Meighen

Things aren’t really slowing down and since I’m back to work in a month I want to take full advantage of my remaining weeks with Meighen.

This weekend we went to my Aunt and Uncles house for a visit. Meg had fun crawling around, walking with Auntie and swinging out back under the tree. They bought Meighen the cutest little Osh Kosh sweater and pants. Very spring.

Sunday Ben and Auntie Julie went to a movie so Meg and I hung out at the mall and walked around the park across the road. I’m not sure how or when but the little monkey tossed one of her new sandals out of the stroller. I retraced my steps through the park three times and even went back to parking spot I had at the mall. Since I couldn’t find it I just went back to Wal-mart and grabbed another pair. Thankfully they’re cheap (but cute).

We didn’t get up to too much yesterday and today we went to the Samko sale. I was able to get gifts for the boy birthdays we have coming up and also a few things for Meighen. I couldn’t decide between an easel/activity centre or a little table for her to use out in the yard. We ended up with the activity center. It just has a place to colour, you can stick magnets on it, dry-erase draw, etc. It’s a bit big for her now but in a few months it’ll be fine. I also grabbed some bath toys since she loves the bath. I’m thinking I may also tuck the pool I bought her last week away as another birthday present. I’ve been eyeing them for a while and finally bought one. I also picked up a cute blow up frog that she can float around in Grammy’s pool. It has leg holes so she’ll be in the water and a shade so she’s not completely in the sun. It’ll be great when we’re in the pool together so I don’t have to hold her in my arms the whole time. I can’t wait till it’s warm enough to get in the outdoor pool with her. The training pool really limits what I can do with her.

Not much going on for the rest of the week. We might head up to Brighton this weekend and I’ll stay on a couple days. Gotta get a last visit in before going back to work.

Wow, what a busy week in both activities and progress.

We got home from Brighton last Thursday and Ben shipped out to Kap on Friday. For a split second I was a worried about four days alone with Meighen. Like I said, a split second. Meighen is a really easy little girl to be with and take care of. Of course that’s coming from Mummy. She has had mini meltdowns when I’ve gone out without her.

Over the weekend Grammy & Grampy stopped by for a quick visit and Aunt Kathy hung out for a bit. We stopped by Auntie Julie’s for a short visit too.

On Tuesday ,when Ben was back, we went for breakfast at Cora’s (so nummy) before heading to the zoo for the day. Meighen seemed to enjoy it. Even is she didn’t grasp the concept of seeing wild animals so had fun watching the other kids, being outdoors and strolling around. Her favorite animals seemed to be small rodent like ground creatures – groundhogs, woodchucks, loved the meerkats. She seemed to be ok with the gorillas but was really mesmerized by the turtles. I think in a couple years when she’s a bit older we’ll look into a family pass. We live so close (less than 10 minutes) and it pays for itself if you go three times so why not.

Ben was still off on Wednesday so we took Meighen swimming together at the rec centre. That was fun. He’s sillier than I am with her and she loves it. Unfortunately right after swimming I had to get a filling replaced/cavity filled at the dentist. Meg had fun chasing the other kids around. We stopped at home for a quick lunch and checked out the Mastermind Toy warehouse sale a few blocks from our place. It was a bit of a let down. While some items were better quality than at the Samko sale, the prices were still a bit high. Good thing the Samko sale starts this weekend. We have four little bithdays coming up, Meighen included! Next on the list was picking up Auntie at work and swinging by the doctor for a quick weigh. We were hoping to front face her a bit early because she has no leg room anymore, she’s so tall! Unfortunately we’re only at 19.5 lbs so we’ll have to wait a little longer, 20 is the minimum. We stopped at Boston Pizza for Ben’s birthday dinner and had coffee back at Julie’s. Thankfully today and tomorrow are pretty relaxed then we’re off to visit my Aunt and Uncle on Saturday.

Progress wise, Meg is still popping teeth left right and centre. She’s a pro at pulling herself up and can walk around the main floor if you hang onto her fingers. She’s cruising and a couple times has tried to walk on her own but fell. It sucks but what can you do? She’ll get it soon enough. Meighen can climb stairs now so we keep a gate at the bottom and top of the stairs. Once I found her on the third stair! She’s getting more vocal trying to babble in sentences. She can say “dada” although a lot of things are dada right now, not just Ben. She can also say “uh-oh” and uses it in the right context. I’m pretty sure I heard a “buh-bye” the other day but haven’t heard it since. She loves to dance and bops along to her musical toys, shows on Treehouse, Ben’s musical birthday card and the occasional music video. I think she’s trying to sing too! Meg’s now mastered waving. She’ll wave at the neighbours, family, the dogs, the tv and strangers even. There’s two waves – the open and close the fingers with a still hand then there’s the wave your arm/hand from side to side.

Time is going by too fast. I’m back to work in four and a half weeks. = (

This has been quite the week. Grammy came down on Sunday to spend Mother’s Day downtown with my sister, Meighen and I. We went for lunch on the Danforth then wandered around the AGO for a few hours. It was a good day. I decided to go home with her on Monday and spend a few nights in Brighton. Monday night I ran around getting the oil and transmission fluids changed in the car and get an emissions test to renew the plate. It felt good to get those things done and not have to drag Meg around. Tuesday I was able to renew the plates for two years which with the new Toronto Auto Tax came out to $268. What a rip! We toodled out to Belleville and did some shopping for Ben’s birthday, got a couple toys for Meighen and had lunch. It was a nice day. Wednesday everyone (including Grampy) piled into the car and we went for a drive through Price Edward County. It was a nice day and lunched in Picton by the water. Ben came and spent the night and we were home on Thursday. Today Ben went home to Smooth Rock Falls with his brother and nieces for the weekend. He’ll be back on Monday. It kinda sucks cause we spent most of the week apart already but it’s good at the same time. It’s good for him to get home and see his mom on his own every now and then.

Now, as for the title it’s all about teeth lately. Teeth and standing. A couple weeks back Meighen had a terrible runny nose and slight fevers. We chalked it up to teething and wondered when we’d see more come through. Up till now she’s only had the one bottom tooth. Well, the other front bottom tooth has broke through and also one of the top front teeth. It won’t be long before another three top teeth poke through. Yup that’s right, she’s cutting five teeth right now. She’s back to her awesome self so they must not be bugging her like before. I imagine it hurts more to have teeth work their way down than to actually break through. She’ll be all teeth when we get her one year photos done next month.

The time has come and I’ve set a return-to-work date. Of course I don’t really want to, how could I give up spending all day with the best doopy in the world but I’ll be going back on Wednesday June 24. This is actually good timing cause the office is closed on the Friday for the long weekend (don’t ask, it’s weird). I’ll then go in on the Monday/Tuesday and get Wednesday July 1 off. It’s kind of a two days on – two days off thing for the first week. Unfortunately our daycare doesn’t start till July 2 so I’ve had to call in the recruits. Our neighbour will take Meg June 24 and 25 and my mom will come down for June 29. We’re pretty lucky to have a great neighbour and a semi-close Grammy.

Wow, what a crazy busy week but probably one of our best. Now that Meg’s mobile she doesn’t fuss much. She’s sleeping better than ever lately. She’ll put herself down between 9 and 10 and give me a solid 10+ hours.

Monday we took it easy and just bummed around the house. Tuesday was crazy!! We were all over town shopping. Groceries, pet store, mall, Wal-mart, LCBO, beer store – the list was endless. Good thing Meighen loves to be out and about. We were home for a couple hours in the afternoon then off again. We hung out at Ben’s office for a bit then went to the chiropractor and stopped at Starbucks after for a frozen Caramel Frappacino… so good.

Wednesday was another crazy day. After a good night’s sleep I was able to coax her down for a nap after dropping Ben at the GO station at 7am. My mom called at 11am and woke us both up. Meg’s such a good sleeper – takes after her mom. After that it was a whirlwind. We went swimming at the rec centre and had a few things to take to the dump. I was able to make a couple batches of fruit puree for Meg before zooming off downtown to get Ben. We met up with his Dad for a quick visit and grabbed dinner on the way home. While we were grabbing our Whopper’s we saw an accident happen at the intersection. A car was either trying to u-turn or make a left and ran right into a mini-van. The driver of the van got out to look at the damage and the car took off! Can you believe it – WTF. I was so livid all through dinner. The van stayed put till the cops came (I assume, we left before any arrived). I can’t believe the nerve of some people. This poor guy who’s not at fault is going to get screwed and fight with his insurance over a hit-and-run while the creep who did it gets off free. ARG!

Anyways, back to our week. Yesterday was a long day in the kitchen making lots of food for Meg. We had pretty much gone through the five trays of food in the freezer, well except for some veggies. We made chicken stock, beef stew, pork’n’apples, pasta and cheese in addition to the pear and apple puree we made the day before. We’re stocked for another couple weeks, phew.

Progress wise Meg’s a pro at crawling now and spends her days doing laps around the main floor chasing the dogs and following me around. We have all the electrical outlets on the first and second floor baby proofed and as she gets into things on shelves I find new homes for them. I didn’t realize how little the dogs got into things till Meg started crawling. Cds are everywhere, cookbooks are scattered, toys are all over the living room, leaves are pulled off plants – I love it. It’s pure joy watching her explore and entertain herself. She pulls herself up to stand using whatever she can – crib, stairs, her toddler chair. I think I saw her cruising along Sprocket yesterday! Sprocket was standing on the deck so I stood Meighen beside her so she could “pat the doggie”. I’m sure I saw her inch along from Sprocket’s bum to head.

Meighen’s still enjoying the pool and starting to get more vocal when she goes. She tends to be super quiet until she’s totally comfortable where she is, then she starts babbling. She loves the change room after the swim. She’ll babble and shout to hear the echo. She was doing this at the ROM too. This weekend my sister and I are taking our Mom to the AGO and dinner for Mother’s Day. We’re taking Meg and I’m sure she’ll love the echo in the big halls at the art gallery. I’m looking forward to my first Mother’s Day with Meighen. She’s such a happy little girl who’s a total joy to be with