Luca and I attended a new playgroup yesterday. We had gone to another one in December, but neither Jacquie or I were too thrilled with it. Jacquie heard about a different one in town so we thought we'd check it out.
It is held at Parentlink here in Ponoka. Parentlink is a place that offers programs and resources for families. (Anyone interested should check it out in their community- I think that they are in most communities in Alberta). The playgroup runs from 10-11:30 on Wednesday mornings. They start with free play and the moms can visit, then they have story time, snack time, singing, and crafts, then more free play. It is somewhat structured, yet still relaxed. We will be trying to attend as often as we can. It was nice to be with other moms and Luca loved watching the other kids play, and he liked the singing part, too. Soon he will be in all the commotion as well!
Also offered at Parentlink is Wee Sign. It is a sign language class for parents and babies. I had planned on doing sign with my children while they were still just a dream in my heart. Having taken sign, I felt that I could do some basics with them onmy own. But, I heard about this course last year when Donovan was born, and then this year it happened to be offered at the optimal time for Luca (I think that 6 months and up is the preferred age). So, tonight was our first class. It is a 3 week class. I really enjoyed it (it really refreshed my memory of signs that I had forgotten). Luca was laughing at the instructor- he liked what she was doing, so that is good news! He was at least interested!
Basically it incorporates simple signs into your everyday routines, and is in no way meant to be a substitute for speech. Parents are encouraged to speak while they sign (as are hearing people that sign to the deaf, often encouraged to do), but rather to add simple signs such as eat, drink, mom, dad, etc to their lives. Since children can produce movement before speech, this empowers them to be able to communicate earlier and reduces frustration in parents and children. Studies have also shown that children that are introduced to sign tend to have larger vocabularies sooner than those not signing. Simply for the reason that they are able to put actions to words (and vice versa) earlier than if they did not learn sign, as that is what it is (actions to words).
Anyway, so we are doing that on Thursday evenings for the next 2 weeks. Should be fun, and with any luck, Luca will be able to learn a few signs in the next few months. Of course, he is not expected to start signing right away, but if he is signed to regularly, he will eventually come to understand that a sign represents an event/person/activity and will associate it as so. SO, we'll see. I'll keep you all posted.
Jacquie and I are also doing a "moms" activity next Friday and the centre. Child care is provided there while we will be making jewelry- fun! A nice hour or so with other moms to do something for us...imagine that!
Not related to the Parentlink centre, I am also planning on taking a few community cooking courses in the next few months. One is Thai cooking on February 13th and the other is "The art of cooking" in April. They are just 2 hour classes on one night each. I have been into cooking lately, so this should be fun!
Now that Luca is a little older and I am comfortable in our routines, I am feeling a little more ambitious to get out and try things with and without him. Plus, being at home all the time makes me a little stir crazy!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
A January Wedding
On Saturday, we attended Chris' cousin Randy's wedding. It was a nice, simple, family get-together. Both Randy and Anina looked great and seemed very happy. It was also nice to visit with the extended family a bit.
These pictures are mainly for Tom, who would like to see more pictures of the family. So, Tom, here you are:
Shawn looks pretty comfy with Luca...maybe we could start a rumor??? Just kidding, Carrie! :) (And Kaelynn is on the floor in the background playing with balloons)
Randy and Anina Mullin
Nona and her kids
Papa and Luca
Not the greatest picture of the 3 of us, but it is the first since Luca was much smaller, so here it is.
These pictures are mainly for Tom, who would like to see more pictures of the family. So, Tom, here you are:
Shawn looks pretty comfy with Luca...maybe we could start a rumor??? Just kidding, Carrie! :) (And Kaelynn is on the floor in the background playing with balloons)
Randy and Anina Mullin
Nona and her kids
Papa and Luca
Not the greatest picture of the 3 of us, but it is the first since Luca was much smaller, so here it is.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Big Boy Car Seat!
Luca got his "big boy car seat" the other day. He is now in the car seat that he will be in until he is no longer in need of one. This one will become a booster seat as well. (He is still rear facing until 1 year, though.) He seemed to like it- it looked more comfortable, with more room for him to move. It is also much more convenient for me to take him in and out of.
Here is a picture of him in it before it was put into the car (obviously!).
And, of course, the box is the most fun......
Here is a picture of him in it before it was put into the car (obviously!).
And, of course, the box is the most fun......
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Adorable!
Here is the picture that Megan took. (She left the link in the comments section of one of the posts below) I love it! Thanks Megan!
Monday, January 08, 2007
TWO TEETH!!!
Luca has sprouted 2 teeth! They came in a week apart, with the first one making its appearance on December 29th, and the second one breaking through on December 5th. They are his bottom front teeth (usually the first to erupt). Now all I have to do is to somehow teach him not to bite or his days of nursing are numbered....
He is babbling LOTS, and loves to make different sounds. He often surprises himself when he makes a new sound, or a loud sound. It is so neat to watch him learning to use his voice, mouth and tongue all at once in an effort to learn to speak.
He is somewhat mobile now, as well. He now loves to lay on his belly and turn around in circles, propelling himself with his left arm (he can only turn Left so far!). He can also move backwards by kicking his legs (picture the "worm" dance, but in reverse). He gets a bit frustrated when he is actually trying to reach something infront of him and he moves further away from it, but he will learn to move forwards soon, I imagine. He is getting better at lifting himself up on his arms, and I don't think that it will be long before he is able to get his knees up under himself.
Lately we have been working on getting him to fall asleep without being nursed or rocked. He is getting good at soothing himself in his crib and falling asleep. This came about mostly by him, as he used to nurse to sleep. Now he eats, then turns away and falls asleep, so now when he is done eating, I just lay him in his crib awake and he gets comfy and falls asleep. Yippee! So far, this has meant that I am up less during the night to help him fall back asleep when he wakes himself up. He is also able to put himself to sleep at nap time, too. When he appears tired, I feed him and then put him in his crib. Sometimes this takes a little longer for him to fall asleep and he fusses a bit, but he does go to sleep (once in a while with the lulling sound of the vacuum cleaner...whatever works!).
My little boy is growing up! Sniff, sniff!
I am feeling better, but Luca is actually getting worse. He now also has quite a cough, and is often coughing so hard that he is throwing up. So, we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow just to check things out. I am sure that it is just a cold, but better to be safe than sorry, right?
Chris is on his way home after being gone for nearly 2 weeks. He was home for 24 hours last week, and that's all. He is on days off for the next 3 days, so it will be nice to have him home again for a while. Unfortunately, he is coming home with the cold that Luca and I passed on to him when he was home for one night last week. Hopefully some R&R will do the trick.
(Another new post below).
He is babbling LOTS, and loves to make different sounds. He often surprises himself when he makes a new sound, or a loud sound. It is so neat to watch him learning to use his voice, mouth and tongue all at once in an effort to learn to speak.
He is somewhat mobile now, as well. He now loves to lay on his belly and turn around in circles, propelling himself with his left arm (he can only turn Left so far!). He can also move backwards by kicking his legs (picture the "worm" dance, but in reverse). He gets a bit frustrated when he is actually trying to reach something infront of him and he moves further away from it, but he will learn to move forwards soon, I imagine. He is getting better at lifting himself up on his arms, and I don't think that it will be long before he is able to get his knees up under himself.
Lately we have been working on getting him to fall asleep without being nursed or rocked. He is getting good at soothing himself in his crib and falling asleep. This came about mostly by him, as he used to nurse to sleep. Now he eats, then turns away and falls asleep, so now when he is done eating, I just lay him in his crib awake and he gets comfy and falls asleep. Yippee! So far, this has meant that I am up less during the night to help him fall back asleep when he wakes himself up. He is also able to put himself to sleep at nap time, too. When he appears tired, I feed him and then put him in his crib. Sometimes this takes a little longer for him to fall asleep and he fusses a bit, but he does go to sleep (once in a while with the lulling sound of the vacuum cleaner...whatever works!).
My little boy is growing up! Sniff, sniff!
I am feeling better, but Luca is actually getting worse. He now also has quite a cough, and is often coughing so hard that he is throwing up. So, we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow just to check things out. I am sure that it is just a cold, but better to be safe than sorry, right?
Chris is on his way home after being gone for nearly 2 weeks. He was home for 24 hours last week, and that's all. He is on days off for the next 3 days, so it will be nice to have him home again for a while. Unfortunately, he is coming home with the cold that Luca and I passed on to him when he was home for one night last week. Hopefully some R&R will do the trick.
(Another new post below).
The wrath of the wind
Last night was extremely windy here in Ponoka and from what I hear, around the province. The wind kept me up most of the night. Surprisingly, though, Luca slept through it, and neither of us heard the crack of our tree breaking. We seem to be the only house on the block that suffered any damage...lucky us! I called the town to see if they would come and remove the fallen branch, and they said that they would look at it and if it wasn't on the road that it would be my problem. They came and cut it up with a chainsaw and took it away, which was nice. Of course, we could have done it, but this way it wasn't sitting there all day (or for a day or 2 until we could arrange for Chris or Pat to take care of it). Had this been the summer, my car would have been right where it landed, so good thing I am parked in the garage!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
A Christmas to Remember
Christmas was great, but very busy. Christmas is definitely different with a baby around. It was so much fun watching him play with the bows, paper, and eventually his new toys. He also did very well with the busy days and extra people around. Here are a few pictuers from the holidays...
Helping Daddy open his present
Grandma wearing Dad's hat. The hat says "At my age, getting lucky means finding my car in the parking lot". Tee Hee
Luca's puppy dog stocking made with Love from Great Grandma. This is a Johnson family tradition.
It's all about safety...Pat with his "safe" chainsaw is ready to go out and work. Too bad his hard hat is backwards....Oh well, you win some, you lose some! Haha!
Luca got a Radio Flyer wagon!
Donny and Luca playing with Luca's new (noisy!) toy from Auntie Jessica and Donovan.
My cousin Kathryn and her husband Vinjelu. This is a nice picture of you guys! (Side note: Kath- I watched the DVD- cool! It was really interesting.)
Luca and his Mommy!
Grandpa bought the boys their own John Deere, so they can be just like him!
Luca was 6 months old on the 29th. He is now able to sit up for a while on his own, has his first tooth, and has figured out how to wiggle to get himself around. He is definitley becoming more independent!
He had his 6 month immunizations yesterday. They went better than the past ones did. Chris says it is because he was there for this round of shots. Maybe true. :)
Luca is 20 lbs and 27 inches long. He is still in the 90th percentile for weight and about the 75th percentile for height.
Luca did react a bit to these shots though, and was up most of the night with a fever, and him and I have both got a cold, so to be honest, I don't have much more energy to write a whole lot more. Enjoy the pictures and I will write more in a day or two.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a fantastic 2007!
Helping Daddy open his present
Grandma wearing Dad's hat. The hat says "At my age, getting lucky means finding my car in the parking lot". Tee Hee
Luca's puppy dog stocking made with Love from Great Grandma. This is a Johnson family tradition.
It's all about safety...Pat with his "safe" chainsaw is ready to go out and work. Too bad his hard hat is backwards....Oh well, you win some, you lose some! Haha!
Luca got a Radio Flyer wagon!
Donny and Luca playing with Luca's new (noisy!) toy from Auntie Jessica and Donovan.
My cousin Kathryn and her husband Vinjelu. This is a nice picture of you guys! (Side note: Kath- I watched the DVD- cool! It was really interesting.)
Luca and his Mommy!
Grandpa bought the boys their own John Deere, so they can be just like him!
Luca was 6 months old on the 29th. He is now able to sit up for a while on his own, has his first tooth, and has figured out how to wiggle to get himself around. He is definitley becoming more independent!
He had his 6 month immunizations yesterday. They went better than the past ones did. Chris says it is because he was there for this round of shots. Maybe true. :)
Luca is 20 lbs and 27 inches long. He is still in the 90th percentile for weight and about the 75th percentile for height.
Luca did react a bit to these shots though, and was up most of the night with a fever, and him and I have both got a cold, so to be honest, I don't have much more energy to write a whole lot more. Enjoy the pictures and I will write more in a day or two.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a fantastic 2007!
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