Happy Fall!

Today is the first day of fall.  It's been an unpredictable week of weather with wind, rain, sun, and grey skies.  Here's hoping that the warmth and sun come back to join us as we enter into the first few weeks of this new season.

 

Fall means a new wardrobe for Miss Kennedy.  We had lots of fun shopping with Grandma and Great Grandma picking out some new (bigger) duds.  My (almost) 18 month old girl swims in some of her outfits as she is still a petite little monkey. 

 

Fall means trips to the Pumpkin Patch --- and having to wear a winter toque to go because of the cold, bitter wind. 

 

Fall means picking out Halloween costumes (we got ours second hand this year and it is the cutest thing ever).  We picked out an animal costume this year.  One of the animals that she knows the sound or action for, so when you see her trick or treating, she will be able to show off her animal skills! You'll have to wait for a Halloween post to see what it is. 

 

Fall means lots of new words for K - she is talking up a storm and repeating things that you ask her to.  Her newest word that she says a lot is "no".  But our silly little lady doesn't always know how to use the word.  "Kennedy, do you want a cookie?"  "No" she replies in the sweetest voice ever, not fully realising that she's turning down a treat. 

 

Fall means swimming lessons and kindergym are starting soon!  It also means our 18 month shots at the doctor in a couple of weeks.  Luckily daddy is off that day too :) 

 

Lots of things to look forward to this fall! 

No work all play

Today is my first day of child care leave and I am oh-so-happy to be home today with K.  It's a beautiful day outside and we have had a busy morning already!  After a walk through the market with Grandma, we visited a bunch of our little friends and their mamas at the park, then came home for a nice lunch and it's nap time already.  I'm busy uploading picture to have printed - a job that I have been putting off and off and off since before Christmas!  And our afternoon is going to be topped off with visiting a brand-new baby this afternoon.  A new second cousin for K.  :)

The sun is shinning and it's a great day to not be at work! 

Fast forward

The other day I was talking to a friend whose daughter is a little older than my own.  She had just had her 18 month appointment and the doc asked her how many words M knew.  Apparently, this doc hopes for 10 words by the time they are a year and a half. 

In my head, I started thinking --- 10 words?  K only says Dada (not only to daddy, but to everyone) and had just started to say mama.  I wouldn't say that I had a panic, as I know all children are different (that was what my undergrad degree was in, so sheesh, I should know that no.two.kids.are.the.same) but I did start to wonder when K would start whipping out more words. Then we wondered if her sign language would count as words as she is able to communicate through sign...that surely would add to the list!

So the other night I actually *thought* about it.  How many words does she know and to my amazement, I was able to count 10.  Now to be honest, some of these words may only be understood by mommy and daddy as they are her own version of the word, but when she says it *we* know what she means.

Then bam.  I wake up this morning and she starts out with THREE more new words before lunch!  I was flabbergasted and so excited! I emailed daddy at work to tell him and wanted to get it on video but haven't caught them yet. 

And so it begins.  Her vocabulary is expanding and mommy thinks it's exciting!

Back to the grind

Well, our little family is back to the grind.  Back to the days of waking up to an alarm, the days of making lunches, and the days of school.

 

The first week is behind us and I sit here typing, excited that I have a three day weekend!  With many three day weekends in the near future due to my child care leave that I took from work.  Teaching Tues-Fri is going to be just perfect to establish relationships and routines with my students and still have lots of quality time with K.  We are fortunate to have our great babysitter back this fall, and Kennedy loves going there and playing each day.  We are also lucky to have a shift-working daddy as he gets to have "daddy daughter days" a lot.  In fact this week's schedule only had K going to the sitter for a day and a half.  The rest of the time was spent at home.  We're all signed up for swim and kindergym on Mondays so our "mommy Monday's" will be busy for the next few weeks too.

 

It's been a busy summer and I know that fall will be just as crazy, but we look forward to it!

 

Hopefully with a more structured fall, I'll be able to keep up with these posts a little better.