Month 10

Well another month has flown by….Happy 10 months Biggie Boy Bryce!

Saunders Farm - Pumpkin Pickin'

With Halloween fast approaching, we made a trip out to Saunders Farm Pumpkin Patch last week.  I had never been before but had heard lots about it.  It is far more than simply a pumpkin patch….but a Halloween wonderland for kids.  There are haunted houses, a petting zoo, cedar hedge mazes, wagon rides, wacky play structures, and of course pumpkin picking-carving-eating etc!  Bryce really didn’t seem all that thrilled but I was!  Maybe in another couple of years.

Bryce is still little Mr. Social instead of little Mr. Sleepy.  It is like pulling teeth to get him to “wind” down and fall asleep.  And it’s not like he’s sleeping all day.  In fact I’m lucky if he has 2 x ~40 min naps.  I’ve read that “sleep begets sleep” and that if he has a restful day, a restful night will follow.  Therefore, I always schedule my day around his “nap times” so he has the opportunity for a quiet, comfortable rest.  He just usually has something else he’d rather do.  And in regards to night-time…he sleeps well for the first 4-5 hours.  After that, he is awake every 2 hours or so.  I know, I know…it’s my fault for soothing him with a bottle.  Now he “needs” it every time he wakes in order to fall back to sleep.  Oh well!  My theory is that this time of “neediness” is short (in the grand scheme of things), and Bryce is not an “animal” to be trained (i.e cry it out method), and that he isn’t something that needs to be “managed”…rather someone to comfort, nurture and enjoy.  (O.K…so I might not always feel that way at 3 am!) Ha Ha

Thanksgiving leaf fight

Seeing as how the weather is growing increasingly cold, we made sure to visit the Experimental Farm here in Ottawa before the snow comes.  No, it is not a place to take your children to be experimented upon although maybe they could tell me why he doesn’t sleep.  It is actually a real livestock/agricultural farm in the middle of the city that teaches children about farming and raising animals.  I had high hopes that it would be something that Bryce would enjoy….WRONG.  As we made our way from barn to barn, his nervous “laugh/cry” (something he does when he’s unsure) became a “cry/cry”.  Especially once we entered the last barn which housed the Clydesdale Horses and one really loud lonely cow.  He did however enjoy sitting in the dirt and eating leaves.  Well worth the price of admission! :s

Bryce is still not crawling.  I’m sure he’s thinking…”Really?  You want me to crawl around on a dirty floor with my bare hands?  And what about the knees of my pants, they’ll be ruined?!  I’ll just wait till I can walk!” lol  He is actually “cruising” around in his own way…sort of a modified bum scoot.  And he’ll occasionally get on his hands and knees for a minute or two, grunting with exertion as he attempts to support his portly proportions, which typically ends in an ungraceful belly flop. (He’s 27.6lbs now)

Even though he is not making much progress in reaching the "mobility milestone", he does now speak English.  O.K....so it's only one word.  But it's still English!!  He says Mom!  I win....sorry "Daddy"!  I'm sure he doesn't really know what he's saying but I make such a big production...that he figures it's good!! :) Hopefully the video plays so you can hear his first word. (Please excuse is dirty lunch face!)

Well that's all for now.  Happy Halloween!