Jones Family in Vancouver BC

Random summer thoughts

2011-08-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

The summer has been busy and I have just had enough time to document some summer happenings. I still haven't had a chance to filter through all our photos (going to back to March I think, eek). Plan to start that soon.

Some random thoughts...

Callum sleeps with teddy stuffed up the front of his pajama top sometimes.

Lucas's words: cracker, all done, no, car, ball, nana, mama, dada, bath, spoon,

Lucas's sounds: quack, woof, oink, dinosaur roar

Lucas copies Callum all the time. This morning, Callum wanted to wear his fall raincoat even though it was warm and sunny. Lucas then insisted on getting his coat on! He has been watching Callum use the toilet and sometimes he will go into the bathroom, lift the lid of the toilet, pull down his pants and diaper a little bit, pull up his shirt and stand there, then when he thinks he's done he puts back down the lid and walks out. So cute to watch.

Lucas turned a corner with swimming half way through our visit home. He now loves the water and will even lie on his back in the bath tub and float.

Lucas get such a kick out of trying to throw a foam frisbee.

Callum is getting pretty creative with play and his props. The other day he came to me with 2 wrist sweat bands and 2 pieces of short rope and asked me to help him make 'hand cups" (handcuffs).

We had a new babysitter come last night and the plan was for the boys to meet Olga and then put them to bed with her there and leave. Well, it turned out that Callum was content to have us leave before he went down. He was getting Olga to read stories to him. Everything went well. It's funny how I get set in my way about what he is capable of handling and then when you push what you thought was a limit, he surprises me!

Callum had a field trip to Science World to see the "Extreme Dinosaurs" exhibit. He loved it. Lucas also had a field trip to Science World and to the Stanley Park train this summer.

Summer is almost here

2011-06-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Lucas has been walking on his tippy toes. Not sure what that's about. He loves unrolling toilet paper rolls and doing whatever Callum is doing. He will sit for ages taking things out of a container and then putting them back into the container.

Callum has been saying some pretty impressive words like universe and humongous.

We are hopefully flying back East on the 30th but just heard about the possible Air Canada strike.

We have been busy watching the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Possibly 2 more games if Vancouver doesn't win game 6 in Boston on Monday. Fingers crossed that they play better on Monday in Boston.

Have been outside more with the boys now that it has finally dried up a bit.

Easter weekend

2011-04-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

We had an egg hunt this morning b/c tomorrow we will be a Auntie Bev and Uncle Ian's overnight tonight. The Easter bunny brought Callum a junior sleeping bag and for Lucas, a Nerf soccer ball. Callum was very excited. Lucas was still asleep for most of it. They were both on little chocolate highs this morning.

It's been sunny for the past couple of days and my Alder allergy has hit a peak that I have never experienced before. Even one extra strength Claritin isn't working.

Lucas is now walking full time and trying to run. He sticks his chest out and still has his arms outstretched. He is a the peak of his separation anxiety from just me. He is happy until he sees me and then it's all over.

He is using his spoon mostly with his left hand. He is blowing kisses and says "ball", "up", and "bye-bye". He uses "mama" and "dada" but think the "mama" is for milk, food or mine. "Dada" is for Colin mostly but dogs as well. He has cut both 1st molars on the bottom and has his hand rammed in his mouth once again so think the tops are on their way. He can also open door handles now and the bathroom doors are the most interesting as the toilet and paper rolls are in there. Have started using the child proof latches again. Unfortunately, we can't set them everywhere as Callum has to get in to use the toilet.

Callum is learning his letters and knows quite a lot of them now. He can write the letters C, J and O. His is still into dinosaurs and loves to colour them. I printed out a bunch of colouring pages for him and he loves that. I got him a dry erase book that teaches to draw letters. He calls it his 'homework' and will work on it for ever. The first time he was using it, I went over to ask him how he was doing and he looks up, rubs neck and says "ooh my neck is sore". He was concentrating so hard on tracing letters that he strained his neck!

Callum has been going through a phase of 'I don't like anything'. He has been going to bed hardly having eaten his dinner. Hope this passes soon.

Happy Easter everyone!

Callum's words

2011-03-26T16:05:00.001-07:00

Callum isn't quite pronouncing all words correctly. He's almost 3 1/2 years old now. Here's a list of some of the latest words:

SCUBA diver is a 'scooper diver'
Tarantula is a 'trangulla spider'
Glee from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer song is 'gleems' and he gets mad if I say 'glee'
He has started makin up dinosaurs like 'shapesauros'

Lucas is 1

2011-03-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Lucas turned 1 on the 7th of March. My parents were in town on their way home from a holiday in Hawaii. We had a quiet birthday party with the six of us. I made chocolate banana cupcakes and Callum helped to blow out the candles. Lucas got new shoes, a xylophone, a couple of books, a puzzle, clothes, and a toy helicopter from Grandma and Granda, Mummy and Daddy, Mimi and Papa, Great Auntie Eileen and Great Uncle Ian and the McLeod's.

Lucas measured in at 31.25" and 24 pounds at this 1 year doctor's appointment. I gave him peanut on crackers the other day and he had no reaction. He is eating pretty much everything he is offered with the exception of cottage cheese. He is doing really well in daycare and has caught 2 colds since starting February 1. He started walking on his birthday and is now spending about 50% of his moving time on his feet. Last week he waved good bye and said 'bye bye'. His first words. He wasn't too happy about us taking his bottle away when he started milk but has got used to it now. We have taken away the soother too. This didn't affect him at all as he wasn't that into it anyway.

Callum is doing well. He understands what pretending is and calls it 'tending'. He is now very interested in dinosaurs and insists on watching a show called "Dinosaur Train". Two of his favourite interests! Ingenious! He is also quite interested in super heros like Spider Man, Super Man and Bat Man. I have just ordered him some new 'jammas' that have Spider Man and Bat Man on them. He was already given Super Man 'jammas' from his Aunt Lindsay. For the most part he is toilet trained during the day (3 yrs and 4 mths old) with the exception of the occasional incidents at daycare while he is playing outside.

I have been back to work full time for 5 weeks now. It has been hard. Hopefully will get better as I get used to it and I will be able to manage some time for just myself.

We are starting to plan our trip home in the summer. I just got my vacation time approved so we have to book our flights to Ottawa. It's really expensive right now so will keep looking.

My sister, Vari, got engaged to Kris a couple of weeks ago! The wedding is going to be in Chicago but we don't know when yet.

I am trying to plan a weekend away with my childhood friends Jody, Treena and Kate at some point this year. We all turn 40 and it's been a long time since we were all together. I think it was in 1999.

Our February so far...

2011-02-03T08:23:00.001-08:00

Callum newest thing to say is "What the heck?!". Can only imagine that he got that from some child at daycare. I asked him who says that and he replies "I do!". Just going to ignore it and hopefully it will stop!

Lucas's 8th tooth made an appearance this week. He is getting closer to walking. He is 11 months next week and Callum was exactly 11 months when he started making his first steps.

Fourth day of Lucas in gradual entry daycare. Yesterday didn't go so well. He was pretty upset after he woke up from his short half hour nap. Poor little guy. I came to get him at about 1 pm. He did eat well though. His mood changed immediately to being a happy baby again once I came in and sat down on the floor with him. All the other children are lovely and 2 of them in particular come up to me and give me hugs and bring me books to read to them. Lucas is the youngest of the 12 children. The next oldest, Davis, is 3 months older so I can imagine they will be friends for the next 4 years if they stay in the centre.

Just got back from dropping him off. All the children were sitting around the table having smoothies and Melba toasts. He was crying. Breaks my heart. Trying not to shed a tear but it's a tough.

We went to Seattle (Issaquah actually, suburb east of Seattle) this past weekend to visit Jody, Mike, Ben and Seth. Callum had a great time. He was in heaven with all the cars they had for him to play with. Their new house is beautiful. It looks onto a very private and green children's park. A really nice place to grow up in.

My office moved once again and there was an open house party last week. I brought the boys and Colin joined us after work. Attached some pics here that were taken.

Happy New Year

2011-01-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

After my last post, Callum got sick with a stomach virus that lasted about 6 days. He had a cough as well so in the night his coughing would trigger him to throw up. We missed one birthday party and a Christmas party at daycare be/c of it. So sad b/c at daycare it would have given me a chance to meet other parents and to see Callum singing in a group. It was a restless couple of days. I need to get a second duvet cover for times like this. Then Lucas got it 3 days after Callum. Lucas developed a fever one day and thinking he was better we joined friends at a very nice sailing club in Vancouver for a Christmas dinner. This turned out to be a disaster as one of us missed the ferry home, one family forgot and Lucas ended up throwing up just before we got our dinner. Another restless and stressful couple of days. Then it all was over by Christmas Day!

We had a very nice Christmas time. Callum was aware of Santa Claus and he ran upstairs in the morning to and said "Come see Mummy and Daddy". He noticed the empty milk glass and cookie crumbs and was convinced that Santa had been here. We spent almost all day opening presents as once Callum opened one thing he wanted to play with it immediately. He got Spencer the train engine from the Thomas the Tank Engine series and an airport and airplane from Santa. Lucas got a Fisher Price chatter phone and infant musical instruments from Santa. We went over to Auntie Bev and Uncle Ian's for Christmas dinner and stayed the night. It was a really nice visit. Callum fell out of his bed for the first time ever but bounced back and fell immediately back to sleep! Carlye and Tom were there with their dogs, Cody and Zoe. Callum enjoyed their company!

On the 30th we spent the night at the River Rock Casino in Richmond for our friend Jill's birthday. They got a baby sitter and we planned it so that our rooms were next door to each other so the the babysitter could have our baby monitor. The boys didn't make a peep while we were down at dinner.

We celebrated EST New Year's Eve at the Bennett's house with all the kids. We were home by 10 pm and realized that Callum's teddy was left in the hotel room. Colin called the hotel at 10:30 pm on new years eve and left a message while I read stories to Callum. When Callum realized that Teddy was missing once he got into bed he got very very upset. He wanted Teddy and was worried that someone else was playing with him. It was impossible to console him. Brought him back into the living room and theorized that if we let him watch Thomas he will just fall asleep watching. Just after turning Thomas on, the phone rang and this was housekeeping saying that they had teddy. I decided to go get him right away. So off I went at 11 pm on New Years Eve to a casino/hotel to get Teddy. It was crazy when I got there and took me a while to get up to Valet parking. I told them my story and they said no problem that they would keep my car here. I was home at 11:50 pm and Callum and Colin were fast asleep in Callum's bed. If Callum woke up in the night then his teddy would be there.

My company has their annual 'kickoff' in Jan. so my parents came out to look after Lucas while I was in Denver for 4 days. They had a great visit with the boys. They will be back for Lucas's 1st birthday upon their return from Hawaii.

Callum is the the youngest full time boy in at this daycare. All the other boys are much older than him some by almost 2 years. Needless to say the older boys aren't all that happy about Callum wanting to 'hang' with them. They have been calling him names, most are silly names that children use but one that hits hard is that they have called him 'a loser'. Breaks my heart. They care workers told me about this and the day it happened I tried to get Callum to talk about it but he wasn't interested. Then about a week later he told us one night at the dinner table so clearly that the older boys called him a loser. Brought tears to our eyes. How do you talk about this in a way that a 3 year old would understand. In the end, we suggested that he tell them that words like that hurt his feelings and make him sad and to walk away and find nice kids to play with. I find it interesting how Callum processes situations and that it takes time for him to come to terms with them. Then, he talks about it.

Lucas is 10 months now. He proficiently climbs and descends (turning and going down backwards) the stairs, he has started pointing and it able to walk holding onto his truck or cart. We had taken a video of Callum walking with his truck at about this age and they look so much alike! He is chatting a lot. About to move Lucas into a rear facing toddler car seat as the infant car seat is getting too small for him and it weighs a tonne when he is in it! Oh and finally, he has stopped drooling almost completely so 'good bye' to bibs! Yeah!

One more week before he starts daycare. I am sad about this but know that I probably couldn't be a full time Mum. I go back to work on Feb. 14th. The office has changed drastically since I left a year ago. I left with 6 in our office and now we have over 20 and have moved again!

Lucas at 9 months

2010-12-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

Lucas can now not only take things out of baskets, bins or bowls, he is starting to put things into them now. He is cruising around and can take steps if you hold him up. He ate a smartie that made it to the floor when Callum and I were putting together a ginger bread house and seemed to handle it nicely apart from the brown drool!

Having a hard time getting him to accept yogurt and cottage cheese but will continue to persevere. He loves scrambled eggs (the whole egg!) and toast.

He had his 9 month doctor's check up last week. He is 21.75 pounds! He is going to have to switch car seats at 22 pounds. Kinda of glad about this as the infant car seat with him in it is getting way to heavy. His head circumference measures in the 97th percentile, his weight is 87th and this height is 81st.

He babbles away with some sounds like ba ba, ah ba, and ma ma. He is peaking with the raspberry blowing. Don't remember Callum doing this!

Lucas is a great hugger and gives me very wet open mouth kisses.

He is still drooling so not able to get rid of the bibs yet.

He has to be everywhere that Callum is and has to have everything that Callum touches. Most of the time this is not cool with Callum. Callum will pick him up under his arms and drag him out of the area that he is playing in. This works for about 2 seconds and then Lucas is back in there. I have had to think of ways to prevent Lucas from bothering his brother. Have used a chair to block him. He does not like this one bit!

He will be starting in daycare on Feb 1st. at the same centre that Callum is at. We will have 2 weeks to get him introduced and then it's back to work for me on the 14th. Only 2 more months to go. Sad that it's almost over.

Callum starting to get the concept of Santa

2010-12-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for Christmas

2010-12-07T10:43:00.001-08:00

Tree is up. Callum helped decorate it. All the ornaments he put on the tree are clustered in a couple of spots at his reach. He is now into pulling some of them off and loading them into his dump trucks. Hours of entertainment. We have had to barricade the tree with the boys toy boxes b/c Lucas is just so eager to get a the tree. Have left a bare spot for him so that he can reach and touch the tree when he wants.

Lucas is waving and clapping now. He is saying "mama" continuously but it's more when he wants food then for addressing me. He has 6 teeth now and just turned 9 months today.

Callum hasn't been the easiest boy to get to bed and actually sleep for the past week. Wondering if a nap in the afternoon will have to stop.

Our routine for getting the boys to bed in the same room is that we get them both ready around 7 pm and setup Callum's night light in the room. We let Callum play for a little bit in the living room while we give Lucas his bottle. Lucas then goes to bed very easily just after 7 pm. We then read Callum 2 stories in the living room and get him in bed by around 7: 30 pm. By that time Lucas is fast asleep and usually will not waken if we are not noisy (Callum has differing opinions on this one and will sometimes chose to yell, I think on purpose). We sing Callum 2 Old McDonalds and then 2 Twinkle Twinkles. This usually does it so that Colin and I have the rest of the evening to ourselves. Callum has been very restless and noisy this past week after he is in bed. He comes out of his room usually a few times with some excuse like needing socks on or that he needs more water in his cup or his pillow needs to be turned around. Something is going to have to change.

It's snowing

2010-11-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Drove all the way to Arbutus and 45th for Lucas's Gymboree class and it was canceled. Argh! Got home and they called me to tell me just after I had left (11:35 am for a noon class). On a more positive note, I love it when it snows here. The city transforms so quickly into a winter wonderland. There is a new bylaw that requires you have to shovel the entire sidewalk outside your house when it snows. Our sidewalk covers 3 house lengths and a bus stop on Fraser, the corner and 2 house lengths on 12th. Not an easy job when the snow is wet and heavy.

Lucas is doing great. He can now throw things like balls with mostly his right hand. He is not very keen on eating food that isn't a puree so there are lots of tears at meal times these days! He is starting to sleep in a little longer in the mornings now so usually our mornings are starting at around 7 am. He is able to pull himself up and wants so badly to pull down Callum's train track that gets setup pretty much every day on the coffee table. He loves dropping things off his highchair, or the back of the couch. The other day, Callum had spread his megablocks on the couch, while Lucas sat on the couch, grabbed a megablock, pulled himself up to standing looking over the back of the couch and then dropped the block over the back. He repeated this over and over again.

Callum is playing so well by himself. He loves Thomas the tank engine and is using the terms from the show when he plays. Lines I hear all the time are 'bust my buffers', and 'cinders and ashes'. He is using the word splendid in the correct context which is pretty funny. Our friend Amy Chang gave us a box of Thomas toys from when her son Kai was small. We pull out a piece every once and a while. On the weekend we pulled out a train shed. He is loving it and puts his 5 engines to bed every night!

He is still having issues with the number 2 part of toilet training. A caregiver mentioned the other day that it's possible b/c he is the oldest he just wants the attention that I give to Lucas and his diapering. OK, now I feel better. I will accept that as the excuse!

Callum got sick last Wed. night while I was at hockey. He came out of his room crying and then was sick. Poor guy. Not sure what he caught but it only lasted 2 hours with 3 sick sessions and then he wasn't sick again. He was fine the next morning but kept him home. As he was fine, I scheduled his first eye examination that afternoon (at his 3 year checkup the doctor recommended we take him to have his eyes checked). He did really well. It's so easy when they ask him to identify pics of animals! He had no fear at all. Not like the hesitation he has at the doctors and the fear at the dentist! The optometrist said that most 3 years old have some weakness (can't remember if it was near or far sightedness) and that will correct itself over time. He depth perception is very good. They made him put on 3D glasses and showed him a picture of a fly. He had to touch his wings. It was cool to see him touching mid air. Then he had to point out the image that was sticking out row after row.

Colin and I are off to a wedding celebration of some friends this Sat. that eloped at Burning Man in Sept. The celebration is being called "After Burn". Colin and I are planning to dress up in Burning Man style for the event!

It has been freezing here. I have got to find a bigger sleep sack for Lucas. He is getting to tall for the 9 month one I have. Must go digging in all Callum's old clothes under the stairs!

Colin's birthday

2010-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

Had a party at the house for Colin last night. The boys did really well and the noise from the party didn't affect them at all! I made a big pot of chili and we had a euchre tournament.

Our October

2010-10-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Callum turned 3 on the 19th. He now totally gets birthdays. He had 3 parties, one with family on the 17th while Mimi was visiting from Bedford, QC, one at daycare on the 19th and then the kids party on the 24th, and today thinks that Halloween is his birthday too! We got rained out for his pumpkin patch party but Colin and I created a pumpkin patch in the garden instead with 18 med. sized pumpkins. The kids came over and to let them blow off steam we setup a little floor hockey down in the garage.

Toilet training is getting closer to being successful. Number 2 is still hit or miss but think it's getting closer to hit! Number 1 is hit most of the time now. Getting there!

Lucas is officially crawling. That took him 3 weeks from his commando crawl to crawling all the time. About a month earlier than Callum. I am sure Callum helped encouraging him to crawl sooner. Lucas is just so interested in what his big brother is doing and wants to do the same! Not sure Callum is all that happy when Lucas reaches up to pull down his train track!

Lucas's two top front teeth are now threw. About a month and half sooner than when Callum cut his.

On Sunday we put them together in the same room. So far it's going really well. Just had to change story time to the living room as Lucas is down at around 7 pm and that's when we start reading stories to Callum. Callum is down around 7:30 pm. Callum is still napping at daycare when he is up at 7 am but during the weekends when he usually sleeps longer the nap has been dropped. Lucas naps about twice a day for only 30 mins. Once at around 10 am and again at around 2 pm. Hoping these will get longer as he gets older.

Lucas attempted to climb the stairs this morning. Wow, here goes the baby gate for the staircase going up to the third floor!

I have started bringing Lucas to Gymboree Play and Learn. He is just as engaged in the circle as Callum was. Callum is such a good listener at circle time. I hope Lucas is the same.

Callum went off to daycare this morning as a fireman. Added a mustache with a brown lip pencil I had. He wasn't totally keen on it. For the past couple of days he has changed his mind about his costume. On Wed. it was a dragon and then yesterday he wanted to be a 'nice baa baa (sheep)'. Mmm. Fireman was much easier! I will stop by daycare at around 11:45 am with Lucas to take pictures. I have a pumpkin hat for Lucas and a witches hat for me. We will both wear orange!

Colin is off to Orlando Florida next week for a conference. I will be a single Mum all week. Eek!

Some Lucas milestones

2010-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Lucas is just about to crawl. Right now he is inching along like an inch worm but can now say that he is mobile. Had to put the downstairs baby gate up again.

This morning he opened a bottom draw in his room and pulled himself up to standing. He was just 7 months last week!

Noticed his left top front tooth is about to be cut. Could explain his more sensitive moments these days however he has a bad cold too so hard to tell.

He is loving the wiffle balls and inches after them when they roll away.

We went to a Gymboree class last week and I have signed him up for a weekly class.

Mimi is coming from Bedford QC to see us today. She is staying 'til Friday.

Our September

2010-10-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

Back home after a very long time away. We had a wonderful summer back East. Looking back on photos, it makes me feel kind of homesick now. In fact, this was the first time that I felt maybe moving back to Ottawa might not be so bad. My closest friends there have children around the same ages as mine and now all of Colin's siblings are living there with their families and partners. Still it's a big decision and one that Colin and I are not ready to make yet. We really do love our lives here in Vancouver.

My Mum and Dad came out here 2 days after we left them in Ottawa. My Dad had a med school reunion here in town. It was nice to see some of their friends from Scotland. They stayed on for another week and let Colin and I go away for the weekend. It was our first weekend away alone since before Callum was born. We went to Darren Kiley's wedding at Swaneset Golf Course in Pitt Meadows and then off to Harrison Hot Springs Resort for the night. It was great. The hot springs were so nice and we think that the boys would love the kids pool. Mum and Dad did just fine with the boys.

I have weaned Lucas now (as of Sept. 12th) and he is happy taking a bottle and formula. He eating everything that we give to him, even lumpy food!

Lucas has his 2 bottom front teeth now and is still drooling like crazy. He is sitting up now and is able to get into the crawl position for a second and then flop onto his tummy. This morning I saw him use his feet and arms to pull himself forward on his tummy to get at a toy. Wonder how long it will take for him to start crawling. Just this past weekend he started babbling 'ba ba ba' over and over again. Almost the same timing as Callum with the 'ba ba's.

Callum is busy playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine train set. He loves to set up the track. He is also creating airplanes with the mini megablocks now. I was amazed at a plane he created the other day. It was balanced and colour coded. As well, he is showing interest in creating boats with his foam block set. Toilet training is ongoing. He is in underpants almost all the time now but still has lots of accidents.

Callum was given Gus's old balance bike to try out. He is doing really well so far. Maybe by next summer he will be riding a 2 wheeler!

The boys are still not sleeping in the same room. Lucas wakes up around 6 am and Callum can sleep 'til 8 am. Not sure how this is going to work out but I think we will put them together this coming weekend and see how it goes.

I am trying to get Lucas into a twice a day nap routine. Usually they happen in between 9-10 am and 1:30pm-2:30pm. They sometimes last 2 hours but most of the time it's only about 40 mins. By the time 7:15 pm comes, he is ready for his night sleep.

Mimi is visiting next week for a few days.

Lucas's 1st tooth and Callum front crawling

2010-08-25T08:01:00.001-07:00

Lucas just broke his first tooth today. He is 5.5 mths.

Forgot to mention this before but he has been sitting since the end of July. Still not steady enough to leave him unattended but that is coming.

He has also rolled over from his back on the right side over to his tummy.

Callum is now using his arms like front crawl when swimming. He is also lifting his head every once in a while to take a breath. Amazing!

Callum is calling mosquitos 'quitos' and computers 'puters'. He told me that I was beautiful the other day. So sweet.

Summer Back East

2010-08-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

We have just over 1 week left of our time back East. Have been here with Callum and Lucas since July 7th. We have been busy with activities.

First we were in Ottawa. We celebrated Grandma's birthday on the 9th and then went to Sandbanks to meet up with Natalie and her children, Matthew and Jordan. The boys did great in the car thanks to Grandma's help. Then on our way home from there, we found out that Ruby, the boys cousin, was born. Charlie is now a big brother. My birthday came and went as well. We attended Holly Magar's 1st birthday party and got to visit with the Magar and Conboy family. They then all came over to swim for an afternoon. We visited the Central Experimental Farm and Valleyview Farm a couple of times. We spent time with Mairi and Daniel Thomson, Charlie, Ma'ayan, Chris and Ruby. Rachel, Matthew, Dylan and Owen from Vancouver were back in town as they live in Ottawa now so we got to visit with them too. Got to see Katie and her family for a short visit as they were in Ottawa from San Diego. We spent lots of time at the 4 parks that surround my parents house. There was a big toy Mater tow truck at one of the parks so Callum would call it the Mater park and hide Mater in the tunnel so no kids would get him.

Lucas decided to not take a bottle so it was hard for me to go out in the evening. Finally had a break through this week and he is accepting a bottle again. He also decided to start waking up 3 times per night. My fault as I didn't want to disturb the whole house with his crying. Had to put a stop to that and as of now he is only waking up once in the night around 3-4 am. Thanks Mum and Dad for suffering through the crying.

We started feeding Lucas food at about 4 1/2 mths. He loves food. We started with banana (his favourite), and then tried rice and oatmeal cereals, avocado, apple sauce, and just recently green beans. He hasn't refused any of it and usually cries when I think he has had enough. He is eating about 4 tbsp's which I think is too much for him being so young still. Baby steps!!

Lucas has been in both grandparents swimming pools now. Don't think is too fond of it yet.

Callum on the other hand loves it. He has been swimming almost everyday since we arrived and can swim under water on his own, jump off the diving board confidently, slide down the slide feet and head first, hold onto the edge of the pool, push himself down to the bottom using the ladder steps. He is still having trouble getting his arms working at the same time as his legs while swimming solo but I can imagine that might come this week. It's amazing to see how much his swimming has improved.

My Mum and I tried to toilet train Callum in July. He was doing pretty well when naked. He would volunteer to go but the second you put undies on him he thinks he's protected. Think it was a little too stressful for him as late afternoon and evenings were quite challenging. Think he was having issues seeing me have to deal with Lucas all the time. We decided to give up. Once we get home and he is settled will attempt again.

Colin arrived in Ottawa on the 9th of August. We hung out for the week in Ottawa. Lindsay and Joel now live in Ottawa too so we got to see their new apartment in the Glebe. Treena arrived a couple of hours before we left for Bedford. It was great to see her.

We headed to Bedford on the 13th. The whole Jones family was at the farm. We have a had a great visit so far. It's nice having Colin here to help me out. Callum is loving all the farm vehicles! He had his first ice cream cone at Barrie's chip and ice cream shop, we went to the Bedford Fair and also went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in St. Jean. It was amazing. We chose the perfect night to go. The pics Colin took are amazing. Callum helped pull out the ski boat and clean it with Daddy and Mimi.

The Jones's for Ottawa are coming back on Tuesday to hang out again and then we will head back to Ottawa on the evening of the 29th and fly home on the 31st.

Peek a boo

2010-08-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lucas eating at 4.5 mths

2010-08-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Lucas loves bananas! He has been trying avacado, rice and oat cereals as well. Seems he can't get enough bananas however!

Callum's Sunday

2010-06-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

We went to Playland for the first time with one of Callum's playmates from daycare and her parents Lisa and Kelsey this past weekend. Her name is Miete and they are great friends. They are potty training together and give each other kisses all the time. I will have to get a picture of them.

At dinner last night we had hamburgers, the night before we had steak. When Callum saw what was for dinner he goes "beef again?!". We laughed!

After Callum's bath, he likes to run around naked. We call him 'nudey' and he loves it! Anyway, I think there was a potty training break through b/c for the first time last night as he actually told us he had to pee. Wonder if it was be/c he didn't have the security of a diaper/pull up on? That's a first!

Lucas starting to use his voice

2010-06-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

Lucas has started using his voice to socialize. He squeals and gurgles and makes noises usually with a smile on his face. He also discovered his feet today while on the change table. He couldn't quite coordinate getting them into his mouth just yet!

He has a little cold right now. I do too and so did his brother before us. He is waking in the night about twice so it's been a little tiring but not bad at all. Callum never had a cold but unfortunately having a child in daycare makes us sick more often.

Callum is into the movie Cars right now. That's all he wants to watch when he gets to watch TV. We have tried introducing Nemo to him but I don't think that it has quite the same impact as Cars does. He calls Lightening McQueen, speed McQueen. He is pronouncing tow truck as "towo twuk" like tweety bird. He wants to watch the following 2 scenes over and over again: The tractor tipping and Frank the combine chasing after Mater and McQueen and the scene where Mack the truck is following asleep while driving.

We went to Max's 3rd birthday on Sat. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.

Our friend Jean-Luc entered his 2CV French car into a car show this past weekend so on Sunday we went to see him. Callum enjoyed looking at all the foreign cars and motorcycles.

2 weeks 'til I fly home to Ottawa with the boys. It's coming fast. Looking forward to it but we are going to miss Daddy. Colin will fly out on August 9th to meet us and then we will head to Bedford to see Mimi and Papa until the 31st.

Finally, a family photo

2010-06-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

We didn't have one of these until now! Callum has a family photo on display at day care and he was wondering where Lucas was. Now I can bring in an updated photo!

Callum's Daycare Photos from Oct. 2009

2010-06-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Guess he didn't want to smile.

Lucas laughed for 1st time today

2010-05-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Lucas is 11 wks old and I got him to laugh today for the first time. He is also starting to hold onto toys and is attempting to get them to his mouth. He is now soaking bibs so the drooling has started. Fun fun.

We are working on a bedtime schedule for Lucas now. We feed him in between 8-9 pm and put him down regardless of whether he has fallen asleep or not. He doesn't cry for long if he is awake (5- 1o mins only). He is sleeping until around 3-4 am and then will fall back to sleep after we feed him until 7-8 am.

Lucas and I are participating in a new enviromentally friendly diaper system trial. I have lots of experience trying out different kinds of systems and like the idea of this one. The diaper is still disposable but there is an insert that you can replace if the baby just pees. This way you can still dispose of it if dirty but can reuse it if you choose. I am meeting with the inventors today as they want to hear about my experience thus far.

Callum is now sleeping well in his 'super bed' so I think we can say the transition is almost complete. I think that we are getting closer to the possibility of Callum getting out of diapers soon. He is telling me when I have to change his diaper now, he is showing interest in underpants, he is peeing on the toilet at daycare when they ask him and he had his first dry diaper overnight. Working on suggesting he tell us when he about to poo so that we can try on the toilet, he knows he will get chocolate but he still prefers to go into a corner and hide while doing his business in his diaper. Can't wait for this to change as cleaning him up is becoming a chore that I don't like much!

It's our 4th anniversary. Going out to dinner tonight. The modern 4th anniversary gift is appliances. Funny it should be that b/c as of last weekend we bought a new stove, fridge and dishwasher!

A milestone for Callum - Slept in big boy bed all night long

2010-05-20T16:32:00.001-07:00

After 3 tries Callum stayed in his big boy bed all night. It was a challenge for him and us but he managed. The first thing he did when we went into his room this morning was leap out of the bed and run down the hallway. I am guessing that was b/c of this new freedom!

For the first 2 nights he wanted to go back into his crib, one night at 2 am and the other just shortly after going to bed.

I think that moving his little FP Ocean Wonders Aquarium to his new bed helped him. He turns this on for comfort during the night when he wakes so at least he had it with him for the 3rd night.

May 2010

2010-05-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Lucas is 2 months old now. He had his first set of shots this week. He did really well. He was smiling away as the doctor checked him out before the jabs. He weighed in at 5.45 kg (12 pounds).

He is becoming aware of his hands now. He holds them up and stares at them. He is also starting to swat and grasp at the whoozit and some other toys. On average he is going 7-8 hours at night (9-4 or 5). He is very vocal when is hungry and it's difficult to calm him until he gets his milk!

Just got word that the twim bed we ordered for Callum is in. Should be an interesting couple of weeks integrating him to a bed. Don't think we picked the best time as it's so light right now up 'til 9 pm that he is not falling asleep as quickly as was usual over the winter. As well, we are getting a little frustrated with the diaper situation and have been trying to encourage Callum to tell us when he has to go to the toilet. He knows all about the Smartie incentive but it's not working just yet. Patience I guess.

Had a great Mother's Day. The weather here was wonderful and we had lunch outside both days.

Callum is busy playing at his sand table and kicking around balls in the garden. It's tricky to keep Lucas out of the sun right now. Very different as this time I have a newborn during the summer and can't put sunscreen on him. Will have to get a sun cover of some sort for him.

We are thinking about remodeling the kitchen and with the boys and I being away in Ottawa and Bedford for the summer time I feel this would be the perfect time to do it. We had a designer over here last night and she gave us our homework to do. First of all we need to commit to appliances. We need a counter flush refrigerator and a suggested cook top and wall oven so that the counter is continuous. Very good suggestions so I am working on that now. It's not the best time financially as I am on maternity leave but I think we can manage.

Lucas is 6 weeks old

2010-04-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

These 6 weeks have gone by pretty fast. Lucas is doing really well and everything is still going well. He is sleeping most of the night and wakes only once around 3 or 4 am. He is smiling now and for the first time yesterday he did some tummy time and didn't get upset at all. He did lift his head a few times and kept it up.

Feeding him is going OK. He isn't the fastest feeder and sometimes I am feeding him for up to 50 mins. Hopefully this will speed up as he gets older. Sometimes I am unable to get him full enough so I am having to give him a bottle sometimes with my milk and sometimes with formula after. I give myself a break for the feeding before bed and during the night by pumping and getting Colin to help me bottle feed him.

Callum is doing great. We got him an Easter present that we just gave to him today as he had all sorts of other distractions during Easter. It's a Thomas the Tank Engine tent. Above is a pic of it. So far it's a hit. When he says he's going somewhere, we ask where to? and he replies 'To yoga!'. Not sure why this is the destination. He knows that I go to yoga sometimes but it's not a common topic of conversation!

Callum is using the word 'My' instead of 'I'. Like "My do it". Today for the first time he used 'I'.

We are going to borrow a toddler bed from Jill and Gavin and transition Callum to a bed. Already have him sleeping with a quilt and pillow and he can cover himself up on his own now (stopped using the sleep sack about 2 months ago).

Just booked flights to Ottawa on July 7th for the boys and I. Plan to be home in Ottawa and Bedford for most of July and August. Colin will join us in August. My sister will be coming home to meet Lucas during my birthday and I think Chris her boyfriend will be coming with her. I will get to meet him for the first time.

It's getting warmer here and the sun is shining. Looking forward to spring days and to summer.

Callum and Lucas, this pic is a keeper

2010-04-17T15:21:00.001-07:00

Lucas at 19 days old

2010-03-27T10:57:00.001-07:00

Must be gas!

Lucas Walker Jones has arrived

2010-03-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

Born on March 7th, 2010 at 6:15 pm. Weighed in at 8.1 lbs.

Lucas was 10 days overdue and b/c I was a VBAC (attempt natural delivery after c-section) the doctors feel it's too risky to induce so we were put on the emergency c-section queue and were 8 in line on Sunday morning at 8 am for the OR. Took all day to get through 7 operations and then finally we were in. Everything went very well. I only needed 1 hour in recovery so I was with Dad and baby by 8 pm. We got to go home on Tues night (one day earlier than usual) and have now just had some time to sit at the computer.

Callum is being a very gentle big brother and is shocked when Lucas's eyes are open! Lucas is feeding and sleeping very well. I feel way better this time than I did last time when Callum was born.

My Mum is here for us and my Dad flies out next week. Then after they leave Colin's Mum will fly out and spend a week with us. By then my 6 week recovery time will almost be up.

5 days late and some words from Callum

2010-03-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

No baby yet, feeling pretty uncomfortable and have caught a terrible cold again.

Pretty disappointed as it looks like I might need to be induced and any labour intervention will most likely lead to me needing a c-section. I was really hoping to have a normal labour this time as a c-section will mean major sugery, 3 days longer in hospital, 6 weeks recovery time, unable to drive legally for 3 weeks and unable to pick up Callum when he needs to be picked up. As well not experiencing all the 'bonding' and feeding stuff that is supposed to happen naturally with a new baby.

Keeping me fingers crossed that something might start to happen soon.

The 2010 Olympics here was quite an experience. I only got to participate in a couple of things and probably saved some money b/c of my limitation! Everyone I have talked to and listened to in the media is very positive about the event. The city was electric!

Callum is doing great. The image above is him performing a drum solo while the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was on the tv. It was so funny. He was so focused. He made us all have a noise making instruments (my Mum is with us right now) and when we finished he yelled 'Good job!'.

Every time Callum finds out that I have been to the doctor for the baby he now thinks it's be/c I put a pea up my nose. So funny.

I wanted to document some of his sayings and mispronounced words so that I don't' forget.

chicken nuggets - chicken mer gets
muffin - mupp in
'be right back' - he runs off to get something
'big one' - he insists on not having his food cut up under some circumstances like wanting to hold the whole banana or apple or having a whole muffin, etc.

7 days to go...

2010-02-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

So far not too many signs of baby coming (feeling like I have to pee more than usual and my acid reflux isn't as bad). On Monday at doc appointment my baby girth shrunk by 1 cm so this means that the baby is descending slightly.

My Mum comes tomorrow so after that it can come when it wants, sooner rather than later I say!

Colin was given tickets to a SWE vs GER men's Olympic hockey game today at 4:30 pm. We are going to go as this might be my only chance to see an event.

Saw Avatar on my first day of mat leave. Really enjoyed it.

Off to watch an Olympic hockey game!

First visit to BC Children's Hospital Emergency

2010-02-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Callum stuck a cooked pea up his nose at lunchtime in daycare! They couldn't get it out so I was called to come get him.

The pea didn't seem to bother him at all but I brought him to emergency as our doctor's office was closed.

One mother with a sick child noted to me while waiting that he appeared to be the happiest one in emergency. Yes that was true. Didn't take too long maybe 2 hours in total. It took 3 different strategies/approaches to get the pea out. Each becoming more invasive. The final one involved a straight jacket/body suit, holding his head still, then sticking a latex type rubber tube attached to a syringe up his nostril past the pea, then inflating the tube so that a little balloon was created behind the pea and then pulling out the balloon where the pea came out ahead of it. Callum was very scared (crying and screaming) and said that his nose hurts but recovered and got a popsicle upon our departure. He was out of sorts during dinner (everything was going wrong according to him) but woke up this morning in a great mood.

Actually for the first time this morning he told me what he wanted to wear. His Montreal Canadiens jersey and pants. Not great 'daycare' apparel but I figured he is not going to fit into them for much longer anyway!

I am 38 weeks now. Baby is still moving around quite a lot. I have brutal acid reflux going on 24/7 and my hips ache at night so sleeping isn't great. Looking forward to getting this milestone over but would like to wait for my Mum to get here next Thurs. the 18th as this will make Callum's life a lot easier if she is here for him when we have to go to the hospital.

This is my last day of work. I have one last software release to do on my last day.

The Olympic Torch passed by our house this afternoon. I got it on video.

Baby is 36 wks and approx 6 pounds 14 oz!

2010-01-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

Photo of Callum with his cousin Charlie on Christmas Eve. Callum's first time on a toboggan.

Had an ultrasound this week to rule out any issues with a cord being wrapped around the baby 4x like it was with Callum. Cord is not wrapped so that's good news but this could change over the next 4 weeks. Technician also measured the baby and data says that it's 6 14 oz (+/- 1 pound) already! It has 4 weeks to go still! Read that a baby gains approx 1 oz a day from here on in! Eeek! Attached some ultrasound pics here. Technician told us to look away while she was measuring the legs! Still don't know what the sex is.

I am having a hard time with pressure and pain in different places. Sleeping is uncomfortable as my sides ache if I sleep on them for too long. Sitting and standing for too long causes issues as well. Can't win! Didn't have any issues sleeping with Callum. Not liking this! I finish work in 2 weeks and my Mum comes out the 18th. Then I would like the baby to come! Got the green light on attempting a natural delivery (VBACK) so we will try. They will be quick to change that if any issues occur. Let's hope not. Can't imagine not being able to pick up Callum for six weeks. It will kill him considering how I think he is going to react to the baby. See next paragraph!

Callum is doing great apart from everything being 'mine'. Getting a little worried about this. He has a hard time sharing, gets very upset when someone touches something that he feels is his. Me especially, 'My Mummy!' he says. Can just picture the day we bring the baby home! When someone touches something that he feels is his, he throws his arms up in the air, stomps his feet, starts to cry and then throws himself on the ground. It's so hard not to laugh! I have got him books from the library on being a big brother and some on sharing. Not sure that they are soaking in but it's the best we can do!

My hockey team is being featured on CBC's 'Hockey Day in Canada'. Unfortunately I am not there but looking forward to seeing my teammates in the spotlight! Scheduled to air 2:15 pm PST or 5:15 EST. We got on the Sunday night 11 pm news. You can see it here: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Local_News/BC, look for Jan. 24th Sunday news broadcast, last 4 mins of the program.

Belated Merry Christmas!

2010-01-19T16:00:00.001-08:00

Callum's 2nd birthday

2009-11-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

Callum turned 2 on Oct. 19th. My parents were here to celebrate with us. We had planned to visit a pumpkin patch with friends and family that weekend but it rained so much we canceled 'til the following weekend. It turned out to be the only sunny afternoon and the lighting was great.

Callum dressed up as Tigger for Halloween. We carved out 3 pumpkins on Friday night. He didn't want to put his hands into the pumpkins so used a spoon to help. He was scared of them so kept his distance when admiring them! BC has has tradition of setting off fireworks and crackers on Halloween night. It's puts an even more scary edge on the whole event. We spent dinner at our friends, Jill, Gavin, Amy and Bruce and went out with them afterwards. Callum last about 4 houses but was very scared by the whole thing. He does like his trick or treats however and we are getting down to the last item in his little pumpkin bag.

Callum is being cared for during the day right now by a temporary nanny named Kaori. He loves her! She is teaching him Japanese words! She is actually going to be one of the care workers at his new daycare. She will be in the 3-5 program but I am sure he will be able to see her from his toddler area. My Mum flies out next Friday to help care for Callum while he is doing the gradual entry into the new daycare. There is a chance that the opening could still be delayed. I hope not! This is a very frustrating situation.

Callum loves to sing, not on cue however. Every time Colin tries to get him to use the microphone to record him, he clams up! His favourites right now are Old McDonald Had a Farm, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, and Mister Sun. He loves dancing to the Hokey Pokey and to any Thomas the Tank Engine song. He wants to do a lot of things himself now and says 'Boy do this' when he wants no help! He as started pretending with his Teddy. He will serve coffee from his play jug and tumblers to teddy and Colin and I. He aligns all his stuffed animals in a row, sits in the row and pretends they are on a train. He loves chocolate!

We had the ultrasound at 23 weeks for the baby. Seemed to be fine but am a little concerned about why the technician asked twice about whether we were sure the baby was 23 weeks. I am worried that maybe it's too small or something. Haven't heard anything from my doctor so I am sure that we would have by now if something was wrong. I will be seeing her in 2 weeks and will get the scoop then.

The baby is now 25 weeks (in the 6th month). It's moving around and kicking quite a lot and on a more predictable schedule than Callum was. I just started to feel the back pain on my mid right side that I experienced with Callum. I eventually had to stand at work for about 2 months. Am hoping that maybe this won't be as bad but it has started again as of 2 days ago.

The house is still under construction from the car crashing into it. As usual their 4 week prediction has taken longer. I think we are into the 5 week now. The lawn is trashed be/c of the workers trampling over it when it's been raining so much. Not sure if they will replace it?

Callum and I raked leaves this morning. I bought him a little rake so he could help!

I have uploaded all photos to flickr site from July onward. We had tonnes to sift through!

Car crashed into our house...

2009-10-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

On Wed. night around 8 pm while I was still in Denver, an older couple in a minivan ran the red light outside our house, hit a car, lost control, plowed down a portion of the west fence and trees and hit the house just under the BBQ. There is major damage to the house but fortunately in the empty part of the house. Nobody was hurt seriously that we know of. Callum slept through it! Haven't seen any repairs start yet as I am sure the insurance companies are working all that out. Luckily it hasn't rained yet but hope that they get started soon. Unfortunately, that's all we know for now.

19 weeks and Callum is almost 2!

2009-10-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling the baby turning over for about the past 2 weeks but yesterday it started kicking. Was every busy around 9 pm last night! If I look back I think that it was another month before I felt Callum. This is common as you know the second time what to expect and can detect it earlier.

Callum will be 2 in 2 weeks! Time has gone by so fast. He is just a wonderful little boy.

He spent Friday with his Grandma and Granda McPherson. They took him on the bus and then the new subway out to the airport. This was his first time for a bus ride and the subway is very new. He loved it!

My parents were visiting en route to Japan and will visit again for a week during their return from Japan over Callum's birthday.

He is singing away to so many songs and has been counting to 10. We have heard the following: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Humpty Dumpty, ABCD song, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Row Row Row Your boat, Mr. Morning Sun, Baby Belulga, and the list goes on... We will give credit to daycare for most of these accomplishments!

He has 4 more weeks at his current daycare and then 3 weeks of not sure what for childcare and then if the new daycare doesn't get delayed in opening again he will be starting at his new daycare in Dec. (I had withdrawn him from his current daycare and then the new daycare came back 2 weeks later with bad news about a delay in opening, it was too late to get him back in the old daycare). I am currently working on a what to do for 3 weeks in Nov. We are going to meet with a potential temporary babysitter next weekend and probably have my Mum come out for a week.

I am off to Denver for 4 days on business. I am going to miss my boys but this will probably be the last time for a while.

Olympics Baby

2009-09-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

We are having another baby! Due during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics at the end of February.

This time was different from that last time. At about week 6 I started to feel incredibly nauseous throughout the day. Luckily that subsided at about week 11. As well, I felt more tired than I remember from last time. Everything else is going fine. We had a private screen at around week 13 where an ultrasound and blood work was performed. Same as we did with Callum only difference was the price went up! Babies were almost identical in their results except for at 12 weeks and 5 days this second baby was about 15% taller from head to rump than Callum. Interesting to note that is all. I am 18 weeks pregnant now and will be going for the anatomical ultrasound soon.

We spent 2 weeks at home in Ottawa and Bedford and was there to celebrate cousin Charlie's birthday and Papa Bill's birthday.

Callum is great. He has reached the negative part of the terrible twos sooner than I would have hoped for but besides the tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants, he is a happy little toddler who still eats and sleeps very well. He is loving the water now and swims pretty well with his 'floaties' or 'water wings' on.

Daycare is going well. We got offered a spot at new daycare centre very close to the house. We decided to accept it even though they don't provide a hot lunch. Argh! We have to prepare his lunches. Oh well, it will be more convenient for us especially while I am on maternity leave and he has some family friends who will be there as well. Unfortunately, we withdrew from his existing daycare for Nov. 6th and then found out last week that the new daycare centre opening has been delayed by 4 weeks. So at the moment we have no care for Callum for 3 weeks. Working on solutions and if all else fails my Mum has graciously volunteered to fly out for this time.

We are off to Seattle this weekend to meet up a childhood friend, Jody, and her family. They have just moved out to the west coast from New York. Very excited that she is out this way.

Attached is photo taken at a backyard party where they rented a bouncy castle. This was Callum's first experience with a bouncy castle. Even though he was probably the youngest one in there he loved it! His hair is only curly because he is pretty sweaty in this picture.

Spring and Summer Update

2009-07-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted. We have been busy. Just finally got all photos up on fickr for the past 3 months.

We had some of the Jones's visiting at end of April (photo in bath is of Callum and his cousin Charlie) and some of the McPherson's visiting at end of May.

Callum changed to a new daycare 3 weeks ago. He is now in a toddler program. He is adjusting well. Just a little bit of crying when "Dadee" leaves him in the morning but hopefully that is coming to an end this week. He is super happy when I pick him up. He is now at Shaw Tower. It's a beautiful new centre and we really like all the staff. He seems to be taken better care of there than at the old centre. An example of this is that his face was always so dirty when picking him up at the old centre. Now his face is always clean. Just that little detail makes me feel better about our decision to move.

At the moment 'choo choo trains' are always on his mind. He practically lives and breaths 'choo choo trains'. Thomas is his main focus. We let him watch an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine on the tv and now it's all he wants to do. He wakes up in the morning and first thing out of his mouth is 'choo choo train'. We are sticking with our one episode of Thomas a day rule. He gets upset when we refuse to let him watch again. He throws himself on the ground and cries. He gets over it quite quickly for now. He was given a small train and track set and he just loves it too. He constructs the track and plays with his trains making the appropriate noises.

His words are starting a flow out now. This morning he dumped his milk on the floor and I told him he was being 'naughty'. He repeated the word quite clearly so we will see if he uses it again at dinner time probably under the same circumstances.

He was given a gift when he left the old daycare. It was a graduation photo of him in a decorated frame. He is wearing a graduation cap in it. When he saw the photo for the first time, he pointed to it and said 'birthday'. We were pretty surprised that he knew that word. Makes sense though. At daycare they celebrate all the kids birthdays by making them wear a party hat and they have some kind of treat.

'Morning' is another word that he uses in the correct context. He greets everyone at daycare with it! So funny!

Callum is starting to get the hang of counting. He points to things on the page and when you ask him to count how many he points, touches the page and counts '2, 3'. We are working on getting him to start at '1'!

We setup a training toilet seat on the regular toilet for him. He uses his stool to get up to it. So far he only suggests using it when he is naked and it's just for fun now. He has been successful in all aspects of the toilet so that's a good thing. It's a start!

With the weather being so nice we have been outside in the garden a lot. Callum loves the hose especially when it's on. He gets himself soaked and is so serious when watering. Unfortunately, with him having wet feet quite a lot of the time or maybe with his swimming lessons he has caught 'athletes foot' just on the soles of his feet! Crazy! Who knew. I have been to the doctor and she said to treat it with over the counter cream. It appears to disappearing but at quite a slow rate.

Callum is missing this friends, Amy and Bruce, as they are in ON on vacation. He mentions them out of the blue so they must be on his mind. He says Amy's name quite well and calls Bruce, Buce.

We leave for ON and QC on July 31st for 2 weeks. Looking forward to it and so are the grandparents!

The boys at Easter Dinner 2009

2009-04-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

17 months old

2009-03-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

Callum is turning into quite a little boy. I can't believe it's been 17 months already since he arrived. He keeps us very busy and laughing all the time.

Lots has happened since I wrote last. I will try to recount some of the more memorable moments and events here.

We gave him his first official full haircut a couple of weeks ago. He looked like a different little person! Have got used to it now.

He had his first 48 hour sick days from daycare as he threw up for the first time. Poor little guy, he was scared as he didn't know what was happening. Colin took the first day off and I took the second day off. He was much better after 2 rounds and a good night sleep. By the second day he was behaving normally and we spent the day together. I felt like I was on maternity leave again.

He managed to remove his slumber bag the other morning. It has a snap closure at the top and a very long zipper. Was waiting for this to happen as it means we might have to move to blankets soon. He has also figured out how to pull of the tabs of his diaper while I am trying to get him dressed. All signs of exciting times to come!

He has just figured out how to say and use the word 'no'. I think it's still a novelty as he is not using it as effectively as he could be. That will come I am sure! He points his finger in the air, waves it and turns his head side to side while saying a very nice no!

He can point to all his body parts and can answer to the sounds that the following mammals and birds make: snake, cow, sheep, rabbit, horse (clip clops with his tongue), dog, duck, monkey, elephant, lion, and cat. He is now starting off the first to words to the song 'Row row row your boat'. He uses he word 'bubbles' for anything that is water related.

He will kiss and hug when asked. He even purses his lips to kiss. So cute.

He is very good a putting his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper if asked.

He loves to dress up. The funniest is when he gets a scarf, a belt and ski goggles out for me to put on him.

He can now drag a kitchen chair over to the window, climb up on it and look out the window.

He points to the sky when he hears or sees an airplane or helicopter.

He recognizes himself in the mirror and makes funny faces at himself.

He loves the blanket forts we help build for him. He sits in there with his book or his toys and smiles the whole time.

Callum is a pretty tubby little boy. He is busting out of 18 month shirts because his tummy is so big but he is just fitting into the 12-18 pants as I guess his legs are still a little short. Hard to believe he is ours!

He is not wanting to eat in his highchair. He would rather sit and eat at his little table. It's a little challenging as he gets distracted and takes off before finishing. We still try the highchair first and hope for no protests.

He is still eating rather well. He has his picky moments but I am pretty glad that he will still eat cooked carrots, cooked peas and chick peas.

We have got him down to one nap a day now. Usually starts after his lunch around 12:30 pm. At home he will sleep for 3 hours most days but at daycare he will only sleep for an hour. His bedtime is 7:30 pm and he will sleep 'til about 7:30 on the weekends and we have to wake him during the week at around 6:50 am. He still sleeps in a slumber bag, with his teddy and small blankey in his crib.

He loves the bath and when sitting in the bath he will bend down to blow bubbles. We give him a bath about 3 times a week.

We have been giving him a toothbrush with a little fluoride toothpaste in it to brush his teeth. It's little tricky trying to do it for him as he gets pretty angry when we try to take it away from him. Oh well, hopefully him sucking on the brush will give him enough fluoride to help!

As the for potty idea. I haven't given it anymore thought actually. There is no way he is even ready. He does point out when he has a poo most times but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. It probably bothers us more as we can smell it!

We got some great news last week that the daycare centre will keep him in the infant program until there is a spot in a toddler program. We have been promised a spot at one of the new centres that will be completed by Sept. The infant program he is enrolled in is in the planning stages of keeping the 'older ones' from getting bored. There is at least one more boy who will be in the same shoes as Callum so they are adjusting the curriculum for them. A month ago I was told by one of the care workers that Callum is ready to move on into the toddler program. Fortunately, the toddler program that occurs alongside the infant one in the same building is able to take him over there every once in a while so he is being exposed to the bigger kid environment.

Callum is loving the slide at daycare and loves slides at any park we go too. I have been looking into buying new or used a small play structure with a slide that we can have in our yard for him come warmer weather. Also thinking about a sand box as he loves the ones at daycare.

I have enrolled him in swimming lessons starting in April. It's been a while since he was in a pool so I am curious about what his reaction will be.

Almost the entire Jones clan is coming out to visit us next month. We are looking forward to Callum and his cousin Charlie meeting each other again. Charlie will be 8 months then so it will be a little different from the last time they met when Charlie was just days old.

Callum's Mexican Souvenir Pics

2009-03-06T13:22:00.001-08:00

What is Callum up to at 15 months?

2009-02-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

Blowing bubbles
Blowing bubbles in the bath water. I have got to get him back into swimming lessons, should be much easier now to schedule b/c he is only napping once a day on average.

Introduce the potty?
Points to his diaper when we ask him about pee, etc... Is it time to introduce the potty? I read about just having it present so that they get used to it being around.

Didn't want ice cream!
Took him to a gelato shop on Sunday and he was not interested in the least is tasting ice cream.

Baby fight club
Fell and scraped his chin (has been attending baby fight club again!).

Bald Eagle viewing and lunch out
Went to see the Bald Eagles in Brackendale with Xavier, Amy and Dave and then went for lunch at White Spot. Had his first 'kids' meal (kind of!).

One nap a day transition
Transitioning to one nap a day (slept for almost 3 hours on Sunday at home but will only sleep for 1 hour at daycare, too much going on?).

Callum is 15 months old

2009-01-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

The snow is almost all gone so it will be nice to get out today with the stroller!

We are in for some fun times ahead with our little boy. He is curious and determined. A dangerous combination? Here are some examples of what he has been up to.

We had to install child proof locks on our handle type door knobs as Callum is able to reach up and pull down the handles, open the doors, and get into things he shouldn't like the toilet and the storage room. Well, so much for these devices, he can bypass them using brute force! He pulls down on the handle with pretty much all his weight and this unlatches the door. We caught him in the act slightly too late last Sunday. He had pulled bits of toilet paper off of the roll, had opened the toilet lid, had dipped the paper into the toilet bowl water and then proceeded to taste it! We now have to just lock this door and use a nail to unlock it when needed!

This morning after he had woken up and was obviously getting bored waiting for us to come and get him, he decided to try climbing out of his crib. He succeeded with a loud thump and the crying. He was not hurt but I am amazed he did it even with a slumber bag on which slightly restricts his leg reach! We had to lower the level (~ 2 ") to the last possible holes available so it's just a matter of time before he can do it again. Have not thought about what we are going to do for him next yet.

Daycare has banned the use of sippy cups because of studies reporting that they encourage tooth decay and palette issues so Callum is drinking from a glass/cup most of the time now. A pelican bib is required but he usually is pretty good at it. It's really hard to find little toddler plastic type glasses for him to use. I bought the Tupperware kids glasses but I find them to be too big at this time. I also bought a play set that includes a little pitcher and 4 2oz glasses. These little glasses are great for him and I would recommend them to anyone wanting to get their child drinking from a cup. They would have been perfect for him at around 9 months. The studies suggest that using straws is better than sippy cups so I got Callum a straw toddler cup and he drank from the straw instantly with no problem.

On the subject of daycare... 6 of the children that are with Callum in his class have been told that they cannot move them to the next program at 18 months because there is no room. These 6 are slightly older than Callum and I expect that we will be next. We were warned about this possibility but we didn't think too much of it at the time. We should find out within the next couple of weeks if we have to leave the program. Don't know what we will do.

Callum is giving us kisses and hugs as well as to his books and stuffed toys and to his friend Noora in daycare (she is a hugger too). He is saying 'ah ah' instead of 'oh oh' when something falls etc... Every morning he looks for the birds sitting on the wire outside of his bedroom window. He uses anything he can to get up onto tables, shelves etc... He can climb and stand on the window sill now when he's up on the couch.

I have finally burned all of his music to my Nano so that we can listen to his music in the car. He loves music and he can dance on cue.

Colin and I bought a new fridge for our Christmas present (how romantic). It was delivered last Sat. We are really happy with it.

My trip to Denver for work went well. The boys didn't miss me at all and did great while I was away.

Callum's 'school' photo

2008-12-29T09:57:00.001-08:00

Taken on November 14th, 2008.

The end of the year

2008-12-27T09:31:00.000-08:00

The snow!

It's incredible how much snow we have. We had a storm that started on Sat. the 20th and lasted 'til Monday. Then we got a one day break and then another storm came through on Christmas Eve. We were out in the snow clearing it off of our young Laurels that are not able to hold all that snow and shoveling and making snow angels. The snow in the yard was above my knees in depth! We got another day break on Christmas Day and then another storm came through yesterday! Getting our cars out of the garage and into the alley is the most difficult part as the city doesn't clear the alleys. Cars parked on the roads are buried and the side streets are almost impossible to get through. If we had been flying home for Christmas I don't think we would have got there. I think that we have to consider that flying home at Christmas in the future is out of the question. Fly in the summer when it's more predictable!

Callum is doing really well. He is not sure about all this snow. He can't really walk in it and when he fells down he can't get up b/c his has so much padding on! I don't know how anyone does this back in Ottawa or Montreal! It's such work getting him all dressed up to go outside! We don't have winter boots for him so have just been using his rain boots that have liners in them.

We had a nice Christmas. Callum enjoyed the tags on the presents and the bubble wrap the most. He isn't doing too badly with the tree which was a surprise for me. We have an ornament that daycare made with this picture on it that I put low enough on the tree so that he has one he can pull it off himself. He enjoys unplugging the lights and tasting the bulbs!

Callum has been a busy boy. He is now able to open the doors! He is interested in cleaning, and sweeping (must find him a small brush and dust pan), and putting stuff in the garbage. He still likes to put stuff in his mouth. Mainly, fluff and leaves and sand! He has 14 teeth now and hasn't had a cold in about 5 weeks! He had his second flu shot mid Dec. and was so good. Cried during the jab but recovered quickly and didn't show any signs of even having had it! He is wearing 18 month tops but still 12 month pants (his legs seem to be shorter). We have had to put #5 diapers on him at night now as the #4's leak. Still using the cloth diapers on the weekends and that is going really well. I am just so impressed with how well they work. It's worth spending the money on good ones.

His is babbling all the time. Not too many proper words yet but has sounds for a lot of things. He understands so much now. He goes into his room on his own and plays with the toys in there. He will pull out books from his collection and sit one the futon and turn the pages over and over again. He has some favourite books that he will choose every time.

I have been trying to look out for shows with animals in them. I taped a Nature program entitled "Christmas in Yellowstone" and we watched some of it yesterday. He goes bonkers when he sees anything moving with 4 legs or anything flying! The fox hunting a mouse under the snow was one of his favourites!

He is into marching on the spot like he's dancing to Maniac from Flashdance. He looks out for the birds sitting on a roof that he can see when I open his binds in the morning. We get hugs all the time. He loves the remotes controls and the phones.

Colin has had a few very busy weeks at work and so have I. It's nice to have a bit of a break. I have to fly to Denver in the first week of January for our yearly 'kickoff' so I will be gone for 4 days again.

We have been warned that there is a possibility that Callum will not get a spot in the toddler daycare program when he turns 18 months. Already most of his older daycare mates have been told this already. Not what you want to hear but there is nothing we can do about it until we are told otherwise which will be within the next month or two. Keeping our fingers crossed.

I just trimmed Callum's bangs as they are getting too long. Colin didn't want to cut them but I just had too. Maybe he won't notice when he gets home from work!

Callum had a 'school' picture taken in Nov. It turned out so well that we had to buy the whole package. We have tonnes of wallet sized photos now! I will try to scan one and post it here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

Halloween and more

2008-11-15T21:12:00.001-08:00

We didn't do too much for Halloween this year. We dressed Callum up in 2 potential costumes the night before. He had a parade at daycare and we carved a pumpkin with him on the night of. He was a little scared of it at first but warmed up to it by the end of the weekend.

He finally got his 1 year shots on this past Thursday. 5 jabs in all and one more next month for the second flu shot. Poor guy. He did really well. He went back to daycare once they were done and you wouldn't have known after that!

He has just managed today to be able to get himself up to a standing position without the help of something to hold on to.

We are trying to get him off his bottle and onto just sippy cups. I read that to make it easier give him one bottle a day where that bottle is the most cherished. It would be either his morning or afternoon snack bottle. Today we gave him all sippy cup milk until the afternoon snack and then I caved at his bedtime. We will try again tomorrow with the plan!

He has a few words under his belt now. Banana but says 'nana' most of the time. Hello and bye bye. Dada and Mama are there but not sure that he uses them to address us yet.

Grandma and Granda McPherson were here for a week and left this past Wed. It was a lovely visit and they really enjoyed seeing Callum. He has changed a lot since they last saw him in August. We took him to the Vancouver Acquarium and I thought he would love the outdoor dolphin show. Within 30 seconds of the show starting a dolphin jumped out of the water about 12 feet into the air and this gave CAllum a scare. He got really upset and we had to remove him from seeing the dolphins. I will try again another time!

He has been enjoying daycare and the caregivers seem to really enjoy his happy smiley self.

Callum is 1!

2008-11-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a couple of very busy weeks for us.

Callum turned one on the 19th of October. We invited friends to join us for an outing to a pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day and the experience exceeded my expectations. It was a wonderful outing. We then invited friends to stop by afterward for cake, pizza and beer. I made Callum's favourite, banana bread, and added a chocolate chip surprise to it. Needless to say he enjoyed it and the party had quite a turnout of children and adults.

I then had to fly to Denver for the week right after so Dad and Callum were on their own for 4 days and I had never been away from Callum so it was a new experience for all of us. Dad and Callum did really well and so did I.

Callum is really happy going to daycare. The care workers express how happy he is and how much he smiles and one says he is so very lovable. Dad drives him to daycare for it's opening at 7:30 am. He is the first one there so gets the opportunity to dive straight into the craft activity. He is loving this and is now becoming aware that not all the craft tools have to be tasted! His 'artwork' is now becoming a part of our decor at home!

He is walking quite well now but still needs something to pull himself up. We have seen him working on trying to get up on his own so it's just a matter of time and practice now I think.

We can officially say that his first word was 'banana'. The full word too! We think we heard 'Elmo' yesterday but not sure.

He cut his ninth tooth within the past couple of days. It's been hard to tell that he was teething be/c he has been sick with a cold and caught some bacterial infection in his eye. He is much better now however and have been told that the runny nose will stick around! Both Colin and I have caught colds as well so it's all a new challenge for us.

We went for his 1 year checkup on Tues. He is 24 lbs and 77 cm. He is in between the 50th and 75th percentile for growth and has been like that for his entire life so far. The doctor didn't want to give him his shots be/c of the infection he was fighting so we have postponed that until he is much better.

We have almost switched completely to homo milk. Now just have to get him taking it in a cup instead of a bottle.

We carved a little pumpkin last night so that Callum could see it. He was a little scared of it! He had a Halloween parade at daycare and he wore a little Tigger suit that was given to us by our friend Renee.

My job is going well. It has been a very hard adjustment for me. I have had to get used to Callum going to daycare, find a job, start a job, start thinking technically for the first time in a year, be a Mom when not working, be a good wife to Colin with all this other stuff to deal with, travel for work, deal with being sick more than usual, etc... It's been more challenging than I expected. Will just take some getting used to.

My Mum and Dad are flying out here for the week on Wed. It's Colin's birthday weekend so it will be great to have babysitters!

Last day before returning to work

2008-09-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

Well it's my last day of maternity leave. Wow did it ever go fast. Callum is doing well in daycare except for crying when I leave him in the morning. As far as I know this crying ends pretty quickly when the caregivers distract him.

Early start tomorrow as I have to be at my new job by 8 am. This is going to be interesting. Hope it's not like this every morning. There is a slated daily meeting at 8:30 am but I think I can call in from home.

Callum is making us laugh all the time now. He motions for his music to be put on by doing his version of dancing. This involves swinging his head from side to side and turning it like his is motioning 'no' and stamping his feet. See end of video for demo.

During 'pat a cake' he can now do the motion for 'roll it'. He attempts to brush his hair and will hold his head if he bumps it.

He loves the bath. All we have to say to him is "Callum would you like to have a bath?" and he takes off for his bathroom. He gets so excited. He holds onto the sides and jumps up and down.
Last night he attempted to climb in himself while we were filling it for him.

While we are feeding him, he will grab the spoon with food on it and with our help he puts it in his mouth and then flings out the spoon once he has got the food. This usually means that food flies everywhere!

He is walking most of the time at home. He can't stand up on is own just yet so he pulls himself up using anything he can grab on to like the wall or furniture, gets his balance and then starts walking to his destination. Once at his destination he usually throws himself onto it! See video below.

We went to Kits beach this past weekend. Callum fell face first into the sand. Got some great photos from our outing.

Here is a video of Callum walking on Sept. 27th, 2008:

Busy couple of weeks

2008-09-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Callum is now into his second week at daycare. He is doing really well aside from catching a cold before he even started! He is the youngest (10 1/2 months) of 12 in the infant program at Dorothy Lam in Yaletown. He was fine when I was leaving him last week during his gradual entry but I think he has figured out what's going on and now has cried the past 2 days when I leave. I have been crying more than him however. It is really hard to leave him and I have been having these little cries while walking back to my car after dropping him off.

Callum is now waving bye bye and I am pretty sure knows 2 words, bus and bath. Buses go by our house all the time and he can hear them coming!

He is cruising furniture and has just started letting go and throwing himself to the next piece of furniture. I have bought him his first pair of outdoor walking shoes (size 6) but haven't had to use them yet. They have a squeaker in them (that can be removed) and it's hilarious to watch him react to them when he is walking inside while holding our hands. We bought him a ride on Tonka truck that has a seat that lifts up so that he can hold onto it and walk the truck with support. He is doing really well with this. His legs are spaced pretty far apart and it is the funniest thing to watch. Video from August 28th is uploaded see below!

He is fitting into 12 to 18 month clothes now.

He tried some chocolate ice cream from Gus's 2 year birthday cake on Sunday and to no ones surprise he liked it!

As you can tell we are having a blast with him! He is such and happy, chatty, giggly little boy.

I lost my job in August and am currently looking for a new one. I thought that women were protected from this sort of thing while on paternity leave but it appears not to be the case. So far I have been driving Callum to daycare for 8:30 am. I spend 'til about 3:00 pm job hunting and then I go and pick him up. I think that 7 hours is long enough for now.

Have considered changing direction of my career but not sure where to start. In the meantime I have been looking into QA related jobs.

Colin's new job is going very well. We are off to Bowen Island for a company bbq at the CEO's house this Sat.

A video of Callum walking with help from his new Tonka ride on truck.

Welcome to this world Charles Samuel Jones!

2008-07-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Callum got a boy cousin today!

Charles Samuel Jones was born this morning at 3:46 am (Callum was born at 3:46 pm) coming in at 6.6 lbs with black hair and so far blue eyes. Ma'ayan and Chris are going great. Charles is beautiful!

Off to Bedford tomorrow 'til Sunday then back to Ottawa for the night to visit Charles and fly out Monday afternoon.

Visiting Family

2008-07-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Callum is with me in Ottawa right now. We have been here for a week and have 3 weeks left. Colin is coming on Friday for the last 2 weeks. We celebrated my Mum's 65th birthday on the 9th and we will be celebrating my parents 40th wedding anniversary on the 19th, my birthday on the 21st, Papa Jones's birthday on the 30th and the birth of Ma'ayan and Chris's baby around the 17th while we are here!

Callum started crawling about 3 weeks ago. He is now cruising around the furniture at his grandparents house in Ottawa. He is able to pull himself up by rolling over the tops of his feet, ouch! Hopefully he will figure out that this is not the best way to get up to a standing position soon. Now when you go into his room in the morning he is always standing and holding onto the sides of the packnplay.

He has 4 of his upper teeth coming in. The top left and the one beside it to the left have been cut and appeared within the past 5 days. 2 more are about to appear soon. He has figured out how to grind his teeth, eek!

He is doing very well in the lumpy/diced food department. He is feeding himself cheerios and baby teething crackers now and the texture of meat is not so bad anymore. He still likes his baby purees though. I think he might be a lazy eater!

He has adjusted well to being away from home. He is still a very happy chatty baby boy.

We miss Daddy but he will be here soon!

Callum is 8 months old!

2008-06-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Callum has been busy!

We started Callum on more lumpy food this week. Hope it's not too late! Doesn't like lumps very much. He will gag pretty easily. We will persevere however. He ate egg yolk for the first time the other day and I am going to start him on meat and fish once he masters the lumpy squash!

He is almost crawling efficiently now. He started getting into the crawl position about 3 weeks ago while we were in Ottawa visiting Grandma and Granda McPherson. Great Auntie Eileen and Uncle Ian were visiting from Scotland at the time so he got to meet them and show them his latest skills!

Colin discovered on his 8 month day that he is now starting to imitate. Colin was singing 'la la la la la' (scale exercise) to him and he was repeating something that sort of sounded like it!

No new teeth yet.

He is sleeping well still (down at 7 pm and up in between 6:30 to 7:30 am) and seems to be getting into a good nap schedule now. 4 hours after he wakes (10:30 am) and 3 to 4 hours (3 pm) after the first nap. They aren't long naps but naps just the same!

We were in ON and QC from June 2nd to the 15th. It went really well. Callum is a great plane traveler. Colin flew out on the 6th to surprise his Mum for her 60th birthday celebration. While we were in Bedford Callum crossed the border for the first time into Vermont to visit with Mimi Jones's co-workers.

Callum swam in both grandparents swimming pools and might actually be starting to enjoy it.

Our trip home was delayed by 4 hours be/c of thunderstorms that just wouldn't leave the Ottawa area. We got home at midnight or 3 am according to our body clocks. Figures that when traveling with baby for first time something goes wrong for the first time ever!

Callum completed his Water Babies Level 1 swimming class and got a positive comment about his submersions!

He weighs about 21 pounds now and we have bought the next required car seat for him. No more carrying him around in the infant car seat and letting him sleep. I will have to figure out some way to let him sleep in the garage when we get home. Will look into a portable baby monitor or just have to read a book in the car down in the garage! He is wearing 9 month clothes right now and will probably be slimming down once the crawling gets efficient!

Callum has cut 2 teeth!

2008-05-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

Woke up Friday morning and his right front tooth had broken the surface! This morning the left tooth has broken the surface! He is doing pretty well considering. He awoke a few times in the night on Thursday but fell back to sleep himself. He slept from 7:15 pm last night to 8 am this morning.

At Gymboree on Friday he graduated to level 2 now that he can sit up on his own. Classes start just an hour after the level 1 so it won't be much different except he will be leaving behind some younger babies that he has got to know over the past 3 months.

Jean-Luc and Love Love are here visiting for the weekend. They are off to Brussels for the summer so we won't see them 'til Sept.

Closed eye correction software

2008-04-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Closed eye correction software created by Colin Jones. Please contact if interested in purchasing!

Callum is 6 months old!

2008-04-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Callum turned 6 months old this past weekend. Wow it has gone fast!

He is sitting up and rolling over from his tummy to his back now. He still loves to stand and chooses to do that over everything else.

He is eating food and has now eaten pears, sweet potato, avocado, apple sauce, peaches, and banana. The next food to try will be green beans. Not sure how that is going to go down!

He has found his high pitch voice and talks to himself in his crib every morning. It's so easy to get him to smile and laugh.

He is going to bed at around 7:15 pm and is waking at about 5:30 am. He chats for a while, turns on his music aquarium and then falls back to sleep until around 7 am. I wish he would sleep for another hour but I shouldn't complain as we are very lucky to have a baby that sleeps as well as he does at night! Naps during the day are another story however. He usually will only nap for about 30 mins 2 to 3 times a day.

At his 6 month doctors appointment he weighed 18.4 lbs and is on track with all developmental requirements. One of the questions was "Does he know his name?". Mmm sometimes we will test him and call him by another name. He will sometimes look at us. But then he sometimes looks at us if we call him by his name. Hard to answer that one and the doctor agreed that it's silly to ask that question.

He seems to be enjoying swimming lessons a bit more now. The water is cold so he doesn't last long. He will be graduating from Gymboree Level 1 to Level 2 shortly as the criteria for moving up is that he can sit on his own. Right now if he reaches for something that is out of his reach and persists to get it he will fall over.

We are having such a great time with him. We catch ourselves thinking and laughing about him when he is not there.

Happy Easter 2008!

2008-03-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Almost 5 months old now

2008-03-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Callum had his 4 month shots a couple of weeks ago. He weighed 15 3/4 pounds. He has more than doubled his weight in just 4 months. He is now almost ready for number 3 sized diapers!

He is doing so well. He tried rice cereal for the first time last week. He still has the tongue thrust reflex to get rid of but it has been interesting trying to get some to stay in his mouth. He doesn't seem to mind at all.

He is reaching for toys now and can pass them from one hand to another. He is starting to shake the rattles but I don't think that he has put the two actions together yet.

His is sleeping for an average of 10-12 hours at night and is no longer waking up at the 40 min mark crying when we put him down for the night. He is feeding about 5 times a day and we give him about 7 oz on average per feeding. I am still able to feed him breast milk most of the time and will persevere with the pumping until I can't take it anymore. Going to try to hold out 'til he is 6 months old.

We are still waiting for his passport to arrive so we unable to book a trip down south 'til then. We are thinking maybe Palm Springs/San Diego or Mexico.

My parents spent another 5 days with us upon their return from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand last week. They noticed a difference in him in only 2 weeks. They had a wonderful time.

We will see them again when I take Callum to Ottawa to see my Auntie Eileen and Uncle Ian from Scotland at the end of May.

Callum is 17 weeks old now

2008-02-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted here. A lot has been going on with Callum since the last post. He is now able to bat at hanging toys, hold toys in his hands and is now attempting with not a lot of dexterity to put the toys in his mouth. This frustrates him as he can't quite satisfy his desire to suck on them.

The other night he slept through the night completely for 12 hours straight. We consider ourselves very lucky for this one! His usual schedule is to wake up at around 5 am to feed and then goes back to sleep 'til about 8:45 am. Still not so bad!

I have read in a book called "The wonder weeks" that he is going through a fussy stage. The stage is called the world of events. This takes time to realize this world and he tends to become overwhelmed and then starts to lose it. He cries periodically throughout the day just out of blue. It's hard to console him sometimes. Eventually he stops and all is good again.

My sister Vari and my parents were just here visiting. Vari was skiing up in Whistler with friends of hers from her U of W years and my parents were en route to Vietnam. Vari and I took Callum swimming for the first time. He did pretty well. He didn't like the duck dives under water but recovered quickly. I bought him a little pair of swimming trunks and a rashy (surf t-shirt) to wear in the pool. The pools require that babies wear swim diapers. The ones I got are reusable. Luckily he didn't use them for their intended purpose!

Grandma and Granda McPherson baby sat Callum on Valentine's so that we could go out. Colin was given box seats to the Canucks so we went to see the game and enjoy the benefits (free food and drink) of the box! Callum was so good for them and they had a wonderful time with him.

I have enrolled Callum in a Gymboree Play and Music class for 0-6 month old babies. We go every Friday at 1:15 pm and he is having a great time. There are a couple of babies who go as well that are very close to his age. He loves looking at all the other babies. The mums interact with them and and we sing, massage and play with finger puppets, bells, Gymbo the clown puppet and do exercises to strengthen their legs, arms, tummies and necks with a blanket and tummy time activities.

His next physical milestone is rolling over. We are working on it but nothing is happening yet. He is also starting to get his hands in position to hold his own bottle. Maybe when Grandma and Granda McPherson come back in 3 weeks to visit on their way home from Vietnam he might be ready!

First baby milestone met

2007-12-27T16:18:00.000-08:00

At about 7 weeks Callum started to smile. It was definitely apparent when Uncle Chris arrived on Dec. 6th for a visit.

Callum had his 1st set of immunizations on Dec. 21st (his Granda's birthday) and he weighed in at 11 3/4 pounds.

Have had to retire some of his newborn clothes now.

He gots lots of toys, books and clothes for his first Christmas.

Now just waiting for him to realize that his hands are his! This is the next big milestone that should occur.

At night he is going 5.5 to 7.5 hours between feeds. They say that he has by now established his sleeping patterns so that means we will never have a night owl for a baby! We consider ourselves very lucky and hope that it stays this way!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2007-12-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

Wow it has been a while since I posted here. Callum is keeping me so busy that I completely forgot about this blog!

We are staying in Vancouver for Christmas. We bought a 10 foot tree and it looks amazing in our living room.

We hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love from,
Shona, Colin, and Callum

My good friend Laurel Atwood (ne Stroppa)

2007-11-19T12:23:00.001-08:00

My first and good friend who I met when coming for my Vancouver job interview almost 10 years ago passed away on Sunday the 18th of November 2007 from a heroic battle for the second time with breast cancer. She fought so hard. I will miss her dearly.

Callum is 4 weeks old

2007-11-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been 4 weeks since Callum was born and I am coming up for air now.

Callum is a wonderful baby. He sleeps and is soothed quite easily. We couldn't have asked for more. We are falling in love with him more and more everyday.

Grandma and Granda McPherson and Grandma (Mimi) Jones were here to see him and his aunties (Vari, Lindsay and Ma'ayan) and uncle Chris will be here in the next few weeks to see him.

He was 8.5 lbs at the doctors yesterday and is gaining weight at a good pace. He still fits into newborn outfits but has now outgrown the Pampers newborns but still fits in the Huggies newborns. Will switch to cloth when his bum gets bigger!

He is becoming more alert everyday and there might have been a smile instead of gas this morning but not quite sure yet! He is most awake after his feedings in the mornings and by the afternoon he falls asleep quite easily.

We took him for a walk in his stroller to Queen Elizabeth Park 2 weeks ago with Grandma and Granda McPherson and to Stanley Park last weekend with Grandma (Mimi) Jones. He has been over to his Great Aunt and Uncle Taylors for dinner and was cuddled by all his great cousins. He also attended his first 'adult' party at Anges, Eric's, and Max Elliot (who was asleep) last night but slept through most of it.

Breastfeeding is not going well but I am really good at pumping. This doesn't hurt at all. I have been going to a breastfeeding clinic every week for the past 3 weeks but am thinking that I am much happier pumping then struggling with the pain that makes me quite upset.

He has been given so many wonderful gifts and we thank everyone for them. I will get thank you notes with a picture enclosed out soon.

I am posting pictures as we take them so check back at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shonesy/sets/
for updates.

Pictures from Callum's first week of life

2007-10-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Shared on flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/34384464@N00/3Y6076

Callum Owen Jones born October 19th 2007

2007-10-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

After 3 days of knowing the baby was on its way, our Son, Callum Owen Jones, arrived on Oct. 19th at 3:45 pm. He weighed 3320 grams (~7.3 pounds) and was 52 cm long.

The waters broke Wed. morning, Mom was induced Thurs. morning and Callum was delivered by emergency c-section Fri. afternoon. He had irregular heartbeats after each contraction so the team of doctors suggested a c-section. When Callum was pulled out he had the cord wrapped around his neck 4 times (we have video if interested!). He stayed in the special nursery overnight to be monitored and we got him in our room on Sat. afternoon. So far so good. He is a little gassy so spends lots of time getting burped.

Mom is doing as well as can be expected and Dad has been wonderful to both Mom and Son and has been here by their side the whole time.

Still with child!

2007-10-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well it's t-minus 3 days. Feeling a little bit more pressure in my pelvis but that could be in my head for all I know! Baby is still very active. My friend Jill is called my sticking out belly button a turtle as it not quite totally popped out and Colin has now taken on the name 'Franklin' for it!

City strike for most areas is over (exception is the library workers). Finally they are picking up garbage again. The strike started the week of my birthday so it's been a long time.

A new mom in my neighbourhood has formed a 'mommies' group and yesterday I attended our first meeting at a restaurant called the 'White Spot'. I am not quite a 'mommy' yet but everyone there was very supportive and happy to have me there. Some of the babies that were there are only 2 to 3 weeks old so our baby will have playmates. All were younger than 10 months some live within 2 blocks of us.

Going to a wedding shower tomorrow for our friend Jen Houghton. The wedding is this weekend in Whistler. Unfortunately, we have had to decide not to go. Too close for comfort and the last time we were in Whistler we got stuck in a traffic jam because of an accident for 4 hours on the sea to sky highway.

39 weeks today

2007-10-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Went to our prenatal appointment yesterday. No change in the position of the baby's head. It's still high. Everything is fine so we will see the doctor next Thursday and she will do a pelvic examine to determine the 'ripeness' of my cervix.

My friend Amy Chang is hosting a baby shower for me tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to seeing my friends there.

The movie Elizabeth, The Golden Age, comes out today. I loved the first one so will see if maybe Colin and I can go tonight. Will need to bring a pillow but think I can do it.

Just hanging out at home today with nothing on the agenda. Nice for a change as it has been a busy week.

10 days to go

2007-10-09T19:53:00.001-07:00

We have been busy so far getting things ready for the baby. Today was the last scheduled delivery/service call to the house. Everything is pretty much ready now. See pictures of the baby room.

The baby is still very busy and I don't have any sense that it has dropped or experienced 'lightening'. Here is a picture of me taken yesterday. I am 38 wks and 3 days.

We sold my 99 Honda Civic and bought a 2002 Subaru Outback. It's great! Somebody over the past week drove into the passenger side, scratched it and damaged the side view mirror. Just my luck! The first and only other car I bought ended up with a chipped windshield within 24 hrs of me leaving the Honda dealership. I have just submitted a claim and luckily our premiums won't go up be/c it's considered a hit and run.

We installed a queen Murphy bed in the spare room and it is going to work so well when guests come.

The baby is still very busy and I don't have any sense that it has dropped or experienced 'lightening'. Here is a picture of me taken yesterday. I am 38 wks and 3 days.

I was given a gift certificate for a prenatal massage at a very nice spa in North Vancouver. I am going tomorrow morning and then I will stop by Colin's work to get a tour and have lunch with him.

Last week of work for a while

2007-09-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

4 more days of work. Rest will be good. I have become very tired and useless once I get home from work so this time off will be good for me and the baby.

We had a prenatal appointment yesterday and the baby is doing fine. My tummy measured 36 cm which is right on target at 36 weeks. We had a longer appointment so that the doctor could go over the procedures and signs of labour and when to go to the hospital. I am looking forward to this moment.

My sister was granted American green card status last Friday after 5 1/2 years since her application was initiated. We are all very happy!

We are trying to sell my car. Here is the craigslist listing in case you know anyone who might be interested: http://vancouver.craigslist.org/car/430980714.html

35 weeks

2007-09-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Went to the doctors on Thursday. The baby is growing and very active. The head is down but the doctor said it's still too high and won't come this week! I have gained 22 pounds so far. The back, ab and rib pain I am experiencing on my right side is still occurring when I sit. Standing at work is not as easy as it was. My doctor thinks that my thoughts on working until I go into labour are unrealistic and that I should rest and not deal with the pain. I have decided to make my last day of work the 28th of Sept.

We took the ferry over to Victoria this weekend to visit with my friend Jean-Luc, and Love Love in their new house. His parents, Anne and Pierre were in town from Belgium. We had a great visit.

I have a few friends who have graciously volunteered to host baby showers for me. One occurred while we were in Ottawa and 2 are coming up in the next couple of weeks here in Vancouver. Thanks to Natasha, Alan, Jill and Amy!

Back from wedding in Ottawa

2007-09-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

Colin and I had a great holiday back home. Chris and Ma'ayan's wedding was the highlight. It was a wonderful wedding.

Colin, and Chris spent labour day weekend up at cottage east of Eganville on Round Lake for Chris's bachelor party with a bunch of Chris's friends.

I spent the labour day weekend with my sister Vari who flew in from Chicago and my friend Nat with her son Matthew who flew in from Toronto. We hung out at the McPherson home and caught up. My friend Amy who lives in New Westminster had her 3rd child here in Ottawa so we had a chance to visit with her, new baby Sadie, Riley, Kia, Dan and her parents in the neighbourhood as well.

Colin and I then headed off to Bedford to the Jones family farm for a couple of days. We swam in the new pool, ate Barry's poutine and hung out with Mom and Pop Jones and Lindsay.

Back to Ottawa for the wedding. The rehearsal was on Friday night, the wedding was Sat. and the brunch was on Sunday. All events were great. We had a great time. Congratulations to Chris and Ma'ayan.

After the brunch we headed out to my friends Alan and Natasha's house for a baby shower they hosted for us. All of the invitees were from high school and middle school. It was quite the reunion! We also got to meet new baby Keira and to see Zachary.

Luckily baby Jones decided not to come early so we made it home in one piece instead of two!

6 more weeks to go!

Inukshuks

2007-08-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

I walk to work from Science World almost every day. The route I take brings me along the sea wall for a little bit until it gets detoured because of condo construction. Last Monday morning while walking on the sea wall an amazing sight appeared along the rocky shoreline. Someone over the weekend had built a city of Inukshuks (http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=ArchivedFeatures&Params=A29). Here are some pics I captured the next morning.

Busy couple of days for baby

2007-08-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Prenatal class at St. Paul's hospital on Sat. was great. We really enjoyed it and got our moneys worth. The instructor was excellent. We also got to a tour of the maternity ward and it's very nice. 16 private rooms in all so hopefully we will get one. If they are all full they send you to another hospital where your OB has permissions to work. There were only 2 rooms occupied while we were on our tour. One was in a labour stage before you start pushing which is the most painful and she was making a lot of noise! One girl in the class (there were 17 couples in the class) had to leave as she couldn't take it! She had better get used to it! Didn't bother me at all.

We had a prenatal appointment with the OB this morning. Baby is doing great. Strong heartbeat, head is down, back on right side and feet and hands on left side and measured on track at 32 cm for 32 weeks. I have gained 17 pounds so far. The results from the ultra sound we had for my ab muscle issue came back with no problems. They recorded the baby's measurements and 2 were in the 50th percentile and 2 were in the 75th percentile. The former were for abdominal cavity which is good and femur length! So the baby's legs are so far longer than average! No surprise there!

The OB suggested I try a tummy sling to help with my ab muscle strain/pain. Might go out and buy one to see if it helps. Figured out that a folded pillow behind my back while sitting helps with my back pain so will bring a pillow on the plane with me.

We leave on Thursday for Ottawa. It's Chris (Colin's brother) and Ma'ayan's wedding on the 8th of September. Colin is the best man and MC.

My Mum and Dad are in Scotland and then France so we will not see them while home.

My friends Natasha and Alan are hosting a baby for Colin and I while home. It will be great to see everyone.

Can you say 'Diastasis recti'?

2007-08-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Went to a physio course for prenatal back pain yesterday at BC Women's Hospital and discovered that I have 'Diastasis recti', separation of the abdominal muscles. No wonder my abs always feel like they are tight. Have to be careful about using my ab muscles and then it will not be a problem until after having the baby. Complications afterwards are possible. The ab muscle may never go back and could cause lower back pain. Not what I need. There are exercises to perform after birth that I guess I might have to do. Will wait and see.

Baby room is painted and Colin did such a great job. Baby furniture is arriving soon.

We rented a Doppler so that Colin could record the baby's heartbeat and use it in his music. We recorded it last night. We will try to make the sound file available soon.

The baby must be growing...

2007-08-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

The baby will be 31 weeks tomorrow. We took this picture last weekend at 30 weeks.

On Thursday night I was experiencing surface pain around the right side of my abdomen. It was so tender to touch. Thought it could be my ab muscles. The baby was moving like crazy and I my digestive system was functioning properly so I waited for the weekend to end. On Monday I went to see my doctor and she thinks that the baby tore one of my ab muscles. She scheduled an ultrasound for the next day so that a placental abruption could be ruled out. Haven't heard from the doctor yet so assuming all is good. We did get to see the babies face quite close up as it was facing the technician when she was doing the scan. It's face is lovely! We didn't see the sex and we still don't want to know! My abs are still quite tender and sore but getting better. Hopefully it won't happen again.

The baby room painting is almost done but we ran out of paint. Will be finished this weekend for sure. A crib and change table/chest of drawers have been ordered.

At my work we released a software product yesterday. It has been tiring. Starting to be more tired than ever before. My back is still bothering me. Can manage the pain for most of the time.

Prenatal Appointment on August 7th

2007-08-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

The baby measured as expected, 29 cm at 29 weeks. It's heartbeat was beating at about 140 beats/min. I gained 6 more pounds to put me at a total of 15 pounds in all so far. My tummy is growing out every day!

Had an OB locam as my doctor was on holiday. She had some good advice for my back issues. She suggested I call BC Women's Hospital Physio Department and talk to them. I did and I am now signed up for a prenatal back pain class that will happen on August 21st.

Colin started to paint the baby room yesterday. We picked a Benjamin Moore colour called Kittery Point Green. It's one of EcoSpec paints that contains no VOCs so it won't harm the baby now or after it's born.

29 weeks, 11 more weeks to go!

2007-08-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

Things are getting big now! My undies are getting tight! Didn't think I would have to consider buying bigger undies! Argh! On the other hand had to buy bigger bras this week. This growth is getting out of hand and the baby isn't born yet! I have now gone from an A which I must say I really liked to a D! We have a prenatal appointment on Tues. and I can guarantee I have gained way more this month than the last couple of months.

My back starts to ache at about mid day when sitting at work. I have a new kneeling chair that I use along with my regular chair and I stand at the kitchen bar table as well. It gets so bad that I have to shift to another option every couple of hours. My friend Amy has just lent me a ball to sit on so will bring that to work on the weekend to try it out next week. I went to my first prenatal massage appointment this week and this has helped a little bit but hasn't cured anything. Will continue to go on a weekly basis if required until my extended coverage runs out. Kind of hoping that this is just a phase. Doubt it though. I have a condition called hyper kyphosis. Basically it's extreme would be a 'hunchback'. The massage therapist said that we can work on correcting it when I am not pregnant anymore. I remember having pain in between my shoulder blades when I stood for very long periods of time as a kid. And now it bothers me when I am working very long hours.

I am still feeling pretty good. A little more tired after my walk home from work in the warmer weather but not too bad. Am getting up in the night to pee more often, sometimes 3 times! The baby is busy doing somersaults, kicking and punching at least every couple of hours.

Colin and I went to Whistler last weekend for an Ultimate tournament that Colin played in. I heckled from the sideline with my friend Laurel as she can't play either right now. She is doing so much better and I hope this continues.

The plan this weekend includes painting the baby room, going to see about all things baby for the first time to get an idea of what we will need and how much it's all going to cost, buying a queen mattress for the future Murphy bed we are going to get for the guest/office room and going to car dealerships to see about trading in my Honda for a car with 4 doors.

Tummy Progress 0-6 Months

2007-07-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

I managed to get all of our digital photos off the computers, digital camera and video camera now that the house is pretty much all unpacked! I have posted photos of my tummy as the months have gone by. I will post more as they are taken.

http://www.chezjonesy.com/baby/tummyprogress.html

Shona's Birthday

2007-07-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday yesterday. Weather wasn't nice so couldn't do the canoe paddle and hike I wanted to do but we had a birthday/house warming party last night. Lots of people came by. Colin organized it all down to the food and cake. Attached are a couple of photos of us today that we took beside the flowers Colin gave me. My gifts from Colin included 2 lovely 5 ft body pillows to keep me comfortable while sleeping and a few DVDs for prenatal, postnatal and with baby yoga. My back has been bothering me at work while sitting so I am hoping the prenatal yoga DVD will help me if I do it everyday after work in the comforts of our home.

6 months and counting

2007-07-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am now just past the 6 month mark. We had a prenatal appointment on Monday and it went well. Before we were just seeing my GP, Jean Clarke but now we have moved to her partner who is an the OB. Her name is Catherine Reilkoff.

The babies heartbeat was about 140 beats/min and my belly measured 25 cms which is right on track as I am about 25 weeks. I have gained another 5 pounds in the past month so that puts me at about 9 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.

The baby has been busy kicking and it's very obvious. You can just watch and you will see it kick or do whatever it does.

We go back in a month and by then the doctor said that she should be able to identify parts of the baby.

It has been hot here. The morning walks are OK but the journey home after work is hottest. Our new house faces South West so it's hot in there when we come home. Better hot than cold as it won't stay like this for long!

Off to Vernon (north of Kelowna) for weekend

2007-07-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

We have been asked to join friends at a cabin owned by an NHL'er up in Vernon on the lake for the weekend. We jumped at the chance to spend some time with friends and to swim in the lake. We are leaving shortly and it will take over 5 hours to get there.

Had to buy a new bikini as I am not fitting into my existing ones anymore!

The house unpacking and setting up has come to a halt. It's livable and appears at this point to be on ongoing project for the rest of the summer!

Strangers on the bus are starting to offer me a seat so it's now obvious I am pregnant!

We attended FIFA U20 games on Wed. night. It was really hot and we were facing the sun. I couldn't make it through the entire final game as the stands were very uncomfortable and my tail bone couldn't take it any longer.

Back from wedding in Ottawa

2007-06-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

We got back from Ottawa on time on Tues. night. The wedding for Colin's cousin Kim went really well. It was cooler than usual for the first few days but then got very hot by the end.

My parents hosted a party for all of our friends on Monday night while in Ottawa and it went really well. It was great to see Ottawa friends that I haven't seen for ages. Some met Colin for the first time.

The baby is busy kicking and I can feel it most when I am still like at work or in the evenings. It's growing and I seem to be getting bigger each day.

We had to buy traps for the mouse as the poison didn't work. We trapped it the first night the traps were set up. So far no signs of any others.

No plans for this long weekend. We have lots to do with the new house still and will be busy with those tasks. It's suppose to rain here most of the weekend anyway.

Maternity clothes, house mouse, flying to Ottawa, and the condo

2007-06-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I was thinking but last week I put all my summer clothes in my closet and put all my winter clothes away. Last week I could fit into them but it wasn't summer here at all. Last night I went through my summer clothes and basically nothing fits me this week. Thanks to Amy, Jill, Vira and Stacy for lending me their maternity clothes. I am grateful and as of today I can no longer wear my regular pants! Maternity pants here I go! Not the most flattering but so much more comfortable!

Last night something caught my eye and I blamed it on the TV. Then about 10 minutes later I saw it! A mouse! Couldn't find the mouse but was sure I saw it! Sure enough this morning there was a mouse poop on the stove and the garbage bag under the sink was nibbled at! Colin is going to pick up some dehydration traps tonight.

We are flying to Ottawa tomorrow for Colin's cousin Kim's wedding in Carp. Staying 'til next Tuesday. It will be great to see everyone. My Mum and I are going to the spa on Friday morning for manicures and pedicures and then to lunch. I plan to hang out by my parents pool while the rest of the Jones family is golfing. My Mum is hosting a little get together drop in on Monday night for Colin and I so that we can see all of our Ottawa friends before we leave.

I went to the lawyers today to sign off on the ownership of the condo and we handed over the keys today to the real estate agent. It's sad to see our great condo go but we are very happy in the new house. I went to the paint store yesterday to start looking at baby room paint colours. We plan to go with a soft/light green of some sort.

We've moved and the baby is kicking!

2007-06-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night at about 10 pm we felt the baby kicking for the first time. Even Colin could feel it when he pressed his hand on my tummy!

We moved on Sat. It was wet and tiring but all is good! The only item that wouldn't make it up the first flight of stairs was the queen box spring. The movers and Colin ended up hoisting it up to the 2nd floor balcony with rope. It worked rather well and then it made it's way up the 2nd flight with no problem! We are still surrounded by boxes but are getting to them every night. We are really happy in our new home. Setting up the music studio for Colin is like a child setting up his new hot wheels track at Christmas time and I am starting to imagine what the nursery will look like.

We had our prenatal appointment this morning. I have gained 4.5 pounds since last time. The baby is measuring in the 51th percentile for size at this stage so all is good.

I can feel the baby kicking as I type this! The baby woke me up last night at 3:45 am. I couldn't think why I woke up as I didn't have to pee and all was quiet around me. Then I realized why! It's a great feeling!

Fraser St., pregnancy update and the pregnancy study

2007-06-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

The flooring is down and the carpeting is going in today! We are moving in on Sat. The forecast is rain which isn't good but I don't even know why I look ahead. Predicting weather in Vancouver beyond 24hrs is not possible!

The place is pretty dirty so will be spending my weekend cleaning while Colin moves the heavy stuff around with the help of our friend Jean-Luc who has graciously volunteered to be my substitute and put the baseboards back on. Cleaning is my biggest pet peeve about moving. It's always the same. I clean the place we are leaving extensively so I get back the rental deposit and this time it was be/c we staged our place to sell and then I have to repeat the whole process again with the new place. This is worse be/c it's not even my dirt, it's someone else's! Yuck!

I am feeling great right now. Think that I may have felt the baby in the past couple of days but as they say it's hard to know when it's your first. As the movements become more consistent you realize whether those early movements were legit or not.

They say that sleeping on your left side is the best as this provides the best circulation for the baby. I have been experiencing an ache in my right hip when I am on my left side so I am finding it hard to stay in this position. I think that it's just my hips becoming softer and hopefully the left side will adjust and it will become possible to sleep on this side soon.

We had a team of 2 students come to the house last night to collect data for the pregnancy study I am participating in. They have been interviewing women at my stage in pregnancy and they were pretty amazed at how I did not look pregnant! If you knew me you would be able to tell however. They asked lots of questions about my diet going back to childhood, my exposure to different things, when I have flown in an airplane in the last 3 years, what my jobs have been over my entire life, etc. They collected a hair sample from me, lint from the dryer and took the vacuum bag. Unfortunately, the most hazardous room was dismantled (the music studio) as we had to stage it as a 2nd bedroom to sell so the team is going to come to the new house in July to see all the electronic equipment that was missing in this visit. I expect they will be so excited when they see it all!

I learned from Glenys, the PhD who is conducting the study that recently IKEA made a decision to not add fire retardant chemicals to their furniture. So their more current furniture will not off gas this type of chemical.

19wk ultrasound and our condo

2007-05-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy 24 hrs for us. Last night we accepted an offer on the condo. We are very happy with the offer. It was for more than our listed price, it had no subjects and the closing date is June 21st!

As well yesterday it was our friend Laurel Atwood's birthday. She is fighting cancer and our thoughts are with her.

At 8 am this morning we had our 19 wk ultrasound. They spent a lot of time measuring the baby. We saw it's spine and all 4 ventricles of the heart and lots more. When the ultrasonographer started measuring the legs she told us to turn away as we don't want to know the sex. It will be a surprise for us all! I have attached a picture.

Later on today we take possession of the new house! Colin and I have to go over there and remove the baseboards in the living room, dining room and hallway so that it's ready for the flooring guys on Friday. We are planning to move in on the weekend of the 9th of June.

Photos of condo are up!

2007-05-24T16:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.realtylink.org/listings/view.cfm?list_num=648231&AgentID=022778

Wow, they look great!

Condo is for sale

2007-05-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

The condo is listed and ready. See listing at: http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?PropertyID=5772995. Pictures of the interior and our hard work to 'stage' it will be up soon as the real estate photographer came through yesterday. We brought 4 full Ford Explorer loads to the storage over the past 2 weekends. We have a lot of stuff. Our agent had 25+ agents some with clients view it yesterday between 10 am and 1 pm. Then she had more showings at 5 pm. And more today at 5 pm. Very promising. While we are away celebrating our 1st anniversary this weekend on the Sunshine Coast the agent will host 2 open houses and hopefully when we return we will have an offer to accept.

I am going for the 18 wk blood work tomorrow for the UBC study I am participating in. Then they come to interview me and take dust samples from our home in the next couple of weeks.

I caught a cold on Sunday. Sore throat and now I am all stuffed up. I can't sleep well when I can't breath through my nose. Think it's getting better though. Better this year than last year at this time. Wedding planning a week before would not have gone very well if I had been sick then.

I have my fist prenatal yoga class tonight a the Britannia Community Centre.

I have been experiencing muscle aches and pains around my tummy and am assuming it's my tummy stretching as the baby grows. I am not convinced that I 'love' being pregnant as some people have told me they felt. I will give it some more time I think.

Colin's 4th album is now available on iTunes! Check it out at: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=255317418. If you would like a copy let me know and I think I can get a discount!

My bump

2007-05-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today we had a prenatal appointment and the doctor actually pulled out the tape measure to measure the 'bump'! I didn't really think I had one! The measurement is right on track with the stats and me being about 17 weeks. She then pulled out the Doppler reader and the heartbeat was found immediately (not like last time when it seemed to take forever to find it). It was beating at about 150 beats/minute. Last time it was around 160 beats/minute.

I gained 2.5 pounds since last time (4 weeks ago). I am still wearing my own jeans comfortably.

I have a set of 'accessory' nipples! 3% of babies are born with some kind of defect. This was my defect! They are these tiny circular looking scars in line with my actual nipples that I noticed years ago but since I got pregnant they have swelled! The doctor confirmed my suspicions today. Cool!

The 19 week ultrasound has been scheduled for May 29, the same day we take possession of the new house!

We have been so busy trying to get the condo in order. It's way more work than I thought it would be. We are meeting with the real estate agent tonight in order to go over details of listing the property.

Colin's car had issues last night and had to be dropped off at a garage. Hopefully it's nothing big.

Last night the Ottawa Senators won again to make it 3-0 in the series. Go Sens Go!

New house!

2007-05-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday we are now officially moving to 2-2770 Fraser Street! We take possession May 29th.

We have been busy getting our condo ready to list. Hopefully we will put it up for sale on May 18th if we can get all of our staging jobs finished. The biggest job is changing the 'music studio' into a 2nd bedroom. Paint has been bought and the shelving is coming down. We have had to rent a storage locker to put all of our personal items and music equipment into.

It's the first night for summer ultimate. It's a dry and sunny day which is nice to start off the season.

16wks

2007-05-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

I am 16 wks today. I went to BC Children's Hospital today to have my bloodwork done for the maternal serum screen and to give blood for the UBC study I am participating in.

According to the weekly email from babycenter.ca, the baby is about the size of an avocado. They mention that the ligaments around your belly will start to stretch and might cause some pain. I have noticed that when I sneeze it feels like a pulled something around my stomach. This must be what is going on.

Still not showing as far as I can tell. Colin took pictures of my belly at 8 wks and we will take some this weekend at 16 wks and compare them. I will post them here.

Thinking about moving to a bigger space

2007-05-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am feeling great. I am 15wk5d today. My friend, Kriszta, who lives in Australia emailed me and told me that this trimester is considered the 'honeymoon' trimester. I can believe it!

At this moment moving is on our minds. We have learned a lot about mortgages in the last couple of days. We have to sort out what we want in a bigger space and to start getting our existing place ready for market. Lots going on and I think the timing is good.

I have to go do my 15wk maternal serum screen this week. It involves giving blood.

Ultimate starts up next week. We were out this past weekend playing a warm up game called 'goaltimate'. Colin got a sunburn on his forehead! Time for this future Dad to start using sunscreen! The plan is to play for as long as I feel comfortable playing.

Went out last night to watch the Canucks play with Colin's cousin Tom and his girlfriend Tess. Happy Belated birthday to Tom on the 28th of April!

So much for the 'pregnancy glow'

2007-04-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't got the 'glow' yet. Instead I am breaking out like I was in high school again! Clothes still fitting so far.

We are thinking about looking to buy a bigger place. Interviewed a realestate agent last night. Once this happens everything usually goes quickly! Eek!

It's my sister birthday today! Happy Birthday Vari!

Participating in a pregnancy study

2007-04-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's called "Chemicals, Health and Pregnancy Study (CHirP)" and is being supported by UBC. Here is the link: http://web.cher.ubc.ca/chirp/

It's right up my alley as far as environmental studies goes and we have lots of electronics in our house!

Feeling like myself again

2007-04-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

I am now 14+ weeks and I am feeling like myself again. Now it's just a matter of waiting the baby to start showing.

The 1st Trimester

2007-04-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

The 1st trimester went well. It started around January 26, 2007.

3 weeks later I had an utlrasound b/c of some tenderness around where I feel ovulation. A corpus luteum cyst that was about 5 cm was causing the tenderness. This is a common cyst to have after conception and there was no need for alarm. It should disappear by the 2nd trimester. The utlrasound at that point showed this white line that was the 'baby'. The sonographer detected a slight heart beat.

I think at about 7 weeks I started to feel the symptoms of being pregnant. My first sympton was when I came home from work one day starving. I am usually not hungry until later in the evening. We had to start eating earlier! I didn't really notice that I was exceptionally tired. Maybe just a bit as I found it hard to get motivated to do anything after work. My hair started to get thicker and my chest started to become tender and expand.

At 8 weeks I had another ultrasound to determine the age. We got to see the heart beating away! It was estimated to be 7w 6d.

I started to become picky about what I was going to eat. Cooked broccoli was definitely out!

At 13 weeks we chose to have a private 1st trimester screen test performed. The following tests were performed:
1. Bloodwork for HCG and some PAPP
2. Nucal Translucency
3. Nasal Bone Determination

The results were all good and it was time to start looking forward to the future. Attached is a 3D image from this test.

We're having a baby!

2007-04-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, after months of keeping a secret we were able to tell our family and friends that we are going to have a baby! This baby will be the first for both families.

The due date is around October 19th, 2007.