Sunday, September 30, 2007

Run for the Cure


We're ready for the run! (please notice our new rug)

Kai with 3 of his favourite things; blankie, daddy, and his plastic banana...

This was the 6th year in a row that my family has participated in this run. Wow, it was 7 years ago now that my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The run was very different this year because it was dark and very rainy. It is usually a very positive atmosphere but today, it was not. I also felt really sucky because I didn't run it. I strained my hip flexor (sp) in football yesterday so thought it would be best to take it easy. Gary had a great run with Kai in the jogging stroller. I'll attach a team photo once I get it from my sister. After the run we went out for lunch with the whole family (wow, 12 of us!) celebrate Trisha's 21st birthday. We did have to wait about an hour all together for our food but the two little ones behaved nicely, phew.

(jackie and nut, we missed you!)
What else this weekend? Saturday was busy as I had a football game in the morning (which we won by a crazy score of 2-1!). It was a good game in that we had to work really, really hard. I've got a lot of strange bruises to prove it too. In the afternoon I went with my sister to buy her wedding dress, I love it and it suits her so well! After that, Gary and I went to pick up our `new' great room rug. Our house requires us to be minimalists and it really kind of stresses me out the way our living room area looks, so, I thought the new rug might improve things. The real problem is my recliner. I love it, but, it takes up half our house. I paid some good money for it, so, I don't want to get rid of it. I know I sound so weird complaining when I have so much stuff to be thankful for and it seems so trivial, but, its something that has bothered me for over a year now and when you spend most of your time in that room, you want it to be functional and look nice too. I just wish that I could magically come home from work one day and there would be a $2000 makeover to our great room. Aren't I so selfish and vain? That money could sure go to a lot better things....I'm just frustrated. Finally, last night I saw my cousin singing/playing at a coffee shop which was a nice, relaxing way to end a busy day.
Well, I hope to relax and read my book this afternoon...it's a strange one and the way the dialogue is written is very frustrating but I'm liking it. It's called `Blindness'. Have a great Sunday everyone.
PS This is written about 4 hours later...Gary and I carpet cleaned tonight, it was kind of fun! (we don't have much carpet so it only took an hour).

Thursday, September 27, 2007

I'd rather be at work...

Just because he's being super monkey-ish today. He runs into the bathroom (its a sliding door, we cant' lock it) and grabs the toilet paper and runs around the house stuffing bits in his mouth. I can't remove it, I tried and he bit my finger. Fine, he can eat it. He is purposely doing stuff he knows he's not allowed (shaking the lamp, pulling on the modem thingy)...grrrr....Oh well. He is now telling me when he has to go the bathroom but it doesn't help much as he doesn't want to sit on a potty. He just tells me, `Mama? poo'. Kinda funny that he says `mama' as a question now. Actually, a little annoying when he just says, `mama? mama? mama?' over and over and over.
Here are some pictures from half an hour ago when he was a little more behaved.....
Following the monkey for 5 minutes.

Ap-ball (he's loving his plastic cooking stuff so that's fun)

Flying up the stairs which is actually a nice relief for my back! He usually waits on the bottom step until someone is there to go with him. Usually.

Torn between wanting to run and wanting to snuggle with his blankie. (We found out at daycare this week that he will eventually fall asleep without it as we forgot it one day! It took a while and apparently he was quite sad)

Playing upstairs

Upstairs, he goes from one room to the next opening and shutting doors and throwing down everything in his path. Last night at 11:30pm, Gary realized his alarm clock was missing so we were both looking everywhere for it and found it hidden IN our bed.
Okay, sister is here now...gotta go!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Congratulations Janny Bear!


My little sis is engaged. Jan is the 3rd girl out of the 5 of us and def. the wackiest (and tallest and greatest lover of kareoke). They plan on getting married next summer and I'm looking forward to it! Welcome to the family, Doug!
PS A happy bday today to my littlest sis who's turning 21!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Like father, like son


Kai with his `new' kitchen ($5!). It came with 10 million pieces (okay, maybe just 30) which will be really great for cleaning up but its kept him independently busy for a long time! Woohoo! He loves opening and closing cupboards and playing with cutlery and food so we thought this would work well.

Here's Mr. Whiny pants wanting to be picked up...he's been asking this a lot lately which is kind of strange. It's def. not to cuddle, he just wants to be able to reach stuff that is normally out of his reach:)

(Oh ya, the title refers to being busy in the kitchen, not the whining part!)

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Our comedian


Kai came running out of the bathroom surrounded in toilet paper. Gary got the camera and caught him running away from him giggling like crazy. Every time he tried to get a picture of his face, he'd turn and run the opposite way. His new word is `Hot' but it sounds more like `hoth'. He doesn't even know what it means but he knows it because I sometimes have him wait for his food because its too hot.
Today I had football again, and, I'd just like to say that we have won 3 games in a row. Today felt particularly good with a 34-6 win as they kept double rushing but that did not deter us. Their defense played short so most passes were long ones. Somehow I am able to throw a lot further this year and I honestly attribute it to having a big one year old to take care of. My upper body and core strength seems to be back, woohoo!
Gary and I just watched the Lions game. Pretty good game, especially the last couple minutes:) We also went out for dinner tonight, with Kai, so it was a gobble and go type deal. I don't think we even had a conversation as Kai does not like being strapped in to anything right now, he just likes to go, go, go!
Let's see, what did Gary do today while I was at football? He cleaned bathrooms and vacuumed:) What a man! I love it!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Kai this morning...

I realized I hadn't taken pictures in almost 2 weeks so here are some from this morning...(especially for auntie Jackie in Namibia, we miss you!)

Kissing the lion from his new `Noah's Ark' toys. I think I might be teaching him weird things because now he kisses them all and today, he was making Noah and a giraffe kiss. I guess I should be teaching him animal sounds or something:)

Walking around with the potato masher, his second fav. toy. Number one is an empty, plastic ketchup bottle.

Talking to his animals, this is a new thing...no idea what he's saying.

In his fav. place with his fav. blankie.
His fav. book is `Hop on Pop' by Dr. Seuss. He calls it `Up! Up!' because the first page says Up! Pup! Pup is Up! (or something like that). I guess that's where he learned to say it.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Belly tickles

Now when I get Kai out of his crib, he stands up giggling, lifts up my shirt to see my belly, and tickles me. So cute. Sometimes when I'm on the computer he runs up to me to tickle my side too. It makes me giggle because his hands are so cold and I think he's kind of silly. Tonight, he didn't' fall asleep right away and just chattered away for an HOUR in his crib repeating mama over and over and having some happy giggles.

Teaching has gone well. Its been a bit busier than I thought (while at work) because we usually leave by 4pm. Gary and I used to always stay til 5pm or so, it just means now I have to work during my breaks and half my lunch too (we leave by 4pm so that we can get Kai and have some quality time with him before bed). It's fine, just busier. Today I marked 4 classes of tests and 20 Virus posters. Wow. Go me. I've enjoyed being back at work and I don't think about Kai all day because I know he's okay, what a great feeling! He did fall today and got a bruisy bump on his forehead, he has to learn that stairs are dangerous! He would run straight down them (which means he would fall straight down) without a second thought...I think that's how we all learned as kids:)


I have realized that I haven't taken a picture of Kai in 9 DAYS. Wow. I must be back at work. I'll have to get some tomorrow. Below is a picture of him from exactly one year ago. If he was anywhere near a laundry basket today, it would be emptied in seconds and our belongings would be scattered throughout the entire house!

Monday, September 17, 2007

Daddy's home!


Gary was gone for 3 days on the rafting trip that the grads go on. He had a great time and we're glad that he is home! It actually wasn't that bad doing it on my own as Kai was at daycare 2 out of the 3 days:)
Not much else new...we won our football game again this weekend so that was nice! On Sunday, Gary and I were in the infant nursery at church and it was interesting to see the difference between the kids that were all about the same age. Kai was the only boy and I have to say that as the girls played quietly and quite stationary (even cuddling?!), Kai was just running around and displacing everything. I think he has cuddled twice with me in the past 6 months, both times when he has been sick. He would rather slap me in the face...he's still doing it...its hard not to get mad or cry about it as I feel hurt physically and emotionally. I am trying to respond a lot more calmly in my `no' so that it might not be as exciting of a response that he gets. Oh well, he really is a fabulous boy and I've heard that although boys are rambunctious and wild as toddlers, they are much easier teenagers! Let's hope so.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

My number one fan

I just want to say that I miss my mom. She loved me more than anyone else and was my biggest supporter and encourager (and I'm sure my sisters would say the same for themselves). We all had amazing relationships with mom and we've sort of filled in that role for eachother, but, it will never come close to how much mom cared for us. It's hard when your number one fan is no longer around. It's hard because I know she would love Kai as much as I do. I am not as sad about it anymore, I just feel a little bit empty and I think I always will. I see life differently now. Life isn't as wonderfu/perfectl as I once thought it was (like when I was 20 and everything was just so fun!) and I'm not really surprised anymore when bad/sad things happen. Please don't think I'm a `half empty' or `poor me' type person, or that I'm depressed, I just think I'm realistic.

I think I was well behaved

Obviously I can't remember being a one year old but I really think I was a good kid who listened and behaved. According to my dad, I was (although he could have me mixed up with any of my sisters). I think for the most part, my sisters were really good too. Today Kai was mad that I wouldn't let him climb the stairs so he slapped my face and pulled my necklace until it broke. Is this normal? Even when I ask for a kiss, half the time its a slap in the face followed by a HUGE giggle (still gets a big `NO' but at least he isn't doing it out of anger?). I guess he's just learning to express himself. Another great way of expressing himself is when he throws his food all over the kitchen. Today it was chilli as there was rice in it and he doesn't like rice or noodles. Yay for laminate floors. It's kind of sad that I love him more than anyone and he will slap me in the face. I wonder if he's confused because we encourage high fives and if its okay to slap someone's hand, why can't you hit their face too?
What else is new? Today we played with bubbles outside and he said `bubble' 3x. Wow, I was impressed. That seems like a big word to me for some reason. He only signs `milk' but i think it may be because he can mostly let me know what he wants otherwise.
I attempted walking 2 blocks to the mailbox with him today. I set aside half an hour for this. It would be okay if he kept going in the same direction but he kept wanting to run away from me. He also enjoyed picking up every single leaf.
I do have to say that 7:05pm is a very enjoyable time for me. Freedom.
By the way, I have really enjoyed the all in one cloth diapers, especially since he's a squirmer in diaper changes and this way, its done really quickly.
One last thing, I took a peak in his mouth today and there were teeth popping out everywhere! I wonder if that why he's slightly more volatile lately.
Sorry, no picture:)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

What's better than one teething infant?

TWO! Actually, they weren't that bad. Kai just got two new teeth today, one being his first molar so that's exciting. Today, Ani, Kai and I went to the park twice and to Extra Foods (to see how grocery shopping with the monstrous double stroller would work). I've noticed some differences between these two kids, that's for sure. Maybe its because of their sex, maybe its their age, maybe its just personality, maybe its parenting, but here's a few things:
Ani: will not leave the park, listens to whatever I ask her to do (except share), doesn't like anything dirty on her hands or face, will pick stuff off the ground to give to me so that I can throw it away, cries a very quiet cry.
Kai: runs away all the time, never listens, doesn't mind sharing, loves dirt and food all over himself, will pick stuff up and eat it, cries so that the whole neighbourhood can hear (but rarely cries, more of a whiner)
Similarities: both love bananas, go to bed so easily, love their blankies, get fevers with their teething, love doggies, love their shoes, love snacks, don't like watching tv at all, love kicking/throwing balls around.

Giving kisses
Ani and Kai making silly faces while snacking away
Nothing like a little banana bread for dessert!
Someone must be teething/sick if he's willing to cuddle with me!

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Summer's still here!

What a beautiful day today! It started with a walk with Kai this morning and then off I went to football. Big thanks to lil sis for doing a fabulous job babysitting Kai, she even had to change her first dirty diaper in years. I am so fortunate to have family (on both sides) generally available to take care of our monkey. Football was fun. We won, I played well, the other team was really nice, and it was just great to be sweating again while hanging out with friends. Next week we are playing against a new team that is being coached by our old coach so should be interesting!
First week of teaching went well. This week will def. be a greater test as to what life will be like as its jam packed with stuff....birthday celebrations, babysitting Ani, football practice and game, and teaching 3 days. Care group starts up next week which adds something else into the mix. I love working part time and it is the perfect solution for me, I am truly blessed to have that as an option.

Gary biked to work twice this week so that I could use the car if I needed it. Our car had a water pump leak but hopefully its fixed because I don't want to be stranded somewhere one day OR have to put money into our car. Gary is def. getting way more exercise than me and I am proud of his determination. One other thing about Gary is that he has a very high pain threshold or just doesn't ever complain. He can push himself so hard. I wish that he could carry our next child when/if we get pregnant again!

Kai is fun...his newest word is `apple' which doesn't make sense because he doesn't even know what an apple really is, its just in one of the books that we read. It could just be a combo of `up' and `ball', his two favourites. He is just napping once a day but we still put him in his crib for a half hour in the afternoon so he can just have some alone time with his blankie (and so I get some alone time!!!!!)
This is his blankie, the love of his life. We usually leave it in his crib but had just gotten home from daycare (he takes it with him there)
Reorganzing the jars and tins is very, very fun (according to Kai)
Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Lynette and Bryan

First of all, here is Kai at auntie Lynette's farm today, chasing a 2 week old kitty

He giggled with glee as the calf licked his face

He wasn't afraid of them one bit and kept calling the cows `doggies'.



Here is Lynette and I at our wedding. Lynette is my tallest and only dark haired `sister'. This picture is a segue (how do you spell that word?) into the next bit of info....

I met Lynette on the first day of high school and for the past 16 years we have been best friends. We have done a lot together from adventure racing to hiking Kilimanjaro! We have shared a lot of important moments in our lives from high school and university graduation, marriage, deaths, births, break ups, and traveling half way around the world. Last weekend she got engaged to Bryan. The picture below shows them on their first date, I would like to take some credit for getting them together. Anyway, here is Bryan fishing and Lynette napping. Gary snuck through the trees to get a shot of them together. I can't believe that I don't have a recent picture of them together...anyway, congratulations to the two of them, I'm so happy for them both!

Monday, September 03, 2007

Happy 13 months monkey!


Opening and closing the bathroom door...

`There's doggies on this box!'

Silly pants

Aw, his little feet...I'm sure they will grow quite big one day!

Opening and closing drawers for daddy

Newest word (and clearest): Up!
Newest locomotive development: able to walk around throwing a ball and picking it back up again.
Favourite thing to do: Opening every cupboard and putting stuff where it doesn't belong.
Newest misbehaviour: throwing food from his highchair .... grrrrr ... apprently mommy saying `No!' is very funny?!
Sleep: Still sleeps from 7pm-7am with one nap during the day (2-3 hours).
Nicknames: from me, `Bubs' and from Gary, `Zoooper or sack of spuds'
Favourite food: still bananas although grapes are in a close second.

Not much else new. He doesn't seem to enjoy bathtime anymore and he is really trying hard to figure out how to put socks and shoes on (with no luck). He's still putting most things in his mouth but I think its getting better. He has also tried climbing up the stairs but has no idea how to come down (hence falling down a few). He is running around everywhere which is fun but we always have to know what he's into as there is no door to keep our computer/electronics out of his way! I think I say to Gary about 3 times a day `Gary, look at him! Isn't he so cute?!', I just think his actions are adorable (except for throwing food). What an amazing little kid...we love him lots! (especially when the two of us are both home...so much easier!)


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting
I would just like to point out that it is not always happiness and great love with our little monkey. Gary and I went on one date this summer. We didn't go camping this summer. We always need to be home at noon for his nap. He is starting to throw mini tantrums. We can't leave the house together after 7pm. He throws our cd's in the toilet. He hides things. He hates the bath and brushing his teeth. I just thought I would be a little `real' amongst the writing of how wonderful he is and what things are new with him. He is wonderful, and, a life changer.