Winter Wonderland!

Last night we had our first real dump of snow of the season. Personally, I'm not a fan of winter or snow, but I've decided it's not fair to Lily to let that rub off on her (hehe!). Today, I got her all bundled up in her snowsuit for some fun in the snow!

First of all, it takes longer to bundle up a baby in a snowsuit than you actually spend outside playing in it! With boots, snowpants, mittens, a sweater, jacket and toque, not to mention a squirmy baby getting increasingly angrier with you for restraining her and dressing her up, it's a real work out! Then, sitting said baby down while you get your own boots, jacket, hat and mittens on (without her toppling over in all the extra layers) is another challenge. Grabbing the video camera and camera and getting out the door is issue 3.

Once we were outside, Lily loved it! I sat her in the snow and showed her you can throw it up in the air, cover your legs and move it around. She giggled and put her mittened hands in it a bit, too. Then we walked around the backyard and I even helped her make a snow angel! We were outside for maybe 10 minutes, then it was time to go back inside and TAKE OFF all the winter gear. Phew!

Here are some pictures of our adventures of the day!

Waiting for Mommy to get ready

Fun in the snow

Just sitting around

I'm not so sure about this covering business, Mommy

My first snow angel!

And a video too, why not :)

Need for Speed

Lily's crawling has already improved greatly! Here she is speeding along... more later.

She's Crawling!!!

Yet again, another video! She really is learning so many new things!

Learning, Learning, Learning!

It's amazing seeing all of the new things Lily is learning in such a short period of time! It's obvious that she is understanding us more and more... here's a video of her identifying the dog, Mommy, Daddy, and her own soothers! :)


As I mentioned before, Lily gets more and more mobile every day. I'm sure she'll be crawling in her harness soon!

Lily has learned a new sign: More! See another video :)


And finally, Lily can easily roll over from her back to her stomach while in her harness! She even prefers to practice this instead of nap! Yet another video! :)


It's funny how babies learn so many new things at once... almost like they wake up and say, "Now what can I do that's new today? How can I impress Mommy and Daddy?" Whatever it is, I just love it! I love watching her learn new things.

Catch Up

Oops, seems like I've fallen behind in my blogs! Here are some updates of what's going on with the Beesons:

Lily:
We have got one determined little girl on our hands. Lily is so close to crawling, she is very good at going forward a few inches if there is something she wants that is just out of reach. If it's any further from her, however, she just ends up going backwards, and her object of desire just goes further and further... and we eventually get a frustrated Little Bean! But it's amazing watching her learn, especially in her harness. She gets on her hands and knees, rocks for a while, then sticks out her left leg and pushes off with her foot. She hasn't discovered she can do the same with her right foot yet, but once she does, I will be proud to say I have a clever little girl who has learned to crawl in her harness! Pavlik Harness, you can't stop Lily!

Tooth #3 looks like it may soon make an appearance, today I was able to see the white of the little points under the gums. I know better than to make bets as to when it will come, but I think by the end of November it may cut, if not sooner.

Growling has made a reappearance in this house. Lily makes the most ridiculous monster/growling sounds, it always makes me laugh! She even babbles in her monster voice sometimes! I'll upload a video later, it's on my phone and I need to transfer it to my computer.

Mike:
Mike is enjoying his work, as usual. He's looking forward to the Christmas holidays because he should be getting time off. He's looking foward to spending more time with Lily!

Christina:
I just bought the Wii Fit Plus and am having lots of fun playing it! Not only is it fun, but it gets me up off of the couch as well :) I did a 40 minute workout on it yesterday, and now I'm a little sore. Today I was only able to get 25 mins in before Lily woke up. As someone who is competitive, it's fun trying to beat my own scores.

I'm not looking foward to going back to work in less than 2 months, but at the same time it will be nice to see my coworkers. I hope Lily reacts well to daycare. I'm sure she will, but until you're there, you always worry.

I've already started my Christmas shopping... this has never happened before! When I was in university, I often only started after my exams were done, meaning at least December 15th! This year, it's fun to shop for Lily's first Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Lily, our Bumble Beeson

Lily's first Halloween was a lot of fun! Lily, of course, was our little Bumble Beeson :) She made the cutest bee ever (in my opinion, which I think counts for a lot, hehe). We started the day with some pumpkin carving. Lily enjoyed sticking her hands in the pumpkin and trying to eat the guts. We then tried to go trick or treating at Grammy's, but she was sadly not home... we may try again tomorrow! Finally, we had supper and took Lily for a walk around the neighbourhood. Lily got a nice little haul which she's kindly sharing with us... except for her little pot of Playdoh that someone gave her! She told me that she wants me to keep it safe for her until she's old enough not to eat it. :)

Digging in a pumpkin

Ready to trick or treat with Daddy!

Can we go now, Mommy?

MINE! :)

This week has been pretty eventful! First of all, with Halloween approaching, we went to a number of Halloween playdates. I used every opportunity I could to have her wear her costume... after all, it won't fit her next year! Also, developmentally, Lily started to do a lot this week! She's starting to be more mobile and can push herself around backwards (although she's trying to move forward). She also has started waving (which she did while we walked through the neighbourhood over my shoulder, as well as at herself in the mirror on her way to bed. Too cute!). She will also dance when we ask her to when we play the singing gorilla Mike gave me for Valentine's Day. It's amazing what she's learned to do this week!

It looks like Lily might sprout yet another tooth soon! The top left tooth is slowly moving closer and closer to the edge of her gums, and she is a drool factory lately. I'm not sure when, but I'd be willing to guess sometime this month!

I can't believe it's almost November...

Comments!

I've noticed no one comments on my posts, though some people have said they tried and it didn't work. I've updated the settings so that anyone can now post comments on the blog (before it was members only), so please go ahead and post comments if you'd like! :)

Pumpkin Patch

Today was a pretty fun day! In celebration of Lily's first Halloween, we decided to go as a family to a nearby pumpkin patch/berry farm, Proulx Farms. It was overpriced, but it was a good excuse to get out and take Lily somewhere fun. First we went to the petting zoo, where there were big pigs, donkeys, goats, ducks, chickens, a cow, bunnies, etc. The first two animals, the over-eager giant pigs and the big donkey, scared Lily! The pigs snorted at her and she turned to me, pouted and cried a bit, poor girl. Next, the big donkey stuck his head through the gate and she did the same thing! She seemed fine with the rest of the animals, so on the way out I showed her the donkey and the pigs again... success! No crying this time. She was probably thinking that "these cats and dogs look weird and are huge and make weird sounds!"

We then stopped for lunch, where Lily ate some green beans and raspberry/blackberry yogurt. Mike and I had ate a big breakfast, so no lunch for us. We then got on a tractor ride and pointed out the "scary" things to Lily (who seemed to just be having fun on the ride and growling at us, lol). We finished the excursion by going to the pumpkin patch and taking pictures followed by picking out a pumpkin. Overall, while it was fun, the price was way too much for what we did, and I'll be doing my research for a better place to go next year with Lily!

For dinner, we went to Lily's Aunt Julie, Uncle Scot, and cousins Kyle and Emily's place for dinner, where her Grandpa Prosser was also there. For such a busy day, Lily was great even though it was well past her bedtime. We played some Cranium and drove home where she started out by throwing a fit in her car seat, then calmed down and just chatted after we sang some familiar songs (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, etc.). Who would have thought we'd be singing those songs so enthusiastically before children! lol

All in all, a great day!

Tired!

Today was a great day! Busy, yet fun. Today Mike and I watched our favourite Godson, Austin, for the day. I never realized just how busy a 15 month old can be, but Austin sure didn't leave room for doubt! :) One thing is for certain, there's a reason why Mother Nature doesn't let you have 2 kids with this age difference (7 months)... chasing after one while making sure the other doesn't faceplant on her toys is exhausting! lol

It really was a fun day, though. Lily loves spending time with other children, so she had a lot of fun with Austin! Between naps, of course. Austin gave the stamp of approval on all of Lily's toys, then we had lunch, then we went for a walk where Austin fell asleep in the stroller. Lily had a nap when we got home, and we had a nice little break :) When Austin woke up, we proceeded to follow him around and around the house. Lots of fun!



In other news, I've enrolled Lily in a daycare. Now I can pretend it will never happen until January creeps up! Well really, December, as we'll start integration at that time (I'll bring her in and stay with her so she gets used to the atmosphere). It's great because Lily will know a few of the children there... at least 2 until March, when a third will join. Anyway, this isn't pretending it won't happen, is it? Next topic!

Yesterday, Lily rolled from back to front for the first time! At almost 9 months old, talk about delayed! However, she's doing great all around. That harness will be gone before we know it, and she'll be much better off.

Checking out Daycares

How sad. October is nearly half over, which means I'll be back at work in 2 1/2 months. Where does the time go?! I wish there was a legitimate way to work from home, but alas. While I think that Lily will enjoy spending the day with other children, and she's such a happy girl that she'll adjust really well, I just wish that someone else didn't get the job of raising my baby. Nights, weekends, and holidays will become even more precious than they were.

It's sad thinking about the things I may miss. Lily's first steps. Lily's interaction with her friends on a daily basis. Just Lily's smile all day long! However, there will also be benefits. I'm making money and providing a better future for her. I'll be so excited to see her at the end of the day, and she will feel the same for me that we'll hopefully be at our best when we're together! I'll get adult interaction which always helps make a sane mama.

Hmm, they should allow you to bring your child to work! :)

I went to see a daycare centre today. I liked the look of the infant program, although I'm a little leery on the toddler one. I think Lily will likely be registered there for the infant program(considering Mike wants her in a centre, and most centres have waiting lists out the yin yang for infants), but I'm still hoping to snag her a spot in the daycare centre in my work building when she turns 18 months. That would be wonderful, being able to visit or even have lunch together! :) Another good thing about the centre I went to see is that Lily will have 2 friends there, one full time and one part time, so she'll already know some children.

Pic of the day: Lily sporting her teeth proudly.

Happy Thanksgiving, All!

This weekend is so busy! It's very go-go-go, and no wonder... Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Saturday started out with us getting up and out of the house right away, as we were going to Cora's for breakfast to meet up with Lily's Aunt Jennifer. For those of you who don't have Cora's in your area, it's only the most delicious breakfast/lunch restaurant around! :) Fresh fruit and interesting breakfasts, as well as old favourites. I went with a ham/cheddar/onion omelette. Lily settled for brought-from-home Nutrios and Oats with raspberries and blackberries mixed in. She was all smiles for Aunt Jennifer, and it was great meeting up with her!

Later in the day, we decided to go for a little Fall walk. It would have been longer, but Grandpa Beeson forgot to take Lily's stroller out of the car when he went to buy a brass brush! lol So Mike carried Lily and we walked around the block and to the park, where Lily stopped to swing in the baby swings. She loved it! We also took some nice Fall pictures and collected coloured leaves.




Later I met up with some friends that I hadn't seen since March, and we went bowling (where I bowled 121, 121, and 95... sad, huh? lol), then we went to dinner at St. Hubert's. I must say, while the chicken and gravy are much tastier than Swiss Chalet, the "bun" leaves much to be desired. Their "bun" is just half of a hamburger bun toasted. And it's not a very tasty hamburger bun, either.

That night, Lily slept 14 hours straight, without waking up for her soother! I don't know if it's because I said to her before I left, "Lily, be good for Daddy and Grandpa, and tonight you're going to sleep without waking up for your soother!" I got Mike to say the same to her, and lo and behold, she slept 14 hours. However, he also forgot to take her amber teething necklace off. I'm a skeptic, but could that have been the trick? I'll be shocked and amazed if it is!

Today I did some last minute shopping for Thanksgiving dinner, which I'm making tomorrow for the family. I was under the impression everything was closed today, and I had forgotten to go out yesterday and was kind of worried that dinner would be a stuffingless, meager affair (I would have borrowed bread if that were the case. No way can turkey be eaten without stuffing!).

I hope everyone has eaten or will eat their fill of turkey/ham/whatever it is that you eat this weekend! :)

Quick Movie Update!

Lily is very determined to get things out of reach. I'm going to write a full post later, but I wanted to show off our driven little bean working hard for her beloved soothers, lol!

Bad Start Turned Good!

Last night was pretty bad. Lily is going through a phase where she likes to wake up a few times and cry for her soother. However, it seems she's also at an age where she's starting to realize she can play us! Example: Lily woke up at 11pm, 12am, and fussed for a bit, but put herself back to sleep. Then she woke up at 3am. She fussed, then started crying. 2 cries followed by some yelling... 2 cries followed by some yelling. We could tell she just wanted her soother, but we don't want to start that trend of soother fetching again. So I suggested to Mike that he go in and tell her it's time to sleep. So, he did. He opened her door and *ta-da!* she stopped crying immediately! He touched her forehead, told her it was time to sleep, and left... she wailed for about a minute... and slept the rest of the night. I'm serious. How easy was that?!

Since she had disrupted sleep last night, I was sure today would be a nightmare, especially considering she's been a little fussy lately. But she was so happy all day, even at bedtime!

Also, today it seems like Lily is getting a little closer to being mobile! I never thought she'd be able to sit in her harness, and she does. Really well. I especially never thought she'd crawl in her harness, and she hasn't yet, but I'm starting to wonder if she will! Today, she was sitting on the floor, playing with toys, when she fell forward onto her hands. She does this often, but until today she would just put her face into the floor mat and "give up". Today, she stayed on all 4s and started rocking like she wanted to take off and crawl! As I held my breath and watched, she didn't take off, but instead of faceplanting, she pushed herself back up to a sitting position. My determined, smart Little Bean!

I bought Beauty and the Beast today, one of my favourite Disney movies as a child. We're collecting as many Disney movies as possible to share with Lily when she's older. I love Disney!

Picture of the day: Lily's teeth coming in. You can see them from the top, but not the front yet!

A Sense of Humor is Important

Today started out not-so-great. Lily was in a mood for sure! She spent the morning fussing and all-out crying until I discovered that her teeth are still bothering her. I (wrongly) thought that once the teeth cut, the pain stops! I guess not :( After she chomped on my finger for a while, she felt better... hello, soother! I think we're building a bad habit here but for now, it works!

Anyway, as the day went on, Lily felt much better. After lunch we drove to the mall and walked around for an hour since it was rainy out and we couldn't walk outside. Of course, we did a bit of shopping as well! Lily convinced me to buy a new bathing suit for her (we bought one about a month ago that was size 6-12 months... well, it fits her perfectly now at 8 months, so I knew by the end of her swimming lessons it would be too small! I got one that's size 18 months... yikes! Tall girl!). I also bought her a new toque and thumbless mittens (as much as I'd like to deny it, winter will come...) and my favourite purchase... this fancy grey jacket for next winter! I saw it at the Children's Place when it first came out about a month ago, but at $50, it was way too expensive. I got it for $16 today... well worth it! :)

The cable guy came today because our cable has been out for 2 days. We found out that the cable was just unplugged in the basement... likely the stupid dog hit it or something! Anyway, I felt ridiculous that he came over just for something silly like that. At least the cable was back for Hell's Kitchen tonight!

Now for the title of my post... a couple of fun movies to share! Lily teaches us that it's never too early to learn to laugh at yourself!

Breakfast for Dinner!

For those of you know know us, you know that we are breakfast people. Forget going out to dinner, we go out for breakfast! Well, that's not entirely true - we love going out for dinner, too, but find ourselves eating out at breakfast time more often. Eggs are definitely among our top choices (along with French toast, another popular choice). So you can imagine how pleased we were when we discovered that Lily loves eggs, too (we give her the yolk only, don't worry)!

Until tonight, I'd been simply hard boiling eggs and giving Lily the yolk... dry, boring old yolk (which she likes, but gags at its dryness, lol). Today I was feeling inventive and I made Lily an omelette for supper! 2 egg yolks, 1 oz of formula, and threw in some broccoli, zucchini and cheddar cheese. Oh, and toast fingers of course! I plopped it onto her tray, and she went straight for it. She grabbed it, shoved it in her mouth, and...

this horrible face appeared, lol! Well, I guess she's an adventurous little girl, because she went for seconds!


Breakfast for dinner? Success! Next step? French toast, perhaps... baby friendly, of course!

In other news, Lily's Uncle Stephen stopped by after work today. I think she's starting her playing strange phase, because our normally super-smiley little girl was very serious most of his visit! That, or it was because she was Little Miss Grumpus today :P


Other other news, a couple of weeks ago, I bought myself a whole new Fall wardrobe since my pre-maternity clothes were a no-go. I was so happy with the clothes I bought, they fit absolutely perfectly (I'm now a huge Marks Work Warehouse fan... who would have thought they'd have such nice clothes with a name like that!). Anyway, the jeans I bought that fit me perfectly are now falling off of me! Hooray! An excuse to go buy yet another new wardrobe? I think so!

Welcome to Our Blog!

Lily is over 8 months old already, and so I've decided to really try and keep up with a blog to record things I want to remember about everything she does! And what better way to remember than to record it in a way that family and friends can keep up, too? So welcome to the blog! I hope I can keep up with it, I'm notoriously bad for forgetting to post!

Not only will I be writing about Lily, but also Mike and I, and any future little ones that may come along! So sit back and enjoy the pictures, videos, and updates.

To start, Lily is thoroughly enjoying her time with Grandpa Beeson, who has come to visit for the week. As she is with most visitors, she gets excited every time he comes into the room, flapping her arms and bouncing up and down! It's so much fun to see how she interacts with the important people in her life, especially the family members who she doesn't get to see as often since they live out of town. I'm sure it's equally fun for them to see how she changes each time they visit.