Sun, sun, sun

Today was one of those days where I did many things with the kids that Brad says he would not dream of doing alone. By the end of the day, I almost agreed with his approach but decided that I was tired because I did it all in one day instead of spreading the activity out over a few days. But when the weather is so beautiful, how can you not embrace it?

This morning we went out to Christie Conservation & met some friends for a swim, lunch & play at the park. Then the drive home involved actively talking to both Sydney & Jason to be sure they did not fall asleep in the van and ruin my chance of peace while they napped. Thankfully they both napped because needed the time to tidy up the disaster we left behind in the morning (I foolishly also did a craft with Sydney this morning during Jason's nap) & getting things ready for supper.

Barbequing and being outside is great, but trying to manage both kids playing outside & going back & forth for things for supper...not a fun task. So, to make things easier I try very hard to get as much supper prep done during naps so that the official supper preparation is not too stressful.

When the kids got up from their naps we went next door & Lindsey took Sydney for a swim. I didn't have the energy to take Jason in because he was being a little testy. So, once Sydney got out we came back home & they played in a much tinier pool. It is pretty cool because it has a sun shade on it, so it is perfect for Jason. Pretty much the whole pool was shaded & he could move around as much as he liked. The pool is pretty small for Sydney, but she still loved playing in the water. Thankfully Jason didn't freak out when I had to pull him out for a few minutes so that I could go inside to get the stuff for the barbeque.

So, all in all it was a very busy day- but a great one. Well there is one exception. I lubed the kids up well with sunblock, but missed my back & I am really paying for it now.

Sydney & the girls

Jason loving the water
(and the stones that he kept putting in his mouth)

Exhausted...

Last night after supper, I was absolutely exhausted from the weekend. Between gardening, anniversary party, birthday party, spending so much time outside, & constantly getting Jason out of things- I was beat. I attempted to post some pictures from the weekend, but our Internet was acting up & I did not have the patience to deal with it. What I should have done was gone straight to bed because I was so tired. Instead I watched 'Sweet Home Alabama' for probably the third time & read my book (Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince). By the time the movie was over I had gotten a second wind & then couldn't put my book down. Thankfully Jason did not choose last night to be up through the night.

Here are some pictures as a snapshot of our weekend.

Saturday Morning

We finished up our gardening with Sydney's help.
Do you like her Dora gardening gloves?

Saturday Afternoon

We headed up to Listowel for Uncle Jack & Aunt Susan's 30th anniversary party.

Jason was entertained for the first half hour by Nana's beer bottle.

Once the beer bottle lost his interest he started to scoot around & eventually got himself pulled up on the lawn chair. He is not a master at getting himself up yet, but he is expanding his use of levels to figure it out. The one he seems to like best is the bath tub. As much as I want him to be able to pull himself up, the bath tub is not a place I want him to master.

Sydney on the other hand, was content to play with Hayleigh & Emily for the afternoon.

Saturday Evening
After supper we put the kids in their p.j.'s & headed home. It took about 20 minutes to get them to settle & quit fooling around in the back. It is cute to hear them playing in the back together now, but now when we really want Jason to sleep. Sydney was repeatedly asked to leave her brother alone so that he would go to sleep. Thankfully he did fall asleep about halfway home, but as expected Sydney was up for the whole drive. Thankfully she went to bed pretty good once we got home & Jason transferred to his crib with little problem.

Sunday Morning

Went to a belated birthday party for Sydney's friend Emma. Kate's Cinderella cake was much more professional than the Cinderella cake that Brad & I made for Sydney on her birthday.

After cake, Sydney, Emma & Alina were all ready to go swimming.

Jason too had to get into the action. Looks like another water baby.

Sunday Afternoon

We arrived home from the party with two overtired children to find Logan in the living room. When we go out we put Logan in the basement & put the gate up. This week she had jumped the gate a couple of times this week, so Brad had put the chair in front. However, she still managed to get upstairs. I am so afraid that one of these days we are going to come home & find her lying at the bottom of the stairs with a broken leg (or worse).

How do you break-up with your hair stylist?

Today I went to a new hair stylist & I really liked her & what she did to my hair. I have been going to my previous stylist, Tahra, for about 8 years & in the last year I have probably gotten 3 or 4 cuts that I just wasn't happy about. I do however love how she highlights my hair. I wanted a new cut & didn't think I would get what I wanted from Tahra because she knows me too well & knows that I am resistant to change & may not force me over that edge. So I tried someone new that a friend recommended.

After today, I am pretty confident that I will not likely return to Tahra. I know that I should send her a note to tell her, but I am not really sure what to say. How do you break-up with a hair stylist???

Below is a picture of my new do- not a great pic due to the light so I will try again another day. The test will be to see if I can style it. Sydney & Jason stayed at Grandma & Papa's when I went to my appointment. When I was bringing them home I asked Sydney if she liked my hair. Her words were, and I quote, "Not really Mommy, it looks awful". I am still trying to decide if she meant it or if she was trying to be funny. Kids are honest, so really it could go either way.

Like the huge zit on my forehead?
Honestly, I get more now than I did in high school!

Happy Birthday Nana

Jason apparently couldn't wait to wish Nana a 'Happy Birthday" this morning. He started moaning, chatting, and crying in his crib intermittently at 3:30am. I went in at 4:30am to see if I could get him to sleep & at 5am brought him down to the rocking chair. He did fall asleep, but woke when I went to move him & now...well we are up. You may be up too & we would call to say Happy Birthday, but don't want to risk starting your day any earlier than you want.

We are supposed to be going out for dinner tonight to celebrate Aunt Michele's birthday. Don't know how well that is going to go. One thing I do know is that Jason & I will be leaving the restaurant early.

I think I can see some teeth starting under the gums, so I think that is the cause of the restlessness. I am sure hoping that exhaustion takes over & he has some lengthy naps today.

For the love of books

Sydney is a HUGE lover of books. She will sit & look at books forever. For Christmas she got three of the Jillian Jiggs books & loves them. There are only five books in the series & we have gotten Jillian Jiggs & the Great Big Snow from the library, but could not get Jillian Jiggs to the Rescue. We had a gift card for Chapters so yesterday I bought the rescue book for Sydney & a cute peek-a-boo book for Jason.


Mealtimes with Sydney can be painful sometimes because she is sooo sloow! Instead of letting her have the book right away to read, I told her she could have it after she ate her dinner hoping it would speed her up. Unfortunately it didn't really get her to eat quicker, but as soon as she was done she got right down for the book & forgot all about asking for "chocolate" which is a nightly request these days.

I am so thankful for her love of reading & hope that this love is also being developed in Jason. When playing in his room, I will now see him pick up the books to look at & not just play (chew) the puzzle pieces. There are so many good things about reading & it would be so nice to have two kids who like to do it, rather than finding ways to encourage them to do it.

Ten Months

Amazing as it seems, in less than two months our daily routine will be very different. You will be going to day care & I will be returning to work. Although I am sure it will be very sad for both of us, I am confident that it will also be a very good change for both of us. However, the recent changes that we have seen in you make me realize that I will miss out on many 'first moments' of your developing ways.

One of the biggest changes I can think of in the last month is your smile. When we are out, people often comment about what a smiley baby you are & it is quite often true. However, you still choose when you are smiley. If someone comes up to you & starts talking to you- you still give them your sober look & will sometimes smile. When we are out now, you are typically looking around, babbling & trying to get people to pay attention to you. So when you are the seeker of attention, you are all smiles. When someone pays attention to you without an invitation, you really think about whether or not they are worthy of receiving your smile.

The second biggest changes is eating. You are finally eating table food with some regularity. Those yucky baby meals are no longer finding their way into the grocery cart. The variety of things that you will eat & the finesse with which you do so had developed so dramatically in the last two weeks it is amazing. I literally was dreading meal times with you, because you just never knew how it was going to go- but all that is different now.

Sydney keeps saying that you are a big baby now & is she ever right. At your nine month check-up you weighed in at 20 lbs 4 oz., but I have a feeling you are much more than that now. When your sister was your weight, she was walking so I was not carrying her that much. It seems that lifting & carrying you is becoming my strength training. You show no signs of being close to walking, buy you have found your own mode of transportation. You are a bum scooter- you dig your heels in & pull your self along. You are a big fan of rolling from your back onto your stomach (especially during diaper changes!), but you seem to have forgotten how to get back over to your back. In the last few days you have started to get up onto your knees, but you don't like to be in this position & start to cry. So, I am not sure if all of a sudden you are going to have a breakthrough & start crawling or not.

You have also started to pull yourself up, but have only managed to get to your knees. I keep wondering if I should be worried about some of the gross motor skills that you have not accomplished, but everyone keeps telling me not to worry. Hopefully soon you will figure out to complete your roll, get into a sitting position & crawl. Once you are doing that I will likely wonder why I was in such a rush, because I am pretty sure you will be into even more things than you are now. Recently you have taken a liking to playing with the shoes in the closet, sliding & lifting the stool (which makes a heck of a racket), opening the fridge, playing in Logan's water dish, & pulling stuff out of any drawer you can open.

You & your sister are more & more becoming playmates. The good thing about this is that you can occupy each other & give Mommy & Daddy more time, but the bad thing is that you cry if she takes something away from you & she will often get upset if you are after something of hers. This is only the beginning of those battles.

You have perfected your wave in the last month & you are so proud of it. As soon as anyone says goodbye you will often start to smile & wave. You will also give kisses upon request. Your sister calls them 'drooley kisses' because they are open mouthed & very wet.

Sleeping...a very important element in my life. You have gotten much better. We only had one rough week this month when you were waking up at 5am & would not go back to sleep. You are napping twice a day now & will usually nap for an hour or more at each one. The past couple of days however have been a bit trickier. You have really started to babble a lot. You are constantly saying, "da da da, da da da" & this is often all we hear when we first put you in your crib. You will play around & after about 20 minutes decide that you want out. No deal on this one from Mommy- you still need that nap. Even though you would rather play right now, a well-rested baby is a much happier baby.

The legs went on the table to encourage you to try getting up.
The Leap table is one of your favourite toys.

Playing with your sister.
Problem is, you can't figure out how to get back out without bumping your head.

You are on your tummy, which you keep doing- but get mad that you can't get back. I can't figure out if you prefer sleeping on your tummy or not. I guess once you figure out the rolling over thing, this will become clearer.

Maybe I should have made more effort...

When I was home with Sydney on mat leave every Wednesday we went to Parent Link. Attending this gathering of parents was great for a few reasons:

1. met other parents (there were a couple of dads who came) with similar aged babies
2. Sydney got to interact with other babies
3. learned some valuable information from the presentations

Parent Link was from 1:30 to 3pm, with the first half hour being a social time. Getting there by 2pm at least was never a challenge with Sydney since she was never a napper & was usually awake by 1:30pm. When she got older & was getting closer to napping at the same time as Parent Link we would walk there & since it takes 45 minutes to get there she would sleep on the way & be raring to go when we arrived. I am so thankful for this group because I made some very amazing friends through this venue & a lot of us now have our second child.

With Jason, I have only been a couple of times. The main reasons I have not gone with him are:

1. he actually will nap at this time
2. the topics are the same as with Sydney
3. do not have the same motive to meet new moms

This week I got an idea of the disservice to Jason by not attending this group. On Monday, a friend of mine came over with her little guy who is 3 weeks younger than Jason. It was not a successful 'play' date. Both Graham & Jason are bum scooters, but Graham is more adept at getting around & was often taking toys out of Jason's hands, swatting at him, or just generally being in his space. Jason did not respond well to any of this & eventually he turned around to find me & scooted over crying. Graham wasn't doing anything that isn't "baby-like", but Jason just couldn't cope. I realized that he has always been around older babies & toddlers who to a certain degree give him space.

So now I sit here knowing it is Wednesday & realize that he is again going to miss the opportunity to be around some babies. When he wants to sleep, you want him to sleep because otherwise he can be a bear. Also when he wants to sleep, he wants his bed. He's not really a stroller or car sleeper. So, unless I can get him to maybe nap later in the morning that I could stretch him over this window for Parent Link- I don't think we will make it.

Thankfully Kelly & Graham have agreed to get together again next week. Hopefully if they spend more time together, Jason can toughen up & can co-exist with Graham. He better learn how because Graham will be at daycare with Jason a couple days a week.

Graham just took one of Jason's favourite toys. The little green spatula. He has started to use this as more than a chew toy too. He will whack balls with it & chase then around the floor. Maybe 'hockey mom' is in my future- but not at my encouragement!

See the tears???

New format for playdates

It seems our play dates are starting to take on a whole new approach. This morning my friend Kate was the host & although she has a 6 week old in addition to her 3-year-old, she had bought some things for the kids to have lunch together- pizza, quiche, & salad. None of this is done with ease & of course Matthew wanted to feed right when she put everything in the oven. Thankfully all of us are Moms of two children & used to things never running as smoothly as you want them to & having one child choosing an inopportune moment to 'demand' something of you.

Kate's thinking behind this approach was that the kids could go home with nice full bellies & have great naps for their mommies. Kate however, learned the drawback to this approach. When I have hosted play dates for a lot of kids & they stay later than usual or through lunch, Sydney typically does not nap because it takes her too long to wind down. When I called Kate in the afternoon, she too was suffering trying to get both kids settled into a nap. So, thank you Kate for your consideration & kindness towards our children...but were you successful with yours?

I also have to say a very big thank you to my friend Wendy. She was kind enough to watch Sydney for me in the afternoon so that I could go to a visitation for a friend's mother. Upon leaving Kate's I dropped Sydney off with Wendy & Sydney immediately went down for her nap (which I am positive would not have happened had I brought her home). Sydney got to play more with Ellie & Katie after naps & thankfully did not give Wendy any difficulties.

All I have to say is that it is great to have friends who are also moms & know what little things can help you out a lot.

Scooter

Well, Jason is officially on the move now. He is no longer just inching along, but moving at the speed of a turtle. I realize that a turtle is not very fast, but at turtle his size does move more than an inch at a time. In the past couple days he has also shown signs that he may crawl, but there is still that primary requirement of having your belly parallel to the floor & I believe he still has a certain aversion to that position.

Since he can hardly lift his bum off the floor, he also prefers travelling on the ceramic tile or the hardwood. Has to work harder on carpet & outside...well he hardly moves at all.

Go, Diego, Go!!!

Today, Brad's brother & I ventured to Toronto with Sydney & Max to see Go, Diego, Go. Rather than deal with the drive & cost of parking, we thought we would give the kids an extra treat by taking them on the train. Apparently this did turn out to be a special treat for Sydney as she says it was her favourite part of the day.

The kids were good, the show was good, so all in all it was a pretty good day. Both Sydney & Max were bouncing off one another when we first got of the train, but the novelty wore off much quicker for Max than it did Sydney & I think her excitement started to get on his nerves. We took an 8:45 train so there were not too many commuters, which was probably a good thing since there was a lot of 2 to 4 year olds on the train. Obviously we were not the only ones thinking it was a good idea to take advantage of transit.

I am one of those people that will be easily suckered by my kids when they want to buy overpriced souvenirs at shows, because I was one of those kids that wanted that stuff. We even went to look at it afterwards, but Sydney really wasn't interested. So, I figured it was best to walk away without anything rather than set an expectation for her that she doesn't initiate.

Of course, cameras were not allowed during the performance- so there are no shots of it. Here are a few of Sydney & Max.

Nothing like sugar smothered on a bagel to get ready for her big day.

Sydney & Max raring to go

Why do they put pockets on kids pants?

Yeah, free Baby Jaguar masks. This was all they needed to be happy.

What a bloody mess

This morning Sydney came out of her room with yet another bloody nose. This does not happen often, but does happen on occasion. However, nothing in the past has compared to this morning. From her nose to her mouth was completely blood stained. There was also blood from her nose back to her ear from lying on her side. Her pillow had two large blood stains, one the size of a large mango. Her comforter had four blood stains, two comparable to her pillow & two small. Her blankie was stained & her other pillow was stained.

It took five minutes of pressure on her nose to get it to stop & when she sneezed I saw that her mouth was also filled with blood. Thankfully, none of this seems to concern her. However, the cause of the nose bleeds is starting to concern me. She is picking her nose & causing it to bleed. A few weeks ago I spoke to the doctor about it & she told me not to be concerned about how much it bleeds as the nose is very sensitive & will bleed quite easily if irritated. I tried to talk to Sydney this morning about not picking because look at how much it bled & all she could say was "my nose was crusty Mommy". I think I am going to have to start lubing her nose with Vaseline.

If I had to find a good thing about this morning, I learned that shampoo is very effective at getting rid of blood stains on cotton. Thank you Google.

Mother of Two

Mother's Day did not get off to a very great start, but it ended very nicely. On Saturday night Max stayed over & it took a while for him to settle to sleep because he missed his mom. Sydney too took a long time to get to sleep & probably finally went to sleep an hour & half later than she usually does. Does not bode well for a "happy" day the next day.

During the night Max was up multiple times & at 2am I was getting close to calling his Mom & Dad to come get him. But thankfully that was the last we heard from Max until around 6am, but unfortunately Jason woke up at 5am. I started the day by saying "Happy freaking Mother's Day" to Brad. We were both rather tired & not exactly up to snuff to participating in a very busy day.

My Mom came down to see us & we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens for brunch. It was OK, but Brad thought that the Junior Farmer's brunch that we usually go to in Atwood is much better considering the bill for 3 of us there is less than $20 compared to the $100 bill from the RBG brunch. Although the food was good, I must say that I agree with him. Thankfully Sydney was free, but she ate very well. Jason didn't nap well in the morning, so he was a little testy during our meal & Sydney was also tired so with the two kids it was a bit like walking on eggshells to be sure you didn't set one of them off. Although there moods were a little volatile, we did get some nice pictures before we left.
Brad's family came over in the afternoon & we ordered take-out Chinese. Thankfully the weather was very nice so we could sit outside & enjoy the sunshine. We tried to get a picture of Dale with the grand kids, but the one shown here is the best we could get. Trying to coordinate a 2 year old, 3 year old & 9 month old is not an easy task.

Our neighbours were having their family over so they had opened their pool this week so that the backyard looked presentable. Although the water was only 67 degrees, the kids were in swimming. Oh, to be young again.

Pillow Fight

He may not be one yet, but Sydney & Jason have had their first pillow fight. Saturday morning they were pushing the cushion back & forth at each other and having a riot. It was so funny to watch & we finally heard a good hearty laugh from Jason.

Lovable, not always likeable

Cheerios & puff cereal cause no problems.
A runny nose will even help you save some for later.

Jason is always lovable, but at mealtimes he is not always likable. This morning was the first meal that did not involve a screaming fit since lunchtime on Wednesday. They say that at this point in the baby's life you should be introducing them to many different tastes & textures because it will not be as easy to get them to try new things as they get older.

Well, if this is the case- Jason's eating repertoire will be even smaller than mine was as a kid. I realize that since I was such a picky eater as a kid I should not be so surprised that I have been cursed with one myself & should have more patience with him. However, I do not think that I screamed bloody murder as soon as something I didn't want entered my mouth. I don't think that we will ever have to worry about wondering about how Jason feels about something, because he does appear quite willing to let you know...loudly. Our neighbours could hear him on Wednesday night & she just laughed when I told her that he was screaming because I put some rice & chicken in his mouth. She laughs because she is not sitting at our dinner table.

I borrowed a cookbook from a friend yesterday that has some baby-friendly recipes in it- hopefully this will bring Jason closer to eating more "table" food so that we can get away from the jarred food. I really don't get why he would rather eat that revolting looking stuff than fresh food prepared lovingly by his Mommy, but we are more successful with it than we are with our attempts.

A morning in the woods

On Monday I took Sydney & Jason for their first official "hike". I did not venture this alone, but went with a friend & her two kids. Sydney & Rain had fun climbing on tree stumps, logs & rocks. Moxie & Jason did very well & seemed to enjoy it too. It was my first outing with Jason in the back carrier & the ache between my shoulder blades Monday night taught me that I will need to pay more attention to my posture the next time.

This is a trail that Logan got to run on a lot before the kiddies came along, so she was thrilled to be back. However, in paying attention to what Sydney was doing I did not pay as much attention to Logan. So, as my punishment for that I had to bathe a poopy dog when we got home. I do not know why she needs to roll in crap, but it is a thing that she will do when we are out & she finds a stinky (& often slimey) mess to roll in.

Jason & Moxie patiently waiting to go.

Sydney & Rain

If you look to the right of the picture you will see Logan on her search for a good roll.

Nature's balancing apparatus. Tree stumps & moss covered rocks.