Happy Birthday, Grandma!

fuzzy little newborn

Squish and I had the pleasure of meeting a tiny, brand new little baby girl while we were over at Liz and Luke's house yesterday evening. I totally get why some people keep on getting preggo...That itty bitty tiny babiness only lasts a few seconds, it seems...My girl looked like a giant mammoth next to the wee newbie.
This seems like yesterday, seriously...

I'm pretty sure this is the only time in my life I had good hair. Can't wait to do it all over again!

crunch crunch crunch

Squish has always wanted to feed herself. Ever since we started on solids a couple of months ago, baby girl has been wanting to hold the spoon, touch the food, smush the food into her clothing and hair and throw the food on the floor for the dog, etc. This past weekend, Teddy, Squirrel and I attended a lovely..errr, spooky...Halloween shindig at our pals Shendah and Jeff's house. They are mama and daddy to baby Ronan who occupied the incubator next to Autumn in the NICU...Anyhew, I was inspired by some of the other babies at the party who were having their go at finger foods and I thought: hey, if they can do it, so can my girl. So we bought some Cheerios and I'm proud to say that Squish can sort of feed herself and will sit happily in her highchair for AGES as long as there are Cheerios on the tray. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!?!?!?!? I no longer have to sing and dance while I do the dishes!!!! Well, at least I haven't had to sing and dance for the last couple of days...Hopefully the novelty of the Cheerios won't wear off for awhile. I thought while we were at it, we'd try some yam fries too and those have also been a hit. I wonder if this independence is a scary sign of things to come...DUN DUN DUNNNNN...

In other news, I have sold two of my baby mobiles!! Okay, okay...So a friend bought them. I'm very happy regardless and I'm feeling pretty good about my work. I have also just finished crocheting a mermaid tail for a newborn photo shoot for a photographer in Michigan who happens to be my lovely sister-in-law. I can't wait to see how the photo shoot turns out. Rebecca is super talented. You should check out her blog. Tomorrow, I am hoping to get my hands on a friend's camera to take some good quality pictures of some of my crafts and update my etsy account. Stay tuned for the link and photos.

Here are a few little shots of my squishy girl taken over the last day or so...

Enjoying a beautiful fall day at the park.

Excuse, me mama. I'm all out of Cheerios.

Baby and Daddy celebrate Halloween with carrots--not candy!

Daddy took Autumn  to the beach with the while Mama enjoyed brunch with some girlfriends. 

Baby Birds

Lately I have really been struggling with the thought of going back to work and leaving little squisheroo with a sitter. I mean, I'm comfortable with a night here or an afternoon there but 40 hours a week in someone else's care seems a little much. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the rest of the world has to deal with this stuff and I don't think I'm alone here...I just want for squish, what I had...My mom did the whole stay-at-home nanny thing and I feel fortunate to have grown up in a home where my mother was always around. Anyway, Teddy has been incredibly supportive of my decision to try and stick around the casa for an extra year before heading back to work full-time and has been encouraging me to find ways to earn some money from home. I have been crafting away like a little old granny and have been working on my own little etsy store. As soon as I'm all set up, I will post the link so stay tuned...Lots of good Christmas gifties and whatnot for babies and a few goodies for grow-ups too! Excitingggg!!

Anyway, a little while back, I promised you all some more pumpkin patch pictures and they just arrived in my inbox last night. I realize that I am inclined to be biased here, but HOLY SMOKES my kid is cute!!

Auntie Kristi sure knows how to make this baby laugh!

Foraging in Grandma's garden with mama.

Meeting baby Rex for the first time. Can't wait to see that beast again!

Fur and Flesh babies unite!

Like a baby elephant.

<3

<3

SQUISH!

With Grandma

With Grandma and Grandpa at Mitchell's Farm on Vancouver Island

Love.

Little bug

So I have just learned how difficult it is to be sick and have a baby at the same time...You don't get to take a break from being a mom to rest up and get well, AND you have the added worry of protecting your wee bub from the germs that infect you. Teddy actually offered me a surgical mask the other day...The very mask that he stole from the hospital when Autumn was born haha! Somehow I've managed to keep her healthy sans mask. Hand washing (mine and hers) like a crazy person, wiping surfaces, getting fresh air, etc. I'm also still full-time breast feeding so natural home-remedies are the safest option in situations such as this. This recipe comes from my awesome friend, Kelsey who swears by this sludge and I do too. It works.

1 big ol' pot of boiling water
2 lemons cut up
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 inches of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
a dash of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons of honey (pasteurized for preggos)

Boil all ingredients together until it starts to look like swamp water. Let it cool to a comfortable drinking temperature and suck it back. Keep it in the fridge in a pitcher and refill your glass as needed.

I also like to swallow entire cloves of raw garlic. This is truly the best cure for a cold. Garlic has amazing healing properties, and will even protect those around you from contracting what you have as your stench will keep everyone farrrrrrr far away. ha!

Anyhew...

Yesterday was a beautiful day and couldn't be wasted indoors so Autumn, Elliott and I hit the park. Squish had her first swing ride and the beast got some off-leash time in the doggie zone. The fresh air was awesome and I am feeling quite a bit better today.
Here's what our trip to the park looked like:

Givin' the thanks!

I certainly have a lot to be grateful for this year and was reminded of exactly how much yesterday afternoon when I bumped into a nurse from the BC Children's Hospital NICU at the pet store. Seven short months ago, we were shacked up in the hospital and baby squirrel was living in her gerbil cage. She was 5lbs and struggled to breathe on her own. We've come a long way since then and I am ever thankful for that.
We spent Autumn's first Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg and Auntie Kristi and Uncle Jeff. Daddy had LOTS of work to do, so we flew solo while he stayed in Vancouver with Elliott and worked his buns off. Autumn had a little sniffle on Saturday, so I was a little worried that she was coming down with her first cold, but it  never fully developed into anything so that was a relief. Delicious dinner and good laughs were had in Victoria and Autumn modeled for Auntie Kristi in the pumpkin patch...Here's a little sneak preview: *these were taken with my phone, so the quality isn't that great--kristi's pictures will be awesome! will post them when we have them :)

And a few little pictures of Daddy's birthday celebration:

More pictures to come :)

time to fatten up?

Is it just me, or does the rain and cold weather make you want to eat everything in sight?? Thank goodness for the YMCA and their heated swimming pool because all I want to do is bake cookies and eat them all.

Speaking of the YMCA and their pool, Autumn had her 4th swimming lesson last night. She LOVES the water...And I love that she enjoys swimming so much because it is one of my most favourite things to do and I am so happy to share it with my little squisheroo. Autumn is the youngest babe in her class of 7 little guppies and though she can't jump in and kick her feet on command, she squeals with delight when we sing "the wheels on the bus" and "the hokey pokey" and I think she's getting a lot out of the class in that she is getting very comfortable in the water and interacting a bit with other kids. She seems more interested lately in other babies, which is super cool. We spent last Saturday with sweet baby Memphis for her first birthday party and Squish was in there like a dirty shirt hanging out with her friend Ryker and her pal the birthday girl. Soon her boyfriend, Arlo will be ready to sit up and play with her too...Can't wait for that!!! I am a lucky mama to have such lovely and talented mama friends and squish is lucky to have such adorable little pals. Gush gush.

Here is where I plug my pals and their talents:

If you live in or near Vancouver and are looking for some feathers for your hair, go see Arlo's mama:
Feather Fatale Hair Extensions

Another of my mama friends is in the process of setting up her in-home hair salon, so message me here: Squishy Email!! if you're looking for a hair stylist. Her home is baby-friendly and she is amazing at what she does.


ANNNNNNDDDDDDDD, if you are looking for an affordable place to take your tots for some swimming lessons, hit up the YMCA. They offer financial assistance for those of us who are on maternity leave and struggling to afford extra luxuries like gym passes. It's totally worth it to poke your head in to your local Y and inquire.

And finally, some photos of our girl:

Ready for Memphis' birthday party!

"Gimme dat beer, dada!"

Wake up, Elliott!

The protector and her baby

Happy October, everyone!