Crib Fun

Occasionally we need Gwennie to amuse herself for a little bit in her crib. On one such occasion I could hear all sorts on interesting sounds. Gwennie still sounded happy, so I decided to film her to see what she was doing.

Please excuse the crooked angle, I was holding the camera around the corner so she didn't see me.


Gwennie in her crib amusing herself from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

Good Music, Good Fun, Good Friends

Ever since she was a couple months old Gwennie has been attending weekly music classes. There were so many wonderful benefits to the classes, and I highly recommend these particular classes run by Prenatal Plus in Newmarket. It has been a great place for social interaction, especially for me! Gwennie has always attended the classes with her good buddy Tia, and I have a good friend in Tia's Mommy Carla. Tia is 9 days older than Gwennie. In fact, Gordon and I met Carla and Tia's Daddy Kasper in prenatal classes at Prenatal Plus.

The music classes have been great for Gwen for so many reasons. The songs and fingerplays are especially helpful when I need to distract Gwennie when she's cranky during diaper changes, car rides, etc. In class Gwen has definitely developed a few favourite songs, and she enjoys sitting on the Song Leader (Jennifer)'s lap checking out her guitar. Jennifer always brings out different shakers for the children to shake (or gnaw on). At the end of the class Jennifer always asks about a parenting topic to discuss. People give helpful tips for the topic at hand, and Jennifer usually has a tip or two herself.

The classes have been really good for Gwen too as she starts to learn about interacting with other boys and girls. I am sad that I am missing the classes now, as Gordon has taken over that duty while he is on parental leave. But I have heard great stories about Gwen and Tia crawling around the room, stealing shakers from other children and checking things out.

The other day Tia and Gwen dressed up in matching outfits for class. I have a couple of pictures here courtesy of Carla. Thank you for the pictures Carla!



Gwen enjoys her tasty shaker while Tia smiles. We can't seem to get both girls to smile at the same time on camera. That's my next photo goal!


And the good buddies crawl off together on an adventure. Awww...

Yay for yams!

So after two separate incidents when Gwennie was younger of giving yams the old heave-ho - - along with everything else in her stomach - - we decided to give yams a bit of a break. I threw out the batch I originally made and we just held off for a while on the yams. Yesterday we tried with a fresh batch, and so far so good! Hopefully we can now put them back into rotation, because she always seemed to enjoy the taste.

While I'm on the subject of food, I thought I'd mention all the foods she's had so far. We're following a more 'natural' feeding idea, which was recommended by a naturopath. Really at this age the majority of their nutrition comes from breastmilk or formula anyway (all good 'ole Mommy's milk for our Gwennie), so it's really not a big deal how the food gets introduced, other than one new food at a time to watch for allergic reactions. But the talk from the naturopath sounded interesting, so we decided to give this method a try. Gwen's little buddy Tia is doing the same thing. That's been great for me, as Carla (Tia's Mommy) and I can help eachother out with ideas, and we can talk about the girls' reactions to different foods.

The main idea with this method is that we start with fruits and veggies, and hold off on grains until they are over a year. Apparently there is an enzyme for digesting grains that a lot of babies don't have this early, but fruits and veggies are digested more easily. Then the next step, around 9 months, is legumes (chickpeas, lentils, etc.) and nuts (except peanuts). So far Gwennie's had yams, acorn and butternut squash, Macintosh and Red Delicious apples, pears, zucchini, peaches, peas, pumpkin, avacado, banana and chickpeas. She seems to like all of them for the most part, although the chickpeas are not her favourite. I don't blame her really.

Well, that's the food update. Time for a quick story to wrap up. Last night little Gwen was apparently a lot more tired than we realized. I went and popped in the shower while Gord played with her and then started to prepare her bath. When I got into the kitchen Gord had just finished pouring her bath and we both looked at her in her highchair where she'd been playing. She was now fast asleep! We were talking loudly too, but she was very passed out. So we decided to forgo bath time and put her right to bed. Here's a picture of me and my sleeping beauty:

Funny Girl

Lately, since Gwendolyn has been becoming more and more mobile, we have been finding her in interesting positions in her crib. On the weekend one morning we could hear her awake for the final time in her room. We know when she's finally awake and not just hungry still wanting to sleep when she wakes up happy. We could hear her "talking" in her room, so Gordon went in to see her. There she was, back to him, sitting up and talking to her lamp.

She has always slept on her back without any complaint. But on another weekend night feeding we found her face down and twisted so her head was at the bars. And then this morning when Gordon went in to feed her she was crawling in her crib, pretty much in her sleep! What a silly girl.

Yesterday was a day of a nice visit with Uncle Jeff, a new hairdo and a new toy. Here are a couple of pictures of the hairdo and toy:

Just a video

I don't have a lot of time for a post, but here is a cute video of Gwennie and her stuffed musical bunny.


Gwennie Playing with her Bunny from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

Firefighting Fun

Yesterday Gwen had a very full day. She had music classes in the morning, and spent most of the afternoon at Grandpa and Nana Allen's house. But in between that she enjoyed a nice visit at her Uncle Jeff's work. I was a little worried about how she'd react in a room filled with unfamiliar men, since she's been upset by semi-familiar men like her Grandpas lately. But after a little adjustment period she was just fine. And no tears whatsoever! Uncle Jeff held her for most of the visit, and she even got to sit in the fire truck! Here are some fun pictures of the big adventure:

The Sound of Two Hands Clapping!

Gwennie's latest skill is, as you may have guessed, clapping! Gwennie spent some time yesterday with her Great Nana, who enjoyed teaching her some "Clapping 101". She almost got the hang of it, but solidified the skill by watching herself in the mirror at home. Here are some clapping pictures:

Music to a Mamamama's ears

Gordon has been on parental leave since I went back to work on February 19th. He is taking the last four months of the leave up until he goes back to work on June 16th. Gwennie had just started a few weeks prior to that to have separation anxiety and clinginess issues. This is apparently a very normal thing for her age. But she was very focussed on her Mom, occasionally crying if Dad tried to hold her when she wanted Mom. Well, now that her Dad is spending weekdays with her she has become a lot more Dad-focussed. This is a good thing really. It's good for her not to be so dependant on just me. But it's a little bit sad for me too. There are times when I am holding her now that she reaches her arms out for Daddy instead...sigh!

Gwen has also been saying "Dada" - - or "Dadadada..." a lot more. We think she's starting to get the idea of Gordon being Dada, and often when Gordon says "Hi Gwen!" she will answer with "Hi Da". So cute.

With all of this going on, and the little time I get to spend with her during the week, it can feel a little bit like I'm missing out. But last night when I got home I felt a little bit more needed. After I picked her up and held her for a bit, I started to pass her to her Dad so I could get cleaned up. But she was having none of it. She reached back for me, and said "Mamamama!" Awww. Of course I had to hold her a little while longer before getting cleaned up.

Time to Start a Blog!

I thought I should start a blog for little Gwennie to keep track of all the little things I know I'll want to remember in the years to come. Diaries sure have come a long way!


To bring things up to speed, Gwendolyn is now 8 months old. She has starting pulling herself up and holding onto various items, like the couch, to move around the room. She also crawls well now. We think she'll be walking within the next few months, because she loves walking when you hold her hands.

Sleep-wise, Gwennie usually gives us a nice 5-7 hour stretch, eats and goes back to sleep for 2-3 more hours.


A special video for a special person on March the 6th from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.