Happenings

We are nearly busting at the seams to talk about the HUMONGO news we have (which most of you already know about) but alas, it still isn't ready for the world to read on the internet, so we wait... And completely neglect the blog because it just seems awkward to talk about anything else.

But I'll try...

We're back into the swing of life out east since returning from Manitoba earlier in May. I'm still working part-time at the Montreal Diet Dispensary and am loving that I get to work from home 95% of the time. When I do need to go to the office (about once a month for meetings) I'm so thankful they have a lovely nursery on site with fantastic ladies that dote on Jonathan while I'm busy. The little guy really enjoys going there.

I have a line-up of reviews to write for DiaperDeals.ca, and really enjoy the photography aspect of it, but dislike the post-processing.

Check out this cutie:

Speaking of photography, I took another short-course this past Saturday. It was an on-location type deal and I was excited to get some pointers on outdoor photo shoots... What I didn't expect was the theme to be 'fashion magazine'. Considering I have absolutely no sense of fashion and haven't purchased a magazine in well over a decade, I found the shoot to be challenging to sat the least. I think I got a few good shots though:

The model was much more co-operative than my usual one ;)

I have another course next week in studio photography; it's a private session and I get to bring my own studio lights - VERY much looking forward to that!

And there you have it. A blog post. Finally.

14 months

Jay has been developing in leaps and bounds these days. He even took his first independent steps from mommy's to daddy's arms this past Sunday April 29th. What a proud moment for us all!!

As of late he loves to clap, play peek-a-boo with everyone (even to the person behind us in line at the bank) and tells all sorts of stories with his babbles. He's developed this social laugh. It's hilarious. If I'm talking with someone and we laugh, he tilts his bald little head to the side and lets out 3 little hahahas to join in on the joke. So stinkin' cute.

He went to 'daycare' for the first time yesterday. I had a meeting at the office and he happily played with the caregiver and other babies in the nursery downstairs. He was a such a star. It seriously couldn't have gone better.

I know, I know. I haven't taken the camera out in a while. I've been too busy taking it all in to remember to stop and photograph it.

guinea pig

I sold bodily excretions to make a little spending money during my undergrad years, so it really isn't surprising that Jonathan has already been a subject in two research trials at the ripe age of 13 months.

Yesterday we headed downtown to McGill's infant development center where we took part in a psychology study on perception. Jonathan was hard at work watching a puppet show while sitting on mommy's lap.  Unfortunately for the researchers one of the puppets was a yellow duck. The moment it appeared on stage my mind screamed BIAS! and wished them luck in whatever it was they were actually looking for. He growled loudly (a form of affection, I assure you) and pointed vigorously at the duck. HA!

He still got a new sippy cup for his participation and was presented with a certificate for a BSc in Infant Science. If watching a puppet show is all he had to do for his first degree, then I'm a real sucker for what I had to do for mine.

Tasty

I plopped Jay down into his highchair for lunch. I had heated him some homemade organic Dahl (an Indian dish of spinach and lentils) and organic brown rice. Unlike usual, he would have nothing of it. He was in no mood for eating - not even a bite.  He wanted down right now!!!

Alright, so down he went, but I wasn't going to let that spoil my lunch. I ate happily until I glanced over to see what he was up to. Apparently when I put him down, he crawled straight over to a pile of shoes, picked off a big lump of dirt from the sole of my runner, and ate it. Without wincing.

Is my cooking really that bad?

I'll let you guess what happened...

(An update to this post)

A) Parenting is totally predictable. Of course you can schedule in an extra hour of sleep on the calendar! And good job stating from the roof tops, for all to hear, that you had a fool proof plan. That was sure smart. 

B) Children are mysterious creatures. He was up at 5:20am sharp, wasn't he?

path of least resistance

Jonathan usually gets up early. Like early. 5:20am to be exact. He wakes because he is one regular boy these days. Yup, he poops at 5:20 (or maybe it's 5:19?) and can no longer sleep. And if mommy comes to change him he figures it's time to SOCIALZE! Alas. It's time to start the day.

A baby that wakes at 5:20 takes early naps and, of course, an early bedtime. 6:30pm to be exact. I've tried putting him to bed later but each time it resulted in an overtired baby who coulnd't fall asleep and a super tired baby the next day when he woke at exactly 5:20am.

Because pushing his bedtime/wake-time hasn't worked, and mommy thinks she should sleep in more than that, I wrote to the leaders of the nations requesting that maybe it be easier to change everyone else's schedule instead of Jonathan's. The leaders obliged. So this Sunday we are to all change our clocks by one hour. This way Johnny can keep his same schedule but instead it will be 6:20am waking, 7:30 bedtime. Another hour of sleep, another hour to spend with daddy after he gets home from work. Life will be grand! 

 I thank you all in advance for being so accommodating. You're such good sports.

Smashing!

There once was a baby who had just turned one. 

His mommy baked a cake, thinking it would be fun. 

But that little baby was a little bit shy...

Until, well, until he gave it a try!

 And then... Oh my, OH MY! 

Happy birthday baby Jonathan!!!

Haapy Birthday Jonathan!!

As of 11:16 this morning, you will be exactly 1 year old.
We love you more than words can explain.

Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy...

Happy Valentine's Day

We made a valentine's day card today for Daddy, Granny, Papa, Baba, Grandpa and, especially, Great Granny.

11 months

I need to write more down

I read a baby blog recently and thought to myself: What a great journal this mama has!
Then I thought: Umm.... Get on it woman!

So here's a list of what the Jay man is up to as of late, not for your benefit but for mine.

• He does indeed call me mama. It took a while for Tom to admit it, but he does :)
  
• He calls Tom Dah.
  
• He's still wobbly on his legs, but is getting better. Although walking is still a ways off, he's getting pretty good at scaling the walls/furniture/chairs/anything to get where he needs to go. For some reason he hasn't figured out that he can take a straight path if he was willing to get down, crawl, then get back up. Nope instead he goes aaaallll the waaaay arooooound the room to get to the other side. Oh well, buys me some time! Sometimes he scales his way to his car (one of those little push/ride on things) and then drives across the room...giggling all the way... He's so proud of himself when he does it!
  
• He loves playing peek-a-boo. He'll hide behind the wall to the kitchen and duck out from behind it to look at daddy on the couch... Grinning from ear to ear waiting for daddy to say "Wha!" Jay then bursts out with laughter and hides behind the wall again... giggling with anticipation of doing it again. And again. I love this kid.
• When he was sick the week before last he kind of gave up on solid foods. Thank goodness I'm still nursing so we had nothing to worry about nutrition wise. I figured he wasn't feeling well and simply didn't feel like eating. Then he got better but still wasn't interested in eating. It escalated to the point that when we put him in his high chair, he'd turn 180 degrees away from us and screech to get down. What??? I thought to myself... My son LOVES eating and usually accepts whatever organic mashed up goodness that was offered to him! I'd shovel, he'd open, mash, and swallow contently. Hhmmm.... I got to the point of tricking him into eating some, but then remembered my dietitian friend proclaiming the benefits of the division of responsibility when it comes to infant/toddler feeding and nutrition so I put away the trickery. I also realized that he was still eating his finger food, just not his spoon-fed food.... So a few nights ago I baked some sweet potato sticks, cubed chicken, and lightly mashed some peas and placed it all on his tray for him to explore... He ate all of it. And has been eating contently again ever since. Yup, my baby no longer needs me (or WANTS me) to spoon feed him (sniff!). Although I'm a little heart broken over it, I'm loving the extra time it takes him and the freedom I have to clean/cook etc in the kitchen while he munches away. Yay for real meals for the whole family!
  
• He likes to point at things now to show me. I find the ability for him to comunicate this way with us so heart warming.
  
• When hthey say goodnight to each other Tom points at Jay and Jay points at Tom... Tom slowly moves towards him until their index fingers touch. This. Is. Thrilling! for Jonathan. Oh heck, we all love it!
  

10 months

Today I stopped.

To take every little bit of you in

Time is slipping by so fast

My baby is slipping away

I couldn't be prouder, nor sadder.

So today I stopped

And loved your sweet little nose

Your round soft cheeks

Your pursed little lips

And your beautiful bald head

Today I stopped.


And marveled over your dimpled elbows

Your round ears

And line-y little hands

Today I stopped

Because you will not.




I love you sweet baby of mine

I cherish you so much

But our time together is short.

Baby's first Christmas

Precious moments earrrrrrly Christmas morning.

Love this kid.

Jaco beach

Although highly distracted

by the waves

by the seagulls

by the sand

and by daddy's hat

JayJay thought the beach and beach town were pretty cool.

9 months

On December 1st, our little man turned 9 months old.

This week has been a big one for him.

First, he has now officially been 'out' longer than he was 'in'.

Second, he waves bye-bye.

Third, he says mama...

sometimes even in reference to me :)

Sleep. Sweet succulent sleep.

How our evenings used to look:

Nurse, rock, rock, rock, carefully transfer to crib after he's (accidentally) fallen into a deep sleep. Sneak out of room.
Enjoy your next 15 minutes because they may be your last of the evening. Heck, maybe you should use them to brush your teeth then head to bed. Yes, it's only 8:00pm, but you have a loooong night ahead of you.
Baby wakes squawking, nurse, rock back to sleep, place in crib, sneak into bed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.



Repeat.



Repeat.



Repeat.



Repeat. Oh! It's 7:00am already. That wasn't too bad, now was it?




How our evenings have been looking recently:

Give baby a bath, read a book or two, nurse, and rock till drowsy. Place in crib still awake, exit. Listen to a squawk or two in protest, then watch baby on monitor roll about in the crib and babble to himself for a few minutes. Then fall asleep on his own.

Baby wakes about 8 HOURS later for a quick feed, then goes back to sleep on his own without protest and stays there for almost 3 more hours.

Wake well rested, with renewed patience, and energy for the day.

Baby is better rested and is less likely to be an only child.

8 months

Ummm.... Anyone have a baby gate I can borrow?

7 Months

About a week late,

Jay and I headed out this afternoon

to capture him at 7 months old

Note to self: 7 month old are fascinated with leaves.

So much so,

the camera no longer matters.

The only thing that matters

is how leaves taste

When we had about as much leaf consumption as mommy could handle,

we switched locations.

Oh yeah and, umm...

Had a wardrobe change.

Sweet baby Jonathan, you are such a character!

I love you more than words can explain

and am so honoured to be your mommy.

Happy 7 months, kiddo.

six - take two

Yes,

look who's six (months)!

And

full of baby tricks.

Yes, he's sittin'!

And feelin' smitten.

Happy 6 months Jay Jay, I'm lovin' every moment with you!