Swamped...

...with work that is. So instead of a post, you'll have to make do with this photo of Charlotte that I took a couple of weeks ago at a nearby bakery (one of my favourite places in Edmonton).

Charlotte and Molly out for tea

Favourite things

I thought a fun way to give you a snapshot of Charlotte would be to fill you in on what some of her favourite things are these days:

At the top of the list would have to be HATS. She loves them: wearing them, cuddling with them, pointing them out in books and on people on the street. Most days when I drop her off at daycare she keeps her hat on until after I've left. She usually spends the first few minutes of the day on Rosa's lap (her favourite worker) sucking her thumb and rubbing her hat with the other hand. And when I pick her up in the afternoon, she gives me a smile but I often don't even get a hug before she's heading straight for her cubby to retrieve her hat. I don't think I've had to buy Charlotte one hat yet - she's gotten some really lovely ones as gifts in a nice range of sizes - so if you're one of our hat-giving friends, you should know that they are loved!

Her BED: Charlotte loves her bed (I take complete credit, justified or not: like mother like daughter). She's a good little sleeper, and when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap she's usually happy to chill out in her bed for awhile. Sometimes she even gets upset when we take her out of her bed. She'll lie there sucking her thumb, playing with a stuffed animal, or cudding with her covers.

WALKING and DOING STAIRS: Charlotte is walking quite comfortably now. She stills falls down regularly, but gets herself back up right away (bum first, by pushing up with her hands and feet on the floor). She seems more independent now that she's walking, and it's also entertaining for her to walk around. She drawn to stairs like a magnet, and loves going up and down. Above all, she loves BEING CHASED, especially by Daddy. When she hears James coming in the door, she immediately starts running away while going "YAHHH!" (her impression of the roaring noise James makes when he chases her).

BOOKS with moveable parts: Charlotte has a couple of books with parts that move or sections of the page that pull up and down. These are her favourites, but they're definitely the worse for wear. One page that's supposed to feature wagging fox tails is completely destroyed, but she'll still turn to that page, point to the torn part and say "wa wa wa" (wag wag wag).

SALMON and RAISIN BRAN (not in combo): Charlotte's a decent eater, but she loves salmon/rainbow trout most of all. She can really put it away. Raisin bran is her breakfast of choice. The last time I tried to do oatmeal for breakfast she was having none of it. She turned down a spoonful with a firm "no", pointed to the kitchen and said "wee" (raisins)?  One of several indications we now have a toddler on our hands, not a baby: she knows what she wants! Other favourite foods include sweet potato fries, peas, corn, pineapple, bananas, and Aeroroot biscuits.

CARS or any vehicle with wheels, really: Charlotte calls them "tar", makes a "broom" sound for them, and points out the "wyl". She'll imitate the sound of a car horn or truck backing up when she hears it. Often on our way home from daycare we'll pass a bike locked up in a bike rack and she'll want to stop and inspect it.

Old favourites that Charlotte still loves include her stuffed animals, especially her rabbit, and taking baths.

Our little flapper

Charlotte is starting to "daw"...

...but we still have to keep a close eye on her.

Goofing off in the suitcase before we went to Calgary for the weekend.

Just the right size.

Buzz-cut Baby

So I promised to let you know how things went while I was away in Ottawa and James and Charlotte were on their own for a couple of days...

I had a fabulous trip: beautiful wedding, happy couple, catching up with family, encouraging lunch discussing dissertation stuff with my supervisor, and 20+ degree weather. It really couldn't have been better.

With my cousin Katherine at her wedding

James and Charlotte had a great time too. Including the part where James cut Charlotte's hair... I'm not kidding. I came back to a buzz-cut baby! He told me on the phone Saturday morning while I was still in Ottawa, and I was a little less than impressed. To his credit, James' heart was in the right place: he felt bad that her hair was getting in her eyes. "But", I protested, "it was almost long enough to stay behind her ears!" I didn't mention that I'd specifically showed him where to find her hair barrettes before I left. Ah well. It's just hair. And Charlotte's fine with it. Although the fact that she has less hair around the ears may explain her recent obsession with wearing hats...

Freshly shorn. Notice the path of destruction behind her.

Sitting up tall. And wearing the sweater Grandma made her.

First steps

Yes, first steps! Charlotte took hers on Sunday evening. James and I got her to take a couple of steps back and forth between us. She thought it was a fun game. It quickly evolved into lunging for us instead of actually walking, but it was exciting while it lasted! Since then Charlotte has continued to crawl and rely on her "bee" (push toy) to get around, but the day is coming when she'll be walking on her own. 

Other firsts around here lately: first frost. The leaves have changed, and I think there are now more down than up. Fall is beautiful in Edmonton, but so short. I try not to think about that last part too much. This time of year really is lovely, and I've had ample opportunity to enjoy it since my commute to the university is a pleasant twenty minute walk, mostly through our tree-lined neighbourhood streets. But it's hard not to anticipate winter as the temperatures drop. The sad reality is that the trees in Edmonton are bare more of the year than they are in leaf!

And one more first: first ear infection. Charlotte has adjusted to daycare, and overall is doing really well with it. There are still tears most mornings (although not all!), but they stop almost as soon as I've left the room, and I almost always return in the afternoon to find her playing happily. She has, however, had her share of sickness that seems to inevitably come with starting daycare, including her first ear infection and two colds. Apart from one first miserable day with the ear infection she hasn't been overly bothered by it all.

Charlotte is over fourteen months old now and with each day is becoming more of a toddler: eager to move, curious about everything, chatty, and she's becoming quite the little climber too. She is turning into such a happy little girl, and very affectionate; we're really enjoying this stage. Her language skills haven't changed dramatically - "up" is still her only fully articulated word, along with "dada" and "mama" - but she's making new sounds, understands a lot of what we say, and generally does a pretty good job of making herself understood. Two of her favourite words are "hi" and "bye", which sound more like "ha" and "ba ba" (accompanied by waving, of course). She's pretty serious about her greetings, and the funniest thing is the way she makes sure to say "ha" and "ba ba" to us as she moves around the condo. She also likes vehicles quite a lot, and has sounds for car ("ta"), bus ("buh" - also bug), and truck ("tuh"). She also has a funny way of saying "tickle" which is also the same for "chicken" ("ticka ticka ticka")! Charlotte is also taller than ever - I haven't measured recently, but she's really stretched out lately.

Tomorrow I go to Ottawa for two days to attend my cousin's wedding, and James and Charlotte will be staying behind - a first for all of us. I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends, and James is looking forward to some quality time with the munchkin. We'll let you know how it all goes...

Above photos by our talented sister-in-law Anne MacRae http://web.me.com/annemacrae/home.html

Photo Update

In the playhouse at the public health centre (waiting to get immunized)

Opening and closing the patio doors: a favourite past-time.

 

 

 

Listening to Daddy's "muh" (music)

Getting so tall. How do you feel about walking, kiddo?

A good part of every day is spent bombing around our place with her bee.

August

I really need to post more regularly because when I sit down to post after more than a month I feel like there's so much to catch you up on. There have been some big events around here over the past few weeks, so I'll do my best for now, and I promise to post more frequently from now on.

On August 9, James was called to the Bar. It was the culmination of three years of law school plus one demanding year of articling (combined with an intense first year of parenting) - definitely an achievement worth celebrating, if you ask me! We were so happy to have James' parents, Granma, brother Sam and his wife Anne here for the occasion, close family friends Ken and Georgia, and my parents too. It was a lovely ceremony at the courthouse, followed by a reception at the firm and a nice family dinner to cap off the day. Charlotte was at the bar call too - or most of it, anyway: she got tired of sitting and not being able to explore the courtroom, and my Mom kindly offered to take her out and kept her happy in the foyer for the last few minutes. In the evening a friend put Charlotte to bed and stayed with her for the evening so we could enjoy a leisurely late dinner. In addition to celebrating James' accomplishment we just really enjoyed the chance to visit with family. Charlotte seemed to enjoy it too. No surprise there - apart from the half hour bar admission ceremony she was generally the centre of attention!

 The other big event of late has been my return (turn, more like) to work and Charlotte's start at daycare. I'm teaching a course this semester at the smaller local university, conveniently located just a fifteen minute walk from our place, and also working on finishing my dissertation. In order for this to happen, we placed Charlotte in daycare at the start of September. I'm not going to lie - we're still in the adjustment phase, and it's been tough. The first day was pretty good, the second day a little less so. Then there was the long weekend, followed by a bad teething day (the only really bad one she's ever had) - it was a non-teaching day so I stayed home with her. The first day back after four days away was so rough that the staff were concerned that Charlotte might be getting sick and called James to pick her up at 2:30. They hadn't been able to get her to sleep, eat or drink. But when she got home she was happy as a clam and put food away like usual, so we knew it was difficulty adjusting rather than sickness. The upside of this is that we've been really impressed with how the staff have handled it and the care they've given Charlotte. She's in a daycare at an elementary school just up the street. She's in the youngest room, for 12 to 24 month olds, and there are three staff for ten children (in theory -I've never actually seen more than eight there at any one time). All three are so calm and gentle and because Charlotte's been having a tough time they've been giving her a lot of one-on-one attention. The last two days of the week went better than Wednesday. She has a blanket from home there now for nap time, along with a couple of familiar books, and most importantly, she brings her Rabbit with her now. It's an adorable fat rabbit that Uncle Dan and Aunt Sarah gave her for Christmas. Charlotte is really into stuffed animals and blankets these days (anything soft), and the Rabbit is her favourite (with the pink bear her great-grandma gave her a close second). She's been clutching it so tightly at daycare that she's made permanent little handprints. Kind of heartbreaking, but it's definitely helped! Because my schedule is flexible she's only going for about six hours a day, with a 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap in the middle, and I feel really fortunate for that. I'm expecting tomorrow to be a rougher go again, but hopefully by the end of the week she'll be starting to feel a bit more settled and secure there.

I'll save an update on Charlotte's emerging abilities and personality for next time, except to say that she's becoming more and more affectionate which has been really gratifying for us. It's so sweet and affirming when she crawls over and puts her head on our legs, or snuggles her head into our shoulders, or ever so often, plants us with a full on kiss!

Last week the weather was the hottest week of the summer, hitting 30 degrees.

One

Last Monday Charlotte turned ONE. It's hard to believe that a year has past since we brought that little 7 pound, 9 ounce bundle with the skinny legs and the fuzzy hair home from the hospital and started our life together as a family of three.

Charlotte still has the same bright eyes, but she's changed in so many other ways. I took her for her 12 month immunizations this week and she weighed in at 23 pounds, 12 ounces with a length of 30 1/4 inches (maintaining her place somewhere in the 80-90th percentile for height and weight). Our chubby pumpkin has been slow to move, but in the past couple of weeks she has begun to crawl more proficiently and pull herself up to sitting and standing. It's so much fun to see her little head peaking around the corner as she comes to find us in another room. And it's such a change to see her sitting or standing up in her crib when we go in to get her in the morning or after her nap. She's still furniture-surfing, but now uses walls too, and can stand unsupported for short periods.

Charlotte's verbal abilities are also improving. She often pronounces the first consonant of an object correctly, ie. "buh" for ball, "duh" for duck, "muh" for milk, etc. She can say "ma ma" and "da da"  - exactly that way, with a gap between the syllables - but more often it's "mamamama!" or "dadadada!" She has her own versions of animal noises that we find pretty entertaining. Charlotte talks to herself when she's playing, and when she's caught up in playing she has a funny habit of using her legs to spin herself around in a circle while seated, usually with a stuffed animal or small toy clutched in each hand.

Since Charlotte's birthday was on a weekday and we don't have any family in Edmonton I decided to invite a few girlfriends with babies to join us at a neighbourhood park in the morning for a little celebration. It was a beautiful sunny day and I think Charlotte enjoyed it. Going with a bug theme, I used caterpillar invitations, we gave Charlotte a large helium bee balloon on the morning of her birthday and then brought it along to the park, and I decorated bug cupcakes (recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart). Needless to say it was a more involved dessert than I usually go for but then I've never had a child turn one before! It was kind of fun - and James helped. Despite the theme, the mosquitoes actually stayed away for the most part - an improvement over the previous weeks. James was able to skip out of work and drop by the park for a short while (and deliver coffee for the adults), so we gave Charlotte her cupcake and sang to her while he was there.

I wish I had more photos of the actual party, but it all went by so quickly. Fortunately a friend captured a short video of Charlotte receiving her birthday cupcake (Thanks Lana!) as well as a couple of photos of the moment. I hope these give you a taste (sorry, cupcakes are all gone!) of the occasion.

Catching up with her friend Madi

Swinging with Jake

 

  

Summer

Wow, the days and weeks fly by and suddenly I realize it's been six weeks since a blog post. In the interim we enjoyed a wonderful long weekend visit from James' Mom (and Charlotte's Granny)  in June and spent the first week of July in the B.C. Shuswap with my family. Since I have a backlog of photos on the camera (but mainly since it's been a busy day of cleaning and errands) I'm going to go light on the writing and let the pictures do most of the talking. Unfortunately it seems that when we're around extended family we almost completely neglect to take photos - too busy savouring their company. So the photos I'm going to share document what Charlotte's been up to around the house lately... I promise I'll be back again soon with a more substantial post.

This child loves the bath...

...and loves teeth "brushing" almost as much.

Snuggles

Looking out at our patio. She's getting pretty good at spotting "buh" (bugs).

Charlotte's favourite activity at the moment: pushing chairs around. This one's not light!

She's pretty pleased about the whole standing/furniture surfing thing.

I'm never sure if she has a destination in mind...

What's a baby blog without a bare bum shot?

If you're happy and you know it

The first year of a baby's life is a constant process of change, but we're struck by the way Charlotte's development seems to happen in clusters. In the past month or so Charlotte's ability to communicate with us has improved significantly. Some of her new abilities include clapping, waving, and pointing. And it's now clear that Charlotte understands a lot of what we say to her. We estimate that she recognizes at least fifty words. These include: Mommy and Daddy;  "outside", "tree", "park", "bubbles", "ball", "book", "clap", "wave"; names of animals; body parts such as "hair", "hands", "feet", and "nose"; "cup" and many of the foods that she eats.

Charlotte is also better able to communicate her likes and dislikes. At the moment some of her favourite things to do include: standing up in her crib (and standing in general), going on the swing at the park, playing with the laundry basket, and "brushing" her teeth (ie. sucking on her toothbrush). It follows that her biggest dislikes are being interrupted from doing any of those activities! Fortunately she's easily distracted from her displeasure at this stage.