Raising Paige

I realize it has been quite a while since I posted on this blog. The reason isn’t because there’s nothing to say about Paige, just that time goes by pretty quickly and I get so wrapped up in helping raise Paige that I forget to write about her. She’s rapidly approaching 3 years old and is turning into a little girl (toddler) right before our eyes. She’s growing not only in size but in personality and vocabulary too. She’s using words that I didn’t even know she knew. For example, here’s a short conversation we had after I picked her up from child care not too long ago: Paige: You’re using fingers. Me: What are you using your fingers for? Paige: No. Your fingers! Me: Oh, sorry. What am I using my fingers for? Paige: Using your fingers on the steering wheel. Me: Yes. I’m using my fingers on the steering wheel. Umm…when did she learn the words steering wheel? I didn’t even know she knew what a steering wheel was. She’s already smarter than half the driver

Well last night I did something I haven’t done in probably 20 years. I dressed up and went Trick or Treating. Since Paige is only 2 years old she couldn’t go for hours, which is fine with me, but she definitely had fun. She dressed up as a gorilla so she was pretty warm, although the early evening wasn’t exactly cold this year thankfully. I dressed up as Mr. Incredible because, well, she has been watching The Incredibles lately. Her mom dressed up as a blood-covered nurse I think. I think I was more focused on Paige. LOL She walked the entire time, always said ‘Trick or Treat’ at the door and always said ‘Thank You’, or ‘Thank You Very Much’. Ok, maybe that last one was more like ‘Thank You Much!’. She hauled in a pretty decent amount of candy and won over a few more hearts around Springbrook too. I think one of the best parts for me was when we stopped by one house and there was one person dressed up as a rather large and scary creature. Paige was hesitant to walk too close unti

Paige started a ‘swimming’ class this past Saturday and I have the pleasure of taking her. My wife says it’s so I can learn how to be with Paige in the water. I’m not sure that’s a legitimate reason, but I’m having fun so I don’t really care.  Paige mostly listened during the first class but she was mostly just excited to be in the water. I think she enjoys the water as much as she loves being outdoors. The most difficult and enjoyable part of the class was getting her to float on her back and stomach while I held her. She just naturally wants to kick her feet and swim.  I should point out that Jodi came to the class as well and watched us in the water.  The only drawback to me taking Paige to the class is that I have to wear a bathing suit. While Jodi takes pictures. And posts them online. You can find them here . Thankfully raising Paige is teaching me humility, even if I don’t want to learn.

Last weekend we took Paige to the Calgary zoo along with Jodi’s parents and her youngest brother and his family. As expected it was both tiring and very rewarding. Paige was excited to see all the animals and we ended up pushing an empty stroller while she ran everywhere she could. A few times she ran quite a ways ahead of us, all in good fun, forcing me to run after her. Well ok, I didn’t run …I quickly shuffled. Anyway, we got to see the pandas as well as many other animals. I don’t know which animals she enjoyed the most but I know she liked seeing the tigers, camels, bears and penguins. She really laughed at the penguins. Unfortunately I didn’t get any video of her around the penguins but her shrieks of excitement and joy certainly put smiles on many people around us. Once again she managed to show me how important it is to enjoy the world around you and marvel at everything it has to offer. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the adventure. Do you see the bea

Well it looks and feels like summer in Alberta is coming to an end. Paige certainly made this summer a little more exciting and a lot more fun at times. Being dragged around by a 2 year-old can certainly be tiring but it can also bring some laughter and joy. For example, we were lucky enough to spend 2 days at Crimson Lake at a friend’s cabin. We took Paige on a walk and managed to snap some pretty funny (and cute) pictures. Some of my favorites:   Hiding Peek-a-boo! Should I jump? Grandma & Paige Safety (and Cute) First! I find myself getting caught up in my own struggles. Raising Paige is tiring and certainly not something I expected to be doing starting in my mid-40’s but the adventure is something I remind myself to enjoy; Even during the Terrible Two’s. LOL. Paige is talking more and more every day and sometimes I’m caught off guard by what she sees and says. I hope she never loses that sense of fun and amazement with life.

In the last few weeks I have noticed a change in Paige. She is talking a lot more. A LOT MORE. Not only that, she is repeating words and phrases that we say as well as copying what she hears on shows like Peppa Pig and Dora the Explorer. She tries more often to sing along with songs she hears on shows as well and I know she sings along to songs Jodi plays in the Jeep. She's picking up new words on a daily basis and is able to say what she's thinking much clearer than she did 4 months ago. This morning she slept in a bit but she woke up before I left for work. She was calling for Grandma but I slipped upstairs and went in to see her. She must have had a good sleep because she was happy to see me and told me immediately that she needed to be changed. She also told me it was 'bobba time'. Which of course means she wants a bottle. We've been cutting back on bottles and instead trying to get her to have milk in a cup and that has been going well too. It won't