New Shared Room: Tour

The girls' shared room is finally ready...We had some difficulty deciding on our toddler's twin-sized bed. Our toddler moves a lot in her sleep, so an upholstered bed was one of the criteria. Additionally, I had been looking for a single bed that could easily transform into a double bed, eventually allowing our girls to sleep side-by-side, but also freeing up floor space during the day. In the end, I settled on an upholstered bed with an optional trundle by Monte, the same company that made our glider.

For the time being, the shared room is hypothetical. The baby still sleeps in our room. Our toddler currently wakes up on average once per night, whereas our baby girl will wake up two to three times per night. By placing them in the same room, we would be courting disaster. I have no doubt that they will wake each other up, thereby further reducing the amount of sleep their parents enjoy!

Toddler bed returns to crib

Toy storage

Glider with photo of baby above

Can't decide which bed she would rather jump on!

I was afraid she might hit her head against the dresser, but she sticks to the other side 

Monthly baby photos next to sound system

And the most important part...Hello Kitty!

9 months old

Chasing the camera

Oh how time flies!
Baby #2
Turned 9 months old on November 11
Weighs almost 10kg
Wears 12-18 month clothing
Has 6 teeth, with two more on the way
Babbles regularly, mostly Mamama
Claps her hands when you sing a song
Waves goodbye if she sees you head for the door
Can stand for a few seconds at a time
Loves her big sister, and puts up with a lot of abuse (mostly slaps and the occasional kick)
Wakes up laughing
Even though it's 5AM, and she does not understand what daylight savings time is!

Five Little Monkeys

Monkey # 2 playing upright

Monkey # 1 enjoying cupcakes

The other day, my two daughters and I were playing in a neighbourhood playroom, when my toddler suddenly grew up and went to work:

She kissed her little sister and declared: "Bye, I am going to work," and headed for the door.

Are you a teacher or a doctor? I asked (as she has a few family members in each of those professions and is vaguely familiar with them).

"A doctor," she declared.
"And what will you be doing?", I queried.

She promptly shook her right index finger and said "no more monkeys jumping on the bed."

I wonder what she thinks a teacher does!

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor,
And the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed 
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor 
And the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor 
And the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor
And the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed

One little monkey jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor 
And the doctor said,
Put those monkeys right to bed

Halloween part III

Our toddler celebrated her third Halloween this week, and, thus far, her most memorable.

Getting into the spirit with a Ghost shirt (formerly her sister's)

Checking out a Hello Kitty pumpkin at the local market

Trying on her Hello Kitty outfit

The festivities begun with a party at preschool:

With her classmate

Our baby hanging out in her sister's class

Later on, we headed to the south shore of Montreal, where our toddler trick-or-treated with her six-year old friend.

With her friend (a musketeer) prior to heading out

In a winterized version of her costume

She didn't quite grasp the concept of going door-to-door, and spent much time standing at the doorstep after receiving her candy, peering into people's homes.

She was rather proud if her candy stash, and overall seemed to enjoy the experience. Just today, she asked me if she could return to her friend's house and "do Halloween" again. How to explain to a toddler with little concept of time that Halloween only comes around a once a year?

Her Halloween Stash

Eating her first treat

Magical Moment: cold

Sharing a laugh

Since starting preschool in early September, our toddler has had three colds. Certainly not as many as I had expected. She recently had back-to-back colds, something that had occasionally occurred prior to starting school.

This week, she had developed a slight cough from the post-nasal drip. I reminded her how to cover her mouth with her arm when she coughed.

Her little sister has also had a few colds recently. In fact, for the last 8 months, she has had as many colds as our toddler. She too developed a slight cough this week. Just the other day, as I was cleaning up after lunch, our baby coughed while sitting in her high chair. My toddler ran up to her little sister, proffered an arm, and said "cough in my hand".

It is certainly reassuring to know that our toddler listens and learns!

Hello Kitty has taken over our home

Hello Kitty

I blame myself. I thought the shirt was cute. Approximately 6 months ago, as I was browsing the kids' clothing section of a large department store, I came across a very affordable Hello Kitty shirt in my toddler's size. Later on that day, when I showed her the shirt, she did not seem overly impressed, but did not seem to mind wearing it. At the time, getting her dressed to go out anywhere was a struggle, so I hoped that the Hello Kitty shirt might make getting ready more enjoyable.

Shortly after the initial purchase, my toddler's language skills started improving exponentially. And then she started asking for Hello Kitty clothing. "No, I don't want this. I want to wear my Hello Kitty shirt" she would say everyday. I tried explaining to her that we only had one such shirt, and that it was in the washing machine. She somehow won the battle, and now she owns two short-sleeved shirts, three long-sleeved tops, three dresses, a dozen pairs of underwear, two hats, a pair of gloves, a school bag and a lunch bag, all with the Hello Kitty prominently displayed.

I must say that getting ready to go out is much simpler now. And going to school is enjoyable, as she happily brings along her Hello Kitty school bag and lunch bag. The downside is that everything has to be Hello Kitty. We recently ordered a twin-sized bed for our toddler. I told her that soon she would have to give up her toddler bed, and that she would be getting a "big girl bed". She didn't seem in the least upset, agreed that her little sister should inherit her crib, but did mention that she wanted a "Hello Kitty bed". Would she refuse to sleep in her new bed, I wondered? Then my husband came up with the brilliant idea of buying some Hello Kitty sheets for her new bed. Perhaps we will no longer have to sit with her for an hour before she goes to sleep as she will soon have a tacky but adorable feline to keep her company...

Crawling expert

Apple picking: a photo journey

This last Thursday was our toddler's first field trip at school. Her entire pre-school went apple-picking, and the parents were invited along. She was very excited about the trip. Later on that evening when her papa asked about her day, she excitedly described it in great detail:

I go on a school bus

Mommy come with me

I pick 5 apples

I see a baa baa

I ride a pink trike


And here are the photos to prove it:

In the school bus prior to departure

On the tractor ride to the orchard

Apple-picking!

Filling her bag

Eating an apple she picked off a tree

2 baa baas

A sow and her piglets

Riding a pink trike