In the Halloween Spirit

Somebody let the cat out of the bag. We weren’t ready to tell Caitlyn about Halloween yet, being as she’s not even allowed candy, but someone, somewhere must have explained it to her. How do I know? She grew a fang for the occasion. Caitlyn’s third tooth poked through on Saturday. She’s had the two middle bottom teeth for quite a while now. We knew that something was coming in on the top, the poor girl’s been miserable. She got a really bad diaper rash this time, I felt so bad for her. But, after all the work and tears, out poked her left lateral incisor I hope she realizes that even with all her effort, she’s still too little for candy!

Ikea – Made in China

On Saturday, we went to our favorite Swedish shopping destination for the best, most affordable breakfast in town, and to pick up a few little things for around the house. For just the second time in my memory, we left without buying ANYTHING.

How could this happen?

Over the last little while, we’ve been making a conscious effort to avoid buying products made in China. Since the single most important thing in our lives performs taste tests on anything within her ever-expanding reach, I’m just not comfortable with having Chinese products, which all seem to be laced with melamine, where they can be grabbed by little hands. Every item we looked at in the store was made in China.

So, for the short-term, our boycott is saving us money. When we actually need to buy something, it may start to cost us a little more, but by preventing our impulse buys, hopefully we’ll still come out ahead.

Thanksgiving (Better Late Than Never)

On Sunday morning, my baby girl fell asleep in my arms for the first time in months. As good as it felt, and as peaceful as that moment was, I’m grateful that it doesn’t happen often, because that means my daughter is good at sleeping on her own in her own bed.

I’m grateful for the clothes I pull out of her drawers that are too small that she hasn’t even gotten a chance to wear because it means that my daughter is healthy and growing like a weed and that we are blessed with more than we need for her.

The alarm went off too early this morning, but I am grateful because it means I have a job to go to where I earn a paycheque that will pay our bills and allow my husband to be the one at home raising the most precious thing in our lives.

On the weekend I tripped over a toy, but I am grateful because it means my daughter has lots of things to play with.

My daughter is still not sleeping through the night, she still wakes up twice to eat, but, I am grateful because it means that she is eating and growing.

Our lives are very different now than they were last Thanksgiving. A year ago, we were just telling people about this bundle of joy that was about to invade our lives. We were talking about how our lives were going to change, but we were so wrong in so many ways. Our lives have changed, turned upside down really, but we are having so much fun watching our little girl who was so small and fragile turn into a little person.

In just the last week, she’s become so much more mobile. She’s scooching all over and rolling like a little log. She’s still not crawling, but she’s getting close. If you hold her hands, she’ll walk all over the house with you. Whenever she’s working to get to a toy that’s just out of reach or to get some food into her mouth, she gets this look of intense focus on her face that is just hysterical. She’s already such a determined and stubborn little girl. (I can’t imagine where she got that from!!) The changes are so amazing to watch.

I have so much to be thankful for this year, but mostly I am grateful that my little family is together and healthy. We laugh together everyday, and as long as the three of us can sit in the middle of the chaos and laugh, it’s a good day at our house! The best part of my day is coming home to Caitlyn’s chubby little cheeks. She usually lets out a big laugh when she first sees me, how can anything else matter?

7 Months Old!!

The princess turned 7 months old last Thursday. In some ways it’s hard to imagine our lives before her, it feels like she’s always been a part of our family. I’m loving this age. It’s so much fun! It’s so neat to watch her play with things and try to figure them out. She’s so curious about everything. We were shopping on Saturday, and Steffan picked up a package of light bulbs. Caitlyn grabbed for them and they almost dropped to the floor! We really have to start being more careful about what’s in her ever-expanding reach. Even though she’s not talking yet, she’s got her own way of telling us what she’s after. If I’m holding her and she wants her dad, she’ll lunge her whole body in his direction, it’s adorable. She’s VERY rambunctious. She’s constantly on the move. Her dad & I keep saying that as soon as she can crawl, we’re in big trouble!

She’s sitting really well on her own now, she rarely tips over. When she does tip over she grunts and struggles and tries to get back up. She stands really well now, as long as we hold her hands. Sometimes she even walks. She’s getting one foot in front of the other. It’s so cute to watch her focus.

She loves trying to feed herself, and the look of intense concentration as she tries to get the cracker into her mouth makes me and her dad laugh.

Steffan has adjusted really well to being a stay at home dad. He told me last night, “I feel like this is what I was meant to do”. I’m so grateful that my little girl has such a fantastic father who loves her so much and has the patience and the personality to take care of her all day so that I can go to work knowing that she’s in the best possible hands having a great time with her favourite person in the world!