Vacation Time with Grandparents

(Wednesday, July 14 to Wednesday, July 21, 2010)

The day after we returned from our trip to California and Utah Hannah and I continued our road trip with a visit to her grandparents who are all vacationing at Muskoka Bible Centre.

Our first 4 days were spent with Nana and Papa at their trailer. In this video I’d left Hannah in the care of Nana and Papa while I got ready for the day. Heh…so this is what happens when Mommy isn’t looking! No wonder she loves spending time with them! She was giggling this entire time!

At one point I mentioned to Sharon how much Hannah had enjoyed playing with kitchen stuff at Ro and Ree’s. I went to look for a few little kitchen utensils and the store didn’t have any but before I could turn around Nana was putting this fun little kitchen in her cart. (Hmmm…maybe when she’s 16 I’ll mention how she enjoyed driving their car? ;o) Nana and I both thought that when we opened the box we’d pull out a little kitchen set. You can imagine our surprise when this was what met our eyes!!

Once it was set up Hannah knew exactly what to do! It was absolutely amazing to watch her play and know exactly what to do. It shows how much she’s watching each and every thing we do!

Using her travel high chair. What a great little gadget this is! Found it at Target online.

Enjoying some frozen yogurt.

Colouring with Nana

The second part of the week we moved to Grandma and Grandpa’s cottage which is also located on MBC property. Here she and Grandpa go for a walk in front of their cottage as the sun was setting.

Laundry basket rides from Aunt Louise

Hannah’s little kitchen moved to the cottage with us and here’s she’s enjoying playtime with her cousin Rebecca.

‘Helping’ Grandpa blow up the bed

My sleepy Shaoey. Oh how cute is this little butt in the air pic? (I calculated and by this time Hannah had slept in 6 different beds in less than 3 weeks and in each one she went to sleep like she was home. I’m so thankful that it’s our routine for mommy to head upstairs with her and hang out in the room while she sleeps. It works so well for us and she’s a champion sleeper still averaging 9-11 hours each night.)

Feeding the ducks with Grandma and Grandpa

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Bottle time with Mommy. Still some of my favourite times each day. I’m in no rush for her to stop taking a bottle as these moments together are precious!

Playing fun, creative games with Rebecca

Deck time overlooking the lake. Mom, Dad and Uncle Tim. Check out the scenery behind them. We are so blessed with the location of the cottage that mom and dad rent each summer. Beautiful hills behind them and the lake out front. God’s handiwork displayed.

Dad, the ever dedicated grill master

Ice Cream is almost a food group unto itself at the cottage and pretty much a daily treat. Check out the grip Hannah had on me just in case I had any thoughts of taking a bite of our ice cream cone! :o)

Phew! If you’ve made it through this entire post, congratulations. We had so much fun and I didn’t want to leave any of it out.

Thanks for sharing our 3 week vacation with us! Wonder where we’ll be off to next???

Cool Baby Gadgets!

I love all the neat things that are available today for babies!!

Car seat cover which means Hannah can still be snuggly strapped into her car seat even in frigid temps and only need a hat, a blanket or two and this great cover! Another bonus is that if she falls asleep when we're out (which happens often) I can just remove the cover when we're back in the house and she remains asleep. The other thing that means the most to me is that the car seat straps are right against Hannah's clothing rather than having a coat or other cover that could compress during an accident and compromise the effectiveness of the seat.

Hannah doesn't mind the cover and often smiles when she sees it coming. When we were first home she'd reach her little hands through the top but now she just laughs at the top and pushes it open for a better view. LOL! If it's really windy I hold it closed but normally just laugh at her when I see her pop it open. These covers are available at Walmart at a cost of about $19.

Nuby Nibblers As seen in the watermelon post, these little nets with an easy-to-hold handle are great! Since buying them last week Hannah has been introduced to cantaloupe, honeydew melon and watermelon. Watermelon was by far her favourite! I had another one of these net things made by a different company but the handle wasn't as easy for her to hold and it was also nearly impossible to open. I would recommend the ones by Nuby hands down!! I purchased Hannah's at the Superstore and paid around $8 for two.

Exersaucers Hannah has two exersaucers. One downstairs which she enjoys playing in and a second one upstairs which she enjoys and mom finds priceless! I can grab a shower, put my makeup on and get dressed all while she's playing safely in her exersaucer. I put it in the hallway outside the bathroom door so she can see me wherever I am. (On a side note, someone (can't remember who) recommended I install a second shower rod with a clear shower curtain on it and it's been a huge help!!! Hannah can see me, I can see her and there is never any concern about her crying and me not hearing her. She enjoys playing in her exersaucer and mommy gets the shower she needs!)

Baby Carriers We have 4 different baby carriers and it is not unusual for her to spend time in each of them on many days. The one we used most in China and still use the most is the Baby Bjorn. I can't begin to add up the hours she has spent in this wonderful carrier and how much it has meant to our attachment and bonding. It is still our favourite and when she's having rough moments and just needs some Mommy time all I need to do is pull out 'Mr Snuggles' and she calms immediately!

The other 3 carriers are all helpful too and can be used at different times. The sling is helpful when doing dishes or making bottles as Hannah can easily see what's going on without having to twist around.
The only one I don't have a picture of us using is the Baby Hawk so this old pic when my cousin Bridget was teaching me how to use it will have to do. It's a comfy, sturdy carrier which can be worn comfortably for long periods of time.
My newest addition (thanks to the one Bridget loaned me and I since purchased one on eBay) is the Moby. It's a comfy, cotton, snuggly wrap and Hannah easily falls asleep in this one.
Bridget and I are both sold on the benefits of baby carriers and the benefits they offer to both baby and mommy. I am so thankful for these carriers and the way they allow Hannah and I to spend quality time together every day!

Sleep Sack A sleep sack is a wonderful cover that you zip baby into for sleeping and it means they can't kick the covers off and stay warm all night long. I'll be honest and say that tonight is the first night Hannah has actually tried out her sleep sack but as of 1:45am so far so good! Hannah loves to sleep with her ladybug blanket covering her from her chin to her ankles but don't let it cover her feet thank-you-very-much! If anything covers her feet she kicks and kicks unti it's off. Because of this I've been hesitant to try the sleep sac but after taking this pic tonight I decided to see how it goes. She really doesn't seem to mind it and I think I'll sleep better as I won't be checking a few times each night to ensure she's properly covered. (I remember my friend Jo Anne showing me a sleep sac she'd brought from France over 13 years ago and I'd never seen then here but thankfully now they're readily available)

Portable High Chair Hannah's portable high chair normally stays at Grandma and Grandpa Perkins as my parents have one at their home but I've also been known to take this high chair to restaurants with me when the ones they have don't work for Hannah's age. Right now the wooden ones with little support just don't work for her as she needs more support but more importantly, there isn't a tray in the front of them and the table is at teeth level. Ouch! Much happier to take my own.
There are two others which Hannah has since outgrown but they were the Bumbo seat and activity mats. Both great for younger babies!

I'm sure there are other wonderful gadgets that I use but I just can't think of them right now. What are some of your favourite baby gadgets that are fairly new on the market?

Mmmm...Watermelon!

Just a few adorable pics and a video taken a few minutes ago of XiaoFen enjoying some watermelon! Guess a bath is in order tonight.
Painting with watermelon juice on her tray


Good to the last drop. Juice was literally dripping off her chin. So cute!

This video isn't super exciting but pretty adorable I think. I love watching Hannah embrace new tastes and watermelon was new last week.