11 Months

Addie turned 11 months and our world  has officially been turned upside down- she is WALKING!!!! That's right, our dear girl took her first real steps on NOvember 23; just a few days after she turned 10 months. By the 13th she was well on her way. There is no stopping her now. We have to buy baby gates, we are putting covers on all plugs and trying to secure as many cupboard doors as we can. This is a busy gal!!

This month Addie continued to develop her speech. Her biggest thing is animal noises. When reading her stories, she loves it when we made animal sounds. She can say "eee, eee, eee" when you ask her what a monkey says, 'mmmmm' for a cow, and 'rrrr' for a puppy.

Addie also started clapping this month. If you say 'yay' she'll clap and she gets very excited. She is also doing a lot of arm flapping and seems to hold her mouth open when she's really excited. For those of you who know Mason, you know exactly what I'm talking about because these are few of his hillarious signature moves!

In not so great news, Addie had her first bout of the stomach flu this month. She was one very sick little girl. It last about 24 hours and was non-stop for her. I felt so sad and useless. She slept as much as she could and slowly starting feeling better. But it was really a few days before she was back to her normal self. Such a shame when babies are sick.

In Mason's world, this month was our first Parent/Teacher Interview. It went really well. Mason is very well like among the class and seems very popular with the ladies!!! He is working hard and has excellent manners. We are so proud of him.

But I guess the big news for Mason was the celebration of his sixth birthday. I can't believe my baby is six years old... He celebrated his birthday with Reese by having a party at the school. They each invited 7 friends and we had a "Boy vs Wild" adventure party. Chris and Doug set up the gym in a huge obstacle course. The kids had such a blast. We also had Chris' family over to our house for a birthday dinner and then we headed to Edmonton on Mason's actual birthday for a visit with the Grues. Mason was of course spoiled with gifts but a few highlights were money for ski club, a GT snowracer, a Hot Wheels Wall Track and skates. Reese and Mason gave each other the skates and we were able to take them skating right away. I couldn't believe how well they both did.

One cool thing about Mason's birthday was his special day at school. Because it's a Montessori program, the Birthday Celebration involves the kids holding a globe and walking around a model of the sun 6 times (once for each year they've been alive). I had to attend and shared milestones from each year of Mason's life. It was such a neat experience.

Christmas season has also begun in the Trydal house. The Elf (Matt) arrived on November 23 and made a delicious North Pole Breakfast to announce his arrival. We of course decorated the house and began our Advent Calendar. This year I wanted to add something new to the calendar so each week I added an act of kindness for us to do. We brought treats to Tannis' mom's senior home, we rang the bells for the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle, we bought groceries for the food bank, and made cookies for our neighbours. I'm not going to lie and say that Mason loved doing everything!!! But I am really happy that he is at least learning about the true meaning of Christmas....

One of my favorite Advent activities was our Polar Express Day.  We did some crafts, made a gingerbread train, watched the Polar Express (of course) and then took the kids in their pjs to see the lights around GP. It was a really fun day!

Anyhow, I hope you're all enjoying your Christmas season so far and we hope to be able to see you soon,

Love, Jenn

Reese's 6th Birthday 

The Adventure Party 

Classroom Birthday Celebration 

10 Months

Today someone asked me how old Adelina was and I said, "she'll be 11 months on Monday". It was then that I remembered I still hadn't updated at 10 months....

So, what WAS the Trydal clan up to this past month? Well, Miss Adelina continued to amaze us. She is quickly becoming quite the funny girl and is always making the three of us laugh. She plays peekaboo, loves to laugh and squeal, and thinks making her brother laugh is the best thing ever. 

This month Addie was finally able to get into a sitting position from laying. She really likes her new found freedom and the fact that she is more involved in what we're all doing. However, this also means she's now up in her crib a lot! She has been pulling down the monitor (the cord was running behind her crib), throwing her soother out, throwing her bunny out, and of course jumping on her bed!! She now wears her sleep sack for naps and bed time and it seems to be helping to keep her sleep! 

And wouldn't you know that only a few days after this sitting up happened, she also began to crawl. As if I hadn't noticed when we were trying to conceive, this girl will do things when she is ready and not when anyone else is ready!!! This crawling has led Chris and I to baby proof the house. We never did this with Mason. He just didn't get into things. But Adelina is a different story. The plug outlets are all covered and the cupboard doors are now latched shut. I'm telling you; we have our hands full with this one... 

Of course crawling quickly led to cruising around the room holding onto furniture and even pushing her little car around the living room. I have a feeling it won't be long before she's walking. Yikes! 

Addie is also continuing to stay very verbal. She now likes to sing "la la la". She also has blown a few kisses to her dad! 

Physically Adelina is of course continuing to grow. She is now 20 pounds even (45 percentile for weight) and the 95 percentile for height. She also popped her two top teeth this month. 

Some first for our little miss this month include a toboggan ride with her big brother that she absolutely loved. Addie also had her first (of many) Christmas mandarin orange. Big surprise that she loved it. 

And what is our wonderful Mr Mason up to? Well, this month he finished his drum lessons. He really enjoyed the lessons and was doing great. But, he teacher said that he is pretty young and recommended us to work with him at home for another year or two. So, Chris and him have been having some jam sessions downstairs. Mason also finished his Level 2 swimming lessons this month. He was the youngest in his group (and definitely the smallest) so his teacher suggested he do level two again. Mason loves the water so this was no biggie. After ski season (which begins in December), we'll sign him up to swim again. 

Mason is also contininug to grow. He too had a check up this month and is now 45.5 pounds and 45 inches tall. Right at the 50 percentile for both measurements! 

Mason is still loving school. He is now reading at a level three and writing a lot on his own. He recieved his first report card this month. He is doing so well. His teacher just loves him and nothing but positive to say. We are so proud of his great attitude and his hard work. 

And of course it wouldn't be October without Halloween! This year Mason was a pilot and Addie was a pumpkin. We had lots of fun mucking around in the pumpkin and trick or treating. Addie was so busy that day that I could barely get a picture of her adorable costume, but you can see it a little anyhow. 

Well, that's all for now. Until next time...

Love Jenn 

9 Months

Well our little beauty is now 9 months old. It took Chris, Mason and I to get this picture but it's pretty darn cute (not that I'm biased)!! She is such a little monkey that trying to get her to sit still is quite the task. She is not really anything like her big brother was! 

This month Addie has been really active. She spends the majority of her time standing holding onto furniture. She can get from her knees to standing by pulling up on our ottoman. And, although it was a little shaky, Addie crawled a few steps this month. It's funny because she has a few little friends that are really close in age to her. They are all crawling. But Addie prefers to walk along the furniture. I have a feeling that this little lady is going to do everything at her own pace and when she is ready! 

Addie is also waving now. When she sees someone new or we are leaving, she'll give a little wave. She also makes the sound "buh" when she waves so we think (seeing as she's very bright) that she's trying to say bye!! She is definitely trying to say puppy. Every time she she's Molly she's says 'puh puh'. And, when she looks at the bird mobile that Chris and I made (see the picture below), she says "br". One thing is for sure, whether she's grunting, screeching (in a happy way), or babbling, this girl loves to be heard!!

 Physically, Addie is of course continuing to grow. She is now 18.5 pounds. She also cut her second bottom tooth this month (as you can see in her picture), and two weeks later cut her two top teeth. We are waiting for two more up top to come through any time. 

A first experience for Addie this month was her first hike. We took both kids on one of Chris' class trips to Grande Cache and hiked Mount Louie. Mason hiked the whole thing (just over 12 km) by himself and could have kept going. He is becoming such an outdoorsman!! I carried Addie in the baby carrier and she did great. She had a few little naps and otherwise just enjoyed the views. Chris and I talked about how lucky we are to have kids who are so adaptable and easy going. It's so  nice to be able to do some of the things we like to do as a family instead of having to leave the kids with someone and go alone. 

Some other events from this month include Addie's first Thanksgiving. It was a nice long weekend that we spent with friends and family. This month we also tried a family yoga class, a bunch of last of the season hikes out at the Nordic Ski Trails, and another birthday party for one of Addie's little buddies. 

Mason has been continuing with swimming lessons and school. He seems to love both activities which is of course great. His confidence in the pool has really improved. We have also officially signed Mason up for ski club. Depending on the snow it will probably begin after Christmas. And, we told Mason that we really wanted him to try something musical. So, he picked drums. Seriously!!! He began lessons and is loving it. So far he is learning the names of the drum kit, how to hold the sticks (which he got his own set of of), and how to separate each of his limbs (hand, hand, foot, foot). 

A few funnies from the mouth of Mason this month... while we were at a first birthday party (with a bunch of adults that I didn't really know), we were having cake and snacks. My dear son calls across the room to ask me if he can have a beer (there were cans of pop that he figured were beer)! I was just a little embarrassed! Another thing that made me chuckle was my son picking out clothes to wear for his school picture day. I guess I only have myself to blame since I've always insisted he have nice outfits but it still made me laugh. He picked out a green (his favorite color) v-neck sweater. But, it that wasn't enough, he wanted to wear a colored shirt and tie underneath it and skinny jeans. His hair also had to be spiky!! But man did he look cute. 

A bittersweet day for me this month was my last day of breastfeeding. It was such a challenge with Mason that I never thought I'd be upset to let it go with Addie. But, she wasn't really doing well anymore (too distracted) and I knew that if I wanted to join Chris on a 3 day hiking trip without the kids, I needed to wean her. It was much harder on me than her. But, we're doing great with bottles and she's such an amazing eater that I know this is for the best. 

And I guess the big event for Chris and I this month was our three day 'vacation' where we left the kids (Addie for the first time) with Grandpa and Grandma Trydal. I tagged along on Chris' outdoor pursuit trip to Rock Lake (close to Hinton) where we hiked about 40 km over 3 days, carried our gear, and slept in the middle of no where. It was cold, challenging, and 100% out of my comfort zone. But, I am so glad I got to see what Chris loves, I now know that I can do it, and the scenery was amazing. 

Our Fall photos

Addie with a few of her friends (Devyn and Hayden). Don't you just love that she was 'pooping' during her photo shoot. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. 

Mom and Dad came up at the end of September and we had the most beautiful fall weather. We went for a great walk while the leaves were in their prime splendour. 

I had to share this one because I just loved her little outfit. Seriously, could she be cuter!! 

Thanksgiving with Grandpa Dave 

Look at my adorable niece Caryse (8 years old already)

The boys (Mason and Reese), outside enjoying our first snow of the season

 A few shots from our hiking adventure 

And I have to end with this precious picture...

Hope all is well and you're enjoying these early winter days...

Love, Jenn 

8 Months

I know, she turned 8 months three weeks ago, but better late than never... 

Well, as you can see just from her picture, the chalk board is again on the side but she is now able to get it!!! This photo shoot just became a two person job! Addie was such a turkey. She kept climbing over the edge of the chair and grabbing the board. I kept saying "no Addie" and she just kept climbing. I think the funniest picture is the last one where she is giving me quite the look of disgust. I think I may have my hands full with this little monkey! 

So, what exactly was new with Miss Adelina this month? Well, let's begin with the physical changes. She now weighs 18.5 pounds. She is growing out of all of her shoes (she's now a size three), and she has 2 teeth!  Considering how much she eats, she still seems pretty tiny to me. Mason had such a chubby little body, but Adelina seems more slight. She definitely has the chubby cheeks (and a lovely double chin when she's pooping), but otherwise, she's pretty tiny! 

Adelina is such a great eater. I took the advice of my sister in-law Raquel, and have been feeding Addie a variety of foods; and foods with a lot of flavor. She has eaten salmon (with dill and lemon), garlic mashed potatoes, olives, pasta-pretty much anything we're eating, she's eating. The only thing she hasn't seemed to keen on was cottage cheese! Addie is also really getting the hang of feeding herself. In fact, she seems to prefer feeding herself rather than me spoon feeding her. I cut up most things into little bites and she's good to go! I think the funniest thing she's eaten was a whole piece of homemade Italian bread, dipped in olive oil with tomates. Nonna was feeding it to her and I couldn't say no. Addie ate the whole piece! 

This month we met with the dayhome Addie will be going to in January. I got the recommendation from a good friend of mine and we had an interview. She is an early child specialist and had built a home with the basement specifically for running a day home. She has a variety of toys, a craft room, a kitchen in the basement, a nap room, and she is right behind our new multiplex and loves to take the kids for walks indoors and to the new indoor playground. Her name is Melissa and Mason figures she'll be good for his little sister (in fact he wants to go to her house too). In December I'm going to spend a few afternoon play dates at the house with Addie to get her comfortable and then we'll cross our fingers for a successful transition in January. I have to admit that the idea of leaving her is very stressful and something I try to think of as little as possible....

Developmentally, Addie seems to be doing fairly well. She is definitely a talker (like her mother and big brother)! She is saying a lot of 'ma ma ma' and has now said "dada". Addie is sitting up on her own and is getting very strong. Many of Adelina's little friends (and if I look back at Mason's baby book), are crawling now. Little Adelina is content to roll herself around wherever she needs to go. She doesn't like being put on her knees. But, she is very happy to be help up standing and is even beginning to move her feet in a walking type motion! 

If I had one complaint about Addie this month it would be her poor sleeping. She seems to wake up every four hours now and seems hungry. In fact, I'm feeding her more in the night now that I did months ago. She also seems to not be interested in nursing. She fidgets and turns away. So, I've been giving her a bottle every day. Well, the past few days she's sleeping better. My plan is to introduce another bottle each day and we'll see how it goes. I only breast-fed Mason for four months so I guess I should be happy with how well this has gone with Addie. It just seems like when I'm finished, it will be another thing she has so quickly outgrown.

And of course, how is Mr Mason this month? Well, our little man is growing up very quickly. On September 4th he began Kindergarten. Mason is in Montessori Kindergarten at Mother Teresa School (the same school I teach at). His teacher's name is Miss Rhonda and he is having a blast. In fact, he can't wait for school days and when I ask him how school was, he responds, "oh, awesome. I loved it."

This month Mason also began another round of swimming lessons. He is now in level 2 and doing really well. In fact last week he swam half of a length without any help. We are so proud of him. We have always encouraged Mason to try new things, but the one area we're are adamant he tries is Music. He doesn't want to do piano lessons-he'd rather learn to play the drums like his dad. We are having trouble finding a music teacher to teach drums to 5 year olds but we're still on the hunt. Mason will also be joining the ski club this winter. 

Well, I guess that's about all for this month. Chris is back to work and I'm back to the gym regularly. We'll just be trying to enjoy the last days of summer before another winter and trying to enjoy these kiddos as much as we can. 

Hope all is well with you...

Love, Jenn