Evenning at the park

This park is near the loft. It's the only park I've found where Vanessa is big enough to play in all the structures. It's awesome!

Thanks Christina for the pictures

Communicating

Our baby is a toddler now. She's so much more independent now that she can walk where she wants. Vanessa is also trying to communicate more and more. It's a slow process but we'll get there. She's got new signs this week. She learned "drink" which looks like "flower" so we weren't sure. She did it a couple of times and then slurped loudly. As to say, come on guys it's obvious. She knows the sign for "more" but we're working on what it means. Yesterday she kept asking for more fruit. It was very exciting.
This morning Vanessa surprised us with "Daddy" but instead of tapping her thumb she taps her index. "Duhhh! my daddy's dumb." I couldn't stop laughing which made us all laugh. I'm still waiting for Mommy.
She's much more affectionate these days. She'll climb up on us and rest her head on our shoulder for about 10 seconds and go back to play. She loves to give kisses. It's funny because it's not a real kiss unless you make the sound.

What goes in her mouth?

Vanessa loves all sorts of food. Lately we've been snacking on raisins. Mmm... Just like candy. I love it because it keeps well in the diaper bag. She loves salmon, spaghetti, most chicken and many fruits. She's not all that keen on vegetables. She now likes to dip her food and suck on the dip like ketchup or sweet and sour sauce or salad dressing. Sometimes it gets her to eat more veggies.
Things she doesn't like are pineapple, strawberries and meat that's hard to chew. Hopefully she'll change her mind as she grows up but this is a really short list so I'm one happy mommy.
Strange things she likes. She loves rocks. I catch her all the time tasting them. The other day I saw her dip her chalk into standing water and stick it in her mouth. YUCK. More than once. She loves to eat chalk. Today was the best. We were outside and I saw her chewing on something. I had her open her mouth and pulled out a snail shell. I'll have to tell her later that she has a thing for escargot.
It's funny because she only explores with her mouth outside. She doesn't really put toys in her mouth. I guess she's figured out what plastic and material tastes like and has moves on.

Vanessa in her Chariot.

It's been pretty windy these past couple of days so we gave our bikes a rest and went for a walk on Mount-Bruno. Since it was breezy the bugs weren't to bad. Vanessa was travelling in her screened in Chariot. What luxury! She likes it in there. There's room for a drink and some toys. I love the fact that it's all contained and I can't loose anything.

We stopped in the field by Lac du Moulin to stretch Vanessa's legs and have a snack. Well Daddy ate Vanessa's snack. Raisins and crackers.

Vanessa is saying "hi" and "bye". She does it on her own schedual. Not when people are coming and going. Never the less it still makes us smile so I'll share it with you.