The Past Week

Cadence is starting to change so quickly; he's starting to reach for things, including food off my plate. He's wanting to sit up a lot with support, and today he had two naps in his crib, after being put down awake (he usually neds to nurse to sleep, or be rocked). He's rolling over more (front to back), smiling a lot, and just being much more personable. Life here is good; we're staying busy and cntinuing to really enjoy te envirinment and quality of life.

Last weekend we volunteered at a fundraiser for a local trails system. We were cheerleaders for the participants as they passed by, and provided beverages & sugary treats for them. Was fun and we got to participate without having to actually get any exercise :)


My dad came over for a day last weekend as well; here is Cadence watching Sunday football with his grampa.


Cadence is teething; I check every day but still nothing there. In the meantime he's chewing on anything and everything. Bonus points to anyone can identify what he's chewing on here.


Before bath time (which he's once again into, thank goodness). Notice the pudge.



My Uncle Bill and Aunt Barbara came through on their way home to Cochrane yesterday. Their first time meeting both Drew and Cadence. After looking at some of the pics from their visit, I'm seeing a definite resemblance between Cadence and his Great Uncle.


We woke up to this morning to a winter wonderland. Dressed up the baby and tested out the sled...although I think it was more amusing for us than for him.

Cadence and Jordan

Our friend Sharilynn came to visit for five days with her son Jordan; he was born in Toronto just two weeks after Cadence. We had a fantastic visit, and I think the boys learned a lot from one another.

Some highlights:
- Cadence rolling over (front to back)! He did it three times but hasn't done it since; he's gone back to just getting mad when we put him on his tummy.
- Ordering a fancy Chinese dinner to celebrate Jordan's first poo in six days (yes this is what life comes to with a baby)
- Cadence watching Jordan sitting up all the time (with assistance of course), and now doing the same
- The boys both wetting their clothes at the coffee shop and getting to hang out naked together while clothes dried

Here are some pics from the past week. Sharilynn will likely be posting pics on her blog as well: www.jordanreesburns.blogspot.com

Jordan and Cadence playing on the mat together. We suspect that neither one knows that the other one is there.


We bought a great glider rocker second hand while our visitors were here; it appears to do the trick for Cadence.


Sharilynn, Jordan and I being tourists in Cobalt:


He misses his friend already...


And here's Cadence wearing his favourite little jumper, knit lovingly before he was born by our dear friend Miia:

Baby's First Thanksgiving

We spent a wonderful weekend in Sudbury, where Cadence got to meet his cutie pie cousin Ryan, and spend time with family. He slept both ways in the car, waking right when we arrived at our destination.

After this weekend, when we got to see little Ryan's grebedtime routine, we're now ready to transition Cadence to his own bed. We don't have a crib yet, so have set up his playpen in hs room, with the rocking chair, baby monitor, etc. Night One was not a success. He slept for two hours, then another hour after a feeding & diaper change, then that was it. He just would not stop screaming, and it didn't occur to me that he might be hungry so Drew & I just kept trying everything else. Finally Drew plopped him in bed next to me where he fed eagerly, and I was so tired we all just fell asleep. It should have occurred to me that he might be going through a growth spurt; he was feeding more frequently than usual yesterday afternoon & it's continued this morning. Anyway, we'll give it another go tonight. No big plans this week, so we can afford to be waking zombies if necessary. Wish us luck!

Otherwise things are well. I'm playing basketball once per week, and loving it. Drew is feeling more settled in the house. Tofu is going to daycare once per week, to get some social time. I'm going to start swimming this week with a friend, and even went running one morning last week. Feeling better, more energized, etc.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Grampa had a great time with little Cadence. Here the baby seems to be looking at me like I have two heads.


This past Friday Cadence held his head up for quite a while during tummy time--for the first time. My "what to expect" book tells me that by three months this is something he should be doing, and he turned three months on Saturday! I don't think of myself as all that competitive, but boy is it hard not to look at those milestones and measure up against them!


Walking before dinner on Saturday. Cadence is napping in his sling, but still getting the benefits of fresh air! (and yes his ears are covered).


A Thanksgiving Portrait: L to R: Drew, Tofu, Amanda, Cadence, Grampa (Gil), & Gammy (Nancy)

The Swing, The Tree, Tofu, Coffee.

It's been a nice week. The weather has improved a bit (not just rain), we've had some nice outings. I spent one afternoon this week with Kelly and little Clayton, where Cadence got to try his little swing. Reminded me that we have a swing for Cadence, thanks to his Uncle Mike & Aunt Wendy & Cousin Ryan...I got to thinking, hey I wonder whether Cadence is big enough to use it yet? And he is! Turns out the swing reclines so he doesn't have to be fully sittting on his own to use it. All this time...anyways, he seems to quite like it. Tofu looks on with interest.


We had a little ceremony outside this week to celebrate Cadence's joining us in the world. We read Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree (gift from the fantastic duo Jen & Dave).



Here is Cadence exploring the feel of Tofu's fur. Tofu is tuckered out from a day at Flo's daycare.


This morning's sunrise. Which I got to see, because Cadence was awake about every hour all night. Hmph. Have added a touch of regular coffee to the decaf today, but I bet I'll pay for it with a baby who doesn't want to nap either. Oh well. Tonight I play basketball at 8:30, which is going to cut into what has become my normal bedtime. Hopefully I get a second wind by then, or I'll be completely useless (more so than usual) on the court :)

Fall is Here

Before I forget, I've adjusted the settings so you don't have to be a member to comment. So please feel free to send a note anytime!

Life here is good. There's something about being here that's just more manageable in scale. Fewer people, more of whom we know (so we have frequent opportunities to run into friends in the street), also less clutter in this northern world, which for me means deeper breathing and a sense of peace that I haven't felt in a long time. One of my favourite features of this community is the drop-in culture: friends who are nearby will just drop in for a visit, for spontaneous dinner, for tea. There's always enough, there's always room. It's just implied that people aren't too busy for spontaneity, and I love it.

Nana came to visit last week. We had a great visit and can't wait to see her again!


Congratulations to my dear friend Kaarina on her engagement--can't wait to celebrate! Here's Kaarina with Cadence back in Toronto:


Drew and I are starting to find ways to exercise, as replacement for the bike commute we no longer have. Drew is out mountain biking with a friend this morning, and I've started playing basketball once a week in a women's league. I went to a baby & mom yoga class, but spent the majority of it feeding Cadence. We walk into town when we can, generally once per day although it's been raining a lot so we've been a wee bit remiss on that one.

This coming weekend is Thanksgiving and we're very much looking forward to our trip to Sudbury for a visit.

The little jelly-bean has started napping well, thanks to Drew's swaddling technique, but still wakes up every two hours at night. Hmph. I wish I could swap nightime sleep for daytime naps.


Cadence really likes his daddy's jokes.


To celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary, the whole family went to Kap Kig Iwan park. Not a very nice day, but beautiful there nonetheless.


I'm starting to see a resemblance between dad and baby :)


Amanda in KL