making islands where no islands should go

oh what a day. we left the house shortly after nine and didn't return until almost five! the children's festival, granville island, swings, more swings and lot's of walking were on the agenda, oh and a sandbox with a brand new bucket and shovel. i mention that last one because it would seem that somehow my baby became a little boy and that little boy instinctively knows how to shovel sand into his bucket all by himself.

speaking of babies and boys, my first impression of the children's festival wasn't so great. we were perusing the "preschoolers tent" to see if there was anything age appropriate for cohen, mostly it was for the slightly older set though, train sets and dress up clothes, tunnel mazes and puppet shows, but there was also a "baby corner" which had many plush things to fall onto and large wood objects to stack. much to our luck there was no one playing in the area and so i proceeded to set cohen loose only to be approached moments later and told that this section is for babies only. huh? was my only response and so she repeated. well...how do you define that? she didn't understand so i explained. her reply was "under a year". i told her his age, explained that he was indeed a baby, but either she didn't believe me or decided that despite his age he was still not baby enough and told us we weren't allowed. my mouth went sour and smoke started billowing in my head, but i left anyway. needless to say, anything that happened after that was beside the point as my opinion had already been shaped. the make your own music tent had terrible feedback, the change tent was dingy and dirty, and the grass was all wet and muddy, but there were lots of kids laughing, kites flying and my little boy was smiling. still, i wouldn't go out of my way to do it again, at least not for a few years.

i never mentioned but last friday morning cohen's grandma took him to her house all the way until saturday night (that is nearly 36 baby free hours for those who don't feel like doing the math. wait, am i a bad mother because that is exciting and not sad for me??)! it went very well and he seemed to have had a great time, even sleeping for ten hours straight at grandma's (i know, what the?!?!? why doesn't he do that at home?). he wasn't the only one that slept ten hours though, for the first time in almost eleven months i slept the whole night through and got up on my own accord too! it was heaven. hopefully grandma will want to do it again sometime soon!

now for your amusement another round of cohen out takes.



and one cute one for good measure

better days are here again

today was a long day filled with many outdoor adventures. we walked over to commercial, stopping at several parks along the way, and went swimming at the community centre. the sun shone down on us and our short sleeves the entire way.


those moms out there reading this may feel a little nervous to see the sun shining down on cohen without a hat on, and i agree. months ago, when he wasn't quite so strong willed, cohen would allow me to fancy up his head with all sorts of toques and knit caps, but then one day he had a fit, tore it off, and hat shopping has never been the same. i have tried and tried again with no success. i had even resolved that i would get one that fastened and he would have to wear it! something about liking or lumping. every hat i found though had a velcro strap for safety and velcro is no match for the great hat escaper, so eventually i gave up. i knew that it couldn't last forever though, unless he grew a full shaggy head of hair by late spring, a hat was going to be necessary, so i was always on the look.

the search ended today.


this one has a toggle on the string. a toggle is tricky business. i made him wear it around the store to make sure he couldn't get it off. he cried and wiggled and snorted, but he did NOT escape and so i bought it at once and then explained to him what "lump it" meant.

i figure by august he should be used to the idea of the monstrosity on his head, but until then i will just have to persevere.

weekend roundup

this is a rabbit, or a bunny if you like. you can tell this by the floppy ears...right? ok, it might be somewhat ambigious what variety of animal it is exactly, so i am telling you, it is an easter bunny. he has no name, although "rabbit" was thrown around. i figure i might as well start naming things what they are, simple is the new complex after all. rabbit represents all of the chocolate and marshmallowy goodness that awaits cohen in future years, however, this year crinkly ears will have to suffice.

so if cohen got rabbit, then what did i get? a saturday night out with two of my favourite people, aaron and nicole. there were nachos and beers on a patio with people gawking, then movie theatre watching (blades of glory, which was incredibly cry with laughter hilarious...although maybe that is the beer talking) and finally new apartment lounging, complete with dark chocolate and berry compote covered raspberry sorbet eating and dvd watching. there is something incredibly cathartic about visiting with them for me. a place outside of myself. when i am there i feel like the old t. now don't get me wrong i love this new life, the one with the husband and baby, but it is still nice to visit the old one, even just to say a quick "hi, how are you". i am lucky to have such a place to recharge my batteries every once in a while.

the rest of the weekend was spent sleeping in (well sort of), sipping coffee on sidewalks, walking and swinging on swings, then visiting with grandma (cohen's, not mine, unfortunately that isn't possible anymore) and eating a decadent fondue spread together that consisted of much marinated meat and vegetable tempura, followed by many fruits dipped in melted chocolate with amaretto for good measure. there was a delicious bottle of wine and good conversation and then a good night.

today was all about being lazy. napping and relaxing and more coffee drinking. we were supposed to go out with my brother to the park this afternoon but the weather wasn't co-operating and so collectively it was decided that frolicking is best left for another, much sunnier, time. it is just as well as cohen moaned a lot today, i suspect another tooth although there were sniffles in his nose last night and some heat on his temple, whatever it is it left him on the wrong side of happy for much of the day. it still wasn't enough to throw me off though, it was a great weekend even without chocolate rabbits and eggs. i am just glad for any occasion that finds all three of us home together for four days in a row, it should be like this every week.

nine months

have you ever wondered what a day with cohen is like? if you have then today is your lucky day! as a way of celebrating his nine month day i bring you "a day in the life of..."

today we woke up late, close to nine actually. well ok, maybe that is when i woke up. cohen and i have a little deal going where i put toys in his crib and open the blinds so that he can play/ stare out the window while i get another forty five minutes. it doesn't happen all that often, but sometimes i just need a little more time!

so we woke and ate breakfast which today was a slice of toast with cream cheese cut into bite size pieces, half a banana cut into chunks and four grapes peeled and sliced. i love this kind of breakfast because all i have to do is put it in front of him and he does the dirty work himself. this allows for me to make tea and eat cereal, oh and watch him with amusement.

(i would have a picture here if i thought of doing this earlier today and had taken one).

after breakfast there was about half an hour of playing and then nap time. on a good day the nap lasts an hour and a half. today it was closer to forty five minutes.

then we were up and dressed and out the door. our adventure took us to science world for the first time where we bought a membership, and then went in and played for an hour. i regret not going sooner, there is so much for little ones to do (and way more for the older kid set). he had a great time watching all of the other kids and crawling around playing with foam blocks and mirrors. there were a lot of kids there and so it is certainly not a quiet day activity, but it was a ton of fun none the less.

next up was a walk back home to get changed and relax for an hour before heading out to meet our friend dreena for lunch. we decided to go to locus up at main and 25th, thankfully cohen slept the whole walk there and for the first twenty minutes in the restaurant. then we enjoyed some potato bread and soup of the day (roasted onion apple) together.

afterwards we meandered back down towards home stopping at the consignment store where we scored a pair of see kai run shoes, which i have always admired but thought outrageously priced. the ones we got hardly looked used at all and were half of what they are new, an opportunity i couldn't pass up. besides, i think it is about time he had a pair of walking shoes to help him on his way! we also picked up some fleece from the fabric store so that i can attempt a stroller blanket. then we were home.

next up? playing in the corral while i got dinner ready.

then dinner.

then a bath.

then a story.

and now bed.

my day will be finished with some amy's broccoli pot pie and a beer and hopefully watching this and this.

now be honest, you wish we could switch jobs, don't you?

i will leave you with a video of cohen demonstrating his newest milestone, standing on his own (albeit for only a second). have a good weekend!

you say you don't want to run and hide

today was swimming thursday (we went last week on thursday as well, so now, with little to back it up, i am declaring thursday swim day). this week we went with marita and atticus. it was his first time in the pool and i must say he did very well. very well indeed. there may have been moments of hesitation (or was it meditation?), but they quickly faded into glee. i hope that our future holds many more swim thursdays (or wednesdays, or fridays...well you get the point).

in other news, yesterday morning cohen and i went out for a walk to the store, and a bit of a strange thing happened. i should preface this story with the fact that i have never been stung by a wasp. honest. never. as a result i have an unusual fear of them. in theory i realize that a sting wouldn't hurt that much (i mean i did give birth after all), but it is the not knowing that freaks me out. maybe i am deathly allergic? remote, but still possible (and yes i know i get one freebie before i swell up to the size of a grape and burst). oh sure, there have been moments where i have considered just putting myself in harms way to get it over with, but those moments almost always end with me changing my mind and then running around in circles waving my arms in the air and breathing short quick breaths.

so what does this have to do with our walk? well, there was this moment along the way when a wasp landed on the arm of the stroller, just inches away from cohen's happily flailing arm and instead of my usual instinct (which is to start the circle running and strange breathing), i was filled with this desire to grab it, to have it firmly in my grasp, to make it impossible for it to hurt him. i had absolutely no fear of the wasp, but only this deep rooted need to protect at all cost. as i reached down (and really i would have shooed it away first, i mean i am not a madman) it flew away on it's own. it left an impression though. in that small moment i understood a little deeper what it means to be a mother, how far i would go on instinct alone just to ensure safety. i am not sure parenting changes you (although i may be wrong yet), as much as brings to the surface these things, things we all carry with us yet have never known. everyday is a discovery.

also, thanks to everyone who chimed in with your humour and support of the cage. it softened the edges of my guilt and made me thankful for friends.

oh mr sun, sun, mr golden sun, please shine down on me

what a wonderful day! the sun finally came out from behind those huge wet clouds and for several hours in a row the sky was blue. it was the sort of day when everyone is so joyous for the change that they wear inappropriately summery clothing while their teeth chatter in the shade. cohen and i, although not wearing summery clothing, ventured to the park and put a blanket down (who cares if it is still damp, ok wet, the sun deserves a blanket). our basking was short, but incredibly satisfying none the less.

i wish i had pictures to share with you, i had the camera, but cohen had plans of his own. unlike the last time we put a blanket down, this time he was on the move. what is that green stuff growing after the blanket? wow, is that dirt? isn't spring great mom? so there were many pictures taken of him crawling away with his head down. i don't blame him, this may be the only day we get of it for weeks, who has time to look at the camera when there is an entire world outside waiting for us to explore?