we all survived the first year!
in mid-october i was making my daycare follow-up calls to see where we were on the waitlist, and was pleased to get a part-time spot at BACI. J started his gradual entry at daycare on december 1, and he did really well. also, being the second kid i had less sympathy for the clinging and crying (which actually wasn't too bad). my biggest worry about daycare was the napping - i didn't know how he would adjust to a different crib in a strange room with another baby. but to my relief he did ok. his first nap there was only 45 minutes, but he has since worked up to 2 hours and 2 different naptimes. success! the daycare staff have been great and accommodated J's schedule really
well, so he usually has 1:1 time with the staff when the older babies
are napping.
as for the other kids, J is the youngest and the next youngest is only a month older than him. all the other kids are over 18 months. thankfully J is a great walker so he can keep up with the older kids and doesn't get trampled over. much to my mom's dislike, J has figured out how to
climb stairs. he is much more advanced than G at the same age! J is also more determined than G ever was...whenever something is in his way, he'll use brute force to get through his obstacles - whether it's furniture to move around or toys to destroy, he'll do whatever it takes to get the end result.
we've been encouraging J to self-feed whenever possible. he was always reluctant to hold mum-mums and feed himself...everything ended up on the floor. but he's getting much better about gripping his food and eating it. he's also good with his bottle and will grab it and drink on his own. J adjusted well to whole milk, and now i'm weaning him down to nursing once a day. because he's been sick lately, i've nursed him randomly throughout the day...it just helps to calm him down. thankfully it hasn't increased my milk supply!
sleeping at night is still erratic. with the boys sharing a room, it's a struggle to have a good night's sleep. G is a light sleeper so anytime J cries out, G wakes up. we usually let J just cry it out until he falls asleep again and we have set up a sleeping bag in our room for G if the crying is out of control. the joys of small condo living :P
as for J's birthday celebration, we just did a small family dinner with our 2 families. having a christmas-time birthday is tough...between sick people, end of year activities at school, and shopping, it's hard to plan anything else. in lieu of a party, i did have 2 cakes for J...a cake for his birthday dinner as well as a smash cake for home (which we never did for G). turns out the smash cake wasn't required...J was sick on his birthday and didn't want anything to do with it. so, we invited our neighbour over and we got to enjoy another HL Sweets creation :-)
now that J's birthday has come and gone, my maternity leave is officially over and i'm back on the payroll :P jan. 12 i'm back to work!
Monday, December 29, 2014
Monday, December 08, 2014
10 & 11 months old!
seriously, where does the time go? there's been so much development in the past 2 months, i wish i'd kept better track of when the milestones were reached :P
baby J has a total of 8 teeth! with all his chompers, we started to feed him our food at mealtime...no more mandatory pureeing of food or mashing things up. J still hasn't figured out how to feed himself and would rather hold food and let it go, so nothing makes it in his mouth :P at least he's able to hold the handles on his sippy cup and it sort of gets in his mouth.
baby J has started to talk. and by talk, i mean he says MAMA! he might say mama, but he really is daddy's dude. as soon as chris comes home, baby J doesn't want me anymore. and since chris has been working at home in the mornings, he's gotten used to chris being around more which is really nice.
baby J is walking! he took a couple of steps at my parents during his 10th month and we really encouraged him to walk ever since. and then a few weeks ago he just stood up and started walking around. that same day he actually walked from the bedroom door to the front door to greet chris. WHAT?!?! at first he was pretty unsteady getting on his feet, he'd need to hold onto furniture or the wall, but now he just up-and-goes!
after 10 months of maternity leave, i felt a little guilty that i didn't do any organized activities with J...so i signed us up for music together classes at the community centre. i had all these great intentions of taking him to swimming lessons, but he got mobile so quickly that i couldn't imagine the hassle of showering/changing at the pool with such a squirmy baby. so, baby #2 gets totally shafted :P
recently we set up the pack & play at my parents house and they've been babysitting during naptimes so J can get used to sleeping at their house. we're also getting ready for p/t daycare, so i've been madly getting items purchased and labelled. life is definitely a bit different the second time around! only a few more weeks of mat leave!
baby J has a total of 8 teeth! with all his chompers, we started to feed him our food at mealtime...no more mandatory pureeing of food or mashing things up. J still hasn't figured out how to feed himself and would rather hold food and let it go, so nothing makes it in his mouth :P at least he's able to hold the handles on his sippy cup and it sort of gets in his mouth.
baby J has started to talk. and by talk, i mean he says MAMA! he might say mama, but he really is daddy's dude. as soon as chris comes home, baby J doesn't want me anymore. and since chris has been working at home in the mornings, he's gotten used to chris being around more which is really nice.
baby J is walking! he took a couple of steps at my parents during his 10th month and we really encouraged him to walk ever since. and then a few weeks ago he just stood up and started walking around. that same day he actually walked from the bedroom door to the front door to greet chris. WHAT?!?! at first he was pretty unsteady getting on his feet, he'd need to hold onto furniture or the wall, but now he just up-and-goes!
after 10 months of maternity leave, i felt a little guilty that i didn't do any organized activities with J...so i signed us up for music together classes at the community centre. i had all these great intentions of taking him to swimming lessons, but he got mobile so quickly that i couldn't imagine the hassle of showering/changing at the pool with such a squirmy baby. so, baby #2 gets totally shafted :P
recently we set up the pack & play at my parents house and they've been babysitting during naptimes so J can get used to sleeping at their house. we're also getting ready for p/t daycare, so i've been madly getting items purchased and labelled. life is definitely a bit different the second time around! only a few more weeks of mat leave!
Sunday, November 09, 2014
6 years old!
well, this is a month late :P
since the spring, gabriel's been nagging me about his having his birthday party at club aviva. so over the (never-ending) summer, i paid the deposit for the party, got the paper invitations (and wrote them), and then all i heard was "how much longer till my party?". it didn't help that the teachers strike dragged through september, so he couldn't actually hand out the paper invites to his classmates and i had to resort to evite.
well, the day finally arrived for his gymnastics party and division 12 had a great time! it was the last time the kids would be together before their grade 1 class assignments so one of the mom's and i had a little "awww" moment. i was so happy to see gabriel doing all the activities in the gym - balance beam (only the really low one), rope-swinging, trampoline, ladder-climbing to the slide - he's come a long way since olivia's birthday party when he only swung on the rope (over and over and over).
what a change from last year's blog entry - the kindergarten transition was a bit stressing, i was pregnant and miserable, and gabriel was freaked out about turning 5! this year's struggle was trying to explain that his party and his actual birthday weren't the same day and that he would still be 5 for a few more days after his party :P like last year, i sent rice krispy squares to school - easy to make, and no mess for the teacher to clean up :-)
now that he's 6 years old we've taken away his comfort towel and he's stopped sucking his thumb (hmmm, it all seems so easy now that i wonder why we didn't do it earlier). at his summer eye exam, we discovered he has a lazy left eye, so he's been wearing an eye patch at home (i even found an app called captain lazy eye). the good news is that his eye has improved by 60% (not sure if the app actually helped)! we've also noticed a developing attitude - the whine-y "do i have to?", "just one more minute!", "really?!", and a couple of "whatevers" thrown in for good measure.
being 6 is different from a financial perspective - he no longer qualifies for a 20% discount for ski lessons at mount seymour, we should be paying transit fare for him (we should've last year, but we didn't even realize the fare starts at 5 years), eating out is costing more (depending on the food, he will eat the equivalent of an adult), and he requires a full new wardrobe - no more toddler size clothing...he's a big kid now!
since the spring, gabriel's been nagging me about his having his birthday party at club aviva. so over the (never-ending) summer, i paid the deposit for the party, got the paper invitations (and wrote them), and then all i heard was "how much longer till my party?". it didn't help that the teachers strike dragged through september, so he couldn't actually hand out the paper invites to his classmates and i had to resort to evite.
well, the day finally arrived for his gymnastics party and division 12 had a great time! it was the last time the kids would be together before their grade 1 class assignments so one of the mom's and i had a little "awww" moment. i was so happy to see gabriel doing all the activities in the gym - balance beam (only the really low one), rope-swinging, trampoline, ladder-climbing to the slide - he's come a long way since olivia's birthday party when he only swung on the rope (over and over and over).
what a change from last year's blog entry - the kindergarten transition was a bit stressing, i was pregnant and miserable, and gabriel was freaked out about turning 5! this year's struggle was trying to explain that his party and his actual birthday weren't the same day and that he would still be 5 for a few more days after his party :P like last year, i sent rice krispy squares to school - easy to make, and no mess for the teacher to clean up :-)
now that he's 6 years old we've taken away his comfort towel and he's stopped sucking his thumb (hmmm, it all seems so easy now that i wonder why we didn't do it earlier). at his summer eye exam, we discovered he has a lazy left eye, so he's been wearing an eye patch at home (i even found an app called captain lazy eye). the good news is that his eye has improved by 60% (not sure if the app actually helped)! we've also noticed a developing attitude - the whine-y "do i have to?", "just one more minute!", "really?!", and a couple of "whatevers" thrown in for good measure.
being 6 is different from a financial perspective - he no longer qualifies for a 20% discount for ski lessons at mount seymour, we should be paying transit fare for him (we should've last year, but we didn't even realize the fare starts at 5 years), eating out is costing more (depending on the food, he will eat the equivalent of an adult), and he requires a full new wardrobe - no more toddler size clothing...he's a big kid now!
Thursday, October 02, 2014
grade 1
it's official, gabriel is in grade 1! even though school started last week, it hasn't felt real until now. with his kindergarten teacher working on gradual entry for the new K kids, the now grade 1's were shuffled among the grade 7 teachers and the EA's at the school. so the past week has been a mash-up of a (tiny) bit of education, and a LOT of playtime (they even had access to the strongstart classroom in the afternoons, and the school watched the Lego movie on friday).
meanwhile, the K teachers were pulling double-duty with gradual entry, parent interviews, and classroom assignments for the new K's and the now 1's. our K teacher tried to be open with us during the past week about class assignments. she did warn us there could be a K/1 class and for parents to think if their child would be appropriate there - basically it could be an opportunity for quieter kids to take a leadership role for the new K's and development their confidence. a 1/2 split may not be appropriate for some kids, as being around older children may be overwhelming or intimidating to them. specifically she thought gabe would be a consideration for the K/1 class, but after discussing the situation with my mom (who was a 1/2 teacher) she opened my eyes to the potentially negative consequence...because gabe is a follower, he could regress and start behaving like a K kid. it's more beneficial for gabe to be around older kids who can be role models and show how "big boys" act. so tiger mom in me immediately wrote an email to the teacher indicating my strong preference for the 1/2 class.
lesson learned, parent input can be received in the opposite tone. gabriel is officially in the K/1 class. all the reasons i listed for him to be in a grade 1/2 class, she took the opposite approach and thinks he would thrive in the K/1 class. obviously the teacher and principal see something in him that i don't (yet). being in the K/1 class was also part of the solution that i requested he be separated from a couple of his former classmates (for negative situations that came to my attention over the summer). i've talked 1:1 w/the teacher and also had a meeting with the principal (and they've talked to each other without me), so they are fully aware of my concerns. after the first day of class, gabe reported that he only played with maxwell (a K kid). believe me, i was not impressed. so he and i talked about which kids are grade 1 friends, and that he should get to know them more. i am also pleased to see the principal taking an active step and he has checked in on gabriel this week and has informed me that gabriel is playing with the other grade 1 kids (both in class and on the playground).
we're only a few days into the school year, and from what i've heard from gabriel, there's been a lot of carpet and center time, gym time, but not a lot of pencil-to-paper learning. i'm probably not getting all of the information out of him, so i like to talk to the mom's in the other classes to see what their grade 1 kids are up to...so far, the kids are all tight-lipped (fine. nothing. i don't remember) and not divulging information. social-emotional conferences are next week (already!) so i'll get in the class with the teacher and see what's going on.
in the meantime, i've got gabriel working on a journal at home (just one sentence that he comes up with about his day) so he can practice his printing, as well as keeping his memory fresh cuz i'm tired of the i-don't-knows when i ask him what he did at school. and we also have kumon to keep us busy. swim lessons start up at the end of october, and we're in discussions about signing up for karate/jiu jitsu later this fall. we'll see what happens!
meanwhile, the K teachers were pulling double-duty with gradual entry, parent interviews, and classroom assignments for the new K's and the now 1's. our K teacher tried to be open with us during the past week about class assignments. she did warn us there could be a K/1 class and for parents to think if their child would be appropriate there - basically it could be an opportunity for quieter kids to take a leadership role for the new K's and development their confidence. a 1/2 split may not be appropriate for some kids, as being around older children may be overwhelming or intimidating to them. specifically she thought gabe would be a consideration for the K/1 class, but after discussing the situation with my mom (who was a 1/2 teacher) she opened my eyes to the potentially negative consequence...because gabe is a follower, he could regress and start behaving like a K kid. it's more beneficial for gabe to be around older kids who can be role models and show how "big boys" act. so tiger mom in me immediately wrote an email to the teacher indicating my strong preference for the 1/2 class.
lesson learned, parent input can be received in the opposite tone. gabriel is officially in the K/1 class. all the reasons i listed for him to be in a grade 1/2 class, she took the opposite approach and thinks he would thrive in the K/1 class. obviously the teacher and principal see something in him that i don't (yet). being in the K/1 class was also part of the solution that i requested he be separated from a couple of his former classmates (for negative situations that came to my attention over the summer). i've talked 1:1 w/the teacher and also had a meeting with the principal (and they've talked to each other without me), so they are fully aware of my concerns. after the first day of class, gabe reported that he only played with maxwell (a K kid). believe me, i was not impressed. so he and i talked about which kids are grade 1 friends, and that he should get to know them more. i am also pleased to see the principal taking an active step and he has checked in on gabriel this week and has informed me that gabriel is playing with the other grade 1 kids (both in class and on the playground).
we're only a few days into the school year, and from what i've heard from gabriel, there's been a lot of carpet and center time, gym time, but not a lot of pencil-to-paper learning. i'm probably not getting all of the information out of him, so i like to talk to the mom's in the other classes to see what their grade 1 kids are up to...so far, the kids are all tight-lipped (fine. nothing. i don't remember) and not divulging information. social-emotional conferences are next week (already!) so i'll get in the class with the teacher and see what's going on.
in the meantime, i've got gabriel working on a journal at home (just one sentence that he comes up with about his day) so he can practice his printing, as well as keeping his memory fresh cuz i'm tired of the i-don't-knows when i ask him what he did at school. and we also have kumon to keep us busy. swim lessons start up at the end of october, and we're in discussions about signing up for karate/jiu jitsu later this fall. we'll see what happens!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
8 & 9 months old!
it's taken me so long to post J's 8 month update, that i've combined it with 9 months :P
baby J is a crawling machine...he gets around the house really quickly - turn your head and he's gone! he's holding onto things to stand up, and more recently he'll do his "look ma, no hands!". at 8 months he started to cruise, and since we didn't bother to babyproof our home he's getting into everything! his new thing now is to grab furniture and push it around to get where he wants to go.
meal times are really good - he's been eating everything i give him, and we're into cut-up food. after trying out a few sippy cups, we've found one that works for us and J is enjoying his water with his mealtime. we're still working on his hand-mouth coordination as he hasn't quite figured out how to get his mum-mums into his mouth yet. he mostly likes to push them around the table until they fall on the floor :P on the nursing end of things, we're down to 3 feeds a day...a bit ahead of where i was with G as a baby thanks to my smaller milk supply.
i thought naptimes were becoming more predictable - usually 3-30 minute naps - but once in awhile he throws me a curveball and takes a 1.5 hour morning nap :P it is nice having the 5-5:30 p.m. nap so that i can cook dinner in peace :-) the best news of all is that J is sleeping through the night in his crib...yippee! if only he would sleep in past 6 a.m...
J's top teeth have taken a month to break through, but a few days ago, they came out! i think his molars are causing some discomfort because he's been gnawing on his fingers a lot, and drooling like mad :P
we have a little chatterbox. his favourite person to talk to his gabriel - the two of them can grunt and laugh at each other till the cows come home. other fun facts: J likes to give high-5's, he loves to smile and engage with strangers, and he loves our gadgets - if the phone or ipad are in eyesight, he's a baby on a mission and will stop at nothing to grab them.
the bad news this month...i think my trigger finger has returned (i can't believe i didn't blog about it in the fall). a couple weeks ago, i noticed a mild pain in my right hand by my 4th finger which is where i had the steroid injection in november. it's progressed to difficulty making a fist and squeezing things. the pain is at the worst in the mornings and evenings, making brushing my teeth a real challenge :P my finger hasn't started to "lock" or "click" yet, but if it's a repeat of last year i feel like it's only a matter of days before that happens. once that happens i'll re-visit my doctor and get another referral to a specialist and see what the next course of action will be. the thought of surgery is not pleasant, but the thought of another steroid injection could be hazardous to the doctor...since i kicked the last one :S
the best news of all...SCHOOL IS STARTING ON MONDAY! i am so glad to have G back at school getting his education, seeing all his friends/teachers/principal, and most of all i am glad to have my 1:1 time with J so we can get regular naptimes and potty-training under control!
baby J is a crawling machine...he gets around the house really quickly - turn your head and he's gone! he's holding onto things to stand up, and more recently he'll do his "look ma, no hands!". at 8 months he started to cruise, and since we didn't bother to babyproof our home he's getting into everything! his new thing now is to grab furniture and push it around to get where he wants to go.
meal times are really good - he's been eating everything i give him, and we're into cut-up food. after trying out a few sippy cups, we've found one that works for us and J is enjoying his water with his mealtime. we're still working on his hand-mouth coordination as he hasn't quite figured out how to get his mum-mums into his mouth yet. he mostly likes to push them around the table until they fall on the floor :P on the nursing end of things, we're down to 3 feeds a day...a bit ahead of where i was with G as a baby thanks to my smaller milk supply.
i thought naptimes were becoming more predictable - usually 3-30 minute naps - but once in awhile he throws me a curveball and takes a 1.5 hour morning nap :P it is nice having the 5-5:30 p.m. nap so that i can cook dinner in peace :-) the best news of all is that J is sleeping through the night in his crib...yippee! if only he would sleep in past 6 a.m...
J's top teeth have taken a month to break through, but a few days ago, they came out! i think his molars are causing some discomfort because he's been gnawing on his fingers a lot, and drooling like mad :P
we have a little chatterbox. his favourite person to talk to his gabriel - the two of them can grunt and laugh at each other till the cows come home. other fun facts: J likes to give high-5's, he loves to smile and engage with strangers, and he loves our gadgets - if the phone or ipad are in eyesight, he's a baby on a mission and will stop at nothing to grab them.
the bad news this month...i think my trigger finger has returned (i can't believe i didn't blog about it in the fall). a couple weeks ago, i noticed a mild pain in my right hand by my 4th finger which is where i had the steroid injection in november. it's progressed to difficulty making a fist and squeezing things. the pain is at the worst in the mornings and evenings, making brushing my teeth a real challenge :P my finger hasn't started to "lock" or "click" yet, but if it's a repeat of last year i feel like it's only a matter of days before that happens. once that happens i'll re-visit my doctor and get another referral to a specialist and see what the next course of action will be. the thought of surgery is not pleasant, but the thought of another steroid injection could be hazardous to the doctor...since i kicked the last one :S
the best news of all...SCHOOL IS STARTING ON MONDAY! i am so glad to have G back at school getting his education, seeing all his friends/teachers/principal, and most of all i am glad to have my 1:1 time with J so we can get regular naptimes and potty-training under control!
Monday, September 08, 2014
a mini-vacation!
earlier this year, we started discussing our family vacation with my parents, and decided to re-visit disneyland to coincide with the CDN thanksgiving holiday (just like we did 2 years ago). but due to the ongoing teachers dispute and the uncertainty of when school will actually begin, we opted instead for a road trip down to the oregon coast.
so we loaded up our minivan, picked up my parents, and hit the highway to seaside, oregon. it took us 8 hours to get to seaside, including a 30 minute border wait, 2 rest breaks, and opting for the more "scenic" route along highway 101 from olympia. i had originally tried to find accommodations in cannon beach since we had all heard of it, but after researching hotels to meet our criteria (connecting rooms, air conditioning, swimming pool, complimentary breakfast, walking distance to everything), prices and availability in seaside just made more sense.
after reading reviews on tripadvisor, we booked the newly completed river inn at seaside. it was 3 blocks to the beach, 1 block to broadway street where all the restaurants and touristy shops are, and our connecting suite overlooked the Necanicum River; our room in particular also happened to overlook the children's play area and the fire pit. the room set-up was great - the 2 queen bed suite had a separate kitchen/living space, so we could put the kids to sleep and then hang out until our bedtime. and my parents connecting room had a king bed and sofabed, so gabe chose to sleep in their room! the continental breakfast was pretty good - waffle maker, bagels, variety of breads, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, coffee, juice, and tea. the cookies at check-in, the bowls of salt water taffy, and the water cooler to fill our bottles were added bonuses.
we basically had 2 full days on the coast, so we did everything possible: the oregon coast scenic railroad, tillamook cheese factory, tillamook air museum, cannon beach, seaside beach, wheel fun bike ride and pedal boat, and swim at the hotel. and as one does on vacation, we ATE! i think all of my meals included a bowl of clam chowder followed by something deep fried :P we have great seafood in vancouver, but somehow i still couldn't get enough of it in oregon! the coast was great, and i've already made a few notes for future trips:
when we planned the trip to oregon, we were doing some meal planning and my parents said they had never been to the red lobster - they've seen the commercials all the time though. so after a disappointing shopping trip, we went to red's for dinner. after 3 nights, chris finally got to work for his dinner and ordered the pound of crab legs. our first night in seaside, he ordered crab legs cooked with cajun seasoning, but the crab meat had already been shelled for him (this was the restaurant's way of having quick turn-around on their dinner tables). aw shame :(
we stayed one night in portland at the inn at northrup station. definitely a colourful hotel - again, it met all our requirements...i probably wouldn't stay there again. but one added perk that we discovered in the morning was that we were only a 3 minute drive to trader joe's! my family and i are TJ virgins, so we were extremely excited for the experience, and even happier to not be hated canadians emptying their shelves :) we must've been in the store for at least an hour ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything. my dad was super excited to buy cheap wine and he got to use our quota as well. i am looking forward to shopping at TJ's again...i've already got my shopping list ready :)
after a quick stop for lunch along the I5, we had one more fun stop planned for gabe - imagine children's museum in everett. after getting stalled at the train play area, we had to keep prodding him to check out the other centres. the outdoor play area was another big hit! definitely another place to re-visit...perhaps if the strike continues, another road trip is in order!
and last but not least, we went to tulalip for dinner @ the olive garden and more shopping :-) i hadn't been since they opened the new promenade stores and my dad was in tommy bahama heaven! while we were at the outlets, we even ran into one of gabe's classmates doing some shopping as well.
and finally, our roadtrip came to an exhausting end with a 1 hour border line-up...who knew that 10 p.m. on a wednesday night would be so busy?!?! since the trip, jeremy passed his nexus interview (he was a tricky bugger trying to get his picture taken :P) and has received his card...no more border line-ups again :)
so we loaded up our minivan, picked up my parents, and hit the highway to seaside, oregon. it took us 8 hours to get to seaside, including a 30 minute border wait, 2 rest breaks, and opting for the more "scenic" route along highway 101 from olympia. i had originally tried to find accommodations in cannon beach since we had all heard of it, but after researching hotels to meet our criteria (connecting rooms, air conditioning, swimming pool, complimentary breakfast, walking distance to everything), prices and availability in seaside just made more sense.
after reading reviews on tripadvisor, we booked the newly completed river inn at seaside. it was 3 blocks to the beach, 1 block to broadway street where all the restaurants and touristy shops are, and our connecting suite overlooked the Necanicum River; our room in particular also happened to overlook the children's play area and the fire pit. the room set-up was great - the 2 queen bed suite had a separate kitchen/living space, so we could put the kids to sleep and then hang out until our bedtime. and my parents connecting room had a king bed and sofabed, so gabe chose to sleep in their room! the continental breakfast was pretty good - waffle maker, bagels, variety of breads, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, coffee, juice, and tea. the cookies at check-in, the bowls of salt water taffy, and the water cooler to fill our bottles were added bonuses.
we basically had 2 full days on the coast, so we did everything possible: the oregon coast scenic railroad, tillamook cheese factory, tillamook air museum, cannon beach, seaside beach, wheel fun bike ride and pedal boat, and swim at the hotel. and as one does on vacation, we ATE! i think all of my meals included a bowl of clam chowder followed by something deep fried :P we have great seafood in vancouver, but somehow i still couldn't get enough of it in oregon! the coast was great, and i've already made a few notes for future trips:
- stay more than 3 nights on the coast so there's more beach time!
- go in July to avoid the foggy August mornings (and early afternoons)
- build a bonfire and make smores!
when we planned the trip to oregon, we were doing some meal planning and my parents said they had never been to the red lobster - they've seen the commercials all the time though. so after a disappointing shopping trip, we went to red's for dinner. after 3 nights, chris finally got to work for his dinner and ordered the pound of crab legs. our first night in seaside, he ordered crab legs cooked with cajun seasoning, but the crab meat had already been shelled for him (this was the restaurant's way of having quick turn-around on their dinner tables). aw shame :(
we stayed one night in portland at the inn at northrup station. definitely a colourful hotel - again, it met all our requirements...i probably wouldn't stay there again. but one added perk that we discovered in the morning was that we were only a 3 minute drive to trader joe's! my family and i are TJ virgins, so we were extremely excited for the experience, and even happier to not be hated canadians emptying their shelves :) we must've been in the store for at least an hour ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything. my dad was super excited to buy cheap wine and he got to use our quota as well. i am looking forward to shopping at TJ's again...i've already got my shopping list ready :)
after a quick stop for lunch along the I5, we had one more fun stop planned for gabe - imagine children's museum in everett. after getting stalled at the train play area, we had to keep prodding him to check out the other centres. the outdoor play area was another big hit! definitely another place to re-visit...perhaps if the strike continues, another road trip is in order!
and last but not least, we went to tulalip for dinner @ the olive garden and more shopping :-) i hadn't been since they opened the new promenade stores and my dad was in tommy bahama heaven! while we were at the outlets, we even ran into one of gabe's classmates doing some shopping as well.
and finally, our roadtrip came to an exhausting end with a 1 hour border line-up...who knew that 10 p.m. on a wednesday night would be so busy?!?! since the trip, jeremy passed his nexus interview (he was a tricky bugger trying to get his picture taken :P) and has received his card...no more border line-ups again :)
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
the long hot summer
whoops, this has been in draft status for a couple weeks!
i realize summer vacation is only 1/2 over...or is it?! with school ending early, and the uncertainty of the return to school after labour day, it's been a long, long, long, slightly hot summer.
baby J is getting screwed. trying to keep gabriel entertained is a full-time job, so J ends up getting dragged along with no routine in sight. sometimes he'll nap in the car, sometimes he'll nap in the stroller, and other days he won't nap at all...leaving us with a very very cranky baby. part of the situation now is that he's very mobile and likes his freedom. he's crawling and scooting around the condo and getting into some mischief. he's even grabbing furniture so he can stand up!
i realize that i'm very lucky to have very helpful parents. when i had strep throat, they kept gabriel for 4 nights while i recovered. since then, they've been keeping gabriel for 2 nights a week for the past couple weeks. it's nice for them because they get 1:1 time with him, it's good for gabe because he's practicing his piano, journalling, etc. etc., and it's good for me and J because we can stay home and have decent naps :-)
now that J is getting better about eating solids, i'm hoping to leave him for a few hours with my parents so i can have some 1:1 time w/gabriel - there's a few things that i'd like to do without dragging the baby along (i.e., playland, bowling (now that it's raining)).
in the meantime, we're having fun with our friends and our school friends at the local parks. gotta love the free activities at the wading pools!
i realize summer vacation is only 1/2 over...or is it?! with school ending early, and the uncertainty of the return to school after labour day, it's been a long, long, long, slightly hot summer.
baby J is getting screwed. trying to keep gabriel entertained is a full-time job, so J ends up getting dragged along with no routine in sight. sometimes he'll nap in the car, sometimes he'll nap in the stroller, and other days he won't nap at all...leaving us with a very very cranky baby. part of the situation now is that he's very mobile and likes his freedom. he's crawling and scooting around the condo and getting into some mischief. he's even grabbing furniture so he can stand up!
i realize that i'm very lucky to have very helpful parents. when i had strep throat, they kept gabriel for 4 nights while i recovered. since then, they've been keeping gabriel for 2 nights a week for the past couple weeks. it's nice for them because they get 1:1 time with him, it's good for gabe because he's practicing his piano, journalling, etc. etc., and it's good for me and J because we can stay home and have decent naps :-)
now that J is getting better about eating solids, i'm hoping to leave him for a few hours with my parents so i can have some 1:1 time w/gabriel - there's a few things that i'd like to do without dragging the baby along (i.e., playland, bowling (now that it's raining)).
in the meantime, we're having fun with our friends and our school friends at the local parks. gotta love the free activities at the wading pools!
Friday, July 18, 2014
7 months! and a general update
baby J caught his second cold :( we had a few rough days listening to J cough, cough, cough, gag, and throw-up. i have to say that only babies would be turning bright red and gasping for breath, vomit up their milk, and then give momma a great big smile and bounce around as if nothing had happened :P fortunately our 6 month check-up coincided with the early onset of his cold, and the dr. confirmed it was "just a cold". our (very) solid 19.3 lb baby is just fine :)
i was looking back at gabe's development at 7 months, and i was just recovering from strep throat. seems like history repeats itself, as i just had strep throat again :P ironic.
baby J's got a toothy smile :-) his bottom 2 teeth popped out, and he's a biter :P not so nice times ahead for me. shortly after he turned 6 months, i decided to sit him on the playmat, and much to my surprise, he sat there. but not for long. about a week later, he realized he could fall over onto his tummy, roll around, and now he's been rolling and sliding around the condo. now i'm constantly rescuing him from under ottomans, table chairs, and removing computer cables from his little fists. being confined to a bouncy chair or exersaucer isn't much of an option anymore...baby J is on the move!
as for food...we're still not in the groove yet. he still likes his rice cereal, and i mix that with all of his fruits and veggies. he's also not into texture, so everything is still mashed up really well. i tried rice and well-cooked broccoli florets, and he spat it out at me. congee went ok, but definitely needs to be combined with something sweeter for his liking :P i've had a few nights out recently, and left chris with frozen milk and a bottle, and J refuses to drink it. fortunately i'm not out terribly late, and can still nurse J to sleep.
it's been another busy month in our household. with the early start of summer break and the cancellation of summer session, i've been trying to decide what to do with G this summer. he has swim lessons 2x/week for july, and i'll sign him up for one more set before he turns 6. i also wanted him to go to a camp program for a week, but after giving it some thought and picking my battles, i'm going to withdraw from it. so to maintain his educational skillz, G will be sleeping over once (maybe twice depending on everyone's schedules) a week at my parents house and spending some quality time (printing/journaling, reading, piano, etc.), and fun time with them.
the biggest commitment we made is to start G in Kumon. i had inquired about the math program last fall when he started kindergarten, but making the commitment with a newborn was too tricky for our schedule. so he started math a month ago, and by math i mean printing numbers to 100. the focus of kumon is repetition, efficiency and gaining confidence. the first few weeks was tough...G had trouble sitting down to focus on his numbers and found the repetition boring, and would take up to 45 minutes to do his 10 worksheets. but one day at class, he walked out after only 25 minutes. that day my eyes popped out of my head and i was a proud momma! cue confident G! after that our homework at home shortened and became a test of how quickly AND correctly he could do his worksheets. after a few short weeks, he has already progressed to the addition portion of his learning. when he came out of class and told me he could ADD, the smile on his face was Ri-Di-Cu-Lous! we celebrated with a McHappy meal :-) we seem to be on a rollercoaster ride with kumon...he's now back to 40-45 minutes to accomplish homework that he can totally do in less than 30 minutes. grrr.
i've been having some little issues with gabriel, some sibling jealousy is starting to pop-up. so to nip some of our issues in the bud, i downloaded a chore app for him. for accomplished task, he gets a checkmark and each checkmark is worth 10 minutes on the ipad. our list of tasks isn't too extensive, especially since some "chores" have been bundled together, so he ultimately ends up with about an hour of gadget time. one of the "tasks" is to put his comfort towel away from morning to night, which actually got us the side bonus of no thumbsucking since those went hand-in-hand (or mouth). another task is to read aloud at least 2 books (for 1 checkmark), and then i told him if he read more books, he would get bonus points...so now he's a reading machine :-) and with his chores keeping him busy, and updating the ipad with checkmarks, we have a bit more peace in the house :-)
i was looking back at gabe's development at 7 months, and i was just recovering from strep throat. seems like history repeats itself, as i just had strep throat again :P ironic.
baby J's got a toothy smile :-) his bottom 2 teeth popped out, and he's a biter :P not so nice times ahead for me. shortly after he turned 6 months, i decided to sit him on the playmat, and much to my surprise, he sat there. but not for long. about a week later, he realized he could fall over onto his tummy, roll around, and now he's been rolling and sliding around the condo. now i'm constantly rescuing him from under ottomans, table chairs, and removing computer cables from his little fists. being confined to a bouncy chair or exersaucer isn't much of an option anymore...baby J is on the move!
as for food...we're still not in the groove yet. he still likes his rice cereal, and i mix that with all of his fruits and veggies. he's also not into texture, so everything is still mashed up really well. i tried rice and well-cooked broccoli florets, and he spat it out at me. congee went ok, but definitely needs to be combined with something sweeter for his liking :P i've had a few nights out recently, and left chris with frozen milk and a bottle, and J refuses to drink it. fortunately i'm not out terribly late, and can still nurse J to sleep.
it's been another busy month in our household. with the early start of summer break and the cancellation of summer session, i've been trying to decide what to do with G this summer. he has swim lessons 2x/week for july, and i'll sign him up for one more set before he turns 6. i also wanted him to go to a camp program for a week, but after giving it some thought and picking my battles, i'm going to withdraw from it. so to maintain his educational skillz, G will be sleeping over once (maybe twice depending on everyone's schedules) a week at my parents house and spending some quality time (printing/journaling, reading, piano, etc.), and fun time with them.
the biggest commitment we made is to start G in Kumon. i had inquired about the math program last fall when he started kindergarten, but making the commitment with a newborn was too tricky for our schedule. so he started math a month ago, and by math i mean printing numbers to 100. the focus of kumon is repetition, efficiency and gaining confidence. the first few weeks was tough...G had trouble sitting down to focus on his numbers and found the repetition boring, and would take up to 45 minutes to do his 10 worksheets. but one day at class, he walked out after only 25 minutes. that day my eyes popped out of my head and i was a proud momma! cue confident G! after that our homework at home shortened and became a test of how quickly AND correctly he could do his worksheets. after a few short weeks, he has already progressed to the addition portion of his learning. when he came out of class and told me he could ADD, the smile on his face was Ri-Di-Cu-Lous! we celebrated with a McHappy meal :-) we seem to be on a rollercoaster ride with kumon...he's now back to 40-45 minutes to accomplish homework that he can totally do in less than 30 minutes. grrr.
i've been having some little issues with gabriel, some sibling jealousy is starting to pop-up. so to nip some of our issues in the bud, i downloaded a chore app for him. for accomplished task, he gets a checkmark and each checkmark is worth 10 minutes on the ipad. our list of tasks isn't too extensive, especially since some "chores" have been bundled together, so he ultimately ends up with about an hour of gadget time. one of the "tasks" is to put his comfort towel away from morning to night, which actually got us the side bonus of no thumbsucking since those went hand-in-hand (or mouth). another task is to read aloud at least 2 books (for 1 checkmark), and then i told him if he read more books, he would get bonus points...so now he's a reading machine :-) and with his chores keeping him busy, and updating the ipad with checkmarks, we have a bit more peace in the house :-)
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Grad Class 2014
i think i used to be one of those people who skoffed at things like preschool and kindergarten graduations (like really, what have kids accomplished at 4 and 5 years of age???). but now i'm a mom of a kindergarten graduate, and there is a lot to celebrate! like being brave and trying new things, making connections with kids (gabe had his first marriage proposal a few weeks ago...he turned her down), learning actions & consequences, having compassion for other kids, getting to sit in the bean-bag chair on your special helper day, and just overall, HAVE FUN at school!
because of the rocky end to the school year, everything just felt incomplete. for me and for gabe. a week before the full strike the kids had just brought home their graduation invitations for us and were planning activities for the celebration. i had just borrowed 18 books from the library for the kids to read in class since their library field trip had been cancelled. and then all of a sudden there was only 2 days of school left and everything was over. gabe reminds me daily that he misses his friends. he missed them on the saturday after school ended...i was like, you just saw them yesterday!
it wasn't just us having this empty feeling...it was felt by most of the class. so, since then, we have had several class playdates at the park as well as a couple birthday parties. a couple moms even planned kindergarten graduation for the class. we had a potluck/pizza party in one of the family's common rooms, and the ENTIRE class attended, including the teacher (whose son happens to be in the class). the teacher started it like a normal school day, starting with attendance, and then talked to the kids about their successes in kindergarten and that they were all ready to move onto grade 1. after that, they lined up to receive their graduation certificates and shook the teacher's hand. it was ADORABLE! i was definitely a proud mama, taking video and pictures simultaneously, and not wanting to miss a single second of anything.
fortunately the rain held off and the kids were able to run around outside and have fun, one last time as division 12. in late spring, they lost a couple of classmates who moved onto other cities with their families, and we already know a couple more who won't be returning in the fall. i think it's hard on us parents knowing that our kids won't necessarily be in the same class in september...not only do our kids get along great, but we've made our own adult connections and have our chit-chats in the parking lot or at the playground after school. i think the fact that we organized our own grad is a testament to that connection, as the other kindergarten class didn't have a celebration planned :(
i also realize that next year will be very different for me as well. i'll be back at work and won't have the flexibility i have now. fortunately my hours will still allow me to be home mid-afternoon, and be available for after-school playdates/activities. but i'll definitely miss the summer freedom i'm currently enjoying :(
because of the rocky end to the school year, everything just felt incomplete. for me and for gabe. a week before the full strike the kids had just brought home their graduation invitations for us and were planning activities for the celebration. i had just borrowed 18 books from the library for the kids to read in class since their library field trip had been cancelled. and then all of a sudden there was only 2 days of school left and everything was over. gabe reminds me daily that he misses his friends. he missed them on the saturday after school ended...i was like, you just saw them yesterday!
it wasn't just us having this empty feeling...it was felt by most of the class. so, since then, we have had several class playdates at the park as well as a couple birthday parties. a couple moms even planned kindergarten graduation for the class. we had a potluck/pizza party in one of the family's common rooms, and the ENTIRE class attended, including the teacher (whose son happens to be in the class). the teacher started it like a normal school day, starting with attendance, and then talked to the kids about their successes in kindergarten and that they were all ready to move onto grade 1. after that, they lined up to receive their graduation certificates and shook the teacher's hand. it was ADORABLE! i was definitely a proud mama, taking video and pictures simultaneously, and not wanting to miss a single second of anything.
fortunately the rain held off and the kids were able to run around outside and have fun, one last time as division 12. in late spring, they lost a couple of classmates who moved onto other cities with their families, and we already know a couple more who won't be returning in the fall. i think it's hard on us parents knowing that our kids won't necessarily be in the same class in september...not only do our kids get along great, but we've made our own adult connections and have our chit-chats in the parking lot or at the playground after school. i think the fact that we organized our own grad is a testament to that connection, as the other kindergarten class didn't have a celebration planned :(
i also realize that next year will be very different for me as well. i'll be back at work and won't have the flexibility i have now. fortunately my hours will still allow me to be home mid-afternoon, and be available for after-school playdates/activities. but i'll definitely miss the summer freedom i'm currently enjoying :(
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
6 months!
i started J on solid food about 3 weeks ago. i keep comparing this time to last time, and again...so different. gabriel was a good eater...mouth open, food in, swallow food, repeat. jeremy isn't quite as neat...there's a variety of fist-shoving, sleeve-eating, bib-playing, and floor-admiring with open mouth while eating. it could be because i started food earlier than with gabe, or he's just going to be a messier eater. i find myself very lazy this time...scrounging around for a new food item to start. however, (so far) i have been pretty diligent with my note-taking so i remember how many times he's eaten a new food item before starting something new. so far we've done rice cereal, mixed grains, bananas, apples and yams. i just visited the market today, so i've got sweet potatoes, avocado, and pears lined up. also, i will be trying a congee recipe in my slow cooker tomorrow.
we have a roller. and by roller, i mean he will roll everywhere. even leaving him on gabe's bed while i throw out diapers and wash my hands...i've caught him with his feet dangling over the edge giggling away. and on the floor, he will roll and wiggle himself all over the mats. thank goodness for the exersaucer...there's no escaping that one!
sleeping habits have deteriorated. i've been really tired at night, so jeremy usually ends up in my bed for his night-feed and then we both fall asleep together. but his morning naps at home have been pretty consistent at 2 hours. i fear everything is about to fall apart now that summer break has arrived 2 weeks early (and summer session is in limbo). we were also planning on transitioning J to gabriel's room this summer...we'll see how that goes :P
J's first 2 teeth should arrive any day now. we've been feeling around for awhile, and the bottom ones are definitely trying to emerge...the outline of the teeth is visible, just not quite through the gums yet. i think his top 2 teeth will follow shortly after that. so quick!
and i completely forgot to mention our new car in last month's post! after some deliberation, we bit the bullet and bought a minivan! at the car show this year, the frontrunner (because of rising gas prices) we were thinking of buying a diesel VW. and then as we were leaving the carshow, we looked at the dodge caravan, and then visions of automatic power sliding doors, dvd players, and being a volunteer driver for field trips kind of took over, and the minivan trumped everything. we were going to wait until the fall and buy the 30th anniversary dodge caravan (with some extra modifications), but then we were told about the chrysler town & country - basically the same as the dodge but it has more standard features and a nicer console (with a higher starting price tag). so chris started scoping 2013 T & C's, and we ended up finding one that met our criteria (including super-low mileage!) at coquitlam chrysler. we've had it for a couple months now, and while it does require a lot of gas, i do love it. it also marked the turning point for gabe - he's out of his convertible britax, and in his clek booster.
we have a roller. and by roller, i mean he will roll everywhere. even leaving him on gabe's bed while i throw out diapers and wash my hands...i've caught him with his feet dangling over the edge giggling away. and on the floor, he will roll and wiggle himself all over the mats. thank goodness for the exersaucer...there's no escaping that one!
sleeping habits have deteriorated. i've been really tired at night, so jeremy usually ends up in my bed for his night-feed and then we both fall asleep together. but his morning naps at home have been pretty consistent at 2 hours. i fear everything is about to fall apart now that summer break has arrived 2 weeks early (and summer session is in limbo). we were also planning on transitioning J to gabriel's room this summer...we'll see how that goes :P
J's first 2 teeth should arrive any day now. we've been feeling around for awhile, and the bottom ones are definitely trying to emerge...the outline of the teeth is visible, just not quite through the gums yet. i think his top 2 teeth will follow shortly after that. so quick!
and i completely forgot to mention our new car in last month's post! after some deliberation, we bit the bullet and bought a minivan! at the car show this year, the frontrunner (because of rising gas prices) we were thinking of buying a diesel VW. and then as we were leaving the carshow, we looked at the dodge caravan, and then visions of automatic power sliding doors, dvd players, and being a volunteer driver for field trips kind of took over, and the minivan trumped everything. we were going to wait until the fall and buy the 30th anniversary dodge caravan (with some extra modifications), but then we were told about the chrysler town & country - basically the same as the dodge but it has more standard features and a nicer console (with a higher starting price tag). so chris started scoping 2013 T & C's, and we ended up finding one that met our criteria (including super-low mileage!) at coquitlam chrysler. we've had it for a couple months now, and while it does require a lot of gas, i do love it. it also marked the turning point for gabe - he's out of his convertible britax, and in his clek booster.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
MMA - Kindergarten-style
back in april, the kindergarten class did a session on mixed martial arts. sensei scott came to class twice a week for gym-time, and taught the kids some karate and jiu jitsu. anytime gabe learns something at school i always ask him if he wants to continue doing it. so this time it actually stuck to him, so i signed him up at scott's dojo. for $49, the 1 month trial was a no-brainer since it included the "gi". it also helped that 3 of his peers are also in the classes. after watching him attend a karate class and a jiu jitsu class, i figured that karate would be more his speed, since it's no-contact. but i was wrong. he's really into the "wrestling" aspect of jiu jitsu. such a boy :-)
we're halfway through the trial, and i already think we'll take the summer off. we've got summer session (fingers crossed!), kamp kaleidoscope, and swim lessons coming up, and i want to keep time for him to spend at the waterpark/playground/grandma & grandpa's house. so we'll re-visit martial arts in the fall and determine if we'll stick with this big commitment.
we're halfway through the trial, and i already think we'll take the summer off. we've got summer session (fingers crossed!), kamp kaleidoscope, and swim lessons coming up, and i want to keep time for him to spend at the waterpark/playground/grandma & grandpa's house. so we'll re-visit martial arts in the fall and determine if we'll stick with this big commitment.
Friday, June 06, 2014
5 months!
at his 4 month check-up, baby J weighed 16 lbs, 12 oz. definitely a big boy in the 90th percentile ;-)
the past few weeks have been interesting. baby J isn't sleeping nearly as well as he used to. he's still in my room and he's in the pack & play, but with his ability to roll around (since we don't wrap him up anymore), he just doesn't settle down. sometimes i have to nurse him to sleep in my bed and then transfer him when he's fast asleep. he's also been happier sleeping on his stomach, which i don't remember gabe doing when he this age. once i find our old sleep sacks, maybe he'll be a back sleeper again.
i also wondered if baby J was getting hungrier (he will stare at us when we eat at the table - it's very uncomfortable) or if my milk supply was decreasing. so we started him on rice cereal. he's still very awkward in the high chair since he can't sit on his own yet, but he seemed interested in the food. since he's still pretty young, we'll do it once or twice a day and slowly add to his menu over the next 3 weeks.
J has graduated out of the bumbo seat and happily bounces around in the exersaucer...one of the upsides of him being in the 90th percentile :-) it's so funny how baby gear is used differently the 2nd time around. the bouncy chair was used for the first couple months, and now we use it as a "shelf" for toys; the playmat once had toys hanging on it for J to stare at, but now he rips them off and the toys are on the bouncy chair "shelf"; the bumbo chair - see bouncy chair use. i think it's time to de-clutter :P
the past few weeks have been interesting. baby J isn't sleeping nearly as well as he used to. he's still in my room and he's in the pack & play, but with his ability to roll around (since we don't wrap him up anymore), he just doesn't settle down. sometimes i have to nurse him to sleep in my bed and then transfer him when he's fast asleep. he's also been happier sleeping on his stomach, which i don't remember gabe doing when he this age. once i find our old sleep sacks, maybe he'll be a back sleeper again.
i also wondered if baby J was getting hungrier (he will stare at us when we eat at the table - it's very uncomfortable) or if my milk supply was decreasing. so we started him on rice cereal. he's still very awkward in the high chair since he can't sit on his own yet, but he seemed interested in the food. since he's still pretty young, we'll do it once or twice a day and slowly add to his menu over the next 3 weeks.
J has graduated out of the bumbo seat and happily bounces around in the exersaucer...one of the upsides of him being in the 90th percentile :-) it's so funny how baby gear is used differently the 2nd time around. the bouncy chair was used for the first couple months, and now we use it as a "shelf" for toys; the playmat once had toys hanging on it for J to stare at, but now he rips them off and the toys are on the bouncy chair "shelf"; the bumbo chair - see bouncy chair use. i think it's time to de-clutter :P
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
4 months!
unofficially, baby J weighs 16 lbs (fully dressed). we'll get his official measurements next week when he gets his immunizations.
the past month has been pretty fun. baby J is now sitting in the bumbo chair, and we'll put toys on the tray and he'll bash them around. when he's lying on the playmat, he can roll onto his side. he hasn't quite made it all the way over since his lower arm gets stuck. just like his big brother, baby J is becoming a thumb sucker :P he's not as accomplished as gabe was at this age, but he's working on it.
sleeping at night is getting better. 6 out of 7 nights, i can get him in his crib right after a feed and he's out until 3 or 3:30 a.m. then after his 3 a.m. feed, he's asleep until 7 or 8 a.m. on that 7th night, sometimes i'll take him to bed with me for another feed, and then transfer him back to his crib. or else, chris will cuddle him again and then put him down. napping is all over the place depending on what's happening during the day, but he's a great car-napper so if all else fails, we hit the road :-)
on the topic of feeding, we're trying to cut out the formula at night, since it's doing nasty things to his bowel movements, and also he's a very healthy weight so my milk should suffice. the only time it's going to be a problem is when i leave the kids at home with chris...i don't have a frozen milk supply like last time, so it's good to have some formula available.
i've been taking a stroller fitness class in coquitlam for the past 3 weeks, and i've enjoyed it so much that i've signed up for the may session. i'll have to take a hiatus over the summer, but will probably resume in the fall. gotta lose all that baby fat...and more hopefully!
and speaking of the summer, i'm very excited that gabe is enrolled in summer session for july. i spread the word to other parents, and about half his Kindergarten class will be with him. hopefully with only a month away from school, we won't have any anxious moments in September and the transition to Grade 1 will be smooth!
the past month has been pretty fun. baby J is now sitting in the bumbo chair, and we'll put toys on the tray and he'll bash them around. when he's lying on the playmat, he can roll onto his side. he hasn't quite made it all the way over since his lower arm gets stuck. just like his big brother, baby J is becoming a thumb sucker :P he's not as accomplished as gabe was at this age, but he's working on it.
sleeping at night is getting better. 6 out of 7 nights, i can get him in his crib right after a feed and he's out until 3 or 3:30 a.m. then after his 3 a.m. feed, he's asleep until 7 or 8 a.m. on that 7th night, sometimes i'll take him to bed with me for another feed, and then transfer him back to his crib. or else, chris will cuddle him again and then put him down. napping is all over the place depending on what's happening during the day, but he's a great car-napper so if all else fails, we hit the road :-)
on the topic of feeding, we're trying to cut out the formula at night, since it's doing nasty things to his bowel movements, and also he's a very healthy weight so my milk should suffice. the only time it's going to be a problem is when i leave the kids at home with chris...i don't have a frozen milk supply like last time, so it's good to have some formula available.
i've been taking a stroller fitness class in coquitlam for the past 3 weeks, and i've enjoyed it so much that i've signed up for the may session. i'll have to take a hiatus over the summer, but will probably resume in the fall. gotta lose all that baby fat...and more hopefully!
and speaking of the summer, i'm very excited that gabe is enrolled in summer session for july. i spread the word to other parents, and about half his Kindergarten class will be with him. hopefully with only a month away from school, we won't have any anxious moments in September and the transition to Grade 1 will be smooth!
Friday, March 21, 2014
3 months, and a return to big white!
it's been 7 years, but we finally made it back to big white!
at 11 weeks old, this actually worked out to be a good age for baby J to travel on a road trip. i fed him right before we left home, and he slept all the way to merritt. once there, we grabbed a snack and i fed baby J again, and he fell asleep as soon as we hit the highway. after such a dodgy winter, we actually hit some good weather on the coquihalla. the connector was another story...as darkness was setting in, we ran into some heavy winds and snow. fortunately for us, we ended up behind an 18-wheeler and followed safely behind. phew!
the road trip for gabriel was a different story. he did nap for a bit but woke up before we got to hope. with 5+ hours ahead of us, he had a hard time just sitting in his seat. i was so focused on baby J's travel needs, i didn't even think of any car-ride activities for gabe. so he just sat there, sucking his thumb, asking how much longer till we would see trevor :P
once we arrived at big white, the kids had a blast. they converted the downstairs bedroom into the kids club, and trevor was determined to sleep in the bunk-bed with gabe. well, it started out that way, but when i checked on them 20 minutes later, gabe was standing at the bottom of the stairs. so he ended up in my room for the trip :P baby j actually slept really well on our getaway. he would be asleep at his usual time, between 10-10:30, and then he would wake up at 4 a.m. for his next feed. and miraculously he would sleep until it was time to get up (7 a.m.)...or sometimes even later!
the skiing was great! gabe and trevor had 2 full day lessons, while brendan was in 1/2 day lessons. it worked out great that chris, geoff, and sunny would ski half days, and then at lunch, the boys would stay home with brendan and baby J while sunny and i hit the slopes. on our last day of skiing, we had a family day and gabe and trevor skied all day. they even did a bit of night skiing with their daddies! it's pretty crazy to see the kids ski in the trees, go over jumps, and plow through the moguls! they'll be out-skiing me pretty soon :P
our road trip back home was much less eventful - we had sunny weather all the way. we had originally planned on driving to hope for a lunch break, but given the measles outbreak in the area, there was no way i wanted jeremy exposed to any potential illness. so we had an early break in merritt and then drove all the way home.
as for baby j's development at 3 months, he's definitely more chatty with us, and is flashing his smiles at everyone he sees. we've had a few rough nights of sleep since our big white trip, and i've had to feed him every 1.5 hours from 1:30 onwards. since we've taken a step backwards, my plan of setting up the crib in gabe's bedroom has been kiboshed. so, it looks like baby j will be my roommate for awhile longer, and we'll have to upgrade him to a pack & play.
at 11 weeks old, this actually worked out to be a good age for baby J to travel on a road trip. i fed him right before we left home, and he slept all the way to merritt. once there, we grabbed a snack and i fed baby J again, and he fell asleep as soon as we hit the highway. after such a dodgy winter, we actually hit some good weather on the coquihalla. the connector was another story...as darkness was setting in, we ran into some heavy winds and snow. fortunately for us, we ended up behind an 18-wheeler and followed safely behind. phew!
the road trip for gabriel was a different story. he did nap for a bit but woke up before we got to hope. with 5+ hours ahead of us, he had a hard time just sitting in his seat. i was so focused on baby J's travel needs, i didn't even think of any car-ride activities for gabe. so he just sat there, sucking his thumb, asking how much longer till we would see trevor :P
once we arrived at big white, the kids had a blast. they converted the downstairs bedroom into the kids club, and trevor was determined to sleep in the bunk-bed with gabe. well, it started out that way, but when i checked on them 20 minutes later, gabe was standing at the bottom of the stairs. so he ended up in my room for the trip :P baby j actually slept really well on our getaway. he would be asleep at his usual time, between 10-10:30, and then he would wake up at 4 a.m. for his next feed. and miraculously he would sleep until it was time to get up (7 a.m.)...or sometimes even later!
the skiing was great! gabe and trevor had 2 full day lessons, while brendan was in 1/2 day lessons. it worked out great that chris, geoff, and sunny would ski half days, and then at lunch, the boys would stay home with brendan and baby J while sunny and i hit the slopes. on our last day of skiing, we had a family day and gabe and trevor skied all day. they even did a bit of night skiing with their daddies! it's pretty crazy to see the kids ski in the trees, go over jumps, and plow through the moguls! they'll be out-skiing me pretty soon :P
our road trip back home was much less eventful - we had sunny weather all the way. we had originally planned on driving to hope for a lunch break, but given the measles outbreak in the area, there was no way i wanted jeremy exposed to any potential illness. so we had an early break in merritt and then drove all the way home.
as for baby j's development at 3 months, he's definitely more chatty with us, and is flashing his smiles at everyone he sees. we've had a few rough nights of sleep since our big white trip, and i've had to feed him every 1.5 hours from 1:30 onwards. since we've taken a step backwards, my plan of setting up the crib in gabe's bedroom has been kiboshed. so, it looks like baby j will be my roommate for awhile longer, and we'll have to upgrade him to a pack & play.
Monday, March 03, 2014
2 months old!
my little munchkin is growing up! he's a whopping 12 pounds now, which probably explains the better sleep routine we've fallen into. by better, i mean his first stretch of sleep is usually 4 hours long, and 90% of the time i can get him to sleep in the bassinet. the rest of the night is a bit dodgy...sometimes his 2nd feed is short and he'll go back to his bassinet and sometimes he's more alert, so a diaper change might be required and then he usually ends up sleeping in bed with me (unless i give him another bottle in his bassinet). by 8 a.m. i'm up and making my first caffeinated beverage. once baby J is up, the rest of the day is unpredictable :-)
we've been fortunate to have 2 cars for the past month so chris has still been doing school drop-off, and i'm doing pick-up. but soon we'll be back to one car, so i'll have to be up earlier to get gabe to school in the mornings. what's worse is that chris' dad is on vacation in april, so chris will be working 12 hour days and i'll be "single-parenting" for 3 weeks :P
in terms of baby J's development, he's been very vocal and loves to coo and screech at us. he's also been giving us little smiles which melt my heart :-) we've been doing a bit of tummy time, and he really enjoys lying on the playmat and flailing his arms at the toys. instead of taking a pacifier, baby J has started to suck on his fists.
as for gabriel, the worry dragon has reared its ugly head. ski lessons have been great, and he really enjoys it. floor hockey has been a disaster. chris has reported that gabe spends half the class in tears and not participating, and then we had 2 weeks in a row where gabe burst into tears and refused to leave the house. one night he actually fell asleep after dinner, and when i woke him up, he asked if hockey was over yet. so just like soccer, we are quitting hockey.
at school they are doing a session of 6 tennis lessons. all kids are encouraged (expected?) to participate even thought it's an additional cost for it. when i sent the payment to school, gabe indicated he didn't want to participate. well, he's had one lesson, and it sounds like it went ok. i will have to check with his teacher this week :P
as for the rest of his kindergarten experience, he's doing really well. by that i mean the teacher hasn't finger-pointed at me for an after school discussion...phew! with the decent weather we've been having, gabriel gets to play with his friends after school at the playground. it's nice to see that he's already got 3 best friends, and as one of the boys tells his dad, "we're not friends, we're like brothers!"
we've been fortunate to have 2 cars for the past month so chris has still been doing school drop-off, and i'm doing pick-up. but soon we'll be back to one car, so i'll have to be up earlier to get gabe to school in the mornings. what's worse is that chris' dad is on vacation in april, so chris will be working 12 hour days and i'll be "single-parenting" for 3 weeks :P
in terms of baby J's development, he's been very vocal and loves to coo and screech at us. he's also been giving us little smiles which melt my heart :-) we've been doing a bit of tummy time, and he really enjoys lying on the playmat and flailing his arms at the toys. instead of taking a pacifier, baby J has started to suck on his fists.
as for gabriel, the worry dragon has reared its ugly head. ski lessons have been great, and he really enjoys it. floor hockey has been a disaster. chris has reported that gabe spends half the class in tears and not participating, and then we had 2 weeks in a row where gabe burst into tears and refused to leave the house. one night he actually fell asleep after dinner, and when i woke him up, he asked if hockey was over yet. so just like soccer, we are quitting hockey.
at school they are doing a session of 6 tennis lessons. all kids are encouraged (expected?) to participate even thought it's an additional cost for it. when i sent the payment to school, gabe indicated he didn't want to participate. well, he's had one lesson, and it sounds like it went ok. i will have to check with his teacher this week :P
as for the rest of his kindergarten experience, he's doing really well. by that i mean the teacher hasn't finger-pointed at me for an after school discussion...phew! with the decent weather we've been having, gabriel gets to play with his friends after school at the playground. it's nice to see that he's already got 3 best friends, and as one of the boys tells his dad, "we're not friends, we're like brothers!"
Thursday, February 06, 2014
it's different the 2nd time around
i was extremely optimistic thinking that jeremy would start sleeping through the night like gabriel did at 5.5 weeks. well, he's 7 weeks old and we are nowhere close to sleeping through the night, let alone taking regular naps.
this time around, i'm doing whatever i need to do to survive the day:
at 7 weeks, i'm definitely getting cranky at the lack of a household routine. part of my new routine this week is picking up gabriel from school in the afternoon. i'm fortunate that for this month chris is still taking gabriel to school in the morning, but starting in march i'll be doing drop-off and pick-up. thankfully march is a short month with our 2 week spring break!
this time around, i'm doing whatever i need to do to survive the day:
- i'm co-sleeping with jeremy, so that i can breastfeed him to sleep, unlatch him, and then i can sleep. the problem when i wake up is that he is tucked right against me, and i'm literally about to fall off the bed :P
- we are napping together on the couch - i've tried to no avail to get him to sleep in the basinette. after an hour of solid crying (jeremy, that is), i give up and he gets to sleep in my arms.
- it seems as though i don't have enough milk for jeremy, so we are giving him a bottle of formula at bedtime to help him get to sleep.
- chris has driven jeremy around the 'hood a few times in the middle of the night, just so i can get a couple hours of sleep before the 2/3 a.m. feeding.
at 7 weeks, i'm definitely getting cranky at the lack of a household routine. part of my new routine this week is picking up gabriel from school in the afternoon. i'm fortunate that for this month chris is still taking gabriel to school in the morning, but starting in march i'll be doing drop-off and pick-up. thankfully march is a short month with our 2 week spring break!
Friday, January 17, 2014
baby's first cold
it was inevitable...gabriel caught a cold right before christmas and right after new year's, jeremy caught his first cold. we figured there wasn't much we could do for him since he was only a couple weeks old, but after hearing his cough worsen and his stuffiness wasn't subsiding, we took him to the brentwood medical clinic to be seen by a doctor. i have to say, i will never go to the clinic again when dr. li is on the rotation. she was the worst doctor i have ever seen. she totally dismissed us when we talked about his symptoms and said she couldn't diagnose J without hearing him cough. and then when he did cough, she totally said "that's normal for babies". bottom line, she told us...he's not sick, and it's normal for babies to be stuffed up. um, ok.
once we left the clinic, chris told me that she was a quack. he had seen her a few years ago, and she misdiagnosed him with a cold (and basically told him to "tough it out") when he actually had pneumonia! once he told me that, we made an appointment to see our family doctor. because J was almost "normal" by this time, my doctor agreed it could have been a cold. i just wanted to get a proper examination done and our worries were laid to rest. it was also an opportunity to have J weighed. at his 1 week check-up, he'd gone down to 6 lbs, 12 oz., so we were glad to see that at 3 weeks, he was back up to his birth weight despite being sick.
J is now fully recovered from his cold, and we are still trying to figure out days/nights with him. we've had a couple days where he's had cat-naps, and then he sleeps great at night, and then he flips to sleeping all day and deciding at bedtime that he wants someone to entertain him. we have also hit his first growth-spurt, and he is feeding every hour...not fun! and at bedtime, i need to supplement with formula...it's the only way to get him to sleep. gabe never had formula so this is new to us...i hope it's just temporary until my milk supply can catch-up, which is ironic because with gabe, i had too much milk. but then again, J is only 4 weeks old, and i can't actually remember when i started to store and freeze my milk last time. the milk bank might be in my future again :P
once we left the clinic, chris told me that she was a quack. he had seen her a few years ago, and she misdiagnosed him with a cold (and basically told him to "tough it out") when he actually had pneumonia! once he told me that, we made an appointment to see our family doctor. because J was almost "normal" by this time, my doctor agreed it could have been a cold. i just wanted to get a proper examination done and our worries were laid to rest. it was also an opportunity to have J weighed. at his 1 week check-up, he'd gone down to 6 lbs, 12 oz., so we were glad to see that at 3 weeks, he was back up to his birth weight despite being sick.
J is now fully recovered from his cold, and we are still trying to figure out days/nights with him. we've had a couple days where he's had cat-naps, and then he sleeps great at night, and then he flips to sleeping all day and deciding at bedtime that he wants someone to entertain him. we have also hit his first growth-spurt, and he is feeding every hour...not fun! and at bedtime, i need to supplement with formula...it's the only way to get him to sleep. gabe never had formula so this is new to us...i hope it's just temporary until my milk supply can catch-up, which is ironic because with gabe, i had too much milk. but then again, J is only 4 weeks old, and i can't actually remember when i started to store and freeze my milk last time. the milk bank might be in my future again :P
Friday, January 03, 2014
our christmas gift
after what seemed like a never ending 9 months, we welcomed jeremy kenji into our family on wednesday, december 18 @ 9:41 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
because this was a planned c-section, everything felt different than gabriel's birth. we checked into the case room (a.k.a. labour/delivery) at 7 a.m. for our 9 a.m. surgery. the nurse checked all my vitals (and was a bit horrified at the hives on both my legs), chris got his hospital scrubs on, and then came the needles. for a week prior to D day, i was stressing out about the number of needles i would be needing, and most of all the IV hook-up since it hurt really bad last time. my nurse was actually quite good, and pinched me really hard to distract me from the actual pain of the IV insertion. chris said she was good because she was a fellow South African. whatever :-)
then she told me about another injection (heparin) that is given to all surgery patients to prevent blood clots. not only is it another needle, but it was injected into my belly, and would be administered before surgery, after surgery, and once daily while i'm in the hospital. UGH! so, she gave me the first dose, and as she did it my reflexes kicked in and i hit the nurse, inflicting more pain upon myself. it's not the first time i've hit someone with a needle...when i had my steroid injection for my trigger finger, i kicked the doctor as he was prepping the dosage for me :P
just before 9 a.m., we were called to move to the pre-operating room. once there, a stream of people came to check on my vitals and introduce themselves to us and their role during my surgery (and once again, there was mild panic on everyone's faces when they saw my hive-riddled legs...hoping that i wasn't having a reaction to the iv or the heparin). my OB was checking in on me as well, and provided us with updates on our wait time. we were only a few minutes behind schedule when i was wheeled into operating room #10. once there, my anxiety kicked in and i was freaking about the epidural. maybe because it was christmas-time, or because it was still early in the day, but everyone in the room was in a good mood, even the anesthesiologist was singing a happy tune. thankfully i respond well to drugs, and within a minute i was already losing sensation in my legs.
with gabe's birth, i thought the surgery went a lot faster getting him out...perhaps because his heartrate was erratic that they were a bit quicker at getting him out. this time, it felt like eternity before we heard baby's first cry...obviously it wasn't that long since he was born at 9:41 :P immediately after his birth, chris was by his side cutting the umbilical cord and snapping some pictures :) because i was also having a tubal ligation, chris and jeremy went back to the case room for measurements and newborn screening tests and some father/son bonding time. at 10:40 a.m., i was finally wheeled into recovery. another difference from 5 years ago, was that while i was in recovery (once i was able to wiggle my legs, and they were sure i wasn't having any side effects from the epidural), the nurse brought jeremy back to me to start breastfeeding.
shortly after 12 p.m., i was finally taken to the maternity ward, and we were reunited as a family. we had a bit of quiet time as a three-some before my parents brought gabriel after school for a visit. it was a bittersweet day because we missed gabriel's first winter concert at kitchener, and we actually pulled him from the evening performance so he could spend time with us. at least my parents were able to attend and took some photos and videos for us. i had also signed up as a volunteer for their gingerbread building activity, so instead my dad ended up going with gabe. and unfortunately gabe missed the last day of school festivities because of the snowfall since my parents weren't quite willing to drive in the miserable weather. so instead, he had a pajama day at home and my mom made pancakes for lunch :-)
it seems as though dec. 18 was a very busy day for births...we were #6 that day with my OB performing another c-section right after me. i have to say that hearing (some) women in active labour is probably the worst thing i've ever heard in my life. while a c-section is no walk in the park, at least there isn't any screaming, moaning, or crying :-) the only pain is inflicted by me when i hit or kick people with needles! hahahah! on this particular day, the maternity ward was almost at full capacity...we were fortunate to get a private room, one of the last rooms in the wing. on our 2nd night at least we didn't have any neighbours beside us, so we got a bit of peace and quiet (aside from our screaming night-owl baby).
i've been working on this post for over a week, and i've now noticed more differences between my surgery recoveries. my hives got progressively worse after i had the baby...they spread to my arm while i was still in the hospital, and then after i was discharged, they spread to my belly. jeremy is over 2 weeks old now, and the hives have dissipated but my skin is still bearing the scars from the hives and now my skin is drying out and flaking off :P another weird thing is that my skin has changed colour on my belly. originally i thought it was just the iodine that i didn't wash off properly, but after 2 weeks of scrubbing, i could have permanent discolouration...will have my OB look at it when i see her next. i feel like i recovered pretty quickly from surgery, and i often forget that i should be relaxing and taking it easy while my body heals itself. so every once in awhile, my body will react and get angry for overexerting myself. with gabe's recovery, i don't recall taking any painkillers once i got home, but this time around, i'm literally counting down the minutes till my next dosage.
with jeremy's hourly feeding schedule right now, i've neglected gabe a lot and he's been spending a lot of time watching tv and using the ipad. i just don't have the energy time to focus on entertaining a 5 year old. it also doesn't help that he's been sick, my dad is now sick, and my mom has injured her knee and has limited mobility. so, i'm very glad that school resumes on monday, and he'll be out of the house and i can just focus on me and jeremy during the day.
4 more weeks until i have my freedom! and it's not a moment too soon, as my parents will be off on their next travelling adventure.
because this was a planned c-section, everything felt different than gabriel's birth. we checked into the case room (a.k.a. labour/delivery) at 7 a.m. for our 9 a.m. surgery. the nurse checked all my vitals (and was a bit horrified at the hives on both my legs), chris got his hospital scrubs on, and then came the needles. for a week prior to D day, i was stressing out about the number of needles i would be needing, and most of all the IV hook-up since it hurt really bad last time. my nurse was actually quite good, and pinched me really hard to distract me from the actual pain of the IV insertion. chris said she was good because she was a fellow South African. whatever :-)
then she told me about another injection (heparin) that is given to all surgery patients to prevent blood clots. not only is it another needle, but it was injected into my belly, and would be administered before surgery, after surgery, and once daily while i'm in the hospital. UGH! so, she gave me the first dose, and as she did it my reflexes kicked in and i hit the nurse, inflicting more pain upon myself. it's not the first time i've hit someone with a needle...when i had my steroid injection for my trigger finger, i kicked the doctor as he was prepping the dosage for me :P
just before 9 a.m., we were called to move to the pre-operating room. once there, a stream of people came to check on my vitals and introduce themselves to us and their role during my surgery (and once again, there was mild panic on everyone's faces when they saw my hive-riddled legs...hoping that i wasn't having a reaction to the iv or the heparin). my OB was checking in on me as well, and provided us with updates on our wait time. we were only a few minutes behind schedule when i was wheeled into operating room #10. once there, my anxiety kicked in and i was freaking about the epidural. maybe because it was christmas-time, or because it was still early in the day, but everyone in the room was in a good mood, even the anesthesiologist was singing a happy tune. thankfully i respond well to drugs, and within a minute i was already losing sensation in my legs.
with gabe's birth, i thought the surgery went a lot faster getting him out...perhaps because his heartrate was erratic that they were a bit quicker at getting him out. this time, it felt like eternity before we heard baby's first cry...obviously it wasn't that long since he was born at 9:41 :P immediately after his birth, chris was by his side cutting the umbilical cord and snapping some pictures :) because i was also having a tubal ligation, chris and jeremy went back to the case room for measurements and newborn screening tests and some father/son bonding time. at 10:40 a.m., i was finally wheeled into recovery. another difference from 5 years ago, was that while i was in recovery (once i was able to wiggle my legs, and they were sure i wasn't having any side effects from the epidural), the nurse brought jeremy back to me to start breastfeeding.
shortly after 12 p.m., i was finally taken to the maternity ward, and we were reunited as a family. we had a bit of quiet time as a three-some before my parents brought gabriel after school for a visit. it was a bittersweet day because we missed gabriel's first winter concert at kitchener, and we actually pulled him from the evening performance so he could spend time with us. at least my parents were able to attend and took some photos and videos for us. i had also signed up as a volunteer for their gingerbread building activity, so instead my dad ended up going with gabe. and unfortunately gabe missed the last day of school festivities because of the snowfall since my parents weren't quite willing to drive in the miserable weather. so instead, he had a pajama day at home and my mom made pancakes for lunch :-)
it seems as though dec. 18 was a very busy day for births...we were #6 that day with my OB performing another c-section right after me. i have to say that hearing (some) women in active labour is probably the worst thing i've ever heard in my life. while a c-section is no walk in the park, at least there isn't any screaming, moaning, or crying :-) the only pain is inflicted by me when i hit or kick people with needles! hahahah! on this particular day, the maternity ward was almost at full capacity...we were fortunate to get a private room, one of the last rooms in the wing. on our 2nd night at least we didn't have any neighbours beside us, so we got a bit of peace and quiet (aside from our screaming night-owl baby).
i've been working on this post for over a week, and i've now noticed more differences between my surgery recoveries. my hives got progressively worse after i had the baby...they spread to my arm while i was still in the hospital, and then after i was discharged, they spread to my belly. jeremy is over 2 weeks old now, and the hives have dissipated but my skin is still bearing the scars from the hives and now my skin is drying out and flaking off :P another weird thing is that my skin has changed colour on my belly. originally i thought it was just the iodine that i didn't wash off properly, but after 2 weeks of scrubbing, i could have permanent discolouration...will have my OB look at it when i see her next. i feel like i recovered pretty quickly from surgery, and i often forget that i should be relaxing and taking it easy while my body heals itself. so every once in awhile, my body will react and get angry for overexerting myself. with gabe's recovery, i don't recall taking any painkillers once i got home, but this time around, i'm literally counting down the minutes till my next dosage.
with jeremy's hourly feeding schedule right now, i've neglected gabe a lot and he's been spending a lot of time watching tv and using the ipad. i just don't have the energy time to focus on entertaining a 5 year old. it also doesn't help that he's been sick, my dad is now sick, and my mom has injured her knee and has limited mobility. so, i'm very glad that school resumes on monday, and he'll be out of the house and i can just focus on me and jeremy during the day.
4 more weeks until i have my freedom! and it's not a moment too soon, as my parents will be off on their next travelling adventure.
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