Monkey

Today Koen grabbed a whole apple and ate it while he walked around the house. And climbed on things. When did he get so old?! Who eats an apple with just 3 teeth?

He had a great sleep the past two nights, let's hope it continues!

This is why I have fewer pictures of Kai lately. All I get are goofy, silly smiles. Here he wanted me to show you his newest concoction...

Cheerios on bread. I think he felt quite proud of himself for his invention:)

Apparently Koen loves lasagna. More than anything. A friend of ours made it for us so this is going to be her thank you card:)

And, my hair straightened. Hair cut by Kim, who came to my house and did it while Koen was napping:)

By the way, I was supposed to start back at work on Monday. Strange, strange feeling.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. Gary's got a basketball tournament so we'll see if we do anything fun...

I'm going to be posting some updates on my thyroid too, so maybe check it out in a day or two:)

11 Months Old

My baby is 11 months old!!! Here are some tidbits:

-still 21.5 lbs (for about 3 months now...I believe Kai was 2lbs heavier at this point). Still in size 9-12month pants. I'm assuming this lack of growth is due to moving a lot and has nothing to do with my thyroid medication.

-proud owner of three teeth (one on the bottom and two upper fangs:)

-always covered in bruises and scrapes as he is fearless and has a rough older brother.

-rarely cries when hurt, it helps when you have a rough older brother.

-can walk at least one block on his own

-LOVES his big brother and wants to be wherever he is

-loves mommy and daddy, especially when daddy had a beard

-loves the bathroom and is a wild animal in the bathtub

-loves bubbles

-loves the remote control

-has 1-2 bottles of whole milk per day, maybe 2-4 breastfeeds per day (although as soon as we started giving whole milk my milk supply disappeared and I'm not going to work on getting it back. He can, but I'm not. I think that for my health, now is a good time to stop. I went one month longer than I thought I would. I'm proud of myself!).

-TOUGH month on the teething and sick front. He now wakes up two times in the night, 1am and 4:30am and does not stop crying. He is doing his painful crying so I think his teething is just hurting so bad. I just feed him and 10 minutes later, he goes back to sleep. This has been tough on me just because I need my sleep to get better! I've tried ignoring him and he doesn't stop which just stresses me out. Gary is `allowed' to have nights off from watching Koen because he's just so busy with bball and work right now so I totally understand.

-loves food. At the doctor's office, he took a mum mum and tore it apart while clenching his fists and shaking his head. The doctor said he was like the Hulk. He seriously does this all the time. Silly guy. The thing we give him quite often is bread and bananas just because it's easy but he will eat anything and everything. He REALLY loves pureed cauliflower, and so do I!

-he loves being rough and wrestled with. Because his reflux is gone (that seems like so long ago now!) we can dangle him upside down and toss him around and he's totally fine. He is a total monkey.

-isn't really interested in saying anything. He does say the `mama and dada' but just babbles more than anything.

-he has an insane amount of energy. Yesterday, he only napped for 20 minutes the whole day and was just go, go, go. He is going to keep us VERY busy.

-I know you know this by now, because I say it too much, but I love him so much. Incredible amount really. Even when he's crying at night, I'm not mad at him, I know he's just hurting and I understand. I will always, always be there for you Kokey Pokey. He brings us so much happiness, especially when things get a little tough, he makes us smile. And laugh. And thank God for such a wonderful blessing that he has been to our little family.

We are also so thankful for Kai. Kai has had a tough week as he is sick with a cold (which he nicely shared with Koen after Koen got over his flu). He may have watched a bit too much tv this week but it really helps my sanity. He had a major meltdown outside today, and of course it was in front of my neighbour. Thanks bud. Glad you had to sit in the stroller so your 11 month old brother had to walk?!

Kai asked me to take these pictures of him. He loves doing silly things and then says `Take a picture!'. He is loving preschool. A lot. I love that he loves school:) Kai did the sweetest thing with Koen. As I was feeding him a bottle, Kai rubbed Koen's cheeks and said, `Mommy, isn't Koen so cute? He's so cute and he's sooo precious!'. He also calls him `The Koke-inator' all the time which is pretty cute:) I really needed that because all I do all day is referee these two and it's exhausting. Nice to see a glimpse of what could be!

We got Candyland for free with the $10 coupon off of the Rice Krispies box. We have played several times and I have to say, it's not that fun. At least he likes it!

Well, the Koke-inator is up. Let's be honest, he never slept. Oh well, I tried. MONKEY.

Finally, I will try not to complain about basketball (and how it steals my husband for 4 months a year) but I think there may be a rant coming up soon.....

Oh yes, by the way, there is another post below.

Bye Bye House

This morning they tore down my mom and dad's house in about 10 minutes. I'm thankful that I was around so I could witness it by taking pictures and video. I'm not sure if it was therapeutic or not but I'd rather regret watching it than not. It's hard because that is the house that I associate with my mom. Especially the kitchen. However, my mom was not a very sentimental person, she was more practical, and so she would be okay with it. This makes it a bit easier for me. Kai just kept saying `Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!' and `When will they tear down our house?' The strangest moment was right before the first picture when the whole house was knocked horizontal and the windows popped out. And now we'll be listening to construction for the next 6 months....at least it will entertain the boys!

Nothing like seeing an excavator on TOP of your old house.

All Mine

Stand back, ladies! He's all mine:)

Thank goodness `No Shave November' is over!

Sunday Morning Walk

Maria (my sister) sent me this picture of Kai, I think it's from the summertime. Makes me smile.

This morning we skipped church because we have 2 sick kids (Kai with cold, Koen with who knows what) and I need to be in the dark. Fortunately it was perfectly overcast this morning so we could get out for a walk!

Jackie, do you notice Koen wearing the toque that you made?

Sometimes I can still get Kai to hold my hand...

Kai loves his `new' hoodie that allows him to hold his hands inside, he thinks its the coolest thing.

I got my hair cut 2 days ago and wanted a nice picture with it all straightened and clean etc. but I've been a bit too lazy so at least here you can see the new length:)

Mr. Happy Pants it back. So awesome to have my happy, giggly baby back. PHEW! Well, until the next tooth.....

This was the first time that we let Koen walk for part of our family walk. Not sure if it's best for his Robeez but I don't know how well he would walk in actual runners and his super cute size 4 rainboots (they are only cute because they are so small) are a little too awkward for him still.

He has never held our hands to walk, it puts him off balance and he wants to do it all by himself.

Then I wanted some exercise so we put them both in the stroller. You can tell that Kai really loved that idea:) I love that my body, besides my eyes, is feeling so good these past two days. It's very weak as I've lost a lot of muscle mass and core strength, but it feels much better! I know I have to start very slowly but I'm confident that one day, I will be quite fit again.

Kai's cold has made him such a grumpy pants which makes me exhausted. He also has to win at everything right now. First to the door, first to the van, must win in any board game. TIRING. He is looking sooooo much like Gary these days, it makes me smile. Gary's participation in `No Shave November' will end tomorrow...I wonder what kind of mustache he will create....

I'm so thankful it is so cloudy and that I am able to for walks. I'm so thankful that my eye lubricant works so well. I'm so thankful for my husband and kids. Talking about kids.....

(First day of life!)

My baby will be 11 months old in 3 days. This makes me sad. Is it okay to feel that way? I love this stage and am incredibly sad that this is likely my last time breastfeeding or watching my baby take his first steps or learn how to talk etc. Every time he snuggles with me I want to say, `Please take 100 pictures!'. I know how hard it is to get a 3 year old boy to give good snuggles, especially the ones where they want to fall asleep lying on your chest.

(Koen 2 days old)

I am so thankful for this guy, especially since he took a lot longer to come along and especially since he came before I got sick....that I got to have a second child before all this craziness. Although pregnancy is one of the instigators of Graves' Disease, I wouldn't change anything for a second. I love this guy to pieces.

Okay, can't think of a fun way to end this so have a great evening. I'll be watching Amazing Race:)

Party Day Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Kai's Party Day at school today....

He does so well with all of the actions and is very animated with his singing:)

Kai and his partner were wild and fast do-si-do-ers! My little man has moves:) How cute is it to see your three year old do-si-do-ing?!

Below they are shaking their tails (they were squirrels of course).

And below is Mr. Grumpy Pants. Terrible picture but here's his goofy face. I think he was dancing here. He's also got some sweet moves! He looks so familiar to me in this picture but I don't know who he looks like...me? Kai? Gary? He loves music. Loves to dance. He swings his arms and shakes his head and does some squats. SO CUTE.

And below is a picture of my eyes after a GOOD night sleep. My sister saw me yesterday and was like, `Well, you just look like that because you're not wearing makeup'. Um, yes, I was wearing make up! My poor, tired, tired, sore eyes.

Jellybeans

Sort of survival mode with a sick baby, Gary always at bball and me trying to get `normal'. Kai wants jellybeans and Treehouse? Sure, why not.

Koen is grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. Grossest diaper I've ever seen in my entire life today which just validates the yuckiness in his belly and teething troubles. They febreezed the entire area when I took him to the bathroom to change him, I was so embarrassed! Poor bubba. So clingy. So grumpy.

Went to the doctor this morning and got a referral for `the opthamologist' in Vancouver that specializes in Graves Disease. My doctor will fill out the info for applying for long term disability so I will try and see if I qualify. Dude, that would be so awesome because then I won't have to worry about money and it would validate my decision. If you read my thryoid blog, you will see that I now have to wear sunglasses in fluorescent lighting. So awkard, especially in the winter.

I will include pictures later but that means I actually have to take them, upload them, post them.

Noooooooooooo

Koen has been barfing this evening. Flu vomiting. Crap. Poor baby. Poor shag carpet. Poor me (it will be a sleepless night). He cannot barf on his little blankie Blue or we are in trouble. He had his 1st H1N1 shot and was supposed to have his booster tomorrow. Maybe it's something he ate? He doesn't seem to lethargic so maybe it is something he ate. The whole milk I tried to get him to drink? Curry that he's had before? Please, please, please don't let it be the flu......
*Update: he vomited about 10 times in 4 hours and then nothing since midnight. He was able to hold down his milk at 4am. He had actually vomited the day before but I took it as a fluke/reflux-ish. Nervous to see what the day brings. The male nurse on the health line (811) was very friendly and helpful!

Birthdays

First off, I want to thank you for reading my thyroid blog. It wasn't notifying me that people were commenting, so I had no idea! All fixed. Thank you.

This weekend we did pictures for a kids program at our church Saturday morning/afternoon. In the evening, we went to a 1st birthday party for Addison, probably the cutest 1 year old girl! We didn't take our camera there so no evidence of the cutest birthday girl ever (she was wearing a tutu, I need a girl!). In the meantime, may have to just dress up my boys?!

Sunday after church, we went to my niece, Izzy's, second birthday party. It was Dora themed as Izzy has been a Dora fanatic for over a year. Kai was running around like crazy while the girls sat nicely and played:)

I've been trying to figure out what to do for Koen's birthday (just 6 weeks away and he'll be one?!!!) and I've decided on a fondant train cake. I'm going to do a plain circular fondant cake with a small fondant train on top. Good times:)

Koen is walking like crazy, he was almost running last night. He is adorable. I've also found him dancing several times when music was on. Whenever I stop hearing the pitter patter of his feet, I know to look to the stairs. There he is, looking at me with a huge mischievous grin:) So cute. He's still teething like CRAZY which has made him grumpier than normal, however, he is still a very, very good kid.

Kai has said some funny things over the past few days;

1. Kai: `Mommy, can we go to the pet store and get our dog Bailey on Thursday?' We're getting a dog??? Named Bailey??

2. Kai (usually at dinner we talk about the best and worst part of the day....yesterday at BREAKFAST Kai says): `So mommy, what was the worst part of your day?'. Dude, I just woke up!

3. Kai had the first half of his first ever ring pop and had the rest in the fridge for the next day. When it was time to go to bed, he said goodnight to everyone and then said, `Wait! I have to say goodnight to my lollipop!' He went to the fridge and gave it a sweet goodnight. First thing in the morning, he had to give it a `Good morning!' too.

Someone asked me if I was happy to stay at home with the kids. I have to say that I'm glad that I am able to take care of my kids and that I can spend so much time with them. However, I'm sad that the choice to do so was taken from me from this ridiculous disease. I would rather work part time. I find that I enjoy and appreciate my kids more when I have a break from them:) You can't have sushi every day and still be super excited about it, ya know?

I have been having major chest pains for 6 days now...for hours and hours at a time. There's nothing like praying `Dear God, please let me wake up in the morning'. I told Gary that I can't feel like this much longer, I just can't. Hopefully the doctor can do something about it this Thursday.

Last thing....last night the washing machine started leaking and smelling like smoke. After taking out all of the clothes and draining the machine, Gary went to fix it. I was freaking out that we were going to cause a major leak or cause some irreversible damage and Gary was saying that I had to have confidence in him. It's hard for me because I know he's had no experience with a washing machine before. In the water pump, we found one of Koen's socks. I may have overfilled our machine. Crap. My bad. Now we know that Gary can fix washing machines and I am confident in his ability to do so:)

Questions For Kai

I got these off my friend Terri's blog and decided to see if Kai could do it. Here are his answers, I put my thoughts in brackets:)

1. What is something mommy always says to you? I love you (Aw)

2. What makes you happy? You (Aw)

3. What makes you sad? When I go to time out

4. What makes you laugh? The doorbell (he loves ringing the doorbell, it's true)

5. How old are you? 3

6. How old is Mommy? 3

7. How old is Daddy? 3

8. What is your favorite thing to do? WAtch my dvd's in my bed (Oh man, sounds like a couch potato! We let him watch a DVD in the morning so I can sleep in:)

9. Who is your best friend? Ani (his cousin)

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? Fix things with daddy

11. What are you really good at? fixing things

12. What are you not very good at? Puzzles (I'm surprised he knows this...I don't think I've said it out loud around him but it is true. He works on them a lot with Gary because I'm terrible at them too).

13. What did you do today? I saw the Gingerbread train (we bought a gingerbread train kit and he cannot wait to make it)

14. What is your favorite food? Macaroni (he loves all food)

15. What is your favorite song? Give Thanks Everday (from his preschool DVD `Going for Goodness')

16. What do you want for (holiday or birthday) this year? Make balloons

17. What is your favorite animal? Tiger (I don't think this is true but oh well!)

18. What is love? You (Aw)

19. What does mommy/daddy do for work? Mommy -work at the computer (editing pictures) Daddy - teacher and a coach

20. Where do you live? here

21. Where is your favorite place to go? To Ani's! (He loves going to Annika's and grammas house the most. Gramma's house has tons of toys).