Eighteen Months

I still have a very hard time believing that we've gotten this far.

How did we get from this...

(Petite dozing at a few days old)

... to this?

(Petite dozing on my shoulder last week, a few days shy of 18 months old)

My little girl is growing up. She's got a happy, enjoyable (but firey!) personality. She loves her Pooh Bear and The Wiggles. She adores cuddles and kisses with Mommy and roughhousing with Daddy. She is definitely a busy, growing girl.

And I am grateful. Every single day, I give thanks.

Tomorrow morning, March 1, Petite has her 18-month checkup. (Oh I hate it when she has to get shots.)

Tomorrow evening, we go to the Ottawa Fertility Centre to participate in the brainstorming session for raising awareness in the upcoming provincial election about IVF funding. I look forward to that. I have some ideas. Petite's big brother and sister will babysit; I hope it goes well!

Things are going well with Petite's big sister in our house half-time; the other half, she lives at her mom's house. She would like to live with us full-time though. I'm not sure if that'll be possible. We'd have to check on the regulations in Ontario and criteria for student loans. If we can make it work, we may give that a shot. It's a little early to know for sure, but we're looking into things.

My BIL celebrated his birthday last week! Happy Birthday Tony! He usually hits the slopes to celebrate his birthday; he did that this year too. Next year, he'll have a 9-month old in the house (crosses fingers that all goes well) so I dunno if my sis will let him out to celebrate all weekend with the boys! LOL

This coming weekend, on March 5, my father will celebrate his 70th birthday. He certainly doesn't seem like he's 70 to me though! More like... 55 but with more grey!! I wish I could be there to celebrate this milestone with him. But I won't be; I expect we'll have to Skype instead so he can see Petite. Let's face it, he doesn't need to see me! It's all about the baby!! And that's just fine in my book.

And my parents are moving. The house they have is far too large for them now that my sister and I have both moved elsewhere and set up house in other places. The house that they've had since I was 16 will be on the market soon. It's beautiful. If I lived back at home, I'd buy it! But I can't. So they must move on. I'm glad for them that they've found a new place they love. Hopefully they can make new memories there. I hope to see their new place later this summer.

Yesterday morning, Hubby, Petite and I skipped our regular church service to attend the baptism of Sandra and Edward's triplets: Colin, Keith and Evelyn. Oh but they're beautiful babies! Petite was curious about them of course. For a few minutes anyway, and then she wanted to go play! It was so lovely to meet Sandra and Edward in person. Years ago, I suggested that they try McGill rather than Ottawa for their infertility procedures, and voilà... triplets! Hubby joked with them yesterday that maybe we ought to apologize! Sandra laughed and said that they are so pleased with the way things turned out. She looked beautiful, Edward was calm and cool and all three babies were just doing their thing. It was a gorgeous service and a lovely morning. I'm so glad we could go.

Today is a snowy Monday in Canada's capital. School buses are cancelled (which means a 'snow day' for the kids) and I debated rolling over in bed, calling the office and staying home, to cuddle with my toddler. Time passes so quickly. I just want to make the most of every moment that we have.

Sitting in her rocker (my old rocker), ready for bed, taking time for
a cuddle with Pooh while she watches The Wiggles (one week shy of 18 months)