Kai's Third Birthday Party

Wow, who knew a three year old birthday party could be so tiring?! I was hoping to play a bunch of games but Gary said we should just let the kids play and that ended up working best in the end. Maybe next year I can reminisce about the games we played as kids and get Kai to play them with his friends:) We had a ton of family and friends over for a few hours. We had lunch, cake, opened presents, and played. It is also Kai's cousin Theo's (T-bone) bday today so that is why he is blowing out a candle.

Kai wanted cars on his cupcakes so I just put them on the extra fondant I had so they didn't get covered in icing. I decided to decorate the cake with frosting instead of fondant and I think it turned out okay. If anyone needs to borrow a car cake pan, I've got one! Kai was super spoiled with tons of trucks, cars, diggers etc. I'd say my favourite is a Melissa & Doug's magnetic body systems. Soooo cool and very anatomically correct. Kai and I have had several interesting conversations about the boy and girl ones already:)
We did do one pinata type game. This one was just a `pull the ribbon' one. So, each kid pulled a ribbon and some how, the 2nd last ribbon was the one that released the door and let all the candy out. Good thing they didn't pull that ribbon first:) Ani was pretty pumped that it was her ribbon that did it. And, call me crazy cheap but the car is in perfect condition to use as an actual pinata next year:)

Thank you to everyone that came and celebrated the 3 years that Kai has been blessed with. We are so grateful to have you in our lives and we love seeing our big boy being so loved. I need a nap.

Birthdays and Wrestling

Today I turned 31. No biggie. Feel the same. I like the 30's, they suit me. For my birthday, Koen slept 7 hours straight...awesomeness. Then, we got up, had a yummy breakfast, and went and ran 6.5km of the Fort to Fort Trail in Fort Langley. The kids did decently although it was drizzling and Koen was hungry. I love trail running sooooooo much. The plan for the evening is to get ready for Kai's 3rd birthday party tomorrow and Gary is picking up a `new' (craigslist) flash tonight because I could use an upgrade anyway and our good one is in the shop. The one in the shop won't be ready for the next 2 weddings so we `needed' another one.

My dad gave me a bunch of my baby pictures this morning. Do I look like someone we know and love? I think Koen looks so much like me! And yes, I was bald for forever. I guess my mom took us to Sears or something almost every month for a picture, who knew?

The boys are interacting so much more. True, it's quite a bit of rough interactions but they both enjoy it so ya, I'm going with it. Both are covered in bumps and bruises. Koen because he is trying to do too much, Kai, because he always falls when he runs.


(I like this shot..um, why is this underlined? I see no key for this...)
Thanks to all those who commented on the sleep issue. I guess what I needed most was empathy AND the reassurance that it can't last forever. It sounds like once they are one, things settle down a bit so I'll go with that. It doesn't bother me that much, except once 9:30pm rolls around and I'm exhuasted. If he slept til 8am, that would be a different story. However, he's usually up around 6am:) So much to figure out with these guys. We're at the stage where I'm a little frustrated introducing food so slowly. I know he just wants to eat our food and I'm just so tempted to give him exactly what we are eating, but, I don't want to give him dairy yet in case he does have a serious allergy to milk proteins and also, a lot of our food is quite spicy. So far, he will eat whatever I put in his mouth. He can only feed himself mum mums, bananas and bread. Hungry, hungry hippo.
Okay, time for dinner. Have a great weekend everyone!

Feel free to comment on how much Koen looks like me or how cute my boys are or something:)

Sleep Advice Please

Okay, I need some help. If you know me, you know I don't like to ask for help:) Koen, our wild & wonderful 7 month old, does not sleep. He sleeps about 2 hours in the day time and 8-10 hours at night (and no, not in a row. Last night I fed him at 12:30pm and 5am). That's less than 12 hours a day. I don't think this is healthy for him. Admittedly, he is a very happy boy. The main concern is him not going to bed before 9:30pm EVER. I am concerned because I am exhausted. If we lay him down, he stands up and cries and cries. He will cry for an hour straight and I haven't let him go beyond that. If we keep him up til 10pm, he generally goes to sleep within 10 minutes.
Gary and I need our evenings back. I am well aware of the Pick Up Put Down method and will instigate it if you can tell me that it worked for you and your child that did not need a lot of sleep. We cannot cut out his daytime naps because he gets grumpy and tired during the day and needs a nap. He usually naps 30-45 minutes two times a day (9am and 1pm).
WE ARE TIRED. I AM TIRED. Please don't tell me to let him cry for 2 hours because I won't:) Please don't tell me to feed him to sleep because he won't. Please don't tell me what you've read. Tell me what you have done which has worked. I just want a couple hours to myself each evening and I think at this stage in the game, it isn't asking for too much.
Maybe I was spoiled with Kai sleeping 7pm-7am. I think he just fell asleep. 9:30pm...not bad.
By the way, today he was cruising along furniture and he went from one piece of furniture to another. He is one crazy, sweet kid. I think he will be keeping us very busy for many years to come. That's my new workout routine...take care of 2 energetic boys all day long.

Phew

(Kai and Koen's feet..Kai suggested getting a shot of their `toesies' so we did).
I'm all done editing from the last 3 shoots, just one more tomorrow and then we have 5 days off. It's about 4 hours of editing for 1 hour of shooting so that's been a lot of work on the computer. Thank goodness Gary is around or this would sure take a lot longer. I'm the kind of person who won't have fun and play until all the work is done so I haven't done much for fun this past week:)

(We were taking pictures of Koen in the mirror so Kai said he wanted pictures in front of the mirror too:)
Kai's birthday party is this Saturday. Originally I wanted to play games and stuff but I'm thinking 3 year olds (mostly boys) will just want to run around and eat so we'll just stick to that. I'm unsure if I will make a fondant or icing car cake but need to figure it out soon. He doesn't care so I shouldn't either.

(Look how red Koen's nose is from trying to kiss himself in the mirror)
Koen is nuts. Usually he has just been crawling around on our rug where all the toys are. However, today he ventured down the hall to the bathroom and then discovered the hall closet mirror. He spent a good amount of time playing with and kissing his `new friend'. He is fearless. He is a terrible napper. He is my beautiful baby.

We just sold our black rug on craigslist because I was having to vacuum it everyday. I loved it as it was so soft and matched well. Oh well, not worth the daily vacuuming. We got a cream shag one instead. Not sure if it looks okay but its actually a lot more functional.

We had our first babysitter yesterday who was not a family member or friend of ours. She is a 15 year old that goes to our church and she was perfect!!! Phew. We were only gone 2 hours but she handled it well. Koen refused to nap so she just took him downstairs and he fell asleep in her arms. She played with boats in the kitchen sink with Kai. This is a big step for me (trusting someone to watch our kids) and I'm glad it was successful.

(While editing I always find just one picture that Gary took with me in it. It always makes me smile. I think it's his way of flirting with me).

The babysitter was for a morning shoot and then in the evening, my sister Maria came by to watch the kids so that Gary and I could go to the Keg for our birthdays. We had a gift card so I was very excited to use it. I made sure to get a run in during the day and I'm glad I did. The food was amazing, I had lobster and steak. So much butter and cream sauce...soooo good but soooo bad!

We've been playing a lot of `Guess Who' these days. Brings me back to my childhood. One of us always plays on Kai's team. Two of his questions today were, `Does your person have a head?' and `Does your person have eyes?'. He's getting there:)

Kai: Daddy, I have a great idea!
Gary: What's that?
Kai: We should have my birthday party in my room!
Gary: But how will all your friends fit in there?
Kai: You can build a bigger room for me!

Okay, off to pick blackberries with the boys. I'm really loving this cooler weather. Life is good.

Bliss

For the past two nights, Koen has fallen asleep just cuddling with me. This is very, very unlike him. He hasn't done that since he was maybe 2 months old. I'm thinking it's due to his cold. Regardless, I was cherishing it. These moments pass by too fast. In this picture I'm post shower, in my pj's, looking tired etc but I had to post this because it's pure bliss to me.

I will have to show you a video of him. He boggles my mind with his no fear attitude. He can stand up holding onto anything. Today he was watching Kai in the bathtub, holding onto the outside, and then let go and grabbed onto me instead. Maybe this is normal and Kai was the abnormal one...or, just every kid is just so different. I'm thinking that this is the case. Regardless, my baby being comforted, snuggly and sleepy while lying on me makes me smile.
PS I know I'm blogging too much...I bet once Gary goes back to work I won't have this freedom to blog as frequently.

Bobs & Lolo

This afternoon we went to the opening of Kidtopia in Surrey. It's a great store to find learning toys at. I may have bought Kai a thing or two. The main reason to go was to see Bobs & Lolo perform. Kai wanted to know what kind of car they drove and we found out it's a red jeep:) They sang Kai's favourite song, Raindrop Pop. Kai's buddy Noah was there too. Kai enjoyed the singing, bubbles, dancing, popcorn and face painting. He passed out on the way home. It was nice to have some one on one time with my 3 year old:)


Talking about Kai, here's a little conversation we had while he was in time out...
Me: Kai, why were you sitting on your brother's head?
Kai: Well mommy, I needed somewhere to sit.

I think Koen is going to be just as tough as his older brother. So far he hasn't complained when Kai has wrestled him and I'm trying to be a little more relaxed with the two of them jumping on eachother. All in all, great Sunday afternoon.

7 Months Old

I can't believe I'm doing this post almost a week late...bad mommy. Koen makes me so happy, I seriously can't get mad at him. Yes, I've been frustrated that he hasn't gone to bed before 9:30pm every night, and that his naps only last 45 minutes, BUT, he's just too darn cute. I know the day will come where I can't wait to start on the time outs:)

Here's some stuff about Koen:
Weight: 21lbs
Favourite food: sweet potato, bananas, mum mums
Physical developments: crawl to sit, sit to crawl, sit to stand (pulling up on everything and anything), rolling both directions.
Loves: people, being outside, matchbox cars, drinking milk, big brother Kai, pulling mommy or daddy's hair, tickles, listening to singing, having a little receiving blanket to sleep with, being in the bjorn (soooo heavy).
Dislikes: being alone and especially away from mommy, eating carrots, going to bed at night (great at going down in the daytime though!)
Brotherly Love?: Kai gave him a hug without being asked and was pretty pumped that Koen is crawling.
Health: he currently has a cold but he seems to be handling the congestion and coughing just fine. I believe his reflux is completely gone and I would say that in the past 3 days, he has barely even spit up at all!! Woohoo!
Sleeping: has two 45 minute naps and goes down to bed around 9:30pm and wakes up for a feed at least once. Up for the day around 6am. He will def. have longer naps (maybe 2 hours!!) if we are on a road trip.

Koen, you are sooooo loved. I think that even though you look like an old man, you are the cutest old looking man out there:) Your dimples and giggles make me melt. I can't wait to see what kind of toddler you will be, well, I can wait. Don't get big too fast.

Caden at 2 weeks

Yesterday I visited Ali and got to visit Caden too...well, he had a feeding and diaper change:) It's amazing how fast they grow up! Talking about growing up, today when I got Koen from his nap, he was standing in his crib. He is a little monkey!

Exercise

Kai opening and closing the kitchen cupboards repeatedly at 7:30am....
Me: Kai, please stop making all the racket with those doors.
Kai: But mommy, I need to get my exercise.

Off to shoot a wedding. Thankfully pictures are early this morning before the rain is predicted to come!

Cloth Diapers and Mr. Climber

Well, we are back from holidays and back into cloth diapers. We only use them during the day so he actually only goes through about 3 or 4 a day at this point. I have to say that it is very easy to use cloth diapers when they are on solids...a little Flushie insert and all the `dirty stuff' is flushed down the drain. We throw our diapers into a pail in the basement and just wash them every other day. We'll see how long we stick with it:)

I have given away all of the newborn cloth diapers but will keep my all in ones and one size fits all ones as I could see myself using them again if we have another child. I'd say that the biggest drawback of cloth diapers are the large, large bums. I don't want to stretch out all his 12 month pants so he is pretty much going without pants or shorts while wearing them. Good thing it's summer! I've been LOVING this cooler weather and was more than happy to put on jeans today.

In about 2 minutes, he went from the middle of the carpet to standing holding onto the wagon. I even saw him reach down with one hand and pick up a toy while standing up. He can even do it with socks on the slippery laminate floor. Craziness! He has a random rash that looks like eczema on his face, I think it must be due to the dry weather up in Osoyoos. I hope that's it. There are 3 dry patches which you can see on the left side of his face. Anybody know if that's what it probably is?

We have a busy couple weeks. I know I've blogged a lot but I think the blogging will slow down as we have 4 shoots in one week and then Kai's bday party. So, if you don't hear from me, that's why. Be sure to check out our GC Photography blog though as there will be lots of new pictures in the upcoming weeks!

I can't believe I haven't done Koen's 7 months old post...I'm never behind on those. I will do it, um, soon.