The Last Couple of Months

Over the last couple of months Claire and I have had to get creative about how to spend our time. I don't think I need to even say it but it has been a long winter and staying busy has been the key to my sanity. Matt spent most of the winter working at a cabin near Kenora and Claire and I had to think of new ways to enjoy our days. One thing we did was go for a mommy-daughter date to Wendy's. Claire did amazing and thoroughly enjoyed her cheeseburger and fries. We had  great time looking out the windows and Claire enjoyed pointing out all the trucks and buses. During our negotiation about leaving the restaurant Claire threw herself on the ground and bumped her head in the process. As I tried my best to not be mortified, one of the staff came over to us with a free frosty! Claire wasn't that impressed but I was thrilled. I will definitely be going back!

Another thing Claire has come to love over the last couple of months is the iPad. I am amazed by how quickly and easily she picked it up. We only have two games so far, an alphabet Elmo game and a colouring game, but she manages to navigate both quite independently. She also loves watching youtube videos of puppies, kittens and her favourite TV shows.

 As soon as it was remotely warm enough Claire and I started going for walks outside. This was often made very tricky because of all the ice, snow drifts and copious amounts of rogue dog poop that needed to be avoided but it was worth it just to get outside for a bit. Claire's favourite part of these walks (which, of course, was my least favourite part) was pointing out every dog dropping, to which I would gently encourage we change the subject and find something else to talk about. 

Over the winter we have also been enjoying many playdates. It is so interesting watching Claire as she navigates new social situations and teaching her how to play with others. She is definitely more of an observer at first but is starting to enjoy playing with other kids more and more. This is a picture of Claire with her friends Miriam and Ellie.

Among these and many other things, we filled our days playing with play dough, stickers, dollar store crafts and baking together. Now that the snow is mostly gone it feels like the options of things to do are endless. It is great to be outside and I am trying to focus on enjoying these last weeks with just Claire before the baby comes. The baby will be 33 weeks on Friday and I am, for the most part, feeling good. Matt and I are trying our best to prepare Claire for the arrival of the baby and I think she is pretty excited!