Paige is still growing like a weed. We have her 9 month well baby check up next week at which time we will find out her current weight and height, so we will just have to wait until then to see how much she has grown. She is becoming a very strong willed little character. Still a very happy soul who loves her music. She has herself into a pretty good routine now and lets us know when she needs her nap if we have missed it. She is also making it clear these days that she would prefer to be in the carrier on my back rather than her stroller – only catch if we are in a store she likes to grab things off of the rack and tuck them into the carrier so I have to be ever watchful.
Favourite things to do: Singing songs, bouncing to the beat and using her shaker or sticks at music Swimming Bath Time Going for Hikes Playing outside Being able to go naked with the hot weather Stories Skyping with family Snuggles Chatting up a storm Talking to her toys Grocery Shopping
Milestones: Sitting up on her own from lying down Pulling herself up Can stand on her own Able to choose outfits and food from limited selection Greater understanding of what is being said to her Able to follow very basic instructions (ie: please sit on your bum) Sharing things Pointing to something
Favourite Foods: Frozen wild blueberries Oatcakes Plain Greek Yogurt Apricots Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese Cheerios Blackberries Frozen Peas Avocado Will still try anything put in front of her and will try it various times throughout the meal even if she didn’t like it the first try.
This past week has been a little quieter (maybe recovering from a busy long week-end?). Paige has figured out how to get herself into a sitting position and has started to pull herself up on things. The down side of sitting up is that she has been doing it in her sleep (I have watched her do it) and unfortunately this wakes her up during the night, so hoping this will pass so we can get back to her sleeping through the night with disturbances.
Paige is definitely loving the warm weather we are having since it means she can go naked out in the yard and only have to wear a diaper inside!
Our Wednesday hike last week had to be cancelled in the end due to rain, so instead Paige and I headed out to run some errands and to pick up a birthday present for Dave. We ended up getting one of his birthday gifts at Sail before heading to pick out hardware for the kitchen cabinets. I wanted something simple in an oil rubbed bronzed. We lucked out and found something in stock and so was able to pick them up that day.
That evening we met up with friends for drinks and dessert at a local pub to celebrate Dave’s birthday.
Thursday was a busy day around here. We did a 6km hike at Greenwood Conservation Area on the dog park side with some other mom’s and babes. It was a great day to be out since it was not yet too hot and the dogs had a great time chasing each other along the trails. We hiked on the dog park side to the end of the trail and back. This is a fairly flat trail with 1 steep hill that follows along a small river. One thing to be aware of if you are hiking on these trails is that there is a great deal of poison ivy now coming up, especially near the first part of the trail.
That afternoon was our Baby Beats class which Paige just loves and we got a new musical instrument. I chose the castanet for Paige and let her pick the colour. Paige was all for yellow that day. She is starting to figure them out and has lots of fun playing with them along with her shaker that she got at the first class.
Friday was our stroller walk along the lake. We had gorgeous weather – warm with a nice breeze from the lake and great company as always. I got some new bread recipe ideas on the walk that I will have to try once it cools down enough for me to run my oven.
After our walk I headed toVandermeer Nursery with a friend who wanted some help picking out some hanging baskets for her place. I ended up picking up weed killer and grass seed (not so exciting!).
Saturday saw us head to Arnts once Paige was up to get mulch, top dressing and triple mix. It was crazy busy. We ended up only picking up 1 yard of mulch in the back of the truck and figured we would pick up our other load another day when it was a little quieter. It was a hot day so we wanted to get the mulch down before it was too hot to be working in the yard. Paige hung out in the dining tent we had set up in the yard while we spread mulch. She was having a great time playing on her quilt and rolling around in the grass. Then headed inside to cool down a bit and play with Tessa (our golden retriever).
Saturday evening we headed over to friends for a barbecue. It was a nice evening and we met lots of new people. It was nice to get out with friends and enjoy the nice evening while the little ones could play together on the lawn.
Sunday morning was pretty quiet around here as we put-zed about in the yard until late afternoon when we had friends over for a barbecue. The little ones were having fun playing out in the tent and then when we moved them inside they had great fun on the hardwood floor and looking out the windows. It was such a nice evening that we had a campfire (before things dried up too much) and had a great visit.
Monday was another hot day here. We had waffles out on the deck and a little play time outside before Paige headed down for her nap. Once she woke up we headed down to the nursery to pick up a couple plants for the gardens before coming home to cool down in the pool that her playmate Charlie had left for her to use for the day. Paige is such a water baby that she was in and out of the pool all afternoon.
Tuesday, Dave was back to work, so Paige and I had a fairly quiet day after swimming lessons. This week we worked on the little ones being in life jackets and falling off the side of the deck onto their face and then going through the movements of rolling over. Paige was not fazed at all by this and as always had a great time at swimming.
Wednesday we were supposed to meet up with a couple moms for a good long hike in the Rouge Valley, but my back was not cooperating so we had to take the day off. It worked out well since Paige decided to sleep in until 11:30am. We ended up using Wednesday as our errand day and went out to pick up photos to mail to all of Paige’s great grandparents, as well as paint for the kitchen and netting to go over our strawberries and blueberries to keep the animals out. Paige and I spent the afternoon playing in the yard and gardening (I was splitting some plants and shifting some others).
Thursday we met up with some moms for an early lunch to celebrate a friends birthday. It was a nice get together and I met some new moms. They all headed to the movies while Paige and I headed home since we had Baby Beats that afternoon. This week we sang transportation songs. That afternoon Paige started pulling herself up on everything.
Yesterday we attended the GTA Baby wearing walk which was part of Baby Wearing Week here in Canada. It was along the boardwalk in The Beach. It wasn’t much of a walk but rather an opportunity to get together with some like minded mamas and have a visit. Paige had a great time playing in the sand for the first time and I dipped her toes in the water for her to feel it. After playing on the beach we then headed for frozen yogurt and to check out a used baby store.
Yesterday evening we went over to friends for a barbecue and our little ones had a blast playing on the grass and just hanging out.
Today the pool is being filled, can’t wait for the water to warm up which will take a bit so that we can get Paige in the pool and have somewhere to cool down on these hot days. I also have to head down to see if they can fix the paint colour I picked up earlier this week as I accidentally told them I wanted the lighter colour on the paint chip rather than the darker one. Keeping my fingers crossed they can fix it for us since the lighter colour is a little more peachy than I would like. We were aiming for a tan colour. Since it seems to be staying a little cooler we may go and pick up the other yard of mulch to get down and maybe start painting the cabinets. Now that I have written that all down it seems like quite a bit to get done today, so maybe the painting will wait for another day.
Did you get out and enjoy this nice warm weather? How do you beat the heat?
It was another busy week with Miss Paige around here.
We started off last week with a good 10+ km hike on the Seaton trail with another hiking mom and daughter. We started at the south end (Forestream) so that we would hit all of the stairs and the bigger climbs at the beginning of the hike rather than the end. Also this way we could have a nice break in Whitevale since they have a nice little park and port-a-potty there. It was a cool and overcast day which made for great hiking since we didn’t overheat.
Enjoying a break and snack before heading back
Tuesday was swimming lessons and since the usual instructor was away it was a bit disorganized. Paige had a nap in the life jacket while floating about. That afternoon I took Paige in the stroller and went for a 3km jog (just starting back so didn’t want to overdo it).
Wednesday was a good hike (7km) hiking in the Rouge Valley with 2 other moms. This is a nice hilly trail so gave us a good workout. We were moving at a good pace too.
That evening we had dinner with one of my mom friends so that our husbands could meet. Paige and their little one get along so well. Paige loved their Jolly Jumper and the height she could get jumping in it.
Thursday saw us taking it easy around the house and yard with Baby Beats in the afternoon. Paige was having a great time chasing the older kids and trying out the different musical instruments. I think storytime was her favourite because as soon as the book came out she was scooting right up to the front with squeals of delight.
Friday was our usual stroller walk on the Colonel Danforth Trail. This is a 7km walk that is fairly flat on a paved path that winds through the woods and along the waterfront. After this walk we had to get home to pack to head to my parents for the week-end to visit and celebrate Mother’s Day.
I had woken up that morning to my Mother’s Day gift which was a Nike+ Sportwatch GPS, so of course we had to try it out on the walk. My only thing is remembering to either pause it when we would stop or restart it after. It is pretty neat to be able to see our path afterwards and also to find out what the actual distance is that we are doing.
Saturday in Kincardine was cool and sunny in the morning and slightly overcast for the afternoon. In the morning, Paige, my sister-in-law Meghan and I took the dogs and went for a walk along the waterfront. Paige had a nap in the carrier while we walked.
Once the guys got home from golfing we then headed up to The Hawgs Breath for some Nachos (Dave says they are the best nachos) before heading to my grandparents for a quick visit. I walked over with Paige in the carrier while the other’s drove. We had a short visit with my grandparents (so we didn’t tire them too much) before walking back to my parents.
That evening we sat outside in the backyard around my parents outdoor fireplace. It was such a nice night.
Sunday after breakfast we headed back home. When we arrived home, it was as though all of the plants exploded. All of the leaves were fully out and lots of flowers had come out over the week-end, not to mention the grass had grown a great deal. We got the lawn cut a little yard work done before friends came over for a barbecue so the guys could head out to see The Avengers.
Monday we went for a 10 km fast paced hilly hike with some other hiker moms and a hiker dad in the Rouge Valley. It was a great hike and good workout. These hikes are great since we always have a good time chatting and so the time flies by. I look forward to these every week and the little ones just love them.
Tuesday we were at swimming once again and the afternoon playing in the yard with a shorter stroller walk up the road.
Today we are off for a shorter hike at Heber Down Conservation Area with another hiker mom, possibly a couple more, I think it may depend on the weather as to how many moms join us.
Paige turned 8 months the end of last week so I am a little late at getting this up, but better late than never right?
Paige has slimmed down some but getting taller by the day (she won’t sit still long enough to be measured!). She is definitely over 20lbs now as well.
Favourite things to do: Singing, dancing and using her shaker to music Swimming Bathtime Going for hikes in the pack Playing out on the back deck or wiggling around in the grass Stories with Daddy Skyping with family Swinging on her swing Sleeping Finger painting
Milestones: Scooting and hopping on her bum all over the place Signing more, thank you, milk (some of these only sometimes) Making choices for food and clothing from 2 options Recognizing faces
Favourite Foods: Frozen wild bluberries Frozen mango Yogurt Yogurt Chips (see one of my previous posts for directions) Oatmeal Spaghetti noodles (she has fun slurping them and pulling them back out) Avocado Cheerios Will eat anything put in front of her, but these are the favourites
Paige now has 4 teeth on the bottom. The 4th one came through yesterday without too much of a fuss only a little fussing early evening (maybe a combination of being tired and trying to stay awake as well as pain).
This morning we are off to swimming and then with this nice weather probably spend the afternoon out on the porch.
It has been go, go, go around here this past week. Paige is scooting everywhere on her bum now and getting into everything (including the dogs food bowl!). One of her favourite things to do now is scoot along and rub her toys on the hardwood floor to see what kind of noise they make. She also likes to scrub the floor (not sure if that is a reflection on my cleaning or not!). We did discover one fun game with the island in the kitchen. She loves to anticipate which side you might pop around on and can spend hours giggling while we play peek-a-boo around that. Paige also attempted our small set of stairs between our dining room and family room by sliding down on her bum. There is so much for her to explore both inside and outside.
She is really testing herself now when standing. She will push our hands away and will also lean back from things she is using to prop herself to see how her balance works. Hoping that this does not mean she will be walking soon! She is not a big fan of crawling, so we suspect she may try to skip that stage.
Paige got to go swimming twice this week. Once for her class and once with a playmate. At class this week we tried them on the bottom of the water slide. Swimming with a playmate Paige had a great time, we were in the pool for nearly an hour. She was having a great time floating around in a PFD and just relaxing in the pool.
Paige got a third bottom tooth this week and continues to be teething (showing some discomfort and a bit of a rash) so I am sure more teeth could be making an appearance soon.
We went in to visit at the office this week since they wanted some help with their dragon boat paddling technique for the team this year. Unfortunately I won’t be joining the team this year since they practice at Paige’s bed time.
Paige was having a great time at Baby Beat this week. They got to try some different instruments. One of the instruments the little ones really enjoyed having in their mouth is sandpaper on blocks that you rub together. Instead they were all rubbing them on their teeth and sucking on them.
We had a hike at Glen Major with a friend and her little one. It was an overcast morning so great for on the trails and then the sun came out as we neared the end of the hike. We had them back for lunch so the little ones could play and we could continue our visit.
We got lots of work done in the yard over the week-end, lots of dandelions removed, lawn cut, some weeding, herbs planted and two nectarine trees planted. Our fruit count is now at 2 nectarine trees, 2 apple trees, 5 blueberry bushes, lots of strawberries, 4 rhubarb plants and 2 raspberry canes that have started sprouting elsewhere as well. We also noticed that our blackberry patch seems to finally be coming back after being whipper snipped by the neighbour a while back.
Replaced the planters with 2 Semi-Dwarf Harko Nectarines
Yesterday was such a nice day that a short hike at the dog park turned into a longer hike at Greenwood Conservation Area. We hiked to the end of the trail and back before getting to work in the yard. It was a nice hike that followed along the water most of the way. Paige took a bit of a nap on the way back and woke just as we got back to the car. We saw some kids swimming in the river. It was a warm day, but not sure I am ready to brave those cold waters just yet!
>Today Paige and I are off for a “serious” hike on the Seaton trail with a friend. She warns me there are lots of stairs to climb at the beginning so it will give us a good workout. I may be needing a nap with Paige this afternoon!
How did you spend your week-end with this lovely weather we have been having?
Friday ended up being a quiet day for Paige and I with lots of snuggled and singing. I think Paige might be teething again (this time the front top 2 teeth). We missed our stroller walk since Paige was napping and I didn’t want to wake her to go since she didn’t nap so well this week. We did however get up to Ganaraska to pick up our tree order. We had enough cedars to put in a 2nd row of cedars on the south side of the house. We also planted a double row hedge of Shadblow Serviceberry at the front south corner of the property to give us privacy in a few years during the summer months since we like to set up the pool on the south side of the house. We did end up with some leftover serviceberry which one of our neighbours was willing to take off our hands.
A remarkable occasion that was marked on Friday was my grandparents 67 anniversary. We often wonder if we will even be around for our 67th anniversary, or if around would we have our wits about us to even realize we had made it to this anniversary!
Saturday was a cool, but sunny day so Paige and I headed into Toronto with Dave in the afternoon after getting the lawn cut and the whipper snipping done in the morning. Dave had a baseball practice with the rec league he is playing with this year near Riverdale Farm. I hadn’t been, but had heard about it, so thought it would be a great opportunity to check it out with Paige. We wandered around the farm and checked out the chicks in the barn. I am not sure Paige knew what to make of the sheep or the cow she had a very quizzical look on her face when I was showing her these animals.
She would jump and be very interested in the chickens every time one would walk near the stroller. The gardens were beautiful with all of the tulips and daffodils out so we spent some time looking at the flowers as well.
After a while of wandering the farm we headed down to the ball diamonds to watch some baseball. It was definitely much cooler by the ball diamonds. We stuck around for a bit before heading back to the car.
We had thought we would maybe stop at The Shops At Don Mills to wander and maybe grab something to eat, but Paige was napping so we decided to keep heading in the direction of home and stop if we saw an interesting place. We ended up passing by Frankie Tomatto’s. Every time we pass this place it is busy and so we thought we would check it out. It is an all-you-can-eat Italian buffet. The restaurant is currently undergoing much needed renovations to update it and expand the restaurant. We were quite surprised at the quality of the food and both enjoyed our meals. There was nothing that we would advise against. If you like garlic and Italian food, then this is a place to check out.
Sunday turned out to be a nice sunny day. It felt quite cool in the morning and there had been a heavy frost the night before. The gardening seminar that was to happen, I had to cancel as it was down to 3 of us Sunday morning (people backed out overnight) making the cost prohibitive to the 3 of us left.
So with nothing planned for the day, we figured a hike was in order. We took a drive out to Long Sault Conservation Area. We were looking for the Eastern entrance and must have missed it so we ended up taking a drive down roads (they didn’t look like roads, sand and lots of bumps through the woods, but they did have stop signs, etc) where we passed a conservation area that was supposed to have opened fall of 2009 but had a no trespassing sign. After about 45 minutes of driving down a couple of these “roads” we decided to head back to the main entrance and just check out one of those trails. It was a very busy spot.
It appeared that most people hike the Cottontail Rabbit Trail, so we decided to check out one of the quieter trails and went with the Barred Owl Trail. It is a 2.9 km Advanced trail. We found this to be a nice easy hike with a fairly flat trail. Even though it is quite flat it does provide nice scenery. We are not really sure why this was deemed an advanced trail (maybe the distance). It was a nice hike and the trilliums are just getting ready to open, so by this week-end I am sure they will be putting on a nice display. There is a little picnic area at the beginning of the trails. Some of these trails do meet up with the ORTA (Oak Ridges Trail Association) trail system for a portion of them.
One thing to watch for on these trails is Bloodroot, we noticed it right near the trails edge in a few places so do be careful when out on the trails that you don’t walk through this. I have heard it mentioned on a few trails in the Durham Region now.
We were home shortly after lunch time so we had plenty of time to hang out in the yard and try and get some yard work done. We added forest compost to the raised vegetable beds and mixed it in before planting a few of our seeds for this year. We planted our onion seeds, sweet peas and snap peas as well as buttercrunch lettuce and mixed greens. We are trying new seeds this year that are Organic so we will see how they do. Once the weather warms up we have a variety of other seeds to add.
Even with these cool temperatures the gardens are doing quite well, although many of my herbs have yet to make a showing so we may have to replant many of them this year. The only one to show has been the lemon balm and of course my lavenders. The strawberries and rhubarb have more than doubled their size in the past couple of days between the rain last week then the sunny days and some more rain again today, they could be rather large plants this year, so hopefully the strawberries will also be plentiful.
While we worked in the garden Paige had a great time playing on her blanket by the vegetable gardens and visiting with one of our neighbours.
Hopefully the rain keeps up for a few days this week to ensure that the trees are well watered since the ground was pretty dry when we were digging it up to plant the trees. It would be nice if they could get themselves well established before the warm dry weather arrives.
Is there a trail you would recommend up checking out in the Durham region or within an hours drive?
Do you plant a vegetable garden in your yard? What do you grow? Do you have any tips and tricks?
Paige is definitely keeping me busy this week. Saturday was the Great Cloth Diaper Change and we attended the event in Toronto at the Green Parent Show. To be honest I was a little disappointed in the turnout at the event since Toronto is such a large city and this was also feeding from the surrounding communities. There were 42 qualifying babies at the event. Paige had so much fun up on the stage while we were waiting for the countdown. She was having a great time scooting around and visiting with the other babies. I picked up a couple fun toys and some chalk for Paige at the show. Spoke to some great mom’s as well as the editor and publisher of Eco Parent. They were great to speak to and gave me some good information. I am really looking forward to reading the debut issue which I picked up at the show since there are a number of outdoor articles.
Can you spot Paige at the back?
Over the week-end we did some work in the yard and planted white Trilliums on either side of the stairs we built last year going down our ravine. Last year Tessa mowed down on all but one of the few trilliums we planted, so this year we are keeping a close eye on her in hopes that she doesn’t get any of them!
We also picked out our kitchen tap and picked up our sink this week-end. We can’t wait to see our kitchen when we get it all finished. It is just a matter of waiting right now for the weather to improve so we can get on with painting. We chose to go with an oiled bronze finish for the tap so now we have selected the faucet we can decide on hardware.
With Monday being a rainy day, I decided to let Paige do some more finger painting. This time I put some paint in little containers that she could dip her hand into. She loved it.
We were back to swimming this week and Paige was having a great time. &We used the mats this week to try and teach the little ones flutter kick. Paige wasn’t so into having to do the flutter kick but loved being able to move herself and the mat down the pool. We also worked on showing them how to get out of the pool by going through the movements with them. Paige quite enjoyed jumping off the edge of the deck afterwards.
The weather has been very odd here this week – one day snow and hail and then yesterday was quite nice. We started our morning at the dentist where Paige was chatting up a storm and couldn’t resist showing off her amber necklace every time someone new came into the room. Since the weather was nice we decided to take advantage of it and spent the better part of the afternoon on the back deck and playing in the swing. Paige loves to scoot everywhere on her bum these days so I let her sit on the deck where she could check things out.
It is another grey and rainy day here today. Thank goodness for all of this rain since we definitely needed it. Paige and I are off to check out a new music & movement program this afternoon. It sounds like it could be a great deal of fun and the little ones get a musical instrument at the class to take home as well.
Tomorrow we have our weekly stroller walk, this time we are walking in a different spot so it will be nice to see somewhere new. Afterwards Paige and I need to head to Port Hope to pick up our tree order (25 cedars & 25 serviceberry) to plant in the yard. These were ordered through Ganaraska Conservation Areasince they were selling them as a fundraiser. I think Saturday will be pretty busy planting all of these trees.
Really looking forward to Sunday when we are hosting a “Learn to Grow Your Own Vegetables” seminar at our place being put on by The Backyard Urban Farm Co.There are 5 of us attending, so looking forward to learning some new skills which will hopefully make it easier this year and maybe more plentiful? Hopefully we have some decent weather for this since it will be all outside.
On another note, I have a guest post up about hiking with your little one. You can check it out at
Did any of you attend the Great Cloth Diaper change? If so where did you attend? What did you do to celebrate Earth Day? Do you grow your own vegetables in your yard? I would love to hear from all of you.
It has been one of those weeks. You know the weeks where you are kind of lazy, don’t really accomplish anything, but wonder where the time went.
Last Friday we were supposed to head out for a walk with our usual Friday group, but Paige had other ideas. Her two bottom teeth decided to make an appearance that morning and so once they were through I had my hands full with a real little fuss bucket. I am sure the cold was not helping matters. So Paige and I spent the day snuggling on the couch while I sang the same song (Rose Rose – a campfire song I learned in Brownies) over and over for hours and rocked her. It was about 1:00 am before she settled down enough to sleep.
The week-end was spent waiting for the rain to arrive that they kept calling for and we need, but alas it never came. So we headed out for a shorter hike at Heber Down Conservation Area where Paige decided she needed to be in the carrier rather than the stroller which was fine with me. She had a nice nap while we walked around and Tessa (our Golden Retriever) had a chance to play in the pond with some kids.
The earlier part of the week was quiet with daily stroller walks up the road and still no signs of rain. We really need to get some rain since things are already so dry. I am concerned what this means for the summer and our well.
Yesterday was a big day for Paige. She woke up with a new skill (clapping her hands together) and couldn’t wait to show me. Then at lunch she got to use a fork to eat her frozen mango with and she was quite proud of herself with that.
Since Paige and I were starting to feel somewhat better we headed off to the zoo for the afternoon to watch the animals. Paige was really enjoying her time at the zoo and interacting with some of the animals. She loved the Great Barrier Reef pavilion and watching all of the fish (I am sure we could have spent an hour there). She also had fun watching the turtles and the gorillas.
Watching the animals
After the zoo it was a quick stop into the office to talk to somebody quickly which ended up being a longer visit since everyone wanted to have a quick chat and snuggle with Paige. Paige was quite happy to be the centre of attention.
Today we had a great day outside. We walked to the end of the road and back checking out some of the plants that are coming up and a visit with some of the neighbours, a nap out in the yard and then lunch on the porch before a bit of play time in the swing before heading in for an afternoon nap.
Once Paige was up from her afternoon nap she was raring to go and scooting on her bum all over the place. The stairs from our dining room to our family room caught her eye and she was over there in a flash, but not for the reasons you might think. She wanted to get over to them to bang on them and feel the hardwood with her toes. Paige also discovered that they make a great seat.
Well if we don’t get the rain they are calling for tomorrow we will most likely head out for a hike on one of the local trails since the stroller group is not walking tomorrow. Hoping the rain arrives tomorrow, but it would be nice if it held out until after we got a hike in.
It has been a fairly quiet week around here, but Paige has kept me busy. She has been having a fussy week (thinking this is due to teething – she was moaning lots and rather restless in her sleep last night).
Tuesday was our second swimming class and Paige once again had a blast. This week we put the little ones in PFD’s for the class. Paige loved it since it gave her some independence in the pool. She swam 3 full lengths of the pool on her back without help. Paige was just itching to swim lengths every time we were doing other activities. We also worked on having the little ones jump off the side of the pool so that in the event they were to fall off a dock or out of a boat they wouldn’t be too scared. My daughter is a real water baby.
Wednesday Paige had a play date with her older cousin Jack. Jack was very excited to see her when we walked in the door and I think Paige was happy to have another little one to play with. We let them play for a little bit before heading out for a short walk with all of the kids.
After lunch we then headed down for Paige to have a visit with her Great Nanna & Great Grandpa. She was being a little fussy at first, but once she got comfortable there she was crawling all over the place and chatting up a storm. Paige is very lucky as she will have the opportunity to know all of her great grandparents.
Yesterday my vehicle was in the shop for an oil change and to have my winter tires removed. We weren’t sure how long it would take, so Paige, Tessa and I went for a long walk to the end of our road across the concession road and down the following road. Only catch was, I thought that we would be able to get all the way down to the highway on the next road over, but with it being a road that has now been closed they have created a rather large drop off. So we had to turn around just before the highway and walk the loop back (this was roughly a 10.5 km walk). Thank goodness I had put Paige in the stroller since I hadn’t planned to go on such a long walk. It is amazing the things you notice when you are walking as opposed to driving. We stopped to watch the horses on the one farm for a bit on our way back and then stopped to watch the ducks in the pond at the end of our road. Paige had a nice nap and was in a slightly better mood when we got home. I think all of that fresh air helped.
After recovering a little from our walk, we walked over to pick up the vehicle and headed down to Vandermeer Nursery to find out what to do about our lawn (the grubs and skunks have made a real mess of it already, and we ended up with a fair amount of crab grass during the “drought” last summer). After speaking with someone there we decided to fertilize with a combination fertilizer and corn gluten mix. Then in 6 weeks we will need to top dress and put down seed on all of the dead spots. I was amazed to see all of the plants they already have out at the nursery. The trilliums were already blooming at the nursery so I guess we missed getting some more for the yard this year (Tessa ate all but one of the ones I planted last year). We did pick up a couple herbs as well which I will keep inside in one of our windows until it warms up a little. I love having a good selection of herbs in the garden.
On another note, I ordered 2 custom cloth diapers from Love Earth Love Cloth and the print choices were finalized this week. It was so hard to only order 2 when I saw all of the cute fabric choices and the reviews on these diapers are good. One of them is going to have a ruffle bum which I think will be so cute for the summer under Paige’s dresses and skirts.
This is the back side of the diaper (won’t it be cute?)
Today we are off for a stroller walk with the group we usually walk with on Fridays. Today we are going to do a waterfront path instead of the one we usually do. The stroller walk is generally around 5km or a little more so I would imagine today will be the same. The weather is supposed to be very nice today, so I don’t think we will need the storm cover on the stroller.
Well off to get the diapers on the line.
It is a quiet week-end around here for Easter. We are celebrating with just the 3 of us since the rest of the family is either celebrating with the other side or are away. We are enjoying the family time together.
Friday we continued our visit with my brother Fraser, how wife Meghan and their son Callum. Paige and Callum seemed to be having a great time rolling around on the carpet and playing together.
After the little ones had some play time and were fed we headed out for a hike. We decided we would check out a new trail. Our first choice for new trails to try was so busy that cars were parked quite a ways down the street, so we decided to skip that one and headed further up the road to a different trail. The trail we chose – North Walker Woods , didn’t have much to look at and was fairly flat. It was great for chatting and catching up on, but if you are looking for scenic then this is not the one for you. The little ones enjoyed being out on the trails. Callum stayed awake the entire time, while Paige took the opportunity to nap.
After hiking we stopped at Hy Hope Farm to pick up some grass fed beef and pickles to make hamburgers for lunch. We frequent this farm since it is close by and the food is good. The best time to go is when the bread is being made and then pick up a fresh loaf that is still warm.
Yesterday was very productive around here. We picked up 1 yard of mulch and got the cedar hedge, front, south side and back gardens mulched. As well we aerated the lawn. Once we were down with our lawn we made our way down to one of the neighbours to help them aerate their lawn. We then headed to a third neighbours house to visit, and see their gardens and pond while they aerated their lawn.
We finished off the evening with local fish and chips and a snuggle with Paige on the couch.
Today we will clean up some more of the gardens and figure out how much more mulch we will need for the remaining gardens and possibly transplant a few plants if the rain holds off. The sun is shining right now, but they are calling for rain this afternoon.
