this, but today I am guest blogging over at Adventures of an Infertile Nanny about babywearing! You should come and say hello and check out Molly's blog!

17 months.

What Kale loves.

School. Kale absolutely loves his montessori school. In the morning I ask him if he wants to go to school and he smiles so big and nods his head really fast. Then he runs to get his shoes and jacket and stands by the door. When we get to school, he runs inside and only sometimes am I lucky enough to get a hug and a kiss before he tells me "buh-bye!" I love to arrive a few minutes early to pick him up and watch him through the little window in the classroom door. He's usually playing with the toy barn and animals, curled up reading, or helping the teachers clean up after lunch. He absolutely adores the two teachers and always has a big hug for them when we arrive and before we leave. We could not be happier with the school and are so, so happy that he's enjoying it.
Helping. I'm pretty lucky to have such an amazing little helper. Kale absolutely loves being involved in whatever I'm doing and giving me a hand with all the little things. At mealtimes, he will help get his chair ready, carry his dishes to the kitchen, empty leftovers into the trash, wipe down his highchair tray and the floor around it, and wash and dry his hands. At bedtime, he helps by putting his clothes in the laundry, picking out his pj's (we've had some great bedtime outfits this past week), getting a clean diaper, getting his nightlight ready and turning out the lights. Whenever I want Kale to do something, I just ask him "Kale, will you help mama...." and he happily obliges. Yes, I'm soaking it up because, yes, I realize it's not going to last.

Slides. Kale loves to watch his toys go down the slide at the park, particularly his trucks. He carries them up and then pushes them down and then bursts into a fit of giggles. Last weekend we ended up buying a second hand toddler slide to put in the basement so we wouldn't have to break up his love affair with the slide as the weather gets cooler.
Running hot laps. This is what we call it when Kale starts running laps through the living room, dining room and kitchen. He will run 5 or 6 laps without stopping - just burning off toddler energy. Of course, he loves it more when we run hot laps with him and chase him!
Being naked. Normally by the end of the day, Kale edges closer and closer to meltdown territory. After a busy morning at school, he doesn't nap nearly long enough before starting a busy afternoon with his Nana. Then Kris and I come home, try to get dinner on the table, play with Kale, and clean the house and so by 7pm Kale is starting to fall apart. Nothing cheers him up faster than taking all his clothes off and letting him run around naked. And yes, he literally just runs around. Naked. And he loves it.

Bike rides. A few times this month Kale was waiting at the door with his helmet when Kris got home. Kris barely had time to get out of his work clothes before jumping on his bike with Kale and taking a ride. We ended up hiding his helmet so he doesn't think about it as often. Not that we don't like taking him for rides, but when it's raining and hovering near the freezing mark and you just want to eat dinner - going for a bike ride doesn't exactly make it to the top of list of things you feel like doing.

What Kale hates.

Honestly, there really isn't much to put here this month. Kale is a pretty typical toddler - he hates things when he doesn't feel like doing them, but can love the same thing when he's in the right mood. We try and be patient and wait for him to finish doing what he's focused on before getting him to do something else (like getting dressed). And yes, it still hates being constrained and going for long car rides, but we've long since accepted this.

Things to celebrate/milestones/big events:

Learning to smile for the camera

Visiting the pumpkin patch

Going with mama and papa to his THIRD election

Adjusting to school
A zillion new teeth (I honestly don't know how many are in there anymore. He doesn't let me get a good look, but I know for sure that there are 8 on the bottom and 6 on the top).

According to Kale.

About a week ago I didn't think that I would have anything to add here. Kale hadn't introduced any new words to his vocabulary, but was still really, really good at communicating by pointing or showing us what he wanted. He's also understands so, so much. It always just blows me away at how smart he is. Then this past week he had a small word explosion and started staying the following:

Water. Sounds more like "waw-ler." In fact, it's unlikely that anyone that doesn't spend much time with him would understand, but he says it with intent and so we hear it.
More. Sounds like "moa(r)" (quiet on the 'r').
Hat and hot. They sound very similar, but he says each with intent and in the right context.
Laundry. Sounds like "lau-ee." This is the result of us repeatedly asking him "can you help put this in the laundry?" after we take each piece of clothing off him.
Banana. Sounds like "nana." He was saying nana last month (to refer to his actual nana), but now also says it when pointing at a banana. This means he eats a lot of bananas because I don't know if he actually wants one or is just practicing his new word!

Some of my favourite pictures from the past month:

this week I cooked.

Since Kale was born there are a few things we've given up (i.e. our sanity), a few things we've had to let go (i.e. furniture with sharp corners), and a few things that have been ripped away from us by a tiny tyrant (i.e. a hot shower that lasts more than 3 minutes without someone peeking around the curtain and demanding "up!up!up!"). And then there's the things I swore I wouldn't give up on that have slowly been slipping from my grasp - i.e. cooking.

I really do enjoy cooking, but it's become increasingly difficult to put a meal together. Kris and I both usually get home from work around 5pm. Kris then disappears into the bathroom for an hour while I attempt to nurse Kale/start dinner/process my day/get my work clothes off and catch up on my twitter feed. I like to think that Kris is in the bathroom plotting out a way to turn the shower into a time machine that will make us millionaire's and allow us to revisit Kale as a sweet baby when he becomes a hormonal teenager and can't stand us. In reality, I know he's catching up on his twitter feed too.

So in the past couple of months I found myself cooking less and microwaving/heating/bbqing more. Our grocery bill was growing, but I justified the extra cost because dinner was easier. We were eating a lot of brown rice/meat/steamed veggie combo's. Healthy, but BORING. Oh, so boring.

After a few weeks of this, I couldn't take it anymore. I went back to menu planning and our weekly grocery bill went way down. And so - in my usual style of giving a long (and probably unnecessary) introduction to the whole purpose of this post....

This week I cooked.

Sunday: Chicken with tomato herb pan sauce, roasted cauliflower and brown rice.