What a day...

Well, I thought I'd continue the theme of 'terrible twos' with a post of my own. If you don't know already, I am on spring break. This means LOTS of 1 on 1 time with my little bug. Now as a disclaimer - this is a GREAT thing. I love spending time with Ben. Today however...

- Got up at some disgustingly early pre-dawn hour (again)
- Was the best little dude ever up until naptime (he even promised not to tell Mommy that her flowers were purchased to disguise the fact that Daddy bought King Kong at the ONE DAY ONLY amazing price of $19.99)
-Would NOT go for a nap. This is after Grandma and I talked yesterday about how AMAZINGLY he goes for a nap. Well, he refused today. ("I'm awake" was the quote of the day.) So I finally capitulated (sp?) and let him stay up.
- He was okay until about 10 minutes before we had to leave to pick Mommy up from work, at which point he pulled a Bill. For those of you that don't know, that involves the eyes closed head-bob while sitting on the couch. When I woke him up (which was about as easy as waking up Bill) he started BAWLING.
-I got him dressed and ready to go. Once in the car I took a left - he wanted to go right. 10 more minutes of bawling.
- We went shopping (with Mommy) to find him something to block the light from coming in his window so brightly in the morning. He was only happy when allowed to do EXACTLY what he wanted, when he wanted to. Any suggestions to the contrary were ignored.
- When leaving the mall, he stood in the line to Moxies saying "French Fries". Although we were amazed at his memory skills, and were loving his cuteness, his obstinace was a little unnerving. We managed to get him away only after teaching him a new word - McDonalds.
- When putting his jacket on, he freaked out.
- When not turning right into someone's front yard, he freaked out.
- When pulling into Burger King (and NOT McDonalds) he freaked out.
- When forced to eat a french fry (this makes no sense to us either) he freaked out.
- When having a bath, he freaked out.


Now, I realize that most of these freak-outs were the result of no nap. We kept telling him "When Daddy tells you it's naptime tomorrow, GO FOR A NAP." But yeesh. My patience has not been worn as thin EVER in the last two years.

Again - don't get me wrong. I LOVE my little man - sometimes I am in awe of how much. It was just an off day. He is now sleeping like an angel in his new bed, with his wee tushie poking up in the air. What a guy.

Rant, rant, rant. We are going to Chapters tomorrow morning for the big chain store version of what my sister does for a living. (Among other cool library things, she hosts (hosted?) a very popular children's storytime in an Ottawa library). Hopefully the intense concentration required will exhaust him - leaving him in a near catatonic state from which I can just duct tape him to his bed for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Thanks for all the comments, crazy comment people! It's always nice to know you're out there. (And no, my fingers AREN'T broken - and the phone works - but you all know what I mean!)

TTYL

The ramblin' Gordo

p.s. I think Ben's cutest word right now is puh-STIP-tons. Anyone want to guess what that means?

What a week...

Where do I start?

Last Saturday, we went furniture shopping. The horribly ugly but kinda comfy couch and loveseat we currently have - well, we've had enough. While we were out searching and sitting (a lot!), my chest started to get really itchy. I didn't really think anything of it, but it got worse and by Sunday, had spread to my upper arms and a little on my big tummy. Then it spread some more. Can you say unbearable?

I had an OB appointment on Monday, so I asked her what on earth it could be. She said it looked like an allergic reaction, but I scoured my brain for something that would have triggered it and came up empty. She said that I could take Benadryl and she gave me some hydrocortisone cream as well. I ended up only using each once, 'cause the itchiness had subsided by Tuesday.

Monday night, Ben woke up throwing up all over the place. Not fun. He had a bit of a fever, but had puked himself out by about midnight. He did wake up a couple more times heaving, but in the morning, he seemed okay (so we sent him to daycare - of course, his babysitter and one of the other boys have since got whatever Ben had).

Tuesday, my throat started to get scratchy, which I'm figuring is because my immune system went down a bit after I was up all night with a puking child. So, I got a chest cold, which isn't so bad when you're pregnant. Then, on Wednesday night, it crept up to my sinuses. Hell, I tell you. I can't take anything besides Tylenol. Urgh. So Thursday and Friday, I stayed home sick. Saturday and Sunday were better - I was still stuffed up.

This is all made worse by the fact that Ben won't sleep past 6 a.m. now. Grrrrrr.

So I thought I was good to go back to work today. But I was up visiting the toilet all night. Then this morning, I puked my guts out. What is wrong with me? I think that I'm just catching everything all at once, since I've had a healthy pregnancy and winter so far. I'm just paying for it all in the span of a week.

I won't say whether the boys have caught anything, as I don't want to jinx them.

And we bought a new sofa and loveseat - here they are.

I'm going back to bed...

Master manipulator

Ben has discovered that different emotions elicit different responses. For example, this morning, I told him to come lay down on the floor so that I could change his supersoaked diaper and get him dressed. He then looked at me with downcast eyes, and said, "No. Ben sad." I guess he thinks that by saying that he's sad, we'll fall all over ourselves to make him feel better, which would hopefully include not making him lie down to have his diaper changed and to get dressed!

Ben was awake at 7 this morning, which is quite early for him. He better not be up that early tomorrow morning - Mommy wants to sleep in! Anyways, I was in the shower and I glanced through the shower door and saw that the bathroom door had been opened and that there was a little blue figure standing in the doorway. Sure enough, Ben came looking for his mommy (awwwwww). I hope I never forget how he looked though - his big blue eyes were wide open and his hair was fuzzy all over. You may not believe me, but the sight of my son in the morning, bedhead and all, is just beautiful!

c

Introducing...

Fiona and Ruby!

Odds 'n ends...

Not much is new with the Sheppards, as usual! We went to Morden on Saturday, just for the day, so that Ben could visit with Great Grandma Lil, Great Aunt Nancy and Great Aunt Simone. He charmed the pants off of them, as expected! He cheered them on while they were curling - and they won! Gord wants to take credit for being their good luck charm, but I think it was Ben...

Ben is using a new phrase now..."How 'bout nooooooo!" (from Austin Powers, I think. Daddy apparently says this to Ben, and now our little shadow has picked it up. It amazes me every day at how he picks things up. "They" say that kids are sponges, and boy do we know it!

Baby #2 is good. Gord commented last night that I'm "getting big", but then he tried to backtrack and say that maybe I'm just carrying differently. Nice try hon! So now I'm afraid to go to my prenatal appointment on Monday...I'm demanding that my OB tell me how big this baby might be. Last time, she kept saying that Ben would be average - um, hello? 9 lbs is NOT average! I need to be prepared...

Now, an update on the Ottawa babies - Fiona Beatrice and Ruby Amelia! Both are doing very very well! They've been drinking from bottles really well, and Ruby didn't have an infection after all, so her IV was removed. From all accounts, they are "soooooo cute" and both have dark hair. Kathy is likely going home today, so she'll have to travel back and forth to the hospital a lot, but it should only be a couple of weeks, if things continue to go as well as they have been. Still no pictures though...

c

Well that was unexpected!

So last night I was talking to my sister on the phone - she told me that they were going to give her a c-section around next Saturday "if she could make it that long."

She couldn't.

Last night (this morning actually) at about 3:00 a.m. she gave birth to 2 little baby girls! Congratulations! The babies are doing very well considering the early birth. They are both breathing on their own and the doctors are very positive about everything so far. They are going to have to be in the hospital for a while - but things are as good as can be expected!

If you're reading this Kathy (or Greg) we're extremely happy for you and can't wait to see the cute little babies!

I'll post again when the names are finalized.

Way to go Ottawa team!

Gordo

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath...

At my prenatal appointment, I'd only gained a pound in two weeks! Whoopee! My doc even said that it was refreshing not to have to give the speech again - she'd been giving it all morning! So there - I'm at 24 pounds so far. I'm still not counting my chickens yadda yadda yadda - I still have 5 weeks to go. Otherwise, the baby's heartbeat was good and he/she is measuring on target. I did have to have the group B strep swab taken - I'll spare the details. I tested negative earlier on in the pregnancy, but they retest near the end too (I was negative both times with Ben, so I hope my luck will hold!). I go back on the 20th, and then I'm down to weekly appointments - I'm sure my manager will love that.

Gord's sister Kathy was out of the hospital, but now she's back in. They're hoping that she can go back home, provided that baby A is behaving! Gord's mom (Susan) went out there this week to help her out, 'cause she's on strict bedrest and Greg (the soon-to-be-daddy) has to work - someone has to! Anyways, keep the positive thoughts coming.

Ben has been on ventalin for the past couple of days - Monday night, he started wheezing a bit after some active play (consisting of chasing Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Chris around the house). All that night, he coughed and wheezed and didn't let Mommy get a lot of sleep. So I took him to his pediatrician's on Tuesday, where the ped said that it didn't sound like croup, but maybe asthma. Hence the ventalin. Ben's stopped wheezing now, but he still has a cough and his nose is running like crazy.

Gord's schedule has changed again - his classes don't start until noon. So he and Ben spend their mornings together, waking up when they want, leisurely eating breakfast and getting dressed. This morning, Gord said that Ben wandered into our room at about 20 to 9 - so I guess he woke up, opened his door, and went searching for his Daddy. (Not yet sure if this is a good thing or not - Ben realizing that he can get up and wander around, but time will tell...) We've been keeping his door open during the night, so I can hear him better and his room stays warmer, but I usually close it in the mornings when Chris and I are getting ready for the day so we don't wake him up.

That's about it. Ben being sick has shadowed the whole week. Oh, I bought the latest Harry Potter movie when it came out on Tuesday. We've already seen it, but it's pretty exciting nonetheless, dontcha think? :)

c

It's all happening so fast...

Gord and I finally got our act together this weekend and finished setting up Ben's new room. We had to put up some new trim, hang some curtains and arrange the furniture. Check, check and check! Saturday night was Ben's first time sleeping in his big boy room. He did pretty well, easily going when it was bedtime. We were both a little choked up when we went to check on him before we crashed for the night - he seems so little in the bed! Where did our little baby go? I was woken up around 2:30 by him crying, so I went in to check on him. Here he was, curled up on the floor, bawling his eyes out. I think he woke up and was freaked out being in a different room. So after I told him that he couldn't go back to his old bed (which he really wanted to do), I got him settled back down and told him that we were very proud of him and that he was such a big boy. I think he went back to sleep fairly quickly, but I sure didn't! I just lay there, trying to figure out if the squeak from the fan was actually from the fan, or if it was Ben whimpering. I didn't really get back to sleep until 4:00. And then at 8:30 this morning, I went to listen at his door, and I could hear him playing in there. I went in, and he was still in bed, but he had a bunch of books sprawled everywhere and was playing with his little James train.

Today, he napped in there no problem, and then went to bed just fine too! So far, so good! We'll have to post some pics of the new digs, now that it's all painted and set up. I'll put in on our "to-do" list...

Otherwise, not much happened this week or this weekend. Gord went out to a monster-truck show today. He had a good time, but said that it was crazy loud. And there were apparently lots of little kids there, most of them plugging their ears! Ben and I stayed home - he napped and I baked lots of cookies. I love cookies...

I am convinced that baby #2 is a wild child. There was a 10-minute period tonight where I don't think the baby stopped moving. And he/she has a foot up near my ribs, and boy does it hurt! We have another prenatal appointment tomorrow - I'm sure I'll get heck for weight gain...she's been pretty forgiving lately, but it'll catch up with me sometime!

Speaking of babies, send good luck vibes to Gord's sister - she's due with twins in April, but is currently in the hospital. She should be able to go home tomorrow, but I think she'll really have to limit her activity so that the babies don't come any sooner than they need to! So babies, if you're listening, stay put!

Take care all...
c

Happy Birthday Gord (a.k.a. Daddy)!

Well, my old man is 33 tomorrow. Ben and I wanted to sing a song for him - it goes a little something like this:

Happy birthday to you!
You live in a zoo!
You look like a monkey...AND
You smell like one too!

sniff sniff...I say!

Anyone guess what movie that's from? If someone gets the right answer, Gord gets to have Jeanne's Cake. Gord, you can't guess!

It's pretty easy, so don't worry honey...I'm sure you'll get some cake!

Happy birthday to a great husband and an even greater Daddy!

Love Me and Ben

Terrible twos - fact or fiction?

I'm sure it must just be our imagination, but now that Ben is 2, it's like a switch has gone off. He acts like he never has before - tantrums about everything! See list below:

movies - unfortunately, we taught him how to change a DVD. So now it is a constant battle - him, opening the glass door to the entertainment centre, opening a movie case, taking it out, playing with it a bit, closing the case in some bizarre way, turning on the DVD player, putting the movie in, getting him to hit the "close" button only once, then having to sternly tell him not to open it again, trying to talk him into closing the glass door, only to have him change his mind and want a different movie, *repeat process*. It is exhausting and soooooooo frustrating.

food - wants to eat in the living room, at his kid's table, or in the kitchen on a big boy chair. We don't have a booster seat for him either. So he insists on STANDING on the chair, trying to bring a forkful of rice to his mouth. But alas, most of the rice falls off before he gets it to his mouth, because he has to lift it so high from the table to his mouth. It's a wonder any rice gets into his mouth at all. He actually ate a few bites of chicken - real chicken breast - last week. And a couple of carrots. Sheer amazement on my part. Of course, he been refusing these items ever since. Back to rice and fruit.

clothing - hates to have his clothes changed, unless you withhold a movie from him. I've had to become aggressive mean mom to get him dressed or even a diaper changed. Twice last week, he went to bed in his pajama pants and the shirt he wore all day. Now I've got a collection of pajama shirts in the drawer, but no pants. (Which reminds me...I've got to do his laundry!) Saturday night, he wouldn't even let me change his diaper, so he wore the diaper I managed to get on him after his nap. Let me just say that it was very heavy on Sunday morning.

boots/jacket - this is a whole other ball game from regular clothes. It is hell. We have taken to bribing him with trips to Grandma's house and books and movies to show to his daycare buddies. Sometimes even "little treats".

*As an aside, my darling son now requests "little treats" for breakfast.
"What do you want to eat for breakfast Ben?"
"Yittle tweets"
"Ben, you can't have a little treat for breakfast! You can have Cheerios, Rice Krispies, toast, an apple, oatmeal..."
[eyes light up] "Ice cweem!"
Yah right kid. If mommy can't, you can't.

bathtime - I must have bought the tear-ful shampoo instead of the tear-less shampoo. OMG. He freaks out when I have to wash his hair. But two days worth of bedhead just won't do! Not on my son!

So, are the "terrible twos" fact or fiction? I'm sure you can figure out my vote. Please note: some of these behaviours he's been exhibiting for longer than the past week (i.e. boots and jacket tantrums).

Now for the other kiddo - I'm now 32 weeks into this pregnancy. We went to an O.B. appointment this morning - all is well. I've gained [gasp] 23 pounds in total; I think with Ben I ended up around 32 or 33 pounds gained, so I seem to be about the same this time around. Baby is head down, but my doc said that he/she is still floating up (i.e. not engaged in my pelvis - is this too much information for you blog readers?). Baby is measuring exactly 32 weeks. Heartbeat was good - in the 140s. Blood pressure, hemoglobin, etc. were all very normal. I'm not anemic; glucose test was normal. She asked if the baby is moving at least 10 times a day. I laughed at her and said, "More like 30 times a day!" This kid is constantly moving, poking and jabbing in very uncomfortable places! Right now, he/she must be dancing or moving furniture around. I don't remember Ben being quite so active. Does this mean that this baby is going to be a handful? I sure hope not...I want another just as relaxed as Ben was. Pretty please?

2 Years!

Dear Ben-Ben,

I honestly have been wanting to write a letter to you since, oh, you were conceived. But, one thing you may already know about me is that I procrastinate...a lot. (I sure hope that it isn't hereditary!) So, on your second birthday, I thought I would *try* to articulate all of it into one letter! Here goes...

I am in awe of you, and have been since the get-go. Not just the biology part, but all of you. I am in awe of your intelligence. I am in awe of your physical prowess, although admittedly, after you've walked into a wall, I have to wonder... I am in awe of your sweet and charming nature - you must get that from your daddy. I am in awe of the unconditional love you have for us, that you have known, somewhere deep inside, that you love us and that we will take care of you. I am, and I suspect, always will be, in awe of my love for you. I knew I would love you like nothing else in this world, but even that isn't close to what I feel.

I always thought that your baby stage would be the best. It was great, don't get me wrong - how you fit into my arms, how it felt so perfect and complete. But I've learned that every stage is the best, just in different ways. Now, you're becoming your own little person, with wants and needs, the ability to express them and yourself. How you crave the spotlight and love to entertain the people around you - a coy little smile, playing "shadow", counting...the list goes on. And we just eat it up! Your grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and most of all, your parents, think that you hung the moon and the stars.

Your father thinks that I worry too much. At first, it was about how much you were eating/drinking ("Do you think he's getting enough? Is feeding him every hour too much?") Then it was tummy time and rolling over ("He doesn't like tummy time! He'll never roll over!") Then it was crawling, and then walking, which I admit, was stupid, since you were walking before you were 11 months old. Then it was your speech ("He doesn't say a lot of words - do you think there's something wrong? Can he hear o.k.? Maybe we should try sign language!"). Now, at two, you eat and drink just fine (well, I still think you need to eat more veggies and meat!), you roll and climb over just about everything in your way, you crawl under tables, you want to walk everywhere by yourself, you jump! jump! jump! all around the house, you run at the mall, you mimic everything we say and pick up on new words and phrases in the blink of an eye.

Tonight, you were traipsing around the living room, when Charlie knocked you face-first into one of the chairs (from the party). You ran to me, having trouble catching your breath while crying. I grabbed you and held you tight, trying to calm you down while simultaneously trying to calm myself down. I get this lump in my throat when you get hurt - I think it's called panic. I pulled away from you to see if you were bleeding, which you were, but just a little - you cut your top lip on your teeth - so I took you to the bathroom to get you cleaned up. While I was wiping your mouth off, you looked at me with this expression of wonderment, and said, "Blue eyes. Mommy blue eyes". How you can make me feel so many things at once - panic, sadness, then drunk with joy - is beyond me. I just want you to know that I am grateful to have the chance to experience it.

You are still my baby (even though I tell you that you're my big boy), and I wouldn't change a thing about you or the time we've been together. Well, I might want to go back to tonight to keep you from dropping the f-bomb (in your defense, your dad said it first, after he was sacked by the dog) but that's about it.

Love ya kiddo,
Mommy

The party rundown...

We had Ben's birthday party today, even though his birthday isn't until tomorrow (actually, it is after midnight, so "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!")

He had such a good time! We had some kids over and they all played so well together. And the adults played together well too! Gord barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs, and we had some pasta salad, lots of munchies, cake and cupcakes!

As usual, the kid got quite a haul. Such good stuff! Now Gord and I will have to go through the toys and put away some of the "younger" stuff...at least until the new baby is at the age to be interested in them. It is ridiculous how many toys we've accumulated over the last two years...

I'm planning on writing a nice sappy birthday letter to Ben tomorrow...and post it here for all to read. But I have to give it some more thought...

Hope all is well out there in blog-land. Sleep well...I'm going to bed.

La piece de resistance...

Ben's birthday cupcakes!
 

Mommy, when can I blow out the candles?

 

Right on cue!

 

Mmmmmmm...cupcakes!

 

Finally...the A to Z Learning Zoo!

I've been trying to get my hands on one of these for a long time...
 

Thomas - a big hit with the birthday boy!

A gift from his babysitter and her family
 

What does your birthdate mean?

Your Birthdate: June 5

You have many talents, and you are great at sharing those talents with others. Most people would be jealous of your clever intellect, but you're just too likeable to elicit jealousy. Progressive and original, you're usually thinking up cutting edge ideas. Quick witted and fast thinking, you have difficulty finding new challenges. Your strength: Your superhuman brainpower Your weakness: Your susceptibility to boredom Your power color: Tangerine Your power symbol: Ace Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Does this sound like me? I don't think so either. Now for Gord...

Your Birthdate: February 28

You have a Type A personality so big it makes other Type A's shrink away in shame. You never shy away from adversity - and you love to tackle impossible problems. Failure is not an option for you, and more than a few people are put off by your ego. You tend to be controlling, and you hate leaving anything up to chance. Your strength: Your bold approach to life Your weakness: You don't accept help Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Pyramid Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I don't think this one is accurate either - you don't accept help? Nah. Controlling? Nah. An overpowering ego? Well, maybe...JUST JOKIN' HONEY!

And now, for tomorrow's birthday boy...

Your Birthdate: February 12

You're a dynamic, charismatic person who's possibly headed for fame. You tend to charm strangers easily. And you usually can get what you want from them. Verbally talented, you tend to persuade people with your speaking and writing. You are affectionate and loving, but it's hard for you to commit to any one relationship. Your strength: Your charm Your weakness: Your extreme manipulation tactics Your power color: Indigo Your power symbol: Four leaf clover Your power month: December

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Oh yeah...the charming strangers thing? Getting what you want out of them? Affectionate and loving? This one is pretty bang on!

It's all coming together, sorta...

We finally decided on a theme for Ben's big boy bedroom. Who am I kidding? "I" decided that my idea was better than Gord's idea. So we went to e-children yesterday and bought the bedding set that I wanted. Isn't it awesome? Even if you don't like it and would have sided with Gord on the whole "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme, too bad. You lost. I won. That's all that matters to me.

In all honesty though, I think Ben is going to love it. He wasn't all that interested in it at the store yesterday, but give the kid a break! There's so much to destroy in a beautiful children's store like that! When I was at the counter (paying the nice lady too much money for the quilt and lamp), I was perusing their stock of cute impulse buy items. They had a neat little nursing bracelet that helps you keep track of which side you nursed on last and for how long (although, honestly? It's not hard to figure out when one side is mushy and flabby while the other side is rock hard and 2 cup sizes bigger...anyhoo, I digress), as well as "pee-pee tee-pees" - little flannel cones that you put on your son's little pee-pee to avoid the "shower" that you may get when you change his diaper. How adorable are those! Completely unnecessary, but still adorable!

On a crappy note, it seems as though the bed and dresser we ordered for Ben is going to be delayed until the end of the month. Yikes - that's cutting it close to get him into his big boy bed for the recommended 6 weeks before the new baby comes along. But, if worse comes to worse, I won't have the baby until May. NOT! What's that you're suggesting? Put a mattress on the floor until the bed comes? What a wonderful compromise! : )

Later gators...
the pregnant one