Holistic Mommy

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 ...

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

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...

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...

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'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!

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.

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 ...

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...