Baby's First Canada Day

Baby's first Canada Day started regularly enough. After a good breakfast of breast milk and cereal, she stayed home while her older sisters attended swimming lessons. Ordinarily, she would have stayed with Grandma, but due to the holiday, she spent some quality time with Papa.

After her morning nap, and a quick lunch with her sisters, she headed off to some local festivities with her entire family. Were it not for the sweltering heat, she would have remained outdoors longer. As it was, she enjoyed some inflatables and a Mega Bloc station specifically geared towards her age group. Meanwhile, her sisters got their faces painted, bounced on some inflatable play structures, played mini-golf and enjoyed a cold snack.

Back at home by 15:30, Baby was exhausted and was ready for her second nap. S2 normally naps much earlier, but her parents made an exception, and both S2 & S3 slept soundly from 15:30 to 17h.  After a quick snack, Baby and her family headed east to join some cousins whose community was celebrating Canada Day in the evening. While she could not stay for the fireworks, Baby and her sisters enjoyed barbecued food, played on some old-fashioned play structures, and ended the evening by running (or crawling int he case of Baby) through some sprinklers.

The Tale of the Toddler and her Cooped-up Dress

The beautiful dress had been gifted to her as an infant. But as the dress was far too big, her Mama hung it in a closet. There, the dress remained for many long months. 

Then one day, the infant grew up. She could walk, and talk, and open door handles. While her mother was attending to her baby sister, the toddler opened the closet door, pulled the dress off the hanger, and put it on, all by herself.

Despite her mother's objections, the toddler refused to remove the dress. Her mother was worried that the dress was impractical, that the toddler might trip and fall, that it was too cold to wear outdoors, and the list went on and on...

But the toddler stood her ground! And so it was that the dress finally left her hanger! The dress was so happy, she could not wait to see what adventures awaited her. 

That glorious day, the dress went to the library. She read some books, played with a train set, and used a magnetic table for the first time. She also walked up and down the stairs, and did not trip nor fall a single time!

Many people commented on her beauty. "Are you going to a party?" one lady queried. To which the toddler's mother replied "no, my toddler refused to take the dress off." The dress shone brighter with pride for the toddler.

Back at home the dress and her toddler had lunch together with nary a stain. Then they baked cupcakes that they later decorated and devoured! The dress swelled with satisfaction.

After the sweet meal it was time for an afternoon nap. While most toddlers would have removed their fancy dresses for a nap, not this one! The dress and her toddler slept soundly for almost two hours.

After their nap, the afternoon flew by: arts and crafts, reading books, singing songs, turning somersaults and joyful dancing. After dinner it was a little more play, then to bed. When the time came to put on her pajamas, the toddler once again refused to part with her dress. And so the task fell upon her Papa to change her into pajamas once she was sound asleep.

That night, the toddler dreamed of more adventures with her puffy new dress. And as for the dress, she hoped not to be cooped up for another year or two before someone discovered her.

Mama breathed a sigh of relief. The day had gone much better than expected. Each time her toddler misbehaved that day, all she had to say was "I think it's time to put that dress away". Her toddler immediately listened to her mother lest she part ways with her new dress.

7 Months Old

meal time

Turned 7 months old on September 11th
Weighs 9 kg, only 3 kg less than her big sister
Dislikes diaper changes, and tries to get away
Eats three solid meals a day, and gets very messy in the process
Can move forward on all fours, but I wouldn't yet call it crawling
Has gotten really attached to her mommy, and dislikes it when she leaves the room
Takes three naps per day, between 30 and 90 minutes each
Sprouted two more teeth, for a total of four, and will gladly bite your finger
Still hasn't figured out how to sleep through the night...