Halloween 2006

Andrea's Halloween lasted all day long!

Morning: Mommy had to work, so Andrea went to Jaclyn and Joshua's house. Jaclyn was taking Joshua to the JMCC, where he goes to daycare, because they were going a trick-or-treating at the different offices throughout the Centre. She asked if Andrea had a costume, and for us to send it with her, so Andrea could go trick-or-treating at the Centre, too! It's funny, because Andrea's Gram G. works there, but she doesn't work Tuesdays, so many of Gram's co-workers got to see Andrea in her costume even before Gram did! We hear Andrea was a big hit, because she was the littlest one there; their daycare only takes 2-year-olds and up. Jaclyn said they tried to put her in a buggy, but she wouldn't fit, because of her bulky costume! :)) Here is a picture Jaclyn took, of Joshua and Andrea in their Halloween outfits.

Afternoon: We barely had time to get home, have a little rest, and have something to eat, before it was time to get dressed up again. Mommy got some pictures of Andrea posing in her costume. Andrea did not like the hat, so it was hard to get photos with her wearing it!

Andrea was feeling a little cranky after her pictures, so I gave her a bottle to help her mellow out. I didn't realize what a hard time she would have, trying to drink a bottle, in this outfit. When she was lying on the floor, she couldn't lay on her side or her back; the costume would get in the way of her bottle! So, she kind of improvised, with a half-leaning posture in the hallway.

Evening: It was time to go out Trick or Treating! Like I said in my last post, we only planned on going to Gram and Grandpa G.'s, and then a few of the closest neighbours. But, I still wanted to get her in the spirit of Halloween. We've been working on "please" and "thank-you" lately, which she does well with; but I really wanted her to say, "Trick or Treat!" We couldn't get her to say it for anyone, but she said it pretty well for the camera, just before we left home. :)) http://media.putfile.com/Trick-or-Treat-74-83

We put Andrea in her wagon, and pulled her down to Gram and Grandpa's house, first. Andrea enjoyed the ride, and all the Halloween sights and sounds.

When we got to Gram and Grandpa's, we visited for a bit. Andrea got her own special treat bag, and we took some pictures. She tolerated it for only so long; then, Daddy sweetened her up by giving her a hard-earned lollipop!

On our way back down Gram and Grandpa's street, a few of their neighbours spotted us, and waved us in to get some candy. I got a picture of this boy who gave Andrea some candy. His family's house, and the family, were all done up in scary costumes. Andrea wasn't scared at all; she was just curious, and busy checking everything out.

Just as we got home, a whole bunch of trick-or-treaters arrived in our driveway, so Daddy ran in and got the candy for them. It was good timing. Mommy and Andrea stayed outside for a while, and helped hand out the candy.

A lot of the kids were saying, "Oh, look at the cute little pumpkin!" when they saw Andrea; and she thought they were pretty interesting, too.

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Here's one last picture of Andrea, in her wagon, as we made our way down the street. I think this picture turned out so neat, because it has kind of an eerie, Halloween-ish glow about it--and I swear, I didn't touch it up or anything! It simply turned out this way. :))

Fun with Cousins

This weekend, Andrea got to spend a little time with two of her cousins. :))

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On Friday night, Brigitte came over to stay with us until Uncle C. got off work, around 11 o'clock. Andrea was thrilled to have a playmate for the evening. Andrea and Daddy usually spend some time cuddling and wrestling and generally having fun when he gets home from work. That night, however, Daddy had TWO little girls vying for his attention. Despite his exhausted appearance in the following pictures, you know he was loving it as much as they were!


When Daddy was ready for a break, Brigitte stepped in, and discovered a way to amuse Andrea and tire her out, all at once: the Bouncing Game. Brigitte would bounce up and down, make funny noises, and stop to startle Andrea; Andrea would laugh, imitate Brigitte's bouncing and noises, and then it would be Brigitte's turn again. I've said it many times, but it never ceases to amaze me how great Brigitte is with Andrea. :))

http://media.putfile.com/Bouncing-Game-with-Brig

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Today (Sunday), Aunt Steph and Uncle Tony stopped by with Izzy. They were making the rounds, showing off her adorable Halloween costume (what a smart idea!). I had been hoping to get pictures of the two girls in their costumes, together; and especially when I saw Izzy's costume had a similar idea as Andrea's, well--I just had to get some pictures. So, you're all going to get a sneak preview of Andrea's Halloween costume, if you read this before Tuesday night. :))

C'mon, say it with me: "Awwwwww . . . how cute!"

Andrea will be going to a few houses (the neighbours we know best) down our street on Tuesday night, to do a little trick-or-treating. I have been trying to teach her to say "Trick or Treat," but all I get is "tih," "tee," or "no." :))

Baby "Atlas"

Sometimes, while watching Andrea play, strange ideas or connections jump out at me. Here's one of them: Whenever Andrea holds up her big ball, it reminds me of Atlas, a character from Greek mythology.

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In short, Atlas led a battle of Titans against Zeus, which lasted for ten years. Eventually, Atlas was singled out by Zeus and forced to hold up the heavens as a special punishment. There are many famous paintings and sculptures of Atlas being punished, and most have him in a position something like this:

So, here is Andrea, my Baby Atlas:

Maybe she'll be a famous astronomer some day. Some say that the Titan Atlas worked out the science of astrology and discovered the spherical nature of the stars.

Or maybe . . . just maybe . . . she's a toddler having fun holding a big ball over her head!

(with a Mommy who has really weird thought processes)

15 Months Old

Andrea turned 15 months old yesterday. I haven't really been doing a comprehensive monthly update anymore; there's so many things to write about, I just put them on the Blog whenever I get a chance. But, I was thinking about it, and my last post ("Playing Around"), along with today's, will make a pretty good 15-month-old update. :))

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Andrea's 15-month-old birthday wasn't exactly a cheerful event. She has yet another cold, and this one is terrible. It's mostly in her chest and her throat, and she cries so much. I only worked a half-day yesterday, and I took today off, so I could stay home and fuss over her.

In between the coughing and crying spells, she's her usual self, so I've managed to get some pretty good pictures and videos of Andrea's newest talents and games over the past two days.

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Fun with Fat Trays: Yes, folks, you read that right. You know those trays that come with the George Foreman grill, that capture the dripping grease as your food cooks? Well, Andrea discovered them on a stand in the kitchen, and it is amazing how much fun she has with them. Here are just two of the many different activities she has created using the fat trays:

Carpet Skiing

Thunder Sticks

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Break Dancing: This one she's been doing for a few weeks now; it's a kind of crazy, spin-and-roll-around-on-your-bum move. Music is not necessary. She does it any time she's feeling silly, and anywhere she wants--usually in the living room, but also in her crib, in the bathtub, etc...

http://media.putfile.com/Break-Dancing-63

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Raise the Roof: In light of the Tigers' current World Series run, Daddy felt it was time Andrea mastered the "Raise the Roof" celebration move; and, she has done it!

http://media.putfile.com/Raise-the-Roof

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Talking/Singing: Here are some more videos of Andrea trying to talk and sing.

• This video was originally going to be sent as a half-laughing, half-complaining note to Grama Marty, about the mess Andrea makes with her toys. Then Andrea piped up with one of her latest phrases ("There go!"), so it made it into the Blog. http://media.putfile.com/There-You-Go-29
• Andrea has a funny little habit of trying to sing, after she hears Mommy sing to her. There's no distinguishable words, and not much of a tune, but it's so darn cute. http://media.putfile.com/Andreas-Singing
• Andrea's latest feat is trying to count to ten--with help, of course! She usually says 1,2,3,6, and sometimes 7,8,9. Ten is always said with the appropriate inflection (excited, proud), even if the word doesn't come out right. :)) http://media.putfile.com/Trying-to-Count

Pushing Mommy's Buttons: Andrea and I have a big difference of opinion when it comes to how our household should be organized. I like neatness; Andrea prefers chaos. I like cleanliness; Andrea prefers stickiness.

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And as for pushing buttons--well, quite literally, her latest trick is to crawl up to the computer (while I'm on it) and press the Reset button on the hard drive, so the computer shuts off. Grr.

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She also enjoys getting into my books while I'm on the computer. This is a tough one for me. I want to encourage her fascination with books (which has finally kicked in), but I am in agony watching how harshly she treats my books. If you know me well, you know what my books mean to me. I've tried to make her a deal by giving her a shelf of magazines to destroy, but that only lasts for so long. Then, she's back into my books! Argh.

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And finally, today, while I was checking my email, this is what she did:

Umm... yeah, she has a bad cold, but I think one tissue at a time would suffice!

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God Bless the Little Stinker. LOL She is a typical 15-month-old. :))

Playing Around

There's not much new going on around here the past few days.

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Andrea is adjusting well to daycare; they say she didn't cry the past two days when Daddy left, and she's been napping a lot better. They also say that she loves playing with the other babies! They are working hard to get her standing up and walking (same here), because she can't move up to the toddler room (around 16 to 18 months of age) unless she is walking by then! Unfortunately, today she had a crawling accident--she got herself tripped up on the corner of a mat, and whacked her head on the hard floor. Ouch! Andrea now has a lovely little bluish-purple bump on the right side of her forehead. But they put ice on it, and gave her lots of hugs and kisses, and she is just fine. :))

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Andrea had her first real MEAL of pizza last night. I cut it up into bite-sized pieces, and put it on her tray. She loved it--not only the taste, but the freedom to manipulate all the little pieces as she wished! This, of course, turned into a fine mess by the time she was done. When she got tired of eating, she starting flinging handfuls of left-over pizza bites all over the floor. Then she told me she was "aw done." It would be nice if she would say it before she starts the flinging; then Mommy could just remove the offending substance, right? Hah. Anyway, here's Andrea while she was still enjoying her pizza.

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Tonight I had the camera out to capture a game that Daddy and Andrea came up with. I guess you could call it, "Hey, who stole my milosh?" (Milosh--pronounced me-loash--is Daddy's silly word for pillow.) Daddy lays on the floor with a pillow from the couch; Andrea crawls over and yanks it out from under his head; Daddy says, "Hey, who took my milosh?"; Andrea grins and plops her head down on the pillow; then Daddy tickles her/wrestles the pillow back from her; and the game starts again. It's cute, unless you're an exhausted Mommy who really does want to curl up with a pillow on the floor, and Baby runs over and pulls it away from you (EVERY TIME!). :))

http://media.putfile.com/Pillow-Thief

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Then Daddy decided that he wanted a turn to play with the camera! These are the ones that turned out:

"I've got your milosh!"

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(Say CHEESE!)

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Hugs and Kisses for Mommy

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"Eye?" (one of her favourite words)

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Speaking of Andrea's favourite words, Daddy encouraged her to say a few for the camera/video. She actually says lots of words now, and copies a lot of things we coax her to say, but these are some of her favourites.

http://media.putfile.com/Some-of-Her-Words

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One last thing: no exaggeration--the digital camera is falling apart from overuse! I've had it for 3 years as of last month, and it's starting to show some definite signs of wear. Tonight, it stayed ON and would not shut off till Daddy fiddled with it. Then, the batteries fell out of it! But that's been happening for ages--the battery compartment hinge is so loose, the batteries fly out of it all the time. Geez. But if I get a new one, I'll want it to be high-quality. High quality equals high price, so I hope this camera will hang in there for a while yet!

Fun with Grandpa Gagnon

While Daddy and I were at Comerica Park watching the Tigers clinch the ACLS yesterday (WOOHOO!), Andrea spent the day with her Gram and Grandpa Gagnon. Then they went to Uncle Tony's parents' house, and had a Lebanese dinner! I hear Andrea liked the food. :))

Anyhow, before they left for the dinner, Gram snapped some pictures of Andrea and Grandpa playing. The little game they were playing is a bit of a cultural/family tradition, because it's French. I'm not sure exactly how the wording goes. It's close to this: "Minouche, minouche, minouche--mangez toute (or maybe "manges-tu"?) la creme!" Each time you say "minouche," you run your hands in a ticklish way down the baby's cheeks. Babies seem to love this game!

Here are the pictures Gram sent, of Andrea and Grandpa playing "minouche."

"Minouche... minouche... minouche ..."

"... mangez toute la creme!"

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Andrea does "minouche" to Grandpa!

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By the way, if you're interested, a translation of the French would be something like:

"Kitty, kitty, kitty, eat up all the cream!"

Snow Falls and Snow Squalls!

My goodness, I thought the meteorologists were overreacting when they said there would be areas of high winds and brief downbursts of heavy snowfall, with reduced visibility, this afternoon.

For once, they were right!

When I left to pick Andrea up from daycare today, it was 38 degrees outside, but sunny. Within 20 minutes, dark clouds rolled in, and it started to snow. Okay, I had expected some flurries. The wind was pretty bitter, but I had sent her off with lots of protective gear this morning, so I wasn't too worried about it. Andrea wasn't happy about being bundled up (she cried), but she smiled when she saw the camera. :))

While waiting for the bus on the way home, IT HIT! It was snowing and blowing so hard, that I could barely see! I leaned over and tried to shield Andrea as best as I could. Thankfully, she was fine--I had her all bundled up, and it was only about 5 minutes into the squall that the bus came. But I was frozen stiff, and breathless!

There were snow squalls off and on the whole way home, but none as bad as the one while we were waiting outside for the bus (nice timing, eh?). Another really intense one hit at about six o'clock, when I was making dinner, and I got some pictures of that. But the pictures don't even do it justice.

The last picture, in particular, shows how weird the weather was--some sun, some dark sky, and some snow coming down, all at once! And we usually don't get our first flurries until early November. Yikes!

Mommy says, with weather like this, Andrea has to wear a hat, scarf, and mittens--whether she likes it, or not! :))

Thanksgiving at Great Gram's

On Sunday afternoon, we had our Thanksgiving gathering at Great Grama Market's. Just think, at our last Thanksgiving, Andrea was only 2 and a half months old! Want to see the difference?

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Great Gram, Daddy, and Andrea

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"Hi, Izzy. Know what? I was about your age last Thanksgiving!"

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It was a beautiful day for October. We sat outside on Great Gram's deck and enjoyed the sun and fresh air. Andrea loved Great Grama's flower basket! So pretty!

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This was Andrea's first real Thanksgiving feast. Mommy wasn't sure what she'd like, so I put a variety of selections on her plate. Andrea's reaction: she ate it all!

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What's Thanksgiving Dinner without the Pumpkin Pie?

Cousin Pauline fed Andrea a whole (little) piece!

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Needless to say, Andrea liked the pie!

Can you open your mouth any wider? :))

New Swim Class

Andrea started her swim classes again, two weeks ago. She is now in a new class, called Parent and Tot 2. Things are pretty much the same as Parent and Tot 1, except the activities are more structured (which we like). We still get about 10 minutes of free time at the end of class.

Daddy went in the pool with Andrea, so I took the pictures. This week, they went in the adult pool, because the tot pool was too cold (Andrea was shivering!). Andrea has taken to the water like we never stopped going to lessons--she still loves it!

Front Float (and splashing, of course!)

Back Float

Dunk the Toy

Dunk the Baby!

Sliding In, Off the Edge

Singing Time

Of course, I had the video running, too.

http://media.putfile.com/Laps-and-Bobbing-In

http://media.putfile.com/Jumping-In-and-Splashing

http://media.putfile.com/Singing-Circle