Tiring T out, one Nana at a time

If there is one thing I've learned about T, you have to keep her busy.

Having the grandparents visit after R's arrival was a very good idea. T thoroughly enjoyed having someone devouted to her since R was keeping Mommy busy.

I had attempted to find crafts and activities that T could do with her Nanas. Her Poppas kept busy either helping Nanas, fulfilling their golf supply needs and fixing household projects that needed to be done.

When Nana K arrived, T got to play outside at the play park, play in the water pool, and do crafts. I'm not sure which she enjoyed more.

T's day with Nana K usually started going to the play park up the street. Everybody got dressed, put on sunscreen and ran off to the park.

After lunch, T tried her hands at various activities which included making foam popsicle stick puppets. A friend had mentioned during one of our Moms Night Out, that she often occupied her daughter with foam crafts that were sent home to the grandparents.

What a stroke of luck! Each Nana went home with a foam picture frame for their fridges too! She and I had worked on those before R arrived...the weekend before I believe!

Now for the record, they did have googly eyes but as difficult as they were to put on, they fell off very easily...I'm going to have to go on eyeball duty to see about finding any castoffs before R starts crawling. I know I plucked many off of T's dirty clothes after they were washed. They liked to stick to everything but the foam puppets!

When Nana J arrived, we had to find other stuff to do. Nana J brought some 3D foam crafts with her. That took up 2 days...they now adjorned T's walls.

They also worked on T's crazy hat for Kids Day Out.

When we arrived at KDO for the crazy hat day, there was at least one other little girl who had the same pink hat...apparently I'm not the only one who spied the good deal at the local mega craft store's sale on foam supplies!

And they worked on R's letters for his room. Painting with a 3 yr old was interesting! T was very excited that R was going to have letters like she does in his room. Each kid has their name up on their wall. We used Fire Engine red, Apple green and School Bus yellow for R's letters.

T picked them out, even without knowing the names!

Keeping Thing #1 busy...

T attended a Kids Day Out program across town (about 20 minutes away) for most of last year.

When she started, there were a lot of tears on her part. As the year went on, she grew to love being at this program. She got to play with other kids, and Mommy got some time alone.

The one thing I've learned about T is you have to keep her mind and body busy. If she's not busy, she's not happy.

The church that ran the KDO program also had a summer program. I hadn't registered her for the summer session because I was due to have R the week it started its summer program. Since R arrived early, I felt it was important that she have a chance to had some summer fun too. She had kinda been forcefully shoved aside because of R's early and stressful arrival.

Luckily there was a spot open for her. She was thrilled. They had themed days. She got to bring her tricycle and dress up for Red, White and Blue day (which just happened to fall on July 1st so she wore red and white) among the activities. There was much discussion that day about where she should wear a white hat or a red one. We finally convinced her to wear a read one.

There was also a crazy hat day. Nana J and T worked very hard on her hat, a pink foam stetson with monkeys and gorilla puppet she made with Nana K.

Yeehaw cowboy!

After we finished this KDO program...we were left with waiting two weeks for her zoo camp to start. Of course, the zoo camp was during the height of the summer heat.

It was a Zoo Safari camp. T went every day for a week. She learned about bears, turtles, chickens, hippos and trees. Every day she came home with a craft and a slip of paper with questions I was to ask her about. These questions were about the topic they had learned about that day.

These are T's zoo crafts: a hippo puppet, a chick in an egg carton cup, a turtle shaker and a bear necklace

After that program ended, we had to find something else to do. That meant more trips to the zoo and the local green space to stretch ours legs with friends.

She's gone! She's gone!

As followers of our lives know, I'm a planner. I planned R's arrival to down to the last detail. We had everyone booked to arrive at precise times to help post delivery.

And as now we know, all my planning went out the window.

As we had gotten closer to R's planned arrival (starting in April as he was supposed to arrive in June, not May), we had been talking and reminding T that when R would arrive, so would Nana K. She knew that Nana K meant they could go to the park, play in the back yard etc. etc.

Ah yes, best laid plans...

When S's mom (Nana K) did arrive the week R was supposed to be born, he was already 4 weeks old. Mommy had been rather occupied with the little creature who ate/slept and pooped of recent so T felt a little neglected to say the least. There wasn't too many trips to the park for T before Nana K came.

So when Nana K arrived, the angels sang and T was beyond happy. Well, her world would soon crash again one evening, the night after Nana K's arrival.

T has grown tall enough to peek out her window. She has full view of comings and goings of the neighbourhood. And full view of Nana K going for her nightly walk.

Oh dear, in hindsight I should have known seen this coming.

Nana K had just put T down for the night and had decided to take her nightly stroll. Sounds innocent enough, right?

Shortly after she left, the house erupted in wailing coming from T's room. By wailing, I mean uncontrollable screams.

Right before the screaming started, S had retreated to the basement to pay bills. R was napping in the playpen. I had just settled into some TV time. It was downright peaceful.

Then the screaming started. I thought T had fallen out of bed again and hit her head. I ran to check on her.

I opened the door to see T screaming, tears streaming down her faces, wailing "Nana's gone! Nana's gone!".

My scrambled post partum brain struggled to understand what she was saying. I tried to clarify what she was saying. T pointed to the window and said "She's gone!"

I pieced things together and realized she had seen Nana K going for her walk. T thought that Nana was leaving and her playmate was gone.

It took a good few minutes to calm down T. Finally she came to understand that Nana K had only gone for a walk and that she would be back. I had to convince T to settle down. She only did after I promised Nana K would come in and give her a kiss goodnight when she got back.

Nana K had to use the patio door and go out through the backyard when she took her nightly walks after that.

What did you do Saturday morning?

Well, we went on an airplane ride.

Now, when I say 'airplane', I don't mean you garden variety airplane. This was a T designed airplane...made out of foam hopscotch squares...laid out on the floor in a not exactly airplane shaped pattern. But in her mind, it was a plane. She gets an A for creativity.

T pleaded and whined until S went and played airplane with her. "Please Daddy, please!" was a reverberating chant until he conceded. The airplane was placed strategically on 'Daddy's floor' (the new hardwood floor he recently completed), in direct view of the TV. Daddy just couldn't not watch Holmes on Homes.

It wasn't long that Mommy's presence was requested. I asked if R could join us too. T paused to think. At first said no but then she said an enthusiastic "YES!".

There the four of us sat, riding on the 'airplane', in our pyjamas.

Ms. Phenix decided against joining us but she watched, just a little bit intrigued, from a far. After she had had her fill of amusement for the day, she retreated to her basket in our bedroom.

Eventually, the pilot (S) took a leave of absence to the couch, taking R with him for a few minutes.

T and I played plane for a few minutes until Mommy needed coffee #2. I asked T to go get her 'friends' (her friends consist of every last stuffed creature who lives on her bed) as the pilot (me) had to go get another coffee.

T was all too willing to me my coffee from the microwave (nope not a good idea T) but then she found a new venue for her energy. She needed to get dressed because S mentioned he might be going over to a friend's house this afternoon and T could go with him.

Within seconds she was off to her room to get dressed. If only that worked as well to get her breakfast into her.

Some days, even going to the mailbox is an adventure for my kid!

I know what we did this summer!

Okay so yeah, its been a while without an update. We've been busy finishing projects (the flooring is done!), doing laundry, making formula, transporting the offspring to various outings, S has been working 50+ weeks at work and we all been trying to squeeze in some sleep.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention almost the entire month of August was in the 100Fs. For those fellow Canucks, think high 30s-40s C, yeah, freaking hot.

With all that we were up to, it didn't leave much time for blogging or uploading photos.

I think we are slowly inching ourselves to some semblance of a routine. R sleeps (we are still working on a nap schedule), eats and needs his diaper changed. That's his day. T has enlarged her 'friends' collection to include a pink gorilla, she now loves to watch Scooby Doo (who doesn't?) and still doesn't want to eat her meals when they come from the food pyramid.

After all our post natal visitors went home, we signed up T for a zoo camp. It was a 1.5 hrs a day for week...the first week we had 100F temperatures. The poor thing baked but loved every minute of it. We also got her signed up for a Kids Day Out program, which she starts next week.

Today, she started preschool. So far, so good. Her next school day is Thursday.

Me and the offspring have been making outings to the zoo and to local natural trails in an effort to fill our day and get some much needed fresh air. T gets to play with her little friends, R gets to sleep in his car seat and Mommy gets to chat with an adult other than herself.

At last count, R was about 10.8 lbs, which was a couple of weeks ago so he's likely upwards of 11lbs by now. We have been slowly trying to get him to nap. We've also been working on our tummy time to help improve his neck and head control. Its slow but steady. Did I also mention I'm starting to see the outline of two bottom teeth thru his gums? He's starting to be a drool machine too. I hope he cuts teeth better than T did.

I have some better shots on my other camera but they require a little more work before they can be simply uploaded. So for now, enjoy these!

Trips to the Zoo...







Talia's New Trick (it changes daily)



The Offspring



Mr. R (when you are this big, they don't always call you Mister!)







T's first day of school (she was too busy watching the other kids play in the playground to smile)

You may now return to your regularly scheduled life...

Looking at the calender yesterday, I realized it was August...processing...August...further mental processing required...August? What happened to June and July???

Well, the last couple of months have flown by with R arriving as well as the oh so planned original date of his arrival and carefully planned visits from the grandparents.

Despite me not remembering what I did 5 minutes ago and S working 60 hour work weeks, T and R are doing remarkably well. They are fed and water daily and receive the required love from their parents. Who could ask for more?

R is about 4 weeks behind where T was both size wise and developmentally I would say. That would make sense seeing as T was born at 39 weeks and R was born at 35 weeks. I've been told he will catch up faster than I think.

R is eating up a storm, out pacing his sister by leaps and bounds in terms of how much he downs daily. The doctor has him on some preventative antibiotics in order to prevent any lingering issues because of his enlarged kidney. All the doctors have told us that he likely will grow out of this issue. Based on the scale the medical community uses to grade his hydronephrosis, his case is very mild.

R has also curried favour with Gryffin. Don't ask me how but the finicky feline loves the kid. Gryffin would not enter the same room as T until she was nearing her second birthday. But with R, its been completely different.

Gryff even rubbed his cheek on R's sleepered foot yesterday...that never has happened with T. This lends further credence that something happened to Gryffin, perhaps involving an infant, before we got him. I can only speculate that perhaps he got turned out because of the arrival of a new baby.

I have to say its quite nice to sit out in the living room at 3am and have some backup in the form of my furry companions. Gryffin daintily tries not to sit on R as he assumes R's spot on the feeding pillow when R is being burped. Phenix, watches perched from a far but never too far. I think she's just waiting to see if she gets fed after R does.

Phenix has also resumed her behaviour of 'playing Lassie' and letting me know if R is crying like she did with T. It must hurt her ears because that's the only reason I can think of why she'd even get up from her spot under the bench. Not much else moves her from her favourite napping spot.

While R has been busy eating, T has been kept busy with grandparental visits and day camps.

God bless day camps. And seeing as they are mainly run by churches, that seems appropriate.

Because of R's early arrival, T was able to attend the summer Kids Day Out program, she attended during the school year. Yes, it was clear on the other side of town, but it gave her a chance to have something that was hers and hers alone. So much focus as been made of R, that it seemed only fair that she have something all to herself. Sadly, that ended in July.

This week she is attending a zoo camp. The little campers in her class get to spend 1.5 hours per day, all week, touring various zoo animals. Aside from the fact that its going to be well into the low 100Fs this week (don't ask me the Celsius equivalent, let's just say its bloody hot with the humidity), I think she will enjoy the class. She got to see the bears today. They did a craft and made bear pendant necklaces out of a piece of sandpaper, felt and string.

At the start of September, T starts preschool at the church across the street. Where has the 3 years gone? I remember T when she was R's age. Its like I blinked and she got big. Oh well.

She's going to be attending another kids day out program this year as well, on this side of town. They also have a camp program I can get both kids in next summer so Mommy might have some time to devote to her much forgotten about garden next summer. And whose kidding, I get to shop ALONE! Its too bad Phenix and Gryffin are cats, I think they'd make a good shopping buddies.

Since she's attending both a kids day out program and preschool, I get 8 hours a week with just R. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I jest but it is kinda nice to have some bonding time with just one.

Speaking of bonding time, yesterday, T and I, along with two of her little friends, S and L (and their parents) went to see Cats vs. Dogs - The Revenge of Kitty Galore. T was first introduced to this franchise when we inherited a DVD from my late brother's DVD collection. I actually had bought this particular DVD for him because I wanted to see it. T enjoyed the movie but by the end, she was starting to fidget.

S and L are headed to see their Granny in a couple of weeks so it was nice to spend some time with them before they head north. T tells me daily how much she miss S and L. I think its more so that she's bored. My little precious 3 year old likes to be kept busy and Mommy just doesn't cut the mustard some days.

I'd better sign off. If I get a chance I will post some pictures of the shenanigans we've been up to this summer. T is now wanting in the house after playing on the deck. She is beet red and covered in sand so she needs an early bath. R is now awake from his nap and wants to be fed...big surprise.