Fairy Costume

Naomi also got a Fairy costume from Poh-Poh and Gung-Gung, which certainly makes for lovely photos. She wore it to a Hallowe'en party on the 28th. At that point, she'd been carrying random things around with her in the jack'o'lantern bucket for over a week. Things like Playdough, a toothbrush, a flashlight, a toy baby bottle. 'Cuz you just never know when you're going to need that stuff. Luckily, putting the bucket to its rightful use, i.e., trick-or-treating, broke that habit. Not that she isn't dragging random stuff around with her any more, just that there's less stuff, especially less small stuff, since she is limitted to what she can tuck under her arms and clutch in her hands.

Hallowe'en 2011

Adam wanted to be a bear again. Easily done, happy to oblige.

And since Adam was going to be a bear, Naomi also wanted to be a bear. So, we borrowed this costume from Clare, which she wore last year and had once upon a time been used by her Uncle Mac. Why, you ask, is Naomi holding a tiara? It's a mystery.

my third little devil

The kids were great - polite, cooperative, and enthusiastic. Other than that - not much to tell, though that doesn't stop Naomi from recounting over and over again: "I don't like that house. The man in a scary, scary costume. Mommy get the candy for Naomi." Adam was also too afraid to approach the werewolf.

And word to the world: I know many people figure that the mini-chocolate bars will be the crowd-pleasers but little kids really just want the "filler" - bellypops*, Rockets .... Nibs and anything fruity and chewy like Swedish berries were also popular around here. Naomi will even suck Smarties until the candy is gone and spit out the chocolate. Guess who's eating all the chocolate? Oops. At least I don't have to steal it. They just hand it over.

*What? You've never heard of bellypops? That would be Naomi-speak for lollipops.

Refactoring Naomi's Dresser

I may be overstating the case but let us say that I've had a stroke of genius. What's that they say about the mother of all necessity? Naomi's pyjama/sock/tights/diaper cover/other drawer was brimming. But no other drawer could accommodate either all the pyjamas or all the other items. So of course the socks should be stored with the pants and the tights should be stored with the skirts and dresses. Genius, I tell you. It is even better now that it is winterish and socks would never do with skirts and dresses. Furthermore, in light of this refactoring, it becomes clear that the leggings and diaper covers now belong with the skirts and dresses, whereas erenow, they were stored with the pants and pyjamas respectively.

playing hospital

ratchet = otoscope
Notice the patient's wristband (and outfit from Auntie Bev.)

Klippi cloth-to-bib-converter (from Kristin) + pipe cleaner = stethoscope

A couple of weeks ago, Adam took it upon himself to organise a session of playing hospital, effectively acting out a Curious George story. We've played quite a few time since then. John is always the patient. He, Naomi and I are doctors and nurses. The first time we played, he even scooted into the kids' room to copy John's name off the wall onto a sheet of paper because part of the story takes place in the admitting office, where a nurse writes down a lot of things about the patient. It might have been the tidiest thing I've ever seen Adam write.

check-up

clean bill of health and development for John

age	WEIGHT			HEIGHT
mos	lb,oz	%ile		in	%ile
0*	7,13	60**
2 d	7,10			20.25	80
8 d	8,6	75
1	11,4	80		22.75	94
2	13,10	80		23.7	80

Photos from John's Christening

I wasn't terribly impressed with how my photos turned out. And some that I wanted (John with my brother and with my Aunt Jean) didn't even occur. Ah well, I did get a bunch that were useable, though I had to work on the lighting for a number of them and even then ... 'nuff said. I'll try harder at Christmas.

Honorable Mention for family portrait. Naomi is doing her turtle pose like she does when she's terrified. There must be some strange man nearby. Adam has removed the tie, the tie of which he had been so proud because he had picked out a new one that was just like Daddy's. His shirt is also untucked. Will it be gym attire once he's a teenager?


Everybody else in this shot just looked silly. So I cropped them out. So there! John is pointing out the jewellery that Auntie Joan was kind enough to lend me. I forgot to bring any other than my wedding band. I like to wear jewellery of sentimental value for special occasions, so my Aunt's jewellery, including earrings that were my grandmother's fit the bill nicely.

One of the best shots on the "roll." nicely done, Ian Hobbs.

John slept through the entire ceremony. despite the heat. despite the water. y'know the water.

My family is so cute!

Another Uncle Ian!

The second of two Honorable Mentions for family portrait. Dion's smirking and ill-positioned. Naomi's not smiling. John's not either (and he had just learned that week!) though we'd excuse him for sleeping. And there's camera jitter. Sadly two honorable mentions is all we'd get. No first prize is awarded.

attempt at large group portraiture. not bad.

2 paternal grandparents? check! 3 grandchildren? - d'oh!

My dad is smiling because that crying baby? - - - not his problem! The joy of being a grandparent. Sometimes I think it's a shame one can't usually skip over parenthood, straight to grandparenthood. But then, I guess that robs you of the joy of seeing your children get their comeuppance.

John is just a model for the gown. I've started composing a post in my mind just for the gown. For when I get around to it. uh oh.

Great Auntie Joan got lots of quality time with John over the extended long weekend.

twofer: Colin and John

Because life needs more parties.

One random day, Adam asked if we could make a cake. And why not? So we made a two layer golden cake. from scratch while Naomi napped. And we wrote Harvey* + Happy Anniversary on the cake. Because, according to Adam, it was Harvey's birthday. And because, according to me, it was my and Dion's 11th anniversary. Once the cake was made, we got out the decorating icing, which is stored with the other party supplies, so before we knew it, we had a party on our hands. With streamers, balloons, party hats, and party plates. Life does need more parties.



*Harvey is a fictional engine and a friend of Thomas.

style

Adam's in Junior Kindergarten!

No kidding! Junior Kindergarten. And by all reports, it's going well. It just so happens that his outfit seems so carefully planned, what with the navy and grey checked shoes tying together the sweater and cords. In fact, he chose it the way he almost always does - by grabbing the item at the top of the pile in the dresser. And that sweater, with the too-short sleeves, needed rolling of the sleeves when I bought it for his birthday. We measured him this week and he's grown two inches since MAY.

Adam and change ... not so much, doesn't usually go over so well. He's been nervous about school for months, much more concerned about school than John's arrival, so we've been trying not to make too big a deal of it. But luckily, this has been a rather small adjustment and he's managed just fine. And, as always, the anticipation was the worst part. Reports coming back from Adam and the teacher (via the daycare staff) have all been positive. Mind you, Adam's reports are brief, which isn't surprising; routinely, I can barely pull out of him what they ate for lunch at daycare. One day he reported that he played in the bin centre and in the dramatic play centre. I also got the names of a few students. C'est tout. I suppose he won't even tell me the names of his teachers once he's in high school.

It's not a big adjustment because our school has only half-day kindergarten and because, before and after school, he's still at the same daycare he's been since he started last year. Moreover, there are several (5?) children from his daycare in his kindergarten class. The daycare staff walk all the kids from the daycare to the school after lunch and walk them back to the daycare after school.

His first day was Wednesday but, since they stagger the start dates, he got to join those whose first day was Tuesday on the to-and-from-school walk, which is a nice transition exercise. Becky was kind enough to come by on Wednesday to watch Naomi and John so that I could join Adam on his first tour of his classroom. I joined the class on the walk over and Adam was so reluctant to go that I was half-dragging him for about the first 5 minutes of the walk. He eventually resigned himself to the inevitable and played along. I had a fleeting moment of butterflies in my stomach; so, I can only imagine how nervous he was. And yet, Adam didn't even seem very tense when we, Elias, and Elias's mom got our tour, while the others played outside. He did ask me to take him home when I was leaving but he quickly accepted that I was not going to. So, he asked that I be waiting at daycare for him when they got back, to which I did agree. Everybody, including Adam, was very no-nonsense about everything, which was perfect. All-in-all a good start to the year! Plus, when Dion got home from work, he had a present for Adam, which was well-received.

technical details: Adam is in a mixed JK/SK afternoon class of 17ish students at our TDSB home school. We're keeping an open mind about French Immersion, which doesn't start until SK and applications aren't until January, because FI is at a different and farther school, I only ever hear good things about our school, and, y'know, Adam and change ... not so much.

Oh yeah?

Actual dialogue

"I said, 'No videos until the living room is tidy.' "

"Okay, we'll wait until you're done tidying."

*eye twitch* [I might have flipped someone the bird while his back was turned.]

Followed by internal monologue

"Fine. The living room just went to the bottom of my list, after the kitchen, bathrooms, closets, laundry room, and storage locker."




Ed note: this got drafted quite a while ago but not posted for some reason.

Weigh Ins

John is growing like a weed! a weed, I tell you. And that's making me really hungry. all the time. all the time, I tell you.

age	WEIGHT			HEIGHT
mos	lb,oz	%ile		in	%ile
0*	7,13	60**
2 d	7,10			20.25	80
8 d	8,6	75
1	11,4	80		22.75	94

* If you notice discrepancies from earlier posts, you might just have too much time on your hands. I recalculated his birth weight, which was measured in grams but incorrectly converted to pounds. And the student who measured his length at the hospital was all thumbs. I'm going with our paed's measurement from 2 days.
** very approx. I'm nixing the CDC tables and using the WHO tables, like our paed, but I haven't found one with much granularity. 7,13 is between the 50th to 75th percentile and I'm eye-balling it to 60th.

What John really looks like.

This photo may not have lots of visual or artistic interest but I can't take my eyes off it because it's just so right.

I often find with portraits that the photo just doesn't look like the subject. not completely. And in the 100s I've taken of John, none of them has matched my mental image of him as completely as this one does. I haven't read enough about photography to explain it in technical terms but I'm guessing it has something to with the combination of
- focal length (49.0mm, 35mm equivalent: 78 mm)
- depth of field
- ambient lighting (diffuse natural lighting late in the afternoon, 1/60 sec, f/5.6)
The only digital altering I did here is cropping and retouching a few teeny tiny blemishes.

Some "candids" and "not-so-candids" of John

A dozen of my favourites from John's 300+ first month portraits in chronological order. Sorry, purists, several have been retouched. Mainly for lighting.

one week old

two weeks old

three weeks old

John is a tummy time star. Good staying power and surprising head control.

See what I mean ...

about the room shredding? Naomi alone managed all this mess (we'd just tidied in the morning) and to fall asleep, wearing Adam's dress shoes, in the time it took me to feed John.

But there's no getting mad at this bundle of cuteness, is there?

fun in the tub! (and bedtime woes!)

See how happy they are? That's 'cuz Dion was out of the house. I'm only half-joking, too.

The regular routine is that Dion starts Naomi's tooth-brushing and bath and Adam goes to brush his teeth and have bath 7 minutes later. Naomi gets dried and moisturised and is sent on her way to drop her laundry in the basket, get a pull-up, and read a story with me in the kids' room. If Adam has a "good bath," he gets 1o minutes of an activity of his choice before being sent on his way to bed.

And if Dion is doing bath, there is a good chance of one meltdown or blow-up in there somewhere. Sometimes Dion's, or even mine if I can't bear the arguing emanating from the bathroom. But if Dion is out, and I do bath, it usually goes swimmingly, so to speak.

On the other hand, once the kids are in their room, things usually go great if I'm out of the house and usually not-so-great if I'm home.

Things have been much less predicatable in the past two months, and unsurprisingly, especially since John was born. Not worse, actually better, just less predictable. In the first week, Adam was extra cooperative and agreeable and we had a week of respite from the great limit-testing war of 2011. Then for a week, he swung the other way. Naomi is hot and cold day-to-day. Many nights, I've had to go lie down with them or sit in their room until they settled enough to fall asleep. We're on Adam's fourth good-bedtime-bribery-chart. He's had 4 good nights out of 5 and now I think he's demonstrating to himself that bedtime isn't so bad after all. And whereas, it is very rare that Naomi struggles at naptime (as in just goes into her room on her own and lies down), today, she absolutely lost it. Lost it, I tell you. I had to rock her to sleep as she struggled for breath through sobs and a quivering chin until 30 seconds later she was fast asleep. I think it was just one bad nap.

If anything, I think things are gradually getting better since the worst, which was about 6 weeks ago. One thing that is helping is that in the past 2 or 3 months, Adam and Naomi are getting along with each other better. Adam seems to have developed enough of a conscience to stop using the tactic of attacking Naomi to force our hand in providing attention/intervention. And luckily, he rarely retalliates when she is aggressive with him. He folds. Tonight Dion despaired, "Maybe hockey really is out for Adam."

Perhaps they're even getting along too much better. They can now play together without much help from us and they're even collaborating together - or should I say conspiring? A few weeks ago, they shredded, shredded!, their bedroom together. Over the course of about 3 nights, they had created such a mess (that we didn't make time to tidy immediately) that I pulled Adam from daycare one afternoon to help me clean it up. We got in there and it was so bad that I didn't even know where to begin for a while. Adam's contribution was somewhat symbolic. I had him taking books and toys back to the living room, pretty much one by one, to keep him busy the whole time I was putting everything else back together. I wish I'd thought to get some snapshots. One upside to the room shredding was that Adam introduced Naomi to the potty he found in their closet (though she has yet to use it correctly) and he also found his new favourite book, a Curious George collection, given to us by Karl for Adam's baby shower.

To those of you unfamiliar with young children: Please do not construe any of this as cause for concern. It's all healthy, developmentally/age-appropriate behaviour that is, as a matter of course, improving. And while they are gaining skill at pushing our buttons, I can usually see the humour in all of it, if not immediately then soon after. Most people would never believe Adam and Naomi are capable of any of this. They are amazingly well-behaved in public. We get tons of compliments. They save this stuff especially for us (thanks!), when they feel safest (thanks, I guess). And, we've been at Poh-Poh and Gung-Gung's house so much lately that they're limit-testing there, too. One bedtime was such a disaster, that, as I had warned I would, I packed them into the car and drove them home, somehow, managing to do so without waking P and G!

Anyone wanna babysit? Muhahahahahahah.

See? It ain't all bad.

Saying Goodbye to the Echo

How sad is it that Adam's one shot of me turned out better than any of the three I took of him?

And how cool is it that there is a reflection of the licence plate on my shirt.
And now, a few words about our dearly departed dark red 2003 4-door manual-transmission Echo. Our first car. It was a lovely little car. It will be missed. It served us so well and I wish we could have kept it. But, alas, it would not hold three car seats and we have only one parking space. It had surprising get-up-and-go and surprisingly abundant cargo space - certainly more cargo space than its successor, our new (to us) Mazda 5, when it's configured to seat 5. It was great on gas, inexpensive to insure, and did not need any repairs in the 4.5 years/35 000 km we used it. Yes, it was overdue for a new battery (causing some inconvenience and concern late in my pregnancy when it wouldn't always hold a charge) and the dealer/wholesaler who bought it will need to do some cosmetic work and repair the radio but otherwise, the Echo was in great shape and had less than 100 000 km on the odometer. By my calculations, the capital cost to us was under $1600/year (not much more than one Metropass subscription!) or just over 20 cents/km. I think that's really good; correct me if I'm wrong. Farewell Echo, I hope your next owner appreciates you!

I got a lot of things done between the time school ended (notably, trading in the Echo) and John was born but one of the things I didn't get to was a photo record of my third-trimester belly, like the ones I posted two years ago. The one above will have to do. It's from 17 hours before John was born, at 38 weeks, 5 days.

Ed Note: I have literally 100's of photos to sort through because I've had lots of photo-taking occasions since June and just got a working computer. Luckily I have a 4 GB flash card for my camera. So, I'll be posting in semi-random order. I'll probably start with the least daunting topics. Patience, please.