Another Hurdle Cleared :))

I just got back from Baby's fetal echocardiogram. The tech said everything looks good to her.

My goodness, it was a LONG ultrasound! Between the tech and the cardiac radiologist, the ultrasound took almost an hour and a half. At least the tech warned me ahead of time (and let me empty my bladder!).

I was a little disappointed because I know they have 3-D ultrasound at Met Hospital now, and was kind of hoping for a 3-D peek at Baby as my reward for lying so patiently on that exam table for so long. Well, I give the tech credit: she really did try to get me some 3-D images. However, I think Ryan was fed up by this point. He was in perfect position (and stayed pretty still) the whole time they were doing his heart scans, and only right at the end did he get fed up and flip onto his belly.

The tech put on the 3-D, but Ryan was now lying face-down, curled up into a ball, with his face buried in the side of my uterus! She even tried rolling me on my side to get him to move, but he wouldn't budge. So, all I got to see in 3-D was the back of his head and one ear! Even in regular ultrasound, he kept hiding, so we only got pictures of his spine.

Oh, well. At least the stubborn little guy is healthy! :))

Andrea's Thanksgiving Art

I had to keep Andrea's Thanksgiving art this year--if only in digital form--because it was so cute. Even though the first two things are the traditional Thanksgiving hand-turkey pictures that all kids make, I've always been partial to anything that's made with the kids' hand prints or footprints. It's just a little piece that's uniquely them, even when the teacher helps.



The picture above was the inside page to a scrapbook Andrea made in her JK class. It had several pages about things they (their "turkey hands") are thankful for. The page below was my absolute favourite:

"Andrea's hand gives thanks for Jesus and her Mom"

First, you can already see the effects of her new Catholic school training (she makes me laugh--how irreverent). Second, and best of all, is her artistic interpretation of what "Jesus" and "Mommy" look like. Jesus is a guy with spiky hair, and Mommy is a blond with lots of makeup and/or bad acne. I want to laugh out loud every time I look at this. It's priceless!

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One of Andrea's teachers laminated a picture of the pilgrims she had coloured (Aside: um, aren't pilgrims specific to the American Thanksgiving tradition?). When she showed it to Daddy today, he noticed that is had dotted lines, so it could be cut into puzzle pieces! I thought that was a pretty neat idea, and Andrea enjoyed putting her Thanksgiving puzzle together. :))

The puzzle says "Be Thankful!": I am: for my good job, good friends, and beautiful (and growing) family!

Ultrasound at 18.5 Weeks

As you can see, I went for my ultrasound at 18.5 weeks today, and our little BOY was extremely cooperative! The ultrasound tech said he is a very photogenic baby. He is definitely the first of my three kids to cooperate so well on the mid-pregnancy anatomy ultrasound. Everything looks just like it should for this stage, and we got some nice pictures of our baby boy. I even saw him trying to suck his fingers, and trying to grab at his feet! Right now he is lying sideways, with his head on my right side, and his legs stretched out to my left side.

side view, with hand by face

view from opposite side, with hand by forehead

close-up of hands/wrists/fingers

bony legs and bum, with umbilical cord (and boy parts) between

close-up side view of face

We told the kids about the baby tonight, and Andrea is VERY excited. (Kevin doesn't really understand yet.) Andrea knows that there is a baby boy in my belly, and she will have another brother, but we still have to wait a long time before he's ready to come out. Oh, and she knows his name . . . RYAN. :))

Ob.Gyn. Appointment: 4 Months

Today I went to Dr. P. for my monthly pregnancy appointment. Actually, I will be 17 weeks pregnant tomorrow. She said everything looks and sounds good. My blood pressure and weight are holding steady, and we got to hear baby's heartbeat. Baby's heart rate was about 143 bpm--right on target. It took her a few minutes to find the heartbeat, because Baby was wiggling around so much! I am starting to feel some of that movement. :))

Last night, I did my traditional juggling act at 16 weeks, where I use my home doppler, find Baby, and get a video of the first time we hear Baby's heartbeat. It took me about 40 minutes to get Baby to cooperate (I kept getting "wooshes" as he or she swam away!), but I finally captured Baby's heartbeat for about 15 seconds. :))

Kevin's New Pediatrician

We went to visit Kevin's new pediatrician today. The one he had before left the country on a two-year exchange with this new doctor.

Anyway, the new doctor took a look at Kevin's numerous tests results, and asked us a bunch of questions, and examined Kevin. He sounded pretty positive about Kevin's progress. He brushed off the MRI diagnosis of chronic sinusitis as if it wasn't important. He said Kevin is socially and physically at the appropriate stage now, and his speech delay is probably an isolated thing he'll grow out of.

Oh, and Kevin's latest measurements: 29.5 pounds and 35 inches tall!

This doctor is going to send us for another hearing test (I'm still not convinced everything's clear there) and also some more detailed blood work, but he's pretty sure nothing will come up.

He did notice that Kevin has missed his 15-month immunizations (?). My doctor never mentioned them for either child, so now I have to find a day to take both of them to the family doctor and get those done. Once again, my family doctor's office has messed something up. Argh.

Of course, everything is bothering me extra right now due to lack of sleep and miserable cold symptoms (for which I can't take anything!). Kevin has been up every night since Saturday with the croup, I have a rotten head cold, and Daddy has been doing late nights at work--as if we aren't all worn out enough, already! ;p

Andrea's First Day of School

Today was officially Andrea's first day of elementary school. She went for an hour-long visit last week, and has been driving us crazy every day since, wanting to know when she could go back! Well, today was the big day!

Kevin: "Where you going? Can I come, too?"

Andrea: "I'm going to BIG KID school!"

Andrea is in afternoon junior kindergarten, so she goes to daycare in the morning. After lunch, one of her daycare teachers walks her and the other kindergartners a few blocks down to the school. Daddy and I were sad that we couldn't be there to walk with her, especially on her first day, but we knew she would be fine.

One funny thing happened this morning: when we got to daycare, another little girl in Andrea's class had the exact same dress on--and she was going to H.J. Lassaline for afternoon JK, too!

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Gram and Papa picked Andrea up from Lassaline after school. Andrea's teacher said Andrea had a great day! She said Andrea is working on "waiting patiently for her turn," and is doing a very good job at that! Andrea told me that she had a hard time closing her juice container, but besides that, she had a good day. :))

Andrea was really excited because her teacher sent her home with a school t-shirt. She wanted to model it for me.

I hope she continues to love school this much for the next 12 years or so!

Kevin's MRI Results

We finally got our follow-up appointment with the neurologist this week. The good news is, Kevin's MRI shows there are no brain anomalies, and everything looks intact. So, there are no serious problems or neurological problems at this point. Basically, she said she wanted to see him in a year, just to follow up on his development, and for us to call if anything came up in the meantime.

What they did find, which surprised me, is chronic sinusitis! I guess the signs of this show up on MRIs. The doctor said to notify the pediatrician of this result, and he'll decide if we need to see another specialist from there.

As for me, I'm now curious to know if this can be linked to his frequent ear infections, the frequent fluid in his ears, and his "muffled" speech. Guess we have to wait and see!

Papa's Birthday

On Friday, September 4, we two reasons to celebrate: we got to see the Stanley Cup, and it was Papa's birthday! Papa and Gram, Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Tony, and their kids were all at the Stanley Cup party, too. We went from the Stanley Cup party to Gram and Papa's for Papa's birthday party!

Papa encouraging the grandkids to dig into the icing

He even made sure Hannah got her share!

Hannah's had enough, but look at Kevin shovelling it in! (and see dedicated Gram rushing in with the bib . . . too late; his beige pants got chocolate-ified). :))

Andrea was so excited to give Papa his presents from us. She picked out this rock n' roll music card herself.

"Grandpa's Taxi Service": kind of a joke gift, but then again, if you knew how often he drives the kids and I home from school, and to appointments, etc. . . . Well, he deserves an honourary taxi plate. :))

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It was really nice out, so we took the kids outside to play in the pool.

Izzy's special birthday gift from her to Papa was a bar of soap, because he baths the kids so often, that she knows they use up all his soap! On Friday, Papa decided to bath the kids out in the pool, so that soap was immediately put to good (and fun!) use. Kevin especially enjoyed getting his underarms washed (it tickled)!

Party with the Stanley Cup!

Friday, September 4, 2009, was one of the best days in Daddy's life.

His close friend, Scott Adams, is the Assistant Trainer for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Because the Pens were the NHL winners this year, Scott got his day with the Stanley Cup! Daddy, who is a long-time, die-hard Red Wings fan, had a tough time in the playoffs this year, since the Wings played the Pens. He didn't know who to cheer for--his beloved Wings, or the Pens--because he knew if the Pens won, Scott would have a Stanley Cup party, and we'd all get to see the real cup in person.

Yes, the Pens were victorious, but Daddy was happy; he knew he'd get to lay his hands on that Cup!

So, Friday was the day. Scott kindly brought the Cup home to his family and friends in Windsor, and his parents generously hosted the party in their backyard. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a great time!

Scott Adams, The Man of the Hour :))

Scott and The Guys celebrating the Cup

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Daddy and Kevin with Phil Pritchard, the Keeper of the Cup (a.k.a. "The White Gloves Guy")

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Kevin touches a piece of History

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Andrea is happy to finally see the "Big Trophy" Daddy's been telling her about.

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Family Photo with the Stanley Cup

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Daddy's "True Love"

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Would you look at this guy? After Scott hoisted the Cup, Daddy said, "Let me have it, let me have it!" He practically grabbed it from Scott's hands. Scott said, "You can't lift it over your head; Phil will get mad!" but did that stop Daddy? Of course not!
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Getting to see the real Cup in person was surreal. I say "real Cup" because most of us have seen the copy that they keep in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. It was amazing how beat up the cup is, when you see it close up--lots of nicks and dents and smudges, which just makes it that much more historical and awesome! It was funny because someone had added Scott's name, written on hockey tape, onto the Cup, because it hasn't been inscribed for this year yet. But he will definitely be there! Thanks for sharing an amazing event with us, Scott. :))

While Daddy's Away, the Kids Still Play . . .

This weekend, while Daddy was in West Virginia at a golf resort, I had to find extra ways to keep the kids entertained. As it was sunny and in the 90s all weekend, we spent most of our time in the backyard playing in the water. Andrea, as usual, couldn't be kept out of the water. It was only 8:30 AM, and she didn't even have her bathing suit on yet, but she just couldn't wait to get into the water!

She had gotten a Polly Pocket swimming pool set for her birthday, and loves playing with it in the house (without water), so she finally got to take it outside and fill up the little pools. Kevin liked it too because the little characters race down opposing water slides.

This in turn, gave Andrea an idea: why not make a water slide for ourselves in the backyard? I thought moving their little climber over to the kiddie pools would be too heavy, but she moved it a foot or so on her own, simply to prove it was possible. How could I refuse after that? So, I tugged the climber across the yard and set it up for them.

Voila: home-made water slide!

At first, Kevin wasn't too interested in the water slide (Andrea was really disappointed). He was too busy pushing the wheelbarrow around the yard. You know Kevin--give him anything with wheels he can push around, and he's a happy little guy.

However, Kevin soon noticed our excitement and came to check out the slide's new location. We convinced him to give it a try. He was a bit startled by the water at the bottom, but hopped out of the pool with a big grin on his face. Then, I couldn't get the two of them to stop going down their water slide!

It got a bit slippery on the climber, so we had a few minor tumbles, and I was constantly reminding the kids to be careful/slow down, but they just loved it!

Here's a video of them enjoying their waterslide. :))

Grama Marty & Grampa Rick's Annual Visit

Grama Marty and Grampa Rick came for their annual summer visit from about July 27 to August 9. This year, they stayed at the Windsor Campground (something new, since they used to park on Great-Grandpa Seguin's lot, but he passed away this year).

A few times, when we got together, Grama Marty got some great photos of our visits together. I had to wait until she got back home and settled before she could send them to me, so I could share our experiences here. :))

At The Campground
One day Andrea, Kevin and I went to visit Grama Marty and Grampa Rick at their campsite for the afternoon and evening (Daddy joined us later). Andrea was especially excited because they had a camping-themed week at daycare a few weeks before, and she's also never been camping before. Coincidentally, Kevin had a camping-themed week that same week we visited them!

Here's a picture of the campsite that Grama had taken that morning, when other visitors were there (Chuck and Brigitte, Aunt Claire, Jordan and Jocelyn--plus Grampa Rick).


The kids discovered that the pond at the campground had some greedy fish in it. These fish loved, of all things, cheesies! If you just threw a piece of a cheesie in, they'd come to the surface and snap it up! Andrea saw Jordan trying to lure some fish into his net this way, so she wanted to go fishing. Leave it to Grama Marty and Aunt Claire to create a fishing rod with what was available: a long stick, a wool string, a small piece of wood for a bobber, and of course, the cheesie on the end for bait!

The fish were actually biting at Andrea's cheesie! They stole it or broke it in half, more often than not.


She tried really hard to net a fish, but those fish were very sneaky. They all got away.

Later, Grama and I took the kids to the camp's playground.
Kevin's on a big-boy swing! (His shirt is also soaked because he had a riot playing with the water faucet on Grama's campsite).
The climber/slide at this place was very high and steep. I was a bit nervous about Andrea going on it, yet it was Kevin who wanted to climb it, and go down the huge slide! Grama Marty climbed up with him, and got this picture of him from the top of the slide. Of course, she had to slide down after him, too . . . silly Grama!
She's the biggest kid of them all. :)) (I love this picture.)


Of course, Grama and Grampa gave them lots of treats. (I'm surprised they ate any supper--but they still ate lots). Here, they're relaxing and enjoying lollipops, although Kevin always has to do things the hard way!
After supper, there were remote-controlled mini-sailboats racing on the pond. Grama and Grampa think it is some kind of club that meets out there a few times a week to race their hobby sailboats. Kevin had to stay in his stroller because he kept trying to walk into the pond! Here we are watching the races with Grampa Rick.
When Daddy joined us, Andrea wanted to go swimming in the campground's pool. It was getting cooler outside, and the water was FREEZING, but when does that stop the kids from swimming? Both of them wanted to go in! (Note: since the city strike, Andrea hasn't had her swim lessons this winter/spring, so she was a bit nervous in the water again. That's why she has floaties on.)

Andrea LOVES jumping in!

She must get it from her Daddy.
After swimming, we got the kids into their pj's and made a campfire to warm everyone up. Andrea was very excited for her first time roasting marshmallows! Grama helped her learn how to do it.

The result: Andrea kept giggling like crazy and saying, "Mmm . . . GOOEY!"
Here's a picture of us enjoying the campfire: Grampa Rick, Aunt Claire, Mommy and Kevin, Andrea and Daddy.

The kids are snuggled up, and watching the campfire with Daddy.

Andrea didn't want to leave! We had to go home, but she cried, and said, "I love you, Grama! You are so fun!"


Aunt Claire's House

Every year, when Grama and Grampa come to visit, we usually end up spending a few days over at Aunt Claire's (Grama's sister's) house. It is so nice of her to welcome everyone into her home, and let us use her pool, feed us all, and visit on her deck! It makes a big party, what with her kids and grandkids, my mom's kids and grandkids, and whoever else shows up to visit while Grama Marty and Grampa Rick are there. Therefore, the gift Grama Marty brought for her isn't really appropriate, though it is funny.

("B*tch" Wine)

More pool time for the kids . . .
Playing with pool toys outside of the pool is fun, too.

We discovered Kevin's new talent: stacking beer cans (I think his record was five high).

"The Diaper Brigade": this is the nickname we came up with for the toddler group at Aunt Claire's. They are within 6 months of age of each other: Kevin is 24 months, Morgan (brunette)is 20 months, and Addie (blonde) is 18 months. It's funny because each of their moms is pregnant again, and expecting within a few months of each other, so we'll see a repeat of this soon!

Andrea looks like a giant compared to the toddlers!