Wildflowers near Iceberg Lake

Glacier National Park Day 4 – Full Day Guided Hike to Iceberg Lake

When you ask our kids what was their favourite part of our trip to Glacier National Park, they will tell you it was our hike to Iceberg Lake. This was a great accomplishment for them and they were pretty proud of themselves for having completed it. This was a 12 mile hike with an elevations gain of 1364 ft.

We left the camp site early in the morning to ensure we would make it to the trail head with plenty of time. This trail is located in the Many Glaciers area of the park. The park was so peaceful on our drive over. We lucked out and saw a fox wandering down the road during our drive. The views were lovely, but be prepared the road is a little rough in this portion of the park.

We chose to join the Ranger led hike up to the lake due to the frequency of bear sightings in the area and we also thought it would be a great way to learn more about the park. The meeting location for the hike was in front of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, as the trail is located behind the cabins. We were the only family joining the ranger led hike with kids so we did discuss it with the ranger before leaving and we were told we were more than welcome to join in. Our concern was if if your children would be able to keep up with the group. Our kids more than kept up throughout the hike.

Our ranger Diane went through how the hike would work, and anything we needed to be aware of before heading out. As well she wanted to make sure everyone had sufficient water for the hike.

The hike starts out with a fairly steep climb, but then levels out a bit more and the rest of the hike isn’t too bad even though it is a steady climb. Our ranger always seemed to know when everyone would need a break for a few minutes and would stop to tell us some facts about the area we were hiking through.

We did take a longer break near the halfway mark at Ptarmigan falls which is in a lovely wooded spot with some great rocks for sitting on. The break was long enough for a snack and for everyone to be able to run up to the washroom if needed. There is a pit toilet here.

Shortly after this break we hiked back into the opening and the views really opened up. Walking along a cliff edge there were some great views and we could get a sense of where we were heading to.

When we were nearly there the trail was loaded with wild flowers on either side and a small gorgeous blue lake . It was beautiful and a nice surprise.

Iceberg lake did not disappoint and was a great spot to sit and enjoy our lunch. During our lunch we even had the chance to see a chunk of ice and snow fall into the water, creating waves. Some people chose to jump in for a swim, but this is glacial water so extremely cold. There is a pit toilet not far from the lake, for those who may need it before heading back down. The colour of the water in Iceberg Lake is actually that colour, there has been no editing done on these photos. It really is something else.

The day was starting to warm up considerably so we figured we better get going as we wanted to make sure the water we had left would last us all of the way down.

To keep the kids motivated and also to ensure we didn’t startle a bear, the kids and I sang our way down the mountain. I may have also had a secret stash of M&M’s to sneak the kids one every once in a while.

The kids did well and were pretty proud of themselves when we completed the hike. There was a small amount of whining towards the very end, but I think we were all feeling it at that point, since it was a hot day.

The general store at the trail head serves up great soft serve ice cream, so the kids were rewarded with a big cup of it each. That seemed to energize our two completely. After they finished they wanted to race to the car, and with their energy, no one would have known they had just hiked 12 miles.

One can’t drive through the Many Glaciers area without stopping on the side of the road for at least a couple pictures of the mountains.

We headed over to the St Mary visitor centre to pick up our trailer where we had dropped it for the day before making the drive over to West Glacier. As trailers cannot be taken on the Going-To-The-Sun Road, we took the long way around the bottom of the park along highway 2. This is a very scenic route, where there were a number of picnic areas. Driving along highway 2 around the park takes approximately 2 hours.

We were booked into Fish Creek on the west side of the park for the next couple of nights. Will discuss the campground in detail on the next post as we arrived quite late this night.

Have you hiked to Iceberg Lake? Any favourite memories?

If you missed any of our previous posts from our trip to Glacier National Park you can find them here:

Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary’s

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 6 – Ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake

Day 7 – Family fun at Whitefish Mountain

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Pinnable image of Iceberg Lake hike, Glacier National Park
Hidden Lake trail at Logans Pass

Glacier National Park Day 3 – Driving The Going-To-The-Sun Road

When driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road you want to head out early for great light and views without the crowds. The parking lot at Logan’s Pass fills up very early. If it’s full on your drive over in the morning, try to aim for 5pm or later on the way back over and you will probably be able to find a spot. Plan for a full day to explore the road as there are hikes all along the route as well as pull offs and some picnic spots near the bottom on the West side.

There are lots of pull offs along the road to stop and take in the views which we appreciated. The road is narrow and winding so you are not able to take trailers or vehicles that are wider than 8ft or longer than 21ft. If you have a truck where you can fold in mirrors you will find that at certain points you will have to fold them in when passing vehicles going in the other direction.

Once on the other side of the park our first stop was Sacred Dancing Cascade which is a pull off with a very short boardwalk/path to see the falls.

We took being on the West side of the park as an opportunity to stock up on a few grocery items and drove over to Kalispell as we knew we were going to be camping on the West side later in the week and would have time to explore this side of the park.

After a picnic lunch of grocery pick up we started making our way back up over Going-to-The-Sun Road. We had noted a few spots we wanted to stop on the drive over.

There are lots of waterfalls all along the road which are pretty neat to see. Note how low the barriers are along the road, which meant our oldest was too nervous to get out and look at some of the pull offs.

When we reached Logan’s Pass some of the parking spots were starting to open up so we lucked out. Since the sun doesn’t set until quite late we decided we would take the hike to Hidden Lake. This hike is for a large part a boardwalk and stairs to protect the surrounding landscape. The hike is 3 miles with an elevation gain of 500 feet. The trail is fully exposed so, this is best done early morning or early evening and make sure to have water with you.

Watch for mountain goats along this trail as this is their habitat and they will stroll right across the path. Make sure to give them as much room as possible when you see them coming as they are wild animals. We also saw California ground squirrels and a marmot.

Our youngest loved spotting all of the wildflowers along the trail.

This is a beautiful trail and the views are stunning the entire way. We couldn’t believe that we were here and that this was real.

When you reach Hidden Lake there is a viewing platform and this tends to be a busier spot on the trail. The trail continues on if you wish to do more hiking. When we were there, people coming from that portion of the trail warned of bears, so we decided that was as far as we would go.

Once we got back to the parking lot the visitor centre at Logan’s Pass was closing up. Being that it was getting fairly late it was time to keep heading back to our camp site.

At this time of the evening the road was much quieter. We lucked out and saw a black bear on the side of the road on our drive back down. As always, keep your distance and leave the animals alone. There was a family in a vehicle in front of us on the road that were harassing this bear. I pulled out my zoom lens and took this photo from a distance.

Being that it was quiet, it was a great time to stop at the Jackson Glacier pull off so the kids could see the shrinking glacier and get a sense of how quickly glaciers are disappearing.

We then headed home to get a good night’s sleep as we had planned to join a full day ranger led hike the next day. This campground is very open and does get quite windy in the afternoon, early evening. This area of the park sustained a forest fire in 2003 and as such there aren’t any big trees yet. Some of the sites appeared to be a bit more private that others. These are small pull through sites with no hook ups.

If you are visiting the park in June, it is best to check the road conditions to find out if Going-to-the-Sun rd has opened yet. The road typically opens late June and remains open until Thanksgiving, this however is all weather dependent.

Have you driven the Going-to-the-Sun road? If you have driven this road, what were your favourite stops or hikes?

Don’t forget to come back each week for more details of our trip.

If you missed the previous posts, you can find them here:

Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary’s

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 6 – Ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake

Day 7 – Family fun at Whitefish Mountain

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

St Mary Falls, Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park Day 2 – Waterfalls and a Boat Tour

The kids were up early and raring to go for our first full day in the park. We were hoping to get in a couple ranger guided hikes to waterfalls.

Since we were up so early it gave us a chance to take our time and pull off at the scenic lookouts on our way to our first hike.

The first hike we joined was the hike to Baring Falls. This is an easy child friendly hike that is 2 miles with a 400 ft elevation gain. This trail follows along the lake for a portion as well as through a burn site from a forest fire that happened in this area in 2003.

This would be a quick hike if you did this on your own, but with the ranger it was a couple hours due to stopping to tell us stories of the parks history. It was neat to hear about the huts and accommodations that had been located in this area and see the photos. Once we got to the falls then we were left to do our own thing and hike back at our own pace.

Since this hike was short enough we had time to head back to camp for lunch and to refill water bottles before we needed to be at the dock for our ranger led boat tour of St Mary’s Lake. One our way back to our campsite we lucked out and saw a young grizzly in the distance at Two Dog Flats. We pulled over, I put on my zoom lens and was able to capture a shot while the kids watched through their binoculars from their seats.

There are three ways to access St Mary’s Falls. You can take the boat tour of the lake which will cut off part of the hike, you can hike from the Baring Falls trail head or hike from the St Mary’s Fall trail head. The Baring Falls and St Mary’s Falls trailheads are located along the Going-to-The-Sun Road. If you choose the boat tour option you can join a ranger led hike to the falls and you will cover 3 miles with an elevation gain of 250 ft, making this a great option with young children. If you hike from the St Mary Falls trail head , the hike is 5.2 miles with a total elevation gain of 700 feet.

During the boat tour of the lake, the ranger told us stories and information about the park and the surrounding area, as well as answering any questions anyone had about the park. There is the option to sit outside at the rear of the boat or inside the boat.

Throughout the hike you travel through burn site and see varying landscape. Part of the trail is along a cliff over the lake. We had a great ranger for this hike who really engaged the kids and kept it interesting.

At the waterfalls, we were given a bit of time to sit and have a snack and look around. There were some families who had hiked in on their own that were enjoying swimming in the water at the falls.

On the hike back to the boat, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. We stopped and watched a moose off in the distance for a bit with our binoculars. He was swimming so it was neat for the kids to see.

Have you done either of these hikes? What wildlife did you encounter?

Don’t forget to come back later this week for more of our trip to Glacier.

If you missed the first post about our trip to Glacier National Park you can find it here:

Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary’s

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 6 – Ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake

Day 7 – Family fun at Whitefish Mountain

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary

This summer our big family camping trip was to Glacier National Park.

Glacier National Park is situated in Northwest Montana in the Rocky Mountains. The park has a number of entrances, but we chose to start our vacation off on the East side of the park as it is the closest to our home.

The east entrance is located in the village of St Mary which is just over 3 hours from Calgary.

We crossed the border at the Piegan-Carway Port. As it is a small port, be prepared to wait in a line up during busy summer months.

We had been a little late at trying to book a campsite within the National Park so our first night we camped at KOA St Mary. This campground is not very well maintained, with sites overgrown and lots of Cow Parsnip throughout the sites (beware with little ones as it can cause nasty burns on your skin). It is completely open with no privacy between sites. One thing to be aware of at this location is that the wind whips up in the afternoon so make sure to stow away any loose items before heading out for the day.

St Mary KOA is situated on a lake so can be a nice spot to cool off in the morning or evening.

Being that we couldn’t bring fresh food across the border, we had to pick up groceries after checking in at the campground. The staff at the KOA told us the closest grocery store was Browning. Browning is about 45 minutes from the KOA and with road construction in the area it took us longer.

We found out on our way back that there is a small grocer right in St Mary outside the park gate which had more fresh options than the store did in Browning. These are small grocers so you can pick up your basics, but don’t expect anything fancy. It was sufficient to get what we needed to make meals while on this side of the park.

Our first stop with any National Park is always to the visitor centre to get the lay of the land, pick up maps and chat with the rangers to get a sense of must do hikes. We also like to pick up a copy of the schedule of activities. In Glacier National Park there are quite a number of ranger led hikes as well as kid geared activities.

Of course we had to grab a photo with the park sign. The nice thing about going in the evening is that the visitor centre tends to be quiet, giving us a chance to chat with rangers a bit longer and for the kids to collect their Junior Ranger Books to complete throughout our time in the park.

There are some great views from the St Mary visitor centre along with a number of paths and shorter hikes.

We arrived at the park early enough to find out about the children’s evening program at the campground just inside the park. The kids really wanted to attend. They had lots of fun learning about some of the wildlife we may encounter in the park.

Check back later this week to see what we got up to on our first day in the park.

Have you been to Glacier National Park? What were your favourite spots, hikes or memories?

To read about what else we did on our trip to Glacier, check out the links below:

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 6 – Ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake

Day 7 – Family fun at Whitefish Mountain

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Telus Spark hands on activities

Friday Family Fun Night At Telus Spark

TELUS Spark is a place our family really enjoys spending time at. There are so many hands on activities to keep the kids busy for hours.

Did you know that now on Friday nights kids can get in for $5 after 4pm? The chef also prepares a special family style dinner at a great price. Check online for the menu as it changes weekly. The dinner special is $15 for adults and $10 for kids which includes a main and two sides along with a dessert. The night we went dinner was Beef short ribs, Mac ‘n Cheese, roasted vegetables and caramel bread pudding.

Your entry includes access to any movies being shown in the IMAX theatre as well.

We took advantage of this deal over the Christmas break as only myself and my youngest have a membership. This is a great way to spend time together as a family. TELUS Spark is pretty quiet on Friday evenings which means no line ups or waiting to try different activities for the kids.

Making a stop motion film

TELUS Spark has started to update some of their exhibits, including repairing ones that seemed to always be broken and adding in new things to see and do. Now is a great time to return to see what is new.

For more information you can check out https://www.sparkscience.ca/experience-telus-spark/family-fridays/

What are your favourite things to see and do at TELUS Spark?

3 Days in Edmonton with Kids

Over the past couple of years we have moved more towards giving experiences or handmade items over toys and items.  Our children each asked for a week at camp this summer as their big gift.

My in-laws always send us money each year to purchase something for the kids that they need or to use how we would like.  We like to use the money for a family experience.  This year the kids asked if we could use it for a trip to Edmonton to check out the Marvel Comics Exhibit at Telus World of Science.  Luckily we had travel points saved up to cover accommodations so it made for a great inexpensive getaway.

To help keep costs down when we travel I generally try to prepare most of our meals in advance to freeze so we can take them with us.  If too cold to camp, then we look for a hotel with a kitchen or at least a fridge so we can prep meals in our room.  If there is not a stove top, then we will pack our slow cooker or instant pot to use for warming our meals up.

We spent 3 nights up in Edmonton to give us time to check out a couple museums as well as stock up from some of the great gluten free bakeries and stores that are located in Edmonton.

Day 1: Edmonton is just over a 3 hour drive from our home, so we like to aim to have a good breakfast and then hit the road fairly early so it doesn’t feel like we spent the whole day in the car.

About a week before we were heading to Edmonton I was fortunate to win tickets to Glow Gardens Edmonton so we decided to plan for that as our first stop in the city after driving up.  It was a pretty neat experience and the kids had a great time running around trying to collect stamps in their passports while enjoying the lights.

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There were some great play and hands on areas for the kids.  There was a large playground, light up swings, large lite-brite, hopping pads and a train ride.  It was a good way to spend a couple days and worth it if the weather is too cold or nasty to be outside.

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Of course a trip to Edmonton would not be complete without a trip to the West Edmonton Mall.  Our kids love to go, to walk through the mall, check out the sites such as the water park, amusement park and skating rink.

Day 2

We woke up and had breakfast in our room before heading over to Telus World of Science.  We like to arrive at or near opening time to beat the crowds when we head to museums.  The kids were so excited to see the Marvel Comics Exhibit.  My husband and I loved reading about the history and seeing some of the original boards and comics, while the kids enjoyed the interactive exhibits and seeing all of the outfits.   We spent 2 hours in this part of the science centre as there was so much to see.

We were happy to see that the rest of the exhibits had been updated and there were some new ones since we had been to visit last.  The space exhibit was a hit with many fun hands on activities.

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Our kids always love a visit to the children’s play area where there is a fun water table (bring a change of clothes for after!) and an airplane set up the kids have fun playing in.  We were happy to see a big climbing/play centre in the new children’s play area.

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A favourite spot that has been added is the new Nature Exchange where kids can bring in items they find in nature, or draw pictures of items they found to collect points.  Kids can then redeem their points for various nature artifacts such as rocks, shells, leaves, sticks, fossils, etc.  We will definitely be back for this.  We spent quite a bit of time checking out all of the items and they have some microscopes and magnifying glasses to encourage children to take a seat and explore the items they have.

We spent the entire day at Telus World of Science since there was so much to see and do. The kids were pretty tuckered by the time we left.

When we got back to the hotel the kids couldn’t wait to pull out their notebooks and journal about their day.

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Day 3

We got up and enjoyed breakfast in our room.  Then packed up our lunch and headed downtown to visit the Royal Alberta Museum.  (Note to self, check the opening time before heading out).  We arrived well before the museum opened, so we walked around the outside and had a visit with a woman who had shown up early as well with her service dog in training.  We weren’t really sure what to expect with this museum before entering.

The main floor is an excellent place for children.  Our kids thought it was so neat and had so much fun exploring the Children’s Gallery.  There is so much to see and do.  You could easily spend a whole morning, if not more time playing in this area.  The area is so inviting when you walk in, with large windows letting in loads of natural light.  Our kids had fun pretending to be coal miners, playing in the sand table to change elevations, building with “ice” blocks, having fun with the air before moving further into the gallery where there were different building centres, dress up play, and crafts.  There was a story time as well for those interested.

Our youngest loved bugs so we knew the next gallery was going to be right up his alley.  The bug gallery has a great variety of different bugs, some you have to look hard to find.  Of course if you ask him what his favourite part of this gallery was and he will tell you the tarantulas, especially the blue one.

The special exhibit I Am From Here, the kids enjoyed which was about the Black Pioneers who made Alberta their home.  It was interesting to read the stories and was a part of our provinces history we hadn’t heard about.  This exhibit was a small room off of the Human History Hall.  There were some fun hands on exhibits for the kids throughout this exhibit and some interesting stories shared.  From what we understand this mechanical horse is the highlight for many children to the museum.

After taking a break to eat our lunch we ventured upstairs where they have a room full of rocks and minerals which our kids love collecting, so they thought this was neat to see so many “gems”.  They also had lots of fun creating volcanoes on the simulator.  If you ask our kids what their favourite part of the museum, they will now tell you it was seeing the Mastodon and Wooly Mammoth skeletons which are located upstairs.  We had fun watching our children learn the Grouse’s mating dance.

This is a museum that is easy to spend a whole day in and then some.  We were there all day having fun and learning lots.

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When we got back to the hotel room, the kids actually asked to have some quiet time before dinner.

Dinner seemed to give them a second wind so we decided that we would let the kids stay up late and we would head out to do some skating on the Victoria Park Iceway Skating Trail.  It was a busy spot, but worth checking out.  Such a fun experience.  There is a pathway that loops through the park and over to a large skating rink.  The whole path and skating rink were well maintained and provided great skating.  Over at the main rink there was music playing for those skating around.  Our kids loved the portion of the trail that had multicoloured lights.  Such a unique experience.

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Our favourite gluten free establishments:

Kinnickinick Fresh: You may be familiar with this brand.  They sell bread, buns and donuts in the frozen section of many grocery stores.  What you probably didn’t know is that they have a fresh bakery in Edmonton where they sell a larger variety of products including fresh cinnamon buns, sticky buns, rolls, baguette, sub buns, pizza buns (one of our favourites for a snack in the car).  Always worth a visit if you are in the area.  We discovered their jelly rolls on our last visit and ended up bringing a bunch home to put in our freezer.

Rio Vida Gluten FreeThis place was a new discovery and the owner is lovely.  She makes empanadas that are excellent and also sells the dough if you want to make your own.  Our daughter can’t get enough of them.  She also has a variety of soups, meat pies, breads, doughs, and baked goods for sale.

Ben’s Meats & Deli: This was a place I had heard lots about, but this was our first visit.  They carry a selection of gluten free European imports and had fresh gluten free pastas including ravioli.  They also carry a selection of baked goods from Totally Gluten Free located in Lacombe, AB.  We had been hoping to get some of their fresh mini gluten free donuts, but we were too early.  If you are in Edmonton on Saturday then you should stop by around 11am for fresh mini donuts.

My Fries PoutinerieThis place was so much better than we were anticipating and worth a visit.  They have so many different poutine options or a build your own option.  We loved that the fries are not greasy since they are baked and not fried.  We ended up ordering 4 different poutines to try and they were all great.  They are a certified gluten free restaurant (the very first).

What are your favourite things to see and do in Edmonton?  We would love to hear of any hidden gems to check out on our next visit or any restaurants or bakeries worth a visit.

A New Year

It has been a few years since I have even looked at this page, and to be honest I thought it had all been lost, since I stopped paying annual fees to maintain my domain name.  I am reviving this as a few people recently had asked for our itinerary on our east coast trip back in 2012 as well as asking about details from some of our more recent travels.

Since I last posted loads has happened with our family and with me.

We made a move out west to the Canadian Rockies 3 1/2 years ago.  This was to provide our family a better quality of life.  For us this means more time together as a family enjoying the outdoors.

The move has allowed me to be at home with our children, while being able to pursue education to make a complete career change once our youngest is in school full time.  I am currently studying to become and SLPA (Speech Language Pathology Assistant), with a future goal to eventually complete my masters in Speech and Language.  I was looking for a career that would allow me to have an impact on others, while still allowing me the time and ability to be at home when my kids needs me.  The interest in this new career path has stemmed from working with our youngest who was diagnosed with a severe speech delay shortly after his second birthday.  There have been many hours spent, working on speech and we will have to continue for some time to come.  There have been huge gains for him and through a great preschool program last year, he no longer has the need for an aide in the classroom.  My youngest is also our child with endless energy and so he needs lots of time outdoors to burn that energy off!

I am actively involved in both of my children’s schools (this year they are at separate schools, but hopefully next year they will be in one school together) through volunteering and as a member of each of their parent councils.

We have had many adventures in the west since we moved out here, and over the next few months I will try to share some of our adventures and any tips, tricks, itineraries, etc from them.  We invite you to join us here and always love to hear feedback, tips or ideas for new adventures.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change – Are you Going?

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Paige and I will be participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Change again this year and even better we don’t have to travel very far this year as there is an event being held locally in Oshawa.  Last year we had to drive to the west end of Toronto.  I am not complaining though as they had some great vendors and we picked up a few great items.

Last year saw 256 locations in 15 countries with 8,251 participants change diapers simultaneously which meant some countries were changing in the middle of the night.  This year they have changes it to be 11:00 am local time which is much better I think.  Let’s see if we can beat last years record!

This year so far there are 182 hosts in 11 countries.

Be sure to check out the links above to see if there is a location near you registered, and if not if you are interested, why not set up an event.  Will you be participating this year?  If so, I would love to hear where you are participating and how it goes?

18 Months – How Time Flies

Ok, first I know it has been ages since I actually updated my blog. Time has just been flying by since I have been back at work. It is hard to believe that Paige is already 18 months. How she has grown and changed over the last 5 months since I last posted.  It has been a winter full of colds, flu and ear infections.  I am sure most mom’s can attest to the sleepless nights that first winter after going back to work, but keeping our fingers crossed that now that the warmer weather is arriving that this cold & flu season may finally be over.  Also the fact that we are pretty much through the teething phase I would expect shall make a big difference as well.

The last 2 weeks Paige has been transitioning up to the toddler room at her daycare and that has not gone as smoothly as we would have liked, but I think things are finally sorted out and I don’t have to be worrying to much about my little girl!

Paige has become so independent and we have seen her grow by leaps and bounds. The last 6 weeks have been especially big with so many changes coming at us. Our little girl is growing up.

Favourite Things To Do: Go outside Sing Play in her kitchen and with her babies Bake and help cook Reading stories Snuggles Music & Dancing Helping with everything around the house Playing on her plasma car Skyping with her Nanna & Pops Arts & Crafts

What I can do:

Huge number of words, signs, and starting to put simple sentences together Picking out all of her own outfits Putting on her boots by herself Helping to undress and dress herself Putting on her coat by herself Understanding multi-step instructions Able to communicate her wants & needs Turn on the radio herself Do the actions to songs Sitting on a stool at the kitchen island on her own Measure out ingredients Able to go for walks Identify some colours and animals Tell us the names of her friends at daycare Wipe her own nose Puzzles Getting her own snacks Favourite Foods: Fish Tacos Homemade pasta noodles and sauce Berries (all types) Kiwi Yogurt Apple Sauce Sweet Potato Homemade Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Avocado Cheese (all types) Mango Still not overly keen on most meats – will eat ham sometimes. Willing to try most things put in front of her at least once.

13 Months

The last month just flew by and I am not really sure where it went.  We have been busy around here with me back at work and Paige in daycare full-time it has definitely taken some getting used to.  We have also had 2 ear infections over the past month and an allergic reaction to her MMR vaccine.  So looking at that I guess it is kind of easy to see where the time has gone.

Favourite Things to Do Read stories to her babies, herself and to us Walk when no one is watching Dance Going for hikes Snuggles Playing with her babies Playing on her drum Picking vegetables from the garden Helping in the kitchen Dusting/cleaning any time she can get her hands on a cloth or rag Playing on her plasma car Hiding Exploring Eating Playing her little piano Craft time/Drawing on the chalkboard Playing with friends Music
Milestones Walking on her own when she thinks no one is watching Dancing and keeping her balance without holding on New words – Banana, Daddy, Hey, No, Yeah, Gee, Uh Oh, Now Helping to undress herself Put her shoe on her right foot Climbing everything Using her signs with more frequency Signing when she is hungry Choosing her own outfits to wear (can definitely lead to some interesting ones!) Able to show us 1 with her finger when asked Following simple requests Cleaning up her toys
Favourite Foods Wild Blueberries Homemade Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Raspberries from the garden Greek yogurt (20% fat) Cheese Fish – Salmon, Fish Tacos with Cod Pasta Avocado Chickpeas/Hummus Banana Grated Pear Soup when she can feed herself with a spoon Sweet potato with cinnamon Bread Will still try anything put in front of her

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