First off I am sorry it has been so long. We have gotten so busy around here (not really sure with what) that I didn’t really have much time to sit down and write up some posts. I am going to try and get a little ahead over the next couple of days (time permitting) so there won’t be such a long break again. Fingers crossed!
Paige has gotten over waking herself up from sitting in her sleep, but with this heat has been waking up thirsty every night for the last week and a half between 11:00pm – 12:00 for a “snack”. It means I am struggling to get used to being woken up once a night again, either that or I stay up to try and get her fed again before I head to sleep.
Construction of the highway has been very busy the past couple of weeks as well which means they start early in the morning and it also means it can be tricky getting in and out of our place. On the upside some of the expropriated homes have come down on our road so hoping that means the one next door will be coming down soon. Also with all of this construction maybe they will be done our section soon which will also include some nice new paving on our road. Paige loves watching the big trucks go by.
The day we had our pool filled we unfortunately had to take down Paige’s swing set since it had been eaten from the inside out by carpenter bees. I think we might have to wait until next year for a new swing set now.
Last post we were getting the pool filled that day. It has taken some time to warm up enough to be tolerable but today we spent some time in the pool together. Even though the water still feels quite cool, Paige was having a blast and did not want to come out. She swam a bit on her back in her life jacket then had fun floating around in one of our floating loungers splashing the water.
After swimming we hung out on the porch playing until her afternoon nap time when we headed inside where it was a little cooler. We topped off the day with a barbecue at our place with friends.
Also I was able to get the paint colour fixed (thank goodness) it is a little lighter than we wanted since it was a lighter base used to get the “wrong” colour I had originally asked for, but at least it is in the right tone. I also managed to get one coat of paint on half of our kitchen cabinets. They definitely look better, but boy were the fumes strong from the melamine paint.
Tuesday May 29 Paige had a swimming lesson where we worked on jumping off the edge of the deck and going underwater. Paige couldn’t get enough of going under water. She especially loved when we would go right to the bottom and back up (there is no real deep area in the pool where we take lessons).
That Wednesday we had a hike with a friend in Durham Forest. We did the Red Oak and Spruce loop. It was a great day to be out hiking and the loop is about 8km. Unfortunately we dropped the head rest to the pack on the first time round so I ended up having to hike this entire loop again. Thank goodness the weather held out. On the second time round it was amazing how different the trail seemed as we noticed things we had missed the first time round. Paige was really enjoying seeing all of the different butterflies that she could point out to me.
Thursday was Baby Beats which Paige absolutely loves. The morning was spent playing out on the porch.
Friday we worked in the yard before the wind and rain storms hit that afternoon. \The wind was wild and brought down a great deal of branches and leaves. It looked like a tornado had been through our yard. Some of the branches that came down were bigger than some trees. So Saturday was spent trying to clean up the yard. Paige chipped in with the clean up, even if it was only 1 leaf at a time.
Sunday turned into a nice day and we spent it catching up with one of my husband’s buddies from school who came out to share some exciting news with us.
This past Monday we led a hike out on the Seaton Trail from Whitevale. It was overcast so not too bad for our hike. We covered about 7.5km. The hike always seems to go by quickly when you are in good company.
That afternoon was the start of a new session of Baby Beats which overlaps for 2 weeks with the session that is just coming to an end, which means Paige gets to go to music 2 times in 1 week for 2 weeks straight. There were only 2 little ones at the class so Paige got to choose some of the songs and was having a great time being the centre of attention and snuggling up to the teacher.
Tuesday was our last swimming class so we did a little of everything. There were no life jackets used this class. The little ones also got to go down the slide once more. Paige got a nice little certificate which will go in her scrapbook (when I actually get around to starting it). That afternoon it was a great afternoon to play out on the back deck and enjoy the fresh air. Paige had fun singing songs and playing her instruments.
Wednesday we walked at the zoo with one other mommy and her little one. I am glad we had decided to shift the walk an hour earlier since it was very busy with students and daycares and it was becoming so hot at the zoo by the time we left. We did check out the kids zoo, which I hadn’t even noticed before. Paige really enjoyed watching the Prairie Dogs run around their enclosure.
Unfortunately by the time we got home my migraine was getting the better of me so I had to climb into bed while Paige played so nice and quietly in my bedroom until I could function a little again. She seemed to understand that Mommy couldn’t play and that I needed to lay down since she played quietly and didn’t fuss once.
Thursday was Baby Beats again. Paige has grown so much more comfortable at these classes now and doesn’t hesitate to join the other little ones up at the felt board or check out the other instruments put in the middle for them to all play with.
Friday we were out for our usual stroller walk with 2 other moms and babes. It was a bright sunny day but with the breeze off the lake it wasn’t too hot. After afternoon nap we played/worked out in the yard to get some things done before the rain was to arrive.
Saturday we finally picked up the final load of mulch (1 yard) that we had been putting off getting. We transplanted and split 2 of our large hostas that needed to come out of some of my other gardens as well which really cleaned up the way the back yard looks. We also managed to pull up a bunch more of the mustard garlic that keeps taking over the hill in our yard. Our gardens have really exploded with all of this rain and heat. We have never seen our plants do so well. It is nice to see and things are really filling in.
Yesterday we spent the day taking it easy and just enjoying each others company. We started with breakfast on the porch. Paige had her nap while we got a few things done around the place then it was time for all of us to swim. After swimming we played on the porch and had some snuggles then Paige went down for her afternoon nap. During her nap Dave and I sorted out the details of our trip out east that is coming up since plans fell through that we had accounted for in the middle of our trip so we had to make some phone calls to switch check in dates and reconfigure our plan. In the evening friends came for dinner and Paige had her playmate to play with while we all caught up since it had been a little bit since we had all gotten together
Today we are off for a hike on the Seaton trail. Depending on the heat, not sure if we will make it as far as we did last week but we shall see. Then it will be Baby Beats in the afternoon. This week there should be a few more little ones at the class which will be fun for Paige.
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.
It was a busy active week in this house. Wednesday was a great walk at the zoo, it was at a good pace and we tackled the hill that goes down to the Canadian section. We walked all areas of the zoo and did the hill with a break before the hill and managed to complete it in just over 1.5 hours. There is always great conversation with these ladies. Paige napped the whole time, so I didn’t stick around after to see the animals with Paige since she was still sleeping.
Keeping a steady pace up the hill
Paige was having a great time this week in evenings playing in her swing with daddy in the back yard. It is her favourite thing to do.
Paige is reaching that age where she enjoys playing on her own for large period of times. She will roll around on the ground, crawl a little bit and just hang out on the living room carpet. It is great so I can get a few things done around the house while she entertains herself.
Yesterday was another great hike with another mom, hiking the Countryside Preserve trail in Uxbridge. We managed to get a little lost and ended up hiking a loop in Durham Forest as well. It was a good hike with great conversation. Maybe that was our problem – too much conversation and too little paying attention to where we are going! We were out for just over 2 hours. The little ones did great and didn’t really fuss at all. Paige took a nap at one point in her pack.
We then stopped in at Vince’s Market for some groceries where Paige put on a show for everyone in the store, chatting and singing away in the cart.
My brother and his wife came over for the night with their little one Callum for a visit and to spend the night. The littles ones played for a little bit, we skyped with my parents and then it was time for bed for them. Once they went to bed we made some pizzas and sat around and had a visit before we all headed to bed.
Paige so happy to see her cousin Callum
Today looks like a good day for a hike-sun is shining and it is supposed to go up to 11oC today. I think we will all head out for a hike together once everyone is up and that way my brother Fraser and his wife Meghan can try Callum out in the new pack they got yesterday.
It was a little cool this week-end, but we made sure to get out and enjoy the fresh air each day.
Friday was our stroller walk at Colonel Danforth Park. The temperatures had definitely dropped by the time we arrived at the parking lot to meet the other moms, but we didn’t let that stop us. It’s always a great group of ladies to chat with. This week there were a few women asking me about cloth diapering-tips, tricks, brands I like, etc. We chatted about that most of the way down and on the way back there was some discussion about sign language (I took Paige to sign language classes when she was 3.5 months old) and feeding solids to our little ones. The discussion about cloth diapers got me thinking that maybe I should write some posts on the things I have learned since starting to cloth diaper and to review some of my favourite companies, so stay tuned for that.
Paige was a little fussy since she decided she wanted to be carried rather than sit in the stroller so here are a couple of the ladies helping me get her on my back. Paige had not slept so well the night before again. We have discovered the cause of it and it we don’t think it was teething as we originally suspected, but rather carrots. So I guess we will be avoiding carrots for a while and will try it again come the summer. tSaturday we headed to Raglan to Purple Woods conservation area for the Maple Syrup festival. There is a nice, short little trail down to the sugar shack where they were demonstrating how they heat the sap to make the syrup. Along the trail they had made teepees out of fir trees and were showing the traditional way of making maple syrup over the fire. We didn’t get out on the wagon ride since we were a little late for that. Paige was having a great time in the backup with all of the new things to see and people to watch.
Sunday was cool and rainy all day so we had planned to just hang out at home after doing groceries, but Paige would not nap at all, so at 3:00 we decided to gear up and head up to Uxbridge to hike the Countryside Preserve trail. This is a nice gentle trail that runs through forest, open meadows, and back into forest. We will definitely be returning here in the spring, since one of the signs said that the bluebird makes it home in the meadows. We think it may be a little too warm in the heat of the summer since a large part of the trail is out in the open. It was a nice hike and the rain was very soft so it was comfortable for us to be out. Paige dozed off about 20 minutes into the hike and stayed sleeping until we returned to the car. We were surprised to cross paths with a few people out enjoying the day.
Paige has a thing where she has decided she does not like to have her arms covered by the carrier cover, so we just have to keep tucking her hands in when it is cool since she will not wear mittens either. Any tips for keeping little ones hands warm when out on the cooler days?
Hope you all enjoyed your week-end. What did you get up to?
Paige and I are off to lead a hike today with a group of moms, it should be fun.
