Juliet is One!

While many days from this past year have seemed to go by so slowly (especially in the winter), I can't believe that we are already celebrating Juliet's first birthday!

Juliet was born last year on Mother's Day, and even though it's been 365 days, a lot is the same. We are in the midst of another (much worse) wave of this pandemic, pretty much stuck at home most of the time, and back to the fun of online school. My energy for crafts and science experiments has definitely decreased over the course of the pandemic, but we still manage to stay entertained and (mostly) happy. The sunny days of spring and vaccines rolling out more each day are definitely helpful mood boosters.

We celebrated Juliet's birthday over the weekend with yet another COVID party - which, for a one year old, is totally fine! I've never done a 'smash cake' before, so figured we'd give it a try for the last baby (and because baking is a great way to pass the time during lockdown and the kids love it). Evelyn and Lucy were very happy to help make a cake and cupcakes (and even happier to lick all the utensils in the process). We did a bit of decorating, opened and played with some presents, facetimed family, had pizza and cake, and called it a day. Juliet went right to sleep at the end of the day, so I'd say it was a success.  

Evelyn and Lucy cooperating to mix the batter and scrape the sides - Hopefully I can have them baking for me in a few years:) Juliet liked being included in the action too. 

Evie convinced me that we needed a large pitcher of lemonade for the party. Shockingly (or maybe not) a four year old and six year old can consume a pretty large quantity of lemonade over the course of a day.

I got lucky and someone in my neighbourhood had pre-made this white balloon arch and was giving it away (I definitely wouldn't have had the patience to spend the hours she said it took to put together). All I had to do was tape in a few pink balloons. 

Juliet likes the balloons and points to them whenever she passes by (I'm sure that attitude will change when one pops for the first time)

Evelyn and Lucy making the candy melt liner for our giant cupcake cake

Our final product - all in all pretty straightforward aside from the first bake when I didn't grease the pan and couldn't get the top of the cupcake out (had to re-bake after the kids went to bed)

Enjoying a pizza lunch care of Little Caesars. Evelyn and Lucy are huge crazy bread fans.

No party is complete without a basement dance party (Juliet's tutu was her sisters' pick)

We got Juliet a water table for her birthday. The weather did not really cooperate this weekend (5 degrees and snowy/rainy both days), so we set it up inside and the girls had lots of fun.

Juliet drank (and spilled) a lot of water

Evie and Lucy reading Juliet her new books

She's becoming more little girl and less baby for sure (tear)

The girls showing Juliet how to colour on her water drawing mat

She wasn't totally sure what to do with this giant cake, and wasn't so much into "smashing" anything, but she did like the icing.

I was really hoping she'd just start eating it like this, but no luck!

She preferred stabbing the cake with a fork instead (she's very into trying to use her utensils these days)

Evie and Lucy were happy to help her dig in

 

All in all, it was a fun celebration and a great way to pass a rainy day. Juliet is getting to a fun age and I'm happy to not be headed back to work until September. I'm not sure if it is the result of the pandemic or just her nature, but Juliet is a real mama's girl and I have a feeling that her transition to childcare is going to be pretty difficult. With us being isolated for so much of the year, she has really strange reactions to new people. Last week, we had someone in to repair our oven, and she crawled into the kitchen, saw him and just burst out into tears. Hopefully the summer brings us back a little closer to normal and seeing people outside the family.  

Other than her constant desire to be in my arms, Juliet is a great baby. She is generally happy and is starting to communicate more and more with gestures and expressions. She's not quite walking yet, but really likes walking around when you hold her hands so I'm sure it won't be long. She likes to climb up on things, like the treadmill, kids trampoline, and the girls beds (they have bunkbeds that have the lower mattress on the floor) - all great, except she doesn't know how to get down yet. She is quick to spot an open baby gate and I even caught her trying to get in the fireplace last week (no fire of course, but I still don't want her covered in soot and coal). She likes to be around her sisters and Evelyn is really great with her. Lucy tries very hard to win over Juliet's affection, but is still a bit aggressive and fast-paced for Juliet, so they have their shares of run-ins (probably one of my bigger challenges to deal with in the transition to 3 kids). I'm excited for the next six months, as I know babies grow and change so much as they develop language skills. She already has "conversations" with us, but only she knows what she's saying so far. Here are a few photos of our sweet Juliet from the last while. 

Although she can be clingy, these snuggles are more than worth it

She likes riding her "bike" around the house

Playing in the mud kitchen - Juliet loves playing outside now that the weather has warmed up. It will be nice when she can walk and avoid crawling around in the dirt. We've been going through LOTS of outfits.

Out for an urban hike in Griffith Woods

Playing dress-up (more like being dressed up by her sisters)

Juliet refuses to let you feed her anymore and is determined to use her spoon and fork

Thankful that Hudson and Ruby are around to clean up the messes she makes at every meal

This is what my view usually looks like while trying to make dinner

One of her favourite things to do is watch the squirrels and birds outside. She points and squeals when she sees them and it's super cute.

When he's lucky, Juliet will give Craig a hug or kiss too

Juliet loves brushing her teeth and cries like crazy when you take her toothbrush away and take her out of the bathroom

All ready to go get Evelyn from school

This seemed like a good idea until I realized how loud a 4 year old would bang on the bowls...Juliet's drumming was cute, Lucy broke one of my wooden spoons :)

Joining Ruby on her daily lookouts for squirrels and people walking by

Juliet's first bike ride - she loved it

"Let me into the basement too!"

Enjoying the hot tub on a nice spring day

Savouring the moments when she will still sleep in my arms - I know they won't last forever :(

Love her smiling post-nap face

She's still feels like a baby to me, and I am a bit sad to let that go. I'm also excited to see her little personality develop and see how she discovers and takes in the world around her as she grows. Happy birthday sweet Juliet!

Evelyn is a great older sister and at 6 and a half years old, is actually pretty helpful and independent. As much as I love the baby stage, it is also nice to have a kid who can get their own snack, and get dressed on their own (at least in theory.....doesn't always happen in reality). She is a kind, creative, and social kid. She is always coming up with ideas for new crafts or activities to do, and (often with the help of a quick Pinterest search) we spend lots of time bringing her ideas to life. She's also become a lot less shy this year. I don't know if it's the impact of COVID or what, but when we go to playgrounds her first goal is to find a new friend (sometimes I have to tell her to stop following other kids/families around as they may want their space :). 

She has done really well this year in school considering the circumstances. I was definitely worried at the outset that it would be harder to learn French with everyone in masks and unable to see mouth movements, but she seems to be picking it up very quickly. She readily corrects my pronunciation and has definitely surpassed Craig's French vocabulary :) We've been doing online school for a week now and have at least 2 more to go, and it has been a significant improvement over last year both in terms of the structure as well as her readiness/willingness to participate in this way.  There are more structured meetings with her teacher which is helpful as she will follow her teacher's instructions better than if they were to come from me. She is also much more self sufficient at using the computer, so once she's on, I mostly just have to focus on keeping Lucy and Juliet entertained and out of the way. I'm also actually enjoying having her at home as we don't have to go through the morning rush, and it makes my days with Lucy 100% easier as she has her favourite playmate around a lot more. 

I can tell these two are going to be close

Such a great big sister

Evelyn's current online school set up

Evelyn teaching Juliet to love ladybugs

Evelyn at "100" for the 100th day of school

Lucy loves having Evelyn at home more now, and throughout this year, both she and I have looked forward to the end of the school day and Evie's return. It has been a tough year to have Lucy home and I think overall her sometimes less-than-stellar behaviour is a result of boredom. She is desperate for Juliet's affection, but it seems like she just can't stop herself from tormenting her (which does not make Juliet want to hug her unfortunately). If it was a normal year, I'd have loved to sign her up for different sports/library programs/playgroups etc, but that just wasn't possible. She does have preschool two mornings a week, but I think she could have handled more than that. I do find Evie and Lucy to be different in the sense that Evie has always been able to entertain herself to a point, whereas Lucy always wants someone to play with her and guide her every step of the way through different activities - so not exactly the easiest task when you are also caring for a baby.   Case in point - she literally just came over to me (from 10 feet away where she was colouring on the floor) and said "I can't colour here by myself, I'm too scared".  She is definitely getting better though, and she really is a hilarious kid when you get her in the right mood. She's super determined and doesn't get frustrated easily - probably why she's learned to skate, ski and bike without training wheels all this year before turning 4 (though her gung-ho, fearless attitude scares me slightly). She has the most contagious smile though and gets us laughing a lot. 

The girls got in one week of soccer before outdoor sports were shut down again...hopefully it comes back in June, but we'll have to see what happens

Posing, while out for a walk at Fish Creek Park

Walking our "babies"

Lucy's Donut for the letter D. We have been working on her printing skills and letter sounds for something to do over the past few months

Colouring some noodles to make necklaces

A is for airplane :)

When she turns on these smiles, it's hard to do anything but smile back :)

These girls definitely keep me busy and exhausted, but seeing the world through their eyes makes life so much more enjoyable right now. They pose a lot of questions like "When the virus is over, can we do x,y,z", and often say they hate the virus, but overall, I feel they are mostly happy to be spending time with family. I think Evelyn will have memories from this year, but I think it will just be another year of childhood for Juliet and Lucy.  

I can remember very early on in the pandemic (probably sitting on the couch in a super pregnant state), and overhearing Craig on a call with someone. When I heard him say that this would last probably 18 months, I just started quietly crying to myself - honestly not thinking I could make it that long with a newborn baby and two kids.  Fast forward 14 months or so and my baby is almost walking, and that 18 month mark is not that far off.  I don't want to get my hopes up too much - but Craig and I both have our first doses of the vaccine now and hopefully safe vaccines for kids are not too far down the road along. In the grand scheme of life, I know it isn't that long, but 18 months in the life of a baby or young child makes for immense change and growth - especially in the case of Juliet, I hope we can share her with our friends and family this summer.

Here are a few more photos from our COVID adventures and activities in the last few months.

Making rock candy - it took like 3 weeks to grow, but was definitely a hit with the girls

We finally got the girls to try downhill and cross country skiing this year. They liked both and hopefully we will get out a bit more next year.

Lucy insisted on keeping her googles on 100% of the time

I love that they are at an age where they are excited to match :)

Giving Juliet a taste of the tent swing in the basement

Making obstacle courses

Baking again - carrot muffins I believe (hard to remember with all the cookies and muffins we make around here)

Winter hike during March break

Road tripping to Canmore for a few days over March break - Ruby is still not impressed that as the kids have come along, her seat in the car gets moved further and further back. She'd sit on my lap in the front if we let her have her way.

Enjoying our one hour time in the pool for the week

Watching the river surfers do their thing

Movie night

Dog walks - clearly a super exciting vacation (definitely more exciting than sitting in our living room though)

The dogs loved the fresh mountain air - reminded them of their younger days I'm sure

Three silly sisters with the Three Sisters Mountains :)

Walking to the candy store in Canmore (probably the highlight of the trip for these kids)

We've definitely become well acquainted with Fish Creek Park this year - pandemic or not, it's awesome to have down the road for runs, bike rides and exploring with the family

Searching for river rocks

Working hard on our pebble art

I may have got into this one too :)

Having a campfire at Fish Creek

This has been another recent favourite - making "quicksand" out of corn starch and water

Only a slight mess

Second time around I learned to give them trays for dropping the quicksand and a blanket to absorb the spills. 

Much easier clean up this time around

Now that the weather is nice, we've been doing lots of picnics at playgrounds

Cool two seater baby-adult swing

Leftover smoothie mix turned popsicles

Teaching Juliet how to colour with sidewalk chalk

Juliet loves joining her big sisters in the yard

Playing in the creek

Pictured in the next few shots: The joy of underdoggies from Daddy

Trying to make it back to the car before the rain hits during one of our recent walks

Juliet with me and me outside = in our happy places :)

Lessons in nature from Craig

Making "unicorn bark" - Food colouring mixed into greek yogurt, spooned and spread in a pan with sprinkles, and frozen

Adding the sprinkles

Breaking it apart and testing it out

Yum!

Juliet was also a fan of the unicorn bark.

If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed the pictures (and I hope they help me to remember these days when I look back at this years from now.....I certainly know my memory is not going to be any help). Here's to a spring and summer where we we can hopefully start to have more face to face updates, but for now, virtual will have to do!