Whew... what a weekend!

As you can see from the title, this past weekend was no different than any other. It was a little busier, but still, the time flew by so quickly. And before I know it, it's Sunday night and we're trying to get ready for the work week ahead!

We did have a great weekend... Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Days Parade in Stony Plain. We met up with some family and friends on the route and it was so great to see the kids enjoying it! At last year's parade, Colby was just 6 months old, so this year was quite a different experience. He sat contently through the entire thing just watching everything pass by. He sure enjoyed seeing the "wee ooh wee ooh" (aka fire truck)!! After the parade, we headed to the fair grounds for some kiddie fun! They had a kids zone there with a petting zoo, face painting, tractors, and toys. Colby liked the goats, but wasn't such a huge fan of the other animals! He also enjoyed the slide and digging in the big bucket of oats for toys! We came home for a very overdue nap mid-afternoon. While he napped, we got ready for our evening out at Kathryn and Santiago's wedding reception. This was the wedding we didn't attend in Colombia, so we were excited to go to the reception. It was absolutely gorgeous... beautiful location, they looked great, and the video of the wedding ceremony in Medellin was beautiful. Colby enjoyed a sleepover at Auntie Kristy and Uncle Kyle's house and behaved very well, by the sounds of things! As he usually does, he slept in for them this morning... until 8:20 am!!! Hmmm, we can't get him to sleep past 7:15 most weekend mornings... :) Today (Sunday) included attending a baby shower for my cousin's wife and son, heading to school for a very productive 1 1/2 hours, and then home for dinner and a quick visit to my parents' house before bathtime and bedtime.

I really actually enjoy bathtime with Colby... he is such a kid of routine that he knows exactly what's coming and is usually very well behaved at bedtime. Often, he'll pick out a book, lay down on his back for his diaper, jammies, lotion, etc., and then climb into the rocker for a story or two. It's definitely some great cuddly time with Mommy or Daddy!!

We brought out Colby's potty this morning! I know he's only 18 months (well, not quite), but as his vocabulary is growing, he has been saying "Poopy bum", getting cranky, and holding his diaper right after he poops. So we set it up in the bathroom for him to explore and get used to. I'm not going to pursue anything until I'm home this summer, so in about a month or so. I really don't think it'd be good to try anything while he's still going to the dayhome. He has definitely been showing signs of readiness, so we'll see what the near future brings!!

Speaking of his vocabulary, our little man continues to bring smiles, laughter and joy to our lives every minute. He is talking like crazy (I think my list was about 25 words long) and it's SO adorable! While he still really likes the word "no", he is defintely saying more than just no these days. I love how excited he gets to see Mommy and Daddy and I love watching him play and interact! He continues to do so well at the dayhome, which brings me peace when going to work. I'm really looking forward to being home in a month (20 teaching days to be exact!) with him before the baby comes. He has grown so much and quickly in the past few months that I just want to hang out, read, play, bake, clean, and the list goes on... together! He loves to clean and it's really quite cute how much he loves the vacuum cleaner. Colby needed to do most of the vacuuming in his room today (without Daddy's help!) so of course, I quickly snapped a few photos! Good scrapbooking topic, right?!

Anyway, I better go get organized for tomorrow... we are loving the warmer weather lately and now, would just like for the wind to go away!! Enjoy your week, everyone!
Lesley

Busy, busy!

I can't believe how quicky time flies by! They say "Time flies when you're having fun" and while I believe that's true, I also believe that time flies by when you're exhausted!! That explains the past few weeks for me... May and June are always very busy times with school and with report cards looming ahead, I have found myself up quite late most nights by the time Colby is in bed, the house is somewhat cleaned up, and school work is kind of done.

Our weekends have been really busy lately! It seems like they fly by so quickly too. I look forward to our weekends together as a family because sadly, we have such little time together during the week. One of the highlights of May so far was our first camping trip for 2009! We went to Cynthia RV Campground (west of Drayton Valley) on May Long. While we had fairly nice weather for most of the weekend, we got a huge surprise on Monday morning with about 8" of heavy, wet snow!! Yuck!! What a mess to clean up and pack in! I've never seen snow like that on May Long before, so hopefully now we're finally on to spring!!! Colby absolutely loved being outdoors, doing whatever! He enjoyed going for walks, playing at the park, playing in his "wee ooh, wee ooh" (aka fire truck), driving Landon's quad, and running around in general! It's so great to see him playing so well outside... I think he'll definitely need a big boy quad in the future!! He sure enjoyed the two little rides Mommy took him on the quad! Thankfully Colby sleeps really well in the trailer and even let us sleep in until 7:30 one morning!!!! Thank goodness for bed rails on the bunk bed, but apparently that couldn't even keep our monkey in! When I went to check on him at naptime, he had jumped out of the bed over the bed rail and was fast asleep on the blankets and cushions we had on the floor, just in case! Thank goodness they were there!!

Colby continues to amaze us everyday with his growing personality. He sure can be a stubborn little boy sometimes. Gerry thinks he gets that from his Mom... could he be right?! :) When he wants something, he will fight until he gets it or gets too tired to keep fighting. He is also teething right now with some more eye teeth, so he hasn't been the happiest kid on the block for a couple of days. He is talking more and more! It's unbelievable how much he imitates us! He loves to say new words and I think it's great!! I love hearing him say new words!! What a great little man we have! :)

I had another doctor appointment last week and everything is fine with our little baby. The heart beat was down to 132 bpm (it was never that low with Colby), but still in the normal range. I was measuring 23 cm already... at 21 weeks!!! Yikes!! I knew I felt bigger this pregnancy, but not that much. Oh well, hopefully it will all even itself out!! :) I'm feeling a lot of movement, which is one of my favourite things about pregnancy. I love feeling the baby move and kick... such a special feeling. Besides being pretty tired with work, I'm feeling great. Only 5 more weeks of school left until I'm home with Colby and preparing for Baby!! :) Yippee!!

Tomorrow night, I am having a girls night out with a bunch of girlfriends... we are heading to Sexy Gals in the City at Jubilations!! I'm really looking forward to it and I think it will be a great time! The weather is supposed to warm up this weekend too, so fingers crossed for sunshine and no more snow!! :)

Lesley

Baby's ultrasound!

I'm becoming really bad at keeping up with these blog posts, so please forgive me! I really don't know where the time goes, but every evening seems to be jam-packed lately with housework, let alone keeping up with planning, marking, and report cards! Our weekends have been very busy lately... with company, family time, and things around the house. We had our carpet installed in the basement a couple of weeks ago, so we are very excited to finally have more usable space in our house! It's amazing how much room it adds! We went to IKEA a couple of weekends ago and got a large storage cabinet for the basement. It now houses a lot of Colby's toys, which has made a lot more room upstairs! Colby is absolutely loving the new play area! He wants to play downstairs whenever we're at home, which is great! Next steps include painting and installing the doors and baseboards. One day.....!

Colby is growing so much! I'm really curious to see how tall he is and how much he weighs in about a month when he goes for his 18 month immunizations. He is a solid little boy, so I'm curious to see just how big he has become! He sure is heavy when I pick him up and carry him for a bit!! Things are going so well with the dayhome situation! He is SO happy to play with Connor all day! My cousin, Leanne, comes and gets him in the morning when she drops off Christian for school, and then I pick up Christian and go to their house to bring Colby home. Colby is very excited when Auntie Leanne comes in the morning and can't get out the door fast enough it seems! Rather sad for Mommy, but it's good that he's excited to go to their house, too. It's a great system and I'm glad it's working. It cuts down on the driving and the extra trip to Spruce Grove and back in the morning! Colby's vocabulary is expanding rapidly these days! He is trying to imitate everything we say and do, which is really cute! I am really looking forward to the beginning of summer when I will be home with Colby all day. I'm can't wait for the time with just the two of us before the baby comes in September!

Speaking of the new baby in September, we went to our ultrasound on Monday, May 4th! It was great to see the newest little baby Cameron! We didn't find out the sex (and didn't want to). The ultrasound tech said its legs were together and it was moving around too much to tell. We didn't get a very good photo to bring home because it kept moving all over. It's always fun to watch it for a few minutes after all measurements and checks are done. The heartbeat was 143 bpm. It was moving and kicking and I really enjoy watching it on the screen! Gerry and Colby came into the room after the measurements, etc. Colby didn't really know what to think... he was a bit hesitant to come into the room (as it's a bit dark in there), and was confused why I was lying on the bed. He did watch the screen with Gerry holding him and said "Baby" a few times. I'm not sure if he really quite understands yet, but I'm hoping that as we continue to talk about the baby more and my belly continues to grow, it will become more of a reality for him. We are going to get him a little baby friend to help foster some "gentleness" in our little man!

I'm hoping Gerry is feeling better soon... he came home from work today with what we think is the flu. Hopefully it's not the swine flu! He doesn't get sick very often, but when he does, it hits him hard! Poor guy, hopefully he can rest lots tomorrow when the house is quiet and be back to 100% very soon.

Take care everyone. Talk soon,
Lesley

Busy little man!

Colby is on the go every minute that he is awake! It's very fun to play with him, but also very tiring sometimes! Being pregnant doesn't help that either, I suppose! LOL! He amazes us with his vocabulary... he is beginning to imitate things that we say, so we'll need to begin to be more careful with our own speech. He is saying a lot these days... I love it! It's SO cute! He is curious about everything and continually asks, "dat?" "dis?" as he wonders what everything is. He has learned a few new words recently including "cookie" and "poopy". I asked him one day if he was poopy and he looked down at his diaper and said, "poopy" right after me!!

We are really looking forward to moving some toys down into the basement this weekend, as we get carpet down there this week! We will slowly continue to finish it up with trim, baseboards, etc., but it will be great to begin using it at this new stage of development! Gerry has been working really hard and has impressed me with his carpentry skills! He has built a beam around some pipes on the roof, as well as a box surrounding the electrical box. Very nice job! Who knew he was such a carpenter!?

After a couple of weeks in transition between child care, Colby is now settling into being with Auntie Leanne and Connor! Connor and Colby were at Becky's house together and play so well together, so I'm glad things are going well already for her too! We are still having our difficulties with sleeping. For a couple of weeks now, Colby has been waking up and it has been very difficult putting him back to sleep in the very early hours of the morning. It is often around 4 or 4:30 am that he wakes up crying. We were giving him milk to put him back to sleep, but this has turned into quite a bad habit. So now we are using the "cry it out" method to put himself back to sleep. Let me say, it has not been pleasant. I'd really like to get him back on his normal schedule of sleeping until 7:00ish. That would be great, as we're all losing sleep right now!!

School is going well... I can't believe there are only 10 weeks left until summer vacation! Then it's 14 months off for me!! :) This pregnancy is perfect timing with the school year! I'm feeling pretty well, but just having a hard time keeping up with school work, housework, being a mom, wife, etc.! It's all about finding a balance, I'm learning! I sure don't know how other teachers teach full-time and have more than one child! One is hard enough for me right now!! But it's all worth it!

Take care,
Lesley

Happy Easter!

What a great weekend it was! We spent Friday and Saturday together doing some family things and doing a bit of shopping. We finally found a new spring coat for Colby... so difficult this time of year, as everything out right now is summer stuff!! Anyway, his other one was not going to make it through the spring/summer seasons, so this one will be much better. On Friday morning, Colby and I went to the Tri Leisure Centre and met Tracy and Blake for a playdate in the playgym. Emerson went for a walk with her grandma, but we were happy to see her for a short time too (even though she slept the whole time!!) It seems like we don't see the Edmonton Cameron's nearly often enough and I can't believe how quickly the kids are growing! Gerry stayed home and worked in the basement for a while until we came home. We get carpet next week, so there are a few projects he'd like to finish up before they come for the installation! Yippee!

Easter Sunday was a long (and tiring) day! It started bright and early (as always with Colby). It was fabulous to see the look on his face when he saw what the Easter Bunny had brought for him! He knew Colby loves the 'cars' at the playgym, so he got one of his very own!! It's a fire truck! Even better than a car! He enjoyed going through his Easter basket to see the other goodies he got. The best part of the morning was our Easter Egg Hunt! I wasn't sure how he would do with this, but he surprised us! He picked up his basket and went all over the living room picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket. SO cute!! I love holidays with little kids... priceless!! It was off to church and then to Auntie Colleen's house for dinner. Yum!! It was great to see some of their family from the Beller side, too! We stayed for the afternoon and early evening and had a great time. Colby would not take a nap, so he played outside for quite a long time while we waited for Landon to wake up for another Easter Egg Hunt. Again, so much fun! The boys got some new toys from the Easter Bunny at some more houses! Lucky little guys! The new golf clubs are a huge hit! It was such a beautiful day... we enjoyed sitting out on the patio furniture soaking up some sun! :)

It has been great spending 4 days with Colby this Easter break. However, I haven't done anything for school work this weekend... oh well! Will get to it tonight, I guess! :) He is growing and changing so quickly that I can't wait for the weekends to spend more time with him. I am really looking forward to the summer (and then all of next year too!) when we'll be home together! He is beginning to talk a lot more now (in his own language of course), but is also able to say about 10 words now. He comprehends everything we say, which is also really fun to see! He's one smart cookie! :)

Anyway, we hope everyone enjoyed a great Easter holiday with family and friends. Take care and enjoy the beautiful spring weather!!

Lesley

Back from California!

We had a very busy end of March leading up to a fabulous Spring Break! I had report cards due and Parent-Teacher Interviews, so sadly, it seemed like I wasn't home very much! I was really looking forward to leaving everything at school and not thinking about anything but family time on Spring Break!

We left for Sunny San Diego, California on Saturday, March 28th (at a very early 3:00 am). Colby surprised us and did very well flying on all four flights! He was great the first day we arrived at the hotel and did some walking and swimming... until about 8:30 that night. He began vomiting after dinner while he was asleep. What a mess! He has never really vomited a lot before, so it was quite scary for him! He was fine the rest of the night, but in the morning, we could tell he wasn't quite himself. He came around and seemed to enjoy Sea World, but was not at all interested in eating all day. Thankfully, he drank a lot to stay hydrated. No more vomiting on Sunday, but on Monday morning, he couldn't keep down water or dry toast. So off to the Rady Children's Hospital we went. Turns out he has an ear infection and a touch of a stomach virus. He began feeling much better after an anti-vomit tablet and his antibiotics. Thank goodness for health insurance!!

We absolutely loved Sea World! The Shamu show took the cake! The look on Colby's face during the Shamu show was priceless... worth every penny! The rest of the trip was great too. We enjoyed a day driving around San Diego, seeing the major sites like La Jolla (the "Beverly Hills of San Diego") and Coronado (a beautiful island connected to the mainland with the largest bridge I've ever seen!) We also took in the zoo and got quite a workout walking around there!! Whew! It was very neat to see animals we've never seen before.... like our favorites, the polar bears and panda bears! :) We did a lot of walking around our hotel, which was located right on Mission Bay. The weather was great... no snow and lots of palm trees! What else could you ask for!

We flew from San Diego to Denver on Wednesday afternoon. However, we left a few minutes late and then had to circle Denver for 45 minutes! So... we missed our connecting flight home to Edmonton. They were great at United... already had a hotel and shuttle booked for us and had us on the next flight home in the morning... in First Class no less!! It was wonderful! Gerry says, "I can't go back now... I can only fly First Class now!" LOL! It was nice to finally be home after many hours of airports, flying, etc. All in all, a wonderful holiday and although it went by way too quickly (as they all do!), it was so great to spend quality time with just the three of us!

We saw a t-shirt at the zoo that said "I am a monkey"... we definitely thought it was meant for him! He is climbing on anything and everything in sight these days! He can now climb from the kitchen chair onto the table and from the couch onto the arm of the couch! Scary... needless to say, he's not allowed to do that anymore! He thinks it's hilarious though, and giggles like crazy when he's up there!! It's amazing to me how much Colby comprehends. While he isn't saying a whole lot of words (that we can understand), he understands complete sentences from us, which is so neat! I love hearing him speak in his language... I think he picked up his love of talking from him Mommy!! With his big blue eyes, big grin, and his growing hair (including the many, many curls), he is the cutest kid around! (Well, I am a little biased!!) :)

I'm feeling pretty well... just about 15 weeks now. I'm at the awkward stage of regular clothes not fitting and maternity clothes being too large. Hopefully one day soon I'll actually 'look' pregnant and not just fat!!

Well it's back to work now after Spring Break and three more months to go until I'm off for quite a while! I am excited to spend the summer with Colby playing outside, which he loves to do and going for lots of walks! He gets mad when it's time to come inside! Thank goodness for his Diego rubber boots, which he loves! I'm not going back to work in the fall and will begin my maternity leave at the end of August (when all other teachers go back). So I'll get a nice 14 months off this time (with the way summers and my due date falls)! :)

Anyway, this has been quite the novel, so hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather... we certainly are! We're getting anxious for camping season to begin now!!

Take care,
Lesley

Big Brother!!!

Yes, it's finally official and out for the world to know... we are ecstatic to announce that Colby will be a Big Brother!! I am 3 months pregnant and am due on September 30th! We are very excited about the addition to our family! Colby has been pretty cute with it... he doesn't really understand, but on occasion, he will point to my tummy when he's asked, "Where's the baby?" So cute! We will need to get him a pretend little baby to practice being gentle around. I don't think little boys at the age of 15 months have the word or meaning of "gentle" in their vocabulary quite yet! We'll see... I've been feeling fine, actually too fine. Already putting on the weight because I'm eating so much! Such is life being pregnant, I suppose!! :) Only more to come! I had my first prenatal appointment this afternoon and the baby's heartbeat was 170... very fast! Colby's also started out very high (in the 160's, I think). We'll see if the wives tales have anything to do with dictating the sex of the baby this time!

Colby is one crazy little boy... he is such a chatterbox, I love it! I just wonder what he is talking about all the time!! LOL! He surprises us with new things he can do all of the time! At my parents' house today, he was standing on the floor, and the next second, sitting up on a kitchen chair. He pulled himself up and got on the chair!! So quick, this one!!

We are trying to get somewhat organized for our San Diego Spring Break trip, but it's not going so well. The list is still very long... and we leave next Saturday morning. While I'm excited, there are other things that are quite draining right now, like report cards and Parent-Teacher Interviews next week. Can't wait for a wonderful holiday with just the three of us!

Anyway, we are going to a wedding this weekend and Colby is going for a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's. He absolutely loves playing there, so it will be a nice change for him. He'll have fun there... I'm just crossing my fingers he sleeps well, too!! Have a great rest of the week, everyone!

Lesley
xoxo