Meighen

Grammy and Grampy left this morning so Meg and I took advantage of sleeping in. It was a whirlwind few days. Saturday was our annual bbq and Meg had fun playing with Little Ben. I’m surprised she’s not overly interested in babies but it comes in handy when I get to hold the little ones. We had 10 adults and 5 kids so it was a good group. The weather was questionable but it stayed dry for most of it. I think that was the theme for the week.

Monday we toodled around east Toronto with G&G getting an oil change and shopping. Grampy was in his glory having Meg pull him around by the walking stick. It  kept her close but she moves a bit too fast for him. We stopped at Chapters on our way to lunch and Meg got a new Llama Llama book. She adores the one Benny got her when she turned 2 so Grammy got her a new one and also a Rubix Cube. Meg loves colours and puzzles and has fun spinning the blocks around. Lunch at Red Lobster was great as usual except they didn’t have any fish or lobsters in the tank. Meg was disappointed but we knew she’d have her fill at the zoo on Tuesday.

Meg had a blast at the zoo although she was tired going in. We were this close to being the 1 millionth visitor. The winners made it in about 30 seconds before we did and won souvenirs, one year Toronto Zoo Family Membership, FREE Zoomobile rides, lunch, a Behind the Scenes Tour for 6 people and overnight accommodations, including parking and buffet breakfast, at the Toronto Delta East Hotel! (pulled from website) Would have been nice! Anways, back to Meg… her favs were the rhino, fish, turtles and snakes. The kid is crazy for icky things (she loved the maggots at the museum). She insisted on riding the carousel and had a huge smile plastered on her face the whole time. We hit the gift shop, got a couple things and called it a day. Meg was pretty tired or else she would have loved the water park. Ah well, maybe next year.

Wednesday we had a quiet morning at home then picked Grammy up for a couple hours at the museum, which is free on Wednesday afternoons. We did what most parents/grandparents do and went straight to the dinosaurs. Meg called them “dragons” which is a pretty good observation. They could be dragons by today’s definition. We also hit the bird observatory and other interactive things waiting for Daddy to come for dinner. We went across the road to Gabby’s which is our 3^rd fav wing place.  Meg loved the sweet potato fries but not the chipolte mayo so much.

That brings us to today, our first morning sleeping in. It was nice. I’m spending the afternoon going through Meg’s clothes and getting her ready for fall. Shoe wise – a six is pretty snug on her but a seven is a bit big. Better big than small I guess. I’ll have to pick her up some warm socks soon. Otherwise I think she has lots of stuff from her cousins so we’re set. Don’t need to buy boots or a snow suit this year, hooray!

Yippee!! It’s been almost 5 months since my last vacation and I can’t wait for the day to be over to officially start my week off. It’s going to be a busy one!

Ben was off this week to hang out with Meg. They did Daddy/Daughter coffee/Timbit runs most of the week with the exception of one McDonald’s run. They watched lots of ‘101 Dalmations’ together and went to the park. One day was spent in Oshawa with her cousins and another afternoon downtown visiting me at work. The week went good and we’re moving into a busy weekend.

Tomorrow is our 8th annual Richard bbq. We’re expecting around 15 people throughout the day. Meg has some of her little friends coming so last night I was cleaning out her pool, wiping down the ball pit and mowing the lawn in preparation. Tonight/tomorrow will be cooking/baking then we can chill when people arrive. Those with kids are coming in the afternoon and the child-free adults will tricking in throughout the evening.

Grammy & Grampy arrive tomorrow to spend a few days with me and Meg. The weather looks promising so we’ll be doing the Zoo and Centreville. There’s talk of spending an afternoon at the ROM as well (it’s free Wednesday afternoons). Unfortunately Grampy won’t be able to join us for many of the activities, too much walking involved. We’ll be sure to work in some Grampy-friendly activities too. I don’t think they’ll be around later in the week when we go to Buskerfest and try to get to the Ex. Meg’s in for one exciting week. Oh, we’re still waiting to hear if she’s doing the modeling gig next week too.

In other news, we’re still doing great with potty training. Not much progress since the last update but we’re still having success. She’s been sleeping awesome too. It’s been good to get some solid sleep.

It’s the middle of August already, which means we’re almost on vacation! Daycare is closed for two weeks starting next week so Ben will be off then and I’ll be off the week after. Grammy’s coming down to hang with me and Meg and play tourist in TO. We’ll likely hit the zoo and Centre Island. Should be fun.

This week another modeling opportunity came through Ben’s office for Meg. Back in December she did a shoot for Astra Zeneca but she came in 2^nd and didn’t make the brochure. This time, the client is a children’s bike company from Europe. We’ll find out in a couple days is Meg is one of the chosen ones and if so, she’ll be shooting at the beach during the week I’m off – perfect timing. If she goes, Grammy will be able to come too! Even better is that it’s at the beach she hangs out at with daycare so she’s familiar with the environment and will be comfortable and relaxed. This one isn’t a paying job but each child gets a bike (over $200 value). We’ll keep everyone posted.

On the potty training front, we have good days and super awesome days. A couple nights ago she stayed dry from after daycare right through to bedtime. She did all her business in the potty (#1 and #2). This morning, she woke up with a dry diaper and did her morning business in the bathroom – awesome! We’re totally making progress. I procrastinated a bit when it came to training but I’m glad I got the ball rolling. She’s doing amazing. All it takes is a lot of patience, understanding, lollipops and stories.

This weekend wasn’t what I hoped it would be. Meg came down with a cold from daycare so she had a rough start. Ben came down with it on Saturday so he had a rough end. I stayed healthy (knock wood) so I tried to get out and do a little bit.

Friday we had a chiropractor appointment downtown so after that we went over to the St. Lawrence Market for lunch. They have yummy peameal bacon sandwiches. We also grabbed some chicken skewers and tatziki for the bbq. What a great dinner, I miss working in that neighbourhood. We also had our roof done that day. They started early, finished early and Meg slept through quite a bit of it, crazy kid.

Saturday we did a lot of shopping and went down to the Oshawa beach after supper. We picked up my girlfriend on the way and went for a walk on the pier and along the boardwalk. Meg had fun, she loves my friend Rhonda.

Sunday was a semi-lazy day. We did some shopping, hung out by the kiddie pool and had a nice dinner.

Monday Meg and I went back to Oshawa to go swimming with my friend. We checked out a different pool that had lots of spouts, jets and different sections to play in. I think this one was better suited for toddlers.

On the potty front we had a good day yesterday but not so much during the rest of the weekend. With Meg feeling so crappy I didn’t want to push the issue but last night she was smokin’! She used it twice after dinner and kept a dry bum all evening. She even did her first poopy. She’s catching onto the treat jar and she gets a lollipop after each successful use. My goal is to have her pretty much trained by the end of August. She doesn’t seem to be as comfortable going potty at daycare but I don’t think our caregiver sits with her for 10 minutes reading stories till Meg till she finally goes. Ah well, hopefully over the two weeks Meg’s home, she’ll clue in to being dry and it’ll be easier at daycare in September. Fingers crossed!

I think we’ve had a breakthrough. Meg’s been comfortable sitting on her potty for extended amounts of time but has yet to actually pee IN the potty. She’d sit for a while, read a book, get up and pee beside the potty or wait till she was in the bath. This has been going on for months…. till last night!!

I took Meg up to change her diaper and I said to her “next time you need to poopy, tell Mummy and we’ll poopy in the potty.” “Ok Mum” she said. Then when I went to put a new diaper on her she said “Go pee-pee potty Mum.” Who am I to argue that so off we went with a few books to pass the time. To shorten the story, after a couple stories and promising a treat if she went pee-pee, she did it!! I was thrilled, like a huge hurdle was cleared. Then before bed she sat on the potty with success. To keep the ball rolling when she finally got up this morning I put her back in the bathroom and ta-da! That’s three times in 12 hours. I’m impressed.

I took a bunch of the recently acquired training pants over to daycare this morning and explained that we’re on a roll and asked her to encourage Meg lots today. We’re going into a four day weekend so I’ll make sure to keep up the work. The light is at the end of the tunnel, I can see it.

Another good weekend for summer 2010! Saturday I took Meg to Oshawa to go swimming with my girlfriend and her stepdaughter. We checked out a rec complex in north Oshawa and it was pretty sweet. Somehow Meg and I got in for $2.80 total, wow! The pool was huge and totally kid friendly. There wasn’t much of a deep end but had a kiddie pool with shoots of water coming up, a waterslide, whirlpool, hot tub and other water type fun. Life jackets were available so I put one on Meg hoping it would give her confidence to float without me but had no luck. As long as she can touch the bottom she’s totally ok with being away from me, when she can’t touch, she prefers Mum. That’s ok, lots of time to learn to swim. We spent about two hours in the pool and will probably end up going again.

Sunday morning was my day to sleep in. When I got up Ben had come back from a mini shopping spree with Meg at Walmart, after the ritual Timbit run of course. She came home with Hot Wheels, a placemat, a jumbo Cars colouring pad and I think there was something else too. She was quite pleased with herself. Good job Daddy Later that afternoon we headed to my Aunt/Uncle’s who were having a family bbq. Another afternoon in the pool. Meg was great, shy at first but once she went swimming she opened right up. She loved floating around in her Cars boat and jumping into our arms from the deck. She also had fun chasing Uncle Rick around, playing in the swing with Aunt Kathy and tossing beanbags. There were a lot of people there I didn’t know but one of them was my Mom’s cousin. As soon as we arrived she was asking me if Meg was potty trained and if we could use any training diapers. Hell yes! She had her daughter bring us two cases of girls pull-ups. Amazing! Talk about luck, were getting ready potty train hard core now that Meg’s showing all the signs (again, should of jumped on it the first time around). If it doesn’t happen before our vacation in two weeks, that will be a perfect time.

Just a quick update on Meg’s molars. I found the two news ones the other week and now the last two are breaking through. She’s a trooper, hardly any fussing.

Got a short week this week. We’re off Friday and Monday for the long weekend. Got a few things planned, hope it works out.

Here’s to another good week and weekend. Meg had an awesome time going around TO with Robyn. She took the kids to the Bata Shoe Museum, ROM and AGO. Good thing Meg is a downtown kid, she had a blast! From the sounds of it playing dress up at the shoe museum was a hit and Meg loved the ROM. She was asking to go to daycare each morning. What a great opportunity.

Friday night we had dinner with Auntie Julie before she heads to Florida next weekend. Meg always has a good time over there. We left around 7:30 and Meg was pretty tired. She slept all the way home and I was able to get her into her jammies and bed no problem. She stayed down all night, how awesome. The downside being she got up at 7 something the next morning. Ben had to go get an oil change so it worked out alright. Meg seems to enjoy going to the dealership in Pickering, they have a kiddie area and Daddy hits Tim Horton’s for on the way for Timbits. After the oil change we had a family breakfast then headed out to Oakville for our playdate with the Howies. What a good time! Little Ben and Meg played so well together sharing toys and being cute. We’ll definitely have to do it more now that the kids are older. We also got to meet the new baby. I was a bit surprised that Meg wasn’t more interested in her and she didn’t mind that I was holding the baby. I thought she’d be a bit more jealous, that’s a good sign. Saturday night after dinner Meg and I took off to Oshawa in hopes of swimming with my friend and her step-daughter. The pool was closed due to a power so we just hung out at her place and we made plans to go next weekend so hopefully that works out. Sunday was a lazy day at home. Meg helped me plant seeds from my Lupin plant, played in her pool and we all went to the park (including Daddy!).

This week should be quiet but our weekend is already full. Saturday is swimming with my friend and step-daughter and Sunday is a family swim/bbq at my Aunt’s. Good times! After that it’s a four day week before heading into a four day long weekend – yippee! We might daytrip to a provincial park to go swimming with Meg, are going to check out the Scarborough ribfest and who knows, maybe even take in the zoo.

This month is going by so quickly. In a few days it will be the middle of July. I think we’re making the most of summer so far, can’t complain.

This weekend we went to hang out with Auntie Julie for a bit, which we’ll do again this Friday. Auntie’s off to Disneyworld for a writers convention soon so we need to make sure Meg gets her fill before she goes. The rest of the weekend was spent lounging by the kiddie pool and continuing my work in the gardens.

This is going to be an interesting week for Meg. Our daycare has enrolled two of her sons in a day camp this week which happens to be two city blocks away from my office – sweet! While the older kids are in camp, she’s going to hang with Meg and her youngest boy downtown during the day. It makes pick up/drop off easier being so close to the office but I’m a bit worried about Meg missing naps and the comfort of air conditioning. It might also rain this week so I’m a bit worried about that too. Otherwise I’m thrilled Meg gets to spend a week downtown. I wish she had more time down here, the sights and sounds seem to have a calming affect on her, just like Mum.

I’m not sure what possessed me to do it, but I stuck my finger in Meg’s mouth this weekend to see how the molars were coming. The bulges appeared months ago but nothing ever broke through. Sometime in the past month two have come in! Maybe it was the slight fever or couple grouchy days when it happened. It’s hard to tell with Meg, she cuts teeth unbelievably well.

The last thing on the go this week is a trip to Oakville on Saturday to visit our friends and meet their new baby. We all went to UFC in Montreal back in ’08 while we were expecting our first babies, now they have number two. I’m looking forward to Meg having a play date and being around a newborn – she’s been interested in babies lately and I’m curious if she’d take to a sibling. I’m sure she would, she’s such a sweet girl. Now don’t be starting any rumors. We’re nothing thinking about a second anytime soon. Meg needs to be closer to kindergarden for that.

Meg’s still talking up a storm. She’s getting new words and sentences on a daily basis. Lately she’s been asking us what we’re doing… “What you doin’ daddy?” “Washing the car” “Washing the car?” and this goes on over and over… hehe. It’s very cute. Each night she tells me where she wants to sleep, either in Meighen’s bed or Mummy’s bed. Thankfully she’s been choosing her room lately, we’ve been on a “sleep with Mummy” kick for the last month or so. As much as I love sleeping with her, I enjoy getting my half of the bed without her.

Now that Meg’s birthday is out of the way the next exciting thing is our vacations at the end of August, which reminds me I need to start planning our summer bbq… but back to vacations. Our daycare is off for two weeks towards the end of the month so Ben and I are each taking a week. Grammy’s thinking about visiting while I’m on vacation to hang out with Meg. There so much I’d like to do (but won’t be able to do it all). The CNE will be in town, not sure if we’re going with Ben’s friends or just ourselves. Buskerfest is also happening while I’m off (coincidence!). I’ve took Meg last year and want to make it an annual tradition. She’ll love it this year. I’d also like to take her to the zoo. She’s learned so many animals and gets excited when she seems them in books and on tv. She’ll have a blast this year and they have an amazing water park too!

This turned out to be quite the post… till next time!

Why do long weekends have to end? There’s something extra special about them now that we have a family. With both of us working, and Meg in daycare, we don’t get a lot of time with her. When we get extra long weekends it’s hard to give her up and get back to reality. Thankfully we both get four extended long weekends over the summer, it’s a nice perk.

On Thursday I took Meg to Downsview Park to check out the festivities. Everything was free (except food) and the line-ups were ridiculous by mid afternoon. The only ride Meg could do was the carousel that I happily waited in line for. She was getting impatient by time we made it on the ride and wasn’t too keen on sitting still on the horsey. I played the “ready, set, go!” game a couple times and when the ride started she was so surprised. She got into it quick and had a cute smile plastered on her face while she went around. After that we got in line for face painting but abandoned ship a half hour later so we could grab lunch and check out the native dancing. That was the big sell for choosing Downsview. I’d love to take Meg to a pow-wow one day but would hate the long trek if she’s not too into it. She seemed pretty over everything by time the dancers came on so it was hard to tell. Ah well, there will be other opportunities. I was hoping to Meg somewhere for fireworks that night but the little kiddo was tuckered out after an afternoon at the fair. Maybe next year.

Friday and Saturday were home days and we puttered out in the garden and yard for most of them. I replanted all the stray raspberry plants in the new patch so next year we’ll have an amazing crop like our neighbours. Meg and I take a walk over to our patch and pick the ripe berries. I think this is her favourite time of night, aside from walkies.

Sunday we had some friends come over with their daughter (3 yrs) for a bbq. Jo-jo loved splashing around in the kiddie pool and playing with the ball pit. Meg was a bit shy and didn’t want to play before dinner but after, look out. They were playing together and Meg even brought Jo a bowl of ice cream. It was cute watching them say “Bye-bye” at the end of the night.

Oh, how could I forget!? Friday morning we had family photo’s done for Meg’s birthday. The timing works out well since we get them done every six months – birthday and Christmas. Since Ben and I don’t change as much as Meg we only get “family” ones done in the summer and get only Meg done at Christmas. Anyways, the pics turned out FANTASTIC! We have yet to be disappointed getting them done at the Supercentre. Fast, affordable and overall great pics. We went with the three-pose package but there was one close-up of Meg that we kept thinking about so we went back and picked up an extra sheet. What can we say, we’re proud parents and think our Meg is the cutest doopy ever.

Yesterday Meg had her two-year check up. Everything’s just fine. Considering Meg’s two and has only been to the doctor once that wasn’t for a check up and that was for a treatable rash.

So, our little munchkin is now 24 lbs (25%), 35 1/2″ tall (90%) and still has a big noggin coming in at 19 3/4″ (95%). Although the doctors not too concerned about Meg being a skinny minny, it is something to keep an eye on. It’s nuts, she’s decided carbs aren’t her thing and has been turning down muffins and breads, although she gets really excited for chips (and eats only five). She loves her fruits and proteins (eggs, lunch meat, chicken). She’s not too into sweets but enjoys the occasional cookie (when asks for it) and loved her birthday cake. A healthy toddler by choice, who would have thought?