Toddler hijinks

~Always investigate if your toddler is in the room next door. This is especially important if there is an unusually long period of silence. 

Ah, the toddler milestones. Figure out how to open the fridge- check. Discover the funnest foods to play with- check. 

This literally occurred moments after telling Mike (while Laney was in the other room) how I was not looking forward to her figuring out how to open the fridge. I have no idea if this occurrence was a crazy coincidence or if she heard me talking to Mike and got the idea. They are so much smarter than we realize. 

UPDATE: Since this feat, she has discovered how to open the latch on the cabinet doors under the sink. Yikes.

In other toddler development news, after waking up in her crib last night, we could hear this from the living room, "Mummy, mummmmy, mummy, Mike, Mike, Miiiiiike, Mummy, Mike." I have no idea why she has decided to start alternately calling her daddy Mike. It's probably not helping that I laugh. 

I decided to go in after a little while (I have discovered that Laney alone and awake for any length of time do not mix).

She was completely naked. Her pajamas, blankets, soother, magical seahorse, and diaper lay in a neat pile on the floor. There were only two puddles in her crib. No poop. It's the small victories that really matter.

The longest day of the year

I will not let the mosquitoes win. This summer, well all one day of it, I have decided that I am not going to hide from the mosquitoes. I will suck it up and use bug spray.

After all, we only have a short window of time to enjoy the beautiful weather. If you're wondering why this is, I've created a lovely (and completely accurate) depiction of our Alberta seasons.

If I ever come across billions of dollars, I will immediately offer the majority of my fortune to the person who discovers a way to make those pesky mosquitoes extinct.

I really don't think they're necessary.

I get huge welts from the bites.

I can't stop scratching them.

On the bright side, we don't have malaria (among other diseases) here so I really shouldn't be complaining. For me it's just a nuisance and for others, it's a matter of life and death.

Anyways, that was fun. No really, I have been having fun with Laney. She is a little water baby just like I am. "Sfimming" is one of her favourite activities. And, I'm constantly bombarded with "side, side, side" which of course means "take me outside now, mummy."

Daddy gave it to her

My child loves the park. And since I need the exercise, I decided today was an excellent one for a bike ride to our favourite spot.

She looks so big playing here.

The swing gets a "thumbs up"

I can't believe that at this time last year she was crawling around in the grass. A lot can happen in one year.

Happy Summer. Enjoy it. It goes by way too fast.

Laney had a little lamb

Moving right along to Spring. Here is (hopefully) the last winter shot I have for you until later this year. We had a blizzard last weekend. It melted away fairly quickly in the next few days as it warmed up. We made sure to let Laney enjoy the snow while it was here.

Later in the week we were able to visit a sheep farm. We went to see the spring lambs. Oh my. Laney was so excited. She ran around saying "bah bah" the entire time.

I want a lamb.

One year ago

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today is where I am

I never really considered myself to be a girly-girl, but Laney is turning me into one! I've been getting in touch with the outfit-loving girl inside. I bought this outfit when I was pregnant with her and remember thinking that she would never be big enough to wear it. And that seems like only yesterday.

She likes having things just so and mostly refuses to eat unless she can feed herself. So I just sit back and let the peanut butter and yogurt fly. I try not to think about the fact that maybe only half ends up in her mouth and the cheap part of me inwardly cringes at the wasted food. I'm looking forward to her being more proficient at feeding herself. It will come, I know.

And while I'm watching I thank God for little feet crossed on the highchair.  They make me smile.

I always look forward to Mike getting home from work. On this particular day, when Mike got home and saw her in this outfit he couldn't believe how big she looked. This is the first time (I think) that I have ever put her in jeans and wow, she looks big.

That's right Laney. Crawl. Mummy doesn't want you growing up too fast.

We have too much to do while you're little. We have the Five Little Monkeys to read over and over. And I don't think Daddy is ready to give up on you sitting on the couch waiting for him.

I'm caught between not being able to wait for the next one and wanting to drag my childbearing years out so that it doesn't end so soon. Often it is hard to live in the moment, not yearning for yesterday nor impatiently waiting for tomorrow. Today is where we are. And it is exactly where I want to be.

A good old Laney update

15 months old! Wow! It's been awhile since I've given an update on Laney. I feel like she has learned so many new things that it would be impossible to list them all.

Our favourite new things:

Laney's hair is now in her eyes. I have resorted to the "palm tree" hairstyle as I don't want to cut it yet. Her hair always comes forward and I'm hoping that putting it back as it grows will help me be able to brush it back.

And, check out her lashes. I love them. I kiss her eyes all the time.

Doesn't it make her look so much older with her hair up?

 I've been trying to not care about the mess she makes and let her learn to use a spoon. I will do better with the next one, I promise. This is quite late to be learning how to use a spoon isn't it?

Another thing I'm trying to do better with is taking her outside more often. It wasn't really a problem in the warmer months, but I find I like to hibernate when the temperature drops and the ground is snow covered. This has been a very cold winter here. But, Laney still loves going outside.

She is really starting to talk. She understands so much now as well.

Words: Thank you (tank yooo), please (peas), yes, no, mummy (mama), daddy (dada), grandpa (grappa), grandma (mamma), nana, grandad (gradad), Isla (Eya) (her cousin), Laney (naney), ball (bah), book (buh), down (daoon), up, help (hep), baby, poop, bath (bat), this (dis), that (dat) and that's all I can think of.

She now weighs 22 lbs. She is also starting to run more than walk. She has been sleeping really well lately too!

Also, I want to let you know how work is going for me. My sister is watching Laney and she has adjusted with no problems. I love how excited she is when I get home though! I only work about two or three days a week and some shifts are evening shifts so it doesn't really seem like I'm away from her that much. It takes me five minutes to get to my work so it is awesome to literally have no commute.

Ideally, I would like to be a stay at home mum and I think it will happen when I have a second child. I do love my work and if I could clone myself I would. Work will always be there once my children are in school so it's not like it has to be all or nothing. Another wonderful thing about my career is that I can always work as part-time as I want (or even casual).

Thanks for all your support. It is conflicting going back to work. But, I got to spend Laney's first 14 months with her fully as a SAHM and now I'm just going to work part time for awhile. A lot of mothers have it much tougher than that so I can't (and shouldn't) complain about it.

And, to abruptly change the subject, I have to leave you with this. Normally Laney sleeps in her crib or carseat. This is what happened when we got home from church last week. I laid her on the couch to take off her tights and jacket and she fell asleep. She stayed like this for about a half hour. So cute!

Eleven months

The last month of the first year has begun. Laney is starting to shed some of her baby ways. Little glimpses of the little girl emerging are becoming evident. And she is a lovely girl, though I have a feeling that we're in for a bit of trouble because she is so spirited. I love her spirit in spite of that though. I struggled trying to get her to sleep well. Part of me didn't want her to give in and sleep because I liked the fact that she didn't give up. That part of me lost though, because I do need sleep myself. In the midst of trying to help her learn how to sleep without cry-it-out, I remember saying to Mike that I don't want to break her spirit, although I would like to mold it. And by mold, I mean form, not decay by the growth of fungi.

In other developments, I tried feeding Laney a baby biscuit today and she choked. I was ready to flip her onto her tummy when the chunk she tried to swallow came out. Being a mother comes with a whole new set of fears. Due to her inability to chew properly, I think we'll stick with the purees for now. I really hope that by the time kindergarten rolls around I won't be as well acquainted with my blender. Sorry Laney. You aren't allowed any food that required chewing.

Highlights this month:

-She slept through the night a couple of times
-She walks about as often as she crawls
-She says "RAHRRRR" when asked what a lion says
-Plays peek-a-boo whenever she has a blanket near
-Says mum, dada
-Loves shaking her head "no" when asked a question
-She bounces up and down while standing
-She is doing a fake laugh now to try and get us to laugh
-Enjoys crawling through and over obstacles

Here are some photos I took for eleven months.

Write it down

I am in the process of writing out Laney's birth story. I meant to do it right away, but never did. While some memories seem to be forever burned into my memory, others are fading. I spent this evening getting all the raw details written down. Once I have it all done, I will write out the story.

This is the very first picture ever taken of Laney. The first of thousands so far.

I love how she looks so wrinkled in this one.

If I could make any moment of my life last forever, this would probably be it.

 They woke us up at about 3 am for Laney's first bath.

The first time Mike got to hold her.

One of the many cuddles that I stole after they told me that Laney was jaundiced. I wasn't allowed to hold her except for feedings and diaper changes. I remember Mike told me not to look so sad and so in the rest of this set of pictures, I am smiling.

 Laney hated the lights and this was the only way I could calm her down.

 Finally getting to head for home.

A few more tidbits from Laney's birth story:

-I had a hind leak. My water broke at the top of my stomach, but did not fully break.
-I was in labour on my own, but they still gave me Pitocin. I don't know why.
-My labour was very quick and the pushing part was only about 25 minutes.
-I will never ever forget the moment they placed her on my chest.
-Laney was jaundiced and had to spend three days under the lights
-I got H1N1 when she was five days old. I was very sick at one point.

For those of you who have recently given birth or are about to, all I can say, is write it down! Every baby has a unique and wonderful birth story. Try and do it as soon as possible. I know you will be so tired after the baby is born, but if you even just put it in point form you will be able to write it out more eloquently later on. I know that the whole experience is so intense and that you feel as if you will remember every detail. The fact is that if you are like me you probably will start to forget some of these details as time goes on.

I never want to forget the experience of meeting my firstborn child. Have you written your childrens' birth stories? Did you stick to the facts or did you include your thoughts and feelings also?