Supertrain 2011

Good vantage point from Daddy's arms.

Hmm...should I eat it??

Lego abound!


The project.

Finished version.

We visited Supertrain this year again, this time Chance fell in love with Lego, as there was a huge display set up with a working train going through various environments, townscapes, etc. all constructed in Lego. I think the Easter Bunny may be bringing more than chocolate this year....

Another youtube video...Karin trying out new words: "hi", "uh-oh"...which usually sounds more like "uh-ah" and "bye". She can also say "shoe" ....which comes out more as just "sh".

Videos...

2 more videos on youtube of the kids. One that likely Chance will shoot me for when he's old enough.

Work zipping along. Both kids healthy! Bought a piano! Updates coming soon.

Smile!

Here's what she looks like when she's smiling!!


On the weekend our friends came over with their girls Ayla and Ivy. The big kids enjoyed showing off their respective babies.

There's video versions too: Chance and Ayla showing off their babies and Karin showing us her newfound ability to smile and coo.

Fun Weekend

Karin received a trio of cute pink shirts on the weekend & we are loving dressing her up! She doesn't really seem to care what she wears though...she's just as happy in her brother's hand me downs! This weekend she put on the blue Cammo Dogs sleeper that was so notorious for blow outs with Chance (every time he wore this outfit his diaper would blow out, and curiously enough, lots and lots of blow outs later, this sleeper is not even stained!!). Well, the Cammo Dogs didn't let us down -- while she didn't manage to have a blow out while wearing them, she did poop all over her crib blanket while getting changed. Poor Bunnykins may never be the same again! We'll have to see if it comes out in the wash or not...


Speaking of poo...there's a new video on our Youtube channel - Chance's reaction to Karin doing a Number Two while he's holding her.

We had a great weekend. On Saturday we had visitors over for tea. Chance was an absolute angel - sat down to have tea with us, then disappeared and played all by himself happily when he got bored. While Karin napped, Chance and I made a quiche, while Cam did the dishes. So I guess that makes me the chef, Chance the sous-chef, and Cam the plongeur (garbage boy). In the afternoon we went out for a walk as a family and discovered a perfectly fine black cast iron portable fire pit that was sitting next to a dumpster (we have one but we knew someone who would want it!) Cam and Chance went back with the truck to pick it up. I know what you're thinking, when will the craziness ever end??

On Sunday we went out for groceries and did something I think we'll be doing for a long time. In the past we have usually gone out for groceries as a family on the weekend, usually around 10 AM (ie. when EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE CITY goes for groceries). It usually takes about an hour and a half, but sometimes up to 2 hours, depending on how big the list is, parking, lineups, whether I can find what I want, temper tantrums, etc.) This time, though, I had an epiphany while watching a movie called The Hurt Locker. I had to stop the DVD I was so excited to tell Cam about this idea. At the end (I don't think this is a spoiler) - a guy is shopping and then bumps into a lady and says "I'm about done, what about you" and she says "just get some cereal and we'll meet you at the till". They're shopping TOGETHER, but with SEPARATE CARTS. Wow. Wow wow wow. So we tried it: one list for me and one list for Cam and guess what? We had left the house, gassed up the car, parked, shopped, packed everything back in the car, gotten everything into the house, with two kids in tow, in UNDER 1 HOUR. Now - we did get to the grocery store sooner than usual (9ish). But. I'm never going back to the dark ages. Ever.

No more video bar

Well after messing around with the settings on the video bar yesterday, for some reason random videos have been cropping up on my video bar, which is usually located on the right side of the page. I noticed a few days ago (who am I kidding, it could have been weeks ago) that instead of the most recent Chance videos being featured, the most popular Chance videos were being featured. So I tried to fix it so that the most recent ones were showing instead....well...whatever I did...now we get randomness from You Tube.

Since neither setting is actually doing what I want, I've deleted it for the mean time. You can visit our You Tube channel to check out the latest and greatest, unfortunately though the updates won't be automatic here.

Looks like I'll have to go back to learning how to embed files, how very 2008.

Skating Party

Took Chance skating today for the first time. He did pretty good, but quickly resorted to hanging off the support bar and letting Cam push him around the ice. We were lucky to borrow a pair of skates from our friends, and they also gave us a pair of extra size 10's for use next year. Thanks again guys, we had a wonderful time!

After we were done skating we were invited to have hot chocolate and lunch at a colleague's house. Cam ate too much and ended up not being able to eat dinner tonight!

Merry Christmas Eve

1) Woke up at 7:30 with Chance & made coffee. Cancelled insurance on Mazda.
2) Cam woke up at 8:30 and went shopping for kitty. We realized she had not gotten much this year. Perhaps undeserved?
3) Cam returned and took Chance downtown as he had forgotten a present at the office. Chance had a good time having a cookie and a pop at Dad's office, as well as racing up and down the empty hallways.
4) Ate lunch (Cam cooked, thanks!!)
5) Went outside and played in the snow, played ball hockey on the driveway, went for a short walk with the toboggan.
6) Came in and had a snack and then laid down for a nap.
7) Woke up 2 hours later and headed over to the grocery store to pick up our live lobsters.
8) Came home and started cooking dinner, munched on snacks.
9) Nearly burned the lobsters. Turned out it was just the bottom of the pot. They tasted fine.
10) Cleaned up supper dishes & toys.
11) Carefully placed carrots for the reindeer and cookies and milk for Santa.
12) Instead of a bedtime story, Chance asked for bedtime stickers.
13) Stall, stall, stall.
14) Chance in bed by 9:15.

Wishing you all out there a Merry Christmas tomorrow. Hope Santa is good to you! Much love, the Demmans family.

Little bump in the plan....but rolling now!

So Chance came down with a throat infection and Thursday night ran a high fever, so into the doctor he went on Friday and Mom had to skip her project initiation notice with partners, boo. Her boss was very nice and sent an email to let her know that he would cover off for her, and her colleague emailed later in the day to let her know how the meeting went. Nice co-workers!

So we've been fighting a fever in 30°C weather, which is interesting, it basically means that Chance goes no where without a sippy cup full of water or juice. And his soother and his blankie. So he looks like a really miserable little guy when going to the grocery store or pharmacy, he got lots of sympathy from well-wishers.

But now the antibiotics have kicked in, the fever is kicked out, and his only complaint at night is that his monkey stuffed animal wasn't placed correctly to keep his soother from falling out. Well!

Here are a few videos from yesterday's construction of yard gates. We successfully installed the posts for the 2 gates and tomorrow Cam is going first thing to the hardware store to get the lumber to build the gates, as well as a rototiller for the garden. Mom and Chance will stay home and bake cinnamon buns before it gets too hot, then we will meet Ayla and her folks for a coffee and walk in Fish Creek Park.

Weekend Over Too Quickly

We had some wildlife in the back yard this weekend:





Chance has now mastered a critical life skill: eating ice cream from a spoon!




Chance and I had a great day. I went to a cycle class this AM and my butt still hurts. I still biked him to the park tonight, what a good Mom I am. I deserve ice cream. I'm off to watch Harry Potter - Cam recorded it for me. :)

New Videos Loaded

I've uploaded quite a few videos of Chance at our Youtube account lately, and looking back at some of the old videos lately has made me realize how much Chance has grown from that wonky monkey rocking back and forth on all fours. Some of the videos have been watched a lot -- eating a cookie (275 times), taking a poop (240 times) and spaced out watching the coffee pot (220 times).

Fairmont Lake Louise Christmas Weekend

In one word: "greatbutexhausting!"

We arrived at noon on Saturday and had our packed lunch in the lobby as our room was not available yet. Check in was 4 PM, but we were able to get into our room around 1 PM, which was very nice. We got changed and went out for a walk and some toboggan rides down the hill. Chance saw his first horse-drawn sleigh ride!

After our walk we returned back to the hotel and had hot chocolate and asked if they had any cookies. They said no, but they got someone to find some from somewhere in the hotel and then refused to let us pay for them. It's all part and parcel when you have the cutest baby in the world, or at least that's what it seemed like! Everyone was oooohing and aaaahing over Chance's red hair and little curls and how he loved to toddle around the lobby and yank on the Christmas tree decorations, etc.

We attended the dinner and dance in the evening, while Chance stayed with a babysitter. We returned around midnight and we fell asleep by 12:15.

****

1:22 AM: Chance started to cry and would not settle down. We tried cuddling him into our bed. No. We tried singing. No. We tried walking and rocking. No. Water? No! Finally, after about an hour and a half, I gave him a shot of tylenol and tried the water again. He drank half the sippy cup and then belched. I put him in his crib and put a pillow over my head. 5 minutes later he was out like a light. Some other parents were having waking-baby issues too, we could hear them walking up and down the hallway with their little bundle.

7:20 AM: Time to get up, Chance said! After I served Chance a breakfast parfait of banana bread and banana slices (forgot to bring a food dish, silly Mommy!), I took him to the pool and swam for 45 minutes while Cam got a few more winks.

10:00 AM: We were all packed up and ready to go and had a buffet breakfast in the beautiful dining room overlooking Lake Louise. We shared an omelette and Chance had grapes and cheese too.

11:00 AM: We departed Lake Louise and were home by 1:30.


After unpacking Cam took care of Chance while I napped for 40 mins, then we switched off and Cam took his turn grabbing an afternoon nap. I put Chance down for his nap and then woke up Cam. We were pretty lazy today, just watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on television and ate a light supper as we are all feeling a bit bloated after two large meals.

*so* excited!!

Tomorrow we are going to Lake Louise for an overnight stay at the Chateau with Cam's company. I am really looking forward to playing with Chance in the snow and showing him all the cool sights, like the ice carvings, and the mountains, and the horse-drawn sleigh rides, and the giant Christmas tree, and the decorations! We have a babysitter staying with him in the evening while we go to dinner and the dance. Then we will creep into our hotel room and try not to wake him. Hopefully he sleeps well and then in the morning we will go for a family swim at the pool and then have breakfast together before heading home. I hope to get some good family photos!

Here are the videos I took of Chance recently.

1) Chance "cooking" supper with me. He is dressed up in a black t-shirt of mine, he saw me folding laundry and had to have something to dress up in, I guess. He pointed and squealed until I gave him the shirt and then he nearly flipped out trying to put it on. I think he looks like Harry Potter. Or at least Ron Weasley, with the red hair and all!



2) The 2 latest toddlerisms....shaking his head "NO" and having a "conversation".

All is well!

Current news headlines:

Toddler just wants to be naked.
At bath time, Chance can't wait to help peel off his clothes. It is really cute watching him struggle to take his shirt off over his head.

Back-to-work-mom finds work-life balance.
Three and a half weeks into going back to work at Shell, and I'm finally getting it. I am excited to be doing geology again, and looking forward to some new learning opportunities. I'm exercising, eating well, sleeping more or less through the night, and getting to socialize with friends and spend time with Chance by taking occasional Fridays/Mondays off.

Parents gear up for road trip.
We will be zipping away to Meadow Lake in a few weeks. We have been brainstorming as to how to cover the most distance with the least amount of complaining (screaming). We have ditched the midnight drive option on Thursday night in favour of leaving well before the crack of dawn Friday morning instead, banking on hopes that Chance sleeps a lot.

New technology begets new technology.
My new camera is awesome. I love it. There are, however, some limitations to having a higher megapixel camera....like hard drive capacity. A 30 second video runs at 60 megabytes. Ouch. Definitely need to use the lower resolution when taking movies.

Healthy Eating with Uncle Paul

In this video, Chance's Uncle Paul is feeding him BBQ potato chips, much to Chance's delight! We decided that Chance would have to wait a while before he could try the Pepsi, though.



Auntie Jen and Uncle Paul stopped overnight (briefly) before heading off on their honeymoon in Mexico, and they brought my camera back to Calgary with them. So there will be a few videos and photos to upload from our trip to Saskatchewan, but for now, I am going to bed.

I miss you, Chancy!

It's been a while since I uploaded a video. Here's one from last month, but it captures the essence of what a typical morning was like with Chance.

Weekend Without Daddy

div>So far the weekend without Daddy has gone smoothly. I am getting a first-hand reminder of all the things Cam does around the house on weekends/evenings!

1. Dishes and Post-Supper cleanup
2. Diaper changes
3. Piggy back rides to the park
4. Company for Mommy*
5. Bathtime wash up and puppetry
5. PJ duty at bedtime
6. Trash out to the garage
7. Spanking the cat while Mommy comforts Chance following a feline vs. baby cage match**
8. Running bubble baths for Mommy after Chance goes to bed
9. Poking Mommy at 10:30 to tell her to go to bed
10. Making coffee in the morning
11. And many many more things...!


* Very important. Mom got so bored this morning during Chance's nap that she actually answered the door when a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses came by to drop off their magazines. Pretty sure she'll be cursing herself for the next 7 Saturdays when they "pop by" to see how all is going with our spiritual lives...


** The cat has been very good. Chance has been very good. So far. But there have been some close calls. Some pulled whiskers and a scratched nose is probably just around the bend, though.


















Friday morning: do you think he's tired??

And some new items on the menu: Chance is in LOVE with raisins. Silly Mommy, thought since he was enjoying them so much, might as well give him more. Hah, let's just leave it at about 5 dirrrty diapers in a 24 hour period. If Chance as much as sneezed, he was crapping raisins.











Also have been introducing the boy to cutlery. After about 4 attempts with the fork, Chance flings it and gets both hands dug into his food. He's trying. Mom's cleaning the floor. Often.




















On the Move: Chance loves to walk. Preferably with something hard and plastic in his mouth. Removal of said item will cause temper tantrums and back arching. Lovely.

Too cute not to share!

Chance likes to get his groove on these days!

Wild Weekend

Time just flew by this weekend. On Saturday morning Cam went to play paintball and came back with a few welts on his arms and shoulders. On Saturday afternoon Dani went to a friend's stagette party and didn't come home until after midnight!

Sunday morning Chance was a bit grumpy (lately afternoon naps are the enemy). Also we can see 3 teeth that appear very close to erupting, so maybe that's the reason. Anyways, we were busy keeping him occupied. We went for a family walk in Fish Creek Park on Sunday afternoon and left a sleeping Chance in his Chariot while we took a dip in the river. Next time we will remember bathing suits and towels, but it was so warm out that we were both completely dry by the time we got home!

We stopped at a park and Chance took another solo swing - he loves it, he just pulls his little legs up and squeals!










2 videos to share:

Chance fighting sleep at suppertime after he refused to nap all afternoon:





Cam swearing at the cat while Chance is eating dinner (turn the volume up).

Cabin Video

Windchimes at the Cabin:



Gramma's Drum Set:

Growing up fast!

Chance has started to eat “proper” food and I am lucky if I manage to spoon-feed him a few mouthfuls. He is adamant that he does the feeding himself, and despite the messy repercussions, he manages to get most of it in his mouth. The remainder is left smeared on his highchair tray, on the floor, etc. Napping is much better these days and he will take 2 naps per day, each about an hour and a half long. He is also sleeping through the night now. He goes to bed at 8 PM and does not get up until 6 to 7:30. Sometimes he wakes up around 5 and I will open his door a crack and chuck a few pacifiers into the crib, he manages to get one in his mouth and dozes off for another hour or two.

Well the hot weather seems to have moved in for the summer and the forecast is for 32° by the end of the week. We have an inflatable pool set up for Chance in the back yard, each morning I put fresh water in it so that it is nice and warm by the time the afternoon hits. We use the old pool water to water the lawn and garden and flowers in the evening so it does not go to waste.