Do you remember when your little one took their first steps??
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
tipsy pirate
Do you remember when your little one took their first steps??
Sunday, 23 September 2012
monkey see, monkey do!
Ever since Natallie could get her pudgy hands on stuff, anything and everything went into her mouth. All the toys and things that weren't toys like baby wipes, outlet covers, Q-tips were bathed in Natallie's slobber. But now I've noticed that when Natallie picks something up there is more than just the this-is-good-to-chew-on category. Now when Natallie finds a hair clip or an hair elastic she picks it up and starts rubbing it in her hair. And a few months ago when she would get her shoes or socks off, she would eat them right away. I even had a random stranger stop me at the mall and tell me that it's totally unsantitary to let Natallie eat her sock (thanks random stranger, if you only knew what I let her eat at home). Anyways, now Natallie likes to go to her collection of shoes and rub them on her feet hoping they will stick on. It's hilarious watching her try to get her shoes on. I don't think it will be long until Natallie starts to put on my shoes and walks around the house, she already tries to get her foot in my Crocs! Monkey see, monkey do!
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| when I get dressed in the morning, she finds clothes on the floor and tries to get dressed too |
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| she knows that glasses are supposed to stay on your face |
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| she knows how to play foos ball but cheats a bit to get the ball in the goal |
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| she gets Simon's keys and rubs the keys all over the front door and is a bit sad when the door doesn't open
And in the video you can see Natallie trying so, so, so hard to put the Bjorn on so she can go for a walk
And in this video, she finds a dryer sheet on the floor and starts wiping my photo! But at the end she can't resist to chew on it just a little bit! It's so cute that now when Natallie snatches baby wipes when I'm not looking, she first wipes down the couches and helps me with some house cleaning before shoving it in her mouth. Yay! I need all the help I can get! |
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Talking hands
My good friend Kristin and I took a 6-week baby sign course several months ago, it was a lot of fun and I learned a whole bunch of signs for things that I talk about all the time like "book" and "changing diapers". I also learned some signs that I don't know if I'll ever use like "grizzly bear" or even umm...female lady parts. (Side story about that: the teacher was teaching us to sign the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and asked if anyone could guess the sign for "diamond", I did the obvious and made a diamond shape with my thumb and index finger and apparently that's the sign for 'vagina'! oooops! Now whenever I sing that song with Natallie I have to make sure I am not signing "up above the world so high, like a vagina in the sky!)
Anyways, after modelling signs for just about everything I could remember from class, Natallie starting signing more ! (you can click on it if you want to see what the sign for 'more' looks like). I'm simplying the signs for her since she has the fine motor skills of a walrus right now so she just claps her hands like this:
This was the only sign she had for the last couple months but just in the last few weeks, she has learned several more. Natallie hates being strapped down in the highchair so when she is done her food, she starts to whine and climb out of her highchair and I relentlessly worked on her signing all done . Now when she starts whinning, I can ask, "are you all done?" and she will do this:
Isn't that wonderful?! The sign for milk is like milking the udder of a cow. Although this sign is a bit degrading and makes me feel even more like Natalle's 24-hour dairy bar, I am still pretty stoked that she can sign for milk when she wants it. However, if I don't nurse her right after she signs for milk, she resorts to lifting up my shirt and signing milk as if she was saying, "Mom! I know where you hide the good stuff! Do I really need to go get it myself now?!!"
And finally, the last sign that is really making communication fun is the sign for help. After a month or more of trying to get her pudgy little hands to make the sign, I decided to say "help me" instead and Natallie now taps her chest when she needs me to do something for her.
I love how creative she is getting with her signs. In the video you see Natallie signing for "help me" because she wanted me to help her open the shower door so she could invade Simon's privacy while he was taking a shower. Today, she wanted to go outside and play and crawled to the front door, pulled herself to a stand and starting tapping at the door and then signing "help me". So cute! It kind of reminds me of the days when my dog, Daisy, would take the leash and bring it to me and wait by the front door.
Natallie had a playdate with Naomi, a girl in the neighbourhood who is 3 months older than her and I was suprised that Naomi could actually talk! She said "Hi Nat!" and labelled the colors of the little cups they were scooping sand with. This little 17-month old would hold up the little cup and shriek "buuu!" as she held up the blue cup.
I can't wait til Natallie is talking, that will be fun. But for now, I'm just signing as I sing "If you're happy" and being really careful to do the right sign when I sing "Twinkle Twinke Little Star"....
Anyways, after modelling signs for just about everything I could remember from class, Natallie starting signing more ! (you can click on it if you want to see what the sign for 'more' looks like). I'm simplying the signs for her since she has the fine motor skills of a walrus right now so she just claps her hands like this:
Isn't that wonderful?! The sign for milk is like milking the udder of a cow. Although this sign is a bit degrading and makes me feel even more like Natalle's 24-hour dairy bar, I am still pretty stoked that she can sign for milk when she wants it. However, if I don't nurse her right after she signs for milk, she resorts to lifting up my shirt and signing milk as if she was saying, "Mom! I know where you hide the good stuff! Do I really need to go get it myself now?!!"
And finally, the last sign that is really making communication fun is the sign for help. After a month or more of trying to get her pudgy little hands to make the sign, I decided to say "help me" instead and Natallie now taps her chest when she needs me to do something for her.
I love how creative she is getting with her signs. In the video you see Natallie signing for "help me" because she wanted me to help her open the shower door so she could invade Simon's privacy while he was taking a shower. Today, she wanted to go outside and play and crawled to the front door, pulled herself to a stand and starting tapping at the door and then signing "help me". So cute! It kind of reminds me of the days when my dog, Daisy, would take the leash and bring it to me and wait by the front door.
Natallie had a playdate with Naomi, a girl in the neighbourhood who is 3 months older than her and I was suprised that Naomi could actually talk! She said "Hi Nat!" and labelled the colors of the little cups they were scooping sand with. This little 17-month old would hold up the little cup and shriek "buuu!" as she held up the blue cup.
I can't wait til Natallie is talking, that will be fun. But for now, I'm just signing as I sing "If you're happy" and being really careful to do the right sign when I sing "Twinkle Twinke Little Star"....
Monday, 27 August 2012
Another day, another disaster.
If you come to my house, you'll know that there is no shortage of baby toys here. Simon cringes when he sees what our living room has become. In fact, you can't get to one room to another without stepping over or usually, tripping over something that is large, plastic, squeaks, uses an incessant amount of batteries or is just loud and annoying (but also "educational"!) So you would think that with my large array of toys I would be able to leave Natallie alone long enough to put my contacts in, or put a load of laundry in or if I'm feeling especially optimistic, dare I say unload the dishwasher. Yet it baffles me that when I leave Natallie alone for a second, I know I'm just asking for disaster. When it's quiet, I know something is really wrong.
This morning, in the time it takes me to put Natallie's clothes back in her room, she discovers that Q-tips are not only fun to throw across the bathroom floor but also is fantastic to chew on....
When I leave her in the living room so I can get changed, I come downstairs to find her in the kitchen conducting scientific experiments of how the amplitude of chocolate chips bounce varies depending on how forcefully one throws them across the kitchen floor
Or sometimes Natallie just decides that the entire pantry needs some reorganization and helps me get ahead start, she was probably just trying to organize the cereal alphabetically but soon realized that she doesn't know her alphabets yet. Darn.
And when I'm in a especially positive mood, I attempt to see how many dishes I can put away before Natallie notices that I am having great fun without her and she climbs in the dishwasher and tries to offer her generous assistance.
Thank you Natallie. Without you, my life would be so uneventful. Thank you so much for keeping things interesting around here.
This morning, in the time it takes me to put Natallie's clothes back in her room, she discovers that Q-tips are not only fun to throw across the bathroom floor but also is fantastic to chew on....
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| Look Mom! I don't know what these things are but they are fuzzy at the end and fun to chew! |
When I leave her in the living room so I can get changed, I come downstairs to find her in the kitchen conducting scientific experiments of how the amplitude of chocolate chips bounce varies depending on how forcefully one throws them across the kitchen floor
Or sometimes Natallie just decides that the entire pantry needs some reorganization and helps me get ahead start, she was probably just trying to organize the cereal alphabetically but soon realized that she doesn't know her alphabets yet. Darn.
And today I took Natallie's hint and tried to organize the pantry and I ended up knocking over a box of macaroni which led to extreme excitment for Natallie. My budding scientifist seized the opporunity to see how macaroni bounces on the floor differently than chocolate chips as I frantically tried to pick up all the macaroni on my hands and knees.
And when I'm in a especially positive mood, I attempt to see how many dishes I can put away before Natallie notices that I am having great fun without her and she climbs in the dishwasher and tries to offer her generous assistance.
Thank you Natallie. Without you, my life would be so uneventful. Thank you so much for keeping things interesting around here.
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Hi Goat!
Well it's official, Natallie has been babbling for months and months but I think I can reliably say that her first word is "hi!" I was hoping it would be mama. Oh well, I guess that is understandable since she is so, so, so happy when she says "hi" and people respond. Or it doesn't even have to be a person responding to her waving and saying "hi", it could just be a big, fat goat responding to her calls.
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| Hi Goat!!! I am reeeeeeeeaaaallly excited to see you! Can you tell? |
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| Hi Sheep! I know you're trying to sleep but I can't resist the urge to pull your ears! |
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| Did you see that Mom? The sheep said Hi to me! It did! It did! |
I tried to get a video clip of Natallie saying hi to me or Simon but she wouldn't do it ....but for Mr. Goat, she was all smiles, waving and said, "hi!" I can't believe Natallie won't say hi to me on camera but she will for the stinking goat....oh well, at least you can see for yourself...
Now that she is saying Hi, the race is on to see if she will say Mama or Dada now. I better win.
Monday, 20 August 2012
Gone down south
So here are some things I have concluded from our Seattle trip:
1. The roads in Seattle are strange and confusing
2. Don't rely on the GPS and use some common sense (i.e., even if your TomTom says to go straight and it's a dead end, don't try to plow through the road)
3. A map at 7-11 should not cost $8.00
4. Renting a house is a million times better than staying in a hotel
5. Shopping malls and the Seattle outlet is not stroller friendly (how can I shop if I can't even fit my stroller down the aisles?!)
6. Babies don't really like shopping even if you tell them you are going to buy them cute clothes
7. The Seattle zoo is awesome (the big animals like babies and come right up to the glass, probably because they think Natallie is a good size lunch)
8. Going to the zoo with a 2-for-1 coupon makes it even better (and you can use the $18 you save on an over-priced lunch!)
9. Its unnecessary to buy a baby a toy from the gift store because 5 minutes later, the toy is not new and exciting anymore
10. Going through the border crossing with a cute baby makes the guards ask less questions like "well hi there sweetie, how old are you?!"
11. Stroller-blading is the best way to see a city, get some exercise and fit in baby's nap
12. Travelling in the truck is awesome and the tail gate is the perfect level for changing diapers
13. Always pack waaaaaaaaay more diapers than you think you will need
14. Swim diapers are not meant to be worn for mutiple hours in the car
15. Taking apart a pee-soaked carseat and washing it sucks
16. When ordering at a fast-food place, a small size American drink is actually a large size on a Canadian menu
17. Always pack along extra clothes for yourself on a day trip even if your baby is beyond the newborn spitty phase (unless you enjoy smelling like baby puke the whole day)
18. Roaming charges on your cell phone suck. Walkie talkies are the best invention ever
19. God is so creative and has quite the sense of humour when creating animals (example the black and white colobus looks like a cross between a skunk and a monkey)
20. Going on vacation with friends that have kids the same age is awesome (thanks Sarah & Jordan!)
And now photos from our little road trip...
1. The roads in Seattle are strange and confusing
2. Don't rely on the GPS and use some common sense (i.e., even if your TomTom says to go straight and it's a dead end, don't try to plow through the road)
3. A map at 7-11 should not cost $8.00
4. Renting a house is a million times better than staying in a hotel
5. Shopping malls and the Seattle outlet is not stroller friendly (how can I shop if I can't even fit my stroller down the aisles?!)
6. Babies don't really like shopping even if you tell them you are going to buy them cute clothes
7. The Seattle zoo is awesome (the big animals like babies and come right up to the glass, probably because they think Natallie is a good size lunch)
8. Going to the zoo with a 2-for-1 coupon makes it even better (and you can use the $18 you save on an over-priced lunch!)
9. Its unnecessary to buy a baby a toy from the gift store because 5 minutes later, the toy is not new and exciting anymore
10. Going through the border crossing with a cute baby makes the guards ask less questions like "well hi there sweetie, how old are you?!"
11. Stroller-blading is the best way to see a city, get some exercise and fit in baby's nap
12. Travelling in the truck is awesome and the tail gate is the perfect level for changing diapers
13. Always pack waaaaaaaaay more diapers than you think you will need
14. Swim diapers are not meant to be worn for mutiple hours in the car
15. Taking apart a pee-soaked carseat and washing it sucks
16. When ordering at a fast-food place, a small size American drink is actually a large size on a Canadian menu
17. Always pack along extra clothes for yourself on a day trip even if your baby is beyond the newborn spitty phase (unless you enjoy smelling like baby puke the whole day)
18. Roaming charges on your cell phone suck. Walkie talkies are the best invention ever
19. God is so creative and has quite the sense of humour when creating animals (example the black and white colobus looks like a cross between a skunk and a monkey)
20. Going on vacation with friends that have kids the same age is awesome (thanks Sarah & Jordan!)
And now photos from our little road trip...
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| pretending to ride the mechanical toys at Bellis Fair |
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| example of my point #15 : this is a medium size?! |
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| playing in the fountain is so more fun than shopping at the outlet mall |
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| we went to the zoo with our friends Sarah and Jordan. They have 2 kids: Corin & Ellie. Natallie and Ellie are birthday buddies, born 30 mins apart. |
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| Yay! Finally at the zoo! |
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| ready for Natallie's first time at the zoo |
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| Natallie loved the penguins! They swam right up to her! |
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| Ellie liked the penguins too! |
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| Natallie's eyes were glued on the gorilla |
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| What are you looooookin' at?! |
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| Sarah & Jordan's son, Corin. He thought the gorilla was pretty cool too! |
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| The jaguar must of thought Natallie could of been a tasty lunch and pounced on the window. It scared me but not Natallie! |
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| Right up close to the jaguar and loving it! |
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| Giraffes were cool but a bit too far away for Natallie to get excited about |
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| Lions (they were a bit far away too, our camera is just zoomed in) |
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| Simon's favourite was the Komodo dragon ...a pretty manly-looking but ugly thing |
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| Corin pretending to be Komodo dragon (FYI, the one he is sitting on isn't real) |
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| The indonesian tapir, we saw a tapir in wild in Costa Rica and it was way smaller than this one. |
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| we brought the stroller to the zoo but Simon carried Natallie all day |
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| Grizzly! |
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| the Canadian section of the zoo wasn't quite as exciting for us |
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| we see these at home...although a lot farther away |
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| Simon & Jordan with the kiddies at the end of the trip (pretty successful outing, I must say!) |
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| Sarah and I with the kiddos (almost everyone looking at the camera!) |
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| Stroller blading around Green Lake in Seattle |
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| Hi Ellie! You are cuuuuute! |
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| Natallie says Hi to Ellie (not yet learned that it's not necessary to wave right in someone's face) |
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| Natallie sharing her toy elephant that we bought her from the zoo |
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| Stroller-blading to the Sunday Market in Fremont |
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| Don't you want to buy a pulled pork sandwich from a van that looks like this? |
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| on the Burke Gilman trail |
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| Rollerblading to Gas Works Park (sort of obvious why it's named Gas Works Park) |
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| @ Gas Works Park, not sure what this is but took pictures Simon said this place would of been his dad's dream and could of spent all day looking at all the different pipes! (i agree) |
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| @ Gas Works Park you can see the Space Needle in the distant background |
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| I love you Natallie! |
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| the back of the truck was perfect spot for lunches and changing diapers (not at the same time) |
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| Mmmmm mango-pineapple smoothie! |
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| You know its a vacation when lunch is ice cream! |
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| Although packing for a 2-nights away had the truck packed full, it was super fun and so glad we did it! |
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