Merry Christmas!!!

Yet another fantastic Sanata!! This was at the family party for Wil's work. Lola is a perfect model...

Fall Fun

We have a great U-Pick place near our house. In the fall, the have a fun park for kids complete with a pumpkin canon AND canapult. Best of all, the have PILES of pumpkins!

Our first "trick or treat"

Wil carved us a great pumpkin!


We headed out to show off our costume and visit with the neighbours. We didn't bring a bag for candy as Lola can't eat it. I still seemed to come home with my pockets stuffed!


The costume was a hit! Lola loved running around, as you can see, that's pretty much all we did. Other people loved watching her run around too. The weather was perfect so we didn't even need a jacket. I already have our "family" costume planned out for next year.....

Happy Halloween from the Melis "chick"

She liked wearing her new costume...




She wasn't too sure 'bout it when she looked in the mirror though!


Tonight, we'll tour the neighbourhood.... stay tuned!

Reasons to give thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Our house was filled with family, our bellies were filled with yummy food and our hearts were filled with all the good feelings that come from spending time with the people you love.

Grandma Melis, Grandmaman and Grandpa Cotie came to visit for the weekend. Good thing we bought new living room chairs in the spring as it was a full house! We went to the Mc Micheal gallery in Vaughn to see the Robert Bateman exhibit, which everyone really enjoyed. It is a beautiful location with lots of paths for walking. We will be returing when it isn't raining to enjoy them. They had a special play area for kids. Lola seemed to like the canoe alot.



I know that Wil and I couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving.

Birthday celebrations

Lola turned 1. We had a party. We were really happy that most of the downtown folk made the trip. Wil and I had a great social with everyone( but time went by too fast and we didn't have enough time for extended chats with everyone). We hope everyone enjoyed the great weather, social and snacks!

Lola was generally confused but all the fuss. Luckily, I had a helper to open presents as Lola was much more interested in the wrapping paper. Special thank you to everyone who came and brought a present. We really just wanted a gathering but, as usual, everyone was incredibly thoughtful and brought gifts too. Here is our thanks,

Penny, I put on Lolas boots today for the first time to go to day care. Too cute for words

Noelle, Mike and Jen, the books are something that I love reading as much as Lola loves listening too.

Harold, practical and stylish our little girl is!

Jackie and Doug. Love the sweater, perfect for the season and she is "digging" the snack bowls.

Rob and Raquel, the books are ALL Lola wants to look at. Over and Over and Over and yep, OVER again

Jane and Jay- she is the best dressed kid in the 'hood. The tights are a perfect match for her denim skirts and dresses,

Grandmaman and Grandpa, Lola got some killer jeans and some new onsies

Grandma Sue, Lola looks stylish as ever

Opa Bill and Faye, the music box is a keepsake she will have forever.

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Seb, A classic story to add to Lola's collection

Juan and Julie, the hippest sweat suit we have

Hernan and Patti, clothes to grow into-PERFECT!

1

It's still hard for me to believe that exactly one year ago today, I was gazing down at Lola's face, wondering and imagining what would happen NEXT. Our baby had arrived. Wil and I were taking turns holding a tightly swaddled baby that we would be taking home with us!! She was here, and we had to name her. We called her Lola Rose but, really, she wasn't even "Lola" yet. We had given her a name, but we had now idea what kind of personality she would attach to it. A year has passed and we are delighted with all the new and wonderful things that Lola has given us. Like her namesake, she has a wonderful personality; full of surprises, smiles, laughs and general good humour.



Crawling is boring. Walking is fun. She had 3 teeth, with a fourth to arrive any day. She knows that Wil is Da Da, I am Ma Ma. If she cries and looks up with puppy dog eyes, we WILL pick her up and play some more(even if it IS bedtime). She loves flowers. She wants to put them in her mouth. She wants to put EVERYTHING in her mouth. All in all we have settled into a comfortable routine that seems to leave us all happy(and thankful) at the end of the day.



People say that children change your life. I'm going to have to agree. I can't imagine it any other way.

At the zoo

We got alot, Lola likes it. Now she can see the animals and she is always curious to see what they are doing.

A little off the top

When we were in Windsor on Labour day weekend, Lola got her first hair cut. I love her curls but she was looking like a little ragamuffin, so Grandma Sue took care of everything. Lola seemed to enjoy the whole thing. Since it has been cut, her hair looks even blonder. When I look back to when she was born with all that dark hair I wonder where it went. What happened? Will she stay blond? I guess only time will tell but it's fun to guess!

Yummy? Yummy!

When Lola sees the ziplock that I keep the Cheerios in appear, her whole face lights up. She loves the challenge of trying to get them in her mouth. I just wish she would take in interest in putting other kinds of food and drink in her mouth. No matter how many times I try to get her to hold her own bottle, she would rather just sit there little a litter gerbil while I feed her. She's still her own little personality.

Similar expressions occur when we put on the Baby Einstein movie. She has been watching the same movie since she was 3 months old, once a day, while Wil and I eat dinner or clean up the kitchen. Each time she sees the catapiller logo, you would swear it was the first time. She starts gasping, clapping and double hand waving. She is beside herself with excitement until the credits roll by. Something tells me I should could my blessings as I am sure as she gets older, it will be more difficult to entertain her.....

August

Our summer was very very busy. We went to the beach at Frenchmans Bay to play in the waterpark and enjoy the beach sand.



We checked out the waves but we didn't really like the look of them.....


We went to the fish camp to see Grandmaman and Grandpa




We posed in the boat,


We posed in our high chair



We posed on the beach






But left fishing to the boys

Lola's party trick

For those of your who are "regulars" you may have notice that Lola always appears to be smiling. As Jane, Jay, and Raquel can attest, Lola loves to smile for the camera. On demand. Even if she is throwing some kind of fit. Once a camera is whipped out, she's all smiles.

I swear, I didnt' teach her. Ok, maybe just a little bit......



She loves cheerios these days. That's about it though, I keep making all kinds of baby food and she only seems to like the stuff I buy from a jar. Sigh, what's a mother to do?



But she loves her present from Daphne and Owen!

And she loves to watch Daddy but the lawn. Lawnmowers are facinating machines....

The mother of all updates

We have had a busy few weeks! We celebrated Opa Bill's birthday with a BBQ and the Melis family. Even though it did rain we still had lots of good conversation, food and fun.






With our regular babysitter recovering from surgery, our parents have stepped in to take care of Lola while we continue to go to work. Sue was down 2 weeks ago and they had a great time together.


My parents were down for last week. Lola really enjoyed have her grandparents undivided attention.



It was a perfect time to visit as well as she has learned to crawl and is cruising around funiture like a pro.



And we put up containment devices( AKA gates...)

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Wil and I are wondering where our "little baby" went. We find ourselves watching her sleep and being amazed at how big she looks to us now. We are delighted at how much FUN she is and feel very lucky to have such a happy and good natured child. She is constantly smiling, laughing, clapping and waving "bye bye". While I believe everyone has good days and bad, Lola's seem to start and end with a smile.

Movin' and shakin'

It should be duelly noted that Lola is now moving with her own steam now. It is 10:00 pm, Wil just finished putting up baby gates. She is crawling, reaching, grabbing, pulling herself up and starting to "cruise" around the furniture.

Things are about to get VERY interesting......

The Next Generation......

Lola and I went home to the farm two weeks ago to visit my parents. Wil was at a bachelor party in Barrys Bay at a cottage, so it was just the ladies. This is Lola in the Cotie high chair. It was used by my Dad and his 2 brothers when they were babies. When my parents inherited it, it was in pieces. They had it put back together and it is enjoying a second wind. It has been used frequently by visiting family and now it is Lolas' turn. She seems to like it.

Water baby

Need we say more?

We are on the verge of watching Lola crawl. She sits, bounces and leans forward to get her favorite toys( all due to Wil's training schedule before I get home from work. But her MOST favorite thing to do is stand and walk around holding our hands. Killer on our backs, but it makes her SO happy it is really hard to say no.


Wednesday, when I left Lola in her crib while I started her bath, she figured out how to pull herself up to standing. Although she looked pretty upset when I got back as she didn't know how to get back down.

We are looking forward to the weekend when we can relax in the backyard and spend some time at the park. 3 days of fun in the sun. I am hoping it will be warm enough to hit a splash park as we just bought a bathing suit.

Today

I looked at this headband and said "No way".

Then, we tried it on and I said "Maybe just for today........"

The chiclets

Here's a good look at Lola's chiclets. No other appearences other than these first two.... yet.

Busy..

Ok, so we have been busy. I know, I know, it is no excuse but it is the truth. The fact is that, now that I have been back to work for almost 2 1/2 months, all the pre-cooking and baking that I had done is now gone. Wil or myself has to cook dinner every night and by the time everything is cleaned up and Lola is in bed, it's late and I am ready to head to bed myself.

But, Lola's doing great! She's finally found a comfortable position to sit in while I feed her....



She's really enjoying eating and treats like cookies



We have been taking the train downtown to meet friends( thanks for meeting up Mike and Nat!)


And having a blast at the park



Fashion wise, some days are better than others



But we can still strike a pose



And we are pretty darn happy!