Devon had her first sleepover last night. We went to my parents' for dinner to celebrate their anniversary and my Mom's birthday. We brought the playpen and put Devon to bed. It seemed silly to wake her up to bring her home later in the evening, so we just left her there. She did really well only waking up once and just for a little while. When I called at 8am this morning, she had just woken up. I'm really glad it was such a success and I'm sure my parents are too given that the last attempt ended in failure.
We also had a first at the pool on Thursday. Devon went underwater four or five times. She didn't seem to mind, although she came up sputtering and looking a little surprised. Between 6 and 16 months, babies have a reflex that makes them automatically hold their breath and close their eyes when they're submerged. They'll even swim toward you if you let go of them (we're trying that next week!).
Devon has been uncharacteristically crabby today. We went shopping (got a very cute halloween costume...you'll have to wait and see what it is) and she just huffed and puffed the whole time. I'm not sure if it's because she was up late last night, or whether she's not feeling well. Hopefully she'll be all smiles again by the morning. We're going to go for a hike in Gatineau Park and it won't be very pleasant with a screaming baby!
What a crazy few days! I had a really nice birthday. My Dad took me to Thyme & Again for lunch (yummy and surprisingly reasonable). He's suffering from high blood pressure and has been told to go for a daily walk. I've decided to join him. Our goal is to try every restaurant within walking distance. I'll keep you posted on the results.
In the evening, Jeff went and got Indian food from the Little India Cafe. It was scrumptous. I could eat Indian food 25 hours a day.
Last night was my first knitting class and I'm pleased to report that there isn't a single nerd in the class. In fact, all but one of my classmates is around my age or slightly younger and they all seem pretty hip. It's no surprise that they're all women. Anyway, the instructor is great and she makes the class lots of fun. I'm definitely going to enjoy it. There are 9 of us and our class is in the staff lounge at Ridgemont High School. We sit around on couches and there's a kitchen where we can make tea during our break. There's even a pool table in there. It's pretty lush.
I spoke with my sister last night. It turns out that she's been in the hospital in Botswana in very serious condition with a kidney infection. She was afraid to call anyone because she didn't know what the prognosis was. Fortunately, Botswana is a wealthy country and the hospitals are state-of-the-art. She's now been given a clean bill of health. At the end of the month she'll be finishing her job and traveling to Zimbabwe and Mozambique with a few of the guides that she's met. She assures us that Zimbabwe is safe for tourists...just not for white farmers. I'm still nervous though.
Today I had to get some bloodwork done so my Dad and I walked up to the lab and then had lunch in the cafeteria in the building. It did qualify as a 'new place,' but it was crap. We've decided to try a different restaurant each time, not including cafeterias.
In other news, a s___load of other things have been going on which are stressing me out and making my brain hurt. Unfortunately, I can't report any of them here. Sorry folks. You'll just have to go out for drinks with me to hear the scoop.
Well, top-of-the-eyes is no more. We did capture it on video before it ended, but, sadly, it seems to have gone the way of the dodo. In it's place, Devon now squints as though she's just eaten a lemon in really bright sunshine. I don't like this face nearly as much, but you take what you're given.
I had a great day yesterday (my day off). I slept in, read the *entire* newspaper front to back while drinking my coffee. I then walked down to St. Vincent de Paul and got three skirts, a shirt and an outfit for Devon all for $17. I then headed off to Walmart for some sewing supplies, then to Bayshore. Finally, I stopped in at Chapters for a latte and a look. It was dreamy. Last night we went to the Carleton Golf and Yacht Club for dinner with my parents and grandmother. I received gift certificates for Winners, Chapters and Stoneface Dolly's. Not too shabby. Thanks everyone!!!
The highlight of the weekend, however, was my birthday card from Jeff and Devon. It was a movie that Jeff had put together using our video camera and imovie. I can't begin to describe it except to say it was wonderful and made me laugh so hard I cried. I've now watched it about 300 times.
On a sad note, we had to buy Devon a new car seat today. She's graduated to an infant/toddler convertible seat. It made me realize how quickly she's growing up. Sigh!
