9 Months or not?

So, it's the 28th today and the 1st tomorrow. Does this mean that Rhys will never be 9 months old?

Regardless, he has been having the time of his life over the past few days with all the snow that has come down. 

Our winter wonderland.

 Brea loved romping outdoors while Daddy shoveled the driveway and I thought it was only fair that he had a chance to experience the cold, wet powder too.

Getting ready to head out.

He mostly sat around for the first little while but as he watched his sister make snow angels, dig with her shovel and throw snowballs, he decided to attempt to crawl after her. He landed on his face... several times and each time as I lifted him up, he'd have a big smile.

An adorable snow baby.

Boo boo

I have to sheepishly admit that I became one of those crazy mothers who panics at the sign of blood. Things were a lot easier with only one child since I had all my time to just watch her. Brea's first accident didn't happen until she was over a year old.

Yesterday, Brea was playing wonderfully with Rhys as I was cleaning up in the kitchen after our lunch. I could hear his giggles of delight. Then the door to her bedroom slammed and his shriek reverberated through the house.

I ran to find him crying loudly while blood seeped from his finger. Trying to get a hold of a bleeding hand on a screaming infant while a toddler dances around and telling me, "Rhysy has an owie, give him a band-aid", is oh so fun. I managed to get his hand under the tap and tried to see what damage was done. It didn't look very good and it wouldn't stop bleeding so I got a Dora band-aid and slapped it on with one hand and my teeth while he smeared little bloody fingerprints it all over my clothes. That done, I plonked Brea down for her nap so I could evaluate the situation. It was impossible to get a good look at the injury with Rhys crying every time I tried to get a hold of his finger, it was still bleeding probably because of the force I had to use when grasping at it so I decided to get see if I could calm him with breastfeeding. When I finally got him asleep, I pried the bandage off for a look. At this point, it still looked like a nasty cut with quite a large gap. I couldn't decide what to do - I thought it'd be better to be safe and get it looked at so I called my brother to watch Brea and off to the hospital we went.

By the time Craig met us after he was done work I was already regretting going all the way there for a cut. I didn't want to take the bandage off again to look at it since it was such a pain to get on again. Needless to say, after the long wait where Rhys made friends with all the nurses and patients, the doctor said it was fine. They bandaged his hand like a mummy and sent him home. He gave me a look of surprise when I buckled him in his seat and he attempted to put his gauze mitt into his mouth (yes, it took him that long to notice because he was so distracted by the goings on of the ER). The gauze lasted for all of 10 minutes. I could hear him growling and working at it. This is what I saw when I opened the door when we got home:

So, I will be making my way to the drug store today to stock up on first aid supplies. Something tells me this won't be the last time.

Parks and Rec

Despite being sick last week, we did make it out a bit for some fresh air and visited a few parks much to Brea's delight. Rhys got a chance to experience the swings for the first time as well. Thought I'd share a few pictures from the outings.

Park One was a fantastic day spent with my friend Michelle and her son, Edison. She took some great shots of the day on her blog too.

Setting out

Park Two. The next day since it was sunny again, we went out to see Po-Po and visit the park near her house.

Swinging with his big sister

I think he likes it :o)

8 Days

In just eight days, Rhys has gone from lump to a cyclone of little boy trouble.

He has managed to:

- try to climb the TV stand
- taken the Wii out of its holder
- get a hold of the remote control
- almost turn the power off to the computer
- pull the speaker cords out from under the carpet
- get a hold of the remote control
- climb the living room steps
- climb out of the laundry basket
- get a hold of the remote control
- dumped a box of gingersnap cookies out and eat half a cookie
- pulled open the bottom of the upstairs fireplace
- get a hold of the remote control

Go go go!

After a week of duking it out with a very nasty cold we were finally able to go back to some of our normal activities and outings.

All that time was not wasted however, as Rhys used it to make his mobile debut.

In the fort we built.

Happy to be on the move!

It started on Valentine's Day and he never looked back. He went from nudging his bottom to a crawl/drag move very similar to what Brea did - he kind of crawls on one knee with the other leg tucked underneath. Then, this morning, he made it up the living room steps! I tell ya, this kid is going places. Actually, it probably had more to do with me stepping outside with the garbage and Brea following me, leaving him alone. I guess the feeling of being deserted gave him the extra push he needed to yank himself up the steps. It was a very good thing we got the gate up over the weekend. He is SO happy with his new-found independence though he is also being very clingy. I didn't experience this from Brea who was always happy to go with whoever to do whatever. With Rhys though, as soon as I leave the room, he lets out a cry and tries desperately to scamper after me - unless big sis stays with him that is. What this means of course it that I'm even busier than before. It is even harder now to get things done and I have to admit the house is quite a mess.

I tell you, there is nothing more fun than a kitchen with a toddler who tells me she doesn't need a bib anymore and a baby who is starting to be able to grab at his own food. Every meal leaves a Pollock masterpiece under the table. Rhys is doing so well with eating, I'm very proud of my little guy as he shoves pieces of waffle, or crackers, or Cheerios, or cheese into his mouth. I especially love the big grin he gives every time he's successful. He seems to be doing things faster than Brea did but I suppose he also has an example to follow.

This morning, we headed out into the sunshine for a walk in the woods - I love the crisp air and the babble of the water flowing by. Brea was in fine spirits today and brought her "walking stick" with her - she picked it up along the dykes last week and stows it in the garage for whenever we go out for treks. She liked using it today to point out all the fine things we saw along the way: there was the green "moff" on the trees, the "crumbly" pine-cones on the ground, the "big tree that fall down", and my favourite, the "volcano" - a hollowed out tree stump. As we made it along the trail and came to various forks, she would point with the stick and ask "which way do we go Mama? Do we take the path on the left or the path on the right?" - thanks Dora! She would invariably choose whichever headed deeper into the woods and away from civilization because she didn't want our walk to end.

We are incredibly lucky to live where we do and have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and the wildlife. I was hoping for another glimpse of the four golden eagles and the bald eagle that we saw a few weekends ago, or the herons that lives in our area but we not as fortunate today. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful walk as Rhys slumbered in his carrier and Brea gathered more rocks for her collection.

Call and answer

Whenever I'm out driving with the kids, I play a call and answer game with them. With Brea, it usually consists of repeating whatever she feels like coming up with, typically it's our names. With Rhys, there is a lot of cooing and growling.

We had to go to the mall today to pick-up some things and a few blocks out Rhys started to "talk" - he's been very vocal lately, it's really cute. I let him talk for a bit and was going to answer when Brea started talking back to him.

Rhys: "Aaaungh! Uh!"
Brea: "Yes, Rhysy, yes?!"
Rhys: "Errr! Uh!"
Brea: "Mommy, Rhysy is talking to me."
Rhys: "Ooooh! Uh! Aaaagh!"
Brea: "Really Rhysy? Look out the window."

They chatted most of the way to the mall. It was the sweetest thing.

Just had to share

This Valentine's Day finds our family all coughy, stuffy and sneezy. It's also quite drizzly outside so my plans for the day are rather moot. While I cuddle with the little ones today and attempt a few crafts I thought I'd share with you the fantastical gifts that our favourite Colorado couple sent to us a while back but that I didn't have time to document to share. Jessie is a super crafty lady and spared no attention to detail in creating this year's festive gifts for Brea and Rhys. I don't know if I get a bigger kick out of the gifts or just reading the packaging they come in ;o) Hope you chuckle in delight as much as I did when we opened the box.

Brea's gift: "For the artiste on the go, a coloring book bag with jaunty coloring device pouch. Whether doodling in Madrid or scribbling in Mozambique, this bag gets around; wherever you go, it's sure to follow!"

Rhys's gift: "Hola! I am Senor Ronaldo, Master of Intrigue and decider of which socks to wear. I was born south of the border in New Mexico. One day a crew of fierce sea urchins attacked my small pet store and ran off with my true love, Senorita Janice, a beautiful gecko. I vowed then and there to hunt down the culprits and make Janice mine. After decades of searching I came upon the lovely Janice singing at a karaoke bar in Dallas. Come to find out the sea urchins had been hired to save her by her fiancee Carl, an earnest eel. My quest resolved, I stowed away in this box hoping a wee person might find me and take me in. I offer many skills including lost mitten detection, soft shell break dance moves, and, of course, a penchant for snuggling. Perhaps you will have me?"

Breakthrough!

Peek-a-boo!

Finally got a decent picture of Rhys's first tooth and the second one made its appearance today! He'll have a full set of chompers in no time.

How do you explain?

Brea loves to explore, she is a go-getter and full of energy in every endeavor. Lately she's been discovering new things with pen and ink and I don't know how to explain that sometimes trying new things is not always the best idea. I want to foster her imaginative skills and her sense of wonder but there is a fine fine line that separates good exploration from bad.

The other night, she discovered that pens write on all kinds of things, paper, clothes, sleepsack, face... she was so proud as she ran to me to show off the artistic marks she had added to her smile.

I was not so enthused and told her so and watched her smile fade and the tears begin to form. "Is my face broken?" she asked, "Mommy is not happy?". I stopped her crying and explained that I could wash her face and her clothes but sometimes things can't get fixed or cleaned and she had to be careful.

But today on a playdate at a friend's house as the mommies sat for a few minutes to talk, we heard the scritch and the scratch and ran to find an array of crayon lines newly decorating the wall. They were happily playing together until we stopped them. I don't know how it started or who's idea it was. Perhaps I should have been more forceful in reprimanding her earlier and this could have been avoided. How do you know what to do?

Little ears

We were driving into the garage after Brea's soccer class.
Craig was having a hard time with the door opener - "I'll just push the damn button on the wall."
From the backseat, a little voice calls out - "I want to push the damn button!"

Avenue Q

Craig and I made it out on a date this weekend! Kau-Kau Ambrose and Po-Po were gracious enough to babysit for a few hours while we made it out on the town to see a show.

 I first heard about "Avenue Q" when I watched a episode of "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network. They were making a cake for the Broadway production and had a full cast of puppet look-alikes on the show. I was smitten by the misfit puppets (à la Sesame Street but so not rated G), so when I saw an ad on TV for the touring show, I excitedly bought tickets. Craig is not much for musicals but I figured one full of bawdy puppets was right up his alley. He had a great time - he did say afterward that he'd never thought that he would ever see puppets engaged in such lewd acts on stage :o) I thought the cast did a spectacular job seamlessly passing off puppets and singing hilarious songs. I was also thrilled to have a few hours away from the kids to spend with Craig. It's hard for me to remember that we need some time to ourselves every once in a while.