Walking through the forest at Kortright Centre

Week 161 motherhood with 3 year old and 10 month old: 

• October 18, 2023:  We reoriented the play area in the living room again by opening back up the white play pens to the left side of the room so that the baby has much more space to crawl and stand.  The toddler has designated this as “the baby’s house”.  Her house is what’s outside of it (the blue play mat area).  We brought the blue play mat down from her bedroom for it.  Now, the baby can crawl around and stand with much more space.  Sometimes, we leave her in it and she’ll cry for a bit before settling down and then play by herself by crawling and fetching toys.
• We brought back up the standing toy with the buttons and rolling ball again.  The baby pulls herself to stand and likes to watch the ball roll down the chute.  She giggles when I do it.  She is adorable with her baby giggles.
• This week, when putting the baby to sleep, she has started to kiss me on the eyes and nose and sometimes mouth.  Ah, baby saliva!  She even started to gently bite me on the nose too… I tell her “no, no” and she does it and giggles.
• Whenever I tell her “no” for something, she shakes her head from side to side.  She knows that we don’t let her and she does stop.  It’s cute and smart that she knows.
• Whenever we say “hi” or “bye”, she will wave.  She will do the little hand motion in addition to the waving too.  It’s too cute.
• Every 2 to 3 hours, the baby needs me to “recharge” lol.
• This past week has been full of activities.  On Thursday, we went to Markham Museum for the second “Wonders of Nature” event put on by EarlyON.  We were unfortunately late to the event and when we got there, one of the facilitators told us that we could go in and out of the museum and play.  I wish I paid more attention to the “ticket” that was stapled on the bag we got because it said we were part of Group 2 and allowed entry to the museum from 10:30 to 11 a.m.  Had I known this, we would have visited the indoor exhibits first before we ventured outside to play.  Instead, we headed straight outdoors where the toddler saw a tent with blocks and books.  She touched the blocks for a bit and then settled down to read books with me.  We spent the morning reading until some kids and parents came out.  Before long, we had circle time — which was amazing by the way.  I really liked how Sheri (unsure if this is how her name is spelled) was able to create a large circle and dynamic enough for everyone to join in and sing together.  It was really interactive and fun.  I pride myself on knowing the lyrics to the “Land Acknowledgement Song” haha.  (You can find the lyrics in last last week’s blog post.)
  • Inside of the bag, the kids got an Acorn picture book (which the toddler has LOVED reading this week, some construction paper, bubble soap, and felt shapes for crafts.  The toddler liked the felt shapes as well.  It was a really nice autumn day.
  • Immediately after the event, I felt a little sad that we missed out on the indoor exhibits at the museum.  I felt like it was such a rare opportunity to see the exhibits there and we didn’t get to go.  I felt slighted that the facilitator led us astray.  But ultimately, the toddler enjoyed herself.  The baby did too.  She was playing on the plastic mats which had various musical instruments and toys.  Grandma was able to engage in a conversation with a fellow parent too.  After this experience, I realize that I need to let go more.  I should follow my child’s lead to see where her interests lie and not where *I* want her to be.  Like my friend said, the toddler chose to read and she was happy.  She didn’t know any better.  I need to let my child choose.  Like I read in an Instagram post, more hugging and less tugging.  Need to embrace my child’s decisions.
• Very grateful for EarlyON staff to put on this event because we able to spend our time outdoors.  We quickly looked at the stations and activities that they had put out before they wrapped up the event and I could tell so much thought and detail was put into the stations.  We are so lucky to attend these events.
• We went for lunch, me, the 2 kids, and grandma.  It is not easy with two kids.  Good thing the toddler can sit by herself mostly nowadays.  She still desires me to feed her though, which is tough.  The baby can’t sit still in a high chair for long and needs to be held.  Mom and I have to take turns eating mostly.  But we did it and survived the lunch meal.
• We took advantage of the sunny skies and drove to Lake Wilcox to take our annual family photo at the same spot we took our wedding photos on our wedding day.  We skipped out on going in the summer this year because I didn’t want to pay the exorbitant parking fees, but because it was quite chilly, I think we’ll resume the summer tradition next year.  (They don’t charge parking once it’s October 1.)
• Whenever DH and I show any signs of affection and the toddler sees it, she laughs and giggles and says “nam nam, sek sek” and “ho chi geet fun um ah” (hug hug, kiss kiss) (looks like marriage ah) lol.
• Mental break:  I have been easily irritated and quick to snap these days.  DH noticed it and I did too.  I just don’t have the time for myself these days, especially when I have been sleeping with the baby.  She is always near me, 24/7, latched, attached.  (And lately when I have tried to stay up late to blog, the baby wakes up so quickly.  She hasn’t been sleeping for more than 3 hour stretches and it’s not enough for me to blog.)
  • It’s been more than a month since we got the twin bed and I haven’t been sleeping in my own bed for more than 2 nights a week.  They’re not full sleeps either.  Thus, with little time to recharge my social battery and get any “me time”, I have been gradually feeling drained and irritable.  Thus, since the baby is able to go without my milk for 2 to 3 hours, DH scheduled a dinner with his parents and took both kids.  At the same time, grandma scheduled a massage and dinner for herself too.  Finally.  Finally, I had the house to myself!  I was alone for the first time since last year (at least late 2022) in the house.  I have been craving and needing this so badly.
  • They were out from 5 p.m. and came back around 8 p.m.  During this time, I could hear myself think.  I could listen to whatever I wanted on the radio or watch the TV screen without someone interrupting me.  I could eat without having to share my food.  It was so, so long-awaited for and desired.  The 3 hours flew so quickly.  I felt myself softening and recharging by the 2-hour mark.  Ahhh. 😌
• We decided that we need to make this a weekly thing.  DH used to take the toddler out to his parents every so often too, but with COVID-19 scares and his sister’s kids always being sick and then the baby being born, this stopped.  Finally, we can resume these visits again and make them regular so that I can stay home and recharge and get some me time!  I also need to write in my diary again.  I stopped writing and I think I need to clear out more junk from my head to release.
• On the Saturday, we attended the Family Day Open Doors outdoor event at Kortright Centre.  It was forecasted to rain in the morning, but it luckily never did!  The event was from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  We arrived at 11 a.m. (it seemed like a lot of other people did too — it is a 30-minute drive West from Markham).  The fall foliage was beautiful.  It was an amazing family event with so many activities and stations planned throughout the nature reserve.  It was our first time there too.
• We got to ride on a tractor ride, roast marshmallows over an open flame (I burned mine lol — wasn’t patient enough), partake in circle time (sing and dance), chase after bubbles, try cedar tea for the first tile, the kids played with musical instruments and toys in the infant area, partake in African drumming, the toddler slid down a makeshift slide, play with the parachute (the toddler loved this), stroll through 2 Storywalks, try fresh honey and watch the bees buzz around, look at animal furs and skulls, look at seed balls, and walk through beautiful forests and see beautiful nature all around us.  It was such a great opportunity to spend so much time outdoors with nature — something we don’t do enough of.  We stayed right past 2 p.m.  It was such a great day!  So thankful to the Family Day staff (and EarlyON staff) for planning everything.  My friend who participated in it also said how great the event was and couldn’t believe that it was all free.  I can’t wait to attend next year again and when the kids will be older and can play even more.
• It was amazing that the toddler barely wanted to sit in the stroller and walked practically the whole morning.  It was a LOT of walking for her!  So impressive that she walked for so long.  (My step counter was at 8,000+ by the time we left.)
• The toddler’s first time trying roasted marshmallows too.  The kids’ second time riding a tractor!
• The toddler asked me to read all the pages of the storywalk with her.  She loves reading and all the details on the page.
• The baby only slept for a little while and was awake during the whole morning too.  She doesn’t like to miss out on things if she can hear it.  She will wake up to be part of it too lol.
• As expected, the toddler was so tired by the end of the day.  She slept in the car seat until practically 8 p.m.-ish and then DH brought her inside.
• On Sunday, we used our Toronto library MAP pass to visit the Ontario Science Centre for free!  Yay.  We visited the library at least 2 times last year.  In 2023, this is the first time we have visited.  Who knows when or if they will be closing and relocating the SC to the other proposed location, so it is nice to visit while we still can.  Unfortunately, their bridge is STILL “under construction” so we had to take the shuttle buses to the main building.  I hope the SC stays where it is.  It is built over a ravine and is so valuable to have in the spot where it is currently is.  All that nonsense about relocating it and making it smaller just for new condos is really upsetting.
• There weren’t too many people at the SC this time around, which was great!  Upon our arrival, the “Hair-Raising Experience“/static electricity demonstration was in session, so we sat and watched it.  The toddler was enthralled with it and didn’t want to leave until we had watched all the volunteers touch the ball and see their hair stand up.  She kept saying that she didn’t want to do it in the future but that the baby could do it.  I have little doubt that the baby will want to do it in the future; she seems much more outgoing and willing to try new things than her sister lol.  (Not that this is a problem.  We all have our own preferences and opinions.  When I was a little kid, I was reserved and didn’t want to do these things either!)
• We enjoyed home-packed lunch wraps and salads that DH had lovingly prepared once again.  I love that we can bring our own lunches to these outings to save money and time.
• After lunch, we went to the KidSpark area of the SC (for ages 8 and under only) where the toddler enjoyed in plenty of hands-on fun once again.  She, surprisingly, wasn’t very interested in the supermarket section — unlike last time.  There were also less grocery items this visit than before (how come?  Did they lose some items?).  She really enjoyed building the tiles of the house this time.  She even wore a small construction safety vest, haha.  She liked turning the wheel near the side of the house where it brought up tiles to the second floor too.  That wheel is not easy to turn and surprisingly, she was really invested in doing it.  We joke and call it “sun fu gon” (hard work).
• I brought the baby to the toddler area (for 3 and under) for the first time.  I had an interesting conversation with a fellow mom there.  She had a 7-month-old boy and a 4-year-old boy.  She asked me whether I wanted more kids in the future.  I confided in her that I was scared of having 3 girls because of stigma and negative gossip in the Chinese culture.  She said that she wants more kids too but would stop at 3 boys.  She said that her Chinese MIL was “very happy” when she had 2 boys.
• The baby crawled around and played with the activity cube.  The toddler asked me to read to her.  We read 2 books.  One was the “Global Babies” one that we had read previously (can’t remember where now) and one was about force and thrust concepts but in a simple, easy-to-understand way.  It was fascinating, even for me.
• The toddler enjoyed the water play area too.  Again, there were less toys in the water play area this time as opposed to last time.  I also noticed that the toys and activities in the SC this time were more worn out than previous visits.  The SC is indeed older and needs an upgrade in some areas, but I really don’t want it to move or be torn down.  It’s a valuable space that just needs some updating and maintenance.
• The toddler returned to the house area again to build more tiles a second time.  She really enjoyed that part.
• She also saw some kids playing “doctor” and dragged DH over for him to be examined with the stethoscope.  She herself didn’t want to be the patient to be examined; she wanted to watch me do it to DH.
• The baby slept on and off during the SC visit.
• I love that the SC has dedicated washrooms for families and rooms for nursing.  It’s so great.  I love how big the rooms are too.
• On Monday, we went to an EarlyON centre that we hadn’t visited before with a friend and her son.  It was situated in an elementary school.  I like the ones that have a direct entrance to the EarlyON classroom, have an adjoining washroom, easy parking, and large-enough space.  This site checked off those preferences, and I will likely visit again.  The facilitator wasn’t too enthusiastic though, but I guess you can’t have everything.  The toddler enjoyed playing with the lock and key Melissa & Doug toy that she’s played at before, using a glue stick for the first time to stick felt leaves on to a plate, put stickers on the plate, play with magnetic balls and sticks, play with a train railroad set.  The baby enjoyed playing with various toys with grandma too.
• The toddler isn’t keen on seeing her great-uncle because his voice tends to be loud and scary for her.  She said she didn’t want to go and wanted to stay at home when I hold her that we would be having dim sum with great uncle and great-grandma.
• When the toddler was asking me which EarlyON centres have 2 facilitators (she calls them “teachers” because that’s how I refer to them to her), I told her that the Bayview location did, as did the library, and as did the one where one facilitator tickled and knocked her to her feet.  When she heard this and was reminded of what happened, she burst into tears immediately.  The same thing happened one time when we mentioned our previous contractor’s name and she felt fear and cried immediately.  Poor girl has trauma from these “scary people”. 😦
• When the baby is distracted or there’s too many things to going on outside, she won’t latch.
• Haha, new double stroller, yet again.  The toddler keeps saying she doesn’t like the “new new” double stroller we got and since we were intending on using that one for our upcoming trip (instead of the Graco double stroller which is sturdy but heavier), I was able to get another double stroller.  This one was the Joovy Caboose.  It’s similar to the Ultralight but it doesn’t have a seat to recline for the second passenger.  However, this is the version that I had been eyeing since last CNE when I saw parents push it around and admired how streamlined and sleek it looked.  I serendipitously found it for $60 on kijiji when I randomly decided to look.  I had looked before, but they were not this cheap or convenient to get to.
• We test-tried it that night with both kids and the toddler likes it.  I love how it’s sturdy, kept in good second-hand condition, and we got it for so cheap.  Hope that this double stroller will last us for the trip and beyond. 🤞
• The baby is now 10 months old!  Time really does fly.  Can’t believe she is 10 months old out now!
• The baby doesn’t “talk” all the time, but when she does babble, it lasts for a while.
• When I’m holding the baby and DH wants to hold her, when I bring her to him, she shakes her head “no”.  Lol it’s really interesting and funny.  How does she already understand language so well and can express it?  She shakes her head “no” as well as turn her body back towards me too.
• When we take group photos, the baby actually looks at the camera pretty frequently.  It’s actually the toddler who sometimes doesn’t want to take a photo and purposely looks elsewhere instead of right at the camera.
• When we were taking the 10-month-old photos with cake, the baby was waving at the camera too.
• The toddler continues to say things like “I want people to eat eyes or drink mud or slip down”…  I don’t know whether she says it for attention or what.  She continues to learn to/tolerate playing with her sister.