John's fan club

Visiting with Gran and Gramps P

John (and the rest of us) had some company - my parents came for a visit. They were here for a few days before heading to TO for a few trade shows. They'll be back next week, before heading home. They babysat for us for a very long afternoon, which we really appreciated. They looked a little weary by the time we got back, so I felt bad, but it sure was nice to have a few hours away from John. He enjoyed the visit too - especially munching the strings on Mom's hoodie. We got a new highchair for John, and my parents got it broken in, feeding different foods to John. Sweet potato is still a huge hit. Carrots, not-so-much. Even the former favourite of squash pales next to sweet potato. He actually spit it out. Thankfully, he still likes banana. It's the one thing that never goes out of style.

John figured out that if he blew rasperries with his mouth full of food, he could make my parents laugh. He played that game for a good five minutes, and it was so obvious he was doing it just to make them howl.

We got him a few new things to try over the next few weeks - peaches, apricots, peas and green beans. I'm thinking the peas and beans won't be very well-liked. Maybe I can mix them with banana, and he won't notice?

We tried John in the big crib last night. He took it pretty well. He woke up screaming a couple of times, but fell back to sleep easily each time after a quick cuddle. I think he was scared waking up in a new bed in a new room. We slept in the nursery with him to make the transition easier for everybody, and I think it helped. It helped me at least. He's been napping in the crib today too, and is doing very well - settling fast, and sleeping soundly.

In other news, we finally ate the perogies. Turns out they grow when you boil them, so I actually made a pretty huge amount of food. I only cooked about a third of them, and we couldn't finish them all at one meal. Mike said - after days of watching me roll, fill and pinch - that they were the worst homemade perogies he's ever tasted. But only the worst in that they were textbook perfect - they tasted like commercial perogies, which I guess isn't that bad a complaint. I guess he's used to his moms, which have more flavour. On the upside, he said, even though they were the worst homemade perogies ever, it was by far his favourite meal in a long time. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure if that was actually a compliment after all.

He said if the strike goes ahead, he'll help me make a batch. Speaking of the strike, it has been temporarily averted. Midnight tonight was the deadline, but the company went back to the table with two new negotiators just this afternoon, and the union feels that things are sudenly looking very positive. So, everyone's on alert for a strike to be called at any minute, but until then, they're doing work to rule instead. All that means is not accepting overtime hours until further notice. So, there may not be a strike after all. Or, there might be one in the next few days. It all depends on these new negotiations. But, new people at the table and good vibes from the union leaders are both very good signs. I'll keep yo posted.