Jun 12th, 2010 by alio
On Friday we went to the Ormstown fair. We took Amelia last year but she was a little young to be able to really experience the fair. This time was different. We saw plenty of animals (sheep, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, bunnies, goats, llamas), had a picnic and rode the merry-go-round (three times).
This morning we went to Family Day in Outremont. Amelia got to ride on a train, play in a bouncy house and also had her face painted. Fun times.
Jun 9th, 2010 by alio
Amelia and Dada carrying their babies:
Amelia on her new wishbone trike (that converts to a bike once she is big enough).
Baby Clara chillin’ in the playroom.
There are more videos. And photos. Just need to find time to upload them.
Tomorrow is my first day of parenting solo for the whole day, as Ian’s paternity leave is over. Yikes.
Jun 3rd, 2010 by alio
Clara had her first doctor’s appointment yesterday. At almost five weeks, Clara weighs 4.7 kilograms (about 10.3 pounds) and is almost 22 inches long. Sleep-wise, she has been doing somewhere between 3-5 hours in a row in the evenings. She then tends to do 2-2.5 hour stretches between about midnight and 6 am. I am going to bed early these days.
She is very smiley and active when she is awake. And with the exception of a few instances, Clara falls asleep pretty quickly if she is swaddled and walked around. She has fallen asleep a few times on her own when I’ve had to put her down for a few minutes and when I turn around to get her she’s out. We’ve tested out the sling and the Bjorn and Clara seems to like both of them.
Amelia and I went grocery shopping yesterday while Clara and Ian hung out. I have tended not to bring Amelia with me when shopping only because I figured she would rather be at the park or doing something more fun (or maybe that’s just because I consider shopping such a chore). But, she had a great time helping me remember what we needed, choosing which cookies to buy Dada, etc. The man packing the groceries told Amelia that she was going to be a serious heart-breaker when she gets older.
No kidding.
Yesterday I attended a memorial service for a friend who recently died of breast cancer. To many Montrealers, she was the doctor who saved Saku Koivu’s eye. But we’ve known her for a dozen years or so through the ultimate community. She was a bright, beautiful, caring, funny person who embodied the “spirit of the game”. There were hundreds of people from near and far crowded into an auditorium (so many that there were plenty of people who had to stand at the back) to celebrate this woman’s incredible life.
While it was heart-wrenching to listen to her friends and colleagues speak about her life, it was also inspiring to hear how she brought joy and laughter to so many people. As one speaker said, she had “a young girl’s heart.” One can only wish to love and be loved as much as she was.
May 25th, 2010 by alio
May 25th, 2010 by alio
May 23rd, 2010 by alio
This woman is inspiring. On her birthday, she went around committing 35 random acts of kindness with her kids. I think I might just have to try this for my birthday. Brilliant.
On CoolMomPicks I read about a non-profit in the US that helps build safe play spaces for kids. We are lucky to live in a community where there are parks and playgrounds around every corner. I couldn’t imagine trying to keep Amelia happy all day without being able to let her run around at these green spaces.
And don’t forget about HopeforKate. Donate if you can.
May 23rd, 2010 by alio
Clara Jane is very sweet and peaceful most of the time. She doesn’t really seem to get upset by loud noises (read: Amelia using her “outside” voice or the fire truck racing past our house with its lights and sirens blaring). She seems to enjoy watching everything around her when she is awake. Clara has good control over her hands and can easily (and repeatedly) knock over an object that is within her reach.
She is very efficient eater. Whereas I remember spending 30-45 minutes at a time breastfeeding Amelia in the first few weeks, Clara usually only eats on one side per feeding, and rarely takes more than 10 minutes. She’s definitely growing, so we’re not concerned about her food intake. She can also sleep for three or four hours in a row (albeit without any sort of pattern yet). So far we’ve found that she only really gets fussy (loud crying) when she is trying to fall asleep. It doesn’t happen every time, but often if she has been up for a while she needs a few minutes of crying before she seems to conk out. At night she tends to fall asleep while nursing, but during the day this is rarely the case.
Yesterday, for example, she fell asleep lying on the couch. While I was taking a video (she has a cold so she sounds a little snuffly):
