Today was a long day

Today was a day that did not make me feel sad about going back to work in three weeks. Instead it was a day that has me looking forward to that day saying, "Reign freedom, reign!". Here is a summary of the events.

Jason didn't have a morning nap, so I thought we would go to Costco to get the things we needed. While there Sydney got into a pout because I wouldn't buy her a book (which I actually had gotten one for her to save for a 'special' occasion, but don't want her expecting to get something every time we are out), then she cried because she hurt herself on the cart & wanted to be carried. Yeah, like you can carry a child and steer one of those massive carts at Costco. Jason did great until I realized I forgot to get the propane tank which was the main reason we went, then he started to SCREAM! So I was one of those people pushing my cart as fast as I could in the store with one child screaming & the other with a sad look on her face. So needless to say, I have the propane tank but need to go back to get it filled.

Sydney's behaviour in the morning clearly demonstrated to me that she needed a nap, but she thought otherwise. When I caught her playing in her room and told her to go to sleep I was treated to the phase, "I don't like you Mommy!". Yes, I am already being treated to that retort from her. I am sure it is not the first time nor the last time that I will hear it. I left her in her room for awhile & could hear her chanting, "I don't like my Mommy, I want my Daddy". So, I finally went in & told her that she could either nap now or get up, but it would be early bed tonight & no stories before bed. She opted to get up, but she was a sad girl tonight when I did not read her any stories.

Jason did nap this afternoon, but clearly not as long as he needed to. So, they were both up at 2pm & the afternoon was filled with either clingy or crying children. Supper was a disaster & to make it worse Brad was going out for drinks with his boss after work- so he didn't get home until Sydney was in bed. While I was reiterating my day to him he thought I was whispering, but I told him that is all the voice I have because my throat is so sore. He clearly felt bad that I had such a crappy day with the kids & asked if there was any highlight & the only one was that both kids went to bed very easily.

Now I am off to get myself to ready for bed because, tomorrow is another day!

Flurry of Accomplishments

In the past few days Jason has (1) learned how to clap, (2) adjusted to no longer getting a morning bottle, and (3) climbed the stairs. In typical Jason fashion, none of these accomplishments have come easily. I feel like I have been trying to get him to clap for weeks & all of a sudden he finally did it last Wednesday. Now of course it is hard to tell the difference between when his is clapping & when he is signing 'more'. Thankfully more often than not he is happy to have you just clap back, so I think we are usually interpreting him correctly.

Last Monday I stopped giving him a bottle when he gets up in the morning. Monday morning was tough. He was pretty whiny before he went down for a nap & then didn't really nap at all. Actually, he never really had a morning nap all week- coincidence??? By Wednesday morning he seemed to have adjusted to this missing bottle. He is quite happy to be plunked in his highchair with some Cheerios & his milk while I get his real breakfast ready. Gerber makes a soft straw sippy cup & Jason is a master at drinking with it. I don't think Sydney mastered using a straw until about a year ago, but Jason can drink from a straw but still doesn't understand how to use a cup.

Now the stairs accomplishment seems to have come about quicker than any other of Jason's accomplishments. On Thursday, Sydney & Jason were playing & Sydney ran upstairs to get something from her room. Next thing I know I hear 'bonk' and then Jason is crying. I assumed that he had been standing at the base of the stairs & then fell & bonked his head on the wall when he tipped over. This happened again on Saturday & because I saw it at a different moment what I now believe happened was that he crawled up one step & then sat back down which of course had him toppling over on the floor. So, I encouraged him to crawl up the stairs & he seemed able to do it but was not wanting to do it so I stopped after a couple of stairs. Well, on Sunday morning when I was still in bed he attempted them again. Brad went up the stairs behind him & encouraged him the whole way, but Jason was having a FIT! I had gotten out of bed to see what was going on because I assumed that he had really hurt himself.

It seems that he must have some residual memory of tipping backwards off the step, because he sure seems afraid of crawling up the stairs now. It's a double edged sword really. Would love to see him achieve this 'milestone', but it just means more places he can get to & create more chaos. The other thing is that we can't really put a gate at the bottom of our stairs that go up to the bedroom. Because of the placement of the moulding & railing, there is no good way to secure a gate. This was never an issue with Sydney because if you said 'no Sydney' a few times, she didn't do it. Not Jason. He will try & try & try. I swear his goal is to wear us down. So, what did I do to prevent a major injury? I put foam pads at the base of the stairs. Luckily there is only about 6 steps to the next level so the risk of a bad fall is not great. I know that I will see Jason before he gets to the top (or hope I will), but know that if I am trying to get things done that I can't keep him from going to the steps completely.

I said to Brad that I am not sure what kind of mother that makes me when I am trying to minimize the injury rather than prevent it. I may not win the mother of the year award, but at least I am realistic about my child's impulses and my ability to harness them.

Springridge Farms

Springridge is just near the top of the escarpment,
so the view from the farm is quite picturesque.

This morning I took Sydney & Jason to Springridge Farms. They have a few animals (Sydney was disappointed that there were no horses), a corn maze (really just a corn path that kids won't get lost in), hay bales, and of course STRAWBERRIES. I did not venture out into the field to pick our own, not a task I am willing to take on right now with Jason & Sydney together.

Jason didn't nap again this morning (fourth morning in a row- could he be dropping this nap already?) & I knew I wanted to get them out. I also knew I wanted some fresh strawberries since the season around here is almost over- very short this year. So off to Springridge we went. It took much longer to get there than I remember & the way home was a little tricky trying to keep Jason awake. But Sydney enjoyed her time there looking at the animals & jumping on the hay. I am not sure if Jason's expression of "I am not impressed" was due to (1) being tired, (2) being hot, or (3) watching his sister have all the fun while he was stuck in the stroller. He did get a kiss from some little boy, for a reason that I am not sure. I was helping Sydney up onto the hay bale & turn around to see this little boy giving Jason a kiss. I wish I had a picture of the expression on Jason's face after that happened. He looked like he thought the kid was nuts.

Sydney did pretty good jumping on the bales, but when other kids were coming close to her to pass- she would cover her eyes. Not sure what that was all about. Just before we left I did take Jason out of the stroller so that he could sit with his sister for a photo op, but of course that resulted in me pulling hay out of his mouth. I so cannot wait for the everything in the mouth phase to be over.

Next year Jason, I promise you can join in the fun.

Watching the Storm

I hope very much to have children who are not afraid of storms. So, when one is coming in I try to make a big deal about listening for the thunder & watching for lightning (at a safe distance, of course). Sydney, really couldn't care less about my game. Which is good because it means that she isn't afraid of the storm, but it doesn't give me someone to sit & watch with either. So the other day when we were getting some good rain, I tried to encourage Jason to watch with me. He at least showed signs of wanting to watch out the window which of course then got Sydney interested too.

Maybe kids learn to play one parent off of the other from us using one kid to play off the other kid. Hmmm.

First missed moment because of work

Today I worked half a day and met with Jen who has been covering my job during my absence. She will be leaving on her mat leave a week before I return, so we are covering the details now.

It was Sydney's day at day care & Grandma & Papa kept Jason. Since Jason didn't make a sound when Dale put him down for a nap, she went in & checked on him (any other time she has put him down- he has cried before he went to sleep). When she peeked into the room she could not see him in the crib so she had to go right over. Apparently he was sitting facing the corner of the crib with his knees drawn up to his chest & his head was resting on the bumper pads. He was fast asleep. She could not believe he had fallen asleep sitting up, but that is where he was. She waited a few moments and went back in to lay him out because she was worried about how he would feel when he woke up.

She said he looked so funny, like a little budda baby. Unfortunately she didn't take a picture, so I will have to use my imagination to satisfy myself with what he looked like.

Brad's worried

We have noticed that Jason has found a new thing to play with...the phone. He picks up the phone that goes with his little kitchen & tries to hold it to his ear & sounds like he is saying "hi ya!". Jason has been much more of a babbler than we remember Sydney being, so it looks like Brad may be the only "strong silent type" in this household.

We will see if either of my children will have report cards similar to their mom's when she was in school. Two thirds of my elementary school report cards had a comment similar to..."Kelly would do much better in class if she did not chat so much".

She does listen

On the weekend we had our first incident of Sydney biting Jason. When I asked her if she bit him, she said "no". I knew she had & asked her again, also telling her that if she wasn't telling the truth that meant she was lying and that was a bad thing to do. She still denied biting him but when I showed her the teeth marks on Jason's finger, she immediately fessed up to her crime. Apparently Jason wouldn't kiss her, so she bit him. I don't think she was trying to be mean to him, I think she just was testing for a reaction- well she got one.

I am not sure if this incident will be the end to her lying. But I do know that she did hear my lesson about telling the truth because this is a phrase she has used a few times in the last couple of days. Yesterday when we were at Grandma & Papa's she was telling her Grandma something & I heard her tell Dale, "that's the truth Grandma!".

Boys of Summer

Today Jason had another play date with Graham. Thankfully these are starting to go much better.

Drying off after their swim.

Common theme these days when trying to take a picture of Jason. Better hope the first one is a good one, because once he sees me with the camera- he after me to get it.
This is a picture of him mid-scoot.

'Happy' Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day & a main goal of the day should be to do things that make the Dad in your life happy. I am not sure that we completely succeeded at reaching that goal for Brad. Two things that Brad hates most are: (1) planning too much in a day & rushing around & (2) eating outside. Yesterday was a busy day with Jason's baptism, having the grandparents back for brunch, & going to Robb & Michele's for dinner. On their own they do not sound like terribly complicated events that involve a lot of rushing, but when you are trying to coordinate two kids schedules into it- it often becomes a completely different experience.

First off, Jason started the day off for us with a wake-up call at 5:15am. Which in retrospect actually turned out to be a good thing because he actually had a short nap before church. He did very well during the service & didn't freak out when Pastor George took him. The water on his head turned out to be a good thing because it distracted him from the fact that a stranger was holding him & he then was squirming to find out where the water came from- in hopes that he could have a play. I think Jason would have been in support in a full immersion baptism.

Dale, my mother-in-law, works nights on the weekends and essentially went home to change her clothes & came straight to the church. It's lucky the service was over at 10am because she was starting to sway during the last prayer- I could have had her sleeping on my shoulder if it had been any later. After church we had a brunch & since the oven had been on while we were out I figured it would be cooler to eat outside- boy was I wrong. So, not only did we make Brad eat outside on Father's Day- it was VERY hot!


We were supposed to host the supper, but due to bbq issues we moved the festivities to Robb & Michele's. Although this meant we had to get ready to leave the house with the kids, we did not have as much clean-up afterwards- so that should have taken away some of the "busy-ness". I am not sure that Brad felt that way though.


So at the end of the day, we were both very tired due to our VERY early start & were looking forward to a good night's sleep. It seems that Father's Day was destined to end as poorly as it started. At 2am Brad & I are awoken (thankfully not the kids though) by an alarm. We at first thought it was the smoke detector, but then learned that it was the Carbon Monoxide detector. At 2am in the morning I couldn't even think what you were supposed to do when there is Carbon Monoxide in the air. First we went into the kids rooms to be sure they were alright & thankfully they were still sleeping peacefully. We reset the detector & plugged it back in to see what happened & 20 minutes later it went off again. Since we really don't have anything in the house that would emit Carbon Monoxide we figured that it had to be something faulty with the detector, but you don't want to take chances. So, Brad took it outside & plugged it in out there to see what happened. After about 10 minutes it went off again, so we could at least be confident that there wasn't anything in the house it was just the detector.

By this time it is about 3am & we head back to bed. After a bit I could get back to sleep, but I am not too sure that Brad slept too much after that. Hopefully tonight will be much more peaceful for him (& me too, of course).

Houdini Logan

If you read last weekend's post you learned that Logan made a leap out of the basement while we were away. Yesterday when I went out with the kids I put a kitchen chair & Jason's highchair in front of the gate & she somehow cleared it!!!!!

I will be seeing my in-laws this weekend & plan on asking to borrow their video camera. This is a 5-6 foot leap that she must be taking & I just don't get how she is doing it.

I am not concerned that she would wreck anything in the house if we didn't put her downstairs, but I am worried that she would plant herself at the front window & bark at whoever goes by. There are two big dogs across the street who are very easily set off to bark & they are LOUD. I do now want Logan to start the chorus of barking in while we are away. Thankfully the two big dogs next door moved out yesterday. Liked the owners, not the dogs.

Pretend Play

This morning before Sydney left for daycare she was 'feeding Jason some chocolate'. Of course this was just pretend, but Jason was sitting there like a little bird opening his mouth for the spoon. It was so cute I had to run & get the camera.

However, by the time I returned Jason was starting to tire of Sydney's little game. I think he had finally realized that there wasn't anything coming on the spoon that she was offering.

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.