Cousins
As mentioned, the Christmas vacation was all about seeing family. Up to that point, Margo had only been introduced to Grandma when she came a few weeks after birth, and Tati Angie on a day trip to Montreal. She has yet to meet a couple of uncles and an aunt, but she has met her cousins.
First came Olivier, 11, and Nanaiyũ, 9, from my side of the family. We landed in Manitoba, drove to Saskatchewan and then came back to Manitoba. That means that O & N got to see Margo briefly on the first day, and for another few days later on.
Margo took to the kids instantly, and it was these two who discovered that Margo could now respond to certain motions by immitating them. Margo has been shaking her head in a "no, no, no" kind of way lately. O & N would go up to Margo and shake their heads in the same way. Margo would stare, smile, and hesitantly answer back by shaking and smiling. Nanaiyũ, with her long, wavy hair, would illicit a great response, and also provide hair for the baby to grab on to.
They also helped to bathe the baby, but I soon discovered that sibling rivalry doesn't only exist in the big picture, but boils down to every minute detail, including who gets to wash the baby's hair, hands, feet and neck. The neck was tricky, because there's only one of those... all the other parts could be divided between the two relatively easily. I think that Margo enjoyed the bath, but it was a lot more commotion-filled than normal.
On Margo's behalf, thanks for all the attention, Olivier & Nanaiyũ, and also for the card and the papier maché castle. And I think that it was a very good idea to draw a list of who gets to hold the baby, Nana, because I too think that your mother was hogging her most of the time. Oh, and we decided that, in the same vein as MarMon, their monster names were Ongu and A-Nana, respectively.
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When we arrived on the farm in Saskatchewan, Donna and baby quickly scooted inside, leaving the unloading to my brother-in-law and me. Once inside, everyone, including Margo's other cousins, Kim, 15, and Jenna, 13, were cooing over the baby. If there's one thing that I've learned over the past 4 months, it's that as a parent, I could walk around with a tophat and a beard made of bees, and no one would notice, because there's a baby around. And keeping bees alive long enough in a Saskatchewan winter to groom them into a beard formation deserves a little attention.
Having the girls around was great because they were quite attentive to Margo, leaving us a little breather to visit and get tipsy (re: hammered) on Irish coffees.
I really got the impression that they wanted to learn what it was like having a baby, and it was fun to sit back and watch them grill Auntie Donna on everything from how to hold Margo to the birth to changing diapers. Well, they may have been a bit less enthusiastic on the diaper thing, but it was still interesting to hear them come up with solutions on how to change a diaper while never having to touched any soiled parts. Good luck with those babysitting jobs, girls.
Margo really seemed comfortable being held by all these people, but there was something going on that was causing her to spit up often, either the excitement, or the different water, or... some babies are just pukey babies. I think everybody got a little on their clothes at one point or another, and usually either Donna or myself would whip out a face cloth or run to fetch a receiving blanket. The exception would have to be when Kim was holding her, and Donna decided that the expression of being grossed-out on Kim's face was far more important to capture in a photo than wiping off the spit up. Sorry Kim.
Well, not really.
Margo received a soft and cuddle musical bear (one that doesn't) play weird electronic tunes but instead a beautiful lullabye and some swanky socks from her cousins Kim & Jenna for Christmas. Thanks, cousins.
It was pretty cool to be around them, sitting off in the corner watching them talk with Donna, always asking where the baby was, when would she be up, and getting excited on Margo's behalf on Christmas morning. She may grow up to be like one of her cousins, and that wouldn't be too bad. Sure, I don't get Spongebob Squarepants or emo music, but I think that that just indicates that I've grown into my role as a father, because I just shrug and keep reading the paper. A glimpse into the future, perhaps.
So, there we go. Margo and her cousins. Not a bad set, and evenly spaced at two years apart each.
- Michel
First came Olivier, 11, and Nanaiyũ, 9, from my side of the family. We landed in Manitoba, drove to Saskatchewan and then came back to Manitoba. That means that O & N got to see Margo briefly on the first day, and for another few days later on.
Margo took to the kids instantly, and it was these two who discovered that Margo could now respond to certain motions by immitating them. Margo has been shaking her head in a "no, no, no" kind of way lately. O & N would go up to Margo and shake their heads in the same way. Margo would stare, smile, and hesitantly answer back by shaking and smiling. Nanaiyũ, with her long, wavy hair, would illicit a great response, and also provide hair for the baby to grab on to.
They also helped to bathe the baby, but I soon discovered that sibling rivalry doesn't only exist in the big picture, but boils down to every minute detail, including who gets to wash the baby's hair, hands, feet and neck. The neck was tricky, because there's only one of those... all the other parts could be divided between the two relatively easily. I think that Margo enjoyed the bath, but it was a lot more commotion-filled than normal.On Margo's behalf, thanks for all the attention, Olivier & Nanaiyũ, and also for the card and the papier maché castle. And I think that it was a very good idea to draw a list of who gets to hold the baby, Nana, because I too think that your mother was hogging her most of the time. Oh, and we decided that, in the same vein as MarMon, their monster names were Ongu and A-Nana, respectively.
---
When we arrived on the farm in Saskatchewan, Donna and baby quickly scooted inside, leaving the unloading to my brother-in-law and me. Once inside, everyone, including Margo's other cousins, Kim, 15, and Jenna, 13, were cooing over the baby. If there's one thing that I've learned over the past 4 months, it's that as a parent, I could walk around with a tophat and a beard made of bees, and no one would notice, because there's a baby around. And keeping bees alive long enough in a Saskatchewan winter to groom them into a beard formation deserves a little attention.
Having the girls around was great because they were quite attentive to Margo, leaving us a little breather to visit and get tipsy (re: hammered) on Irish coffees.
I really got the impression that they wanted to learn what it was like having a baby, and it was fun to sit back and watch them grill Auntie Donna on everything from how to hold Margo to the birth to changing diapers. Well, they may have been a bit less enthusiastic on the diaper thing, but it was still interesting to hear them come up with solutions on how to change a diaper while never having to touched any soiled parts. Good luck with those babysitting jobs, girls.
Margo really seemed comfortable being held by all these people, but there was something going on that was causing her to spit up often, either the excitement, or the different water, or... some babies are just pukey babies. I think everybody got a little on their clothes at one point or another, and usually either Donna or myself would whip out a face cloth or run to fetch a receiving blanket. The exception would have to be when Kim was holding her, and Donna decided that the expression of being grossed-out on Kim's face was far more important to capture in a photo than wiping off the spit up. Sorry Kim.Well, not really.
Margo received a soft and cuddle musical bear (one that doesn't) play weird electronic tunes but instead a beautiful lullabye and some swanky socks from her cousins Kim & Jenna for Christmas. Thanks, cousins.
It was pretty cool to be around them, sitting off in the corner watching them talk with Donna, always asking where the baby was, when would she be up, and getting excited on Margo's behalf on Christmas morning. She may grow up to be like one of her cousins, and that wouldn't be too bad. Sure, I don't get Spongebob Squarepants or emo music, but I think that that just indicates that I've grown into my role as a father, because I just shrug and keep reading the paper. A glimpse into the future, perhaps.
So, there we go. Margo and her cousins. Not a bad set, and evenly spaced at two years apart each.
- Michel
Labels: Christmas vacation, family
This entry was posted
on Saturday, January 06, 2007 at 9:31 p.m..
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10:06 p.m.Believe me, they haven't stopped talking about it. It must be really quiet now that you're back. Is Margo looking over her shoulder, wondering what happened to all the adulation?
It's true what you say about being invisible while there's a baby in the room. fagettabboudit!
12:31 a.m.
Yes, Michel, I never thought about you and Donna not even noticed time. Cousins yes, Margo was quite an attraction to them, but what about the Grandmaman and Grandma and Grandpa!!!!
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