Jumping Cows

Hello Again! I thought I might sneak a moment to write an update, but I just heard a little mewling cry coming from the direction of the (not-so) sleeping baby. Perhaps he'll be content to sit on my lap and watch.

Not that we have anything super new or exciting to report. Griffin is happy now - gumming a graham cracker. This is a graham cracker grin:

What's new this past week? Well, I started up with teaching yoga classes again. I taught for five years in Victoria, before we moved out, and have taught here and there since, mostly subbing for other teachers when they went on holiday. But we just had a new gym open here in town, and they put in a lovely fitness room that was just begging for a yoga teacher. I put up some signs, and ended up with a nice sized class. We just had our first class, and I think it went pretty well.

Jai's birthday was great - he had the afternoon off, and we just spent the day together as a little family.

Saturday I got to go to a needle felting workshop put on by Wendy, our local librarian. It was so much fun! Wendy put a lot of work into it, and there was a big pile of supplies that everyone got to take home, so I played with it more today. Fun! Here's a pic from the day:

And here's my "Cow Jumping Over the Moon" that I made for Griffin's wall.

He kind of looks like he's standing on the moon, and for a dairy farmer's daughter my grasp of cow anatomy is probably not all that great, but Griffin likes it anyway.

Happy Birthday Jai!

Happy Birthday Jai!!!!!!!!!!!

Every day I have at least one moment where I think about how incredibly lucky I am to have met you, and to get to share my life with you. Hooray for you!

This is a shot from a Griffin & Jai photo shoot that happened earlier this week.

And this is a picture that Jai took of Griffin enjoying his nightly ritual of watching Elmo and Boccelli on Sesame Street. Griffin loves this video so much - he sits and grabs his toes and rocks back and forth - he shrieks at the same moments every time - he snuggles in at the same moments - he has a big grin on his face the whole time. Here it is, so we don't have to hunt it down every night:

Mavillette Beach

Hello again! Griffin and I had to take a moment to tell you about our fabulous day yesterday - we drove down to Mavillette Beach where friends of ours have rented a cabin for Spring Break, for a little lunch and beach party. Maybe I'll let the pictures tell the story!

It was such a lovely way to spend the afternoon, ad even though it seemed like it was going to be a major undertaking (Mavillette is 1-1/2 hours away) it really wasn't all that bad. In fact, I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon (except, of course, if Jai had been able to come.) Hope your day was great, too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hello! Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Happy Birthday, Justin!) Just a quick post while Griffin is trying to put himself to sleep. I may need to run up there soon. These are some of our latest pics.

Griffin got a ball. He's still not crawling, but he manages to get himself around pretty well.

And he's loving the standing. He wants to stand at every opportunity, and he just thinks it's the coolest thing. It would be easier for him if we had some furniture he could walk along, but he does all right with available hands.

In other news, I've been trying to do a little bit of work, and just started making prototypes for a new series of wooden toys. I think they're pretty fun, and I have to admit it's nice to be thinking about making stuff out of wood again. Stay tuned...

Gotta run and re-tuck the wee one back in.

A trip to the Beach and Mumford and Sons Make Griffin do a Happy Dance

Hello! What a beautiful week it's been around here! We had the first trip to Hampton Beach - hooray! What is it about the ocean that is so restorative?

Hampton Beach is one of my happy places. Thank goodness it's only ten minutes from our house!

Mom, I thought this was a friendly little rock face for your collection. Can you see it? Hmmmm... now that I see it up close, he actually looks kind of sad. But friendly.

Griffin made a new friend this week, when we reconnected with another young couple that moved to Bridgetown not too long after we did. Their little girl is 3-1/2 months older than Griffin. They get along really great, so I'm totally looking forward to spending more time with her and her family. That's another huge bonus of better weather. People actually go outside!

We've been listening to Mumford & Sons all week. Griffin really likes dancing to them - he wiggles his head and bounces his knees - it's the new Official Soloy Happy Dance.

Anyway, I think I figured out how to add a video, so here is one of their songs, in case you are interested.

****I realized I better put a little warning, in case you are watching this with little ones, the lyrics do include some swearing.*****

All Around Bridgetown

Hello! I thought I would post some more pictures of the local scenery. We've had a couple of really nice days around here. It's still cold, but it doesn't matter so much when the sun is out.

"A light exists in Spring

Not present in the year

at any other period

When March is scarcely here."

- Emily Dickinson

We've been doing lots and lots of walking. It feels so good to be out and about. Today we went to the Post Office, the Drug Store, both Banks, the Library, the Grocery store, and the Print shop. They're all within four or five blocks of our house. And everyone there knows Griffin. What fun!

This is our house, in various states of paint.

And we did find some evidence that Spring is indeed on it's way.

And look! I finally got a picture of his two (yes, two!) teeth.

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Griffin!

Hello Again! Happy Weekend! We've had a couple of beautiful days in a row here - the sun is out, the snow is almost gone, the ice is floating away down the river, little bulbs are peeking out, laundry is hanging on the lines, and the people are out wandering the streets, soaking it all in. Well, us people, anyway.

Griffin is now back down to one nap per day. He has one half-hour crying session in the morning, and one forty-five minute nap in the afternoon. Maybe those couple of days when he napped so well were just catching up days. I'm not sure. But the good news is, he's been sleeping until 4 or 5 in the morning, and then going back to sleep until 7 or 7:30. So that's a million times better than before.

And it's his ten month birthday today, and he just wanted everyone to know that he can still suck on his toes.

They do look delectably yummy.

Becoming a Mom

Hello! I thought I should post a follow-up to the last post. First of all - thanks so much for all of the love and support and kind words you sent our way! It means a lot. I don't want to jinx it, but it seems that things are definitely improving on the sleep front. Jai and I watched in stunned silence last night, as Griffin put himself to sleep without crying. And he just did it again for his morning nap. I put him down, read him a story, and gave him a kiss, then left the room. I came right down to peek in on him (hooray for video monitors!) He looked around for a while, and then closed his eyes and went to sleep. My goodness I feel like a Proud Mama!

Not only that, but last night, he slept right through the night, all on his own. I think I was not the only one who has been sleep deprived. Poor little Griffin! Before, I was lucky if I could get one 45 minute nap out of him per day. I didn't know any better. I just put him down when it got really obvious that he was tired. Even at the beginning of this process, when I was trying to come up with a schedule that we could follow every day, I wasn't sure how the two nap thing was going to work. And at first it didn't really. He cried right through a couple of the nap times, or cried for thirty minutes, then slept for twenty. I was about to just drop it. But then yesterday, when I was going to skip the morning nap, he started to look tired. Fifteen minutes after his new nap time, he was rubbing his eyes and cranky, so I put him down. Yesterday he had a 45 minute nap in the morning, and an hour long nap in the afternoon, AND he slept through the night. Really????

For the first time, we are following a schedule, instead of eating when he seems hungry, and sleeping when he seems tired. I know this probably should have been obvious, but I can't believe the difference it makes. Parenting is such a steep learning curve! Geez! Plus, the added bonus of following a schedule is that it makes me feel a little more in charge. It's a subtle but powerful thing to switch from following your baby's needs to doing something that you know is best for them, regardless of how they feel about it. And then to see him begin to enjoy it, well, it feels pretty amazing.

We're Crying It Out.

Oh, man. I really wanted to be one of those Moms I keep coming across on the Internet - the ones who say they sleep with their babies snuggled in bed beside them, and do whatever it takes to make them feel happy and healthy and well. Attachment parenting seems to be the ideal these days. It sounds so nice. And there's all these studies saying how good it is for your child. I read blogs by Moms who do it with a smile.

And we did share a bed with Griffin for the first couple of months. But he really likes to sleep with his arms straight out to the sides, and Jai and I were clinging to the edges of our Queen-size bed, trying not to move too much. He slept pretty well, but the two of us, not so much.

Having him in his crib, but bumped up right beside the bed seemed like a great compromise, and it was... at first. It was nice to have him so close (for those middle of the night "he's still breathing, right?" moments.) He's never been a great sleeper, but getting up three or four times a night isn't so bad if you don't actually have to get out of bed. Mostly I just rolled over and gave him a soother, and if that didn't work, I would pull him in and nurse him for twenty minutes or so, then slide him back into his crib. Not too bad.

But then, a couple of weeks ago, he decided that he hated the soother, and only I would do. And those feedings moved from being two hours apart to an hour and a half, to only an hour. I've been sleep deprived for months and months. There've been nights when I couldn't speak without slurring my words. I've felt like my IQ has dropped many, many points. That's all part of being a new parent. But at the end of those last two weeks.... banging my head against the wall was starting to sound like it might bring some sweet, welcome relief. Jai and I both came down with horrible colds. Not even Griffin was happy.

Sorry, attachment parenting. We are now crying it out.

Not that this is any kind of magical solution. In fact, it's torture. For everyone involved. He sleeps great at first, and then, between the hours of midnight and five a.m. we endure many long bouts of soul-rending crying. With a stop watch.

What we're doing is not actually called "crying it out" but that's the basic gist. We got the book "How to Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Ferber at the local secondhand bookstore. Basically, in progressively longer and longer increments we let him cry on his own, only going in to offer a few minutes of comforting at a time. Tonight is night number four. Everyone seems to think that within a week, things will start to get better. I certainly hope so. I really hope so. I really, really need it to be so.

If anyone out there has any words of wisdom to offer on getting babies to sleep better, I'd love to hear them. If you had kids, did you let them cry themselves to sleep? Did they cry every time? For hours? (and hours?) All I can find on the internet is testimonials from people who say that they felt like it was too cruel, so they just toughed it out... it only lasted for a few years. Good for them, I say, you are made of stronger stuff than I.

Anyway, that was a bit of a rant, but this is what we have been up to. Poor little Griffin. Send some happy thought his way, if you're reading this. And Sweet Dreams to you, too.

Bridgetown Winterfest Saves Winter!

Well, it figures, wouldn't you know it, that just when I go and get all down on Winter, Jai reminds me that tonight is Winterfest! So we all bundled up, lit some tealights to go in our baby food jars, and went to join the Parade of Lights (which consisted of about 20 people with flashlights walking down Main St, but was fun all the same.)

We marched off to the park, where there was snowmen and an igloo and a toboggan slide and kicksleds.

We got in line for hot chocolate while we waited for them to light the bonfire.

Then we oohed and aahed as it caught, and went up spectacularly.

Big fluffy snowflakes started to fall. What more could you ask for?

And just like that, Winter redeemed itself.

Oh, February

There comes a time in every winter - usually in February - when I am finished with winter. Enough cold, enough snow, enough loading up with layers and boots and hats and mitts every time we want to step outside.

So then I have to come up with some way to make it ok again. More snow was falling outside, the tulips weren't quite cutting it, I needed some way to make everything feel fresh again. Time to re-arrange the furniture! I don't have before OR after pictures, because unfortunately I made only a small dent in the large mountain of clutter. Nevertheless, the house somehow feels like it got a breath of fresh air. I don't even know if it's better, but it's just different enough. Hopefully it will be enough to carry me through the next couple of months of winter, because if it doesn't, I may need to paint something white. To be fair, I do get sick of summer, too. Right around August, I've had enough of the unrelenting heat already. Really the only season I don't get sick of is fall. I do love those autumn days. Still... would they be so poignant if they weren't a relief after the summer heat, and a respite before the winter cold sets in? Well, no, probably not. And I do love me those toques and scarves. But just right now this winter is feeling awfully long. I may have to do a happy dance when those first snowdrops start to peek through. I may have to go to the beach with my snowsuit on.

Not-So Idle Hours

And now the second update - what I've been up to in my secret laboratory. I made a little book! Oh, it was so much fun. I sewed and crocheted and block-printed and screen-printed my little heart out, and here it is:

And then Griffin, little sweety that he is, absolutely LOVED it. So I was pretty happy, although I will change the letters on the cover, as I think they could be better. I made up another little bird print as well - this time a little robin. Who knows? Maybe it will inspire a second book... something about a forest, maybe?

Anyway, slowly but surely, things are cookin'. And, just to show how it runs in the family, here's a picture of Griffin in the little sweater that my Mom knit him (yes, Mom, it actually fits!)