June Bug

Hello, long time no update, like usual.  Kiwi's first birthday has come and gone.  I can't believe I have a one year old.  It's cliche to say but it's no less true that this past year has gone by so fast.  I think I blinked and it was over.  His party was fun.  I enjoyed planning it and I have to say his cake turned out how I wanted it to (first time my vision has actually come out the way I had envisioned it.) 

I have to say he learns so fast and is surprising me daily with the skills he's developing.  He is able to put two shapes into the shape sorter without assistance.  He's learning to play with toys the way they were meant to be played with. He's also quick to pick up on a new skill, such as the other day he brought me a toy fan and I showed him once how to press the button to make the fan go and since then he's barely put the thing down, constantly making the fan go.  

He makes me laugh daily with the things he decides are the best toys.  For the last couple of days his favourite things to play with are a bag clip and a broken lego window.  He puts the chip clip into the window and shakes it around.  I laughed a lot today as he played with them over and over and his toy box overflowing with awesome toys just sat behind him untouched.  

Speaking of the last couple of days, our entire little family have been sick.  It started with Kiwi, he started throwing up for the first time in his life (other than the newborn spit up stage).  At first I didn't know how to react, I was wondering what do I do, do I call 811 (the nurses' help line) and after I calmed myself down and  got myself together, B and I cleaned him up and got him some toast and he was always his happy little self carrying on like nothing was wrong.  Such a little trouper.  It was that evening it hit me and I got sick for the first time in a long time.  The following day it didn't ease up.  Let's just say that Kiwi and I spent the day hanging out in the washroom for the entire day.  When I texted B to come home early from work cause I didn't think I could make it much longer he gathered up his things and then it hit him.  We were a sad little family for a few days and B's still on the mend, but doing much better than before.  

I am also still in recovery from my tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.  I finally got them taken out and I have to say after the second day I noticed a dramatic difference breathing through my nose.  I never realized it was so blocked before.  I guess you assume what you know is normal until it changes right?  I am hoping that after the swelling goes down I will no longer be a snorer! Wouldn't that be awesome?  So far B says that he's heard me snore - louder than before surgery - yikes!  (That was 3 days after surgery) and then since day 5 he said that I've just been breathing really heavy but no snoring.  Let's pray that continues to fade and that I will one day be a quiet sleeper :)  Not dead, just quiet.  I will try and update on some of these things in their own entry because as I type this very brief -yet long - novel update I realize I have so much more to talk about on each topic.  

Well, that's long enough for now.  Until next time,
Michelle

Happy Easter

So this has basically become the holiday blog.  After a holiday you'll get a random update about what we did.  I jest.  I can't believe it's been over a month since the last time I updated.  I keep up to date with posts in my head but just lack the ambition to actually write it out.  Let's see what have we been up to....hmm. Lots! 

 I take Kiwi to a program at the elementary school at least once a week.  It's a drop in program for kids ages 0-4.  It's to help get kids use to what school might be like.  They have centres for the majority of the time with a circle time and a snack.  Very fun!  Kiwi loves it there because he has free reign of the whole room.  

We use to go to library time.  It's actually called "Baby Rhyme Time".  He loved going!  But it is sadly over now until September.  

We have also continued to go swimming every Friday afternoon.  I love swimming and Kiwi does too! He is a fish!  He gets very talkative and loves to splash. If he sees a ball in the water he almost tries to push me away so he can go get it, however I don't let him go since he can't swim on his own.  It is a huge motivator though.  Or a toy boat.  He really likes them too. 

Kiwi is hilarious!  He makes me laugh constantly.   And a huge personality, he is so caring and loving and has quite the sense of humour. He has also been showing me things he's interested in.  If he hears the mixer going he makes his way over right away and wants to sit in his high chair and watch.  He has also started getting into all the cupboards.  We have put all the safety locks on all except one that is Kiwi proof filled so if he pulls everything out it doesn't matter.  He LOVES that cupboard!  It gets a lot of action.  It's also funny to find toys in random places.  Always an adventure.  He loves to put his toys into things or on things.  While folding laundry today he insisted on putting his football in the basket.  And he found his rubber duck on the edge of the tub and put it on the toilet lid. 

Also today he picked up the phone, held it to his head and said, Dad.  So I immediately called B at work (we got his voicemail because he was in a meeting) but when B's voice came on Kiwi smiled really big and his eyes lit up.  So sweet!

On Saturday we took him to the park for an Easter Egg hunt.  It was a really good turn out.  We had a lot of fun.  It was already past nap time for little guy so he wouldn't give me any smiles for pictures. On the way home he fell asleep in B's arms, so sweet!  On Sunday we went to church and then we came home for a nap (I say we because I had a nap too!) Kiwi is cutting his third tooth and he had woken up at 3:45-5:30 and then up for the day at 8.  And because I'm a gluten for punishment I hadn't gone to bed early so I was wrecked!  So a nap was in order for myself as well as little Kiwi.  When we woke up B took Kiwi downstairs so I could bake uninterrupted. Once the cookies came out of the oven I put some on a plate and away we went to B's Aunt and Uncle's house for Easter dinner.  It was Delicious (with a capital D!)  We had bbq'd steak and mango salad, yams, brussel sprouts!!! (they get 3 ! because I liked them that much), home made apple sauce, and homemade blueberry pie for dessert.  Such a yummy dinner!  

Kiwi entertained us for a good part of the evening and we had some great adult conversation as well while B's cousins entertained our little.  Then we came home and I was sure he would sleep through the night because of how active he had been and how much he had to eat.  But nope! He woke up in the night and then up for the day at 6:30.  6:30!!!!  If you know me, you know I'm not a morning person. I talked to my sister for a bit and she was like, I'm hanging up now, you're ignoring me.  I wasn't meaning to ignore her, I was just so tired and loopy and distracted by anything.  And I got distracted by my little man bringing me a book "I love you Forever" and I couldn't resist reading it to him.  He's just so stinkin' cute!  

That pretty much catches you up on our little lives.  I hope my next update won't take as long to post.  Until next time, 
Michelle

A little bit of bliss

Oh well hello there. I hope I find you in good measure. I am in fact in a mighty good mood. Might be because yesterday my sick hubby (he's got a cold) took on the lil' kiwi and allowed me to sleep in for the first time since...well I don't know when, well before Christmas that's for sure. Anyways, it was blissful. Then to top it off he took him out with him to do errands while leaving me at home so I could clean up. I was able to do my entire to do list in one full sweep (pardon the pun). I didn't have to take multiple breaks as you do when you have a wee one after your attention or feverishly destroying everything you've just cleaned. It was amazing. However, after about 2 hours of them being gone I started to really miss them! I called to catch up and see where they were at. I couldn't help it! When they got home I quickly changed Kiwi and fed him and then we were off, out for dinner at Swiss Chalet we went! (We had a coupon). It was a lovely evening out and B's mom joined us. We showed off Kiwi's first tooth that just started to sprout that morning. 

Today we have had a very lazy day. I woke up with kiwi at 6:50am. This kid is cute but I'm still not a morning person. I allowed him to play around me while I lied down on the floor. He's so funny. His favourite game right now is peekaboo with everything. He took a wicker basket and put it on his head and then peaked at me from underneath. He's got such a personality and loves people. He loves to make people smile and doesn't play strange with anyone (so far). He's walking along everything and has gotten really fast at pulling himself up. I love how he uses the handles on the drawers in the kitchen as a ladder. He's just started climbing onto things (which makes my heart skip a beat - ok that's my heart murmur but it does make me hold my breath!) He is sporting his first noticeable bruise on his forehead from a small fall :( Makes me sad but I know it's going to be the first of many. He has no fear. He is also starting to stand without holding on to anything. It's just a matter of time before this little guy starts walking.

Here is Kiwi blowing kisses

He likes to cuddle with everything, including the hardwood floor

In his hockey chair ready to watch the game

Did you have a great Valentine's day?  Unfortunately B was sick with a mighty cold on the actual day but that didn't get us down.  We celebrated with a romantic burger and blizzards from DQ. They were super yummy and I had made B a candy bouquet that I had seen on Pinterest. It was a quiet day overall but it was nice.  

Candy bouquet I made for B for Valentine's Day

 I'm excited about a piece of furniture we're going to invest in. A china cabinet. I need something to put my fancier dishes in to make some room in the cupboards for the more practical every day stuff, especially since lil kiwi's dishes will be moving in. I am not sure how to fix it up or if I will. I kind of want to try something as a project and I guess if I really screw it up I could always call my amazingly talented sister-in-law. She's got some mad skills! But before I go that route I think I want to try it. I am hoping that it will jump start me into doing some house decorating. I have yet to do any window treatments and get a game plan on how to organize the playroom. I need some inspiration and I have to be honest, I'm a little overwhelmed as it's not really my thing. Decorate a cupcake, sure no problem. Decorate a room?! Yikes! I guess cause a cupcake/cake is such a small surface and if you don't like it you just eat it scrape off the icing and start again. Where as a room just seems more permanent and a financial investment. Curtains aren't cheap, and what if you don't like the way your vision comes together? Oh my, can you feel my anxiety building? I think I need a cupcake! 




 

Here's Kiwi pulling himself up on the laundry basket - everything is fair game if it's at his height

Friday blurb

Good Friday evening to all my readers. Yes I'm so lively I am sitting at home on a Friday night updating my blog! Watch out, I'm a wild one! Today was an action packed day. But before I go into that I have to say my right hand is hurting sooo much. Can you believe it, a cooking injury! And it's not even a cool story therefore making it blog worthy. Yeah I can't find the logic there either. Anyways my can opener(yes I use a manual can opener) decided that it wasn't going to work anymore as I was part way done, too late to turn back now. So I did the logical thing, I switched to my I already know it's so broken can opener that I haven't thrown out yet. Then I switched back to this other one thinking maybe I was just holding it wrong. Well I finally finished the job but not without consequence. I tweaked something in my hand and wrist and every now and then I get a very sharp pain and it's quite annoying. Not really worth mentioning but it came to my mind as I was typing and it began to really hurt. Back to telling you about my day. I woke up way too much through the night. I don't know why but Kiwi decided he wanted to be up more than 3 times and then wake up early. Oh well, parenthood at it's best right? Then we got ready for the day and headed to go and see B's Grandma. She is so super cute. She was telling me how her and her hubby had met and then said, at least I thinks that's how. haha. I couldn't tell her any differently cause I don't know. It sounded nice though :) Kiwi is such a ham when we go there. He loves the attention that he gets from basically everyone. We joked today that he was flirting with all the ladies and trying to pick them up. Good visit overall. When we got home Kiwi was hungry and soooo tired. So he ate and then went to sleep for a 2 hour nap. This is a new thing he's been doing for almost a week now. Sleeping for 2 hours. It throws me off because I'm use to getting up to half an hour (and that's if I'm lucky) so this new 2 hour thing is HUGE! But I never plan properly and feel like I waste that time. Like today, I should have had a nap at the same time. But didn't plan for a 2 hour stint. Oh well. I feel like if I assume it's going to be a 2 hour nap he'll change his pattern and then I'll feel like I jinxed it. After his nap we went swimming. The pool here has a $2 swim on Friday afternoons and children under 18months are free. So it's a cheap fun outing. Kiwi loved it! He loves to swim. Today I wouldn't be surprised if he was the happiest kid in the pool. A couple of our friends came and met us there and it was a lot of fun. I put in a load of laundry and now I'm so ready for bed and it's only 8pm. Tomorrow my mom comes to town. She'll be here for not quite a week. So I have decided to clean the house tomorrow because then it might actually stay clean for when she arrives. Ha! I still have to put the finishing touches on her Christmas gift. (Don't worry I didn't miss Christmas with her yet. It's on Sunday). Well I think that's all I got for you today. I hope you got enough to fill your bellies at "Table Discussion" Until next time, Michelle

Happy New Year 2013

Happy New Year! I know I have been MIA but let's just chalk it up to the holidays.  It was hectic!  I'm sure like every one else's.  It was fun though and lots of family.  We still have one more family Christmas to do next weekend and then the season is truly over for 2012 :)  My mom is coming to town. 

Kiwi had a great Christmas, got spoiled like crazy and had a wonderful first Christmas. He was at the stage that he was able to rip paper and loved it!  He sat in a box as happy as a clam and had way more fun with the packaging than the actual toy.  Check for a typical kid on first Christmas. 

He blows me away.  I think it's because I've worked with children who are behind as milestones go. So for me to watch this wee little person with abilities that some of these other children weren't able to do makes me really sad and aware of just how far behind those little tots were/are. 

I pray that I am able to get pregnant again.  I really pray that I won't have to go through the fertility treatment route again. But if I do so be it, just a preference. But Kiwi has really been asking me to get him a sibling.  I know this because he's showing me how grown up he is.  Today he started scooting around his play table.  Took 3 steps while holding on to it. Crazy!  Isn't that a little too young yet? He's just turned 7 months. I think it's too early.  And he's so proud of himself when he's able to pull himself up into a standing position (also while holding onto something). 

Did you have any new years resolutions?  I was going to but B said he doesn't agree/believe in having them so that kind of deflated my idea of having one. Although I had 2 ready to go (you know in case one failed I had another to back it up.) I was able to accomplish my resolution from last year, although I think it was kind of cheating because it was fool proof.  It was to gain weight for the first 6 months and then lose it for the last 6.  I was pregnant though so it was inevitable to work out.  

Well, I think that pretty much catches everyone up. Until next time (hopefully not so long) and I'm sorry my last post was so negative. I was upset about B's work hogging him and I took out my frustration on my blog. 

Michelle

Alive?

So I never completed telling our story of our East coast trip, but the lack of comments makes me think no one cares anyways so whatever.  If you can't tell by my tone I'm in a sour mood.  Don't feel like getting into that though.  Let's think of something positive.  My Kiwi is super cute!  Every day he seems to get cuter and full of so much personality!  Today we introduced Cherrios and at first he was really confused by them. Well, at first he couldn't figure how to pick them up and get them in his mouth. Then once they were in his mouth he was confused by them. So super cute. I ended up mixing them with yogurt and then it seemed to be easier for him to break them apart. (He doesn't have any teeth yet).  He's growing up so fast.  He's almost crawling.  He can get up on all 4s and rock back and forth and occasionally he'll scoot his knees forward.  One time up to 3 times before face planting. He's a master roller!  He's even figured out how to correct the roll so he can straighten out and get to his desired location.  Such a smart problem solver.  He also discovered the door stopper behind our bedroom door this morning and how it makes a *boinnnnng* sound.  I removed him from this area and put him on the opposite end of the room and he managed to get back there in less than 2 mins.  He's also made a b-line to under the Christmas tree on more than one occasion.  He loves to rip paper.  Christmas should be fun.  

Well, there you have a mini update. Merry Christmas
Michelle

East Coast part 3

I'm back.  I took two days to start and complete my Christmas baking.  More on that later though, I need to finish documenting our family trip.  I left off with us going over the bridge.  We stopped off in Moncton to visit with B's cousins.  Then we continued on to St. John, New Brunswick.  The hotel was nice (not as cool as Charlottetown).  The room had two queen sized beds which isn't actually all that terrible when I have to get up multiple times in the night.  I don't disturb B as often with my up and down and jumping on the bed, which is a regular occurrence.

On our drive between Moncton and St. John there were moments of extreme rain.  Where the windshield wipers could not keep up and we were forced to slow down to a crawl on the highway. Ok, to 60.  Our GPS, we learned, does not know St. John, like at all!  We named her Confused Catherine. We put in the name of our hotel and followed her instructions. She declared that we had arrived at our destination and when we saw that we were at Superstore and not the hotel we realized that she had no clue where she was taking us. So we went old school and asked for directions at a gas station.  The funny thing was while we were driving up to our hotel Catherine was displaying that we were driving through a field.  Kind of funny, kind of frustrating since it was already after midnight at this point.

We woke up to a sunny day.  We headed down to the breakfast and it was very yummy.  We went for a little tour around town and saw some of the sights that they had to see. Then we headed back to the hotel and played in the pool. This was the highlight of St. John for us.  They had a blacked out waterside which we took turns going down over and over.  There were two young girls also in the pool and they enjoyed being splashed by us as we came down. W really enjoyed the pool as well.  He loves to kick his legs and splash.  He's so dang cute!

The next day (Friday) we drove around town for a short time to see a couple of things we wanted to quickly look at and then headed back to Moncton, which is usually an hour and half drive.  We decided we would take the scenic route and go along the coastline.  When we got to a closed off section we realized we would have to re-route ourselves.  Well, confused Catherine struck again.  She recommended we took this one road.  When we got there it was a dirt road.  Do we take it?!  Well, it's only 24km we thought, it took us what seemed like forever to get through the 24km track.  It was a relief and embarrassing when we passed a bunch of hunters.  They gave us the strangest of looks as we passed by their wee cabins.  When we finally got back to the highway I was pretty much "adventured" out and asked that if we could just go straight to our destination, no more sight seeing. We headed back to T&M's house. 

However, on our way we did see some neat things, we came across another lighthouse, and a covered bridge and a washroom :)