Kids!

Every time I say (or in this case type!) the word "kids" I think of a client I had when I worked in long term care.  If she heard you refer to children as kids, she would quickly tear into you about how kids are goats not children and how you should speak proper English, etc, etc.  Joyful lady, she was ;)  To me, children sounds far too formal ... !

Blake is happy to be back at preschool.  On Monday he told me the first thing he's going to do at school tomorrow is say hi to Adam, because Adam is his best friend.  How cute :)  I think we'll have to invite Adam over for a few play dates this summer!  Blake is also excited to start swimming lessons again on Friday.  His class was cancelled last session, so he's been waiting 8 long weeks for the new session to begin!!  And after a 2 week break, hockey starts again on Saturday.  Blake continues to be a great big brother.  If I'm busy feeding Reese in the morning, he serves Emerson yogurt for breakfast!  Gets the bowls and spoons out, dishes out the yogurt, puts a bib on Em, wipes Em's hands and face and puts the bowls and spoons in the dishwasher!!  How sweet is that?!  I love listening to him during this time - sit at the little table Em, you have to wear a bib Em, what color of bowl do you want, etc, etc!!  Such a responsible little guy ;)  He also loves his baby sister, he's always asking to hug and kiss Reese and I often catch him talking to her and giving her hugs when she's in her bouncy chair or on her play mat!  There is definitely a reason God gave us Blake 1st!!  Both Blake and Emerson have enjoyed the sleigh rides we've taken them on.  We haven't even gone to any big hills, but to them I think what they've went down is a big hill!!!  They both love riding in their new sleigh and zooming down the hill!! 

Emerson started gymnastics this afternoon.  It took her a few minutes to warm up and after that she had a ball!!  She was so cute climbing all over and jumping on the trampoline!  She really enjoyed herself and didn't want to leave.  We all went to watch today, but in the future Cal and Em will just go.  Blake enjoyed watching her, but asked if he could go too.  We'll have to see if he's still interested in it when the next session begins!  She starts swimming lessons again on Saturday as well.  We were going to take a break from swimming, but she loves it so much and Cal said he was okay to take her, since I can't for a few more months yet!  Emerson is still loving being a big sister!  She always wants to hug and kiss Reese :)  I did notice last week that she was a bit jealous when Cal was holding Reese ... she is the world's biggest Daddy's girl!!  Em is amazing us daily with her vocabulary!  She can sing almost all of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Slippery Fish, The Thomas song and a few more!!  She can also recite all the reindeer's names and count to 12!!!  I'm not sure if she was given 12 objects if she could point to all 12 and count them 1 by 1, we'll have to test her ;)  It does seem that she has a very good memory and once she repeats something it sticks in her head!  I've been trying to catch all of this on video, but of course she won't do it on the video camera!!

Reese is doing well!  She is so smiley, it is adorable :) She's also cooing and "talking" to us more and more!  I weighed her last Wednesday and she was 7 lbs 15 oz.  I also took her to the chiropractor last week and she has another appointment this Friday.  Dr. Roth said there was a spot in her lower back that needed some work.  She was so relaxed during the treatment, which is really more of a massage.  She was sucking her thumb, it was kind of cute!  I wouldn't mind if she was a thumb sucker.  She doesn't want much to do with the soother and she needs some way to self-soothe!  So far, I'm providing all the soothing!  She's getting into a routine with napping during the day.  She still seems very sleepy to me and is showing drowsy signs after being awake for only 1/2 an hour.  There's no way she could make 2 hours before going for another nap!  Her night time sleep isn't as great.  I'm really worried that waking her up has mixed up her night time sleep :S  But it had to be done.  I'm sure eventually we'll get back to the 7 or 8 hours she was sleeping.  I won't do any "official" sleep training until she's closer to 12 weeks and until she "bulks up" a bit!!!  I'm looking forward to the day she starts sleeping more at night, but on the other hand I know I'll miss these days ... She's so cuddly and loves to be held nice and close to sleep.  I've spent many nights with her right beside me or holding her close and I do love it :)  It's just the frequent waking up to eat that drains me!!  But then again, she needs to gain weight!! 

I'd definitely say going from 2 to 3 kids has been waaayyyy more difficult then going from 1 to 2!  Although I suppose if their ages were a bit more spread out and the oldest was in kindergarten it would be easier!  Our days are definitely busy.  And we don't even have to leave the house to be busy, it's just the every day things when you have 3 young kids that makes the day fly by and keeps you hoppin'!!  Certainly a 24/7 job :)  And worth every minute when you see them smile, get those cuddles and hear, "I love you Mom!"  

There's a little update on our 3 angels :)  We hope you are all doing well!

xoxo
Tracy

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wow, 2010 has come and gone.  Amazing how fast a year can pass!  It has been a great year.  We are so thankful for our healthy, happy family and look forward to 2011 with our new family of 5 :) 

My sister-in-law Lesley had a great blog post (check out babycameronstonyplain.blogspot.com) yesterday and I'd like to share something similar!  Here are a few of our top moments of 2010 (in order from Jan to Dec, ending with our #1 everyday favorite!) ...

~ Celebrating Emerson’s 1st birthday
~ Our decision for Tracy to be a stay at home Mom for a few years
~ Finding out we were expecting our 3rd child
~ Celebrating Blake’s 3rd birthday
~ A Day Out With Thomas at Heritage Park
~ Numerous camping trips with friends and family
~ Enjoying the summer with many, many trips and walks to various parks around North Edmonton
~ Emerson deciding to take off at full speed on 2 feet … and not stumbling or wobbling a bit
~ Emerson parroting ours and Blake's every word and amazing us with her vocabulary
~ Buying our new minivan for our expanding family
~ Cal and Tracy’s road trip to Canmore
~ Meeting Baby #3 via 3D/4D Ultrasound at UC Baby
~ Blake’s 1st unparented swimming lessons
~ Blake beginning preschool
~ Blake starting hockey and learning how to skate
~ Emerson continuing to love her swimming lessons
~ Blake discovering a love for riding his bike
~ Cal and I celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary and our 14th year together
~ Tracy planning and participating in the 5th Annual Th.A.A.A. AGM and Education Day
~ Celebrating Tracy’s 30th birthday
~ Loving our new Nikon D3100 and all the wonderful pics we’re capturing
~ Welcoming our 3rd child Reese Peyton Anne Cameron
~ Enjoying Blake and Emerson’s true love for their new sibling
~ Celebrating Christmas and all the festivities and activities leading up to it
~ Witnessing and loving Reese’s 1st smiles
~ Blake, Emerson and Reese's cuddles, kisses, smiles, tears, fears, laughs, cries, screams, uninhibited joy and innocence

Wishing you all the best in 2011!  May your year be blessed with love, laughter, and good health :)

xoxo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

Through a child's eyes ...

This Christmas has been a lot of fun!  Busy and tiring at times, but mostly wonderful :)  We had a nice day Christmas Eve - baking and decorating sugar cookies, watching Christmas shows and movies, and going to the family service at Church in the evening.  The kids and I were all in the play!  Emerson was an angel (without the costume!), Blake was a shepard, I was an angel and Reese was baby Jesus!  During the service Blake was listening to Rev. Wasyk, who said something about "He who saved us", which Blake heard and then said (quite loudly!) to me, "Who saved us?"  I replied, "God."  Blake then asked, "Is that him up there?"  :)

Christmas morning Blake and Emerson woke up around 8 am and we went down to the front room to open stockings and gifts.  Blake was so excited to see that Santa brought them a sleigh!  We captured his reaction on video!!  Emerson was not too interested in the presents at first.  And of course Reese was sleeping!  But big brother Blake took care of the opening of most of his sisters presents!!  My Mom and Dad came over with breakfast around 10 and the kids were excited to show them their new toys! After Emerson's nap we packed up and went to Gerry and Lesley's house for our Cameron Christmas.  They prepared a delicious turkey dinner (and appetizers!)!  Cal's Mom and Dad were there and we all had a great time visiting, exchanging gifts and playing with the kids :)  Christmas night we stayed at my parents house and woke up Boxing Day morning to a Smith Christmas!  We had another great day, visiting, exchanging presents and more playing with all the new toys ;)  We enjoyed another delicious turkey dinner and headed home. 

I've always loved the Christmas season, but since having children I find each year more enjoyable!  And especially now that Blake is starting to figure out just how much fun Christmas can be!  And in the next few years Emerson and Reese will soon figure it out too!!  Blake has learned about the 4 seasons and since we told him that Christmas comes after it snows, every time it snowed prior to Christmas, he would ask if it was Christmas yet!  What is truly enjoyable about watching him experience Christmas, however, isn’t just his excitement about the presents he knows he’s going to get (there’s no use in telling him that only good boys get Christmas presents. He knows he’ll get them, no matter what he does. That’s one of the perks of being 3!).  It’s his unending capacity for joy that is beautiful!  We can tell Blake one small thing about Christmas, such as how many days away it is, and I can get this response, “Only 28 days? I’m so excited!”  And he was. Most mornings he would come downstairs and move his ornament on his Advent calendar and count how many more sleeps to Christmas!  He was excited about the Christmas tree, about seeing Santa, about Cal's days off, about his Preschool Christmas party/concert, about being a shepherd in the Christmas Eve play at Church, about all the Christmas lights we see, etc, etc!  He got the fact that Christmas is meant to be joyful - not the way most adults experience it, checking off their “to do” list.  And I admit, I get caught up in the stress of Christmas - there's so much to do, so little time ... it's so expensive ... it's so busy, etc, etc.  I especially felt the pinch this year with juggling everything plus a newborn baby!  Thankfully, my family helped me out big time!!!  But one conversation with Blake about Christmas and you realize it's so much better to experience Christmas through a child's eyes.  And I have enjoyed every special moment that led up to Christmas Day, and savoured the joy I've seen on my children’s face throughout the entire Christmas season - the best Christmas present of all :)

xoxo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

2010 Christmas Letter and Photo Card

* Keeping with tradition in our home, we will be mailing our letter and card out to our closest relatives and friends!  Sorry for the lateness of this year's edition ... check your mailbox in January please!  Enjoy :)

Season’s Greetings!

Where did 2010 go?! It has been a busy year that is for sure and 2011 is looking even busier! We often hear that one day we’ll look back and wonder where the time went … but it is happening already! Does this mean we’re getting “old”?!?

We are excited to announce that we became a family of five on November 19th at 11:38 pm, with the swift arrival of Reese Peyton Anne Cameron. Reese weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19” long. So far she has been a good baby (fingers crossed, knocking on wood!). She is a gorgeous little girl, with bright blue eyes and a head full of brown hair. Blake and Emerson love their new sister and we are all so happy with our growing family.

Blake is doing wonderful and enjoying his role as big brother to Emerson and Reese! He really embraces being the oldest child and is so helpful with his younger sisters. It really melts our hearts to see Blake’s tenderness with Em and Reese. Blake and Emerson began sharing a room in October and have been even more attached at the hip since! We were grateful that the transition to a shared room went relatively smoothly. Blake turned 3 on May 5th, but he is often mistaken for a 4 yr. old, as he continues to be tall for his age! This was a big year of firsts for Blake (and his Mom and Dad)!! He started attending unparented swimming lessons, began preschool and began playing hockey! He is a very active little boy and all these activities help to burn some of that energy he has!! He absolutely loves preschool and looks forward to his Tuesday and Thursday morning classes. It is so rewarding to see him interacting with his classmates and teachers. Since turning 3 our shy, quiet(er) boy has certainly changed and is much more outgoing!!! It’s a bit of a juggling act fitting everything he loves in to his days and evenings, but trying not to over schedule him at the same time. He’s going to start swimming lessons again in the New Year. Hockey began in September (pre-season, if you can imagine at the age of 3!) and goes until March 2011. Cal is one of the coaches and together they are learning and having fun. Blake’s skating has come a long way and he loves playing the games the coaches come up with! He is in Initiation 1 and they mostly concentrate on skating skills and having fun.

Emerson will be 2 in February and is such a sweetie! She is settling in to her role as a big sister quite well! She is such a little Mommy! Always wanting to help and carry and hold Reese. We try to let her do as much as we possibly can! Emerson has a wonderful smile, with 1 dimple that lights up her face!!! She has a feisty personality, but once she flashes that smile or asks for a hug and a kiss, you quickly forget the naughty behavior that may have just occurred ;) Em loves to play with Blake and finds him the funniest person on Earth! We love watching them play and interact and hearing them having fun! She was a very early talker and we are often amazed at what comes out of her mouth!! She is on the smaller side and a lot of times those big words and sentences coming out of that little person amaze us!! Emerson is a little fish … she loves the water and has no fear! She’s been attending swimming lessons with Mom and Dad this year and is quite the handful in the water! Dunk my head in the water?? Sure, why not! Jump off the edge of the pool?? Here I go!! She keeps us busy in the pool! Her favorite thing to do is go down the little kiddie slide in to the water!! She climbs up those stairs as fast can be and shoots right down! Emerson also loves attending Come Play With Me, which is a parented program I take her and now Reese to while Blake is in Preschool. Emerson love, love, loves music, singing and dancing. She stands in the middle of the circle and sings and dances! At home she often asks us to sing her favorites, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, If You’re Happy and You Know It, and the list goes on! Emerson loves climbing, so in the New Year we’re going to take a break from swimming lessons and register her in gymnastics!! I’m thinking she’ll love it!

Cal is doing great! He is keeping busy at work and has worked on a few interesting special projects this year. We are very fortunate that Telus is so flexible and really a wonderful employer! Cal works 4, 10 hour days and works from home occasionally. Cal continues to run when he has time and would really like to train for a full marathon, it’s just a matter of finding that time! Hopefully he’ll be able to say he has one under his belt in the 2011 Christmas letter! Cal and his running buddy are planning to run in another ½ marathon in May. Cal has really enjoyed coaching hockey this year and seeing Blake and the other children grow and learn. Blake really looks up to “Coach Dad!” Cal also enjoys taking Em to her swimming lessons! She is certainly a Daddy’s girl! You often hear about so and so being a “Super Mom”, but let me tell you, Cal is the definition of Super Dad!!! The kids and I are very fortunate :)
I am doing great as well! A bit tired these days, but that is to be expected with 3 children under the age of 4! I returned to work briefly in March and within two weeks gave my resignation. I did continue to work 2 days a week until they found a replacement for me and I have stayed on the casual list and have picked up a few shifts here and there. This has been one of the best decisions we have ever made! Of course being a dual income family would be much more luxurious and financially “easier” then being a single income family, but the time I am spending with Blake, Emerson and Reese really is priceless. I celebrated my 30th birthday on November 14th, just 5 days before Reese joined our family! Age is really just a number to me and I certainly don’t feel 30!! I had a fun time with a few girlfriends, my sister and my Mom at a surprise birthday dinner earlier in October. What I thought was an anniversary date with Cal, was a surprise dinner for me!! And I was VERY surprised!! It was so nice of Cal, Lindsay and my Mom to plan this for me :)

We stayed fairly close to home this year during our vacation time. Early in May we took Blake to “A Day Out with Thomas” at Heritage Park in Calgary. It was a blast and all three of us had so much fun!! This year we hope to take the entire family! Emerson now loves Thomas the Tank Engine and we can’t wait to see her reaction! We had a lot of fun camping this summer, beginning with May long weekend and ending with September long weekend in Jasper. Blake and Emerson loved camping and the great outdoors. I think their favorite trip was to Ol’ MacDonald’s Resort. It’s such a great place for young families, with the train ride, carousel ride, petting zoo and beautiful beach (with an ice cream shop of course!). Cal and I were happy to have a little get-away to Canmore in July. We enjoyed taking in the local sights and taking advantage of some much needed R&R, while the kids vacationed in Stony Plain!

This holiday season we are thankful for a happy, healthy, loving family and a great group of friends. May this letter find you in good health and surrounded by loved ones at this special time of year. We hope to see many of you this year and introduce you to our new addition! Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a fabulous 2011! God bless!

XOXO,

Tracy, Cal, Blake, Emerson and Reese Cameron

I guess weight gain is good when you're young, not at my age ;)

Reese had 2 Dr. appt.'s this week.  1 on Monday and 1 today.  On Monday she weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz.  Her Pediatrician was not happy with the rate at which she was gaining weight and asked us to come back in today.  In the mean time I was to continue feeding her every 3 hrs in the day time and every 4 hrs at night (that is 3 hrs from the start of 1 feeding to the start of the next, not 3 hrs from the end of a feeding to the start of a feeding!).  Today Reese weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and Dr. Radisic was happy :)  And therefore, so are we!!!  She's gaining on average 20.6 grams per day and Dr. Radisic says the normal rate of gain for a newborn is 20 to 30 g per day, so she's in that range now.  Thank goodness!! 

I'm really glad this issue has arose with my 3rd child and not my 1st.  I find it insane how as soon as your newborn isn't gaining weight fast enough (according to the growth charts) people start suggesting formula feeding.  Every single book you read, advertisement you see for formula, medical professional you talk to, the World Health Organization, etc, etc advises that breastfeeding your baby is the best possible thing you could do for both your health and your babies.  But instead of referring a Mom to a lactation consultant, a lactation physician, a Le Leche League, etc, etc they start talking about introducing formula.  Of course as soon as you introduce formula your milk supply decreases and unless you are extremely dedicated and diligent the chances of you continuing bfing are very slim.  I don't mean to insult anyone by voicing my opinion, I was a formula fed baby, my husband was and millions of others are or were and we're all healthy, happy, intelligent beings!!!  I'm not anti-formula feeding, I just feel that babies and Moms should be given the best possible care and advice available and I really don't feel they are (at least here in Edmonton and area, I can't speak for the rest of the world!).  You're kind of set up to fail from the beginning ... with not much support surrounding you.  Which, once again, leads me to mention Fiona (again!!)!  She has been absolutely fabulous with this whole Reese not gaining much weight issue!  She is a Le Leche League leader and her knowledge has been invaluable.  I'm so, so, so glad we have her on our team :)  Another reason to hire a Doula - your chances of successfully bfing are greatly increased!!  Cal and I felt all along that Reese was fine and I guess our parenting instincts were right. 

Reese is more and more aware and active each day and is starting to coo and "talk" more, which is really, really cute!  She's also more aware of her surroundings and turning towards noises and voices.   It's nice to see her waking up a little more!!  She loves looking at the lights on the Christmas tree and automatically turns towards the t.v. when it's on!

Cal is off work now for almost 2 weeks, he goes back on Jan. 5th.  The kids and I are very excited to have him home again :)  We're pretty much ready for Christmas.  A few more gifts to wrap and some cookies to bake and we're good to go!  Too bad it's all over so fast ... kind of reminds me of your wedding day!  You blink and it's over and all you have are the wonderful memories ;) 

A huge congratulations to my Mom who accepted a contract position with Volunteer Alberta today!!  So happy for you Mom, congrats :)

Enjoy your last minute Christmas preparations everyone!!  I wanted to wait until we had Reese's birth announcements, to mail everything out together (Christmas letter and Christmas picture with the announcement), but the announcements were "lost" by UPS.  They were supposed to be here my Dec. 21.  ARGH!  I should have just stuck with my original plan and sent out Happy New Year letter's and pics.  Oh well I suppose :S  Watch your mailboxes in the New Year for our late greetings!!!

xoxo
Tracy

Blake's 1st Christmas Concert :)

Tomorrow is Blake's preschool Christmas Concert .. a.k.a. "Winter Wonderland Party!"  It starts at 11 am with a pot luck lunch, followed by a few crafts, a visit from Santa and a concert.  The preschoolers are singing 3 songs!  Blake is pretty excited and so are we :)  I will try to video tape the concert portion!

Tomorrow is also Reese's 1 month birthday ;)  I can not believe it's been 1 month since she was born!  I just love her to bits, so, so much!!  Of course, right!  I'm not sure if it's because it's likely our last baby, but I feel as though I'm "babying" her a bit more then Blake and Em?!  Hmmm ... maybe the spoiled youngest theory is true??!  She is very, very cuddly and is happiest when she's snuggled up on us.  I bought a new wrap at the Butterdome craft sale and she seems to really like it.  Reese finally pooped on her own!  Yippee!!  I had to call the Doctor's office to let them know and I have to get her weighed tomorrow and call and let them know her weight so they can chart it and see how's she doing.  I definitely think she's grown, for sure length wise, but she's still very skinny minny!!  She's sleeping quite good and seems to be moving her longer sleep further into the evening/night.

I ran out of time last night and didn't finish this blog post, so here's an update!!

Yesterday afternoon/evening Reese, my Mom and I went shopping.  I got a few gifts bought.  We're pretty much done, there's just a few smaller things I'd like to pick up.  We'd like to buy Reese a Cabbage Patch Doll, but are having trouble finding a normal one!  We've found the baby dolls and a doll with hair extensions, but not just a plain old Cabbage Patch Doll!!  Reese did very well shopping in the wrap on me ;)  She sure likes to be cuddled up and is not such a fan of riding in the car seat!!

Blake's Christmas party went really well!!  Blake and Em had a lot of fun running around with their friends, doing crafts, eating lunch and Blake sat on Santa's lap!  There were so many Preschool kids singing and so many parents trying to get pictures and video that I didn't get close enough to hear Blake singing, but we could all see his mouth moving and he said he was singing!!!!  I took video of it all!  After the party, we took the kids to Northgate Mall for a "real" Santa picture.  Emerson kept saying she was going to sit on Santa's knee, but of course once we got up there she didn't want anything to do with him!!  So we got a family Santa pic this year ;)  And it actually turned out quite nice!  Afterwards Emerson talked to Santa from a distance and he even gave her a teddy bear!!  He's such a great Santa, we've been visiting him for 3 years now!  My Mom went and bought him a Smitty's gift card, because he was so great and he was very grateful.  He said no one ever buys him anything, which in a way is kinda of sad.  I will have to remember that in the years to come and maybe from now on we'll always bring Santa a little gift :) 

After the Santa picture, I took Reese upstairs to the health unit to have her weighed.  Unfortunately she has not gained any weight in 1 week :(  This isn't the greatest news ... Since birth the amount of weight she has gained is what they typically like to see a baby gain in 1 week.  We have a Dr. appointment on Monday, but I'm sure I know one of the reasons she hasn't gained much since birth.  She's a very slow eater and I've been rushing her some what and have felt rushed myself.  It seems like there is always something I need to be doing - making the kids breakfast, getting them a snack, getting them lunch, putting Em for a nap, going to Preschool or an appointment, etc, etc, etc.  But from now on some of these things are going to have to wait.  Reese needs to eat and gain weight!!  I know my milk supply is good, it's just a matter of letting her get what she needs.  And the other unfortunate part is that the fatty, calorie rich milk is the milk that babies get at the end of nursing.  The first bit of milk is mostly just watery and not the milk that packs on the pounds.  So if Reese isn't nursing as long as she wants to or needs to she's missing out on that fatty milk!!  I'll let you know how it goes in the coming weeks, I'll be getting her weighed more often now.

Tomorrow Blake is going to Riverside in St. Albert with Grandma and Grandpa to see Santa (once again!).  My girlfriend took her son there last weekend and I guess it's a little boys heaven!  They get to sit on Santa's knee on a skidoo and Santa even gives them a little present - a motorcycle!  Blake's going to love it!!  Tomorrow morning Emerson has her last swimming lesson for this session.  She's registered to start again in January, but we might cancel and take a break from swimming.  She starts gymnastics in the New Year!  Blake has hockey tomorrow afternoon and then they have the next 2 weekends off due to Christmas Day and New Year's Day.  Blake is taking swimming lessons again in the New Year, which he's really looking forward to :)

Sunday evening we are looking forward to the Candy Cane Lane sleigh ride!!  Hopefully it will not be cancelled due to cold weather :S  We had a lot of fun on the sleigh ride last year and are excited to take Emerson this year!!  And Reese, although she will hopefully be sleeping ;)

I have our photo Christmas cards ready, our Christmas letter and I'm waiting for Reese's birth announcements!  Then I'll be able to mail everything together.  I don't think I'll have it out in time to arrive before Christmas!  We're enjoying recieving everyone else's cards, pictures and letters in the mail!  Everday there's at least 1 new one in the mail!

Have a great weekend everyone!  Stay warm!!

xoxo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

Hello!

Reese is 3 weeks old today!  She had a follow up pediatrician appointment on Wednesday.  She weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz, which means she is gaining around 10 grams a day.  Dr. Radisic would like to see her gain 20 or 30 grams a day.  I hadn't been waking her up to eat, but he suggested that I do so.  So I decided I would wake her up during the day, and she must have understood that because she's no longer napping for long periods of time during the day!!  Therefore I haven't had to wake her up!  I wish she'd nap a little more during the day though.  She's been hard to get down the last few days ... I'm now remembering that once you think something is routine or has been happening for a few days, it will likely change!  Ahhh ... the unpredictability of a baby ;)  She's sleeping great in the evening and at night though (most nights!)!  And she's eating a lot during the day.  Hopefully that will show on the scale next week.  Dr. Radisic isn't worried about her infrequent B.M.'s.  He says she's healthy, happy, alert, stomach and bowels are good and she must just be an infrequent pooper!!!  Kinda like her brother was at first!  Must be genetics?! 

Blake missed preschool on Tuesday, he woke up with a fever early Tuesday morning.  I took him to the walk-in clinic near our house and he has an ear infection.  A pretty bad one apparently.  And I'm beginning to wonder if it's not affecting his hearing?!  Honestly!!  He asks us to repeat ourselves all the time and sometimes doesn't hear us at all.  And this is more then usual, because like most 3 1/2 year olds he doesn't always listen at the best of times ;)  He was really upset when I told him he'd have to miss school on Tuesday.  I felt so bad for him :S  They were having a movie day, but thankfully they watched another Christmas show on Thursday.  Poor Blake's been through the wringer with croup, a cold, puking, fever, ear infection.  Hopefully it will all be cleared up asap.

Emerson is done her antibiotics, but I'm not sure her ear infection is resolved.  She's been out of sorts, particularly not sleeping as good as usual and tonight she felt a bit warm.  Might have to take her back to make sure the infection is cleared up. 

My sister spent a few days and nights with us this week.  It was so nice to have here!  We all loved having her and miss her already.  She helped me out a lot with the kids, taking them to the YMCA, and even cleaned out our pantry!!  I've never seen our pantry look so good!!  We're going to try hard to keep it that way ;)  My Mom also stayed over one night, which was nice too!  Her Lindsay did some errands for us and kept Blake and Em busy and happy :)  They loved having Auntie and Grandma here! 

My Mom, sister, Reese and I went to the Butterdome Craft Sale last night.  It was nice to browse around and buy some neat things.  I bought a 2010 Christmas ornament for our family.  We have one from every year, starting in 2006!!  2006 has Cal, Tracy, Heidi and Jazz on it, 2007 has Cal, Tracy and Blake, 2008 same, 2009, Cal, Tracy, Blake and Emerson and now 2010 Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese :)  It was nice to get out of the house and do some walking!  Reese slept most of the time in the Snugli on Auntie Lindsay! 

We have a busy weekend ahead.  Swimming and hockey during the day tomorrow, then Cal's sister Carmen and her husband Darren are coming over to spend the night.  The kids will love that!  Blake's always seemed to have a soft spot for Uncle Darren and the last time we saw Auntie Carmen Em was her little buddy for the day!!  Sunday morning we have our New Mom's Group 4th annual Christmas Party, which we're looking forward to.  I love getting together with our group!

Have a great weekend everyone :)

xoxo
Tracy