18 months tomorrow!!

Today Blake had his 18 month pediatrician appointment. We didn't weigh him again, since he'd just been weighed about 3 weeks ago when Cal took him in due to his ear infection. At that time he was 26 lbs. And I'm feelin' all 26 lbs when I pick him up!! LOL! I'm sure at his 18 month immunizations on Nov. 14 they will weigh and measure him again. The Dr. appointment went well for the most part. I felt good when I left because I'd actually written a list of questions down and I asked them ALL! Sometimes I have a million questions and then don't ask them all and regret it. So I asked about Blake's eating habits (he eats and eats and eats and eats and eats some more), which is apparently not exactly "normal" (most kids become quite picky by this age) but nothing to be concerned about since his size is average and he's not overweight at all. I also asked about his sleeping habits, which are really good but we thought maybe he was needing a bit too much sleep, but the Dr. said it's fine and really good for Blake (not to mention US!)!! So we'll continue on as we have been. We certainly know he needs his sleep! And Blake's ears ... he has another slight infection. Boo :( Dr. Radisic didn't prescribe any antibiotics yet, he asked us to keep an eye on him and call in if things get worse. We're hoping it will clear up. Apparently a lot of ear infections do clear up on their own. It hasn't affected him really yet, I've just noticed him pulling at his ears a bit and that's why I suspected something may be up. We'll see how he does in the next 6 months and if the ear infections continue to be a repeat problem we will be referred to an E.N.T. Hopefully he will grow out of these ear infections soon. Other than that, all is great with Blake! He was talking away to the Pediatrician and his resident and had a great time playing in the waiting room! His word of the day is, "Hello!" Whenever we say, "Hi!" to him he says, "Hello!" It's so cute!! He's also saying, "Thank you!" at appropriate times. We love listening to him talk and it's even better when we recognize a word!!! Today when I picked him up from Karen's he was jabbering away with Vanessa. It was absolutely adorable to see :) When I'm on maternity leave we're going to continue to take Blake to the day home (probably 1 day a week). He has so much fun there and I think he'd really miss playing with Vanessa. It's hard to believe our little boy will be 18 months old tomorrow. It's been an amazing 18 months!! Wow ... hard to explain or put into words. I'm sure all the other mother's out there know what I mean :) Take care everyone, talk to you soon.

Luv Cal, Tracy & Blake

Cal, Tracy & Blake

26 Weeks!!

Wow! This pregnancy is FLYING by!!! My goodness, where is the time going? I had a Dr. appointment today. They were quite busy and I didn't get in until 1hr after my appointment time!! That is unusual, as I usually get in pretty much on time. I was a bit impatient today and wanted to get home, so of course it was the one day they're running really behind. My gestational diabetes test came back fine, but my iron is low. It was 95 and apparently your iron should be between 120 and I can't remember the other number! So anyways, I went to the drug store tonight and bought iron supplements and will start taking them tonight. I suppose that could be why I'm feeling quite a bit more tired than I remember being at this point in time with Blake. Hopefully I'll notice an improvement as my iron gets back up to where it should be. I finally feeling like I'm growing and "popping"! I will post a picture as soon as I can! I still have heartburn all the time, no matter what I eat and my arms are starting to fall asleep at night. Most days when I wake up I have a lot of pain in my right wrist, which lasts sometimes until about noon. The Dr. suggested getting a carpal tunnel splint from the drug store, but guess what - I happen to work with a great Occupational Therapist who can make them in her sleep! LOL! AND I just happen to finish these splints for her all the time, so when we have time we'll make one for me! So right now those are my only pregnancy complaints! And the fact that it's passing by in a blur. I see the Dr. again in 3 weeks and then start going every 2 weeks. Cal and I have decided to start getting the babies room ready this weekend. Right now it is full of odds and ends. A lot of the stuff in there is ready to be dropped off at Goodwill and the other stuff we'll move to the basement for now. We're going to paint the room (a neutral color) and start looking at furniture. I'd like to be done the room by Christmas! It will be fun pulling out all the itty bitty onesies and sleepers again and putting them away in the drawers, etc, etc! Oh and the Dr. couldn't get an accurate heart rate today because the baby was kicking like crazy!! This child is really, really active!! I thought Blake moved a lot, but not as much as this one does. I say it's kicking all the time because a lot of the time it's big brother is squishing it! Seriously, I think that's the reason!! And that is what's new with Baby! Tomorrow Blake has a pediatrician appointment and I'll let you know how that goes :)

Luv Tracy

Happy Halloween!!

What an original title?! We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!! We had a great day. This afternoon Blake and I went to a party with our New Mom's group. It was a lot of fun and boy are our kids cute! I unfortunately forgot my camera, so hopefully a few of the mom's will email me some pictures. There's been quite a change from our Halloween party last year. Last year the kids weren't mobile, but this year they're all over the place and some are fighting over toys!! Makes it a bit more interesting of a party! After the Halloween party we came home and waited for Cal and my parents to arrive. Cal had to stop and buy more Halloween candy, as we'd put a bit of a "dent" in what we had. My parents came over and played with Blake for awhile and took some pictures. He was putting on quite the performance! Then Cal and I took Blake to his godparents house and when we got home Cal took Blake around to a few of the neighbours' houses and I handed out candy and made supper. Blake was pretty tired by the time he got back so we had supper and the little monster went to bed! It was a fun day :) Too bad they only wear their costumes for the day - they look so cute in them! I was quite surprised that Blake didn't try and take off his costume at all. I thought for sure he'd be trying to take the hood off!! Not too much else is new. I did the gestational diabetes test on Thursday. It wasn't quite as bad as I remember it being, but I think that may be because with Blake I was a lot more sick and I remember trying my hardest not to throw up while drinking the sugary orange stuff! This time it was still gross, but not as bad as I remembered! I have a Dr. appointment on Monday afternoon and Blake has his 18 month Pediatrician appointment on Tuesday afternoon. We'll see how much he weighs now! He certainly feels quite heavy. We were discussing our children's sizes when we met up with our New Mom's group at the play gym last week and everyone was quite surprised to hear that Blake weighed 26 lbs!! He still looks skinnier than most of the kids, but weighs more! Not sure where he keeps his weight?! On Friday (Nov. 7) I'm taking Blake for his 18 month photos at Sears in the a.m. and then in the afternoon we're going wedding dress shopping with Lindsay!! Yay!!! It's going to be so fun and she's going to look gorgeous :) I much prefer shopping when other people are trying on the clothes! Ha, ha, ha! Tomorrow Blake and I are meeting Lesley and Colby at the mall to start on some Christmas shopping hopefully. We've done a bit already and I hope to be done in the next few weeks. I hope Blake does okay at the mall - he's not a big fan of shopping or sitting still in his stroller! Anyways, it will be nice to see Colby, as we don't see each other that often and the boys are growing so fast. Have a great weekend everyone!! Ration that candy ... LOL!

Tracy

Awe dun!

That's Blake's way of saying, "All done!" When he's done his milk or meals or takes off his coat, etc, etc, he enjoys saying, "Awe dun!" or "Awe gone!" I LOVE it!! Too flippin' cute. Of course, being our son we think he's the cutest thing walking the earth, but MAN IS HE CUTE! Everyday he gets funnier and cuter! He's copying what we say sometimes, which is a lot of fun! We just have to be a bit more careful about what/how we're saying it! Blake's feeling a lot better finally. His ear infection must be gone and he is not stuffed up or coughing anymore. He still has 4 days of antibiotics left. Blake's very helpful these days. We ask him to put his diaper away after we wrap it up and he takes it to his Diaper Genie, he gets a clean diaper out when asked, he gets his coat and shoes and clothes and many, many other things. It's amazing how fast they learn! When it's meal or snack time we ask him to go to his chair and he runs to his high chair!! It's pretty cool to see how fast he is learning and sometimes we don't even realize what he knows! We enjoy pointing out various body parts with him. He's mastered his ears, nose, eyes, head, hair, feet, teeth, and belly! We've started pointing out his elbows and knees now! When he's up and not eating, he is go, go, go, go, go. He literally never stops. Just run and dance and play, play, play! No wonder he sleeps so well! Blake has his last swimming lesson on Saturday. In a few months, most likely in the New Year, we're going to register him in the next session - Bubblers. This lesson is called Splashers. On Friday I took Blake for his third hair cut. We probably should have gone a month ago, but finally made it on Friday! He sat still for the first 5 minutes and that was it! He was ready to get down and play after that. We take him to Beaners in St. Albert now and they are awesome. He sits in a "quad" which keeps him entertained for a short time! Every time he gets his hair cut he looks older :( It's like cutting away the babyishness!!! (is that even a word?? I don't think so, but I'm going to use it anyway!) On Sunday my Mom, Erica and Danielle came over for a visit. For the first time, Blake showed a jealous side! When I was holding Danielle he got a bit upset. He'd run over and try to climb in my lap too! I think he was being a bit possessive of Mom :) I'm sure everything will be okay with our new baby, it will be a bit of an adjustment for him. And hey, I have two arms right?! As long as Blake doesn't squish the baby!! At the end of next week I have to go for the icky gestational diabetes test - blah! But I have to get it done before my Dr.'s appt. on Nov. 3. The baby is kicking A LOT! I thought Blake was a kicker, but this one moves way more (or at least I feel it way more). I wonder if it's because its brother is always "squishing" it??!! Maybe they're already fighting?! LOL! I think my belly is a lot lower with this baby. I think I carried Blake a lot higher. Just something I've noticed! We hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm! Our thermometers have certainly dropped ... Take care :)

Cal, Tracy, Blake and Baby

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend! We have so many things to be thankful for in our lives. All in all we had a good weekend. But before I get into our weekend, I want to congratulate my sister Lindsay and her new fiance Jeremy on their engagement!!! Jeremy proposed on Friday night. We are all very excited and can't wait for the wedding! Over the weekend we had lots of fun talking about the wedding and planning!! Hard to believe my little sister is getting married!!! Cal was off Friday so it was an extra long weekend for us! Blake is still not feeling well. He has been feverish since Thursday night. We've had a couple of busy nights, but he slept well last night so hopefully he's starting to feel better. On Friday morning Cal and I took him to the Dr. Apparently his ear infection isn't quite gone, but the Dr. didn't think he needed another round of antibiotics and said his chest was clear so we should just wait and see how he does this weekend. After the Dr. we came back home and took our trailer out to the storage lot near Spruce Grove and then met my Mom and Dad for brunch. Afterwards we came home and Cal and I got ready for our anniversary date! Mom came over to babysit Blake and Cal and I went to a movie and for dinner. It was a great evening! When we got home Blake had been coughing and had a fever so we gave him Tylenol. That night he was up every couple of hours. Poor guy - every time he laid down he'd get so stuffed up and have troubles breathing until we picked him up and his sinus' drained. Saturday we stayed home pretty much all day. Cal had hockey in the a.m. and went to pick up his race package. Saturday night was much of the same for Blake and Sunday we stayed home all day again. My Mom and sister came for a visit in the morning and I finally got to see Lindsay's rock!! It's a beautiful engagement ring :) Sunday night Blake finally had a good sleep and today we headed to Cal's 1/2 marathon and Stony Plain. It was a bit chilly in the morning, but perfect weather for running! Cal chased the turkey and finished the race in 1 hour, 58 minutes. He was happy with his time, as he didn't do as much training as he initially planned on!! (mostly due to his near death experience!) After the race we headed to Stony Plain for Thanksgiving dinner. We got there quite early and Blake went down for a nap, so the girls headed to the local spa for a pedicure! It was fun!! When we got back the turkey was ready and we chowed down. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Blake had a bath and got his p.j.'s on at my parents house, fell asleep in the car on the way home and transferred into his crib! Phew!! Hopefully he has a good night tonight and tomorrow I will see if I can get him an appointment with his pediatrician. I have a nice short 3 day work week this week thankfully. On Thursday we may head to Stony Plain. My Mom and her department at work have worked very hard organizing the Glenn Hall event, honouring an NHL hall of fame goalie who is a Stony Plain resident, so we'd like to be there. And we'd love to get a picture of Blake with the Stanley Cup! That opportunity doesn't come around very often! We hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Tracy

Update :)

Wow! I am over half way through my pregnancy - hard to believe! I had a Dr. appointment today and everything is great. The babies heart beat was in the 150's and I'm measuring where I should. The Dr. went over the ultrasound results with me and everything was great. She mentioned that the babies weight is in the 50 percentile, which was neat to hear! I don't recall getting that information when I had an 18 week ultrasound with Blake. I was sent home with a couple of lab requisitions - 1 being the yucky gestational diabetes test! I haven't gained too much weight yet - but I expect my habits may catch up with me in the coming months!! As compared to my pregnancy with Blake, I am eating way more!! I was so nauseated and sick with Blake that I barely had an appetite. This time round I am WAY less nauseated and sick and seem to be eating a lot more. Yikes! But everything is great with the baby and I am feeling movement all the time, which I love. Cal is doing much better than a little over a week ago! He had his stitches removed on Friday and his hand is healing nicely. He's done his antibiotics and is feeling good! Just in time for his 1/2 marathon on Thanksgiving Monday!! It is in Devon and is called "The Turkey Chase"! LOL! I think that's hilarious!! And very appropriate, because after the race we are going for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. Can't wait for that!!! Blake has a few more days of his antibiotics but is in much better shape than last Monday. He still has a cold, which concerns me a bit. He's been stuffed up and had a cough for a few weeks now. I'm assuming it's a virus, since the antibiotics aren't touching it. I may take him back to the Dr. if it doesn't clear within the next few days. On Friday night he slept 15 hours - which meant I got to sleep in! YAY!! I think he was catching up from when he was feeling rotten. Although, since he's started taking just 1 nap a day he regularly sleeps 13 - 13 1/2 hours a night vs. 12 hours before. So other than the cold hanging on, he's doing great. Cute as heck and busy, busy, busy!!! He plays so well and entertains himself! We've been playing a lot of music lately and it is so fun to "dance" with him. His dance moves are priceless!! They involve a lot of running around, squatting up and down, spinning and throwing his arms up in the air! We love it!! He also "sings" every now and then. It is so darn cute :) When he's in his car seat and a song he likes comes on the radio he dances in his seat too!! He's also chatting up a storm. We can't make out many words, but by the inflection in his voice we can definitely tell whether he is happy, sad, mad, asking a question, singing or just stating a fact! He also has some strong opinions. This weekend we were going out and I helped him into his blue fleece jacket, but that's not what he wanted. He was whining and I was busy putting my jacket on so I was telling him, "Sorry Blake but it's cold outside and you have to wear a jacket," thinking that he didn't want it on. When I looked up he had his red fleece jacket and was trying to put it on. Apparently he preferred the red jacket over the blue!! Cal's off on Friday so we are taking the trailer out to the storage lot we rented for the winter. Kind of sad, but we're looking forward to the '09 camping season! Friday evening Cal and I are going out for our anniversary :) Thursday, October 9th is our 4 year anniversary! And we've known each other for almost 13 years!! Wow! Time flies!! Take care everyone!

Love Cal, Tracy, Blake & Baby

Eventful week

Yes, it has been an unusually crazy week. On Thursday our nephew Colby was admitted to the Stollery Children's Hospital. He is recovering slowly and our thoughts are with him and Gerry and Lesley. I finally made it over there to visit on Sunday evening. I can't imagine being in their position, it would be very difficult. But they are doing okay and are very strong. And Colby is starting to feel better and his infection seems to be clearing up. On Friday Blake and I headed out to Stony to visit with Melissa and her boys. Blake had fun playing with Daeton and Domingo! Then, we went to my parents house and I headed back into the city to meet Cal at a friends wedding. Blake slept over at Grandma and Grandpas. On Saturday morning Cal and I were getting ready to meet my family and Blake at his swimming lessons, when Cal accidentally cut himself with a steak knife. It looked pretty bad, so we headed to the hospital to get it stitched up. In the mean time my Mom, Dad and Lindsay brought Blake back to our house. Before the Dr. stitched Cal's hand he wanted antibiotics to run through an i.v. So the nurse hooked Cal up to the i.v. and I went for something to eat. When I got back Cal was not in the room, so I went looking for him. When I found him, I got the scare of my life! He had an anaphylactic reaction to the antibiotic and they had moved him to another room and put him on monitors and oxygen and gave him another i.v. to counteract the antibiotics he's allergic to. The Dr. told us his b.p. dropped to 50 and if he wouldn't have gotten medical attention asap it would have been fatal. Thank goodness we were at the hospital and not at home. He now has to wear a medic alert bracelet. After many hours, Cal began to feel better and he could finally have his hand stitched up. Blake stayed at our house with my Dad. Thank goodness my parents were home from holidays!! So Cal's feeling pretty good now, just having a bit of difficulty being "one handed"! On Sunday we took it pretty easy, my sister stayed over Saturday night and we visited until Jeremy picked her up to head back to Fort Mac and in the evening I went to visit Colby, Lesley and Gerry. Cal's Dad also popped by while I was gone. On Monday we went to work and Blake went to the day home. Later in the morning Karen called me to say Blake was sick to his stomach numerous times, couldn't seem to stay awake, had a fever and wouldn't eat or drink anything. So I rushed out of work and picked him up. Karen said he was scaring her a bit so I thought I'd better take him to the Dr. 3 hours later, we found out he has a pretty bad ear infection in his left ear. He's on antibiotics and I think they've started working. I'm home from work with him today. He didn't sleep well last night and had a fever that took along time to come down. This is his 3rd ear infection, which worries me. The Dr. told me yesterday that until a child has 7 ear infections in one year they don't worry or even think about putting tubes in their ears. I'm supposed to be going to Calgary this weekend for a conference, but I don't think I will go. Cal is supposed to be in NAIT and will still be recovering and I need to stay home after all this craziness! Other than all that we're doing fine. Blake missed his swimming lesson last weekend and I'm not sure if he should go with an ear infection, I'm going to look into that. I have a Dr.'s appointment on Monday, which I always look forward to! I can not believe I'm almost 22 weeks pregnant!! When did that happen?! It's like I've blinking and missed it! I still don't feel that I'm growing much. I'm sure it will be like with Blake and I'll grow rapidly the last few months!! Take care everyone :)

Tracy