The past weeks have brought big changes around here. With September, a new schedule sets in for our family. With summer over and Peter back to work, Pearl and I had to get used to hanging out just the two of us again from Monday to Friday. We have lots of fun together. Pearl loves her dad and is always super excited to see him when he gets home. A big smile spreads over her face and she’ll reach her arms out to him. Quite often now, if Peter’s around, she prefers to be held by him rather than me. It’s pretty freaking adorable to watch those two together.
At least I have someone else to cuddle with…
We also have Bella the Dog staying with us for a couple of weeks. So I have two girls who love attention from me and want to be at the door when Peter walks in. It gets a little chaotic.
I took this picture the other day at the park and felt very mom-ish with my baby in her stroller and a dog impatiently waiting for me to throw the ball. Also, very fall-ish with a scarf on and a mug of tea. (Contrary to what seems like every blogger in North America, I do not love fall and refuse to acknowledge it until September 21st.)
Pearl remains a committed fan of Bella. Sadly, her love is unrequited. It might have something to do with the fact that her method of petting involves grabbing handfuls of fur. Or her current fascination with eyes. Bella is very patient
The other morning, I had them both on our bed with me and they lay holding hands for a few minutes:
Since Pearl hit six months, we’ve slowly been introducing solid foods. She’s very interested in putting things in her mouth and she loves her little spoon. As far as the food goes, she doesn’t seem too impressed. She does love sitting in her little high chair with us at the table though and I enjoy my tiniest lunch date every day.
The biggest thing that’s changing my life though? We have a crawler! Pearl’s been pretty close for a while now – able to inch worm around and, more recently, getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. Then, a week ago, it just clicked and now she’s non-stop. She can now chase the dog more efficiently. And I can’t hide from her. (Jokes! I never hide from my baby!)
It’s pretty amazing to watch her development. She’s into all corners and tries to get her mouth on absolutely everything. Strap and buckles of all kinds are a favourite. I caught her trying to climb into her car seat so she could get her mouth around the buckle.
A crawling baby is also a great way to realize that your floors are filthy. Even if you just finished sweeping them.
Her latest skill is pulling herself up to stand. I wasn’t prepared for that one but a week of crawling and she’s suddenly trying to climb up next to me on the couch. (Pearl doesn’t really seem prepared for standing either because it generally ends in a tumble.)
And in the neighbourhood…bears!
(There was also a cub to the right.) The forest fire in July and the drought conditions of the summer have combined to result in a lot of bears around here recently. This picture was actually taken on our way home from walking Bella on some trails. Our neighbourhood bear is smaller than this one and has three paws. I’ve seen him twice and Peter came across him early one morning at the bottom of our driveway. Apparently, he’s a regular in the neighbourhood for the past few years. Despite living in a more rural area for the past three years, this is the first time I’ve seen a bear close to home. Win for the suburbs!
So that’s us lately. The skies are grey but the smiles are big!
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