Hip Hip Hooray

I love my camera. I really do. And am so thankful that in it's five years, it's never been dropped, stepped on, spilt on, left behind or stolen. Sometimes though it can be a bit big. Like when I have three bags and a baby to carry. Or that time we went out for breakfast and other diners averted their eyes as we snapped the bean gumming her first pack of Premium Plus.

So after months of debate I got brave and bought a really great little camera. It fits in pockets and purses. It is wonderful. I'm not afraid for it's life when I take it on the boat and feel like I've already captured so much more of the everyday. Three cheers for small! 

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Bikefest Baby (and handsome daddy)

Rock on Little Scoot

Young Yeller

This week Frances has been working hard on a new set of bottom molars. The matching top pair debuted about six weeks ago. Once these two finally show they’ll be number eleven and twelve, officially putting us past the half-way mark (babies get only twenty teeth, who knew). 

Even though teething dread is right up there with labour dread, colic dread, sleeplessness dread and tantrum dread, so far it’s been a notch or so above barely noticeable (lucky stars were thanked in the writing of this post). She has been so good about it (compared to the tears, interrupted sleep and gnawed frozen bagel mountain I was expecting) that it often takes me a bit to realize that new teeth are on their way. Then, of course, I feel awful.

She gets a tad more impatient and a tad and a half more yelly (as in “yell, hold me” and “yell, here this toy is for you”, “yell-yell, I SAID this toy is for you”). That's it. A quick gum check sets my oh god could this be the terrible-twos early mind at ease and ushers in an extra dose of cuddling (on the double) for the brave little molar grower.

Favourite Sights: Summer Edition

Next to these two across from me at cold stone: 

This is fast becoming one of my favourite sights of summer: 

In The Driver's Seat

(Photo by Nanna)

Some Summer Snaps

Mira Provincial Park:

Rocks in pail, rocks out of pail, rocks in pail, rocks out of pail ...

Picking up grass. 

Way better than picking up (stupid colourful is-everywhere) litter.

Happy Backyardigan.

Sampling.

Joker is wild (and is a stealer of smoothie sips)

Uh Oh

We waited a very long time to declare Frankie's first word - she is almost fourteen months old! But we wanted to be sure that she was using it intentionally and in the right context. She's been babbling for a while now ... half her little life and every few days will go on a ma ma ma ma streak or a da da da one. These streaks always come to a grinding halt, however, when we point at the ma ma or da da and she laughs and runs away. 

But uh oh? She knows uh oh. At first repeating it when we said it and then using it just for fun - throwing it in between a hohoho and a weeeee. Now though she uh ohs every time she drops or spills something (which is a pajillion times a day) or as she stands back to admire the cupboard or purse that she's just completely emptied. Also in the last two weeks? Saying hi with a little wave to every human, animal and vehicle that passes by and woof woof woof when she sees any fur animal that is not a cat. Yes, she is the mayor of cute city.

The Horn of Africa

Last night at ten I turned on the news. I guess I haven't turned it on (or clued in) for a few days because I wasn't expecting this. All of this heart-wrenching sadness.

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It was/is hard to reconcile as I sit and watch it unfold on my television in my bed in our house, knowing that Frances is asleep, warm and full, in the next room. Eating a bowl of granola like it is nothing, thinking about things that I want, while hundreds of thousands are desperate for food and water just to keep their babies alive.  

The commentator positioned it all against the US and European debt crises, speculating that these crises will make it much harder to raise the money needed to avert the worst of what's to come. Trillions spent fighting wars and saving arrogant banks. Great job guys. 

There is a good (though short) overview of the situation on CBC News World and UNICEF is a well-respected organization (very transparent about its intentions abroad) if you feel you're able to make a donation.

Pinterest

Have you heard of pinterest? It's a neato site for saving or sort of filing the things that you find online and want to keep for later. Like your browser's bookmarks, but instead of saving each item as a super long web address you save it as a picture. So much prettier. Best of all though, you get to see what others are saving. Things that you may never have discovered. Not in a million years. Things like this: 

How to turn a mason jar into a soap dispenser.

How to save leftover wine for cooking.

A delicious dessert from frozen bananas and nutella.

And a pretty calligraphy address stamp.

You're welcome (since I know you were looking for even more ways to lose a few hours in the online).

The Score

Grocery store display table - 1

Frances - 0 

Book basket longevity - 0

Frances - 1 

Pouty-faced baby - 6

Mama - 0

Once Upon A Time

Things that Frances will know of only through our stories of the old days:

1. Cheque books

2. Pay phones

3. Movie rentals

Run Away Baby

In the summer, the park that we normally visit becomes even more lively and entertaining when the splash pad opens up - because what could be more fun than a great big concrete oval with freezing cold water shooting out of it? We've been twice in the last few weeks and Frances is understandably cautious. She pretty much prefers to stand back and watch the gaggles of wet and wild children (and to try to steal their beach towels when they're not looking).  

Inspecting from the sidelines. 

Modeling her pretty minnie mouse sun hat and cover up.

Work it tiny girlfriend.

The first time I let go of her hand was on the sidewalk in front of our house. I thought she patter three steps ahead and then turn around and come barreling back. Instead she just kept going. She'd probably be halfway to Toronto if we hadn't scooped her up. It's the same every time: brave baby on the run and mamma, both proud and a little teary, trying hard not to ask time and growing baby to slow down.

The Backyard Barbeque Blues

It has been a busy week. But busy in a good nice summer nights sort of way. With haircuts and dinner out and friends visiting and still finding time for morning coffee on the balcony and a beach or two. 

On Wednesday we packed up some homemade treats and headed across town to a lovely potluck barbeque: one with interesting mammas and pappas who we see out and around but never with enough time or hands to sit back and enjoy each others company and conversation. The weather was perfect and the food was delicious. Frances enjoyed herself immensely - climbing up and down the patio steps and running with bare feet through the grass.

As I drove home, and sang the wheels on the bus at the top of my lungs trying to keep her awake, I realized I was exhausted, but way more than the exhaustion that comes from an average day with a one year old. I was exhausted from an evening of trying to keep one foot in grown-up conversations and one eye and set of hands on a wiggly and and fearless little girl. Completely exhausted. And a little sad too since I felt I didn't end up doing either particularly well. 

Of all the many (crime-fighting world-saving superhero) things we've mastered in the last year, dinner and conversation with other adult humans  - while a tiny human runs amuck at our feet  - isn't one of them. There are some parts of you that grow so quickly after a baby arrives, like the capacity of your heart, and others that are a little slower to the plate, like your ability to devote your full attention to two things at once. 

Hopefully this too will come. Maybe I need to look up parent developmental milestones somewhere. Maybe you only get this badge after two years of service. If not, if this is just one of those things that is forever different after baby, then I'm sure Frances will sooner or later master the everyday dangers of the average backyard, like stairs and chairs, cutting our constant vigil a little bit of slack.

Until then I guess the only thing to do is practice, practice, practice. Bring on the backyards and the barbeque.   

Out On The Mira One Warm Afternoon

Ten o'clock on Sunday night and a tiny sandy baby is upstairs fast (like a rock on a log) asleep. A perfect end to a perfect weekend. Maybe the perfectest. The sun shone so much these last three days that it completely wiped months of cold, wet and grey from all of our memories. It felt as though every wintery gale and soggy spring day was leading directly to this.

Peering out from a giant crawl tube on Canada Day at Petersfield Park. I love that she is old enough to find these sorts of things fun - parks filled with people and face painting and balloons. I equally love that we can go to these things and when I'm ready to leave I can say "okay time to go home" and she has no idea that she's about to trade in a giant crawl tube for her car seat. She follows along as if we're definitely leaving this crawl tube for an even bigger crawlier one right around the corner.

Learning to sniff flowers at Sunny's beautiful first birthday party on Saturday 

(Photo by Diane Nordine)

Applying her new skill to track down the last of the ice cream cake.

(Photo by Diane Nordine)

Mira on Sunday afternoon.

Hello sea.

Building castles in the sand.