Galpin.ca

Introducing goop to Leah and co. Goop is simply a combination on cornstarch and water but it has some out of the ordinary principles. When you hold it, it hardens and once you let you it liquefies.

My neat girl refused to interact with the goop as it might get her hands dirty. She loved watching me play with the goop but I wanted her to interact on her own as well so I gave out spoons. I was glad I didn’t do my weekly, deep kitchen cleaning yesterday as planned as goop was spread far and wide.

After sitting for so long, I wanted to let them run outside to burn off some energy. I asked the girls to hold hands while we were walking outside and they continued to do so as they meandered over to the playground.

The girls just wanted to sit in the wagon for the most part which give me a chance to take a few shots. I tried to entice them to play ball or go in the playground but I wasn’t very successful. Maybe that is why naps were a little shorter today which means Leah will go to bed a little earlier tonight.

I’m so glad we have been blessed with this beautiful weather. I was pulling off toques when we got into the wonderful sunshine. Spring is a coming and we are looking forward to it.

Leah and Gabby love to wave goodbye to Morgan as he rides off to work as well as watch the garage/recycling truck atop of the book bench. Once they get down, it is back to work. Though Leah can’t identify her colours verbally, she knows how to match them up.

Funky tights, funky hoodie, funky face, fun girls.

Who knew hanging out in boxes and baskets in the kitchen could be so much fun? These best buddies can make fun out of anything.

Leah loves to have her fingers traced and has attempted to do it herself as well.

Ready to paint.

A few things about Leah that I don’t want to forget
-she is 26 lbs and 31.5 inches tall
-knows lots of animal sounds
-says yes please and no thank you
-she adores her friends, especially Gabby who receives many hugs, kisses and shrieks of joy upon her arrival
-can identify head, eyes, eyebrow, cheeks, ears etc.
-loves to give her friends their sippy cups
-is a picky eater, would eat bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we let her
-loves cinnamon
-very determined
-will say ‘two’ after you say one
-does not like ponytails or clips in her hair
-loves bath time
-has had a few colds but overall been really healthy
-sleeps 8:00/30 till 7:30/8 most nights, sometimes wakes up for a soother, esp when under the weather
-takes a two and a half hour nap at noon
-identifies mommy’s and daddy’s things and will deliver them if she can (jackets, shoes)
-loves to go outside and doesn’t appreciate staying at home when she sees someone leaving
-can say grandma (mama) and grandpa (bampa)
-plays really well on her own as well as with friends

This is what has been keeping me busy lately.

Notice all the little pieces on the floor and the lack of large, intact panels. I’m beginning to think that wallpaper should be illegal. Not that all wallpaper is as bad as our lovely caveman drawings with a horse border but maybe people should be required to remove a large wall of wallpaper before they are allowed to apply it. It hasn’t been that bad but it hasn’t been fun either. At least I know I will never regret taking it off the walls. My mom came over today and the last of it is gone! Now for plastering, sanding and painting. Don’t be looking for a reveal anytime too soon… though I would love to get it done sooner rather than later.

Leah started and finished one of her masterpieces this morning while hanging out in her booster seat.

She carefully choose between her two colour options (I need to buy some more food colouring) and intently applied the paint to the side of the paper that corresponded with which hand she was using at that moment to hold her paintbrush.

Voila! Another great piece to adorn our fridge until the newest creation is released.

Life with a toddler definitely keeps you on your toes. Leah can communicate somewhat but I don’t always understand exactly what she wants all the time. Throughout the process, when I understand, I have been trying to give her what she wants when it is appropriate and saying no when appropriate as well. Sometimes it is a direct clash of will while other times redirection and distraction work wonderfully. I don’t want Leah to get whatever she wants because of our fear of an impending, loud, passionate temper tantrum. I don’t want to get in the habit of saying no just because of my selfishness either. So we are trying to walk the balance.

As I was trying to get some chores done downstairs, I took Leah with me and she noticed her stroller in our laundry room. She rarely rides in the stroller anymore but still seems to have a fondness for it. She walked over to it and starting doing her ‘I want it’ murmurs along with her ‘I want it’ dance.

I thought through the pros and cons as I don’t want to say to no to everything without thinking it through. Slightly inconvenient but I can surely give ten seconds of my time for a moment of happiness. In the end it worked out wonderfully. I vacuumed the downstairs, moving the stroller to make sure I got all the floor. She still didn’t want to get out so I pushed her into our master bedroom so she could watch me clean the bathroom. I thought she would be extremely bored with no toys to play with but she was more than content and I got the time I wanted to do laundry, clean the bathroom, vacuum and tidy up our bedroom.

Now what will it be next week to keep her occupied happily while I get my cleaning done. It could be anybodies guess but the most unlikely will probably prevail. And that’s okay.

Whenever we go outside, there always seems to be something new that catches Leah’s eye. Some days she loves to go around with her watering can and water the plants and rocks around the yard. Other days it is her toy trucks or playing with the wind chimes or banging on the fire pit cover or being chased by me. Sometimes she is a ball of energy and other times she seems so much more laid back.

Her latest discovery is walking back and forth over the pathway in our backyard. She can’t step from concrete step to concrete step yet but I think she likes the bumpiness of it all.

Usually I am outside with a few kiddies but on this particular afternoon it was just Leah and me which gave me a chance to have a closer look at the yard as well as snap a few pictures. I was surprised at how green this particular garden looks. Not the prettiest looking garden ever but green none the less.

In contrast, here is a picture from the island in the middle of our yard which is mostly brown but still has variety.

We purchased a new camera a little while ago as our old one died. Nothing too fancy but has more options than our other one. Though I haven’t taken the time to play with it a lot and haven’t read all the instructions, I enjoy seeing what I can figure out on my own. Reading and browsing through other’s blogs and looking at their pictures has given me ideas to try take a few decent pictures of my own. Even if they don’t turn out, not much is lost in this digital age.

All that to say, I have some funky flowers in my garden that look cool in the dead of winter after they lost their colour and life as well and I’m glad I was able to capture that in the picture above. Hope you enjoyed it too.

We have been given a playground for Leah that my parents brought over during the holidays. Leah loves to play with her friends going in and out, playing ‘peek and boo’ and throwing balls in and out of the openings. Though the slide is missing at the moment, they are blissfully unaware.

Here’s Leah configuring her next move.

Here I am.

What fun!

Imagine her reaction when it is all complete.