Galpin.ca

Diapers changed. Sippy cups filled. Snacks packed. Camera in hand. Sunscreen slathered. Hats adorned. Socks on. Shoes velcroed. Doors locked. Hands held. Gate opened. Wagon found. Seatbelts buckled. Let’s go!

Waddling ducks. Fingers pointed. Loud Quacks.

Delighted squeals. Running feet. Hands exploring.

Calling over. Remember when. Bark mulch fun.

Exchanging ideas. Plans made. Memories formed.

Good times. Laughter shared. Great friends.

Action packed. Fun abounds. Cute bottoms.

Ride home. Making up games. Ducking heads. More laughter. Silly girls.

After devoting lots of time to unpacking and cleaning the inside of our house, we have decided to start tackling the great outdoors. Though the inside work is nowhere near completed, summer weather is running out and it feels great to be outside before rainy season comes with full force. Also, I find it much more fulfilling seeing the progress in the garden than doing indoor household chores.

As our weekends have been super busy, we have started spending a bit of time outside in the evenings when we get the chance. Last night while Morgan pulled out a big vine that was crawling up the house and taking over portions of our front garden, I went to work on pulling out all the overgrowth from another area. Leah was playing around on the front lawn close to the road which was making me nervous so I started pulling out weeds in the lawn so I could be close to where she was.

When Leah saw the big pile of weeds that I was pulling out, she decided to help. She has seen me place weeds in buckets and yard waste garbage cans numerous times over and over again so she knew what to do. Grabbing one weed at a time, she walked with purpose down the driveway to the garbage can, dumping the weed in before coming back for another, all in her lilac dress.

Her great grandfather would have been mighty proud, just as he was when he worked in his large, beautiful garden alongside his eager grandchildren watching and asking, “Opa, is this a weed? How about this one?”

As children all over the country are back in school, Leah and I are getting back into the routine of having a friend at our house during the day. We have had tons of play dates during the summer but now we are looking after friends while their parents are working. I have looked after this little sweet pea for six weeks during part of May and June, three days a week and now she is coming four days a week.

Though it has been a great summer, we missed seeing her sweet face so often. Now Leah has her buddy back again to share all of life’s great experiences with.

We have now welcomed some boys into the mix on Monday who are sharing the day. It will be interesting to have a couple of boys in contrast to the girls. I know each child is born with their own personality but there is debate around the differences between boys and girls that goes beyond just personalities. Though this by no means is scientific in the slightest, I will still enjoy seeking out my own opinion as well as getting to know these kid’s personalities.

Each child is so unique and it is a true delight once you figure out all of their “ins” and “outs”. It takes awhile but is so rewarding being able to know what makes them laugh and cry, when they are ready for more stimulation or for a rest and when they are comfortable in your presence. I hope every child who enters our home feels known, welcomed and loved in addition to the basics of being cared for.

This little, sweet, adorable, precious girl has been slowly asserting more independence every day. Although this whole growing up thing has been in progress every since she existed, it hit me in a whole new way this week when Leah said no to me for the first time this week. Mentally I know this is a good, healthy sign and knew this was obviously going to come but emotionally I don’t think I feel the same way. I would rather she not shake her head and say no and instead eat her fruit and veggies without a fuss. I would love it if she shared her toys willingly with her friends and play independently when it comes time to make dinner.

Her independence also can be very helpful as well. Most of the time Leah loves to feed herself and refuses to be fed by anybody else which works well for me. When it is time to go outside, Leah loves to sit on the step for me to help her put her shoes and socks on. She understands the basic concepts of getting ready and sometimes tries to do it herself with little success. Still, I love it when she tries. Even though she can’t do it on her own, she helps me out by listening to my basic instructions such as “time to sit down” and “lift up your feet”.

When we go to the park, Leah will run to whatever piece of equipment she would like to use and raise her hands if she needs help to get on it. She still loves to go on the swings but also enjoys slides, teeter-totters and springy vehicles.

My favourite thing Leah has learned recently is giving kisses. They are loud, slobbery and truly a mother’s delight and even given when requested. How sweet.

In the middle of August we went away for the weekend to Oroville with some friends and since the weather wasn’t stellar, we visited a ghost town. (And I apparently forgot to post about it.)

Morgan looked very comfortable in the town and I’m sure would have fared well in the town’s heyday though the closest thing to a computer we saw was a typewriter.

Leah looked pretty at home as well chilling out on the steps of this one room, 1908 homestead cabin.

Here he is on the nursery stock planter.

Leah checking out the cool wheelbarrow. She loves our wheelbarrow too though I am not totally sure what the draw is.

I love this picture with the moss and the funky wheels. I would love to see them design and create the intricacies that make a piece of equipment come together. (Please ignore the telephone wires in the background.)

Is it a train? Is it a car? No, it’s a funky tractor.

They seemed to have a machine or attachment for everything. This is Leah hanging out on the corn planter which would go behind the tractor.

Here she is having a party on the corn planter.

I was amazed by their machines and the amount of creativity and work to engineer them. A simple log cutter powered by a horse had a big saw welded on to a handle of a gear which was connected to another gear which in turn attached to a spool wound up with rope. This rope would have been attached to a horse and as the horse moved walked the saw would rigidly go up and down. I guess when you are putting excessive amounts of time into performing the same hard tasks over and over, you have time to think about time and energy saving measures.

There was also the original school house which has been made into a museum showcasing the town that was flourishing in the early 1900’s but almost faded away just as quickly as it’s rise to fame. The town’s welcome sign is changed with population fluctuations and is currently boasting thirty five hardy residents.

Here is a classroom set up just like it would have been in 1906.

Talking to a ninety year old lady that grew up in Molson and attended the original schoolhouse was a delight as these treasured stories will soon fade away with no one to carry their amazing history and legacy. She now currently resides just outside of Molson in a nursing home but commented on the return away from the busy life and the trend to come back to country. Whereas city life was once seen as exciting and luring, now people are longing for the tranquility and peace which once was seen as a bore.

Though I will continue on my canning, sewing, cloth diapering, laundry hanging, gardening days, I still am happy with our city and balance where we currently live. I am definitely nowhere near as hardcore as those women and families back then and enjoy the conveniences we have today, I love learning their deep history and think we can learn many, many things from the way they lived and values they held dear.

Perking up upon peeking at pickles

Poking pickles

Placing poked pickles in place

Pursuing pickles with partial progress

Partaking of poked pickles

Playing during a pickle production pause

What a pickle performance!

I have never been a girly girl and thought I would pass this trait on to my daughters but I think the tides are slowly changing. As I was reading through the recreation centre’s toddler class schedule for the fall, the dance and movement class sounded alright. I may have even found it appealing. I still love the thought of Leah playing soccer though she will have to wait a few years to enroll as no toddler soccer classes are available.

It took me to graduate from high school before I bought a pink shirt for myself and to wear a dress or skirt when it wasn’t mandatory but now I find myself enjoying putting a dress on Leah. Even dresses with big bows and lots of polka dots I now find absolutely endearing on my little girl. I am still not about the really frilly but love the practical, simple cotton dresses that look comfy and still allow her to play and get dirty.

I absolutely love this dress and had to try it on Leah before giving it away to a friend of mine. The fabric is so cute and I am sure it will look great on her daughter in a couple of years.

Though Leah does not have much say in what she wears now, I am sure she will be voicing her opinion soon enough. I am not sure what Leah will want but my mind goes to a girl I taught preschool to who refused to wear pants and would show up everyday in a fancy dress. Another girl had a mom who let her dress herself and everyday she had a creative new look. Another mom let her daughter pick out her socks for the day while she picked the outfit.

I want to give Leah freedom within boundaries and not be phased by letting her go out of the house with clothes that don’t match or boots in the middle of summer. I am sure those boundaries will ebb and flow as Leah grows up and goes through various phases of life. At least her beauty will never change.

Ever since we have moved in, Morgan has been working lots of overtime, including Saturdays, so Leah and I try to keep busy and still make it a special day. I still look forward to the weekends as Morgan is generally at home helping take care of Leah during Saturday and it is a nice break from our weekday routine.

Now that Morgan is generally working, we sometimes will invite ourselves over to my parent’s house for the day (with their permission of course). We keep pretty busy over there between my sewing projects, shopping with my sister and hanging out with my mom. This Saturday we will be pickling cucumbers with my sister. Though I am not a huge fan of eating pickles, I enjoy the canning process along with my mom and sister.

This week we also squeezed in some time to can peaches with my mom which are mighty delicious. Ever since Leah has arrived, Morgan and I rarely make pancakes or waffles so we still had quite a few jars left over from last year. We used to make a nicer breakfeast on at least one day of the weekend which we would top with berry syrup and peaches or strawberries. I would love to get into that habit again.

Last year Leah wanted to watch all the action while this year I didn’t even get a picture of her as we were busy trying to keep her busy while canning.

She has grown up so much and still wants to be part of the action. I’m sure one day soon she will be helping us bring in the peaches from the garage and putting them into the jars.

We have a great park very close to our house that has a playground as well as duck ponds and nice, paved walking paths. I like to take Leah for walks through the park so we can check out the squirrels and ducks, collect a few pine cones and leaves and the other day, I picked some blackberries as well.

Leah and I were hanging out at the playground when another mom and daughter came by with a bowl full of blackberries. I didn’t have a picking container so I offered Leah one last drink of water and then emptied it out so I could use it for berries. It didn’t take long to find some big bushes and while Leah was content sitting in her wagon, I picked away.

I was pretty sure Leah wouldn’t want to taste one as she refuses to touch any vegetable I put in front of her and most fruits as well. However, in her mostly white shirt she decided she wanted to try one and let me know loud and clear about her desire. I offered one and she ate it making quite the sour face. I though I would get off okay with Leah just trying one, no berries on her shirt yet and I could easily wipe off her hands. But much to my surprise she wanted more. She had one berry in each hand for the ride home, replacing them every now and then for one she had eaten.

She managed to get blackberries on her hat, shirt, shorts and shoes. The only piece of clothing that was exempt was her diaper which I am sure would have got a piece of the action if it wasn’t fully covered in other clothing.

I thought a messy, possibly stained shirt is a small sacrifice to pay for my child to make the leap into trying out fruits and vegetables without me hiding them into her food throughout the day. So when I offered her some more blackberries the next day while sitting in her booster with her sleeves rolled up and her bib on, I had great expectations. All I got was a frown and a child pushing them to the edge of her tray.

This weekend as I was making some eggs for breakfeast, Leah was at my feet with her arms outstretched wanting to be held. Not really the best time for a cuddle, but I figured she get wanted to see what I was doing so I set her on the counter. She immediately reached over to the dish rack, picked out the flipper and starting scrambling the eggs.

I remember that was the first thing we were allowed to cook as kids. I guess eggs are fool proof enough, just crack them open into the frying pan and don’t stop stirring until they look done. I think we were ten or eleven until we earned that privilege but really, why not start them young?

Speaking of starting them young, I have started putting Leah onto the toilet while holding her so she gets used to the concept. I’m not expecting anything big but I’m not opposed to earlier rather than later. In fact, the earlier the better.