This morning, Calum saved a bee. It was buzzing around the Old DC and was about to meet an unfortunate end (I was ready to whack it) when Calum told me to put it outside. That's one lucky bee. Not, however, as lucky as the dozen or so ants that he rescued in the kitchen just a little earlier. Now those, I really would have dealt with but he was having fun saving them. Calum is a really into insects these days. We regularly have to read his bug book to learn about ants, spiders, beetles and butterflies. Oh, and ladybugs. Everyday after I pick him up we have to look for ladybugs (sadly, I think we accidentally killed them all - not easy for small hands to pick up).
No big news this week. Don and I went to see The Police in concert last night with some friends. It was a nice night out. We've only ever seen one other concert together and we both didn't like that one. Grandma, Grandpa and Buddy helped look after Calum for the night. He was pretty excited and was still talking about Buddy this morning. Baby (the cat) wasn't as impressed and didn't come home till this morning.
I'm planning on helping Larry and Tabitha with their big move tomorrow. Mom and Dad may be down too so I'll finally be able to give Mom her Mother's Day gifts from Calum. We've been planning to take a trip to Merritt (combined work/visit) but it hasn't happened yet. Ah well, by the time we do get up there it should be nice and warm.
Oh, some good news for us. The daycare is going to be open in July this year. Fees are going up a bit, but that wasn't unexpected. That means July is covered and Don and I just have to either take vacations or re-arrange or schedules a bit for August. Desiree is planning on working full time and I expect Dakota will want to also. We don't know how it will all work out yet but I must say I'm looking forward to the summer. The outdoor pool across the street opened this week and Calum and I are giving it a few days for the water to warm up before we go over.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A typical night with a two year old (New post for L and T)
We start getting him ready for bed after his bath. This is usually around 8:00. You'd think he'd soon be in bed and asleep, wouldn't you? Not so. It then takes time to get him ready for bed, to read books, to get him in bed and to get him to sleep. We've been getting a bit better at it (we haven't had to go for a drive to make him fall asleep for over a week) but it's still a two hour thing. Here's what happens:
Bathtime - 8:00 (splash, splash, get Dad wet, run around with towel on, "I'm cold Mom").
Pre-Bedtime: 8:30(changing diaper, getting pjs on "Not that one", chasing Calum)
Bedtime: 9:00
(Calum, fresh from his bath and in his pjs)
(Mom): It's almost bedtime
(C): I don't want to (picture a pout with lip out, arms crossed and a mad little face)
(Mom): Two more minutes
(C): No! (Glares at Mom).
(Mom): OK, let's go.
(C): (Hides behind the chair)
(Mom): Say goodnight to Dad
(C): No!
(Mom): Come on, let's go. Turn off your tv (Batman or Spidey show playing in the background).
(C): No! (turns off tv)
(Mom): (prompting) Goodnight Dad.
(C): (starts to head for the kitchen)
(Mom): (Leaving the room) Goodnight Dad.
(C): (Entering the room, grabs Mom's hand) 'Night Dad
(Mom): Give him a kiss
(C): (Runs back and gives Dad a hug)
(Dad): Kiss.
(C): (big hug)
(Dad): (slightly wet from the water fight at bathtime) OK, hug. Goodnight Calum
(Mom and C): (walking down the hall to the bedroom) Goodnight Des, Goodnight Dakota (Dakota is usually downstairs on the computer and Des is in her room)
(C): 'Night Des.... NIGHT DES. NIGHT DES!!!!
(D): Goodnight Calum
(C): (Entering bedroom) Books?
(Mom): Just two
(C): OK
(Mom): You pick.
(C): (Sorting through stack of about 20 books under the bed). This one, this one, this one, this one, this one....
(Mom): Just two
(C): (Smiles) OK
(Mom): Which two?
(C): (Grabing a stack of 1o) This one.
(Mom): OK, three.
(C): OK.
(Mom): Get into bed and I'll pass you the books.
(C): (Jumping on the bed, pointing at his new ladybug light, throwing himself down and jumping back up)
(Mom): Which three? Spiderman? Batman? How about these ones?
(C): Spiderman. Batman (Grabs the stack of 10)
(Mom): OK.
9:30
(Books have been read, twice)
(Mom): Time for sleep
(C): No. I don't want to.
(Mom): Come on, we've got to go to the Old DC tomorrow.
(C): No!
(Mom): Yes. Sleep.
(C): Up please. (Points to the living room).
(Mom): No.
(C): Mama, up please. No sleep! (Starts to get up from bed)
(Mom): Sleep!!!
(C): Dad? Dad!
(Mom): No Dad. Sleep
(C): (crying, rolling around on the bed) No, sleep. Mama, no sleep. (Crying continues, getting quieter and quieter).
9:35
(Calum cuddles up to Mom, sniffles continue).
9:40
(Calum is asleep)
You think that would be it for the night but lately we've had him waking up at 1 or 2am and trying to get up. Then again at 3, 5, or 6......I think he's teething again.
So that's a typical night of putting Calum to bed. I used to think I'd get a lot done when I put him down for the night, now I'm lucky if I can stay awake. If I do, I know I still have to get to bed at a decent hour because we still have the whole night to get through.
Two year olds. Enough said.
Bathtime - 8:00 (splash, splash, get Dad wet, run around with towel on, "I'm cold Mom").
Pre-Bedtime: 8:30(changing diaper, getting pjs on "Not that one", chasing Calum)
Bedtime: 9:00
(Calum, fresh from his bath and in his pjs)
(Mom): It's almost bedtime
(C): I don't want to (picture a pout with lip out, arms crossed and a mad little face)
(Mom): Two more minutes
(C): No! (Glares at Mom).
(Mom): OK, let's go.
(C): (Hides behind the chair)
(Mom): Say goodnight to Dad
(C): No!
(Mom): Come on, let's go. Turn off your tv (Batman or Spidey show playing in the background).
(C): No! (turns off tv)
(Mom): (prompting) Goodnight Dad.
(C): (starts to head for the kitchen)
(Mom): (Leaving the room) Goodnight Dad.
(C): (Entering the room, grabs Mom's hand) 'Night Dad
(Mom): Give him a kiss
(C): (Runs back and gives Dad a hug)
(Dad): Kiss.
(C): (big hug)
(Dad): (slightly wet from the water fight at bathtime) OK, hug. Goodnight Calum
(Mom and C): (walking down the hall to the bedroom) Goodnight Des, Goodnight Dakota (Dakota is usually downstairs on the computer and Des is in her room)
(C): 'Night Des.... NIGHT DES. NIGHT DES!!!!
(D): Goodnight Calum
(C): (Entering bedroom) Books?
(Mom): Just two
(C): OK
(Mom): You pick.
(C): (Sorting through stack of about 20 books under the bed). This one, this one, this one, this one, this one....
(Mom): Just two
(C): (Smiles) OK
(Mom): Which two?
(C): (Grabing a stack of 1o) This one.
(Mom): OK, three.
(C): OK.
(Mom): Get into bed and I'll pass you the books.
(C): (Jumping on the bed, pointing at his new ladybug light, throwing himself down and jumping back up)
(Mom): Which three? Spiderman? Batman? How about these ones?
(C): Spiderman. Batman (Grabs the stack of 10)
(Mom):
9:30
(Books have been read, twice)
(Mom): Time for sleep
(C): No. I don't want to.
(Mom): Come on, we've got to go to the Old DC tomorrow.
(C): No!
(Mom): Yes. Sleep.
(C): Up please. (Points to the living room).
(Mom): No.
(C): Mama, up please. No sleep! (Starts to get up from bed)
(Mom): Sleep!!!
(C): Dad? Dad!
(Mom): No Dad. Sleep
(C): (crying, rolling around on the bed) No, sleep. Mama, no sleep. (Crying continues, getting quieter and quieter).
9:35
(Calum cuddles up to Mom, sniffles continue).
9:40
(Calum is asleep)
You think that would be it for the night but lately we've had him waking up at 1 or 2am and trying to get up. Then again at 3, 5, or 6......I think he's teething again.
So that's a typical night of putting Calum to bed. I used to think I'd get a lot done when I put him down for the night, now I'm lucky if I can stay awake. If I do, I know I still have to get to bed at a decent hour because we still have the whole night to get through.
Two year olds. Enough said.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Thank you, Mama
Calum has learned to say "Thank you" and he uses it a lot. There is something very cute about hearing him say it.
We've had a quiet week so far. Calum continues to be a bit off though - he doesn't want to go to sleep and Don and I have had to resort to a few late night drives to get him to drift off. Last night he didn't want to go to sleep and then woke up with the sun - much too early. He finally fell back to sleep, sometime after 6:30 and slept till 8:30. Lucky for us, the daycare is across the street. He was very happy though, he had all of the kids shooting webs and jumping. Don and I are getting a cold again so the lack of sleep is making for some very long days.
Tonight, we are off to run errands and do some shopping. I'm going to try to keep him as busy as possible to tire him out.
Oh, one funny Mother's Day story. Calum and I went to buy some flowers for Grandma Bain. He was very happy about it. He picked them out, carried them around the store and was very careful the whole time. When we got home he told me that they were his flowers and he wanted to keep them. I convinced him to take them for a ride to Grandma and Grandpa's and once he saw Buddy he was over the flowers and ready to give them away.
Hope you are all having a good week.
We've had a quiet week so far. Calum continues to be a bit off though - he doesn't want to go to sleep and Don and I have had to resort to a few late night drives to get him to drift off. Last night he didn't want to go to sleep and then woke up with the sun - much too early. He finally fell back to sleep, sometime after 6:30 and slept till 8:30. Lucky for us, the daycare is across the street. He was very happy though, he had all of the kids shooting webs and jumping. Don and I are getting a cold again so the lack of sleep is making for some very long days.
Tonight, we are off to run errands and do some shopping. I'm going to try to keep him as busy as possible to tire him out.
Oh, one funny Mother's Day story. Calum and I went to buy some flowers for Grandma Bain. He was very happy about it. He picked them out, carried them around the store and was very careful the whole time. When we got home he told me that they were his flowers and he wanted to keep them. I convinced him to take them for a ride to Grandma and Grandpa's and once he saw Buddy he was over the flowers and ready to give them away.
Hope you are all having a good week.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Save the spiders
I hate to admit it but I used to be as likely to squish a spider or a bug if it crossed my path as I was to let it free. Now, thanks to Calum's fascination with bugs I just can't do it. Today, thanks to Calum, the big spider I found crawling along the floor is now happily spinning a web in the yard. He finds insects very interesting. As you can see from our photos, he has a bug net and also a bug container. We brought it to daycare one morning and spent about 15 minutes looking for bugs outside. We managed to find a few ants but none of the other kids were really impressed. Calum likes ladybugs and spiders but will happily play with anything he can find.
We brought Calum's library books to the Old DC one morning. They are chapter books, meant for bigger kids but he loves them. They were, of course, about Spiderman and Batman. I had to read them and realized I had to make them appropriate for other kids. How do you explain villains and bad guys to toddlers? Calum just calls them meanies and cheers for the hero. I had no idea what some of these kids had been exposed to so I had to make up the story - Spidey caught a lot of meanies and they all had to apologize for not minding their manners. Luckily, most of the kids politely listened for a few minutes then went off to do other things.
We spent the day at doctors appointments. Another rescheduled hearing test, only to find he has another ear infection so it was off to the clinic. The doctor checked him over and said his sinuses are backed up, causing fluid build up in his ears, and so on. I was worried after he woke up last night and wouldn't settle. We have some nasal spray and antibiotics and it will be another round of appointments in a few weeks to make sure the infection is gone and we can go in for a proper hearing test. We haven't managed one yet.
More news when we have it.
We brought Calum's library books to the Old DC one morning. They are chapter books, meant for bigger kids but he loves them. They were, of course, about Spiderman and Batman. I had to read them and realized I had to make them appropriate for other kids. How do you explain villains and bad guys to toddlers? Calum just calls them meanies and cheers for the hero. I had no idea what some of these kids had been exposed to so I had to make up the story - Spidey caught a lot of meanies and they all had to apologize for not minding their manners. Luckily, most of the kids politely listened for a few minutes then went off to do other things.
We spent the day at doctors appointments. Another rescheduled hearing test, only to find he has another ear infection so it was off to the clinic. The doctor checked him over and said his sinuses are backed up, causing fluid build up in his ears, and so on. I was worried after he woke up last night and wouldn't settle. We have some nasal spray and antibiotics and it will be another round of appointments in a few weeks to make sure the infection is gone and we can go in for a proper hearing test. We haven't managed one yet.
More news when we have it.
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