Change, Travel and lots of Food

Katherine, you have experienced your first plane ride (and yes, your second one too). I am so proud of you - we just got back from our trip to Las Vegas and you are a wonderful travel companion. We were traveling for a week - your dad, your grandma, you and me... what an experience. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about how you would enjoy the plane ride (after all, we have all been on flights where there has been a small child which was crying for much of the trip regardless of how hard the parents tried to calm them). I kept telling myself ahead of the trip, that no matter what happens it will be ok and that if you chose to cry for the duration of the flight, it would be simply our turn to get the looks and “polite” comments - and so we went to the aiport on the travel day, armed with lots of toys and extra food (somewhere I had read that it may help offering you a bottle during take-off). I began panicking a bit when there was no pre-boarding time allowed on this flight (oh, how should we do this with a baby and a senior??), but once at our seats, the flight attendants were amazing and giving us a few extra tips how to hold you during take off etc. Just before we were ready to take off, I looked at you and you were having a great time, looking out the little windows, fascinated with all that was going on outside the plane. I hugged you tight and felt your head heavy on my shoulders - you had closed your eyes and were sound asleep before we had even left the ground. The steady humming of the plane seemed to be very calming for you as you stayed asleep for most of the plane ride. The smile you had on your face when we got off the plane in Las Vegas reminded me that I should not worry so much about you; you love life and new experiences - they don't scare you, they make you smile.

During our stay in Las Vegas you had plenty of opportunties to experience things you have never seen before - the city is filled with lights, sounds and it’s full of life. We were ready to experience this trip "baby-friendly", keeping reasonable bed-times in mind for you, having brought kitchen tools with us to puree food for you, all so you would feel comfortable with your surroundings. Again, you reminded me that I should not worry so much about you - you were there to enjoy the vacation as well, turning into a bit of a night owl as we were staying out later in the evening, taking naps in your comfortable stroller as you felt like it. I was surprised how you slept so well in the middle of the noise and bright lights, but when you make up your mind to do something, not much holds you back. You enjoyed our trips to the white tigers, dolphins and on another day to the shark reef. You embraced the heat during the days, even when we took you on a short hike (ok, you had the luxury to be carried) in the Valley of Fire in the middle of a sunny, scorching day.

But most of all you surprised me with how much you changed when it came to food. Forget pureed food, buffets are your new favorite!! I quickly realized that you wanted to eat when we were eating (and yes, we were eating a lot - the buffets in this city are simply amazing and we enjoyed the times sitting down, relaxing a bit in between all the sightseeing , having great conversations). You are big enough now to sit in high chairs at the table with us and not offering you food while we were eating was cleary agitating you. So I began walking up and down the buffet lines looking for suitable food items for you - and I found a wide variety of items that seemed not too spicy and "mashable". As I got back to the table after my first stroll, I saw the excitement in your eyes and a big smile on your face. Instead of mashing up everything in your bowl, we began feeding you little bits of rice, broccoli, meat and fruit and you embraced the "finger food" - your transition to regular, solid food was made. Simple; change; just like that. For the remainder of the trip you ate buffet style when you weren't enjoying a bottle (of formula, just to clarify) and it was a lot of fun to learn about your likes and dislikes of food items (I love that you love green veggies and fresh fruit for now... but I'm sure you'll venture into trying ice cream and cake on another trip when you're big enough to choose food yourself).

You are teaching me that embracing change is propelling us forward in life. As adults we are sometimes challenged by change - it takes us out of our comfort zone. But for you change is happening in leaps and bounds every moment of every day. There is no fear that life will be different by the end of the day - it just happens; and you adapt with a smile on your face and look at me as if inviting me to come along for the ride. It's not up to me to say when you begin eating more solid food, it's not up to any baby development book to tell you when your next milestone moment happens - you are confidently making your own choices. I am proud of you and grateful for the time we have together.

Personality, Preferences and Goats

Katherine, you have a new person to love in your life. Your grandmother is visiting for a month from Germany and you are getting to know her. She’s spending lots of time spoiling you, cuddling with you and teaching you German of course. We are enjoying the time we get to spend together and I love watching you two interact. She’s reading to you and you giggle at her and have taught her well that when you raise your arms she’ll pick you up. She is learning about your personality, your likes and dislikes and you are learning that she loves you very much.

Oh, and the moment has come, you have outgrown your carseat. About a week ago, when I was dressing you in the morning, I thought to myself that your clothing seemed rather short… and so I called Mark to measure how long you were (yes, you rarely lie still, so it takes two of us to do that) and sure enough, it was time to go car seat shopping.

On to the internet I went, researching how to go about finding the perfect car seat for you. After lots of tips on safety etc., I read the best line of advice: seat your baby in the seats in the store. That made a lot of sense to me as you are usually helping to pick out your books and toys, so why not your car seat. As Mark, you, Grandma and I went to a few different stores and sat you in seat after seat, it became quickly evident that you are more than qualified to choose your own seat and your selection system was very clearly communicated: wide smile for “yes” and screeching cry for “no”. But the coolest thing was that the “yes” selection was the same seat in two different stores – you clearly made your choice.

A couple of days ago we went to the IPE with Mark and grandma for a day of fun and to show you all the animals (and yes, you were sitting in your newly installed car seat on the drive). With lots of people and lots of animals, there was so much to see for you. But your favourite were the goats. At first I noticed that when we walked through the area where the different animals were shown – the goats really caught your attention. Later in the day I took you into the petting zoo area so you could see lots of animals close-up (yes, you even touched a Wallaby), and more than any other animal, the little baby goats running around put a big smile on your face.

You are teaching me to trust your choices and to respect your opinions. No matter how young or old we are, our opinions matter and what we have to say is important. Even though you don’t have what we define as “real words” to use yet, the “words” you are using are real to you and you use them to communicate, combined with your facial and body expressions, and your tone of voice. You are a perfect example that we need to listen to more than just the words that are spoken to really understand a person. You are teaching me to be a better listener.

Another Milestone Moment

Katherine, you are growing and changing every day. No really, we keep measuring your length and you keep growing and growing – it’s so much fun to watch! Well, until we’ll have to go car-seat shopping soon since as of tonight you are 70 centimetres long and with that you only are allowed to be in your infant car seat for another 2.4 centimetres (= about 1 inch). Very cool!

Less than a week ago you turned 7 months and one thing I am learning about you is that you like to time major milestones around your month marks. Two nights ago I was in your room with you in the evening, playing with you on the floor just before bedtime – we already had the lights dimmed and were winding down the day. You grabbed hold of my finger and pulled it into your mouth as a chew-toy – that’s when I felt it… your first tooth had cut through. Really? Wiggling my finger carefully I confirmed what I had felt – wooohoo! As I looked at you, laughing and oohing and ahhing, you picked up on my happiness and started giggling too. After our proud mommy-daughter moment, I jumped up from the floor, zipped out of the room and got your daddy’s attention. Not knowing what was going on, he very quickly appeared in front of me and I pulled him into your room; on went the bright lights and we were proudly staring at your mouth; celebrating your milestone moment as a family.

You are teaching me that nothing ever stays the same – at 7 months old the time of your adorable toothless smile is coming to an end. But what’s coming in its place is going to be so much better (just imagine you’ll be able to chew food… well ok, I’m getting ahead of myself here… not with one tooth, but down the road). I am learning from you that change is the greatest thing in the world as it brings with it adventure, opportunities and new focus.

You Can Do Anything

Katherine, the last couple of weeks just zoomed by. So much to write about and after a beautiful Okanagan weekend it’s evening and while daddy is playing with you, I have time to write.

You are able to sit up now – you started sitting on your own just a couple days after you turned six months. Wobbly at first (and falling over more times than I can count), you were determined. Every day, you became a bit more stable. At first, playing while sitting was too much, sitting and balancing took all your concentration. Now, you are sitting confidently and playing with your toys (or crumpling up paper if it’s within your reach). This is a big milestone and we are so proud of you!

We went on our first vacation – daddy, you and I drove to Vancouver for some wonderful days of sightseeing, visiting with family and just hanging out and having fun. We experienced lots of “firsts” on this trip… your first time at a hotel, sleeping away from home, your first time in a swimming pool and of course your first time on the public transport system, skytrain and bus. Now, that was an interesting experience, and a first for your daddy and me. The really cool part about it wasn’t so much the logistics of getting on and off with a stroller (we had a couple of things to learn about that), but it was how you chose to behave. Being in a big city, people are typically not as open to connect - when we go for our evening strolls in the residential areas in Kelowna, people greet us as we walk by them; but in downtown in Vancouver on public transit, people tend to be minding their own business…. or do they? You were determined to connect with people in the city and on the skytrain and before long you had perfect strangers giggling at you, very serious looking businessmen making funny faces at you in an attempt to make you laugh and many more individuals quietly smiling as you chose to connect with them for a brief moment. It really made me think; sharing a moment of eye contact or a quiet smile with a stranger is all we need to make a connection that brightens our day. You did this instinctively – and because nobody ever taught you that you can’t.

You are teaching me that we don’t know all we can do unless we try. Often we don’t try because there is a chance that we could fail. That fear of failure can hold us back from learning new skills, making new friends and being all we can be. No matter how many times you fell over when you were learning to sit, no matter how many times that made you cry, and no matter how frustrated you were in the moment, giving up clearly never crossed your mind. My wish for you (and everyone) is that we never give up on anything that’s important to us in life and remember we can do anything, if only we try.

Laughs, Picnics and Love

Katherine, you are 6 months today. What a journey it has been so far – and much more to come… I can’t wait! Life is full of laughs, surprising moments and so much love; every day brings something new.

A couple of days ago your daddy, you and I walked to the beach at the Okanagan Lake in the evening (ok, ok, daddy and I walked and you were comfortably pushed in your stroller). I had packed us a picnic for dinner and we sat down by the lake enjoying a casual meal and great family time. After dinner I took you down to the water and you watched the waves coming in; I could tell you were both fascinated and calmed by the gentle waves breaking at the shore. I carefully stood you on your feet and held you as your toes touched the sand and the little waves washed over your feet, the sun started setting behind the mountains. Giggling and laughing we stood in the water – it was one of those “perfect moments”.

Tonight I had a hard time letting you go to sleep – during our playtime just before bed I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing the last 6 months have been and how our lives have changed so much. More hectic? Sure. More challenging to balance my days? Sure. But above all, so much more perfect!

Throughout the evening tonight we’ve had some funny laughing “conversations”. As soon as I laughed, you responded with this giggling belly laugh until you stopped and looked at me, waiting for me to laugh again, then it was your turn again and so on. This went on until we both stopped, looked at each other with serious expressions and burst back into more laughter and giggling.

You are teaching me that when life gets challenging – and it does – taking time to laugh, taking time to go for a walk on the beach is making the day much happier and much less stressful. When things go wrong for you – and they do, you will react (and yes, in your case that usually means crying at the highest voice volume possible). But then it’s time to move on, get a hug, and look forward again with a new smile and fresh energy. Thank you for reminding me of that every day. I love you always and forever.

Quality Time

Katherine, today was a "spend-time-together-but-not-as-much-as-usual" kind of day.

During the day you were with me at my office, but having a meeting that I could not take you in with me, you hung out with a team member and friend at the office during that time. When I came out of my meeting you were peacefully asleep cuddled up in her arms.... This evening I went out for an event, so it was daddy and baby time and you were already asleep when I got home.

On a day like today I am grateful that you have lots of caring people in your life. I enjoy our times where we hang out together, and the bedtime routine where I read to you and we cuddle up together, but even more than that I feel content knowing that you are happy too cuddling up with a friend for your nap or that you enjoy daddy's nighttime routine... and seeing you sound asleep when I came home was definite proof of that.

You are teaching me that time spent with the people we love is not about the quanity, but the quality. Having a phone call from a friend far away, or coffee with a busy friend in the same town - friendship is not dependent on how often we connect but how much we care when we do. And as for us, we still had lots of great moments to connect; time to cuddle, play and explore the world together... and of course the moment when I heard you cry a little in your sleep after I got home tonight and I raced to your room to give you a hug and a soft kiss good night.

A New Experience

Katherine, today you tried “solid” food for the first time. For the past weeks and days you have been more and more curious about the food Mark and I eat (and no, you really can’t have those Starbucks Frappuchinos you have been reaching for). I have been researching which food to start you out with – and the opinions widely vary depending if I research on Canadian or German websites. We even bought a jar of vegetable puree yesterday and some rice to make rice cereal out of… just so we have it when we decided the time is right (after all, you are only just over 5 months old and most research says to wait until 6 months).

But as you are your own person, it’s not up to me - you let me know that you were ready. As I was getting ready to make lunch for daddy and me today, you were in the kitchen with me, watching my every move and wildly waving your arms… aha, there was my clue! So I found the tiniest pot I have in my kitchen, cut up a fresh carrot and cooked and pureed it for you.

There we were, ready with photo and video camera, a tiny spoon and a generous sized bib as you had your first taste of carrot puree. I am not sure what was the bigger experience for you – the taste of the carrot or the fact that there was a spoon instead of a bottle in your mouth… but it was great fun to watch you experience this different sensation and taste.

You are teaching me that new experiences are fun – when we are ready for them. Trying something for the first time is magical… at any age. Be it food, or doing something we have never done before allows us to learn, grow and broaden our horizon. But trying new things can also send us outside our comfort zone and therefore sometimes we hold back instead of leaping forward into new experiences. For today, I am grateful I got to share your first food experience with you and I love that you have many more “first” adventures ahead of you.