Compassion

First off, I do feel a little silly posting my day to day normal stuff when so many people are suffering right now in Haiti. It's a bit like after my mom died. My dad and I went for a walk a couple of hours afterwards and the whole world just went on normally. What can we do besides pray and give money? I gave some money through Compassion. We sponsor a child through Compassion and one through World Vision and I have to say that I am very impressed with Compassion. If you are looking to sponsor a child, they do a wonderful job at keeping you connected with your child (at least 3 letters back and forth each year, you can give some extra money for birthday and Christmas presents, you can send your letters via email). Unlike World Vision where the translator just checks off some boxes and draws a picture themselves and makes it look like the child did it. Oh well, at least the child is sponsored.

On to the Chapman household. We had a lovely addition to our family this week...a new vacuum! I do love vacuuming and I've had the same vacuum for 10 years so it was time (the front wheels had fallen off).

The kids were more excited than I was! It's not super fancy but I love the clear canister that shows how much junk gets vacuumed up. Also, it's all we could get with our mastercard points. We had a good time vacuuming as a family once it was assembled. Koen does not like the vacuum. He just stands there and says `mama mama mama' over and over.

Yesterday I made pancakes for lunch and this is a conversation that ensued:

Kai: Mommy, you didn't make me any baby pancakes! (I usually make some little mini ones)

Me: Sorry Kai, I totally forgot.

Kai: It's okay mommy. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I forgive you.

Koen's front tooth finally came through, for a total of 6, but he is still so grumpy. He had his vaccinations 2 days ago so that probably did not help.

I am eagerly awaiting `the phone call' for a couple that was due on Tuesday. I'm doing their birth photos and I can't wait. I think the only problem with wanting to get into this is that I am tied to my cell phone and you can't have any other booked photo shoot 2 weeks around the due date. I'm trying to figure out the logistics of it all but still, very excited!

Gary has been gone a lot due to basketball. He had a tournament all weekend and now has a tournament this week. Unfortunately they are not playing that well which makes it a lot less fun for him to coach. Somehow, when he is not home, we end up having dinner at 4:30pm, baths at 5pm and the kids are ready for bed by 5:30pm. This means I have 2 hours before bed time where I am ready for them to go to bed. I would go for a walk with them but it is dark and wet out. Oh well, less than 2 more months until I have Gary back!

This is Koen's face after 5:30pm each night. Unless I have him. I think he's just not used to Gary these days and he is just in some pain (tummy and tooth). Might not help that Gary is just watching basketball while `trying' to entertain him:)

So I put him in the bjorn last night and went for a walk. Haven't done that in months but Koen was loving it.

After his bottle, he was so tired that he fell asleep in my arms (woohoo! I love it!). He did not transfer and stayed up for another 2 hours.....

Oh well, they are only young once and I don't mind. Nothing else to do and a few extra hours of cuddles each night is fine to me right now.

Oh yes, so I don't forget: Words Koen says; Mama, Dada, Boo (blue), Ha Da (hi there), Ba (bye)

One Year Ago...

(Pictures of his party are in the next post)

We woke up at 5am and went to the hospital. We checked in and put our stuff in our post delivery room. We were supposed to be the first C-section of the day (8am I believe) but we got pushed back. Koen was actually due on January 12th but with C-sections, they do it up to 10 days early which I felt best with. I was very uncomfortable with Braxton Hicks non stop and Gary was still home on holidays. Had Koen gone all the way to his due date, he would have probably been well over 10lbs!

So, here we are getting ready.

I was sooooo big.

Then, at 9am, they wheeled me down just outside of the operating room. Here, we waited. The anesthesiologist came to talk to us and let me know what would be happening. He was very nice.

Then, they wheeled me in. While they were giving me my spinal and prepping me, Gary had to wait outside. The needle in your back really doesn't hurt at all. I would say an IV hurts more. Last time, I was 10cm dilated, had been pushing for an hour and half, and got an epidural in while contracting. Try not moving while going through a contraction!

Didn't notice the catheter going in either. I was nice and numb. They prick your skin to see if you can feel it and you are pretty numb up to your chest.

Then, Gary was allowed in. This is where things got emotional! My baby was almost here and I couldn't believe it! Boy? Girl? Size? Healthy?

I was feeling sick so the anesthesiologist gave me some different meds until I felt better. It works instantaneously. It felt like just a few minutes had passed and then Gary was allowed to take pictures because our baby's head had emerged!

And out he came! It's a boy!!!

They quickly showed him to me but then checked him over before I held him.

Crying. Please note that Gary is wearing my hair elastic on his wrist.

Sounds good!

My first real look at my big, beautiful baby boy Koen. Koen Jacob Daniel Chapman. We had decided on his boy name VERY early on. We had also considered Logan (mix of Louise and Gary) but stuck with Koen.

Proud parents!

Chubs. 9lbs 7oz. Check out the chubby thighs! He was so unflexible, his legs would not bend. His head was a lot smaller than Kai's 95th percentile head...I think Koen's was just in the 50th percentile. His chest was huge too. That was the part I felt when they took him out. It feels like you are having a major mass removed from your abdomen, well, because you are, but you can feel it. Not hurting, just pressure, tugging, and movement.

We were tired. He needed to be fed every 2 hours for his low blood sugar levels. He also needed his poor little heel pricked each time he fed. He had a hard time feeding being tongue tied and later we realized, having reflux. The first few days recovering from a C-section are not fun. Very painful. Very limited mobility. Didn't help that I was also sick and when I coughed I had to hold a pillow to my incision and somehow get a good enough cough in.

Because I was feeding him so often, on the 2nd day, my milk came in like crazy. Painfully crazy. I borrowed an electric pump from the hospital and pumped away. So much milk. Container after container. Once I got home, I remained engorged for over one week. I used cold packs in my shirt and a pump. I tried to feed him as often as possible, but feeding him was difficult. But, we persisted and after 2 months of painful, difficult feeding, all was well. Two months!

I guess the paper says he was born at 10:30am even though I thought it was 10am:)

My dad with `Little Jack' as he calls him. It was pretty snowy out so it was difficult for people to make it to the hospital to see us all.

Kai meeting his little brother for the first time!

Daddy with his boys!

Gramma and Grandpa check him out.

Auntie Janny (who is due in March)

Auntie Trisha trying to get him to drink...

Auntie Jackie and Uncle Tyler

Taking a snooze on daddy

He slept okay in the hospital but we had to keep waking him up every 2 hours to monitor his blood sugar levels. Very frustrating.

When we got home, we realized after about a month that he had reflux. He was happiest upright, and not moving too much. He loved being held in the baby bjorn for hours and hours and hours. He slept best on his tummy. If he was on his back, he would vomit. He was a happy baby but he was in pain from the reflux. He would arch his back after each feed. Fortunately, we got through it and he started feeling better and better. Now, he has small little spit ups still, but usually its only if he has a lot to eat or drink and then is in a sitting position. He has not been the best sleeper throughout this year but it is getting better and better each and every day.

I would say he is a very healthy boy. He is very happy and easy going. He does love all people, but probably enjoys being with mommy the most. He is nearly done breastfeeding as he doesn't do it more than a minute or two. He loves being outside. He loves running around. He loves the stairs, garbage can, and fridge. He loves music and will stop crying if I start singing to him.

Here is a picture at 10am on his birthday...exactly a year old (although maybe he was born at 10:30am)!

We love our Kokinator so much. He makes us laugh and I think he is absolutely adorable. This year he has progressed so quickly through the sitting, crawling and then walking. He's a bundle of energy and he is so loved. Our 23.8lb ball of cuteness is now a one year old! Happy Birthday Koen!!

Teeth, Hands, and A Belly

Kai and Koen had a bonding brother moment. They would hold hands and then jump from the bench to the couch. Gary obviously helped Koen, but boy, they were having fun AND they were holding hands!!

Kai and Koen have been playing nicely together. Well, not really together, but they haven't been fighting the past couple of days. So nice to have a break from refereeing. Kai also hasn't visited time out for 2 days! Woohoo!

Koen is a super teething machine. They are coming in fast and furiously. This is his face all day long...

Things that keep his mind off of teething are; milk, food, walks, being out in public and running around outside. He has been successfully sleeping through the night, for 13-14 hours, for the whole week. He either has 2 short 1 hour naps or one long 2-3 hour one during the day.

Just showing his 3 upper teeth...one more on it's way.

And the two on the bottom.

Koen LOVES Blue. I think he will be getting Blue#2 for his birthday, just to be safe:)

And, as for the belly...here is a shot I took of my sister Jantina and her 28 week belly. I get to hold a little baby in a few more months. Woohoo!

Gary and I watched the movie `Star Trek' on Friday and I really liked it. Maybe an 8.5/10 and I'm def. not a trekkie! We watched `Julie & Julia' last night and it was okay, maybe a 7/10. Her voice just drives me bonkers. Gary enjoyed watching it too because he's the chef in our home. I guess it was good to learn a bit about Julia Child. Any recommendations for movie rentals for over the holidays?

Gary has taken the kids grocery shopping. I'm taking a few minutes to unwind. With one whiny, teething 1 year old (oh man, he's almost one!!!) and a non stop question asking 3 year old, I'm mentally exhausted. I can't wait until March when Gary and I are getting away without the kids for 3 nights!!! I know I will miss them like crazy but I think that it is important for our marriage and for our own well being.

Bon nuit.

Everybody Dance Now

Monday was such a good day. I just felt good. Like, almost normal!! The kids were pumped about the snow. We played outside, Kai and Koen went sledding down a hill, we drank hot chocolate...you know, the perfect wintery day. Kai was so well behaved, I even took both of them to get my blood test done. Kai, loose in a BC Biomedical building, full of needles and vials, while I'm stuck in a chair with a needle in my arm. He did fabulously!! He just asked a ton of really good questions. Koen was in the stroller, I'm not that crazy:) Afterwards Kai said, `Mommy, I had really good behaviour! Yahoo!'. By the way, if you live in the Langley/Surrey area, the Willowbrook BC Biomedical is the best one...I've never had to wait more than a minute!

(I asked Kai to sit next to his brother. This picture looks so unnatural to me because Kai is sitting and not doing anything.)

Had our care group Christmas social last night. Gary had a bball game (they won!) so I went alone. Lots of good food and fellowshipping. Thanks to my sis Maria for babysitting! I've had a sore throat all week but last night it really starting kicking my butt and today I feel knocked out. Had to cancel today's plans and I just feel gross. So ready to be healthy one day....

(Kai is loving the snow this year!)

Koen (dare I say it) has slept 14 hours straight for the last 3 nights. Yippee!! He has another bottom tooth coming through but it only seems to make him a little monster like during the day. Phew. His mouth is very jack-o-lantern-ish:)

Kai has gone to bed at 6:15pm the last three nights for giving Koen naughty things. It always happens around 6pm-ish. I wonder if it's because he's getting tired? I wonder if he does it because he hopes that Koen will get in trouble for being bad? Regardless, these kids need to be constantly supervised when together....especially if Kai is tired.

(Maybe I should leave Koen in this snowsuit all the time...greater protection from big brother Kai)

Tuesday was a snow day for Gary! This made my day much easier as I had to head down to Vancouver to the Eye Care Center and that way Gary could do the preschool pick up for Kai.

The Eye Care Center was truly remarkable and there is more about it on my thyroid blog. My eyes are paying for it today though, sore, sore, sore. Basically my eyes seem to be improving overall and we'll check back in a few months to see where they are at. He was a wonderful ophthalmologist who was validating, knowledgeable and easy to talk to.

I made these `Amazing Veggie Burgers' the other day. I forgot how much I loved them! This is a different recipe, from the `Today's Parent' magazine, so I just tried it out. I used a bean medley instead of black beans. I also love a little cumin in my veggie burgers and omit the bbq sauce on the kids ones to reduce the sugar. Koen loves them too...so easy for a baby to eat as it is soft (yet they can feed themselves) and nutritious. I think everyone should make a veggie burger once in their life...just to try it out:)

Finally, I am working on a dance routine with Koen, Kai and myself. It is hilarious....to me. We dance to `Everybody Dance Now' which Kai LOVES. Okay, I use the words `dance' and `routine' loosely. Koen starts off with his arms waving in the air and then Kai does his routine dancing on a bench and then he likes me too spin him and finish dancing on the ground. Basically, it's a good way to get the sillies out. May have to capture it on the video camera one day:)

Oh yes, if you are interested in newborns at all, check out this post by Melissa's mom about the benefits of skin to skin contact.

Have a great day everyone!

Helping Hand

(Kai playing with his shadow. We haven't opened our curtains in probably 2 weeks, because of my eyes, so the kids were so pumped to see sunshine!)
I love preschool. I love what he is learning. I love that I get to see what he learns each month through their party days. I love that he loves it. I love that I get a break. I love it that they tire the kiddos out for their parents. I love that Kai has learned to sit quietly in a circle!! Anyway, today the teacher said to me, `Kai is our best helper! He always wants to help with everything and always has his hand up first.'. Awesome. I love that!

(learning how to make the shadow of a dog)

He always says at home, `What can I do to help?'. He wants to be part of every meal, project, cleaning activity etc. It's exhausting but I think it's really good for him. If I end up teaching again, I will be sure to email/call/talk to parents more often on what their kids do well.

(He has that terrible dry skin around his mouth from licking his lips all the time and it's starting to hurt him. Any tips besides chapstick?)

Koen is wild. He is still just go, go, go all day. His favourite activities are getting into the garbage can, toilet or fridge. If he can get past the gate and up the stairs, he giggles with glee. He just toddles around all day long.

(This is his stone face. He gives it when he is first around new people or really just wants to cry but is mildly occupied)

He is about 50/50 on the breastfeeding and bottle now. He doesn't seem to be drinking very much which concerns me a little. He has maybe just 16 oz per day (4oz/4 feeds). This is totally different than Kai who was and is a great lover of milk. Kai probably had 32 oz per day at this age! Maybe Koen just gets more of his nutrients from solid foods? He def. eats a ton. I now end up going in to soothe him via feeding him once in the night as I just can't sit there and listen to him cry for hours at a time (because then i don't sleep!). I feed him and 5 minutes later, we are both asleep:) This happens prob. every other night. I'm planning on sending Gary in there to put him back to sleep once Gary is on Christmas break.

(His `I'm teething and it hurts' face. It also means, `I don't know what I want to make me feel better so you can't help me!'. )

Gary is full out into bball. He either comes home from work at 6:30pm or, he comes home at 4:30pm and leaves again at 6:30pm until 10:30pm. So, I'm on my own for either dinner or bedtime. Oh well, usually not both. He has the largest team he's had in years so that is good in terms of coaching kids who will be back next year too. So far, they had a tourney where they had one win and two losses. I'm trying to think of how they did in their league game and I can't remember. I know it was close though:)

As for me, I've been off my meds for over 24 hours. Read my thyroid blog to hear the latest (may not have Graves' Disease!!). I feel good, maybe 80% today. I have a strange headache and my heart and eyes are not doing too well. My body has really gone through a lot these last 3.5 months and it feels weak and sore and tired. I am sooooooooo hopeful that I will get better. I'm so giddy. Last night, Gary got us blizzards to celebrate. I had ice cream. Sugary, creamy ice cream. My mind is going wild with thoughts like, `We need to drive to Alaska with the kids this summer!'. Things that I've always thought we would wait on, I feel like we need to do it NOW in case something else happens. If it was PPT and I am possibly getting better, I don't know what I will do. The idea that I might not have Graves' Disease never entered my mind. Over the past month I have just been processing how significantly different my life would be. How sucky things would be for Gary. How the day to day would differ greatly. How, many people, just don't understand it. I'm trying not to get too excited yet....just in case. But the idea that I could have a normal life is so absolutely unbelievable!

Have a good evening all. I'm off to the couch to watch The Biggest Loser. I just need to say that I have not laid on the couch all day. What does that mean? I'm feeling not too shabby:)

Oh yes, one more thing. I'm looking for a fun and unique nativity scene. Maybe a cloth one? Let me know...