Wonderful and Exhausting

We have returned home from a wonderful and exhausting 10 days in Winnipeg over the holidays. We saw many people, but not as many as we would have liked and not for as much time as we would have preferred. Such is the way when you return home for a short visit during a busy season.
Most of my photos and videos are still in Winnipeg after I downloaded them on to Corey's computer to make space on the camera (we should really get a bigger memory card...) and did not get an opportunity to send them to myself. I did post some directly to FB if you're there.
Here's a small sampling:
Abi with her new doll and doll sling.


Abi with her cousins.


Abi modelling DoDo's new fish hat for me.


Robin's back to work today. Abi's sleeping in and home for the day because it's the stat holiday alternate. We'll be unpacking some more I imagine - her tossing clothes, me trying to put them away. I have no idea where I'm fitting all this stuff we brought back. Abi received all sorts of wonderful new things, like a wooden xylophone, dolls, doll sling, doll stroller, bath toys, clothes, movies, CDs, books... You know what it's like. I had serious doubts that I would fit it all (plus our gifts) into the luggage - but I did!

Unfortunately, a stomach flu was making its rounds. Abi was throwing up the two days before Christmas, but playing between up-chucks. So, aside from the mess and not liking the actual throwing-up part, she was in pretty good humour if a little clingy. She was most tired/clingy on Christmas eve and day after she finished with the flu and was hungry from not eating/keeping food down and tired from poor sleep (as were we!). As far as flues go, however, I think we had it pretty easy - no fever, relatively short lived (but poorly timed), no other symptoms.

I was pleased by how well all my hand-knit sock gifts were received. You know, being socks and all. I finished the last pair on Boxing Day. I think I could have finished before Christmas if Abi hadn't gotten sick. ;)

We hope your holidays were enjoyable.
GTG, Abi sounds like she is waking...

Gifts

Yule/Christmas is going to be FUN this year.
Abi has figured out that opening the boxes and playing with the contents is at least as fun as playing with the box. Last year it was all about the box.

We hosted an early Yule party last night with a houseful of friends and kids. There was delicious food, tasty wine, rum-raisin brownies... enough said. There were also gifts. When Abi was handed her first gift she knew exactly what to do - open it! Inside were large, stacking, circus cardboard blocks and she immediately had to open the package to start stacking them. Then she opened another gift to find a stuffed cow. "A Moo!" She was happy. So was I. Last year was fun, but this year we will see much more excitement in Abi as she opens gifts.

Already she's playing with one of her Yule gifts because I can't seem to keep it hidden. I knit her a baby doll and she adores it. I'd taken it out of hiding to show a friend last night, then I forgot to put it away. She found it on the table this morning and insisted on bringing it to daycare. The doll still needs clothes (and a name, but I've been avoiding naming any of her dolls for her).

First, Halloween - where people put things in her bag - and now Yule - where she doesn't even have to go door to door (not that she minded - that was half the fun!). It's all so exciting. I'd forgotten how exciting Yule/Christmas can be. So many new things to explore for Abi. I just hope my mother is reasonable in her shopping this year and we can fit all of Abi's gifts in the luggage... Last year's box set of Fraggle Rock was a squeeze. I'm still debating which of Abi's gifts I will bring with us to give at Yule and which can stay here.

As for gifts I have to bring to give to family - I've kept things easy to transport. Some items still need to be finished, but I am hoping I will have a little extra time once we arrive.

Where's _____?

Lately Abi has been asking where everyone is? Not just the basics such as "where's mum" or "where's dad"?
No, when she wakes from a nap at daycare and the other kids are off at school she asks where's [Rob]? They don't even have simple names like "Rob" at daycare.
After we dropped a friend's son at home she asked where he was. Out of the blue she pent today asking where Mo was - which was quite funny given that Mo was coming to our Yule party this evening.
She asks where Coco and Nana are all the time ("in Winnipeg" we reply) and then fetches her scrapbook to find their pictures. Although, she doesn't point out Corey. She knows she's in the book, but hasn't quite associated a face with her favourite name.

A couple days ago she was looking at a book with an exclamation mark in the title. She was holding it upside down and pointed out an "i". "i" she says enthusiastically about the upside down "!" I was mighty pleased :)

This morning we had breakfast with the local Pagan gaggle (haha I called us a gaggle) and A, a friends child, and Abi were playing photographer and model - or so I would describe it. A was getting Abi to pose and Abi was quite happy to oblige. I look forward to seeing pictures!! We tried to get Abi to perform Santa's Reindeer, but she was less obliging :( She clearly needs to practice performing her dance for other people. ;)

It's been a crazy weekend. Breakfast and party plans today. Yesterday I spent the day at the annual GRAB Animal Rescue fundraiser (drinking way too much delicious hot chocolate). During the previous week or so I completed several more research interviews (= more transcripts...). And we're outta here in a few days. Tomorrow I have a bunch of errands to run for the Rescue. I have no idea when I'm going to finish this Yule knitting... in Winnipeg I guess.

Diapers no more

ETA: How do I keep forgetting to mention that Abi has all her teeth in now? Well, she does.

It's official. Childcare provider has confirmed - we no longer need to use diapers.
OMG, that seems crazy to me. No more wool soakers or longies or skirties :( Damn, I knit one she hasn't even grown into yet!
Good thing I picked up those new underwear today.
Abi's been without diapers at home for a long time now, but I've always sent her to daycare with diapers because I didn't imagine the childcare provider would want to deal with the accidents that might happen. Really, I should have known earlier and talked with her childcare provider about this long ago when I noticed she would only have to change the diaper once (maybe twice, but that was probably days Abi refused to pee before we left in the morning). The rest of the time Abi was using the potty at daycare.
Today she refused a diaper and rather than be late I brought her to daycare with underwear on and extra diapers in the bag, as well as extra pants, socks, leggings, slippers - just in case.
When I picked her up, CP said she'd been in underwear (and pants of course) all day and that I needn't send diapers any more. It's easier to use the potty/toilet when you don't have a diaper to get off!

I knew this day would come eventually... but wow. Not sure I'm done with those cute wool soakers. She's still wearing a diaper to bed for now - with a wool soaker. Lately she's been a heavy wetter early in the morning hours before anyone (including her) is awake. Once we move her to her own bed (and she seems to be ready for her own space), it will be easier to have her on the soaker pad in case of accident. I know from experience that she can sleep through the night without wetting her diaper, we just don't want her wetting our bed accidentally.

The other problem is that some of her pants won't fit without a diaper on! Baby clothes are designed for diapered bums and she's petite, so toddler clothes (some of which are sized for potty-using kids) are too big/long. So if she looks to be swimming in her pants and you're wondering where her bum went... now you know.

December? Seriously?

Less than two weeks and we'll be greeting Nana and Papa and Coco and Papa and Ro and Do and Sca and Ed. If Abi knew to expect something, I think she would be very excited. We often tell her that we're going to Winnipeg and who we will see. So now, when we ask her who she will see in Winnipeg, she tells us. Corey's in for a real treat because "Co-Co" is currently one of her favourite words. And she gets excited when she sees a picture of Nana.

As people have started asking about gifts, all I'll say is that there is an updated list (and I'll try to keep it updated) linked on the side of the blog. It's http://abi.wouldlovethis.com/

Today I got the car back with its shiny new bumper. Yippee. Unfortunately, it smelled like a garage inside, so I took it out for some fresh air. We (car and I) drove down to Walmart because another friend who practices Elimination Communication had recommended a fold up toilet seat for kids she found there. Abi likes to use the toilet more than her potties now, so it made sense to us to bring a foldable seat to Winnipeg and it will help while we are out. At home we just hold her on the seat, but soon enough she'll want to do it herself. Abi has been wearing underwear a lot lately - at her insistence - so I picked up a few pairs of cloth training pants too. It's difficult to find underwear her size! It turns out, also, that all the ones her size are a bikini style rather than a full brief. I didn't realize this when I bought her first package, but I've shopped around and that's all I can find in a 2. I can find briefs in a 2/3, but those are far too big for Abi. I'm not surprised that there are few underwear options for a child Abi's age/size. I'm sure I could find some online from specialty suppliers (EC stores and whatnot), but for now we have enough.

Reduced to a syllable

Abi is looking forward to seeing
Do
Ra
Sca
Co-co (or is that cocoa)
Ed
Nana
Papa
and Papa

Those would be
Dorion
Veronica
Scott
Corey
Ed
Nana
Pa-Pere
and Grandpa.

We've been looking at her scrapbook together and talking about family. She remembers Nana easily - since she was recently visiting. She recognizes her papas, but hasn't had the same amount of time with them. When grandpa was here, he didn't consistently refer to himself as Papa/Grandpa the way my mom called herself Nana. However, with pictures in front of her, she enjoys pointing out all these people (sometimes with prompting, sometimes on her own) along with mom and dad and Abi/baby (depending on how old she was in the photo).
If I mention any of these people, she fetches her scrapbook and opens to the family page to point them out.
I'm excited to see her reaction when she gets to see all these people in person again.
It's also made me realize we don't have enough pictures around of them. I aim to fix that with the next scrapbook - which I've started sorting through/uploading to print digital photos for.

Chipped Bowl

My bowls are chipped. Some of the saucers are broken, maybe a small plate or two as well.
I remember when I got my dishes. I was about 14 and I had asked for these for a gift. I wanted to be ready to move out when it was time (many years later...) I imagined how great it would be to move out and have a complete matching set of dishes. Over the years I also collected my cutlery, knives, cups, towels, etc - all in preparation of THE DAY when I moved out.
Then I moved out (and by out I mean far from the Prairies, out to Newfoundland) and I was so proud to have my dishes (along with the rest of my household items).
Here I am 7.5 years later and I'm ready to part with the broken set of dishes. It's not simply that some of the bowls are chipped and some plates are broken. It's not simply that I'd rather nicer dishes (I'm thinking handmade pottery that doesn't have to match perfectly). I realize that these dishes represent moving out on my own, my first steps out into the world, and that period of limbo as a graduate student.
I am ready to be done with all that! I'm ready to finish my PhD. I'm ready to move on from "first steps" to...
and that's where I draw a blank.
What exactly is it I imagine moving on to?
"real life"? What's more real than my life right now?
Is my life going to change drastically when I have a document that says PhD on it?
Oh, one dreams it will, but I know it won't. I'll simply be entering a new state of limbo - she who waits for tenure. Assuming I can even find an institution that still offers tenure in my field...
I'd be happy just to have full time employment. Or maybe I don't even want full time employment any more... I don't know now. Maybe I want to balance my life at home with my career in academia better. Maybe I don't want all parts of my life tied to the university. Some parts, certainly, but I also highly value and enjoy raising a family. I don't know what that would look like or how that works exactly? I know some of my peers would look down upon it. And others will value those choices. Is it feasible in practice? I don't know.

That's the future. Right now I've got to deal with these chipped bowls and this dissertation that hangs over me. I'll look into the pottery and other changes when this is all done.

Collision Inconveniences

The inconveniences incurred by the recent collision continue to waste my time. (And so I thought I'd spend some more time writing about them...). I also thought some of my friends who may be in the same boat I was a few simple days ago - sans accident - would benefit from sharing what I have learned. So let me tell the story again from a slightly different perspective.

Firstly, I should say that while I am still annoyed by the inconvenience of the accident caused by the young man who was in too much of a hurry to wait behind the bus (and subsequently wasn't paying proper attention to the traffic he was merging into), he was polite and I was impressed that he actually picked up his "litter" (bumper pieces). I doubt he thought he could just glue them back on. When we spoke on the phone to exchange further information, he continued to be polite, despite the fact that while I was also trying to be polite, I'm certain I had a "tone" to my voice that could easily have fed rude behaviour on his part. Hey, I was annoyed and rightfully so IMNSHO.

The reason we had to talk further on the phone was because we failed to gather all the information we needed on the scene. I knew enough to check the damage, get his license and registration info, and make sure the car was his. I also tried to get witnesses (but none came forth at the scene.) There were things I missed, however, that I didn't know to get or forgot. I realized after that I DO have a collision reporting sheet in the glove box with MY car registration info, but since the other driver never asked to see it I didn't pull it out. He chose to get my phone number and call me (after class I presume). If I were ever involved in an accident again, I'd be sure to pull out that sheet and fill in the details. So, dear readers, if you don't have a collision reporting sheet in your vehicle already, get one! You never know when you might need it - even if it's as a witness. Maybe the other drivers don't have one. Here's an example.

After the original inconvenience of the collision (good thing I was running early for my meeting), comes the myriad other inconveniences (not necessarily in this order).
1) Reporting it to my insurance agency and making multiple phone calls (in part because I didn't have all the necessary information about the other driver's insurance and car, but also because I should have gone to the police first).
2) Driving to the middle of nowhere (by city standards) to make my report at the regional collision reporting center. (Notably, the information given to me by the police officer did not include his badge number which the insurance company wanted. Fortunately, I'd written that information down before he handed me his card.)
3) Shopping for a new car seat for Abi. It seems such a waste to throw out the otherwise almost-new car seat! Let's be realistic - it wasn't damaged. My car car was barely damaged. I could have damaged the car seat more by putting it in and out of cars.
4) Installing the new car seat. You know, opening it all up, getting the straps in order, sizing it. Then I stripped the original car seat down so we could keep the cover. Now when the cover needs to be washed, I can slip cover 2 on immediately. (The only benefit to this whole ordeal that I can see.)
5) Bringing the original car seat and its receipt to my insurance agent so they can write me a cheque (to be sent...) for my new car seat and properly dispose of the original car seat.
6) Visiting the autobody shop so they can inspect the car, give the estimate to the insurance company, order the new bumper, take pictures, etc. (At least none of this part comes out of my pocket.)
7) I still have to get an appointment to replace the bumper, bring the car in, get a rental if needed (although how long does it take to switch-out bumpers?) or wait around the autobody shop.
8) Will likely have to get some massage therapy (oh, darn). I'm hesitant to attribute any of my current aches to the accident since I was feeling achy already. My wrists hurt the first day, but they seem fine now.

All this because of an accident caused by someone else. A great inconvenience.

I complain, and yet I am well aware that it is ONLY an inconvenience. It could be much worse. There could have been a serious injury. Abi could have been in the car. I could have been smashed into the car ahead of me or some student fresh off the bus running across the street. A million things could have made it more than an inconvenience.
But hey, it IS a bunch of inconveniences, none of which I would have to endure and waste time on if the other driver had been paying attention to traffic. Insurance companies don't pay for my time, gas, lunches bought on the go, etc running around town taking care of all these things. So I'm bitter. :P

That's life. There are often inconveniences. We deal with them and move on.

Moving on... I will soon upload THE CUTEST EVER video of Abi. Wait until you see what she's been practicing for Yule... My family should recognize it... Hmm, I should send the video to Mrs. Brown too...
There will be a part 2 Yule video to follow. But you'll have to wait at least 6 more weeks for that!

Not a good week.

First Abi was sick, then Robin, then me. We're all at the last stages of recovery. Maybe it was H1N1... hmmm.... or just the regular ol' flu. Mostly it was congestion and aches and fever on my part (as is my usual MO when I'm sick). It was pretty short lived thankfully - over the weekend for me.

So we recover from that and what happens today? I drop Abi at daycare, head to a meeting near the university and get rear-ended by a student rushing to get out of the lane with a bus stopped. Incidentally, he needed the left lane anyhow to turn in half a block, but that's not why he was changing lanes. Really, he should have already been in the left lane if he knew he was going to turn at the end of the block. I hate when people leave changing lanes to the last minute. But changing lanes at the very last minute to avoid being behind a bus just so you don't have to slow down, and not cluing into the fact that all the cars in front of you are also changing out of that lane and thus causing everyone in the left to slow down and stop - well that's plain stupid driving.
Fortunately I'm not a stupid driver and I wasn't riding the rear-end of the car stopping in front of me, so I was not pushed into that car.
The cars behind him drove off and no one on the street was paying attention to be a witness. Oh well, the evidence is in my bumper (literally) and it was a pretty simple situation to describe.

Fortunately Abi was not in the car or I would have been freaking out at the driver. Nobody was injured - except poor Matilda's bumper. And his car's bumper, but I don't care about his car. Matilda received a souvenir piece of his bumper lodged in the cracks he made. I'm leaving it there until the collision center sees the car later today.

What a pain in the arse! Now I have to make reports, go to the collision center, yadda yadda, all because of some other idiot.

The important part is that everyone is okay.

Montreal

We're back home following a whirlwind trip to Montreal where I attended the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and we visited with family in Montreal. Plus we added a special stop just north of Kingston to see family friends and deliver a blanket I made with the help of some friends.

Mom joined us in Montreal, so we picked her up on the way past Toronto airport. Visited friends at the old schoolhouse. Made it into Montreal that evening after a long day on the road. Abi was kept occupied with a new sticker book and her dolls when she wasn't sleeping. While in Montreal we saw the sights and ate a lot of good food. We visited with my aunt and cousins, Robin's cousins, and of course my colleagues at the conference. Rounded it out with some shopping, which also required getting lost trying to find a local yarn shop. Robin wanted to give up, but we insisted that the time lost so far would only have been in vain if we didn't find the yarn shop!

Speaking of driving in Montreal - never again! OMGs, I have seen some bad driving habits, and every region seems to have its own quirks shared by residents - but Montreal is the worst I've encountered so far. First of all, the roads are nearly impossible to navigate, the signs are poorly marked, the construction is horrendous and there are no marked detours, most roads are one-way and may randomly change directions - but the worst part was the rampant double parking - people randomly stopped in the middle of a busy road all over the place. Don't even bother driving in the right hand lane beside the parking lane. Add to that the fact that the coordinates for our destinations were almost all wrong in the GPS and we wasted a lot of time on the roads.

For photos see the flickr account, which will hopefully finish uploading soon...

Halloween 2009

Abi, her grandpa, Robin and I had great fun attending a birthday party on Halloween and trick-or-treating with friends. Abi took to going door-to-door like a fish to water. She quickly caught on that people were putting stuff in her bag. She didn't care what the stuff was (nor did she know that she won't be eating any of it...), but that's not important to her. It was stuff to put in her bag!

As you can see, Abi was a pumpkin and Robin was R2D2 - inspired by the hat I was making him for Yule but managed to finish in time for Samhain. I was a Yule/Christmas witch - not my most creative costume, but any time I can find an excuse to wear a witch hat is fun for me.




We also have new neighbours. This is our neighbour. Seriously - this was their house last night. Anyone who is artistic enough to build their own paper-mache (or similar - this is NOT store bought / inflatable) witch and put it in their window on Samhain is cool by me.

Autumn Visitors

We are gearing up for a flurry of grandparent visitations in the next couple of weeks. Abi's grandpa arrives Tuesday for several days. Then we are picking up her grand-mere who is flying in to Toronto on our way out to Montreal. My mom had originally offered to look after Abi while Robin and I take a small conference/vacation in Montreal, but after last year's BFing incident while I was in Chicago and given that Abi is still BFing, I decided I simply would not be comfortable going away for more than a day without Abi - my physical, emotional, and psychological comfort. So mom's going to watch her in Montreal - although between the conference for me and visiting with other family in Montreal, I'm not sure if Robin and I will get much time alone!

With each new post at the blog I feel increasingly self-conscious of the fact that I don't have new photos to share. I apologize. I have some un-edited video footage, but nothing exciting. Not too many interesting pictures to share either. Abi was going to a pumpkin patch today with daycare, and I imagine there were many wonderful photo opportunities there - where I was not. Most of the time we're too busy playing to take pictures now. But Halloween/Samhain is quickly approaching, so you can rest assured there will be costume photos.

My first sweater

It took me a long time, although not as long as I had feared (years?). I knit my first adult sweater (more of a cardigan I suppose).




Finished knitting and binding off on my girls' weekend away this past Saturday (aka Hella Bitch). Blocked it when I got home. Sewed on buttons today. And I don't want to ever take it off!
For those of you curious, the pattern is February Lady Sweater - commonly known as FLS - and the yarn is Mirasol Qina (bamboo and alpaca).

For more alpaca fun - here's what are keeping my hands warm this fall:


I truly enjoy fingerless mitts. They are perfect for typing, driving, and knitting...

Even Less Waste and my Lil Helper

A delightful package arrived in my driveway yesterday afternoon courtesy of the kind folks at the regional Waste Management facility. Our green bin composter. These things take nearly everything. I admit to taking the teeniest bit of pleasure this morning scooping used cat litter refuse into a paper bag to be composted. The excitement will wear off soon enough and I'll be left simply scooping poop, but for now it's "cool". We still have our backyard composter for yard waste. I won't be restarting a vermicomposter soon since I don't imagine I'll keep up with it properly as I should - and I already destroyed it once. Perhaps I will wait until Abi is older and can enjoy helping with the composter. In particular, she can sort the "black gold" out of the bin. I always put off doing that, and in the end it led to the demise of the worms last Winter.

I don't imagine it will be hard to teach Abi to put things in the compost. She already enjoys putting things in the garbage (and usually it is actually garbage, except for that time she put 3 pieces of banana peel in the garbage followed by the banana) and the recycling basket. She also helps with laundry - putting wet clothes into the dryer and pulling dry clothes out. She's very good at that. If only she were tall enough to reach into the washer... Damn, should have got the front-loader... And she needs to learn to fold the clothes still. Hmm, I suppose I might have to start giving her an allowance! I wonder if she'd clean the kitty litter... ick - I'm imagining she'd be more likely to want to play in it...

Thanksgiving

From our family to yours - Happy Thanksgiving. We hope it was filled with delicious food and good company. Just like ours was.

We were blessed with not one, but two delicious meals - and we didn't have to cook a single turkey! Robin happily baked pumpkin pie for our first dinner and whipped together a carrot salad accented with fresh herbs from the garden (just before the frost hit Monday morning!). Monday night I prepared acorn squash with apples (and spices and all that good stuff - and I made up the recipe I might add proudly). It was well received - as were Robin's dishes, but who doesn't love Robin's cooking? (Except for Abi on occasion.)

There was something else from this week I meant to blog about for you.
While I try to remember, I'll also inform you that you can see Abi and I on the local Global news Tuesday evening. I was approached at the Thanksgiving Day parade and asked for my opinion about polka. Huh? That was pretty much my initial response. Polka music. More specifically, apparently there is some "save the polka" thing in response to the Grammy's cutting out the category of Polka music. I learned all this during the interview of course because - who cares?! That is to say, I don't care. Even if I watched the Grammys (which I occasionally do) for the awards, I'm sure I would have been watching a commercial when the Polka awards were given out. Anyhow, what I really said at that early hour of the day, after rolling out of bed and straight out the door at 8:30am because some crazy beer-drinking Oktoberfest organizers think it's a good idea to have a parade at 0830h... what I really said was more like "I don't know. I don't really have a vested interest in polka music." And then after he explained the issue, I added something about cultural music, and grammy award competition (apparently the same people keep winning the polka award) and understanding the perspective of the awards committee. Pretty much giving my opinion on something I didn't have an opinion on two minutes earlier - all because someone insisted I should have an opinion on this issue and stuck a microphone and camera in my face and I felt obliged to have an opinion...
And THAT is what I get for dressing Abi and I up in our adorable handmade witch hats - which always draws good attention.
After wandering off to gather more opinions, the crew returned and started filming Abi and I from multiple angles as we watched the parade. So I guess that pretty much solidified that we would be featured in the news broadcast. On the plus side - Abi IS cute... and I had her bundled up in her cutest purple sweater, her witch hat, babywearing with the orange wrap, and cuddling with the orange babywearing blanket I made that ties on. Hmm, maybe I should have been nursing too. lol (okay, that was a quiet laugh because it's 1am and I don't want to wake Abi.)
No, I don't have photos because it's rather hard to take a picture of myself like this and I really did roll out of bed, so there was little preparation involved. (Robin had to work.)
You'll just have to watch the news if you can.

Evidently, I can't sleep, despite waking far too early for my tastes this morning. (Matter of Taste cappuccino helped a little this morning.)
I'm still trying to remember...

Oh yes, Abi had her first dentist appointment last week. It went very well - that is to say, it wasn't a bad experience for her. However, the dentist did confirm my suspicions that Abi has tooth decay. Crappy. Fortunately, the teeth are not soft and she doesn't need fillings or surgery (yet). We are taking more preventative measures, including applying some pastes and gels to her teeth to help strengthen them and slow down the decay. And while it is easy to say "they're just baby teeth", she does need them for another 5-7 years yet. It is her lateral incisors that are in the worst condition.

Hard to believe it's mid October already. We're expecting a visit from Robin's dad by the end of the month and we're off to Montreal in November for a conference and to visit family. And that, my friends, is the latest update.

Photos? Yeah yeah. I'll get some up when I get some and download them. Now that Abi's in childcare during the days, I have fewer opportunities to take pictures and we're often too busy on the weekend.

Oh, oh - the other big news around here is that both our sisters are engaged. On my side, that's somewhat old news now (a month ago?), but Robin's sister is very newly engaged. We'll be home this summer for my sister's wedding (on our anniversary no less), but no date/location set yet for the other wedding. Yay for weddings I don't have to plan! Wait - what exactly are the responsibilities of a maid of honour who lives out of town???

Fantastic Weekend

It's been a whirlwind of fun this weekend! There was one snag though - Abi got sick. Fortunately, for the most part she was her usual happy self - just a snotty-faced, sometimes sleepy, happy self. And a little more cuddly.
Friday was Robin's surprise party at home. I'm still amazed that I managed to pull this off! It was a little more difficult with Abi having to come home Friday at noon because she threw up at daycare (and not since), but I was able to get everything ready. And Robin never knew! He was watching TV in the basement while people arrived. I told him I had some girls coming over - implying a healing circle or something - so he knew not to come upstairs. Yes, it worked out perfectly - and the only reason it succeeded was because every time I would feel myself getting excited about the surprise party, I would cover it up by talking about the Hip concert I won tickets to.

We had a lot of fun at the games night Friday surprise party - with the help of a living room full of friends.

These are his birthday mittens.

Saturday night we were in Hamilton for the Tragically Hip concert. 5th row. Free tickets. What more could one ask for? I don't think I need to tell fans that it was an AWESOME concert. They put on one hell of a show.Sunday morning Robin ran the Run for the Cure by himself. Abi wasn't feeling up to joining him. She slept in instead and we weren't about to wake a sleeping sick baby.

Special thanks to all who donated to the Run for the Cure - not just if you donated to Robin. And thank you again to friends who joined us in celebrating Robin's not-yet-30th birthday.

A little excited

Yesterday was a mini Christmas for me as I culled the clothes that no longer fit her (or never did because they were too wide) from Abi's drawers and added newly washed clothes pulled from the storage bins. I forget how many clothes I have stored away until it's time to sort through them! Abi has recently outgrown her PJs, or maybe it was a while back that she did but we didn't notice because she rarely wears one-piece PJs in the summer. Regardless, I was afraid I'd need more PJs now that the cool weather has descended. Then I remembered to open the bins... and found 8 pairs of PJs in addition to the ones that still fit. I think we're good. (Thanks to V and mom.)

I've updated the word list on the left column of the blog. I keep forgetting to add words and I frequently hear a word and think "oh yeah, she's said that for a while now, I forgot". I don't know how I forget, but I do. Probably because they seem so common now. Words like book, which she's said for a long time. Duck is newer, but it's a favourite. And she's recently picked up "bee-bo" from Sandra Boynton's Belly Button Book. Why? I don't know! But she loves that book and as soon as she shoves it in your hand she's saying "bee-bo". I do love Boynton's fun books. Have you seen the video for I Want to be Your Personal Penguin? It's fabulous. I gave that book to a friend.



I'm happy to report that Abi still loves daycare! A full day of playing with kids (plus a good nap). What more could my little extrovert ask for? She also uses the potty at daycare - which was something I feared she would regress on - and she still uses it at home. For a couple days she was waking on her own around 8am, but today was yet another struggle to get her up. This is only week three - I am hopeful she'll adjust her night-time sleep pattern. Last night she took a nap late in the evening (just fell asleep!) for about 30 minutes, which threw off her sleep schedule. And she had a good 2 hour nap at daycare. It's flu season though, so I imagine her body is busy combating viruses. And growing. You know, kid stuff like that :)

I'll update you on our fabulous weekend when it's over. So many wonderful, fun things planned! Oh yes, many wonderful things. I did mention 5th row at the Hip concert, right? Free tickets no less. I still can't believe I actually won! I had initially thought to buy tickets when they first went on sale - as a birthday gift for Robin - but at $90 a ticket (plus whatever other charges they add), it just wasn't in the budget. I remember when concert tickets were $20... Granted, I was a young teen (a little over a decade ago) at the time and living in Winnipeg... Yes, it's been a while since I attended a concert (the occasional day-long or weekend fest, but few single-act concerts). I had thought maybe $40 for tickets now. Silly me. It doesn't matter, because we're going for free now!

Happy Birthday Robin!

Today I won 5th row tickets for us to see The Tragically Hip on Saturday.
Best birthday gift ever!
I rock! Thanks to Y108.

Bulking up for the Run

Mmmmm. Ribs. Abi's getting ready for the big Run - the Run for the Cure for breast cancer.
Robin is very proud of his daughter here. (Ed, I bet you are too!)

Running for the Cure!

On October 4th Robin and Abby will be running for the cure in memory of Abby's grandmother Marion. If you wish to sponsor them, please visit https://www.cibcrunforthecure.com/html/p.asp?t=3670889&l=1

Thank you for your support and we will be sure to post photos.
In the meantime, here are a couple from last year's Run for the Cure.

Babywearing Week

In honour of International BabyWearing Week, I wanted to share this slideshow of Abi and babywearing.

Confessions - Because being aware helps

I confess that I have struggled for many years with being an impulse shopper. I come by it naturally. [*cough*dad*mom*cough*cough*]
In my defense, I am also a good-deals shopper and I shop most often at second-hand shops - which sometimes makes it all the more difficult to curb my habits. "It's such a good deal!"... We'll "go broke saving money" as my dad always said. (Funny that he said that considering his spending habits.)
Witness my yarny-goodness the other weekend (photo slideshow below in the blog!) at the Knitters Fair. Oh, I got incredible deals, but I still bought a lot of yarn - all of which is going in my stash for unknown future use. But it was a good deal! And, I'll use it eventually! Yep - one day I knit all those shawls and socks and sweaters in my Ravelry queue. (I should add, I received a gift of money to spend how I wished.)
Today I had to go to (ugh) Walmart to pick up Robin's pre-ordered copy of the new Halo3 game. (I know what Robin's doing tonight...) While there I thought I should buy toothpaste (we're at the point of squeeze-the-last-inch-out). On my way over to that aisle, I happened to pass by the toys... and see the 50th Anniversary Smurfs set on for a mere $10. I was (still am, but inactive) a Smurfs collector. My dad always brought me new Smurfs from Germany when I was kid and of course I grew up watching the cartoons. I've never been an avid collector, but I have 100+ pieces including figurines, mushroom houses, and the windmill. I'm confident that Abi will receive the DVDs over the next few years - from my parents - and she'll inherit my collection.
Apparently, I missed the announcement last year that the Smurfs were ready to conquer the world again - according to Time. I missed the invasion. This was to be part of the 50th Anniversary come-back. I guess that's why a year later I'm finding the special edition stuffed toy, golden figurine, DVD, and original sketch replica on sale for only $10. (According to Amazon, it retailed for $30 US).
As you can see - a steal of a deal for a Smurf collector. But an unnecessary purchase ultimately... I mean, it's a future Yule gift. Maybe for me!

But it didn't stop there today. No, I still had to buy dog food at the pet store, which is right next to the Hand Me Downs store. I felt compelled to stop in for a moment - because you have to stop in frequently at second-hand shops to find what you want. Lo and behold - three beautiful Groovy Girls were waiting there for me for only $5 each. I swear these ones are being stored for the future. Particularly the one with a purse. However, now that I know how much Abi enjoys these dolls, and given that we will not be buying Bratz, Barbie or other similar dolls I feel very justified in picking up a small collection of Groovy Girls for her to play with - especially when they are second-hand and usually in brand new condition.

So you see, I have a shopping problem. I've been much better at controlling myself since marrying Robin - who is the furthest thing from a shopaholic I know. Security cameras at stores must think I'm hilarious - picking up an item, talking to myself as I debate if I need it, walking about the store as I pick up needed items, eventually (literally) saying "no!", putting it back... Today I said no to many things. Maybe I should be proud of what I didn't buy.

One last confession - I also stopped at McDonalds inside Walmart. *gasp* I've heard that McDs coffee is better than Timmies. I'm not a big fan of Tim's coffee - but it's convenient. Now I can say with certitude from my own experience, that McDonalds coffee is better than Tim Hortons coffee. But still not as good as a local Cafe with Fairly Traded coffee. And since I don't go to McD's - except for almost never - I don't imagine I'll be drinking much more of their coffee. Nevertheless, now I know.

End of the Week

It is hard to believe that Abi's first week of daycare is over. And there is another (and another...) yet to come.
She is loving it. Every day when I go to pick her up, she isn't ready to leave! She wants to stay and play more. She is also napping for 1-2 hours all by herself, as if this is what she always does. (I wish!) At night time she is still reluctant to go to bed, and she wants to sleep in every morning, but I'm hoping she'll get into a better sleep schedule soon.
J, the childcare provider, is wonderful. She plans all sorts of activities and outings for the kids. And the other kids love Abi. J's daughter was overheard telling people that Abi is her sister! lol Wishful thinking on her part. It's nice to see how well the older kids play with Abi and help to look out for her. Great modelling of behaviour.
I'm feeling like a grad student again - it's a good feeling. I'd still much prefer to be taking care of Abi myself, but I do need to finish this PhD... [all together now: YES! So you can move back to Winnipeg!!]

We've had a busy weekend too! Yesterday Abi and I joined a friend and her son at the local Medieval Faire - once we awoke after quite the sleep-in. Then I was busy preparing to host a Mabon Celebration for kids here, which took up most of the evening and had me waking early (by my standards) at 7am (on a Sunday) to bake muffins and finish cleaning (after Abi tossed all her toys back on the floor Saturday night). The celebration started at 10am and took us past lunch. It was a lot of fun and we were joined by several other families. We celebrated this harvest season with a nature walk, baking corn bread (with help from the kids!), eating corn bread and pumkin-apple muffins, drinking apple cider, and making corn crafts with maize. All the kids had a wonderful time and we made new friends.

Sorry about the lack of photos recently. I've not had much opportunity to take any! There are some from the Medieval Festival that my friend will send to me.

I must get back to the family now - soak up the last couple hours of the weekend together. We hope yours has been enjoyable!

Day 3

I feel like a grad student again - and this is a good thing.
Sitting out on the deck, taking notes and reading - totally undisturbed...
It brought back many fond memories... of doing this daily... back in the day when I could.

Abi's still enjoying childcare and still napping and otherwise playing all day. All day play! When I pick her up, she's still wanting to stay and play more. She still doesn't want to wake in the morning. It's a struggle to get her ready in time for childcare. She's not going to bed early either - try as we might to get her to sleep. I'm hoping by the end of the week the long days of playing will catch up and she will start going to sleep earlier at night. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm adjusting to this more quickly than I expected. It's been a very productive two days. I'm not yet in full swing - but I'm getting there. I keep checking the clock - when can I pick up Abi? Not that she HAS to stay there all day, but I know I need to accustom myself to this schedule (schedules?? I am not a schedule-person!). So I find another task to keep busy with until about 4:45.

In short, things are going very well.

End of The Day

Mid-day I received this message by e-mail, just as I was changing my FB status to reflect how strange it feels to not watch Abi all/most of the day.

I just thought I would let you know your child is an angel. She has had an amazing first day and is currently napping. I have not seen a tear all day, not even at nap time.

Wow, Abi napping??? She's never gone to sleep for other babysitters. It takes me a good hour to get her to nap usually, if not longer!

Seriously, if this is to be the norm, it's FANTASTIC. Soon enough, I'm sure, I'll grow accustomed to having an entire work day to focus on my dissertation without interruption. Today it's very strange and difficult to stay focused when I keep waiting to be interrupted/needed by Abi. Even when Robin is watching her, at most I get 90-120 minutes uninterrupted - if I'm lucky. If I can hear her fussing for a long time I can't help but intercede in some way.
[...]
So, I went to pick her up at 5 and found her playing outside (supervised of course) on the slide. Do you think she cried to see me like usual? No. Didn't seem too impressed that I was there - especially when I suggested we go home (and leave the slide!)

Not only did she fall asleep no problem for a nap, but she napped for almost 2 hours. She never cried or whined once. It was suggested that I should "make more" of these babies. LOL.
[Except, what are the odds I'd actually birth another baby like Abi? Aren't I scheduled for her opposite? Yes, I'm scared of having another just for this reason!]

I am happy for Abi - she clearly enjoys her long days of play with others. Tomorrow she gets to see butterflies. [I'm jealous!] Me, I'll be reading/writing/transcribing/cleaning my office.

Divided

Abi didn't want to wake up this morning. 8am and 8:30 attempts were greeted with a clear "NO!" as Abi rolled over again and went back to sleep. By 9am I was starting to dress her in her sleep in preparation of having to get her out of bed to take her to daycare. By the time I was done dressing her, she was less cranky about the whole thing. I was afraid she'd subsequently cling to me once we arrived at daycare, but instead she reached for J, the daycare provider, who she's never met before, and that was it. She was gone from my arms and happily exploring the new surroundings (and so many new toys!) I had to leave her breakfast so that she could eat it later because, of course, she was far too busy to eat!
Soonafter, I waved goodbye and left. Abi was too busy playing to pay much attention.
This is clearly more traumatic for me than her...

Got into the car and had to focus on calming myself. I had the oh-so-brilliant idea to swing by the university, pick up my old student course evaluations (submitted for a job application), and finally read my evals from last term - you know, to distract myself. That is, to redirect my anxieties away from Abi's absence towards criticism (and praise - but let's be honest, it's the criticisms that stand out).

So far it seems to have worked. I just got home and I'm not freaking out. Trying to center - and I think in order to be productive I will need to clean my office so I can actually find things again. Being able to move within my office would also be helpful.
[Not having to listen to a neighbour's kid drive around in an electric jeep would also be great. Yes, those things bother me - get a bike (he has one) and get some exercise! What are we teaching kids if we let them drive around in mini jeeps? Jeeps that can't even get over the lip into the driveway I might add.]

Yarn Yarn Yarn

In response to recently having been told that I may be strange for loving yarn...
here are some yarn slideshows.

1) My divine gifts from the Knitters Fair this weekend

2) My favourite Wellintgton Fibres wools

3) More favourite wools

Next time I'll show you what I do with my yarn. And then we can get back to the regularly scheduled Abi-ness.

Oh, this morning she said downstairs (ie, where Fenwick had just gone)

Late KNight Knit thoughts

Tomorrow is the big Knitters Fair and I'm trying to prepare myself with "a list" so I won't get too silly. I've never been to a Knitters Fair - where 80 plus vendors of yarn offer up temptations. One store is overwhelming (I'm talking stores such as Romni Wools and Shall We Knit, not Michaels), what will an entire fair be like???
So what's on my list? First and foremost - solid coloured sock yarn. I'm a sock-knitting fanatic. Easy, portable, relatively fast (well, considering the thin yarn and tiny needles), highly satisfying, cozy... need I go on?
After that, I have some yardage on a few different heavier weight yarns for a sweater or wrap - just some options. Given that I've managed to accumulate a small yarn stash over the past year (I recall when I lamented having absolutely no stash), I really should focus on using that up... Which is why I have a list. Because, there will be a LOT of yarn that I will want to fill my office with. And, thinking about it, and office filled with yarn isn't a bad idea. Sound-proofing for when I feel like screaming. Padding for when I throw my laptop. Soft things to throw if necessary. A bed if I fall asleep reading. Yarn to tie myself to my desk. Softness to squeeze and release stress.

Well now, how can I NOT buy oodles more yarn tomorrow?
I'm so glad I had this little chat with myself.

Now, to bed - to dream of alpaca and silk and unfinished socks. (Incidentally, I finished my first big-foot-man-sock today! I hope this man doesn't expect to receive socks all the time. Did I mention it's big?? And cabled?? That's love. And one Yule gift half done. I hope I don't have nightmares of the second sock. Great, why'd I have to go and think that!
Alpaca.
Silk.
Blankety-softness (as opposed to actually knitting the blanket, which would take forever - like Abi's fingering-weight ribbed pinwheel blanket...)

Child Care

After 18 months, Abi is soon to start child care so that I can finish my PhD and we can move home.

That's the short version.
The longer version would say more about being torn between child care and continuing to look after her myself, applying for child care subsidy, things about a village raising a child perhaps. But I'm not in the mood to write the long version. Perhaps because it is all rather nebulous still in my mind. I don't really want to think about it. I'm doing what needs to be done - so I can finish the PhD and we can move home.

Fortunately, our child care is home daycare and the childcare provider is wonderful. She came highly recommended by a friend and I was able to learn she had an opening early. She'd also met Abi once while this friend was babysitting - and who wouldn't want to provide childcare for Abi?? lol I DO I DO!!!

I'm nervous, but perhaps I'll focus on being curious about how this will all unfold as Abi starts spending her days with other kids elsewhere. I know she'll love all the activities and just being with other kids.

For myself, I'm looking forward to really diving into my work. So far I've actually only been able to tread water and swim a little. I have so much I want to write and have not had the opportunities I need to sit down and pull it all together uninterrupted.

Child care was supposed to start this week, but due to paper work stuff it didn't. I spent most of the week enjoying the summer with Abi - and we had great weather for it.

Words, Wrap, Diaper-free nights

Words just keep coming out of Abi's mouth! Words like Door and Apple and, today, Doll. Rather than try to blog every new word, I've added a Word List to the blog [if you read this on FB, you'll have to click the link to see the original post at Blogger]. There I will add the new words to the top of the list.

"Doll" started when we took a Groovy Girl doll with us to a meeting today. I had bought her a new one yesterday and when I was about to put it away, she became quite interested in it. I pulled out the other three for her to see. She's not one to play with stuffed toys much, but she does like to gather them up in her arms occasionally. I'll leave the dolls out for now to see if she wants to play with them. I'm hoping to get her a SewFunky Waldorf doll for Yule.She's been quite clingy lately. She loves the wrap and still prefers this carry (rather than a front-facing or back carry). See George lounging in the background - enjoying the baby-free time! He knows to expect Abi-hugs if he sleeps there, and yet it is still his favourite place. He knows the Abi-free places if he needs them.

I am also pleased to report that Abi has been sleeping through the night without peeing. This is especially good given that she's not wearing a diaper to bed. There is a large soaker pad underneath her in case she were to pee. She prefers, however, to get out of bed and use the potty in the room.
Have I mentioned how much I love my baby???
As soon as she starts telling me that she has to go (rather than me just reading her signals), we can go diaper-free all the time. It's my own fault for not emphasizing this earlier - getting her to sign for potty. It didn't seem necessary when she was taking herself to the potty. She never had to ask.

In addition to the new Groovy Girl, I bought (for a mere 99cents) Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book and it's my new favourite! Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You as well as I Love You, Goodnight (all of which I memorized months ago) are still favourites. I hate to give away my source, but the local Goodwill Store is my favourite place to shop for children's books. You can't go wrong with 99 cents books in mint condition! Nobody else would sell a Dr. Seuss book for that price.

Of Mice and Weeds

Abi enjoys kicking soccer balls. She also enjoys pretending they are hats. Why? I don't know, but apparently it's hilarious to her.

It's been another busy week. If you're on FB, you may have noticed that we had some baby mice in the house. Yes, eww. Robin had spotted the mouse race under the basement futon one night - with George quickly following. We've not seen the mouse since. Nevertheless, Robin conducted a thorough cleaning of the rec room (WOOT!). In the process, he found these newborn mice.

He was too grossed out to move them, so I used some cardboard to scoop them into this box and delivered them outside under a bush (not in my yard). I'll be honest, I'm sure they didn't survive the cold night (despite it being summer) and if they did, I'm sure some local animal would have found them a tasty snack. But I wasn't about to kill them directly.

You may also have heard that I had a friendly visit from a municipal by-law enforcement officer informing me that my backyard is too weedy. Now it's not - and that was a major job! First step was to severely prune the rose bushes just so I could get to the backyard. Next, pruning shears still in hand, I began to tackle the prickly plants. Sorry, but I'm too embarrassed to have taken before and after pictures. It ain't pretty now since the stupid hill is being held together by the wild-plant (they're only weeds if you don't want them there!) roots - so I chopped down the plants by hand (for the Goldenrod and Thistles) and weed-wacker (for the Colt's Foot) but left the bases. Once again we will try to cover the hill with Creeping Thyme for next year. Last year's seeds seem to have taken well. I've also scattered Columbine all over the bottom of the hill and some Musk Mallow in one of my former gardens for next year.
For the sake of context, here is the known history of that backyard - a previous homeowner (about a year before we bought?) had used Roundup to clear the hill than covered it over with sod. Needless to say, the sod didn't take and the grass has been dying since. I tried to create some garden beds along the sides, but the only things that will take well are herbs - which I am now going to focus on. The whole time we've been fighting with Colt's Foot (an annoying rhizome) and Thistles. Last year, with Abi's birth, I didn't get out to tend the hill as I had in previous years. This year I had better intentions... but, well, didn't get around to it. Late summer with sudden rains and sun provided the perfect environment for the wild plants to grow quickly - so that by the time I had a child-free opportunity, the back hill was too frightening and some other chore quickly became more important...
Next year... next year I'll tame that hill with Abi's help.

Another Beautiful Summer Day

I realize some people are lamenting these cooler summer days, but I love them. I would rather throw on a cozy hoodie to block the cool breeze than sweat in a humid heat and hide in my house out of the sun. Abi also much prefers these cooler days when I feel comfortable letting her play outside. She's going to love Autumn!
This morning she took Darla for a walk. Yes, Abi walked Darla (with a little help from me). She insisted not only that we take Darla on a walk (with her usual method of finding the leash and trying to put the Halti on Darla), but that she hold the end of the leash (while I held it in the middle at our short-leash knot). It was adorable. As an added bonus, Abi wasn't wandering off on the walk.
After the walk and some lunch for Abi, we drove out to New Hamburg to meet Connie at Meme's Cafe. Delicious! Abi had a well-deserved nap, and I had a wonderful lunch. Next we popped into Shall We Knit, a LYS conveniently located in New Hamburg. I picked up some sock yarn as well as some "leftovers" ends of Koigu for Abi's Leftovers Blanket. You see, I had this idea a couple weeks ago to use up my fabulous sock yarn with a pinwheel-style blanket. I imagined it would grow over time. I quickly ran out of leftovers... Buying a full skein or ball of yarn just for the blanket would defeat the purpose of a leftover blanket, so I either need to churn out more socks and wait, wait, wait to work on the blanket, or... Needless to say, when I noticed the small "leftover" skeins I snapped up a few. They are leftovers of a form (from winding skeins) - just not from my socks. By the end of the blanket I'll certainly have to buy full skeins because as it grows the circumference will be very large and leftovers might not make more than one round, if that. So far it has a radius of 10". If I aim for a 30" radius, that means I'm 1/3 of the way finished, right? SHHHH. No math please. Leave me alone in my deliberate fantasy.

After New Hamburg and dinner at home, we headed to Waterloo Park to join fellow knitters. While Abi spent 3 hours (!!!!!) playing on the slides, I knit 7 rounds on the blanket and used up one whole "leftover" skein. Granted, my knitting was slowed by the fact that I was walking around a play structure for 3 hours, but 7 rounds and a leftover skein in 3 hours is not a lot. Abi had a blast. While other kids and their families came and went, Abi played on - always excited by new kids arriving.

While Abi and I played, Robin was out Geo-Caching with a buddy after work.

Tomorrow we're going to visit a friend's new home. If the rain holds off I imagine we'll walk the dog, maybe play a little ball in the yard, chase Abi around... same old, same old.

Not just words

To follow up from the last post, I thought I would make clear that while there are some words that Abi says, there are far more that she understands and others that she signs.
One of those is bath. She loves signing for a bath lately. In fact, she's having one right now after asking for it. She still signs for nursing (her first sign), although she's more inclined to use her word (na-na-na) for nursing.
She also has a thing for feet. She doesn't quite say "feet", but she tries to and she pays a lot of attention to them - feet and shoes.

I've already shared videos demonstrating how she will find a cup and her food when asked (as well as on her own if she wants it). This applies to most things in her life - toys, food, drink, shoes...

Already she has a new word to add to the list "wa" for water.
I edited the last post to add "bubbles". We really don't know where that one comes from since she doesn't have bubble baths and she's only seen bubbles a couple of times. I think she just likes to repeat the word.

And you should see her soccer skills with a ball! She has some fancy footwork.

Abi's First Haircut

At last it is done. Abi has received her first hair cut.


Here comes the first snip...


And it is done. No turning back now.


Not too shabby for my first haircut.


Almost done...


The end result is a cute bob and now most of her hair is the same length instead of two very distinct layers far apart.


I think she likes it... I do.


Yes, I saved it. There is already a lock in her baby book.

Words

I recently realized that I haven't updated you on Abi's vocabulary. She started with:
Mama and Dada
Darla
No
Those are old hat for her now. She has added the following to her repertoire:
Yes (though she far prefers "no")
Shoes
Hat (often accompanied by patting her head)
Hot (sounds similar to hat of course, but you know by context)
All Done
George (which is much easier to say than Fenwick)
This
What's that? (more like "dat", but you know what she means)
Ball
mum-mum (food)
more
na-na-na (nursing; accompanied by sign for milk)

AUGUST 19 edit: Must add bubbles to the list. We have no idea where she got this one.

Next post - I gave Abi a hair cut.

Proud about Pee

You may recall me writing about Elimination Communication some time ago. (I tried to find the old post, but can't locate it.) You may also remember the cute picture of Abi sitting on her potty, or maybe on Corey's toilet (did I post that one?). Incase you don't remember, Abi has been peeing and pooping in a potty (or bowl or toilet) for over a year now. I don't recall right now when we started and I can't be bothered to look it up. It's been a long time, enough said. We practice what is called Elimination Communication. This does not mean that Abi is being "potty trained". In fact, she won't need to be. Rather, it means that as parents we are aware of when Abi has to pee or poop and we provide an opportunity for her to do so in a container. (This is called "catching" in EC terms.) It is so much easier than changing a dirty diaper! Since we are out a lot, Abi was really only part-time ECing and otherwise wearing cloth diapers. However, as summer came along and Abi had more opportunities to run around diaper-free, she quickly took to using the potty all the time. At first we only had the small red potty and I was always bringing it up and downstairs with us. It is very portable and came camping with us. Abi did so well using the potty camping that I barely used any diapers and even when I did put on a diaper (for sleep, meals, rituals, etc), she often did not use them as she prefers to use the potty. This summer I bought her a classic wooden chair potty for the living room. Once that was set up, there was no diapers necessary at home most of the time. When she has to go, she walks herself over to the chair and does her business - even if I'm not nearby. If she does start to have an accident, she will stop herself and move to the potty. (Spills are easily cleaned on the laminate flooring.) This was all well and good, but the real indication that she is almost done with diapers was when she awoke from a nap while we were downstairs and went pee and poop in her potty all by herself. We did not even know she was awake until we heard her crying. (She was sleeping diaper-free on a very large change pad on our futon on the floor.)
Needless to say, I am very proud of her. And I am very pleased to think that she will soon be done with diapers!! No "potty training" for us.

In unrelated footage, here is a cute video of Abi exploring a slide. At first she was going down feet-first on her belly (just like she goes down the stairs), but she quickly shifted to sitting up. Unfortunately, now she also tries to go down stairs this way, and if you hold her hand on the stairs, she will try to slide down them on her bum.
Abi on the slide:

Busy Week

I thought family would be curious to hear about all the fun we've had with family and friends this week - even though we're still mid-week and there is more yet to come.
Abi's Aunty Corey arrived Friday evening for a long-weekend visit. Saturday we went to a local water park. [pictures coming from Corey; check Flickr later] Sunday we went for brunch at Boa Nova with Corey and some cousins as a belated birthday celebration (for Corey). Monday we drove out to Port Dalhousie where Abi had her first ride on the carousel.

We also met up with Abi's great-grandparents and great-aunt as well as some friends while we were there.
Later that day, Abi's uncle Ian arrived with aunty Melanie. We found a local geo-cache that evening and Tuesday we visited St. Jacob's for breakfast and a tour.

Ian and Melanie left Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday we took Abi to the Toronto Zoo.

Tomorrow Abi and I are visiting my Aunt Rita and cousin Natassia. Friday we have a fire-pit party with friends... and Saturday I think we'll sleep. All day. Unless we have plans.

More updates to come - there have been many exciting developments for Abi.

Twos (2)

2 - the number of new molars Abi is cutting on her bottom jaw. (For a total of 4 molars)

2 - the number of days until Aunty Corey arrives!

2 - the number of people visiting Abi from BC on Monday.

2 - the number of cats who live in this house and who are getting along okay.

2 - the number of cats who keep visiting my sliding screen back door, presumably looking for either Fenwick or (sadly if so) Monkey.

2 - the number of times I had to drive downtown to pick Robin up from work today. (I got lava cake as an apology.)

2 - the number of fairy dolls I have made .

2 - the number of times I have to knit the heels (and then feet) of each sock in this pair.


2 - the number of odd socks I've knit so far and don't plan on knitting the other half of the pair for quite some time.


2 - the square root of the number of little girls who will be very excited to receive their toys from Aunty Mandy (plus a dragon for their mom).

2 - the hour I will probably go to bed at.

2 - the number of shoes one usually wears, unless you are Abi and insist on wearing only one shoe around the house and stomping with it.

2 - double the number of hours Abi napped today (recent trend due to teething).

2 - the number of children's clothing consignment stores remaining near me now that Angel Worn is closing in 2 days.

2 - forty less than the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

5 Years

It's been five years (and a day) since Robin and I were married. I've been told that's quite an accomplishment, but it doesn't seem hard - so I guess that's a good sign that we'll have many more anniversaries.

We're not really the type to celebrate anniversaries, but we did have a fun evening picnic in the park (with Abi) and then going to see Transformers (without Abi).

Abi had fun too, while we were at the movie, playing with a kitten and kids.

I also wanted to share some of her art with you. A few weeks ago she found some pencil crayons and this leftover poster board and she began to doodle. Fortunately she has an innate desire to put crayon/pen/pencil to paper rather than on walls, furniture, etc. (Granted, paper includes books). I have some videos of her colouring that I will eventually edit and share. Today I pulled out her baby paint/markers and let her build onto her art piece.

Most of this was done by Abi, but I'm sure you can tell which brush strokes are mine. She actually finds these difficult to work with because she is used to holding a pencil and she holds a pencil quite well. Unfortunately, in this picture you can't see her pencil-crayon doodles - mostly below the painted area above the blue ball. Abigail was also quite colourful by the time she finished.