The Week in Review

- After Talia's traumatizing 1st day at her new daycare last week (where she peed her pants in front of the big kids), she apparently forgot she was potty trained. She had 3 accidents on Friday night and about 6 accidents on Saturday, or as we remember it, "Pee Yer Pants Saturday." Everytime she had an accident I was a mix of feeling so sorry for her - she's been trained for almost a year and hasn't had a day like that since the very first few days in big-girl panties - and wanting to wring her neck. But by Sunday she was back on track, had 1 accident on Monday (at daycare) and then was back to being dry for the rest of the week, including Friday at daycare. Phew!

- I decided to toss our whiteboard calendar and have gone back to the old-school paper calendar as our family calendar by the front door. Even though Rainer and I both have Blackberry addictions, I feel ultra organized with all of our stuff in one place. Now we don't have a long list of future appointments scribbled randomly around the sides of the whiteboard. So much better!!

- It was nice getting back into routine this last week. We saw our friends at Playgroup and music lessons, got caught up on things around the house, had a productive day at home, got back into the daycare routine, etc. It feels like Christmas was a long time ago already, but there are an awful lot of Christmas trees on the street, waiting for garbage pick-up tomorrow. Come on, people! Trees and decorations down on New Year's Day, and at the very latest for you hard-core Ukies the day after Ukrainian Christmas!

- Declan continues to be the star of the 2 year old music class. He doesn't move, he never takes his eyes off the teacher, he hums along with all the songs, he claps with the correct beat, and he doesn't stop bopping his little head along with the songs. I fear the instructor is going to start charging me for him, since he's clearly the most advanced in the entire class, lol.

- I was able to go to my Prenatal appointment solo again this week - so much easier than lugging along a 2.5 year old and 11 month old! The doctor thinks this baby is bigger than the last 2 little peanuts, but still not a giant Raine baby. Better luck next time, honey, I am obviously still genetically superior.

- Talia is obsessed with crafts these days. We do at least one everyday. Today I was completely tapped out and her craft was so lame - gluing foam hearts onto construction paper. And to think I was the creative genius behind the 365th Sparks for all those years. Shame on me.

- I picked out the fabric for my co-ordinating quilts project. Stay tuned, it's super cute and I think the kids are going to love them.

Daycare Days, Part Two

So. M'babies went off to the new daycare today.

Last night I told Talia "Daddy is going to take you to Tante Sue's tomorrow morning and you're going to stay there and play with the kids until Mommy picks you up." She looked at me like I had 3 heads and said "No, Mommy, JoJo takes me to Tante Sue's house." Really? JoJo was her first daycare provider, and she did take her to Tante Sue's to play with the kids. But that was before Declan was born, well over a year ago. How in the world did she remember that?!?

So this morning we got the kids ready and they headed off with Daddy. Talia asked me once "You coming, Mommy?" but I just said that I would see her later and she was fine. Raine called after the drop-off and said the other kids at daycare were excited about new kids being there, especially a baby who couldn't move to get away from them. (This got them a stern warning from Tante Sue about Declan not being a new toy, lol.)

I took advantage of my kidless morning and ran a whole bunch of errands. I think I went to 5 or 6 different places, which is not something I generally do when I have 2 little ones to get in & out of carseats at each stop. I felt so productive! I picked up stuff for Declan's birthday and Valentine's Day, got both kids some new pants (we have a bad case of Short Pant going on around here thanks to a Christmas growth-spurt x 2,) went to the Chiropractor, picked Talia up some new art supplies, got a few groceries, went to the health food store to get the hippie disposable diapers for Declan, and then went out for lunch. It was awesome, although I did wonder how my little friends were doing several times.

When I got home I called over to Tante Sue to see how things were going. She said they were doing great but Talia was too shy to go to the potty for them, had held it all morning (since 6:30am!!) and finally peed her pants during lunch. Then she was really embarassed for peeing her pants in front of the big kids and cried her little heart out. She also couldn't believe how much Declan ate, and after lunch he had an enormous poop explosion that went from his socks to his neck. Well, what goes in must come out, I suppose.

When I went to pick the kids up, they were both rather indifferent about my arrival. Hrmph. Tante Sue couldn't believe how they didn't seem upset at all and had no trouble adjusting to her place (other than Tal's apparent fear of her potty.) They both slept for 3 hours in the afternoon and Declan repeated his amazing lunch performance at afternoon snack, which is apparently pretty impressive for such a little guy.

When we got home I asked Talia about her day, she said "It was so fun! My pwayed wif wots of kids. (pause) Den my peed my pants and my cwied." We talked about how she could pee in Tante Sue's potty instead of in her pants, and then she wouldn't cry, but she didn't seem convinced. Then I asked her how Declan's day was :

Talia: "Deckie cwied. I hugged him."

Me: "Aw, what a nice big sister you are, to give Deckie a hug when he missed Mommy!"

Talia: "He no miss Mommy. He pooped in his diaper."

I see.

In Case You Were Wondering....

..... it's a really bad sign when you start taking off the 11 month old's diaper and even HE gags.

Sigh.

Dear stomach bug,

Please get lost.

Thanking you in advance,

Declan

Daycare Days

I just wrote Declan's name on a big-boy backpack for the first time, so he is all ready to go to daycare on Friday. Weep, weep.

I feel kind of funny sending him. I'm not going back to work until April 2012. He's a big sleeper, he's a great little guy who doesn't get into any trouble (yet), and he's pretty much the world's easiest baby. However, he is also the reason I ended up on bedrest this time last year, and if I happen to be put on bedrest again with this pregnancy, I a) need him registered somewhere so he can go full-time if the need arises and b) need him to be used to not spending all his time at home with me. So he's got to go. And of course, it's easier to get these kids in part-time right now, rather than trying to find 3 new spots all at once when I do go back to work.

There are other benefits as well, I like that he'll play with other kids and I love that it's a french daycare. When we went to visit the other day, he tried to bum-scoot after the other boys, and when that wasn't working, he tried to get up on his knees. So I'm really hoping this experience will help his mobility and the socialization will be good for him.

I also think it will help Talia transition if her brother goes with her the first few days. There are 2 boys from her previous daycare that are also going to this place, so that will help as well. I feel badly that Talia is only 2.5 and this is going to be her third daycare. But the previous 2 daycares were awesome, and I'm sure this one will be, too. "Tante Sue" is the aunt of Talia's first daycare provider, and where Jojo learned how to run a home daycare. And since Jojo was awesome, and Tante Sue taught her everything, I have high hopes! Plus, Tante Sue has had a daycare for many years and as far as I know, plans on having a daycare for many years to come. I think a little stability in daycares would be nice, I hate the panic of having to find a new place to send the kids.

And did I mention it's french? And that I love it? Because it is, and I do. A lot. It's also only 2 doors down from the school, so if everything works out and the kids are still there once they go to school, it could not be more perfect. I feel like we've won the lottery of daycare. So as much as I might be a little weepy to see Declan off for his first day, I'm pretty excited at the way things turned out.

11 Months

M'baby boy Declan is 11 months old today. How in the world did that happen?

He is a sweet boy who has a big giggle. He spends hours playing with his one true love, wooden blocks. He doesn't move much, but that just makes him easier to keep track of. :P

He slipped right into our little family like he'd always been here. He is so quiet and content we sometimes forget he's in the house. Like his sister before him, he's been a blessing we could have never imagined.

I can't believe he's been here for almost a year. While I sometimes feel guilty that his time as the baby of the family is going to be a short while, I am also glad that his little brother or sister is coming so soon, so I don't have to go back to work in the next few weeks.

In other Declan news, we found out on Friday that there was another baby boy born here in 2010 that is named Declan. There are approx. 400 people in this town. There are seriously going to be about 6 boys in their class, and 2 will be named Declan. What are the odds of that? We've been laughing about it all weekend.

My Son is a Weaner

I don't know how I forgot to mention this in my earlier post, but perhaps the most memorable thing that happened right before Christmas was that Declan has put an end to all this nursing business.

For 5 days straight, I tried to nurse that little guy, and he would stick out the tip of his little tongue like he was in deep concentration, push the boob away with both hands, shake his head "NO!" so vehemently I thought he would give himself whiplash, and struggle to sit up. On the fifth day he actually looked right at me and squealed "Nooooooooooooooo!" What a big boy. He's been on cow's milk in a sippy since he was 9 months old, so he didn't nurse that often anymore (morning and night only) but he's made the big break. We made it to almost 11 months. It's no secret that breastfeeding is my least favourite thing about this whole mothering gig, but I'm always sad when it's over. I'm especially sad with Declan, since I already feel that the next baby is pushing him out of his baby days faster than what is fair to him. :(

Anyway, since it is such a struggle for me to keep my supply up, after 5 days of refusal I just gave up trying, assuming there wouldn't be much milk left anyway. And I'm pretty sure I was right, since my poor pathetic boobs haven't seemed to notice that he stopped cold turkey.

I think the break from nursing will be nice. This pregnancy has been harder on me than the last 2 and I am just. so. tired. all the time, so hopefully now that Declan is no longer nursing my body will use this change to..... I don't know. Make me feel better in some way? Ah, well, it's almost March.

Christmas & New Year's

Last year we decided that we were going to stay home for Christmas from now on. No more driving to both grandparents' houses over the course of a few days, no more lugging the kids' gifts all over the place with us on our Christmas tour. We want our kids to have memories of Christmas morning here, in their home.

But even though we stayed home, this felt like the busiest Christmas ever! My parents were in just before Christmas when my newest little niece was born, and again for New Year's. Rainer's parents came in for Christmas, we also hosted his Uncle's family on Boxing Day, and had lots of good visits with friends from far away as well. Rainer has 2 weeks off, it has been so nice having him not have to rush back to work on the 27th. Rainer was very, very sick for about a week up until Christmas Eve. I may have threatened his life re: making the rest of us sick just in time for the big day, but we made it through until the 2nd before we all came down with it.

This was Declan's first Christmas, it seems like he had a great time. He even opened some of his own gifts and squealed with delight over a lot of them. Talia was really into it this year, too. Here are some of the memorable moments of the holidays:

- At Christmas Eve Mass, Talia sang along with all the Christmas carols, perfectly in tune. She did, however, just sing the lyrics to Rockabye Baby over and over again instead of the actual words.

- Also at Mass, she cheered and clapped for the choir whenever they stopped singing (she loves Christmas carols) and loudly proclaimed "All done church!" whenever the priest stopped talking.

- Declan decided he was a monkey during Mass and was cranky unless he was dangled upside down. Unfortunately, when he was dangled upside down, he screeched and laughed really loud. Neither option was great, but it was the Children's Mass and we ended up not having the loudest kids there - a real Christmas miracle.

- The kids were spoiled, we opened presents on Christmas Eve and then Santa came on Christmas morning. Declan's favourite present was his Chuck the Talking Truck, until Chuck drove up his legs and terrified him. After that he preferred his giant bucket of wooden blocks. Talia woke up on Christmas morning saying "Want my baby. Ou my Dora? Can you open diss Play-dough? Diss my truck?" but all those other presents were forgotten once she saw the playhouse from Grandma & Grandpa. And so began the repeated demand "Come find me! My hiding! In my house!" - it's been 9 days and she's still going strong.

- Talia decided over the holidays that her new little cousin's name is not Jenna but "Cheese." Yeah, I don't know either.

- I roasted & carved our turkey earlier and then just had to re-heat it on Christmas Day, leaving lots of oven space for perogies, cabbage rolls, etc. It was awesome. I will never again roast the turkey the same day as the big meal.

- In the middle of our holiday craziness, we were called in for Declan's assessment at the Child Development Clinic. I was super chill going into it (certain there was no real cause for concern) and super panicked coming out of it. They took his lack of mobility really, really seriously and it was kind of scary. But he's coming along really well with all his physio and I'm back to being convinced that he's just lazy. What a guy.

- Big Fun Daddy was finally put in his place while grandparents were visiting. Talia loves both her grandmothers so much, she told Rainer "Go 'way, Daddy. My want my Gammie!" at bedtime during both visits. Usually she's telling me to go away because she wants Daddy!!

- Rainer is still off for a little while longer, which is good, because my hip/back are really bothering me to the point of not being able to walk some days. And I have to do my GTT tomorrow, which usually makes me barf uncontrollably for 2 days afterward. We'll all be sad to see him go back to work!