Smiles!

I couldn't resist the perfect lighting for a perfect little girl. As you can see, her hair is growing! And you can see 5 of her 7 teeth in the first photo.

Almost walking...

Rose is cruising along all of the time now. She only crawls when she wants to get somewhere quick. The rest of the time she's cruising along the furniture, or pushing a craft table chair around. The weather is getting somewhat warmer and it will be nice to go to the park soon...this requires Rose to have some sort of solid footwear in order to cruise around the park or hold my hands to walk. I brought her to Kinder Soles to get her first pair. I wasn't sure what kind to get, but the lady said that she could do with real shoes as she is on her feet over 75% of the time, and they will probably last around 3 months...in which time she'll definitely be walking. Of course she doesn't need to wear shoes all the time, but she can benefit from wearing them if we're outside, etc. And since she's on her feet a lot at home she can wear the shoes for a bit to get used to them.

She is so close to walking. She can fully walk just holding onto one of my fingers for balance. She just needs the confidence to do it on her own. She knows that she can crawl really fast, so she will just drop to her knees and crawl rather then attempt to transition between 2 close objects. I wouldn't be surprised though if she took a few steps any day now. Paige was already walking at this exact same age. I think walking would initially slow Rose down, which is why she prefers to crawl super-fast to keep up with Paige!

As an aside note, proper walking shoes from a kids store aren't cheap! Mike's first shoes were $10ish apparently for good ones, and, well, Rose's were a lot more than that! Seems crazy, but I have always splurged on quality shoes thinking that it is a good thing to spend the extra money on. I hope so.

Free years old.

Paige has always been really good at pronouncing her words. She can now say "th" sounds in the middle or end of words..."Anthony", "Elizabeth", etc. She still says she's "free years old" though. She was really excited when she said "Anthony" properly. She doesn't know an Anthony, but he's a member of the singing group, The Wiggles, who she loves...Anthony is her favourite Wiggle she says.

The Backyardigans sing a song that says "We're going to Mars! We're going to Mars!", and she is convinced it is "We're going to Marth! We're going to Marth!" I keep telling her it's not right, but she doesn't believe me. She sounds like she has a lisp.

I think she has most of her sounds down pat... although sometimes she's not sure if something has a v or b sound. She still says "Bacuum" instead of vacuum. And she really tries hard to say "three".

Awake training for Mommies...

I already forwarded this to a lot of people, but thought I would post it here anyway (also so I can have quick reference for a good laugh).

Dear Fellow Babies,

OK, here’s my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 5 months. The first few months were great – I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, around the clock. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse.

I’ve talked to other babies, and it seems like its pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 5-6 months. Here’s the thing: these Mommies don’t really need to sleep. It’s just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep – they just don’t need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.

It goes like this:

Night 1 – cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it’s hard. It’s hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it’s for her own good.

Night 2 – cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3 – every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don’t give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I know it’s hard! But she really does not need the sleep; she is just resisting the change.. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

The other night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with:

-My sleep sack tickled my foot.
-I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
-My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
-I burped, and it tasted like rice cereal. I hadn’t eaten rice cereal since breakfast, what’s up with that?
-The dog said “ruff”. I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.
-Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
-Too hot, too cold, just right – doesn’t matter! Keep crying!!
-I had drooled so much my sheets were damp and I didn’t like it touching me.
-I decided I was sick of all the pink in my room so I cried.

It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies’ internal clocks.

Sometimes my Mommy will call for reinforcements by sending in Daddy. Don’t worry Daddies are not set up for not needing sleep the way Mommies are. They can only handle a few pats and shhing before they declare defeat and send in the Mommy.

Also, be wary of the sleep sheep with rain noises. I like to give Mommy false hope that listening to the rain puts me to sleep sometimes I pretend to close my eyes and be asleep and then wait until I know Mommy is settling back to sleep to spring a surprise cry attack. If she doesn’t get to me fast enough I follow up with my fake cough and gag noise that always has her running to the crib. At some point I am positive she will start to realize that she really doesn’t really need sleep.

P.S. Don’t let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out.

Trust me.

Sincerely,
Baby J

Source: http://www.babysleepsite.com/awake-training-for-parents/

More amazing iPhone app fun....

Wordless Wednesday...

First birthday fast approaching...

Unbelievable. My little baby is fast approaching toddlerhood. She cruises around all of the furniture, can climb up the stairs, often gets into mischief, and practices walking with her walker. She is not far off from walking on her own. I am really really finding it difficult to cook a meal or even eat my own lunch. She doesn't want to be confined to her highchair, so if I'm eating I have to feed her simultaneously or give her finger foods to keep her from getting into danger on the floor. Her favourite place downstairs is standing up at the craft table. Upstairs--Paige's room or exploring. She doesn't actually play with her toys anymore.

I'm mentally planning her first birthday, and have a beautiful girly outfit planned for her. Her birthday falls on Easter Sunday, which is a bit awkward, but that just means we'll have a weekend of fun! The plan is to go to the Springridge Easter festival. Fun for the whole family.

I thought I'd feel sad that she was getting older, but as busy as I am I can't imagine entertaining a "lump" baby anymore. She continues to be overly sensitive, crying at the slightest bump or fall, and adventurous--exploring all cupboards, drawers, and examining everything. She still wants only mommy when she's tired. She's way better with food, but we're still not into complex meals and combinations of food. No meat yet, and foods with multiple textures cause her to gag. She can eat full cheerios with her fingers, but don't expect her to eat a purree with a few chunks in it. She accidentally ate a mini oreo cookie though when we were in Florida. It was on the floor and we caught her with a mouth full of mushed up black cookie. I don't think we'll ever switch her to a bottle. There's no point. When she begins cow's milk, we'll just start to introduce it in a sippy cup. One less transition.

I'm not sure if Rose says "mama" and "dada", or if it's just well-timed babbling. It often seems to be said at the correct time, and other times I hear her saying it randomly. She is waving, clapping, and starting to point.

Something hard to believe is the fact that she has 7 teeth. She got the first 2 when she was 4 months, and then popped out 5 in a 3 week span before we left for our vacation. You can imagine the sleepless nights and pain this caused everyone involved. She has now turned into a biter, so you'd better watch out!

At this point she still takes 2 naps...9:45 and 3:00. The morning one is often longer than the afternoon one, and it lasts until 11:00 (I often have to wake her up at this point to go pick up Paige--it begins at 9:45 as we have returned from dropping off paige). She sleeps at night from about 8 until 7:30, waking up once or twice to eat. Maybe she's not hungry, but she's usually sitting or standing with her eyes open, and feeding her is the fastest way for both of us to get back to sleep!

I've obviously spent way less time chronicalling every one of her developments, as opposed to Paige's growing up. I feel guilty, of course, but also attribute it to the fact that I am more confident and don't feel the need to debate and ponder things online. It's weird though. I am just amazed with every new step as when it happened with Paige. I just don't always have time to put thought into blog.

This Rose "overview" was inspired by her turning 10 months yesterday. Wow. Unbelievable.

Good travellers...

If I learned one thing from our trip, besides leaving even earlier to go to the airport if you actually want a coffee or a 5 second break, it's that our kids are really good travellers. I take it for granted that we can just pack them up and go. Of course Rose is a baby and they are generally very portable, but I assume it will continue as we keep travelling.

Paige with her new Princess Suitcase at the Toronto airport ready for 10 days of fun!

I hear from lots of other moms that their kids are either really horribly impatient in the car, constantly needing to be entertained, or they're complaining constantly about hunger, heat, cold, etc. Lots of people avoid travel altogether thinking that it is just a disaster waiting to happen. That sucks and I wonder whether it is the kids or just the parents not preparing, or forgetting what it takes to travel with kids.

I think with Paige I have learned a few things:

1. It is key to have a nice mix of snacks ready on hand, as well as the willingness to buy treats or yummy food like cookies or muffins, to keep the excitement and sugar levels up. Don't really worry about nutrition while on an airplane or in the car.

2. It is never a good idea to bust out the coveted travel distractions, like television shows until well into the journey. Thus giving child time to fall asleep, or exhaust basic things like looking out the window or talking about the vacation. Paige is such a seasoned traveller now (16-18 flights) that she isn't all that excited about take off anymore. If she has a tv in front of her she'll just keep watching it. And take breaks with tv to do things like special craft books.

3. Never, ever, assume you will have time to stop for the bathroom or a meal in the airport. Too many variables. Once you're in the check-in/security/customs circuit you don't want to stop. Eat at home before you go.

4. Bring toys that are good for all children. We brought some baby toys for Rose on this trip, but made sure that all of Paige's toys were big and also good for Rose to play with. I didn't have to worry when they were strewn all over the hotel.

5. Have a surprise toy for halfway through the trip. In orlando, I had a huge ziplock bag of crafy odds and ends, and Disney stickers. Paige was super excited for the new influx of fun.

6. Husbands who travel often for business need to be placated with food, coffee etc. as the kids cramp their usually sweet travelling style.

Part 11: Prying myself from my hotel room and coming home...

As I had packed up most of our stuff on Wednesday before our visit to the Magic Kingdom, it was easy to pack up the rest of our stuff on Thursday morning. Easy, but sad. When it was all said and done and Mike was writing up a quick email before we left, we decided that we were idiotic for leaving on a Thursday before a long weekend. Who does that?? It wasn't for lack of money, as mike's company was paying for lots as he was conferencing. It was sheer stupidity. Mike could have clearly worked from the hotel on the Friday, and we could have enjoyed 2 full days in the hot sun before coming home. We stood still in the room for about 5 minutes questioning what we would have to do to stay there the extra days. Confirm the room, car rental, new flight. Mike figured we'd have to switch rooms anyway as it was really busy. But seriously, it was after checkout time at this point, and we were literally going straight to the airport. There would have been too many details to iron out. And what if we got a new room and flight, and needed to return the car? Or some other combo. There really wasn't time to turn back! So frustrating. Too make matters worse at the airport later, the line for check in was ridiculous, and the television sets on the flight were busted. I took that as a sign. But I think Paige was looking forward to her stuff at home. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure she thought it was Spring at home.

At any rate, next time we will think. 10 days is a lot, but with mike working for 3.5 days, it seemed shorter. 2 weeks was clearly doable! Heck, 3 would have been even better! And if you have seen the weather they are having in Orlando right now, you'd be sad too. I suppose there are worse dilemmas to have then whether to stay a few extra days in Orlando or not.

So we got to the airport with tons of time. The lineup at Air Canada was so attrocious though that it took a huge chunk out of our time. When we finally got through check in, the security lineup was ridiculous. With Mike's Nexus pass in Canada, he is able to go through the crew lineup at Security, which saves him even more time. We didn't have to use it in Toronto as we get to go through the Wheelchair lane with the strollers, which is never very busy. But in Orlando, there was just a sea of people, so Mike decided to walk up to the crew lineup with his pass. He had the following conversation:

Mike: Hello, am I able to use my pass at this lineup?
Man: yes sir (and then says something quietly and inaudable)
Mike: Pardon me?
Man: Are you armed?
Mike: um, no.

Nexus is really only a Canadian thing. You don't use it in the US. Clearly the man thought that it was some kind of Air Marshal pass or something?? We wish we knew. It must look similar to something else. Obviously Mike thought this was the best thing ever, and felt totally awesome.

We ate a Starbucks lunch once we got through and Paige and I went to smell perfumes at the Duty free store. The flight was delayed and they made the announcement about the busted televisions. Great. I would have to forfeit my phone to Paige so she could watch shows on it while I sat holding sleeping Rose staring at the seat in front of me. Mike and I tried to talk a bit, but I was worried about waking up Rose. She needed to sleep.

The flight was fine, and before we knew it, we were back in Toronto. Luckily, the weather was kind to us and it was unseasonably warm for our arrival. Paige had a huge meltdown on the monorail back to the parking lot. She was used to the Disney monorail and had become quite the rule monger about holding the hand rail. She was holding it and spinning around dangerously, so Mike pried her off it and asked her to hold his hand instead to which she freaked out and was screaming and then frantically grabbing the rail as we were trying to quickly get off the train. I get it though, we had been in transit from the hotel for 9 hours at this point.

So, that concludes the blogging of our trip to warm and sunny Orlando! Thank goodness I blogged on the road, or this would never have been done, or with as much detail.

Part 10: Magic Kingdom visit #3!

The 3rd day of Mike's conference was a shorter one, so we decided to finish our vacation off with a literal bang at the Magic Kingdom's fireworks show. After spending the day at the pool and park again, of course, we got ready and headed off to the theme park when Mike got home at 4:00. The day was beautiful and sunny, even though the forecast called for showers. Paige got to wear her Cinderella dress without pants and a shirt underneath for the first time.

We didn't have tons of time at the park, but Paige really wanted me to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean with her. The 4 of us did the Haunted Mansion first, as Pirates wasn't working, and then had some dinner. After dinner Pirates was functioning so Paige and I rode it and then Mike and Paige rode it--Rose had fallen asleep in her stroller by this point. She loves the big drop in the dark at the beginning....so do I. I find the pirates a bit creepy though, and always have, but she doesn't seem to notice, or get creeped out. When we finished this up most people were securing spots for the big show, which is a perfect time to find short lineups for the rides! We rode on the Aladdin flying carpet ride before finding a spot to watch the show. The park was about 10 times as busy as it was the other time we watched the show. It really doesn't matter where you are though, the fireworks are massive and the music is pumping out from every angle. An unbelievable show. I can't begin to describe it, or do it justice. You just have to see it for yourself. It's one of those multi-sensory experiences that makes you a little misty eyed watching it. I'm happy that Mike recorded it the first time--I definitely want to watch it again.

Paige taking it all in:

My attempts to capture something interesting:

More worrying then finding a spot to stand in the huge crowd, was getting out of the park in a timely fashion when the show was finished without losing each other! But in true Disney fashion, everything ran smoothly and we were on the monorail in no time. Rose woke up just before the show started, watched the show, sat silently on the monorail on the way to the parking lot, and then fell asleep the moment we started driving without uttering a peep.