Can't.Stop.Pinning.

As I mentioned before, a couple of weeks ago I joined Pinterest (who knows why, I guess because I felt bad for not jumping on the Tumblr train), and I've become hopelessly addicted. I'm on there at least once a day, and even though I usually find these types of sites and posts annoying or 'fluff', for some reason I don't find this so bad (I'm noticing though that I pin stuff without hardly looking at it, I think that I should maybe take a day at the end of the week to actually LOOK at all the pins I've found, and follow any links when necessary.  Uh oh, already this thing is making me neurotic, ack!)

Anyway, just to spread the prettiness a little further, here are 10 random 'pins' that I really enjoy. They range in everything from photography to crafts to decor to hot guys and cute puppies...

Source: shesherealready.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I very much want a tattoo, and the more I think about it, the larger I want it to be.  We'll see how it goes when I actually get in the chair...these birds are beautiful though.

Source: tvloop.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I about died when I saw this photo.  Such hotness from two amazing men (though I always had a preference for Jack...)

Source: themusingsofaredhead.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

As soon as I come up with the perfect lyric or quote, I'm doing this.

Source: portrait-photos.org via Geneviève on Pinterest

Dream hair colour, though I know it wouldn't go very well with my skin colour/eyes/face. Sigh, maybe I'll get to be a redhead someday.

Source: yellowsongbird.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

LOVE.

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Since I'll be decorating another nursery soon, these types of images are jumping out at me. Love how this would work for a boy or girl (or a shared room).

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

This looks like an interesting book, might see if I can pick it up once we get ourselves settled into our own backyard :)

Source: westerbroek.nl via Geneviève on Pinterest

I want a sink like this, I want a sink like this, I want a sink like this. (And the gray and white combo is pretty fabulous too...)

Source: tarawhitney.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I've been thinking a lot about having family photos done, soon after the baby is born and perhaps a maternity session this summer as well. What I wouldn't give for a photo like this of the 3 (4) of us.

Source: tarawhitney.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I plan on doing something very similar once we get our house, I want to do a grid like this of square photos with 'fake' frames (love the TTV, even though it's getting a bit trendy/dated). Can't wait!

There you have it, hope you enjoyed what I consider to be 'eye candy'. How about you, would these images go on your 'boards'?

Until next time,
G.

House #6 & #7 (aka yet more 'fixer uppers')

Two more houses, two more off the list.  We went to see these this past week and it always seems to be the same story: the homes have 'potential', but they ALL need work.  Of course we knew this going in, especially since I want an older home (and when I say old I mean older than a bungalow, so at least 60 years), but it just seems like all of these homes need more work than we can handle right now.

The first house (the one above) was a really cute home in a great area of country. It was 1100sq, so it did feel a bit small to me, but there were a few other obstacles besides the size that got in the way. Mainly that it did not have a shower (older folks live there), and there's no way to install one without doing a complete bathroom renovation. So yeah, thousands of dollars.  Also the kitchen layout was super weird, and the living room was a bit too small.  Again, it was cute and had potential, but we weren't sure we wanted to/could afford to jump into a major renovation like that (painting is one thing, ripping out old walls and moving tubs is another).

The next house (below) we saw yesterday and again, it was definitely what you would call a 'fixer upper'. The owner had basically started several renovations but never finished any of them, and half-assed the ones he did start, so every single room in the house needed work, both finishing and more major work. Dan didn't like it at all (the first one I think he said that to), so we scrapped it right away.

So yes, we're going to see this one tomorrow, it will probably be more of the same...we just need to remember that the question isn't "which house is move in ready?", it's "which house needs the least amount of work and/or will cost the least amount in renovations right from the get go?"

We'll find it.  We'll find it.

Until next time,

G.

Maternity Series |16 Weeks|

I'm behind on these, so there's not much to say. It's been a challenge getting out there every week, but I just have to keep thinking that I'll be glad I did once it's over (plus it's for my business so I need to look at it as 'work' in a way).

Anyway, shot at an old abandoned mall a block from my house one sunny afternoon. Still wearing my coat because it was chilly out, but decided to dress it up with heels and a belt (I think that I will be rocking the belt-above-the-bump a lot this time around...)

I need to learn some new poses though, the 'hand in the hair' thing is getting old, ha!

Happy Saturday night to you!
G.

Reflections (or more like Ramblings...)

Seems like I haven't been on here much to just write and ramble like I used to.  My posts lately have all had a specific agenda, whether it be my photography series, Victor updates/photos, and now house hunting. I kind of feel like I'm missing out by not spilling my silly life and thoughts out into this little corner of my cyber world, so I thought I would attempt to do so now (sadly many of my thoughts get lost in the jumble of everyday life, and with my brain increasingly becoming 'preggo' like the rest of me, thoughts are hard to keep...yet another reason to blog!)

*In general, my life feels like the word I mentioned above: jumbled. There's a lot going on, and yet I don't feel like I have a full on grasp of any of it. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant, I stare at my computer screen when I'm supposed to be working and I think 'what am I doing again?', the housework falls behind no matter what I do, I neglect checking our bank account until it's too late and realize we can't do groceries until we get paid (umm, yeah, today), I start undressing Victor and he ends up crawling around for 5 mins in just his diaper because I'm off doing something else...yeah, just jumbled. And it's not like these are all additional things that I'm taking on unnecessarily, it's the everyday, normal things of life (family, home management, kids, work). A lot of the time (more than I care to admit), I just tune out and sit in front of Netflix or with my phone instead of getting myself organized or ahead in any sort of way. This doesn't really bode well for when the new baby arrives, but I have a feeling I'll never fully feel 'caught up' until...well, maybe never!

*Speaking of the new bébé, we find out the sex next week so that's quite exciting, and he's (maybe she's, but probably not, ha!) been kicking a bit stronger this past week. I try to make a point to stop and feel it when it happens, it's such an odd/wonderful thing, I know I'll miss never feeling that again. Also, we have our first round of names picked out (boy only) and we have a few favourites, but we're going to save it until the little guy's birthday just like with Victor.

*As for Victor, he's starting to get this walking thing down, but he's definitely turning into a toddler.  I plan on blogging about this sometime, but let me just say that I was soooo right back when I said that toddlerhood was going to be the hardest period for me as a parent, it's barely even begun and I kind of want it to be over! So many wonderful moments, but so many challenges as well.  My patience tank is going to have to be re-filled daily to get through the next couple of years!

*I've been kind of obsessing over decor again, and I think it's because I know that we're moving into a house soon. Pinterest has been feeding my obsession, and mostly it has been feeding it in the form of beautiful kitchens.  And farmer's sinks, specifically.  I NEED a farmer's sink.

*We're still deep in house hunting mode and I could not be more excited. I am slightly discouraged by the lack of choice due to our price range, but I know that we'll find something and that I will love it (or learn to love it). The important thing will be getting my brain wrapped around the idea of us 'settling' there, because so often in our various moves I've put off doing things because we weren't staying...well, this time we're staying, so it's time to make all my ideas come to life! No more bare walls, ugly colours, mismatched everything, it's time to make a real home. And I can't wait!

*Work is going ok, not great, but I account the time of year as the main reason for the lack of greatness. I'm not shooting consistently and that makes me feel like I'm not 'working' enough. There's tons of stuff to do behind the scenes, like I said, but it seems like it's really hard to get started on any of it (I did the major things already, like launch my websites, now it's mostly branding/marketing stuff, which is tougher to deal with I find.) I'm also kind of discouraged by my lack of profits (again, because the time of year), it makes me nervous for when it starts to matter later this year. I don't have as many sessions booked as I'd like.  But, having only been working for a full month now, I think it's still a bit too early to despair yet.  I'm doing pretty well at ignoring the house (and mess) while I am working, but it's the online distractions that still get me, so I'll have to work on that too.  I'm enjoying working at home and the flexibility it provides though, so I'm still really grateful for the opportunity to do it.

*I've been thinking about dyeing my hair red for a little while now...I attempted to do it myself with less than desirable results (meaning no results), so I plan on going to a hair salon to get it done as soon as the money becomes available. I've also been thinking about tattoos lately, and I think that once bébé #2 is here I will celebrate (or reward myself?) by getting another one. Probably something with the kiddos' names, but we'll see. Maybe Dan and I will go together :)

*Craving strawberry Pop Tarts lately and ate 4 of them last night.

*While working the other day I listened to a bunch of TEDtalks (great site with speakers on all sorts of topics) about our food system and how our diets/attitudes about food are killing us. It really got me thinking (and feeling guilty) about what I'm feeding my child, as well as myself. At the same time I just feel so helpless about the whole situation. I mean, I've been eating basically the same way for 25 years, changing is not going to be easy. Look above, I'm craving Pop Tarts! We've made small changes here and there (switching to whole wheat bread, incorporating quinoa and other grains), but the idea of eating only 'real' food seems quite impossible to me, honestly. I know that our diets are not as bad as some people (we're not only eating pizza and burgers every week), but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement. Does anyone else feel this way, like it's a losing battle and no matter what you do you're ruining your kids?  I worry for Victor and what it will be like when he gets older...if he doesn't get a good foundation of healthy eating at home he certainly won't get it anywhere else...sigh.

*Along the same lines, I plan on starting some sort of garden this year (for REAL), ideally in our new home. I may start a few potted veggies/herbs next month and keep them inside until we move, then if possible, transfer them into the ground.  I'm hoping that by doing this it will encourage me to eat more fruit and veggies.  My sister is planning on getting chickens this year (both egg layers and meat kings), so we'll be covered there, and we're back to buying local meat. That, along with the farmer's market, should make for a healthier, local diet.  Or so I hope :S

Ok, well that's probably enough mutterings.  I'm behind on my maternity series again (surprise, surprise), so rain or shine, I need to get out there tomorrow and get my awkward model on!

Hope you're all having a splendid spring evening (even though I use the word 'spring' loosely, since there's about an inch of freezing rain/snow on the ground as I type...I've said it before and I'll say it again, spring does not begin until mid-May around here and maybe lasts 3 weeks, if that!)

Until next time,
G.  

Maternity Series |14 Weeks|

Here we are, my catch-up week (will be in order from now on, I promise!)  Not much to say, took these indoors and used a prop, something I want to do in future weeks as well.

Hopefully I can get out this week and take my 16 and 17 Week shots, if only the weather would cooperate!

And the slideshow:

Until next time!
G.

House #3,4,5

So last week we continued on with our house hunting journey, seeing 3 houses in town...the more I think about it, the more I'm liking the idea of living in town.  Of course I still want to have a decent sized yard but I'm not so gung-ho on living out in the middle of nowhere (we drove out to see a few places that were far out, and honestly I'm not sure it would suit me). I still want to have a garden, and plenty of space, but we don't necessarily have to be in the 'country' for me to get that feeling.  Luckily, one of the houses we went to see is on the edge of town, so the country is right up the road!

Anyway, the house above is the first one we stopped to see...not much to say about it.  It was an old house, which I liked, decent amount of space, but in some ways it was just as much, if not more, of a money pit than the place out in Penobsquis was (and without the gorgeous plot of land). It was neglected and needed A LOT of cosmetic work.  The neighbours were also a bit too close for our liking, so we dismissed it before we even left.

I was pleasantly surprised with the second house we went to see (above). I almost didn't even make an appointment to go see it, it was Dan who told me to add it to the list (he's a big believer in looking at basically anything, while I'm a bit choosier...)  When we got there, the first thing we were impressed by was the size of the yard.  Half an acre and fairly private/wooded, pretty moss, semi-landscaped, lots of room for a garden.  Also, the neighbours aren't very close at all (one of them own a double lot so they are on the other side of the field, and the other house might be unoccupied), so that was good.  And the house was in pretty good shape too. Not to say it didn't need some help (mainly in the form of about a million gallons of white paint to cover up the colour atrocities in there), but it really had a lot of potential. Mostly cosmetic work, which I'm not afraid of. Lots of character, original floors, windows, etc. Dan said that the heating and everything else looked alright, even though the size implied that it would be a bitch to heat in the winter (as I'm discovering all big houses are).  The only concern was the outside wood siding, it would have to be checked out for mould and asbestos before purchasing.  The more I thought about it, the more I liked this house. It's in a great location (Church Ave, which I've mentioned before as being my childhood 'dream street' to live on), has decent resale value, is close to everything but on the edge of town, so easy access to the country and fields, and not too far from my parents/Dan's work (in fact it's the next street over from where we're renting now, just up the hill).  It's currently at the top of my list.

This house was another case of my head knowing it was nice, but my heart not feeling it.  Luckily it didn't matter much because Dan wasn't a fan of the location, busy street, close neighbours, small yard, and back view of this house (it looks upon a series of brand new apartment buildings...umm, I didn't move to Sussex to have apartment buildings in my backyard, thank you). It was in good shape, an ok size, but just wasn't for us.

So that's it so far. Tonight we're going to see this house, which is out in the country a little bit but it's in a really nice area of the country, so I'm definitely willing to give it a shot.  There are no indoor photos so we have no idea what to expect, but at this point we're giving everything reasonable a fair shot.

Dan asked me how long I wanted to look before making a decision on a house...and I really had no idea.  Is there a recommended amount of time to look? How many houses does one go see, on average, when house hunting? I know I don't want to look forever, we kind of have a ticking timeline in my uterus at the moment telling us that we should be settled before the Fall for sure, but how far we want to push it is another matter.  Our price range limits us quite a bit in what we can get, so that is a blessing/curse, but I'm hoping that within the next 6 weeks or so we'll have our house picked out.

Sorry of this is boring to anyone other than family, but it's our first (and maybe last) time house hunting and I'd like to remember the process.

If you have a house hunting story to share, I'd love to hear! How did you know your house was 'the' house for you?

Until next time,

G.

PS-I signed up for Pinterest, and now I'm hooked, so expect a 'Pin' type post soon.

The House Hunting Begins...

I thought I would write about something that wasn't pregnancy or Victor related (imagine!), and share with you our journey into house hunting...yes, we're finally, finally, getting a house!

I hope.

Last year when we first moved to Sussex we toyed with the idea of getting a house, but with me being on Maternity Leave it just wasn't possible, so we waited until that was over, but now that I'm working for myself (which I haven't blogged about properly yet, have I? Must do that...), the banks/mortgage folks won't consider any salaries I make as income because it's not 'established' yet, so we'd have to wait at least a year. Long story short, it wasn't looking good. I had gone to see a couple of houses without Dan just for fun back in the Fall (including this one), but once I realized the house thing wasn't going to happen, things got a bit quiet.  But then about a month ago the house-bug bit me again and I started wondering if there was another way...well, with the help of my very generous parents, it looks like we're going to have a way (they're not buying us a house, just helping us get the mortgage!  We have the money, just not the credit...)

Anyway, so last week we started doing the official hunting (meaning Dan came along, haha).  We saw 2 houses, and are going to see another 3 this Wednesday.

Here's what we've seen so far:

This house is in a quiet area of town and is move in ready. Quite big, lots of space, decent sized backyard, a loft upstairs for my office...it looks really good on paper.  But it wasn't for me.  I saw it, thought in my head 'this should be a good house for us', but my heart just didn't feel it.  I saw nothing but the negatives; the kitchen was really small, there were 2 small living rooms/dens instead of one large central space, the downstairs layout was just awkward, there was carpeting everywhere (on the stairs, everywhere!)...these are all minor things, I know, but like I said, my heart wasn't in it.  I quickly forgot about it after we left, even though I know I should have given it more of a chance. 

This house, on the other hand, is the exact opposite.  My heart was in it 1000% percent, but my head knows that it's just not feasible or smart. I actually went to see this one back in either November or December and fell in total, head over heels in love with it, despite its many and obvious flaws.  It was enormous, old (1872!), in a beautiful country setting, had tons and tons of character, land (almost 3 acres, including greenhouses, gazebos, flower beds, grapes, a ready made chicken coop, etc), plenty of light...to me it was perfect.  Of course I knew that the septic needed to be replaced completely and the roof probably needed repairing too (I mean, look at it), it would be a bitch to heat, and there was a serious dip in the kitchen floor...but I chose to ignore those things, romanticizing it in my head for the next 6 months. 

We went to see it again on Saturday with my parents and Dan, and the list of problems just grew and grew (can I just say how proud/impressed I am with Dan? He's able to find plumbing/heating issues that I would never, ever see...I had no idea he knew so much and am so thankful that he has these skills, it's going to come in handy for sure!)  Anyway, the house is a 'money pit', and just not worth it. 

I cried on the inside when I realized it couldn't happen, and yet somehow in the back of my mind I'm still dreaming of a way that it could work (I told Dan that the only way it could work would be for us to be rich city folk who would just say 'ok, we'll buy it and sink 100k into making it the house we want, and we'll hire everyone to do it for us and we'll just wait until it's ready then move in'.  Umm, yeah, not us!)  But maybe somehow, someway...

So that's it so far. We're going to see this one, this one, and this one next.  None of them is ideal, but I think that compromise is something we're going to have to accept (especially with our price range).  It's hard to get the location, house, and space you want, it's always a combination of one or two of those things, but finding something that has all three is pretty hard.  I've also realized that I house hunt based on my heart and general 'feeling' for the house, versus the reality of what it is.  It could be a gorgeous, perfectly built house, but if I don't feel something inside saying "I love it!", then I won't be able to get over that I don't think.  Luckily Dan is quite the opposite, he looks at this with his head only, so between the 2 of us we should be able to find something.

My rough plan is to move out of here by July 1st, meaning we'd need to give notice by June 1st, so that gives us 3 months or so to find a place.  Challenge?  Yes.  But I'm SO READY.

Thanks for letting me ramble on about this, I'll share more on the houses above once I see them and any others we might find along the way.  Hopefully our dream house is out there, waiting for us.

Until next time,

G.

Maternity Series |15 Weeks|

Yay, I actually got a week done on the actual week! :)  I almost didn't though, because the day of the shoot it was quite chilly and windy, and I knew that I wanted to wear this little green dress/shirt, so I almost bailed.  Luckily I braved it, ended up with plenty of fun shots, and am quite happy with the results :)  Originally I was going to wear tights with it instead of jeans, but decided against it...it is April in Canada, after all, we're not talking about balmy (or even coatless) weather by any means!  I also decided to start wearing all the various heels I've collected over the years but never ever wear (I mean, it's just a few minutes for a photoshoot, my feet can handle it.) I paired this pair of peep toes with white socks, how trendy of me (*snort*)

I've defintely 'popped' a bit more this week, I can feel the bump coming up around my belly button and getting harder, versus the usual flub (though it's still there too, ha!)  Only a couple more weeks though and then I'll feel less like a fat girl and more like a preggo one :)

I took these photos out behind the Catholic church in our town, and only after finishing editing and collaging did I realize that one of the collages may be interpreted as 'anti-religious'...not the case at all! I was just snapping photos of what was nearby and did not mean to send any sort of political or religious message (in fact I love the Catholics!)

Until next week!

G.

(Week 14 is coming, but I'll be honest...I missed that week, so I'm going to try and do a 'catch up' shoot this week, 2 weeks later...I'll wear a loose top) :)

Ok, this is it, the final monthly (well, twi-monthly) update for my little Victor Emmanuel.  Not to say I won't be mentioning him here anymore on the blog, but my goal was to write a blog post every month recording his life for the first year. These posts will be printed and put into his baby book, since this format has recorded his life in much more detail than a few lines in a baby book ever could.  I'm so thankful for blogs and the Internet at times like these, how I wish my mom had written a blog about me when I was a baby!  Hopefully Victor will appreciate it later on in life.

Anyway, on to the update...as I said, this is his 12 and 13 month update (so from January 26th up until March 26th, 2011), since the events from that period all seem to  have blurred together (I blame my first trimester, ha!)

So here we go, an update on my no-longer little bébé... 

*Stats: Eeek, I don't think we weighed or measured him either month! At his one year appointment/needles I believe he weighed between 19.5 and 20 pounds and was 29 inches long, but we haven't weighed him since then, will have to do that soon!

*Still wearing his small cloth diapers (!), but his clothing sizes have changed dramatically.  He's running into the issue of his pants being too short but his waist being too small to hold up the larger/longer sizes, and of being a bit too long for a lot of his smaller PJs even though they fit fine in the torso and shoulders.  He's been wearing everything from 6-12 months PJS, shirts and pants, all the way up to 18 month PJs and onesies.  I've been packing up a lot of his clothes though, soon he'll only have 12M+ stuff out.  He's wearing a pair of 4.5 shoes, and we had to switch him into a larger coat since the one he had at the beginning of winter (6-9 months) no longer fits him.    

*Sleep has been fairly steady these past few months.  On average he's napping once a day late in the morning (usually between 11am and noon) for an hour and half or so (even though he's had some loooong naps too, sometimes pushing 3 hours!)  He will sometimes nap later in the afternoon but most days he's ok with just the one nap.  He has been going to bed at around 7:30-8:30pm and waking up at around 7:00am or so.  He wakes up once in the night at least, but often it's just because his soother has fallen out and he's back to sleep within minutes of picking him up (yes, we still pick him up and often bring him to bed with us).  The past month or so he's woken up at around 6:00-6:30am and we bring him to bed with us until Dan has to get up for work, but that will soon have to change once there is no room in the bed (both from my belly and then from the new baby!)  He's soooo wiggly when he sleeps though, at least when he's in bed with us, so I think that when we transition into his 'big boy bed' this summer we will definitely need a gate so that he doesn't wiggle right off the bed!

*As for eating, he's basically been eating what we eat for awhile now, but overall I can't say that his diet is ideal.  He gets enough grains and dairy for sure, his protein is ok, but his fruit and veggie intake isn't nearly where I would like it to be, which is partly my fault for not offering them enough and partly pickiness on his part. He basically doesn't eat any fruit of veggies in whole pieces, only when they're mashed or from a jar (baby food-fruit only).  He likes potatoes ok but ever since he started eating 'real' food with us, he's just not interested anymore.  And he's definitely showing signs of pickiness.  I've said more than once in the past couple of months that I was worried about his food intake, but from what I can tell it's quite normal for toddlers not to eat consistently or heartily, and as long as they are happy and active and not losing weight, then I shouldn't worry...still, I worry!  So I'm always trying to get him to eat, which has basically turned him into a 'grazer'.  He eats little bits all day long; crackers, yogurt, bread, string cheese, milk, whatever I can get into him (even some not so healthy things). This next year will definitely be interesting, I have a feeling we're going to be having quite a few 'food fights'!  Also, he's pretty much insistent these days that he eats by himself (feeds himself) which is fine for the most part but because he's so messy, he ends up not eating as much as he would if we were feeding him...sigh, all part of growing up I guess.  He's getting pretty good with a spoon and fork though!  He still drinks a bottle of formula (8oz) at night before bed but I think that I may switch gradually over to milk once I feel like he's eating enough (I kind of look at it like a 'safety net' to cover whatever he's missing in food during the day).  Oh, and another trick he learned: drinking from a straw :)

*The biggest new skill this month has been standing/taking a few steps.  He started shortly after his first birthday and he's been working on it ever since.  He can stand for a few seconds at a time and can also take a few steps (although he basically lunges forward so he doesn't get very far).  He will only stand and let go when he's leaning on us, he hasn't let go of any furniture and attempted to walk yet...but it's coming! I'm thinking that by summertime he'll be walking just fine :)  He's a bit behind I guess you could say, but at the same time he gets around just fine crawling so there's really no rush.  He also learned to steadily sit, finally! For the longest time he wouldn't sit and I didn't really trust him not to topple over if I had him sitting, but he has since learned to sit back on his haunches, so that's how he now sits.  So happy he caught on to that, it makes things so much easier! He can sit up in the bathtub, sit to play with his toys, it's all just much better.  And his last new/big skill is clapping! This was another thing that we tried to get him to do for months and months, but he just all of a suddent caught on soon after his birthday (it seemed like as soon as he hit 12 months, everything started happening!)  We were so excited when he first did it, I think I scared him when I squealed his name in excitement!  Now he does it all the time, especially to music.  Apart from those big three new skills he's been getting better at using his hands as always, loves to bounce on the bed and enjoys being active. 

*Favourite toys these past few months include his books (though he's less interested in them now than he once was), a ball popper that my parents got him for his birthday, a guitar with all kinds of buttons to push (this toy actually spurred on the clapping), his Buzz lightyear ride-on, some bubbles that he also got for his birthday, and basically anything he's not supposed to get into.  Still loves to play with jars and lids and containers (which is handy when I'm making supper, I let him stand on a kitchen chair and play with various tupperware type things on the table), and touching everything in sight, especially when he's in our arms (lightswithches, pictures on the wall, thermostats, etc).

*Speaking of pictures, he also loves to look at pictures of his cousins.  We have a board up in the kitchen with all their photos and he likes to touch each face as we say their names.  He's drawn to photographs...which mama loves :)

 

*Teeth...we have 'em! 3 new ones to be exact.  2 more on the bottom (he has 4 now), and one hillbilly tooth up top (it's not one of the middle ones, it's the one next to middle one, which looks so funny and weird).  Also, every since he got these new teeth he has started grimacing in this weird way that shows off his top gums, he crinkles up his nose and exposes all his teeth, squinting his eyes. It's weird/funny/cute (you can see some of these faces in the iphone pics below).

*He has become pretty obsessed with his soother lately, which is why you see it in so many of the pictures...he used to only really use it when he was upset or to get to sleep, but he now wants it pretty much all the time.  I figure it might have something to do with the multiple teeth coming through, or with needing something comforting as he becomes more independent...or he just really likes it.  Either way, I'm ok with it and don't really intend on trying to cut him off from it for a few more months yet. 

*Activities these past 2 months include taking walks in his new winter sled (in his new winter snowsuit), trips to see his cousins and grandparents, dining out at restaurants (and trying some not so healthy foods), swimming at the Aquatic Centre, the big 'one year' birthday party, and doctor's appointments/needles (fun fun, I know!)  

*One big change that happened between 12 and 13 months is that Victor has started going to a  babysitter's 4 days a week.  He started going to my friend Sara's house during the days so that I could work on my photography business beginning around mid-March, and so far it has been going really well.  We went to Sara's house quite often anyway for playdates and babysitting while I was on Mat Leave, so he was quite used to the environement and to the people, so there really was no transition period, he jumped right in with no problems!  I miss him during the day of course, but I'm glad that he gets a chance of pace for a few hours everyday (he's only going about 25 hours a week, but we may up it more in the summer once I start getting busier with shoots).

*I almost forgot to mention this because it's not very pleasant, but Victor also experienced his first real bout with being sick (besides having a cold). We all caught a Norwalk-like virus in March and unfortunately our little bébé had it too...throwing up for the first time, diarrhea, and feeling generally miserable.  I felt so bad for him (as bad as I could, being sick and pregnant myself!), but luckily he recoverd fairly quickly.  Not fun and I hope that he doesn't have to go through that again for a long time (he's generally very healthy, except for the occasional snotty nose, like all kids).

*He is slowly becoming more independent, but overall he still really likes being with us (or with someone in general), and prefers that over solo play.  He does go exploring on his own and will play by himself for little bits of time, but more often than not he wants us to interact with him.  He's playful and likes to laugh, he's quiet when we're out in public, and he's overall still very sweet.  With age though I can see more of his rough and tumble nature coming out, he can be pretty rough sometimes with me and Dan (pinching our bellies, pulling hair, grabbing noses).  I know it's all normal but I'm going to miss these days when he'll still occasionally cuddle up to me and is still gentle and mild.  I also realize that discipline is going to become a bigger part of our lives soon, and I'm anxious about how that will all go down (considering he cries at the slightest indication of being scolded, it should be interesting...) Let the toddler years begin!

(To finish off, I've included a collage of iphone photos from these past few months...as predicted, most of our daily photos now come my phone and not my camera, but the important part is that his life is being documented, and for that I'm grateful.)

On t'aime Victor,
Mama et Daddy 

(If you made it to the end of this, bravo! I hope that it hasn't been too much of a pain, I know that my blog has been mostly kid-centric this past year or so, but it's a stage in my life that I'm very proud of and I want to document it the best I can.
...
Now to print all these updates off, oye!)