Wordless Wednesday: Bathtime Fun

Duckie, anyone?

Apparently the baby ducks are having quite the conversation!

Peekaboo!  (Or as she says it, "Aboo!")



The Kid is the Key

This is the conversation I am certain took place between my two cats in the very early hours of this morning:

Rory Calhoun: We have to get outside, man.  This tiny apartment is stifling my hunter's spirit.

Sophie:  I know, totally.

Rory Calhoun:  Let's try our whiniest meows and see if that gets those lazy sods out of bed to let us out.

Sophie: Meow, whine, meow.

Rory Calhoun:  Hmmm, maybe if we jump on the bed repeatedly...?

Sophie: I'm jumping, I'm jumping.

Rory Calhoun:  I'm going to try scratching on the furniture and see if that does the trick.

(Elapsed time: 67 minutes)

Rory Calhoun:  It's no use, we've been whining for over an hour now, and the big one with the short hair just keeps snoring, and the smaller one with the long hair keeps hissing at me.  Ack!  She just sprayed me with water!

Sophie:  Oh, the nerve!

Rory Calhoun:  Okay, let's take a few minutes to regroup and come up with a new strategy.

Sophie:  Sounds good, boss.

(Elapsed time: 2 minutes and 39 seconds)

Rory Calhoun:  By George, I think I've got it!!!

Sophie:  What?  What?  What have you got?  Don't tell me it's fleas!

Rory Calhoun:  No, no, you imbecile, I've come up with a foolproof plan for getting those lazy buggers up and at 'em - or at least up for long enough to open the back door and let us out. 

Sophie:  Oooooh, let's hear it, then.  I'm all ears!

Rory Calhoun:  We scratch on door of the tiny one's room.  You know, the one that chases us around, screaming and trying to grab our tails?

Sophie:  I don't get it, boss.  That one is useless to us.  She can't reach door handles yet, and they have her in that cage with the open top so she can't get out of bed.

Rory Calhoun:  No, stupid, we don't need her to open the door for us, we only need her to wake up.

Sophie:  Huh?

Rory Calhoun:  Sigh.  Am I the only one with half a brain around here?  The kid is the key.  Haven't you noticed that whenever the kid wakes up and starts up that godawful racket, the big ones go running to her?  And by that point, they figure they might as well open the back door for us, since they're up anyway.  I'm telling you, the kid is the key.

Sophie:  Ahhhhh, now I catch your drift.  The kid is the key.  Genius, boss, pure genius!

Rory Calhoun: Yeah, I know, I'm kitty mensa material.  Now let's get to work!

          *********************************************************************

(If you hadn't already figured it out, Rory Calhoun is the ringleader and Sophie is our rescue kitty - she had a rough childhood and, as a result, she isn't exactly the brightest sock in the drawer.)

So, anybody want a cat (or two)?

Celebrating One Year of Lilahbloggity

On February 4th, 2010, with my first ever post, I dipped my toe into the vast ocean that is the blogosphere.  And the water?  It was fine.  More than fine, actually.  I've been hooked ever since.

It's been exactly one year since I started this blog.  It has become such a valuable outlet for me over the past year.  It's a space where I can vent my frustrations and share my triumphs, motherhood-related and beyond.  A place for preserving our family memories and displaying my favourite photos of my favourite little girl.  And I have connected with some really cool people in the process.

So, happy birthday to my bloggy baby.  I don't always give you the attention you deserve, but you've been good to me all the same.  Just one question... what to wish for! 
Hmmm... maybe more readers?  :)

Me (at what I estimate to be age seven, judging by the number of candles),
pondering my birthday wish

To those who have been following along: thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for inspiring me to continue.

January 2011 Recap

Amber Strocel does a monthly recap and has invited others to play along and link up. So here's what I learned in January:

1.  Creating a slideshow on Windows Movie Maker is a whole lot easier than I expected.  And I really enjoy the process.  I'm already looking for an excuse to whip up another one!

2.  There's nothing like a friend visiing from out-of-town (out-of-country, actually) to get a whole bunch of old friends all in the same room.

3.  Credit card roulette is a dangerous little game, especially when the the bill is for dinner for ten people at a decent restaurant.

4.  I'm usually behind the camera, so occasionally a self-portrait is in order.

5.  Baby putting babies to bed: funny stuff.

6.  No Glee for an entire month can lead to serious withdrawls.

7.  Baby's first haircut doesn't have to be a huge ordeal.  And as a bonus, I have rediscovered the little divet at the nap of her neck - the sweetest, softest, most perfectly kissable little divet in the history of divets.

8.  Every parent should have a healthy supply of stickers on hand at all times. 

9.  There is nothing more thrilling and more hilarious than your child's first attempts at saying new words.

10.  Apparently, my New Year's Resolutions are no match for Procrastination, Excuses, Job Stress, and Gluttony.  Not to worry, February will be my month!

Wednesday of Few Words: Baby's First Haircut

Business in the front...

Party in the back.

One more time, for the cheap seats, that's PARTY IN THE BACK!

Wasn't too keen on a strange woman touching her head while sitting in a flowery car, so we did the haircut sitting on Mama's lap.  The bubbles and Elmo's World playing on multiple TVs helped immensely.

Looking a little nervous... (or possibly trying to blow bubbles?)

Muuuuuch better

Cool dude!  (Too bad her fly's undone, it kinda ruins the swag factor.)

This was a great experience all around.  Which is kinda shocking given that Lilah had just had her 18-month shots and check-up at the doctor's office.  If you live in Vancouver, I highly recommend Melonheads.  They gave us a few locks of hair in a little baggie and a keepsake photo of the finished product, as well as a little "first haircut" certificate.  They were also masters of the art of distraction.  We'll undoubtedly be going back there in the future.

Lilish

Over the past couple of months, Lilah has had quite the language explosion.  Jargon is mostly a thing of the past.  She has gone from having a handful of words in her vocabulary to over fifty and has started combining two, and sometimes even three, words in sentences.  For me, as a Speech-Language Pathologist and self-professed word nerd, this is hands-down the most thrilling aspect of her development.  There are some words, like "up," that are pronounced perfectly and would be understood by any Joe Shmoe.  But there are many that mean something only to the select few of us who understand Modern Lilish.  Below you will find a few of my favourite Lilish words:

No. - No (Lilish is a tonal language, apparently - see variations on "No" below)
Noooo.... - No, and if you don't listen to me I'm going to lose it.
NNNOOO! - I think this one is self-explanatory 
Yeeese - Yes (kinda like the way Mr. Burns says it)
Ma-mee - Mommy
Da-dee - Daddy
kacker - cracker
ocker - yogurt
'nana - banana
keekee - cookie
shees - cheese
foofoo - tofu
otter - water
muck - milk
ed - head (she is one quarter Liverpudlian, so she comes by the silent 'h' honestly)
my- mine
shash - wash
poo-pee - poopy
bee-bee - baby
gah - car
buck - book
chuck - truck
aahhhdoon - all done
moah - more
batch - garbage
shoosh- shoes
at - hat (again, evidence of her Liverpool roots)
shaish - chair
neenup - clean-up
teedee - TV (this one is a bit embarassing, especially if you could see how excited she gets at the very thought of being allowed to watch tv)
bapf - bath
bokbok - chicken
baabaa - sheep

Here's a video so you can get a feel for the pronunciation of common Lilish words like "baby," "mommy," "all done," and "ball."

Lilish is a primitive language, but its components can be combined to form two- and occasionally even three-word sentences, such as "bye bath," "more cracker," and "no bye kitty."  Of course, those require a translator with an intricate knowledge of Lilish (namely Ma-mee or Da-dee) to interpret to the general public.

Wednesday of Few Words

She could have her own daycare.  She'd be the Nap Master (or a Napzi, like me):

Except I think sleeping on the job would be frowned upon. 

As would smothering the babies by putting blankets over their faces.  Meh, minor details!

Wednesday of Few Words: Clothing Optional Picnic

Nothing beats a good old fashioned picnic!  Except a good old-fashioned picnic in the buff.  (Diapers not optional - nobody likes a soggy picnic host!)


Mmmm, cheese.

Note the crossed ankles (always a lady) and emerging tongue tip
(throwing a decent picnic takes a lot of concentration, you know!)

She does "cheers" with the wine glasses, too. 
Didn't catch it on camera, so you'll have to take my word for it and make do with this face of cuteness.

What I Learned in December 2010

Amber Strocel does a monthly recap and has invited others to play along and link up. So here's what I learned in December:


1. Toddlerhood is like a roller coaster ride.  There's a whole lot of screaming, sudden ups and downs, and it's both thrilling and exhausting at the same time.

2.  A twenty-four hour stomach bug can last over two weeks for a wee one.  And that means a lot of time off work (which will have to be made up at some point), a lot of TV, and a lot of laundry.  Oh, and laminate floors are an asset when dealing with a vomitous toddler.

My sickie baby

3. Getting interested in photography has helped me notice the beauty all around me. 

4. Killing time between a morning car nap and a birthday party can lead to an unexpectedly beautiful discovery.

5. Watching everything you've ever learned about language acquisition (which is actually quite a lot, when you've done a Master's Degree in speech-language pathology) played out in your own child is absolutely fascinating.

6.  Watching your daughter play with her grandfather is an incredibly heart-warming sight.  Especially when she used to shake uncontrollably and cry with fear when he came anywhere near her.  Three cheers for progress!

7.  My super mama sense of smell is almost, but not quite, infallible.  It is possible for the occasional poo-poo to sneak by me.  (Mwahaha, dare you clink the poo-poo link?)

8.  Furry hamster toys that move and dollies that crawl freak Lilah right out.  Like, shuddering with fear and clinging to Mommy's leg freak her out.  To the point that it takes removing the toy from sight and several minutes of special cuddles to calm her down.

9.  Christmas makes so much more sense when you have a child.  More to do, mostdefinitely, more stressful, probably, but also so much more magical.  And the stress and the busy-ness all become totally worth it for the sound of toddler squeals of excitement on Christmas morning.  So worth it.

10.  A quiet New Year's Eve games night can get rowdy rather quickly when there's alcohol involved.

This is about all I remember from our "quiet" games night on New Year's Eve.
And it's that blurry in my memory too.

2010 Reflections and Slideshow

2010 was a pretty awesome year for us Lilahbility folk.  We went to Maui for a friend's wedding in January, welcomed the world into our beautiful city for the Winter Olympics in February, watched Lilah take her first steps in February, celebrated our first Mother's Day and Father's Day as parents in May and June, threw Lilah a big first birthday bash in July, met up with family and friends in Ontario in August, got Lilah settled into daycare and settled myself back into the work routine in the late summer and early fall, took a long weekend family trip to Whistler in November, and worked on creating our own holiday traditions in December.  There were plenty of ups and downs, new teeth, runny noses, first tastes of cake and ice cream, and more than a few family dance parties.  We've watched her go from a worm/beached whale/commando crawl to a proper crawl to cruising furniture to wobbly steps to outright running, and from a couple of gestures and signs to her first spoken word to two-word combinations and carrying a vaguely recognizable tune.  Evolution in the microcosm.  And when you stop and think about it, all you can do is feel blessed to have been a spectator to it all.  And pleased that you managed to capture most of the moments on camera.

So, without further ado, here is a slide show of some of my favourite Lilahbility moments of 2010, set to "Dog Days Are Over" - the Glee Cast version, because I like it more than the original.*  I hope you'll enjoy it even a fraction as much as I do!



*And because I am obsessed with Glee.  I am also obsessed with watching this slide show over and over again, to see if I can do it just once without getting a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. So far, no luck.