So Ben came down the hallway at 6 this morning and puked all over the carpet at our door. I rushed him to the bathroom and had him lean over the toilet. Of course, he was pretty much done by then. It was mostly the water he drank at 5.
He's thrown up a few more times this morning, but has now kept down some diluted apple juice and a few digestive cookies. Poor little gaffer. The last time, he looked at me and said, "Mommy?" I knew what was coming. I quickly carried him to the toilet and we made it just in time - I think he was starting to swallow it back (sorry if that's too much information!).
He had a very slight temperature during the wee hours of Sunday morning. I didn't really think anything of it 'cause it was gone a few hours later. I'm sure it's just a bug of some sort, although I don't want to tell Ben he has a stomach bug - who knows what he'd think!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Sorry it's been so long...
Wow, we've been kinda busy! Between Ben's fall activities and the home projects we've been working on, suddenly it's almost October!
Where can I start...
The kids and I recently had a visit with my Grandma Lil (a.k.a. GG). I think that Ben entertained her, making our trip to see her worthwhile. She was very impressed with Ella too!
Ben said that he was going to the moon, and that this was his "face helmet" (space helmet).
Random cute car seat shot of Ella smiling:
Ben and I made cookies, and I even let him use the mixer (under my watchful eye!).
Side by side:
They love each other so much...
But Ella loves her toes too!
We took some pictures at Gymkyds this week so that you can all see how much fun Ben has!
Here he is on the trampoline - by far, his favorite thing! It's still the first thing he goes for!
This is the whole setup (except for the trampolines, which are behind me):
Ben on a balance beam:
He also loves to hang and swing on the rings:
Ella trying on Ben's new hardhat and her new Bumbo at the same time!
A boy and his trains...
Ella in cute hats...isn't she sweet?
(This is the controversial Hanna Andersson pilot cap I had to buy in Minneapolis.)
Where can I start...
The kids and I recently had a visit with my Grandma Lil (a.k.a. GG). I think that Ben entertained her, making our trip to see her worthwhile. She was very impressed with Ella too!
Ben said that he was going to the moon, and that this was his "face helmet" (space helmet).
Random cute car seat shot of Ella smiling:
Ben and I made cookies, and I even let him use the mixer (under my watchful eye!).
Side by side:
They love each other so much...
But Ella loves her toes too!
We took some pictures at Gymkyds this week so that you can all see how much fun Ben has!
Here he is on the trampoline - by far, his favorite thing! It's still the first thing he goes for!
This is the whole setup (except for the trampolines, which are behind me):
Ben on a balance beam:
He also loves to hang and swing on the rings:
Ella trying on Ben's new hardhat and her new Bumbo at the same time!
A boy and his trains...
Ella in cute hats...isn't she sweet?
(This is the controversial Hanna Andersson pilot cap I had to buy in Minneapolis.)
Friday, September 08, 2006
GymKyds!
Today was Ben's first day at his gymnastics class! Boy, am I glad we signed him up for this. We got there a little bit early so he was very eager to get out there by the time they called us in (he could see the class before his jumping on the trampoline and walking on the balance beams). They do this warm up at the beginning of class, running around in a circle, shaking some maraccas, etc. Can you guess what Ben did? He ran around all over the balance beams, mats, and anything else there was to climb on. Thank goodness that Peggy (the instructor) gave us the "this is supposed to be fun; don't stress" talk at the beginning of class!
All in all, he did very well and wore off lots of energy. If only it was more often than once a week!
BTW, Ella came too, with Daddy. She nodded off halfway through the class. Guess it wasn't that exciting for her!
All in all, he did very well and wore off lots of energy. If only it was more often than once a week!
BTW, Ella came too, with Daddy. She nodded off halfway through the class. Guess it wasn't that exciting for her!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Okay, okay...
I've been getting some flack about posting such a silly picture of Ben-Ben, so I'll post a more "normal" one. But honestly, he's adorable in both!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Brother and sister
Today, Ella was wearing an outfit that Ben used to wear a lot when he was a wee one. I thought I'd do a comparison of brother and sister:
Ben
Ella
Ben
Ella
Friday, September 01, 2006
Catchin' up!
They say that your children are sponges. Boy, is that true. Ben repeats EVERYTHING he hears. His phrase-of-the-moment is "No way, Jose!", as in, "Ben, you need to come back to the table and finish your supper!" "No way, hose-way!", or "Ben, do you need a timeout?" "No way, hose-way!" I swear, if he wasn't so damn cute...
He also has picked up on this phrase - "I'll give you something to cry about!" - as to who said this in front of him, I'm not naming any names... Anyways, his version is "Mommy, can you give me something to cry about?" (in a very whiny voice) and is always said when he's feeling really sorry for himself. Which is often these days. He's been very moody and whiny and stubborn. I'm REALLY hoping it's just a stage!
My favorite game to play with him is to kiss him all over the face lots and lots of times. Ben giggles and giggles and shrieks, "TOO MUCH KISSING!" He loves it, I know he does. Seriously, who wouldn't?
Ella is sooooooo close to rolling over (from back to front). She just can't figure out to flatten her arm down a bit more - it's holding her back. She loves to smile and watch her big brother do anything. Ben loves to give her kisses and hugs and is always talking to her and calling her Isabewwa. There really isn't any jealousy here - but I've probably just jinxed it...
We're tiling our basement this weekend (read: Gord and my dad are going to pour their blood, sweat and tears into that floor, while my mom, the kids and I go to the zoo and do some shopping). Gord has been working his ass off this week to clear the basement of all furniture, carpet and underpad, and all crap so that the tiling will go lickety-split. He thinks I don't appreciate all the work he's done, but I really, really do. I may even let him buy a printer when this is all said and done - then he'll know that I appreciated all the work he did!
I'm adding some pictures from the last couple of weeks.
Ben wanted Ella to sleep with him:
Ella, just after a workout!
A happy girl 'cause she just got her milk!
Mom, Ben and Chris last weekend at the Morden Corn & Apple Festival
My cousin Josh and his new wife Andrea were there too!
Ben played poker with the guys
Here's his poker face!
Ella and a flower
The ice cream lover
I know a lot of our readers are also interested in the escapades of Ruby and Fiona (the Ottawa Babes). They are doing very well and are as cute as ever (see following picture). Kathy hurt her back two weeks ago and is basically not very mobile, so there are a bunch of wonderful friends and family who are pitching in to help the Bak/Sheppard household. I swear, Kathy and Greg deserve Nobel prizes or to win the lottery or the ability to clone themselves - they've been through so much! But these two girls are totally worth it...
(I think it's Ruby on the left, Fiona on the right. I hope that Kathy and Greg don't mind me posting this...)
He also has picked up on this phrase - "I'll give you something to cry about!" - as to who said this in front of him, I'm not naming any names... Anyways, his version is "Mommy, can you give me something to cry about?" (in a very whiny voice) and is always said when he's feeling really sorry for himself. Which is often these days. He's been very moody and whiny and stubborn. I'm REALLY hoping it's just a stage!
My favorite game to play with him is to kiss him all over the face lots and lots of times. Ben giggles and giggles and shrieks, "TOO MUCH KISSING!" He loves it, I know he does. Seriously, who wouldn't?
Ella is sooooooo close to rolling over (from back to front). She just can't figure out to flatten her arm down a bit more - it's holding her back. She loves to smile and watch her big brother do anything. Ben loves to give her kisses and hugs and is always talking to her and calling her Isabewwa. There really isn't any jealousy here - but I've probably just jinxed it...
We're tiling our basement this weekend (read: Gord and my dad are going to pour their blood, sweat and tears into that floor, while my mom, the kids and I go to the zoo and do some shopping). Gord has been working his ass off this week to clear the basement of all furniture, carpet and underpad, and all crap so that the tiling will go lickety-split. He thinks I don't appreciate all the work he's done, but I really, really do. I may even let him buy a printer when this is all said and done - then he'll know that I appreciated all the work he did!
I'm adding some pictures from the last couple of weeks.
Ben wanted Ella to sleep with him:
Ella, just after a workout!
A happy girl 'cause she just got her milk!
Mom, Ben and Chris last weekend at the Morden Corn & Apple Festival
My cousin Josh and his new wife Andrea were there too!
Ben played poker with the guys
Here's his poker face!
Ella and a flower
The ice cream lover
I know a lot of our readers are also interested in the escapades of Ruby and Fiona (the Ottawa Babes). They are doing very well and are as cute as ever (see following picture). Kathy hurt her back two weeks ago and is basically not very mobile, so there are a bunch of wonderful friends and family who are pitching in to help the Bak/Sheppard household. I swear, Kathy and Greg deserve Nobel prizes or to win the lottery or the ability to clone themselves - they've been through so much! But these two girls are totally worth it...
(I think it's Ruby on the left, Fiona on the right. I hope that Kathy and Greg don't mind me posting this...)
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
4-month check-up!
Ella had her 4-month appointment today and she is now 15 pounds 10 ounces! Whooooo-weeee! Her pediatrician said she's the "picture of health". She was also due for some immunizations - one was the Prevnar vaccine for meningitis - and she did fairly well. The Prevnar vaccine stings, so she cried after that one, but not for long. And she's been very sleepy all day - trust me, this girl never sleeps for more than 30 or 45 minutes during the day, so the fact that she has been awake for only about 4 hours today in total tells me that something is up!
Sorry for the lack of posts lately...we're trying to get some stuff done around the house before Gord goes back to work. We put up a new light in the bathroom, which was WAY more difficult than you would think. Then Gord broke the mirror, so we bought another one. This is the current bathroom project - we still haven't got it up on the wall yet. But we hung some pretty photographs in our living room today, after we ran all of our errands this morning, so we accomplished something!
We've also been purging our house of all things donatable to Canadian Diabetes. There was a huge pile of stuff (read: junk) waiting for them this morning...hope they don't mind!
Sorry for the lack of posts lately...we're trying to get some stuff done around the house before Gord goes back to work. We put up a new light in the bathroom, which was WAY more difficult than you would think. Then Gord broke the mirror, so we bought another one. This is the current bathroom project - we still haven't got it up on the wall yet. But we hung some pretty photographs in our living room today, after we ran all of our errands this morning, so we accomplished something!
We've also been purging our house of all things donatable to Canadian Diabetes. There was a huge pile of stuff (read: junk) waiting for them this morning...hope they don't mind!
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Minneapolis Ho!
Well, we are back from our whirlwind tour of Minneapolis. For those of you who didn't know, Carrie, the kids and I and Grandma and Grandpa Potter just rented a Minivan (the very cool 2007 Ford Freestar) and headed off down to Minneapolis, MN for a vacation and to meet Thomas the Tank Engine (who I'll talk about later).
The trip got off to a rocky start Friday with pouring rain in Winnipeg while we tried to load the van which we got 2 hours late due to some interesting credit card problems (not ours) at the rental agency. We finally got the kids, adults and gear loaded up and we took off. We arrived in Minneapolis at about 8:30 p.m., checked into the hotel, and took off for one of my (Gord's) favourite restaurants, Chili's.
The next day we took what felt like a 9 hour drive to the Minnesota Zoo (navigated by Gord "I know EXACTLY where I am" Sheppard) and saw some tigers, some giraffes and a dolphin show. It was fun but a hot and footsore crew loaded back into the van and we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. That night we left Bill at the hotel in the throes of a cold and went to the Mall of America. The main purpose of this trip was to buy this hat at the Hanna Anderson store. I think it looks silly. (Like Gord's opinion on our children's clothing actually matters!)
The next day brought the arrival of the purpose of the whole trip. We were going to 'A Day Out with Thomas'. This is an event that tours different cities in the U.S. and brings an actual life-size Thomas the Tank Engine to pull a local train and take you on a ride. Obviously, this was Ben's favourite part of the trip. It melted our hearts to see how excited he was meeting Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt. The event was great, with tattoos, ball pits, a lego Thomas, a big inflatable slide and train maze, and visits with Sir Topham Hatt all FREE. The only part of the event that had a cost was the train ride with Thomas (although you could take photos with Thomas for free.) I was very impressed with not having to pay through the nose for every little thing. Everybody (staff and other parents) at the event were very friendly and patient. We had a great time! Below the post are some pics of the event.
That evening, while Ben was having a HUGE nap (which was sorely needed) Carrie, Joan, Ella and I headed to IKEA. Fun, but we were all a little tired after traversing both floors of the gigantic store.
Then we headed home the next morning (Monday) stopping at the Albertville Outlet Stores on the way. After one and a half hours at the Border (ick!) we were home and ready for bed! We all had a great time and I'm sure we'll do it again (but not too soon!).
Well, I'm off to shop for minivans online (why, Gord, why?) so I'll sign off now and give you some pics to enjoy:
Ben and Daddy watching Thomas pull into the station:
A lego Thomas and a smiley boy:
Here comes Thomas!
Ben checks out "real Thomas":
Happy, Happy!
Climbing the big slide:
Wheee!
A ball pit action shot:
King of the ball pit:
Climbing into the train maze:
Meeting 'The Man': Sir Topham Hatt
"I love your trains, Sir Topham Hatt!"
Getting on the train!
Don't worry! Ella was having fun too!
There is only so much sensory overload a kid can take until it is time to cuddle with Grandpa!
The trip got off to a rocky start Friday with pouring rain in Winnipeg while we tried to load the van which we got 2 hours late due to some interesting credit card problems (not ours) at the rental agency. We finally got the kids, adults and gear loaded up and we took off. We arrived in Minneapolis at about 8:30 p.m., checked into the hotel, and took off for one of my (Gord's) favourite restaurants, Chili's.
The next day we took what felt like a 9 hour drive to the Minnesota Zoo (navigated by Gord "I know EXACTLY where I am" Sheppard) and saw some tigers, some giraffes and a dolphin show. It was fun but a hot and footsore crew loaded back into the van and we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. That night we left Bill at the hotel in the throes of a cold and went to the Mall of America. The main purpose of this trip was to buy this hat at the Hanna Anderson store. I think it looks silly. (Like Gord's opinion on our children's clothing actually matters!)
The next day brought the arrival of the purpose of the whole trip. We were going to 'A Day Out with Thomas'. This is an event that tours different cities in the U.S. and brings an actual life-size Thomas the Tank Engine to pull a local train and take you on a ride. Obviously, this was Ben's favourite part of the trip. It melted our hearts to see how excited he was meeting Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt. The event was great, with tattoos, ball pits, a lego Thomas, a big inflatable slide and train maze, and visits with Sir Topham Hatt all FREE. The only part of the event that had a cost was the train ride with Thomas (although you could take photos with Thomas for free.) I was very impressed with not having to pay through the nose for every little thing. Everybody (staff and other parents) at the event were very friendly and patient. We had a great time! Below the post are some pics of the event.
That evening, while Ben was having a HUGE nap (which was sorely needed) Carrie, Joan, Ella and I headed to IKEA. Fun, but we were all a little tired after traversing both floors of the gigantic store.
Then we headed home the next morning (Monday) stopping at the Albertville Outlet Stores on the way. After one and a half hours at the Border (ick!) we were home and ready for bed! We all had a great time and I'm sure we'll do it again (but not too soon!).
Well, I'm off to shop for minivans online (why, Gord, why?) so I'll sign off now and give you some pics to enjoy:
Ben and Daddy watching Thomas pull into the station:
A lego Thomas and a smiley boy:
Here comes Thomas!
Ben checks out "real Thomas":
Happy, Happy!
Climbing the big slide:
Wheee!
A ball pit action shot:
King of the ball pit:
Climbing into the train maze:
Meeting 'The Man': Sir Topham Hatt
"I love your trains, Sir Topham Hatt!"
Getting on the train!
Don't worry! Ella was having fun too!
There is only so much sensory overload a kid can take until it is time to cuddle with Grandpa!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Mommy's a big bully!
Some friends of ours were having their annual summer barbecue on Saturday - their yard backs onto a big playground, so it was a perfect setup for lots of people, even more kids, and an inflatable bouncer! Anyways, Gord and I were tossing a frisbee back and forth when Ben ran up and wanted to play. I told him to get ready, 'cause I was about to throw it to him, and when I did I knew I was in for some trouble. It honestly felt like it was in slow motion, this frisbee that was headed straight for his head! It clocked him right between the eyes and gave him a little cut on the bridge of his nose! He did that cry where it sounds like I knocked the wind out him, like he was having trouble catching his breath. I felt so horrible! I also found it a little funny - not that he got hurt, but how we could see what was going to happen but we couldn't do anything about it 'cause it happened so fast...
Anyways, apparently I'm the newest playground bully.
Anyways, apparently I'm the newest playground bully.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Breakfast humor
While eating his breakfast this morning, which consisted of a bowl of AllBran Bran Flakes with no milk, Ben said to his daddy, "Daddy, I'm eating snowflakes!"
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
We're back (pictures below)
We're finally back from Ottawa. It was great fun! Here's a rundown:
- Arrived Tuesday, July 4th.
- Went to IKEA on Thursday - bought way too much stuff and ended up having to rearrange our suitcases to avoid them being over the weight allowance when we flew home!
- Walked downtown on Friday - ran into my cousin Denise (from Edmonton) while walking down Sparks Street. It was bloody hot that day, so we just walked by Parliament on the way home.
- Garth and Jill's for supper on Saturday - Liz, James and Logan came up from Cambridge for the weekend so we could all hang out. Garth cooked some awesome chicken on the bbq and we had a nice evening catching up with everyone!
- Went to the Valleyview Little Animal Farm on Sunday to meet a cyber-friend (Sherry and Jenna from my February 2004 Playgroup on ivillage.com). Garth, Jill, Liz et al came too. Then we went for lunch. Again, it was bloody hot that day. That was also the day that Italy won the World Cup - on our walk that evening, there was an impromptu Italian victory parade we had to endure - that's what we get for being near Little Italy!
- Monday, we met Jill, Liz, James and Logan for lunch at Dow's Lake.
- Tuesday, we went to the Museum of Civilization in Hull with Kathy and the girls. They have a very nice Children's Museum there and Ben had a blast.
- Wednesday we went to a mall and did a little shopping. Gord and Garth went to a concert that night - the Blues Fest was on and The Grande Mothers were playing.
- Thursday we didn't do much at all.
- Friday we flew home.
- Saturday we drove to Dauphin for my cousin Josh's wedding. We had a really good time! Ben especially...
Since then, we've been vegging at home. We went to the zoo today - we have a family pass for the year - which is always fun! Ben went on a pony ride - of course, we didn't take the camera. Why does he want to do these things when we don't have the camera, I'll never know.
That's it, I'm going to bed. Enjoy the barrage of pictures below. And to those of you who have been bugging me for a new blog entry (you know who you are!), I hope this suffices! :)
carrie
- Arrived Tuesday, July 4th.
- Went to IKEA on Thursday - bought way too much stuff and ended up having to rearrange our suitcases to avoid them being over the weight allowance when we flew home!
- Walked downtown on Friday - ran into my cousin Denise (from Edmonton) while walking down Sparks Street. It was bloody hot that day, so we just walked by Parliament on the way home.
- Garth and Jill's for supper on Saturday - Liz, James and Logan came up from Cambridge for the weekend so we could all hang out. Garth cooked some awesome chicken on the bbq and we had a nice evening catching up with everyone!
- Went to the Valleyview Little Animal Farm on Sunday to meet a cyber-friend (Sherry and Jenna from my February 2004 Playgroup on ivillage.com). Garth, Jill, Liz et al came too. Then we went for lunch. Again, it was bloody hot that day. That was also the day that Italy won the World Cup - on our walk that evening, there was an impromptu Italian victory parade we had to endure - that's what we get for being near Little Italy!
- Monday, we met Jill, Liz, James and Logan for lunch at Dow's Lake.
- Tuesday, we went to the Museum of Civilization in Hull with Kathy and the girls. They have a very nice Children's Museum there and Ben had a blast.
- Wednesday we went to a mall and did a little shopping. Gord and Garth went to a concert that night - the Blues Fest was on and The Grande Mothers were playing.
- Thursday we didn't do much at all.
- Friday we flew home.
- Saturday we drove to Dauphin for my cousin Josh's wedding. We had a really good time! Ben especially...
Since then, we've been vegging at home. We went to the zoo today - we have a family pass for the year - which is always fun! Ben went on a pony ride - of course, we didn't take the camera. Why does he want to do these things when we don't have the camera, I'll never know.
That's it, I'm going to bed. Enjoy the barrage of pictures below. And to those of you who have been bugging me for a new blog entry (you know who you are!), I hope this suffices! :)
carrie
Some pictures...
The kids with Auntie Sheri and Uncle Chris - the day before Uncle Chris ran the marathon!
A cute cross-eyed baby moment caught on film!
Milk Bubbles
Showing off his Canadian flag tattoos - Happy Canada Day!
Playing with the sparkler (before he burned himself)
The Girlz - Ruby, Fiona and Ella (L to R)
Little Ruby Tuesday (as I like to call her!)
Extreme closeup:
Random head shot - I don't know what kind of face he was making!
Fiona taking it all in!
All four Sheppard grandkids! (Ella, Ruby, Fiona and Ben, L to R)
Uncle Gord holding his nieces!
Ben and Logan sharing some toys
Doesn't it look like Ben is going to rip Gord's scalp off?
Ella falling under Garth's spell - "You are getting very sleepy..."
The whole gang at the Little Animal Farm - Liz, James holding Logan, Gord, Ben, and Garth, and in the front, Carrie holding Ella, and Jill
Ben with little cyber-friend Jenna in the back!
They look just like they did in high school! Liz, Jill, Garth and Gord (see Ben's head in there too?)
Sitting in the shade
Feeding the sheep at the farm
Mommy and Ben on the tractor/train ride at the farm
Ben picked this lovely little flower for Mommy!
There are no words.
Me and Ella
Dancing with Grandma Joan. Could he be a future Kevin Bacon? Maybe a Patrick Swayze?
A cute cross-eyed baby moment caught on film!
Milk Bubbles
Showing off his Canadian flag tattoos - Happy Canada Day!
Playing with the sparkler (before he burned himself)
The Girlz - Ruby, Fiona and Ella (L to R)
Little Ruby Tuesday (as I like to call her!)
Extreme closeup:
Random head shot - I don't know what kind of face he was making!
Fiona taking it all in!
All four Sheppard grandkids! (Ella, Ruby, Fiona and Ben, L to R)
Uncle Gord holding his nieces!
Ben and Logan sharing some toys
Doesn't it look like Ben is going to rip Gord's scalp off?
Ella falling under Garth's spell - "You are getting very sleepy..."
The whole gang at the Little Animal Farm - Liz, James holding Logan, Gord, Ben, and Garth, and in the front, Carrie holding Ella, and Jill
Ben with little cyber-friend Jenna in the back!
They look just like they did in high school! Liz, Jill, Garth and Gord (see Ben's head in there too?)
Sitting in the shade
Feeding the sheep at the farm
Mommy and Ben on the tractor/train ride at the farm
Ben picked this lovely little flower for Mommy!
There are no words.
Me and Ella
Dancing with Grandma Joan. Could he be a future Kevin Bacon? Maybe a Patrick Swayze?
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