Braving the storm, Bumbos, and Teething

Kris took the day off today. Owen's been a "pre-sitter" for a while now, and I figured it was about time to get him a Bumbo. I've been trying to get items on Kijiji whenever possible, for cost and environmental reasons - re-use being the R with the most impact. Obviously from the picture, you can see that I was successful in my quest. I got this one, and a feeding tray for it, for $45! But, we had to brave the storm to go out and get it. I had a couple of other things I wanted to do as well - pick up some diaper liners, get a new ironing board (ours won't fold properly, so stays out all the time... it adds to the growing clutter in our house). Kris wanted to get Owen some teething toys, as he's been putting things in his mouth, and most of his toys are fabric... not very satisfying. So we also picked up a Sophie the Giraffe, and 2 other grabby, teething toys. We didn't really anticipate there would be such a snowstorm. By the time we were heading back home the roads were pretty icy and a few times on 16th Ave the snow started to blow and we could barely see the car's lights in front of us. We crawled down 29th Street to our house and got home safe and sound.

Grey Cup

Owen and I went to a friend of a friend's place to watch the Grey Cup. Kris was at the game. Of course, since we're honorary 'Saskies', we wore green. Owen was really good (was there any doubt?). He even had a short nap while we had some chilli for dinner. I'm not super into football, but it was a pretty exciting game, especially in the second half. The Roughriders almost pulled through for the win, but got caught with too many men during the final play (I write this for all of you who don't watch sports :) ). There was some pretty loud cheering, which scared Owen. He was pretty upset, but it was kind of cute as well. First, his face went really still. Then, the corners turned down. Next, the lip came out, and then he decided he would cry. It took about 30 seconds for this to happen, so you could really see all of the steps. It was like, at each step, he was deciding whether to be upset or not.

I read somewhere that you should video your child crying because one day you'll think it's adorable. I now know why. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

Milestones... pictures

I was a bit lazy the other day with the post on milestones. I had taken some pictures, but didn't get them off my camera. This post rectifies that laziness.

Milestones

Owen rolled over for the first time today. He was on his tummy, doing a "mini-pushup" like he's  been doing for a while now. He swayed back and forth, which he's also been doing for a while now, and then he rolled over. I'm not sure he realized what he had done, but I was sure happy and let him know it by praising him. It was pretty cool to see, so I thought I'd try to get it on camera, but he didn't want to perform. I guess that pushing probably took a lot of strength out of him, so when I put him on his back again, he just squawked and cried a bit and was generally just pissed off. I guess I shoulda known better. When I get video, I'll try to figure out how to get it onto the blog.

On the note of milestones, Owen has finally started grabbing at things and putting them... you guessed it, into his mouth. He's got a couple of favourites. One is the Whoosit. I attach it to the bar on his bouncy chair and he will grab hold of the hanging bits. He prefers to look at the back of the Whoosit, which has black and white concentric circles on it. He doesn't care as much for the frontside with the face, but soon enough this will be his favourite.

The other toy he likes to grab and hold is the Skwish. He can really wrap his fingers around the elastic and on Saturday he started grabbing with both hands and squeezing it. Hence the name, the skwish. The ball ends are small enough to fit inside his mouth, but big enough not to cause any trouble in there.

Long Walks

I had decided today that I should take the new (not so new now) stroller out for a real walk. Also, Kris and I had enjoyed a bottle of wine over the last few days that we had purchased from Kensington Wine Market and I wanted to pick up some more of it if I could. So, why not combine the two and walk to Kensington... so off in the stroller we went. We walked along the river on the way there, all the way to 10th Street. On the way we saw 4 loons, a HUGE mallard duck, and a flock of seagulls on the water. It was nice, if a little windy. The Flames cover really came in handy, and when Owen fell asleep - about 5 minutes after we started walking - I flipped the lid down and he had a really nice nap. I thought we would stop in at the Mom Store to pick up some new pacifiers for the little guy, since he's been having some trouble switching between the "daytime soother" - a latex Nuk, and the "nighttime soother" - a silicone Born Free - they are different shapes. By then, Owen had woken up and was gnawing on the soother with a little too much ferver so we had to stop at Starbucks for a coffee and milk :) Then off to KWM. People there thought he was pretty cute and he was fighting to stay awake as best he could, but the sleep finally got the better of him. I didn't find the wine I was looking for, but they were having a big sale, so I made due with a few other wines. It was a lovely day and the walk really did both of us well. I will have to do it again soon.

Photo Albums

I am working on adding some photos to my Picasa web albums. You can preview some of the pictures to the left. To view them all, click "View my Gallery"

Enjoy...

(I'll keep adding more as I have free time - ha!)

The passing of a dear friend.

Yesterday, we attended the funeral for Mrs. Valente. She was my brother's Godmother, and my God-grandmother - her daughter, my Mom's best friend in high school, is my Godmother.  She was a lovely woman, very funny, and made the best food. She always had food to feed us when we came over. I remember going over there as a kid (about 12 or so) and sharing wine with her and her husband and their family. I'm pretty sure the first time I got drunk was at their place. :)  She lived a very full life and was surrounded by friends and family always. I will miss her dearly.

Owen was very good during the funeral mass - a full Catholic mass with 3 priests - he slept right through it. I heard afterwards that's called a 'High Mass'. There was lots of cooing and smiling at Owen from all the Italian Nona's at the reception, where he was more alert. Of course, I delighted in telling them how good he was and how he never cried. (There's some foreshaddowing in that last sentence). Maria, my Godmother, was happy to meet Owen, and also has a new grandson herself. Sarah, her second daughter, had a baby on August 16th! He is also very adorable.

By the time lunch was served, Owen was getting sleepy again, so I laid him in his carseat while we ate, during which time I heard him poop. Before we left I wanted to change his diaper,since we were heading to Costco before going back home. The facilities were sorrily lacking - no change table in either washroom. I did happen to find a small table behind a curtain in the hall, next to a stage. Nothing fancy, but it would do for the purpose at hand. Well, let's just say that Owen wasn't thrilled to have been woken up. He cried pretty hard from the moment that the diaper came off, which is when I realized that he'd had a poop explosion! So in addition to the diaper, off came all his clothes. For those of you who don't already know, Owen doesn't really care for (hates, really) being naked, so the crying got worse and louder. Then, just as I had finished cleaning up the poop, which had made it's way all up his back, he peed. All over Grandma (my mom), who was holding his upper half so he wouldn't squirm his way off the table. So, newly wet, and round 2 of wiping just beginning, he cried more and harder... then he peed again! Round three of wiping... I now have almost no wipes in the diaper bag... he was so upset that all I could do was pick him up and hold him to calm him down. It was very traumatic for all of us - Owen, me, and Grandma.

I've heard that babies love to prove their parents wrong. I guess I've learned my lesson. :)