Some Pics

Days 3-5

We've been busy!

Friday we headed up to Orangeville to enjoy some lovely visits with Nicole (featuring Swiss Chalet & DQ outings) and then Great-Grandma. Friday night, grandma babysat while we headed downtown to meet up with the gang. We got G20'd by traffic because of a motorcade and got re-routed to Mississauga. Finally we ended up on Gerrard Street at an amazing Indian food restaurant in a tent with picnic tables. There was a trip to the Gladstone post-dinner. It was like old times and we got home around 3:30am.

Saturday we visited Felix's cousin Cale (and his parents) in Brampton. The boys were super cute together. We enjoyed an impromptu feast at Zia's house. We headed into the city again and smartly avoided the G20 by taking the 401 and DVP to Susan & Jorge's. We had an awesome visit except for one of Felix's worst nights of babydom...he slept with me in the bed and Steve got the couch. I think we've been overdoing it. I had to miss out on the wedding stagette which I was disappointed in, but the rioting scared me a bit too.

Sunday we spent the morning with S & J & Big T. We headed over to our house in the afternoon to check things out. I took Felix for a walk down the Lakeshore trail to the big white bridge (my old jogging route) while Steve worked on the house. We had to rush back up to Caledon East so Stephen could meet up with the boys for "boys night out". Felix and I had fun catching up with Grandma and I'm crossing my fingers for a good night's sleep.

Day 2

We headed downtown for day 2 after a night featuring many many Felix wakings. Aw well, what can you do right?

My blackberry died so we tried to get it fixed at a Bell store. No such luck. Sasktel stinks so there is no way for me to get it fixed until we get back.

We enjoyed the Eaton Centre for awhile and then headed over for my 3 hour haircut. Stephen took Felix over to visit one of our neighbours.

We later met up with our ex-Regina friend Arlynne and went for supper/dinner on the Rhino patio. Stephen and Felix talked to a local Parkdalian (a man with a very long beard on a bicycle) who gave Stephen some parenting advice. A huge limo-bus pulled up in front of the patio with a group of middle-aged people dressed up in costumes to join us on the patio. You never know what will happen next in glorious Parkdale. Oh how I miss it!

OH and yesterday we got the news that our dear friends/ex-neighbours Ned & Lauren had a baby boy!

We got home at around 9 with a very tired baby, but he is such a trooper and absolutely thrives in new environments.

Welcome to Toronto!

We made it to glorious Toronto!

The flight went well, but I must say that traveling with a 7 month old is markedly different than traveling with a 1 month old or 3 month old. Felix was in no way going to sleep through this flight. He was so interested in everything that was going on around him, despite it being his bedtime. We were very happy to see Grandma and Auntie Lisa still awake when we arrived even though it was 1:30am.

We went downtown yesterday. There were so many cops everywhere. Bicycle cops, motorcycle cops, horse cops, car cops, standing around at corner copes, walking cops...cop city!

We met up with Stephen's dear friend Herb (the journeyman who trained Steve when he was an apprentice) for lunch at The Atrium on Bay. It was like old times when I would meet them for lunch...except this time Felix was there. During our lunch we suddenly heard "the shaking was due to a small earthquake and is now over, please remain calm" repeated over the emergency loudspeaker in the building. We hadn't felt anything, but it turned out there was an earthquake.

We drove back to Caledon East after doing a quick drive by our house (the yard was looking great) and had an awesome family supper with the bride and groom and their new dog, Hazel. It was so wonderful to reunite and we can't wait for the big day!

Recycling

I admit it, we've become obsessed with recycling or the lack of recycling here in Regina. We've written letters to the editor & city counsillors, creepily taken photos of people's garbage, and have had numerous discussions about the topic on facebook.

Last night we had a campfire with a group of our best buddies here and the main topic of conversation was SARCAN and recycling. We're all obsessed with it.

It's garbage day-eve in our neighbourhood and Stephen has spent almost the entire evening setting up his little prank on the garbage truck. He has put so much effort in this that I hope it works.

Oooooh...we are not going to be able to sleep tonight due to the excitement. Stay tuned!

Happy Father's Day

Dear Dad, I miss your guts.

Dear Felix, you have the best Dad ever!

Itchin' for Some Art

I accidentally fell in love with a wacky prairie landscape today at Bazaart. I can't stop thinking about it. It's a steal for only $600.

This is the artist's site, but the painting I want is not on it.

http://www.darlenegate.ca

Tiled!

Still needs grout, but it's getting closer!

Too Awesome

This morning, Felix and I drove Stephen to the hospital to have some minor surgery on the nasty scar (long story). After Stephen got called in for his procedure, the nurse came out and said, "I don't know how to say this name...Metal X?" Some guy got up and the nurse said, "I have to ask". Metal X replied, "Mamma liked country, daddy liked rock and roll...I liked metal".

Sleep Saga

This is what Felix looked like after his first time sleeping through the night.

We don't have too much to complain about really, Felix has been a good sleeper. He never had day and night confused. He has always just woken up to eat and goes back to sleep almost instantly. There was a little bit more to it when he was younger, but for the most part we avoided feeding or rocking him to sleep. From about 1.5 months, we started putting him down slightly more awake each time and he had no problems learning to fall asleep on his own, gradually without the swaddle but still loving the pacifier.



At around 2 months old he was only waking up at midnight and then at 5am...then came the "Four Month Sleep Regression". He would wake up every 2 or 3 hours again...gradually, like clockwork back to waking up every 3 hours like when he was a newborn.



The challenge has been snacking. He wants to wake up to eat. My dear work spouse, Lisa, recommended reading The Sleep Easy Solution. I loved its advice on weaning the night feedings. The general idea was to time your feeds and then gradually decrease the number of minutes you nurse each night.



I started doing this when he was about five months and managed to cut out one waking entirely. I was pleased, but then realized he was only BFing once per night and I was sad because as annoying as interrupted sleep can be, there is nothing sweeter than feeding a sleepy little baby in the middle of the night. I know I'm a nostalgic fool, but I wasn't quite ready to let go. Over the last couple of nights, with no parent interference, that feed has moved from 2am to 3am to 3:30am to 4:30am...and finally this morning I woke up at 5:30 feeling very uh "full" with Steve's elbow in my face and lay there just hoping he would wait until 6 to wake up. And he did it. First time sleeping through the night!



I know this doesn't mean that we will get this every night in the future, but it's a big milestone for both of us and I'm so proud of Felix.

Thank You

Thank you to the two sketchy teenagers who pulled up beside my car pumping gangsta rap and said "Lookin' Good". It really helped my self esteem...until I heard "OH, she's a MOM" and they quickly drove away.

Awesome Weekend

Friday - party at the Maestro's to test out his new stereo system. Highlight was when Also Sprach Zarathustra blew the breaker and the party went silent.

Saturday - walking around Wascana with Felix and a fantastic fun BBQ at Risa's. Photos are courtesy of Risa's mom taken at the BBQ. We topped off the night with an impromptu campfire in our backyard firepit.

Sunday - brunch with my cousins and their adorable kids, lunch with the bro and another walk around Wascana, Stephen working away on the tiling.

Eating

This eating solid thing is quite an exciting new phase. Felix really REALLY likes eating.

Rain Rain Go Away

Seriously...enough already.

Pre-vaccination Guilt

I'm sitting here chewing on my braid because Felix's 6 month shots are in 1.5 hours. He has no idea of course. He's been so incredibly happy all day, officially over his cold. No whining. He laughed hysterically when he woke up from his morning nap, played contentedly by himself for an hour with his toys, and sat on the grass while I did some gardening and laughed whenever I looked at him. He is one happy baby...and in 1.5 hours that happiness will end in screams. I'm such a wuss when it comes to this stuff!!

Like Father, Like Son: Part 2

Yet another parenting fail.

Eyelid Massage

Floor Tiles

Stephen got the floor tiles down and closed up all of the walls. I can't wait to see those cheerful bright yellow walls and ceiling turn to beige!!

First Cold & A New Trick

Felix's first cold was something I had been dreading. Thankfully he hadn't been sick at all until after he was 6 months. His runny nose and difficulty breathing were rough, but we picked up some helpful non-medicines thanks to some facebook advice.

One night, he was having such a rough time that we let him hang out with us around 10pm and this is a video of his new trick - comforting daddy.