Nine Months Already!

Squawky was nine months this past Tuesday. I can hardly believe that much time has gone by already. The Little Goat, of course, marked her two years and nine months milestone. Just as cute, but only willing to be photographed as her alter-ego "Penguin Banquet."

And because I know you love some gratuitous cuteness:

Amor Patriae

The Olympics are finally over (we won some gold medals, did you know?) and it was quite the whirlwind two weeks of addictive sports viewing. The Little Goat has discovered skiing...at least vicariously for now. Last week she saw a huge mound of snow in a parking lot and told me she wanted to "go skiing on that hill. Grampa hode you." I chortled my reply, "No dear, as funny as that would be, Grampa doesn't ski. He'll hold you when you go skating though!"

Speaking of, yesterday was her last skate of the season (it's finally getting too warm out) and LJ said there was really only one good patch of ice left on the rink. The LG kept seeing patches of grass where the ice had melted away: "Hay for the horses! Hay for the horses!"

Let's see if I can put in point form a few other things that have happened since last I was here.

- Squawky has in actual fact, gotten louder. Ikea doesn't need to play birds-of-prey sounds anymore to keep smaller birds from nesting in their parking garages, they just need a recording of Squawky at suppertime. Sheesh! She's also started pulling up on the crib rails, army crawling a little as of late last week, and her first tooth is a week and two days old!

Squawky's first tooth!

- We won some gold medals.

- First tooth = great but also = biting. :(

- We won some gold medals.

- We went to two baby showers, one baby dedication, and one surprise 30th birthday party.

Me holding my newest little cousin! Cute, even when she was crying.

- We won some gold medals.

- My cousin finally got engaged (YAY!)!

- We won some gold medals.

- The last baby in our church small group arrived last Tuesday. A BOY! *gasp* Will he have his pick of girls someday or what!?

- We won some gold medals.

- Lent started and so did our fast from yeast/leaven. We declared a few exceptions though - crackers are still allowed and we are taking a one-day moratoriam for St. Patrick's Day (LJ was more than a little concerned that we were going to have to go without beer on St. P's Day). So far it's been okay but some days....what I wouldn't give for piece of bread and a cookie! Oi!

- We won some gold medals. Did I mention that already?

Now we're looking forward to St. Patrick's Day (Guinness stew and Guinness brownies!), LJ's surgery and subsequent week (off!) of recuperating, the winter fair in my hometown (which is HUGE), and Easter (baskets, bunnies, eggs! Love, The Resurrection, and GRACE!)! And after that? The start of our season of celebration around here which will include several anniversaries, at least six birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and a slew of new babies! And, obviously, continued reveling in all of Canada's gold medals. (You didn't know Canadians could be so immodest, did you?)

Happy Valentine's Day!

In retrospect, we probably should've taken the LG's picture first. Thankfully, Squawky didn't eat the whole thing.

Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

The LG and I have been crafting and baking this week and today is no different only our theme is baby shower cookies and cupcakes (photos to follow pending the outcome).

Presently, the LG is working on tower construction (future engineer?) and Squawky is sitting up but pending over like an ostrich attacking her toes to chew on them (future contortionist?).

Come back on Saturday/Sunday for your official Valentine's greeting!

Just a Couple More Pictures

Squawky enjoying her oatmeal.

The Little Goat sporting spectacular spectacles!

What? Deep thoughts? From me?!

Hardly.

It turns out January is ALREADY OVER which I find a little hard to believe. We had a great two weeks at my parent's place...except for the fact that Squawky hardly slept the first week and improved very little in that department the second week. The Little Goat had, in two weeks, only one truly successful day of potty training so we're not really any further on that front either.
I, on the other hand (because it's all about me, right?) actually got to go hang out with my friend Chandra. We went to an actual theater (my first theater movie in a LONG time!) and saw Leap Year and then went and shared some tasty cheesecake. All without children!

This month, we're going to be working on some organizational projects around here, particularly the girls' room. I should take before-and-after pictures. It looks just awful after the little we sorted this morning. There are boxes and piles of clothes all over the floor. The time has come though because we moved Squawky out of our room (HALLELUJAH!) and her stuff needs to be sorted into her dresser instead of being in a heap in a laundry basket, which means we may as well sort EVERYTHING all at once. So, she and the LG are officially sharing a room and so far, it's going pretty well.

Oh yes! Squawky started solids at the beginning of January which really consisted of trying applesauce in tiny portions twice. Then we quit until we were at my parent's. We tried applesauce one night and banana the next. Then applesauce again. Mom and I determined it really wasn't doing anything for her sleeping and seemed to be making her ill so we ended that. But yesterday morning I fed her some oatmeal cereal with fruit and it was a hit. The brown rice at suppertime was an even bigger hit! At first I was annoyed because I thought I had mixed way too much and would just end up throwing it away, but I momentarily forgot who we were feeding. She practically inhaled it! I'm attributing her slightly better night to her fuller belly. She actually had a three-hour stretch!

Enough of that. You're here for the pictures, I know.

Getting ready to go skating!

First time skating! She's really Canadian now!

Squawky stayed inside with Grama.

The LG wearing the "scarsp" she made with Grama.

Thoughts on the Eve of Newness

It's been since November 5th and even for me, this is one truly abysmal blogging absence. I won't fool myself and promise greater things for the new year, though I'd surely like to.

It's been a VERY busy couple of months around here. Halloween, visits with my parents, lots of get-togethers with friends and our small group from church, and lots of potty training and baby-feeding. Two good friends are expecting babies, um, tomorrow; other friends just had a little boy yesterday so we are happily ringing in the new year celebrating new life! All of this excitement is good, of course, but tiring. We're looking forward to the New Year particularly for the chance that January affords to take a deep breath after this busy end of 2009.

Naturally, I've had all these great posts rolling around in my head at odd hours of the morning but by the time I come to a fully alert state at, say, noon, I've got no time left to write and I can't remember all those deep thoughts anyway.

To compensate, I will leave you with our best wishes to you and yours for a spectacular 2010, and a picture or two of the Little Goat and the Squawk Box (who is squawking at this very moment) both of whom I'm sure you will note have grown enormously since I last posted. Know that we are thinking of you and I miss you guys even if I haven't had a chance to really read blogs for a while now.

Looking cute, as usual.

Racing cars with George.

First time bowling.

First time meeting Santa (not a fan).

First snow.

First snow guy (my skillz are a little rusty).

Followed by first hot chocolate.

First gingerbread house (last year we had a g-bread tree) made with Grama.

First Christmas concert (Cutest. Angel. Ever.).

Getting ready for her first Christmas!

First Christmas present (the date on the picture is off by one).

How we feel now that the holidays are over.

Ditto.

Sad.

If any of you are of the praying persuasion, please pray for my old college friend J and are husband D. Their little boy arrived very early and very prematurely on Tuesday. He was just 10 inches long and weighed only 14.3 ounces and lived for just four hours. Please pray for God's peace "that passes all understanding."

How Does She Do That!?

This afternoon, it took the Little Goat forever to settle in for a nap, which actually never ended up happening because she needed a diaper change. At least she 'woke up' in a good mood. Points for her.

The Squawk Box took her time falling asleep too. In her defense, she's been sounding rather congested at night so maybe it's affecting her nap too.

Then, about five minutes ago, I'm just finishing up enjoying my afternoon game(s) of Mahjong.

It goes just like this:

Me: Well, LG, I'm going to the kitchen to start cooking.
The Squawk Box: WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

And also...

...last night I put the Squawk Box in clean pajamas.


They are size 9 months.


They fit. Perfectly.

This is What the Internet Was Made For

So Sunday night, the stars aligned and the interwebs came together for two brief hours of perfection.

We had been talking to a friend in Edmonton earlier in the afternoon about the possibility of a U2 show there next summer and the chance of us driving out for it. So we went on the official U2 website to see what we could find out. It was then we discovered that later that evening, they were broadcasting the concert from Los Angeles LIVE on YouTube. LIVE! Possibly the biggest concert ever with a mere 90,000 people in attendance.

Needless to say, it only started at 9PST so we were up LATE and, in fact, didn't even watch to the very end, resulting in my missing not just one, but two of my favourite songs ever. We did, however see a little over half the show.

Yes, there we were, enjoying U2 live, serenading us from our laptop, while we sat in the dark, on our bed, in our jammies, I nursing a baby. If that wasn't a moment the internet was made for - I can't think of a better one.

Conversations

Our neighbour has been out in his backyard the last few days working on fixing up a trailer to pull behind his truck.
Yesterday when I was finishing up getting dressed after my shower, the Little Goat walked in:

LG: That MA-AN was DOING something!
Me: Oh? What was he doing?
LG: Man doing SOMETHING!
Me: What was he doing? He wasn't doing anything bad, was he?
LG: Man building bad boat.
Me: What? I don't think he's building a boat....
LG: It ice cream boat!

Uh huh.

No Prompting Required

The other morning, after saying grace before breakfast, I asked the Little Goat "LG, what are you thankful for?"

I expected her to say 'cereal' or 'pancakes' or 'trees', but instead she said:

"Thankful for Mama and Dad."

Group Growth

In a previous post I was telling you a little about our small group and all the kids. Well, it turns out kids aren't invited so now we're trying to figure out what to do, and convince ourselves it's worth it to actually PAY a babysitter (everybody else has parents in town) two evenings a month when we're not even going out on a date. Hm....

Also, did I sat 11 kids? Yeah, I meant 12. The baby that was due in September is here (another girl!) and another couple joined our group and she's due January 1st (just like Erin K.!). So, yeah, make that 12 kids, five newborns among them. Jody and I are hoping the next two will be baby girls too because won't that be fun? Five little girls, all born within nine months of each other!

And that is all.

Supper is Late

Yesterday the girls and I all had our first doctor's appointments with our new doctor. LJ picked her out for us (out of the 26 that work at the clinic) and she is perfect! I didn't have to be weighed or measured; she checked my blood pressure ("low-side of normal") and that was that. The girls, of course, screamed bloody murder when she tried to use the stethoscope and look in their ears, but Dr. H was great. This was not to mention the LG's clearly horrifying experience with the scale in the lab when it was her turn for weight/height.* There are definitely some advantages to being married to a medical professional who has an office right around the corner. Dad to the rescue!

Anyway, before we left, I was trying to remember how to program our oven so it would turn on at 5:30 and bake for 30 minutes at 350 so the lasagna would be nice and hot (thanks for bringing it over, Mom!) and ready to eat when we got home.

Well after all that hoopla with the timer, when we got home and walked in the door, I did NOT smell lasagna. In fact, while the smell was pleasant, I didn't smell any food cooking at all! Why, you ask? WHY? Because there was a freaking POWER OUTAGE while we were out! ARGH!

On top of that, today I find out the broiler no longer functions. Boo!

*For anyone keeping track, the latest measurements are:
Little Goat: (weight) 30 lbs, 7 oz; (height) 2' 11" (75th percentile for both)
Squawk Box: (weight) 16 lbs, 8 oz; (height) 2' 2" (95th percentile for both - yikes!)

That's My Girl!

The other day, the Little Goat was playing in the kitchen. Exploring, really, while I made chicken pot pie for supper. While I was washing dishes, she was standing beside me playing with the mixer attachments.

"This fits on like this!" she said as she put an attachment on the Kitchen Aid!

Oh I love that girl - twenty-eight months and she's already mastering the mixer!

And....We've Been Back for a While Now

So the auction was great! My Dad picked out a few things for the LG at the kids table, I got a sweet set of truck books (used, of course, but in nearly perfect condition) for the LG's little cousin's birthday coming up in November. We also got some homemade noodles, some honey, and a white 3-drawer dresser for the Squawk Box for only thirty dollars! Of course, that was two weeks ago and there's still nothing IN said dresser, but it's in the girls' room. That's a good start for around here. I also got a few things for other birthdays coming up and for Christmas. My mom got a great box full of veggies for eight bucks - cabbage, peppers, carrots, onions, tomatoes, parsley, and potatoes. And the food! Oh, the food! They sold something like 1400 perogies and 836 pieces of pie!

There were lots of donated pies left over and of course, my dad bought two. And then, of course, I didn't balance the box very well on the stool in my parent's kitchen and the lemon pie hit the deck rather unceremoniously. So much for that. The crust was soggy anyway (yes, even too soggy for me!).

Let's see. Oh here's a funny story for you. The week before we left, on the Tuesday, I went to this ladies function at church. I had no idea it was such a big deal and left the house woefully underdressed. Comparatively speaking. (But LJ had gotten home late and I didn't really have time to change anyway, nevermind feed the SB before we walked out the door!) I wanted to melt into the wall. And then it came time for the doorprize and I was thinking I just shouldn't have entered in the first place. There were three prizes and never in my life have I sat there wishing more 'oh, please don't call my name, please don't call my name.'

So the first name was called.

Phew.

The second name was a lady at our table.

Phew.

('Please don't call my name, please don't call my name.')

"Bren J.!"

Oh. Great.

So I sheepishly skulked up to the front, got my candle and sat down. And let me tell you - as soon as things were winding down, I bolted! Never again! Aside from that, I didn't enjoy it much anyway. No matter if I'd been a little more dressed up. For a church function, it was just too....fluffy. There are other women's studies/activities to be involved in though and I'm grateful for that.

*******
And now, two hours later, I am back to write some more. This is my life. Getting bits and pieces done between changing diapers, feeding the kids, and other distractions - like the SNOW that is bravely attempting to fall. I wish you guys could hear inside my head at 3am (or 12:30, or 5, or hey, even 7). I do some of my best blog writing when I'm sitting up in the middle of the night. My writing talents could astound you if only such a Thing existed (and was affordable) that could type while I dictate silently in the wee hours.

Goodness, this post is generally abyssmal. Better luck next time!

Behind

Here I am falling behind on blogging and everything else again. We're busy doing laundry today and getting ready to be away for a week. The girls and I are going to my parent's place and LJ is headed to MN for a conference. He is really excited and for good reason. I'm hoping I can maybe go next year too. We'll see.

I'll have my own fun this week though. My best friend is finishing up a distance-ed course and I promised her a chocolate truffle and coffee at one of our favourite high school haunts if she finishes by Friday (a few days earlier than the deadline).

On Saturday, we're going to a HUGE MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Auction. If you're not familiar with MCC, Google it. Among other things, MCCers give humanitarian aid all over the world. Because us Mennonites, we're everywhere you know. You probably have some of us hiding out in your town just waiting to help. Okay, maybe not. But we are quite a ubiquitous people.

Earlier this summer, LJ and I participated in the School Kit project. It was super easy. We picked up a few pre-made tote bags and filled them with notebooks, pencils, an eraser, a ruler, and some pencil crayons. They get collected at various points and sent all around the world for kids in developing countries that can't afford school supplies on their own.

so this auction is big and lots of people sell lots of things, specifically, Menno FOOD which will make me (but not so much my butt) very happy. After Saturday, I'll tell you all about it.

Thought I better post a few pics of the girls because you know, a little cuteness never ruined anyone's day....

I should clarify that this smiling-while-on-the-toilet business is rare.
LJ must've done something very funny...

Thrice

The third time's a charm. Right? RIGHT? Please tell us it's true!

This morning we began Potty Training Attempt #3. If you've been following the blog for a while you know that the Little Goat was actually potty trained already in Spring, but then we moved back to Manitoba and eight days in a U-Haul didn't do much for any of us, but particularly the LG. By the time we got here she was no longer potty trained.

My Mom made a valiant second effort a few weeks after the Squawk Box was born but to no avail. It was AWFUL. We gave up after just a couple of days.

This time we have to get it right. It's Saturday and we gave up going to Airport City for some shopping to muddle through this drudgery. I'm not even sure the LG's being potty trained is going to be a whole lot of convenience for us but we must soldier on, no?

We had success right off the bat this morning but it soon dissolved into a pool of tantrum-endowed tears, weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then we had breakfast. We've already gone through three pairs of training pants in three hours and maybe we should've just let her run around naked in the yard all day. I don't know.

Anyway, think of us today when you're changing a diaper or taking your talented child to the bathroom. We'll be here, exhausted and hopefully not too exasperated, and maybe, just maybe, at the end of it all, potty trained.

Productivity

It's the middle of the afternoon. I've just finally had a shower and let me divulge to you the new depths of my lameness: I changed from one pair of grey sweats into another pair of grey sweats (only slightly shorter and a slightly lighter shade) and from one green tank top to another green tank top (slightly longer, slightly darker shade of green). It's really sad, I know. But it shook things up from the rest of the week - I was wearing black sweat pants most of the time! Har!

This week has been relatively productive on the homefront and I finally feel like we're settling into some real routine and it's been great!

Yesterday morning I swept, vacuumed, and mopped all but one room on the main floor before 9am. I've been sticking pretty close to our menu plan for the week - adapting as needed - with a great degree of success. The girls have settled into a sort of regular naptime (for now, right?) and the Little Goat is getting to bed more consistently around 8:30. I haven't gotten all the things accomplished that I've wanted to this week and come Saturday night at midnight, I'll still have half my to-do list sitting there impatiently, but this week has had such a pleasant rhythm about it.

I don't remember anything particular about Monday, but Tuesday morning we went to playgroup. Tuesday night we went to a small group meeting (through our church) during which the group amicably divided into two smaller groups to facilitate better future growth - both relationally and physically. We're excited about our group as we ended up with people we already knew even before we moved back here. But - yikes! - there will be (after mid-February) 11 kids* and eight adults! LJ and I have agreed to host once/month but we have no idea how to figure things logistically so the kids can play with minimal supervision and the adults can have some meaningful discussion. (Any suggestions?)

Wednesday morning, the LG, the Squawk Box and I went for a walk with Mrs. Knight ("Brs. Tight" as the LG calls her). We met at church a few weeks ago but it feels like we've known each other much longer already! We've been walking every Wednesday morning and hope to keep that up "until life changes," she says.

Yes, or until it's -40C outside.

Yesterday we met up with the illustrious Erin K. & her Monkey at the library ("abby" - LG). Then they came over for a nice lunch; bread, cheese, jam, fruit salad, and tea.

Today has been rather uneventful as far as going out is concerned. We read some of the books we got at the library yesterday. I finished the vacuuming, did a load of wash (there's still a pile of laundry sitting here beside me waiting to be folded), Facebooked for a bit while the LG played with her truck and "dad's rock." Then after naptime started, I had the aforementioned shower, made a pasta salad for supper tonight, a lemon meringue pie, and two types of no-bake squares to stash in the freezer for LJ's lunches or an emergency (we seem to be doing rather more entertaining here than when we lived in Maine).

So basically, this week has been exactly the way I hoped life would be living here.

Tomorrow we might go into Airport City to do some shopping ('breastfeeding melts away the pounds'? My foot, it does! MY FOOT!) and then we'll settle in to enjoy the long weekend and the beautiful weather we've been having. Here's hoping you and yours have a super weekend. Anybody have any big plans?

* Yes, eleven kids to eight adults.
Let me break that down for you:
5 year old: 1
3 year olds: 2
2 year olds: 4
Babies: 4: The SB, born in June; another little girl, born two weeks before the SB; and two more babies on the way - one in 2-3 weeks and one in February, both gender unknown.