Raising Paige

I realize I took quite a bit of time off from blogging about Paige. To be honest, I didn't think that many people were interested in this blog and those that were likely saw Paige on a regular basis anyway but it was pointed out to me that people were asking about it. So, it's back. So much has happened since my last post that it's difficult to know where to start, so let's just start new. Paige has obviously grown and changed a great deal in the past oh...say...8 months since my last post. Her vocabulary continues to grow, along with her personality. We recently spent some time camping in Waskesiu in the Prince Alberta National Park in Saskatchewan. I thought I would post a few pictures of her to bring people up to speed. During our camping trip we did a few hikes. In the picture above we were hiking Boundary Bog with Jodi's parents. There were 11 stops along the 2km hike with signs explaining different parts of the bog and what to look for. After th...

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...

Well Father’s Day has come and gone and it was pretty good. On Sunday morning Paige decided she wanted to wear a princess dress over top of her regular clothes. Like all females, she tried on one and then decided she wanted to wear a different one. Then she wanted to put the first one back on but Jodi said no. LOL Jodi went to church and Paige and I hung out together, which is something we do almost every Sunday. Sometimes she’s cranky, most times she’s fun, but it’s always a special time for me. This past Sunday I took her to the airplane park so she could swing, run around and go down the slides. All in her princess dress. Funny enough another little girl showed up and she was wearing a princess dress too. J This little girl was 7 years old and was climbing up the slides so of course Paige had to try it too. I’ve never seen her do it before but this time she managed to climb up not only the spiral slide but also the large steep slide. Several times. I was impressed....

Ok, time to get a bit mushy. Not much has changed with Paige recently so there hasn’t been much to write about. As a result I have been doing a little thinking (ok, I think all the time) about what raising Paige has actually meant to me so far. Several people have told me it’s a great thing that Jodi and I are doing by raising Paige and I usually don’t have much of a response. It feels like I’m patting myself on the back if I say ‘Thank you’ or agree with them and that makes me uncomfortable. I’m just doing what needs to be done. However, I do think it is affecting me more than I expected. Yes, I’m tired because I’m just not that young anymore and keeping up with a 2 year-old can be tough. Yes, I get frustrated with the 2 year-old attitude and have to remind myself that she’s ‘only 2’. But the impact hasn’t been as negative as those last two statements make it sound. To be honest, raising Paige is pushing me to want to be better. I don’t know if I did a very good ‘da...

Ok. People who know me know that I’m a bit of a technology geek. Maybe that’s an understatement. Anyway, yesterday we took Paige in to get another haircut. For her previous two she would sit on my lap and somewhat patiently wait while her hairdresser cut her hair. It would start out ok and then we would have to give her an iPhone to watch some videos. God bless technology. Yesterday was the first time she sat by herself. I gave her my iPhone so she could watch YouTube for Kids and she was such a good girl. Brittany did a great job patiently cutting her hair and Paige didn’t seem to even notice. As usual Paige charmed pretty much everyone that took the time to speak to her. She’s putting words together quite often now and of course is extremely polite by always saying goodbye (with waves). When another hairdresser said she liked Paige’s rubber boots Paige actually took one off to give to her. Thankfully it didn’t fit so she got it back. Raising Paige has certainly re...

Something very strange happened yesterday. Paige fell asleep on the way home. Ok, that’s not strange. Jodi put her down on the couch to sleep. That’s not strange either. About an hour later Paige woke up crying and wanting a bottle. She always struggles to wake up from a nap so that’s not strange either. I gave her a few ounces of milk and she snuggled up to me. Comforting for me but that’s not strange either. After she finished her bottle she put her head down on me and fell back asleep. That was strange. We tried to wake her up to have supper but she just couldn’t keep her eyes open. That was strange. Jodi tried to change her into PJs to put her in bed and Paige couldn’t even keep her eyes open for that. That was strange. Paige then went right into her crib and didn’t wake up until around 6am today. That was strange. This morning she was her usual happy self and sat with me while eating cereal before I went to work. I have to say THAT is a great way to sta...

Hello everyone. I realize it has been quite a while since I wrote anything on this blog. My apologies. Life got pretty busy for me as I applied for, interviewed, tested and eventually started a new position at work. Travel to the US and a project and exam later and life is settling down a bit now. So here we are. Since the last post (ages ago I know) Paige has changed quite a bit and thus raising Paige has changed as well. She has been speaking quite a bit more – maybe too much sometimes – and her personality continues to evolve. She is still the sweetest and funniest little person I know. Having said that, her new thing lately is yelling ‘Stop It’ and putting her hand out towards me. She does this to others on occasion but it seems I’m her favorite target. It doesn’t matter if I’m talking directly to her or just walking near her. I’m not sure what sets it off actually, but in her mind I’m doing something she doesn’t like and she wants me to stop. It’s adorable, funny a...

Life has been pretty hectic lately and as usual things get pushed aside or forgotten. This blog is a good example. Paige has been changing so much in the past few months it's incredible to watch. She is funny, observant, smart and a little mischievous. In just a few short weeks she will be turning 2 years old and she is becoming a handful right on schedule. LOL. This past weekend we spent two days together while my wife was teaching a aircraft fabric covering course. Although we had a few bumps on Saturday (no nap, cranky by 4pm) I have to say that both days were a joy. We played on the floor, she dragged me around the house by my finger, she frustrated me by asking to watch a movie only to change her mind 3 more times, we went to the park on Saturday to swing and a walk on Sunday to pick up mail and we had a lot of laughs. She is a picky eater but doesn't mind snacking throughout the day. That makes it difficult to get her to eat the right things but somehow I managed ...

So Paige has been recovering from HFMD and although the spots are going away her skin is still peeling and falling off where the sores were. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all and has been her regular funny, sweet self. Although two days ago she came home from child minding with my wife and as usual she fell asleep on the ride home. What was unusual is that she kept sleeping once she got home. We laid her on the couch while we got supper ready and she continued to sleep. We finally had to wake her up in order for her to eat and it was a battle. She was very tired and didn't eat much. She stayed up until 8:30pm (about 60-90 mins longer than usual) and then promptly wanted to go back to bed. She slept through the night, only waking up once. Yesterday the same thing happened. We noticed she barely ate during the day and we had to wake her up from the couch after 7pm. She could barely keep her eyes open so my wife asked her if she wanted a bottle and to go right to be...

For the past 4-5 days now Paige has be suffering with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD). I'm not sure why they call it a disease. Likely because it's a virus, but whatever. Bumps and spots around her mouth, hands and feet as well as some sores in her mouth - on her tongue that we can see at least. For a few nights she was waking up every hour crying and sometimes screaming. We would do our best to console her and get her back to sleep, and by 'we' I mostly mean my wife. It's not that I don't want to help it's just that when Paige is really not feeling well she wants Grandma. Although she does like to snuggle with Poppa sometimes too, which is nice. I have to say that through all of this she has been a real trooper. During the day, especially when she has some Tylenol in her, she's still busy and loves to play. She drags me around by one finger and makes me join her in playing with fridge magnets while I sit on the floor, or hand her puzzle pieces so...

Was there ever a sequel to Sleepless in Seattle? I’m guessing everyone was just too tired to write one. I know the feeling. So I already did a post on being tired thanks to Paige waking up in the night but I noticed I didn’t go into a lot of detail on how that affects us. Us being me and my wife. Let’s be honest. Husbands and wives don’t always get along. Throw in a toddler when you’re both over 40 and include a restless night’s sleep and things can get worse. By worse I mean saying and doing things you don’t really intend to simply because you’re tired or in a zombie-like trance and don’t really realize it. As a husband I have found that these are the times when you need to apologize, even if an apology isn’t necessarily needed. After all, we’re both in the same boat. Paige doesn’t wake up every night on purpose just to interrupt our sleep so it’s not really her fault we’re tired. We don’t get upset with her for waking up but we certainly get upset with each other over...

Last night I got to give Paige a tub, which is something my wife and I share of course, and as usual it was an adventure. She loves to play with toys, put her head in the water and of course splash. Oh the splashing. I always have a towel for her and a towel for me. She also likes to occasionally dip her finger in the water and taste it and sometimes she will actually try to pour water in her mouth. Now, you can't just tell a 21 month-old not to drink the water because it's actually bum soup. They wouldn't understand. So instead I made a scrunched up face, stuck out my tongue and said 'Blah!'. Well THAT was apparently the funniest thing she had seen all day because not only did she start to laugh but she also started to try and drink more water. She didn't drink much but we spent about 5 minutes playing that game. She pretends to drink bath water. I make the face and say 'Blah!'. She laughs then pretends to drink bath water again. Eventua...

Raising Paige definitely opens your eyes to the joy and innocence in mundane things. For instance, Paige loves going to the park. Her favorite thing to do there? The swing. We have been having a pretty good cold-spell here in Alberta the past few weeks but thankfully yesterday it was warm enough (-15C) to take her out of the house. I stayed home from work to look after her as the wife was on a trip to Saskatoon and our babysitter was sick. Anyway, I got her to the park after 15 minutes of trying to get her to put on her snow pants, boots and jacket and the first thing she did was walk straight to the swing. I put her in and started pushing her and her joy was almost instantaneous. I'm trying to figure out how to embed the audio file so you can hear her on the swing. Until then, you can download the short audio file here .

I really hope I live long enough so that at least one of my kids (or grandchildren) have to change a diaper on me. Or maybe I don't. Paige has started to let us know, at random times, that she has to use the potty. Usually the wife takes her to her potty all excited and tries to build up Paige's confidence and so far there has only been one successful result. But at least she's trying. Just a few days ago when I was alone with Paige she ended up going 'Number 2' and needed to be changed. Unfortunately the wife had put a pull-up on Paige since she had been letting us know however I wasn't aware until I went to change her. I used a lot of wet wipes on a lot of skin, both Paige's and mine. I look forward to the day when that doesn't happen. And after today I will no longer speak of it. If anyone else reading this has any experience with potty training their children and would care to comment on successes, failures or what worked for you please f...

Ok, technically Paige is still the same but she has been changing so much these past few weeks that she seems like a different person. Just the other day she was in our bedroom playing a Zoo game on my wife’s iPad. My wife came in after doing her hair and sat on the bed with us. She stretched her neck from side to side and complained about it being sore. Out of nowhere Paige says ‘Are you ok?’ Yeah, she’s never said that before. We both looked at each other and laughed out loud. She is putting together words more often and speaking more words as well. She has always been a chatter so I’m sure she’ll be talking our ears off by the time she’s two. Raising Paige is about to get crazier. I hope I’m ready for that. J With the Christmas and New Year season finally over it will be nice to settle back into a routine, both for us and for Paige. I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful holiday. Best wishes from us to you in 2018!