Christmas Preparations

This weekend sure felt Christmas-y. Putting up the tree, Christmas concert, gingerbread train, snow, etc. Warning, this is a long post!! Here we go.....

Koen loves diving into any pillow or blanket. He buries his face into his blankie, Blue, all the time. I don't know why both of our boys have a blankie for a comfort item and neither of them used a soother but it works for me! Generally, as long as `Blue' is in the crib, he goes down without a whimper.

Do you see Koen's tongue? That is as far as he can stick it out. I'll be asking my doctor at his one year check up to see if we should get it clipped. It can cause a few problems (with speech and eating) and I truly wish I had it done right when he was born because the first 2 months of feeding him were very difficult and painful. Totally not his fault, or mine, he just couldn't get a good latch with that tongue of his. They had noticed it at the hospital but didn't do anything about it OR recommend that if feeding continued to be painful and difficult, to consider a frenectomy.

Today the snow began. Not a whole lot, but our neighbourhood is ridiculous in the snow. It's a skating rink and today our car's hubcap was broken in two when Gary swung into a curb. I'm dreading getting the van out of the garage and going through the dreaded alley. I know, it's no snow at all, but in our alley it's pure ice. Seriously.

Koen has a mini mohawk with his 3 hairs:)

Kai was out with all of his Chapman cousins today and we had to take Koen home for a nap. So, after his nap we put him in his new snowsuit and went for a walk. He was sooooo adorable in it and nice and cozy and warm. Perfect.

Koen is now acting like a big boy, pushing cars around. What?! Melissa, I remember when Riley was doing that in Osoyoos at about the same age. Crazy how the 2nd kids skip the `baby toy' stage!

Kai and I playing `camping' on the couch. Sure, I'll hang out in the tent (under the blanket) while you do everything:)

Today, Kai had his Christmas concert at church. He is not shy at all. My only concern is that he doesn't do anything too goofy. You know, yell something silly out. Dance around. Phew, he did it! They sang `Christmas Bells' and recited a bible verse. It's the first one he has ever memorized; Luke 2:11; Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. It's amazing how he can learn lyrics and verses so easily at this age. Three year olds are brilliant!

Good job Kai Bear!!

Kai taking Koen down. Makes Koen's legs look FAT:) I'm starting to worry a bit about parenting Kai. Suddenly I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I don't know where this is coming from. I know that I can do my best and he will likely turn out fine, but if I can help make him turn out better than fine, shouldn't I try? But then, who do you listen to? What book or method do you use? Shoot, it's like baby feeding and sleeping schedules all over again!

Kai is in a stage where he is encouraging Koen to do bad things. When Koen grabs a body wash bottle, Kai says, `Suck on it Koen! It's good for you!'. When Koen is near the electrical cords, Kai says, `Ya Koen, play with it!'. If Koen is near the fireplace, `Touch it Koen!'. I'm not sure where this is coming from. Desire for attention? He does this with no one else and it has been happening for about a week. We have had to get super strict with him on this and he knows that there are now NO WARNINGS when he encourages Koen to do something dangerous.

(He still has a wonky belly button)

Koen did great with his booster H1N1 shot, maybe cried for a couple seconds. Unfortunately, he is loving the tree. Fortunately we just have all the kid friendly ornaments on the bottom half of the tree. I'm just waiting for him to chomp on a light...

Because it's so cold out, Koen never gets to see his body. Well,he's naked in the bath tub but he's too busy being a wild animal in there to notice that he's not wearing clothes. He was pretty fascinated with himself!

Koen's top front tooth has come through no problemo! He is the proud owner of 4 teeth now. I remember with Kai that once the first 3 or so were through, it got a lot better...until the dreaded molars came.

Kai and Gary finally had a chance to build the gingerbread train. Much easier than the house if you ask me! I tried it with Kai last year and decided that a 2.5 year old was too young to do it. This year, Kai was the perfect age, he loved it!

Kai also found a gumball and had gum for the first time in his life. Fortunately, he didn't like it at all!

Although, he did like the frosting!

Both boys love wild time with daddy (especially if mommy participates by chasing or tickling them) and they enjoy down time and cuddles with me.

Kai is goofy. I feel like I have control in our home right now but I'm a little worried about the future as they are just very high energy and 100% boy. Rough. Tough. Goofy X 100. Maybe they are just normal and I was a boring child:) Melissa, I think of you often (she has 3 high energy boys).

Koen has started to get into every cupboard and drawer now so there's always a little more cleaning up to do.

And...a post feed snuggle. He actually likes the bottle now more than me. He loves that thing. You should hear him giggle and squeal when he sees it. Today, Kai took a sip from it and you should've seen Koen come running, fists clenched and pretty much growling at him.

Feeling truly blessed. Hoping the various tests go well this week. Blood tests and ophthalmologist at VGH.

This feels like the longest post EVER but I'm babysitting at my sisters so I have nothing but time. Maria lives about 15 minutes away. It's so perfect for us to switch off babysitting after 7pm (put our own kids to bed). Perfect arrangement.

Have a great week everyone!

Boots

So, when you find out that you might not have an illness that will affect you for the rest of your life, what do you do? Apparently, you buy your littlest son some cute brown boots with fur (don't worry, only $12), you buy your older son a ridiculous Handy Manny gift for Christmas (which you think is super useless but apparently he wants it sooooo badly?!) and you make a yummy salmon dinner for your husband (and give him a few more kisses than you normally would).

Koen and I now have matching boots:) I also got a great craigslist find on some good toddler shoes for Koen (size 4) for $5.00. It was time to get out of the Robeez for this crazy cold weather.

Below are the crocheted rooster and penguin that Melissa made for my Kai Bear a few months back. We were taking pictures of them for her and he HAD to hold them.

Yesterday we had Izzy over as Maria and Ani went to the dentist. At their house, Kai gets dressed up like a princess, but at our house, I got her in some blue!

Izzy is a little shy and likes to wear her sunglasses until she feels comfortable. It took her about an hour to take them off!

Kai is not a lover of arts and crafts but maybe that's because I don't let him play with glitter, scissors and glue like they do at preschool:) By the way, Kai's favourite snack of the month is still apple slices, but his favourite lunch? Pickle sandwiches. Seriously. Toast with pickles. Nothing else.

And....2 of the reasons why I'm glad I have nieces...

Pink boots and pink bows.

I got to go to Gary's bball game last night and they won so that was cool. So strange to be back at the school, especially since the building has changed so much. I'm so thankful that they found a wonderful, female (not that it matters but I think it's very good for kids to see women passionate about science), science teacher to replace me!

This afternoon we got Koen his booster H1N1 shot and we're enjoying some quiet time before getting Kai from preschool.

We (I) were wondering whether to put up the tree, or maybe just the top section of it on a table, but Gary has convinced me that Kai will love it so much, we have to do it. Apparently he thinks that monitoring Koen day in and out will not be exhausting. I think ornaments will have to remain on the top half of the tree. We'll be putting it up tonight because Gary is basketball free tonight!

Yippee for decorating the tree and then a little tv with Gary:)

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...

Yahoo!

Read my thyroid blog!

Monkey

Today Koen grabbed a whole apple and ate it while he walked around the house. And climbed on things. When did he get so old?! Who eats an apple with just 3 teeth?

He had a great sleep the past two nights, let's hope it continues!

This is why I have fewer pictures of Kai lately. All I get are goofy, silly smiles. Here he wanted me to show you his newest concoction...

Cheerios on bread. I think he felt quite proud of himself for his invention:)

Apparently Koen loves lasagna. More than anything. A friend of ours made it for us so this is going to be her thank you card:)

And, my hair straightened. Hair cut by Kim, who came to my house and did it while Koen was napping:)

By the way, I was supposed to start back at work on Monday. Strange, strange feeling.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. Gary's got a basketball tournament so we'll see if we do anything fun...

I'm going to be posting some updates on my thyroid too, so maybe check it out in a day or two:)

11 Months Old

My baby is 11 months old!!! Here are some tidbits:

-still 21.5 lbs (for about 3 months now...I believe Kai was 2lbs heavier at this point). Still in size 9-12month pants. I'm assuming this lack of growth is due to moving a lot and has nothing to do with my thyroid medication.

-proud owner of three teeth (one on the bottom and two upper fangs:)

-always covered in bruises and scrapes as he is fearless and has a rough older brother.

-rarely cries when hurt, it helps when you have a rough older brother.

-can walk at least one block on his own

-LOVES his big brother and wants to be wherever he is

-loves mommy and daddy, especially when daddy had a beard

-loves the bathroom and is a wild animal in the bathtub

-loves bubbles

-loves the remote control

-has 1-2 bottles of whole milk per day, maybe 2-4 breastfeeds per day (although as soon as we started giving whole milk my milk supply disappeared and I'm not going to work on getting it back. He can, but I'm not. I think that for my health, now is a good time to stop. I went one month longer than I thought I would. I'm proud of myself!).

-TOUGH month on the teething and sick front. He now wakes up two times in the night, 1am and 4:30am and does not stop crying. He is doing his painful crying so I think his teething is just hurting so bad. I just feed him and 10 minutes later, he goes back to sleep. This has been tough on me just because I need my sleep to get better! I've tried ignoring him and he doesn't stop which just stresses me out. Gary is `allowed' to have nights off from watching Koen because he's just so busy with bball and work right now so I totally understand.

-loves food. At the doctor's office, he took a mum mum and tore it apart while clenching his fists and shaking his head. The doctor said he was like the Hulk. He seriously does this all the time. Silly guy. The thing we give him quite often is bread and bananas just because it's easy but he will eat anything and everything. He REALLY loves pureed cauliflower, and so do I!

-he loves being rough and wrestled with. Because his reflux is gone (that seems like so long ago now!) we can dangle him upside down and toss him around and he's totally fine. He is a total monkey.

-isn't really interested in saying anything. He does say the `mama and dada' but just babbles more than anything.

-he has an insane amount of energy. Yesterday, he only napped for 20 minutes the whole day and was just go, go, go. He is going to keep us VERY busy.

-I know you know this by now, because I say it too much, but I love him so much. Incredible amount really. Even when he's crying at night, I'm not mad at him, I know he's just hurting and I understand. I will always, always be there for you Kokey Pokey. He brings us so much happiness, especially when things get a little tough, he makes us smile. And laugh. And thank God for such a wonderful blessing that he has been to our little family.

We are also so thankful for Kai. Kai has had a tough week as he is sick with a cold (which he nicely shared with Koen after Koen got over his flu). He may have watched a bit too much tv this week but it really helps my sanity. He had a major meltdown outside today, and of course it was in front of my neighbour. Thanks bud. Glad you had to sit in the stroller so your 11 month old brother had to walk?!

Kai asked me to take these pictures of him. He loves doing silly things and then says `Take a picture!'. He is loving preschool. A lot. I love that he loves school:) Kai did the sweetest thing with Koen. As I was feeding him a bottle, Kai rubbed Koen's cheeks and said, `Mommy, isn't Koen so cute? He's so cute and he's sooo precious!'. He also calls him `The Koke-inator' all the time which is pretty cute:) I really needed that because all I do all day is referee these two and it's exhausting. Nice to see a glimpse of what could be!

We got Candyland for free with the $10 coupon off of the Rice Krispies box. We have played several times and I have to say, it's not that fun. At least he likes it!

Well, the Koke-inator is up. Let's be honest, he never slept. Oh well, I tried. MONKEY.

Finally, I will try not to complain about basketball (and how it steals my husband for 4 months a year) but I think there may be a rant coming up soon.....

Oh yes, by the way, there is another post below.

Bye Bye House

This morning they tore down my mom and dad's house in about 10 minutes. I'm thankful that I was around so I could witness it by taking pictures and video. I'm not sure if it was therapeutic or not but I'd rather regret watching it than not. It's hard because that is the house that I associate with my mom. Especially the kitchen. However, my mom was not a very sentimental person, she was more practical, and so she would be okay with it. This makes it a bit easier for me. Kai just kept saying `Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!' and `When will they tear down our house?' The strangest moment was right before the first picture when the whole house was knocked horizontal and the windows popped out. And now we'll be listening to construction for the next 6 months....at least it will entertain the boys!

Nothing like seeing an excavator on TOP of your old house.

All Mine

Stand back, ladies! He's all mine:)

Thank goodness `No Shave November' is over!