GOING TO THE ZOO!

The weather was perfect for a trip to the Zoo on Sunday. It was wonderfully sunny and warm. Since Wil need some extra "sleep"( read... he was out way late and his body was definately paying for it, let's face it, we are not 18 anymore so we probably shouldn't treat our bodies that way...) Raquel, Melissa, Lola and I headed off for our own little adventure. I'm not too sure if Lola even noticed the animals, but she did dig all the cool reflections in the water!



Us "Big Kids loved having Lola around as an excuse to ride the hippo and take lots of photos....



Wil did decide to wash the car and enjoy the lovely weather as well. Lola supervised....




Wil is away in Halifax until tomorrow so I was responsible for dropping Lola off and picking her up. I also had the car to drive to the Go which was great. And I solved the mystery on where people park. I found another entire lot of 700 hundred and some spots! Yeah for me! It is a bit of a walk but still beats taking the bus! All these little things I don't know about Pickering that I am slowly finding out as time goes on.

First time at the Park

Lola's first time at the park in the swing. It was definately a hit....

Summer, Summer, Summertime!

We enjoyed our first really nice weather this weekend and had a picnic down at the waterfront. Wil and I had subs, Lola watched.... and waited for us to be done so we could push our "diva" around some more........

Week 1 at daycare

Well, we all made it through the first week. Of all of us, it seems the easiest transition was actually for Lola. She's drinking bottles, having naps and coming home with a smile on her face. All good things for us. She did wake up a little early one night but that could also be that she is teething.

This was this morning as we were getting ready to go. I got her dressed in a cute dress which she didn't get to wear too long as she had a "blow out" that required a wardrobe change. Oh well, we'll keep trying...

As for me, the days are going to be long with the commute but work is going to be great. I will be busy and not just sitting at my desk which will be a breath of fresh air from my last job.

Can I hear and AMEN....

She did it! No thanks to me, I can't take any credit for the fact that she will accept a bottle. This photo was taken Friday when she was at daycare and I was touring work. What a relief for all of us. I am sure there will still be a few more struggles ahead but at least I know she will have a full belly......

Countdown

Tomorrow Lola will be having her first official day care experience. I will be going downtown for 1/2 a day to get everything sorted and settled for my first official full day on Monday. I admit, I'm a little nervous. I'm writing lists for our daycare provider of alll Lola's likes and dislikes. I have all the usual parent fears, what if she cries, what if she won't eat, what if she misses me. Or what if she DOESN'T miss me!! I know, she'll be fine.... but she's still so little to me......

It's been a busy week trying to get everything ready. I hosted my first and last Wednesday baby group meeting at our place. I am really going to miss those Wednesday afternoons with ladies and babies. We even had a story time in my honour called "when Momma comes home tonight", which made me feel much better about the process of leaving Lola. But I look forward to staying in the loop and joining in on activities when I can. Wil had to head off to Vancouver today for work but he will be back in time for the weekend. My parents have been down helping me to clean, cook and pick up furniture for the livingroom( they have a large truck!). As well as showering their only grandchild with loads of hugs, kisses and praise for her new tricks. It's been fantastic to have them here. For those of you that have parents closeby-I am offically jealous.

We also bought Lola a jolly jumper today. We got the expected results. Total uncontrolled bouncing and giggles. PERFECT!

It seems that this blog will be evolving into a working Moms' take on life. Expect some good stories as Lola, Wil and I get settled into our new routine.....

Big changes...

We are now on the countdown to another big change. In 7 days, I will be going back to work. I have found a position downtown that I am very excited about. While it is going to be so hard to leave my litle Lola, this is one of the reasons that we moved to Toronto- to find work that we are really want to do. And so, the past few weeks have been alot of rushing around-going to job interviews, finding daycare and shopping for a post baby wardrobe to accomdate my "breast-raunt" shape. So far, it has all gone well. Jenell was a total savior as she watched Lola while I went to my interviews( and Lola got to hang with Van). Daycare is sorted and we have found a lovely woman who seems very excited to look after Lola, within walking distance from our house. Raquel and I had a great time shopping today to make sure that I will look good enough to work in an office/studio.

Don't get me wrong-there is just one little hitch. Lola still refuses the bottle, and sippy cup. But she east cereal and carrots! AND she will tolorate formula from a spoon. I KNOW- that's not really good enough. I have been trying to be very, very patient. I have tried everything that has been suggested but I am at a loss. Any advice would be appreciated......

Lola and the Easter Bunny

Happy Easter everyone! Since Lola can't have chocolate yet, we took photos....
This is her special "Easter dress" courtesy of Shannon in Taiwan, it is a perfect fit!

Look, no hands!

This is our new favorite game, "knocking over blocks and getting Mommy and Dad to stack them up again"

Update

Lola is changing at an alarming rate. I figured it was time to list some of her latest achievements that continue to amaze Wil and I.

1.Over the past few days she has become particularly giggly. Not that I am complaining. I love being greeted in the morning with an ear to ear grin and giggles. Either she's really happy or my bed head is really bad. I'm going to go with her being happy. The smallest things can set her off into a fit of giggles that usually ends up with the hiccups. She's loving when we move and shake her "buddies" around. She giggles when we sing songs and play peek a boo. Although, I have discovered I just actually have to say "boo" and she laughs hysterically so I don't bother to hide.

2.Lola has also learned how to roll from her stomach to her back as she doesn't really like playing on her stomach. She now actively grabs at toys and switches them from hand to hand. AND she LOVES to pitch them to the floor.

3.She learned how to sit up and knock over the Baby Einstein Blocks( thanks Lyndsey and Laurence!)While she still needs to be spotted in case she leans to far, this is a new thing for us to do, and we do it, over and over and over again.....

4.She finally likes her lady bug activity centre-WHEW- I was getting worried! She has figured out how to spin and shake the toys and gets a real kick out of bouncing around. Another thing we can do.

5. She has perfected the move we call the "shimmy shake". This involves lifting her butt of the ground for momentum and using her heels and shoulders to scuttle across the floor. This move requires constant monitoring as she has been spotted moving from one side of the room to the other in mere moments.

6. She's eating cereal everyday. Wil has been much more successful at feeding her than I have. Tomorrow, we try sweet potato.

All of these things are wonderful.

But there are 2 things she is NOT doing.

1.Napping. It continues to be a struggle to get to her take a nap, even though she is a screaming mess from being so tired. I have tried countless routines, countless locations and the only one that seems to succeed is sleeping in her stroller. Not really the best solution but the only one that seems to work.

2.She is still refusing the bottle. I now have 3 different bottle systems with 5 different nipples and 3 versions of sippy cups. She seems to hate them all. But we will keep on trying......

She figured it out....

This is what I found Lola doing with the sock she just learned how to pull off....

TOES!!

As you can see, we have found our toes. And we LOVE it. All of Lola's socks are wet on the end as she keeps sticking them in her mouth. My little yoga girl!

Happy

I went home recently to pack up some of my memories from my parents house, inorder to give them back some much deserved space. This was my favorite doll when I grew up and I thought I'd pass it on to Lola for some quality cuddle time.

Melis curls

Captured by Sarah on the weekend.

MMMMmmmmmm ?

We thought it would be a good idea to try cereal. Lola always watches in facination as we eat. As you can see from our photo, she's not too sure about eating herself yet. All in good time.....

Ladybug friend

We bought this for Lola a couple of weeks ago and now she is finally big enough....



I think I like it Mom and Dad



I KNOW I like it!

Standing

Lola does everything "her" way. She has decided that she really does not want to sit(or learn to do it on her own). She would rather stand. So, like the great Dad that he is, Wil discovered that Lola can do this now...




Again, constant monitoring with this trick or else the result is a SERIOUS face plant.

The abyss

Blogs are funny little creatures. They scurry around peoples desktops. Sometimes they are full size items on peoples home computers, other times they are furtively read at work. I have been told that they can be really sanity savers.
But really,

I have no idea.

I just keep writing into the abyss.

Sometimes, I get comments from my most loyal comentator( you know who you are) and often people will mention a photo when we speak. But are people enjoying my writing? Do they think my humour is wierd. Do they think I'm wierd(wait- don't answer that..) Do they think "that child is spoiled silly with all those photos being taken" I really have no idea.

Please leave me a comment....

Fashion-ista

We are moving(read-growing) into our new wardrobe. I am packing away onsies and sleepers at an alarming rate. This is an outfit from Grandmaman which Lola has now grown into. We like to think of it as the evolution of the pink Ewok.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Move over Oscar! Our first "short" is hitting the small screen.

Starring Lola Rose Melis. Directed by Mommy. Produced by Mommy and Daddy Melis. Please note: No stunt doubles were used.

Best bedhead EVER

Our newest tricks! Boy, are we happy about it!

It's been a big learning week for Lola. She has started to roll. Yeah! I'm so happy for her. However, I can no longer leave her unattended( while I hit the bathroom in record time) and know that she can't actually "get" anywhere. She did her first roll on Wednesday when we were practicing. Yesterday, she did it all on her own. The look on her face was pretty funny as she was definately trying to figure out how she got there. This has also been accompanied by toe grabbing. For some reason, her FAVORITE time to do this is when I am trying to change her poopy bum. Go figure.

Weather is terrible today here in the GTA. After a 2 hour and near ditch experience on last nights commute, Wil opted to stay home( and safe). A good thing as when he called the office, he was told the power was out. I will be missing my first " walk and rhyme" at the PTC( Pickering Town Centre) as I am not leaving the house with the stroller in freezing rain. This new activity at the PTC will hopefully help us meet some new people. I had joined a baby group run by the Durham Health Department and have met some great Moms who are fun, interesting people to hang out with. While our official group is now over we have decided to continue meeting as it has been alot of fun and a sanity saver. Being new to the area, meeting new people has been great for Lola and myself. Having our new neighbours has also been utterly fantastic. Raq drops by regulary for tea and talks. I forsee a regular Wednesday night meeting for our guiltly pleasure tv show that just started. You'll have to figure out what it is for yourself.....

TEST DRIVE!

She still looks pretty wee but ........Lola's got a new chair! While we haven't worked up to trying food yet, this is a nice(read safe) place for her to sit while we eat. She does have a facination with watching me eat so I don't think we are too far off........

and she looks happy to be part of the action!

Sometimes, you just GOTA take a nap...

The past week has been busy. We have been working hard at some "sleep training". I figured it was time to address the situation. Lola would cry if I put her down but then smile and want to play when I arrived at the crib to pick her up. Heather promised me that if I stuck it out, her tried and true method would pay off in as little as 3 days. It seemed impossible but.......

She was right.

We changed our previous routine around so now we have snack, bath, story and bed with Ocean Wonders in the background. While the few minutes of crying seemed like HOURS to me, the results were definately worth it. She never cried longer than 5 minutes before I went in to check on her and sooth her. The first night, she fell asleep under our hands when we( Wil and I) were talking to her. By night number 3, all I heard was one little squeek before she drifted off. This is great for many reasons. Firstly, she understands that she can put herself to sleep without being nursed. Secondly, she sleeps through the night( now that I figured out I have to turn her night light OFF and remove her mobile or else she sees her buddies and thinks it's playtime). Thirdly, if she DOES wake up, she can usually fall back asleep herself, unless she is hungry.

Selfishly, I am thinking that I may actually get to go out one evening....

My favorite Bed Head

Lola may still have a bald spot at the back of her head but you'd never know it when I pick her up from her crib in the morning. This was the toothless wonder that greeted me this morning at 7:00 am when I went to see what all the noise was about. She doesn't cry, just alot of ennnnnnnnnnn until someone picks her up. Stay tuned for some photos of the "Melis Curls" that occur after her bath....

Evolution: From Ewok to Sheep

We have finally moved on to our pink "sheepskin" from Raquel. The pink Ewok has offically been sent to retirement in yonder storage box. But I do think this is pretty darn sweet as well....

One and two and three and FOUR

Lola loves her kick toy from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Seb. It is part of our daily routine of fun and games and appears in our morning play session AND our afternoon/evening session with Daddy. I like to think of it as a mini aerobics class to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle". She always kicks harder and laughs longer when I sit beside her and call out encouragement and compliment her "technique". She's pretty good and saving all her energy for one sporatic burst in which her tongue sticks out and all her arms and legs get going....

Isn't it IRONIC

Well, I never thought it could happen. She looks sweet as pie in her new favorite chair, but this little lady has a very definate personality.

After all we did, the pumping, the crying( and not just Lola!), the feeding tubes and the endless attempts to breastfeed, Lola has now made a decision.

NO more bottles allowed-AT ALL.

Yes, I know, I should have been more diligent and continued to bottle feed her even though breast feeding was going so well. What to do now? I have no idea. We are trying to re-train her to use a bottle but so far, it's not going so well. WHO would have ever thought that she would "forget" something she did for the first 5 weeks of her life? NOT ME, that's for sure!

Isn't it ironic?

Smiles and giggles

Lola is all about laughing these days. And she's finally able to sit up on the couch. But you have to stay very close because sometimes when she reaches for something she just topples over and she hasn't quite figured out how to roll yet. She's very, very close to figuring that out though. Any day I expect her to "complete" her roll. Right now she gets up on her side and totters, then falls back.

Necessity- the mother of invention

The problem was simple. I needed to carry the empty basket upstairs to get more laundry but Lola wanted to come too. On a lark, I plopped her in the basket only to discover that she loves it. It is now her new chair while I cook dinner and do other tasks. Goes to show you that kids to like the simplest of things....

V- day

Happy Valentines Day! We have been trying to keep ourselves busy with all this cold weather. This is the card we made for Wil when it was blizzarding and too cold to leave the house.

HEY! What are you looking at?

Our darling little girl in her skivies, of course! Check out those baby rolls.....

L-O-L-A Lola...

It's been too cold to do much this week. While it has been nice and sunny the wind chill is making almost impossible for me to take Lola out for very long. This is what happens when we have to stay inside, I have no more "games" to play and Mom and Lola get bored.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, Place your bets!

As most of you have seen Lola's eyes are blue. As most have you have heard,I was really hoping they would stay that way. I was convinced( and convincing myself) that they were going to stay blue just like her Dad. Now I'm not so sure. They are definately changing these days and I think I see some little spots of brown. Only time will tell but is sure is fun to guess!

Toys, toys and more toys

But these are some of her fav new toys given to us by Lyndsey and Laurence. They are perfect for practicing lifting with two hands, have lovely textures and are great for chewing on( you'll notice a pattern here) Oh, and she is amazed at the duck sound. It always makes her stop crying from sheer confusion at what the sound is and where it is coming from. Not that is what I call success!

Our New Trick!

Lola has started to "airplane" on her stomach! This is very exciting news for all of us. She can also hold her head up and look around and use her arms to prop herself up. Stay posted as there will be some new photoshoots coming up........

Who needs Star Wars when you've got your own Ewok?

Lola was dubbed the "Pink Ewok" by Jane. I must agree, wholeheartedly.

Lola is about to grow out of this suit so I figured I better get a good shot before that happens. Special thanks to Jovan for this gift. It has been instrumental in our daily walks which is good for the enjoyment of Lola, and the sanity of her mother. Now, if that blasted "Bundle Me" I bought in December EVER arrives we will be moving on to that for our walks and car rides. Not as cute but it will do the trick.

Our Favorite Thing

Nothing beats a good hand to suck on, or arm or neck..... well, you get the idea.......

Our very own tiny toes

AHHH finally.... something to chew on!

She has finally figured it out. Toys are not only for kicking and grabbing-they are also for sticking in her mouth. Alternately, she LOVES to suck on her fist or palm or whatever part of her hand she can jam in her mouth. Combined with all the drool and bubbles she is making, it makes for alot of mouth wiping and giggles. No soothers though, those she just spits out. But beware, if you get your hand or arm near her mouth, she'll latch on before you know what's happened.

Wil has been working hard on her "training". This is their quality time while I make dinner or take a minute to relax. It consists of a bit of flying, brief periods of standing and then "sitting up like a big girl" on Daddy's knee. Oh, and a WHOLE lot of giggling for everyone involved.

It has been really amazing to watch Lola change over the past few weeks. She no longer wants to nestle in our chest to fall asleep and " high shoulder perch" has been mostly replaced by the lower face out "hip ride" so that she can move all her arms and legs while looking at everything around her. She loves to watch the Baby Mozart DVD( many thanks to Heather for this!), she loves to sit for stories and she loves to sit up on our knees and wobble her head around. I am constantly amazed at each new thing she learns. As I packed away another batch of newborn clothes this evening that no longer fit, I realized that everything "they" say is true: babies change and grow up fast. Through all poopy diapers, sniffles, crying jags and middle of the night wakings, I love her more each day. She is an endless source of delight and laughter for Wil and I. She's good, ( mostly) clean fun.

Movie Date

Lola and Jack watching Baby Mozart. It appears Lola is going to be one of those kids that talks through everything.

Our lady in Pink

Happy New Year! We hope everyone's holidays were filled with fun and Santa was very good to you. Santa Wil was very good to me and spoiled me with some special jewelry containing Lola's birth stone. It was a wonderful surprise, especially for someone who isn't normally a jewelry kind of girl. Wil picked the perfect design, simple and timeless. I'm so lucky.

We had a great time visiting our families this year. We spent Christmas day at the farm. As usual Mom had the house decorated to perfection. Lola's favorite thing was the lights on the Christmas tree. The photo above is Lola's Christmas outfit. She matched very well in my mom's living room. We got to visit with family but not long enough to squeeze in any games nights. Next year!

We spent New Years in Windsor with Dave and Heather as our ever gracious hosts. Lola had her first movie date with Jack and Baby Mozart. She seemed to really enjoy it judging from the jiggling chair and squeals I hear while we ate dinner. Sarah and Seb took great care of us during our stay and we were able to squeeze in a lot of family visits now that we don't have to travel so far. Lola even got to go to the Windsor art Gallery with Bill, Wil and I. After a quick snack, she slept through most of it. All is all, a very successful holiday.

Our Little Thinker

She's definately thinking hard about something....

Our day....

You might wonder what Lola and I do all day. Generally, we work at a fairly relaxed pace as Lola's needs and requests(when I can figure them out) seem to change daily. Having the ablility to be home with her is so wonderful, I can't imagine having to rush off to work when she is still so wee.

Lola usually gets up around 7:30 after what was(hopefully) a full nights rest. By this time, I'm usually up, showered and ready to snuggle in for some breakfest with Lola. After some quality play time, she is usually ready for a nap by 9:00. If I'm lucky, she'll sleep until 11:00, at which time I am running around the house like a mad woman, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry or emailing. If I'm not lucky, she will usually sit in her chair with her toys while I finish off which ever task needs to be completed that day. Then, lunch, some more play and off for our afternoon walk. With Christmas coming we have been making almost daily trips to the PTC to do our shopping. This is a great walk for me, Lola naps and by the time she wakes up( if she does) we are inside the mall where there is lots of interesting stuff to look at. Plus all the people stopping us to tell me how sweet she is. That's always nice too.

By the time Wil gets home, she has usually had dinner( and maybe another short nap) and sits in her chair and "talks" to us while we eat. She really likes to watch what we are doing and smiles and giggles while she looks first at me then at Wil and back again. We can't wait until she is big enough to sit in a high chair so she can be at our level while we have dinner. Nights are tricky, they are either really good or really bad. Wil steps in and does countless loops around the house, plays and shakes with her toys for endless hours and reads her stories or takes her to watch her mobile spin. By 9:00 she is usually ready for bed( after a nice warm bath). Getting her to fall asleep involves more laps in the baby sling, and rocking and nursing. But if we doing a really good job.... I get to sleep until 7:00 am so it is definatley worth it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lolas' first trip to see Santa was today. I couldn't resist putting on our blog right away. She's not too sure what's going on but that is ok. At least she didn't scream in terror as I saw a few other kids doing.
And isn't he a great Santa?

When all else fails...

Lola loves to watch the mobile spin and spin and spin. She loves those little animals and laughs, giggles and kicks like crazy as they float by. I love it too as it provides great distractions when I need to get a few things done( like get dressed!).The only thing is, I have to keep running back to crank the music box again and again. But sooo worth it for both of us!

Loads of smiles

Lolas days are filled with smiles and giggles these days. She loves her catapiller rattle best of all, closely followed by her turtle, penguin and bugs. Each time she sees them it it like it is a brand new toy. AMAZING and hysterically funny when she looks so shocked that these toys have appeared in front of her.

The past week has been filled with activity. We took a "quick" trip to Ottawa that was suppose to be only 2 days and turned into 3. As is typical with Wil and I, we learn through experience and so we have to live all these bizarre situations out rather than just hear about it from someone else. Our car broke on the way to Mike and Nat's party. Lucky( there really is some greater being looking down on us) for us, it was about 50 feet before we got on the Queensway, and Wil pulled into the only restaurant on that stretch of road's parking lot. Lola was well bundled in her lovely pink Ewok snowsuit and we just signed up for Roadside assistance a week ago. Thanks to a speedy pick of from Daphne we were back at Jane and Jays in no time. Wil continued on the the party and dealt with the tow truck and car. After some thought, Jay had the brilliant idea to rent a virtue car and head to the party for a quick drop in. I was sooo glad we did as it was great to see everyone. Plus Lola really needed to meet the Ottawa crew. After a day of dealing with Crappy, I mean Canadian Tire, we found out are car was actually still under warrenty. My every diligent and brilliant husband decided to call GM for a second opinion. BOY are we glad he did as the quote at CT was for $900.00. Can you imagine?

Just when we thought it was all going to be easy, we hit a terrible snowstorm near Coburg. I mean BAD, and growing up in the valley I have seen my fair share of snowstorms. I'm talking white out conditions for about 1 our of driving. I was scared as all we could do was follow the headlights in front of us and hope THEY didn't drive off the road. I was sooooo happy to be home in our own house.

And Lola you ask? Well, SHE slept through every incident that happened. Lucky for us, as it could have been much worse with a screaming baby in the mix.