Friday, November 30, 2007

Pictures

Wow. Everyone wants Christmas pictures. We are VERY busy these weekends! All good stuff.

The Park


Run, run, as fast as you can!

Loving the swing



Yes, my husband wears shorts 360ish days of the year


So proud of himself for climbing to the top. He then went down the slide by himself for the first time, he did it as though he was going down stairs, feet first.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Normal?

Our little guy is a piggy. Breakfast: multigrain toast, egg, banana (and I mean a whole one of each). He eats more than I do! Dinner tonight: 1 1/2 pieces of pizza (yes, we have Delissio once a week on the `oh I'm way to tired to cook night'..), one piece of toast, whole mandarin orange, half an apple. After dinner, he still wanted more food and drank his milk no problem. We did give him some snacks after dinner. Wow. Doesn't it seem like a lot? Is that normal? I weighed him yesterday to make sure we weren't making him too chunky (because he seriously could eat all day long) and he has actually lost half a pound so it must be that he is just running it all off. He will eat any food, even olives which I can't stand.
As for my cold...I am still not normal. I have been having very intense coughing fits like one from 5-6am this morning. At least my voice is back. Maybe I will see a doctor but if its just a cold, I feel bad bugging them. Sorry, no pictures today. Really, nothing exciting. Taught, came home, played with Kai, ate, school work.

Monday, November 26, 2007

My Little Ring Bearer



Kai is going to be a ring bearer for my sister's wedding so I bought him this little tux today. I think its pretty cute. Hopefully he'll fit in it in 6 months from now, the pants are super long so that should be okay. Hopefully my other sister gets married next summer so that he can wear it twice:)

I can speak!

Sort of. I'm home from work today because if I taught today, I know I would lose my voice again. Also, I am coughing like crazy. I have the car today, and wow, does the day fly by when you can get out!!!! I just went for a walk with Maria and then let Ani and Kai play for a bit together. Kai loves playing with all of their toys and of course Bailey, their dog. I didn't get any pictures there but here are a few from the last hour...


Getting food ready in the kitchen

Giving Lodi a drink

His beloved Bubi (he gets pretty excited about it)

Bubi used to stay in his bed but now that he can climb up and down the stairs, he can get Bubi. Besides, he is so much happier when he can run to Bubi every 20 minutes or so. Anyone out there have a kid who loves their blankie?! Any rules you have? Whenever we go out, he's fine without it so its not a must have (unless going to sleep). It also makes car rides much more enjoyable if he has Bubi.

He loves these flashcards. I got them at the dollar store months ago but they are still one of his favourite things. He loves to hold them up and say the words (he only knows the words for maybe 5 of them). His comprehension is increasing daily, we can say `Kai, bring us the ketchup/chicken/bowl/lid' from his play kitchen and he gets it no problem. Quite fun. What is not fun is him throwing stuff and then saying `uh oh'. I read in a parenting magazine never to judge another parent with kids older than yours and I can see why (PS I know not to judge at all but sometimes....). He can be quite wild with throwing and hitting. This is def. something we do not agree with and always deal with but if I had seen some other kid do it before I had kids, I might've had some different thoughts....Okay, he wants to play now, makes sense. Gotta go!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Still Frustrated

I think I can really relate to Kai now (due to the fact that I can't talk). Seriously, I have a lot of emotions I want to get across but am unable to verbally...this makes me want to throw things sometimes because I'm misunderstood or not heard at all. Guess that's how he feels sometimes. We bought Kai a tricycle today (for Christmas). Its pretty snazzy! It's a radio flyer one with a canopy, storage bin, bell, a handle for the parents...obviously I got it on clearance:) I hope he likes it!

Friday, November 23, 2007

Without words...

I'm very frustrated. My cold turned into laryngitis. I have been unable to speak for 24 hours now. This is very frustrating because I'm not much fun when playing with Kai and even disciplining is hard. He looked so confused with me this morning when I responded to his `boo!' with a whisper (he always says `boo' now when we get him from his crib). I'm a big talker, especially with Gary, so he may be enjoying this time but I am very frustrated. I hope it gets better soon...otherwise, I won't be teaching on Monday!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Isabelle Lillian Thompson


Ani with her new little sister

Maria and Isabelle



Izzy/Bella with auntie trisha

She was very alert already today

Maria and Kris had a baby girl today at 2:30 am. They were surprised she was a girl and that she weighed 9lbs 3oz (Annika was only 7lbs 11oz). She is also 22inches long..which is quite long (I think Kai was the same). Maria did really well and only had to push for 10 minutes!!! Jealous!! No drugs either... Izzy/Bella is drinking well and has a very long tongue (random but true). We have no idea who she looks like but Maria says she looks just like Kris' baby photos.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Crash Test Mommy

Have you ever seen that show? Where someone comes in (an aunt, the dad..whoever) and the mom leaves them with the kids and a monstrous list of chores for an entire weekend. It's all videotaped and evaluated. Not the best show but that's what I feel like for tomorrow. Gary and Kai (well, me too) are sick so they are staying home together for the whole day. This is Gary's first time with Kai for an entire day (which is weird, how has this not happened before?). He has been with him for maybe 5 hours before when I had football but that's it. I sort of hope Kai acts up but not really you know? Also, I feel like leaving a list of stuff that I would normally get done on a busy day for him:) I'm sure they'll have lots of fun together and Kai will say something like `I love you' to him which will make me sooooo jealous:) Anyway, I'm heading to bed as I've just taken my night time cough medicine which makes me nice and sleepy. Oh ya, Kai has a cold but along with that, he has really dark purple circles under his eyes and tons of yellow crusty stuff coming out of his eyes, is this normal? OH, just looked it up...sometimes kids get viral conjuctivitis with their colds (pink eye)...guess Gary will be walking him to the clinic tomorrow to check that out! Okay, time for bed. Bon nuit. PS I could have another neice or nephew really soon!!!! HOpefully tonight!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Sleep


'Du-dow' (touchdowns). This kid loves watching basketball or football. He especially loves football because they wear `hats'.

Snuggles with daddy. What is better than some good 30 second (oh I wish Kai would snuggle longer) snuggle at the end of the day?

This is what I see all day long ...`Up? Up?'

He has really loved playing on the couch this week...he loves having all his friends (stuffed animals) up there with him.

He's been a little annoying lately as he finds dirt on the floor or stuff in the garbage can and will say `dirty' and then attempt to eat it. We've been trying to give him more positive attention to see if that's why he's misbehaving (because he has been getting the most attention when shutting the computer down, playing with the vcr, tipping over the garbage) but so far, no difference.

Last night was tough. Gary and I accidentally stayed up late (usually we are quite responsible with a 11pm bedtime). We had our church care group over at our house and then cleaned up and stayed up late talking about some deeper-ish stuff. Then, at 4am, Kai had a coughing fit so I was up with him for a while and didn't fall back to sleep til about 6am. Then, up for work at 7am. Hard to have patience for a million kids when you are tired but I have to say I did really well! I guess that's a drawback of working and being a mom, those nights with little sleep really do a number on you! Did I mention that Gary has been sick for 2 weeks and I've been half sick (you know when your body is fighting a cold and you kind of have one for forever)?

Maria is now 6 days overdue, we are hoping for a baby really soon! I was 4 days early and that was hard enough for me so I can't imagine!

Well, time to mark a bunch of tests and projects...report cards are around the corner. I hope House is a new one tonight!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Food...Yum


Tonight Gary made Tangsuyuk for dinner (Chinese inspired Korean dish I believe) which I enjoyed. Apparently when he was in Korea (he taught there for a while), he loved eating it so it brought back some good memories for him. He did add some pineapple to it and he didn't deep fry the pork either which made it taste better.
Then, I went out for dessert with a couple of sisters. Maria (picture above) is now 3 days overdue. Nothing fun about that (especially since she is battling a cold)!
Today Gary took Kai on a jog for an hour so I could clean like crazy. Do you know how much cleaning can get done without a child following you around? Without having to worry about being quiet?! I did housekeeping for a summer and must brag a little that I am a very effiicient cleaner. It feels good to have all the laundry done and the house clean for another week.
Tomorrow, we're off to the Lions game and I'm excited. Driving/parking should be interesting but besides that, my orange shirt is ready to go!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Loooooooooong day

This is how the day started. Look at the purple circles under his eyes, running nose...Mr. Not happy pants. He didn't eat too much today either which is strange because this kid eats as much as I do at meals! Anyway, it was a long day because we were both feeling under the weather.

So, what did we do to cheer him up? First, we went to the basement where he was allowed to play with all the bears, balls, couches etc. This is a treat, as the basement is unfinished (not the friendliest place for kids) so he only goes down about once a week. I tried to take some pictures of him but its hard when he's running non stop. (He wanted to wear his hat all day today too:))
When daddy came home they watched some sports....Kai practiced his `touchdown'.
Checking out daddy's teeth. Today in the bath, Kai spent the entire time brushing his teeth. I think it felt good on tooth #12 coming in.

And finally, playing with mommy.

We've used the humidifier for 2 nights in a row and he's slept through the night with just minimal coughing so I am def. a fan of the humidifier! I'm excited to use it next time Gary or I have a cold too!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Nuevo Vallarta

If 50+ people read this each day, someone must've been to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico or know someone who has so.....any advice? Where to eat? What to see? How to get around? I know I could read some sites on it, and I might, but I trust YOU!

Yay for electricity!


Kai with Lodi and Bubi (he was allowed to have Bubi downstairs today because he's sick)

I know he's wearing the same clothes as Saturday's post...they were still clean. We bought him a fun shirt this weekend when our power was out and we wanted to get out of the house. I'll have to get a picture of him in it later. I used to be sad that there were no cute boy clothes and TONS of girl clothes....well, I love boy clothes now! All the cute plaid shirts and hoodies...so cute:)

Whenever there is a power outtage, Gary and I get a lot of talking done. No distractions. We sat in front of the fireplace last night for 3 hours and played crib and talked about our younger years. I also tried to make some shadow puppets on the ceiling, that's how fun we are. Last time the power was out for 4 days so just having it out for 24 hours was awesome!

Kai got his first cold yesterday which meant that last night he was coughing/barking and didn't sleep very well. This means I didn't sleep very well either. He seems to be in good spirits today though, so that's good. I'll have to figure out what kind of medicine to give him and whether a humidifier might be a good idea. Gary just got over his cold which was followed by a flu...so far I have managed to make it out okay:)

We have laminate floors (which I LOVE) but they need to be swept every day (which makes me think of how much dust/debris must be in carpets all the time). Today Kai said `me' and grabbed the broom and proceeded to `sweep' the house.

He even got under the recliner! He must've seen me do that a time or two! Boy, if I didn't have a kid, what would I be taking pictures of?

My dad is back from South Africa and Kenya so we had bbq lasagne last night (power outtage) with the whole family. Good times. Well, off to enjoy my hour of freedom as he naps!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Venting


Oh, did you say DON'T dump out all the blocks? Too bad, did it anyway. Now I'm going to run the rest of the toys and dump them out too.

Complaining that he can't reach the cereal box in the back of the cupboard. Poor guy, life is really tough.

Feeding Lodi his dinner

Love the little guy. His new words for the week are; dirty, me, uh oh and bowl. Me means `Please give me what you have!'. Bowl can take the place of a lot of things that he was calling `hat'. Also, he's big. Not sure on measurements, but he's big. Heavy. Tall. Constant sore back.

Now, for the downside of an energetic 15 month old. First, having a child meant that I could no longer do what I wanted to do when I wanted. I forget to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. Really. I might have to go to the bathroom and then 2 hours later, when he goes for his nap, I realize I really should go! Also, Gary and I have probably enjoyed 3 meals together in 15 months. I've also gotten used to the fact that every weekend is just like a weeknight where we hang out at home. Well today, he drove me crazy making me realize that our house is run by him. Toys are forever scattered throughout the house (and down the basement stairs...apparently its fun to watch shoes/socks/pumpkins fly down the stairs). A nicely cleaned up box of toys is just asking to be dumped out. He is constantly climbing up the stairs (so I moved our recliner in front of the stairs today so i couldn't get up either). He loves opening the garbage can to throw pots and pans in there OR take out really gross stuff and run around with it. I don't want to put my garbage can up in a cupboard that is securely locked because then its a pain for ME to get into it. I love my step garbage can. Grrrrr....I love him lots but he is tiring in regards to discipline and safety these days. This is def. waaaaaaaaay easier than newborn and maybe a little more frustrating than tiring. On the other hand, he is really able to melt me in one second, his hugs and kisses give me a feeling inside that is uncompareable.

Kids are a lot of work. Have people been telling me that all along and now I really take note of it because I'm in it? Talking about kids, I have really great students this year. Teaching is going well. Love the part time. So fortunate that the school allowed it as an option. Can't believe Christmas break is just 6 weeks away, its going so fast!

Maybe by my next post, I will have a new neice or nephew!!!!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Kai's Amazing Alphabet Adventure

I bought Kai a book that shows his picture on every page as it goes through the alphabet. His name, birthday, and hometown also show up throughout. It's kind of cheesy and maybe a little overpriced but I thought it would be a fun Christmas gift.


The is the `Z' page where Kai, the zoologist, is feeding a zebra and holding a zucchini!

Here, on the `Q' page, Kai is a quarterback with quails listening in on the play.
I hope he likes it, I think its cute! I also think he would make a great zoologist or quaterback...or both:)

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Upball


This is Kai being Kai. Running at me with a crazy face and making crazy sounds.

This is Kai after I've said `no' to him about having yet another snack. Can you tell how fake his complaint is? He's such a whiner! Byt he way, if you click on the picture to enlarge, you can see the massive mounds of molars just about poking through on the bottom.

`Upball' is football. Kai loves watching upball, playing with an upball and saying upball all day. On Sunday, he was so cute. He was snuggling with Gary on the couch, watching upball and when Gary said `touchdown', he would say `uhdow' and raise his hands.

Finally, my sister Maria is due with her second child in the next 10 days. I am really excited and a little nervous for her (the labour, the dealing with a little one while taking care of a 20 month old). I hope we will be able to support her in whatever she needs!!! It'll be weird to hold a little one again. This morning, after sleeping a solid 8 hours and still feeling exhausted, I was wondering how I could possibly go through all that business of not sleeping properly for at least 6 months. But then again, now that I look at Kai, I forget all that stuff (well, not the labour!!) so its all worth it:)

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Friends


Last night, Ali and Leah came over for dinner before we went to the Lions game. Our whole football team went to celebrate our season. It was fun watching and I have to admit that I really wanted to be out there playing. I know, I would've been ridiculous next to them but I miss it already! The fall season doesn't start til April. Wouldn't it be fun to just try to throw one pass? Recieve one catch? Dorky but..we were each the player on the field whose position we played...did you see that sweet throw I gave to Terri (Dickenson to Geroy) in the 3rd quarter? Made for some cheering and making fun of eachother. Good times. Nice to get out and have an evening to myself!!!

Friday, November 02, 2007

15 months old


Wow, ever since he turned one, time is FLYING! He is a little more monkeyish every day. This means I find him cuter and a whole lot more mischevious all the time. This month, some new things have been; coming down stairs on his own (but not knowing how to start on the first step), staring out the backdoor at the basketball net and saying `ball' over and over, saying `dirty, hat, jackie, bumbin, and hot' (note: hot is for anything to do with food/cooking/anything dangerous and bumbin is pumpkin), and playing with cars. He now naps from 11-1pm and has just 2 bottles of milk per day.
Exploring with auntie Jackie this morning
Loving the outdoors..his poor little fingers, he won't wear gloves and its getting chilly out!
Wanting to touch the camera lens soooooooo badly
He does not listen to the word `no'. Well, actually he hears it and does the action over again with the hugest grin ever so ...we are working on this. It means that if he starts climbing upstairs, I have to say no and go after him and bring him down about 7 times in a row. The whole reason he goes upstairs is to get Bubi (his blankie) but we want to keep Bubi in the crib. Also, if he is touching something he shouldn't (dvd player, smashing his cars against the window), we have started hitting his hand. This seems to have worked today as about the 5th time in a row that he would do something wrong, he would be crying while doing it and then stop and just hug me. I am also trying to get him to stop pulling hair.
This is def. a fun stage but I really sense that he is bored with all that we have in the house. We do get out for a walk to the park and store each day but that's not doing it. I'm not sure what he wants, or what would keep him happy, but I'm sensing that he needs something new and exciting. We do make sure to interact with other people and kids each day which seems to be a highlight for him. I enjoy him and his understanding of what I'm saying is pretty amazing. I am also nervous as I get glimpses of what he looks like when he throws tantrums and I'm sure there are a ton to come. Today he threw his worst one yet (really not that bad, but, his face got super blotchy and he forgot what he was so upset about).
Some info: (I realize this is boring but its my record for him/me)
Weight: 27+lbs
Favourite food: mum mums
First junk food: one smartie (cut in half)
Favourite word: hat (especially now that everyone is wearing a hat!!!)
Favourite event: when someone comes to the door and he can stand at the window and look out
Favourite fruit: apples and kiwi (bananas have fallen from the #1 position)
Favourite toy: Lodi (big stuffed monkey)
Favourite thing in the world: Bubi (blankie)
Newest physical development: walking backwards
Favourite thing to do with daddy: jump up and down in his arms
Favourite thing to do with mommy: play with her pony tail
Favourite friend: Ani
Favourite thing to do that he's not allowed: banging his cars on the window
Well, the monkey is off to bed so I'm going to relax!!!!