Wednesday, December 5, 2012

April-November 2012 update

Halloween 2012 - Cowboy, Monkey & Ninja
So I keep trying to update the blog on a more regular basis, but life keeps me busy.  I have definitely enjoyed my maternity leave with Dallin and am only half looking forward to going back to work at the end of February.  So much has happened over the past 9 months and it would be quite difficult to recall all the events and it would probably be pretty boring to read about it, so I would recommend just looking through our flickr photo stream to see what we've been up to.

Dallin is now pulling himself up on EVERYTHING.  He is a little bit of a menace to our furniture as he is either pulling things over or trying to gnaw on the edge of things: tables, couches and my personal favourite the garbage can.  I am a little worried about what he will do with the Christmas tree, I'm thinking of leaving the breakable items off the tree this year, just in case.  He is very curious about "solid" food as he is very interested in what we are eating.  He is still trying out pureed food, but eats a wider variety of vegetables and meats than his middle brother.  We have made a few visits to daycare and he loves his big brothers so I hope the transition will be easier on him than it will be on me.

Wyatt is enjoying being the middle child, but I think sometimes he would prefer to be the only child with mom and dad's undivided attention.  He is the most stubborn and is still quite limited in his food preferences, but we have added a few over the months: broccoli, carrots, rice.  The only meat he eats is pork in bbq pork buns from Yangtze restaurant.  Maybe in 2013 he will grow out of this?  Our poor little dude has had an exciting year full of medical fun :D  He had hernia surgery at the end of May and he was admitted to CHEO in September as he had another asthma exacerbation.  This time he spent 5 nights at the hospital (including our anniversary).  We were able to do some allergy testing as a result of this visit and it turns out he is allergic to cats and dust mites.  He is also on medication to help him get through the cold season and hopefully we will be able to avoid another admission to the hospital.  Wyatt is also enjoying his time at home.  He is only attending daycare part-time, but he is truly a home body and loves the "stay-home" days.

Connor is relishing being the oldest brother.  He adores his baby brother and Dallin squeals with excitement whenever he sees Connor.  Connor is no longer the smallest kid at school.  He is now one of the "big" kids in his class.  He seems to really enjoy going to school and learning.  He is quite strong at math and is just starting to read words on his own.  I know some of it is just memorization or trying to guess the words based on the pictures, but he when he feels like it he is quite good at sounding out all of the letters.  Connor also played "soccer" for the first time this summer.  He really enjoyed running around and kicking the ball occasionally.  Connor (and Wyatt) also started skating lessons this year.  Connor was quite shaky at the beginning but by the end of the session he is able to move around on his own.  We can't wait until the local rink freezes over so that we can practice skating there.  Connor is also going to Beavers and enjoying his time there.

Julie is really enjoying her time off (as I mentioned before).  This has been my first full year of maternity leave and I am very grateful that I had this opportunity.  Being home during the day has allowed me to be involved more at school (I am the School Council Chair) which has allowed me to get to know some of the other parents at the school.  Although I was hoping to get a lot more done around the house, being able to spend time with kids when we aren't exhausted after school/daycare/work has been quite the fun experience.  I also joined the Athletic Club which has helped me achieve a bit of balance as they have a great play room for the kids which allows me to focus on my fitness while the kids are being cared for by wonderful staff members.  I completed my first 5km post-baby with a chip time of 28:48 which was under my goal of 30 minutes.  I have also been enjoying the hot yoga room and am starting to regain some of my flexibility.  In addition to working out at the Athletic Club, I am playing indoor soccer with my brother Francis on Sunday afternoons. I forgot how much I loved playing soccer and am quite thankful that Francis asked me to play.

Geofford had to un-retire from ultimate as this was the last year that his division (Masters) would be competing in Sarasota at the UPA Championships.  His team, GLUM, only competed in the Fall Series which freed up our summer.  It was a nice compromise as he was still able to enjoy some summer pursuits (cottages, Cawaja beach) while still playing ultimate at a high level.  He has also been busy outside of ultimate with our house.  He completed the renovations on our bathroom just after Dallin was born.  As I am on maternity leave, he has been able to leave for work earlier which means he also returns home from work earlier which gives us a bit more time together as a family in the evenings.

My goal for 2013 is to post on a semi-regular basis (ideally once a month, but who knows, the next post may be next December....)