Will the real Cindy Lou Who please stand up!?

Dr Seuss' Cindy Lou Who...



And our own....

So, a note to Jim Carrey. If you ever need a Cindy Lou from Whoville for the next Grinch Part Deux, we have one for you - theatrical and all.

This weekend we had visitors from Toronto. Lena and Andrew came to visit and we had a great time. For people without children, they were remarkably tolerant of incessant Isabelle chat, and played non-stop with her. Waited for her to nap, and to be put to bed - a way of life that I completely took for granted (doing anything on your own time), before I had her. They are in the middle of massive home renovations, having just purchased an older home, so it was nice to hear about all the new going's on...old boilers replaced, water pressure issues, small closets that we can't comprehend people ever lived with (note to all, what was with the 1930's - both of our homes were built during this time - did people not own multiple hand bags and shoes they needed to store?), and the regular repainting of walls and updating of fixtures.

Checking out Steve with Lena.


We had brunch at Cora's and Isabelle feasted on fruit, cheerios and some of Lena's oatmeal - not hugely keen on that particular menu item. Gilles got a run in with them, and we got to enjoy their little daschund, Steve. Kali and Edward, not so happy about that particular visitor, but they all managed to cohabitate for the weekend in any case. Kali was quite forward and hung out in the family room, whereas Ed just hid in the basement where Steve couldn't get to him. When we went out for brunch, Steve was put in his crate and we imagined that Kali and Ed were dancing around it with glee, goading Steve into a frenzy at his inability to try to attack them. Said with a bit of irony since Steve weighs 15 pounds, and Ed is about 20, if not more!

Umm, I will take the two eggs, yolks only for me please, the bacon, side of hash browns, a couple of pancakes and a large fruit cup for dessert, no citrus please.


So, it happened today (the death of my supposition that Isabelle will be a baby forever!). I walked up to a clerk at the Gap and asked for the 12-18 month size I was looking for in this adorable sweater. In all honesty, the 6-12 would have fit her but I was TRYING to be smart about it, and figured since it was a sweater, it could last her longer than the summer. Don't laugh, those of you who are thinking that Isabelle doesn't wear anything more than a few times. It's a lie, I tell you :) Anyway, the sales clerk told me that the particular sweater I wanted didn't come in 12-18, and I should look in the TODDLER section. What the hey????? She's not a toddler already for crying out loud. I almost burst into tears at the thought. So begins the process of wrapping myself around the concept of growth, at a rate I cannot deal with at the present. I just got the two month reprieve and am looking forward to all the new things this will mean I will get to witness for the first time - perhaps the crawling, standing up on her own - that sort of thing. Calling her a toddler wasn't something at the top of my list. I close my eyes, and my ears to such sentiment. Off I went to purchase a BABY sized wading pool so that this week in the 40 degree heat, Isabelle and I can hang out in the pool, cool and relaxed in the front yard.

Peekaboo, I see you - through a clear bathtub tambourine, no less!

REPRIEVE!

YYYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!
Need I say more? I met with my boss today, and if I adored him before, I certainly love the man even more now. Tom was completely understanding about our daycare troubles and gave me the extra two months we need to place Isabelle in the daycare we really like, and was great about the whole thing. I was a total bag of nerves all week long waiting to see if they would decide to place me somewhere else, or decide they couldn't live without me and would wait for my return. Thank you to whoever is looking out for us, and to Tom, who I am so happy to be able to go back to work for......just in an extra two months! I can't believe I get to be with Isabelle for even longer, and will really be able to enjoy the first year birthday and extra time at home with her. Being able to place her in our daycare of choice means that I may miss her like crazy, but I won't be worried about her the whole day long. Ahh, life is great :)

Catching some needed zzzzz's.......


It has however, not been a great week for sleep with the aforementioned little jewel. She has been napping poorly and really hard to get down at night. On one occasion, I just sat her up in the middle of the bed and placed the breastfeeding pillow around her waist. She played for awhile and then finally the fatigue overwhelmed her and the above is what happened in the end. One of the only times she has actually put herself to sleep. When she does sleep, she does really well for the first few hours and then all goes up in smoke when she becomes totally restless and rolls around, crashing into Gilles and I. Put her in the crib, and it's game over, with perhaps a necessary middle of the night drive to put her back into dream land. Sometimes, she's even sitting up in bed, completely asleep with her eyes closed, and then crashes down from her seated position - it is hilarious to watch, but concerning when the last thing you want is for her to wake up completely and end your own blissful sleepy time!

We have had a great week full of adventure. Swimming lessons were fun, once again....and, for the record, if you thought I was hard on the Old MacDonald pond guy last week, this week when we had the pond scenario again, he chose the "SEA cucumber"?????????? First of all, his first language is English, second of all, does the term SEA cucumber not tip you off that this is probably not found in a pond, and third, we actually had to stop the song dead to decide what the sea cucumber did so we could all make the sound. We decided to blow bubbles in the water.

Isabelle's new best friend!


Isabelle's new best friend is due to Olan and his stuffed black lab named Thunder, after our own black lab from when we were children. She adored his and so we tried to find something similar that would get the same results. Seems we were successful since she reacts to this stuffed toy unlike any other she has. Thanks again to Olan for sharing his toys, even though it always ends up costing us in the end!

We also started our kindermusic class this week. What a great program, and wish we had started even sooner. They use music and dance, and fun things like scarves and paper bags to engage the children. Wonder of all wonders, they even have all the WORDS to the songs on the wall so Mom's like me won't feel like idiots. She totally loved the other kids and the teacher taught us some signing for the babies. She feels that Isabelle is a prime candidate to use them since she is so expressive with her hands. They were all very impressed with her "hurrah", waving hello and goodbye, clapping and pointing. Evidently, most babies either wave, or clap, but don't usually grasp both at the same time. Like I said, prodigy! Kudos to the fam too since they have been telling me for months that I should be signing with her. I am now! We can't wait for next week since we both liked the babies and the Moms. This class is going to be a lot of fun for both of us. The only downfall is that it starts at 9:30 am, but there's a Tim's on the way so all is not lost!

The Walmart Ferris Wheel!


We visited the Walmart ferris wheel again and Isabelle had a blast. Gilles thinks she looks like she's about to cry in this photo, but I swear they were only screams of joy!

The Constant Macaroni Princess

You, I'm talking to you!


We are having a great weekend thus far. Seems the good weather is back and so we enjoyed a long bike ride around the arboretum today, while Gilles ran beside us. Isabelle fits much better in the infant seat now and I am much more comfortable with her on the bike than I was before.

We did the groceries this afternoon and unfortunately, had a little accident with Isabelle in the car seat. Her lip got caught in the clasp and was cut. Gilles and I were devastated at the sight of blood and rushed her into the store, straight to the frozen food section. We grabbed a box of real fruit popsicles and promptly opened them, and had her sucking on one in no time. She was drooling the berry excess all over her front and I am sure people thought we were quite weird, but her lip was fine and didn't swell at all; in fact, you can hardly see anything now. Crisis averted! She thought that the whole situation was grand as the popsicle was a huge hit...........

Bring on the pasta!


For those of you who don't know, Gilles' family used to own Constant Macaroni, a pasta company based in Winnipeg. Tonight, we decided to pay homage to the family by introducing Isabelle to her first pasta, and of course, chose macaroni. To add to the experience, we even wore her Paris bib, courtesy of Auntie Meg, because we knew her Granmaman would love the Eiffel Tower print and it would add to the French Constant theme. This is the first time that Isabelle has not made some kind of face when we have given her a new food. She dove in and ended up eating the whole little bowl of macaroni. Afterwards, she was looking for more! Not only did these slippery little suckers not evade her hands, but she was going for two or three at a time, and thoroughly enjoying the experience. The true Constant is one who loves their pasta, and she is, in that regard, truly a Constant. She and her Grandpapa will both consume their pasta numerous times a week if this start is any indication of things to come. Get ready to meet your competition Grandpapa, Isabelle is well on her way!

Learning to suck the macaroni in!



Keep it coming Mom!

The big ten!

Isabelle is now ten months old. She imitates everything you do, points to things she wants, claps like she's at a big concert, lifts up her hands to "hurray", and makes sounds like clap, quack, and yesterday the big no!! Perish the thought that it has already begun. I am waiting for the "WHY". Why does this happen, why does this not happen, why do I have to go to bed, why do I have to eat my vegetables..why, why, why, Mom? We're still working on the context part - like she waves at me when I'm still sitting in front of her and haven't, and am not, going anywhere, but all in good time.

What time is it Mr. Shark?

On Tuesday we were back at our swim lessons after missing them for a couple of weeks due to travel. She was quite happy to be back in the pool. There were fewer Mom's this time and that's perhaps why this happened. Finally, someone was an even bigger loser than I am when it comes to kids songs. We had to sing Old MacDonald, but this time, it was Old MacDonald had a pond, and so on. This guy, number one, didn't know the song, which I couldn't believe because isn't that the ONE song everyone knows, and number two, then said there was a dolphin in the pond. We all went with it, but I was wondering what kind of ponds he has been visiting? The same guy then got all competitive during "What time is it Mr. Shark". We usually take turns being the Mr. Shark, but this guy was determined that no one was going to catch them swimming (which I use loosely as his daughter is about 8 months) back to the other side of the pool. When the instructor told him to take a turn, he asked why since no one had been able to catch him. I felt like responding in kind and telling him I would take a turn and mow him down in the pool. I mean, this is for the kids for crying out loud...BUT, if it wasn't, I am very competitive and I could've taken him. I let Isabelle know this and we felt somewhat better about the whole situation. He did not, however, catch us on his turn! I hope his wife is back next week. I have a hard time, obviously, not responding to people like that.

Isabelle and I also shoplifted this week. We walked down to the big fruit and veggie place on Bank, and I had her in the stroller. I placed four avocadoes in a bag and looped them around the handles and then tried to juggle all the rest of the stuff since the stroller doesn't have much room for just sitting things on it. In hindsight, yes, I should have just grabbed a basket. Anyway, we tried the honeydew, watermelon and canteloupe samples they have and she hates it all. Not a melon girl, I guess. Afterwards, we headed to the cash and unloaded all our goods, then Isabelle proceeded to totally charm the pants off the cashier by waving at her and talking nonsense. I paid and we left, customers and cashiers alike waving goodbye to her. It was only when we reached the Starbucks up the street that I realized that we still had the avocadoes looped around the handlebar, and that I hadn't paid for them. For the record, it was SUPER hot and the thought of walking back was horrible, and so we continued on home with the promise that I would tell them next time we went in. On the other hand, could you have a better decoy if this was the main aim of your visit, and would they believe me if I told them she was not meant to distract them while we made off with the goods. Okay, I could have picked something much more worthwhile than a few avocadoes, but you get the point.

So, today we went to St. Laurent in the pouring rain (insanity!) because there was little else to do and Isabelle seems bored of some of her toys....or is that her Mom? Speaking of which, her Gran bought her a boom box and asked me for my permission. I, for some strange reason, gave it thinking it would be a cool thing to have - also kind of wondered why she was asking for permission? Now, I would like to throw the thing out the window when one of the 15 songs it plays comes on. The problem is that Isabelle keeps changing the songs too, so that just as you are really getting into the singing, the song is over and she is on to the next. Care for the first two lines of Mary had a Little Lamb about 20 times in a 15 minute period???? UGH!

I decided today that it was time for crayons and some huge easel paper so we could see if a Monet, or a Picasso awaited us! While we were there, we went to the breastfeeding room and sat down, only to be joined by another Mom and her daughter. Isabelle is, of course, now more interested in the people that have arrived, than in eating. I am noticing how quiet and restrained the other, much younger looking baby is, whilst our Isabelle has taken off her Converse shoe and is, mid feed, lassooing it around her head with the lace. The Mom and I get to chatting, because Isabelle has now decided that she would much rather amuse the others, and I find out that the little girl was born September 25th, and is a mere 9 days younger than the raving lunatic feeder that I am holding, or trying to restrain from throwing herself off the chair. She is in the 5th percentile and is quite small, but also much more reserved than Isabelle. She played nicely with her Mom's necklace and finished feeding before she gave us her attention, and then Isabelle had a great friend and an impromptu playdate at the Mall.

So, a few hours after our return and Isabelle's nap - we try out the crayons. For the record, this may be the one disclaimer that is on the money for age requirements. They say 1+ and I have to agree with them (for the record, the boom box says for 3+ and this is ridiculous). Anyway, she only wanted to eat the crayons, and thankfully they're non-toxic because she ended up at one point with blue crayon across her face and absolutely NOTHING on the big easel paper. I would include a photo of her first work, but the most she got on the giant paper were three black dots when she seemed to miss her face and mouth and hit the paper instead in her exuberance. Thankfully kindermusic classes start next week and she will have a new outlet, and some new songs we can practice at home.

Maybe this is the time she'll go for the paper?


Nope, tricked again MOM!

The big visit!

So, the visit is over and we are back in the swing of things here, just sans Olan and Meg - our constant companions for a couple of weeks.

Speaking of, we obviously returned safe and sound from our brief sojourn to Toronto and then the trip to Muskoka to visit with Auntie Tep. The first part of the trip to Toronto was fairly hairy, but after a short pitstop to change Isabelle in the grass, and feed them both, we made it almost all the way there and stopped for a picnic on the 401 just outside Toronto. They both became fascinated with the grass and worked in tandem, Isabelle grabbing up bunches and Olan attempting to try to eat it all. Auntie Meg and Olan chased some seagulls and they both had a nice lunch of sweet potato puffs and Nutrios.

What to do with this grass?

We arrived in Toronto mid afternoon for a visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa, and then Aunt Janice joined us for dinner. Isabelle and I also managed to make it to Bayview Village for a quick shop! The new condo is gorgeous and it's nice to see that they are comfortable and set up in their new digs. Both babies were great visitors and loved to play with Great Grandma's new walker. I was worried that she would turn around to use it and it would be gone, pushed to the other end of the condo by the two of them....It was nice to see everyone and catch up, but then the next trip loomed and we wanted to get on the road, hoping that both babies would sleep the whole way there!

Visit with Great Grandma!

After a quick trip to Starbucks for some liquid courage, we hit the highway and NEITHER baby slept. Not, that is, until we were about fifteen minutes away from the cottage, and not without some fussing. Hence the next trip to an empty road somewhere off the 400! We tried to make the move from car seat to bed without disturbing, but unfortunately, Isabelle spied her location, knew it was somewhere new, and woke up completely, ready to get it on and party. She didn't end up going to bed until midnight, and this with a total of about an hour and a half for her naps, for the day. Socialite.

Quick change with Gran on the 400!

Although Muskoka was mainly cold and cloudy, we had a good visit with Auntie Tep. We took a day trip into Port Carling and also enjoyed a great dinner with the Bangay clan. We are calling Great Grandma Bangay the Baby Whisperer since both Olan and Isabelle were suitably charmed enough to do something they never do, which is lay prone on someone's tummy and be content to just lie there. Have no idea how she accomplished that feat! Catherine and Kayla dropped by for dessert and we also got to visit with them.

Let me in that boat!

Isabelle's Mom was a total baby herself about going into the lake. Too cold when there is a hot shower in the cottage. Isabelle, however, was completely unfazed and tried to launch herself off the dock every time we were down on the water. Thankfully Auntie Meg and Gran were up to the task and she made it in a couple of times. She and Olan also played in the mini pool that Auntie Tep had on the dock - that is until Isabelle had a small accident and the pool had to be cleared immediately (I imagined the lifeguard blowing his/her whistle). Oops!

Swimming with Auntie Meg!

We also had the great fortune to hang out with Mimi, Auntie Barb and Uncle Dave - can't say enough good things about those two. So in love, so cute, and SO much fun to be around. I was so happy for Isabelle to meet with them, and we even got to see Jen for a short time the next day. Adorable preggo girl - looking happy and healthy and sporting such a fabulous little belly, which I am happy to say I got to touch. Glowing, glowing, glowing!

Pretty cottage butterfly.

The trip home was fabulous. When we started out and both babies were asleep within the first few minutes we thought we were in trouble for sure, but then the rest of the trip passed quickly and with little incident, and this for a 5 1/2 hour tour! A couple of quick stops at the Tim's and we were home. Lovely babies :)

The next day we were off to the soccer game. A tad apprehensive about the later hour and the 29,000 fans, but well equipped with soccer shirts for the babies. We were sure that even if there were freak outs, they were cute enough to prevail with the fans! Isabelle LOVED the crowds and all the music and made quick friends with the people surrounding us. She clapped, she waved, she threw up her hands in the "hurrah" stance and was a huge hit. We needn't have worried about this butterfly, she was in her element.

Let's go guys!

The next day it was time for Olan and Meg to leave, but not before we took another little tour around Bank Street. We even managed to buy Isabelle's christening dress - thanks in huge part to Auntie Meg's suggestion of visiting the store in the first place. Thankfully that problem out of the way. Gilles wanted to know what had happened with the family dress she was going to wear and I had to explain that at 11 months and over 20 pounds, it certainly wasn't going to fit the bill. At the 2-3 month stage, it would have been great!

OOOOHHHHHHH! He's leaving????

We will miss them but will be seeing them again in a few weeks and know they will be very happy to be home again with Dad! We made both babies promise not to change in the next few weeks.

The visit continues.......

Having a glorious time with the babies. The weather continues to be weird, but it hasn't stopped us from doing anything so far. We had a great time walking down Bank Street when the soccer was on - it was so exciting, in fact, that we decided the babies will have to go to a game. Bought tickets when we got home for the Sunday game before Meg and Olan leave - it should be an awesome first for both. The crowds sing constantly and the colours are unbelievable. I have never seen the stands at Lansdowne that full. The bonus is that we don't have to drive and deal with the huge traffic jams :)

We continue to keep busy, checking out the market downtown, and things that never occur to me, like the mini ferris wheel at the Walmart store. We could have killed ourselves for not having a camera - the faces they gave were so funny! We also had a great dinner last night with Trystan and Katya. They were unbelievably kind, bringing a plant and wine, and so much fun for the babies to have around. Isabelle was flirting like mad with Trystan, and loved Katya. She turned into her usual social self, and refused to go to bed until after they left around 10pm. What's a usual bedtime when there is fun to be had?

Ahh....the shopping!

Actually, it's been rainy, which is why we went shopping, but besides that, just the hanging around for the babies has been fabulous. Isabelle refuses to nap in the carseat, which she has always been seriously prone to doing, because WHY nap when there's a little boy sitting across from her who is so happy to return her calls of and hold her hand. Meg keeps trying to get a shot of the hand holding, but one of them always moves their hands last minute and the moment is gone! So, we hit the Baby Gap and other stores yesterday - never hard to find some cute things that they can't do without, but had to cut the trip short because both of them are seriously teething, and were a real handful as a result. When one started, so did the other, and just when one stopped, the other was off and runnning again. Meg and I really felt like a nap at the end of the trip. All this and we were buying for them too! Gilles and Meg took a walk with both of them while I went to the gym in the early evening, and the babies met with the little goslings and the big Mama Geese. Both hit the beds with little incident and we all enjoyed a quiet night.

Today, we visited Westboro and the cool new baby shops like Fab Baby Gear and Red Chair Kids. Both babies were on their best behaviour and the trip went really well - the Mom's even got in a well needed trip to Lululemon. Put them in front of the large changing room mirrors and you could try on hundreds of outfits without having them fuss in the least. We walked all around and had lunch out on the Thyme catering patio, visited the Starbucks and Auntie Meg even gave Isabelle her first piece of cookie (oatmeal raisin)!

We are both starting to get wary of the trip to Toronto, and the cottage and this, even when we are currently blissfully ignorant of what we may be getting into. It's the return trip when we're fully aware what we are about to undergo which may have us living at the cottage with Auntie Tep for the remainder of the summer. Either that, or paying someone to take the car home to Ottawa while we fly home from Toronto!

Let's see.....We're going to hit Bank Street tomorrow since the Brazillians will be out in full force to support the soccer team which plays tomorrow pm. We think the kids will love all the people, and the flags and colours. It also means we get to introduce Auntie Meg to Wild Oat, our very favourite place for curry! Well, mine anyway, Gilles really isn't a fan...although I have had him try several dishes which he likes UNTIL he doscovers that there was tofu, or a curry related spice in it, but that's another story altogether.

More later!

Happy Belated Canada Day!

Well, it's been awhile and it's been busy. I'll start at the beginning, which would have been swimming classes last week - Isabelle was in heaven. She started screaming the minute we walked throught into the pool area (I guess the bathing suit wasn't a clue for her!), and didn't stop until we left 45 minutes later. She made a new friend named Taj and was quite happy to follow him around the pool, singing with her Mom and the other parents. We'll have to take some pictures for you. We used the pool noodles and floater boards, but this wasn't a big lesson day as they were supposed to be familiarizing themselves with the water. No real need for that here, but she had fun with her free time, and flirted with her Dad, who watched from the sidelines.

Canada Day weekend was great. We got a lot of things accomplished - mainly the spring cleaning we didn't do in the spring this year! Meg and Olan were coming on Tuesday and it seemed like the perfect excuse to get a move on, so to speak. I went through Isabelle's closet and actually boxed up all the clothing that had been in bags on the floor when she outgrew them all. Can't believe she EVER fit into those up to 7lbs sleepers. Seems like a dream! Now we have boxes of clothing that we couldn't part with in the garage. Waiting for the next little girl to come along, or who knows!? It will be fun to show them to her someday in any case.

We hit Uncle Phil's for a bbq on Canada Day and had a great time. Isabelle, of course, loved all the attention. After she was in bed, Gilles and I listened to the fireworks on Parliament Hill and had the tv set to the Rogers channel so we could watch them go off! What a difference a year makes!

Here is a photo of what I have described before, which is Isabelle feeding, and/or doing gymnastics? This is also pretty tame as her hands are usually involved in picking up her feet and stretching them every which way, scratching either of our faces or just seeing where she can put them - also because I am posting it on the blog. I don't think this is normal, but perhaps it is?

On Tuesday afternoon, Isabelle's bestest friend arrived. I picked up Olan and Meg at the airport and she has been in heaven ever since. Perpetual playmate - someone to eat with and watch. Only problem so far being that she needs to do it at exactly the same time he does. It's so nice to have them here, and hopefully we'll have Logan over too so that the three little munchkins can all be together again. Last time, they were barely conscious, and too tiny to notice each other.