Adventures in Howieland

I love him, I love him, I love him

2009-06-15T15:04:00.004-04:00

So, Steve decided to clean our carpet yesterday. Bless him. Of course, since he's the one who decided to volunteer our house for the end-of-year staff party for all the teachers at his school, darn right he should be the one cleaning the carpet! (Yes, that's carpet, singular. The main floor is almost entirely hardwood and ceramic tile, except for the family room area. We decided to go with kid-friendly carpet until our brood all knows how to walk, and then we will be changing to hardwood. At the rate Jake is showing an interest in walking, I will be stuck with this carpet for approximately 10 more years.)

In any case, I did my duty, keeping the boys occupied outside with the water table, bringing them both in under my arms so that they couldn't make a break for the clean carpet, then bathing them, and dressing them in clean jammies before allowing them back into the family room.

I had a sneaking suspicion that he was allowing way too much water to drip into one area of the carpet, while he tried to solve the "look, when I do this with the hand tool, it sprays water, but then stops after a bit. Spray, then stop. Spray, then stop" problem. With each word "spray", he shoosted about a half litre of water into the fibres, and didn't slurp it all up. My worst fears are confirmed today. My carpet SMELLS! Which means my ROOM smells! What the heck, dearest Steve??? I would MUCH rather have the spit up and crayon stains back, then to have our home smell like old camping equipment that was packed away wet!!

I'm pretty sure this is not a Febreeze problem. I'm pretty sure this is a "wait until the kids are in bed tonight, and then Cari re-cleans the carpet" problem. Sheesh. Good thing he's cute, that's all I have to say. (Although I should note that the reconfiguration of furniture he came up with seems to be very baby-learning-how-to-walk friendly, so bonus points there.) But still!

Friday's List of Ten X

2009-05-29T18:20:00.003-04:00

Ten reasons clothes shopping (for me) with the boys turned out much better than I expected:

10. In and out of the Jeep X 6, in and out of the stroller X 6, no tears!

9. Two words: store toys! I had stuff for both boys to keep them happy, but everyone knows that other people's stuff is way more fun than yours. And Owen was persuaded to put everything back and leave when it was time to go with the vague promise that "the toys will be here when we come again".

8. Store was almost empty, in spite of it being half-past lunchtime on a Friday. (Yeah, I had planned to be there when the store opened. Boys did NOT have a good morning.) I could take over three changerooms, and no one was inconvenienced. (1 for the stroller, 1 for the boys to play in, and 1 to actually change in.)

7. Charming, charmimg boys, a.m. antics to the contrary! Manners and conversation from Owen, invitations to the sales girls "Would you like to play cars with me?". "Hi!" with a smile and a wave for everyone from Jake, and adorable brother-interaction to boot. Jake crawling after Owen, Owen deciding Jake needed a different toy and getting it for him. Those two flirted their way through that store on teeth and charm.

6. Stand-alone stores (I went to Tall Girl, more about that in a minute) are a lot more kid-friendly than stores in the mall, or giant -Mart stores. Small stores meaning never losing sight of exploring boys when they are encouraged by staff to drive their cars out of the changeroom.

5. I actually found a great outfit to wear to Grace's baptism (they made me an offer I couldn't refuse - I'm her Godmother). I would post pics from the online catalogue, but I really hate it in the catalogue. And the one I thought I liked online looked terrible in person. Which just goes to show, I should browse and try on different things in stores more often, rather than my usual MO of running into the GAP, cornering a salesperson and saying "I need jeans, size 10, 36 inseam. With a fit I can wear to the office. Meet me in the changeroom." It's a summer suit, with short sleeves on the jacket, in light grey with a white pinstripe. And I got a turquoise sleeveless shirt to wear with. Snazzy, and office friendly! I am over the guilt of paying specialty store prices - even Stacy and Clinton would rave about the fit.

4. Tall Girl finally has a rewards program! Once you make $500 worth of purchases (um, not difficult, I'm halway there on the one outfit, ouch!) you get 25% off one item. As reward programs go, it's not yje most exciting, but considering how pricey their stuff is, any money saved is good news.

3. I discovered that I am back to my pre-pregnancy size, the aforementioned 10. Maybe if I got serious about eating well and ran not just because I have an event coming up, I could get down to an 8. But at 6 feet 1 inches and a mom of two, I am quite pleased with being a 10.

2. Mall tailor took pity on me and did my hems while I waited, when others were being told they could pick up their pants tomorrow afternoon. Score one for "it never hurts to ask...really politely!" And they didn't charge me any extra. I took Owen to the potty, picked up a few more odds n ends, and voila, pants! Pants that actually got taken up (even with heels, TG pants are tres longue) rather than let out and a false hem put on, something I have been known to do to spare myself those TG prices.

1. Both boys fell asleep in the Jeep on the way home, and stayed asleep for the house-transfer. Which means that after a very pleasant afternoon out, I still got to enjoy some quiet time to get stuff done around the house. I thought for sure I was looking down the barrel of missed naps and cranky p.m. boys as well, but fate smiled on this well-dressed mama.

Me Time

2009-05-27T21:58:00.002-04:00

You know you're looking forward to going back to work when a trip to the dentist makes you happy for the "me time". I had a dentist appointment on Monday. I don't mind the dentist - at 32 years old, I had never had a cavity, so I really have very little interaction with my dentist. I spend most of my time with the dental hygienist, who cleans my teeth every 9 months and lectures me about the importance of flossing. (Foreshadowing!)

But this time, they took some x-rays, and lo and behold, a cavity. My first one. And it's between my teeth - somewhere that could have been prevented by flossing. So I got to go back today and have it filled. You know what? The way the boys have been this week (little one having sleep issues, big one having iron ears and pushing issues), I think that I will look back on it as the highlight of my week. I got to relax in the chair, with my thoughts to myself, for 50 minutes. It was more pleasant than the scraping/cleaning, because I was numb. I felt nothing but some slight pressure, and even the whine of the drill is not all that bad. Worst part? The smell. Dental stuff smells yucky.

Having said that, I will definitely be picking up the flossing in the future. Because hey, in less than 2 months I'll be back to work, and get to have "me time" without the downside of speaking like Chretien all afternoon.

(Also, I have good dental coverage through work, so all this was free, which is why I can be so blase about it.)

Whew, Something Stinks!

2009-05-26T15:32:00.004-04:00

...And it's not just the baby lying passed out in my lap, although said small fry could definitely use a diaper change. What with all the solids in his diet these days, phew!

What I am actually referring to is J0n & K@te + 8 - nope, don't want to add to the Google hits for the show. I had never seen this show before last night. I had no desire at all to watch any of the "family-oriented" shows on TLC (why do they always go overboard? A few years ago, all you could see on that channel was Trading Spaces, and the sob fest where hot guy Ty builds people a new house. (Forget what it's called.) Now it's all about families: the Duggar$, the Roloff$, and the Go$$elin$. And women who didn't know they were pregnant.)

Anyway, all the media hype made me curious, especially since I love my TV with a nice side of snark (see TWOP, in the sidebar over there.) Apparently, I've been missing out on some snarkTASTIC programming over at The Loot Channel! She got a tummy tuck? He got HAIR PLUGS??? Are you freaking kidding me? That's awesomely snarkworthy! I got all caught up over at this site, and couldn't wait to snark it up last night. (I'll say it again: SNARK!!)

Obviously these two are having issues. I almost cried when the one sextuplet was chatting with her dad, and told him, "I don't want you to go away anymore, Daddy". But the birthday six and their older sisters were hardly featured at all! It was all about mom! And WHAT a mom! Heh. Break out the schadenfreude, and if you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me! It must KILL her that she has second billing to her husband in the title of the show. This is one weird lady. And yeah, I love me some "unscripted" "reality" TV:

Mom to kid with silly string: Hey, shoot it at the camera!

Kid: (gets right up to camera and shoots silly string, but is so close, you don't get the "string" effect.)

Mom: No! Not like that! Let me do it! (Poses saucily in front of camera and lets fly with the string).

Completely spontaneous hijinks!

Now, not having seen any other episodes, I don't have anything to compare it to, but it seemed to me like there wasn't much focus on the kids. Has it always been like this? It seemed to be the K8 show, and it also seemed like K8 was acting a lot of the time. Like she thought, THIS is how a cool, loving mom acts at her kids' party and was doing her best to play the part. Why do I think this? Because she's not a very good actor! It was like watching bad theatre. Not to say that she doesn't love her kids, I'm sure she does, but she just seemed "on" for the cameras. Did the show always focus on the J&K part, seeing how a +8 affects a relationship? Because I don't see how that formula can work anymore given the current temperature of things on that interview couch. And if the premise of the show was to focus on the kids, well, someone missed the boat on this ep for sure!

And WTF is up with her hair??? I had heard it referred to as a "reverse mullet", but it was hard to see the full effect on the tabloid covers in the checkout lane. I was picturing it as a kind of longer-in-front bob, a la Posh Spice, but suspected there had to be more to it than that. It's as if her stylist thought, shorter-in-the-back good, number-three-clippers-in-the-back better! Holy Hannah! And the long, front portion looks almost Trumpian in its magnitude! Not that I have the most stylin' do (I tend to throw it in a pony or hide it under a bandana a lot) but I'm not putting myself out there for people to see.

I didn't really see enough of hubby to form much of an opinion. Other than thinking he seemed quite genuine in the aforementioned scene with his daughter, I was really just distracted by his bald spot whenever he was on screen. Did his TLC-funded hair plugs not take? Or, since he can't be much past 30, is it that has he lost MORE hair and needs a touch-up? Inquiring minds want to know!

The kids are all adorable. You won't catch me snarking on them, because a) they're kids, and b), they aren't the ones who signed up to be beamed into my living room. Although the girl who got up and ran away the instant the "happy family birthday photo" was snapped? Awesome! I really hope that somewhere, some lawyers are making sure that an awful lot of $$$ is being set aside for those kids. Accoeding to the Washington Post, mom and dad are getting $25,000-$75,000 per episode, in addition to all the loot.

Now that I've seen the show once, I'll probably be content to get my snark off the web. I can get all the horribleness that is J&K without the distraction of having to feel sorry for +8 (or the added distraction of K8's horrible acting. Give that girl a Razzie already!) Poor kiddos. Although if J0n goes in for a plugectomy sequel, I don't know that I could stay away.

Stop, Drop and Roll

2009-05-23T21:17:00.005-04:00

Today we finally purchased a fire pit for the backyard. Technically, I guess it's more of a "fire table", since it sits up on the deck, but to-MAY-to, to-MAH-to. It's round and has about a 6 inch ledge all the way around - wide enough to sit a drink on, if you really wanted your beer nice and toasty warm. It's less than 3 feet across, so not too large, but perfect for roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, which is what we did. (Aside: two years ago, for Owen's second Christmas, we bought a small, potted evergreen, thinking we wouldn't have to worry about him pulling it over on himself, and then we could plant it in the yard to keep. It never made it into the ground, and it never even made it out of the backyard - it died a slow death, over in the composting corner. Fast forward two years and we have most excellent, well seasoned firewood for our first ever fire! Waste not, want not!)

It was all we could do to keep Jake from crawling over and pulling himself up using the ledge, since Mr. I-Love-To-Cruise-The-Furniture couldn't understand why this particularly interesting piece of backyard decor was off limits. But Owen was really, really good. Always gave it a wide berth when he was walking by, and never once tried to reach over and touch, etc.

I'm putting this all down to preparation. My parents have a similar wood burning apparatus in their backyard, and he's used to fires at Grandma and Grandpa's house from last summer. And I can't remember how the dicussion first came up, but one of his favourite "stories" is about fire safety. While Owen loves him a good story about Cars or Thomas, sometimes he's into non-fiction. I laughed really hard when Erica once told me that she explained potholes to Nathan one day, and from then on, he'd request "The Story of Potholes". That was before I had my own two-year-old, who requests the story of "Mommy and Owen go to the Grocery Store", "Owen and Jakey Eat Their Lunch", or "What We Do If There's A Fire".

Owen knows if your clothes catch on fire, you are supposed to Stop, Drop, and Roll. This is a favourite game at Casa del Howard. It sometimes gets a little out of hand, like when Owen shoves Jake down and rolls the poor baby over and over. "But Mommy!" he yells indignantly, as I carry him off to his room for timeout, "Jake was on FIRE!!" He knows the phone number you call to get the firefighters to come to our house is nine-one-one. And he knows that the firefighters will come spray water on the house, and that we'll have to go stand outside. He even knows that we'll all go over to Anthony's house (Owen's favourite neighbour) to wait safely until the firefighters say it's okay. Technically, he also knows that if he hears the smoke detector go off, that means that there's a fire and Mommy or Daddy will come get him to leave the house, but since our detector (right outside the boys rooms) HAS gone off in the middle of the night, and NEITHER boy woke up (it was the "low battery" warning, so it wasn't continuous, but it still went off with a long, loud, shrill BEEEEP every 5 minutes starting at 2 am one night until we managed to pry a 9 volt out of one of Owen's toys....) it's just academic.

So, we're looking forward to many more fun evenings around the fire. And if you happen to come by and see us rolling around in the family room, don't worry. We're just ~~practicing for the inevitable~~ playing.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

2009-05-22T14:11:00.009-04:00

When I first heard about this, I thought it was just somebody's fantastic idea. A friend had posted the quotation: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains" to their status on Facebook, with a credit to "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", which I just thought was them being funny, and laughed out loud. Imagine my surprise when I see in the bookstore yesterday that it IS a book! I snapped it up.

I'm only about a quarter of the way through, but I'm loving it. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite stories, and the campy addition of the zombies is just great fun. I'm enjoying Elizabeth as a master of the killing arts, and I particularly loved the "Pentagram of Death" as performed by all 5 Bennet girls. And who would have thought that quiet, book-larnin' Mary would be the one to jump up on the table and attempt to stab Mr. Collins in offence to one of his comments? (Happily she is restrained by Lydia, enabling the sappy Mr. Collins to live another day, and eventually, as I'm gleaning from sneaking ahead peeks at the awesome illustrations, marry a zombified Charlotte Lucas!!) Not to mention that the talent of vomiting politely into one's hands puts me in mind of my sister's ability to vomit daintily into a wineglass. Can't wait to finish it out and see how it all ends, but also couldn't wait to share my delight.

Don't know how much fun it would be if you weren't familiar with the original P&P. My husband enjoyed the Bolly-riffic "Bride and Prejudice" without any foreknowledge of the original, but I believe that to truly appreciate P&P&Z, you might want to know the original. (So, those of you who have finished with The Grapes of Wrath and Season 4 of Buffy, now you know what to do with your free time!)

Seth Grahame-Smith, I take my hat off to you - I'm sure I'm not the only English major who wishes she thought of this idea first! Now, my next request, please add vampires to Little Women! (And not the sparkly, twee Twilight kind, but the real kind, okay??)

Brotherly Love

2009-05-20T13:49:00.001-04:00

Summer has arrived. :)

When You Wish Upon a Star...

2009-05-20T13:43:00.003-04:00

The other night, we were sitting in the family room. When the curtains are open and the lights are on, you can see the reflections of the potlights in the window - Jake likes to point them out to us. (Very big into pointing at things these days, is Jake.)

Owen looked at the lights, and then noticed he could see something else. "Mommy! There's a STAR!"

Sure enough, we could see one tiny spark in the sky, so it was time to make a wish.

"Star light, star bright, first star we see tonight, wish we may, wish we might, have the wish we wish tonight..."

Owen: "I wish for a BABY in my BELLY! Like Mickle Pickle!"

Mommy: "Really?"

Owen: "YES! And then it will turn into a blue dinosaur with PINK POLKA DOTS!"

I love that kid. Him and his weirdly specific wishes. Can't wait to hear what he wishes for on his birthday! :)

Happy Birthday to the King of Howieland!

2009-05-12T11:26:00.003-04:00

Today the King of Howieland turns 34. My life is so much better for having him in it. He has given me almost 12 years of unconditional love and devotion, 7 years of married bliss, 2 beautiful boys, and 1 wonderful life.

I'm not sure if I've shared this story before or not, but it's worth sharing again. Steve and I call each other "Big Brick" and "Baby Brick". It goes back years - we like to sleep cuddled up in bed, back to back. Neither of us likes our arms tangled up, but we like to be close when we sleep, so we're often that way instead of spooning. Steve says that we're like bricks, which are better than spoons. Spoons get taken out of their drawers and separated, but bricks are cemented together for always. And sometimes we'll even jokingly refer to Owen (now both boys) as our "Mortar".

Happy Birthday Big Brick! I love you today and always.

The Big Five-Oh!

2009-05-07T21:15:00.005-04:00

With this one little post, my 2009 blog output is now equal to the sum of all previous years. That's right, this English major can do the math!

On a completely unrelated note, I updated my Facebook status (I know, but seriously, I go back to work in two months. I need Twitter like I need another Y chromosome in my house) to read "Cari has too much surplus". Not only my favourite line from Disney's Cars movie, but an accurate reflection of how I feel whenever I look in our spare room closet, or the basement. We have too much! Period. But thankfully, some baby clothes and other assorted baby-oriented items will be distributed among some pregnant friends, and various other odds and ends will be Kijiji'd. Either that or we'll be having a garage sale sometime this summer.

(Also, I know not everyone has seen Cars, but I'm pretty sure the line stands on its own, decontextualized. But a few people are asking me what I have too much of....is the definition of "surplus" not common knowledge? Personally, I laugh every time I hear that line; but then again, I also laughed at "I have a big head, and little arms".)

Got Milk?

2009-05-05T10:27:00.006-04:00

So, further on the topic of Jake, he's got two teeth through, the front bottom ones. Today he finally cut one of the top front ones, and he's got swollen gums showing that the second top one and the two on either side of the bottom two will be here shortly. So that's two teeth, one nub, and three pending. Although Owen got his first two teeth nearly two months before Jake did, he got his second two in May, so Jake is right on track with that.

I am still nursing him. He eats a lot of baby and regular food, three meals a day, plus snacks. But he nurses when he first wakes, generally following a meal, and then a few times before bed (he's been sleeping through for a little while now, touch wood, so not feeding during the night). He never has taken a bottle, but he'll drink from a straw, sippie, or even a regular cup. However, he'll only take water. He's not interested in breast milk from anything but the source, or in formula however it's presented.

This is okay with me. By this point with Owen, we were about to give up nursing. He was a biter, and with two teeth, it was bad. I tried all kinds of things to get him to stop. I would yell, put him down, tell him "no" sternly, and he would look up at me and laugh. The only time he wouldn't bite was if he woke up in the night to nurse - he would be half asleep the entire time. Jake tried gumming me once or twice before his teeth even came in. I did the same routine with him, but he would look up, and give me the crumple face: that pouty look that means he's about to cry. He got it - after a couple of times, he stopped trying to bite me. Hasn't even tried once since he's gotten his two chompers, so I'm not worried about these new ones. With Owen, I was in tears.

With Owen, once the top teeth came in, not only was he biting, he was drawing blood. Since he wouldn't take formula, I didn't want to stop breastfeeding, because he wasn't eating enough to get all the vitamins and nourishment he needed yet from real food alone, but I was in a lot of pain, and too sore to pump. I don't know if I cried more from the pain, or from not knowing what to do. Finally, after a particularly bloody battle, Steve took Owen, got a bottle of formula, and sat down, determined to get him to take it. And you know what that cheeky monkey did? Took that bottle like he'd been doing it all along. So that was it - weaned to bottles of formula at 10 months, no more breastfeeding.

And as relieved as I felt, I was still sad - I really enjoyed breastfeeding, when it wasn't a blood sport. I always thought I'd breastfeed for at least a year, and then see how things went. I was sad that we didn't have a "last time" - the last time I breastfed him, I didn't know it was the last, and I certainly didn't enjoy it. I'm hoping that will be different with Jake.

I'll be going back to work when Jake is just over a year, so by then, we'll have to be done with breastfeeding during the day. But if he's still into nursing in the morning and before bed, I'll be happy to keep that up for a little while. I know that I'm not comfortable with the idea of him walking up to me and lifting up my shirt himself. The other day, I was talking to Steve while nursing Jake, and he sat up, climbed over my lap, and tried to latch onto my other side while standing beside me, all on his own! Whoa! Not cool. I got him settled back down lying in my lap, and had a bit of a laugh. But I just didn't find that cozy - I felt a little pawed and manhandled. So maybe I just need to teach him better manners. :) We'll see - I don't know how much longer our nursing relationship will last, but I'm enjoying it now, and since he's going to be my last baby, I plan to keep it up as long as I am still enjoying it. We'll see. Of course, if the appearance of the new teeth change Jake into Chompy McChomperson, I reserve the right to call in reinforcements in the form of his dad with a bottle. ;)

Little Man

2009-05-04T14:34:00.006-04:00

Owen tends to get the lion's share of updates here, I think, because simply by nature of being two-going-on-three, pretty much everything that he's doing these days is hilarious. (Case in point: we were at a birthday party on Saturday, and my girlfriend wondered aloud how she was going to cut into the cake, because there were so many details on it. Owen: You can do it! You just need a knife!) But Jake is doing all kinds of wonderful things too, and even if they are a lot quieter than Owen's things, they are no less amazing. So here's a brief update on our littlest man.

Jake is quite the talker. For "words" he says Dada, Mama, and Hi. (Hi is always accompanied by a little wave. He waves "bye" too, but doesn't say anything.) He understands EVERYTHING we say. He'll be across the room, and Owen (the little pot-stirrer!) will hold the gate open and say "Come on Jakey!" and slap-slap-slap, here comes Jake tearing across the room, through the gate, then sitting on his little bum and looking expectantly up at big brother, like Okay, what next? (Next is usually the stairs, which he climbs easily. Down is another matter entirely, but he FLIES up them.) But he babbles all the time, nonsense words, talking to his toys, his brother, all of us. He likes to sing too, and will often sing to himself in the Jeep. He answers to Jake, Jakey, Jacob, and Pickle-Mickle, which is Owen's nickname for him.

He eats anything and everything. More specifically, he eats anything and everything that Owen eats. I have to feed them at different times if Owen's eating something that Jake can't have, because otherwise Jake won't eat. Which is kind of a pain, so we try and feed them the same stuff. If Owen's having a sandwich, Jake gets a piece of whole wheat bread to nibble. Happily they both like yogurt and applesauce, and Jake is getting fairly adept at gumming all kinds of food.

Jake has got some moves! He loves to dance to any kind of music. He'll sit on his bottom and wave his arms in the air, or he'll stand (holding on with one hand) and bop up and down, usually with a big grin, maybe with some yelling/singing. And he's a copycat - all ready, he'll pick up anything that looks remotely like a stick, and use it to whack anything that looks remotely like a ball. The hockey mini-sticks are now all his. He'll even pick up Owen's bat, crawl over to his tee, and start taking whacks at it.

He's a sweetie - he has a REALLY long tongue, that he loves to stick out. In fact, if you ask him, "Let's see that tongue!" he'll stick it out for you. I've been trying to teach him to blow kisses, but either his hand-head coordination is really lacking, or he just doesn't get it yet - if I blow him a kiss, he whacks himself in the ear repeatedly. Um, nice try honey! And he does "number 1", holding up one little finger in the air if you ask him "Who's number 1, Jake?" (Owen used to do this with both hands, but Jake just does it with the right.)

He's still my little cuddle-bug, though. He's definitely mommy's little boy. He LOVES his daddy, Da-da was the first word, don't forget, and he goes NUTS whenever Steve comes home. But sometimes, only Mommy will do. And he lets you know with the "baby monkey" routine - he clings so tightly to me, that even if I weren't holding on to him, he wouldn't fall. I have bruises on the backs of my one arm now that I'm wearing t-shirts instead of long-sleeves. He grabs a handful of my clothes in each tiny fist, and holds on for dear life. He'll smile at daddy, or grandma, or whomever is coming close, but he sure won't go once he's in mommy's arms. If I put him down and he's distracted, he's perfectly happy with anyone who will play with him, and then he's fine to be picked up by them as well. But allow someone to take him from his Mommy? No dice. :)

He's my little peanut, and I can't believe he's ten months old all ready. Before you know it, that first birthday will be here. (Number 1!) Sigh. My little baby boy. Very much loved!

Clearly Speaking

2009-05-02T21:02:00.008-04:00

Busy, busy, busy. Of course, whose life isn't these days? I did my EndurRace, with a personal best in both distances! I was hoping to do the 5K in under 30 minutes, and I did it in 30 minutes, 26 seconds, so I was quite pleased (my previous time had been about 34 minutes). My previous 8K time (two years ago, the last time I ran it) was just under 55 minutes - I was just hoping to beat that time. I blew it away, finishing in 49 minutes, 51 seconds! I'm so proud of myself!! And so, so happy to finally have completed both races that make up this event. Yay me! The best was having Steve and the boys cheering for me - nothing motivates you for those last hundred metres like hearing your little guy yelling "Go Mommy go! Go Mommy go!"

Lots of other stuff has been going on, some good, some not so good. The really sad news is that we lost Steve's Grandma last weekend. She had been ill for some time, with growing tumours in her lungs. At her age (94) there really wasn't anything they could do for her - her body wouldn't have withstood radiation or an operation, so the doctors just did the best they could to make her comfortable. We will be getting together with family to celebrate her life next weekend.

The boys are growing like crazy. Jake has two teeth, and is the fastest thing around here on all fours. He's literally crawling the knees out of his pants! And speaking of pants, Owen keeps getting taller. I bought new pants for him, but since we're nearly done with pants-wearing-weather, I bought them big enough to (hopefully!) fit him this fall. Which means we're currently rolling the cuffs, and he finds that annoying. Thank goodness most places are putting the adjustable waists into pants, because he's still a skinny minny. Also, those pants are staying completely dry during the day, and Owen is finally telling us when it's time to go on the potty, instead of the other way 'round. Life is good!

I will be trying to post more regularly, evenings have been kind of full of late, and while I've been wanting to post, my brain hasn't been able to handle it. But I do have to quickly post this conversation we had with Owen in the car yesterday before I forget it. (If I don't put these stories down somewhere, I'll never remember them!)

(Owen was playing with a pair of sunglasses.)

Owen (putting on sunglasses): Wow! These sunglasses are really queer!

Mommy: (Sharing a "did we just hear that?" glance with Steve) Pardon me?

O: These sunglasses are really, really, queer Mommy! I like them.

M: Um, where did you hear the word "queer", Owen? (Wondering how I'm even going to start a conversation about the heady semantics of that word with my two-year-old...)

O: On Sid the Science Kid.

M: What???!!! (Mentally reviewing recent Sid episodes... love that show, but pretty sure there hasn't been one about sexual orientation recently... wait, there was one about glasses... making your vision....) OHHH! The glasses are really CLEAR!

O: That's what I said, Mommy. These glasses are cwear.

Owen pronounces his L's like W's. It's something I don't even notice anymore, we're so used to it. Steve and I laughed the rest of the way home.

Neither Snow Nor Sleet (um, Ice!)

2009-04-07T12:03:00.004-04:00

The first weekend of the EndurRace is less than two weeks away. I'll be running 5K on the 18th, and 8K on the 25th. This means that I can no longer slack off in my running, because come hell or high water, I'll be out there on the 18t,h wearing a number, and I'd really prefer not to have to get picked up by the cleanup crew that comes out to round up stragglers. (I'm pretty sure they only do that during marathons, but I really don't want to find out!)

SO! Owen was off to daycare today, and Jake and I had to run. Notwithstanding the 15 cm of snow we got yesterday, we had to run. Nevermind that running with the stroller in the wind is like running with a parachute (and that's without the storm cover on...) we had to run. So, I gave Jake a teething biscuit to keep him happy, strapped him into his fleecy stroller bag, and covered him with his plastic bubble. (Um, I dressed him in winter gear as well.)

Thanks to the lovely Auntie Erica, with whom I had the most amazing extended-birthday-afternoon on Saturday, I am now the proud owner of a pair of Yak Trax to fit under my shoes. I'm sure she thought I wouldn't be getting any use out of them until next winter, but they were just what I needed today! Outside is a mess of sticky, blowing snow on top of a crunchy, icy crust - pretty much the worst running surface ever. But my Yak Trax gave me the traction necessary to push Jake up the hills, and the control to keep my stride up down the hills. We ran on the sidewalks, which we don't usually do. Ashphalt is easier on the knees, but on a day like today, we don't trust the drivers in our neighbourhood to be looking out for us. (Or to be able to stop on the ice even if they are looking out for us.)

They were great! Jake and I did 7K. That's right, in the ice, snow and wind, we did 7K. I'm pretty sure my Trax would have stayed attached to my shoes even without the velcro attachment overtop, and the rubbery/springy traction pieces were comfy to run in over the snow and ice. I wouldn't want to run on them all the time on a dry surface, but for the few places where people had shovelled down to bare sidewalk, they were fine, and even helped absorb some of the pounding that makes me avoid concrete .

EndurRace, here I come! :)

Competitive Spirit!

2009-04-05T13:40:00.008-04:00

I don't know if this is a boy thing, or a two-and-a-half thing, or just an Owen thing. He's become ridiculously competitive! Every thing is a chance to win, or a chance to beat someone. Putting on our shoes? "I'm beating you, Mommy!" Having a bath? "I'm winning Mommy! Jakey is losing!" Driving? "We're passing that car! We're winning!" Which can be cute, but he's a TERRIBLE loser! And when everything in our life has become a contest, he loses often.

I'm not talking about losing at a game or something I could cheat at to ensure an outcome that does not involve screaming. We're talking about scenarios where I didn't even realize he was in danger of losing until the yelling starts. We were all having dinner the other night, and I was feeding Jake his "mush" at the same time. Jake finished the veggies and I told him he was a good boy for eating all his dinner. Owen burst into tears! "I lost Mommy? Jakey beat me?" Hoo boy.

As parents, of course, Steve and I know that how we deal with this is extremely important. Winning and losing are a part of life, and there are some important lessons to be learned here. And as any good set of parents would do, we've completely leveraged this to our advantage for potty training.

Yep. Warm up the handbasket for us, because we've actually told our son that going on the potty is winning, and going in his pants is losing. And we haven't stopped there, oh no. Whenever he goes on the potty, we tell him he's "beating his friends!" (Nevermind that practically all his friends were potty trained months ago, beating these unnamed "friends" is what makes winning that much sweeter for him. It's succeeding where praise, stickers, and even lollipops have failed!)

Say what you will about our tactics, but the kid has had "underwear under there" for three days now, and has only had four "losses" in that time. (Diapers still for bed.) And whenever he does lose, we talk about how he'll get another chance to try and win again, so it's not like it's all bad. He's a winner, like Lightening McQueen on his underpants. (Of course, tonight when we were putting a diaper on for bed, he wanted to know "Is Elmo a loser Mommy?")

We're very proud of our big boy! I should have known the time was right for him to finally get it: I just bought a club-pack of his current diaper size. I'm sure we'll use them up for overnights. We've been out and about too, using washrooms in stores, at friends' homes, and in restaurants, and he's got a perfect record on the road.

And ball hockey starts in two weeks, so we'll get another chance to ~~screw up~~ work on the whole "winning isn't everthing" message then. In the meantime, his jock fits lots better over Lightening McQueen than Elmo.

Friday's List of Ten IX

2009-04-03T07:49:00.007-04:00

Ten things to remember whilst attending Afternoon Tea at Langdon Hall tomorrow with Erica:*

10. All signs to the contrary, we're not there to enjoy ourselves. We're there for our health - two cups of tea a day can have significant health benefits, you know. We're doing this to ~~escape~~ benefit our husbands and children!

9. Proper service of lemon slice vs. lemon wedge: a lemon slice can float in your tea cup, a lemon wedge is meant to be squeezed and discarded on the edge of your saucer. I think tea with lemon is disgusting, so I will be disposing discreetly of any lemon bits served to me in the nearest potted plant. Failing any such handy plants, I will be politely lofting them over my shoulder.

8. The proper eating of a scone involves breaking off a bite-sized piece, and then applying cream and/or jam to said piece before popping it daintily into one's mouth. Like a dinner roll, one should not attempt to saw it in half with the butter knife before slathering it with toppings and then taking bite after bite. Am I wrong in thinking this rule probably came from the pre-dental-advances British wanting to ensure they were exposed to as little view of each other's wonky teeth as possible?

7. Twelve-inch napkins are used for Afternoon Tea service - I have packed my handy ruler in my handbag, so as to be sure that I am not being short-changed in the napkin department!

6. The proper stirring of tea. Apparently, one is to "Place your tea spoon at the six o'clock position and softly fold the liquid towards the twelve o'clock position two or three times." I have been practicing with my breakfast Cheerios, but have a distressing tendency to want to fold from 12 to 6, instead of the proper 6 to 12. Fortunately, I already know about removing one's spoon from the tea before drinking (this needed to be a rule? Seriously, how many people poked themselves in the eye before this became a rule??)

5. Sugar tongs are sometimes referred to as "sugar nips". Try not to giggle if someone does so.

4. Afternoon Tea is NOT High Tea. There is a special level of Hell reserved for those who confuse the two.

3. Proper service for the eats on a three-tiered stand is scones on top, sandwiches and savories in the middle, and yummies on the bottom. Traditionally, service is provided to remove each tier at the progression of each course. (If they think that's going to stop me from having dessert first, then they've got another "jolly good" coming!)

2. Pinkies up! I always thought this was an affectation, but apparently, the proper way to grasp your teacup is "By placing ones fingers to the front and back of the handle with ones pinkie up ... (which) allows (for) balance. It is not an affectation, but a graceful way to avoid spills." The pinkie up is for BALANCE! And actually looping ones fingers through the handle on the teacup reveals that you were raised in a barn. And not one of those nice, red-painted barns, but one of those saggy-roofed, a-few-boards-are-missing-from-the-walls, I-hope-no-animals-are-actually-kept-in-there barns.

1. And of course the number one etiquette rule in any situation: to point and laugh heartily, fully shaming those who are less couth than ourselves into a state of agoraphobia. (No, I know my Miss Manners. Etiquette exists to govern our own behavior, and proper behavior does not allow for us to make others uncomfortable by pointing out their faux pas. Such as my originally writing this sentence to read "there faux pas".)

*With thanks to this site for offering British Royal Household Approved tea tips and interesting facts!

Share and share alike

2009-04-02T12:52:00.009-04:00

Okay, so like all parents of toddlers, we've constantly been drilling home the "sharing" lesson since before Owen could even comprehend it. We've come a long way with him, and he pretty much gets it. He knows that sharing is good, especially sharing when someone has nothing, and that sometimes we even have share things that are special to us. When you're 2, even M&Ms are special to you, so this has been a tricky one. But the kid's finally got it.

Last weekend, after a Family Shower (yes, we have a really big shower in the master bathroom, and sometimes the most efficient way to get everyone out the door in the morning is to just all get in there together. It's ~~chaos~~ lots of fun!) Owen was running around upstairs, enjoying being "naked without a diaper". (It's potty-training leverage - the kid LOVES to be naked, but since he hasn't been potty trained, we usually insist he has to be naked-with-a-diaper. Since he's getting better at using the potty, he gets to be naked-without-a-diaper now. Woo hoo!)

I was dressing Jake, and Owen came running in:

Owen: Here I am mommy!

Mommy: There you are. Are you going to get dressed?

O: (running from the room) NO! I'm naked without a diaper! I'm running with my penis!

M: ??? (He was running down the hall, so I wasn't entirely sure I'd properly heard that last part. Does that really require a response? I didn't think it did.)

O: (running back into the room) Mommy, you want to run around with your penis?

M: No thanks Owen. Remember, Mommy is a girl. Mommy doesn't have a penis. Only boys like Daddy, and Owen, and Jake have them.

O: (stops dead in his tracks as he considers this, then gives me a big smile) You can share my little penis, Mommy!

Well, it doesn't get much more "special" than that, does it?

Join the Club

2009-04-01T09:09:00.004-04:00

The 100K club, that is. Wouldn't you like to? Of course, if you work in the public sector (I do) then apparently it's everyone's business if you make more than 100K a year. (Before taxes, and including benefits, don't forget.) I have no worries about being on this list. What I do is not worth 100K a year. Don't get me wrong, I work hard (um, when I'm not on mat leave, that is) but I happily leave at the end of the day and spend time with my family, and forget about work until the next day. Yes, there are probably other people who could do what I do.

But for the higher ups at the Region and other local government who ARE on the list, I would argue that there are very FEW people who could do what they do. Managing people is not easy. Managing the entire Region, with all its unions and the public scrutiny, is a big job. Higher ups are definitely putting in more than 35-40 hours a week, and there's the whole "walk a mile in their shoes" thing. Plus, they're not in the stratosphere - the highest local government earners are in the high 100K-low 200K range, which I actually find to be quite reasonable. My director made the list, and so did my manager (barely). These guys are both professional engineers. They have training and knowledge that a lot of people don't. I will never move up into their jobs, I'm not qualified. They work hard and deserve their salaries.

What is completely UN-reasonable is the fact that there are people on this list making over a million dollars a year. Even over TWO million dollars a year! The hell??? My reaction is not because of the downturn in the economy. I get pissed about this every time this list comes out. There is NO WAY that the CEO of Ontario Power Generation is worth that much. What in the heck is he doing, casting fantasic spells that are keeping dragons from frying the province to a crisp?? Maybe "CEO of OPG" is just his mild-mannered ego, and his office is really located on the Hellmouth, and he spends his nights saving the world from demons and vampires while the rest of us sleep in blissful oblivion. (No Buffy fans out there? Just me then? Okay.) His trusty sidekick, "CEO of OMERS" started off a little geeky, but really came into his own in Season 4 when he started the whole practicing witchcraft thing.... (Seriously? Only me, huh?)

Nope. Nuh-uh. You cannot convince me that people are worth this much money. MAYBE if you work in the private sector and are responsible for making this kind of money for your investors, you deserve a piece of the pie. Maybe. (And don't even get me started on AIG executives. I'm just not going to go there with companies receiving handouts.) I am happy with how my OMERS pension fund is performing, but I just can't find 2 million dollars worth of happiness in my heart. Sour grapes? I'm pretty sure not.

I agree with Dwight Duncan that the number of 100K employees is not such a big deal, especially given inflation. What percentage of those people are in the lower range? Looks like a lot, from what I can see. Where we need to take a good look is at those in the 1M club. Maybe even the 500K club. But 100K? Not so much.

(Season 4 Buffy! Those of you who have finished reading The Grapes of Wrath, go watch! The rest of you, back to the book.)

Long Story Short

2009-03-31T20:50:00.002-04:00

March Break. Trip to Ottawa. Baby Gracie! Good news from great friends. Museum of Science and Tech. Juggling and train engines. Doggy fun. First joint-birthday celebration in years! Boys awesome on the road. Running. 5K in 34 minutes with the stroller in the wind. Jake says Ma-ma. Actual birthday. Sleeping in. Fabulous dinner out with Steve. New patio furniture (front and back). CAKE! Steve re-discovers online poker, seriously cutting into my computer time. A good friend gets engaged! Owen spends one day dry, going on the potty. Jake is cutting tooth number one. Oh, and Abby home and healthy!

We'll return to regular scheduled programming soon. :)

Long Overdue

2009-03-15T18:03:00.005-04:00

I finally got around to installing the software for our new camera (ran out of room on the memory card, just the motivation I needed!). Here are some fun recent family pics, and there are entries below for Christmas and New Years.

New Years Photos

2009-03-15T17:46:00.006-04:00

We were in Ottawa for New Years, where we finally got to meet my lovely niece, baby Gracie, and hang with Auntie Kristi and Uncle Ryan, and visit with Auntie Lee Ann and Uncle Evan too. Good thing I cleared the camera, I'm posting these in time for our March Break trip up - maybe we'll get over to Lee Ann and Evan's house, and get some pictures of the boys with their adorable pups!

Christmas Photos

2009-03-15T17:33:00.007-04:00

We went to Barrie before Christmas, where Owen got his train table from Grandma and Grandpa (Grandpa built it - yes, Owen has an oak train table. It's nicer than my dining room table. He is nuts about it!)

Christmas morning at home - Mommy, Daddy, and the boys.

Go ahead, make my day!

2009-03-14T22:38:00.003-04:00

Okay, remember this lady? Well, I meant to blog about a discussion with another stranger at the track that totally makes up for that one, but I'd forgotten about it, until seeing the same gentleman there again this past Thursday. He totally made my day last week!

I was there with my StrollerFit class (which I also really love, it's offered through Belly Buttons, and the instructor, Trish, is awesome. She's going to do the EndurRACE 8K with me in April.*) Trish works us in intervals: we do a lap of the track, and then some weight work with resistance bands, or lunges, or crazy-butt-working-kick-things. The point is, we run a lot. (Well, not everyone runs - you go at your own level.)

ANYWAY! I had just finished a lap, and an elderly gentleman came up and said to me that he just had to ask: had I ever raced track seriously? He said that I had a fantastic running stride. He told me that he used to be a track coach, and that I had great form - good leg turnover, a long stride, keeping my head level, and making it look effortless. After joking that I'm glad he thought it looked effortless, I told him I'd actually been really working on my form, so he had just made my day. He told me he was at the track training to do a 10K run with his daughter this summer, so I'm sure we'll see him again. Jake liked him too - he had a big smile for him again when we saw him there again this week.

I've actually been working really hard to lengthen my stride, (it's easy to shuffle your feet when you get tired, and then I lose all the benefit of having long legs!) and keep my head up, and steady (legs doing all the work of moving me horizontally, instead of wasting effort in bobbing up and down. Think of the marathoners you see in the Olympics - the girls' ponytails don't even swish!) By concentrating on form, I'm doing the same distance with less effort - running upright with a longer stride, I cover more ground in fewer steps. (Um, this is the theory, anyway. It still FEELS like a lot of effort, but the math works.) But it's hard to evaluate myself, so it was super great to be complimented like that. (And honestly, this man had to be in his seventies. He was not hitting on me. Or maybe he was, I guess you never know, but I'm still taking the running compliment at face value.) Am superwoman running goddess. Go me. :)

* Yep, I'm all signed up for the EndurRACE: 5K on April 18, and then 8K on April 25. Both races at 6 p.m. - come cheer for me, locals! ;)

Friday's List of Ten VIII

2009-03-13T13:55:00.005-04:00

Milestones that Jake reached this week (I'm not kidding. The kid has done all of these things since last weekend.):

10. Moved from the bucket seat into his (rear-facing) big-boy carseat. Which means that without the bucket, I am wrangling two boys when I'm out and about. He now sits beside Owen in the shopping cart. Grocery shopping just became a contact sport!

9. Stopped waking himself up in the night practicing crawling. He's finally sleeping better again. Yeah, remember this post? Oh the hubris! We all got sick, and the good sleeping came to an end. But he's really on a roll now, and doesn't need to practice, because...

8. He crawls! Like Owen, he would pull himself up and walk along the furniture before crawling. But he's finally figured it out. It's only been a few days, and he's v--e--r--y deliberate and careful, but he's definitely on the move.

7. Did I mention the pulling up on the furniture? The other day I went in because he'd woken up from a nap, and he was standing in the crib, shaking the bars. Time to lower the mattress again, and remove the ~~climbing aid~~ bumper pad.

6. He peed in the shower. Now that he likes to stand up holding on to things, he had his first shower with me where he stood like a big boy, holding the bench the whole time. And when you're eight months old and you gotta go, you gotta go.

5. He gives high fives! He's been clapping for a while now, but if you held up your hand for a five, he'd just stare at it. Now he whacks away with enthusiasm, grinning the whole time.

4. He got his first bloody nose. I put him down on the floor at the Rec Centre while I filled my water bottle, and he decided to move from sitting onto his tummy. But his winter jacket is so bulky, he didn't get his hands in front of him in time, and did a face plant on the tiles. Poor little babe, one red, drippy nostril. Along with that, he also got...

3. His first bloody lip. At first I thought it was blood from the nose, but I wiped it, and it came back. I wiped it again, and it came back. A third wipe, and it stayed gone. Thank goodness he doesn't have any teeth yet!

2. Ate his first real food. He likes his mush, but would always much rather have whatever Owen is having. Last night, Owen was having alphabet soup with vegetables. Jake sampled the noodles, and the mushy veggies, courtesy of Daddy. Owen was happy to share. Jake was ecstatic. (Oh come on, alphabet soup is TOO real food!)

1. Said his first word. He's been babbling for some time, and da-da-da-da-da recently became part of the lexicon. But said three times, it's capitalized: Da-da-da. He knows that's Steve. He looks around for him when he says it, and if you ask him where Da-da-da is, he zeros in on daddy. Too cute, because Owen's first word was "Mem", and that was me, so it's nice that Steve is Jake's first word. :)

Thank you, please keep praying!

2009-03-12T14:08:00.003-04:00

Abby did have to have a second surgery, (the first was to try and clear fluid from around her lungs, and to insert a chest tube to keep draining) as scans revealed the level of fluid around her lungs was too much for the current tube to get rid of. But she's recovering well, and her mom reports that she's been holding her own, fever-wise, for 24 hours, which is a great milestone! I know all your prayers and kind thoughts are helping, so thank you!! I'm hoping this is the turning point, and that she continues to get better now until she and her mom can come home.

Made in...hmmmmm.

2009-03-12T13:29:00.007-04:00

All this talk about the big three car manufacturers looking for bailout money, and most recently, Chrysler's threat to move their whole operation out of Canada unless they get X amount of money and the CAW employees take a $20/hour pay cut has me thinking. We ~~have~~ had lots of parts manufacturers in this area. Many closed their doors in the past few years, and the few left are cutting further and further back on staff and hours. Now, I feel badly for anyone who loses their job. But you have to admit that there's a certain... irony? Schadenfreude? (Not sure what the word is I'm looking for here...) in the situation. See, lots of people around here, whom, I'm assuming, work or did work for these parts makers have bumper stickers on their cars that read Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign! (These are always on Fords and Chrysler products, by the way, not on Toyotas, some of which are actually assembled right here in Cambridge, but that's another post for another day.)

Where the irony comes in is when I see three cars all sporting this bumper sticker parked in a row. In the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Now I get that for some people, Wal-Mart is a necessary evil (or a guilty pleasure!). I'm sure there are some people who would prefer to only buy things made in Canada who shop there because they are barely making ends meet as it is. But maybe don't drive the car with anti-buying-foreign-sentiment proudly displayed on it when you go. Hmmm'kay?

I'm guilty. I don't look for a Made in Canada label. I do patronize my local farmer's market and small, local specialty shops and bakeries, but I also shop Wal-Mart and Costco. Lucky for our family, the loss of manufacturing jobs will not affect us directly. I still feel for the people it does affect, but I don't think the situation will change, and I don't think government handouts to private industry are the way to go. These are growing pains. Have you read The Grapes of Wrath? It's a good picture of the growing pains suffered as North America moved from the agricultural age to the industrial age. Now we're moving from the industrial age to the knowledge age. Can't stop it, and bailouts to private industry are only delaying the inevitable. Manufacturing in North America is no longer smart business, sad but true. How much better would it be to use that bailout money to help people support their families, and help them re-train for the knowledge industry? A lot, I think.

(I also have some thoughts about how ironic it is that unions were formed as a result of some of the issues arising as we moved into the industrial age, but that they may also have sped its passing in the last 20 years or so. But those thoughts are still percolating, and my arm is sore from one-handed typing while Jake sleeps in my other arm. So that's all you get today. Go read The Grapes of Wrath!)

Taller Than Your Mama!

2009-03-08T22:44:00.005-04:00

I was thinking the other evening, as I hung upside-down over Jake's crib, arms around him, giving him kisses and shushing him to sleep, how do the short moms do it? When Jake (and Owen too, back in the crib days) needs comforting at night and not to eat, I don't like to take him out of the crib. If I get up on my tip-toes, I can bend at the waist right over the crib front and snuggle him. I get a bit of a head rush when I stand back up, but he knows mommy isn't pulling him out of the crib, so it's time for sleep. I also don't have the issue of "baby fell asleep in my arms, but wakes up when I put him down". So there you go - using my height to my mommy-advantage!

(Our crib converts to a double bed frame, so I don't have the drop-down option on the front.)

Heh, my height and more specifically my long legs also work to my advantage the odd time I am putting him down all ready asleep, but forgot to pull the blanket back fully when I last got him up. I stand on one foot, kick my other leg up and over into the crib, and pull the blanket aside with my toes. All while holding the sleeping baby! I never thought of this as an accomplishment until Steve saw me do it the other day. He was mighty impressed, so I just thought I'd share.

Friday's List of Ten VII

2009-03-06T21:37:00.006-05:00

(First a note: Abby is doing really well! The enzyme treatments are working, and her mom is very encouraged. Yay Abby! We'll keep praying, and hopefully you'll be home soon.)

Okay, in honour of the lovely warm day we had (with a warm breeze, no less!): ten things I am looking forward to doing outside this spring:

10. More outdoor running! Jake and I had a lovely 5K out in the sun today, even though the wind (which was warm) was horribly strong. Who designed my subdivision so that all the uphills are against the wind?? It was like pushing an umbrella through a wind tunnel!

9. Boys in the bike trailer! Owen loves the bike trailer, and I imagine Jake will too. The only question is: will they ride nicely in it TOGETHER?

8. Playing in the backyard. Owen was all over his playfort today, and came in covered in mud. Can't wait to see Jake out there too.

7. Gardening/lawncare. We hope this is the year that we finally get the grass to grow in the back. And I can't wait to finish landscaping around our new porch in the front.

6. More family walks. Since the snow started melting, Owen has discovered burrs, gravity's effect on strollers on an incline, and that cattails may look like sticks, but after a winter under the snow, they tend to turn to mush when you try to pick them up. Can't wait to see what else there is out there!

5. Lounging, on the back deck or front porch, on new patio furniture (we think we've found what we want, finally!)

4. BBQing! (Well, Steve tends to do this, not me. But that's why I'm looking forward to it!)

3. Moving the hockey/soccer/baseball fun outside instead of in the basement.

2. Puddle jumping! This is one of Owen's and my favourite things to do outside together.

1. Getting to see the neighbours again. We've had some changeover through the winter, but it's hard to meet new neighbours when we all drive straight into our garages, and only come out to shovel.

I say a little prayer for you

2009-03-03T22:15:00.002-05:00

One of Owen's little friends is in the hospital with pneumonia (ask me how awful I'm feeling about making that "walking pneumonia" crack about myself a few weeks back!) Please keep little Abby in your prayers. She's stable, but had a few complications so she was moved from Kitchener to London at the beginning of this week, where they're trying a new enzyme treatment that seems to be helping. She's already undergone one surgery, poor little tyke, and if this enzyme treatment helps, she won't have to have another.

Please keep Abby's wonderful mom Kristyn in your thoughts as well. Kristyn is pregnant, in a strange town, and while she has her mom at her side, due to extenuating circumstances she doesn't have her husband there, which must be tough. And while we're at it, please also think of poor Abby's dad, who can't be there for her. I can't imagine anything more horrible than not being able to be with one of the boys if they were sick.

I know you people are out there reading this, even if you're not commenting, and I know most of you are parents. When you hug your own little ones today and count your blessings, please send an extra prayer for Abby's continued improvement and health. We hope she and Owen can play together again soon.

Where is Directions, so that I might follow him?

2009-03-02T08:24:00.006-05:00

Scene: Owen and Mommy are sitting on the couch. Owen is eating a bowl of grapes. Mommy is ~~playing Wii~~ reading a parenting guide. Owen starts to gag a bit on a grape.

Mommy: Honey, remember what mommy told you. When you eat the big grapes, you need to bite them in half. Don't stick the whole grape in your mouth, it's too big. You need to take a bite of the big ones, okay?

Owen: Okay Mommy.

Owen: (holds up grape) Is this grape too big Mommy? Should I bite it?

Mommy: (concentrating on ~~Donkey Kong, who is coming up fast and threatening my tentative first place position with all the banana peels he keeps lobbing my way~~ a particularly insightful chapter, but wanting to encourage him to bite them all) Yes honey, all the grapes in your bowl are too big, you should bite them all.

Owen: Okay Mommy. (a few minutes later...) I'm done my snack Mommy, can I play hockey ball in the basement?

Mommy: (now distracted by ~~Wario, who is trying to muscle me off the track and into the lava~~ a poignant example of wonderful parenting in the next chapter) Sure sweetie. Have fun.

A few minutes later, Mommy has ~~taken the gold in the Lightning Cup~~ finished the book and is glancing down at Owen's snack bowl.

Mommy: (falls off the couch she is laughing so hard).

Anyone with a two-year-old at home want to take a guess at what had me laughing so hard? Owen had put his snack bowl neatly on the end table. His snack bowl, full of half-grapes. He bit them all in half, as per my instructions. When I recovered, I called him back upstairs and told him he could eat the other half of the grapes too if he wanted. He wanted, and hoovered them down. Then we shared some juice. The end.

Lightbulb Moment

2009-03-01T08:24:00.003-05:00

Let's say you're two years old. You are trying really, really hard to understand how this wild and crazy world works. Patterns and predictability are things that help, and you expect current situations to play out similar to past ones.

Let's say that when you go to Grandma's house to play, and you like one of her toys, she will often give it to you ~~as a bribe~~ to take home. And let's say that last weekend at Lily's birthday party, you had lots of fun playing cars, and your Uncle Steve gave you a few (of the several hundred in his collection) to take home with you.

Is it any wonder then that you would throw a kicking, screaming tantrum when leaving Olivia's party yesterday when you were informed that you could not bring your favourite of Nathan's toys home? It shouldn't have been, I suppose, but it takes me a bit sometimes to figure out how your little two-year old mind works. I figured it out in time to explain it to you in the car on the way home, and I think you get it now. But in the meantime, everyone else just thinks you had too much cake and excitement. (Contributing factors to the scale of the tantrum, but definitely not the triggers.) Man, what a confusing place the world must be when you're two!

Friday's List of Ten VI

2009-02-27T08:14:00.014-05:00

Ten signs of Owen's budding environmental awareness:

10. He knows the difference between garbage and recycling.

9. He knows where the garbage goes after the garbage truck picks it up. ("To Mommy's work!")

8. He knows what sorts of things go in the recycling bin ("Recycling! Not garbage!") Also funny: he insists on calling it the "recycling bin", and not the "blue box".

7. When prompted, he can actually list what sorts of things get recycled. ("Cans, plastic, and paper. Not garbage!")

6. He knows that recycling is how you make new things out of old. Unfortunately, thanks to something he saw on TV, he thinks things just all get turned back into themselves - bottles from bottles, etc. (This is only true for metal. Aluminum cans can be recycled into new aluminum cans without any loss or degredation. If you recycle nothing else, PLEASE get those cans in the blue box! Plastics become raw materials for something else - carpet, microfleece, plastic lumber, lots of other plastic things, but not food-grade plastic anymore. Glass typically is ground and used in a road aggregate, or other very base uses. Unless you're talking beer bottles, in which case they are washed and re-used. But glass very, VERY rarely (I am tempted to say never) becomes bottles/jars again.)

5. He knows the difference between the garbage truck and the recycling truck when he sees them on the street!

4. He reminds us to turn off the taps.

3. He seems excited about the prospect of taking stuff to the backyard composter (will be his job when the weather warms up.)

2. Always remembers to turn lights off when he leaves a room.

1. FREAKS OUT if anyone else leaves lights on. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine with Steve, so I LOVE it when Owen gets on Daddy's case about the lights. :) Go Owen!

Holy Cars!

2009-02-26T13:03:00.004-05:00

Okay, Owen was SO WELL BEHAVED! He was so great at the "Baby Party" (did I mention that was how I was billing Babytime? It definitely worked.) He helped Jake get one of the rhythm shakers, and charmed everyone during one of the songs when, during the line "climb a ladder oh so high" he ran over to a poster with a picture of a ladder and pretended to climb! He listened nicely to the story, told the presenter Jen "I love that song!" when we sang My Little Red Wagon, and then even shared his toy cars and played very nicely with another toddler brother during the playtime at the end of the class.

Wow. Mommy was heavy with the praise, you'd better believe it! He did so well, I decided to push our luck. Usually on Thursdays after this class, Jake and I head over to the indoor track at the Waterloo Rec Centre for some running with some other toddler-free girlfriends and their little guys. I loaded up the boys in the jogging stroller, Owen in the jumpseat*, and, armed with the Fisher Price DVD player and the movie Cars, off we went. Jake took a while to settle down, he's got a nasty cold with congestion and horrible runny nose, but again, Owen was a dream. He watched the zamboni clean the ice ("Look at that zamboni GO, Mommy!") and then watched his movie, ate some crackers, and was extremely well behaved.

Maybe it's because he's still got some of his cold, he's just not feeling himself, or maybe it's because he's finally starting to mature, or maybe it's the cough syrup. Whatever it was, I'm recording the memory here, where I can read it in future days when he's less of a dream-guy. Thank you Owen for being such a good boy for Mommy today! I'm very proud of you.

* Yes, this is my stroller, only ours is black and red. The whole reason we bought it was for the ability to add the jumpseat to make it a double. It's been a dream, and I HIGHLY recommend it!

Wish Me Luck

2009-02-25T09:40:00.002-05:00

We love Owen's babysitter. We found her through Wee Watch, and she's perfect. She's got three wonderful school-age kids of her own, and Owen adores her. I'm constantly amazed at the stuff she manages to do with the kids - baking, crafts, workbooks. The one downside to home daycare is that if she or her kids are sick, things get a little dicey. Wee Watch does offer backup homecare with another provider, but it would be someone Owen's not familiar with, and kids he doesn't know. Since Steve's mom wasn't working, we just had a Grandma Day whenever this happened. (Not sure how this will work when Steve and I are both back to work this fall, as Steve's mom has started working again....)

Owen is still going to Patty's on Tuesdays and Thursdays, partly to keep him in a schedule, and partly so that Jake gets some quality one-on-one Mommy time. On Thursday mornings, Jake and I go to Babytime at the library. Lots of fun. We tried doing the Tales for Twos program at the library for Owen, and it didn't work. He had no interest in sitting still, or being quiet, or even paying the remotest amount of attention. After wrestling with him for four weeks and only making it through the class once, I gave up.

Patty's kids have the flu. Owen wasn't able to go yesterday, and he probably won't be able to go tomorrow. I'm going to attempt to bring him to Baby Time, and hope that he cooperates. I've been billing it as a Baby Party, since he LOVES babies, and not as Library Time, since he has negative associations with library class. (Luckily, his class was at a different branch, so I have some hope.) Other moms have brought their toddlers on occasion - they sit quietly and help their sibling participate. I don't expect Owen to be quiet, but I do hope we don't have to leave early. Wish me luck tomorrow!

Road ID

2009-02-23T21:30:00.006-05:00

I ordered myself a birthday present. (Well, I ordered myself a present from Owen and Jake, since they're not so big on the shopping these days.) I ordered one of these, in pink. (I'm a lot more tolerant of pink for myself these days, since I'm surrounded by blue. Of course, if Owen had his way, he'd be wearing pink, sparkly Dora running shoes. And if I had my way, he would be too. But his dad nixed that. Also, I'm guessing the other kids in the ball hockey league we're thinking of signing him up for might give him a hard time. Might clash with their jerseys.)

Anyway! Road ID! Good idea! I ordered mine with my name, home number, Steve's work and cell numbers, and noted that I have no allergies, and I'm O Negative. I figure that's got me covered if I get hit by a car. I run, and I also bike, occasionally to work when the weather is good. The bike ride is just under 25 km each way, and I'm thinking of having it more for that than for the running I do, which is mainly on quiet, residential streets. But I think it's a good idea for anyone who does outdoor sports on their own. Heck, it's a good idea even if you walk to work! I have a piece of paper with essentially the same info I carry in my water bottle belt, but someone would have to know to look there. And even if you carry a wallet or something in a bike saddle bag, who's to say that bag is going in the ambulance with you? I like the idea of something I'm wearing, that's highly visible.

As a thank you to me for ordering, the co-owner sent me this lovely email (I'm adding him to our Christmas card list):

We are thrilled to have you as a customer and hope that we can count on you to spread the word about Road ID. In fact, to make it fun to spread the word, we created a unique coupon for you pass along to your friends! Here's the coupon number:

Coupon Number: ThanksCari464374

This coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days.

So, anyone reading this: please! Use the coupon code. Order one. Because I actually have a friend at work whose wife was hit by a car while out jogging. One of these may have made a difference in her treatment. It definitely would have made a difference in how long it took for him to find out what had happened! (Mom, order one for Dad if he's still biking to the gym. Mapleview is the scariest road in Barrie now!) I'm hoping it will be a conversation piece that will never need to be used for its original purpose. But you never know, and it could end up being the best $20 I spend this year.

Great News!

2009-02-22T17:27:00.004-05:00

In the Good Things Do Happen To Good People file, we just found out yesterday that friends of ours who have been trying for a baby for a very long time are pregnant! Three months pregnant, actually, and due in early September. (M&M for those of you who know them). Hooray! It is spectacularly wonderful news. Especially in light of the fact that they had an appointment to see a fertility specialist this month to start looking into treatment options. (She had been on Clomid for 6 months, with no results, so this would have been...more than that.)

(I remember just after having had Owen, commenting to this friend that maybe she'd have her first when I had my second, and we could be pregnant together! She laughed and said that while they were waiting, they weren't planning on waiting that long. They're going to be such great parents; it's extra exciting when you know how lucky a little baby is to be joining such a wonderful, loving couple!)

They're also the first of our close friends to also be going with a midwife option, which is great. Her sister was with the same practice we were (I believe her midwife was Amanda) and they've requested the same midwife. Steve was singing the praises of the midwives to our daddy-to-be friend all evening - I'm so glad that our experiences were not only so positive for me, and our boys, but for him as well. Who would have thought that Steve would become a midwifery advocate?

There is good baby news all over the place in our friends' lives. Another couple we know, who were unable to have kids, decided over the summer to begin looking into adoption. They now have three beautiful little ones (two boys and a girl, all siblings) that have been with them for nearly a month now. There were 41 couples interested in adopting these lucky little ones, and our friends are now a proud mama and papa to three under 3! (Good lord how crazy would that be! But I guess if you don't know any different.... Again, we're just so, so happy for them!)

And another girlfriend of mine, who is a wonderful mommy and always wanted a lot of kids but thought her family expansion might have to be put on hold for a while, is expecting a little surprise JuneBug! She just found out he is a boy, and I'm excited to pass on lots of our boy stuff to her, since it's the right season for it all. (She has a daughter who is Owen's age.) Babies, babies, and more babies, blessings everywhere. Life is wonderful.

Friday's List of Ten V

2009-02-20T21:04:00.002-05:00

Ten things in my family room that should not be:

10. Clothes. My family of nudists like to disrobe in front of the TV.

9. Dishes. In spite of my best efforts, Daddy insists on eating on the couch. And Owen must monkey-see monkey-do.

8. Fridge magnets. Owen has discovered that they stick to the fireplace.

7. Owen's stroller. Not the one the boys ride in, technically I guess it's his doll Sprouty's stroller. But it was outside and has dirty wheels. Daddy didn't seem to think this was an issue when Owen asked to bring it in. Mommy wasn't around when it happened. Daddy will be cleaning the carpet.

6. Step ladder. Steve replaced a lightbulb. Steve is finished a job when it has been completed, not when all materials necessary have been cleaned up/put away. The ladder will be there until I move it, or he needs it elsewhere. (Good thing I love that man!)

5. A single, forgotten Christmas ornament. (Hmm, that reminds me, the mistletoe is still hanging in the front hall. Maybe that ladder will be getting out of here sooner than I thought!)

4. Teacher stuff. Steve has an office, but he likes to mark in front of the TV.

3. Nail stuff. Not that my nails are even worth manicuring these days, but should they magically grow over the course of a commercial break, I am ready to polish them up!

2. Too many ugly candles. We had a power outage a few weeks ago, and took the opportunity to light a bunch of candles that don't usually see the outside of a closet. Why are they still on the mantle? Why??

1. Me. Why am I not in bed? After a week of sickness and not enough sleep, you'd think I'd crash, but it's nice to have some quiet me-time, even if I am exhausted. Plus, I love you internets so much, I couldn't skip another List of Ten, so you benefit. But that's it, I'm going. G'night!

My Kids Are Cute!

2009-02-19T21:56:00.003-05:00

I kept Owen home from the babysitters today. He's better, no more fever, and seems to be mostly back to himself, but you never know. (Okay, what kind of fever just comes on at bedtime? It was a horrible night, Owen was restless, Jake was restless, therefore Mommy was restless. I'm so tired. Why am I not in bed??)

We did, however, go to the grocery store. We needed milk, and a few other odds and ends. I was very pleased with Owen. Often, when a stranger starts talking to him, he'll play shy, or yell "NO!" at them. But he had a lovely conversation with the checkout girl. To wit:

Check Out Girl: And how are you today?

Owen: (smiles shyly) Good. (pause.) We ran out of SYRUP!

COG: Oh! Well, that's not good.

O: We had to buy some more at the store.

COG: What sorts of things do you like to put syrup on? (Uh oh, I'm thinking, a question. Yelling is sure to follow...)

O: French toast! It's delicious!

COG: (obviously smitten with my son at this point) How old are you?

O: Two.

COG: Is that your little brother or sister in there? (Jake was in the bucket, facing away from her).

O: My baby brother. He's Baby Jakey!

COG: Do you help take care of him?

O: Yes. I love my baby brother! (At this point, I'm wondering just how high the fever was last night, because this charming little gent is NOT the usual public facade of my son!)

COG: You have a good day now, okay?

O: Okay! Thank you! Bye!

Seriously, that is the first Owen conversation with a stranger that did not degerate into Owen just yelling "NO TALKING ME!" at them. It was a milestone, and Mommy made much of Owen and how nice he was to the nice girl, and how proud mommy was of his nice conversation all the way home. (There may also have been M&Ms involved. Nothing like a little positive re-inforcement!)

Jake is also very cute these days. He claps his hands. He waves, but in his own v-e-r-y subtle way. He holds up a hand, fingers splayed, and only waves the thumb. It took me a while to figure out that's what he was doing. Finally, I've actually been doing a small bit of sign language with Jake. One of the signs we do is for "nurse". (A presenter recommended teaching this sign instead of "milk"* when breastfeeding, so that baby doesn't get frustrated when they ask for "milk" once they are weaned and they no longer get the breast, but actual milk.)

The sign I learned for "nurse" is to brush your hand down your chest just above your breast (fingers held together, palm in towards you - picture it like brushing the milk down to your breast... um, from your shoulder, I suppose.) Anyway, Jake has started signing when he wants to nurse! Except, again, it took me a little bit to figure it out, because he doesn't brush so much as tap, and he doesn't do it to himself, he does it to me! He'll reach out and tap my chest, just where I do it when I'm signing. Clever monkey! And now even Steve knows that when he's holding Jake, and Jake starts pounding on his chest, it's time to hand him off to Mommy for something to eat. :)

* Squeezing your fist, reminscient of milking a cow. Another reason I'm not too keen on this sign for nursing! :)

Are You Kidding Me?

2009-02-18T22:04:00.002-05:00

Jake is well. Owen is sick. Jake hasn't thrown up in over 24 hours, so I'm pretty sure he's on the mend. (Messy diapers continue, but those I can handle.) Owen, on the other hand, has spiked a mystery fever. Halfway through his swimming lesson tonight, he started shivering, and he had a terrible chill. By the time we got home and got him into bed, he was burning up. So, kiddie Tylenol ("the white kind, Mommy, not the cherry!") and lots of water, and hopefully he'll feel better in the morning. I guess he's not going to the babysitter tomorrow, regardless, which means I won't get in the naps I was counting on with Jake to start to recover from some missed sleep. Sigh. Such is life. Something pretty good must be just around the corner!!

Mystery Plague

2009-02-17T21:00:00.003-05:00

Great return on me, hmmm? Well, I am just chock-full (is that hyphenated?) of excuses. Let's say that I had walking pneumonia (well, probably not, since it's clearing up without antibiotics, but how weird was it to roll over in bed and hear my lungs groan? Steve thought my stomach was always rumbling - it was my LUNGS creaking away! That's what I get for running with a cold. As of today, no more lung-grumbling, no more fatigue, lots of coughing, sounding worse and feeling better than I have in days.) So, lots of extra sleep every chance I had, not much time for writing. And then, Jake.

Hoo boy. He is the happiest sick kid ever, since well, Owen. Jake's been throwing up since Saturday night. That's right, Happy Valentine's Day, Mommy. (He made it himself. Ew.) I put him to bed, and a few hours later, heard his hungry cry. Went in to get him, and put my hand in a puddle when I went to pick him up - yuck! Poor babe - even had puke in his ear! He wasn't upset, until I turned on the light to change his pjs and sheet. (Poor Steve was sound asleep in Owen's room, I had to go in and wake him for his help.) A few hours later, same thing. And then on and off throughout the weekend. No fever, no other symptoms at all - still happy, still playing, still full of energy, just once in a while, when his tummy was full, bleah.

Jake's on solids now, but I hadn't introduced anything new this past week. He had rice cereal and peas/carrots mush for dinner on Saturday, again, nothing new, so I don't think it was food, but I haven't given him any more solids yet. He's been back to just breastfeeding, and as long as I keep the feeds small, he's fine. But when he eats a lot, he's sick. Because of no other symptoms, I didn't call the doctor's office until today. Yesterday he was only sick once, so I said that if he was through the night without getting sick, that would be it. Four o'clock in the morning, I go in to feed him, and am dozing in the rocking chair. I'm not paying attention to how much he's eating (I'm barely even aware that I'm in the room, actually) until he throws up all over me. Yuck.

Today I talked to the doctor's office. I really didn't want to take him in - he was keeping some breastmilk down, having lots of wet and dirty diapers, and really, except for the occasional episode of vomiting, was his normal, happy self. But I have that little voice that lurks in the back of every mom's head, telling me, What if it IS something? What if something turns out to be horribly wrong with the baby, and then I become that cautionary tale about the mom who's baby was throwing up for THREE DAYS and she never even thought to call the doctor....

Anyway, I'm glad I called, because I feel better. They were more than willing to see him right away today, but I decided to give him another 24 hours. Apparently there's a flu bug going around. Owen and I both had the flu shot - I am 100% positive that what I've had the past few days is NOT flu, and Owen's fine. Steve's fine too, no thanks to the flu shot, but I'm inclined to think this is what Jake has. And the doctor's assistant reminded me that the first time Owen was sick, he was perfectly happy too, except for the throwing up. (I remembered that, but it's nice that THEY remembered too!) Anyway, they're happy to see us tomorrow too if I call and need to come in, but Jake's been fine today (two runny, messy diapers, but that could be just being back on straight breastmilk again too). If he makes it through the night too, I'll feel relieved and like we're definitely over this. Cross your fingers for us!

p.s. Cautionary tale: Saturday during the day, before any sign of sickness, I was changing a diaper with a tiny poop inside. While I was changing him, Mr. Play-Doh Fun Factory decided to give a gift that kept on giving! He kept trying to poop on me, and let's say that I went through a clean diaper, a handful of wipes, and eventually just had to let the change pad catch the end of things. I told him that was the most disgusting thing he had done to me in his entire life. Less than 12 hours later the kid throws up on me. Make of that what you will.

Here I Am

2009-02-10T15:13:00.005-05:00

I know you all were wondering where I was. (And that none of you could sleep at night, wondering what you possibly missed on the latest List of 10.) We've been very busy the last little bit. Last Thursday evening we took the boys to see Bob the Builder at Centre in the Square. (Christmas gift from Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sue). Owen LOVED it. (Jake was happy watching all the other kids.) Owen was mesmerized by the entire show, a little scared by the "trash monster", and talked NON-STOP about it for days afterwards. Still this morning, on the way to daycare, he asked me in the Jeep, "Mommy, please tell the story of Lofty's not the trash monster?"

Then Friday I took the boys to Barrie for my mom and grandma's birthdays over the weekend. We had lots of fun, visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, Great-Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Tina and Uncle Doug, and Uncle Geoff and Auntie Tania. Owen loved having so many people to play with, and he especially loved Grandma's chocolate ice-cream cake. It was Winterfest in Barrie, so we took the boys down to the lakeshore for some fun. Owen went in the ice maze, went down the snow slide, and had his first ever pony ride. Mommy forgot the camera of course, but Grandma brought hers, so I will add pics when I receive them. (And I promise to get the software loaded for my new camera this week, so I can add the birthday dinner pics I took, and send those around.)

Speaking of photos, I finally have some to share. I finally got some professional shots done of Jake. He's adorable, and they turned our really well. Here are some sample proofs, they're from Zelia Bester Photography Studios:

Oh Baby!

2009-02-03T13:04:00.004-05:00

Jake and I just got back from our Fit Babies fitness class. In spite of the name, Jake is not working off his lovely baby chub, it's all about mommy. (Fit Babies is the class for mommies, Fit Bellies is the class for preggos.) Our instructor, Leigh, mentioned that she has room in her Monday morning session that is starting next week, so I just thought I'd give her a bit of a plug here. (Not that I have a big enough audience for that to make a difference, but I'm really enjoying this class, and I really like Leigh, so I'm plugging away anyway.)

We're three classes into this session (I've done a fourth class, a "sample" one before Christmas) and I'm loving it. Leigh is a great instructor. She's a mom herself, and after a sedentary first pregnancy, and still having the "baby weight" three years after the birth of her son, she got fit, got active, became a fitness instructor herself, and started Oh Baby Fitness. She maintained her fitness level through the birth of her daughter, and is helping other mommies.

The class is great. She works us pretty hard. We start with cardio, and she always shows a few different intensity options (there are moms with TINY babies in our class. I'm talking 6 weeks old when we started! Those girls are awesome. I, on the other hand, have no excuse at 7 months postpartum, and try to keep up at the highest intensity. I certainly have the highest intensity of colour in my face during the class!) For the cardio session, the babies chill on mats, playing with their toys. The really little ones doze in their car seats. Some of the older babies are moving, and we all keep an eye out for them, as they can sometimes get underfoot. It's a bit crazy, but so FUN! And like Stars and Strollers, everyone has a baby, so no one cares if there's some crying, or if you have to stop to soothe or feed your little one.

After cardio, we do some "weights". Usually by this point, the babies are ready to be picked up, so we use them as our weights. Jake was at the doctor yesterday for his shots, and he weighs 18 pounds. Big boy! So this is fun. We hold the babies for squats and lunges, and do bicep curls and shoulder lifts with them. Leigh is really good at making sure everyone keeps proper form, even with a baby in our arms.

Finally, we do some work down on the mats. We get in a big circle, alternating mommies and babies on mats, for some leg lifts and ab work, ending with stretching. When we're done, everyone grabs a snack, several of us are usually feeding by that point, and we stay in the circle for a discussion. We've had a guest speaker from Talking Hands talk about infant sign language, last week we discussed daycare options (those of us with older kids did most of the talking about what is out there locally) and this week we talked about how life has changed. I think next week our topic is postpartum bodies - how THOSE have changed. Happily, this postpartum body is starting to make me smile again. I've still got a way to go before I can fit into all my lovely work clothes, but I'm feeling strong and capable these days, which is great.

Jake has done really well for the classes. In fact, the first class we tried out, he slept through most of it! This class starts at 10:15, which is usually his morning nap time. We drop Owen at Patty's house a little later than normal, then head to the gym for 10. This give me time to get him settled and nurse before class starts. He naps in the car while we do the running around, but won't nap in class. Luckily for me, we've always been in the "cool down" portion of the cardio before he's lost it and needed to be picked up, so I've been able to "cool down" with him in my arms. He loves to laugh in my face as I'm lifting him, and loves to snuggle in to my chest for squats, so after those cuddles, he's quite happy to sit right next to me on the mat for the end. Not sure how things will go once he starts moving, but so far, so good!

So, if you're interested in a great mommy workout that's fun and baby-friendly, I highly recommend Leigh and Oh Baby Fitness. (Um, I'd probably recommend her for a pre-natal workout too, but I have no direct experience with those.) And if you're not in KW, but you're a mommy who thinks this class sounds like a good idea, google "Post Natal Fitness" for your city - chances are, there's a similar type of class near you. (Although you won't have as great an instructor as I do. Just kidding!)

So there was this big sporting event on last night...

2009-02-02T07:57:00.003-05:00

Best part of last night's Superbowl Halftime show?

Clarence plays a mean sax, but I've got a fever, and the only prescription is... MORE COWBELL!

'Nough said.

YES!

2009-02-01T17:08:00.004-05:00

Today I managed to get in a run. And not just any run, a GREAT run. Jake and I did 5K, outside. Hills. I felt STRONG. It's a good feeling. My first outdoor run since before Christmas, and as sloppy as it is out there, I felt great the whole way. And is it ever sloppy out - we're having a slight thaw, mostly because of how sunny it was today. Which means lots of melting, but the drifts are all so high and come so far into the roads, the storm drains are all still covered. Which means HUGE puddles. (Yes, I run on the road in the winter. People around here are good at clearing their sidewalks, but not everyone can get them clear down to concrete every time, and it doesn't take much to slip. Also, with the drifts as high as they are, not everyone on a corner has cleared out to the street, so I can't follow my regular routes. So I run in the road. I run facing traffic, I wear my day-glo safety vest, and I always check over my shoulder before going around parked cars. I also make eye contact with all drivers headed my way. I've been surprised - most people who refuse to even move over a bit or even slow down seem to be women with kids in the back. Most people who slow up and give me extra space also give me a huge smile. I'm guessing these are the other people I tend to see running in the neighbourhood.)

Where was I? Oh yes. Huge puddles. So my feet got very wet, very fast. But the thing I had the most trouble with were the ice/snow chunks. Lots of people were taking advantage of the slight thaw to chip up the last bit of snow/ice covering their driveways/sidewalks to get them completely clear. However, lots of these people chose to push this heavy stuff out into the road, instead of trying to throw it up onto the 8 foot snowbanks (not that I blame them). Now, I LOVE my jogging stroller. It handles like a dream, through snow, slush, dirt, gravel, and puddles. But not through ice chunks. It's light (as a jogging stroller should be) and easily gets misdirected by these huge chunks, especially when I'm only guiding it with one hand. I got hung up twice, when oncoming traffic made me hug the snowbanks as much as possible, and the chunks directed my tires into the snowbank. Happily Jake slept through the slight jar both times, but I did my best to steer clear of the piles of chunks whenever possible.

The best part about a day with a great run in it? Aside from my running high, I want the good feeling to last, so I want to eat better. It's Superbowl Sunday, and it would have been easy to pick up all kinds of goodies in the name of the game. Steve requested Timmy's this morning, and I obliged him. He's been feeling pretty under the weather, so I've done my best today to keep the kids occupied. I took the boys to Timmy's, but I stuck to just my coffee-with-milk, no treats for me. And after dinner, I took Owen to the store for ice cream. Brought home strawberry and chocolate, as per his instructions. Owen and daddy happily had ice cream for their Superbowl treat, but I made myself take a long look at the nutrition information on the labels, and passed. I didn't work this hard today to blow it all on one bowl of Haagen-Das. This needs to be my mindset - I can't reward "good behaviour" with food.

In other news, I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans as of today, which is probably what inspired me to run in the first place. Not my "skinny" size 10 jeans, but my size 12s. For a girl who's 6 foot 1, size 12 is awesome. But I'm coming for those 10s!

Friday's List of Ten IV

2009-01-30T22:07:00.003-05:00

Ten songs I like to run to:

10. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix

9. Before He Cheats, Carrie Underwood

8. Somebody Told Me, The Killers

7. Hung Up, Madonna

6. Joker and the Thief, Wolfmother

5. Numb/Encore, Jay-Z & Linkin Park

4. American Psycho, Treble Charger

3. Thrash Unreal, Against Me

2. Big Casino, Jimmy Eat World

1. What You Waiting For? Gwen Stefani

Why I Am So Tired?

2009-01-29T14:06:00.006-05:00

(Edited to say I had originally titled this post "Why Am I So Tired?" and then realized that I know why I'm tired, so changed it to "Why I Am So Tired". I forgot to remove the question mark, but I think I'm going to leave it. It's a much better indication of my current state of mind.)
For the past few nights, Jake has only been waking up to eat once. In theory, that means that I go to sleep, wake up once to feed him, and go back to sleep until ~~Steve's alarm goes off~~ Owen sees a Wake-Up 7. (What, you're not familiar with the Wake-Up 7? Owen has a digital clock in his room, and he knows that he has to stay in bed until he sees the Wake-Up 7. If he wakes up before then, he's supposed to "snuggle Yellow Bear and go back to sleep", which he actually does. I've been in Jake's room, and heard Owen stir, call out "Yellow Bear? Yellow Bear?" and then settle when he finds his friend in the covers. He knows that the Wake-Up 7 is the one to the left of the ":", as opposed to the Not-A-Wake-Up 7, which shows up every ten minutes. It's a good system, and has been working for us for several months now. )

I'm not staying asleep though. I wake up several times a night, not just sort-of awake, but fully was-that-the-baby-I'd-better-wake-up-more-and-listen-in-case-it-was awake. I haven't had any trouble falling back to sleep, but I'm finding my rest is way more disturbed then it was when Jake was eating 3 (or more, hello growth spurts!) times through the night. I'm waking up far more often, it seems, NOT hearing the baby, then I did when I heard him.

I am lucky. When Jake does wake up, he fusses, I feed, and he goes right back to sleep. The whole thing takes 15 minutes at the absolute maximum, and that's usually because I've started dozing in the rocking chair, and haven't even noticed he's done eating until he's fallen off. (He hasn't pooped at night since he was about 2 months old, and that's when I quit nighttime diaper changes, which made things easier too.) He's been a much better sleeper than Owen, falling asleep on his own in the crib (no endless bouncing on the yoga ball, etc. like we did with Owen) and I know I'm lucky. I have girlfriends whose babies wake up fussy, and then STAY awake. For hours. So I really have nothing to complain about.

I remember this transition when Owen was figuring out sleeping through the night. Eventually, my body will figure out that yes, we are going to regularly stay asleep for more than 3 hours at a stretch. But until then, I guess this will be my Mombie phase with Jake. Of course, compared to that, this is pretty easy. It's Mombie Lite. (Now please excuse me while I run to my dining room and bang the heck out of my table with my fist.)

Try a Tri, 2007

2009-01-28T09:27:00.007-05:00

Here is the note I wrote in Facebook back when I did my Try-a-Tri, at the end of the summer of 2007. (Owen was 14 months old, and I was just about to get pregnant with Jake). Can't wait to try it again this summer, with all 3 of my boys to cheer me on!

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So, as you can see from my pics, the Try-a-Tri was this past weekend. My first ever Triathlon, and even though it was just the baby one, I am still just as proud of myself for doing it as if it had been the Ironman. :)

We couldn't have asked for a better day, the weather was sunny, not too humid, and hot enough to be comfy coming out of the lake after the swim. The total distances were to swim 375 metres, bike 10 km, and then run 2.5 km. I was feeling a little nervous - I knew I would finish, but didn't know how my knee would hold up, since it had been giving me some trouble the past few weeks. I hardly did any training at all the last two weeks leading up, opting instead to rest my knee.

The day of, Valerie came to pick me up (after a brief mishap where she nearly lost her bike on the expressway!) and we headed out to the Conservation area. We found the transition area easily and racked our bikes, then went to sign in and gather our freebies. It was a little overwhelming to see everything there, and I was nervous, but pumped. We got our numbers, our hot-pink bathing caps, our timing chips, and then we got marked. The write your number on your arm, and your age on the back of your calf. I guess the logic is that if you're competitive, you can identify people in your age group to pass them? We were joking with some other girls that rather than having to walk around with our age written on us, they should write how many kids we have, and how old they are!

We laid out all our gear on our towels next to our bikes, shoes and socks neatly lined up for easy put-onability (that is too a word!), and did a brief warm-up run. Before we knew it, Val's entourage had arrived, and she got to give her little girl Sadie a quick hug before the race. We grabbed our goggles and headed down to the lake, keeping an eye out for my family on the way down. We started the swim in several waves, and our wave was heading out at 6 minutes after 1. I slithered into my wetsuit, and tucked my hair up into my cap. Just as we were wading into the water, I saw them: Steve, Owen and my parents had arrived to cheer me on! Yay!

Standing at the start was an incredible feeling - with all the other women in our category, all laughing and joking about how we all just hoped to finish vertically! Then, the start! The swim was crazy. Legs, arms, thrashing and splashing, I have never felt so crowded since the mosh pit at EdgeFest a long number of years ago! I was glad I was wearing my wetsuit - the little bit of added buoyancy gave me the extra confidence to stay calm and "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming swimming..." The turns around the buoys were especially crowded, and I swear I didn't even swim around the first one, just rode the crush of bodies around it.

As we headed back to shore, I got my first boost of confidence: passing some lighter-coloured bathing caps that were parts of the groups that had left before us. We got to shore, and as I was wading out of the water, I ripped down the zipper on my wetsuit, and had it down around my waist before I even got out of the lake. Swim cap and goggles came off next - my mom didn't even catch me with the camera at this point, because she was looking for wetsuits! Luckily, Val's group caught a few shots (not that they're flattering or anything, but still, glad to have the memory captured, thanks Ian or Ian's parents!)

Of course, when they tell you the distances, they don't mention the HUGE hill you have to run up from the lake back to the transition area. Barefoot. With jelly post-swim legs! But of course, we all did it, and then it was time for the first transition. I ripped off my wetsuit, leaving it in a spent, rubbery pile where it fell, grabbed my sunglasses and helmet, pulled on socks and shoes, clipped on my number, and grabbed my bike. Ran my bike over to the road, crossed the "On Bike" line, and hopped on. The bike was probably the least-strenuous part of the race, because of the opportunity to catch your breath on the downhill portions, even while you're still pedalling like mad. And while I was passed a few times, I passed my share of people too, which felt good. My mountain bike was obviously not the conveyance of choice, but actually, I was fairly happy with how I did. My only preference would have been for a different style of handlebars - it's way too hard to try and stay bent over to maintain a low profile with your hands spread out across mountain bike handlebars.

I got to get in a few sips of water on the bike too, which really helped. Before you knew it, you hit the turnaround, and headed back, and before you knew it again, everyone was skidding on the brakes, to avoid everyone else stopping at the "Bike Off" line. I didn't see it, but my dad saw a few people get assessed a penalty and made to go back across the line because they rode over it. Glad that wasn't me, although I did have to lock up my tires to avoid running into the guy in front of me, who was doing the same thing to avoid the guy in front of him!

The transition from bike to run was easy - rack the bike, throw down my helmet, and grab my ballcap (I can't stand to run with sun on my face!) That run was the longest 2.5 km I've ever run. I'm not ashamed to say that I walked on a few of the uphills, but since I was doing them at a fast walk (and passed other walkers, thanks to my long legs!) I don't think it hurt me too much. A little more disheartening was the little boy, about 7 or 8 years old, who was running along with his dad. Or I should say, running ahead of his dad, then back to his dad to encourage him along, then ahead again, then back again... this little guy did the whole run portion with his dad! The run was where I was really glad to have my cheering section along - they helped me pick it up. At one point, I heard Steve's voice from way far away - I could feel the energy flowing back into my legs from that! And as it turned out, I had a little bit left to sprint at the end. Turns out it was a good thing - I ended up finishing in the top 20 for my age group, and no, I wasn't 20th! I was 19th, I beat the girl who ended up 20th by just 2 seconds!

I could not be happier with my finish. I was hoping to come in around the hour mark, and felt I'd be SOOO happy with that. I did it in 56 minutes, which was awesome. Overall, I was 186 out of 348 participants! My best segment was actually the swimming. For that portion of the race, I was 139 out of 348, which is fantastic. You can see my results at (omitted).

Valerie did a great job too, finishing in just over an hour, 1:01! She also had her best performance in the swim, which really is an accomplishment, since that seems to be the hardest part for a lot of people. And she did the run without stopping to walk! So we're both feeling like Super Mamas these days. Especially considering that not only do we both have 14 month old babies, but it's not like we were doing anything like this before we had the babies either. I could not have done it without Valerie, knowing that she was out there training too, doing those hated bricks, having good days, and the "days of doubt". Not to mention all the advice she had from friends who had raced before! Thanks Val! :)

So, my first Triathlon attempt was a rousing success. I would definitely do it again, and maybe even eventually attempt the "Sprint Triathlon", which is a little longer, but still not quite full length. Who knows when that will be, but I really enjoyed myself, and can't wait to do it again. I'd like my next challenge to be the Oktoberfest 10 K, but we'll see how my knee is feeling over the next few weeks before I make a decision. In the meantime, I'm feeling very happy with what we've accomplished, and can't wait for Owen to be old enough to be cheering along with all the other little ones I saw yelling their little hearts out for Mommy or Daddy!

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postscript: I was too busy throwing up (thanks Jake!) to do the Oktoberfest 10K that year, and no where near 10K after Jake had been born this past year. Oktoberfest 10K in 2009!

Love you too, kid.

2009-01-27T20:49:00.003-05:00

For Christmas, I was the happy recipient of Mario Kart for my Wii. (Steve wanted to get me a Wii Fit, but for some reason, he refuses to do any Christmas shopping until he's done school and on holidays. This year, that left him with at least one weekend in which to shop. I did lots better than the year school got out on the 23rd - that year, I got a stocking filled with Stag Shop goodies. Fun, but you know, not really what I want to share with others when the topic of "what I got for Christmas" comes up! Anyway, birthday is in March and Wii Fit will be my gift.)

Happily, Owen enjoys watching Mario Kart racing. It's a lot more fun than Treehouse! Unfortunately for Owen, daddy is a much better racer than mommy, so when he watches me he gets a little frustrated. Tonight he was feeling extra cuddly, and was snuggled up next to me while I played. I was the Princess (he likes to select our characters. I'm always the Princess. Steve is usually the Koopa Troopa. Make of that what you will.) He is so funny, cheering me on. "Look out for the caterpillars, Mommy!" he yells. "Hang on, little bananas!" he says as I trail some "weapons" behind my player. "Oh Mommy, you missed the treat box." "Mommy, I wish you wouldn't fall in the lava."

I was playing a series of races I haven't done much of, and wasn't doing well at all. With every bad move, he'd sigh, snuggle closer and tell me "I love you, Mommy." I was feeling pretty good about myself, even if I was playing horribly. Pretty good, that is, until the end of the game, when I ended up coming in fourth, and not being awarded any of the "Piston cups", as he calls them.

"Well, I didn't win, but I think fourth place is still pretty good, what do you think?" I asked him. He looks up at me with his cherubic little face, and says: "Maybe Daddy should race now."

Friday's List of Ten III

2009-01-23T19:28:00.002-05:00

Ten things I have fixed with the superglue I paid $0.88 for just before Christmas:

10. Christmas ornament (big surprise!)

9. Peter Sam's funnel (One of Owen's engines).

8. The dial on the Crock Pot.

7. The nobbly-thing on the teapot lid that keeps the lid from falling off the pot when you pour tea. (Broke when the teapot leapt, kamikaze-style, from the cupboard one afternoon during that week of really cold weather. I think it had had all the boiling water it could take. I caught the pot, but the lid landed on the tiles.) (Also, does this nobby thing have a name?)

6. The barrel car. (Another one of Owen's train accessories).

5. Mater's tow cables. (Owen's hotwheels-sized Mater is diecast, but the tow rigging is plastic. After having it pop off several times, glue to the rescue!)

4. The lid (down) on Jake's piano. (Seriously, this toy needs a handle! The lid is just pegged on, and Owen lifts it off every time he goes to move it.)

3. A birthday card. (This wasn't "fix" so much as "make", but my gluestick was dried up!)

2. Wooden picture frame (that had cracked from the dryness of our old house).

1. Owen's @#$%! plastic train track. (Okay, I haven't done this yet, but as soon as I get a scrap piece of plywood, I will be. Who buys a two-year old a snap-together plastic engine rollercoaster that unsnaps if you look at it wrong?? I'm gluing the whole thing together, and then to the piece of wood.)

Because superglue is all about peace of mind. :) (Heh, at first I typed "of ming". Funny, because you know, Ming.)

Ow, ow, OW!

2009-01-22T15:00:00.004-05:00

It's the good kind of sore, but owie! Getting back in shape is never fun. I totally thought I'd be up for the Refridge-Eighter in February, but I'm just not getting back up to 8K in time. I'm sitting solidly at 4, and you know what? I'm okay with that.

I'm really only getting in one good run a week. Tuesdays Jake and I are doing Mommy and Me aerobics, Wednesdays is StrollerFit (where we run, but not exclusively) and Thursdays is when I'm at the track. Saturdays I'm trying to get in an outdoor run, but with both boys having colds, a mommy who gets up a million times a night is a mommy who opts for the nap instead of the run. (Even though I KNOW I'll feel groggy after the nap, and awesome after the run. But I'm all about living in the present. And the here-and-now is that a nap will feel better than getting on my shoes.)

And in the evenings, if there hasn't been a run or a fitness class in my day, I'm getting my 90's on with Billy Blanks and Tae-Bo. (Did you know that TAE-BO also stands for Total Awareness and Excellent Body Obedience? Just one of the many inspiring things I've learned from Billy while paying attention to his patter. I have to say, out of all the workout videos I've ever had, I love Billy the best. He makes mistakes, which I LOVE, since it makes him human. And I've never felt so cheered on in something. And I love his relationship with daughter Shellie. They have so much fun. Seriously, Tae-Bo - for a workout that DOESN'T make you feel inadequate!)

So, that's the fitness schedule for the next little bit. As weather picks up, so will running. And I'm VERY excited to be able to get my bike out this year, since by then, Jake will be big enough for the trailer. Can't wait to see how Owen and Jake do together in the bike trailer for rides. (Mental note: must get helmet for Jake.) Valerie and I are talking about training for a Triathlon again. (Did I post that here or on Facebook? We did a Try-a-Tri when Owen and Sadie were 14 months old: 375m swim, 10K bike, 2.5K run. It was awesome! I was top 20 for my age group.) I am determined to get back into my nice work clothes again, so even though it hurts, right now, I'm am relishing the reminder from muscles that have gotten little use over the past few months.

Happy Inauguration Day!

2009-01-20T14:20:00.007-05:00

Today, just after noon, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Historic? Well, yes, I guess if you're the first-of-anything kind of president, you're assured a place in the history books by default. Personally, I'm hoping he makes it for more than that. Happy day? I sincerely hope so. He has four years in which to try and live up to the promise of this day. Am I pleased that he is the new U.S. president? Yes. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised when our neighbours to the south voted in their first African-American president. But to tell the truth, I would have been happy with any Democratic president, after George W. Democrats seeming to be about as "left" as those south of the 49th get, and I'm a little more left than centre myself.

But talk about a weight on your shoulders! I sincerely hope that President Obama has a great routine for relieving stress, because whoa! Commentators everywhere are pinning the hopes of the free world on this poor guy! Let him worry about solving some of the messes in his own country, and then let him shoulder Atlas' burden, okay? There has been some talk in the local media (I haven't heard any U.S. media on the topic of Obama at all, so I don't know) about whether Obama will get a little more leeway than some presidents in his performance in the first little bit, since so many people have such high hopes for him. Um, I'm pretty sure that when a guy has so many hopes pinned on him that you can't tell what colour suit he's wearing, it's not most people's nature to cut him slack. Quite the opposite, in my opinion. But I don't think I've ever followed a political messiah before, so YMMV.

When the clock struck noon, the commentator I was listening to (via radio, Jake and I were in the Jeep. I can only assume that Owen was raptly watching this "defining moment of a generation", as one put it, at daycare) quietly mentioned the fact that although he had not yet taken the oath of office, Barack Obama was now officially the President. I liked that. In Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon, there is a line that "God, the law, and the sun make a king, not the coronation", and I liked thinking that the sun makes a President - for better or worse, the American people made their choice, and now it's in greater hands. Personally, I think it was a very good choice, but that we won't know for four years how historic a choice it was. I'm wishing President Obama well, (and praying that he makes it safely through his four years!)

Now, if only we knew who was going to be in charge up here to welcome him on his first official foreign visit! Who knows who's going to be dealing with the messes in this country? I can only guarantee this: it won't be someone half as charismatic!

We're on the move! (Nearly)

2009-01-19T21:03:00.006-05:00

Backflips, Tick-Tock Clock, Scooting and the Crowd Dive: these are currently Jake's patented moves. At six months old, my clever little lad has all ready mastered rudimentary geometry and knows that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Therefore, if something interesting (or potentially interesting, read: remotely involving Owen) is going on behind him, rather than tediously turning his head in a circle, Jake will throw himself backwards to look at upside down. Awkward when he's in your arms, mildly alarming when he's in the Bumbo, and hilarious when he's sitting up on his own. We're convinced it's only a matter of time before he executes a true backflip.

Tick-Tock Clock has been happening for some time. Put Jake down on his back, with his head at 12 o'clock, and it will definitely not still be 12 o'clock when you come back. Although he's a geometry genius, he has no awareness of the 24 hour clock, so I'm unable to keep track of his rotations. But I'm sure he's zoomed right through noon/midnight a few times.

Scooting is a little more self-explanatory. Put Jake down on his front, and he'll try his hardest to get up on all fours. He'll do a little Superman - arms and legs all in the air, looks a little like he's swimming. He'll get his bum up, but without arm support (picture yoga's Downward Dog, but on his face, instead of his hands). He'll also push way, way up on his arms, grinning at all and sundry (yoga Cobra). The various combinations of these moves serve to push him backwards. Owen moved backwards right before he finally figured out how to go frontwards, so we're pretty sure that's Jake's next step too. Only time will tell if he'll pick up Owen's trick of crawling on all fours on the carpet, and two hands, one knee, and one foot (for improved traction!) on the ceramic and hardwood.

Finally, the Crowd Dive. Jake loves to sit on the couch, and Owen loves to have him sit next to him. They're quite cute. But demonstrating again that whole shortest-distance-between-two-points understanding, Jake will often see something of interest on the floor, or on the ottoman, or on the other couch, and dive for it. Like a performer diving off the stage trusts his loyal fans to catch him and bear him up, he blindly trusts that either his dad or I am close enough to grab him. (He's also tried this from our laps - you have to be quick with this kid!) Geometry he's got. Physics and the laws of gravity we're working on.

On a completely unrelated note: for anyone out there who may have left their health-friendly stainless-steel waterbottle out in their Jeep during this recent spate of cold weather, causing it to freeze solid, and popping the concave bottom out into a convex, no-longer-capable-of-holding-the-bottle-in-an-upright position, you will be relieved to know that yes, it will go back to normal if you just thaw it out, and bash on the bottom a bit with a hammer. Just in case you were wondering.

Friday's List of Ten II

2009-01-16T14:00:00.003-05:00

Ten things I miss:

10. Buffy. I miss this show. I have DVDs, but it's not the same thing. I already know they got the mustard out.

9. Shamrock shakes. Lion, lamb, who cares as long as March gets here soon so I can get me some minty-flavoured goodness!

8. My short, strawberry blonde hair. I enjoyed this look, but I could never pull it off today (not thin enough for the short do.) Also, way too much maintenance to handle these days.

7. Scrabble at the Bomber. Those were the days: endless free time, 50 and bar lime, sun on the patio, and me, using the excuse "Who's the English major here? Me or you?" to cheat and win.

6. Our dog, Paw. He was so good with kids, I would have loved to see him with the boys. And it was so nice to have a big Rottie to cuddle by the fire when the weather was cold! (This is as maudlin as I'm going to get - I'm a sappy enough mess these days without actually getting into deceased family/friends that I miss. Let's just skip no. 5 and let it stand for all of them, without my having to get into it.)

4. My teenage metabolism. Oh, to be able to eat whatever I wanted, and not work out, and still look good. I only have to urge to tell teenagers that "these are the best years of your life!" when I see them in the food court.

3. Our first home. I do NOT miss the leaking roof and foundation, but we did a lot of work there to fix it up. There were a lot of good times there, and I'm sad it got torn down, and no one is enjoying it anymore.

2. Bathroom privacy. Steve and I are not an "open door" couple. (Just one of the ways we keep the romance alive after 11 years, I guess.) But that doesn't cut it for Owen. Even if I do lock the door, can it really be considered privacy if there's a toddler screaming and banging to be let in?

1. And on the note of my boys, the number one thing I miss is waking myself up. I don't miss sleep, I'm not that sleep deprived. But it is a rare occasion when I wake up on my own, instead of being woken up. If it's not Jake, it's Owen. If it's not Owen, it's Steve's alarm. I miss waking up feeling rested, instead of feeling a surge of adrenalin. Nothing says "fight or flight" like a yell in the night, even after all this time.

I love my mittens!

2009-01-15T14:37:00.005-05:00

It is very cold today. Freeze your @$$ off cold! So cold that I made Owen wear his snowpants to the babysitters, even though I know they won't be going out to play today. (We usually just bring them along, as I don't usually go in for that early-morning wrestling if I don't have to. All together now: "No want to wear my snowpants, Mommy! No THANK YOU!")

And poor Jake was bundled in his snowsuit, which is too short, but thankfully has feet flaps that allow him to still wear it, with his feet and ankles sticking out. (Which I then wrap in warm, fleecy booties and a blanky. We should all be so comfy!) Cold, cold, cold. And of course, I too bundled up, with warm coat, warm hat, warm and toasty (but a pain to lace up!) boots (which I wear, because there is absolutely no chance of me slipping in a parking lot while carrying the boy/s. Seriously, my boots are made by Caterpillar. Hey, if it's good enough for landfill equipment, it's good enough for me!) and finally, my snuggy mittens.

Originally, these mittens were a stocking stuffer for Steve a few Christmases back, but he never really got into wearing them, so I've reclaimed them. They're the style where they're kind of like gloves with the fingers cut off, and then mitten flaps that cover the tips of your fingers. If you need to, you throw the flaps back and you have the ability to do all the necessary things you do with fingers, but your hands stay warm! I have perfected the "mitt flick" that enables me to not only free my fingers from the flap (say THAT 10 times fast!) but also catch the flap on the handy velcro catch that keeps the flap out of my way.

I can buckle the kids into the car without taking off my mittens. I can push the buttons on the drive thru bank machine without taking off my mittens. I can pay-at-the-pump without taking off my mittens. I can pay for my Timmy's medium-coffee-with-milk with dimes and nickels without taking off my mittens. I can pretty much do anything without taking off my mittens!

....Unless that thing requires the use of my thumb. Then I have to take off the mittens, because alas, there is no thumb flap. While I still can use my thumb, my dexterity is limited. I'm amazed at how many things I do clumsily because I essentially have no "feeling" in my thumb while it's covered by the mitten. It's enough to make a girl thankful that she has opposable thumbs at all. :) My mittens: keeping my hands warm, AND making me stop and appreciate my higher-order functions! Love 'em!

The Food on the Bus Goes...

2009-01-14T21:19:00.006-05:00

Since there is only so much Treehouse one can watch (In The Night Garden? Honestly? I enjoyed this show much more when it was called Teletubbies! NOT!) we have taken to watching Teletoon Retro when Owen has earned some TV time before bed. Shows like Fraggle Rock, the Smurfs, and Alvin and the Chipmunks have great nostalgia value for mom and dad, and Owen likes them too.

The downside is that this channel, unlike Treehouse, runs commercials. Most of the commercials seem geared towards adults (not adult-content commercials, I know that's where you all went! I just mean they're not advertising sugary breakfast cereal or toys by Mattel). The most popular type of commercial is for World Vision/Christian Children's Fund/Plan. I forget which organization it is, but I'm sure you're familiar with the format. Sad, soulful music plays, while a photo montage of malnourished, sickly children dressed in rags tug at your heartstrings with their big eyes.

Now, I'm by no means disparaging the work that these groups do. Obviously there is a need for third world support, and these organizations need to find a way to get people to open their hearts and their wallets. That's not what this post is about. This post is about Owen's reaction to those commercials.

Once he figured out that his show really does come back on after the commercial break, (THAT was a lesson a long time coming - he would FREAK OUT at every commerical break!) Owen by and large would usually ignore them, taking the opportunity to go get a toy, play, or read a story. But the other day, something must have caught his attention, because I hear the telltale music start up, and then Owen pipes up with "Mommy, what's wrong with those children? Why those children sad?" (Any grammatical errors are his, not mine. Also: first time I've ever heard him use the word "children". He usually says "kids".)

What do you say? Luckily, I had a bit of an opening, thanks to the Christmas Stuff-a-Bus drive for the Food Bank, so I kept it simple. "Those children don't have enough food to eat," I told him, "So they are sad. Remember at Christmas, what did we do to help people who might not have enough food?" "We put food on the bus!" he says. Then: "And I get a COOKIE!" Well, yes. I'd forgotten about the cookie part. "That's right buddy," I tell him, "And that's because when we have lots of something, like food, and there are people that might not have enough, we need to..." "We SHARE with them, Mommy!" he says. Then he points at the TV. "We put some food on the bus tomorrow for those children?" he asks. Bless his heart. (The Chipmunks started ~~butchering~~ warbling some 80's hit at that point, and our chat ended there. I'm choosing to believe that my son is a budding philanthropist, and wasn't just angling for an ever-elusive cookie.)

Steve and I have talked about sponsoring a child through some program. A friend of ours runs a charity event to benefit a village in Malawi, Africa that he spent some time in, and the photos he has are heartwarming. In addition to his charity work, he sponsors a child as well. We always give to his event, but maybe it's time to do more. We'll definitely be thinking about this more in the future, and I'll be doing some research to see which group ensures the greatest dollar amount of your donation actually gets to a child/village. (I hate those horror stories of 90% of every dollar going to "administrative costs"....) We talk often about how blessed we are to have our two healthy boys, and to be able to provide them with everything they need, and not have to worry about money. In the meantime, the next time we're at the grocery store, we'll be picking up something extra for Owen to put in the local Food Bank donation bin.

Friday's List of Ten

2009-01-09T18:41:00.003-05:00

Ten reasons why I love it when Steve falls asleep in Owen's room:

10. He's in there because he's the one who put Owen to bed.

9. If Owen wakes up, he doesn't call for Mommy, because Daddy is right there.

8. Bed all to myself!

7. Any snoring is happening on the other side of the house, instead of right beside me.

6. If Jake has a really restless night, I can bring him into our comfy bed, instead of the not-as-comfy spare bed.

5. The resemblance between Steve and Owen is even greater when they're alseep side by side. Too cute!

4. He falls asleep at Owen's bedtime, and I get to be in charge of the remote for the rest of the night.

3. I don't have to worry about Owen getting cold/kicking off his covers.

2. If he's sleeping, he's not getting the Christmas chocolate out of the freezer and eating it in front of me.

And the number 1 reason:

1. NO SNORING IN MY BED! (this is definitely worth two spots).

Wait a minute...

2009-01-08T20:18:00.007-05:00

Of course with the new year comes New Year's Resolutions. I resolved to be more regular with my running - to that end, Jake and I now have a regular date at the indoor track on Thursdays (we run outdoors on Tuesdays, but indoors I have a chance to do sprints without worrying about falling, and stairs as well). We brought the Jeep in for some maintenance, and while they worked on it, Jake and I took the bus downtown.

(Quick aside: well done to Grand River Transit! Buses are so much nicer than they were back when I was a regular rider! They're all wheelchair accessible, so I just wheeled Jake right on in the stroller, and then parked him in one of the wheelchair sections where the seats fold away. I wasn't sure which stop I wanted, since I was just headed downtown and walking the rest of the way (that way I could get the iExpress immediately, without having to wait for a more direct bus). The driver was very helpful, and I would actually consider taking the bus again. I think Owen would like it too!)

Anyway, we went to the track and did our thing. Jake was his usual adorable self, and was much admired by everyone he aimed his gummy grin at. When we were headed out, a lady stopped to chat with Jake. (It happens all the time - he's such a flirt!) She told me it was so great that I took the time to involve my baby in my workout, and that he obviously loved it. Then she mentioned seeing a program the other day, all about celebrity moms. She went on to say what a shame it is how they make it look so easy to get back into shape right away after having a baby, and to not let all that pressure get to me. I smiled, and then we were on our way.

As I was walking back to the bus stop, I started to think, and I was like, wait a minute! I know she probably meant it kindly, but come on! Obviously, if I shouldn't let the pressure to look like a celebrity mom get to me, I am failing miserably in my goal to look like a celebu-mom! I mean, I know I don't look like a celebrity mom, even 6 months after having Jake. But other people should not be commenting on this, no matter how round about a manner they use to do so. So then I was laughing to myself as I pushed Jake along, causing other people to look at me and no doubt think that it was also good that I was not letting the pressure to appear sane in public get to me.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, something I just noticed while folding laundry this evening: my ratio of t-shirts-I-have-paid-for to t-shirts-I-have-gotten-for-free is way out of whack! Um, I'm not a klepto. But I do have a couple of Mother/Daughter Walk for Heart and Stroke shirts, four shirts from races I've run in, at least three from the Children's Groundwater Festival (I used to be on the board), plus odd shirts from work (Waste Management! The Toilet Replacement Program!) and various gyms (GoodLife, and 360 Fitness - which reminds me, I have to still get in touch with my friend about the pass I won in his charity auction.) Obviously, I need to go shopping. I need to stock up on shirts that allow me to express myself in the uniquly individual manner possible only when wearing a shirt with a clever slogan that one hundred other people are also sporting. Hee.

Why my bathrooms are stocked with Cheerios

2009-01-07T21:23:00.004-05:00

So, Owen is 2 and a half now. All the little girls I know from my first mat leave have all been potty trained for months now. (They all seemed to get it right around their second birthday). While Owen has had some potty successes (he's both peed and pooped on the toilet) he is still showing no real interest at all in the process. That kid will walk around with his soaked diaper hanging to his knees, and if asked whether he needs a "change a bum", will tell me "no thank you Mommy". (We're big on the "No, thank you" around here. Sometimes he'll be having a fit about not wanting to do something, and screaming on the floor, but will still be polite: "No, no THANK YOU Mommy!")

After some unsuccessful attempts on the potty, he began to not even want to sit on the toilet. (Even on his Thomas the Tank Engine potty seat!) It was a battle I didn't want to fight, figuring that if he's THAT not into it, I wasn't going to push it! He did go through a phase where he'd ask to sit on the potty at bedtime, AFTER he'd been put to bed - But the time has come to start moving in that direction again, and rather than relying on him telling me, I've started taking him at regular intervals. On the advice of a friend (hi Kristyn!) I've started offering him the chance to pee standing up. We toss a few Cheerios in the bowl, he gets up on his stool so he's over the bowl, and, well, you can picture the rest. I'm hoping the Cheerios will encourage his aim as he progresses. Now instead of asking him to go to the potty (No THANK YOU Mommy!) we tell him it's time to go shoot some Cheerios.

There is a process to what we do:

1. Go into bathroom

2. Owen pushes his stool over to the toilet, and lifts the lid/seat while Mommy prepares the targets.

3. Owen climbs up on the stool, pulls down his pants (mommy helps) and takes aim (mommy sometimes helps here too)

4. Cheerios are sunk!

5. Climb off stool, flush ("Bye bye Cheerios! Bye bye pee")

6. PUT THE SEAT AND THE LID DOWN

7. Push stool over to sink and wash hands (while singing the alphabet song, to ensure we wash them enough).

8. Owen gets a few "gummy bears" (fruit snacks) as a reward.

I'm hoping the reward part will eventually encourage him to start asking to go on his own. We give him 3 treats for a pee, 5 for a poop, and he even gets 1 just for "trying", even if nothing happens. It went well over the weekend, and on Monday, he stayed dry until naptime. Then my timing was off, so the evening didn't work out as well. I'm hoping when he's home Friday/Sat/Sun/Mon we'll be able to get into a rhythm so that Patty will be able to pick up where we leave off on Tuesday when he's at her house. But in the meantime, there are Tupperware containers of Cheerios in the bathroom, and I'm proud to say that my son has put the seat down every time so far. :)

Christmas Craziness!

2009-01-02T21:42:00.008-05:00

We've been having a whirlwind of Christmas activity. I think it's nearly over - it started at the beginning of December with going to see the Christmas train, and Steve's grandma's Christmas party at her retirement home (the boys are SO LUCKY to have three great-grandparents in their lives!) and moved on to our friends Christmas dinner, my work kids party, my family Christmas the weekend before, Christmas Eve with Steve's mom, Christmas day with her family, the following weekend with Steve's dad and stepmom, and finally New Year's with Auntie Kris, Uncle Ryan and new Baby Gracie (yes! I finally got to meet my beautiful little niece!)

Jake is just happy to be around people, and if there's something he can stick in his mouth (paper, a new toy, someone's fingers) he's in heaven. Owen has been fantastic, in spite of the month of gifts. He's so excited about whatever he gets, we have to talk him into opening further gifts. Which is nice - apparently, Steve's stepsister was telling me her oldest girl, who is three, opens a gift, says "OH! It's just PERFECT! Thank you!" then throws it aside and asks "What's next?" Ah ha, Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, I see you peeking 'round the tree!!

My gift to Steve was the new Canon Rebel, to ensure we don't miss any more adorable pics of our boys waiting on our old camera. It's gotten lots of use, and I'll have to upload the most recent pics of Christmas. In the meanwhile, here's the photo I used on our Christmas cards:

A few more pics of my two boys, since I DO still have readers! (Kristyn and Summer, you two have such faith in me! Big hugs to you both!)>

These next two are funny. Owen got hold of the old camera one day and shot some photos while I was in the bathroom. Obviously these subjects are near and dear to his heart:

That's a diaper wipes box, for those of you not in the know.

And this is out TV. Thomas the Tank Engine on our TV, to be precise; see the tracks? There are about 8 pictures in all, all variations on these themes. Funny!

So much for that!

2008-12-15T09:56:00.004-05:00

So much for last year's return to blogging. But, like old, old friends who can pick up on the thread of a conversation after not seeing each other for years, let's let bygones be bygones and start anew. Here's what we've been up to this year:

Not a very flattering photo of Jake, I'm afraid. But yes, that big boy is Owen, 2 and a half now, and the little one is Jake: Jacob Wyatt Howard, who joined our family on June 25 (so I finally got my JuneBug afterall!)

Life is good with our boys. Busy. Owen still goes to daycare twice a week, so I get a few days of quality time with Jake, which is really nice. Maternity leave is very different this time around, it's much busier with two kids, even if one of them isn't around part of the time. But I'm loving it. Jake is a wonderful baby, even more easygoing than Owen was, if you can believe it. Right now the poor little baby has a cold. He's snotty, and coughing - he wakes up barely able to breathe, he's so stuffed up. He's too little to blow, so I'm trying to use the suction bulb and also just squeeze the yukkies out with lots of baby wipes. He complains while I'm doing it, but then I get the best smiles still.

(If I could find my missing camera cord, I would upload some recent pics of those awesome gummy grins. Oh how I've missed you, gummy grins!)

Maternity leave has reacquainted me with some old friends, too. Valerie welcomed Sadie's little brother Ridley in September, and Marie-Helene welcomed Justine's little brother Sebastian in October. A third girl from our original group, Andrea, is expecting a little brother-or-sister for Lola in February. It's nice to see all these girls again - we kind of lost touch when we all went back to work.

It's definitely not as easy to work out with two kids as it was with one, but I'm trying. Jake and I have been getting out for a run at least once a week, although that's kind of slipped lately. In January, we start a mommy fitness class, and Erica and I have a standing walk/workout date on Wednesday mornings. I'm still aiming for the Refridgee-Eighter on February 15, but I have a long way to go before I'm ready for that. I'm also hoping to do the same Try-a-Tri this summer that I did when Owen was 14 months old - that way I'll know I'm back.

I've been working on Jake's birth story for a while, when I do get it finished I'll post. In the meantime, let's see if any of my loyal friends and family have kept an eye on this page, in spite of a year of no updates! :) We're off to work on our Grandparents' Christmas gifts from Owen.

Return from Hiatus

2007-10-27T20:08:00.000-04:00

Wow, time has just flown by. Being back at work is definitely keeping my busy, and with all the fun and travel for Lee Ann and Evan's wedding this fall, I've almost forgotten that I have a blog! Owen is in daycare now that Steve is back to school too. We have a wonderful lady named Patty who takes care of him and three little girls in her home. Owen just loves it there. Owen keeps growing and growing - he's got 11 teeth, lots of hair, weighs 23 lbs, and is closing in on three feet tall! He's talking up a storm, with a vocabulary of over two dozen words. He's so smart, he'll go over to his bookshelf and select the right book you ask him for, he helps mommy and daddy match up shoes when we go out, and he'll even get his own diaper and change mat out when it's time for a change!

Rather than trying to write a whole big update, I'll try to make a couple over the next few days. That will give me a chance to add lots of pictures too. :)

Coming up: Owen at the cottage this summer, Mommy's Try-a-Tri, and a great website! In the meantime, here are some pictures of Owen playing at his water table (his birthday present from mommy and daddy):

Auntie Lee Ann's Present, Part 2

2007-07-14T22:38:00.001-04:00

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/Cera5/?action=view&current=c75af411.flv

I turn the camera on, and we finally get some opening-action! :)

Auntie Lee Ann's Present, Part 1

2007-07-14T22:22:00.000-04:00

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/Cera5/?action=view&current=c958ead1.flv

Owen wanders around and doesn't open the gift before I accidentally turn the camera off. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I turn it back on!

Owen Open's Auntie Kristi's Present

2007-07-14T21:59:00.000-04:00

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/Cera5/?action=view&current=8551d449.flv

All the way from Thailand! Stay tuned, if I have time, I'll get them up tonight, but if not then soon - Owen wears Auntie Kristi's present in an upcoming video! :)

Owen Eats Cake!

2007-07-14T21:33:00.001-04:00

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/Cera5/?action=view&current=ae0f9af0.flv

Click to watch Owen eat his first piece of cake ever! He's actually pretty neat with it....

Photos from Owen's Party

2007-07-13T21:24:00.001-04:00

Reflections on a Boy who is One

2007-07-13T21:20:00.000-04:00

Dear Owen,

It was so crazy, in the days leading up to your first birthday, to think back to this time last year and how you weren't even here yet. We wanted you to delay your arrival for just a tiny bit, just until your Papa was done work for the summer, but we never dreamed you'd keep us waiting for two whole extra weeks. And when you finally did arrive, you came so quickly that we barely had time to get to the hospital. Papa and I spent more time at the hospital the day before you were born, being checked out, than we did when you were born. I will never forget the moment Sky told me to reach down and grab you - looking into your little eyes for the first time, finally getting to hold you, and having it dawn on me that you were finally here, forever. And feeling a mother's pride that you were cute, and didn't have a cone-head!

Every parent loves their baby, but I fell IN love with you. Your perfect, sweet little face, those tiny toes and fingers, your kissable little belly. It was almost surreal to take you home that morning, driving with you in the car seat that had been ready and waiting and empty for so long. Snuggling up with you in our bed at home, knowing that I was, now and forevermore, a mommy.

Right from the beginning, you made being first-time parents very easy on your Papa and me. You nursed well right after delivery, and like a champ ever since. I'm sorry we had to stop nursing when you were only 9 months old, but you were just way to eager to use those little teeth that had grown in! You gave us 3 and 4 hour stretches of sleep, even as a tiny little guy, and you were so alert during the day, you were so much fun to watch. I've always insisted that coming two weeks late, you've been trying to make up for it ever since. Curious little monkey, always looking around, holding your head up to see better when you were just days old.

When you woke up from a nap, you would stretch out with your arms above your head, and curl your hands into fists, with just your index fingers pointing up. We called it your "number one stretch". You were always so happy to have your diaper changed - even if you were fussing, just laying you on the change table would calm you down and get a smile from you. I know that everyone says a baby's first early smiles are just gas, but you smiled with your eyes too, tiny baby, and I knew you were smiling at me. You went through a phase of waking every hour on the hour through the night. That was hard on Mama, because Papa had gone back to work by then. But all those times we cuddled together in the night, I reminded myself that all too soon, you would be a big boy, and not want to sit and cuddle with me. All too soon, you'd be asking me to drop you off at the corner, so your friends wouldn't have to see you with me. So I treasure every time you curl up in my arms, and lay your head against my shoulder, and pat your hand against my cheek.

Most babies find the "d" sounds easier to make, and we thought "dada" would be first, but your first word was "mum". Even though I've since become "ma-ma" to you, hearing "mum" for the first time just melted my heart, and made me fall even deeper in love. Especially since it only seemed to come out when you were upset, and really needed me. You learned so many words, words came before moving - I think somehow you knew how much your mama loves words, and wanted to share that with me as soon as possible. Ball and dog, it's hard to say which one came next, but you definitely knew what they meant, and the best part of your day was if we happened to go out and see a dog WITH a ball. You would practically trip over the words as they came tumbling out of your mouth: "Ball! Dog! Ball! Dog, dog, dog-geee!" And you decided that your daddy was "Papa", not "Dada".

But movement came too, and at 8 months, you were up, walking along the furniture. Um, weren't you supposed to crawl first? But then a week later, you did. You were such a speedy little guy, slapping your hands down as you went, laughing at the noise it made. You loved it when we chased you around, and if you crawled around a piece of furniture, all we had to do was ask, "Where's Owen? Where's the baby?" and out you'd come, giggling and squealing. You found that you weren't as fast as you'd like on the hardwood and ceramic tile - the traction wasn't the same as on the carpet. So you adapted, crawling on your left knee, and pushing off with your right foot whenever you were on the hard surface floors. You wouldn't miss a beat switching between this and the regular crawl on carpet, and you were still so FAST! You didn't seem to have any interest in walking, even though you were very steady on your feet. Standing was fine for playing, you would even bend down, pick up a toy and stand back up with perfect balance, but walking was for suckers. Didn't we see how fast you were already?

After a few playdates with bigger kids, you began to seem more interested in walking, taking a hesitating step here and there before dropping to your knees to speed away on all fours. The day after you turned 11 months, you walked across the room, and never looked back. Walking (and running!) is now the way to go, but once in a while, you'll still drop and crawl, just to giggle at the noise you can make with your hands slapping the floor. You love to crawl under the glass end table, and giggle up at us while you bang on the glass - we don't really get the joke, but you sure think it's funny (you and mimes, I guess).

You love the water, and we learned very early on not to try to do bathtime before bedtime. It doesn't calm you down, no matter how much special "sleep encouraging" bath wash we use. You are so excited to splash around, soaking everything around you. We started swimming lessons at 3 months, and right away you loved to be "dunked", and you would move your arms and legs to "swim" after toys. Now that you're big enough, you love to sit on the edge, and throw yourself into my waiting arms to "jump" into the pool. (The odd time we've tried it standing up though, you've gotten distracted and wandered away, making me jump out of the pool to chase you!) You love, love, love to splash, and at times, I have to lift you right up out of the water in order to hear what the instructor is telling us. Getting you a water table to splash in for your birthday was a great idea - you stand and splash until there's only a tiny bit of water left, and grin as we begin to fill it again. I'm so glad you love the water, I hope you'll be a strong swimmer. I can't wait until we can teach you to waterski behind Grandpa's boat!

Your favourite game is anything that involves us chasing you, but peek-a-boo has always been a close second. You love to get the lid off the footrest/your toybox, and sit inside with all the toys - HUGE grins at that. You're starting to be a climber now, wanting to get up on anything and everything you can. You love your little deck swing, because you can get in and out of the chair yourself. And you love it when we take the cushion off "your" chair in the family room so you can climb up and sit in it like the big boy you are.

You're a great sleeper now, on some nights, I swear that you don't even move, you're so tired when you go to bed after an exciting day. And you're always so happy to wake up in the morning. Whether your dad or I come in to get you, we get a hug, and then you start asking for the other one of us: Papa? Mama? You keep talking, and now your favourite thing to do is to ask us, "What's that?" You'll point at anything new and ask, and sometimes you like to point at things you already know and ask, and giggle when we tell you that you know what it is! You tell people "bye bye" now when they leave, complete with little hand wave. You LOVE books, you'll grab a favourite and bring it over so that we'll lift you up for a snuggle and read it to you, patiently waiting to turn the pages for us, pointing things out to us when we ask where they are in the book. Mama is so happy that you love books, and hopes that you will always love them as much as she does.

You've become a great eater too, wanting to eat anything and everything that we do. You aren't very discriminating, you love Mama's lasagna, butter chicken, pizza, steak, anything we have you want a bite of. You loved your first taste of ice cream - your Papa just touched it to your lips, but you licked and licked them, saying "mmm! MMMM!" as your way of asking for more. And your first birthday cake was lots of fun, you were so excited, you didn't even bother trying to pick it up, happy to just bob your face down into it to take a bite. You love fruit, especially grapes, and your "astronaut corn", those freeze-dried niblets are your favourite snack. Watching you pick something up and put it in your mouth to feed yourself is just amazing. I could watch you all day.

You don't do your "number one stretch" anymore, but for months now, if we've asked you how old you were going to be, you would hold up those little pointer fingers. You also do it if we ask you, "Who's number one?" You love the attention it gets you, and will sometimes come up and just hold up that one finger for the reaction it gets. Your car seat is turned around now, facing the front, and you love to go for a drive, and watch everything go by out the window. You love big trucks and the construction equipment around our neighbourhood, and are so excited when one goes by on the street. (Not sure where this came from, it must be embedded in your Y chromosome.)

I've put away boxes and boxes of clothes you've outgrown, you just keep getting taller and taller. Looking back, it's hard to believe you were so tiny in your sleepers and newborn diapers. You look like a regular little boy when you wear shorts and t-shirts, especially when you wear a hat and sandals. But at night, in your jammies, stretched out in your crib, you look like my little baby again. I hope you get my height, but with your Papa's build. Your face is turning more into a little boy's face, losing its baby look, especially as you get more hair. It's so strange to see my own eyes looking back at me from your little face. Everything else about you is very much your Papa, but you have my eyes.

Someday you may have a sister, and if you do don't tell her this, but Mama always wanted a boy. Lots of boys. A bunch of boys. When the ultrasound technician told us you were a boy, I was so happy that strangers in the waiting room commented on how excited I looked when I came out. In a way, it's hard to imagine someday having another baby. How could they ever measure up to you? You've stolen my heart so completely, I didn't realize just how wonderful being a mom, being your Mama, would be. It's an enormous priviledge and an awesome responsibility to have you in my life. I want so many things for you, but most of all, I want you to grow up happy, knowing how much you are loved.

I feel a great amount of pressure to help you become a good man. A man with a sense of honour, and a sense of humour. A man of character, and charisma. A man of empathy and energy. A man who will be strong, sympathetic, and smart; brave, bold and beautiful. A man who is generous, and gracious. A man like your Papa, who will love and care for your family the way he does for us.

My heart breaks at the thought of all the things you will have to go through in life to become that man - not all of them will be good, of course, and even if I could shelter you from all the bad things in the world, I wouldn't. How else would you know how wonderful the good things are then? I know there are times when I will just die inside, when the little (and big!) disappointments in life come your way. Life isn't fair, but it is fun for the most part, and I hope that you will live not only the length of your life, but the width of it as well. Thank you for choosing me to be your mommy, and including me in the journey of your life. I love you, more than you will ever, ever know, until you have your own little boy one day.

With all my heart, Mama

Vampire Nubbins and Power Tools

2007-05-31T10:08:00.000-04:00

Okay, still waiting on some pictures, I don't know if Steve's installed the camera software on the new laptop yet, and I know we don't have our email stuff transferred over yet, so I'm mostly still on the old computer these days so I can get email, but that means no pics. Sorry (for the run-on sentence as much as for the lack of cutie photos!)

Anyway, just another quick note to let everyonw know that Owen finally has two more teeth coming in. Those two front bottom guys must have been getting pretty lonely! He's getting his upper eye-teeth, the pointy vampire ones. Of course, they've only just broken through, so they're tiny little nubs right now, but I think the middle uppers better come in soon, otherwise he's going to look pretty funny!

And today our fence posts are being put in, so we'll be able to start building Owen's Fence. We figure that by next year, he'll probably be able to get the back screen door open by himself, and if he wanders in to the backyard, at least he'll stay put! :) It will also keep the next door neighbours' dogs out of our yard - they're not great at cleaning up after them, and let them run out without always watching to be sure they stay in their yard. So it will be nice to know they're not in ours anymore. And fence building means drilling, and nail gun use, both of which are lots of fun! Yay for power tools! Cheers!

Ball! Dog! Ball! Dog!

2007-05-28T10:10:00.000-04:00

So, Owen is talking. And very nearly walking! And sleeping through the night, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. He's the most amazing baby in the whole wide world. :)

He has a four-word vocabulary, of Mama, Dada, ball and dog. He actually says many more things, but those are the only four words we get in context every single time. We've also heard him say "ya", "no" and a few other choice words (yesterday we were in Rona, and he got excited about seeing another little baby, a girl. He smiled at her, and she giggled at him. Then he pointed at her and said "ho". Steve and I had a very serious talk with Uncle Jamie when we got home about what he's been teaching Owen!!) He's also becoming a very good mimic, so that sometimes if you say a word, he'll mimic the sounds, even if he doesn't get them quite right. A few times, I've been chatting with people and he's copied the sounds of a word they've said. They stop, look at him and ask, "did he just say (whatever they said)?" It really does sound like he's talking, but like I said, there's only the four words in context every time. In the meantime, he gets SO excited when he can tell us that he sees a ball or a dog, and you would not believe the commotion when he sees a dog WITH a ball.

He's so close to walking, he'll toddle along with you only holding on with one hand, and he's been cruising furniture for months now. He's very steady on his feet, standing to play with toys, and even squatting down to pick something up and then getting back upright without falling down/over. Baby gates were already up throughout the main floor, and last week I installed the one at the top of the stairs (involved a couple of two-by-fours, lots of drilling, plastic zip ties, and protective vinyl, but it's up, it's solid, and our lovely wooden posts will be undamaged when it comes down).

The sleeping is going so well. We put him to bed, sometimes we have to leave him to fuss a bit before he'll lie down even though he's tired, but once he lies down and snuggles his bears, he drifts off and then stays down for 11 hours or so. One night I went in to check on him, and I tripped on the rug. My stumbling must have woken him, because he sat up. I quickly ducked down where he couldn't see me, and he looked around a bit, grabbed his bear, lay back down, and talked himself back to sleep. So yay for Owen putting himself back to sleep if he does wake up in the night! I was hoping he'd be sleeping right through before I went back to work (and there were times when I seriously doubted that was going to happen!) so I'm very happy.

He gives "high five" now (multiple fives, he'll stand there and whack your hand all day if you let him) and if you say to him, "who's number one?" he'll hold up one finger for you. He's very good at letting us put sunscreen on him, and at wearing his sun hat, but he wants nothing to do with his sunglasses.

And best of all, Owen gives kisses! But his idea of a kiss is to blow a raspberry on your cheek. Or your arm. Or leg. Actually, he'll take any part of you he can reach if he's feeling affectionate. So they're quite slobbery, but they could not be any more adorable.

We're starting to think about the first birthday party. (I can't believe it!) I'm working on the invitations right now, but I get sad thinking that Auntie Kris and Uncle Ryan aren't going to be there. :( But we'll try to have fun anyway. And I will try to post more regularly, for those of you still trying to follow along at home. :P Cheers!

Eight, Nine, Ten

2007-05-01T21:53:00.000-04:00

That was going to be the title of the post, referring to the 8K race I was training for, Owen turning 9 months old, and me being off work for 10 months. But then Owen got really sick, and I haven't updated in a while, and now he's nearly 10 months old! We also ran out of space on our old computer (7 year old laptop, lots of games and pictures, not a lot of harddrive room.) We finally bought our new computer on the weekend, and I'll be able to upload pics and, more importantly, videos again!

Owen had the flu, poor baby was throwing up and having very yucky diapers for nearly a week. Although, I have to say that he was very considerate, only throwing up on me, not on the carpet or in his crib. He would wait until I picked him up, and then BLEAH, all over Mommy. Even with all of that, I didn't get sick. Poor Papa did, but I was spared.

But, he's all better now, and back to his regular Cheeri-O self. He's crazy with the crawling, into everything, and he's FAST. Even with his crazy one-knee-one-foot crawl he does on the ceramic tile (doesn't get enough traction with two knees on the hard surface). I have to post these adorable pictures I got of him standing at the baby gate:

Owen got sick right before my big run, and I didn't run for nearly two weeks while waiting to be sure he was better. I did get back into workout mode the week before, and it was enough. I was very proud of myself, my goal was to finish in under an hour, and I did it in just under 55 minutes. My friend Kristyn ran her first race ever, she did the 3K, in about 22 minutes. AND she did it pushing her daughter Abby in the stroller the whole way! I run with Owen during the week, but he waited with Papa while I ran. I am so proud of Kristyn, she's only been running since November, and now she's talking about doing a 5K! Getting out there and just doing it is a big part of running - there's a huge mental aspect that you just have to get around, and she's totally done it. :)

And as for nine months old and ten months off work, well, they're not relevant anymore, so moving on to the next post! :)

30 is the new 20, right?

2007-03-27T20:12:00.000-04:00

Well, I am now 30. My birthday over the weekend was a lovely, low-key affair. Given that three of my closest friends have just had babies, I opted out of the big party, since they couldn't really enjoy it with me. We may do something in a few months instead. But I still had a great day. I had three birthday wishes: a romantic dinner with Steve, to sleep in, and to go for a long run by myself. They all came true! So as far as I'm concerned, 30 is off to a perfect start. :)

The only real downer was not getting to celebrate my birthday with Kristi, for the first time in years! But Owen and I had a little party in her honour, and sent her some pictures to let her know we were thinking of her. Here they are:

Happy Birthday Auntie Kris!

Clapping hands for Auntie Kris:

HOORAY!

Okay, I'm done.

On the Move, New Baby Makes Three!

2007-03-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

It's official, Owen started crawling on St. Patrick's Day. And is he ever getting speedy! He loves to move, he'll crawl over to something, pull himself up on it, and then walk along it. He's been walking along behind his little push-car for about a week longer than crawling, so it's nice he took the time to actually learn how to get from one standing-assistance thing to another.

Meanwhile, it makes him a whole lot of fun to try and change or dress, because now all he wants to do is go, go, go! Here's a picture of him walking with his car, it's harder to get a crawling picture, because when he sees the camera, he sits down on his bum to reach for it! I'll have one soon....

And the third in our trifecta of new little cousins arrived on the 22nd! Lucas John Weber arrived, weighing in at 7 pounds 5 ounces. Owen is so very excited that this baby was a boy, since he'll have a little buddy to play with! A photo of the lovely Lucas:

Very exciting stuff. Welcome Lucas, we're so glad you're here!

8 Months Old!

2007-03-08T09:28:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe that Owen is 8 months old now. He's getting so big! I was just thinking the other day about when we went to Mexico, and that he's twice as old now as he was then (he had his 4 month birthday on Auntie Kris and Uncle Ryan's wedding day). He does so much, he "talks" all the time, sits up, rolls, crawls backwards (honestly, he's THIS CLOSE to going forwards!) and loves to stand and play holding onto furniture. He only nurses 4 or so times in 24 hours now, he eats so much "real" food.

Of course, the last few days, he's been eating hardly any solids - we've both got a cold, only his is making him much more miserable. He's having trouble sleeping because he's so stuffed up he can barely breathe, and he doesn't want food, only Mama's milk. I think maybe food must taste extra-bland because he's so stuffy? In any case, he's been a cranky, snuggly guy the last few days. Last night he perked up enough after a two-hour nap (on my chest - he doesn't sleep long lying flat!) to play a little with Daddy and take some eight-month pictures:

Yep, even when he's not feeling the greatest, he tries to be our little Cheeri-O. What a sweetie.

To catch up on other fun news past, we went to visit Baby Lily this week, and Owen got to play with Ella. Rachelle looks great, and everything sounds like it's going very well, so yay! We also got to visit Baby Olivia at home last week, which was awesome. Mommy forgot her camera (of course!) for that visit, but here are a few pics of our visit at the Andersons:

Steve's uncle wasn't able to make it down last weekend for a visit afterall, so we're rescheduling for after March Break. I found an awesome dress to wear to Auntie Lee Ann's wedding in the fall, and we had a fun day shopping (but not a long enough visit!) And we had a great time at Kristyn and Mark's dinner party. Kristyn posted some pictures of Owen and Abby playing on her blog, I'll let everyone head over there for the story. :) Today is Steve's last day of school before March Break, tomorrow we're having a bunch of the mommies and babies over to play in the afternoon, and this weekend my parents are coming to visit. So, the fun continues!

March: In like a Lamb

2007-03-05T07:25:00.000-05:00

March actually came in like a lion, weather-wise, but since Owen is sleeping like a lamb for naps and at night now, it's wonderful. This past Friday was a snow-day for Steve's school, so we had Papa home for an extra-long weekend, which was really nice. I got to sleep in, and he got up with Owen in the morning. (Owen wakes to nurse just after 6 am, but after feeding, we can get another hour of sleep out of him, so I got up with him at 6, put him back down, and then Steve got up with him just after 7, and fed him breakfast). When I did get up, the house was super quiet, which was strange, because it was nap time. Nap time has still been kind of a fussy period - Owen didn't want to just go into his crib, but he had started struggling when being rocked to sleep - not too easy! But sure enough, he was sleeping. I asked Steve how he got him down, and he told me that he just put Owen in his crib, piled in ALL his stuffed bears with him, turned on the music, and left. Owen fell asleep on his own!

Now, he's been doing that for bedtime for several weeks, so we knew he could do it, but he just would not do it for naps. Trust Papa to think of putting all his bears in there with him to keep him company! And it's been working for every nap since - when Owen is tired, we pop him in his crib, all his "friends" are in there, and sometimes he talks to them for a bit, sometimes he flings them around a bit, but he eventually falls asleep, no fussing at all! And best of all, he wakes up happy! Cooing, and talking to the bears, instead of crying and wailing, like he used to wake from naps! I'm so happy. Here is a picture from that first nap with the bears: (Steve had just put the bears in the crib with him, so Owen is the one who piled them up like this!)

What a cutie!
I also tried to get a picture of his teeth to show off, but you can really only see the larger one as kind of a bump in this shot:

And finally, I have another video to share, of Owen clapping his hands, and showing off his musical stylings! Enjoy!

The Pea is a She!

2007-02-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

Apparently, while I was writing yesterday's post, the Pea finally decided to make an appearance! Yesterday, Olivia Allene was finally born, weighing 8 lbs, 12 ozs. (Yes, I DO remember when Owen wasTHAT size!) Auntie Erica is doing very well, and I think she and Olivia got to go home last night, which is much better than the 5 day hospital stay she had with Nathan. So now Owen has TWO new little girl cousins to admire! And lucky for him, they're cousins in name only, because I have a feeling these two little girls are going to be heartbreakers! :) Here's a picture of Olivia, and I added Lily's birth announcement to the post below. Cheers, and congrats to Auntie Erica, Uncle Marty and Nathan on their beautiful little princess!

A Round of Applause for Owen's New Cousin!

2007-02-26T09:54:00.000-05:00

Edited Feb. 27: I've added Lily's birth announcement to the bottom of this post, for anyone who wants to see how lovely she is!

Owen has started clapping his hands! (I meant to mention that in the last post too...) He's been holding a toy in each hand (Peek-a-Blocks or Roll-a-Rounds work best) and banging them together for some time now, and LOVING the noise he could make. And a few days ago he finally got the hang of clapping just his hands. Now he does it all the time! And nothing delights him more than if he starts clapping, and then you join in. Now the clapping has joined screetching as his way of expressing excitement. And he's had lots to be excited about....

Auntie Rachelle had her baby! Her C-section was actually scheduled for today, but she had labour pains early Saturday morning, so Owen's newest cousin arrived a few days early. (And as far as I know Auntie Erica still hasn't had the Pea, poor girl, but that will happen any moment now!) Baby Lily Jade was 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and already has way more hair than Owen! (Big sister Ella was born with lots of hair too.) We got to have a quick visit at the hospital yesterday, and even snuck Owen in with us (the only kids that are supposed to visit are siblings). Rachelle looked great, she said that this recovery is already so much better than last time, so we're very glad about that.

Steve was very funny, he looked at Lily and sighed, Remember when Owen was that small? And I had to laugh, because at 8 lbs 8 ozs, Owen was never that small! Silly Papa. :) Owen wasn't too interested in Lily, although I think he was only pretending. When we first got there, he took a long look at her, and then gave his Uncle Steve a very worried look, with wrinkled forehead and all. I think it was a "Hey, she's cute, but oh yeah, Uncle Steve carries a gun. I'd better pretend that I don't like her AT ALL." I think he'd heard Uncle Steve's joke to Daddy about how now that he has two girls, he has to get a double-barrelled shot gun. Hee.

So, welcome Baby Lily! And Come On Pea!

Toof x2

2007-02-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

Well, Owen's second tooth has finally broken through his gums, and the first one is now easily visible whenever he grins (although it's still quite small). He's also THIS CLOSE to crawling, rocking on all fours, pushing himself backwards very vigourously, and skootching (yes, it's a word, watch me conjugate it: I skootch, you skootch, he/she/one/it skootches...) around on his little bum. Skootching is when he almost gets up on all fours, and then plops back down on his bum, but in a different location, so he has moved a little. For a guy who's not quite mobile, he sure doesn't stay in one place anymore! :)

Birthdays, Be Mine, and Don't Forget to Floss!

2007-02-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Owen's Great Grandma Howard celebrated her 91st birthday! We all went to brunch at the Waterloo Inn, and Owen was a very well behaved little gentleman. For the occasion, he wore his suit (which he's only worn once before, to Auntie Kris and Uncle Ryan's reception, so I guess it's good it got worn again!) Owen did very well in his high chair, and even ate his lunch there at the head of the table:

Owen and Mama together (featuring Mama's new hair, which I got cut and highlighted the day before. I hadn't had my hair done since before Owen was born, so that was a treat!)
Owen is thinking, hey, I think that's a camera pointed at me!

That IS a camera! Give it here! I LOVE expensive electronic equipment. I promise to chew VERY carefully on it!

Hee. We had a fun brunch. Steve's Uncle Steve and his friend Tracy were there too, they're going to come down for another visit with Owen at the beginning of March, which is great.

Valentine's Day saw lots of surprises at our house. Owen and I spent the afternoon preparing a special dinner for Papa (stuffed shell pasta and a salad). When Papa came home, he had roses and a card for me, and he took Owen out to get what Owen had "left" in the car, a card and an "I love you" balloon for me. Owen had a card for Papa too, although he wasn't very good at giving the cards - he's still very big into paper, and would much rather chew on the card than hand it off. :)

Owen's first tooth is all the way through the gums, although it's still quite tiny. And it has a little buddy just starting to sprout next to it that I noticed today. Owen came with me to my dentist appointment yesterday afternoon, which was fun. All the girls in the office were very glad to meet him, and he was his usual charming self. I can proudly say that I am nearly 30, and have never had a cavity. The doctor gave me a toothbrush for Owen, and the hygienist actually gave me bubblegum flavoured dental floss for him - apparently, babies are prone to getting cavities between their little molars when they come in! She suggested that when Owen gets his back teeth, I sit on the couch with his head in my lap to floss him (she does this with her kids, and lets them watch TV while she does it). I am not the best at remembering to floss myself, so hopefully knowing that I have to care for Owen's teeth too will keep me on track!

Lots of excitement coming up the next while. Auntie Erica is THIS CLOSE to having the Pea, and Auntie Rachelle is less than a week away from her due date. This weekend, Auntie Lee Ann is coming to town to do some bridesmaid dress shopping, and we have a dinner party on Saturday night (yay!). The next weekend, Uncle Steve and Tracy are coming to visit, then the next weekend, my parents are coming to visit, and then it's March Break, and Steve will be off for a whole week! Then Auntie Jill will be having her baby, then my 30th birthday, and before you know it, it will be April and we'll be off to Barrie to celebrate Owen's Great Grandpa's 90th birthday with everyone. Crazy! I love it. :) Cheers!

It's a Toof!

2007-02-11T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well, now I know why Owen has been such a drooly baby the last few days! And why he hasn't slept well the past two nights. He's got a tooth that is just about to break through! It's on the bottom, his front left. I can see two little bumps, and he's been very irritated by it today, gnawing on everything he can get his little hands on. (The strap of Mommy's diaper bag, Mommy's jeans, Mommy's finger.) I got my hair cut yesterday, so there's no more ponytail for him to snack on, much to his dismay.

He's been so into trying to pick up every tiny little thing fluff off the carpet and put it in his mouth (the bane of light-coloured carpet - I vaccum in the morning, and there's still fluff by evening!) so I bought him some little snacking puffs. They're Gerber Graduates, tiny star-shaped rice puffs (I got the sweet potato flavour). They just melt in your mouth, so even though they say they're for 12 months and up, Owen's doing just fine with them (I watch him very closely, but he drools so much, they're practically melted in his hand before they even get into his mouth!) Anyway, Steve's decided that since he's now eating "chewable" food, that's why this tooth decided to put in an appearance.

Of course, it's not a tooth yet, it's still just two little bumps - I can't feel it with my finger yet either. But it's there, just below the surface, and that means that someday soon, our little guy won't be giving me gummy grins anymore - he'll be sharing snaggletooth smiles! Sniff, he's growing up! :)

Howieland gets the Plague

2007-02-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

Ugh, we have just had a bout of yucky sickness here in Howieland, and we're not sure where it came from. Owen and I travelled to Barrie last weekend for Owen's Grandma's and Great-Grandma's birthday celebration. We drove up Friday night, and he was an angel. I brought his lullaby CD, and left around bedtime. He slept for about an hour, woke up and "talked" to himself for a bit, and then fell asleep for the rest of the drive. He was a complete ham the entire time we were at Grandma and Grandpa's, playing, "talking", and being full of general cuteness. Sunday morning we were supposed to have a quick visit, maybe some cake, and then head home after lunch in time for Owen's first SuperBowl with Daddy (the Bears are Daddy's team. Yes, he's getting over their loss, thanks for the concern.)

Unfortunately, I woke up feeling just awful on Sunday. Just as I was about to wake my mom, she was already up and coming down the stairs, and I made it back to bed just in time. I ached all over, and my stomach couldn't keep anything down. Luckily Owen is really good with baby food and cereal now, so I nursed him a few times, but Grandma and Grandpa were able to handle everything else, including a short trip to Great-Grandma-and-Grandpa's place, so the birthday celebration went on without me. (Not that I cared, at that point. The high point of my day was eating an apple.) And Owen didn't seem to miss me that much, although he gave me a few looks like, Mama, get out of bed and play with me!

Monday I was feeling much better, and we were out of diapers, so even though there was a lot of blowing snow, Owen and I hit the road at naptime. He took a good nap, and then we stopped in Fergus when he woke up to have some lunch. I went to the McDonalds, because I know they have high chairs. I had some apple slices and a bottle of water, and Owen ate his green beans. And happily shared them through a big gummy grin with everyone who happened to walk by. That was our messiest meal ever - good thing they package the high chairs with wet naps!

Come Wednesday night, Steve came home from school not feeling at that great, and by dinner time, it was pretty clear that he had what I had had. (Which was weird, since it was so much later). I did my best to take care of him, including calling his vice-principal, taking dictation on some notes for a supply teacher, and delivering the notes before school the next day (with Owen, of course). He was feeling much better by end of day yesterday, and was back at work today.

And Owen? Not even a runny nose. He's been a drooly baby the last few days, but healthy as can be. So all in all, no complaints. And I was happy that I was at my parents' house when I was sick, but if Steve and I can arrange that kind of sickness and recovery time between each of us getting sick on all successive illnesses, then one of us will always be well to look after Owen! :)

Owen Update

2007-01-29T09:58:00.000-05:00

Wow, my last post actually generated quite a bit of discussion among my mommy friends, in the computer and in real life. (I got several emails from people too). Nice to know I'm not the only one hearing this.

So, this is a post mainly for Auntie Kristi, who called last Friday (at 2 am her local time, no less!) but Owen and I were at a playdate with pretty much every other baby that we know (there were 8 babies total, 4 boys, 4 girls, over at Laura and Blake's house. It was so fun! Laura is the girl who is whipping us all into shape at StrollerFit, so she wanted a chance for us all to play together without her having to "boss" us.)

Anyway, we're very VERY sorry that we missed Auntie Kristi's call, especially since it sounds like she and Hunkie Unkie are having lots of fun adventures in Bangkok. We are having fewer adventures, but no less fun, so here is an Owen Update, on all the fun things he does now.

Hmm, number one is reach for anything and everything (he is beside me here in the office, happily emptying the paper recycling bin as I type.) He can have a million toys in front of him, but that is never as good as something that seems JUST OUT OF REACH... until he reaches it. He's also very big into other babies' toys. Even if he's just stolen someone's toy, he'll keep reaching for whatever else they get until he has everything. A few weeks ago we met to work out at Alaine and Madison's home (Alaine has lots of nice workout stuff in her basement, so it was a change of pace from the track) and had all the babies playing together on a mat. Owen was Mr. Grabby Hands until he had everything! And last week, we went to a Tupperware party at Kristyn and Abby's house, where Owen got to play with Abby and Lola. Lots of counter-swiping seemed to be going on there, which was fun, until Andrea got out a water bottle for Lola to play with. It was like a baby mosh pit, with EVERYONE diving for that bottle! We had to separate them. (Especially since the girls have hair, and Owen pulls hair.)

So, those are some early lessons we are working on. "Gentle", "Don't pull hair", "Hands to yourself, please" and "Not for babies!" "Give that to Mummy, please!" get said a lot. I'm glad he's working out how to reach for things, but I would really prefer that my son not be the group bully!

Owen has also figured out (somewhat) the basketball hoop he got for Christmas. It talks and lights up when you put something through the hoop, so he'll throw anything (soother, stuffed animal, any ball he can grab) through the hoop. But the sensor on it is quite near the top of the rim, so he also knows that if he grabs onto the rim, it will also go off. So sometimes, he's content to just grab it, and chew on the rim. (This is a very short hoop, if you haven't guessed!)

On the movement front, still no crawling yet, but we are very close. Owen has no trouble sitting up for long periods of time, and will throw himself forward in the direction of anything he wants. If he doesn't quite get there, he does pushups until he realizes that they aren't getting him anywhere, and then he'll either roll over to get something else, or, if there's nothing in sight, he'll fuss. He still hasn't gotten up on all fours yet, so we think crawling is still a little ways away. But he loves to stand now, too. He'll reach for your hands, and use them to pull himself up to standing. Once he's up, his balance is getting better, we can prop him against his exersaucer and he'll stand against the outside playing with all the toys. Until he sees something on the floor that catches his attention, and then plop, down he goes.

He's also reaching to be picked up now. He had been just raising his arms a bit, but now, if I walk over to him and ask him if he wants Mama to pick him up, he reaches for me, which is great. And I get the big gummy grin too, of course.

And he's really REALLY working his vocals. We seem to mostly be through his screetch-toad phase (hee, can you guess where that nickname came from, Auntie Erica?) and he is really babbling up a storm these days. He's working the da-da-da-da-da and ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya sounds. Occasionally we get a ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, and once in a blue moon, mum-mum-mum, (but mum-mum-mum and da-da-da-da are pretty indiscriminate). But if you ask him where Mummy/Mama or Daddy are, he'll look right at us. Actually, the other day, Steve was late coming home from work, and I said to Owen, "Where is Daddy? He's very late!" Owen looked right over at the door from the front hall to the living room, which is where he usually first sees Daddy when he comes home. Too cute!

Eating solids is going very well. Owen loves his rice cereal, and he's a pro at carrots and squash now. Cereal can be room temperature, but veggies have to be slightly warmed (my son, the connoisseur!) This week he's being introduced to sweet potato, and green beans. We have these great colourful bowls from IKEA that Aunt Tracey and Uncle Todd got Owen for Christmas, and Owen just gets so excited when he sees me take one out, because he knows it's time to eat!

So, some photos....

Helping Daddy play online poker (Owen looks worried, is Daddy bluffing?) :

Out in the snow with Mummy...

Having fun in the tubby:

Yum, enjoying some carrots:

And a general cuteness photo:

Good Baby?

2007-01-14T17:21:00.000-05:00

Now that Owen has outgrown his bucket-style car seat, whenever Steve or I take him out, we carry him in the Baby Bjorn front-carrier. Owen loves it, he kicks his feet like crazy, waves his arms, and coos and laughs. Of course, this gets him a lot of attention, which makes him act even cuter, smiling at everyone.

One of the first things everyone asks me about him is, "Is he a good baby?". (Well, to be truthful, even though Owen wears a lot of blue, I often get asked whether "she" is a good baby. Why do the boys always get the long eyelashes??) What does that mean, exactly? All babies are good! Of course, I tell them yes. Next they want to know, "Does he sleep through the night?" Well, technically, sleeping for a 5-hour stretch is "sleeping through the night", according to the sleep books. But since Owen is up once or twice a night just to eat these days, that's what I say. He's just a little baby, and even though he's getting some solids now, he's still getting most of his nutrition from breast milk, and needs those feedings. And then they tell him, "You have to be a good boy, and let mommy get her sleep!" I've actually had this conversation several times, with different strangers. It's bizarre. Now that we've sorted out the night waking, Owen is sleeping 12-13 hours at night, in long stretches. Sure, a stretch of 12 unbroken hours of sleep for me would be nice, but this is definitely do-able, if not ideal.

But I wonder, what do these people think a "bad" baby is? I mean, even when Owen was waking up through the night every hour (or less!) and I was a crazy, baggy-eyed zombie, I still thought he was a good baby. It's not like he WANTED to wake up that much, or like he was plotting it. Babies are babies, they can't help what they do yet, so how can any baby be "bad"? Is that what happens to the poor little ones that are abused or hurt by their parents? Do those parents think they have a "bad" baby? Honestly, it's such a weird question for people to ask, "Is he a good baby?". He's a BABY, that IMPLIES that he's good. Babies are about as good as you can get.

Even if Owen had colic, cried for hours a day, fought sleep all the time, and woke up 10 times a night, he would still be good. I may not feel very "good" about how things were going, but that wouldn't mean HE wasn't good. How can there be good babies and bad babies? I know that not all babies are as easy going as Owen, but that can't make them "bad". They're just different. If he misses a nap or has a later feed, he gets cranky. He's not being bad, he's reacting to something Steve or I have let him down in. When he wasn't sleeping well, I was feeling so awful, because I just know it was my fault for going in so often the times he did wake up - I had "taught" him that (bad?) behaviour. He'd become a bad sleeper, but was still a good baby!

The thing that makes me wonder the most about people, is that a few times, I've been asked this question by other moms. Their kids are a little older, but still, did they think they had "bad" babies? Do people actually think they have "bad" babies? I'm just really puzzled by this. If Owen wasn't our Cheeri-O, would things be different? Would I think he was a bad baby? Does anyone else get this question? I'm curious now, and will have to ask my mom-friends. Cheers!

Happy New Year, Owen is 6 months old!

2007-01-11T21:29:00.000-05:00

I haven't been able to update for a while, Steve updated our virus software, and it changed our computer settings and messed me up for logging into this page. But it's all sorted out now, yay! Glad so many people like the video of Owen NOT rolling, I still don't have any rolling on video, since he prefers to sit up these days, he's not spending much time rolling around. Instead, he's practicing launching himself forward from a sitting position. He's also gotten up on hands and knees a few times, but no rocking, so crawling is still a ways away.

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas! Owen was very spoiled by all his loving grandparents, and we even got to see all of them on Christmas Day, which was great. Here are a few pics:

Owen with his Grandma and Grandpa Rastas:

Opening presents with Mommy and Daddy:

Under the tree at Nana Howard's house:

A few days before Christmas, we went over to Auntie Erica and Uncle Marty's to visit. Her family was visiting, so it was nice for them to get to play with Owen. And Nathan was too cute. He just wanted to hold Owen all the time: "Up Baby Owen. Up Baby Owen!" And he was very good at sharing his toys, even though I don't think he understood why Owen didn't want to play with all his fun stuff. Just you wait, Nate. Before you know it, you'll be upset because Owen (and not to mention the Pea!) will be all up in your stuff!

Big hug from Cousin Nathan:

Owen's cutie hat made for him with love by Auntie Erica!

What sweet boys! Heh, someday they'll be surly teenagers, and we'll show them these pictures and tell them how cute they were as babies. Hee.

New Years was lots of fun, Steve and Rachelle and Lance and Jill came over with their little ones. All the little ones settled down to sleep without any trouble, and we had lots of fun eating, chatting, playing Rummoli, and eating. (Did I mention the eating? We had so much yummy food, it was great!)

And now Owen is 6 months old. He's started eating cereal, which has been a huge hit from the start. He gobbled it up right from the beginning, eating every bite, nothing getting pushed back out! He's so excited to eat, he even grabs onto the spoon and helps guide it into his mouth. I think the next video we post will definitely have to be an Owen Eats video, but I think we'll wait until he's having something a little more colourful, like maybe carrots! (Which he'll get starting next week.)

Still no luck getting him to take a bottle, but we are having limited success with the sippy cups and, more recently, a sippy with a straw. He really likes to have water from his straw-cup, so that comes with us when we go out now.

Speaking of going out, Owen and I have lots on the go now that the New Year is here! On Mondays, we have his swimming lessons again. Tuesdays and Thursdays are Stroller Fit, we meet up with a group of other moms and babies, and one of the moms, who is a personal trainer, works us very VERY hard. (It's awesome!) Thursdays we also have BabyTime at the library (songs, playtime, and a story) and on Fridays, we're starting a new swimming class - it's water aerobics for mommy while Owen floats along next to me. I'm looking forward to it! Owen's gotten fairly regular in his napping, so although our days are full, he's still a very Cheeri-O. He loves going grocery shopping now too: he's outgrown his little bucket car seat, so instead of sitting in that while I shop, he rides in the front carrier. He loves being able to kick his feet, (and trying to grab things off of shelves if I get too close!) and he LOVES the attention he gets from everyone. We have a lot of fun. Daddy and Owen had lots of fun doing their Christmas shopping together over the holidays (and mommy enjoyed having some me time to herself!) Now Steve's back to work, and we're counting down to March Break.

In addition to all of that, we're still trying to run a few times a week. It's been six months, and while I feel pretty good about what I was able to accomplish before we went to Mexico, I still have a long way to go before I'll feel like I'm back to myself. I'm able to do about 4 km with Owen and the stroller, and just over 6 km regularly on my own. There is an 8 kms race (not that I "race", but it's nice to have a goal!) towards the end of February that I would like to do, but we'll see how often we can run over the next few weeks, and whether I'll be able to add 2 km of distance in 5 weeks. (I was running 8 kms a few times a week when I was at my running peak, so I know I can do it, it's just a matter of getting there.) At the very least, I'm looking forward to doing the ENDURrace this April: a 5 K run one weekend, and 8 the next. Back in 2004, it was my first race (although I only did the 5 K) and I haven't done it since. I think a few of the other StrollerFit mommies are interested, so I hope to have some partners to train with! So that's my New Year's resolution: to do the ENDURrace. If I make it, then maybe we'll aim for a 10 k after that. Wish me luck! :)

Just in Time for Christmas... Mombie!

2006-12-22T09:26:00.000-05:00

Hmm, I thought I'd published this post, but obviously not! Suffice it to say, Owen is now sleeping really well, thanks to a little bit of fussing it out. Two nights of letting him fuss when he woke (unless it was time to eat) and he got it all figured out. The longest he ever fussed for was 20 minutes, and it was actually not that bad, because he never got to the screaming stage that he would escalate to the times Steve or I would go in and then try to settle him. But I'm posting this anyway, because wow, I need to remember this to hold over his head one day!

****************************
I am so beyond tired these days, I'm like the walking dead. Auntie Erica says I'm a "mombie", which fits just perfectly. Owen is not sleeping well. He falls asleep pretty well; he needs some intervention to get him down for naps, but he goes down fairly easily at night. But he does not stay asleep. Some nights, it's like he's awake every hour. I take 10 minutes or so to settle him back down (he still only wants to eat once in the night, the other times, he just needs a cuddle) and then he's back into a deep sleep. Which only lasts for another little bit of time!

The books I've been reading say that babies have a sleep cycle of about 40 minutes, where they start out sleeping lightly, then deeper, and then lightly again. It seems like every sleep cycle, Owen wakes up. I definitely think it's a sleep cycle thing, because even when he sleeps a little longer, it's increments of 45 minutes or so - he'll sleep for an hour and a half, and (rarely!) for three hours at a stretch.

This is very hard, not only because I'm not getting quality sleep, but because Owen slept so WELL when he was tiny - I feel like I must have done something to screw him up! Of course, between teeth pain, learning to sit up, rolling over, he's got a lot on the go right now, and that's enough to keep anyone awake at night.

The interrupted sleep doesn't seem to bother Owen at all - he often wakes up in the morning and just talks happily to himself until we go in to get him. He's in a good mood during the day between naps. He's still our Cheeri-O, which is great. And at least I get all those smiles and love from him when he's awake - it would be much harder to be a mombie during those first few weeks, before you get all those gummy grins and love back from the baby.

One of the strategies suggested by the (massive amounts!) of reading I've been doing on baby sleep suggests that if he's waking in a set pattern, to set an alarm, and go in and try to semi-rouse them before they would normally wake themselves, to break their pattern. I spent two awful nights doing just that (from the spare bedroom, poor Papa did not need to be woken up all night long!) but it seemed to cause more issues. To start, because Owen sometimes wakes up every 45 minutes, I was setting my alarm for only 1/2 hour, which was really tough on me. And then, because he sometimes sleeps for an hour and a half at a time before waking, I couldn't tell if he stayed asleep "longer" because I jiggled him around a little bit, or because he would have stayed asleep then anyway. And several times, I just woke him up by accident, and he was even MORE upset than when he wakes himself up. So, was I really doing anything, or would he have slept through those times and then woken up those other times anyway? I decided that I wasn't doing anything, and since I was a much better mommy for getting my sleep in 1.5 hour chunks than 1/2 hour chunks, I've just gone back to letting him wake me!

Today is Steve's last day of school before Christmas holidays, so soon I'll have some middle-of-the-night help, since he won't need to be up for work, which is nice. Things can't go on like they are, the walking dead is not an attractive look for Owen's first Christmas!

Owen...NOT rolling over

2006-12-11T12:38:00.000-05:00

Ha! I've been trying to get video of Owen rolling over to post for Kristi and Ryan, since they're as good as in Bangkok now. (They're still in Ottawa, but since I'm not going to see them again before they go, they might as well be half a world away already!) Anyway, Owen is NOT cooperating, because he loves the camera too much to look away and roll. But the not rolling video is hilarious - my voice is SO high, because I'm trying to "sweet talk" him, I guess, and some of the looks he gives me are very funny. The quality isn't that great, because it's just taken with my digital camera. Let's see if I can get it posted for viewing....
Owen NOT Rolling
Enjoy!

Poor Baby

2006-12-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

So, Owen is definitely teething. How do I know? Several nights of waking in the middle of the night, trying to nurse, and then screaming. Not able to nurse, not taking his soother, and screaming in pain until I can get a cold washcloth wrapped around my finger into his little mouth to rub those little gums. Poor, poor baby. The teething meltdowns only seem to happen in the middle of the night, or when he's really tired, which makes me think that most of the time the pain is not too bad, but it's too much to bear on top of other discomfort.

And speaking of discomfort, Owen's poor bottom is quite sore. He's got his first case of diaper rash, which we are treating with lots of cream, and open-air bummy time. (It's like tummy time, but without a diaper! Try it, it's fun. Minor prep required: lay down waterproof pad to protect your floor, cover pad with burp cloth for comfort, and voila, ready for bummy time! Luckily, Owen's still not much for rolling front-to-back, so he stays put on the pad.) Again, most of the time, it doesn't seem to bother him too much, unless he's tired, and then he just can't bear it. Poor baby.

And I can't even see a white bump yet, so who knows how long it will be until this tooth (teeth?) comes to town and solves the teething and runny bum troubles. So if you have a spare moment, think a kind thought for my poor, teething, red-bum boy.

Cruisin'

2006-12-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Well, Owen reached another milestone yesterday. After putting him in his fourth outfit for the day following three blowouts, I finally had to admit that he has outgrown his Swaddlers, and move him into the next size of diapers. He's in the Cruisers now, no more soft little baby diapers. :( And all those blowouts - I have a feeling he's started teething in earnest now, since a "runny bum" is one of the signs.

We weren't able to have our play date with Nathan last week, because the poor little guy has pinkeye. We hope he's better soon, because Owen misses him! We did get to play with Jack, Ella and Ailish, however, which was lots of fun. I should say, that we were able to lie on our tummy, and have Jack, Ella and Ailish play around us. Owen's not much for playing with yet these days, he's more with the "playing at". He's very good at getting sat upon, and likes to be petted. Glad to be doing our part to help his soon-to-be-big-sisters friends Ella and Ailish practice being "gentle" with babies. :) Of course, mommy forgot her camera, but here's a picture from the last time all these little guys got together:

Pretty cute, no?

In other news, Owen FINALLY started rolling over again yesterday. He did it several times while I was out of the room - I'd leave and he'd be on his back, and I'd come back in and he'd be on his front. I tried coaxing him, bribing him with toys just out of reach, nada. Then Steve came home, and coaxed him a little bit, and he did it with both of us watching. Yay!

And on the teething front, no little white bumps in the mouth yet, but we are chewing on absolutely anything and everything that we can get our little hands on. Including trying to eat the yellow bell on his exersaucer (which isn't really a saucer, but if I call it the "Intellitainer" like it says on the box, people are like, huh?) Here's a pic of Owen in it, see how big the bell is??? It's more like a bell pepper, but Owen loves to "bob" for it.

He loves to play in there, because he loves standing up. It was a gift from the River Sisters, Krista, Julie and Summer, my good friends from high school. And speaking of them, Krista just had another beautiful baby boy! Congratulations Krista! Lots of babies coming for Owen to practice HIS "gentle" skills on one day. (One day. No more babies in the works for us for the time being!) Cheers!

December Already???

2006-12-01T08:13:00.000-05:00

Here's our happy little guy, playing with his toes. Diaper changes are an adventure these days, since Owen LOVES to grab his feet. And kick. Did I mention the kicking? He's a kicking fool! And he rolled over for the first time last week. We were at BabyTime at the library, and I didn't realize I'd put one of his toys down just out of his reach, until he rolled over to get it! That afternoon, he was rolling all over, back to front, back to front, and even back to front to back. But he stopped before Steve came home, he stopped, and he hasn't done it since! He goes halfway, onto his side, and then stops and grins at us. Silly boy.

He's also getting better at sitting on his own, he does the tripod sit very well, and if he's sitting with Steve or I, he'll pull himself up on us into a sitting position, but he still needs to work on balance.

He did much better with his shots at his four month appointment - he cried, but stopped as soon as I picked him up. He's almost 16 pounds, and 26 inches tall. What a guy!

Last weekend we had Auntie Kristi and Uncle Ryan's home reception. For the occasion, Owen wore his first suit:

Aren't my boys handsome? I love them! Owen also wanted to try his first rum & coke:Auntie Kris and Hunkie Unkie did their first dance...again!

And Owen got tired, so I just popped him into his sling, just like in Mexico. He fell asleep, and still gave Mama a chance to get out on the dance floor. (See him peeking out there?)

Now that all of Auntie Kristi and Uncle Ryan's wedding parties are over, it's time to start thinking about Christmas - yikes! November just flew by, good thing Owen and I have time for shopping during the day. We have an appointment this morning to get Christmas pictures taken. Not sure what he'll wear yet, I have a few cutie options. We got a few pics taken by the photographer at Movies for Mommies this week too. I put Owen in just a cloth diaper, and we put him on her bear rug - too cute! She also had a pair of angel wings - we'll have to see how those photos turn out.

Got to run - playdate this afternoon with Auntie Erica and Nathan, then this evening with Aunties Jill and Rachelle and Jack, Ailish, and Ella. Mama will remember her camera and try to get some more cutie pics. Cheers!

Hola Amigos!

2006-11-20T09:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in updates, but we've just returned from Auntie Kristi and Uncle Ryan's beautiful wedding in Mexico. Owen was an awesome traveller! He had no trouble with flying (a few issues on the flight home, but that was due to a wonky napping schedule more than anything). We roomed with Kristi's best friend Amie and her daughter Abbie, and the kids were great. The first night, they woke each other up LOT, but after that, they were fine.

I had a lot of fun with Amie and "the babies" were a huge hit wherever we went. Heh, the funniest was a group of Americans who had seen the four of us all over the resort. One day the guys stopped us to demand: "Where are your MEN???" (By this time, Amie and I had tired of the looks we were getting from people when we told them we weren't sisters, just friends, and had just started smiling and nodding when people assumed Owen and Abbie were cousins.)

Owen loved the pool, even though it was cooler than our swimming lessons pool at home, but wasn't too keen on the ocean. The sand was take it or leave it. The wedding was fabulous, and even the mystery monsoon that blew in just as we started walking down the aisle to the beachfront gazebo couldn't wreck things. The major deluge caused a mad scramble to the far side of the gazebo where the wind wasn't quite as strong. My brother got completely soaked trying to keep the rain off Amie and Abbie, and a lot of the ceremony pictures feature my arm as I tried to keep Kris' veil from whipping Ryan in the face.

The best part of all is that Ryan didn't even realize it was raining, and couldn't figure out what all the commotion was from the musical chairs going on behind them. He only had eyes for Kristi. That's a guy I KNOW will give my sister the happily ever after she deserves. Too many pictures to post, but here are two:

Please email me if you want to see more, I'll invite you to view our albums in our Yahoo Group. Cheers!

Hallowe'en Redux

2006-11-16T09:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in updates, but we've just returned from Auntie Kristi and Uncle Ryan's beautiful wedding in Mexico. More on that in another post - waiting to get some photos ready.

I didn't have a chance to post Owen's Hallowe'en picture before we left:

He was a slug - that's our nickname for him, when he falls asleep in your arms, it's like he doesn't have any bones, so we call it "Sluggin' Out". Of course, Old Navy doesn't carry slug costumes, so I had to get out my sewing machine. I'm very happy with how it turned out. And I'm so happy we got a sunny day right before Hallowe'en so I could take him to the pumpkin patch and get some pictures!

More on Mexico in just a sec...meanwhile, a few more October pictures:

Yes, he's sitting up! Well, it's actually more of a tripod-prop, but he can hold this position long enough to snap a few pictures before he topples over. Real sitting can't be far behind! :)

Wearing his cutie hat and sweater that our friend Laura made for him.

Mexican preview - a sample of the photos I was supposed to send along for Kris' island-themed bachelorette party in Ottawa that we weren't able to make.

Owen peeking at me through the mirror in TummyTime Turtle. He loves tummy time, and he loves that turtle!

Thanksgiving Photos

2006-10-17T14:27:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving....

Owen in his Jolly Jumper (man, he LOVES that thing!)

Owen with his Grandpa, ready for a nap!

Owen with his Great Grandparents

Owen with Auntie Kristi and Hunkie Unkie Ryan

Owen with Uncle Geoff

(Um, a note to my family: I hope someone else has a picture of Owen with his Grandma on Thanksgiving, because I thought we got one, but we didn't!)

Three months old at Turkey Time!

2006-10-10T09:46:00.000-04:00

Wow, I really am not that great at updating this site. So much has happened with our little Cheeri-O in the past few weeks! Of course, he's still getting bigger and bigger. We had a reunion with the other parents from our pre-natal class about a month ago, and although he was the youngest baby there, he was the second biggest! Of course, he had the second biggest birth weight too, so he had a head start. What cuties they all are, (although of course, the Cheeri-O is the cutest, if I do say so myself!) One of the other girls, Kristyn, also has a blog, so I'd been following along her story and seeing pictures of her petite princess, Abby. I LOVE Abby's hair, it's too cute! And Valerie and I have been seeing each other at Movies for Mommies, so I'd met Sadie a few times too, but it was nice to see everyone together, and meet Andrea's little Lola (also a doll! All these adorable little girls!)

We also found out that congratulations are in order for Owen's Aunties Erica, Rachelle, and Jill - he's going to have three new little cousins in February and March! We can't wait, it's so exciting! And his Auntie Lee Ann gets congratulations too - she and Uncle Evan will be tying the knot this time next year, and I'll have the honour of standing up with them as their Maid of Honour. And speaking of Maid of Honour, there's only a few weeks left until Auntie Kristi's wedding - our passports are finally here, and plans are in full swing for a shower and Buck & Doe party in Barrie, and we're all set for Mexico in November. Unfortunately, I'm not able to make the bachelorette party in Ottawa on the 28th, but a surprise package will be travelling to Ottawa with Amie for the girls to enjoy. :) Sorry Kris, I know you read this, so no hints!

We've started going to BabyTime at the library - we sing songs, play little games with the songs, and read a story. Owen seems to really like it. We also start swimming lessons next week, which should be lots of fun, since Owen loves his bath!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Barrie, Owen did really well on the drive, needing just a quick stop for a diaper change each way. I hardly got any sleep while we were there, though, since we had him in the room with us - is he ever a loud sleeper! He "talks" in his sleep, which is too cute, but takes some getting used to. And we got some great pictures of him with his great-grandparents - I'll post once the camera batteries are charged.

And now Hallowe'en is coming, and of course, we've put lots of thought into Owen's first costume. There are lots of cute costumes for babies out there, but I decided to pull out my sewing machine and make his outfit. He's going to be a slug - that's our nickname for him, because when he falls asleep in your arms, it's like he suddenly doesn't have any bones anymore! We call it "Sluggin' Out". I've got some grey wool fleece, and some shiny blue material, and he's going to be in a modified hooded onesie, with shiny blue "slime trail" on his belly, and antenna eyes on the hood. I just have to attach the arms and feet to the onesie, and finish the hood, and then we're done! Of course I will have lots of pictures. I'm hoping to finish by the end of this week, and hoping for some nice weather next week, so I can take him out to the local pumpkin patch for some photos.

Guess that's all for now, except to mention that our guy is 25.5 inches tall, 15 pounds, and nearly outgrowing his "bucket" car seat. Sniff, he's getting to be so big! But then I put him in his jammies for bed, and put him to sleep in his crib, and think how tiny he looks in there. Sigh. This mommy-gig is just one big rollercoaster! The hormones just don't stop! :)

Evolution of a Nap

2006-09-15T18:17:00.000-04:00

Auntie Kristi says I am giving her a very unrealistic vision of what parenthood is like - apparently, her coworkers don't think any baby could possibly be as good natured as our Cheeri-O. Owen does have his fussy moments, but they really don't last long, as long as you get him down for a nap, or fill his tummy, or change his bum. And so I give you, the evolution of a nap:

What the... I was just chewing on my fist, and Mom popped me into the swing! I'm so not even tired! Well, maybe my eyes are a little heavy...

I'm so not napping. I'm going to fight you, nap!

Wahhh! I'm so tired, why aren't I sleeping?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hey, I feel much better now! Let's play!

What a guy, hmmmm? :)

A few more photos

2006-09-12T21:21:00.000-04:00

I couldn't get all the pictures I wanted to in the previous post, so here are a few more: a general cuteness picture, napping with Mama and Papa pictures, Owen having a serious chat with his Auntie Lee Ann, and Owen in his Canada outfit from Auntie Kristi and Hunkie Unkie Ryan (he wore it to Poker night at Uncle Jamie's, because of the visor.) Enjoy!

Superstar!

2006-09-10T14:01:00.000-04:00

First things first:

Some really cute pictures there, the Cheeri-O is such a smiley guy, I could snap pictures of him all day long.

So, the doctor's appointment went not too badly. Owen is 24.5 inches long, and 13 pounds, 9 ounces, putting him in the 95th percentile for height, and 90th percentile for weight. He's going to be a tall one! He HATED the shots. I don't think he even noticed the second one, he was screaming so much about the first. Poor little guy got his first band-aids, one on each chubby little thigh, because the injection sites bled a little. He had a pretty cranky evening, lots of sobbing and hiccups, but we dosed him with Infant Tylenol and he hic'd himself off to sleep. Thankfully, today he's back to his usual Cheeri-O self, and seems to have forgotten all about it. I just wish Steve and I could!

Speaking of sleep, Owen is sleeping in his crib in his own room now. I get weird looks from people when they look at me sympathetically and say, "oh, and is that hard on you? How are you handling that?" and I'm all "It's GREAT!" But really, Owen makes much more noise in his sleep now, and sometimes even wakes up, coos to himself a bit, and then drops back off - Steve and I have both been sleeping better with him in his own room. And since he's only up once in the night, getting up and going into his room for that middle of the night feed isn't so rough, especially since I get 6-7 hours of sleep before he wants to eat.

We were so proud of the little guy this weekend - we went to a party at our friends' house, it started in the late afternoon and went into the evening. We brought Owen's Pack n Play and set it up in one of the bedrooms so he could nap and even go down at his regular bedtime... and he did! When we finally came home that night about 11:30, he'd already gone down for the night, and he slept right through a diaper change and PJ change, and stayed down until 5 the next morning, when he woke for his usual early morning feed. What an angel!

Here's a question: do all babies LOVE to get their diaper changed, or is this just a weird Owen thing? Seriously, he can be crying, but you put him on the change table, and it's all smiles and giggles. Maybe it's the little nudist in him, but as soon as you start unsnapping his clothes, he gives you the biggest grin, and starts squealing away, he's so happy. It's so funny, and so adorable.

And he's finally noticed all his "friends" we painted in his room - he loves to be held up right next to the Sneetches and just stares and stares at them; sometimes he even reaches for them. The Hop on Pops above the change table get a lot of attention too, but the Sneetches are definitely his favourite. I can't wait until he starts trying to talk to them!

Finally, Owen is not only grabbing onto toys, but now he's bringing them to his mouth for chewing on. He loves his Rumble Bee (it's a bee that vibrates when you pull the tail) and spent the afternoon gnawing on its crinkly wings. (Whoever thought to put cellophane inside of kiddie toys was a genius - Owen loves his "crinkly" toys!) Another favourite that goes right into his mouth is Pokey Bear, and Mama's fingers are a close runner-up. Yes, it's so sweet when your son grabs onto your finger oh-so tight... and then tries to eat it! What's really funny is when he sometimes misses - there is no way he could pass the finger-to-the-nose test they give people who have been drinking, his hand-to-mouth coordination sometimes leaves a little to be desired. But he's getting it more often than not, and it's pretty cute! I'll try and post some pictures of him tasting his toys next time. Cheers!

Two Months Already!

2006-09-07T13:58:00.000-04:00

I can't believe our Cheeri-O is two months old already! He's such a big guy. I know you all just come for the pictures, so first things first:

What a cutie pie, yes? And still good as gold. He's having a nap at the moment - he's on a rotating routine of approximately 3 hours. He wakes, eats, plays, naps, and then repeats every 3 hours or so until he's down for the night. He gave us a few cranky days when he was 6-7 weeks old, because up until then he was falling asleep as soon as he got tired. Now he needs a little help, but now that we've figured that out, we give him some "quiet time" and off he drifts. He's napping much better now too, giving me 45 minutes to over an hour with each nap, and only the occasional short cat-nap, which is nice. And he's gone from waking once-or-twice through the night to only waking once, so we've got high hopes for sleeping through the night by three months.

He's still in our room, but that may be changing shortly now that Steve is back to work - he needs his rest at night! Now that school has started again, we miss Papa during the day. We've started giving Owen a bottle (of expressed breastmilk) once every evening, so he and Papa can have some cuddle time. Last night was the first night they actually got cuddle time though, Owen's still learning to take a bottle, so the first few times were more like protest-time.

Owen has started grabbing toys, but it's still accidental - if there's one in reach when he's waving his hands, he'll grasp it by reflex, and then look surprised when he hits himself in the head with it. We only place soft, head-friendly toys in reach now. :) And he's really starting to get into tummy-time, lasting over 10 minutes on his own. (Tummy-time on mommy or papa's chest lasts much longer). And of course, he babbles non-stop, lots of coos and giggles. We went to Movies for Mommies at the Princess Twin yesterday, and he definitely did not get the lesson on not talking during the movie. He was gurgling away, and laughing like a loon. And staring around like crazy - he's really started to notice other babies, and can't get enough! We have our reunion with our pre-natal class next weekend, and I'm sure he's going to love it. (I also think that all the other babies who are going to be there are girls, which means my little flirt will be in fine form!)

We've also started running, with our awesome jogging stroller. I wait until he looks like he's ready for a nap, then pop him in and off we go - he sleeps the whole time. Right now, he's still lying flat in the jogger, but when he's older and can sit up, we'll do it when he's awake and can enjoy the scenery. I learned quickly during our walks though that he can only take so much staring at the sky before he gets bored and cranky. Love, love, LOVING my stroller.

Next week we're off to the doctor for his two-month shots. I'll get the official weigh-in then, but we're sure that he's closing in on 14 pounds. He's getting heavy in the car-seat bucket! He just keeps growing and growing, sigh. Lots of tiny clothes have already been put away for his little brother or sister one day. Sigh.

Back to School is Looming....

2006-08-19T10:09:00.000-04:00

Owen was six weeks old yesterday. They say that if you can so anything for six weeks, it will become a habit, and you'll stick with it for life. Never worked for me with the gym, but I definitely feel like I have this whole mommy-thing under control at least.

We had our last official midwife appointment yesterday. Our last two appointments have been with Julie, because Sky is on vacation this month. (We have a social visit scheduled with her when she's back, so she can see how much Owen has grown!) I'm so sad to think that our time with all the midwives is over now - they've all been so wonderful, and Steve and I feel so lucky to have had the experience that we did with them. (Steve is a total advocate for midwifery care now! It's awesome to hear him.) I'm going to really miss Sky - but we're hoping to give Owen a little brother or sister when he's about two years old, so hopefully it won't be too long before we're making those long drives to St. Jacob's regularly again!

Anyway, Owen looked great at his final appointment. He weighed 12 lbs, 1 oz, so he's still growing like a little weed. He's more and more alert every day, and getting louder and more vocal with his cooing/talking/screetching. And I swear, that boy knows when someone is admiring him - he totally turns up the charm whenever anyone pays him the slightest compliment! He's a big flirt. He's started sucking his fists now when he's hungry, so grunting and snorting have been replaced by slurping as the cue that we'd better get him fed. I never thought it would happen, but I really can tell all the difference between his cries (not that there are many, there's the "I'm hungry", "I'm tired and need help falling asleep", and then there's the "I'm uncomfortable and/or hot - change my diaper, or take off my clothes", (in addition to being a flirt, he's a little nudist!)

We still haven't bothered with any sort of schedule, but our days have a routine to them with his eating and napping patterns. He's still a catnapper, but he is getting in one longer nap a day now. And he's still fantastic at night - goes down about 10, sleeps until 3:30-4, eats, and goes right back down until 7:30 or so. I'm not even napping in the day anymore. We go out and about and do our thing whether he's awake or asleep, and just transfer him from car seat to stroller to Baby Bjorn, or just carry him, depending on what suits his mood.

Of course, the real test will come in two weeks. That's when Steve goes back to school, and I'll be on my own during the day. Steve's managed to get in quite a bit of golf and poker this summer, so it's not like I haven't been on my own with Owen yet. We've been out and about just the two of us, and even survived a bit of a meltdown in Zellers together (his meltdown, I was fine). But it's just easier when Steve is around - when Owen decides he must eat NOW (and he is so like his mom in that way - I can go from zero to bitch in less than a second if I'm hungry and not getting fed!) I can always take him and find a quiet spot or go out to the Jeep and feed him, while Steve finishes up the shopping/paying our bill, whatever. Not that I'm adverse to breastfeeding in public, but the middle of the baby aisle in Zellers is not as comfortable as the Family Room at the other end of the mall. I at least require a place to sit, he's getting too heavy to walk and feed! :)

So, yes, in two weeks our summer "holidays" will be over, and I become a real stay-at-home mom all on my own for the next 10 months. I'm selfishly looking forward to having the little guy all to myself - Steve always wants to hold him and play with him too! But I'm hoping I don't have some sort of delayed post-partum depression, and suddenly lose it because I HAVE to do it all on my own. I know I can, I know I have, but maybe it's different day after day? All I know is, we're having tons of fun so far, and I can't imagine things really getting difficult. I'm sure everything will be fine. At six weeks in, I think we're both feeling pretty used to each other now, and we're all pretty confident that this new family structure is the best thing ever. But we sure will miss Papa when he goes back to work!

Time Flies...

2006-08-13T20:48:00.000-04:00

And we really are having fun!

I can't believe that Owen is 5 weeks old already. I finally got around to writing down his birth story, it's in the post below this one. He is the best baby in the world. We're still getting lots of sleep, he's growing like a weed (his next appointment is just before he turns 6 weeks, and we think he's closing in on 12 pounds!; he was 11.5 two weeks ago...). He's such a happy little guy, Steve calls him our "Cheeri-O". He's changed so much in 5 short weeks. He's really filled out, with pudgy little legs, a grapefruit belly, and chubby cheeks! And he's totally smiling at us...

Actually, I have a better picture that shows his gummy grin, but I have to get it off the camera still, and since it's out of batteries at the moment, that will have to wait. But here are some other cutie pictures...

We're having so much fun, our little family. Owen's been to a wedding, to his great-grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary celebration, to his great aunt and uncle's house on the lake (where he went fishing, dipped his toes in the lake, and went for a ride in Grandpa's boat!) and to any number of other parties and outings. He's such an easy guy to get out and about with - only fusses when hungry, and that's a problem I can easily solve!

And Owen is so much fun these days! He's coo-ing, and really trying to "talk" to us, grinning away whenever we have a "conversation". He's really noticing things around him, and he's started hitting out at toys around him (not really in that grasping stage yet, but he'll knock Tummytime Turtle around something fierce!) And speaking of tummy-time, he loves it. He kicks his legs, and if you hold your hand against his feet, he'll scoot along his blanket, he kicks so hard! He also likes to practice "running" in his bouncy chair - just kick kick kick, one leg after the other. He's a busy little guy, arms and legs always moving, and he keeps up a running commentary while he's going.

Poor Steve is starting to think about school now, with only a few more weeks to go for his summer holiday. He's going to miss our little guy something awful when he has to go back. He's such a great dad - I fall in love with him all over again whenever I see him with Owen. I'm so lucky - he changes more than his fair share of diapers, loves to give Owen his bath, and is just as involved with Owen as I am. The only thing he can't do yet is feed him, but I've started pumping, and we're planning on celebrating Owen's six-week birthday with a bottle from Daddy. He's (Owen, not Daddy) nursing very well, so there shouldn't be much chance of "nipple-confusion" anymore. I think Steve's pretty excited.

In other news, my sister got engaged over the holiday weekend! Owen is very excited for Auntie Kris and Hunkie Unkie Ryan! They're planning a November wedding, somewhere warm and beachy - I believe the Mayan Riviera is the front-runner at the moment. As the Maid of Honour (I refuse to refer to myself as the Matron of honour - what an ugly word!) I will be there of course, and the little guy too, we're just hoping that somehow Steve will be able to get a couple of days off from school to join us. We're thinking of doing just a 4-day package wherever they go, so keep your fingers crossed. Unfortunately, teachers don't have holiday time or anything, and who knows if they'll grant him a few personal days for a sister-in-law's wedding. But please cross your fingers for us too, every bit helps! Here's a picture of the happy couple:

So, that's all the news for now. More pics and Owen stories as time (and the little guy!) permits. Cheers!

Owen's Birth Story

2006-08-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

All along, before I had even gotten pregnant, I knew that I wanted a natural, drug-free birth. I felt it would be best for myself (easier recovery) as well as for the baby (no drugs to cross the placenta and make him drowsy). This was one of the reasons I went with the midwives for my prenatal care – I felt I’d have the best chance of a natural birth with their guidance.

So imagine my frustration when Sky and Tracy had to bring up the possibility of induction once I was past my due date. I did not want to be induced – my vision of a natural delivery did not include Pitocin! I had every confidence in my ability to have my baby naturally – unless I had a drug-induced labour. I had only heard horrible things about Pitocin-induced labour – it was hard, and no one had a good story to tell.

Once I was past my due date, I had an ultrasound scheduled for Friday, June 30, just to check in and make sure everything was okay. (The biggest concern with post-date babies is the placenta beginning to break down.) Our little guy was doing just fine, so no worries there at least. When I had seen Sky and Tracy the day before, we decided that if nothing happened over the weekend, I would see an OB for a consult the next week. If I had to be induced, at that point, my care would have to be transferred to an OB, so it would be better to at least consult with one ahead of time, instead of just showing up two weeks overdue.

Over the long weekend, nothing happened. Not even false labour, or Braxton Hicks contractions. Nada. On Sunday evening, Sky called. She had finally gotten the list of OBs on call at the hospital over the next few days, and the most “post-date friendly” OB, Dr. Potts, was on call that evening. Would we be able to meet here there for a non-stress test and a consult? Definitely!

We met Sky at the hospital, and went up to Maternity Triage. We did the non-stress test (NST) first – they attached two monitors to my belly. One monitored the baby’s heart rate, and the other monitored for (non-existent) contractions. I had a little button I had to press every time I felt the baby move – the idea was to see if my feeling fetal movement corresponded with his rise in heart rate (from moving). It did, and all was well.

The doctor came in, and examined me, telling me what we already suspected. At my last appointment the previous Thursday, Sky was going to attempt a “stretch and sweep” of my cervix and membranes to try and get things moving, but I wasn’t even dilated enough for that. Things hadn’t changed. The doctor said that given my positive test that evening, and the good results from the ultrasound on Friday, he would be comfortable letting me go to 42 weeks, if I wanted. He recommended I continue with a NST on Tuesday, another ultrasound on Wednesday, and a further NST and Cervadil insertion on Thursday, with the view to inducing me on the Friday (if necessary). (Before your cervix can even begin to dilate, it has to soften and thin, which the Cervadil should cause it to do. Mine was still too firm and long – they can’t even start the Pitocin drip until your cervix has softened, hence the Cervadil the day before induction.) That way, if things got too busy in the hospital for them to induce me on Friday, he’d still feel comfortable letting me go until Saturday or Sunday. So that became the plan, but I was still hoping that the baby would come on his own.

Another NST, another ultrasound. Everything still looked healthy with baby, and I was still feeling lots of movement from him, so I knew he was fine, but why wouldn’t he come out???

Finally, Thursday rolled around. I was feeling like this was my last chance – Sky had told me that for 40% of women, the Cervadil alone was enough to kick them into labour. I was really hoping to fall into that 40%! Steve and I went to the hospital again, and had to start with yet another NST. So far, so good. Then, we had to wait for the OB on call to do the Cervadil. So we waited. And waited. The thing about Triage in the maternity ward is, if neither you nor your baby are in any real trouble, you are a low priority. That day, there were three different pregnant women who had been in car accidents. Thankfully, everything ended up being okay with them and their babies, but we kept getting bumped down the list. Finally, they tracked down the doctor, and I got the Cervadil. Then, I had to do another NST to ensure that the baby was reacting okay to the drug.

About halfway through this NST, we started getting some wacky readings on the monitor – it said the baby’s heart rate was up around 200, then down about 40. I think it was because he was moving, and the monitor couldn’t read him properly. But because of that “deceleration” down to 40, I had to start all over with the time measurement, to ensure this was a one time thing. All in all, we spent about 4.5 hours at the hospital on Thursday, and when we finally left to go home, I was exhausted.

We got home just before 7 pm, and nothing was happening. Sky called around 9 to see how I was doing, and I told her I had just started feeling some really mild cramps, but they weren’t regular, and they were barely even noticeable. She said that was the drug working away, and to try and get some rest, because Friday would be a long day if I didn’t get some sleep. I went up to bed around 10, and dozed. By the time Steve came up around 11:30, I was up and rocking in the chair in the baby’s room. I was still feeling cramps, they were still mild, but they had gotten into a pattern: two minutes apart, and lasting for about a minute. We had been told to call the midwives when contractions were less than 5 minutes apart, but these were still just mild cramps – I wasn’t sure if this was worth calling about or not, but I paged Sky anyway. She decided that she and Tracy would come check on me.

They arrived about 1 a.m., and I was still just feeling those regular, mild cramps. Sky examined me, and I still wasn’t dilating. Nothing happening. She said it was just the Cervadil working away, and repeated her advice to try and get some sleep, because Friday was going to be a long day. Steve and I went to bed. I dozed on and off for about an hour, and Steve fell asleep.

By about 3 a.m., the cramps had gotten a little stronger, and were no longer so close together. I got up and heated my barley sock (literally, a sock filled with barley – makes a great heating compress!) in the microwave and lay in bed with it against my back – that helped a lot. By about 3:30, I couldn’t take the cramps lying in bed anymore – I would get up with each one and go into the bathroom and lean down against the countertop, then in between I’d rush back to bed to lie down and rest. By 3:45 I was really working hard to relax between contractions (they definitely weren’t cramps anymore!) and had decided that I would try to make it to 4 before waking Steve and calling the midwives. I was worried that things were getting a little tougher, but what if I was working this hard to relax through contractions, and nothing were happening still? Would I be able to make it all the way to 10 centimeters?

At 4, I woke Steve. Before calling the midwives, he ran me a hot bath, and helped me into the tub. I really thought that I would enjoy labouring in water, but while the hot water felt great and really helped me relax between contractions, I hated being in the tub during contractions. I wanted to be back in my standing bent-over position by the countertop! When Steve got off the phone, I had him help me out of the tub. Then I thought I’d try the shower. We have a bench in there that I could lean on, and I thought I’d really like the water beating on my back. And I did… until I had another contraction, and then I wanted nothing to do with it!

By the time I got out of the shower, it was 4:30, and Tracy and Sky had arrived again. They checked me – I was 3-4 cm dilated! The Cervadil had worked! I quickly found that the best way to labour was leaning over the bed, and it really helped to have someone putting pressure with a single hand on my lower back, right near the base of my spine. Anything else was distracting – I wanted no additional touching! In between contractions, having two hands on my back on either side of my spine helped me to relax. Steve got the hang of this “one hand, two hands” switch very quickly, and was great.

By 5, the contractions seemed to be pretty intense, so Sky examined me again. In that half hour, I had progressed to 7 cm! Time to think about getting to the hospital. It took a while to get organized between contractions, but eventually, I was dressed, down the stairs, and ready to get into the Jeep. I was pretty nervous about the ride to the hospital – I had been labouring standing up and leaning over, and was handling things pretty well, but I wasn’t looking forward to having to sit with my seatbelt on for the ride to the hospital! Steve was nervous for other reasons – my water hadn’t broken yet, and one of the last things Sky said before she got into her car to follow us was that if I felt the urge to push, not to! I’m sure he had visions of the baby coming in the Jeep!

The ride to the hospital was actually not as bad as I had been dreading. One of the books I had read had mentioned that the transfer to the hospital can sometimes slow labour down – it has to do with the body’s fight or flight response. If you’re on the move, your body doesn’t think it’s a good time to have a baby, and tries to slow things down. I’m not sure if that’s what really happened, but I found a few of my contractions were milder during the drive – I was just panting through them, rather than moaning and using my relaxation techniques.
We arrived at the hospital at 5:45. Sky put me in a wheelchair and took me up to the maternity ward while Tracy waited for Steve to park and brought him up. Before we left the house, Sky had called Joan to let her know we were on our way to the hospital, and she arrived shortly after we did. I had to get blood drawn just after we arrived, and one of the hardest things I’ve ever done was sit still through a contraction while the technician had the needle in my arm. (How does anyone sit still through a contraction while getting a needle in the back for an epidural??)

At about 6, I was really feeling pressure, and the urge to push was quite strong. Joan told me to go ahead and push with the next contraction, and pushing with the contraction made all the pain go away! It felt so good. They checked me out – 10 cm, definitely ready to go!

They decided to break my water, since it still hadn’t happened, and when they did, there was meconium in it (the baby had had his first bowel movement while still inside – not a huge deal, but there can be some concern if he breathes some of it in). Because of the meconium, they strapped the monitor to me to keep an eye on his heart rate.

I kept pushing with each contraction. There wasn’t time to break the bed down to get the squat bar set up, even though I had wanted to push in an upright squatting position. Instead, Sky supported me on one side, and Steve on the other, holding me in a squat on the bed between the two of them. When he was getting close, they had me lie back down, and Sky and Steve each held one of my legs. Steve had to remind me to breathe, I was concentrating so hard on pushing with each contraction!

I remember Sky telling me not to worry, but the baby’s heart rate was dropping a little with each contraction, so they’d like to get him out soon. She said that she might want to do an episiotomy if needed to get him out faster, and would that be okay, if he needed it? (One of the things we’d discussed previously was that I didn’t want an episiotomy unless it was absolutely necessary for the baby.) I said yes, if it was for him, she could do it. But I also found a little bit of extra strength to push even harder with the next contractions – my baby needed me to get him out!

And at 6:16 a.m., get him out I did! The episiotomy never happened – I got him out before they really got worried about him (although I did tear a little, and needed a few stitches). I remember them telling me that he was coming, and feeling him crowning (I remember thinking, oh, so this is the “ring of fire”. It’s not actually that bad… it’s definitely not excruciating…) and then Sky was telling me to reach down and grab my baby! I reached down, and there he was! They helped me lift him up to my chest, and covered us both with a sheet. He was here! He was finally here! I was so happy, I remember just looking up at Steve and saying, “He’s here!”

Owen Edward Howard was born at 6:16 a.m. on July 7, 2006. He weighed 8 lbs, 8 ozs and was 22 cm long. He had wispy brown hair, dark grey eyes, and long fingers and toes. He was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

It was an overwhelming moment. Lots of crazy thoughts ran through my head: “He’s finally HERE!”, “He doesn’t have a funny-shaped head!”, “He’s so little!”, “I DID IT!”, and “Wow, I feel really good now that he’s out!”

I held on to my little guy and snuggled him tightly while I delivered the placenta (when I had to push for the placenta, I didn’t even realize I was tense about more pain until Tracy said “It’s okay Cari, there’s no bones in the placenta”, and then I relaxed.) I remember saying to Steve, “Isn’t he beautiful?” and telling Steve that I loved him, and Steve telling me he loved me. We were finally a family of three!

Because of the meconium, they had to have the pediatrician on call check out our little guy. She did his APGARs (measurements out of 10 of how healthy the baby is at 1 and 5 minutes after birth) and he scored 9 and 9. While Sky gave me a few stitches, Steve dressed Owen in his first clothes, and snuggled him for a little bit, then brought him back to me.

We’d left our cell phone at home (on the charger!) in the rush to get to the hospital, but Joan found a phone for us to use, and we called our parents to tell them that our little guy was finally here. (We had to wait until we got home to call our friends, because we didn’t have a phone list – all the numbers were programmed in the cell!)

Then I was able to try to feed Owen for the first time, and he actually latched on right away! I was so happy, another reason I’d wanted to avoid the drugs was to help get breastfeeding off to a good start with an alert baby. I remember saying again at this point, “I did it! And without any drugs!” and Tracy said, “You sure did, and you didn’t even ask for them!” I was pretty proud of myself. Steve was proud of me too – I can be a bit of a suck around the house, if I hurt myself. I know he was pulling for me, but had his doubts about my pain tolerance.

After his first feeding, I gave the baby back to Steve and ate some breakfast. Then I got up and Joan helped me to the washroom to get cleaned up and dressed. Sky was just working on some paperwork, and we were nearly ready to go. Steve had to go back to the car to get Owen’s car seat (they don’t let you leave the hospital with your baby until they can see you have a proper car seat). Just before he left, his mom arrived, so she held Owen while Steve went to the car for his seat. Then we packed everything up, and headed down to the Jeep. Tracy had to leave for class that morning, so just Sky was coming home with us. We said goodbye to Steve’s mom in the lobby, and put our little guy in the Jeep. He cried a bit on the ride home – I think he wanted to be held some more.

We got home about 10 a.m. We’d spent more time in the hospital the day before than we had that morning having the baby! I was so happy to be able to come home right away. All three of us just got into bed together. Sky helped me feed Owen again, and when she was sure we were settled and comfortable, she headed out, letting us know she’d be back with Tracy later that evening to check in on us. We just snuggled down, the three of us, and Steve and I sang softly to Owen:

"A man and a woman had a little baby, yes they did. They had three in the family. It’s a magic number: three."

At Long Last!

2006-07-29T18:31:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a busy few weeks! After making us wait for nearly two extra weeks, Owen Edward Howard finally graced us with his presence on July 7, 2006. That's right, the JuneBug is actually a July Guy! But he's been well worth the wait. He weighed 8 lbs, 8 ozs, and was 22 inches long. I can't believe he's three weeks old already - he's up over 10 pounds, and 24 inches long now! From the beginning he's been such a great little guy, he makes this parenting thing really easy on us. He's great at nursing, he had a fantastic latch right from the start. He is an excellent sleeper, letting us get at least one four-hour stretch each night. As he gets bigger, he's only up once or twice through the night, so Steve and I are getting lots of sleep. And he's a pretty easy going guy too - only fusses when hungry, occasionally if his diaper is messy, and when he's hot. (The weather has been brutal the past week! We don't have central air, but thank goodness for our room air conditioners in our bedroom and family room. He's pretty comfy most of the time, we just let him lounge around in just his diaper. Some pics of our little prince:

More pictures and Owen's birth story to follow....cheers!