Raising Paige

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 ...