Hola

We're home from a nice, relaxing week in Mexico.  We'll have some pics up soon.  Zain did very well on the trip and loved the beach and pools, and the Mexican oatmeal.  Here he is entertaining himself at the Cancun airport.

Bancroft Days

As you can see by the proliferation of blog posts in the last couple days, I'm trying to get caught up.  So much to share with Zain's friends and family from the last month or so.  We're off on new adventures Saturday (Mexico!), so we wanted to give you plenty to look at while we're away.  Here are a few pics from our time in Bancroft.

On the Eagles Nest trail, overlooking Bancroft

Zain and Binda compete for "missed Mummy the most while she was at work"

Dinner at our cottage

Melon!

Did you call me a tree hugger???

Can you say black flies?  Can you say we're so glad we brought the bug net on this hike?

Intense play

Chillin' at Shoppers - that's what cottagers do on rainy days, right?

Zia Maria visits for a couple days and helps out as a Zain-chaser

Maria is one of Zain's favourite babysitters

Ready for a paddleboat ride - this went slightly better than the canoe ride

Cruising the lake

Not impressed with this life jacket either

The Happy Camper (Well, Mostly)

While we were in Bancroft for stop #2 on our trip, we took advantage of the beautiful outdoors by taking Zain on his first camping trip.  We spent the weekend at the campground at Lake St Peter Provincial Park, a nice little, laid-back park on a beautiful lake with a small campground, a beach, and a hiking trail.  Zain had a great time exploring the outdoors and trying to eat rocks.  

The trip was a success except for sleeping, which was a bit of a trouble spot, as we suspected it might be.  Trying to get the little guy to sleep in the tent was not easy.  So many distractions!  We didn't want to put him in there by himself because that seemed like it would be a bit scary for him.  But with a mommy in the tent, there were endless play opportunities.  And exploring all the nooks, crannies, and zippers of the tent took up some time, too.  The first night, Shif spent two hours in the tent with him before he fell asleep.  She completely missed the awesome campfire I started.  A few night wake-ups and difficult naps were also part of the weekend.  But things did go a little better the second day. Other than that whole sleeping business, though, we had a great time.

Taking the pack 'n play seemed like a weird idea...

... but it was actually genius.  Short of a leash, it was the best way to control the little guy when we were both busy.  He was very content with his toys and books.

Zain had so much fun crawling around

Loves dirt, does not love shoes

Digging in

Mountain climbing

Baby tree hugger

Helping to set up the tent

His magic wand.  I think it was also a telephone.

 

Munching on an apple at the beach

Passed out!

Fun Times in Picton

We're finally back in Toronto from our four-week trip to try out a few towns as potential new homes for us.  The first two weeks, we were in Picton in Prince Edward County, about three hours east of Toronto and on Lake Ontario.  Zain was lucky enough to have his Aunt Lorna and cousin Maya visit for five days.  We visited some of the county's great beaches and we did a trial nap and overnight in the tent in preparation for a camping weekend (more on that in the next post). Some pics from our time in Picton:

Lorna and Maya entertaining

 

Zain liked to pull himself up on Maya's dress.  Not sure Maya was thrilled with it.  :-)

Maya checks out the water at Point Petre

Maya adventuring

 

Cousin comfort

And... she's out, too!

Yet another phone call

Getting comfy with the tent in the backyard

 

Playing in our big backyard - much nicer grass than our yard at home!

At the beach

Maya and Zain, sun-ready!

The new jogging stroller doesn't make for the best sleep spot

Toofers, Part Toof

I have a blogging app on my new phone, which partially accounts for all these short little posts.  Unfortunately, the picture quality doesn't seem very good.  So here's a better short of the two little bottom teeth.  They won't be lonely for much longer, though.  You can feel a top tooth coming through now.

Toofers

Here's a good view of Zain's two lonely little teeth. He doesn't usually show them off.

He didn't do all that damage to the apple by himself, of course. But he did steal it from Shif so he could gnaw on it. Looks pretty happy about it.

Boat Boy

We're staying at a cottage on a lake this week.  There's a canoe here, so we had to take Zain out for his first paddle.  It didn't last long, given Zain's squirmy nature.  We weren't in the mood to test out his new lifejacket. But I would call it a moderate success and we'll keep trying.

Playing in the Backyard

Relaxing in the backyard before we head off for a weekend of camping.

Moving Right Along

We're still in the middle of the Great Traipse Through Ontario.  We're having fun seeing new places, but we're ready to be home.  I miss our stuff and our babyproofed house and our clean floors.  I never knew how clean our floors were until we started letting our baby crawl around other houses.  :-)  I think people who don't have little kids probably have no idea how dirty their floors really are.  

Anyway... so much going on with our suddenly-not-so-little guy.  Approaching 11 months and he already seems like a miniature grown-up.  Here's a little run-down on new developments:

• He's added a few new words to his vocabulary and he tries to repeat words we say sometimes.  The most random new word is "button".  The coolest recent event came when I was reading to him last week.  In one book there were ducks, and he repeated the word "duck" when I said it.  Then we read another book that happened to have ducks in it.  As soon as I turned the page and he saw them, he said "duck" on his own.  He's a real book lover, but it's the first he's shown any evidence of actually understanding what those abstract shapes on the page are.  
• His funnest sound right now, though, is his siren.  If you say "fire truck", he'll "weeeeeee weeeeee" like a quiet little siren. 
• Lots of new gross motor skills.  He squats, sits on his knees, and can twist around into numerous configurations.  Especially when he's being changed or taking a bath.  We're creating a song to go along with our new mantra "down for diaper, down for clothes." 
• Fine motor skills are coming along, too.  We think he has a pincer grasp (picking up things with index finger and thumb), but he dreams bigger than that, so usually the whole hand is involved in picking things (especially food) up.  Peek-a-boo is still very popular, and he's started clapping in the last couple weeks, but usually with closed fists.
• He's starting to play the "dropping game".  What fun.  You hand him his sippy cup while he's in the high chair, he drops it on the floor.  He picks up finger food, and drops it on the floor.  You give him a toy while he's in the pack 'n play, he drops it over the side. He's also good at smacking a spoonful of gooey food at the perfect time so it splatters all over the kitchen.  
• He's starting to imitate movements, too.  We started using sign language very early on for a few key words (food/eat, drink, milk, more, all done).  We know lots of parents who have used sign language somewhat successfully.  It gives a kid a way to communicate before he can talk.  Zain generally seems to have ignored the signs for months, but there are glimpses that he's finally catching on.  He's been able to understand the "milk" sign for quite awhile.  And now when you say "food", he'll do the sign.  And he's done "all done" a few times.  For the most part, he doesn't really do them on his own or at appropriate times, but there's progress.  
• The ultimate imitative movement lately, though, has been the phone.  If you say "hello", his hand (or whatever object is handy) goes straight to his ear.  For a while last week, he was having probably 50 phone conversations a day.  He doesn't actually say anything, or seem to care if you're talking back, but he's on the phone.  He'll do it in the middle of taking a bottle or to random strangers.  
• He's also become a dancing fool.  He'll dance (well, let's call it "dancing"; it's more like bobbing and weaving, or gyrating) to actual music.  But also to noises his toys make, or the vacuum cleaner.  
• We're still working on the understanding of the concept of "no".  That's becoming increasingly important as our super-curious boy gets around better.  It's a work in progress.  He is starting to understand the idea of giving something to someone.  He'll give, but he usually won't let go.  :-)  He will occasionally try to feed us while we're feeding him.  That's really sweet.  
• Certain things are incredibly hilarious.  Lately, it's been things on heads.  Mommy with a block on her head.  Zain with a sippy cup on his head.

Some pics from the last couple weeks:

He seriously loves books

Mango pit - what an awesome snack, and not a choking hazard!

How Zain entertained himself while Shif and I ran the Warrior Dash, going all Bruce Lee on the results tent (with Maria's help)

Maria said he was trying to lick that post, too. He's an interesting boy.

Making friends on the bus to the Warrior Dash.  He's very social.

Dancing on the table at the Royal York Hotel.  How many people can say they've done that?

 

Steadier!

 

On the phone