Home again

Amelia and I arrived home safe and sound on Friday night.  Meals was very good and even slept for an hour on the flight.  I am so happy to be home but it was a great trip.

This weekend Meals and Jeff had some one on one time while I went to a chocolate class through JS bonbon with Julie.  In the evening Julie had me and our friend Jess and Andrea over for dinner and then we all went to the Drake.  Sunday after abit of a slow start for me but Jeff and I did get alot of gradening done followed but a lovely Sunday night BBQ dinner at My parents in the backyard.

13 months… Alittle late

So Meals turned 13 months while we were away.  This month Amelia has switched from a crawler to a walker, she has also taken another trip to Vancouver.  This month I have also got on her a normalish person schedule, no more mid morning and mid afternoon bottles just milk with meals, oh and no bedtime bottle..  She now has a morning snack after her morning nap.  She has actually been on this schedule for over a month but last month it was still pretty new. 
Amelia is a little walking fool now she can even walk without her hands in the air.  Last night at Sunday dinner at my parents she was walking around the backyard.  Oh but one hitch she doesn’t things green so that keeps her off the grass.  Yesterday we were out doing yard work and I stood her on the grass while I raked, she wouldn’t move she just stood there whining at me to pick her up; my daughter is “special”. 
She isn’t saying any new words really but she does know a lot more words.  There are a number of toys she knows now and will go retrieve them.  I have this one book for her that has actions eg. “ I’m a monkey, I can wave my arms, can you do it?”  Anyways she now knows almost all the action associated with each page.  It is rather cute actually.
In the last couple days she has started this tongue thing, she tongue seems to be constantly out of her mouth. What a nut.
She is still eating pretty well and sleeping well.  No new teeth in the last month but I think with all this drool there may be one on the way. 
Finally I have sorted out child care at least for the summer.  My brother Richard is going to be out nanny while he is off from university for the summer, yipeee!!!  I will have to start a search again in the fall but for now I am quite happy.

Vancouver Suprise!!!

Sorry i missed my post on Monday but I am out in Vancouver!!  My dad turned 60 this past Friday and as a suprise Jeff, Meals, My borth Rich and I flew out to Vancouver to suprise him and yup we shocked him!!!  He was wonderfully suprised and excited it couldn't ahve been a better reaction.  It was so nice for us all to spend some time together and get to be at dad's big birthday bash.

So we flew out Thursday night at 6pm and thank goodness this time everything was on time and it even worked out that althought Jeff and I couldn't sit together teh person that was supposed to be beside Jeff didn't show and Meals got her own seat. In the Past Flying with Amelia has been pretty easy but this time I was REALLY stressed cause she has had a cold and Thursday morning she had been in a horrible mood and I was seeing horrible things to come.  In the end Meals was actaully quite well behaved on teh plane there was some whining and some walks required but there also wasn't any sleeping, ugh!!!  It made for a long flight but not as bad as I was gearing myself up for.  My brother, who arrived earlier in the day picked us up at the airport.  To suprise dad we decided to put Meals (who was asleep) and her carseat at the front door then ring teh doorbell and hide, it was so funny to watch dad's wheel moving VERY slowly trying to figure out what this baby was doing on his porch. It was a great suprise!!! ha ha

On Friday the boys went off with dad for the annual birthdya lunch with my uncle and sarah, Meals and I got everything organised to head to Salt Spring. Friday Evening after a rather long afternoon of ferries Dad, Sarah, Rich, Adam, Laura, Jeff, a Tired Meals and I arrived at Salt Spring.  As usual we had a great time playing with all dad's toys over there (tractor, weed wacker etc.). On Sunday we had dad's birthday party, we lucked out with the weather and it was beautiful. It was nice to meet a bunch of dad's friends from all through the ages, some people I had heard about my whole life but never met.

On Monday night my friends Kath and Ahren arrrived and that night we had abit of a booze up and a big game Cranium, this time the girls were victorious and Kath,Sarah Debbie and I took the title.  Unfortunatly for Jeff and Rich they had to be up at 6am the the next morning (tuesday) to catch their flights home.  Meals and I stayed another day at Salt Spring with Dad and Sarah and then today we came back to Van with Kath and Ahren to spend a day eating sushi, visiting and doing some shopping before heading back home on Friday morning.

Meals has been doing okay, she has been out of sorts I think due to the cold and all the new places and faces. For the first time in her life she has been playing shy and sha has been a constent clingon on my hip.  She still like smiling and flirting with people but there would be no picking up otherwise she was running back to me.  I am really not liking this and am hoping once we are home things go back to normal.  Her cold is still hanging around.  I think she was kicking it when we left but then after a lack of sleep for a couple days during the travelling at came back. 

Well I will write more when we get home but I have uploaded some of dad's pics from the last few days.

Snot City

Happy Mothers day to all the mothers out there.  Hope you all had a lovely day. I had a very nice day with an amazing dinner cooked by Jeff, John and Julie to finish it off.  Unfortuntaly Meals got one of her first real full on colds on Saturday night and was up a few times that night and rather cranky all day Sunday.  This morning she woke up with her nose totally incrusted in snot.  She seems to be in a better mood today except when I try to wipe her nose.

Anyways yeah it has been a nice week here.  I finished digging up the backyard and Jeff and I managed to get all our plants in now we just need grass.  I am suprise at how much I have enjoyed gradening but yeah I do. 

On Friday night I had my gourmet group and it was Mexican night, it was fun and yummy as usual.  Saturday we did some groceries and cooking then had our friends John and Jen and Emma and Leah over for dinner. It was so nice to have the childproof basement for all the girls to play in.  Poor little Emma wasn't feeling that great but Leah and Meals toddled around stealing toys from each other

Saturday night Melie's snot started and seeing as she sucks her thumb while she sleeps she was having a very tough time trying to breath and suck.  She woke up three times during the night and seeing as she was also fighting a bed diaper rash I got up and changed to and checked on her.  I am soooo not used to being woken up in the middle of the night, I was a basket back the next day.  I thought it was very ironic that it has been months since she has been up in the night and it was mother's day Meals woke up plus it was a year ago almost to the day that it was the first time she slept through the night.  ah well.

Sunday was nice, I woke up to the Britney Spears Mothering Carepackage Scavenger Hunt. Jeff has made me a scavenger hunt for my pressies which included a trashy mag (a must for a Britney-esqu mom's), bottle of wine and two tickets to the musical Wicked in October!!!  I am so excited to see Wicked!!  I wanted to see it so badly last year when it came but it was just around the time I was due and I was convinced that if I bought the tickets I would probably go into labour before or during. I took Meals, Jeff, My mom, and Daryl out to Axis for bunch, the service was PAINFUL slow but the food was yummy as usual.  Around 2 we headed over to John and Denise's for Jeff's afternoon of cooking and my lounging.  Dinner was sensational!!  and lots of fun.  We were all joking that we should put together a cookbook called Sunday Dinners. 

This week Meals has been abit of a sponge, we have taught her how to blow kisses which some times works and sometime just consist of her licking her hand, ah what can I say. I think it is pretty cute and now you can ask her to blow a kiss to someone and she will turn to them and do it, she thinks she is pretty clever, I actaully do too I didn't realise she knew everyone by name.  She also knows alot more of her toys and I can send her on my hunts now.  Oh and joy of joys she has final realised what we are getting at when we refuse to read the same book over and over, now if you put one book down she will go and get another one as opposed to picking the book back up again and throwing it at us, grrr.  Now that she is getting pretty good at walking I have started leting her walk when we are out if she holds my hand, yesterday she walked from the car to John and Denise's front door much to the pleasure of her admirers. 

Walking Part 2

So on Friday Amelia switched form being a crawler to a walker.  She still crawls a bit but it seemed a switch flipped and now she wants to walk everywhere.  It is pretty funny to watch cause she walks everywhere with her hands in the air I guess for balance and to prepare for the inevitable falls. I must say the falls are become few and far between now; she can save herself when she stumbles and she is so proud of herself when she does.

This week and weekend have been rather hectic.  I spent the first part of the week busily digging up our back yard. 

We are planning to landscape it but first we had to get rid of all the weeds, there wasn’t really much existing grass to get rid of just weeds. Jen and John had Dirt City last year now we have it this year.  I am planning on putting in a few of the trees and plants soon but we won’t be able to sod until at least the posts for the deck are in, bah.  On Friday I went in to my old job and gave my notice because I have found a new job and I start June 5th epp. Everyone at my old work was VERY nice and I didn’t even need to bring my child as a shield although I did bring her anyways…  I am really looking forward to starting to work again but I am so scared about putting Meals in daycare.  I am trying to sort daycare out right now and I must say I am rather stressed about; I have started having crazy dreams about having to rip my hysterical daughter from my pant leg.  I am going back earlier than exected so my daycare plans are all screwed up and now I am scrambling to find something for the summer, ugh even thinking about it makes me sad. Oh well I am sure we will all adapt.

After going into work Friday Meals and I met Jeff at John and Denise’s for dinner and a visit with Laura (john’s sister) and SUPER PAKE (John’s dad).  We had a lovely night… Friday night is always the best time of the week.

Saturday morning Jeff, Amelia and I went to Canadian Tire and got me a bike and Meals and I helmets, yipeee summer bike rides, eep I hope I still remember how to ride one. Oh Amelia is quite liking her new helmet she has now upgraded from a battering shoe to a battering helmet…grrr. 

In the afternoon I went shopping with Liv, Andrea and Tab downttown while Jeff and Meals hungout.  In the evening Jeff and Amelia went to Andy's 30th with Mom and I went to our friend Gwen's birthday party. Meals and Jeff didn't get home till 9:30 (way past Amelia's bedtime) but by all reports she faired very well.

Sunday was more erands then Jeff had his Calphalon cooking class with john in the afternoon and Amelia and I went over to Julie's for a walk around Queen West West with julie and Denise.  Julie hosted her first Sunday dinner for us all yesterday night, it was very lovely, unfortuntaly for us we ahd to make a quick get away because after Amelia's late night the night before she was being a HUGE pain in the ASS!!!!!  We headed home and she went right to bed.

Spring!!!

Oh what beautiful weather!!!!! Meals and I had another very nice week with lots of walks and some errands. Friday we had a surprise visit from Leigh and Ronan who got locked out of the house and came and spent lunch and the afternoon with us. Late Friday afternoon Denise came and picked us up and we headed out to Mississauga, Jeff had poker that night so we spent the evening with John and Denise. Now that she is one she is enjoying having her car seat turned around, drinking real milk and being able to eat anything; in that vein we thought we would try giving her eggs for the first time Friday night, well that went over like a lead balloon. Amelia didn’t want to have anything to do with her eggs or broccoli that night, after several tanrums we gave up and decided to let her go hungry well that was till we got to the Keg and she started eating Denise’s mash potatoes, it was quite the quite the hunger protest she has to endure for the whole hour.

Saturday morning we dug up more of our backyard and Meals played in the pool then Saturday afternoon Amelia and I went over to Julie’s and shopped around Queen West. What funky shops… I may have bought a few things…Oh Amelia has started making the throaty “possessed by the devil” noise and insisted on doing it while we were in some of these cute little shops, my favourite was when some lady came up and was in the middle of telling me how cute she was when Amelia started the devil noise and the woman’s face totally changed, I thought she might start slowly backing away. That evening we made stuffed zucchini which I thought kinda sucked but Amelia ate so not a total loss.

On Sunday we had a very busy day cooking food for Meals and ourselves and doing some gardening. I made the mistake of going to Plant World to pick up some grass seed and got sucked into the world of plants and bought a bunch of herds and planters and spent part of my afternoon potting them, I hope they all grow.

Last night we had a Moroccan themed dinner at my parents and we had a first drinks out on their patio for this season. It was lovely to be able to sit outside again.I can’t wait till we can sit on our patio. That night we found out Meals is quite fond of corn cakes and Moroccan spiced couscous, she just ate it again for lunch this afternoon.

Since Her birthday Amelia has been quite interested in her Lego. Jeff and I have been making big Lego structures for her at night and when she wakes up in the morning she makes a beeline for them and knocks them down. 

Jeff has also taught her how to play her drum which she is very good at unfortunately she hasn’t figured out that the drum sticks are just for the drum and the cats have spent the last couple days in fear. 

She has been getting much more confident standing on her own and walking, in fact Jeff watched her open our bedroom door yesterday and walk down the hall on her own.  She has also added another word to her vocabulary, Dexter. It isn’t prefect but it is defiantly Dexter.