G'n'R Out West

So, my mum bought Simon this shirt recently…

I thought it was a little funny for a 1 year old… Even Simon’s pediatrician commented on it. I asked my mum what she was thinking when she bought it. As it turns out there appears to be a bit of a disconnect between her generation and mine. I asked my mum to google ‘Wingman’ and told her I thought there would be few entries relating to the flying of airplanes. She was VERY surprised at the result of her internet query. Needless to say, we’ve had a few laughs.

In other news. I’m not sure if anybody is paying any attention to the outfits our daughter is wearing but she hasn’t worn pants in months. She always wears a dress (or dancing dress as she calls them) with a skirt underneath and tights or leg warmers. If pressed you can get her to wear pants under the dress and skirt, but she will only comply if you have an express reason (frigid outdoor temperatures at ths zoo), and she insists on removing them as soon as said purpose has been served. She prefers short sleeves or no sleeves. Anyway, another preschool mum told me that her daughter came home last week and told her that she was pretty sure Adelle didn’t even own any pants. How did I get a child who wears nothing but dresses?

Greg and Simon have been sick this week. It is pretty sad and miserable around our house at the moment. Just to add interest to our life Adelle has decided that she wants to learn how to wear underpants to bed at night. So no more diapers. Out of 5 days, she’s had 2 dry nights. Usually around 5 am we get the call and have to change the sheets, it is pretty awesome. To date she has unwavering confidence in her ability to learn. I wish I had the same confidence that I will have the patience to change her sheets in the middle of the night and do an extra load of laundry every day until this adventure is over.

So much to tell…so little time.

Greg’s parents have been visiting these last few weeks…and the kids are on cloud nine.  Adelle has been building forts in the basement every morning with Grandpa and Simon has had all kinds of extra attention…and the occasional extra shoulder to cuddle on…

Having Greg’s parents around has also made my life a lot easier…since there is always somebody to play with the kids, clean up the house, make dinner…it is a pretty sweet deal.

Both Adelle and Simon have had some good news recently.  Adelle had an appointment at the allergist this week.  The entire experience was less than fun thanks to a surly staff…but the long and the short of it is that Adelle has no allergies to seeds and nuts.  So we are on our way to slowly re-introducing and everything is lovely so far.  The doctor thinks her reaction was a virus, which we are a little skeptical of given that every medical professional that saw her on the day of the big event seemed quite certain it was allergies.  I plan on following up with our doctor and we aren’t in any hurry to get rid of the epi-pens, but I think we are all sleeping a little easier.

Simon had an appointment with the pediatrician and things are looking up.  His iron stores are still low, but his hemoglobin is on the rise.  It is on the side of low, but close enough to normal that the doctor is happy.  We saw a new doctor this time as ours in on mat leave.  We have very different ideas about parenting, and I found that frustrating, but I feel good about the iron situation.  She thought it would be a good idea to start to re-introduce processed milk and see what happens.  However, she thought it was best to hold off on any dairy for Simon or large quantities of dairy for me until much closer to our next appointment in three months.  She just wants to play it safe, and I am ok with that.

Simon also got his first haircut.  It was moderately terrifying, so I’m not sure we’ll be back anytime soon.  The new look doesn’t show up that well on camera since his hair is so fair, but trust me, its cute.

We had a little first birthday party for a big guy today.  A few friends came over.  Simon mostly hung back (choosing to hang out with some of the men folk who attended).  Adelle on the other hand was very happy to have friends over and an audience of people to entertain.

Greg made his now famous soy chocolate raspberry cake.  He made it for my birthday this summer, and again today.  It was a huge hit…although, I think Simon was fairly indifferent.  He certainly sat in his chair for a long time eating it, but he never got that excited.  Maybe he was just really processing the intense chocolate flavour?

Adelle is obsessed with grilled cheese sandwiches.  For months now if you ask her what she wants for lunch that is all she ever asks for.  Recently however, she has started modifying her request.

For a while she started wanting pickles in the grilled cheese sandwich.  Then she started insisting on grilled cheese sandwiches that aren’t cooked (she also really loves toast…as long as you don’t cook it).

This week she really made us laugh.  Her new request is: grilled cheese sandwich -  But don’t cook it, with ham, and no cheese.  I thought that was called a ham sandwhich…but apparently it still falls under the ‘grilled cheese’ umbrella of sandwiches!

Kids – GEEZ.

That probably happened a little while ago…but I’ve been in denile.  He just looks so grown up now though, it is hard to deny it any more.

This week he has suddenly developed an interest in colouring.  He is very passionate about it and can spend a good 20 minutes colouring.  He even tilts his head to the side when he is deep in concentration.  Of course, he has to use pencil crayons because he eats the crayons…I guess a part of him is still a baby!
 

Not only can he climb up on the stool to wash his hands at the sink, climb up onto the kids colouring table…but he can also sit in a chair.

He is in love with bikes.  He chases after Adelle screaming at her when she is biking.  So we have developed a sharing policy…I guess it is time to get Simon a helmet too…of course, he can’t quite reach the pedals yet so I get a pretty sore back biking with him!

Today Simon skipped his 20 min morning nap and opted for just one 40 min nap mid-day.  This was the start of it…guess we missed his tired cues!

We never had this problem with Adelle…Simon is much more adventurous.  This is evidenced not only in the pictures below, but in the ever changing bruising on his head.  I suppose a better parent might have removed their child from the hazard.  But a little part of me is so proud of his big accomplishment.  He has also been caught on a number of occasions standing on his little ride on toy…I see more bruises in his future.

In other news…Adelle and her little buddy Blake were giddy at the idea of trick-or-treating, the act itself was even more ridiculously fun than anticipated.

So old…I am having a hard time believing it.  So huge next to his new baby cousin.

This month has flown by.  Greg has been out of town a little bit, and we’ve been in Ottawa waiting for the newest cousin to arrive…so Greg has missed lots which isn’t any fun. Simon has been changing by leaps and bounds and has really hit the point where so much changes every day.  Greg could hardly believe how much had changed in just the two weeks we were in Ottawa.

Sleep:
Yeah, whatever, he sleeps from 7:30 until 6:30…usually wakes 2-3 times to eat.  Sometimes I make him hang out with Greg instead of eat…he doesn’t really like doing that.  We are in negotiations with him in regards to nursing less at night.  So far he seems to feel very strongly about the issue…we will continue to discuss.

He napped quite well while we were in Ottawa, mostly in the car, or in the wrap.  Usually naps were twice a day for around 30 min – 45 min.   At least he is flexible and will nap on the run.  He sleeps best if I carry him, the independent naps are typically quite short.  I do enjoy carrying him for naps…but my back can’t handle it too often, so I try to put him down whenever I can. 

Eating:
We hit a bit of a bump in the road.  Simon had been pretty much exclusively eating regular food.  But on our trip to Ottawa he got a bit sick and stopped eating.  He mostly seems to like mushy food now, which is odd, given he didn’t like it before.  Not sure why.  But at least he is eating.  He was also introduced to bread this month.  It is now officially his favorite food. If he had the choice he’d eat nothing but bread, not unlike his Mum.

Getting Around:
Simon is the boss of walking.  He still seems to fall a lot, and regardless of when or where or how he falls, he always manages to bump his head.  It usually makes him very sad and defeated. He always has a bruise or bump on his little noggin these days.

Hair:
Light brown, getting longer, We’ve started to think about getting him a hair cut…but we aren’t quite there yet.

Eyes:
Browny green.

Language:
He does the milk sign…it means he wants something.  We really haven’t done enough sign language with  him to get anywhere.  I should get on that…just need to find the time….and perhaps get an extra hand.

I think the biggest change we’ve seen in Simon this month is how vocal he is.  He used to say very little, now he  talks all the time.   He is working really hard at trying to say words. He likes to say ‘cat’, ‘hi’, ‘boo’, ‘go’, ‘Adelle’.  He has some associations with some of the words he says.  When he’s interested he also imitates sounds we make. The other day I said ‘lets go’ and he quickly repeated it. Pretty funny.

Personality:
He loves animals. He chased my brother’s cat around pretty much non stop on our trip. Poor cat.  He also is very passionate about stuffed animals and some of the dolls in the house.  He will walk over to them, snatch them up and then give them a snuggle and carry them around. Pretty cute.

He can get a bit shy with new people. Although, he is often really interested in random men. My brother is his favorite person ever, but there have been others that he’s been affectionate with.

Sometimes only I will do, he can get pretty angry if I hand him off to somebody when I need to get something done…or just need a little break.

He has been known to wave, but hasn’t totally figured it out. Currently, he is really into pointing and yelling. He also loves to sing. If anybody is singing, he usually joins in, he often dances too.

Stuff that happened this month:
- he met his new baby cousin
- he learned lots of new words
- he fell in love with his uncle Al

- he learned the joy of tormenting cats

- he officially has 6 teeth 4 on top and 2 on bottom

Always with the tongue.

Well, we went to Ottawa with the intention (and hope) that we would be able to welcome a new baby into the family.  Luckily for us little baby Pippi (Hippy according to Adelle) obliged.  So thoughtful, really.  Already I love her.  She didn’t specifically tell me, but I’m pretty sure she loves me too.
 

It was a beautiful birth and I am so honoured to have been there for it.  It was so beautiful to see the experience, from that perspective.  I know it was such hard work for my sister, I am in awe.  I suppose birth is just one of those things that will always amaze me.

Adelle thinks Pippi is great, but mostly she is so busy with the older kids she hasn’t had time for more than a few quick snuggles.  Simon only noticed her after 3 or 4 days.  He thought she was pretty interesting, but he was also highly distracted by the older cousins.  The older cousins just adore their baby sister.  She is really sweet.

We had the most wonderful time in Ottawa.  We stayed with my brother, his fiance Amy, and their roommate Scott (or squat, as Adelle calls him).  We’ve never stayed with my brother before so that was really fun.  They have two cats who likely will need therapy after two weeks with our kids…but my goodness did Adelle and Simon ever have a good time with them.  

Simon and Alec are best friends.  They have this really neat connection.  He could be so fussy and unsettled in my arms, then reach out for my brother and just snuggle right in and be completely at peace.  It was really beautiful to see.  Simon’s middle name is after my brother, that choice seems so fitting when you see them together.

I think Adelle was on cloud nine the entire trip.  Each morning she’d jump out of bed and beg to run in and wake up Amy and Alec.  There was nothing more fun then snuggling in bed with her uncle and aunt.  It was a great way to start each day.  Since my brother was at my sister’s birth as well, Amy actually had a sleepover with Adelle so that Al and I could be with my sister.  Adelle was over the moon to find Amy next to her when she woke up the next morning.  It is so wonderful to be around our extended family…and so hard to leave.

Adelle really looks up to Lily and loves to follow her around.

Adelle and Chi-Chi play well together…but she often thinks that she is the boss…

Our flight home was unfortunately very eventful.  Adelle reacted to something she ate and had an anaphylactic reaction.  She is ok, and there was no impact on her breathing at any time.  At first she had a stomach ache and an irritated GI tract, we went to the bathroom, and upon our return she had a VERY swollen eye.  Then two swollen eyes and finally she told me that she thought a moose bit her tongue.  Since I hadn’t seen any moose on the flight we decided it was time to page for a doctor.  Luckily there was one.  I am sure Adelle would have been fine without one, however, I needed the reassurance.  It was very scary.  To add impact to injury…Simon also completely freaked out during the event.  So basically I had two screaming kids on my lap in the airplane with a doctor trying to convince Adelle to swallow an adult benadryl.  There was some talk about landing the plane prematurely.  But soon it was clear she wasn’t getting any worse, and after not too long the swelling started to come down. 

The paramedics met us once we landed and offered to transport her to the hospital.  We decided she was ok to drive with us and forgo any additional trauma.  We had a long wait in the hospital, and Adelle was such a trooper.  However, by the time the doctor finally examined her she was sleeping…she didn’t even wake up when they pried her mouth open to see her tongue.  Poor thing, she was just exhausted.

We are now in a state of stress trying to figure out what she might have eaten and what restrictions are appropriate for her diet.  We can’t think of anything unusual she ate that day.  So frustrating.  We have a suspicion it is sesame seeds as they are a common allergen, my sister is allergic to them, and without even realizing she might have had issue with them I offered her some after she’d had the reaction and she declined.  In retrospect it makes me wonder if eating them in the first place made her sick.

Anyway, we will be checking in with our family doc in the morning, and hopefully we will start figuring this out.  In the mean time we have a little pencil case with her epi-pen and some benadryl.  Good times.

Some people think it is exciting to have a baby walking at 10 months.  This is not the case for Simon.  Although he certainly can walk, I think he has the balance and co-ordination of the average 10 month old.  So he falls – A LOT.  This high volume of falling has led to a bloody mouth at least once a week.  Once we even went to the dentist because he had such a disturbing bruise on his gum and a ripped frenum on his upper gum. 

Last night he had a real doozy.  He fell and started screaming, I ran over and noticed he had a mouth full of blood.  He cried for a while, but for him this wasn’t an unfamiliar scenario so we never really thought much of it.   He was up from 10pm until 1:30 either screaming or on the verge of screaming.  He kept trying to nurse, but just couldn’t latch..eventually he managed to nurse at 1:30.  This morning he didn’t eat breakfast, and then I noticed the cut on his tongue…so sad.

Poor Simon, it sure can suck to be a baby!

Greg’s cousin Keith was up for a few days and whether he wanted it or not, he was top entertainment for the kids.  They both loved having him around.  He did all sorts of foolish things with them and therefore won them over.

Feels like we’ve been busy lately…but I can’t quite remember what exactly we’ve been so busy doing.  The kids and I will be off soon on a 2 week adventure to ottawa.  My sister is having a baby!!!  And hopefully we’ll get to be there for the big event!!! 

To the new baby: please wait until we get to ottawa, but don’t wait too long because I think my sister is getting a little tired of being pregnant.  That is all baby…see you soon.

I feel like I wrote Simon’s nine month post just yesterday…too fast, I tell you, too fast.  He is changing by leaps and bounds these days, it is amazing.

Sleep:
He is an ok sleeper (I had written a ‘good’ sleeper in here…but at Greg’s insistance, it got downgraded).  He is up twice to nurse at night, and sometimes a little more often to hang out with his dad…sometimes he likes to sleep with us.  The second waking is a bit of a fight.  He is usually up around 5am and although clearly in need of some more sleep he fights to fall back asleep. I suspect it is just because by the time he is done eating he can often hear Greg getting ready for work.  I can usually get him back to sleep, but it often takes me well over an hour.  Then we have a nice little sleep in…until Adelle gets up anyway!

Napping…I don’t know.  He sleeps around 20 minutes 2x a day.  He gets almost 12 hours at night though, so I think he is getting all he needs.  It can be a bit frustrating, especially for Adelle as in order to get Simon to sleep I need to really focus on him.  If he doesn’t nap, he is a real gremlin.  He always wakes up upset from his naps but usually cheers up quickly if he is ready to wake up.  Unless he is in a wrap on me, then he wakes up all cute and snuggly.  Just glad to be close by, I  guess.  Best if he sleeps in the wrap…everybody is happier that way (except my back, my back is definitely less happy).

Eating:
He is a good eater.  He will tolerate cereal mush at breakfast, but other than that he is a finger food kid.   Usually he eats a fair bit and doesn’t seem to be too picky.  Although, he does have a clear preference for certain foods (fruit, especially melon and berries are at the top of his list).  He would really like to have his own bowl and utensils.  But it gets pretty messy.  He does get them from time to time, but we try to minimize it just so that clean up time is reasonable!

Getting Around:
He is walking more and more every day.  He still crawls lots, but seems to prefer walking.  He still prefers if you walk with him, but if you won’t he isn’t about to stand still!  From time to time he gets in a falling down funk.  It really frustrates him.  I think his main problem is that he isn’t all that into walking…he seems to prefer running. 

Hair:
It is starting to get a little scraggly.  It is a really light brown and still very thin. 

Eyes:
Greeny-brown depending on the light.

Language:
He recognizes the milk sign, he does it sometimes, I’m not totally convinced he knows what he is doing.  I think he knows a few other signs.  We don’t seem to be very consistent at doing them, so it isn’t surprising he isn’t learning them.  

We’ve been working on teaching him ‘uh oh’, just because it is fun.  He is really really trying…but he has a mental block on it.  It is really cute when he tries.  He really wants to please, but he usually only says ‘uh’ and it sounds more like a grunt then a word. 

He makes a very consistant noise that sounds a lot like ‘A-Delle’.  He certainly recognizes her name, and looses his mind when he gets to see her in the morning.

Personality:
Simon has started LOVING animals (and balloons actually).  He goes wild when he sees either.   There is lots of limb flailing and yelling.  He is pretty transparent.  Other kids and babies are big favorites as well.  Now that he knows how to walk he can often be found toddling off in the direction of another baby or kid, arms outstretched.  If I don’t get there fast enough it usually ends in carnage as he has no personal space boundaries.  Of course he also loves cars, it is a very bad idea to open the driver’s side door of a car with Simon in your arms – unless you intend to let him drive.  If you close the door without letting him drive, you will pay for your error in judgement.  

Simon has also very recently started pointing at the things he loves, like dogs, balloons, kids and cars.

Stuff that happened this month:
- he started walking
- he learned to climb up the stairs
- he now has 3+ teeth - the top right middle, bottom two middle and a few others are really trying hard to come out