Getting ready to send off 2013

It seriously seems like yesterday when we were just welcoming 2013, and welcoming Nathan into the family. With our little guy's birthday so close to New Year's, it hits home how quickly the days are passing. Then again, this past year has been really fun, so maybe that's why it went by so fast.

This year on Facebook I attempted to post at least one photo for video every day. It turned out to be a remarkably good photo diary of every day life, particularly since the kids featured quite prominently in them. I've been going through my old posts just to look at them and reflect on the year. Here's a few favourites that I think really captured our first year as a family of four.

Up until he was about 4 or 5 months old, Nathan was the type of kid who needed to be held in order to nap. I think I was more okay with that this time around. Knowing that he's our last baby probably was a factor.

This was Andrew and Nathan's first ride together at Canada's Wonderland. I loved how happy Andrew was to have his little brother with him, even if Nathan didn't totally know what was happening. 

Nathan has been hitting all his mobility milestones faster than Andrew did. I'm not sure why that is, but I suspect it's because he's not as heavy as Andrew was so he doesn't need to build up as much muscle. I still remember coming in to check on him after his nap and being greeted by this sight. He was just so happy with himself that it was hard to stay shocked for too long. Needless to say, Jamie's first task when coming home that day was to lower the base of the crib. 

Despite the look on Andrew's face, he loved meeting Mickey. It was on this trip that he became obsessed with Ariel, and the rest of the gang from The Little Mermaid. This was a trip that Jamie's dad arranged, and it was for the entire Wells clan. We had a truly amazing time, and I can't wait to bring the boys back to Disney World when they're a little older. 

The entire crew enjoying dinner on our last night at Disney

When Nathan was able to sit up and crawl around on his own, Andrew seemed to become more interested in what his little brother was up to. No big fights yet, but Nathan did get his first bloody nose thanks to some roughhousing.

This was the first year where Andrew actually started to grasp Halloween. I took him out trick-or-treating, and he really liked it. We only did about 5 houses before he got a bit scared and asked to go inside, but he liked the whole process of getting candy. These photos were taken at a Halloween party with friends.

Andrew had stopped drinking a cup of warm milk before bed for a while, but wanted to take up the habit again when Nathan would have his bottle before bedtime. Now, Andrew will say something to the effect of "And now gonna have milk together," before laying down with Nathan for their pre-bed drink.

Here's Nathan at around 10 and half months old (almost 11 months, I think) being a total cutie. I took this photo on an unseasonably warm day. I think it captures his cheerful nature.

There will come a day when Nathan will be embarrassed by this picture, but until then, I will post it proudly on this blog.

I've got a few more of Andrew playing in the snow, but I will save those for another post, probably lumped in with a recap of Christmas. I'm hoping Grandpa Wells didn't get the boys too much stuff, but it wouldn't be the same if he didn't.

Now, on to the requisite crafting stuff (this is a craft blog after all). I managed to finish one thing, and make good progress on another.

I finally finished the blanket! Yay! I took so long on it that I've decided not to give it to Nathan, but gift it to my brother and his wife for the baby girl they are expecting in April.

And here's all the progress I've managed on these socks in the past 5 or 6 months. Pretty dismal. I'm making the heel flap right now, so I suppose I'm about half way done? I'm not sure what I think of the way the yarn colours are pooling, but I'm not going to frog it at this point.

And that's about it for me. I'll try to post a little more often despite my lack of crafting. There's always stories to tell when it comes to the kids :) Take care!!

Trying something new

I'm guessing it was on the news enough lately, but just in case anyone wasn't aware, Toronto experienced a big rainstorm on Monday that resulted in widespread flooding. A GO train was flooded and passengers had to be rescued, and some people even abandoned their cars when they becane submerged in water. The Don River crested, and flooded out the DVP. All in all, pretty spectacular stuff.

Thanks to all that flooding, we lost power for just about 2 days. Not the most fun I've ever had, particularly in some of the hottest, humidest weather we've had in a while. I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say that it's hard to explain something like that to a 3yr old who just wants some milk to drink and some light to read by (or fend off whatever gremlins he thinks are lurking in the dark).

This resulted in me eventually seeking refuge at Jamie's aunt's place so that Nathan and I wouldn't have to hang out in crowded coffee shops hoping for some AC and working outlets. Thanks to that respite, I was able to start some socks using a technique that I've long been interested in trying - two at a time socks on circular needles. So far so good. I'm enjoying the color, and while I could probably do with longer circulars, it's not a super difficult technique to get the hang of. Not sure how long it'll take to finish, but at least I'll have a pair instead of a lonely single.

A world of firsts

Since becoming parents, Jamie and I have been lucky to see a lot of firsts through our kids, and just because Nathan is repeating what big brother Andrew did 3 years ago doesn't make it any less special.

There's first foods.

First swing ride.

First pair of sunglasses.

 First attempts at sitting.

 Even a first "girlfriend".

Andrew's had a few firsts recently too. Like his first bike helmet, which he likes to wear for everything except riding his bike.

 First time having a popsicle with a buddy.

 And most recently, his first time scaring me so badly that I felt dizzy with adrenaline after the crisis was over.

That is a picture of the shoulder of my pyjamas stained with blood after Andrew had a bad accident this morning. He took his little chair to the safety gate blocking our basement in order to look at the cat that had run down there in an attempt to escape, hoisted himself up on the top bar, and then proceeded to flip himself over the gate, landing on the ground with a face plant. Poor kid earned himself a bloody nose (and hence my messy shirt), and a pretty big goose egg on the forehead. After some crying and lots of hugs (and more than a few blood-soaked Kleenexes), Andrew was back to his usual self in no time. I, however, did not feel like myself afterwards. I think I went into mild shock from the adrenaline after it was all over. Even now, 12 hours later, I keep reliving that moment where I peeked around the corner from the kitchen just in time to see his body tip over the gate, that terrible thud, and even the heartbeat of total silence before he started screaming. I'm grateful that things weren't worse, but this was a really hard reminder that I can't always protect him from things.

I know this is supposed to be a craft blog, but...

Unfortunately, I haven't really been doing any crafting to speak of lately. I've cast on for an infinity scarf made out of alpaca, but I've barely made any headway with it. Still, I thought I'd give a little update on how life's been going.

Nathan is just about 4 months old now, and I feel as though the days are just racing by. He's still waking me up at night all the time, and I won't lie that the interrupted sleep isn't taking its toll on me. In the past 3 days, I've sent Andrew out the door twice without his shoes. Oops. Still, I know this won't last forever, as with the gummy smiles, and lazy days of just cuddling. Andrew turned 3 on Monday, and it hit me that I'm going to be registering him for kindergarten in January. Since having the kids, I feel really aware of how much can change so quickly. I mean, I'd been working at the same job for 5 years before having Andrew, and things always seemed to be the same old, same old. But in the last 3 years, we've watched Andrew go from a newborn to a headstrong little boy who loves Lightning McQueen and rocket ships, and isn't afraid to tell us that. He knows all his letters, can count to 30, and has so much to say that it sometimes astounds me that all that started from a blank slate. I want to remember how he sits in my lap and tells me "I'm so happy to see Mommy!", or the fact that he is happy to share toys with Nathan as long as they're the broken ones. He runs in the backyard like a mad man, but stops in his tracks when an airplane flies overhead, reaches up with his little arms, and claims that he's going to touch it. There's so many little things that I want to remember about my kids at this point in their life, and yet it's often so hard to write those things down. Still, that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.

Vacation!

So, we just came back from vacation in Orlando, Florida, and we had a fantastic time. This was Andrew's first trip to Disney World, and based on his reaction, this will not be the last. He. Loved. It. He probably won't remember going since he's only two and half, but Jamie and I certainly will.

Waiting for the Disney shuttle bus to take us to Animal Kingdom

As you can tell from the photo, I'm getting kinda big. That made things a bit more tiring on this trip, seeing as Andrew still wanted me to play with him and do stuff with him, but since I had no responsibilities after he went to sleep, I would just shower and go to bed right after him. I had brought knitting with me hoping that I could get some done, but it just didn't happen.

In the lobby of the Art of Animation Resort.

Halloween decorations!

Dumbo at night

Andrew giving us his "say cheese!" face

Andrew loving Cinderella's Carousel

"Hi, Pooh!"

Posing with Buzz Lightyear

Andrew went crazy for Lightning McQueen!

Checking out Guido's tires

 We have a bunch more pictures with characters and stuff, but they were taken our Disney PhotoPass, so I don't have those photos just yet. We're going to buy the CD of them, so I'll post some more pictures up when we get it. We had a super time, and we can't wait to go back again!

Any kitty psychologists out there?

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll be quite familiar with our household kitties, Dany and Hana. We've had Dany for about 10 years now, and Hana for 8.


They've been great companions, and Andrew loves them, so we put up with their various quirks. Dany has a taste for chips and popcorn but generally behaves , while Hana wails like a banshee for food whenever he's hungry, and makes a play for whatever food we have out, no matter what it is.

However, lately, they've developed some habits that have been quite problematic. They are now occasional litter box users, preferring to use our basement floor instead. It's gotten to the point where there are "presents" waiting for us pretty much every time we go down there. Yuck. We're pretty sure Hana is pooping on the floor out of spite (when we make him wait for food, or when he feels we've let Andrew play with him too much, or whatever else he doesn't like), and Dany is peeing on the floor because Hana is stressing her out when he tackles her and fights with her all the time. We've taken them to the vet to make sure there's nothing medically wrong with their waste disposal systems, so now we're down to figure out how to make them stop doing it. I'm pretty sure if we went down to a one-cat household, the problems would stop, but I don't want to do that because I really like both of them. Still, this can't continue, especially since we've got young child in the house.

So, any advice out there? We need help!!

Happy Monday!

I'm usually not the kind of person who puts any stock in Valentine's Day, and it's mostly because of the commercialization associated with it. I personally don't like being told that I have to buy presents, or be extra affectionate towards my loved ones because it's Feb 14. Even moreso, I hate being told that what I want are diamonds, flowers, or chocolate. Kinda like my wedding anniversary; I don't really care for gifts or anything, though I do like to reflect on how we've managed to build a life together as the years go by. But still, no need for gifts or special treatment. So, today as I was looking at store window after store window of pink and red, I got to thinking about why I feel that way about V-day and our anniversary, and I've come to the following conclusion. I don't like big gestures on certain days because it's the little gestures every day that mean the most to me. So, in honour of Monday, I thought I'd write down a few of the small things that my hubs does for me that I totally love. Thanks Jamie, and love you!

+ He puts up with my constant attempts to make him eat more veggies, and get over his dislike of broccoli. Even if he puts that little green floret in his mouth grudgingly, he still eats it.

+ Cleaning the kitty litter is his job. So is the vacuuming, snow shoveling, lawn mowing, and putting out the garbage on garbage day. He actually gets upset when I usurp these duties from him. I've only had to do those duties a handful of times since moving into our house, and it's usually only because he's away on business.

+ Doesn't question me when I return home with yet another skein of yarn claiming that I absolutely needed it. Forget that I have a healthy stash growing in our sun room.

+ Does his own laundry, and leaves the seat down.

+ Is completely understanding when I say I can't have [insert occasion of choice here] dinner with him because I have a dance practice/show/meeting/anything dance related.

+ Is the stage manager for our Chinese dance shows even though he can't speak Chinese, and our teacher can't speak English very well.

+ Understands just how much an hour of sleep means to me. This was true even before the baby was born, and so much moreso now that we've got Andrew.

+ Is willing to take public transit to work if I ever wanted the car to visit friends, or go on a shopping trip with Andrew during the week. I've never taken him up on the offer because it's a pain for him (he has to transfer from the TTC to the Mississauga line), but it's nice to know that the option is there.

+ Does two sink-fulls of dishes while I'm at rehearsal, and doesn't mention it when I get home.

+ Is the most awesome dad to our son, and the greatest partner I could have in trying to raise a good human being. Okay, this seems like a big one, but is again a case of lots of little things adding up to a big thing. I'm gonna save that list for Father's Day :)

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Where to even start?

So, it turns out that taking care of a baby is as busy as they all say it is even though all you seem to be doing is feeding it, changing its diaper, and trying to get it to sleep so you can get some sleep too. When the day is over, I often try to sum up everything that I've done, and I often can't think of much else. Little to no housework, minimal cooking, and laundry get sprinkled in there too. I think laundry is the one chore that I have been really keeping up with, mostly out of necessity. When you only have a few nursing bras, and find yourself leaking milk on a daily basis (oh, the things they don't tell you when you're pregnant), you get pretty good at doing a load here and there. Jamie, being the wonderful hubby that he is, looks after cleaning the kitty litter, vacuuming (I have allergies), mowing the lawn and tending to the garden, and taking out the trash. He even changes pretty much all of Andrew's diapers when he's home. What a guy :)

And before you know it, 4 months goes by. Yikes. How did we go from this:

to this:
???!!!

Given that I used to work in research, I am simply not used to so much change so quickly. It boggles my mind sometimes.

While I finally have some craft related stuff to write about, I think I'm going to save it for another post. Some of the photos we've been taking are just too much fun not to share.

This was one of the first smiles we caught on camera when he was about 1.5 months old.


Since then, he hasn't stopped smiling.


Well, sometimes he stops smiling...


Things can get messy...


Things can be unexpected and puzzling...


And things can be incredibly heartwarming...


All in all, I think our little family is doing just fine so far.


We'll keep working on it; the ultimate WIP.