A boy and his worm

The other morning we found a nightcrawler when I was pulling some weeds in the yard. Ben was absolutely smitten, named him 'Mater' (of course), and played with him all morning. I reminded him to be gentle with his new friend because I had no desire to clean mashed worm off my child. Yuck. And fortunately ben was nice to his little pal.



When it came time to go in I told Ben to send his friend home (back to the dirt). Ben decided that 'Mater' needed to drive himself home in a car. He even had 'Mater' stop at store, get out, and get back into his car before reaching his destination. Ha-ha! What a funny kid.

Caitlin is on the mend - finally!

FINALLY her diarrhea is letting up. Things started to improve yesterday (naturally, because I booked a doctor's appointment); she went from having anywhere from ~10 bowel movements per day (not pretty ones either) to 5 less gross BMs, and today so far she's only gone once. We went to the appointment anyway and our GP figures it's rotavirus (PSA: if you have an older child, it's worth getting for RotaTeq for your newbie). He weighed her and she's still on her curve, so that's good. She's been eating well anyway, so I'm not really surprised.

What a little trooper

Caitlin, that is. Oh boy. She picked up a gastro bug from Ben, and Ben being the age he is and not in diapers it wasn't too bad for him. And it seems to have run it's course, for the most part. But poor Caitlin is pooping up a storm. I've been washing her bum with warm face cloths rather than wipes because they just sting her so badly. Her bum and bits are terribly red and the skin is starting to break a little. Ugh.

And as if that isn't enough for the poor girl, she cut one of her upper central incisors today. We were out shopping (for rice cereal, pureed bananas - since mashed bananas seem to be too hard on her system right now - and super strength diaper cream) I noticed a small streak of blood near her mouth, I took a quick peek in and could and sure enough, a tooth was cutting.

For the little trooper part - Caitlin's not at all had a complaint! What a heavenly baby. Seriously, who wouldn't complain about a sore bum and bleeding gums?! One tough little cookie here.

A Day Out With Thomas

We drove down to St. Thomas, Ontario yesterday (just south of London) for A Day Out With Thomas. Besides a variety of activities, the main event is a ride on Thomas himself. It was a surprise we'd had planned for Ben for some time now. Ben really enjoyed himself, and Caitlin too!

Ben surveying the site from the haybale maze.
Fun with bubbles.

Jumping in the bouncy castle.

Toot-tooting on Thomas.

Caitlin and I (she was a sleepy girl, she hadn't napped most of the day).

Ben and Daddy posing by Thomas.

Caitlin finally crashed.

Ben playing at one of the many train tables in 'Imagination Station'.

At the Lego Thomas table.

My littlest budding artiste!

Allow me to present Caitlin's first finger painting. :)

I think he's trying to rapidly age me!

In addition to Ben's adventures in breakfast preparation the other day, this is how I found him this morning.

A good time to post an update on Ben's peanut allergy

Ben had an appointment with his new allergist on July 13th (last Monday). He only showed the slightest response to the skin prick (historically he's always had a very strong response to the peanut skin prick). The allergist then retested with actual peanut butter, same result. The doctor was optimistic. He ordered blood work (RAST) and said if it was negative that he would schedule a food challenge at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.

Fast forward to today.

The allergist's office called to say they got the results and they were negative (<0.35 KU/L) and they are submitting a request for a food challenge. It will take about two weeks to get the appointment and the challenge itself isn't likely to take place for a few months, so in the fall.

I'm hopeful and nervous. We have everything crossed for Ben.

Caitlin and food

Boy, she sure is loving food these days! I started out making her purees, etc., but found I was having a difficult time keeping up, not to mention having enough of the right sized storage containers, etc. so I just started buying some jarred foods too. PC Organics (priced on par with all the other non-organic baby foods).

Caitlin's not a big fan of cereal, but she's doing quite well with veg and fruit. She's crazy about bananas and banana blends, and she can easily pack away a small jar of puree in one sitting.

She also loves her baby safe feeder:

When did he become such a big boy??

This morning I was about to start drying my hair when Ben got up. We were all upstairs. One minute he's happily playing with Caitlin, the next he's gone. I stop the hair dryer and hear rummaging around in the kitchen, cupboard doors, etc. Then Ben yells up 'I'm making myself cereal!'. Unsure whether to try to salvage my kitchen or finish drying my hair I figured I'd stick with the latter and deal with the mess when I got downstairs.

So, I finish up, Caitlin and I go downstairs, and there's Ben happily eating his rice crispies at the kitchen table. No mess. And I just about burst into tears. He just seemed like such a big boy! And I said 'wow, you didn't even make a mess!' and he says 'oh, I did make a little mess, but I cleaned it up.' (I sure hope that sticks!)

However, it dawned on me that the milk bag wasn't opened. I put a new one in the container in the morning but hadn't cut it opened. Turns out he used a knife to open it...! I nearly had a freakin' heart attack. I told him next time to ask mummy for help when he wants to use knives or scissors. God help me. But he sure is resourceful!

Professional family photos

We've finally had some photos of the family taken. The last time we had proper photos done was our wedding!

Amy Schuster and Angela Shepherd (www.guelphphotography.com) took the photos. We're so pleased with the outcome! Here are some of our favourites.

Ben's week at JK camp - a success!

Ben had such a great time this past week at junior-kindergarten camp at the school he'll attend in September. All schools should offer something like this for all the new little students. The teachers were wonderful and engaging. We didn't have a single difficult drop-off. Ben learned so much in such a short time, too. And he's so proud of his new found independance. When we stopped at a public bathroom this week he didn't want me in the stall with him. He wanted to do it all by himself. :)

"Is air pretend?"

Ben asked Nic the other day in the car. He wondered if air was pretend because he couldn't see it. Clever kid!

We've been explaining that air is a gas and gas is usually invisible, kind of like how you can look through glass, but that you can feel it when the wind blows or when you put your hand out the car window while driving.

Caitlin's first food allergy

Oats.

I suspected because I'd used Aveeno lotion on her a few times and noticed the following day she had a pinprick type rash (looked like heat rash). The first time I thought it was the perfume in the lotion, switched to the unscented, same thing.

Then she tried oatmeal, and I kept in mind to watch for a reaction, nothing obvious initially, but after a few times she started developing some eczema on her face. It started as little bumps, then began to get a little red and irritated looking. No other obvious symptoms.

Fortunately it appears to be a mild allergy, not epipen worthy, and I suspect she'll outgrow.

Ah, good times being back in the food allergy discovery world. *sigh*

My little library helper

Since rekindling my love of reading and making time to read daily, we've been frequenting the library quite often, sometimes to just pick up books I have on hold, and other times to go up to the 2nd floor and peruse the kids section.

As a result Ben's become quite in tune with the whole library experience. He knows the drill. He opens the door for me and Caitlin, returns our old books, chats up all the librarians, knows where to bring our books to check them out, hands over the library card, and then loads them into our bag or stroller. He seems so pleased with himself for having these new responsibilities, and he does so well with them.

We've been checking a lot of children's stories out for Ben too, which are great. We've found a few that he really enjoys. Lately he's partial to reading stories about cats. Poor boy really wants a cat (my stupid allergy prevents us from having one).

I sure hope his love of the library sticks.

Caitlin update!

This one's all about Caitlin!

First, I can't believe she's almost 7 months old already. I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again, time passes SO much more quickly the second time around.

She recently had her '6 month' check-up a little late, and did fantastic. She's weighing 8.5kg, so 18.75 lbs, which maintains her weight curve of 75th percentile. Her height curve dropped, but I think that's more likely due to our doctor's measuring method than anything else. Her head circumference is following the 25th percentile curve as it always has. She took her shots like a champ, cried briefly and soothed quickly, left happy. And despite being overdue for a nap you would never have known it - she was content and cooperative.

I've mentioned that she's sitting and rolling, but doing it so much more effectively now. I still keep a pillow behind her incase she pitches backwards, as she does from time to time, but she's really strong, and so when she tips herself too far over she gets her arms out and no longer face plants. As for rolling, she can go front to back and back to front, quite well now. She doesn't seem to mind being on her tummy at all.

She's also learning to pull herself around on her tummy to face in a different direction and she's beginning to try getting her bum up. I think she may be more inclined to crawl on her hands and knees rather than bum scoot as Ben did since she does enjoy tummy time so much more.

Caitlin continues to be a content and cheerful baby. She's just so pleasant, and it takes a lot to ruffle her feathers. Of course teething makes her cranky or if she's a bit under the weather she likes to be held a lot, but other than that she's quite independant and will happily play on her own with her toys. It probably helps that Ben is often playing with his own toys right along side her.

She doesn't seem to have a favourite toy, she'll play with pretty much anything, but she is quite interested in Ben's cars (he's not too crazy about that, but he's learning to share), and books, particularly the books I get from the library which have the plastic film over the cover. Must be the crinkle, because she's also crazy about paper and cardboard.

Caitlin's food repertoire:

• banana
• pear
• rice, barley, and oatmeal cereals
• green beans
• sweet potato
• carrots
• prunes

So far her favourites are pear, banana, and barley cereal. She's not crazy about being spoon fed, and her tongue thrust reflex is still fairly strong, though she is getting the idea and opens up more regularly now. She loves her mesh baby-safe feeder; she'll gnaw on that for a good while. I think she'll be an early self-feeder.

So overall Caitlin's doing great. She's a tonne of fun, and I can't imagine our lives without her. She's brings us all so much joy! We love our sweet, beautiful girlie-girl.

Ben's preschool 'graduation' on June 19th

Ben had his last day of preschool on June 16th, followed by his 'graduation' on the 19th. It was so cute. They all wore little motarboards fashioned from construction paper with little yarn tassles - adorable! Then they all got little certificates rolled up as diplomas.

Ben did great; we're so proud of him. He had a good year at his preschool and it was a wonderful introduction to the 'formal' learning environment. His teachers were very good with him and all the kids. And although Ben wasn't always thrilled about going to school, he was always happy, smiling, and having a great time when I arrived to pick him up.

Our big boy will start junior kindergarten in September. He'll attend a JK kick-off camp for a week of mornings starting July 6th, which will be a very good thing for him, I think. One of the teacher's running the program will be his homeroom teacher when he starts school in September, so she'll be a familiar face.

Ben's in the green, white, and navy stripes. :)

Leading the way for the grads.

Singing to the kid next to him.

Getting his diploma from his teachers, Mrs. Karen and Mrs. Sue.

Officially a preschool grad!

Ben with his teachers.

Standing by the 'Class of 2009' cookie, waiting anxiously to dig in.

Ben's flower.

Pics from Grandpa and Nanna's visit

Unfortunately I didn't get as many photos as I normally would have. We were all under the weather and managed to infect Dad (aka Grandpa) while he was here, and so there was less activity than normal during our annual visits. The upside is that Grandpa and Nanna hope to come back again towards the end of the summer and hopefully then we'll make up for lost time. It was so nice having them here and we miss them lots.

Here are a few from our visit in May.

2 kids + summer + rekindled love of reading = neglected blog

Sorry, sorry. The poor blog has been grossly neglected. I have so many things to post and so many things to say that I'll break it up into a few entries.

Highlights to come:
- pics from Grandpa and Nanna's visit
- pics from Ben's last day of pre-school
- update on Caitlin