A update on life in general

It's been awhile since I updated on life in general so here's a few quick highlights:

Alexandra

Alex is now 18 months old and at her checkup yesterday, she weighed in at 22lbs, 15 oz. She's a lightweight alright. In fact, in the last three months, she only gained 14 oz, something the doctor is not concerned about but wants us to keep an eye on because it's below normal weight gain. I wish I could tell you how tall she is (because she very tall for her age -- at at her 15-month appointment, she measured in the 95th percentile for height) but she refused to allow the doctor to measure her no matter how many different ways we tried. Maybe later in the week, I'll try to get her to stand against a door just so I can get an approximate height.

She still has very few words to her vocabulary but she understands absolutely everything you say to her. And because of this, she uses non-verbal ways to communicate because she can't say the words. (For example, if she wants her soother, she points to her mouth.) The words she does know are cute, because it is often the same word for various items. For example, mama means me; meme (which sounds a lot like mama) means Mickey (her favourite doll), mama means more milk. So you have to listen carefully and figure out the context of what she's trying to tell you. Her newest word, this week, is mine. And it's pretty clear and is usually yelled when Austin is trying to take something from her!

Along the lines of her vocabulary; she's facsinated with everything around her. So if a plane goes by overhead she's pointing and yelling at it. And if we drive by a bus, she's yelling 'BA' from the back seat.

She's taking swimming lessons this fall -- a parent/tot program -- and she loves being in the water. She'll jump in, put her face in, do front floats (assisted of course) and splashes around with all the toys. But even though it's a 30 minute class, after 20 minutes, she's ready to get out.

Because Austin's in preschool two mornings a week, I get some alone time with her -- which we've really been enjoying. Sometimes we use it to do the groceries or other errands, whereas othertimes we drop in at a toddler playgroup where she has a blast. It's a different dynamic when she's just playing with other kids and her big brother's not around and it's neat to watch.

Austin

As I mentioned above, Austin is in preschool two mornings a week now. It's a program that's run through the city and it's at a nearby community centre. It's only for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and he loves it. It's a nine-week program and I've signed him up for the fall and winter so he'll be going to preschool until March (at which point I hope to sign him up again for a session) with just a three-week break in December.

They do crafts, songs, stories, playtime and every week they learn about something. Last week he came home and told me he learned all about good and bad foods. And they even took a field trip to a nearby grocery store last week to buy a pumpkin for the class.

He is also taking swimming lessons again this fall and once again loves it. And on Wednesday morning, we go to a sports class where for 45 minutes he runs around a gym and learns basic skills for various sports.

On another note, even though we keep very busy, Austin has given up napping. It happened around the end of the summer -- he would go into his bed every afternoon and he just wouldn't fall asleep. So now, I make him go into his room for 'rest time' every afternoon, but he only lies there for about 20 minutes or so before he's calling me to come back. At this point, I try to convince him to read books or play quietly with toys for a little while longer. Sometimes it works, and somtimes I get suckered in to letting him sit and watch a movie until Alex wakes up.

Mom and dad

We're keeping pretty busy as well -- aside from how busy the kids keep us.

My business is going well and I've been getting a steady stream of work. Right now, I actually don't have any projects on the go, but that's the nature of the business -- it's always feast or famine. But I'm trying to use this down time well and get a lot of other things done, because once more work comes in, I'll complain that I don't have time to do anything!

Aside from that, I also completed my first 10km race earlier this month -- which many of you know about. It was something I set my mind to many many months ago and have been training for ever since. I finished it in 75 minutes with the kids and Ryan at the finish line (and catching me around the 5K mark) to cheer me on. Austin even ran the last few metres with me to cross the finish line. It was fun, and I'm glad I did it. I'm even crazy enough to think about doing it again next year.

I don't think there's much to report on Ryan. He's still keeping very busy at work. He's still out in Mississauga building the Mississauga Transit hub and will likely be out there through to the spring.

That's about all from us for now.

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As seen on TV

We had an interesting week this past week. On Tuesday, I booked a home energy audit so that we will then be eligible for a government rebate when we buy our new furnace.

The company I called was able to offer me an appointment on Wednesday morning -- with one condition -- a CITY TV news crew wanted to come into my home and to do a story about home energy audits.

I agreed, and so, as scheduled, a cameraman and reporter came to our home with the energy auditor on Wednesday morning. And as she did her thing, the cameraman filmed. And then they interviewed me and got shots of me playing with the kids.

And then the three of us were on the 6 p.m. news on Thursday.

Both kids were very fascinated with the whole process (even though it took two hours) and Austin was thrilled to see himself on TV the next day.

So, without further ado -- here is Austin, Alexandra and me on CITY News at 6:

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A busy Thanksgiving weekend

There wasn't much time to rest this long weekend, but it was a fun one.

On Saturday morning, we started with getting some errands and chores done and then, in the afternoon, we all went to a kids' birthday party. It was a fun time, and a good excuse to hang out with friends and eat Dora birthday cake! (Ok, so the cake was more for the kids, the beer and wine was more to keep the adults happy.)

Alex after the birthday party on Saturday evening

That night, we started cooking. And the next morning, we cooked some more. Because this year, for the very first time, Ryan and I had Thanksgiving dinner at our house. So yes, it was the very first time we ever cooked a turkey. And yum....did it ever turn out good. As did the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, veggies, homemade (breadmaker) bread and stuffing. Oh yeah, and the pumpkin pie.

It was fun to cook a full turkey dinner -- a lot of work, but fun. And it was fun having everyone over (My parents, my sister, Suzie, and her boyfriend). And the advantage to having the dinner at our house, is that we have the leftovers too. So turkey sandwiches are a plenty. And turkey soup from the leftover carcass will be on the menu soon.

On Monday morning, we opted to do something spontaneous. And, at 10:30 a.m. we drove downtown and took the kids to the CN Tower.

Austin has been fascinated by the tower for months, always asking if every tower he sees is the CN Tower and getting super excited when he does see the real thing -- whether up close or from a distance. So, telling him we were going up to the top was a big deal.

We chose the perfect time to go. Austin loved everything he saw up there -- especially the plane taking off from the island airport and the trains going to and from Union Station -- and the experience held Alex's interest for awhile at least. And, because they were both under 4, they were free! So we got to go on a great family outing, for only the price of two adult tickets.

Both of their favourite parts was the glass floor -- which mommy is still terrified of many years after first attempting to venture out on it. Although, this time I did stand on it, and even sit on it, because when your 18-month-old daughter grabs your hand and walks you out onto it, you don't have much choice! The things we do for our kids, eh?

The unbelievably cold weather for Thanksgiving that morning had us all scrambling for warm outerwear to wear. I mean, I haven't even bought the kids winter hats and coats yet. So for Austin, I found a hand-me-down jacket in the closet which is still about 2 sizes too big and Alex wore an old Austin jacket that also seemed 2 sizes too big on her even though the label said 18 to 24 months. I guess it's time to do the winter clothes shopping already!

By Monday afternoon and evening, we were all pretty tired. It was early to bed for the kids so we could both get some work done before calling it a night as well.

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A trip to Ottawa

This past weekend, we packed the kids into the car on Friday afternoon and headed down the highway to Ottawa to visit Alison, Billy and baby Theodore.

The drive down was trying. It was raining; it took an hour just to get to Oshawa and patience wasn't a word the kids understood. It took six hours to get there, making it 10:30 p.m. before we finally arrived at our hotel. Thankfully, the kids had fallen asleep at about 9 p.m., but it was still a long drive --especially the two hours after it got dark but before the kids fell asleep. It's a lot harder to entertain kids in the dark.

The next morning, we headed over to my sister's for a visit, hung out there for a little bit and then all packed up and went to the Children's museum -- where the kids had a blast.

Austin building a wall at the Children's museum

Alex driving a bus at the Children's museum

It was mid-afternoon by the time we left and headed back to our hotel so the kids could have a rest and Ali, Billy could get some rest too (after all, Theodore slept through the entire museum visit). Even Austin napped (he who has given up napping) for two hours!

We had booked a hotel suite -- and really, it was like a mini-apartment -- which was great for nap time and evening time. While the kids slept in the bedroom, we could sit on the couch and watch tv. (Or, as was the case on Saturday afternoon -- take naps on the couch.)

We headed back to my sister's for dinner, where my cousin Mindy and her partner Kevin were also there, and more holding Theodore time before calling it a night around 9:30 p.m.

Before leaving town on Sunday, we stopped in for one last visit, but since little Theodore insisted on keeping his parents up all night, we kept it short. Our kids were tired as well after a busy weekend of having fun and staying up late.

The drive home was far less eventful than the drive there -- yet it still took six hours, thanks to a two-hour stop in Brockville to visit Ryan's sister Krista in her new apartment. After a quick lunch and a walk along the waterfront, we were back on the road.

The kids were more or less good in the car -- I kept them busy with a steady stream of games and toys and before we knew it, we were home.

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