A successful and fun trip to Vancouver
Evie and I just returned from a 4 day trip to Vancouver where we visited my friend Heather (university room mate) and her fiance Nicholas. I was a little anxious about travelling with Evie for the first time in a while, but she really seemed to enjoy the change of pace and we had a great time.
Evie all set to fly to Vancouver
The last time Evie flew was for our trip back to Ontario for Christmas - At that point, she still slept a lot during the day and was very happy to sleep in someone's arms for hours. Her naps now are usually in her crib, so I was a little anxious about how she would handle being in a new environment and out of her usual routine, but she seemed happy to go with the flow. She was pretty squirmy on the flight to Vancouver, so that was definitely different than the last time we flew - but there was no full-blown crying (just some whining) and changing her positions often seemed to keep her occupied.
We were in the city from Friday night until early Tuesday morning - definitely a much different visit than I've had with Heather in the past (e.g. limited by Evie's naps and home by 7 for bedtime), but we still managed to get out and walk around quite a bit. Vancouver is such a nice city and Heather and Nicholas just bought a new condo that is right on False Creek and in a great area for long walks/bikes/runs. We did a pretty long walk on Saturday along the seawall - past Olympic Village, through Granville Island and down to Kitsilano beach, then crossed the bridge and stopped for lunch in Yaletown before completing our circuit. Evie rode along happily in the stroller and enjoyed some delicious pizza.
Heather has a few good friends with babies in Vancouver as well, so we got together for a couple play dates with them - so it is always entertaining to see how babies interact with one another. We also went out to Deep Cove and did the short hike up to Quarry Rock.
Evie did really well with the new routines (which surprised me) and was happy to sleep in the play pen for naps and bed. She seems to be attached to the little blanket bunny that I always give her at bed/nap times and uses it to soothe herself to sleep. Even on our plane ride home (which was right during nap time), I gave her the bunny and she just rubbed it on her face until she fell asleep in my arms (the cutest thing ever, I really need to take a video of it sometime before she stops doing it). I was also really surprised that she didn't 'play strange' with Heather and Nicholas, and was pretty entertained by the new assortment of toys that Heather had got together for her.
Evie seems much older now to me - I think we really noticed a difference when she started eating and sitting up on her own (both happened at about 6 months). Her eating is really improving now, and she is starting to take actual bites and learning to use her two teeth. I definitely noticed a difference while we were travelling since we ate at restaurants several times. She knows what meal time is now, and is not happy if she is at a table with no food in front of her. I guess I'll just have to get used to sharing all my meals now! I wrote about the Baby-Led Weaning approach we are using to feeding in another blog post - but after travelling, I am even more sold on this approach. I didn't have to bring any special foods for her or prepare anything specifically for her - she was just able to eat what we had for meals, so that was very convenient.
Here are some pictures/videos from our trip and a few others from recent weeks
Hanging out and playing with toys at Heather's condo
Hike up to Quarry Rock in Deep Cove
Unfortunately we didn't have a selfie stick like the rest of the people on Quarry Rock (or fortunately)
Out for a walk while Heather and Nicholas were at work Monday
Evie and I had a little picnic in the park
Eating dinner at Trattoria - Monday night was family night and kids eat free, so Evie actually got her own pizza (I think they were surprised when we asked for the kids menu). She also really like the Portobello mushroom from our appetizer - surprising because it was super slimy
Her favourite of Heather's toy collection from when she worked at Pixar - Hamm the pig
Enjoying a delicious chicken drumstick in her booster seat on the floor - complete with painting drop cloths to protect the floor - a perfect set up for a 7 month old
Play date with Dane (4 months) - Evie has a few pounds on him :)
Eating more pizza at a patio in Yaletown - Evie got lucky this trip - pizza happens to be a relatively neat meal for a baby, so she had it a couple times at restaurants
Evie had an awesome time meeting Heather for the first time - can't wait for our next visit in Ontario this August and then next summer returning to Vancouver for Heather and Nicholas' wedding!
On the May long weekend we hiked to the South summit of Powderface Ridge out in Kananaskis. It was a pretty exhausting hike - not super long, but just uphill the whole way. Carrying 30 lbs on your back definitely adds to the intensity of a hike! It was a beautiful day though and I'm not complaining - I'll take any chance I can to get those beautiful views
I love post-bath snuggles
Ruby having a rest on her little sister
Our weather this year has been pretty awesome - taking in one of our 20 degree plus days on the back deck
Evie all set to fly to Vancouver
The last time Evie flew was for our trip back to Ontario for Christmas - At that point, she still slept a lot during the day and was very happy to sleep in someone's arms for hours. Her naps now are usually in her crib, so I was a little anxious about how she would handle being in a new environment and out of her usual routine, but she seemed happy to go with the flow. She was pretty squirmy on the flight to Vancouver, so that was definitely different than the last time we flew - but there was no full-blown crying (just some whining) and changing her positions often seemed to keep her occupied.
We were in the city from Friday night until early Tuesday morning - definitely a much different visit than I've had with Heather in the past (e.g. limited by Evie's naps and home by 7 for bedtime), but we still managed to get out and walk around quite a bit. Vancouver is such a nice city and Heather and Nicholas just bought a new condo that is right on False Creek and in a great area for long walks/bikes/runs. We did a pretty long walk on Saturday along the seawall - past Olympic Village, through Granville Island and down to Kitsilano beach, then crossed the bridge and stopped for lunch in Yaletown before completing our circuit. Evie rode along happily in the stroller and enjoyed some delicious pizza.
Heather has a few good friends with babies in Vancouver as well, so we got together for a couple play dates with them - so it is always entertaining to see how babies interact with one another. We also went out to Deep Cove and did the short hike up to Quarry Rock.
Evie did really well with the new routines (which surprised me) and was happy to sleep in the play pen for naps and bed. She seems to be attached to the little blanket bunny that I always give her at bed/nap times and uses it to soothe herself to sleep. Even on our plane ride home (which was right during nap time), I gave her the bunny and she just rubbed it on her face until she fell asleep in my arms (the cutest thing ever, I really need to take a video of it sometime before she stops doing it). I was also really surprised that she didn't 'play strange' with Heather and Nicholas, and was pretty entertained by the new assortment of toys that Heather had got together for her.
Evie seems much older now to me - I think we really noticed a difference when she started eating and sitting up on her own (both happened at about 6 months). Her eating is really improving now, and she is starting to take actual bites and learning to use her two teeth. I definitely noticed a difference while we were travelling since we ate at restaurants several times. She knows what meal time is now, and is not happy if she is at a table with no food in front of her. I guess I'll just have to get used to sharing all my meals now! I wrote about the Baby-Led Weaning approach we are using to feeding in another blog post - but after travelling, I am even more sold on this approach. I didn't have to bring any special foods for her or prepare anything specifically for her - she was just able to eat what we had for meals, so that was very convenient.
Here are some pictures/videos from our trip and a few others from recent weeks
Hanging out and playing with toys at Heather's condo
Hike up to Quarry Rock in Deep Cove
Unfortunately we didn't have a selfie stick like the rest of the people on Quarry Rock (or fortunately)
Out for a walk while Heather and Nicholas were at work Monday
Evie and I had a little picnic in the park
Eating dinner at Trattoria - Monday night was family night and kids eat free, so Evie actually got her own pizza (I think they were surprised when we asked for the kids menu). She also really like the Portobello mushroom from our appetizer - surprising because it was super slimy
Play date with Dane (4 months) - Evie has a few pounds on him :)
Play date with Isla (5 months) - doesn't she have the best hair?
Eating more pizza at a patio in Yaletown - Evie got lucky this trip - pizza happens to be a relatively neat meal for a baby, so she had it a couple times at restaurants
Evie had an awesome time meeting Heather for the first time - can't wait for our next visit in Ontario this August and then next summer returning to Vancouver for Heather and Nicholas' wedding!
On the May long weekend we hiked to the South summit of Powderface Ridge out in Kananaskis. It was a pretty exhausting hike - not super long, but just uphill the whole way. Carrying 30 lbs on your back definitely adds to the intensity of a hike! It was a beautiful day though and I'm not complaining - I'll take any chance I can to get those beautiful views
I love post-bath snuggles
Practising her sitting skills. She is pretty sturdy now and it makes things a lot easier just being able to set her down to play
Ruby having a rest on her little sister
Our weather this year has been pretty awesome - taking in one of our 20 degree plus days on the back deck
Evie eating a meatball - one of her favourites (she really just seems to like most meat actually) - This video shows the 'gagging' that often happens during mealtimes around 45 seconds - It sounds a bit scary but it just happens when she has a bigger piece of food in her mouth and she will spit it out pretty quickly.
Evie's ongoing struggle with tummy time - she still has yet to roll either direction
Playing 'baby blast off' with Craig (not too long ago she threw up right into my mouth when I was doing this - so gross)
Playing peek-a-boo (I am ducking behind the couch - the best is when she just looks around the room wondering where I went
Can't believe she is 7 months already!
Another great post Ellen. Glad you and Evie had a great visit with your friends.
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