Beating those winter blues

To help beat those winter blues 

(especially when the skies are cloudy and grey)

remember to eat well, sleep well, get some exercise and take Vitamin D 

(for both you and your baby)!

Vitamin-D (the sunshine vitamin)

Check with your Doctor for the recommended dose

Winters can be long, and I am always so pleased when we reach the shortest day and evenings start to get a little brighter and the sun sets a little later than 4.30pm in the afternoon.

To keep your spirit's up during those bleak winter weeks try to get outdoors as often as you can, especially with a little one in tow.

Here are some great activities for you and your TOT in winter ...

• Joey's favourite activity is a sled ride round down the street when it is snowing
• Visit your local library (remember to take off your layers, as they are toasty warm places) and bring home a book and dvd
• Sing and dance together ...  Click to order mainly music favourites for children
• Take a trip to your local acquarium and discover the underwater world
• Phone a friend for a play-date
• Join a daycare (garderie) for half a day per month
• Find a playgroup/community activity for you and your child (at least twice per month)

the view from our home office in winter

Sons of Canadian remember their Mum ...

Early this morning I was deeply moved hearing two grown men (with families of their own) pay tribute to their Mother, Yvonne Martin.  They spoke of a woman who touched the hearts and lives of many around her - a servant to all (trained as a Nurse) - she gave up her life while serving in Haiti.

In her retirement this wonderful woman was making it her mission to travel each year to Haiti to love and serve the people there.

This morning she was honoured in the most beautiful way, by her two boys.  What an amazing legacy.

We remember.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100115/yvonne_martin_100115/20100115?hub=Toronto

Toys Babies and Toddlers will LOVE

Are you having difficulty deciding what good toys to buy for your baby or toddler?

Before our son was born I was invited to the home of a friends' daughter to help clear out her garage packed with toys.  Her children were no longer toddlers and hubby was wanting the garage space.

I chose some wonderful toys that have blessed my son with many hours of happy playing.

Below are some great ideas for toys that my son has grown to love ... still available today NEW at Walmart or Toys R Us and online at Amazon.com

Here are a selection of toys suitable for 6 to 12 months.

 Our son has two toys that are similar to this one combination (a toy he can ride and one he can walk behind).

Here's another model where they learn to stand from a sitting position.

Blocks and puzzle shapes are a MUST HAVE.

LAMAZE toys are bright and fun (they keep little ones entertained using touch and feel, and sounds) ... great for the stroller or  riding in the car.


I know of Mums who swear by Sophie as a teether.  

Our son has a much older version of this model toy where they push or turn buttons to see the pals POP UP!  The model we have is also numbered with each colour.

If you are living in Quebec-city then Reno-Jouets is a great place to shop for toys too.  It is a second-hand toy store located in a warehouse not so far from Costco on Avenue Watt, in the St Foy region.

http://www.reno-jouets.ca

Board Books Babies will LOVE ...

My son LOVES books!

I started reading to him from around 4 weeks of age, and now each morning we sit down and read at least FIVE lovely stories from his book bag (books for older children), and then I leave him to read his very own board books throughout the day.

Here are some wonderful board books that Master J has grown to love:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear (Slide and Find), by Eric Carle
• Giraffes Can't Dance, by Giles Andreae, Guy Parker-Rees
• Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack, by Lynley Dodd
• I am a Train (Scholastic)
• Spot at the Fair, by Eric Hill
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

Child car-seat Safety ... keep them REAR FACING for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!

During the Christmas and New Year period I was reminded of the importance of travelling safely with young children in the car.  Many of us travel long distances in rough wintery conditions in North America.

My husband and I researched models of car seats for our young son as he had began to outgrow his infant baby carrier car-seat.  By the time he had reached the age of 7 months (he was in the 85 percentile range for both height and weight) and we needed to upgrade his car-seat. 

We agreed to keep our young son rear-facing for as long as possible, and purchased a Britax Boulevard.  We are very happy with the side impact protection feature.  It is a sturdy child safety seat and can be used both rear-facing, and front-facing (up to 60lbs).  The seat does take up a lot of space (we have a 1800cc Toyota Corolla 4 door sedan), but we believe it is worth it.

Check out this video clip ... Child car seat safety - The Importance of a Rear-facing Child car seat

And a true story of a crash with a child front facing ... Joel at 18 months of age and just after the crash

We also invested in a Baby Bjorn travel crib that doubles as a play pen, at home, when needed.  We have taken the travel crib on several short holidays (as it packs down the size of a small weekend suitcase), and to friends' homes when we are invited for meals.  J happily goes down for a nap or to sleep in the evenings.

Snippets ... December, 2009

Just for fun ...Click HERE to see an hour of winter and Christmas on Rue Petit Champlain (Québec-city)

Our Christmas tree (above) and back deck (below) ... 2 days before Christmas!

Keeping a clear path to our house (above) ... and back garden (below)

Our garden and deck early December!

Off for a morning sled ride ... 

(the day after our first winter storm, early December)

......................................

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All!

Joey turns ONE! (Nov09)

Life is so much fun … it is all about observing and discovering for myself how things work; crawling as fast as I can into the kitchen to inspect what is going on every time I hear the dishwasher or refrigerator door opening, picking leaves off my favourite indoor plants, opening the kitchen drawers and cupboards (Mum has assigned me my own kitchen drawer now), pulling myself up to put my hands in the toilet, closing the bathroom door at bath-time, and being ever so quiet so Mummy has to come looking for me.  Here I am on my first birthday when I got to eat cake!

Matt publishes book in French (Sep09)

Having returned a week early from Denmark, Matt had the huge task of doing the final edit on his book to meet the publication deadline.  Several weeks later, with the book in print, he gave a talk to the Mayor and Historical Society of La Pocatiere who celebrated 150 years of their Agricultural College (La Pocatiere is about a 2 hour drive from Quebec city).  Jozef and Sheryl joined Matt to commemorate the occasion, along with several very good friends from Quebec city.

Family trip to Charlevoix (Jul09)

This was our time to take a break, and although it rained most of July we were able to get away as a family for 5 days to relax in a Swiss style chalet near a man made lake.  Jozef had his first taste of sand and icy cold mountain water which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Matt’s promotion to fully fledged, fully tenured Full Professor (Jun09)

After 12 years of hard work, and a mountain of paperwork to apply for a promotion, Matt was rewarded for his diligence and hard work with tenure-ship as a Full Professor (complete with an inflation adjusted salary!).

Trip to Parliament at tulip time (May09)

Matt’s work periodically takes him to Ottawa to chair a meeting or two, and this time we all went as a family.  After a 6 hour drive (with 2 stops along the way to feed a hungry 6 month old, we also had the opportunity to enjoy a meal with Dr Stephen & Moira Hayes (who recently retired from ministering and caring for the folks at St Andrew’s here in Old Quebec city).

St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Old Quebec city (Mar09)

Jozef was baptised at St Andrew’s in March and received a very warm welcome into the church.  In November of this year he also started going to a small Sunday School group where he gets to stand at the craft table and babbles away to the girls (mostly) aged 2 and 5 years.

Joey starts Baby Chat (Jan09)

Joey enjoyed nine months at Baby Chat (a group for Mums and under 1 year olds).  We’ve just graduated to the Take-a-Break group (where technically Mum gets a coffee break while Joey plays with Volunteers).  We enjoyed our first visit on December 4 where Jozef laughed at the puppets and had a great time playing a xylophone and piano.  He let Mum take his hand and he guided her around the room, heading straight for the door after stopping by the playmat, and puppet box.

  

Sheryl adjusts to her new role as a SAHM (Dec 08)

I couldn’t have wished for a happier, more content and easy to care for baby who sleeps anywhere from 11 to 13 hours at night and eats everything I prepare for him!  The transition to motherhood has been a big one (coming later in life), yet has introduced me to many young families.  Several of the Mothers I have met in the last year are now expecting their second or third child.  Quebec is a great province to bring up children and families are well supported by local community activities.

  

an afternoon trip to the Acquarium with Jozef (in spring time)

another trip to the Acquarium (in autumn) - my Mum bought a yearly pass, so we can go whenever we choose, to see the polar bears, walrus and seals

Children's Birthday Party ... how to keep it stress free!

Here are several of my handy hints to help keep your child’s birthday party stress free:

•  Invite your guests at least two weeks ahead of time (one week at the very latest – with a phone call, followed by an email).
•  Buy your child’s gift at least one month ahead of time (it is very stressful to be rushing around shops at the last minute).  NB: Don’t forget to buy or make a card too!
• Wrap your child’s gift at least 2 days before the event.  Younger children love tearing the paper off a big boxed gift (don’t fuss too much – just wrap some nice paper around the middle of a huge box, stick a big bow on the top and they will be delighted … my one year old son was happily helped into the box to play with his friend.
• Keep the food simple … birthday cake, fresh fruit, light snacks - something sweet, something savoury, plus a nice big plate of homemade egg sandwiches.  Cheese-on-wholewheat toast and home made cereal cookies (for enfants and toddlers) keeps them happy.
• Make the cake one week ahead of time and freeze (Pound Cake is great!).
• Sandwiches can be made right after dinner the night before the event, and kept in the refrigerator overnight – ensure you lay a damp paper towel on top of the sandwiches and cover completely with cling wrap to keep them airtight (Tip: boil the eggs while making dinner and let them cool).
• Hang the balloons and decorations the night before, when the house is quiet and everyone is asleep.
• 3.00pm is a great start time for an afternoon tea party (ensure your little one has an early afternoon nap around 12.30pm).
• 2 hours is sufficient time for a party (guests and children will be winding down around 5.00pm).
• Be prepared that your guests will arrive up to 30 minutes late!
• Cook the hot food ahead of time (pastries, savouries no more than half an hour before the party start time and keep them warm in a warmer drawer).  If you cook them when guests arrive it can be a big distraction, as you will find yourself running in and out of the kitchen.
• Be relaxed – have hubby or a friend handy with the camera (as you will be tied up making hot drinks, comforting your little one or helping them play with their friends, all while playing hostess to everyone).
• Remember to take a photo of your beloved with your child! (Don’t leave them holding the camera all night, and be disappointed there is no photograph of them!)
• On his 1^st Birthday my son gobbled down one piece of birthday cake, one cereal cookie, one piece of cheese on toast and one Cadbury Chocolate Finger plus a bottle of milk before happily going to bed by 5.30pm!

Enjoy!