Fall update

The fall is flying by. We had the first real snowfall of the season this past weekend. There is change in the air. George is also changing quickly. He's five-and-a-half months old. At his second round of immunizations a couple of weeks ago he weighed in at 21 pounds: basically the size of an average one year old. He just started solids this week - oatmeal at lunch time - and is quickly figuring out how to grab the spoon and suck off the food. He's been very interested in watching us eat and drink for awhile. George is quite strong, and can sit on his own unsupported for a minute or so. He started rolling over - in both directions - about three weeks ago, although after performing his new skill quite often in the first few days he's done it quite rarely of late. There is no visible sign of any teeth in his mouth yet, but with all the sucking he's been doing on his hands (and anything he can get his hands on) I wouldn't be surprised if we see some soon. He is also babbling a lot, and doesn't sound like a newborn anymore.

George continues to be quite good natured, although I think he becomes bored a bit more easily than he once did, and is starting to use his lungs to demand attention when he wants it: probably a good survival skill, especially for a second child with an older sister who would take all parental attention for herself if she could! I switched him to just two naps a day a couple of months ago already, which has necessitated stretching out his awake time in between naps and can also make for a bit more fussing. He's a great night-time sleeper, however, and also a much better napper than Charlotte was - she took short, frequent naps for a long time - so the bit of struggle involved is definitely worth it. We've been really fortunate with both kids in the sleep department. Even so, I feel like kids and housework take up 99% of my time and attention.

Charlotte is doing well. She made the transition to preschool smoothly. She was very excited the first morning, mostly about the chance to play with new toys. Since the newness has worn off she sometimes drags her feet getting out the door, but there have never been any tears when I say goodbye and the teachers say she plays contentedly and is increasingly talkative with them. She's fiercely independent these days, and can melt down into tears if we make the mistake of lending a helping hand, or alternatively, if she's unable to do something she'd like to be able to do on her own (i.e. do/undo buttons, open the door, get her backpack on). It can be a real catch-22! She has an active imagination, and sometimes scares herself as a result. Over the past couple of months she's often been reluctant to play on a floor of the house that we're not on, although that fear seems to be lessening. She also recently started sleeping with a nightlight on. Incidentally, someone anonymously sent George a gift of a lovely fabric nightlight, which Charlotte has been using until George is old enough to need it; thank you to whoever it was! Charlotte can also be very particular about how things are done. If she's wearing a sweater or coat she insists on all her buttons being done up and the zipper being zipped "all the way up". There's a spot on her placemat where she insists her cup be placed at meals. She closes cupboard doors and drawers that are left open (usually by James - ahem) and takes care to lock the doors when we come inside. I'd be concerned that she was picking up some of my OCD tendencies but apparently this is typical of being three!

Charlotte is bonding more and more with George, although she still has times when she is less than enthralled to be sharing us with him. Last night she told James she likes George when he is upstairs (i.e. in bed) but not downstairs. Poor George. He already adores her and we're waiting for the day when she wholeheartedly returns the sentiment! I've noticed that she likes it when George wears cuddly clothes like his fleece snowsuit or flannel sleepers, and is then much more eager to give him hugs and kisses. For his part, George loves being held eye level with Charlotte, and if she approaches and smiles or laughs he'll almost always break out laughing too. It's one of my favourite things at the moment.

October

 October was a busy month for James work-wise as he ran his first arbitration. On the plus side, the kids got in a lot of grandparent time. The first weekend in October, Charlotte and George and I accompanied James to a conference in Banff - when you have the chance to stay at the Banff Springs Hotel, you don't turn it down! - and James' parents flew into Calgary and joined us. They babysat for us both evenings we were there, allowing me to join in the adult socializing. It was such a treat. Charlotte loved the morning she spent in the pool with Granny - I think she was reluctantly pulled away after close to two hours! The scenery in Banff was gorgeous and the weather was crisp and clear.

 

 

Following our Banff weekend, Charlotte and George and I spent a week with my parents in Calgary. Charlotte and George soaked up the grandparent attention and I enjoyed my parents' company and the break from the daily grind of housework. A highlight for Charlotte was the day my Mom took off work to take her to the science centre. James rejoined us in Calgary the following weekend for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the kids with my Mom on this visit, since she did all the photography.

Excited to try on her Halloween costume.

Charlotte was eager for George to try his on too.

I haven't even started solids and I'm almost too big for this chair!

August-September

The weeks have been flying by. To bring you up to speed I'm just going to post some of my backlog of photos. I promise to return soon with more details about the kids' latest exploits.

Head held high.

Laughs with Papa during our Kelowna vacation.

Happy boy.

We logged a lot of hours together like this over the summer.

So typical: George reaching out for his big sis.

Smiles for Mommy.

First day of preschool! She was ready.

Trike ride around the neighbourhood. She's travelled as far as 20 blocks in a single ride!

Making the most of summer evenings.

Bedhead! (Breakfast with Daddy)

Mickey Ds!

Enjoying the carousel.

Three

On July 25th we celebrated three years of Charlotte. Charlotte's birthday fell on a Thursday this year and it turned into something of a birthday week: my parents and sister Amy were up for a visit the weekend before Charlotte's birthday (to help celebrate my birthday), and James' Mom flew in from Toronto the night before Charlotte's big day and stayed through the weekend. I didn't plan much in the way of a party: Charlotte's still fairly shy and I knew a big party wouldn't be her thing and, to be honest, with a two-month-old taking up a lot of my attention I didn't have much creative energy to put into it. We had a nice birthday lunch and fun afternoon playing with two little friends. Granny's visit made the occasion really special. The chocolate cupcakes I made for the celebration were also a big hit with Charlotte.

A happy birthday = waking up to a visit from Granny.

A rare family shot, taken on Charlotte's birthday.

Charlotte has reached a number of milestones in recent weeks. With all the outdoor play this summer, as well as her physical development, her coordination and agility have improved a lot. She can climb almost all the different play structures at the various parks in our neighbourhood independently, she can use a "big girl" swing (although still opts for the "baby swing" more often than not), and now enjoys climbing up slides even more than going down. She's also learned to ride a tricycle in the past week - something I didn't realize was a learned skill until she first got the trike a couple of months ago. Charlotte is also (huge sigh of relief) potty-trained. We haven't had battles with her over food and sleep, for the most part, but potty-training was a struggle. It wasn't that she couldn't get it, it was that she didn't want to - which was extremely frustrating! Using the washroom is still far from her favourite thing to do, but she is and accidents are becoming more and more infrequent. Charlotte can also dress and undress herself, apart from needing some help with buttons and zippers.
 
Reading books together is one of Charlotte's favourite activities. Some of the ones getting the most airtime these days are Madeline, The Paper Bag Princess, and the original Curious George books - some of James' and my early favourites from childhood. Charlotte's level of comprehension is improving a lot, evidenced by her questions - we're in the "Why?" stage. We've just recently started watching movies together, and Charlotte's developed a bit of an obsession with the Finding Nemo and Cars movies. I got a popcorn maker from Charlotte and George for Mother's Day and it's been fun to have the occasional movie night. All in all, Charlotte is seeming more like a preschooler than a toddler. Incidentally, she'll be starting preschool in a little over a month.

"Cheese!"

Next week George will be three months old. He had his first set of immunizations last week and is officially off the charts as far as weight, exceeding the 97th percentile! Our not-so-little guy is already pushing 17 pounds. He is doing great all around. Any problems with digestion are all but gone. He's sleeping well at night and is also a better napper than Charlotte was. George smiles a lot and has been starting to laugh in the past couple of weeks. Tickles and "hide-and-go-seek" are the easiest ways to elicit laughter from him. Once he's been fed he's usually contented and demands little from us until he's getting close to his next nap or bedtime. George is fascinated by his hands, and is getting better at manoevring his hand into his mouth to suck on. He's a sweet little guy and Charlotte has warmed up to him and begun initiating interactions with him, showing him toys or books to try and entertain him and keep him happy.
 

We head to Kelowna on Sunday for a week of holidays with my family. We're looking forward to some relaxation, family time, free babysitting, and hopefully sun.

Eight weeks

George is coming up on eight weeks now and continues to thrive. He's growing like a weed. At his six week check-up he weighed 13 pounds 5 ounces, so I'm guessing he's closing in on 14 pounds now. This kid is huge! Charlotte was big, but I think at two months George is going to be roughly the size that Charlotte was at three months. The cloth diapers we used for both kids come in two sizes, the first up to 15 pounds and the second 15-35 pounds: we switched Charlotte up to the second size at three months and I just switched George up to the larger size today. He's not at 15 pounds yet but he's close enough that the larger size works better. He usually only does five feedings a day, but he's obviously getting what he needs!

George is smiling and starting to coo and "talk" more and more. He's pretty relaxed and low maintenance. After he feeds, he'll usually be awake and content for about 30-45 minutes before starting to get tired and fuss. He likes his tummy, and he fell asleep on his tummy a couple of times in early days (unlike Charlotte, who hated "tummy time"), so we started putting him down for naps on his tummy occasionally: against medical advice, I know! I was definitely more paranoid/conscientious the first-time round... Then, over the past week, I discovered that the solution to a problem we were having with him rousing from his naps after only half-an-hour was to put him down to sleep when he was awake rather than rocking him to sleep. This problem was especially bad when he'd be up to feed at 4:30 in the morning, after a long sleep stretch, and I could only manage to get him back to sleep for half-an-hour before he'd be up again. We've been putting him down awake for some of his naps for awhile now, but I hadn't tried this at night. So a few nights ago, when he was clearly tired and wanting to sleep, I put him back to bed while he was still awake and after a few minutes of fussing he fell back to sleep for close to four hours! It's continued to work since, so fingers crossed that this pattern persists.

Smiles.

Cousins

I've been doing a lot of baby-wearing with George. We did some with Charlotte too, but used the stroller a whole lot more. Early on baby-wearing seemed to help George settle. I'm not sure if it helped his gas pain, or if he just found it secure and comfortable. Whatever it was, it worked, and I've continued to go to it as a pretty sure way to get him to sleep when he's fussy, especially in the early evening when he needs another nap to get through the day but has a difficult time falling asleep. I've also found it practical since it allows me to have my hands free to help Charlotte with various things, make meals or do housework, while still keeping George close. George routinely has one nap a day in the carrier while Charlotte and I go to the park, run errands, or do some other activity. One other reason for all the baby-wearing is that Charlotte is not keen on sharing "her" stroller. I think we'll probably pick up a double stroller soon, but for now the baby carrier is working well.

Charlotte is doing well. She's still not overly interested in George, although she's gentle with him. She's become a very imaginative little girl, and most of my day is spent having conversations with her personifying her stuffed animals and dolls.She tests her limits and pushes our buttons not infrequently these days, as I imagine most nearly-three-year-olds do, but she also loves to laugh and spontaneously tells us she loves us. We hear our words echoed in her conversations with her stuffed animals; reassuringly, it's usually positive. Charlotte has learned many of the letters in the alphabet by playing with fridge magnets and reading books. She likes visits to the library - especially when we take the bus. Socially, she's interested in other kids but is shy about engaging with them. Some of her very favourite people are her grandparents, and she's enjoyed some quality time with them over the past couple of months, with more visits coming soon.

Everything tastes better outside.

Our first visit to the Leg this summer.

Happy Canada Day!

Fun with Granny.

George

Our little guy will be four weeks old tomorrow, and although I'm sure we haven't taken as many pictures of him as we did of Charlotte (one of the cruel realities of not being a first-born), I do have a backlog of photos to share. He's a sweet baby, and is generally pretty easily settled when he gets upset. The one exception is diaper changes: he hates them, especially when he's just woken up, and screams bloody murder. It's endearing most of the time, the way he cries and works his little arms and legs - except in the middle of the night. Fortunately Charlotte, whose bedroom is right next door to his, doesn't wake up to it.

George already seems to be turning into a thumb-sucker, like Charlotte was. 

Photo credit: Charlotte.

Hanging out on the floor with the baby.

George weighed a solid nine pounds two ounces when he was born and at his first check-up at two and a half weeks he had already gained one and a half pounds. I'm guessing he's over eleven pounds now. He's outgrown two small sleepers that Charlotte wore as a newborn, and fills out his 0-3 month sized clothes. He's come through the groggy newborn stage and already seems to be settling into a pattern with periods of alert wakefulness followed by 1-3 hour naps. We anticipated that he wouldn't be able to match Charlotte when it came to sleeping through the night, but he's doing pretty well there too, saving his longest sleeping stretch for nighttime.

The biggest challenge as parents has definitely been juggling the demands of two kids. When she does pay attention to him Charlotte is always gentle with George, but in the first couple of weeks she was clearly uncertain about what this all meant for our family dynamics. Fortunately James has been able to give her a lot of attention, and between my parents and his she's had a grandparent around to spoil her with attention for much of the past month. I did have close to two days on my own with both kids last week when James was in Regina for work, and although I was a bit nervous about it it went better than I expected. George sleeps happily in the baby carrier and in his car seat, making it easy to take Charlotte on outings to the park or library, and Charlotte played well independently when I needed to give George attention. The days are long though, and we've been so fortunate to have family helping out.

I can't wait to see the relationship develop between these two.

The first time Charlotte asked to hold George.

Papa: the source of George's middle name (Douglas).

Aunt Jenny came for a whirlwind visit to meet George and catch up with Charlotte.

Charlotte was enthralled with the sister-brother dolls that James' Aunt Jill made for her and her brother (and less excited about George).

George looking alert and dapper in his sweater made by a friend of mine.

James' Mom goes home to Toronto tomorrow, marking the start of our new normal for the next few months: me on maternity leave at home with the two kids. Since Charlotte had been in daycare since she was just over thirteen months, being home full-time is a change for both of us. To be honest, as much as I've welcomed the practical help from our parents, their visits have also helped pass the time. The side of me that loves routine is a bit nervous about the unstructured summer looming ahead. We'll be calling our local friends to make plans, and I am looking forward to having more time for a social life even if it will revolve around kids for the next while. The fact that our long winter finally gave way to beautiful spring weather at the beginning of May has also helped: we're spending a lot of time outdoors and loving having a yard (however small) and frequenting the neighbourhood parks. We're also finding our new neighbourhood very friendly, so hopefully we'll also make some new friends.