The Bottle

For some reason, Olivia has decided that she likes to bite me when she is finished eating. As a result, nursing is now a stressful event. So I figured it might be time to try to give her a bottle. As it turns out, she took it twice no problem. For some reason, however, it makes me a bit sad, she no longer needs me all the time - guess it's a sign that she's getting bigger. We are going to continue to give her one bottle a day.

Other than the biting, Olivia is doing great. She loves smiling and watching her big brother play and it trying really hard to get moving herself. She can stand on her own know and will hopefully soon be cruising and her attempts at crawling continue. She is starting to pull herself up on times, especially when she is in her high chair. We went to music class at Gymboree on Wednesday where she learned how to bang bells together. We skipped library group on Monday, she had a bit of a cold and I was feeling lazy!

We have been busy over the past week. Last Friday we had a playdate with my friends Lynn and Dana and their kids. When took them to the park and then we all came back here for lunch. Aside from one incident where Ethan pulled Charlotte's hair (she tried to take his ball), all was well!!

On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for Jack, who was turning 3. They played in the park and had fun. Olivia played with Abby, who is about two weeks younger then her. They are about at the same level and had fun playing with blocks.

On Sunday, we went out for dinner with Jerry, Michele and Truman to Jack Astor's. It was Truman's first meal out (I think). Although it was a little bit quick, all three kids were well behaved. As Jerry, Scott and Ethan were getting ready to leave, Ethan suddenly had some brown stuff on his fingers. At first Jerry and Scott thought it was chocolate ice cream or pudding, but as you can probably guess that was not what it was!! Ethan loves putting his hand down his diaper and pulling out surprises!!! The waitress wiped his hands and Scott gave her a large tip!!!

This week Ethan went to school and preschool and had fun, he really likes the preschool. We had a playdate on Tuesday with Lynn and my friend Briar and her daughter, Sterling. Ethan was well behaved. It's funny with all his little friends, they all seem to behave better when they are at someone else's house. When they are at their own house, they don't seem to want to share their toys.

Speaking of houses, Ethan knows the name of his street (liverpool st.) and the city he lives in (Oakville), he is one smart little guy, if I don't say so myself!!

We are getting ready for Michelle to move in tomorrow. Although she is not going to be here all the time, it will be nice company for us (and another set of hands always helps).

Cheerios

Scott's away this week, so it's just me and the kids (with some help from Michelle). After a long day and night alone with the two of them, I was talking to Michelle on the phone (she is at Kevin's tonight) when I heard something that sounded like a large bag of cheerios being dumped on the floor. Sure enough it was!!! Michelle asked me why I was laughing and I said that if I didn't laugh I would have to cry. Anyway, here is a picture of Ethan and the mess.

On Monday, Olivia and I went to a library group, which is just really a lot of song singing and reading books. She had fun watching the older kids move around everywhere. She is getting closer to crawling, but is not quite there yet. She is enjoying her time on her tummy a lot more as well.

Yesterday, Ethan went to preschool with his friend Shelby. He is really enjoying it and comes home singing a new song everyday. Olivia had her nine month check-up (I can't believe she is 9 months). She is 17.6 pounds and 27 inches - much smaller than Ethan at the same age. The doctor said that she looks great. I am attaching some pictures of Olivia laughing last night before bedtime.

Today, we went to my friend Dana's house for a playdate and pizza lunch. Ethan played really well and we had a nice visit. The rest of the day was spent playing and riding bikes. Both kids are sleeping and it's only 9:30!!! Time to relax!

Scott's Birthday

On Friday, we celebrated Scott's birthday by having the Topolski's and Chris Walsh over for some Thai take-out and yummy desserts. Although Walshy was quite late, we had a good time. Truman was a well behaved little guy and mom and dad are doing great! Here's some pictures of Ethan getting ready for daddy's party and of him kissing Truman.

On Saturday night we had out friends Dana and Kerry and their two kids Charlotte and Carson over for dinner. In what is becoming an almost weekly tradition, we had take-out chicken wings and the left over dessert from Friday night. Ethan tried to perform some wrestling moves on Charlotte once or twice but other than that we had a nice night.

On Sunday we went to watch Scott's soccer game and play in a nearby park. It was a lot of fun. Ethan ran onto the field to greet Scott after the game was over, which was really sweet. Scott (my brother), Patti, Courtney and Caitlyn stopped by to give Scott a birthday present on their way home from a day in Toronto. Courtney, Caitlyn and Ethan had fun playing and everyone was sad when they had to leave.

Nana Wendy's Visit

We had a special visitor last weekend. On Friday night, Scott and Ethan went to the airport to pick up Nana Wendy. She was staying with us for a couple of days before she headed off to Spain for a very long walk!!! We all had a great time visiting with Wendy, Ethan especially loves all the attention. He is waiting for Nana to return next month for her trip to Spain!

On Saturday night, Scott and I left Wendy in charge of the kids while we went to our friends Jamie and Erin's wedding. The kids were well behaved and Scott and I had a nice time on our own!

On Sunday, Nana got to babysit once again while I went running and Scott went to soccer. On Sunday night, Kirk and his friend Joanne came over for dinner. Everyone had a great time and got along well. I am including the pictures from the dinner.

This week has gone by quickly. Ethan is continuing to enjoy his Montessori preschool, although I think three days a week are a little bit too much for him, we will have to rejig things next month. Here is a picture of Ethan and Scott playing hide and seek one night after dinner.

Olivia and I spend the mornings playing together while Ethan is away. She spends a lot of her time smiling, laughing and standing. She also likes to watch what her big brother is doing. She is also starting to nap for longer periods of time (i.e.: over an hour) on her own, which gives me some time to spend just with Ethan, which is nice!

We had two visits from Nana Charlotte this week, which Ethan always loves. Both Nanas, but especially Nana Charlotte, are push overs for Ethan's charms so Ethan has had lots of treats, including McDonald's, this week!

Today we went to a baby shower for Ethan's old teacher, Holly. Ethan had fun (once he realized that he didn't have to stay!). We then went and did some errands to prepare for Scott's birthday tonight. We are just having a few friends over for Thai food and birthday cake!

Montessori School

On Monday, I thought it might be fun to take Ethan to the Exhibition. So once Scott came home from golf and the kids got up from their naps, we headed into Toronto for a nice family outing. Despite being stuck in traffic on the way their and Scott getting into a minor car accident (two cars backed into each other, minimal damage), we had a great time. Ethan loved feeding the animals and riding on all the rides. In a sign of things to come, Ethan picked up another little cute girl on the car ride. She was sitting by herself and he went right over and asked to sit with her. The two of them proceeded to laugh at each other for the rest of the ride (should have gotten a picture). Ethan also loved watching the fire crackers at the end!

On Tuesday, sadly, I can't remember what we did on Tuesday....

On Wednesday, Ethan started Montessori school. We went to an open house with Lynn and Shelby. The original plan was to have both of them start in the toddler room. After about 2 minutes of us being there, it was clear that they were too big for the toddler room. I think that teachers were a little scared. Instead of going down the little slides, Ethan was jumping off the top of the climbers!!! After the open house, we went to Shelby's for a pizza lunch. They were both pretty tired and had long naps afterwards!

So although they are supposed to be toilet trained before they move to the casse room, they made an exception for Ethan and Shelby. On Thursday, they started in the casse room. They have to wear uniforms, which are kinda geeky (especially the little boy ones). Once Ethan gets his, I will post a picture. Ethan really seemed the enjoy himself and happily told me about his new friends on the way home.

Today Ethan went to school again (they missed Tuesday, so he got to go today instead). That gave Olivia and I a chance to clean up in preparation for Nana Wendy's visit. I have spent most of the day cleaning, but it seems as though I still have a lot to do. The frustrating part of cleaning is that I clean it and five minutes later it's dirty again, I must have cleaned the kitchen counter and kitchen table three times and we haven't even had dinner yet. And don't even get me started on the laundry...

Play Dates

We have had quite a busy week. On Tuesday, Olivia and I stopped in to see our friends Steph and Christine on our way home from Toronto. Olivia and Christine had a fun time playing together, Olivia tried to eat Christine at one point!

On Wednesday, Ethan, Olivia and I picked up Scott and headed to North York to meet Truman Topolski. He's a cutie! Despite some early problems, both Michele and Truman are doing great and went home on Friday. It's great being able to share parenthood with Jerry and Michele. They are definitely feeling the sleep deprivation.

On Thursday, we went to my friend Sue's for a playdate. She has three kids and my friend Kiki also come over with her two kids, so needless to say, it was a full house!! It was Sue's birthday and Kiki brought over a yummy birthday cake. I am attaching a picture of Ethan enjoying some cake. Ethan had a great time playing with everyone, especially Jack, Abby and Katie. We got to meet my friend Kiki's new little girl, Anastasia, who is really cute!!

On Friday, we headed down to St. Catharines. Olivia stayed with Nana, while Michelle, Ethan and I headed back over the border to do some more shopping. I had bought his clothes in the wrong size, so we had to return them. I also found a great deal on running shoes for Ethan. We then picked up Olivia and had a quick visit with Papa before heading back to Olivia. By the end of the visit, both he and Ethan were quite tired!

Yesterday was a quiet day around the house. The weather was crappy and we just did a lot of organizing. Ethan is doing well at night in his new room but he is still having trouble settling down for naps. As I write, he has been in his room for about an hour and there are still no signs that sleep is imminent!!!