Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving in Canada!  Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

This time last year, I was starting to look very, very pregnant...and not so much "uh, did she eat a big dinner or is she just getting faaaat?".  (Sidenote: that purple and grey striped shirt is awesome, I kinda want to wear it again!)

This year, we have an amazing little Baby Girl who sadly caught a virus....but wouldn't let it change her usual smiley, happy, demeanor!  She was just a bit more cuddly and tired.  And Momma dressed her in pyjamas for visiting Family instead of her usual Mini-Me outfits.

I am so very thankful to have my beautiful and healthy (minus current green eye goober sneezing virus) Rowen Baby in my life.

I'm way behind on photos lately, we've been busy with another week of self-imposed "NO EATING OUT" which translates to "Z MUST COOK EVERYTHING",  I kinda feel like I've been in the kitchen all week, what with Rowen's new found HUGE appetite (I'm making and freezing all her food) and taking on stupidly ambitious projects like "let's make dozens and dozens of dumplings from scratch and roast squashes and then bake many delicious pumpkin cheesecakes."

Lowell, I want to cheat and maybe have sushi once this week.

This girl!

Someone all of a sudden decided last week that she was going to start sitting up on her own!

Bad Day: Reminder note for Momma....

 

Yesterday was a hard day for me...

 I'm not really sure why exactly, but I felt so overwhelemed by everything.  If it were allowed, I would have just stayed in bed and hid under the covers with the Rowen Baby.  Look how cute this Baby is... can you blame me for wanting to snuggle her all day ???

I'm not sure why the day hit me so hard yesterday....

Maybe it was because I didn't nap when Rowen did.  And she's only been taking 30 - 40 minute naps these past few days.  This means only an hour or so of down time all day.  

As soon as she's out and asleep  I'm like "GO!  Use your time wisely.... what to do first????? Throw in the laundry/get laundry out of the dryer... do the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink... make a grocery list (we pretty much needed everything, so my list should have just read: "everything. ALL the food")...  eat something? (haha yeah right)... return some emails? go to the bathroom?"

Lowell was out teaching and playing gigs almost the entire day on Saturday, Sunday and Monday... so add this to having to be "on" and in Mommy mode all day and juggling laundry, dishes, cleaning up after my messy freakin' cats, running to the store to buy Rowen her organic produce and cooking it for her, going to the stupid post office and waiting in line to pick up our package that was supposed to be delivered to the door....

and still trying to straighten up after our furniture re-arranging....

AND oh yeah, my cellphone being on the fritz...

So yeah, I had a bad day yesterday.  

I just felt so tired, exhausted, overwhelmed and cut off from the World.  

But then when Rowen went to bed nicely at 7:45pm sharp and I finally just sat down and watched her sleep.... I was reminded that it was going to be okay.  Vacuuming could wait.  Folding the massive pile of laundry could wait (for a little while at least....until I needed to go to bed, sigh).  Dishes could wait.  

I need to remind myself not to lose perspective and not to let it bother me so much when groceries run low and the apartment is messy.  All that can be fixed.  And it's okay to feel crappy sometimes but to remember to snap out of it!

The most important thing is keeping Rowen safe and happy.  

Happy Baby!

Photos: This week... Grand Electric, Baby swings

It was a good week! 

Lowell didn't have to work on Wednesday so Annie and I had an impromptu dinner date at Grand Electric.   Grand Electric serves tacos/hipster food.  I've heard only good things about it and have walked by the big long lineup outside before they open.  Well, it did not disappoint.  It was so so sooo yummy!  We got a drinks (just one Grand Electric Sour for Momma here), appetizers, two tacos each and a dessert,  It was very delicious

Keylime pie in a jar.  Deeeelish!

Barbecue corn.. with mayo and cheese and mexican-y seasonings stuff all over it (I can't remember what stuff exactly)

two of four tacos

pork belly here

not pictured my baja fish and Annie's beef cheek

One day, when I'm ready to leave the Baby with a baby-sitter, I want to bring Lowell there.  I have such a long list of places we need to go together once we manage a "date night".

Rowen's hair is getting loooong.  At this rate we'll have some good pigtails by her Birthday!

I've been into making Rowen dress all matchy-matching with me.  Bahahaha!

We went on the swings a whole bunch of times this week!  It's our new fun activity.

Have you checked out Rowen's swing video yet?  It's verrrry verrry cute!

Family trip to Ikea for guilty pleasure yucky breakfast.  All this food and  a coffee cost $5! 

(We're so gross.)

Rowen at the playground

A couple of mornings ago (the same day that I lost Bandit the Raccoon), we went to the park and tried out the swings.

We've swung together on the big swings before but this was Rowen's first time solo in the baby swings... and it is safe to say that she LOVED it!

Rowen'sNewFavouriteExpression"Stank Face" was in full effect:

Is the volume on your computer turned up?  Okay good, because you don't want to miss the best giggles in the world at the very start of the video!

MISSING: Bandit the Raccoon

This afternoon, Rowen and I went for a walk.  A lovely autumn afternoon walk to the store to pick up some supplies (mouth wash for Lowell, spray shampoo for me, chocolate, etc etc).  We don't normally bring Bandit the Raccoon out of the apartment, but he came to the park earlier that day and she's been really into him lately.  So Bandit the Raccoon came along!

We were returning home, just about a block away when I looked into the stroller and noticed that Bandit was no longer with us.  I looked around,  hoping hoping HOPING that he'd be right there on the sidewalk.  That he had JUST fallen out.  But nope.  No Bandit.  I shook out her blanket to make sure he wasn't just hiding.  Noooope.  I took everything out of the stroller basket, hoping that maybe I put him in there without realizing at some point.  Nope.  So I turned around and retraced our steps all the way back to the store, scanning the sidewalks, hoping to see Bandit.  But nope.  We went back to the store and I asked the cashier if anyone had found a stuffed toy.  Nope.  We circled the store a few times... I kept hoping that Bandit would be there in the shampoo aisle.  But nope.  We walked home calling out for Bandit like a lost pet...  no Bandit.  I suppose he has a new home with a CAMH-er now.  :P

I don't know about you, but the feeling of losing something drives me crazy.  I've woken up in the middle of the night to scour my apartment for a missing lipgloss.  I hate losing stuff.  But losing Bandit has caused a whole new level of anxiety.  I felt absolutely anxious and just awful.  Rowen has yet to notice that her friend is missing and probably won't actually ever notice...but I still feel just awful.  This was one of her buddies and one of the first toys she's had with her since birth.  He was a lovely gift from Angela and I hate that he's missing.  I suppose we're lucky that he can be replaced, but man, something about losing your Baby's friend... it's a whole new awful low feeling.  I've been irrationally upset about the loss of Bandit all evening.  I know that I'm being irrational, but I can't snap out of it.

The lesson I've learned from this: Chip the Cat is never leaving the apartment.  He's Rowen's "comfort" toy and lives in the crib. (Yeah yeah yeah... no soft toys in the crib etc etc).  Chip the Cat however cannot be replaced as he was purchased about 15 years ago.  

Mama Friends... have you ever been in a similar situation?  Have you ever lost your Baby's favourite thing?  How do you get over this feeling of guilt?

High Park Zoo

Last week, we took a quick morning trip to the High Park Zoo.   I like High Park, it's rather gigantic compared to our usual park.  The Capybaras are my favourite animals there.

 Last time we were there, Rowen was still pretty teeny and had no idea what was happening.  Hehe, well, this time she was less teeny but still wasn't really sure what was happening.  She was definitely more interested in people with dogs on leashes than the animals behind the fences.

I didn't get a chance to take any animal photos.  So Lowell took some for me.  He had to zoom in quite a bit so excuse the poor photo quality!

Wallabies!!

Baby capybaras!  There were 3 of them.

Mama Capybara (or maybe Daddy Capybara?)

Momma's little Koala Baby!

Rowen got sleepy towards the end of the visit and zonked out as soon as we were back in the car.  

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!

Autumn Monday

Our Monday morning... what a gorgeous, kinda chilly day. 

It's officially Fall now!

I love this park.  

I love that this beautiful green space exists a short walk from our home.  I really, really, really don't want to have to move away when we look for our new bigger apartment.  I love walking around the park with a coffee and a croissant from Clafouti.  I love watching the stupid dogs run around in the "dog bowl" (nickname for the offleash area which, did you know, is at the bottom of what used to be a big ol' mini lake/really big pond back in the day?)  I love the view of the giant tower in the distance.

...

Breaking my own rule about keeping this a pregnancybaby/Rowen blog....

How great are these boots?  I want them.  Technically I'm allowed a new pair of boots this year since Eileen peed on my old boots last winter, right?

Rowen Bedhead

Rowen was born with a whole lot of hair.  When she was around 3 months old, it started to thin out a bit...but even still, she still had a whole lotta hair.  I like to call her hairstyle the "Rohawk" as it kinda fans across her head from ear to ear like a sideways mohawk.  Her hair is getting longer and longer now and requires frequent combing and brushing because it occasionally still has the tendency to stand  straight up.  

Example of typical Rowen Bedhead

Every morning, when I think that her mad scientist-esque bedhead could not possibly be more epic....

She surprises me!  Enter this morning's bedhead:

Before

(sweaty baby bedhead, lounging in the big bed)

After

(Sitting in her highchair.  Patiently reading a book while awaiting her breakfast)

Before

(Rowen is learning lazy "can't get out of bed" behaviour from us.  I don't know if this is good or bad yet.)

After

(Cutie)

...

We took a Family trip to the High Park Zoo this morning.  Photos to come later.  Can you believe that today was the last full day of Summer?