17 Months And Stuff

I first want to say that my friend (colleague and fellow football player) lost her dad to cancer today. He was diagnosed just one month ago. I wish I could fast forward this part for her but I know that in all the funeral planning, remembering, and grieving, there is healing. It just sucks. I feel bad going on with a blog about my every day life but I just find that it's healthy for me to focus on the little joys in my life. There is no great segue, so excuse the big jump.

My little baby is 17 months old now. What a joy (like I said, no segue). While Kai makes me laugh and roll my eyes, Koen makes me smile. He's such a mischievous, brave, lovable little monkey.

(Koen with auntie Trish)

He loves playing hockey (hot-tee) with his big brother and can handle a stick quite decently! He also loves baths, swings and slides, going in the Ergo (when I ask him if he wants to go in the carrier, he runs at me with so much force, he loves it!), food (he is a little pickier than his older brother in regards to fruits and veggies), and animals (especially birdies).

At Kai's party day, Koen walked right up to the line were the kids were. It was so precious as he made sure that his feet were behind the line.

Everyone who sees him says he looks like an old man. I think it's because his hair is just like my dad's...all fluffy on top! He brings smiles to everyone wherever he goes. I feel a bit bad for Kai because once your kid turns 3, people aren't so interested in them anymore.

(Yummy taco salad in a tortilla bowl...just brush some oil and cumin and salt on the tortilla and put it in a muffin tin and bake for 8 min at 350F! We ate our salad with our hands last night:))

Koen is working on a bunch of teeth but still just has the 8. He (dare I say it???) has been sleeping from 7 pm-8:30am for a while now but whenever I say that he starts waking up at night again. I love that Gary gets Kai ready in the morning and then I can stay in bed until 8am! When Gary was gone, I was so tired (Koen was waking up 3X a night) so I told Kai to just stay in bed as long as he could. The next morning I went into his room and he had taken his breakfast into bed and was watching a DVD. His breakfast? A bowl of cereal, piece of toast, a pepperoni stick, and a cookie. I have big eaters and the big one can apparently reach every cupboard in our house!

I love watching these two play together. Kai usually tackles or wrestles him but unless Koen complains, I kind of let it go now as Koen is big enough and `durable'. They love to play outside together, ride bikes, play with chalk, colour, read, and help in the kitchen. The one thing they do not do together is have a bath. Kai has refused to bathe with Koen since day one.

I'm so thankful that I can be with my boys during the day and work at night. These past two weeks I have been working 40 hour weeks (with photography). I have no idea how momma's work full time as there has been zero time for myself (except for football!!). Things are starting to slow down a bit and I'd like to get back to the 10 hour work week.

Koen isn't super interested in trying new words but does have his few words that he uses over and over and over. The most common are; daddy, birdie, uppee (up please), me! me! me!. Kokies, we love you!!! You are such a little monkey and are just so loveable!!!

Oh and Kai Bear. Today he made a good point. We always talk about being gentle and caring for living things (like the garden and snails etc). Today I was pulling out weeds and he said, `Mommy! You need to stop, those are living things!' Hmmm....so true. They weren't really harming anything, they just didn't look nice. What could I say?!

And Kai with Bubi. I can't believe how old Kai is. When I look at him, I see a 7 year old. He totally does not seem 3.5 years old to me. He's just a mini adult. He is such a wonderful boy who shows love for others by being inclusive and sharing with them. He has his crazy moments but they are def. showing up less often. He is so eager and enthusiastic. His little voice gets so high pitched when he's excited, it's awesome. He loves school for the socializing and learning and honestly, he loves the cleaning up part. The teachers always comment about that. I hope I haven't caused him to have OCD with wanting a clean house all the time:) Oh yes, one new thing; he has started lying. Mostly it's things like saying he's washed his hands when he hasn't. We are working on him understanding that I won't get mad but he has to tell the truth. Today he said that he had used the bathroom at preschool (he's been afraid to do that for the past month) and I asked if that was the truth. He said, `No mommy, I'm sorry. I lied.'. So, at least he's admitting it now.

I am so blessed. An awesome husband. A funny almost 4 year old. An adorable 17 month old. An almost healthy thyroid. A job that works so perfectly with my health and our desires for our family.

Have a wonderful Thursday evening.

Love, Louise