14 Months Old

My sweet, little, not-so-sweet, big boy Nathan.  I apologize for not writing an entry for you at 13 months.  The month passed by so quick, and I just lost the desire to do it.  So, here we are, two months after your first birthday.  Here we go...

You definitely add a new dynamic to our family :).  You can be the sweetest boy on the planet, giving non-stop open-mouthed slobbery kisses to your brother, your sister, your Grandma, or myself.  But...you can also be the meanest boy, hitting those around you.  You have attitude, Nathan.  You like to hit others, for no reason...but not all the time.  Some times you are fine, playing nicely with your siblings.  Other times, you stand beside them and start hitting them, a smile on your face.  You're lucky that they are very tolerant, just standing there accepting the abuse...but I see that tolerance fading.  You seem to think it's a game, hitting them to get a reaction.  It was cute a month ago, but now it is not.  Putting you in time-out on the bottom step of our staircase for one minute works, sometimes.  Other times, as soon as you hear the warning, "Do you want to go to time out?", you nod your head and walk yourself over to the step and sit down.  It's so cute.  But at the same time it's oh-so-frustrating.  When you aren't emotionally hurt by time outs, then I switch up my approach and remove you semi-roughly from where you are standing and sit you on the ground a few feet away.  Your feelings get hurt more often with that approach...but it's still not preferred.  I'm trying to figure out a way to get through to you that hitting is not nice.  You like to hit me when you want to walk but I want to carry you to the car, or when I have to put you in your car seat and you don't want to.  When I'm carrying you, then I just hold your hands together so that you can't move them.  You don't like it, but I have places to go and I can't have you making me late.  But you still are the sweetest boy.

You know what you want, and are learning how to communicate it.  If I hear, "egh egh egh" from the toy room, I know that you are standing by the shelf pointing at a toy that you want me to lift down for you.  We've been practicing how to say "up".  When you stand by the couch asking me to pull/lift you up I make you say "up" before doing anything.  You say, "Ugh".  When I make you say "please", you smile and squint your eyes together without saying anything.  You like to stand by the open-pantry and point to the snack shelf.  

You don't want to be left out of anything that Matthew and Kayla are doing.  You'd much prefer to be swimming in the pool with them during swimming lessons than being strapped in your stroller watching.  Apple-cinnamon Cheerios only keep you distracted for so long.  As soon as you hear us talk about "up chocolates", the (cheap) chocolate calendar kept on top of the fridge, and "down chocolates", the (Lindor) chocolate calendar kept hanging on the pantry door, you come running to the kitchen, impatiently waiting for your chocolate.  You will not be left out of that morning ritual.  I feed you breakfast before Matthew and Kayla have theirs because if I don't and you eat at the same time, you will refuse to eat your baby cereal because you want what they are having.  They are great siblings for you, usually including you in their play, or at the very least, not pushing you away.  There couldn't have been a better third child to follow a set of twins.  You will make them include you, but they will also want to include you.

You love to wrestle with Matthew and Kayla, and you love trying to push your Dad down when he's sitting on the ground.  You think you know how to jump, but your feet never leave the ground.  You think it's funny when we warn you to "not get dizzy" when you turn around in circles.

You are a big boy for your age, even though you haven't gained much since you turned one.  You now weigh 26 lb 8 oz and are quickly outgrowing your size 12-18 month clothes.  Although you are big, you are clumsy.  You are forever tripping over your own feet, which results in a lot of bumps, bruises, and cuts on your forehead.  You took a nasty fall this month and hit your head on the corner of the wall at your Grandma and Grandpa's house.  You had a goose egg immediately on your forehead, along with an inch-long pseudo-cut.  You are lucky that the skin didn't break through on the goose egg, although it looked like it had...it was just so close to the surface.  You screamed and refused to let me put ice on it, until we put a live wire (candy) in your hand.  (Candy solves everything in our Struik household).

You still suffer with constipation, and I imagine we will have to deal with that for a while.  You get medicine daily for it, and I'm cutting out one of your twice-daily bottles and replacing it with a sippy cup of diluted juice to see if that helps.  You are being left with only your before-bed bottle of 8oz of milk.

(This is the position you sit in when you are trying to poop).

You nap once or twice a day, depending on how the day goes.  If we are out-and-about, then you only have one nap that day, usually starting between 12pm to 1pm.  You seldom sleep for more than an hour and a half.  Because most of the time you only have one nap a day, you are ready for your bottle and bed again between 7pm and 7:30pm, and will (usually) sleep through the night until 7am.  When I come to get you in the morning you stand up in your crib, and pass me your soother so that I can put it in my pocket.  You know that's where it belongs.

You are a great eater, for the most part.  You love to feed yourself, but are also very good at being fed.  You love fruit.  You love (canned) corn.  I haven't found a food that you don't like...you even tolerate really spicy Indian food when your siblings cannot.  You are not great at drinking your milk at a meal time, but I also haven't enforced the rule where you have to finish your milk before you can leave the table.  That will come though, once your evening bottle is dropped.

You didn't like it when I had to start working again, crying when I left you.  You've gotten over it, and now only cry if I leave you for non-work purposes.  You still do not like the nursery at church.  I haven't sat through an entire service since the middle of the summer...but you actually allowed me to this past Sunday because you fell asleep in a volunteer's arms.  I love that you are so attached to me.  It at least shows me that you love me, even if you do like to hit me :).

Nathan, my little frozen-embryo baby, you are a blessing to our family.  I couldn't imagine our family without you, and I look forward to discovering more of your personality as you grow up.  Just don't grow up too quickly...I don't mind if you stay my 'baby' forever...

Gray Hair Here, Gray Hair There, Gray Hair EVERYWHERE

No, I'm not talking about what it looks like on a typical Sunday in our church service (although it's true!), but I'm talking about my hair.  I discovered my first gray hair yesterday...and have discovered so many more since.  Every time I look in the mirror there are so many more that stand out.  I had Jon take a close look, and he said, "Gross".  Gee, thanks for the confidence booster.  I'm only 29!  But almost 30...and that's getting pretty old ;).  Now my biggest concern is that I'm going to be grayer than my Mom, who dyes her hair :).

When I told Kayla that I found a gray hair she said, "Mom, do all Moms and Grandmas have gray hair?"

Change is Good, Right?

I did it.  I did the one thing that I thought I would never ever (ever!) do.  Not in my wildest dreams.

I gave my employer notice that I was leaving in two weeks.

I thought I would be at my employer, SB, forever.  I have been working there since the day I graduated from Trinity Western University (I graduated on Saturday, April 29, and started working on Monday, May 1st).  I have been there for eight and a half years, and that is coming to an end in two weeks.

It's time though.  I've seen the company go through huge changes - starting in a new province, starting overseas in two different countries, and then merging with an American company.  I was there at the beginning when our CEO would suddenly come into the work area, stand on a cubicle desk, ring a bell, and announce whatever exciting news he had to share.  The company was small - like a family of sorts.  It's now a corporation, and so things are different.  Not different bad, but, just different.

I was content to work in this 'differentness' though, because I don't like change.  I love my job.  I love knowing my job and doing well at it.  I love the independence of knowing exactly what I have to do each day and not having to be told what to do.  I absolutely love the people I work with.  I've been working with these ladies since the day I started in accounting and so they know me well.  They know I am sarcastic and thrifty and have lame jokes.  And I think they like me too.

Anyways, my contentedness with working at SB all changed when there was a message on my answering machine on Monday when I got home from work from my brother-in-law asking if I was interested in an accounting position at his company.  All of a sudden, there was an opportunity outside of SB.  My head was spinning that entire night.  I'm not a huge fan of change, especially when it's unexpected.  I started weighing pros and cons.  I called my boss at her house that evening and told her about the offer, and to see if they would counter offer to try to keep me.  I was working my required 20 hours over three days, and I only wanted to do it over two days.  Two days away from my kids is plenty.  Three days is too much.  I didn't want to have a reason to leave.  I wanted them to want me.  She spoke to our CFO the next day and then informed me that nothing would be changing since my part-time status was an exception already.  I had a huge decision to make.

A quote posted on Instagram caught my eye that evening, "Everything you've ever wanted, is one step outside your comfort zone."  It may sound corny, but I think it was meant to be posted, it was a sign.  I'm so very comfortable in my bubble that I often miss opportunities just because I'm scared to try new things.  Over the next couple of days I accepted the position with my brother-in-law and wrote my resignation letter.

Today, I met with my boss and handed in my letter.  I already had to fight back tears today just over the thought of leaving (and I'm not even an emotional person!), but I know it's for the best.  I'll look back someday and will see that I did the right thing (hopefully!).  For now, I'll enjoy my last two weeks of being comfortable and then I will start all over again, outside of my comfort zone.

Our Saturday

Matthew and Kayla walked into our bedroom this morning at 7:20am, and when I woke up I said, "Mom and Dad are still sleeping," and so they left the room.   I didn't think anything of it as I laid my head back down on my pillow, but when I woke up again at 7:40am I thought I better go check on them.  I peeked into their room and they had nicely climbed back into bed and were silently waiting for one of us to get up.  So sweet.  I brought them downstairs where they climbed onto 'their spots' on the couch and were ready to watch Little Bear (more specifically, the 'Rain Dance Play' episode, as per their request - you know your kids love Little Bear when they now the names of the episodes...).  I went back upstairs to shower and get ready for the day, and then peeked in at Nathan at 8:00am who was silently just standing in his crib, waiting for someone to take him out.  So sweet.

At 10:30am I dragged Matthew and Kayla out of the house with me and headed to Toys 'R' Us.  They were having a Lego "Make and Take" event starting at 11am where kids ages 4+ could make a Lego car/jet and then got to take it home (I figured Matthew and Kayla were close enough to being four and good enough at Lego to be able to do it).  I assumed there would be some keeners arriving early, so my plan was to be there early too.  Note to self:  I should have been earlier.  There were probably about 30 kids in line ahead of us when we got there.  Matthew and Kayla nicely stood by my side as we waited in line.  They were so good.  The event ended up starting late, at 11:15am, and so we didn't get to the front of the line until about 11:40am.

The kids each received a bag and then dutifully walked along the table taking the required number of each type of Lego piece needed out of the little containers.  Before dropping them in the bag I inspected their selection to make sure that they had not over-taken or under-taken on anything.  I decided to not make the car/jet there because Matthew and Kayla were tired of being there, so we left once we had everything.  

I then dragged Matthew and Kayla along to Superstore, where I had to hit up the sales and items I had PC Plus points for and then we headed home.

Nathan nicely napped for 2.5 hours, and during that time we had pancakes for lunch (thanks, Jon!), created our Lego jets, and tidied up.  When Nathan woke up the kids quickly had a snack and then we bundled up to walk to our nearest polling station to vote.  Matthew asked what voting was...how the heck do you explain that to a kid, especially when you're as politically dumb as I am?  I said that we were voting for people to be leaders in the city and make decisions and rules.  I then asked Jon who I was supposed to vote for :).

After voting we walked over to Extra Foods, picked up a Delissio pizza for dinner and a Starbucks for the walk back.  It was a nice surprise to find out it was a 'buy one get one free' day at Starbucks today for all of their Christmas-y drinks.  Yay!  One drink doesn't go very far when you have three kids that want their equal share of it (yes, even Nathan likes coffee!).

We got home and I put the three kids in the bath while Jon cooked the pizza.  I usually try to give Matthew and Kayla a bath on Saturday evenings so I can wash their hair for Sundays.  If they don't get their bath on Saturday evening then I have to get them in the bath Sunday morning which makes for a busier morning before church.

We quickly ate our pizza, and then watched Shrek on "Jon's" tv.  The only time Matthew and Kayla watch tv on Jon's tv (super large screen) is if we're having a pizza/movie night, so it's really special for them.  Matthew and Kayla have just 'learned' how to sit through a movie, so over the past couple of months we've been trying to make our way through a lot of the Disney/Pixar movies.  So far we've watched:  Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White.

As soon as the movie ended at 7:30pm, all three kids headed upstairs to bed, and were asleep within moments of turning the lights out (which is the norm for them).  And so here I set, uploading my October pictures to Picaboo so I can work on my photobook (yes, I actually got caught up again!), loading pictures to this blog and writing this entry (as boring as it probably is!), checking mtv.ca on Jon's laptop to see if there are any episodes of the Teen Mom series that I haven't seen (the sound on my laptop doesn't work), and procrastinating doing anything productive, such as housework (thanks Colin, for pointing out my fingerprint-filled tv) and working for BLG.  

And that, my friends, was our Saturday.  A day in the life of us :).

Halloween

Jon hurried home from school on Friday (Halloween) so that we (and by we, I mean he) could quickly carve a pumpkin with the kids.  They wanted nothing to do with it.  Kayla said that she, "didn't want to get her hands dirty."  They just sat around the table and watched him.

I wanted to have the kids 'match' or follow a 'theme', but I didn't want to buy a costume for Nathan because I already had a lady bug and bumble bee in his size (from Matthew and Kayla's Halloween when they were 1.5 years old).  So, my starting point was bumble bee.  I also did not want to have to buy anything new, so I hunted around Craigslist and my facebook swap group for a month.  This is what I came up with...

Matthew was a "Sider" aka Spider.  I had a difficult time finding him a spider costume (most bug costume are ladybugs for girls or bumble bees, which he already was).  I originally had bought a size 12-18 month spider costume off of my swap, which fit him, but the legs were short looking.  A few weeks later I came across this one on Craigslist...but it was just the body.  My mom suggested I put Matthew in a pair of Kayla's black leggings (as opposed to the black cargo pants I originally had him in) and that I use the headpiece from the 12-18 month costume.  I always do what I'm told, and moms know best, so voila!  Matthew the Spider.

Kayla was a butterfly.  The skirt is a hand-me-down from her cousin Annika, as is the shirt.  I bought the wings (brand new) from Value Village (they're so cute and sparkly), and I made the antenna by adding a pipe cleaner to one of my headbands.  Voila!  Kayla the Butterfly.

And Nathan was a bumblebee.  He wasn't too impressed to be put in his costume, as it wasn't very big on him.  Poor kid has a somewhat large head, so it took a little wiggling to get it through the neck of the costume.  He eventually came around and stopped crying.  Voila, Nathan the Bumble Bee.

The kids did great trick-or-treating.  Kayla was very confident and actually lead us from house to house to house.  There was no stopping her.  It gets quite busy in our area, and so Nathan could not be left to walk on his own or he would be run over.  Luckily, he was pretty content to be put in the stroller once we got tired of carrying him.

The kids have been really good about the candy, too.  Jon and I, not so much.  The candy just sits on the coffee table, and for the most part, they ignore it.  The only time they ask for something is if they hear us trying to sneak something.  Matthew will say, "I'm hungry," and Kayla will say, "Did you hear something?  What was that wrapper noise?"  It's quite cute.  Not that we sneak candy all the time...we mostly eat it at night once they're in bed.  Don't look at all the wrappers in our garbage can...

Fighting a Fever

Nathan's been fighting a fever today.  I managed to get about 1/2 tsp of children's tylenol in him this afternoon which gave him a much needed break from the fever...which led to some napping on me on the couch at 4:30.  I wasn't complaining...Jon was cooking dinner so I could enjoy the cuddles while wasting time on the internet.

Matthew's Ultrasound

I took Matthew to BC Children's Hospital today for his ultrasound on the lump I found in his right thigh.  It was POURING rain.  So crazy.  I don't like driving in Vancouver, especially in my beast of a vehicle (the Tahoe), but at least I'm 100% comfortable driving to BC Children's because I passed it every time I drove to Genesis Fertility Clinic.

We surprisingly got a great parking spot (I was nervous about that, because I know there is a lot of construction happening there right now) and I managed to find 'Patient Registration' and the 'Radiology' departments without getting too lost :).  As soon as we got checked in, Matthew made four separate trips to the bathroom.  Maybe he was nervous?  Maybe he just has Jon's bowels?  Poor kid.

Anyways, Matthew did fantastic during the ultrasound, not that I was worried at all.  He's so shy/quiet/obedient when it comes to appointments that he just sits there and obeys.  He enjoyed watching Dora while they did the ultrasound.

The ultrasound technician was shocked at how small the lump is (it feels like it's about 0.5 cm in diameter?) and asked how I even noticed in the first place.  I have no idea how I noticed.  Maybe I was just massaging his thigh?  Anyways, it was very obvious on the ultrasound, which I was relieved for, because I didn't want to just be imaging things.  What's nice about being at BC Children's is that when the ultrasound technician was done taking the pictures she needed, the doctor took a look at them right away and then came right away to give the results.

The lump on Matthew's thigh is a lipoma.  It's a growth of fatty tissue, and for those wondering, it's non-cancerous.  It's rarely found in children, so it's strange that Matthew has it, but at least it's not harmful at all.  The doctor wants to keep an eye on it, so I'm sure we'll be visiting the hospital on a regular basis.  We'll have an appointment with our family doctor to discuss.

As I was explaining everything to my Mom when I got home (she had been babysitting Kayla and Nathan while we were at the appointment), she reminded me that she had noticed a lump on the top of Matthew's right hand.  I took a look, and sure enough, it's another lipoma.  This one is bigger, and is much more obvious.  Matthew's such a thin child that everything shows up on him...I think if he had a thicker build the one on his hand wouldn't even be obvious.

So at least we had a good diagnosis.  I wasn't too worried...everything is out of my hands and is in God's control anyways...but still, it's nice to not have to worry about it.  I'll still do some googling tonight, to see what the internet has to say about lipoma in children (I've only spent 30 seconds reading about it because we were busy with costumes and pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating today!).

Nathan is One!

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Nathan's cupcakes:  a dog (above) and a paw print (below).

And with the leftover batter I made a small '1' cake.  The '1' was made out of hagelslaac (chocolate sprinkles) in the shape of dog bones.

Nathan weighs 26lb 5oz and 32.5" tall.  He wears size 12-18 month clothes easily and has started with 18-24 month sleepers.  He wears size 5 shoes, and size 3 diapers.

He has eight teeth.  A few days before a new tooth erupts he has a very rough sleep, which usually results in him laying in the middle of our bed (which Jon hates).  One night this month, Jon took Nathan out of our bed (while he was awake) when he came upstairs and put him back in his own crib.  Nathan freaked out.  Jon tried to soothe him for 10-15 minutes, but couldn't.  I then received permission to bring him back to our bed :).  While Nathan was laying beside me, Jon tried to lean over to give Nathan a kiss and Nathan freaked right out and pushed him away.  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.  He wanted absolutely nothing to do with Jon for the rest of the night.

Nathan learned how to say, "Mom" this month.  He always says, "Ada", which means "again".  As in, let's sing "Row, Row, Row your Boat" again or let's play "Smooth Road, Bumpy Road" again or let's sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" again.  He also can communicate his preferences SO WELL by nodding his head, or by having a tantrum. :)

He is on 1 tsp of Restoralax (or 1/2 tsp of Lactulose) a day because as soon as I switched him to 100% homogonized milk (in August), he started getting constipated.  I switched him back to 50% homogonized / 50% formula for September and he had regular bowel movements, and so I tried weaning him back to 100% homogonized again in October.  He started getting constipated again, so just like Kayla, he's getting Restoralax every day, as well as 4 oz of formula in his evening bottle.

He is down to only two 10oz bottles a day: one after his morning nap, and one before bed.  He used to also have a bottle after his afternoon nap, but I went cold turkey on him and replaced that with some (diluted) juice in a sippy cup.

Nathan absolutely loves his siblings.  He loves the attention he receives from Kayla.  When she chases him around the house he giggles.  He loves to pester Matthew by kicking Matthew's back to try to push him off the front of the stroller (Matthew sits on the front tip of our BOB Duallie).  Nathan also loves to hit Matthew's head in the car if Matthew has fallen asleep, leaning towards him.

Nathan loves Jon (more than Matthew and Kayla ever did), but I'm pretty sure I'm still his favourite.

Nathan loves to grab the syrup bottle from the pantry and walk around sucking on the cap.  I'm trying to train myself to keep the pantry doors closed.  It's not going so well.  If he doesn't have the syrup, he's walking around with a small purple-handled frying pan (which Kayla calls 'her' frying pan because it's purple).  He is a very snoopy child...he likes to open all of the cupboard doors and look to see what's in them.  I never had to do any baby-proofing with Matthew and Kayla, and I'd rather not have to make any changes with Nathan, so I just try to keep an eye on him.  He tried to grab my toilet bowl brush the other day from my bathroom cupboard.

Nathan and his purple frying pan.

Nathan loves being outside.  If I open the back door to throw some recycling in the bin he practically runs to try to get outside and then throws a fit if I don't let him out.

He already likes it when we take out the vacuum, and is more than willing to help.  Matthew has some competition!

He doesn't like to wear socks.

He absolutely hates being laid down for a diaper or clothing change.

He loves candy.  Don't try to sneak one around him because he will notice.

He loves to push cars and make a 'vroom' noise.

He can climb up the toddler slide at my parents' and wiggle his bum so that he can slide down all by himself. He also descends stairs by doing his bum-scoot.

Bye, Bye, Maternity Leave

I guess today's post should have been about Nathan's birthday, buuuuuuuuut...I haven't quite written that one yet nor do I really feel the desire.  Maybe tomorrow :).

I can't believe my maternity leave is over.  Actually, I can't believe I have to start work again.  Correction...I guess I don't have to...but it would be financially unwise for me to not return to work.  Trust me, I love my job.  I love my job so much that I always said I would do it for free, and I even went back to work this spring for four hours a week, even though my maternity leave was clawed back by 50% of whatever I made from working.  I just don't love that I have to return to work for 20 hours a week, spread over three days.  That's way too much.  I already didn't like working 15 hours a week when I returned to work last time...and now I have to go back for more.  Oh well - hopefully this isn't for the long-term!  lol.  Wishful thinking, maybe?

Matthew and Kayla Give Thanks

Jon and I were sitting on the couch this afternoon while Nathan was napping and Matthew and Kayla were playing with stickers.  All of a sudden we heard them talk about Thanksgiving and they started listing off things they were thankful for:

M:  Thank you Jesus for bringing Tinkerbell to be Kayla's friend.

K:  Thank you Jesus for a mouse eating ice cream.  Thank you very much.

M:  Thank you God for princesses.

Bath-Time Conversation

The other evening Jon had to be at a volleyball game, so during dinner I told Matthew and Kayla that we could go to Tim Horton's for a donut.  They were so excited.  I first wanted all three kids to have a bath because Nathan had a particularly attitude-filled dinner, and so he had food all over his face.  Within a couple minutes of the three being in the bath together, the following conversation happened:

M:  When Nathan gets out of the bath then we are going to get out too because we are going to Porton's (Tim Horton's) to have a donut with sprinkles on top.

K:  That's my favourite.  I always would want that.

M:  I dumped water on my head so I will look tute (cute) for the mans at Porton's.

K:  I'm brushing Nayfin's (Nathan's) hair so it looks perfick (perfect).

M:  Ya, then we will look tute (cute) for the mans.

K:  He is looking handsomer.

M:  Nayfin wanted water in his hair so I put water in his hair.

K:  I'm going to clean him now, Ma-yew (Matthew).

M:  I have to dump lots of water on him.  I'm putting a number (foam bath toy number) on his eyes so it doesn't get in his eyes.

Poor Nathan.  He didn't even cry though!  I eventually did put an end to the hair-washing and cleaning because I felt bad for him.

Invisible Friends

It's no secret that Matthew and Kayla have invisible friends.  Kayla's best friend is still princess, and Matthew's is Elmo.  They talk on the phone to their friends, go to their friends' houses, and play with their friends.  Their friends even get to come shopping with us most times.

Today, as Jon and I were walking with Matthew and Kayla through the parking lot at the swimming pool (so they could show Jon what they've been learning, and to get some extra practicing in...Nathan was left to nap at my parents' house), Jon asked to hold Matthew's hand.  Matthew had both of his fists clenched, and when Jon asked him about it he said they were closed because "he was holdings his friends in his hands".  He had his hands closed the entire time we got changed, and only opened them when we actually stepped into the pool.

I love it.  Their imagination is great.

Redwood Park

*There's another new entry below this one*

We went to Redwood Park for the very first time on Saturday - what a great place!  Matthew and Kayla loved walking through the woods, looking for signs with the tree types and then looking at all of the birdhouses.  Nathan loved looking for dogs along the trail - "Gawg!"

They also all enjoyed the playground at the end :)

He's walking!  :)