Calum's first swimming lesson

Calum and Angie at Tin Wis at Tofino

"Hey don't take the picture"

Calum and Don at Tin Wis - an early morning walk

"Come on and take the picture"

Off we go to Nuu-chah-nulth country...

The Nuu-chah-nulth were very generous and took everyone out to look for whales...the swells were big and rocked the boat...the rocking made Calum fall asleep for the first while.

It was a bit cold out on the water

Dakota looking very stoic

Here we are...if you look closely you can see the UFO

Calum, Mom and Dad took an early morning walk...in the background is Tin Wis Resort, where we stayed.

Misc pics

Calum and George

A boy on the move

We will be off to Tofino for the weekend in just a few short hours. Wish us up some sunshine. I'm going to try to post a few more pics to brighten up your Friday!

Calum the fish

We took Calum to his first swimming lesson yesterday. I was a bit concerned when we got there because all of the other kids seemed so much older than him. We went into the shallow end of the big pool too and I thought it might be a little cold for him. He looked a bit concerned for a few minutes but quickly decided that he liked it. We played games, practiced "jumping" into the pool, had them chase balls around, pick up things from underwater and tried to get them to blow bubbles. I think some of the other parents thought me a bit strange because I kept making car sounds for him. He likes it, what can you do? I was the only parent that seemed to cheer for their kid too. Everytime Calum slid off the edge of the pool and into the water we cheered. Heh, I'll do anything to get that smile out of him.


The lessons last a half hour and the last 15 min of each class are spent in the much warmer kids pool. Calum didn't complain once and we had a great time. He even managed to flirt with a little 3 year old girl. They both seemed fascinated by each other. She didn't even mind when our ball burst out of the water and landed right in front of her with a big splash. Calum sure likes girls - big and small. Maybe they all remind him of his sisters. The rest of the day he seemed to be more talkative and happy (after his naps of course). I think we've got a water baby on our hands.

Pass the peas please

Yesterday I gave Calum his first real taste of baby food. We decided on the peas and guess what? He likes them! We made a big mess and I only gave him a little but I think he's going to like his big boy food. I also tried a bit of an experiment. I gave him his juice in a sippy cup and a bottle. He managed to get a few sips out of the cup but had more success with the bottle. The little stinker. He can too drink from a bottle, he just chooses not to.

Yesterday we took Dakota to the dentist. She got her front tooth capped and had the root of the broken one removed. She got to keep the root and has been showing it to everyone. It's huge! It was all done within an hour. Her next appointment will be worse. I'll spare you all the details but I sure wouldn't want to have it done. Today is picture day and she's not too happy about having a picture with the new gap where her old tooth used to be. Retakes are next month though so it's not that bad.

Our poor household seems to have been hit by every cold and flu bug this year. Don is not feeling well now. It came on rather suddenly and he's been feeling awful for a couple of days. He only managed about half an hour on his computer yesterday so I know he is sick. Flu season has arrived.

Oh what a weekend

I checked in with the daycare on Friday and Calum did not get in for September. I should hear back from them by mid to late October to see if he gets in for November. He has 2 infants ahead of him on the wait list but a couple of infants in the program will be moving over to the toddler section around that time. While this means it will be a bit longer before I can get back into a more regular working schedule, it may be for the best as it will give us more time to try to convince him that the bottle isn't such a bad thing. The teeth should be coming in around then and I definitely want him on the bottle at that time.

We had a nice dinner last night. Maybe Grandpa Bain will post his pictures on his blog. We forgot the camera. Calum was very well behaved up until the end. By the time we got him home he acted as though he was starving. He did drink a half bottle while we were in the restaurant but apparently that wasn't enough. He was pretty tired though and fell asleep at about 8:30. He woke up at 5:30 though and we had to go out to the living room to settle him down. He went back to sleep but unfortunately I was up.

Today we went shopping for Don's present. He decided on a new camera lens for our 35mm. It's a great lens and I'm sure you'll see many pictures that he takes with it. While we were shopping in North Vancouver, we got a phone call. Dakota had gone to the skate park and had a tumble. She called from the skate park with some bad news - a chipped front tooth and one totally broken. We hurried home to check on her and she seemed fine otherwise. Her version of the story is that she was trying a more challenging part of the park, got scared and closed her eyes. She also admitted she wasn't wearing her helmet. One of the conditions we have given her about skate boarding is that she must always wear her helmet - we remind her everytime she goes and she always gives us the "I KNOW!" reply. It's funny how teens assume parents are forgetful. We know that they should know, but when we remind them about something it's just our way of telling them that we also know they will not listen. I guess we are lucky it was just her broken teeth.

Don took her to the dentist and it looks like one can be capped but the other has to be removed. I had a somewhat similar experience when I was younger. My tooth was chipped after I was hit dead on while playing baseball. Dakota doesn't know it yet but she's got a few painful visits to the dentist ahead of her. She seems fine now though - busy on the phone and chatting online.

I had plans of catching up on some work this weekend but I think those plans are pretty much shot. Don is trying to settle Calum down but he's giving him a hard time. I'm going to see if I can get online for an hour or two at least. Next week looks to be just as busy with visits to the dentist and dealing with a grumpy Calum as he gets over his cold.

Oh - Calum is 6 months old today!

Sniffle, sniffle continued

Calum and I are both sick now. Calum is getting a bit better - except for the runny nose. I feel a bit better today too so luckily for us it hasn't been a bad one. Don has the sniffles too so we are hoping he won't get any worse. Especially today! Happy Birthday Don.

Tomorrow we are going to try to get everyone together for a birthday dinner for Don and his Dad. Calum and I still haven't gotten Don's gift yet but may go out this afternoon. Or maybe not. Maybe we will just take him shopping this weekend.

In other news, Calum's spots don't seem too bad. Some have gone away, a few new ones have appeared but I think the tape idea does work. I think I'm going to put off the swim lessons for awhile though. The only place Calum and I have been where we could pick up a cold was to the pool last weekend.

I've got loads to do today so I'd better get back to it. Happy weekend.

Sniffle, sniffle

Poor Calum has a cold. He's handling it fairly well, except he hates it when we wipe his nose. He had Don and I up pretty early today too but went back to sleep in my arms at about 5:30. I'm hoping he's not too cranky today so that I can get some work done.

Desiree and Dakota are back in school. Dakota has just started high school so it's a big change. Yesterday she got up early and went back to her elementary school for another chance to say goodbye. Luckily she is now at the same school as Desiree so even if they don't see each other all the time she at least knows her big sister is around if she needs her.

Both Desiree and Dakota now have jobs. Dakota delivers the Burnaby Now on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It seems like it will be a lot of work for little reward so I don't know how long she will stick it out. Desiree will be working in the deli at Superstore starting at the end of the month. Not bad for a first job! If she likes it I expect it will be a good part time job for her for awhile.

Don's birthday is coming up - September 9th. Calum has already given him his presents - a new wallet and a DVD. I think the girls have presents or at least an idea of what to get him. I'm still waiting for inspiration. You wouldn't think it but he can be pretty hard to buy for.

Well, back to work while all is quiet.

Calum at the pool, trying to touch the bubbles

He likes it!

We went to the Newton Wave Pool on Friday. Our niece, Jenny, was visiting and we had promised to bring her. I decided that it was a good time to introduce Calum to the pool. While he wasn't jumping up and down, he wasn't complaining either. I think he liked it, especially when he got to touch the bubbles and watch the other babies. The only challenging part was when we were finished and I had to change him. The change room had only 1 high change table and a cage like structure to put them in while you change. I made the mistake of leaving his shirt on too so it was hard to get the wet things off. Then when he was changed I was still wet and I wasn't about to put him in the cage thing. One poor kid was already in there and she had fallen once already and hit her little head. Next time I bring the stroller in with me.

Calum seems to have developed a few little red bumps on his arm and leg. Last week we asked the nurse about them but she just told us to watch them and take him to his doctor if they got worse. He's not complaining any - not itchy, no fever - so we watched. Finally on Saturday I decided they looked a bit more irritated and we brought him into the clinic. I'm not entirely convinced that the doctor was certain but he said Calum had a virus called molluscum [related to the pox family]. He told us that they would go away eventually and not to worry. Well, we did some searching on the net when we got home and while a lot of babies seem to get it, it doesn't sound pleasant. These red spots eventually blister and then dry up. The not so nice sounding part is that I read stories from parents that said it took months for them to go away. Is Calum supposed to go around with these spots for that long?

A few parents recommended covering them with medical tape or bandages to avoid the infant scratching or spreading them. I don't know if it will work but we decided to try. Calum now has little bits of white medical tape on his arm and leg and anywhere else I saw something suspicious. So far, no new spots. You are supposed to leave the tape on for a week but I think I'll give it another day or two and bring him in to see his regular doctor. He supposed to start swimming next Saturday and I need to know if it is okay for him to go in the water while he has them.

Wish us luck.

POWER to the PEOPLE!

Calum is a bit upset

Calum, Nicola and Jen

On a roll

Calum rolls, and rolls and rolls. Just yesterday he seems to have decided that rolling is fun and it's something he wants to do a lot of. He would roll from front to back before but when we were playing yesterday I had a hard time confining him to one area of the living room. I started with a small blanket on the carpet. He rolled off of that in a matter of seconds. I added another, enlarging our play area and he quickly moved off of that one too. Finally I put a big blanket down and surrounded Calum with toys. He was rolling, spinning, lifting himself up on his arms, kicking his legs and grabbing anything within reach. Somehow he gained a whole lot of confidence during the day and now I have to watch him like a hawk. Our baby is growning up.

birthday greetings

Belated birthday greetings to our niece Jenny LaBounty [Aug 29th] and Don's Dad [Aug 30th].

A little bit of everything

As you can see from some of the pictures we've posted recently, Calum is really growing. We are all having fun introducing him to the world around him now that he takes notice. Last weekend, Don and I took him to a place called The Bug Lab. It was sort of by accident but when we went in, it was pretty neat to see all of the bugs - spiders, beetles, ants...Calum couldn't see many of them but he did see the tarantulas because they were clinging to the side of their glass cages. He thought them strange but we didn't see much movement so he wasn't afraid.

The same day we also took him out to Barnston Island. It's not far from us, just a small island on the Fraser River but you have to take a little ferry to get there. It's a total of a 10km drive around the island and there is a small park at one end. We took Calum down to the beach - essentially a muddy tidal flat - and found something he really likes. Dogs. A couple of big playful dogs kept after Don to throw them a stick and Calum found it very funny. There's something about his laugh that makes everything really wonderful. You just want to keep amusing him to get him laughing.

Calum had his second set of shots today. He took it fairly well. Big tears and in need of cuddles. Speaking of which I'd better go. Calum calls.

Calum and Mom in the pool...

Another picture of Calum and Mom enjoying the pool

A look back

Just went over some old photos and found a few old favorites. Here's one from the hospital:
















and when he used to drink his bottle:
















and making funny faces:


















With his grandpas:

















and with his first favorite toy "Shelley the Snail":
















sporting a mohawk
















with larry and tabitha:
















sleeping (sweater made by his Nan):
















getting tummy time while mom does laundry:

A work in progress

I've been working on a new template as I am getting tired of the blogger templates. Take a look at my work in progress. I've put it on a temporary blog at:

http://calumelias.blogspot.com/

Angie

Dispatches: A Motorcycle Journey through the Americas

A friend of ours, Lana Lowe, is on a journey of a lifetime. She bought a motorcycle and is beginning of her ride to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina! We have linked our blog to hers so that you can read of her adventures, her muses and her new friends.

Out on the town

Yesterday we took Calum downtown to meet a few friends. Desiree, Dakota and Chris came too and we all made our way to my office. After a number of photo ops and a quick tour of the office, we went over to Don's office for the UBCIC open house. By the time we got there, Calum had fallen asleep. We didn't stay long at either office because I didn't think Calum was up for a long day. It was nice to get to show him off again though. When we got home, we all decided afternoon naps were in order. Everyone except Calum. He was very excited about the trip and wanted to "talk" about it for a half hour. He was still talking about it this morning too. This boy is going to take after his dad in that department [just kidding honey, I love your stories].

Calum wasn't scared at all, even when Angie was reading aloud about Snape!

Angie and Calum at 5963 Patrick

drooling away...

Dakota, Desiree and Calum

My fingers taste good to me...

Nicola, Jen and Calum

When sharks attack

So my darling husband found a really interesting shark show on t.v. recently and I think I will have to ban all such shows from our house in the future. Don't get me wrong, I love a good educational show. However, I think that said show had a negative impact on the little one. Ever since that night Calum has been wanting to chew on anything and everything. It's pretty funny because he just grabs onto things and brings them up to his mouth. Don and I have suffered the most - our fingers, hair, shoulders, clothes....all chewed on. He's so focused on his biting too - like it's the most important thing in the world. I know this means that teething is just around the corner and I must say I'm not looking forward to it. While Calum is a well behaved, happy little boy most days he can get in a really bad mood [like when I try to get him to take a bottle for example].

Another milestone passed. Calum is now 5 months old. Yeah, already. Where does the time go? We still don't know if Calum has gotten into daycare yet. We should find out before September. He's been having a great time with Grandma Bain but it's time to get him used to other little babies. When he reaches 6 months we will be enrolling him [and me] in aqua babies for his first introduction to swimming. We've already got his swimming costume and a new practice pool [still waiting for warmer weather to try it out]. He'll soon be ready for baby sign language classes too. Dakota and I have signed up for some lessons starting at the end of September. We will go once a week for 10 weeks while Don and Desiree get to babysit Calum.

Our son the bruiser

Calum has discovered his herculean strength. Lately, we have all been subject to tremendous tugs on our hair, scratches on our arms and pinches anywhere he can reach [yes, anywhere]. Today, while I was trying to untangle him from my hair and dislodge his grasp from my arm I wanted him to understand that what he was doing was causing pain so I said "OWWW!" Our bright little one responded with an even louder "OOOOOOWWWWWWW!" and a smile, all the while continuing to hold on. I had to laugh even though it hurt. What a little bruiser he is.

When I get a minute....

Inspired by Larry and Tabitha's blog, I have decided to post some video clips of Calum. Soon. I hope. I've got the video but just need to get a minute or two to prepare it. Unfortunately, today is not a day for that. Don, Desiree and Calum have just gone off to get Grandma and Grandpa Bain. I've got more than a bit of work to do today so I better make good use of my time.

I just wanted to give some quick Calum updates. He can now:
- "Talk" with Mommy and Daddy. His favorite word is "Ahhh!"
- Jump in his Jolly Jumper
- Kick off the blankets, over and over, every night
- Chew on his toes. They are yummy
- Enjoy a joke with Mommy - mostly he thinks that I am the joke
- Roll over, especially if inspired by Desiree

He still doesn't like his bottle much and won't sleep in his crib. I keep saying that we have to work on it but it's so hard when he has those big tears in his eyes. Oh well. We will get there eventually.

Off to work now. Oh, Calum and I finally finished the new Harry Potter book yesterday. Calum nodded off for the last 30 pages but he got the idea.

Warriors...come out, come out to plaaayyyy

It's pretty warm water Mom.

Here we are on the boardwalk at Rolley Lake Provincial Park.

Angie hanging out at Westminster Abbey, Mount Baker is behind her...(alternate caption: Take the picture HONEY!)

One of Calum's new shirts...can you guess who picked it out for him?

A Visit With Cousins Jen and Nicola

My sister and her daughters came down for a quick visit on Wednesday. This is only the second time Calum has got to see his cousins. They brought him a neat little singing/ears moving Eeyore. He was more interested in them while they were here but since they left he loves to watch it. I think Calum is fascinated by his older cousins. Even though he was a bit under the weather while they were here, he seemed to be talking about the visit for hours after they left.

Boy, can this kid talk. He goes on and on about everything....mostly it's just a lot of loud "ahhs" right now but I know he thinks he's saying something important. I haven't decided if he likes it when I read him Harry Potter or if he is trying to get me to shut up but everytime I read it to him he "reads" right along with me. We can both get pretty loud as we try to out talk each other. It's pretty funny because when I stop reading, he stops talking.

In other news, the house is sold. We've been told it was sold to an investor which likely means we will not have to move. There is some legal stuff to complete but hopefully we will be able to know something soon and get to meet the new landlord. We are just happy not to have to keep the house in showroom condition all week. It's not been easy with a baby in the house.

Well, I've got a lot of work to catch up on. Happy long weekend to those here in BC.

Bed head...Calum style.

Hey it's me, the cutie!

This is my new towel...

See Larry and Tabitha's Blog

Go to:

http://tabandlarry.blogspot.com/

Be sure to read it all.

Don is the brave one

Ok. I admit it. I'm a wimp when it comes to taking the little one for his immunization shots. I procrastinated [bad mom] until Don was available and then it took another month to get an appointment but yesterday Calum had his first set of immunizations. It was hard for us all. Calum was not a happy boy and Don had to have a good grip on him for the last shot. I tried to make up for it by giving him a lot of cuddles and feedings afterwards. So far, no bad reactions. He was a bit grumpy for awhile last night but all things considered, he is doing well.

In other news, I've had no success with the latest attempts to get him to take another bottle. It seems he must have just been really hungry the last time. Oh, and the specialty bottle hasn't arrived. I must check on that order. Finally, the house may be sold to an investor. This means we won't have to move I hope. We will find out nextr week. Until then, we must have a clean house for showings on Saturday, a visit by the potential buyer on Sunday, and if all goes well, the inspector for the potential buyer on Monday. I'm getting tired of the people driving by and staring at the house so I hope it does sell quickly.

Now, back to work.

Spending time with Grandma Bain

Don has returned to work and Grandma Bain has been helping us out by looking after Calum while I work from home. All has been going well and Calum is getting in a lot of cuddle time with Grandma and has mom just downstairs for those very important feedings. Desiree has been helping out too so little Calum is one happy guy. I start work earlier and am able to spend afternoons with my little guy.

Calum has started trying to eat a bit of pablum. He doesn't take much, just a few spoonfuls and even then, some of those end up in his hair, on his nose, in his ear, on mommy, on his toys, on his clothes......I'm beginning to understand all we have to look forward to. I've told Don that we are not going to feed him pasta till he gets a lot older - like 10. I've seen to many of those funniest home videos with babies spitting it out, having it come out of their nose, wearing it on their head. It looks like it can create a real mess.

We read the recent cautions regarding co-sleeping with infants. It was a little scary and to tell the truth, with Calum growing and insisting on sleeping with this little arms and legs spread out, our bed isn't getting any bigger. Don and I have been waking up all sore because we have tried not to move about all night. Calum likes to move closer to me during the night and I keep moving away until I lay at the very edge afraid to move. So, we've tried to put him back in his crib at nights. We've had some success. The first night he was in till 2 am and I was the reason he ended up in our bed again. I simply got tired of getting up every few minutes to feed him. Last night he did well till about 12:30, then I dropped my glasses on the floor and woke him up. I picked him up and cuddled for a bit then tried to get him back to sleep but he would have none of it. Back into bed with us he went. If he were one the bottle I wouldn't mind him being in his crib so much but as I am still feeding him, it's a whole lot easier not to have to get out of bed everytime he wants a little snack. He seems to get very hungry at about 3 am and wants frequent feeds till 5:00 or 5:30.

Calum is starting to learn to roll, or at least half-roll. He gets a little frustrated sometimes but Desiree and I have been working with him on this. I'm sure it won't be long till we wish he didn't move around so much.

Oh, I almost forgot our other news. Our landlord has decided to sell the house so a move is in our future. We have a fixed term lease so they say we don't have to move till February but I think it will be sooner. The house has been painted and the real estate agent will begin showing the property on Saturday. We plan on going out for a few hours. We asked how much the house would be sold for and it's much too much because we know all of the problems with it. We are thinking of looking for a townhouse next - a rental because I suspect that if we bought now, in a few years we would be downsizing again as the girls go off to university or college. What a strange thought.....only yesterday they were these little things that liked Pokemon cards and morning cartoons.

Ah well, happy weekend.