Happy belated birthday

Happy belated birthday to Coy. He turned one yesterday.

Don and I had our anniversary on Friday. We have been married for 5 years! We had plans to go out for dinner but were both feeling pretty awful by the end of the day so we just came straight home. By Friday night, we both had fevers, scratchy throats, headaches and sinus issues. Flu season, welcome back. We had Buddy for the night but Rob had to pick him up on Saturday because as Don put it, Buddy is like a drug to Calum. We couldn't get him to settle down, he was a constant blur of excitement chasing the poor dog around the house (and forget about sleep). I guess we can't get another pet anytime soon.

As you can see from the pictures, we had a quiet weekend. The girls went up to Merritt for a funeral and won't be back till late today. We did go to the pumpkin patch before they left though. Yesterday we had a nice visit with the newest addition to the family, Dexter Guichon-Shuter! He's a cute puppy.

Last night Calum wouldn't settle for some reason - he didn't have a fever, no sinus issues, ears looked fine, no cough.... He probably slept from 10:00-11:00, 12:30-2:00 and went back down again for a nap at 5:30 this morning. I'm going to let him sleep for another hour but unfortunately he'll have to head off to the Old DC. Don had to leave early to get to the office then make it to the ferry terminal this morning for the 7am sailing. Look for him on the news. He may be the guy that's buzzing around in the background as I think he'll be drinking many, many cups of coffee today. Calum and I tried not to disturb him last night but I really don't think he got much sleep either. Maybe he'll nap on the ride over.

I think I may have gotten about 2 hours sleep. It sure doesn't feel like it. Look out Monday, here I come. To anyone that crosses our paths today, we apologize in advance for being grumpy. Some things you can't help, or stop (like a 2 year old that wants to play all night).

Spiderman strikes a pose (thanks Nan, for the sweater)

Calum meets Dexter

Pumpkin Patch

Where did you go?

Calum did not like the fact that I started my new job today. I dropped him off this morning and Dakota picked him up after school. The first thing he asked me was "Where did you go?" and then he told me not to forget him and that he was sad. It will be a bit of an adjustment for us all I guess. I am happy though - the work is interesting and I can actually talk about it with Don. We had a nice lunch today and the day just flew by (perhaps not for Calum though). I wonder how he's going to handle my upcoming night away. Tomorrow we are going to start decorating for Halloween. Calum is excited this year but has already got into the candy. That will teach me to buy it early this year. Look for more pics later in the week. I'm too tired to download them tonight. BTW, welcome back to my sister, Bonnie. She's back from a 2 week stay in New Zealand.

Check out my Slide Show!

Larry's Graduation

Girlfriend?

Calum and another boy both say that one little girl is their girlfriend. Calum also told me that she is cute. He's only 2! No girls till he's 20, at least. Kids grow up too fast.

First Haircut - Don't worry, he still has some curls

Ramble

We're all settling back into our routines again. The girls are back at school, and keeping busy. Desiree is in grade 12 and has a pretty good schedule this year. She's taking photography and dance and her school day ends at around 2pm everyday. Dakota is not in band this year. She's been trying to convince us to sell her sax and buy her a guitar. She's running for grade 10 student representative and has been busy on her campaign. Calum's settling back into the Old DC but we are getting anxious because he's only there till March. One parent told me today that her son has been on some wait lists for over two years! They are are two top choices too.

Not much new for Don and I. Don's looking forward to the start of the regular season (hockey), even if he says he doesn't care. He's been trying to convince me that we need digital cable this year but I'm resisting. As far as I can tell, you really only get the channels you already have in digital format. I've been slowly doing some fall cleaning - getting together that yard sale stuff for the sale that we have not yet had. We've got a lot so I'm going to have to do something. I've also started knitting a scarf. I got about 12 rows done, was just getting into the pattern when Calum decided my knitting needles were light sabers and pulled the scarf off. It has since unraveled to about 2 rows but I won't start over till he tires of this light saber kick. This morning he was desperately looking for something to take over to the Old DC so he and his friend could be jedi. I had to say no to the plastic swords, Christmas decorations, knitting needles and pieces from the grandfather clock(???). Yesterday he was using a small piece of construction paper so I knew he'd find something there and he did (a piece of plastic asparagus and a banana).

We've been working on potty training though both Don and I are reluctant to jump into it. Calum likes his big boy underwear though so he wears it in the evenings while we keep trying to get him to use his potty. He'll pretend but we not had any success yet. This weekend we are going to try to take him in for a haircut. His friend at the Old DC has a new cut (he had long curly hair) so I think he'll finally be ready. Look for some pictures next week.

Something for Bonnie

My sister is off to New Zealand on Friday so here are a few pictures to get her ready. If I don't see you, have a great trip! When the conference is over be sure to take lots of photos, go shopping (don't forget the chocolate fish & a bottle of L&P or Lemon & Paero), try the meat pies and go on an adventure or two. Remember that Kiwi drivers are crazy so be careful crossing the street.

On getting ready for bed

Don and I have a theory that Calum is like a shark. It's physically impossible for him to stay still. His body is constantly in motion. It's not something I'd call hyperactivity, more along the lines of the "If-I'm-Up-I'm-Doing-Something" philosophy. I blame my parents because they can get more done in a day than anyone I know. We know from experience that this will change when he hits the teen years and sleep becomes the most important thing in his life. I do wonder though, is there ever anything in between?

Getting Calum ready for bed is quite the exercise. Lately, we have to chase him around the house to get him into his pjs. He knows whats coming so he insists his shirt is clean and the pjs are stinky. When we do get him undressed he runs away again. After a brief chase he'll tell you he's cold but still insist his pjs are stinky. He'll point to an imaginary spot on them and say "They're a mess". Then you have to struggle to get the pjs on him (unfortunately our son has a slightly large head which is further complicated by the fact that he can never keep still). Luckily though, once you are done he's pretty much tired out. I'll ask him if he's ready for bed and he'll usually say "Yup" and start heading for the bedroom. Sometimes Don and the girls will get a quick "'Night Dad, 'Night Dez, ' Night Dakota".

Back Home

Grandpa Bain is out of the hospital and back home now. We haven't seen him yet because Don and I both have colds. We heard that Buddy was very excited though!

Getting better

Grandpa Bain is doing well. We went to see him last night and he is looking much better. He may be released in a day or two. Buddy will be very happy to have him home. It's almost to the point where Calum and I are trying to think up ways to smuggle him in. Last night, Calum and I went for water and came back to find everyone gone from the hospital room. They had gone for a little walk but Calum was convinced that they went to find Buddy. He was a bit surprised when they came back without him.

Calum got a bump on the head yesterday. He and is good friend Nico had a bit of a tussle at the end of the day. Calum was crying when I got there and kept pointing at Nico saying "You stop. You're bad." Then he pointed out the scene of the incident - a carpet burn on his forehead. I don't think he was entirely innocent but that's not how he sees it.

I'll post some pics of Don's birthday cake later. As usual, Calum was really excited about the cake. He was even telling the staff at the Old DC.

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Dad! Let's have cake. Love Calum.

Good news

Grandpa had a triple bypass and the surgery went well. Don checked in this morning and the nurse said he's doing great and even had breakfast. We'll be going by for a visit soon. Thanks for all of the good wishes everyone! Now for a speedy recovery.

Grandpa Bain's surgery is today. It looks like it may be a long day. He is scheduled to start this afternoon. I'm going to be on my way to the hospital soon. I'll pass along all of the good wishes and warm thoughts.

I tried

Calum, the Gamer, was getting very addicted to XBox 360. I had to hide it. He would get very upset when I told him to turn it off or that he couldn't play. I kept it hidden for a few days telling him that it was broken. Today I brought it back out because he was trying to play the old school XBox and was having a tough time with all those games. One too many calls of "Help Mom" and I decided to bring out the one he's good at. Now, let's hope there is a positive side to this and he turns out to be a game programmer or develops the ultimate operating system some day.

Grandpa at the hospital

What!? You don't like watching Batman!

Back to the Old DC

Today was registration day at the Old DC. Calum thought he was going to have to spend the day and told me it was closed. He sat on my lap for awhile then drew a picture for Grandpa. He did like seeing his cubby and some of the toys. A few other parents and kids were there but he didn't seem very excited to see them. He goes for 2 hours on Friday morning then for 3/4 on Tuesday. I'm sure that once he is back into the routine he will have a lot of fun. I'm going to try to get him in for his first hair cut soon. I don't want the kids tugging on his curls. He doesn't want one yet but we'll get him there.

We had a short visit with Grandpa tonight at the hospital. He's doing well. Calum loved his tv and kept trying to find a show for Grandpa to watch (mostly cartoons, of course). I heard that Buddy is missing Grandpa a lot so we may all have to find a way to sneak him in soon. Grant, Jen and Coy will be in town soon.