Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas Friends!

We'll be back and sharing photos with you again shortly.  

(I will regroup and rebuild the broken entries as much as possible!)

As for now, we are excited to be celebrating Rowen's first Christmas. Wishing you a safe and lovely Holiday!

oh god

So it also appears that I may have killed the blog as well.

ALL MY PHOTOS HERE ARE GONE TOO.

I am so confused and depressed.

We're finally getting a fancy camera because I killed my Galaxy SII

Well, where shall we begin?

This Friday, Rowen will be 10 months old and I will be 29 years old!

10 months??  What, really?  And also, 29 years??  What, really?  One of the girls at work asked me today how old I was and it was my first time saying "29 on Friday" and I had such mixed feelings about it.  Mostly I'm pretty okay with it.  I feel like a have a lot to show for my 29 years of being alive!

Auntie Sara took this photo of Rowen with her fancy new camera!

We are thinking of getting a "fancy" camera and a new hard drive as our "Family" Christmas present.  Except we know nothing about cameras really.  Anyone have any advice?  Do you love your camera?  We are thinking some sort of point and shoot thing or maybe one of those new hybrid things with the fancy lens that we don't know how to use that can pop on and off?

So....related story, the other day, in a frenzy to catch up on laundry as soon as I got home from work, I tossed in a load of darks as soon as I walked through the door.  Then I remembered that my scrubs weren't too horrible nasty and could go in with the load, so I grabbed them and chucked them in.

About 5 minutes into the cycle,  while I was trying to get lunch together for Rowen, I hear a strange "thud-THUMP, thud-THUMP" from the machine.  

That would be the sound of my precious beautiful Samsung Galaxy S11 X slowly dying in the washing machine.  I pulled her out right away and Lowell got out some rice from the cupboard for her to go into...  but I knew in my heart that it was too late.  The worst thing about all this was that my photos somehow were no longer saving to my SD card and were saved to the drive on the phone... so, it seems that over 2000-something photos, 99% of which were photos of Rowen over the past almost 10 months are now GONE.  I totally suck.  :(

AND Telus won't offer my any upgrades or "offers" until next year.  So it was either buy the phone that I want (Galaxy S III, baby!) for like, a billion and three dollars...  or get a crappy pay as you go handset.  Since I don't have a billion and three dollars to spare, I am not using a stupid old school phone that I haaaate.  *Sigh*  I miss you, Galaxy.  

But alas, there are worse things that could happen.  It totally sucks that it took my phone dying for me to finally be motivated to get a proper camera to take proper photos of the Baby.  And it totally sucks that it took my wiping out ALL my Rowen photos for me to finally get a hard drive.  But there are worse things that could happen is what I keep reminding myself!  

And really, Rowen makes eveyrthing better.

The Rowen Baby is happy and healthy and we're getting ready to celebrate her first Christmas!  

I am happy and healthy and hilaaaaaarious when eating dinner naked.  

(I said I would never post nudey pics of the Baby online.  But this one was too awesome not to share.  Sorry, Rowen Baby!)

I'm sorry for being a blog-slacker!

Dear Bloggy:

I am so so so sorry for neglecting you!

I went back to work part-time and am quickly discovering that being a full-time Momma and part-time vet tech equals being ALL THE TIME TIRED and add to all this a newly crawling Rowen Baby there is just never enough time for anything!

I shall be back shortly with really, really adorable photos and such soon, I promise!

-Z

Photos: Kitty Cat Clean-up Crew, Evergreen Brickworks, Z eats more doughnuts

Well!  I think I officially give up trying to do one of these "photo updates" every week.

Rowen has become a little bit obsessed with our devices.  Mainly the computer, the iPad and our phones.  I had this theory that if we withheld them from her, it would make them elusive and therefore more appealing.  But letting her handle them every day has made them non-elusive and really appealing.  She knows how to scroll through photos of herself using the touchscreen on my phone!    Hmmm.  

The Baby with One Legwarmer

The other day, I turned around for a minute and she pulled the computer onto her blanket and typed a message to Annie.  She even managed to sent it and everything!

Both Cats have been chipping in and doing their part to help out with taking care of Rowen...

Kitty clean-up crew at work under the highchair.

With cats like these, who needs a dog?

The cats have been more than  happy to clean up Rowen's avocado scraps and salmon spills (no interest in broccoli though).   It's kinda gross but it helps me with my clean up...so I allow it.

Ha!  Speaking of "kinda gross".  Oh IKEA, your $4.99 meatball plate is simultaneously so very unattractive but so appealing at the same time.  

I had my "night out" last night while Lowell stayed home with the sleeping Baby.  Annie and I went to IKEA to pick up her surprisingly compact yet shockingly heavy bedframe and lugged it home.  (We really know how to party!)  In related new,  I also discovered that I'm frighteningly out of shape....

I wonder why? 

Krispy Kremes!  

I've been kinda off cupcakes lately and my on again off again affair with doughnuts is in full on googley-eyed Honeymoon phase.  

Apple Beignet and waffle combo with whipped cream, apple compote and caramel sauce from the Farmer's Market at Evergreen Brickworks.  

We went to the market this past Saturday.  Have you been to the Evergreen Brickworks lately?  I hadn't been down there in years!  It's neat being down in the valley underneath the highway.  We picked up some organic maple syrup and ate lunch and watched and danced to music.  It was a lovely outing.  Chilly but lovely.

My new favourite onesie and tights on Rowen.  

Grey and white polka dots and hot pink legs?  

Oh my!

Rowen eats!

About a week or so before Rowen was officially 6 months old, I started offering her one small meal a day of rice cereal and milk.  She had been very fascinated by watching us eat for quite a while before that.  Ever since that first week of cereal, she has been super excited about and receptive to every new food that she's been offered!  We have been so lucky that she is by no means a picky eat so far.  So we've kept introducing new foods.

I haven't subscribed to an particular "method" of introducing foods.  Obviously I've stayed away from the "no nos" and she does not have any salt, sugar or oily/greasy/artificial foods.  We try to make sure almost all of her foods are organically sourced.   I have a couple of books as resources and then mostly we've just been letting Rowen eat what we eat, minus seasonings and then pureed (I wasn't comfortable with just letting her eat everything we eat, ala baby led weaning).  The surprising result of this has also been the fact that I'm eating more vegetables.  But alas, I am still probably eating too many doughnuts and cupcakes every day.  Bahaha!

So far, Rowen's clear favourites are:

• avocados
• bananas
• pears
• carrots
• sweet potatoes (technically yams too, she likes both)
• dried apricots (unsulphured of course)
• broccoli 
• salmon (poached with apples, onions, carrots and pureed)
• rice rusk cookies or plain rice crackers

Rowen also enjoys eating:

• apples
• papaya
• prunes
• oatmeal
• bagels
• lentils
• squash
• pumpkin
• potato
• purple hawaiian sweet potatoes
• eggs
• chicken (usually pureed with squash or sweet potato)
• plain greek yogurt mixed with fruit puree

She will willingly eat but is clearly indifferent to:

• peas
• cauliflower
• beef
• tofu
• zucchini 

Rowen does not like:

• lemons
• that's it for this list.

Technically zucchini is a brand new introduction, so who knows if she might wind up liking it.  And technically I think she liked the lemon, but I felt bad letting her eat it after watching babies eat lemons on YouTube.  Broccoli was surprising because I kinda hate broccoli but now that Rowen is around and enjoying it, I've probably had more of it in the past month than I have in the past 10 years!

Rowen Air Drums Wipeout For You

Ick, another chilly gloomy Monday!

Rowen will play Wipeout on her invisible Daddy lap drums for you now!  Please note her beautiful squeal-singing as well.

(p.s. We were trying to "hide" Lowell and well, failed miserably.  Looks like he's wearing a Snuggie right?  Ha!)

Rowen Baby's First Halloween

Holy man, dressing up a Baby is really fun.  They're just so stinkin' cute... and watching them react to the strange outfit is just another unexpectedly awesome perk!  Initial hesitation turned into delighted giggles very quickly.  I think she loved the attention too.

Are you ready to see some photos from Rowen's first Halloween?

It was a pretty gloomy chilly day, so we mostly wore our costumes around the house.    Costumes, plural.  Uncle Gram and Grandma Meme got her costumes before she was even born!  We skipped Trick or Treating this year since she'd be too young to know what was happening... plus, it was raining.

We did venture out for a walk in the afternoon dressed as Simba.  It was pretty funny strapping her into the stroller with a big belly.

After her nap, Rowen put on her next costume.

I think she knew she was a pretty Tinkerbell

Naptime Bedhead

Happy First Halloween Rowen Baby!

I always enjoyed dressing up but I didn't even care that I didn't have a costume this year!  Having a Baby to dress up is like, 800 x more fun.

(Sidenote: I had THE BEST costume idea for Lowell and I for the Halloween party that we were invited to last year when I was pregnant.  Asian Beyonce and white Jay-Z!  But alas Lowell had a gig and I was too lazy to go alone and commit to being solo asian Beyonce, so I stayed home and ate mini-Twix bars in bed)

If Simba still fits next year, Lowell and I will get ourselves some Timon and Pumbaa costumes for trick or treating, You read it here first!

Happy November & Rowen Drumming

Rowen is learning to be a drummer like her Daddy.

Looks like it might very well be in her genes!

Rowen, Momma et Bax

Rowen looked particularly happy and was  adorably dressed one day last week.  So we had to take some pictures!

Excuse me, but why does she look like a toddler in that first photo?  

Let's pause with the growing up too fast for just a little bit, Baby!

Bax wanted in on the photoshoot

Rowen love her Baxter-Meow

Between a wiggly Rowen, squirmy Baxter-cat and blinking Momma (and blurry photo taking Daddy) it's pretty much impossible to get a perfect shot!

My Babies!

Hmm, pretty much perfect actually.  

I made a legwarmer for mah Baby!!!

I don't remember when exactly I learned to knit.  I'm definitely not very good at it and only have very, very basic skills.  Every single woman in my family seems to know how to knit,,, I vaguely learning at my Aunt's house in Ottawa when I was 6 or 7.  We used to go visit every summer and winter vacation and I remember my Aunt always having a full itinerary of activities to keep us all busy. I pretty much forgot about knitting until a few years ago when a friend re-taught me and "re-activated" my knitting skillllz.

Anyway, much like Rowen's ugly scarf, her legwarmers were a little DIY project I decided to try winging.  I didn't look for a pattern online since I don't really know how to read patterns anyway and how hard would knitting a tapered tube be anyway right?   :P

So after a couple of false starts and quite a few nights of staying up waaaay too late hours after Rowen went to sleep, I finally made ONE LEGWARMER!  And it actually fit the Baby and there were (well, almost) no mistakes!!!  What!

Now I just need to keep the ol' crappy attention span together and try to replicate this and knit her another one.  And then we shall have legwarmers!  Legwarmers turn out to be a surprisingly practical Baby accessory for chillier mornings lounging around at home.... because who wants to deal with pants unnecessarily, right?  Those precious seconds add up when you're trying to change a wiggly, rolling Rowen's diaper!  I also think they will be good for cold weather layering over her tights and leggings.  Unlike her scarf, there are actually lots of cute (perhaps slightly overpriced) baby legwarmers out there,,, but I wanted to challenge myself with this little project.

Yeah, there are mistakes and it may look a little bit amateur hour, but I'm kind of pleased with myself for actually sticking to it and making something for my Baby! I feel proud to have made something for  her!

My goal is another legwarmer in just one week! Which in theory is plenty of time, but you try knitting while taking care of an 8 month old.   So let's see if I can do it!  Wish me luck!  :D

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Rowen at the Pumpkin Patch

This week, we took a trip to the pumpkin patch.  

(I'm pretty sure the "Baby and Pumpkin" photo op is one of those Top 10 Must Have Photographs with Baby, right?  )

I think it is safe to say that Rowen had a pretty good time and we definitely got a couple of "Baby and Pumpkin" shots!

I have very fond memories of going to choose pumpkins every October with my Mom, so it was fun going to the very same farm with Rowen.  Since we live in a condo, we decided not to bring home any biggie pumpkins, but we did pick out a little pie pumpkin. 

Rowen didn't really understand what the pumpkins were...but she seemed very amused by the abundance of strange, orange guys everywhere.

Pumpkins EVERYWHERE!

Standing up on her own!  Or well, propped up against a pumpkin technically.

Farm made jam was on sale since open season is coming to an end.   We picked out a raspberry jelly (my pick), strawberry rhubarb (Lowell's pick) and took a gamble on pumpkin jam.  OHMAHGAWD, pumpkin jam turned out to be the most delicious stuff ever.  I don't want to ever stop eating it. 

Along with the jam and little pumpkin, we picked up some veggies and a box of butter tarts.  We tried a tart and had some hot apple cider when we were at the farm...and as we were pulling out of the parking lot, we decided to run back in to grab a box of tarts.

Yay Farm!  It's pretty awesome that we can take our little urban Baby to the country in just over half an hour's drive.  I'm looking forward to taking her berry picking and back to the pumpkin patch again next year!