Fun at Yo-yo's

Yoyo's is a kids play centre that just opened up near the end of last year, here in Windsor. Jeff and I had already taken Cole once, and yesterday afternoon I went there with him again. I really like it there... huge play gym and they keep it really clean, there's even a cafe area where you can sit and have a drink/snack. Right now I just take Cole to the area for really young kids, I'm glad the section off an area for them so that they aren't mixed with all the older kids.

Colasanti's

Cole with Ryan and his mommy Tonya checking out the gineau pigs

Today we met up with a group of mom and babies (most from our sign language class) at Colasanti's Tropical Gardens. We had lunch together and then walked through the petting zoo they have. It was our first time being there and although Cole's not yet old enough to enjoy all the attractions (mini golf, kiddie rides and inflatables) it was a nice outing. All except for his first encounter with a sheep thanks to mommy:/ I was holding him and walked up to their area... one that was close decided to pop right up near the window and I thinking "what a wonderful opportunity for Cole to see this sheep up close" so I held him right up to the glass at pretty much the same time! Not so wonderful cried Cole who was a little shocked to meet a sheep so up close for the very first time. The picture below taken a few minutes later... he still looks perplexed but was calmed down by this point.

Communication 101

Welcome to the newest addition of the Sarazen household!... a dazzling whiteboard, who now graces the wall opposite our kitchen. Attractive... not so much. Practical... most definitely. And while it may lend the ambiance of a restaurant to our kitchen, practicality is where it's at these days. As much joy as Cole has brought us, since his arrival almost 9 months ago, parenthood is not without its' struggles, communication being one of them. Constantly changing: feeding schedules, nap schedules, food menus, new food additions and other baby care needs, while a fact of daily life for me right now, understandably often throw Jeff for whirl when he's left in charge. And on my end of things, what girl couldn't use a little love note? I tried to prompt one on the left with my "Dear Lorraine...(blank)... love, Jeff". As you can see, he already took the bait:) A short but sweet note as Cole and I both had him running off his feet on Sunday. I had a nasty bug (and am admittingly, the biggest baby when I am sick!). Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours.

Pics from today...

A couple cute shots as Cole tried to go after the camera!

Chow Time!

Cole's been doing really well with all his solid foods. For the most part Jeff looks after feeding him. I do all the food prep though, which I consider to be the less appealing job of the two. This, particularily due to the fact that I have taken on the work of making a majority of his food at home as opposed to buying the jars. Disadvantages: more dirty dishes, more costly, more time consuming. Advantages: a larger variety of foods. No, I wouldn't advise that you do it!... unless you grow your own food, have lots of time on your hands and love exotic foods. If not, just do the easy thing and buy the jars, organic is always an option now too. Unfortunately, when I decided to make some of Cole's food myself I bought some food cubes for storing it (very practical--consuming less freezer space and perfect 2 oz serving size) these being the reason why I feel I really MUST utulize my purchase and have a go at homemade baby food. I'll let you know if it gets any easier!
For anyone that hasn't seen Cole eat we've been very careful to make a point of never letting him put his hands up in the highchair when we're feeding him pureed foods. This has worked out extremely well and I'm so glad I found this tip in one of my books. As cute as the pictures with food all over the face are, I'm glad we've avoided the frustration. The past few weeks have been more exciting for Cole foodwise as we've started to add in a little bit of finger foods that he can eat himself. We always move him to his booster seat for any of these foods -- the tray is a little lower so it's easier for self feeding and I want there to be a distinction between highchair (being fed) and booster seat (self-fed). Below some pictures of Cole eating from this past week.

sour face: trying grapes (peeled and quartered) for the 1st time. He frequently gets this face whenever he's tring something new!eating some puffs, the ones that dissolve in your mouth... he loves them

A Close Call

We had a bit of a scare today. This morning when I was driving home after dropping Jeff at work we were in an accident with a transport truck. I was right behind the truck when it stopped and turned on its 4ways. I had no idea why it would be stopping and the morning traffic was quickly piling up behind me. Then it started backing up!!! I laid on the horn but it kept coming closer... no room behind to back up and no time to swerve out of the way. It hit the front of the car with a "crunch" then stopped and went forward a bit. Shaken, I pulled off the road and called Jeff. He was there so quick and of course took care of everything. The truck driver said he didn't even see me when he was backing up, nor hear the horn. Actually, he said he didn't even know that he hit me! Turns out the reason he stopped and backed up was due to a sign up ahead saying no trucks on the bridge. Damage to the car was minimal... the bumper and front grill will need to get repaired in the next few weeks once the insurance goes through but in the meantime it's still driveable.
It's hard not to think of how bad things could have turned out. The G6 never seemed so small till I was looking at the backside of a transport coming at it! Thankfully someone was looking after us today.

Aughhh!!

I know who's more frustrated, Cole or me? He's still not crawling or walking but not for lack of trying! Nowadays, when I sit him down to play he almost always immediately goes to his stomach and while he's content for a minute or two there, as he tries desperately to get moving, inevitably he ends up wailing for me to come get him. Then we start the whole process over again. Sure he's able to move around more now... he scoots around on his seat when he does remain seated, he's pulled himself up a couple of times now and he will usually push himself around backwards on the floor, unfortunately it's just not enough to keep him happy these days. And so we all find ourselves looking forward to the beginning of his crawling/walking!

Below, a little photojournal of an attempt made today.

well rested?... check!
good mood?... check!
the look of determination... lets go!

i think i can, i think i can... like this? looks promising...

uh oh, what now?

holding it...one last effort... giving up!

MOMMYYYYYYYYYY!!!!