Makeshift Story: May 2019

Typical scene

Two months. Two months is a very long time to have gone without posting, but here we are. Things have played out much like you might expect... we've weathered colds and a bit of gastro (much to my perpetual horror), did a whole bunch of baby-proofing (and then a bunch more), gotten not nearly enough sleep, and had lots of outdoor play and adventure.

Example: Both crazy children stripped down to their undies one unseasonably warm day in early April, and went for a frigid dip at the little beach at Shubie park.

Going in with gusto

Linden headed straight back out...

... and in a shocking turn of events, it was Juniper who committed and went for a full dip

Hazel just turned 10 months old, if you can believe it. She has been cruising around at full tilt for... oh, I don't know, the last month and a half, maybe? As long as she's holding onto something, she can walk her way around the room, almost as quickly as she crawls (and let me assure you, she can motor when she's so inclined). She has not attempted to walk unaided yet, but has stood without holding onto anything loads of times, sometimes for extended periods, so I'm guessing it won't be long before those first steps happen.

Testing out some balance

She talks constantly, and with so much inflection that you can almost guess at what she's trying to say. A lot of times, it is most certainly saucy. Even without babbling, she can very clearly get her point across, sometimes with signs (she uses "more" the most often), and sometimes by doing things like sticking her hand down my shirt and grunting expectantly, or by pointing at Clark's guitar and clapping.

She likes to help play, of course

She will blow kisses (though you have to know that's what she's doing, as it is a very unique way of blowing kisses), she loves to high-five, and she honest-to-goodness reads books to herself. She'll open a book up, point to all the pictures, and babble.

I love this picture. All three, inexplicably hunkered down for a little floor-reading

We have gated off rooms, put doors on cabinets that used to be open, and then bought things to secure those doors. She knows exactly where all the things are in every single room that she's not supposed to get into, and goes straight for them every chance she gets.

Pre-doors on the cabinet

Look how pleased she is with herself. After we put a door on, she very carefully worked at it until she could open the door. Now it is legitimately secured, but never fret - there are loads of other things to get into if you just put your mind to it.

Having just discovered that if she squeezes behind the chair, there is a basket of old magazines.

Advanced magazine play. I am now forever cleaning up ripped pages, but it is ever-so-much-fun, as you can clearly see.

About a month ago, she finally pushed out her two bottom teeth, which has helped her get through foods that used to be too difficult to eat. She is particularly keen on fruit of all kinds, but will at least sample other things when I put them in front of her. Veggie burgers, chicken, pasta, bread with peanut butter, yogurt... the more mess it makes the better. And if there's something she's not keen on, she'll look you straight in the eye, extend her hand over the edge of her seat, and very deliberately drop it on the floor. If you shake your head and say "No, Hazel", she'll shake her head right back at you and mimic your tone. She also now demands water at every meal, and will carefully sip away at it until you're not paying attention, then spit out a mouthful, and dump the rest on her tray. Then laugh.

Blueberry face!

No, she didn't make her way through an entire apple, but she sure did enjoy working at the core of the one I ate!

As for Juniper and Linden... not much new to report there. Linden has committed to growing his hair out, and it is currently a veritable mop. There are days when I just shake my head and physically restrain myself from hauling out the clippers, and other days (when it is brushed and all wavy and luscious), that I marvel at how good it looks. Generally speaking, I think Linden benefits from a daily routine wherein the fewer hygienic needs he has to take care of the better... but his hair, his choice!

Rocking a headband

It is becoming apparent that he and Hazel share an awful lot of traits, including their sense of humour. They will try to cheer each other up and make each other laugh, and Linden is very patient when Hazel gets rough with him (as she always inevitably does)

"No, it's cool, just let me try to poke that eye out!"

Playing the "basket game", which involves pushing Hazel down the hall as fast as possible. The responsible parent in me has thought about putting a stop to it, but man, they have fun.

Juniper is fast approaching double digits (how is that even possible?), and is embracing being a pre-teen with gusto. She still packs a ridiculous number of books with her whenever we go out, but has also recently taken to packing an old iPod and headphones, which seems very teenage-y of her.

Still loving her hot pink glasses, but may be changing it up soon...

When you can tear her away from these distractions, she is generally very good at playing with/ helping with Hazel. We've even recently discovered that if you cinch it all the way down, she fits the Ergo:

Baby-wearing like a pro!

And that's about all I can think of for updates, at least regarding the kids. My big excitement is that I am moving much, much closer to having my own little functional pottery studio! Clark has finished framing and drywalling the partition in the garage, and is spackling it as I type, AND I bought a used kiln!! I am just praying it works well - I can't actually test it out until we get an electrician in to hook up the electrical properly. But it's actually getting very close to all coming together! I'll post pictures when it happens.

Here's the wall, all framed up, before the drywall even went on

And so, with nothing much more to prattle on about, here's a whole boat-load of pictures to peruse at your leisure.

Hazel has taken to pushing this baby-gym around like a walker.

Playing with a library kitchen like a big girl

Friday movie nights now involve a whole lot more distraction

Juniper and Linden get to try their hand at weaving at an event at the Seaport Market

Playing the "gate game"

Close-up, mid-wave

Some adventures:

1. Withrod Lake

Two hikers, ready to take off

Group shot!

The ice was just beginning to melt at this point

Serious little backpacker

Stopping for a snack - Hazel was just as big as anyone, sitting on the bench and munching on some goodies

The perfect climbing tree

Stopping for some lakeside sketching

2. Crystal Crescent

Photo op at the beach before setting out

Exploring the nude beach - no one was using it for its actual purpose in this cold weather, so we decided to walk around a bit

Rock climbers

Ocean-side nursing

Always a pretty spectacular hike...

... or climb, as the case may be.

Things get pretty barren

Just before succumbing to the inevitable afternoon slumber

I love this bit of the woods around Crystal Crescent

The turn-around point - they never actually want to go back

Ocean-backdrop

Foggy, haunting day at the shore

Hazel discovers sand

3. Heritage Trail

If there's a fence, you pretty much have to balance on it, right?

Chatting and walking, mostly likely mid-make-believe: "Ok, pretend I'm your bro, you and you're my sis, and we're hiking off to an adventure ..."

We found a bear stump!

Hazel obligingly naps in the stroller

Contemplating life by a little brook

4. Canoe trip down the canal at Shubie Park

Waiting for Clark to bring the canoe down

All geared up and ready to roll

There they go!

Mid-trip. Juniper was on Hazel duty

We met the Triffs at the beach, who were also keen to paddle a bit. Here is Liam and Zoë...

... then Ruby and their cousin Evangeline

The girls just hanging out post-paddle (Ruby, Zoë and Hazel)

Getting muddy before stripping down and going for a dip (as evidenced in the pictures at the beginning of the post)

Everything's so exciting on canoe days!

5. Hemlock Ravine
This is the hike we took on Easter day. The older kids got mini-microscopes and adventure fanny packs (complete with travel watercolours, mini-notebooks and drawing supplies) in their baskets, and took them out for their inaugural trip on this hike.