Today's Post is Brought to You by the Letter L

L is for Lightweight

     Laura had her 15-month check-up last week. She has only gained a few hundred grams since her 12-month check-up, which is not enough. She has severely fallen off the bottom of the growth chart. It would be one thing if she were just small, but she has barely been gaining any weight at all, which is not normal. This has actually been going on since she started solid foods. She was small when she was born, but did a good job catching up in the first few months when she was exclusively breastfed. Once she started on solid foods though, her weight gain started tapering off... a lot. The doctor has finally decided it is time to be concerned about it, and suggested we stop breastfeeding so often (she still nurses about 8 times a day) so she would be hungrier for food. He also suggested giving her two bottles of full-fat cow's milk per day in place of feedings. From what I can tell, there is no reason why she needs cow's milk when she can have breastmilk. It doesn't have more calories than the rich hindmilk, and breastmilk is produced specifically for her. Giving her milk from another species, a species whose digestive system has relatively little in common with the human digestive system, seems odd to me. Cow milk is for baby cows. And, as such, I am not resorting to that yet. She does get (organic) cow's milk a few times a week to provide variety, like any other food I give her, but it's not something I would like her having every day, let alone in place or something I can make for her. For now, I am trying to cut out her 'snack nursing' so she is hungrier at mealtimes, and make sure she takes a full feeding when she does nurse, so she gets to the fatty hindmilk.
    And on the topic of the doctor's visit... I mentioned that Laura seems to have 'lost' a few words (thank you, baby, all done, etc.) that she used to say, which seemed strange to me. He replied with, "Oh, are you worried about Autism?"
     Ahhh!

     "No... it hadn't actually crossed my mind."
     "Oh, okay, well I wouldn't worry about it for right now, then."

     Hmmm, okay great. Like I'm not going to worry after you go and say something like that! :/

     After we got home I went and researched symptoms, and alarmingly, Laura did seem to match up with a handful:

• Does not consistently respond to his/her name.
• Doesn’t follow directions.
• Seems to be deaf at times.
• Seems to hear sometimes, but not others.
• Used to say a few words or babble, but now he/she doesn’t. Okay, she still talks, but she is missing words that she used to say, which is apparently a big red flag.
• Has odd movement patterns such as flapping arms or shaking body, especially when excited.
• Seems hyperactive much of the time; is always “on the go.”
• Is often uncooperative or oppositional during daily routines.
• Seems to prefer to play alone.
• Is very independent for his/her age.
• Walks on his/her toes. (Sometimes)

      No one else seems to share my concern, and honestly, I hadn't thought of it until the doctor brought it up. Please, other moms of one-year-olds, tell me your kids do some of these things too! I'm sure she's fine, but still something to keep in mind, especially since the younger they are diagnosed, the more likely treatment is to be effective. And the other thing is, is that Autism occurs as a range of severity, so it's possible she could just have a mild case. 

L is for Laughing

     On a lighter topic, Laura has recently developed this horrible-adorable Fake Laugh. I mean, she uses it when she is happy or excited about something, but it just sounds so forced and ridiculous. LOL

L is for Lawn

BEFORE

AFTER

      Yeah, we have one now. It's sweet. L is also for Letting the Dogs in the Yard Again. Willow was soooooo happy to have her stompin' ground back.

     We still have a strip at the back of the yard that is "au naturale" (read: weedy) because the yard is sloped there and we are still hoping to build a retaining wall to level off the sloped part. So we are currently trying to teach the dogs to do their business there instead of on our beautiful new grass.

L is for Legumes

     Okay, maybe this one is a bit of stretch seeing as I'm pretty sure we didn't actually plant any species of legumes, but legumes is French for vegetables, and this weekend we finally got around to planting our vegetable garden! I'm really excited and have no patience to wait for the seedlings to sprout. We planted a few things early in the house, all of which died except the peppers. I gingerly transplanted our mostly-dead tomato seedlings, but I'm pretty sure they aren't going to make it, especially since, despite my best efforts to be gentle, Laura thought she would help by squishing and smashing the mud bombs (aka tomato soil pellets) on the ground. :/

L is for Line-dried Laundry

     (See what I did there? Two L's. If we were playing Scattergories, I'd get double points.) :)

Last summer when we were taking down the old shed, I almost got rid of our clothes line. Now, I am sooo glad I didn't! We could really stand to save a few bucks at the moment, and now that it is finally nice enough, drying our clothes for free outside is a great way to do that! And it's way better for the environment, too! Brings me back to the good old days when we lived in Australia and our house didn't even have a dryer... mmmm crusty towels <3

L is for Lack of Laptop

     This weekend my laptop spontaneously died while Marisa was using it. It is currently at the computer hospital, and though it was looking grim, I'm hoping for good news later on today or tomorrow. Please pull through, we're all rooting for you! 

Anniversary Weekend

     Yes, I realize it is Tuesday already. It's the first chance I've had to sit down for long enough to write a new post, though. 
     Also, can you say hot today? Wow. I just looked up the weather and apparently it's 32, feels like 38 with humidity. It is days like today that make me realize why eternal damnation in a firey hell would be considered torture. We'll just say I'm not one for the heat. I get all red, and sweaty, and then sometimes people get confused and think I'm dying because I look so awful. True story. I really much prefer fall, winter, or spring over days like today. Or at least some A/C.


     But enough of that. On to the real post. 

     Last week was my and Josh's 4th wedding anniversary. 
     I've had lots of people tell me how hard it is to be married, and sometimes they're right. I mean, sure, we've had some ups and downs, but for the most part, I have really enjoyed being married for the last four years. Josh is so easy to get along with, so devoted to me, so funny, so supportive, and really just so great in so many ways, that it has been a pleasure. I consider myself lucky.
     Since Marisa is staying with us and for something to do, we decided to celebrate our anniversary by visiting Niagara Falls. Saturday morning we all hopped in the car and drove down, dropped off our things at Josh's cousin's house, had a bite to eat, then hit the town. We had a gorgeous day for it, too. 

      We hit up the Maid of the Mist first. Laura less than enjoyed it. I think she thought the world was ending because everyone she could see was wearing blue bags, people were screaming, and worst of all, she was getting blasted with tiny droplets of very cold water! Poor baby. She calmed down by the end of it, though.

     
     

     After that we walked the walkway along the falls, enjoying the view and the sunshine. 

Laura trying to jump into the fountain 

     When we got to the end, we took a beer break, and then ventured down to do the Journey Behind the Falls. I found it to be less than spectacular. Got a nice pic of the Maid of the Mist, though.

    After that we headed back to Adam and Adele's for a BBQ dinner. They were really great hosts. :) We hung out for the rest of the night on their patio. After I got Laura to sleep, I drove Marisa down to see the falls lit up at night.

     Laura decided to wake up at 3:30am for the day, and proceeded to keep us awake for 2.5 hours until we finally had to let her cry in her playpen to go back to sleep. Not the highlight of my weekend, for sure. 

     We were very tired Sunday morning, but got up to make our reservations for brunch at the Skylon Tower. Brunch was nice, but the view was even better! 

     We went up to the observation deck after to have a look around, and then headed back to Adam and Adele's. We visited for a little while longer and then hit the road home. Had a nap when we got back, and a quick dinner, and then to Josh's baseball game.

     All in all a great weekend!

Home Hair Cut

15 month picture with Chester

     Laura turned 15 months old today. I've been taking a series of pictures of her with Chester every month to see how she's changed. Looking at today's picture, I realized her hair has grown a lot in the last little while.
     I've never given her a full out home hair cut yet, only lopped off her mullet and trimmed her bangs. 

First trim of the bangs  at 12 months
(always done while sleeping in the past)

She was coming due for another trim of the bangs, and after seeing this picture, I decided today was the day that I was going to give her the first trim of the rest of her hair, too. 
     Her hair hasn't grown exactly evenly since I cut her mullet off, it seemed a little longer around her ears than at the back. So I figured I would just sort of even it out and let it all grow back together at the same length (and hopefully rate). The problem is, Laura doesn't nap in her highchair anymore. And, by the point in the day I made this executive decision, she had already had her nap, anyway. So there really was no way around giving her this haircut while she was awake. 
         
     Enter Sesame Street. 

     So I put her in her chair, set her up in front of the TV, turned on her Sesame Street Rock 'N Roll DVD, and went to town. To my surprise, she was actually very tolerant of me cutting her hair while she was awake, so I can't even blame the somewhat ridiculous end result on her being wiggly and uncooperative... 

     The first problem was that I cut her bangs a little shorter than I usually do. By accident. I was worried I would get between her and the TV and then she would move or jerk or push my hand away while I was cutting them. So yeah... too short.

     Then, after her bangs, I went to trim the back to make it all the same length, and I guess I got a bit carried away, as it too turned out much shorter than I originally planned. I was actually having a lot of fun by this point, though. It's like playing dolls and hairdressers... except the repercussions affect real live people now. :D The idea of this somehow made me giddy.

     So there you have it. Laura's first pretty much bowl cut. But, as the Great Cousin Becca said, "Every little girl has to rock a bowl cut at some point!" Sorry Laura, I guess it's a right of passage. Now that I have a little experience, hopefully next time we'll do a better job. :) Thankfully, hair grows back, and we can still manage pigtails for now.


     Josh was not impressed when he got home. 

Little Girl Clothes

     Has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to find suitable little girls' summer clothing? I mean, I guess you can always get t-shirts and shorts, but a lot of the dresses/ dressier outfits just seem so outrageous to me. Why on earth do little girls need spaghetti straps and sweetheart necklines? Their delicate skin shouldn't be flaunted (because, let's be honest, it's just a bit weird), it needs to be covered up to protect against harmful UV rays. And don't tell me that is what sunscreen is for. I have never been big on sunscreen. Something about that unnatural smell (never mind the gross greasy factor) has put me off slathering it all over my body. I'd much rather cover up with clothing or shade from a tree or beach umbrella. I read a study a little while ago that even suggested that sunscreen doesn't even help fight skin cancer, since it is weird and full of chemicals, itself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to let my daughter run around free range without being protected from the sun in some way, I just use sunscreen as a last resort, and as seldom as possible, not as an excuse to put my child in age-inappropriate skankwear. 

available in sizes as small as 6 - 12 months

    
     And don't even get me started on bathing suits.
     WTF is this, anyway?! -->
     BLECHHHHH. It's not cute, that's for sure. It's just... icky. Laura will be wearing rash guard tops for as long as I can physically force them on her.


     And people wonder why little girls are becoming sexualized earlier than they used to... 


sigh.




END RANT

Single Mom

     Every so often, Josh needs a weekend away from daddy- and husband-hood. He takes off to hang out with his childless, unmarried friends, usually for a weekend of partying and rock 'n roll. These opportunities provide me with a taste of what it would be like to be a single mom, and frankly, I don't like it. It always reminds me of how much respect I have for moms who do it on their own, and how lucky I am to have a partner to help me with all the responsibility we have, even though we often struggle to agree on how much time is appropriate for Josh to spend on extracurricular activities versus how much time he should spend with his family. This weekend was no different. And on top of it all, it would seem as though the troops have rallied against me. 
     Laura has somehow been sick this week. I have no idea where she picked it up, but for two-and-a-half days straight she sneezed about every 2 - 5 minutes, sending copious amounts of boogers all over the place. I seriously didn't know a person so small could make so much mucous. 

poor, sick baby
(This picture is misleading, she wasn't nearly as upbeat about it as this photo would have you believe)

     Josh left on Friday morning, and the rest of the day was filled with thundershowers. My busy child is hard to keep entertained at the best of times, and when we are limited to indoor activities only, it's just that much harder. We went outside in the rain anyway, since it was still reasonably warm.

     Friday night was, well, brutal. Usually we lock Sage in the laundry room overnight because she comes and picks at the carpet outside our bedroom door (or some other equally obnoxious behaviour) in the middle of the night . So, as I was getting ready for bed, I was looking for her to put her away, and couldn't find her. I assumed she was already hiding in the laundry room/ crawlspace since she spends most of her time in there anyway, and shut the door. We also usually sleep with our bedroom door open a crack so it is easier for me to hear when Laura wakes up. However, since Josh was gone, I guess Chester felt I needed extra protection, and nosed his way into our room to sleep with me (usually he sleeps in the living room). So, between Laura waking up her usual three times, Chester being the loud and wakeful sleeper he is, and Sage springing out of our bedroom closet onto my head at 2AM, I was up about every hour. 

     Saturday it rained all day too, but it was much colder, and no fun to play outside. Marisa was out for the day with her uncle, and Laura and I spent a very long and boring day at home. The one ray of sunshine in my weekend was that Marisa came home for dinner to keep me company instead of going out. :) We had a girly sort of night with ice cream and Friends, which she had never seen before, and then went to bed early since we were both tired. 

     This time I made sure Sage was in the laundry room, and didn't let Chester sleep with me. Laura was still up her standard three times, though, but Willow didn't think I should get off that easily. I woke up in the morning to this:

     my basement covered in pancake-batter-consistency diarrhea. Lovely. Thanks, Willow. So I spent a good 45 minutes with my dear friend, The Green Machine, this morning cleaning it up. Now our house smells like tea tree oil. I guess it's better than poo. Maybe I should open some windows.

     The dogs, of course, wanted to romp around in the yard, even though it's a huge mud swamp after two straight days of rain (reeeallllly looking forward to some sod back there soon!). I took them and Laura for a long walk this morning instead for some exercise, fresh air, and a fresh perspective. Still very much looking forward to my man coming home. Love you!

Mother's Day

      I had a lovely Mother's Day this past weekend filled with nice weather, good food, and great company. Josh's parents came up for a visit and spoiled us all rotten, as usual. They arrived Saturday around lunchtime and proceeded to shower us with gifts: souvenirs from their trip to Cuba, myriads of new clothes for Laura, flowers for Mother's Day, etc. 

     Josh and I had hoped to start putting in our new front walkway this weekend while we had babysitters available. Big Al can't let a home renovation go unsupervised, so off he, Josh and I trotted to the hardware store to get cement and all the other supplies we needed. He ended up buying Josh a wheelbarrow for Father's Day (not to be confused with Son's Day) to mix the cement in. Anyway, it was very much appreciated as it was a very necessary and useful tool for our project. We spent a good portion of the day doing that, took a break for dinner, and then did a bit more. 

prepping the new walkway

at the end of day 1

     While we worked, Grandma got her Laura fix doing a fabulous job babysitting. So fabulous that Laura didn't want to nap. She had a quick cat nap in the stroller for maybe half an hour, and then proceeded to stay up until about 9:00. Grandma is too much fun! 

     After we finally got Laura to bed, I had a nice long bubble bath with a glass of wine. Trowelling cement all day really does a number on your neck! 

     We had a rough night Saturday night with Laura sleeping (or lack of sleeping I guess I should say), so I was a bit of a grump Mother's Day morning, which Josh took the brunt of. He tried to appease me with flowers, however, it was all made better by the amazing brunch we went out for at the golf & country club, of which we are now members thanks to Josh's work. 

 Bonnet Baby, affectionately dubbed The Frilled Lizard :)
(Laura's sweater and bonnet were made by Colette)

After brunch at the country club ♥

     On our way home from brunch, Laura fell asleep in the car and proceeded to nap for a good three hours. We used this time to our advantage as the guys got back to work on the walkway and Colette and I ventured out to a garden centre to look for some plants. We found a nice looking assortment of shade plants for a small garden I was hoping to make in the back yard (pictures to follow), and I'm looking forward planting them and getting our yard to a functioning state (rather than just the dog pasture that it is right now). After we got back, I resumed my position as cement troweller and we got all of the full blocks done that we could. Colette and Al had to head home in the afternoon, so we stopped there for the day. 

at the end of day 2
Now we just need to fiddle with the edge pieces to fill in the gaps,
sweep sand into all the cracks, and repair the lawn along the edges
and voila - new walkway! :)

Trees are budding, birds are singing and tulips are blooming! :D

     We laid low for the rest of the afternoon, and then Josh made dinner for us. His homemade cheesplosion burgers (mmmmmm) and oven fries. No vegetables in sight. :)

     After dinner we headed out for Josh's first baseball game of the season. It's been a while since I've been on the sidelines of a sports field, and I sure missed it!

The first two innings didn't go so well and the other team got a sizable lead,
but once our team found their groove they were able to get a couple runs in.
It was fun either way though, and Josh didn't want the game to end. haha  

Laura's favourite part was playing with the gravel

Chester and Marisa were part of the cheering squad too :)

     After the game we came home and put Laura to bed, enjoyed a cup of tea, and played some Mario Kart. 
     Great weekend!

Tell Us How You Really Feel

     Yesterday Canada voted for a new Prime Minister.
     Stephen Harper now has a conservative majority government, where any bills can be passed with confidence at the sole discretion of one party. 
     I'm scared.
 
     Voting is such a complicated process in Canada; there are so many things to take into consideration. Some of the promises made on the Conservative platform weren't all bad, but you still need to keep in mind who your leader will be should you choose to vote in their favour. He is not the face I want representing my country. He just seems so much less professional than he should (being a leader of a country and all), from changing the name of The Government of Canada to Harper Government (who does that?!), to illegally suspending parliament, to supposedly having phone calls made to certain ridings telling them their polling station locations had changed when they actually hadn't, among many, many other shady things. :S 
     It would be one thing if he was a good guy and was voted in, even though I didn't choose to elect him, but not only do I not see eye to eye with many of the values of this party, I also don't think Stephen Harper is enough of a trustworthy or upstanding citizen to run this country based on his track record. 
     Another problem we have is voter turnout. Last election we reached an all-time low, and this election was only slightly better (~61%), still well below the usual. I cannot comprehend how people don't care to have a say in how their hard earned money is spent! In my opinion, it's downright disrespectful to not vote, considering people have given their lives for you to have the right. But people throw themselves fullheartedly into supporting the local sports team. Go figure.
    The biggest problem though, is the way our voting system works. For one thing, we vote for a representative in our riding, which in turn dictates who our Prime Minister will be, instead of voting for a local representative and PM separately. So if you like someone in your local riding, but not necessarily the PM they back, you have to decide whether it is more important to have the candidate you want representing you, or have the the Prime Minister you want (or don't want). That was certainly the way it happened in our case. We had to vote strategically in our riding to essentially vote against the local Conservative candidate. How is that democracy? The official outcome of the election saw the Conservatives at about 40% voter support, although they ended up winning a much higher proportion of the seats in the House of Commons (~54%). If our system was a truly representative democracy, voting percentage would dictate how many seats each party got, not how many ridings they could tip.
 
     This morning I am just shaking my head at it all, and hope our country as we know it isn't destroyed before the next election four years from now. 
 
     P.S. I would like to extend my congratulations to Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, for winning her first and only seat in parliament. :) Here's to hope!

     Oh, and I forgot to add part of my rant:  ;)
     I am so sick of people voting (or not voting, as the case may be) for ridiculous reasons. Like, "so and so has a stupid name. So and so has bad eyebrows. I'm not voting because I might offend someone." COME ON!! How much effort does it take to give yourself a little education on your candidates' platforms to make and educated decision. THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A CANADIAN CITIZEN.

     Ok, that is all.