Another BIG Thank You

Richard wrote about our date night, but I think I forgot to!

On Friday, my sister came out to pick up the boys and take them back to my mom's place to sleep over.

Richard and I got to go out for dinner at the VERY romantic... White Spot. lol. It was delicious and of course, always amazing to go for dinner without children and just talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. Sometimes Richard gets to talk too.

Then we went to see the movie "The Hangover". I haven't laughed so hard since "Zack and Miri" and another movie, of which, I cannot remember the name.

We got home late!

We slept in. And I mean REALLY slept in. I don't think we got out of bed until 9am.

The next day, we got to laze around and do nothing. Well, I mowed the lawn and Richard may have gone to Costco. I can't really remember. I'm still delirious with the feeling of freedom. Later, we headed to my mom's. My mom went to a baby shower in Surrey that day, and so, from lunch time on, my sister (and likely my brother) were watching the boys for the rest of the day until we arrived. We had some dinner. My mom came shortly after. We all had a really nice visit. Dexter went to sleep like a dream just shortly after 7pm. We headed home close to 11pm. I tried to leave Dexter there, but my mom wasn't falling for that one!

The next morning.... AJ slept until 9am!!! Woot woot! And Dexter didn't cry when he woke. After waking around 6:40am, he spent the next 20 minutes quietly trying to open his bedroom door.

This repeated the next morning (this morning). Dexter woke around 6:30 or 6:40am and just pushed his chair to his door and quietly tried to open it. Then, it got really quiet. I said to Richard, enjoying our cuddle and sleep in time, "I sure hope he's not up on the change table playing with all of his lotions and such". When I peaked in at 7am, sure enough, he turns to the door where I'm standing, and with a 'gasp' while sitting up on the change table, he carefully puts the lotion back in it's spot, pretending that he was just 'tidying up'.

This has been Dexter's newest behaviour. It's the I'm-doing-something-I-shouldn't-and-I-know-it look and gasp. Then he just carefully puts back whatever he's using with a gentle pat, be it the cell phone, the DS, the phone, the chapstick, whatever.

This morning was Dexter's first day of swimming lessons! What's that you say? AJ had already been in many sets of lessons by this age? Yes, that's right. Typical second born, sorry Dex. He had a good time. AJ had a good time depite having a new teacher (not the one I requested). And, getting all three of us dried and dressed was not near the horrifying experience I feared it would be.

So, why am I writing this?
I wanted to say THANKS to my mom, Ken, Kim, and Paul for once again, watching the boys and allowing Richard and I some date night time before today's next round of chemo.

Richard left the house about an hour ago with Norma to head to VGH to start his next round of Chemo. Wish him luck. He's starting with high counts and healthiness this time around, so it's possible it might not be as horrible as before. He may even recover faster.

I will leave with this funny thing I often get emailed. The swimming lessons made me think of it.

Yes, parenthood changes everything. But parenthood also changes with each baby. Here are some of the ways having a second and third child differs from having your first:

Your Clothes

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

The Baby's Name

1st baby: You pour over baby-name books and practice pronouncing and writing combinations of all your favorites.
2nd baby: Someone has to name his or her kid after your great-aunt Mavis, right? It might as well be you.
3rd baby: You open a name book, close your eyes, and see where your finger points.

Preparing for the Birth

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your 8th month.

The Layette

1st baby: You pre-wash your newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your 3-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Sleeping

1st baby: Sleeps in your bedroom for the first six - eight weeks
2nd baby: Sleeps in your bedroom for the first two weeks
3rd baby: Goes right from the hospital nursery into their own room

Baby Book

1st baby: You religiously make entries every day, carefully noting the number of spit-ups and bowel movements for the first year
2nd baby: You enter a few facts each week but stop after 6 months
3rd baby: You buy the book but enter the child's name, birth weight, and length on the first page

Diapering

1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every 2 to 3 hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home 5 times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home

1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing a coin

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When 2nd child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for coin to pass.
3rd child: When 3rd child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!!