ugh

Um, yeah.

I am SO ready for Rod to come home tomorrow. I am literally counting down the hours.

I mean, it hasn't been all bad here. Mommy has maintained her sanity, and the house is still standing, so that's good.

However, the week started off with Kevin and I having horrible colds--coughs, sore throat, fever, ache, sneezes: the works. We were both better by Tuesday. So, Tuesday and Wednesday appeared to be fairly uneventful days . . . quiet, no big deal.

Until last night.

Andrea seemed fine when I put her to bed, but she started crying about a half-hour later. I thought she was just having trouble settling down, so I tucked her back in, and she went to sleep. It was just past 9 pm when she started to cry again. I was on the phone with Rod, so I let him go and went to check on her.

Well, I'll try not to get too graphic, but let's just say EVERYTHING she'd eaten that day was all over her bedding, her pillows, and herself. And of course, she was upset and panicking, so she just kept vomiting and vomiting. I got her into the bathroom, where she vomited more, and got her cleaned up. I put her in my bed, then I changed her bed and cleaned her room. She started to cry, and the next thing I knew, she had puked all over MY bed. So, I calmed her down, changed her, and put her back into her bed. Then I threw MY bedding downstairs. I called Rod back, and told him what had happened, hoping it was over.

FAT CHANCE!

Over the next four hours, Andrea had a least 5 more distinct episodes of vomiting. No matter how much I tried to contain it, I had to change her sheets and pjs, and clean her up each time. I ran out of bedding and had her on the trundle bed, with old receiving blankets and change pads under her. I ran out of pjs, too. Of course, Andrea just wanted to sleep; as soon as she vomited, she cried and tried to snuggle back in, getting more ick on herself. She started crying for Dada (which broke my heart, and sent ME over the edge!), so we're both crying and exhausted and smelling like vomit.

Finally, around 2 am, everything calms down. Andrea is finally empty. I grab a quick shower and collapse into my bed-without-bedding. I sleep fitfully all night, the slightest noise causing me to panic, thinking it's poor Andrea getting sick again.

Kevin wakes up at 4:30 am.

So, the day begins again.

Andrea had an okay day today. I obviously kept her home from daycare. She never had a fever or any other symptoms, except being tired and clingy all day. She didn't eat much (to be expected), and only got sick once, during supper. Like a typical toddler, she was running races 15 minutes later!

So, tonight I am simply weary. And praying for quiet.

But I must say, I DEFINITELY wouldn't have survived without Gram and Grandpa G. this past week. They've taken Andrea and Kevin for visits, so Mommy could have some down-time;
Grandpa has even brought us milk, meals, and got me a coffee today (a desperately needed coffee if there ever was one!). I know I'm incredibly lucky to have such thoughtful and supportive in-laws close by!

Kevin's Belly Laughs

Kevin's been feeling pretty blah the past few days, because he's had a nasty cold. He finally perked up a bit today. I knew he was feeling better because he was eating more, and also ready play again.

This morning, I had him propped up across from me on the love seat. I started shaking my head back and forth, making my ponytail swing around, and he thought it was just hilarious! The belly laughs ensued, and I couldn't resist getting it on video. I'm so glad to see Kevin smiling and laughing again. :)) Enjoy--I am!

Christmas Decorations :))

This will be our first Christmas with an active toddler, and we are already beginning to experience the added joys and frustrations!

The fun part is that Andrea is old enough to get really excited about the beginning of the Christmas season--namely, putting up our decorations, and listening to some Christmas music in the process.

Andrea was very interested in the Nativity scene on our dining room table, so I put her up on a chair, and turned it on for her to watch and listen. [The Wise Men and a shepherd walk around, pausing to bow before Baby Jesus; Christmas carols play.] I told Andrea simply that Christmas is when we celebrate Baby Jesus's birthday, and that the Wise Men are stopping by to meet him and say hello. She was mesmerized by the scene. Then, every time one of them would stop in front of the manager, she'd say, "Hello, Baby Jesus!" and when they turned away, "Goodbye, Baby Jesus!" I can't tell you how sweet she sounds when she says "Baby Jesus!" :))

But don't let the headdress and the prayer-position hands fool you.

Adorable? Absolutely. Innocent? Hardly!

As is to be expected, Andrea thinks all of the pretty decorations are "toys!" so she has to get her hands on everything. I tried to relax and let her help me decorate the tree. I carefully chose a wooden ornament (not breakable, right?) for her to hang. What happens? She gets too excited, and drops it. The ornament breaks into two pieces. Sigh. Well, so much for that. She also got mad because Rod was busy helping me string the garland around the tree, and not paying attention to her. Sigh again.

But after her bath, I shut off the household lighting and left on the Christmas lighting. Andrea was in awe. She kept saying, "It's boo-ti-ful!" and "It's won-nerful!" and "I yike da yights!" Her eyes were huge! She wanted to stay up with the pretty lights, but I promised her they would be here for awhile, and she could see them the next day.

***

Kevin is interested in all the pretty sights and sounds too. He especially enjoys looking at the coloured lights, when it gets dark. While we were decorating the tree, I gave him some tinsel garland to examine. It kept him amused for about 15 minutes!

I've also managed to work Kevin's baby gear into the Christmas decor. I don't think he minds.

***

I had a little Christmas train for a long time, but it broke last year. The new one I bought is bigger in scale than I realized it would be, but now I like it. It actually loops around the tree and the presents. It has lights, a horn, and a few Christmas tunes. It's also really noisy. Therefore, Andrea and Kevin are fascinated by it! :)) Andrea insists on pushing the start button, but Kevin is content to watch it go round and round.

***

The final decoration: SNOW! We got our first dusting tonight. It will probably be melted in an hour, but it cheered me up to see some nice, thick flakes fluttering down. Ah, it's time to curl up with a mug of coffee (with a splash of Bailey's) and enjoy a moment of peace.

Snuggling

It's been really COLD here this past week. We haven't had any snow yet, but it has been cold and damp and icky. Naturally, Andrea has a runny nose and cough, I can't shake this sore throat, and Kevin's developed a nasty cough and runny nose, too. Sigh.

To top it all off, Daddy has to be away a lot over the next two weeks. He left early this morning for two days in Montreal; he'll be home a day, then going to the Lions' game on Thursday; he'll be home on Friday, and then he'll be gone for a whole week to Collingwood! Montreal and Collingwood are work-related, so it can't be helped. It just stinks that they fell within the same two weeks like this. This is his first day away, and I miss him so much already! Even Andrea was already asking "Where's Dada?" and it's only Day 1! :((

However, Daddy did get some nice snuggle with the kids, over the weekend. The best was when Kevin was fussy on Saturday, and they fell asleep together on the couch--SO cute. It's usually Mommy that Kevin wants right now, but Daddy had the magic touch this weekend. :))

Andrea got her snuggle time with Daddy on Sunday. I know she is really going to miss him over the next two weeks, because she is SUCH a Daddy's Girl.

This morning, we were all up early to say goodbye to Daddy, and we were also feeling a bit under-the-weather. So, after Daddy left, I made up a little comfy space on the carpet for us all to snuggle in. Andrea brought her Doras to join us. She also kept laughing because Kevin, with his long legs, kept "tickling" her every time he moved his feet! :))

Exersaucer Fun / Potty Time?

Ah, these double entries are becoming the trend now, having two kids at two different stages of development!

Kevin's Exersaucer Fun
Today I tried putting Kevin in the Exersaucer again. He loved it! He was much stronger this time, and didn't tire out as quickly. He was even putting some weight on his little legs, and talking up a storm! Over the past couple of days, Kevin has suddenly become extremely vocal. He squeals like crazy, in all these silly tones, and it sometimes sounds like he is trying to sing! He can also get very loud! But it's so cute. :)) I've got a video and some pictures here, showing his fun in the Exersaucer.

Although she still ignores him for the most part, Andrea had a surprising number of pro-Kevin moments today. She brought him his blanket; she picked up his toy when he dropped it, and gave it back to him; she brought him his pacifier (which he doesn't use, but it was a nice gesture); she sat next to us while I gave him his bottle; and she shared his toys with him while he was in the Exersaucer. Today was a good day! Kevin loves Andrea; he gets all excited, and kicks his feet, and watches her so intently when she's around. :)) In the picture below, he is squealing with excitement!

"Hi, Momma--wanna play with us?"

Andrea and Potty Time?

Well, we've been making a little progress on the potty front. Andrea now enjoys sitting on the potty after we've stripped her down for her bath. She hasn't gone yet, but it's a start, and she seems to think it's fun, which is a good thing. She also sat on the potty at Gram and Grandpa's, but again, no tinkles. However, she came home from daycare on Thursday afternoon with a big sticker on her chest--she used the potty at school! So, slowly but surely, her interest in using the potty is growing. But I'm not going to push it. Everything I've read says to let the child do it at their own pace, and she's only two years old.

We also instituted a new night-time ritual some months ago, which Daddy has cheerfully dubbed "Naked Runnin'." It started as something fun to get Andrea to look forward to her bath, but I've also read that giving a toddler naked time is good when you're potty training, to get them used to not wearing a diaper. So, each night before her bath, we strip her down and let her run and chase us all over the house in her birthday suit! Two nights ago, she made me laugh--she wanted to do her naked run wearing her hat! She's such a silly.

Of course, the naked run has its risks--which we've never encountered before--but for some odd reason, they have struck us two nights in a row! Last night, we ended up with a tinkle on the carpet (ew!), and gave Andrea a friendly reminder to head for the potty next time.

Tonight, the circumstances were a bit different. I was MAD. Andrea was playing on our bed, post-bath, and I was trying to get her pjs on her. She got up and scooted away from me. Then, she tooted. I made the mistake of laughing. So, she forced out another one. I said NO right away, and commanded her to come and put her diaper on. She tooted again, and laughed like crazy. I reached for her, but she dodged me. As she went to force out another toot, she peed right on our bed! I was furious. I knew that something was going to come out, so I had desperately tried to stop her; but she was too fast for me!

Well, I will probably laugh about this by tomorrow, but I'm annoyed that I have to wash all my bedding tonight!

Lighter Moments & Kade's Birthday Party

I had mentioned that Kevin got a cow puppet from Gram and Grandpa G. in his Halloween goody bag. He loves to chew on it, and stare at the black and white pattern. He often falls asleep with it when he's in his swing, too. :))

***

Kevin had his first encounter with the exersaucer last week! He was fascinated by all the toys, and enjoyed looking at, and trying to grab, everything. He got tired pretty fast, though, because he's still working on strengthening his neck and back muscles. I think he'll be more comfortable in the exersaucer in a few more weeks. :))

***

Kevin has been keeping me company while I wrap the Christmas presents. He is very interested in the pretty paper, and he likes it when I sing him Christmas carols! He can also be depended upon to keep all the Christmas gifts a secret. :))

***

When Andrea's at daycare, or sometimes when she's napping, I let Kevin lay down on her fold-out couch and squirm around. He likes it because it's bright and soft. On Thursday, she left her Doras on the couch; he became very excited, and started chatting to them! I turned on Big Dora's talking and singing function, and he thought it was awesome! He was all smiles and giggles and coos, every time Dora lit up and talked. Needless to say, we could NEVER do this when Andrea's around. That's "my comfy!" and "my Dora!" :))

***

Ah, the Doras . . . they must go everywhere, and do everything, with Andrea--especially Big Dora. She has to have Dora when she watches TV, and when she goes to bed. But lately, Dora's adventures are expanding: Dora eats with us; Dora goes for car rides with us; Dora sits on the counter and watches Andrea have her bath. When Andrea leaves for daycare, she gives Dora to Mommy, and Mommy has to hold her until Andrea is out of sight, because Mommy promises to babysit her and take good care of her while Andrea is gone. :))

And as for how much we watch Dora . . . well, let's just say our VCR/DVD player just broke down this weekend, and it's only about 2 years old!

***

Today we went to our friends Mark and Sara's house for Kade's first birthday party. Everyone was surprised by how much Andrea is coming out of her shell. As soon as she got in the door, she ran downstairs to where the toys were; and we don't think she stopped playing until it was time for cake!

Andrea was very excited when it was time to "sing-ging habbe burday" to Kade!

***

Happy 1st Birthday, Kade! I'm sure your mommy's going to have fun cleaning that cake out of your ear!

***
Andrea was impressed that there was a table and chairs just her size! She plunked herself right down in the middle of the bigger kids, and proceeded to eat THREE mini ice cream cones! Notice Dora, under her arm? The adults got a kick out of how she was feeding her ice cream to Dora, and saying, "Mmm, yummy, Dora!"

***

Kaia, Mark and Sara's dog, helped clean up Andrea's ice cream drips. She was highly amused by that, and kept giggling and saying, "Hi, puppy!"

***

Kevin had fun at the party, too. He had lots of people willing to cuddle and entertain him, and lots of pretty decorations and new faces to look at. He was particularly delighted by the duck calls of Sara's dad, Frank. Frank has an unbelievable knack with kids; I remember Andrea being drawn to him when she was a baby. Frank was making Kevin wiggle with excitement, and giggle like crazy!

***

Thanks, Mark and Sara, we had a lot of fun!

Disappointed :((

Today we took the kids to get their Christmas pictures done. I had a feeling that a certain little girl might not want to cooperate with us, but I was REALLY disappointed with how our photo session went.

I picked a good time to go, when I knew both kids would be well-rested and fed; they both seemed very happy in their outfits; and Andrea's first few individual photos went well. She got all excited every time her pictures appeared on the monitor, after they were taken.

But when it was time to put Kevin in the photo--she wasn't having that! She did NOT want to sit next to him. So, they tried her kneeling behind him: nope. They tried lying on their bellies next to each other: nope. They tried putting him in her lap: HUGE mistake. Kevin just sat there and looked around at everything, quite content, while Andrea literally thrashed and screamed. They tried bribing her with stickers. They tried putting stickers on Kevin to get her to kiss him! Nothing worked. They tried giving her a break, but she just ran around and around the photo set, and kept getting in the way of Kevin's individual photos! Everyone was SO frustrated (except Kevin).

So, okay, we ended up with two really nice INDIVIDUAL photos, and one passable photo of the two of them together, back to back--Andrea with a smirk, and Kevin staring off to one side. Sigh.

The photographer assured me that kids usually get over this anti-photo-cooperation stage by the age of 3. Hopefully we'll have better luck with their birthday photos in July!

Anyhow, I am upset about the pictures, and how stressful it was, but I'm also disappointed that Andrea is still acting like this around Kevin. I mean, yes, she wants to blow him a kiss goodnight every night, and sometimes she'll hand him a toy or a blanket, but she never really wants to touch him, or talk to him, or get really close to him. It just doesn't seem normal to me. (?)

Grandma Gagnon's Birthday

This evening we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to celebrate Grandma's birthday, which was actually yesterday. Grandpa did all the cooking--desserts and everything--and we were very impressed! I don't know why, but everyone got into a very silly mood as the evening went on. It was a lot of fun! Here are some highlights:

Dig in, Andrea!

***

Kevin's not too sure about this.

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Here's your card, Gram. Happy Birthday!

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Kevin's got it made: a bottle, a blanket, and a Grandpa to cuddle with!

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Jump, cow, jump!

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Party Animal! We thought you were sleeping!

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She's inherited Mommy's Maurice-family talent for picking things up with her toes. :))

(I'm so proud.)

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Look at me! I'm so beautiful!

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Grandpa and Kevin had some good conversation, and lots of laughs together.

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Silly!

***

Who needs toys? Balance an empty Tim Horton's cup on Gram's head, and then have her clap and cheer until it falls off--for endless entertainment!

***

Or you can run round and round the dividing wall between the kitchen and living room (stopping each time to have Gram pat you on the head), giggling and moving so fast you're practically a blur!

(This is a great way to work off the sugar from all the cake, ice cream, rice crispy squares and jell-o Gram and Grandpa fed you earlier!)

Halloween 2007

On Tuesday night, Aunt Stephanie dropped by with Izzy, so we could see her costume. I put Andrea and Kevin in their costumes, too, so we could get some pictures of the kids together.

Of course, when you've got two toddlers, and it's closing in on their bedtime, and you want them to sit still for a picture, wearing an unusual outfit, and smile for the camera, the result is inevitable:

We tried to get a picture with Kevin, too, but he was crying, and Andrea refused to sit still. She also wanted to get her rabbit costume off right away! So, we let them go their separate ways, and gave them some candy, as well as some popcorn from the Halloween treat Aunt Stephanie brought for Andrea. Naturally, peace was soon restored.

As for Kevin, I got one picture of him in his costume. Actually, this wasn't his official Halloween costume. It was a pair of pyjamas he had received as a gift that I thought might make a good costume, in case he spit up on his real one.

Grrr . . . I'm a grumpy little dinosaur!

***

Seeing their reaction to Tuesday's costumes and pictures, I was pretty nervous about what would happen when Halloween night arrived. And at first, my worst fears were realized! When I tried to put Andrea's bunny costume on her, she kicked and screamed and refused to wear it.

But then, I remembered that Aunt Stephanie had given Andrea a fairy princess dress-up outfit for her birthday. I had thought of using it as her Halloween costume before, but also thought it would probably be too cold. But considering Andrea's reaction to the bunny costume, I figured it was worth a try. So, I asked Andrea, "Would you like to dress up as a fairy princess?" and she immediately replied, "Yes!" Sure enough, I had no problems getting this costume on her. She loved it--especially the wings and her pretty wand. She ran around the house flapping her arms and yelling, "Fly! Fly! Fly!" She was so excited! So, Aunt Stephanie's birthday gift saved the day! Of course, Andrea kept saying that she was a "bee" . . . :))

Kevin, on the other hand, was not so happy about his outfit. I could not get him to smile! He pretty much cried until Daddy got home, and we went out visiting. Then, he had new sights and sounds to amuse him.

***

When Daddy got home, we headed over to Great-Grandma Maurice's so she could see the babies' costumes, and have a little visit with us. Here, the roles began to reverse: Andrea became the crabby and impatient one, whereas Kevin was cute and serene. All Andrea wanted to do was eat the candy that Grandma gave her, and fly around the room! Daddy was feeding her a constant supply of licorice to keep her semi-content, while we tried to have a visit. Ah, well, she is two years old.

***

Then we were off to Grandma and Grandpa Gagnon's for a visit there. Kevin became quite animated, and was cooing and grinning, and thoroughly enjoying himself. Andrea, once again, was only interested in eating candy! Grandma and Grandpa gave Andrea and Kevin each a special bag of goodies. Kevin's, of course, didn't really have treats, but it had a soft cow puppet which he is currently fascinated with. :)) It was also here that Mommy realized she'd left her camera at Great-Grandma's . . . sigh.

***

After our visit with Grandma and Grandpa, Daddy drove home with Kevin to hand out candy, while Andrea and I trick-or-treated our way back home up the street. At first, she wasn't too sure about leaving Daddy behind and walking off with Mommy into the night. But after the first house, when she realized that she was getting more candy, she cheered right up and enjoyed the journey. There were only two problems: one, she wanted to eat each piece of candy as it was handed to her, instead of stowing it in her bag; and two, she wanted to go into each person's house for a visit! Everyone thought she was so cute. Many people quickly realized this was her first time out really trick-or-treating, because she was a bit shy. This definitely worked in her favour--little cutie, first time trick-or-treating? Pile on the candy! At one house, the lady was sitting outside on her steps, handing out the candy. Andrea decided to sit down right next to her and stay for a visit! I told Andrea it was time to go, but the lady was really nice and said, "Oh, let her have a rest! We can have a chat!" So, we stayed for a few minutes and introduced ourselves, and then we were off again.

Soon after that, I noticed Grandpa had come up behind us. He had Andrea's jacket, which we'd left at their house. He decided to join us for the rest of our journey home. Andrea really liked it that Grandpa was trick-or-treating with us, too. :))

***

When we got home, Andrea didn't want to go in the house. So, we let her stay outside and see all the kids coming to get their candy. Kevin stayed out with us, too. Daddy had him all bundled up in his car seat, and he was awake for awhile, looking at all the interesting costumes. But soon, he fell asleep. Our two cuties were a big hit with the older trick-or-treaters; we heard lots of "Awwwww, they're so cute!"

***

Meanwhile, Andrea continued to scarf down the candy! Daddy had decided that she could eat all she wanted on Halloween night; apparently, that was the tradition when he was a kid. So, I said, "Okay . . . but if she gets' sick, you're cleaning it up!" Luckily, there was no sick stomach, but there was one very hyper and sticky little girl! But she was loving it. :))

And you need something to wash all that candy down with, right?

Just kidding! She didn't really have any. :)) She had a sippy cup of milk before bed. :))