Everyone's gotta have a baby-eating-plant photo. Our guy is partial to grass.

Climbing the porch steps.  

Trying to figure out why his hand felt wet, as he crawled through freshly watered grass. 

Hmmmm...it's genetic, eh?

You mean something like this, Grandpa W?

Tooth number six makes its debut

Someone's hungry

Yup - six teeth. The top right hand one has arrived. The left top and bottom are on their way, I'm sure. John has been in some serious distress these last couple of days. It isn't pretty. Last night he was in a howling fit. We had headed out for the afternoon, but I had forgotten the Tylenol at home. Ugh. By the time we got home, he was gnashing and clawing. He was positively crazed, rocking, clutching his mouth. He didn't want a teether. He didn't want to be held. Nothing would settle him down. It was so horrible. I gave him some Tylenol when we got home and gave him a cold wet washcloth to gnaw on until it took effect. Twenty minutes of wide-eyed cloth-gnawing later, he was giggling and playing peek-a-boo. Phew! He seems better today, but boy, he's having a rough time with this last wave of teeth.

A return visit

Great Grandma on bath duty. A good picture of them - but not of our bathroom. Obviously, that's the one under renovation. I chip away at it during John's naps. It will be done in, oh, a year or so.

John has been entertaining company for the last week or so - Great Grandma W came for a visit. Obviously, it was great to see her again, and John had a good time. We hadn't realized before she came what a dull city we live in. While Mike's sister whisks her off to dinners and broadway-style shows whenever she visits, the best we could offer were the live pig races being held over the long weekend. Even then, we couldn't find out when they were, so we couldn't even do that. (On our own, we go to the movies for fun, but we haven't even done that since well before John was conceived. So, needless to say, we lead a pretty quiet life.)

However, we did get out a little, to go see Mike's sister and her fiance, Billy. We had a great home-cooked meal - John's favourite was the spinach dip served with bread cubes. He would suck the dip off, then store the bread in his cheeks, eventually spitting it out into a kleenex box. Most things he ate wouldn't stay in. I'm sure they'll be finding little cubes of carrot throughout the apartment for days to come. John had a great time following Billy around, giggling at his funny faces. By the end of the evening, we were all happy, full and smeared with banana.

We only got to see them once more before Billy had to head home to Ohio - hope you made it home safe and sound Billy! Come back soon!

Great Grandma was here over the holiday weekend, so we took her to see the fireworks. It was our first time seeing them - we usually sit on the mountain, watching them go off for Canada Day and don't bother at all for Victoria Day. However, we had company and it was John's first chance to see fireworks, so we decided to go. It was lots of fun! He kept tearing away from us to make his way over to a couple of boys with sparklers. Grandma took him over for a closer look, and one of the boys put on a little light show for him. He was also captivated with a group of teenagers behind us wearing flashing necklaces. I'm sure he would have crawled right up onto their laps if we had let him.

We took a friendly bet whether he would scream during the fireworks themselves. Mike won - for the most part, he leaned back and enjoyed the show. The really loud ones scared him a little and after a while he got tired and fussed a bit, but all in all, he seemed to enjoy himself. We'll definitely head back next year. Though next time, we'll know to take a blanket for ourselves as well. It was c-c-c-c-cold!

Thank you again for everything, Grandma W. Although the house wasn't in nearly as sorry a state as the first time she came, when John was just six weeks old, she still found plenty to do. My laundry room has never been so empty.

There's not much in other news. All that work we put into politics lately turned out to be a big waste of time, thanks to a certain cabinet minister who shall remain nameless. I don't think I belong to this party anymore. Everyone I like has left.

The strike continues. After a brief hiatus, Mike has finally returned to the picket line. No sign of negotiations, therefore no end in sight.

I'm resuming the bathroom reno, and beginning the long process of preparing John for daycare. We'll have to get him onto a predictable schedule that will have him up early enough to be fed and dressed in time to leave for work with me. No small feat, particularly because it requires that I be up early too.

We're not sure what to do about milk. We have to provide whatver milk-type pruduct he consumes - they only supply two per cent free of charge, but obviously babies need whole milk. I'm not sure if I should switch him to whole milk or formula or if I should pump and supply breastmilk. Mike suggested pumping at work and giving that to the daycare, but that seems like such a chore for a baby who is old enough to go without. Even switching to formula seems silly, because there's no advantage to it after a year, so we'll just get him used to it and have to switch to milk anyway. Milk and a balanced diet provides everything they need after a year. I'm leaning towards switching him to milk during the day at daycare, then breastfeeding morning and evening until he weans himself. That was the suggestion from the dietitian and it seems pretty logical to me. I know they say no milk until a year, but he's pretty close. And technically they can start milk at 9 months if there's no problems. They say a year just to play it safe for allergy prone babies. John eats lots of milk products and has had things made with milk, with no trouble, so I think he'll be OK. I've even started offering straight milk in his cup. He turns up his nose if I give it from a sippy cup, but this morning I gave it from a regular cup. He chugged it down like it was the best stuff around and banged his tray for more. Very successful, but very messy, which the daycare may not appreciate. We've got some time to sort it out, though, so I'm not worried.

The joys of science

This is what happens when I leave John and Mike alone together. I was busy doing a phone blitz of all our party members, when Mike decided to break out the corn starch. You know that strange goop that corn starch makes, when you mix it with just the right amount of water? Yeah, he made a big ball of that, and for some unknown reason, put it on John's head. It of course turned back into a liquid. We managed to keep it from running into John's eyes, at least. My hardwood floors were not so lucky. I guess this is what they mean by "boys will be boys."

A day at the park

Higher, Dad! Higher!

Spring has sprung, and with it, family trips to the park. We live within walking distance of one of the city's biggest parks. It has two playgrounds, an outdoor theatre, trails, flower gardens, fountains, splash pads, wading pools and lots and lots of wide open space. We've ben trying to go every second day or so, now that it's warm. Mike has decided the reason for all his tiredness is a lack of exercise. Judging from the energy he has now, he was probably right.

We let John play in the grass and eat petals under a row of flowering shade trees, while Mike puts me through all sorts of torture; soccer, badminton, frizbee. I wish I could just sit and eat petals under a shade tree too.

It's part of a new weight loss kick Mike's on, inspired by his Dad's weight loss. Actually, it's inspired by the fact that some of his Dad's "fat clothes" are skin tight on Mike. That and he happened to hop on someone's scale while we were home and was horrified by what he saw.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, to whoever owns that scale and to Mike's Dad, for horrifying Mike into change. It's saving us a fortune in food costs.

His diet is easy - just less of everything. He's eating like a normal person now. It's a good time for him to be on a diet - I've decided to bite the bullet and start the diet I'm suposed to do to tame my alleged infertility, and help prevent the heart disease, diabetes and cancer it can supposedly cause down the road.

It's a little more complex than Mike's. It's basicly the Canada Food Guide, followed to the letter. Easier said than done, as anyone who's actually put the portion sizes into action can attest. I'm sure Bruce is nodding his head. It's basicly the diabetes prevention diet - evenly sized, evenly spaced meals, with at least three of the four food groups, starch at every meal and snack. Carbs and protiens always paired. A close watch on portion sizes. Whole grains. Lean meats. No sweets or unscheduled snacking. No binge eating. A half hour of moderate exercise every day. Sounds simple, but it actually takes some planning and a bit of getting used to. According to all the new research, the brand of infertility I have is related to a problem with how the body uses insulin. The theory is, if I keep my blood sugar stable, and get plenty of exercise, my body will be able to use the insulin better, which will allow the hormones to get back to normal, and will prevent an early death from heart problems, diabetes, etc. So they say. I figure it's worth a try. I find it makes a huge difference - it's definitely not a diet you can cheat on. I had strawberries alone as a bedtime snack one night, insead of my usual milk and toast. The sugar rush was just horrible. I got an insant headache, I felt all dizzy. Just cruddy all around. I can really feel the difference - I feel much better if I stick to it, and it's amazing how incredibly gross sweetened things taste once you've stopped eating them.

In other news, John has a new tooth!!! It's the lower, right-hand one. It just popped through on Sunday - Mike was the one to find it. I knew a tooth was on its way, but I thought it was a top one, because those gums are much more swollen. He's working hard on the other side with his teethers, so the matching tooth isn't far behind. We have to really watch our fingers around him.

He's been accepted into a daycare - the nice one. We start June 20, when I go back to work. They've agreed to be a bit flexible with the start date, with Mike on strike and all. We can postpone it further, as long as another family isn't itching for the spot. I'm pretty happy with it. We got another tour when we registered, and it's so big and bright. He wanted down, so we put him on the floor and he was all over the place. He was fascinated by the other kids and started climbing on one of the toys. I think he'll be OK there. It's so much cleaner and brighter than the others, and the baby room is relatively unprogrammed, which makes so much more sense to me. Their needs are met as they come up. They nap when they need to. They are free to play with what they want, instead of being put in a chair to "colour", like in the other place. That was just stupid. They go for a walk every day, instead of every second day like some of the others. I'm comfortable with it. Not with the price, but in terms of care, I think it's the lesser evil.

I took John to my office to see my manager a couple of weeks ago. My start date was set - June 20. I also found out that I'm no longer the editor of News4Kids, which is sad in a way. They decided they need to donate more hours to it and my boss wasn't willing to give them that much of my time and there's no way I can do that many hours in evenings and weekends and still have a family life. So, they've already started looking for someone new. I would consider applying for the editor position and resigning from my regular job, but I know they weren't a big fan of me to begin with. I worked hard to separate advertising from editorial - a definite no-no in that division. They'll need to find someone who doesn't know any better.

On the strike front, the strike lives on. Apparently, the guys are getting tired. There's a movement to push the union into allowing another vote on the "final" offer, so they can get back to work. The Quebec division voted on it separately and it passed easily. That took a lot of steam out of Ontario's sails. Things are getting nasty. Mike tagged along to a flying picket, which found a scab from the piece rate company. They trapped him in his van and yelled obscenities at him until the police arrived. Before they did, several people in the neighbourhood came out to spit and throw eggs at the van. (We live in a very union friendly town, in case you haven't guessed.) Even the police aren't in a hurry to help the scabs. They take their time getting there - a few hours in some cases. When they do, they don't do anything to the guys in Mike's company - just shoo them off. Apparently, many of the new peice rate workers have quit because of the hostility. This is a pretty stupid town to be a scab in.

Well, I had better get going. I'll try to post more often. I have a backlog of pictures to post!

As a final note, a huge congratulations to Auntie Vicki and her import, soon-to-be Uncle Billy! Yay!

Tickle, tickle! 

What's this thing on Dad's face? 

More, Dad! More! 

Mmmmm....yummy petals 

The trip in pictures

Taking the plunge in Grandma and Grandpa W's "pool." Mike's parents have a two-person air tub, so we let John go for a little swim. He got a little worried when the bubbles came on, but he seemed to like it.


The camera didn't come out as much as it should have this trip. But we did get some good ones, and some other good ones were sent by Mike's parents. A glaring omission is Mike's dad with John. I've tried and tried, but for some reason it won't let that one post - typical, eh, Bruce? I've written to find out why - hopefully they'll be able to fix it and I'll post it up at a later date - sorry.

In a word, the trip was awesome. Just what we needed. Driving with a baby wasn't as horrific as I thought. I had to spend most of the first 12 hours in the back seat with John, to keep him happy, but it wasn't so bad.

At Great-Grandma's house, he had lots of fun playing with Mac. They played fetch together and battled for the toys. Mac always won, but John put up a good fight.

The drive to our hometown the next day was pretty uneventful - John was used to the car by then and dozed most of the way. Then we arrived and he dozed some more. Like 14 hours more. We put him down for what we thought was a nap, intending to head to my parents' house to say hello, but he was out cold. Mike even tried to get him up, but it was no use. He came up the stairs with a very zonked John slumped over his shoulder, only to be sent straight back down to put the poor kid back in bed.

The visit was great. We finally got to see my parent's new shop. They've only had it, what, two years? It's absolutely beautiful. Right out of downtown Oakville. We got to see Mike's dad, the new poster child for Herbal Magic. They should pay him a royalty every time he leaves his house - he's a walking ad for them. What was it - 70 pounds in six months?

It was definitely good to be home. It was definitely too short a visit, but it was good. In a way, it felt like we had never been away.

The trip back down was interesting. We kept John awake for hours past his morning naptime, hoping it would get him to sleep most the way to great-grandma's house. It was a dismall failure. He was awake, overtired and cranky the whole time. He finally fell asleep about half an hour from her house. When we got there, the plan was to slip him straight back to bed, but our wide-eyed, giggly guy had other plans. So much for that.

The leg home was interesting. Mike wanted to take a new route, so we went through the US. Freeway the whole way, he says. We'll make great time, he says. Sixteen hours later, we arrived home. I think our downfall was the logging road we took to get to the border in the first place. We were the only car - everyone else had big 4x4 trucks. That should have been a hint. We spent what felt like hours dodgeing giant potholes, often without success. I'm surprised our car has lived to tell the tale.

Oh, running out of gas on the freeway didn't help. I was nagging him to stop for gas, so of course he didn't. I was freaking - I've seen American news. I know what happens to women left alone by the side of the road down there. I had visions of John and I being found cut into pieces, scattered across the state. Thankfully, by the car's last gasp, we were on an exit ramp within sight of a gas station. Rather than walk, Mike hopped out and pushed to the intersection. While we were stopped at the red, a transport driver in the next lane rolled down his window and they got to talking. He put his truck in park and helped Mike push the rest of the way, which was really nice of him.

We were a little nervous about crossing the borders, but it was a breeze. I think we can thank John for that. We were loaded to the roof with bags and blankets. We could have had millions in drugs, guns, bombs, fruit, you name it. They waved us through in both directions. Mike said if he ever wants to smuggle, he's bringing John and I along.

Well, I had better get going. Mike wants to take John and I to the park to play badminton this afternoon, but that's a whole other post.

The looooong trip home - he dozed a good chunk of the way, thank goodness. 

John with Mac, both trying to get a piece of a rubber ball. 

John in my old rocking chair - or rather, trying to get OUT of my old rocking chair 

Staking his claim on a family heirloom 

A Tupperware party at Gram and Gramps P's house. By dad taught him to bang things with the spoon. Thanks, Dad. 

Grandpa P 

John checking out Grandma and Grandpa P 

John with Great grandma W 

John with Grandma W and Bear, recovering from a coffee table scare. 

Four generations! - John with Dad, Grandma W and Great Grandma E 

Roadtrip 2 - the main event

John takes his turn at the wheel

We've been back a couple of days now, but it has taken time to get settled back in.

We took John on the long voyage home - by car. Twenty hours of driving each way at the best of times. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but hopefully next time we'll be able to fly.

It was great to finally go home and visit our families again. John had lots of fun playing with Mac and exploring everyone's kitchen cupbourds. He took the whole thing in stride, but he was glad to get back home. He was pretty wired when he woke up in his own bed. It took an hour to settle him down, but then he slept through that night, all the next day and the following night, waking up just for food. He's finally starting to come right today.

I have more pictures and more to update, but it's getting late here. I just wanted to throw up a photo so everyone knows we're still here and haven't forgotten to update. I'll post up more over the next few days. Bruce - send me your photos so I can post them too!