Matthew's Appointment Date

I received the call from BC Children's Hospital this afternoon with Matthew's appointment day:  October 31, 2014 at 12:45pm.  That's only three months away!  Much better than the five month wait we were expecting.

Oh, the Difference 9 Days Can Make

At 9 months old, Nathan was a little bit very annoying.  His constant crying/whining because he wanted me to walk with him was driving me bonkers.  At 9 months and 9 days old, he is a much happier child.  Why?  Because he got really good at cruising around furniture.  I don't think he cried once today because he needed me to walk with him.  So long as I place him along some furniture, or create a path of toy tables for him to walk along, he's happy because he can move.  It's amazing how much difference 9 days can make.

Matthew Goes to the Doctor

A few months ago I noticed a new freckle develop on Matthew' left knee.  He's been accumulating (?) more and more freckles this spring/summer so I wasn't too concerned about the fact that he had another freckle, it was that this one is really dark and slightly raised.  A month ago I also noticed a small lump in Matthew's right thigh (I have no idea how), and so that was also a little concerning.  Jon and I agreed that the next time I was in the North Surrey area I would bring him to Dr. Shah to get checked out.

My Mom and I planned to take the kids to Funky Monkey indoor playground on Thursday, which is right by Dr. Shah's office, so I made an appointment for Matthew right away.  The first thing Dr. Shah said when he took a look at Matthew was that he was too tanned, and if he tans quick I need to be putting sunscreen on him 3-4 times a day.  In regards to the freckle, he said it was a good thing I brought him in.  This freckle is benign, but I definitely need to keep an eye on it for any changes as this is the type that can become an issue.  They don't remove these freckles from kids, so I just have to watch it.

I then had Dr. Shah feel Matthew's thigh, to feel for the lump.  He felt it, and then compared it to his left thigh (where there is no lump).  He also asked Matthew if it hurt him as he pushed down on it.  Matthew started crying, so Dr. Shah assumed that it does hurt him.  I'm not sure if it actually hurts him, or if the nerves of being there made him more emotional.  Either way, I was given a requisition form to have Matthew sent for an ultrasound.  I called West Coast Imaging (CML HealthCare) and they told me that they don't do ultrasounds on children - only BC Children's Hospital does.  I call the Diagnostic Imaging department and was told to fax in the requisition form so that they could look at the notes on there and determine the priority.  If it doesn't seem concerning to them, they told me it will probably be a five month wait to get the ultrasound.  FIVE MONTHS.  Oh well, could be worse I guess.  Hopefully they get back to me this week.

Poor Matthew.  He's been through it all...X-Ray for his head shape, visits with eye doctors, now this...luckily nothing has been serious (yet!).  He and I have fun on our little 'dates'.

9 Months Old!

Nathan weighs 22lb 15oz.

This month, he has learned to feed himself with his fingers and drink from his sippy cup, all by himself.  He learned how to drink from a straw, and he has also started holding his own bottle.  Unlike Matthew and Kayla, I don't think he has ever had his bottle propped for him.

Nathan has made huge progress in terms of 'moving'.  When sitting down, he can spin around in circles and has really started to reach for toys.  Same goes for when he is laying on his stomach - he can spin around.  He still will only tolerate tummy time when he is in a good mood.  When he is standing by a toy or furniture, he has started to walk along them, getting from point A to point B.  Unfortunately, because of his new abilities to move, he is no longer content to just sit and play.  He HAS to be moving.  The only time I can get away with plunking him down on the ground with toys is first thing in the morning, after he has finished breakfast, where I'm lucky if I can get one hour to get things done.  Once that hour is up, he wants to walk and walk and walk.  And climb stairs and go down stairs and climb up stairs and go down stairs.  NON-STOP.  I keep telling myself that it's just a phase.

Nathan loves water.  He loves swimming in pools and lakes, and he loves his bath.  He has a huge smile on his face the entire time, and giggles like crazy in the bath when you react to his splashing.

Nathan is a Mommy's boy.  If he's in his mood, he's not even that great with Jon.  He just wants me.

Nathan HATES the church nursery.  As soon as I'm out the door he's bawling.

He always wants to eat what we're eating.  Matthew and Kayla are really good at sharing whatever they are eating with him, always making sure to bite off a tiny piece for him.

Nathan is starting to show a bit of attitude.  If he's angry, he'll clench his fists and put an angry face on.  If you try to give him something he doesn't want, he throws it aside.  If you try to feed him when he doesn't want to be fed, he swats your hand away.

Nathan's Routine:
7:00am   Wake Up & Breakfast (rice cereal & sippy cup with homo milk)
9:30am   Bottle (6oz)
9:45am   Nap Time
10:45am   Wake Up & Snack
12:00pm   Lunch
1:00pm   Nap Time
2:30pm   Bottle (8oz)
5:00pm   Dinner
7:15pm   Bottle (8oz)
8:00pm   Bed Time

Today

The last words I wanted to hear from Kayla while I frantically am trying to prepare a new recipe for dinner (in our hot house) - "Mom! Nathan pooed on the floor!" I look over at Nathan sitting in the kitchen beside me and see him in a pile of poo. I told Kayla that it was a good thing she noticed. "Ya, because you weren't watching him." Touche.

**

We let Matthew and Kayla stay up later tonight, because they were playing so nicely in the sandbox at their bedtime.  Bad idea.  They did NOT want to stop talking once they were finally in bed.  After a warning, we removed all the 'extra' stuffed animals they were allowed to sleep with.  They weren't really happy about it, but kept talking.  After another warning, we removed all of the stuffed animals and the baby they always sleep with.  Kayla understood why, and didn't fight it.  "Maybe next time we can sleep with them," she said, and laid down to try to sleep.  Matthew, on the other hand, was VERY upset.  After crying/yelling for me for a few minutes (I was standing at the top of the stairs to make sure he didn't try to get out of his room), I heard the following:

Matthew (screaming/crying):  Mom!  Mom!  Mom!

*Helicopter flies by*.

Matthew to Kayla:  That noisy helicopter just woke up me.  I was sleeping and I woke up.  You know why I can’t sleep?  All the cars and airplanes are coming this way.

Matthew (screaming/crying):  Mom!  Mom!  Mom!

Cultus Lake Camping Trip #3 - and a TON of Photos!

It's only the beginning of summer, but we had already been to Cultus Lake twice prior to this trip (once in May and once in June).  We had a lot of fun camping for ten days straight this time.  The weather was a little bit of everything...pouring rain to blazing hot sun...but we had fun!  We started out the trip with Matthew being under-the-weather with croup, and then Kayla caught it (and threw up in her bed Thursday evening from coughing so hard) and then Nathan caught it.  I think I took over 500 pictures over the 10 days.  That makes it difficult to choose the best ones!

Kayla (and Matthew) took their 'babies' EVERYWHERE.  They were filthy when they got home.

Hanging out at the creek.  Matthew loved throwing rocks into the water, and Kayla loved picking wildflowers.

They spent a couple hours playing by this sign post.

Within five minutes of starting our walk to the lake, I noticed Matthew's head was bobbing up and down while we walked along the road.  I quickly realized he was sleeping, and so was Kayla, so I laid Matthew down on Kayla.

Nathan LOVED the water.  He didn't care that it was really cold water and raining outside.

All asleep after a walk back from the lake.

What's camping without a good rainy day?

Playing with bubbles with Grandma.

Watch out for Matthew!  He mastered riding his balance bike this trip.  Now we have to look into moving him to a 'big kids' bike.

Walking back from the creek.

Wearing red and white on Canada Day.

Decorating Matthew and Kayla's bikes for the bike parade.  We brought some Canada flags from home, but apparently that wasn't enough to win a prize.  Next year we're stopping at the Dollar Store to pick up some more stuff.  No, we're not competitive at all...

  

When Jon came up on Canada Day he suggested that we do the Seven Sisters Trail.  I wasn't necessarily overly thrilled...I don't like spur of the moment decisions because I like to be prepared....but it turned out to be quite fun.  Matthew and Kayla hiked over half of it by themselves, and I carried Nathan (on my hip) for 3/4 of it.  

We started the trail at 11:30am, so he was hungry and tired.  Such a trooper though!  He didn't even cry.  

Nathan was a little stinker at night.  Because he was sick I was quite lenient on him, so he got to join me in bed when he woke up in the middle of the night.  It was quite squishy sleeping on a narrow bunk with him...can't say I got very much sleep as soon as he joined me.

 Auntie Melissa spent countless hours playing with / entertaining Matthew and Kayla.

Nothing says fun like squishing two 20+lb babies in a baby swing together.

Enjoying smores.

Nathan's first roasted marshmallow.  It ended up EVERYWHERE.

This little stinker went to bed early the day we came home, but woke up at 9pm and didn't want to fall asleep again.