Out on the town with Meaghan and Gabrielle

So this is what they're up to while we're at work all day...

Ladies who lunch.

Meaghan is from a huge family - 6 brothers and sisters at last count - and they all seem to be involved with Gabrielle in some way. Her brother Lucas, above, is apparently one of G's favourites. I think it's because he's got baby-like features, or at least the top of his head bears some resemblance...

Meaghan's sister, Erin, is also in on the action, having done some babysitting for us one night.

Meaghan's teaching G lots of valuable life skills, not the least of which is how to rudely chat on a cellphone when you're out for lunch with your friends.

And most importantly, accessorizing, or as I like to call it, Successorizing!

Early training for med school

Crappy moments in parenting

Note giant bruise on Gabrielle's forehead. Baby head meets sharp edge of bed in horrible ways.

The long wait for mummy at the Winterlude tri

A couple of weeks ago, I competed for the first time in the Winterlude Triathlon. I really underestimated how difficult the race would be to complete: "a little skating, a little skiing, and a little running, how hard could it be?"

Poor Gabrielle had to wait for her mother to drag her sorry butt across the finish line.

Me "sprinting" at the end in order to come in seconds under 2 hours. I still ended up near the bottom of the competitors' list. Next year, I train!

The kids these days and their newfangled hairstyles

Can you tell she has a 22 year old nanny?  ;-)

Mama, dada, duck-a-duck

[Meaghan wrote:] Monkey see, monkey do. Her walking and talking continues to amaze me. 

Swimming

[Meaghan wrote:] Yesterday Gabrielle had her first swim class and let me just say, she was a pro!

Not frightened of the water whatsoever. She took part in playing water games, blowing bubbles and small attempts to get her face in the water! She loved it and will continue to amaze me!

Pals

[Meaghan wrote:] What can I say. We love taking pictures!!

We try to take a new one everyday for Mark

& Belinda while they are at work :)

neat photobooth setting on the Mac 

Stupid parent tricks

The things we do to hear our child laugh...

Skiing!

On Manon and Madeline's suggestion, Mark and I ventured out to Gatineau Park this past weekend with Gabrielle in a rented babyglider. As you can see from the photo, I opted to skate ski, while Manon and Mark both classicked. I soon realized that skate skiing is hard enough without a 30 lb. weight dragging you down. I pulled for about 2 kms and then dumped the sleigh on Mark.

Here I am! This picture was actually taken right before we started skiing. Gabrielle wasn't thrilled to be zipped into this contraption, but she soon settled down and fell asleep. She was a bit cold by the time we got back to the chalet, despite the awesomeness of her snowsuit. I think that if we try this again, we'll only do so on a warmish winter day.

The apres-ski: a sippy cup of milk and a salami and cheese sandwich. 

Friends

Gabrielle's been doing her fair share of socializing lately - above, here she is at Pascale and Elijah's home. I originally met Pascale at the Tuesday afternoon playgroup we would both attend. Then when Mark went on leave, he became friends with her at the same playgroup. When I first met her, Elijah was only four weeks old or so, and Gabrielle was around four or five months. Elijah's caught up quickly - he's running around on his own and he's about the same size. Note Gabrielle is checking out the liner notes in the CD. Mark taught her that.

They have a rabid dog that took big honkin' bites out of my arm and Gabrielle's leg, and Mark's shoes and....

Happily, Gabrielle wasn't scared of the dog, just incredibly annoyed everytime he'd come by and lick her. It's even worse than being wiped down with a washcloth!

Gabrielle has also rekindled her relationship with her babyhood friend Madeline, and her mother Manon. They look quite similar, both being hairless types, but Maddy is 9 months older and 5 pounds lighter!

Fast forward 18 years and turn Gabrielle's sippy cup into a gin and tonic and Maddy's juice box into a Corona.