Imagination

We played chicken family for much of the afternoon. Sounds tedious, right? I thought so. But it turns out that baby chicks are incredibly loving and affectionate to their momma chicks, so in the end it was actually a pretty wonderful game.

Tonight, as we were reading a mini dinosaur encyclopedia book, Andrew interrupted to explain to me that some of the dinosaurs didn't die when the asteroid hit the earth, because some of them were actually on Mercury and are still living there now. When the astronaut was walking on the moon he could see them, because the moon is really close to Mercury. And then he sat in the tree watching his favourite TV show about the funny guys, until he went back to the earth, where he watched the funny show some more.

This is a tough age, but it's also pretty darn awesome. :)

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Shhhh....

I have a little secret. Right now it's about the size of a grape or a peanut, depending on which website you consult. I prefer peanut, personally. :)

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Q and A

Sometimes, usually during bathtime, I like to ask Andrew questions about himself. Here are some of tonight's Q&As.

Where do you live? Canada... and what's the name of the planet, Mommy? 
Who is your best friend? You are. (Awww.)
What's your favourite thing to do with Mommy? Go to the park.
What's your favourite thing to do with Daddy? Go to the park.
What's your favourite class? Gymnastics!
What's your favourite place to go? Africa!
What's your favourite animal? Giraffe.
Why do you like the giraffe so much? Because he has a really long neck.
What's your favourite dinosaur? T Rex! And brachiosaurus, because he has a really long neck. 
 What's your favourite treat? Lollipops.
What's your favourite toy? Max Sha-nell. Ask me again.
Okay. What's your favourite toy? Raoul CaRoule. Ask me again.
Okay. (LOL) What's your favourite toy? Umm... Mac.
So, all your Cars cars? Yes!
What do you want for Christmas? A recycling truck that picks up the bins in the front and dumps them in the back!
What else do you want for Christmas? Another recycling truck!
What's your favourite book? My Truck Is Stuck.
What's your favourite movie? Cars 2!
What's your favourite TV show? Treehouse!
Treehouse is the name of the station, not a show. Is it Octonauts? Yes!

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zipping along

Can I just say that 2012 seems to be zipping by? I can believe it's August already. Funnily enough, I was looking through some old correspondence the other day and see that I wrote the same thing about 2011 at exactly this time last year. I guess it's true that time seems to speed up when you have kids.

So. What's going on with me? Well, we are officially TTC#2 (again). I've done my testing and will be meeting with the RE tomorrow (after several delays that have made me wonder whether fate is intervening) to discuss the treatment plan. I am expecting to start femara next cycle, whenever that happens. I have been back on metformin for a couple of months and it may already be helping my cycles — I ovulated on CD32 last cycle, compared to CD59 the cycle before and not at all the cycle before that. The side effects have been awful this time around. Really, really awful. But, ya know, whatever. If it increases my chances I'll deal with it.

I'm seriously considering following — or attempting to follow — the EZ Die.t published by Cali.fornia IVF starting in September. I have a newer, slightly modified version of this page that includes something very important on the "Good List": corn products, specifically including corn chips, popcorn, and corn tortillas. The reasoning is that apparently corn creates very little insulin response. I think that will be a major lifesaver for me. This is a pretty drastic change for me; I'm kind of intimidated by it because I have no idea how to eat without flour and sugar, but I have a few weeks to research and prepare, and, well, I really need to do something proactive, both to improve my fertility and to improve my overall health (i.e., to lose weight!). I'll let you know how it goes.

My big boy is awesome, as always, but we are currently struggling with some major sleep issues. That's a whole other post for another day — soon!

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3rd birthday

We had a wonderful weekend-long celebration for Andrew's birthday, full of adventures and fun times with family. Among the highlights: subway rides, construction watching, grandma's visit, zoo trip, digging in dirt with cousins, firecrackers, bubbles, a picnic, presents, and two cakes! And now my boy is officially three years old! 

 

So grown-up and beautiful.

I love you so very much, puppy.

  

The cake, made with love by me.

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nighttime musing

A little while ago, Andrew cried out something unintelligible from his bed, and I slipped into the cool, dark quiet of his room to soothe him. He wouldn't speak to me, but after a short minute of back-rubbing, he lay down, thumb firmly in mouth. I stroked his damp head and pressed kisses against his cheek and forehead. Soon he resumed the deep breaths that meant sleep had returned. Still I sat next to his bed, watching him, thinking about how he will be turning three in just a few short days and itching to pull him into my arms. Thinking about all the hours I have spent holding him while he slept and wondering how many such hours there will be to come. Maybe it was lingering melancholy from the sad book I had left in the living room, but I actually shed a few tears.

Three years old. Undeniably no longer a baby. Not even a toddler, I suppose, but a preschooler. A typical boy who loves trucks and dinosaurs and often wishes to have long conversations about poop, who excitedly seeks out sand for digging and puddles for splashing, who begs to "look at the buttons" in the front seat every time we're in the car, and who is obsessed with playing Angry Birds (oops). Who still loves his monkey and sucks his thumb and often slips into bed with Mommy and Daddy in the middle of the night. Who occasionally says "I love you" and offers up hugs and kisses. My sweet, sweet boy.

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my fave pics of 2012 so far

Andrew with Daddy.

Andrew with Great-Grandpa.

Andrew with Mommy.

My beautiful boy.

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My big boy

I was really quite dreading potty training, but it's been relatively easy so far. I am so proud of my big boy.

It's been four weeks, and despite some initial resistance, Andrew is doing wonderfully. Last week he made the leap from only sitting on the potty at our urging to telling us when he needs to go (usually "the pee is coming!") and running.

I guess the next big step is figuring out how to get him to use public washrooms. I took him to craft class wearing underwear this week, after noticing that his diaper was always dry when we got home. While there, I asked him if he needed to pee, and he said "Where is the potty here?" I took him to the washroom and sat him on the toilet, and he was not a fan. I guess I should get one of those fold-up travel seats that I can carry in my purse.

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Happy days

Andrew has been a dream these past few days. He's doing amazingly well with the potty training, has been eating and sleeping well, and has had almost no tantrums. The only tears today happened at bedtime. He wanted more singing but wouldn't pick a song, so we said goodnight and left, and he got himself all worked up until I went back in and rubbed his back and sang the old lullabies that I'm usually not allowed to sing anymore.

Our current bedtime routine is as follows: we get his jammies on, then he drinks his hot milk and brushes his teeth while we read him stories. Daddy reads a book, then Mommy reads a book (specific books that he almost has memorized so he can "read" along), and then we all sing: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," then "ABCDEFG" (as he calls it), then "Jingle Bells," and then his special made-up "Truck Song."

Truck Song goes like this: "Truck sooonnng, yyyeah!" And then "Digger sooonnng, yyyeah!" and "Bulldozer sooonnng, yyyeah!" and, randomly, "Beach song, yyyeah!"

I love that Daddy is now involved in bedtime. Until very recently it was entirely my domain. Of course it's probably just an extension of the huge daddy phase he's in, and he probably wouldn't mind at all if I left Daddy to do it alone... Oh well. It's nice.

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Okay, 2012, let's do this...

So, I'm not going to call them resolutions, but here's my list of things to work on this year, in no particular order:

• lose weight (duh),
• get pregnant,
  
• save money,
• make more money,
• stop procrastinating,
  
• get organized, and
  
• make a will and get adequate life insurance.

Oh, and be a better mother, be a better wife, read more, cook more, craft more, improve my photography skills, get out more. Move to a new city. Buy a home.

You know. The usual.

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Stuff I made

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Ho-ho-holidays

Okay, so if I was a keen blogger I'd have wished you "Merry Christmas!" a couple of weeks ago. And I'd have wished you "Happy New Year!" a couple of days ago. Sorry about that. I do hope you had a wonderful holiday and that you have a healthy and happy 2012.

Here's a little glimpse into our holidays:

The boy enjoyed decorating the tree.

We went for a ride on the Santa Claus Express!
Andrew looked like this the whole time,
but he cried when it was over and said he wanted to go again,
so I guess he enjoyed it...

Andrew went fishing with Santa again this year.
He wasn't so sure about Santa, but the fish were cool.

We went to see the lights at the park on Christmas Eve.

My mom's tree on Christmas morning.
Andrew said "oh my god!" and "Santa left his socks!"

I know, buddy. I know.

This year I went way overboard with gifts for the boy, I guess because he was clearly so much more into it than last year and there was so much I just knew he'd love. But you know, he would have been happy enough to stop after he opened his stocking and Santa gifts. I'll try to remember that for next year when I'm itching to get him just one more thing.

Anyway, his big gift from us was a train set (LOVE it, although I am regretting not splurging for one that came with a table). His big gift from Grandma was a very nice easel, which of course wasn't immediately exciting for him, but I think he will enjoy it with time. He got many, many vehicles, of course. And lots of cozy winter PJs. I made him a hobby horse, but it's really too big and heavy for him to safely play with yet. Oops!

New Year's Eve isn't a big deal in our house. Andrew went to bed at his usual time. I worked on my computer while the hubster played with his new games and eventually dozed on the couch. I closed my laptop at 11:56 p.m., woke Keith, and flipped to the local TV station just in time for the countdown. We exchanged the obligatory kiss and headed for the bedroom... and were asleep within minutes. :p

And so another year is over. Today we took down the tree, and tomorrow I return to work and Andrew returns to daycare. Le sigh.

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potty training, again

Back in August, Andrew was very interested in the potty... for about 10 days. And then, as suddenly as his interest started, it was over, and he wanted nothing to do with the potty.

Five months later, he is now officially 2.5 years old, and I decided it's time to try again. My starting strategy was to let Andrew go bare-bottomed this weekend. Yesterday he did fabulously well. Diaper-free for about seven hours resulting in about five pees and two poops. No accidents. Seemed happy and excited when we cheered for him and told him he's doing a great job.

Today, he was diaper-free for maybe six hours. In the morning he was co-operative, just like yesterday, but after his nap he was angry and upset when I took off his diaper. We still got a few pees but no number twos today, which is highly unusual for my frequent pooper. At one point he commented that "the potty is dangerous." (He also said that "watching football on the TV is dangerous," so I'd like to know what he thinks that word means!) Later, he started crossing his arms and saying "This is all my fault. Hmph." DH asked, "What's your fault, buddy?" and he said, "Potty training. This is all my fault." I reassured him that potty training is a good thing, and he vehemently disagreed. Weirdo.

At that point, I didn't know what to do. Give up and put a diaper on him, or wait it out and see if we can get him over it. I offered bribes in the form of mini M&Ms, which worked to get him to sit and remain seated for a few minutes, but they also caused tantrums and are not my ideal solution.

In the end, he did manage two more good pees after the "this is all my fault" incident and went to bed in high spirits. I'm interested to see what tomorrow brings. I think I'll try putting underwear on him and see how he deals with that.

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