Happy Halloween!

Yes, Helena did dress up for October 31st.  She had been given a tutu from her Grandma and some ballet socks from her Nani, so choosing her costume was easy.

What made the night even more fun was trick-or-treating with Helena's friend Holly, who was a cat.  Holly came to Helena's home, Helena went to Holly's home, and the parents made a few stops at friends' homes along the way!  

 

I know Halloween can have a dark side to it, but if you focus on the good, it can really be quite fun.  Plus, it can really help one work up an appetite.

Spaghetti anyone?

This girl recently had spaghetti sauce and noodles for the first time.

She loved it.  She loved it so much that when food fell into her bib, she stopped and dug the food out.  Usually once it's out of hand but not in mouth, it's out of mind.

Her mom learned a good lesson that day.  Spaghetti is a dinner meal, not a lunch meal, as bath time is after dinner.

CrockPot Success!

Have you ever mixed up a batch of granola, put it in the oven and then come back to it to find it burnt?  Ugh, it's a horrible thing that I've experienced at least three times.  So when I read that you can make granola in a slow cooker, I decided to try again.

It was so easy!



I've read that any recipe will work.  So here's what you do - choose your recipe, mix it up, then put it in the CrockPot for 2-3 hours.  The slow cooker does need a vent, so take a chopstick and stick it on the side to keep the lid slightly open.  You have to remember to stir it every 20 minutes, but it's easy to do that, as when you can smell it cooking, that means it's time to stir! 

Helena's Latest Activities

I only had to show her this drawer once.  Now she's army crawling into the kitchen and pulling it open all by herself.

Helena was happily playing on the floor one day, so John sat down and started drumming.  She dropped her toys, took the sticks from her dad, and has been loving them ever since.

You can't eat an apple without Helena getting upset.  SHE wants to chew on the apple too!

The underside of the stroller is infinitely interesting. If the stroller is out in the hallway, there's no question where Helena will be.

Helena's Grandma brought this fun Little Mermaid toy with her when she visited a few weeks ago.  The toys in the front are currently getting a lot of attention.

She's always been a good reader, but lately the books on the bed are much more interesting than the book that is being read. 

Bathtime with Daddy and Duckie are the best.  If the tub faucet is running, Helena's on her way to the bathroom!

I made her cry. Twice.

Helena hates wearing shoes.  To make matters worse, she loves to pull her socks off.  There is just nothing better to play with in the stroller than a sock or her own toes.  A very cute thing in the summer but now it's fall and it's 55F/12C degrees out.

So today Helena and I headed out for the Canadian Passport Office, which is a 25-minute walk away.  She made it the entire way without even attempting to kick her shoes off.  I was celebrating.

From there the morning went downhill.  I learned I didn't have all the necessary forms with me, so I'd have to go back another time.  Frustrating.  Then I begin to walk back, this time facing the sun so I pull the stroller cover over Helena so she won't have to squint.  I'm walking, I'm walking, I'm walking.  I peek in at Helena and she has a sock in her mouth and a bare foot.  Where's the shoe?  I don't know.  How long has she had nothing on her foot? I don't know.

Turn around.  Walk 2 blocks, there's the shoe.  During that 2 block walk, she has successfully kicked off the other shoe.  So both shoes go in the basket, both feet are socked, and we walk.  As we cross the street, she pulls her sock off.  (Here's where it gets bad.) When we get to the sidewalk, I walk to the front of the stroller, tell her we have to keep our socks on, and put the sock back on.  She immediately pulls it off.  I tell her "No" and she starts to wail. 

It happens again 3 blocks later.  This time the wailing lasted quite a bit longer.

What a horrible feeling, knowing that you just made your baby cry because of what you said to her.  I know it's going to happen again, many times.  But the first time made me just feel awful.

So what did we do to make ourselves feel better once we were home?  I opened a bag of chocolate chips.  Helena ate a banana. And took her socks off.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a weird holiday for us.  Canadian Thanksgiving is at the beginning of October.  That doesn't really feel like Thanksgiving to us, so skipping it is no big deal.  American Thanksgiving is in November but no one is celebrating up here and there's no vacation on that day, so skipping it is, again, no big deal.

But when a friend says, "Hey, we have a turkey in our freezer.  Do you guys want to join forces and celebrate Thanksgiving?", it doesn't take long for us to say yes.

So this past Monday we had a colleague of John's and his family up for Thanksgiving.

Yes, Thanksgiving dinner above and below the border is the same.

This year's holiday was definitely different, though, as it was 80 degrees!  This was definitely the first turkey meal I've ever eaten while wearing shorts. 

We kept trying to get a good photo of Helena on her first Thanksgiving but she's a rambunctious little girl - doesn't stay still for long!

One thing we're incredibly thankful for is Helena's health.  There were so many potential problems that arose while I was pregnant but she was born perfectly healthy.  Praise the Lord!

Crock Pot #3, 4, 5 & 6: Salsa Chicken & Black Bean Soup

Remember that Crock Pot challenge I had going?  It's been awhile since any activity has been reported but it's still underway albeit slowly. 

Crock Pot #3 was a beef vegetable stew that came from my head and the freezer that needed to be emptied before we moved.  No recipe was used and it turned out great.  Crock Pot #4  & #5 were made out of necessity - only one burner on our stove worked until today - and they were tried and true recipes.  Tomato Soup and Moroccan Chicken.  The Moroccan Chicken recipe was given to me by Erinn at a bridal shower, and five years later it's still one of our favorites.

Tonight's dinner was #6 - Salsa, Chicken & Black Bean Soup.  YUMMY!  We all had seconds of this - yes, that means Helena too (but without the mushrooms & sour cream).

One of the great aspects of this recipe is that it uses dried black beans.  All you have to do is soak them overnight and then dump them in the bottom of the Crock Pot!  Now I want to figure out how to do beans in the Crock Pot for non-Crock Pot recipes - anybody know how?  It's probably really easy.

A bit behind

I've always heard moms say they are behind in lots of things; I haven't felt overwhelmed with that feeling until the move.  Our bedroom is a disaster zone and will remain that way until Helena moves into her own room (hopefully next week).  The living room is clean and then a mess and then clean and then a mess and then...you get the picture.  Most dinners lately have been started 20 minutes before it's time to eat.  Emails and telephone calls are getting responded to at a rate of slower than slow.  Then there's the blog, which I have neglected because the feeling of "where do I even begin?" is so prevalent.

So I'm starting to catch up tonight.

John's mom visited us before, during and after the move, and her help was much appreciated. Here are some photos from her time in Toronto:

Grandma brought lots of fun toys for Helena!

They explored the apartment while Helena walked with help from Grandma's feet.

John & his mom escaped one night and took part in Nuit Blanche, an all-night art extravaganza in Toronto.  This was a piece that you physically experienced: walked in the pristine waters of Canadian rivers, walked through the rain, and then walked on the logs that the loggers put in those rivers - all inside a mall!

Millie's deep in thought about these strange structures.

Thanks for coming Mom/Millie/Grandma!  We sure appreciate all your help!

Our New View

Here's what we see through our windows now:

John likes to say it's avant-garde.  It makes me feel like we're smack-dab downtown, which we are. 

Perhaps the best part is the wee bit of foliage you can see on the right from a certain angle.  It's a bit of natural beauty amongst everything else.

And we're in.

With only a few boxes and crates left to sift through, I think it can be said that we're moved into our new home.  And the verdict is...(drumroll please)

IT'S WONDERFUL! 

I am thankful that we experienced a year in a tiny apartment, as we learned a lot.  But at the moment, I feel like I'm high on our new place.  Here are some illustrations of how life has changed in the last six days:

1) We now make announcements of where we will be when leaving a room.  Unnecessary before.
2) Helena is scooting everywhere!  We're amazed at how fast she is and how often she's on the move.  Our old place didn't really allow for that much moving; plus there was nowhere to go.
3) Our refrigerator door opens completely; the old was partially blocked by the radiator.
4) The old apartment pushed us out, which was great as we were in the best neighborhood.  The new invites us to stay, kick back, and relax.
5) Helena has room to play.  We have room to play.
6) We have more time together as John walks 5 to 15 minutes instead of commuting for 30 to 45 minutes on public transportation.
7) We had HUGE windows in our last place, and it's hard to believe but our new windows are even bigger.
8) I have a real kitchen.
9) We can sit on the ground with Helena and not have to be contortionists.
10) John's books are unpacked and on our big bookshelf.  Most of the books and the bookshelf were formerly in storage.

There is more I could say about our amazing new home but instead I'm going to go spend some downtime with my hubby.  There hasn't been much of that lately - he's a busy yet wonderful man!

For those Helena fans out there, here's a fun video from when John was assembling the big bookshelf.