Personality

Katherine, you are definitely developing your own personality. And we can already tell that part of your personality is a strong will. I get to watch you test your boundaries (and yes, sometimes that can be a bit frustrating for both of us); but it’s a necessary part of growing as a person and I know there will be a lot more of it in the coming months and years.

In the past few days this has played out with choices you make around food. Up to now it’s been easy – we put food in front of you or in your mouth and apart from a few things you don’t like, you ate most of it. But since a few days you are making very clear choices – if we put something in front of you that you don’t feel like eating, you push the fork away before it reaches you (and yep, I said fork – you don’t like to be fed with a spoon unless it’s food an adult would eat with a spoon too).

Months ago I read that it’s the parents responsibility to put healthy food in front of a child, but it’s the child’s responsibility to choose what and how much of that they eat. Will I force you to eat your broccoli? No. But I am learning to offer you a few of different choices, lining them up in front of you and hand you what you point to. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to not be able to say what you want, so until you do, keep pointing at the food you like to eat and I’ll do my best to “listen”.

You are teaching me that every person, no matter how tall or small, how young or old deserves to be respected. Seeing how you make more of your own choices, I know that as much as I love you and like to cuddle you all the time, it is important for you to grow more independent every day.

PS: sliced veggies are hiding well between your noodles… but that’s my little secret for now.

A Moment in the Sun

Katherine, this morning was a crisp, sunny Okanagan day. Life is busy as always, but this morning I made a choice that it wasn’t too busy to go for a walk. Something I wanted to do for days with you, but we hadn’t gotten around to it for a little while.

Going for a walk is not quite as simple as just sitting you in the stroller as we did in the summer – it’s the season to bundle up before we can get going. Easy for me… thick shoes, warm jacket, gloves and hat… your turn!!! Jacket and thick blanket - no problem, but I had forgotten you don’t like to wear hats. I put them on and you take them off (and no, there is no limit how many times you will try). But today I learned a new trick: put thick gloves on you (which you can’t take off yet) and you can no longer pull your hat off. I have mastered the hat trick (at least for the moment until you will outsmart me soon again).

You are teaching me that some days are about putting fun before work, to take a break for just a moment. Just long enough to smell the crisp air, soak in the sunshine and have lots of giggles along the way. I enjoyed our walk, watching you look at the world around you, following a bird in the air and looking up at me with a red nose and a great smile. Thank you for the moments of sunshine you are giving me.

Reaching High

Katherine, the day has finally come… another milestone event. This one wasn’t a big one for you, but I have waiting for this day for weeks, watching carefully, deciding when then right time would be.

Yup, the day has come to lower your crib. I remember when I first laid you in your crib – you were so tiny that I wouldn’t leave you in there because you looked so lost. You have been sleeping in your own room, in your crib for many months now and are clearly enjoying it.

Over the past few weeks I have watched you get more and more mobile (and taller almost by the day), so to make sure that you are safe, daddy has now lowered your mattress.

Is it a big deal? Well, maybe not really (ok, it was for me…), but it sure was an “awww” moment when we stood you in the updated crib.

You are teaching me that you never stand still, that life never stands still. You are reaching high and while I am here to catch you when you fall, I know that you’ll have to experience a few falls and bumps along the way. No matter how much experience our parents wanted to share with us, no matter how much experience I want to share with you, life is all about creating our own experiences – and I am here to cheer you on when you succeed and help you get up when you fall. Always and forever.

On The Move

Katherine, it's your 10 month birthday today. Every time I meet someone who hasn't seen you in a little while, the first comment they make is how much you have grown. And that's certainly true - you outgrow your clothing at a fast pace. As I see you every day, I don't notice as much; your growth, both physical and as a person, is happening in a fluent motion. But you are changing every day, bit by bit you are becoming more independent, more aware of details in your world (and yes, more opinionated).

Over the past few weeks, you have made it clear that pureed food is ok for an occasional meal, but really you are choosing to chew your food these days. That front top tooth that's cutting through right now will be helpful with that. I know it hurts right now, but just keep imagining all the food you'll be able to bite in a few days. Veggies, meat, noodles, fruit and bread are all welcome by you (and yes, you have had a little taste of ice cream, and you loved it).

You are on the move, still rolling for the moment, but you have made up your mind that it's time to explore your options, and your goal is clear: you want to walk. It's so cool when you sit on the floor and make gestures for me to hold out my hands to you can pull yourself up. At first it was just for short moments, but now you are quite stable and are holding on tight to my hands while taking little steps. I know this is your next step to independence, and I cherish every moment you still hold on tight to me.

Tonight you have fallen asleep in my arms for a nap and I am hugging you tight as I am writing this. You have your arms wrapped around me, and this moment in life is nothing short of perfect.

You are teaching me that we always grow and change (even when we are all grown up). I love seeing every new step you take, watching you with every new food your try. That's how we all learn, trying something new and while being unsure of how to do it at first, we get better and better the more effort we put into it. The key is to keep getting up again, no matter how many times we fall down. I am so proud of you as you try and try again. I want you to know that I love you always and forever.

Roll n’ Roll

Katherine, you are becoming increasingly mobile… no, you are not crawling; you seem to be holding out for walking. You love to stand and you have gotten pretty good at it with some support either of my hands or of a sturdy object such as a chair to lean on. But you have also noticed that standing, while fun, does not provide you any mobility.

The solution? You are rolling everywhere! You started out by just rolling one direction, but as you have been doing more of it, you have become multi-directional. And you newest technique: you aim and roll. No, I am not kidding – you look around the room to find a target that you want to roll to, then you rotate around until you are perfectly lined up, and then… you speed roll towards you goal; fast and accurate.

Your favourite targets include cabinets (the contents of which you meticulously remove one by one), book shelves (the contents of which you also like to remove) and hi-fi equipment (so many buttons to press, and a wonderful way of getting daddy’s attention quickly).

You are teaching me that just because we can’t do something one way, there is always a different way. “Should be…” isn’t important, but “I can” means everything. When something doesn’t work, giving up isn’t an option, but trying as many times as it takes to make it work is the path forward. You remind me that getting frustrated along the way may happen, but to never lose sight of the giggles and laughs waiting at the end to celebrate the accomplishments. Oh, and you are teaching me to roll around the floor with you – thank you for reminding me to have fun in everything I do.

Giving Thanks

Katherine, this was your first Thanksgiving. We celebrated this long weekend laid back, spending time with each other. This is the most precious time to me these days... time spent as a family, playing, going for walks and just having fun together.

I have to admit, I didn't make a turkey, the traditional meal for this holiday, but I cheated a bit and made duck with red cabbage and dumplings instead (by the way, thank you for "helping" in the kitchen). That your daddy likes this meal is something I knew... but what surprised me is how much you liked it! You are becoming more adventurous when it comes to trying different foods, so I thought I'll let you try a bit - and you ate such a "big" portion! Now having 2 teeth on the bottom, combined with your really strong gums, you are quite capable of eating anything you like.

This holiday is about giving thanks and it makes me think about how grateful I am that you are in my life. Just over 9 months ago I hadn't even met you yet and now I cannot imagine my life without you.


You are teaching me to live life appreciating every moment. I do not take you for granted and I am grateful for every moment I have with you. My life is richer because you are in it and I love every minute of it.

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.