Catch up, another long weekend, and Tabby's first trip to the lake

Highlights of the weekend:

• Tabby cruising around the party stealing bites of everyone's food, from hamburgers to wasabi quinoa salad
• Tabby wandering around with sidewalk chalk marking everything (and everyone) in her path
• Tabby catching the remote control car and dragging it back to the bbq, like every proud hunter
• Tabby staying home with grampa Gord and grama Jo while mommy and daddy went to Filberg festival and bought her presents
• Tabby's first splash in McIvor lake
• BBQ on the foreshore in the glorious sunshine

and the lowlight of the weekend:

• Tabetha vomiting in the car while on the highway
• Tabetha vomiting in the car while on the highway - again

Things are going well here.  Tabetha has two new words (Daddy, book) and has learned to use inflection to ask questions - so now?  everything she babbles?  is in the form of a question?  Yes!  Tabetha is now ready to be a contestant on Jeopardy!

Sinful luxury

Tonight, I did something that felt sinfully luxurious.  Naughty even.  I revelled in it, and I didn't feel a bit guilty.

I went grocery shopping.

Alone.

It used to feel like a chore.  Now?  It's one of my favourite things.

My daughter climbs slippery slopes

Tabetha is physically brave and adventurous in ways that astound me.  On Saturday she figured out that she could climb up the slide, lay on her tummy, slide back down, and do it all over again with great glee.  She isn't even 16 months old yet!  I'm so glad that mini-me inherited that from her daddy. 

Car seat controversy

Most parents are probably aware that there are new american recommendations suggesting that babies be kept rear facing until 2, rather than just until they are 12 months and 20 lbs.  Tabetha is now 15 months and over 25 lbs, and still rear facing.  We've discussed turning her to face forwards when she reaches the average weight of a 2 year old - about 27 lbs for a girl.

Those same recommendations are now saying that children should be in booster seats until approximately age 12, which seems absolutely ludicrous to me.  I didn't have a lot to base that feeling on, though, until I watched this video.  I really recommend watching it - if nothing else, there is some really surprising footage of actual crash tests that I think you should see.

Now, Steven Levitt and the audience spend a lot of time focused on the younger age group, which was initially where my thoughts went too - after all, I don't have an older child.  As I was thinking more about it though, I started wondering whether it was age that was the determining factor?  size?  what about rear vs. foreward facing, did that impact the results?  the answers aren't in the talk, so I've turned my attention to the other end of the spectrum.

Booster seats range from $100cdn up to $300cdn+.  Children can be moved to a booster once they are 40 lbs and about 40 inches tall - generally around 4 and a half years old.  They have to stay in one until they are 9 years old or 4'9" tall, whichever comes first (in British Columbia - local laws may vary).

If Steven is right and normal car seat belts are just as safe or safer than car seats after the second birthday, why exactly are we spending the money?  And more to the point, where are the studies proving Steven wrong, and justifying our governments MAKING us spend this money to possibly make our children less safe?

Canada day long weekend

It's not quite over, really, but it's been so packed with good times and firsts that it seems like a good time to sum it all up.

Tabetha has now gone 8 days without nursing to sleep for her nap!  Normally she only does that at daycare.  This weekend she has nursed only at night and first thing in the morning, and my goal is now to day wean, I think.

Mom and Don have been down visiting since Thursday night and it's been great.  They've really enjoyed tabetha being old enough to take to the park without us, and we've enjoyed it too!  Plus, it's finally been lovely warm weather.

There are lots of things not in these pictures - Tabby playing with her new IKEA kitchen, grandparents reading her stories, Tabby eating chinese food at Ho Tong and bbqed hamburger on the front lawn - but it's been a wonderful weekend and the pictures do show that.

First day of summer

Not really, but one of the first we've had that's been sunny and pleasant and a weekend!  for some reason Tabetha LOVES shoes.  I have a little Imelda Marcos over here.

Dear Tabetha: 14 months

Dear Tabetha

According to the calendar, you will be 15 months old in just a couple of weeks.  I say according to the calendar because it just doesn't seem remotely possible that so much time has passed.  The last three months especially have been amazingly quick, now that you're in daycare and I am back at work.  I think it's partly because you're one of the youngest kids (the oldest is just over 24 months) but you keep up just fine, and you're always coming home with new tricks.

You are rapidly becoming a toddler.  You walk like a champ, and sometimes you already refuse to hold my hand.  Your knees are bruised from tumbles, but it doesn't seem to concern you in the least.  Some of the things you've done recently that I don't want to forget:

• This morning your daddy came up and got you, took you downstairs, changed your diaper, and put you into your high chair before you woke up.  Sort of like saturday, when you fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep when I got you out, took you into the store, and tried several pairs of shoes on you.

• This evening I started singing "Baby Beluga" to see if you would dance for me.  You did, but not until after you brought me the "Baby Beluga" boardbook, in case I forgot the words I guess.
• You love trying to feed your Stella doll with your water bottle.
• You bring books to us to read.  If we don't take them from you immediately and start reading, you hit us with them two or three times.  If we still don't obey, you collapse to the floor and start howling like your heart is broken.
• You love to put your dolls on your wheely mouse and push them around.  If they fall off, you just put them right back.  In fact, I think you like that more than actually riding it yourself!

• You recognized grama Sherril on the computer!  you waved at her and carried on a "conversation"
• Saturday night at supper you ate tamago on brown rice with wasabi, tempura yam and zucchini, teriyaki chicken and veg, sunomono salad with crab, and pickled ginger.
• You won't even put mango in your mouth.  No one knows why.

There are so many other little things that happen every day that make me smile and make me so glad to be your mama.