One small step for Noodle...

Well, here it is...Sloan is walking! She took her first unassisted step on November 1st and has been taking a step or two here and there...mainly when she wants to get to Toby or Bane without scaring them off with her wildly fast crawling! I finally pulled out the tripod tonight and was able to get some video without Sloan grabbing the camera right away, but it's awfully dark! I'll set it up again tomorrow to see if I can get a better video...but enjoy this for now!

xo JBM

Little Fish!

Sloan "graduated" from her swimming class today - how cute is her little report card!
xo JBM

New Layout

So...tell me what you think? Is it hard to read the white on black text? Does it load properly for you? LK are you able to get in???

Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Beauty

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!!!!!

Matt has this horrible idea that we should wait until December to decorate for Christmas, whereas if I had my way we would be blaring Christmas tunes and flinging tinsel everywhere RIGHT NOW!!! So this year I had an idea...I'll just do small things...to satisfy my need to feel the Christmas cheer now...and Matt won't notice until it is all done and looks great! I won't do the tree yet, since we are planning on getting a real one this year. But I already put up the lights outside...not turned on yet, but they are up and ready to be plugged in asap! Then today I pulled out a couple decorations and placed them here and there...then I thought I could put up some garland around the entertainment centre...but it got a little out of hand...

Do you think Matt will notice this???

I'll let you know what he thinks!

xo JBM

Peek-a-Boo!

Duckie-lovie has been replaced :( Actually he has been for quite some time and I keep meaning to write about it. I went to Chapters to buy a back up Duckie (just like the one Aunt Randi sent for Sloan), but they didn't have any...they seemed to have every animal but Duckie...and since Sloan loved the feel of Duckie and I was afraid of ever losing him I thought I better just get another animal - they are all made of the same material and have the same little round head. So I settled on a Monkey. Well...now Sloan and Mr. Monkey MaGoo are in love! She can't sleep without him and she loves to rub his little ears! Her little thumb fits perfectly into the groove in his ear and she can always find his little embroidered mouth to give him kisses. We still keep Duckie-lovie near by, but he isn't the same anymore...his beak is no comparison to a grooved ear! Luckily I found another Monkey, so we have two in rotation! I wonder if Mr. Monkey MaGoo will be in it for the long haul like my bear was!

xo JBM

Wordless Wednesday

(click to view larger)

Wordless Wednesday: Tooth!

Dear Sloan: Ten Months

Well little missy, you are now 10 months old and it is impossible to believe that in two short months you will be a YEAR old! September was a great month, you are growing like a weed and changing everyday it seems!



This month you got your first tooth! We thought it looked like it was going to poke through for a while, but on the 6th it popped through! It is the cutest little tiny tooth! There was one night that you didn't sleep too much, and then next thing we knew it was there! You have been wearing a baltic amber necklace that is supposed to help with the pain of teething and I think it did it's job!



On September 10th Uncle David and Uncle Brad moved to Kincardine - I'm excited for you to have so much family around you that loves you so! Much to my dissapointment you still aren't saying Mama (or any version of Mum, Mummy, Mama, or even Ma), however after spending just a few days with Uncle David you seem to be trying to say his name! You are babbling lots and love to move your lips to see what kind of sounds you can get, but now you are doing 'Day-did' a lot it seems!



You are a VERY speedy crawler now! You make a b-line for Toby's water dish to tip it still, it's a race that you usually win! You love to chase both Toby and Bane, but Toby acts like he will get some horrible disease if he lets you touch him, Bane on the other hand will let you head-butt into him all day! I picked up a little pink ball for you so we could roll it back and forth, but you prefer to roll it all over the house and do this adorable little crouch to look under stuff when it gets stuck under the chair or coffee table. It's hard for me to not just take pictures of you constantly being cute!



In addition to your first tooth this month, you also had your first camping trip and first swimming lesson! We went camping up in Owen Sound at the KOA campgroud and stayed in the most adorable cabin and you were the greatest little camper! Esther is your teacher at swimming and you will go to her just fine for your 1-on-1 time and have even done a little swimming under water with no fuss!

We love you so much Sloan! Finding you standing in your crib, happily talking away to yourself in the mornings is such a delight! Knowing that we then get to spend another day watching you explore and grow is so much fun!

xo Mama

*pictures to be added when bloggers stops giving me a hard time!

Dear Sloan: Nine Months

Happy 'inside-out day' Sloan! You have now been on the outside as long as you were on the inside for! The nine months that you were brewing in my belly for seemed to take soooo long and we couldn't wait to meet you, but these past nine months have flown by and it's hard to believe how much you have changed in such a short time!

You broke my camera this month so we don't have too many pictures from your 9th month sadly. But of course all the ones I do have are simply adorable - it's hard to take a bad picture of you!

This month you got to meet your western connection family members - your Great Uncle Peter and 2nd cousins Emma and Iain came to visit. We had a ball with them, going to the pipe band, spending time at the beach and in the pool and of course getting lots of ice cream (yes, you even got a taste and loved it).

Your favourite toys right now are really anything that isn't actually a toy! You love to play with bowls - filling them, emptying them, filling them again, banging on them...it's a never ending game! You also love to pull the magazines off the coffee table and leaf through them - you love the sound of crumpling paper!

You are outgrowing the baby stage now, now more laying around doing nothing - you are always busy! But, you do keep yourself quite busy and I don't have to constantly entertain you which is nice. You are a crawling machine now! One day you just got it, and have stuck to it ever since! Toby is on constant look out since you like to try to pet him a lot, which he isn't a big fan of - he STILL hasn't warmed up to you! You do this adorable little nose snort when you get crawling faster and are getting excited about getting to where you want to go! You are also peeing on the potty every morning when you get up, hopefully this will make potty learning a little easier when the time comes! You seem to love sitting there and are quite proud of yourself when you make a little tinkle!

This month we celebrated 2 birthdays - Noni's 90th Birthday and today is Daddy's 29th birthday! You gave big snuggles as your birthday gifts!


Mummy and Daddy love you little Noodle!

xo Mama

Number One

Yesterday was a big day in milestones for Sloan - she went pee-pee on the potty!!!! And then did it again this morning!!! Yay for one less diaper to change!

And as soon as I buy a new camera today (since the other one doesn't open anymore!?!?!) I'll be snapping a picture of the little princess on her throne!

I can't believe summer is coming to an end :( We had some amazing weather, but the last week or so has just been clouds and cool breezes - feels like fall is coming! I even wore jeans and a long sleeve shirt earlier in the week! I feel like I should be going back to school shopping whenever this weather comes along, maybe in addition to a new camera I'll get some pens and paper just to feel young again! This weekend is supposed to be really nice though - humidity and everything! So we might just get in the pool or lake again once more this summer! Matt has a ball tournament and it's the mass pipe band in town Saturday night as well as Kristen's bonfire, so it should be a funfilled weekend!

xo JBM

Wordless Wednesday: Three Years Ago

Big Day!

Well, you are really on your way now! You've been crawling all over today - nothing is out of reach for you now! You seem to have found every dust bunny lurking around the house today - thanks for pointing those out (by attempting to eat them)! You also crawled all the way over to Toby's water dish and dumped it everywhere - no big deal, the floor needed mopping anyway ;)

Today you also stood up on your own! You've been pulling up on things for a while, but never have you actually gotten into a standing position, but today you did it! And while visiting Nana! You let go of the coffee table after getting up to your feet and standing for about 20sec, then stood without holding on for about 5sec and then plopped on your bum! You were so proud of yourself! As were we! Of course the next time you tried it you gave yourself a good bonk on the head!

Another first - tonight at dinner you had cut up blueberries for the first time and you fed yourself every piece! Way to go NoodleE!

Of course all of this is happening when my camera has decided to crap out - probably because you gave it a good throw the other day!

xo Mama

On your way!

Yesterday little Noodle, you made your first successful attempt at getting around on your hands and knees!

You have been getting where you want to go for quite some time now, but not in the most graceful of ways - but yesterday little girl, you did it! You crawled!

Now, today it hasn't been replicated, but I can see you trying - you'll be crawling in no time!
We're in trouble now!

xo Mama

For Randi

Apparently my blog is boring...here is a little placeholder until I upload all of the pics to Sloan's "newsletter" (my least favourite part since it takes so long).

Sloan is dancing to Beyonce!




Also...isn't she the cutest...

xo JBM

Edited to add: I noticed one day that Sloan really likes the beat to Single Ladies when we were listening to the "Baby Mamas: Put a Sling on 'em" version - watch it on youtube- so cute!

Dear Sloan: Eight Months

Well little Noodle, summer is in full force and you are enjoying it to the fullest! Luckily you love the water, because we have been in it quite a bit lately to get cooled off!

I almost let you have your first sleepover with Nana on July 3rd when we went to a wedding out of town, but I just couldn't do it! I missed you too much! However, you did spend the whole day and all the way up until midnight with Nana and Papa and loved every minute of it - sounds like you didn't even miss us! Nana had a little photo shoot with you and captured some adorable moments!

On July 4th you had your first real day at the beach with Mummy and Daddy! You had been before, and dipped your toes in the sand and lake, but on this day we went for a swim in the lake and played in the sand! We have also had lots of days at Nana and Papa's pool! You love the big pink floaty and splashing around!

We even got a teeny-tiny little baby pool for at home to dip you in now and then!

On July 30th you got to enjoy some music at the Bruce! You stayed out way past your bed time and danced the night away at the Bluesfest - you LOVED the music!

This month you showed your growing independence, and while it is so exciting to watch you become your own little person, it is also so sad to see that you don't have to depend on me so much anymore. You are boogying around like nobody's business! You aren't crawling yet, but you can get where ever you want to go, and quite quickly too! You do this adorable little butt scoot and have also started doing a bit of an army crawl too. I don't think it will be long until you are actually crawling! Daddy better get the gate up at the stairs soon! You are also trying to pull yourself up on things - especially the bookcase and the coffee table at Nana and Papa's house! You can't quite pull yourself up to a standing position, but you do get close!

You love to play on your own, as long as you can see one of us close by, but you can keep yourself busy for a while! Your stacking rings are your favourite toy right now. While you are playing you're always babbling away to yourself, Dadadada is still a common one, but you are also saying yayaya a lot now too. Your little voice is so adorable, as is you little baby dinosaour growl that you still do a lot!

You seem to have grown a lot this month - right out of a lot of your clothes! At night when I am nursing you in the dark and I can only see your outline next to me it's hard not to get a little choked up when I realise how big you have gotten. The tiny baby that fit so perfectly accross my chest, is now sprawled out across my entire lap! Slow down!!!

Now, for your big 8 month birthday you celebrated by having a sleepover with Nana and Papa! Mama was able to loosen up a bit over the last month and realised the day (actually the night) had to come eventually! Mummy and Daddy had friend over and you got to spend some time with your "aunts" and "uncles" before taking off for your night away. And...of course...you did just fine!

Mama and Daddy love you so much Sloan!

xo Mama

Not-so-Wordless Wednesday

We seem to have issues with power cords on our laptop and another one has bit the dust! I'm debating getting another power cord, a new laptop, a new baby netbook, or a desktop...

For now, it's quick stops in at the parentals house for computer use!

I found this pic on their computer...

This was taken in a beer tent in Ripley during the reunion...the date stamp says Aug 19, 2005 - is that right? Apparently it was during Randi's tomato phase...

xo JBM

Wordless Wednesday: The Toothless Wonder

Dear Sloan: Seven Months

Wow, lots of firsts this month! Month 7 absolutely flew by...and got hotter and hotter as it went! It was 43 degrees today with the humidex!

You went on your first vacation this month. We went to visit David out in Vancouver with Nana, but sadly Daddy had to stay home and work. You were a great little traveller - sleeping on the plane, adjusting to the time difference and sightseeing like it was your job! We got to see a lot of great things (you especially loved the aquarium), eat at a bunch of great places (NoodleBox, Dim Sum, Mexican, Cupcakes! and lots of great homemade meals!) and spend lots of quality time with Uncle David and Brad!

You still love the jolly jumper and would stay in there for hours if I let you I think! I bought you a little spongy mat to jump on so you don't hurt your feet! You're also using this mat to roll around on - you're a master roller now! You can even roll towards something to get it! This mat has also come in handy to work on your sitting, which you have also mastered! You look so grown up sitting there on your own, not toppling over!



Last month you mastered the clapping, but this month you perfected it by clapping on cue! If we clap, you clap! You have also figured out that if you bang two things together it makes a noise. It was so neat to watch you figure this out for the first time, and just as wonderful to see you so impressed with yourself each time you rediscover it!



You are eating more and more different foods now. This month we discovered that you love apple-pear sauce (so do I!) and although peaches weren't a big hit at first, you love them mixed with banana!



Your little personality is developing more and more. You are a little Mama's girl for sure! You have this adorable little shy smile when meeting new people and turn into my shoulder to hide your little face - it is so stinkin' cute! You also do this adorable little shoulder shrug that could melt anyones heart!


We hosted our first play group this month - you had 6 little friends over! It was so neat to watch you interacting with them (mainly with eye contact and watching them play with your toys).

Speaking of playgroup, we have also been going to the Early Years Centre on a pretty regular basis and this month you got to paint there for the first time! Yummy vanilla pudding painting! As soon as you got a taste of it, you licked it all of your page - so much for painting! You also did some painting for Father's Day - hand prints on a homemade card and some painting with a brush on a bowl that you helped make for Daddy out in Vancouver - he is one lucky Daddy!

Yum!

You're babbling more and more now. Da-da is still your favourite sound, but I'm working on ma-ma! I say ma-ma and you repeat da-da!

You also went to your first pipe band this month - a weekend tradition I hope to keep since I have so many great memories of it as a child. You watched without a flinch as the band went by and then we marched behind them and Mummy and Daddy got ice cream. On the way back you fell asleep! And stayed asleep as the band went by the second time!

Snoozing...

Lastly, another first - fireworks! You celebrated your first Canada Day! We were off to Cambridge for the day to see the Stewart-Murphy clan and visit with your Nanny Murphy - she noticed a HUGE change in you since this was just her 3rd time seeing you. You napped almost the whole way home, so you were able to stay up late to watch the fireworks over this lake in town. We weren't sure how you would react to them, but you just snuggled on me, and rested your head on Daddy and watched with amazement. I didn't get to see too many because I was busy watching your reaction to them!

You no longer hate the grass!

People keep asking me if I am looking forward to going back to work soon and the answer to that is a big fat NO! I love my job, but I love being with you way more. I can't imagine not being the one to get to watch all of these first with you and getting to see all of the subtle little changes day to day. Hopefully we'll win the lottery before it's time to go back to work! :)

xo Mama


p.s We still mainly call you Noodle! Luckily you aren't too confused by this and respond to either Sloan or Noodle!

Wordless Wednesday: Peaches & Pipeband

xo JBM

The Clapper!

Sloan wants to know...

What do you think of our new entertainment unit???

Matt and I feel like such grown-ups now! I should have taken a before pic, but most of you had seen our set up - the tv on an old dresser that I had picked up at a yard sale the summer after first year university and painted orange, and then chocolate brown...and the dvd player and playstation on a tv table beside it...with cords everywhere! lol Time to grow up a little! I still have to finish adding stuff to it, and we need to lose the bookshelf, but I need something else to go there before I can do that - it looked too bare with nothing there...plus, I need somwhere to put all the books!

Also, Noodle loves to clap...

xo JBM

Dear Sloan: Six Months

WOW! I cannot believe that you are already a half a year old! Half a year! Crazy! In just 6 short months you have completely stolen my heart and replaced it with one that is somehow more full of love than I ever thought possible. Your Daddy and I love you more and more each day and love you with every ounce of loving possible! Also, in just 6 months you have really started to become your own little person. You have likes (kisses, playing in the water, watching Toby & Bane run around, the jolly jumper, seeing Daddy when he comes home from work, the ABC's...etc) and dislikes (laying down unless you are in bed, chicken, the feeling of grass on your feet...). Your personality is blooming and it is so neat to watch!

This month you really started to babble more and make more sounds. You love when we mimic you! Da-Da seems to be your favourite so far! Sometimes you surprise yourself by figuring out how to make a wh or p sound and you look so proud of yourself - you look around to see if anyone is watching as if to say 'did you just hear that - I did that!' It is SO cute! You still do your adorable little growl which is getting louder and all the other Mummy's at baby group think it is so funny!

We have had some really beautiful weather this month - lots of sunshine and some really warm days too! You don't mind coming out to help me with the yard work and loved sitting and watching me plant a herb garden (which is now growing just as fast as you!).



You have tried a few different foods now in the purees I've been making for you. So far you seem to like sweet potato and black beans the best. You also have a new obsession for drinking glasses! If there is one in sight, you want it! You're also pretty good at drinking out of a cup now too!


I got to enjoy my first Mother's Day this month too which was great! I love being your Mummy so it was nice to spend a day just celebrating that!

You've been working on your rolling and have flipped back to belly and belly to back a few times, but are still working on perfecting it - sometimes your little arm gets stuck and in your way! You seem to be able to get a move on most in your crib and I've found you on your belly more than once after your nap! You have also learned to clap this month and it is the cutest thing ever! Each time you do it I say YAYYYY and your little face lights up with the biggest smile!

You have become a better sleeper this month, waking only a couple times a night to eat...yay! We have a pretty good bed time routine going and you seem to sleep best when we follow it. Bath around 8, into pj's and then a story with the dim light on and then nurse and then rock with your music on and then off to dreamland!

Mama and Daddy love you little Noodle! Happy 1/2 Birthday!

xo Mama

Brotherly Love (?)

This picture sums up Sloan and Toby's relationship pretty perfectly...
HUGE smile on Sloan...Toby...not so much. I think I can see the hate in his eyes! Sloan loves to look at Toby, watch him move, pet him, squeeze him, pinch him, eat his hair, feed him carrots....but yet he still likes to pretend she doesn't exist and thinks if he doesn't look at her she might not be there.

Here she is babbling away to him, petting his ear and all he wants is to get away as fast as possible!

xo JBM

lil' chomper!

...just testing a new video program with blogger...

which is better for you - watching it through blogger:

or through vimeo:

lil' chomper from Joelene Murphy on Vimeo.

Make-It Monday: CAKE!

The men were going to do all of the cooking for Mother's Day, but I have been wanting to bake a cake for a while now and can't just bake one for the fun of it since Matt doesn't eat cake and I can't eat a whole cake myself (well...I can...but I shouldn't). So...I decided to bake a cake for yesterday, while Matt did the appetizers.



While perusing blogs a while ago I found this blog and LOVED what she did with cake! Lots of colour and who can resist a rainbow cake! So, Mother's Day would be my perfect excuse to bake a rainbow cake!



Except...I only have one round 8" cake pan (or so I thought, I have since found another while putting the one I used away!), and of course Noodle to tend to! So Saturday night at 9:30 I started on the cake. I thought 6 layers might be a bit much for me to tackle - it would probably topple over! So I decided on 3 layers so I would only have to do 3 oven watches before I could get to bed!



First, I mixed up the french vanilla batter and divided it into 3 bowls and added the dye (warning: I can't take a decent picture in our dim-lit kitchen at night!). I did one layer of blue, one of purple, and one of pink! Fun!


I wanted to be sure it was nice and cooled so I waited until yesterday to ice it. Just a fluffy white icing! Yum! I also added raspberry jam (seeds removed) between the layers and a few raspberries on the outside for decoration.

Looks like a pretty regular white cake, right?!

So imagine everyones surprise when my Mum cut into it and found this:

Tasty!

I think I might do this again, but tackle all 6 layers for Sloan's 1st Birthday! It was so fun and cheery!

xo JBM

Mummy's Day!

I really wanted to post a video, but the program is acting up so I'm just going to post some pictures and some text (just a few bits) from something (Daughter by Nicole Blackman) I found a loooong time ago before I was even pregnant and knew we were expecting a girl!

"One day I'll give birth to a tiny baby girl

and when she's born she'll scream

and I'll tell her to never stop

I will kiss her before I lay her down at night
and will tell her a story so she knows
how it is and how it must be for her to survive

I'll tell her that people must earn the right
to use her nickname
that forced intimacy is an ugly thing

I'll explain to her it's better to regret the things
she has done than the things she hasn't.
I'll teach her to write her manifestos on cocktail napkins.

I'll say she should make men lick her enterprise.
I'll teach her to talk hard.
I'll tell her that her skin is the
most beautiful dress she will ever wear."

Thank you for making me the Mummy I have wanted to be for so long little NoddleE.
In just 5 short months you have brought so much joy to our lives

Before you were born I didn't know what it was like to have my heart
living outside of my body...now I do.

There is so much that I cannot wait to share with you!

Mama loves you Sloan!

xo JBM

Wordless Wednesday: Littlest Kitchen Helper

Make-It Monday

This past Christmas Brad sent us a great craft gift! Paint-it-yourself paper lanterns! How neat! However, I have a strange fear of doing crafts like this - I'm afraid I'll crack open the box, plan what I want to do, start painting and then hate what I have done and then be disappointed that I have ruined the craft I was so excited about doing and since there is only one chance with this sort of thing I am then left with nothing! So the box sat unopened in Sloan's room since I knew I wanted to paint it for her room.

However...Make-it Monday gave me the idea to finally just do it! Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found two lanterns - a back-up in case I mess up! Yay! This gave me a sense of relief and let me just get to it!

I have wanted to paint pottery for a while now since seeing this cute idea of "dottery" but since we don't have a pottery painting place anywhere near here I thought I would try the dottery on my lantern and look how cute it turned out (which you could see better if I could take a decent picture)!

I also made Make-It Monday muffins! Yum!

I can't throw out bananas...just can't. My freezer is overflowing with black bananas...or I should say WAS overflowing! Boneless skinless chicken breasts were on sale this weekend so I bought 15 (for the price I normally pay for about 4 or 5!) so I had to make room in the freezer! I threw out a few of the bananas that were on the bottom of the pile, but my Mum also called with a recipe for simple banana muffins at just the right time!

Easy Banana Muffins

1 egg

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup softened butter (not melted, but almost)

3 large ripened bananas mashed

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

chocolate chips

Combine in the above order and bake at 350 for 14 min or until a tooth pic comes out clean.

*my changes*

I also added a dash of vanilla...just because. I didn't put a measurement for chocolate chips because you can use however many or little you want. I only had a little more than 1/2 cup (because yes, I am still eating chocolate chips out of the container for a chocolate fix Elsie!) so that's what I used this time, but I will be using more next time for sure - at least a cup...maybe a cup and a 1/4. Also, I cooked my muffins for 18 minutes, but I only made 12 large muffins, you could probably make 15 or 16 regular sized muffins but I didn't feel like having to watch the oven twice!

xo JBM

edit: I can't seem to fix the spacing!!!!