Playing with helium balloon

Playing with helium balloon from Mommying Around on Vimeo.

Loving the canvas print!

Recently, we purchased a canvas print from CanvasPop. It's our first one and I'm quite impressed with the quality of it. We always wanted to get a canvas print so when Groupon had a deal on it, I just had to get it! Here are the dimensions and settings in our order:

Size: 16 X 20
Frame: 0.75" deep
Edge: Photo Wrap
Free Digital Proof

The hardest part about this purchase was having to choose the right photo. We have over 6000 photos that are flagged and most of them are good! I love the photo wrap effect so I really wanted to find a photo that I could apply the effect to. Luckily, CanvasPop provides a free digital print for you to see before they do the actual printing :) After a few days, we ended up going with something that was colorful. It's sitting in our living room right now but if we were to move it elsewhere one day into a darker area like the hallway, the print should still stand out nicely because it's a bright portrait.

Helping Mommy Cook



Helping Mommy Cook from Mommying Around on Vimeo.

The passing of a loved one, my Grandpa

Last week was a sad week. We received news that my Grandpa had passed away. It was nothing sudden since he has been in ill health for awhile now. We all returned to Victoria for his funeral and farewell last Thursday and Friday. Grandpa will be missed dearly but I think he is in a better place now.

Although Tristan will not remember him, Tristan had the privilege to meet his great Grandpa. Our last visit with Grandpa was during Thanksgiving. Tristan was talking at the time and called out to Grandpa. I felt as though for the first time in a very long time, Grandpa was interested and happy to see Tristan and us there. Grandpa smiled and reached his hand out. I was surprised. I'm glad that was my last memory of him. He was happy and alert.

Our trip to Victoria was rough for me. I cried a lot when Grandma passed away over a decade ago but I am much closer to Grandpa. They are the only grandparents I know. I didn't cry as much this time but I find myself in tears whenever I think about Grandpa still. I was worried about how Tristan would react to all the funeral proceedings and that might have controlled my emotions a bit. For the most part, he was well behaved. It's definitely not easy for a 27 month old to keep quiet for such a long time.

It's sad to think that one of the very few times the entire family is together is at a funeral. Our family has grown apart a lot since my Grandma passed away. All my little cousins are now grown up and in high school or university. They all look so different. My aunts and uncles look much older. Many of my family members were meeting Tristan for the first time. We saw each other again but we didn't speak. I remember a long time ago, we were all a much bigger part of each others lives. Sad. At least we were all together now. Grandpa would be happy to see everyone together.

How Tristan eats his logans

First public pee for Tristan

Yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny day so we drove to North Vancouver. We continued driving on Marine Drive all the way to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. We admired the luxury mansions along the way and we played in the nearby park. There was a diving group there so we watched them in the water.

After wards, we drove to Delany's Coffee House and gave Tristan his lunch. Before leaving, I went into the bathroom to change Tristan's diaper. His diaper was actually pretty dry or completely dried. He then said he wanted to pee. I layered the toilet seat with toilet paper and placed him on top. I couldn't hear anything but when he got off, I saw that he peed. Woohoo! First public pee at 27 months!



It wasn't the first time we place him on a public toilet. They're difficult because we have to hold him and then there is the dirty factor. Yeah, I'm paranoid about this sort of thing. Tristan couldn't care less but man, I was so excited about his first public pee :) Tristan is increasing doing better and better with his potty training. He wears both diapers and pull-ups now. He is holding his pee more and more since we often find that his diaper is dry. We noticed the same thing from his daycare report.

We don't have many diapers in stock at home but we have tons of wipes. We find that we barely use wipes anymore since his diapers are not that dirty. Tristan has not pooed in his diaper for a very long time now. I think he is pretty much potty trained for #2 :) He is making great progress for #1 too. It might just be time for me to start buying him some underwear :)