It is easy to forget how FUN being a parent to an almost 1 1/2 yr old is, that is until your youngest nears that age!! Reese is SO much fun right now! She is learning new words every day and talks so, so much (much of it sounds like a foreign language!)! My parents are on vacation for a month right now and I bet when they return they are going to notice a huge difference in Reese!! Be ready Grandma and Grandpa, she is going to surprise you ;) I say my parents will notice a huge difference because they typically see Reese at least once a week and upon their return it will have been almost 5 weeks since they've seen her!
Reese can point out her own and everyone else's ears, nose, mouth, hair, hands, feet, tummy, and eyes! And she can say hair, nose, and eyes quite well! Blake loves playing this game with her, "Where's my eyes Reese?" etc, etc and they giggle together as she points everything out :) Another new word Reese has learned is 'poo'!! And she will tell you if she has it in her diaper! I'm entertaining crazy thoughts of attempting potty-training before 2 ... It is tempting!!! Reese LOVES being outside! She loves going down our slides, walking Heidi, playing ball, puddle splashing, chasing Blake and Em and driving the coupe car, amongst other things! She can spend a lot of time out there and when we let her out of her car seat in the van, she loves to take off to the front lawn and run around! It is so much fun experiencing this age with our Reesey :)
We have some good news!! All of Blake's last round of tests have came back with zero issues!! He had an ultrasound and a water deprivation test (2 rounds of blood and urine work) on Friday (it was a hard day for Blake and I!) to check his kidneys, abdomen and bladder. It was a huge relief to hear there were no negative results! We will be tracking his intake, output and stomach pain complaints over the next 2 weeks to see if there is any correlation between the 3 but hopefully this is just something he will grow out of. After talking to Cal's Mom and Cal, Cal had some of the same issues when he was a little guy ... surprise, surprise!!! Those 2 are like pea's in a pod, I swear!! Blake is enjoying his hockey camp (Sundays, from 4 to 5) and has never worked harder in his life! They sure make them sweat! We are very excited for Blake's upcoming 5th birthday!!! He's turning 5 on the 5th day of the 5th month - and of course it is cinco de mayo!! Big milestone birthday :) We have a super fun LEGO themed party planned with a hot dog roast and lots of cool LEGO games, decor, goodie bags and food!!! Blake's very excited and is really excited to invite his best bud from preschool to his party! This little boy and Blake get along so well and from what I've seen are so similar in their personalities! Hopefully he will be able to attend!
We made a quick trip to the medi-centre today, to have Emerson's eyes checked. My suspicions were confirmed ... pink eye :( We picked up prescription drops and she will not be contagious within 24 hours. I think Reese and I are getting it as well, so here's hoping Cal and Blake don't. Emerson is LOVING preschool! And I mean loving it ... the minute she wakes up on preschool days (which is often 6:30 am), she is asking, "Is it time to go to school yet?" or saying, "I want to go to preschool!!" We're so happy she is enjoying her class and know that she will have even more fun next year, when she attends a few more days a week!
We had our 5th annual new mom's group birthday party on Sunday! I love that we are still 'together' and celebrating our wonderful group of kids!! 5 years sure flies! Our first meeting was June 23, 2007!
This weekend we're looking forward to our friend Marc's 6th birthday party, amongst our other regular weekend activities.
Happy 'hump' day (tomorrow), enjoy the rest of your week, have a fabulous weekend and we'll talk to you again soon :)
xo
Tracy
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
:)
Blake found a penny in the back of the car ... Cal told him it was a lucky penny and he should make a wish! Blake made a wish and Cal told him to not tell anyone the wish or the wish won't come true! They drove home and Blake walked in the house and was disappointed that his wish didn't come true. We told him not all wishes come true and that sometimes it takes days, months and maybe even years for wishes to come true!! He was moaning and groaning about his wish coming true all through supper so we thought we better find out what the wishes were!! Cal told him he could tell him and turns out he had 2 wishes: 1)more Batman stuff and 2)more storage for his toys!!!! Too funny!! We feel a bit crowded in this house and apparently Blake feels that way too ;)
Emerson walks up to me and says, "You don't have very long eyelashes Mom!" I said, "No, not really!!" Emerson says, "I do, they're sooooo long!!" lol! She's been absorbing everyone's remarks at how long her beautiful lashes are ;)
The other morning the kids decided to have yogurt for breakfast. I asked Reese if she would like yogurt and she nodded her head. I went to the fridge to get the yogurt and when I turned around, Reese was in the kids cupboard!! She pulled out 3 spoons and proceeded to give one to Blake, one to Emerson and one to me (to feed her!)!!! It was SO cute :) We all said thank you to her and she was grinning from ear to ear!
Thursday was Blake and Emerson's 1st day in the same preschool class! They had a blast and there were no issues between the 2 of them!! Emerson's favorite part of her second preschool class, was cutting paper with scissors!
Friday evening Blake and Emerson had their swimming lesson, which is always fun to watch! Blake is trying really hard to swim on his tummy with his head under the water!! He can travel a short distance and then comes up for air and to wipe his eyes ;) He tries to hard, you can see the determination on his face!! Emerson is having a blast and keeps her teacher busy, along with her other 3 yr old classmates! I often hear the instructor telling them, "Back on the wall please! No kicking please!! We're not supposed to be splashing right now!!!" lol!! Em loves it though and is pretty much fearless! On Friday she slipped off the edge and went under and didn't even bat an eye! The instructor lifted her back onto the edge and she kept on going! It will be fun to take them swimming at the lake this year! We're not sure how much camping we'll be doing but will definitely be taking day trips to the beach :)
We had another busy Saturday and Sunday! Cal took Reese, Blake and Em to the YMCA on Saturday morning. Blake and Em went to Mighty Munchkins and Cal took Reese to her swimming lesson. I picked Blake and Em up at 11 and took them to Emerson's gymnastics class. After her class we met Gerry, Lesley, Colby and Jenna for lunch. The kids had fun visiting their cousins and playing in the play place! Afterwards, we stopped at Home Depot for a plumbing part for Cal and a new shelf for Blake and Em's room.
We attended the St. Albert United Church again on Sunday. The kids went to Sunday school and had a fabulous time!! They played play-doh and read "The Hungry Caterpillar", which they related to Jesus! They re-enacted the book and did a craft relating to the book. It was a wonderful hour spent in Sunday school and we will be back next week!! I'm a bit sad that we didn't have much luck at Pilgrim United Church but the congregation is so old (for lack of a better word) and the minister is not that great with kids, where as the St. Albert congregation has many young families and the minister is fabulous!!! As children leave the service, he gives them a high five and says, "High five for Jesus!" We're going to try really hard to go every Sunday! I like the service time too - 10 to 11 am and he is firm on the 11 am!! Lots of time to get Reese home for lunch and her 12 o'clock nap!
Sunday afternoon, Blake had his first spring hockey camp ice time. I think he may be the youngest there ... but Tammy (the main instructor) told us after his last session that he was ready for this and he wanted to go, so we registered him! I think he worked the hardest he's ever worked!! It was a pretty intense hour!! He was sweating a lot under his equipment! He had fun and I think he will learn quite a bit! There are 4 more sessions and then it's hockey break time ... until summer camp in August!
Have a great week everyone :)
xo
Tracy
Emerson walks up to me and says, "You don't have very long eyelashes Mom!" I said, "No, not really!!" Emerson says, "I do, they're sooooo long!!" lol! She's been absorbing everyone's remarks at how long her beautiful lashes are ;)
The other morning the kids decided to have yogurt for breakfast. I asked Reese if she would like yogurt and she nodded her head. I went to the fridge to get the yogurt and when I turned around, Reese was in the kids cupboard!! She pulled out 3 spoons and proceeded to give one to Blake, one to Emerson and one to me (to feed her!)!!! It was SO cute :) We all said thank you to her and she was grinning from ear to ear!
Thursday was Blake and Emerson's 1st day in the same preschool class! They had a blast and there were no issues between the 2 of them!! Emerson's favorite part of her second preschool class, was cutting paper with scissors!
Friday evening Blake and Emerson had their swimming lesson, which is always fun to watch! Blake is trying really hard to swim on his tummy with his head under the water!! He can travel a short distance and then comes up for air and to wipe his eyes ;) He tries to hard, you can see the determination on his face!! Emerson is having a blast and keeps her teacher busy, along with her other 3 yr old classmates! I often hear the instructor telling them, "Back on the wall please! No kicking please!! We're not supposed to be splashing right now!!!" lol!! Em loves it though and is pretty much fearless! On Friday she slipped off the edge and went under and didn't even bat an eye! The instructor lifted her back onto the edge and she kept on going! It will be fun to take them swimming at the lake this year! We're not sure how much camping we'll be doing but will definitely be taking day trips to the beach :)
We had another busy Saturday and Sunday! Cal took Reese, Blake and Em to the YMCA on Saturday morning. Blake and Em went to Mighty Munchkins and Cal took Reese to her swimming lesson. I picked Blake and Em up at 11 and took them to Emerson's gymnastics class. After her class we met Gerry, Lesley, Colby and Jenna for lunch. The kids had fun visiting their cousins and playing in the play place! Afterwards, we stopped at Home Depot for a plumbing part for Cal and a new shelf for Blake and Em's room.
We attended the St. Albert United Church again on Sunday. The kids went to Sunday school and had a fabulous time!! They played play-doh and read "The Hungry Caterpillar", which they related to Jesus! They re-enacted the book and did a craft relating to the book. It was a wonderful hour spent in Sunday school and we will be back next week!! I'm a bit sad that we didn't have much luck at Pilgrim United Church but the congregation is so old (for lack of a better word) and the minister is not that great with kids, where as the St. Albert congregation has many young families and the minister is fabulous!!! As children leave the service, he gives them a high five and says, "High five for Jesus!" We're going to try really hard to go every Sunday! I like the service time too - 10 to 11 am and he is firm on the 11 am!! Lots of time to get Reese home for lunch and her 12 o'clock nap!
Sunday afternoon, Blake had his first spring hockey camp ice time. I think he may be the youngest there ... but Tammy (the main instructor) told us after his last session that he was ready for this and he wanted to go, so we registered him! I think he worked the hardest he's ever worked!! It was a pretty intense hour!! He was sweating a lot under his equipment! He had fun and I think he will learn quite a bit! There are 4 more sessions and then it's hockey break time ... until summer camp in August!
Have a great week everyone :)
xo
Tracy
Monday, April 9, 2012
Happy Easter!!
On Good Friday we headed to Stony Plain for an Easter celebration with the 'Smith' family! This was also the first time Cal and the kids met Connor!! We had a great day visiting and playing! The kids all wanted to hold Connor and we got a nice picture of Mom and Dad's 4 grandchildren! The Easter bunny made a stop at Grandma and Grandpa's and left a treat for Blake, Emerson, Reese and Connor!! I got lots of Connor snuggles in :) We had dinner and headed home with some tired kids!!
On Saturday morning Cal took Reese to her swimming lesson and Blake, Emerson and I went to Emerson's 1st unparented gymnastics class! Em had a blast and did so well!! She is certainly an independent little girl :) After gymnastics, the 3 of us were off to Connor's baby shower at my Mom's house! It was a lovely afternoon, with a house full of Connor's friends and relatives! Everyone had a chance to hold the guest of honor and he received many cuddles, kisses and ooo's and awww's!!! Blake and Emerson had fun playing with the other kids in attendance!
On Sunday morning the kids enjoyed opening their Easter baskets and a little egg hunt!! Later that morning, we joined friends for an Easter Sunday service at the St. Albert United Church. It was a very nice service and a lot more kid-friendly then the Church we usually attend! We plan to attend more regularly!! Sunday afternoon, Grandpa Bruce came over for dinner and a visit! The kids kept him busy, that is for sure! The kids were very excited about the gifts he brought, from his recent trip to the States!
Easter Monday has been pretty low-key, which is nice after the busy weekend! Blake has not complained about his stomach or anything for 2 days now, so hopefully he is over whatever was bothering him! We are still waiting on the results of a hemoglobin test the lab was doing, but hopefully there will be nothing out of the ordinary to report. Connor and his Mom and Dad are making a quick pit stop at our house this afternoon, enroute to Fort Mac ... we have some goodies I forgot to bring to Stony this weekend!!
We hope you enjoyed your Easter long weekend! We wish we could see see all our family, every holiday but with everyone so spread out it is difficult. But we are always thinking of you all and this weekend, wishing you all a very Happy Easter :)
Lots of love,
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Emerson's 1st day of preschool!!
Starting next week, Blake will be by himself in preschool on Tuesday morning's and on Thursday's Blake and Em will both be in preschool! That means it will be just Reese and I (or Cal and Reese or Reese, Cal and I!) at Come Play With Me, which will be nice for the 3 of us! Reese enjoys the songs and playing in Come Play With Me and I'm sure she'll enjoy our undivided attention :)
We've received confirmation from the Lago Lindo preschool that Emerson is registered and at the end of April we have Emerson's evaluation for the 100 Voices Preschool. Either program will be wonderful and today is evidence that she will definitely enjoy school next year! Way to go Em, we're so proud of you :) xoxo
Have a great Easter weekend!
Tracy
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Blake
Tuesday:
Blake is under the weather :( He's been complaining of stomach pain since Sunday afternoon and is SO thirsty. He is drinking so much water and peeing so much! I called Health Link because I was a bit concerned and they advised we get him in to see a doctor today. I called our pediatrician's office and they were able to get him in this afternoon. When I described Blake's symptoms to Dr. Radisic he said it sounds like diabetes. This morning that same thought hit me and that is primarily whey I called Heatlh Link. Even though I'd had that thought in my mind, my stomach still dropped. All I could think about was needles everyday. Dr. Radisic sent Blake for lab work (blood and urine) and put a STAT order on the results. He said Blake was still looking well and that there would be nothing we could/should do overnight. He said if the blood work came back showing his glucose levels were high, he would get us into an endocrinologist first thing tomorrow morning and Blake would start on insulin tomorrow. I was pretty scared at first but then realized diabetes is very manageable and if there was going to be something 'major' wrong, at least this is treatable. So I took Blake to the lab, then we came home, Cal and I put the kids to bed and waited for Dr. Radisic to call. He called at 7:38 pm and told us that the glucose levels in his blood were normal! He said he is almost 99% sure he does not have diabetes and will call us with the urine results tomorrow.
Wednesday:
I called Dr. Radisic's office to see if they had the urine results. They did and the urinalysis did not show anything. Blake started having diarrhea this morning and it is quite bad - every 1/2 hr on average :( They are still waiting for the hemoglobin results, which can take a few days as it is a further in depth test not often requested where they break down the hemoglobin. We may not get these results until Easter Monday but in the mean time we are thinking this is a virus, which is a relief! Dr. Radisic may send Blake for a fasting urinalysis and further blood work just to keep an eye on his glucose levels, but we'll find out more next week.
Blake seems to be less thirsty now and is having more bursts of energy, so that is good!! We have Easter dinner at my Mom's on Friday and Connor's baby shower on Saturday, so hopefully Blake can enjoy these events and Easter Sunday too :)
xo
Tracy
Blake is under the weather :( He's been complaining of stomach pain since Sunday afternoon and is SO thirsty. He is drinking so much water and peeing so much! I called Health Link because I was a bit concerned and they advised we get him in to see a doctor today. I called our pediatrician's office and they were able to get him in this afternoon. When I described Blake's symptoms to Dr. Radisic he said it sounds like diabetes. This morning that same thought hit me and that is primarily whey I called Heatlh Link. Even though I'd had that thought in my mind, my stomach still dropped. All I could think about was needles everyday. Dr. Radisic sent Blake for lab work (blood and urine) and put a STAT order on the results. He said Blake was still looking well and that there would be nothing we could/should do overnight. He said if the blood work came back showing his glucose levels were high, he would get us into an endocrinologist first thing tomorrow morning and Blake would start on insulin tomorrow. I was pretty scared at first but then realized diabetes is very manageable and if there was going to be something 'major' wrong, at least this is treatable. So I took Blake to the lab, then we came home, Cal and I put the kids to bed and waited for Dr. Radisic to call. He called at 7:38 pm and told us that the glucose levels in his blood were normal! He said he is almost 99% sure he does not have diabetes and will call us with the urine results tomorrow.
Wednesday:
I called Dr. Radisic's office to see if they had the urine results. They did and the urinalysis did not show anything. Blake started having diarrhea this morning and it is quite bad - every 1/2 hr on average :( They are still waiting for the hemoglobin results, which can take a few days as it is a further in depth test not often requested where they break down the hemoglobin. We may not get these results until Easter Monday but in the mean time we are thinking this is a virus, which is a relief! Dr. Radisic may send Blake for a fasting urinalysis and further blood work just to keep an eye on his glucose levels, but we'll find out more next week.
Blake seems to be less thirsty now and is having more bursts of energy, so that is good!! We have Easter dinner at my Mom's on Friday and Connor's baby shower on Saturday, so hopefully Blake can enjoy these events and Easter Sunday too :)
xo
Tracy
Friday, March 30, 2012
Where are my baby girls?!
This happens often, but today I was watching Reese and I just could not believe how grown up she is!! She should still be a baby in my mind. But she's not, she is definately a toddler!! She is talking so much now and is learning and growing so fast!
She has so much fun taking Heidi for walks, it is so cute how she holds on to the leash and talks to Heidi the entire time! If Heidi starts walking too fast or pulling on the leash, Reese's voice changes to a more stern tone!!! I love it, it is too cute! Every kid needs a dog and especially a dog like Heidi who is very easy going and loves all the attention :)
And Emerson ... it is hard to believe Em is 3 and is beginning preschool on Thursday!! She is looking forward to it and I know she will have a great time! She has no fear and is definately not shy!
Love you so much girls, please don't grow up too fast!! I'm so glad you have each other. Having Lindsay in my life is such a blessing and I think every little girl needs a sister :) But then again, I've always thought having a brother would be cool and so you have the best of both worlds!! How lucky :)
xoxo
She has so much fun taking Heidi for walks, it is so cute how she holds on to the leash and talks to Heidi the entire time! If Heidi starts walking too fast or pulling on the leash, Reese's voice changes to a more stern tone!!! I love it, it is too cute! Every kid needs a dog and especially a dog like Heidi who is very easy going and loves all the attention :)
And Emerson ... it is hard to believe Em is 3 and is beginning preschool on Thursday!! She is looking forward to it and I know she will have a great time! She has no fear and is definately not shy!
Love you so much girls, please don't grow up too fast!! I'm so glad you have each other. Having Lindsay in my life is such a blessing and I think every little girl needs a sister :) But then again, I've always thought having a brother would be cool and so you have the best of both worlds!! How lucky :)
xoxo
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Oh Sweet Weekends!!
I love our weekends!! Always full of lots of fun and tons of family time :)
This weekend started out great, with Reese's 2nd swimming lesson and Blake and Emerson partaking in Mighty Munchkins for the first time! Mighty Munchkins is an unparented drop-in program available to members of the YMCA. They do crafts, play sports and game and play in the play gym. It runs from 4 to 6, Mon to Fri and 9 to 12 on Saturdays. Emerson was SO excited to attend, but Mr. Hesitant was not sure he wanted to go! It was so cute, watching Emerson run across the gym to the leaders vs. Blake who slowly walked in the gym, unsure whether or not this is something he should be doing. As always, Blake is slow to warm-up to anything new, where as Emerson makes a choice and flies with it!!! Love their individuality :) I enjoyed watching Reese swimming and kept an eye on Blake and Em as well, as this was Emerson's very 1st time in a program without us close by!! She did awesome and they both had a blast. We will definitely be taking advantage of this membership perk more often! Reese loved her swimming lesson and has absolutely zero fear of the water. She loved climbing up the stairs of the little slide and zipping down!! She had no problem sliding under the water and had a huge smile for Cal when he picked her up! It was also cute to see her "jump" off the edge of the pool into Cal's arms!! I can't believe how "grown-up" she is getting. Almost 1 1/2 yrs old?! Hard to believe. She is saying more and more words everyday and today surprised me with the work "cracker!!" I really love this age, they are learning so much, so fast and are generally very easy to get along with ;) When you ask them to do something ... they do it!! Imagine!!! At bedtime this evening, Reese did not want to put down one of her dolls. I told her it was babies bed time too and asked her to put baby to bed. She proceeded to climb up the stairs to Blake and Em's room and place the doll in the their laundry hamper!!! I was so surprised! She waddled out of their room and into hers - ready for bed! How cute!!!
Saturday afternoon we finally got rid of our old couch, which was exciting for the kids because they got to ride in Grandpa D's truck and visit the ECO Station. Actually, I think they were most excited about eating one of Grandpa's granola bars ;)
Saturday night, Cal and I went to the theatre to watch The Hunger Games. We've both read the trilogy and were impressed with the movie. They did a great job of staying true to the 1st book. I can't wait to see the next movie!! Thank you to Grandma D for babysitting :) :)
I had a much needed deep tissue massage this afternoon. All this exercising has been a slight shock to my all ready tight muscles ;) Later this afternoon we took our books and DVDs back to the library and picked up a few more! The kids love visiting the library and always find an abundance of books and DVDs to check out! Afterwards we headed to Timmies for coffee and a treat and then took a "Sunday drive" to check out one of Cal's jobs!
This week is Spring break, which means no preschool, no Come Play With Me, no gymnastics, skating and hockey are over and no swimming lessons!!! But we have a couple of play dates scheduled and will hopefully enjoy some downtime at home :)
Have a great week everyone!
xo
Tracy
This weekend started out great, with Reese's 2nd swimming lesson and Blake and Emerson partaking in Mighty Munchkins for the first time! Mighty Munchkins is an unparented drop-in program available to members of the YMCA. They do crafts, play sports and game and play in the play gym. It runs from 4 to 6, Mon to Fri and 9 to 12 on Saturdays. Emerson was SO excited to attend, but Mr. Hesitant was not sure he wanted to go! It was so cute, watching Emerson run across the gym to the leaders vs. Blake who slowly walked in the gym, unsure whether or not this is something he should be doing. As always, Blake is slow to warm-up to anything new, where as Emerson makes a choice and flies with it!!! Love their individuality :) I enjoyed watching Reese swimming and kept an eye on Blake and Em as well, as this was Emerson's very 1st time in a program without us close by!! She did awesome and they both had a blast. We will definitely be taking advantage of this membership perk more often! Reese loved her swimming lesson and has absolutely zero fear of the water. She loved climbing up the stairs of the little slide and zipping down!! She had no problem sliding under the water and had a huge smile for Cal when he picked her up! It was also cute to see her "jump" off the edge of the pool into Cal's arms!! I can't believe how "grown-up" she is getting. Almost 1 1/2 yrs old?! Hard to believe. She is saying more and more words everyday and today surprised me with the work "cracker!!" I really love this age, they are learning so much, so fast and are generally very easy to get along with ;) When you ask them to do something ... they do it!! Imagine!!! At bedtime this evening, Reese did not want to put down one of her dolls. I told her it was babies bed time too and asked her to put baby to bed. She proceeded to climb up the stairs to Blake and Em's room and place the doll in the their laundry hamper!!! I was so surprised! She waddled out of their room and into hers - ready for bed! How cute!!!
Saturday afternoon we finally got rid of our old couch, which was exciting for the kids because they got to ride in Grandpa D's truck and visit the ECO Station. Actually, I think they were most excited about eating one of Grandpa's granola bars ;)
Saturday night, Cal and I went to the theatre to watch The Hunger Games. We've both read the trilogy and were impressed with the movie. They did a great job of staying true to the 1st book. I can't wait to see the next movie!! Thank you to Grandma D for babysitting :) :)
I had a much needed deep tissue massage this afternoon. All this exercising has been a slight shock to my all ready tight muscles ;) Later this afternoon we took our books and DVDs back to the library and picked up a few more! The kids love visiting the library and always find an abundance of books and DVDs to check out! Afterwards we headed to Timmies for coffee and a treat and then took a "Sunday drive" to check out one of Cal's jobs!
This week is Spring break, which means no preschool, no Come Play With Me, no gymnastics, skating and hockey are over and no swimming lessons!!! But we have a couple of play dates scheduled and will hopefully enjoy some downtime at home :)
Have a great week everyone!
xo
Tracy
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