Meighen

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.

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.

Tomorrow is Meg’s 2nd birthday. It was two years ago she made her very long and stressful entry into the world, our lives and hearts. Surprisingly, even though it was a difficult delivery none of that has affected her and she’s such a happy joyous little girl. Ben and I are thankful and grateful that she’s in our life every night when putting her to bed.

Yesterday was Meg’s birthday party. I stayed up late on Saturday night to decorate and do what I could to reduce what needed doing on Sunday. I bought these Cars wall decorations. It was a huge plastic sheet that you hung on the wall. I cut it in two cause we don’t have that much wall space available. Meg was so happy Sunday morning seeing the giant Lightning McQueen above the couch. We had a small gathering for her (since a lot of people were unavailable) and it worked out great. It tried raining a couple of times but the sun came through and we were able to eat and open gifts outside. We’d like to say thanks to everyone who came out.

Having the party during the afternoon disrupted Meighen’s nap and she didn’t go down till 5:30 pm. I woke her up around 7, gave her a snack, played with her toys and came to bed with us. Too bad she didn’t fall asleep till 11, ug. Needless to say we’re all very tired this morning but at least Meg can nap at daycare. Thankfully it’s a short week since we get both Canada Day and the day after off, yay! We’ll be hitting Downsview Park for Canada Day and maybe a couple other places over the weekend. Lots to do in the city now that G20 is over.

June is here which means Meighen is turning 2! I’ve been planning things in my mind and just waiting for time to pass before I can start taking care of things. We’ll do something similar to last year at our place. We have a new bbq so Ben can cook up a storm. Hopefully the weather will be nice and the kids can play outside. Unfortunately we’re more equipped for little ones vs. the older kids that will be coming. There’s Meg’s slide/playset, ball pit, pool and sidewalk chalk. Since Meg’s totally into Cars right now I’m thinking of getting a Lightning McQueen piñata. She’ll have fun whacking it and the older kids will enjoy it too. I’m kinda at a loss for gift ideas. I sort of want to upgrade her pool into one with a slide. It’s amazing the blow up things you can get these days, it’s crazy! She always needs clothes and loves McQueen so maybe something Cars orientated. Auntie Julie ordered Meg a play kitchen and it arrived yesterday. Was a challenge to get home but I managed. Food sets are another bday idea.

The long weekend was good. Meg had a fever for most of it but we were able to get out to the Circus Festival. It wasn’t as good as I hoped, Busker is much better, but we still had a good time. Ben’s buddy came with us and ended up coming back with us for a bbq. The rest of the weekend we just hung out at home and played in the kiddie pool.

Meighen’s sentences are coming along really well. Yesterday while kicking a ball across the yard she said, “Mummy, watch me!” When she was throwing her balls down the slide she’d say, “Ready, set, go!” Her favourite has to be, “Mummy/Daddy stop it!” She’s usually giggling when she says it which gives us the go-ahead to continue the kisses or tickle torture. Our little parrot, picking up and applying so many words and ideas every day.

Yay, the long weekend is here. Four days of sleeping in and chilling with the doopy. Being in the advertising industry here in TO, it’s almost the norm to get extended long weekends in the summer, which officially starts tomorrow! Unfortunately the weather doesn’t look too promising but we’ll still make the most of it. I mowed the lawn last night so we could go home tonight and start enjoying the back yard.

Tomorrow Ben’s taking the car in to get the windows tinted. He says it’s for Meighen, it’s true she will benefit from it but I still think it’s more a Daddy thing. Meg and I will make the most of the weather and hopefully get up to something. I think we’re visiting with Pere this weekend and will be seeing Auntie Julie on Sunday for a belated Ben birthday. Monday, if the weather’s nice, we’ll be taking Meg downtown to the circus festival. It’s at Harbourfront and looks a lot like Buskerfest. Meg’s turning into a total monkey so I’m sure she’ll love watching the acrobats and tumblers. As much as I was hoping to do the zoo this weekend we’ll hold off for another weekend. It’s only 5 minutes away and we’ve got all summer.

It seems the terrible-twos are upon us. The past few weeks Meighen’s been having minor meltdowns on a regular basis. She doesn’t take ‘no’ very well. She’s been so awesome and well behaved the last two years so she hasn’t been denied much. These days it’s a daily event. Sometimes she’ll be easily distracted by something else but other times she just won’t let it go. She’ll throw herself to the ground and cry. Not the most pleasant scene in the world so I just leave her to it. I tell her what’s going on and why and let her know where I’ll be when she gets over it. It can last 5 minutes or so and she eventually gets over it. She’s still a great, sweet kid but is turning out to be a bit strong willed (just like her Mum).

Meighen’s getting really good with her manners. She almost always says thank you or will do so with a short prompt. Please is another story. We almost always have to remind her but she’ll say it. She’s learning that the quicker she says please, the sooner she’ll get what she wants.

On the milestone front, Meighen can go down the stairs upright like a big girl while hanging onto the wall with one hand. She thinks she’s so grown up. We don’t let her do it without supervision, don’t want her to tumble. We have total confidence on her going up/down the stairs on her knees and bum but not quite there with the standing up thing.

I’ve been trying to get Meg to accept ponytails. It’s either that or keep her hair cropped. It’s aweful the way it hangs in her face but she keeps pulling out the elastic. Ah poopy nu, you’re girly in so many ways, please get used to a ponytail, you’ll be amazed at all the things you can see.

Last night was a big night of changes for Meg. We started using her booster seat at the table instead of the high chair. She did amazing, like she’s been doing it forever. Then again she’s been to a lot of sit down restaurants with us so she knows the drill.

We also took the crib and change table out of her room and moved the queen in (without the rails). Unfortunately it takes up most of her room but she still has her bookshelf and dresser (which now doubles as a change table). We don’t use the glider much anymore so it’ll go into the play room. Anyways, I did up the bed with just a fitted sheet and the feather duvet. I sat with her a while till she fell asleep, which didn’t take long, and she stayed there the whole night. I thought she’d take advantage and wander the top floor but she didn’t. She still cried once overnight but I snuggled up with her and she fell asleep quickly and I went back to bed. For the first night in a while she woke up in her own bed this morning. I think she really likes it. It’s comfy, cosy and just like our bed so I think she’ll sleep much better having the freedom to move. The crib mattress seemed so firm (which it should be) and cold somehow. She always looks so comfortable in ours.

Meighen’s really gotten into her advent calendar which she gets every night after dinner. She runs into the kitchen and points at it now when she’s decided its time. We find the right door and point to it then she opens it and steals the chocolate. She’s so proud of herself. She doesn’t get the concept that there’s only one chocolate a day cause she always tries to convince us she should have another. Something tells me that’ll be an issue for a few years. She gives up easily when given the option of a cookie.

It’s only been a couple weeks and already there’s so much to tell!

Meighen’s getting new words really fast. We’ve added “hot dog”, “duck” and “juice” to the list and she has something that sounds like “Christmas” and “done”. Oh, and she’s mastered “mama” and says it all the time now. I’ve only waited forever for this cause she’s been saying “dada” since May.

She’s also really starting to mimic me. It’s adorable. In addition to tidying up and keeping house like Mum, she’s taken to using our spare camera bag as a purse. She grabs it by the shoulder strap, hikes it over he arm, babbles something like “let’s go” and prances around the living room, so cute. We may need to get her a play purse for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I took last Friday off to hit the Samko Toys warehouse sale. I took care of all the kids in the family (6 Christmas, 2 birthday) and squeezed in a couple gifts for Meg too. I’ll have to get a few more things for her though. I got her a tea set, a sort of etch-a-sketch and the chair my folks are giving her. I think chair is a great idea cause Meg’s all about being a big girl lately.

Speaking of big girls, Meg’s decided she no longer needs the high chair and can sit at the table like me and Ben. She climbs up in our chairs and looks pleased as punch with herself. Last night I cleaned up the high chair and got the booster seat from the trunk. We’ll see how that goes tonight. Also on the big girl front, I think Meg’s ready to give up her crib and move into a big bed. She gets up every night at some point and comes into our bed. Knowing how much she tosses and turns I imagine she’s running out of room in her crib and that wakes her up. She hardly gets up when sleeping with us. So, having kept the queen mattress set for her we’re going to move that into her room this week and see how she takes to it. We’ll keep the box spring/mattress on the floor for now so she doesn’t tumble out and we have a removable bed rail to keep her safe. Lucky girl – she’s getting one heck of an amazing duvet and the most comfy sheets. I bet that does the trick and gives her a good nights sleep. Finally on the growing up scene, Meg’s been showing interest in potty training. She sits on her potty everyday in her clothes and now I have her comfortable sitting on it with her bare bum before a bath. She’s yet to actually pee in it but at least she’s comfortable with it. I don’t think she’s going to get it just yet but there’s no harm in giving it a try. Over Christmas since I’m home for two weeks I’ll take her up every few hours and see if we can get her using it.

It’s going to be a busy month! Ben’s been at training for work this week. Saturday was Meighen’s annual holiday photo. We got the photos back Sunday so it was a mad dash to get our Christmas cards out. We also went to our niece’s 6th birthday on Sunday with the rest of the family. Thursday is Meighen’s photo shoot for the print ad – that should be fun! Saturday is a Christmas brunch with Ben’s family. Next week we have our work holiday parties and then I’m off the week after that. I still haven’t decided when we’ll put the tree up. Meg is going to love it but I imagine it’ll be challenging keeping her away from it.

Every night when we crawl into bed as a family and wait for Meighen to pass out we can’t believe how lucky we are to have such a beautiful, smart, kind little girl. I hope she stays this sweet forever.

This week was Meighen’s first full week with our sitter. She seems to be doing just fine. She whines a bit in the morning and at night when we drop her off but she settles quickly. Meg’s eating great, taking two naps a day and doesn’t seem to mind the commute (yet). I’d say I’m doing fine being back at work. It’s not as great as staying home but it’s a nice change of pace. I love lunch hours now – one hour to sit by myself and read a book. Ahhh bliss.

Not much going on progress wise. She’s still babbling in baby sentences. A few sorta words are coming out, nothing that anyone else would understand though, heh. She’s walking fantastic holding two fingers but not confident enough to try on her own. She’s figured out the stairs on the deck and can go down them without tumbling. We’re no where near ready to let her go down the house stairs although Ben’s trying to teach her to bum scoot.

Meg’s been off baby food for quite a while. She’s done with purees and wants the real thing. She usually gets what we’re having for dinner. She’s not comfortable with pieces of meat yet but will eat ground beef and chicken nuggets.

I think we’re getting ready to cut some more teeth. She’s been pretty cranky the last few days and ran a slight fever for a little while. I was keeping an eye out for measels cause she had the shot a couple weeks ago but forgot about teeth! She has six right now. Hopefully they come in quick like the others.

This will be a quiet weekend but things change next weekend. Meighen will get to visit her three cousins (two from Quebec) at a birthday party in Markham. Then she’ll get to meet Ben’s Aunt and Uncle for the first time on Sunday while we visit with three other cousins. It’ll be a busy weekend. We’re also off to Oakville in a couple weeks for another birthday party. Amazing how things change eh. We used to rarely do kids birthdays and now they’re everywhere!

It’s been a little while since our last update. I started back at work last Wednesday so I’ve been a bit crunched for time. Wednesday and Thursday Meighen was with our neighbour Sandra. It went over as expected – really well! Meg knows her quite well and their house is the same layout as ours so I’m sure it felt just like home. I had the day off on Friday so we dropped Ben at work then went to the sitter (Robyn) for a playdate. It didn’t take long for Meighen to feel at home in the kitchen sitting on the floor playing with toys. Robyn has three sons (5, 4 and 1). The middle boy really wanted a sister so he took an instant shine to Meg. She liked watching the boys run around and play. She even crawled around the back patio exploring. It went well.

After that we had to go uptown for Meg’s one year checkup. Everything’s still great! She’s 20 lbs, 30” and still has a big head at 18.75”. This visit came with two needles which didn’t go over as well as in the past. Now that Meg’s mobile she didn’t want to stay still and hated that she was being restrained. She swatted at the needle a couple times but we got through it after a few minutes of tears (her not me). By time she was dressed and back in the waiting room it was all over and she was happy again… what a trooper!

Saturday we has our annual family photo at the Supercentre. I couldn’t believe it.. Meg wasn’t all smiley like she usually is. We still got great shots and a few with smiles. After that Meg and I went to Oshawa to visit with an old friend of mine from highschool. It was good getting reacquainted and having her meet Meighen. Meg seemed happy there crawling all over the deck and playing with the doggies.

Sunday was Meighen’s first birthday party!! Wow, what craziness. I couldn’t have done it without help from my family. My sister made a small cake for Meg and cupcakes for the rest of us. My mom, aunt and cousin supplied food and snacks and kept tidying up throughout the party. We had a good turn out with about 12 adults and five kids. They all got along well, gave Meg space to check out her gifts then all dove into the presents and started playing. It was sweet. Meg was sure pooped but didn’t want to sleep. My mom spent the night to take care of Meg on Monday.

Tuesday was daddy-daughter day. Ben drove me to work then took Meg over to Robyn’s for another playdate. This time he left her there for a little while to see how she got on without us. He left her smiling and playing with toys but came back to an upset doopy. She cheered up as soon as he picked her up and started waving bye-bye to the other kids…hah. After that they came downtown so we could have a family lunch and a quick visit at my office.

Yesterday (Canada Day) we went to visit Auntie Julie for KFC dinner. We had a nice little visit. Meg enjoys being there and playing with the little girl in the mirror.

I can’t believe the first year is over already. It dragged sometimes and flew by at others. I really enjoyed my time with Meighen over the past year watching her grow and develop. She’s a total joy and better than I could have ever imagined. She is so precious and the light of our lives. People often ask if we’ll have another since Meg is a doll. We’re not sure. Do we want to tempt fate and hope for another great kid? Should we quit while we’re ahead? Who knows. What I do know is that we were STILL in the hospital this time last year. Meg had arrived and we were waiting to come home. A former colleague of mine just had a baby so I’ve been reliving the excitement and anticipation of the whole experience through her Facebook posts. My labour/delivery was so traumatic. I still remember too much and can’t quite bring myself to do it again. Not at this point.

So, not much going on over the next week. We don’t have any plans this weekend but things pick up towards the end of the month. Hopefully Meg has a good first day at Robyns and we pick up a happy doopy later today

Happy Easter everyone! It sure has been a busy week. Tuesday we had our Playful Babies group and we had a good time. After that we went downtown to pick up Daddy for an appointment. Ben took a few extra days off around this long weekend so he was off Thursday returning next Wednesday. Thursday Meg and I went to the Pickering Recreation Centre to go for a swim. Meighen loves the water (well the bath anyways) and I’ve been wanting to take her swimming for a while now. I picked up a cute little bathing suit last week so was eager to get to the pool. Meg took the whole experience like a pro. She was happy checking out the change room, loved all the attention from the ladies at the front desk and most of all loved splashing around in the pool. She didn’t make a peep when we waded into the training pool and went to work splashing and kicking away. When I’d put her on her front with my hands under her belly it was like she knew how to swim. She was moving her hands and feet with such fury I thought for sure she’d be doing laps around the pool. We met another little girl a bit younger than Meg and the two of them had fun. I don’t think Meighen will have any trouble learning to swim (or making friends).

Friday I got to hang out with my sister without Meighen for a few hours. She’s getting ready to move in a couple weeks and wanted a break from the boxes so we grabbed some dinner. She and Ben hung out on Thursday so it was my turn on Friday. Today we had Easter dinner with Ben’s dad and brother. Meighen loves spending time with her cousins, it was nice. Tomorrow we’re off to my Mom’s for Easter and might spend the night. I’m not too sure yet cause I was looking forward to taking Meg swimming again on Monday but this time with Ben. Tuesday is going to be a super busy day with a bank appointment, baby group and lunch with activity with Ben’s friends from Ottawa. So much for a vacation, we’ve been so busy!

The only progress we’ve made this week is she can now go from her laying down to sitting up. Now that she can do all the steps I imagine she’ll go from laying down to standing in no time. I’ve caught her a couple times trying to get up in her crib but hasn’t done it on her own yet. It won’t be long though.