Week 40

Unfortunately our new "ish" computer decided to have a major meltdown this morning and actually popped up with a message saying something like "failure of hard disk drive imminent". We turned it off immediately - it will be remote blogging only for a while until we can get it fixed. Of course I've been meaning to get our pics put onto cd's for ages and just haven't got around to it - I'll be heart broken if everything is lost but lesson learned - back up your stuff! I suddenly realize how much I depend on my computer - and the fact that I'm an email junkie since I keep looking forlornley at the blank monitor wishing it would all of a sudden pop up and say "hello I'm back" to me.

Monday we had a playdate with a girl from my work who has a 3 year old girl and 1 year old boy and her friend who also has a 3 year old girl and a 9 month old boy who was born the day after Liam (I actually recognized her from the maternity ward at the hospital). Watching the two of them calmly chatting while looking after two kids each was a humbling experience. Made me feel somewhat guilty for being such a whiner having one kid when they had double the amount of work. How people have more than one child I don't know - apparently you just do it - same way as you just do it with one. I've resorted myself to the fact that I will double the whining. Liam and Caleb played quite nicely together (of course they couldn't have a conversation so they just sort of stared at eachother for a while and then carried on playing with the toys in front of them)

Our daycare lady (whos son is 18 months old) gave us 2 huge tubs of clothes for Liam - what a score! The clothes are all 6-12 months and fit him beautifully. Plus they are gorgeous and mostly name brand, Liam looks like a million dollar baby for absolutely no dollars at all! From now on she'll just keep passing items down to us, super bonus. The only purchase I made was a new dressing gown which makes him look like Hugh Hefner - it's navy blue & fuzzy and makes him look super cute when his hair is brushed sideways to go with it after a bath.

Will hopefully be back to blogging from home with updated pics soon............

Week 39

Ok - so maybe this whole new schedule we're on is going to take a bit more getting used to. Monday I was calmly making myself a cup of tea while Liam napped soundly mid cup pour I realised that I was supposed to be leaving for work in 5 minutes at 3:40pm - not 3:10pm like I do on non-daycare days. OOPS! Calm turned to panic as I raced around trying to get myself together - luckily Liam was just waking up and was unceremoniously yanked out of his crib, jacket thrown on top of his PJ's - good thing he knows mommy moves fast sometimes and clung on like a spider monkey while we flew out the door to the car. I peeled out of the driveway and was burning rubber up the street when all of a sudden the gas light came on. CRAP! A 5 minute detour later we screamed into the gas station where I yelled at the attendant to put in 20 bucks while madly waving my credit card and starting to sweat. Another 5 minutes later we arrived at daycare where I grabbed Liam out of his car seat, grabbed his diaper bag and threw the giant backpack onto my shoulder - all while slipping in my high heels on the mud - unfortunately I tried to swing the gate open hard to charge through and got stuck with the backpack in the fence. A minute later (with some serious cursing) I got myself free, narrowly avoided tripping down the stairs in my stupid heels & burst through the door to the daycare, hair wild & face flushed, muttering madly to Emily about running late. Unfortunately as I plopped Liam down I realised that he was missing one of his new expensive Pediped shoes and there was no way in hell I was going to leave without finding it. Back out the door I charged, madly scouring the brown & green ground for a similarly brown coloured tiny leather shoe while still slipping on the mud in my stupid heels. After the third fruitless attempt I was seriously late and had to give up. Fortunately as I was reversing at a crazy woman's speed out of the driveway I spotted the shoe (that had obviously rolled under the car - God knows how), slammed on my brakes, jumped out the car, slipped on the mud in my stupid heels on the way to the door again and chucked the shoe inside, slipped on the mud in my stupid heels on the way back to the car and sped away like a demon. I made it to work 5 minutes late - my boss took one look at me while I said "gas, lost shoe, mud, heels, stuck in fence in one sentence and started to laugh. Good thing she has a sense of humour! Tuesday was a lot more uneventful except for the fact that I'm obviously tired since I tried to find my warmed up mug of coffee that I had just microwaved in the freezer.

Wednesday I started a Mom & Me fitness class at work - the class involves strength training and cardio and involves using free weights or you baby as a weight. There is a large mat in the middle of the room where all the babies hang out and the moms workout around them. Of course I was the only mom who didn't being a blanket or toys for Liam like all the other moms, I simply sat him on the mat, gave him my water bottle, a library card and his wipes case and let him go to town. Who needs toys for entertainment? Not my kid! He was happy as a clam for most of the class. When it came to the ab portion of the class you put your baby on your stomach and do crunches - I made a game out of it and kept saying "boo" each time my head came up. Liam laughed himself silly. Glad he found me so funny while I was sweating my bag off. After the class was over I gave him a quick milk feed before heading out. Unfortunately I paid the price and he promptly barfed all down my back as I burped him. I simply threw my jacket on covering the giant white streaks - 9 months of experience teaches you that sometimes it's just best to hide it as best you can and walk away.

Liam's third tooth has completely come through now and he is getting very good at chewing his food. Ian tried salmon chunks and he just loved it - good thing since I hate salmon even though I know it's really healthy. Too fishy for me unfortunately. We also tried tofu which was a hit and cheerios which have become a favourite snack. Breakfast now includes cereal, fruit and Yo Baby yoghurt (especially for babies) or cottage cheese, Lunch is veggies, protein and fruit and dinner is the same. Ian is very creative and Liam loves textured foods like pieces of broccoli & slices of mango, raspberries or blueberries. Even likes advocado which he didn't before. Have tried soft cheese & scrambled egg yolks which he doesn't seem to mind either. Has quite the appetite! Some of the foods I'll put in front of him on his tray, but he hasn't quite figured out how to put it into his mouth - the larger the pieces the more likely it is he'll pick them up. Once he's picked the piece up it makes its way to the mouth. The scrambled eggs I tried for breakfast a few days ago spent more time being mushed around and played with then eaten, but I don't care - it's good for him to get a feel for the different textures.

Liam has also figured out how to rip his bibs off if he doesn't want them on - rather annoying when you're dealing with food exploration. He tends to grab at the food bowl as well and tries with all his little might to pull it towards him. If you say no he looks at you with wide eyes and then freaks out. So you give up and he's happy again, even if you have to wipe him down 10 times which also makes him scream. It's a no win situation.

I've been raiding the tupperware cupboard to keep up with his tupperware demands - he loves tupperware. At least it's not pots and pans yet, plastic is so much less noisy. Easier to clean too. Speaking of cleaning - with life being more hectic and one of us taking parenting shifts at a time, its been a lot harder to keep up with the day to day stuff and the dishes just keep piling up. So we bought a countertop dishwasher to save time and make life easier and it works like a hot dam. No more piles of plates in the sink for us! Now if only I could have a full-time housekeeper.........

Week 38

We have survived our first week of the new "mom-is-back-to-work" shedule and it has been a bit of an adjustment for sure. The first couple of nights of work were hard as I'm usually no good past 9pm, but by about the third night my body was slowly waking up to the fact that from now on I'll be riding the midnight party train five nights a week. Ian has taken on his new "Mr Mom" responsibilities with gusto and is doing an amazing job - plus the two boys get some good bonding time.

Monday was Liam's first day at daycare - when we arrived Emily had put out a fuzzy blanket surrounded by fish shaped pillows and all sorts of stimulating toys for him, he barely knew I had even gone. Apparently he was good as gold and did not so much as make a peep. Wish he'd do that for me at home! Felt weird to be at the "drop-my-kid-at-daycare-and-off-to-work-I-go" stage after 8 months of being home. Made me feel all grown up. Ian fetched him after work and he promptly passed out on the bus and all the way home. Tuesday was the same thing - fuzzy blanket with a new set of toys to play with and no fuss at all - it's great for him to have the interaction with his buddy Easton (Emily's son who is 18 months old) who plays with him & seems to quite like him. Emily took some pics for us of the boys to keep - definitely going in the baby book!

Wednesday I was definitely tuckered out myself - not quite used to working a full week yet. I'm sure it will take a few more weeks before I get used to more work and less sleep. It feels good to be back though and having some adult interaction - the girls at work are great and we chat about our kids lots so I feel totally at home. Even though I have less time during the day to get things done I feel like I have more purpose than just being a mom and it makes me feel happier. Too busy to have meltdowns now!

Thursday was Liam's 9 month checkup at the doc - he now weighs 18.1 pounds and is 29 3/4 inches long. So very lean and very tall in a nutshell and super healthy. He eats like a horse and has started having an afternoon Mum Mum snack in addition to his regular meals. This week's menu included halibut and next week is salmon. Ian has been feeding more chunky type meals which have been very successful with minimal gagging. He watches us eat intently and smacks his lips - eventually we give in and feed him tidbits from our plates - rather like feeding a hungry little bird. Another tooth is making its appearance on the bottom so he's been gnawing at everything he can get his hands on - usually he launches at things while you're holding him so you have to have your wits about you or he'd go sailing through the air. Sometimes he'll latch onto my face or suck on my ear which indicates either wanting food or a frozen soother for his tooth. Feels rather funny whena small warm wet mouth suddenly sucks onto your lobe like a molusc. I'm sure the fuzzy texture is interesting although not very palatable.

During the day we have developed a routine with playtime on his mat in the morning where he sits in the middle and I bring him different tupperware filled with all sorts of interesting items that he grabs at and then tosses to one side. One of his favourite toys is a set of Winnie the Pooh soft rubbery blocks that smell like vanilla (yummy) and are great for chewing on.That and any sort of tupperware, especially lids. To save the tupperware from constantly being drooled on we picked up a set of colourful measuring type cups that have numbers and stack on top of eachother. Quite a hit too - especially when he can throw them like frisbees across the room. After mat time it's nap time and then jumping time in either his jumperoo or jolly jumper that we bought a mat for that makes noises and music when he touches it with your feet. After 10 minutes or so it's enough to drive you up the wall but he loves it. You know you've heard something way too many times when you start humming it to yourself while you do things and have forgotten what a normal adult song sounds like. After jumping time, it's lunc time, then reading time, then nap time again. Somewhere inbetween all this we usually go for a walk. Liam's vocabulary has expanded to include da da, ma ma, ba ba, daddy and up (he was looking at the ceiling lights in Toy's R Us and said up) - he's a chatty one (like his mommy). He loves doing the pa sound and will mutter pa pa pa over and over again.

The swing has officially been put away as he was dangling dangerously over the edge trying to pick things up off the floor. Makes more room for the next contraption. Sigh - our living room continues to look like Canada's wonderland. Since Liam is now rolling around and trying to crawl wonderland is soon going to be babyproof land. Apparently he moved 3 feet off the mat while Ian was cooking dinner and I was at work so neither of us saw how he got there. It's only a matter of time. We are starting to overhaul the more unstable furniture in our house and purchasing heavier bolt to the wall items.

Today we picked up a new backpack for Ian to put Liam in as he has to pick him up from daycare after work and then take a bus home. Liam loves his new viewing post and plays with all the straps and other gadgets potruding out the sides - usually he falls asleep within a few minutes of walking around since the motion rocks him from side to side rather like a papoose. Takes a couple of people to get him in it and then hoist the backpack on, but once he's in it's pretty easy to move around. I haven't tried the entire weight of baby plus backpack yet but it is apparently fairly heavy after a few blocks. I think I'll stick to letting Ian being papoose man. In addition to the new backpack, papoose daddy also took Liam shopping and got him a new pair of Pediped leather soft shoes called Liams - really cool and fairly expensive but so worth it. He's been wearing them almost every day - papoose daddy knows how to shop.

Happy New Year!

It's 2008! Wow - 2007 was such a blur and I'm sure 2008 will be too. I really need to get more sleep.

We spent New Years this year with our friends Gary & Kerry and their little girl Taya who is now 16 months old in Vancouver. Garry & Kerry usually host a party each year and this year it was an Around The World theme (baby friendly of course). Ian and I had the Americas and made gourmet mini burgers, chips, donuts and root beer floats with root beer schnapps - a HUGE hit!! Almost all the people at the party had babies so it was nice to be able to relax and not worry about being the only one. Liam went down at around 8pm but woke up about a minute before the clock struck 12am bawling his eyes out. While everyone else was kissing eachother and saying Happy New Years we were scrambling to trade off Mr. Fussy pants and forgot to do either. Happy New Years to us. I lasted to about 12:15am and then had to crawl into bed. I'm no good past 10pm you know. Was a fun night all in all.

Taya and Liam have become good buddies - Taya is very protective of Liam and calls him Li Li - would constantly hug him or put his soother back in his mouth if it dropped out. She also loved saying Lucy - probably because it's easy to say. Was cute hearing her calling me. The two of them would play together on Liam's mat and share toys and even had a bath together. Of course Kerry and I got extremely trigger happy and kept on trying to get the kids to look up at us at the same time - a completely impossible task. Eventually we had to give up but we did get some good shots. I'm sure those two will grow up to be good friends. Liam is sitting up beautifully now and does not need any type of support (although I still create a pillow fort around him so he can't launch himself backwards and hit his head) - he is happy to sit for hours and play with his toys - such a relief for the old back which is breaking under his constantly increasing weight. We have started the 8 month jars of baby foods that include turkey & risotto, spaghetti, veggies & beef, garden veggies & raisins and zuchinni with cinnamon. He loves it all but still has to have everything blended - chunks make him gag. The only thing he can handle in small pieces are his mum mums that I break up and then feed to him with sips of water from his sippy cup. We'll wait for more teeth and then try the chunky stuff.

My big New Year's news is that I'm starting a new job today. Yes, I have decided to return to work early, but for good reason. An opportunity came up in Nov that I just couldn't refuse. I accepted an evening reception position with a nearby rec centre (5 mins away to be exact) that has shifts from 3:30pm - 11:30pm and goes from Fri - Tues. The disadvantage is that I have to work weekends but the advantages far outway the disadvantages since I now can stay home with Liam during the day and Ian has him in the evenings. The only daycare we have to worry about is on Mon & Tues when we have an overlap of work schedules for 2 hours each day. Fortunately a friend of mine is a licensed early childhood educator and runs her own daycare out of her home and agreed to take Liam for me. Plus she lives only 5 mins away which a huge bonus. I like the fact that he'll have some interaction with other children too - my friend has a son a year older than Liam who he seems to get along with. This week we did a progression where I spent two morning at the daycare so Liam could get comfortable with his surroundings. The daycare is very cute and run out of her basement - there are tons of toys & books for Liam to play with so I'm sure he'll be very occupied for his 2 hours. Wed & Thurs are my days off and Fridays Ian gets off early and alternating Fridays he has off so it all works out perfectly. I'm sure it will take some adjusting to but these are the sacrifices you make! I think it will be good for me going back to work though - I need the adult interaction and to have something just for me where I get a "break" from being a mom. Plus Liam gets some good bonding time with daddy which Ian is looking forward to. We'll see how it all goes this upcoming week - wish me luck!