Sunday, March 30, 2008

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Half Birthday Celebration

Colin,

You are 2 1/2 today!! I can't believe how fast you have grown - you have been with us so long, but it also reminds me how little you really are.

You are a very energetic boy. When you do something, you do it with your whole heart. You jump for joy and are not afraid to express your enthusiasm for life.

Your laugh is passionate. When you laugh, you make everyone around you laugh. People comment on your laugh all the time - when you are jumping in the bouncer at Edinborough Park, or just walking down the street. You laugh with life, love and enthusiasm!

About a year ago, you welcomed Anna to the world. I was so impressed by the way you adjusted. You would walk over to her every time she made a noise, and were so gentle. Over the year, you have become Anna's favourite person. You can make her laugh like no one else can- and that is music to my ears! You are such a good big brother!

Over the past couple of months, you are talking more and more which impresses me to no end. However, it is your physical abilities that impress me the most. I am amazed at how you can kick a soccer ball, shoot a basket and now, ride a tricycle. I have so much fun outside with you playing - can't wait until spring has really arrived!!

Now that you are in your big boy bed, when I put to to bed each night, you always ask me to lie down with you. I usually reply with an "of course", since I know that one day you will be a big big boy and not want to cuddle with me. I have to soak it all up now while I can!

Words cannot express how much you have brought to my life - I adore you!

Love mommy!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A little about us...

People have been asking what we have been up to, so following the format I have seen from some other bloggers that I scan, here is an update.

What is Anna up to? Anna is scooting around like a storm and gets into more stuff than Colin ever did. She is tentative to pull herself up - she reaches out, but then draws away. Once she does pull herself up, she doesn't like to hold on! This is another way that Colin and Anna are so different - Colin had a tight grasp on everything and would not let go until his other hand was firmly attached to something else.

Words in our house? Deric and I are convinced that Anna can say "hi" and "uh oh". She is so smart.... Colin on the other hand is expanding his language every day! He is slowly putting his sentences together. Yesterday I asked him what he wanted to watch on TV and he replied "I waaannt.... Shrek" When asked if he is hungry, he will say "Yes, I want Pancakes and Milk".

Favourite Activities? Colin is loving being outside now that it is getting warmer. He is definitely a warm weather child. He still refuses to step in the snow. Anna on the other hand still loves to follow her brother everywhere. A favourite game is for me to hold Anna and chase Colin around the house. Thank goodness our house has more running room. Anna also loves it when her brother plays peek a boo with her and tickles her toes.

Favourite Foods? Last week Anna devoured Meatloaf and corned beef. She loved them both. She will also eat her veggies if she can pick them up - she refuses any pureed vegetables. Over the weekend, Anna was eating raw summer squash and loving it! Colin is a little more picky, but loves stews, chili and most meats (his favourite is pork and corned beef). Vegetables for Colin are only served pureed style - he loves baby food!!!!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Little Duckie.....

Over the past couple of weeks there is one thing that Colin and Anna can agree upon - the duckies are the favourite toys in the bath tub! They show the duckies how to swim, put them on the edge and watch how they can jump off, read about them in their bath book, count them, and even try to eat them!

Colin last week decided that bath time was not the only place duckies could be played with - why not in the shower!!!! And now what a clean boy we have. Over the weekend (Friday morning - Sunday night), Colin had a total of 3 showers and 3 baths. He loves to take a few of his toys and head to the shower where he plays with the water stream and runs through it.

My little water boy.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Naps are soooo overrated

Over the past week, Anna has off and on but a ban on naps. Today was no different. She decided that there was too much fun going on in the house. She stayed up until 12:30 (incidentally Colin's nap time) to finally nap.


Tonight she was a very tired girl and this is how she fell asleep - does this look comfy or what?!?! My little Princess!

A few things we do for fun


Put pancakes on my head - Anna thinks this is quite humorous!

Take Pictures!

Read a book in our new reading nook!

Play hide and Seek in a tent! Peek a Boo....

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Saturday Fun


I want to ride my Bicycle....


Enjoying the last of the snow (Colin refused to play with his tobaggon all winter, but was happy to ride in it today). I was a lot of fun.

Playing Ball once again - look at that coordination!!!!!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

A little bit about me

I feel a part of the blogging community - I'VE BEEN TAGGED! Thanks JoAnne!

What I was doing 10 years ago (1998)

  • In the midst of my Masters of Food Science, living in Guelph Ontario
  • Working full time at Better Beef Ltd (my dads former company) in Special Projects - a mix of roles that included new product development, writing grant proposals to government officials to fund research, organizing the golf tournament and building a new hire orientation program.
  • Buying my first house - 25 Manor Park Cres. I loved that place.

5 Things on my to do list today

  • Mail a package to my sister - her birthday card and some clothes for her little guy.
  • Book my travel to Memphis - work trip March 25th
  • Schedule Anna's 1 year doctor appointment - hard to believe that my baby is almost a year!
  • Catch up on emails
  • Finish my presentation for the Tech Conference!

Snacks I enjoy

  • I am a choco-holic. Favourites include Almond Joy, Snickers and Milky Way
  • Peanuts
  • Salted Licorice (European thing that no one else understands)

Things I would do as a Billionaire

  • Pay off all my debt and my families debt
  • Put money away for Anna and Colin so that their educations and first homes would be paid for
  • Work only part time so that I could spend more time with my kids

3 of my bad habits

  • I am an email addict!!!! I could spend all day on email.
  • I love sweets / snacks and could skip dinner if I wasn't trying to set a good habit for Colin and Anna
  • I don't eat enough fruits and vegetables! Actually at the moment we only have bananas in the house for fruit and I don't even like them!

5 places that I have lived

  • Twin Citites
  • Battle Creek Michigan
  • Guelph Ontario
  • London Ontario
  • Binbrook Ontario

3 Jobs I have had

  • Scientist, General Mills
  • Lifeguard at a campground
  • Volleyball League Co-ordinator
  • Umpire - Field Hockey

Enough about me.... now I tag Bjorna (Wyatt).

Friday, March 7, 2008

Bonding

On Tuesday, Colin and Anna spent the day at Bright Horizons (back up daycare). Through the craziness trying to get out of the house early, we did not have time to eat breakfast.

We arrive and Colin declares "Me hungry". I whip out the leftover pancakes (from Sunday morning) and warm them while Colin sits down at the table. As the pancakes are coming out - he exclaims "Anna pancake - she sit down here", pointing to the chair next to him. I smile that he is so thoughtful of his sister.

Fast forward, Colin and Anna are sitting at the table eating pancakes. Then Anna decides that Colin's pancakes look better than her small pieces - she reaches over, careful to do so when Colin is not looking. Once she succeeds, she starts to laugh.

It takes a bit, but then Colin realizes what she is laughing about - and he starts to laugh to! Then to my surprise instead of pulling his plate away, he pushes it towards her so they can share. They both grab a piece of pancake, take a bite and laugh!

Lesson learned - Pancakes are great bonding food!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Am I a good mom?

Recently I have been obsessed with Jodi Picoult books - my latest reads are The Pact and My Sister's Keeper.

These books have made me reflect on motherhood and my relationship with Colin and Anna. Questions I have asked myself are - do I expect too much from Colin? How to I differentiate from setting high expectations and setting the expectation for doing your best? Do I love one child more than the other? Can I love my kids more? How can I show my life in a better way? Do I show my love in the right way for their development? How can I make sure that my relationship with Colin and Anna is equal, open and honest?

My realization - My mom was a good mom!!!! I realize this more and more.

With 5 kids in my family, there were times that we all felt a little left out, but I do not remember her showing more love consistently to one child versus the other. She also pushed us to do our best, and accepted it when it was our best. She allowed us freedom to try new things in a safe environment and was always approachable.

When I was pregnant with Anna, I really struggled with how a second child was going to affect the balance between me and the kids. I love the fact that Colin is a "mommy" boy, but also wanted to share equal amounts of love with Anna. This was exemplified with Anna decided that she did not want to breastfeed anymore at 10 days old (so I just pumped). I felt like my personal bonding time was gone with Anna. I adjusted, by just making sure that I bonded with her in other ways - special cuddle times during the day, babywearing versus laying her on the ground while chasing Colin, reading books, etc.

As Colin and Anna are grow I think the balance will become harder and harder, but I also know that my love is equal for both of them!

I am truly blessed to have both Colin and Anna in my life - but motherhood is much harder than I ever expected. I hope I will live up to my expectations of being a good mom.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Sunday Pancakes

Today, as seems to be the tradition, we had pancakes for breakfast ( Deric's Grandmother's special Swedish buttermilk pancake recipe). Colin has loved these since he was just a wee little boy- Anna is following in his footsteps.
How much do we love these?

Colin - 6 pancakes
Anna - 1.5 pancakes
Mommy - 3 pancakes
Daddy - 8 pancakes (with peanut butter)

Yum Yum Good!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

P is for Potty

Today while at Target, I thought that a potty was in order. I let Colin pick it out - nice Dora seat - and off we went.

Once at home, he was so excited to see it come out of the package that he had to sit on it. After trying for a while, a little stream came out and went into the Potty.

How exciting!!!!