Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Early Winter
It's been snowing here on and off since yesterday. Looks like we're going to have a white Hallowe'en! Along with the early winter is the early winter flu. I've had a fever since last tuesday and it looks like it just broke a few hours ago. For the first time in 7 days I don't feel like my head is going to explode. Sarah has a milder version of it and Max just has a little cold, a little cough and lots of snot.
Max is still talking like crazy. New words include brocolli, wheat, tractor and other words he learned from his new Baby Einstein video Baby Macdonald. He just goes mental when he sees the video and sings and dances along with the music. His favourite parts are the cows and horses and when the pig gets dirty. He asks for it by saying "moo-moo". We tried to let him only watch it once a night but we settled on twice.
Max is still talking like crazy. New words include brocolli, wheat, tractor and other words he learned from his new Baby Einstein video Baby Macdonald. He just goes mental when he sees the video and sings and dances along with the music. His favourite parts are the cows and horses and when the pig gets dirty. He asks for it by saying "moo-moo". We tried to let him only watch it once a night but we settled on twice.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Another week
Well, another week has gone by just like that.
We had the first snowfall of the season on thursday. Max was thrilled to see it and called it "rain" instead of snow. Close enough.
Friday night, we took down the crib since he wasn't using it anyway. We moved one of the single beds into his room and tried to get him to sleep there. We had moderate success. He now starts off in his own room and stays there for 3-4 hours. That's not bad compared to his worse nights.
My friends, Oonagh and Dan were over with their "little" one on Saturday. Gwynn is a year younger than Max but has him by 2-3 pounds. That's the difference from being at top and bottom of the growth chart. Gwynn is off the charts in height and tops in weight where as Max is barely on the chart. They didn't really play much together but the parents had a good time catching up and swapping stories.
On Sunday, we hung some more pictures and paintings and finished off Max's room. Most of the art in the house is up except for the family room where we're waiting for a computer unit before we decide where things go.
After dinner on Monday night, Max found the boxes of tissue that we keep downstair. Here is the aftermath:
Max is saying "please" and "thank you" and today starting shaking hands. He said "shake" and I didn't understand him until to took my hand and shook it. It's just amazing.
Here's him covering his mouth when he is too excited. It's just about the cutest thing I've seen.
We had the first snowfall of the season on thursday. Max was thrilled to see it and called it "rain" instead of snow. Close enough.
Friday night, we took down the crib since he wasn't using it anyway. We moved one of the single beds into his room and tried to get him to sleep there. We had moderate success. He now starts off in his own room and stays there for 3-4 hours. That's not bad compared to his worse nights.
My friends, Oonagh and Dan were over with their "little" one on Saturday. Gwynn is a year younger than Max but has him by 2-3 pounds. That's the difference from being at top and bottom of the growth chart. Gwynn is off the charts in height and tops in weight where as Max is barely on the chart. They didn't really play much together but the parents had a good time catching up and swapping stories.
On Sunday, we hung some more pictures and paintings and finished off Max's room. Most of the art in the house is up except for the family room where we're waiting for a computer unit before we decide where things go.
After dinner on Monday night, Max found the boxes of tissue that we keep downstair. Here is the aftermath:
Max is saying "please" and "thank you" and today starting shaking hands. He said "shake" and I didn't understand him until to took my hand and shook it. It's just amazing.
Here's him covering his mouth when he is too excited. It's just about the cutest thing I've seen.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Bye Bye Janet and Brynn
Well, today was the last day that we had with Janet and Brynn. They left this morning at 9:00 for Pearson International Airport. We miss you guys already! Max misses Brynn and keeps asking "where's baby?" and "where's Jan". Max and Brynn finally started getting along better, of course, on the last night of their stay. Here are some adorable pictures.
You can actually see Brynn's face in this picture!
More kisses, less whacking.
Sharing a moment...
Posing for the wedding photographer. Look how proud Max is.
I can here him thinking to himself "Score!".
This is why guys do crazy things. Because chicks dig it.
Look how impressed Brynn is at the air that Max is getting!
You can actually see Brynn's face in this picture!
More kisses, less whacking.
Sharing a moment...
Posing for the wedding photographer. Look how proud Max is.
I can here him thinking to himself "Score!".
This is why guys do crazy things. Because chicks dig it.
Look how impressed Brynn is at the air that Max is getting!
Monday, October 09, 2006
How do you spell "chaos"?
It's a beautiful day in Ontario: sunny and 20 degrees. We had lunch at Mary and Perrry's with family (Mary, Perry, Elizabeth, Mike, Hannah, Thomas, Becky, Joe, me, Sarah and Max) and 3 of the dogs (Hershey, Lexi and Sadie).
Here' s a picture of Beck with the three kids at lunch.
We were back for dinner later that day with Janet and Brynn, Peggy and Hugh. We were close to the maximum occupancy according to the fire code (kidding) so Joe, Beck, Hershey and Lexi left for the Tuer farm where they were having Thanksgiving dinner.
Peg and Hugh
Dinner was a 16 lb turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, broccoli, cranberry sauce and my special gravy. For dessert there was both pumpkin pie (yuck) and apple pie. After dinner, the living room turned into a playroom where the kids jumped on and off the couch onto the cushions and into each other.
Thank you, Mary, for a wonderful dinner and letting the kids destroy your house.
Here' s a picture of Beck with the three kids at lunch.
We were back for dinner later that day with Janet and Brynn, Peggy and Hugh. We were close to the maximum occupancy according to the fire code (kidding) so Joe, Beck, Hershey and Lexi left for the Tuer farm where they were having Thanksgiving dinner.
Peg and Hugh
Dinner was a 16 lb turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, broccoli, cranberry sauce and my special gravy. For dessert there was both pumpkin pie (yuck) and apple pie. After dinner, the living room turned into a playroom where the kids jumped on and off the couch onto the cushions and into each other.
Thank you, Mary, for a wonderful dinner and letting the kids destroy your house.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Janet Martens visiting from Wakaw, Saskatchewan
We have two visitors this week from Wakaw Saskatchewan. I wanted to insert a link to google maps for Wakaw but it's so small it doesn't make it into any google maps, Mapquest, Mapblast or the government of Saskatchewan web site. Well, it's 1 hour outside of Saskatoon. Janet was Sarah's roommate in first year and have been awesome friends ever since. She has a 6 year of boy name Reid and a little girl named Brynn who is 2 months younger than Max. Only Janet and Brynn are visiting. Reid is holding down the fort with his dad, Tim. They arrived on Wednesday night and have been staying with us for the last few days.
Max and Brynn are mostly getting along. I think Max is feeling a bit territorial and has been bullying Brynn but he has gotten better every day at sharing his toys, books and space. Here's picture of them together.
They have taught each other bad habits. Brynn climbs the stairs that Max isn't aloud to climb so he started to climb them too. Brynn has learned hitting and started hitting Janet. This is how kids learn.
Sarah and Janet meanwhile have killed three bottles of wine and have not started hitting each other.
Max and Brynn are mostly getting along. I think Max is feeling a bit territorial and has been bullying Brynn but he has gotten better every day at sharing his toys, books and space. Here's picture of them together.
They have taught each other bad habits. Brynn climbs the stairs that Max isn't aloud to climb so he started to climb them too. Brynn has learned hitting and started hitting Janet. This is how kids learn.
Sarah and Janet meanwhile have killed three bottles of wine and have not started hitting each other.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Busy Weekend
We had a busy weekend in Toronto with many events and lots of catching up.
Saturday:
First we made a trip to Stoney Creek to the Kushies baby outlet where we picked up a snow suit for Max. We then made our way up to IKEA in Burlington to pick up a few things and a light lunch. Next stop was to Tuan Tran's in Oakville for a engagement party for our friends Guy and Robbie. Then it was dinner at Il Fornello on the Danforth with Dominic, Carol, Maggie, Matt, Sandra and Bronwyn. Il Fornello was a great place to meet as it was loud and very kid friendly. We finally made it to our hotel around 9:00 PM at the Westin Harbour Castle where we promptly fell asleep before 10 PM.
Sunday:
Max and I went for an early swim at the hotel pool. We were the first ones there at 7:15. Max wasn't quite awake yet so we mostly hung out in the whirlpool which was nice and warm. We checked out at 8:15 and made our way up to Markham where we were meeting my sister Alice, my cousin Greg and his parent Eric and Pearl. We had breakfast at the Hilton and Max enjoyed running around the lobby and riding the elevators up and down. It was one of those elevators with a glass wall so you can see out. He was very fascinated. We said our goodbyes, took some pictures and then Alice came with us to the Pacific Mall in Markham where we walked around for a couple of hours.
Next stop was the Beach (formerly known as the Beaches) where we met up with a good friend of mine, Sue, from university days. I hadn't seen her for years and she was anxious to meet Max. Max was anxious to get out of the car and get onto the play structure at the park where we met. He ran around for an hour or so until it started to rain. We then made our way back home to Stratford in time for Sunday dinner at Sarah's parent's house.
It was a busy weekend and I'm glad that the work week had started again so I can get some rest.
Saturday:
First we made a trip to Stoney Creek to the Kushies baby outlet where we picked up a snow suit for Max. We then made our way up to IKEA in Burlington to pick up a few things and a light lunch. Next stop was to Tuan Tran's in Oakville for a engagement party for our friends Guy and Robbie. Then it was dinner at Il Fornello on the Danforth with Dominic, Carol, Maggie, Matt, Sandra and Bronwyn. Il Fornello was a great place to meet as it was loud and very kid friendly. We finally made it to our hotel around 9:00 PM at the Westin Harbour Castle where we promptly fell asleep before 10 PM.
Sunday:
Max and I went for an early swim at the hotel pool. We were the first ones there at 7:15. Max wasn't quite awake yet so we mostly hung out in the whirlpool which was nice and warm. We checked out at 8:15 and made our way up to Markham where we were meeting my sister Alice, my cousin Greg and his parent Eric and Pearl. We had breakfast at the Hilton and Max enjoyed running around the lobby and riding the elevators up and down. It was one of those elevators with a glass wall so you can see out. He was very fascinated. We said our goodbyes, took some pictures and then Alice came with us to the Pacific Mall in Markham where we walked around for a couple of hours.
Next stop was the Beach (formerly known as the Beaches) where we met up with a good friend of mine, Sue, from university days. I hadn't seen her for years and she was anxious to meet Max. Max was anxious to get out of the car and get onto the play structure at the park where we met. He ran around for an hour or so until it started to rain. We then made our way back home to Stratford in time for Sunday dinner at Sarah's parent's house.
It was a busy weekend and I'm glad that the work week had started again so I can get some rest.
