Toy-Stealing, Dog-Petting, Beer-Drinking

Photobombing dog.

Bella the Dog is no longer with us. (By which I mean she went back to her real home. She’s totally still alive.) Our house feels much quieter and afternoon walks are a little less chaotic. Pearl misses her furry friend though.

Bella seemed to think that I made little beds complete with toys for her.

Life is slipping gently into its new routine. The days are quiet but full and I love each one. Pearl is everywhere and wants to be into all things. She has started trying to climb things which has meant some tumbles. She has yet to learn fear. Or consequences. Or gravity. About a week after she started crawling, she pulled herself up to stand, holding on to the edge of the couch. It’s impressive and terrifying and her new favourite thing. She tries to pull herself up on anything and everything, regardless of its sturdiness. I hover between holding on to her, trying to ensure that she doesn’t ever get hurt, and stepping back just a little to let her try new things. I love watching her learn.

Which is good because I have to watch her all the time. Her favourite things to put in her mouth are things she shouldn’t have in her mouth. And anything leather.

Some photos from life recently:

My mom bought this for Pearl when she was just a couple of months old and I recently remembered it and pulled it out. A little barn/farmyard with a pig, a chicken, and two cows. (Pearl added the dinosaur and the octopus.) She loves the little chicken, as you can see. The barn folds up and she also loves pushing it around. She loves pushing things around right now.

Speaking of pushing around…

This is a photo of the first time Pearl took a toy from another child. It’s hard to tell if she’s emotionally attached to her toys or if she just wanted to play with it at that moment and doesn’t understand being nice to others yet.

I tried that classic parenting trick of letting the kid play in the container cupboard while I made dinner. Pearl was definitely excited but quickly got upset when this lid wouldn’t fit all the way in her mouth.

I swore I would never be one of those moms who dressed in matching outfits with her daughter (and I won’t be! really!) but how cute are these baby Chucks? I’ve been a Converse fan for years now and someone gave these little pink Converse sneakers to Pearl as a gift.

This weekend our little town had its second annual Oktoberfest, complete with beer tasting, bratwurst and German techno music. We headed down to taste test from the local breweries represented. Back in November, when we were in Powell River, Peter and I did a tour of the brewery there – Townsite. Since I was pregnant, I didn’t get to taste any of their beers at the time so I was excited to sample what they had. Peter waited with Pearl on the other side of that orange fence – being under 19, she wasn’t allowed in the beer area – and then we switched.

Then we ate bratwurst and wished we were in Germany again.

And now it’s Monday and it’s sunny and life is good.

Oh, and a glamour shot of Bella: