camera back, and feeling good!

Finally, I am starting to feel pretty good again. Still stuffy and a lot of head pressure, but much better than before!

Charlotte is pretty much all better, and life seems so much more enjoyable! We had many adventures today, which included a lovely breakfast at Cora's with dear friends, a trip to Stylin Mama Baby and Tot for a new potty, getting the car registered for another year, and a trip to visit my cousin and her little guy!

Charlotte bumped her face yesterday on a shelf, and it was quite horrible. Tim tried to convince me that there will be many bumps and bruises but I felt awful. She is so brave, and loves to take risks, and I don't want to hover and stifle that in her. It's so hard to see them get hurt. I guess there's a balance there, and I just need to take the little bumps in stride.


Charlotte is getting such a kick out of Ava these days. She laughs so hard at her, and tries to grab her toys and throw them. She rams into her with her head and giggles! Ava is very patient... even when Tim puts her in the crib for a laugh....


We received a lovely package in the mail this week from Grammie! A CD, cloth book and new t-shirt for summer! Charlotte loved eating the envelope.... and the stuff inside was pretty fun too!
I have missed having my camera... can you tell? I feel like we've missed important events... like introducing Charlotte to a toothbrush and how she took right to it once I brushed my teeth at the same time and we were looking in the mirror together! She didn't want to let it go this morning... even when I tried to pee her in the toilet - and unfortunately her new favorite object fell in too. We got a new one tonight, and there will be pictures soon! Oh, she does have one bottom tooth poking through!
Here is our new potty! It is the perfect size for her, Baby Bjorn's Little Potty. She hasn't gone in it yet. But, she did go once at Cora's, and twice when we were visiting! I hold her close to me, one arm around her chest and one arm holding her under the knees. Then we face the toilet seat together. I take relaxing, deep breaths and say a quiet "sssssssss". If she goes right away, that's great! If she braces her legs or doesn't go in the first few seconds I take her off and we try again later. It is not good to push it, or be controlling at all. I just try and go with her flow. And sometimes there are accidents, but that's no big deal. She peed on me this morning! It's all part of the process. I feel very in tune with her, and it engages me all day. She is happy to not be wet, and I change her after every pee. We are still using cloth, and I used disposable when we were out visiting today. It's a combination learning process right now!


Looking forward to a weekend full of cousins (Charlotte's) , laughs and lots of fun.

Diaper Free

This is the book I've been reading lately....... SO good, it is challenging all my conceptions about diapering and toilet training. I hope it's not too late to start communicating with Charlotte about her elimination needs. We've been on the mend lately, this morning planted our garden, hanging baskets and window boxes. Even took a little walk to the post office and grocery store. We didn't make it to the Family Resource Centre though, which I was disappointed about because it was on how to make your own baby food. (I have been a huge slacker with this, and plan to get going on the homemade food this week. Being sick just took all my energy!!)

We have a check-up tomorrow, so hopefully the pneumonia is on it's way out.

sick, sick, sick

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because we have been wrestling with sickness all around! Last Friday, Charlotte had a fever that wouldn't break with Tylenol. It made me nervous, and we took her to emerg around 7 pm that night. They took us in right away, but with all the tests they gave her (chest x-ray, and urine sample) we didn't get home until 11:30 or so. It was exhausting and horrible to see Charlotte so uncomfortable and miserable. The doctor said just to watch her for rash or chicken pox, but everything else seemed fine.

Sunday she seemed to be feeling better, but on Monday she got a runny nose, runny eyes and cough. She was a pretty miserable little girl. Thankfully, on Tuesday we had her 9 month appointment, so we were going to see our doctor anyway. Tuesday morning the receptionist called to say the nurse was out for the day, so her appointment would have to be rescheduled. I kind of pleaded that we come in to see the doctor anyway, and she allowed it! The doctor said it was either viral or bacterial... of course, but gave me a prescription for an antibiotic just in case. She said that if her nose mucus turned green, or her fever came back to start her on the antibiotic.

She started to turn around for the better and began playing and being the happy little girl she is. Meanwhile, both Tim and I came down with horrible colds. Thursday, the receptionist called back and told me to start her on the antibiotic (amoxil). I wasn't sure why, all of a sudden she would call. I asked her to ask the doctor and call back. Apparently there was a spot on her lung in the chest x-ray that indicated pneumonia. They didn't catch this on Friday I guess. So off to the pharmacy we went, in blazing hot weather I might add! It was 32 degrees yesterday and hot, hot hot.

So now she is sort of feeling better, although her cough is much worse, it is sharp and flemmy. Her nose mucus has turned green... nice huh? Now I am just trying to figure out how to get the medicine into her, without it running down her cheek. She hates it.... and it's so hard to force it.
We have just had a really quiet week, staying at home and trying to get over all of this.

Oh, and I left our camera at my aunt's house, so we haven't gotten any pictures this week!
Hopefully this weekend, everyone will recover and we will be well on our way to welcoming summer! (And visits from our two far away aunties... can't WAIT!!)

9 months old!

My baby is 9 months today... where have 9 months gone? I know I will say the same thing when it is 19 years..... but I must say that the journey has been incredible so far. Charlotte amazes me every day. She has so much joy and laughter for such a little one! She loves exploring and discovering new things. She also loves to cuddle and I cherish those moments. Really, we are having a blast.

Charlotte is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up on anything and everything. (Including unsuspecting children that are not too steady on their feet yet!) She is brave and does not fear falling. Although she does fall quite often, a snuggle and kisses usually makes everything better. She walks along things like sofas and coffee tables. She also stands by herself for a second when she lets go of the object she is hanging on to and then falls on her bum.

She loves to play ball. It's one of her very favorites. She gets very excited to pass it back and forth. Usually Ava comes running in all the excitement and tries to play too....

She says mama, nana, baba, dada and lots of other combinations of sounds. Dada is her very favorite and I think she is starting to associate the sound with the person. She gets SO excited with Tim comes home from work, and usually greets him with "ah ah ah"... kind of like a throaty laugh sound that Tim does with her all the time! It's pretty cute. She still growls A LOT, but I am comforted knowing that other children who do not have dogs do this too!

She sleeps pretty well. Our bedtime routine consists of a bath (about every 2-3 nights), pj's, stories and Raffi's "Quiet Time" cd. She nurses herself to sleep. (I know, I hear the groans and the just you waits......) But I love that time. It is the most quiet, most reflective time of the day for me, and I love it. And I think she likes it too. She usually goes down sometime between 9 and 10 pm. Then she wakes up usually once in the night for a quick snack and then back to her crib. She wakes up around 5 - 6 ish and I bring her into bed for another snack and then she sleeps with us until 8/8:30ish. This routine works for us, and although it is not condusive to nights out on the town, or morning work-outs, it is just right for us. It allows us to go to our evening activites with her, and once she is ready for bed, we leave. We have a much more flexible lifestyle in the evening and Tim gets to spend lots of time with her. (Which he loves.)

She is still breastfeeding as her primary source of food. This I love as well. It is good for her, and she still eats regular food during the day, but not tons of it. I am encouraged to know that the World Health Organization and Health Canada recommend breast feeding to 2 years and beyond. Hurrah for that! Not really realizing that time is passing so quickly, I was reminded at the FFRC that she can start eating lots of textured food now, her baby food days are coming to an end.... how did that happen so quickly? She still doesn't have any teeth, but she can eat things like cheerios which amazes me! I am going to start making more textured food for her, I will post on that another time.

She is such a happy baby. I love watching her grow and learn. I love this thing, called being a mom. And speaking of her, she just stirred, so I must move on to the next part of our day!

fredkid fair fun

On Friday night, Charlotte went to her very first kids concert! Splash and Boots were kicking off the fredkid fair and they were wonderful! They are a duo that began in Kingston, Ontario and were voted Canadian Music Group of the Year. Kids (and parents) were dancing and singing along! Here are some pictures of the night:

Chinese Dragons as a pre-show act- Charlotte was mesmerized by these!

loving the show



Splash and Boots (couldn't get a great picture of them)

our first painting experience!

Okay, so I know I've posted numerous times this week, but as my whole family is sleeping, I couldn't help but get on here one more time to share our painting adventure today. The first step was finding an easy, non-toxic paint recipe.

And I did. 1/2 cup of flour, cold water, stirred smooth. Then a bit of boiling water to the consistency you want. Add a few drops of coloring and VOILA!

Finger paints! In 4 pastel shades. (I didn't want to add too much colour, in case the food colouring would transform her skin into multi colours!)

A few container tops did the trick.
Oh, and dark pants, and a top that had permanent peaches on it...

Yes, she is painting! Although she became much more interested in eating the cardboard as time passed. I was working on a masterpiece as well, showing her how to stick the hand in the paint and on the paper. I didn't demonstrate the eating of the cardboard....

A little artist. (almost 9 months now!)

Our creativity journey begins.

creativity

I have been thinking a lot about creativity lately. How I long to provide opportunities for Charlotte to be creative and how I have stifled creativity in my own life.

When I was in elementary school and early junior high school I loved to be creative. I wrote all the time, and even had my own chapter book completed in grade 6. (About a girl who lived on a horse farm... anyone remember the Thoroughbred series???) Somewhere along the line, I became nervous about being creative and not wanting to mess up. Or overly conscious about pleasing other people and feeling like I couldn't even begin to create because "they" might not appreciate it, or think it was any good. Creative writing was the most difficult course of my undergraduate degree in English. I couldn't get into that head space after years of writing formal essays. I couldn't just let go.

It has been on my mind a lot as I look in our play room and see piles of plastic toys, all made to be played with in a certain way, most of them not encouraging creative play. I found a blog entry on family drawing time and I love the idea. I discovered the blog because of a book I found at Chapters called "The Creative Family" by Amanda Soule. I looking through it at the store and hope to get a copy soon. Her blog is beautiful and I enjoy reading about the creative endeavors their family takes.

Today I discovered a blog entry on working through creative fear on Ali's blog, one I check from time to time. Although she comes from the perspective of a scrapbooking life artist, I think what she has to say applies to any art. This is a beautiful quote, and I'm just going to put it all here instead of trying to write it in my own words:

"To me, perfect is actually taking time to tell your stories. Risking that bit of yourself to document your experience. Perfect is carving out a bit of time to be creative. Perfect is embracing the imperfection inherent in creating something that comes from your heart, and your head, and your hands. Let it go. Simply begin writing. Tell the story in simple, plain sentences one word at a time. Keep writing until all the words have spilled onto the page and then go back and edit. Perfect is actually telling the story rather than letting fear keep you from sharing the lives and lessons of your family." -Ali Edwards

So here it goes. Now is the time to stop reading about creativity and venture out into it. Get my hands dirty. Let my imgination soar. Let my curiousity get the best of me. We only have this one time, this one chance to take risks and see where life will take us. I think that children are naturally creative, but they will probably take more risks when they see their parents doing the same. When they are given freedom to explore and play and discover. What will we create today?

Midwifery

Happy International Day of the Midwife.

Here's hoping everything will be in place for New Brunswick soon. There are people working very hard for this, THANK YOU to each one. Many of us will reap the benefits of your labour.

I don't know why I have been posting so much lately, a little addicted? Had a wonderful day today, and so proud of Tim who brought home his RED SEAL tonight. (He has completed his apprenticeship after years of hard work.) Just started reading "Diaper Free" by Ingrid Bauer, so fascinating, I can barely put it down. Found it at Chapters, a little treasure tucked under some other books that were on sale. Charlotte has been going to bed consistently at 9 pm, which is such a gift.

Tim got home a bit early today, and we made a family trip to the park. Charlotte's first time in a swing, and she enjoyed it! Now I must switch over my laundry and throw in the diapers from today. Despite all the unexpected happenings so far this month (shall I say... exterminator??) I feel so content and peaceful.

fredkid fair!

The fair is coming... you don't want to miss it!

The 3rd annual fredkid fair is this Saturday, May 9th from 9am to 4pm at the Capital Exhibit Centre. We got out Splash 'N Boots Tickets this morning! The concert kicks off the fair, it's this Friday night at 6:30 pm.

Hope to see you there!

she loves music

the look says it all... she's getting so tall, and smart, and strong.

love

Fredericton Family Resource Centre

I feel like I have been going non-stop these days. Really, nothing much has changed, but life seems to move at a faster pace with a crawler. (I realize it will be even faster with a runner!) I have even had a few people comment to me about the fact that I look like I have lost weight, although, I have not worked out in at least a month. Perhaps it's the fact that I rarely sit still! I walk pretty much every day (as long as it's not raining) with the girls. But I miss working out. There is something that just feels good about working up a sweat and feeling those muscles groan. Hopefully I will implement it in my routine once again.

A couple of weeks ago, we started the "Just Me and My Mom" program at the Fredericton Family Resource Centre. This Centre is a wonderful resource for parents of kids all ages in the city. This program in particular is geared towards Moms and babies who are 12 months and younger. We have a great group and I look forward to chatting with the moms every week! Every week they have a guest speaker for the first hour or so and then we have play time. Last week it was on "Baby Talk" and a representitve from Parle-Moi/Talk with Me, spoke. It was a great presentation, and I signed up for their *free* program so that I recieve their e-mails regarding new sessions being offered. There are so many wonderful resources for families in this city.

This weekend was busy, but we got some stuff done around the house which was great. Tim got a few loads of topsoil and we worked on shovelling it off the trailer onto our lawn. The reason we need to put topsoil on...... it's a long story.He had to dig up the whole yard last fall in order to put drain pipe in. However, all of the hard work... worked!! An extremely tiny amount of water in the basement this year. (Way, WAY better than last.) So onto the topsoil and re-seeding the lawn. Who knows when the garden will get in?!? That's another project for another day....

stripping diapers

I wanted to briefly post about stripping your cloth diapers. I switched laundry detergent for the cloth diapers last week (from Nature Clean to Wonder Wash). If you want to get the most out of your cloth diapers, I think it is important to use detergent that is good for cloth diapers. (Less chemicals and build up on the diapers.) Both of the detergents I have used are safe for cloth, but I had tried a sample of Wonder Wash (check out www.littletreehugger.ca) and preferred it to Nature Clean. I have bought quite a few diapers used, and had not stripped them, so I decided to do all my diapers last weekend.

Basically, if your diapers begin to smell, or you want to make sure the excess soap build up is gone, you should strip your diapers. The residue on your diapers may lead to bacteria growth, which is not good to have on your baby's bum! Residue may build up because of using too much, or too little soap and you may wish to alter your washing routine after stripping. (In my case, I use less soap... only the recommended amount and have switched soaps.)

To strip diapers, take the clean diapers, and wash them on a HOT cycle with 1 or 2 drops of dish soap (a very SMALL amount). Then I rinsed them using hot water multiple times. I rinsed them until I couldn't see bubbles coming out in the water from the washer. I think I rinsed them 6 - 7 times. There were still a few bubbles but I had been rinsing them all day!

Click here for more laundering instructions and details about stripping diapers. (www.littletreehugger.ca)