William's 5-month Birthday Marineland Extravaganza

It was William's 5-month birthday yesterday so we went to Marineland with William's best friend Aedan and his parents Becca and Drew. Truth be told, I didn't actually remember that the 15th was my son's 5-month until Becca reminded us. In any case, we saw much marine life and I took many photos.

I like the one above the best, because everyone is looking and pointing the other way while a killer whale swims by. This begs the question: what could possibly be more interesting than a killer whale?

The sign next to the underwater viewing area read "ANY LEAKS YOU MAY SEE ARE NOT A SAFETY CONCERN AS THEY WILL EVENTUALLY SEAL ON THEIR OWN." I found this less than reassuring because it told me that a) the tank (full of killer whales mind you) sometimes leaks and b) the park staff do nothing to fix these leaks reasoning that the problem will just go away on its own.

Other stuff we saw/did: a seal/dolphin/walrus show, a roller coaster, one of those swing-of-the-century-type rides (that's my favourite kind of ride and I'm not sure why, I guess I'm a 7-year-old at heart), one of those drop-you-from-ridiculous-heights-type rides (I watched the babies while the less sane adults went on this. Am I the only one who finds hurtling towards the ground from high altitudes to be a less than appealing prospect? I am. Alright then.), bears (which you could feed corn pops), beluga whales (which you could feed fish), fish in a river (which you could feed fish food), and fish in an aquarium (which wasn't stroller accessible). We didn't approach the deer pen, because most of us had had bad experiences with the viscious marineland deer, and I refused to go near them with my baby.

Jen on the Wii

Here is Jen on the Wii playing Wii Sports Boxing



:)

Warning: Computer Nerds in the Gym!

My husband and I have decided that we need to get in shape (or, more accurately, I have decided to force my husband to exercise), so three times a week we're using the gym in condo-building's basement. What a special place that is, complete with exercise and weight-training equipment from every decade (except the one we are currently in). It's been going okay, I do sit-ups in a futile attempt to regain some ab muscles, Adam uses the push-the-handlebars-lift-the-weights machine, and we both run on the treadmills until we sweat. We exercise for at least half-an-hour (pending baby crankiness) then reward ourselves with ice cream.

The World of Jen (and William)

Rolling update
When William was just over a month old he learned to roll over from his front to his back. Shortly afterward, he would roll over instantly when he was placed on his tummy. Fast forward a few months, William learns the back to front roll. Now he immediately rolls to his tummy whenever he's placed on his back. This is great for things like learning to crawl, but not so great for things like changing diapers.

Tag
Jen and Carol's International Tag(the blog where we compare our respective cities with photos) has gotten more challenging, since we ran out of street signs to photograph. Right now it's stuck at "school bus" because I forgot it was summer holidays. Carol assures me she knows where the buses go at the end of term.

A Little Work a Little Money
I'm updating the October calendar for Today's Parent Toronto. It's an interesting exercise to search for info on Hallloween activities in the middle of July. I'm surprised at how many people have their websites up to date for that period. Yesterday I finished all I could do with the net and today I'm going to once again confront my phobia of calling people.

Meme Dreams
My dream of creating a super-meme has somewhat fizzled, as so far only my devoted husband has filled out my little survey. Just as well, I'm going on to bigger and better things.

Youtubing the Flash
Frequent visitors to this site will recognize this little flash I made a while ago of Spock mind-melding with an orange. With a little bit of finangling I managed to get the thing posted to youtube. It was not, as I first imagined, as simple as exporting the flash file as a video. The end result has a bit of weird interference at the beginning of the clip, but I think it adds to the charm. One day, I hope to create more flash movies of Spock mind-melding with various objects and animals, but that may be one of my lofty goals that never comes to pass. In any case, I'm now in the 21st century.

Baby-proofing Baby-schmoofing
William is getting better and better at that trick of putting his legs under himself and pushing forward. Next step, crawling. I don't have any stairs , luckily, but other than that I think my place is one giant baby death trap. I need to baby proof soon and don't know where to begin. Perhaps with a good cleaning and vacuuming. Ugh. Blech. I HATE to clean.

The masterpiece (or it should be after all this time)
I'm rewriting the one and only book I've ever finished (way back in the day when I first started dating Adam). I say "rewriting" instead of just "editing" what I'm writing now is barely recognizable. It started by me fixing a few things that had always bugged me. Then those small things snowballed into big things. And now it's like I'm writing a whole new book. My Mom and husband liked the original, but I don't want to be the kind of author who goes around toting copies of her self-published schlock going "all my family and friends enjoyed it".

And
The water in the pool is very nice.

Meme That I Wrote Myself

Facebook quizzes, or memes for the blogger, are a string of questions to answer about yourself that nobody really cares to read. Most of which were obviously written by a teenager living in suburban USA. But for some reason they are highly addicting, so I'm going to take a stab at writing my own.

1. Make up a name for yourself that isn't your real name: Captain McZany of the Federation Starship Crazytown

2. How old are you? 27

3. No, how old are you in days? 10,100

4. Do you believe in God? No.

5. What about Santa Claus? I consider myself a Santa Claus agnostic.

6. The tooth fairy? The next tooth I lose is totally going under my pillow.

7. Capital punishment? I really don't think it's a good idea to be killing people for any reason.

8. War? See above answer.

9. Abortion? I believe in a woman's right to choose.

10. What did you do yesterday? I made a potroast and a strawberry cake for Adam's birthday. Dad and Craig and Eireann came over and we ate. It turned out pretty well, except the icing on the cake was very runny because of the strawberries.

11. What did you do today? I went to Mother Goose class with William. We already graduated, but we're taking it again because we had so much fun the last time.

12. What are you doing tommorrow? Not much planned for tommorrow. At some point I'm going to buy some Star Trek earrings that I saw for sale online. This may require driving to Mississauga.

13. What was your first pet? It was a gold fish. Either Fido or Shammu or Bubbles.

14. Name your siblings: My brother Craig, my sister Robin, my sister-in-law Julie.

15. Name your first cousins: Jason, Jeremy, Jodie, Kelly and Joey.

16. Your grandparents? Ernst, Gertrud, Thelma, Alan

17. Any of them still alive? Thelma and Gertrud

18. Do androids have belly buttons? An interesting question. An android is a robot made to look like a man, ergo if one is made properly he/it should have a belly button. However, since the definition of android can be broadened to include any mechanical device that resembles a human (ie: animatronic people in the "It's a small world" ride, mechanical arms in automobile factories), I would say that not all androids have belly buttons.

19. Do chickens have belly buttons? Hmmmn. They hatch from eggs so no. But that's just a guess.

20. Does a woman in her third trimester have a belly button? Yes, but not a normal-looking one.

21. If you had the telephone number of the afterlife, what dead person would you call right now? Anyone from a super duper long time ago. Like a woman living in ancient greece. I would be like "Operator, get me ancient Greece, and a translator. I don't care who in ancient Greece you get, just make it snappy!" Or I would call one of my grandfathers. Or both of them, if the long distance charges weren't too high.

22. Do you believe in the afterlife? No.

23. Name someone you went out with but wish you hadn't: I haven't gone out with very many people. My boyfriend before Adam was named Travis. It didn't work out, but I wouldn't say I regret going out with him.

24. Name someone you wish you'd gone out with but didn't: I generally wish I'd gone out more in high school and stuff. I don't have a specific person. Now that I'm married, I think I'm past any regrets about old crushes.

25. What's your favourite expression? Captain ________ of the starship _______. Example: if my computer is running slowly I might say "This computer is Captain Slowpoke of the starship Hundredyearstoload."

26. Including watches and jewlery, how many articles would you have to remove in order to be naked? 6. Assuming I don't take off my rings.

27. Name something that's important to you that you haven't mentioned in the above answers: My son William.

Now if anybody actually does this meme, I would ask you to add three random questions to the end and answer them. That way the meme will grow and grow to become a super meme!

Adam's Questions:

28. At what age did you loose your virginity?: 21

29: if you could get rid of one person to make the world a better place who would it be: I'm not big into assassination so I'll pick someone who's already dead: Jesus Christ

30: Did you torture insects as a child?: Quite the opposite. I used to rescue insects from being squished and release them outside.

Operation Pot Roast

Tommorrow is Adam's birthday, and like a good wife I am going to make a yummy dinner and a yummy cake. My plan was to walk to the super market today and get all the things I need to make a delicious pot roast and cake. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas.

Yes, it is raining.

Yes, this morning my Vonage phone service cut out on me. Not for long. Just long enough for me to panic.

No, I have never made a potroast before in my life.

But fear not, my Mommy is coming to save the day. She has made pot roast before. She owns a slow cooker. She has baked many delicious cakes. She has a car. She knows whether I should use red wine or beef broth or both. She is my cooking idol and she is coming to be my grocery-shopping guide. All hail the all-mighty Mom!

Happy 140th Birthday Canada! (Belated)

So this year Canada Day fell on a Sunday, so we get Monday off too. Sweet.

Yesterday, we celebrated the occassion by playing pass the baby at Amy's annual pool and sangria party. One of Amy's friends is a midwife and another is an ObGyn so there was much talk of babies, childbirth and other related topics. The air was on the cold side for a pool party, but luckily Amy's Dad keeps the pool a refreshing 32 degrees C (90 degrees F) and everyone including William had a dip. As the night went on and the sangrias flowed, some guests opted for a swim with their clothes on (by "opted" I of course mean they were thrown in). My small nuclear family stayed dry during this episode, as none of us had consumed as much alcohol as the other partygoers. Nevertheless we all enjoyed the entertainment (except for William who was asleep in his stroller).

We left the party at around nine thirty and considered going to the fireworks at the waterfront. In the end we just went home because I realised I am past the point in my life where vulturing a parking spot and a patch of grass just to watch loud lights exploding in the sky holds any excitement.

Congratulations Becky and Dave!

My kindergarten class is getting married off one by one. Today was Becky's turn. She and her husband Dave tied the knot in a medieval-style ceremony at Webster's Falls. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding. Nothing but sunshine, and no sticky humidity.

Here's a shot of the happy couple with Becky's Mom:



And here's a shot of the whole wedding party:



And finally, here's a shot of Becky blowing out the candles on her wedding cake:


Okay, you got me. That last shot wasn't taken today. That was Becky's tenthish birthday party. (Guess who that is on the left?)

Every once in a while it hits me: Hey, I've known these people since kindergarten and now we're getting married and having babies! I didn't have a lot of friends in elementary school, but most of them are still my friends today. Craziness.

William's first trip to the library

Yesterday William sat up on his own. Adam and I were hanging out with him on the couch when we both suddenly realized that neither of us were holding him up and he wasn't falling over.

So now that he's all grown up, I figured it was time he got his own library card. Finally the weather is neither too hot, nor too rainy for a nice long walk. Long, but nice, we strolled through Central Park, past the Labyrinth, around a playground, and across a soccer field.

I've been going to this same library since I was six years old, long enough to know many of the librarians. Today we saw Marnie, who went gah gah over William. She complained that when people she'd known as kids came in with their babies it made her feel like she belonged in an old folks' home. I complained that since the library was renovated, I can't find anything. The children's department is now upstairs, and the elevator makes a scary noise.

William's BM schedule today allowed us to test the change tables in both the upstairs and downstairs washrooms. When that was done, we got William his own library card and he took out his first books. What an exhausting day!

Best friends

William and I went down to St. Catharines today to hang out with Aedan and his Mom, Becca. Look at them being all chummy. Totally not posed. Really they just climbed up on the couch and put their arms around each other.

Anyway, going to St. Cath meant I had to drive Adam to work all the way in Mississauga then drive back the way I came and past Burlington to the end of the world. Then miss my exit and get lost in the worst city to get lost in in the universe (the streets are laid out in a diamond grid pattern). Then drive through torrential downpour and rush hour traffic at the end of the day to pick Adam up again. I have no concept of time whatsoever, but I would estimate that I did roughly 350 years of driving today.

But I had fun. Becca: move to Burlington!

Rabbit Season

All of a sudden there are rabbits everywhere!

Here's a picture Adam took of the rabbits nest at my in-laws' yesterday:




And just now Adam and William and I went for a walk and we saw this baby rabbit in the mall parking lot:




And this huge Mommy rabbit nursing her babies by my building (honestly, this thing was larger than my parents' dog):




Back in the day, you only saw a rabbit around here once in a blue moon. Now they're multiplying like, well, like rabbits!

Father's Day

I bought Adam and William matching outfits for Father's Day, enhancing their cuteness for the Father's Day events at my in-law's house. My mom-in-law invited a whole bunch of cousins who have never met William over for barbecue and baby. Everyone praised William for being so ultra-cute and well-behaved.

After Babcia and Dziazio's it was off to Omi and Opa's (my parents) for some Father's Day lobster. William was a bit cranky by this point because it was evening and he was tired from all the baby-passing. Hunter, my six-year-old nephew, wheeled him around the living room in the stroller to keep him quiet enough for me to eat my dinner. Even cranky, William is better behaved than most other babies, seeing as he is (in my unbiased opinion) the greatest baby in the world.

As tired as he was, the bedtime ritual went painlessly tonight, freeing me up to write this entry and post photos on my international tag blog.

Sound of Music Day 1: Philosopher Kings

Woohoo, thought I, a band I've heard of is playing at the Sound of Music Festival. So I left William with my favourite babysitters (my Mom, Dad, and nephew) and headed out with my good friend Amy to enjoy the show (we met Dayna there). I do love a free concert, especially when I get close enough to take some decent photos. Yeah, and the music was okay too.

Some of my favourite points about the festival in general:

Every year musicians who are used to singing to adoring fans try to get the audience to sing their lyrics back to them, only to find that noone there knows the words. Tonight was no exception, but the Kings were unphased.

You always see people you haven't seen in a hundred years. It's like facebook live. In addition to Amy and Dayna, I saw a girl from my high school german class, one of my sister's old friends, and an old pal from high school.

It's Alive! To jest Żywe!

Every day, Adam calls from work to tell me he's on his way home. Yesterday the call came from the Canadian Tire across the street. Our '99 Subaru Forester was overheating (no kidding, so was I!) and he had taken it in to be checked out. An hour and a half later the boys (and girls) at Canuck T told us that our jalopy needed a new (insert name of engine part here). Apparently, this widget is buried so deeply in the engine that, while the part isn't too costly, the labour is super duper expensive. Might as well get a new engine, so says the Canucks.

Cost of an engine and labour at Canadian Tire: approximately $7000
Total cost of the car when we bought it: approximately $7000

So you can see why we don't find this scenario cost effective. Luckily there's the Filipowicz garage (my in-laws' house). We've already saved a tonne of money using Adam's Dad as slave labour. Now he might be able to use his Subaru Frankenstein tricks to resurrect our monster for a more reasonable price.

Despite our Polish mafia connections, we will still need a new car one day. Or at least another old one.

Baby news

Yesterday we switched William from the highly convenient, very portable infant carrier, to the big cushy, stays-in-the-car-forever, big boy seat. He reached the max height for the carrier. William is going to be tall like his Daddy. *tear* My baby is growing up.

In other highly fascinating baby news: this morning, rather than be woken up to crying, I awoke to an electronic version of Itsy Bitsy Spider, courtesy of William's Pooh Bear. When I went to investigate, William was playing on his tummy. He's been able to roll to his tummy for awhile ( since about June 2) but normally he just freaks himself out and screams for Mommy. This was a pleasant change.

Jen and Carol's International Photo Tag

I started a new blog with my Scottish friend Carol that everyone should check out. (www.internationaltag.blogspot.com) Here's the description:

"Canadian Jen posts a picture, then Scottish Carol posts a picture of the same thing (only Scottish). Then Carol posts a pic of something else, then Jen posts a pic of the same thing (only Canadian). And one day, with luck, we'll have a photo blog that compares Burlington, Ontario, Canada with Glasgow, Scotland in some interesting way."

Okay, so the description's lame. But I felt the best thing to do was to tell it like it is. If you go there right now you can compare Canadian and Scottish squirrels.

On a completely different topic: It's hot. And I got suckered into Morty-sitting again today. And Monday. And it's hot. Did I mention it's hot?

Morty the Jackapoo, Becca and Drew, Aedan, William and Hunter too.

I don't have much energy for brilliance (read the title). Here is a list of things we did (in no particular order):

• played Wii Sports
• played Wii Play
• played Donkey Kong
• built a two-headed alien monster car out of lego
• went to McDonald's
• watched Quantum Leap
• watched Terminator 3
• went to the park
• played tv tag
• played Star Wars Monopoly
• played the Nightmare Before Christmas Game
• played Simpson's Jeopardy
• went to the grocery store to buy a cake and pick out a birthday card for Omi
• visited Omi at the old folks' home (ate cake)
• attempted to put William to sleep (in progress)

Almost 9pm, and no dinner here yet. Adam's gone to pick something up.

Morty the Jackapoo, once again

It is now 11 o'clock. Morty has been here since 8:30 and he's already puked on the carpet. I was nursing my cranky teething baby and thus confined to a rocking chair when Morty trotted in and began heaving. For those of you who have seen a dog throw-up, you'll know they do it in slow motion.

First the heaving, like every muscle their body is working together to dislodge this hunk of ... whatever. And you're thinking: "He's about to puke! Oh no! I should do something. But what? I'll look for something to catch the puke in. Oh, too late." Or in my case: "If only I wasn't confined to this rocking chair."

Now, to a human, the sight and smell of ones own vomit is so repulsive, it has been known to make one vomit again. But a dog will eat anything. Anything. Most likely the reason Morty tossed his cookies in the first place. You'd think they'd learn. But then again, if hurling meant I got a tasty snack, instead of a gross puddle of disgusting barf, I might want to do it more often. Normally I would make some attempt to prevent the re-eating of previously evacuated stomach contents. However, as I was concentrating on my cranky teething baby, and thus confined to a rocking chair, I could only utter a half-hearted "No Morty" while the Jackapoo devoured a hunk of up-chuck about the size of his head.

Now both baby and puppy are asleep (baby in his crib and Morty at my feet) and the day is getting better already. Oh here's a fun quiz to see if you were paying attention: How many different words/phrases meaning "puke" did I use in this blog entry? List them all in the comments session if you are so inclined, and let me know if I missed any.

And if you're still looking to waste time, try this random movie quote generator:

Lions and tigers and Morty, oh my!

Morty "the Jackapoo" McNicoll vs. the Filipowicz Family

Yesterday William and I were dog-sitting. My parents are in BC and Morty the Jackapoo came over so he didn't have to stay in the crate all day while my brother was at work.

Morty (4lbs) vs. Lokai (2lbs)

About 3 seconds after my husband left for work, leaving me alone with baby and puppy, Morty found our smallest, often forgotten family member. Yes, that's right, Lokai the Guinea Pig. I yelled "down!" at him enough times that Morty understood that he wasn't supposed to look at the pig, bark at the pig, or jump on the pig's cage. So he only did those things when I was out of the room. Lokai was pretty laid back about the whole issue. He gave more squeaks of protest when I put the lid on his cage (something I haven't needed to do in about a year), than squeaks of fear at the attacking pooch. Of course even if Morty had been able to get in the cage, I think Lokai could probably take him in a fair fight. In any case, no family members were eaten.

Morty (4lbs) vs. William (16lbs)

But some were tasted. Everytime William got anywhere near the floor, Morty would run from wherever he was and lick the baby's face. William wasn't sure if he like this at first, but eventually decided he didn't and made pouty faces when Morty came near. William likes to stand on the floor while I hold his hands, and he didn't get to do a whole lot of that yesterday. Funny thing, next to William, Morty looks like a full-sized dog.

A Test of Baby Proofing.

One good part of having Morty here is that the little guy finds and chews on things that maybe William will find and chew on when he becomes more mobile. Most of our baby proofing will involve cleaning up and vacuuming more often.

Willam's Talents

I was going to post a video I took of William in his exersaucer, but I am having technical difficulties. Instead, here is a list of William's current abilities:

• Rolling over front to back
• Reaching for things, grabbing them, and putting them in his mouth. "Things" include (but aren't limited to) blankets, toys, t-shirts, hair, hands (his and those of others), stuffed animals, necklaces, nipples.
• Playing with the toys dangling from his crib gym. This skill is related to the grabbing skill. It's not unusual to see him with one toy in each hand, holding another with his feet, and trying to get all three in his mouth.
• Turning around in the exersaucer. He can now play with all the toys around the side properly too.
• Getting out of his carseat. Not while it's buckled though, thankfully.
• Cooing and gurgling and making a whole vocabulary of noises.
• Smiling.
• Laughing.
• Standing while someone holds his arms.
• Sitting while someone holds his arms.
• Turning around in his crib. Note, not rolling around. He simply manoevres his legs in such a way that he ends up with his feet pointed in a completely different direction.
• Sleeping all the way through the night.

Now he just has to learn to post a video on youtube so he can teach me!

My Baby's All Grown Up

I first noticed it two days ago. A little roughness on the bottom gum, and a possible explanation for his recent meltdowns. Now there's no doubt about it: William has a tooth.

Teething Worries:

1. My baby is in pain. He cries unconsolably. Wants to be held constantly. He hasn't had meltdowns like this since he was learning to breastfeed at a week old. The worst thing in the world is to watch your baby in pain with no power to make the pain go away. I tried teething rings, which work for three seconds and then not. This morning I finally gave him baby tylenol. He's calm, but now I'm one of those parents who medicates her children!

2. My baby will now be able to bite me. William is breastfed exclusively. I don't know if it's my imagination, but I swear I can feel that tooth when he feeds. Soon it will come in fully and he'll be able to draw blood!

3. My baby is all grown up. In addition to the new tooth, William can now stand if I hold onto his hands. Soon he'll be able to stand while holding onto stuff and then he'll be able to walk all by himself. And, with his new teeth, he'll be able to eat big people food. And if he can walk, and eat, he'll be able to take girls out to dinner. And if he can take girls out to dinner, he can get married and leave me!

I'm not ready to be the Mom of a grown-up.

The Mommy Cooking Show

William is screaming in the other room. Now I'm not a let a child cry it out type of Mom, but I figure it's better for him to be screaming in the other room than to be screaming in my arms. At least this way I can blog.

Update: William is quiet. Maybe he's asleep. I know he's tired but the reason it seems he's been cranky is (and this is really weird) that he missed the Mommy cooking show.

To explain: about a month ago I started putting William in his carseat in the kitchen so he could watch me make dinner. It was the only way I could get a meal on the table without screaming. I'd tell him what I was doing while I did it and count out all the ingredients for him.

Yesterday, Adam called to say he was going to be late and I decided to wait before starting to make anything. Around the time I usually start to cook William wailed inconsolably. I thought he was tired, but he wouldn't go down in his crib. I went through the baby checklist, fed him, changed him, burped him, put him in the exersaucer. Nothing. Finally, I noticed the time and put him in the carseat in the kitchen. He smiled as if to say: okay, I'm ready for the show.

Today Adam's going to be late again. This time I'm wise to the game and put William in the carseat at the appropriate time. But, problem, it was too early to make dinner. The dishwasher was full but not clean, so I couldn't make a show of emptying it for him. I decided to wash the the stove. It badly needed it because I HATE (note I'm using the word HATE in capital letters) cleaning, especially when it comes to the kitchen. William has similar feelings about cleaning, because he did not enjoy the Mommy cleaning show at all. I think this is because a) he sensed how thrilled I wasn't about the activity and b) I forgot to narrate.

So I tossed my screaming infant in his crib (by "tossed" I of course mean, lay him down gently with a kiss) and here we are. Yes, he's tired, but he was very disappointed not to be able to catch the Mommy cooking show before his evening nap.

Dances with Lobster and Kindergarten Reunion

I was reading Kill the Goat, a blog that puts my semi-regular posting to shame. Every time William falls asleep long enough for me to read it, there's at least two new incredibly long, yet humourous and well written entries. While I enjoy the posts, I can't see how she (she being Jay, the author of the aforementioned blog) has time to write them, and can't help but feel a twinge of guilt at not keeping my few faithful blog-readers similarly updated. So here's my weekend.

Saturday May 26th and Sunday May 27th were days that I've been looking forward to for a while.

Saturday, because of Lobster Fiesta, a night of all-you-can-eat lobster and dancing with my husband. I love lobster and I love my husband almost as much, maybe even more. Okay definitely more than lobster. My parents go just about every year, but this was my first Lobster Fiesta and also the first time Adam and I have danced since our wedding. I'm still madly in love with him (Adam, not the lobster).

Sunday, because of Becky's bridal shower. When you've known someone since kindergarten, friend seems too shallow a word. I mean, we know each other's Moms. We're family. I don't hang out with Becky all that much anymore, regretably, but I'm happy to be included in her wedding celebrations. Other kindergarten alumni in attendance: Alex, who I haven't seen since we were twelve years old. She and I were friends in grade six but didn't go to the same high school. Seeing her was like a page from the past. Becca, the friend I hang out with the most (husbands and other blood relatives accepted) mostly because our lives seem to be running parallel. We were married in the same year and her son, Aedan, was born only a few weeks before William. I hope William and Aedan will still be friends when they're getting married and having kids of their own. Forget high school reunions, we should have more kindergarten reunions!

Graco's Response

I got an e-mail today from "Allan" at the Consumer Service Department of Elfe Juvenile Products (aka Graco) in response to my exploding monitor story:

Thank you for taking the time to e-mail us with your concern. I am extremely surprised to hear that this incident has occurred and I can honestly say that we have not had any other reported cases regarding this.

Well Al, that's because I'm the only nerd that e-mails the company whenever stuff breaks (or a commercial is annoying).

Please forward your complete mailing address, telephone number and the name of the retailer this was purchased from. I will gladly have a prepaid postage label and a tracking number sent to you to have the defective item returned to us for inspection. I will then have a new monitor sent to you once we receive the new unit.

Best Regards,

Allan Blah blah blah

Um, er, I think you mean once you receive the old unit. In any case, if I mail my monitor to Graco, I can't also return it to the store (thereby thwarting my plan to get money PLUS a new monitor). Oh well. I diligently sent Big Al all my information, including my phone number (which I hate giving to corporations) and a sample of my blood in case he wants to clone me (ok that last part's not true). It's amazing how the simple promise of a free baby monitor can entice me to send all my personal information to a stranger.

I hope this doesn't take too long. I'm tired of straining my ears to hear William in the next room.

William's William Shirt Revisited

On March 11th, I posted this picture of William in the personalized onesie that Scottish Carol sent us:

At the time this photo was taken William was just under a month old (24 days to be exact). He was growing quickly and I remember thinking how big he was. Now I can't get over how tiny he looks.


Today William is wearing the same onesie. I'm amazed it still fits (though it is a bit snug). Here's my big boy now, at age 3 months (exactly 97 days old):

My monitor exploded.

The recent demise of my baby monitor prompted me to write the following e-mail to Graco:

Dear Graco Customer care,

I have an Imonitor Digital Baby Monitor (2791DIG) that I purchased just after my son was born (in February). It has been in almost constant operation since then. Recently I heard a 'pop' sound coming from the parent unit (it was in the charger at the time). When I went to investigate I found the parent unit was smoking and smelled like burnt plastic. The battery inside had somehow overloaded. After it cooled we opened the unit and found the battery casing had melted. (see attached photo)

All of the above is true. Except by "almost constant operation" I of course mean "totally and completely constant operation". At the time of the incident William was asleep, the monitor unit was behind me on my night table, and I was goofing off on my computer, trying to keep up to date on the latest wogger mini games. But I digress, the e-mail continues:

I no longer have the receipt or packaging for this product so I hold little hope of getting a refund. However, I believe that this is a safety issue and that your company should take some kind of action. I'm concerned that if this happens to someone else's monitor, it might cause a fire or something more serious.

Okay so I'm a pretty laid back gal and I'm not actually all that concerned that other people's monitors are going to burn their houses down. I do think that Graco should take some responsibility for its products though. Otherwise baby monitors would be exploding all over the place. Civilization as we know it could go up in flames!

In addition, I would like some advice on how I can get a replacement unit, along with assurances that it will not have the same defect.

Or just the replacement unit, without the assurances. As I said I'm a pretty laid back gal. I thought quite a long time (like a whole minute) about how best to ask for a new monitor when I'd already stated that this really isn't about getting a refund. Like heck it's not. I want my money back! I want a new monitor! I want free stuff!

Thank you for your efforts in resolving this matter.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Filipowicz

I will, of course, blog about any efforts Graco makes in resolving this matter. In other news, William's poo was slightly greenish today. According to the internet this could mean any one of several things:

1. nothing, baby poo comes in many colours.
2. I'm drinking too much milk and William has a sensitivity.
3. William has a virus.
4. William isn't getting enough hindmilk so he should drink longer on one boob instead of switching.
5. I've become one of those moms who talks about her baby's poop.

Happy Birthday Carol!!!!

Today is Scottish Carol's birthday. I was going to call her but, alas, by the time I thought of it, it was 5 pm. That means it's 10 pm in Scotland, which is too late to call someone if you want to be polite (and I'm Canadian, so of course I want to be polite).

Carol and I have been e-mail buddies since we were fifteen and now that I have free long distance to the UK, we talk on the phone all the time. We met in person once, in 1999 when I went to England and Scotland with my family. Since then we both got married, Carol bought a house and I had a baby. In September, Carol and her husband are vacationing here in sunny Canada. I can't wait to see her again!!!



Anyway. Tonight we are going to the drive-in to see Shrek. And expect to see more birthday-wishing blog entries in the next few days. Tomorrow is Becca's birthday and Monday is my brother's. Holy birthdays, Batman!

William's Public Meltdown

William had his first shots a month ago, so today when the Early Years Centre Calling New Parents' topic was immunization, he staged a protest. Wailed his little lungs out. Normally, when my little angel gets a little fussy during one of these talks, I tell myself that noone else thinks he's disrupting the whole group. This time there was no denying it.

Since this talk was given by some official shot expert, the woman who normally heads the class came over and offered to help me with riot control. She walked him around the room for me and he was fine until she gave him back. Figuring it was because I was sitting down, I stood up and rocked him, trying various holding positions like some kind of baby juggler.

Finally I sat down and whipped my boob out. This muffled his cries but didn't do much else because he wasn't hungry. I stripped him down to his diaper and tryed again. This time he sucked until he fell asleep. He woke up three seconds later, slightly cranky but definitely improved.

Even now, as I write this blog, I've been trying to transform William into a happy baby. He's quiet now in his crib, but at last check was not asleep. Yes, it is 4:30 pm, but he needs his nap. (Or, more specifically, I need his nap).

My only explanation for William's mood is that it's hot today, and the child has inherited his father's intolerence for heat. My husband is legendary for wearing shorts and sandals on cold October days.


Today's playlist quiz:

1. She-ra! She-ra!
2. I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind.
3. Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime.
4. May I have your attention, please? May I have your attention, please?
5. Inspector Gadget. Woo hoo!

Hint: I have a lot of theme songs on my playlist.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Eva/Babcia, and Robin, and Becca, and all the Moms at the Early Years Centre, and Lynda and Cathy (who threw me the Salsa Shower) and all the other mothers in the universe. But most especially, Happy Mother's Day Mom (aka Omi). This year I have a whole new appreciation for everything you did (and are still doing) for us. I love you Mom!

Anyway, here's what William got me:

And today's playlist quiz:

1. Don't wish it away

2. Been so long now I've wanted to touch you

3. Greetings, Kermit the frog here.

4. The tables are empty.

5. Does she walk, does she talk, does she come complete?

Mom's cooking for us again

Today we are going to dinner at my parents house. So far we have eaten at my parents' house every day this week but one. I love my parents, and my Mom's cooking, and a break from cooking for myself, but soon I think I'll have to start contributing to the grocery bill. Anyway, just to prove we are not leeching, here are all the legitimate reasons why we chose to frequent Omi McNicoll's:

Monday: My nephew and my dad's birthday, so we had to come. Hunter picked Pizza as his meal of choice, and even though that is not technically my Mom's cooking, the family still footed the bill. Plus, Mom made a delicious strawberry cake.

Tuesday: I went to the zoo with my parents and Hunter. Now you can't really go out with my mom without her inviting you home for dinner and I would be crazy to say no to dinner made by Mom! We had manocotti.

Wednesday: I went to the farmer's market and bought corn. We had corn and porkchops for dinner. Not at the parents (Silly me).

Thursday: Adam had a Sound of Music meeting and, rather than sit around alone with William all night, I invited myself over to my parents house. Okay, this one could be considered leeching. We had ribs. Yum!

Friday: My uncle and aunt and cousins planned to come over today, but Mom randomly called me yesterday afternoon and said we were meeting them at Spencer Smith Park. We hung out at the park for a while. Baby William and Morty the Jackapoo collected "Oh how cute"s and the rest of us had ice cream. Of course Mom invited everyone back to dinner. We had spinach, baked macaroni and cheese, vegetarian chilli, and barbecued sausage.

Saturday: Today's the day my aunt and uncle actually planned to come, so my Mom's cooking a "Feast". Of course, every meal my mom makes is a feast. I'm sure it'll be delicious.

Thanks Mom!

Today's playlist quiz:
1. Give me a kiss to build a dream on,
2. Oh the power to be strong and the wisdom to be wise...
3. Isn't awfully nice to have a penis?
4. Another day is gone and I'm still all alone.
5. It's been a hard day's night and I've been working like a dog.

The Mother Goose Baby Singles Club

William and I went to Mother Goose today at the Ontario Early Years Centre. Apparently there's a waiting list ten kilometres long to get into this program so it's kind of a big deal. The idea is you and your baby go and learn rhymes and songs and have a good time. What actually ends up happening is a bunch of babies looking around, squawking and goobering on things, while their Moms go "Come on honey. Look at Mommy. La la la." I think William has a crush on the little girl Emma who was sitting next to us. He kept staring at her. While he my son was fascinated by his new love, I was learning some songs and rhymes. Here's a simple one I like:

Tony Chestnut knows I love you
Tony Chestnut knows I love you
Tony Chestnut knows I love you
That's what Tony knows

When you say a body part, you're supposed to point to it. Like TOE, KNEE, CHEST, NUT(head), NOSE, EYE, love you. Get it? I like it because 1: it's very punny, and 2: William likes it when I touch his nose.

Anyway, my facebook friends got me wise to a fun time-wasting quiz. I post the first lines of tracks that randomly come up on my iTunes, and my internet buddies can rack their brains trying to figure out what song it is. I've decided to make this a regular blog feature (until I get bored of doing it). No fair googling lyrics guys.

Today's playlist quiz:

1. Stardate 2434.2
2. Baby can't you see I'm calling
3. What I've got you've got to give it to your mama
4. Maybe I didn't love you quite as often as I could have
5. Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away.

Hint: # 1 is not really a song.

William's first trip to the zoo (and Hunter's too)

Being a zoo-going family, my Mom felt she had neglected her duties as Omi when my nephew turned six on Monday having never set foot in the Metro Toronto Zoo. So she made yesterday's trip to the zoo one of his birthday presents, and invited William and I to come along. I love the zoo, so I jumped at the opportunity to give my 3-month-old son the experience.

William's favourite animal:

For the first 15-20 minutes of our trip, I took William out of the stroller to show him the various animals (afterwards I gave up and let him sleep all day). He was more interested in staring into space than looking at Orangutans, but I got a smile out of him when viewing this snake. Of course he could have been smiling because I signed "snake" for him and he always finds it amusing when Mommy does goofy things. We'll go with he likes snakes.

This trip's most photogenic animal:

The hippos. It was feeding time when we got to the hippopotamus habitat so they were strutting around showing off just how majestically ugly they really are. I got like a billion shots. Last trip's most photogenic animal, the goat, barely made an appearance.

Hunter enjoyed the zoo thoroughly. His favourite animal was the zebra, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of it. So just for fun, here's another hippo shot:

And some gratuitous baby shots:

Double Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Hunter and Dad (aka Opa)


Since it's my Dad and my nephew's birthday, we'll be heading over there shortly for pizza and cake and gift giving. Other than that not much is going on. Went to the mall. Bought some shirts. Got William a pair of pants so he can look just like his Daddy. I mean more so.

Weekend in Review

Yesterday we went to see Spiderman 3 on IMAX. I remember back in the day when you could only watch IMAX movies at Ontario Place, and even then you had to see a documentary about the human body, with some random shots of roller coasters and, if you were lucky, Antarctica. Now you can see pretty much any movie on the big big big screen. Anyway, Spidey 3 was a pretty good flick, though not as good as 2. You just can't beat a big cuddly Doctor Octopus.

Today William was all: "Mom! Why didn't you take me to see Spiderman? I never get to go out, gosh darn it!" (At least I assume that's what he was saying, I don't speak baby). In any case I took him for a walk all the way to Eireann's house where we sang Karaoke revolution. We being me and Eireann; William was asleep.

Now I'm at my in-laws' house. William's Babcia cooks us dinner just about every Sunday. Us being me and Adam; William still drinks boob. Anyway William's Babcia goes crazy over William and loves taking him for walks. She just puts him in the stroller and hikes all over the neighbourhood. It's her thing.

William's First Picnic

Gorgeous day today, so Adam and I arranged a picnic for the gang at Lowville Park. The gang in this case includes me, Adam and William, along with my parents, my brother Craig, my friend Eireann (who is currently dating my brother. Yes!), and my parents' new dog Morty, a Jack Russel X Teacup Poodle who is about half the size of William. The tiny puppy hammed it up and got most of the "Awe! So cute" comments, allowing William to have his lunch in peace (breasts do make the best picnic baskets).

The non-babies and non-puppies had ham sandwichs, brownies, apples, grapes, bagel chips, Ah Caramel snack cakes, ice tea, and some bizarre pickled watermelon rind that my Mom bought in Georgia. We then spent the afternoon hanging out under a tree by the creek, pretending to be outdoorsy.

Some more pictures:

William in his stylish frog hat


Morty the Jackapoo


Craig and Eireann

William's first "swim"

Yesterday William had his first swimming experience at the Y in St Catharines. We adopted a one-baby-per-changeroom policy, the Moms (Becca and I) took William and the Dads (Drew and Adam) took Aedan. The swimming diapers that Aedan lent William had Little Mermaid on them, so we preserved his manhood by covering them with gigantic Sesame Street Bermuda shorts (courtesy his Omi and Opa).

Adam got in the pool first and I passed him William (Drew passed Aedan to Becca). William imediately got this look that said something like "GAH! What the heck is this, Mommy?" but he didn't cry. Everyone, lifeguards, random strangers, were raving about how cute the babies were and how great they were in the water. I was so proud. I mean, it was Aedan's second swim, so he was an old hand at it, but William had never been in a pool. He is a super star! While he didn't cry, he kept that incredulous look on for the entire 10-15 minutes we were in the water.

We rapped William in a Ducky towel and Becca and I took him back into the change room, where I stripped him naked to wash the clorine off his body. This is when the crying came. It was a cry that says "Mom! I'm naked! In the girl's changeroom! How embarrassing!" He calmed down when I put him in a cuddly sleeper.

A random woman told me that in the olden days people used to just throw their babies into the water and see how they did. Um, Okay.

Post-pregnancy bathing suit shopping

Tonight we're going swimming at the Y with Becca and Drew and baby Aedan. This will be William's first time in a pool and will be a super exciting baby-book-worthy experience. But, problem, my body is completely different than the last time I donned a bathing suit. My gargantuan boobs were hard to fit even before they turned into udders. Plus, now I have these unsightly stretchmarks that make bikinis problematic.

Becca had offered to lend me a suit, but what if that one didn't fit? And when has anyone ever felt comfy in someone else's swimwear? The thought of trying on a hundred ill-fitting bathing suits at the mall across the street just about put me in tears, so I called my Mom. My Mom's the best. She came over right away and took me to La Feminique, the specialty shop on Plains Rd that sells bathing suits, bras and chocolate vaginas. The service there is fabulous. The lady there helped me find a suit that fit and covered my stretch marks for only 30 bucks. They were very sympthetic to my gargantuan boob situation. So I got a navy tankini that supports the girls and covers all my icky bits, well except my thighs but they'll be under water.

All this and everyone will be looking at baby anyway.

Fell into a Black Hole Today

The great thing about using Vonage as my phone service is that I get to call my Scottish friend Carol and talk as long as I want for free (theoretically I could also call other people overseas, I just can't think of anyone else worth talking to). The thing that sucks is that when the internet cuts out, I fall into a black hole and have to float around in deep space while I wait to be reconnected to the Earth.

It so happened that today I was on the phone with Carol when this happened. Before I realized what was happening, Carol's pleasant Scottish lilt faded into oblivion and I was left in a communications abyss with a suddenly cranky baby and a pan of overdone mushrooms.

A list of things formed in my mind of things that I absolutely had to get done, but obviously couldn't:
-call Carol back and finish our conversation properly
-phone Adam and ask him if he was coming home soon and if he minded burnt mushrooms
-check my e-mail for the second time today
-msn Adam to tell him the phone wasn't working
-attempt to amuse William with some nostalgic cartoon downloaded from youtube
-blog about being in a black hole

Mommy and Daddy's Night Out/ William's Night with Omi and Opa

Yesterday was date night for Adam and I. Adam got gift certificates for Casey's Bar and Grill that were only good in Toronto, so we went, thereby using up almost as much in gas and parking as we saved by using the certificates. Plus a movie(cereal coupons are no good on Saturday). Oh well.

We left William with my parents, and I worried about him the whole time we were out. It's not that I don't trust my family, I knew they would keep him safe and entertain him greatly. But we were gone from 4pm to 10:45pm, what if I didn't leave enough milk for him (two bottles)? What if he missed his Mommy? Or worse, what if he didn't miss his Mommy?

Despite the worrying, going out when you have a baby is actually better than pre-baby going out. It's the preparation: asking my parents to watch him, two mornings of pumping bottles, packing extra outfits in case he gets cold, or dirty. This rigmarole makes the whole outing more of a big deal, and therefore more fun.

The movie we saw (since I know everyone cares), Hot Fuzz, was pretty darn hilarious. The boys who brought you Shawn of the Dead have done it again with lots of amusingly unnecessary gore. William was also amused, but not by gore. According to my Mom, he laughed when my brother danced to the Baby Elephant Walk.

And he had enough milk. Mom was still feeding him the second bottle when we came to pick him up. When we got home I performed the amazing feat of removing a sleeping baby from a carseat and placing him in his crib without waking him up. I figured he would wake up and then I could feed him, but no. My breasts were aching to be juiced so I pumped a bottle. It's a good thing too, because he didn't end up waking up until 7am!

Happy Earth Day.

William gets poked in the leg

I've always maintained that with today's level of technology there should be some gentler method of immunization, besides a needle. Maybe orally through an eye-dropper, or rubbed on as some sort of cream. As I was telling William earlier, they should mix the vaccines in with different colours of face paint so you could get a fun clown face and be protected from disease all at the same time!

Unfortunately the clown face method is yet to come into common usage, so this morning my son had to get red-faced the old fashioned way: by screaming.

Now I hate needles, hate them, and seeing my son get two of them (one for each cute chubby thigh), made me want to cry too. One problem is that I don't know how much he's hurting. He cried, sure, but he cries in similar fashion when he has the hiccups, is hungry, or gets tired of playing with his dangly-mirror-turtle-toy.

At least his tylenol tastes like white grape juice. Why doesn't adult tylenol taste like white grape juice?

Germy Daddy

Every Tuesday William and I walk to the Ontario Early Years Centre where a nurse whose name I forget does a talk on something. Last week's topic was making your own baby food. The week before that, sun safety and West Nile virus. I don't know what the topic is today, but we probably won't go.

Why not? William's germy Daddy has given us both colds. At least, I have a cold. It's hard to tell if William is suffering from a sore throat like the rest of us, or just crying because he's a baby. Whatever, the point is I don't think it would be very nice to spread the germs to the other Mom's and babies.

So what do I do with myself? I know not. Perhaps I'll peruse the book on sign language that I got at the Salsa shower. So far I learned that I've been doing things all wrong. For one thing, I was incorrectly doing the sign for change. For another, the signs for "milk" and "change", while practical, are no fun for babies. Babies are more likely to learn words and signs for things that they can't express by crying. Like "airplane" or "ceiling fan". Or so says the book.

Another obstacle to this signing business is that I need to have two extra arms grafted to my body. I wonder how those who are truly hearing impaired hold their children and talk to them at the same time. Maybe I'll figure this out by the time he's six-months old (the optimum age for starting to sign according to the book). At least this sore throat will be gone by then.

Hopefully this cold will be gone by Thursday so William will be healthy enough to get his first shots. (Although, postponing such scariness can't be too bad).

Salsa Baby Shower

Yesterday William had another party thrown in his honour. This time the shin dig was thrown by my Mom and her writer friends (who have known me so long they can be considered surrogate Moms).

The shower was all Mexican themed because my Mom had this idea to get a dancer to come and teach us Salsa babies dancing. This is sort of like line dancing except you dance with a baby strapped to you and there's a Latin beat. Anyhoo, usually when I do this sort of thing I'm the only person who can't keep rhythm. This time I had a whole row of writer Moms to keep me company in that regard.

After the dancing, my nephew Hunter lay waste to a nearly indestructible toucan pinata (the stick broke before the bird), and we ate nachos and other Mexican delights (like these pierogi-esque things I don't remember the name of).

William was very well behaved and everyone raved about how cute he was. When he started to fuss, my Mom offered Hunter a loonie to settle him and he did. Hunter, the six-year-old baby whisperer. Seriously, he is a fabulous cousin. Already William gets such a kick out of him.

I'd like to thank everyone for throwing me a party and buying my son stuff and being great grandmas, aunties, and cousins. Olé.

Signs of the times.

As part of my ongoing quest to alleviate boredom and create a genius child, I decided to teach William (and myself) some sign language. After a three second internet search I found this website, which describes what the signs are, rather than the ever more logical approach of demonstrating them with pictures. Anyway, I managed to commit the signs for milk, change, Mommy, and Daddy to memory.

I opened and closed my fist like mad while I was feeding him (the sign for milk) and shuffled my fists around while changing him (the sign for change). Since he lacks the coordination to suck his fist with any more than 60% accuracy, I have doubts about his ability to sign, but he does enjoy it when Mommy does crazy things.

A baby in a hood is just as good

I had a short dream about this blog. I dreamt there was an article about it in the Toronto Star as part of the new "blog review" section. My Mom brought me the paper. There were two guys reviewing the blog, kind of like an Ebert and Roeper type thing. Both of them gave the thumbs up. There review was followed by a full page ad. Some line from the blog was quoted at the bottom of the ad and I was annoyed because I felt the quote was taken out of context and that it made the blog seem different than it actually is. Some people are never happy! I woke up all set to blog about my good fortune at being in the paper and all. Unfortunately, it didn't actually happen.

Luckily though, William is wearing a cute outfit today that is sure to garner almost as many hits as would a full page ad in a national newspaper.

At least the building didn't burn down.

The weather today was cold and rainy and icky, so William and I decided to take our daily walk at the mall. I bought a five dollar top that covers my stretch marks. When we returned to our apartment building we found that the new maintenance crew were turning the fire alarm on and off for no reason.

The loud BRRRRIIINNNNNG that echoed through the halls was enough to shake my brains loose and send souls to Stovocore. Needless to say it woke the baby and he let out one of his drown cat cries. Despite the brrrrinnnging, I wanted to go home, but the guys who were messing with the alarm were also messing with the elevators, and we couldn't go upstairs. One portly gentleman was getting in the maintenance crew's face, yelling "This is ridiculous!" and being louder than the alarm.

Outside, a hundred and three old ladies waited with their terrified froo froo dogs for the brrringgging to end. I took a walk with one of the old ladies and we talked about how my grandmother was doing (she knew everyone in the building), and about William, and about how the new maintenance people didn't know what they were doing, and about how we wished it wasn't so cold and rainy and icky.

The alarm stopped and we (all a hundred and five of us) went inside, but the elevators still weren't working. Some of the old people decided to take the stairs, but I had a stroller and couldn't.

Finally I went back to the mall and nursed William in the comfy chair in the family washroom. Nice, but not as nice as home.

Blogging with Wii

We are now the proud owners of a Wii and, thanks to my husband's powers of nerdom, I can surf the internet with my tv. I am now typing by tediously pointing a wand at an onscreen keyboard.

Finally, I can watch tv, surf the net and play mindless video games without the bother of traveling from the couch to the computer and back!

Hiking with babies.

Yesterday Adam "worked" from home and so we (Adam and I and William) went hiking with Becca and Drew and Aedan. William and Aedan were strapped to their Daddies and enjoyed a nap while the rest of us enjoyed the fresh air and exercise. I must say the Snugli is a lot more comfortable when Adam is the one wearing it.

Anyway, it was a gorgeous day yesterday, if a bit nippy. We hiked around Mount Nimo. For those of you not from the Burlington area, Mount Nimo is a cliff with a bunch of caves and turkey vultures, where people from B-town go when they want a little nature. Pretty much everyone goes there, but very few actually get suckered into paying parking (sometimes there's an attendent, but usually they use the honour system. Ha!). The cliff offers a fabulous view of farms and stuff.

Noone dropped their baby and a good time was had by all.

Status Update

Seeing as I haven't blogged since the weekend, I thought I'd give a few updates. I'd like you to imagine this as one of those newsreels scrolling along the bottom of your screen.

William is currently in his Snugli strapped to me. Adam wants to get a different brand because this one fits kind of awkwardly (with baby often leaning out the side). Becca and Drew have the Baby Bjorn, which seems to work better.

It's very sunny out today and if yesterday was any indication it's very warm too. Yesterday we walked to the Early Years Centre and saw a talk on switching to solids. William was the youngest there (which makes sense because it's way too early to even think about solid feeding.) He was in a fabulous mood until halfway through the talk when he decided to test his vocal chords. I walked him around the room and by the second lap he fell asleep.

An old lady thought William was a girl yesterday. "Oh isn't she a darling. She's such a doll. ... She... She ... She." Now I know that without checking genitalia it's difficult to guess at gender with babies, but at the time he had a blue blanket wrapped around him and was wearing a onesie that said "William" across the front of it. I don't even bother correcting at that point.

I went to put on a onesie yesterday that he's warn before and found it no longer fit. My little boy is growing up.

We have lots of instant oatmeal in our cupboard, so today I'm going to try and make cookies out of it.

Video of William Not Rolling Over

So this morning, while I was asleep and Adam was tending to the baby, William rolled over! I know, I know, my baby is a genius. But how unfair is that? I spend all day with him, every day, and I make sure he has "tummy time" every day, and he rolls over for the first time for Adam? Pshaw. Later we spend like fifteen minutes trying to get him to roll over for the camera without success. Above is the footage of the attempt.

Baby on my Lap

Seeing as there's not much else I can do with a sleeping baby on my lap, I decided to take a picture. Enjoy.

The elusive ENT

So today we finally got to see the ENT. Now, to me, ENT is a short form for Star Trek: Enterprise, used to differentiate it from TOS (The Original Series), TNG (The Next Generation), DS9 (Deep Space Nine), and VOY (Voyager). In this case, however, we're talking about an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor.

We've been waiting for an referral for this guy since William was less than a week old. For those of you who haven't been keeping track, little Will turns 5 weeks old tommorrow. At first we were desperate to see him because William couldn't breastfeed properly because of his tongue tie. But William got tired of waiting for some doctor to cut his tongue and learned to breastfeed all by himself.

So we went in today to get him checked out anyway. Who knows, thought I, this whole tongue tie thing could give him a speech impediment, or ruin his teeth, or make him a laughing stock. We had an appointment at 8:50, ten minutes before the clinic opens. (Yes, I know. Huh?) Anyhoo I filled out a ten second survey for my son, in which most of the answers were either "No", or "I don't know, he's just a baby". Then we went in to see the doctor.

The doctor stuck his finger in William's mouth and declared his tongue tie "not that bad" and said we don't have to cut it. The End.

Don't be a shut-in 101

William and I went down to the Early Years Centre for the Tuesday "Calling All Parents" program. Today's topic was "Families in Motion", something about keeping fit. The topic matters not, however, because William had his own speech to deliver which he assured me was far more important. He was being a grumpy gus the whole time (you know you're a Mom when you start using phrases like "grumpy gus")

There were at least 30 Moms there, with 30 babies (one Daddy) and at first only William was crying. The good thing about being in a room full of Moms though is that everyone is looking at you with sympathy, instead of giving you the "Can't you make that kid shut up?" scowl. I got several whispers of "He's so cute" during his meltdown.

Now William and I haven't exactly mastered the art of public breastfeeding, so I usually feed him until he's comatose before we leave the house. I guessed he wasn't satisfied, and since about a third of the other Moms already had their boobs out, I decided to go for it. When breastfeeding in public it's customary to put a blanket or something over your exposed booby (and baby's head) so the prudish masses can continue to pretend they've never seen that sort of thing before. Anyway, this is awkward for both me and for him. He had a few token sucks hiding in the darkness before going back to crankiness.

As the talk went on I got him to quiet by bouncing and shushing and I was quite pleased with myself for seeming like the most amazing Mommy in the world. Then of course some of the other babies started a crying chorus and he just had to join. The talk thing was almost over by this point (well, there was about half hour to go) so William and I decided to duck out early. He didn't mind telling me that he was a bit over stimulated. Having that many babies in one room is craziness!

I think I'll go again next week.

300

My in-laws watched William yesterday so Adam and I could use our cereal coupons and catch a flick. We gave the inlaws all the diapers, wipes, extra outfits, and bottled breastmilk William could conceivably use in two hours and headed out. So without giving too much away, here's what I thought of 300:

What movie is that again, says you? 300 is that movie set in the olden days in Greece where a bunch of guys in underwear and red capes go to war. You might remember this line from the previews: "This is Sparta!" The moral of the movie is that Spartans are super tough, and you don't want to be messing with them.

This thing isn't supposed to be historically accurate. Actually it's based on a comic book by the same guy who did Sin City. The movie has some of the style of that movie, what with all the almost-but-not-quite black-and-white-ness and the computer effects, but 300 isn't as cartoony looking. I had troubles with Sin City because all the girls in it were all whores, or strippers, or idiot lesbian police officers who hung out in their underwear. But in 300, the men are equally scantilly clad and so it's okay.

So: good movie.
Plus: 3 decapitations. I don't know why, but I get a kick out of decapitations in movies. There should be more decapitations in "Chick Flicks." Could you imagine? Hugh Grant and Meg Ryan in "Headless in Love". Yes!
And: The woman in it is super tough, even when she's showing a boob.

But: The guy who turned out to be narrating the thing didn't actually witness the final battle so we can assume that part was all made up.
And: sometimes the Persians made it way too easy. Especially the ones riding Elephants.

I recommend the movie as a good gorefest and excellent opportunity to see muscular men in their undies. Woohoo!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Just wanted everyone to know that, despite the fact that I did not leave the apartment today, I did remember to wear green. William wore green too, but that was a coincidence. Adam wore red, the anti-green.

According to my friend the internet, Saint Patrick is the guy who ran around Ireland in the olden days, converting people to Christianity, chasing away snakes, and drinking green beer. He died several years ago on March 17th. Even though he never succeeded in coverting me, I still think he sounds like a cool guy so we should all drink a Shamrock Shake in his honour. Do they still have those?

Hello Nurse

Today a public health nurse is coming to see William. I'm not sure the exact purpose of this visit except as an excuse to make me clean. If the apartment is dirty she'll think I'm a bad mother. These nurse people are supposed to visit close to when the baby is born, when you're running around with your head cut off screaming "What kind of irresponsible universe would give me a baby!" Now that the little man is almost 4 weeks old, I figure that if I haven't killed him by now I'm probably doing something right. But due to a scheduling conflict (on the nurse's part, not mine) she's coming today. I'll let you folks know how it goes.

In other news, my Mom and her friends are planning me a shower and I was recently asked what I need. Nothing, I keep answering. Truthfully, I'm looking forward to the shower not as a gift grab, but as a fun party, a chance to see everyone and show off my baby. Unfortunately that's not helpful for the gift buyer so here's a quick list:

Diapers and wipes. I know noone wants to buy such boring items but boy would I ever love the person who does. William is currently sporting size one, so that size or a size higher would be useful. Brand doesn't matter, he's tried Huggies and Pampers so far.

Baby proofing paraphernalia. The upcoming nurse visit has reminded me that other apartment is far from baby proof. Little doodads to keep cupboards closed and what not will be good for when he starts walking.

Baby gate. I don't have stairs, but when the baby proofing stuff proves inadequate, I'd like to be able to block off the danger zone (aka the kitchen). Something fairly easy for parents to remove without a screwdriver or a degree in brain surgery.

High chair. For when he starts eating solids.

Car seat. For when he grows out of the infant carrier.

That's all I can think of for now. For those of you who know me in the real world, I don't think the date is set yet for this shin dig, nor have invites been mailed out. Talk to my Mom if you want those details. But not today. She's in Florida with my dad, sister and nephew.

Later that day...

Well the nurse came and left. She gave me a bunch of pamphlets, most of which I already have. She went through all of them with me though so I know what's useful. And she didn't think I was a bad mother. Quite the opposite. I think all health professionals think you're Madonna incarnate (the first one, not the singer who adopts African babies) if you breastfeed.

We've got a 10 pounder

We just came back from the doctor's. William is 10 pounds now. I'm so proud. Just think, this is the same baby who lost 13 ounces in the hospital because he refused to eat booby. Now he can't get enough of the stuff.

Yesterday when I uploaded the William-onesie pic from my camera, I also uploaded a whole bunch that I've taken of him since he was born. Some of them are so old he still had his umbilical cord. Okay, so it's only been 3 and a half weeks, but I still have to upload my photos more often. Anyway, here are some random pics for your enjoyment:

William's William Shirt

My good friend Carol made William this custom onesie and sent it to us all the way from Scotland. This morning I finally got the nerve to risk ruining it by actually putting it on him. He promptly spit up on it and pooed in it. Sigh. At least I got this picture. Hopefully that new stain remover we got is as good as the commercials say it is. If not, I may never get a good picture of the back of the shirt, which has his date and time of birth on it. Anyway, the blanket in the picture is also from Carol and has so far remained poo-free.

Other things: Adam has been working late all week. Yesterday, despite it being Saturday, he worked until 5 am! (6 am if you count daylight savings time). He did take a two-hour break to take me out to dinner at Red Lobster (my wonderful Dad watched William for us). Still, I've been missing my Adam. I'm going to go kiss him now.

Sputnik McNicoll 199?-2007

My family got Sputnik from the pound when I was in high school, around 12 years ago. I remember trying to play with her at the animal shelter's little visiting area, but at the time she was more interested in the cats and rodentia she smelled in the next room. We gave her little bits of hotdog to coax her into loving us.

As soon as we brought her home she took her rightful place as queen of the household. She scratched herself a place on the sofa and, with an unexpectedly deep and powerful bark for a dog her size, protected our family from mailmen, dogs, squirrels, cats, cars, and kids selling chocolate-covered almonds for charity.

Sputnik loved going for walks, especially ones she took herself when someone accidentally left the door open, or when she found a new hole in the fence. She refused to eat dogfood unless it had human food on top. Her favourite foods were cheese, steak bones, pigs ears, pizza crusts and used maxi pads.

For the last little while, Sputnik had a lot of trouble getting around. One of her hind legs stopped working and she was having trouble breathing. She also has a lump on her breast that grew and grew. She spent a great deal of time licking and chewing at the lump until it bled.

Yesterday my mom and dad took her for one last walk at the park. At first she would only be carried in my mom's arms, but did walk a bit near the end. My mom gave her half a Tim Horton's chocolate doughnut. We all know that chocolate is bad for dogs, but in this case it didn't matter. And she loved it. Then it was off to the vet to say goodbye.

Sputnik was a member of our family and she will be missed.

Changing channels

Here are some pictures my husband took this morning. Note: these pictures were taken withing moments of each other. Babies change moods like changing channels. Channel 1: Happy and Alert. Channel 2: Crying. Channel 3: Screaming. Channel 4: Asleep. Right now he's on channel 4 so I can blog. Oops, make that channel 2. Seeya.

Happy Graduation William!

So William and I went to the breastfeeding clinic today (yes, they are open on Sunday). He's up to 9 pounds and the boobfeeding police say he's gaining and feeding well. If you read the last post, you know this is a big deal. We even earned a cheeseball certificate:

Not sure what they mean by "semi-graduated" but I'm very proud about everything William has learned about drinking boobjuice. Congratulations Baby!