Daddy and Calvin Reading

I took this photo the other day and thought it was just too cute not to post. We're amazed how much Calvin is growing and changing each day. What a blessing he is to our family!

Santa Clause Parade

On Saturday it was the annual Santa parade down Sullivan ave, just three houses over from where we live. So we bundled up, walked down the road and watched the parade.

Calvin wasn't really into his first parade. David had him all snuggled up in the baby bjorn. I think he was warmer than everyone else.

Since the parade started at 5pm we had part of dinner before and part after. Sarah prefered her pepperoni stick over the candy canes that people kept giving her (thank goodness).

The Christmas season has begun!

Little Fish

Sarah is such a little fish! She loves laying in the water on her back and rolling over continually in the tub. I always cover myself in a towel while sitting near the tub or else I will become totally soaked. Anyways, I thought I would post a little clip of her in the tub this evening.

Playing with her Donut bucket from Tim when we went to the CNE. This is one of her favourite bath toys! Thanks Tim!

Uncle Michael and Auntie Rebecca Come to Visit

On Friday we got to see Michael and Rebecca one last time before they returned back to BC. It was so... good having family out. We feel so blessed to have family that adore our kids and enjoy spending time with us. Thanks for the vist you two, we miss you both already!

Sweet Sarah

Sarah has really taken to her baby dolls lately. I think it's sweet how she carrys them around as if she's burping the baby by her shoulder. She is indeed watching how I care for Calvin and the things I do with him. I'm just waiting for the day she tries to nurse one of her dolls.

The "I'm thinking" look, what a character!

Calvin is 1 Month

Our little man is one month old today! Wow, time sure does go by fast. I thought I would post a few photos of him in his big boy clothes; they make him look so much older! He continues to be a pretty content little guy with a pretty serious little look.

10 Years!

Yesterday David and I celebrated 10 years of marriage! Wow, how the time does fly! I have to admit that they have been pretty great years. We have grown so much together. We have experienced and learned so much already, about ourselves, each other and life. I am so thankful for a man that inspires me, challenges me and in general makes me a better person. I can't imagine life without him in it. We are truly a team; I love how we do everything together. Even the mundane become enjoyable or at least manageable when we share the tasks together. Not every day has been easy, but those days have made us stronger and better yet. I look forward to continuing to share life with David, he truly is my best friend.

We originally planned on going on some grand vacation for our 10 year anniversary, perhaps Fiji. But here we are at home with a one month old baby and a high energy toddler. It may not be Fiji but we're happy with the season of life that we're in. David was at school all day and then in Toronto for the evening at a food and wine show (no infants or kids allowed), we both didn't realize that the date of the show was our anniversary several months ago when he was planning on going. Oh well, what's a day. He came home briefly at mid day which was nice. Other than that, I spent the day with the kids and was able to see Michael and Rebecca one last time before they headed back to Vancouver early this morning.

Knowing that we wouldn't be together yesterday, we all went to the States for most of the day on Thursday. We did some shopping and browsing around which was nice. Kids bedtimes always seem to come so early though, so then it was back home for the evening.

Perhaps next year we'll go on that grand trip...or perhaps it will be many years away. Oh well, we have many other great trips that we can fondly remember in our "before children" days.

Bath Time for Calvin

It's funny how much bathing Sarah when she was a newborn intimidated me. For at least the first month David and I would always give her a bath together. It just didn't seem to be a one person job.

Well, three weeks later I have bathed Calvin by myself every time. It didn't scare me at all this time. David has evening classes most days of the week so I had to figure out bath and bed time with two kids right away. I'm pleased to say that it's actually gone really well. You can see in the above photo that Sarah always has to get right in there while I'm giving Calvin his bath.

Finally the other day David was home during bath time so I asked him to take a few photos since I am unable to give a baby a bath and take photos at the same time, just not that talented.


Calvin doesn't love getting a bath, but settles down pretty quickly and seems to enjoy it in the end.

Sarah showing off Calvin

The ever adoring big sister showing off her baby brother this morning.

Just a Sarah look. I can only imagine how many photos we have of this girl. I'm already worried that Calvin won't have nearly as many photos.

Daddy and the Kids

David's loving his Calvin time too. For the last couple of afternoons David's been having little naps on the couch cuddled up with Calvin.

End of the day cuddles continue to be a favourite time of the day.

Calvin and Mommy

Just because I'm so in love with this little guy...

Do we need 3 Bouncy Chairs?

Everybody seems to be fans of the bouncy chair! It hasn't broken yet, so we may be ok since I can't seem to get Sarah out of the chair.

Even Keisha gets cozy in the chair when the other two aren't around.

Raking the Leaves

Yesterday I was feeling VERY tired so David took Sarah outside while Calvin was napping. I was able to get 1.5 hours of precious sleep and David had some father daughter time. When I woke up they were just coming inside from raking up the leaves. David handed me the camera and said he took some photos. I love that he's into capturing our family moments just as I am. When I looked through the photos I smiled at what I saw. He said he kept putting Sarah into the leaves and she would try to climb her way out of the pile; looks like she had a good time.

Calvin is 3 weeks old!

Sarah loves laying close to Calvin and touching his features, fingers, etc. She loves to talk to him and laughs when he makes a sound or sneezes. She always shows concern when he cries and goes to his bassinet if he's sleeping.

Calvin is becoming more alert and is changing each day, what a little blessing. Last night we didn't get nearly enough sleep so I'm looking forward to heading to bed early tonight.

Calvin's Birth Story

It’s hard for me to believe that Calvin is already almost 3 weeks old. It’s amazing how fast time goes! So far I have been amazed how well we have all settled into life with two kids. I am looking forward to getting longer stretches of sleep, but other than that I can’t complain. As long as I go to bed by about 9 all seems to be well and my accumulated sleep number gets me through the day smiling (mostly).

Anyways, I’ve been meaning to post a more detailed account of Calvin’s birth, so here goes for anyone that’s interested.

On Thursday morning, October 22, at around 2:30am I woke up with contractions around 10 min apart. I knew this was it; but I think I wasn’t quite ready to face the reality of what I thought was approaching. So I stayed in bed and amazingly fell asleep between contractions, each time waking up a little startled and looking at the clock. By 4ish the contractions were around 8 min apart. At 7 David figured that enough was enough and we should call Donna (Sarah’s baby sitter) to come over. I thought that was ridiculous as the birth was surely quite a ways away and I was coping fine at home, after all I didn’t want to be sent home from the hospital.

I listened to my wise husband as I wasn’t in a state to argue and Donna arrived by around 7:30. By the time we were in the car the contractions were about 4 min apart. We got to the hospital at 8am. When we got in the door the nurse just looked at me and said “can I help you?” So I told her I was in labour, she looked at me sceptically so I explained that I had just had a contraction in the car so I was fine at the moment. She told me that she would examine me and see where we were at. Turned out that I was 8 cm and 80%. The nurse called the doctor and told us we were having this baby in the very near future!

The nurse asked me if I thought I wanted an epideral but I said I was coping just fine for now so I would pass. I asked if I could get a morphine shot to dull the pain, but it just made me feel a little dozy (and didn’t kick in until about 10 min before Calvin was born). I spent the hour just laying down, resting between contractions and breathing through the pain.

The nurse came in to check how we were doing at that point and asked me if I was starting to feel any pressure yet. I suddenly was and nodded to indicate so. She said she would check me in a moment and that I should resist pushing if that was the case. Well... seconds later (literally) I told her I had to push. She ran over, checked me out and told us we were about to meet our baby. She frantically called the doctor to come immediately and began ripping open the bags of medical supplies, towels for baby, etc, as they weren’t set up at all. David actually helped with this, since she was panicking and it was all going really fast all the sudden.

The doctor arrived and the nurse told me that I would have this baby out within 2-3 pushes. I didn’t believe her at all. With Sarah the pushing time was 45 minutes, and that seemed good by the stories that I’d heard. Well, by the second push little Calvin entered the world at 9:26 am. Don’t get me wrong, that last push was BRUTAL, but at least it was just a total of 4 minutes of very bad and not hours. I’m not sure if I was more surprised by the fact we had a boy or by how fast he arrived. I just know that I looked at his tiny precious face feeling pretty stunned that it was all over already.

I asked the doctor if he was going to stitch me up and he laughed saying it wasn’t necessary. I couldn’t believe it, a fast labour without tearing; music to my ears. However, the doctor manually pushed on my stomach to push the placenta out, this felt terrible and lasted longer than pushing the baby out. Once that was all over I was excited to call our family and spread the news.

I am happy to say that my experience the second time around was indeed better and faster than the first. We will have more kids! Well, at least one more.

What was much worse were the uterus contractions after the birth while nursing and in between. Yikes, nobody warned me of this! BRUTAL, I felt like I was giving birth all over again, over and over again, this lasted for about 72 hours after the birth. The nurses and friends with 2 or more kids have all said this is normal and it gets worse the more kids you have, can’t imagine!

Hanging out at Hernder

On Sunday afternoon id was a beautiful 17 degree kind of day, not bad for November! So we took Michael and Rebecca to Hernder Esates Winery to enjoy some time outside, check ou the craft show and wine tasting room.

Sarah loved running up and down the ramp and little porch by the pond. It was all fenced in so this was great entertainment for everybody.

Michael and Rebecca looking at the fish and turtle

The day was just too nice not to enjoy one last lay in the grass.

Sarah loved uncle Michael's "precious" phone.

Calvin is loving the Baby Bjorn just like Sarah did. One of our best baby items for sure!

Cleaning up...there is a point to it

The 20 minute tornado, something that all parents are familiar with. By the end of the day I often wonder what's the point of cleaning up anyways? It's just going to get all messed up as soon as Sarah wakes up (can just image what two kids will do to the place)! However, each day, throughout the day and once Sarah has gone to bed I clean it all up and restore order to our home.

Well, this past week has given me new hope and encouragement in keeping a clean and tidy home. I'm not sure if it's just the age or suddenly being a big sister and knowing she's not the baby of the house; we're not complaining whatever it is. We all know the saying that kids are always watching us... well Sarah has suddenly turned all that watching into steps of action. Each day she is demonstrating something that she's observed and following though with it.

Some Examples:

1. Last week after I changed her diaper she got up, picked up the diaper and walked away with it. I was pretty curious what she was up to so I followed her into the hallway. To my amazement she walked right to the garbage can and waited as I opened the saftey latch of the cupboard. She's since put almost all of hers AND Calvin's diapers into the garbage. I just have to say, "Sarah please put this in the garbage," and off she goes. Whenever she finds small bits of paper, etc on the floor she opens the cupboard door as much as she can and puts them in the garbage as well.

2. After watching some of the Backyardigans the other evening she went over to the couch, picked up the cushions off the floor and started arranging them on the couch like I always have them.

3. She knows that her books belong in the cabinet drawers and has started cleaning them up and putting them away when asked.

4. Yesterday evening while I was sorting and folding the laundry she started picking out her socks and putting them in the correct bin in her room. I was pretty impressed.

This may not sound too exciting, but it seems like a big milestone in our house, especially with a baby in the house (we'll take all the help we can get). I've always been vocal in telling Sarah what I'm doing and asking her to participate in cleaning up, etc; but it never really seemed like I was getting through. Apparantly, I was getting through, she was just choosing not to respond or perhaps she just wasn't ready. I am continuing to learn that kids just do things in their own time. However, I am encouraged to continue to demonstrate by example and have reasonable expectations, you never know what's going through and what they might pick up on.

So I will continue to clean the house, clean and put away the laundry, cook, and do all that fun stay at home mom kind of stuff...a little person is watching me!

Silly Sarah

Sarah has figured out how to pull her shirt over her head, hence this new look.

Yesterday Sarah thought that Calvin's baby bath tub looked like a pretty fun place to play. She dragged tub into the kitchen and arranged her blankets in the tub. Then it was off with her jeans, must get comfortable.

Getting sleepy, time for a nap...

When I got Sarah out of her crib her jeans were on but her shirt was now over her head; she seemed pretty pleased with herself. Her she is looking very scruffy.