Girl Names Please!!!

I know this seems like no big deal but I really need help finding girl names. We are set with the boy, but the girl, we (really I) can't figure it out! Here are a few things; I really like a lot of the top 10 type names (Emma, Emilee, Ella, Olivia, Sofia etc) but we would rather stay away from super popular names:) Maybe a variation of one of these names? Eliana? Ariana? There are names, like Jayda, that I really like but we have a nephew Jayden whom we see once a week:) I'm sort of liking Miraya/Mia/Milaya or some variation but can't figure it out. Maybe I just need to give her a top 10 name that I like and not worry that they'll be 3 other girls in class with her with the same name:)
Gary is really not helpful at finding/discussing baby names. I'm not trying to say my husband is useless in this area but I have spent HOURS looking into names (via internet sites) and he `allows' me 5-10 minutes a week to go over some with him while he grunts yes or no to possibilities. I don't want to spend hours more on this.
Finally, it cannot rhyme with Kai which omits all Mya/Kya etc. which are fun sounds that I like.
If there are 70 people that read this every day, surely someone must have a good idea!!!
Watch this baby be a boy:)

Recovery Day

(My niece Ani...they have great lighting at their place!)

TEACHING STUFF

I seriously feel like my days at home are a recovery from the teaching day before. I think I should wear a pedometer. Maybe a heart rate monitor too:) This has been my most challenging year ever teaching. I had given the kids evaluation forms about my teaching, the curriculum, the classroom atmosphere and overall it was very encouraging. There is one class though, my toughest, where the weakness they listed for me was 75% of the time `too nice'. I give too many chances. I know I do. Obviously I would never let certain things go at all (safety, harassment etc) but I do give too many chances for talking. I know I was a big talker back in the day but seriously, by gr.11, I was a lot more controlled and I feel like they should be too. Anyway, I won't bore you with details. BUT, I will tell you what my teaching strengths are according to my classes:) They are; enthusiasm, organization, my loud/clear voice, and my ability to explain things simply. Sounds good to me! Gary's strengths would def. be more `hands on' type learning. I, on the other hand, think 1 lab every 2 weeks is adequate as its way too much management!!

(My niece B-belle)

VISISTING ANI AND BBELLE

This morning we went for a 2 hour visit to Maria's. I love that we have a second vehicle and this is one of the major reasons. Maria has a stay at home job now so when I'm on my mat leave, we will be able to continue visiting once a week and allowing the kids to go wild together. It gives me down time and adult time and relaxation.

(They were awfully quiet so we went in and Ani was putting Kai to bed and singing to him!)

BASKETBALL

Gary has been having bball every Friday afterschool which again, having a second vehicle has been fantastic for this! The first games don't start for a month or so but tryouts are this Friday and then the `fun' begins. Too bad most of their games are at 8pm because Kai would LOVE to go. He loves going to any sporting event. Hopefully they have a weekend tournament before the baby comes so that he can go to a day game.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Our last wedding (until June) is this Saturday. I don't think the weather will behave but it should be fun. I have to admit that I am glad this is our last wedding as they sure take a lot of work/effort/editing etc. We will continue doing 1 hour sessions throughout the next 6 months, but maybe just one per month. Gary sold our first 20D Canon camera to a friend. I'll just say that Gary was very generous. I won't go into it anymore but I guess it is good to be generous? I feel like we've lost a friend in a way. That was our first digital SLR and it was with us at our wedding, honeymoon, hiking trips, Mexico, California....but now, it will help capture memories for someone else:)

BABY

I'm huge. Really. I've gained 20lbs which might not sound like a lot but its all right up front. I eat HUGE amounts for lunch at school because I don't snack much in the morning (no eating in the science lab!) Other than that, my appetite is the same as pre-baby, I just have a bowl of cereal or some other carbs before I go to bed. I meet with the doctor that will be doing my C-section on Tuesday. I'm trying to think of all I want to ask her and I'm glad she did my last one so i know what to expect with her etc. I would like to get actual pictures of the birth this time (the anesthesiologist did take a lot of pics for us last time) and I'm glad to hear that my recovery room time will only be one hour this time! Last time it was 2 hours due to all the `stuff' I had pumped in me. Exercise wise, I'm terrible right now. I refuse to go for a walk with Kai. More frustration than anything. I try to go for walks on my own and I will try to continue this a bit more. I want my recovery to go really well this time too. I'm so nervous about taking care of Kai and the baby as I won't be able to change Kai and get him off to bed very easily on my own post C-section.

KAI

We are at an `interesting' stage which I am so glad will pass. Eventually. He is so irrational sometimes. He will scream. High pitched crying/screaming. So embarrassing. He will say he wants something/doesn't want it/wants it over and over crying the whole time. Seriously kid, what do you want? If you can't decide, go sit in time out. I def. have no problem disciplining this kid. At the same time, he is really fantastic. For the past 2 months, after lunch, he says he's tired and he goes to his room and shuts his door and has a nap all by himself. I hope this continues! He has been so good at saying thank you for everything. `Thank you mommy for helping me up. Thank you for the applesauce mommy etc'. Today he reminded me, `Mommy, say `you're welcome!'

Well, I better enjoy the next 1/2 hour before Kai gets up....time to mark some labs!

Busiest Sunday EVER

(The only costume Kai will wear is this doggy coat)

Okay, maybe not the busiest Sunday ever, but it felt like it! We had church this morning and Kai went to Sunday school for the first time. He was only there for half of it but I think he will enjoy it much more than the nursery. Then, we rushed home to put Kai to bed and we went off to Campbell Valley Park for a photo shoot (we will have pics up in about 3 days...I don't think I'll have a chance to start editing til tomorrow night). Big thanks to auntie Trisha for watching Kaisie!!! Then, we woke Kai up and went to Halloween Party #1.

(We were so rushed but I found a doggy hat that fit my head:))

(Kai throwing the ball to try to knock over the pins)

After that, we went straight to the church for the Harvest Party where we were in charge of the hockey shooting game. I tried to take Kai around to play the games but it was a bit too wild for him so we cornered him off next to our station where him and his buddy Carter played hockey for a bit. They took a break and had some popcorn. I think these boys will have fun playing sports together when they grow up:) Carter is now a big brother so they will have something else in common in just a short while!

I would say the highlight for Kai was cleaning up afterwards. He LOVED it. He kept looking for things to throw in the garbage and more corn to throw in the pile. Afterwards he said, `The corn was so heavy but I helped clean up!'.

(Kai with cousin Kieryn helping clean up)

Okay, time to unwind and relax and get ready for work tomorrow. Bon nuit.

Helping Daddy

Kai loves helping daddy. I love it when Kai helps daddy:) Today they washed the van and salvaged some tomatoes from the garden (a billion had to be composted)

Today I crouched down to get a hug from Kai and I fell backwards. My balance is def. off!!

I can't believe we have the day free!! Tomorrow is VERY busy but I'm loving that we can do whatever we want today. I'm nervous about this stage that Kai is at. He does have to do everything himself and so we just need to be patient. Also, he used to only really have meltdowns in front of us, but now, he'll do it in front of others. Hmmmm. Never take him out? Kai said today that he would like to go swimming with Shamu. He wanted to jump with him in the water (ya right, he would be too scared to even get in the water). Then he said he wanted to talk with Shamu. I asked him what he would say and he said, `I would say I love you!'.

Tomorrow we've got a photo shoot with triplets! I'm excited about that...should be fun as they are 5 years old. I'm glad the weather is going to hold up for it! Then, we've got two Halloween parties. Kai is going to be partied out. Did I tell you that he's had a cold for 3 weeks? It's been 2 or 3 different colds. Grrrrrrrr. Okay, Kai wants to read..gotta go!

Work

Last night we had parent teacher interviews. I was at school for 13 hours. Right now I feel like I ran a marathon, wrote a biochem final and had a wild night out. Fortunately Kai is watching Super Readers right now. I'm waiting til his nap so I can watch The Office from last night and have a snooze myself. I'm not so sure that I can work all the way until Dec.19th. I feel like the end of November (end of the school term) may be better but then I'd have 6 weeks off..is that acceptable? Financially feasible? I don't even know if that is an option. I feel like every ounce of energy I have is zapped at work. I have larger and harder to manage classes this year which only adds to the exhaustion. The things that come out of my mouth are not really what I'm trying to say (which can lead to some funny and embarrassing moments!). Last time with Kai, because he was born in August, I also had 6 weeks off and it was AMAZING! Aw man, show is over. Time to play with Kaisie bear. One last thing, I had a moment two days ago where I thought about the huge baby in me and how its another little Kai in there (girl or boy version) and it brought me to tears. I'm getting so excited to meet this little one and I'm just praying that all is healthy and well in there!

Kai's love of letters!

These videos don't really show how much Kai loves letters, but really, he does. Whenever we are out, he is pointing out all the letters he knows. He pretty much recognizes most letters and I think that if I actually practiced with him, he'd get them all within a week. The other day he was going to be going to Costco and without even seeing the word, he remembered it and said `It has a C in it, and an O and another O!'. The video below shoes how he can read capital letters (although we didn't practice so he got a few wrong..guess we have to go over `S'!:)) Oh ya, at the very beginning we were going over what an exclamation mark means...I kind of explained it as being excited while reading it but it comes out more as yelling from him!

The three words he knows how to spell...he can spell them out with blocks now. He was in his blinking stage during this video but this stage has now passed. He will just do it for fun now saying `Mommy, look at me, I'm blinking!!!'

We have started reading a Children's bible with him after dinner and he LOVES it. He always asks about Adam, Eve, Noah, Moses, and Goliath. I'm nervous he's going to try to throw a rock at someone when they are being mean but I guess I can't shelter him from the violent old testament stories forever:) Yesterday when he woke up, he said with anticipation, `Mommy, can we read the Bible?'. So cheesy but so cute:)

This morning we went to the doctor. My blood sugar tests came back good, as did my hemoglobin levels. My uterus is measuring 28 inches and I've gained 17lbs overall. The heart rate was 148...I'm calling it as a girl still. A big one too. It was my shortest meeting with the doctor ever but I don't think I had a single question and I did have Kai with me so it was probably a good thing! This baby is such a mover. I really do not remember Kai moving this much. I am awoken various times throughout the night to the baby rocking and rolling. The movements are very uncomfortable already.

On Monday, Kai and I went to Crescent Beach to collect seaweed for Biology 11. Kai understood that I would be teaching my class about seaweed and he wondered what I was going to tell them. I explained that I would tell them how seaweed got its food. He said, `Maybe they eat meatballs!'. He has a funny imagination. All week he has been making us pretend cookies and asking if I want any with crazy ingredients like a curry, rosemary and peanut butter combination.

Although he is very funny and enjoyable, I def. feel my patience with him wearing thinner and thinner. I will NOT be taking him for a walk without having him strapped to a stroller for a while. He took off on me in Extra Foods (while I was paying he ran out the door) and was an absolute trouble maker while walking to the mailbox today.

Finally, I used my gift certificate for Spa Utopia today!! Maria babysat Kai and I had an hour to shop at Costco (where I bought new pj's for myself!) and then get my third trimester massage. It was great and I wish I could have one once a week:) My only complaints were that it was too hot in there and also, she didn't massage my toes. I could've asked I guess because I LOVE foot massages more than anything...besides English toffee maybe. I think I will get a pedicure/foot massage in December sometime. It was 50 minutes of relaxation and I enjoyed every one of those minutes. Oh, except for when she rubbed my face. I don't like that. Only my forehead is okay. Wow, I'm not making this sound very positive but it was really, really nice. It reminded me of when Gary and I were on our honeymoon (yes, this is appropriate). We went to the Kingfisher Lodge for 3 days where we had AMAZING food and AMAZING massages/wraps etc. I would really recommend it!

28 Weeks!

While Kai was napping this afternoon (yes, back to napping!!! Woohoo!!!), we went outside and took a few belly pics utilizing the few coloured leaves we have around our house.

I would love to get some pictures of Kai and the belly but I'm not sure how that will work out. There may have to be some major bribing involved. It's amazing what he'll do for a cookie:) Also, we will have to get some with Gary and I together!

I can't believe how fast time is flying. 12 more weeks. Actually, it will prob. be more like 10 more weeks. We find out on November 4th which day we will be having our baby. That sounds strange. All I can say is that I am appreciating each and every night where I get 8 hours sleep. Sweet, sweet sleep. My feelings of anger/frustration arise quite easily these days (especially with technology!!!!), I'm trying to remember if that will dissipate or get worse once the baby arrives. I think that lack of sleep will prob. make it worse but maybe my hormones will calm down a little? Prob. not.

Please note the ring on my right hand. My mom gave it to me when I turned 18. It was yellow gold so I haven't won it for the past 3 years as my wedding ring is white gold. This week I got it plated in Rhodium (looks like white gold) so now I can wear it all the time!

Okay, I know I look awkward in the photo below but I think it has the potential to be good...

Pumpkin Patch!

(Hugs for the baby!)

(the drawbacks of using a timer...we really need to go with another family and take turns taking pictures of eachother. All I wanted was a family photo....grrr....)

Gary was gone for 4 days so it was fun having him back today! He was on a hike through Garibaldi with his LEAD class at school and had a fabulous time. He will likely post something on it...I'm encouraging him to:) I obviously didn't blog that he was gone because I worry a little about security (my father has made me paranoid). However, the 4 days went quickly and Kai was a good little boy AND I had more than enough energy so that was all good!

In other exciting news...we got our 5D camera. I don't think Gary thought we would EVER have one (I didn't either) but we found a deal of sorts on Craigslist and decided to go for it. We are officially done spending any money for forever...wow. These last 3 weeks were crazy with a van, camera and lens. We will be selling his old 20D and our Tamron lens to recoup some of the costs.

We've been playing around with different lenses and cameras so hopefully we'll figure out the perfect combo's soon:)

I think I will be a pumpkin for Halloween

By the way, this pumpkin patch is on 32nd and 190th and has super cheap pumpkins and lotsa space to run around. Kai was LOVING it.

Kai's first blog

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhi m y nameiz k AI

I told him what letters to look for and he found them. He learned quickly that you don't hold down the letter. I guess he thinks a z is an s. not bad. The `I' confused him a lot because it doesn't look liked a regular captial I (if that makes sense).

Thursday morning

(Auntie Janny teaching Kai about plane crashes)

This morning, my sister Jan came over at 8am (who does that?!) and then Maria, Ani and Bbelle came at 9am. Kai and Ani have such a blast together and play nicely for hours without our supervision. I'm so thankful that they have eachother. Our little guy won't have a close buddy as Bbelle will be a whole year older but maybe once they are 3 and 4, it won't matter so much.

(Auntie Janny playing farm with Kai. She lives in Mission so Kai prob. only sees her once every 2 weeks or so).

Kai has been blinking excessively the past 3 days. It is worst when reading books or watching tv but does happen throughout the day. I really don't think its his vision as he can read letters that are across the room very easily. I checked a bit online and they said that in most cases its just a phase that will prob. pass in a month or so. Other possibilities are vision problems, dry eyes due to the air or heat in the house, Tourettes, or allergies. I'll def. keep my eye on it anyway. TV is the worst, he probably blinks/grimaces every 2 seconds. Maybe its having too many camera flashes in his face all the time:)

Conversation yesterday:

Me: Kai, what is your favourite letter?

Kai: M

Me: Why `M'?

Kai: Cuz M is for mommy!

Yesterday, he also said, `Mommy, do you want a big hug?'. Do I ever!! He has also been saying `thanks' most of the time without me asking him too. Love it. One last thing he said, `Mommy, I'm just joking! I'm not serious!'. Where did he learn that? Okay, one more thing that he says that drives me crazy and is not tolerated anymore is saying that certain people are dead. He will sit there and say `Mommy's dead! Mommy's dead!' over and over. If you ask him about it, he can explain that when you are dead you go to heaven with God. I think he's just looking for a reaction which I no longer give him. I just say that I will not talk to him as long as he is talking like that.

School wise, things are good as I've had 3 weeks in a row of just teaching 2 days. Love that. Picture wise, things get busy around this time of year and I'm trying to figure out how much we want to do and when we want to stop for a few months off. Pregnancy wise, I feel like I have more energy than before and I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. I would like to have one more child...its just convincing Gary that I/we can handle it:) One at a time. I am really excited to get my body back into shape and its hard to completely commit to it when you think that you could have another baby because then you just get stretched out all over again. We will see. Okay, I better utilize my free time a little better:)