Four and a Half

Sorry to those of you who got the "draft" update.  Stupid Blogger.  Not only ate my post, but posted a draft.  *Grumble*  Please pretend you didn't see that and enjoy this rewritten version.

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...and now we are the parents of a four and a half year old!

The Bean at four and a half is a kid with big ideas and strong opinions who does not like to be told what to do.  He is active and playful and articulate and loving.  Being his parent is a joy and a challenge.  

There is no doubt that language continues to be an area of strength for The Bean.  He is incredibly articulate and has quite a sophisticated vocabulary.  He loves playing with new words.  He also loves making up words, telling us what they mean, and using them in conversation.  

Recently he has started reading, which is just amazing. He's got a good number of sight words (Dolch) and can figure out most CVC words which means that beginning readers are the perfect level for him right now.  Surprisingly, he also seems to be reading some longer/more obscure words. I'm not sure if he's actually reading or just figuring out what things say given the context.  The word "office" comes to mind (a Microsoft Office ad on the computer).  I can't think of others, but it happens fairly frequently.  

Of course, he continues to love books.  He'll happily sit and listen to someone read for as long as they're willing to read to him.  He's also quite content to sit and browse through books on his own.  Journey and Quest have are wordless picture books that have become fast favourites.  He also loves the eeBoo storytelling cards that we picked up for him and Sprout.  Jen is really good at "playing" these with him.

He is very social. He will strike up a conversation with just about anyone. He always has something he wants to share or discuss. He can be a little shy around people he doesn't know, but it doesn't usually take him long to warm up. He's started to take a real interest in his friends and often asks about them and wants us to make plans to get together, whereas before we initiated most of the meet-ups. He seems to gravitate towards older children and girls. It's particularly infatuated with a former student of mine who we've become family friends with. If you ask him who he loves, he always names her first. I should mention that she's nearly three times his age, lives in Chicago and he last saw her in April. *Sigh* I have a feeling this will be the first in a long line of crushes.  

In addition to liking girls, he has been saying fairly consistently for the past six months or so that he wants to be a girl. We're not really sure what to make of it. When we ask him why, he says that "girls are cool" and that he doesn't like being the only one who is different in our family.  We assure him that plenty of boys are cool too, and that we are all different from each other and what makes him different makes him special to us, but that we love him no matter what. He's worn "girl clothes" out a few times and has been pretty instant about growing his hair long like Rapunzel's.  (He wants to be able to stand on the balcony and let it down so our guests can climb up it.) We're trying to be respectful of his wishes and provide guidance. 

He loves pretend play and dressing up. His knight costume is a favourite, especially the sword. Captain America also gets a lot of wear. The biggest pretend play games are "babies" and "school" ...and sometimes "babies go to school." This type of imaginative play definitely wins out over any toys. There really aren't many toys he's very interested in.  Magnatiles got a good bit of attention for a while, but he even seems to be taking a break from those recently. If couch cushions count as toys, those might be his favourite.   

He's incredibly active. His climbing is just crazy. The way he manipulates his body is amazing to watch and he really seems fearless with regards to heights. He also loves to spin, jump, slide, run, splash and ride his bike and scooter. He's becoming much more confident in the water and will submerge his head (briefly) again. He can handle his two-wheeler (with training wheels) quite well. We've been spending lots of time at parks, splash pads and pools. He's been asking to go back to gymnastics, so I'm hoping to get him into a program again this fall.  

He loves music. Recently I've been blown away by his ability to remember both tunes and lyrics to new songs. He's been singing a lot and requests particular CDs to sing along and dance to. His current favourite is his "Welcome to Kindergarten" CD.  

He is SO pumped to be going to school in the fall.  I think he's going to love it. He's completely ready socially and I think the academics will be great for him too.  He's very curious about a number of things -language and geography standing out among them. His fine motor skills are low, pencil grip and penmanship in particular. He can write his name and draw stick people and other basic things, but doesn't seem to have much of an interest in art (though we've noticed he likes to paint objects rather than paper) and has to be encouraged to do any type of writing.  He does enjoy mazes and some kindergarten activity books.  

We're going to have to work on establishing a morning routine. While he loves being out, getting him out the door can be a challenge. He doesn't like having to get dressed or brush his teeth. He also just likes to lounge around and play. He'll get ready quickly when motivated by a fun activity or people he wants to see, but I imagine once the novelty of going to school wears off that we're going to have a bit of a challenge.  

I also anticipate that he's going to miss Sprout. They've become quite close. They get along well about 90% of the time.  The other 10% Sprout doesn't do what The Bean is telling her to and he gets upset. It is the sweetest thing to watch him "look out" for her, though we've noticed that he seems to feel responsible for her and seems to have some anxiety about that in certain situations, so we've been trying to reassure him that Mama and Mommy (or another adult we trust when we're not around) will take care of Sprout and that he doesn't have to worry.  

We've been trying to work on difficult behaviour.  Being bossy. Getting upset when things don't go his way. Being defiant. Blaming others. He's halfway to giving up naps, and he's definitely more difficult the afternoons when he hasn't slept. We also notice a difference when his stomach is bothering him. Difficult behaviours are best managed with lots of one-on-one attention and very calm and patient responses. It's hard sometimes though. Except for the rare occasion we've cut out all TV, movies, tablet and phone. It was becoming a battle every time it was time to turn the device off and just not worthwhile.   

He's still having tummy troubles.  Going completely off dairy has certainly helped and he is doing much better when we're giving him his daily fibre supplement (which we've been bad about since summer began)  I still feel like there's something more going on.  I think we may have him go through full allergy testing. At this point I just want to know what's going on and solve the problems once and for all.  

Despite the  digestive issues, he has been growing.  That said, he is still a peanut.  He's about 40.5in and 33 or 34lbs. He's moving into some 4T clothes, but mostly for length. He can still wear 18m shorts! Made-to-fit pants are a lifesaver. If given a choice, he would wear PJs all day, everyday.  "Zips" (fleece one piece jammies) are his favourite. Even in the 100 degree humidity we've been having. Aside from PJs he goes for cozy sweat pants and superhero t-shirts.   

He's picky about food but will try new things. He eats a lot of cereal and bread.  Nuts are also a favourite. He's so-so with fruits and veggies, meaning that he sticks to the ones he likes. We always swore we wouldn't make a separate meal for the kids, but: Famous Last Words. Otherwise we'd be eating a lot of chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.

The past (four years and) six months have definitely been busy. There's been a lot of change in our lives and a lot to navigate with those changes. The Bean is a more sensitive kid than I sometimes realize and he definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. As always he's teaching me how to be a better Mama. How to listen and watch and have patience and be gentle but also how to live in the moment and not take things too seriously and smile more and love openly. This kid. My heart. 

Our Runaway Rainbow and a Giveaway from Sarah's Silks

Rainbows have a long tradition of being used to symbolize diversity, inclusiveness, and hope.  Though we've never owned a rainbow flag, bumper sticker or other rainbow paraphernalia, when my wife and I went to buy The Bean his first playsilk, it was the rainbow silk we were drawn to.  It seemed fitting for a little boy with two moms; but even without that as a factor, it was too beautiful to pass up.  

It quickly became the go-to for a game of peek-a-boo.  Then it became a ghost costume.  Tied around his shoulders it was a cape.  Around his waist it was a skirt.  On his head it was his princess hair.  The versatility of this "toy" is one of the reasons we wanted it for our son in the first place.  It proved a good choice.  Two years we had added another playsilk to our collection so that The Bean and Sprout could each have one for some creative play.

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When we were invited to participate in WorldPride this past June, our host asked us to come decked out in rainbow gear.  I immediately though how perfect it would be to put the playsilk over the canopy of our stroller as we marched down the streets of Toronto.  Unfortunately in the hubbub of getting downtown and in place to march our beautiful playsilk blew away.  By the time we realized it, it was too late.  We tried to backtrack, but it was gone.  We were more than a little bit upset, but tried to get over it quickly as upset is not the mood one wants to be in at a Pride celebration.    

Even without the playsilk decorating our stroller, the parade was amazing.  

Still, we wanted to replace our playsilk.  While browsing, I saw that Sarah was looking for bloggers to review her products.  Hopeful, I reached out to her.  She graciously agreed to send some products to review, and even suggested a giveaway for our readers!  

The Bean was so excited when we received the Sarah's Silks package in the mail.  He eagerly tore into it and wanted to play with the new toys right away.  I draped the silk scape over our dining room table and the kids hung out in their "fort" while I grabbed some sweaters so we could go outside.  

Once outdoors, The Bean and Sprout ran in and out under their new rainbow silk scape, giggling joyfully.  The Bean then donned our starry night playsilk as a cape, while Sprout put on the rainbow cape and grabbed the other wand we had and then took turns turning me and each other into different animals.  After a short time that turned into more running across the lawn, this time with capes and wands trailing behind them.  Since then the playsilks have been used as blankets and babycarriers.  I'm curious to see what they get used as next.  

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If you think your little one(s) would enjoy playing with one of the items at sarahssilks.com, please leave a comment  on this post saying what you think they would like best.  A winner of a $50 gift certificate (courtesy of Sarah), will be randomly selected a week from today.  Good luck!  

Sprout is Nineteen Months Old!

Today Sprout is nineteen months old!

Maybe I say this every month, but this past month has really flown by.  After the last update I thought it would be a good idea to write some of the changes in Sprout's development down as I noticed them.  I was a bit neglectful... six bullet points is as far as I got.  Of course, there have been many other changes.  I will do my best to remember and make note of them here...

-Perhaps one of the biggest changes is that Sprout is now spending (most of) her nights in a crib in the kids' room.  This feels life-changing.  And while I miss having my baby right beside me during the nights, the truth is that I think we are both/all sleeping better now.  I felt like I was never falling into a proper sleep, always listening to her toss and turn and wondering if she was going to wake up and want to nurse, or be held, or whatever.  After spending a few days away in a hotel, we were able to test out how the kids did sharing a room.  Sprout's nighttime cries didn't seem to wake up her brother, so rather spontaneously (if you can call something you've waited over a year to do spontaneous) we decided to put her in the crib in the kids room at home.  She was really tired the first night, so it went really well... she didn't wake up until 5:30am, at which point I brought her into our room and I nursed and cuddled her until a more reasonable wake-up time.  Since then she's been waking once or twice before we go to bed, but settling back down fairly easily, and then waking up any time after 4am to join me in our room.  She still naps in our room because she's a frequent nap waker and I really, really don't want her disturbing her brother's naps.  That time is too precious to me.

-As I mentioned, we went away for a few nights.  Jen's parents treated us to a stay at an indoor water park out their way.  It was very fun and solidified Sprout's love of the water.  She may have said "splash" more than she said "mama" while we were there, and that is a lot.  ;) 

-She's continued to add new words and sounds into her vocabulary.  Ball, man man (for Spiderman), hop, and cluck come to mind.  She's also started putting two words together, sometimes three even.  No examples are jumping to mind immediately, but things like "more milk" and "hot blow" (the food is hot, blow on it) and "baby in" (put the doll in the stroller) come to mind. 

-She definitely knows her own mind.  She often requests "help" or "hand" when she wants you to do something.  As I think I mentioned last month, "no" is another big word.  "Mm Hm" is her usual affirmative response.  And when you ask her a question, she will adorably tap her chin and say "Hmmm."  I have no idea where she picked it up, but I love it. 

-I said about her knowing her own mind --two notes in that regard
1) She really wants to figure out this potty thing.  Often when I take off her diaper she will go sit on the potty.  She likes to stay naked on the bottom and run back and forth to it, sitting for a few minutes, then getting up to play.  She gets quite upset when I try to put a diaper on her in this situation.  However, she has yet to have a "successful" potty trip and really is not aware that she has to pee until it is happening /has happened.
2) She is determined to dress herself.  This can be such a battle when I am trying to get us out somewhere, but mostly I am trying to just let her figure it out or help her to the degree which she deems acceptable.  The result is often waist in the leg hole of her shorts, things on backwards, etc.  but she's one and a half and we're at home, so what does it matter?  Right?

-Like her brother, she's been getting really into dancing to music.  It's pretty adorable as she tries to copy many of his "moves."  We took her to a couple of live shows this past week and she had such a good time running around and dancing. 

-She can jump!  She actually gets airborne for a half a second.  She loves it.  She's also taken to leaping onto the couch from our ottoman.  I'm just waiting for a crash.  Hopefully we can avoid any ER visits.  

-She is still totally obsessed with her babies.  

-She also LOVES airplanes.  She'll point and bounce and call out "pane! pane! up! fi!" when she sees one.  Which is often.  We live relatively close to an airport.

-Her favourite books are Welcome Summer and other touch and feels, Zoe's Snowy/Windy/Sunny/Rainy Day, The Carrot Seed, and Hop on Pop which she calls Hop Pop.  She listens to a lot of The Bean's longer books since I read to both of them together before naps, but she seems to prefer the books meant for younger ones.  Which makes sense, but I still find notable.

-She is both a shy, snugglebug and an outgoing silly billy.  I had to use the above photo for this month's update because it shows what a goofball she can be.  She has the best, best smiles, but mostly saves them for those she's the most comfortable with.  She's also a big joker.  We get a kick out of her.

-I know many of you don't know her name, or her many nicknames, but she will point to herself and say her name, and she will also call herself "B", which is a part of one her nick names... the one The Bean most often calls her.  I think it's adorable.  (Of course, I think about 95% of what she does is adorable, so maybe I'm not the best person to comment on this!)

-She is still a frequent nurser.  It's been a while now that she just nurses before going to sleep or when she wakes up, but she sometimes asks in between those times.  Often I distract her, occasionally I nurse her.  I'm so, so happy to have this relationship with her.  It's exhausting, but it is also so nice to be able to hold her and stare at her and feel her little body relax as her breath changes and she calms down and falls to sleep.  It's a privilege.  Though I sometimes think that it would be nice for my body to be my own again, and to get a full night's sleep would be oh so amazing, I am not wishing away these moments. 

-Food is about the same.  Sometimes she's a bit finicky.  I think she gets pretty significant pain with teething, and although I haven't noticed any new teeth trying to push their way through, I wouldn't be surprised if sometimes when she doesn't want to eat if it's because she's in pain.  Again, knowing that she'll nurse and get the nutrients and calories she needs makes me much less concerned about missed meals.

I think that's pretty good for now.  Hopefully I keep up on all the progress over this current month a little better than I have been.  Mostly she continues to be a loving, silly, joyful little bug.  It's so wonderful to be her family.

11/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2014.

The Bean: Mama's "helper" in the kitchen.  

Sprout: Smug.    

The Bean is Three Years Old!

For the past several months I've been thinking about the fact that we were soon going to have a three year old, but even with the reminders, it's a little unbelievable that today we actually have a three year old.

The Bean is an opinionated, energetic, sweet, silly kid.  In many ways he's the same person he's always been, in other ways he has changed so much in the past year.  

-I'm not going to lie:  2.5 to 3 has been difficult.  Meltdowns, temper tantrums, you name it, we've been there.  He's not happy when he doesn't get his way.  At the same time he can be so incredibly thoughtful and loving.  

-We try to talk to him when he's upset and to get him to explain what he perceives the problem to be so that we can try to find a solution.  Sometimes though, when we ask him what's wrong, he just cries, "I don't know!"  

-He is such a good big brother.  I think he's enjoying that Sprout can interact with him more now.  They're favourite thing to do together is chase each other through and around the tunnel.  The Bean loves giving Sprout big hugs and just the other morning asked me where she was when I went in to get him out of bed, telling me, "I want to hug her.  I just love her so much!"  

-Though he doesn't articulate it, we also know he gets pretty jealous of her at times.  One of his alter-egos is "Baby Blah", who, as I'm sure you've already figured out, needs to be treated just like the other baby in the house (carried, spoon fed, cooed at, etc.).   

-Aside from "Baby Blah", there is "Caramel" (who is five), and "Anthony" (who has a scooter).  The Bean also sometimes pretends to be some of the older boys from daycare.  He loves dressing up in costumes (Spiderman, kitty cat, princess, witches' hat) and pretending too.  Most of his costumes are getting a bit small, we're going to have to seek out some bigger ones for him.

-We have a pretty familiar routine, even if The Bean doesn't always want to adhere to it.  He has a little pictograph of his morning routine posted in his bedroom.  These days a lot of disagreements come because he wants to play rather than do the things we need him do.  On weekdays, he has been saying that he wants to stay home a lot too and he's usually quite happy when it's a Saturday or Sunday and he can "stay home and play".  We know he loves his daycare provider, but we think he misses the older kids who are now all in school during the days and only come for an hour or two at the end of the day and on holidays.  (There are two younger girls there with him during the days, but he really did like interacting with the older kids more than he seems to like the little girls.)  

-These days The Bean loves wearing his PJs and sometimes his robe (which he calls his skirt), but usually needs convincing to wear actual clothes.  He's usually in 24m/2T tops.  Pants are tricky 18-24m pants are STILL big in the waist, but he needs 24m/2T for the length.  We cinch the waist on everything.  Shoes are somewhere around size 6.5.  (He also loves being naked.  What kid doesn't?)

-The little dude weighed in at 29lbs and just over 3 feet tall at his doctor's appointment on Thursday.  I was surprised!  

-He has a clean bill of health.  We're still monitoring the pelviectasis, but it's not a concern at all at this point.  We are pretty sure he has a dairy allergy/sensitivity.  We plan on taking him to an allergist soon to double check and also to make sure that that's the only food allergy/sensitivity we're dealing with.  

-He has become quite a picky eater.  He eats bread, crackers, pasta, etc.  Salami, hot dogs and chicken fingers are about the only meats he'll touch, but he loves hummus and until earlier this week also ate eggs, so he gets protein.  As far as fruits go, he'll eat apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, and watermelon.  I can't think of any vegetables he will eat in a non-pureed form.  We still give him "pouches" everyday since it really is one of the few ways we can get veggies into him.  His beverage of choice is (almond) chocolate milk.  He'll sometimes get water or tea, but we rarely have juice around and I think he's only ever tried a few sips of pop (which we also rarely have around).

-He is daytime potty trained, and has been for quite a few months now (since about the end of the summer).  He still wears a diaper at night, but often wakes up dry.  We sometimes put him in a diaper at nap time.  I think he's only wet his bed once when we haven't, but he seems to sleep better with it on.

-He typically wakes up around 7am, naps from about 2:00-4:30pm when we have to wake him up (less at daycare, as per their schedule) or does not nap at all, and goes to bed around 7:30pm.   

-His language skills are pretty amazing.  He picks up new words so quickly and loves playing with new expressions and phrases.  Just the other day he told me something I had done was "magnificent", a word he learned from the book The Paperbag Princess.  He's also able to rephrase things if someone doesn't understand him.  (His daycare provider is from Uruguay, and he says some words with a bit of a Spanish accent, for example "lamb" in "lum".) Often when he's going to bed at night I can hear him chattering away to himself, singing, rehearsing conversations from shows he's watched or his day's interactions, or just making up stories. 

-He still loves books.  We (especially Jen) still read to him often and he will also flip through the pages of books from his bookshelf.  His favourite stories these days are Pinkalicious and Munschworks (a Robert Munsch treasury).

-He knows how to spell his name and Mama.  :)  He recognizes most of the uppercase letters and seems to understand that letters strung together make words.

-He mostly scribbles, but can draw both vertical and horizontal lines as well as circles.  He has difficulty using scissors.  He likes painting, but doesn't seem to like drawing so much.

-He can count to twenty more-or-less accurately, and seems to understand quantities to five.  If you ask him how much of something he wants (grapes, pretzels, etc.) he always says five.  He also always tries to negotiate for "five more minutes" when we're doing something he doesn't want to stop.

-Aside from dress up and pretend play, he likes to play with balls... everything is a sport to this kid.  He also likes to play with his diggers and have them scoop up blocks.  Cars and trucks in general are big, though he likes it when they "talk" and play out little stories.  Instruments are also HUGE.   He likes water play and being outside.  Actually, I think he would live outside if given the choice.  This (freezing cold and icy) winter has been pretty brutal.

-He seems to enjoy going to the Science Centre and to the Zoo, where we have memberships.  We're not currently enrolled in any classes with him (he did a city run gymnastics earlier this year as well as the swimming program he has been in since he was a baby), but may sign him up for a more structured gymnastics program this spring.  

-His friends are his sister, the other children at daycare, Teagan and Quinn from 2moms2dogs2babies, and his buddy from prenatal class.  He also sometimes plays with my sister's son, who is 15 months younger, but that is more parallel play than interactive.

-He loves to talk, sing and joke.  He's very social, especially around people he knows.  He often asks if he can speak on the phone to whoever happens to call us, and if we can Skype Grandma and Grandpa.

We love him with all our hearts and look forward to all the wonderful things the coming year has in store for him.  

Holidays

Nearly a week into the new year, I feel like it's time post about the holidays before they are a distant memory...

The whole holiday season seemed to go by super-quickly.  I've heard the same thing echoed by lots of other people.  Even though we aren't in the U.S. I think it had to do with American Thanksgiving falling so late this year.  I'm sure having Sprout's birthday festivities going on earlier in December also made a difference.

Christmas Eve we drove out to my mom's.  She and her boyfriend hosted a very nice turkey dinner followed by gift-opening.  My mom is German and growing up, we always opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve, so that doesn't feel strange to me.  Just like I imagine celebrating two Christmases won't feel strange to our kids.  The kids were quite spoiled.  The two boys both had a great time playing with (/competing for`) new toys, while my brother supervised (/kept the peace).  We left later than we had intended to and were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was worthwhile.

We had intended to leave early Christmas morning to head to PA, but we all slept in and then took our time getting ready.  The kids opened their stockings and watched videos and Jen and I got the car packed up.  Traffic was a little heavier than it would have been had we left first thing, but it still wasn't bad and I think we felt better having had extra cups of tea and knowing that nothing had been left behind because we were rushing.

Jen's parents were at her aunt's house for dinner so when we got it we just got the kids fed and ready for bed.  After her parents got home we chatted by the fire and opened adult presents, so that Boxing Day morning would be all about the kids --their Christmas morning.

Needless to say they were ridiculously spoiled.  Like last year, The Bean took time to play with each new toy he unwrapped.  He had gotten down to his last few boxes and I asked him if he wanted to open another gift and he said, "Nope.  I'm good."  We're going to have to remember to ask Santa to cut back next year! ;)

A few days later we had a joint birthday party for the kids.  The Bean got the chocolate robot cake he had been asking for and Sprout got my family's traditional hot milk cake.  All the great grandparents came, along with a good smattering of aunts, uncles and some good family friends.  It was a very nice celebration.  I'd like to think The Bean's favourite part was his robot cake; Sprout's was DEFINITELY the balloon Grandma and Grandpa got her.  She didn't let go of it for three days!  (She even held it while nursing one day!)

While all the celebrations were lovely, the thing I enjoyed most about the holidays was spending time as a family.  We kept busy, but we didn't have a hectic schedule that we were working with.  We got to hang out with each other.  Play.  Chat.  Eat.  Relax.  It was really nice.  A good way to end the year.

Sprout is Eleven Months Old!

Today Sprout is eleven months old!

Oh my.  A year ago I was hugely pregnant and anxiously anticipating my mid-December due date.
  Now we're anticipating our baby's first birthday.  It's amazing the changes that happen in just one year.

-To be completely honest, this month has been tough.  Shortly after my last  update I reached a breaking point with sleep.  It had been a long time coming, but a few nights of hourly wake-ups did me in.  I took to the couch and Jen patiently laid Sprout down each time she peeked her little head up over the side of the Pack'n'Play.  After about a week I returned to the bedroom.  Sprout is still waking fairly often, but usually goes back down after a few minutes of stand up/put down. She nurses around 2am most nights, and again between 4am and 5am off and on until we get up.  So, still not a fantastic, but manageable. 

-Her schedule is more or less the same as it has been, though I've bumped her morning nap back slightly and her afternoon forward.  When she wasn't sick and her teething wasn't so bad she seemed to be going down more quickly with these small changes. 

-Teething and sickness have certainly not helped on the sleep front.  Sprout's top right lateral incisor came through on November 3rd, followed by her top left lateral incisor on the 5th.  Vampire baby, just like her brother.  I was sure a few more would be popping through, but we're still waiting.  There are a couple more that are thisclose.  This girl does not teethe easily.  She also has some awful congestion right now, which does not make things any easier. 

-On a more positive note, eating continues to go well.  She loves her protein!  Dhal is her absolute favourite, followed by chicken.  I feel guilty for not making her baby food from scratch, like we did for The Bean, but there just doesn't seem to be the time.  She often gets little bites of whatever I'm eating, but she gags quite a lot, so we have to be careful.  I'm excited to take her for Thanksgiving dinner at Jen's Nan and Pap's. 

-Her mobility continues to improve.  She's a super-speedy crawler and cruises around like a pro.  She'll free stand for a few seconds before plunking down on her bum, but has yet to even attempt any steps on her own.  She does like pushing things around and will happily walk holding on to someone's fingers.  For a while I thought she'd take her first steps before turning one, but anymore I think it won't happen until after her birthday. 

-This month her favourite games have been peek-a-boo, rolling a ball back and forth, and putting things into containers.  She also loves crawling through the tunnel. 

-Her favourite book by far this month has been "Who's Hiding on the Farm" which is a lift the flap book.  There's a mirror on the last page that she just LOVES looking into.  Funny girl.

-She's really into "sharing" food, toys, etc. and will give a huge smile if you say "Thank you!" and make a big deal out of it.  She also leans in for smooches and has starting giving air kisses. 

-She just figured out how to clap and does it to get a reaction, when she is happy, or when she is listening to music.  She's really been enjoying our city-run music program.  We sing a song called "Sleeping Bunnies" and she'll put her head down on the mat and "sleep" when we sing it.  It's pretty frickin' adorable.  (She's the only baby in the program who does this, and I think the instructor gets a kick out of it.)

-We stopped swim classes.  She wasn't enjoying them and I wasn't keen on taking her during the cold weather.  We plan on starting her back up in the spring and seeing where it goes from there. 

-Her growth has definitely slowed down and Jen and I have commented to each other that we think she's stretching out, though she still has a nice round belly and roly poly thighs.  Her twelve month check up won't be until the new year so we'll get all her stats then. 

Even though things have been a bit difficult, our little girl still has the nicest disposition, the sweetest smile, and brightens up every one of our days.   We love her to pieces. 

Sprout is Ten Months Old!

Today Sprout is ten months old!

I could say it every month, but I just cannot believe how quickly the time is going by.  In two short months will have a one year old.  Unreal.

-Other than her hair getting longer and more unruly (hence the barrette) I feel like there hasn't been a big change in Sprout's growth.  I mean, I'm sure she's growing, but I think it's slowed down.  She's been in the same size disposables (4) for a long time now and I haven't had to do a big wardrobe switch-out for a while.
-There has been all kinds of other growth though.  This girl makes me laugh with all the new things she learns and how proud she is of herself to show them off.  She now waves "hi" and "bye bye" and will mimic a "moo" sound.  She's also figured out how to push the "lawnmower" (Fisher Price Bright Beginnings Activity Walker) around all on her own.  Yup.  Walking.  I mean, she doesn't have the balance to do it all on her own, but it's coming.  Similarly she can ride the ride on bus toy that we have all on her own.  Impressive if I do say so myself.

-She got her first tooth on October 1st (bottom left incisor) and her second (bottom right incisor) on October 10th.  It looks like there are quite a few more on their way.

-She eats!  She still nurses (a lot) but she's just recently started having three meals a day and actually seems to be enjoying food.  She also really seems to enjoy feeding herself.  So messy.  But it's okay, we're happy to see her trying new things.  Greek yogurt mixed with fruit for breakfast, and usually a blended meat/protein and veggie for lunch and dinner.  Plus finger foods like puffs, yogurt drops, and bananas.

-Aside from the nursing she has grown VERY attached to her Mama.  While she will play very contently on her own, there are certainly times when she does not want me to be out of her sight line (and other times when she does not want to be out of my arms).  I've been doing laundry in the mornings and often will come back upstairs to find her whining by the door even though Jen and sometimes even The Bean are around.

-As an add on to the previous bullet, when she wants to be somewhere, or more accurately with someone she makes the cutest little crawling bee line right to them.  This is most often witnessed when she "chases" us into The Bean's room when we go to get him out of bed in the morning.

-She loves, loves, loves playing with her brother.  Balls have also been a big toy this month.

-Bathtime is a lot of fun.  She loves to splash.  Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have the same love for splashing in swim class.  I enrolled us in the next session, but am sort of regretting that decision.  She almost always fusses a little bit, sometimes even cries and almost never smiles.  I'm disappointed that she doesn't like it more, but I think we'll just drop it after this next session and wait until she's older.

-She also likes to splash in the cat's water dish. She usually waits until I have my back turned and than does her previously mentioned speed-crawl over to grab the bowl.

-She seems to be outgrowing chairs, bouncer and jumpers.  I think she rather have the mobility.  I'll still stick her in the doorway Jolly Jumper when I have to do something, like prep dinner but usually isn't happy going in and wants out after ten minutes or so.  Though it was certainly easier to be able to have her happily confined, I won't be sad to get rid of some more of the space hoarding baby gear.

-We've gotten into a fairly consistent routine.  Up between 6-7am nap around 9am, awake by 11am, nap again around 2pm awake by 4pm and then into the bedroom by 6:30pm.  (The times vary slightly day to day and she almost ever naps the full two hours.  More often than not I go in to settle her back down after 45 minutes and then get another half our or so out of her.)  Good nights she's down before 7:30pm, other times it's not until after 8:00pm.  She still gets nursed and then rocked/bounced to sleep.

-Weekdays she has been napping in the nursery.  It's going well.  Nighttime and weekends she's in our room on account of the brother.

I'll leave you with one more photo, because even though it's blurry (they all seemed to be this month.  I guess being sick has effected my ability to take a focused photograph), the chubby little hands on the even chubbier little knees just kills me.

Shopping Local

I know some people leave holiday shopping until the last minute, but  I am not one of those people.  Especially when it comes to the kids.  Maybe it's because their birthdays also fall around the winter holidays, so we go a full year between celebrations, but come September I start getting excited for the upcoming season and looking for gifts that we think they'll love.

As I've written before, when we buy toys, we look for ones that our kids will want and be able to use for a long time.  A part of this is choosing toys that inspire creativity and open-ended play.  Another part of it is choosing toys that are high quality and made to last.  We prefer toys that are made of natural materials, but we do own our fair share of brightly coloured plastic.  (And to be honest, the kids enjoy the brightly coloured plastic, particularly if it makes a sound and/or lights up!)

We do a lot of shopping online.  A nice thing about having Jen's parents live in the U.S. is that we're able to shop the American websites and have things shipped to them, which is often much more economical than having things shipped across the border.

Still, I like to support Canadian businesses, and get pretty excited when I find a Canadian website, or even better, a local shop, with the kinds of items we're looking for.

A month or so ago I was browsing and stumbled across Ava's Appletree, a Canadian retailer specializing in natural and organic baby and children's products.  And they just opened up a shop in The Beach neighbourhood of Toronto!  I reached out to the shop owner, Alexandra, and she offered me a discount on my purchase in exchange for a blog mention.

I easily could have filled up my online shopping cart, but I reined myself in and only picked out a beautiful set of enamel wear dishes for each of the kids --something that's been on my wish list for them for a long time.

I love enamel wear dishes for kids because they're super durable, yet so much nicer than a plastic plate.  I originally envisioned these being used with our play kitchen, but now that we have them I think they'd make lovely everyday dishes.  They're still hidden away in a cupboard waiting for the holidays, so I guess there's time to decide what purpose they'll end up serving, though I'm not quite sure that I'll be able to keep them tucked away for another 2+ months.

Sprout chomping on a  Finel enamel wear mug from a set we already owned.  (This has been our go-to mug for The Bean since he was about a year old and really won me over to using enamel wear for children's everyday dishes.)

For those curious, a few other items that I was very tempted by were a dust pan and brush set for The Bean (he loves helping clean up), a Peppa doll for Sprout, a chalk board set, and play silks.  It's quite likely that if we're ever in the shop's neighbourhood I'll convince Jen that we should pop in and we'll come home with a few more items for the kiddos.  :)

The Bean at Two and Half Years Old

This post is awesomely overdue.  I had every intention to post on the day The Bean turned two and a half, and though we had started the update, that day came and went.  And then we were away.  And, well, it just hasn't happened until now.  Hope it doesn't cause him any great trauma. ;)

So...

Jen and I have both been noticing so many new things that The Bean is doing these days, but of course, now that we're sitting down to record them it's hard to remember them all, so rather than being completely comprehensive, this is just a snapshot of what The Bean is up to at two and half years old.  (With actually snapshots from the past month, mostly taken on our trip to PA, you know, in case I don't get to that update.)

-The Bean is still a little peanut.  He weighs somewhere around 25lbs and we're not really sure how tall he is.  He usually wears 24 month shirts and 18 month shorts, but today, for example, he was wearing a 9 month swim suit.  It's not a concern, he's just a short and slender guy.

-His favourite shirt right now is his octopus shirt.  He maintains that it is a scary octopus.  We can mostly get away with sticking him in an outfit of our choosing, but he does now have some opinions on what he does and doesn't want to wear.

-Another thing he's been wearing is underwear!  He's doing a great job with potty training.  He is able to "hold it" for a couple of hours and sometimes remembers to go without a reminder.  He's even been waking dry from time to time, which makes us think about when a good time to ditch the nap and nighttime diaper will be.  We're not quite there with BMs yet.

-The big boy has also started sleeping in a toddler bed.  The transition has been going really well.  We've kept our usual routines around bedtime, which helps and the crib is there as an option (and also a consequence for getting out of the toddler bed).  He'll sometimes ask us to lie down with him for a little while before leaving the room, but that's okay.

-The past few months especially we've received many complements on how well The Bean expresses himself.  It's hard for me to remember what's typical for a two and half year old, but he does seem to have a pretty good vocabulary and is usually quite confident speaking to people.  He will greet people and introduce himself.  He can clearly express his likes and dislikes.  He loves to sing and has just recently started making up songs and stories, which is both adorable and hilarious.  He tells knock knock jokes.  (His favourite right now is knock knock." "Who's there?" "Hank." "Hank who?"  "You're welcome!")  And with a reminder to say it as a question, he will rephrase his demands.  

-He loves to run and jump and climb.  He is pretty fearless.  Fortunately we haven't had many big falls (just one tumble down the stairs about gave me a heart attack).  He loves playing outside and going to the park, especially the "big park" which is about a ten or fifteen minute walk from our house, as opposed to the "little park" which is right outside our front door.

-He is also very into vehicles.  Emergency and construction vehicles to be more precise.  (Oh, and motorcycles.  Let's not forget those!  And trains.  To be safe, let's just say all vehicles.)  They were building a house a few blocks from his daycare and every morning we would have to circle the block at least three times for him to see the digger.

-I already mentioned the singing, but he also loves playing instruments as well as listening to music.  He can identify guitar, violins, pianos and drums when listening to music.  He also recognizes all kinds of instruments.  It's pretty impressive.

-I wouldn't say he's particularly into visual art, but he does seem to enjoy play-doh, painting, colouring and stickers, so maybe he's more into it than I would be inclined to acknowledge.  He loves it when people draw things for him.  Trains and rocketships are both high on the request list.

-Bathtime is pretty popular.  He likes to "play toys" in the bathtub.  He hates having his hair washed.

-He's kept up with his swimming lessons and is doing really well with them, but like in the bathtub, does not like getting his head/hair wet.  He can now kick his legs and "pull" his arms.  He blows bubbles.  All the games and songs they play as a part of the class are played in the bathtub at home and sung pretty much all the time.  We're taking a break from swimming lessons over the summer, but will start back up in September.

-He also just finished a session of gymnastics classes.  It was a city-run program and not really super-high on the instructive level, but he enjoyed playing around on the equipment.  Jen and I saw a big improvement in his balance on the beam in particular.  He seemed to enjoy the "monkey bars" and playing "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?" the most.   

-Though we limit it to a great degree, The Bean does watch some TV (both at home and at daycare).  His favourite shows are Blue's Clues, Dora, SuperWhy and Octonauts.

-He also really likes Spiderman.  I don't think he's ever seen it as a show, but they have Spidey action figures at daycare and apparently they are a hit with all the kids there.  (The daycare provider said she had to go out and get multiple Spidermen since all the kids wanted the same toy.)  When he was teeny tiny Grandma and Grandpa gave him some Spiderman PJs and a costume, which he is really enjoying getting use out of now.

-Daycare is going great.  In addition to loving the provider, her family, and all the kids there, we can also see that he is learning a lot.  He pretty much can recite the entire alphabet, recognizes most letters, can count to ten accurately and to 20 with some assistance, knows his colours, the days of the week, etc. etc.  It's a ways off, but I am sure he's going to be super well-prepared for kindergarten.

-He still loves books.  Oliver Jeffer's is a favourite author (his books Lost and Found and How to Catch a Star, in particular).  We've moved towards reading some longer story books versus quick little ones.  I love it when he gets really into it and will just sit on our lap and listen and look at the pictures and talk about it.   I also love it when he goes over and picks books out himself to look at.  He's even started memorizing a few and listening to him "read" is pretty awesome.

-Perhaps even better is listening to him read to his little sister.  I love our Bean in this big brother role.  He reads to her and sings to her and tickles her tummy.  He just lights up when he sees her in the morning, and the admiration is definitely mutual.  Recently there's been a little pulling of toys away from her while she's playing and the like, but it's understandable and (so far) fairly easily dealt with.  

-In true two and a half year old fashion, he can get quite fussed up when something his not going his way.  He's prone the the odd tantrum and some whining, especially when he's hungry or tired.  We've got a fairly low tolerance for it.  Hitting results in a time out.  Mostly we try to talk to him about what's bothering him and/or distract him.  I won't miss it when he outgrows this.  (That happens by three, right? ;) )

-Again acting like a typical two and a half year old, he has become The Pickiest Eater.  Mostly this means he ends up eating the same few things day after day.  Toast and apple sauce for breakfast.  Peanut butter, hummus, sometimes pasta, a hard boiled egg, hot dogs and chicken fingers for lunch and dinner.  Granola bars, soy yogurt, grapes, watermelon, banana, raisins, crackers, rice cakes for snacks.  The occasional cookie or popsicle for a treat.  (He loves treats.)  He also loves cheese, but we've taken him off all animal dairy as he was having some tummy issues.  I suppose he could be pickier, but we're working with a pretty limited menu these days.

-Sleeping is pretty good.  He goes down between 7:30 and 8:00pm most evenings and sleeps until somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00am.  He naps in the afternoon.  Usually just a short time at daycare (an hour or two) but on the weekends will sometimes sleep for four hours or so depending on how tired out his is from our morning activities.  We sometimes even need to wake him up from his nap to ensure that he'll be tired enough before bedtime.

Having a two and a half year old is wonderful and challenging.  He will sometimes say "I frus-trated!" and sometimes I tell him I am too.  The spontaneous "I love yous" and sweet giggles are sure to last longer in our memories than the imagine of him crying at the bottom of the stairs because it's time to come in for dinner.   Parenting this little guy is such a privilege.  We're lucky to be his moms.

{this moment} teething toys

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Sprout is Five Months Old!

Today Sprout is five months old!

-I know I'm likely jinxing us, but she is one of the most easy going babies I have ever met.  She is usually all smiles when she wakes up and just continues on like that throughout the day.  She gladly tags along on all the running around we do --grocery shopping, daycare pick up and drop offs, swimming lessons, visits with friends.  Whatever.  As I know I've mentioned before, really only fusses when she's tired, hungry or gassy.

-She has started combining naps here and there, but generally still naps three times a day.  I've determined that most nights she is still basically cluster feeding through the evenings and wakes about three times overnight to eat.  I'm tired, but it doesn't really warrant complaining about.

-She is getting increasingly distracted nursing in public, or even at home when The Bean is running around.  Her best nursing is side-lying in Mama and Mommy's bed when she gets up from her naps.  I'd say her typical nursing session is about 10-15 minutes long.  She's started playing with my shirt/bra/hair/hands or just patting my chest when she nurses now.  It's pretty sweet.  I love her dimpled little knuckles.

-She's been chomping on everything --toys, teething rings, blankets, her hands, our hands.  About a gazillion people have asked if she's teething, but I really don't think she is.  The Bean chomped on everything at this age too but was eight or nine months old before he popped his first tooth.  (For the record, I really hope she is not teething.)

-As you may be able to tell from her photo, Sprout has discovered her feet.  It happened just this past week, but she's already a pro and getting them into her mouth.  (See above re. other items she puts into her mouth.)  

-She has the back to tummy roll down-pat and seems to be enjoying looking around with her head lifted high.  She cannot roll back over though, which sometimes seems to be a source of frustration.  I feel like she's trying to crawl.  She'll straighten her legs out, lifting her bum into the air or she'll wiggle her legs furiously like she's trying to get forward.  She hasn't figured out the hands part of it yet though.  I don't mind her still being limited in her mobility.

-She loves people and is all smiles when she gets attention.  She seems to enjoy being sung to and read stories.  She'll now grab at books when we're reading to her.

-She's had a few tastes of real food now.  Avocado seems to be the favourite out of avocado  banana and mango.  I picked up a butternut squash the other week so we'll probably try her on that next.  We're in no rush to have her be eating solids, but she was showing some interest, so why not?

-This month Jen gave me an early birthday present of a woven wrap.  I am loving it.  I think Sprout is loving it too.

-Her clothes and disposable diaper sizes have stayed pretty consistent over the past month.  3-6 in tops, 6-12 in most pants, and size 3 in 'sposies.  I feel like she's stretching out a little.  I'm happy she seems to be thriving, but I don't want her to get big too fast!  (My last baby!!)