Cousin playdate

With all the sickness that's been going around Kieran and his cousin Vanessa hadn't seen each other in 5 weeks but we're slowly making up for lost time. We had a visit to their house on Sunday to celebrate Catherine's birthday and then Vanessa came over here today while her mommy had her shoulder tended to.

Despite the 19 month age gap, they really seem to enjoy each other's company and play pretty well side by side if not together. Vanessa's a little more possessive of some of her toys but when she first got here this morning, I could perceive that Kieran wasn't too sure about her playing with his things. He seemed a little bewildered that she was taking over his turf!








It was a beautiful sunny morning so we then bundled ourselves up for a walk to the park. Vanessa helped push Kieran in his stroller and pushed the crosswalk button. I thought Kieran might settle down for a snooze but there was too much excitement with all the kids from the daycare running around. He sat in the stroller for a little bit while Vanessa roamed around and swung and slid then we got him out so he could take part in some of the fun. He's not walking yet so it's hard to let him loose in the park. We sat him in a swing and we also went "bouncy, bouncy" on the teeter-totter.











Then it was time to come home for lunch. Vanessa has been potty training and we had a successful trip all the way upstairs (with a pit stop first to play with the ball popper game) to the bathroom. I didn't have any chocolate to reward her with but she didn't even ask for any.

We had egg salad sandwiches and cucumber and Kieran had strained carrots along with his egg and bread. Vanessa took great pleasure in helping feed Kieran his lunch. She also took great pleasure in eating his raspberries. She first started giving him pieces then she took half for herself then the pieces started getting smaller and then the whole raspberry was for her alone! Luckily Kieran was pretty much done by then! And luckily he is a very patient boy!

Catherine had arrived by this time and unfortunately doesn't yet feel the benefits of her massage. Let's hope this "pain in the neck" doesn't linger for too much longer...

The kids played for a little while more and then it was time for Vanessa to go home for a nap. It took a little coaxing and a few tears were shed but they got out the door without too much of a fight.

Kieran looked pretty wiped out himself so I brought him upstairs and rocked him and held on tight while he squirmed and struggled and he eventually actually fell asleep! Even with being able to hear Holden crying away next door. (We live in a row house and Kieran's bedroom wall adjoins the 15 month old next door's bedroom.)

I heard a few peeps out of K a little while ago but he's been sleeping for an hour and 40 minutes, yesssssss!!!

Yesterday he napped for over three hours but that was after swimming, nursing and being bundled up in the stroller.
This afternoon nap is a breakthrough!

Happy Birthday Kieran!

We celebrated Kieran's first birthday twice on Thanksgiving weekend with turkey dinners and cake and cupcakes.

AAAchooo!

Kieran and I both have colds. His nose started to run (quick, go catch it!) on Sunday and I woke up every hour between Sunday night and Monday morning with my nose running or a sneezing fit. On the plus side, Kieran slept until 8:35 yesterday and 9:35 this morning and napped throughout the day. But he's had a fever too which has made the poor kid unlike his usual self. He's had no appetite and has been quiet and clingy especially this afternoon when he would start crying if I tried to put him down. So I enjoyed cuddling my baby and singing to him and taking it easy myself. Though I could have done without him throwing up both last night and tonight just before bedtime, especially since Daddy wasn't home to help clean up.

Being sick meant skipping swimming class this morning so hopefully we'll be better and be able to make it on Thursday. K & I have been going to aqua-poussette classes again but this time we're going to the pool down in Little Burgundy. It's about a 25 minute walk from home but the class is at 9 am so we're a little rushed in the mornings we go. I know, you people are scoffing at the fact that we have a hard time making it for 9 but Kieran usually wakes up around 7:45 and we have to leave the house by 8:15. Which wouldn't be a problem if he didn't need to nurse and eat breakfast! Even on mornings when he wakes up earlier or I have woken him up, he can take an hour to eat a meal so there is no getting out of the house quickly. And waiting until after class to give him breakfast worked a few times but not always.

This class is a good workout for me but this is no interaction with our babies like the other course we took. But I always take Kieran out of the floater and spend the last 10 or 15 minutes with him in my arms in the water and let him do his thing. He enjoys sitting on the edge of the pool and letting himself fall into the water. It's fun to see the difference in what he does since he was last in the water back in June.

Yup, 4 months make quite a difference. He wasn't even sitting up very well on his own back then. Now he's crawling a mile a minute, standing and walking with help, balancing for a few seconds on his own. He's not really saying any words but he babbles convincingly as if he's really speaking just in some foreign language. He sort of understands "no" and gets upset when you turn him away from where he shouldn't be.

I am still nursing him 3 to 4 times a day which was fine until this weekend when he started biting. His first 3 teeth have only come out in last month or so and now he's using them! I guess I was kind of tired when he decided to take a chunk out of me and I started crying pretty hard and said something along the lines of "OWWWW, THAT REALLY HURTS" and with lots more uncontrollable bawling. Well, poor Kieran. At first he was laughing but then when he realized I was crying, he started to cry too! We were literally a sad couple. I'm just glad Tim wasn't here to witness my patheticalness! Maybe if he had been here, I would have controlled my emotions a bit better!

Today

Yes it's been a while since my last post and lots has happened but I'm not going to try and play catch up today. I'll just ramble on about how uneventful the day was...
I've been having what I thought were allergies the last couple of evenings. Sinus pain, sneezing, itchy eyes. But then last night I woke up a few times with sneezing fits. So I gave in and got up to take some Advil. Except I didn't want to blind myself in the middle of the night by turning a light on. So this morning I realized I had taken Benadryl instead of Advil. No wonder I didn't feel any relief. So I woke up feeling so-so, well enough to decide I would go for a run. Then I got out of bed and stood upright. Sinus pain, ow. Not to mention the tightness in my calves from my aquaform class yesterday. So, yeah, great start to the day. I spent the morning blowing my nose and wishing I could go back to bed all the while feeding and entertaining my napless baby. Honestly, all I wanted to do was lie down and all I can recall doing is feeding Kieran and reading the newspaper. Oh, and eating. I've been so hungry all day. Feed a cold?
The Advil kicked in pretty well and I was feeling better by late afternoon. Still tired but I got a little reprieve on the couch around 4 o'clock. Yeah, cos Kieran napped in his high chair half-way through lunch. So of course instead of napping myself at that time, I checked my emails and probably tried to satiate my appetite. Anyhow, I decided we had to get out of the house and enjoy some of what was left of this nice day so after nursing K for like the 5th time today, we headed over to the Greene Centre for a community corn roast. Kieran might not have any teeth but he sure enjoyed me plucking kernels off a cob and finger feeding him. Kinda messy but it did the trick. From there we went for a little walk over to the park behind the high school and Kieran went for a swing. Then it was back home for more food. We're so done with baby mush. This means more planning when it comes to meal time but I'll try and make stews and slow-cooker recipes that will be easy for Kieran to eat. He so needs to sprout some teeth. He's just got a top one that started protruding about 3 weeks ago. Anyhow, he stills manages to eat chunks of meat without choking on them so I guess it's ok.
Tim was out this evening, curling for the first time this season so I got Kieran ready for bed and he was out cold by 9 o'clock. I'm not looking forward to weaning this kid. It's just so easy to get him to fall asleep by nursing him. Unfortunately that's not always the case when it comes to daytime naps. He usually falls asleep in my arms then wakes up as soon as I try to move him to the playpen. That's probably why he falls asleep so easily at night, he's just plain exhausted! At least he hasn't started having complete breakdowns during the day when he's tired. He does get a little whiny sometimes but I'm not sure what my strategy should be for naps. Right now, if he naps, all the better and if he doesn't, well no big deal. I know if I really wanted him to go down, I could bring him upstairs to his crib and pull the shade and he'd fall asleep, eventually. But our daily routine isn't always the same so I figure why tie myself down with trying to do things a set way and have him completely melt down if we go beyond the predictable. That and I just don't like the idea of having him upstairs and having to have the baby monitor on to hear him. I'll just go with the flow. So far that's pretty much what's worked for us. We're just lucky to have such a good baby. Which I realize he's becoming less and less of ( a baby , that is) as the days go by. Sniff, sniff!

If you want it to be your first and only anniversary...

I was looking for gift ideas for our first wedding anniversary and I think I'll stick to the traditional paper instead of the modern plastic gifts...here's some suggestions that will surely get you in deep doo-doo if you were to get them for your spouse!

Tupperwear (can't even spring for TupperWARE, hun?)

Household items (Rubbermaid garbage can anyone?)

Sunglasses (prescription, UVA or UVB protection?)

Sports gifts (lawn darts maybe?)

Yoga mat (is there any other way to say I love you?!)

Luggage accessories (what, like a name tag holder?)

Adult gifts (I'm not even going to touch that one...)

Although here's a few suggestions the same site gives for traditional paper gifts:

Cigars

Book of floor plans (if building a house soon)

Life insurance

Yeah, sure.

Blueberries are yummy...

But they make a heck of a mess!

You know there's a nursing shortage when...

The other night I dreamt I was in the hospital for some reason I can't remember but I also had an eye infection. One of my old co-workers was taking care of me and she stuck some kind of IV in my eye that looked like a battery tester. But all was good because she had learnt how to use that kind of machine back home in Romania.
I was then sent out to the waiting room while the antibiotics were to take effect.
When I came back 10 minutes later, Ryan Seacrest was there and removed the IV for me with much fanfare.

Bizarre.

Kennedy out.

Wedding weekend

I started this post last night but it was getting late so I didn't finish it but now my mind is much preoccupied by other things but I will try and finish this now...


You had to be there!

Words (at least mine) cannot do justice to the great weekend we had!

Yes, believe it or not, my big brother, P-J, tied the knot with his true love Melora this past Sunday.

I can't imagine the week (or months) they must have had leading up to it but it certainly made me appreciate even more the simpleness of Tim's & my wedding!

For us, it started on Saturday evening with the cocktail at their apartment. I met lots of Melora's American relatives and a few friends from out of town. I did recognize a couple of faces from the past too.

There were lots of tasty finger foods and even make-your-own smoked meat sandwiches.

And it was the beginning of the Kieran-love-fest!
It's a good thing he's too young to understand all these compliments he gets or his head would be at least twice its size!

And Sunday was the big day.
I've never been one to go all crazy on my appearance and am even less attentive to what I look like now that I'm a mom (yes, I know, sad but true) so I wore the same dress and shoes I wore to Steph & Olaf's wedding 6 years ago and to Dianna and Daryl's 4 years ago. Who's to know?! Well, all of you now!

We tried to head to the ceremony early but had to turn back when we realized we'd forgotten the stroller. I'm sure my Auntie Ann (deaf aunt who forgot to put in her hearing aid) who was with us had no clue as to why we were turning back home. That's if she had a clue in the first place as to where we were headed!
Anyhow, I digress...we made it to Parc Jean Drapeau and had to drive the whole way around Ile Notre Dame to get to the Canadian pavillion where the reception was to be.
The ceremony took place a short walk away in the Jardins des Floralies.
The bride was late, which was fine by me, it gave me time to nurse Kieran before the ceremony and we won't mention that my parents were late too.
Aaah, but better late than never (especially in my father's case!)

Kieran babbled and raspberried throughout the whole ceremony!
But I managed to mostly tune him out while I did my reading (Corinthians 13 - the one about faith, hope & love.)

The rain held off so all was good.

And the food was just amazing! So many salads and stuff on the grill to choose from -which I didn't have to do as Tim got me food while I nursed K.

There's just too much to talk about without going into all the details but we had a really nice evening. Of course, Tim spent most of his time taking photos, over 500 in all, I think!

We could have stayed a lot later (or earlier, I suppose!) but we had to get Auntie Ann home. Which is just as well because we were exhausted enough as it was leaving when we did.
Kieran was an angel, he slept in the stroller most of the evening but was wide awake on the way home and when we tried to put him down in his crib. Nothing that another feeding didn't take care of, just to add to my exhaustion!

So we managed to sleep in on Monday morning and then headed downtown to hotel Le Crystal for brunch.
It was a nice chance to visit with my relatives from my mom's side who came up for the wedding. Oh, and coming up for them does not mean from the States - my mom comes from St-Eugène which is about an hour's drive past Quebec City on the South Shore.

So as usual, it was all about the food :)

Oops, I did it!

We had a tiring but very fun-filled weekend with my brother's wedding happening but more on that later. We got to see some family, here's an exerpt:

Ma tante Jeanne-Mance to me (in French): "I'm sorry, I can't remember your husband's name."

Me: "It's Tim."

Her: "Dim?" (or Pim or something like that!)

Me: "No Tim, like Tim Horton, Tsim. Tsimothée."

Her: "Aaaah, why didn't you say Tsimothée in the first place.?!"

Sorry Tsim....

Footnote: Most French Canadians for some reason can never get Tim's name right unless it is pronounced with a "ts" sound.

Footnote for Maya: I guess we have to call Kieran "Tsimbit" now!

It's time to update!

Unfortunately, more often than not, it's when I'm awake at some ungodly hour of the morning that I actually take the time to update my blog!
Unfortunately, I really wish I'd had more than 5 hours sleep last night.
Let's hope Kieran naps well again like he did yesterday so I can get a nap in later too.

So what have we been up to in the last 2 months?

Yes, I am again reduced to highlighting our exciting lives to try and catch up!

Well, our upstairs renovations are not quite complete (there's some painting touch ups to be done, doors to be hung and a few little other odds and ends) but we have moved on to bigger and better things!
Our front steps really needed to be redone, in fact we'd had the permit to do the work since last summer but never got around to finding someone who was available to do the work.
We have access to our basement from the front (we live in a row house) and the cement walls were in dire need of repair. We're very pleased with the end result and now we have extra storage under the stairs as they excavated further back than what we had previously.
The weather has not been too cooperative lately so the stairs only got a first coat of paint this past Wednesday (we splurged on Benjamin Moore Aura paint) but Tim is also up early so it looks like coat #2 will go on this morning!

I don't think we'll be dancing the night away this evening!

Kieran is doing well. He's much, much more alert and interactive as the days go by.
8 1/2 months old already!
He started sitting up without the side to side wobbles and toppling over at the beginning of this week.
He just can't get out of the sitting position without help once we plop him down on the floor.
He's not crawling yet but is certainly mobile nonetheless. He can roll and turn himself all over the living room floor. We really need to baby-proof this place soon!

Kieran also started on solid foods, oh, way back when at this point! I've been making my own baby mush and freezing it in ice cube trays for appropriate size portions. It's been going well with only a few throw up mishaps, especially when he had a cold and fever. Although in the last couple of weeks, he's picked up his old habit of doing raspberries. Very cute at first. Not so cute when he has a mouth full of food and you get a turkey or broccoli shower.

We've had a couple more appointments at the Children's Hospital. Kieran's kidneys are pretty much ok but they'll keep checking on them. We have another ultrasound in September.
He might be allergic to peanuts, we had him tested after he had some kind of skin reaction while we were in Barbados. But at this point it was inconclusive. The doctor prescribed us an Epipen (which I try to remember to bring with us whenever we go out) but we'll have him re-tested in a year. In the meanwhile we just make sure we wash our hands well after eating peanut butter.

And Monsieur's personality is certainly developing. He gets this little devious look on his face when he does something and you can really see he's wondering what kind of reaction he'll get from us from his behaviour.

I will officially be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) once my parental leaves runs out in August but I guess I shouldn't really write about the details until next month. So more to come on that later!

That's about all the highlights I can think of at the moment. I really will try to blog more often! I know, I keep saying that! But the longer you go without writing, the harder it is to get back into it. You just don't know where to begin.

I find it a lot like talking to someone you haven't seen in a long time. You just don't feel like it's appropriate to get into the details of your daily life when they have no idea what's been going on in the big scheme of things.

Do you do that? Some people I haven't talked to in months I find I have nothing to say to while I can chat with others every day for half an hour (or more!)
Kind of like in Cegep when I'd spend most of the day with some friends and then we'd spend half of the evening on the phone with each other!

So tomorrow, I will be back.
Perhaps!
I should have a lot to say...my big brother's getting married today. YIKES!

1990 revisited

A couple of weeks ago, my mom & I were reminiscing about our trip to Europe way back in 1990, particularly our encounter with this creepy guy in Grenoble. So I thought I'd share my journal entry from back then...

"We drove straight to Grenoble and had lunch in front of the tourist office (which was closed) and some man (Serge Meunier) was watching us from his apartment and came down to talk to us 'cos he saw from our license plate we had a car from Paris. So, mommy invited herself for tea at his place. This guy was a real weirdo. He totally freaked me out the whole time we were there. I thought he would come out of the kitchen with a carving knife! He's been divorced for 14 years and he had pictures of his ex-wife all over the place. He kept looking me up and down. I tell you, all I wanted to do was to get out of there and quick!"

I'd forgotten the part about his ex-wife...and my mom remembered it as him watching us through a pair of binoculars. Ah, good times!

Cousins

Better spirits

Well sunshine and getting out of the house seem to have helped my mood, at least for now!
And who has time to be depressed when Easter is almost here and there will be so much chocolate that will need to be eaten!

On Tuesday we sent Tim off to work on the bus and took the truck to the South Shore for a trip to Ikea with Catherine and Vanessa so she could get a shelving unit for their living room. Seeing her getting things organized somewhat inspired me to do the same. Unfortunately, I have a lot more stuff (i.e. crap (!)) in my house so things will always look cluttered no matter what. This household was just not meant to be minimalistic I guess.

And on Wednesday we started a new session of swimming classes. There were a lot of new faces and lots of younger (around 3 month old) babies. It was fun to compare Kieran to them and see how much he has developed in 3 months.

My baby will already be 6 months old tomorrow, yikes!

But I don't think we ever stop thinking how fast time flies...when I turned 35, my mom exclaimed "My baby is going to be 35!" in this tone of disbelief.

Such is life!

The lost art of blogging

Rather than not blog at all, I've instead been opting more often than not to post pictures lately. They're a little more interesting than the posts I've been writing. I feel like I'm just writing mundane descriptions of my daily routine that must bore my few readers to tears...I can write the best of posts at anytime in my head but they just don't seem to come out when I'm sitting here at the keyboard.

I wish I could write as well as some of the bloggers I follow. Some are so witty. Some are deep. Some have the guts to share personal thoughts and show their weaknesses.

I used to write to clear my head and few people were privy to those writings. I started a blog to try and share some of my more intimate thoughts but those kind of postings were few and far between. I tend to censor myself knowing who reads my blog.
But maybe it's time I stop doing that. Maybe it's time I reach out and admit my insecurities. Because we all have them. But we never really discuss them.

I have a great life and couldn't be happier with the way things are. Yet this morning I held my giggling baby in my arms while I sobbed uncontrollably. I have this underlying feeling of being overwhelmed by it all. I try to take it one step at a time but sometimes it just gets the best of me. Luckily it doesn't last too long. But it also doesn't go away completely.

I don't need to be this deep all the time. But sometimes it helps to let it out. Sometimes I have to admit that all is not right. Sometimes I have to come out of my shell and see what happens. Sometimes I have to take that chance and see and see how it works for me.

And then I can re-read this post and laugh at how cheesy and clicheed I sound!

Kewl kid

I love my reflecion in his lens...Kieran and I went for a long walk yesterday, to the CCA then all the way back to Dairy Queen and then we unexpectedly got to visit with Uncle Olaf before heading back home. It was so nice to get out in the warmth and sunshine!

There's a slight resemblance to me...

We're home!

Well wifi was a little unreliable while we were in Barbados so I didn't get online as much as I thought I would so I could update...

I said that Kieran wasn't able to roll from his back to his tummy yet but he's done it twice although no one actually saw him do it. There's certainly no leaving him unsupervised on an elevated surface anymore. Yesterday in the airplane lavatory I even caught him rolling off the changing table while I looked away for a split second.

Our time in Barbados was mostly spent preapring meals, getting ready to go to the beach and relaxing on the beach! On Thursday we went into Bridgetown and did a little shopping. We had some showers that evening and Friday was kind of overcast also. We were going to go to Oistins fish market for a fish fry supper but the dark skies made us change our minds. We even lost power for over an hour that evening.

Kieran woke up early to be fed (like 4 or 5 am) while we were in Barbados but last night he slept right through til about 8 o'clock this morning. Either that or we didn't hear him if he did wake up!

The flight back went well even if I had the window seat again. Daddy met us at the airport and we were so happy to see him!

Barbados day 4

Barbados day 2 & 3

Sunday is actually still a day of rest in this country, imagine that!
We went into Bridgetown, the capital and walked around the deserted streets as all the shops and restaurants were closed.
Sometimes they open when cruise ships come into port and there were 2 ships in but everything was closed anyhow.

Kieran had a first yesterday - he rolled over from his tummy to his back. So he has to be watched a little more closely now, depending on where he is lying. He can't roll from his back to his tummy yet, he still gets stuck on his side as he hasn't figured out how to get his arm out of the way yet.

All this fresh air has Kieran napping more during the day and yesterday I managed to go for a walk along the beach by myself and was gone for a good hour. Okay, I admit I was a little concerned he would wake up before I got back, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about, he slept for a whole 10 minutes after my return! He does tend to fuss a lot before settling down to sleep but I thinks that's because he is overtired.

This morning I snuck out for an early morning swim and got back before Kieran woke up.
Later in the morning we all went to the beach and now I'm feeling the sun on my shoulders as I went swimming pretty soon after we got there and did not reapply any sunscreen. I took Kieran into the ocean but he wasn't too thrilled about it, especially when a rather large wave came from behind and took me by surprise!

Our apartment is not directly on the water, it's about a 2 minute walk to the public access to the beach so we don't have any chairs to sit on when we go which is a little inconvenient. I lay Kieran down on the sand on my towel but with all his squirming he ended up with sand pretty much everywhere, his mouth included as his hands pretty much end up directly in his mouth most of the time!

The internet connection here was not working until this morning and I can't believe what a relief it was when I was finally able to connect. Very weird. But then again, it was probably more because I could be in touch with Tim rather than feeling out of touch with the cyber world. I had no such feeling whatsover when we were in Cuba.

So I will try for some daily updates and hopefully will have some more interesting tidbits to share as he week goes on!

Barbados, our arrival.

Well, here we are on day 2 1/2 of our second winter holiday in the sun...Kieran and I decided to come and join Grandmaman and Granddaddy during their 3 week stay here in Barbados. Unfortunately, we had to leave Daddy behind at home. But he's keeping busy painting and organizing our upstairs office. I can't wait to see the finished product when we get back.

So we got up bright and early on Saturday morning (I had woken up at 3:30 and didn't get back to sleep, ugh) and headed out to the airport around 6 o'clock. Kieran was awake but luckily didn't get hungry til later. Tim accompanied us all the way to the security gates. So I'd checked us in online which is supposed to save time as all you have to do when you get to the airport is drop off your baggage. Ha!
I still had to go to the self-check in to get our baggage labels and print our boarding passes with the gate info which was missing from the one I had printed at home. Then we had to wait in line at the baggage drop-off and I had to show the agent our passports and boarding passes. So, time saved? None whatsover. Work saved by agent? Printing and affixing the labels on our bags. What a croc. Air Canada sucks!

We got through security with no trouble and the agents there were actually quite friendly and helpful, folding and reopening the stroller for me and telling me to take my time with Kieran. He was quite good during the whole flight, I nursed him in the waiting area and then in the plane before take-off and then after another feed and some breakfast for me, we both managed a nap. The flight was a little over 5 hours long and went by pretty quickly. I had the window seat which was nice for the view, but a little inconvenient for lavatory visits.

Funny coincidence, we were on the same flight as a family we know from the curling club and they are staying not too far from where we are. I'd never really talked to them before, but funnily enough, I had gone to the club this past Tuesday and did have a conversation (mostly about Kieran) with John. I have their phone number so we can get together at some point this week.

And as a nice surprise, my mom came and met us at the airport. We had a fun bus ride back to the apartment making everyone step over my luggage and contend with me wacking them in the heads with my backpack. Thank goodness I had Kieran in the Maman Kangouroo carrier. But $1.50 instead of $40 for a taxi made it worthwhile! (I guess!)

After devouring a sandwich and feeding Kieran too, we left the men to fend for themselves, and went to the beach for a swim before sunset. The water was heavenly although the area where we swam was a little rocky.

We then had a delicious roast chicken supper followed by a quiet evening and an early bedtime.

And another month has almost come and gone

Well what did March have in store for us?
I finally got my things organized and now most of my clothes are actually in my own bedroom. It seems silly that the dresser and the closet in the guest room are empty but eventually we will need the space and it certainly is more convenient to have my things in my own room. It also gave me the opportunity to get ride of some stuff.

The day after my last post, we went to see France who was performing in a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Gondoliers". Grandma Jo-Anne babysit Kieran and we ended up having to come home at intermission because he would not drink from the bottle. To think that at the beginning I had so much trouble getting him to breast feed and now he won't take a bottle!

Kieran and I have been going to swim class and using Communauto, the care-sharing co-op, and I'm quite enjoying it.

The first weekend in March, Kieran and I joined Robbie, Olaf, Stephanie and Ysabel for some weekend fun in the Laurentians. We went up to Lac Tremblant where Robbie's family have their cottage. The cottage is closed up for the winter as it is not winterized and the only access in the summer is by boat but once or twice a winter they go up to check on things and do some glorified winter camping. Because we took Kieran, we were lucky enough that Robbie's cousin let us use her cottage which has full amenities. Except something went wrong with her pump so we had no water. Which was fine, it did give us a bit of a sense of roughing it! The walk up on the ice was pretty wet and slippery but it was a nice mild day. Sunday was sunnier but pretty windy. Ysabel had brought her kite and she and Olaf had great fun for a good 2 hours flying it.
Tim had stayed home to do some work around the house and he also realized that he was on call that weekend so had to stay near a computer.
We had a good laugh at Robbie's expense when he made a second batch of pancakes and added hot water to the mix. Mmmm, pre-cooked batter! Olaf and I ate them anyways, we'll eat anything!!!

Tim was (ahem) lucky enough to get up early on Sunday morning to drive my parents to the airport as they were leaving for Barbados. (Thanks again Boo, you're the best!)

I have quite a story to tell about this but it will have to wait...some of you Facebook people might know what little critter I'm talking about...

Where did February go?!

My does time ever fly...We had a great time in Cuba although it all seems in the distant past at this point, sigh.
Kieran was a great traveller, he had no problems with the take-offs and landings, sleeping or nursing through them all. The first couple of days were rather cool (12 degrees C the evening we arrived) but it made for a gradual transition to the warmer climate. It was a bit chilly for swimming but by the end of our trip it was humid and up to about 28 degrees. We didn't do much other than eat, swim, sit around, relax and enjoy each other's company. We did take the bus into Varadero City one morning and walked around a couple of the free markets where they sell all kinds of touristy souvenirs. I can't say that we really got a taste of Cuba as such, we could have been at a resort anywhere else in the world for all we knew! Which is too bad but I think we were all so tired and in need of a vacation that that was not the goal of our trip. We got back home on Friday the 13th without any incidents (!) and Tim had the weekend to recover before going back to work on Monday.

The painters came back that Monday and finished up all the work on Tuesday. We haven't quite gotten everything back in place yet but that should be accomplished this weekend. One of the workmen just came by to clean the floor of paint spatters so all should be good now. We haven't yet picked out a new sink though and Tim is planning on building the vanity himself so let's say, end of March for completion?!

Kieran is now grabbing and holding onto things.

He also sticks his tongue out and does raspberries (or zerberts). Ma tante France will have to get lessons from him!

He's been napping less during the day but sleeps very well at night, sometimes for more than 10 hours, woo hoo!

We missed a couple of swim classes due to the painting and being in Cuba but the last couple of times in the pool, Kieran has actually kicked in the water which he had not done before other than at bath time.

Last week was a busy week of appointments. K got his vaccinations at the CLSC, we had another test at the Children's hospital for his kidneys and we also had a check-up at the paediatrician. We go back for the test results at the hospital on March 23rd but his doctor reassured me there is nothing to worry about. It's really all about monitoring the size of the kidneys and since reflux was ruled out, long-term damage is not a concern.

I'm itching to get outside and be more active physically (I say this as I'm looking out the window and it's pouring rain!) and get rid of a bit of my jiggly belly. Can't wait for spring and warmer weather. As short as February was, I'm thinking March is going to be a loooooooooong month!

Time for a change of scenery

3 more sleeps and we're off to Cuba. And none too soon. It will be nice to get away even if we don't get a chance to put the house back in order before we go.
The work is progressing well. The plasterers managed to do all the necessary repairs in a couple of hours on Thursday and did such a good job there was very little sanding to be done.
That left me free to get out of the house in the afternoon and go and apply for Kieran's social insurance number.

Friday morning, I got the call...Vanessa was home from the hospital! YAY! And she is recovering very well. Now if only her mommy can get better. But it looks promising that we will all be going to Cuba together. It just would not have been the same if it were only our family of three going.

That afternoon I had an appointment at Communauto, a car-sharing service in our city (also available in Sherbrooke, Québec and Gatineau.) I decided to join so now I will be able to get around town a little easier than with public transportation. Taking the bus and métro is fine for some areas but getting to the South Shore to see Cathy and Vanessa or going out to the West Island is not as easy. So now I'm signed up for the requisite year and we will see how it goes.

Saturday morning made Tim a happy man. He finally got his Yamaha piano.
He was all ready to pick a fight with someone at the store as it had been 4 weeks since it had been on order (after first saying they had one in stock, they then discovered it was damaged so they said it would be 10 to 14 days for an order.) Anyhow, when he called, the guy said he was just about to call us to say it was ready for pick up. So Kieran is now set to become a concert pianist! That is, if he choses to be! I certainly hope he will have his father's talent for music. I took about 5 years of guitar lessons when I was young but had absolutely no talent for it. Maybe Uncle P-J will have also passed his musical talent on to Kieran.

We made it out snowshoeing yesterday with our friend Heidi. There's a really nice cross-country ski and snowshoeing trail near her place in St-Eustache, just North of the city and we went out for what we think was about a 5 km trek. The map didn't show the snowshoe trails so we're guessing from the ski trails and the time we were out that that's how far we went! Kieran was hungry when we started off so he was wailing away in my ears but he eventually settled down and I only fed him when we got back to Heidi's. A little bad planning on our part but I figured if he was in the Maman Kangourou carrier he would last more than 2 hours. Apparently not!











At least he is back to his normal length feeding times. He must have been going through a growth spurt last week as he was nursing for up to an hour at times. That was very tiring. Today he's just feeding for a bit and then getting distracted and stopping and playing for a bit then fussing and wanting to feed again. He did that after supper and when I finished feeding him for the second time, he fell fast asleep and has been dead to the world since!

The painters started priming today and will be back in the morning to give a first coat of paint.

Catching up again

I got to go out last Friday night! Tim stayed home with Kieran and I went to see a really good show at the Green Room on St-Laurent. My friend Robbie made me discover this really great trio from Toronto called The Good Lovelies. The best way I can describe them is a folksy version of The Dixie Chicks with lots more harmonies thrown in. The opening act was pretty good too, Peter Katz, just a guy with his guitar and his angst!

Saturday was a complete write-off...Tim spent the day on a conference call for work so Kieran and I just hung out until evening when we took Grandma Jo-Anne out for supper. She just recently got a Wii console so we had fun playing with it back at her house afterwards.

On Sunday we hauled our butts off to Ikea for the final day of their wardrobe sale. We want to re-organize our office with lots more storage (the closets in this house are tiny) so we bought some Pax wardrobes to do the trick. Not everything was in stock so we'll wait for their phone call before we pick everything up.

Our niece Vanessa was admitted to the hospital that same day. And poor thing, she's still there but on the mend from pneumonia and RSV (Human respiratory syncytial virus). It does not look promising that she and her parents will be coming to Cuba with us. That really sucks. But a trip South would certainly be a in order after their ordeal. We will wait and see what happens...

I did some cooking that afternoon, lentil stew and carrot muffins, to bring to Catherine (Vanessa's mom) as she had been at the hospital since Sunday and was coming down with the cold too. She was completely worn out but luckily after a night's sleep in her own bed, she was doing better. Unfortunately with the highly contagious nature of RSV, we were best staying away from all the sickos (!) but lots of phone calls have been exchanged. Hopefully the little support I have been able to give has done some good.

On Tuesday, my Auntie Ann came to get Kieran & I so we could go and visit Uncle Fred. He's my dad's oldest surviving sibling and turned 87 that day. It was the first time he met Kieran in person and I think it made his day. Kieran was awake the whole time we were there so Uncle Fred got lots of smiles and some cooing and curious stares.

A toilet leak was quickly averted that evening when Tim got home and discovered it was only a hose that had come loose in the tank. Phewf! But we did have some minor flooding in the living room through the trap in the ceiling. No biggee, no damage done.

And on Wednesday morning, the fun began! Our house is pretty much in disarray as we are having the livingroom ceiling plastered and painted, same with the upstairs hallway and the bathroom is having some minor work done & painting too. I can't wait til it's all finished! The painters are starting on Monday so I will keep my fingers crossed that the work will be completed before we leave on Thursday. I'll probably run myslef ragged before leaving trying to get everything back in place. Oh well, the vacation will be even more appreciated in that case!

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it's the weekend!

Wednesday was swim day but I figured with his ongoing cold, it was best if Kieran stayed out of the pool this week. I dropped him off at my parents' place (no complaints there!) and then went to the pool by myself.
I got a good workout and discovered how out of shape I am when I tried to swim laps. I also realized how much faster it is to get in & out of there when you don't have a baby in tow! I went back to my parents and had some lunch and then Kieran & I came home. It's nice that our swim classes are in Lachine (at my old high school, but there was no pool when I went there) so we get a weekly visit with Grand-maman and Grand-daddy.

I managed to take a nap before supper that evening. Naps are good. I like naps. I should nap more. Zzzzzzz...!

Tim came home from Toronto late that evening. Even if he was only gone for a couple of nights, it was nice to have him back home.
Just as we were both falling asleep, the little activity gym we leave in the hallway started playing its music and freaked us both out. The next morning, I was trying to figure out if I had dreamed it or not & then recalled Tim saying: "There's a ghost in the machine!" I don't know why the thing went off as you have to touch it for the music to sound. Ghosts indeed!

Thursday was our first visit to the Mother Goose Rhyme Time again at the Atwater Library. They sing songs in French, English and Spanish and they sang quite a few tunes I don't know so it was refreshing.

In the afternoon I took Kieran to my periodontist's appointment and got my stitches taken out. The area is not as tender with the stitches out and by next week I can start brushing and flossing where the surgery was done.
I still have one more area to be worked on but I have not yet booked the appointment. I'm in no rush!

And today was a much needed day of rest. Nap time now I think!

My ever-changing world

As Kieran becomes more aware of his surroundings and interacts with us more, I don't always accomplish much more in a day other than feeding him, changing his diaper and most importantly, playing, singing and talking to him. Which is absolutely fine. I'd much rather coo and smile at him than clean house or cross things off my to-do list. Bonding with my son and being part of his development take precedence over everything at this point. I'm learning to slow down and not stress out if things don't get done or if we're not out the door by such a time.

I also manage to balance things out with some "me" time or at least some "us" time. On Tuesday morning we went to the Atwater Library (I can't believe after living in this neighbourhood for over 14 years, that was the first time I had set foot there!) for story time and I met a bunch of mothers who belong to Wee Wiggles a mom's group I have joined.

After coming home for lunch, we then went for a little shopping trek and picked up a few things for our trip to Cuba. I'm feeling a little guilty...I went to L'Aubainerie, a discount store in Lasalle and picked up some socks, a tank top, a UVB protection bathing suit for Kieran and a Roots bathing suit for me. As the cashier picked up the bottom part of my bathing suit, she asked me if I had tried it on (as there are no returns or exchanges for swimwear) and then she picked up the top which had the price tag on it and proceeded to put it in the bag without scanning it! I did not say anything. I was sure she would notice. She did not notice. I still did not say anything. I signed the credit card slip. I still made no mention of it. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Okay, it was only $20 (plus tax!). Would you have said anything? Am I completely unscrupulous?! Judge not lest you be judged!!!

No wonder I'm so tired, walking around with all this guilt at the back of my mind!

Weekend fun part 2

So after turning the lights out by 11:30 last night, I managed to sleep until 7 this morning. Kieran made it all the way through to 7:30. No wake ups during the night. I love my son! I guess we're both pretty wiped out from our colds.

So, the rest of the weekend...I did have to get up around 4 on Sunday to nurse Kieran and then went back to bed until 8. Caroline and Tim also got up around that time and Caroline offered to make pancakes for breakfast. They were tasty!

We managed to leave the house around 11 and headed for High Falls, a waterfall on the Salmon River. The trailhead is a few minutes by car from the cottage. We got to blaze our own trail through the fresh snow and took in the scenery and the fresh air. It was much warmer on Sunday, it probably hit 25 degrees F for a high. It was quite a hike, it took us almost 2 hours and we were all quite happy to get back to the car. We should have brought a snack to munch on. Or eaten more protein for breakfast! We gobbled down some leftover pizza when we got back to the house before making oursleves some sandwiches. After all that snowshoeing, we needed to relax a bit so we sat down and watched "The Upside of Anger" then cleaned up, packed up & then headed back to Montreal. We made a pit stop at the Walmart in Malone and got back to the city around 8:30. Home sweet home!
Kieran and Tim had their quality time that evening as it was bath night. (for Kieran!)

And a fine time was had by all!

Weekend fun

So the three of us having colds did not stop us from going away for the weekend. We had planned to go to my parents' cottage in upstate New York with Tim's cousin Caroline so we did! We left Friday night and Kieran got to use his passport for the first time to cross the border.
He slept very well that night and only woke up once around 4 o'clock when I got up to clean his nose with saline spray. We then all slept til about 8 o'clock when it was time for breakfast. Kieran was again running a fever so we gave him some more Tempra which took care of it.
We then headed out to go snow-shoeing at Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center which is about a half hour from the cottage. They were having their Chilly Ski and Snowshoe festival with various activities going on, notably a chili cookoff which provided us with a tasty lunch. We went for a short trek in the morning followed by a longer walk in the afternoon. It was a crisp, beautiful day, perfect weather really, not as cold as you'd expect 0 degrees F to feel!

Upon our return to the house, I took a much needed nap while Tim and Caroline watched a movie and made pizza dough. We love making homemade pizza and as always, it turned out super tasty. We had an evening of movie watching and then hit the hay.

Sunday's activities will have to wait as I should get to bed. Kieran woke up at 3:30 this morning so I'm a little tired despite the nap I had before supper. I've put him to bed but it's a little earlier than usual so I'll have to see what time he wakes up at.
Daddy's away in Toronto on business so it's only my beauty sleep that will be disrupted tonight!

Weekly update

Give the government long enough and I guess they can eventually get efficient at certain things...I went to the passport office on Monday the 5th to apply for Kieran's passport and I received it in the mail on the following Monday. I must say, I was impressed. So now we are all ready for international travel and we have booked an all-inclusive trip to Cuba. We're going to stay at a "family-friendly" resort in Varadero and we'll be travelling with Tim's brother Eric, his wife Catherine and their 22 month-old daughter Vanessa. We all can't wait to go!

Kieran and I had an uneventful visit to the paediatrician on Friday the 9th for a regular check-up. Dr Monotone, as we have taken to calling him (he speaks very calmy and well, in a monotone voice!) says we have a very beautiful baby. Kieran got an oral vaccine against rotavirus which causes a type of gastroenteritis. I'm not sure what to think about the schools of thought that are blaming vaccines for the higher rate of autism in children these days but we've decided the benefits of giving Kieran his shots outweigh the risks.

Last Saturday Tim got up and wasn't feeling too well, but we did some running around town anyhow. We bought Kieran a Pea pod travel tent which we will bring to Cuba as his sleeping quarters.

On Sunday Tim's cold really kicked in with fever, chills and coughing. Kieran was also a bit out of sorts that day, not wanting to be put down.
We started using cloth diapers that evening which I loooooove! They are a far cry from the cotton squares and diaper pins my mom used on me. I bought some cotton diapers from a woman in my swimming class and then bought some more absorbent bamboo ones from Mère Hélène, a baby-boutique in Lasalle. No more accidents if you put the diaper-cover on properly and 2 or 3 extra loads of laundry a week makes no difference to me.

Tim didn't go to work on Monday morning but went to the clinic instead. He only went back to work on Thursday as per the doctor's orders. It was only a virus but he needed his rest.

I spent a few hours at the Children's hospital with Kieran for his follow-up ultra-sound on his kidneys. It seems like the hydronephrosis has not improved and has possibly gotten slightly worse so now we have to have a MAG3 scan done. They will inject him with a radioactive material to get a better view of how the kidneys are functioning. I was only there for a few hours, but most of it was spent waiting in a hot, dry environment surrounded by sick children. Not your most pleasant atmosphere. And that evening I also started coming down with a cold.
As for his kidneys, the doctor doesn't seem overly concerned but I will be relieved once Kieran gets a clean bill of health.

On Tuesday, we rested by going to the movies. We went to the Movies for Mommies showing of Bedtime Stories. Tim & I enjoyed it. You have to like Adam Sandler though. Who I have grown to like over the years. I think he gained my respect after I saw him in Punch-Drunk Love.

Wednesday we braved the cold and my sniffles and went to swim class. We had a good time and Kieran took to the water no worse than last week. I can't really say he "enjoys" the water, as he doesn't really have any reaction to it but he doesn't seem to mind it either.

On Thursday morning Grand-maman came over to watch her favourite grandson while I had some more gum surgery. Not the most pleasant thing to have done and certainly less than enjoyable when you also have a cold to deal with. Anyhow, I got through it with a few codeine pain killers!

Catherine and Vanessa dropped by that afternoon and Kieran and I entertained V for about an hour while Catherine went to run an errand. V was very happy to see Baby K, as she call him.

On Friday, it was Kieran's turn to get sick. He woke up with a fever. The poor boy looked miserable with watery eyes and a runny nose but he wasn't complaining too much. We gave him some Tempra and cleaned his nose with saline spray and even if he didn't like having salt water sprayed up his nose, it certainly helped relieve his congestion. We figured there was no point going to the doctor even if they recommend you do so if a child his age is running a fever. After the Tempra, his temp was back down again and we knew he had caught our cold so there's not much more the doctor could have told us to do...I'll write later about the great weekend we had.

Repas gastronomique chasse et pêche

Here are photos of 5 of the 7 courses we had last Saturday evening.

Missing are the soupe à la courge et aux champignons sauvages garnie d'une valse de six champignons which was served with a choice of South Pirie Pinot Noir Tasmania 2007 or Swan Bay Victoria Chardonnay Scotchmans Hill 2006 and the cheese platter with Bouq'emissaire, girondines, migneron and le secret de Maurice served with a capiteux cassis vinifié fortifié Monna at filles.


Ceviche de doré sur nid de betterave jaune, served with Domaine A et P de Villaine Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Les Clous 2006






Galettes de brochet aux pistaches rôties, salsa de grenades et dattes, served with Château Bellevue La Forêt 2007




Raviolis de cerf, réduction de porto et ail rôti, served with Château Tayac Côtes de Bourg 2003






Saucisse d'orignal aux petits fruits accompagné de croustilles de panais au bleu, served with Marion Cabernet Sauvignon 2004





Flaming the crème brûlée




Crème brûlée au riz parfumée à l'érable, served with Château de Beaulon Pineau des Charentes

Highlights from the last month!

Kieran got his vaccinations for diphteria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib. He cried a little with the first shot and then a lot (!) with the second but he was not upset for long. Mommy knows how to calm him down!

He now weighs around 12 lbs and has outgrown most of his 0 to 3 month clothes. He is wearing size 1-2 diapers.

He sleeps for 6 to 7 hours at night now, most of the time.

We took our first trip to the States with him the weekend of Dec 12th. Grandmaman and Granddaddy spent the weekend with us at the cottage and they had a great time bonding with their grandson.

Kieran is much more aware of his surroundings now and babbles a lot and I can get a few giggles out of him too.

Tim and I helped paint my parents livingroom. I finished the trim this Tuesday but there are still the door frames, door and windows to be done so they can finally get things re-organized.

I managed to do a little bit of baking for Christmas - ginger cookies, 2 fruitcakes and mince meat tarts.

Kieran has now been washed away of the Original Sin as we had him baptized on December 27th. Uncle P-J and cousine Caroline are his godparents.
We had quite a lot of family attend the ceremony despite the freezing rain that day and Great-Grandpa John even made it. (He's the one who originally ordered that we have a boy!)

Catherine, Vanessa, Kieran and I took a day trip to Ottawa to go visit Great-Grandpa again. He was staying at Great-Uncle John's for the Holidays.
I get a great kick out of the fact that Kieran has great uncles who are only a few years older than me. (okay, technically they are half-great-uncles but it's still funny!)

We had a quiet New Year's eve at our friends Paul & Murielle's with Catherine, Vanessa and Murielle's sister Danielle. Eric was working security at a party dowtown so he did not take part in our celebrations.

We went snowshoeing for the first time this season up on Mount-Royal with Catherine, Eric & Vanessa. It was a nice outing and convinced C & E to buy snowshoes of their own. (They rented some that day.) So hopefully we will all make it out together a few more times this winter.

Tim has bought a Yamaha keyboard but we haven't gotten it yet. It should be delivered in a week or so. He's always wanted to learn to play the piano and now he will! I don't know if Kieran will have inherited his father's musical talent (I hope so!) but I figure exposing him early on to as much as possible can't hurt.

We had a fabulous gourmet 7 course meal at our friends Gillian & François' last Saturday evening. 6 hours at the dinner table! It was delectable! Everyone was amazed at how quiet a baby Kieran is. He was just sitting there most of the evening, not making a sound. I love my son!

I was to begin a mama-baby dance class this past Tuesday but it was cancelled because not enough people had signed up for it. I did start a swimming class yesterday with Kieran and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a good workout and Kieran took to the water. Well, at least he didn't seem to mind it! I even dunked his head under a few times and he didn't cry. He just came back up with this half-stunned look on his face!

Today I thought I'd move some furniture around upstairs to make room for a wardrobe for our bedroom and get all my clothes out of the guestroom. Unfortunately the dresser I moved into our room near the door is too wide for the door to be able to close. So it's back to the drawing-board but I left it as is for now. Tim is going to get a surprise when he gets home!

That's it for now, pictures to follow later, at some point!