bebe sur le pot

So one day, we were all in the bathroom together and Mama was using it for its normal purpose so i asked Schuyler if she would like to join in on her own mini-potty. She agreed so we took off her gear and sat her down and told her to do a pee pee and lo and behold she did - right away! She even exclaimed "pee pee" several times afterward in amazement (in fact, we may have all done this). Subsequent efforts to repeat the performance have met with a "No no no [leave me alone]" from the little bear so i think she'll work through this at her own pace. Still, it was a great first effort... i have never been so proud to clean urine off something.

snack

Well, our kid isn't (yet) fussy about getting down in the dirt. We were all having a snack at the botanical gardens and she managed to knock over her Cheerios. As the video shows, hunger beat out the added taste of dirt. I'm going to experiment and see what happens when she knocks them over into a trash can... of course, then Child Protection Services may get involved.

tour through the botanical gardens

Her Dad tried to ditch her in the botanical gardens (that's him in the distance) but she found her way back.

Where is that Dada guy?

Dude, this is no yellow brick road...

A-ha! She found him swinging from the roots of the rubber tree like he did when he was a little boy.

off/on

I've got the power! Schuyler finally figures out that, much like God, she can let there be light. "On" and "Off" is now a favourite game which unfortunately tends to take place on the ottoman on which she is standing which is supported by wheels... lending itself to sliding and hospital visits.

harmonica

A harmonica enters Schuyler's world and i swear she thinks she can communicate better with this instrument than she can through speech. She's pretty keen on it and not too shabby considering it is impossible to hit a bum note.

e.i.e.i.o.

Chillin' in DiDi's stroller while Papa does the dishes.

This odd thing is a pretty cool invention. It is a glove where each of the fingers are the animals from "Old MacDonald" and in the palm is a mini-book of the song... so each of the fingers animates the appropriate animal and... i am just realising how boring this must be to read... i can't believe i am spending this amount of time describing the workings of a hand puppet. I must be a parent. The bottom line is that Schuyler loves it and will alternate between making you wear it and wearing it herself while you both sing (she tends to emphasize only the e-i bit but still).

the morning edition

She's a reader alright. Most of these habits she probably gets from her Mama but i think the third picture demonstrates skills inherited from Papa.

skyping

For those of you who have endured a Skype sessiong with Schuyler, this is what it looks like from the other side. Although most of the session consists of the adults trying to shout a conversation over her squeals while her Dad tries in vain to prevent her hands from smacking his lovely keyboard (almost always hitting the "hibernate" key), she absolutely LOVES it. Recently, she was bawling on the couch because "Chim" and "Wah" (Kim and Ward) were not home. I think she thinks that Chim and Wah now actually live in the computer - maybe she's Max Headroom's granddaughter, who knows?

helping haiti

Despite the bizarre frog-like final grimace from Schuyler, she and Eli enjoyed helping stick the labels on the milk cartons for Haiti. This was Chris's good idea and Michelle and S's mama and dada got to get involved. In case you are wondering, the milk cartons are money collectors which Chris distributed at checkouts throughout the island to raise money for Haiti.

juicy

Right now is one of those accelerated times when it almost seems trite to enumerate all of the ways in which the little human brain skyrockets into full bloom. The number of words she adds pretty much daily are just amazing. Her comprehension is so complete it scares me. She's putting more and more words together to form pseudo-sentences. I think Chomsky might be right: maybe grammar is genetic. Of course, there are some children her age who are writing sonnets in iambic pentameter but i wouldn't trade my little girl saying "Ah papa" for anything.

Food stacking is necessary skill in life... as is pouring fake juice into bowls and handing them to your parents.

footloose and fancy free

Schuyler has developed a worrying habit of removing her pants at any opportunity. Let's hope she grows out of these before, say, high school.

In an amazing coincidence (or mark of early genius), Schuyler managed to use her pad to diagram perfectly the large intestine inside her mother. Who needs x-rays?

yummy & yucky

Schuyler still likes to put many things into her mouth much to her parents' dismay. Luckily she has a book called Yummy & Yucky. We study it in the hopes that she will learn that Daddy's keys and the dog's toys are not items that are commonly deemed "yummy".

sunday stroll

just the girls

With Da Da away in London what did the girls do? play some games and, of course, chat on the phone!

behind curtain #1

Schuyler adores hiding behind shower curtains or, really, any curtain!

aquarium adventures part XVII

hmmm, is that real?

hurry up!

watch those fingers...

what's next?

With Dada away in London Mama keeps Schuyler busy.

mooooo

Schuyler and Eli had a fantastic morning visiting baby chicks, chicken and geese at the Windy Bank Farm. Then they headed to Spital Pond to enjoy the gorgeous day with a picnic and some cow tipping.