The Beast is back in town!

Elliott is back to her happy, goofy old self after just five days of anti-yeast/anti-biotic/anti-histamine pills. You'd never guess that she was a sick pup just last week. It's such a relief to see her bounced back...We missed you, dingushead!
The new vet is awesome. For those of you in Vancouver looking for a new vet clinic, Cambie Animal Hospital is awesome, reasonably priced and they really take the time to examine your pet and offer thorough explanations to owners. From experience, this can be VERY hard to come by. As far as prevention of Ellie's skin issues goes, Teddy and I have been making sure that beast gets lots of extra cuddles to keep her anxiety levels down and keep her feeling loved. I've also been trying to be a little more liberal with allowing Elliott to explore Autumn's toys and blankets and things so that she doesn't feel like the baby is off limits. Who knew it would be so hard to keep everyone happy?!

Is a caption really necessary? haha!!

Baby vs Beast

I'm sure most of you know that my first baby is a big fluffy wolf dog from Cat Lake, Ontario...My Elliott. I knew that having a baby would throw a tiny wrench into my relationship with the Ellie-beast and take away from my quality time with her, but I didn't expect her to end up in the state that she is currently in...A licky, itchy, allergic, neurotic mess. Elliott goes to the beach usually twice a week and gets hour long walks daily. She gets lots of love and pats from Teddy and as much as I am able to give her as well. We also make sure to give her time with Autumn to sniff and kiss and hang out...She is not a deprived animal by any stretch...But yet she has wound up with a pretty severe case of the baby blues. It's heartbreaking. Today, Teddy and I will be seeing a new vet. Elliott has seen two different vets already about this (not to mention several calls and emails and text messages to Dr. Kellogg in California--Auntie Melissa is a vet) and my pet insurance will no longer cover her rashes as they have now been deemed "chronic". Hopefully this new vet will have the miracle cure that we need. My poor puppy :(

almost autumn

It's hard to believe that summer is just about over. Autumn and I just got back from a few beautiful days in Victoria with Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg. Beautiful, but a little chillier than what we have become used to...Squish even got to wear her adorable and soft fleece coat from Nana and got some use out of her new blankie from Grandma's pal Barb and her mom. I do love the crispiness of fall and the fun flavoured lattes that come with the season...pumpkin...mmmm! I hate to admit that the darker days have actually been helpful in getting her majesty down for daytime naps. I really haven't had to fuss over her too much around nap time now that her room isn't super bright and sunny during the day, which has made for stress-free days and a super tidy home as I have been able to get a lot accomplished.
Teddy just finished up two weeks of Fringe action. I actually got to see the play on Friday--Autumn had a little visit with Liz, Luke, Arlo and Koa and slept the time away until we returned to pick her up--I am so lucky to have such great pals who will watch the squish even though they have a busy 2.5 year old and a 5 month old. Awesome! The play was hilarious and Teddy killed it as Flash Gordon. Sweet silver short shorts and all... :)
I also had my first night out with a group of real live adults for Karina's 30th and Autumn stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg at the casa. I stayed out super late and was quickly reminded of why I go to bed so early when my girl wanted boob at 4am. Ay ay ay. But the fun was worth the exhaustion. Happy birthday, mama Karina!
I should also tell you that our girl is getting so big and is doing so many amazing new things! She is almost 7 months old now and weighs a wopping 18lbs. She is just about sitting up on her own and has been working diligently with her Grandma on mastering her roll-over. We are almost there. She has also been exploring food and pretty much loves everything...Banana, avocado, yam, carrots, beans, barley, turkey, apple, apricot, peach, mango...It's great! We have just started to incorporate a third solids meal into her day and she is tolerating it really well. It's actually kind of difficult to feed her at times as she gets frustrated that the food isn't coming fast enough. I literally shovel the food into her gob and she gets mad when there is no more. Hilarious. She also cut TWO TEETH last week when we were in Victoria. Autumn and I shared a couple of absolutely miserable nights, but the sharp little buggers popped through and we've been all smiles every since. Teething throws a wrench into everything! I realize that I am blessed with a baby who sleeps well and isn't really fussy but we have worked very hard on sleep training and Teddy and I do our best to keep her schedule and routines as consistent as possible...Our whole regimented schedule went the way of the dodo while baby squish was cutting those teeth. Crazy. I don't know how babies do it. Teething is absolutely terrible. We used frozen facecloths and a couple of teething rings to soothe her but nothing did the trick like my boobs...My poor boobs felt the wrath of her sore little gums, I tells ya. YIKES! It looks like we have a couple more little teeth on their way through as well. GOOOOD TIMES!
Here are some photos...

bounce!

paying a visit to great-grandpa Fred

Daddy & Squish at the beach

Grandma gives Autumn her brekkie

sitting up!

riding the ferry with mama & sophie

li'l cowirl :)

at work with Grandma

best.

sore little gums :(

fooooood!

So our girl has quite the pallet. She has thus far enjoyed brown rice, avocado, yam, squash, turkey, barley, peach and a tiny little taste of banana. Tomorrow we are going to try sweet peas! Excitinggggg! Really though, this whole baby food thing has been ultimately thrilling for me. I love being in the kitchen and cooking for other people is something that I get a lot of pleasure from, especially when those people are my family. There is something really wonderful about putting together a yummy and nutritious meal for the freaks and geeks that you love the most. It's been fun testing out some different flavours on the squish. She hasn't really turned her nose up to much...Except turkey. She didn't love it on its own, but mashed up with some yam and she was in her glory. The faces she makes when a new flavour hits her little tongue...absolutely priceless, hilarious, amazing, etc. I die. So funny!

Anyway, as we embark on this new adventure in food and nutrition, I've been reading up a lot on what nutrients are in what, what babies need the most of, etc. My reading has really made me think hard about the types of food that I like to eat. Teddy and I are pretty conscious consumers and we like to maintain a pretty healthy diet. We enjoy healthy food and we never stock junk in our home. In my reading, however, I have learned that most of the time, cooking really diminishes the quality and nutritional value of food and in the interest of getting the most out of the (expensive) food that we eat, I've been inspired to attempt a few raw meals for Teddy and I. Squish is still nursing as much as ever, so she will reap the benefits of the raw yumminess second-hand. Email me if you have any good recipes!

I just wanna eat my hands, mama!

10 Flights!

This past Tuesday, Autumn boarded a plane for the 10th time and we made our way back across the country after two lovely, sunny weeks in Toronto. Autumn celebrated her great-nana Mary's 90th birthday and also attended her first wedding for our pals Ray and Neysa. She was among several babies at the wedding including her sweet new pal, Ella who is just as adorable as anything!! We've been keeping up with Ella and her mama, Shar via facebook and their cute little blog, but catching up in person was much more fun! It is so nice to have such lovely mama friends to learn from and share stories with, cause let's be honest--Daddies don't love to talk about the consistency of baby poop and the cutest little sun dress I just bought!! I was also able to catch up with my long lost and ever lovely Jen and her amazing girls and my beautiful pal Cait and her handsome little River who is getting so chubby and is so in love with his mama! Babies grow fast!!! When we arrived, Squisheroo was still comfy in her 3-6 month sleepers and onesies and by the time we were reaching the end of our holiday, she had graduated to 6-9 month duds. Things are a-changing! It's pretty scary but also very exciting. We introduced our girl to a variety of firsts over the last few weeks: her first boat ride (involving her first lifejacket which she was not thrilled about), her first swim in Nana and Papa's pool and most recently, her first taste of solid food. I read SO MUCH before I decided what her first solid meal would be and after humming and hawing for a week, I went with the tried, tested and true rice cereal. There's a lot of literature out there that really encourages parents to give babies meat as their first food for zinc iron as the iron in breast milk starts to wane around the 6 month mark. I thought I'd introduce texture before flavour for a couple of days though to get her used to a spoon and swallowing food with a thicker consistency. I made the cereal by pulverizing brown rice and mixing it with boiling water and breast milk. Brown rice is jam-packed with nutrients (including iron) and this homemade version is sugar-free unlike most store-bought varieties. The breastmilk adds nutrients and a familiar flavour. You have to do what feels most comfortable and as much as I want to dive in and test out a million recipes, starting slow is what is comfortable for me--But I am so excited to get adventurous with baby food! We must make use of our luxury blender! haha! We have avocado and banana standing by for tomorrow and we're going to try organic strained turkey on Sunday. My friend Liz recommended a book called "Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods" which is a series of healthy recipes that mama and dad can enjoy and make alterations to for baby to eat too. I'm looking forward to checking it out. It will be nice to only have to make one meal for all of us--Except Elliott, of course, who will continue to enjoy her delicious kibble. I have to be honest though--there isn't anything in my baby food cookbooks that I wouldn't eat. Baby butter chicken--c'mon!
Most of you don't care about  my ramblings, so here are the pictures you came to see! Love to you all. xo

Gangsta Squirrel and Daddy 

Autumn and her boyfriend, Arlo

Baby Bride and Groom <3

Berry picking with Uncle J & Auntie Mai

Out for a walk with Papa at the cottage

Safety first.

Papa set up the jolly jumper out on the deck for Squirrel

Autumn's first ride on the African Queen

Happy 90th Birthday, Nana Mary!

Autumn and Nana

Cuddling with Auntie Em

Hanging out with Ashley

& Rach

& Becky :)

Visits with Auntie Marnie

First swim!!!

She loves her Great-Papa

Ready for Ray & Neysa's wedding!

Squish got LOTS of love from her Auntie Loorin

& smooches on her forehead :)

Auntie Sarah teaches Autumn to play piano

Park date with mama

FIRST BITE OF DELICIOUS FOOD!

...Or maybe it's not so delicious. haha!

Mr. Golden Sun

I never knew it would be so hard to protect my tiny girl from the sun! Hats, blankets, parasols, sleeves, pants, etc!
I'd really like to know what happens at 6 months that makes it safe for a baby to wear sunscreen...Particularly when our sunscreen of choice is paraben free and entirely natural. Anyway, I suppose it's best to play it safe and keep Autumn in the shade for another months. Here's what summer has looked like for the squirrel; blankets and hats and shade, oh my! It will be so much fun when she can romp around and enjoy the awesome beaches and the water. We are lucky to live in Vancouver.

Here is a list of safe sunscreens for babies, including a list of ingredients:

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