Half an Annum :)

Wow, half an annum has come and gone….time really does fly when you are having a good time.  It’s utterly amazing how much one little being can change both physically and personably in such a short amount of time.  I have said it before and I will say it again, this is my calling in life and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. 

This past month has been a very busy one and full of both highs and lows.  Ted’s grandpa passed away early in the month which brought his side of the family together for the funeral.  It was for sure a tough time for Ted to see such a strong man leave us but one thing we are very thankful is that his grandpa got to meet Jade and spend sometime holding her.  As many people have said before, families are often brought together by funerals and weddings and this was no different.  Though it was a time of sadness, it was also a time of celebrating the man he was and a time for the family, from all over B.C. and all the way to Saskatchewan, to all be together in one place at the same time.  

 

We spent much of the month preparing to move…from packing boxes to trips to the bank and notary to purging unneeded junk, the to-do list never seemed to end.  NO doubt everyone out there knows how much fun moving is; especially, the prep.  I swear you think you have packed so much then you look around and the place still looks pretty much the same….ugh.  Thankfully we had some great friends…Steve, Peter, Hussein, Val, Chris, Mette and Mike in addition to me pops and Meg to help us in the move.  Most frustrating part for me was that I could not do any lifting because of a little surgery I had so felt horrible that everything was left for Ted and the others to do.  I must admit though, not too sure how much help I would have been with Jade who was wide awake and seeking some love everyday of the move.  

Right, Jade, the reason you are reading this.  She continues to develop her personality and grow into her own little gal.  The little missy is continually reaching out for things, especially those that she can put in her mouth….including her own toes which she has taken to sucking on.  She is enjoying her playtime on the floor, kicking and rolling around.  You turn your head for two seconds and she will have completely have shifted spots, at one time ending up under the table, all the while smiling away.  One of her favourite things to do is put the blanket over her face and laugh away to herself.  She is also talking a lot more, okay well maybe not in any language we can understand but it seems to be a great one way conversation with who or whatever will have one with her.  I must give full cudo’s to Meg though as she seems to get Jade to talk to the fullest.  

 

I cannot say exactly what it is, but there is something about gingers that draws Jade in.  I swear every ginger we know or have come across, she becomes enamored with them…stranger or not.  I guess if she is not going to be a ginger herself then at least she has a soft spot for them…I should say us.

There was lots of family visiting over the past month.  As mentioned previously, Jade met with the majority of Ted’s side at the funeral; many of whom she had not met but one important one, Opa, with whom she soundly slept in his arms.  Oma was not well that visit but came over on moving day so Jade got sometime with her.  Then the quality time with Uncle Tim, Aunty Rachel and their pooch, with who Jade had a laughing spell with at his expense.  Tim got Tier going, playfully growling and Jade could not get enough of it, just giggling away.  This little gal definitely has no fear of big dogs; rather, she seems to love them, especially Dexter and Tier.

She is in love with her toys for sure....whether it be her "circle of neglect", to the bumbo, to the jolly jumper or just playing on the floor with various toys.

This past month also brought a visit with my lifelong friend Leanne and her daughter Kenzie who will hopefully be Jade’s lifelong friend.  It was definitely a long overdue visit and a first for the two little ones. Another visit with Aunty Laine and Aunty Sandra to ring in a birthday for the latter and an official introduction to the current Boozehounds team; at least, who stuck around after the game. There was also the venture out with Patti and Brittany which was nice.

I must mention here one of the greatest and most sentimental gifts Jade has received was given to her this past month.  Uncle Peter personally created and designed a cd for her chalked full of Queen songs.  If anyone remembers, I have mentioned Jade’s love for Queen and the calming effect it has on her.  In fact, just the other day I was driving home from an appointment and she was just screaming away in the back seat so I popped in the cd and, I swear, it was instantaneous that she calmed down and stopped crying.  For those who do not know Peter, he is Ted’s best friend and a devout Queen fan.

  It is really amazing the effect she has on the grade 2 students.  Close to a month later one of the young lads remembered that Jade did not like her car seat because she likes to move around lots and probably hates being strapped in.  They are so enthralled with Jade from the moment she enters the room to the moment she leaves; continually asking questions, making comments and smiling all the while.  We have also now made two visits for assisting in the education for the teachers who will be doing the Seeds of Empathy.  NO matter whether we are doing the Roots of Empathy or the Seeds of Empathy, everyone seems to fall in love with Jade and she reciprocates the feelings by laughing and looking around at everyone and everything.

Speaking of looking around, Jade is so curious about the world around her.  She continues to fight sleeping as she would rather be experiencing the world around her and what it has to offer.  Any new noise or action grabs her attention and makes her turn her head to watch or listen.  I must admit that it continues to be the most amazing thing when she recognizes our voices and turns to look at us with the biggest smile on her face.  I guess it is also pretty neat to see her do the same thing to my parents :) That giggle she showed us when Tim got Tier playfully growling was again brought out when jade and my mom were sitting side by side on the couch watching Ellen.  I looked over to see the two of them in utter hysterics over something but I have no idea what as I was too taken aback by the site of them.  The love between Jade and my dad only continues to grow and I think he could easily take her from us if we left him to :) He gets down there on the floor, on her blanket and plays away with her or rushes to eat dinner when we are over there so he can whisk her away…of course he tries to make it seem like he is just doing us a favour so we can enjoy our dinner…..hmmmmm, right dad, that’s the reason; definitely not that you just want to have her to yourself.  It is pretty neat to see Jade smile whenever I show her a picture of her Aunty Ashlee and mention her name at that point.  Guess we’ll have to do that with her Uncle Tim soon once he ventures out to basic training.

Jade took quite a liking to baseball during the month of October with the playoffs taking place.  Not sure if it was the game or the cute guys though that grabbed her attention more; okay maybe it was neither :) I took Jade to one of our hockey games when I was unable to play but Ted was still out there.  Unfortunately she seemed more interested in trying to see the World Series final baseball game on television than watching the Boozehounds.  What can I say, must have been because I was not out there playing…lol, joking.

Due to our busy schedule with the move and everything, we have not consistently gone to our Mother Goose program on Thursday mornings.  Cannot say we have made a great effort to make it on the busy days either as neither of us seem to overly enjoy it.  For me, it seems like the other mom’s seem to know one another thus on break there are all these little groups chatting away about whatever then Jade and I in our own world. For Jade, she has been fairly fussy most of the time at the group which is usually not like her.

Sleep you ask, how is that going?  Well it was not going too well up until our move into our new place.  The first night remained the same as before but the next two nights she slept for six straight hours…..yes, you read that correctly, six straight hours.  However we were not holding our breath as she has done that before for two nights then went way back in her short lifespan and did the two hour thing.  Arg, it happened again after those two nights but then again, back to six hours….wooohooo, maybe we have finally turned the corner….fingers crossed.  So far, so good, must be living on the North Shore that is a key to the sleep thing here.  Now we have figured out that all she needs to sleep well is to be in North Van, and to stop crying Jade needs some Queen and a boob.  I will not speak further of the sleep as I do not want to jinx any success :)

Halloween fell in this six month period and we did partake to an extent.  My papa bought Jade a costume and it suit her to a tee.  We dressed her up and took her off to papa’s place to do some trick or treating then over to Meg’s.  It was sooooo cute, my papa gave her a little Halloween bag but instead of candy there were a couple of little toys in it which Jade loved.  I would say our first Halloween was a success and next year I guess we will have to dress up with her.

Best thing yet happened this month, a giggle fit.  When I say giggle fit, I mean extreme fit…double the previous mentioned ones. I was holding Jade on the couch and Ted would continually pop up from behind it.  Jade would be startled initially but then just start giggling away, the more Ted popped up, the harder Jade laughed.  In turn, we were all in complete hysterics….good times, good times indeed. Unfortunately we have been trying to get her going again to film it but we have had no such luck as I think she just likes to toy with us and bring out her “you only film me when I want to” attitude.

Continuing with the humourous discussion, I think we have discovered a way in which Jade likes to enamour those most important to her with her love.  Any guesses? Maybe you got it, yep via a mega explosion J On more than one occasion this past month, Jade has shiat on my mom…of course displaying a huge smile afterwards.  This enduring act has only been bestowed upon a very select few but witnessed by some more.  Not too sure what is really going on with her tummy, but it is almost as though there is a kink somewhere that she just can’t get things past for quite some time. However, when she does, man oh man does she ever.  In the meantime, Jade just toots away and makes you want to vacate the area….some like to say she takes after one of her parents in that aspect but we won’t divulge who exactly.

As this blog comes to an end I think about what will be included in the next one.  We will be starting food this month, preparing for Christmas, another round of shots, my mom’s birthday, hopefully a housewarming party and whatever else our little angel brings our way to share with you. :)