Bad Hair Day

And there's not much that can be done about it...

I can wash it, brush it flat, and it will dry and rise and stay up there, every single time!

Bah, she's cute anyways... :o)

Freedom!

Daddy came back from work early, and gave me the afternoon off! YAY!!!

AND! He brought some wine back from the store!
Now we can have a proper Thursday's Pizza Night!














AND! AND! He vaccuumed too!
(Sorry for the blurry picture... the battery died right after this shot...)











Off to do My Own Things!

Found it! And I'm doomed...

Yummy found the off switch on her own, and we had a lovely day yesterday! Yay! Lyra's mom was right: there's a new tooth! That makes it 8, and we still have lots of drool and red cheeks, so I'm on the look-out for more. She's now in her crib, actively protesting this idea of a morning nap with all kinds of funny sounds. It's hard not to laugh, but I need that nap too! No nap, no post...

OK, too much crying, gotta go check...

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Oh no!!! She found out how to sit on her own! She was close to it this morning, while we were playing. I guess enough anger will get you where you want... or close enough...











I'm doomed!

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Changed the diaper, rocked her a few minutes, put her back to bed. She's still crying wildly, after a few weeks of very good naps. What to do??? She is tired, that I know for sure. But if she doesn't sleep, we'll be back on the whining road... and there's no more wine...

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Third times a charm: she's asleep, after I rocked her long enough...

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So, we have new favorite toys: the stuffed ones!











She goes crazy over her teddybears and soft dolls and such, and it's just hilarious to watch her hug them!















And she's discovered that since she's isn't crawling yet, pointing to something while going "wawawa" or "yayayaya" will usually result in getting it.




















Still can't believe she sat on her own... helloooooooo endless bedtimes! We were doing so good, usually under 20 minutes!

I need my coffee... Ta-ta for now!

Where's the off switch???

Well, we've had a whiny day... Whine whine whine!!!

Whine to eat.
Whine to stop eating.
Whine to get something.
Whine to get something else.
Whine because we can't crawl (oh, the frustration!).
Whine because we can't play with the phone.
Whine because mommy is dressing us to go outside.
Whine because mommy is dressing herself to take us outside.
Whine because we have to wear a hat.
Whine because the stroller stopped moving.
Whine because we're back and we have to get undressed.
Whine because we have to wait 12 seconds while mommy is taking her jacket off.

But thankfully, no whining before the (too short) afternoon nap...
For which she made up by crying for a good 10 minutes when she woke up...

Where's the off switch??? I've been looking all over, can't find it...

Daddy is feeding her now.

Mommy is "wining".... Wine wine wine!

Recovering...

Oh boy...











We decided to celebrate Yummy's first birthday almost a month early, because on December 24th, people are usually kinda busy. Also, we wanted to "set the tone" for the family, and make sure right from the beginning that her birthday was special, and her own, not lost in the Christmas craziness. So, we had the family over for brunch on Sunday... 14 (very nice) people, most of them (not all, some being only 2...) offering to help, and an omelet (recipe below) that wouldn't cook (of course, I had put 20 eggs instead of the 8 the recipe called, and didn't realize I should then multiply the cooking time by about 37...). But my cake came out quite cute if I may say so myself, and Yummy had a grand time with the guests.

Tasting the icing... Final decision? Yucky!




















We all agreed that kids are born with some pretty good instincts, things we don't really need to teach them: feeding, breathing, opening gifts... She had never opened one before, and mastered the task (and, most importantly, the goal!) in about 17 seconds! Quicker than it took to bake the omelet...










The last guest left at around 3h30PM, and S and I cleaned up during naptime, then crashed in front of the fireplace (first fire of the season, yay!), with glasses of scotch.

I see a caterer in my future.

The good thing to all the excitement is that my baby was so tired, she only woke up once during the night, for a bottle, and then zoom, back to sleep! The average lately has been 4-5 times...

But! We are now waking up with a smile more often than with a cry!
With her beloved and oh-so-essential-for-comfort rags:




















And she plays peekaboo in her crib...
This one cracks me up!

An update

Well, my cute Yummy sure is keeping me busy! We've had some "firsts" this week, some of them making me miss my baby already... The girl is growing too fast!

She is now, very proudly may I add, doing a few signs, but only when we say the word. And even then, she sometimes confuses them, which is quite funny! We're still waiting for a spontaneous use. As I was typing this besides her, she very nicely accepted to do them all (and didn't miss any!) so that I could capture them. Here we go:

"More"











"Bye bye" (opening and closing her hands)











"Finished"











"How old are you?"











(That one we taught her to impress the family this week-end, as we are celebrating her birthday a month early, to make it more special than on Christmas Eve, which is her official birthday...)
(And since they read my French blog, I'm safe posting it here!)

She also signs "no" with her head, that one more and more appropriately. And she signs "yes", but only when she imitates us...

On the motor part of things, she is still pretty non efficient in moving herself, or going from lying to sitting on her own, but boy oh boy does she ever wish she could! Which brings much frustration... On the other hand, I'm in no rush to be running after her all day.

I was at my computer this morning, confident that she was playing safely and happily on the floor behind me, when I heard paper noise... and I knew she didn't have paper... I turned around to find her standing, playing with some papers on a trunk (favorite toy these days...) holding on with one hand to a very sharp corner! Obviously, I rescued her before grabbing the camera. I still deeply regret not getting that shot, even if would have been tough to explain the whole situation to the surgeon in doing the stiches at the hospital...
























Also, she absolutely LOOOOOOVES books! I can even sometimes read besides her, as she keeps herself busy with her own books! Which is a good thing right now, as I was able to finish the 6th Harry Potter today, after re-reading the whole series before diving into the 7th. I've managed to stay away from any cue to the ending, so nobody says a word!

Another "first": we let her play with her yogurt bowl last night. As soon as I gave her the spoon, she dipped it in and started (not very efficiently...) feeding herself!





























Then, I brought the Jell-O out: she dove in and fed herself some.











Right hand on the camera, left one ready to catch a flying plate of red goo...











Because of the storm yesterday, we stayed inside. There was no way we would do the same today, so I bundled her up, and off we went with the stroller to my favorite coffee place. She was pretty good, as I can now read 3-4 pages of a magazine interrupted by some attention and toy-collecting from the floor before we have to leave. We ran out of toys to play with (mental note: get some new toys for such outings...) so I gave her my wallet to play with. I was pretty sure it was a safe choice, because it closes with a zipper, until I heard a funny noise: my cards were being thrown on the floor, one by one... Somehow, she had managed to unzip it and was having a grand time emptying the pockets. I took it away. Crying ensued. We left...

First overnighter!

I can't believe how fast the days and the weeks are flying by! We've been home a month now, and it feels like much longer than that.

Before the adoption trip, I read just about everything there was to read about adoption and attachement. Some rules were set, some were happily broken (let's just call it "informed instinct"), including that thing about quiet, calm and stability and blablabla when you first come home. We had guests or visited friends just about every day for the first two weeks! And this past week-end, we decided to go for it, be brave and bold, and travel to Quebec City for an overnight trip at grand-papa.

Yummy did amazingly well! At first, she was very curious and a bit cautious about the new environment, but quickly adapted and played and babbled and smiled. She woke up a few more times than usual at night and needed to be picked up, but really, that was it. And last night, in her own bed, she only woke up once, which she hadn't done in a while! Oh, and she slept most of the drive there and back, which we had strategically timed with her naps. Yay!

The girl wants to walk so desperately! Maybe she should learn to go from lying to sitting on her own first, or maybe even to crawl, but alas, the interest is still limited... it's easier to cry for mommy... which she is doing right now... after throwing herself on her back on the bed because it's fun...

"Walking" with a friend on Saturday night. Not quite ready yet... ;o)














We got treated to a show of "pole-dancing" with the breakfast counter chairs!























Putting those long fingers to good use...