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Showing posts from 2008

Christmas Time!

She had a wonderful Christmas! We were at Aunty Amber's and Uncle Andy's house. Her dad is here all week as he doesn't have to work over Christmas. Her Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and also many of our friends. As always, she was constant entertainment. Every morning when she decides she's awake, she pops up and hollers, " dada !?". She heads straight for the door and tries to pry it open with her little fingers. I go open it for her and she toddles to the living room to see who is awake and ready to play. She plays peek-a-boo now. Although, it's not the cover your eyes, say peek-a-boo, and then uncover your eyes peek-a-boo that you're thinking. She'll spot someone from across the room, on the other side of the coffee table, or from around the corner, make eye contact, and then duck back again. Then when she pokes her head out and sees you again, she throws herself on the floor laughing her head off. Sometimes she snorts when she laughs so ha

Blocks! The Best Toy Ever!

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So what does a Holistic Mommy get her toddler for Christmas? A set of unit blocks of course! The ones I bought are the Melissa and Doug 60 piece standard unit blocks: Why blocks? Well because they can become... A pony castle: Or a troll bridge: I have more but they're on my laptop -- which is a nine hour drive away :) If you've got some time here is a great post on unit blocks and what makes them so important. And yes, Molly has had some form of blocks from the point she realized she had hands that could move things... Or, should I say, a nose that could move things...

A Week Of Visiting... and Way Too Much Time Spent In the Airport (Pt. 2)

While waiting at the gate in the airport, Molly took it upon herself to spread a little holiday cheer around to all the travellers and boy did she do a good job. She toddled around giving everyone a high-pitched "hi" and a wave. Not being a shy kid, she would have personally greeted every single person if I let her. You can definitely tell who the baby friendly folks are. They're the ones who, upon seeing a baby charging towards them, light right up and reach their hands out to greet her. You know by the look on their faces that this one moment is going to make their whole entire day; babies are amazing that way. I like to give people their baby fix so I just let her go and quite often she'll end up on a lap or hugging someone's leg. She usually gets to play with a cell phone, purse, glasses and even gets to play the nose-poke game now and then. After said stranger has had their baby fix (and probably going to talk about this cute baby for the rest of the week), w

A Week Of Visiting... and Way Too Much Time Spent In the Airport (Pt. 1)

We are at the end of a week long trip of seeing family and friends. It all started with a cancelled flight... While most people were stressed because their flight got cancelled, I was frazzled at the thought of having to return to the baggage carousel to retrieve my four ginourmous pieces of luggage. I was all by myself -- with a baby. You know those moments when you want to throw yourself down on the floor and cry for your mommy? This was one of those moments. I rented one of those fancy dancy luggage carts. I had to rent one, like a shopping cart, and for no other reason than luck did I happen to have a loonie on me that morning. Otherwise, I definitely would have thrown myself down and cried for my mommy. At the baggage carousel... I snagged the first Westjet employee I could find. I love Westjet employees. They're like Christmas elves, always so happy and willing to help in their colourful, striped shirts. Well, this woman had my bags stacked securely on the cart and me pointe

Mothers: Always Go With Your Gut

One thing I've learned as a mommy is that a mother's instinct is very real. So, when my toddler is cruising around diaperless, as she often does, and I have the sudden sense that I should put her diaper back on immediately, then I should put her diaper back on immediately. If not, then I deserve to pick up the fresh log and pee puddle that now sits on the carpet -- less than 60 seconds after having that thought...

An Eventful Day

She attended her first birthday party today! There were so many kids there -- big kids, little kids, medium sized kids. It felt strange to leave her in the playroom to play with them all but, she fit right in. She did quite well I must say -- as did I. She didn't get trampled nor did she tackle anyone (like she does with our four dogs and with the children at playgroup). I went into the playroom at one point and told the older kids, "if she starts to bother you just holler BABY! and I'll come get her". Well, she tried to take the socks off of one girl's feet and also tried taking their dollhouse for a walk. Other than that, everything was just peachy and they all had a gay old time together. She loved the balloons that were all over the place. She would walk around the house with a balloon three times the size of her head in her mouth; she probably thought the knot was a nipple... Silly baby. I don't know how she could see where she was going. Although,
Molly can: Run - yes I said run! Scribble on paper (and then eat the crayons when she's done) Brush her teeth - sort of Wash her face - sort of Give kisses Open the sliding door to the bathroom and go inside (little booger) Sit at the table at playgroup and eat snack with all the other kids without falling out of her chair Get mad Hold just about any object up to her ear like a telephone and say, "hello" in her high pitched voice Find the armholes in her shirts and the leg holes in her pants and help me get her dressed Point her chubby little toes so I can put her socks on Put on her toque and mitts - sort of Take off her toque and mitts Tear her shirt off like the Hulk if she doesn't want to get dressed right now Stack objects on top of each other Fall back to sleep on her own - sometimes Hold a glass and drink without spilling Drink a Steamer (steamed milk) from a straw at the coffee shop with Grammy Sound like a typewriter when she laughs really hard:

Musical Lids

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Do you remember how fun it was to get into things when you were a little kid? I used to dig through everything . My favorite was the junk drawer in the kitchen. It was full of loose screws, rolls of tape, string, batteries, and loads of other random trinkets. I can still remember the smell -- it stunk. Lately, Molly's been getting into everything and it's been so fun watching her. I especially love the new homes she gives these things she's found. Yesterday I found her sippy cup placed neatly on the ledge by the fireplace. She crawled all the way across the huge living room just to put it there. Today, I watched her put a dishcloth into an empty egg carton and close the lid. At Grammy's house, there are some breakable dishes that she brought back from Mexico. We usually put them up when little Molly's over because we can just imagine the carnage she would create with them. This morning I didn't put them up and sure enough she went for them -- she was so gentle w

How To Go Clothes Shopping With A Toddler

Molly and I just got back from shopping. I am in desperate need of clothes. So desperate, in fact, that I brought my toddler with me. We went to this funky consignment store (anyone who knows me knows I love consignment stores). Anyways, it started off well with her sitting in the stroller and playing with the sleeves of all the sweaters. There were two other women in the store who thought she was just the cutest. They were ooh-ing and aw-ing over her while I flipped through all the jackets and half the sweaters in record time. Then, she let me know that she was done being in the stroller by letting out a good fuss. I took her out and she went and played on a little stool but when she went to grab all the shiny new shoes off the ledge, I scooped her up and we hit the change room. In the change room... I thought she would have a great time in there. There was a mirror, oodles of floor space, and a heat register with a fun nob to play with. But no, she had other things on her mind. She w

Oh Poo

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She woke up the other morning and started to make this hearty laugh. It came all the way from the bottom of her diaphragm; she sounded a lot like an Inuit throat singer. She's been laughing like that ever since. She'll just sit there, in her highchair, on the floor with her toys, while she's digging through the kitchen cupboards and laugh like that. It's pretty funny and definitely not a noise I've ever heard come out of a baby. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Eww , I think I forgot to tell you all about the poo incident. I gave her a bath last week and afterwards put her in her fluffy pink bathrobe (the one she got from our friend Brandi -- thank you Brandi!). Then I put her on the bedroom floor to play ie: push all the buttons on the stereo, pull all my purses out of the drawer, empty the clean diaper basket onto the floor. I went to go and clean up the bathroom and I wasn't even gone for two minutes when

H*** Week Is Almost Over!

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This week consisted of: ~ Me being out-both-ends-sick and not getting out of bed for 36 hours straight ~ Molly getting two teeth the day I was sick (the teething pains are still bothering her -- I actually gave her Tylenol -- GASP!! ~ Me spending three hours in the emergency room finding out that I did not fracture my foot a second time but that my bones are frail ~ Me suffering at least two mental breakdowns (Nina, Sarah, Deb, and Mom...I feel much better now!) ~ Molly getting 'Roseola' -- fevers along with fussiness and extreme neediness followed by rash that spreads all over her body ~ Driving four hours to see Daddy, Aunty, and Uncle -- four hours with a babe takes 7.5 ~ Molly vomiting four times in six hours on Saturday ~ And to top it off, today I saw the doctor and he told me to eat sardines. Sardines!? Yuck! But, they're an excellent source of calcium so I'll eat those little suckers I will. I'll plug my nose and chase them down with a big glass of milk.

I'm Frail :)

There's no fracture but I do have the bones of an old lady... I was told to go see my doc ASAP because I have low bone density and there's not that much calcium in my bones. Hmm, that's kinda bad. OK, that's a lot bad...

Not Again...

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So yesterday at the pool Molly goes to me, "Mommy do something stupid so we can go visit those nice nurses at the emergency room again?" So I said, "sure baby, watch this" as I dove off the wall and into the water... It's only been a couple of months since I got the cast off from when I broke my foot this summer. I haven't been able to go to physio for the past month and my foot is very stiff. I was planning on heading to Vancouver by January and when I finally got a job I would resume my physio there. Well, I guess my stiff foot couldn't handle the force of pushing off the wall and my poor little foot joints buckled under the pressure. I haven't been able to walk on it since. This morning I'm going for an Xray. "Yay!" Says Molly, "we get to go visit the emergency room!"

This Weekend Was A Write-off

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Phew! Thank goodness that weekend's over with! Well, almost. It's been nothing but sickness and teething pains, ugh! I called Grammy nearly in tears Saturday morning, "I barfed three times last night and don't have the energy to change her sh***y diaper!" Yes, I was out-both-ends-sick and our dear little Molly has finally cut her third tooth! I think most toddlers (I can't believe she's a toddler!) have a whole mouthful by now but not her! She got her first two at about eight months old and hasn't got another until now -- she's 13.5 months old. Grammy (my mom for those of you who don't know) spent pretty much all her waking hours this weekend, here, being my rent-a-mom. She fed me and did my laundry and bought me toothpaste too. I, on the other hand, actually spent a full 24 hours in bed. No, I think it was more like 36. I went upstairs last night to have tea with my mom and got so dizzy I barely made it to the couch. Tonight (Sunday nig

Just A Boring Update Today!

We spent the last week in Vancouver. I broke the seven hour drive into two days this time -- very smart idea. We visited everyone we knew along the way and she managed to sleep every leg of the trip! We stayed with family who lived halfway and saw one of her Great Grandma's while we were there. We saw her dad's cousin who, up until this point, we were just email pals :) It was great to finally meet her! On the way back we stopped by her house again. Then, we visited her parents who I had only met once but will definitely be back! And, they happen to be organic farmers so loaded me up with all types of squash, sweet potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, garlic, onions, beets -- the biggest beet I have ever seen -- carrots, grapes (that taste like grape juice), plums, and a huge bag of apples. Holy cow I was so spoiled! We also saw another cousin who has a three year old. We got a cute picture of the two little cousins sitting in a big, big chair together. I also made sure to keep her as clo

Baby's First Steps!

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Guess who's walking now!!!!!!??????????????????????? You bet she is! Yesterday morning Aunty Amber was playing with her and started squealing, "SHE'S WALKING! SHE'S WALKING! SHE'S WALKING!!!" We all ran to gather around and watch her take... 4 steps! They were more like shuffles but, fast forward to today at Great Granny Mac's house and she almost made it across her whole living room! She doesn't even realize that she can walk yet, but once she does... Well, I could always just put her on a leash!

Happy Halloween!

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We had Halloween in the city yesterday! No one seems to trick-or-treat here. Although we're in a very busy neighbourhood, we didn't get a single trick-or-treater. We learned from a friend that the mall was shutting down the stores for an hour and opening only to trick-or-treaters. So, between the hours of 4 and 5 o'clock, the whole kid population of Burnaby, and their families, crammed into the mall and went nuts. It was quite an experience. Although, they should have a rule: 'no manners -- no candy'. Kids were shoving and running they didn't even say, "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" or "thank you". They just ran from one store to the next holding their bag wide open expecting candy. This one little guy we saw, apparently didn't like his candy so he put it back in the bucket and dug around for another one! I commented under my breath, "I'd slap his hand." Apparently it wasn't under my breath after all because the woman ahead of
We are back in Vancouver to spend Halloween with Daddy. I broke the drive up into two days this time -- not like last time where I insisted I get there in a day. That was a stupid, dumb idea that I will never do again. This time, it was wonderful... I left home in the evening and she slept for a good hour. Of course she woke up on the top of a summit (not in a nice cozy town) so I pulled over and she played with the buttons on the dashboard for about 40 minutes. She likes the wipers and hazard lights the best. Since it was dark, I had to make sure the lights where off when cars drove by or else someone would surely think we were needing help. Once she started rubbing her eyes I nursed her, put her back in her carseat and then put the petal to the metal. She slept for the rest of the three hours to our family's house! Then, this morning I left just before her naptime and she slept for an hour and a half -- the time it took us to get to our friend's house. (I would like to point

Some Pictures From the Last Two Months

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Checkin' out the trucks and diggers... Time to do some more baby-proofin'... Fun in the dirt...

Rrree-eeow

She's started having temper-tantrums. She's had four big ones in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, I had to put her in the car seat three different times; she had a cow! She screamed and cried and arched her back and tensed right up and then flipped her little body onto it's side so I couldn't get her arm through the strap. In that case we had to get in the car so I just told her, "I'm sorry you don't want to go in the carseat but we have to go for a car ride." By the third time her tantrum was very short lived. She did it again on the way to Grammy's house today. Now, I just sing to her every time I put her in the carseat, "Ickity-tickity bumblebee, can you say your name for me, daddy, daddy what a very nice name..." and then go through every member of the family. By the end we're on the road and she's back to her chipper little self. It's not just with the carseat and not just with me but also getting in the bathtub, diaper chan

A Sensory Experience

She’s playing in the plant right now. We have a huge planter that’s almost as tall as she is and it’s full of so much dirt. Who needs a sandbox!? She’s grabbing handfuls of dirt and smooshing it in her hands. Now she’s letting it go all over the floor. Ooh how fun, she’s rubbing it all into the floor. Remember the wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish? Well apparently dirt does too. Hardwood floors are good for something; it takes nothing to just sweep up after her. She had a great birthday and I had a relaxing time in Vancouver. We’re going again for Halloween… The drive was something to be desired. 10 hours to get there… Not bad. Two days to get back, ugh! This time we’ll stop halfway and stay overnight with family. It took her about four days to get back on schedule then she came down with a cold. I imagine that had a lot to do with all the craziness of the last week. Haha, her hands are covered in dirt and she’s got it all over her face. Of course she’s eating it; I mean I’ve al
We got through three 1st birthday parties without any sugar! Well maybe a couple of mini marshmallows and some cake and icing when I left little Molly alone with Grammy for less than a minute... Vancouver was great. I had a nice break and little Molly saw her Aunty and Uncle and Poppa and of course Daddy. We realized how much she really loves people; although, my somewhat transient lifestyle has never allowed her the chance to be anything but social. Certain people she is just drawn to from the get go. She just clings to them like she's v elcroed on. She loved her birthday presents, especially the train she got from Daddy. It's this train she can sit on and push with her feet or she can push it from behind. Uncle Andy took her on laps throughout the house screeching around the corners and doing 360's in the kitchen. Little Molly just hung onto the steering wheel and honked the horn the entire way. She is such a darn cute baby. She made two more people want babies this tri

Thanksgiving/Birthday Weekend With the Fam'

It's going to be a fun-filled busy long weekend for little you-know-who ! We are in Vancouver staying with Aunty and Uncle and Daddy's here too! Tomorrow we're celebrating her third 1st birthday party. It looks like Christmas here with all the presents for her. Aunty Amber did a great job finding a delicious sugar- and stuff-that's-not-supposed-to-be-consumed-by-humans-free birthday cake recipe. It is also her 1st Thanksgiving ever. Poppa John (her grandpa) is going to be here on Saturday. Everybody needs to get their time in with little Molly now b/c once Poppa shows up there's no getting her back! Aww, she is one well-loved little girl! I, on the other hand, am having a great vacation... I dumped Molly with Daddy bright and early this morning. I've givin' up my mom-duties 'til Tuesday. She's been out and about with him and she returns every few hours to nurse (or get grounded as I like to think of it!) I've read, went for an adventu

She'll Be Walking In A Week!

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She's going to be walking soon! Today she held onto Aunty Shelby's fingers while she walked a full lap through four long hallways at her office. She stopped for little breaks every now and then to give a friendly hello to Shelby's coworkers. They absolutely love her at Aunty Shelby's office. I first brought Molly there when she was just 2.5 months old. I was in town for a month and would stop by for a visit pretty much everyday. Now, we're back in town (for who knows how long) and go in there a couple of times per week. They're always so excited to see her :) Back then she was so light, she practically lived in my HotSling . Now, with her being a year old and a heck of a lot more weighty, I've had to retire the Hotsling altogether. But, I bought an Ergo carrier which is the greatest thing since sliced bread!
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I haven't put up any pictures in a while because I seem to have misplaced my camera...again. I think it's in the car. Anyways, here's a classic shot of her checking out her new birthday present (thank you Anthony!) in her buttless pants (thank you Aunty Darci!). A little more on the buttless pants -- my sis was teaching in China for five months and was elated to see that babies didn't wear diapers where she was. Instead, whenever they felt the urge they just, well, peed. It didn't matter where, on a crowded bus, in Wal-Mart, on Darci's foot...pee, pee, pee. I forgot to ask, what did they do when they had to poo, Darci? Buttless pants aside, I would just like to remind all you Canadians that the Federal Election is on October 14th :) Tomorrow, October 5, is the last day you can vote by advanced polls. If we can vote for Canadian Idol then we can vote for our Prime Minister! And, if you don't vote, Molly is going to pee on your foot.

"Have You Seen the Band-Aids?"

Molly got into a box of Band-aids I had sitting on my bed. I watched as she took them out one by one and placed them in a not-so-neat pile in front of her. Next, she playfully shoved them back into the box, fistfuls at a time. Then, she used her little pincer grasp to take them out one by one -- again. This time though, she would pick one up and put it over here, pick another up and put it over there... For the grande finale, she tossed each one over the side of the bed and watched as it fell to the floor below her. This has become her morning ritual - she wakes up, rubs her eyes for five minutes straight (so cute!) and then goes straight for her box of Band-aids. Of course, the Early Childhood Educator in me wonders, "what is she getting out of this?" At this age, you'll notice babies will naturally start fitting things into other things. They also like to collect and gather things. I've accumulated many, many baskets from the thrift store and have been putting lots

I'm Baa-aack!

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For those of you who are unaware, I broke my foot earlier this summer and had been in a cast and on crutches for four weeks. That was followed by two weeks in a walking cast and, just two days ago -- seven weeks after the incident -- I finally got to remove the cast altogether! So what happened? Well, I was walking my sisters big fat diabetic chocolate lab, Kola, at the dog park when another dog came out of the bush and was suddenly fact to face with Kola. Kola decided to take down this other dog and the wrestling match began. They tumbled right over to me and Kola's fat ass rammed into my foot. I didn't realize before what a hefty, lean, dog she is and I right away felt my foot bone (OK my fifth metatarsel ) snap. Mmmm . It actually felt (and sounded) like a knuckle cracking. I knew right away that it was a fracture and began the long walk back to my car with baby in her sling. It didn't hurt at first but about half way back it became so painful with every step that I wa

Molly Meets The Bananaphone Man!

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We met Raffi today! My mom is participating in a conference this weekend and Raffi is a keynote speaker. I was with a friend and we happened to walk past where the conference was being held. They were on a lunch break and my mom spotted us from inside. She ran out to stop us and to smother her grandbaby with kisses. She told me, "Raffi is here!" (I told her he was but she didn't believe me). I got maybe a little excited... I started squealing like a pig and jumping up and down -- OK so maybe I didn't squeal like a pig but, I was pretty excited! My friend and I hopped over the banister and went inside for a bite to eat and my mom went to find Raffi. She came back and told me he was just around the corner. So, we grabbed little Molly and off we went to get her autographed. Of course when I met him I turned into SuperDork. It didn't phase me that he looked absolutely exhausted and ready to take a nap on the couch he was sitting on. Instead, I completely bombarded hi

Happy Birthday To You....

She's one year old now! Exciting as this is, all I could think yesterday was, "boy, this time last year I was still thinking it was indigestion" or "at this point last year I just lost my mucus plug" mmmm. Now fast forward a year and I'm in much better shape...except when it comes to throwing a birthday party! Planning and baking and playing hostess - it takes a lot out of you! She's had two of three birthday parties so far. The first one was on the weekend with her little toddler friends. It was so much fun. In fact, we were having such a good time that we were in the water for an hour and a half. That's a long time for three under three's! Molly had a blast; I knew she would. She had perma-grin the entire time. She had a huge smile and all we could see were her gums and two bottom teeth flashing from across the pool! Afterwards, we came back to our house for cake. Grammy made a delicious chocolate cake for the party and I made some

Playing Fetch

Kola the dog and Molly have really bonded. They play together so nicely; it's wonderful :) Well, the other day while I was bootin' around downstairs, she and Kola were on the floor hanging out. She has learned that the ball goes in the dog's mouth (such observant little creatures babies are...) so she'll take it and try to shove it right in there -- too cute. Now, the dog on the other hand, is obsessed with her ball. She loves fetch and wants to play it all the time! She will actually throw her ball to you. For real! She actually tosses it out of her mouth, into the air, and it'll land at your feet! So, here we have my baby shoving the ball into the dog's mouth, the dog throwing it into the air, and the baby going to get it to shove back into the dog's mouth... That's right, they were playing fetch. Only, the dog was doing the throwing, and the baby was doing the fetching! I should get it on video; maybe I could win a contest...

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

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I set out the water table for her yesterday and she loved it. She started off splashing with one hand, and then she was splashing with two hands. Then, she crawled her little butt into the tub and gave herself a bath! She had sooo much fun!

She Is Such A Butthead

Oh my goodness is she ever becoming her own little person now (others may refer to it as " mischievous ")!! Let's see... here are some of the things she has been doing lately: ~ When she has something in her mouth I'll say "open" and she'll stick out her tongue and whatever was in there will pop out. Starting a few days ago however, she'll close her mouth tight and grin while I try to pry it open to get whatever it was out. ~ If she's into something that's not safe I'll say, "uh oh!" and, more times than not, she'll stop. Now though she looks at me, lets out this big squeal of delight, and then keeps going at it. ~ If she's heading towards something and I let her know that it's not OK, she'll look back at me, flash a real big toothless smile and then crawl towards it as fast as she can. ~ If I need to pick her up, or take something from her like, oh I don't know, the dog's gross slimy ball, she'll gru

She's Going To Stand!

She's going to stand any day now! I've started noticing her letting go of whatever she's holding onto and slowly lowering herself to the floor, rather than falling down. Or she'll be booting along the furniture and will let go of one completly to go to the next one :) But, it's only for a fraction of a second so I don't think that counts as standing just yet! Soon! I can feel it!

The Flower Pot

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I took baby out on the deck yesterday for our daily dose of vitamin D. She found a flower pot full of dirt to explore... ...diggin' away, ...puttin' some on the dog, ...and some over there, ...all done!

Motormouth In Training

Holy cow, has she ever just hit a total language growth spurt! OK, so I've been trying to teach her sign language right? She'll let me know she's hungry and I'll sign and say, "hungry!?' And then I'll teach her the food she's eating (OK, so I only know, apple, plum, and banana right now) and other words (ie: "more" "food" "wait" "finished"). Well yesterday, in her highchair, she signed "more"... YAY! And now everytime I need to change her butt, I say "diaper!" and go get her. Yesterday, she relied, "di-pa" in the cutest, sweetest little girlie voice EVER! I thought I was hearing things so I had her say it again... And then again! AND THEN...  When she is getting her butt change and trying to crawl away, I tell her, "stay on your back" and hold her with my hand. So yesterday, I tell her "stay on your back" and what does she do? She mutters something along the lin

Baby's First Birthday

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Molly's first birthday is coming up! I just finished making the cutest invitations ever! Yes, I have enough time on my hands these days to enjoy the finer things in life such as arts and crafts... Her party is going to be short and sweet: pool, cake, and goody-bags, yeah! About seven of her closest friends are invited. Yeah I know... At this age 'friend' is a very loosely used term that means any kid under the age of six whose parents are friends with your parents. I've looked up a sugar-free cake recipe. I have yet to do a trial run to see if the cake is any good. I even looked up natural food colouring for the dye because my baby's not getting red die #3 -- no way! And for those of you who are rolling your eyes right now (cuz I know some of you are) check this out: http://www.cspinet.org/new/200808211.html

Another Exciting Milestone - Stair Climbing

She crawled up the stairs yesterday! In our basement there is a hallway with our bedroom at one end and the staircase at the other. She has been hanging out at the bottom of the stairs a lot lately. Well, yesterday I was in the bedroom and she was playing with toys at the bottom step. I would peer down the hallway to check on her; I could see her legs at the bottom of the stairs. At one point, she started to make quite a fuss. I looked down the hallway and there were no legs! I ran down the hallway to find her on all fours on the first stair; she looked so darn cute! I cheered for her and she laughed. I sat back as she continued her way up. She made it up three stairs! Today, Grammy came over so I had to show her. My sister came home early (we live with my sister) so I had to show her too. It's like she's at an excercise class with all the stair repitions we're making her do! She is so iddy biddy and to see her tiny body moving up the huge staircase just look

The Sun Is Here!

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The sun is here and we have been spending so much time at the beach! Our record so far is five days in a row! We go with Grammy (my mom). We have our shady spot where we can always be found. As the day goes on the shade recedes and we just move our blanket back to follow it. When all the shade is gone, then it's time to go home.

At the Beach

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Summer is here! We've been to the beach three days in a row now! I spent $20 on sunscreen for her - Ombrelle Kids is what is widely recommended in this neck of the woods. Her Aunty bought her the cutest little red polka dot bikini. It was fun to watch her experience sand for the first time. On Saturday, our first day at the beach, she would take it and try to shove it in her mouth (of course). When she crawled over it she wouldn't let her knees touch the ground - just like the first time she crawled over grass! We figured our challenge all summer long would be keeping the sand out of her mouth! But yesterday, her second day at the beach, we noticed the sand wasn't going into her mouth so much. Instead, she would dig her little hands into the sand and scrunch them up over and over again (like she was squishing one of those stress balls!). At one point, she would take a handful of sand, and dump it on my chest. She did this over and over again. Today the sand was old news a

Baby Massage

I took my nine month old to baby massage today! A baby store here in town offered massage lessons for parents. So I put her in her fluffy pink robe, hopped in the car -- and when we walked in the door announced, "we're here for our massage!" The massage was a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting out and trying something new. There was one other baby being massaged at the same time. The massage therapist had us slather coconut oil all over our hands and then, starting with babies legs, she went through teaching us proper techniques. I can't tell if she liked it or not! With her being a crawler and with so many neat distractions in the store, massaging her was pretty challenging! The other baby was not yet mobile and I was a little envious of her parents! The massage therapist explained that while adults get very relaxed and sleepy during a massage, babies tend to get quite fussy before they 'crash'. I though that was quite interesting and good to know for whe

Ours Dogs Kinguk and Bernadette _ A Photo Memoire

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CHARGE!!!!!!

We came up with a new game today. It's called "Charge!" We are staying at Little One's Aunty and Uncle's house this week. New places always excite her and yesterday, when she was crawling around the floor checking things out, she got a burst of energy. She looked at me, let out a holler and then crawled as fast as she could across the room. It looked like she was a charging bull! It was too cute. Then today, as she was crawling around, I wanted to see if I could get her to charge again. I got down onto all fours, on the opposite side of the room, and hollered, "CHARGE!" I crawled as fast as I could toward her. She thought it was so funny. I did it again and she laughed her little toosh off. I kept doing it over and over. She laughed so hard she snorted! Haha, I love not being at home because then I have so much time to spend with her and make up dorky little games together.

I'm A Frazzled Mom!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh there's so much to do!!!!!!! I'm moving tomorrow and thought I'd be ready to go by now! Although, I am to the point where I just need to put everything into the truck (after I take the winter tires out). I have to go say goodbye to the neighbours - and clean up the dogcrap at the bottom of the stairs (one of the dogs had a diarrhea attack in the middle of the night and honestly, it's not at the top of my priority list). I'm in the process of finding a temporary home for the doggies so I have to make a phone call or two. I'm playing nurse to baby's dad who just had double knee surgery. One nice thing about that though, is that he's laid up on a queen size mattress in the middle of the living room floor so, baby just crawls around him until she needs me and I am able to get a whole lot done. Today, I really understand what it's like to be a mom!

My Cling-on Baby

Separation anxiety is here! Yikes! I'm very well aware of separation anxiety; I've learned a ton about it in school as well as talked to many parents on this phenomenon but, wow! They really do cry - no, wail - almost every time you leave the room, go around the corner or even duck behind furniture. It's tough! I warned my husband that this would happen around nine months of age. He understands why it happens but still feels bad, and often takes it personally when he can't calm our baby himself. It sometimes makes him feel as though he hasn't bonded with our baby. The other day I had to bust out one of my child development textbooks to remind him why no one but myself can calm her down. We read that this is a really scary time for babies as they're just realizing that they are separate from their mothers (or other main caregiver). They don't understand that the mother will come back; they're scared that they're never going to see them again. It&#

My New Addiction

So, I’m in the local thrift store looking for housewares for our home renovation project when I come across an Evenflo Snuggli babycarrier. It’s in fabulous condition but with no price tag. I took the carrier off the shelf, brought it up to the counter and asked the cashier for a price. She looked it over, thought a moment and then said, “how about one dollar?” I nearly fell over. Keeping my cool I said, “one dollar sounds good”. I handed her a loonie, tucked the carrier under my arm and got out of there as fast as I could before she could realize she just let me rob her. That was yesterday. Today, I’m in my favorite store of all time – Value Village. I’m scanning through different fabrics and what do I stumble across, mixed in with my future kitchen curtains? A ‘Baby Wear’ sling looking brand new and wanting so badly to go home with me. How much? Three dollars and ninety-nine cents. At this point I’m starting to think someone’s playing a prank on me. I mean really, two sl

Me Vs. Baby - The Diaper Change Battle

Oh my goodness she has become so squirmy; diaper changes have become nearly impossible! There is just so much going on around her that distracts her from the task at hand that our once intimate diaper changes have since become battles! There was a time when I'd lay her down for a change, we'd make eye contact and she'd smile back at me. I'd go through all her favorite songs and before you knew it, she was dry, happy, and ready to go. These days however, it is a different story. I lay her down and she'll often let out a wail; she doesn't enjoy being on her back. So, I pick her up bounce her up and down until she laughs and then try again. It usually takes three tries before I can lay her down and have her be OK with it. If she is OK with being layed down, she'll immediately flip onto her side reaching for anything she can get ahold of and, as a result, stretching her little body to the point that she's turned herself into the letter 'C'. I t

The Hundred Languages Of Children - A Poem

My, my, my it's been a late night with her. So, I'm just going to post a poem - my favorite poem. I always get a bit of a lump in my throat when I read it. The poem, "The Hundred Languages of Children" was written by Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the 'Reggio Emilia' approach to childcare. My brain is too mushy tonight to explain this approach well enough but, I've found a site that explains it fabulously: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach I had the opportunity to work with an educator who was learning about this approach and practising it in her classroom. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had working in childcare. The children were so stimulated, curious - they were little scientists! Our role as teachers was basically that of facilitator. We observed, recorded, and documented their play and provided whatever it was they needed to take it a step further. Projects could go from a few days to over a month. It is absolutely

Preparing For College

We've finally gone in and set up an education fund for our baby. We sure wish we had education funds because we're still paying off student loans! I think she's going to be an engineer. She's so pensive... She'll be bouncing up and down in her jolly jumper, getting huge air then all of a sudden she'll stop. She'll look up at the spring and other parts above her as if she's thinking, "hmm, how does this work, what are the physics behind this, how can I make it better?" Even in the Exersaucer she be springing up and down, then suddenly stop as she turns her focus to all the gadgets thinking, "how does this all go together, what do each of these parts do?" When she was in the womb, we swore she was going to be a soccer player, or a dancer, or a Ninja! She was always active - all the way to the end. On day one she lifted her head and on day eight she did four pushups on Grandpa's chest! Who knows what she will become. But, I can't

Cribs - What Are They All About?

I just finished round three of trying to get my baby to nap in the crib. Since she's started crawling, I'll hear her wake up and run in to find her flipped over onto all floors happily crawling around the bed. I've been propping pillows all around her to keep her in the middle but, as of yesterday, these are just more obstacles she's learned to overcome! I've decided our mattress is going on the floor but until my hubby gets home tomorrow to move the bed, I've decided the crib is the safest. Oh the crib... Who invented the crib? I mean really, what is the history of the crib? And at what point did we, as a species, go from sleeping on a dirt floor together as a family, to deciding this is dangerous practice and babies need to be in their own beds (in their own rooms nonetheless) or we'll risk rolling over them? I understand that our society has come a long way from sleeping on the ground and have moved into big beds with comfy mattresses but, what about th

Baby On the Go

My little girl started crawling this week! For the past month she has gotten herself up into the crawling position, rocking herself back and forth, pushing up onto her tippy-toes, and moving herself backwards. She would get stuck in corners and under furniture. But, as funny as this stage was, I just wanted her to crawl! We were visiting friends this weekend and promised them that she was going to crawl. This weekend was going into the baby book! Then one evening, we were all hanging out in the living room and baby was on the floor. She was full of energy so I put her slipper just in front of her and sure enough out reached her hand, fingers spread and ready to grab. I brought the slipper back a little farther and forward slid her knees, one by one. Her other hand reached out and onto the floor. It was cheers all around as my baby had just made her first crawling step! I continued holding the slipper just out of her reach as she slowly and cautiously she began to crawl across the floo

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello! Let me introduce myself. I am a licensed Early Childhood Educator gone stay-at-home mom. My _______ and I have an 8 month old baby. Together, we take a natural approach to parenting. Although he was a little, err...a lot, skeptical about this approach at first, through lengthy discussions, research, talking with other parents who share the same philosophy, experience, and seeing the positive effects it's had on our daughter, I am happy to say he now gets it! When we have a question, I'll often close my eyes and imagine, "what did we do before cribs, Tylenol, and Exersaucers?" And then we'll go from there. This approach has gotten us through many situations quite successfully. We have been told time and time again about how content, secure and just plain amazing our little one is. Some people say we're lucky; I like to take more credit for it :) I have created this blog not only to document the joys of parenting but also to vent the frustration I feel