Sleep in!

Kai slept at gramma's last night. Gary left at 6am. I was curious to see how long I would sleep in. I slept until 9:30am! Wowzers. I haven't slept that long in over 3 years. It was amazing to have the day to myself. I felt so....free. I didn't do anything exciting. I just cleaned the house, went grocery shopping, and got my hair cut:) I took Kai with me to vote tonight. It was terrible. It took an hour. Kai was grumpy and tired and sick. I had to hold him half the time. Holding a 32lb kid that wants to run away while you are pregnant is not fun.

You prob can't tell that my hair is cut. The front is actually the same length as before, they just shortened the back a few inches. The reason I took a picture is because they straightened my hair and i've never had it straightened before. Not too different but just a bit:) It's not the easiest taking a profile shot in the mirror I tell ya so deal with the overexposure! I drank 1L of chocolate milk this afternoon. I have a feeling I will get sick of it soon:) Well, back to work tomorrow morning after a whole week off of teaching. I only have 23 more teaching days (and then several meetings/parent teacher nights etc). I feel bad having a countdown but I think that in a month or so, I will be ready for the year long maternity leave! Although, the other day, I was so excited teaching my grade 9's about the difference between ionic and covalent bonds after they had learned about Bohr models. Most of them seemed kind of interested too and had really good questions. I will miss that:) Teaching Kai the alphabet doesn't seem as exhilarating. By the way, I love our van!

Third Trimester...27 weeks

Here I am. We're going to take some `real' shots prob. this coming weekend as we may have our new camera by then!!! Tomorrow, I have the entire morning to myself (Kai at gramma's!). We just finished editing the wedding photos (yay for both of us having today off to work at home instead!) so tomorrow I'll just pick up the prints and then who knows what I will do?! Get my hair cut/styled maybe? I wonder if I will be able to sleep in?! I know I need to buy more chocolate milk. I think that's what's keeping my leg cramps away. Bon nuit.

PS This baby's kicking and moving is way more painful than Kai's ever was. Well, as far as I remember, AND, he/she is just going to get stronger!

Thanksgiving weekend

Gary and I are so thankful for all we have. I'll bet Gary is thankful that he is lying in bed right now while I'm going to get back into photo editing and Kai is watching a little Diego:) Gary never stays in bed past 7am so he must be tired, I hope he isn't getting sick! We are a little pictured out right now but I should include a 27 week picture soon...wow. Time is flying! Quick update on `stuff' and I'll write more later:
1. Kai saw the giant hay bales in the white plastic while we were driving and exclaimed so excitedley, `Toilet paper!!!'
2. Kai is coughing non stop. Grrrr.
3. We had a wedding on Saturday and I'm currently going through the 1700 pictures:) The weather was perfectly cloudy and I think we got a lot of gooders.
4. Thanksgiving dinner #3 tonight.
5. Kai is funny. He usually is allowed to come into our room in the morning and hang out with us in bed for 5 minutes or so. He likes to climb `Mommy mountain' and `Daddy mountain', turn on our music, and just be silly. I asked him why he was up so early today (6:15 am) and he said very contemplatively, `Well, because....I waked up!'. He is still curious about each new word he hears and is quite happy with the explanation for things like `pal'. HOwever, daddy's explanation for `election' was a little over his head!
6. I have gained 15lbs and its all belly. I'm suprised how many people have said that I'm still quite small. I think because its just a ball upfront it may not look that big? All I can say is that this baby is big already. I can feel the full length of it stretched out and kicking about 3 inches above my belly button. I find that the most comfortable position is lying on my side and I try to lay on the couch for 1-2 hours each evening. This makes me feel like my abdomen/uterus has ample room. Sitting is not comfortable as the baby pokes out in all directions.
7. Well, Kai just asked me to play puzzle with him so I better be a good mommy. Oh ya, I forgot to mention that Saturday morning I got more mad at him than I have ever been with him. He needed a diaper change before we dropped him off at gramma's for the day and he refused. I had to pin him down and then he started spinning (with a dirty diaper) and `stuff' went everywhere. I was so frustrated! I didn't swear or anything but the tone I used with him was quite harsh and the feelings of anger I had in my head did not diminish for a good hour! I would say that my hormones have def. increased my ability to get angry fast. Gary can prob. attest to that!

More Daddy Time

Kai loves helping daddy. This afternoon they mowed the lawn and Kai's job was to collect all the leaves and put them in the bucket to be composted. You prob. can't tell but we got a `new' (craigslist) lens today:) It's a 50mm 1.4 prime lens. We also bought a monopod. Fun times in the Chapman household!

(the fall season is here as seen by...Kai's continuously runny nose. His hair is a disaster but his dimples are cute!)

'Monica's

For the past 20 minutes, I've been listening to Kai and Gary play the harmonica together. He stops once in a while to say something like, `Daddy, isn't this fun?' `Mommy, listen to us play!' `Mommy, we're playing `monica's!' `Mommy, I'm making lots of soundses!'

Two Vehicles

(The only picture I have from the last couple days...we threw some rocks in the river at Derby Reach. We were checking to see if the leaves had changed colour there for future photo shoots, but alas, they were just green and yellow)

I thought i would post quickly since we have a busy week ahead of us. I have realized that having 2 vehicles is awesome HOWEVER, it may lead to less exercise and spending more money. I hope not! It's def. nice being able to run errands while Gary is at work, rather than rushing out when he gets home. The van drives very well and is now nice and spiffy inside:) I somehow have more school work then I did last year and I'm not entirely sure why. It could be that I have classes that are a bit harder to manage and so I collect everything for marks to ensure they are working the whole time (rather than just doing a lab/activity for fun). It's crazy to think that all the work I'm doing from Sept-Christmas is going towards the van....oh well, at least I like my job!

I am now at a stage where I am really putting on the pounds and my belly is expanding almost painfully. Last night, from 1-2am I was in quite a bit of pain. I'm not sure what it was but it was like my uterus was just holding one long contraction. Everything is fine today but I'm kind of at a stage now where I get a bit nervous. I just need this baby to stay safe and sound inside of me. I haven't had the painful leg cramps at night yet and I am def. dreading that. My newest craving/love is chocolate milk. I LOVE IT!!!!!! We are set on our boy name and our girls first name flucuates daily with all similar type names....all start with either E, A or M:) I want a cute short name but I think we are going for a `longer' name with a cuter nickname?! As of today, we may have it. I keep anticipating that this baby will behave perfectly. Everyone seems to have a really good 2nd baby and Kai was pretty nuts so I'm thinking it better not be worse!

We now have a conference for the next two days, then a wedding, then thanksgiving celebrations. I'm trying to think if Kai has said anything funny over the last few days. Kai now asks what every word means so i have to watch what i say. Example: `Mommy, what does turd mean?' Yesterday, he held up his chewy fruit snack that was shaped like a banana or something and he said `Look mommy, a penis!' and then he found another one and said it was another part of the male anatomy. He's such a boy. His fish Kiki died this morning. We were honest this time and explained that he had died. He is very curious about why it died. I tried to explain that it was old and sick. He wanted to know how it got sick. So hard to explain. Now, when he doesn't want something he says that its dead. We'll have to work on that.

Well, better get marking before the pile gets too big. Gary and I are def. planning a mini weekend away before the baby comes so I really hope we follow through with that. It will prob. just mean getting a hotel in Vancouver to eat yummy food and take some photos which sounds good to me! Bon nuit.

Our weekend in the Fraser Valley:)

On Saturday we went to a Corn Maze in Chilliwack with our friends Mike, Haley and their son Finn. We didn't actually do the corn maze part (due to a crazy down pour) but we hung out in the petting zoo area and the boys went nuts on the ride on tractors. We haven't seen them since Kai was born (because they lived in Calgary) so it was great to meet their son! Mike and I were friends while teaching at the same school and he ended up being roomates with Gary. Mike was able to see first hand our `interesting' dating history:) They have recently moved to Chilliwack so it was fun to hang out again. These boys def. have similar interests so I really hope that they will have many more opportunities to hang out in the future!

(15 (?) month old Finn above, Kai below)

When we left their house, Kai said that he really liked Chilliwack and that he had a lot of fun. He felt bad because he closed the toy box on Finn's fingers just as we were leaving, but I assured him over and over that Finn was okay. I think Kai may be a senstive fellow.

Kai is actually hugging Finn in this picture and he did give him a kiss. Not sure what's going on with my hair but ya, these guys had some fun today! On the way home, Kai asked me questions about the day (usually I review by asking him questions). When I had replied with all the right answers, he said `Good remembering mommy!'.

(B-belle in her running/crawling gear)

Today (sunday), we did the Run for the Cure for the 7th year in a row (something like that). The weather was perfect and Kai was so pumped to race. We got to take our van and therefore were able to carpool!! We had 6 people in our vehicle...so nice! We arrived early which meant that Kai and Ani were practicing their racing and basically tiring themselves out.

(Kai practicing with my dad beforehand)

Gary, Jackie and my cousin Tammy ran it while the rest of us walked. I did run a bit of it and it actually felt okay:) Gary did very well, and although I don't know his time, he was prob. the 7th guy in:)

(Kai just had a pink headband...he wishes he owned more pink!)

(Ani's shirt showing that we are running in memory of oma...)

(Jan did the 1km walk with a broken foot and finished ahead of me!)

The whole group! It looks like I have a 5th sister. That's our cousin Tammy who's living with my dad right now while she tries to find a place in the Vancouver area.

We arrived at the finish the same time as Gary (Kai had found some ice by the rink and had preoccupied with that for a portion of the `race' so that's why we were so slow!). So, we all ran in together. I felt like teary eyed because i felt like it was a precious moment...crazy pregnancy hormones! Afterwards he said `That race was fun mommy!'. Afterwards, we went to Joanne's place (my dad's girlfriend). We had our Dekens family thanksgiving dinner so that was yummy and my tummy is still in pain. Kai played really well there until 1:30 or so and now he's home napping.

Here's Kai in the new van. He loves it. I love it. Gary loves it. Yay! He's still such a chatterbox and today he said, `Mommy, what does `serious' mean?'. He has never asked the meaning of a word before and he asked the meaning of a different word later. This is an interesting stage! One thing that is driving me CRAZY is that he says he has to poop on the toilet so I put him on and he sits there for 5 seconds and says he's all done. So, he comes off and then says he wants to go back on. Up, down. Over and over. It gets to the point where I'm demanding that he put his diaper on and poop in it. Reverse psychology? We did put the timer on yesterday and he had to sit and try for 3 minutes. That is the new rule. Grrrrrr....he is also having a lot more `No!' moments and irrational crying. At least around others he is generally quite well behaved:) Okay, time to relax for an hour or two!!!!

Samosas!

(helping roll the dough)

Here are just a few pics of Kai helping me with dinner. To be honest, I do not enjoy having him help me in the kitchen. I would rather do it quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately Diego is only 20 minutes long so he was around to help me for the last 30 minutes of samosa preparation. I think it's cute when he helps, but, its def. messy and time consuming!

(filling them with potato/pea mixture...he would eat half and then put half in the dough. If we were cooking for anyone but ourselves, there's no way he'd be allowed to help!)

Okay, I'm supposed to be doing some school work since my brain feels better tonight. So, I will be brief:


-glucose test tomorrow morning. I'm going right at 7 am so hopefully there is no line?
-
(he sticks his tongue out when he's thinking, just like Gary. By the way, we baked them, not deep fried them. Not bad, not bad.)
-my brain has been feeling like I just wrote a Calculus exam. You know that feeling? Where your head hurts because you've worked so hard mentally?
-I visited my friend in the hospital tonight who had a baby on Wednesday. I'm nervous about the first week of C-section recovery but she seems to be doing well and baby Seth is happy, healthy, and content so that is good!
-went to a funeral for a friends dad today (Frank Kooger). He was just 55 years old. Brought back a lot of memories but it was so great to hear laughter there as people shared funny stories about him. I fear loss again. You never know.
-Sunday we have the Run For the Cure again. We do it every year and this year, I am not running. I'll just do the 1km walk with Kai. I think we'll take our van there:)
-we have a wedding next Saturday, I'm hoping the rain will be gone by then and the leaves will very autumny!

Our `New' Van!!!!

We are very excited to have decided on a van. I'm not very good at making big decisions quickly, but, here she is...our Honda Odyssey! We'll have to get a better picture at some point (no offense Jaclyn, you did a good job!). We looked at a Sienna yesterday and it was nice. It had lower mileage and was a newer van. It was also $1000.00 more. I was leaning towards the Sienna and Gary was leaning towards the Honda. Last night, we called the Honday Odyssey guy again to take another peek at 9pm! Gary really loves the stow and go back seat and he likes the way the Honda drives bettter. So, here is our 1999 Honda Odyssey. We were hoping for a 2000 or newer but this works well for us. We are going to get it detailed on Saturday (don't we sound fancy?!) because it def. has the remnants of the 4 kids that had been in the van for 6 years! Also, not sure if you remember our deal,but, with the car, insurance for the year, and a few touchups we need to make on it, it def. came in under $10,000 so it looks like Gary may be getting a 5D Canon:) Hey, maybe that's why Gary wanted the cheaper van?! It feels so strange to have 2 vehicles and I def. recognize how blessed we are to do so. Hope you are all pumped for `The Office' tonight, I LOVE IT! *Grrr...realized that its not on tonight:(*

Sick

Kai and I are kind of struggling with a cold here. Not a big deal but for Kai, it has made him a little more irrational and crazy. For me, it has exhausted me beyond belief. All my symptoms are quite minor because I think my body is working so hard to fight it. I feel like I have no brain in my head, maybe a rock instead? You know when your head feels full and it seems like a good cry would help? I had a mini cry yesterday but it didn't to much to help:) Kai cried hard at daycare when I left yesterday which he never does. He's been clingy with me but also mean at the same time. A couple days ago, I was feeling the baby kick and Kai came and pulled my shirt back down over my belly and hit it. Then he said `I don't want a baby anymore. I'm going to put it back!'. Oh boy. At least last night he was nicer again saying hi to the baby and introducing himself.

Here's a picture of Kai cleaning the spatula after helping me make Moosewood Fudge Brownies...so yummy! We love our new Moosewood cookbook and would recommend it to everyone! Last night we went to look at our first van...a Honda Odyssey. We have been searching craigslist and doing checks on vans etc. Anyway, I was disappointed. I expected it to be in better condition. I wanted the first one that we saw to be `the one'. It is still an option but we are going to look at a Toyota Sienna tonight to compare. It appears to be in excellent condition so I'm hoping that this is it! It is a bit of a pain taking Kai with us but we both want to be there. Also, a lot of them are over the bridge so today we are off to Burnaby...I just know that with our house, we knew right away that this was the house for us. No question. I hope that the same thing happens with a van for us. For some people it may not be a big deal but i have only bought one car in my life and I've had it for 7 years so buying a new vehicle seems like a huge decision to me:)

This is apparently what the baby should look like at 25 weeks. I have noticed that the baby has def. elongated these past few weeks. I think we'll have another long baby! I'm pretty sure its a girl now and I'll just go with that. Obviously a boy would be terrific too and we have his name all ready to go so that would be easy. The girl name is stressing me out and I don't want to spend a billion hours finding a name unless it is a girl, ya know? A good friend of ours had their 2nd by planned C-section this morning so I can't wait to hear how it was. She has the same surgeon/obstetrician that we will have....

(My mom with the one grandchild she did meet...Ani)

Finally, a friend of ours last his dad suddenly this week. I feel so bad for their family. Loss in any way is difficult whether it is sudden or whether you see your loved one struggle for some time before they pass away. I do have to say that time has helped me a lot but I know with my hormones and the upcoming birth of our baby, it will be difficult again. I remember thinking when I was pregnant with Kai, that God was taking my mom away and giving me Kai in her place. I know this isn't really what He was doing but I just thought that He thought that might help. I didn't want to trade one for the other. If one person mentioned `circle of life' to me, I would've freaked out so good thing no one did. When Kai was born, I remember thinking that I'd rather have my mom than him. I know that is not what He was doing, but its how I felt. Over the months I did fall madly in love with Kai but it was sure hard at first. Loss is hard in so many ways. Holidays and celebrations are different. Reminders are everywhere. The word `mom' comes up a milloion times a day. Different feelings arise when mother like figures are in your life. I miss my mom. She was a true listener which is something I truly miss. No one loved me as deep as she did. Uh oh, tears are coming...maybe it will make my head feel lighter.