Ouch!

So, Austin has now made his first trip to emergency.

Yesterday morning, I took the kids over to McDonald's playplace so that Austin could burn off a little energy. He had a great time running around on the climbing structure and playing with the other kids.

Then, about 10 minutes before we were to leave, he took a tumble (that I couldn't really see) and started screaming. I ran up the stairs to find him bleeding (a lot) from the mouth. Once I got him cleaned up and calmed down, I was able to get a good look in his mouth -- and discovered that he had tried to put his tooth through his tongue and now a pretty deep hole in it.

We headed home and Ryan and I quickly decided that it needed to be looked at by a doctor. So, Austin and I went off to the hospital (because I called the Children's after-hours clinic first, but the receptionist said that if he needed stitches, that their doctors don't do that).

After almost three hours of waiting quite patiently (for a two-year-old) we were seen by a doctor and given the all clear to go home. I've now learned that unless the tongue is actually hanging off, they don't stitch it. But, I was warned that it'll likely still be painful for a few days as it heals.

So, to help take the pain away, his diet and largely consisted of ice cream, freezies and popsicles. Although I have managed to get a peanut butter and jam sandwich and a slice of pizza in him as well -- although he complained that it hurt with almost every bite.

Poor kid.

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Trip to Ottawa

This past weekend, I took the kids, by car, to Ottawa to visit my sister, Alison and brother-in-law, Billy. It was just me and the kids.

We left Toronto Thursday afternoon (at nap time) and arrived there five hours later without suffering any two-year-old temper tantrums, baby bawling-athons or mommy meltdowns. In fact, the drive down went surprisingly well with both kids being very well-behaved. I had the passenger seat laid out with toys and snacks and from time to time I had to pass something back to one of them, but other than that we did ok. Nothing a few sing-a-longs, a soother for Alex, toys and treats couldn't solve. Oh yeah, and an TV show for Austin on the ipod when he declared that he wanted to walk the rest of the way there (we still had 60 km to go).

On Friday, Ali and Billy had to work, so me and the kids did what we normally do on a weekday -- found something to do. In this case, I found an indoor playground nearby and we hung out there for a few hours; then headed back for naps and a little playtime outside before it got dark.

That night, my cousin Mindy and her partner Kevin came over for dinner. We had a nice visit and it was nice for her to get a chance to meet the kids. I was pregnant with Austin the last time I saw them.

On Saturday morning, Ali, Billy and I took the kids to the Children's museum where Austin had a blast. It was a great, hands-on place and definitely the kind of thing I would get a membership for if we lived there.

Although there wasn't much for Alex to do, she seemed to love watching the action from her perch in the snugli. That is, when she wasn't sleeping in the stroller.
I had planned to leave Saturday night at bedtime and drive straight through to home while the kids slept in the backseat, but the weather forecast for Toronto wasn't looking good so I opted to stay one more night. We left first thing Sunday morning, and again the kids were both really good in the car and we made it home in five hours.

Thanks Auntie Ali and Uncle Billy for letting us crash with you guys for a few days!

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"Austin, go get daddy a beer"

These days, Austin is our little helper. He LOVES to help with everything. And I mean everything.

When I'm cooking dinner, he has to be up on a stool by the counter with a plastic spoon mimicing every move I make. When I'm giving Alex a bath, he has to be up on a stool helping to wash her (or play with her toys for her). When I'm trying to give Alex her dinner, he jumps in and proceeds to feed her. If I'm sorting, putting on or folding laundry -- you guessed it, he has to help too. Some days I can't walk into a room without him yelling that he has to help by turning on the light for me.

So, the other day, Ryan decided to test this new 'helper' phase. Austin was helping me make dinner and Ryan said to him "Austin, can you go downstairs and get daddy a beer". Austin proceeded to get down from his stool, walk downstairs, turn on the light, open the bar fridge, take out a beer and come running back upstairs with a beer in hand.

Needless to say, he was very proud of himself. And I think he's earned his keep for life!

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