Delicious?

'Intro. To Solids' continues and Max is tolerating this new form of eating. Some days are good, and then there are others where I can barely jam one bite into his little mouth before he turns his head and sighs, as if bored by this new menu option. I'll be the first to admit that rice cereal does look a little sad and I am looking forward to introducing some more colorful meals shortly. Perhaps mashed peas, runny applesauce, and lumpy sweet potato will pique his interest? I will continue to be persistent in offering these 'delicious' dinner options...just as long as I don't have to eat it!

It's no birthday cake...

...but oh how cute to see Max enjoying his first bites of rice cereal. Six months today, our little monkey is getting very grown up - happy 1/2 year birthday!

The 20 Pound Hot Potato

Our little mister is getting heavy! But that didn't stop anyone from taking a turn at a snuggle while we were home...

Auntie Brookelyn and the Paparazzi

Uncle Dan

Auntie Lola and Cousin Meriah

Emma Heystek

Great Geddie Victor and Great Grandpa Clifford

Great Grandma Eileen and Great Baba Susie

Great Grandma Gertrude

Grandpa Dean

Uncle Eric

...yes, we did get a turn too!

Uncle Ian

Grandpa Brent

Baba Cynthia

Grandma Rita

Auntie Brenda

Katrina Tuchscherer

Tara West

Uncle Vern

Happy 2nd My Dear!

...2 years ago today, oh what a happy day that was. I sure do love you my husband!

Alberta and Missing Grandpa Barr

We have just returned from a trip to Alberta to see family and friends. Before we left, I was ready to break away from our routine and looked forward to some home cooking from both Carmon's mom and my mom, oh and to not have to clean our house for almost 2 weeks - bliss. It is funny how just a little time away can rejuvenate you and by the time we were heading back to Toronto I was ready to get back in the swing of things again. Cooking, groceries, bootcamp, stroller walks, structured naps, laundry and even a little cleaning.

Unfortunately, while we were away, we had to deal with another death in our family. This time it was my Grandpa Barr. Grandpa was just about 80 years old and was still incredibly active and ambitious. He loved puttering around in his yard and his garden, woodworking, writing poetry and baking. Grandpa will be remembered for many things, but what I will remember most was his love for food.

Grandpa Barr and Max April 2009

Grandpa always grew the sweetest corn and when I was a child he would share it with family, friends and neighbours by hosting a corn roast at the end of the summer. The kids would sit by the fire anxiously waiting for our corn to be roasted to perfection, unwrap it and dip it in a tall tupperware container filled with melted butter. I can't imagine how many bricks of butter it took to fill that container but it was just the coolest thing to be able to plunge our cobs right into it - just like they dipped the soft ice cream in chocolate at the Ponderosa drive in.

Grandpa was famous for his fruit pies and I always loved to sample his pie of the moment, depending on which fruit was in season. His crusts were perfection, not too thick and wonderfully flaky.

Best of all was his dill bread - fluffy white bread with flecks of dill and the most delightful sweet egg wash on the top. Somehow Grandpa seemed to know when it was the right time to share a loaf and I always felt special when I was given my very own mini loaf to devour alone.

Grandpa was so happy to meet Max and we had a nice visit with him in April when we were home. He followed our blog and had sent me some wonderful emails over the past 6 months. The emails are full of spelling and grammar errors - which makes them seem more authentic somehow, I can just see Grandpa pecking away on his laptop...

This email was sent on Feb 14 - the day Max was born, before the news had reached home.

Just about a mother. You will never be quite the same. I can't wait to see the little guy .Have you got a name picked out. Alice and I could never agree on a name until the last day when we were to go home and we had to have a name to put on the birth certifate. We would get into the truck and the first thing I would do was light up a cegerete. They would hang me by the family jewels if it was today.I guess baby's were tougher in those days. More exciting to.No set belts and kids flooting around in the car from the front seat to the back. We never lost one. Times have sure changed .Maybe for the better -- maybe.We will keep watching your blog for any breaking news.We send you two our love and our wish that all goes well Your Grand dad Jim

Another email, later that day...

Your dad just dropped over to tell us the wonderful news .Congratulations. Max ,I'll have to get used to that name.Max ----'The most' and that is what he is right now.And in an atempt to be funny I could say you are Maxed out. I'm sure you are rather busy right now so I won't expect a reply for a while. Injoy your bundle of joy Your Grandpa .

March 5.

Your dad brought over some pictures of Max when we were having coffee with Helen and Goerge. Thanks they were great. New babys grow and change awfuly fast as you probably.have discouvered We had made dill bread and it was still warm so they had some with there coffee and we sent a loaf home with your dad . He was happy because he didn't have to share it with Eric. We check your blog and injoy watching Max change. Can you remember the old house or was it taken down? I have a lot of memories of your kids when they were babies in that house. Enough for now. Love your Grandpa.

March 13.

Hi Cheryl. On your latest blog I was over joyed to hear that Max is to carry on at least one of the Barr traites eg the noisey sometimes embarrassing release of gas. I myself have been ( for the quanty I posess) listed as a natural resource in case the gas wells fail to produce. No need to add a smell detection substence it comes free. I have heard it also burns with a blue flame. Tell Max to keep the good work and to carry on this great -tradition . One , it is said must choose their perents well and Max has done very well indeed. It is my hope that he doesn't take on some of my realy bad habits. Bye for now your Grandpa.

Of course now I wish that we had been corresponding by email earlier, that we had spent more time with Grandpa when we did get home, and that he would be able to watch Max grow and feel the joy from a smile from his first Great Grandchild. We will miss you Grandpa!

Has another month gone by already?

5 months old!

Tomorrow, Max is 5 months old. Wow, I can't believe that it is already mid July - where has the summer gone? We are nearly ready to embark on a trip out west to see our family and friends again - we can hardly wait to show everyone how much Max has grown and changed since April.

A few highlights:

Max's preferred sleep position is now on his tummy! You can imagine our surprise when we discovered this and quickly tried to roll him back over (we were told countless times by doctors and nurses that he should always sleep on his back to prevent SIDS) - nope, he just kept flipping back to his tummy, nuzzling one cheek to the mattress. We have relaxed, and realize that he is just fine - after all, weren't our parents told to always put us on our tummies? We survived.

Although he is not sitting up by himself yet, he sure is getting strong. He is able to hold his head nicely now and can sit up with just a little bit of support behind him.

Max likes to work with Dad! I love this photo - both boys busy in their offices.

He is becoming more and more intrigued with what we are eating. He watches so intently as we eat our meals, and actually puts his hands up to his mouth and opens and closes his mouth like a hungry little bird!

Thinking of Having Kids? The 11 Step Program

I received this email from another mom - honestly, Carmon and I were in tears we were laughing so hard. For those of you who are parents, I am sure you will relate to some of the 'steps' and for those of you who are thinking of becoming parents...don't worry, it is really not nearly this dramatic!

Thinking of Having Kids? Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the newspaper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their…
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breast feeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behaviour. Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel…
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out…
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favourite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons.

How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car..

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely
take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.

Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready
to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Remember, a sense of humour is one of the most important things you need as a parent!