Yellow Shirts, Christmas Lights, Poncho

Grampa and grandma came by last Saturday for a short visit; here Cadence and his grampa are wearing matching outfits. They don't seem too upset about it.

Last night Drew played National Lampoon and put up our Christmas lights. We all went out in the (freezing) rain to check out his handy work.

Thoughts about the Discovery of Toes

I want to add that watching Cadence discovery things like his toes is a remarkable thing that could easily just pass by, be noted, and then stuffed into memory away wherever we stuff away all the other little milestones we surpass. As some of you know, I have two dear friends who have been travelling the world discovering all sorts of wonders and beauties (their favourites seems to have been in Mongolia. I think that's where mine would be too.) In reading about their large-scale adventures, I can't help but feel like it's all relative, and that even though we're sitting put on our living room floor making funny noises and drum beats and faces all the time, we're bearing witness to an equally amazing level of discovery.

Try to imagine what it must like to actually discover your toes. To see that, hey, these things are here and when I move my legs they move too and if I'm just agile & quick enough I can get a hold of them. And, if I can just manage to hold on long enough, and keep my leg from pulling the other way, I might get to connect them with my one true sensory perceptor--my mouth. To see what it's really all about.

I've always felt that I want to live more in the present, but had difficulty maintaining the conscious resolve to do so. I must say the going through labour was a whole lot of here-and-now. But getting to watch another human go through each and every day differently, learning new things, making life-changing observations and discoveries, is both an honour and a much-appreciated opportunity to try and do the same.

Here's to living in the now, and the fact that we can learn so much from someone so small.

Toes

Although all the snow has melted, we're going to try and put up our Christmas decorations today. I've always tried to wait until Dec 1, but we figure a week in advance won't hurt anything. Looking forward to baby's first Christmas, and our first family Christmas in the house!

This week was a big one for Cadence. One day mid-week Drew was out with the dog, and I had to go to the bathroom so I put Cadence down on his back, on his playmat. I came back in about one minute, and there he was, still on his back, but about three feet away on the floor. Apparently he has figured out how to do the complete rollover sequence! I feel like the whole planet has subtly shifted. We're told that he'll likely get around by rolling, then start inching on his belly, and eventually start crawling. It has begun. So now we need to get on our hands and knees & look at the house from his perspective, to get things baby-proofed. But first the Christmas decorations! :)

He also stays sitting (for a little bit) when put in position. Doing very well in the exersaucer; we think it's something he might like to own since this one's from the toy library & we only have it for three weeks.

And, yes, he's found his toes. He will work for a very long time trying to get a good enough grip to get them into his little mouth. We think it's quite amusing.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Drew had a birthday this week. Here's what Cadence made for his daddy:

The Exersaucer, Chewing

Drew brought an Exersaucer home yesterday from the Early Years' Centre. Cadence appears to be a bit unsure about it, but I think he's just now ready for it. He did a few short turns around it, so he seems to have the hang of it already.


Oh--and just in case you thought he might be done with his chewing phase, think again.

Naked in the Coffee Shop

This photo is from a few weeks ago, when Sharilynn was herre with Jordan. She was good enough to send her pictures from the visit, and I just had to share this one.

Out and About, and Eating Everything

A nice weekend...yesterday we went to two different church bazaars in Haileybury. Cadence was a hit, and Drew got to buy a tonne of baking (which I haven't been doing as much as I used to...)

Here's Cadence in his car seat, ready to hit the road. Note if you can the new blue mittens (with strings!) that we bought him at the church bazaar. Somehow the mittens on strings really hit home for me--we have a little child who will one day be running around losing his mittens! Every once in a while we have little moments of "hey--we have a baby!" and "hey--he's going to grow into a real little person!" and "hey--one day he's going to just up & say, 'yo mom & dad, i'm taking the car. can i have 20 bucks?'"


In the car (obviously).


He's still into the swing, and will usually sit in it for about 2/3 of any given meal. He is increasingly frustrated, however, by the fact that he can't put the little toys attached to the swing in his mouth. So we have to attach things that will actually reach.

Pumpkin Time

Cadence's first Hallowe'en was a nice one...lots of snow came just before, so it was starting to feel much more like Christmas. Hallowe'en was a bit milder but not a busy one for us--not a single kid! Here's Cadence posing with our pumpkin, and a pic of our backyard last weekend.

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

Cadence updates

I just realized that I haven't updated much on Cadence lately, so here goes:

weight: up to 15 lbs we guess (it's been a couple of weeks since was last weighed)

neat things he does: tries to talk--both cooing and other noises, and lots of hand gestures. Starting to figure out how to use his hands to do things like hit a toy dangling over him.

He's been sleeping much more regularly: one or two good naps every day, longer spaces between feedings, a more predictable bedtime. Plus we only have to get up to change a diaper once in a while at night--in fact, only once in the past week--otherwise he's in bed all night, with breaks for feeding only, and only two or three times per night. A big difference from even a couple of weeks ago.

Lots of smiles, a bit of a giggle, and we're now getting into singing songs together. He loves an old french song I learned in school; it's guaranteed to get a smile every time.

Cadence Goes to the Fall Fair

The weather has been beautiful, only enhancing the feeling we have every day that we're not living here but rather vacationing at a cottage. Today's a bit rainy, but it's still so warm out that it's a welcome, relaxing sort of rain.

Cadence is now ten weeks old. That sounds like such a short time, but our pre-baby life seems ages ago. So much has happened since July! Our new roof and furnace are in and working well. We're now keeping our eyes peeled for a new car, if anyone knows of a good one for sale.

This weekend was the New Liskeard Fall Fair. I took Cadence to see the animals





and the parade. One of the floats even had pogo balls!


Our friend John Quinton driving the Pepsi float:

The best float of the parade had everyone dancing to YMCA:


Cadence and his new friend Clayton, six days old:

Drew was doing sound for all the live musical acts at the fair; we paid him a visit: