Pitter-patter

And the little feet are on the move! Isla has started to piece together that she can stand up.... and move. Slowly, she is starting to get a bit braver with taking steps on her own. She has actually gone quite far on her own, but she has to be balanced without holding onto us first. It is pretty cool to see her doing this all by herself! 

Last week was incredibly hectic as I attempted to figure out what to do for Isla's daycare situation. We had something set up which I thought was going to work really well, but discovered that Isla needed to be a bit more independent in order to go there. Such a shame, as it really made me so sad that someone didn't want her at their home everyday- such a cute, bright smiling face. I was pretty bummed out for a bit, and had the "I-am-staying-home-forever" melt down, but I think we came out of it ok. We literally had home daycare visits everyday. It got to be pretty funny, as I felt that I was just taking Isla to random people's houses to play for an afternoon and pass some time, never to see them again. I definitely saw what I didn't want to send her to, and I saw some that seemed decent. The thing I struggled with, was how do I leave her with someone I don't know. The few choices that I had ended up being the daycare providers children, and Isla- no one else. No other parents to talk to about their kids or to find out what was happening. How would I know what she really did during the day, or how she was really treated. When they are so small, I felt that I really needed to know who I was passing her over to. 

We decided to send her to one of the local daycare centres. It definitely cost more (almost double. yikes), but it is regulated, there are other kids her age to play with... and they document so much that I literally know every single minute of her day. She is so small and important to me, that I would rather pay more for her safety and my sanity at this point. I really wish we had found a home daycare with someone I trusted, where she could spend hours outside watching birds and playing on climbers, but it just wasn't happening. I think this is just more incentive to have another so that I can be home with both of them :)

Isla has been learning some cute new things lately:
- She can say Dad. Today at lunch, I put Sean's school photo in front of her. Isla smiled, said Dad and waved... and then offered him a piece of her grilled cheese. Priceless!
- Her favourite song is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star- she will look at you and put her hands in the air, waiting for you to sing... with actions of course. 
- She tries to copy if you tilt your head and smile with her. She hasn't quite figured out how to get her head tilted to the side like that so it kind of goes back and up and she gives a really big smile
- She can blow kisses
- She loves when you crawl and "chase" her. She will stop and let me catch up and then smile and throw her head back just waiting to be tickled... and then do it all again. My jeans are now all covered in holes in the knees from this game!

11 months old

My beautiful baby girl is 11 months old today. One month shy of her first birthday- seriously, where did this year go? I am in the process of making her a birthday book (wait for the post... this will literally take until her first birthday, but I am determined to accomplish it) and have had a great time looking at all of the pics we have taken this year. It is crazy to see the pictures and videos of when she was only a month or two old. How is it possible that I almost forget it already?? 

Isla is continuing to grow every single day- all of a sudden her 6-12 month pants are more like capris, and even her 12 month footed sleepers seem too short for her to move comfortably. Not sure where she gets the length from as Sean and I are exactly tall! A few more teeth have come in and we now have four top and four bottom... I am positive there are likely a few more pretty close, but I don't dare stick my finger in there as she chomps it immediately. Isla is walking all along and between furniture if it is close enough. The other day she actually took two steps towards me, but that is fairly rare. She is pretty good at standing when she wants to, although she doesn't stay in one spot long enough to really stand for very long! Isla can cruise along behind her walker with more of a run since it moves pretty quickly on the hardwood. She loves showing off her walking skills to anyone around and will look back and smile at us while doing so. 

As my last month of mat leave winds down, I am trying to sit back and enjoy every minute that I can with her. Even when she whines about getting her face washed, or having to get changed, I am vowing to smile through it and really be thankful for this time that I have had to spend. I would not have traded this year with Isla for anything in the world. I have been so fortunate to be able to watch her grow and learn every single day. 

Happy 11 month birthday, Isla :)

Happy Golden Birthday to me!

Today I turned 30... on the 30th... so it was my Golden Birthday! woohoo! My parents came down this weekend and Sean and I took full advantage by zipping out to a nice solo dinner on Saturday night. We didn't stray far, just down the street to Allegro, but it was perfect. We really don't get any nights out, let alone just the two of us, so it was a nice change. 

Isla's present to me today was the perfect mid-day nap from 12:15-2:15. On Saturday, I took my parents to Orangeville to Philadelphia's Kitchen (great Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches) and some shopping, so I gave her a morning nap in hopes that she would last through the full day and snooze on the way home. We left Orangeville just after 3, so I thought for sure she would be out. Well, I look in my mirror to see her in the backseat doing everything that she possibly could to get my mom to look and smile at her. Such a little comedian. Needless to say, she didn't sleep! When we got home, my mom took her for a wee walk and she ended up with a pretty late afternoon snooze causing havoc on bedtime. 

Two naps just won't fly for this little kid anymore. So today we went shopping for a bird feeder (Birds are Isla's FAVOURITE so I though we should get one to attract them to our backyard instead of snooping around other people's), went to McDonalds (since I never get to go with Sean... it was my birthday!), a little shopping, and then home for nap. Perfect. Let's hope this is starting a trend and Isla is realizing that one nap is where it's at. 

Lately, Isla has figured out her walker... it is one of the cutest things ever. She used to attempt to stand up with it, but the wheels go so quickly on the hardwood that it would always escape. I guess she is really starting to master balance because now she cruises all over the house. She will get going at a good clip, and then look back at you and smile. 

Isla has also started standing on her own for a few seconds at a time. Today, she was sharing Sean's piece of birthday cake, and was loving it. She would go to sign "more", and need two hands, so would let go of his knee and sign over and over until she got more cake.... not even realizing that she wasn't holding onto anything! The other day I was cooking dinner, and came around the corner to see her standing at the fridge with a picture in her hands...when I said "yay" she looked at me and fell over. oops. Anyway, we're getting there! She will be 11 months in a week and a half... so no doubt she will be fully standing (and hopefully close to walking) by a year!

Dropping naps

I must say that I have been super fortunate with Isla's napping since she was about 3 months old. It took work ( a lot of it) to get her napping, but she did and has been really good about it. For the past few months she has been on two naps a day: one at 10 and one around 2. Generally, she would sleep for an hour or so for each one. Recently, she starting extending her morning nap to 2 hours (sometimes more). This is great because I enjoy the "me" time and the chance to shower and quickly organize the house a little bit in the morning. However, she has decided that she is not sleepy at all for an afternoon nap... I can't blame her! So tomorrow (she woke up early today so I decided to give her 2 naps... not a good choice as I have heard her playing for the last 40 minutes) we start transitioning to one nap. 

I am going to attempt to do it gradually, as I think I will get a battle if I attempt to all of a sudden keep her awake until 12:30. I will keep her up until 11 or 11:30 tomorrow and then go from there... move it in small increments every couple of days and see how she does. 

Hopefully, this is what she needs and it works out!!

10 months old

Yesterday, Isla turned 10 months old. Only 2 months away from being a year- crazy! She continues to be a ball of energy and is such a smiley and happy kid every single day. 

I had the opportunity to head back to work as school started up last week. With two Grandmas who were very keen to come and help out, I took the offer and went back to the classroom teaching French for a week. Tuesday (the first day of school), was a pretty tough day as it was the first time that I had ever left Isla for more than a few hours. If I have to leave for any reason, I usually time it during a nap, so she doesn't really ever notice. It was a really long day, but I survived and she did wonderfully. My work week is over and I am back home with her now, but let's hope that daycare start up goes as smoothly in a few months. 

On the topic of daycare, we have (almost) secured her daycare spot for November. I need to run over the paperwork and deposit at some point this week. My only worry is that our provider is pretty insistent that she is walking when she goes... that means we have two months to practice, practice, practice. As Isla is a busy little thing, I am hoping it won't be a problem at all. At the moment, she loves walking holding onto our hands, can walk (holding on) along the couch, and can stand if holding onto something. The other day I did see her stand on her own for a few seconds when she was playing at her music table. I have my fingers crossed that Isla makes this an easy milestone and picks up walking quickly on her own!! 

Here are some of the new things that Isla has started doing recently:
- Giving "kisses" and "hugs" to Miso and Pierogie. 
- Playing peekabo on her own 
- Drinking homo milk (organic goats milk... homo cows milk hasn't gone over well so far)
- Loving the slide at the park
- Actually putting the balls in the right hole in some of her toys

AND we almost have another new tooth on the bottom. So far we have four on top and two on the bottom, but I guess this new one makes three! I  can see it and feel the tip, so it won't be long now. 

Happy 10 month birthday Isla!

End of summer...

Really?? How on Earth has it come to be almost the last week in August?? Isla and I have been totally spoiled having Sean home every day, and it is going to be such a change when he needs to return to work in a week and a half! Isla will definitely miss her daddy during the day, but hopefully I will be able to amuse her enough to fill the time. 

We have noticed such big changes in her recently:
- Her top four teeth have come in, and as soon as this happened, Isla started to make these funny smiles. It is super cute! She smiles so that all of her teeth show and gives a little laugh. What a monkey. 

-She is now pulling herself up to absolutely everything. She loves standing and then letting go and falling to her bum. She will do in 10 times in a row- luckily her big cloth diapers protect her little bum from the hard floor! Not only has she started standing, but attempts to climb onto things. She will get her little feet up on the bottom drawer of her dresser and try to get up to the very top shelf for a book or toy. The other day she actually almost did a chin up when we were visiting a daycare as she really wanted into the bin of sponges!

- Isla waves hello (or goodbye) to absolutely everyone and everything. The moose clock in her room gets a wave when we pass it. Her pictures on our dining room walls get waves when she looks at them. Sean's poster of Jamling at the bottom of our stairs is her favourite and gets a massive smile and wave everytime we pass. 

- She has started clapping... we haven't quite mastered the coordination as her hands don't always meet up and she doesnt make any noise... but the intent is there :)

- Isla signs for milk and will ask anyone in the vicinity of the fridge to get it for her! She can also sign bird and loves looking for birds and ducks outside. We can get her to sign more if we really encourage it, but usually just get a point. 

- She loves giving "kisses", which involve her coming at you with a wide open mouth

- Isla is starting to like the slide at the park. She used to be solely interested in the swing (and eating the woodchips), but really likes going down the slide now. She will sit at the top, grab a hold of the sides, and launch herself down- we have to be pretty careful that we don't look a way for a minute or she will definitely try it on her own! For now, one of us has to get a good grip on her while she pulls this stunt. 


We have finally almost figured out the daycare situation. We go on Wednesday for a visit and will make a final decision then, but we have a spot that came highly recommended from friends. It is such a stressful thing and hopefully it will work out that Isla really enjoys going to this spot!

It has been such a fast and amazing summer. I am so glad Sean had two months off to spend time with Isla- I love being able to sit with him and just watch her. She amazes me every single day. 

9 Months

Recently, Isla celebrated her 9 month birthday. What a month it has been! 
Some new things this month:
- Isla now has 3.5 top teeth (the 0.5 is one that is ALMOST there.... I can feel a little bit of it before I have to yank my finger out so that I don't get it taken off!)
- She is now pulling herself up to standing on every piece of furniture/leg she can find. She especially loves the dressers in her room because they have handles made just for this purpose. I came into her room the other day to find her with one leg up on the lowest drawer, all set to climb up to the top. uh oh)
- We dropped the mattress in her crib to the bottom level. I have yet to come in and see her standing (she usually has her face pressed to the bars) but I didn't want to risk it!
- She waves goodbye and hello to everyone she meets. She also makes a "hhh" sound when she does it....pretty sure this is her saying "hi". 
- Isla can sign bird. She absolutely LOVES birds, and bird watching in the back yard with daddy. She will sign bird if you do it too
- Grilled cheese sandwiches and blueberry pancakes are her fave foods
- Sitting up and reading her bath book are favourite parts of bath time... no more reclining in the baby bath. It is either sitting or standing!
-Isla is still doing her version of an army crawl. If she comes to an obstacle on the floor, she will get up onto her knees and do a proper crawl over top , and then go back down. Silly kid. She is pretty quick. I am pretty sure that she will just go from this to walking...skip the in between stuff. 

We are loving every minute of watching her grow!