How we should have spent family day

Instead of fretting over a stupid car.
Peter on guitar and Rory on maraca.

I heart my family.

8 Months

Totally forgot to mention, Rory turned EIGHT MONTHS yesterday! Which is just quite frankly, mind blowing.

He is getting increasingly hard to take a picture of. Mostly because he is a total ham and thinks everything is hilarious. Including eating my paper signs, and rolling off the couch. :)

Happy 8 months of love Rory!

Making the good outweigh the bad

So... we're back. And while our first holiday away from Rory was not at all what we dreamt of, I had a great reminder yesterday that in any strong relationship, the good times have to outweigh the bad.

And they always do with Peter.

So even though our trip away was longer and MUCH more expensive, and at times pretty stressful...there were lots of good moments.  Notwithstanding; Peter's flu bug, the cold I got immediately upon departure, our broken down car and total expense of tows, cabs, new parts and labour and a rental car, getting stranded in Quebec for two extra days, and the idiots from Mazda and CAA.


Oh, and Rory absolutely LOVED staying with his gramma and grumps and cousins and aunts and uncles in Almonte. He was well taken care of, and we were given big smiles and laughs and kisses when we returned.


The Eastern Townships of Quebec are absolutely breathtaking, and the people there make it even more beautiful. We drove through and visited some of the most beautiful small towns in Canada, I am sure of it. And were treated like gold at Auberge Quilliams. If you're looking for a picturesque place to spend some quiet time, you will love it there. Oh and the food is incredible. 


And Montreal wasn't that bad either. I think though that once and for all I have figured out that I definitely need OUT of a big city to recharge and relax.

With all that said, it feels SO good to be home. Sometimes that is the best part of being away, appreciating the comforts of home that much more. 

The absolutely stunning - Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal 

 

 

Rainy Montreal. The sun came out as soon as we decided to get out of dodge.

The Beautiful EasternTownships in Quebec. I didn't take nearly enough pictures. We obviously are blaming the car breaking down.

The view from our room.

 The incredible food, drink and sweets in Quebec. And Peter and I aren't even dessert people.

 

A horse drawn affair in Dunham, Quebec. The first proclaimed township (1796).

This is the only picture we took of us together.

Oh a brighter note, we bought a new car while we were in Ottawa. :)

Dealing with Diarrhea

I wasn't going to blog about it, but given my desire to one day create a hard cover book out of my blog posts to give to Rory. Why not? When he is ready to be a parent, this might make him smile.  

Or at the very least, maybe think twice about ever having sex before he's ready. 

So, it's diarrhea week here on 42 Baltic Avenue.  I can't even tell you at this point how many diapers I have changed, how many times I have had to bath Rory mid-morning, mid-day, and mid-evening when his diaper hasn't held through the most recent incident.   And I don't even want to talk about the laundry I have been doing.

Ddddddddd- isgusting.  Peter almost threw Rory's sleeper in the garbage this morning he was so disgusted. And I almost threw up.

I am not entirely sure what to do at this point. He isn't really drinking, he isn't really eating (but he did drink a full bottle this morning, which is the first full one in days), and last night for the first time this week, he did sleep through the night. Hallelujah. So maybe today things will get better?  The thing is... we're supposed to be going to Montreal tomorrow? 

Poor Gramma.

Gawd, why do kids always get sick right before their parents are going to leave them?  Does he know?  

I know he will be fine. This two shall pass... I am just a tiny bit worried about dehydration. Has anyone ever used Pedialyte for babies?

Gotta go, he's in his exercauser pooping again.  

I plan on drinking my meals in Montreal.   Passe un bon week-end!!

This is Rory's "pooping" face

Diarrhea and all, he is still the happiest baby on the block.

 

Are you ready for me Gramma?  I am a stinker.

L'amour est dans l'air

Peter and I decided this year that we wouldn't do much on Valentine's Day and take a holiday instead. After much discussion on what we both wanted out of a holiday, we decided to take a short but sweet trip on Thursday of this week... returning Sunday. And.................................we're leaving Rory with my mom and dad.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek. Three days and nights without my boy!!!

So instead of letting myself totally freak right out about the first real stretch of time away from my little guy, I am trying to focus instead on how much fun Peter and I are going to have.

Like old school Pete & Kim fun. :)

So, we're heading to Montreal for two days and nights of great music, food, wine, croissants, walking, french talking and maybe even some shopping. Then... we're travelling to the Eastern Townships and checking into the Auberge & Spa West Brome.  For some much needed serenity, romance, and for what has been touted as the most glorious couples massage ever.

They have no idea how high this mamma's expectations are.

Happy Valentine's Day.

VD - 2 days until departure.

xxx ooo

 

Baby Love

It's amazing that just a month or so ago, none of these babies could really sit!  Remember that disastrous Christmas photo shoot?  Now they are all over the place, which made our little Valentine's party for them so fun. And so so cute.

These little ones are going to be going to day care together this summer when all us mommies head back to work (the meeting with my office went super well by the way)!

I know it will make leaving him easier knowing Rory has his entourage by his side. Rory and Emmett are lucky little boys eh?

Happy Valentine's! xo

 

Making going back to work pretty sweet

Today Rory and I are going into my office so that I can talk to HR and my boss about returning to work. I was up at 4am, I am nervous. Weird eh?  I guess there comes a time when all us new moms have to reconcile our new life as a mom with our old life as a career girl... or at least plan to. I am just not sure if I am ready.

Anyway, I am not going back until the beginning of June (well that's the plan today) so why fret about it now right?

And... I am bringing some reinforcements to "sweeten" my visit and conversations today.

If these don't work....

I am sure this little heartbreaker will get me what I want.... :)

Listen.... give my mommy a break ok, who would want to leave me?

Learning to crawl backwards. First.

Can bring with it a few pitfalls... Like getting stuck underneath furniture when mommy is getting some coffee in the kitchen.

It's hard being 7 1/2  months old sometimes. :)

Long and rather ordinary days as a mom

Can be made so incredibly amazing when your baby does something new. Astonishing little creatures aren't they?!  Recently, Rory has started to wave... tonight, it was huge waves for his daddy when he arrived home from work. Which was so cute all on its own... but then this afternoon, as we were playing together just like any other ordinary day, up on all fours he got, rocked back and forth, and put one hand in front of the other.  And Voila, the beginnings of our little crawl-baby.

We may just have a full on crawler this snowy 2nd week of February. Stay tuned...

He then fell flat on his face.

XO

Lil' Bean N' Green

Well going for coffee with my mom friends just took on a whole new life.

Let me introduce you to the Lil' Bean N' Green. My newest find and yet another ode to the ever so clever pro-baby/parent movement in this city. Thank you to the people who get that being a parent isn't easy, and sometimes just simple things make a big difference. These days for us, baby friendly places make a big difference, you know, so we don't have to give up just about everything we used to enjoy.

Leslieville's Lil' Bean N' Green, is a super cool baby and kid friendly java joint fully equipped with a play yard, an organic menu that accomodates mom & baby as well as the picky kid, change stations equipped with wipes and diapers is all sizes (in case you forgot yours), and live music.

And it's rammed.  And it's a gold mine. And I should open one in my neighborhood immediately.

Lil' Bean N' Green is the brainstorm of three friends who saw the apparent need for a place to recharge while their offspring had room to roam. What they have built is a big bright room with an adult space at the front, and a rubber-floored area at the back complete with a treehouse, swings, slides and mountains of cool toys. Oh and they also have a schedule for read-alongs, puppet shows, baby dance classes, arts and crafts, yoga and baby CPR. And you can book the whole place for 450$ for a birthday party and get a whole buffet of food, drinks and loot bags included.

Brillant. And their lattes are good too.

In all honestly, Friday was a bit of baby gong show in there (I might suggest a liquor license would be a good idea with so many babies and children together in that space), but apparently it's quieter on other days.

Rory and his buddies had an awesome time regardless.

Tree House

Sitting in the great seats attached to the harvest table

Playing in the great swings

And slides

Cool Toys

Best Buds

Happy Friday!

dadadadadadadada

I woke up this morning to the distinct sounds of Rory talking into the monitor and repeating over and over again - dadadadadadadada.  Aside from "hi", dada is clearly Rory's first sound. While I know he isn't associating the sound with his actual dada, it's super fun to hear him putting sounds together.  Part of me definitely wishes his dadadadada sounded more like mamamamam. But I know that will come in time, and perhaps I will wish he was once again calling for his dadadadadadadada.

Like in the middle of the night for instance.

Anyway, want to know what isn't fun?  What isn't fun is that my son seems to be forming a rather disgusting habit of POOPING while we SWIM!!!

Rory has never once pooped in the bath, so this really has come as a bit of a shock. But for the last TWO weeks in a row, Rory has pooped while in the pool. GROSS!  The pools we're taking classes in are kept at almost bath like temperatures (85-87 degrees), but it can't be that much different from his bath at home?  Can it? Maybe it's the length of time we're spending in the pool?   Whatever it is... I have had to "reinforce" our swimming attire. The babies are supposed to only wear a cloth diaper swim suit like a Kushies swimsuit diaper. How the cloth swim diapers are supposed to hold everything in is really beyond me?  So even though we're not supposed to, I have started wearing a Huggies little swimmer as well. What else is there to do?  Any suggestions?

One thing is for certain, Rory is VERY comfortable in the water these days. I am sure the rest of my diaper fit class may say a bit TOO comfortable?!

Snow Day!

Well, I am not quite sure we got the snowmageddon that was forcasted... but we have A LOT of snow and it's still coming down pretty hard. I love snow.  I think I have said before (and let's clarify one thing - I mean this whether I am on mat leave or not on mat leave - sheesh), there is no point to winter without snow.

So, today Peter's office told everyone to work from home - HOORAY!  With Daddy home mid-week, it really does feel like a snow day (although, I should also note how hard Peter is working).  Anyway, we took Rory out for a little sleigh ride at lunch time. It's so beautiful out there!!  A sort of crazy beautiful. 

Have I blogged about how totally awesome these sleighs are from Mountain Boy Sleds?! Very much worth the investment. They work super well on ice, and also in heavy snow. And everything in between. Also, you'll be the envy of all your neighbors. We regularly get stopped so people can pet the sleigh.

They usually think Rory is pretty cute too. Happy snowy hump day!

 

Sadly, we also dropped Gramma off at the train station this morning. We will miss you Gram!  See you in a couple of weeks! xo

Good-Bye January Blues

For whatever reason, January has been a bit of tough month here on 42 Baltic Avenue. Lots of colds and teething fevers, and then me with these stupid chest pains. Thankfully, I think we have gotten to the bottom of those and it's really nothing too serious (hopefully)... just a pain. Literally. Maybe just the reminder I needed that I need to stay on top of my own health.

My mom has been visiting now for a week. What a difference having an extra set of hands to help with Rory makes. A gramma's love, attention, and special way of playing and caring for their child's child is truly irreplacable. I'll say it again, I wish we lived closer. One day.

As we sit waiting for what is supposed to be the biggest storm to hit Toronto in a few years, I am excited that a new month has begun. For whatever reason, I sort of like the month of February. And this year in particular because Peter and I are taking a holiday. Alone. Just for a few days. We have no idea where.  Maybe, somewhere quiet, somewhere peaceful like the townships in Quebec, or maybe New York City so we can do the exact opposite. Who knows.  I guess we should figure that out.

So what did January bring?   I swear to God Rory is starting to make sounds that sound like actual words. I can definitely make out "hi", and just this week I am pretty sure I can make out the beginnings of "mama" and "dada". Today he was talking up a storm.

Thanks to Gramma, Rory now stands constantly. It's his "new" thing. He pulls himself up and stands with this huge grin on his face. 

 

Given we're swimming twice a week, Rory has become a little FISH in the water. He even has taken to belly boarding in the bath with Daddy.

And, I also think I am getting a lot more attitude than I have EVER seen from my happy little boy. I am distinctly told these days about Rory's likes and dislikes.  Or shown.  Here's Rory just today when he tried fish for the first time.  Once he decided it was a definite DISLIKE, he pulled his bib over his face (see below) until I removed the fish from the table.  Should 7 month olds be this cheeky?

So definitely not a cooking win with the fish-carrot combo.

And finally... NOT on a baby note, our new harvest table that we had made has finally arrived!! YAY!

I am absolutely in LOVE with it, and the bench that was made to go with it. It was made from salvaged barn beams that are about 160 years old.  7 ft of gorgeousness.  It's made my month.

I can't wait to have our first dinner party. Once I find some chairs.

Happy February!