My “subtle” daughter

I have not written a blog post in a while because our every day is much of the same without much change. So, today I thought I would write about Meredith and some of the things she does that make me laugh and make her unique.

            The title of the blog is: my “subtle” daughter. “subtle” is in quotations because when I say subtle, I really mean obvious.

            Meredith is much like her father in the fact that she loves going out. She is not a homebody. She loves adventures. When she wants to go somewhere, she will make sure I know she wants to go. First, she will bring me my shoes and say: shoe!!! Then, a few minutes later she will bring me her shoes and says: shoes!! She will then proceed to climb in my lap and stay there until I put her shoes on. Finally, when shoes are in place, she will run to the front door and try to open in while saying: go, go, go!!!! This process makes me laugh on a daily basis. It’s just too cute.

            Another thing that Meredith loves to do is go swimming. We have a pool in our apartment building and take her on a regular basis. In the past few weeks, she has figured out that her bathing suit and swim diaper are essential elements to the pool experience. Because I keep an immaculate house (please know then when I say immaculate, I really mean the opposite), Meredith’s swim suit is usually within her reach. So, when she wants to go swimming, she will find her bathing suit and run into the room saying: poo! poo! (pool). She will then proceed to try and put her bathing suit on herself (always over her cloths).

            So, even though things are the same on a regular basis, at least I have a toddler who is hysterical and cute when she communicates what she wants.

Points for the day:

500 points for translating toddler talk and actions (something I never thought possible before I had kids)

Day trip to Toronto

Yes! You did read the title right. Greg, Meredith and I went to Toronto for the day. Greg’s sister was visiting us for a few days and she needed to get to Toronto. Since we wanted to see Greg’s brother and father, we decided to all go. We could not stay overnight because Greg had to work the next day. We left at 8:30 in the morning (not any earlier because we slept in). We got to our destination at 1:30ish. Before leaving, we were worried that taking Meredith would be a complete disaster because the day was going to so different from her normal routine. We were ready for some ridiculousness, but we were praying that Meredith would sleep a bit in the car and in the afternoon. Well, Meredith shocked us! There was no ridiculousness what so ever!!! She fell asleep in the car on the ride up for about an hour. The rest of the time she danced and chatted! It was so cute! We got to TO and found Greg’s dad and decided to walk around. On our walk, we went to the St Laurence market, got some ice cream and hung out on the water! It was fun. Meredith did really well in the stroller and was able to fall asleep (even with all the noise of a very busy downtown TO).  We got to the harbour and enjoyed a nice rest. We met up with Greg’s brother and had dinner. We went to a sports bar, so between the TV and an uncle’s antics, Meredith was well entertained. We did not have to chase her all over the restaurant (a first for us).  We then had a very long walk back to our car and were on our way. On the way home, we made a few stops and Meredith did very well. She did not fall asleep right away, she fell asleep at 10:30, but she was very good in the car. She did not wake up on the transfer back to the crib. All in all, it was a great success!!!

Points for the day:

200 points for keeping Meredith entertained in the car

-200 points for not bringing enough diapers and having to get some on the way home (I brought 4, she never uses more than 3 in a day, but she had a few more dirty diapers then expected!)

-100 points for missing the French judge on So you think you can dance Canada (this would be more lost points, but I was changing Meredith’s diaper at the time, so I gained a few points there)

400 points for walking around with Meredith downtown TO

300 points for not getting burnt or overheated on such a hot day

Total points: 600 points

Cooling down on a hot summer day

I am nor resourceful and not creative. So, when I think of activities that are somewhat creative and resourceful, I am extremely proud of myself. This week, I had one of those days. Ottawa is hot in the summer. It was also one of those days where I did not want to mover, let alone go out of the house or do anything that required work. Meredith is very energetic. So, I had to think of an activity that would Channel her energy in an appropriate way (as opposed to letting her climb the furniture). I had recently bought some plastic boxes for Meredith’s toys. So, I thought that I would empty the bucket of the toys and put water in it and bring the party to our balcony. It was perfect! Meredith spent an hour sitting in the water, playing with the water, running around, and emptying the bucket. It was hysterical! She was wet head to toe. Most importantly, she amused herself for an hour. Cost: $1.25 (for the bucket) and water! I even took her out on the balcony in the afternoon. I was so happy about the day. Actually, I was mad that I had not thought about the idea sooner!

Points for the day:

300 points for using the same item (a bucket) for two different uses

200 points for cooling off my daughter and myself without making a mess in the house or leaving it.

200 points for being resourceful and a bit creative!

Total Points: 700 points

Cottage week

For the past 7 days, I have been at a family cottage with my husband and daughter. I would like to say that in that time I accumulated LOTS of points. For the first 4 days, my husband and I hosted friends of ours with their son. So we were 6 people. Then for the last 3 days, it was just the three of us. Before going, I was afraid of how the kids would get along. They are 7 months apart and at this age, it’s hard to know how it’s going to go. I am happy to say that the kids loved each other. Well, Meredith had lots of love for her friend. I am not sure of the other way around, but he put up with her. They balanced each other well. I think we only had one occurrence when both kids had a meltdown together. I think that’s pretty impressive. Usually, when one was crying, the other comforted with hugs and kisses or was out of the way.

The only down part of the whole weekend was Meredith’s sleep habit. For some reason, she decided that it would be a good idea to wake up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning and be up for the day. Because we had guests and did not want to wake everybody up, we had to try to keep her quiet for a few hours. We took her to our bed for the first 40 minutes where she lay with us and then took her downstairs. Meredith soon figured out that she could open doors. So, in her excitement to play and love for her friend, she would run into him room and wake him up. I would stop her, but the whole exchange would end with her in a time out.

Meredith also discovered that she can climb out of her pack and play. So, in the morning, she would get out of her crib and come find us. She would also do this at night when putting her down for bed. She quickly learned that we were serious about bed time. She would get out of her crib, and climb down the stairs to where we were. When she saw us, she would run the other way. You could tell that she knew she was doing wrong.

Days were filled with fun times at the beach, watching the kids dance while listening to music,  lots and lots of food, games with friends and lots of relaxation. The kids were entertaining and the weather was perfect. All in all it was a fantastic time.

Points for the week:

300 points for packing for the cottage while Meredith “helped” (taking things out of a bag after I had put them in, sitting in our suitcase unwilling to move)

500 points for keeping her safe at the beach and not letting her get hurt (it helped that she was afraid of the water and would not go in further then water at her ankles)

200 points for taking Meredith on a kayak adventure (these points should rely belong to Greg because he was the one paddling while Meredith and I sat in the front and enjoyed the view)

600 points for getting up with Meredith at ungodly hours

-200 points for keeping her quiet with Disney movies

400 points for putting her to bed and making sure she stayed in

300 points for making Meredith my helper with setting the table (I would give her a plate and she would place it on the table)

500 points for cleaning the cottage and packing up with Meredith’s “help”. She loves the broom and feels it her responsibility to use it every time it makes an appearance. I was hoping that her fear of vacuums would extend to the vacuum at the cottage, but sadly this was not the case and she felt the need to “help” with that as well.

I am sure there are other points I accumulated, but I can’t remember them right now.

Total points for the week: 2600!!!! 

I think we should spend more time at the cottage!!!