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| Post-splash smiles. |
wordless(ish) wednesday.
At the park near our house is a basketball court and when it rains, the court turns into a giant puddle. After being cooped up inside during a storm, Kale pretty much loses his mind running through and splashing around in that puddle. Even though it makes his shoes smell something terrible and he always ends up freezing, I can't help but let him run wild.
our night weaning journey: a short history of Kale's sleep habits.
To put it lightly, Kale has never been "a good sleeper." I'm not sure how people define "a good sleeper" (particularly in terms of babies), but I'm pretty sure it's not Kale. Personally, I don't expect much from babies in the sleep department and it's a good thing, because Kale sure wasn't keen on giving us much. Pretty much since he was born Kale woke every two hours, all night long. It wasn't always to nurse either, he just seemed to wake and thought it was our job to get him back to sleep (which, actually, I do believe it is our job). Kris and I split the night time parenting and so it was manageable. We bedshared from day one and so nursing Kale back to sleep was easy. If nursing didn't work, Kris would walk with him or bounce with him on the exercise ball until he fell back to sleep (usually within five minutes).
The hardest part was always getting Kale down for the night or for naps. Nursing to sleep was always the first option, but it didn't always work. Kale was a super efficient nurser (four minutes, one side - MAX!) and so if he wasn't super sleepy, he would nurse quickly and then look around, ready to party. For the first 5 months, Kris would put Kale in the sling and walk him to sleep if nursing didn't work. It was a special time of the day for Kris and Kale to spend together and it gave me a few moments alone for some mama time.
Then came the snow and so walking was out. That's when the bouncing started. We bounced with Kale on the exercise ball for every nap and every night. As Kale grew, it became tough for me to bounce him and I started to resent it. So we started a new routine of rocking. It took awhile for Kale to adjust, but eventually he did and rocking to sleep became the new bouncing.
Did I ever get frustrated at having to walk/bounce/rock Kale to sleep? Sometimes. For the most part, I enjoyed those moments of watching his eyelids get heavy as he slipped into slumber. But there were also times I was tired and annoyed that he wouldn't just go to sleep. Was I ever willing to let him cry-it-out? No. It just wasn't an option for us and so it didn't cross my mind. That being said, there were times (especially when I was on maternity leave and Kris was out of town working) that I had to put Kale down while he was crying and refusing sleep and walk away for a few minutes to regroup.
Napping was also a challenge. The only way Kale would nap for longer than 45 minutes is if he was held. And then at some point, he wouldn't nap at all unless he was held. So we held him. That's right - for the first year or so of Kale's life, we held him for his naps.
There were days and nights that were really, really hard. I don't want to come off like waking every two hours and bouncing my baby to sleep every night was easy because I know how hard it is to hear someone else say that when you're at your breaking point. So if you're at your breaking point and you're reading this, please know that some nights were very, very, VERY hard. I'm so grateful that I have a supportive partner that has always been willing to share every aspect of parenting 50/50 (well, except nursing). Also, I had 8 months maternity leave and I took advantage of Kale's nap time to catch up on sleep. Then Kris took four months off and was able to do more of the night time parenting so I could get a good nights sleep in before work. I know that not everyone is so lucky to have this kind of situation and I fully acknowledge that we may have chosen to parent differently at night if our situation was different.
Anyway, back to the history....as the weather became nice, we went back to the walking routine, but I started to sense that Kris was beginning to resent it. Kale no longer wanted to be worn and wasn't a big fan of the stroller either and well, we couldn't exactly let him walk himself to sleep. At the same time, bedsharing was becoming difficult. Around a year old, Kale became a nursing fanatic and wanted to do it all night long. At first I thought it was teething, but after a few nights of no sleep, I was starting to fall apart. I really do not deal well without sleep. While in the past, Kris was able to parent Kale back to sleep, Kale was now screaming as soon Kris picked him up.
Something had to change.
I had been reading about Dr. Jay Gordon's night weaning method for months. Pretty much any time I felt like I was at the brink of exhaustion, I would read it and wonder if the time was right. But then Kale would go back to sleeping better and I'd start feeling human again and I'd put night weaning at the back of my mind.
But at 15 months, with the new all-night-nursing sessions, I knew it was time to try something.
Stay tuned for more of our night weaning journey....
The hardest part was always getting Kale down for the night or for naps. Nursing to sleep was always the first option, but it didn't always work. Kale was a super efficient nurser (four minutes, one side - MAX!) and so if he wasn't super sleepy, he would nurse quickly and then look around, ready to party. For the first 5 months, Kris would put Kale in the sling and walk him to sleep if nursing didn't work. It was a special time of the day for Kris and Kale to spend together and it gave me a few moments alone for some mama time.
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| Kris & Kale preparing for their nightly walk. |
Then came the snow and so walking was out. That's when the bouncing started. We bounced with Kale on the exercise ball for every nap and every night. As Kale grew, it became tough for me to bounce him and I started to resent it. So we started a new routine of rocking. It took awhile for Kale to adjust, but eventually he did and rocking to sleep became the new bouncing.
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| Rocking Kale to sleep on his first birthday. |
Did I ever get frustrated at having to walk/bounce/rock Kale to sleep? Sometimes. For the most part, I enjoyed those moments of watching his eyelids get heavy as he slipped into slumber. But there were also times I was tired and annoyed that he wouldn't just go to sleep. Was I ever willing to let him cry-it-out? No. It just wasn't an option for us and so it didn't cross my mind. That being said, there were times (especially when I was on maternity leave and Kris was out of town working) that I had to put Kale down while he was crying and refusing sleep and walk away for a few minutes to regroup.
Napping was also a challenge. The only way Kale would nap for longer than 45 minutes is if he was held. And then at some point, he wouldn't nap at all unless he was held. So we held him. That's right - for the first year or so of Kale's life, we held him for his naps.
There were days and nights that were really, really hard. I don't want to come off like waking every two hours and bouncing my baby to sleep every night was easy because I know how hard it is to hear someone else say that when you're at your breaking point. So if you're at your breaking point and you're reading this, please know that some nights were very, very, VERY hard. I'm so grateful that I have a supportive partner that has always been willing to share every aspect of parenting 50/50 (well, except nursing). Also, I had 8 months maternity leave and I took advantage of Kale's nap time to catch up on sleep. Then Kris took four months off and was able to do more of the night time parenting so I could get a good nights sleep in before work. I know that not everyone is so lucky to have this kind of situation and I fully acknowledge that we may have chosen to parent differently at night if our situation was different.
Anyway, back to the history....as the weather became nice, we went back to the walking routine, but I started to sense that Kris was beginning to resent it. Kale no longer wanted to be worn and wasn't a big fan of the stroller either and well, we couldn't exactly let him walk himself to sleep. At the same time, bedsharing was becoming difficult. Around a year old, Kale became a nursing fanatic and wanted to do it all night long. At first I thought it was teething, but after a few nights of no sleep, I was starting to fall apart. I really do not deal well without sleep. While in the past, Kris was able to parent Kale back to sleep, Kale was now screaming as soon Kris picked him up.
Something had to change.
I had been reading about Dr. Jay Gordon's night weaning method for months. Pretty much any time I felt like I was at the brink of exhaustion, I would read it and wonder if the time was right. But then Kale would go back to sleeping better and I'd start feeling human again and I'd put night weaning at the back of my mind.
But at 15 months, with the new all-night-nursing sessions, I knew it was time to try something.
Stay tuned for more of our night weaning journey....
mac n' cheese.
Once, when Kale was about 7 months old, he spit out a piece of papaya and made a funny face. That's about the extent of any pickiness or fussiness he's shown towards food.
While Kale has proven to be an adventurous eater, he absolutely has his favourites. A sucker for protein, Kale loves chicken the most, but will also happily tear into a piece of steak and chomp away on a turkey breast. A lover of healthy fats, he indulges in peanut butter and avocados in the morning and enjoys sharing salmon sandwiches with his Nana and Bub Bub the cat. Cheese, yogurt, broccoli and a spinach quiche are enough to make this kids day. But the favourite - the absolute, hands-down, best food according to Kale - is mac n' cheese.
While Kale has proven to be an adventurous eater, he absolutely has his favourites. A sucker for protein, Kale loves chicken the most, but will also happily tear into a piece of steak and chomp away on a turkey breast. A lover of healthy fats, he indulges in peanut butter and avocados in the morning and enjoys sharing salmon sandwiches with his Nana and Bub Bub the cat. Cheese, yogurt, broccoli and a spinach quiche are enough to make this kids day. But the favourite - the absolute, hands-down, best food according to Kale - is mac n' cheese.
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| "Place more HERE." |
pockets.
Lately Kale has been really interested in putting things in his pockets and we're never quite sure what kind of treasures we're going to find in there at the end of the day. On the weekend Kale was helping Kris and Uncle Karl install a ceiling fan and I kept catching him putting washers and other random things in his pockets.
Oh, sorry? You don't let your kids keep screws in their pockets? Hmph.
And then at the end of the day we emptied them out to find all of this:
Oh, sorry? You don't let your kids keep screws in their pockets? Hmph.
Friday Date Day: Round 5.
This weeks Friday Date Day started early. Like, 5:30am early.
My whole plan for the morning was to keep Kale as active and distracted as possible in an attempt to skip his morning nap. He starts montessori school in a few weeks and they don't do morning naps, so I'd really like to prepare him for that. Part of me thinks that he'll be so engaged and interested in what's happening at school that he won't even think about closing his eyes for a second. And then part of me is worried that he's going to be tired and cranky, which will make the transition just a little bit harder. However, it's pretty much impossible to convince Kale to push back his morning nap, never mind skip it entirely, when he wakes up at 5:30am.
We headed to the Ontario Early Year's Centre. Kale LOVES it there. There are lots of new toys to check out and other kids to play with (or in Kale's case, stare at) and - it's free!
After that I had to drag Kale around a bit to do some errands. It is so much easier now that he doesn't meltdown in the car seat.
Once we were done we went over to Kris's parents so Kale could visit with their dog and the dog they are dog sitting. I thought he would fall asleep on the way home, but he stayed awake so he could convince me that we needed to visit the park again.
Since I'd been awake since 5:30am and Kale didn't nap in the afternoon, I was pretty exhausted and so by the time Kris got home I was ready for a nice cold beer and a few minutes to relax.
This week I'm linking up with A Good Life blog. Go check out Amy and Parker and all the other mama's that linked up for their iPhone recaps :)
My whole plan for the morning was to keep Kale as active and distracted as possible in an attempt to skip his morning nap. He starts montessori school in a few weeks and they don't do morning naps, so I'd really like to prepare him for that. Part of me thinks that he'll be so engaged and interested in what's happening at school that he won't even think about closing his eyes for a second. And then part of me is worried that he's going to be tired and cranky, which will make the transition just a little bit harder. However, it's pretty much impossible to convince Kale to push back his morning nap, never mind skip it entirely, when he wakes up at 5:30am.
We started the day with breakfast and were dressed and at the park before 7:30am. Kale kept looking around for a dog, saying "woof? woof?" and shrugging his little shoulders. Apparently it was too early even for the dogs and so Kale settled for chasing the birds that were trying to dig up their breakfast.
I did my best to keep outside and awake, but it wasn't too long before he was asking to "up? up?" and taking breaks by sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. We barely made it home before he passed out by 9am. Two hours later, he woke up in the BEST mood. We had his favourite for lunch - mac and cheese.
After that I had to drag Kale around a bit to do some errands. It is so much easier now that he doesn't meltdown in the car seat.
Once we were done we went over to Kris's parents so Kale could visit with their dog and the dog they are dog sitting. I thought he would fall asleep on the way home, but he stayed awake so he could convince me that we needed to visit the park again.
Since I'd been awake since 5:30am and Kale didn't nap in the afternoon, I was pretty exhausted and so by the time Kris got home I was ready for a nice cold beer and a few minutes to relax.
This week I'm linking up with A Good Life blog. Go check out Amy and Parker and all the other mama's that linked up for their iPhone recaps :)
our summer vacation.
Kris and I spent a lot of time discussing different idea's for our summer vacation this year. We considered flying to Halifax and spending a week exploring the east coast. We thought about flying somewhere south, renting a cabana and letting Kale loose on the beach. But what we really wanted to do was go camping, because that's what we like doing (although exploring new places and beach cabana's are also amazing options). But we were nervous about it.
We were nervous about Kale not sleeping well in a tent. Nervous about having nothing to contain him in and spending our entire vacation chasing him. Nervous about being so close to the water. Nervous, nervous, nervous. That's what being a first time parent is all about though, right?
We considered renting a cottage, but not only would it cost us four times as much as camping, but it wasn't really what we wanted to do. My mom even offered us four days at an inn & spa on the waterfront and we turned it down (!!!). So despite all the nerves, we decided to give camping a shot.
Originally we wanted to go to Beausoleil Island, which is where I grew up camping. However, it's only accessible by boat, which posed a few problems. (1) we don't own a boat, (2) coordinating a trip up there by my parents was proving to be difficult, and (3) we didn't want to get stuck on an island (and in a tent) in the event of rain.
So we decided to play it safe for our first trip as a family of three and head to a provincial park about two hours away. I hadn't been since high school, but remembered that it had nice beaches, which is important when you're a 1 year old that loves the water.
Long story short? We drove to a provincial park about two hours from home and decided to camp for 5 days/4 nights.
And it was awesome.
Kale had a really good time and everything we were nervous about proved not to be an issue. Here are the highlights:
We were nervous about Kale not sleeping well in a tent. Nervous about having nothing to contain him in and spending our entire vacation chasing him. Nervous about being so close to the water. Nervous, nervous, nervous. That's what being a first time parent is all about though, right?
We considered renting a cottage, but not only would it cost us four times as much as camping, but it wasn't really what we wanted to do. My mom even offered us four days at an inn & spa on the waterfront and we turned it down (!!!). So despite all the nerves, we decided to give camping a shot.
Originally we wanted to go to Beausoleil Island, which is where I grew up camping. However, it's only accessible by boat, which posed a few problems. (1) we don't own a boat, (2) coordinating a trip up there by my parents was proving to be difficult, and (3) we didn't want to get stuck on an island (and in a tent) in the event of rain.
So we decided to play it safe for our first trip as a family of three and head to a provincial park about two hours away. I hadn't been since high school, but remembered that it had nice beaches, which is important when you're a 1 year old that loves the water.
Long story short? We drove to a provincial park about two hours from home and decided to camp for 5 days/4 nights.
And it was awesome.
Kale had a really good time and everything we were nervous about proved not to be an issue. Here are the highlights:
My friend Meg suggested getting a little chair for Kale. Even though I've never seen Kale sit in a chair for more than four seconds, I saw one for $4 and couldn't resist. Surprisingly, he loved it and even though he didn't stay in it for long, he did want to try it out over and over.
One thing we worried about was how we would get our camp site set up while still keeping an eye on Kale. But he's at the age where he's really interested in everything we're doing and wants to help with EVERYTHING. At home, when you're in a rush, this can be challenging sometimes. But when you're camping and have all the time in the world, it works out really, really well to just let them help.
Kale got soooooo dirty. I pretty much went through an entire package of wet wipes in our first hour there before I just gave up and embraced the dirt.
He slept so well at night. We were nervous about regressing on all our night weaning efforts, but slept better in the tent than he does at home. He slept solid from 9pm - 4:30am and then I'd nurse him and he'd be back down for a couple more hours. Naps were a bit of a different story since it was way too hot to sleep in the tent. So we ended up jumping in the car and taking a few drives so he could catch a nap in the air conditioning. It was actually nice for us too. We got to cool down and do some exploring (and a couple of times I might have napped in the passenger seat).
We had a great time. Just the three of us.
It was so nice to have time to connect without the pressures of work and bills and everything else. For five days and four nights, it was (mainly) just the three of us (we had some short visits with my family - one on a rainy day and one dinner with my mom who works near the campsite).
It was pretty much the most perfect vacation.
future firefighter.
Going back to work after a week of vacation is hard. I had over a 150 emails to respond to, my voicemail box was full, and I had a to-do list that was several post-it notes long. More than once this week I felt overwhelmed and overworked and caught myself thinking "was taking a week off worth it?!"
And then I would think of this and remind myself that, yes, it certainly was worth it.
When I came home from work this afternoon, Kris's brother came over so we could book another (weekend only) camping trip. While I was trying to help the guys do that, I was also trying to get dinner ready and Kale was whining and clingy because he's teething and didn't nap well today. I was desperate do something (anything!) that would make our little family smile.
And then I remembered my co-worker mentioning that the local fire department would be at a school tonight for the kids to check out. Since Kale LOVES "gucks" (trucks) we figured he'd enjoy it. And since Kris and I LOVE anything that makes Kale happy, it seemed like the perfect family adventure.
And that's exactly what it was.
And then I would think of this and remind myself that, yes, it certainly was worth it.
When I came home from work this afternoon, Kris's brother came over so we could book another (weekend only) camping trip. While I was trying to help the guys do that, I was also trying to get dinner ready and Kale was whining and clingy because he's teething and didn't nap well today. I was desperate do something (anything!) that would make our little family smile.
And then I remembered my co-worker mentioning that the local fire department would be at a school tonight for the kids to check out. Since Kale LOVES "gucks" (trucks) we figured he'd enjoy it. And since Kris and I LOVE anything that makes Kale happy, it seemed like the perfect family adventure.
And that's exactly what it was.
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| It was hard to tell for sure who was more excited about sitting in the driver's seat. |
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| The fire fighters set up their hose to spray down on the kids (despite the fact that it's an unusually cool night). |
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| We thought he'd be too shy to go in alone since so many big kids were running through. |
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| He proved us wrong. |
Vote, please?
my kid is a genius.
I've often suspected that Kale is a genius, but now I have proof.
Example #1: the diaper change.
The other night we were over at Kris's parents and just as we were getting ready to go we caught an unmistakable whiff that only Kale can produce. Kris grabbed a clean diaper and wipes and asked Kale if he'd like him to change his diaper. Kale then proceeded to lay down on the floor in front of him and point his legs in the air as if to say "get to it, papa!" Genius, right?
Example #2: cleaning the floor.
This morning Kale knocked over his sippy cup of water and because every single sippy cup ever made leaks, a puddle of water collected on the floor. I said "oh no! We better clean that up!" and before I could grab a cloth, Kale walked into the kitchen, pulled a dish towel off the rack and mopped up the water. Definitely genius.
Example #3: showing us what he wants.
The other day Kale was whining, pumping his little legs and seemed to be desperately trying to tell me something. Being the clueless mama I am, I had no idea what he wanted. Tired of my inability to read his mind, Kale walked to his bookshelf, pulled out a book, opened it up and pointed (with exasperation) at the sippy cup. I then gave him his water and he drank for a solid three minutes. Yes, this is the act of a genius. Another time I asked if he was ready to brush his teeth and he went and got the same book, opened it to the page with the picture of the toothbrush and made several attempts to grab the picture so he could clean his pearly whites. GENIUS.
Obviously we no longer need to save for his post-secondary education since we're expecting the scholarship offers to start pouring in any day now.
Example #1: the diaper change.
The other night we were over at Kris's parents and just as we were getting ready to go we caught an unmistakable whiff that only Kale can produce. Kris grabbed a clean diaper and wipes and asked Kale if he'd like him to change his diaper. Kale then proceeded to lay down on the floor in front of him and point his legs in the air as if to say "get to it, papa!" Genius, right?
Example #2: cleaning the floor.
This morning Kale knocked over his sippy cup of water and because every single sippy cup ever made leaks, a puddle of water collected on the floor. I said "oh no! We better clean that up!" and before I could grab a cloth, Kale walked into the kitchen, pulled a dish towel off the rack and mopped up the water. Definitely genius.
Example #3: showing us what he wants.
The other day Kale was whining, pumping his little legs and seemed to be desperately trying to tell me something. Being the clueless mama I am, I had no idea what he wanted. Tired of my inability to read his mind, Kale walked to his bookshelf, pulled out a book, opened it up and pointed (with exasperation) at the sippy cup. I then gave him his water and he drank for a solid three minutes. Yes, this is the act of a genius. Another time I asked if he was ready to brush his teeth and he went and got the same book, opened it to the page with the picture of the toothbrush and made several attempts to grab the picture so he could clean his pearly whites. GENIUS.
Obviously we no longer need to save for his post-secondary education since we're expecting the scholarship offers to start pouring in any day now.
15 months.
Kale at 15 months....
What Kale loves:
What Kale hates:
Things to celebrate/milestones/big events:
What Kale loves:
- the outdoors. The outdoors still tops the list of 'what Kale loves' this month. Nothing proved this more than spending five full days camping, complete with chasing bugs and chipmunks, having a diaper full of sand, a face covered in mud and all the freedom a little person with endless energy to burn could ask for. Back at home we continue to spend the bulk of our days outdoor, doing laps around the block, visiting the neighbours chickens and digging holes in the sandbox at the park. Kale is the happiest when he is outdoors and spends 99.9% of his time indoors trying to convince us to go out.
- animals. While our cat Bub Bub remains Kale's all time favourite, dogs come in a close second and birds, chickens and ducks all tie for third. After our camping trip he's added chipmunks and raccoons to furry creatures he can't wait to hug and kiss.
- water. The lake, the water table, the pool, a cup of water, the splash pad - whatever. Kale absolutely loves playing in the water.
- garbage. This month Kale started to insist that he be the one to throw his dirty diaper in the garbage. We get him changed, set him on the floor and then give him the diaper. He then walks to the bin, opens the lid, throws it out, closes the lid and claps like he's just won the Pulitzer Prize. His fascination with throwing things out quickly expanded and he now feels the need to be the guard of the garbage. No one else in this house is allowed to throw things out. You must give them to Kale so he can throw them out. Our city has a somewhat complicated sorting system, but I swear that Kale has figured it out. We went to a birthday party for his friend Casey and he spent most of the party standing my the garbage throwing things out for people and clapping up a storm. Some people even pretended they thought it was cute.
- where is it? This is perhaps Kale's cutest new trick that he's picked up. When I ask where something is, he shrugs his little shoulders and faces his palms up and says "eh?" And then I die from cuteness overload.
What Kale hates:
- confinement. Since he was a baby, Kale has always hated being confined by anything but a sling. He's hated the car seat and stroller since day one (although he's warmed to both over time from "hate" to "dislike"), but now we can add walls to the list of things that restrict Kale's freedom that he downright hates. This means staying in the house for more than two minutes can be tough, but going to the grocery store or running an errand is pretty much out of the question. I should have known that giving my kid a name that means "free man" or "free spirit" would result in this. Kid #2 will have a name that means "laid back," "good sleeper" or "easy to entertain."
- wet clothes. It's tough being Kale when you love water so much, but hate when your clothes get wet. While he's playing at his water table or in a puddle, he's enjoying the water so much that he doesn't notice how wet he's getting. But the second he walks away and feels the damp fabric against his skin, he looses his mind.
Things to celebrate/milestones/big events:
- sleeping. We've been working on night weaning Kale and it's been going better than we expected. We've simultaneously transitioned him to a floor bed in his own room. Yeah, this is pretty big news that I haven't blogged about because I (a) don't want to jinx anything, and (b) want to wait until we're a bit further along. All of our hard work has paid off though, since is now sleeping from 9pm - 4am on most nights. He nurses on and off from 4am - 7am and sometimes he's up for the day at 6am, but it's a huge improvement from waking every two hours like we had been doing for the past 14 months.
- camping. We survived our first family camping trip and had an incredible time. It was the perfect vacation destination for all of us and I'm so happy we took the time to get away. I'll blog more about it this week.
- utensils and cups. Last month I was worried that Kale might be the only kid in his class come September still eating like a savage so we started offering him a fork with his dinner. He actually took to it surprisingly well and shows a big preference for real forks like mama and papa, opposed to the plastic baby ones. We also started offering him a regular cup instead of his sippy since his school doesn't do sippy cups. When he's thirsty, he's very good at it. Much better than we expected. But once he's quenched his thirst, he enjoys spilling the rest down his front and on the floor. This we need to work on.
- car seat. We've had some big improvements with the car seat this month. He actually slept most of the two hour trip to our campsite and the trip home and took several air conditioned naps in northern Ontario when the tent was too hot. We've even stopped sitting in the backseat with him and he's been able to amuse himself with my wallet and looking at the "gucks" (trucks) out the window. This doesn't mean we're going to set out on an eight hour road trip, but at least we're able to get to the grocery store now without a major meltdown.
According to Kale:
sippy cup and pointed at it. Genius? I think so.
New words:
- truck (sounds like "guck"). Everything with a loud engine is a "guck" but when he sees a real truck, he gets really, really excited and yells "GUCK! GUCK!" Let's hope he doesn't master the F sound anytime soon.
- caw caw! The sound a bird makes. Does this count as a word? I guess it's more of a sound. Regardless, he loves to point out birds and yell "caw! caw!"
Some of my favourite pictures from the past month:
Friday Date Day: Round 4.
Not only was Friday supposed to be the fourth "Friday Date Day" for Kale and I, but it was supposed to be the start of the August long weekend (yay Civic Holiday's!) AND the start of my vacation. Notice I said "supposed to be?" That's because I had a terrible meeting on Thursday afternoon that resulted in me spending my Friday here:
Even though I managed to get out of the office by 12:30pm, Kale was exhausted and we spent our whole "date" doing this:
Even though I managed to get out of the office by 12:30pm, Kale was exhausted and we spent our whole "date" doing this:
We tried to make up for it on Saturday since Kris had to go into work (apparently neither of us are having much luck getting time off). We went to the farmer's market, which I haven't been to in ages since it is always so, so busy and I'm not a fan of running into people from work on my day off (which is bound to happen). We got there early enough that the crowds weren't too bad and I didn't see anyone I knew. Kale loved the people watching and after picking up some blueberries, we found a nice spot to sit beside busker playing Bob Marley. Kale ate about 400 blueberries, danced to his hearts content, and demanded to touch every dog that walked by. Basically the farmer's market is Kale's new favourite place. Here is checking things out:
After the market, we went to the library but it was so early that no one else was there and so it wasn't as fun as usual. By the time we got home, it was time for more of this:
Our afternoon was spent visiting the chickens down the street, playing in the park, chasing ants on the sidewalk and getting dirty. A pretty typical day for Kale - not exactly Date Day worthy. However, we're leaving for vacation tomorrow so it's pretty much Family Date Week!
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