Birthday boy

Our baby is ONE. It's already been almost a month since George's first birthday, and he's made huge progress in his mobility in that time. He's not walking yet, but getting closer every day. It was only just around his birthday that George figured out how to move from sitting to crawling. Since then he's started crawling up and down the stairs - one of his favourite past-times at the moment, furniture-surfing much more confidently, pulling himself up to standing, and even standing for a few brief seconds unassisted. George loves the independence of being able to move around on his own, and it's also helped him be less concerned about whether or not I'm in sight. He's had some pretty intense separation anxiety for the past six months or so, but it seems to be lessening as he becomes more mobile.

George's language skills are slowly developing. He has a few "words" - "ne, ne, ne" (no, no, no), "ha" (hi), "mama", "dada", "buh" (ball) and "uh" (up). He's quite good at imitating sounds - including Charlotte's shrieks when she's excited or upset. He can also follow simple instructions, such as when I suggest going upstairs or when Charlotte urges him to follow her ("Come on, George!"), and he clearly understands words such as "clap" and "wave". I remember Charlotte's linguistic abilities taking a dramatic leap forward between 16 and 17 months of age, and it was so much fun. I'm looking forward to George really starting to talk, too.

George loves being outside, whether in the stroller, sitting in the backyard, or playing at the park, and since spring has arrived we've been spending a lot of time outdoors. Like most one year-olds, he's curious about everything: birds, planes, the wind in the trees, people, dogs, and anything that makes noise. He's interested in Charlotte's bike and trike, but if she notices she's quick to move them away. She's possessive of everything these days, but especially these prized items!

George is really interested in figuring out how things work. He loves to drop things and pick them up, put things into different spaces and take them out again. We joke that many of his most advanced skills relate to eating. He's becoming quite dexterous with a spoon and fork, feeding himself everything from oatmeal to macaroni and cheese. He can drink from an open cup, although we usually give him one with a lid to avoid having to worry too much about what he does with it. George now eats with his highchair at the table and only once has he dumped a full plate of food on the floor. He's a big eater, though his appetite seems to have lessened recently. He enjoys a wide range of foods; almost any fruit or vegetable, yogurt, and bread are his favourite.

At his one year check-up George weighed a little over 30 pounds - still off the charts for weight, and in the 90th percentile for height. He has eight teeth and I think he's working on some more. He definitely gets fussy with teething and I won't be sorry to be through the teething stage, though thankfully it doesn't disrupt his sleep.

George can be insistent when he's hungry or fussy - he has a grunt that lets us know he needs attention - but he's also a loving little guy who tolerates his sister stealing his toys incredibly well. He will often play shy around adults but enjoys being around other babies or children. He's quick to smile and has an infectious laugh (that sounds a lot like Charlotte's actually). We like to say that "Daddy gives tight love (tight hugs) and George gives wet love" (sloppy kisses). We're so thankful George has joined the family.

Birthday pose with Grandma. Obviously George loved his cupcake.

Aunt Jenny and Charlotte decorated.

George and Papa.

Charlotte familiarizing George with the features of his new walker!

"ha!"

Sibling love.
Charlotte seems to find George particularly cute in the bath
and often wants to give him a hug.

Charlotte likes to assume the role of big sister and hold George on the swing or slide.

Charlotte at her first day of soccer.

George on the sidelines.

drummer boy

The days and weeks continue to fly by, and George continues to grow like a weed. He was weighed in late February, at a little over 9 months of age, and tipped the scales at 27 pounds 12 ounces. I don't know what percentile that lands him in, but I checked on Charlotte's weight at the same age and she was 20 pounds 10 ounces - and we thought she was big! As you can see in the photos below, his hair is getting thicker, and he's also getting teeth. He got his first two bottom ones just past the six month mark, and he's now working on four on the top. It's clearly causing him some distress; it seems to be particularly bothersome when we lay him down to sleep and he's fussed a lot more than usual going for his naps over the past couple of weeks, but he still maintains a fairly sunny mood when he's up. George is not a proficient crawler yet, but he does a reluctant army crawl and is experimenting with getting up on his knees. He loves standing up and holding on to things, or being walked around by James or me. George is a great eater - he'll eat pretty much anything I give him these days, and is eating more finger foods all the time. He's also just started drinking milk with lunch and is doing fine with it. Toddlerhood is on the horizon!

Celebrating James' birthday in February. Charlotte was convinced that I made him a chocolate cake because it was HER favourite.

Fun with the crown Charlotte made at preschool.

Charlotte and her BFF Zeke. The two have been inseparable for the past month or so.

Clapping (and teething).

Drumming and clapping are two of George's favourite things.

Peek-a-boo!

Reading with Grandma.

Recent photos

It's hard to believe it's been almost three months since I last posted, and three months in the life of a baby is a long time. I won't even begin to try and summarize what we've been up to in the past while - the highlight of which was our trip to Toronto for Christmas. Instead, I'll hope that the photos below fill in some of the blanks, and promise to be back again soon.

Fall in our neighbourhood, which I loved, seems so long ago.

The beginning of a long, cold winter.

Early adventures in eating.

Charlotte LOVED tree decorating. She was focused on it for a good hour or more.

Sibling love.

Snuggles by the fire.

We're all enjoying the piano we got this fall.

Charlotte loves her trains.

George loves Mommy.

Christmas baking. Charlotte quickly got the hang of punching out cookies and decorating with sprinkles.

First skate! At our neighbourhood rink.

Tree decorating round 2, with Great-Granma

Our ice storm experience included 30 hours of power outage.
We were just glad it wasn't longer.

Getting snacks ready for Santa and the reindeer.

Cousins! Charlotte, George and Henry.

Back home and sporting attire from England from Great Aunty Jill and Great Uncle Bob.

He's not crawling but he's getting around by rolling.

One of George's favourite spots at the moment.

Getting into Charlotte's things!

Fall update

The fall is flying by. We had the first real snowfall of the season this past weekend. There is change in the air. George is also changing quickly. He's five-and-a-half months old. At his second round of immunizations a couple of weeks ago he weighed in at 21 pounds: basically the size of an average one year old. He just started solids this week - oatmeal at lunch time - and is quickly figuring out how to grab the spoon and suck off the food. He's been very interested in watching us eat and drink for awhile. George is quite strong, and can sit on his own unsupported for a minute or so. He started rolling over - in both directions - about three weeks ago, although after performing his new skill quite often in the first few days he's done it quite rarely of late. There is no visible sign of any teeth in his mouth yet, but with all the sucking he's been doing on his hands (and anything he can get his hands on) I wouldn't be surprised if we see some soon. He is also babbling a lot, and doesn't sound like a newborn anymore.

George continues to be quite good natured, although I think he becomes bored a bit more easily than he once did, and is starting to use his lungs to demand attention when he wants it: probably a good survival skill, especially for a second child with an older sister who would take all parental attention for herself if she could! I switched him to just two naps a day a couple of months ago already, which has necessitated stretching out his awake time in between naps and can also make for a bit more fussing. He's a great night-time sleeper, however, and also a much better napper than Charlotte was - she took short, frequent naps for a long time - so the bit of struggle involved is definitely worth it. We've been really fortunate with both kids in the sleep department. Even so, I feel like kids and housework take up 99% of my time and attention.

Charlotte is doing well. She made the transition to preschool smoothly. She was very excited the first morning, mostly about the chance to play with new toys. Since the newness has worn off she sometimes drags her feet getting out the door, but there have never been any tears when I say goodbye and the teachers say she plays contentedly and is increasingly talkative with them. She's fiercely independent these days, and can melt down into tears if we make the mistake of lending a helping hand, or alternatively, if she's unable to do something she'd like to be able to do on her own (i.e. do/undo buttons, open the door, get her backpack on). It can be a real catch-22! She has an active imagination, and sometimes scares herself as a result. Over the past couple of months she's often been reluctant to play on a floor of the house that we're not on, although that fear seems to be lessening. She also recently started sleeping with a nightlight on. Incidentally, someone anonymously sent George a gift of a lovely fabric nightlight, which Charlotte has been using until George is old enough to need it; thank you to whoever it was! Charlotte can also be very particular about how things are done. If she's wearing a sweater or coat she insists on all her buttons being done up and the zipper being zipped "all the way up". There's a spot on her placemat where she insists her cup be placed at meals. She closes cupboard doors and drawers that are left open (usually by James - ahem) and takes care to lock the doors when we come inside. I'd be concerned that she was picking up some of my OCD tendencies but apparently this is typical of being three!

Charlotte is bonding more and more with George, although she still has times when she is less than enthralled to be sharing us with him. Last night she told James she likes George when he is upstairs (i.e. in bed) but not downstairs. Poor George. He already adores her and we're waiting for the day when she wholeheartedly returns the sentiment! I've noticed that she likes it when George wears cuddly clothes like his fleece snowsuit or flannel sleepers, and is then much more eager to give him hugs and kisses. For his part, George loves being held eye level with Charlotte, and if she approaches and smiles or laughs he'll almost always break out laughing too. It's one of my favourite things at the moment.

October

 October was a busy month for James work-wise as he ran his first arbitration. On the plus side, the kids got in a lot of grandparent time. The first weekend in October, Charlotte and George and I accompanied James to a conference in Banff - when you have the chance to stay at the Banff Springs Hotel, you don't turn it down! - and James' parents flew into Calgary and joined us. They babysat for us both evenings we were there, allowing me to join in the adult socializing. It was such a treat. Charlotte loved the morning she spent in the pool with Granny - I think she was reluctantly pulled away after close to two hours! The scenery in Banff was gorgeous and the weather was crisp and clear.

 

 

Following our Banff weekend, Charlotte and George and I spent a week with my parents in Calgary. Charlotte and George soaked up the grandparent attention and I enjoyed my parents' company and the break from the daily grind of housework. A highlight for Charlotte was the day my Mom took off work to take her to the science centre. James rejoined us in Calgary the following weekend for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the kids with my Mom on this visit, since she did all the photography.

Excited to try on her Halloween costume.

Charlotte was eager for George to try his on too.

I haven't even started solids and I'm almost too big for this chair!