Happy Birthday to Nanny

Happy birthday Nanny. We love you and hope you are having a good day.

A kiss?

Desiree told me that when she picked up Calum he offered a kiss (though separated by the window) to a little girl as he was leaving. No, no, no. Those are my kisses. Enough said.

Calum has learned to say "Hey Baby" and has been saying it to the daycare staff. We can thank the girls for that one I think. He also likes "Hi girlfriend" but luckily he has save that one for home.

The girls are in Kamloops this weekend, Calum wanted to go too but we had to convince him that he was needed at home. I expect it will be a pretty quiet weekend for us. It was a pretty busy week so it will be nice to relax. Now all I need is a good book, something other than X-Men, Backyardigans, etc.

Have a good weekend all.

Cognitive Development

Calum is growing and changing so much these days. He's very aware of everything we say. I was telling Don about a guy I saw lying on the street in front of the office and Calum was listening. He was very concerned - and asked if he was OK, if he needed a doctor, if he went to the hospital. We saw a homeless person outside of the library with a shopping cart and he asked me why he had a cart and why he was outside.

I miss knowing more about what goes on at the Old DC. Calum tells me stories - "X was bad today. We had a fight." but I rarely see some of the kids now. Calum really enjoys himself though. Dakota and Desiree have been picking him up before we get home from work and he seems to have a lot of fun with them. Every day he asks "Dakota picking me up today?"

We haven't made plans yet for the weekend. We may watch our new DVDs or take a drive. Calum and Dakota want to get out and about so we'll see where we end up. Last weekend they went to the aquarium and had a lot of fun. Calum still pretends he's a Beluga.

Well Saturday morning cartoons are on and Calum wants me to watch with him. Have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Grandma Bain!

Hope you are all enjoying the long weekend. Calum and I have plans to return some library books and to go out and feed the birds. With all the wind and the rain, it promises to be a very quick trip!

November already?

I can't believe how fast October went by. Things are going entirely too quick this year. I missed posting a wish for Dad's birthday (Oct 19th) and wishing everyone a happy Halloween. We had fun. Calum went as Spidey, of course, and looked very cute. He got lots of candy and enjoyed meeting the other trick-or-treaters and people in the neighborhood. I came back from Victoria for the night and had fun. Unfortunately, he was getting a cold so we had a restless night and I was up by 4am to make the 7am ferry.

Calum (and dad) made it through his first night away from me ever. I think it was harder on me. I was staying at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, had a nice comfy bed, was dead tired, but woke every hour reaching for him. Don told me he slept through the night. I was going to take him back with me on Nov. 1st but he had a bad cough and no sleep so Don stayed home with him.

This weekend we are all resting trying to get over the cold. It looks to be a busy week ahead so hopefully we are all healthy again tomorrow.

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.