Halloween decorations great for exercise...and therefore nap!

I haven't blogged lately because we have been all consumed by the H1N1 vaccine and trying to figure out when to take Paige, and to figure out when I can go. Haven't gone yet since I don't think Paige would fare too well in an 8 hour line up, and I haven't seen my OB yet to ask her (and the new vaccine for pregnant women is not yet in).

And the other reason I haven't blogged too much is that Paige has had 3 naps in a row! You'd think I would have had time to blog, which I could have, but I spent those glorious afternoons catching up on television shows, catching up with friends on the phone, and doing a couple of jobs around the house.

I think I can attribute some of these naps to growth spurt, as my mom friend Lisa pointed out, as well as some super super long walks we have been doing. Paige has walked more this past week than in her entire life, I am not joking. I really wanted to get her walking faster and keeping up, while still being able to get some exercise myself. Some really great Halloween displays in our neighbourhood make it possible. First we go see "big green spider", then "pumpkin man", then "big spider on garage", then "white ghost with blinking eyes". Sometimes we do the route in the opposite direction if she is too nervous to go see "big green spider". He is a big blow up spider that moves his head, and if he is deflated she is a bit scared. She needs to warm up a bit before checking that one sometimes. So on these long walks she walks as far as she can and then asks to go in the stroller. But let me tell you it is the farthest she has ever walked at one time in her life. Having a destination makes a big difference and she can't be distracted by the many parks in the dark. After this we will have to get excited about Christmas decorations, but by then the nights will be a lot colder!

This Halloween is promising to be our coldest one yet! It has been around 10-15 degrees most years, but tonight we're looking at 5 degrees.

Paige learns from daddy!!

2 things learned from daddy this week!!

1.At the store in a changeroom I told Paige to go into her backpack to get a snack...she opens the bag, grabs some appleslices and says, "How about some of these bad boys!" I laughed hysterically out loud.

2. Paige has taken to thinking it is funny to yell, "POO POO PEE PEE FART FART!" I find this highly amusing for now until, of course, she decides to yell it out clearly in public.

Baby bump!

For the first time today someone asked me if I was pregnant. A mom at gymnastics. Though I know I am bigger, I can see that people may not notice unless they know me...or they may not want to say anything in case they are wrong! Because that is sure embarrasing!

I am getting more and more hopeful as more second time moms tell me that they gained less weight the second time around. Most of them gained 10lbs less. I'm hoping for 20lbs less? So far I have not gained weight...which makes me think I must have lost weight in other areas? Maybe because despite last weeks Halloween candy and Doritos binge, I was eating healthier than normal. And this week I have substituted really sweet fruits like pineapple for my afternoon cravings, and applesauce for my nighttime snack. I have had the occasional one mini chocolate bar, but after even a few days of healthy eating, 1 does not lead to 4 or 5....I am done after 1. I am also drinking a lot more water. So here's to hoping! Last time though I started out similar and figured I would only gain 25lbs....boy was I wrong!

what did you say?

3 funny things that Paige said in the past 2 days....

Sitting on the potty....."My stomach hurts. I think I'm a bit sick"

Eating some fish with too much pepper on it...."So spicy! (takes big sip of milk) That's too spicy for me!"

Watching the California Closets lady measure the book shelf area while standing over her toys...."Hey! she's trying to swipe my pony!"

Halloween prep....

Here is Paige out front. Every time we go out she has to sit on the pumpkin first and play with the hay.

Paige has been happily telling people that she is going to be a beaver for Halloween. She has also been talking a lot about trick or treating and pumpkins. Oddly enough, she has been talking about Christmas just as much...well, more like Santa and presents.

Renos....

We had a consultant from California Closets come to our house to talk about putting some built in bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. As you can see we are doing some serious organizing and rearranging with Paige's big girl room in the works.

Here is a before picture:

As you can see, we have a single rickety bookshelf overflowing with books as well as Paige's books and toys. With the new bookshelves to be installed, there will be 3 feet of cupboards on both sides, and then bookshelves right up to the ceiling with crown moulding on top. The shelves will be adjustable as well to accomodate larger books and photo albums. At night, Paige's toys can be neatly tucked away in the cupboards. On the right of the photo you can see the makeshift tv stand which is to be Paige's new dresser. We are awaiting the arrival of a smaller, proper tv stand.

The bookshelves will be installed on Nov. 18, and then I will happily post an after picture!

Thanksgiving dinners

The above pictures are all from our second Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt Leslie and Uncle Mark's house. Also there were Great Grandma Daphne, Helen, Grandpa, Uncle Chris, and my cousins Jack and Tyler.

Our first Thanksgiving dinner was at my dad and Maura's house and we forgot the camera. Mary Jo, Mildred, Amanda, James, and Greg were there too. We brought home vast amounts of leftovers this night and had it at home as a third Thanksgiving dinner. Man were we full....and done with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes for a while.

Picking out pumpkins...

We like to go to Springridge Farm every year to get our pumpkins. For $35 we got 3 pumpkins (1 orange, 1 reddy colour, and 1 green), 7 gourds, and 2 bales of hay. We have a nice little display out front this year. Mike has been wanting hay bales for the last few years and he is now super excited! We also came to the farm to get pies for our second Thanksgiving dinner. On the way home we stopped by an apple orchard and got a huge $3 bag of apples.

New classes...

We are enrolled in 3 classes this fall. Our Special Time, Book Nook, and Gymnastics. It's really keeping us busy since on our 2 days off we have to go to the grocery store and inevitably have another errand/big girl room planning and supply retrieval, or hopefully a play date on the other day. We have a friend Justin and his mom Wendy in OST who has always been in that class with us, and in Gymnastics, Leyla and her mom Cara are with us. It's great to know people in the classes. In book nook we know the instructor from our days at Gymboree, and the class is quite short and has so many activities that we are quite busy anyway. It is so nice to be involved in classes again after the summer break. I notice that since the spring session Paige is a lot calmer and doesn't get as agressive towards other kids. If they take something from her there isn't the same tug of war or fight. And I notice she is a lot better with the concept of tidy up and will happily make her way over to the group for circle time. She still doesn't get that you can't take away other people's toys if you want them, but I think that is the next step! She has been talking about her classes a lot at home and I can tell she is really glad to be back into the routine.

Big Girl Room....

To make things easier (and more fun), Paige will be changing rooms into what we now call the "computer room". Unfortunately the computer room is home to 4 laptops, a regular computer, 2 desks, a dresser, a futon, an ironing board, and a bookshelf. And in the closet is all of my crafting supplies, our vacuum, all of our filing folders, and all of our board games....so if you follow Harry Potter, you could consider it the "room of requirement". Why don't I take a picture of it in "as is" condition. Consider it the before picture.

It is a particular dump right now since I have emptied out some craft stuff and am in the process of bringing it to the basement. We will have to clear out all of this stuff and put it in the basement to make room for Paige's big girl bed and dresser, which luckily will be coming UP from the basement (it was my old furniture as a kid to age 25 but is still in fine condition). And then we can only hope that the room will look lovely. Anyway, today I went and bought a quilt, blanket and pillow sham from Pottery Barn Kids. If I wanted to I could have easily spent an additional $1000 or so, but we need to start off slow! At PB kids, they give you a paint swatch booklet to show you which Benjamin Moore paints will match with their bedding. I am extremely greatful for this and it will make life much easier, since we have had many almost disasters when choosing paint colours, and trying to find anything matching in general. Anyway, here is a picture of the quilt and things...

Now try to juxtapose these above pictures....hmmm...which of these pictures looks nicer? And which one will be a more welcoming place to look as you come up the stairs? I cannot wait to get moving on this room, as the computer room is the bane of my existence!!

So Paige's current room is neutral and can remain as is for the new baby. Fun to decorate a whole new big girl room. The room is quite dark which is why I chose light coloured pastel bedding.

v 2.0 photos!

If you have never had an ultrasound this may not make any sense....but here they are!

I like this last one. It is the baby from the top down and you can see the little arms and hands.

Paige came with us to the appointment and saw the pictures, but didn't get it. Although in the car she said there was a "baby growing in mommy's tummy", so that is a start!

Edmonton Trip Part 3!

I had been wanting to take Paige to West Edmonton Mall to go on some rides at Galaxyland aka Fantasyland when I lived there. I had spent many a hour at WEM when I was growing up, some of it having fun, but more often dragging my moms hand saying No, I don't want to go in that store! But nevertheless, I really wanted to take Paige to experience some of the rides I had been on as a kid. The rides weren't open till 12:00 so we had to shop while Paige got very excited. Then we went over to the ticket booth and the conversation went something like this:

Jen: Hi, we want to buy some ride tickets...so we're just wondering how many we need and how much they cost.

person: How old is the child?

Me: 2

person: ok, so she goes on for free and then she can have a chaperone for free as well.

Me: Wait...so we just go on rides completely for free.

person: yep.

Me: So we just wander around going on rides for free?

person: yep.

Maybe my disbelief was due to the $9 zoo train, but it also seemed too good to be true! There

were about 4 or 5 rides to choose from so we went on 3.

My memory is starting to slip since we have been back for a while now with no blogging. But some other fun things were going out for a nice dinner with Jen and James while Grandma Val babysat, visiting Andrea and her son Emerson, visiting with Grandpa Jerry,Grandma Val, Uncle Tyson, Zaida Bruce, Mike's aunts and uncles, and cousins, and waiting patiently to see if Mike's cousin Amanda would give birth already!

Paige continued to love Abby to the point where Abby would sometimes get a little fed up and have to bark. But for the most part, Abby seemed to like Paige's company.

It was definitely sad to leave since it was such a long trip, and since we don't have our next visit planned (and we would normally be going back at Christmas). It may not be for a while with the pregnancy and new baby on the way.

Edmonton Trip part 2 of 3

After the wedding, sleep was much needed as well as relaxation time and rest. We didn't do much on the Sunday, but had a great morning at the zoo on Monday (except for Mike who worked from Jen's basement during work hours). The zoo was much smaller than I remember it, but great for kids. Lucy the elephant has been around my entire life, and is still there. There was a new and very cute little guinea pig village near the zoo entrance. Because it was a Monday and kids were back to school there was practically nobody there and we even got to ride the train by ourselves (for $9 for the 3 of us though I might add...and it was about a 2 minute journey).

Another highlight was Paige and I visiting Marilyn in her fabulous backyard, as well as going for a little journey to the park behind her house. The trip was complete with home baked squares and yummy cookies which Paige polished off quickly. The morning was one of the nicest ones we had there and it was great to be outside (not that the weather wasn't nice for most of the trip, but sometimes the mornings were a bit chilly!)

Some other exciting news is that Jen (auntie Booze) is also pregnant! We are 2 days apart. So it was great to be together to share stories, look at maternity clothing magazines, and feel sick and tired together! We even went to a spa called "Sweet Momma" which is a pregnancy spa! I was in desperate need for a massage and the place exceeded my expectations--the bed was a waterbed, and I felt so cozy and relaxed the entire time. I had been suffering from headaches for over a week and I swear she cured them completely. After that massage the headache went away and never came back. I really wish we had one of those places in Burlington!

Anyway, I will continue more on my Edmonton trip recap later. I have been quite "busy" with our new programs, planning Paige's "big girl room", catching up on Microsoft Money and some work for Mike. But most time consuming of all is me cutting out tv for Paige. She has watched a bit, but after enduring hours of television while I had extreme nausea a few weeks back, I decided to greatly reduce it and spend more time with her. So I haven't spent as much time on the computer emailing or blogging, since I would sometimes do that during tv watching time. But I hope to blog more soon!