Austin looking less than impressed on his first horse and carriage ride.
Monday was a busy day. We helped Denise reorganize her basement in the morning followed by a shared lunch of spaghetti and a long walk to burn off the carbs. Austin was not impressed with his time in the playpen but it was necessary since the Eppel basement is not completely baby-proof and we occasionally needed all hands on deck to move furniture.
On Tuesday, we started the day by pouring half a box of Special K on the kitchen floor so Austin could play. We tried to give him pastry dough to play with but he did not like the texture. The Special K experiment was the next best thing. He had lots of fun scooping and pouring the grains of rice all over the place. He did his very best to use the broom to clean up afterwards. I’m realizing that I probably do too much housework if my 13 month old son thinks sweeping is fun! In the afternoon, we drove to Hamilton to have an eye specialist review the muscles in Austin’s left eye. We have seen some weakness in this eye and it seems to turn inward so Austin occasionally looks cross-eyed. The specialist did not see anything that requires immediate intervention. We will return in four months for another evaluation. Later that evening, we had a friend, Dawn, over for dinner. We spent the evening chatting and eating – two of my favorite pastimes.
Wednesday we met Jeff for lunch at Chez Cora’s, a new breakfast restaurant in Uptown Waterloo. The food was great and the service was fantastic! We were very impressed. Austin got a helium balloon leading to hours of fun! Later that evening, our neighbors kids, Erich and Erin came over for a couple of hours. We played the Nintendo Wii, entertained Austin, and made mini pizzas for our dinner.
Thursday started with a play date with our friends Sandy and Zara. Austin learns so much watching Zara, a gorgeous older woman (older by approximately 6 months) who has already mastered skills that he is just beginning to explore. It was wonderful for Sandy and I to enjoy some adult conversation during the daylight hours. We spent a bit of time visiting with our neighbors Christine and Olivia in the late afternoon before Jeff got home and everyone dispersed to attend to dinner.
On Friday, Lisa and Ashlie came to visit Austin in the early afternoon. Later, our neighbor Ann came over for a dress rehearsal – she is participated in the Belmont Village Christmas Event again this year and wanted to ensure she had everything organized and ready to go for Saturday morning. In the evening, we went to the Eppel’s to celebrate Mike’s birthday. We had great food, wine, and company.
Saturday we took Austin to the Belmont Village Christmas Event where we were able to get our first picture of Austin with Santa (he was less impressed than we hoped – no smiles for Santa!) We then enjoyed a horse drawn carriage ride before viewing the annual wreath auction and the Christmas Mutt Strut (where pets dress up in Christmas costumes and have a mini parade). It was loads of fun. We detoured to the Conestoga Mall on our way home. We are looking for a one-piece snowsuit for Austin but have not yet found anything we like. No luck at Old Navy, Winners, or Please Mum. The lineup to see Santa at the mall was huge so we did not attempt a second Santa visit. Two in one day would seem a bit much.
On Sunday, we tried a local Walmart – searching for a one-piece snowsuit and boots. No luck again. In the afternoon, we poured some cornmeal into a bowl to allow Austin to play in it. We’re trying all sort of things to give him lots of sensory play. More mess to clean up but definitely worth it. Austin does not like touching the cornmeal. He doesn’t mind flinging it about with a spoon but is not fond of the way it feels on his skin. In the evening, we took Austin to Joey’s Seafood restaurant for dinner before heading home and into bed.
It’s been a busy week with lots of outings. We’re going to try for a quiet week next week. Famous last words…
Filed under: Austin
