Miss Em

I know I've said it before, but I can't believe how much Emerson has changed in the last 6-7 months!!  It's so amazing to witness all these changes and all she is learning!  She can be the sweetest little girl in the world at times and at other times not so much ... lol!!  She certainly has her own mind about her ;) 

I LOVE how she says hello to all of us and her teddy and blankie.  Numerous times during the day she'll walk up to me and say, "Hi Mom!" in this sweet, soft little sing-song voice.  Melts my heart :)  She also does the same to Cal when he comes home from work and she'll often pick up her teddy and blankie and say, "Hi teddy.  Hi blankie"  and give them a big hug!!  Adorable!!!  Emerson and I also have this "thing" we do, where I say, "Emerson?" in a soft, quiet, kind of questioning voice and she looks at me and says, "Uh huh?" with a big grin on her face, to which I either say, "I love you Emerson!" or "You're so cute!"  She knows what I'm going to say every time, it's so cute the look she gets on her face ;)

Emerson also has a great love for her brother, as well as her cat and dog.  Every morning when she gets up she says, "Blake?" and walks off to his room to see if he's there.  As soon as she finds him she greets him with, "Hi Blake!"  Every night Blake has to say goodnight to her in her room.  We tried changing it up and having him say goodnight to her downstairs, but that did not go over well!  Once we got to her room she cried his name over and over until he came up to her room!  I often find them "wrestling" during the day, which I used to try to stop, but I don't anymore!!  Reason being, they are both having fun!  I worry that Em will get hurt, but she usually doesn't, and they're both laughing the whole time, so I'm learning to let them be :)  As I said earlier, Em also loves Heidi and Jazz.  She often "talks" to them and gives them many, many hugs and kisses :)  I'd say her favorite animal right now is a puppy.  She points them out everywhere we go and in every book.  "Puppy, puppy!!  Woof, woof!!"  So it is fitting that she is a dalmatian puppy for Halloween :)  And her costume also goes well with Blake's fireman costume!

I know 18 months can be a frustrating age.  There's so much going on in their heads, but they can't always communicate what they want to get across!!  Emerson's favorite way to express her frustrations is to hit ... she'll hit anything and everything in her way.  To tell you the truth, it's hard not to laugh a lot of the time, as she's hitting the pantry, the table, the floor, the couch, etc!!!  But we try not to laugh, because of course we don't want to encourage her hitting.  This is something new for us, as Blake never hit a thing until his sister came along!!!  lol!!  Thankfully we can usually stop her from hitting people by threatening her with a time out.  But I think one day soon we'll have to follow through with a time out, or she'll start pushing her limits more!!

We've had a few people remark at how well Emerson talks.  I know that at 19 months, children can typically use 6 words.  I have no idea how many words Em can use, but it is significantly greater then 6!!!  She's a little chatterbox and uses a lot of 2 word phrases as well! 

Emerson has 14 teeth and #15 and #16 are almost through.  Most recently she cut her top two eye teeth.  The next two on their way are the bottom two eye teeth :S  These teeth have caused Emerson (and Cal and I!) a lot of grief!!!  She's had her hand in her mouth constantly for the past month and is drooling so much, which has given her a bit of a rash around her mouth.  I can't wait for the bottom two to be through!!!  Thank goodness for Advil and Tylenol, which seem to give her some relief.

Emerson is loving the Come Play With Me program at the YMCA!  She LOVES music and dancing and interacting with other kids.  It's so cute how she walks up to the other kids and looks up at them and tries to talk to them!!  And I find it funny how she seems to call most kids between 0 and 2 baby ;)  It's great for Emerson to have some 1 on 1 time with me, but she also has time to wander off by herself and play, which is something she doesn't often do with Blake around most of the time. 

We love you so much Em :)

xoxo

Blake's First Day of Preschool!

Today was the big day!!  And Blake did GREAT!!  When we first arrived, the preschool director was outside the classroom directing everyone.  She introduced herself to Cal and I and talked to Blake while we were putting his indoor shoes on, hanging up his coat and putting his lunch box (for snack time) in the big bin!  Then we went into the classroom to sign him in and do a few more paperworky things!  At the same time one of the teachers came and said hi to Blake and showed him that the color of animal he had on his name tag, was the color of square he was supposed to sit on, on the big area rug in front of the other teacher!  And that was it, he was off to join the other kids and didn't turn back.  We peaked in at him a few times and he did great the entire time.  I was very surprised, there was only 1 girl who cried a bit at the beginning and then again at the end when she saw her Mom!  We didn't count how many kids there were in his class, but I think there was around 18.  Quite a few newbies and some returning preschoolers!  Today Blake made a book mark with his name on it, colored a backpack coloring sheet and learned the letter "I".  They did a worksheet on the letter "I".  At the end of the class the teachers let the kids out one by one (you have to sign them out and in) and when it was Blake's turn he came charging out with his crafts to show us :)  And of course he had to tell us about a few of his favorite songs they sang!  We got a newsletter and calendars for the remainder of the year.  They have some fun days coming up!  Wear your pj's day, wear your favorite team jersey, swimming day (they swim 1 week or 2 classes, out of every month), a Halloween Party and breakfast with Santa!!  We had a great morning and were so proud of our little man :)

Emerson had fun at Come Play With Me.  She was the only kid for awhile, but towards the end others showed up!  We signed Em up for a YMCA membership today.  Just made sense with the cost of the program and swimming lessons!  Today Em sang and danced, played with a bin full of Mr. Potato Heads and blocks and did some coloring :)  At first I think she was a bit overwhelmed with all the attention ... Mom, Dad and the instructor's undivided attention!!  But it was really nice to spend time with just her and it was good for her as well!

Here are a few pictures from our exciting day:

xoxo Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Baby :)

September is here already?!

And I'm 30 weeks pregnant!!  Wowzers!!  I knew this pregnancy (and summer) would go by fast, but wow!  I'm still feeling really tired, but I don't expect that to change anytime soon!  Cal and I both really, really, REALLY need to work on getting to bed earlier, but we've been saying that for years now.  Other then that, I'm doing good!  Still taking 1 dycletin a day ... every time I try to go off of it, I'm sick the next day.  I remember with Blake's pregnancy I finally just went off the dyclectin, even though I was still puking, but this time I just can't feel like that with 2 toddlers to take care of!  And the heart burn has kicked in full force, but is cured by Tums, so it's all good :)  Baby is very active and kicking up a storm!  I have another ultrasound on September 13 to see where the placenta is.  Hopefully it has moved and is no longer low-laying!  Blake often gives the baby (my belly) hugs and kisses and Emerson just likes to pull my shirt up and say baby!!!!

We had a good weekend camping with my parents at Whistler's campground, outside of Jasper.  It is so beautiful there, surrounded by mother nature at its finest :)  The weather was actually quite good.  It rained a bit during the day, but not much.  Blake and Emerson loved running around and seeing Athabasca Falls!!  On Sunday my Mom, Cal, the kids and I went swimming at the indoor pool in Jasper, while my Dad stayed back so supper would be ready and Miss Em could get to bed at a decent time ;)  Blake had a blast on the water slide!!  Emerson had fun, but was way too daring for me!!  She didn't want to be held or even touched in the water and went under a few times (which did not upset her in the least!).  She just wanted to walk around and into water up to her neck and then try to float at random times?!  It was crazy!!  We tried putting a life jacket on her and she was not pleased with that ... although last time we were swimming she loved having the life jacket on!  I'm glad she starts swimming lessons on Saturday and thinking that she might be an early swimmer!!!  Both the kids rode home from Jasper with my parents, so Cal and I had a very quiet trip home :) But I think Heidi was a bit lost without the kids!!!  That was our last camping trip of the year.  We're debating putting our trailer up for sale this week.  We're not taking it out to the storage lot until October, so we're thinking it wouldn't hurt to advertise it for a few weeks?!  If it sells, we'll buy something new this Fall, if not we'll try again in Spring (unless we change our minds by then!!!)!

Blake helped Cal and I prepare everything for his first day of preschool tomorrow.  Earlier in the day he told us he didn't want to go to preschool, but I think we've changed his mind!!  We whispered to him that we better not talk about preschool in front of Em, because she really wants to go but is too young.  That seemed to cause a shift in his attitude!  He was excited to pack a snack in his new Woody and Buzz lunchbox, label his cups and bowls (with Mabels Labels!!!  I LOVE this company!), pack his backpack and pick out his clothes for tomorrow!  We reminded him at bed time that Emerson might be upset when we drop him off, but to tell her it's okay Em, you can go to preschool when you're 3 too!!!  He then suggested that we take Emerson to the play gym across the hall :)  Usually we can't "trick" him, but I think this angle may have worked ;)  We'll see how it goes tomorrow morning!!

And so our busier days begin!!  Preschool Tues and Thur morning, along with Come Play With Me for Em and I.  Thursday is hockey registration for Blake and Saturday Em's swimming lessons start!  We're also looking forward to a visit from Candace, Nicholas and Presley on Wednesday :)

Have a fabulous week everyone!!

xoxo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Baby

Fall?!?

Hmmm ... it appears fall weather is upon us :S  But not the fall weather I enjoy!!  Fall is my favorite season, I love the +10 to +15 degree range, with the sun shining!!  I love fall clothes - light sweaters, hoodies, etc.  And can't forget the adorable hats for the kids!  Hopefully our weather smartens up and we can enjoy a "proper" fall!

We've had a great 2 weekends and the week in between!  Last Saturday afternoon we enjoyed the Canadian Derby at Northlands Park with the Parenteau's.  Cal and I love the race track and Blake and Emerson enjoyed seeing horses (Em ran towards them, pointing and saying, "horsie, horsie, horsie!!) and the kids area in the middle of the track.  Blake went on a pony ride, got an airbrushed "tattoo" on his arm and had fun jumping around in the bouncy houses.  Cal came away $20 poorer, but that's not so bad!! 

On Tuesday we enjoyed a visit to the Edmonton Valley Zoo with Grandma D, Auntie Lesley, Colby and Jenna.  We always have fun walking/running around the zoo!  We visited with 2 owls and Lucy, who were out for a walk around the zoo!  I wish I would have brought my camera, but my Mom did get this cute picture of Colby and Blake:

Blake rode one of the ponies at the zoo and we all had fun on the train ride!

Emerson had her 18 month pediatrician visit on Wednesday morning.  She was really good in the waiting room and then we got called into the office and that was it - she was mad!!  But Dr. Radisic and his nurse are awesome and we got through the appointment with her clinging to me ;)  Dr. Radisic said all his 18 month check-ups are like that, but Blake's sure wasn't!!!  But Emerson is healthy and doing great, which we're very thankful for!  The Dr. was quite impressed with her vocabulary!  In part, I think we have Blake to thank for that!  I told him we thought she'd never walk, but she did at 15 months and he said that the average age to begin walking is 14 months.  Although I hear about kids walking earlier rather then later, so maybe Canadians are early walkers (overall)??!  lol!!  Wednesday evening I had a great dinner out with a few of my New Mom's Group friends.  We ate a delicious dinner at Sorentino's in St. Albert.  Yummy!!  And wonderful company :)  It's so nice to get together with this awesome group of ladies :)

Thursday evening was a busy one!  Cal had a fantasy football draft at a pub on the south side with his buddy Sean at 7 pm and Blake had his last Bobber's lesson at the YMCA from 6 to 6:30.  And Emerson goes to bed around 6.  So thank goodness for family being within driving distance!!  My Mom came over and put Em to bed for us and we were able to attend everything!  Thanks so much Mom ... again :)  I feel like we should just send a weekly thank you shout-out to you and Dad!!  Never mind weekly, maybe it should be daily?!  It will be great when we're living even closer, because they sure do a lot of driving to see us and help us out.  Thanks again, it is always very much appreciated!  Blake had fun during his last lesson.  They basically just played games and sang songs!  One of his favorite games is Chop, Chop, Timber.  The instructor always asks what kind of tree they want to be and Blake is usually a strawberry, blueberry, apple or dinosaur tree!!  Blake will be in Bobber's again in the fall.  We have him on a wait list for Wednesdays from 5 to 5:30, starting in September and if he doesn't get into that session, he'll start mid-October on the same day and time.  We did find the 6 o'clock lesson a bit too late, because now that we don't give him naps he's in bed between 6:30 and 7 and the winding down from swimming kept him up a bit too late!  Emerson is also registered in swimming lessons.  Her class is called Bubblers and it begins on September 11, from 11 to 11:30.  Emerson LOVES the water and has no fear in the water!!!  She flops around like a slippery fish ;)

This weekend we are very excited to say that we outfitted Blake in head to toe hockey gear!!  We thought we would just look at United Cycle, but there was a huge hockey sale and we realized that this is the better way to go vs. a boxed set at Canadian Tire, etc.  United Cycle fits each individual piece to the player.  And the customer service was phenomenal, which we think really helped Blake enjoy the whole process!  The first thing he did was get fitted for a pair of skates.  After they were laced up he stood up and walked around the skate department!  We were so impressed!!!  He wasn't even very wobbly, didn't complain, etc!  He was grinning from ear to ear :)  After the skate decision was made, we headed over the equipment area where a nice young lady made sure each piece of equipment fit right.  So he's all ready to go and hockey registration is September 9th.  Cal is excited to help out as a Coach!  Blake is also really excited and has been trying on his equipment every day.  Yesterday he wore his helmet to Toys R Us (but we asked him to leave it in the van while we were in the store!)!!  Originally, we thought Blake could take some skating lessons this year and possibly start hockey next year, but after talking to a few friends whose son's started hockey at 3, we decided to give it a shot.  The first couple of years are spent, for the most part, learning skating skills.  He will be on the ice every Saturday from 11 to noon at the KC Arena (behind Old Navy on the NS)!  Here's a preview of Blake in his equipment:  

Sunday we had a pretty low-key day.  Blake and I accomplished a lot of small errands though, which were nice to check of the ever-growing to do list! 

Today we enjoyed a family swim at Servus Centre.  Blake had a blast on the water slides and we all had fun splashing around, floating in the "river" and playing!  This afternoon we went to Costco and Blake picked out his Halloween costume.  He's going to be a fireman, that is if the costume survives until Oct. 31st!  He was wearing it from the time we got home until bedtime and I can see this being a trend!!  We're not sure what Emerson will be this year, but we'll have to get hers soon too.  Everywhere seems to sell out of "good" costumes so early!

This week we'll be getting ready for our last camping trip of the year.  Our annual September long Jasper trip!  We love camping in Jasper and can't wait to do the usual sight seeing!!  We're leaving Friday morning and coming home Monday afternoon.  Blake is going to ride to Jasper with Grandma and Grandpa, which he's really excited about :)  After this trip, Cal will be winterizing the trailer and off to storage it will go!  We're not sure what next year's camping season will bring ... with 3 kids in our small(ish) trailer!  We'll definitely do some camping, but how much - we're not sure!  We've loved our camping trips this year, although I have found the packing and un-packing process much more tiring, as I've found everything since being pregnant with 2 toddlers!!  We have debated buying a new trailer, but we'll see what's in the stars (or more likely the bank account) :)

Next week is going to be a BIG week in our house!!  Our baby boy has his first day of preschool on Tuesday.  Where in the world has the time gone?!  Next week it's preschool and before we know, I'll be blogging about his high school grad!!  I find it very hard to let go ... I worry about the kids feelings being hurt, about them being physically hurt and not being comforted by someone, of them feeling scared, lonely, about people not getting to know the "real Blake" or the "real Em", etc, etc.  But I know parents have to let go and have a little faith in the world.  And so I will ... but I may have a tear in my eye Tuesday morning ;)  Cal is off on Tuesday, so it will be nice to both be able to bring him to his first day of school.  He's not entirely excited about it, but we're hoping the first day will go well.  He is excited about the crafts, so we're playing that up as much as possible :)  He doesn't do well going potty for anyone other then us or Grandma and Grandpa D, so hopefully he'll get used to that, although I'm sure he'll probably just hold it for the 2 hours he's in school!!  I know he'll love preschool, once he gets into the routine.  He really enjoys playing with others, as well as music, arts and crafts, reading, and learning.  At the same time Blake is in preschool (called Fun Factory at the YMCA) there is a program called Come Play With Me in the indoor play gym.  I'm excited to take Em to this program and the new baby when it arrives!!

We went shopping to our favorite store yesterday - Indigo!!  We're a family of bookworms and the awesome kids section makes the store even better :)  Cal and I came home with quite a bit of reading to be done ... we bought 2 books about raising toddlers (1-2-3 Magic and The Happiest Toddler on the Block) and 2 books for enjoyment (the 3rd book in the Stieg Larsson series, which we LOVE) and a book, called Long Way Round, about a road trip Ewan Macgregor and his friend took on motorcylces across the world (sorry, I'll be honest - I'm too lazy to go upstairs and find out the authors of all these books!).  Cal tells me there's a second book they wrote about when they go from Northern Ireland to South Africa.  I'm looking forward to finishing the above mentioned "toddler" books - Blake and Emerson continue to amaze (most importantly!) and challenge us on a daily basis!  I'm almost done the Happiest Toddler on the Block and hope that by utilizing these new "tools" I can help to prevent a few tantrums ;)  Cal's turn to read it next!!

Wishing everyone the best "back to school" week possible!!  Take care :)

Love,

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Baby

UC Baby :)

After re-scheduling two times, we finally had our UC Baby appointment on Thursday :)  I was 28 weeks exactly on Thursday.  The appointment was great!!  It is so amazing to see our little one moving around, making different facial expressions, sucking its toe, yawning, opening its eyes, etc. 

UC Baby is always an amazing experience!!  Blake did great at the appointment, watched the t.v. screen off and on and played or had a snack the rest of the time!  Emerson wasn't into it at all, she spent the majority of her time cuddling Grandma D and Dad!  She's so funny, it seems like she really doesn't like me laying on a table being "examined" in anyway!!  Blake talked to Grandpa during the ultrasound and told him the baby was dancing around ;)  It's hard to say who the baby looks the most like, since Blake and Em looked pretty much identical at birth.  I think the baby has a chin more like mine (more pointy vs. wide!).  In some pictures I thought it looked like a boy and in some like a girl!  We really have no idea!!  You could clearly see the babies eyebrows and hair on its head.  The ultrasound tech said it has a very fine covering of hair and she thinks it will be light in color?!  We shall see ...  She also predicted the baby will be around 7 lbs 6 oz, but I'm not putting any money on that, considering she said the exact same thing with Blake and Em and she also told Lesley her daughter would be that weight!!!  And guess what?  All 3 babies were under 7 lbs!  Although I wouldn't be surprised if this one is bigger then Blake and Em, I would be surprised if it was smaller!  I also had a Dr. appointment on Thursday.  I'm measuring right at 28 weeks and at the appointment the babies hr was around 135.  At UC Baby it was 146, but maybe that was due to all the sugar it was receiving from all the lollipops I was sucking on to get it to "dance"!!?  I've gained 3 kg, which I have no idea how many lbs that translates to.  It's hard to believe I am 28 weeks already.  Time continues to pass faster and faster and faster and I'm sure after this baby arrives it will go even faster :S  We hope everyone is having a great weekend, we're off to the Canadian Derby when Emerson wakes up from her nap!

Take care,

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Baby

Emerson's 18 Month Immunizations

I can't believe how well she did!!  She really surprised me!  Very few tears were shed.  Although the nurse did comment on the nasty looks Em was giving her!  lol!!  Blake was very good and even hummed for Em while she was getting her shots :)  Emerson now weighs 23 lbs and is 31" long.  She's in the 25th %tile for weight, height and head circumference.  I weighed Blake too and he was 40.2 lbs.  I think we'll start looking at booster seats for him.  They're quite convenient and really easy for him to get in and out of, which in turn helps us!!  Talk to you again soon :)

Tracy

Em's 18 Months Old!!

It's hard to believe our little girl turned 18 months old yesterday. It's been an amazing 18 months!! Wow ... hard to explain or put into words. I'm sure all the other parents out there know what I mean :)

Em has grown and changed so much since her 1st birthday!  She's a walkin' and a talkin' up a storm!!  We love hearing her words and can't believe how many she says.  She is definitely more of a parrot then Blake was, and I think she is saying quite a bit more then average, due to having a big brother to mimic!!  Today my Mom came over for a visit and Em greeted her at the door with, "Hi Grandma!"  Em is a very happy little girl, but will certainly let you know when she's not or when there's something she wants.  She seems to have a bit of the Smith stubborn streak in her ... !  I love her "Uh Huh's" and "Uh Uh's" at appropriate times ;)  Em loves to read books, sometimes by herself and often with us.  If she wants us to read her a book she gathers her blankie and teddy, grabs a book and says "books", comes over to where ever we are, backs into our laps and says, "Sit?"  We just love it, it's so stinkin' cute!!  She knows the names of quite a few books, for example "Stop Train Stop" she calls "Stop" "Goodnight Moon" she calls "Moon" and the touch and feel Dinosaur book we have she calls "Saur"!!  Today Blake was watching Dinosaur Train and she pointed to the screen and said, "Saur!"  We do a lot of counting with Blake and Em is picking up on it!  Often when we start counting she puts up her hands and tries to count her fingers!!  She likes to say, "Two!"  As I've said before, Em also loves music and dancing!  She sure can shake her little hips!!  lol!  We think she's one smart little cookie :)

Emerson has her 18 month immunizations tomorrow morning and her 18 month pediatrician appointment next week.  I'm not looking forward to these appointments, as she really doesn't like any type of "medical" environment!  But, she hasn't been weighed and measured in ages, so I'm looking forward to seeing those numbers!!  We're also going to have Blake weighed tomorrow.  Hopefully he's a few pounds over 40 and we can permanently move him to a booster seat!!

Take care everyone, talk to you soon.

Tracy