Trip to Saskatchewan

We spent a week in Saskatchewan at the end of May. I flew with both kids and then Cam joined us a week later for a short weekend visit, then we all returned home together.

We arrived at the airport a full 2 hours ahead of our flight which was just about perfect. Once we got through security (Chance had to remove his shoes and refused to cross the metal detector gate), we had a few minutes to play with the airport toys (giant wind up merry-go-round featuring various propeller planes) and eat lunch, go to the bathroom and then it was time time to board. Then the plane just sat there for 30 mins. Some minor delay, but when you have a limited number of distractions for a toddler and a hungry baby on your hands, it was a bit stressful. I didn't want to nurse Karin until we were taking off so that she would eat and go to sleep. Managed to hold her off until takeoff, and she did just that - what a great passenger!

Our only picture of the four of us to date. Hard to believe, but I guess someone has always been holding the camera!

Proud grandparents. Chance's attention span (or lack thereof) starting to show.

Auntie Darryl & Uncle Russ

Cousin Jocelyn

Four generations of women.

Sucking her thumb somewhere between Regina and Indian Head.
Out of 10 photos, this is the best one!
Visiting the Royal Saskatchewan Museum with Gramma Jo. Chance commented "none of these animals are moving."
Visiting Public Works with Grampa Phil. Chance was literally in heaven. He could climb on any machine he liked (backhoe, vac truck, paver, roller, asphalt eater (shown here), snow plow, etc.) And they had cookies and balloons. What more could a kid ask for??

Morning Conversation

While eating cereal at breakfast:



Chance: Look! Mommy! A castle is in my cereal! (points to cereal flakes in the shape of the Walt Disney castle). Look...4 flags, and the door, and here's the garden!

Me: Oh! Are you the big dragon that is going to eat this castle all up?

Chance: (rolls eys) Silly Mommy. I am not a dragon. I am a boy.




While doing the dishes, later:

Me: We are moving in two weeks! Can you believe it Chance? This has been your home your whole life and now we are moving to a new house.

Chance: Yeah, cause this house is too dirty.

Me: It's not dirty.

Chance: Yes it is, there's crumbs all over the place!

Computer is back!

Wow, not having a computer for the last week has been hard! On one hand, I got a ton accomplished this week without checking emails, facebook, blogs, etc. On the other hand, I had to phone my mom in order to trade some stock on the TSX! Thanks Mom!

Puzzle Pieces

Well, pieces of the puzzle are coming together. We now have a daycare lined up for Chance and as soon as a spot comes available for Karin, they'll hold it for her in January. After a 2nd look at the daycare yesterday with Cameron this time, I feel better about the place. I felt it was just fine for Chance but not good enough for Karin. The reality is, it isn't and shouldn't be good enough for Karin -- she's just a baby. It will be a long time until I'm ready to go back to work and she's ready for daycare. Chance will start part time in July or August with their preschool program.

Spent 2 hours at the new house yesterday as well. First hour spent with the builder finalizing plans for the garden, fence, stump removal, etc. Then Cam went home to pick up Chance, while Karin and I selected window coverings for the house. We went with 2" off-white wooden venetians pretty much everywhere in the house except for the kitchen bay window, which will have some beige and black stripy roman blinds -- these will look great while they are pulled up (most of the time) and while pulled down will offer some insulation from the window when it's cold outside. Karin got hungry while we were going over the blinds so I sat down on the kitchen floor and nursed her while the lady from the blind store held up fabric samples until we got the right one.

Came home to Cam and Chance eating bacon and eggs for supper - one of Chance's favorite suppers. Got Karin in the bath tub and splashed with her while Cam made toast and cooked eggs for me, then Cam took over tub time duties and let me eat.

Picking out blinds for the new house

The blind store gave me some sample swatches to take home. I spent the evening rubbing them on the cat and figuring out which ones didn't show the hair. Hahahaha.

The perils of parenthood

We've been waking Chance up when we go to bed to get him to pee so that he wakes up (hopefully) dry in the AM. Also it seems to be affecting his sleep if he has to pee - nightmares. This happens to me too. Last night I woke him up, then carried him to the bathroom, set him down, pulled his pants down, and then he started peeing. On my feet!!

He peed and peed. And peed and peed and peed and peed and peed and peed. When he was done, I picked him up, pulled his wet socks off, pulled off my own wet socks, stepped on the bath mat to wipe my feet and then carried him back to bed. Then cleaned the bathroom and did a load of laundry. So much for going to bed!

Up frequently

Karin was up twice last night, very unusual for her. The wind is just howling, currently reads at 50 km/hour from the north, but it seemed even louder last night. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. At 2 AM (totally unusual time) she wasn't really hungry, but WIDE awake. I put her back in the crib, put her mobile on and left, never heard her cry if she did. At 4:30 she fed OK, was back in bed at 5 but started screaming (totally unusual for her), so went back and nursed again til 5:30, then put her back in crib, she woke up but settled down quickly. I could hear her sucking her thumb through the door.

Attempted Visit to Carburn Park

I was doing some research about Calgary parks, and found a neat place called Carburn Park in SE Calgary, not too far from where we live. It is an old gravel pit that was reclaimed as a city park and turned into a lake. Long story short, we never got there because we went right instead of left on the pathway, and ended up at the Eric Harvie bridge and off leash dog park area instead, but had a great time nonetheless. Chance got to meet lots of dogs, we saw fly fishermen in action (saw one guy pull a trout out of the Bow River only to have it fall off the hook, too bad), observe birds - gulls and ducks, stretch our legs and enjoy the sun between cloudy breaks, saw planes landing and got some good photos.

Cam, Chance and Karin on the Eric Harvie bridge in Riverbend, Calgary, which spans the Bow River. Chance enjoyed throwing stones off the bridge and the view afforded by being so high. He noticed a dead duck sunk in the river, which spawned a completely spontaneous conversation about how everything and everyone dies. Heavy stuff for a three and a half year old boy to grasp.

To centre left you can see the dogs running in the off leash area. Centre is where we watched the fishermen.

Air Canada flight coming in for a landing at YYC.

Gravel deposit along Bow River.

Striking a pose. His hands were chilly after the hour or so spent walking.

Thumb Sucker

Well....here's the proof. I have suspected she's a thumb sucker since mid-February...when I noticed her smacking on her fingertips in the stroller one day. Now she has gained full digit control and knows how to use her thumb. I am torn: break the habit now or let it run its course??? Pro: this AM she slept until 8 AM, when I woke her up before I soaked the bed. No soother to pry from her at the age of 3. It's cute. Con: Dental damage. I can't sterilize her fingers.