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!

Photos: This week....Ladies Brunch, Kimchi Fries, sneak peak zoo pics

Guess what, Friends?

Annie has officially moved back to Toronto!  Yay!  So to celebrate, a Ladies Brunch was in order!  

Rowen came along and of course, she demands her own seat at the table now.  (Remember her first brunch? ) And of course, she was very well-behaved.  No fussing or crying, but she did have a few fits of loud giggling and squeals!  (And one bout of biting Auntie Angela's face.)

My brunch plate and fresh scone from  l'ouvrier.  

The food was delicious and the setting was of a mild to medium level of fanciness.  Rowen was the only child there the entire time but they did have a fancy little highchair on hand, so it wasn't a totally "no kids allowed" sort of setting... but it definitely was not a "rowdy kids running around with no shoes/crying baby/mamas nursing openly" setting. Situations like this make me so grateful that my Baby is awesome, calm and cooool.

Kitty cat shopkeeper at the little boutqiue next to l'ouvrier.  I love her.

Calm cool Baby fell asleep after Ladies Brunch.  Our chatting got toooo boring for her.  I love her!

Went to Banh Mi Boys with Annie the night before.  Her first kimchi fries!

Banh Mi Boys is so good and if I could eat there every single day, I would!  

We went to the High Park Zoo earlier that day.  A longer High Park Zoo blog entry is on the way!  (I just need to get some of Lowell's photos.)

BABY STANK FACE!!

She loves making this face!

Photos: We spend a lot of time at the park...

We've been hanging out a lot at the park these past few days...  

I LOVE Trinity-Bellwoods park and I will be sad if we have to move out of the neighbourhood when our lease is up in the tiny apartment this January.  (Sidenote: It's pretty amusing bringing my adorable Baby almost every day to the very same park that I used to be er, intoxicated in frequently in my more youthful days.)

The BEST soy latte in the city, for realz.  

I enjoyed my White Squirrel latte along with my a muffin while the Baby slept... which meant no rushing and shoving huge bites in my mouth or taking quick stealth bites to avoid little hands trying to grab my food!!

Another day, another park hang... practicing our sitting and Android skills

I baked Pirate cheesecakes.

Another day, another Family Dim Sum trip.  

Lowell: Do you have any change to leave for a tip?

Rowen: Hang on, let me check my purse Daddy.

Another day, another delicious "bao" from Banh Mi Boys.

I'm currently still obsessed with Banh Mi Boys!

BEST sandwiches (Vietnamese or otherwise)  in the Universe, no doubt about it!

Burger lunch

I had a strange craving for a burger yesterday.  (Strange because I generally don't eat beef).  I knew that I wanted a nice, quality burger.  Not a teeny, greasy bacon jr. from you know where.  I also didn't feel like trekking around since the weather was yucky, so we went for a family lunch at The Gladstone Hotel across the street.  Conveniently, it is the closest place that has a nice burger AND the closest restaurant to our apartment.  Kinda awesome that even though it was thunderstormy, we didn't need umbrellas because we live thatclose.

Mah burger 

Keeping the Rowen entertained.  She enjoys self-portrait time on our phones.

.  She was generally quite well behaved!  We were able to eat our food at a normal pace, without rushing and she only had a few outbursts of loud babbling.  It's funny... when we are at home, in the car, at the park, she has a very cutesy mellow voice.  And when we go to some places where LOUD BABY voice isn't as appropriate, i.e: quiet restaurants, the grocery store... she'll use her LOUD BABY voice.

She's so cute she can get away with quite a few loud babbling outbursts in pubic.  People don't seem to mind too much!

Photos: This week... Stratford, High Chair Times at Easy & General Cuteness

Last week, we introduced avocados to Rowen's menu...  it might have replaced carrots as her new favourite!   We also travelled to Stratford for a daytrip and had a mini Momma & Baby weekend.  

Stratford, Ontario is my most favourite town. Nothing has really changed there since I started going with my Mom in the summertime as a little kid.  We used to go and stay at a little Bed & Breakfast called The Deacon House, see a show at the Festival... usually the musical depending on which Shakespeare play was running and wander about town.  Wandering about town usually took, oh, an hour or so.  Stratford, Ontario is named after Stratford Upon Avon, the town where William Shakespeare was born.  So naturally, there is an Avon River in Stratford Ontario...

Which is one of the places The Heavyweights played as part of the Stratford Summer Music Festival.   They played on the river!  

Rowen and I tagged along on the first day.  Rowen met some ducks, we watched the Heavyweights' Noon show and then headed to Fellini's for lunch.

I LOVE FELLINI'S!  It is possibly one of my favourite restaurants and they haven't changed in the over 15 years that I've been going there.  The Chicken Parmigiana is my most favourite menu item.  And they have delicious "real" iced teas!  I almost couldn't get my chicken parm on this visit because it was technically still lunch menu time...but they made it for me anyway!  Thanks Fellini's!

Last Summer when Annie and I roadtripped to Stratford, I managed to finish this bad boy on my own. Annie patiently sat there while I chomped my way through this massive breaded chunk of chicken and mountain of yummy pasta.   Must have been one of those crazy hungry periods in between my constant pregnancy nausea... this year, I was only able to finish half!

Remember those pianos all over the city?  They have them all over Stratford too!

Lowell stayed over in Stratford the rest of the weekend. So it was just us girls for the weekend.

We had lunch with Ange at Easy...  another one of my most favourite places.  I think I've been going to the Parkdale location for maybe 7 or 8 years... the food never disappoints.  Oh, and the Banana Latte smoothie is ridiculously yummy and probably one of my favourite things ever. 

West Coast Toast, mmmm.  Essentially salmon eggs benny topped with caviar and dill.  And no wimpy sides here or having to choose between potatoes or a salad.... sooooo goood!

Rowen tried out a restaurant high chair for the first time!  She was amused by it but I did wind up holding her to avoid a restaurant meltdown as she was having one of her rare fussy, clingy days and it was close to naptime.  And hey, we survived public transit and a civilized restaurant lunch!  Score!  Thanks Baby!

Playing with Eileen.

"He said WHAT?!"

We went to the CNE on Monday!

Read more about Rowen's first CNE HERE!

And I know I've shared this photo already... but it's just such a crowd pleaser.  Lowell and I both changed our phone screens to this photo.  Our Baby is just too daaarrrrn cute!  

I felt a bit like I was cheating on Baxter the first time I bumped him as phone screen saver.  The Bax has been screensaver forever!  I felt bad choosing a Baby Pic over his, but I think he understands.  Or rather, he doesn't really understand well, anything.  So it's all good!

Let's Go to The Ex!

The CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) is another childhood/teenagerhood/nowhood tradition of mine that I was excited to share with Rowen.  I've been going to the CNE when it comes to town almost every year of my entire life....  I still call it the "CNE" even though a few years ago they started trying to make it hip and cool by calling it "The Ex".  

I have so many fond CNE memories over the years!  My big ass bear that my Uncle won for me when I was 2...which stayed with me until a few years ago.  Getting so sick with Dave and Annie that year we went on the Tilt-a-Whirl too many times.  All the Tiny Toms Donuts, Superdogs Dog Shows, crazy cat lady Cat Shows... man oh man!

Anyhow, tonight we went to the CNE with Rowen after her late afternoon nap.  Just a quickie visit for dinner at THE FOOD BUILDING.  My happy place.  Just one of the best places on Earth, really.  The Food Building, if you've never been (why?  go already!) is truly amazing.  Imagine a mall food court multiplied by 50 and with delicious foods of every style you could want!  And all kinds of crazy deep-fried items (deep fried Twinkie!) and everything wrapped in bacon.

Just taking in the sights and playing with my foot, no biggie.

 We met up with Auntie Ange!  Roasted Corn on the Cob Cheers!

Perogies from the GOOD perogies stand.  I wait all year for these!!

The stand with the amazing onion-krauty-greasy-delicious special sauce and sour cream for free.  Not like the crappy rip-off plain boring perogies stand, ick.  Do not go to the crappy perogies stand!

Tiny Toms, a CNE tradition. 

I hope that Rowen does not inherit my sweet tooth/donut love.  

Lowell and his Hot Waffle Ice Cream

City off in the distance...

Kinda cool being able to walk to the CNE this year.  It was stormy and gloomy all day but we missed the rain.  

Rowen *hearts* carrots

Rowen has been eating solids for about a week now.  On top of her usual feedings she gets one meal a day of either her rice cereal slurry, a fruit puree or veggie puree (or a cereal/puree combo).

Rowen likes to suck her thumb between bites.  I'm guessing that this is a fairly normal response after spending the first 6 months of your life instinctively suckling for food.  Whatever the reason, it's certainly really really cute.  Also really, really messy but who cares?  She's a Baby, right?

Carrots have been the resounding favourite so far.  She's accepted and seemed to like everything we've offered her but she devoured her carrots.

This bowl is empty.... Where did it all go, Momma??