Yesterday day we celebrated with a bike ride and a picnic, then after nap time we went to our favourite ice cream shop and Maren had her first ever ice cream cone.
Thank you Jeff, for being the incredible dad, husband, and person that you are ❤️
I tried to post this last night but had some technical troubles, so I have an incredible quote from Maren from this morning. She was pushing buttons on my stair chair, and Jeff said "Maren, you can't operate the stair chair." So Maren ran over to her rocking horse and said "Mommy operate the stair chair. Maren operate the rocking horse." It was simultaneously surprising and hilarious to hear her learn the word operate so quickly and so well :-)
We have been very much enjoying our summer time so far. The weather has been great, and there are no mosquitoes yet, so being outside is wonderful. We have been taking bike rides, walks/trike rides, scooter rides, and spending lots of time at the playgrounds and in the backyard.
My mom came to visit at the very end of May into the beginning of June, and Maren absolutely loved having her here. Yesterday she said her longest sentence ever: "Grandma push you on the swings at the turtle park." Grandma did indeed spend an amazingly long time pushing Maren on the swings at a couple of different parks, including one that has a turtle statue to play on. We all very much appreciated the visit.
Maren has not quite mastered I/me/my. Which is to say, she never says them unless we tell her to. There was one day last week when we thought she might be starting to get it, but it hasn't really sunk in. It is one of those adorable things that toddlers do – so every time she talks about herself she says you/your.
Yesterday she made up a new word: "yesternight." When you hear it, of course it makes sense – why say yesterday when you're talking about last night? I totally love hearing her say new things, and think things through, coming to a conclusion that makes sense even if it isn't quite right :-)
And of course here is a video from last week. I made popsicles by blending up a banana with some cocoa and a little bit of milk. Maren is a big fan.
Maren is super into music and dancing these days. This past week there was an arts festival in our neighborhood that involved multiple different opportunities for seeing live music outdoors. Maren absolutely loved it. On Monday she got to ride in a bike trailer behind Jeff for the first time as we went the six or eight blocks to the park where music was happening that day. She refused to take off her bike helmet, and just kept dancing in her toddler way helmet and all.
Another video from the same day:
On Saturday we spent some time in the morning at a street fair that was just a few blocks up from our house, and Maren saw bagpipes and drums for the first time. She was totally enthralled. Later in the afternoon we went to a kids stage, and she heard fiddle music for the first time. She basically did not stop dancing for their entire set :-)
We have now been living in our new house for a month. We continue to be more and more settled, but it still seems like every extra minute is spent unpacking. There are just a few boxes left to unpack, but all our pictures are still packed up, and deciding where to put things on the walls is going to be a huge job.
The weather has been nice, and we have been enjoying our new neighbourhood. We have been out for "walks," which include me taking my trike or my mobility scooter, and we have been to three different playgrounds in walking distance so far. We are loving living here, even if we haven't really gotten to relax yet since moving.
The bad news is that our old house hasn't sold yet. But it will eventually. It is a little bit stressful, but I am sure things will come together.
Maren continues to do well. She must be having a growth spurt, because she is sleeping a ton. At night she sleeps 12-13 hours straight, and naps for about an hour to an hour and a half. Although toddler life can be hard, she is in many ways about as easy as they come. And it is hilarious hearing her talk and even make jokes these days. For example today she said "Hickory dickory... Daddy! Hickory dickory... Mommy!," etc. We love life with our little kiddo :)
We are continuing to slowly make progress on getting settled. Earlier this week, for the first time since we moved, the kitchen counter was clear (if only briefly). We have finally installed a baby gate at the top of the stairs, which has proved to be more difficult than it should have been. It seems like things are always more complicated and always take more time than we plan for. But it is definitely feeling more like home here, and most of what is left is low priority from a functional standpoint and will get done eventually :-)
The weather here has been exceptionally nice. Yesterday and the day before it got up to about 30°C/85°F. Yesterday and today we barbecued - yesterday with three other families that we are friends with, and today for the first time in our own backyard. It is supposed to cool off but still be quite nice. Summer has finally begun :-)
And no blog post would be complete without a video of Maren:
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