Naomi, Easter Weekend

Adam, Easter Weekend

Some More Christmas Pics I Love

"The" shot of her first Christmas.

Jitter be damned. I love it.


just a nice pic that happened to be taken at Christmas

Christmas Clothes

Christmas morning in their sleepers. Naomi does have a sleeper to match Adam's, and she wears in our Christmas card but she hadn't actually grown into it by Christmas. I bought it in the after-Christmas sales last Christmas, while I was still pregnant with her and had to guess at the size. Luckily, I also bought this snowman one in case she didn't turn out to be quite the giant that Adam became. Adam wore this sleeper on chilly mornings all through the winter. And yes, I have bought their matching pajamas for next year already but struck out on party clothes that I liked.

Naomi's party outfit. I also bought this one for her while I was pregnant. Except that I was really thought I was buying for a him. Luckily rolling the cuffs showed the cute lining because it was a size too big but it was also a bit boyish on second glance. So, I changed a bunch of the buttons for shiny pearly ones that I found in the Fletcher button collection and some sparkly snowflake buttons that I bought at Michael's in Ottawa. I wonder if the black velvet would have seemed a bit girly had we had the boy we were expecting.

We got a lot of use out of this outfit (at least four occasions that I recall) and Naomi even managed to keep it very clean despite having worn it while barfing all over the dias at the Christmas Eve service in Ottawa. Sorry about your pants and shoes, Uncle Ian MacAllister, and any other casualties.

Beautiful Christmas Sweater No. 1

a hand-me-down from Adam

Beautiful Christmas Sweater No. 2 and The Outrageous Christmas Socks

long over-due Christmas post

It's been long enough that I've forgotten most of my Christmas stories but at least there are some photos! These are from Christmas dinner in Toronto. Yes, the "adult table" photo has been unabashedly and amateurishly cut-and-pasted. This way, we can see in one shot everyone who ever faced the camera.

Happy Third Birthday, Adam!

This morning, I woke up to the sound of paper ripping. That was, of course, Adam opening the first of the presents we'd set out for him to find. It's like the train fairy visited our house last night. Poh-Poh and Gung-Gung, Uncle Ian, Uncle Norman (all in absentia) and Naomi all got Adam trains or train set paraphernalia. I wish I'd taken a picture of his opening the presents but mostly because I'm going to be writing this post as a nearly chronological recap of the day. Next, we played with the trains and made some thank you phone calls.[Aside: I could stare at this pic all day long! But there were also another half-dozen just as great showing his telephone persona, if that even makes sense.]

Then, Adam and I went to the grocery store to pick out a birthday cake. We had wildly different ideas of what would be good. Of course, we went with Adam's final pick, pictured above (after he'd been talked out of an individual serving-sized cake.) It was a very sweet triple-layer genoise filled with cherry preserves and covered in whipped cream icing with shaved white chocolate. Like I said, very sweet. Even Dion called it sweet. [Aside: That paragraph was for you, Beck.]

We took the cake with us to Plaza Flamingo, which is where we go for lunch almost every Sunday. This turned out to be a good call. Not only is Adam a little unnerved by deviations from our regular routine lately but also, Plaza Flamingo has Birthday Sombreros! Again, Adam was not so sure about the funny hat. In this shot, Dion's actually holding it above his head.

OMG, Birthday Sombreros.

Is there anything better than children in Birthday Sombreros?

They were so fabulous that a table of photography enthusiasts came over to take pictures of the kids. They kindly used our camera for a family shot, too. Later, we shared our cake with them.

Countdown to blowing out his candle:

We were even able to persuade Adam to nap after lunch with the promise of being able to open one more present after nap. We actually had to wake him up around 5:30 for fear nobody sleeping tonight. His big-ticket present was an easel. Chalkboard on one side, dry-erase on the other, clips for chart paper. Of course, the erasing is the best part. "Rub, rub, rub, it DISAPPEARS!"

Uncle Norman dropped by on his way to ultimate with some lovely cupcakes, commissioned from Julie's cousin, Catherine, who does this kind of thing for a living, I think.
I hear the secret is a stencil. For the record, these were my cupcakes:
His bedtime book was - appropriately, you will see - his small present from me and Dion, Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It's one I remember fondly from my own childhood and one that had been on display at Indigo a month ago or so. I have read it to him, at his request, every time we go to Indigo to play, which is at least weekly.

Adam, Naomi, Dion and I all had a great day. Thanks, kid! It was bittersweet for Adam and for me too. Adam was a doll today but he was very concerned about turning three. Dion picked up on this a few weeks ago when his behaviour was a little off - wanting to be treated like and called a little baby, which we indulged as much as we could. Turning three has got to be harder than turning thirty, or ahem, thirty-five. Adam was even having trouble going to sleep tonight.

When I went in to tuck him in again we had a little chat. I told him that he was three years old today because he came out of my belly exactly three years ago. He was my baby then and he is still my baby.

Adam said, "No, I'm not three. I'm two. Three is not okay." *heart breaks*

I told him that three will be wonderful and that he wasn't a big boy yet.

"When? When will I be a big boy?"

"When you want to be."

"I'm a little boy. A little baby boy," said Adam.

"Yes, you're my little baby boy." And then the night-time script, "I love you, Adam. 'night-'night. *kiss* See you in the morning!"

And he dropped off to sleep, softly. *sigh*

Pre-Birthday Party

With the requested Apple Cinnamon cupcakes. Why Apple Cinnamon? Who knows? We've never had Apple Cinnamon Cake before. Here's the recipe. (Thanks for the tip, Beck!) It's more of a coffee cake than a birthday cake but it got eaten and I think the adults appreciated it more than the kids. This was the inaugural use of my stand-mixer, which was a wedding present. I made the cream cheese frosting from the Joy of Cooking but it was late and I read tsp as tbsp and we had Very Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. We had enough to spell out 'Happy Birthday Adam" with a letter per cake (while Adam was still asleep) then Adam got to decorate half a dozen more in the morning. For future reference: The mini-cupcakes baked nicely in about 23 min but any more would not have been good. The remaining batter was cooked into a loaf, which cooked nicely in about 30 min, I think.

Adam was a tidge nervous but enjoyed himself but needed about 6 tries to blow out the candles. Good practice for the big day on Sunday. He was even happy to wear the birthday hat. Good sport. Now, if we could just talk about that haircut.

Thanks for taking and forwarding photos, Janet!

New in Naomi

Naomi is growing up soooo fast!

• About a month ago, at Kern's wedding, she'd just gotten her first two teeth through and she started trying to wave.
  
• A couple of weeks ago, she started to finally show some interest in solids. Until then, pretty much all she'd want is Cheerios, which feature prominently in two photos here. She enjoys a lot more things now but only when self-fed. No mush for Naomi, TYVM. The only spoon-feeding she'll accept is yoghurt.
• Over Easter, her vocabulary expanded vastly. Y'know, maybe doubled it by adding Ba, Da, and Ga to Mmmm/Mum, Wa, and La. I think she says Na and Ra, too.
  
• She's been standing independently, cruising, and walking with a parental finger for balance for months but yesterday she started to do the independent walking she's been considering for a while now. She will shuffle her feet under her to move forward. Just in time for playground season. Anything Adam is doing, she wants in. This one just can't be held still. I say only half-jokingly that she is the squirmiest baby in the world.

I also half-jokingly say that I'd give up any of these milestones for sleeping through the night. Good grief, three hours is still a good stretch for her. I haven't slept for 4 or 5 straight hours since around my 2nd trimester, uhm a year ago. It does not help that she does not want the bottle, except to chew. I will also say half-jokingly: Pray for me!

Anyway, she's a happy, healthy baby who measured in at 17lb 8oz and 28.5" at her 9-month check-up a couple of weeks ago.

age	WEIGHT			HEIGHT
mos	lb,oz	%ile		in	%ile*
0	7,1	34		20.0	72
1	9,12	47
2	12,10	77		22.5	34
4**	15,0	68		24.5	45
6	16,8	52		27	82
9	17,14	27		28.5	74

* Using CDC data. I don't get it, though because my paed keeps telling me that she's over 90th for length. Whatever.

Some random pics (as always there are too many to choose from):

above all at 8 months and below at 9 months

Adam

Naomi

more Chinese New Year photos

Adam and Uncle Peter

As requested, a photo with a better view of Naomi's outfit. Here she is with PoPo, Adam, and Aunt Maria.

Adam has always had a special affinity for Aunt Leela. Adam made a special point of asking her to come play with him. They worked on identifying Mahjong tiles, I think.

Thanks Laws, for the photos. I'm not sure whether it was Kat or Uncle Peter who took this one. I'm sorry I didn't bring my own camera but sometimes it's that *one more thing* that'll drive you nuts trying to go anywhere with both kids.

Psst. Don't tell Adam.

There's a love triangle in this house: Adam, Naomi, and Olga. Olga is Adam's lovey, or "transitional object," and formerly known as "The Seal."

Adam and Olga in November

Whenever Naomi can get her hands on The Seal, she treats her exactly the same way as Adam did at this age. She clutches her, carries her around with her, and pauses frequently to lay herself down on her, as if she were a pillow. Of course, this treachery is discouraged and Olga is the one thing that Adam is never obliged to share. We've also had some success introducing a different lovey to Naomi. The faceless organic cotton doll that Kevin and Susanna brought Naomi from California is de rigueur at bedtime. We're calling hir, "The Jester." I think ze'll stand up to the washer/dryer a lot better than Olga does. Pictures of The Jester to come soon. or someday. y'know. eventually.

UPDATE, May 10th: Naomi and Olga caught on film: