On the Move at 11 Months
Over the past couple months, Evie has been on the move in more ways than one. We took her on a five week trip to Ontario, North Carolina and St Maarten/St. Martin and she finally started crawling. The changes in her mental development have been equally as exciting and it's been a lot of fun to interact with her over the last little while. It makes it even more sad that I only have a little over a month left on maternity leave before I head back to work and Evie goes to daycare (fingers crossed we get a spot!).
11 months and finally mobile!
The summer has flown by and it really feels like fall in Calgary now - the leaves are falling and the air is cool. I don't mind it too much though; after 5 weeks in Ontario, North Carolina and the Caribbean, I was very ready for a break from the heat. We did really enjoy our vacation though, and are happy that we got to see many of our friends and family members along the way.
During the course of our trip, Evie changed so much - more than any other one-month period of her life. Within the span of two weeks she started waving, clapping, pointing, sitting up on her own (from a lying down position), and crawling. It was pretty incredible to see. Since coming home, she's become very good at pulling herself up to stand and will stand unassisted for 5-10 seconds. She can also use her walker to walk across the carpet. Needless to say, we had some baby-proofing to do when we got home last week!
Evie and I were away for a total of five weeks, while Craig was away for three weeks (he unfortunately doesn't have an unlimited amount of vacation time). The trip started with a visit with my parents and sister in Capreol, Ontario. From there, my mom,Evelyn and I went to Manitoulin Island as I had a university roommate getting married on her farm there.
Going for a walk in Capreol, where I grew up and my parents still live
Checking out the new playground at CR Judd, the local elementary school where my sister and I both went to JK through Grade 8
Evie really loves to swing now....I'm sure we can count on many hours being spent at parks in the next few years
It wasn't the warmest day, as evidenced by our Lynn and Evie's beach wear
Grandma Moffatt and Evie drying off in the wind
Learning some tricks on the piano
Since some part of our trip could involve boating, I thought it would be good to have a life jacket on hand for Evie - She didn't agree
After our visit in Capreol, we spent a few days on Manitoulin Island - it was fairly relaxing and a very beautiful setting for a wedding. Evie spent the wedding night with my mom at our Bed and Breakfast and that was the first time that someone other than me put her to bed - so that was a big step forward!
Hanging out at our Bed and Breakfast (Willow Shores B&B). I would definitely recommend this place - right on the water, with kayaks to use and a hot and delicious breakfast everyday.
Checking out Providence Bay - a beautiful beach. It was pretty wavy and a little chilly, but we all still swam.
Walking the boardwalk at Providence Bay
More fun swinging on Manitoulin Island
After Manitoulin Island, we took the Chi Cheemaun ferry across Georgian Bay to Tobermory and went to visit my Grandmother for a couple days outside of Stratford, Ontario.
Waiting for the ferry in South Baymouth
It was a windy ride over
Lucky for us, there was a kids play area inside and I managed to get Evie to sleep for about half an hour in her carrier
Evie playing on the porch at her Great Grandma's house
Four generations all together - Evelyn, me, my mom and her mom - Interestingly enough, we are all exactly 30 years apart
Thankfully, Evie slept fairly well during the trip....sometimes I just have to take pictures of her sleeping
We had lots of fun visiting with my side of the family and were then off to Port Hope to visit with Craig's side of the family. Craig joined us in Port Hope a couple days after we arrived since we both had a wedding to attend in Guelph that weekend. We had a busy few days, trying to squeeze in lots of visits with family and friends in a short period of time. This was the same time that Evie started crawling for the first time too - so that was pretty exciting. She also enjoyed playing with her cousins - she isn't around older kids a lot (most of the people I see regularly have babies), so I think they learn a lot from watching kids a little bit older than them.
Drew was surprised by how big Evie had gotten since Christmas - she didn't want to hold Evie anymore because she was too heavy, but she was happy to sit beside her on the couch
Cousin get-together (Needless to say this was a bit chaotic, but very fun - I think Evie was just in awe of all the kids around her)
Figuring out how to move from point A to B at Nana and Pop Pop's house
Meeting Claire for the first time, Marty (Craig's cousin) and Lisa's sweet baby girl
Cheering on cousin Drew at her soccer tournament
Boden entertaining Evie at the soccer game
Visiting with her Great Grandma and Grandpa Pearce
Playing with Drew's dollhouses at Grandma Sue's house
Visit with her Auntie Chloe in Guelph the day after the wedding
Evie and her cousins in picture that is about as good as they get with four kids who are three or younger - we were lucky to get to meet baby Laikyn on this trip when she was only about a month old
After Ontario, we flew down to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit Dani (Craig's sister) and Ben, and Jack and Sam who we hadn't seen for a couple years now. It was a lot of fun, and we got lucky that they were having a "cooler" week when we were there (still close 30 degrees everyday though, so plenty warm for us). We went to a couple children's museums and parks, spent time at their amazing gym working out and going to the pool (more like a resort-like community centre), and eating delicious southern food and BBQ.
On the flight down to Raleigh - of course Evie spent the whole flight squirming around and then finally decided to go to sleep as the plane was basically landing...
Evie playing with Sam
Sam was very loving, and liked giving Evie hugs
It might not be that long before Evie weighs more than Sam :)
Having fun in the mirror at Marbles Children's Museum
Like I said, she likes being in the driver's seat
Riding the boats at Pullen Park
Riding the train at Pullen Park
From Raleigh, we flew even further South down to the French/Dutch island of St. Martin. We weren't totally sure how this leg of the trip would go and I had read varying things about taking a trip like this with a baby. We went with friends Caleb and Kasia, who also have an 8-month old baby girl and didn't have expectations of having a lot of freedom with babies that nap twice per day and go to bed at 7pm. It was definitely much different than trips we've taken in the past. While it was nice to get away and see a new island, I think we would probably wait a while before going on a trip like this again (at least until our schedule doesn't revolve around naps and all kids are able to walk on their own). Evie started crawling right before this part of the trip, so of course she wanted to be on the move all the time - That wasn't always an option though on a beach where she also didn't know not to eat sand or rub it in her eyes. So that was a bit of challenge. She was also teething pretty badly and had a few rough nights (which meant that I had a few rough nights!). Luckily that only happened for the first part of the trip.
Knowing we would likely be home-bound for lots of the trip, we choose a pretty nice villa to stay at. So it was good to have some space to spread out in, a private pool and great view and access to the beach on the ocean. Most days we would venture out to explore a new part of the island between naps - sometimes on our own and sometime with Caleb, Kasia and Kathryn (depending on babies nap schedules of course).
Views from our villa - The pool and deck always had shade, which was nice for the babies
Babies in paradise
Walking around in Marigot - a cute town on the French side of St Martin
One of the nicer meals we had was a lunch at a restaurant called Le Sands on Nettle Bay - it was delicious and the babies behaved fairly well
Evie and Kathryn waiting for their food
Not a bad view for lunch - it was also nice to be able to swim in between courses
This is a picture from our villa one morning - There is a pretty bad seaweed problem in the Caribbean right now and this was one of the worst mornings we saw. Everyday the staff from the resort on this beach would rake it up and take it all off the beach. This was the case on pretty much all of the beaches on the Eastern side of the island.
We took a day trip to Anguilla and were rewarded with a visit to Shoal Beach - an almost two mile long stretch of white sand and crystal clear water. It was definitely the nicest beach I've ever been too. With it being low season, we pretty much had it to ourselves.
Playing in the sand (more like trying to keep sand out of Evie's mouth and eyes)
If we didn't have Evie with us, I definitely would have spent hours lying here on the sand - it was so soft
Evie really liked the ocean - especially calmer beaches like this one. She got a little scared when we were in bigger waves
Lots of time spent cooling off in this pool
Dinner with a view
The boardwalk in Phillipsburg (the capital on the Dutch side) - it was pretty empty since we went on a day when there was no cruise ship in port. Still a very nice boardwalk though
Drying off in the sun on our last day
There are tons of iquanas in St Martin. On our last day, Craig got out of the car to try to get a couple pictures of them and literally 15 iguanas came out and started chasing him....he ran scared back into the car and this was them all sort of surrounding our car. It was pretty funny and I wish I had it on video.
The five weeks away went by quickly, but we are happy to be home and back into our normal routines. Evie has still been a little bit off since getting home - she cut three new teeth last week and is also fighting a bit of a cold/runny nose. I'm sure I can count on fighting a lot more sickness in a month or so when she starts daycare. I can't believe I'll have a one year old in a month!
Here are a few videos that I'll end with
Evie practicing her crawling skills back at home
Evie trying to figure out daddy's iPhone
Evie having lots of fun in the swing (and getting a little scared at the end)
Evie loving her spaghetti and slowly getting better at using a cup
11 months and finally mobile!
The summer has flown by and it really feels like fall in Calgary now - the leaves are falling and the air is cool. I don't mind it too much though; after 5 weeks in Ontario, North Carolina and the Caribbean, I was very ready for a break from the heat. We did really enjoy our vacation though, and are happy that we got to see many of our friends and family members along the way.
During the course of our trip, Evie changed so much - more than any other one-month period of her life. Within the span of two weeks she started waving, clapping, pointing, sitting up on her own (from a lying down position), and crawling. It was pretty incredible to see. Since coming home, she's become very good at pulling herself up to stand and will stand unassisted for 5-10 seconds. She can also use her walker to walk across the carpet. Needless to say, we had some baby-proofing to do when we got home last week!
Evie and I were away for a total of five weeks, while Craig was away for three weeks (he unfortunately doesn't have an unlimited amount of vacation time). The trip started with a visit with my parents and sister in Capreol, Ontario. From there, my mom,Evelyn and I went to Manitoulin Island as I had a university roommate getting married on her farm there.
Checking out the new playground at CR Judd, the local elementary school where my sister and I both went to JK through Grade 8
Evie really loves to swing now....I'm sure we can count on many hours being spent at parks in the next few years
Hanging out at Ella Lake - I'm sure we went here pretty much every day in the summer when I was a kid. You definitely take these clean, warm lakes for granted until you move to somewhere like Alberta where the most of your options are man-made or glacier-fed lakes.
It wasn't the warmest day, as evidenced by our Lynn and Evie's beach wear
Grandma Moffatt and Evie drying off in the wind
Evie hanging out with her Aunt Lynn, and borrowing her clothes to look tough
Since some part of our trip could involve boating, I thought it would be good to have a life jacket on hand for Evie - She didn't agree
Family outing to a small farmers market and live music night in Lively...Evie got to try her first banana popsicle. Turns out she loves banana popsicles just like me :)
After our visit in Capreol, we spent a few days on Manitoulin Island - it was fairly relaxing and a very beautiful setting for a wedding. Evie spent the wedding night with my mom at our Bed and Breakfast and that was the first time that someone other than me put her to bed - so that was a big step forward!
Hanging out at our Bed and Breakfast (Willow Shores B&B). I would definitely recommend this place - right on the water, with kayaks to use and a hot and delicious breakfast everyday.
Down by the water at the B&B with Heather and Grandma
Checking out Providence Bay - a beautiful beach. It was pretty wavy and a little chilly, but we all still swam.
Walking the boardwalk at Providence Bay
More fun swinging on Manitoulin Island
After Manitoulin Island, we took the Chi Cheemaun ferry across Georgian Bay to Tobermory and went to visit my Grandmother for a couple days outside of Stratford, Ontario.
Waiting for the ferry in South Baymouth
It was a windy ride over
Lucky for us, there was a kids play area inside and I managed to get Evie to sleep for about half an hour in her carrier
Evie playing on the porch at her Great Grandma's house
Four generations all together - Evelyn, me, my mom and her mom - Interestingly enough, we are all exactly 30 years apart
Thankfully, Evie slept fairly well during the trip....sometimes I just have to take pictures of her sleeping
We had lots of fun visiting with my side of the family and were then off to Port Hope to visit with Craig's side of the family. Craig joined us in Port Hope a couple days after we arrived since we both had a wedding to attend in Guelph that weekend. We had a busy few days, trying to squeeze in lots of visits with family and friends in a short period of time. This was the same time that Evie started crawling for the first time too - so that was pretty exciting. She also enjoyed playing with her cousins - she isn't around older kids a lot (most of the people I see regularly have babies), so I think they learn a lot from watching kids a little bit older than them.
Drew was surprised by how big Evie had gotten since Christmas - she didn't want to hold Evie anymore because she was too heavy, but she was happy to sit beside her on the couch
Cousin get-together (Needless to say this was a bit chaotic, but very fun - I think Evie was just in awe of all the kids around her)
Figuring out how to move from point A to B at Nana and Pop Pop's house
Cheering on cousin Drew at her soccer tournament
Visiting with her Great Grandma and Grandpa Pearce
Playing with Drew's dollhouses at Grandma Sue's house
Giving Evie a break from her car seat on our drive from Port Hope to Guelph. She loves being in the driver's seat with daddy.
Evie all dressed up for our Matt and Vanessa's wedding in Guelph. Evie came to the ceremony with us and then my sister took her for dinner and put her to bed back at our hotel - another successful night out!
Visit with her Auntie Chloe in Guelph the day after the wedding
Evie and her cousins in picture that is about as good as they get with four kids who are three or younger - we were lucky to get to meet baby Laikyn on this trip when she was only about a month old
After Ontario, we flew down to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit Dani (Craig's sister) and Ben, and Jack and Sam who we hadn't seen for a couple years now. It was a lot of fun, and we got lucky that they were having a "cooler" week when we were there (still close 30 degrees everyday though, so plenty warm for us). We went to a couple children's museums and parks, spent time at their amazing gym working out and going to the pool (more like a resort-like community centre), and eating delicious southern food and BBQ.
On the flight down to Raleigh - of course Evie spent the whole flight squirming around and then finally decided to go to sleep as the plane was basically landing...
Evie playing with Sam
Sam was very loving, and liked giving Evie hugs
It might not be that long before Evie weighs more than Sam :)
Having fun in the mirror at Marbles Children's Museum
Like I said, she likes being in the driver's seat
Riding the boats at Pullen Park
Riding the train at Pullen Park
From Raleigh, we flew even further South down to the French/Dutch island of St. Martin. We weren't totally sure how this leg of the trip would go and I had read varying things about taking a trip like this with a baby. We went with friends Caleb and Kasia, who also have an 8-month old baby girl and didn't have expectations of having a lot of freedom with babies that nap twice per day and go to bed at 7pm. It was definitely much different than trips we've taken in the past. While it was nice to get away and see a new island, I think we would probably wait a while before going on a trip like this again (at least until our schedule doesn't revolve around naps and all kids are able to walk on their own). Evie started crawling right before this part of the trip, so of course she wanted to be on the move all the time - That wasn't always an option though on a beach where she also didn't know not to eat sand or rub it in her eyes. So that was a bit of challenge. She was also teething pretty badly and had a few rough nights (which meant that I had a few rough nights!). Luckily that only happened for the first part of the trip.
Knowing we would likely be home-bound for lots of the trip, we choose a pretty nice villa to stay at. So it was good to have some space to spread out in, a private pool and great view and access to the beach on the ocean. Most days we would venture out to explore a new part of the island between naps - sometimes on our own and sometime with Caleb, Kasia and Kathryn (depending on babies nap schedules of course).
Views from our villa - The pool and deck always had shade, which was nice for the babies
Walking around in Marigot - a cute town on the French side of St Martin
Lots of time spent cooling off in this pool
The five weeks away went by quickly, but we are happy to be home and back into our normal routines. Evie has still been a little bit off since getting home - she cut three new teeth last week and is also fighting a bit of a cold/runny nose. I'm sure I can count on fighting a lot more sickness in a month or so when she starts daycare. I can't believe I'll have a one year old in a month!
Here are a few videos that I'll end with
Evie practicing her crawling skills back at home
Evie trying to figure out daddy's iPhone
Evie having lots of fun in the swing (and getting a little scared at the end)
Evie loving her spaghetti and slowly getting better at using a cup
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