Folk Fest 2010 Video

It's been a while since Folk Fest, but I've now gotten the time to put together the videos from Folk Fest. Now that there's snow on the ground, it seems like a looooooong time ago. I think it was one of my favorite one's in the last 6 (or was it 7?) years that I've gone. There is a long clip near the end that I will risk any manly man status I might have and say it was magical. It was like the band was playing Robin's soundtrack. She trips and falls to the music, balls bounce to the beat, it was amazing. I can't believe I got it on film. That short bit of film captures pretty well the moment I didn't think Robin was like a baby anymore, but a little girl figuring out how the world around her works and loving every bit of it (it was an extended version of Andrew Bird playing "Plasticities")

Olivia turns 6... no, 7 months old!

Olivia is almost 7 months old! The time has been flying by at a breakneck pace. I swear the last time I looked at the date, it was only mid November (in fact I started to write this entry at the beginning of November). I've made a point of getting out with the kids more (like going to singing circles and the play area at Wolseley Family Place) and getting to know some neighbours better. Just today Robin had a play date with Elliot down the street. At the end, Elliot tried to give Robin a kiss and she was VERY emphatic in her "NOOOO!" That's my girl ;) It still blows my mind how much she can string sentences together, with coherent thoughts and big picture ideas filling her head. I still get confused every once and a while though. And sometimes there is no winning:

Daddy: "Here's your food." A banana.
Robin: "I want something else to eat."
Daddy: Thinking. "Here's some Cheerios" really Nutrios.
Robin: "I want something else to eat."
Daddy: Brain crash. No solution. I don't know what "something else" is supposed to taste like, but it must be good.

Robin: "I want a million bars!" her cereal bars that she likes.
Daddy: Nervously "OK, I'll get you a bar."
Robin: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I want a MILLION bars!"
Daddy: Brain crash. No solution. You'd be surprised how often this happens.

We have been working very hard on asking politely too. This is an example of what happens a million (wonder where she gets that word from) times a day:

Robin: "I want that!!!!"
Daddy: "What's a nice way to say that Robin?" or "I can't hear Robin when she uses her whiny voice."
Robin: "Please can I have that?" or often "Please I could have that?"
Repeat. Many. Many. Times.

We've also made a big change in the last month with Robin. She is no longer going to her daycare at Flora's. It was only two days a week, difficult to get to while I've been home, and also Flora's was cutting back the number of children so it was good timing. It was a great daycare, with Flora and Paras running it extremely well, but it was time to end it.


Olivia has changed so much since the last post! She is a lovely little girl, who smiles almost every time she sees you, and has a giggle that will knock your socks off. She has just recently started to consistently sleep through the night (about 9 to 7 or so) for the last couple of days. Let's hope this keeps up. I think this is mostly due to her impressive solid food consumption. She was pretty slow at first, and we did a lot of soother feeding (there should be a video shortly) but she is eating a TON of food now. Doesn't matter what it is: meat, peas, butternut squash, turkey, as long as it's mashed up, it's going down the gullet. Just the other day, she started to roll over to get what she's going after (which is just about everything) so I think that crawling might just be around the corner. She might just crawl to the Christmas tree to get her presents.


Things are going to get intense soon. I can see it now. Two mobile kids, with one wanting to put everything in the mouth, and the other watching it happen but articulating very well just how many pieces of dog food was crammed in.

Taking care of two

As fall has started to move along, it's now time for Jen to go back to work full time. Our time off of work together is now over, and it's time to get back to real life. At least it ended with a bang, as we went to Dave and Janice's wedding in Calgary October 15th, and we all had a blast. Especially Robin. "I danced with the bride" was a phrase she used about fifty times the day after the wedding. However, her version of dancing with the bride was running circles around the dance floor.

Olivia is no longer a little bundle of baby (well, never really that little). At five months, she's sitting on her own, has two teeth, is interested in everything, can put her soother back in her mouth, is a giggle maniac when you make her laugh, and grabs at any and everything within her reach. I remember Robin at this stage, and it was great. She could sit and entertain herself, and it was so fun to watch her explore and learn about her world.

Now that Olivia is getting busier and needs more attention, life has gotten more... well, busy. Sometimes REALLY busy. This morning, Robin went to daycare, and Olivia and I took Griffin to the off-leash. Here's how a typical morning getting the kids ready goes:

Olivia wakes up. Time to get Robin up too. Bring Olivia upstairs to Robin's bedroom door, cause Robin to quickly dive under the covers. After much giggling about hiding under the covers, Olivia joins her in the crib. Olivia grabs a toy.
Robin: "No! Mine!!!"
Daddy: "Robin, if you want her to give you her toy back, you have to share another toy with her."
Robin looks around, finds the toy to trade.
Robin "Here you go Olivia." She gives her the most boring toy. Her covers. It's always her covers. Luckily, Olivia doesn't mind much. She would play with a wad of kleenex.

Pick clothes for Robin for the day (be darned if I can understand which ones match), get both kids out of the crib. Go to top of the stairs to the second floor.
Robin: "Upee upee!" she often wants to be carried downstairs. Go downstairs, one kid in each arm.

Change Olivia's bum. Robin pulls stool close and watches. Put Olivia in swing. Change Robin's bum.
Robin: "I don't want to get my bum changed!" usual response.
Daddy: "If you do a good bum change, you'll get a star!" it's a sticker.
Robin: "Yeah!" finish bum change, take a looong look at sticker sheet to decide on the star she wants. There is only one left. She picks one that is gone. The last one is not the right color. Negotiation ensues. She takes the last sticker.

Put Robin down, get Olivia from swing. Go to top of stairs for main floor.
Robin: "Upee upee!" Go downstairs, one kid in each arm.

Put Olivia in car seat. Griffin gets his harness and goes nuts knowing it is time to go for a walk. Let him run outside for a poop. Griffin is now a ticking time bomb, and any delay will lead to a hyperactive barking explosion.

Turn on the kettle to bring trio of boiling water, cold water and a powder formula for a trip with Olivia.

Robin: "I want cheerios and raisins!" her normal breakfast "and cranberries!"
Daddy: "Were going to Flora's, you can eat there..." rethink possibility of Robin's upset-ness. "Here, I'll put some in the excersaucer." Food now wins.
Robin: "And milk!"
Daddy: "And milk."

Daddy is taking too long. Olivia gets upset in the car seat. Think fast: diaper, food or sleep? She just woke up. Just changed her bum. That leaves food. Crud. Good thing I'm boiling the kettle. Burping sound. Olivia has barfed on herself. Think briefly about the paradox of being hungry yet barfing up milk on oneself. Out of the car seat, upstairs, new outfit, back downstairs into car seat.

It's cold out, they need warmer clothes. Wait, where are Robin's shoes? Searching bewildered. Think. When she came in last night, she was brought straight upstairs and... aha! Her room! Run upstairs to grab the shoes and something warm, tear back downstairs.

Olivia crying, Griffin barking outside. Let Griffin in.
Robin: "I want to give him a treat!!!" in a crying voice. I always let her, yet she seems terrified that I will forget.
Daddy: "Of course. Here you go." She promptly hands the treat to Griffin, and giggles excitedly when he nibbles it out of her hand.

Olivia still crying. No time to warm expressed breast milk. Measure hot and cold water to get temperature just right. Add enough formula powder. Out of car seat (again). Ah... sweet relief.
Robin: "I want some!" she often wants Olivia's bottle.
Daddy: "Olivia's drinking it right now." Obvious, but necessary rebuttal.

Olivia's done. Griffin looks like he's going to blow a fuse. Olivia back in car seat, Robin shoes on.
Robin: "I don't want to go to Flora's!!!" standard response to going to daycare.
Daddy: "But you have fun at Flora's. Is Ella there? And Boomie?"
Robin: "And Drew!"
Daddy: "Is it fun at Flora's?"
Robin: "Yeah!!!"
Shoes are now on. Diaper bag packed. Wait... this bag needs to go with Robin to Flora's. I'm also taking Olivia. I need two diaper bags now. Rethinking. Run and find new bag. Quickly shuttle Olivia's things to a new bag. Good to go.

Too many things. Have to do two trips to the van.
Daddy: "Can you wait at the door for Daddy to get Griffin and Olivia into the New Van?" Robin nods. The van is six months old, but New Van has become it's name.

Grab Olivia and let Griffin hurdle outside the door. Open garage door quickly to avoid the piercing Griffin yelp of impatience. Robin has come to the top of the porch stairs.
Robin: "Is there any dog poop?"
Daddy: "What was that?" I only half heard her I was busy putting Griffin in the car. I buckle Griffin into his seat belt (seriously, we have a doggy seat belt).
Robin: "I found some dog poop!" walk back towards the house.
Daddy: "ROBIN!!! ACKKK!" see little footprints of dog poop trailing her. Say silent curse inside head. Observe that Griffin did poop before getting into the car. Go inside, holding Robin's shoes far away. Find location of mess. Wash with warm soap and water.

Daddy: "Ready to go Robin?"
Robin: "Yeah!"
Get Robin inside car seat and buckle in. Give Olivia soother. Drive away.

Our day begins.

The Summer of Our Little Big Girl and Our Big Little Girl

Our busy summer is quickly fading away. It's been filled with fun and time spent together. Jen and I each had August off and we definitely appreciated it.

Robin turned 2 at the end of July and we had another family party for her at the splash pad at Vimy Ridge park. We officially have a little water girl. One of the biggest reasons that we moved back from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg was for family. Although we miss many things about Thunder Bay, it has been worth it.

The advances Robin has made over the summer were enormous. Her vocabulary is more that of a four year than a two year old. It's hard to keep track of all of the things she says, ranging from the incredibly cute to surprisingly mature. Here are a few examples:

Regarding her toy beaver (I wrote this one down after she said it): "He likes to chop down trees. They go on the ground. I put him over here because he likes toys."

She'll often count through the numbers 1 to 10 (she used to skip 7), but if finishing counting earlier will get her something, she'll often skip to 10, exclaiming it with her big ham smile. This lead to the following conversation:

Andy: "Robin, do you ever play duck duck goose at daycare?"
Robin: "Yup"
Andy: "What do you say?"
Robin: "Duck duck duck duck duck duck..."
Andy: "Then what?"
Robin: "Ten!"
I laughed, so she kept saying "Ten!" while laughing her little head off, thinking that saying ten was the joke.

Then there are the serious moments. We were sitting at the breakfast table one morning, and there was a nice shared silence. Then she looked at me and said:
"Today, I'm going to dig for gold," motioned at her nose, and then nodded in approval of the day's plan.

--- Intermission ---(I realize this is a long post. Stretch your legs, or have a beer if you are of age)

The Winnipeg Folk Festival was amazing this year. It's a much more G rated experience than in the days that we camped in the festival campground, yet so much fun. There was face painting, good friends (Kristen, Andrew, Liisa, and Ella came in from Thunder Bay, and we hung around with Darcy Beer and his family with 2 little kids as well), great weather, and of course great music. Robin was particularly intrigued by the "Tall lady".

Having all of August off, we made it a mission to spend as much time as possible out at the Potter's cabin at the lake. Uncle Dan finally got to see his guest cabin designs come to fruition, as we built and put up the walls. It was a lot of work which Jen and I gave a hand in. Jen was always a lake kid growing up, spending her summers at Big Whiteshell. It's nice to give Robin a similar experience.
Jen: "What's the number one rule in the canoe?"
Robin: "Don't stand up!"
Unless, of course, it's beached.

We did manage to come back into town for a Bomber game or two. There is a ritual in the Potter family of lamenting the Bombers shortcomings (mostly with Jen and Greg, and I fire in my two cents). That is a nice way of saying that this year, we have been complaining about how much they suck. Again. However, after that 31-2 win over Saskatchewan in the Banjo Bowl, I'm much more hopeful. Robin has taken to the games. They go something like this:
First quarter: Robin shyly hides in Mommy's shirt. Olivia sleeps.
Second quarter: Robin comes out of the shell a little. Olivia sleeps.
Third quarter: Robin has some hotdog, exciting exclaiming "There's Boomber!!!!" every couple of minutes. Olivia wakes briefly to eat, gets a bum change, then it's time to sleep again.
Fourth quarter: Robin and Olivia both get a little antsy, so good thing it's time to go.

We were even lucky enough to have a visit with Robin and Olivia's Aunty Yvette and cousins Brigette and Hugo in early September. Except for the wasp bite (sorry Hugo!) it was a great visit, and really nice to catch up. All the cousins, Brigette, Lisa, Robin, Hugo, Nina and Olivia are all within 5 years of age, so it's really fun to watch them and see all the stages of preschool years together.

At the end of Yvette's visit, we had something very sad happen. My Bapcha , my Mom's Mom, had a heart attack and then a debilitating stroke. She is my last surviving grandparent, and Jen's are no longer with us either, so she is Robin and Olivia's only Great Grandparent. Upon hear that her Great Bapcha was sick, Robin said "I should give her a hug. Then I'd better give her some Tylenol."

The title of this post comes from the strange but convenient situation we our kids. Olivia is over 16 pounds, while Robin is about 24 pounds. This is at 4 months for Olivia and 2 years for Robin. The convenient part? They are now in the same diaper size. Ridiculous, but convenient. When Robin was little, she was in 25th percentile of size for her age, and now Olivia is over the 95th for height AND weight! As similar as our little girls are, there must be some genes a little different in there.

Days are flying by, and Jen will be back to work full time soon. We've got Dave's wedding in Calgary before then, and after that will come the true test: how will my sanity hold up looking after our two little ones through a long Winnipeg winter? I wonder what Grandma and Ba'cha are doing? Maybe I should give them a call...

The same but different

It's been two and a half months now, and Olivia is awesome! Jen has been doing a GREAT job with them at home (brownie points?) and with Olivia sleeping pretty well (knocking on wood), who can complain?

It really is amazing how similar they are in some ways, but different in others. Since Jen said it in words, here's a little video.

"our funny bunny and her little sister"

Jen wrote up a post on her blog about Robin and Olivia. This is a copy, but you can check out the original by clicking here.

I'm sure I'll remember these things, but let's face it, I won't...

• Robin, when asked whether she's a "funny bunny" or a "silly billy," invariably answers whichever one you say last. Then she immediately changes her mind.

• When asked "Do you know how much I love you?" she spreads her arms wide and says, "Biggest much!"

• She's a bit of a neatnik. She likes to walk around with a washcloth wiping surfaces, saying, "I'm cleaning." She also likes to take the cloth after a meal and clean her own tray. Or at least smear the mess around.

• Robin is now at the stage where she constantly asks, "What's that?" It's often a random guess as to what she's pointing at, but she rarely lets us off the hook.

• She has a great imagination. She likes to climb into the footstool and pretend she's in Papa's boat, then jump out and "swim" on the floor, demonstrating her kicking, then splashing, and then blowing bubbles. She puts her stuffed animals to bed many times a day and sometimes picks up my knitting needles, clicks them together and informs me, "I'm knitting a sweater." She also puts the wrong end of her spoon in her mouth and hums, then tells me, "I'm playing my flute."

• She is an amazing talker, although she calls her sister Isla. She speaks in full sentences; her record, as far as I can tell, is ten words: "Isla is having a sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room." It's quite remarkable. Really. And not just because I'm her mom.

• When asked to say cheese, Robin puts on her "ham smile." It looks more like a grimace of pain, but it comes in handy when brushing her teeth.
  

• Robin is very, very good with her little sister. She likes to gently pat her face and give her kisses (which entails lightly touching her lips to Olivia's face and sayingmmmmaaa). She keeps close tabs on Olivia's activities and keeps us updated: "Isla is sleeping." "Isla's awake now!" "Isla is squirming."

• She is also very aware of what babies eat: breast milk. Several times a day I am advised, "Isla needs breast milk now." She occasionally breastfeeds her stuffed animals.

Ollie-Dollie is doing well also. Compared to Robin, she's enormous; 5.5 kg (12 lb 3 oz) compared to 4.6 kg (10 lb 2 oz), and is almost out of her 3-month-size clothes. She sleeps incredibly well, knock on wood -- usually from 10 pm to 5.30 am or so, though recently as late as 8.30!!! She smiles at us when we pick her up out of the bassinette. She humours us bysitting quietly while we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, mainly to ourselves as she's not the least bit interested in actually looking at the book. She's a big-time talker too. What she lacks in articulation, she makes up for in cuteness and quantity. Andy has a great video here.

Olivia Jane Potter Cumming

Olivia Jane Potter Cumming was born at 4:30AM on May 1. She weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces and is 21 inches long. She has blond hair and looks a LOT like Robin's baby pics.



For now, a video says more than words. Here's Olivia's first two weeks.