Saturday Morning Confessions

want to know something?
As excited as I am about having a baby girl, I'm a little worried too.
When I first found out I was having a boy I was thrown for a loop. But, as Matthew has gotten bigger I've gotten into quite the routine with a boy. Sure he's got a strong personality. And, I definitely have had to learn about cars and trucks and trains. But, in some ways, having a boy is easy.
He is easy to please. And there's lots of stuff I don't worry too much about. Of course I want him to have friends, but when I see him with the other kids at daycare, it seems like because he is a boy he fits in pretty easily with the other boys.
The other day I went to pick him up. He laid on the floor pretending to be dead, and his friend came over and gently kicked him. Granted the little boy's dad got upset and made him apologize, but both boys thought it was hilarious. When Matt brings his transformers to daycare they pull out the other cars and trucks and the boys are off and running, banging each other's toys and making loud noises.
Easy.
And then I watch the girls.
At the age of 3 and 4 there is already division in the ranks. There are little groups and they have certain tastes. Seriously, cliques at the age of 3. It's not encouraged by the daycare, but at the same time, it happens really naturally.
When it comes to clothing, Matt is really easy to please. He is thrilled if his t-shirt has a transformer, Diego or a dinosaur. He prefers pants that are easy to pull down (i.e. elastic waists). If I want to dress him up for a photo I do. And, if I feel like making his hair spiky he's happy.
I've been around both of my nieces to know that that is not the case with girls.
Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled about having a girl. But, I'm terrified. I have paid close attention to my younger niece when it comes to stuff like clothes and shoes. I figure I have between 12-18 months before a girl starts dictating what she wants to wear. My niece, Paige, is 2, and she already knows what she likes and doesn't like when it comes to clothes. Once I tried to help my sister get her ready, and I was baffled by which pink dress the child wanted. I had to recruit her sister Kyla, 5, to help me out.
And as for Kyla and her clothes ... dear god! I took her shopping awhile ago. It was an incredibly fun experience, but the girl has preferences. She doesn't just want pink, she wants specific shades of pink.
And then there's the issue of whether she wants stuff with Princesses or Tinkerbell. I just learned last week that in her world princesses are out and Tinkerbell is in.
Ahhhh!
The last time I went to see my hairstylist we got on to the topic of kids and dressing them. I quite boldly told him that I think it's up to parents to help their kids by making sure that they are well dressed and fit in with their peers. I do sincerely mean that. I don't mean you need to dress your child head to toe in the most expensive clothes out there, but I think you need to help your child make good fashion choices so their peers don't mock them. Seriously! He laughed, and told me to give it a few years.
He doesn't have kids ... but he's really smart in pretty much everything.
And, I'm beginning to think he's right - it's not that easy.
And, that, my friends, is just a little of what I'm worrying about bright and early on a Saturday morning.

A Box of Pee

No, really. A box of pee.
Last night when Mike and I were making dinner (okay, scooping out my sister's fabulous crock pot dinner on to plates - have I mentioned I now live for Crock Pot Thursday?) Matthew came over to me with one of his little crates that opens and closes. It's plastic and it came with a little kid's airplane system.
Anyway, he says "I have a present for you, Mom."
I was about to open it and thought to ask him what was in it.
He told me pee.
What???
"I made you a box of pee."
He was very every excited about this new discovery - that he could aim so specifically into something, in this case a box. He was so excited that he gave it to me as a present.
I thought he was kidding.
Mike thought he was kidding.
So, we opened it very carefully. The little crate was yellow anyway, so there was no telling. We poured a little over the sink. Still couldn't tell.
So Mike smelled it.
Sure enough. It was a box of pee.
Thanks, Matt!
We didn't punish him. I mean, it's not like we ever told him not to pee into toys and then give them as gifts. He thought he was being loving. We did explain that it was gross and that he should never do that again.
He left the kitchen and we nearly died laughing.
Seriously. Pee in a box.
Merry Christmas.

--------

As for my cold and general yucky feeling ...
I had a doctor's appointment. The best I can do is tylenol. And sleep. And feel sorry for myself. But, I think part of it is the weather change and I know this will pass.
But, the good news is that I had a great ob appt. The baby is moving a LOT - it was hard to get the heartbeat because the baby kept kicking the doppler. It was funny. But, there's a strong heartbeat and I'm healthy.
I also mentioned that I'm still getting sick and it's from the pre-natal vitamins. Who knew there's a prescription vitamin that doesn't make you nauseous? My doctor gave me a sample, and sure enough I ate breakfast today and did not puke! Life is good. You take 2 per day - one in the morning and one at night. I have no idea how I'll remember, but I feel like I will actually get some nutrients. Yay!
And, apparently my weight gain is "perfect." Just enough that I'm healthy - but not too much. Mind you, now that I have vitamins that don't make me sick, we'll see what I weigh next month!

Snow and Colds = Bleck

I'm sick.
I have a stupid cold and feel like crap.
And it's snowing.
It's not exactly the end of the world, but this morning it kind of felt that way. It didn't help that I couldn't find the pants that I wanted to wear. Why was this? Because my husband's idea of "doing laundry" was throwing every single piece of laundry on top of the freezer and letting me search. Nice.
Hopefully the commute today won't be too bad. But the truth is that as soon as there is any sort of weather condition GO Trains run late. I'm not sure why. But, I'm guessing we will be on the platform for awhile.
wow.
Could I be any crankier today?
Today would have been a great day to sleep in and call in sick. After all, I am sick. But, I've taken some sick days already. And, I have a ton of work today. And I have a doctor's appointment today.
The good news is that at least I know where my boots are. I have a beautiful new scarf thanks to my friend Meghan (who knit it for me) And I was successful on my hunt for a maternity winter coat (thanks, Kerry!)
Life would be good if I could stop sneezing and my throat felt better.

Photo Fun

Last night my parents had me bring Matthew to get his picture taken with his cousins and my parents.
The session was booked for 6:20 pm. We arrived at the photo session at 6:23. Prior to that time, Mike picked me up from the GO Station (5:35) and picked Matt up from daycare. We changed his clothes and did his hair, took him to McDonald's where he got stuck in a huge play structure (and when I started panicking a lovely 5 year old boy climbed and led him down the slide), got lost twice on the way to the session, had one near argument about directions and finally made it to the location.
Three minutes late. Not bad.
Of course, before Matt joined the picture my sister's family had their picture taken. All the children discovered the joys of stools that went up and down, and all generally ran in circles waiting for their turn.
It's no surprise that when, at 7pm, they started the photo session that included all 3 kids (ages 5, 3, 2) and two grandparents its was an interesting experience.
We could not get them to all smile. When I told Matt and Kyla, who were both standing on risers, to stand like soldiers, Matthew started to march while Kyla put one hand to her head. Paige meanwhile was alternating between imitating Matthew and Kyla and whining that she had to sit on Grandma's lap instead of marching on a riser.
When we did get them in one place their smiles were ridiculous. Paige has discovered the joys of making faces and this cracked Kyla up. Matthew tried to copy Paige. (note: Paige and Matthew can be a lethal combination since they have the same sense of humour and are both very adventurous)
And the poor photographer was trying to keep her cool.
Matthew was annoying her the most because he would not stand still. So, she went over to him and whispered something in his ear to keep him quiet. As soon as she turned her back to him he very dramatically stuck his tongue out. My mom and I both lost it. We kind of felt the same way. Because we were laughing everyone got going.
There was one picture after that before we called it a night.
The picture ... it wasn't fantastic.
But, it's for my 98 year old grandfather who will appreciate the thought behind it. And, having had children, grandchildren and now great grandchildren, knows that kids will be kids and will probably just appreciate that we got them all together for the occasion.
we discussed the idea of doing this next year. With a six-month old. Hmmm .... Let's see just how much my grandad appreciates the picture. Who knows, maybe we will all get in the picture (my sister, our husbands and I all opted out this year). However, if this does happen I think we'll be passing a flask among the adults because I think a little alcohol would make it a little more bearable.
And, yeah, maybe we'll get a sedative for Matt. But that's next year.
For now we're home, in one piece.

He's So Sweet

Sometimes I'm struck by how sweet and kind my son can be.
Take for example tonight. He was overjoyed to receive a birthday party invitation to his friend's party.
Okay, first of all, is it me, or did McDonald's parties kind of go out of style for awhile and are now popular again.
Anyway, we were en route to Walmart and we were asking him what he thought Austin would like for his birthday. Matt's current favourite toys are his 2 transformers toys: Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.
So, I said "maybe we could get Bumblebee for Austin."
What I meant by that was that we could go to the toy section and buy this toy for Austin. Matthew was really sad for a second and then said "Okay. Austin can have Bumblebee and I will still have Optimus Prime."
In other words, he was willing to give away his favourite toy as a birthday gift. That melted my heart. I can't say that I'm always willing to give away my favourite things for my friends. I try to model that. But it amazes me how much love kids have.
He is doing this all the time.
When we had all our Hallowe'en candy sitting out, he was usually more excited about sharing with everyone than eating it himself.
I know this will change. But for now I'm loving it.

Pink It Is!

Now that we've given our parents ample time to tell everyone, I can officially tell everyone here
I'm having a girl!
Yay!
Of course I'd love a boy just as much. But, I'm thrilled about having a girl. I'm looking forward to shopping for pink clothes and spending hours playing Barbies. I'm looking forward to the baby dolls and the hair accessories and shows like Strawberry Shortcake.
I know that's a little shallow, but I'm a girly girl.
I love Matthew to death. I love that I've learned to find the joys in playing Transformers and watching Cars.
But, bringing some pink to this house will be a good thing.
We've started designing the nursery. And, of course I have started buying clothes. A onesie here, a sleeper there. It's fun! My sister has brought over boxes of girl things from my nieces. It's a little bit overwhelming, but I'm loving it.
The funny part of all of this, is that we are having a hard time choosing names. There are so many we like, and we want to pick the right one.
When I was pregnant with Matthew (believe it or not, that name took us forever to pick) we already knew that if we were having a girl her name wold be Jessica. But, to me that name sort of belongs to Matt, and it seems weird to consider it for this baby. It seems like a hand-me-down. I know, that's weird. But, still ...
Anyone have any great name ideas?

And, how cute is this? On Saturday night Kyla and Paige came for a visit. Paige (2) has started talking a LOT. At least, we can finally understand a lot of what she is saying now. And, every time she wants to get Matt's attention she shouts "Matt. Matty. Matt ADAMS." It cracks me up every single time I hear it.
For someone so tiny that child knows how to get our attention.

Santa Is Coming

Yesterday was our neighbouring town's Santa Claus Parade.
Together with my sister's family, my parents' neighbours (and our friends) and a fellow WonderMommy's family we all descended on the Santa Claus Parade. It's a lot smaller than the Toronto one, which means easy access to parking, no long line ups, and a shorter parade, something to consider when a pregnant bladder and recently toilet trained children are in the mix!

The parade was really really fun. It was a little chilly, but we were all bundled.

The Firetrucks Started It Off

Matt LOVED the pirate (a little scary I thought)

Loving my Clown Nose!
The hat is Matt's but he didn't want it

And Of Course ... SANTA!