Ripples in the pond.

Bowling.

2009-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

Toilet bowling, that is. The weekly, or sometimes monthly act of cleaning the cuvette in which we relieve ourselves daily. Now that we have 2 bathrooms in our house, it's a double-dip of fun. But that's not the way that things should be, you see when we bought this house, the bathrooms were divided.

Peter got the small upstairs one (pedestal sink, shower, toilet), for his, erm, business. I chose the downstairs one which is a large full bath. More time consuming to clean, but the one that company is likely to see/use, therefore the one which needs to be cleaned properly.

Now, as things were to go, Peter was meant to keep his bathroom clean. I stocked it with Lysol wipes and Mr. Clean magic erasers for this very purpose. A squirt, brushy-brush and flushy-flush here and a few wipes there and bingo! It's in adequate condition for a male-owned bathroom. But no, alas, he could not even handle this small chore and I watched, in dismay, as the sink became toothpaste-crusted and the toilet started to look like pink and brown tie-dyed t-shirt.

Fast forward to the week before Christmas. Visitors are imminent. I knew that there was no use in asking Peter to clean his toilet. He is very adept at ignoring all requests for help on the home maintenance and cleanliness front, especially when he does not fancy the job at hand. I don't know how he manages, but he actually makes me feel GUILTY for asking him. Sick, I know!* Anyhow, asking, nagging, pleading and begging are not terribly effective and I lack the sociopathic nerve to take his kneecaps out with a baseball bat, so I decided to take care of the worst of it, ie. cleaning the toilet.

Off I went to put a new sponge on the toilet cleaning thingy (aka. a fresh brush MAX) which I inherited with the house. Anyhow, if you watch the little video on the link in the last sentence, you will see that a sponge is clipped onto the end of a wand. What it does not show is what happens when the wand does not click fully into place.

So there I was, scrubby scrub, trying to remove some of the worst scum in the drain hole when *click!* the sponge detaches and becomes wedged just out of sight.
"Uh-oh!" I thought and I got some BBQ tongs and attempted to dislodge it, to no avail. In fact, I think I only succeeded in pushing it down further.

Next step: rubber gloves. Rolled 'em on as high as I could, and reached down into the drain hole, but my fingers were barely scraping the sponge.

The plunger was just a bad idea. All that did was push the sponge down further. Toilet no worky anymore.

It's taken until today for us to pull up the toilet, and with much nagging and begging on my part. Peter hates home repairs even more than he hates cleaning, which usually leaves me holding the handy-woman wrench. For this, though, I needed his male upper-body strength for the toilet lifting part.

Still no luck, though. We can't see the sponge anywhere, and now the bathroom smells like poo-drain. Tomorrow I will go get a snake and we'll if we can't find that sucker... The, er, good news is that it offers us an opportunity to replace the wax seal on the toilet.

I know. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Dragons

2008-11-30T22:41:00.000-08:00

This week I will tame some dragons. Some I've hatched myself, a few have come from who-knows-where and some still swoop way up overhead - I have only to guess what those look like, and my imagination does not lean towards the cute and cuddly.

It won't be easy. They're equipped to put up quite a tussle. But they need to know who's boss and should have seen this coming. Granted, dragons are not ones for foresight.

Dragon taming is all about the element of surprise. They all sit and ponder, or fly on reconnaissance or lie around, fat from all the gorging, feeling safe in their numbers. The trick is to whisk one away without the others noticing. Then separate 'em and work on 'em one-by-one. As their numbers dwindle, the rest in the group begin to loose their poise - they look around, wonder, "where did all the others go" and get all sloppy. The last few are usually a breeze.

I've got two to tackle tomorrow. Oh, and treats don't work.

Collar, chain, electric whip, megaphone and courage: Check! Here we go.

Actually, she's 14 months old now, but who's counting?

2008-11-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

So, er, I guess I have been incommunicado for awhile.
I'd like to blame it on going back to work, or on the time I'm now spending doing marking in the evenings, or on my somewhat fitful efforts to get back into shape, or the fact that I can't even get near a computer while Evvy's around without her wanting to touch/smash/garble it. But these are all cop-outs. I just got out of the swing of things, and now it's going to take effort to get back on track.

So, on to my daughter.

Evvy is still very much Evvy. In fact, she becomes more Evvy with every passing day.

You, too can do the "Evvy" by following these simple steps:

- Repeating your favourite words in a variety of intonations and volumes a la Shakespearean actor. Gesticulating and pointing is also important - large gestures please, you are playing to an audience. "Dada? Da-da! dadaDaDA! Daaaaa-dah! DADA!!!"

-Toddling around cheerfully with a variety of random items to proudly display to household members. Choices include: dish gloves (put on hands by self), pictures of family members, a tin of cat food, a container full of playing cards or one of daddy's sneakers.

- Declaring that you want "DOW!" and accompanying this assertion with a nose-dive flop every time someone picks you up and attempts to hold you for more than 2 seconds.

- Being obsessed with dogs, dog books, dog sounds and dog pictures. Having no fear of dogs whatsoever, even when being bowled over and slurped mercilessly on the face.

- Running off in whatever direction mama or dada DON'T want you to go. Coyly looking back over your shoulder when called, then running away even faster with gleeful giggles.

- Loving your weekly routines and clapping enthusiastically because today is swimming day with daddy, or Grandma and Tessa-dog day, or playtime with Izzy day. Greeting nap time and bedtime with "night-night" waves and blankie cuddles.

- Eating next to nothing one day and pretty much everything the next.

- Waving "bye-bye" to anyone in the vicinity who makes eye contact - especially cashiers and street people.

- Learning new words every day. Very cute new words.
Some examples:
A clock is a clicking "tick tock" sound made with the tongue. Not to be confused with "horse", which is "nay!" THEN a clicking sound with the tongue to indicate galloping.
Strawberries are "wa-wee-wee"s, then a smacking sound (which also means "food" or "eat")
"Please" (which we are encouraging like crazy right now) is "tleee!" and my favourite remains "fish" which is an enthusiastic "shhhhhh!"
She also has some well-pronounced words like "keys", "duck", "cow" "night-night" and "towel" which can be recognized by your average person on the street. The rest take some deciphering.

There, got those instructions down? Now it's your turn to try!
Of course, all this is less effective if you are not a toddler. They also do not work well without the big blue eyes, chubby belly and soft blond curls. you would also do well to douse yourself in "Essence of Cute" before giving it a go in public.

Well, that's all the Evvy news for now. I guess I should share a bit about myself, but I will save that for another day. Not that you can handle any more suspense...

Evvy is one year old!

2008-09-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

(NB. I actually wrote this post in early September, but never got around to publishing it!)

I look back at the first few posts I made after Evvy was born and realize what a difference a year makes; not only to my daughter but also to my own life as a mother.
I am beginning to see why many women consider having a second (or, bless my heart, THIRD child). Motherhood, to some extent, becomes more involved, but also more enjoyable with a toddler. Really, I figure that one is an ideal age. Here's why:

She can walk, but cannot yet outrun me.
She is still light enough to carry, but chubby and delicious with baby fat.
She still needs me, but loves exploring her new world independently, too.
She knows enough words to tell me basically what she wants, but not enough to talk back or tell me off.
Plus: She is so darn cute... especially the way she toddles around like a little dinosaur-robot-baby.

These days Evvy is a busy little free spirit. Now that she can walk, that's pretty much all she wants to do... and she doesn't look back. She's always carting things around here and there - both hands are constantly full of toys, shoes, or random objects that she figures would improve Feng Shui if moved to another room. It's a whole new dimension in tidying up the house.

I am glad that I have a confident, outgoing, curious daughter, though. It has made going back to work part-time a bit easier in that she has adapted really well to being away from me and doesn't shed a single tear when I leave. I am lucky in that my family and friends have stepped up to be caregivers - and ideal situation.

Evvy is spending Mondays with daddy, Tuesdays with Grandma T. and Wednesdays with Sam and her daughter, Izzy who is almost exactly Evvy's age. On Thursdays I take Izzy for the day so Ev gets to spend 2 days with her little friend! So far, things have worked out great.

That being said, as the year progresses, I will miss being an exclusively stay-at-home mom. Hmmm... I also miss some other things already, for instance cuddles, which are now few and far between. It's go-go-go these days and Evvy does not want to be held back, or even held, for very long. Diaper changes could be mistaken for a wrestling match with a greased pig. She does still enjoy bath time, though and loves going to the swimming pool, which she will be doing every Monday with Peter.

Evvy eats pretty well and sleeps pretty well now, minus a few glitchy days here and there. She babbles constantly and is learning some new words, for instance "nnnnnnnnnno!" which Grandma T taught her unintentionally while scolding her dog, Tessa. She can say shoe "shhh-oh", fish "ashhh", num-num (for food), kitty kat "ki-khhh" and DVD (ie. Baby Einstein) "dee-dee-dee".

Evvy's birthday was a fun and well-attended event. Lots of friends and family were present to enjoy our home and deck. I spent several hours preparing a completely homemade and elaborately decorated birthday cake - a task that every mom worth her salt should do at least once in her life, just to find out how much effort it takes!

I'm looking forward to seeing the changes that this year holds in store for my little Ev. She seems to be growing in leaps and bounds and I can only imagine that this will continue. I thought I'd miss having a little babe-in-arms as Evvy grew, but I love how I can interact with her more every day and I am amazed at her adventurousness, spunk and sweet disposition. All in all, I couldn't be happier to have a toddler!

The great triathlon.

2008-08-29T21:05:00.001-07:00

I figure that managing a household is a bit like swimming. Whether you're going forwards or backwards you are constantly trying to keep your head above the water.

Working is a bit like running, then. While at work, it's important to pace yourself, keep up with the pack, stay hydrated and visualize your destination (ie. TGIF).

I guess that makes being a mom something like cycling... up Mt. Everest. It's hard work, but the further you get, the more spectacular the view behind you becomes.

Here's the thing: just because you can run a marathon doesn't mean that you could cycle the Tour de France or Swim the English Channel. Each sport takes different training and different muscles.

So, I got the whole swimming and running thing down pat. Swim in the morning, run, run, rest, run, run during the day, swim, swim and rest at night. K. Got it.

Then suddenly it's no longer swimming and running. It's swimming and cycling. At first it felt like I had ridden my bicycle clear off the pier and was frantically pedaling underwater trying not to drown. Now it's more like I'm cycling around the pool and occasionally jumping in to do a few laps whenever there's time.

Well, although I haven't forgotten HOW to run, some muscles have been neglected for the past year and now I'm expected to start a triathlon next week, like, BAM! Ouch. Things are going to be pretty sore for a little while, which is to be expected.

I think I'm up for it, though. Mentally, I'm there. They say that visualization is important, so I visualize myself prepared: got my goggles, fanny pack water bottle, vented hat and padded bike shorts on...

and I look like a complete dork.

The countdown begins...

2008-08-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Id I'd have known how quickly this year would fly by, I would have spent less time sleeping and more time... Hey! Hang on, me. Stop being hard on myself!

I DID spend considerably less time sleeping than I ever have in my life, and more time doing pretty much everything a mom and lady of the house should do. In short, I don't regret a thing about my maternity leave, except that it's almost over.

This brings me to the nightmares:

I will my leaden feet to plod down the dark hallway, as that familiar syrupy wave of foreboding oozes its way down my back. The hollow clack-clack of my sensible shoes echoes on for miles and I am hyperventilating.

It is the first day of school and everything is wrong. Class started an hour ago, thanks to some administrative decision made without my knowledge. Worse yet, the school has been completely renovated and somehow my classroom has now found its way down into the catacombs.

Finally, I reach the appointed place. Room 13. Never a good sign. A dank smell emanates from the door vent. The hastily scrawled sign on the door reads "Mme. R. Tyrel". They have spelled my name wrong. Again.

Sighing, I push open the heavy door. My heart plummets as I scan the front of the tiny, gray-walled classroom. What? Where is all my stuff? No fridge, no whiteboards, no overhead projector, no computer, no sink!? All my belongings are heaped in cardboard boxes in the corner. The cardboard boxes appear to be covered in graffiti.
Then I remember. I can fix up my room in time. I must keep it together. My students are waiting for me.

I step into my kingdom. By the flickering of a single prehistoric fluorescent bulb I realize that the whole room is packed with teenagers. The bad kind. They are greasy, unruly and rank with B.O. Slumped on, over and under desks, they leer at me like a pack of hyenas, baring sharp yellow canines. My heart races.

"YOU're our new teacher? Hah!" says the ringleader, a lanky black-haired youth. I stare, mouth agape, amazed that his skin can sustain so many piercings.
I straighten my back, jut out my chin and reply with only the slightest quiver in my voice. "My name is Mme. Tyrrell, I am indeed your new teacher."
Before I can take a single step towards my desk, which appears to be made of cinder blocks and milk crates, the taunting starts.

"Well, c'mon then," the glassy voice of the popular girl chimes in, "teach us!"
"Yeah! Teach us!" the minions snarl in cacophony, looking to their adolescent ice-queen for approval.
She takes a moment to glance away from her hand mirror, lipstick tube still poised in her right hand, one perfectly plucked eyebrow arched high. A thin, cruel smile creeps onto her face. "Oh, and WTF are you WEARING?"

Here it is. The moment of horror. I slowly look down at my attire, expecting to see the dark trouser jeans and red crew-neck sweater I so carefully selected that morning. Instead, my eyes fall upon the vast expanse of my own doughy belly. I am wearing a belly dance costume. A really, really tight, sparkly seafoam bedlah. With no skirt.

All I can hear is a chorus of LOLs. That and the sound of my career imploding like a pop can in grade 8 science class.

The shame. The shame!!

So, can you tell I'm looking forward to going back to work?

Evvy is 11 months old!

2008-08-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here it comes, the countdown to toddlerhood! Evvy has taken her first steps already (as wobbly as all 3 of them were) and is slowly becoming more confident and adventuresome on her feet. She can "dance" to music and stand holding an object in each hand, something she likes to do for hours on end! She also knows how to crawl up stairs. Child safety gates to the rescue!

This month her pointing skills have evolved. They started with a general wave in one direction, followed by a palm-up pinching position, as if she were examining an offensive speck of dust that had the audacity to drift in her direction (complete with very posh outstretched pinky). Then it was a hands-sideways open-palmed gesture that one would use for hailing a taxicab, and finally that index finger started bravely pointing the way to... um, well, sometimes I have no clue what she's pointing at, but I always take my best guess.

Her favourite things to point at are: people she knows, other children, people she doesn't know but that smile at her, dogs, Mao, cats other than Mao, flowers, random things she sees out the window, boats (at Shuswap lake) and anything we have that she wants.

"Mao" is by far her favourite person right now. She says his name CONSTANTLY. She is, however, kind enough to vary the tone and volume of her "Mao"s from "MMMMMMMMMMMAO!" to "maomaomaomaomao" (accompanied by pointing and waving). She can say other new things too, like "dah" for dog and "bah" for ball, but Mao wins it every time.

She waves "hi!" "bye-bye" and "night-night" now and loves to clap. She will clap when excited about something but it's mainly for musical purposes these days. Grammy Friesen started teaching her Kodaly rhythms like "ti-ti-ta" and Ev will now clap happily and say "dit-dit-dah" along with it.

I bought her a kids' percussion set for fun, just to see what she'd do with it, and hoping she managed to inherit some of the musical talent gushing through her genes on both sides. Thankfully, she loves tapping her little tambourine banging together cymbals and shaking her wooden maracas.Evvy also enjoys putting objects in to containers and taking them back out again. I bought her a cool birdhouse which provides hours of amusement.

The highlight of this month was our trip to Shuswap Lake. Evvy spent lots of time with all sorts of family members and loved every minute of it, not to mention every scrap of attention she could get. Most of the extended Friesen family was there for a weekend, which was great because I rarely get time to visit with my aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids for more than a day at Christmas time. Evvy really enjoyed playing with her second cousins, Caden and Laine, both of whom were very patient and responsible with her. Of course, her time with Grammy and Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Jord was far too short.

As for the beach and the water, we explored many fun things to do with a bucket and some rocks, but the water was too cold for a baby swim, so Grammy found a kiddie pool and we filled it up so that Evvy could splash around in it. Good times all around!

Evvy did go in the boat, which was fine, all things considered. She showed no fear of the motor or the wind or the movement, but her lifejacket pretty much engulfed and smothered her into an unhappy mess. I think it will fit better next year.

The rides to and from Shuswap were as expected. Some much needed rest stops and soothing needed to be done along the way, but we made it. The cat was, thankfully, very well behaved and Evvy did well on the ferries, holding her own in the kids' play area alongside older tots.

In terms of eating and sleeping, Evvy is transitioning from two naps to one nap per day, usually starting sometime between 11am and noon, depending on how late she sleeps in. I use the term "late" loosely, as she routinely gets up at 5am, wanting a diaper change and bottle. She will then usually settle until 7 or 8, though.

New foods this month include cucumbers, peas, tomato, melon, perogies and pasta. She has become somewhat picky of late, and likes to throw her unwanted food on the floor and say, with a very concerned expression, "uh-oh!" Her other strategy for getting rid of unwanted food is trying to feed it to whoever is around. "Da!" she will say, thrusting half-masticated morsels into your face. A polite "no thankyou" is usually not enough to deter her. Pretending to eat the tasty tidbit is the best policy and usually elicits a grin.

There is so much more that I could say - this month has been a big one in terms of development. I do need some sleep though, so I'm off to bed preparing for my little sparrow to chirp me awake at 5 again tomorrow.

Night night (accompanied by enthusiastic hand flapping)

A blogging kick in the pants.

2008-07-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

So, my good friend, the lovely Yukon-mom Fawnahareo, noticed that I haven't blogged in awhile, so she tagged me with a meme. This one was pretty straightforward. You ask your siggy-other (in my case, hubby) to tell you 3 things about yourself. You know, the deep, important stuff; and then publish this information on your blog. You also have to pick more victims and then go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged. The comment must end with the word ‘pthththth’. Dunno why, it just does. Hey, I didn't make up the rules, here!

Peter came to me this afternoon wanting to get at it right away. By "get at it" I mean, of course, getting the blog started. Being Peter, though, I know I will beat him to posting. Firstly, because his blog has flatlined since about Christmas. It will take some serious CPR (Copious Proofreading n' Re-writing) to get him anywhere near a new post. Secondly, he takes the words "free time" very seriously and rarely gets anything of merit accomplished while he's enjoying these precious moments. Currently, he is playing some sort of heroically-titled WW2 game. "Soles of Justice?" "Mettle of Honour?" "Brave to the Grave?" I dunno, they all sound so much like something George W. would say.

Anyhow, this leads me to Peter's first observation about me which is, in his words:

You always have to feel like you're being useful.

I'd even take that one a step further. It's not only about me feeling like I'm being useful, I actually have to be useful. Accomplish stuff. Even in my "free time" I am accomplishing stuff. Like this blog. I am blogging. That is useful, right?
Anyhow, he's dead on.

Then he said something which I think is a huge compliment, mainly because I spend so much time agonizing over decisions in this department which has chewed up most of my "free time" for the last 4 months:

You have a good sense of aesthetic (ie. home decorating, garden design)

He concluded with an insight about me that I cannot even begin to explain:

You are a sucker for pugs and other fat animals in general.

Let's see... otters, pugs, tubby kitties. Yeah, I guess he's right on that one. I like my critters pudgy and fuzzy. Perhaps this stems from my childhood obsession with plush toys.

There. Mission complete. A whole blog written in the amount of time it took Peter's little computer-soldiers to burn down an enemy barracks. Snap to it, Private Tyrrell, the web is waiting!

Hmmmm... who shall I pick on? This is a tricky one. I know lots of bloggers, but not many of them are couples who blog. I will pick on Joanna and Ranjit. Tag, you're it!

When Evvy was 10 months old.

2008-07-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

I wrote this way back when and forgot to post it! Oops! Well, here comes 2 months worth of updates on Evvy!

June 30, 2008: From crawling to standing, Evvy is quickly gaining balance and mobility.

She is crawling as quick as her chubby thighs can take her and pulling herself up on everything (and everyone) she can reach. There have been a lot of head bonkings (and head-bonking related tears) as she has learned how to get up and sit back down more gracefully. She is now standing up on her own for a few seconds at a time and is able to move around furniture on her feet. Perhaps she will be walking by the time she's a year old!

Evvy has lots of new sounds this month - some of her favourites: "gee-gee" "blab" and "mmmah" (which I think means "Mao"). She still squeals and squeaks, and "oh" and "ah" remain her preferred vowels, but I am glad to hear a variety in her babbling vocab.

She likes to wrinkle up her nose and sniffle - I believe this comes from me trying to teach her to smell flowers, which are among her favourite things to touch and hold (and occasionally shred). Also, there's the waving. We've taught her to wave bye-bye, but she hasn't quite narrowed it down to the appropriate times. All she knows is when she waves, she usually gets attention and often waving in response. She makes friends all over the place: in supermarkets, in restaurants, at the library. Speaking of which, our local library is a wonderful place for kids and only a short walk away, so we make frequent trips there.

Evvy loves books and bedtime stories (who doesn't). She likes her Touch n' Feel farm animals book and bug book the best. We read books on the potty, too, helping to improve the overall bathroom experience.

The quest for independence has already taken hold - our little one is busy learning to do things on her own. Because she no longer wants to be spoon-fed, most meals consist of finger foods and the resulting mess of such foods. My food prep methods have changed along with her eating habits. I've been busy boiling, cubing and freezing fruit and veggies. I've baked bread, loaves and muffins with lots of healthy ingredients. I cook up brown rice in chicken broth and whole wheat pasta to be dipped in pureed yams or squash. I make sticky balls out of rice cereal and pureed pear.

In general, she eats most of these things, as well as bits and pieces of whatever we're having for dinner. She does not like meat yet, but I can get her to eat kidney beans and the odd bowl of plain yogurt with fruit. She also still takes about 20 ounces of formula a day, for protein and fats.

Bedtime is at 8:00pm these days, preceded by our usual bedtime routine: bath, jammies, storytime (with dada is best), brush teeth, night-nights and boppy. We still use our little glowing night light man and our white noise machine. Both of which come with us when we travel.

Evvy remains very social and outgoing. She hasn't really hit a shy phase yet and has no separation anxiety to speak of. That may change, though.

I am enjoying being a stay-at-home mom right now and have started to think (with regret) about going back to work part-time. I still have the whole summer to enjoy being home with Evvy exclusively, so I will try not to think about all that yet!

Pictures to come...

May and June photos

2008-06-13T09:22:00.001-07:00

Just posted some new photos from May June on my Web Albums site. I have yet to capture a photo of Evvy standing up (which she does all the time now) or crawling, because usually I'm tooo busy trying to catch her or chase her! I will work on that for this week!

http://picasaweb.google.com/ripplebliss/Evvy910Months

This month so far has been pretty good. Life still revolves around the new house. We got brand new windows and back dooors, as well as some shiny new countertops. I've been re-covering some furniture and sorting the last of our garage sale items. We've gotten some more gardening and landscaping done, during the rare sunny days. I'm pretty determined to get through my DIY home checklist before I head back to work in September. Something tells me I won't be getting nearly as much done once I'm working!

Evvy and I both fighting a cold, which we've passed on to Peter (oops!). Noses are running like faucets around here and much fuss is made when I try to wipe up snotty little cheeks and chin.

Peter has been working very, very hard this month and he'll be away for the majority of next week and the one after, so I'm trying to prep myself ahead of time for the lack of any major accomplishments. Now that Evvy is fully mobile and determined to learn to walk, I can't leave her unwatched for more than a second! But more on that at the end of the month...

Evvy is 9 months old.

2008-05-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Yay! My 9-month post is actually EARLY!

Just when I think she couldn't get any cuter, my little puff-pastry learns to say "Mama". Well, it's more like "Um - mum!" and it's only when she's upset that I'm out of the room, but still. She can also say "moo" for a cow, which I discovered while she was watching her Baby McDonald DVD. I'm sure she's trying to say some other things, too, I just don't know what they are yet.

Yes, I do let her watch Baby Einstein DVDs. Only one a day though (they're about 20 minutes long) and not in an attempt to make her smarter, either. Nuh-uh. It's just a way to distract her while I try to clean the kitchen or take a shower. Works like a charm. She likes the ones about people and animals the best, although there's this one spot in the Baby Davinci DVD (which is all about body parts) that she hates. The little monkey puppet "sculpts" a blob of clay into the face of a baby. She's really scared of the resulting sculpture and cries every time it is revealed. I don't blame her, it's hideously ugly and gives me nightmares, too.

Anyhow. I figure all the reading and talking we do with her should balance out any ill effects that exposing her to DVDs might have.

So, what else is new. Well, (maternal heart swelling with pride) she now poops in the potty.

(Pause to accomodate reactions of awe and admiration)

Yes, my child IS a genius!

Well, actually it's all about the timing. She prefers to perform her bodily functions with her diapers off, and will "hold it" for a few minutes until she's bare-bummed on the changetable, so I knew she'd probably get the hang of it pretty quickly. When she puts on her "poop face" I just start telling her to hold it until we get on the potty. I whip off the diaper, sit behind her, so she's on the front of the seat and, well, completes her business. I'm pretty pleased she's caught on, and I always give her lots of praise. She seems to enjoy it, so I guess we're onto something.

Moving on to more dinner-table-friendly topics:
She's eating more things with her fingers these days. Cheese is her #1 favourite treat, but she also enjoys roasted yams, bananas, well-cooked rice, organic rice krispies, special baby muffins, baked apples and rice cereal balls.
Evvy loves yogurt, too. Especially mixed with pureed pear or peach. Beats the pants off oatmeal cereal with formula, I guess.

I also discovered these freeze-dried bananas and strawberries. Why don't they make these things for adults? Yum, yum!

This weekend I plan on baking her some Baby Biscotti. Seriously. Somebody should market this. I discovered that teething biscuit recipes are really close to biscotti recipes. Makes sense, they both turn out hard as a rock, right. Well, I don't have the time or baking skill to sell these, but some designer baby food company should start marketing them. That and baby milk frothers. Then all the designer babies could have a double, extra-frothy, extra-cream, warm, bottled latte with a pumpkin Baby Biscotti while their designer mommies enjoy their Venti, soy, non-fat, no-whip, two-pump, extra-hot caramel macchiato.

So, what else is Evvy up to these days?

It has taken her most of this month and lots of encouragement, but Evvy has finally figured out how to crawl! It's still slow going right now, but childproofing is already well under way. She's a pro at sitting up on her own now and is pulling herself up to a kneeling position. I predict she'll be able to pull up to standing by the end of June. Also, she slithers backwards like a champ.

Turns out that Evvy is a dog person. Sure, she likes Mao, but he does not elicit the enthusiastic response she gives when a doggy is spotted. She loves to look at them in books, to pet them and to feel them lick her hands and face. She loves it when Peter pretends to be a dog. He pants and barks and tries to lick her face. The cutest thing is that she pretends to be a doggy and licks daddy's face, too!

Evvy loves eating out and people-watching at restaurants. Every time we take her out to eat she has an absolute ball entertaining the other diners. She flaps her toys up and down, grins, squeals, makes her "Oh!" face and puts on a show. It's a nice stage she's in right now. She's not old enough to go running around the restaurant yet, but old enough to sit in the high chair and play with her toys.

She sleeps through the night on and off now and is usually up at 5am, chipper as a bird. It would take about ten gallons of espresso to make Peter that chipper in the morning. He's about as chipper as a walrus with a tusk-ache.

We're getting the windows replaced at the end of this week and I'm planning on getting some pull-down blinds. Hopefully these changes will reduce the morning light and bird chirping so that she can sleep in a bit longer.

We have all had a busy month, but a good one. I've almost reached the end of unpacking and the main floor is nearly painted. There are projects on the go and people to visit. The weather is getting better and there have been some gorgeous evenings out on the deck. Evvy has been healthy and happy this month, and I am feeling more healthy and happy too.

The Nestling

2008-05-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Our experience being landlords has, thus far, been pretty predictable. There's the good, the bad and the ugly. Our tenants are good, no, GREAT! A mom and her 8-year-old daughter and her long-term boyfriend, who seems to be in it for the long haul. They are really friendly, neat enough and responsible about paying the rent. Of course, the suite was constructed rather hastily by some previous owner who wanted rental income ASAP. This means some corners were cut.

Our tenants emailed us last week saying that their faucet was leaking. Leaking would be an understatement. The spout of the faucet (circa 1970) split down the side and was gushing water in a long, thin jet every time it was turned on. That had to be replaced. No probalo. That's what being a landlord is all about.

Then their dryer went kaputt. Called Doug the Dependable Dryer Guy and he repaired it to the tune of $300 (expensive, I know, but cheaper than a new dryer). He then announced that the dryer was broken because the vent pipe was all clogged. This would be because whoever installed the vent pipe used this cheap plastic crap that clogs easily. We were sure that we'd have to cut out some drywall to replace the pipe, but the whole downstairs bathroom (the ugly) needs gutting due to some genius who put linoleum in the shower instead of tile (again with the cheaping out and cutting corners). We didn't want to replace the dryer pipe it until it was time for the bathroom reno. So Peter got his dad's pipe snake and went about unclogging the pipe as best he could.

This is how we found the nestling. She was hopping around, mostly fluff, under the dryer vent, which happens to be directly under the gable vent in our house, a prime nesting site for sparrows. This little sparrow somehow took a plunge and survived. Not enough feathers to make a good go of flying, we knew we'd have to put her back in her nest in order for her to have any chance of survival. Her parents were still feeding her, but she was certainly alarmed, hopping about with her big yellow beak wide open. Very tiny and very cute.

We didn't have a ladder, so after inquiring at our neighbour's to no avail, Peter retrieved his dad's ladder and carefully caught the little peeping nestling in a plastic plant pot lined with a clean rag and climbed the ladder to put her back in her nest. Our plan worked and she hopped right back through the gable vent to her home. Needless to say, this made my day. Not only did I keep my own little fluffy-headed nestling all safe, warm and fed, but I also helped some other creature's nestling back to its loving parents. Feels good to be alive!

Rachelle at 8 months.

2008-05-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

Although I have blogged here and there about being a mom, I haven't really revealed much about my own emotional journey during the past 8 months. I guess this is primarily because I have defined myself by my role in raising Evvy, which has been all-consuming in more ways than one. It makes my own life, interests and emotions seem inconsequential in comparison.

It is also because I have trouble admiting to my own weaknesses and shortcomings and don't like people worrying about me, tiptoeing around me or seeing me as a victim in any way. I haven't really talked in-depth about my emotional struggles except to Peter and some medical professionals, but now that things are getting much better, I think it's time for me to blog a bit about things I figured were better left un-blogged.

Motherhood took me by storm. The anticipation was palpable - I knew when and exactly how my baby would arrive - and I was scared to death about the process. The c-section was indeed a strange and terrifying experience for me, which culminated in the most incredible surge of happiness I've ever experienced. Then I entered an emotional roller-coaster which involved the usual copious hormone surges and the problems with nursing. Basically, the whole SNS, pumping, breastfeeding insanity took over the first 3 months of Evvy's existence and my main concern was feeding Evvy.

In a way being crazy-busy with struggling to nourish my baby kept me from thinking too much about how I was coping with my postpartum self. The changes in my body and emotions were almost incomprehensible. I certainly did not feel like my pregnant, or pre-pregnancy self.

I was up and down like a yo-yo. Sometimes I would look at Evvy and feel an aching love for her, other times I felt nothing at all. Yet other times, especially during the difficult nights, I wished I could just vanish. Someone more capable, better equipped than I could raise my child - and I thought about harming myself in order to escape the overwhelming panic that I felt. In the privacy of my own mind, I became constantly preoccupied with this and that and worried a lot about how Evvy was doing. Was she eating enough? Gaining weight? Sleeping enough and at the right times? I often felt impatient, restless or frustrated. But I figured that this was a part of being a new mom and assumed that it would pass with time.

I spent a lot of time talking myself down from my own self-grown tree of anxiety. Getting out for walks, being around friends and family and spending the odd moment on my own were things that I knew would help and most of the time they did. It was important to me to keep going - I'm not one to sit around feeling sorry for myself for very long.

On the surface, everything improved. Evvy got easier. Things smoothed out after a bumpy ride on the real-estate wagon. Around 6 months postpartum, Evvy had weaned herself. I had lost the rest of my baby weight, we had bought and sold our house(s) and we went on vacation.

Life *should* have been ideal, but I felt drained. Even during my Hawaii trip, I was worrying constantly, sleeping poorly and feeling panicky about the smallest things. I wanted my life, my body, my baby, my house to be perfect, felt like I needed things to be just right, RIGHT NOW and anything less was a shortcoming on my part.

In March, I didn't feel like being social or going to dance class anymore, even though I forced myself to put on my game face and proceed with my existence. Peter told me I was "inventing problems". I constantly felt like crying, "what is WRONG with me? Why am I not feeling normal again? My life is great, why can't I just relax and enjoy it?!"

At Evvy's appointment for her 6 month shots, the nurse came to see me and had me fill out a couple of questionnaires, then asked me some questions. She took me into her office and explained that she wanted me to see my doctor because I was showing many of the classic signs of postpartum anxiety disorder, a type of postpartum depression.

My first reaction was to take offense to this suggestion. I felt like I was being labeled a wimp. "Failure to cope with motherhood" was the first thing that came to mind. As the nurse started talking about how PPD works and affects new moms, I started nodding my head. She was describing EXACTLY what I felt.

She explained that many things can worsen or trigger PPD, including the change in hormones from weaning the baby and external stress, such as moving could generate. I soon felt a sense of relief, calm even. The knowledge that this emotional ball and chain I could not shake off was not my fault was somehow comforting.

I was reluctant to try medications, preferring instead to get some help through counselling, but with my doctor's encouragement, I agreed to take a very low-dose medicine which targets anxiety. I also attended a group called "moms who worry too much" for mothers with PPD and anxiety problems. I could relate to the ladies I met there and appreciated their honesty and humour when describing their own problems. I have also been seeing a counsellor who specializes in working with postpartum women. She gave me some strategies and assured me that when the medications "took the edge off" my anxiety I could start to implement them.

It took nearly 5 weeks for me to start feeling a difference, but slowly I began sleeping better and getting less wrapped up in whirling hurricanes of worry. Less obsessed with getting everything right. More patient with myself and others, especially Evvy. These days, I am finding that I can let things go easier, especially when I use some of the strategies I've been given.

Lately, I have been truly enjoying our new house. I am able to take things slower and feel pride in what I accoplish every day, even if it is only a little bit. I am able to stop and marvel at my child and how quickly she is learning. I am able to breathe when I feel worried or overwhelmed and wait for the feeling to pass. Soon I hope to have company over more regularly and get back into my dancing again. All in good time.

I wish I had possessed the courage to talk more about what I was going through when things were at their worst, but a part of me knew it was not normal and worried that even those I loved most would not understand, or would think I was being weak or dramatic. I know this isn't true, but that too was a part of the anxiety I was feeling. I know that many other women have been through PPD and will go through it in the future. Maybe even some women I know and love. I guess that's why I wrote this.

Motherhood is supposed to be this rosy, sparkly, glowing, happy experience. To admit that it is anything less or different makes me feel like a rotten mother, which seems unfair. After all, most valuable and important things in life are achieved through blood, sweat and tears. I'd like to think that motherhood is made real, is polished and burnished by the struggles involved. It may not be rosy, sparkly and glowing, but motherhood feels rare, rugged and beautiful like a desert flower.

Evvy at 7 - no- make that 8 months!

2008-05-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Check out this month's selection of photos (from March and April)http://picasaweb.google.ca/ripplebliss

It's amazing to watch a personality grow from the tiny seed of a single smile to the tender but vibrant green of the first sprigs of spirit. Evvy is becoming more of a little individual every day. She has a dozen different smiles, each for a different occasion, my favourite being the little squinty ones she does when I blow raspberries on her tummy - the ones where I can glimpse her two sharp teeth, which started emerging around 7 months.

Evvy loves to entertain and to be entertained. She knows when we're being silly and loves to laugh at us, and herself. Peekaboo is popular these days and she has started "feeding" us things. She is constantly working her charms on random people out on our errands. I got a great deal on some wool rugs, thanks to her little gummy smile and happy squeaks, which knocked the socks off the owner of a carpet store. Glad to see her talents are already paying off!

Evvy still loves her jolly jumper. She is pretty wild in it now, and I've had to pad the door frames to prevent collisions. Sitting up is no problem for her, although she does still occasionally fall backwards and bonk her head, so I usually try to make sure she's sitting with her back to something soft.

She has been getting up on her hands and knees since about 7 months, but has only figured out how to scoot backwards. She's trying like crazy to locomote. I can see her little brain working, "I KNOW this is possible! Now how the heck does it work?!" Sometimes she gets frustrated from all the effort, especially when she ends up FURTHER from her toys than when she started. I know she'll get the hang of it soon and am only glad that it hasn't been in the last month, because of all the unpacking going on.

Evvy comes complete with some very adorable quirks. Sometime in the last 2 months, she has started doing "barnacle hands". When she wants something, or is interested in something, her little fingers start grasping, like the feathery appendages that barnacles use to feed. As well, ever since I remember, she has had a characteristic "poo face" that signals the final stages of digestion. Her little mouth becomes pursed into a flat line and stretches from ear to ear, while her eyebrows knit furiously. Kind of gross, I know, but SOOOO CUTE! Also, she has started making a little wide-eyed "Oh!" face like a startled orangutan when she wants to be silly.

She still loves exploring objects with her hands and has remarkable manual dexterity, turning things around and examining them from all angles. Shaking and banging objects together is also loads of fun, especially if they rattle. She can manipulate objects as small as a Rice Krispy, but, ironically, refuses to feed herself any edible small food particles and will only stick non-edible objects in her own mouth. Hmmm... not sure of the evolutionary advantage here...

Feeding became a bit of a power struggle during month 6-7. She would flat out refuse to eat more than 5 bites at a meal. The carrying on that ensued - I tell you!!! I finally figured out that what she wants is VARIETY! She likes to taste a little bit of this and a little bit of that during a meal and will refuse to eat 3 spoonfuls of the same substance in a row, so I put 3 or 4 blobs in the bowl and alternate. She likes most veggies now, except green beans (but honestly, the pureed ones are pretty gross!) Bananas, pears and peaches are a hit for dessert. Mashed Banavocado (exactly what it sounds like) is also a treat. Never tried it? You're missing out!

She is now eating 3 meals a day plus about 20 ounces of formula and a couple of little snacks, including organic rice crisps, gouda cheese, freeze-dried fruit and baby mum-mums. I am trying to vary her diet and have introduced yogurt, mashed foods and some finger foods. She's still not doing well with the mashed stuff and usually gags on it, but I'm continuing to offer it from time to time. She is now drinking up to 7 ounces of a bottle at a time, but only before naps and bedtime.

Sleeping is, well, not terrible. Except when she was teething, which involved frequent night wakings, tummy trouble, pain and vomiting (can't wait 'til those upper incisors poke through...) These days she goes down at 8pm. Peter gives her a "dream feed" at around 10:30 and then she generally sleeps until between 3 and 4am, when she will take a whole bottle. At 6am she's restless and hard to settle, but still drowsy and not hungry. I often bring her into bed with us where I can sometimes coax her into sleeping for another hour or so. I know that I could probably eliminate that 3-4am feed, and would really like to, but need to marshal my nerves before embarking on this last stage of sleep training.

My favourite moments with Evvy are when she is all snuggly after waking from a long nap. I am greeted by a beaming grin and two little reaching arms (complete with barnacle hands), inviting me to pick her up.
She loves to hold her special blanket and burrow her nose into my neck, making happy little "hmmmm" sounds.
We open her curtains together to look outside and I tell her about the weather, the birds and what's growing in the garden. She listens and looks at me, then presses her hands against the window and looks out.
These moments I say a little prayer of thanks because I could not imagine life without her. These moments, I breathe in the delicious smell of her fuzzy little head and hope that the incredible bond we share will weather the test of teenagehood!

Evvy is 6 months old!

2008-03-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

(This post is up 16 days late, due to our Hawaii vacation.)

6 months of life with a turtle-beaked, sweet-cheeked, squeaky-squeak! I barely recognize the little 7 ½ pound wonder that was plucked out of my belly half a year ago. Everyone told me I would feel this way and they were right: time flies when you’re watching a child grow. And grow she has. At 18 pounds, Evvy is learning to wiggle about in the world and learning how to take up more space. Good thing we’ve got some coming!

This has been a big, important busy month for our whole little family. House shopping, house cleaning, house selling and then a big trip to Maui! Considering all the upheaval around here, Evvy has been remarkably adaptable and happy.

February started out on the crazy side. Between looking for houses and preparing our own for sale, I was constantly busy and she often had to play independently. She sure let me know when she was tired of entertaining herself. All that play time on the floor did really improve her locomotion skills. Although she is not yet crawling, she can roll around like the dickens and has figured out how to creep and wiggle along both forward and backwards.

Evvy has been exploring the tactile and her little fingers are getting more dextrous. She is fixated on touching, holding and manipulating anything she sees – particularly if it is NOT a toy. My hair continues to be confined to a ponytail and I don’t dare wear any baubles on my ears or around my neck. In Hawaii, she loved touching all the different leaves and flowers, especially the bright hibiscus bushes. Also, she can now get her own soother into her mouth, with a bit of careful turning and manipulation.

I wish I could tell you what her favourite food is, but it seems to change on an almost daily basis. Some days she is all about the rice cereal and fruit, others it’s the veggies and chicken. On vacation, she pretty much refused to eat a full meal the whole time. Too much to see, I guess! True to her reputation, Evvy continues to be a less-than-enthusiastic eater. She sips on formula, rarely drinking more than 3 ounces at a go. This means, of course, that she wants her “boppy” every couple of hours, silly boo!

Sleeping is neither here or there. The only consistency is that she is waking during the night, it is just a matter of how many times and when. She is waking mainly because night time is her favourite time to eat. I’ve tried loading her up before bed, to no avail. She is a very spirited little one when it comes to rejecting food. She IS settling better at bedtime and nap times in general, though, which is an improvement. So I can GET her to bed no problem, but the STAYING asleep part is the trick.

Traveling went very well. I thought she’d be all out of sorts. I was so afraid that she would hate the plane rides, but Evvy was full of wonderful surprises and was an absolute pleasure to travel with. With her easy smiles and curious personality she charmed everyone we came into contact with from ticketing agents to snorkel salespeople to fellow airplane passengers.

When we arrived, it was late at night and we all crashed. Evvy was up bright and early the next morning, serenaded by the birds at dawn. The next few days were spent exploring her new world. At first, I think she was put off by the heat, humidity and sunshine. A 2-hour time change did not help her routine any, but we worked things out with an early bedtime. The beach was a bit much for her with all the sunshine and crashing of waves. She clung like a limpet every time we went to the shore for the first few days. Eventually she got over her terror enough to dip her toes into the ocean. The swimming pool, however, was popular from the start. She also enjoyed getting to know her own bare arms, legs and feet, although they had to constantly be slathered with sunscreen.

Coming home on the red-eye was remarkably uneventful. Evvy slept pretty much the whole way home; more than I can say for Peter and I! We are now back and getting prepared for the big move – Evvy’s next major life adjustment. I am imagining that my seven-month update will be a bit late as well!

Home at last.

2008-02-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

I am moving just so that I can play with paint chips. Oh, and the extra thousand-odd square feet won’t hurt either. In any case I, or rather, We (the quartet of Tyrrell, Tyrrell, Tyrrell and Cat) are moving on April 1st to a new home close to the Gorge.

We’d been looking seriously since Christmas and scoping out listings since September.
Hoping to stay in lovely Fernwood, we kept an eye on the listings. Unfortunately there wasn’t much in our price range that would be suitable in our area. Most homes were 4 bedroom: 2 beds up and a suite downstairs. We needed at least 3 bedrooms at our immediate disposal. There were some lovely turn-of-the-century homes, but they were not very structurally sound and STILL out of our price range. We decided to widen our nets.

We saw a few places before putting an offer on a 1960s home in Gordon Head, which was in serious need of some updating. Well, we TRIED to put in an offer on it, but the sellers were playing games to the tune of constantly backing up the date that they were taking offers and pulling it off and on the market not once, but twice. The whole thing was rendered more frustrating because we had already paid to get an inspection done in an effort to make our offer more competitive. “Money,” I sigh, “down the toilet.”

We decided to look elsewhere, which was a bit difficult for me, seeing as how I was already mentally pulling up the green shag carpet, buffing the hardwood floors and renovating the kitchen. Seriously. I get attached to places very quickly.
In the end it was for the best because the house sold for 10,000 more than we would have been willing to pay for it. Good for whoever bought it.

During the next few weeks, I did some reconnoitering. I went a bit above our price limit to see if there were any suite-able (and suitable) homes. A dangerous and risky move, I know. Some promising properties had been on the market for awhile, but as one discovers with houses that have been on the market for awhile, there is always a deal breaker: location, size or complications involved in adding a suite. Cue more disappointment.

Skip to the part where we get back on the horse and scope out some truly squalid Gordon Head digs. I am talking pot-fumigated, beer-stained, bedsheet-curtained student slums.

“Take your shoes off?” I asked the hand-scrawled sign incredulously, “my SOCKS are worth more than all the flooring in this WHOLE rat’s nest!” In fact, rats are meticulously tidy creatures compared to students. Yes, and generally more industrious and useful to society too. Remember this post? Case in point.

Anyhow, we left those places to the predominantly Asian "Landlord Faction", which arrived in droves both before and after us. Hmmmm... Rental market a bit too hot around here. Maybe Gordon Head is not the place for us after all!

Thank goodness we stumbled on the little corner house on Parkview. A block from the Gorge Waterway, walking distance to the movies, library and Rec centre, located near plenty of parks – the neighbourhood is just what we’re looking for. The home itself, a late ‘30’s character piece. Yay for coved ceilings! It is in need of some upgrades and maintenance, but has a suite downstairs which is tenanted, so we won’t be up to our eyes in mortgage payments and can afford to do a few repairs. I think this place has some real potential to be a gem! I can’t wait to have friends and family over for dinner and games, now that we have more space!

Now our own beloved home is on the market. I’m hoping for a quick sale (you know me, not one for patience) but I also recognize that we need to get a fair price for our home, because it has been our investment and it is a kickin’ little house. Besides, we can use every extra cent to put towards getting our new place fixed up... which brings me to the paint chips.

Could picking out paint colours be any more fun? I am like a kid in a candy shop, here!

O.K. For the living and dining rooms: Benjamin Moore York Harbour Yellow – similar to what we’ve got for most of our home right now.
Northern Fire Red in the kitchen, (a dark, ruddy terra-cotta) with Bavarian Cream cabinets.
Georgian Green (an olivey sage) for the hallways and den.
Evvy’s room will be Buttermilk and Indian summer (a dusty peach) with fresh Lemon Grass accents.
The outside? Georgian green for the main part, Tate olive for the foundation and stairs and Albescent white for the windows with Hot Apple Spice Red for the accents and door. Yummy!

If only painting were as quick and easy as picking out the colours!

Kudos to kitty.

2008-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

I am impressed with Mao. Considering how much we used to dote on him before Evvy came along, he has adapted quite nicely to being more or less ignored. Well, maybe not ignored so much as overlooked. His persistence and assertiveness is pretty formidable, though, so he still gets his daily doses of food and affection. Just not quite so much cuddling and conversation. I used to talk to my furry adoptive son quite a bit during my days at home, now I’m busy babbling to my tousled more-or-less furless daughter.

Evvy has taken quite a shine to Mao over the past month. She will watch him and smile at him as he walks by. She really like to “pet” him (with my assistance, naturally) – which consists of touching and grabbing handfuls of his fur, and sometimes his ears or whiskers if I’m not quick enough to correct her. “Be gentle with kitty!” I entreat my little peach. “Be gentle with the baby!” I plead to my clawed cat. For the time being, Mao is very patient with Evvy’s budding curiosity. I think he is just willing to take whatever attention he can get. All in all, this is going much better than I expected!

Evvy is 5 months old!

2008-01-25T20:46:00.001-08:00

This month has been a big one in terms of establishing, adjusting and occasionally obliterating routines.

At 14 pounds, 15 ounces Evvy is set to double her birthweight by 6 months, right on schedule! She has nice, chubby little thighs, which I counsel her to enjoy every day, cause 20 years from now she will start cursing any remnants of chub remaining in the thigh region.

I'm not sure how she manages to gain weight these days. She is the most distractable thing while eating. She used to just glom on and breastfeed, taking the occasional pause or squirming when she needed to burp. I am currently wishing I had periscopes for nipples. If there are any, and I mean ANY (lights, music, voices, movement) distractions, she is eager to turn her head and check them out while nursing. Not the best time to practise multi-tasking, but she insists on trying. Those little paws of hers sure like to get in the way, too!

Some things have remained consistent this month:

Kiddo still loves her jolly jumper and is doing some tap dancing and more aggressive bouncing in it.
She's still into bath time and getting her diaper changed.
The cat has been dying for some industrial-strength ear protection as Evvy continues to practise her patented squeaking.
She has grown yet more hair, which is blond, fine, fuzzy and straight.
And finally, she is still a very happy camper when well rested and fed.

Some new things this month:

Feet, feet, feet!She has discovered them and finds them fascinating. She likes to grab them, but they still have not made it into the mouth.

Food, food, food! Just to mark her 5 month anniversary of existence and to try to make her more excited about eating, I decided to experiment with a little brown rice pablum. I know that, strictly speaking these days, you're supposed to wait until 6 months to try solids, but she shows all signs of being ready and I'm not planning on offering her a whole lot of variety this month. Maybe some oat pablum and sweet potatoes, but not much else. Anyhow, she seems to enjoy it, in a somewhat positively indifferent way, and I'm having fun scooping up the mess on her chin - and everywhere within a 2-foot radius, for that matter.

Occasional soother use! She likes the gumdrops soothers that I ordered and will, with encouragement, take them. She is still fist-mashing and hasn't discovered her thumb yet.

Napping in crib! Consistency may be a bit dull and restrictive, but she now (on good days) will take 3 naps in her crib. She still needs to be swaddled and insists on the drapes being pulled, but at least she's not hooked on chest-sleeping anymore.

Hmmm. Since I managed to crib-train her in one month, maybe by next month I can get her to sleep without breastfeeding her (yes, folks, it's on to the next frontier!) She gets pretty upset when I am out at dance and Peter puts her to bed. It's simply because of his lack of boobs, I am sure. I think Peter's upset at that too.

I admit that developing routines and being consistent has been difficult. In a way, now that Evvy is napping 3 times a day and going to sleep at around 8 at night, it really restricts my activities. I'm pretty tied to home these days, but it's all for the best in the end. She is a way happier baby when she's in a routine, which makes me a way happier mommy.

That being said, sometimes everything goes out the window, like this past Monday through Wednesday. I went to dance class Monday night and Peter put her to sleep (with much fussing). I guess this made her upset and threw something off, so she was up every hour that night, wouldn't nap on Tuesday (Peter left for Vancouver overnight) and that night wouldn't sleep again. She was bawling, I was bawling and barely able to think.(I do very poorly when sleep-deprived) Beanie came out on Wednesday to rescue me and I got enough sleep to maintain basic brain function. Things have improved a bit since then, but she still isn't quite back to the way she used to be. I blame it on the full moon.

I always figured that babies were like scientific experiments. If you repeat the procedure with all variables being the same, you should get the same result every time. Not so. Evvy is a spirited little being and she's got her own thing going on, despite what I do, or don't do. Every day is a different experiment and the best part of that diversity is seeing what surprises she has in store.

Small blessings.

2008-01-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

Evvy has now been napping for almost 2 hours. In her crib. While this is not exactly consistent (as they say in the weight loss program ads "results are not typical) it is an indicator that things are going in the right direction.

Her new napping schedule, far from motivating me to be more on top of my housework, has given me time to pursue a simple pleasure I've been missing for going on 4 1/2 months. The solace of a good book. I borrowed several books on CD from the library during the past few months, but I prefer reading.

I am happily immersed in Three Cups of Tea, the story of Greg Mortenson>. His failed attempt at climbing K2 led him to building schools in impoverished Balistan. This is a great story that has, for once, an uplifting message to share about the northern muslim world.
This book was recommended to me by my Auntie Dorothy during our Christmas CD and Book exchange this year (a great tradition I'd like to see continued!)

Better count my blessings and get a few more pages in - this nap won't last forever :)

Evvy is 4 months old!

2007-12-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

This month has been all about the hands.
Evvy has caught on to reaching and grabbing now and is able to drag all manner of inedible object into her mouth. She's still not doing "precision strikes" on things she wants, but she is getting to the point now where she can focus in on something and get a firm grasp on it after a couple of attempts. My hair, when not firmly secured in ponytail, is popular as are any necklaces I decide to wear. She has not yet succeeded in ripping out my nose stud, but has come close a few times, more by accident than on purpose!

Evvy also discovered laughter half way through the month. She will now giggle and squeak together when excited about someone or something. All in all, when she's had a decent nap, a good feeding and a diaper change, she's a very happy little girl and quite the charmer!

She's definitely growing and now fits into all of her 3-6 month clothes and is wearing 6 month pyjamas. She's also started to grow a bit more hair. It's still fine, blonde and fuzzy, but there's more of it now. All the better for the winter months.

Her first Christmas went well - lots of attention from grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles! It has been great spending time at Grammie and Grandpa's place in Coquitlam and seeing family and friends that we don't get to visit with as often as we'd like to. We had a nice visit with Paul and Tracey and their little ones, Owen (2 yrs) and sweet little Rylee (2 1/2 months). Bill and Kym also showed up with Bridget (5 1/2 months), who wins the cute n' chubby contest by a long shot!

Evvy enjoys meeting new people. She is also fascinated by her new toys and books. Each one has a different feel and taste which is fun for her to experience. We will have to dole them out one at a time to keep her excited for the next few weeks.

We're working on sitting up now. Evvy likes to be propped up so that she can play with toys and see things around her. The car seat is an unpopular way to do this, but I got her a Bumbo chair and she seems to enjoy sitting and playing in it.

Feeding continues to go well. She's plumping up nicely and now weighs about. She is a happy little nurser now, but she has had some gas problems on and off which have caused us all some grief. With some patience, rocking and Tylenol, they can be brought under control. She's also had a head cold and cough all month.

The larger challenge is getting her down for a nap. Evvy is still very resistant to napping in her crib. Or anywhere but on the chest of a warm, immobile body. The silly little goose gets herself worked into a right frenzy if she is put down while sleeping. Trying to break her of this habit has been frustrating and heartbreaking and, so far, has not worked particularly well. I've tried warm water bottles, swaddling, white noise all the tricks, but she's got this little radar that goes of if she's not sleeping ON someone!

I know that she will settle into some kind of routine eventually, I'd just like to think that it will be sooner, rather than later! Any tricks or tips out there to encourage a relucatant napper? I will take any advice that comes my way, at this point!

Well, tonight Evvy enters the second year of her existence and I hope that 2008 is a wonderful one for her. She has changed so much already, I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

An unusual day.

2007-12-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

On your typical day things sort of roll along. Approximately according to some sort of schedule. For comparison's sake I will relate to you a portion of the average day. La-dee-dum and so forth:

8:30am: Wake up, feed Evvy, change Evvy, interact with Evvy.

--- EVVY MOOD = HAPPY! ---

10:00am: Put Evvy in bouncy chair with dangly toys and attempt to change, groom and feed self while she is temporarily amused.

--- EVVY MOOD = FUSSY ---

10:30am: Soothe Evvy. Put Evvy on blanket in kitchen to play.

--- EVVY MOOD = TEMPORARILY PLACATED ---

11:00am: Clean messy kitchen, throw in laundry. Coo/sing/make animal noises boisterously while completing these tasks in an attempt to keep infant amused. Plan to leave the house sometime today. Now, where should we go? What needs to be done? Oh darn! It's already...

12:00 noon!

--- EVVY MOOD = HUNGRY and SLEEPY ---

Feed Evvy, change Evvy, try to get Evvy down for a nap. Grab some lunch. Check email and phone messages, prepare to go out for walk/running errands/visit/appointment etc.

--- EVVY MOOD = READY FOR ACTION! ---

1:30pm: OK! Let's leave the house!
2:00pm: Actually leaving the house.

and so on and so forth...

On Monday, the whole day went more like:

Wake up.

--- EVVY MOOD - SCREAMING FRANTICALLY ---

Feed Evvy.

--- EVVY MOOD - SCREAMING FRANTICALLY ---

Change Evvy.

--- EVVY MOOD - SCREAMING FRANTICALLY ---

Soothe Evvy.

--- EVVY MOOD - SCREAMING FRANTICALLY ---

Repeat over and over and over again.

I knew there was something wrong. She was clearly in some sort of pain. I tried all my tricks, Peter tried all his, but nothing worked. Poor kid was inconsolable and so was I. Could this be an ear infection? It was time to call in the big guns, so we took her to the clinic Monday eve. Lucky us, we got the indecisive (and possibly visually impaired) Doctor who sent us to Emerg.

3 and 1/2 boring hours and a few trauma victims later we saw Doctor #2 who checked Evvy out head to toe. She did not have an ear infection. It was most likely some digestive/intestinal problem which had eased during our wait in the hospital.
A fussy Tuesday on Tylenol and Evvy's pain passed, along with a particularly thick n' frothy poop on Wednesday morning. Now the little squirt is fine. Back to normal. As if Monday and Tuesday never happened. I am, of course, thankful for her good health.

I, however, am two days behind in laundry, grooming, Christmas shopping and errands. If you see a sasquatch slumping to the mall in a green coat and hat, it's just me.

Evvy is 3 months old!

2007-11-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

Little Evvy is growing like a weed. A very cute weed. The non-invasive pretty little flowering kind that you'd never want to pluck.

Evvy has made some remarkable accomplishments this month. Her patented Happy Squeak has risen in both volume and pitch by about 200% this quarter. Quite the achievement for someone with lungs as long as your pinky finger! Her favourite sound, other than the squeaking is "eau" like the French word for water. Evvy does love the bathtub... She has her chatty times on the change table and hangin' out with me and Peter in the evenings.

As of 2 1/2 months, she has been standing up (with assistance, of course!) Sometimes she does the "stiff baby" when she doesn't fancy being put in her car seat. Her head control is getting much better and she's able to look around on her own without all that newborn floppiness.

I put her in the Jolly Jumper this week and she absolutely loved it. She's still a little young, so rather than jumping, she sort of bounces from side to side and flaps around. She is batting things with her hands, but has yet to look and grab something. It's coming soon, though! She loves chewing on her fist, and still doesn't really take a soother, just daddy's finger.

HREF='http://bp0.blogger.com/_rcqiAqkBhKs/R1iGRFjakhI/AAAAAAAAATA/8kC2zx6dzGo/s1600-h/DSC_4665.JPG'>

And on the Eating and Sleeping Front...

Our little sweet pea is getting more efficient at breastfeeding. FINALLY! I'm able to avoid supplementing with the bottle for most morning and overnight feeds. She's gaining weight really well and is quickly growing out of her 3-month sleepers.

She usually has 2 longer naps each day, with a short one in between. She still does not nap in her crib during the day, which Grammy thinks is an Absolute Travesty. I guess we just never got her into the habit, since Peter can just snuggle with her in the Baby Hawk while she's working. I admit, though, when Peter's not around, it makes it a tad more difficult for me to get anything done. Maybe we'll try to train her out of the habit this month.

At night, she has slept for up to 5 hours at a time. It's usually more like 4, though. Putting her down to bed can be hard. She fights falling asleep like crazy! She tends to be all awake in the evenings and will go down typically between 11pm and midnight. With 2 wake-ups, she will sleep until about 8am. I'd love to back that bedtime up to 10pm and get her onto some kind of evening routine. She had a nasty cold this month, which made routine-making a bit tricky.

Being a mom is getting better and better as I interact more with Evvy. I'm getting to know her unique little personality. She's sweet, social, active and opinionated and only 3 months old! This is starting to be fun...

Little Squeeka at 9 weeks (and counting)

2007-11-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Evangeline is now 9 weeks old!

Although a lightweight for her age, at a mere 11 pounds*, she is growing out of her tiny sleepers and into less-tiny ones - which is great because I have some really cute 3-month clothes! And so it goes, from less tiny to even less tiny and soon she will just be small, or wee if you prefer. Feeding is still our daily challenge, and some days it's easier than others. She's just not an eater!

"So, what can she do?" you ask. Well, the list goes on and on.

She can make way more facial expressions now, which is great because now we get more specific feedback. This makes the whole parenting thing way easier. Before it was content/miserable. Now it runs the gamete from thrilled to ornery. She smiles and giggles when entertained and especially likes funny faces. Her daddy is really good at eliciting squeals of happiness with his funny rubbery mug and loud raspberries.

The bathtub and change table are two of her favourite places when she's awake because she has our undivided attention. That, and her bum is naked and gets cleaned for her. Who wouldn't like that? Also, her bodily functions can explode unhindered by a diaper in both locales. She pees regularly on the change table (especially at 2am when I am still half-asleep) and made a nice, frothy bathtub poop this past week, which was not so fun for us, but a riot for her!

Evvy has started chatting a bit. She's not so big on consonants (who is, though) but likes her vowels: mostly "oh" and "ah" in varying tones and pitches. Sometimes she talks to people, and sometimes to her books or a pattern on the wall.

Sleeping is going O.K.. At night, she will sleep (which means I will sleep) for a couple of 3-hour stretches between feeds. If I'm lucky I can squeeze another hour out of her in the early morning, then I'm up for the day. I can't wait until she's sleeping for 5 hours at a time. I still feel as though I'm running on empty most days. During the daytime, she naps very soundly for an hour at a time, when bundled up in a wrap or carrier and taken out for a walk in the fresh fall air.

I've started her on cloth diapers now and she is wearing them for the most part, except when I figure there is a poop imminently arriving, which is every two days or so. They're a bit more bulky, but work well. I've been using the Bella Bottoms one size diapers and Sandy's Diapers by Mother-ease I also have some Mother-ease one size diapers, but she's a bit small for those still.

I am doing better each month. I can chalk it up to experience and the natural healing process. The pregnancy weight is peeling off slowly, helped by breastfeeding, my dietary restrictions and daily walks. I still have a few months to go before I'll be fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans, though, which I find frustrating.

I'm back doing belly dance on Monday nights and will probably start teaching beginner dance classes in January one or two nights a week. I have no time to do knitting or work on my costumes at present, but I have been able to spend time each day with friends or family.

Peter manages to work with me and Evvy at home. She doesn't fuss much and I try to stay out of his hair. There is no doubt that we need an extra room, though. Evvy still sleeps in our bedroom and needs her own room ASAP. Guess that means we're thinking about moving come the springtime!

* Most 2-month-olds we've encountered are about 12 pounds or more.

Drums in the deep.

2007-10-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Peter and I attended a tabla workshop with Issam Houshan last weekend. He is a very famous and accomplished drummer in the Middle-Eastern style and it was a great experience to learn even the small amount of technique we were able to cover in the 3 hours we spent under his instruction.
The sounds he's able to get out of his drum were just amazing! Everything from deep, rich reverberating "doums" to ear-splitting sharp "teks". I actually own a smaller size of the exact same drum that he uses for performances: the Issam Signature Doumbek. My only complaint about the workshop was that, with 40-odd drummers in the room, it was difficult to hear what kind of a sound I was making as we all simultaneously practiced the rhythms.
So I picked up the drum when I got home and gave it a whirl. Turns out when I play the tabla, it sounds like I'm beating on a cardboard box with oven mitts on.

Seems I have some work to do before taking my show on the road!

I know it's all about the pictures...

2007-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

But first a quick update:
Evvy is now 5 weeks old and weighs just over 9 pounds. Feeding still has its challenges, but she will now sleep for 2 3-hour blocks a night (with a 2-hour wakeful period in between at around 1:00am...)

She is practicing holding her head up (tummy time) and she can now follow objects and people with her eyes. She's started smiling, too, though it's mostly still at random things and situations.

She makes all sorts of sounds, most of which do not bear any resemblance to linguistic-type noises - but she does come out with the odd "ah!"

On with the pictures!

The most popular guy in the house.

Tummy time is fun!

Meet the happy naked baby.