Daddy Doesn't Have Bad Ju-Ju

Well, Dexter's freaky nights are over. Seems it was a growth spurt approaching and is now over. Three nights of taking a 7 oz dreamfeed (10:00pm) and then done! He did have a cold though too, and is teething, and tomorrow I'm going to see if he has an ear infection. So, it could be a combo of all of that.














Fairies and Pirates!
AJ had a great time at our friend Emily's 5th birtthday. It was a fairies and pirates themed party. There were games, swords, bubbles, a pinata, cake, treats, burgers, hot dogs, lights, and lots of fun things to do.
AJ really enjoyed the building thingies that are like straws combined with tinkertoys, the truck and horse trailer, and the Polly Pockets car. Dexter was wonderful despite not fitting in his longer nap. AJ behaved very well, as usual, and didn't put up a fuss when it was time to go.

Playing Pirates
Now I'm being asked if I can play pirates. We dress up in fireman hats and use pool noodles as swords. We're quite a pair sailing the open seas in the laundry basket.

Our New Neighborhood
It is so great to have Sharon's family move so close to us. We've gone for a walk in the late afternoon almost every day to go play, ride bikes, or today, ride a scooter. Emily and Claire have a scooter that's AJ's size, and he rides like a pro even though he had never ridden one before. They have a trampoline too, and AJ loves that.

Park Pride
It is amazing how much AJ has changed since the beginning of the summer at the park. At one of our local parks, there is a giant rock that the 'big kids' climb. It looks really hard to do, and it must be at least 9 or 10 feet up. AJ can scale it no problem. At another park, there's a rope to hold while you use your feet to climb up the shapes. AJ used to need me there for support, but not anymore. Today, after Dexter's shots, we headed there again, and AJ's doing all these things he couldn't do before or never tried before. I should've taken pics for examples. It's too hard to explain. He does this spiral thingy, and this big yellow half tube type climbing thing. Yah, this doesn't make any sense. It probably doesn't even make sense to people who know these playgrounds! I'll stop attempting to explain and just say that AJ's really growing up!!! He loves to climb.
A recent 'wear em out' night trip to the park.


Dexter's Shots
I'm running behind on vaccinations, and today, at 8 months old, was Dexter's 6 month appointment. As I mentioned, he had lost some weight. According to their scales, he's just about 29 inches, and he's 21 lbs, 11 oz. He's in the 75th percentile. They actually told us! They've never done that for AJ. Dexter was a trooper. He didn't cry very much. But, following the shots, he didn't have a very happy day.

Stroller #7? #8? I've Lost Count

Do I actually have 7 or 8 strollers? No, but have I owned this many strollers? Yes. But that counts umbrella strollers, which don't really count, right?
We've decided to sell our two main strollers (all terrain single and regular double) and we've purchased the stroller we should've bought to begin with... the Phil and Ted's with the toddler seat attachment. Does AJ 'need' a seat. No, he can walk. But I need him to have a seat for when I need to get somewhere fast, or when he's acting like a buttmunch. It's already a dream. It's everything I need in a stroller. AJ loves his 'special spot', it's easy to handle, and it's just, just, just great!

Preschool Push
Preschool, after all the debate about which day to do and not being able to get the Wednesday I wanted, has been moved to Wednesday because Dexter's music class got moved to Wednesday, and I didn't want to drive that far twice a week. So, she let AJ do Wednesdays now. YAY!












And I keep forgetting to post these pics of the boys at around 7.5 months. The silly thing is that Dex always poses smiling and AJ hardly ever does, but they're the opposite here.

Bad Karma - Richard

So, Richard got back from his business trip last night. I kept AJ up late to see Daddy come home. Daddy came home with BIG treats!
1.) A cap bomb. Thanks Daddy. Helping to raise our EMO into a great civilian. What I can't believe is the stuff Richard saw at the dollar store in Alberta. There were fake guns with bullets...lol. All the cap guns and bombs. I'm actually the one who picked AJ up some caps a while back from the dollar store. I remember how much fun it was to smash them with rocks as a kid. I couldn't see any cap guns there, nor would I have bought one if I had.
2.) Extra straight Hot Wheels Track. We've been looking everywhere for this! He found it at a Walmart in Alberta which leads me to believe we may have them here now that they're putting out all the new stuff for Christmas. We just need to find some curved track now.

But onto the bad Karma.
Dexter has slept beautifully since Richard left. Better and better until the last 4 nights where he slept without a peep from 7:00-6:30. Can't ask for a better night than that. On top of this, AJ hasn't woken with any nightmares while Richard's been gone. I've had uninterrupted sleep for 6 or 7 nights.
Richard came home last night and so it began. Dexter started waking screaming. I think it was a total of about 10-12 times all through the night and early morning. AJ woke about 5 or 6 times claiming there was a bumblebee on his pillow.
What the heck?
I think AJ was waking from hearing Dexter cry.
Dexter was extra stuffed up last night. The boys are ending their cold and are at the coughing stage. Last night, he was really congested and I think having trouble breathing with the paci in.
But now, I'm thinking back to the day and wondering if it had something to do with the food. Dexter tried raspberries yesterday AND beans (gassy), AND there was a little cream in his jarred veggie stew last night.
I think maybe the cream sent his tummy into a bad place (he's allergic to milk).
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Or, Richard just had bad ju-ju.

(There's nothing wrong with that term, is there?)

A Nice Day

Today we went to Captain Kids with Auntie Erica (and Jack and Rya), Dione (and Owen and Adam), and Karen (and Trevor and Matthew).



It was such a big day of fun. AJ FINALLY realized that tubes and climbing structures are fun, not scary. After watching everyone play (classic AJ) for about 20 minutes, he was watching Auntie Erica and Jack go down the slide and he decided he wanted to go too, so he climbed. This is big, like the old PNE slide. Way to go, AJ! He played and played. We arrived around 10:30, and left around 2:00pm. It was sweaty, hard playtime for AJ. So great. Thanks for the invite Auntie Erica.

We visited my friend Sharon today who moved up the street from me and I realised what a great path and park we have behind us. Met neighbor kids and everything. What fun!

Weight update.
Hmmm, maybe all this crawling around and shuffling and standing is burning calories. Weighed Dexy today... only 20 lbs. AJ, 24.




I forgot to mention the ...

Starbucks Suicide Mission

All I have to say is, "Why?"
Why do we continue to try to go to Starbucks with 2 or 3 toddlers and 3 or 4 babies? Is it fun? No.
Do we get to actually talk? No.

And then, what did we (Jen and I) decide would be an even better idea? Heck, let's walk over to Homesense too! Yah, that will be fun.

No.

No more Starbucks with toddlers and babies. Drive thru and head to a park. That's the way to go.

Sonja C

It's Been Another Week!

Well, it's only been a week, but I feel so behind on the blog. I wanted to write about so many things, but I've forgotten so much.

Last time I wrote, it was the day after AJ's meet and greet at Preschool.

AJ's First Day of Preschool
On Monday, AJ had his first day of preschool. It was only for an hour, but he had big fun. Surprisingly, my shy little boy had no problem being 'dropped off' at preschool. He headed right in, past me, and over to the wooden driver's seat complete with gas pedal and everything. He was too cute in his 'indoor shoes' and his back pack. Starting next week, I'm even supposed to pack him a lunch! How super adorable is that?


Anyhow, when I came to pick him up, he was sitting on one of the teacher's laps with 'cry face'. I thought maybe he was missing me, but no; He didn't want to stop playing for storytime. Interesting. I hope he doesn't make a habit of that!
He's really excited for school. He's been asking to go to 'big kid school' when he sees the kids at the playground. Awwwww.



Brother Picture Session
So, I thought that every summer, I would make it a tradition to photograph the boys together in a 'brother picture'. They're both a half year older come the summer, so it seemed a good opportunity, since I otherwise will only take their pictures once a year after 'infanthood'.
I was in a pretty bad mood that day and nothing could make me happy. So, it was inevitable that the boys would both have snotty noses, Dexter was drooling, and they just weren't doing what I wanted them to do.
Luckily Richard (yes, he really is ALWAYS amazing) was snapping pictures at lightning speed. When we came home and looked at all the pics, I realized it was a wonderful picture session. The pictures turned out great. We've printed off our three faves for the grandparents and great grandparents to hopefully get around to mailing off, and will print off about 10 of my favourites for framing at home. Look for them soon on our picture site!


Dexy Cries
For about 4 nights or so, Dexter was doing this horrible blood curdling scream off and on between 7pm and 11pm in his crib. He was literally inconsolable. Teeth? Separation Anxiety? Learning to crawl? Learning to pull himself to standing? Who knows. I give up trying to figure it out. More importantly, he's stopped doing it, and not only that, but he's also sleeping right clean until 6:30am without the usual paci-plug at 5:00am. AND, he just starts playing when he wakes up, instead of me coming in at 6:30am or 7:00am, plugging him, and turning on his kick and play piano while I rest for a few more minutes. That's been really nice. Except for last night, when Auntie Kim and I didn't go to sleep until around 1:00am because we were pricing things for my very first Kid Swap Meet next weekend. I've got stuff to sell, and we're all done having kids (cross fingers), so it's time to clear things out!!
Update since I started writing this entry. Dexter's stopped doing the screaming entirely and I'm not hearing a peep out of him from 7-7. Nice.

Guitars and Drums
AJ really is into guitars and drums even more than before. He wants to play them, buy them, take them! He's very 'fine arts' right now. I wonder if he always will be or if this is just who he is for the time being? Anyone thinking about Christmas... I don't know whether to recommend drum set or not. Hmmmm, nurture his mind or keep mine? Tough call. Speaking of Christmas; With AJ's new found 'we need to buy this tomorrow' mentality, I've found myself saying to him, "Well, maybe you should ask for that for Christmas." Does he even remember what Christmas is?

Scooters and Bikes
Clearly a tricycle is not good enough for this kid. While he does love his tricycle, I have to do everything in my power to stop him from stealing other kids' bikes and scooters. He's seen a lot of 3 year olds riding 2 and 3 wheeled scooters and one kid let him use his the other day at the park. Whoa! He was in seventh heaven. My goodness. And bikes!? Can't get through Walmart without AJ begging to ride the bikes with the training wheels and taking off down the aisle.

Really Coming Out of His Shell
Whether he's rolling down his power window to yell, "Can I please have a sticker" to the Starbucks Barista, or he's asking a kid if he can borrow his bike "Just for a little bit", AJ's really coming out of his shell. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be excited that my son is talking to strangers.
Also, the climbing and jumping. My goodness, the climbing and jumping. He's all about the climbing and jumping now. He's mastered the swirly climbing thing at the park that he never quite understood before, AND he can climb the big, like 8 or 9 ft high rock at the local park!!! When did this happen? I actually had to ask him to come down because there was no way I'd be able to get him! YIKES!

AJ's First Day of 3 Hour Preschoo
AJ had his first day of real preschool on Monday. AJ's the youngest one, and shy, as you all know. Also, the other kids all go 2 or 3 times a week (and some 5) and AJ only goes once a week. So, on top of his shyness, he's only his second day when the rest of the kids have gone 3,4,5,and 6 times.
How did it go?
Well, good, but he's "that kid" so far. You know, the one who cries every time there's a transition...
Okay, time to clean up - wahhhhhhh
Okay, time to eat - wahhhhhhh
Okay, time to play - wahhhhh
Super. Hopefully this passes as he gets more comfortable with everyone, and/or hopefully we can afford to bump him up to twice a week in a little while. We'll see.
Otherwise, he loved preschool. He had lots of fun playing. He thinks the teachers are nice. And he was happy on the ride home talking all about his day. I packed him a little lunch, but of course, as usual, he didn't eat it.
I'm waiting for his first 'scholastic order' to arrive. How cute is that?

What Does Dexter Do While AJ's in School?
Normally Dexter will have a music class at 9:00am down the hall from AJ's preschool class, then Dexy and I will head for some non-perishable grocery shopping to ease the burden off of Richard's shopping trip on the weekend. Maybe I'll take Dexter for a walk too. Not sure.
This week, since Dexter's music classes hadn't started yet, we headed to the grocery store, bought groceries and more, of course, then headed to Starbucks for Dexter's morning snack and early lunch (he was hungry that day!) and my coffee. We sat and talked about the crazy couple next to us who were obviously on the blind date and girl was nutso. Dexter laughed, I laughed; it was big fun. Then we went to Canadian Tire and looked for cuttable freezer packs and gosh darned.... we found them!!! Afterward, we drove to pick up AJ and Dexter took his nap in the carrier again.

Some Cute Phrases
AJ hates the sunshine (EMO, dark worshipping, artsy mod in training). He likes to wear his sunglasses in the car, and he likes to roll up his window when the sun in glaring in his eyes.
The sun was flashing through the trees and instead of saying his usual, "Hey Mommy, the sun is blinking at me!", he said, "Hey Mommy! The sun is playing with me!" Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.
The next one needs some pre-story:
When I flick a bug away or shoo a bug or let a bug free, he used to ask, "Where is the bug going?" I would say, "He's going to go find his family." Now he always says, "Is he going to find his family now?"
We were at Starbucks with Jen, Makenna, Emerson, and Jaxon (more on this suicide mission later), and he accidentally knocked down his hot cocoa with his elbow. As the hot cocoa puddle started to form a river and dribble away down the sidewalk (we were outside on the patio), he said, "Is the hot cocoa going to go find his family?"

Dexter Milestones and Boy Are There Lots
Rocking on all fours, oh yeah. But still wasn't crawling earlier this week. He makes his way all over the place, but it's usually back wards or just kind of moving. Then a few days ago, he was going from sitting position to crawling position (still not crawling) and the next day, was going from laying to sitting. Today, he crawled. It's kind of a lame-puppy style. One leg is folded and the other is a propped up peg leg pirate kind of deal, but he's using it to move forward, so I'm counting it as crawling.
He's really getting efficient with his pincer grip. My favourite is when he picks up something with his left hand, and then uses his right pincer grip (thumb and forefinger) to take it out of the left hand. It's super cute.

We Went to the Zoo Again
Oh my goodness! Has it been that long since I posted?
Had fun. As usual. I'm not going to get into details. We've been so many times. What was cute though was that it was time to head home and AJ specifically requested to see the "Radical Raptors Show" (the bird show). He really loves that. No train ride that day, as per his request.



Shots Have Been Postponed
Dexter had a cold, so I postponed the shots.

Food Intros
No, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep writing every food he tried and when. Why did I do this with AJ. There's so many things I wrote and kept for AJ and I'm looking back thinking, "That was silly." I'm sure Dexter's not going to look back and say, "Oh wow, will you look at that! I tried corn on September 16th."

Happy 8 Months, Dexter!!!
This is self explanatory.

Auntie Kimmy Stayed Over
Auntie Kimmy stayed over and helped me price things for my very first kidswapmeet this coming weekend. As usual, the boys were excited to see her, and she didn't leave empty handed. She went home with their cold.

Cousin Shauna, Auntie Brenda, and Uncle Al
They came for a visit. Cousin Shauna's having a baby soon, and she needed to stock up on the good stuff before I got rid of it all at the swap meet. I took a brave step forward and sold her my swing and bouncy seat. My heart is racing just thinking about it! We're excited that Dexter will have a relative so close to his age!!!

Bento Lunch
So, as usual, to entice AJ to eat his lunch, I pack it 'bento style' nice and pretty. I have this strip of paper grass that acts as a divider between let's say the grapes and the cheese. When we got home and it was time for him to eat, he picks up the grass and says, "This is for edordation, right?"
Decoration. Cute.

Well, I think I'm missing some stuff, but let's post this. Wanted to post pics, but I just can't figure it out. I may try again tomorrow.

It's Time to Catch Up Again

Well, you know what I always forget to say in these blogs?
Man, I love these boys of mine. All three of them! (6 if you count those darned cats).

First Let's Talk About AJ
CDs
So a little while ago, when I ordered some "Cars" listen and read books from Avon (curse you, Auntie Erica), I put the CD player from AJ's room down where he can access it and showed him how to play it. He loves listening to these. I love to walk in and see him in his little rocking arm chair reading along to his little books. Awwwwww.
About a week ago, I gave him all the dollar store Nursery Rhyme CDs from my CD case, and put them into his own CD case that he can use. He loves that too. I come down to his room and there he is rockin' out to "Old MacDonald" or "Jack and Jill". Why didn't I think of this sooner?
I Need to Buy These
So, I can't imagine where he's learned this from ('dum dee dum dum' she says, avoiding eye contact, twiddling her thumbs, and whistling). AJ will now come to me with a book or flyer and point out some things he'd like such as Lightning McQueen, Thomas trains, Spiderman, etc., and say, "Mommy we are going to need to go buy these tomorrow. And this one, and this one, and this one." Oops. What have I created?
Chicken Strips and Starbucks Please
Okay, okay, so it's nothing new that my son can spot a Starbucks from 600metres away from a highway exit, but....
We (AJ, Dexter, and I) went to the McDonalds Playplace on a suicide mission with Auntie Erica (and Jack and baby-Rya), Auntie Jen (and Makenna and baby-Jaxon and baby-Emerson) at lunch time. Let's not forget this was AFTER some fun at the park. I bought AJ a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal and it came with a Star Wars Clone Wars toy. It was some bobble head guy flying some space craft of some sort. Anyhow, back to my story. He must be starting to confuse Starbucks and McDonalds.
Uncle Tarrie came by with his two sons Adam and Matt, to return a tool, and when AJ came downstairs to see them and saw that Matt had a 'toy' in his hand, he said, "Oh wow! Did you get that from Starbucks?" Or rather, 'thtarbucks'. I was cracking up. I said, "Starbucks only gives stickers, not toys. You're thinking of McDonalds." (and no, McDonalds doesn't give away Nintendo DSs). Long story, not so short. As they're leaving he yells, "Are you going to go have dinner at Starbucks now?"
Two other items in this category.
1.) AJ finally went through the tubes at the playplace. Way to be brave, AJ! It's about freakin' time!!!
2.) At the park with Daddy today, AJ said, on our way back to the car, "Mommy we need to go buy chicken strips and Starbucks." That's my boy! Daddy just shook his head.
Dry Nights and Dry Naps
We're still having lots, but it's not every time. I praise it when it happens, but haven't really been pushing it.
Now, I've stepped it up. I bought another one of his favourite Melissa & Doug puzzle sets (the construction truck set). I've shown it to him. I hung it up in our 'prize' section. I've told him it's for when he's had a hole bunch of dry naps and nights. I'm thinking 5 in a row of something. Anything.
Mumby and Dandy
Not sure where this came from, but these are out new names. I don't think Daddy cares for his very much, as he has a pretty sassy reply back.
Hot Wheels Track Triumph
A week or so ago, AJ starting assembling his hot wheels track and loop the loop on his own. Ahhhhhh, freedom I declare!
YAY AJ!
Slurpee Poop
I've probably avoided posting about AJ telling me what his poops look like. "Look Mommy. A dinosaur poop." "Oooooh, a car poop!" "Wow, Mommy, it's a giraffe!"
Well, Daddy bought AJ a slurpee last weekend, and the next day he had some righteous turquoise poop. I'm talking, bright turquoise. He said, "Whoa! Slurpee poop, Mommy! Wow, that's turquoise poop!"
Cold
AJ has a cold. Hope he doesn't give it to me and Dex. Or Daddy for that matter.
Preschool
We went for his preschool meet and greet with the teacher. I received a Scholastic book order for him. Awwwww! That made me misty-eyed. He's been talking about wanting to go to 'big kid school'. It's very cute. He goes for 1 hour on Monday, and then he'll start the regular 3 hours on the following weeks. I really hope to be able to bump him up to twice a week later on. I think he's really going to enjoy this. We'll see.

Let's Talk About Dexter
Weight
22 lbs now. Whoa. My right arm is getting really buff.
Foods
He's tried some potatoes, bananas, cauliflower, chickpeas (which he didn't like), some beef (just a little, and he didn't like it), and broccoli since my last post, if I hadn't already mentioned these. Lentils too, if I hadn't said that already. I'm about to do some asparagus, spinach, honeydew, and cantaloupe purees. AJ never liked the melons. I hope Dexy does.
He's Still a Rockin'
He's up on all fours. He's rockin. But he's only sliding backwards. I really think he would've been crawling quite some time ago if we spent more time at home. I feel a bit badly, but at the same time, Dexter really does love getting dragged around with AJ and I.
Jolly Jumper Underducks
Dexter loves it when AJ tried to give him underducks in the jolly jumper. Don't worry, it's not on the doorframe attachment. It's on a permanent doorway loop thingy that's screwed in. Also, it's supervised. Dangerous, but supervised. You should hear the screams of laughter. Do realise, the underducks are about 9 inches off the ground. That's as high as AJ can push Dex as he literally crawls under him.
Waving at Daddy
Have I mentioned this? I swear Dexter waves at Richard. When Richard says 'hi' to Dex, Dex almost always lifts one hand up in the air and fans his fingers. Crazy.
Have I ever mentioned 'baby high five'. For as long as I can remember, probably like 3 or more months, I swear, if I say 'baby high five', Dexter reaches up for my hand and I cheer when our hands touch. He loves this. He's so cheerful.
Still Very Vocal
Since the beginning, Dexter's been very vocal. Way more than AJ was at this age. We'll see what this means for me later.
He just babbles and babbles and talks to himself non-stop. Lots of raspberries and mum-mum-mum, ga-ba-da, and stuff like that. He's VERY loud.
He's started a new ear piercing, blood curdling scream occassionally. I think it's the top teeth, but I can't see any coming through.
He's been sleeping really great at night still and much more consistently, but he really seems to want to start his day at 6:30am instead of 7:00am. Whatever. I like the way his naps work out better that way anyhow.

Went to a New Park
We wanted to go to a park we hadn't been to yet, and Auntie Erica likes to go to parks that have 'Geocaches', so we tried out a park up the road from me. The boys had lots of fun climbing and throwing rocks around (not at each other) but at a metal grate thing. This Geocach thing's been on my mind. I think we need to start up this family fun activity. Richard says that if we want to start, we'd better start now because the 'idiot threshold' will be reached soon as GPS is available on more and more people's phones. This, in turn, increases the amount of idiots participating in your sport and therefore, wrecks the fun, as more people don't follow the rules and instead, just 'steal' the Geocache. Hmmmm. This is classic Richard, pessimistic thinking at it's best. To really get the true feeling evoked from this, you must hear it explained by Richard.
Don't know what Geocaching is? Look it up! But don't be the idiot that ruins it for everybody else!


The Zoo, Again? Again!
I've really got to learn how to load pictures from our camera onto the blog, so I can have the pictures up that correspond to our activities I've described.
We went to the zoo. We haven't been a quite a few weeks. It was fun, as always. AJ did some great 'rock climbing' up the elephant slide. We did an afternoon trip this time instead of the morning. It worked out great. AJ wanted to stay for the afternoon 4:00pm Radical Raptors show. He really loves the owls and the falcons swooping down over us. Unfortunately, Dexter stole the show. He was shouting out to everyone, dancing, clapping my hands, smiling and laughing. People were just ooohing and ahhhing about my darling little boy. He's such a cheerful guy! I already said this, but it's so true! YAY little Dexy!





***don't forget! If you like to see updated pics of the boys, go to richard and sonja dot com (with no spaces)

The Cat Came Back and other Dr. Suess Tales

The Cat Came Back
Last time I wrote in the blog, a nice family had just picked up Sassy. We said our good-byes and I was so relieved.
Well, the lady emailed me to say that Sassy hadn't eaten, hadn't drunk any water, nor had he come out from under the couch unless their teenage daughter was there or to hide under a blanket. The lady said she wasn't too worried though. She knew that a cat can take a while to adjust to new surroundings and she "wasn't a quitter".
On one of the days, they put Sassy into the kitchen where there wasn't anywhere to hide and he started going nutso. This freaked out the husband. I had told the lady previously that if she was worried about Sassy, she could bring him back to me, but to do it by Friday morning because we were going camping.
Guess who came knocking on my door Thursday night?
The husband was really worried about Sassy, and wanted to bring him back. Darn!
Poor Sassy has spent the last 6 days trying to get his best buddy Toboo to stop hissing at him.
Now there's a new family that wants Sassy and I don't know if I can put him through this again.

C is for Camping
We arrived at Chehalis River campground for lunchtime on Friday. It was beautiful. Flowing river, sand for the kids to play in with buckets and shovels, our comfy trailer, a fire pit in the campsite and one on 'our beach'. There is a boulder fence which provides a nice visual barrier for the little kids to make them stop and think before heading down to the river. We went with Tarrie and Christine, and their kids Adam (gr 6), Matt (gr 5), Jenny (gr 3), Erin (gr 1), and Lauren (kindergarten) and Eric and Kelly and their kids Natasha (gr 8), Ashley (gr 6), Aidan (kindergarten), Zachary (3.5 yrs), and Christopher (1.5 years). AJ was delighted to get to hang out with 'big kids' all weekend.
One Rock Two Rock Small Rock Big Rock
After a brief explanation of how dangerous the river is and how he is to only be at the river's edge with Daddy, me, or one of the big kids, AJ, no lie, threw rocks into the river with Adam for 45 minutes straight shortly after arriving. I think he maybe could've done that and that alone for the entire camping trip.
It wasn't until day 2 that Adam realised that 2.5 year olds don't necessarily have great aim when they wind up to throw far and he got a rock thrown at his mouth by our darling son. Either that, or AJ has perfect aim!
Dex in Box
I like to come prepared when I go camping. We had a tent for storing stuff at night in case it rained and that the kids could play in (shaded) during the day (a great way to contain colouring stuff and books), a playpen for Dexter for some tummy time and crawling practice, and my little beach tent (like half a tent) for Dexter to sit and play with his little travel arc.
The kids had a great time entertaining Dexter whether he was sitting playing or stuck in his box of a playpen. Ashley the oldest of Eric and Kelly's was really great with Dexter. She could carry him around, liked taking him for walks in the stroller, and bouncing him for rides on her lap. All the kids took turns holding Dexter in a chair and/or entertaining him on his mat. I actually had time to read!!!! AJ pretty much roamed freely between our two sites with one of the kids, usually Adam or Matt offering to 'keep an eye on him'. He's not really a wanderer, so I wasn't too worried. AJ became really good buddies with Eric and Kelly's son, Aidan. They ran around, climbed rocks, and pretended to be super heroes. That was great fun for him too. All the kids were so wonderful. The 11 kids were either over playing with buckets and shovels in the sand at the next site, or were playing in our 'play tent' with puzzles and colours and books, or were throwing rocks down at the river. It was just so great. It was such a relaxing trip. Until....
Dr.Heckle's Sleep Book
I had fashioned a sort of crib out of AJ and Dexter's bed using a plank of wood for a wall. It had all of Dexter's comforts of home reminiscent of his nap times and bedtimes including 'tag blanket', 'star', 'Chunky Dino', 'Blankie', and a couple 'soo soos'. But he didn't want to nap there. And when it came to bedtime, he DEFINITELY DID NOT want to sleep. It was about 11:00 when we transferred him and he just started screaming. And Dexter is not a screamer. He wouldn't let us put him down!!! It was like nothing I've ever seen before. We ended up deciding that Richard would drive Dexter home and let him sleep in his crib, and then drive him back in the morning. Dexter of course, slept soundly until 8:00am. Thank you Daddy! And I got to sleep in until 8:00am with AJ!
I Can Sleep With My Eyes Shut!
The second night, Richard working some crazy voodoo magic and did some mysterious bum patting that kept Dexter calm through his little wake and freak outs the next night, allowing us to have a great sleep in the trailer (expecially me since Richard wanted the 'outside' spot in the bed). Thanks again, Super Daddy.
Go AJ Go
AJ was very excited to get his swimming trunks on and brave the raging rapids. Okay, no. We let him walk in the calm pooled area, sit on a rock, and throw rocks into the water with his water shoes on. He thought this was pretty special. I wanted him to have his life jacket on, but Richard wasn't having any of that. He's a firm believer in natural selection, apparantly, even if it involves our son being carried down a river to meet his demise. Okay, okay, I exaggerate only slightly, but nonetheless. Wouldn't you want your son wearing a life jacket in the edge of the river?
Green Eggs and Yams
Meals went quite nicely. I brought Dexter's homemade puree cubes which stayed nice and fresh in the fridge. In fact too fresh. Some were still frozen. AJ had his usual healthy meals, but it was probably on par with his intake of arrowroots, marshmallows, chocolate chips, raisins, granola bars, and even, oh yes, special 'kid pop'. I bought him one organic pop for each day made with cane sugar and real fruit puree. They tasted really good and the root beer one was amazing. He was stoked about the pop, and luckily hasn't asked for any more since coming home. I think he accepted that this was a special treat for camping. Things went pretty much how they would at home routine wise, aside from AJ's naps being a little later to help accommodate the staying up late at the campfire.
There's a Rocket in My Pocket
The weirdos two sites down decided that either gun shots and/or firecrackers are great way to enjoy an evening around the campfire. Let's not forget throwing alcohol and possibly gasoline onto the fire, yelling obscenities, and getting naked to hop in the river. Half the kids were in tears because of all the banging, and despite calls by Tarrie and I to the local police, no one arrived. We really thought the words 'gun shots' and '12 kids' would get the attention we felt it deserved, but alas no, evidently there are more important things to attend to. I was pretty disappointed. A forest fire would not have been a fun thing to wake up to in the middle of the night. We weren't exactly 'hook and go' as Richard would say.
Twelve Glow Sticks Up on Top
Auntie Christine brought out glow sticks for all the kids as a special treat around the campfire. The kids had fun making them into letter shapes, necklaces, and spinning them around. I think this was the first time AJ had seen a glow stick!
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky I Am?
This trailer is the greatest. We knew it was supposed to rain on our last day, so we packed almost everything into the back of the truck with a tarp over it, and made sure we had that which we needed for breakfast and for heading to my mom's house inside the trailer. We cooked up our breakfast the next morning inside the trailer for our first time ever, and ate breakfast at the table in there. How convenient. I don't know if I could ever tent ever again. At least, not with babies. I'm so lucky. I'm so thankful.

Oh the Things You Can King
Tuesday Night I had told AJ we could go to the park after dinner. Well, it started raining, so what's the next best thing? I offered to take him to the Burger King playplace, even though I know full well, that he will not go in the tubes and play. However, he does enjoy meeting and talking to the other kids, steering the steering wheel, rolling the tick tac toe tubes, climbing the poles, and watching all the action whilst sipping apple juice in his socks. It was going to be a late night anyway, as we were awaiting Auntie Kimmy's arrival at our house for a sleepover so she could watch the boys the next day while I went into my school to pack up my stuff.
AJ got to take home a crown and kept saying, "I'm the King! I'm the King!" and then he'd put it on our head and say, "You're the King!" Richard was trying to teach him to say, "I'm the whiz" like the episode of Seinfeld and to swing his arms in the crazy way that the character does. Too funny.
Another funny thing about that night is that the parents next to me asked how old AJ is and when I said, "Just about 2.5", they said, "Wow! He's huge! He's so tall!". That was weeeeeiiiiiird! Almost all AJ's peers have at least 2 inches of height on him, and at least, 6 lbs on him! I always hear the opposite. 'He's slight' or 'he's a little guy'.

Please Try to Remember the First of September
Kim watched the boys while I went to my school to pack my 'crap' out of the way for the teacher who would be in our class until Erica and I return from our maternity leaves. Thanks Kimmy!
Kim had a good day except that AJ woke Dexter early from his first nap by playing his recorder outside of Dexy's room, and AJ was having his second "I don't want to eat anything" day in a row.
AJ continued his word explosion and new found love of the phrase 'How about....'. How about you play cars with me? How about we watch a movie?
AJ has started calling Kim, Kimberley all of a sudden.
Kim also stayed even later to accommodate Richard and I catching a movie for our anniversary tonight. (Thanks to all who sent well wishes!).

Mrs. Mom's ABCs
I brought home the Alphabet Jive from school today. I thought it would be a fun chant to do with AJ. (A says a, A says a, Alligator, Alligator, a a a). I discovered while reading it with him that he knows even more sounds than I thought. He knows a,b,c,d,e,f,i,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,x,and z which is around 7 more than I thought he knew.
If you haven't bought your child a Leap Frog Fridge Phonics, I HIGHLY recommend it.

In a School House
We finally got our butts to preschool to sign AJ up for his once a week (no mommy), 3 hour class, and Dexter's music class. I think he charmed a few of the ladies there with his brown eyes and adorable, stare, or, eh, I mean, glare. He's really excited to start. Next Friday is a meet and greet with the teacher, and then he starts on Monday! Dexter's music class starts a little later in the month.

Too tired to edit. Sorry.

Catching Up Again

I'm getting a little bit bad here.

So, originally, when I started this blog, I started because it was a substitute for a baby book. I found I was really bad about writing in a baby book, but I didn't mind keeping track on a calendar and then writing it in here. Hence, all the milestone stuff.

Lately, I've been telling stories of our day, but I should be keeping track of how Dexter's 'coming along' shall we say. The regular daily doings of our family follow this checklist which you can feel free to skip.

So here's your run of the mill check list for my 7 month old second child, Dexter...

feed himself a cracker - check (but I think only half makes it in his mouth)
blowing raspberries - check (heck ya, for a super long time now)
bear some weight on his legs - check (oh yes, he loves standing and would walk if he could. He's always been a lover of standing)
sit without support - check (youbetcha, for about 2 or 3 weeks now)
object if you try and take a toy away - check! (watch out AJ!)
work to get a toy out of reach - check (I find this kid all over the place!)
pass an object from one hand to another - check (he's done this for a long time now
look for a dropped object - check (I'll talk about this in depth later)
rake a item of food and grab in fist - check (for quite a while now)
turn in the direction of a voice - check (for a long time now)
babble, combining vowels and consonants - check
play peekaboo - hmmmm, he enjoys it, but I don't know that he 'plays' it per se
stand holding onto someone or something - check (oh heck ya, for a while now)
pull up to standing from sitting - if I were to put my hands out in front, he'll hold them and pull up to stand, but he wouldn't grab a table and think to do that on his own, and I don't think he could yet anyhow
reaches with one hand instead of two - check
can hold a spoon - check (but isn't accurate that's for sure. It's just for play/practice and because he really wants it)
pats and strokes people/toys to show affection - check (this is adorable)


Dexter
Looking for Lost Items
Yes, so I couldn't help but notice that for a really long time now, like a REALLY long time, he's looked for things when he's dropped them. It's normal for this age, but I think this is one of those things he was doing way early. I can't remember a time when he'd drop something and act like it disappeared. He always looks over the edge of his high chair.
Running Laps
Too funny. When Dexter's in the Jolly Jumper in the kitchen doorway, he'll start somewhat of a 'running laps' type circle. He also loves to get a good swing going and picks up his feet with his hands.
Food Introduction Continued
Well, I was taking it slow because of the whole milk allergy thing, thinking he might be allergic to other stuff too, but alas no. So, I've stepped it up, but he's not near where AJ was at this point in what he's eating. I think AJ was eating casseroles and such by now. Dexter's working on the finger foods. Sometime since the last time I posted, Dexter's had bananas, potatoes, papaya, parsnips, lentils, and peas if I didn't already mention that.
Eating a Slice of Apple
Dexter was just begging for the apple slices we were having for dessert the other night, and literally, reached over, grabbed the plate, tried to eat the plate, and then grabbed the apple slice and just started going to town! He's really into 'big person food'. He wants it, but he not used to it quite yet.
Close to Clapping
Dexter has discovered hitting items together to make sound. He is in extacy when he does this!
Weighing In and Measuring Up
21.5 lbs, only 2.5 lbs lighter than AJ. Or at least since the last time I weighed AJ. I'll have to reweigh him.
Second Child Enjoys an Arrowroot
Had I read the ingredients? No.
Is there wheat in them? Probably.
Has he been 'introduced' to wheat yet? No.
Is there sugar in them? Heck ya!
Are they a total choking hazard? You bet!
Did I give one to Dexter anyhow? Oh ya.
Did he love it? uh huh. There were no leftovers.

AJ
Memorizing His Lines for the Next Part in Toy Story
AJ really loves to watch the movie "Toy Story". There is a scene at the beginning of the movie where Woody is holding the microphone and is about to speak to all his fellow toys, when he says, "Can everybody hear me up on the shelf?"
AJ was playing with his microphone that plugs into his guitar, and he sits on the floor, and speaks into the microphone, looking up, and says, "Can everybody hear me up on the shelf?" I had a good laugh. It was super cute.
Bee Movie in the Park
Last Thursday, AJ, Auntie Erica, and I took the opportunity to see "Bee Movie" at a temporary outdoor theatre at Rotary Stadium. AJ got to enjoy a special treat of a slurpee, popcorn, AND a late bedtime. He was super wired near the end, literally running in circles in front of Erica and I. He had a really good time, and he's still been talking about the bee movie in the park.
Oh No....... Oh No!........ Oooooooh Nooooooo!
Well, he's definitely picked up some melodrama from 'someone'. I can't imagine who?! He's been sighing and saying this when I've said that he can't do something. Like, he asked for a cookie, but I wanted him to eat his breakfast first and when I said, "First breakfast, then cookie", he said, "oooohhhmmmmpppffff. Ooh noo, oh no, oh no." And he looks so depressed and walks away. It's pretty funny. It's one of those 'you had to be there' kind of funny things.



The Beach
Last week on one of those SUPER hot days, Auntie Kim and Uncle Paul accompanied the boys and I on an impromptu trip to the beach.
Dexter, upon entering the cold water screamed like I've never heard him before, desperately clutching me and burrying his face in my chest as though some evil monster were after him. When I finally calmed him in his floaty boat he just looked at everyone as if to say, "Why are you all laughing, smiling, and enjoying yourselves? You're crazy! This is the scariest thing I've ever experienced." He loves the bath, but the cold water, nope. We'll have to see what happens for swimming lessons in September.
AJ had big fun with his auntie and uncle. And of course, as always, about 20 minutes before it was time to go, AJ found a new friend, and they had a great time together. Why can't he find a friend at the beginning?
Preschool
Have I already mentioned preschool?
AJ starts in September, once a week for 3 hours at the Fine Arts preschool. Dexter and I will get some mommy and me time at a music class at the same facility during that time and probably get some grocery shopping done too. The website said that kids can start at 30 months (2.5 years), but the registration form says 32 months. AJ will be just 30 months at the beginning of September. So I talked to the lady and said, "Well, if it helps, he can write his name (albeit only two letters long...lol, he knows all the letters of the alphabet and most of the lower case ones too, and a little more than half their sounds). Well gosh darned if she wasn't just blown away. All I have to do is fill in some form now to let him start 'early'. YAY.
Anyhow, he'll go once a week. I'd love him to go twice and I think it would be really good for his shyness, but it's just really expensive, and since I'd like to put him in gymnastics too, well, priorities, you know. Not to mention, paying our mortgage is kind of important too, right? Oh ya, and food. Well, Richard thinks those things are more important. I'd put food and mortgage just under preschool, gymnastics, and clothes on the priority list, myself. That's why Richard takes care of the finances. Phew! What a guy!

I think that's just about it!
AJ said "Good bye" to one of our cats Sassy tonight. After Sassy showed his jelous side again (all over my chair in Dexter's room), I decided it was time for Sassy to find a new family.
Sassy's new family came tonight to pick him up. Kind of sad, but a relief too. I'm sad for Sassy. He'll miss Toboo terribly. But I'm happy for me. AJ seemed happy that Sassy was going to stay with 'new friends'. Sassy was never one for being held, so AJ never got close to him.
So now with the passing of Barfin Marvin from Diabetes a few months ago, and Sassy finding 'new friends', the 'crazy cat house' has gone from 4 cats, to a 'normal' and respectable 2. Nice.

Hey That's MIne!

It was a fun afternoon of AJ and Jack playing, then fighting, eating lunch, then playing, then fighting,then whacking each other with pool noodles (sorry Erica), then playing and swinging outside.

When Erica, Jack, and Rya left, I soon settled Dexter down for his last nap and grabbed a snack for AJ and I (chickpea chocolate chip cookie and crackers with cheese).

As AJ nibbled on a cheese and cracker, I went to grab the last piece of cheese, and AJ whipped his head around to meet his eyes with mine and stated, "HEY! That's mine!"




You're Welcome
In the past week, I've been in conversations about our toddlers' manners a few times with other moms. One thing that we had all noticed was that the kids weren't saying, "You're welcome" yet.
Lo and Behold, AJ started saying, "You're Welcome" just today. He must've said it about 6 times after me saying, "Thank you, AJ".
Odd timing.

Sonja c

Some Funny Stuff

Trials and Tribulations of Toilet Paper
This morning, whilst 'using the facilities', I realized that the TP had run out. I yelled to AJ, "Please bring me toilet paper from Mommy and Daddy's bathroom". AJ comes around the corner, not with a square of paper like last time, but rather a ribbon that trailed from his hand back into my ensuite bathroom. I said, "Thanks, but can you just bring me the roll? I need the whole roll. You know, the roll that sits on the cupboard in the bathroom?" (you see we rarely actually have a roll of toilet paper on the dispenser itself. I was shocked that he had found that or even thought to look there). So, in he comes again, this time as if rolling a snowball to make a snowman, rolling the toilet paper that he had ripped from the roll in the ensuite, thusly bringing me 'the roll' of toilet paper. And like music to my ears, the famous saying, "Here you go Mommy. Here you go."
"Thank you AJ. Thank you."

Dex Does Clapping
No, he's not clapping his hands yet, but he HAS discovered clapping my hands. He holds the outside of my hands/arms and pulls them apart and slaps them together hoping they'll meet and make a sound. He chuckles, chortles, and screams with delight when they meet.

Naughty Spot and Potty Time for Beaker.
Gram and Papa brought back 'Beaker' from the Muppet Show from their trip to California.
Today AJ had Beaker on the Naughty Spot for climbing the gate at the top of the stairs. (this is a big no-no at our house).
Following that, Beaker evidently had to go pee pee on the potty.
I'm glad to see him doing some make-believe.

Organic/Shmorganic, Home-Made/Shmo-Made
Dexy had his first taste of KFC tonight.
Richard brought home some wholesome and delicious KFC tonight. Dexter, as always, was watching the food like a hawk, or rather like a hawkling (is that a made up word?) with an open mouth begging for food. He kept looking bewildered when I'd pop his puree into his mouth as opposed to the delicacy he was observing being popped into my own mouth. I figured, he's had potato, so no harm in some french fry, right? He's had chicken, so no harm in some KFC, right? Well gosh by golly if this kid wasn't chewing. Sucks on Cheerios, and Baby Mum Mum crackers, but chews french fries and KFC chicken. That's a boy!

More of the Good Stuff

[img]http://www.richardandsonja.com/gallery/d/18175-2/dscf5128.jpg[/img]

Bye Bye Baby Bootcamp
The end of July marked the end of Baby Bootcamp. Twice a week, I was taking the two boys for a walk/jog around Mill Lake, and then stopped at the park for AJ to play while the bootcamp instructor ran the moms through rigorous exercises. Dexter was good as gold (as were all the babies) and would just sit and watch quite contently. AJ and his buddy Jack would play at the park with their trucks or on the play structures. Sometimes the boys would come over to where we were exercising and would start attempting to replicate the exercises we were doing. They would use the stretchy tubes, try the thigh toner, or roll around on the exercise ball. It was pretty cute.

Sad About You
AJ's been waking grumpy from a few naps, namely because I'm going in to wake him. He was really weepy one of the days and still really doesn't understand the word 'why'. So I can't really ask him 'why' he's sad. I can just offer options.
"Are you sad because I woke you up?"
"Yahhhhh."
"Are you sad because you are still tired."
"Yahhhhhh."
etc.
Well later after 'calming down' in his room, I asked if he was feeling happy now. He said, "No, I still sad about you."
Nice.

A Soapy Lesson Learned
After AJ goes to the bathroom, he hops up on his stool to wash his hands. He squirts the soap and everything.
He knows the routine. He knows that he's not supposed to stay and 'play' with the water.
But.....
I hear him from down the hall starting to cry and he's saying, "Ahhhh, Mommy! Help! Yucky! Blehhhhh!"
I get there to see that his mouth is just full of lather and bubbles. I'm not exactly sure what happened. My best guess is that he was washing his hands, and went to wipe his nose with his sleeve (unfortunately) and inadvertently got some soap in his mouth. He probably tried to get the soap out, but of course, used his soapy hand to do this, and it all just got worse. It was pretty funny. He sure didn't like the soapy taste. Makes me think it would be a good consequence for a 'sassy mouth'. Hmmmmm.

Crip Crap Cross
So, I'm watching AJ on his magna doodle and he's saying to me, "Crip crap cross! Crip crap cross!" I can't figure out what he's trying to say. He's trying to motion what he wants me to draw on it. Finally he says, "X and O". I say, "Oh, you want to play tic Tac Toe?" And he says, "Yes, Crip Crap Cross!"
Too funny.

Number Knowledge
Well, I didn't think that AJ knew his numbers by sight, like he does his letters. It came up in conversation with a friend and prompted me to ask him when we got home. He has a little thing on the fridge that you can plunk the numbers into and it tells you what number it is, but I never see him using the numbers, just the letters. Anyhow, I digress. Evidently, he does know his numbers by sight. He does confuse 6 and 9, and he did call 10 '21'. Interesting.
Speaking of counting. He's still about the same in the counting as he was the last time I wrote about it. His counting would usually sound something like
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14, 16, 17, 14, 18, 19, 19, 20. When prompted, he'll do the 20s too. Like if I say, "Twenty.........", he'll say "one" and then he'll continue to thirty.

Come On and Crawl!
So, I thought he was going to crawl about a month ago. He was getting his legs up under him sometimes, he was loving the push ups, and he definitely wants to go places. I unfortunately do not give him a lot of time to practice crawling, as AJ and I drag poor little Dexter around with us everywhere. He will use his rolls to move a bit, and he can shimmy to where he needs to go, but it's a slow process. An actual crawl though.... not quite yet. He seems soooo close, but so far.
Dexter does love to sit and play though. I just love that he can sit on his own now. He likes to sit in AJ's room and watch him play too. It's pretty adorable. They've even fought over some toys. Dexter loves, loves, loves, Fisher Price Little People.

[img]http://www.richardandsonja.com/gallery/d/18331-2/dscf5170.jpg[/img]

More Fun at Makenna's
We've had some more hot, sunny, pool days at Makenna's. This pic is one from a few weeks ago, but it gives you an idea of how much the kids are enjoying themselves.

[img]http://www.richardandsonja.com/gallery/d/18295-2/dscf5161.jpg[/img]

Last time, we had the life jackets on them and they were hopping off the ladder to us in the water.
Where are the babies, you ask? On assorted equipment that Jen puts out under the awning. jumparoo, exersaucer, play arc, etc. She's quite the hostess. She even feeds the kids lunch. It's a great time for the kids, the babies, and for us.

Another Sleep Over at Gram's
My mom took the two boys overnight again. So, this is Dexter's second sleepover. He was a good sleeper for Gram. AJ woke at 3:00am probably having some sort of weird dream. Mom, being the true Grandma, decided to let him come out of bed and she turned on a movie for him! What? Crazy Gram!
The next day, AJ went out with Gram and Papa to go see his step-great-grandma for lunch and Dexter stayed home for naps and lunch with Auntie Kimmy. both boys had a great time, as always, and Richard and I did some clean up and organizing in the basement. They brought the kids back around 7:30pm. We were just going to transfer Dexter into his bed, but he wasn't having it. He wanted to party with everyone else.

I think that's it. I may have to come on again later if I remember what else I was going to write about. I should have more to say about Dexter, but not too much has changed.

He had his allergy appointment with the pediatrician and yes there's a milk allergy but it's not reacting very strongly. He thinks Dex will grow out of it by age 1 or 2. So, we're supposed to continue with the soy fomula.

Playing a Little Catch Up

Well, I haven't caught up in a week or so.

What does that mean for me?
A frazzled brain while I try and figure out what I wanted to say.

What does that mean for you?
Not reading through a time by time, frame by frame outline of one day's events.

Purees
I keep procrastinating on pureeing more meat, veggies, and fruit for Dexter. I keep meaning to do it, but the boy's naps haven't overlapped for a couple of days, and I keep feeling the need to 'get out of the house'. So, Dexter's had a bit more jarred food than usual this week, particularly with the introduction of chicken and turkey. Richard cannot wait to turn Dexter into his next steak lovin' carnivorous protege.

A Fun Day
Last week, Jen and I headed up to Eagle Mountain (where the 'good' playground is) to let Makenna and AJ play and Dexter, Emerson, and Jaxon 'hang out'. Of course, we had to pick up our Starbucks drinks on the way for us and the toddlers. Mmmmmm. I'm so glad that AJ appreciates Starbucks as much as I do. He even spots them from the highway and yells, "Starbucks, Mommy! Hot cocoa! Chocolate milk!" That's my boy.

The park was fun, and followed by some fun 'kiddie pool' time at Jen's house. Erica brought Jack and Rya to play too, so it was the three kids and the four babies. What used to be our little group of 6, is now our BIG group of 10, YIKES!

The kids had fun fighting over bikes, playing with bikes, fighting over toys, playing with toys, splashing in the water, using the 'potty', and throwing dirt in the pool! (Sorry Jen).

It's so cute when Jen brings out lunch for the kids and the three of them all sit together to eat.

One day, I'll learn how to load pics onto the computer instead of waiting for Richard to it in a big batch and that way you'll see the scenes as they happened.

AJ's Verbs
So AJ's started this new thing where he's kind of trying to get verification that he's using the right verbs.
For example....
AJ - "Mommy, what are you checking?"
Me - "I'm checking to make sure Daddy isn't taking all the beets out of his salad."
AJ - "Mommy what are you changing?"
Me - "What do you think I'm changing?"
AJ - "You are changing Baby Dexter's bum."
Me - "That's right."
AJ - "Mommy, what are you talking about?"
Me - "I'm talking about how you need to pick up your trucks and put them away."
AJ - "Mommy what are you trying to?"
Me - "I'm trying to find your bento box."
AJ - "Mommy, what are you looking for?"
Me - "I'm looking for your black shoes."

And....
I'm pretty sure he said, "Whatever" today. We were colouring, and he started to ask me something about a colour, like where's the other orange (because he likes to colour with the same colour you're using), and said, "Oh, whatever" and kept colouring.

Colds
Yup, got 'em. It sucks. I seem to be getting one now, too. I sure hope not.

Left and Right
AJ now knows his left foot from his right when asked, and his left hand from his right. YAY. He's starting to try and use 'left and right' to explain which direction we're going if we're going to someone's house or a store, etc.

The USA Meet Up!
So, I joined this website called babywhisperer when AJ was two months old. It was a support site for the book I use as a somewhat, 'parenting philosophy'. Anyhow, I started chatting on a thread for my 'birthclub', march/april 06 babies. It's an international site. You talk with moms who follow the same general parenting principles as you, stage by stage with your child. So, I've been talking, almost daily, with these 'friends' for more than two years now. We even started our own site. It started as about 60 of us chatting on the babywhisperer site, and now it's about 20 or so that talk regularly on our new site keeping each other updated on how our 'babies' are doing. Actually, about 4 of us have had second babies now, and one is only day older than Dexter, so it's been great to have lots to share about the new babies too.

Anyhow, I digress.....
So, although we're from all over the world, (Scotland, USA, Australia, Poland, Russia, England, Slovakia, Estonia, to name a few) we sometimes get to meet. We'd love to all meet, but of course, yah right.

I've had the pleasure of meeting a 'friend' locally, from Alberta, from Washington, and from Slovakia.

This past Monday, only a week after going to Snoqualmie, Washington, to see Thomas the Train, I headed alone with the boys to Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip to shop with and visit my friend from Puyallup and my friend from Bratislava, Slovakia. The kids, AJ, Grace, and Kubko (Jakub) had some fun playing together at the mall and running around. Shopping was followed by dinner. Dexter was great and sat in the travel high chair for the first time. He was just a star for me. Actually, all the kids were super.

A New Playplace, Finally
For months now, particularly since having 'the babies', Erica, Jen, and I have been complaining that there isn't an indoor playcentre in Abbotsford, and there isn't any mommy-coffee-shops. We'd love a place to drink our coffee and tea that has like mats on the floor, books, toys, etc. We tend to feel a little guilty bringing 3 toddlers and 4 babies into Starbucks and interrupting people's 'special quiet time'.

Well, a reasonably local lady in Mission just opened J-J's playplace especially for 0-6 year olds. She's getting an espresso machine soon, the climbing structure is totally toddler friendly, there's a ride on train, and even exersaucers and a swing for the babies. Not to mention, comfy couches for the moms.

It was really nice.

Paid Help
So I had this epiphany a couple months ago that if Richard wasn't keen on me wasting money on a housecleaner, that instead I would spend way less money on a babysitter for the boys while I clean.

So far, it's more working out that I pay a little for someone to watch AJ and play with AJ while I keep Dexter busy or 'in a contraption' of some sort while I clean the house.

AJ's had the chance to play with my friend's daughter, Ashley. She was so great with both boys, and even gave Dexter a bottle. I see it as a 'sitter in training' for those rare occasions when my sister, brother, or parents can't watch the boys when Richard and I would like to go out.

Last Friday, I think, I had our friends two oldest kids, Adam and Matt (grade 5 and 6, I believe), come and play with AJ while I cleaned and kept Dexter busy. It worked out soooo great. They played out in the back yard with him, played in the pool with him in front, and then came in and played trains and cars with him. AJ loved all the 2 on 1 attention. I loved 'no distractions'. I hope their mom, Christine didn't mind that Matt got wet in the pool because "AJ made [him] go down the slide" and I gave them some Orange Crush while they were here, sufficiently sugaring them up during their visit.

Anyhow, it was so great for both AJ and I!

Vandalism, By My Budding Big Boy Artiste!!!

First, my Big Boys news.
AJ hadn't napped in two days, which unfortunately doesn't make him fall asleep faster at bedtime. So, to prevent him from getting up out of his bed and turning on the light and playing during his naptime, I offered him the opportunity to sleep in his top bunk just for naptime. It went very well. He even chose to take two more naps up there. YAY! As long as he doesn't start playing up there.

Now, The Artiste
The other night, because AJ didn't nap during the day, I took the opportunity to put him in bed a bit early. I did a major quiet time, lots of attention, lots of stories type wind down, and then put him in bed. I thwarted the begging for water and then he was nice and quiet. Awake, but quiet. Still took about 40 minutes to fall asleep, but wasn't calling for me.
Well, the next morning, he walks into the kitchen, having just woken up, and he's got some felt on his shirt. Hmmmm. I didn't think much of it. I just thought it must've gotten on his shirt while we coloured last night.
I entered his bedroom after breakfast and saw this beautiful drawing in the same colour felt of what appears to be a little kid standing under a rainbow.
I said, "OH WOW! Did you draw this beautiful picture last night before you fell asleep?" And before he could answer, I saw IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Felt.


Felt on his wall.


Felt on his bed.



Felt on his pillow.



Felt on monkey.


Felt on his sheets.



Felt on his bedspread.



Felt, felt, felt.

I took them away. They're washable, but they must need soap and water because simple wipes weren't cleaning it up. This is why he was so 'nice' and quiet last night. ARG!

Magic eraser later took it off the wall, but along with some paint.

I'm gong to return his felts to him tomorrow.

And that's what's new.

Just Stuff

Today's "Weigh'ther (It's a pun)

Dexter - 21 lbs
Feels like - 30 lbs
80% chance of oral precipitation
Sunny all day with cloudy breaks in the early evening.


AJ - 24 lbs
Feels like - 20 lbs
80% chance of ocular precipitation
Sunny all day with freak storms, hail, rain, heat waves, warmth, floods.




Dexter
He's having a bit of a hard time settling for naps the last couple of days. He's really wanting to crawl. My great tummy sleeper keeps flipping over onto his back and then playing. It's getting a little annoying.
Dexter's got an allergy appointment coming up and due to what seems to be a milk allergy, I haven't been introducing his solids as fast paced as I did AJ's.
Dexter's now had rice cereal, pears, apples, carrots, sweet potato, carrot, green beans, wax beans, squash, zucchini, turnips, oat cereal, barley cereal, peaches, apricots, chicken, and a small bit of peas that were in one of the mix baby food jars.
For the most part, I make homemade purees, then freeze them in cubes for Dexter, just like I did for AJ.

Dexter Rolls and Naps
Well the rolling and attempting to crawl is getting in the way of nap time. I keep going in to see him with his legs up under him or all over the crib. It's driving me bonkers.

Dexter Sitting Up
-I think I can say that Dexter is sitting up unaided now. Although I still like to keep something cushy behind him, I technically can leave the room and when I return, he's still sitting and playing. YAY Dexter. This is the day I've been waiting for. Now you have permission to stop growing and accomplishing things.

AJ
-In an attempt to keep him in his bed for his nap, I let him take a nap in his top bunk today. So far, so good.

How Kim's Day With Dexter Went

While we visited 'the real Thomas the Train', Kimmy stayed at our place with Dexter.

In her point form words.........
(The only editing I've done is to take out one word that she uses all the time, and replaced it with a * . Let's play a game. Can you guess the missing word? Once you've read the passage, scroll down to see if you're correct!)

- his second morning nap went great, and I had to go get him because it was the latest he could sleep for.
- had his bottle and ate all his lunch, I don't know how you keep him so clean but he was a mess and I had to clean him up *
-went in the exersaucer a few times, and almost everytime bit that 'B' thing *, and then would cry :(
-we read those two big Baby Einstein books that you can touch and feel and the very hungry caterpillar, and I thought he was really excited about the pictures and stuff but he was really trying to eat the books *
-sat in his bouncy chair and was just amazed by the mole sisters show, he would have watched the whole thing
- afternoon nap, was only 45 minutes, which wasn't great, but whatever....
- had his bottle at like 3 or so...
- between that and his dinner, we played on that mat thing, with all the hanging toys, and he went in the jolly jumper, and he sat on the couch with me and played with that mirror that he loves so much
-dinner at about 5:15, he ate all that too
- bath around 5:45, he is so cute in the bath *, he just splashes and has a great time, I put one of the ducks in the water and he was just watching it and trying to get it *
-put him in his pajamas, gave him his night time bottle, that thing got stuck in the hole part, so I had to go get a new one, dexter was not impressed *, he was getting really tired so I fed him the rest of the bottle , zoomed through a couple books, and then put him to bed, and he went to sleep instantly
- then sitting in the living room, I could hear in the monitor every once in a while he would hit that animal piano thing, and it would make noises or sing, and I was just thinking crap, should I go in there or not...I decided not too, because I thought maybe he wouldn't hit it anymore, but he did a couple more times, but I just had this feeling that if I went in there, he might wake up see me and I didn't want that *
-although that thing went off, he never woke up, and then you guys came home like 4 hours later, or a little less, and I believe you went in and turned it off.

uhmm, that was pretty much my day, I can't think of anything else really, except he was just such a happy guy, laughing all the time. :)

* = ha

A Day Out With Thomas, and Without Dexter

The day before heading to Snoqualmie, Washington for the big "Day Out With Thomas", I entered a conversation that ended with ...

Why are we bringing Dexter? Why put him through the big car ride and the hot day? He's getting nothing out of it.

So, we asked my sister if she would like to come look after Dexter from about 8:30am to 11:00pm. She has her license now!!! YAY!!! She happily obliged.

Saturday, July 19th
9:30am
Mommy, Daddy, and AJ head on the road for a 2.5 hour drive to Snoqualmie, Washington, USA to the railway museum for a "Day Out With Thomas the Train".

9:40am-10:20am
Border line up. Thank goodness for portable DVD players and Baby Einstein DVDs. Phew.

10:20am-2:00pm or so
On the road, stopping for lunch, stopping for gas, etc. AJ napped in the car. Thank goodness, or the day could've been ugly.

2:00pm - We arrive!
Upon entering the railway museum property, you are greeted with live music, the gift shop, food vendors, and the big tent of Thomas merchandise. I wanted to find AJ a non-lame t-shirt. I believe I was successful at this, finding a nice navy blue shirt with Thomas the Train on it and all the labelled parts of a train.
You could meet Sir Topham Hat.
You could get a Thomas tattoo, which we surely did.
There was a tent sent up with about 5 train tables and tracks out for kids to play with. It was funny to watch the 2 and 3 year old in 'hoarding-mode'. Watch out! If you turn your head away from one of your train cars or heaven-forbid your train rolls down the track ahead of your grasp for a moment, it's sure to get swiped by one of these kids. The words, "Mine! That's mine! No that's mine!" could be heard from many feet away. My child was not innocent in all of this either. Although he was not guilty of any train swiping, he was definitely guilty of using the "M" word.
A cynical Richard was already questioning the authenticity of our Thomas the Train ride scheduled for 4:30pm. He couldn't help but notice that the real train we would be riding on later that day had no life size Thomas attached to it as the ads suggested.
I informed him that I'm sure there's a life size Thomas somewhere, if only for the kids to climb on even. If there wasn't, and I drove all this way,......... "Heads are gonna roll."
Thank goodness. As you approach the other end of the property, you see him. All blue in his glory. Thomas the train. Oddly, he's at the back of the train. He gets 'dragged', so to speak. Nonetheless, he's life size, he looks real, and you get to have your picture taken with him! It was pretty cool looking! I think AJ thought it was pretty neat.
There was a bouncy castle to play in and in true AJ-touchy-sensitive-emo-style, AJ asked to go in the bouncy castle, removed his shoes, and then flipped a wing nut as he neared the door yelling, "No, no bouncy castle."
-Of course, as we walked away, the crying of "I want to go on the bouncy castle" resonated familiarly in our ears. Good Grief!

3:50pm-We see Jack!
We finally ran into Jack, his Daddy, and his Grandma. AJ and Jack run around a bit, give each some hugs, and then part ways to later meet up on the train.

4:30pm-We're off!!!
-We sat in the old fashioned passenger car with Jack and his crew. Oh, did I mention that AJ briefly started to freak out as we got closer to the train? I assured him that Jack wasn't scared and he seemed to calm down.
-The engine pulls us for about 12 minutes to the edge of a cliff overlooking a river. It was beautiful.
-On the 12 minute ride back down the tracks Thomas is 'pulling' us back to the railway museum. We couldn't help but laugh about the kids in cars at intersections who didn't know about Thomas coming to town seeing this life sized Thomas coming down the tracks, yelling to their moms, "Mom it's Thomas, it's Thomas!" Must've blown some minds.

5:00pm- We head home.
-We stopped at Bellis Fair for dinner at The Country Buffet as we had a hankering for a "Sizzler-esque" dinner experience. It didn't live up to the Sizzler, as expected. Does anything in life? Really? Think about that.
-went to Target. I HAD to do SOME shopping!!! Come on!!!!!! Seriously.

10:15pm - AJ finally falls asleep literally 25 seconds from our front door. What a goof.

Kim had a great day with Dexter. She loved how fast he goes to sleep on his belly. In fact, I think I'll ask her to type up how her day went with him and I'll add it on here.



Other things to mention...

New Foods
-I don't think I've been keeping up on listing Dexter's new foods, as is the life of a second born. Get used to it Dexy.
-Apricots, Oatmeal, Green Beans, Wax Beans, Squash, Peaches (which he does not care for), and I think that's it.
-oh ya, chicken too.

AJ Being a Kind Brother
-Dexter was on his tummy on his play mat and I saw AJ get some tissue and approach Dexter. Immediatly, I said, "That is not a toy. You can't give that to Dexter. " He said, "No, I'm just cleaning up his barf."
-Awwww, isn't that cute?

AJ Antics and Sass
-AJ accidentally spilled some water on the bathroom floor with his cup and I asked him to get a towel to help me clean it up. He said, "No, I don't like to get a towel. Just spank my bum." What a smartypants.

Bouncing Dexter
-Well the Jolly Jumper has definitely been good training for Dexter. Now, in his exersaucer, he bounces like there's no tomorrow. From down the hall you hear "CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH!"

Houston, We Have a Tooth

Actually, we have two of them.
It's a good thing because I was beginning to wonder where all this saliva was coming from.
YAY Dexter for your first two teeth cutting through today!!!

It was a BIG BIG day today.

We were invited to my co-worker, Judy's house/farm for today for a get-together for the little kids. Judy has lots of property, a lovely, cozy home, a bridge, a trampoline, cool picnic tables, gardens, a sand pit, a bonfire pit, and just a great place to hang out. She even brought out the blow up pool for the kids. And, she had toys galore.

The day couldn't have gone more smoothly.

Dexter woke early, at 6:00am, but instead of attempting to put him back to sleep, I took advantage of the impending nap change, knowing it would work in our favour today.

I put Dexter down for his first nap around 8:00am while I was still packing for our big day.

We left the house around 9:45am, and of course, I noticed a bum-change was in order as we were heading out the door. Had to stop at Starbucks too (of course) for my VERY NECESSARY Venti-Iced-Sugar-Free-Hazelnut-Breve-Americano-Misto. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I convinced AJ that they weren't giving out chocolate milk for kids today.

On the way, I noticed that a bunch of houses on 96th, just off of 176th we torn down. I said, "Oh no, all the houses have been torn down. There were houses here." I was really talking to myself, but AJ was listening and said, "Oh no, the houses are gone. The houses are sad." I said, "No, the houses aren't sad. Houses don't have feelings. Houses aren't alive like you and I." He said, "My books have feelings. Books are happy and sad." LOL. A few weeks ago we took out lots of books from the library about feelings. They have pictures of kids who are happy, sad, confused, etc, and they talk about why you have certain feelings and stuff like that. It was such a cute comment.

Dexter napped on the way there. YES! Perfecto.

We arrived around 10:30am. AJ got right into playing with his best buddy, Jack. Lunch, bottle, playing, talking, relaxing, and Dexter napping in my carrier (thanks Grand-Dan). We had a blast. AJ was pretty good except for when he decided to seek some sand-throwing revenge at Jack, perhaps for some past sand throwing or bike tipping incidences, or perhaps just because he's two. Otherwise, the boys were great, as were all the kids. And what a cute bunch of kids too, and all around the same age. Dexter even had a cute little chunky buddy that could've passed as a fraternal twin brother with whom to play.

We left at 1:30pm. Dexter transferred quite nicely from sleeping in the carrier to sleeping in the car until we arrived in Richmond, at Aberdeen Mall at 2:20pm. AJ also napped in the car at this time. YES! Perfecto!

We went to Daiso at the mall. It's this great Japanese (I think) dollar store type thing. OMGsh. I could've stayed in there forever. I'll definitely have to go sans-kiddos next time. They had wooden trains and planes and buses for AJ's wooden train track set, all for $2.00 each. They had lots of bento box accessories which is the real reason I went. We loaded up on that stuff. I also bought some strange non-refridegerated yoghurt and jello type things. I read this tip to freeze them and use them as temporary edible icepacks. I think that'll be a great idea.

Dexter had his bottle there at the mall whilst AJ and I enjoyed a cool beverage and watched the wishing fountain water/music show.

Then it was off too Grand-Dan's house for dinnertime. Dexter took a quick 10 minute catnap in the car from about 4:10-4:20pm. YES!! Perfecto!

Do you think I remembered to bring the camera into my dad's place?

No.

I missed some very sweet picture opportunities after we gave Grand-Dan his very belated Father's Day cards and mini-hockey sticks.

AJ is VERY ready for a sleepover at Grand-Dan's house whenever Grand-Dan's ready. He's got a great lawn area for throwing and catching, a pool, AND a nearby Go-Cart track. Long gone are the days when AJ needed a little time to warm up to Grand-Dan. Today the two of them were rollerblading, chewing toothpicks, and eating Dillybars, having a 'grand' time. Pun intended.
(yes, this is all a little hint for Grand-Dan if he's reading this)

We hopped in the car around 7:30pm (about 30 minutes after Dexter's bedtime, and about 30 minutes before AJ's). YES! Perfecto.

Dexter slept the whole way home.

But AJ didn't sleep on the way home, remarkably. Hmmmmm. Not-so-perfecto.

Got home. Richard took the kids, plopped them in bed while I brought in the bags, and they both fell asleep in no-time.

Finally, He's On a Roll!!!

Well, I say finally, but really I mean 'ARG'!

Dexter finally rolled from front to back (which is supposed to be the 'easier' one), go figure.

Anyhow, it's sure interfering with naps today. He usually sleeps on his tummy, but he kept rolling onto his back.

To answer Erica's comment on the last post....

You'll be able to order prints of AJ's masterpiece for the bargain price of $2000000 once they're uploaded onto our site.

The Artist Spends the Night at Gram's

AJ got to stay at Gram's house last night. Mom, Ken, Kim and Paul got home from their trip to Disneyland (on which they somehow forgot to take AJ, and me for that matter) on Thursday night.

On Friday night, we had them over for perogies and they decided to take AJ overnight.

Saturday, they took AJ to the beach and we had Dexy all to ourselves and got a bunch of yard work done during his naps. Man, you forget how much time you have to yourself with only one baby!!! Took it for granted when AJ was a baby, for sure.

AJ had a great Saturday at Gram's house. They took him to Harrison to play at the beach. Thank goodness, because I was beginning to think that with two kids, AJ wouldn't get to go to the beach this summer.

We went for dinner at their place tonight (Saturday night) to go pick up AJ, have dessert, and hang out.

While we were there, AJ was playing on the Magna Doodle. Lo and behold, my little artist drew a cat. He was saying, "Foot foot foot foot, head, eyes, nose, mouth, etc." And drew something that actually looked like a cat. Later he drew Makenna. I thought his fire trucks were good, but whoa, these were amazingly detailed (for a 2 year old, of course).

Dexter had a great day of one on one attention. He napped wonderfully, and went to sleep impecably for bedtime at my mom's. The day went swimmingly. Hope there's lots more to come.

Oh, and..... couldn't help but notice that the whole time I was at my mom's, AJ didn't stutter once. Hmmmmmmm.

Dexter's Shots

He was a trooper today. Richard said that Dexter only cried for the last needle and for the other two, Dexter just gave the nurse a dirty look.

YAY!

AJ's Speech Appointment

AJ was a star. I prepared him. I told him we were going to be talking to a lady. I told him she would ask him questions, blah blah blah.

If you know AJ at all, then you know that he gets really shy and usually won't talk to new people until he's very comfortable.

So, if you were unaware of why I was taking AJ to the speech and language pathologist, here's the situation....
He has a lisp, like Cindy Brady, you know? 'th' instead of 's'
He only started to say the 'f' sound at the beginning of words just recently. Before, he was saying 'wish' for 'fish'.
He says 'fwing' for swing.
He doesn't usually use the 'h' sound at the beginning of words. For instance, for 'hospital', he'd say 'opital'.
And a week ago, he started stuttering on the first word of a sentence which I've read is very normal, but worth mentioning.
Also, I need to kind of translate him for strangers.

Now many of you will say, "But Sonja, calm down. He's only 2."

I wanted to be on the safe side. It's a win win situation. I'm going to go there and they're going to say, "Don't worry, it's all normal. He's fine." or they'll say, "Yes, it's a concern. Here's what you can do to fix it."

So, we walked in to the appointment, and she asked me if he'd like to play with cars or farm animals. I said, "Let me ask him. AJ would you like to play with cars or farm animals?"

AJ answered, "Cars please." Thank goodness. We were off to a good start. He's talking in front of a stranger.

Well, he demonstrated all the stuff I was talking about. She got to hear the stutter, the no 'h', the lisp, the new 'f' sound, etc.

She said everything was completely normal and totally developmental. She said there's nothing to do right now about the lisp because he's so young. Maybe when he's 4, if he still has it. As she observed him more and more and talked him, she just kept smiling and laughing because he's 'so way beyond expectations' for his age by way of communication.

'For fun' she said, for the sake of her 'student' that was observing, she did the more in depth questions. She said, "He'll pass without a doubt, but just so you see what we're hoping for at this age."

So the questions were things like
Can he name one colour?
AJ can name about 25 colours including 'pinky purple' and 'macaroni and cheese orange'. lol
Does he understand function?
Like she showed him a sock, a key, and a cup, and asked him, "Which one is for drinking." She wanted him to point to the cup, but he pointed to it and said, "The cup is for drinking."
She wanted him to have about 1-2 words per sentence, but he has about 10-12.

Bottom line, 'communication' is definitely not a problem, but I knew that.

The lisp, we'll watch it. We don't want it to get worse. But she's not concerned.

Same with the stutter. We'll see her again in November.

They were loving him. She said that they don't get to have kids that 'advanced' in there very often.

All I could think was, "Makenna would blow her away."

So, anyhow. He's fine. She's not concerned. But she'll see us again in November or so to check on his stutter, but she said that sometimes this stage lasts 3-6 months.

She asked about the 'needing to translate'. I said that I understand, almost all of what he says, close friends understand most of what he's saying, and strangers understand about half or so.

She said, that's totally normal. Phew.

AJ was really well behaved. He was hardly shy at all.

On the way home, I picked him up some ice cream and said, "Thanks for doing all the talking to the lady, and thanks for answering her questions." He said, "I told her what was for drinking. A cup for drinking." I thought it was funny that it stood out for him.

And that's it.