Wild Honey Pie

Lazy blogger here.  Time just flies and I realize I haven't written in a while.  Oops!

Lennon is 10 months old now!  She's doing great.  Crawling everywhere...and fast.  She pulls herself up on her knees and has shown some signs of trying to put a foot up but isn't getting to her feet yet.  If she's on her knees against one of us on the couch she does crawl up and get on her feet.  She's quite interested in her toys and books now.  Her favourite thing is to pull books out of the bin and to play with the stacking rings (takes them off but doesn't put them back on yet).  She'll hold a ring and crawl with it across the floor.  She loves to follow me around.  If I'm in the kitchen she is there at my feet in no time.  She tends to get a bit cranky around the time when I'm getting dinner ready.  I've started putting her in her seat to watch me and giving her a little snack.  It keeps her happy and gives me some peace to get dinner going!

Lennon is eating all kinds of things now.  (No honey yet).  She tries everything!  Recent things she liked that were a bit of a surprise are olives and a pasta we had with some spicy chicken sausage in it!  She's adventurous!  I haven't come across anything she doesn't really like.  She does have some trouble with plain chicken since it's hard to chew/mash in her mouth.  But there hasn't been anything she refuses to eat.  Hopefully this continues!  We typically feed her whatever we're having for dinner.  Sometimes she gets a packaged baby food if we're out or having something that isn't good for her - like pizza night (although she loves to chew on a piece of crust)!  For breakfast she has her infant cereal (loves it) and lunch is usually some leftovers, or a piece of toast with peanut butter, and some yogurt and fruit.  She's a good eater!  She still breastfeeds four times a day as well.

Last week Lennon had her first dentist visit!  I had an appointment for myself so I thought I'd take her in too since she's supposed to be checked around a year old anyway.  Close enough.  It was a quick one for her - no cleaning...haha!  The doc just had a quick peek at her little teeth.  No cavities!  She has four teeth and two more coming through.  We brush every night before bed.  Some nights it's a fight and she shuts her mouth tight.  We have to wait for her to open her mouth to cry to get in there.  Other nights she is ok with it and sucks on the toothbrush.  I think the times she refuses must be when her gums are feeling sensitive from the teeth coming in.  We used to use a cloth which was easier than the brush but with two top and two bottom teeth she started biting so brush it is.

Sleep.  Sleep is going well...knock on wood!  Lennon is now consistently sleeping all night.  She goes to bed around 7:30 and will sleep through until just after 7, sometimes later.  Only 10 months to get there!  I suppose that could change again, but I'm hopeful!  She also takes two naps during the day.  One around 9:15 for 45 min to 1hr 15 min and one around 1:30 for an hour or two.

In less than a month now, Lennon and I will head to Bowmanville for Christmas.  Fred will join us a bit later.  We're looking forward to being there with my family and excited that Steve and Heather and the kids will be there too this year!

Well, I hear Lennon waking up from her nap...that was a short one.  I'll have to post some pics later.

I am the Walrus (Ladybug, Shrek, Witch...actually)

Lennon has perfected the crawl.  She moves quite quickly now.  Her favourite things to crawl for are still the curtains but also the lamp plus cord.  Keeps me on my feet!  She's also been sleeping a little bit better.  Last weekend we had three nights in a row with no wake ups!  Wow!  The rest of the week she had a wake up here and there and another full night.  It's still very inconsistent, which is the frustrating part.  Just when you think there's a pattern or a corner has been turned, it all changes!

Last weekend we went to Cobb's Corn Maze with our friends Jerry and Danielle and their little guy, George.  It was cold!  It felt like winter out.  We walked through the maze even though the corn was barely knee high (doesn't make for a very good maze!).  There are lots of games and stuff there too, more for bigger kids though.  It was so cold we had a hot chocolate, took some pics of the kids and then hit the road.

This week we had a little Halloween party with our mommy group.  Our regular weekly gathering except all the kids were dressed in their costumes.  There were four ladybugs, Lennon being one of them!  It was very cute, but very difficult to get a group picture!  Just about all of the babies are on the move now.  

Friday was Halloween.  Lennon was just the most adorable little ladybug!  Fred's office had a costume contest and they had a lunch for everybody so I dressed up in my witch costume and took my ladybug over there.  Everyone in the office except one person was dressed up!  Fred actually won the contest with his Shrek costume!  Lennon, surprisingly, wasn't scared by any of the costumes, not even dad in a large green mask.  She just stared and looked around at everyone.

Halloween evening we went for an early walk and then we were home to hand out candy.  Last year we only had 1 kid at the door so I wasn't expecting much but still wanted to be prepared!  We ended up having 22 kids to the door.  Fred donned his Shrek mask to greet them at the door.  He only scared one little boy!

We are currently getting our first snowfall.  Well, besides that freak snowstorm we had in September!  It feels so cold.  I guess winter is coming:(  Time to start thinking about a warm winter holiday!?!

Playing and climbing, In the cold at Cobb's, "Reading", Playing guitar with dad, New booties!

Halloween!

Across the Universe (or Living Room!)

Well, Lennon is officially on the move!  It started out with her figuring out that she could pull herself forward with her arms.  She spent only two days dragging herself around and then was up on her knees.  After a couple of days of a few steps on the knees followed by the legs splaying out behind her, she has figured it all out.  She now crawls consistently up on her hands and knees.  Our baby gates arrived this week just in time!  Must install right away!  She's definitely not interested in staying in one place anymore.  Her favourite thing, and what gets her to crawl the fastest, is to go for the curtains.  She's also starting to show interest in what might be up on top of the coffee table and is trying to pull herself up.  How long until she's on her feet?!?  It definitely changes the game, this whole crawling thing.  No more leaving her to play while I do something in the kitchen and knowing she'll still be safely in the same place when I return.  It is pretty cool to watch her figure out how to move though!  And she's getting quicker and quicker!  Oh boy!

Soon I'll be standing!

Happy girl!, Fell asleep this way, Planking- wow!, What a cutie!, Determined!

Mini Photo Shoot

Picture yourself...

9 months old!  (Oct. 14/14)

Visit with Uncle Steve, Mmmm beans,
Playing outside, Riding in the shopping cart, Play time,
Happy girl, First taste of curry (she liked it!), Fall walk

Plane trip to Nashville
She had to study the safety card!

Playing at Auntie Holly's (just realized we didn't get any pictures with Holly), Porch swinging with Dad,
First carousel ride!,
Playing, Trying really hard to move!

My Birthday dinner, First Thanksgiving dinner, Mmm (?!) turkey dinner

Videos:  Meeting Chickadee (Holly's chihuaha), On the move!

Twist and Shout

October already.  In a few days Lennon will be 9 months old!  A couple of days ago I turned 38 (?!?) years old.  What have we been doing in the last month...

At the end of September we took a trip to Nashville.  We first had a short visit with Uncle Steve who was in Calgary for the weekend.  Of course it was the weekend that we were leaving.  It was great to be able to see him before we left though!  Lennon did great on the flights.  There is no direct flight from Calgary so we had to connect through Minneapolis.  It was a long day.  Lennon was happy and took naps and was great.  She complained a bit on the descent into Nashville but nothing major.  We had a great week in Nashville visiting Holly and enjoying the summer-like weather!  Lennon loved Holly's chihuahua, Chickadee.  She would squeal at her and lean over to watch her walk around.  It was cute.  Chickee wasn't quite as thrilled with Lennon.  It took Lennon a few nights to get used to sleeping in her travel crib and in a new place.  She woke up a few times those first nights but then got comfortable and was up only once a night after that.  We spent some time shopping and mostly just hanging out with Auntie Holly.   Lennon rode on a carousel for the first time at the mall.  She loved it.  She had a huge smile on her face the whole time!  Fred had a conference that took up a couple of days too.  A good time was had by all.  I guess it will be a while until we see Auntie H again.  Good thing for FaceTime!

We started a swim class in September at the YMCA.  It's a baby class called L'il Dippers.  Lennon loves it!  The class is all little songs and learning different movements in the water.  Lennon kicks her legs almost constantly in the water and has started splashing with her hands too.  She doesn't even complain when she gets dunked right under!  It's a lot of fun.

We still get together once a week with the moms and babies from our prenatal class.  It's nice to get together with people who have babies at the same stage and are going through the same things.  We spend the afternoon talking, eating, and sharing baby tips.  The babies are now starting to notice each other and will soon be interacting more.  It's neat to see them start recognizing each other.

My birthday was good.  Fred made me breakfast in the morning.  The rest of the day was an average day at home with Lennon.  We went out for dinner with Fred's family that evening.  On Friday night Marianne babysat and Fred and I went out for wine and tapas.  That was really nice!  I also got to go out on Saturday night with Tami.  Lennon did fine with taking a bottle before bed.  She very rarely has a bottle so I wasn't sure how that would go, but it wasn't a problem. 

Sleep is still unpredictable.  Or, I should say, once we think there's some sort of pattern she changes it!  She was quite consistently only getting up once in the night for quite a while.  But in the last week she's started getting up a second time.  It makes for a tired mama.

Lennon has two new teeth coming through.  We noticed in Nashville that her top two front teeth were starting to come and have since poked through.  She seems to be doing well with it, no real complaining.  But maybe the change in sleep is a side effect?  She's also trying really hard to crawl.  She does not stay in one place at all.  She is constantly spinning around, pushing backwards, pushing up on her knees, wiggling herself around and sometimes can pull herself forward a bit.  She loves to pull the edges off her foam mat, go for the curtains, and pull on the side table.  On the move!  We just ordered some baby gates:)  Lennon also makes lots of noise.  She loves to babble, squeal and clap her hands!  Maybe there will soon be a "mama" or "dada?!"   She definitely likes to be heard.  Her noises are very cute, such a cute little voice!

(much later)  This post has taken me so long to finish that it's now Lennon's 9 month birthday today!  Two days ago she started crawling.  Well, moving forward anyway.  She pulls herself along with her arms and inches her legs up. 

Pictures for this post are going to have to come later.  I still need to get some off of Fred's phone.

It Won't Be Long

8 months old (Sept 14/14)

8 months old!  Wow, time sure does fly!  Lennon is growing and changing so fast.  She is now clapping and will sometimes give a high-five.  No crawling yet, but she's trying to move.  She can turn herself around pretty quickly on her belly and slides backwards sometimes.  She will also get one leg back when she's sitting to try to reach for a toy.  I don't think it will be long until she's completely on the move.  Although, I'm ok with her taking her time with that!  Then it will be time for chasing her around and gates on the stairs... a whole new game!

Bundled up for the snow

We had a September snow storm last week.  It was awful.  Lots of snow that damaged a lot of trees in the city.  Our tree faired ok since there aren't many big branches left on it anyway.  It was cold and white for a few days, it felt like December.  This week is supposed to be back up in the 20s, thank goodness.  The sun is shining again and we can get outside without bundling up!  Oh, Calgary...your weather sucks!

Sleep has improved greatly over the last while.  Knock on wood!  Lennon has given us a few nights of sleeping ALL night!  Wow, does that ever feel good.  Most often she is still up only once, usually around 11 or midnight, and will then sleep until around 7.  She wakes up very calmly in the morning.  She'll lay in her crib and babble a bit and play until I get her at around 7:30.  It's nice that she doesn't wake up crying in the morning.

Lennon is really enjoying food now too.  She loves her cereal in the morning and is gobbling down quite a bit at dinner time too.  Fred made a yummy squash, carrot, onion, and chicken stew that she just loves.  It's fun to watch her try new things.  She still makes a face when there's a new taste but after a couple of bites she leans in for it with mouth wide open.

Playing, Close up!, September snow, Crawling soon?!, Preppy baby, Tummy time

Any Time at All

It's been a while.  The past two weeks have been great.  Grandma and Gramps were here visiting!  It was wonderful to have them here.  Lennon loved having the extra attention too!  It also gave me some time to run errands on my own, take naps, and relax a bit more!

The weather started off not so great.  We went to the mall to get out - what else do you do in crappy weather?!  After the first couple of days we got some really nice weather again.  We were able to spend time out in the yard and going on walks.  Fred took an afternoon off and we all went to Riley Park where there is a big wading pool.  The water was cold but Lennon didn't seem to mind.  It was a nice way to cool off, it was 28 that day. 

We also drove up to Lacombe one rainy day to visit dad's cousin who runs a corn maze.  We had a nice visit.  It drizzled on us a bit but not too bad.  It wasn't nice enough to do the maze but we did ride the tractor train, saw the pig races, and had a tour of all the activities they have there.  It would be a great place to take Lennon when she's older - lots to do!

On the long weekend we spent an afternoon at Heritage Park.  I hadn't been there in quite some time.  It was great!  There's lots to see.  We rode the train and the boat and spent hours wandering around.  The next day we took a drive through Longview, Turner Valley, Bragg Creek (had lunch at the Italian Farmhouse - yum), Canmore, and Cochrane (where we waited 40 minutes for MacKay's ice cream!).  Another good day!

Grandma and Gramps leave tomorrow morning.  We will miss having them here!  They can come back any time!





It's back to school time and if I didn't have friends who were all teachers I probably wouldn't think much about it.  It's a little strange if I do think about it, not starting another school year.  But, I am so glad to have this time with Lennon and wouldn't change that for the world!