2009 in pictures

January - Our family of 2

February - King Fergus enjoying the last few days of his reign

March - Ready and waiting

April - Welcome Baby Simon

May - a blur of sleep and cuddles

June - Welcome Baby Elizabeth

July - a screamin' good time on Canada Day

August - surgery and lack of sleep

September - cast free

October - "I do it my way!

November - days of Rider pride (before the fall)

December - my sweet sweater baby

It's crazy to think that last year, at this time, there was no Simon in our life - just an adorable bump that woke me up at night with his thumping. 2009 has been a year of incredible blessings, lessons, joy and tears. Parenthood has had the sharpest learning curve I've ever encountered but, my little guy is worth it all.
Thanks to my great husband for another fabulous year.
Here's to 2010 and all that it will bring!

iRobot

I gave into my housewife fantasies and bought a Roomba. No more vacuuming for me. It entertains my Schmoo and sends my cat into conniptions (unlike the above acrobat, Fergus is honing his chase, hunt, hiss and hit moves). I named him Shy Ronnie after a bizarre SNL sketch that reminded me of a few students I've taught.
Sometimes, as Shy Ronnie zooms around my living room, I wonder, "has it come to this? Am I at the age where a vacuum makes me smile?" Then I remember... Shy Ronnie is a ROBOT! How cool is that?

So this is Christmas...

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the snow.
Eat lots.
Give with abundance.
Receive with grace.
Smile for the cameras.
Dance with the children.
Celebrate Christ.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!

No more Baby Goo

I started feeding Simon baby cereal in the beginning of October. It started okay but then, it led to a battle. He hated his cereal. He hated his purees. I thought I'd never get him to eat.
This past month, I gave up Baby Goo. I bought a food mill and a baby feed bag (a mesh sack that you can insert all sorts of yummy things into that babies can chew and not choke). Simon eats what we eat... modified. He's happier, I'm happier and we're not fighting. Currently, Simon LOVES banana, whole wheat bread, stew, rice and Grandma Tilly's lentil soup. I'm trying to be discerning with what I give his little tummy. I think he appreciates the variety.
Hmmm.... just another way that Simon operates that's just not "by the book". He's definitely an opinionated little fellow for someone who can't talk.

Yum - part 2

Just in case you weren't jealous of the cookies I made with my in-laws,
here's some snaps of the cookies I made with my
mom and my sister-in-law.
Yes, I went a little overboard this year.
My husband's thrilled.
Feel free to stop by for a cookie... our freezer's full!

Footloose

Praise God!
Simon had another maintenance check on his feet today.
Dr. F. declared his feet "perfect".
We don't have to see him until the summer.
Simon will be able to walk into the casting clinic by then.

I sat in the waiting room with a mom who's baby is in the middle of
the casting process. My heart
went out to her.
It's such a sucky process but, the
results are priceless.
I love my boy's little tootsies.
I love playing piggies with them,
kissing them and
tickling them until he squeals.
I'm so thankful we live in this time and place.
I'm so thankful for such a good health care system.
Simon and I are happy dancing today.

YUM

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is baking with my in-laws. This year, we were super-organized and, even with Simon, were done in record time. Now, my freezer is filled with yummy treats to last until the New Year.

New friends

My friend, Nancy, and I are both on mat. leave. Our babies are 6 weeks apart. While still pregnant, we'd talked about wanting use our time to do something we couldn't normally do while working. We came up with the idea of starting a Mom's group for immigrant women. With the help of the Open Door Society, we have finally met our ladies.
They are a group who are Nepalese living in Bhutan. About 20 years ago, the Bhutanese government did an "ethnic cleanse" of all people of Nepalese origin and sent these people back to Nepal. The Nepalese government did not want them. Therefore, all of these refugees have been placed in camps along the Nepal/Bhutan border (the above picture is of a Bhutanese refugee camp). Finally, after living close to 20 years in these refugee camps, our new friends were able to immigrate to Canada. Now, they are here and trying to make sense of our Canadian culture.
Nancy and I want to meet with these ladies (and their very curious and enthusiastic husbands) once a week to talk about shopping in Canada, cooking, women's health issues, child-rearing customs, etc. More then that, we are looking to make new friends and help these very brave ladies feel at home in their new country.
Today, was our first meeting. They LOVED Simon and Nancy's girls. Our host made us fabulous (real) chai tea. They politely ate our brownies. We were told stories about being forced to leave home late at night with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
I know that we are going to be their "teachers" but, I have so much to learn.
Needless to say, I'm VERY excited about my new friends! :)

45 minutes

45 minutes is a typical baby's sleep cycle. Thanks to general anesthetic, Simon once again is struggling to beat his sleep cycle. That means he cries and cries and cries about every 45 minutes at night. He doesn't just go back to sleep either. We tried letting him "cry it out" and that only led to an hysterical little man. The dressing on his hand is probably bothering him and he's probably experiencing some pain. He also has a stuffy nose (cold? teething? who knows?). Needless to say, this household is lacking sleep.
We've been here before. We know it gets better. It's just frustrating to be in the middle of it. We're hoping it won't take Simon's body as long to get back into routine.

Resilient

We got back from the hospital around 1 pm. Simon had his surgery at 8 am. Dr. C. was able to reshape his index finger and smooth out his other fingers as well as increase the web spaces between his digits. We'll get to see what his hand looks like when the bandages come off on Dec. 16. He's doing remarkably well. He's playing with Trevor right now and has lots of smiles. The freezing in his hand should last another hour or two and then, we may notice some extra fussiness. He's slept really well for his naps today. We're hoping for a good night tonight. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers!

End of the Yo-Yo

Simon's scheduled for surgery tomorrow. It's not just stand-by either. We'll go to the hospital and Simon's little left hand will be operated on.
Today, he was holding his little Rice Rusk with his left hand and chowing down. He played with my necklace by holding it with his left hand. He had his 6 month shots (I know we're a little late) and pacified himself with his left hand. After tomorrow, there'll be a big bandage over his left hand. I'm sure it'll be "free" before Christmas but still... we're going to miss it.

Twilight

I'm not usually a trend follower but, as
a teacher, I always like to read what
my kids read.
This has led to a lot of interesting discoveries.
I've discovered Jodi Piccoult, graphic novels,
the Ender's Game series, Nicholas Sparks, etc.
My newest "find" was the Twilight series.
I loved it!
I'm not really into vampires and werewolves. I
gagged over Edward's schmaltzy lines and the
love triangle between a klutzy girl, a werewolf and
a vampire.
However, the plot was fast and the action was good.
There were quite a few non-predictable twists.
I think it ended really well.
Maybe, I'll watch the movies... maybe.

13

It's a sad day in Riderville today.
Normally, we're pretty proud of our "13th man".
Last night, the disappointment
in the 13th man was palpable.
Lucky you, Montreal.
Second chances usually
don't happen.

Little creeper

Look out world.
This guy's comin'!
(With a lot of help and
a lot of time).

Blessed

There's nothing major going on in our lives right how.
We're blessed with the mundane, day-to-day doings of our little family.
Trevor's pretty happy at work. He just did a great, national presentation.
The Riders are in the Western play-offs tomorrow. :)
Simon's becoming more and more vocal. Mr. Shrieky is a delight.
Yesterday, Simon and I went on an adventure to the park. He went in a swing and then we went down a slide together. This warm weather is AWESOME!
We're still enjoying Jolly Jumper dance parties. Trevor downloaded the Glee soundtrack and it's a hit in our house.
We have a new front step and a red door.
Life is good.
Can I freeze time and have things stay this way for a while?

Stand-by

Well, part of being a "stand-by" surgery is that it might not happen. That was the case for us this morning. I can't even say that I'm disappointed. We get a few more weeks of happy Simon. I am, however, sad that this surgery is still looming over us. It'd be nice to just to get it done and over with.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
We have another "stand-by" scheduled for Nov. 27.

Tentative

Simon is on stand-by for hand surgery tomorrow. We'll show up at 6:30 am and, if there's a bed, he'll have surgery. No bed, we'll have woken our baby up for an early morning car ride.
Besides the whole stand-by idea, I'm dreading surgery. It's a necessary thing. Simon's hand does need it. There's just something about turning my baby over to a scalpel and pain that drives me around the bend. Then, there's the morphine... and the dressing (and finding someone to change the dressing as I am a wimp). Lastly, there is the worry that this will mess up Simon's sleep. He's just had three perfect nights that have only involved one short get-up. I don't want to go back to sleep-deprived August and September.
Please pray for my little boy... and for us. We'd appreciate that lots1

Spoiled

He gets up with the baby at night. Last night... he was up 3 times soothing Mr. Irritable Sleeper.
He makes me French toast and does the dishes afterward.
He rakes the leaves.
He lets me sleep in on his day off.
He puts up with my insane coughing fits at night.
He doesn't place unreasonable expectations on me (if the house is not clean, he helps out; if supper's not made, he settles for pizza, etc.)
He's pretty handsome.
He's putting Mr. Not-So-Naptastic down for his nap right now because I get sick of the battles.
I'm so thankful that he is mine.
I'm spoiled.
Thank-you, Trevor!

Fan of...

My name is Jill and, I am addicted to Facebook. I love reading statuses and looking at your pictures. I really love seeing pictures of your kids, your weddings, your engagements... fun stuff. I don't really like your party pictures with twenty shots of you looking pie eyed and showing way too much cleavage.
Recently, I've been inundated with requests to become a "fan" of almost everything. No thanks! I don't want to just add my name to a list of other "fans". I also don't want to take any of your quizzes or add any of your applications. Just your pictures... that's all I'm after people.
This got me thinking. What am I a "fan" of? Here are a few things that I'm definitely not a fan of:
-snot (we've had a lot of it around here lately - yuck)
-people who think maternity leave is a holiday
-cat fuzz
-people who don't stop for pedestrians at crosswalks
-the pile of Halloween candy that is taunting me from the kitchen counter
-the weight I can't seem to shake (maybe it's all the Halloween candy???)
-coughing fits while trying to put Simon to sleep
-a whiny cat
-wind in the ears

These are things I am a definite fan of but, I'm still not joining any FB page to support them:
-baby giggles
-overalls on Simon
-Trevor's hugs
-cuddling Fergus
-a good book
-peppermint tea with honey
-walks in the sunshine without a jacket
-good neighbours
-Fridays
-Simon's new sleeping habits
-thrift stores

(My apologies if you're not a fan of lists.)

Ola Bambino!

Simon has issues riding in the car. We solved this by borrowing a portable DVD player. Simon's been watching the same Baby Einstein Shapes DVD for 3 months. I decided to switch it up and buy a new Baby Einstein video. I found a great one about Baby Sounds. Every time we drive somewhere, Simon watches this DVD and I think to myself, "My boy is learning. Soon, he'll be talking."
Today, I realized that his DVD has been set to Spanish. Simon's been "learning" Spanish for the past 3 weeks.
How come it took me 3 whole weeks to notice?

Caterwauling

Fergus has learned to jump the fence. Thank-you, Felix. He's only allowed outside under strict supervision because, I don't want to chase him around the neighbourhood with an infant.
Simon has a snotty nose and I have a sore throat and headache.
Fergus keeps meowing to be let out.
Simon whines more because he doesn't feel right.
I'm whining to you because I've never had a sick kid before... and I'm sick too. :(
This is my pity party.

(On the plus side, Simon's taken to sleeping 12 hours at night with a 4 o'clock food break... yeah sleep!)

Treats

Who needs goodies when I have this kind of eye
candy to sweeten my day!

Pumpkin

I've always enjoyed pumpkin carving. I like the squish of pumpkin guts. I like eating the seeds afterward (baked and salted of course). I like the challenge of carving.
This year, I wanted to involve Simon in the process. I dressed him in a garbage bag. (I know... I know... plastic bags and babies don't mix.) It was messy and oh, so much fun!

Six Months

Eeeeep!
Simon's 6 months old today.
I'm starting to measure my life by a new standard: Before Simon days, After Simon days.
In my Before Simon days, I slept a lot more. I weighed less (sigh). I had a
very clean house. Fergus was king. I spent a lot of time worrying and focusing
on other people's kids. I left the house to work.
In my After Simon days, I sleep less (wayyyyy less!). I dance to techno every morning.
I am a tickle monster and I know all his tickle spots. I have "play dates".
I have a messy house. My cat runs wild. I worry lots about my own kid.
I work at home.

It's different. Having a baby is life changing. People used to
tell me that. Now, I get it.

I'd never go back. Those baby chuckles and hugs are addicting.
Thanks for a great 6 months, little man!

(P.S. The picture is by Jen Wilson. Check out her blog at http://heymrswilson.net/)

Showdown

Fergus vs. Felix

We have a new neighbour.
She has a male, adult cat named Felix.
At first, I thought it was funny that
we had cats named Felix and Fergus.

That's where the funny stops.

Fergus has declared an all out war
against the striped beastie next door.
He cries plaintively at the door and at the window.
He hisses and spits his contempt whenever he is outside.
He's drawn blood.
He has a battle scratch of his own to sport.
Sometimes, I can't decide whether to throw sticks at them to break it up or to
bet my new neighbour $20 that Fergus would
kick her kitty's tail!

Felix has one advantage. He knows how to leave his yard.
Fergus rarely tries that.
I hope Felix doesn't inadvertently teach him how to hop the fence.

Boys will be boys. I'm sure I'll be throwing sticks and donning
leather gloves all week.
Welcome to the neighbourhood, New Family.
We're excited that you're here so that my cat can
beat on your cat.

Toothpicks

Tuesday night, Simon slept through the whole entire night. :) He woke up at 5:15, hung out with me and then hung out with Trevor, fell asleep at 6:30 and slept until 8 am. It was the best night of my life (sleep wise) since Simon was born!
Wednesday night, Simon woke up 8 times. Yes, 8 times. He barely napped during the day and we paid for it during the night. Yeesh! Today was surprisingly good despite the lack of sleep. I didn't have to prop my eyes open with toothpicks.
This kind of night was our normal in August. I can't believe we did that every night.
I'm looking forward to the days when I'm not obsessed with Simon's sleep!
Here's hoping for a repeat of Tuesday.
One step forward and two steps back. We'll get to sleep bliss eventually!

A few of my favorite things...

This weekend has been a lot of fun. I've been able to hang out with a lot of people who make me happy. Trevor's let me sleep a lot more then I normally get to. Simon's only been waking me up once a night (his Dad gets him the other time). The sunshine's been out. Simon's learning his name, how to hug, how to sit and how to shriek with glee. Good times in our house!

Change of plans

After looking at the weather forecast for Vancouver for the week we'd be there, I'm opting out. Maybe I'm a wimp but, the idea of schlepping Simon around in the cold and the wet is not appealing. We'll stay home with our exersaucer, Jolly Jumper and regularly scheduled bedtime.
I'm a little disappointed but, I'm at peace about it. We have a lifetime to travel with Simon.

On a happier note, Simon's been getting up only once or twice a night. He's still into early get-ups (~5:30 am) but, I've been able to lull him back to sleep. I'm okay with the mornings now that I'm not up every few hours. Hopefully, this will become a good trend for him.

By the way, I'm sick of snow already... it's going to be a long winter!

Averted

We had a "maintenance check" on Simon's feet today. Our Doc seems to think they're doing fine. Whew! Just the thought of casts makes me cringe. I really hope that we've left that part of our lives behind!
In other news:
-Simon has started solids. He's had rice cereal and banana. It works best if I let him "drink" the cereal from his bowl with some help from my spoon. Silly boy!
-We had two fabulous Thanksgiving feasts. We only had to leave one early due to a pending meltdown.
-Simon has 2-3 out of 7 good nights a week (getting up only once or twice). This is nice.
-I loathe putting on our jackets to go out... such a rigmarole!
-Trevor had a 4 day weekend. He was able to come swimming with Simon and I. :)
-We actually had people over, after Simon was in bed. It was fun! (We miss hosting.)
-There's too much snow on the ground. I hope that it melts this weekend!

Lastly, I think we are going to Vancouver. I appreciated all your helpful comments. Anonymous... I take what you said pretty seriously. This is my worry with Simon. However, I'll be sad if I didn't at least try.

Advice Needed - Please Comment

Well, Trevor has another business trip at the end of October. Simon and I can go with him if we want to. I really want to and yet, I am afraid.
Will this wreck the sort of okay sleep schedule we've got Simon on?
What will we do with him and his 6:30 bedtimes in the hotel (7:30 SK time but, 6:30 BC time)? Will I be trapped in the hotel because I'm tied to his crazy 4-5 45 minute naps a day?
Can I still start solids before we go and how will I manage them there?
Will he do okay in a hotel crib?
How will he do on the plane?
How the heck will we manage to haul all his junk there?
Will I still be able to do cool things like Stanley Park and the Aquarium?
Will I be able to get a good Shiya visit in?
Will we wreck Trevor's sleep so that he falls asleep during his course?

Yeesh! Readers, I need your advice. What would you do if you had a (turning) 6 month old? Would you take him to Vancouver?

(Colleen - if you're reading - I can't believe you took Elisa all the way to my farm when she was so little. You were so brave! I had NO idea the tremendous amount of work it must have been for you to travel to be in my wedding. You are AMAZING!)